Chapter Notes: Following the manga, we're basically going to jump 193 days into the future here. I've included a few of my own scenes at the beginning, but overall we're covering just over six months in this chapter. You've been warned - there's a lot of shit coming.

Chapter Three: Innocence and Ignorance


"We've been living in the shadows everyday,

Are we ever gonna learn from our mistakes?

Our innocence, our ignorance, were lost,

But they'll be found."


Turns out, Nika was right.

After that evening she'd walked in on Alma and Yuu laughing on the floor of the Sixth Laboratory covered in blood, Yuu had been a lot nicer to them. Truth be told, although she had been hoping he'd open up a bit, she was still shocked.

Hard not to be, after nearly two months of being hated by him, but she digressed.

Alma, obviously, was overjoyed. He couldn't be happier now that the three of them were getting along, and made sure he was always attached to at least one of them. Yuu was still a little bit quiet when they spent time together, but Nika suspected that was more because he was generally a quiet person, rather than the cause of any lingering maliciousness.

Still, she couldn't help but feel a little unbalanced at the sudden change, despite being happy about gaining a new friend. She knew the scientists were feeling it too, as she still caught them keeping a careful eye on the three of them before seeming to remember that, theoretically, there would be no more fights to stop.

Alma and Yuu hadn't gotten into another physical encounter since that day - though they still sometimes got into disagreements which would lead to lots of shouting, they'd stopped hurting each other and everyone in the labs breathed a sigh of relief.

Doctor Edgar, especially, made sure to comment on how glad he was with the new development.

Yuu, since he was no longer actively avoiding them, began to join their daily visits to the other children in Laboratory Six, and he even let Alma convince him to move into the sleeping quarters with them. Whenever the three of them weren't doing testing, they were together.

They got to hear Yuu laugh a lot more after that.


The testing was just as bad as ever, unfortunately.

Even if Nika felt a newfound happiness from Yuu's friendship, it almost made it that much more painful to undergo the synchronization tests. Now, as she listened in on the tinny voices that were broadcasted through the golems, her chest tightened even further. It was hard enough before, listening to the things that were happening to Alma, and hearing Yuu's struggles on top of that made her wish more than ever that things didn't have to be this way.

Angry words drifted back to her, almost lost under the white flashes of pain.

"We don't deserve happiness, we're not even human."

She thought about those words a lot, actually.

What does it really mean, to be human?

A burst of static from one of the golems interrupted her muddled thoughts, saying something about Yuu. Apparently, he was showing magnificent progress.


Time flew by rather rapidly, in Nika's perspective. She'd heard of a saying once, in passing from one of the scientists, that "time flies when you're having fun". She supposed that was why the days seemed to go by so much faster now.

Before she knew it, Alma's birthday was upon them.

Of course, having never celebrated one before, Nika and Yuu had to have the concept of a "birthday" explained to them. Apparently, it was to signify the passage of one year. Alma, having woken on the sixth day of December, Doctor Edgar explained, was to celebrate his birthday on that day when it came around each year. Normally, Alma told them, the person whose birthday it was would receive presents and there would be some sort of baked good called a cake which everyone would eat.

Since they couldn't exactly go out and buy their own gifts for the celebration, Alma practically demanded that they each give him a hug for his birthday. This wasn't anything new to Nika, who offered up her hug easily, but apparently Yuu had never given one before because he vehemently refused.

"C'mon, Yuu!" Alma whined, holding out his arms. "It's my birthday!"

"I'll get you another present," Yuu tried to bargain, his own arms crossed over his chest stubbornly. "Name it - what do you want?"

"Where are you going to get another present?" Nika pointed out. "There isn't anything here that Alma hasn't already seen."

"I'll think of something!"

"Alright," Alma conceded surprisingly easy. "I want... Two hugs!"

Hah, we should've seen that coming, Nika thought, giggling behind her hand at Yuu's expression.

"Not that, you idiot!" He looked away, the tips of his ears suspiciously pink. "Why do you want a hug so bad, anyway?"

