Disclaimer: don't own as usual…

Warnings: language, violence, slight blood and gore, character death,

A/N: so I got an idea for the next chapter, wow I still can't believe it…

Enjoy!

Chapter 10 – Dictator of Demise

"Damn it!" Kuu grabbed the offending leg that struck out at her and held on. She spun around twice and tossed the Akuma towards the other one that came charging at her. "Shit, almost had it." She cursed when the second Akuma dodged the one she tossed.

The Akuma quickly regained its balance and join the other to rain attacks after attacks at Kuu. Kuu dodged and block accordingly but she was being overpowered. She couldn't keep up with the monstrous pace the Akumas' set. This is bad…

"I see you can't keep up with these new level three Akuma," Reaper was still leaning against the tree, watching them fight. "You've gotten weaker. I wonder why the count arranged all of this to destroy something as weak as you."

Kuu blocked another punch from one of the Akuma but she could block the other one's attack in time and she took the hit head on, flying straight into a thick back that crashed down on impact. She picked herself up and brushed the dirt off her face. Damn it…I'm gonna lose. She tried to put some distance between them but they caught up to her. I need to use my full strength but if I do…Central will find out…

One of the Akuma dashed forward and attacked Kuu. She blocked that attack and managed to block the sneak attack the other one attempted. She gripped her scythe and spun it around, causing the Akumas to back away from her.

"I guess I have no choice," Kuu said with a sigh. She raised her scythe above her, spun it twin and pointed the blade forward. "I hope no one will get in trouble for this…"

Her scythe glowed to a dark red color as it begun to change. I will win.

~ x ~ x ~ x ~ x ~ x ~

Kanda made it back to the main branch before night fell, thanks to the express jet that Komui arranged for him. He stormed into the order room and Johnny guided him to the room Komui was in. The only thing on his mind was to strangle Komui for sending Kuu out on some wild goose chase but that would have to wait after he got Kuu back.

"Oi Komui," he pushed the door open and was surprised when he saw how busy the interior was. It was a flurry of movement as people hurried from one place to the next, going on and on about statistics and the likes. "What's going on?"

Komui hurried to Kanda's side. "There's no time to explain," he said as he guided Kanda towards the small portal that seemed as if it would close any minute now. "I'm beginning to think that everything was arranged to lure Kuu out. Her powers are weakening, which only means she's fighting as we speak."

Kanda's face soured. He knew it, something bad was no doubt happening. "I'm going now. I'll listen to what ever reason you have later."

Kanda quickly entered the portal with only one thought in his mind. He would not forgive the bastard who was hurting his precious daughter.

~ x ~ x ~ x ~ x ~ x ~

Daisya panted as he rested against the wall of one the broken down ruins. He was battered and bruised. Shit…I've lost too much blood. His vision was blurry and he tried to move his right arm but he couldn't as it was broken. Damn it…that Noah is strong. He pushed himself off the wall and hurried to make it back to the village. On the wall there remained a large splotch of blood.

The sound of footsteps coming up behind him had him frozen in his tracks. Damn it he caught up already? He forced his feet to move and broke out into a run. His innocence was half there but he could manage one more attack if he got the chance. The sounds of his pursuer's footsteps faded and he almost gave a sigh of relief that was until he ran right into the Noah.

"I've had enough of this cat and mouse game."

Daisya gripped his innocence tightly. I'm not going down that easily. He dropped the remains of his innocence and kicked it in midair, sending it towards the Noah before him. It was a direct hit but to his surprise his innocence went right through the man. His eyes widened but he didn't let the shock linger long. He maneuvered the bell to return to him but before it could the Noah moved.

He didn't get a chance to dodge as the Noah appeared before him and pierced forward. Blood spilled freely from his lips and his face contorted in pain. He raised his hands to grip the Noah's but they fell back to his sides as the life slowly drained from his eyes. The Noah pulled back his hand and within it was Daisya's non beating heart. He crushed the organ in his grasp and flashed the blood from his hands. His golden depths locked on the discarded innocence and with a black butterfly that emerged from his white gloved hand, it was destroyed.

"This wasn't your lucky day exorcist," he turned and walked away, leaving the dead body of Daisya behind.

~ x ~ x ~ x ~ x ~ x ~

Kuu jerked as she felt something shattered. With her concentration lost her scythe lost it ominous red glow. An innocence piece was destroyed…whose was it? Who was killed? Her mind was in a flurry of agonizing concern and anxiety wracked her body. She extended her senses and when she felt that it was Charity Bell that was destroyed tears flooded her eyes. Daisya oji-chan…She couldn't stop her tears from falling and she fell to the ground in a mess of emotions.

