Chapter 7
"It's the strangest thing, it really is," Lenalee enthused. As she spoke, some 'red rain' fell into her mouth. It was sweet, like some type of nectar. She closed her eyes and inhaled the light fragrance on the air resembling fresh cut flowers. Somehow, it seemed to make her feel lighter, more energetic, but also… restless. "Mmm! Have you tasted it yet, Allen? It's umm… it's good."
Oh well played, Lenalee! Way to wow him with your charm.
"Oh." He replied absently. "Really?"
She watched a weirdly subdued Allen open his mouth and tilt his head back, normally bright (but currently dull) grey eyes shut, and felt her cheeks flushing red at just the sight. His hair had already begun to look damp from the few minutes' rainfall, and hung back heavily from his head, some of the drenched locks hugging the nape of his neck. Pinkish-red beads of the transparent fluid— falling, it seemed, from the sky— clung to his scalp and perched on strands of damp and softly muted silver-white. Some turned into streaks of pale colour against his (even paler) complexion. But that colour rapidly disappeared, as if the reddish pigment in the tracks of water trickling tear-like along his nose, and tracing the outer rim of his ear was absorbing into Allen's very skin.
The phenomenon made little sense to her, but Lenalee thought it was very beautiful all the same. She became so entranced with watching Allen, she almost failed to notice the same occurrence upon her uncovered legs. Even Kanda, who had stood facing three-quarters away from the others for some time now (What's he so grumpy about?), was eyeing the bare skin of his own crossed arms from the edge of their loose, semicircle-shaped huddle. It occurred now to Lenalee that their Finder had dutifully gone ahead and gotten a head-start on collecting the rainwater samples the Exorcists were specifically sent to retrieve (and not just frolic in) along with the Innocence, if found.
He really is an earnest one, that guy.
Allen closed his mouth in a gradual, almost mechanical motion and brought his head back forward. His measured movements and lack of spirit somehow reminded Lenalee of a clockwork doll: visually and functionally flawless, but wound up with just a bare titch too little energy. His mouth curved into a small, sad smile. "Yeah… it's nice, Lenalee."
He's still not even looking at me— at anyone, really… Kanda's been acting more surly than usual too. What on earth happened between the two of them out there? Kanda Yuu! You're getting a piece of my mind if you've done something to upset Allen—
"Isn't it, though, Miss Lenalee, Master Wa— I mean Allen— ?" Raphael was really struggling to drop titles and honorifics when addressing Allen. He seemed to be following Finder protocol to the letter, but the cheerful Allen of earlier in the day would have none of it. The present Allen, on the other hand, was off in a faraway land, completely unconcerned with tasting raindrops or abandoning formalities.
Poor oblivious Raphael simply hadn't noticed. She smiled at the Finder to acknowledge his words of agreement. He's being quite adorable, really.
Lenalee watched Allen nod slowly in reply, eyelids lowered as if inspecting the ground around them. She could tell his eyes were unfocused, even as he spoke: "Yeah."
Raphael forged ahead in the conversation: "If we're going to end up dripping wet, it's nice to at least be able to enjoy the taste of it."
Wow… He really does spew this kinda stuff without realizing it… she marvelled, eyebrows raised in amusement.
It's kind of cute actually, how uncommonly… innocent… this Finder is. Oh that's right— earlier today, Allen was fighting off the giggles at these kinds of lines from Raphael. Now he's miles away. What happened, Allen? Kanda?
"So you're positive no one's seen it happen before?" Miranda asked. Lenalee stepped in beside her as she interviewed the young couple.
"Yes, it is so. Georg and I are visiting here for months now and—"
"Shh, Ilinca!" The man with the severely-cut blond hair and dark brown eyes shushed his wife, a deep red flush spreading over his angular features. Calming himself, he gestured to her to kneel down beside him. "Let us pray." He looked up at the others: "Excuse us. Please."
Miranda mumbled unnecessary apologies and they all left the pair to their ongoing prayers.
Georg and Ilinca, the praying and sky-gazing couple, had said they were certain that in all the red rains they'd witnessed, there had never been an unpaired single individual present; only couples. Yet oddly, it was the very instant Raphael the Finder had set foot in the clearing to check up on everyone that the red rain began to fall.
Lenalee activated her Dark Boots. With her particular ability, she was well-suited to see whether this rain was coming from the clouds or from some other source. She spotted Allen looking up into the sky again, soft rosy droplets splashing against his cheeks as he scanned the open space between the tops of the trees. But from the ground it was impossible to see where that water was coming from. The sky above was simply dyed red. She skated over to Allen's side. "Need a lift?"
"Ah, thanks Lenalee, but I have Clown Belt. Umm… Kanda's good too, I see," he replied unevenly. They watched the young swordsman sail effortlessly upward from branch to branch into the treetops.
Is Allen… blushing? No, it must be the rainwater…
Allen's silver-grey eyes skipped to Miranda and Raphael, who were sitting in the grass together, having an animated discussion. Naturally, Lenalee's eyes followed. She noted the young man's cheeks filling with colour when her eyes met his, and he hastily shifted his own sweet, honey-brown eyes away, adjusting his glasses at the same time.
Now that blush is definitely not just the rain…
"Miranda's staying on the ground…" She watched Allen's profile as he spoke; he was back to watching Kanda's silhouette. "So instead how about you take Rapha—?"