That made Alma pause, as he seriously considered the question. Nika watched, curious. Although she certainly didn't mind giving him a hug, she couldn't help but wonder why he was so committed in getting this present.

"Hmm... I guess it's because I just like hugs?" Alma laughed, seemingly not noticing the deadpan faces of his two friends. "I don't know! I don't get them often, but I still think they're nice."

"That's stupid," Yuu muttered under his breath, warily eyeing Alma as if concerned that he was going to jump him. "If I give you the damn hug, will you stop bothering me about it?"

Alma perked up immediately. "Absolutely!"

Slowly, Yuu held out his arms, firmly looking away from Alma. "F-Fine then."

In an instant, Alma was upon him, arms wound tightly around Yuu's shoulders. The abrupt movement almost knocked them over, but the younger boy managed to steady them just in time. He protested the whole time but didn't pull away from the hug, Alma rocking them side to side gleefully.

Suddenly, he lifted his head to smile in her direction. "Nika! Come join us!"

Yuu's protests got louder at that, but Nika hopped over and hugged him from the other side, effectively trapping him in between hers and Alma's arms. She only let go when Yuu really began to thrash about, stepping back with a laugh. Yuu's cheeks were red, and his mouth was half-heartedly curled into a scowl. As Alma and Nika continued to laugh, his expression curved into more of a pout, which had her laughing even harder.

They were interrupted when Doctor Edgar made his presence known, speaking up from the doorway.

"Well, don't you three look like you're having fun." This assessment was met by two enthusiastic nods. "Are you having a good birthday, Alma?"

"Mhm!" Alma clasped his hands behind his back, rocking onto his toes and back again. "Yuu and Nika just gave me the best presents!"

Off to the side Yuu started mumbling more complaints, arms crossed sullenly.


As her testing continued, Nika came to realize something very important.

While Yuu and Alma were showing significant progress (at least, according to what she heard over the golems), Nika herself seemed to be stuck at a standstill. The scientists were beginning to look more and more frustrated during her sessions. They began to throw around words like "disappointing", and "failure".

She was still healing, no matter what they did to her body. But, regardless of that fact, she still wasn't able to achieve any semblance of synchronization with the Innocence. Her fellow disciples hadn't accomplished whatever the scientists were looking for either, but their bodies were at least showing signs of being able to synchronize.

Her, not so much.

What good was she, if she couldn't even do the one thing she'd been created for?

Her testing became even more rigorous, and Alma sometimes had to carry her back to the sleeping quarters once they were done, despite having injuries of his own. Nika knew that he was worried, but at the end of the day there wasn't much she could do to reassure him.

More than that, Yuu seemed to be having some problems himself. They weren't related to the Innocence, but she'd been woken up several times in the middle of the night when Yuu startled awake. He refused to talk about whatever was haunting his dreams, however, so more often than not Nika simply ignored him and went back to sleep. Alma also seemed to notice something was wrong, as he told her about how Yuu seemed to be having a lot of headaches and was caught staring off into space sometimes.

It wasn't long until the lab technicians began to take note of Yuu's strange behaviour too. They introduced him to someone named Zuu Mei, and Yuu ended up going to see the old man nearly every day. He made some mention of "illusions" but Nika didn't understand what that meant, so she decided to put it out of her mind for now.

Yuu didn't necessarily get any better, though. If anything, he seemed to be getting worse. She could still hear him tossing in his bed at night, and it got to the point where he was loud enough that his movements would even wake up Alma.

And while Yuu looked almost guilty about repeatedly waking them up, he still wouldn't tell them what was wrong.


Almost two months after Alma's birthday celebration, Nika lay awake listening to Yuu's frantic movements two beds away. She thought again about getting up to check on him, but knew that it'd be a pointless gesture anyways.

To her right, she heard Alma let out a quiet sigh. His covers shifted as he turned to look at Yuu.

