Disclaimer: Don't own DGM.
Note: I'm planning ahead, the plot's still not really configured, yet. So any suggestions will be fine. This chapter is just a written version of what happened in the Anime ep. 2 with some adjustments. For once, I'm not going to read over this story 10 times before publishing it (as I did for my other one) I don't care if there's grammatical or spelling mistakes, this is for leisure, right? Anyways, volunteer beta readers are most welcome, otherwise bear with my mistakes. (*bribe* beta readers can read this before it's published!)
Ahem, anyways, I talk too much. Let the story begin, enjoy!
Edit: major edits were done. improved language techniques and minor detail changes.
The sky of this particular night was cloudless. However, not a star was in sight. Beneath the heavens, a dark world was illuminated only by the large, white full moon that rose high in the sky. The burden of bringing light onto this world of darkness was something the moon had to endure alone, for it stood in solitude in the deep, dark sky.
Black bat-like golems fluttered around a tall, towering construction. Its gothic architecture emitted an eerie aura that is even further emphasized by the strange angle the moonlight landed upon it. Its foundation was set at the top of a steep mountain, so steep that it resembled a giant stone pillar rather than a natural mountain. A small bit of rock protruded out from the main body of the mountain, connected and supported by only a narrow strip of rocks.
The construction was inaccessible, almost. The sides of the mountain were so steep and the mountain was at such high altitude that a normal person wouldn't even consider climbing it. With a small slip, the chance of a human corpse remaining intact after such a fall is slim, neglectably slim.
Under such circumstances, a particular white-haired boy still scaled the cliffs. He would not be what a normal person consider to be normal, in fact, he is far from normal. From his pure white hair to his glittering silver eyes that is able to catch the slightest beams of moonlight and reflect them, to the red scar that ran down the left side of his face through his left eye that seemed more like a specially designed pattern than a scar, everything of his spelled out abnormality.
The boy wore a white dress shirt, a grey vest over it and a black blazer on the outside. His sleeves were rolled up for ease of movement. A red and black striped bow tie whipped around wildly in the wind. A pair of regular black pants and low grey boots covered the lower half of his body. Circling his head was a golden golem that stood out greatly from the swarm of black ones.
The boy ascended the cliff at a painfully slow pace. At one time, the rock he below his left foot on gave out. As the rock fell down it never touched the surface of the cliff once, not even once, emphasizing the extreme steepness of the mountain. The boy watched until it disappeared into the fog below and swallowed hard. He'd prefer not to fall off this cliff...
Audible heavy breaths echoed in the silent night as the boy finally pulled himself over the edge to the flat ground at the top of the mountain. He collapsed and sat on the floor, catching his breath. "I…I finally made it…" he breathed.
After recovering a little, the boy looked around at his suroundings. The dark depths of the thick forest caused a shiver to run down his spine. He looked up, a large, towering construction intimidated him. The eerie atmosphere and the constant bone-chilling breeze made his hair stand on ends. Doubt seeped through his thoughts. "Is this really the right place, Timcampy?" he addressed his golem. Timcampy just fluttered its wings in response.
The boy heaved a sigh. He unstrapped the suitcase from his back and stood up, dusted his pants and rolled his sleeves down. "In any case, I'll just go find out."
As the boy arrived in front of a large gate with a giant stone face on it, he looked around and said in a loud voice, "Excuse me! My name is Allen Walker. I'm here on referral from General Cross Marian. I would like to see an executive of the Order, please."
"Take a exam by the Gatekeeper!" a voice with heavy Australian accent suddenly said from no where.
"What?" asked Allen in confusion. He looked around for the source of the voice but all he could see was black golems. His attention returned to the giant face on the door, and decided that must be the Gatekeeper the voice spoke of, unlikely as it seemed.
"Ah! Hello…" Allen began.
The giant face suddenly jerked, it thrust its head downward so that its eyes were staring straight at the boy, its giant stone nose inches from Allen's. The boy stood still, shocked by the sudden movement and the two bulging eyes staring straight at him.
"An X-ray exam! I'll decide if you're an Akuma or a human!" The Gatekeeper announced. Two beams of light came from the Gatekeeper's eyes. They swayed until the spotlights focused on Allen.
After several seconds, the Gatekeeper jerked back and screamed, "HE FAILS~!"
"WHAT?" The same Australian exclaimed.
"Eh?" Allen said, confused.
"He's cursed! He fails! FAILS!" The Gatekeeper had water flowing out from its eyes and nose like four giant waterfalls. It appeared to be crying. "The pentacle on his forehead! He's one of the Milleniums Earl's followers!"
Allen froze in shock, "No…no way…"
"A spy's infiltrated! A spy's infiltrated!" The Gatekeeper continued to scream as Allen tried everything he could to stop the stone's screams.
