After that one night of intimacy, Lavi and Jessica started having a hard time controlling themselves. They found themselves tangled in each other's bodies on a daily basis. They craved each other, both emotionally and physically. It made it hard whenever the other was gone and fear crept up in each of their throats with each mission they were assigned apart.
Lavi remembered the first time he feared not only for his safety, but for that of the one he loved. The fear that only death could bring. He remembered how he almost lost her, how as she struggled to breathe, how he prayed to the God he barely believed in to not lose her.
~…~
Lavi laid beside Jessica in her bed, his hand stroking through her long blonde hair. This was always how he spent his time after making love with her. He would stare at her flushed face and caress her head, quietly watching as her eyes drifted closed, her breathing steadily getting slower as she fell into a deep sleep.
He moved his hand from her hair and turned on his back and stared at the ceiling when he was sure that she was asleep. A rush of memories flashed right before him. Her pleasurable moans, the scratches on his back, the way she called his name as she bounced up and down, and how he bit her shoulder as he came. He shivered at the memories of the sweet pleasure he had experienced earlier in the night.
This was his life now, and he wanted nothing more than to have it forever. Yet, even though he knew it felt like this duties as a Bookman belonged to a past self, it was still his future and Jessica's too. It was a sensation that clutched at his heart, but he forced down deep inside himself. With a sigh, Lavi slowly removed himself from the young female's bed and began to find his clothes scattered across the floor. He was afraid that Bookman would question him as to why he had been gone.
He was about to leave when he felt a warm hand grab his wrist and gently pulled him back down. Lavi turned his head and gave a small smile to his sweetheart.
"Sorry, did I wake you?" He inquired as he stared at Jessica's golden eyes.
"Yes, but that's okay. Are you going back to your room?"
"Mhm, it's almost one, Bookman will definitely be asking where I was." He watched as the girl pouted. She never liked it when he had to leave.
"Okay…just remember though that tomorrow morning Komui needs me in his office. My guess is that it is for a mission, so I'll probably be gone for a while."
Lavi nodded his head in confirmation and leaned down and kissed her. Jessica rested her hand on back of his neck, guiding him forward. Lavi moaned as the girl deepened the kiss, begging for entry into his mouth as her tongue grazed his teeth. Lavi wanted to badly to give in, but he couldn't, he really needed to leave or he could potentially jeopardize everything.
"Jessie-chan, I really need to go." He spoke between breaths.
"I know, but I don't want you to."
Lavi gave her a final peck and stood up to leave.
"Goodnight, Jess."
"Goodnight, Lavi."
~…~
Lavi was able to make it into his room last night without any questions, as the older Bookman was already asleep in the top bunk. Feeling relieved that he wouldn't need to use any excuses, he quickly rolled into bed and passed out.
He woke only when the light from the window engulfed the room, the clock to his right reading eleven. Upon remembering that Jessica said she was heading to Komui's office, Lavi jolted up, saddened that he had probably missed his chance to say goodbye to his lover.
All he could do now was wait for her.
~…~
Jessica peered out of the train's window, watching the Spanish countryside sped by. At first she was apprehensive about this mission, but as she read the file and became acquainted with its contents, she felt that this would be a shut and close case.
It was just a normal village being tormented by Akuma, with some unexplained activity to indicate Innocence was in the area. She had seen these things many times before, so she was prepared to embark on this mission. More than likely it would end up being just killing a bunch of level one Akuma, discover there is no Innocence in the area, and return to the Order only to be given a similar assignment within the next couple of days.
She was bored of this life; the only thing that made it bearable was him.
A knock came from outside the compartment and the door slide open to reveal a young finder, with spiky black hair and light blue eyes. Lavi had mentioned this finder to her before.
"What is it Doug?" she asked as he walked into the compartment, sitting on the opposite seat.
"I just wanted to let you know that we'll be stopping in Madrid first and then making our way to the village of Muerte on foot. The whole trip should take about an hour maybe less if we're lucky."
Jessica didn't even bother to smile at him and simply nodded. He had proven before that he knew the darkness that lurked inside of her heart and felt no desire to even try to fake it.
"However, I do think you should know that we should err on the side of caution."
"Why?"
"You're the only Exorcist on this mission and I really think that you should…."
"Doug, I'll be fine. This isn't my first solo mission." She tried her best to give him a sincere comforting smile, but he looked at her unconvinced.
"Can I ask you something?" His eyes gazing towards the floor of the compartment.
"I suppose."
"How do you and Lavi do it?"
"Excuse me?"
"How do you guys live a life that doesn't seem worth living?"
Jessica was surprised by the honesty in his voice and looked towards the window again.
"We do it because it was destined for us. This isn't a life that anyone seeks out, as we have our reasons for becoming Bookman. Whether it is because we're special or because we have nothing else, this is a life that is not chosen but given."
Doug was silent and simply nodded, choosing to let the conversation go. Jessica made it obvious to him that it was something he would never even begin to understand.
With that Jessica laid down and closed her eyes, eager to get some sleep before they made it to Madrid.
~…~
As they walked along the path towards the village of Muerte, Jessica and Doug remained silent. It was clear that he didn't really like her and she felt no reason to try and change his mind on that. The hot sun was beaming down on her and she couldn't help but wish to remove her jacket to escape its burning rays. Doug looked also extremely hot, but they're comfort didn't matter, as they needed to be capable of being identified.
