Chapter 36: Suspicion

Posted: November 16, 2017

AN: If I obtained at least THREE reviews then there will be a new chapter posted on Saturday night. The new chapter will be the FINAL chapter before the Edo Ark.

"So we're to continue towards Edo, Japan?" Kagome inquired. "Those were the orders from Central that Komui-san provided to you, General?"

"That is correct, my dear." Tiedoll nodded. "Supervisor Lee provided the new report to me several days ago. It was decided not too long after Marie and Yu reunited with me."

"...It was after we lost Daisya too," Noise added on softly. "The order was dispatched the afternoon of his death." A sudden silence was cast over the group. Neither Exorcists nor the General could say much after those words were spoken.

"...I see." Kagome was the first to break the silence, but kept her gaze firmly on the ground before her.

It was the morning after she had joined the Tiedoll Unit in Gimmelwald, Switzerland. They had checked in to the only motel the small town offered the night before. Not too much had transpired within the short amount of time, besides a light dinner and early breakfast. Currently, Kagome, Noise and General Tiedoll were situated outside of the motel, talking quietly amongst themselves. Kanda had vacated the vicinity several minutes prior to this discussion, claiming that he couldn't be bothered to stand around discussing ideal nonsense.

Kagome thought that the older Exorcist was behaving as his usual stoic self. He was putting up the front of being an utter jerk and not caring about anything or anyone besides himself. And whenever the opportunity presented itself, Kanda didn't hesitate to voice his disagreement about Kagome joining their group. It would seem that the Japanese samurai disliked the idea of having to work with the younger Exorcist. It truly annoyed Kagome when she first thought about it. She hadn't done anything wrong to annoy Kanda. She hadn't even been in the party for a full day, and already Kanda was trying to shoot her down.

Over breakfast, for instance, the older man told her off for waking up ten minutes after everyone else or that she took too long to eat her food. The list was endless but littered with numerous swear words, and a colourful vocabulary that would have made the twins pass out with glee.

I wonder how Sheril will react to this newfound arrangement. Kagome thought to herself, knowing all too well that her adopted father, the Noah of Desire, detested the fact that Kagome was working for the Order. In fact, if I try to remember when Millennie first assigned me this covert mission years ago, he was the one to oppose it entirely. Beads of sweat formed behind the base of her neck. If only he could see me now… and see what I'll have to endure for the next little while…

She looked off to the side, trying to hide her growing disgust and agitation. It was getting harder and harder for the youngest Noah to suppress her urges and instincts. A growing part of her wanted nothing more than to slaughter the two clergymen standing before her.

From the moment that I killed those three Exorcists and finally let my Noah side emerge, the harder and harder it is to hold it back.

"Hmm…" The girl sucked in a deep breath.

"Lady Kagome, are you not feeling well?" Noise inquired. He had picked up on the sudden alteration in her breathing, which led him to deduce that something was wrong with the young woman.

Tiedoll offered her a concerned glance. "Lady Kagome are Marie's words true? Are you not feeling well?"

Kagome immediately tensed. "N-Nothing's wrong." She waved her hands in protest. "I'm perfectly fine." And that was the truth. The girl was feeling better then she had in quite some time. She finally had the opportunity to spend some quality time with her family after nearly a year. On most occasions, she would only be able to stop by the house for a quick visit or partake in an evening meal. Kagome was subjected to spending more time with the Exorcists or other members of the Black Order than her own family, and she was severely missing them.

Those four days felt like heaven to me, and I already miss them.

And that was the truth, for as much as Kagome might complain about her family and their crazy antics, she loved them dearly. They meant the world to her and she would do anything for them.

But to think, instead of being able to be with them right now, I'm forced into spending time with these Exorcists.

"I guess I'm just a bit tired from the rapid trip over here." Kagome chuckled nervously and tried her best to console the two older gentlemen. She really didn't want them to worry about her. Heck, she didn't want them to pay her too much attention, because she never knew when the Earl might try to call her away. For all intent purposes, it would be best that Kagome tried not to acquire too much attention from these folks.

But it looks like I might need to pay attention to one in particular: Noise.

Kagome never had the opportunity to meet the older man until last night. Unlike most of the Exorcists who populated the European Branch - with the exception of Bookman - Marie was one of the older Exorcists she had encountered. The man was twenty-eight years old and blind in both eyes. At first, Kagome thought she might be able to use his lack of sight to her advantage; it would make the need to disappear even easier. But she hadn't expected the man to possess above average hearing.