Suddenly, something blocked the light from the moon from Allen's view. He looked up. There was a cloaked figure landing on top of the large gate, dramatically positioning himself in front of the moon. His large coat flowed behind him in the wind gracefully. Allen squinted. The person was young, Japanese. He had a head of duke blue hair, almost black, that was pulled up into a high pony tail. His eyes were cold. In his hand he held a sword, a Japanese katana.
"You've got some guts coming here alone." The cloaked youth said, ready to unsheathe his sword.
"W…wait a sec! There seems to be some misunderstanding!" Allen said as he jumped around comically in panic.
"Mugen! Unsheathe!" The blue-haired youth pulled out his sword that was glowing green in the dark. He jumped down from the gates and sliced at the white-haired stranger. Allen jumped out of the way just in time but the glowing light blinded him. Instinctively, he held out his left hand to block the attack. His left arm grew large and the red plated flesh transformed into a silver metal-like substance.
The sword wielder striked again. Allen used his left arm to block it, resulting in a deep cut on his arm.
"What's with that arm of yours?" The blue-haired youth asked as he narrowed his eyes.
"It's my Anti-Akuma Weapon. I'm an Exorcist." Allen replied.
The sword wielder turned his head sharply to the side and gave the Gatekeeper a deadly glare. "Gatekeeper!"
"Well, but I certainly saw the pentacle!" The giant face said in defense. "What if he was an Akuma?"
"Well, fine…" said the sword wielder, repositioning his sword. His eyes showed no mercy of any kind. Allen swallowed. "I'll know when I see your insides."
Allen dropped his small suitcase next to the bed in his new room and slouched against his bed. He let out a long sigh. It has been a long day... He swear, he was never going to injure his arm ever again. Komui's equipments are much too frightening for him. He will protect his arm with all his strength, anything to avoid treatment from Komui.
And that Kanda too. Even though Allen's said it over and over again, he just won't listen. He was the one who injured Allen's arm in the first place. Allen frowned. He's going to get him back some day…
The boy ruffled his own hair in frustration and suddenly realised the absence of the golden golem that rides around atop his head.
"I wonder where Timcampy went…" The white haired boy looked around his room, trying to locate the little golem.
A painting that hung on the wall caught Allen's attention. Allen crawled onto his bed and gently touched the frame of the painting.
A clown. He was walking, walking alone down a moonlit path, its destination unseen. Chains around his ankles restricted his movements while the casket carried on his back weighed him down.
Don't stop. Keep walking. Mana's voice echoed in the boy's mind.
Allen smiled. This painting in his room, it may be fate.
I've finally come this far, Mana. I'm finally at the starting point.
I pledge to you that I'll never stop no matter what happens.
I will continue to walk until I meet my end.
The dining hall had rows and rows of long wooden tables. Matching wooden benches were positioned at the two long sides of each table. At this time in the morning, the entire place was filled with people having breakfast. The majority were from the Science Department, plotting the hall with patches of white. The few finders were scattered around on various tables, their cream coats were easy to spot in a field of white. The exorcists stood out the most, with their dark uniform amongst the lighter ones.
The chef of the Black order – a tall, well-built man, named Jerry – danced in the kitchen. His long lilac hair was pulled back into two low pigtails wrapped in pink ribbon, a pair of sunglasses sat on the bridge of his high nose as he danced from stove to stove. He wore a white sleeveless shirt with the Chinese symbol of love printed in large purple font on his back. He emitted a radiant aura.
The professional chef pushed three trays out from the hole in the metal bars on the counter, "Combo B, Combo C and Combo A!"
Allen walked into the dining hall and spotted the counter where he can order his food…as Lenalee, the Supervisor Komui's assistant and sister, had told him. He walked over and poked his head into a large hole in the row of metal bars, finding the chef staring at him from the stove.
Allen suddenly grew nervous as Jerry danced his way to the counter. He leaned out from the hole to stare at Allen. The chef's face was too close, causing Allen's discomfort. "Oh? Are you new?" said Jerry in a high pitched voice, a voice one wouldn't think should come from a man of Jerry's size, "What a cutie we've got!" the chef's radiant presence made him sparkle under the light of the dining hall.
Allen quickly bowed, "How do you do? My name is Allen Walker."
Jerry smiled, "Whoa! You're such a well-mannered, fine young man." A pink blush crawled up his cheeks, "What'd you like to eat? I'll make anything you want, hon!"
"Anything?" Allen paused to think, he then looked up as he made up his mind, "Then…"
Jerry nodded for him to continue.
"May I have gratin, French fries, curried pilaf, mapo tofu, beef stew, a meat pie, Carpaccio, nasi goreng, fried chicken, tuna salad, scones, kukpap, tom yam kung, and rice. Also, for dessert, I'd like mango pudding and mitarashi-dango…20 sticks!"
Jerry listened wide eyed, "Are you really going to eat that much?"
