Standard Disclaimer Applied.
Recap: Six years had passed and Lenalee's daughter, Liana is now a charming girl who wants to be an exorcist like her mother. She remained clueless about her father's identity. The new exorcists didn't know of Allen's existence since the Central forbade everyone to say anything about him. Kanda's now a general and had brought with him a boy apprentice named Kiri , Lucille and Gerald were assigned to oversee Liana's yearly "check-ups" while the others remained pretty much the same. At Liana's birthday party though, Lucille told Lenalee that there had been a change of plans for the little girl.
"Focus. Remember how you felt when you first synchronized with your innocence."
A few hours after the party, the Main Headquarters was back to business again. Scientists were scurrying in the research labs while exorcists were either heading towards their next mission, or resuming training. Of course, this also meant that the newcomers will start their lives as new exorcists.
Liana sat at the sides while she watched Kiri, the latest newcomer and her "playmate", try to synchronize with his innocence for the third time. The boy had started his training as soon as he finished his breakfast and since Liana had nothing better to do, she followed her new friend to the training grounds and was watching his progress ever since.
"That's it. Maintain your focus and that feeling. When you're sure it's already steady, say: Activate."
The little girl can also see that Kiri's master, her Kanda-jii-chan, was beginning to get impatient with the boy. It didn't help that he had such a short temper, and that it was actually his first time having an apprentice under his wing.
Kiri's brows narrowed in concentration and with a slight uncertainty,
"Activate!"
Contrary to what the master and the watcher hoped, there was no synchronization that took place.
Kiri collapsed in a sitting position on the cemented floor while Kanda sighed in impatience and slight helplessness. He didn't know training a newcomer could be this hard, if only he had more experience in teaching. Then again, he's not the type to actually care and teach for someone else so the only thing he could do was to rely on his memories when he was still training under General Tiedoll.
The boy was obviously frustrated too, especially since he was surrounded with other newcomers who were training under senior exorcists. He thought activating the innocence would be easy since trained exorcists did it with so much ease; add the fact that he was supposed to excel since his mentor was none other than the swordsman General Kanda Yuu. Earlier in the morning, he was even approached by teenaged friendly newcomers who expressed their jealousy of him being under Kanda's wing aside from their "welcome to the Black Order"s. They told him General Kanda was one of the exorcists who eliminated the Noah during the first war and was known to be one of the strongest, so being Kanda's apprentice meant a lot would be expected from him, especially since he's the General's very first disciple.
And so Kiri hoped that also meant that his training would be easier since not all newcomers got to be taught by a General. He didn't expect that he would be lagging like this, when the other newcomers were able to use their innocence already.
He eyed the rings around his fingers. The rings were connected by very small chains to a platinum plate around his wrists, where a glowing green cross was embedded. He frowned at the jewelry-like metals that were supposed to be his innocence.
"Don't give up Kiri-kun! Try again!"
The boy looked up to the small girl who was watching him at the sides with a smile as if she was amused. Her amused smile somehow irked him, but when he saw her encouraging eyes and the determination that sparked there as if she was actually the one training, he somehow felt more determined too and gave the girl a friendly smirk in return.
"Who said I'm giving up?" he retorted as he stood. "The thought didn't even cross my mind!"
He stared at Kanda seriously.
"Shishou! Let's try again!"
Kanda nodded and urged him to start. "Again, focus!" he told his student as he waited for the boy to close his eyes and immerse himself in concentration. He suddenly held his sword.
"Maintain that concentration." He said then touched the hilt of Mugen as he slowly moved in an attacking stance. Liana saw this and widened her eyes in slight alarm. What was her uncle thinking?
Kanda narrowed his eyes for a moment then without warning, pulled his sword out and dashed towards the still concentrating boy. He posed to land a fast slash towards him.
"Innocence activate!"
Suddenly, Kiri opened his eyes wide and quickly held up his ringed hands in the air. The rings on his thumbs glowed and in a split second, dozens of short swords appeared and flew towards Kanda in the speed of light. The General was caught in slight surprise then smirked, changing positions to instead dodge the numerous blades dashing towards him. When the blades were all dodged, Kiri's index and fore fingers glowed then released a large axe bigger than his small frame. The boy still tried to hold it but his effort was in vain when the axe only fell to the floor in a loud thud, his innocence activation quickly disappearing together with the heavy weapon.
Kiri gasped to catch his breath and collapsed on the floor, sweat rolling down his temples. Liana stood from her position then ran towards her friend. She knelt beside him.
"Kiri-kun, you ok?"
The boy nodded slowly in answer. Kanda jumped a few feet away then sheathed Mugen, a satisfied smirk on his face.
