Author Note: Hey guys, sorry about the late update, but I have chapters 29-32 written. I didn't have Ch. 29 done before I left Kentucky on Friday and then I got dropped at my Meme and Poppy's directly, where there is no internet. Though, I should get a chapter a day until Friday, but I'm giving a little time for side-picking. Hehe, you'll have to wait until Ch. 32 to know what I mean! I'm so evil!

Me: Allen, will you do the honors?

Allen: Sure, Crowsnight doesn't own DGM or the characters, just the plot. By the way, what is with the side-picking?

Me: All I'm letting on is that you won't be happy half the time.

Allen: What? Half the time? TELL ME!

Me: Chapter 29 time!

Situation

Chapter 29: Neko News

I plop down on the bed next to Ice, who was asleep and practically jumped out of her fur. Laughing, I say, "Sorry, we found out what Innocence the baby has!"

The kit immediately composed herself and looked up at me, her striking eyes asking for details. I continue, "She has a Neko Innocence."

Ice tilts her head to the side with a small mew, confused. Taking the feline in my arms, I say, "It means she's very cat-like, which means that I might be able to talk to you because of her powers rubbing off on me."

She nods, purring as I scratch behind her ear. Lavi, Lenalee, Kanda, and I all went and ate lunch together after the ultrasound, but when I was done, the rabbit wanted to talk to Kanda a bit longer so I went on back to the room. I can't believe the grouchy samurai agreed to it, but that only makes me suspicious.

I wanted to wait on Kanda to get back to read the book, but it had been about ten minutes since I left. What was taking him so long? What would Lavi want to talk to him about without me there? Unless….

At that moment, my boyfriend walked through the door and sat beside me on the bed, and I ask, "Was he talking to you about me cutting?"

"No," he says, looking at the floor, but I can see the flash of guilt illuminate his dark eyes. Heck, I thought guilt was nonexistent in Kanda's mind.

I rest my pointer and middle fingers under his chin, bringing his face up to stare him in the eye, "Say that and look me in the eyes."

He holds the gaze, but when his mouth opens, nothing comes out. Closing his eyes, he admits, "He wanted to know what happened, when I found out, and if you still were."

I nod, removing my hand from his chin to pat Ice's head, who was curled up in my lap, "You're a bad liar."

"Good," he mutters, kissing my cheek. "Now, I want to know about the baby."

Glad to be off the negative note, I take the book from the end of the bed. Kanda was propped up against the wall, his legs apart, and I climbed between them, lying with my back against his chest as his arms went around me, taking the book. I smile, looking at the book in front of me as my boyfriend opened it.

I was right about Neko being a parasitic-type Innocence, and I say, "You know, I think she'll try to annoy you with that."

"She might, but I'm going to teach her manners," he retorted, but then placed a chaste kiss on my crown. Who knew he could act innocent? I mean, I'm definitely an Innocent Uke, but he's a Sadistic Seme or sometimes a Romantic Seme. Innocent doesn't fit with him. Now, I emphasize that he can act innocent, very clearly act.

"It's nothing to do with manners. I've got manners, but I choose to annoy you instead," I tell him, giggling. He doesn't say anything, just continues through the book. As I had assumed, the thing sticking out on the sonogram was a tail, and depending on the cat breed she's fused with will determine the tail length, furriness, and ear shape. What was really interesting in my opinion was that the cat can be anything from a common tabby to a lion. The bigger the feline or more powerful in nature helps with her power level and some of her abilities.

The gifts a Neko exorcist has is truly phenomenal, that being that the one ability is feline-like capabilities, but that category expands. All Neko exorcists have ear and tails, both fully functional. The ears take the place of human ones, like my arm, and they give their host super hearing, and some can detect akuma by the sound they make when the soul inside cries, a sound that I was very familiar with.

If the breed the Neko is fused with has a long tail, sometimes after years of practice, the exorcist can teach itself how to morph the end into a sword, like how I changed my arm into a gun and sword. The tail also gives great balance, and can be used to hold on to things to hang from the object. So if the baby was hiding from an akuma, when she's older obviously, she could dangle herself from a tree if she had enough strength in the appendage.

All Neko exorcists have the ability to shape shift into a feline form in cases of getting through small spaces I assume, but somehow, I don't think that would help a tiger Neko. They also have heightened speed and jumping, which again increases in their feline form. Big cats, like tigers, lions, and leopards, have the power to roar so loudly that it can take out targets that are in a twenty foot radius, but of course, this can affect other exorcists. Say if I was fighting beside Something Mana Walker if she was a lion Neko, she could use the ability, but I might go deaf and more than likely get knocked out for several hours, though I would truly have to be right next to her to lose my hearing.

