Ack...sorry for the lateness...that's all Saya ever seems to say these days...she needs a new apology.

Saya owns the play but not the actors, they belong to Hoshino-ka.

Rated T... Because a kiss doesn't call for an M rating.Rating will get higher with the chapters.

28. Months go by

His tired eyes finally fell shut, for he couldn't find the energy to keep them open any longer. His head dropped down to Lavi's shoulder, but he was asleep before he realized that. Noticing the new weight on his shoulder, Lavi turned to see him sleeping, and smiled before tilting his face up and kissing him.

"Stupid... we were on the last page too."

Even though Kanda had just started pushing toward the edge of consciousness, he could feel that his face was covered with a deep blush. Lavi was incorrigible, even when he was asleep the red head still dared to kiss him! He'd let Lavi get away with it earlier, did Lavi really need to kiss him again? And what was worse, Lavi was still in his room when he woke up! He should've left the moment Kanda had fallen asleep. However, he'd just laid down and made himself comfortable and at home in Kanda's bed! Kanda knew every little thing the other had done, he'd seen it all in his dreams. He hadn't expected his lotus to do that when he was actually in the room with Lavi. Some of his dreams were memories of when they'd been studying before too, it seemed that any time Lavi was in the flower's presence, he would dream it.

Kanda was quick to dress for the day while Lavi was still asleep, hoping that his lotus didn't work in reverse. He finished pulling his hair back into a rigid ponytail just as Lavi's eye cracked open. Kanda stomped over to his bed and immediately socked Lavi, though he went easy on the rabbit because it was early.

"Wh-wha...?" Lavi asked dazed, as he took a moment to recollect himself. As he got his wits together, Kanda gathered the few things he intended to bring with him on his mission; He really only needed Mugen and enough pairs of clothes to last between washings. Kanda would be leaving for the first train he and his team could catch, so he had to be quick about eating and getting to the front gate.

"What the hell was that for, so early in the morning?" Lavi asked now that he was fully awake, his hand covering the place he'd been hit.

"You're a horrible fiend who takes advantage of people in their sleep, and therefore you receive my divine punishment."

"Huh...?" Lavi blinked a few times before having a dawn of realization. A pale blush graced his cheeks, accompanied by a sheepish smile. He hadn't really been thinking about the lotus at the time, and hadn't really thought it would work with Kanda present anyway. Maybe it would just give Kanda dreams any time he was in the room? Well, didn't Lavi feel special? He could make Kanda dream about him any time he wanted to and Kanda couldn't even deny it... A few very devious ideas came to mind with this thought, along with one particular idea that he knew he'd have to save for later.

"Heh, guess I deserved it then? Well, it's early, I guess I should head ta my own room now, huh? See ya later Yuu-chan! I'll be sure to see ya off!" Lavi said cheerily, as though nothing about today would be different from the day before. He jumped off the bed and bounced over to Yuu, pecking him lightly on the cheek. Kanda decided he'd let the other one get away with that one last kiss, after all it would be the last of Lavi's annoy behavior he'd get to deal with for God-knew how long.

He picked up his luggage, which he'd placed near the door when he finished packing it. Kanda took one last look around his room, saying a silent goodbye to his lotus. He was starting to think that despite the strange feeling it had, and its meaning, maybe it wasn't as bad as he first thought? He was sure that if he could change his way of looking at it during his mission, that he could come back to this room and feel comfortable there, like he had the night before. That would be nice, he'd like that.

000

Kanda waited with Marie at the front gate, with a patience that was highly unusual for him. Honestly, he just wasn't sure he was prepared to leave yet, and it wasn't like leaving right away would make too much of a difference. He had no idea when he would return, or if he would at all. He wondered when he'd see Lavi or Lenalee again. Maybe, when he came back, he'd be so different that they wouldn't recognize him? Maybe he would just be forgotten by everyone, he wouldn't be surprised if half the Order dismissed his memory as a bad dream. Next time he was here, would he see that everyone else had changed, and that Lavi had found a new person who was fun to torment? It annoyed Kanda to know that would tick him off. But maybe it wouldn't? Maybe he'd forget Lavi too?

With an annoyed huff, Kanda banished all thoughts from his head, too many of them had to do with that annoying rabbit! Of course he couldn't forget Lavi, they were connected through a curse that only he and Komui knew about. If Lavi forgot him then that would be fine, because either way, he would still do his best not to let either of them get killed.

