Kanda had thought nothing of her sudden departure outside. After all, she was a woman, and women did strange things, as far as Kanda was concerned. For instance, there was all that crying. He didn't know how many times he'd seen Lenalee or Miranda cry their eyes out over trashy novels, sob stories, or whatever it was that grabbed their heartstrings. And then there was the obsession with the romantic. Even his male comrades weren't immune. Mag's forthrightness regarding her distaste for romance was a godsend.

The sudden attention he was receiving from all these noblewomen - not so much.

"Would you fancy a dance?" another woman tittered, waving a card between two gloved fingers at him. He fought the urge to sneer.

"No, thank you. I'm busy," he said.

"You don't look busy," she pressed.

The young man gave her a dry look, and her ardor shriveled. This was no fish to be caught on a line. More like a shark being poked with a stick.

"I assure you, I am very busy," he stated with overly clear diction, and the woman huffed, gathered her skirts and went to look for another potential victim.

"Mister Kanda, sir. There was a disturbance out on the grounds. It sounds like some kind of scuffle."

His brow furrowed as he whipped his head towards the glass windows looking over the maze of hedges. Hadn't Magnolia gone out that way, saying that she'd seen something...? He cursed under his breath and weaved between party-goers in his bid to reach the door. Savon noticed his rush, much to his irritation, and the man followed in kind. Kanda didn't bother to tell him to go back, seeing as this was his mansion after all (and these snooty-types didn't take being bossed very well). He walked out the double-doors into the cool, autumn night and looked around.

"Where did you hear the fight?" Kanda asked the Finder on duty at the edge of the hedges as he walked towards the maze.

"There wasn't so much a fight as... just a few loud voices and a strange gurgling-"

A shrill scream ripped through the night air, and the three immediately ran into the maze of hedges towards the noise. Guards from all directions followed as the screaming continued, and Kanda's heart raced. A woman. That was a woman's scream. Not a scream of pain, not a scream for help, but a scream of terror. He pushed the thought from his mind, focused on his work. There was a job to be done. Now where was the blasted twit?!

After several frantic seconds, Kanda chose to slice straight through the hedges. He had no idea whose idea it was to put a giant maze on the grounds, but they obviously had been born without a brain. He sliced through the last of the hedges to the center of the maze, which held a fountain, a bench, a few statues-

He stood and frowned at the scene before him, unbelieving. The guards rushed past him, and he stared numbly, his eyes tracking between the scream's owner and the body on the ground... at his student's feet.

"Wait, no, let go of me, let go! I didn't do it!" Magnolia shouted, her gray mass of a dress splattered with blood. Her face was covered in gore, and her hands were red from where she'd had her hands on the body. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the woman who was being consoled by a few of the guards, her face buried in one's chest.

"Look. I didn't kill him. That woman over there did! She's a demon! She is trying to frame me! Please, I'm an Exorcist, I wouldn't do this to anybody, I was trying to save his life -" Maggie pleaded as she tried to yank her arm out of the guards' grip, but they were steadfast. Savon stood next to Kanda with a dumbfounded look, staring at the nearly eviscerated body lying on its back. Others had arrived by now to watch the debacle.

"Sir, what do you wish us to do with the assassin?" a fresh-faced guard asked, eyes flickering to the struggling girl, and Kanda snapped around to glare at him.

"She's not an assassin. You haven't proven anything," Kanda countered.

"I don't think it's too far-fetched to think she might be. After all, she was literally caught red-handed," a gruff, older voice said, one of the nobles that had come to rubberneck. A crowd was growing around the scene, the spectacle too alluring to ignore. Several women fainted at the sight of the young man in his suit, laid open from neck to navel, and many of the men had handkerchiefs over their mouth and nose, either to hide their expressions or block some imaginary stench.

"Kanda, please do something," Maggie pleaded as they dragged the young woman towards the mansion. "Monsieur Bergeron, anyone, please!"

Magnolia's eyes were filled with tears, but Kanda had to look past that. The evidence was mounting against her. Stupid! She'd let herself walk into a trap, framed herself, even. Her weapons were confiscated from where they'd lain on the ground, and the guards stood before Savon dutifully, Maggie slumped between them. Kanda tried to ignore the look she gave him. You did this to yourself, you idiot. What do you expect me to do?

