21 - Bookman
Lavi turned his head just as a flash of light came again from the teleportation cubicle inside the Asian HQ, and a grin automatically appeared on his face. The Bookman-General shouldered his hammer and stepped forward, extending a gloved hand for Kanda to take.
"You're late as always, Yuu." Lavi greeted with a cheerful wink.
Kanda stepped out of the cubicle, already looking warily around at the place. His hand relaxed visibly on Mugen's hilt when he saw not only Lavi there, but also Allen Walker, who was already tearing through delicious spring rolls made by one girl named Lou Fa.
"Hi, Kanda!" Allen greeted, waving his chopsticks.
"Che," was all Kanda said before turning away.
The Bookman observed his friend as was custom. Lavi's excellent eyes noted that Kanda looked a bit off-color, a bit paler than when he had seen him last. There was also a distinct difference in those winter gray eyes that he could not yet put a finger to. Lavi also noted that his best friend's movements were a split second slower than his usual.
"You okay, Yuu? Or is stress eating you up in France?" Lavi asked, just to lighten things up. Something was off with his best friend.
"Oi, Bak," Kanda said, ignoring his question. "Spit it out. Why are we all here?"
The Chinese was already holding a dossier and busy hissing instructions on his phones. He held the call for a moment and approached Kanda and Lavi. "Yes, I know it's a bit sudden pulling you all out from the field like that, but our satellites just registered a massive reading of Akuma activity by the Taklamakan Desert. They seem to be gathering around this particular oasis…" He held up a 3D map, and red flashed on the said location. "And Rhode Kamelot has been spotted too."
"Hoboy," Lavi commented. "So it's a big one then?"
Allen had put his bowl down and joined their little huddle. "Innocence, Bak?"
"Most likely." Bak Chan nodded. "We think it's the half of the Heart that we lost when Linali died."
"So you're saying Linali's Innocence fragment is by that desert?" Kanda repeated.
"Yes."
Lavi shifted his hammer. "Then what are we all waiting for? The ATS can take us there in a jiffy!" He grinned. "I need to stretch my legs a bit, too. I've been spending too much time in the Arabian libraries!" That said, he shot a discreet glance at Kanda. But the raven-haired general didn't even react.
--
The gigantic snake made of flames whooshed lethally in the air, bright enough to be probably seen in the sky by a satellite. Lavi brought his hammer down and the snake obeyed, obliterating thousands of Akuma ranging from level 2 to level 3 in one easy sweep.
"Ahahaha! That's probably like 1,234 now to my list, eh?!" Lavi shouted over his shoulder as he enlarged his Innocence and extended it, sending him up, up, up to survey the damage.
"Quit your crap, rabbit-brat!" Kanda yelled back as he crossed his Nigentou one above the other, his Shouka skill already activated. His hair danced wildly behind him as he activated one of his strongest Illusions. For a moment Lavi felt the air thicken and ripple.
"OI, WATCH IT!" came Allen's voice somewhere to the left just as a hail of a thousand swords descended from the heavens, impaling an Akuma target each and sending them exploding. "I'M LIKE, RIGHT HERE – OW! KANDA, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"
"The moyashi is slow as always!" Kanda sneered as he twirled around in deadly grace, sending his thousand swords floating and gathering above his head.
"I! AM! NOT! SLOW!"
Lavi cheerfully laughed as he jumped down and shrank his hammer back to easy-carry size. "Mission accomplished." He said easily. They had destroyed all of the Akuma in the field, but the desert's dunes had been shifted forever. They took care not to harm the nearby oasis; the Innocence fragment might still be there. Lavi wondered though why Rhode Kamelot was nowhere to be found. They could not claim victory just yet, despite his statement.
Allen looked especially grumpy just as Clown Belt retracted. "You guys! You always hoard the Akuma! You could have left me some!"
"Don't worry, moyashi, Rhode Kamelot is all yours." Kanda muttered as he cancelled his Shouka, making his eyes change back to normal. He sheathed his katana and was already walking toward the oasis. "I'm sure she's missed you so much."
Allen puffed out his cheeks indignantly and proceeded to strip off his right boot and hurled it toward Kanda's head. Lavi chuckled just as Kanda easily dodged the boot, and it harmlessly fell onto the sand.
"It's not like I actually love having a Noah for a stalker, okay?!" Allen yelled, running after Kanda. "You have no idea what it's like to be stalked--!"
Really, these two.
Lavi easily followed the two, still shouldering his hammer. The Bookman fell silent as he walked, his guard still up just in case some Akuma were still left, waiting to ambush them. His photographic memory automatically flashbacked the scenes of their battle earlier inside his mind.