"Hey Jessica?" Doug inquired as they walked down the dirt path.
"Yeah?"
"Once we reach the village I will be leaving, another finder by the name of Lao will be serving as your primary finder for this mission."
"You're telling me this why?"
"I just thought I should mention it."
"Okay, but-"
Jessica cut herself off as she saw the village in the distance, there was no point in discussing it now since they were already here.
Standing in front of her was a finder she had never seen before, but she could assume was Lao. He was distinctly Chinese, his straight black hair came down to his broad shoulders, he was short for a guy but he made up for it in muscle.
Doug shook the man's hand and was gone before Jessica knew it. Man, he really didn't like her.
She looked at Lao's dark, narrow eyes and held out her hand.
"You must be Lao; it's nice to meet you?"
He only stared at her hand, his silence insisting that she was better off not even trying to be friendly with him either. 'What is with these finders today?' she thought to herself as she set her arm down.
"We're here for business and the sooner you get done, the sooner we can go."
"Alright…well what can you tell me about the village?" Jessica prompted the young finder.
"Didn't you read file?" obviously annoyed.
"I did, but I could a refresher, plus I need to know if any new information has come to light since before my arrival."
Lao looked towards the town and looked back at Jessica; it was almost like he didn't trust her.
"Well besides the increase of Akuma in the area, the abnormality seems be the town has fall into mass paranoia." Jessica sighed, "Could you emphasize on that?"
"This town is known for being a place that weary travelers can rest on their way to Madrid or any other major cities nearby. Well for the last couple of days the townsfolk have forbidden most people from entering or leaving the city."
"What's so weird about them being hostile? The Spanish-American war is going on right now, that has to be putting them edge. I can't understand what Innocence would have to do with such a thing. "
Lao sighed, "It all started when the mayor came back from a hunting trip. I was able to talk to a couple of villagers who claimed that he brought home some kind of gem that he claimed to have found within an animal he poached."
"Have you been able to get this confirmed?" The more he spoke about the circumstances, the more uninterested she was. "Not yet, I wanted to wait for you before I took that step."
"I understand. How long have you been stationed here?"
"I've only been here for a week Exorcist." Jessica brought her thumb to her lips, thinking. It was possible that if Innocence was involved it was causing the villagers odd behavior, but at the same time she couldn't be sure. She had seen it with her own eyes, the strange things that Innocence was capable of. Even though she had already decided long before that this mission was a bust, she needed to approach it like there was Innocence.
Jessica stared off into the village; it seemed like a normal bustling day. People were buying groceries, children were running freely about. Nothing gave her any indication that the village was suffering mass paranoia. "Lao, if nobody is allowed in or out, how are we supposed to get in?"
"The Order called the mayor in advance to tell him of our impending arrival and made arrangements to keep the villagers from shutting us out."
"Do they really trust that it will work?"
"It's only a guess, but I'm pretty sure money was involved. From what I've been able to gather from nearby places is that the mayor of this town is a little bit frugal."
Jessica turned towards the front gates and sighed, "Well I guess it's time to put it towards the test."
With a final burst of courage, the girl stepped through the gates and into the village.
~…~
What seemed like a normal village in the beginning quickly changed the minute she walked through the gates. What had previously been a bustling town now completely stopped and stared at her in silence.
Any villagers within her presence stared her down, women pulled their children closer, business owners closed their windows, and huge group of men made their way towards her. She looked to her left and stared at Lao, wondering on what he planned to say.
"Is there anything I can do for you, outsiders?" A man who was a good foot taller than she boomed. He made it no secret to his displeasure.
"We are from the Black Order, sir. We were told that we could enter upon permission of Mayor Juarez." Lao spoke clearly and confidentially to the bigger man.
"Juarez never said anything about you." Jessica cautiously eyed the gardening hoe within his hands.
"You can ask him yourself, I can assure you that we have permission to be here."
More men began to surround them, but both Jessica and Lao refusing to move. The tension in the air was almost unbearable. Jessica knew how to defend herself, but she preferred to avoid personal conflict.
The brute man took a step forward, "Get out of our fucking village. "His voice seemed calm, but the venom on voice oozed from him like a snake ready to strike.
Lao seemed to be taken aback by the man's dismissal.
"We have every right to be here." Jessica chimed in, approaching the man, displaying confidence that she internally didn't have. This man had to be twice her size and was angry, and that made her nervous.
"Does it look like we care?!" The man roared, the group of weaponized people increasing with each sentence.
Jessica was about to retort when an older fellow, probably in his mid-forties approached the group. His graying hair was neatly slicked to the side, and he wore the trappings of an obviously wealthy man, he was a portly man but his height made up for it was he had to be at least more than six feet.
"Geraldo, it is quite alright." The man spoke in an almost hypnotically smooth voice to the man.
"But sir they are trespassing!"
"They spoke the truth when they said I gave them permission to be here. They are here to help." Jessica was able to confirm that this man was town's mayor by the way that Geraldo seemed to react to him and was quite thankful that he showed up when he did.
"Please excuse my villagers; I didn't have the chance to let them know that I had indeed allowed you to come into our village." The mayor gave a small nod towards the young female exorcist.
The tension between Jessica and Geraldo was nowhere close to easing, but the bigger man slowly put the hoe down and backed away. The crowd suddenly began to die down, but all eyes were still on the two supposed intruders.