Savon rubbed his mouth in thought, and Kanda wondered if he would administer judgment right then and there, just to appease the unsettled crowd. Already, some of them were shouting for the death of the killer who'd taken the life of one of their own. For all their 'nobility', they became a mob just as easily as any peasant Kanda had seen. Savon was a politician and nobleman first, and perhaps he had more loyalty to his kin than the Vatican. If he did...

Kanda's hand tightened around Mugen's grip.

"Take her to the oubliette. We'll deal with this like civilized men," Savon finally ordered. "In the meantime, I want a meeting with a few of the other nobles and Mr. Kanda as well. Send the rest of these men and women back to the ballroom, and take the poor dear over there to her personal chambers."

The color drained out of Magnolia's face as she was hauled away, and Kanda stared ahead, unwilling to meet her gaze. As he looked out onto the grounds, he saw a glimmer, and as he walked towards it, he found the necklace she had been wearing. With a pause, he stuffed it in his pocket, and he watched Magnolia's back as they dragged her to the mansion and whatever fate was decided for her.


The room was eerily quiet, save for the gentle tick tick tick of a clock. Kanda sat in a chair at a mahogany table, drumming his fingers as the other men, all nobles from different countries, digested their thoughts. They'd examined the body themselves, taken in eye-witness accounts from the Finders and the woman who'd been present, and gathered what information they could. So far, the prognosis was not good.

The man killed was named Alessandro Caravelli, an Italian baron's son. His sister, Lucrezia Caravelli, had been the only witness present at the murder, and she, too, had been covered in blood when she'd been led to her private quarters, practically incoherent. Her testimony wouldn't help them much. Unfortunately for them, there was some bad blood between the Caravelli baron and the Church, something about a brother, who was a bishop, refusing to forgive a sin the baron had committed due to a land disagreement. Baron Caravelli held no great love towards the Church, and it was rumored he'd even had a few priests excommunicated - via mine shaft.

Without an heir, the land Baron Caravelli owned would go to the next in line- his brother, the Bishop. Motive and means - it was all there.

The Earl had picked well.

"I don't see why we're all sitting here. It's obvious the girl did it," a tall, skinny man called the Regent of Orleans muttered. "Now, whether or not it was on the Church's behest, I have no clue - I don't mean to speak ill of the Vatican; merely that it would be preposterous to accuse the sister of the deceased of being a demon."

"Yet that's a possibility that must be taken into account," Savon sighed. "The Order dispatched Exorcists for this very purpose- to protect people from demons. What if she is right? We would have let a demon go."

"On the supposition of a young woman with blood on her hands," a fat Duke with mutton-chops grumbled. "Whereas we already know she killed him and have her right where we want her."

"But have you considered her character? Her youth? I spent quite a bit of time with her, and I can vouch for her kind heart," Savon said.

"I am also her teacher. She's too soft to kill a human being," Kanda concurred.

The other men in the room pondered this, until someone from the back spoke up.

"I can imagine you both have spent a lot of time with her. She gets to you that way, you know. I imagine she's an amazing conversationalist on her back."

"Pardon!?" Savon spluttered, taken aback.

Kanda frowned, not quite understanding the jibe as he searched for the owner of the voice.

A redheaded man walked around so the duke could better see him, and Kanda's eyes narrowed. Something about him was off-putting. Perhaps it was the almost insolent way he carried himself. Perhaps it was the way he seemed to look down his nose. Or maybe it was the fact his eyes were as cold and dead as a snake's. He was too cocky by half, and he seemed to know something the rest of them didn't.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I'm Lord Ethan Bentham. I've also made your dearest Exorcist's acquaintance, though that was a number of years ago. I hadn't thought I'd ever see her again, but Fate does enjoy her quirks," Ethan stated. "She's a quite driven individual, given the right incentive."

"Do you mean to sully this woman's honor?" the portly Duke asked incredulously, jowls shaking.

Kanda's eyebrows, which were usually pulled together, almost merged as the implications began to set in. Was he trying to say that...?

"Well, we already have decided she's a murderess, and that's only supposition. And I know she was a woman of ill repute from experience," Ethan said shamelessly.

"Lord Bentham! Some decorum please!" a thin Baron with a wavering voice pleaded.

