The water was slightly cold on his hands. Rhythmically, he scrubbed the uniform against the washing boards, and with each subsequent motion, a little more of the dirt, salt, and grime sheared away, like the layers of an onion. There was something oddly calming about the motion of washing clothes, he'd found. It was much like sword practice. It was part art, part movement, achieving a more tangible goal than even practicing katas. However, Vanya's uniform was supremely filthy, and it was taking him twice as long to wash it. Stubborn brown stains refused to come out as he scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed.
Before him, the yard stood empty. Long before the children had left to go home, unwilling to brave Mogadishu's streets in the dark. The dim courtyard was lit by a single torch towards the end, while dying sunlight filtered over the roof. There was not a soul in the yard besides Kanda himself. Even the dog had journeyed for the safety of the upstairs.
"Vhy do jyou do zis?"
Kanda looked up, his eyes darting to the source of the voice. Vanya sat on the steps, her white shift almost glaring in the dark of the stairwell. Her face was carefully melancholy, a porcelain mask. He hated her lack of expression, that ultimately fake face. It was the reason Lavi oftentimes drove him half mad, wondering what it was the redhead was truly thinking and feeling - not out of some misplaced feeling of friendship, but purely out of survival instinct. A man's emotions informed his actions, and a roiling heart led to sloppy work. More than one person had been killed because he misjudged the stability of his counterparts.
This was why Kanda worked alone.
He slapped the wet uniform against the washing board, the sound reverberating in the air as he stared at Vanya, dead-eyeing her without bothering to hide his irritation.
"Tch."
He went back to scrubbing.
"I mean it. Vhy?"
"We're in the same room. You reek."
He took a bar of soap and scrubbed at a stubborn stain. It refused to come out, and Kanda knew if he pressed it harder, he'd risk tearing the uniform or cracking the board.
"Zis is not vat I meant," Vanya mentioned quietly.
His eyes tracked up again without moving his head. His hands continued the motions of scrubbing.
"I'm the Order's dog. They say bark, I ask how loud. That's as far as my loyalty goes," Kanda answered. "Same as you, CROW."
"I am not Central's dog," Vanya sneered.
"You want to bet? You could've left after your brother turned into salsa. Instead, you're here, sweating in Somalia with a baby, an old broad, a spoiled brat with her idiot servants, and a black Finder," Kanda spat.
Vanya visibly flinched, but he didn't even register it.
"Face it. They own you."
The way they own me. Kanda's hard thought was met with an odd keening inside. Perhaps that was another reason he had no desire to leave Africa. Here in the middle of the wild, they had no hold over him. He was free to do as he pleased, the Order far across an ocean and several deserts. They couldn't even call Din. The Order's sway was so small as to be minuscule, and Kanda reveled in that freedom. Here, he led a different sort of life. He could do laundry, eat semi-edible hard tack, look up at the stars, and forget that he was once a part of the Black Order for all of a few minutes.
"I am not owned," Vanya said quietly. "I heve never been owned."
Kanda sat back on his haunches, looking at Vanya. For once, her face was in a frown, and he balled up the uniform in his hands, squeezing out water and soap.
"Is that what's with your moping? You thinking about going back?" Kanda asked loudly, forcefully. "Get used to it. You signed up for this life, didn't you?"
Vanya jerked her head towards his direction.
"Jyou heve no idea ze zings I go through. Do not pretend to know," she said.
"Tch. And you have no idea of mine," Kanda shot at her. "You've had that pathetic look on your face since we got here. You make me sick."
Vanya stood up, feet planted firmly apart, as she shouted at him, "I am damned! I am damned to hell. Heve you been zat, Kanda? Are jyou slated for eternal torture? How could you know vat I feel? How?"
Kanda stared at Vanya, the uniform almost clean in his hands.