He heard laughter coming down the hall, and looked to find Daisya and Lavi talking, looking very amused.

"Well, looks like we're off now! See ya Lavi, I'll be sure ta bother Kanda plenty for ya!" Daisya said jokingly, waving back at Lavi as he walked over to his squad.

"Heh, have fun with that!"

But not too much fun, only I can take things too far.

Lavi looked over to Kanda, who was looking at the floor. His gaze shifted toward Lavi when he felt the weight of his stare. For a moment their eyes met; Lavi was the first to speak.

"See you in a while, then?" He asked simply. Kanda shrugged, looking way almost demurely.

"I suppose so. Heh, I wonder if you'll have finally grown up by then?" Kanda really couldn't stand this tense, almost depressed atmosphere that was threatening to smother him. He had to get rid of it, this couldn't be his last memory of home.

"Hey! I'm already taller then you, ya'know!" Lavi said with a huff. Kanda smirked triumphantly.

"Tch...You'll hardly change at all, if you think that's what I meant." Kanda hoped that would prove to be true.

"Maybe so, but..." Lavi took a few steps forward until he was invading Kanda's personal space. He leaned closer, whispering in Kanda's ear: "Whether I change or not, I'll still give you an extra kiss when you come back, because I can't give you one now."

Despite his words, Lavi still managed to place a quick kiss close to Kanda's ear, in a movement so minute and quick that the others didn't notice it. Kanda's face burnt as he muttered "fool" under his breath.

"Hm...What's up with Kanda?" Daisya asked, as the three left headquarters. Kanda just glared at him, and Noise decided not to inform Kanda that he'd heard every word that Lavi had said.

000

The first month was easy for Lavi to deal with. It wasn't the first time he'd been without his companion for one week, two, three... Bookman kept him busy with all the work he could think up, and the old coot was surprisingly imaginative. Still, his perfect memory was already making things difficult. Any time he walked into the dining hall, if he looked over to Kanda's table, he could still see the other sitting there, praying over his soba as he did every morning. He found himself avoiding going outside unless it was necessary because he was afraid he'd wander into the forests, and remember the times he'd watched Kanda train or sleep by the trees. He only needed to close his eyes to see all the crystalized images in his mind of Kanda sitting with him in the back of the library. Quite frankly, he was starting to get annoyed with himself, he was starting to honestly feel obsessed. Bookmen weren't supposed to feel, they were just supposed to play their roles.

The first month wasn't too bad, but it was most definitely the worst month Lavi had gone through since he'd met his beautiful toy.

000

It was just a little under two months since Kanda had left headquarters, and he was sure he'd hadn't felt so embarrassed since Hayate had made him cross-dress. Honestly, he hadn't meant to do anything special, he had intended to just go on as though the next week and a half would be filled with nothing but normal days. He didn't even know why he remembered that date was important, it had only come up randomly in a conversation over breakfast once. However much Kanda tried to ignore the fact about the day coming up, without even realizing it, he was already looking around for something special.

After decimating one city after another non-stop since June, Kanda's group had come to a stop at a peaceful village in a mountain valley, where there were (surprisingly enough) no akuma, so they could relax. There was a nice little market place that held a vast amount of exceptionally high quality goods. Kanda walked through it alone, because he'd taken leave of the hotel his team was staying at while the others chose to rest. He couldn't bring himself to fall asleep in the middle of the day like Daisya could, and he couldn't just sit and listen to silence the way Marie could, so he decided to walk.

The display window of a small bookstore caught his eye, and without thinking Kanda went over to take a closer look. Sitting between a few books on display, was a set of inks, all in different, beautiful jewel tone colors. In the center of the box that held the inks was a fountain pen with a hand-crafted handle that had intricate designs carved and painted on it. He went into the store to ask the price; It wasn't unreasonable at all, not for something that the store owner had made entirely himself. Kanda walked out of the store with the beautiful set in hand, feeling very embarrassed for having bought Lavi a birthday present. Because that's what was coming up, in less than two week's time, his birthday. Kanda knew right away that he'd never live this down, but it wasn't until later that he realized Lavi would probably just use the inks to make colorful doodles.

000

By the third month, Bookman had decided that Lavi had caught up in all of his duties, and could therefore start going on missions again. He'd been on quite a few with Lenalee, and one or two with other exorcists that he'd never met before. Bookman always accompanied him to make sure that he didn't fall behind on his work while on missions. Lavi wondered if he'd ever get a vacation again.

