Hey everyone! This is SingingBlues back in action again! I'm really sorry for the late update! Currently, I am thinking of how the characters should progress to make the whole story be more interesting. My mind seems to be rather confused with the scenes that I wanted to put into this story, so pls do bear with me while I get this all sorted out!

This is the chapter, where at this stage, Allen was going to recollect his old memories back slowly. Kanda was going to face a greater challenge that he will not expect! Hope this bring up the mood of all readers! See all of you soon!

And if you don't understand, pls do clarify with me! I will personally write back to you and explain the parts that you cannot get.

For the previous chapters, I don't see much reviews coming in. People are reading my stories, yet no reviews come in ): This is kinda sad...reviews keep me writing, so if you want this story to progress in the future, pls do review!!! If there are still not much responses, I may decide to put it in hiatus, since I am also currently busy with schoolwork, but if there are at least 4 - 5 reviews, I promise all of you that I will finish this story!!! I also want to proceed to my next story which is already plotted out long ago :)

See ya!! :)


Chapter 7: Memories

Who exactly am I? I am Allen Walker...or not one anymore. I have reduced to a human being without a name, without an identity. Allen Walker's memories were not mine. They belong to someone else. He has come back to claim everything that belongs to him, and now, I am left with nothing. There is nothing, no reason for me to stay. I am just someone who looks after one's memories. I am nothing. Nothing.

I have walked through endless roads, make memories with everyone I know, and fill my world with colours and laughter. Sometimes I would wonder whether I am really who I am. I doubted myself, and even think that I'm crazy. But it is Mana's words that stop my hesitation, and move forward. I do not think of anything else, Mana's words pressing me on. No matter how people look at me with weird eyes and mutter words about my weird appearance, they will not break me, because I am already broken beyond repair. I am so used to the feeling of pain, that I do not care anymore. The nerves are already numbed long ago, my heart almost dead. But I still cannot bear with the fact that innocent people died under the evil hands of the Millennium Earl. I promise myself that I will use my cursed hand and arm to exorcise evil and protect vulnerable humans from evil demons. This is the only way to atone my sins and ease my guilt towards Mana.

But, I lost my identity. Allen Walker, the broken boy who had goals in life, had disappeared. What left was the remains of his sorrow and pain. Now, I do not have any reason to move on. I do not know where I should go, and where my real home is, because from what I can remember, my home is already long gone. The person who I want to see is already gone. The house just slowly tore down together with the rage of the burning flames, reduced to ashes. I am just a wanderer, wandering through the darkest depths of my world, searching for a way out.

What am I? What is my purpose in life? Why am I here, when I have lost my identity? My body feels light, memories and emotions gone out of me. It is hollow, empty, filled with endless loneliness through the years. No one is with me. I am alone. I am always alone all the time. It is always the same, and would be the same.

My heart is crying. It aches painfully, screaming desperately through its hard thumpings for anyone to notice this lonesome figure standing in the middle of nowhere. I feel nothing, but somehow, there is slight hint of lost within me. Somehow, I just know that I have to go somewhere which I do not even remember, because it is very important. I just have to go back.

I have to. But the problem is, where?


I was at the front of a very tall building. It was rather remote within, giving me a rather creepy feeling down my skin. I went up to my feet, brushing off the dust on my pants and continued down my path. As I walked down the stony path through the trees, I reached a place with large gates that I had never seen before. There was a rather weird face in between the gates, and I wondered whether it was safe here.

"Erm, is anyone in?" He gulped before he continued. "I am Allen Walker, an Exorcist! I was sent here by my master, General Cross Marian!"

There was silence. I stood there, waiting, but I wondered whether they had really heard what I was saying at that time. It was simply awkward standing in the middle of the wilderness, with practically no one around. What if, there is no one living inside? What if that drunkard Cross lied to him instead? He gulped again. Hey, he had reached here. He did not want to turn back and face this strange surrounding again.

"Allen Walker is it?" Someone replied him, to his relief. He turned back, wondering where the voice came from. "Please stand in front of the Gatekeeper for examination. If you are okay, he would let you in."