"You don't know what damned is," Kanda said quietly, staring her in the face. "You harbor a Loa, and you asked its help. Cry me a river. If you knew theology, you'd know better than to think you're going to hell. But then again, what else should I expect? You probably can't even read. You're an orphan with no one, so you just believe everything you're told. Go ahead, pine away, little orphan girl. In the meantime, I'll do my job – keeping us alive."
Vanya's eyes widened with disbelief at the jab, and her mouth contorted in a rictus of rage. Finally, she spit at him and raced up the stairs.
Kanda sat with her uniform in his hands, wondering what had possessed him to say the things he had. Yet, he oddly felt no regret. She was running from the truth of it. For so long, she'd taken it for granted, and now she had to struggle with it. Well, that was fine by him. If it got her out of the funk she was in, all the better. He looked down at the uniform that was almost dry from wringing, and he sighed as he stared at a single, stubborn spot in the fabric. Well, that was too bad.
He hung it up on a string and left it there, trusting that Mogadishu's air would dry it out.
One by one, they came back. First, Lavinia and her entourage trailed in, footsore and weary after so much shopping. Kanda almost had to give praise to the servants for carrying such a burden, while Lavinia fawned over the samurai, much to his distaste.
"Oh, and I had thought of getting you a new pair of boots to replace that ratty old pair you have, but I didn't know your size," Lavinia said.
Kanda glared. He liked this pair. They weren't ratty. They were broken in.
"And the train tickets?" Kanda asked, trying to change the subject. Behind Lavinia, he could see the servants struggling to walk up the stairs. A few times, Kanda tensed as they swayed back and forth under their charges, ready to fall right back down the stairwell.
Lavinia, unaware, stated, "Taken care of. We are to be on the train to Addis Ababa tomorrow at around two in the afternoon, and we will reach the city at seven in the morning four days later. It is quite the long train ride, I'm afraid. It is all paid for, however, and we have first class, of course."
Kanda, who was leaning ever so slightly to get a view of the servants going up the stairs, only muttered an absentminded, "Uh-huh. Good."
"Um... darling, would you mind sharing a train car with me? We could have our own personal box," Lavinia sing-songed.
Kanda was brought back to Earth and stared at her.
"No," he stated bluntly, his brow furrowing.
"Oh, well - nothing ventured, nothing gained," Lavinia sighed as she finally turned around to head upstairs. Before she disappeared entirely up the flight, she poked her head down and asked, "Will you be down here long? We're to eat in a fabulous little restaurant in about an hour."
"I'll be up after you," Kanda assured. In fifty-five minutes, he added mentally.
Lavinia, missing the omission of exact time, clapped her hands with anticipation and disappeared upstairs. Kanda rubbed the bridge of his nose in exasperation.
Not long after, Ellis came in, and immediately she trod up the stairs. Kanda frowned at her oddly standoffish behavior.
"Hey."
She turned around innocently.
"Oh. Hello, Kanda, dear. Have a good day?"
He stared at her a bit, before saying, "Yeah."
Ellis gave him a tut and stressed, "Yes. Young gentlemen do not say yeah."
"This one does," Kanda grumbled at her retreating back, leaning against a wall.
Abruptly, he realized that Din should have been back quite a while ago. Worry niggled at the back of his mind, but he tried his best to quell the sensation. After all, Din was a capable Finder, perhaps the only capable Finder Kanda had ever met in his life. He wasn't sure where the Order got their men from, but he was pretty sure the stock they had were all inbred idiots who couldn't tell you the end of a sword if it were stuck in their bowels. Oh, how he loathed the underfoot Finders; Din was an incredibly refreshing turn of events. Nevertheless, Dingane was still human, and that put Kanda on edge.
He need not have worried. Din poked his head into the courtyard about thirty minutes after Ellis, just moments after the sun had fully set.
"H'lo, Mistuh Kanda! My 'pologies bein' out so late. Nthanda took us fer a ride," he said drily as he looked down at his charge, and Kanda was quickly bequeathed a single, somber infant.