There was seldom any time to think about anything besides missions and his logs, but every once in a while, when he found himself lying awake (though he usually fell asleep before he hit his bed), Lavi would think about his friend who was off destroying innumerable akuma somewhere in the world. All the work he was doing was great for keeping his mind off the ache in his chest that was becoming more and more prominent. He was starting to hate Kanda, because he missed the boy and he wasn't supposed to miss toys, because Kanda was only supposed to be someone he could pick on to alleviate his boredom, because Bookmen weren't allowed anything more.

The inks he'd gotten just in time for his birthday were on a shelf, not to be used. He couldn't use it to write his logs, because he'd always remember Kanda when he did, and he really didn't need that. The fountain pen was one of his favorites though, he just couldn't bring himself to let a good pen go unused.

Maybe the only way to get rid of this feeling was to express it in some way? One particular idea that he'd been saving in case this happened came to mind. He was quick to leave his own room and head toward Kanda's.

000

All through the third month and up to the fourth, Kanda had dreams. When he'd first fallen into the dreams, he'd been angry. He'd be gone for a long time, so Lavi felt that gave him the right to start entering his room again? He didn't want to deal with that again, he didn't want to hear about how much Lavi was figuring out, he didn't want to know the red head's theories and stories anymore.

But he was soon surprised, when the first thing out of Lavi's mouth had been addressed to him.

"How ya been Yuu-chan? God, I wish this thing worked both ways...I wonder if it's even working now. I got the present ya sent me, never expected ta get one from your royal coldness. Guess that means ya still love me?"

Lavi had laughed a little after his teasing comment, and despite his annoyance, Kanda was glad that Lavi was still his immature self.

"Things around 'ere have been boring as all heck! Nothin' but missions and book work. I bet your mission's gotten borin' for ya too, though you're probably taking it as seriously as ever."

Lavi was right on the mark, Kanda was bored out of his wits with the "destroy akuma and move on" routine, but he still refused to let his guard down.

"I wonder if you'll kill me for this later...?"

At that Kanda could only laugh, though he did his best to stifle it.

000

In month five Lavi started having dreams of his own. Well, it most definitely wasn't the start of such dreams, he was a normal 15-year-old boy and had always been normal, as far as physical development went. However, it was the first time that another male had been present in one of his dreams. Honestly, he was a bit surprised that he hadn't dreamt of Kanda in that way sooner. He'd messed with the boy enough that he was practically tempting fate to give him such night visions.

But God, if it wasn't the most embarrassing thing he'd ever felt. Waking up to a mess in his sheets far too often for his own liking, all because he'd dreamed of his pretty androgynous toy-friend was not his cup of tea. It was made worse by the fact that Bookman decided to sit him down for a "talk". He said names in his sleep apparently. He was sure that all the blood had rushed to his head when Bookman had started their little conversation about his bodily reactions to his male friend. Lavi fainted when Bookman suggested he go to a local brothel if his "Frustration" ever got in the way of his book work.

It already had though. If he let his mind wander too much while writing a log, he'd end up writing down a wrong name or word. He'd be damned if he told the panda that though. He'd been so ashamed after the first time that he hadn't been able to go into Kanda's room for weeks. When he finally did manage to get himself to go back, he didn't manage more than two sentences before he fled the room. Oh, this was such a problem indeed.

000

Half a year after he left headquarters, Kanda noticed that his hair had grown three inches, and now tickled his skin just above the rim of his pants. He considered cutting it, for it was getting heavy on his head and all the weight pulling on his scalp was starting to give him headaches. It was getting a little difficult to deal with too. Even so, he didn't particularly like the idea of cutting it, despite the fact that it still made him look more than a little feminine and hurt his head. He remembered that his mother and sister used to love playing with his hair, even though they had more than enough of their own. That's why he rarely cut it before, because his mother and sister liked it. So, he once again decided to forego cutting it and just deal with it. Besides, his mother's hair was at the very least a foot longer than his own, and she dealt with it just fine, surely he could too.

However, just a few days after he decided this, Kanda found himself in yet another battle. There were more lvl2's present than usual, that made this particular village that much more challenging. One with tentacle-like hands grabbed the end of his ponytail, so Kanda was left with no recourse but to cut his hair to save his life.

