Only a two more days until my birthday! I can't wait!
Sakura02: Lol, you know Claire says stuff just to piss Kanda off. It's what she lives for.
XeniaKunoichi: Well, Claire means clear/bright and I always kind of picture her as being this bright little happy child which is why I liked the name. There was a character in the first chapter of -Man named Claire but I had forgotten about her until I wrote the chapter.
SaiyukiSucker: I'm not meaning to make you hate Kanda! He's actually my favorite character in the whole series. Him and Claire are just working out their relationship right now. Yeah, I realized Allen wasn't really in this last one so I'm going to try and put more of him in this time around.
Thanks: lilanimefan247, Rakuen91, animeXbooksXmanga, Angel Fantasy, emogirlrikka, and Skye Leiko for your reviews!
"Lala! Gozul!" Claire screamed as the Akuma tossed them aside. She glowered at the monster as it held up the Innocence it had ripped from Lala. "You monster!" Claire activated her Innocence and prepared to fly into the air. She paused when a hand landed on her shoulder.
"Let me handle him, Claire." Allen said darkly.
Claire turned around to protest but the words died on her lips when she saw Allen's arm was changing. "Allen…" She quickly rushed over to where Toma and Kanda were standing to the side in awe. She stood protectively in front of the two of them, her wings quivering.
"What's happening to Walker-dono?" Toma asked shakily.
"Parasitic type weapons can change in response to their master's emotions." Kanda explained coolly. "His weapon is reacting to his anger." He glared at the back of Claire's head. "Move."
Claire shook her head and stuck her tongue out at him over her shoulder. "I'm going to protect you and Uncle Toma whether you like it or not." She smiled over at Toma. "When we get done, will you tell me about my mother?"
Toma smiled briefly back at her. "Of course, Claire-dono."
Kanda snarled but made no move to move away. "Damn brat…"
Claire was about to retort when she saw Allen launch himself at the Akuma. "Allen, you're weapon is still changing!" Her eyes widened as Allen's arm suddenly turned into a cannon. "I've never seen Allen so angry before…"
Kanda frowned as the sand began shifting. "That Akuma is part of the sand now…"
"What's it…" Claire yelped as a hand shot out of the sand and grabbed her. She couldn't use her Innocence with the hand crushing her wings to her side.
"Look, I've got a hostage now." The Akuma cackled as it came out of the sand. It grinned triumphantly as Allen hesitated. "Well, now I can finally rip this little birdie's wings off…" It frowned for a moment as it stared at Claire before it's eyes widened. "You are…"
Claire managed to wriggle out enough to get part of her wing exposed. She shot a flurry of feathers straight into the Akuma's face. She flew over to Allen. "Are you okay, Allen?"
Allen raised an eyebrow at her. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?"
Before Claire could respond, the Akuma suddenly appeared in front of them in the form of sand and swallowed Allen. "Allen!" She pulled her wings back but the Akuma clicked disapprovingly at her.
"If you shoot, you'll hurt him." He raised his copied Allen arm up and began stabbing his own sand stomach. "I wonder how long it will take before he dies."
Claire growled and brought her wings back. "Let Allen go!" As she shot another flurry of razor shop feathers into the Akuma's face, Allen broke through the sand, using his arm to block the Akuma's attack.
Allen's arm changed from a cannon to where a sharp beam of light appeared almost like a sword. He grinned as he sliced the Akuma in half, causing the sand skin to disappear and the real Akuma to be exposed. He landed on the ground and turned his arm back into a cannon to fire at the Akuma.
"Get him, Allen!" Claire cheered as the hand the Akuma was using to block Allen's attack slowly began to disintegrate. Her eyes widened when Allen's arm suddenly went back to normal and he began to cough up blood. "Allen!" She screamed as the Akuma lunged forward. She flew down but knew she wouldn't make it in time. "Allen!"
Kanda suddenly appeared in front of Allen and blocked the attack. He turned murderous eyes on Allen. "You idiot! How dare you run out of energy at the last minute! You were the one that was whining about protecting the two of them!"
"Don't yell at Allen, Stupid Kanda!" Claire landed beside Allen and hugged him tightly. Tears were already starting to form in her eyes. "I was scared. I was scared the Akuma was going to take you away from me!"
"Oi, you don't have time to cry right now!" Kanda snapped. "You can be a baby when this is over with."
Claire sniffled but wiped her tears away. "Shut up, Stupid Kanda!"
Allen chuckled and hugged Claire back. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made you worry like that. I'll make it up to you, I promise." He grinned sheepishly at Kanda. "I didn't run out of energy…I was just taking a break."
Kanda rolled his eyes as he continued holding the Akuma at bay. "Everything you and the damn Chibi Chibi do is irritating."
Claire stuck her tongue out but stood up as Allen reactivated his weapon and Kanda sliced off the Akuma's hand. The three pointed their weapons at the Akuma at the same time and attacked in unison.
