I…am a bad person. Why, oh, why did life have to dump all of its hardships on me now? I'll rant later, first just read the chapter. It was a terribly difficult chapter to write, in Kanda's POV. The person who aided me on the journey of this chapter, you know who you are ;)

Disclaimer: 'Tis henceforth disclaimed.

Warning: Do not try any ideas presented in this story. CONNING IS AGAINST THE LAW. Everything here is fictional, and should stay fictional.

Chapter 12: The Honour of a Sword

November 17th 2010, 03:16 – Noah's Ark Mansion

Kanda was not a happy man. He never was, but being held hostage for the second time in one night really pushed his temper over the edge. He got up, and started towards the girl called Lero. Clamping his left hand around Lero's throat, his right hand delved into his jacket pocket for Mugen. The FBI officer's anger spiked again when he realised that the weapon had been confiscated a few minutes ago. He growled, released the now blue-face girl, and hit the wall with his fist. Lavi jumped awake at the noise, and gave a mournful look to the man, who was boring holes in the Earl's secretary with his glare.

"Stop makin' so much of a racket, Yuu," the redhead mumbled groggily, "I've got a headache."

Kanda ignored the whining, and continued to stare at Lero. A bead of sweat ran down her temple, and she flicked her long highlighted fringe out of the way. Kanda just added another thing to a miserably long list of things he hated; those stupid 'scene' hairstyles – boys and girls alike who have acquired that irritating look spend most of their life flicking their fringe and toying with the various unnaturally coloured strands. In addition, his own long dark locks were getting in his mouth, and the band that snapped had been his only hair tie. In short, he was pissed off about everything right now; even something as trivial as hair.

"You there," he said through gritted teeth, "I have three questions – who the fuck are you? What the fuck do you mean we're going to die tonight? And where the fuck is the exit?"

Lero was still coughing from the strangling session, but managed to say, "Like I said, I'm Lero, the Earl's secretary. And yeah, you are all going to die, because none of the Noah are letting you go. It's not as if you've got the strength to defeat them."

Lavi stood and grabbed Kanda's arm as he tried to make another attempt at choking the girl. Lero stepped back unconsciously, with a cheeky grin plastered on her face.

"Lastly, why do you need to know where the exit is? You're not getting out-"

"We are."

Kanda followed the voice to look at Allen. There was no more fear, dejection or guilt lingering on his expression. Instead, his silver eyes blazed with fierce determination, his mouth becoming a taut line. His hands were curling slowly into fists, and he placed one on his heart.

"It is a disgrace," he said quietly, "for a gentleman to not rescue a maiden stolen away unjustly. I have too much pride to let this go by. We're getting Lenalee back. We're getting everything back that I and the Noah have stolen from her over the past few years."

The sappy speech flew right over Kanda's head, but he caught the gist of it. He laid out their plan like it was a new mission; fight, obtain and vacate. Fight the Noah, obtain Lenalee and vacate the premises, fast. He looked around the dark room, but found none of the life threatening humans.

All that is missing in the room is the Noah, Kanda thought. Damn these late people.

As if that thought was the cue, a deep rumbling cackle emanated from the other side of the huge room. The lights switched on suddenly, making Kanda's eyes water involuntarily. There, amidst the random derelict furniture, stood a mountain. No, the mountain could move, so it was human. The body seemed to consist of mostly intimidating muscle, with a large head, hands and feet to match. His pupils were only a pinprick amongst the sea of white in his eyes, and his dark hair was kept back by a headband. Only wearing a long trench coat, jeans and chunky boots, he looked like a wrestler plucked straight from WWE. They could all hear a low heaving sound from him, as if he was a bull getting ready to charge.

"And the Noah arrives fashionably late," Lavi said, giving him a steely gaze.

"Lavi, remind me – who the heck is this guy?" Allen asked.