"That's how you activate your innocence. What did you feel that caused you to activate it?"
Kiri hesitated then finally spoke.
"Fear."
The Japanese nodded. "Remember that fear very well, then convert it to will. You'll need that will to use your innocence and destroy akuma."
The master and student stared at each other before Kiri nodded and slowly sat up.
"Acting like the great teacher now, are we General Kanda?" a voice suddenly interrupted. Kanda looked back and frowned at the person behind him.
"Lavi." he glared at the red head. "You're disturbing our training."
Lavi shrugged. "It's about time you let the boy take a break. You almost killed him there you know."
He glanced at Kiri and gave him a grin. "You alright there kid? Yu's really sadistic so try to adjust to his mood swings – ACK!"
The red head winced when he felt the hilt of Mugen stabbed at his side. He slapped it away with his arm and playfully punched the Japanese's shoulder with his fist.
"That hurt real bad, you know."
Lavi stuck his tongue out at Kanda then walked towards the two kids. He crouched beside Kiri and grinned at him again.
"Summoning different weapons in thin air huh? That's a pretty cool innocence you got there kid! Though it seemed the summons depend on which fingers you use."
The boy blushed at the older exorcist's comment while Liana nodded in agreement. She grinned boyishly at Kiri.
"Lavi-jii's right! I was really surprised when you made those blades appear Kiri-kun!" She sighed and smiled.
"I wish my innocence is as cool as yours…"
Her dream-like statement made the boy widen his eyes in confusion.
"You have an innocence?"
The question took the two adults' attention. They exchanged glances before diverting their gazes towards the talking kids, as if unsure what they should do in the situation. But before they could even say something, Liana beat them to it.
"Of course I have Kiri-kun!" she answered with a giggle. "I wouldn't swear to be an exorcist if I don't have an innocence."
Kiri narrowed his eyes curiously at her. "What's your innocence then?"
The question made the girl brighten up as she began to unbutton her Chinese top. The action made the boy blush and the two adults panic.
"Woah! What are you doing –
"L-Liana-chan, you don't have to do that –
"Lia –
But they were too late when the girl tugged her blouse downward, enough to show the boy the glowing cross on her upper center chest, just a few centimeters below her collarbone.
"This is my innocence Kiri-kun!" she presented proudly. "I don't know what it does yet b'cause I haven't started training. But I really hope it's cool too!"
Kiri stared, slightly frightened at the cross on her chest.
"W-Why is it in your body?"
A pause.
"That's called a parasitic type of innocence Kiri-kun." Lavi offered the explanation. He ruffled Liana's hair and told her to button her blouse up.
"Parasitic type?"
"It's an innocence that treats its accommodator's body as its host." Kanda continued. "Yours is an equipment type because it's separate from your body. But with the case of the parasitic type, the innocence becomes part of the body."
The half-confused half-understanding stare Kiri gave him made the General sigh in defeat and decided to close the topic.
"I'll explain to you later on. Take a break now; we'll resume training after 10 minutes."
After that being said, the two adults remained standing as they talked about something while the two children sat a few meters away from them. Liana watched patiently as Kiri drank from a bottle of water she gave him when they sat there. Upon finishing up the contents of the bottle, the boy threw it in a trash can nearby and wiped his wet mouth with the sleeve of his shirt. Liana chuckled then playfully threw a clean white towel on his head.
"You should use that to wipe yourself you know." She told him with a grin.
Kiri took the towel from his head then stared at it as if contemplating what to do with it. He shrugged after a few seconds then used it to wipe the pending sweat on his forehead. Then there was silence.
His eyes wandered to the small frame of the girl beside him and finally gave in to the curiosity that's building up in him.
"So…" he began after diverting his gaze from her. "Where did you get it?"
Liana blinked at his question.
"What?"
"Where did you get it?...that innocence of yours?"
An 'o' formed in the girl's lips as she understood his question. She raised her legs up to her knees then wrapped her arms around it. She rested her chin on her knees then tried to form the words to explain.
"Hmm…they said this innocence saved my life…that I already have it since I was born."
Kiri thought about her answer then glanced at her in confusion.
"Then you inherited it? From your mother?"
The girl shook her head with a smile. "No. Mommy's an ordinary person with an equipment type innocence."
"Then is it from your father?"
"No." Liana answered again with a laugh. "I didn't inherit it from my parents Kiri-kun. The innocence just came to me when I was still a baby."
"Then attached itself to your body." Kiri continued with a wince. He took the towel again and wiped his neck.
