Hi everyone! This chapter is a little longer since there is a little more talking and fillers in it, but we are coming up on an exciting Innocence (at least I think so) that I made up. You also get a hint to what Serena's Innocence can really do. I hope you enjoy it! :)
Warning: mild swearing and limited amount of clothing comes off.
Chapter 3: Strange town
When I woke up, Allen and Lavi were still sleeping quietly. Looking at their faces, I realized how young they really were, it was that dim, painful light in their eyes that made them look older. I realized how easy it would be to just leave, run away, and start anew. At the same time, I was an Exorcist and it was my duty to fight against the Millennium Earl, I couldn't just leave now. Not yet. I knew that with these two around me I would somehow end up in the middle of it; they were trouble makers, and so was I. Even though I hated the thought of it, I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be.
I was pulled back from musing by the loud rumbling of my stomach, and I realized that I hadn't eaten in a long time. Luckily, we were in a forest which meant that there were plenty of animals to hunt. I slipped out of the cabin quietly and made my way into the forest. It didn't take long to find a small creek and I immediately spotted a deer drinking from it. I snuck closer to get a better view at it and to decide what course of action to take. Since I was on the other side of the water, I couldn't simply just attack it with my hands and I didn't exactly trust my knife throwing skills. There was no doubt in my mind that I had to use the true power of my Innocence but I was afraid. After all, I hadn't used it in nine years and I wasn't exactly able to completely control it even before. My stomach rumbled again and I let out a small sigh.
"I am sorry, your sacrifice is appreciated," I whispered and reached my arm out towards the animal. As I clenched my fist, a ray of light appeared and slit the animal's throat. I wanted to go to my prey, but suddenly my body felt like it was a thousand tons heavy and I couldn't move. The use of my Innocence was too much for me, I felt as weak as I did when I first discovered my power as a child. It wasn't surprising, I hadn't trained in almost a decade and it took a lot of strength to control an Innocence in raw form. I needed a few minutes to collect myself and finally be able to approach my future lunch. The animal was a lot bigger than I thought it would be from far away, it was quite hard to lift over my shoulder and hold it there. Thank God that I wasn't far from the cabin, although I was sweating profusely by the time I finally made it back.
"I thought you left," said Allen as he noticed me approaching from the woods.
"I thought about it." The honestly in my answer clearly surprised him because that very annoying little smile that he always had disappeared from his face. I put the deer down, then pulled out my knife so I can make it into edible form. Since I had never had to prepare my lunch from the wild, I couldn't really decide where to start.
"Did you catch this?" He asked, surprised, and kneeled down next to me. It was probably very unbelievable that I could hunt when I was struggling so hard to skin this damn animal. He just laughed and took the knife away from me. "I'll do it."
"Fine." I surrendered angrily, then stood up. "I'm going to check on Lavi."
The redhead was sitting on the bed, staring out of the window, watching Allen make our lunch. He didn't look at me when I entered the room, which made me wonder if his hearing was intact; it wasn't rare to lose some hearing after such a big hit on the head. I slowly approached him and sat down on the bed, but he still didn't look at me. His eyes were fixated on his white-haired comrade.
"There is a prophecy," he said suddenly. "He is supposed to be 'the Destroyer of Time'." At that moment I understood that there was so much more than just friendship that connected these two. Lavi truly believed in the other one, he trusted that he might be the one who brings change to this world. Prophecies were rare and always so vague, yet they still carried so much meaning. It meant that Allen was worth saving.
"Is that why you follow him?" I needed to take care of his arm and I learned from experience that it was always easier to treat patients when I kept them distracted. Lavi seemed distracted enough by his thoughts that he wouldn't interfere.
"My master seems to believe it. But that's not the only reason why I'm here," he explained. I took his arm out of his shirt, which had to be painful, even though he showed no sign of it. His mind was somewhere else. "I used to think only pure good can conquer pure evil. Now, I see it different: if you cannot see in the dark, you have no chance defeating it."
"I don't see darkness inside him." A pair of warm, silver eyes appeared in my head that had never showed a flicker of evil. Allen did have a strange aura but it wasn't evil. In the absence of my knife, I had to bit my wrist to be able to take care of his broken arm. The redhead never took his eyes of Allen, however, not even when I dripped my blood on his injury.
"He would never let anyone see that, but it is there. His light is bright and inextinguishable, yet there is darkness lurking deep, deep down in his soul." It surprised me, how wise he was. His cheerful attitude was a cover, he was observing every little thing around him. He hid his genius behind a mask of averageness, but he was no ordinary man.
"You seem to notice a lot," I noted as I wiped my blood of his newly healed arm. Although he wasn't facing me, I could see a little smile hiding in the corner of his mouth.
