Special thanks to Ume Kanda and Emmerai for being the first to comment. After your review, Emmerai, I have spent a lot of time reviewing and anding scenes to the last two chapter- I appreciate your input.
Also- and big thanks to my sm-chan! She has been something of a beta reader and puts up with my nevrending texts regaurding this story.
Now grab some popcorn, sit back, and enjoy the show~
Chapter 1- Part 2: What Big Eyes Indeed
3rd person POV:
"Anyone home?" the gruff voice pierced the silence of the cottage. "Well, couldn't hurt to take a break here." The burly man concluded before taking a chair and scooting it by the still warm oven. Someone must have been there recently; the oven's fire was fully stocked with wood and the room didn't have a speck of dust in it. After his long trip of searching for game meat for his family, the hunter was returning home empty handed. "Maybe I'll have some better luck next time." He concluded, rubbing his hands together in front of the warm oven.
"Luck doesn't matter." A little girl approached him from behind. The hunter jumped, surprised with the presence of the young child who didn't make a sound upon entering the room.
"Oh, is this your house, young miss?" The hunter asked, standing and removing his hat in front of the young lady.
"No, its grandma's. But she won't mind extra for dinner." The girl said, looking up at the man with big, glossy eyes.
"And where is your grandma?" The man asked, bending down to the little girl's level. She looked about the size of his own daughter, and couldn't help the wave of homesickness he got by looking at the girl.
"She will be back soon." The girl said, walking towards the man's hunting pack. "Whats that?" she asked, pointing to his axe.
"Its my hunting axe, I use it to help feed my family." He explained, using an appropriate description for the little girl. He picked it up and put the blade of the axe in his hand, showing the glint of the blade in the light from the window. "See, its sharp." He explained, slightly pricking his finger to prove his point.
"Its red." The stated dully.
"Well, it is blood." The hunter explained, wiping his finger on his shirt. "Everyone has it."
"Everyone?"
"Yep, it flows through your whole body. It's what keeps you living." He said, turning his back to the girl, attempting to warm his hands in front of the oven again.
"So the axe makes things red?"
"Yeah, I guess?" the man huffed, not concerning himself with the girl anymore- he just wanted to go home to his own daughter.
"Granny likes red." The girl grinned before approaching the man's back, his axe in her hand.
Jane's POV
I don't know how long the wolf had been running, but it seemed like hours considering my uncomfortable position. I was not injured, some scrapes here and there from running through the forest, but I could not understand why the wolf refused to hurt me.
What really bothered me was that Kanda was not holding up his end of the deal. If I am willing to stick my neck out there and act as bait, he better be willing to at least put forth an attempt at following me. I knew he didn't like finders, but I didn't know he was willing to sacrifice them to giant wolves.
The wolf had taken me to a glen, lined with oaks, but one seemed to be larger than the rest.
"If you're not Akuma, then what are you?" I asked as the wolf placed me beside the towering oak.
"Red is in danger." I swear, the lips didn't move, but I defiantly heard something.
"Um. Pardon me?" Did the wolf just talk?
"Red is in danger."
"I must be dreaming, I guess I really did nod-off back there." I concluded and began pinching myself to see if I would wake up.
"Red." The wolf said more forcefully this time. I looked up, and again, I was met with only the sight of its eyes and the streaks of ethereal green. "In danger." It chanted again once it had my attention.
"In danger of what? Aren't you the one taking the children wearing red?" Heck, if it could talk, maybe I could interrogate it.
"To save. Save red from danger." The wolf backed off a little now that I was taking it seriously. He tossed his head to the tree. I looked over, and back at the wolf. He gestured again so I walked to the oak tree and placed my hand on it.
It went right through.
"W-what the f-"
"Red inside." the wolf interrupted me.
"Um, hello?" I tried again, putting my hand in- this time it was grabbed by something significantly smaller. "Hang on, I've got you." I put my other hand in the tree and pulled out a small girl with familiar eyes and a red bow in her hair. "Are you Lucas' sister?" I asked, placing the small girl on the ground.
She nodded in response. Her hair was significantly lighter than her brother's, almost a dirty blonde, but they shared the same hazel eyes. She wore a button up shirt with a skirt and had on black boots. The bow held her hair in a side ponytail, she was no more than five years old.