"I don't mind." Liana responded with a chuckle. "It's what keeping me alive, they said. So I should treasure it."
The boy nodded then lowered his hand holding the towel. He diverted his stare to the two adult exorcists talking with each other just a few meters away from them. Eyeing the sword innocence of his master, another question formed in his head and he faced Liana again.
"Why aren't you training then if you already have that innocence since you were a baby?"
The question made the girl frown and for a moment, Kiri thought he had offended her.
"They say my case is very rare so all I did was to have check-ups on my body every year. They say they'll tell me if I'm ready."
The depressed tone in the girl's voice made Kiri struggle to say something to comfort her, but he can't form any words to tell since he himself was not familiar to parasitic types and all. Liana saw him struggle though and nudged him on the shoulder with another boyish grin, as if she was the one comforting him.
"Don't worry about it Kiri-kun." She told him. "Besides, even if I'm ready, there won't be any exorcist available to take me as their apprentice."
What she said made the boy raise a brow.
"Your mother's a senior exorcist, so as Lavi-dono."
Liana chuckled. "I know. But mommy's the assistant supervisor at the Science Department so she can't take any apprentice. Aside from that, she's also too busy with missions to actually teach a newcomer."
"Lavi-jii-chan can't take me either." She continued with a sigh. "He's obligated to only teach someone who will inherit his title as Bookman."
The boy confused over the term "Bookman" but chose to forget it for the moment. He nodded.
"Then how about –
He stopped mid-question then slowly glanced at her in surprise.
"That reminds me, where's your father?"
His question was spoken louder in surprise so it caught the two adults' attention. The children didn't notice though and continued their conversation, mainly with Kiri waiting for the girl's answer.
Liana tensed at the boy's question and she briefly glanced at her two uncles who were eyeing her with concern, as if asking if she needed help. Their concern made her decide to answer Kiri to show them that she can handle herself – maybe displaying a small act of independence can show them that she's ready to be an exorcist.
"Daddy's away, mommy said." She began with a sad smile. "So I can't see him for now."
Kiri nodded. "Is he an exorcist? Is he away because of a mission?"
Liana suddenly became uneasy with his follow-up questions since she didn't know how to answer them. Her mother failed to tell her any more information aside from "Daddy's away". She briefly remembered the times when she pulled some tantrums so that her mother would tell her more, but her okaa-san remained silent about it, only leaving her with a serious "I'll explain to you when you're old enough."
Having faced with an uneasy situation with Kiri, she suddenly felt she should have forced her mother to tell her more about her missing father.
"Liana?"
Her thoughts were stopped with the questioning voice of Kiri. She faced him with a sheepish grin.
"The truth is, Kiri-kun, I –
"Kiri."
They were interrupted with the deep voice of Kanda calling his apprentice to train. The boy gulped at the glare directed at him by the Japanese exorcist before he stood up and ran towards his master. Liana glanced at Kanda from whom she received a nod, as if telling her it's already alright while Lavi was grinning at her. She pouted at that. She was saved, again, by her protective uncles. Did that mean they still think she's too helpless?
She sighed and buried her face in her arms around her knees. She wanted to start training too. Being the only person in the Headquarters who lives "normally", she found it absolutely awkward not to be able to do things similar to what her family had been doing. She understood that she was still a child and they only wanted to protect her, but what about Kiri? He's a child too! Why can he train already when she still can't?
I heard mommy started training when she was my age too… she thought in slight disappointment.
"Liana!"
Speaking of the woman who gave birth to her, she suddenly heard her mother calling her so she looked up and was surprised to see Lenalee beside Lavi, waving her hand. Liana's depressing thoughts were temporarily halted as she stood up and ran to her mother, arms embracing Lenalee's legs when she reached her.
"I've come to pick you up!" Lenalee told her daughter in a cheery tone. Liana looked up to her curiously.
"Where are we going mommy?"
"To your check-up dear." The mother answered in a calm voice in an attempt to hide her anxiety.
"Officer Lucille is already waiting for you."
-/-/-
-/-/-
"Mommy, are you ok? Your hands are shaking…"
Lenalee took a deep breath before looking down at the worried face of her daughter. She gave the girl a small smile then returned her eyes to the hallways, gently squeezing the little girl's hand.
"I'm alright sweetie. I'm just a little worried."
Liana looked up at her curiously. "No need to worry mommy! It's just my check-up. I can handle myself!"
"I know." The Chinese exorcist replied with another smile. "I'm sorry. I won't worry too much then."
