He snapped. Kanda has finally lost it.
Looking at him, the Japanese exorcist – I despite having had multiple arguments, threats and fights with would call my friend – I realized his mind had finally decided to turn off every humane emotion. He was now nothing but an animal. A hateful and vengeful animal that could think of nothing else but to destroy Alma, no matter the costs or sacrifices. It was all visible in his eyes. There was nothing in them. I didn't feel like I even knew the Kanda standing before me at all. I didn't recognize him.
The exorcist had gone over his own limits, meaning his hair had now turned an oddly purple color. It didn't look smooth, shiny and pretty any longer, it simply looked insane. Hair standing out in every direction as if he had been electrocuted, torn clothes, blood splattered all over, and that menacing and hateful look in his dark eyes, made Kanda look like a complete madman.
As Kanda finally jumped, raising his sword to make the final kill, I knew Alma would not be able to defend himself or move out of the way, because of the shocked look on his face. He was just as shocked to see Kanda like this as the rest of us, if not even more.
I clicked my tongue in annoyance, Allen and I moving simultaneously from the ground, activating our Innocence and interrupting the battle by placing ourselves in-between the two childhood friends. Allen used his sword to block Kanda's Mugen, metal hitting metal in a loud, cringing shriek. I was behind the white-haired exorcist, our backs facing. My arms were firmly placed on Alma's shoulders, getting ready to get him out of the way if needed. I turned my head, looking over Allen's shoulder and meeting Kanda's hateful eyes for a brief second.
"Move back, Alma!" I ordered, pushing Alma further back as Kanda started to slice out after us, Allen keeping up with the speed and continuously defending us.
"Wha-what's with you two?!" Alma exclaimed shocked in response, placing his arms awkwardly on my shoulders as if not really sure whether to push me away or not.
I could feel how the muscles in Allen's back were tense and shook with anger, a heavy energy settling upon the four of us, mainly coming from Kanda and Allen.
"What imitation is this?"
I froze, barely recognizing Kanda's voice due to the strong hatred and venom in it. I kept my eyes stern as I glanced back at him, the exorcist currently fixed on having a hateful glaring contest with Allen. Allen's shoulders slowly stopped shaking, his back still tense and stiff however.
"Umm, Kanda what's with that weird face?" Allen's voice came out a lot calmer than I would have expected, his rage carefully put under temporary control.
"Move."
"Out of all the faces I've seen upon till now, that one is the strangest…" He went on, ignoring Kanda's cold comment. "Why are you attacking Alma with such a face?"
"I'm asking you what imitation this is!"
And with that spiteful roar, I felt a strong sting of pain in my shoulder blade as Kanda activated his Fifth Illusion, managing to cut through both Allen, Alma and me. I felt like I could easily pass out from this one slash, he got us real good, and the pain currently shooting through my limbs was almost unbearable.
Allen and I fell with a hard, loud crash to the floor, stones and dust flying everywhere and scratching my skin and clothes.
"He's gone as far as the Fifth Illusion form. He's transferring his soul too much! You'll die Kanda!"
I gritted my teeth in response to hearing Master Zu's words, frustration and anger running through me. Kanda you freaking idiot! Stop it already!
"Alma…" I heard Allen half murmur, sitting up. I rolled onto my back and then copied Allen, getting into a sitting position. This one motion however, made an unbearable shock of pain run up through my back, and a warm liquid started to ooze out the back of my shoulder. I groaned and whimpered from the pain, watching as blood shot out from a large cut on Allen's shoulder. It probably wasn't visible from a long distance, but because I was seated next to him, I managed to notice the long, thick veins running from Allen's cut, up his neck and cheek. Allen's cut was much more severe than mine, probably because he was closer when Kanda hit us, and on top of that, the Noah inside him did not do well with Innocence.
"Kanda… Did you seriously cut Allen and Bella?!" I heard Reever shout, nothing else but disbelief and shock in his voice. His words were followed by another shock of electricity, and everyone with an exception of Noah and Exorcists, were thrown into yet another attack of electrocution.
