Kimiko: Hi again! Here's the next chapter. And I checked again, but I discovered again that I don't own -man. I know nothing more than any other hardcore DGM fan could know.
Battle and Bloodshed
Kanda found out that evening that he wouldn't have to wait long for a battle after all. Before the sun went down, Commander Link called the company together and announced that they would be moving out in the morning. There was going to be another conflict about eight miles away, between a village and a bridge. They would be meeting up with another unit to face the enemy. When Lavi asked what the numbers on each side would be, Link reported that their side had less, but the other side's soldiers had less experience.
The numbers didn't mean much to Kanda. He would cut down anyone in his path and simply follow his orders. That's all he came to war to do.
He had noticed the beansprout had followed him to the gathering, but was still obediently keeping his distance. Kanda didn't look at him. He didn't want to be bothered by any small talk, even though the brat hadn't made much when he insisted that he be left alone. He got enough unwanted conversation from Alma, Marie, Daisya and Lavi.
The meeting was already over and his not-friends were coming over to him to talk. Kanda rolled his eyes, but decided he would put up with it. He did somewhat enjoy Alma's company, but the others were unnecessary. And that idiotic rabbit-like person, Lavi, was just about the most annoying thing on earth, besides children. No, maybe the reason he was so annoying was because he acted like a child half the time. Though he was a decent soldier on the battlefield, Kanda still found him bothersome.
They walked over to Alma's tent, the others chatting about random stuff that Kanda didn't even pay attention to. Once there, Kanda leaned against a wooden post and closed his eyes. This was one of the few places in the camp that didn't smell bad because Alma kept scented herbs in a pouch hanging from the top of the tent. Kanda rather enjoyed it here, and so did the others.
He had just started to feel relatively peaceful when he heard Lavi's voice whispering in his ear, "Hey, Yu, can I talk to you for a minute?"
Kanda opened his eyes and glared at his fellow soldier. "No."
"It's kind of important."
"Go away." The others had apparently gone off to get water because Alma's canteen was gone with them.
"All right, then," Lavi said, sitting back. "I just wanted to know about that yokai that's following you around."
Kanda sat upright and stared suspiciously at Lavi. But he didn't seem to be joking. "You can see that beansprout? He said no one could."
"I've been able to see yokai for a long time." Lavi explained, holding up his hands defensively because Kanda was about to pull out his katana. "He probably meant that everyone who's never encountered a yokai before can't see them. And wait, what did you mean by beansprout? He's a yokai. Is that his name?"
"So you mean that more people could see him?" Kanda asked, ignoring the other question.
"Only people like me, who've had an accidental physical encounter with a yokai. But how did you find him?"
"Like I have any reason to tell you," Kanda growled. He got up and left the tent before the idiot could say anything else. He knew the kid was probably still following him.
Kanda figured that if anyone else could really see it, they would either ignore it, or freak out. But now this felt a little weirder.
If nothing happened on the day of the battle, he was definitely going to get rid of the brat.
Kanda was almost curious to see what the beansprout could do in battle. He had, after all, seen the kid's claws. Now, as he waited for the order to move, he couldn't help but wonder.
Quickly, he snapped his attention back. He had a job to do. He was here to kill people.
After a few more moments, the order was called and Kanda quickly began to move. His group was moving out of the thin woods, across a wide, dead plain and to the edge of the bridge, where they would hold until the second wave came to support them. They didn't have to eliminate everyone, but at least break through the enemy's line.
Beside him, he felt a brief shimmer of wind, like a smaller version of the one in the ruins. He glanced to his side and saw that the beansprout-yokai had changed again, but this time was slightly different. The kid had a look of concentration on his face, one that felt dark and unnatural. The kid began to speed up.
Faster than Kanda now, he ran straight into the field that was supposed to be full of enemies hidden behind large boulders. His claws shone with a deadly light that was only clear in Kanda's eyes. Still, somehow Kanda believed that the enemies could feel the dread that the kid's atmosphere evoked. The kid leaped over the first boulder he came to.
Kanda was just breaking through the trees when he heard the scream and saw the kid's claws flash back. They were now dappled with blood. If Kanda had looked closer, he would have seen the yokai holding shreds of skin from a man's face. But the kid was fast. He struck again, presumably at the second person, and this time, Kanda couldn't see what he was doing. Instead he focused on the task at hand.
The premature reaction had made almost all of the enemy soldiers look out and give away their positions. The second wave of Kanda's supporters had noticed this, still in the trees and the officers had decided to get them to support with gunfire.
Kanda weaved between the bullets shot at him and approached another rock. He had his katana ready when he got to the back of it. Before the three enemies realized it, he had already sliced neatly through their necks. One of them got a slightly deeper cut and the dumbfounded head rolled straight off the body. As with any cut like this, blood nearly sprayed onto Kanda, but he had moved back enough to avoid the bloodbath.
It was troublesome having to wash too much blood and gore off of his uniform.
He kept moving. The enemies could have gotten out from behind the stupid boulders, seeing as how their attackers now knew exactly where they were. They were all mostly staying back, cowing from the gunfire that slammed into their rocks. All they could wait for was the ground soldiers like Kanda to come and slaughter them. Speaking of slaughter…
Kanda cut off another man's head and knelt down behind the now vacant rock (vacant, except for the fresh corpse) to take a momentary look at the place where the beansprout had headed. It took him a while to find him. Kanda eventually saw him, at least twice as far ahead of the rest as before. The kid was almost completely covered in the enemy's blood now. His claw was still as fast as a snake. And the people he was killing had no idea what was happening.
Another soldier screamed in horror as he watched the friend beside him simply burst into bloody shreds. Kanda realized that the soldiers must be seeing something as the kid moved along, but he wasn't sure what. A dark shadow seemed to follow the kid as he kept moving on, not hesitating at all while clearing a path for the rest of Kanda's unit.
The warrior continued again, but the yokai was so fast and efficient that he knew the battle would be over soon. This would be a crushing blow to their enemy if he continued like this. It appeared that all the beansprout knew how to do right now was mercilessly tear apart every opponent fighter he came across. It was amazing and fearsome at the same time.
Almost all of the hostile soldiers in the field were dead, and the kid was already to the bridge. All of the soldiers on Kanda's side were getting confident. They thought their comrades were killing all of the enemies, while only Kanda knew otherwise. Still, a morale booster like this would definitely push them to the conclusion of the battle soon. Once they took the bridge, the enemy would certainly leave.
Kanda reached the bridge, along with a dozen others, and found it full of dead bodies. There would be no need to wait for the second wave.
The kid had been right. He could and probably would be the easy ticket to their victories. And to an end to the war.
Kimiko: To my dear wierdsquirrelgirl, you don't have to worry. Lavi can see Allen now, but he won't get to talk to him until later. Maybe someone else will be able to also, later again. It might even be a key part of the plot later. (O.O) But Allen was visible in the shrine because he couldn't use any of his energy to hide himself from humans. In fact, I bet he was trying to be found by humans…