"This is a convention of noblemen. We ask you conduct yourself-"

"Oh, quit with your pleasantries. At least I have the stones to admit my own proclivities. You all do the same, but you don't like to admit it. Don't give me that look, Ruthers, I know you enjoy far more laps than just your dear Eileen's. Either way, I speak the truth. Her character isn't exactly as spotless as the Vatican would paint her, seeing as clergymen are considered... pure," Ethan answered harshly. He stared down the table at the Japanese man who had not said a word in his student's defense just yet.

"You could be lying," Kanda finally said.

"And so could you. How do we know you have no ulterior motive for keeping a murderess out of the guillotine?"

"What would it matter to you if we did?"

Ethan smiled at him. "I'm merely presenting all the facts. I'd be more than happy to know she wasn't a murderous nun, as she's something of an old friend. As it stands, she seems well and truly cooked."

A nervous hand went up in the air and the thin Baron, accent as thick as pudding, asked, "Could you provide proof of your... connection to this woman?"

Ethan sat down at the table with the others in attendance, and Kanda felt a small well of anger grow within him. Oh, he was frequently angry. In fact, one could say he was always angry. Yet, this was a kind of indignant rage he'd rarely felt. After all, he knew the truth. She would do no such thing. But maybe that wasn't exactly what he was angry about. He was sure she was innocent of murder. This accusation on her reputation, however...

"Send a doctor down to examine her. You will find a single beauty mark on the back of her left thigh, as well as scars across her lower back," Ethan stated.

Reluctantly, Savon ordered for a doctor to be sent to the dungeons. The others in the room were curiously silent.

"And what of the body?" Savon asked. "The body was cut from neck to stomach. That takes some monstrous strength."

"I have seen women do worse," the fat Duke muttered. "Especially my wife. Have you seen her with a ham?"

The others chortled at the thought, but another man piped up, "These cuts were different, though. Her weapons are not blades, they are discs."

"Her weapons are made to kill demons. They're going to be very strong, obviously," the Regent of Orleans reasoned.

Kanda shook his head at that. These people knew nothing, did they?

"The sharpness of the blade or the strength of the weapon all depends on the strength of the wielder. Magnolia is not a strong woman. She is a defensive fighter," Kanda stated.

"Says you! You have something of a conflict of interest," the Regent retorted, adjusting his glasses on his thin nose. "She is your student and colleague."

"She is a member of the Order and subject to their laws. Not to mention, Innocence crystals... warp the user, if they are misused; or betrayal to the cause has been committed. A good guess says killing a human on purpose counts as misuse," Kanda spat back, leaning back in his chair and folding his hands over his navel. The room fell quiet.

"Well, it is quite late, as you all know. Perhaps we should all... all sleep on it for the time being," the duke, Savon, suggested. "It is clear we will not reach a consensus until more data is gathered."

"And the murderess?" the Regent asked.

Kanda stared at Savon, and the two locked eyes.

The duke smoothed his mustache and sighed. "She'll stay in the oubliette. Anytime we have questions, we'll know where to find her."

As Kanda got up to leave with the others, the small physician blustered past them to speak to Savon. Kanda had only to look on Savon's face to know what the physician had told him, and he tried his hardest not to grab the nearest blueblood and throttle him.


It was dark down in the cells below the mansion. Why a man would even need cells beneath his mansion was beyond Kanda, but nobles did strange things to feel powerful, and perhaps this was one of them. Whatever the point, this was where his student was being held, and he knew better than to leave her to rot. He'd never hear the end of it if he didn't visit her at least once before going to bed.

He stopped at a metal door manned by a single, sleeping guard. Kanda sneered at him and kicked his chair, and the guard started into wakefulness.

"I want in," Kanda grumbled.

The guard sniffed and undid the lock before resuming his napping position.

The light spilled into the tiny cell as the door opened. Kanda stepped inside and glanced at the wall, where his apprentice hung by her wrists like a side of meat. Her head was down, curly hair surrounding her face in a messy cloud. Her dress had been taken off, leaving her in a chemise thin as gossamer. She still had blood on her hands up to her elbows and across her face. By now it was tacky and brown, probably as thick as dried paint.

"I told you not to do anything stupid," Kanda growled.

He kicked the door shut, and it closed with a massive clang. Maggie jumped as the light shrank to only a square showing through from the tiny, barred window in the door.

"I-I-I wasn't sure... I didn't want to-"

"You could've gotten yourself killed."

