CHAPTER 7: The Wheel Starts Turning


It has been three weeks since Yuna joined the Black Order. She has accomplished two missions so far, one with Innocence, and the other without. Thinking back on it now, right after her first mission, the people at the Black Order held a surprise welcoming party just for her. It had been a nice party. She also met new people in the past few weeks. Yuna had met a guy named Lavi, a person that seemed to be close friends with Allen and Lenalee. In the short time that have passed, Yuna was able to become quite close with Lenalee. One could say that they have become best friends. The majority of the people in the Black Order were male, so the females had to stick together. The girl also came to love the Black Order as her home, and now cared for the people who are part of it.

Now, Yuna sat on her soft bed in her room, doing nothing in particular. Her hands were in her lap, her eyes looking forward, staring at nothing. It was around 2 in the afternoon, the temperature warm. There were no missions for her to do at the moment, and really, nothing that she needed to do. Lenalee was sent out for a mission with Allen, she didn't quite want to talk to Kanda at all, and she wasn't that close with any of the other people, though Lavi was okay. One of her weak spots was socializing. She was lucky that she had such a good friend as Lenalee, though she wasn't sure how long their friendship would last. If at all possible, she wished that this dream would last forever.

However, knowing her duty, the connection Yuna had with the Black Order would be broken soon. Recently, the voice has spoken and urged, speaking to the female exorcist. This voice, it belonged to that of her master's. Ever since the unlucky day when she met her, Yuna's life changed drastically. The pale haired girl's forgotten memories now come back faster than ever, though it would probably all just become lost again. It was because of her master's ability that made Yuna's life the way it is. There were just too many complications to explain.

"Dear, soon... Remember, you are to obey me," the voice whispered hauntingly.

Yuna spoke in her mind, 'Yes, master.'

The voice spoke again, echoing in the girl's head, "You found the place?"

'Yes.'

"I'm sure you are wondering about the Izumi side of you..." the voice chuckled.

"She won't come up. And you are definitely forbidden to tell anything about her to that boy, you understand, right?"

'Yes.'

"Good. After all, we have to make sure this works. It's for the future, and of course for my hatred. I'm sure you understand."

'Yes.'

"Dear, you really should say something other than yes, but I guess you can't really say anything else."

Yuna stayed silent.

"Really, dear. I suppose I should leave you to yourself now. However, one last thing, I'm always watching you... and remember why you are even here in the first place... it seems you are forgetting..."

The voice had gradually echoed into nothingness. Sweat had formed on the female exorcist's brow and it slowly dripped down her face and onto the bed sheets. There wasn't much time left for this dream to continue. Inside, Yuna knew that the day the dream ends would come, however, knowing that it was coming soon made her feel sad. It was rare for Yuna to feel much of anything, but having fun at the Black Order had made it difficult. During the past week, she seemed to really did forget why she was even having this dream like the voice had said. In truth, she still needed to find the "place" that the voice was talking about. She had totally forgotten about it.

Yuna shook her head. She needed to clear her head. Besides, she didn't have to do the duty now, she decided to do her best to stretch it to the last minute to do her duty. There must still be at least a month left, right? The girl stood up from the bed. If she did her duty, it would mean betraying her friends. She didn't know how she could do that.

The pale haired girl opened the door of her room and closed it behind her, locking it. Yuna decided to take a walk around the Black Order, going no where in particular. She walked with her head slightly down, thinking. Accidentally, she bumped into a person. And as devil would have it, the person she bumped into happened to be the tall blue haired exorcist.

The girl mumbled, "Sorry."

She was about to pass him and walk away, but the male had said rudely, "Hey."

Yuna looked up. Her eyes widened slightly, then returned to its normal state.

"Do you need something from me?" she asked politely.

Kanda narrowed his eyes, seeing something slightly off about the girl, though he did not know what. Though he wasn't exactly close with her, he could just kind of tell. Well, it wasn't his business, so better to not stick his nose in where it didn't belong.

"Nothing. Keep your head up unless you want to purposely bump into people," he said.

Yuna looked at Kanda with slight questioning, but replied, "Okay."

Kanda then walked away, leaving Yuna alone. After the male disappeared, and his footsteps weren't able to be heard anymore, the girl started walking off in the opposite direction. In her mind, she thought 'Perhaps I should find that place soon. I bet my master will find out I didn't find that place if I don't hurry and find it soon.'

Yuna walked around the Black Order. She walked into halls that were part of the Black Order's dark corners, and places where people hardly ever go near. The girl opened doors after doors, avoiding meeting anyone on the way, or talking to anyone. She made twists and turns, carefully keeping track where she was going. She looked around like this, for approximately four hours, never finding the "place" she was looking for. When the girl stood in a deserted hallway after looking into an empty room, her stomach growled softly. It was almost 7 in the evening; it would be a good idea to get dinner now.