Despite desperately wanting to leave everything else and run over to help them, I believed – no, I knew – Bak would handle Tokusa and his attacks. So instead I turned my eyes away from my friends and looked up, my gaze finding its way to the Earl and the Noah.
They were grinning.
The satisfied dark smirk on the Earl's face was much larger than usual, which was really saying something. On top of that, both Road in her doll form, Sheryl, Wisely and Tyki were all occupied grinning their own bums off. And those large, dark grins were making my blood boil. They were making my muscles tense and my pulse speed up, heat running up and into my face in rage.
I tightened my fists, my eyes glaring at the group of grinning Noah. This emotion was far beyond anything I had ever felt before. It was nothing compared to Tokusa or Kanda offending me, Lavi teasing me, or my parents scolding me for something unreasonable. It somehow felt much more personal. Why? Because I - as the only one - knew their true reason for doing all of this. I knew they didn't care about what happened to anyone but Allen, or rather, the Fourteenth. They saw the rest of us like a bag of maggots that simply needed to be disposed of. And they saw Kanda and Alma like a pair of pawns, ready to manipulate and use them for their own plans. It felt like they were (unintentionally) shoving all of this in my face. As if they were laughing at me, for not being strong enough to stop it. And that seemed to be the bottom line for the struggle of holding these secrets in.
I snapped.
"KANDA YOU STUPID MORON!"
I ended up screaming it much louder than I had ever screamed anything in my life before. And I ended up screaming it with such frustration and anger that if not for the circumstances, I probably would have scared myself. Which was probably the reason for everybody's sudden shocked looks being sent my way. Even Kanda and Alma seemed to have put their fight on a current hold, from pure shock. Kanda still looked absolutely animalistic and madman-like, but beneath that, somewhere deep in his eyes, I could see that even he was surprised.
"Don't you see what they're doing?!" I went on, ignoring the pain as I slowly heaved myself up on my feet, using a large rock by my side as support. Nothing seemed to matter any longer. The anger boiling in my veins was blurring out all reason in my mind. I didn't care if anyone would start to find me suspicious. I just needed to get it out - I needed Kanda to know that he was once again being used for something. That he once again was nothing else but the pawn in the game of chess. He was the pawn that needed to be sacrificed in order for the king to gain victory.
"This is all part of their plan!" I glared up at Kanda, bangs falling in my eyes and blood running down my temple and sticking to my tangled mess of hair. Most people present seemed confused by my words, but out of the corner of my eye, I could see the Earl and the Noah standing frightening still, their grins gone and replaced by a suspicious and shocked expression (except for the Earl of course, as he had a permanent smile). I ignored the looks I was receiving, setting my full attention on Kanda.
"The Earl doesn't care about you or Alma! He doesn't care about any of us! Don't you see?! You're both just part of a plan much larger than this!" I took a few ragged breaths, my fist tightening around my weapon. "This is all part of his plan to awaken the Fourteenth in Allen!"
And with that said, gasps of shock ran through the scene, everybody's mind currently trying to process what I had just said.
It was rather dramatic, I have to say.
They sounded like my mom the one time I had accidentally let a Jehova's Witness into our house.
I took another breath, ignoring the shocked, puzzled look Allen was giving me.
"Kanda, you know what happens to Allen when he is hit with Innocence. You and I have both seen it." I knew Kanda didn't have to be a genius to know that I was referring to our mission in Paris, where Allen stabbed himself with his Crown Clown. "The Earl and his minions aren't here to watch you and Alma tear each other apart. They are here to watch you snap, lose it, and then attack Allen. They are waiting for you to screw up and stab Allen with Mugen, because that would awaken the Fourteenth."
Letting Kanda and Alma process what I just said, I finally turned my attention to the Earl and the Noah, my frown twitching and turning into a large, confident grin. Why a grin? Because the look alone on their faces were close to making me laugh. That and because I finally felt like the superior. I had all of them nicely wrapped around my finger. I knew a few things even they didn't know yet. And judging by the suspicious look in the Earl's eyes, I could tell he had me figured out and knew I had a few things up my sleeve.