Kanda stared at the far wall, unwilling to look at his shamefully, woefully, naively green student. Were all women this idiotic? Or only the ones from Europe?

"I... didn't want someone to get hurt."

"Fat lot of good that did," Kanda grumbled, trying to ignore the sound of gentle sobbing from behind.

He paced the room anxiously. Moron, idiot, ignoramus, greenhorn, nitwit, scatterbrained whelp… All these insults boiled up and into his mouth, but he found he couldn't say them while she was strung up against a wall, wrists in shackles, and covered in another man's blood.

"They think you killed him," Kanda said quietly.

"Well, I know that," Maggie snapped, sniffling and trying not to sob. "What are they... are they going to do, then? You can convince them she's a demon. You stick her in the finger once, she'll bleed black, and I'll be out of here."

Kanda shook his head. It wasn't that simple. They weren't going to let him near that noblewoman, not while she was indisposed. It'd be an affront to her character, as if the false accusation of being a demon was going to affect her prospects of marriage.

"They want to execute you," Kanda finally said.

"Execute me?!" Magnolia squeaked, and Kanda rolled his eyes.

Well, if that wasn't over-dramatic.

"Yes. Execute. It's what usually happens to condemned murderers," Kanda shot back as he leaned against the wall of the oubliette.

It was a tiny little room that was hardly big enough to lay out flat in, much less spend all your waking days. There was just barely any light, but his eyes were used to it. He could see the shine of Maggie's eyes from his spot on her right, and the feeling he was being watched made his hair stand on end.

"But I'm still alive... so they must have doubt," Magnolia reasoned.

"Yes."

"But... how will you convince them that I'm not-... I didn't kill him. You believe that, right?" Maggie asked, a doubtful look on her face.

Kanda let out a 'tch'. "You couldn't kill a rabbit."

"Thank you," Maggie sighed with resignation, though there was a hint of sincerity there.

Kanda would never get over that. No matter how much he yelled, poked, prodded, and pushed the girl, she always managed to summon an ounce of politeness. It was like it was her own superpower, to remain as polite as possible in all situations - barring the single time she'd thrown food in his hair. She did not take overt negligence of manners well.

"A man spoke against your reputation. That doesn't help," Kanda stated. "Is there anything you can do to refute that?"

Maggie blanched, and Kanda frowned at her. He had hoped that Ethan's words had been hot air, despite the physician's rush to speak to Savon. Apparently not.

The woman shook her head. Kanda pursed his lips and decided not to pursue it further, though the admittance sank in his stomach like greasy disappointment. Her history shouldn't matter to him but, for some reason, this stain on her character did take him aback. For someone so prudish, he hadn't expected such a sordid past.

"We have your weapons in custody. The Akuma will lay low. It won't risk you going free," Kanda said.

Oh, but this was a pickle. How to prove she was innocent? She had method and motive and a checkered past as the bright red cherry on top. She might as well have stuck an apple in her mouth and put herself on a silver platter. Well-played, Earl, well-played.

"I'll be back in the morning. Nothing will be decided until then," Kanda said, turning to walk out of the cell.

"Wait!" Maggie shouted as he left.

He paused briefly, and he almost kicked himself for it. Why did he stop? She was going to make some ridiculous request, like not to leave her alone in the dark or something equally tiring.

"You won't let them kill me?" she said, a hopeful look on her face.

He glanced at her. Those eyes were haunted by having seen a man die before her, as well as the future that lay ahead. Her hair was unkempt, her mouth was a bright red line pressed thin almost to whiteness. She always complained that he'd taken away her figure by making her work so hard, stripping away her curves, but in all honesty he could see the definition of muscles in the dim light, and her face no longer had the baby fat it sported before. No, she was a hardened person now, leaner and better than when he'd started, and he guessed he should find some pride in that.

But he couldn't let himself get too attached. These people died at the drop of a hat.

He walked out the door, unaware of his student's falling expression as the door closed on her and the darkness returned to overwhelm her.


"Monsieur Kanda!"

Kanda's eyes flashed open, and he sat up quickly at the sound of his name. A Finder stood in the doorway to the sitting room he'd been sleeping in. The duke had offered to let him stay the night so as to be closer to the proceedings. Kanda would've much rather gone back to the hotel, but he figured with a demon obviously in their midst, it would be best if he also stayed close. The things he did for... well, love was a strong word.