He had finally figured out what was off with his best friend. Kanda was definitely slower in his movements. Normally, he would not activate his Shouka skill in just fighting with mere Akuma alone. He reserved his tertiary skills for big fights like the Noah or even the Earl, but for him to activate it at such an easy round…
A sixth petal, Yuu?
He had spent a good chunk of his field duty journeying in the Arabian nations. Ever since Lavi found out that Kanda was nowhere near an Equipment-type Exorcist, he had done all that he could to find out more about Mugen. The Vatican's archives and the Leverrier family's extensive libraries all wielded nothing; they all said the same thing – that Mugen was an equipment type, and its usual manifestation was that of a bladed weapon. Not one mention about the hourglass. Or for that matter, the deceptive lotus.
Even the Bookman clan's archives were short of records. Lavi took it as a personal insult and vowed he would find out more, and thus the endless country-hopping with his team, hours upon hours in the libraries of the world. It was Miranda who suggested they try the Arabian nations. Krory had blanched at first, but agreed to come anyway. Lavi was suddenly glad for Miranda's idea. It was only in Baghdad that they found something.
Arabs had their own Exorcist teams, and it had been a long standing agreement that the Vatican keep to its territories while Islam kept to its own. It was relatively hard even in the modern times to get into the Arabian archives, but thankfully Lavi's title as Bookman afforded him perks that not even the Vatican could give him. Bookmen were highly respected and revered in all nations after all.
It turned out that Mugen was at first one of the fragments that had found its way into the Arabian nations. For many centuries since Noah's Ark, it had served countless Arabian masters, then known as Kalpana. It was one of the seven strongest, unchangeable Innocence fragments that the Heart first created. It was born of man's desire to wish that every hardship and pain was just an Illusion, a bad dream, a nightmare.
And, as it turned out, it was also one of the cruelest Innocence in the world.
All of the extensive records Lavi managed to find all mentioned only one fate for every master Mugen had ever served – the moment the lotus wilts and its last petal falls, the Innocence would turn against its master and transform the wielder into a Togaochi, a Fallen One, and then proceed to sap the wielder of his or her life. There was no known measure to stop such an end.
Then for some reason, the fragment found itself in the Christian world and was given the name Mugen. It only had one other master before it chose Kanda, and this master had been killed by a Noah. The woman never had a chance to suffer her bitter end.
Lavi also studied what he already knew of his best friend's written and unwritten history. He knew for a fact that Kanda was born as a sickly baby in Tokyo – not even the doctors were positive that he would not live beyond 48 hours upon delivery. But for some reason, the weak, sickly infant just lived on and on and on…just as a strange marking on his chest grew. The rest was history.
Lavi believed that Kanda was strong in many aspects, but when it came to his Innocence, his strength was the wrong kind – it made him hard outside, but very brittle from within. Linali had been worried then. It was her dying wish that Lavi help Kanda out. Lavi could still remember that silent plea in her glazing eyes.
Really, Yuu, you're more trouble than your worth.
If there was one thing Kanda hated the most, it was being seen as weak. He had hated weakness all his life, as he had seen how humans created Akuma with it, seen how emotions could lead to the deaths of countless people. This was why General Froi Tiedoll abruptly concealed the truth of Kanda's Innocence by registering him as an Equipment type user.
Everything was complicated enough, and then Krory's friend Kaname Kuran had to enter the scene. Lavi was wary about this unexpected, dangerous factor suddenly adding to the equation.
The Bookman watched as Allen and Kanda talked, planning on how to approach the oasis. There were no visible scars on Kanda's neck. But that didn't mean that he could not be bitten elsewhere – and Lavi knew all about Mugen's notorious healing abilities. Kanda was not the type of person who would let a vampire touch him. An Akuma couldn't even go near him. But there was this nagging thought. If Kanda was bitten, he should not be human anymore. He would be a vampire already, fast descending into the unforgiving craving for human blood.
But Kanda was still unnervingly normal. At least, on the surface.
"Lavi! We're going in!" Allen called.
"Right-o. I'll stay right here and watch your backs!" Lavi grinned, saluting.
"Drag me down and die, moyashi." Kanda snarled as he took the first step onto the oasis' water. He disappeared into thin air the moment his boots sank into it. Allen waved at Lavi with Crown Clown and followed suit, also vanishing.
Lavi tilted his head and kept his hand on his hammer. With 300 percent up sync rate, Akuma should be flocking toward their location again in a few moments. And quite possibly with a Noah in tow. Fun.
