Part Seven: Down Time
A week later…
It was a particularly nice day outside. It was rare that a day like this ever graced the Black Order with its presence…a clear sky, a near-perfect temperature, and a light wind. After Sayaka and Lavi had returned from recovering the Innocence Thrax had taken, the akuma grew quiet. No reports of attacks came in. Every exorcist and finder that lived in the Order returned, injured or otherwise. The workload in the science section was steadily becoming lighter and lighter.
For a time, things were decent, even good.
Very little happened in the Order when things were this calm. The occupants did one of three things: eat, sleep, or train. The first two were the most popular.
Sayaka decided to walk around the grounds, wondering how the hell Lavi figured out her secret. Was it really written on her face the whole time, or was she just too easy to read altogether? It was baffling. But she knew that she could trust Lavi. After all, he trusted her with his feelings for Lenalee, so maybe it was his way of saying "thanks".
After coming to that conclusion, Sayaka's thoughts wondered to what had happened merely days ago. Susumu had reappeared to her. But though he had shown the way out, Thrax still cut her off at the roof. If Lavi hadn't activated his Innocence…was Susumu still working for Thrax? Had his disappearance a year ago merely been an act?
No…there was fear in his eyes, I could see it, she thought, He couldn't have been acting. He must've returned for some reason…
Sayaka stopped in her tracks. She looked up at the sky through the trees. Maybe Susumu was on her side after all. He must have already known all along that she was going to leave Thrax the way he had.
SHNK…
A tree fell somewhere ahead of her. The ground trembled as it hit the ground. Sayaka blinked, and then sighed.
"Either there's a carpenter around here," she muttered, going forward on her path, "Or Kanda's out here training."
There was a downward incline up ahead, almost like a pit in the ground. That was where she found the dark haired exorcist, slicing lethally at the air. For a second, she thought that she was seeing things. Was he blindfolded? She squinted, stopping next to a tree.
Nope, I'm seeing right. He's blindfolded.
Kanda kicked off on another tree trunk, leaping across the space to another and doing the same thing until he was practically above the treetops. He brought Mugen up, then delivered a vertical slice in the air. Sayaka swore that she could feel the force off of that one from where she was. Then she saw that one of the branches of the tree she was behind fall to the ground…then another one.
Don't move.
He landed on the ground like a cat. "Who's there?"
Sayaka said nothing. She was intimidated.
Kanda pulled the blindfold up on one eye. "I know you're there."
"Who said I'm hiding?" she replied.
"…What are you doing here?"
She came out from behind the tree. "I heard a tree fall, so I came to see why it fell."
Kanda resheathed Mugen. "You haven't been here long, then?"
"No. I didn't mean to distract you. I've just never seen you practice before."
His eyebrow rose. "What's to see?"
"Quit making this feel awkward, will you? I was just being curious."
He started to come toward her. "Lavi tells me the mission was almost uneventful."
Sayaka didn't need to ask what he meant. "Yes…if we hadn't been dawdling, we probably would've gotten out without seeing neither hide nor hair of Thrax, but…that's what we get."
"Lavi said Thrax pushed you off the roof."
She sweatdropped, looking off to the side. "Er, well…not exactly." Seeing Kanda's expression, she proceeded to explain what she meant, "You see, Thrax was reaching out to me like he was going to push me off, but I was on the edge of the roof, and—"
"I get it. You fell off."
"Yeah. So you can say whatever you want, but I didn't drop the Innocence when I fell. We brought it back to the Order and that's all that mat…matters." She was close to stopping in mid sentence.
Kanda stared right back at her, not realizing that the bandages on his chest had fallen off until the fell in a heap around his feet. He looked down. "…Damn it."
His tattoo was in full view. The last time Sayaka had seen it, it had been glowing red. At the moment, however, it was ebony black. She couldn't stop herself from staring. Kanda snatched up his coat and pulled it on, scowling.
Sayaka blinked, looking away. "…It's not glowing anymore."
"It hasn't been for a while now. Where were you?" he replied, walking past her.
She followed. "Look, gimme a break. It could've been worse."
"Let's not go there." He replied shortly.
"…So," she looked down at the ground as she spoke, "Any more thought about what we were discussing before I left?"
Kanda gave her a sideways glance, and then stared straight ahead as he answered, "That depends. Are you going to answer my question?"
"Question?"
"The 'why'."
"Oh…right."
He smirked. "I'll take that as a no."
"…Do I really have to say it?"
Kanda stopped and looked over his shoulder. Sayaka's face was red. His eyes narrowed. "Yes. Make me believe it."
Sayaka bit her bottom lip, then looked to see that no one was around or coming in their direction. Taking tentative steps, she approached him. Then, when she was close enough, she put her arms around his neck and pulled him close. She felt him tense as she lowered her mouth to whisper in his ear.
"I love you"
It was said so softly, you wouldn't have thought Kanda had heard it. But he did, without a doubt. He was no longer tense. His muscles relaxed and he just stood there, waiting for Sayaka to move. She was a little afraid to move, afraid of what sort of look was on his face when she did. But she could feel that he was getting impatient, so she forced herself to move and let him go, stepping back. It was hard to tell exactly what his expression meant.
"…I hope that was enough to make you believe it."
Kanda found his voice. "Why?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Why do you love me?"
"I don't know…I just do. Don't tell me I need a reason too."
He lowered his head so that his bangs were in front of his eyes. Sayaka faltered, seeing Kanda do that. "Wh…What's wrong?" When he wouldn't reply, she started walking away. "Look…just forget it. Forget I said it."