"No…no…not oji-chan…" more tears fell. She couldn't believe it, Daisya was gone.

"It seemed something happened," Reaper was intrigued by the sudden shift in her emotions. He figured someone was killed as he knew that Kuu could sense innocence. "I wonder who died." There was a sickly grin on his face. "Better yet, I wonder who killed that pitiful exorcist."

Kuu could feel her overwhelming sadness fading into something more dangerous: anger. She was devastated at Daisya's passing and she would have her revenge. The anger she felt only rose by the seconds that ticked by and she grabbed up her scythe. Before any of them were aware that she moved she had cut down one of the level three Akuma.

An amused grin tugged Reaper's lips when he saw Kuu. She looked completely different than how she was before. Her eyes were wild with unabashed rage and it transformed her persona from the cheery little girl to a heartless slayer. There was also a dark circular seal on her forehead and her scythe seemed to have gotten larger. It seemed almost twice her size with the blade glowing an eerie deep red colour.

It seems her powers were sealed, Reaper mused. His grin widened. This will make killing her easier.

Kuu gripped her newly transformed scythe and dashed forward. She brought it down on the remaining level three but he dodged. It backed away from her, moving over to where his fallen comrade was slowly recovering.

"She has gotten stronger," Reaper voiced. "You'll need more power to beat her."

As if reading Reaper's mind the unharmed level three Akuma grabbed his partner and bit into him. It devoured the wounded and their bodies merged.

Kuu stood staring blankly at the cannibalistic act. She wanted to destroy them and every single thing that was the enemies to her friends. Her hands gripped the scythe tightly. She wouldn't let anyone who was involved in Daisya's death roam free.

~ x ~ x ~ x ~ x ~ x ~

Hurry, hurry… Allen kept repeating the word in his mind. He had gotten a call from Komui and it sounded really urgent. Like seriously urgent. According to him, Kuu's power's were rising and dropping so fast that it was disrupting the portal she left behind. Due to that it might close any minute now. He couldn't let it close. If it did it would take him close to five days to head to Japan by jet and by the time he reached it might be too late. He needed to be there now. Kanda was on his way to Kuu's side but that still didn't lessen the anxiety he felt.

That wasn't all that made him as anxious as he did. Komui also told him that for some reason the innocence that was activated all over the world had suddenly disappeared. If that didn't spell suspicious he didn't know what did. There was something big going on and he was sure it had a hell of a lot to do with Kuu. Did the Earl and the Noah's actually arrange all of this so that they could lure Kuu out? If so, then why? Was Kuu that much of a treat to them?

"Damn it," he clenched his fist and rested his head on the closed window of the jet he was in. "Kuu, Kanda please be safe."

~ x ~ x ~ x ~ x ~ x ~

"Something weird is going on," Lavi was resting in a lawn chair outside the hotel they were staying at. He stretched his legs out and rested his head on his hands. "Oi panda-jiji don't you– ouch!"

"Show respect to your elders!" Bookman growled as he retracted his hand. "I'll try and get into contact with Komui. You make go make yourself useful brat." He kicked Lavi out of the chair.

Lavi pouted but got up nonetheless. He hooked his hands behind his head and headed off in the direction of the desert. His bookman intuition was telling him that something was up and with the way things were going he was sure of it. This must have to do with what the Earl said at that time. He couldn't help but mull over the different scenarios and to figure out what exactly was the Earl's plan.

Suddenly his body went on high alert. His right hand trailed to his hammer that was strapped to his leg but he never got to touch it as a hand on his stopped him in his tracks. How did he reach here so quickly? He internally cursed his lack of awareness. How could he let the enemy get this close to him without him knowing?

The hand on his felt familiar and he knew who it was without turning to see his face. He knew who it was who stood behind him. A sigh passed his lips and he closed his eye.

"I guess my hunch was right," he voiced. Before the person behind him could react, he elbowed back and placing a few distance between them. "You're one of them, a Noah…Tyki."

Tyki's gold eyes locked with Lavi's green one and he smiled sadly. "I didn't want you to find out, but I guess there's no hiding it anymore," he walked forward to Lavi but Lavi took a couple of steps back. "Lavi I won't hurt you."

Lavi scoffed. "Yeah, says a Noah who reeks of blood," he had his guard up. There was no way he was going to let Tyki sweet talk him into lowering his defenses. He was sure it would lead to his demise. "We're enemies. It's normal for us to hurt each other."

