A/N: Okay, so in this chapter Kanda and Allen preform the bonding ritual. I have to warn everyone who reads this chapter not to try the ritual written between the two characters. The ritual is of my own design; however, it does contain some very real basic components that I found from very real blood bonding rituals. As such this ritual should not be repeated in real life, that I don't want any of my readers cutting themselves, it's not a good idea.
Now that that little warning is out of the way, please enjoy the chapter, and review if you have something to say.
silverdragon
Disclaimer: I don't own D Gray Man, or any of the characters.
Chapter 21 Bonding
Kanda listened as Allen explained the ritual, surprised at how much had to go into such a union. Sure they wanted to be bonded through all their conceivable life times, but this was almost too much. There were far too many strange words, an interesting pattern to things, and strange herb mixtures and candles involved. Kanda had his doubts as to whether it would work or not, but he trusted Allen, to the fullest extent. Whatever Allen said needed to be done, would be done, until they were matched together for the rest of eternity, and with that thought, they began.
OoOoOoOo-oOoOoOoO
Allen had to explain the ritual before he could perform any of it. It wouldn't work unless both parties were fully knowledgeable, and were in total agreement about bonding to each other. The ritual wasn't one that could be tried again either. They had one shot, and if they screwed up, things could go badly for both of them. The bond would be there no matter what, but if they did anything wrong it wouldn't be formed of love and trust, the way it was supposed to, instead it would be fueled by anger and hate, which would lead to hatred on both sides. That was something that Allen couldn't afford to happen, nor was it something he wanted to happen.
"Kanda I need you to trust me when I say that this ritual is extremely complex, and that there will be no going back after it has been performed. You need to follow my instructions exactly, any deviations from what I say could end terribly. Do you understand?"
When Kanda nodded Allen continued, "Okay, first we need to step out of the fire, we can't perform the ritual in the flames, or it won't work. I know that the fire feels safe, and it is probably the safest place we can be right now, but we need to leave it in order to start the binding. Before we do that though, let me run you through exactly what we have to do.
"I have all the materials we'll need, we just have to speak the Greek text and add our blood into the ritual. What you really need to know is that there's no going back after we do this. This bond will last forever, through life and death, and no matter what happens it will always be there. This is why performing the ritual will be dangerous should the Earl capture even one of us. We will be able to feel each other's pain, as well as other emotions through the link. We will also be able to communicate telepathically, no matter how far away we are from each other. And finally, if we're forced apart for too long, the bond will start to take a toll on our bodies, making us weaker and weaker until we are on the very brink of death. This is what the Earl needs to get rid of the phoenix forever, which is not something we can let happen. Do you understand this in its entirety? Are you sure you want to continue?"
Allen only had to wait a few minutes for the older teen's answer, but to the younger, those minutes felt like hours. The white haired boy felt his hands get sweaty and clammy before he got his answer. This was the moment of truth, if Kanda agreed, they would perform the ritual and become one entity.
Kanda cleared his throat, "Moyashi, no matter what you say to try and convince me otherwise, I want this. Not just for you, not just for me, but for us. I'd made up my mind the moment I stepped into this fire that I would be yours and yours alone for the rest of eternity." Allen felt Kanda embrace him yet again, and heard Kanda whisper the words he needed to her in order for the ritual to work properly, "I love you, Baka, now and forever."
Allen stepped out of the embrace, finally satisfied that this was going to work, and that Kanda truly wanted this. Now that the white haired teen was sure that Kanda would have no regrets, he had to outline the ritual.
"Thank you Kanda, for loving me enough to do this with me." Allen took a deep breath before continuing, "The ritual is one with an unidentifiable background, and considering the nature of the phoenix in so many different ancient texts, that's not hard to believe. As such, the mixture of religious ideals and customs have left us with a ritual that is unlike any other, something truly phoenix orientated. The first thing we have to do is cleanse the area we're going to use for the ritual, burning sage and lavender to purify the area. Next we have to set up the alter for the sun god, and although I know there are many sun gods, we'll be keeping with the ancient Greek, using Helios, the Greek titan of the sun. Phoenix are children of the sun, meaning we have to seek the sanction of our creator in order to form a bond such as this.
"After setting up the alter, placing a yellow candle facing east, and a red candle facing west, to signify the rising and setting of the sun, and placing a silver bowl between the two candles, we have to light the candles, yellow first, then red. Once that is finished, we must both hold the blade we'll be using in the ritual, then pass it through the flames of each candle ten times. While passing the blade through the yellow candle flame we must both say the words 'Φως σε αυτό το λεπίδα φωτιά της αγάπης, της ζωής, το πάθος, οι ασθενείς, και φροντίδα. Φέρτε μαζί δύο ζωές σήμερα και να τους ως μέσα τα μεγάλα μάτια του δημιουργού μας.' using the Greek as part of our request to Helios. When passing the knife through the red candle flame we must speak the words, 'Ασφάλεια μυαλό το σώμα και το πνεύμα για πάντα, από τη ζωή μέχρι το θάνατό έπειτα πίσω πάλι. Μαζί για την αιωνιότητα, για πάντα συνδεδεμένο.' once again using the Greek."
