{ { SONG OF THE FOURTEENTH } }
NOTE : This is a rewrite of my original SOTF fanfiction, which I have removed from this website. Bla, bla, blah.
NEWS : Due to past requests and askings for Allen x Kira fluff, I decided to try my hand at a one-shot for the two of them, called "Friends Don't Let Friends Freeze." It's a gift for all you awesome readers who really like the two of them, so if you wanna read it, you can find it on my profile :) Reviews are greatly appreciated on it! I may write more of them if it gets good feedback, as well as include more in this fanfiction.
DISCLAIMER : I do not own DGM or any characters, plot-lines, sayings, etc, that are in DGM. Thing not mentioned in DGM, however, are copyright to me, unless posted otherwise. Chapter quotes that are completely uncredited are my own.
FEATURE : Thank you to Lumina13, clairissazeniarosele, Okatusareawesome101, BehindThisFacade15, and pokecharmer007 for adding this FanFiction to their alerts and/or favourites!
(|Recap|) for your convenience
A sharp nip assaulted Kira's hand, and the attacked girl yelped, startled.
"O-oi!"
"Grrrrr!"
"I'm sorry, okay?!" exclaimed Kira, now holding a rather agitated Chikita away from her body, trying to avoid the onslaught of sharp teeth. "I was a little distracted, ya know!"
"Grrreow!"
"I had a SWORD in my gut! What would you expect me to do?!"
"GRMEOW!"
"I said I was sorry! Damnit, Chikita, stop biting me!"
As the girl continued to try and reason with her irate kitty, a certain former CROW and prophesied Destroyer of Time could only look on, both perplexed and amused.
It was going to be a long walk back to Grampy Malcolm's house.
[ Chapter 11 ]
Revelations
"New territory should be breached with caution, both in politics and war. Once you're sure your position is secure, that's when you can start blowing shit up." (Dmitri, TSFE)
As the sun sank ever so slowly to touch the horizon, brilliant ribbons of red, pink, and gold bloomed forth across the sky, chasing away the darkening blue. Following closely behind, a healthy breeze, just barely tickled with a taste of night air, picked up through the hills, playfully swiping away at the afternoon's earlier fluffy clouds and now-barely noticeable trails of smoke in the distance. On one of those aforementioned hills, a tired but satisfied red-head exhaled loudly, leaning back against his host's farmhouse porch as he wiped the sweat from his brow.
Finally! Finally, he had finished making that damn rocking chair! Lavi swore he'd never break any more of the Malcolm family's patriarch's furniture, lest he be forced to replace it himself again. Usually such menial tasks were easy for the Bookman Junior; but the pieces for the new rocking chair had clearly been old, and the directions that had been written down for him had been rather hard to read (and not just because they weren't in English!). Old man hands were quite shaky, after all.
Speaking of the Swedish troll[1], Grampy Malcolm appeared at that moment, hunched figure outlined by the flames of Earth's slowly sinking sun. The hammer-wielding exorcist on the porch watched the elder attentively as the wrinkled patriarch crouched down stiffly to properly examine his handiwork. Lavi twitched, however, as Kira's grandfather poked and knocked at the chair with his wooden cane. The eye-patched teen only relaxed when he was sure the pieces had held firmly, despite the picky prodding.
"Not bad," announced Grampy finally, standing up straight and leaning on his cane some as he turned to look at the proud bunny on his porch. "It'll do."
"I'll have you know, Grampy Malcolm, that that rocking chair was put together with none other than Ōzuchi Kozuchi, a holy weapon of God!" declared Lavi, putting on mock severity in his voice and wagging his finger at the faintly bemused old man. "Take care, for it is blessed!"
Raising a graying eyebrow, Grampy turned and knocked the chair with his cane again, causing it to rock. A certain red-headed bunny flinched as it squeaked loudly with each shift.
"'Blessed,' you say? More like cursed! Now even after you're long gone and I no longer have to listen to your prattling, I'll continue to hear a noise that could equate to it!" proclaimed the Malcolm elder, pointing his cane at an aghast and mock offended Lavi.
"Why, I never! What blasphemy is this?!"
Grampy snorted at the young adult's shenanigans and stopped the squeaky rocking chair from moving with a wrinkled hand. "It'll have to do. You can start on Chikita's cat door now," the Swede said, tone pleasant as he smiled at a horrified ginger.