Contrary to what she said, Lenalee knew her worry for her girl won't be lifted until the check-up's over. It wasn't because she didn't trust her daughter to do well. Liana had been doing very good during her check-ups for the past five years, and she knew her daughter would do well this year too. But remembering what Officer Lucille discussed with her earlier in the morning, she can't help herself but to feel very worried even though the officer assured her Liana's gonna be safe.
What can she do? It's her motherly instincts that were making her worry so much.
There's something about how Lucille refused to tell her everything about the new check-up, as if it would make her angry or uneasy if she knew what the Administration was up to again. What the officer left her was a simple reassurance that it was only a test to see if Liana could activate her innocence, and if she's ready to be an exorcist.
So that's why she asked if I'll let Liana-chan be an exorcist. She thought earlier, remembering the conversation she had with Lucille at the party last night.
She stopped her thoughts when she and her daughter were finally in front of lab no. 21, where Liana's new check-up would take place.
This better be really safe, because if this turns out to be like the ones I had when I was –
"Mommy look! It's auntie Shandez!"
Again, her thoughts were interrupted by Liana's happy yelp when she saw the familiar South American branch head talking to her brother. She let go of the girl's hand and watched as Liana ran and hugged the female doctor in glee. Shandez laughed in surprise and hugged the girl back, her eyes roaming to the entrance to grin at the girl's mother.
"Lenalee-chan! Long time no see!" Shandez greeted as she stood from her crouching position and took Liana's hand in hers.
"I'm sorry I missed the party last night. I have to finish a load of research so I didn't have enough time to catch up."
"It's ok, Shandez-san." Lenalee responded with a smile when she finally reached the doctor. Liana nodded.
"Mommy's right auntie! I don't mind. I'm glad you're already here for my check-up!"
Shandez grinned. "I'm happy to hear that! Don't worry, I'll give your present after we're done here."
As the little girl cheered, Komui shook his head and arranged his glasses. He gave the doctor a sarcastic smirk.
"As if an unworthy present such as yours could forgive your unforgivable sin of being absent during my lovely Liana's birthday. Such insolence!"
Shandez raised a brow at the supervisor. "Oh yeah? As if a robot rabbit drinking coffee can actually be labeled as a worthy gift!"
"Ok enough, I won't tolerate arguing in front of my daughter."
Lenalee interrupted before the childish spat could continue. The two older adults 'hmphed' and looked away from each other. Shandez sighed as if tired then looked at the female exorcist in a slight plead.
"Oh, do something about that brother of yours Lenalee! He's becoming worse as he gets older!"
Komui's ears perked. "I heard that. And the same goes for you."
Lenalee sweatdropped at the two of them. She was about to scold them again when the doors opened and in came Officer Lucille and Gerald Vail, along with a few other assistants from the Central Administration. Their presence made the atmosphere serious and soon the other people in the room were sporting no smile at all.
"We should get started soon." Lucille muttered and motioned for the assistants to prepare.
That was when Lenalee fully became aware of the room where the check-up was supposed to take place. The room seemed to be used as a control room since a lot of buttons and wires can be seen around them. Then at the far corner of the room was a wall-sized glass window, where a single hospital bed with multiple wires could be seen inside another room.
She hitched her breath at the sight of that lonely bed in the middle, and the metal door that was opened at the edge of the glass window. She didn't even notice when Liana was already led inside the sealed room beyond the window, her smile directed towards her. Suddenly, seeing her daughter inside there, Lenalee remembered something and she seemed to know what kind of check-up would take place there, and she's not about to go on agreeing on that.
"Officer." She called to Lucille with a warning glare. "I swear, if you do something wrong with my daughter, I'll -
"You can do whatever you want with me if something wrong will happen." Lucille cut in with a serious tone.
She faced the exorcist in determination. "Just as I told you earlier, this check-up is harmless. I know this kind of scenario is awfully familiar to you, but this doesn't have any connection with it."
"Lucille's right Miss Lenalee." Gerald added. "This setup won't bring danger."
Lenalee felt a hand on her shoulder so she turned to see the assuring faces of her brother and Shandez.
"This is safe. You don't have to worry." Komui told his sister with a smile.
Shandez nodded. "I can assure you that. After all, I'm one of the people who made this program."
The Chinese exorcist stared at the faces of the people she trusted the most. After a good few seconds, she finally released a breath and slowly nodded in compliance, making the other people relieved as well. If the mother was finally calmed then they can proceed with the check-up smoothly.
After that brief confrontation, they all turned to the glass window to watch the check-up. Lenalee can see how her daughter was informed by assistants of what she should expect, then they went to attach the many wires to different parts of her body. After a few moments, an assistant faced them then gave them a thumbs-up.
