Kimiko: Sorry if you were waiting for this. I was having trouble getting started, but I didn't really want to break my habit of uploading something every day.

Victory and Yokai

Kanda kept moving on to the rest of the places where the enemy was supposed to be but only found death comparable to in the field and on the bridge. Everywhere he looked, the remaining hostile troops were either torn to pieces by the lethal claws or shot by the soldier's bullets. Many of them had apparently tried to flee, as they were face down on the ground, dead. These two had either been shot or sliced up by the yokai. Victims of the latter were particularly grotesque close up. If you looked closely, you could see their broken spines and even ribs poking out of the gory mess.

Even for a trained warrior like Kanda, it was a grisly sight to behold. He was used to seeing the effects of swords that smashed powerfully through bodies, katanas that cut evenly, axes that hacked brutally, spears, clubs, firearms, and even the newer grenades, cannons and Gatling guns. All of these tools had been designed to kill people. They all left former humans as vile, bleeding refuse on the battlefields. But he had never really seen a living thing cut through so many people so quickly and efficiently, ripping the life away as he ripped through the skin.

The beansprout could really work hard. He hadn't been kidding when he said he would be helpful in battle.

He gathered with his division again as he heard a short trumpet call. They hardly spoke, waiting for some kind of explanation for the short day's events. They held a mixture of anticipation and exhilaration. Kanda supposed that they were excited at the easy victory. As far as they knew, the enemy could have been annihilated by some other force. It could be a good thing or a bad thing.

The officer of their division, Winters Zocaro, was just as in the dark as anyone. He was trying to connect with the other divisions over the radio-golem. They watched him listen for a while, occasionally speaking to the communication device.

"Well, men," he finally growled. "This is our victory. Suman Dark's guys are going to secure the area. Meanwhile, we can head back to camp." He stopped, seeming to consider another option. "Or, if you don't mind walking too far, there's a decent town called Cit'tian two miles or more from the bridge. As long as you check in with me before you leave, I don't care. I think you've earned it."

The soldiers cheered and just about every one of them began making a clamor, asking for a few days' leave. Kanda noticed Alma, Daisya, Marie and Lavi coming over to talk to him.

"You're going to Cit'tian too, right Yu?" Alma asked. Kanda shrugged. It didn't really matter.

"Then I'll tell Zocaro," Daisya said as he too joined the mass trying to speak to the officer, who was just about to tell them all to leave for the town.

The group of five first stopped by their camp to change and drop off some of their equipment. Then they headed off down the road, still lined with bodies. They ignored these, considering them to be little more than obstacles in their path. Alma, Daisya and Lavi began talking about what they would do in the town while Marie and Kanda walked in silence.

Kanda looked slowly around to see if the yokai was still following. He had a lot of things he wanted to ask the beansprout now that he had seen his ruthlessness in the battle. There he was, trailing along in the grass about eight meters away from them. He was mostly looking at things in the grass, but he noticed that Kanda was looking back and smiled brightly.

How could he smile like a kid after being such a cold-blooded killer? Maybe it was something that came with being a yokai. For all Kanda knew, the kid could have killed thousands of people before. He didn't know if yokai aged at all.

"Kanda, what is it back there?" Marie's soft voice brought Kanda's attention back to the front.

"Nothing really."

The town was almost a small city. It didn't seem to have been occupied by their enemies, and Kanda wondered why. Neither did it seem to be very worried about the war. But then again, the shopkeepers and townspeople were already making business off of the new arrivals. This must have happened with the opposite side a few days before. The war was a business to these people.

Daisya dragged Marie off almost as soon as they entered Cit'tian. Alma and Lavi said they would hang around Kanda to keep him company, which he asserted that he did not need. Nevertheless, they pulled him into a restaurant and got him at a table.

Kanda hadn't realized how hungry he had gotten that day. He ordered something simple while Lavi and Alma were boggled by the specials of the day. Kanda figured these were the "Soldier Specials," with not-so-special prices. It was almost predictable.

As he waited for the food, he remembered the kid again. Did yokai eat? Well, it wasn't really his problem. He would lose these two idiots and talk with the kid later.

"Hey, Yu," Alma leaned on the table to look his friend in the face. "What did you think about the end to the battle today, huh? Pretty amazing,"

"Yeah," Lavi added. He shot a look to Kanda. "I have no idea how it happened, do you? Maybe luck was on our side."

"There is no luck in war, only experience." Kanda shot back. "How should I know anything about the battle? The enemy was weak and easily scared, even though they did outnumber us. We had the edge and the experience."

"I guess," Alma muttered. Their food arrived and there was less conversation, even though Lavi managed to say something stupid every minute or so. Once they were done, Alma managed to move the conversation to speculations about the town. It was better talk than anything at the camp, so even Kanda threw in a sarcastic comment a few times.

Finally Lavi and Alma resolved to go to a bar to drink. They paid for their meal and Alma quickly excused himself to find a bathroom before they left. Kanda took this opportunity to leave. He had no intention of following them around everywhere. He began to walk out of the restaurant, but Lavi caught his arm.

