Inheritance
Speculations
Disclaimer:I solemnly swear I own nothing but the plot, my laptop, and the smugness that I have taken Kanda's ego to a whole new level.
Kanda Yuu is in for some big changes in his life. They start with Valentine's Day, the Lunar New Year, a trip to Japan (aka Akuma central), a Moyashi, an Usagi, and the fact his last name's 'Kanda'.
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Language notes:
Chichi-ue: Very respectful term for Father used during the feudal era if from a noble house/ the person in question has much power, etc.
-pyon: Honorific, more of a term of endearment/ nickname. Usually only females use it. The Earl and Road use it for Tyki. (Though the book version is '-pon', I think '-pyon' is cuter.)
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"Fine! Don't blame me if you get a heart attack, nosy dumbass Supervisor! But, before that, I have…" Yuu's eyes glinted malevolently. "… some conditions."
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So, once again they were in Komui's office, only this time, Bookman Sr. was there. And this time, Kanda was completely defacing Komui's door, carving symbols inch-deep into the wood while muttering under his breath. Linalee winced as he dragged Mugen's tip in an elaborate swirl across the doorframe, making the wood screech. She didn't miss how Lavi refused to look in Kanda's direction, or the worried, dark glances Bookman and her brother exchanged when they thought she wasn't looking. It wasn't exactly easy to ignore the fact Kanda's clothes were crusted brown and wet with red…
"There," Kanda announced, straightening and sheathing Mugen in one graceful motion. Linalee frowned. Was Kanda always that… impressive?
"Bookman, you know what day it was today," Kanda stated, matter-of-factly. "Komui, only if you've been keeping track of old customs."(1) "We still do in Japan. (2) The first day of the Lunar New Year is-was," Kanda corrected himself. "Today." (3)
Komui raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Kanda took it as a sign to continue.
"As you know, I come from a very old family line that goes back 30 generations, originating from China. About 27 generations ago, the head of the family decided to move to Japan and since then, our clan has gained much power…" Kanda paused, something unidentifiable burning in the depth of his midnight blue eyes. "And all that load of bullshit."
Nobody said anything. It didn't feel right to.
"Moving on," Kanda said with uncharacteristic calm, Linalee had been half expecting an outburst there and then. "You may also have noticed I can do normally impossible things, for example, jump off the top of a rather tall building and still survive." Kanda caught Komui's eyes. "Even before the Lotus." Komui's gaze flickered.
"Not to say of course, the other Exorcists can't do some stupid things too," Kanda smirked. "But I don't think they have night vision or perfect depth perception. Among other things. Just some of the perks."
Linalee cast a cursory glance to Komui. This seemed to be the first time he heard of anything of Kanda's 'night vision' or anything of the sort, but if he was surprised, he hid it well. Lavi still didn't look Kanda in the eyes.
"Roughly 15 years ago, the Head of the Kanda family died. That person was my chichi-ue, and now, I am the rightful Head. However, I was underage and therefore my inheritance would be withheld until I came of age." Kanda's presence was overwhelming even though his tone was mild. "Today."
"Any particular reason for it to be today?" Bookman asked softly.
"I turn '21'. In my line, that's when we come of age," Kanda shrugged. "I'm 19 now… Do the math."(4)
For the first time since Linalee left the office to fetch Kanda's bag, Lavi gave a ghost of a smile. "Never thought I'd ever hear Yuu-chan say the word 'math' as long as I lived…" he mumbled, trying to sound light-hearted. It wasn't working.
"Presuming I cannot claim my inheritance by a certain time, I will be disowned and disinherited-"
"I don't really see a problem with that, Kanda-kun," Komui said. Kanda looked vaguely annoyed with being interrupted.