I blinked, searching for whoever that Gatekeeper was. Seeing that weird face again, I supposed that was him. I took a step closer, staring at it closely.

"Hello." Moments later, that scary face suddenly stretched itself towards me, making me jump slightly. Sweats appeared on my forehead, and I wondered whether the Black Order was such a scary place. Everything I was experiencing now was so spooky that my heart was always thumping so hard that it was going to explode. What exactly was this place? Was it a place for humans to live in?

No, I shouldn't say that. After all, Exorcists aren't humans to begin with.

"Ah, he has the symbol of an Akuma at his eye! He is the enemy! Enemy!"

My heart almost dropped out of my mouth. I just stood there, baffled and speechless. I simply had no idea to what was going on here, but I had a bad feeling that it was surely not a good thing. I was not an Akuma to begin with! The Akuma symbol at my eye was given by Mana when I turned him into one. He cursed me, and gave me this as a reminder to remind me of his curse. I tried to explain to the Gatekeeper, but that one just kept crying nonstop, saying that 'it will be the end of the world' or whatsoever.

Suddenly, I felt a strong aura coming from above. Looking up, I saw someone standing at the top of the building. His dark raven hair flew strongly through the gust of the wind, as he started unsheathing his sword in a style that looked like a Japanese Samurai. The metal blade glinted under the sunlight, as he raised it up high. I assumed that the sword was his Innocence weapon he carried during missions. I had never seen such long and beautiful hair before, and it stunned me on the spot instantly. The strands of his hair fluttered gracefully, brushing elegantly through his eyes and his lips, and this made my breath hitch slightly.

Was he...really a male?

"How dare you show up here..." I realised that he was ready to attack. I panicked immediately, trying my hardest to shout out my reasons for my coming, but he did not seem to be a person who would calm down and listen. Seconds later, he leaped through the air and swiftly falling towards me, and before I could blink, his sword shone in a bright blue light, so bright that it was as if it wanted to devour me whole. I held my left hand close to my face for protection, and my Innocence arm was activated soon after, responding to my feelings. It was lucky, because without it, my whole body would be sliced into two by his sword within seconds.

"That's...!" The both of us stumbled back, surrounded by dust which clouded our eyes. That person stared at my abnormal arm, an astonished look on his face.

He sounded rather shocked seeing my arm. Hadn't he see a parasitic Innocence weapon before?

"What's with that arm?"

"It's my Innocence. I'm an Exorcist." I replied. He just stared for a while, before displaying the most murderous glare towards the Gatekeeper, who was frightened to his wits.

"What is this supposed to mean?" The Gatekeeper just kept wailing that he saw the symbol of the Akuma at my eye, which showed that I am part of the Millennium Earl's army.

"Hey, I told you that I'm not one of them!" I wailed, hitting the Gatekeeper. The Gatekeeper cried even more as it told me to leave him alone.

"Never mind. I shall cut your body open with my Mugen, and see whether you are one or not!" That samurai guy started attacking me again, his attacks ten times faster than before. I tried to protest, but I did not have time to worry about this. His sword attacks were good, and within minutes, I was cornered. Seeing the sword coming towards me in fast speed, I spluttered something about my master sending them a letter of recommendation to a person named Komui Lee about him. Immediately, the sword came to a halt, inches away before I was officially killed. I heaved huge sighs of relief instantly, the sweats continuing to stream down my face uncontrollably.

He snorted as his dark gaze was onto me, his sword pointing towards me at a dangerous angle. I gulped, my eyes fixed onto the sharp edge of the blade, making sure that it did not cross further towards me. The deep impression over him had long disappeared and I concluded that no matter how beautiful he was, he had a very big attitude problem. And what was with that scowling face? It wasn't my fault that he had made such a huge misunderstanding. Furthermore, was his temper always like that? Well, I just hoped that I would not go missions together with him, as I recalled Cross Marian telling me that Exorcists would go together on missions most of the time.

"Stop the attack, Kanda!" I almost jumped, staring fearfully at the voice which came out of something flying just beside the raven-haired guy. The guy turned stiffly towards the thing, and demanded rather rudely on what was happening here. I nearly rolled my eyes, but decided not to do so when his fierce glare was back onto me.