Nthanda wrapped a hand in Kanda's hair, and the reassuring weight of the tyke put his heart at ease.
"We got a visitor, too," Din added, stepping out of the way.
Kanda narrowed his eyes at the diminutive man standing behind Din. Benny grinned at the less-than-happy Exorcist, and he waggled his arthritic fingers.
"Come, come, don't give me that look. I'm here with tidings! Unfortunately... they're not quite so glad... but they are tidings," Benny stated, toddling his way into the courtyard. He sniffed at its size and lack of furnishings, staring at the uniform hung up to dry.
"Quite the dump," Benny lamented, shaking his head. He turned around to the morose man, and he asked, "Have you time to talk?"
"We're going to dinner in ten minutes," Kanda growled.
"Ah, well, I guess I should join you! Bad news does pair well with good food..." Benny said, inviting himself.
Kanda's eyelid twitched and he grasped his sword hilt, ever so slightly pulling it out of its sheathe, while Din stood between the two with an awkward chuckle.
"We'll be happy ta have you. Right?" Din asked, looking at Kanda with a bright, plastered-on smile.
Kanda pursed his lips and let the sword slide back into its sheathe. Mugen would be taking no chunks of old men today, it seemed.
"Oh, boys, it's time for din-din! Ah - we have company. Mr. Benjamin, it is so nice to see you again!" Lavinia gushed as she barreled down the stairs in an absurdly expensive dress, as if she were a lily in a trash heap.
Kanda could have puked. She was begging for all of them to be robbed. Every ruffian within ten miles could smell the naivete and careless aura of perceived invincibility.
Benny's smile suddenly froze in place as he was swamped by layers of femininity, perfume and all, and he gave Din and Kanda a look. Neither made a move to help.
Lavinia held Benny out at arm's length and said, "My, you've even got a bit less hair. We haven't been gone that long, have we? Oh, well, look at the time. Come, come, it's time we got moving! You will love the place we found. It's just so quaint!"
They sat at the wooden table in unmanageable silence, each of them trying their best to maintain composure. Lavinia did her best to remain oblivious to her obviously horrendous choice.
"You let her choose this place?" Kanda grumbled to his left, Ellis sitting as straight as a rod in her seat.
"It seemed like it would cheer her up, after all that happened on the boat ride. Have mercy," Ellis groaned, as she tried to realign her spine.
"Quaint… you say?" Benny asked, shifting where he sat as he did his best to look less mortified.
"Yes! Quaint," Lavinia assured most vehemently as a chicken pecked at the hem of her dress.
Their venue was little more than a small table in front of a hut. Most of the chairs were stumps of varying sizes, though Benny, given his advanced age, had been graced with the only true seat available. Even that was in danger of falling apart should anyone stare at it too hard, and Benny seemed to be trying his best to balance on it without incurring any more structural damage.
The table itself was quite small, forcing them to get… cozy.
Across from Kanda, Vanya glared daggers in her white ruffled dress, an artifice from Lavinia's massive stores, and he chose to return them.
"Well! It's quite nice, isn't it? Open air, the wildlife, the… very rural feeling of it all?" Lavinia said, doing her best to prop up her choice of restaurant. Everyone gave her dubious expressions, some more hostile than others.
"The food gotta be good, else no one be talkin' bout this place," Din grumbled as he crossed his arms.
"Pity that the servants aren't here to join us," Ellis mumbled to Kanda, who smirked and retorted with, "Tch."
The servants had declined to eat dinner with them, perhaps knowing full well the results of letting Lavinia pick their eatery.
A beautiful Somalian woman suddenly busied herself around them and handed off a tray of glasses, along with a pitcher of water. They smiled politely at the woman as she said something to them in Somalian, before darting back towards the hut and yelling raucously at someone in the back.
Lavinia jumped as they heard the dying bwack! of a chicken, the thud of an ax following soon after. She put a hand over her heart and said, wide-eyed, "Good heavens! Did they just –?"