Once the crowd cleared, the older man walked up to Jessica and patted her on the back. It was an action that irritated the girl, there was only one person who could touch her and it definitely wasn't him.
"Welcome to our small village of Muerte! I'm sorry that my villagers caused you problems, but any newcomers seem to put them at unease these days."
"Do you know why that is?" Jessica inquired, hoping that they sooner she figured out what was up, the sooner she could leave.
"Now, now we can ask those questions later. For now let us go back to my humble abode and let us discuss the details of your stay."
"But sir I think it is important that we start investigating." Lao spoke in a professional manner to the bigger man before him.
"Those things we can discuss a little bit later." The mayor turned and started to walk away hoping that they would automatically just start to follow him.
"Mr. Mayor-"
"Please call me Juarez Exorcist."
"Mr. Juarez, you said something about how your town needed help. Is there anything you can tell me about that?" Jessica inquired as she walked beside the wrinkling man.
"My town is currently under a lot of stress Exorcist."
"I am aware of that sir, but I can't help you or your villagers if you don't tell me what is going on."
Juarez sighed but continued walking, "The village was doing fine up until a couple of weeks ago, but then these monsters started appearing. They killed several of our townspeople before retreating under mysterious circumstances."
"They retreated?" Lao inquired.
"Yes, it was fairly strange…as you can see we are a small settlement, it wouldn't have taken much for those beasts to tear us down."
"Could you describe these monsters to us?" Jessica stared at the old man intently.
"Well there were at least three of them that looked like giant balloons that just aimlessly shot around them, but there was one that was definitely different from the others. This one looked like a giant stingray?" The mayor looked at them worriedly almost like he was afraid they would think he was insane.
Jessica gave him a reassuring smile, "We believe you sir, so please continue."
"Mhm, then after that the monsters made periodic visits, attacking, and then retreating with a few minutes."
"Is there anything that could be causing the townsfolk to behave oddly? Has anything else happened?"
The mayor stopped for a moment and put his thumb towards his lips, thinking. "Well there may be one thing…?"
Curiousity oozed from Jessica's golden eyes, "What is it?"
"As you have probably already been told I went on a hunting trip and returned around the time that these events started occurring."
"Is that all?" Jessica asked, almost disappointed.
"No, while on my hunting I was able to kill a deer, it was just a doe, but hey a shot is a shot. Anyways, I had the doe mounted and set up in my living room."
"A couple villagers told me that you found some kind of a gem within this creature?" Lao spoke up from behind.
"Yes, but because I thought it was such an odd thing, I had it stuffed back inside of the head."
"So why mention this to us?" Jessica looked back at Lao; he knew how to ask the good questions.
"The head disappeared."
"What?" Jessica's eyes went wide the mayor's strange accusation.
"Like someone stole it?" Lao pressed further.
"I initially thought that one of my staff members may have taken it, but then people started reporting mysterious sightings of a deer that was ghost white and had glowing green eyes. Whenever anyone attempted to approach it, it would take off. We have since used that deer as an indicator as to when the attacks will start from those monsters." The mayor stopped in front of two story home, surrounded by a tall iron fence. 'This must be his home.' Jessica thought to herself as she stared the rustic stonework.
"Basically you're saying that whenever this mysterious deer appears, the akuma appear?" Jessica was confused, but excited at the same time. This seemed like it would actually turn out to be a real mission for once.
"I suppose that is what I am saying."
Lao put his hand on the man's shoulder, "When and where does this white deer usually appear from?"
The mayor turned and pointed towards a heavily forested area next to his house, "I've heard villagers say that they see it near the edge of the forest and once the attacks begin, it recoils back into the deep woods. As far as when, it usually takes place around dusk…that's how we know that its eyes glow. Please if you know how to help my villagers I will do anything. The attacks or becoming more frequent and I don't know how much longer we can hold out."
Jessica nodded in understanding and turned to face Lao, "What time is it currently?"
"It is currently one in the afternoon madam exorcist."
"Great. We shall take a look around and meet up at the forest around nine and see if we spot this mysterious deer. My assumption is that this deer contained innocence and once the innocence was able to use the deer as a host, it fled to protect itself. Do you think that sounds about right?"
"Well the only part that confuses me is how it went from being a head to being a full deer."
"More than likely the innocence compensated for the lack of body and created its own."
"Can Innocence really do that?" The mayor asked.
"It wouldn't surprise me." Jessica sighed.
Lao shrugged, "Sir, if you could give me a list of the villagers who have personally seen this deer, it would greatly help us to narrow in on its location and help us capture it"
"Oh, sure but don't expect them to work with you, they're all on edge."
"I understand. Madam Exorcist do you wish for me to follow up these individuals or do wish to explore the town?"
"I'll explore the town, besides I have a phone call I need to make."
"Yes ma'am."
"Mayor Juarez, do you have a phone I could borrow?"
"Yes ma'am, I'll take you right to it. I'll tell you now though that is there is anything you need at all, please let me know. I will try and see if I can get my villagers to cooperate with but I can't make any guarantees."
"That's fine."
~…~
Once Jessica had made it inside, she grabbed her golem and attached the proper cords to it. She didn't have time to have an actual conversation with Lavi, as the faster she got done with this mission the sooner she could back in his arms.
She decided that she would just leave a message on his golem as each person's golem had its own unique number and person.