"But-"
"No buts!" declared Grampy, shaking his cane at the mortified rabbit. "If you hadn't been blocking her cat door, she wouldn't have broken through it!"
"Ahh, maaaan, that just ain't fair!"
"Rättvisa som skälighet[2]," chuckled the Malcolm patriarch, playing on the lost in translation for "fair," to which Lavi groaned, understanding the tease. After all, Swedish didn't have a real direct translation for the English meaning of "fair," which Grampy now used to imply the retort that there was no "fair" in his dictionary.
"Mahhh, can't I have a break first?" pouted the hammer-wielding Exorcist, trying for a puppy dog look.
Unfortunately, Grampy was unmoved. A new pile of wood and nails was plopped at Lavi's crossed legs, and the boy groaned. The Malcolm patriarch, meanwhile, promptly said back down in his earlier rocking chair, tapping his cane idly against the wood of the porch at his feet.
Lavi stared unhappily at the wood before him. He certainly wasn't up for building something else tonight, even as minuscule as it happened to be. His Iron Hammer[3] wasn't for forcing nails into wood after all; it was for exorcising ugly ass Akuma! But the hammer Grampy had provided him had broken in one swing, leaving him with nothing else.
The red-head pouted childishly, flashing a single, green-eyed glance up at the elder who had been keeping a close eye on him, only to pause.
Grampy Malcolm's gray-blue gaze was locked on the horizon, jaw clenched, brows wrinkled.
Jokes could only distract from the worry for his granddaughter so much. The Bookman Junior's gaze softened slightly, but he kept his thoughts straight and on task. It was true that he'd slowly been developing feelings - empathy, if you will - for those around him, but he hadn't ignored Bookman's ever-constant warning to veer away from such things. No, it was always on his mind, even as he was slowly ripped away from his "no-feelings-status-quo."
Pulling away back to himself, the boy peeked back down at the pile of wood and nails at his folded legs, reminded that he'd been given a job he didn't want to do. Just as he was beginning to despair, however, a flicker of movement teased his peripheral vision. Alert, the green-eyed youth immediately straightened in attention, gaze narrowing upon the flowing wheat fields farther off from the farmhouse. Sure enough, in the gathering dark, he could just barely see shadowy shapes of people; three of them to be precise, and they were getting closer -
A grin stretched across Lavi's face.
"Yo, gubbe[4], looks like we've got returnees!"
To say the least, the entire group was exhausted.
Once Chikita had been calmed and wooed to nap in Kira's nipped up arms, it had taken a good hour and half to walk back to Grampy's modest farmhouse. All the while, everyone had remained mostly quiet, brooding over their own thoughts and contemplations (aside from Kira making Allen promise to show her his Sword of Salvation later). It had not been a short walk, and definitely not an easy one since they were quite beat up, bruised, and sore.
Nevertheless, this didn't hinder Kira's excitement when she spotted a familiar, hunched over figure waiting in front of the farmhouse in the distance.
"GRAAMPYYYYY!"
A disheveled and exhausted Kira Malcolm broke into a sprint, ignoring her aching legs as she ran through the tall grasses to her loved one. Once within distance, she practically flew through the air to meet her grinning grandfather, who immediately leaned against the wall of their farmhouse to support her weight as she made contact. The dark-skinned teenager hugged him fiercely as they staggered for balance together, terribly happy that her remaining family was safe, and that she was alive and able to see him again. Chikita mewled weakly but happily from her spot just barely out of harms way from the tight contact, silvery whiskers twitching.
Nearly crushed by his granddaughter's adamant show of affection and avoiding Chikita's appearance of claws to keep a grip in the group hug, Grampy Malcolm chuckled, the light in his grayish-blue eyes dancing in mirth as he clung to the remains of his small family, relief wiping away all his former worries as night finally fell upon them.
"Now, now, mitt barnbarn, you're a little too strong for your old farfar[5]!"
Kira looked up at her still smiling grandfather, sky blue eyes bright as she opened her mouth to respond. However, it was at that instant that her vision wavered, tunneling inward.
And then the world tilted.
Kira was surrounded by warmth, comforting arms around her body. A soft voice spoke just above her head, telling a very familiar story.
"Once upon a time, there was a little girl who couldn't speak."
"Who was the little girl, Mummy?" she asked.