Later that night, after he'd evened out the ends, he once again inspected the length. It was an inch above his elbow, he'd lost at least five inches. He felt more than a bit vain dwelling on it, but he couldn't help himself. He felt like he'd cut off five inches of precious memories. And so, he stared at the ends and mourned every inch cut.

000

Things got complicated for Lavi in the seventh month. He was sent out on a long mission with Lenalee to some obscure city in Bulgaria that was supposed to having some sort of fountain of youth phenomenon occurring. With the exception of the ever-present Bookman, they were alone on the mission. This troubled Lavi greatly.

Thanks to Bookman and tens of acupuncture needles, and a bit of self-correction, Lavi had been cured of his former... "malady". He was still scolding himself for being so obsessive for any amount of time though. It didn't seem like the self-loathing would stop anytime soon though, as a lovely new development had occurred.

He really couldn't help himself, it seemed, he'd dug his own grave and now he was being buried in it. But was it his fault that they had such similarly shaped eyes? And surely no one could blame him for thinking that Kanda looked just a bit like Lenalee when he had his hair down. Their mannerisms and general personalities were miles apart, but there were so many similar qualities between the two. They both had that natural grace that made it seem like everything they did connected into one fluid motion. He wondered what Lenalee would look like if she ever scowled or glared.

He was absolutely beating himself up for it all though, he had no right to think that way about anyone, boy or girl. Besides, he realized that Lenalee was turning into a replacement and that just seemed so wrong to him, it didn't sit well with Lavi at all. So one day, when he could stand no more of his own horrible behavior, he asked Bookman to have him transferred to another mission, and practically begged for advice on this particular problem of his, because he was quite tired of feeling trite, along with other emotions. Bookman however, said that he couldn't stop Lavi's 15-year-old hormones from doing their job, and that it would be a while before he got over them.

Honoring his request and desire to stick to the Bookman way as much as possible, Bookman contacted Komui and had Lavi shipped to yet another obscure location. As he packed and left, he reminded himself that it was fine to feel things like physical desire, and other things he couldn't control. As long as he kept it at that, he was ok.

You can look and record, but you can't do much more. Pull yourself together Lavi! 49 aliases before you did so you can too!

000

In the eighth month, Kanda was assigned what he was sure was the cruelest mission he'd ever been on. Judging by the way Komui had apologized profusely as he was giving them their new temporary mission, he felt the same. For the time being, Kanda's team would be taken off the extermination mission, and sent to Hokkaido. Japan's population consisted mostly of akuma, but that only applied to the main island of Honshu. The other islands were much, much safer, though they still had their fair share of akuma to deal with. Kanda's family lived on the island of Hokkaido, which had suddenly experienced a spike in akuma attacks. The Order had promised him that if he became an exorcist for them, they wold protect his precious family from the Earl. It seemed as though for the time being, he would be that protection.

There was just one catch: He wasn't allowed to make contact with his family at all.

That had been his sacrifice, in order to keep the world his family lived in safe, he had to give them up. But why did he have to go back then? It was just plain cruel, to put him so close to his dear sister, annoying brother, and loving parents and make him watch over them when he couldn't talk to them! Kanda cursed his mission, and his choices.

They had their first brush with level threes, and though it took an exhausting battle to do, Daisya, Marie and Kanda eventually worked out a strategy that could defeat it. They had to use said strategy often. However, this was not the most prominent occurrence in their trip, as far as Kanda was concerned. No, of all the things that happened, only one incident stayed with him, and annoyed the hell out of him.

Kanda had been walking through his old home town, alone only because his teammates had gotten lost somehow. He didn't understand how they could get lost in such a small town, but then he wasn't thinking about the fact that he had lived there for most of his life.

He passed a familiar gate as he walked slowly through the town, only half-looking for his companions, they could take care of themselves fine without him. Kanda, however, was having a bit of a problem staying focused now that he was alone. There were too many memories and no one to keep him on task.

He stopped at the gate, bringing his hand up to let it rest on the name plate. In beautiful characters his family name was carved onto the wood. His fingers traveled over the carved lines, as his eyes strayed inside. It felt almost criminal, peaking into his own home, but he couldn't help himself. Inside, on the front pathway to the house, he could see Hayate clearing snow off the path; It had just stopped snowing earlier that morning. A small figure that he was sure was Naoko sat with a thin shawl wrapped around her small shoulders, as she watched Hayate to make sure he didn't goof off.

Kanda looked away, down onto the street.