So, his name was Kanda. Frankly speaking, it was a nice name.

"Can't you understand English?! I told you to stop attacking him, Kanda!" There were noise coming through that black thing beside that man's voice. Moments later, there was another person talking, who was referred to as Komui Lee.

"Kanda, you heard Reever. Stop the attacks."

"What do you mean by that, Komui?" Kanda asked suspiciously.

"Didn't you see Timcampy flying beside him? Apparently, he is a disciple of General Cross Marian." I swore I saw him making a rather exaggerated flabbergasted face at this comment. Does me becoming that drunkard bastard's disciple that bad? Does he need to show such disgusted look on his face? But well, I could understand all this. I also could not believe that I had turned to someone who was a drunkard, an expert in leaving debts behind and an expert in escaping from dangerous situations. Somehow, I had slight regrets in taking this path to become an Exorcist.

"Now apologise, Reever-hanchou!" There were grunts heard, before someone scolded Komui for not cleaning up his desk regularly. I assumed that it was Reever-san.

He grunted, his frown deepened, as Kanda turned sharply towards me, seeing me as a dangerous beast. I raised up my hands higher and showed a frightened face when his sword was a inch nearer to my face. My, how scary he was! He hoped that the people inside was not as fierce as him.

"Kanda!" There was a hit on that samurai's head, as Kanda turned towards someone with a weird frown. That someone turned out to be a pretty girl with long emerald hair down towards his waist, as she gave a stern look towards them. I just gave a comical look. Everything was sure turning out to be more interesting than I thought to be.

"Didn't nii-san told you to stop? Now go inside, before the gates close." When the both of us did not respond, she coughed, and pointed inside. We went in, and after Tim entered, the gates slammed shut behind us.

"Hi, my name is Lenalee Lee, and I am the helper of Komui Lee. Nice to meet you!"

She was definitely friendlier than that samurai guy. I smiled, and took her hand.

"I'm Allen Walker. Just call me Allen." I looked around, and realised that Kanda was returning back to the building without even telling them. Didn't that guy even had the slightest courtesy to say goodbye to them? I was reluctant to introduce myself to him, but taking into accounts that I was a newbie here, I had no choice but to do so. Furthermore, I was rather thick-skinned, so I was sure I could do this.

"Erm, Kanda?" That samurai stopped in his tracks, and I began to wonder whether my decision was right. He turned, giving the coldest stare to me. I ignored those feelings, and stepped up towards him.

"I'm Allen Walker. Nice to meet you!" I stretched out my hand. He just stared at it, before he turned away.

"Do I look like someone who would shake hands with someone cursed?"

I took a deep breath, as my whole body was shaking with anger. What was he, talking to me like that?!

"I'm sorry. Kanda has just returned from a mission, so he tends to be in a foul mood sometimes." The olive-haired girl named Lenalee apologised.

Foul mood? From that moment onwards, I started looking at Kanda in a new prospective. As I stared at his back, I just knew that the both of us would definitely meet again.


Kanda, time to wake up.

Kanda woke up with a start, sweat all over his forehead. The raven samurai took several deep breaths down the dry throat, calming himself down. From there, he looked around, and realised that he was back to the house where Nel once lived. General Tiedoll was sitting at the small table, looking closely at the flame of the candle. Kanda groaned softly as he felt his head. What was that familiar voice? When was the last time he was conscious? Had he slept for a long time?

"You are awake, Yuu-kun!" General Tiedoll noticed that Kanda was up. Kanda just grunted under his breath as he turned elsewhere, not used to that old geezer's warmth and smile. He felt the white bandages, and found out that they were changed. He snorted.

"Che. Why am I here? Aren't we supposed to go and find the Innocence?" General Tiedoll just raised his eyebrow interestingly.

"That's because you fainted halfway, so I have to drag you back here again. In order to prevent you from fainting again, we shall stay here till your injuries are better!"