He'd been dozing on and off, lying on a couch. He couldn't seem to beckon sleep any closer, however. He felt as if his insides were crawling, knowing that there was a demon nearby and waiting. He knew that it had to be that noblewoman, and he also knew she wouldn't strike again. It would break her cover. So, his summons must obviously be about his student. His stomach clenched with anxiety. He should have never taken her on. Now he was going to die of an aneurysm brought on by her giving him a heart attack. He'd done the wrong thing and, God help him, become attached.

It wasn't that he loved her. He just wanted her to die less than the average person. She did his laundry, after all.

"What is it?" he asked as he put a hand on Mugen's hilt, and the Finder stammered.

"M-m-mademoiselle Magnolia... she escaped."

His brow furrowed. That was not what he had expected.

"You're sure?" he asked.

The Finder nodded and continued, "She has Mademoiselle Caravelli hostage. Near the stables. We don't know how she did it, but..."

Kanda growled and kicked the nearest piece of furniture. Idiot, idiot, idiot! He took back his previous thought. When he found her, he would execute her himself for her imbecilic actions! He motioned for the Finder to lead the way, and within five minutes, they were at the stables where a veritable crowd had drawn up. Most of them were nobles, of course, but quite a few were Finders, possibly men who also believed that the woman in Magnolia's grip was, indeed, a demon who needed containment.

Of course, people had made mistakes before. If it turned out Magnolia was harassing an innocent woman, he'd make sure she wished she'd never been born. This was a rare occurrence, but that wasn't to say it had never happened. Witch hunts had started over less.

Between the bodies of the nobles who'd gathered in the predawn light, Kanda could see his protégé, the chains that had formerly bound her wrapped around the neck of the pretty young noblewoman who was down on her knees before the Exorcist's feet. The noblewoman was dressed in a riding gown and had dropped a shawl on the lawn, obviously ready to leave. She posed a stark contrast to Maggie, who looked like a deranged woman with her wiry arms tensed and blood splattered across her face like war paint. If he hadn't known better, he would've said she looked like a fierce warrior.

"Is he here yet?" Magnolia asked, her eyes seeming darker and her voice heavier.

"Oui," one of the Finders answered tersely.

From the crowd, there were shouts of "murderer!" and "monster!" and, from a voice that was almost familiar, "whore!" Magnolia ignored them all. Kanda had to applaud her focus, true, but he would have rather she wait than try and get herself out of this mess. Did she not trust him to exonerate her? Why had she done this?

Yet, there was some method here in her madness. By making the capture public, Maggie had some protection- the Akuma would not transform in front of others and destroy all credibility it had created for itself. At the same time, she had trapped herself as well. If the guards could manage to get around her and free the captive, they would most definitely kill her if presented the chance. She had all but affirmed her guilt in the murder of Lucrezia's brother by this point.

Kanda shoved his way to the front of the group, but before he could reach his apprentice, Savon stopped him with a hand.

"What is she doing?" the duke hissed.

He was wearing only his night clothes and looked frankly a bit ridiculous, rumpled as he was. The anger in his voice, however, was anything but funny. The man sounded like he was ready to commit murder right then and there. Kanda's eyes locked onto Maggie's, and she swallowed audibly. Oh, she knew she was in trouble. That would make her punishment all the sweeter.

"She's taking matters into her own hands. She won't harm the woman, not if she passes the test," Kanda said.

"What test?"

"She wants me to cut her finger. Demons bleed black."

The duke flapped his mouth and asked, "Is this true? How do I get them to believe that?"

With a wide gesture, he motioned to the mob that had gathered. They were pressing on Magnolia's boundaries, and she yanked back on the chain wrapped around Lucrezia's thin neck. The duchess choked, and the crowd fell back. Kanda tensed as Magnolia put her knee in the middle of the woman's back.

"Stand back! Or else I choke her to death!" Magnolia shouted and, finally, Kanda took notice of the fear in her eyes and the pieces of rubble at the end of her chains.

She had ripped the shackles from the walls in her bid to get out of her prison. Her wrists were bloody, and her body was bruised, so obviously she'd been in a struggle.

She had seriously thought they would execute her. It was amazing what a person would do to save their own life.

