Disclaimer: I own nothing
A/N: Fic inspired by the dgmkinkmeme prompt: "Kanda's singing voice is incredibly, terribly, other-wordly sexy."
Nightingale
Chapter One
The inner halls of the Black Order Headquarters were silent, a complete contrast to the chaos that reigned just outside the Black Order walls where a melee of shouting and banging had forced the inhabitants of the Order to close all points of access to the building. By doing so, they had managed to effectively cut off any unwanted intruders as well as any members currently outside the Order building in one swift blow, members who had also been sent urgent messages telling them to stay well clear of headquarters.
The Order could not take any chances, not with the situation they now found themselves in, practically imprisoned in their own safe house, men alert and stationed strategically throughout the Order in case by some mishap their walls were breached. They needed to come to an understanding quickly and put some plan of action into effect as soon as possible, their lives depended on it.
Komui escorted the exorcist through the corridors, the sound of their boots hitting the floor filling the silence; no words were exchanged between the two men. At the end of the last corridor, with no further connecting corridor present their only option was to pass through the great mahogany double doors in front of them. Striding forward confidently Komui pushed open the doors and ushered the young exorcist to precede him, closing the door firmly behind him when he too entered the room.
The room was large, but just how large was a mystery to the exorcist, the dim lighting not allowing him to get a proper look. As if noting the entrance of the exorcist a light switch flicked on and a spotlight shone on the centre of the room, startled the exorcist blinked uncomfortably at the bright light. Komui quickly motioned for the exorcist to take his place in the centre of the room and once satisfied he moved back to stand by the door, leaving the exorcist to stand alone. He was to be a mere observer in the following proceeding with no active role in the Order's interrogation.
In the centre of the room the exorcist stood, his back ramrod straight, staring forward and waiting for his next instructions.
Just when he began to fidget, uncomfortable not only with the eerie silence but also his position as the centre of attention, a voice addressed him.
"State your name." This was the voice of the person who was to be the spokesman of the panel for the duration of the interview; the person the rest of the Order had trusted to question the exorcist properly and enable them to sort out the problem as quickly and effortlessly as possible.
The lone exorcist answered promptly, his voice carrying loud and clear across the room.
"Lavi Bookman"
"Kanda Yu"
"Allen Walker"
Nervous, Allen knew he was standing in front of the panel of Black Order leaders in their raised dais; however the light shinning directly down in to his eyes prevented him from looking up and noticing any distinguishable features of their faces. Instead he settled for staring at their seated figures, partially shrouded in darkness.
He'd been called to account for the mayhem that had befallen the Order and to attempt to explain why it had taken him, Kanda and Lavi so long to return from a simple search and destroy akuma mission, a wake of destruction following in their path that included an angry mob; containing a high priest, his minions, a warlord and a wealthy heiress.
"I can assume you know why you have brought here. We have found ourselves in a very precarious position and you're cooperation is mandatory to our survival. You will recount your actions from when you last left the Order, when you were sent to a city where a large number of akuma were expected to reside. Under normal conditions we would rely on the recordings provided by your golems; however it seems the outside mob is holding both the golem known as Timcampy and Kanda's standard Black Order issue golem hostage.
From what little information we have gathered we can confirm that while the former is being held as a prisoner the latter, though similarly contained, is revered by the hoard. Please bear in mind in your account that while we wish to hear the full details to the best of your ability we are only concerned with the events that are vital to the current situation. Begin." At the figure's command Allen took a deep breath, thinking back several months he began to recall the events that had led him and his fellow exorcists on a rather exceptional escapade.
"After Kanda, Lavi and I were assigned our next mission, we left almost immediately wanting to deal with the akuma quickly. We travelled by train and arrived in the town three days later. Upon arrival we found an inn to spend the night and then proceeded to investigate the city. It was easy to scout the town using my eye, but due to the number of akuma present in the town we thought it best to lure the akuma out somewhere where the chance of civilian casualties would not be necessary. So we created a ruse so that the akuma would mistakenly believe we had found an Innocence fragment and follow us out of the town and into the nearby woodland.
It worked well enough, most of the akuma followed us and we decided if the ones left behind didn't follow at the sound of our fight then we could easily return to the town to finish them off once the majority had been dealt with. Furthermore we were able to move a couple of miles away before the akuma started to attack. At this point I lost track of Kanda's movements, though I could still see Lavi a fair distance from my own position as we all threw ourselves into the fight, concentrating on purging the akuma. Everything was going according to plan." Stopping Allen grimaced at the memory of the next sequence of events.
"What happened next?" Impatient with the delay the Voice urged the exorcist continue with his account.
"I heard a scream. Coming from the children hiding behind a tree." Kanda answered tersely, standing stiff, the ordeal from start to finish having been particularly hard for him, compared to the other two exorcists. The fact that he was forced to speak through a contraption that Komui had made shortly after their return to the Order emphasised his continuing torment.
"There were children present? I thought you had left the towns people a safe distance behind?" Asked the Voice.