The female exorcist back tracked to a certain degree, then went down the corridor that led to the cafeteria, her footsteps light. She entered the cafeteria, seeing it was fully of activity and chatter. Yuna looked at the long line that just kept on getting longer and longer, already three fourths of its way to the entrance of the cafeteria. She hurried behind a finder to take her place in line before the line got any longer. It was still hard to imagine, Jerry being the only one cooking for all these people. He was certainly amazing.

About 20 minutes later, it was finally the girl's turn to order.

Jerry had smiled at Yuna and asked, "Ah, so what would you like today?"

"The normal tea and bread, please," answered the female exorcist.

Jerry frowned, "Again? You won't get the amount of nutrients you need, but if you say so..."

The chef turned his back to the girl and walked away, deep into his kitchen, disappearing completely. Almost immediately, the man came back carrying a cup of tea and a piece of white bread on a small plate, all on one tray. He set the tray down lightly on the counter and pushed it towards Yuna.

"Here ya' go, Yuna-chan," stated Jerry. "Ah, next!"

Yuna thanked the man and took her tray. She then took a few steps to the right and looked around for a place to sit and eat. The cafeteria was pretty much full, and it was likely that the girl might have to eat in her room, again. Having her height to a disadvantage, she decided to walk around, rather than looking just from one spot. She might just see a small open space ready just for someone her size to squeeze in.

From behind she suddenly heard someone call her name. Confused, Yuna turned her small body around, looking for the person who had called her name.

"Yuna-chan! Over here!" called a red haired boy, waving wildly at the same time.

The girl then found the waving boy and hurried over. Once in a while, she had to squeeze herself past people, saying, "Excuse me." When at last she stood beside the table where the boy sat, the boy scooted over to the right, patting the empty space next to him. Yuna sat down in relief, putting her tray down on the table.

"Crowded huh?" asked the boy, Lavi.

Yuna nodded, "Thanks for saving me a spot."

"No problem," Lavi stated, grinning.

Yuna put her index finger through the handle of the teacup and lifted it to her lips, sipping slowly, carefully. After a small slip, she placed the white teacup gently back down on the tray. She then moved her hands to the white piece of bread, picking it up with two hands, one on each side of the bread, and made her first bite.

Meanwhile, Lavi had pretty much finished his meal, and was taking his last bite in his steak. When he finished, he moved his dishes a bit to the right and propped his right elbow on the table, resting his head on his hand, looking at the girl.

"I will never figure out how you eat so little, and well... ya," the boy said in wonder.

The girl shrugged, and continued working on her one piece of white bread. Suddenly a thought shot through her. Yuna almost choked on her food at the shock and dread she that she just figured out. The girl coughed a few times, Lavi looking at her worried.

"Are you alright, Yuna-chan? What happened?" he asked, patting her back.

Yuna raised her right hand, telling she was fine. The bread still in her left hand, she stuffed it all into her mouth quickly, and drank the rest of her tea in two seconds, swallowing everything at once. Normally it would make a person choke to death, but it seemed that was not the case for the small girl.

"Sorry, I need to go," Yuna told Lavi.

She stood up and lifted her legs over the bench on to the other side of the bench.

"It's fine. Next time, remember to properly swallow your food, alright?" the red head replied then added on jokingly, " Otherwise, you might really die of choking next time."

The girl nodded and hurried off with her tray in her hands, throwing her trash away and placing her dishes in the trash can that was labeled, Dirty Dishes, and placed her tray on the small flat platform next to it.

'I totally forgot! How could I be so stupid? If Master said that she was always watching me, then she would know that I didn't find that place yet. I better find it soon...' Yuna thought. She rushed out of the cafeteria and began her search immediately.

As if in response, the voice spoke in her mind, "Yes I know. Never would I have thought that you would lie to me. I'm very disappointed in you, dear. It's alright though, I'll forgive you this time around, but don't you ever dare lie to me again, you hear?"

Yuna thought in her mind, 'Yes, Master. I'm sorry.'

"Good girl. You know what? I'll tell you something good. I found the place, even though you were incapable of doing so."

Yuna's eyes widened in surprised.

"I'm going to direct you there, so follow my instructions."

'Yes, master."

"Alright, good. Go left there at that corner."

Yuna obeyed, turning left into a deserted hallway.

"Take about 50 steps. There should be another pathway to the right. Take that path."

The girl, once again, obliged. This went on for a while, Yuna going through many twists and turns. At last, the last instruction came.

"This is the last. You see that staircase over there? Go down, then go right. There is a room there."

Yuna followed, placing her hand on the handrail, placing a foot down after the next until she was at the bottom. Then she turned right as she was told and stopped in her tracks.

The room was indeed large, and in the middle, was the one thing she and her master were searching for.

The key to her master's plan.