It Is Time

It is time. . .

That was what Lenalee was thinking. The akuma had attacked a village in Japan and had captured the few exorcists who were there on a mission. They were Miranda Lotto and Allen Walker. When Lenalee found out that Kanda's girlfriend was captured and probably near death she knew she had to do something. The time had come when everything was going to fall in its place. The Chinese girl would defeat the demon and free her friends. Her brother had sent Yuu Kanda and Lavi to help and search for her and the generals who were dead. That she was certain. She knew that the akuma had killed the generals and that was why it was weak now for it had used almost all of its power to take the lives of the strongest exorcists alive. Though Lenalee was the strongest exorcist and the only one who possessed the skills needed to kill the demon, she had to pay a very high price for that. She had to give up everything but the real question wasn't whether she was strong enough. The real question was if she was ready to do it. The green-eyed girl was now walking towards the place the akuma was hiding and while thinking of a certain person she knew she was. She was determined to win no matter what that would cost her. The demon was going to pay for everything it had done to innocent people, to the generals, to her and maybe even Road. It was actually quite funny. The Earl had made an akuma so strong that threatened to kill his closest person – Road. Since he didn't have the weapon to kill the demon he needed an exorcist and who was better than a heartbroken girl who had nothing left to live her – nobody. And that was how everything happened.

Now Lenalee was on her way to the demon's hideout determined to end it before the akuma killed anyone else of her friends.

The Chinese girl activated her innocence the minute she saw the akuma attacking Allen who flew back and passed out next to a knocked out Miranda. Lenalee sighed relieved that her friends were fine. Then she made a few steps and made herself known sending a few tornadoes towards the level five demon which had no trouble dodging them and quickly appeared behind her. The akuma sent her flying in the other directions with a tornado which could equal Lenalee's Enbu Kirikaze. Lenalee hit the ground hard and coughed up some blood but she quickly recovered and escaped just in time before the demon's poisoned arrows hit her. The girl was surprised when the demon appeared behind her again in a blink of an eye but this time didn't manage to hit her. The girl took his surprise to her advantage and swiftly trapped him in her Deadly tornado activating her Acceleration and her new weapons – needles which had akuma's poison inside it. With about a thousand kicks in a second she managed to create a few holes on the demon's body but when her enemy had had enough it swallowed her tornado like it was a cookie and it enjoyed it too. Lenalee was panting already and she knew she had to finish this soon so that is why she attacked the demon with her Shittsui no Tougi: Tetsukase. Her dark boots transformed into a morass of blades, carrying an extremely high weight. With that weapon she managed to trap the demon and as she was ready to kill it the akuma exploded. The blast created an extremely strong wind which sent the poor exhausted Lenalee flying into the air and it made her hit the ground hard enough to pass out. The demon had to use its strongest attack and was almost out of energy. Of course the akuma knew how to restore it – by eating his victims – but as it approached Miranda a combo attack by Kanda and Lavi took him by surprise and made it jump

away. The two used a lot of energy and were panting already. Kanda quickly ran to Miranda to see if she was alive and to his relief she was and so was Allen. Lavi pointed that out when he had checked both of their pulses.

The akuma was furious and recklessly poured all of its energy into creating another blow but this time the bomb was hidden in the tornado. Kanda and Lavi were getting ready to block it but out of nowhere Lanelee came creating a crystal shield around them without her in it and pushing them away as far as she could with her tornado. The girl smirked when the akuma said with confidence:

" You're gonna die while protecting your friends. Ha! How noble!"

Lenalee's smirk grew wider as she continued to block the demon's attack receiving deadly cuts here and there on her already bleeding body. Kanda and Lavi were screaming but she just turned around and smiled whispering something neither one of the two trapped and angry exorcists could make out. The Chinese girl made her innocence transform into something else It started leaving her body and turning unto a sphere which Lenalee held in her hand. With it she started closing in on the demon's tornado making it vanish gradually in the process. She smirked when the akuma tried to move but was trapped because of its own poison.

" Looks like you're the one who's going to die."

She whispered it and came even closer to the demon. The second the sphere touched the akuma's body it exploded destroying it. The shield around Kanda and Lavi disappeared as the smoke starter clearing and Lenalee's weak and bleeding body came into view. She smiled once more and fell into the lake which was just below her. Kanda's eyes grew wide when Lenalee disappeared into the dark waters of the lake.

They searched for hours but there was no sign of her. Kanda and Lavi were exhausted and couldn't continue looking for her. The Japanese exorcist knew she was there somewhere waiting for someone to save her. He knew that she was still alive though everything else showed otherwise he was determined to find her for something inside him, his intuition perhaps, told him that she wasn't dead, at least not yet.

As Kanda was struggling to go on walking around the lake and searching for Lenalee's unconscious body Miranda came up to him. She looked him in the eyes and somehow managed to calm him down but only for a second. He was of course caught off guard when she kissed him on the lips. It was a soft gentle kiss filled with love for the other but something about it just didn't feel right. He wanted passion and intensity into the kisses he shared with his lover. He loved Miranda but now he felt as though the amazing moments they shared and the feelings they had were long gone. It was true that he cared about her but now his mind kept going back three years ago the night he spent with Lenalee and all the heat which was radiating from their bodies. They were in perfect harmony. Their kisses were full of passion and yet love could also be felt. It was an incredible combination. That night everything was in perfect harmony. That night was the first time he found out what "pure bliss" really meant and he loved it. He missed those moments. He needed them but now there

was a chance they may never come back again.

"What's wrong?" That question brought him back to earth and when she brushed little bits of sweat off his forehead he panicked and jumped away. This was unlike him. He wasn't scared because of the touch. He was afraid of what he was feeling. That emotion which made him feel as though his world had shattered, everything he had and lived for was gone. He couldn't breathe any more. He started hyperventilating and pretty soon fainted.

Kanda woke up in a hospital bed. He looked around and soon noticed a chair right beside his bed. It was empty. The Japanese exorcist knew who had been sitting there the past few hours during which he was out cold. A tinge of guilt formed a knot in his stomach and refused to untie itself. He couldn't take it anymore. Not a long time ago Lenalee was died saving him and then he realized that he actually loved her. It was good that he knew about the way he felt though the power of this feeling still scared him a bit but he was well aware of the fact that he could no longer continue lying to Miranda.

Just as he was about to go out of the room and look for her she entered the room. Her warm smile was plastered on her face as always but he couldn't return it. It was too painful to do it. Miranda seemed to notice it and worry clouded her dark eyes but that only lasted for a second. Suddenly her expression became serious and her words confirmed it.

"Kanda, we need to talk." She started. " I am very sorry but whatever we had is….um…. how should I put it….it's no the same….not that I didn't like out moments together but they just aren't like they used to be….they are….they are….

She seemed to have trouble finding the right word so Kanda decided to help her agreeing with her and feeling a bit relieved that she felt the same way as him.

"They are gone."

Miranda smiled.

" Yes. They are gone and I don't think that we should be together anymore…Not that I didn't like it when we were together. It was quite good actually but I just think that the magic is gone."

" The magic is gone?" He repeated smirking as she laughed nervously at the sarcasm in his tone.

After that awkward moment they talked and realized that only the love they felt for each other as lovers had transformed into that of friends and they were both more than fine with it. Now only one thing was left for him to do. He needed to find Lenalee and tell her how he really felt about her. Though everyone else tried to convince him otherwise he made a deal with them that he would go back to the lake alone and search for her for a week and if he didn't find her, he would stop looking for her.