"It is my job, I am Bookman Junior after all." Crap. It all made sense now, a Bookman would follow the boy from a prophecy. Similarly, they would know the history of the Black Order which gave him all the tools to bust my cover. Was he just playing me or has it been too long to connect the dots? I was praying for the latter.
"Your arms should be good now," I said while I wrapped it tightly with a bandage. "How is your head? You have a concussion."
"I will live," he responded quietly. There was no way he was fine, by now he was most definitely experiencing a pretty intense headache and nausea. Allen was almost done skinning the deer, but there was no fire yet. Since Lavi definitely needed more rest and water, I decided that I would go gather the fire wood and fill up our flasks with water as well.
When I left the cabin again, Allen didn't ask me where I was going; he trusted that I would return. Luckily, it hadn't rained in a while, so gathering firewood was rather easy. The small creek wasn't enough to bath in but it was clear enough to drink from it. After I replenished our water bottles, I splashed some on my face too and let the drops slide down my neck. It had been quite an eventful three days since these two came into my life, and I was certain that it was only the start. By the time I got back, Allen had already cut up the meat and created a small circle with rocks for the fire. I threw the wood sticks in there and handed him his flask.
"How's Lavi?" He asked and he was trying to light the fire. I wondered where he learned all the ways of nomad living, although I was suspecting the answer.
"He has a concussion; he needs a little more rest. Even if he says he doesn't," I said which made him laugh. I didn't see the joke in that sentence, so I decided to go back to Lavi and give him his water too. He was laying down now, holding one hand to his forehead, and he seemed rather pale.
"Drink some water, it'll help with the nausea." I helped him sit up and touched the bottle to his lips. He must've been extremely thirsty, he didn't stop my hand until he cleared half of the bottle. "We need to reach the town by nightfall. I'll bring you some meet, you should rest now."
"Serena," he called after me before I opened the door. I still wasn't used to my new name, so it took me a few seconds to realize that he was talking to me. "You can trust us, you know that, right?"
I wanted to say yes, because I wanted to trust them, to trust someone, but I couldn't. Betrayal has its way to one's heart, it breaks it on the first impact and continues to pulverize its pieces until there is nothing left. There was no place in my heart for trust anymore, there hadn't been in a long time. I rested my hand on the doorknob for a couple seconds, then I left without saying a word. After the fight, I had no doubt that they would protect me, so my life, I would put in their hands. But for my secrets, I couldn't do that. I couldn't feel attached to them because they relied on me, I couldn't let myself wonder what will happen in the future. I knew, one day, they would realize the truth about me. I couldn't hide in Serena's skin for long, the time when I would have to join the fight as my true self was nearing. Being Serena gave me the element of surprise, which was one of the most valuable things in war.
The deer was almost fully cooked, it only needed a few more minutes. I sat across from Allen who was watching the flame's dance in the fire pit. I heard Lavi's voice in my head as I was examining his face. It was hard to believe that this boy, with such an innocent and pure look, would lead us to victory. It was only that cut on his face that signaled that he had encountered evil before.
"I was cursed by Mana, my foster father," he said when he noticed that I was looking at him. "I turned him into an Akuma."
"How are you alive?" I had never heard of anyone who survived that. Maybe, after figuring out what they had really done, no one wanted to live anymore. There is no bigger sin against your loved one than turning them into a demon.
"My Innocence took over and killed him, but he left me with this," he pointed to his left eye. "I can see Akumas and the souls trapped inside."
"They are in pain, aren't they?" I asked quietly, which surprised him.
"They are crying because they are forced to hurt the one they love, and many more. Do you see them too?" There was a light of hope in his eyes, for no one could possibly understand what he was experiencing. Every time he looked at an Akuma, he had to witness that pain; it was a burden that no one was supposed to carry. At that moment, I was finally able to see the tip of the darkness inside him.
"I don't, but because of my Innocence I am drawn to their pain, I know they are suffering. When I was at the Order no one believed me, they said I was weak for feeling that way." Feeling sorry for a demon was not something they allowed, and after a while I stopped saying it too. I pushed this dark knowledge to the farthest end of my consciousness, for I thought it was wrong. Allen was loyal to the Order, he was one of them, yet he was so different from the Order I grew up in.
"I am sorry for what they did to you, if that made you hate being an Exorcist," said Allen quietly but I shook my head.
"I never hated being one, because at the end of the day, after all they've done to me, that is all I had left. That was the only thing they could never take from me." I knew he understood me, there was nothing he loved more than being an Exorcist, I could tell. But he was so extremely naïve that it would've been stupid not to use it for my benefit. "I need to ask you a favor, Allen. When we get to the next town, and you call your supervisor, I need you to keep my existence in secret from the Order."