Of course, Neko exorcists are extremely flexible, and generally are very athletic and excel in gymnastics. They have night vision, and great eye sight overall. Most Nekos are considered as beautiful as Aphrodite because of their striking eyes, always brightly colored, and can range from silver, red, green, yellow, blue, purple, and even neon pink, all very attention-seeking. I personally think that the baby will have silver eyes like me, but you never know.

Their hair length is also dependent on the feline their connected to. If it's a short-haired cat, like a Siamese, then the exorcist's hair generally won't grow out past a pixie-cut or sometimes a bob-cut. Long-haired cats, like a Himalayan, have hair as long as Kanda's, but the Neko can choose to cut it shorter or not. Hair color is the same way. Tiger Nekos have orange hair with black streaks through it. Cheetah or leopard Nekos have certain spots on their head that the hair grows out black, and it will usually come out with random parts of black hair, like an ebony streak in the Neko's bangs, and then the rest is yellow-brown, but underneath there's more black. It's hard to explain, but it doesn't look like the hair is patterned as if it was tattooed.

Next, a Neko exorcist's hands can morph into large paws with razor sharp claws, slightly resembling Fou's, only the claws can grow up to five inches long. Two of their teeth are pointed into canines, and in battle, large cat Neko's can turn them into sabers after much training to do so.

Lastly, this is the part that stood out to me, all Neko exorcists have the ability to talk and communicate with cats of all species. Congrats Ice, we aren't crazy! Women that gave birth to Neko exorcists, like others that birthed parasitic-type exorcists, were questioned when willing, and all that cooperated said that they seemed to have a connection with cats in their nine months, which included the cats seeming to respond to them.

"Ha, told you a wasn't crazy!" I say, bending back toward Kanda. He responds, "Okay, but the cat still freaks me out."

"Mew," Ice cries from my lap, where she had perched a few hours ago. We had read the entire book in six hours, an accomplishment in my mind. I glance at the kit and reply, "We know that it's the baby that makes it possible for me and you to talk, but Kanda says that you still freak him out."

With that, Ice stands on her three legs, her tail fluffed up in anger, and hops onto the bluenette's leg, walking up his body. I move out of the way as she glares and makes her way up his chest, stopping when her front paw was on his chin and she was eye-level with him. I roll over laughing as she licks him on the lips, and his eyes grow as he tries to get her off. When he does remove her, she's thrust into my arms, mewling happily at how much she got under his skin.

I giggle, "Good job, Ice." I nuzzle her, and we exchange an Eskimo kiss. The samurai scoffs, standing from the bed and walking into the bathroom. Hearing him brush his teeth, I follow him in, the ivory feline still in my arms.

"She was just getting revenge," I say, hopping up on the vanity beside him, and the kitten in my arms mews assent. Kanda spits and turns off the water, setting the toothbrush aside, "And now my mouth tastes like cat tongue."

I smile, "So? I wouldn't mind tasting cat tongue."

"Great, then you can let Ice stick her tongue down your throat," he growls, returning back into the bedroom. Once again, I trail behind him, wishing that he would stick his tongue down my throat instead, but I wasn't going to say that out loud. That would be humiliating, though he has forced me to say and do some really stupid things. Well, they weren't stupid, just embarrassing, but I think it turned him on even more. I'll never figure him out, and truthfully, I'm not sure I want to.

It was about five now, and I was getting ready to suggest going to the cafeteria when my stomach did it for me. As he always does, Kanda smirks and slips on his jacket while throwing me mine. Thankfully, this time no boxers fell out, but as I set Ice on the bed and was walking towards the door, my boyfriend smacked my rear, causing me to yelp.

"What is it with you and spanking me?" I growl, putting a bit of distance between us as we walked. It didn't help much since he slid his finger through one of my belt loops and pulled me to him as he whispered in my ear, "Because you're so much cuter with your butt red. Your cheeks turn pink and you make the cutest noise, like you're my little puppy."

I feel the heat rise in my cheeks as I say, "If I'm your puppy then you're my Kandyman."

"Why? Is it because I have a real big ah?" he smirks in my ear, and when he says the last part, I can feel his breath. I smile seductively, "Precisely."

We break apart to just holding hands as we enter the cafeteria. It was the day after Christmas so the dining room wasn't as crowded because of all the finders and exorcists that were sent on missions, including Lavi and Miranda. Not that it bothered me, and I had been wanting to have a night out with Lenalee anyways, so I guess Lavi being away helped with that.