Allen was just about to nod when his head got shoved away by a hand. The white haired boy stumbled to the side to prevent himself from falling. He held a hand to his head where he just got pushed and looked up. For a couple of seconds, he suffered from an unexplainable paralysis.
Standing there at the counter was a girl about the same age and height as Allen. She had long black hair, tied into a high ponytail, falling straight down her back ending between her shoulder blades. She was wearing the exorcists' uniformed coat, only a little different. It was shorter, only reaching the back of her knee. The buttons were also positioned differently. She had a row of buttons from her chest to her waist and the lower half was left open. She didn't have a hood either, in its place was a Napoleonic collar. It was opened to reveal a white shirt. A loose coil of whip was strapped to a leather belt that sat at her hip. Her tight black pants were tucked inside a pair of black leather knee-high boots.
Allen stared at the female exorcist; she seemed to have a mixed ancestry of both Asia and Europe. The white haired boy had to admit that mixes of the two types of genes do not make a bad combination in terms of appearance, or at least on this girl they did not. She also emitted an air of superiority.
"Hammerhead. Double." The girl stated bluntly into the hole on the counter.
The high pitched voice of the high chef was heard coming from within the hole, "Dem-chan, girls your age shouldn't be having something that strong first thing in the morning! It would be better if you don't drink that on an empty stomach! Why don't you get one of my combo meals? Would you like to try my new recipe? Or would you rather hav-"
"No," obvious impatience was heard in that one word.
A loud sigh came from within the kitchen as Jerry moved over to the coffee machine. "You're in a bad mood today, huh? Dem-chan. Where did you shove that cute young gentleman to? Weren't you on a mission? Or did you return last night? Blah, blah, blah…"
Allen stood there, staring at the Eurasian exorcist. Hey, wait…Allen thought, did she just…PUSH IN? Sudden realization hit him with full force.
The white haired boy walked back to the kitchen counter, he boldly confronted the girl and straightened his back. The female felt a pair of eyes on her and turned to see the source of the stare.
They stared at each other for a couple of silent seconds. Allen felt a shiver down his back. Her eyes. They were like two endless voids that seemed to suck you in. To escape, he decided to break the silence and introduce himself.
"Nice to meet you. I am Allen Wa-"
"WHAT'D YOU SAY? SAY THAT AGAIN!" A loud voice echoed around the dining hall, followed by a loud crash. Allen's attention was drawn to the man screaming at the top of his lungs in the middle of the dining hall. The man was tall, a finder. He was bald and light blue triangular shapes marked his forehead and both cheeks. The entire dining hall watched the argument between that tall man and…Kanda? Allen spotted the sword-wielder sitting on a bench in front of the screaming finder. The Japanese sat unmoving, his posture clearly indicated he could not have been more uninterested.
"Hey, stop it, Bazu." Another shorter finder attempted to calm the larger man down, but failed miserably.
"You guys are annoying," Kanda lowered his chopsticks onto the cup containing the sauce for his soba.
Jerry slid a cup of coffee on a saucer through the hole in the wall, where the Eurasian girl was waiting. She muttered a quiet thanks, took the coffee and turned to walk towards the row of tables. She seemed to be not surprised by the commotion at all, as if this happens every day.
"All the talk about dead people is making my meal taste bad." continued Kanda in a cold voice.
"IS THAT HOW YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR COMRADES WHO DIED IN THE LINE OF DUTY?"questioned the large finder, Bazu.
Allen watched as the girl walked down the aisle. Her presumed destination appeared to be blocked by the crowd and she just sat down at a table to the side where no one blocked her path.
Allen heard someone whisper, "Hey, the little demon's here."
"We finders risk our LIVES to help you exorcists out! And yet…And yet…" Bazu pulled his arm back, his hand in a fist. "…YOU SAY WE ARE MAKING YOUR MEAL TASTE BAD?" Bazu's fist flew at Kanda. Kanda turned in the other direction, successfully dodging the fist. He stood up and held Bazu by his neck. The smaller exorcist then lifted the large finder off the ground, causing the finder to choke. He tried to struggle free but it was no use.
"Help us out, you say? Isn't the truth that you can't do anything but help out?" The exorcist spat, a sadistic grin plastered his face.
The girl lowered her cup of coffee from her lips. She slowly placed the cup back onto the saucer. A small 'ting' sounded and echoed slightly before fading away. Allen silently admired the fine quality of the dining utensils of the Order.
"None of you were able to become exorcists. You're losers who didn't get chosen by the Innocence!"
The Eurasian exorcist touched a hand to her forehead, as if she was getting a headache. Her other hand slowly moved down to her belt and she touched her whip.
"Finders can be easily replaced at any time. If you don't wanna die, then leave!" Kanda tightened his grip on Bazu's throat, murderous intent shone in his eyes.