It looks like those headphones of his serve to amplify his hearing. Just like she had recently witnessed, Marie had easily picked up on her sudden change in breathing. If I'm not mistaken, then he's probably familiarized himself with my heartbeat and breathing pattern too. It would make sense for him too; after all, without the ability to see, Noise needed some way to determine where his comrades were both on the battlefield and off. He was handicapped without the ability to see, but his other senses made up for it with his intensified hearing.

I'll need to keep a close eye on him then, and make sure that I watch my own back too. In this case, Kagome would have to try her hardest to hold back her darker side. She couldn't risk the chance of them suspecting there was something off with her. Kanda already seemed to suspect that something was off with her. Kagome couldn't help but remember the way he first surveyed her uniform when she met up with them. It almost seemed like the samurai was surprised to see that she was in such good shape.

Maybe I should've tried to get into a few fights before coming here. It was a hard pill to swallow, but Kagome hadn't put much thought into uniting with the Tiedoll Unit. She had been far too preoccupied with the prospect of spending those four days with her family than to think of how the other Exorcists might perceive her.

I guess that was a mistake on my part then. Since Kagome really didn't have to travel much to reach her destination, that meant that she hadn't acquired any injuries or obtained any damages to her uniform. The only major hurdles she encountered was when Devit threw her bag at her, making her to fall on her butt, and then Road glomped her, forcing her onto the ground again.

I thought that the muddied uniform would have been enough to avoid suspicion but it looks like I was wrong. Damn it.

"I certainly hope that's the case," Tiedoll uttered softly. "It wouldn't be beneficial for you to get sick at such a critical time. But if you're ever feeling weary during our travels, please do not hesitate to speak up, Lady Kagome." The concern lining his voice surprised Kagome. "Although you are not one of my students, you are a student of General Nine who is a dear friend of mine. I wouldn't want anything bad to befall her daughter."

…

"D-Daughter?" the look on her face was priceless. Kagome's jaw had slipped so far down, it looked as though it might touch the ground.

Even Noise looked to be a tad uncomfortable as he said, "Master, perhaps General Nine doesn't view the relationships she has with her students in such a… similar light?"

"Nonsense, Marie. Any Exorcist that is placed under the tutelage of a General is their child." Tiedoll corrected him with a smile. "You and Yu are my sons, regardless of what either of you may say or think."

"Shut your mouth, old man. I ain't your son."

"Ah, Yu. It's nice of you to finally rejoin us."

"Che, shut up." It was the unmistakable voice of Kanda. Kagome felt slight shivers roll down her spine.

"It's about time you returned, Kanda," Noise spoke. "We're about ready to continue our travels now."

"About bloody time. We've wasted enough time in this dumb village as it is." After he spoke those words, he purposely glanced in Kagome's direction. The girl caught his harsh stare and reciprocated with one of her own.

"You better not hold us back, Wench."

Kagome smirked. "So long as you don't slow everyone else down, BaKanda. I mean, all three of us were waiting for you to come back. Where did you wander off to? Did you get lost when trying to leave the mot—" She was forced to stop mid-sentence upon feeling Mugen being pressed daringly close to her throat.

"You were saying Wench," Kanda sneered, still refusing to remove the weapon from her jugular.

"Bastard," she hissed and gently pushed the sword away from her. "You always draw your blade when you can't be bothered to talk to another person."

"Che," the Japanese scoffed. "I can't be bothered to engage in pointless talks. Oi, Old Man, we better be leaving soon." And with that, Kanda was no longer paying Kagome any attention; though he had yet to put Mugen back in its sheath, which Kagome didn't fail to notice.

"Kanda, you shouldn't call the General such things," Noise sighed with obvious fatigue. Apparently, it was common for Kanda to refer to the General in such a non-formal manner.

"If I called General Klaud anything like that then I would wind up with such a beating," Kagome mumbled to herself, knowing fully well that both men heard her. "You should learn to have better manners Kanda. You shouldn't call the General an "old man"."

"Thank you, Lady Kagome." Tiedoll offered the woman a kind smile. "I appreciate your concern. But this is Yu's way of showing affection; after all, I've always known that a shy child like Yu has trouble displaying his actual concern for others."

"!"