"And thus, my next of kin would have the duty to take on the position, as well as hunt me down and have me executed for blood treachery," Kanda finished. "So you can see why I need to get back to Japan, Komui. And I trust-" he paused to let his words take on the weight of the silence that hung in the room. "That none of you will repeat what you have heard in this room tonight to anyone or anything, and that you, Komui, will have the necessary arrangements for me to disappear without alarm tomorrow morning. I'll also be taking some of the things from your lab, not that you'd notice, anyway."
Suddenly, Kanda seemed to have worn himself out with so many words. He turned to leave, nodding acknowledgement to Komui and Bookman before shutting the door gently. The carved words had filled out the second he had touched the handle.
"He's not telling us everything," Bookman commented, as soon as Kanda's footsteps had faded completely. "Prudent boy." He glanced at Lavi, who'd sighed audibly when Kanda had left the room. He'd have a word with his successor later, but first, it would seem that Komui wished to have a word.
"Get some rest, Lavi. I need you up early tomorrow," Bookman told the redhead. Lavi lurched to his feet and headed for the door. "I think you might also want to turn in soon, Linalee-san," Bookman ushered politely. Linalee took her cue and exited with a quiet 'goodnight' that both men returned.
"I never thought for one moment Kanda-kun was going to spill his life story and cry his eyes out like a heroine in a really bad drama," Komui said dryly, earning a bemused chuckle from Bookman. "He doesn't really seem the type, does he?"
"Definitely not," Bookman replied wryly. "Though I believe that is not the reason you wished to discus with me in private, Komui."
"Quite right. Do the records say anything about… such traits in a family line?"
Bookman considered it for a while. "There are records of alchemy attempted on humans about 3 centuries back in China, however, the country in question is highly xenophobic and thus the findings were never confirmed, not to mention alchemy at that period was extremely crude."
"Do you think that's it?"
Bookman said nothing. Komui sighed, and jotted it down absently.
"Could it be anything else?"
"… It could, but this is the most plausible. The other two possibilities border on ridiculous."
Komui shrugged. "Might as well hear everything."
"One, again being difficult to confirm, seeing as the location is Japan, shrine servants of pagan gods are said to be granted blessings by their masters, as well as abilities to better protect the shrine."
Komui looked cynical but waved Bookman to continue.
"Two, somehow they are related to some mythical creature or another and as either guardians or hunters have evolved over time to better deal with these. Given 30 generations, it should be enough time."
Komui sighed again. "Thank you Bookman. I'll see what I can do."
The little wizened old man hopped down from his perch on the mountain of papers. "My pleasure, Komui. Though just as a piece of advice, I don't think it wise to let the boy go alone."
Komui nodded once and Bookman took his leave.
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Lavi knew even before he opened the library's massive double doors that something bad was going to happen. Call it Bookman's intuition or whatever, he just felt it. Filled with misgiving, he opened the door just a crack. Empty. Lavi breathed a sigh of relief and let the door swing wide open.
Yuu looked up from where he was standing behind a shelf. Lavi froze. Yuu noticed. "I'm just leaving." He carried an armful of books heading for the door, and Lavi took an involuntary step back, despite there being more than enough space for Yuu to pass.
"Hn," Yuu said as acknowledgement. Lavi knew him long enough to know it meant 'thanks' but with that bitter tone it was probably sarcastic.
"What's wrong, Yuu-pyon?" Lavi tried to sound steady, but his voice trembled a little. Yuu scoffed and didn't even break his stride.
"Don't even try to pretend, Bookman. It's not working."
Yuu headed for the staircase down.
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"What do you think, Lavi?" Bookman asked. The redhead flipped through pages of a massive book from the same shelf Kanda had been standing behind.
"I don't know what to think of that guy anymore," Lavi grumbled. "Just when I thought we had all the Exorcist data pinned down, that stupid enigma turns out like this." He turned another page with a bit too much force, causing it to tear a little near the spine. He glared at the book, as if that were the source of all his troubles.
"Control, Lavi," Bookman chided. Lavi frowned, but continued reading with less vehemence.