Jessica quickly dialed the number and waited till she heard the click indicating that she mad connected with his golem's message recorder.
"Hey Lavi it's me Jessica…I'm sorry that I didn't stop by to say that I was leaving but I know he went to bed late and I didn't want Bookman to get curious. If you haven't already heard, I'm currently in Spain...I totally thought this mission was going to be another bust but it actually seems there might be Innocence involved so not only is that good, but I won't be bored out of my mind…"
She paused for a moment, unsure of what to say next.
"I miss you. I know that we've only been apart for a couple days, but it feels like I haven't seen you in forever. I don't want sound cheesy, but you really are the only reason I stay. On the bright side though, when I get back not only can you read to me from that book you have been dying to introduce to me, but we can also just have tons of…'fun'." She couldn't help but giggle, "Sorry I'm currently in the mayor's home…well…I love you and I'll get home to you as quickly as I can…bye!"
She hung up the phone quickly, she always rambled when she got mushy and romantic. It wasn't something that she was good at, but she at least wanted to try and be at least somewhat normal in a somewhat normal relationship with him. But then again he wasn't normal either.
"Madam…" Mayor Juarez chirped form behind the girl.
"AHH!" The girl quickly turned to face the older gentlemen, her face turning bright red. "You didn't hear any of that did you?!"
"Oh I heard every word ma'am."
Jessica dropped her head, feeling even more ashamed than embarrassed now.
"So even people like you can find love? I'm not trying to be rude, but if I had to do things like this all the time, I don't think I would ever be capable of such a thing." His dark eyes looking at her golden ones.
"It's not easy…but I think it's worth it."
"Well there is a saying…'La ausencia es al amor lo que al fuego el aire: que apaga al pequeño y aviva al grande.' Have you ever heard of that one?"
Jessica shook her head.
Well it translates to, 'Absence is to love what fire to air: that it puts out the small and rekindles the big'." Upon seeing her looking confused, he smiled, "It basically means that absence makes the heart grow fonder."
Jessica licked her lips, "I guess it does. I better be going now sir is there anything else that you need from me?"
"The only thing you can do is get these attacks to stop."
With a final assuring nod Jessica grabbed her golem and took off ready to start getting an idea of the terrain.
~…~
Jessica and Lao met back up around the outskirts of the forest as the sun began to set over the dark tall trees.
"Did the villagers give you any information?" Jessica asked her companion.
"Some were helpful while others refused. They all said the same basic thing though, that the doe would appear right outside the forest, whenever the doe was approached it would run off into the forest, but I did also learn that people claim that when the akuma decide to retreat, they make their way to the forest as well."
"So basically they hide out, when the doe appears, they appear in an attempt to destroy the Innocence, but when the Innocence runs, they run after it?"
"Pretty much."
"Well then perhaps we should head inside and see if we can find it before they do."
"Right."
With a deep breath both Lao and Jessica started walking into the woods, the sun barely visible between the thick branches and leaves that stood over them. It was unsettling, walking through such a dense and darkening area but it was necessary.
They walked for what seemed like forever.
The deeper in the forest they went, the darker it got until Jessica and Lao could barely see in front of themselves. Jessica looked at her watch; it was already two in the morning. Lao dug around in his bag, pulling from it a flashlight. He pushed the button and faintly illuminated the roots and moss that covered the darkest parts of their surroundings. Jessica pulled the collar of jacket closer in attempt to warm herself up, despite the hot weather during the day; the night had grown so chilly she could see her breath within the air.
Jessica was about to start moving forward when a sudden snap resounded from the darkness. Both she and Lao flipped their heads in the direction of the noise, slowly moving the flashlight towards the source of the nose. Jessica instinctively reached for her glaive extending it out from its normal retracted position.
SNAP
Jessica jerked her to her left, the metal of her glaive glistening in the pale moonlight. Slowly she walked towards the noise…
SNAP
Lao quickly aimed his light, illuminating nothing more than a little rabbit.
"A rabbit?" Lao was in total disbelief.
"There's no way a rabbit made that noise…"Jessica felt herself trail off.
SNAP SNAP SNAP SNAP SNAP
The snapping continued in getting louder and louder with each passing second.
Suddenly there was silence.
Jessica slowly turned around, not knowing what to expect.
It took her a minute to recognize what she was looking at…a soft light illuminate the doe the white pelt was almost blinding. The trees surrounding the doe were bent away, almost as if they were making a path for the god like creature to travel.
"Lao turn off the light…" Jessica breathlessly whispered towards her companion to which he obliged. They both looked the doe in total awe as it hadn't seem to taken notice to them.
Jessica grabbed Lao's sleeve and dragged him towards a tree to hide behind. Jessica stuck her head out slightly out and watched the doe continued to stand still, staring at their general direction.
"What is it doing? Did it see us?" Lao quizzically asked his younger companion.
"I don't think so…"
"So why is it just standing there?"
Jessica looked at the deer, she was almost sure that it was staring directly at her. Jessica looked down at her glaive and suddenly it hit her.
"Maybe it's because it knows."
"Knows what?"
"That we are here to help it."
Jessica started stepped out from behind the tree and waited for the Innocence to acknowledge her presence. "Jessica! Get back here!" Lao harshly whispered from behind the tree.
She and this mysterious doe locked eyes as she slowly started to walk towards it.
At first she was afraid that it would run, but it remained calm, waiting for her impending arrival.