"What's your name?" I tried again to get her to talk. She just stared at her shoes, pushing around the dirt on the ground with them. "Sweety, I'm here to help you. I know you are scared, but I'm going to my best to get you back home with you brother. Did you know he sent me to save you?" She shook her head 'no'. "Well my partner and I are here to get you back to your family. Are there any other girls in there with you?"
She nodded again. So I repeated the process of pulling a small girl out of a tree and found the girl with the red raincoat. "Is there another?" I asked, getting ready to pull out two more missing girls and a grandmother.
"No others." The wolf said. The girls, noticing it for the first time, ducked behind me to hide from the wolf.
"What happed to the three others that you apparently killed?" I asked, trying to solve this mystery.
"Not three. One. One red met danger."
"What danger? So far you are the most threatening thing in this forest." All went quiet, it was then that I heard a small sing-song voice weave its way through the forest.
"What big eyes. What big ears. What big teeth. Better to-see. Better to- hear. Better to-eat. Eat Eat Eat. Red. Red. Red."
"What is that?" I whispered to the wolf, picking up the girls who now willingly clung to me for protection.
"Danger. Go in tree."
"Not before you tell me what is going on."
"Danger is here." Right as the wolf finished speaking, another small girl in a red cloak with a basket appeared. "Get in tree, now." The curl had perfectly curled hair and wore a red cloak that hid her clothes. Her face was like that of a doll, it held nothing but an empty smile.
"Granny loves red." She said in a voice that dripped with sweet venom.
"Ra!" The wolf growled before putting itself between me and the young girl. I heard a buzzing from above and looked up. I saw a black winged creature hovering above the trees.
"Golem!" I hissed, attempting to get its attention. "Go-le-m!" It took notice that time and fluttered down to me. "Give Kanda our location and this message. 'I have two of the girls. The wolf is safe. The girl with the red cloak appears hostile.' Now go on." I commanded. But before it could fly away it was shot out of the air. I turned back and saw that instead of an arm, the girl with the red cloak had a cannon.
"A-akuma.."I had defenseless civilians with me. Not. Good. "You're going to have to stay in that tree a little longer, girls." I explained, and very quickly put the girls back where I found them. "I'll be back soon, don't worry." I at least attempted to comfort them.
"What beautiful red hair you have." The Akuma sang. I hid behind a tree as it let off several rounds of fire. Hopefully Kanda could hear the cannon fire and would know to get his ass over here. I peeked out from my hiding spot to see that the wolf was slowly deteriorating, and that the large oak was still standing, despite the fact the akuma was aiming at it.
"Come out and play! I love red too, don't you want to be friends?" The Akuma cooed at the tree.
"H-hey! Over here." I called, guess I have a death wish.
"Oh, oh, oh! Another playmate! Let's play tag. I'm it, and if I tag you- then you die."
Third person POV- with the BaKanda
"I sent that Golem after her over an hour ago, where the hell did that thing take her?" Kanda muttered to himself as he causually lounged on a roof of one of the town's houses. He figured the golem could record any information he would need to know on her location and on what the wolf was- then she could 'take care of herself' as she put it and hike home without him.
Bam! He knew that noise. Bam!Bam!Bam!
"Akuma." He hissed through gritted teeth before charging into the forest.
And now Back to Jane~~~
I ran. I ran and I ran and I ran. I could deal with the scrapes on my legs and face from the whiplash of branches. I could deal with the sensation that my lunges were on fire. I could even deal with the occasional blast from an Akuma's cannon.
I could NOT deal with the voice, the one that wanted me dead; The one that, no matter how fast I ran, seemed to sing right into my ear.
"Come out Ms. Red- don't you want to play?"It chanted. "I can't wait to rip all your hair out so it can be mine!"
I suddenly broke into a clearing, a cottage sat in front of me. Humans means possible weapons- which means maybe I could hold it off until Kanda got here. That or die trying.
I ran into the house, the door all but fell off, and scoured the room for anything to defend myself with. Seeing nothing immediately (besides a rocking chair and a broomstick), I switched game plans to hide-and-seek. I saw a small door like opening in the stone, and figuring it was a cabinet, I climbed in. It was tight, but hopefully that meant the Akuma didn't think I could fit.
"Cooooome ooouuuuuuut." It sang in a whisper- I might seriously need some therapy after this. "In grandma's house- that's where we eat, eat, eat."