"Dinner," Kanda devilishly elaborated, crossing his arms and leaning back against the tree growing behind him. Ellis slapped his arm, and he jerked away with an incredulous expression.
"She asked."
"Don't be rude."
"Ahem. Now that we've, uh, gotten acquainted with our surroundings, I think I should go ahead and lay my news upon the table. Best to get it over with before the food arrives," Benny said, lengthening the word "food" a bit more than was polite. He received a brutal evil-eye from Ellis, but he stolidly ignored it.
Suddenly, everyone at the table sobered as they prepared themselves. Benny looked to each and every one, his face oddly dark. The torchlight did nothing to help the ominous feeling.
"Beware the Temple of Karnak. I cannot stress it enough how much you should not journey there. Do your best to stay away from it. I understand that is not your intended destination, but I have received dire portents regarding it. You will avoid much, much, much danger and disaster, if you can stay away from it," Benny said.
"Vat is… Karnak?" Vanya asked as she glanced at her compatriots, who seemed just as confused, with the exception of Ellis.
"The Temple of Karnak is a palace built in Egypt. It is considered a great wonder of the world, famed for its large, manmade lake. I don't understand why it would be of so much concern, however. Can you be any more precise on the issue?" Ellis asked while leaning forward over the table, which was so small that they were nearly nose to nose by that point.
Benny leaned back and shook his head.
"The problem with prophecies and such is that they must work themselves out. I'm afraid that they can occur in any number of ways, yet still remain within the confines of the prophesy I have been given. Yet, I know for certain that should you go to Karnak, someone – and I do not know who, so don't ask – someone will die," Bennie said grimly, his usually cheerful demeanor giving way to the gravitas of his warning.
As if to break the mood, the waitress came back with her arms completely full of dishes. Almost simultaneously the plates seemed to materialize before the dour attendants, and the woman was off again, shouting about something or other. Kanda's respect for her swelled as he saw a baby hanging off her back, held in a sheet. That was no mean feat.
"What… is this?" Lavinia asked with uncertainty as she poked the food with a finger.
"Oh – you eat it with your hands, dear," Benny said with gusto as he dug his fingers into his plate of what appeared to be chicken and rice, and he swiftly stuffed his face while everyone else watched with apparent confusion.
"My hands? And after all that talk of-of-of chicken slaughter and dying and Karnak and whatnot?" Lavinia spluttered.
"You really should try this, though, it is delectable. You did make a good choice coming here," Benny assured, waving a rice-laden hand at her.
Kanda sighed as he stared at the plate before him and dug in. He'd come to understand that a free meal (even one that was picked by the redhead sitting across from him) was a good one, and he knew better than to look a gift horse in the mouth. He sniffed the plate and was surprised to find it did smell good, even if the color was not what he was used to. He was, of course, a soba-and-sauce kind of man. He tentatively took a bite, decided it was palatable enough, and continued eating.
A small black hand reached up towards his plate, and he quickly fed Nthanda while he was at it. If he didn't, he'd end up covered in dinner.
"So, how do I know if I'm at Karnak?" Kanda asked as he tried to successfully feed Nthanda without making a massive mess.
"You can't miss it. Giant basalt columns, a grand water feature, the works. There's nothing else like it," Benny said as he polished off the last of his plate.
"Is it close to ze Headquarters?" Vanya asked as she took a few tentative bites off her plate.
"Unfortunately, yes – perhaps a two mile walk towards the east puts you right at Karnak. It would be in your best interest to make a beeline for Cairo as soon as you arrive," Benny suggested.
"Don't have to tell me twice," Kanda muttered as Nthanda half-gnawed on his fingers.
Benny suddenly waved a hand at Kanda, his mouth full of food. Kanda lifted his eyebrows at him. The old man swallowed, cleared his throat, and drank a gulp of water before finally saying, "By the way, you're going to drown. Again."
Kanda's eyes widened.