"We had, except we hadn't anticipated anyone attempting to follow us. They were just some kids from the town, I had noticed them hanging around our inn but thought nothing of it at the time. They'd obviously also overheard our ruse and were on the look out for some adventure and with all of us too focused on the akuma to pay them any attention they'd ended up in the middle of the battle with an akuma about to attack." Lavi could recall the past events clearly, he was a Bookman after all and the image of the kids appearing in the middle of their ongoing battle still sent a shudder down his spine.
"Were they injured in the fight?" The Voice asked, slightly concerned.
"No. I tried to get to them in time, but even as I was running towards them I knew I wouldn't make it, so thinking quickly I shot at the base of a tree, I hoped to stall the akuma to give me some more time to get to the boys." Before Allen could continue, his account was interrupted by the Voice.
"Why didn't you just shoot the akuma." The Voice inquired, seemingly unimpressed by his actions
"I did not have a clear shot and I didn't want to take any chances. Unfortunately the woodland did not provide a clear view of my surroundings and so I also did not see Kanda, who having also heard the boys' shouts was moving towards them from the other side. So when the tree fell, knocking the akuma aside, a falling branch struck Kanda's side. Racing over I quickly assessed the situation.
The boys were scared but otherwise unharmed and while Kanda was not seriously injured he had been winded by the collision. Deciding I needed to get the boys somewhere safe and give Kanda some time to recover, I managed to get the boys to follow me as I dragged Kanda away from the fight." Allen was firm in his judgement of the situation and would still argue that he had made the right decision at the time.
"You left Lavi behind? What was he doing?" The Voice asked.
"I had seen everything that had happened but I was much further away from the boys and was dealing with as many of the akuma as possible while Allen and Kanda went to save them. Understanding what Allen intended to do I managed to create a diversion and draw the attention of all the akuma on to me, I knew I would be able to manage fighting the akuma on my own for a while, long enough to give Allen some time to get the boy's away, I knew he would come back to deal with the akuma as soon as he had taken them out of the fray. Except…" Lavi answered honestly, he had supported Allen's actions wholeheartedly and would defend their actions if the Order chose to call them on it.
"Except?" The Voice was now rather curious as to what had led the exorcists away from their original goal.
"Except I heard something; a sound that was calling to me through the woods. The boys had heard it too and we were all entranced, moving seemingly without our own will towards it. I can't really explain what the sound was, but I was filled with a sense of warmth and fulfilment. Feelings that were growing stronger the closer we moved to the source.
Bursting into a glade, the sound was heavenly, so beautiful I wanted to fall to my knees and cry tears of joy, the boys immediately falling to the ground in awe beside me. Lowering Kanda to the ground I moved closer and closer until I found the origin of the sound." Allen was still in awe of the sound he had heard back in the glade, although he could no longer remember the sound itself he could still feel a shadow of the effect it had had on him.
"What was it?" The question shook Allen out of his reminiscence and he answered promptly.
"A mushroom."
"A mushroom?" The Voice sounded confused.
"Woodland fungi, growing at the roots of a large tree. When I plucked it from the ground the sound dampened immediately and looking closely I managed to ascertain that a small Innocence fragment was imbedded in the stalk.
It was at this point, broken from the trance of the mushroom, I noticed, in surprise, Kanda standing beside me. Having recovered as soon as I lowered him to the ground, he had also been attracted closer by the sounds coming from the mushroom. However when I stood up with the fungi, Kanda had also come back to his senses. Angry that we had not dealt with the akuma we shared a heated exchange." Recounted Allen
"You had an argument. In the middle of such a serious situation?" the Voice was shocked by the actions of some of the most important members of their organisation.
"The moyashi was being irresponsible and stupid, he should have stayed and dealt with the akuma, he needed to be reminded of what he was supposed to be doing when we went on missions." Kanda responded gruffly.
"What happened next?" The voice ignored this misdemeanour, prompting the exorcist to carry on.
"So while we were arguing I heard a strangled cry, reminding me about the boys, shaken and scared nearby, though Kanda otherwise occupied didn't notice. I knew the akuma would be close behind, especially if they had sensed the Innocence as we had. I was looking at the boys, thinking I need to protect them, and I also needed to get back out there and help Lavi, especially since Kanda had already been injured I would need to pick up the slack. So while these thoughts flew through my head, with Kanda shouting over me, the scared boys nearby and the sound of the approaching akuma I may have panicked." Allen spoke becoming more embarrassed as he continued, a faint patch of red colouring his cheeks.
"You panicked? Even though you are a trained exorcist and have been doing this job for many years?" the Voice was shocked.
"Um, yes. I only wanted to shut Kanda up so I could go back to the akuma before they could reach the glade. So I may have accidentally, on purpose, shoved the mushroom into Kanda's open mouth." Allen spoke sheepishly, lowering his eyes to the floor.
"And then?"
"And the Kanda may have, in shock, accidentally swallowed." Allen's eyes remained glued to the floor as he revealed what would become the heart of all their forthcoming problems.
-TBC-