I'M NOT DEAD I SWEAR! Sorry for delaying by...months? now =3= Japan takes up a lot of my free time and my host family doesn't have internets, so... yeah, add to that that I've been off my DGM fix for a while...
Anyway, ENJOY!
10
"You seem…different, Kanda," Kai remarked as they ate. He blinked, then let out a small smile.
"I don't know why, since we're in the middle of a war and all," he said, "But I feel really good these days." In all honesty, however, ever since Kanda had met his parents and regained his memories, his old personality had been coming back little by little. He was on his way to being the pleasant reserved man he'd been as a child. Kai, who had been on a mission during the whole event, was, of course, completely unaware of this.
"Well, it's good to see you doing well, I was really worried there," she said, fidgeting with the food on her plate.
He put his hand over hers, "You need to eat more," he said, genuine concern coming into his voice, "You can't let this thing hang over your head forever. I'm sure your father had his reasons for doing… what he did."
Kai looked at him doubtfully, "He's a pirate, Kanda, how am I supposed to feel about that?"
"He was a merchant before turning to piracy," Kanda said, "evidently the process of getting a job took much longer than he'd anticipated. He couldn't risk sending a letter that might have been intercepted either and hoped beyond hope that you and your mother would still be there when he returned. He met the man who smuggled you to China and they teamed up as merchant partners, but because of their strict bosses, they were stuck traveling the same routes. In the end, he commandeered his own ship and kept only those of the crew who were loyal to him. Part of the reason he did this was also because he heard rumors about your brothers being taken away from him to work on other ships."
She stared at him, "and you didn't tell me this before because…?"
"I didn't know how at the time," Kanda admitted sheepishly, "You were so depressed and then all that stuff happened after I collapsed… I just couldn't think of how to do it."
Kai sighed, leaning back and gazing up at the ceiling, "So he was an honest man who let his frustrations run away with him." She smiled, the first real smile Kanda had seen in weeks, "that's so like him."
"Kai, Kanda," Johnny said as he approached them, "Komui wants to see you both."
They nodded, rising to go to the supervisors office, where they found Rouvelier, Link, and Alma waiting as well. Komui looked much more somber than he usually did when assigning missions, which made Kanda wonder what this could possibly be about.
"Oh good, you two are here," he said as they entered the office, "let me start off by saying that this mission is not going to be like the others. You two will be going with Alma to New York to a meeting with someone who claims to know where Allen is. Be careful, though, for I think it's someone who took part in the battle where we lost him."
He held out a letter to them.
To Supervisor Komui Lee of the Black Order Headquarters,
I do not doubt that you have been wondering about the current location of young Allen Walker. It is your good fortune to know that he is with me and, rest assured, quite safe. We are currently staying at the Crown Plaza Hotel on Broadway in New York City and I am perfectly ready to discuss conditions concerning his safe return. My only condition as of this moment is that I choose the people you send to negotiate. I have heard of the miraculous dealings between certain exorcists and the pirate captain of The Black Cat's Revenge and would like you to send Kanda Yu, Kirihara Kaida, and Alma Karma. Apart from them, you are free to add three more people to the list.
I will eagerly await your arrival.
Gabriel.
"So who all are you sending besides the three of us?" Kai asked.
"Lavi and Bookman will want to record the proceedings, I'm sure," Komui said, "and Link is accompanying you because he's Allen's former caretaker. Again, be careful, I don't know who this Gabriel is, but I have a feeling he's someone who's worked closely with the earl. There's no other way he could've gotten to Allen."
"So what do you think? Does this guy really have Allen?"
Kai looked up at her fellow exorcist, "Why are you asking me?" she asked. They were on the ship heading to New York and Kai was perusing the mysterious letter for the umpteenth time.
Lavi shrugged, "You're the brilliant military strategist," he said.
She shook her head, looking back down at the letter, "I've read it over almost a dozen times down," she said, "but I just don't know. I agree with Komui, that this guy is definitely affiliated with the earl, but the way this is written… I don't know why, but it feels like he's telling the truth."
"The captain says we'll be docking in about thirty minutes," Alma said as he and Kanda returned to the cabin.
"I say we go directly to the hotel from the port," Kanda said as he sat down with them, "It'd be senseless to try and stop somewhere to formulate some useless plan."
"I agree," Kai said, "if we're ambushed, we fight, there's all there is to it. We have no way of investigating this guy's numbers, which puts us at a huge disadvantage, but there's really nothing we can do about it." She turned to Link, "I'm going to ask you a huge favor, right here right now."
"What is it?" the blond man asked, looking slightly bemused.
"During negotiations, keep your Rouvelier-loving trap shut," she said, making Lavi let out a bark of laughter.
"Excuse me?" Link cried indignantly, "Why should I obey such a request, Miss Kirihara?"