"It's happening again..." He whispered. Nika wondered if he even knew she was awake.

"Yeah," she replied after a moment. "He's been like this every night for weeks now."

Alma sighed again, reaching up to rub one eye. "I know."

They lapsed back into silence; the quiet was only broken when Yuu suddenly bolted upright, breathing ragged. Nika lifted herself into a sitting position as Alma spoke up, taking a moment to silently observe the other boy. His hair was a mess from his thrashing in his sleep, and he was staring down at his hand for some reason.

"You were tossing and turning again."

Yuu jolted, dropping his hand back to the bed. He looked over at them, seemingly just realizing that they were awake. "Hah, sorry, did I wake you up?"

"Don't worry about it!" Alma chirped. "It's almost morning. It's a little bit early, but wanna leave anyways?"

Yuu gave the affirmative and Nika slipped out of bed, toes curling against the cold floor.

"Let's get dressed, then we can wish everyone a good morning," she suggested.

Twenty minutes later, the trio was stepping into the Sixth Laboratory, their breath appearing as a foggy white cloud in front of them. All three of them were shivering.

Alma let out a shriek almost immediately, wrapping his arms around himself. "Waah! It's so cold! It's W-W-Winter!"

"Huh?" Yuu asked. "Who's that?"

"There's this guy named Winter in the outside world, and he makes everything cold!" Alma explained with a pout. Nika nodded along as if to confirm his words.

"W-What a pain in the ass." Yuu bit out between chattering teeth.

Alma suddenly perked up, looking determined. "Yeah, well, I'm not going to let him stop me!" He declared, sprinting towards the pits. "Good morning everyone!"

"A-Alma," Nika called out. "Maybe you shouldn't be running-"

Yuu burst out laughing when Alma's foot slipped on a wet-looking part of the floor, sending him tumbling head over heels. He ended up sprawled out on his back, feet in the air, and even Nika had to laugh at that.

"I tried to warn you!" She yelled, trying to stifle her laughter behind her hands. "A-Are you okay?"

She and Yuu carefully made their way over to him, helping him to his feet and making sure he didn't slip again. Once he was back upright, Alma darted off to one of the nearby pits, already rambling away.

"...and yesterday, Doctor Edgar put mayonnaise on some food! And this mayonnaise thing is really delicious!"

Nika stopped to greet a few of the sleeping children before she realized that Yuu was no longer behind her. She looked around and eventually spotted him sitting at the edge of the room.

"Yuu?" She stopped in front of him, looking down curiously. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he gestured towards Alma. "I can't believe he remembers everyone's names."

Nika smiled at that, and sat down beside him. "I know, it's kind of amazing. I don't even know all their names, even though he keeps telling me."

"Yeah..." On the other side of the room, Alma was gushing about the ingredients of mayonnaise and how it originated from France, hands waving around excitedly. "Watching him talk to himself from here is really creepy, though."

Nika couldn't help but laugh at that. "I guess," she replied. "He really can talk, can't he?"

When Yuu didn't answer, she glanced sideways at him. Surprisingly, his head was turned the other way, looking at something to his left.

"Yuu?" Nika hesitantly placed a hand on his shoulder, but drew it back almost immediately as if she had been burned. All of his muscles were coiled tight as he sat, frozen, staring at something she couldn't see. "Yuu, what's wrong?"

"What is it with you?" His voice was so quiet she almost didn't hear him, and she leaned in a little bit in case he said anything else.

"What do you want with me!?" Yuu suddenly shouted, his voice loud enough that it echoed in the huge room. Nika flinched back, partly out of shock and partly in an attempt to save her eardrums.

"Yuu?" Alma ran over just as the other boy collapsed, holding his head. "What's wrong, Yuu!?"

Nika could practically hear the grinding of Yuu's teeth as he clenched his jaw. He was shaking, knuckles white against the dark of his hair, forehead pressed to the cold tile.