I know Kanda wouldn't mind since he wasn't as clingy as I am and he reads to pass the time. He wouldn't be lonely or anything like that.

I was soon done with my plates of food and waiting for Kanda to finish his, but I didn't mind. Truthfully, I like watching him eat. Okay, so maybe it's closer to I like watching him do anything, but still, my point is I don't mind waiting for him to finish.

A few minutes later, we walked into our room, Ice immediately in my arms as I sat down on the bed. Kanda silently slipped into the bathroom, unbuttoning his shirt as he went.

Quietly, I settled the kit in my arms onto the bed and followed the bluenette into the bathroom, shutting the door so a certain feline wouldn't interrupt our shower again. When I got into the bathroom, my boyfriend was adjusting the faucet on the tub, the steam rising from the water as it pooled in the bottom of the tub, not allowed to sink into the drain by the stopper.

"Since when do you like taking baths?" I ask, forgetting about the buttons and just pull my shirt over my head. He straightens, shrugging out of his shirt and jeans quickly, "I generally don't, but I wanted to make you comfortable. We have reason to celebrate."

I nod with a grin, turning around as I strip the rest of the way down. I know that he hates it when I do that, but he doesn't mention it, and I hear the water slosh slightly as he sits in the water. My clothes now piled in the corner next to the cabinet with Kanda's, I follow him into the tub, sitting across from him with our legs jumbled up from the limited space, and I lay my head back on tile wall, the heat of the water soothing me. That's when the memories start flowing back. The last time I sat like this was when he was cleaning the cut on my shoulder while I writhed and moaned like a ho from the numbness.

I bring my head back up, looking at Kanda as I ask, "Were you scared that night?"

I didn't need to elaborate what I was referring to because immediately his eyes changed, the dark cobalt flooding with sadness and realization. The bluenette looked at his hands, "What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean," I say. "I told you what I felt that night, and now I want to know what you felt and were thinking."

Continuing to stare at his clenched hands, he replied, "Yeah, I was scared. I thought that if I stopped you from hitting me that you would hurt yourself more, even though you did anyways. I wanted to protect you, but I just hated my own weakness when I couldn't."

"You did what you could. I didn't want to be protected," I try to comfort him, watching his jaw tense as I said the words. He shakes his head, "But if I can't help you then who will? No one else knew what you were going through, or what you felt in it."

I didn't really know what to say. I mean, I could have chosen so many different topics, but no, I just had to make the relaxing time I could spend with my boyfriend into making him feel bad about himself. It's not a good feeling. "You said yourself that you didn't understand the need I had to hurt myself."

"Had or have?" he asked, finally meeting my gaze. The shadowed orbs were filled with love and almost asked for their mistake, as if it was their owner's fault that I started cutting.

"Had, I don't want to cut anymore, and truthfully, I never wanted to. It becomes an addiction, and I didn't want to, but I actually needed it to feel complete. You and the baby are all I need anymore," I explain, cutting off the water and leaving us in silence, a silence I wish would end. Thankfully, Kanda eventually replied, "Good, I never want you to pick up a razor ever again."

I promise, "And I won't."

Silence filled the air once again as we sat there, the only sound the occasional drip of the bath faucet. Then, the samurai says, "I lied."

That caught my attention, and I look at him to find him gazing right back as he continues, "I knew a cutter before you, but not until he stopped."

"Who?" I ask, wondering if it was someone in the Order. I can't think of anyone that close to him other than Lenalee, Tiedoll, Marie, and-

"Daisya," he whispers, looking away to stare at his hands again. "When he was still in his house, before he was an exorcist, he would use a piece of glass from a vase his dad broke and kept it hidden in a small box under his bed."

My eyes widen, "How did you find out?"

"Years ago, Tiedoll insisted that Daisya, Marie, and I get together and share our deepest secrets to become closer. I won't tell Marie's, but Daisya told us everything without a second thought. He said that it was the only thing that made him feel alive before he became an exorcist," Kanda says.

I nod, "Basically the opposite of me. That's why you were so shocked when I was talking about how it made me numb."

"Yeah," he admits. The rest of the time in the shower was spent talking about cutting. It wasn't as depressing as you would think. Kanda had so many questions, and I told him to ask anything and that I would answer them the best I could. What would you call it, bonding time? That sounds more like family, but that's the extent of it.

Author Note: I make things so depressing, don't I? Anyway, the next chapter will be very funny, so be ready to laugh, and please, Please, PLEASE R/R! All inspiration and ideas for anything is greatly appreciated! Plus, I got a laptop for Christmas! No more long waits for chapters! Candyman- Christina Aguilera.