"Because if you start spouting things against Allen, we're screwed," Kai said simply, "I'm not letting some Central-brainwashed lackey get in the way of this mission, got it? Let me talk and just shut up."
"Considering how well it went with the pirates," Bookman said, "I say we let Miss Kai handle this situation." Kai had kept quiet about the fact that her father had been the pirate captain. The only ones aware of it now were those who had been present at the time. Thankfully, it seemed that old man's words were enough to get Link to stop protesting, since he shut his mouth and refused to speak to them for the remainder of the journey.
They caught the nearest cab and got to the hotel within another half hour. Kai let Bookman handle things at the front desk and proceeded him and the bellboy that was their guide into the large dining hall. Once they were inside, it wasn't long before they heard a voice calling out to them.
"Lavi! Bookman! Bakanda! Over here!" the white-haired boy called, waving them over to a large table in the corner. The redhead made to make a run for him, but Kai stretched out her hand to stop him.
"Slow down there," she said, "We don't know if we can trust him."
"She's right, Lavi," Kanda said, "You know the fourteenth could take him over at a moment's notice."
They approached Allen cautiously, taking their seats across from him and leaving an empty chair on either side of the white-haired boy. He looked at them sadly, probably able to guess why they were behaving in such a way.
"You guys…" he said, "well… we'll get started when everyone get here, then."
"I take it we're waiting on this Gabriel person?" Kanda asked.
Allen nodded, "He's picking up someone from the train station, I don't know who, though," he said, "But he left a little while ago, so he should be back soon. In the meantime, what's been going on?"
"We can't tell you anything until this matter is cleared up, Allen," Lavi said, "you're still the fourteenth as far as Central is concerned."
"But he's not," a voice said. A tall man, with chestnut brown hair that stuck up in the back and warm chocolate brown eyes sat on Allen's right. The pretty woman that was with the man with clear blue-grey eyes and long dirty-blonde hair took the seat on Allen's left. She seemed to be holding in some sort of great excitement and Kai noticed that she kept steeling glances at the boy on her right.
"What do you mean, 'he's not'?" Bookman asked, "It was quite plain when he transformed, I think."
"Yes, but the earl resurrected my old body so I could leave Allen," the man said, ruffling the boy's hair, "he's a tough one, my boy is," he added with a grin, "kept resisting quite nicely even after I took him over."
"Father," Allen said, embarrassment floating up his cheeks.
"Father?" Alma and Lavi cried at once, startling the couple at a nearby table.
"What's the meaning of this, Walker?" Link demanded, "This man is the fourteenth… and you're FATHER?"
Allen nodded awkwardly, "Yeah… apparently," he said.
"And this is Lily, my wife," The man said, "Your mother, Allen."
"I'm so happy you're safe," Lily said, hugging her son tightly, "I feared the worst after I heard your father had died. You can imagine my surprise when I found Timcampy on my doorstep with a letter requesting that I come here to meet you."
"As touching a reunion as I'm sure this is," Kanda said, "We're here to discuss the letter we received from a certain Gabriel. Who, I assume, is your father, Moyashi?"
"It's Allen, Bakanda!" Allen cried indignantly, "And yes, my father's name is Gabriel Walker."
"Well then," Kai said, leaning forward, "Let's get down to business." She turned to Gabriel, "What are your conditions for returning Allen to the Order?"
"Right to the point, aren't you?" Gabriel said with a small smile, "In all seriousness, I'm not asking much at all," he continued, "only that you allow the entirety of the Walker family, as in Lily, Allen, and myself, to enter your headquarters. Before you deny me, just let me say that I want to work with you to destroy the earl, not for any other reason."
Kai smiled gratefully at Kanda as he elbowed Link in the stomach, stymieing his protestations, before asking, "Why would you want to collaborate with us? You're a Noah, one that tried to kill the earl in the past, yes, but still a Noah. It's going to be difficult for us to trust that you really want to work with us. Do you have anything that can make us think otherwise?"
Gabriel sighed, "I do, I've already recounted the story to Allen, but I suppose his friends deserve to know as well." And he recounted his entire tale to them. Once he was finished, he was met by stunned faces all around. Kanda, surprisingly enough, was the first to regain his composure.
"Okay, I'm convinced," he said, "I may not be as good as Marie, but I can tell when people lie, and you certainly weren't."
Kai cleared her throat, "Agreed," she said.
"I just have one question," Alma said, "why did you ask Yu, Kai, and I to come here?"
"To apologize," Gabriel said with a small smile, "To Kanda and Alma for not taking over Allen sooner and agreeing to go with earl in order to save you two. And to Miss Kirihara for injuring her."
Kai blinked, "I healed quickly enough," she said, "It was nothing."
"Well then, I suppose it's all settled," Bookman said, "We'll be traveling back to the Order together, then?"
