One chapter to go!

' ' thinking.

enjoy


Miranda never slept, even as an exorcist in this great home, she still couldn't shake her insomnia. Especially now where her minds was running a million miles a minute about Krory and how she was planning to speak with him today after yesterday's long silence, so in other words, very stressed out. Yet there were those few, rare and glorious nights where she did get sleep, and she was in heaven.
She was in her cocoon of blankets and hugging her pillow, sleeping beautifully.

When suddenly her door was kicked in.

"MMMIIIIRRRAAANNNDAAAA!!!!!!"

Komui screamed at the top of his lungs with tears in his eyes.

Miranda's entire body jumped up in a fright," DAH!!!"

"THANK GOD YOU'RE AWAKE!!!" he ran over to her bed," WE HAVE AN EMERGENCY!!!"

She froze in place, her eyes wide in fear and confused.

"K-komui?" she asked, making sure she wasn't dreaming.

In his hands was a giant stuffed toy dog about half the size of the tall supervisor.....and it was missing an arm, white fluff hanging from its torn area.

"PLEASE!!! LINALEE TOLD ME YOU COULD SEW!!! PLEASE SAVE MR. SHNOOKEMS!!!!!"

Miranda sat up, wrapping the blanket around herself and stared at the doll then at Komui, who was seriously crying like someone had died.

"Supervisor Komui..." she yawned; now calming down," Vhat time is it?"

"It's 5 am. BUT THAT'S NOT THE POINT!!!"

"Of course it's not…" she mumbled to herself," Alright lets see" she took the large stuffed toy and examined the ripped seams.

"Vhat on earth happened here?" she asked while switching to look out the arm.

Komui sniffled and rubbed his tear filled eyes," W-we were playing with Kimorin 27 and…and…"

She didn't care how old he was, as of right now he was 5 years old.

"It's alright, I can fix him easy" she managed to say in between a yawn.

Komui eyes lit up," R-really?! You can?!"

"Ja ja, just give me an hour or so und-", she didn't get a chance to finish, he suddenly jumped forward and gave her the biggest hug he possibly could.

"ThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyou!" before she could move or respond to his surprise hug attack, he jumped up and away and was already by the door.

"I'll be back in a few!" he called out before closing the door behind him, leaving a dazed and confused Miranda sitting there with a dismantled stuffed animal.

She sighed, no point in going back to sleep, after much grumbling, she got up and went on a search for her sewing kit.


Meanwhile, Krory was suddenly kicked out of his lovely dream by Lavi's boot to his mattress.

"Gah!"

"Get up Kro, Komui has an assignment for us" Lavi growled. Krory sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Lavi…I know you're still upset but it's not your business, let it go" he grumbled as he sat up, not too happy about being woken up in such a way.

"I'll let it go when you do" Lavi glared at him, but the tall exorcist just brushed past him to get dressed.

The red head watched as Krory ignored him while picking out clothes for today's mission.

"Kro" Lavi started. No response. He went on, picking out his cloak.

"Seriously, Kro" Lavi tried again. Krory put his cloak on, turned on his heel and left.

"Hey! We are so not done here!" Lavi called out, marching behind Krory. Who continued to ignore him.

The entire way to Komui's office, Lavi ranted on and on about how wonderful Miranda was and how stupid he was being for picking his dead girlfriend over her. But he just continued to block him out and walked a little faster.

"I mean really if I were you I'd marry the girl right this second!"

"Lavi…shut up" he growled, pushing the office doors out of his way in slight anger and annoyance," Komui, we're here"

"O-oh! That was quick, in a hurry or something?" he asked while grabbing a file and trying to make it look presentable.

"Something like that, yes" Lavi plopped on the couch, Krory soon followed suit.

"Well alright, we have a disturbance in this area here in Italy and-"

As Komui spoke about the latest akuma attack, Krory could hear him speak but he wasn't listening. He was too distracted, thinking about what Lavi had been saying. He had already decided to remain friends with her, now the trick was to getting around to telling her.

"-and then hopefully we'll see you two in a few days yes?" Komui had ended, bringing Krory back to his senses; hopefully Lavi was paying attention since he sure wasn't.

"You alright Komui? You seem jumpy today" Lavi asked, standing up and looking over the file.

"Well…no, one of my toys was involved in a Kimorin accident" Komui poked his fingers together, slightly ashamed.

Krory and Lavi exchanged glances.

"Um…I'm sorry to hear that…is your toy in emergency care?" Lavi smiled a bit at his own joke.

