It is I, Otter-chan, with the magnificent new chapter for "Exorcists and Wizards" ! I really hope that you enjoy and I'm very very thankful for all who reviewed and encouranged! Also, ideas are appreciated :). This one is slightly longer than the ones before. Happy reading!
It had been a month or so from the start of the school year, and the first Akuma attack, and there had been no sign of any others. This worried Allen. Why were they keeping quiet?
After the first day of classes, Komui thought that it was best if they didn't go to classes, but 'patrolled' the school, making sure that there weren't any Akuma. Of course they were allowed to go to the classes, see what the Hogwarts students learned, and make sure that an Akuma wasn't hiding as a student.
Krory had taken up helping Professor Sprout with Herbology, so he didn't really 'patrol' for Akuma. He just kept an eye out in the classes that came and went from the castle. Miranda helped Komui with searching for hints about where the Innocence could be hidden within the castle. The castle was huge, and they weren't having much luck.
Kanda always seemed to be in the corridors, not stopping at a classroom like Lavi, Lenalee and Allen. He just wandered, looking for clues about the Akuma and the Innocence. Lavi usually hung out with Fred, George and Lee Jordan, a friend of Fred and George's. They always seemed to be the cause of trouble.
Allen and Lenalee usually stuck together. They seemed to work better as a team, and they would patrol the hallways, popping into classes and sometimes following Ron, Harry and Hermione.
One afternoon, when the bell for the last class had just rung, Allen spotted Kanda at the end of a corridor, leaning against a wall. The students were filing out of the classrooms, heading in every direction; some to the Great Hall, others to their dorms, and others just talking.
Kanda seemed to be watching them as they past. As Allen watched, a small group of 1st years neared the place where Kanda stood. The 1st years spotted Kanda as well, and scurried past him in a wide circle.
"Oh look, one of the students from that other school scares the 1st years," a drawling voice drifted from the end of the hall. Allen recognized the boy. Ron had pointed him out one day, telling Allen that his name was Draco Malfoy.
Just like Allen, Draco had seen the 1st years give Kanda a wide area. It was the first time that any of the Exorcists had encountered Draco, and of course, he had to choose Kanda to tease.
"I mean, he does look scary, don't you think Crab?" Draco asked one of the boys who stood beside him. Crab nodded stupidly as he agreed with Draco.
By now, other students had stopped to watch. Some knew how Kanda could be, accidentally bumping him in the halls or at meals, so they knew his wrath. Draco, however, hadn't experienced it, and now was poking fun of the Exorcist.
Allen watched from the other end of the hall as Draco continued. "Who does he think he is? Watching us as we go places around the school, always lurking about the corridors."
Kanda had turned slowly to look at the 5th year. Allen knew that Kanda could very easily hurt Draco before Draco could raise his wand, but he also wanted to see what Kanda's reaction was going to be.
Kanda was now staring at Draco through narrowed eyes.
"Wonder why he wears a ponytail? Its so girly and—" Draco was cut off when Kanda drew his katana and pointed it at him. The whole hall became hushed as they watched the scene. Allen was about to move forward when a shout echoed.
"Yuuuuuuuu-chan!" it was Lavi, running over to Kanda. Kanda turned distractedly to face him. "What are you doing? Terrorizing students again?" Lavi asked, smiling.
"How many times do I have to tell you never to call me that?" Kanda hissed at Lavi. Lavi, still smiling, looked at Draco, his eye widening slightly.
"Oh, well, I won't stop you. Kanda, carry on!" Lavi said, with an inviting hand movement. Draco's eyes widened.
"W-what a-are y-you going t-to do?" he stuttered as Kanda's attention focused back onto him. Kanda glared at him sharply, then sheathed his sword once more and walked down the corridor.
Lavi stared after him with an odd look on his face, then shrugged. Allen had walked down the hall and came up to Lavi. "Hey Allen!" Lavi said.
Draco was still standing where he had been, but, glaring at Lavi and Allen, hurried away. Lavi looked at him, then looked back at Allen. "So, what're you gonna do?"
"Uh, go eat! I'm starving!" Allen said, heading toward the Great Hall with Lavi.
"You and your big stomach," Lavi sighed, shaking his head slightly, but following Allen. When they reached the Great Hall, they noticed Lenalee sitting at the Griffindore table. She looked up, saw Lavi and Allen, and waved to them.
They headed over to her, sitting down beside her and Miranda. "I heard something about Draco teasing Kanda… what happened?" Lenalee asked as they sat down. Lavi snorted.
"Oh, yeah, he teased him, and almost lost his nose in the process," Lavi said, leaning on the table. "Have you seen any Akuma?" he added in an undertone. Miranda leaned over as well to talk.
"I haven't. Have you, Lavi?" Miranda asked. Lavi shook his head, and they looked at Lenalee and Allen.
"I haven't," Allen said.
"I might have," Lenalee whispered. "Someone was acting really strange around me, like they knew that I was an Exorcist or something."
"Hmm… well, next time you see that person, maybe tell Komui," Allen said as the Great Hall filled. "It makes me nervous, the Akuma being so quiet. I know that they're here… they have to be, don't they?"