"Her vital organs are functioning well." Shandez suddenly reported as she looked at complicated computer screens. "There's nothing wrong with her heart."
Lucille nodded. "Good. Proceed to phase 2."
Lenalee was about to ask what "phase 2" meant when she noticed an assistant approach her daughter and inject a liquid on her arm. She narrowed her eyes then turned to the officers cautiously.
"What's that?" she asked, eyes not leaving Liana.
"That's a drug that will put her in a dream-like state. No side effects."
"So you're going to put her to sleep?"
"Not exactly." Komui answered his sister. "She will still have a conscious awareness with her surroundings, but half of it will be under suspension."
The Chinese narrowed her eyes.
"Why do you have to place her in that state?"
Lucille sighed in impatience. "It's necessary for the test. Please just watch Lenalee."
Lenalee understood and finally stayed silent, although she was inching to state another question when the assistants began noting down in their clipboards. A couple of them glanced at Shandez and made some signs with their hands. Shandez understood all of them, with her fingers continuously pushing buttons in the controls. After a seemingly long 5-minute preparation, Shandez finally turned to the waiting people.
"She's ready. We can proceed to phase 3."
"Alright, start phase 3."
As soon as Lucille said that, Shandez pushed another set of buttons as the assistants stepped back to the four corners of the sealed room, their hands holding their clipboards in anticipation as if expecting for something to happen. For about six minutes, nothing was happening since Liana was lying still on the bed. Her eyes remained closed and her body was not moving. No one was speaking as they waited.
Then a finger from Liana's right hand twitched. The assistants tensed at the sudden movement and simultaneously leaned towards the girl's figure. Before they could even take a step though, Liana was thrashing her head from side to side, her hands up in the air as if she was trying to reach something.
"No! Wait!"
She was screaming and kept on waving her arms up. Her actions made Lenalee panic and she whipped her head to the still calmed officers.
"What's happening? Why is she like that?"
"It's because of the images she's been seeing in her simulated dream." Lucille answered then glanced at Shandez.
"Check her heart rate."
The doctor nodded then pushed some buttons again. Lenalee wasn't satisfied with the answer she got so she approached Lucille and pulled her right arm to get the officer to look at her. The action was sudden and Lucille was forced to look at the impatient eyes of the Chinese exorcist.
"Tell me what this dream is that she's seeing."
Her demand made the officer silent for a moment and she carefully glanced at the watching supervisor behind the exorcist, as if asking permission. Komui nodded at her with a helpless smile, telling her through the eye that it's better if they let Lenalee know. So with an equally defeated sigh, Lucille glanced at an assistant in the control room and nodded while gently retrieving her arm from Lenalee's grip.
"Show the simulation." She ordered.
The assistant didn't waste time and soon, the largest screen in the room was opened. There were a couple of seconds where statics can only be seen but when it died down, a number of familiar images shocked the Chinese exorcist.
"T-That's…"
The screen was showing him in his teenage years, during the time when he first came to the Order. He was facing a woman who was unfamiliar.
"No! Nii-san that's an akuma!"
Liana was a few meters behind him, arms reaching in an attempt to get the attention of the young man and inform him of what she knew. Her cries did catch his attention so he turned then gave her a small smile – the same smile he usually gave to assure someone that he would be ok, that everything would be alright.
Lenalee hitched her breath as she watched him activate his innocence in the screen, the crimson damaged arm transforming into a larger clawed one that was his innocence, before he jumped and swooped his arm down to destroy the already revealed akuma in half. The scene was so nostalgic to her that Lenalee found herself almost tearing up a sob. But there was something important going on so she kept her feelings down and prevented herself from crying. It was not the right time.
"Why are you using his image for this?"
She asked, eyes not leaving the screen. Komui chose to answer her question.
"For the past five years, we've been thinking of a way to help Liana activate her innocence without forcing her. We've been letting her watch the trainings of the newcomers so that she could get an idea how. But then, she doesn't seem to get it."
Lucille nodded. "Then after analyzing and brainstorming her case, we somehow understood the problem."
"It's because Liana is a parasitic type. All the newcomers for the past five years have been 80% equipment types so of course she wouldn't know how to activate hers since she's different. We figured we have to let her watch and see how a parasitic type activates and uses the innocence, so we created this simulation."
Komui smiled at his sister. "And the best way to teach her is to have him, the most similar to her case, demonstrate how it's done."
There was silence after that while Lenalee digested what her brother and Lucille explained. Her eyes were still not leaving the screen as if she was absorbing everything that's happening in the simulation, making the officer smirk at her antics.
"Savoring this chance to see him?" she whispered to the other female. "I can lend you that simulation."