"Jessica!" Lao whispered after her.
"Lao, just stay behind the tree. I know what I'm doing."
It felt like she had been walking forever, but the doe was only within a few feet of her. Jessica took in a deep breath, its glowing green eyes encompassing her. She suddenly felt safe and relaxed. She set her glaive down on the ground slowly and reached her hand out towards this comforting source of light. She took one step at a time, easing her way up to it slowly.
They never broke eye contact.
Within an instant Jessica lightly grazed its face with her fingertips and immediately the doe broke into a thousand burning shards. Jessica shielded her face from the bright light and screamed. The trees suddenly whipping back with leaves and branches falling from above.
Lao came running out from behind the tree, "Exorcist!"
Jessica looked back and floating in the air was a piece of Innocence, just patiently waiting for her take it.
Jessica grabbed it and turned towards Lao.
"Oi! Look what I got!" Jessica smiled towards her companion, but she was only greeted with the color draining from Lao's face as he looked beyond her.
"What's wrong?"
"Get down!"
Lao charged towards her and knocked her towards the ground as purple bullets rained down from the sky around them.
"Lao!"
Jessica tried to look past Lao but all she could see was darkness and flashes of deadly light.
"Lao get off of me! Lao?"
As Jessica pushed him up off of her she could see the black stars that formed across his skin, his eyes rolled in the back of head and suddenly he was nothing more than dust.
It took her a second to fully understand what had happened, but she quickly disregarded what was left of him and lunged towards her glaive.
There were too many bullets and it was she just her out here.
Clumsily after grabbing her glaive, she rushed behind a tree hoping to try and find some cover from the chaos.
Jessica looked at the piece of Innocence in her hand placing it in the pocket of her Exorcist coat, trying to remember the path she took to get herself where she was now. The rain of bullets suddenly stopped, if she wanted to escape this was her chance.
Jessica was about to bolt when she suddenly remembered her promise to the mayor. If she left now without defeating these akuma, their fate would certainly only be death. She shouldn't care about these people, but at the same time she felt like she had to. 'Jessica made a promise to that mayor and Jessica is going to carry out that promise.'
The bullets started to rain down again, but this time Jessica decided to take the time to notice where they were coming from.
. .
There were at least four of them.
When the bullets cleared and smoke faded, Jessica lunged at the opportunity. Running straight ahead, Jessica jumped in the air and slashed the first akuma as it exploded around her.
Jessica then pivoted towards the right and slashed again, killing the second one.
The third akuma emerged from behind the trees and shot at her, barely missing her back. She quickly turned around, "Innocence Level Two: God's Protection!" Her shield blocking the poisonous bullets.
When it ran out of energy, Jessica disabled the shield and ran forward, cutting it down. Level ones were easy and there was only one left.
Jessica turned to look behind her, but there was nothing there.
She was sure that it was right there.
"Hello Exorcist" a deep unmistakably mechanical voice cooed from behind her.
Jessica jerked and slashed her glaive only for it be blocked by a mechanical tail. It looked like a giant stingray, just like the mayor had described.
Its eyes were blood red and black stripes accentuated its gray mechanical body, green dots speckled around. The tail was long and had a razor sharp end, a thing she obviously needed to avoid at all cost.
It wrapped its tail around her arm and threw her through the trees, the young exorcist crashing into a thick tree trunk. Her glaive dropped from her hand. The girl gasped as she struggled to regain the wind that had been knocked out of her.
Jessica tried to get back up but was quickly ambushed by the level two as it cut through the tree with its tail, just barely missing her.
Thinking quickly Jessica reached for her glaive and shoved it upwards piercing the level two. It gave an awful screech that slashed its tail towards her again, hitting the ground next to her.
"Innocence: Fallen Moses!" The akuma suddenly went stiff, its body violently shaking as a thick layer of ice suddenly started to cover its entire body.
"What are you doing to me you damn Exorcist!? STOP IT!"
Jessica tried her best to hold her glaive in place within its body, she only needed a couple more second and she could take care of it for good.
"STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT!" The angry akuma roared.
"Stop it….stop it…sto…"
The stingray before her didn't move and feeling a sense of relief wash over her Jessica removed her glaive and laid down on the ground. She still felt like she couldn't breathe and she was almost certain she had a couple broken ribs.
With nothing to worry Jessica grabbed the innocence from her pocket and inspected it making sure that no damage came to it from being thrown around.
Jessica closed her eyes for a minute and just laid in the silence. Lao was dead and even though she knew it wasn't her fault, she felt like it was.
With the level two frozen she decided to get up and see if there was anything left of him that she could salvage. She stood up clumsily as her body ached with each movement. She took one step forward and another, limping her way towards his ashes.
She didn't hear the cracking noise behind her.
The young exorcist suddenly stopped dead in her tracks and felt her whole body lurch. She tried her best to turn around…what was wrong with her? Something wasn't right. The stingray itself was frozen, but the tail had already thawed free, giving it complete access to attack her. Without another thought Jessica attempted to slash at it only to stumble, a burning sensation emitted from her side and the girl couldn't help but scream out in agony as she fell to the ground.
Blood oozed from her side.
Jessica, with shaky hands, felt at the wound, a deep gash right through the left side of her abdomen. Jessica couldn't stop screaming as the burning sensation went up her and into her neck. Her head felt like it was about to explode.
The tail from the level two struck at her again, slinging her glaive away from her.