Finders lunged at Kanda in every direction within the dining hall, some attempting to rescue their comrade, some trying to take revenge on the ungrateful exorcist.
Following an annoyed sigh, a quiet but threateningly cold voice reached the ears of everyone in the noisy dining hall, "Kanda." All sounds ceased. Suspense hung thick in the air, to a degree that it's almost suffocating. The sword wielder froze.
A millisecond later, a red hand grabbed Kanda's wrist. It forcefully lowered the Japanese exorcist's arm, the feet of a previously suspended Bazu landed back on the ground.
"Stop," everyone's gaze landed on the white haired exorcist, "Sorry to butt in, but I don't think you should talk that way." Allen stated rather politely, considering the situation.
"Let go…bean sprout…" Kanda warned.
"Bean Sprout? My name is Allen." The shorter exorcist corrected innocently.
Somewhere behind the crowd of finders, the Eurasian girl poured the last bit of her drink into her mouth, stood up and stretched.
"If you last a whole month without dying, I'll make a note of your name," Kanda said in a bored tone, "people who work here die all the time…like these guys…"
Allen tightened his left hand around Kanda's wrist, forcing him to release Bazu's throat. The large finder collapsed back on the ground, several of his comrades surrounded him to check if he was alright. The girl walked to Bazu. The large finder felt something block the light from the ceiling and looked up to see the Eurasian exorcist standing before him.
"You shouldn't say things like that." Allen frowned, his left hand still holding onto Kanda's wrist.
Kanda twisted his wrist away from Allen's hand, "I don't want to be touched by someone who's cursed." The blue haired man glared at the younger boy.
"Hey…" the girl said, in a sort of bored tone. "You okay?" The Eurasian exorcist stood over the said finder. The attention then shifted from the two arguing exorcists to the girl and the large find. Bazu nodded and the girl's lips pulled into a half-hearted smile.
"I'd like to apologise in stupid Kanda's stead."
Bazu looked into the young girl's eyes. As he stared into those big, earnest onyx eyes. Bazu suddenly felt obligated to forgive. If he, a man in his early thirties, did not accept an earnest apology from a 15 year old girl, then how was he better than the ungrateful Japanese exorcist.
"Apology accepted," grumbled the finder, looking away to stare at anything but her eyes.
The girl's smile grew slightly wider for a moment and then it suddenly disappeared, replaced by the same uninterested look she wore all morning. "Ok everyone! Bazu said he's ok and he forgives Kanda. Please don't hold a grudge against him. We should forgive those who are not blessed with the gift of intellect as we have."
Several finders, scientists and Allen snickered at the indirect insult against the Japanese. Kanda, who being not as stupid as the girl implied, was ready to tackle her but was only kept back by the large amount of finders in the way. He put all his anger against the girl into his glare.
The concentrated crowd slowly dispersed as the commotion ended. To most of the on-lookers, it was already enough of a morning and some headed out to their duties. Bazu was helped up and dragged off to the infirmary.
The girl sighed and turned to face Kanda and Allen who were both still staring at her. Kanda's gaze murderous and Allen's slightly amused. As she met Kanda's gaze he quickly frowned with an angry/annoyed/unsatisfied look on his face. The girl grinned, a bit childishly, but the hint of triumph was evident. "You owe me."
Kanda glared back, "What are you talking about, you brat! I'll kill you for what you said earlier! I'll slice you into a million pieces!"
"Right." The girl answered. "Feel free to do that. And remember, a man's got to keep his words. You must slice me up to exactly one million pieces, no less, no more. Just one million pieces. And remember to count everything. And I'll tell you why you owe me. If I wasn't there, you'd be killed by a million finders."
"Why would I waste time doing that? You'll be mush when I'l done with you! Ha! As if mere finders can kill me!"
"Me turning into mush? That just proves a lack of swordsmanship on your part. A good swordsman with a good sword should be able to cut cleanly, not turning their target into mush."
"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY? DID YOU JUST INSULT MY SWORDSMANSHIP?"
She turned around to pick up her empty cup and saucer to wash and return to the kitchen. She had obviously heard Kanda's comeback but her actions suggest his words came in the right ear and went out the left…or may be the other way around? In left and out right? Never mind that, it just went out. Kanda, on the other hand, took the silence as the girl's admitted defeat and crossed his arms across his chest in a slightly triumphant fashion.
The girl headed towards the kitchen. She stopped suddenly and stared back at Allen, who was still staring at her, as if she just noticed his presence.
Allen snapped out of his trance as he saw the girl looking back at him. He held out his left hand, intending to finish the self-introduction he began before the riot took place. "Nice to meet you. I'm Allen Walker."