The three looked at Allen hopelessly. "I'd think so," Lavi finally said. They had to stop their conversation when Fred and George came over and sat by Lavi.
"Hey, did you hear? The first trip to Hogsmead is this Saturday!" Ron said excitedly as he sat down with Harry and Hermione. Allen and Lenalee looked at them questioningly.
"What's Hogsmead?" Allen asked.
"It's the little village outside of the Hogwarts grounds. But you can buy all sorts of stuff there… its really cool! And there's a trip there on Saturday!" Ron explained. More people came into the Great Hall.
"Oh, sweet! We need more dungbombs, don't we George?" Fred said. His twin nodded. Hermione narrowed her eyes but said nothing. It was pointless to say anything.
"Wonder if there'll be Akuma in the village," Lavi whispered quietly to Allen. Allen shrugged.
"I'm hungry… when will dinner start?" Allen asked the surrounding people in general.
"Allen, I think you can deal. With all the food that you eat, its amazing that you can still eat more!" Hermione said. "Oh, look, Dumbledore and the rest of the teachers. I think dinner will start soon."
And she was right. In five minutes, the plates were filled. Allen had gotten used to it after the first week, and didn't eat so crazily, although still a lot. The amount of food that he piled onto his plate never ceased to amaze the Hogwarts students.
The dinner was replaced with deserts and then it was time to go up to the common room. Everyone headed to his or her own common room, talking and joking. This was just a normal evening. Nothing with the Akuma, or the Earl. It was peaceful.
Up at the tower, the Hogwarts students worked on their homework… or some of them did. Ron was building a card castle. He procrastinated, leaving all his homework until the day before. That caused him to get a lecture by Hermione about him not being responsible.
It seemed a normal routine, and Allen suspected that, that had happened in the years before as well. Allen watched Ron build his card castle, then threw his hands up in front of his face as they exploded.
"Ron…" Hermione said as she lowered the book that she had used as a block. Ron looked at her. "What?" he asked.
Hermione sighed. "Nothing," she said, going back to her homework. Harry glanced up at Ron from where he sat across the table.
"Your eyebrow is singed," Harry commented as he scribbled something on a piece of paper. It looked like a letter. Ron felt his eyebrow with his hand, then shrugged.
"Ah well… it'll grow back. Anyway, I noticed that you guys don't get homework… and haven't been in class since the first day," Ron said, talking to Lenalee and Allen. Lavi was somewhere, but they really didn't know where, probably off with Fred and George, who were also absent from the common room.
"Ya, we don't really go to the classes," Allen said, picking up a card that had fluttered across the table when Ron's card castle had exploded.
"What do you do?" Harry asked, looking up from his scribbling. Hermione had leaned over slightly, and was reading what he'd written, and Harry looked at her. She straightened up, and returned to her work.
"Oh, not much… wander the castle usually," Lenalee said, looking at Allen. He nodded.
"I've seen that other guy… what's his name…?" Ron said, trying to remember the name, "He's the one with the ponytail… I forgot his name."
"Kanda," Allen said, turning the card in his gloved hand.
"Ya, I saw him today. He looked grumpy," Ron said as he gathered more of the cards together.
"Uh, ya, he's always like that… but was it before dinner?" Allen asked. Ron looked puzzled, but nodded. "Well, that one boy, Draco Malfoy was annoying him."
Hermione looked up suddenly. "Did they get in a fight? Is Kanda ok? Draco's pretty fast with his wand," she said anxiously.
Allen raised his eyebrows at her. "Are you kidding? Kanda could probably dodge. But Kanda was faster and drew his sword."
"Whoa, he has a sword?! Sweet!" Ron said, staking the cards.
Allen just watched him with the cards. "Here, you forgot this one," he said, handing the card over to Ron. Ron took the card and put it with the other cards.
"But fighting in the Halls is prohibited!" Hermione said, "And a sword… I don't think that's allowed!"
"Ya, well, you try taking Mugen away from him. It's impossible," Allen said, slumping on the table.
"Mugen?" Ron asked, his head tilted a little to one way, puzzled.
"His sword," Allen sighed.
"He named his sword?" Hermione asked, looking from Allen to Lenalee. Allen was playing with his glove, but Lenalee nodded.
Allen looked up, out of the window. It was dark, but the moon cast faint, silver shadows on the grounds.
"Where's Tim?" Lenalee asked Allen. Allen blinked.
"Uh… I really don't know, now that you mention it," Allen said, sitting up straight. "Maybe he was eaten by another cat."
Lenalee laughed, "Maybe… he's like a magnet to cats. I don't see why he would taste very good though."
Allen laughed as well. Ron was watching them with a puzzled expression. "Why is it funny that Tim might have been eaten by a cat?"
"Oh, if he was, it would have been the third time, right?" Allen asked Lenalee. She nodded.
"Ya, this would be the third time. Well, that one time, he almost got eaten, so does that count?" Lenalee asked Allen. Allen nodded, smiling.
"How has Tim been eaten at least two times?" Harry asked, staring in disbelief at Allen and Lenalee.