It was probably the stupidest thing I could have done.
But what are they going to do - sue me?
Kill me…
Yeah well, to each his own, right?
"Well, guess what Earl," I smirked, removing my hand from the stone and pointed it in the Earl's direction, standing on my own two feet. "Fate just so happened to give me a call. I'm now officially here to ruin your plan of awakening the Fourteenth in Allen."
A few seconds flew by as I made sure to give the Earl one heck of a confident smirk, letting him know I would be one annoying little fly getting in his way from now on. I then turned around to face Allen, the boy having gotten up and into a stand, his legs shaking and his arm stained crimson from the blood. Despite my oh-so-great speech, I could hear that Alma quickly dismissed it and went back to attacking Kanda.
"Which is why," I began, giving the white-haired boy a large toothy grin. I grabbed his shoulder, and then with all of my might, shoved him hard back onto the ground. "I'm gonna need you to stay put right there, Cotton ball. Despite my awesome and unbeatable God-powers, I can't protect both you and Alma, and stop Kanda from going on a rampage. So do me a little favor and stay here while I handle it, m'kay?"
Without expecting an answer I turned away from Allen, my eyes falling to Alma and Kanda, both of them battling again. I mentally blocked out everything else, forcing my mind to focus on those two in front of me, focusing on helping them.
Alma was the one that had gone berserk this time, shooting and slashing at Kanda without even a second of a break. And I could tell Kanda was reaching his limit.
I moved quickly as Alma got ready to shoot another Akuma attack at Kanda. Grabbing Alma's wrist, I shoved it to the side, the attack missing Kanda and hitting the empty ground instead.
"Enough already, Alma…" I loosened the grip around Alma's wrist slightly, turning to look at him with pleading eyes. "How can you do this to him? How can you make Kanda go through all of this again?" A single tear ran down Alma's cheek, making my grip loosen further. I knew Alma's true intentions for all of this wasn't revenge, but it was difficult to try and make him realize the wrong in his doings without exposing the truth. "You don't have to fight this way, Alma. There are other ways to solve something like this."
The sound of Kanda falling to the ground behind me made me look away for a brief moment, my concentration faltering.
Big mistake.
Alma took this as an opportunity to wrap his tail around me, pull me off the ground and then start to squeeze. My breath got caught in my throat as the tail choked me, my eyes dilating and my body responding by trying to wiggle free from the grip.
"What are you? Yu's friend…?" Alma raised his arm, placing his hand in front of my mouth. I felt my heart skip a beat as I realized what he was getting ready to do. He is going to blow my head off…! "Other solutions you say? There aren't any solutions. As long as Yu is alive I –"
Alma was cut off as he suddenly fell to the ground with a loud BUMP, his tail loosening enough for me to get out and land on the ground. He seemed to be breathing heavily, as if a million shots of pain were running through his body. What the…?
"So his regenerative abilities are starting to wear out." The Earl said, his voice uncaring. "Ultimately he was made from the ragged body of some random Akuma that failed to die. Even with the power overflowing from the Dark Matter, you've met your end, Alma Karma."
"Sh… shut up… Earl…" Alma began to half-crawl half-drag himself across the ground, thrusting out his hand in a last desperate attempt to try and get to Kanda. "As long as… I can… kill…Yu."
My eyes instantly softened as I watched Alma, and as a result, I crawled over to sit in front of him, cutting off his way to Kanda and giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Alma, it's okay. You can stop now."
"Bella, watch out!" Allen exclaimed.
I reacted on pure instinct, grabbing a tight hold of Alma and jumping out of the way as I felt someone approach us from behind. The sound of metal against rock made me realize it had to be Kanda. I didn't really get that far away from him, as I was not exactly the strongest person in the world. I placed Alma carefully on the ground and then squatted down next to him, watching Kanda with stern eyes.
"Kanda! What are you doing?!" Allen yelled.
Kanda ignored him, turning his dark, cold gaze to me and thrusting his hand out, motioning for me to hand Alma over as if he was a tool.
"I'll destroy it. Hand it over."