"Even better! Mr. Shnookems is with Miranda, she's fixing him for me!" he exclaimed with a big smile.

"Oh, so it was a stuffed toy?" Krory suddenly blurted out, Lavi whipped around and gave him a small grin. Krory blushed," Wh-what? Don't look at me like that! She's my friend and I just know that she sews well ok?!"

"Alright alright don't get so defensive Kro-chan" Lavi snickered.

"I really dislike you right now Lavi…" Krory grumbled," Don't be getting any ideas…"

Komui blinked, he was really out of the loop. Maybe he should get out more?

"In any case, Krory could you do me a big favor and ask Miranda if she's done with him yet before you go? She's on the way and I'm sure you were going to head that way anyway"

It was quiet for a moment.

'Not now! I haven't figured out what I wanted to say yet!' Krory panicked in his mind. Lavi saw this and quickly went behind him and pushed him forward.

"That's right! We would love to visit your best friend before we go!"

"D-dah! Lavi!" despite not wanting to go, Krory didn't put much of a fight as they headed out the door, if he did in front of Komui then he would know something was up. Lavi maybe annoying now, but if Komui finds out he will never hear the end of it.

"Oh good, see you two soon!" Komui waved them off.

The moment the door closed, Lavi grabbed him by the end of his cloak and dragged poor Krory to Miranda's room.

"Let's go!"

"L-lavi! I'll talk to her later!" he whined.

"No way, you have to now that he asked you too"

"Then I'll do it myself I don't need you to babysit me" he growled, snatching his coat away from his grasp.

"Pfft. Yes I do" he grabbed his coat again," You're going to chicken out and not do it" with that said, he walked on.

This time it was Lavi who was ignoring Krory's small whines and pleads. A couple of floors down later and they had arrived.

"No no no no no" Krory whimpered, his cloak being stretched as he tried to run away but Lavi held onto him tight.

"Miranda!" Lavi called out, struggling for power over the cloak and the fleeing exorcist attached to it.

Just as the time exorcist was finishing up her work on the wounded stuffed animal named Mr. Shnookems, she could hear a small scuffle outside her door; soon her name was being called out by what she guessed to be Lavi's.

" Miranda! You in there!?" that was Lavi alright.

"L-lavi please don't!"

Her heart suddenly stopped for a moment, Krory was with him.

"Miranda talk to the idiot please!"

She was up in seconds, completely forgetting about the stuffed toy she was working on. Miranda wasn't exactly sure what she was expecting when she opened the door; she was of course surprised to find Lavi holding onto Krory's cloak as he tried to run away.

"U-um…hello?"

The two immediately froze, like being caught in the act. Krory and Lavi snapped up right, making themselves presentable to the confused Miranda.

"Hey Miranda! We're going on a mission soon but Komui wanted to know the condition of his stuffed animal?" Lavi started.

"Oh Ja I'm just about done I'll go take it to him soon"

"Good…well…" he looked over at Krory who had his head down," I'll be off then…Kro meet me later"

He didn't answer; Lavi sighed and left them alone, at least from a distance, he hid in the corner watching instead.

It was quiet for a long moment between the two.

"Hey…" he started quietly.

"Hey" she responded quickly.

Why weren't things in life easy? Krory ran a hand through his hair as he started," Look about the other night…"

"It vas stupid" she cut him off," I'm…I'm so sorry I never…I just…I'm sorry" she wasn't looking at him; she kept her eyes on her hands, which were still and pale.

"It's ok…I shouldn't have ran out on you like that…"he sighed," But…we're still friends…right?"

It was quiet again; he bit his lip and waited for some kind of answer. Finally she looked up at him the biggest fake smile he had ever seen.

"Ja, still friends" she answered with as much enthusiasm as she could muster to continue her charade, slowly she brought her hand up, waiting for a hand shake. Like friends do. Like when they first met.

Her outward appearance showed acceptance, but he could see right through her, and he could see her breaking on the inside.

But this is what he wanted right?

He gave a small smile and slowly reached up to meet her hand with his in a weak handshake, if it could even be called one, she didn't grasp his hand back, it was just there. Lifeless.

"Yea…just friends" he mumbled, more so to himself then aloud. At this point it took everything Lavi had to not jump out and strangle Krory.

Her hand slipped out of his grasp as she took a step back into her room," Good luck on your mission"

He didn't answer; words just weren't enough to express what he wanted to say or what he even wanted to do. All he knew right now was that he needed answers and she was closing the door on him.