"Allen, what—" Lenalee tilted her head to the side in confusion for a second, before realizing why Allen had failed to voice the last syllable of their Finder's name. He paled rapidly, eyes going wide as the left one changed—
"Akuma! Loads of them, coming from above! Miranda, take care of things down here?" A determined-looking Miranda gave a quick, vigorous nod toward Allen and activated Time Record to cover the entire clearing. She and Raphael would be able to ensure a safe haven for Georg and Ilinca as well as any other bystanders that might wander in from below. "Lenalee, let's go. Kanda's alone up there!"
"Hold on tight." Lenalee couldn't miss the look of horror on Allen's face, and especially the almost shrill tone of his voice. Why's he so worried? Kanda can handle himself…
"Be careful, Miss Lenalee!" Raphael called out.
What a sweetheart, worrying about us like that…
She shot a quick smile at the Finder (who blushed again) and zipped skyward in an instant, with Allen in tow, hanging on her right arm. It seemed almost a quarter of the forest was being blanketed in a wave of Akuma. A pair of what looked like Level 3s was visible in the distance— beyond where Kanda was already fighting. Now they were going to be a pain to deal with, but for whatever reason, they seemed content to watch, for now. The most pressing concern for now was the leagues of Level 1s surrounding them and the fact Kanda was occupied with a good dozen Level 2s.
By now, the three knew each other's strengths well enough that they didn't need to communicate what had to be done. With her unmatched speed, Lenalee's role was to first take out all the Level 1s as quickly as possible before assisting the boys, who would divvy up the Level 2s. Multiple Level 3s, however, could require more effort.
Depends on whether they have a plan. They're cunning enough to come up with a scheme to trick or distract us…
While effortlessly destroying dozens of Level 1s with blinding swiftness, Lenalee was able to observe that Kanda had gotten rid of a few Level 2s as Allen arrived by way of the treetops, across which he propelled himself using Clown Belt. She saw Allen immediately dispatch one of them, before becoming embroiled in her own high-level battle.
Lenalee exterminated the army of Level 1s in a flash and was about to go join the boys when a third Level 3 took a shot from behind her. Something pink just grazed the top of her ear, and a rough gust of wind ruffled her short curls in its wake. In that brief gust of air, Lenalee felt a cold sting, and something hot trickling into her ear— blood from a small cut. She felt a sudden wave of dizziness and nausea coming on and for a moment, it felt like rain was pounding against her skin from all sides. She brought a hand to her temple in an attempt to focus. The Akuma seemed to have split into three. Yet just as quickly as the symptoms arrived, they passed and Lenalee was fine. What on earth was that?
"You weren't so lucky, Exorcist," the female Level 3 sneered, "to have run into me."
"Sorry, but that's my line, Akuma." Wave after wave of thorny rose-like projectiles were sent her way in a barrage of colours, some of them grazing her arms and legs, but Lenalee took the advantage thanks to experience and her new-and-improved Dark Boots. The Level 3 had tough defenses, however, and was gradually getting used to her speed…
In a second's glimpse, Lenalee established the boys were nearly done with their Level 2s but the earlier two Level 3s were getting close. I have to wrap this up fast and go help them! Just as things were starting to get dangerous, Lenalee was able to identify her target's two weak spots, and struck at them mercilessly until she was free.
The defeated Akuma huffed her final words in an outrage: "But my venom! You should be paralyzed… disoriented… why was there no effect, Exorcist? Why?"
Huh? Venom?
A loud blast boomed from where the others were fighting.
"KANDA!" Allen's voice was shrill, even cracking a little in unmasked terror. As soon as she whirled around to look, Lenalee was horrified to witness Allen throwing his sword— his Innocence!— his own arm!— at the last of two Level 2s in order to protect a Kanda who was now falling out of the sky. "Lenalee, be careful, he's—"
Before Allen could finish, Lenalee had already dove and caught a grumbling Kanda. "I can still fight. I don't need your help."
Uncertain what to do, she froze in midair to witness the look of mixed concern and relief on Allen's face as he descended to intercept his falling sword and swung in just beside her. "Allen, what—"
"Lenalee both of you need to get to Miranda NOW! Hurry!" and with that, he yo-yoed back upward into the sky to deal with the remaining Akuma— two Level 3s— alone.
She didn't understand why Allen was being so emphatic and what could possibly have happened to Kanda until she saw a pentacle form on Kanda's cheek. She hadn't noticed before because of the rain darkening their soaked clothing, but it seemed Kanda had been sprayed all over with pure Akuma oil… and she was touching it— in multiple places. Pentacles were spreading up her arms now… and out from her knee, where she was also in contact with the oil.
Allen was right— they needed to get to Miranda to buy some time for virus antidote to be administered. Feeling the pentacles spreading, she descended with Kanda in tow at a speed that would hopefully not be too uncomfortable for their ailing bodies. But just at the edge of Miranda's barrier, Lenalee froze. "What? Th-that's impossible!"
The pentacles that had rapidly spread across her and Kanda's bodies— were gone. "Kanda— what on earth? Wait, did you already know— ?"
Midnight blue eyes stared upward, where Allen fought alone. "Tch."
A/N: This message just for Lola! (I can't reply to your reviews privately as you have PMs turned off!) :'(
Just wanted to say something cheesy, like not to apologize for who you are. :)
No Lenalee/Miranda, but if you're familiar with No. 6, a few of my fics for that fandom do have a particular female-female pairing in them... *plug, plug*