"Why?" He asked, confused. No matter how many terrible truths I had told him about his beloved Order, his faith in them was unscratched.
"They will want me to go back, and if so, I will have to fight them. Don't be the one who forces my hand." I was determined, I knew he felt it. Even though he probably didn't believe that I could hurt anyone due to my passive Innocence, all I needed to do was to awaken his empathy.
"I won't, until we find Master. You will be safe with him." That warm, kind smile appeared on his lips again, and suddenly I felt remorse. I played him, using his sympathy for me to get what I wanted. I didn't just lie, I also manipulated him, which made me no different than the people I hated so much at the Order. They would be so proud of me, knowing that their cruel, distorted legacy lived on.
The deer was gone very fast, as I expected, since both Allen and I needed extreme amounts of food to satisfy the hunger caused by our parasite type Innocence. Lavi, on the other hand, took his time to finish his small portion, but it gave us time to pack up. I burned all of the clothes that were ruined during the battle, and we each changed into civilian attire. Without the two boys in their uniforms, we looked like a bunch of kids, but it was a great way to blend in until we reached the next town. The thought of an actual bed and a warm bath excited me, even I was surprised by my own desire to enjoy such luxury. Maybe it was Serena surfacing, who had been enjoying these amenities in my body for the past nine years.
"What the hell…" Allen's voice was weak as he took in the first view of the village. It was the most rundown, impoverished village I had ever seen. The people were wearing filthy rags, they were dirty and sick. Instead of houses, there were only hand-built shacks, and the smell of urine and feces covered everything. Considering the natural resources around the village, it made no sense why its people had to endure such circumstances. There were forests, mines, plenty of water, and the soil was fertile; it was everything but unlivable.
"Excuse me, sir? What happened to your village?" The old man Lavi stopped was carrying a heavy bucket of water, which he almost dropped when he saw our small group. His clothes hadn't been washed in a long time, his skin was dark and scarred from being on the sun too much, and I could feel his body breaking down. He was pitiful.
"Our prosperity is thanks to our Lord, whom we serve and love with all of our hearts," he said with a trembling voice and tried to pass by us. Despite what I expected, his words lacked even a hint of sarcasm, like he truly believed that this was prosperous.
"Why does your Lord make you live under these circumstances?" Demanded Allen, which made the old man even more scared and confused.
"Our prosperity is thanks to our Lord, whom we serve and love with all of our hearts," he said again, and this time Lavi let him go on his way. Something was very wrong in this town, and I had a feeling that I had to say goodbye to the comfortable bed and hot bath. How typical…
"Something is not right; it is like he was under some sort of mind control," said Lavi pensively. Could it be an illusion like mine was? Possible, but the old man was repeating the same thing, whereas I became a completely new person. This was something more simple and brute.
"Let's ask around and see what this Lord is doing to its people." Allen's voice was sharp, like he already decided that the Lord was the culprit. Although it was very likely, without proof of an Innocence being involved, we could not get involved.
"Our mission is to look for Cross," I reminded them but he whisked me off. I should've known that these two were suckers for charity cases like this.
"Let's split up to cover more ground. We will meet here in two hours, sharp." Lavi seemed to think it was a good idea to go out on our own and I didn't feel like arguing with him. The place gave me the chills, so I decided to go to the outskirts of the village rather than the center.
Following the tall walls that surrounded the town, I soon reached the West Gate. Past the entrance, the houses were less dense, it was clear that it was the farming area. Similar to the center, however, the people seemed tired and sick. When I asked around, even for basic things such as overnight accommodation, the answer was always the same. I was starting to be certain that the entire village was indeed brainwashed. If so, there had to be an Innocence around with an extremely nasty accommodator.
"Excuse me, Miss," I heard a faint sound behind me as I was starting to head back to our meeting point. I turned around, and behind me stood a little girl, couldn't be older than 10 years.
"Yes?" I asked impatiently, I didn't have time to converse with children, that's for sure. "What do you want?"
"I…I…heard you were… asking about the Lord." I could tell that the little girl was scared of me but it sounded like she might not be as useless as I had first thought. She was the only one so far who wasn't repeating that nonsense.
"Is he doing this to the village?" I asked, kneeling in front of the girl. The little girl nodded, and I could see tears accumulating in her faint, brown eyes.
"He comes to us and tells mommy and daddy to give him everything. He forces them! Everyone does what he says. Some people talk back to him but then these ugly creatures come and turn them into sand." The little girl was shaking but I could see the determination in her eyes. "I always hide when he come, so he wouldn't make me do things."
