Everything was going wrong

Everything was going wrong.

Kanda couldn't help but "tch", the perpetual scowl on his mien only deepening. The village was nothing short of ruined, he thought, taking in the persistent intensity of the tongues of flames licking eagerly up at the sky which was all but clouded with thick fumes. The buildings had long been destroyed from the aftermath of the impact, rubble strewn all about and little shards of window glass scattered everywhere. Screams filled the air chock-full, and desperate footsteps sounded upon the floor as the unfortunate villagers tried in vain to get away.

"Seems like we're doomed, eh Yuu?"

Kanda only "che"d in reply.

Deep down though, every fiber of his being was agreeing with what the red head pressed to his back had said.

It was a disastrous sight – akuma far more than one could count swarmed the area, their repulsive swell of a body protruding with hideous guns which fired almost everywhere. At this rate, nothing would be accomplished. Komui that bastard, how long did he leave this village unchecked?

Frantic shrieks continued to sound in Lavi's ears, and he winced almost guiltily as cries for help rose into screams of agony before dying away, never to be heard again. Blood stained the ground like a carpet, and his uniform was no better off. Vaguely, he wondered if Kanda's wounds were like his or worse.

Ah well, he couldn't help but chuckle distractedly, not that Yuu-chan would ever admit to being hurt…

It was that moment of distraction which almost cost him his life as he failed to notice the flitting shadow of a level-two launching itself at him. When he realized it, it was almost too late, and a moment later, he looked up only to see the scowling face of Kanda.

"Pay attention, you idiot!" Kanda all but spat, his irritation growing.

Swiveling around, the Japanese samurai snapped his sharp gaze back onto the akuma, his hair flipping around him like a halo, the shuffling of boots behind him serving as an indicator that Lavi had finally scrambled back onto his feet. It was then that his eyes couldn't help but widen.

His gaze, instead of falling upon the ghastly entities of the undead, found themselves locked on a young girl of no less than seven, her wide brown eyes brimmed with horror and mute fear as she looked up at the killing machine looming over her maliciously.

His instincts instantly kicked in.

He flung himself forward, Mugen clasped tightly in his hand as he yelled the name of his first invocation to the heavens, almost like a desperate prayer. The akuma was destroyed upon the impact of his blade as it always did, and he couldn't help but smirk.

When he heard the light, tinkling laughter sounding behind him however, he immediately knew he had fallen for a trap, hook, line, and sinker.

"Oh exorcist, exorcist," the young girl sang as she slowly rose to her dainty little feet, a glint flashing as the mirror in her tiny hands reflected the light of his innocence. "Would you like to know how you are going to die?"

--

His breath catching in his chest, Lavi's emerald eye widened at the situation his partner had caught himself in.

"Yuu!" he yelled, his legs involuntarily sprinting in the direction where Kanda was, only to stop as Lavi raised his large hammer to block the attack of another oncoming akuma, "Shit…

Yuu!"

--

Pale pink lips pulled into an impossibly wide leer as Kanda stupidly went past his better judgment and looked over his shoulder, his eyes immediately being drawn to the quaint little mirror sitting in pale hands.

Every instinct developed over the long years of exorcism screamed at him to look away, but somehow, he found it impossibly tough to do so. The clear opalescent swirl of the glass entranced him, holding his gaze captive, and he was unable to look away. Kanda knew he had to stop staring before he regretted it; However, what he didn't know was that it already was too late…

He was already under the akuma's spell since he laid his eyes on that damned crystal.

--

"Yuu!" Lavi yelled, the other exorcist's name wretched from him almost frantically as he tried to shield his eye from the blinding light which had suddenly engulfed the area.

"Godammit…"

Gritting his teeth, Lavi clutched at the handle of his hammer muttering his command, his innocence shooting forward in the direction he wanted. He felt as though he left his composure behind as he blasted forward at high speed, the dread of the unknown status of Kanda ringing in his ears. His heart was palpitating so fast that he was surprised he didn't get a seizure, and a thin film of sweat which had nothing to do with exertion adorned his features and slicked over his palms.

How was Yuu? What happened to him? What was that light? What did the akuma do?

All his questions twirling around in his head like some twisted ballet, he fought to close out all his fears, focusing only on going after the Japanese exorcist.

Yuu…

When his feet touched the ground, the mysterious light, as though on cue, began to gradually fade away, leaving the city to only be bathed in the moon's silver glow. Lavi had to fight against his urge of letting his knees buckle from underneath him in relief when his eyes fell upon a certain blue-haired exorcist. He failed to register then that all of the akuma had queerly vanished along with the young girl – all he could think about now was Kanda lying down on the ground, barely conscious, his silky locks pooling around him in a swirl.

"La..Vi?" The redhead's relieved smile was the last thing Kanda saw before his head lolled slightly back, his eyes shut to a close in inky lashes before everything went black.

"I dunno what happened, Komui, they simply disappeared! Yuu's still unconscious, and both of us are pretty much wounded. We're in pretty bad shape y'know," Lavi paused, frowning mildly at the golem hovering in front of him.

On the other end, the rustling of paper could be heard as Komui apparently shifted, sighing as he did so.

"I'm really sorry about what happened, Lavi, the information of the village was actually quite recent," a contemplative silence, "Is Kanda okay?"

There was a pause.

"We-eell, I never really checked up on him after I put him to bed last night," Lavi squinted out the window at the bright rays of dawn. "After I nearly got Mugen shoved up my ass the last I tried to wake him up in the morning, I never really bothered trying again…"

There was silence on the other end, and Lavi simply had the vague suspicion Komui was actually trying to hold back his laughter. He pouted.

"Meh, if anything, I'll go get him now, alright?"

A nod, "That would be much appreciated. And since there's nothing more left in the village to do, please get back as quickly as possibl –

Supervisor! Please quit chatting and get back to work!"

The redhead couldn't help but allow a wide grin to spread over his face as a wail erupted from the other end, just as he made to pop the golem out from its wirings. Really, would it kill Komui just to not pounce on every single opportunity to slack?

Footsteps ceased as Lavi stopped in front of the wooden door of the inn, his deft fingers curling around the brass knob of the door.

"Oh Yuu-chaaaaaan," he called in a sing-song voice, poking his head through the gap of the door, "Time 'ta wake up, Mr. Sunshine– "

As his bright green optic fell upon the sleeping figure curled up in the blankets, he couldn't help but stare, and stare, and stare…

…Before losing it completely, yelling at the top of his lungs,

"EEEeeeeeeeeeeehhhh?!"

For right before him, sound asleep contentedly like a little kitten was Yuu, with the same silky obsidian tresses, the same pale white skin…

…save the fact that he was half his actual height and age.

Oh yes, everything was really going wrong.