Allen half expected the girl to turn and walk away like Kanda did, but the seemingly more polite girl gladly took the boy's hand with a light smile. "Desdemona, shorten it anyway you like. I don't really care." The white-haired boy was drawn to her neck where something was glittering. Hanging at her neck was a gold chain with a pendant. It was only visible since her top button was undone. The pendant was of three five-pointed stars lined up vertically, each a different colour, the top one bronze, the second one silver and the bottom one gold.
Allen returned the smile, the previous 'SHE PUSHED IN!' incident disappeared somewhere at the back of his mind.
"He's the type to die young. I hate people like him," said Kanda, to no one in particular…or maybe just talking to himself. Though, the situation made it seem like he was talking to Desdemona, who was actually 10 metres away at that moment, washing the cup and the saucer in a sink inside the kitchen.
"Thanks," Allen responded sarcastically. Kanda glared at him, Allen glared back. The temperature of the hall dropped a few degrees.
The remaining finders and scientists quickly 'evacuated' as the air surrounding the two crackled with electricity.
Desdemona gave the clean saucer and cup back to Jerry. "Thank you, Dem!" Jerry chimed happily. The girl looked at the clock hanging on the wall. "I better get going, Komui's giving me another mission today."
Jerry frowned, "Another mission? Didn't you just return from one last night?"
Desdemona, who was already heading out of the dining hall, called back over her shoulder, "Correction: this morning at 00:30."
As Desdemona exited the dining hall, she bumped into Lenalee and Reever.
"Oh, welcome back, Dem! When did you come back?" asked Reever.
The younger girl rolled her eyes, "This morning, 00:30."
Lenalee laughed lightly at Desdemona's reaction, "Oh and by the way, have you seen Kanda or Allen? Ah, Allen is the new exorcist with pure white hair."
The Eurasian girl looked back into the dining hall, Lenalee followed her gaze. The air that previously crackled with electricity was now lit on fire, enveloping the two male exorcists.
"Kanda! Allen!" The said two stiffly turned to the source of the voice that was Reever. Their eyes looked like they'll pop out anytime. Section Chief Reever, who was to be found crouching behind Lenalee, announced to the two male exorcists, "Eat your food in ten minutes and come to the Command Room. You've got a mission."
Desdemona stood in front of the desk for an entire ten minutes. She hated her own habit of arriving before the appointed time, but habits aren't that easily changed.
Komui was sleeping face down on the infamous desk, surrounded by mountains of paperwork and books. No, not only the desk was of mountainous landscape, but the entire room was filled paper roughly stacked together in an disorderly fashion, creating a landscape so rare that even nature would gape at the sight of it. A barely walkable pathway wound through the mountains from the door to the desk. At about 2 metres from the desk was a royal red Victorian Chaise three-seater…which was also piled with paper.
The Eurasian girl stood there, waiting patiently, or not exactly so. She had tried numerous ways to wake him up: from making all sort of loud noises with the available resources to smashing three thick books on the chief's head, which Desdemona later regretted. What's the order going to do if the Supervisor got irreparable brain damage? When she ran out of ideas to wake this man, the only thing left to do was to simply stand there and wait.
She wondered what this mission is.
Which reminded her of the unenjoyable mission she had been on previously...
They were due back around 6:00pm today. Desdemona and the two finders were already on the train back 'home' and the train was running right on time. The unnecessary mission she had been on was the result of 'false information' from some certain finder.
The information said that a household in northern Paris had been reporting to the officials that there was a ghost in their house. Every night they can hear floor boards creaking, squeaky voices are heard and every morning, they would find the contents of their rubbish bin on the floor around the bin itself. Some stupid finder insisted that it must have been the doings of Innocence, so Komui sent Desdemona and two finders to check it out. One of them being that insistent finder himself.
In the end, there was no Innocence found, but one basement full of rats. Why the hell did they need exorcists on this mission, why didn't they just send a team of pest controllers instead?
Desdemona hadn't been in a good mood since the discovery of the rats. Fortunately, the train was on time...for once. All seemed good until the train stopped.
"Dear Passengers," the intercom crackled, "We are very sorry for the inconvenience. There has been a problem with the engine. For that reason, the train will be delayed. We ask for your patience. The problem will be fixed very soon."
The said engine problem took almost 4 hours to fix. Very soon...totally.
Finally, the train started moving again. It was already 5 hours late, so Desdemona gave up all hopes of returning on time. Luck hadn't been on her side since the beginning of this mission anyway.
Everything went somewhat well after that (keyword, SOMEWHAT, considering that fact that the insistent finder with the false information threw up twice). They arrived at the Order 00:30 in the morning. Reever greeted them at the underground dock. The Science Department had always been working overtime, so being awake at this ungodly hour of the 'day' was nothing to be shocked about.
She headed to the Supervisor's office to report on her fruitless mission but was only greeted with another mission the next morning. She will be briefed at 7:30 am.