"I understand," I said and I tried to send an encouraging smile towards her. Children were not my strength, neither was emotional support. "I need to you to go home now and hide again. I am an Exorcist, and I promise I will take care of this. I will come for you when it is over."
The little girl stared at my face for a little bit, like she was trying to decide whether I was telling the truth. For a change, it wasn't a lie but she couldn't know that. After all, I looked like an average girl from another town. The little girl eventually nodded and ran back down on the street. I let out a deep sigh, somehow trouble found us again. When I reached our meeting point Lavi and Allen were already there, and judging from their expression they didn't find anything positive either.
"It has to be an Innocence," said Lavi when I finally reached them. "The whole town is brainwashed, everyone just kept repeating the same thing."
"That's not the worst part," I added. "I met this little girl, she said that the Lord comes to see them and tells the parents to surrender everything. When his charm doesn't work on people, she said he uses creatures that turn people into sand. Sound familiar?"
"He commands Akuma?" Asked Allen a little louder than he was supposed to, but the town people were too out of it to notice. "Then he must be a Noah."
"I am not so sure about that," answered Lavi, shaking his head. "Obviously, that is the most logical explanation, except that a Noah would have no interest in a town like this. Of course, nothing is impossible."
"We should see this Lord tomorrow, take a good look at him." A big yawn escaped from the white-haired Exorcist at the end of his sentence, which made me realize that we had no place to sleep. The sun had already gone down and slowly, all people disappeared from the streets.
"Let's just hope this town has an inn," said Lavi frowning.
After an hour of searching, we finally found a small inn that was in no better condition than the other buildings in the village. The innkeeper was just as disoriented as others, so we just took the only room key that was hanging behind the counter. There was no point trying to leave money for the man, we knew it would just go back to the Lord. The room was small, but it did have a couch and two beds which was more than what we had hoped. There was even water in the bathroom, and although it was not the cleanest, I couldn't care anymore. At that point, I couldn't even care that there were no towels, nor that the door wasn't attached to its frame. I had to ask Lavi to lift the door in its place so I could take a bath. I put the new clothes on without drying myself and let Allen into the room.
"There is no hot water, as expected. It is not very clean either, so I need to look at your wounds," I said but he didn't move. "Today."
He sighed and finally started to take his shirt off. Looking at his face and how much he avoided looking at me while unbuttoning his shirt made me realize the situation we were in. He was a man, undressing in front of me. As a medical professional I was used to people undressing in front of me, the human anatomy never bothered me too much, I just viewed it as a scientific object. The realization that he didn't, opened my mind up to a completely new situation, something I was not familiar with. I inhaled sharply as I watched his shirt fall to the ground. I tried to recall the Latin names of all muscles groups as I stepped closer, averting my attention from the reality in front of me. I was enraged with him that he made this situation into something it wasn't supposed to be. I did not want these thoughts in my head.
"You better not have opened that cut on your back," I said to him sharply as I unwrapped him from the bandages. Luckily, the wound was closed and the skin around it was normal. My blood did its job well, only a thin pink line indicated that once there was an injury there. As I slid my finger across the healed cut, goosebumps appeared on his skin again. "Are you cold?"
"I'm just not used to people touching me; you do that a lot," he said with an embarrassed smile. Oh, excuse me that I didn't let him die. What a brat.
"Try to not get beaten up that much then, weakling," I hissed at him, which made that annoying smile disappear from his face. He really needed to learn his place.
"How do you go from caring to bitch that fast?" He countered, which made my blood boil even more. Oh, he didn't just say that. I was surprised he had it in him, really. He seemed like such a pushover.
"Doing my job isn't caring," I said angrily and reached for the bandage on his head and ripped it off a little too fast. He didn't move or flinch; he just let me do my job. He was taller than me, so I had to reach behind his neck to pull him down, bringing him closer to me than I would've preferred. As I slid my hand up on his face to hold it in place while I examined the injury, I felt his hand grab my waist. My body stiffened to his touch, it wasn't a gentle one, I realized he lost his balance as I pulled his head forward. I sighed annoyed and brushed his hair out of his face. That cut was healing nicely as well, so I decided to let it breath.
"Don't put your head underwater," I said finally and pushed him away. Before he could've said anything, I had already left the room, waving to Lavi to put the door back in the frame. I threw myself on the couch and I heard Lavi chuckle next to me.
"You remind me of someone," he said still giggling. "He gets just as annoyed by Allen."
"Really? Seemed to me being an idiot makes you pretty popular at the Order," I answered sharply but he remained in his amused state.
"Idiots can grow on you," he said with a mysterious smile on his face.
I really, honestly disagreed with that statement.
Thank you for reading!