"What?! You got to be kidding, old man! There is no way I can stay here and waste any more time!" Kanda growled angrily as he suddenly stood up, only to hiss in extreme pain as his injured nerves were pulled hardly by the movement of his muscles.

"See? This is what happens when you push yourself too hard, Yuu-kun. We have to stay here and rest for a while." General Tiedoll said. Kanda just che'ed as he sat back down onto the bed, glaring hardly at the troublesome wounds. He did not need all these. What was that stupid lotus flower doing, not healing his wounds? Though he knew that the conditions were starting to deteriorate, but it would not be as serious as not feeling the effects at all. This would only mean that the petals had all fallen, and he would be dead, but that would be impossible, considered himself here.

Or...that he was not a human at all? Kanda stiffened slightly at this thought, but shrugged it off. He was not even one to begin with. He bit his lip in frustration, controlling himself from grabbing Mugen by the table and rushed out of the door. He had been wasting too much time here. That inspector must have been ahead of them already. Secondly, the time to find that moyashi would be lessened as well. He could not afford that type of risk, because he simply had no more time left.

"Yuu-kun, you..." He looked up, and saw that old man's shocked look in his eyes. Frankly speaking, he had never seen General Tiedoll that taken aback before. Kanda blinked as he felt his face where that General was looking, only to be taken aback as well. He had knew that this would happen, but he never expected it to spread so fast. The raven samurai hissed in irritation as he brushed his strands of hair towards that area, stood up and walked across the house.

"Yuu-kun, why...why didn't you tell me?" General Tiedoll asked.

"Because there is no need to, old man," Kanda replied, stopping at a corner.

"But why?! Why must you shoulder all the burden? Let me help you, Yuu-kun!"

Kanda's eyes narrowed with anger. There was no way that anyone would understand what feelings he had now, and there was no way this burden could be shared, because it was only meant for him, to atone for what he had done in the past. He had committed sins, and God had thus punished him. That was all, though he did not believe that Gods existed.

"There is no way you can help me, old man! Stop minding other people's business!"

"You stop pushing people's kindness away, Yuu-kun!" General Tiedoll was at his front, stopping him with his hands. Kanda shoved them away and turned around, only to be stopped again by the General.

"What do you want, old geezer?!" Kanda growled, his eyes flashing with fury. He did not understand. Why must all the people still crowd around him when he had stated his position and chased them away? Why must people have such gentleness in their eyes whenever they were conveying their words to him? Why must they do that when they knew that they would surely die if they stayed at his side?! Why couldn't they understand that he was just a monster to begin with?! He hated alone at first, and just when he had adjusted to the coldness, people started to give their warmth to him, filling up the emptiness in his heart. Why couldn't they simply understand that he was meant to be alone in the first place?

"I want you to start listening to me for once, Yuu-kun! Stop pushing away people's warmth! I know what you are thinking, but the more you reject them, the more they will keep coming, because humans will not give up!"

"They are just a bunch of pathetic beings who do not even know what state they are in. Sooner or later, they will surely die!" Kanda hissed, slamming his hands onto the wooden wall in frustration and anger. He was borne to be a cold and ruthless killer. Even though it was as a form of Exorcist, when it comes to destroying Akumas, there was no difference at all, because Akumas were also borne as humans in the first place.

"No, Yuu-kun, no! You will save them! You will use your powers, and protect them! All their kindness and warmth will be stored inside your heart, increasing your willpower to fight! With you, they will surely not die!"

"You don't know anything! I killed everyone in my clan! Every single human! For one whose sword had contained blood of many innocents and committed so many sins, his feelings are already hardened! There is no turning back anymore! All of you are just too naïve to think that those emotions can be returned." Kanda said as he breathed harder than before, the heavy emotions clouding around his head. He covered his face with his hand for a while, before looking up at General Tiedoll, having a saddened look on his face for the first time.

"No..." General Tiedoll murmured. "No, you are wrong. You are wrong, Yuu-kun. People have the ability to forgive."

Kanda's eyes widened in shock.

