Chosen
This world is a mess, no joke and no-one is doing anything to change that. There's pain and death everywhere I go. What can I do? I'm just a simple girl whose family was murdered by monsters. Akuma. I was young at the time and can't remember how old I was exactly but those monsters murdered my family and most importantly my twin sister whom I loved so much. I can't forgive them but what can I do?
Crash.
They're here. The monsters, they're after more blood. I can hear the screams. A terrified child finds my hiding place and collapses on the floor – in tears. Those monsters. I crawl towards the child and hug the little girl. Poor thing.
'It's okay,' I whisper. 'You're safe now, I promise.' I lie. There's no way I could guaranty her safety. Hopefully they won't find this place. I guide the girl back into my corner and we sit there, hiding in silence. The walls shake around us and the girl shakes in my arms. I want to be able to protect her. I don't want to see any more deaths. I stroke her hair and watch the entrance closely, making sure none of those monsters come in while I'm distracted.
It turns quiet. I can no longer hear the explosions. I hold my breath. Is it over?
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Oh shit! They've found us. The little girl shakes in fear and I hold her tightly. No wonder it was so quiet. The door breaks down and a strange green light fills the room. It attaches itself to my neck and forms a necklace. What the hell? The girl looks up at me and her eyes widen. A figure appears at the door but can't those monsters take the form of a human? I can't assume he's human. I gently push the girl behind me.
'What do you want?' I ask the person, venom in my voice.
'Che. I've found a troublesome one.' The person mutters.
'What do you want?' I ask, almost spitting the words at the person.
He stepped out of the shadows allowing me to see his face. Long, black hair tied up into a pony tail and dark brown eyes. To be honest, he was beautiful and his appearance momentarily left me breathless. He walks towards me, slowly and looks me in the eye and I immediately feel embarrassed. He must be thinking about how filthy I look, I haven't washed or eaten in days. No. This isn't what I should be thinking about. He's probably one of those… monsters. Those creatures that eat the souls of humans.
'You should be more polite, I'm here to protect you from the Akuma. Spoilt brat!' He replies. I glare at him. He's going to protect me? Well, he's a little late for that! Several years late.
'How can you protect me against those monsters? It's impossible to kill them, they're killing machines.' I retort, if he can kill them why didn't he come to my rescue before? Why didn't he save my family?
'I'm an exorcist, it's my job,' he replies. 'You're going to come with me whether you like it or not. You're one of us now.' One of them? A so-called Exorcist? A demon slayer?
'What are you saying? That's it now my job to protect all these people? I can barely protect myself!' I whisper. 'I can't even protect my family.'
'The innocence has chosen you, like it has chosen me and many others. It's chosen you because of you're suffering and your pure heart.' He taps the necklace which has attached itself around my neck, this is your weapon. It's your destiny to destroy the akuma, just like me.
'And if I don't?' I ask, not in spite just out of curiosity.
He leans down to my ear. 'Then the very same innocence which has attached itself to you will kill you,' he whispers. I immediately take a step back from him. I have to do this.
'Hahahaha.' I turn around, the little girl I had just protected looks up at me with blood red eyes. 'Good. Just who I've been looking for.' She says. I take a step back. What the hell? She was a normal girl just a minute ago.
'As I thought, you're an Akuma.' He says, with no emotion in his voice. He withdraws his sword. 'Mugen!' Just before the girl is able to show her true form, she's sliced in half and disappears.
'She… she was a human. I thought she was human. Why didn't she attack me? She could have killed me so easily. Why didn't she?' I yell, collapsing on the floor with tears in my eyes.
'She wanted to kill you and take your innocence. She was waiting for the right time.' He states. 'She failed her mission. Let's go.' He said, lifting me over his shoulder, carrying me. Usually I would scream and kick but all I could do was cry, cry for the poor girl. She shouldn't have been killed by those monsters; she should never have been turned into one.
After a long period of silence I finally speak; my voice barely a whisper. 'What's your name?' A simple question really but I was curious.
'My name?' He stays silent for a moment. '… Kanda.' He voice calm and almost sweet.
'Clare.' I reply. 'Am I allowed to walk now?' He stops, seeming to think it over.
'Do I have your word that you won't run away?' He asks. I nod. It's not like I've got anywhere else to go. He puts me on the ground and I stand there for a moment. I rub my eyes, knowing that they're red and puffy and that rubbing them will only make them worse but I do so anyway. I'm tired, I can't help it. It just happens.
'You're tired. We should find a place to rest and get you cleaned up.' I could tell that he was talking about how filthy I was but still, it's not my fault that I've been poor, I've been working my ass off for the pass several years. It didn't take long to find a hotel and it was an expensive one at that.
'Kanda, I can't afford this place. There's no way I'm going to be able to pay.' I whisper, grabbing his sleeve. He looks at me with a 'are you kidding me?' look.
'The Order pays for us,' he says matter-of-factly. 'You won't have to pay a thing, as the order gets work out of you in return.'
'Ahhh. I see.' I replied. At least I don't need to worry about the cost and my living expenses. Thank God for that.
We entered the hotel without even so much as a glance our way. They handed over a room key and a change of clothes and left it at that. Kanda led the way; he seemed to know where he was going. He opened the door and in the time span of a second he pushed me in the bathroom. Placing the neatly folded clothes on top of the wooden basket.
'You're not allowed out of here until you're clean.' He said and left me at that. It had been so long since I last had a bath, a good proper bath. I can't say the water didn't feel amazing because it did. Nice, hot water. I properly washed my hair, cleaned all the dirt away from my nails and even cut them down into a decent length. I felt clean for the first time in years. I quickly changed into the clothes that were provided and exited the bathroom, finding Kanda sitting on one of the beds, nearly dozing off. He looks pretty adorable.
'Che. Took you long enough,' he mutters. I don't say the same for his personality though. Damn bastard! 'Rest up, we're going to have a big day tomorrow.' He stares at me for a second.
'You should brush and dry your hair,' he says. 'You look a state.' I glare at him. Prick. He has no right to tell me what to do… okay. Maybe he does but still. He doesn't. I climb into bed and hope that maybe I'll be able to avenge my sister's death. Maybe then she can finally forgive me.