It was too cruel. Allen had seen precious few memories of Kanda and Alma together, but he didn't need to see much to know that they were as close as two people could be. He could plainly tell Alma cared quite a bit for Kanda and that the feelings were mutual, especially given how protective Kanda had become over his friend's memories. But this was too much… they had successfully detained Alma, they could work with him, save him somehow. He was simply a child who had been through too much and was mentally unstable. Granted, he had killed several people already, but if they had to kill the boy, wasn't there a way to do it that was more humane than this?

Allen was too focused on his own thoughts to notice that Kanda was also reacting to the scene before him. He had been silent for so long, Allen had almost forgotten he was present too. For something like this, though, it was no wonder Kanda had chosen to break his silence.

"It wasn't his fault, you miserable bitch… you did this to him, you're the one who should have died that day…"

Hearing him say that was almost shocking to Allen, who wasn't used to such an outburst from Kanda. Normally, when Kanda was angry he kept it to himself, or else intimidated whoever had annoyed him. Unless it was an Akuma, in which case he said nothing and simply killed it. Given the circumstances, however, Allen understood why Kanda didn't hold back, why he said what he did. Those were things he probably wanted to say for a long time, things he kept bottled up because the woman was gone and he would never get the chance to speak such things aloud.

Focusing again on the scene in front of him and not his inner thoughts, Allen watched Yuu hesitate, turning to the Supervisor uncertainly, Mugen still sheathed at his side. "But… Alma's Innocence is stronger than mine, you always said he was better than me…" Allen could tell Yuu was speaking not out of self-preservation, but as a way to prevent the battle. In the mind of a child, that would probably mean Alma would be allowed to live if Yuu couldn't fight him.

Sneering, the Supervisor shoved the boy forward. "This is your final test, then. You will either pass and be allowed to hold the title of an Exorcist, or you'll prove to be just as useless as Alma." Yuu visibly recoiled; the Supervisor didn't need to say what that meant.

Turning his attention back to the other boy, Allen wasn't surprised to see that Alma hadn't waited patiently for the two to finish their conversation. He'd already broken through several of the barriers with his weapon, causing several of the science department members holding the talismans to look stricken.

Yuu, meanwhile, just looked confused; he had been told to kill his best friend who was protected by the remaining barriers. Without anything to do but wait for Alma to free himself, the small Japanese boy could only sit back and stare. Allen could see what little resolve he had mustered up wasn't going to last long and he wished he could do something to help, that he was tangible so that the horrible fate staring him in the face didn't have to come true.

He could only imagine how Kanda felt, watching this all over again without the welcomed fog of his own memories.

Alma was down to the final few barriers; several scientists looked worried, glancing at each other and at the nine year old boy who was supposed to save them. Bak and Zhu were the only ones who had dropped their talismans when Alma had penetrated their barriers, both of them looking grim. Allen was surprised that they didn't look as shocked or terrified as some of the others, and for a moment wished he knew what was going on in their heads. They looked almost… expectant.

Before Allen could think too deeply on the subject, Alma broke through the last of the barriers.

"Gervais, rotation!" He shouted, whipping his weapon forward. It began spinning rapidly, fast enough to cut through one of the scientists and halfway through a second. The first one puked blood as he fell, falling face first onto the ground, his torso landing several feet away from his lower body. The second scientist staggered momentarily before falling backwards, but not before sending a shower of blood onto Bak and Zhu, who were standing behind him. Alma's piercing gaze fell onto the two Chinese scientists before he held his hand out, recalling his weapon back to him and turning away from them.

The rest of the room stared in shock at what had happened so quickly, before any of them even had time to get their bearings and prepare themselves when Alma was free. And it seemed Alma wasn't about to give them that time. As soon as he had his weapon back in his hand, he lunged forward, shoving past Yuu and heading for Heidi. Allen was shocked to see just how fast Alma was; he had heard the Supervisor and Yuu mention it before, but to see how quickly he closed the distance between the two of them was still a surprise.

But Allen remembered Kanda's angry rant and knew that the Supervisor was not going to die. Before Alma could run the woman through, the man Allen assumed was Renee Epstein's father stepped in front of her. No one would have been able to stop the boy's charge, but Epstein was able to at least defend the woman from the attack. The blade tore through his stomach and lodged there.

"Jakob!" The Supervisor was the only one to speak as the man sank to his knees, blood bubbling over his lips. Her sharp eyes were wide with shock and anger, her gaze quickly turning on Yuu as Alma wrenched his weapon from the dead man's stomach.