The way he referred to Alma as "it", as if he wasn't even a living being anymore, made a cold chill run down my spine and my stomach squirm uncomfortably. I couldn't seem to find any words, not anything to reply to him, so instead I ended up simply shaking my head, my grip around Alma's shoulders tightening.
"I'm amazed." I heard Allen say, making both Kanda, Alma and I turn our eyes to look at him. The white-haired exorcist got up on shaking legs from the floor, shooting Kanda an awe-struck look. "I was wondering what on earth you were thinking, but you're not thinking about anything, are you?"
His face slowly turned hard as his words progressed. "Even with Alma before you, looking like this. You've closed the lid on your thoughts… because it hurts to think. You aren't even trying to confront Alma properly. Isn't he an important person that wanted to live together with you, even if it meant throwing your hatred of the Order away? Why are you running away, Kanda?!"
A dark, heavy energy seemed to suddenly surround Kanda as he heard Allen's words. I nervously swallowed the lump in my throat, as Kanda activated his Innocence even further, pieces of stone shattering and falling to all sides as an impact from the sudden force.
"What's with you?" Kanda took one threatening step, not toward Alma and me, but toward Allen. "The person who turned Alma into an Akuma… was you, wasn't it? The one who destroyed the Branch and even turned the Third Exorcists into monsters was you."
"Kanda, stop!" I yelled, my eyes darting from one exorcist to the other, panic starting to stir in my stomach. Please don't start fighting each other! Kanda ignored me, taking another step.
"You, who continue to stay in the Order despite being a Noah."
Allen's look went from shocked and hurt to furious and hostile. He got in a fighting position, activating his Innocence.
"Allen don't! Please!"
But he ignored me too.
"KANDA!"
"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT, YOU NOAH BASTARD!"
And then they both slashed out after each other, Allen with his Edge End that was actually capable of hurting Kanda, and Kanda with his over activated Mugen.
"You two stop it!"
"How could you possibly understand anything about me?!"
My body felt numb. My heart felt like it had stopped beating. My blood seemed to have frozen. My mind had forgotten how to breathe. All I could do was stare in horror as Kanda and Allen attacked each other in rage, hurt, betrayal and whatnot. And all I could do was wait for one of them to slip up. For Allen to forget and dodge an attack, or for Kanda to gain the upper hand and give the fatal blow.
"Edge End!"
"Fifth illusion! Explosive soul slash!"
They both landed a clean hit on the other, both exorcists wobbling to the side as blood spluttered everywhere, before they quickly steadied themselves and got back to hitting out after each other. What do I do…?
I was panicking. At this rate, it really would happen. Allen really would turn into the Fourteenth.
"Don't get… in my way…"
I jumped as I heard Alma, having completely forgotten about him despite the fact that he was right in front of me.
"I don't have time…"
Alma tried to crawl toward the battle between Allen and Kanda, his arms and legs unsteady and shaking. My eyes fell to him, a vulnerable and yet empty sadness pounding in my heart. I didn't understand how he had the power to go this far. His willpower was so strong - it was the sheer fear of Kanda realizing the truth that had let him this far.
"Alma…" I murmured softly, placing myself in front of him and gently putting both of my hands on his arms. Ever so slowly, I placed my head mere inches from his, making sure that no one, neither the Order nor the Noah, would be able to hear our conversation. They didn't have to, and I didn't want them to.
"Alma, why do you go this far…?" I let my hands fall from his arms and down to his hands, giving them a comforting squeeze. Alma looked up from the floor to meet my eyes, fresh tears falling down his cheeks and landing on our hands with silent PLOPS. "There's no need for you to do this any longer. Killing Kanda isn't going to solve anything, you know."
For a moment, I thought he wasn't going to say anything, but simply stare back at me. Then…
"What the hell do you know!?" He snapped, his eyebrows furrowing into an angry frown.
I heaved in a breath, pursing my lips in frustration. How dense can one possibly get?