"No…." Jessica moaned out agony.
Using her good arm, the exorcist tried to drag herself out of the tails reach but it proved futile when it slashed again at her back, the burning sensation paralyzing her completely.
All she could do was scream at this point but even her lungs felt like they were about to give out. She tried to move her arm, tried to reach out towards her Innocence, but the efforts only proved futile, she couldn't move at all.
The last thing that crossed her mind as she slowly slipped into darkness was Lavi.
~…~
She woke up with sudden gasp of air. The sun was not quite out yet, but the sky was filled with gray clouds that only came with early morning.
With what little strength she had, she tried to lift herself up but only feel back down again. She could see a red pool surrounding her as black specks blurred her vision.
She turned her head to try and see if the level two was still there. She wasn't sure if was happy it was or that it wasn't.
She was slightly alarmed however…instead of the level two being there, her glaive rested there. The blade stuck in the ground, the metal vines that had accented it now completely covered it.
Jessica took in a deep breath and closed her eyes, and pushed herself upwards, crawling towards her glaive slowly, the burning sensation coursed through her body again making the girl cry out in agony as she dragged her broken body across the dirty ground.
She barely touched the blade of her glaive when it folded in on itself automatically, as if it were happy to see its master still moving.
Jessica took in a sharp breath and grabbed it and rolled over onto her back.
She was in no condition to be able to make it back to town and judging by the red trail that extended from a significant puddle of blood, she was pretty sure she was close to bleeding out.
Jessica shakily reached into her pocket trying to find her golem, only to find it in bits and pieces.
'Probably from when I was thrown into the tree…' she quietly thought to herself.
Shit.
What was she going to do? She couldn't die out here, could she?
She couldn't move, breathing was getting harder, and her vision only blurred more.
Maybe this was what was meant to happen, maybe she was meant to die here.
Closing her eyes seemed like the best option, closing her eyes and letting herself drift away. It wasn't like she ever meant anything anyway, she would always be a forgotten character left to stand in the background. She would never be a real person anyway.
'Why are you giving up?' a voice deep inside her asked.
'I'm not giving up." The familiar voice of her master intruded her thoughts.
'That's not what it seems to me…'
'There's nothing I can do.'
'Think deep within yourself child…I taught you something long ago.'
'I have no recollection of that.'
'Yes, you do my apprentice.'
'Even if I could remember though, there's no point in trying. I'm just a shadow, meant to disappear from history, meant to never exist in the first place.'
'You may not think you matter, but you certainly matter to other people. You may not think you are real, but there are others who believe that you are.'
'I can't get up though, I can't help myself Master!'
'I already told you…you can.'
'I have no idea what mean!'
'It is deep within yourself…the reason I chose you to carry on with my line…'
'Master! Please just tell me!'
'You were born with a gift my apprentice and it is time for you to use that gift. Think of your home, think of where you want to be the most and you shall be there…'
Jessica opened her eyes, a renowned sense of purpose flowing through her body. She was afraid to do such a thing, but it was her last ditch effort.
"oqa xa sephe…"
A tunnel of light suddenly surrounded her; the last thing she could remember was falling towards the ground of the training room within the Black Order.
Oqa xa sephe….
Take me home.
~…~
Lavi honestly had no idea what to think when he heard the emergency alarm ring throughout the dark halls of the Black Order. Lavi groggily reached for his headband on his nightstand, trying to find the energy to open his only exposed and eye and investigate the cause of such an alarm.
"ALL MEDICAL PERSONNAL PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE TRAINING ROOM FOR EMERGENCY MEDICAL ASSISTANCE. WE HAVE AN EXORCIST DOWN, I REPEAT, WE HAVE EXORCIST DOWN. "
Lavi sighed; it wouldn't surprise him if Kanda went a little too hard on one of the newer Exorcist at all. He sat up slowly, still trying to wake himself up when he sounds of rushing footsteps outside of his door.
Wow, it must be serious…maybe he should go investigate.
With a purpose given, Lavi eagerly stood up and grabbed his boots, slipping them on with ease and wrapped his headband around his neck. Feeling like he was a bit more awake, the young Bookman opened his door and saw as medical staff ran down the hall towards the training room.
He was surprised to see a gurney and a series of serious medical equipment. A shiver ran down his spine, just what did Kanda do?
Before he could even step from his door, Lenalee came rushing from around the corner, rushing after the doctors and nurses, almost running right past Lavi.
"Yo, Lena!"
Lenalee stopped and turned her head to face him.
"Lavi!"
"Oi, just what seems to be going on?"
"I have no idea…I was with Komui in his office when he got a strange phone call. He looked extremely worried and immediately left. As soon as I heard the announcement I decided to go help out."
"Ohh, well do you mind if I come with you?"
"No, not at all but we need to hurry!"
"Right!"
Without another word, both Exorcists took off running towards the training room. They tried their best to stay out of the way of any medical personnel that came down the same direction, as they didn't want to keep them from their job, but both were eager to get there as fast as possible.
"Who do you think Yuu beat up this time?"
"What?" Lenalee asked Lavi between breaths of air.
"Who do you think Yuu beat up this time?"
"I have no idea. Do you really think this is Kanda's doing? We both know that Kanda has a temper, but he also knows when to stop."
"Damn, now I really wonder what is going on."