"Che," Kanda cut in before Lavi could roll off his information like a database, "First things first, he's a Noah bastard. He tried to kill Tiedoll once; good thing I was there, or the old man would've been road kill-"

"Ahem, Yuu – Moyashi-chan asked me," Lavi stole back the conversation, "Skinn Bolic, 29, and originally from New Orleans. He used to work at a shipbuilding company, but due to a unknown disease, he had to stop. Seeing as he had no way to get income without a job, he became a heroine dealer. He was caught by the FBI and was facing capital punishment."

Lavi face darkened as he continued, "He was already dying from the disease which was branded untreatable, and now this. Then, the Noah family came and offered to cure it. He accepted, and became their mercenary. Now, he hates all FBI officers with disturbing passion."

CRASH!

The thunderous noise came from several stacked sofas being pushed over by Skinn. He wore a mad expression and turned to the three men and Lero.

"You talk too much," he spoke in a gravelly tone, "It's annoying. Now that you're done, who will come and face me, Skinn Bolic from the family of Noah?"

The answer already hung in the air – it was an unwritten rule that no one stood in the way of Kanda Yuu and his unfinished business. He gave a curt nod to the monstrous man called Skinn. The Noah roared with laughter, shaking the already fragile walls.

He pointed at the Japanese man and said, "Again? Last time, I sent you away barely alive, and yet you still want more?"

"I'm not finished with you."

"You make it sound like you won that last fight?"

"I don't lose."

Kanda turned to Lavi and Allen and ordered them to find Lenalee. He immediately started protesting, spewing crap like "We're comrades!" or "Teamwork will be better!". The vein in his temple was throbbing dangerously, and he was coming close to beating them ruthlessly. Thankfully, years of training had taught him at least an ounce of self control. After delivering the usual threat of dismemberment, the duo sobered up and conceded.

Lavi turned to Kanda, rummaging in his pocket. He fished out, much to Kanda's invisible relief, a hair tie. After tossing it over wordlessly, Lavi gave him a two finger salute and trudged towards the door with the Earl's secretary. Allen lingered, until Kanda gave him some attention after fastening his hair.

"What?" the FBI officer snapped.

The younger man looked him sharply in the eye and said, "If you don't get out of here alive, I'll kill you."

"Che, the feeling's mutual, Moyashi," Kanda scoffed.

Before the door could finally close, the irritating scene girl popped her head around to face the enemies. She stepped in and started feeling for something on the wall. After a few seconds, she reached a small bump in the plastered wall. With her small fist, she hit the bump with all her force. A beeping sound began, like a timer. She spoke to Kanda with an air of haste.

"That's the bomb, right there. If Master Noah wins, then he gets out alive – 'cause you'll be dead, just clarifying. But if you win, then you must deactivate the bomb. Inside the bump is a clue to where that hostage is. But, we all know you'll die. Do you have any last words to your friends?"

Kanda stayed silent, mostly because he knew Lero would not give him time to talk. He was right, because as soon as she asked, she jogged to the door, slammed it and locked it. Finally, the battle could commence. The huge Noah lumbered from side to side towards a rusting metal cupboard. Once he opened it with a bang, Kanda saw an array of weapons inside. With sharp eyes, he scoured his options; there were no firearms, so that skill was out of the window. Was that rentsuru? He eyed the Japanese chain-and-ball bludgeon with distaste – back when he used to live in Japan, he was almost blinded by a stupid boy wielding them in the dojo. That was a firm no. The 'no' was emphasized when Skinn reached out and grabbed a pair of them.

"The bomb will explode in one hour," he grunted, testing the bludgeons, "Pick a weapon – I like a challenge when I fight people."

Everything else was just rusted javelins and daggers, which were in such bad condition that he thought he would have to fight without weapons.