"Plus, my current persona's reaction to this is supposed to be 'yammering idiot who's terrified out of his wits'. It's frustrating," Lavi snarled. Bookman looked at him over the small stack of books between them disapprovingly. "I mean, how am I supposed to gather information while pretending to be scared of Kanda's every single breath? He's already blocked me out because of the stupid reaction I have to have," Lavi said more calmly, with much effort.
"Then just wait it out for a while, stupid boy," Bookman said with great objectivity. "Then you can go back to being all flowers and sparkles."
Lavi winced. "That's Walker's image," he contested. Bookman raised an eyebrow at him. "Fine," Lavi gave in, closing the book. He walked back to the shelf. "Kanda did say that he was leaving tomorrow morning, though. I wonder why he needed a book on mythology…"
"He borrowed a book on mythology?" Bookman asked sharply. Lavi nodded, slipping the dusty volume back into its rightful place on the shelf.
"The green hardcover one on this shelf, and a few others on plants, fighting techniques and disguises. The mythology book was about fourteen by seven. Inches. Maybe about one and a half inches thick," Lavi drew a box in the air with his hands. "'One-Hundred-and-One Asian Read-Aloud Myths and Legends'. I never read it. He took it back to his room, I'd guess."
"Pack your things and get some sleep," Bookman told him, setting down his pen.
"Eh? Why?"
"When Kanda leaves tomorrow, you're going with him."
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I really lost it today, Yuu thought to himself as he made his way to the seventh floor. His throat felt dry just from all the talking today. I probably talked more today than I have for the last ten years, he smirked, sending a small Finder scurrying to get out of his path. Talking is more tiring than I- is that my door lying there?!
Sure enough, his room was missing its door. It also had tell-tale splinters in the shape of a high-heeled boot, so Yuu had a pretty good idea of who he could thank for this. Ah well, it was only one night. He would read, to minimize luggage. No way was he bringing all those books with him.
He flipped the mythology book open to 'Japan' and started reading. "Long ago, there was no earth or sea or sky…"
It took about all of 5 seconds to figure out that the first chapter was utter rubbish. Flip, flip, flip… Well, at least the Yamato-no-Orochi was more or less accurate, except about the part about it dying by the hand of an exiled storm god... Luck of the Mountain, Luck of the Sea… they must be talking about elemental affinity… Kappas, quite accurate, but they missed the fact that no kappa would be stupid enough to try and pull a fully armored warrior off his warhorse to drown and eat him… No tengu actually had long nose and a red face. Those were masks… just exactly who was this author trying to kid?
The book was useless, Yuu decided, closing it with a snap. Next, 'Natural Remedies for All Ailments'. Yuu sighed at the size of the heavy book. It was going to be a long night.
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Yes, I am aware that the Chinese still celebrate the Lunar New Year. As does most of Asia. However, with modern science and being in England, it's harder to keep track of the lunar calendar, seeing as it does not follow the usual calendars.
Japan, after WWII (I think, my dates suck, history is not my strong point) changed New Years celebrations to fit into the Western calendar, where the New Year starts on Jan 1. The rest of the countries around it stuck to the Lunar New Year though.
Funnily enough, next year, 2010, Valentine's Day really DOES fall on the first day of the Lunar New Year. I had no idea. Oh, and the New Year celebrations last for approximately… 15 days if I'm not wrong (again). This super long time is so that relatives could go visiting each others houses, and in those days, there were no such things as bullet trains or planes.
This is how you calculate you 'lunar age' (because I dunno what it's really called). The 9 months when the mother was pregnant counts as 1 year. Every Lunar New Year is counted as a year. Since Kanda is born in June, and in my fic he's turning 20 this year (wow, that sounds old), he's 1+20. '21'.
YM: Hello everybody! I realise this wasn't a very long chapter, but all the info tired me out. Also, I wrote this while my throat was bleeding and I was home on MC. One step closer to increasingly faster updates! Please review!