I guess if Kaname Kuran makes an unfavorable move, I'll make another exception and meddle. I hope it doesn't come to that though.
The Bookman ran a hand through his hair and waited, whistling.
--
The party ended at around 6 am, relatively late for vampires, but Kaname Kuran was far from being sleepy. The pureblood waited until Asato Ichijou and his entourage of council members left and everyone in the Moon Dorms had drifted off to sleep before changing his clothes and going down quietly to the kitchen. Kaname took a moment to cook himself some pancakes before climbing up to the dormitory rooftop just in time as the sun climbed up from the east.
Always, always, the sunrise never failed to awe Kaname.
He sat there on the roof tiles, eating his pancakes slowly just as the familiar golden disk slowly peeked from behind her veil of clouds. Assured that her rival moon was already gone, the sun proceeded to her steady ascent up the sky. It made Kaname smile. Those golden rays were lovably warm against his skin.
He took a moment to check his phone. No new messages. A soft sigh escaped his lips. He wondered where Yuu was right now, what he was doing, and whether he missed a meal yet again. He missed his lover already.
Kaname finished his pancakes and put his fork and plate down beside him. He drew his knees up and continued to enjoy the early morning warm. At exactly seven in the morning he could hear the Day Class coming. A thousand scents and a thousand voices gently flooded his senses, but nothing stood out.
Movement. Kaname turned his head and looked down. He could see Ichiru Kiryuu just beyond the Moon Dorm's walls, frozen on his tracks and looking right at him. A small smile played on Kaname's features as he raised a finger to his lips. Not many knew he could already walk in daylight. Ichiru Kiryuu got over his shock, nodded and went on his way. Now there was a trustworthy vampire hunter. Kaname returned to watching the clouds.
I hope there's--
Speak of the devil. His phone flashed red. Kaname eagerly grabbed the gadget and opened the message from the Order's Seeker Department. It was an order requesting all available Exorcists to rush over to Osaka. Kaname rose easily and activated his Innocence, the scythe forming in his hands.
He didn't even bother changing out of his casual sleepwear, or even wearing shoes. Wind gathered around him and he immediately shot up into the air and was quickly soaring toward the coordinates forwarded from HQ.
Just in time. I was getting insanely bored. Bring it on.
--
Ichijou surveyed himself in front of the mirror. His Night Class uniform was well-pressed and crisp-looking, not a spot out of order. He nodded, content that he was ready for this evening's class, and then went on his way, exiting his rooms. Everybody else was already gathered down--
Or not.
Yuki stood outside Kaname's door, still looking a bit strange to Ichijou's eyes, who had grown used to seeing her with her hair short and in the dark-hued Day Class uniform. The dorm vice president approached her carefully.
"Yuki, what are you doing?" He inquired, keeping his voice light.
Yuki turned her head and blinked up at him. "Kaname hasn't gone down yet."
That made Ichijou blink. "Oh dear. We should wake him then." He knocked three times and entered the room. Only one lamp was lit by the desk, and they could an unwashed plate and drinking glass there. Kaname's books and papers were all neatly organized in their places.
"Kaname?" Ichijou's voice softly wafted in the room as he and Yuki approached the bed. "Hey, Kaname…?"
The lump on the bed stirred irritably, and they could see a pair of crimson eyes squinting at them.
"What?!" Kaname demanded, annoyed.
Yuki dared to sit on the bed. "Um…class is starting?"
"So? The hell are you bothering me for?" Kaname snapped grumpily as he pulled the blankets over his head. "Go away."
Yuki glanced at Ichijou. She decided to go another step further by placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey…"
Ichijou took an automatic step back as Kaname sat up, positively looking pissed. His hair was a mess and he looked really tired. Even Yuki drew back a bit.
"The hand outs for the lessons are on my desk," Kaname said. He looked like he wanted to bite something. "Take them, go away, and let me sleep."
"What do you mean, you're just sleeping now?" Yuki persisted, confused.
"Just stop it with the ridiculous questions!" Kaname said and he sank back to his bed and refused to move anymore.
Change. He's changed.
Ichijou walked toward the desk and easily found the hand-outs there, along with some notes Kaname prepared in advance. He took them into his hands.
"Let's go, Yuki. I'm afraid you'd have to hold classes again."
Yuki looked like she wanted to kiss Kaname's cheek. She struggled for a moment and stood up, nodding. "Yes."
Ichijou ushered her out of the room. He too took a last glance toward Kaname.
"Well…have a good sleep, all right?"
He closed the door gently behind them.
Yes, he's definitely changed.