Hitomi: Thank you for the reviews once again! I'm sorry I haven't updated fast like I usually do. School just started for me in the Philippines and the schedule's tight, so I might not be able to go into Unravel fast like I did before. I've also a feeling that writer's block is lurking somewhere and ready to kick my ass again. Nonetheless, I'm still going to write this, so don't worry about it.

I haven't logged in online lately due to Internet problems as well. And hehe… My birthday already passed too.

So, let's see how this chapter will turn out…


Disclaimer: I do not own D . Gray-Man, Hoshinou Katsura-sensei does. The only thing(s) I do own in here would be my OC(s).


She narrowly dodged, in spite of her reflexes, the katana's spell once it was summoned. From this training session, she already bore wounds all over her flesh because of the weapon's wielder and perspiration was evident. While she had managed to launch a blow or two at her opponent, the physical power in her Innocence was not enough to give any damage. At least she didn't dodge all of the time; she had sustained on bearing the strength of the beatings, which was why she endured lacerations all over.

He was slowly growing restless because of her constant evasion, but he did approve on her still practicing with her Innocence while fighting him. Not only that, he also gave a flicker of silent agreement when she preferred not to duck; rather, he was a little glad—though, unwilling to admit it—that she was shielding herself with her own body and taking his attacks into her. As she made effort to give him injury, it was insufficient due to the low synchronization rate; this was a surprise since the gloves must've felt heavy on her hands and that should've boosted the physical strength she had even before she joined the Black Order.

Apparently, that was not the case.

The onlookers watched the battle keenly, tensing time to time as they locked their eyes on what laid before them. The teacher was watching nearby as his students were doing all of their best to duke it out; seeing the boy's flawless technique while the girl struggled, but was still willing to do her best. The director, his younger sibling, and his assistant were silently gazing; seeing the boy's brutality being a big disadvantage to the girl as he's in sync with his Innocence more than she is, but the girl's body language gave away that she was relentless with her unending willpower. The elder and his grandson surveyed the spectacle with calculated eyes; perhaps, they knew the ending already.

Yuu, don't go overboard. I don't mean to say not to go easy on her, but don't overdo it. Lavi contemplated gravely, his one green eye studying the sight. He almost made a face as a flash of Mugen came down onto the new Exorcist, which she had blocked with her arm and, thus, earning another cut there. It was rather unnerving not seeing her reaction as the blade sunk into her limb.

Rue… He saw her blue-gray eyes still holding that burning determination; the overwhelming desire to win against Kanda at all costs. You're not going to give up… Are you?

To answer his own question, he had given himself a mental kick because, once again, Deak and the other personalities were lecturing him continuously of Bookman duties.


Unravel

VII

Aftermath

[What an inevitable result.

I'm ready to accept my punishment

When failure is the outcome.]


Once more, Kanda slashed forcefully with Mugen, sending Rue flying in the air. It wasn't the first time he did it; countless times, he had already done it. The dominant force had dented some tree trunks here and there because of the strong impact. Seeing her soar yet again, he scoffed with displeasure due to her being such a lightweight.

She refused on letting her back slam onto a tree to cushion herself again, so Rue formed an idea in her head. When she looked back, sure enough, she was going to crash into another tree trunk. She maneuvered her body to let her legs take the brunt of it.

The majority noticed this, most of them thinking the same thought:

Are you crazy?! Your legs are going to get hurt if you do that!

Lavi, however, considered otherwise. Maybe, he knew what she was going to do.

If she does that… Then, that means…!

As planned, she had let her legs contact the sturdy wood of the trunk. Without a moment to lose, while her legs were bent, she pushed herself upwards and away. This had sent her hurtling forward unlike before. Flying straight towards the older boy, Rue had given herself the opportunity to twist her body, giving her opponent a sharp, swift kick to the face. While she was at it, she beat his face in at the same spot again, only she used her gloved fist this time.

Staggering, stunned, Kanda used her setting down to his benefit by beckoning First Illusion: Hell's Insects. Not having any time to think of anything else, she shielded herself with her arms in an x formation as the spell scorched her skin. Though pain had been nothing to her, that didn't mean she hadn't felt it. Oh, she already felt it blazing all over her body and she was trying to block the sensation out with all of her might.

Releasing the shield she had formed, she panted shallowly as she gave a dark glower to the boy right in front of her. While he may have not taken as much wounds like his female opponent, he was taking in air as if he had forgotten to breathe during all of this. Also, because of the kick and the punch he had gotten from her, blood was dripping from the corner of his lips while the cheek was bruised. He wiped the metallic tasting liquid away with his hand, his eyes giving her a glare too.

Neither person had moved, their eyes staring each other down, testing one another to give up. One of them had to crumble, but neither Exorcist refused to relinquish; hoping one or the other in their perspective would lose.