"Now, now, darling, don't interrupt," replied her mother with a smile, kissing her on the top of her head. "As I was saying, this little girl was born mute. She couldn't talk. She couldn't sing. She couldn't cry. Her parents were distraught over this and constantly worried over their dear daughter, afraid that one day something may happen to her and they'd never hear her call. So they prayed every night to God."
"Oh!"
"But one day, the very thing the mother and father feared most happened. One day, their beautiful little baby girl wandered off whilst playing outside."
"Oh, no!"
"But a mysterious, dark stranger found the child-"
"Who was he, Mummy? Who was he?"
"He wouldn't be a mystery if we knew who he was, now would he, darling?"
"Well, I suppose so-"
"Exactly!"
Kira squeaked and squirmed as teasing fingers pinched at her soft brown cheeks.
"Now then, as I was saying," chuckled her mother, "this mysterious stranger happened upon the mute little girl. And as the silly little four year-old she was, she didn't run, but looked up at him silently, arms outstretched towards him. She wanted to be picked up, because she was quite fond of that."
"I wanna be picked up too!" announced Kira.
"And the stranger did just that. He picked her up, a smile upon his face. However, he didn't just pick her up. He also spoke to her. This stranger asked her, 'What is your name, child?'
"The little girl, as we know, was unable to respond with her voice. Instead, she mouthed out her name as best she could, attempting to reply. The stranger, recognizing her muteness, cupped her head with one of his hands.
"'I see now,' he said to her. 'Shall I teach you how to sing, my dear?'"
"Shall I teach you how to sing?"
"Yes . . ."
Light flashed before her eyes, and her heavy lids flickered weakly open. Candlelight teased her recovering irises, and the young girl flinched.
"- and you had better explain fast or - Kira?!"
Before the awakened girl knew it, a group of candlelit worried faces were above her, a particularly wrinkled one demanding more room whilst a furry one nudged her face with happy mewls.
"Mitt barnbarn?"
"Grampy? What- what happened?" croaked out Kira, disoriented as she pushed away a still meowing Chikita from her cheek. She realized she was laying on the living room couch, her dear cat on her chest and everyone standing around her with echoed expressions of relief. It was definitely dark outside as the curtains were drawn, Kira found, and the household candles were lit.
"My dear," spoke her grandfather, putting a hand on her head and regaining her wavering attention, "you fainted."
"Gave us quite the scare!" added in Lavi's jovial voice, grinning down at her, albeit a little nervously as he tugged at his Chikita-chewed headband. "Beansprout and Two-spots wear you out that much?"
"Not funny, Lavi!" practically growled Allen, his white-hair framed face now within Kira's vision as he pushed aside a sniggering red-head. "Kira's clearly exhausted from today's events. She needs to rest!"
"I still have yet to be told of these events that so affected my granddaughter," chipped in Grampy, his eyes narrowed at the boys.
"W-well-"
Ignoring the sparks from her grandfather, Kira lifted her head idly, "Can - can I get up? Please?"
"That would be unwise," cut in Link's voice, quieting everyone as they moved to give her more breathing space. "Walker is right. It would be best if you remained as you are for the time being."
Kira pouted, but certainly couldn't argue on medical grounds. Had everything that had happened really worn her out that much?
As if to prove it to her, her body gave a particularly grand ache, stretching all the way from her head to her toes. Not daring to sit up, Kira relaxed, resting her head back against the couch arm with a sigh.
"Okay . . ."
The Exorcists and family all situated themselves comfortably, pulling chairs from the dining room and setting them up around the table in the center of the room. And from there on commenced the explaining, accompanied by the lazily flickering flames of candles and distant sound of crickets outside.
". . . and it was there at the Pharmacy that we were attacked by Akuma, seeking Innocence from Miss Kira," spoke Link, standing tall as if he were reporting to one of his superiors. He was the only one who had decided not to sit.
"From me?" echoed Kira in confusion, surprised by the man's wording. She looked from Link and to Allen, then back to Link. "How's that?"
"It was speaking to you, Kira," replied Allen gently. "We both heard it."
"But why?"
It was at that moment that all heads turned to face the content black kitty sprawled out on Kira's stomach, purring away as if there were no concern in the world.
Thoughts circling back to the revelations back in town, Kira turned her head to face her grandfather, who was beginning to look rather stiff in his dining room chair across from her couch. "Grampy," the young girl started, "you never told me Chikita could grow six feet tall."
