AN: Thank you to Tick Tock follow the clock and kid for reviewing!
A quick note: Ren was mentioned to be 10 years old in chapter 4. I have since changed it to 12! I don't want her to be the same age as Kanda and Lavi, and being a Miko at 10 is a little overkill. 12 is a bit more mature and acceptable, and would explain how she's actually taller than Kanda right now lol
Also, all Japanese text has been changed to be italics and underlined, so as to not be confused with regular italicized text that is used for emphasis. Sorry for all the confusion!
Birds chirped outside as the early morning sun shined its pale rays through the lattice windows. She could faintly hear the sounds of other people in the Inn, and the town beyond, going about their business. A gong rang in the distance, signifying that it was 7AM.
When she emerged from her slumber, Ren immediately winced as the pain hit her. Her body ached.
She slowly turned her head to look at the other bed, and found it empty with the blanket folded. So Kanda had already woken up before her. At least he didn't have another nightmare...Hopefully. It was so frightening to see him writhe around, trapped in his own mind. What had happened to him to have given him such trauma? He hadn't wanted to talk about it either, which was fine, though she could admit to herself that she was immensely curious. She didn't want to be told to "fuck off" again.
Grunting as she slowly sat up, Ren pulled up her wrinkled sleeves and winced at the sight. They lined her upper arms in clear finger shapes, black and purple stark against the peachy white of her skin. "Haa...Kanda-kun sure is strong." She sighed, letting her sleeves drop back down. This wouldn't do. She would need to heal these before they left, otherwise the pain could interfere with her ability to fire her bow.
Most of all, she couldn't let anyone know.
She could already imagine what would happen. Cross would gently grasp her arm, narrow his eyes at the bruises, and then his temper would snap. He would deem Kanda too dangerous to be near her and then he'd make sure they would be separated for the rest of their journey together, if he would even let them travel together anymore. Tiedoll would be worried sick about the two of them, and treat her like some kind of fragile doll. Marie would also be worried, and end up taking Kanda to the side to tell him he can't hurt girls like this.
Kanda...Kanda would be angry. Either at her for being "annoying," or at himself.
Pursing her lips, she stood up from her bed and immediately bit her lip when she jolted her left arm in the process. The pain shot up like lightning, leaving an uncomfortable throbbing afterward as if it was screaming. This wasn't good at all.
Making her bed with moderate success, she sat down next to the window and bathed in the sun's warm rays for a moment. She hadn't attempted this kind of magic in a while now, so hopefully she wasn't too rusty. The view outside their shared room looked out toward the desolate mountains, meaning no one would see her either.
Unbuttoning her cheongsam top, Ren was left in a white halter top and pants. Letting the sun shine down on her, she closed her eyes and began to chant underneath her breath. "Om...Mubara...Naraka..." Energy. Redirect. Awareness. Health. Heal.
The words were old, older than anything she knew of. The earliest records of this kind of magic dated back to at least 2000 years, and yet it was used so rarely that it hadn't evolved since. Cross had actually shown her his own magic where he summoned Grave of Maria from his own pocket dimension. Her grandfather only taught her the basics, but Cross actually explained that they were all she needed because it was more about will and intent when it came to barriers and healing. For himself however, he was actually a master taught by his. Or so he bragged.
In any case, it just meant that she could use Amaterasu's blessing to boost her magic.
Slowly lifting her right hand, Ren placed it on top of the bruises on her left arm and concentrated. The warmth of the sun grew hotter for a moment and a tendril of light separated and condensed to wrap around the bruise. Through half-lidded eyes, she noted how the energy was warm like where it had originated from, with a soothing after-sensation. Her skin tingled from where it had touched her, and slowly the bruise began to fade, leaving unmarred skin in its wake.
When her left arm was healed, she began the process again on her right. It did use up a bit of her energy, but most of it came from the solar energy she was absorbing via Amaterasu-sama's blessing. Her stomach chose that exact moment to growl, admonishing her for not eating breakfast first, and she hummed.
What was for breakfast? Could she order some grilled salmon and a bean curd soup? She doubted there would be miso here, so bean curd was the next best thing. If they were in one place for longer, she would search the local markets to make this stuff herself, but since they were on their way to Europe, she doubted she would be able to savor her homeland's food for a long while.
The door to the room creaked open and Kanda walked in, not being discreet at all with the amount of noise he made. "Oi, are you awake yet? I already ate breakfast-"
He stopped and stared wide eyed at her, and Ren stared right back, her heart stopping from mortification. There was a moment of silence between them, with him barging into the room unannounced and her half dressed in what was considered undergarments and pants.
His eyes darted down without his permission to register the sight of slim and more importantly bare shoulders that extended to a mostly bare back, and his face quickly reddened to an unflattering shade that contrasted badly with the indigo of his hair.