The reaction was instantaneous. Kanda whipped around quicker than Kagome had ever seen him move to send the General such a venomous stare, it surely would have frightened off the Akuma if any were in the near vicinity.

That glare would've definitely scared the twins too, she realized as a sudden afterthought.

Nonetheless, since it was the General who was speaking, Kanda, for the life of him, couldn't bring himself to downright murder the man. He was his superior after all, and for that, Kanda greatly respected the man. Kanda didn't respect too many people among the Black Order, but General Froi Tiedoll was one of those few. That's why he merely obtained a murderous glare upon stating those words.

Kagome watched on, enthralled, to see that Kanda hadn't done anything; in fact, he was still fixated in his previous spot. Besides turning around to face the man, he hadn't done anything else.

Kanda must really respect the General then, she thought to herself. If Allen-kun or Lavi-kun uttered those same words, they would have been murdered on the spot.

"But I suppose that Yu is right. We should start to press forward. We have a long journey ahead of us, and we have plenty of ground to cover today. Marie, Yu, Lady Kagome, let's be off then." Tiedoll adjusted the straps of his backpack, offered each of his students a quick smile and then began to walk forward. Noise followed behind him shortly after, but Kanda and Kagome remained in their original positions.

Kanda quickly sheathed Mugen and turned around but not before he cast a quick glance towards the eastern wooded area.

Kagome watched him with calculating eyes, wondering what the man had sensed. As far as she could detect, there was no Akuma in close proximity to them. She hadn't sensed any Akuma in the village either, which led her to believe that the Exorcists had murdered them during the few days it took her to arrive.

It couldn't be a mere human that he senses then. Kanda could care less if there were hunters or kids playing out in the woods. So what could it be? Suddenly it came to her. If it wasn't an Akuma or humans then it hard to be a Noah.

Kagome's eyes hardened. Kanda knows that one of my brother's is near? The realization surprised the girl. She was under the assumption that none of the Exorcists were strong enough to detect the Clan of Noah.

It looks like my original guess was wrong… It looks like I'll have to watch my back around Kanda too then.

The thought made bubbles form inside the pit of her stomach. Kagome was already weary enough about having to travel with a new General and Noise Marie. Now she had to worry about Kanda's abilities too.

Damn it all.

"Kanda is something out there?" Kagome didn't want to beat around the bush. "Is it a Noah?"

Kanda made no move to reply, but merely placed his right hand atop the hilt of his blade.

Kagome's irises darkened. "I see." His actions spoke for themselves; it was a Noah.

"I guess we'll have to travel with extra precaution then, won't we?"

"Be on guard, Wench." Kanda warned her. "This one's been following us since Marie and I first reunited with the General."

"...Interesting."

So it looks like a relative will be joining Kagome on her travels with the Tiedoll Unit. Maybe this was the reason Sheril hadn't put up such a fuss when she left the mansion this morning?

Even though I'll need to stay on my toes during this travel, knowing that a family member isn't too far away makes me feel a bit better.

Kagome smiled softly. "Thanks for the warning, Kanda."

He rolled his eyes. "It's no warning, idiot. If you die before we reach Edo then that's your own fault."

She arched an eyebrow but didn't bother to say anything else. For this one time, she would let Kanda have the last word in their verbal disputes.

"I'm going to catch up to Noise-san and the General now, Kanda."

"Che." Kanda turned around and started to walk beside her. The two said nothing to each other but kept equal strides as they journeyed back to the General and Noise.

"You had almost found another Accommodator?" Kagome repeated Lenalee's words.

"Yes… but then her Innocence was destroyed," the Chinese girl whispered softly from her end on the phone. "A Noah, a female one, destroyed it."

Kagome could imagine that Lenalee was trembling on the other end of telephone. "Her skills would have really benefitted the Order."

"Without a doubt," Kagome agreed, though her voice sounded far too flat for her liking. "The ability to see into the future is a great ability. But Lenalee-chan about this Noah. What did she look like?" Kagome wasn't aware of any mission that either Road or Lulubell recently undertook. She was intrigued by it and wanted to learn a bit more.

"...It was an older Noah. She had bangs and black hair tied back into a tight ponytail."

So it was Lulubell-san.

"I'm afraid that I haven't had the chance to meet this Noah," Kagome replied. "Actually, I haven't encountered any of the Clan of Noah yet." It was an obvious lie but Lenalee couldn't tell.