"Why don't you just go in? The Yuu I know would've." Kanda turned quickly to face the person talking behind him. His first thought was "Why is Lavi in Japan?," Because Lavi was the only person who had dared to call him by his first name since he had joined the Order. He berated himself for thinking that as soon as he saw who it was though; He should've known it wasn't Lavi, the voice was completely different and the person spoke in fluent Japanese.

Kanda focused his glare on Yori, damning himself for being caught here by the likes of him.

"Why I cannot enter is none of your business. And don't address me so familiarly, you lost that privilege." His mother language felt almost foreign on his tongue, and he hated it. Kanda decided that he would have to start speaking Japanese more often, and maybe teach someone else enough to talk to them in it.

"Ah, I suppose you're right, how rude of me. You don't seem like my Yuu at all anyway. He seemed happy most of the time, and had a bit of a puppyish quality to him. No one would ever guess you were capable of that looking at you now. Though I must admit, you who have replaced my Yuu are quite beautiful, Kanda-san." Yori took a strand of Kanda's hair, holding it in his palm for a moment before letting it slide through his fingers. Kanda's glare intensified as his lips twisted into a snarl. He was about to pull his fist back and punch the other, before thoroughly mauling him, but he heard his name being called by Daisya.

"Your little friends are looking for you Kanda-san, I suggest you hurry back to them." Kanda didn't deign to respond, and instead just turned, satisfied when he heard his hair hit the other's face. There, if Yori wanted to feel it he could feel it whipping across his face. "Heh, either way you'll always be my Yuu." Kanda stopped in his tracks, allowing his hand to curl around Mugen, to stop his nails from breaking the skin of his palms.

"Ass, if you've already had the last word, then there's no need to say anything more!" Kanda growled out, before walking over to his group, trying to make himself look and feel as composed as he always was.

"Baka Yuu... you just got the last word on me."

000

Lavi found himself feeling much better in the ninth month. Bookman practically had him confined to the library, but in his opinion that was so much better than going half-crazy over oriental youths. He was calm now, feeling more like what he was- A Bookman- than he had in months. He liked the simplicity of nothingness, the world wasn't all that complex, if all he had to be was curious.

Of course, there was one thing he couldn't help but indulge himself in, and he was the only one who knew about it or was involved in it really, so he didn't feel like he had to worry about it. Lavi still found himself wandering to Kanda's room whenever he found he had the time. It had become a habit, and he figured there was no harm in keeping Kanda updated on the Tower's happenings.

Besides, there was something about the presence of that flower. The feeling of it seemed to have changed to him, it wasn't so oppressive any more. Now he was glad that the flower was there, instead of off with Kanda or non-existent. He didn't know how, but in some way this flower was connected to Yuu, so as long as it existed as it did now, Kanda was fine, right?

Lavi casually slipped into the usually vacant room, thinking that someone had to know by now that he was doing this, and that they obviously had the wrong impression or just didn't care enough to bother with him. Shutting the door silently, Lavi walked across the room and took up residence on Kanda's bed, it was much more comfortable to sit there than it was to stand and lean against the older boy's night stand.

"Man Yuu, you wouldn't believe how much that old panda is workin' me over lately..."

000

The tenth month was a painful one for Kanda. Painful and frightening at the same time.

It wasn't ever supposed to happen, because he and his group had worked out a way to destroy lvl3 akuma, it had worked every time. However, as soon as they had left Japan and touched down on the mainland, where they thought they'd have to deal with less frequent level 3 attacks, they were attacked at the harbor. Level 2's and 3's were everywhere, there was no where to hide from them. The trio had activated their innocence and fought valiantly, but there was only so much they could do before they felt themselves getting overwhelmed.

It was his fault, he felt, that it had happened. If he had just been quicker in warning Daisya or just moving to get him out of the way, his teammate wouldn't have been so seriously injured. They had found it hard to stick together during the battle, the akuma had slowly pried them all away from each other, they'd gotten in between the exorcists. It was only by chance that Daisya had come into Kanda's view, and when he had, Kanda had hardly spared him a glance because he was too busy fighting his own level 3 to do much else.

However, he did notice that a large level 2 akuma had started hovering behind Daisya's back. It slowly opened its mouth, far wider than anything with an intact jaw should be able to. Kanda immediately called out to warn the other, but the akuma struck just after he got Daisya's name out of his mouth. It had spit acid all over Daisya's back, and while the exorcist's uniform had protected the boy from the worst of it, enough of the lethal liquid had gotten through the material to burn his back, from the nape of his neck all the way down to his lower back. Daisya had immediately thrown off the soiled garment, but the damage had already been done.