"Magnolia," he called, and she stared him down.

The woman at her feet, black hair framing her pale face and hands at her neck in an attempt to loosen the chain, seemed to implore him with her eyes, but he paid no attention to her.

"What are you doing?" he finally asked.

"She was trying to escape. She came down to the stables, ready to flee, but I caught her," Maggie said.

Lucrezia whimpered, and Magnolia jerked on the chain. Kanda glared at her. She was making things worse.

"And what will make you let her go?" Kanda asked.

He hated to think what he would have to do if they were wrong. He hoped to God they weren't.

Magnolia answered tersely, "Cut her finger. Just her pinkie."

Kanda noticed her eye the crowd behind her, and she called out, "Demons don't bleed like regular humans. Their blood is black as oil, and it stinks. You'll know if she is a demon just from that alone."

There were whispers in the crowd of nobles who'd been roused from their beds by the commotion, most of it about how the woman was crazy for even suggesting such a thing. Yet, there were others who challenged them; Vatican supporters who could vouch for the test.

Kanda walked forward, and he took Lucrezia's wrist in his hand. He tried to ignore how warm her arm was, or how weakly she pulled away from him. He wanted to believe she was a demon. He had to. The young man stepped aside and displayed the hand to the crowd, who were now watching with rapt attention. He unsheathed Mugen and watched the fear spark in the noblewoman's eyes. He laid the blade flat against her pinkie, and he muttered to the woman, "Last chance."

He turned the blade towards her white skin, and his eyes darted to Maggie's for a moment. The young woman gave a small nod to him.

The swordsman tensed his hand, ready to draw blood -

Too late, he realized that Lucrezia was no longer watching him, but instead was eyeing a Finder to Maggie's right. Ungodly strength ripped her wrist out of his grip, and Maggie shouted with surprise as the chains around her wrists were broken and her body was snapped forward. The noblewoman lunged towards the Finder, her skin suddenly shredded to pieces as she transformed into a hideous creature with long, ape-like arms wearing a strong-man suit.

Kanda cursed under his breath as the nobles screamed in their confusion and terror, all of them running helter skelter while Magnolia lashed the creature with the ends of her broken chains. Already, it was too late for the Finder that had been standing nearby - his body was mangled within the giant hands of the creature that stood before them, nearly seven feet in height and thickly built.

"I will admit... that was clever what you did, Exorcist. You almost had me," the creature grumbled.

Kanda wrapped his hand around Magnolia's wrist just in time to yank her back and away from a flying hammer of a fist, and he ran forward, shielding her back with his body.

"Where are you going, Exorcist?! Not so clever now, are you?!"

Nobles screamed as the Akuma laughed to itself, throwing its long head back and cackling towards the rising sun.

"Shifu, my weapons," Maggie gasped as the two stood back and watched the Akuma lumber back and forth in front of the stables, waiting for its next move.

Kanda almost rolled his eyes. She only called him that when she knew she was in deep with him.

"Here," Kanda said, shoving them into her hands from his pockets.

He'd requested possession of them not long after the meeting with the other nobles, and now he was doubly glad that he had. He shrugged off his uniform coat and threw it on her shoulders.

"Wha- Kanda, no, I-"

"You're going to be turned into mincemeat. I'm not scraping you off this lawn because you were too much of a weakling to challenge a grandmother and wear your uniform," Kanda grumbled before heading back into the fight.

The night air bit at his skin, while amber rays momentarily warmed him as he approached the demon that was pacing before him. Its wide grin was accented with an equally absurd mustache, and its teeth were needle-like points. Its legs were much stumpier than its arms, and it moved around like a chimp, jumping to and fro as if enjoying a good romp.

"Too bad I'm fighting you. I wanted to play with your friend first," the Akuma lamented before bringing both fists together into a sweeping crunch.

Kanda stepped backwards just in time to feel the air whoosh past his nose, and he slashed sideways once or twice before he, again, had to sidestep to get out of the way of the thing running forward with its fists out, as if it were some kind of battering ram. Finders scrambled on either side in their attempt to get away as Kanda turned to track the creature. To his dismay, he saw Magnolia standing with quite a few nobles who were frozen with fear, and he muttered to himself, "Move, idiot, move."

And of course, she didn't.