Lenalee chuckled and shook her head, finally diverting her gaze to smile at the officer.
"Thank you, but it's ok. I don't need it."
Lucille sighed. "You don't mind, do you? Us using your fiancé's image without your permission…"
There was a moment of silence until Lenalee gave the other female an amused look. She smiled at her.
"Is this the reason why you refused to tell me any details earlier? You're worried about the simulation?"
Lucille tensed then a slight blush appeared on her face.
"W-Well, who knows if you'll be angry or not? And I'm so not worried about you."
"I don't mind officer." The Chinese answered. She chuckled before her eyes returned to the screen.
"I'm actually glad you used his image to help Liana-chan."
Their conversation was halted when a bunch of akuma appeared in the screen, and the young image of Allen Walker faced Liana with a serious stare, as if he was about to say something. They watched as he reached out and held his hand to the little girl.
"He's inviting her to join him?"
Lenalee asked mostly to herself while she anticipated what her daughter would do. No one answered her since the others were also expecting what Liana's next action would be, as it would signify if she can be an exorcist or not.
They gasped when the girl on the screen stepped forward then nodded.
"She's going to do it." Komui stated in a half-nervous half-excited voice.
They held their breath when Liana closed her eyes as if concentrating while the young Allen took care of some of the akuma. The assistants inside the sealed room were hastily jotting down notes on their clipboards while Shandez was frantically pushing buttons and pulling levers on the controls. About 20 seconds after, Shandez suddenly stood from her seat.
"Her heart beat and blood pressure are shooting up in an impossible rate!"
She turned to the shocked people inside the control room.
"Officer, what are we going to do?"
A tensed silence filled the room while the doctor and the assistants waited the officer's decision, with only the attacking noises from the simulation the only things keeping them from panicking. A sweat drop rolled from Lucille's forehead as she cleared her throat.
"Liana's heart is an innocence so obviously it's not an ordinary body organ."
She slowly glanced at Lenalee who was surprisingly watching the simulation in a calm manner.
"But she's still a human being…" Lucille continued with a nervous gulp. "So it's time to –
"Wait."
The sudden interruption of the Chinese woman caused the others to tense up more and simultaneously turn to her to wait for what she had to say. Lenalee gave them a serious stare.
"Don't stop it." She stated then went to watch her daughter in the screen again.
"Liana-chan's doing her best there. If we interrupt this, it's like saying we don't believe in her."
A small smile went up to the mother's lips. "Let's wait for her."
There was a pregnant pause after that while the others tried to convince themselves that it was the same Lenalee – who was so worried earlier, who told them to wait and let her daughter do what she had to do. She had a point though and they all understood her feelings right away, so when it was obvious that Komui and the others agreed with Lenalee, Lucille nodded at Shandez and told her to just continue.
"Monitor her vital signs, especially her heart rate." She ordered. Shandez nodded back then went back to the controls.
With the interruption gone, they all returned to watching the screen in front of them. Young Allen was already finished with half the akumas that appeared, while Liana was still concentrating on trying to activate her innocence. Suddenly, a glow was released from her chest simultaneously with her real self from the sealed room. The assistants inside it were taking down notes more quickly as ever as the others stared unwaveringly at the screen. They hitched their breath and anticipated for the long-awaited activation of Liana's innocence.
But after at least 5 seconds, there was a sudden burst of glow then the neon green aura slowly diminished from the girl's chest. Lenalee and the others watched as Liana opened her eyes and stared down in confusion, as if she didn't know what happened.
There were a few eye blinks between the adults until they simultaneously sighed then looked at Shandez, expecting a report. The doctor felt their stares so she turned to them with a sweat drop.
"Looks like it's a false alarm…" she pointed at a digital chart in front of her. "She's ok. Her heart rate's normal now."
There was a somewhat exasperated sigh from Lucille before she shook her head in slight disappointment and pointed at the simulation.
"Ok, that's enough for now. Stop the simulation."
As soon as she said that, the screen turned black and Liana opened her eyes from the sealed room. She blinked a few times before sitting up on the bed, her hands immediately rubbing her eyes. The sound of the door opening reached her ears so she looked up to see her mother, her uncle, Shandez, and the two officers walking towards her.
"Liana-chan!" Lenalee greeted cheerfully before pulling the girl to her for a hug.
"How are you feeling?"
Liana hugged her mother back then her eyes widened in excitement.
"You won't believe this mommy! I had this dream where there was this awesome nii-san who fought akuma! His arm is his innocence mommy! Just like me with my heart!"