"What?!"
Ellis winced as Kanda grasped hold of his sword, Nthanda slamming the table with his tiny, meaty hands.
"Babbabuu!"
"You can't be serious. Is that avoidable?" Kanda asked.
While the others tried to save their plates from being bounced off the table by an overeager toddler, Benny sat with his staff in hand, grimacing.
"Er, well, that I do know and… no, it is not. While Karnak is an ill portent, your drowning will neither be permanent nor fatal. However, drowning seems to be necessary to the Grand Design—"
Kanda said something quite rude about what the Grand Design could do with itself, causing Lavinia to blush madly and Ellis to shout something to the effect of "Toddler in earshot!" Din rubbed his temples while Vanya discretely scarfed down the rest of her plate and the whole of Lavinia's.
Benny pressed his lips together in irritation and muttered, "The Grand Designer does not exactly appreciate that tone…"
Kanda sat down with a huff and went back to feeding Nthanda, softly stewing. Nthanda, however, spit out whatever he was fed, and was quite lively, trying to beat up the perilously overburdened table. Finally, Kanda put him down and shooed him off with his foot, sending him to chase the remaining chickens.
"Is that it?" Kanda finally asked, shoving his plate into the center of the table.
"No, but that's all I have to say to everyone at the table. I have other, more personal messages for each of you," Benny stated, his hands crossed over his full belly. "By the way, this was quite a fantastic meal. I will have to do this again sometime."
"I do have to agree. That was a good meal, though I could have done without the shouting and the language and the ill omens hanging over our heads," Ellis grumbled as she pushed away her finished plate.
Din only grinned silently, having polished off his own food without so much as a word the entire time. He'd even snagged Kanda's, as the younger man was too busy stewing about having to drown again.
Lavinia sat up with due pride, and she said, "Well, yes, I guess I did make a good choice. I'm glad that I – Wait, where is my plate?"
As they busied themselves to head back to the hotel, Benny sidled alongside Ellis, glancing at her.
Her eyes were distant, yet turned toward the young man talking - albeit it in hand gestures - to the woman who had served them their food. Benny noticed a small smile creep onto her lined face as Kanda gestured to the cloth that tied her and her toddler together, and the woman quickly went about unfurling it to show him how to best mimic this age-old technique.
"He's a good boy," Benny said at her elbow, nodding towards the Japanese Exorcist battling his own sheet of cloth.
"Oh, yes, yes. He's a bit rough around the edges..." Ellis muttered back.
"Jyou ken say zat again," Vanya grumbled as she flounced in her white dress behind them towards the gate that led out to the road, and Ellis straightened her posture, aware that they were still within earshot of the others.
Benny merely chuckled. He'd always enjoyed young love, and there was nothing quite like it than the odd spat. Then again, "love" was a rather loose term for whatever was free-floating between the CROW and her Exorcist partner...
Remembering his intended task, he looked up to Ellis, who was about a head taller, and stated, "It's a shame that he has to give that babe up at the end of all this. He seems to have taken to the role of father quite well, all things considered."
"Oh, dearie me, yes. You should have seen him when he showed up on my doorstep - well, library, actually - with that child. I don't think a giraffe in a swimming pool could look more lost. The mite couldn't tell the nipple end of a baby bottle, for goodness sake," Ellis chuckled. "I know he'd never admit it, but I think he enjoys being able to take care of that little bundle of energy. They're cut from the same cloth. If not for the skin, you'd think they were blood, the way they act."
Benny had to grin at that little hint of irony. A man who could never be father to his own children, fathering a child who could never have parents. The Grand Design had fallen in place well. Thinking on the cards he'd laid before Kanda, Benny's smile faltered. It was a pity such heartbreak was in store for this man, but he'd perhaps seen enough of it to have grown used to it.
"How much longer do you have until you reach Cairo?" he finally asked, doing his best to sound merely curious.
Ellis' smile faded ever so slightly.