Silence met her words. The dark-skinned, bruised up teenager felt her stomach churn as her dear remaining family continued to stare at her, but not at her at the same time. Indeed, it was rather as if he was seeing right through her.
Silence took hold of the entire house, aside from a whispered "SIX FEET?" from Lavi, which was promptly responded to by an elbow to the ribs from Allen.
And then -
"Brrrmroooow."
Chikita got up from her sprawled out position on Kira's stomach, stretching out her front legs idly across her dirtied and torn shirt. Without another sound the feline settled into a sitting, Sphynx-like position facing her designated owner, tail neatly wrapped around her small body. Looking into the cat's amber eyes, Kira once again recognized that the gaze upon her shown with human-like intelligence.
The fourteen-year-old swallowed thickly, already knowing the answer to the mystery around her dear kitty; and yet, she couldn't muster up the courage to say it aloud. It was as if that single statement would change everything once spoken; as if everything she knew would warp and twist into a new direction - one she wasn't so sure she wanted to delve into.
But Kira didn't have to say it herself, and her silence was enough to allow someone else to voice what everyone else had already concluded.
"Chikita contains Innocence, doesn't she?"
Lavi's oddly calm assertion cut through the thick silence in the living room, echoing in Kira's head.
Chikita contains Innocence.
Doesn't she?
Ignoring the increased layering of tension, fourteen-year-old Kira turned to her Grampy, blue gaze and voice steady now.
"Grampy, is Chikita a witch?"
Tea was spewed, and a flabbergasted Grampy Malcolm stared aghast at his dear, eight year old granddaughter. Her bright blue eyes peeked curiously over the top of the dining room table, too short for her entire black-splotched, brown-skinned face to be seen.
"Whatever gave you such a wild idea, mitt barnbarn?" replied Grampy, setting down his teacup and scrambling to save his tea-covered newspaper.
"Well, Chikita's an old kitty, but she doesn't look or act like an old kitty," explained little Kira matter-of-factly, walking over to her recovering grandfather. "And I heard Mrs. Barns telling Annet and John about witches and how they turn into black cats," she added.
The Malcolm Patriarch seemed to relax at her words. Giving up on his ruined paper, the aging man patted his knee, and his son's little girl jumped up eagerly, situating herself comfortably upon his lap.
"I can assure you, my dear, that Chikita is not a witch," spoke Grampy, taking on a serious tone.
"How d'you know?"
The Swede smiled, eyes twinkling. "Your Grampy knows everything, remember?"
"Grampy!" exclaimed a dissatisfied Kira, crossing her arms.
The elder chuckled, realizing that his old answer would no longer sate the growing and ever-curious little girl.
"Fine, fine. I'll explain how I know," he stated, regaining the dark-skinned child's attention. "Chikita is not a witch because she has a white cross on her chest."
Kira stared up at him with big blue eyes, as if not quite connecting the dots.
"So?"
"A witch would not have a symbol of God upon her, now would she?"
The little girl's mouth formed an 'o' in realization, understanding lighting up in her bright eyes.
"Then what is she, Grampy?"
"Why, she's a cat, of course!"
"Grampy, is Chikita Innocence?"
The Malcolm Patriarch, who suddenly looked centuries older, heaved a heavy sigh.
"Yes."
And that was it.
No more doubts. No more excuses.
Her cat was Innocence, and Grampy had confirmed it.
Just as this revelation was firmly settling into Kira's frazzled mind, her grandfather suddenly spoke up again, steely eyes locked onto his home's guests. "And if you think I'll let you take that cat away from my granddaughter, you are sorely mistaken."
Kira's eyes widened, and she sat up quickly, completely ignoring the throbbing in her head and Chikita's mewl of surprise.
"Take away?" she repeated, feeling a vague sense of de ja vu. Hadn't she been warned about this? "What do you mean take away?"
Allen suddenly seemed to be very interested in the hands on his lap, and Lavi avoided her gaze, tugging at his headband awkwardly.
"Our sole purpose for coming to this town was to find the Innocence," stated Link, still keeping professional. "Chikita contains Innocence, and therefore we will be taking her back to Headquarters with us."
"What? You have no right!" exclaimed Kira, shocked by the audacity of the man's words.
"You have no choice in the matter. These are orders by the authority of the Church of England."