"You! You little brat, look at what you have done!" Flicking on a barrier of her own, Heidi trapped Alma in place again, storming over to the Japanese boy cowering away from her. "I told you to kill him, but look what has happened because of your disobedience! These are all deaths you could have prevented! Are you too stupid to know how to fight? He is your enemy!"

From the look in Yuu's eyes, Allen got the impression he was used to being insulted. It made him seriously rethink taunting Kanda when he got the chance, although the more he thought about it, the more he knew Kanda would hate him even more if he suddenly started treating him nicer because of what he had seen.

"But… Supervisor… Alma and me… we're the only ones… he's my best friend, I can't-" Yuu's hands fidgeted over the handle of Mugen and he was unable to meet her eyes.

Reaching down, the Supervisor plucked the boy off his feet by the front of his shirt. "You killed Hana, didn't you? You told me the same thing then, that Hana was your friend, but you killed her anyway because that was your training, an order I gave you to show you that your friends can become your enemies at any moment and you cannot hesitate. This is the final time I will tell you," dropping Yuu now, she turned, pointing at Alma who had nearly broken through the newest barrier, "kill him!"

Allen didn't have to know everything to see that what the Supervisor had just said broke something in Yuu; his eyes went blank and he sagged a little, as if the memory of Hana deflated him. It couldn't be that Kanda had killed two of his friends in the past, could it? But that was what the Supervisor said… how could a child so young be faced with so much death and cruelty? Allen was left wishing Komui had gotten here sooner.

A growl tore Allen from his thoughts, and he was again reminded that Kanda was conscious here too, watching the same thing he was. Kanda did not speak, nor did he make any other sound, but Allen had heard that sound enough to know what he wanted to say and, more importantly, what he wanted to do.

Moving slowly, Yuu stood in front of the Supervisor, hesitating just a moment before unsheathing Mugen. The blade looked almost comical, held in the hands of one so young and small, but Allen knew it was just as deadly then as it was in the time he knew. "Mugen, h-hatsudo." Yuu murmured the words, drawing his fingers lightly along the side of the blade. His voice only trembled once, but other than that he looked determined now, most of his earlier hesitancy gone.

Allen half expected Alma to just push Yuu aside again, or cut through him to get to the Supervisor. However, Alma simply stared at his friend for a moment before pointing the blade of his weapon at him. "Get out of my way, Yuu." His voice wasn't demanding or bloodthirsty as it had been before; Alma sounded almost… worried.

Apparently, Yuu was also expecting the same murderous tone he had heard earlier, because he looked hesitant again. It was easier to pretend Alma was no longer his friend if he sounded angry, different than Yuu was used to. For his part though, he didn't back down, keeping Mugen raised defensively. "I can't. You're not the same. …You killed people, Alma." Yuu spoke as though he was trying to make Alma understand why this was necessary, why he had to do this even though he obviously didn't want to. Even now, Yuu didn't want Alma to hate him.

A sound of disbelief was all Yuu got in return at first as Alma pointed the edge of his Innocence at the Supervisor. "What about all the people she killed!? She killed kids! She made you kill Hana! And these scientists, they're all the same as her." Alma looked around the room to the ones who remained, but his accusatory glare stopped before gazing at the two Chinese men he had spared. Apparently, they were exempt from his statement. "She deserves to die, and you know it."

The words sounded strange coming from a nine year old, although Allen knew that even at almost twice their age he hadn't experienced half as much as those two boys had. Yuu looked like he was about to agree with his friend before simply clamping his lips shut and shaking his head, choosing silence instead of saying the wrong thing. Tightening his grip on Mugen, he remained in the same defensive position.

This was not the reaction Alma wanted. His expression twisted into one of rage and he thrust his weapon arm forward, angrily gesturing at the Supervisor again. "Fine. If you're not on my side, you're on hers." He attacked again as soon as he finished speaking, but he didn't lunge forward as Allen had expected. Instead, he twisted and ran to the side, into the crowd of unsuspecting scientists who didn't have the good sense to flee after two of their comrades had fallen.

Yuu hadn't expected that either, and he could only stare in shock as Alma left a trail of blood and gore behind him. The scientists should have been better prepared to deal with a murderous Exorcist, even if their weapons were mostly created to contain dark matter. The ones who had brought guns were too slow in firing, and only a few had a chance to even draw their weapon, let alone fire it, before Alma's blade silenced them.

Those who hadn't been cut down turned and fled instead of waiting for death; they hadn't brought any other means of protection, and by the time Yuu had finally reacted, another four of their number had been killed.