"You are responding to the people's gentleness, helping them and protecting them from danger. You start to open up to them instead of chasing them away. Though your arrogant attitude still remains, people are so glad and happy that the ice within you is finally melting. You are already starting to feel everyone's kindness towards you. It is just that you do not realise it." General Tiedoll walked up to the raven teen, and pulled him into a gentle embrace. Kanda just remained silent, the shock within him not leaving.

"And if not for that, why would you still bother finding Allen in the first place?"

Kanda stiffened.

Allen. He remembered. The reason he was in these missions, was to find out where that moyashi had gone to, and bring him back to the Order. The real reason on why he wanted to bring him back, was to protect the people's feelings on that boy. All of them were hurt badly, and he had to prevent those wounds from opening further. One sinner would be enough, and that would be him. Innocent people shouldn't be brought into their sins as well. From that day he killed all the people in his clan, he had promised himself that he would be the one shouldering every sins bore by humans.

One would be enough. But, was that the only reason why he wanted to bring Allen back?

"Yuu-kun?" General Tiedoll asked, seeing Kanda dazed on the spot. Realising that he had been like this for too long, Kanda pushed away the General, rubbing his face roughly with his hand, but there was a slight flush which failed to be unnoticed. General Tiedoll chuckled, deepening the flush on his face. Kanda growled softly as he turned away and walked to a chair, sitting on it.

"Someone is following us."

"Someone?" General Tiedoll asked. Kanda nodded his head, his eyes narrowed. "That coward just probably does not want to show his face to us."

"But who would it be? An enemy?"

"Unlikely. I have trained for years, and can distinguish Akumas and real humans." Kanda said.

"So...you mean that someone human is following us all along?" General Tiedoll asked, astonished by it.

"I cannot cross out that possibility, but no matter what, we have to be more careful in our actions." Kanda said, staring outside the window at the empty street, deep into thoughts.

Hello, my dear Yuu. Since I lend you my strength, you will have to pay the price.

Kanda's eyes widened as something in his body started to change. The raven samurai yelled in pain as he fell onto the ground, clutching his head which was going to split apart. His whole body seemed to be vibrating like heartbeats, the hollow noise drilling hardly into his eardrums.

"Yuu-kun, what's wrong?! Yuu-kun, can you hear me?"

Kanda continued to scream, as something seemed to be pulled out of his head forcefully. It lasted for only a few seconds, as that immerse pain disappeared so fast like it had never happened before. The raven samurai coughed hardly before he struggled up, with the help of that old...old...wait, who was that?

"Yuu-kun, are you alright?" Kanda's vision started to clear up, as he saw a rather aged man standing in front of him. Seeing a stranger tensed him up immediately, as he slapped that pair of hands away from him and growled in anger, glaring at the one who even dared to touch him with his filthy hands. Meanwhile, General Tiedoll had no absolute idea on what was happening here.

"Yuu-kun, what exactly happened?"

"Who are you?" Kanda hissed, his cold, murderous gaze never left the General. General Tiedoll's eyes widened in shock.

"W-What? My name is Froi! Froi Tiedoll! Can't you remember me? You always address me as 'old geezer'!"

Kanda's eyes widened, before he screamed out in pain again. That raven samurai gritted his teeth hardly as he clutched his long hair with his hands, moving around the place in an unstable way. When it finally stopped, Kanda started to calm down, as he looked up and stared at General Tiedoll once more.

"Old geezer?" Kanda finally spoke up. General Tiedoll heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that Kanda was back, but that dark, golden glint which lived inside that pair of sapphire eyes worried him. He frowned.

Kanda was about to change.


With Lenalee as my new friend here, she took me around the Order, showing me the different places I could go. I looked around with curiosity burning inside me, so excited on wanting to discover all the places in the Black Order. This place was just simply huge.

"This is your room, Allen. I have to go. If you have any problems, feel free to contact me through Timcampy." Lenalee said as she smiled. I blinked, a little not used to her warm gestures. Since Mana died, no one had ever treated me this nicely before.

"Thank you for showing me around!" I bowed as I thanked her. She shook her head, saying that this was her job. As she left, I opened the door and entered my room.

