Welcome! ^^
This is "Reckoning," a Kanda/OC story brought to you by the person who did "Rainbow Shooter," "Starlight," and "He's Everything You Want."
I was bored in my bookstore, and I picked up a random Manga near "Death Note" and... it was "DGray-man." I'd heard of it... so I figured, let's just see it. I picked it up and began reading it and I fell in love with this series. I even finished the anime in about a month, all 103 episodes. I'm on volume 13 of the Manga, and, in late June, I was sitting down, watching the anime with a bowl of ice cream and a blank word document. And so, "Reckoning" was born. xD
Sorry to bore you with the backstory. I hope you all enjoy! :'D
PS: Yes, Tek-Tek, it's short. It's an introduction, nothing more. xD When was the last time you saw a good, long, introduction? I'm a James Patterson writer! Short leaves cliffies! 8'D -shot by Akuma- GAWD DAMN!
Reckoning
Chapter 1
the exorcist's visit.
I walked along the streets, gazing at the produce and other fresh products. The apples were especially ripe today. I examined a few, bought several, and continued down the streets of the market. It was very normal. Normal until I stopped at the town hospital. It wasn't much; just a shack with a large sign that read "Nurse Emiko" on it. On this particular day, the smell of death was lingering all over the area. I gagged and pulled a cloth over my mouth and nose to cover the stench. Looking around, Emiko was nowhere to be found. She was the only person who decided to look past my tragic beginnings. She allowed me a place to stay and gave me a purpose in life.
A door closed to a room and Emiko came down the stairs, a saddened and disheartened look on her face. I knew that look. She had failed to save someone from Death's hands once again. "Oh… Aki. Welcome home." She smiled sadly. "Thanks so much for doing all that shopping today." She smiled wearily as she picked up a cup of tea.
"What's wrong?" I asked instinctively, putting down the basket of fruit and other food on the table. She stopped and put the teacup down on the table. She stared down at the unmoving liquid as she sighed heavily. "It's Kazeo, isn't it?" I assumed, knowing the look on her face. It was the look that she only wore when she couldn't help a patient off of their deathbed.
She nodded sadly. "I've done all I can for him. Do you think that you could… you know, help him go painlessly?" she suggested with a hopeful look. I froze. I never wanted to do any of the things she asked me to.
I focused my attention on packing away the groceries. "No," I blatantly refused. She opened her mouth to protest, but I cut her off, "No, Emiko. I can't. I won't. It's wrong to do this."
"But, but… You need to eat!" she replied, almost shrill. "You know you'll die at this rate! You need to keep yourself alive… Please?"
I sighed. "With Kazeo's permission, and with his permission only. I'll go up with you to ask him." I watched as Emiko's face lit up. She latched her arm with mine and dragged me upstairs to Kazeo's room. She opened the door and I gazed sadly at her patient. He must have looked quite handsome before he caught this disease. He was too young to die. Yet there he was, lying on his deathbed, looking pale and sickly, gazing at Emiko as she spoke gently to him. He replied to her pleas with only a weak nod of his head. She smiled sadly and kissed the top of his head, muttering soft words to him. Standing, she looked to me. I was standing in the doorway of his room and she nodded with a solemn face. "So he agreed to it?" I asked quietly as she walked up to me.
She hugged me without another word. "I assume you don't want anyone to see, correct?" she guessed. I nodded to her. "Well, there's another patient sharing the room with Kazeo."
"You just close the door," I told her. "I'll take care of everything else. Don't worry. I'll just close the curtain," I replied, pushing her away. Emiko nodded, closing the door behind her. I moved the curtains in front of the bed, blocking it from view. I stopped when my gaze caught the eye of a white-haired boy who had bandages wrapped all around his shoulder. His eyes narrowed at me, and I could see his left blue eye turn a distinct red. I nodded to him and slipped through the curtains, moving them behind me.
I sat beside Kazeo and stroked his hair. "This… this will make sure you go on," I whispered to him. He nodded numbly, agreeing to the help I was offering and to help me in return. "I'm so sorry," I choked out. "You don't deserve this."
"No…" he rasped. "This… is what… I want…"
Holding back the tears threatening to fall, I pushed his eyes closed. I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his, feeling how weak his spirit was. As I drew back, he coughed harshly, his body seeming to convulse. But as he settled down, his breathing slowed until it stopped. A greenish ball of light rose from his mouth. I took it in both hands as his head rolled to the side. I put the light in my mouth and swallowed it. I could feel its power rushing through my body. I almost choked on the taste, though. It was that of someone who had given up on their life. To most like me, it tasted sweet. But to me, it was only bittersweet. That's when the tears I had tried to contain swept forward in a burst of weakness. I pulled the blankets over his face, making sure he looked like he was asleep. It was then that I knew that Kazeo had safely passed on to the next world. Then why was it that I still felt bad? Maybe it was because I'd killed him. I was responsible for his death.
The curtain was yanked back. The white-haired boy was glaring at me. "You're an Akuma!" he cried. My insides froze over; how had he figured it out? "Get ready, 'cause you're gonna be moving on to your next life!" he cried.