"Miranda wait" his hand acted on its own, holding the door before she closed it. She made no movement to try and close it or open it again; she just looked up at him from behind the crack in the door.

"Why did you kiss me?" he asked suddenly.

She didn't answer for a long moment, fearing if she told him how she felt, she would break right in front of him. Instead she continued with her fake smile, trying to tell him and even herself that everything was alright.

"You love her; I have no right to intrude on that"

He suddenly felt weak, his hand dropped from the door.

"….Miranda…"

"I'll get over it" with that she gently closed the door.

Krory stood there, dumbfounded. It went just as he wanted to, now they're friends and he can forever hold onto his dead love for the rest of his life.

He stared at the door for a moment, not knowing she was on the other side of the door doing the same, waiting for him to leave so she could finally shatter into a million pieces.

Lavi blinked, speechless and watched Krory walked right past him without a word.

Meanwhile, Miranda waited for his footsteps to fade down the hallway. She turned, leaned back against the door and slowly slid to the floor. She held herself together as she reached for her time record on the table beside her. Komui would be expecting his toy soon; she couldn't let him see her, or anyone for that matter. Best thing to do for everyone is to bubble herself up, that way, when she collapses into tears she can go on for hours and no one would know.

"Innocence, activate"

Not knowing that Krory was looking at her door as the golden rings surrounded it.


"YO! KRORYKINS!! GET IT TOGETHER ALREADY!!" Lavi screamed while running for his life down an abandoned street with a small army of akuma trailing behind him.

Krory just sat on the roof watching Lavi being chased, feeling no motivation to move let alone fight.

He sighed," I'll be there in a moment Lavi…"

So far the akuma have only really noticed Lavi and left Krory alone, he took this to his advantage and began to rethink. Since he left the Order he's just been depressed, Lavi's silent treatment the entire trip to their destination didn't help either.

Krory ran a hand through his hair in frustration, staying friends with her was what he wanted but why was he so depressed? Like there was something missing that was there before.

"KRO-CHAAAAAN!!!!" Lavi yelped again,"Ok I'm sorry about being mean to you this whole time now heeeeelp!!"

Finally, Krory stood up and stretched a bit. Maybe having a mid day snack would help take his mind off of things.

But the moment he completed pulling his relaxed muscles into action, a large clawed hand that reminded him of Allen's, suddenly grabbed him from behind and held him tight from moving.

"HEY! I got one!" the akuma growled with excitement, Krory on the other hand was not so excited. He didn't move or make any signs of struggling; he just turned a bit to look at the akuma with a bored expression, or pity for what's coming to him.

"Good thing too, I was starving!" it growled again with a big grin.

"Is that right?" Krory finally asked, he took a small breathe of air before his bangs shot up right and his eyes dilated," So am I"

With that said he dug his huge fangs into the akuma's hand and began to feed. Within moments the akuma burst into ash.

"Huh, what do you know…I'm feeling better already" he wiped his lips with the back of his hand and ran off to follow Lavi.

"KROOOOORRRYYYYY!!!!" now the poor red head was crying pathetically, while still running for his life.

"Shut up already I'm coming!"

This caught the attention of the group of demons chasing Lavi, who stopped and turned only to be eaten alive by a depressed psychotic vampire.

Finally catching his breath, Lavi plopped on the floor and watched Krory go. He almost felt bad for the akuma who were unlucky to pick this day to get into a fight with the vampire exorcist. He was showing no mercy and no signs of stopping until he was full.

"Er…Kro…? Are you o-"

"NO I AM NOT OK" Krory growled while ripping one akuma's arm off.

The red head gulped, and slowly crawled away, too tired to stand right now, and grabbed his fallen hammer. It was difficult, without his equipment type innocence he was left powerless, unlike his comrade who just needed his fangs. He placed the now small hammer in its holster and waited from Krory to finish his meal.

It didn't take long, the last few were taken care of with a quick slice down the middle, and Lavi assumed he was full. Krory landed on solid ground and stomped off, though the battle was over, his anger and frustration replaced his depression and kept his innocence active.

"Are we done here?" he grumbled while passing Lavi, who jumped up and followed.

"Uh…yea…sure if that was the last one"

"AHEM"

Both Krory and Lavi froze in mid step. Before either they could turn around, the hidden akuma tail whipped Krory crashing into a nearby townhouse.

"Dah! Kro-chan!" Lavi panicked, where did this one come from?

The giant dragon looking akuma took a deep breath and expelled green flames from its mouth, burning the town house and trapping Krory inside.