"Oh, perhaps another month, maybe less, if we take a particularly fast train," Ellis answered.
Benny nodded sagely before adding, "But I'm sure that the African Order Branch will be glad to have another addition to their family. Correct?"
"...Yes, I'm certain they would," Ellis said with a smile, looking down at Benjamin. "Nthanda is quite the handful, so I surely hope they're ready."
She began to walk away from Benny, hailing Din and asking for him to hire them a hansom, if one were to roll by. Benny glanced back at Kanda, who now sported a new, brightly colored sheet tied in an intricate fashion, Nthanda swaddled in the middle. The babe was asleep by now, having been lulled by Kanda's walk and warmth. The woman who'd taught him was clapping him on the shoulder, and Kanda was nodding at her, the most genial he'd ever seen the man. The old clairvoyant pressed his lips together.
He had a bad feeling about all this, but he knew that there was little good to come of voicing his opinion to Kanda. Ellis was a much better liar than Benny had anticipated, but what should he have expected? If Kanda were to ever confront her, he'd never see past her charade. Benny hoped that, at the least, he'd put enough guilt on her mind to make her reconsider whatever it was she had planned. He had no doubt that Ellis meant for Kanda and Nthanda's good, but Benny had lived long enough to see good intentions put men in their graves.
And heaven help her if Kanda ever became aware of her treason.
"Hurry it up, old man. We've got places to be."
"Yes, yes, coming. That sheet, by the way, is absolutely stunning on you. The color really brings out your complexion. Ah- it was a compliment, boy, no need for the sword!"
Nthanda, as per usual, woke at precisely 2 AM to cry for attention. He wasn't sure why he woke up in such a fit, but he did, and his only means of expressing his unhappiness was through the sudden and persistent use of waterworks. After all, it typically caught their attention, and it meant he could be held and consoled for some thirty minutes before being put back in bed. Rarely did anyone besides Kanda rock Nthanda back to sleep - perhaps because Kanda didn't sleep until 3 in the morning as is - but this night, he was lifted out of bed by a less familiar pair of hands.
He continued his bawling as he was slowly taken down the stairs, a soft voice hushing him as he was rocked gently. Nthanda reached a hand out to take a hold of hair - and thereby grasp the depth of his caretaker's intentions - and a strand fluttered into his chubby reach. As he grasped it, he felt a strange, deep longing, coupled with something sour. It was like a double-flavored ice cream, with the mellow flavor of melancholy blotting out the other, almost gleeful and sour presence. Nthanda continued to cry, but now he recognized the voice that was speaking to him, though he didn't know what she was saying.
Somebody within the hotel yelled out their window, and Nthanda didn't need to touch them to know exactly what they meant. It was, after all, night time, and they were in the middle of some courtyard, Nthanda wailing in distress. Blearily, he recognized where this source of unrest came from - something bad had happened in his sleep. Sometimes he dreamt of things he didn't understand, and most of those things were frightening. The warmth of a bosom helped to quell the near-hysteria that typically overtook the tyke, and he finally began to quiet.
The sound of Russian wafted over his ears as he felt Vanya walk towards some destination, before he was jolted awake by the familiar sound of Kanda's voice.
"Where do you think you're going?" he hissed, and Nthanda immediately searched for the source of his caretaker's bass.
"Walking. It helps wit' ze crying," Vanya stated.
"I'm coming."
"Jyou don't need to."
"Oh, no, I think I do."
Nthanda began to drift after that, before waking again. Now, Kanda and Vanya were walking side by side in the dark, the glimmer of the moon the only illumination. He had no clue where they were, but it didn't matter to him. They could be walking through the valley of the shadow of death, and he wouldn't care, because these two - these broken two - were the people who would ensure he would remain safe, no matter the cost. Somewhere, in his little heart of hearts, he knew this fact, and it allowed him to drift in Vanya's arms.