"Oh shit." I mouthed to myself, I was in its freaking layer- I started praying that Kanda would somehow, magically appear.
"Did you know I didn't just eat the girl with the red shoes?" Her voice was close to my hiding spot, I got a sinking feeling in my stomach. "I ate a man too, he had an axe. After that I leveled up, there is no way you can beat me." I heard a click by my hiding place. "And soon I'll eat you too."
Hot. I started to get very hot. As I began to sweat, I touched the wall and heard my skin sizzle. I realized I wasn't in a cabinet, I was in an oven. I rattled the door- it was bolted locked. I started using more force, desperate to get out.
"Uh-oh. Looks like you won't be alive much longer." She cackled. She continued to hum, and I continued to rattle the door, finding that the door was beginning to burn my skin.
"Finder?" I heard someone call at a distance. I thought pigs would fly before that man would ever be my savior- beggars can't be choosers though.
"Kanda!"I cried. "KANDA!"
"I get another playmate~" I heard the Akuma sing. "goody for me, everyone has red blood."
Kanda walked toward the cottage, if his finder didn't show up soon, he was leaving this stip town all together.
"KANDA!" He heard, though it sounded muffled, he could feel how desperate the cry was. He was already playing the image in his mind; the finder calling too him while in the grasps of the Akuma, only to be killed as soon as they saw him and thought they were going to be saved. It had happened countless times, that was why no exorcist should become attached to a finder.
Nonetheless he ran into the cottage to find….no one. A rattling form the wall caught his attention though.
"Kanda!" That defiantly caught his attention.
"Finder?" He questioned, approaching the oven.
"For the love of your samurai pride, let me out!" She cried desperately.
"Did you just insult your savior?" He questioned, liking his superior position.
"You ass! Get me out!"
"Try again."
"Kanda, I worship the ground you walk on and will never be able to attain your level of awesomeness." She rushed.
"And what was that about my samurai pride?"
"It is above all holies, even that of Lenalee's virginity, and is never to be insulted."
"Not bad." He smirked before undoing the latch on the oven. Jane came head over heels tumbling out, hitting the floor with a solid thud. As Jane lay there panting, Kanda inspected her. A bit of singed hair and some mild burns on her hands was the extent of her injuries. "Get up, you're not dying." He rolled his eyes, how dramatic. "By the way, your face matches your hair."
"I almost was baked in an oven, and you-YOU were, I mean, are a complete ass."
"Shut up, I saved you even though I promise myself I would let you die on this mission." He waved her away like she was a fly. "Where did I hear the canons from though?" He muttered to himself.
"That's right! The akuma was just here, she leveled up!"
"What!" Now she had Kanda's attention.
"She was saying something about axes before she started to bake me." Jane shuttered at the thought- almost baked alive. Kanda and Jane ended up going back to back, circling the room, searching for the level two akuma.
Back to Jane's POV~
"Maybe if I eat both of you I can level up again."Kanda and I both looked up to see that the child's hair had grown and was acting as extra appendages. She no longer used her limbs to move, but instead relied on her hair, she was holding an axe. "I told you the man left me an axe to play with." She smiled before lunging toward us.
"Move!" Kanda shouted, pushing me aside before drawing Mugen to meet the axe held by the Level two Akuma. "Get out." He growled. As I was running to the door, when I saw the Akuma's hair coming around Kanda's back- he was too focused on the axe to realize he was going to be attacked from behind.
I looked for something to take care of the Akuma's hair, but the only thing that remotely resembled a weapon was a fire poker. It had a fork pronged end that I used to tangle the hair in. I stepped behind Kanda, back to back again, and began to tangle the Akuma's hair in the prongs of the fire poker.
"What do you think you're doing?" Kanda growled, sparing me a glance.
"Returning the favor." I replied, skewering the twirling another lock of hair. No way was I going to let Kanda hold the whole 'saving me' situation over my head. Kanda and I actually worked together, he fought against the axe, and I took care to the hair the threatened to strangle us. It was like a strange dance, we didn't argue, didn't get in each other's way, and fought for the same purpose.
"Watch out."He said, pushing me out of the way again. The axe landed right where I had been standing, Kanda stepped on it and then lunged toward the Akuma's head and sliced through it.