"So I assume that your yokai did that today, right, Yu?"

Kanda wrenched his arm out of the other's grip. "Don't call me that, you dumb shitty rabbit-brain." He left the place.

He looked around again and finally saw the beansprout sitting on the roof of the building he had just exited. No one was around, so he called up to him.

"What are you doing up there, beansprout?"

The kid jumped lightly down. "I was just waiting for you to finish."

Of course. Kanda really didn't want to waste time on idle conversation; he had wasted enough in the restaurant with Alma and Lavi. But talking to a ghostly yokai in the middle of the street would be awkward.

"Follow me. I want to ask you about something." Kanda began searching for a quiet, secluded part of town. The beansprout obediently followed. He was so faithfully silent that Kanda had to keep looking back to make sure he wasn't getting lost or anything.

Kanda started to fume when he realized that the town was a little too lively. He couldn't find what he was looking for. Did this place just never rest? After what felt like half an hour, he finally came across the kind of thing he wanted. It was a large plot of grassy land, with trees and bushes around the outside. Probably the place where kids when to play on sunny days, but it was already evening. There should be no one there. This was the place he was looking for. The two sat down on the grass at the center.

"All right, now tell me exactly what you are, what you did, and anything that you haven't said yet. Don't you dare lie to me, or I'm going to stick you back in that shrine."

The kid's eyes widened, but he nodded seriously. "Okay. I'm Allen. As a yokai, I'm called the Bloody Clown. I can make my left arm into a claw for offensive purposes. At the battle, I did as I thought you wanted. I killed those enemies to help you end it sooner. And what else would you want to know? I can't remember why I was sealed, what I was doing before, or much at all before it. I can remember some names and faces but I think they're all other yokai. Um, I want to help you end the war so I can finish breaking the seal. And, oh, at the ruins, I wasn't trying to do anything wrong. I had to make a mark of the contract to finish it. I'm very sorry if it hurt."

That was just about everything Kanda had been wondering about. He had noticed the odd mark on his chest where the beansprout had grabbed at him, but he had made the conclusion that it had to do with the yokai's 'contract' before.

But he didn't want to end it like this. "Are you sure you can't remember much of your life before the shrine?" he demanded.

The kid shrank back. "I don't really remember. I can visualize faces and some names, but that's it."

"What names?"

"Tyki. Road. Mana. Cross. Earl. I'm not sure who they are or what they mean."

This was still a start. Kanda tried another route. He knew it was pointless to get mad at the yokai, because he knew now that this beansprout, Allen, could actually help him end the war.

"When you were fighting, could you tell if anyone else saw you?"

"Except for that man with the eye patch, no," he replied. "I can tell when people can see yokai. But when I am in my offensive form, I am slightly visible to anyone as a shadow. It has more to do with the natural effect of my power. Some yokai don't have too much of a fear effect, but powerful ones can influence a lot of people."

The kid had affected a lot of people. Even Kanda had felt some reaction to it, but he could also see the object of the fear. But still, it was hard to remember, in that moment, that the monstrous yokai usually looked like a harmless little child. Now, as Kanda looked over the child, he kept noticing the wide silver eyes, the simple clothes, the pale skin and the threadlike chain and collar. Kanda had to admit that he looked like an innocent kid, especially with the weird arm and the mark that looked like a horrible scar. A cute little kid…

No, he couldn't think like that. The beansprout was a weapon that Kanda intended to use to end the war. Even if it seemed heartless now.

"Listen, beansprout," he ordered. "From now on, whenever we're about to enter any combat situation, you're going to go ahead and start to kill everyone on the other side, even if we haven't moved yet. You can scare them as much as you want. And if anyone can see you, you tell me. If they're an enemy, kill them, but if they're not, tell me without them noticing. And you can stay a little closer, but don't talk to me unless I talk to you." Was there anything else he needed to say? "And if you sense-or-whatever another yokai, tell me."

"I understand, sir."

Ugh. That sounded weird. "Just call me Kanda."

"Okay, Kanda. And if you want, you can call me Allen."

"You're a kid, a beansprout, and a yokai. That's what I'm calling you." There was a slight pause between this and the kid's next reply that he understood. Kanda looked at the other's face but it was now too dark to tell what he was thinking. He got up and began to look for a place to stay for the night. He definitely didn't want to go back to the camp, where Link would probably tell him to get everyone else back.

While Kanda walked, he almost wished the kid would talk more. If he had, Kanda would have instantly told him to shut up, but he still had a faint desire to hear him talk more.

What was he thinking? The kid was just a weapon that Kanda was going to utilize from now on.

Was Kanda cruel to the beansprout? No, he wasn't.

This was all so Kanda could go back to that place.

Kimiko: I'm glad so many people are reading this. It makes me force myself to upload a new chapter every day. I just wish I could write better.

Flanagan: [to Kimiko] You write to the best of your ability. [To the readers] And if any of this seems like another story you've read, it's not intentional. We're pulling this out of our brains-that-are-tired-from-school to feed your happy fan-minds. We hope you like this story.