"You . . . you-" the battered teenager cut off, a seething anger rising in the pit of her stomach, slowly smoldering brighter and brighter. Along with her exhaustion, it left her unable to express herself properly, let alone get her words out. "Like Hell you will!" Kira finally managed to snap, shocking the company as she stood up abruptly from the couch, grabbing Chikita while she was at it and holding the baffled cat firmly to her chest, as if to protect her from pet snatchers. "Chikita is a part of our family! If you think you can just - can just WALTZ into this household and TAKE her away from us - I won't let you!"
At that point, Kira didn't quite know what was happening, aside from the fury that was seething through her at the gall of these people who were not only their guests, but whom she had considered friends. She was so up in a tizzy, so exhausted and angry and confused - and then Lavi was moving and so was Link; and Grampy was growling out warnings and Allen was trying to get her to lay back down, trying to calm her, to keep her from raising her voice any further.
"Kira, please calm down! There's no need to shout!"
"No need to SHOUT? You're trying to take my FAMILY away, Allen! How am I supposed to react to that?!"
"Hey, now! No one's splittin' families here," chipped in Lavi, trying to help a scrambling cursed boy in calming their youngest host and ward off a still threatening grandfather at the same time - a grandfather who had now grabbed his cane, demanding they not manhandle his granddaughter. "Kira, the Order isn't gonna want a reputation of stealing family pets for their own purposes, okay?" continued the red-head, hands up in a motion of surrender as Allen managed to keep the panicked, disoriented girl on her staggering feet.
"Lavi's right," echoed Allen firmly, getting a grip on Kira's shoulders. "So please, Kira, lay back down before you pass out again."
Breathing heavily and with tears in her eyes, a very frazzled fourteen-year-old finally did as told, sniffling quietly as she settled back onto the couch. Chikita was still firmly clutched in her arms, letting out short mewls of anxious concern as she nudged the girl's hands with her small, grayish purple nose.
Situation now back under control, Allen sat down on the floor next to the couch, just in case their stressed out and exhausted young host lost it again. Link, meanwhile, was wisely keeping quiet, knowing better than to aggravate things any further. He and his company had more than once discussed how the Malcolms regarded their cat not just as an animal, but as an important part of the family; and how it would make this part of their mission rather sticky.
Kira, predictably enough, wasn't going to let go of what she'd been told.
"But Link said . . ."
"Two-spots does have a point," admitted Lavi, taking on the task of mediator. When Kira's eyes narrowed and she looked as if she was going to stand up again, the Bookman Junior quickly continued, "and for good reason. Just hear us out first, 'kay?"
Getting a hesitant nod from the frowning girl, Lavi flashed a glance to the patriarch of the household. The elder seemed to have decided to leave Kira to run things at this point, since Chikita was technically her cat. Grampy Malcolm was watching him with calculating, stoney eyes; and the hammer-weilding exorcist suddenly felt as if the Swede already knew what he was going to say. Regardless, once sure that he had gotten everyone's attention, the red-head cleared his throat.
"There are more than a few reasons for why the Black Order has this policy - to retrieve all Innocence regardless of attachments," Lavi began, primarily addressing Kira. "Admittedly, not all of them may be considered savory to you considering the situation, but at least think of this one: Innocence attracts Akuma. Any Innocence left alone by the Order will continue to inadvertently threaten those living near it."
The eye-patched exorcist paused to let his words sink in for moment, practically able to see the gears turning in their youngest host's head. If the Bookman Junior was correct in his profiling of Kira's empathy towards others, he predicted his argument ought to hold at least thought-provocative ground.
"If we leave Chikita here, Akuma will continue to harass the people of Newton-in-Furness. They may even come here, Kira," warned the eye-patched teen, locking eyes with the young girl he addressed. "You're putting not only yourself, but your grandfather in danger as well."
"Lavi," murmured Kira quietly, tone heavy, "I don't think you understand. Chikita isn't just a cat to us - to me. She and Grampy are all I have, and you're asking me to just give her away to some organization I only learned about last night."
"Miss Kira," spoke up Link finally, red eyes narrowed, "you and your grandfather may be willing to deal with the consequences yourselves, but you are putting an entire town at risk. Can you really live with the definite possibility of more innocent people dying because of your attachment to this cat?"
"You're asking me to choose between my only family and the people who hate me," choked out Kira, knowing she was losing the argument of morals as her tears returned. "D'you know how hard that is? I'm no Machiavelli[6], Link! Those people in the pharmacy were the only ones in town who would even talk to me, and now they're gone! I don't want anyone else to die, even if they don't like me, but I can't lose the few people left who are dear to me either!"