"AARRRGGHHHH!" It let out one more antagonized cry before it disappeared, the purified soul left to rest in peace.
We were walking back toward the tree that I had hid the girls in, arguing as per usual. I was picking off the singed ends of the curly, red hair- Kanda was making fun of me, again. But I brought up the point that I saved his back.
"Hell, I just saved your ass, so shut up." He spat at me and turned toward the oak tree I lead him to. "Is the tree the innocence?" He muttered.
"I don't know." I sighed, suddenly tired with the day's events. I walked over to the tree, and put my hands through to pick the girl's up.
"W-what the f-" Kanda sputtered. He gave me the look that you give crazy people who pull children out of trees.
"I put the girls in here to keep them safe from the Akuma." I explained
"Che." Was his reply as he tried to recompose himself. I pulled out Luca's sister and placed her next to the girl with the red raincoat. I then proceeded to climb into the tree to inspect it for innocence. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Kanda gave an exasperated sigh.
"Looking for innocence." I stated before completely disappearing within the tree. It was as if someone had hollowed out the tree, the area inside was not any larger that the tree itself. I looked all around and could not see anything that resembled an innocence. "Where could it be?" I hummed to myself. I looked down and found my answer. "Aha!" I exclaimed. I bent down and picked up the small flower, sprouting from the bottom of the tree.
"Oye, Finder!" I hear Kanda knock on the outside of the tree. "did you get the innocence?"
Wait…did he just knock? I got up and put my hand of the tree, expecting it to go through, but was shocked to find that I was met with solid wood.
"Kanda! I can't get out!" I cried and proceeded to hit the wood in front of me, hoping it would yield.
"Not the point." He said boredly. "Do you have the innocence?"
"You jerk! Get me out of here!" I commanded, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu.
"Whatever." I heard him mumble before hearing him begin to walk away.
"I have it!" I cried desperately. " I have the innocence!" Even if I didn't have I would have said this so he would at least attempt to get me out of this tree.
"Stand back." He commanded.
"I'm in a tree! How can I stand back?"
"Not my fault if I gut you." He concluded before slicing away at the tree. I threw myself to the ground and covered my head with my hands. "Get up, you look pathetic."
"You could have killed me!" I exclaimed, crawling through the hole he had carved for me.
"Doesn't matter, you're replaceable." Ouch, that kind of stung. Did I not rescue two girls and find the innocence for this sorry excuse of an exorcist? Did I not just save you, did the fight together mean nothing? Replaceable?
"Where's the innocence?" I handed it to him, not saying anything since I didn't trust my tongue not to lash out at him. He stalked off, and I felt two hands find both of mine. Even if I was replaceable by Kanda's standards, I did save these two girls, and being able to walk them home while holding my hands reminded me of why I work for the Order.
After returning the girls home and explaining to the church what had happened, Kanda and I made our way back down the German country road toward the train station.
"W-wait!" I heard a small voice cry behind us. It was Lucas' younger sister- who I found out was named Mary. "Ms. Jane! Wait!"
"Che" Kanda said before turning to leave.
"What is it Mary?" I smiled at the young girl; she looked around the same age as Miran.
"I want you to have this!" she handed me a blue ribbon. "It's not red, so the monsters won't get you, and Lucas said you needed a hair tie." She explained. Aw, she's giving me a gift.
"Why, thank you." I replied before giving her a quick hug. "It's beautiful." I tied back my hair into a pony tail and flashed her another smile before running to catch u with Kanda.
"Maybe you should leave your hair down." He stated when I caught up.
"Why? Weren't you the one to mock my out-of-control hair?"
"That was before I had to deal with looking at your face." That jerk did not just go there. "Its ugly and covered in spots."
"They're called freckles, you jerk. And at least my appearance has personality, BaKanda!" That name made him turn to growl at me.
"Are you kidding me, you look like a country bumpkin. I can't believe I had to be seen with you."
"An' you think I want'd to be seen wit a wannabe samurai hoo looks like a woman!" I exclaimed back. Unfortunately, in the heat of the conversation, my accent slipped.
"Pft." He smirked, "You talk like a country bumpkin too."
"Least I don't look like a cross dresser." I said, crossing my arms.
"Shut up." He snapped before settling into silence. It was the end of a mission and we were both ready to get rid of each other. Too bad Komui had other plans.