It was unavoidable for Rue to keep it up, though. Her knees had finally given way, the pain her body held consuming all around. As she plummeted to the ground, the fingerless gloves disappeared into thin air, the Innocence deactivated. Her eyes met green; then, it faded into black.

* * *

I can't move. Everything's sore, everything hurts all over. This is nothing compared to the past, but it's still painful to undergo.

How shameful for you to going down like that, Rafale. You know what happens when you get crushed by another person. You'll get rebuked for being weak as you have countless times before. As long as you're useless, you'll never be worthy of anything.

Shut up… Please, shut up. I don't need to put up with your bullshit.

But, it's been implanted in you for so long, hasn't it? Just wait… You WILL get punished by your superiors for it. Don't think these people are any different; don't think they'll let you off the hook. If you continue to be inferior, you'll be sorry.

When the supposed conversation had ended, there were things that the girl couldn't forget. A sickening feeling arose in her as recollections began to spill over. They involved sharp, cracking sounds, accompanied red flashes, and the splash of blood. Familiar pain began to sear from her back and she knew fully well why this was happening. How tormenting to relive this and all because she had lost to her "enemy."

The last thing she heard was …

"Stop it! She hasn't done anything wrong at all, so leave her alone!"

This invoked an argument that was difficult to make out; by then, it ended with a familiar slashing sound.

Now, all was quiet.

* * *

She jerked her body upright with an inaudible gasp after that, forgetting the soreness that had followed. Cold sweat was falling from her face as messy strawberry blonde hair matted on her forehead. Breathing harshly, blue-gray eyes held a dark awareness to what she had recalled in her unconscious state. The dull ache in her back grew, throbbing with worse pain than anywhere else.

Her body started to quiver uncontrollably and she was doing all she could to minimize it.

"Just a dream… Just a dream, that's all…" Rue consoled herself with a shaky undertone, fisting the blankets surrounding her tightly.

Trying to keep her mind off the nightmare, she scanned the unfamiliar territory she was in. It occurred to her that she was not only occupying a new bed, but her clothes were changed as well. She was in nothing but a thin nightgown now, numerous bandages were covering up her torso because of incalculable gashes all over. She saw women in different uniform and they were tending to other Exorcists who came back from missions.

I'm guessing that this… Is the infirmary. She concluded, silently observing her surroundings.

Rapid knocking came from the door and the Head Nurse went off to answer it.

"Is she awake?" A recognizable voice asked worriedly from outside.

The Head Nurse looked in Rue's direction and turned back to the visitor, nodding silently. Going out of the way, she opened the door fully and in came an anxious Komui. Finding an empty chair near her bedside, he decided to have a seat before speaking.

"Are you all right, Rue?" The supervisor asked, obviously fretting about earlier. "We knew you were tired from training, but we didn't expect you to do something like that! If you don't remember, you fainted…"

Rue only nodded to answer him, her eyes holding an unknown expression as the back ache was starting to die down.

"Why didn't you say anything? If you were exhausted, you could've told Kanda or General Tiedoll. You didn't have to push yourself like that."

"Because… I didn't want to lose, Sir."

This perplexed him, so he allowed her to continue her explanation.

"I didn't want to lose… To Kanda, no matter what, and that's because he's my rival." She spoke in a grim voice. "I hate losing. I hate losing so much; every time I show my weakness, I…"

"Rue?"

"I…" The sentence hung in the air and she contemplated on what she should say next. But then, her next sentence came out so softly that Komui almost didn't catch it. "Are you… Going to punish me?"

"What?" His eyes widened, his bewilderment increasing from the question asked.

"Are you or General Tiedoll going to punish me? For losing? If you are… Do as you see fit."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing from Rue. He looked at her carefully and saw that her head was bowed, eyes looking down in her lap. Her eyes became murky just like the day before, only there were traces of resignation and expectancy. She was bracing herself on getting disciplined.

"You're not going to get punished." Komui retorted gently, face softening as he was patting her head. "Why would General Tiedoll or I do something like that?"

"Sir?" She looked up at him with now wide eyes of her own, her own puzzlement forming as she had not expected this.

"Rue… You did your best against Kanda, despite your weak synchronization rate. There's nothing wrong with losing nor is it to be ashamed of. Certainly, it's not worth getting a sentence over either!"

"But, Sir!" Rue argued. "We both can't deny that I'm weak! I'm not good enough with my Innocence nor am I powerful enough to hurt Akuma and, because of that, I can't go out on missions! What good am I to the Black Order if I—"

"You are as important as every Exorcist we have gathered here in the Order." He responded sincerely, cutting her off. "Don't worry… You'll get stronger, I assure you. Just… Keep on working hard, okay?"