But then he saw it – a sleek, deadly sharp katana, lying against a black lacquered sheath. He quickly snatched it, and tested the weight. On closer inspection, the blade was not as finely tempered as Kanda thought it was. But it would have to do; he was sure it could endure one hour of combat. It had been years since he had finished his kendo training with Sensei Zhu, but daily practice made him a worthy opponent against the muscle beast. Skinn roared, shaking the walls yet again. He was pumping himself for battle, almost like he was trying to intimidate Kanda before they began.

Kanda rolled his eyes, and exhaled softly. He calmed his mind, allowing unnecessary thoughts to flow out of his consciousness. He familiarised himself with the katana, shifting it from one hand to the other. Five minutes had passed, and nothing had commenced.

Che, we're wasting time, Kanda thought before he sprinted forward, sword raised.

04:16

"Damn, where is Gramps already?" Lavi complained, "We'd be outta here in no time if he'd only come!"

"Bookman obviously has a well thought out plan," Allen reassured him.

Yeah right, Lavi thought. He'd probably just bust through here, do some martial arts crap, and then beat the shit outta me as if this was my entire fault.

Lavi was also worried about another thing – Gramps had been warning him for months, but he had never paid attention. As a Bookman, he should not be so attached to people outside the clan. Lavi's surname was not really a surname; then again, his real name was not even Lavi. He had forgotten it, and was content with whatever name Gramps gave him when he was accepted into the clan.

Contented? Lavi paused his wondering. . Not really.

Being part of the CIA intelligence was not his only job. His real job was to record as much history as he could. The Bookman clan held the key to the darkest, murkiest parts of history; where the light of many scholars would not dare to reach. To have any proficiency in such an arduous task meant that any ties with people must be temporary. Gramps explained that the only reason he allowed Lavi to continue the plastic friendship with Allen, Lenalee and Kanda was to note the events of AKUMA. The gang was now so intertwined with the group (and vice versa), that just following these people made for good records. But recently, he was slipping. His real thoughts, his real motives were fading as 'Lavi' was taking over.

Lavi was so in thought that he crashed into the wall at the turn in the corridor. When Allen looked at him questioningly, he laughed it off.

Why am I here? And why do I care enough to be here? He kept thinking.

"Lavi," Allen started, "All of this is my fault, isn't it? You don't lie, so please give me a straight answer."

'I don't lie' – what, is he for real?

The redhead looked him straight in the eye, creating a compassionate look in his single iris.

"You're too awesome to be the one at fault, Allen. If you need to blame anything, blame Fate. Fate is the bitch that holds all the cards, and right now, she's been dealing the shitty ones to us."

Allen frowned from the use of language, but brightened up from the response.

"I knew could trust you."

They walked on down the seemingly endless hallway in silence. Suddenly, they heard a terrible rumble from the direction they had come from. That direction…

They turned in unison, and shouted the one name that mattered at the moment.

"Kanda!"

Okay, here is my apology/rant; on March 2nd, I had three GCSE Science exams. I also had French Writing the same day and a bunch of other stuff in the past two weeks. On top of that, someone stole my violin. I am one of those people who love their instruments to the last string. My parents were not sympathetic about it (I didn't expect them to be), so I ended up looking for it on my own. Thankfully, I got it back on Monday this week. But before that, I was getting terrible headaches because I was worrying about everything going on. Just…too much stuff in the space of two weeks. I am really sorry though – my creative juices were temporarily dry because of my anxieties.

As an additional note; I don't think I can do regular updates anymore. Don't expect them on a specific day (I feel like I'm pulling the same move as Hoshino sensei…). I can't get back into the swing of a routine anymore, and if I even try to plan what I need to do, my headaches start. I seriously got a gray hair from this. I feel that this rant is a little childish after what happened yesterday – Japan was devastated by a magnitude 8.9 earthquake. I won't put anymore down since the news has plenty of information about it; I just hope that everyone is praying for their recovery. Maybe even helping by donating to the aid!

As another tangent: I drew a picture (poster) for this fic. You can view it on my Deviant Art profile, which is linked to my homepage. Sorry for taking up so much room with just an author's note… (this is a crap chapter...)