The levity of the situation finally dawned on them and Ren immediately screamed a high pitched shriek, sending the nearby birds flying. "PERVERT!" She covered herself as best she could with her arms, scrambling to lift up her cheongsam again. "G-Get out! Get out get out get out!"
Kanda jumped back in shock and covered his eyes. "I-I didn't mean to, OK?!" He shouted, his voice reverberating down the hallway. "I'm not a fucking pervert! Besides, there's nothing to look at, you flat-chested board!"
Oh, Amaterasu-sama. Please give her the patience to not kill him.
Not thinking straight, Ren used the rest of the solar energy and erected a barrier. "OUT!"
Flung back onto the wall, Kanda scrambled away but not before his panicked gaze caught sight of the purple-black that marred her right arm, just before the doors closed with a bang. He blinked in a stupor at the fact that the doors had closed on their own, or by magic, and scowled. Something caught his eye and he turned around to see a few other patrons of the Inn peeking out of their rooms at him, and he growled with a still-red face. "What?!"
Even though they couldn't understand English, they quickly went back into their rooms and minded their own business, leaving him alone in the hallway. Sighing, he lightly slapped his face and shook his head."You didn't see anything. You didn't see anything. You didn't see anything-" Except he had, hadn't he? "That bruise..." He slowly looked down at his own hands, instinctively flexing his fingers, and frowned.
When it came time to check out at the inn, Kanda and Ren were stood as far from each other as possible, not looking in the other's direction. Ren made sure to dress in her Miko robes since she felt the most secure in them, while Kanda stuck with his blue cheongsam and pants. Marie in his exorcist uniform turned his head back and forth, trying to gauge why neither of them were talking when the day before, the young Miko had been attached to the samurai. Tiedoll stretched his arms in the air and sighed contently, even as his ratty brown cloak made a rip sound. "What nice weather we're having...I think we'll have a fine journey today."
"Thank you so much for resting at my humble inn!" The innkeeper simpered in front of Cross, who had the look of a deeply satisfied cat in his black and gold uniform. "And thank the young priestess for purifying it! I can already feel a difference in the air!"
"Of course, of course." Cross answered with the charm of a snake oil salesman. "We'll be back to uh, check up on the status of the wards, so long as there will be bed and board for us..."
"Oh most definitely!" The innkeeper agreed naively, missing the foreign man's victorious grin. "Please come back again soon!"
"Sure sure." The red haired man answered nonchalantly before turning to his companions. "All right..." His brow furrowed when he caught sight of his apprentice looking away with a shamed face. "Ren, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, Shishou..." Ren answered in a mumble, shouldering her bow securely. "Shall we go? Maybe we can make it to Western China tomorrow."
"We will have to start going north soon." Marie informed her. "I hope there won't be much trouble. It'll be difficult to navigate the roads through the mountains, for me at least." He chuckled self-deprecatingly. "I apologize if I become an inconvenience."
"Nonsense." Tiedoll immediately disagreed with a stern frown beneath his bushy gray mustache. "As my son, we would never leave you behind!"
Ren blinked. "Son..?" She may be a little ignorant about the world and its people, but they looked nothing alike. Unless Tiedoll had adopted Marie..?
"Tch..." Kanda huffed on the opposite side of the group. "He's been trying to call both of us his 'sons.'" He spoke the word sarcastically, but he still refused to look in her direction, and she vowed the same.
"Let's just get going," Cross interrupted with an annoyed scowl, reminded of the fact that he had to travel with other men. "I want to get to Xinjiangsometime this week, thanks. Renren, girly brat, take the lead."
The two youths grimaced. "Shishou-" Ren began but her master interrupted her. He was really good at being a nuisance.
"Do as I say." Cross commanded with a frown. "Or you'll be taking care of all Akuma attacks until we reach Europe."
She resisted the urge to scowl and only nodded jerkily before heading out of the inn and turned west. Small footsteps followed behind her, followed by large heavy ones, which mean Kanda was closer to her than the adults in their group.
By the time they made it out of the city, it was already afternoon. The sun shone brightly in the cloudless sky, a gleaming light blue all around. The forest was thick around them, with large trees looming with verdant leaves, but the road west was well-used and paved by a long history of trade. Occasionally, they would pass by other people who were on their way to the city they just left, and every single encounter left Ren in a tense state.
She still gave them a kind smile and a nod of her head, receiving some in return, but growing up in Japan meant anyone could be an Akuma in disguise. Usually, they wouldn't waste their time hiding in their human flesh since they held all the power, but here? They could be trying to infiltrate a populous place to increase their kill count.
None of them had been Akuma so far, thankfully, but if they were, she was confident in being able to destroy them. Not only her, but the people she traveled with were all fully capable as well, and for once in her life she felt safe being around others. For so long, it had just been her and her grandfather who could be trusted. Her koi were nice, but they had been regular fish.
She paused.