"Alma, go get help!" Nika wasn't sure what was happening, but Yuu needed help and he needed it now. Alma didn't give any protests, racing out of the room and yelling at the top of his lungs for anyone to come and help.

Cautiously, Nika tried to pull Yuu from the floor so that she could get a look at his face. "Yuu! Can you hear me?"

Beneath her hands, Yuu suddenly went limp.

"Yuu!"

Nika held him as steady as possible, positioning him so that she could support him properly. He was breathing quickly - too quickly - chest heaving, and still trembling minutely. Nika held onto one of his hands tightly, praying that Alma returned with help soon.


Doctor Edgar had rushed into the lab only minutes after Yuu lost consciousness, Renny and Alma right on his heels. The two adults gently took Yuu from her, hurrying him to the infirmary where she and Alma weren't allowed to follow. They tried everything they could think of to get in, but the lab technicians repeatedly turned them away, instructing them to go back to the sleeping quarters. Alma was in tears when Nika finally dragged him away.


"I'll wait for you..."

"...the petals fall..."

"Forever."

Yuu blearily registered the formless figures above him, blinking his eyes open. It took a few minutes before he was able to connect the dots and process what was going on.

"Hang in there, Yuu!" A voice called out.

It sounds familiar.

Eventually, things snapped back into focus and he realized abruptly that he was surrounded by many people. Doctor Edgar and Director Twi were both there, along with several other scientists. All of them looked haggard and concerned. He was in one of the infirmary beds, he noticed belatedly, hooked up to various machines and with several things stuck to his forehead.

"W..hat-" he croaked out, but stopped when Doctor Edgar placed a soothing hand on his head.

"It's alright Yuu, you're okay," he told Yuu, but his voice sounded... off. "We have a few questions for you, but we'll wait until you've woken up a bit more."

Unsure of what was going on, Yuu nodded slowly. What happened? What had he been doing beforehand? He remembered being in Laboratory Six with Alma and Nika, and then...

The woman.

Director Twi seemed to notice something in his expression, because she suddenly spoke up.

"What is it, Yuu? Did you remember something?"

"Twi, please," Doctor Edgar tried to speak up. "He's just woken up, give him a moment-"

"No." She kept her eyes firmly on Yuu's face. "Yuu. What happened in the laboratory?"

"There was... a woman." Suddenly, his vision was beginning to fade again.

"A woman? What woman?"

He was unconscious again before he could answer.


Nika lay in her bed, kicking her feet against the side of the mattress. She couldn't sleep, since it wasn't all that late yet, but with nothing to do she'd come back here. Somewhere along the way she'd lost Alma, who was upset with her for leaving Yuu behind, even though she'd tried to explain that the scientists couldn't help Yuu if they kept getting in the way. He'd run off, and now she was stuck waiting for him to come back, or for Yuu to be released by the scientists.

She counted the cracks in the ceiling, losing track several times as she reached higher numbers, but before she could beginning her fourth attempt, the door opened. She sat up as Alma walked into the room, still looking downcast.

"Alma-"

"I'm sorry Nika," he cut her off. "I know you just want Yuu to get better, too. I shouldn't have gotten upset with you..."

Nika hopped down from her bed, meeting Alma at the doorway. "It's okay, Alma," she wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "I'm sure Yuu will be fine!"

When she pulled back, Alma still looked conflicted.

"Alma? Is everything okay?"

"It's... It's nothing."

Nika knew that wasn't really true, but she didn't know what to say to make him open up. "Let's go get dinner," she suggested quietly. "That'll cheer you up!"

Alma gave her a watery smile. "Yeah, sounds fun."

So the two left the sleeping quarters in search of food, Nika tugging Alma along by the hand. It was a little late for dinner, but they hadn't had a chance to eat earlier with everything that had happened. She tried the keep conversation flowing, unsettled by how quiet Alma was being, but nothing seemed to stick. Alma either gave one word answers, or didn't answer her at all - it looked like he was trapped inside his own head.