Kanda was livid, because no akuma had any right to harm his comrades. He wanted the ability to destroy every damned soul he could see, and he wanted it now. Suddenly words were echoing through his head faster than he could comprehend and a voice that was not his, but one he recognized was answering the first voice just as quickly.

"Do you want that power, though it will cost you more of your life?"

"Yes."

"Then take it."

Commands ran through his head and into Mugen, which had split into two swords. These commands spilt from his mouth just as quickly.

"Shouka, take from my life and rise, Kinki Sangenshiki!" After that, almost faster than even he could realize, the battle was over, and he passed out from his wounds which for some reason hadn't healed during the fight.

Moreover, it took him a three days to recover, and four days after that before Bak, who had taken the group into the Asian branch, would allow him out of the hospital. That was the longest time it had taken him to heal since he'd gotten his curse, and he was quite worried about it. Maybe they wouldn't heal? Maybe this was the price he was paying for the power to save others? The power had felt so amazing but he was sure that if it was slowing down his ability to heal then it could not be anything good.

000

The beginning of the eleventh month caught Lavi in a panic. He had been unable to visit Kanda's room for a little over two weeks, due to numerous, pointless things that he felt he could've done without. When he'd finally gotten the chance to go back, he found he could do nothing but stand and stare at the hourglass. A second petal had fallen to join the first one.

Something about that scared Lavi more than any akuma ever had. Why had another petal fallen all of a sudden? The lotus and its case hadn't changed at all since he'd first seen it over a year before, so why now? What had happened to its owner? For the first time in months, he felt a foreboding feeling in Kanda's room, and ran out just as quicky as he had the first time he'd trespassed there. This time though, he had a destination, he was going to Komui's office, because surely Komui knew what was going on.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO HIM?" He shouted angrily, as he threw the office door open, startling its occupant. "What happened to Yuu?" Komui blinked a few times, startled by Lavi's entrance and fierce expression.

"Ho-how did you know? We haven't told anyone at this branch yet..." Komui asked, bewildered. He'd gotten a call from Bak over at the Asian headquarters, telling him that two of his exorcists were in critical condition, and that one would not be able to return to the battlefield any time soon.

"I don't care about that crap, just tell me what happened!" Lavi demanded, not understanding anything about his anger except for the fact that he was indeed, angry. Komui pushed his glasses up his nose, before deciding it would be best to explain things to Lavi while he was still calm enough to listen.

"There was an ambush, and during the fight Kanda and Daisya were both mortally wounded. Daisya's entire back was burnt by acid and until recently, he wasn't stable enough to move from the Asian branch to this one. Kanda's wounds healed after a week, and he apparently reached a new level of invocation. Their mission has been put on hold until we can send another exorcist to replace Daisya." Komui knew what was coming next, but he wasn't sure Bookman would like it; After all he'd been allowing Lavi to go on less and less missions as of late, for some reason or other.

"I'll replace him, send me. I'll go and help them finish their mission, so you can have Daisya brought here and treated, and I'll join their group." Komui sighed and nodded.

"I was planning to send you anyway. You'll see them soon, though you may have a hard time tracking Marie and Kanda down; Daisya is on his way here now, and Kanda and Marie had gone to continue their work in the mountains when he left the Asian branch."

Lavi breathed a sigh of relief, before thanking Komui quickly and leaving the room. He was relieved to know that Kanda was alive and well, but at the same time something about that fallen petal worried him. He tried to think happy thoughts as he packed for his mission. He should be excited right? He was finally going to see Yuu-chan again, after a year apart!

notes!

In this, Saya says during month eight that Kanda and co. have their first run-in with lvl3s. Saya just wanted to let all of you who read the pre-altered version of chapters 6-7 know that Saya actually did go back and change the akuma in those chapters to a lvl2.

This was a ridiculously long chapter compared to Saya's usual 4000 words. Don't expect this to become a regular thing...ever. Saya considered adding the twelfth month to this chapter, but it had already gotten so long, and she would've had to cut it into two parts (this chapter and the next) when it really belongs all together. Consider this a White's day present! Happy White's day, even though it's not until tomorrow!

And Saya realizes all of Kanda's months are much longer than Lavi's, but that's just because he had a bit more going on, it's not favoritism, promise! (ok, maybe just a little bit...)