As Alma brought his blade down to impale a dazed scientist who had slipped in the blood of his neighbor, Yuu finally shook his surprise and sprang into action, his own blade defending the helpless man on the floor. "Stop, Alma. They're just scientists; I'm the one you're after, remember?"

"They are the scientists who did this to us!" Alma hissed, pulling the sleeve of his shirt to the side and revealing a tattoo similar to Kanda's. Yuu hesitated again, glancing down at his own chest before shaking his head and thrusting Mugen forward, knocking Alma's Innocence to the side.

"It doesn't matter. This is wrong, Alma. We're Exorcists now, this isn't what we're supposed to be doing." Yuu pleaded, trying to reach out to his friend.

Swinging his weapon around blindly, Alma growled. "Well I never wanted to be an Exorcist in the first place!" He hissed before lunging forward, his blade cutting into Yuu's arm.

And thus the battle began.

As soon as it was clear to the boy that his best friend was now his enemy, Yuu fought back with more strength and skill than Allen had expected, given how timid and awkward he looked holding Mugen. They fought unobstructed; those who fled had simply moved to the other side of the room. To escape, they would have had to move past Alma and that was a risk none of them were willing to take. Instead, they gathered on the other side of the room with the Supervisor, watching the battle from behind a barrier they had been able to quickly salvage from before.

Now, given the chance to escape or two watch the two boys fight, it was clear which of the two they preferred. Allen could see several of the scientists talking amongst themselves, and out of sheer curiosity Allen decided to move closer and listen.

"… seizures were a sign, we should have known Alma didn't have the mental capacity to deal with being an Exorcist on top of the experiments." He overheard one of the scientists say.

"His synchronization rate has been fluctuating a lot recently; for someone with such a weak constitution as his, it's no wonder he's been Corrupted."

Allen was caught between watching Alma and Yuu fight and listening to the scientists talk; he had no idea what they were talking about. A corrupt Exorcist Fell, didn't they? He doubted he would ever get answers outside this realm, and he had so many questions. "Corrupted…?" Allen wondered aloud after a few moments when he couldn't figure out what they meant.

A grunt turned his attention back to Alma and Yuu fighting. Alma was clearly the better fighter; he moved faster and with more fluidity that suggested a lot of experience. Yuu was proficient with Mugen, but he was clearly not as used to the weapon as his opponent.

"Turn around, Moyashi! I told you to stop watching!" Kanda snapped once Allen turned around. His voice was trembling with emotion that Allen couldn't place. Rage was there, obviously, but there was something too, something that sounded alien in Kanda's voice. Sorrow.

Guiltily, Allen turned away, face to face with the conspiring scientists now. He didn't expect Kanda to say anything else, so when he spoke again a few moments later, Allen was caught off guard.

"Innocence, whether equipment or parasite type, relies on the strength of its Accommodator. If an Accommodator becomes too weak due to illness or injury to continue controlling their Innocence, the Innocence will begin to control them and they slowly lose their mind." Allen could tell by the forcibly flat tone in Kanda's voice that he was only speaking to distract himself, but he was glad for the explanation. "That Exorcist then becomes Corrupt, but they don't Fall because they haven't betrayed the Innocence."

Suddenly, everything made sense. Alma had some sort of disorder, that was why he kept having those seizures. Because of that, he was too weak to control his Innocence and it started controlling him, which caused the boy to lose it and start killing his allies. No wonder they had tried to contain it earlier…

"But then, isn't it just a matter of getting his Innocence away from him? If he's Corrupt and there's no way for the Innocence to control him, wouldn't that bring him back to normal?"

Kanda snorted; the boy was so naïve. He wanted to be able to save everybody, but he didn't understand. Alma didn't have just any affliction, and he understood more now than he ever did before. Back then, Kanda had simply thought Alma had had enough of the abuse, the experiments, the constant testing and watchful eye of the Supervisor who acted more like their jailer than their boss and snapped. That was all his young mind comprehended then, but now… now it made so much more sense.

Allen waited for Kanda's response, holding his breath. But, when no response came, he let out a sigh. He shouldn't have expected a response beyond that. He had directly spoken about Alma, when the only reason Kanda explained Corruption was to distract himself. No wonder he was getting the silent treatment again.

The scientists were quiet, watching the scene before them unfold. Allen diligently stared at the floor, resisting the temptation to turn and watch as the others were doing. He tried to let his mind wander, to make himself think of something else. It was in this state that Allen noticed a soft buzzing sound in his ears. It wasn't loud or unpleasant, but it was there, and now that Allen had noticed it, the sound was always there. No one else seemed to notice it, and he was fairly certain it hadn't been there before; he wondered what it meant, but once again became distracted when the scientists started whispering again.

