Pledge to Him

Part 6

"Can I ask you 2 to go fetch this herb from this place?" Komui asked of Allen and [Name].

"A herb?" [Name] questioned, unsure. They'd normally have missions for exorcising, and destroying akuma, and normally, getting a herb would be out of the question. Normally they'd leave the job to the finders or people who are merchants.

The head Chief nodded, "That's right. A herb. Although this is a strange mission, it would be very helpful if you 2 got it for us," Komui pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to Allen. It was a picture of a leafy and stringy plant, with small purple flowers blossoming from it, "That's the herb. It looks a little like a flower, so people are fooled. It's called the 'Killers' Weep'. It sounds bad, but there is a backstory to this. People who live near the area have long sought after this herb, but once they touched it, they were paralysed and couldn't move. That might sound like nothing at first, but this herb lives on the edge of a steep mountain, near the ocean. There's a lake that leads to the ocean, and those who are paralysed are dragged along with the current into the ocean. And since they can't move, they can't swim. Therefore they die."

"So how would we be able to retrieve it? We'll end up like those people, won't we?" Allen asked, thinking.

"That's the funny thing. Normally, as everyone would think, we'd send finders to go and investigate. And yes, we did. They came back with some funny information. They didn't directly touch it, but carried it in a thick towel all the way to where an exorcist was. That exorcist had a parasitic Innocence like you, Allen, and with that arm that was Innocence, they were able to touch it without any side effects. Don't you think that's strange?" Komui explained.

[Name] was deep in thought. There was a lot of content in this. "What does this herb do though?"

"According to what the people told the finders, this herb is actually a relaxant for sore muscles. That's its primary use. But if it's blended with some other herbs, it can become a substance which is said to cure most illnesses." Komui thoughtfully said.

"No wonder they want it…" the female said knowingly, understanding.

"Yes. You 2, be careful. It's a dangerous place. I only want you to take back a couple of samples, so we can study it. It's not an actual mission, but it is too dangerous for the finders." The Chief pulled down a map and pointed to a place in France, "It's not too far away, but it should be near the mountains, where the steepest hills are. Also, even though I said that there shouldn't be any finders, there would have to be one there just in case you guys run into trouble. You know him very well, Allen." Komui smiled at him.

"Who…?" Allen cocked his head to the right.

"Toma!" Allen exclaimed, high fiving his former subordinate.

[Name] introduced herself to the finder, nodding at him and shaking his hand. They were on their mission now, and were on their way to France's border through boat. They had to go all the way to the other side of France, near the border of Spain, to the mountain called Pyrenees. There were many mountains there that were over 3000m.

When Allen and [Name] heard this, they freaked, since the mountains were so high and there were so many. But Toma knew his way around the place, as he'd been there before. He was basically their guide, which is why Komui also got him to tag along with the mission.

On the boat, it wasn't just them. They were granted entry for free, but those boats were high class ships that held high class parties.

During the day hours everybody was outside doing who knows what, and during the night, they were all enjoying themselves inside. Only the exorcists and Toma stayed outside.

It was a hard time for [Name]. She was pretty anxious about going on a mission with Allen after all those years. She didn't know what to do. But, even though she felt nervous with everything he said to her, when he smiled, when he even just talked, she felt as if she were that giddy little girl she was 7 years ago, when they were still friends and she had acknowledged her feelings.

The woman slapped a hand onto her forehead. It was warm, but she wasn't feverish. "What am I doing?!" She whispered to herself, almost angrily.

"Hm? Did you say something, [Name]?" Allen asked, peering over the rails and turning his head to look over at her.

She looked at him and nodded her head quickly, "Y-Yeah! I'm fine!"

"Oh, ok then. That's good." He smiled, turning back to look at the ocean.

She felt a rush of emotions pulse through her. What was she even doing? She felt like she was acting totally unnatural, as if she was guilty of stealing a cookie and hoping not to get caught!

The female suddenly though of Lavi. He was still back at the Order, doing some of his own stuff, and here she was, with Allen.

Don't forget, [Name], you're with Lavi! Don't get mixed up with Allen! I've definitely moved forward! [Name] chanted that to herself, trying to reassure herself. She only hoped it was working.

But, it was easier said than done.