"CRAP!"

"You're next exorcist!"


. . . . . .

'…huh? What's that…why am I wet…?'

Krory slowly opened his eyes, though his vision was faded, there wasn't much to see except split wood and chunks of stone surrounding him. He groaned, his body felt heavy and he couldn't move. It took him a few moments to remember what had happened and to realize that he was still in the building that he had crashed into.

He was knocked unconscious and miraculously survived as the burning building collapsed on top of him. Luckily after Lavi disposed of the akuma, some villagers came by to help put the fire out. Thus the small water drops on his face and on the burnt debris.

"Hang on Kro!" he could hear Lavi shouting. A small rock popped out of place and plopped on his forehead, Lavi must be digging him out.

"You better still be alive! I am not telling Miranda you're dead you hear me?!" Lavi shouted again.

Krory blinked,' Miranda? If I were dead…who knows what she would do if she found out I were dead…' he thought to himself, it would be awhile for Lavi to dig him out, might as well get some thinking done.

'When I told her I wanted to just be friends, I know she didn't want it but she said it was fine…but I know she didn't mean it…but its for the best because I love Eliade but then again…'

He whimpered, maybe thinking wasn't the best idea, but unfortunately that didn't make him stop.

'I love…or…loved Eliade…she was everything to me and Miranda understood that…we're the same. We had no one else. I'm lucky; at least my companion was alive. Besides, she was the one that even told me not forget her and…then…' he stopped for a moment, recalling back to when they first talked about it.

She cried for him, knowing how awful it felt to have that one companion lost, though she just had her grandfather clock she still understood. Even as he said that he had forgotten about Eliade while he was with her, Miranda still said that his first love will never be forgotten.

A small light bulb went off in his mind.

'If that's true then even if we do on as friends…well…assuming she…well…loves me then…'

"ARGH!!!" Krory growled in frustration, too much thinking!

"Kro! You're alive!"

"GET ME OUT OF HERE BEFORE MY HEAD EXPLODES" Krory screamed back.

"R-right! Hang on!"

Krory growled a bit in his throat, he moved his head up just a bit to bring it back down in a weak attempt to get these thoughts out of his head

'Why can't it be simple…why can't I figure out why I've been so upset when I wanted to be friends instead of…of…'

He blinked," Wait a second…I…think…I think…I"

Meanwhile, Lavi and the villagers continued to desperately dig Krory out of the building.

"K-krory! Hey! Stay with me!" he called out, the last thing he wanted was to find Krory dead and have to report home without him. He didn't even want to imagine what Miranda would do if she found out.

It had been a few moments since Krory's sudden outburst and Lavi's over reactive imagination feared the worst.

"Krory! Krory c'mon talk to me!"

Suddenly, the rubble began to shake slightly, Lavi and the others backed away. As if the tons of rock and burnt wood were just mere paper, Krory stood up straight and out of the rubble with a triumphant look on his face and pieces of debris flew from the sudden jolt of movement.

"I LOVE MIRANDA!"

Some villagers ran off like someone had risen from the dead, which seemed that way, and Lavi fell backwards right on his rump with Krory's sudden arrival.

"I FIGURED IT OUT!" he exclaimed, Lavi blinked. The tall exorcist just stood there, his cape covered in grey dust and small rocks but his fists were clenched in victory. Not at all was Lavi was expecting.

"…wh-wh-what…the…hell…"

"DON'T YOU SEE!?" Krory reached forward, grabbed Lavi by the collar and pulled him up and off the ground as he explained," It all makes sense! I'm so upset because I love her and I really didn't want to leave her!"

His face softened, but he began to shake Lavi out of anguish," I practically ripped her heart out and she took it with a smile…what kind of monster am I!?"

Lavi would've replied but he was too shocked and busy being shaken to respond.

"We have to go back to the Order now!" with that, Krory dropped Lavi and stepped out of the rubble, marching off into the distance.

Lavi just watched him go and promptly fall over on his face as his wounds made themselves known.

"Ow…"

"You are by far the weirdest…" Lavi slapped his forehead," Never mind…c'mon hot shot" he sighed, walking over to help Krory up.

"I suppose their right about what they say" Lavi smirked a bit while putting krory's arm over his shoulder.

"Ow…huh? What?"

"Love is blind; you know any of us could've told you that you were totally in love with her"

Krory looked up and gave him the dirtiest glare he could while trying to now pass out," Shut up Lavi, just shut up"


*falls over dead*

Review plz

~Mizu