Lenalee nodded in agreement and turned right, the doors to the training room up ahead. Lavi and here stopped to catch their breath real quick. Lavi looked through the doors and saw a series of white coats and nurses running around with bloodied bandages and medical supplies.
Between the crowds, Lavi could make out Komui's figure as he stood off to the side speaking with one of the many doctors. His expression was solemn as he bit at his lip.
A sinking feeling suddenly clutched at Lavi's heart. Before he could say anything to Lenalee about how maybe they should leave, she was already gone.
"Komui!" the young pigtailed girl cried out towards her brother.
Komui's eyes went wide and he quickly marched over to the two.
"You both need to leave." Komui strictly stated. This wasn't like him.
"But Nii-san I can help!"
"Not with this one Lenalee, both of you please leave the area."
Lavi put his hands on Lenalee's shoulders, "Come on Lenalee, maybe we should go."
"Komui, what is going in?" She eyed her brother suspiciously.
Komui looked sadly at the two, "Please, I really need both of you to leave the premise."
"But Komui-"
"Please."
Lenalee tried to reach out for her brother as he walked away, but it seemed that it was important they were not here.
"Come on Lenalee, if Komui doesn't want us here, it has to be for a good reason." Lenalee looked up at him and he gave her a reassuring smile. Little did he let on that deep inside of him, his stomach was tied in a knot.
Lenalee let out a defeated sigh, giving Komui one last worried look before turning around to leave. Lavi was about to follow suit when something caught his eye.
Blonde hair.
The announcement said it was an Exorcist…and the only Exorcist he knew with blonde hair was…no…it couldn't be…
Lavi felt his breath hitch, his body was no longer under his control as he quickly began pushing himself between people. He didn't even hear Lenalee call his name.
The deeper he got into the crowd, the more his blood raced, the harder his heart pumped. He felt someone grab his arm and saw it was Komui.
"Lavi do not go-Lavi!"
Lavi jerked his arm away from the older man and pushed his way through, finally seeing the center of everyone's attention.
At first, he couldn't recognize her. Her normally soft blonde hair, looked ragged and tangled. Her skin was sickly white, stained with a mixture of blood and dirt, the smooth skin was covered in bruises and scratches. They had cut through her jacket and shirt to reveal a deep gash along the side of her navel, the skin around it red and irritated blisters forming along the wound. She had various wires attached to her body, each one monitoring a different part of her body. He didn't even have time to see if she was breathing before a pair of strong arms grabbed him behind and started pulling him back.
"Let me go…let me go…LET ME GO!" Lavi struggled to break free, trying to pull himself forward. "Lavi you need to calm down." It was Reever.
"Don't you dare tell me to calm down, let me go! Let me go!"
"Lavi-"
Desperation clutched at his heart, tears welling in his eyes.
"Please Reever, let me go to her! Please! PLEASE!"
"Kanda, can I get some help over here!"
"Plea-" Lavi was interrupted by the sudden hectic beating and flashing machines.
"Doctor, she's flat lining!"
"Grab me a defibrillator!"
"She needs a blood transfusion…"
"I know! Komui get these people out of here, now!"
Lavi's eyes went wide, his body suddenly was limp, his whole body felt cold.
"Lavi you need to get up." Reever spoke calmly behind him.
"I can't leave her."
"Lavi…"
"I can't-"
Kanda suddenly pried Lavi away from Reever and began forcefully dragging Lavi away.
"Kanda please, I need to be with her!"
Kanda kept dragging him away. "Kanda!" He kept ignoring Lavi's pleas until he finally managed to drag the hysteric red head away from the scene.
"Kanda, I-"
"The best thing you can do for that girl right now is the let the doctors do their job."
"You don't understand, I…"
"Let them do their job."
"I…I..I…" Lavi looked up at Kanda, tears running down his face.
Kanda looked towards Lenalee, her face pale from the unexpected reaction of her red headed friend.
"Let me know if he gives you any trouble." With a small nod from Lenalee as confirmation, the brisk Japanese walked away.
Lenalee slowly approached Lavi and grabbed his arm, "If it will make you feel better, we can go wait outside of the infirmary. Does that sound alright?"
The older boy only stared blankly ahead.
"I never got to tell her goodbye."
"What?"
"Before she went on her mission, I never got to tell goodbye."
Lenalee gave her friend a sad smile and rubbed his arm in a comforting manner, "Well let's go wait outside of the infirmary and before you know it, you'll be telling her hi."
Lavi looked up at her and nodded slowly, letting the younger girl guide him through the halls for what seemed like days.
Outside of the infirmary was a lone bench. Lavi took a seat and Lenalee sat beside him, she knew that he and Jessica were close, but she never really fully understood the extent of that friendship. Whatever their relationship may be, it was obvious that he carried deep feelings for his female counterpart.
Even though she didn't directly see Jessica, she felt that it would be the best if she stayed with Lavi…just in case she didn't make it. Who knew how he would react to such devastating news of losing such a close friend.
Lenalee took a moment to bow her head and pray, not only for Jessica's safe recovery but also for the lost finder. She had only worked with Lao once before, but like everyone else, he was a part of her family.
As much as it hurt, all they could do now was wait.
~…~
Lavi didn't know when he had fallen asleep, but he found himself being shook awake by one of the many nurses from earlier that evening. Lavi blinked several times and adjusted his posture. Lenalee was asleep against the wall next him, stirring slightly as he shifted his body.