The Eurasian girl finally snapped and was about to deny the mission with some slightly colorful language when Komui said:
"But…" his voice went up a notch, "There's a new exorcist that came a few hours ago. I have wanted to send him on a mission with one of the more experienced ones. I was to send Kanda and you on this mission but considering the situation, would it be better if you were to stay here and rest while I send Allen on this mission instead? But, of course, if you'd like to go on this mission, I'll still have the new kid tagging along. Experience in battle is crucial to survival after all."
Desdemona hated being ordered around doing unreasonable things for the Order, but she hated the fact that she would be replaced even more. As if she wasn't needed, as if she was easily replaceable. Her immediate hatred towards this new kid 'Allen' formed; even though she knew that it was prejudice playing with her exhausted mind, she cannot help but to feel the need to reassure her superiority over this 'Allen' kid, whoever he is.
As if being on a mission with Kanda in the first place wasn't bad enough already. The Japanese was not only arrogant and unpleasant to be around but also intellect-deprived.
Her rage was building up inside her, amplified many times by her extreme exhaustion. However, she simply buried her rage, put on a smile and gladly accepted the mission.
She returned to her room shortly afterwards, thinking that it will finally be the end of a long day. Her bedside clock indicated 00:45, she'd probably get at least 5 hours of sleep, which should be enough.
As finally finally finally, she sank into the coolness of her bed. The uniformed white sheets of the Order surrounded her. Desdemona saw the promising long deep sleep and was just about to drift away to fantasy land when…
Creak
Creak
Creak
Creak
What the HELL?
Creak
Where's that coming from?
Creak
Next door? There's only one room next to Desdemona's room since her room is the last one in this aisle, and that one doesn't have anyone living in it.
Creak
The painfully loud creaks continued the entire night/morning until sunrise. Desdemona never got her rightful daily share of rest.
Creak
As the creaking sound finally stopped, Desdemona noted the time, 6:30. An hour away from the brief. Her hopes of getting any descant sleep were long ago crushed. So many times she had wanted to barge in next door and scream at whoever was making those horrid noises, but in the end, she never bothered to.
The stupid mission along with a sleepless night had the Eurasian exorcist in a bad mood. Extremely bad mood. In fact, she's in such a bad mood that her manners, have dispersed into a new low.
Low enough to make her shove the new kid's head away from the kitchen counter out of pure amplified hatred. How did she know he was the new kid and not some random finder? He didn't wear his uniform. She didn't know herself either, it'd probably be what Master would proclaim as a female's intuition in cases of hateable males.
The white hair that made him look like a old man; the way of clothing that was so annoyingly casually formal; the manners that would have her Master skipping in wonderland; the red scar of curse that sat perfectly on his upper and lower eyelids; and his silver eyes shone of purity, and was complimented by his hair. The overall impression was odd. He was like an old man but also an immature kid. He was a gentleman but also a crude child. He was cursed but his eyes shone of purity. He was everything and yet nothing at the same time. It is frustrating to look at him, however, his face held a certain amount of pleasant features that she wouldn't mind staring at if disembled from his face and existed in solitude.
What is this?
She was secretly thankful when Bazu started screaming, which saved her from the impending conversation with this Allen.
She walked over to her usual seat in the dining hall, but Kanda was sitting near that seat and so the surrounding finders blocked her way to the seat. She ended up sitting on the side where no one blocked her.
And then, came the usual. Verbal turns to physical. Finders never learn. Epic 1 intelligence-depleted Exorcist vs. 9999999999 angry finders. They are going to die. However, it would be much more pleasant to stop this thing now than scraping diced human remains off the floors later.
As far as she could remember, she always had to clean up fights. It was always like this when her brother picked fights all the time...
A verbal apology mixed with a public insult towards Kanda made her feel victorious. Even though he's older than her and kept stressing that point to make her 'respect' him, she never saw any substantial qualities of the Japanese worth respecting...other than his stupid 'Samurai Pride' which causes him to do the most stupid things any human could possibly do.
However, back to this Allen guy. She really didn't want to shake his hand. She debated whether to pretend to shake his hand then punching him in the face. In the end, she gave up on that idea and just shook the hand with a smile...He irritated her to no end.
BANG!
The female exorcists snapped out of her thoughts. She turned to the source of the sound.
The large double door of Komui's office slammed open and four figures walked into the room. In the lead was Reever carrying books, followed by Lenalee, carrying a similar-sized pile of books. Lagging behind them were two unhappy faces, short white hair marked the arrival of Allen, long navy hair indicated the presence of Kanda.
"Dem! You are always early! You must be here for 10 minutes already!" Lenalee didn't sound the least bit shocked, rather a bit accusing, the accusations were towards her brother.
"Although that's a very nice habit of yours, Dem, you should know to never come early when it's a brief with Komui." Reever lowered his pile of books down on the overflowing table and slapped the said supervisor's head. When no response came, Reever whispered into the Komui's ear, "Lenalee is getting married."