Komui and Shandez shared a knowing smile upon hearing what Liana said while Lenalee chuckled then nodded. She pulled away from their hug then took the girl's hands in hers.
"Really? Did he fight good?"
Liana nodded again. "Uh-huh! He's really great mommy!" Suddenly, her eyes were downcast.
"But…"
"But what?"
"I wish I could help him…"
No one answered since the adults weren't really sure what to say. Fortunately, they don't have to say anything any longer since the little girl saw how their faces were contorted with concern for her. She smiled up at them in an attempt to show to show that she's alright.
"It's ok. It's just a dream anyway."
She gently pulled a hand away from her mother's grip then placed it on top of her chest, above her heart. She gave Lenalee a determined grin.
"I'll definitely activate my innocence next time so I can help that big brother in my dream…"
-/-/-
-/-/-
After a final checking on Liana's body and a brief discussion of the results, the mother and daughter were finally allowed to return to whatever they were doing before they were called for the check-up. Liana quickly went on her way towards the training grounds, very much eager to show Kiri the new book she received from Shandez as a birthday present. Lenalee, on the other hand, was on her way towards the lounge area to talk with Miranda and her other friends, since she knew they were also eager to know the results of her daughter's check-up.
"So, how did it go?"
The Chinese exorcist released a small gasp and turned around with an irritated pout. She gave the red head a small glare.
"You surprised me Lavi! Quit doing that!"
Lavi only chuckled then gave her an apologetic grin.
"Sorry, didn't mean to do that." He looked around. "Where's Liana-chan?"
"Off to show Kiri-kun her new book."
The male started walking with her. Lenalee didn't complain since they were both going to the same destination anyway.
"Is she alright?" Lavi asked after awhile. "What did Officer Lucille say?"
The female paused for a moment before she sighed and started explaining the results they got from the check-up.
"She's fine. No abnormalities are found in her heart and she's as healthy as usual."
The red head looked at her from the corner of his eye then smirked.
"Something from your face tells me there's more to it." He gently nudged her arm with his elbow.
"Come on, you have to tell me. She's also precious to me you know."
The woman beside him giggled then swatted his elbow from her. She smiled at him.
"I know how you adore her, dummy! I was about to tell you anyway."
"Then go on! I'm all ears."
Lenalee playfully frowned at him then muttered a low "so impatient!" before she started forming the words inside her head.
"Well, they tried a different 'check-up' this time. Honestly though, I wouldn't call it a check-up. It's more like a preparation for training."
As she expected, her fellow exorcist suddenly looked down at her with a Bookman's interest.
"And what's that new check-up all about?"
A pregnant pause…
"It's a simulation." She continued with a serious tone. "They showed her a simulation where a young Allen was fighting akuma. Using his image, they tried to get Liana-chan activate her innocence."
Lavi raised his eyebrows. "Wait, hold on a sec…" he half grinned. "They used his image in the simulation?"
"Yes."
His half grin turned into a full amused one as he paused for a moment to think. As if an idea formed in his mind, he turned to look at Lenalee with a knowing stare.
"They want Allen to teach Liana how to use the innocence, aren't they? Since Allen's the closest we have that resembles her case, it's a good idea to get him to teach her in a simulation…"
He nodded in approval. "I have to admit, that's a pretty good strategy they got there."
"I think so too." Lenalee added. "It's the first time her heart had a reaction. The cross on her chest was practically glowing during the simulation."
"So she's not even scared of the akuma? Did she manage to activate her innocence?"
She put a finger on her chin as if thinking. "I was surprised when she wasn't terrified of the akuma image in the simulation. Maybe it was because of the pictures and videos she had been seeing during her stays at the Science Department…"
She sighed. "…and unfortunately, no. There was a strong reaction but Liana-chan failed to synchronize. Brother told me that it's nothing to worry about since it was only the first time, and they're kind of forcing her to activate it anyway."
"What's the verdict then? Is she fit to be an exorcist or not?"
"Based from what happened, they said Liana-chan is fit and capable to fight. We just have to help her synchronize. So from now on, they will be concentrating on that."
Lavi nodded in understanding. 'So there's no helping it huh?' he thought to himself as he pictured the face of the little girl in his head. Truthfully, he would prefer it if Liana would stay as a normal girl. Like Lenalee, he hoped the girl would grow to live like other girls – playing, going to school, having friends and crushes…something totally different from the dangerous life of an exorcist. It's not only because her parents were his closest friends and she herself had already been important to him. It was also because he saw how her parents suffered during the war, how they both suffered both physically and emotionally. Remembering those times, he wished their daughter didn't have to go through such a life. He wanted the little girl to stay pure.