"I know everything!" I hissed back, making sure to speak in a lower voice not to have anyone hear me. Alma looked mildly confused, but a larger part of him was looking back at me in rage. Despite the fact that he was probably considering strangling me, I continued nonetheless. "I know you're doing all of this because you're scared Kanda might realize the person he has been looking for his whole life is your previous incarnation! I know you're terrified of what Kanda might think if he ever finds out! I know you're scared he might hate you! So don't you even dare say that I don't know anything, because I do!"
Alma looked beyond shocked. "How do you –?"
"It doesn't matter." I cut him off. There were no longer traces of anger and hostility on Alma's face, but simply shock and confusion.
"Look," I whispered, giving Alma the soft smile he surely needed, "when you and Kanda were kids, you relied on each other. You went through hell, but you helped each other through it. You and him are friends Alma, you care about each other. So do you honestly think Kanda would hate you if you revealed the truth?" Looking into Alma's eyes, I could tell he was uncertain, so I simply continued. "Because I don't. And even though Kanda has spent his life looking for that woman, your previous incarnation, he needs to know the truth. Obsessing over one person isn't healthy, and you both need to move on, Alma."
For a while, nothing happened. I continued to stare expectantly into Alma's eyes, hoping he would have a change of heart. If he didn't, I would be screwed, because I didn't know what else to say.
Then, ever so slowly, Alma's brown eyes turned glassy, as fresh salty tears filled his vision and ran down his bruised cheeks. The tears were different this time. Looking into his eyes, I could tell Alma's brown orbs were filled with regret.
"Alma –"
"I didn't mean to," Alma cut me off in a distressed sob, "I-I'm sorry, I killed so many people. I was s-scared and so angry, when I realized the truth back then. I w-was scared of what Yu might think, and I was angry with Dr. Edgar and everyone, for m-making Yu and I go through it. I wish I hadn't t-taken it so far, I w-wish –"
Letting go of his hands, I threw my arms around Alma's shaking body and squeezed him against my chest. At first, Alma was shocked by my sudden tight embrace, his sobs and breathing stopping altogether. Then, like a child being reunited with his mother, Alma broke into loud sobs of despair. His body went slack in my arms, and I let the boy bury his face in my already messy hair, not caring if he got snot all over it.
This is all too much, I realized, my sight going blurry with tears as I ran a hand through Alma's hair, doing my best to comfort him. I did everything I remembered my mom did to comfort me when I cried - tightening my hold on Alma, running my fingers through his hair, doing circles of reassurance on his back. Whenever I made movements that were supposed to ease him, Alma's whimpers grew louder and his cries increased.
Why did this happen? I tried relentlessly to figure out how some people could do this kind of thing. To play the damn ruler of life and create weapons out of other people however they pleased. If the Noah were bad for killing innocent people, then what did this make normal humans into? Playing weapon maker and using innocent lives was the same as what the Earl did. Not only did this make humans inhumane, it made them hypocrites. They ruined other people's lives and broke them beyond repair. Looking at Alma I realized this. He would never be that same happy person that he used to be back when he was a child. After everything that had happened, there was no way he would ever go back to normal again.
I didn't consider myself a "fixer". I wasn't one of those people who had a natural talent for helping others get back on their feet again. I had never tried anything remotely like it, and honestly, I had always hoped I never would. But watching Alma who had become like this, broken down and torn to pieces, I suddenly wished I was a person who could fix others. I wish I could help him get the normal life he deserved. I wished I was one of those Mother Theresa ladies, who knew what to say and do in order for other people to feel better. Unfortunately for me, I wasn't.
Which is why all I could do right now was sit here and hold Alma. It was the only thing I knew how to do – to embrace other people and comfort them with the help of physical contact until they felt better. It didn't feel like much honestly. It felt as if I wasn't really trying. But then again, I remember my mom used to say that sometimes all people needed is a hug. Sometimes the course of one action speaks louder than a thousand words.