If possible the hurt in Tyki's eyes only increased. He felt conflicted. The Noah side of him knew that Lavi was the enemy and that he must kill him, but the other side of him and his heart couldn't lift a hand to hurt Lavi. He loved him. He loved him so much that it would cloud his judgment.

"Is that all we are to each other?" he asked taking a step closer to Lavi who backed away until he was trapped between Tyki and a dirt pyramid. "Weren't we something else in the past?" He was now before Lavi. "Weren't we madly in love with each other?" He reached out to touch Lavi's face. "I still am and I know you are too."

When Lavi felt that warm hand on his cheek he couldn't help the shiver that travelled all over his body. He was tempted to relent to the feeling but he fought it. I'm an exorcist. I need to fight this. He reached down to grab his hammer but Tyki's hand stopped him.

"We wouldn't have to fight each other if only that didn't exist," Tyki's grip on his hand tightened. "Lavi give up being an exorcist. Come with me." He leaned forward to kiss Lavi's lips, nipping at them softly before slipping his tongue inside.

Lavi couldn't believe he was making out with the enemy. He wanted to push Tyki back but at the same time he wanted to pull him closer. Could it be that the feelings he had for the curly haired Noah hadn't entirely disperse? Was it even possible that it had only gotten stronger? No, he tried to snap himself out of it. Don't be pulled in. He managed to push Tyki back but it was halfhearted.

"Stop," he panted. His emerald jewel was hazed over with want but he shook his head to rid the feeling. "Stop this."

"You don't mean that do you?" Tyki's voice was a seductive purr. He attacked Lavi's lips again. "You don't need to be burdened by that gem. Just let go, leave the order and come with me."

Lavi was a hair's width away from giving in and saying yes but his bookman side stopped him. This time when he pulled away from Tyki he stared straight into his eyes. It wasn't easy to throw away one thing for another. He knew he couldn't throw away his comrades for his love. He couldn't do it no matter how much his heart begged him to.

"Would you give up being a Noah?" he asked taking Tyki by surprise. When Tyki only remained silent he sighed. "It's the same for me. I can't give up being an exorcist. Just like there are people counting on you, there are people counting on me and I can't let them down." He reached out to touch Tyki's right shoulder. "It's a sad fate, being enemies and…lovers."

Tyki was caught by surprise not only by what Lavi said but also by the surprise attack. Lavi pulled his hammer out of it holster and activated it. He used the massive hammer to knock Tyki back, and then stood in a battle stance.

"Right now we're enemies," there was a hint of hurt in his eye. "So fight me Tyki."

Pain flashed across Tyki's golden depths but he managed to keep it under control. He looked at Lavi's determined face and gave a small regretful smile.

"There's no avoiding it huh?" he said as he removed his top hat, revealing his holy marks. A swarm of dark butterflies appeared surrounding him. "Love between a Noah and an exorcist…I wonder if this is some sort of a cruel fate."

"Who knows," Lavi shifted his weight to his legs and adjust his grip on the handle of his hammer. "Maybe it is."

He was about to dash forward when the sound of his phone ringing made him pause. What is it now? He contemplated letting it ring but decided against it. His eye cautiously watched Tyki as he reached into his exorcist coat to take out his cell phone. The caller id said 'Panda' so he had no choice but to answer.

"I'm gonna take this, you mind?" as he said this he flipped it open and answered, not caring if Tyki minded or not. "Sorry jiji I'm kinda busy at the moment. Can I take a message?"

"You insolent brat! I have no time for your shenanigans! Return immediately there's an emergency!" Bookman's voice yelled over the speaker. "We need to head to Japan."

"Japan?" Lavi asked confused. Why would we need to go there?

At what Lavi said Tyki shook his head. "It has begun already huh," the butterflies surrounding him returned to his body. "So the plan was a success. The Dictator of Demise was lured out."

The Dictator of Demise? That caught Lavi's attention and he turned to face Tyki only to see him leaving. "Oi what do you mean by that?" he yelled chasing after the curly haired Noah. "Tyki answer me!"

Tyki didn't turn back. "Ask your superiors they'll know," he said. There was a sudden gust of wind and he disappeared.

Lavi gave a curse and deactivated his innocence. Shit, I let a Noah get away.

"Oi brat, are you there? Answer me!"

Lavi quickly brought the phone to his ears. "Yeah, I'm here." Who is this Dictator of Demise? Damn it, things are even worse than I originally thought.

~ x ~ x ~ x ~ x ~ x ~

Kuu raised her scythe, blocking a thrust the level three delivered. She adjusted her hold and brought her scythe down but the level three dodged in time. It stepped back but Kuu was locked on it. She pulled her scythe back and brought it forward, missing the level three's head by only a few inches. It was getting frustrating, fighting such a battle.