Yet, he could still hear the two as they spoke, and he gently allowed their words to seep into his mind.
"Do jyou remember vat you said? That I chose zis life?"
"Hm."
"...I... do not know if I ken say zat."
"Your point?"
"I..."
Nthanda felt the deep, painful sting of insecurity, and he looked up to Kanda and Vanya, standing at the corner of a street. The world had fallen asleep, not a thing stirring around them. It was almost fantastical, with the blocks of buildings rising like so many toy bricks, their silhouettes outlined by the blue dark. Vanya was looking away, and Kanda was as well, and Nthanda knew that whatever rift had opened between them could not be mended without his help. He was here to make sure all of this went smoothly, and these two had to be in sync to do what must be done - whatever that was. He was, after all, a baby, and he didn't really care too much for the particulars, but the essence was the most important part. Vanya was broken in so many ways, and unless she started to share, she would never heal, and Nthanda would have none of that.
And so, he reached out and grabbed a lock of Kanda's hair, and he allowed the Innocence in his chest to whir to life.
Experiences flooded them both, and Nthanda knew they could feel it. He saw things he didn't understand - a young boy, grimy, with bruised feet and a large smile, towers that were topped with colorful, fat cones that made him think of ice cream, a house full of the ticking of clocks, the wind up of toys. He saw a man and woman, both so warm with smiles and pride. Then, he heard the blast of bombs and felt terror. Someone was holding his hand, the boy from before, smiling a gap-toothed smile, his face the spitting image of the CROW they'd traveled with. Suddenly, there was the feeling of fear, of longing, of hope, as he pulled them along towards a man in a black coat offering them freedom from the shattered ruins left behind by the raids, of the life they had lost, the parents who had died.
"Nthanda, let go!" a voice roared, but Nthanda was too far away to hear it.
And then the man was leading them into a car, and then... pain, suffering, but all for this boy, who continued to hold their hand and smile, willing them to believe in a better future, pinning bugs and appreciating the small lives that surrounded him...
"Stop, I'm telling you to stop!"
So here they were, after years of training, after the sting of the burns had burrowed into their foreheads, and he's standing in the train station at Joburg, when suddenly there's a blast and Alexei, wreathed in fire -
"STOP IT!"
The connection was suddenly cut off, and Nthanda was left holding a lock of black hair in one hand, the other still grasping Vanya's strand. Somehow, Vanya was on the opposite side of the street, with Kanda giving her a thousand yard stare. Nthanda let the hair fall from his hands, while Vanya tore his other hand out of her hair, and she hunched over, holding Nthanda close. Nthanda looked up at her face, and he patted it with his hand, feeling wetness as her mouth contorted into an ugly frown.
No... no, no, no, this wasn't the way it was supposed to happen.
"Why?" she croaked, at him. "Why did you do zat?"
She leaned against the wall behind her and sobbed. Nthanda, aware that something was wrong, also began to cry. Soft footsteps approached the both of them, and Kanda's hands took hold of the bawling baby. Immediately, he settled against Kanda's chest.
"Sit," Kanda commanded, pointing to a stoop. While Vanya sat, Kanda paced, Nthanda lolling in his arms while hiccuping, still crying. Vanya had buried her face against her legs, unwilling to let Kanda see her cry.
"I vas scared," Vanya admitted hoarsely. "Terrified. I hed no one. Jyou know vat zat feels like, having no one but zat one person. I-I-I didn't vant to be alone, and I didn't vant to go wit' zat man to a life I knew vas full of more death and killing, but he knew zat was our only chance to live. So I... I went wit' him. Because he always knew tomorrow would be better. I held hope zat if I died, I vould go to heaven where he is, but wit' zis... zis thing inside me, I just don't know. Alexei... Alexei was my world."
She rocked, holding her elbows.
"He vas my everything. We came into this world together, and I thought we would go out together, too. But... I was robbed of even dat," Vanya lamented, her voice breaking.