"Sir—"

"Promise me that you'll keep doing your best, no matter how difficult it gets."

"…I promise, Sir Komui." She pledged earnestly, still in awe on how she wasn't going to get reprimanded for being weak.

"Good. Now, I've to go back to work," he got up from the chair, patting her head one last time with a smile. "But I'm sure Lenalee and the others will stop by here to check on you. And remember what I told you, Rue." Leaving the last sentence at that, he turned away and walked out of the medical wing.

Indeed, he was right because the moment he went out, Lenalee and Reever came in. After a brief introduction between the new Exorcist and the Squad Leader, aside from visiting, Lenalee came in for another reason.

"Well, I figured you didn't eat, so I told Jerry to make you food. Reever and I thought you were hungry, so…" Her hand gestured to the table at the right of Rue's bedside.

The girl's blue-gray eyes widened once more at the food that settled onto the table. There was a lot on there: meat dumplings, pasta carbonara, sinigang, sisig, chocolate mousse, crepes, lobster bisque, and ratatouille. A tall glass of orange juice was also on the table.

"Wow…" Rue mumbled, surprised that these two got so much food for her.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Reever grinned, amused on how she seemed to be overwhelmed. "Go ahead and eat! Trust me, Jerry's cooking is delicious!"

It was so hard for Rue to pick on what she should eat first; eventually, she got around to it. Once she took her first bite in the food, her eyes lit up.

"How is it?" Lenalee checked on her, smiling with anticipation. "Is it good?"

The other female could only nod furiously as she started to wolf down the food, which caused the other two to laugh. As she ate, she would watch the two conversing, occasionally interacting with them. Of course, she would just nod because she would be eating or she would say something time to time in spite of the fact it would be a one word answer.

When it was time for them to go, Rue bobbed her head to both Lenalee and Reever. However, there was one thing she said to them.

"Thank you." She called to them quietly; her face neutral, but her eyes still lit. Both of them smiled in appreciation and they went out.

Some time later, outside of the infirmary, an angry voice ripped through the air. This was to be likely, but Rue never thought the visit from this person would ever happen.

"Why the Hell do I have to apologize?!" Sure enough, she knew that voice.

"Because you were her opponent. I know both of you didn't want to go easy on each other, but you should've checked up on her if she was tired." A calm one responded to this. "She is your teammate, after all."

"Hn, you make it sound like I should be concerned for her."

"You should be!"

The door burst open and in came a calm General Tiedoll and a pissed off Kanda, who was dragged in with the general and by the ear, no less. How embarrassing for him.

"As teammates and my 'children,' you should know that you're going to look out for each other. So, Yuu, I want you to apologize to your 'younger sister.'" Tiedoll said firmly, giving Kanda a stern look as he released his ear.

"I'm telling you, I'm not saying sorry to her!"

"You don't need to," the girl spat venomously, causing both of them to look up. Her eyes were hard with a cold glare in them. "The last thing I want is a pathetic excuse because I know you don't mean it."

"Damn right I don't." Kanda confirmed truthfully, shooting a glower back at her. "Why do I have to say sorry when it's your damn fault you're weak with your Innocence?"

"…Excuse me?" While still in pain, the urge to punch him was strong.

"You heard me! You're weak and that's your problem, not mine. There's no way you can call yourself an Exorcist if you're going to be a nuisance like this."

"How does that even work? That's quite unfair as you've had your Innocence for a long time and have been in the Order at a young age!"

"Even so, it should've been clear why Akuma were in France! You've seen them before and even ran across them more than once! Again, that was supposed to be obvious!"

Tiedoll groaned in woe, rubbing his temples to calm himself as he witnessed, once again, his two pupils going at each other's throats. However, an unforeseen development from his "daughter" caused him to be cautious on never making her angry.

"For your information, I wasn't even aware I had Innocence in the first place and I didn't know that was the reason why Akuma were attacking my home. Plus, if I knew I had Innocence, I would've trained myself to the brink until my synchronization rate was high. Since I recently activated it, of course it's going to be weak!" Snapping at him in an impatient, icy voice, Rue was still trying to suppress the anger that was threatening to unleash itself. Nonetheless, this was the first time that both Tiedoll and Kanda have ever seen her so furious to the point she was making a tirade, even though she wasn't short tempered. "Goddamn it, Kanda, if you don't stop being an asshole, I'm going to take Mugen and shove it right up your—"

"What's going on here?" Bookman's hoarse voice called out as he and Lavi came into the infirmary. Rue calmed down slightly at the sight of the lanky teen, but she was still ready to shoot insults at her teammate.

"Kanda and Rue are arguing again." Tiedoll sighed, still rubbing his temples as a headache pulsed.