Allen stopped to take a breath, wondering to himself why such a ritual had to be so difficult, "Next, we must each take the knife and slash our wrists, the older of us going first and cutting their left to signify the sunset and the longness of the day, the younger slashing their right wrist to symbolize the sun rise and the beginning of the day. Once we've both cut our wrists deeply enough to draw a significant amount of blood, we have to hold our wrists above the bowl, making sure to spill a good amount of blood before mixing it together. Once that is finished, we have to clasp hands, intertwining our fingers and pressing our bleeding wrists together. To finish the ritual, we must take our specific candles in our free hands, yours being red and mine yellow, and light the mixed blood in the bowl on fire, forever binding us together in blood and flame."
Allen watched as Kanda looked shocked for a moment, obviously reveling in the complexity of the ritual. The white haired boy did have to admit, it was confusing and complex, but the complexity was a guard of its own, only someone who really wanted this would actually go through with such a dangerous ceremony.
After a moment Kanda spoke up, "Okay, I understand what we have to do, shall we go and get this done?"
Allen nodded and led Kanda out of the fire.
OoOoOoOo-oOoOoOoO
Kanda understood what he had to do, so as Allen led him out of the flames, the older teen felt a wonderful sense of joy that he'd never experienced before. He and his Moyashi were finally going to be bonded for life and beyond, and there was only a ritual standing in the way of that. He'd let Allen take care of all the complicated things, Kanda didn't want to screw up the ritual and risk something bad happening.
So he just stood and watched as Allen got all the things they needed from a closet in the corner of the room. The herbs they were supposed to burn were in a tight bundle, wrapped with a light silvery thread, and the alter was a small stone bench with duvets were the bowl and candles were supposed to go. The candles were simple votive candles, something you can find in a drug store, while the silver bowl was more intricate, silver scrolling working its way around the edge and a depiction of the sun carved into the center of the metal. The knife was also very ceremonial although in a different way. A simple silver blade gleamed and curved ever so gently towards the tip, while the simple bone handle was carved with feather like images as well as flames, ending in what Kanda could only assume was a phoenix head.
Once everything had been laid out properly, Kanda saw Allen pick up the tied herbs and beckon him over to the alter. Kanda watched in fascination as the younger body snapped his fingers and the end of the herbs burst into flames. The flames were quickly blown out to leave a smoldering ember behind, along with the sweat smell of lavender and sage within the smoke. The white haired teen wafted the smoke around, and Kanda watched as the smoke settled on everything, including himself. When Allen was done he placed the still smoldering herbs on the alter, just behind the bowl.
The younger motioned for Kanda to pick up the yellow candle, which he did, watching as Allen lit the wick with another snap of his fingers. That was definitely a trick Kanda would like to learn. The blue haired teen put the now lit candle back on the alter, picking up the red one and repeating the previous process.
Kanda watched as Allen picked up the knife, motioning for Kanda to put his hand over the hilt as well, completely covering both the handle, and Allen's smaller hand. Once both boys were holding the knife, Allen brought it over to the yellow candle flame, speaking the words he'd said before, with Kanda stumbling along behind him.
The blue haired teen noticed that Allen's face and body had attained a very peaceful air, as though he did things like this every day. Kanda felt himself relax into that feeling, and when they passed the knife through the red candle flame the words he spoke with Allen became stronger, more sure. When that was done, Kanda was a little scared about what he needed to do next. He was the elder of the two, so he had to go first to cut his wrist. He'd never been one for self-mutilation, but this was different, this was to help his new love, meaning he had to go through with it, helping Allen was important. He took the knife from Allen's hand and brought it down on his left wrist, slicing deeply into his flesh and closing his eyes as the pain came upon him in waves.
It wasn't just physical pain either, sure the cut hurt, but it didn't hurt half as much as his heart. All he could think of was seeing Alma propped against the bathroom wall, bleeding to death out of his wrists while he could do nothing to save him. Kanda managed to push those thoughts away and replace them with the wise words of his foster father, "Stop blaming yourself for the things you can't change, and start fixing yourself so you can make sure they never happen again". That's what Kanda was doing now, fixing himself so that he would never have to experience such a loss again. He would make sure that the Moyashi was safe, even if it meant his own death.