Kanda continued to rock Nthanda, the baby growing heavy in his arms with sleep.
"Zis was never a life I vanted -"
"- but with him, it was bearable," Kanda finished.
Vanya looked up at him, and she nodded slowly.
"He became the only light in a world you hated, and even dead, he's someone you try to reach. And when that's unattainable, what's left?" Kanda asked, nearly inaudible as he peered down at Nthanda, who was now softly sleeping. He looked over to Vanya on the stoop. He jerked his head to the side, gesturing back to the hotel, and she shakily stood up.
"Don't ever do that again," Kanda stated.
Vanya sniffed and asked, "Do vat?"
"You know exactly what."
Vanya looked forward while Kanda steamed next to her.
"I vill do my best."
A/N: Hello there, faithful readers! I am back from my trip - I was in Italy for a good, long time for school - and am now back in the saddle again, ready to tear through the rest of this story. Things are beginning to heat up! I enjoy slow-pacing as much as the next person, but I'm ready for some action-packed fun after all this gloom and doom. So, I recommend every grip the sides of their chairs and hold on for the next installment.
As for my reviews - wow! I've got some really great, in-depth reviews this time around. I'll try to answer everyone's questions:
amenokuma: Yet again another amazing review. Thank you so much for saying that about my slice-of-life writing. So often, I feel that it is overlooked purely because it's less than action-packed, and it's especially difficult when it takes place in a more shonen series. I'm so glad you enjoyed how I wrote slice of life, as I really do enjoy it when it comes to these sorts of stories. To know that you enjoyed it really encourages me to reach more into those small moments! And - yes, this is the calm before the storm, good on you for picking it up!
pikaree1: Oh, man, there were so many reviews! I was ecstatic to see that many reviews off a single story! All of them were very in-depth, very insightful, and I will keep in mind the things you've suggested - after all, that's what the reviews are for, right? I look forward to you being a part of this ride, and I can't wait to see what kinds of insights you draw out of the next chapters. My ultimate goal, of course, is to provide entertainment and enjoyment to anybody who reads what I write, and it makes me so happy that you were so in love with this story to "let it take over your life", haha!
stardancer1000 - Haha, your enthusiasm is appreciated! Glad to know you love little tyke-bomb Nthanda, who is, indeed, the coolest baby ever, though I think I would hate to babysit him. He'd be a tiny terror. As for Lavinia, she's not going anywhere. I would suggest you get used to her. ;) She was originally going to be a one-off character, but I loved her so much that I decided she'd be a part of the team. And she's steadily growing! That is the important part about her. Remember that patience is key, even with someone who is spoiled silly.
Guest: I had several guest reviewers, so I'll answer them all in this section here. Lots of great energy with this crowd! Everyone's so excited about the last few chapters! I do ask - if at all possible - to put a name in the "anonymous" section, even if it's something nonsensical, just so I can address something to you directly! I love to answer questions, and it's hard when anonymous reviewers are simply labeled "guest". To the one guest who asked about Daisya teaching Kanda football: I would say, Daisya perhaps attempted to teach him "true" football and found himself a very frustrated teammate. A busted ball was probably involved. After that, no further teaching ensued...
And of course, I must, must, must thank karina001 for betaing for me and providing some very well-loved feedback. I couldn't do this as well as I do without your support.
Now, for the fun part - discussion! A lot of people have been very happy with the character development. Who do you think is the weakest in terms of character, and what do you think could be improved? Vanya talked about her past in this particular chapter - if in a roundabout way - so do you think her feelings are justified? Or is her past not an excuse for her behavior? What parallels can you draw between Kanda and the others who surround him? Can you speculate on why the Temple of Karnak might not be such a good place?
So much and more on the way! I've got a whole arc in the pipeline, and then it's a sprint to the finish! I hope that all of you are ready. I'm incredibly happy that you have kept up with this story, and I hope you find even more that you love in the coming chapters. God bless you all, and happy reading!