Nika couldn't help but huff at his behaviour. "You're acting like Yuu," she muttered, pulling sharply on his hand to get his attention. "C'mon, let's go see what they've got down in the cafeteria!"

By the time they reached the cafeteria, Alma seemed to be acting more like himself. He skipped up to the counter and loudly asked for food, standing on his toes to look into the kitchen.

The cook came forward, smiling when he saw the two of them.

"Hey, Alma, Nika! Just the two of you today?"

Nika briefly worried that the mention of their sick friend would send Alma spiraling back into his depressed mood, but he responded casually enough.

"Yeah, Yuu was quarantined, so it's just us for today."

"Cheer up!" The cook exclaimed, setting down two bowls of food for them. "I'm sure the doctors will have him fixed up in no time!"

"What's that?" Nika suddenly piped up, looking just beyond the cook where another kitchen staff was wrestling with a suspicious looking fish.

"Ah," the cook chuckled. "That's a fish - probably from outside. I heard they caught it in the canal."

Beside her, Alma suddenly straightened up. When she looked over at him though, he had a thoughtful look on his face.

"Alma?"

He blinked, surprised, before waving away her concerns. "Nothing, nothing! Let's eat, Nika!"

Reluctantly, Nika began to eat her own bowl of food, eyeing Alma between bites. Once they were done, they both thanked the cook for the food before Alma dragged her out into the hallway. He didn't stop until they were in a deserted area, with no one else around.

"Al-"

"Nika." His tone was startlingly serious, preventing her from saying anything else. "I need you to do me a favour."

"Um, what kind of favour?"

"I... I need you to go down to where the Innocence is, and synchronize."

Nika blinked, positive she couldn't have heard him right. "I'm sorry- what? You want me to synchronize? Alma, that's what the tests are for!"

"I know!" Alma seemed almost frantic. "I know, but we can't get the scientists - we can't, okay?"

"I-I can't though, Alma, you know that! I haven't been able to synchronize at all-"

"But you need to, and you need to do it now!" Alma suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders. "Nika, we need to help Yuu, and we can't if we don't have the Innocence's power!"

"What does Yuu have to do with this-?"

"Please, Nika!" There were tears in his eyes now. "I-I overheard the scientists and- and they want to put Yuu to sleep. Nika, we can't let them-!"

"Put him to sleep?" Something twisted in Nika's stomach at those words. "...Forever?"

Alma nodded mutely, removing one hand from her shoulder to wipe his at eyes.

Nika bit her lip. "I... I can't-" Seeing the look on his face, she sighed. "I can't promise I'll be able to do it. But I'll try. For Yuu."

Alma dragged her in for a hug, squeezing her tight. "Thank you! I know, it's a lot to ask, I'm sorry! I'll do most of the work, don't worry, I just need to make sure you'll be okay in case something happens!"

"Nothing's going to happen though, right?" She whispered.

"I hope not, but it's good to be prepared."

Feeling determined, Nika nodded. She wrapped her arms tighter around Alma, but stopped suddenly. "Alma..?"

"Yeah?"

"What the hell is in your shirt?"

Alma sprang back, laughing nervously. He lifted a hand to scratch his cheek, but the motion caused whatever it was to fall from underneath his clothes. Nika gaped at the serving tray as it clattered on the floor.

"Alma... Why do you have that?"

"Ahaha, no reason?" He tried. "Look, the cook didn't even notice I took it!"

"But Alma-"

"Gotta go, Nika! Don't forget your part of the plan!" Alma called, already speeding down the hall after he retrieved the serving tray. "Oh! And if you achieve synchronization, go find Yuu afterwards! If not, I'll meet you down there once I have him!"

What have we gotten ourselves into? Nika couldn't help but wonder.


By the end of it all, when all this madness was over with, Nika couldn't even remember what went on in the lower levels of the Asian Branch. Deep in the bowels of the building, where the Innocence was kept in hopes that they, as apostles, would one day synchronize with it and end this "Holy War".