He watched as she raised her shield before her, and he raced forward to try and beat the creature headed full-tilt for the morons who were sitting there in the middle of the lawn. In the back of his mind, he knew he wouldn't be able to make it. His body wasn't doing as well as it should - effects of his past catching up to him. He gritted his teeth as he watched the Akuma finally bear down upon his student, and his body went rigid as the fists made contact with the shield.

It held, by God's grace, in quite the literal sense. The Akuma was stopped dead in its tracks, and it shrieked with discontent. Maggie stood with both hands out, the shield covering her entourage of scrambling, terrified nobles - one of them, Ethan Bentham. Kanda barely had time to lock eyes with the confused and grim man before his sword seemed to move on its own and start carving through the Akuma before him. However, the Akuma would not be deterred, even with Kanda's sword strikes.

They made this one a tough beast to kill, Kanda thought bitterly.

He normally didn't have to sweat much when it came to fighting a Level Two, but this one was proving to be cumbersome and annoying. Suddenly, he was batted out of the way by an errant fist, and he tumbled away. He looked up from his position on the ground as the Akuma took both fists and drove them down on top of Maggie's shield. She hadn't had the time to move, and even if she had, she wouldn't have dropped her shield to risk her charges.

Over and over, the fists came down in a barrage, and over and over, the young woman dropped, lower and lower towards her knees. To Kanda's surprise, blood was dripping out of Magnolia's nose from the sheer strain of trying to maintain the barrier. He was amazed she'd kept it up this long. She wasn't the strongest woman on earth, and she sure wasn't the best warrior, but he had to give her credit for her determination.

"You can't run and you can't hide. Pity," the Akuma cooed.

I promised to keep you alive!

Kanda scrambled forward as the Akuma jumped this time and brought both fists down with all its weight, and the shield finally broke. The Akuma's fists bounced back, but the shield was down now, Magnolia prone on the ground with the nobles scattering in every direction. Kanda's dash brought him in front of the demon, and with a sweeping cut, he sliced off one of the creature's giant fists at the elbow. It shrieked in frustration as Kanda stood over his downed comrade, and, with focus and a strange kind of calm, Kanda put all his weight behind another swing as a fist barreled towards his face. That fist raced off into the distance as it was separated from the rest of the body, and the creature backed away, the stumps of its arms swinging wildly.

"You can't do this to me! I almost had you! I almost had you!" it screamed in a panic.

Kanda was about to give it the killing blow, but a metal disc suddenly seemed to sprout from the middle of its face. It staggered back, as if confused, before a second disc lodged itself just a few inches above the first. The Akuma fell backwards on the lawn, and Kanda stared at it before glancing over his shoulder. Maggie sat on her knees with blood dribbling from her nose, Kanda's over-sized coat draped over her thin frame.

With the destruction mostly over now, the nobles reappeared from their hiding spots to come view the carnage. There was a strange lack of bodies here; just the hulking mass of what had been the Akuma. In truth, the entire fight had taken the lesser part of five minutes, if that. From some hiding place, Savon trotted out and clapped his hands.

"If that didn't prove we need the Exorcists, I really don't know what will!" the duke said enthusiastically as he put his hands on his hips and surveyed the damage.

Kanda sneered in the duke's direction. If only his stalwart support had upheld them from the start. Perhaps they could have avoided this. Remembering his apprentice, Kanda turned around and stared at the young woman who was now shakily standing, coat sleeve streaked with the blood she'd wiped off her face. Ire rose from within, and he growled.

"What were you thinking?! Idiot!"

"What was I thinking?! I was thinking I was going to be killed, was what I was thinking!" Maggie shouted back, brow furrowed.

Kanda's nostrils flared as the crowd grew around them, not open to being challenged.

"You should have waited. We could have controlled the situation-"

"Oh, yes, and leave you to try and work your way through a court of law while I rot in a dungeon."

"You would have been fine."

"No, I would have been dead. That demon gloated at my jail cell how she already had everything planned out, down to poisoning my water and making it look like the guards killed me. I wasn't about to wait around, so I'm sorry."

"Yes, so instead, you put everybody's lives at risk by dragging her into the middle of every noble in from here to the other side of the Atlantic?!That was such a brilliant plan, I wonder why I didn't think of it!"

The two were standing toe to toe now, barking at each other.