But then, her destiny as an exorcist had been marked ever since the innocence came to her and acted as her heart. They let her dream and have a goal like that since she was just a child and they thought she would just grow up and forget about it. But Liana was virtually so inclined in being a great exorcist and now that the Central's on it too, he guessed there's no stopping it now.
"So you're ok about it now, Lenalee? Finally letting your little girl pursue her dream?"
He thought his friend would be staying silent and would give him an impression that she didn't want to talk about it, just like what she did a few times before. But contrary to what he expected, the woman was sporting a bright smile with her eyes showing a certain warm spark.
"You know that I'm not alright with it…" she started as if reminiscing. "But that was before. When I found out the reasons she has for wanting to be like us, I can't disagree any longer."
Lavi's ears perked up, in time to break his surprise. "Reasons? What are her reasons?"
Lenalee looked up to him.
"She wants to protect us Lavi…everyone here. She wants to protect her family. It's like she doesn't want to be left behind…"
"Just like you." Lavi stated. The female exorcist froze for a moment then nodded with a small smile.
"Yeah…just like me."
Then her smile widened. "On top of that, she said she'll bring her daddy back. Maybe that's the main reason why…"
"She'll bring him back?" the red head asked in slight disbelief. "She said that?"
The mother giggled.
"Yup."
Silence…
"Woah…" Lavi muttered, his lips slowly forming into a grin again. "That girl sure has guts! I didn't think she would say something like that…"
Lenalee nodded. "I was surprised myself too. I know she wants to see her father. But for her to swear that she'll bring him back…I was really surprised."
"And when I saw her determined eyes…" she continued with pride.
"…I felt that she will do it. Somehow I knew she will definitely do it, and I'm not saying this because I'm her mother. That's why I'm going to give her a chance."
"Well, she has the same determination her father has…I guess I shouldn't be surprised if she really did manage to bring him back."
The two friends stared at each other, pride and understanding sparkling in their eyes.
Lavi smiled. "Since the mother fully approved of it already, I'll give my full support to Liana-chan too!"
"I knew you'll say that!"
They laughed and talked more about the simulation, with Lenalee relaying how Liana admired Allen in the simulation, and how ironic it was that her daughter didn't even know that the young man she saw was in fact the father she desired to see. Lavi nodded and relayed his thoughts about it also, saying that at least she liked Allen even if it was only a man-made image. It would make things easier for them at the time the Destroyer of Time finally wakes up.
"Oh, Lenalee-sempai?"
They simultaneously stopped at the mention of the Chinese exorcist's name around the corner of the hallway. The two friends looked at each other in wonder then slowly walked nearer to the source of the voice, their actions careful not to catch the attention of the one who mentioned Lenalee's name.
They stealthily took a peek beyond the wall and saw two female exorcists talking. One belonged to the batch that joined the Order just last year, then the other was among the newcomers from the last two months.
"Well, I heard Lenalee-sempai had a fiancé. Haven't you seen the engagement ring on her finger?"
"I saw that, sempai. But that's the point. Why is she still wearing an engagement ring? Isn't she married? I mean, is Liana-chan even her biological daughter?"
By that time, Lenalee and Lavi were already listening with raised eyebrows as they pondered the reason behind the two exorcists' conversation. The two were surprised that such a private matter would even be the topic of a gossip among their comrades.
Then again, it's been six years. Who wouldn't be wondering where the hell was Liana Lee's father?
AN: HIYAH PEOPLE!
First things first, belated MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR! I know this greeting won't do much to ease the impatience from some (or most?) of you. But I have a slightly better reason for being SOOO DAMN late this time. Oh joy!
Of course there's the constant reason of humongous school work. But the major reason is this: I HAVE ALREADY TYPED ABOUT 85% OF THE REMAINING CHAPTERS – which explains that long hiatus this story had. That means, the next chapters will be coming A LOT SOONER than before. I figured I should just finish it all at once than let you guys wait for another 3 months or so before the next update. So yeah, expect the last chapters by the next days or weeks. It depends on the amount I'll have to change or rewrite so I can't give an exact date. I can only assure you that you won't have to wait THAT LONG again.
That is, if you don't want to wait again. Or if you rather surprise yourself with a chapter once every 3 months, then just let me know. XD
Again, I'm sorry my friends! (You're probably tired of hearing this…XD) I'm happy you guys still liked this story even with the heavy delays and all. Now I don't really regret having a comeback here at ffnet.
On a side note: You may have noticed that this chapter is a lot shorter than the previous ones...this is actually half of the original chapter I've typed out. I have to cut it in half since it's too long...XD
See you SOON people! God bless! ^^