Watching the battle through the eyes of his young self, Kanda focused on his technique instead of anything else. He watched himself move both his body and his blade, flinching whenever something went wrong. 'There's no need to swing your arm around so much; just do what's necessary, anything else is a waste of energy and just slows you down.' And indeed, Yuu overextended again, making him wide open to an attack from Alma. The other boy took his opening, slicing into Yuu's side mercilessly.

It wasn't the first injury his young self had taken, but it was the worst. Nearly half of the blade of Alma's Innocence had cleaved into his side. Choking, Yuu stepped back, eyes wide with pain and fear. This certainly wasn't enough to kill him, but it brought him to his knees.

"The Supervisor was right, Yuu. You are no match for me." Alma didn't sound haughty as he spoke; he was merely stating fact. Ripping the blade from Yuu's side, he leaned on it, watching the other boy on the floor at his feet as he pressed his hands against his wound to try and stop the bleeding.

If it hadn't been clear to Yuu up until that point that both he and Alma were fighting for their lives, it became clear to him then. Staring at the tiles on the floor, he forced himself into a state of meditative calm. It was something Bak had taught him and Alma; they regenerated faster while calm.

"I don't want to kill you." Alma's words may have been reassuring, but his tone was anything but. Yuu wasn't paying attention; he was still staring at the tiles, gauging how well he'd be able to move with the wound, how far away Mugen was, how long it would take him to reach it like this.

"You're the only other successful Second. We could leave together, Yuu. They wouldn't be able to stop the both of us." His words fell on deaf ears as Yuu played through his strategy in his head; there was no way he would get to Mugen and cut Alma down unharmed from this position, but that was what the other boy would expect him to try. Glancing up through his eyelashes, Yuu knew he would be able to get Mugen and deal a huge blow to the other boy if he was willing to take a hit himself. But what angle would Alma strike from? Leaning on his Innocence like he was, he could either bring the pointed end up and strike with that, which would probably hit him in the stomach, or Alma would swing the blade downward, which would hit his shoulder.

As Yuu thought over his plan, Alma just watched him, simply thinking the other boy was too weak and injured to do anything else. "Well, Yuu?" He asked after several moments of silence. "What do you say? Will you join me…" shifting now, Alma brought his blade to rest in the air above Yuu's right shoulder where it met his neck. "…or will I have to kill you too?" This was too perfect; now that Yuu didn't have to guess where Alma's attack would come from, he could easily dodge. Quick meditation in difficult situations was the one thing Yuu could do better than his friend, who had given up and gone to work on mastering his weapon after a few short minutes more often than not. This meant that Yuu could heal faster than Alma could; Alma would not be expecting such a fierce attack so soon, and certainly not one that would invite injury.

Dropping his shoulder and using that action as momentum, Yuu twisted to the side and grabbed Mugen. At the first sign of his movement, Alma brought his blade down, but Yuu had moved quick enough so that only the side of his arm took any damage at all. As soon as his fingers found the hilt of his blade, Yuu twisted his body again, using momentum instead of unnecessary force to drive Mugen into Alma's stomach.

That point was where the battle changed; Yuu had been right in assuming that Alma did not expect such an attack, considering the Japanese boy's injury. Skilled in fighting though he may be, Alma was still a child and children rarely expect the unexpected. Caught off guard, his own attack rendered practically useless in comparison to that of his opponent, Alma staggered backward, his hand leaving his Innocence to clutch at the katana now firmly in place in his stomach.

Even with a deep gash in his shoulder and side, and despite countless other injuries, Yuu kept a firm hand on Mugen's hilt, standing completely and following Alma as he stepped backward. Alma's Innocence clattered to the floor, forgotten. Yuu didn't spare him any mercy, as the other boy had been just as fierce. But now, Yuu had truly become an Exorcist.

Thanks to his meditation, his training to focus on the target and nothing more, the hours of beatings and practical torture and harsh lessons forced onto him by the Supervisor, Yuu no longer recognized the person who was all but impaled on his blade as his friend. He may have been a timid child, but years of living in fear and through dozens of experiments only to find this as his final test took its toll on the young boy. Perhaps it could be said that, at that moment, all the stress and crippling terror from his training came to a head and sent him into a state of temporary madness.

Whatever the case, Yuu did not back down from Alma even after the other boy fell to his knees. His hold on Mugen was just as firm, and his eyes were blank when he spoke. "Kaichuu: Ichigen." It was a technique he had barely become acquainted with, but he didn't need to master it to know what summoning the insects from his blade with the blade still in Alma's body would do.