"Oh, he gets spit up. He's not very tasty apparently," Allen replied. Pulling his jacket off, he slumped back onto the table. His head was resting on the table when a small 'vree' noise started and Allen jerked, falling out of his chair.
"Allen!" Lenalee said, starting to get up from her chair.
"Lenalee… Akuma!" Allen muttered, gritting his teeth and holding his hand over his eye. He stood quickly, grabbing his jacket and racing out of the common room. Lenalee jumped up and ran after him.
"What was that about?" Ron asked. Hermione stared at where Allen and Lenalee had disappeared.
"I don't know."
Outside the common room, Allen ran down a flight of stairs, Lenalee following him quickly.
"You saw an Akuma?" she panted. Allen nodded.
"Ya, it's outside, so at least it's not in the castle!" Allen said, pulling his jacket on. They reached the big oak doors, and pushed their way out. Allen scanned the grounds. "There," he muttered, pointing to a large ball shape floating over the forest.
They started to run towards it, but stopped as they saw something glint in the moonlight. Mugen. Kanda had seen the Akuma from his window and had beat Allen and Lenalee to it. They stared as Kanda hurtled toward the Akuma, slashing it in half. He landed on a tree branch, but the unexpected explosion of the Akuma sent him flying.
Usually the Akuma didn't explode like that. Is this Akuma different? Why'd it explode? Allen thought, starting to run again.
They saw Kanda grab onto a tree branch, stopping his fall to the root covered ground. But the force of him grabbing it so suddenly made him crash sideways into the tree. Allen sped up with Lenalee, finally reaching Kanda.
Kanda was still hanging from the branch, but once he steadied himself, he let go, and landed gracefully onto the ground.
"Kanda, are you alright?" Lenalee asked as they walked over to where he stood. He didn't answer for a second, holding his side, then looked up at them.
"Yeah. I'm fine," he mumbled, still holding his side.
"What's wrong?" Allen asked, making a move toward Kanda. Kanda flinched away from Allen.
"Nothings wrong, Bean Sprout. I'm fine," he said defiantly, glaring at Allen. Allen stepped back a pace.
"Kanda, let me see your side," Lenalee ordered, moving forward. Kanda tried to back away from her as well, but she had grabbed his arm. "Let me see."
Kanda gritted his teeth, but moved his hand away from his side. Something was sticking out of his jacket, and blood was welling up. "Got a piece… of metal… hit the tree… drove it in… more," he got out, holding his side once more.
"Kanda! You have to go up to the Hospital Wing!" Lenalee said. "Come on." She moved to help him, but he pulled his arm from her grip, and limped away on his own, up to the castle.
Lenalee looked at Allen, who just shook his head. He wouldn't try and help Kanda. Kanda would try and cut an arm off if he did. So instead, Lenalee and Allen followed Kanda, up into the castle and up to the Hospital Wing.
At the Hospital Wing doors, Kanda paused. "Oh, come on Kanda. Its not that bad," Allen said, opening the doors.
Madam Pomfry looked up at them as the door swung open. She took one look at Kanda, who had refused Allen's or Lenalee's help and was now leaning against the wall, and raced over to them.
"What happened?!" she asked as she pulled Kanda over to one of the beds, where he sat down quickly. It appeared to Allen that he couldn't have stood a minute longer.
"Its alright, she knows about the Akuma," a voice from behind said. Allen and Lenalee turned to see Komui standing there, holding his coffee cup. He walked over to them and looked at Kanda. Kanda looked up at Komui.
"He has a piece of metal from an Akuma in his side," Lenalee said, since Kanda was having trouble forming words.
"Kanda, you're usually not so careless," Komui noted. Kanda glared at him.
"It… exploded…I wasn't… prepared," Kanda muttered darkly. Komui turned to Allen and Lenalee.
"Exploded?" he asked them, surprised. They nodded. "That's really strange."
Madam Pomfry was looking at the wound. She touched the piece of metal very lightly, and Kanda flinched. "We have to get that out. Take your jacket off," she ordered. With difficulty, he pulled it off. His undershirt was soaked with blood, and they could see the metal more clearly.
"Ok, I'm going to pull it out now," she murmured. She flicked her wand, then pointed it at the metal, which pulled itself out of Kanda's side. As soon as the metal pulled free, Kanda doubled over, holding where it had been. He gritted his teeth.
"You have to straighten up if you want me to fix it," Madam Pomfry said briskly. Slowly Kanda straightened up, moving his hands aside. Blood pooled from the wound, but Madam Pomfry just waved her wand, and then the wound was gone.
Kanda blinked, looking at his side, then to Madam Pomfry. "There, it's healed. But you should stay here… you lost a lot of blood."
Kanda wasn't really paying attention. He was feeling his side. Then he pulled his jacket back on and attempted to walk. His legs gave way, and Allen caught him before he crashed to the ground. Kanda yanked away from him.
"Let go of me, Bean Sprout," he growled, but limped back to the bed.
Thank you all for reading, I hope that you liked this newest chapter! Reviews are apreciated...xD. And hopefully it shall be more exciting... I have a plan! MUHAHAHA...ok, I'm done. Anyway, yes, I am hoping to get more action into this. Again, reviews are nice! Otter-chan