One moment she was falling into the tall room (why hadn't Alma told her how to get in? It would've made everything so much simpler), and everything from then on was shrouded in a dull fog, lost moments hidden by the overwhelming sensation of pain, so much pain.

And then, abruptly, there was nothing.

Suddenly, she wasn't in that room with the Innocence, but somewhere else entirely. Somewhere warm, and bright, and with a dull ringing in her ears.

Then, that ringing became louder, and louder- and she suddenly realized it wasn't a ringing sound at all.

It was a voice.

Was someone talking to her?

She couldn't help but recall a somewhat similar situation. Waking up, not knowing where she was- and then a voice that broke through the haze and lifted her up to safety.

Alma?

Then she remembered. Alma needed her help. Yuu needed both of them to come through for him, to save him.

"We need to help Yuu, and we can't if we don't have the Innocence's power!"

Her friends needed her.

When she opened her eyes again, Nika was momentarily blinded by the bright light of the Innocence. Her whole body felt stiff, but the thought of Alma and Yuu had her pushing herself to her feet regardless.

Slowly blinking her eyes open, Nika's line of sight was drawn to her right hand where a crystalline substance was growing from in between her fingers. It hurt to move her hand, her skin tearing as it brushed up against whatever this thing was, but she did it anyways. She flexed her fingers, bringing her other hand closer to inspect that damage.

And suddenly she knew that this was the Innocence. Her Innocence.

As if powered by that recognition, the crystals pulsed and continued to grow, forming a circular shape just beyond the tips of her fingers. The disk was jagged, newly formed as it was, but it was wider than her arm and she felt better having it with her. Once the transformation was complete, Nika grabbed hold of the disk with her left hand, pulling until it snapped free of her right hand, ignoring the blood that poured from her new wounds.

She needed to continue with the plan, but Alma wasn't there and she felt slightly panicked because of that fact. Had something gone wrong? Were he and Yuu okay-?

The world tilted, sending her crumbling to the floor just as she was getting to her feet. Black and white images flashed in front of her, but some of them were moving too fast to see more than a blur of monochrome.

Yuu was crying.

Red. Red. Blood?

A man with bandages over his eyes, being pulled through a narrow tunnel.

CROW agents. Surrounded.

Last chance.

Alma. Wings?

"I've gotta kill you."

When colour returned to the world, Nika lay gasping on the floor for a moment longer. What was that? She pushed herself to her hands and knees, limbs shaking from the effort and the aftermath of what she had seen.

Something was wrong - very wrong.

She forced herself to run.


After Alma left Nika behind, he ran towards the infirmary. Not knowing how much time they had left was scary, but he had to try. For Yuu.

The door was locked when he got there, but there was no way he was going to let that stop him. As quietly as he could, he twisted the handle until it broke, snapping the locking mechanism inside and allowing him entrance. He darted inside, serving tray held at the ready.

One of the technicians noticed the ajar door, and turned to inspect it. "Hey," he called over his shoulder. "Didn't you lock the door?"

His companion was unconscious before the question was finished, but the first man didn't notice until it was too late. He too, collapsed under the strength behind Alma's attack. The last man in the room tried to run for the door, but didn't make it.

He didn't have much time before someone noticed what was going on in the room, so he grabbed Yuu as gently as he could in his rush, draping him over his back and booking it out of there.

"Everyone's asleep, sorry." He apologized to the dazed boy. "But I'm not abandoning you. It's just... I wouldn't be able to take it you were disposed of. You and Nika... you're all I have. You're my friends, and I won't let them take that away. Sorry." He was crying by this point, but that didn't matter.

He turned a corner, hoping his mental map was right and that he was running in the right direction. Thankfully, they were exactly where he'd hoped, and the large opening at the end of the hall looked like a godsend. Suddenly, sharp pain erupted in his legs and left shoulder, and he stumbled forward, crashing to the ground. Yuu was sent tumbling over his shoulders, landing just a little bit ahead of him.

"Al-" Yuu was cut off as paper seals came down all around them, boxing them in.