I stood from the chair. "Yes, I am an Akuma. But I'd rather not move on to my next life yet. I'm just living the life that was stolen from me. Please, just leave me be." The boy was clearly taken aback by my response, so I continued, "I'm not ready to die. That's why I came back as an Akuma." Turning around, I flashed the boy a small, teary-eyed smile. "My name is Akicho Lamuria."
Emiko walked in. "Oh, Mr. Walker! Please, you shouldn't be up! Get back into your bed! I wouldn't want your wounds to get any worse!" As she pushed him away, she changed from a beautiful girl to a skeleton, only for a brief second. I gasped, covering my mouth with my hands. She turned around. "Akicho… let's get some tea."
-ALLEN WALKER-
Allen smirked, sitting up. So, that hospital attendant was an Akuma. Just as he invoked his Anti-Akuma weapon in his hand, he heard a loud crash and a screech from downstairs. He slid out of his bed, wincing at the pain in his shoulder, where he had been injured. Pushing away the pain, Allen dashed down the stairs. What he saw as he ran downstairs shocked him.
Emiko had Akicho in a chokehold with a knife on the floor underneath Akicho's feet. There were shards of glass strewn about, and a tea stain was all over the pretty white tablecloth. Akicho was bleeding, the red liquid dropping from the gashes all over her arms and legs, on the polished wooden floor. Allen couldn't see, but he was absolutely sure that she had a bunch of cuts on her chest and back, as the top of her dress was stained crimson red. She was fighting hard against Emiko's hold, kicking at the Akuma and scratching at the hand around her throat, gasping for air as she struggled.
Allen's gaze narrowed and his left eye saw an Akuma in both the girls, reinforcing what he had suspected. But the one in Emiko was insanely malicious. Akicho's Akuma was kinder, more innocent, like the soul of a child. He was almost glaring at the Akuma named Emiko, and yelled, "Let her go!" The evil Akuma turned her head and calmly glanced at the Exorcist. Allen immediately invoked his Anti-Akuma weapon, rushing forward and slashing right at Emiko's face. Her skin fell off with a shriek of the girl, leaving behind a skeleton, which turned into a young man with a smiling face. He was being taken away, and he reached out for Akicho. She was lying on the floor, struggling to get up. The boy disappeared in a flash of light. Allen looked to Akicho and rushed over to her. "Rest a bit." At his voice, she opened her eyes and scrambled away from him, her eyes wide with fear. "Don't worry," he assured her. "I'm not going to hurt you. You've gone through enough surprises today." He smiled gently, and stood up, moving towards the door of the cottage.
-AKICHO LAMURIA-
"Wait," I called, my voice hoarse. The boy turned back around. "Who… who are you, Exorcist?" He seemed to think for a moment before moving.
He knelt before me and held a hand out for me to take. "My name is Allen Walker, Miss, and I think I know of a place that you can get help for your injuries if you need it at all. And if you'll come with me, that is."
I reached out, but hesitated to take his hand. "But… aren't you an Exorcist?" Allen nodded and I bit my lip. "You're not going to try and kill me? You were right, I'm an Akuma, so why?"
He chuckled. "Miss, if I was going to attempt to kill you, we wouldn't be talking."
I laughed; this Exorcist wasn't mean at all, like the last few that had hunted me down over the past few years. "You're not like most Exorcists I've met, Mr. Walker," I pointed out, finally taking his extended hand. I noticed his other hand was a large metallic claw of some sorts. His Anti-Akuma weapon, I assumed.
Smirking, Allen shot back, "Well, you're not like most Akuma I've met, Miss Akicho. I've never seen one Akuma try to kill another or have an Akuma speak to me and not try and kill me." He pulled me up and I met his now-worried gaze. "Akicho… what happened to make you a target?"
I sighed. "Most Akuma that you've met are mindless toys of that crazy bastard the Millennium Earl," I spat bitterly, rubbing my arms, feeling the blood on them. I grimaced and rubbed the blood off of my hands onto my apron, continuing, "I escaped from his hold and fought for the control of my own life. He didn't appreciate that too much." Allen snickered a bit. "I was one of those desperate killers for over a year, which I am very ashamed of. Everyone in this town knows that I am a weapon, but they… respect me enough to leave me alone. More likely," I added, "they're all completely scared of me."
Allen looked at me with pity. "You know, I know a place where all of your intelligence and experience would do us good," said the young Exorcist. "Why don't you come with me?" he suggested, smiling a bit. I stared at his open hand with shock.
I don't know what made me trust him, an Exorcist, of all people, but there was a truth, a determined truth, in his silver eyes. I'd been seeking out the truth for years, and I was getting close to finding out what made me an Akuma. That is what I sought, and that is what Allen Walker could help me find. I nodded happily and placed my hand in his. His smile grew wider and he pulled me towards the front door. "Come on. Let's get moving. The Black Order is far, and I wouldn't want you to have to endure more than you already have." I gazed one last time at the only home I'd ever known, then followed Allen out the door.
No Kanda in this chapter. Sorry. xD
He come in in the next one... I think... -thinks- Yeah, he does. Um... so anyways, Review? xD