Komui's reactions were immediate. His slouched body was jolted upright, his right arm shot out in front of him in an attempt to grab Lenalee, who was lowering her pile of books on the floor. "Lenalee!" he exclaimed, two streams of water flowed from his eyes, "How can you get married without telling your own brother?"
Disbelief showed up on all the exorcists' faces, except Lenalee, who was blushing in embarrassment and hit her brother in the head.
Reever noticed the exorcists' reactions and apologized, "Sorry about that, it's the only way to wake him up."
Desdemona made a quick mental note for future reference.
Lenalee stalked angrily out of the room to help the rest of the Science Department. The royal red Victorian Chaise three-seater was cleared for the three remaining exorcists to sit. Komui stood at his desk with an aura of seriousness.
Kanda and Allen automatically sat down each on the opposite end of the couch, leaving Desdemona with no choice but to sit in between the two males. Reever handed them each a copy of a detailed version of the brief. It was compiled into a hard-cover book.
"All right, we don't have much time, so after you hear the summary, move out. If you want more detailed information, just read the book while you head to your destination," said Komui in an urgent tone.
The two males with intelligence depletion finally realized that they were being sent on a mission together. Their heads snapped around to glare past the girl at each other. "Yes, you three will all go together. I have suggested that Dem stay and Allen will be sent instead but…"
The air grew tense as the two teenage males looked helplessly at Komui, "Err…what? You aren't getting along well?" Komui glanced at two helpless faces and sighed, "No excuses!" Komui's tone was final. Desdemona sighed in exasperation, she had a bad feeling about this mission. She started reading her book. The girl glowered at the first word that came into her vision "…ghost…" she growled, "Komui, is this another stupid ghost one?" her tone impatient.
Komui only smiled knowingly in response. "Read on." He instructed and the girl obeyed.
"We have found Innocence in Southern Italy," Komui said, "but it is targeted by several Akumas. Your job is to destroy the enemy and secure the Inno-"
BANG!
The girl slammed the hard-covered book shut. She stood up sharply and glared at the supervisor. Her face was extremely serious. There was no hint of her uninterested expression she had on all morning. Komui, for once serious, glared back at the girl. The exchange of eye contact was not menacing. Rather, it was an agreement on how serious and urgent this matter is, only Desdemona's glare had a certain amount of wary and accusation mixed within.
The girl removed her eyes from the chief and looked to the two - in her own opinion - stupid creatures. One of which was staring at her with large, innocent silver eyes, and the other one buried his nose into the book. Desdemona suddenly got an urge to slam her head on the wall.
"We have to hurry."
The exorcists headed out, leaving the supervisor alone in his room. Komui sighed. Children these days are so impatient. He touched his forehead with his hand and shook his head before his rare seriousness appeared again. A small smile lingered on his lips as he stared out the door the exorcists had just walked thtough.
That is why I made sure you went on this mission.
"What an amazing cabin!" Allen looked around excitedly; he never thought that they would be riding in a First Class cabin.
The cabin was very large. Two red couches faced each other. The red carpet shone with cleaness. The glass of the window was of premium quality and green curtains hung on either side of the window frame. On the door of the cabin, the words 'First Class' were engraved into a polished metal plate.
Kanda sat down a couch near the window. Allen sat on the opposite couch. Desdemona placed herself as far from the other two as possible, on the same side as Kanda but closest to the door. The finder stood outside.
The two male exorcists took out their books and began to read. Desdemona absent-mindedly wondered where she put that book… Out of boredom, she played with her pendant around her neck.
"All right," the white haired exorcist began, "The question I was wondering about earlier…"Allen looked at the two more experienced exorcists. "What does this eerie legend have to do with the Innocence?"
Kanda was too lazy to explain, and gave a simple 'che' in response. Desdemona 'hm'-ed in amusement.
He just 'che'-ed me! Allen mentally exclaimed, And she just 'hm'-ed me!
An exasperated sigh came from the female, although her prejudiced hatred towards Allen had receded with her recovering mood, her misfortune of having to go on this mission with the two tested her patience to a certain extent.
"Innocence is a substance," Kanda explained impatiently, "Every time it appears, weird things happen too."
"So that means the 'Ghost of Martel' might have something to do with Innocence?" Allen asked the older male.
"Yeah."
"So...what exactly IS the Ghost of Martel?" The white haired exorcist wondered out loud. His question was soon answered when he read the next bit of information. "Wait, this is?"
"That's right," Toma's voice came from the other side of the door, "I was part of the investigation, so I have seen it before."
"The Ghost of Martel isn't a ghost," Desdemona's continued the explanation. "The city of Martel was also called 'The Land Forsaken by God'. It is located between dry land and rocks. As you can imagine, the land is infertile, unable to provide for the people. While living in despair, the people of Martel started creating dolls in order to take their minds off their situation."