"It's okay, Alma," I reassured him, "you're not at fault. You did nothing wrong, you reacted like anyone else would have…"
I was aware of the fact that the fight between Allen and Kanda was still ongoing. I was also aware of fact that everybody else seemed to be in mild shock of mine and Alma's situation. I was aware that we had gained ourselves quite a few onlookers by now, all of who seemed to be in surprise. I wasn't really sure why people were surprised – maybe because of the unusual compassionate interaction? An exorcist comforting an Akuma? Maybe it was an odd situation…
"You are so kind…"
It was barely a whisper, and muffled because his head was buried in my hair, but somehow I still managed to catch what Alma had said. Chuckling softly, I patted Alma's head one last time, before we both broke apart.
"I've been called a lot of things, but that's certainly a first." I commented, running a hand through my hair that was now tangled up with blood, sweat, dirt, snot, and probably a few other things people would like to avoid any contact with. Alma wiped the last tear off his cheek, his lips tugging up and into an ever so shy smile, a silent agreement exchanging between the two of us.
Moving onwards.
Taking a deep breath to clear my mind, I turned away from Alma and faced the battle between Allen and Kanda. It looked like they had been at it non-stop, and they both looked exhausted at this point. Following their fight closely, I tried calculating my chances of jumping in and separating the two without getting pierced from both front and behind.
The chances doesn't exactly seem to be in my favor…
And then I saw it.
The one slip up that would be the end of what we know as Allen Walker. It was a very small one, barely noticeable. I know I wouldn't have noticed it if I wasn't keeping such a close eye on the two exorcists. But it was still a slip up on Allen's behalf. He lost his concentration, his eyes wavering with doubt for one teeny tiny second.
But it was enough for me to notice.
And it was enough for Kanda to notice, and take advantage of.
It was the black and white flashes of Kanda finally giving Allen the final pierce, the final blow, running through my mind that made my legs move from under me. It was the mere horrible thought of losing Allen to the Noah within him, to the Earl, that made me snap out of my not so strategic mind and simply run for them. I ended up moving, despite not knowing how to stop it or keep it from happening.
Multiple ways of keeping Kanda's sword away from Allen flashed through my mind. Images of me tackling Kanda to the ground. Blocking his Mugen with my fans. Creating a shield of rock in front of Allen. Grabbing Kanda's sword and shoving it to the ground.
But my mind and body seemed to have shut off and refused to cooperate.
I didn't realize what had happened before my eyes caught the sight of crimson blood spluttering, like a broken water tap that refused to get fixed, the blood falling from the human flesh that Kanda's Mugen had pierced without mercy. The thick, scarlet liquid oozing out, staining the ground with its heavy pattering, seemed to make everything freeze. The scientist's groans of pain had stopped, Fo's and Tyki's fight had frozen, all battle seemed to have come to an end along with time itself.
Kanda's dark eyes were wide, his pupils nothing else but a mere dot, dilating and staring, not in anger, madness or insanity, but in shock and disbelief. Shock and disbelief from seeing his own Innocence-wielding Mugen having made its way through the abdomen of his own comrade, and sticking out from the back like a silver spear of menacing death.
I heard Allen's breath catch in his throat, his breathing dying down and coming to an end, from shock or exhaustion I didn't know.
I didn't say anything. I simply stared. Stared at the scenery currently unfolding right before my eyes, my mind swirling with thoughts and was blank at the same time.
Honestly, of all the things I had thought of doing to make sure Allen wasn't awakened as the Fourteenth, my brain having twisted and turned ideas around, going through every inch of possibilities. The thought of this happening never actually crossed my mind.
The sword hadn't made its way through Allen's scarred body. Kanda hadn't pierced Allen mercilessly like in the storyline - his silver sword hadn't been stained red with the white-haired exorcist's blood. Kanda didn't stab Allen.
He stabbed me.
A/N: Hi...? Still here, and still writing. I can't believe how long it's been since I updated this story, honestly, I'm so grateful to all of you for sticking by this story and still leaving reviews. I'm not really sure if anyone will still read it, but I decided to give it a try and post a chapter I have been looking forward to writing for a while now. I did regain my muse for the story, and I still have a lot of ideas for it, but as I'm not sure how this new update will go, I have decided to wait and see what you guys think.
Do you want me to continue the story?