"Inspector Rouvelier isn't going to like it," Link said, "But even I don't see a reason not too. There's also the fact that we need Walker to fight for us."
"Now can I hear what's been going on?" Allen asked, "I haven't seen you guys in over two months. All I heard was that you and Alma were involved with some pirate thing, Kanda."
Kanda looked over at Kai, who nodded, "Well, Kai's the one who handled everything," he said, "but yeah, nothing too big has happened other than the usual fighting akuma and collecting innocence."
"Liar," Alma said, "You almost died, remember?"
"Died?" Lily asked in shock.
"And you had quite the reunion, didn't you?" Lavi said, "Mr. Samurai warrior."
"Did I miss something while I was on my mission?" Kai asked, looking at Kanda dangerously, "I thought you promised me no more secrets."
"I met my parents," Kanda said, explaining all about the truth of the second exorcist project, ending with, "Do you honestly think I could've found an easy way to explain all that?"
"You seemed perfectly fine just now," Kai said, looking annoyed, "For God's sake, Kanda, I'm not going to rip your head off, so stop looking at me like that. I'm just a little annoyed is all, okay? I've been on edge this whole time, wondering if you were going to collapse into another fit like the one that landed you comatose. The least you could've done was take that weight off my shoulders."
"I don't call him Bakanda for nothing," Allen said, then grinned mischievously, "I fear for the future of your samurai family if you're this idiotic."
"Say that again," Kanda dared, rising and putting his hand on Mugen's hilt. Allen rose as well, extending his innocence to its claw form. Lily and Alma looked on nervously while Gabriel and Bookman sipped their tea calmly. Meanwhile, Lavi leaned back in his chair, watching in amusement as Link sigh with resignation. Kai stood up and walked a little ways away from the table, kneeling on the floor and getting ready to stop the fight if it ever went past furious glares and name calling. She was so absorbed in keeping an eye on the two of them that she almost didn't notice the young man coming up behind her. She stood, turning to find herself blinking in surprise.11
"Richards," she said as he approached, the couple that her team had startled earlier in his wake.
"Fancy seeing you here, Kai," Erik said, "You can call me by my name you know, we were engaged at one point, remember?'
Kai blushed, "Not anymore, though," she said, "Oh great, that's going to be a mark on the bill," she added as Allen tackled Kanda to the floor, breaking a glass sculpture in the process. She let them beat it out for a few moments before a pitcher went flying, drenching her in cold water. The two of them looked at her in horror, Allen quickly realizing what he'd done even though he'd never gotten to know Kai. He and Kanda were also covered in water and there was a straight line of moisture trailing between them and Kai.
"Oh shit." Those were the only words Kanda got out before he found himself being assaulted by several hundred volts of electricity. He and Allen fell against each other in a charred heap while Kai proceeded to fish a new hair-tie out of her pocket to the replace the one that had disintegrated. It had done so when Kai had released the lighting from the whole of her body, drying herself off in the process.
"Sorry about that," she said, turning back to Erik, "My friends haven't seen each other in a long time and this is how they decided to handle the reunion. Anyway, was there anything in particular you wanted to say?"
He looked uncomfortable for a moment, "I spoke to a Miss. Monika Daniels around a week ago," he said, "She said you were amazing, taking on pirates and sirens and saving two ships at once. I couldn't believe it was the same woman who had once been my fiancée a mere two months ago."
"Neither could we," the woman behind him said, "To think out son had chosen such a strong young woman."
"We're Erik's parents," the man said, "I'm Luke Richards and this is my wife, Emily. We're very pleased to see you have a good head on your shoulders, Miss Kai."
A cold sense of dread weld up inside Kai as she began to fear the direction the conversation was taking.
"Kai, that was brutal," Kanda said, standing a little shakily and walking over to her, "You practically roasted Moyashi back there."
"It's Allen!" Allen called.
"You two shouldn't be fighting in the middle of a hotel restaurant anyway," Kai said, poking him in the head with a smirk, "you have a name to uphold now, remember?"
Kanda grimaced, "Right," he said, "the whole samurai thing. Did you have to walk on eggshells like that when you lived in Edo?"
Kai nodded, "My father worked for the court, of course I had to act accordingly," she said, "By the way, this is Erik Richards and his parents, Luke and Emily. Erik, this is my comrade in arms and fellow training student, Kanda Yu."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Kanda," Erik said, a little stiffly. He smiled as he added, "I'm Kai's former fiancée."
Kanda blinked, "Just how many marriage offers have you had?" he asked incredulously, "First that prick on the ship and now this guy? Kai, I really have nothing more to say to that."
She blushed, "FORMER, Kanda," she said, "and it was something that happened when I still didn't have my memories, okay? And you really shouldn't call Lord Akira a prick, he's your sovereign too, you know."