Desdemona stopped fiddling with her three starred pendant, she looked up and stared straight into Allen's silver eyes. The English exorcist visibly flinched as those big onyx eyes saw into him. He felt transparent, under that gaze, those eyes seemed to see into his every thought. He forced himself to look away and gaze out the window. Even though the gaze was intimidating and made him feel vulnerable, there's something deep in there that made Allen want to stare longer.
Desdemona searched Allen's silver eyes. Even though they are practically grey, they have a light, a shine in them, that made them shine like silver. "But in the end they got tired of it and moved away. However, one of these dolls still move today, even after 500 years."
"You mean…the Ghost of Martel is only a doll?"
"It wouldn't be surprising if Innocence was used to create these dolls," Kanda answered instead, but it sounded more like he was muttering to himself. Kanda turned his head to the girl, "Hey, when did you come back last night? You were supposed to come back at six," he said in a demanding fashion.
"Why do I have to tell you?" the young girl questioned back.
"Because I told you to tell me," the older male raised his voice.
"What makes you think I will tell you just because you told me to tell you?"
"Che," retorted Kanda.
"You can just say you want to know because you care and was worried about me," Desdemona offered.
"Che." Stupid girl. Because you're late I needed to take care of this bean sprout last night.
"Oh yeah," the girl touched a finger to her chin, "Do I have to remind you? You still owe me."
"What? I owe you nothing."
Desdemona feigned shock, "Oh, my! Do you have short term memory loss? One would not be surprised, then, if your brain is the same size as that of a goldfish." sarcasm dripped from Desdemona's tone. The older exorcist narrowed his eyes at the female. Allen snickered, something that he later regretted doing.
The two arguing exorcists turned their heads sharply towards the white haired exorcist, who held up his hands in a defensive manner. Kanda's eyes were glowering with murderous rage while Desdemona gave a knowing smile. Allen smiled back, trying to be as subtle as possible.
Kanda noticed the exchange of smiles as he looked from Allen to Desdemona and from Desdemona back to Allen. The sword wielder felt as if the two of them were making fun of him, and he didn't like it. He didn't like it at all. Out of impulse, Kanda reached to get Mugen.
"Fine," the Eurasian exorcist shrugged and said just as the Japanese was about to touch his sword. Kanda stopped. "I came back this morning at 00:30 because of a mechanical error of the train. The train was delayed for 5 or so hours." Kanda relaxed, but she continued. "Last night, something from the room next door was creaking all night, I couldn't sleep.*" she complained.
Allen froze at her words, "Um…Desdemona? May I ask which room is yours?"
"Hm? Why? The last room to the east on the 59th floor." Desdemona noticed Allen's unease and couldn't figure out why. Kanda also noticed the little sweat drops appearing on Allen's forehead and the way Allen was trying desperately not to meet anyone's eyes.
The Japanese exorcist grinned to himself. There was only one explanation: Allen came to the Order last night, he was given a room. There were only a couple of spare rooms left, one of which was the room next to Desdemona.
"Why didn't you just go to the room and see what or who was making the sounds?" Kanda asked on purpose, Allen's reactions were amusing to watch.
"The last time I invested creaking sounds in the middle of the night I came across a basement full of rats," Desdemona replied with venom in her voice, referring to her previous mission.
"The Headquarters don't have rats, it must have been a human."
"Yes, I realised that after I started thinking properly." the girl said with a shrug. Then, her eyes became murderous, her glare could cause a big mountain lion to cower in fear. "I swear, if I ever find out who it was, I will tear him/her up limb by limb and feed him/her to a pack of hungry wolves."
Kanda, impressed by the Eurasian girl's threats, looked sneakily back to Allen. The poor boy had his hands clenched into fists on his knees, his body was extremely tense and sweat was pouring off his forehead like a waterfall.
The sword wielder grinned in satisfaction.
Suddenly, the Eurasian girl stood up and opened the door of the cabin. When the two male exorcists just sat there and stared in confusion, she turned around and pointed out the window, "We are nearly there." Both Kanda and Allen turned to look out the window, but all they could see were the vast rocky landscape that stretched endlessly on.
*A/N If you don't know, that was when Allen balanced himself on a tilted chair vertically and upside down and was doing those impressive push ups with only his right thumb supporting him.
*Rant mode* Haha, I just love the sexy gentleman clown who wears formal cloths who play the piano (standing up) who is awesome who is cursed who is funny who has a big appetite who is the main character who which won't die until the story ends (most important point) and…no more whos. XD
Whatever you think/suggestions for plots/suggestions for funny side stories/ANYTHING to throw at me
Just say it in a review or PM. Thank you. *mutteritalktoomuchmutter*
EDIT: Major edit. Rearranged chapters and stuff.