It was not said to be bigger than any rooms found in an ordinary inn, but it was more than enough. I looked around the spacious place, feeling the things available in here. When I reached the bed, I felt the smooth material of the bed sheets, before sitting down beside it, staring at the big portrait of Mana in front of me. As I stared, I smiled.

"Welcome home, Mana."


"You shouldn't be here."

"What?"

"You shouldn't be here, Rhode. He will find out, for sure."

"Who will find out?"

"Him."


"This is what I have found from the laboratory about the forbidden experiment the Order had carried out years ago, Komui," Reever said as he handed Komui a stack of files. The Chinese man nodded his head as he flipped open one of the files and started browsing the documents.

"Thank you, Reever hanchou." Reever just observed Komui from a distance as Komui took his cup of coffee and gulped the liquid down quickly, before putting it back to its previous position and continued reading the files.

"Ne, isn't this already over? The Vatican has prohibited these experiments right? So why are you interested in them suddenly, Komui?"

Komui did not reply as he was deep into his reading, sometimes glancing up at his cup before looking down at the documents again, reading. He flipped through them quickly, making sure that he did not miss any details described inside before he went to the next file.

"Komui, I never see you that frustrated before. What exactly has happened?" Reever asked, noticing his expressions. Komui stopped as he slowly looked up at the other.

"Reever, have you heard of a forbidden technique that can seal powers inside a person?" Komui asked. Reever just blinked before he scratched his chin slightly, wondering.

"Hmm, I don't think so...wait..." Reever trailed off, shocked. "Don't tell me...it's about..." Komui slowly nodded his head.

"It's about the seal on Kanda-kun's. I cannot find him in any of these file documents." Reever's eyes widened at what he had said, walking to the front of his desk as he stared at the files that he had brought here.

"Wait, Komui! What do you mean by that? Why is Kanda's curse seal related to the past experiments conducted in the past?" Reever asked, baffled at the sudden news. Komui just showed him the book on the table which was flipped open to that page. As he read, his eyes widened with shock and horror.

"What...what the hell is that?" He asked, pointing to the picture of the lotus curse seal on the book page. Komui just sighed as he felt his throbbing head, wondering what he should do next. He just wished that this was just a coincidence, but apparently, it was not the case. Now he could not help but raised suspicions on what the Order had been doing for the past few decades. He had been appointed as the Science Department Supervisor for not very long ago, so he would not be able to know what had happened before he came here. But why would the Order want to...do such a thing?

"The Millennium Earl chose not to attack the Organisation even though we are vulnerable at this stage. There has to be a reason to this. It must be not just a coincidence."

"Maybe...the Order has some use to the Earl."

"Komui? Komui?" Komui blinked, realising that Reever was shaking him. Komui adjusted his spectacles and stared blankly at the large crest on the poster which represented the symbol of this Organisation just at the wall. He did not even want to think further about it. Just by figuring out on what would happen if this was true sent several shivers down his spine. If this was out, it would surely cause a tremendous panic among everyone. Komui's violet eyes narrowed. He had to check through this thoroughly.

"Has Bookman come back yet?"

"I haven't heard from him since he left, so, no." Reever answered. Komui nodded his head as he leaned his head onto the couch, pondering. This had to be kept secret, so the lesser people knew, the better. But the problem was, when such problems arise, who would he turn to? There was so few that he could trust. Firstly, Kanda was already out on mission. He was the most efficient Exorcist around. Allen had joined the Noah Family. He did not have the courage to say this to his sister, Lenalee. He could guess how she would have reacted when she got heard of it, but he had no choice. He turned to Reever.

"When Bookman comes back, call in Krory, Miranda, Lenalee and Lavi to my office. Gather men whom you trust and come along as well."

"Komui, what is going to happen?" Reever asked worriedly. Komui just put his warm hands gently onto his shoulders.

"Everything depends on you now, Reever-hanchou. Please." Reever's eyes widened slightly at Komui's face expression, before he nodded his head and headed out of the room. As the doors closed in, Komui closed his tired eyes, thinking of that silver-haired boy who was currently missing.

Where in the world are you, Allen-kun?