"He insulted me to my face then proceeded to tell me I couldn't go near you because it would cloud your judgment while you considered his proposal," Kanda growled, "I don't care if he's a prince, he pisses me off."
"Are you telling me I have to compete with royalty?" Erik asked.
"You're not still going after me!" Kai cried in frustration, "And no, I'm not accepting anyone's proposal right now. And when I do, odds are completely against you and Lord Akira. Honestly, do you men never give up?"
She stalked off, leaving Kanda and Erik in an awkward silence, although Kanda felt some unidentifiable pleasure in hearing that Kai wasn't going to marry the prince. In fact, he felt an odd sense of triumph. After all, he too was attracted to Kai, but he was a little annoyed that this encounter was going to push pack the opportunity for him to actually tell her how he felt.
"What a harsh rejection," Erik said, breaking Kanda out of his thoughts, "and I thought the first time was bad."
"You need to take her answer the first time," Kanda said, "She means it the first time she says it. No offense, but I can see why she wants to be independent while she still can."
"What do you mean?" Erik asked.
"I have a feeling she's going back to Japan after our war's over," Kanda said, "and that means returning to a society that's going to demand she gets married as soon as possible. Kai's a strong, charismatic woman and she's not afraid to speak her mind, however, that's not the image she can portray back in Edo. Women are supposed to be quiet, delicate creatures, not strong fighters like Kai. Do you see where I'm going with this?"
Erik nodded, "she wants to be free from that fate as long as she possibly can," he said. He shrugged, "Well, then I'm really out of the picture," he said, then clapped Kanda on the shoulder, "I hope that, when she chooses you, you won't treat her the traditional way." He shook his head as Kanda gaped at him, "My friend, I saw how she looked around you. That's the look of a woman who's too strong to admit she's in love. Sweep her off her feet, but make sure you let her walk when she wants to."
And he walked away, leaving Kanda possibly more confused than he'd ever been in his life.
"Kanda, you alright?"
He blinked, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he said quickly as Kai looked over at him, pausing as she laced up her ballet shoes. She'd asked him to come and help her with a few things she was practicing and they were currently in the pavilion in the White Garden. Right now Komui and the other higher-ups were discussing battle plans for the final battle against the earl with Gabriel. It had been about a month since they came back from New York and Allen had been welcomed back with open arms and tears of joy.
But Kanda's thoughts were far from the prospect of war. Today happened to Kai's birthday, April 17th, and although he had wished her a happy one and celebrated her special day with the rest of the order during dinner and the party that took place afterward, he hadn't gotten a chance to give her his gift. To be honest, he was actually embarrassed about it. Tiedool had given her a photo album of all the good times she had at the Order and Emilia and Lenalee had each gotten her a dress, one of which she was wearing now. Chaoji had gotten her a set of black bangles, Marie had given her a few pairs of earrings and Alma had collaborated with them and gotten her a nice box to put them all in. Lavi and Bookman had given her several books and even Moyashi had managed to get her something nice: a book of different ballet stories.
Meanwhile Kanda had worked away in secret, preparing his gift. At first he'd been really proud of it, but after seeing the other gifts, especially the giant bouquet of roses that Jerry had arranged, Kanda felt his to be rather inferior.
After watching her pirouette for a bit, he stood as she motioned him over, saying, "Can you support me?"
He approached, standing behind her and letting her guide his hands to her waist. She really was light, he thought, as she moved through several other poses, almost fragile. Though he knew she was an forced to be reckoned with, at that moment she seemed so delicate, so graceful that it felt as if he were supporting a porcelain doll.
The last thing he wanted was for that doll to break.
"Kanda, you're doing it again," Her voice broke through his thoughts. She looked at him, worry prominent in those clear, dark irises.
"Sorry," he said quickly, taking a thin black box out of his pocket and holding out to her hurriedly, "Here… Ha-Happy birthday, Kai."
She took it, gently unlacing the silver ribbon around the box and opening it. She held the necklace in her hand, looking at it with a warm smile on her lips. Kanda had worked set around the diamond himself and then slipped in on the chain just this morning.
"It's not much," he said, "and the hand-work's a little clumsy, but I hope you like it."
"It's beautiful," she said, her eyes shining with happiness, "Silver's not easy to work with, I can't believe how well you made this." She turned her back to him and swept her hair away from her neck, "Will you help me put it on?"
He obliged and she turned back to him, "Well? How does it look?"
"Perfect," he said.
Sweep her off her feet.
"Kanda, what are you…" he question died as he picked her up from the ground, pressing his lips to hers gently. After an awkward moment, Kanda felt her arms wrap around his neck and she leaned into the kiss. He curled his fingers in her unbound hair, sitting down with her in his lap as they broke apart.
"Happy birthday," he said again, playing with the necklace with his fingers as they kissed again.
It would be two years before he'd see the silver pendant fall from her neck.
-cough-theendisnigh-cough-