"Link, couldn't we bring Kira and her grandfather with us?" offered Allen tentatively. "I know the Order isn't some charity service, but considering the circumstances-"
"It's against policy, Walker," refused Link promptly. "Our resources are for working Order members only."
"What if we're looking at this the wrong way?" piped up Lavi, returning to the conversation. "Kira, you said Chikita grew six feet tall, yah?"
Feeling rather pathetic at the moment as she tried to wipe away her tears, the dark-skinned girl furrowed her eyebrows. "Yes . . . yes, she did. And she glowed blue."
"Lavi, that just confirms Chikita is the 'shade that glows blue,[7]' which was reported as Innocence related," sighed Allen. "We know she's Innocence."
"Nah, nah, 'Sprout-"
"It's ALLEN."
"-think about it! Chikita activated. Parasitic Beast Type Innocence requires an Accommodator to become active, no?"
The Destroyer of Time's silver eyes widened, and his mouth went agape.
"You couldn't possibly think-"
"-Kira could just as well be Chikita's Accommodator," finished Lavi.
"Are you telling me that I'm an exorcist?" squeaked out Kira, completely dumbfounded. "That's - That's just-"
"Logical," admitted Allen, flashing an uncertain glance at the dark-skinned girl. "Kira, can you tell us what happened with Chikita back in Newton-in-Furness?"
"Actually, Allen," cut in Lavi, "why don't we make this story time? Little ole me was left behind to replace a rocking chair, remember? So let's start out with finishing what happened in Newton-in-Furness."
As the three returnees agreed with Lavi's suggestion, story time indeed commenced. Allen started things off, explaining the rest of the attack on the pharmacy. Grampy was clearly distraught at the news of Doctor Phillip's death, just as Kira had been, but it was decided they would have time to grieve after things were settled.
Needless to say, Allen surely left out quite a bit of details, summarizing most of it. He went through his plan to lead the Level Two away when he had thought he'd taken care of the two Level Ones and how it'd failed miserably when they'd stumbled on Floraston and the festival. Link pitched in occasionally, especially on the part where the two had been separated and how the Akuma had continuously been changing its appearance from that of townspeople to inanimate objects. ("A bloody rubbish bin," muttered Allen, earning a few odd looks).
Once the exorcist and former CROW were done, Kira took it up from there. She also purposely left out details, primarily that of the building fall on her for her grandfather's sake, instead moving to how the remaining Level One Akuma had attacked her when the Level Two, Allen, and Link had left town. Allen looked guilty hearing this, but seemed to relax more when she went on to explain that Chikita had appeared out of nowhere and destroyed it.
"But Chikita wasn't huge then?" inquired Lavi as Kira described the little cat's speed and the blue light.
The dark-skinned girl shook her head in a negative. "She only grew at the last moment when she destroyed the Akuma, and even then she wasn't six feet."
"When did she grow six feet tall then?"
"Ahm, when . . . well, she wanted to go to Floraston, since we saw the smoke and figured you were there," explained Kira, scratching her dirty, block-blotched cheek with her pointer finger, not even realizing she was copying one of Allen's nervous gestures. "I told her I wouldn't be able to walk that distance and that she'd have to carry me if she wanted me to go. She took that literally, I suppose, and that's when she grew six feet tall."
Lavi leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, clearly in thought.
"You didn't order her to do anything though?" he asked.
"Well, no," the bruised up brunette gave her red-headed guest a funny look, clearly thinking that ordering a cat around would be quite weird.
"Would she need to though, Lavi?" inquired Allen, tilting his head a bit from his spot at the foot of the couch. "A first time activation is always the sloppiest and least controlled."
Something flashed in Lavi's visible eye, but then he grinned. "'Sprout's got a point."
Allen scowled at the nickname. Kira, meanwhile, suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. While Lavi had agreed with his white-haired, cursed companion, the young girl couldn't help but think something was bothering him by his expression.
"So Chikita protected you, Kira. It appears that she responded to your will when she grew in size too," summarized the red-head. "I would assume furthermore that it was when you were getting attacked that Chikita activated here at the house and broke through the front door."
"Then it definitely sounds like Chikita's synchronized with Kira," confirmed Allen.