"What's wrong?" General Tiedoll asked, seeing Kanda getting tense as the raven was watching the surrounding around him cautiously.

"No, nothing. I thought I heard somebody's voice," He replied, kicking away the rock that was in front of his foot. The boots brushed against the small dusts and dirts on the rough road as he let out a deep sigh. Kanda felt better, and insisted on continuing to find the Innocence, so the two of them continued on their way. They had been walking for about one hour, and yet they could not sense an Innocence nearby. The enemies did not seem to come back again after they retreated. Kanda stopped and bent down, listening to the echoing sounds travelling beneath the road.

"There is no one passing by here. I could hardly hear any footsteps or shuffles." General Tiedoll nodded his head as he peered inside his pockets, where he kept the Innocence. None of them glowed, meaning that the Innocence that they were finding was not near, or that there was no Innocence here at all. The Exorcists decided to check on further, as they continued to walk down the path that seemed endless.

"Have you sent the information that we have gotten from the enemies to Komui?" Kanda asked.

"Ah yes, I have. Komui should receive it in a couple of days. For now, we should be cautious on them. They are not normal akumas that we experienced before in the past. They should be of higher level."

They crossed by a row of green bushes as those tiny leaves swayed in the wind, brushing against each other. As General Tiedoll wandered somewhere, Kanda stopped, and stared at the flowers which had bloomed. Some had bloomed successfully, while others did not have the chance of showing its beautiful self, basking in the sun. But, the bloomed ones were not pretty too. The petals were too dry as the ends of it curled up slightly, and the colours were not radiant but dull and ugly. Not to mention that they were very fragile. One flick on the flower and it would detached immediately.

Kanda peered at those flowers before his hand gently touched the fragile one. He flinched slightly in surprise as a petal detached itself away from the flower with just a very slightest pull between his fingers. The raven just stared at the petal in his palm, as the wind blew by and took it away. Even then, he did not chase after it, just continuing to watch as it floated further away from him.

It let him remember what had happened at that night. At that fraction of moment, he also did the same thing. He chose the same decision, and let him go. He did not stop him as he watched his shadow slowly vanishing away in his eyes. That pain...stung him greatly.

He then realised. Allen was weak. He was fragile, and he was already broken when he found him.

"Yuu-kun?" Kanda was jolted out of his thoughts as he turned to the general who had called him. He did not say a word and hurried after him.

He blamed himself. His thoughts were messed up again.


Behind the city lay the waterfall, as the strong currents of water splashed hardly on the hard rocks before they descended down and landed into a small lake with a roar. Small trees and plants could be seen surrounding the waterfall, showing a spectacular view.

"Wow, what a nice view!" General Tiedoll exclaimed, looking around with enthusiasm. Kanda was not sure how he should react. The general put his belongings onto the ground as he went up to the rocks and sat down. Kanda scouted around for clues to find the Innocence.

"Kanda..."

He stopped and raised an eyebrow. He grunted in reply and continued his scouting.

"Kanda..." He rubbed his ears, thinking that a particular fly or pest had entered his ears and caused this commotion.

"Kanda..."

"Who's there?!?" He finally shouted. The birds seemed to be frightened of his booming voice as flaps of wings filled the silent forest. Kanda looked around, very sure that someone was calling him just now.

And that voice was so utterly familiar. So familiar, that he chose not to seek out for that answer himself. Even if the answer was displayed in front of him, he chose to ignore it. Kanda decided to go back to where the general was, leaving the search for later as night was closing in. As the leaves on the trees rustled softly, Kanda peered at what was in front of him, and stopped.

Now, he chose to believe what he had seen. That shadow appeared out of nowhere, as the scent of his presence was gradually returning to him.

Kanda could not believe his eyes. It was him. It was him.


"Yuu-kun! Yuu-kun!" General Tiedoll shook the raven who did not respond. The empty body slowly collapsed onto the ground with a thud, motionless. His eyes were empty, showing no signs of life from him. No matter how he shook him, he did not reply. The general then noticed that he was clutching onto something within his hand.

The flower petal stayed silently in his palm, protected by him. Not even the wind could come and take it away. Not anymore.