Kanda picked his head back up. "You didn't let me say anything."
"You didn't have to."
She met Lavi later on as she walked back to her room after dinner. "Oh…I didn't see you there."
The redhead smiled. "Always seem to have that effect. What's with the serious face, Sayaka?"
Sayaka shrugged. "Nothing…I'm just sort of tired."
Lavi walked alongside her. "So…got some good news for ya."
"What might that be?"
"I told her, Sayaka. I told Lenalee."
She stopped and looked at him, excited. "Really? You did?!"
"Yep," he smiled.
"And? And? What did she say?"
Lavi merely smiled at her, scratching the back of his head awkwardly, like he was too embarrassed to say it. Sayaka's excited grin grew wider and she started jumping up and down.
"She likes you too, doesn't she?!" she gushed.
"Uh huh…but we can't tell Komui, got it?"
Sayaka stopped jumping. "Eh? Why not?"
"Well, er…" he held his hands out, motioning them according to his words as he spoke, "Y'know how Komui reacts when we wake up him with the usual 'Lenalee's getting married' thing?"
"Yes…?"
"We're a little afraid that he'll do that, only worse because it's for real."
"But Lavi, you're not getting married. And you're trustworthy."
"And Komui's thickheaded."
Sweatdrop. "Ah, that's true…well then, you can count on me, Lavi. I won't tell a soul, just like before."
Lavi sighed in relief. "Much obliged, Sayaka. With you and Allen, that makes two."
"Allen knows too?"
"Yup. Apparently, Lenalee had been confiding in him. Funny, huh? Then when I tell Yu, that'll be three."
Sayaka looked away. Of course, she almost forgot that Lavi and Kanda were friends. Lavi noticed her silence, and leaned to the side comically to get a look at her face. "Eh? What's the matter?"
She shook her head. "Nothing."
"Ah, that reminds me. You tell him yet?"
A nod.
"And? What'd he say?"
"…Nothing."
Lavi's face fell. "No way. Not even a word?"
She shook her head again.
"Well…I suppose it was a tad awkward. But seriously, it's not like you told him during a mission. Though," he looked up, putting a finger to his chin thoughtfully, "It's the first time you ever brought this up, right?"
Sayaka's face flushed. "Well…no. Actually, this was a continuation of a conversation we'd had before this last mission."
"Seriously? So he already knew?"
"…Kind of. I hadn't told him until today, but I kind of implied it prior to now."
"What do you mean?"
Her face continued to redden.
Lavi's eyes (or eye) widened. He knew before she'd said it. "You…Sayaka, you kis—"
Sayaka clapped her hand over his mouth before he yelled it out. "Shhh, Lavi!"
He pulled her hand away and said quieter, "When?"
"I don't remember…" she turned away, "Look, the point is I told him and he got this weird look on his face when I did."
"Weird look?"
"Yeah. I couldn't really tell what it meant…I don't wanna talk about it anymore."
"Hey, wait a minute!" she'd started to walk away, "Sayaka, hold on! Just let – uh?"
Sayaka had turned around suddenly. "I'm happy for you and Lenalee, Lavi. Really, I am. But I just want to forget I told him anything, okay? It's kind of obvious that I was rejected."
Then she smiled, and walked back to her room by herself. Lavi watched her until she'd disappeared. He could see right through her smile, could tell that there was sadness behind it that she refused to show. He clenched his fists slightly…even though she was hurt, she was trying to be happy for him.
…Kanda would be in the dining hall right now, wouldn't he? Lavi turned on his heel and headed back from whence he came.
When he got there, he saw that Kanda was one of the few people still in there. Jerry had already closed the kitchen for the evening. He could just go up to him and talk, but that would mean risking one of the other occupants of the dining hall overhearing. Before he knew it, Lavi was standing near the table Kanda was sitting at.
Kanda looked up. "What's with you?"
"Ne, Yu, could I talk to you for a sec?"
"Shoot."
"No, I mean outside of here. It's private."
Kanda eyed him, and then glanced around the hall. There were one or two finders still there. He groaned, standing up. "Fine."
Silently, they walked out of the dining hall and down a corridor to an alcove where no one would happen upon them talking.
Kanda crossed arms. "Alright, what is it?"
Lavi hesitated. "Well…"
"If this is about you and Lenalee, I already know the story."
"Ur?! How do you know already?"
"Lenalee was unusually happy earlier, so I assumed that meant that you told her."
He sighed. No one else had told him. He'd just figured it out. "Right…well, that wasn't what I wanted to talk to you about. I was wondering, did Sayaka tell you anything recently?"
The dark haired exorcist went stiff. "What?"
"...Do you know what I'm getting at?"
"She told you, did she?"
Lavi shook his head. "No, I figured it out. You see, she kept my secret, so I kept hers…and well, she was looking really down in the dumps, so I asked what was wrong, and then you can kind of guess the rest."
Kanda didn't answer. He leaned against the wall, glaring icily at Lavi. "So what?"
"Yu...she said you didn't really confirm or deny anything, if you catch me. She thinks she's been rejected."
His eyes narrowed even more.
"Look, I'm not saying go and talk to her right now. I'm just looking for a straight answer…as a friend."
Kanda turned away so that his back was facing the redhead. "I don't need to tell you anything."
But Lavi was sharper than that. "You do like her, don't you?"
"Shut up, Lavi."
He smiled. "Heh…you can't hide it from me."
Kanda looked at him sharply, but said nothing. There was nothing left to say. "Mind your own business, you moron." He hissed, disappearing into the darkness.
That was all Lavi needed to know.