"Yuu…" Lavi scowled in disapproval to the other young male. "I told you to be nice, didn't I? And now, you're picking on her while she's in here, licking her wounds, which you inflicted during your training. That's really a low blow…"

"The last thing I want is a lecture from you too, stupid rabbit!" Kanda barked crossly to the redhead.

"I'm not giving you a lecture, all I'm asking is for you two to get along. Yuu, don't pick constantly on Rue's flaws. You have to remember you were once like her, so enough with the superiority complex, thanks. Rue, I already told you not to take Kanda seriously on what he says. Just ignore his rudeness and keep working hard. Okay?" He ended this with a smile.

Both colleagues shot daggers at each other; then, turning away to the opposite direction, so they don't have to look at each other anymore. Kanda emitted a low growl from his throat and stomped off to go back to his room. General Tiedoll exhaled noisily yet again, giving Rue an apologetic face and she nodded to him in response, as he departed to follow his "son."

Lavi and Bookman also sighed, shaking their heads.

"Anyway," Lavi began, clearing his throat. "Rue, this is my grandfather, Bookman."

"It's nice to meet you, Miss Rue." Bookman remarked, a slight smile on his face.

The girl waggled her head faintly, giving the elderly man a handshake in spite of her body aches.

"However," the male teen continued, grinning playfully. "If you want, you can also call him Old Man Panda—"

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me a panda?!" The old man snarled, beating his grandson up to oblivion.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Rue watched this exchange, feeling her rage dissipate while it was replaced with an unknown sentiment. It tickled her on the inside and it seemed to be a positive feeling. While she didn't smile about it, her eyes were aglow all over again with emotions that she didn't understand.

I've seen this emotion too, with Riley expressing it. She thought at the back of her head, watching Bookman give Lavi a good punch on top of his head. Is this what he calls amusement? I think it might be…

"Anyway, it's getting late." Bookman stopped suddenly, composing himself from inflicting any more damage to his grandson. "You should go rest, Miss Rue. Lavi, we're going back to our room."

"All right," the redhead nodded, rubbing his head from the injuries he received as he looked intently at Rue's face. "We're going, okay?"

"Okay…" She murmured softly, the positive feeling gone and being replaced by another. This one seemed to be negative again. Though she kept her face blank of expression perfectly, her eyes wavered with something clearly there. What it was, neither she nor Lavi could tell and the boy couldn't confirm on whether he had imagined it or not as she pressed her face into her pillow.

"Good night, Bookman, Lavi." She buried herself in blankets, her face out of sight while her strawberry blonde hair could only be seen.

As the old man left the medical center, the redhead remained behind, looking hesitant to leave.

Don't you dare get attached! Deak roared inside his mind, not liking the reluctance. What are you waiting for?! If you don't hurry, the old man will do the usual if he finds out you're growing lenient!

While this was true, he couldn't go without feeling so bothered, even though he wasn't supposed to be concerned. What was that look Rue had in her eyes just moments ago?

Damn it… Lavi cursed in his head, disputing with himself, Deak, and the other personas he had long ago. I REALLY should get going. Stop it right now… She doesn't concern you. Whatever you do, Lavi, don't get yourself too involved here. You already know where your obligations lie.

"G'night, Rue…" He responded out of politeness; though, he was holding back the temptation to ruffle her hair as if to silently ease her that everything will be all right.

Ignoring the feeling of foreboding, the redhead up and left, closing the door without a sound.

As soon as Lavi left, Rue's sleep tossed into turmoil with the past haunting her.


Hitomi: Damn, I wrote a lot again, eheh. A lot happened in this chapter, didn't it? Well, I wanted Rue to interact with the other characters too as I do need her to develop her personality by building relationships with others. Even though she's still cold and detached, she'll slowly get what it's like to be in the Order.

I tried to write the action scene as best as I could as I'm not really that good at it. It's been so long too since writing such a scene. Of course, we all knew Kanda was going to win because he has the upper hand. Rue didn't take it well, though, as you saw in her conversation with Komui.

The nightmare you saw Rue going through was a very small glimpse of her past. I'm still trying to develop her past life myself as I'm not sure what her past was like other than the fact that she has no memories of her parents except for a few personal belongings (which I will reveal sooner or later). In her convo with Komui, you read that she asked him to punish her because of being weak. That's because it's linked to the nightmare she dreamt of. Can't say just yet what it's about, though.

The dishes Lenalee and Reever delivered to Rue were mostly French and Filipino cuisine (I said most because the carbonara and the meat buns are exceptions).

And, come on, I needed to keep Lavi in character due to Bookman obligations. Plus, if he had asked the old man to let him accompany Rue for a little while longer, I don't think he would've appreciated it. That was why I needed him to leave her alone in the end, even though he sensed something wrong with her.

Be seeing you next chapter! Please, read and review!