That foreigner...Why would he have eaten her friends raw? Koi are a type of carp, so they are edible, but why not cook them first instead of eating them out of the pond? She could already gather he wasn't really human, even though he looked like one, but Akuma didn't eat anything except other Akuma, so what was he? He was headed to Edo...
"Oi."
Snapping out of her thoughts, she turned to see Kanda who had crossed his arms and looked away. "About earlier..." He began awkwardly, and she tensed, face already reddening at being reminded of their..."situation" in the morning. By Amaterasu-sama, she was so mortified and ashamed to have been seen almost naked by someone who wasn't her husband. Not that she wanted to be married anytime soon if at all, it was about the principal of the matter.
His hand suddenly shot out and grasped her right upper arm, but not roughly. It was a light touch, almost as if he was afraid of harming her.
Ren flinched anyway.
"I saw the bruise." Kanda stated quietly under his breath, making sure the adults behind them couldn't hear. "...I did that to you, didn't I? Last night when you woke me up."
She pursed her lips and looked away, but he was insistent on an answer and shook her. "...Yes." She answered reluctantly, hearing him inhale sharply. "I had them on both my arms."
He let go to ball his hands into fists. "...Had?"
"They're gone now."
His face paled at the implications and he quickly snapped his head up to look at her in horror. "Wait, you mean you too..?" He breathed out. "Is that why they don't appear around you..?"
Ren blinked. Her too? "What..? I healed them. I told you as a Miko of Amaterasu-sama, I'm capable of healing injuries. It's best with sunlight since the sun is the biggest aspect of her domain, but anything that provides life is fine."
His pallor receded a bit, as if the news of her healing wasn't what he thought it was, but furrowed his brow a moment later. "Still...I'm dangerous. It's probably best you keep your distance from me or else the next time you wake me up, I may just accidentally skewer you through with Mugen."
She turned her head to look at him. The way the sun reflected off his long straight hair to shimmer blue, the paleness of his skin that was starting to tan lightly from the prolonged exposure to outdoor elements, to the flawless texture of it and how none of his wounds would ever leave a mark on him. To his eyes that shined an unnatural blue that went against his other physical looks, showing an old angry soul trapped inside a small body.
Her lips twitched before slowly spreading into a peaceful smile. She can forgive him just this once for peeking on her. "Then that just means I can practice my healing." She stated nonchalantly, amused by him choking at her response. "I swore as a Miko to help people, and you're a person I want to help the most."
Kanda stared at her in disbelief. "...Are you batshit insane or something? I just said I might kill you, and you're just taking that in stride?"
Ren frowned. "'Batshit'? What does that mean?"
"No- Forget what it means," He argued, running a hand through his silky hair. "Any sane person would stay far away from me. Hell, you should've stayed away from me the second we met! I tried to kill you then, too! There has to be a limit to your 'kindness' or whatever." He looked away with a dark scowl. "I'm not worth your pity or whatever sick sense of duty you have. I just want to find that one person and..." He stopped, shutting his mouth with a click.
"That person?" She asked curiously. Was he opening up to her?
He pursed his lips and refused to look in her direction, only straight ahead on the currently empty road through southern China. "...A woman. I promised to find her, I think..." He admitted minutely, his fringe shadowing his eyes. "Forget it. Just stay away from me."
Ren frowned at his answer. A woman? His mother or sister, perhaps? It couldn't be a wife, he was too young. He was finally telling her things only for more questions to pop up. "Well..." She answered after a few minutes. "Sorry, but I can't. I promised to teach you everything there is to being Japanese, didn't I? So that means you're 'stuck' with me." She smiled brightly. "Ne, Kanda-kun?"
Kanda turned to gawk at her, his mouth wide open. "You really are crazy..." He breathed out weakly, his eyes darting around to look at those small invisible objects that seemed to avoid her presence, before coming up to some sort of conclusion in his head. "Whatever. If you want to die, then die!" He turned away with a scowl. "I'm not promising anything to an annoying suicidal idiot when I already have one to fulfill."
"Well, I'm promising you, so you don't have to." Ren immediately replied with what she thought was very sound logic. "Maybe if you stop being such anidiot, you would be able to find this woman faster."
His head swerved back to her, his ponytail flying, and glared at her. "You just insulted me, didn't you?" He growled, his grip tightening around Mugen.
She smiled. "See? You're learning!" She grabbed his hand and tugged him forward. "Why don't I teach you more? C'mon!"
He stumbled after her. "Oi!"
Several meters behind them, Tiedoll sighed fondly at the sight of the two youths. "Ah, they're cute...Marie?"
"Yes, master?" The large man answered his master with a sweatdrop.
"How do you feel about having a sister?"
"Fuck you, Froi." Cross immediately butted in with a scowl, glaring darkly at the young samurai whose hand was grasped by his young femaleapprentice.