"So what does that mean?" asked Kira, still not quite on the flow of things and how it related to taking Chikita away.
"It means," spoke up Grampy, surprising them all as he'd been quiet, almost as if asleep, throughout most of the discussion, "that these young men will not only be taking Chikita away to the Black Order, but you as well, mitt barnbarn."
"E-EHH?"
"Kira," spoke Allen quickly, hoping she wouldn't freak out again, "Chikita's synchronized with you - she's chosen you. When an Innocence chooses an Accommodator, that Accommodator is recruited as an Exorcist by the Black Order, remember?"
"But - but I can't leave Grampy!" insisted the dark-skinned girl, sitting up some on the couch, earning another indignant mewl from the cat causing all the trouble. "He needs me! Whose going to bring him his medicine? Or his newspapers? Or food? And what about-"
"The Order can arrange services for your grandfather," spoke up Link. "He will be well taken care of."
"What happened to not being a charity service?" snarked Kira dully.
Link didn't lose face. "It is within policy to take care of immediate family members of recruited Exorcists."
"Cuz otherwise, no one would come willingly!" added Lavi a little to cheerfully, putting his hands behind his head. "Not that they really get a choice anywa-OOF!"
Fist still planted in Lavi's abdomen, Allen flashed a reassuring smile towards the baffled girl on the couch. "We know this is sudden, Kira, so why don't we leave you and your grandfather to talk it over? You can give us an answer in the morning when you're rested."
"Sounds agreeable," grunted Grampy.
"Yo, Gramps, d'you mind if we raid the kitchen first?" asked Lavi suddenly, briefly breaking the tension in the room. "Cuz waiting in a room with Allen's stomach raging like a typhoon isn't too appealing, if ya get my drift."
The aforementioned cursed boy made an offended noise, blushing bright red. It was quite true though, as due to the Akuma attack and events of the day, they hadn't eaten since breakfast. His stomach wasn't very happy about it, and though silent at the moment, it was still gnawing angrily at his insides, preparing to howl.
"Make it quick."
And so, after a few minutes of clanking, some muffles curses, and a few indignant voices from the kitchen, the Malcolm family's guests finished collecting a small hoard of edibles and disappeared quickly to the attic.
"Don't make a mess up there!" called Kira half-heartedly as they shuffled up the steps.
"I will supervise their conduct, Miss Kira," replied Link's voice, a hint of something like warning in his voice.
"What are you, our mother?" sniggered Lavi's voice just as the door shut, cutting off all other noise and Link's response.
A night's lazy silence quickly settled then, and the flames of the many candles in the living room flickered sleepily as grandfather and granddaughter were finally left to themselves. Whilst a content purr quietly rumbled from Chikita, Kira turned to her remaining family member, blue eyes flashing by the candlelight in the dark.
"So, what else have you been hiding from me, Grampy?"
[SOTF Omake 6]
"Lavi, put down the fertilizer."
"But I'm getting it for you, my dear 'Sprout!"
Link sighed inwardly, gathering some loaves of bread and a few plates from the cupboards nearest him. Of all places, those two had to choose to goof around in the kitchen, and at a time like this to boot. Things were tense enough as it was without the teenage exorcists' antics escalating frayed nerves further; and the blonde man couldn't help but be paranoid that a certain elderly Swede would come rampaging into here any moment, cane a-wavin' and demanding they get their asses in the attic already to leave him and Kira in peace to talk.
"I'm warning you, Lavi. Put it away."
"A healthy Beansprout needs to have healthy fertilizer to grow big and tall," Lavi informed a certain stoney cursed boy. "I'm acting in your best interest!"
"If you don't put away that fertilizer right now I will use Edge End to cut off your ears, stupid Lavi."
"And in growing taller from these nutrients, this fertilizer will solve your unhealthy hostility towards mentionings of your shrimpy height too, so it's a win-win situa- OH SHI-!"
As a cut off screech broke from a terrified exorcist's lips, Link sprang into action. He would be damned if he let those two break anything again!
With loudly whispered chastisements, the dog of Levllie dove in before any more property could be damaged. A few angry 'Sprout punches, muffled bunny screeches, and CROW talismans later, a bruised up, "meeping" rabbit and a no-longer-Black!Allen were dragged out of the kitchen towards the staircase, food supplies in their hands.
And with perfect timing, it was at that moment that Kira's voice sounded from the living room.
"Don't make a mess up there!"