The insects Yuu summoned exploded from Alma's stomach, tearing a ragged hole in the boy's torso and spraying the Japanese boy with a shower of blood. The insects that had been summoned outside Alma's body attacked his face and upper body, one of them scoring a long cut from Alma's forehead all the way back, several more ripping through his face, neck, shoulders and chest, knocking the other boy flat on his back.

As the insects dissipated, Yuu wrenched Mugen out of Alma's body, watching his friend bleed out. Alma was motionless; all those injuries would have killed a normal person, but he was still alive. His breathing was shallow but there, his body slowly knitting itself back together.

But it wasn't over yet.

Never show any mercy.

Even though Alma was not moving, Yuu slashed Mugen across his chest above his heart.

Remember, if the situation was reversed, your enemy would not go easy on you.

As soon as blood blossomed on Alma's chest, Yuu slashed at him again, diagonally, from his shoulder to his hip, deeper this time.

You must do everything possible to defeat your opponent, no matter what that means.

From his hip, Yuu dragged his blade down Alma's thigh to his knee, a wild look growing in his dark eyes.

You must ensure the enemy will not get back up.

Sinking to his knees, Yuu began slashing, stabbing, ripping his blade through Alma's body without any pattern. The other boy's body couldn't even begin to regenerate before another wound was added to the growing number of injuries he had sustained. Now it was Yuu who looked feral and bloodthirsty as he tore his Innocence through the body of his dearest friend over and over again. Even after Alma had stopped breathing, he continued. Even after Alma was no longer recognizable as a human being, Yuu continued, although now he was sobbing too hard to see what he was doing.

No matter what it takes, you must make sure the enemy is beyond all hope of regeneration. You must make sure they are completely dead.

Mesmerized and shocked at Yuu's sudden and brutal defeat of the first successful experiment in their artificial disciple project, the scientists slowly dropped the barrier and stood, approaching the Japanese boy who was still tearing into what appeared to be a mess of blood and flesh and nothing more.

Yuu was sobbing, his tears mixing with Alma's blood on his face. Blinded by tears, he stabbed his own leg with Mugen; too full of pain and rage, he didn't realize it was his own body he had injured until he tore the katana out of his thigh and howled with pain.

That had been the wake up call he needed. Yuu dropped Mugen and slumped over, chin resting on his chest as he cried, realization of what he had done drowning out everything else. Allen had been watching since Yuu invoked Ichigen, unable to tear his eyes away. He didn't know everything that had happened to the boy, so the violent outburst was sudden and impossible.

"Stop staring at me, moyashi." Kanda growled when he noticed Allen was watching him; his voice was strained and heavy, but just as dangerous as always. "You just can't listen, can you? You had to watch." Kanda sounded too tired, too strained to sound as biting as he normally did, even if his words still had an edge to them.

His words took several moments to register in Allen's brain, and when they did he was able to shake off the shock. "I-I'm sorry… I was just… shocked."

"Tch." Kanda wasn't even able to make his signature verbal tic sound as angry as it normally did. "So you saw. That means you don't get to ask questions."

Nodding a little, Allen stood up, joining the group of scientists gathered around their two Seconds. The Supervisor had pulled Yuu away from Alma, but the boy was still curled up and sobbing. "So when you said Alma was dead…" It wasn't a question; Allen was simply thinking aloud, putting the pieces back together. So, he was surprised when Kanda answered.

"Now you see why. Now you see that Alma can't wake up." Almost as if on cue, one of the scientists who had been studying Alma stood, sighing.

"He's stopped regenerating. Yuu's exhausted his regenerative powers."

Allen was silent, letting that sink in. Yuu had caused so much injury to Alma that it used up his regeneration. From what Allen had seen of Kanda's extensive injuries, that took a lot. He could barely even look at what was left of Alma's body now; Allen could see why his present body was so scarred and deformed.

"Why is it you think I can't come back, Yuu…?"

Looking around, Allen tried to find the source of that voice. It was soft, melancholy almost, and it seemed to be coming from everywhere all at once. He hadn't heard anyone with a voice like that, neither had he seen any of the scientists speak. So who…?

"…Alma…!?"

It occurred to Allen that they were here to wake Alma up, if he remembered Wisely's words correctly. That must have been what the sudden buzzing in his ears was earlier. The memory they were in dissolved, and they were surrounded by light, similar to when Wisely had deposited them in Alma's memories.

"It's been awhile, Yuu…"