The Akuma screamed. It looked at Claire one more time before cackling and pointing at her. "Y-You…" It was then destroyed by the blast of the three attacks.
Claire stared at the spot where the Akuma had been for a moment. A sudden chill went through her despite her uniform jacket and she rubbed her arms. She looked up when she saw something shiny falling from the sky. Her eyes widened when she realized it was the Innocence. Seeing that both Allen and Kanda were currently unconscious, she flew into the air and caught the Innocence. She landed gracefully and stared at the glowing object in her hand. She looked over at Lala before slowly making her way to the doll.
"Please, sing for Gozul one more time." She whispered as she put the Innocence back in.
Three days; it had been three days since the whole incident with the Akuma. Claire sighed as she impatiently waited outside the hospital where Kanda was resting. Allen had insisted she go get checked out and now she had nothing to do while she waited for Kanda to recover. She perked up as he walked out with Toma close behind him. "Wow, you heal fast."
Kanda simply shrugged. "Why aren't you with Moyashi?"
Claire glared at him and kicked him in the shin. "Stop calling Allen that! And...I didn't like it…listening to Lala sing…she's not Lala anymore…"
Kanda sighed. He briefly placed a hand on top of Claire's head before withdrawing it. "Let's go."
Claire blinked but began to follow the retreating Kanda. "Where?"
"To get that damn Moyashi and the Innocence." Kanda answered plainly.
Claire huffed when Kanda called Allen his rude nickname but said nothing. She perked up when she reached the steps where Allen was sitting, his head resting on his knees and his arms hanging limply over them. "Allen!"
Allen didn't even glance up when he felt Claire's warm arms wrap around him. He could feel her head resting on his shoulder and one of her hands playing with his hair. "Hello…"
Kanda frowned at the forlorn tone in Allen's voice but brushed it off as he sat a few steps below Allen. "I will be going on to my next mission. You and Damn Chibi Chibi are to deliver the Innocence to Headquarters."
"Understood." Allen said glumly.
Claire frowned. "Allen…"
"Why don't you just make the doll stop?" Kanda asked. "It's not like it's Lala anymore."
Allen shook his head. "No. Their promise was that Gozul would be the only one to break her."
Claire was about to comfort Allen but the wind suddenly picked up. When it died down, the sound of Lala's sad lullaby could no longer be heard. Claire remained on the steps while Allen rushed off. She didn't want to see the doll broken.
Kanda stared at her for a moment. "You stay here." He said before following after Allen.
Claire didn't argue with Kanda for once. She plopped down on the steps to wait for the two Exorcists to return. She blinked when Toma sat beside her. "Hi, Uncle Toma."
Toma patted her head and stared out over the city. "That doll…she reminded me of your mother."
"Really?" Claire asked, tilting her head to the side. Though Toma had already promised to tell her about her mother, he always seemed hesitant about it.
"Yes. She too wanted only to be broken by the man she loved the most. She was willing to forsake everything for that man…" Toma glared off into the distance, his hands clenching into fists.
"Did you ever meet my father?" Claire asked softly.
Toma shook his head. "No. But, I do know that he is the reason your mother died. When I find him…" He blinked and seemed to snap from his rage. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't speak of such things to you."
"No, it's okay. I want to know about her." Claire answered.
Toma smoothed Claire's wild blonde hair down. "You look just like her when she was a child. Though, she wasn't anywhere near as outspoken as you."
Claire grinned. "I got that from Master Cross!" She looked up as Allen and Kanda reappeared. She stood up and rushed over to Allen to hug him.
Allen smiled gratefully at her and hugged her back. "Well, I suppose we will be parting ways for now."
Kanda nodded stiffly to him. "Don't lose it. Toma will go with the two of you back to Headquarters." He snapped out.
Claire glanced at Kanda but said nothing to him. As they parted ways, she looked over her shoulder. She frowned when Kanda disappeared around a corner. She tugged on Allen's sleeve. "Wait here, Allen." Before Allen could say anything, she rushed back towards Kanda. When she saw them, she took a deep breath and yelled, "Stupid Kanda!"
Startled by the loud scream, Kanda was not prepared when he turned around in time to get tackled by Claire. He barely managed to keep his footing. He blinked down at Claire. "What are you doing, Damn Chibi Chibi?"
Claire simply hugged Kanda tighter. "I still don't like you. You're a big meanie and you say mean things to me and Allen, but…" She looked up at Kanda's dumbfounded face. "thank you…for saving me and Allen."
She then released Kanda and rushed off back to where she left Allen. She grinned as she ran over and grabbed Allen's hand.
Allen smiled at her as he held her hand tightly in his. "Are you ready to go home?"
"Yes!" Claire grinned as she walked hand-in-hand with Allen back to the train station to go home to Headquarters.
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