[1] Instead of using the cliche "speaking of the devil," I went for a variation of "speaking of the Swedish troll," since Swedes, or Scandinavia in general, or more into trolls in their culture than devils and demons.
[2] "Rättvisa som skälighet" translates as "justice in reasonableness." There is no real word for "fair" in the Swedish language, so as said before, it's a play on the words implying that there's no "fair" in Grampy's dictionary.
[3] I've mentioned this before, but once again in case people forgot, Lavi's Innocence name is actually Tessai, or "Iron Hammer." The "Little Hammer, Big Hammer / Big Hammer, Little Hammer" that he calls it all the time is merely a nickname. (source: Dgraywikia).
[4] "Gubbe" means "old man" in Swedish.
[5] "Mitt barnbarn" means "my granddaughter" (for those who forgot, again); and "farfar" means "grandfather," specifically the father's father, in Swedish.
[6] Kira alludes to Machiavelli here, as the man is the Father of Politics behind the theory of "for the good of all" or "to kill one man to save the many."
[7] In case you missed the insinuations in one of the past chapters, it was mentioned in the Pharmacy by gossiping townsfolk that there were appearances of a "shade" that "glowed blue." I may of hinted to it more than once, but that's the particular instance I remember at the moment. This also reveals what the rumour or phenomenon was that tipped of the Order that Innocence was present in Newton-in-Furness, if you didn't catch that, haha.
A / N: I wanna give a large shout-out to Papsy and B3GIN. Ya'll have them to thank for this update. To be honest, I've been really insecure with my writing as of late due to a variety of reasons (which won't be listed cuz I'm not asking for attention), and it's only because of them that you got this chapter (maybe even SOTF's continuation, haha...). So instead of thanking me for this update, thank them, yah? You can find them both on deviantART, usernames "Papyrus-tree" and "B3GIN". :)
I'm a little shaky right now since I've only just regained my feet in feeling a little more secure with my writing, so please bear with me. I've promised weekly updates, and I'm going to keep trying for it now that I feel better. It may stretch to biweekly, depending.
Anyway, thank you everyone for all your support, especially my dear friends Papsy and B3GIN *heart*
Hana-to523 (chapter 2) - Thank you, and thanks for the review!
Kaite1211 - I'm glad you enjoyed it! Can I just say first that the fact that you're keeping tabs and analyzing what's been revealed so far makes me so happy I can't even describe, ahaha. You're certainly on the right track with your theory of Chikita and Kira's Innocence related relationship. It's not spot on, but with your current analysis, your direction is aiming close! Certainly closer than most, haha. I'm very pleased you caught onto how Kira's "dormant" skin disease hurts her when Chikita activates. Keep tabs on that along with the rest of the points you've made as more is revealed! And goodness, you're getting close with your theory on her family too, so many kudos to you :D Thank you very, very much for your theories and thought, as well as the lovely review~!
B3GIN - MY LOVELY BABU YOUR REVIEWS JUST MAKE MY DAY. Thank you so much, Sissy - I'm blushing like mad right now! Just have all my love a;skdfj. Your critiquing on my writing just always makes me so excited to read your reviews *heart* And once again, many thanks for pointing out mistakes, I've fixed them all and expect to be fixing some in this chapter as well, haha!
SasuSakuxRoyAi - amg thank you so much *crais happily* We'll find out soon enough what Grampy has to say! Thank you for the reviews!
Mellow92374 - Chikita is certainly a Parasitic Beast Type Innocence, since she's an animal and a living begin with Innocence inside of her, yes ;) Thanks for the review/hypothesis!
Mellow92374 (chapter 1) - Thank you! Here's your update!
Kanashi Horuka - Ahahaha, the chapter of badassery; oh gosh that made me grin xD I'm happy you think so! Thank you for the review, and here's your next chapter!
Dana - Thanks for reviewing! Oh, thank goodness. I always worry about dragging things on, since my writing can be quite wordy (as my professors in college have told me ohgosh). I'm very happy that there's balance in it :) Thank you for the helpful review!
YoYoIt'sAlessia - ALESSIAAAA. YES ACTION AND FIGHTING WEWT. Thank you so much, babu asldkfja. LOL, yes, I can see Kira making that face too with the sword in her gut xD AND I'M HAPPY YOU LIKED THE OMAKE AHAHAHA. Thanks for the review, Alessiaaa!