"Junior, right?"
"Yeah?" His heart tightened in his chest, this was the moment of truth.
"Well we performed the surgery…and uh-"
"Is she alive? Is she going to be okay?"
"Um, sir…"
"Please, that's all I need to know."
"Currently she is in stable condition, but right now we are not sure if she will continue to stay that way or not."
"May I go inside and see her?"
"I don't think that is good idea right now. The surgery was only just completed and I would hate for her to take a turn for the worse while you were in there. Why don't you come back in the morning and check on her then, yeah?"
Lavi stared at the wall straight ahead, "I'll wait."
"Well, uh I really think that you should-"
"I said I'm going to wait."
With that final statement, the nurse hesitantly nodded and made her way back into the room. Lavi turned his attention toward Lenalee and shook her slightly, her purple eyes staring at him.
"Hey…they said it is going to be awhile, why don't you go ahead and head up back up to your room?"
"Are you sure that you don't want me here?"
"I'd rather you get a good night sleep. So far she seems to be in the clear, so all I need is for you to just have a good night's sleep."
"Are you really sure?" The girl inquired as she rubbed at her tired eyes.
"I'm sure."
"Alright, come wake me if you need anything at all."
With a gentle nod, Lenalee was gone and he was left alone to sit and wait. At least right now she was alive…that made him feel a bit better, but the anxiety still remained, gnawing at his sanity. All he wanted was to be holding her, comforting her, all he wanted was to be beside her. The idea of losing her was almost unbearable to him. He didn't know what he would do without her. She was everything to him.
Lavi looked over at the door, the one thing that separated him from her. His heart was hurting, he longed for her, and all he wanted was to not lose her.
The door suddenly flung open, the nurse from before stuck her head out.
"I know I said you could come back in the morning, but she's awake."
"She's awake?!" Lavi immediately jumped from the bench.
"Yes…she's asking for you." The nurse sweetly smiled at him.
"Am I really allowed to come in?"
"Yeah, if you want I can wait out here, but I can't give you guys a long time as I do need to keep a watchful eye over her. She may be awake but she is still in critical condition."
"I completely understand! Thank you so much ma'am!"
"Yes, sir."
With that the nurse came out from behind the door and let him walk past her into the room, the door shutting behind him.
Seeing her lay in that bed was a sight he wished he would never have to see again, as she connected to so many monitors and machines. An oxygen mask was covering the bottom part of her face, her chest rising and falling at a steady rate. Her skin had regained some of its color, but she still looked like she was nowhere close to being her normal self again. She had her head turned towards him, but her eyes were shut. Upon him entering the room, she slowly opened her eyes and instantly tried to sit herself up.
Lavi rushed over, "Jessica, stay down, I'm here now."
"Lavi…"
"Yes darling, I'm here."
"I'm so sorry…"
"Why are you sorry, this wasn't your fault." Lavi ran his fingers through her hair, caressing her cheek with his thumb.
"I should have ran…but I chose to stay and fight, even though a part of me knew that I couldn't win. I should've known that I couldn't win."
"No sweetie, it's okay, you were doing your job."
"I got Lao killed."
"Jessica-"
"Lavi, I was so scared."
Lavi used his free hand to grab Jessica's, tracing soothing circles over the bruised skin.
"I know you were scared, I was too."
Before any other words could be exchanged, Jessica started sobbing. Hot tears streamed down her face, her voice hoarse and weak. Lavi leaned down and laid his forehead against hers.
"Shhh…it's okay…Shhh…"
"Lavi…"
Lavi kissed her forehead, "Jessica…."
"I didn't want to die."
"I know dear."
"I didn't want to leave you. You were the last thing in my mind before everything went dark…please don't leave me, please don't leave me…." The girl begged between sobs.
"Jessica…for these past several hours, all I could think about was you. You are everything to me. My love for you…I feel it whenever you walk into a room, I feel it whenever we touch, when we kiss. A day without you is just not a good day. The idea of losing you, of not being with you is so unbearable. I can never stop thinking about you, all I want is to spend the rest of my life with you."
Jessica just stared at him, "But…"
"I don't want to talk about Bookman stuff right now…right now, we get to be together."
Someone knocked on the door from the outside, the nurse opened the door and peered in, "Junior are you almost done?"
"Oh yeah, just give me a couple more minutes."
"Alright, but that is the longest I can give you."
"Yes ma'am…." Lavi waved at the nurse as she closed the door behind her.
"Lavi…please don't go…" the small girl begged from beside him.
Lavi kissed her forehead again, "I'm gonna have to leave, love. All I need from you is to heal and to get better."
"That sounds cheesy."
"It is cheesy, but that really is all I want from you right now."
Jessica took in a deep breath, her eyes closing again.
"Jessica?" Lavi worriedly asked her.
"I'm going to sleep now Lavi."
"Oh?"
"The first step to getting better is to take lots of naps, right?"
Lavi smiled lovingly at his girlfriend, "I did say that once before didn't I?"
"Yeah…do you think you can stay till I fall asleep? I'm scared that if I fall asleep, I might not wake up again."
Lavi winced at such a comment, "Yeah…"
"I love you Lavi"
"I love you too, Jessie-chan."
Lavi gave her a final kiss on the forehead, running her golden locks in between his fingers slowly until she fell asleep.
For now he was just glad that she was alive.
Man…this was a fucked up situation they were in.