"What does it matter?! You don't care about these people! You hardly care about me! All you care about is killing demons and yourself-"

"You know what? You're right! I don't care! The only reason you're even worth anything to me or the Church is because you've got those!" Kanda pointed to the discs sticking out of the Akuma's head, and immediately he knew he'd said the wrong thing.

Magnolia stood there, her face white as a sheet in the light of the dawn, and he could see tears pricking her eyes. She didn't say anything, merely gritted her teeth.

Finally, she answered, "Then I see no more reason to continue this argument."

She threw his coat to him with far more force than necessary and stomped her way over to the carcass lying on the duke's lawn. Kanda stared after her, feeling an uneasy sensation in his gut. He gripped his coat and finally put it back on, making a face at the smear of blood on his right sleeve.

There was nothing left to do here.


Kanda stood in the bathroom, inspecting his face. He had to leave immediately on another assignment. Normally, he would feel relieved to be able to leave on another mission. It meant being able to get away from any partners they may have slapped on him. This time, however, he couldn't help but feel the need to clear the air.

Because, if he was honest, he hadn't truly meant what he said. Yet, he couldn't take it back either. The trust, what little had been there, was gone. He didn't even know why he cared. It wasn't like he was close to her, and she wasn't close to him. They weren't the buddy partners that Allen and Lavi were, or Suman and his group had been, or he and Marie happened to be. Yet...

No, it was just better to leave well enough alone. Perhaps it was better this way. He'd have an excuse to never interact with her again and request a reassignment.

Still, the memory of her washing his hair and teaching him French stuck stubbornly, like a stain. She had been kind to him. Perhaps that was why his words to her had stung him as well.

He walked out of the bathroom and into the hotel room they'd shared. Magnolia was sleeping off her ordeal, wrists bandaged and lying under mountains of blankets. He put his hands in his pockets as he walked past her bed, and he felt his hand brush something hard. He frowned and pulled out the necklace she'd worn the night of the ball, and he racked his brains trying to remember how he'd got a hold of it. He must have picked it up on the grounds after the accusations against her had been lodged. He traced his fingers over the precious stones. It was hers. He should just put it back in her bag.

The swordsman looked around for her bag, but he couldn't seem to find it. He was wasting time besides. He could just give it to one of her many bratty siblings -

"Kanda?"

Magnolia's voice was muffled and half-asleep. He turned around to look at her, but she didn't look at him. Her eyes were still closed, and her breathing was still deep. He was almost sure he'd imagined she had said his name.

"Are you awake?" he asked.

"No... not... not really..." she mumbled. He almost rolled his eyes.

She was sleep-talking. Nothing she said would make sense.

"Are you leaving now?" she asked, her words jumbled together.

Kanda contemplated just going, seeing as she'd go back to sleep, but he found himself saying, "Yeah. I'm leaving."

"Oh...Okay. When will you be back?" she mumbled, almost getting up.

"Go back to sleep, idiot."

"Uh-huh...okay..."

She turned over, to his relief, and he weighed the jewelry in his hand. He should chuck it out a window for all the grief she'd caused. It didn't matter that she'd got the job done - she didn't trust him. That was insult enough.

Finally, he made his decision. He laid the necklace on the undisturbed side of her bed, and he picked up his duffel. She'd find it when she woke up, so it wouldn't get lost. If she didn't see it, that was her fault, not his. As he reached for the doorknob, Maggie turned over and the springs creaked under her.

"Have a good trip," she mumbled, and Kanda gritted his teeth as he stepped out the door and slammed it shut behind him.


A/N: Aaaand we're back with another chapter! Finally... Hopefully you've enjoyed this installment of Art of War, especially since it's been so long in coming. Now that I've managed to move past the writer's block, maybe we can end this saga once and for all at some point!

A really big thanks to karina001 for reviewing and betaing this chapter. Glad you brought to attention some of my anachronicities (I'm not much of a historian...) and giving me tips on how to better format this chapter! I love how you analyze the different relationships in all of my fics. It really gives me an added insight on the characters and helps me build up those relationships so that they continue more naturally.

Also a huge thanks to my new favoriteer and subscriber, Nosferatank! I do have a question - is that because you like Nosferatu? How'd you get that name?

Anyways, that's all I've got for now! I'll give you guys a break on the discussion questions and just let you bask in the light of a new chapter. Happy reading, and God bless you, everyone!