Now that his thoughts had cleared, he finished the cut, gouging himself deep enough to expose tendons. He then passed the knife to Allen, who also cut open a large gash in his arm. Once both of them were done, they placed their wrists over the bowl, letting their precious lifeblood slide from their wrists and into the bowl. Kanda watched Allen for the signal that they could continue, and when he got it, he quickly clasped hands with the smaller teen, intertwining their fingers and pressing their bleeding wrists together and grabbing his red candle. Allen did the same, and after a moment they both plunged the wicks into the bowl, igniting the phoenix blood and completing the ritual.
Kanda felt a burning sensation in his wrist, and looking down he could see that the wound he'd inflicted on himself had healed, leaving a beautiful intertwining red tattoo in its wake. Allen had one on his wrist as well, the two tattoos matching each other, yet contrasting ever so slightly, just like their wings. The Japanese teen's tattoo was very angular, but retained some of the more swirly patterns from Allen's tattoo, just as Allen's was mostly swirly patterns, with the underlying angular pattern. They were unique, but both tattoos had the elements of their counterpart. It was obvious that this was the physical manifestation of the bonding they'd just undergone.
The older teen looked over at Allen in wonder, but noticed that the other teen was not staring at the tattoo, instead was staring with wide eyes at something in front of them. The Japanese teen looked in the direction of Allen's gaze and was horrified by what he saw.
OoOoOoOo-oOoOoOoO
Once the ritual had been explained Allen pulled Kanda out of the fire and got everything set up. It was obvious that Kanda didn't want to do anything, for fear he'd mess something up and damage the rituals chances at success. So Allen did everything, making sure everything was in its proper place before beginning.
He lit the incense, and wafted it around, making sure to cover everything in the purifying smoke. Then he lit the candles, doing it in the proper order with a little help from Kanda. Once the candles were lit, Allen picked up the knife gently, the blade may have looked simplistic, but he had made sure that the blade was a sharp as possible, to limit the amount of damage they did to their wrists. Once he had his hand on the hilt, he motioned for Kanda to do the same, and once that was done he brought the knife over to the yellow candle. Speaking the Greek he'd mentioned before, Allen went slowly enough for Kanda to follow along and say the words with him. When that was finished, he moved the knife over to the red candle, once again speaking the words slow enough for Kanda to follow.
The younger teen could feel himself begin to sink into a feeling of peace that had eluded him for days. It felt good to finally be doing something to better his life, and he thanked all the gods he could name that this had been allowed to happen. There was so much to be happy about, but there was a nagging doubt in the back of his mind as to when the Noah would show up after this ritual was complete. Would they wait a day or two, or would they show up as soon as the ritual was finished? It was hard to tell, but Allen had to be prepared for anything.
He gave the knife over to the older, watching as the blue haired teen cut at deep gash in his wrist, just as Allen had told him to. The white haired teen sensed some of Kanda's hesitation at cutting his wrist, and although Allen had never had to go through the things Kanda had, he understood that this was hard for the older teen. When he was done, the older teen passed the knife back, and now it was Allen's turn to cut his own wrist. He took the knife and placed it on his wrist, waiting for some kind of sign that it was okay, and that this was the right choice. That sign came in the form of a warm feeling that spread from the tips of his toes all through his body, energizing him and convincing him that this was what needed to happen.
Allen brought the knife down and cut a deep gash in his wrist, letting the blood flow freely into the waiting bowl. When he deemed it enough, Allen grabbed Kanda's hand, placing their bleeding wrists together and motioning for the other teen to pick up the candle. Once the blood had been set on fire, Allen felt a warm tingling sensation in his wrists, but looking up he saw the worst thing possible.
Allen paled as Tyki Mikk and Road Kamelot walked into the warehouse, glints in their eyes and sadistic smiles on their faces.
A/N: First, translations. The first portion of the Greek that is mentioned is "Light within this blade a fire of love, life, passion, patients, and caring. Bring together two lives today and make them as one within the great eyes of our creator." And the second bit of Greek is "Fuse body, mind and spirit forever, from life until death then back again. Together for eternity, bonded for forever." Both of these are phrases that came to my head and were put through Google translate to get the Greek. As such if there's anything wrong with the Greek, I'm sorry, and if something is wrong could you please tell me in a PM? I would love to make it more authentic then whatever Google translate gave me, I just don't have access to a Greek speaking individual.
Now that that's out of the way, I would like to thank you for reading, and mention that this story is slowly coming to an end. My plan is to end it by Chapter 25, which means that there will be four more chapters (at least that's the plan). With that said, there is not a sequel in the foreseeable future, although I do have another Yullen story that I'm going to start as soon as this one is finished. I'll plug that later, so for now, thank you for reading and please review.