Reaper watched with slight interest at the match. He wanted to see how the match would end. Would she lose? No, he smirked. She's too strong to lose. Yet she's not as strong as she was back then. This wouldn't have taken her anytime to finish up. He wondered if she was holding back. Could that be the case?

When he saw the smile on her face it made it obvious. She was holding back. Though she hadn't fully awakened she still had the strength to lay waste to the level three she was fighting but she was holding back. Why?

"Innocence second opening!" Kuu raised her scythe and spun it. It glowed brightly and changed its form. The weapon seemed reduce its size into two smaller scythes. When the light dimmed Kuu had a pair of chain scythes in her hands. "Twin sickle."

She ran forward with the small scythes in both hands. The level three dashed forward to meet her head but before it could land a hit she disappeared. She reappeared behind it and the next thing it knew it was half way across the field from a kick she gave it. The level three skidded to a halt and got up but Kuu landed in its chest, forcing it to stay down. She raised the blades and quickly sunk them into the level three.

"Soul reap!" the blades glowed a dark red and she pulled them up. On the edge of the blades was the mangled soul belonging to the level three. She severed the chain attaching the soul to the level three and it disintegrated.

Reaper gave a low whistle. "Pretty dangerous attack there," his golden eyes strayed to the scythes in her hands. "That form actually allows you to separate the soul from the Akuma huh?"

Kuu didn't answer him. Instead she disappeared.

The smile never left Reaper's face and he pulled out his short swords, using them to block Kuu's attack. He made sure to stay away from the blades as they were also able to severe his soul from his body.

"I will defeat you," Kuu growled as she pulled back. She jumped back and threw one of the scythes forward, maneuvering it by the chain that it was attached to. "I won't let you hurt anymore of my friends!"

"You're the one who will cause the hurt," Reaper began in a sing song tone. "Just because of who you are. Dictator of Demise."

Kuu's body jerked when she heard the title. It seemed so familiar, yet at the same time it wasn't. Just like this place she was in. It held such a high level of nostalgia yet she couldn't remember a thing.

Reaper smile when he saw her conflicted expression. "Let me remind you," he reached forward and gripped her forehead.

Kuu was caught by surprise and was about to kick out when another pair of hands held on to her legs. What the? She tried to use her scythe to slice the hands from her body but two more hands grabbed her. Before she knew it she was pinned to the ground with her hands and legs restrained.

"Let go of me!" she yelled, struggling. But it was to no avail, the hands on her wouldn't relent.

"In order to kill you I have to revive your powers," Reaper's voice seemed to echo as if there was more than one of him speaking. "It's pretty tricky but it's the only way." If I don't then your second exorcist DNA would just heal you. "Let me remind you what you are."

His nails sunk into her forehead and she let out a bloodcurdling scream. Her eyes glowed brightly as images started flashing in her mind. She bucked and trashed under him but she couldn't move much as she was being held down by what it seemed like clones of Reaper. A black cross appeared on her forehead and her trashes ceased. She lay motionless and her innocence deactivated, returning to its dormant form.

The clones of Reaper disappeared and the original sat up. He took up his swords and spun them in his hands.

"The awakening has begun," he stopped twirling his swords and he positioned them at her heart. "I wonder who you'll awaken as. The Dictator of Demise or…?" He shrugged. "No matter I'll kill you before that happens."

He brought his swords down.

"Ningentou Hakke Tourou(1)!"

Reaper jumped up and flipped back as he dodged the attack that seemed to come out of nowhere. The eight powerful slashes tore at the nearby vegetation, rendering them into nothing. Though he managed to dodge the attack he managed to get hit with three out of the eight strikes.

"My, my, that was dangerous," his left hand took one of the attacks while the other two nicked his stomach. "But it's just like you my dear exorcist."

Kanda's dark eyes seemed to grow colder and harsher by the second. He had his Mugen: Ningentou(2) in his hands and he gritted his teeth in an attempt to calm his anger. His head was filled with so much rage and seeing Kuu lying down motionless like that was only making it worse. He was going to murder that bastard.

"I will kill you," the words were not a threat but a promise.

~ x ~ x ~ x ~ x ~ x ~

A/N: (1) Ningentou Hakke Tourou – eight flower praying mantis

(2) Mugen: Ningentou – two illusion blades

Ah wow, it's been awhile since I've written action scenes, so please forgive me if I'm a bit rusty…R&R…if you can…

Next Chapter: In God's Hands

Ja na

Kaos