As Alma turned to look, three CROWS appeared at the end of the hallway, hands frozen in various signs, ready to activate the seals at a moment's notice. The agent in front spoke up, voice crisp and audible despite the mask covering their face.

"We are taking you back, apostles."

Alma grit his teeth, frustration building inside him. They were so close - Yuu was so close! The exit was right there-

In a last ditch effort, Alma kicked out with all the force he could muster, ignoring the searing pain in his legs. If he could just get Yuu out, he'd take all the pain in the world.

Yuu screamed as he was suddenly pushed off the edge, cursing violently.

"If you get lucky, you might be able to make it outside," Alma explained, ignoring Yuu's yelling. "Run."

A cage made entirely of paper seals came down around him, blocking Yuu from sight in his last few seconds of consciousness.

Just before the darkness consumed him entirely, he heard the CROW saying something that piqued his curiosity.

Core... memory...?


"What an idiot," Yuu grumbled to himself, barely managing to drag himself out of the canal that he'd fallen into after Alma had kicked him off the building- honestly, what was he thinking!? Yuu hunched over, coughing to try and expel the water from his lungs. Once the coughing fit was passed, he began to scale the wall before him because like hell he was going to stay in the canal.

"What the hell do you mean, 'if I get lucky' you bastard!?" He hissed, just as he pulled himself up over the ledge and onto solid ground again. "So cold I could have frozen to death- I actually did die! And this still isn't even outside..."

He collapsed onto the ground, just now noticing that there were two people nearby.

"Hey, pull this out of me." Yuu spoke up, unwilling to move from his spot face-down on the ground.

"Eh!? Okay, um..." One of the people began to panic. "The m-medical team! We need to call them!"

Yuu grabbed hold of their ankle before they could run off in search of a doctor, tripping them and sending them to the floor as well. "You don't need to," he bit out. "Just pull it out and I'll heal. Please, my tattoo's gone numb, it's unbearable."

The other guy sat up, holding his (probably bloody) nose. His eyes widened when he saw what was stuck in Yuu's back. "What the hell..."

Yuu lay still, panting harshly. His whole back felt like it was on fire, the pain was never-ending.

Suddenly, a pair of large, gentle hands lifted him up, laying him against someone's shoulder as they moved to pull out the CROW's needle.

This feels familiar somehow...

"You okay now?" The person asked, shifting Yuu so that he could lay on his side. Yuu stared up at the other man's face, his eyes completely covered by bandages that stood in a sharp contrast against his dark skin. "What's wrong?"

It's so familiar.

"Haven't I... seen you somewhere?"

Then he lost consciousness again.


Chapter Notes: So, yeah. I originally wanted to include a lot more in this chapter, but I guess it'll have to be wrapped up next time because I really wanted to get this out, and it's already longer than usual. Nika's started to remember some things, but she's still not sure what it is she's seeing - the actual realization will come later, as will information about her past.

And, in case you're unaware, the two people Kanda meets at the end are Bak (the loser he trips), and Marie (just recently blinded, still wearing bandages on his eyes). There's also a missing scene in here, where Alma overhears the decision to kill Kanda, but I didn't find it all that necessary to include, as he mentions it later. Also, since I'll be skipping over the actual interaction in the next chapter, just know that the CROW show up and take Kanda away from Bak and Marie after he passes out again.

This chapter covered (basically) the entirety of chapter 191 in the manga. Chapter inspiration from We Came As Romans' "The World I Used To Know".

Quick Note: While searching through the archive, I actually found a story with (according to the summary) a similar plot to this. I personally haven't read it (I don't want it to influence my own writing), but I will suggest that maybe you guys check it out if you're enjoying this fic! It's called "D Gray Land", by user WinterYule.

Published: 11/07/2016

Edited: 01/29/2017 - "Lenny" has been changed to "Renny", because I missed the bad translation and didn't realize that said character was actually a younger Renny Epstain helping her father.