"Consider yourself lucky then, Kagome-chan. This is the second time that Allen-kun and I have encountered them. They're ruthless monsters who only want to help the Earl bring about destruction to the world."

"I'm aware of that Lenalee-chan." Kagome bit her bottom lip. Her black golem floated up and down beside her as its wings fluttered back and forth. "And I'm sorry to hear about the loss of a possible comrade."

"Me too," Lenalee sighed. "But at least Meilin, the Accommodator, can stay with her family and village now. She won't have to leave them to fight in this war." Kagome knew that was becoming a difficult topic for Lenalee. The girl really did have a big heart. She loved the people around her dearly and cared for them with all her heart.

Although that serves her well in some areas, it will also wind up being her downfall too.

"Lenalee-chan, could I—"

"Oh, Bookman. Hello." Lenalee interrupted Kagome by speaking to another party member. It would seem that Bookman had entered the room. Kagome waited for them to finish their discussion but was intrigued to hear that Bookman wanted to talk to her.

"Kagome-chan, Bookman wants to talk to you. I think he wants to obtain some information about the current location of the Tiedoll Unit."

"I see." Kagome's eyes darkened. She sincerely doubted that the older male wanted to obtain that information from her. He could have easily called the European Branch to obtain information from either Komui-san or Reever-san. Better yet, he could have requested to speak to General Tiedoll.

"Please Lenalee-chan, put Bookman-san on the phone. I'll talk to him."

"Of course. I'll go check on Allen and the others."

Kagome forced a laugh. "Be safe Lenalee-chan. And tell Allen-kun that I'll see him soon."

Lenalee giggled. "I'll let him know, Kagome-chan. And you be safe too. Keep an eye on Kanda-kun and the others for me, would you?" There was a pleading tone in her voice, which although it was faintly muffled by the sounds of her cheerful voice, Kagome could easily detect it.

"Of course, Lenalee-chan. Safe travels."

"Safe travels, Kagome-chan. And here's the phone Bookman."

"Thank you, Miss Lenalee." The tone of the older man filled the line. "Miss Higurashi, I trust that you're doing well?"

"...Quite well." Kagome pursed her lips together in a tight line. "...And yourself?"

"As best as I can be given the current situation at hand."

There was a sudden pause between the duo. Neither one spoke for several minutes. Kagome was continually glancing around the room to ensure that no other occupants were around. A few hours ago, the Tiedoll Unit had checked into an inn located in the town of Regen, Bavaria, Germany. It was another small town which was quite close to the border between Germany and the Czech Republic. It had taken the group two days of traveling on foot to reach this destination.

"Bookman-san is there a reason you wanted to speak with me?" Kagome wasn't a fool. She noticed the way the elder Bookman watched her during her missions or when she spent time with the other Exorcists. He was also additionally cautious when around her. It honestly seemed like the elder went out of his way to avoid her. There were instances when he opted to back out of missions with her much to the surprise of Lavi and Komui.

"I merely wanted to ascertain your background, Lady Kagome."

The man was treading on thin water. Both Kagome and himself knew it. "We're in Regen, Germany, Bookman-san… but that's not what you're referring to is it?" A brief glimmer of amber flashed through the woman's eyes. Thankfully she was tucked away into the corner and no one else was nearby to see it occur.

"That is correct, Lady Kagome. I'm already aware of the current geographical position of the Tiedoll Unit." The man paused to clear his throat. "In actuality, I'm trying to ascertain your previous whereabouts… particularly, where you were stationed when numerous Exorcists and Finders were murdered."

"..."

Kagome hung her head low. Her top teeth sunk into her bottom lip while she slowly gnawed away at it.

Bookman, meanwhile, continued to speak. "I possess detailed whereabouts for all of the Exorcists except one… you, Lady Kagome."

"Hmm," she exhaled deeply. "Is that true, Bookman-san?"

He answered without hesitation: "Yes."

Unaware of it herself, Kagome's irises changed from a soft brown to a startling amber. "I'm afraid that I cannot provide you with that information right now, Bookman-san."

"Am I free to believe that you were not within the Order compounds during that time period then?"

She licked her lips. "Believe whatever you desire."

He sighed. "...The truth will reveal itself eventually… Be prepared for when that time comes."

The girl smirked. "I will. And hopefully you all will too." Kagome then terminated the call, not allowing Bookman to make any further remarks.