Author's Note: I think this chapter is kind of meh, but here it is, anyway. Hope people enjoy it!

I based the new Order's location off of Heidelberg Castle in Germany (even though the Order is now in Russia somewhere…) because it was pretty big and nice-looking…even though I said that the castle in the story is somewhat run-down and rumoured to be haunted. I'm just full of contradictions! :D
Anyway, go Topeka—I mean Google—Heidelberg Castle and see what it looks like if you want. I wouldn't say no to a thorough exploration of it!...As long as it was in the daytime. :3

Anyone notice I spelled 'rumour' with a 'u'? I'm in Canada now so I decided to do the Canadian spelling! If you did notice, then here is a Nanaimo Bar for you (even though I'm not in Vancouver)! If you didn't, then you get one anyway. ^-~

Chapter 33 – Rebuild

A small group of people stopped and gazed up at an imposing castle and took a minute to take in all its details. The castle was built next to a large mountain and trees carpeted it all the way up. Deep green pine and fir trees also spread around the castle on the more level ground, surrounding the castle with a thick forest on all sides. The trees were rustling peacefully in the summer breeze and soaking up the early morning sunlight. It was quiet enough for the group to hear a river flowing somewhere nearby. The castle itself had brownstone walls and a few gray-blue roofs could be seen from below. Komui pointed to a large building in a section of the castle.

"Those are a good candidate for the exorcist and Finder dormitories, and over there," Komui indicated a spot in the same area as the dormitories, "is the Infirmary. Those have been getting renovation priorities since a lot of us are tired and injured." The group murmured agreement.

"No kidding," Lavi sighed.

"I could sleep for a week," Camille added, stifling a yawn.

"We'd also like to," Reever grumbled, glaring in the general direction of Komui.

"If someone would let us," Johnny finished for the Australian researcher.

I want a bath. I think I could grow flowers in my fur, Shiori thought. Though she was back in her human form she still wasn't used to being able to speak out loud.

"This is a nice place, and it actually looks like a castle instead of a cake," Lenalee observed with interest and smiled at her brother, who laughed.

"Let's just go in, already," Lavi groaned, exhausted. "We can gawk at everything later." He started walking towards the entrance and the others followed, and once everyone had gotten past the Gatekeeper (who had recently been installed in the large castle doors—Shiori had no idea how such a feat had been performed but she thought it was more fun not knowing) Komui stopped everyone to pull Shiori, Lenalee, Miranda, Johnny, and Reever aside while Lavi, Emile, and Camille waited nearby.

"Wait a moment. You five should go to the infirmary." At first glance the exorcists were uninjured, but that was because Miranda had her Time Record activated, and she was keeping injuries away. "Lavi, Emile—you should go to the dormitories and get some rest. Lots of the rooms now have beds and there are a lot of empty ones so you can just pick which room you want. Later on when everyone's recovered we'll finish putting the rest of the beds in the rooms. After that, if anyone wants to volunteer to go into town with Jerry for groceries and medicine then come to my office and let me know. I'd appreciate it if you spread the word to other exorcists and Finders, too. Camille, if you'd come with me, please. I'd like your help in treating everyone." The group nodded, and then Emile and Lavi left in the direction Komui told them for the dormitories, while the remaining group followed him towards the infirmary. Once inside they saw that Matron had most of the place set up already, and when she spotted them she gestured for them to take a bed. Half a dozen other beds were occupied with injured exorcists; they had either been injured on their missions prior to the move or along the way to the new Main Branch. It had just been discovered that some Akuma had attacked the other trains, too, and exorcists, Finders, and some researchers had been hurt on the way to the new Black Order.

Three Finders and an exorcist had been killed—those deaths had happened on missions—as well as a number of civilians who had been in the towns. The dead exorcist's Innocence had been recovered by the Finder that had been on the mission with him, but his loss had been taken heavily. Some civilians who'd been on the trains had been scheduled to be dropped off before the Black Order members, but unfortunately they had been caught in the fighting, and their families had not been notified of their deaths. They simply would stop writing and visiting and later on be declared missing, which saddened some who heard about it but telling the victims' families would be too dangerous, for them and all of the Black Order branches. The hope was that the Finders' and exorcists' families would believe they'd hear from their family member soon and would wait for them to visit. Soon, however, they would be given up for missing. It was sad, but as long as families hoped there was a chance their loved ones could still be alive, they wouldn't want to call them back from death. That was the hope, anyway.

"Who needs to be treated first?" Shiori pointed to Miranda, who pointed back. Then Reever pointed to Lenalee, Johnny pointed to Shiori, and Miranda stopped pointing at Shiori and pointed at Reever, Lenalee pointed at Reever, and Shiori pointed at Johnny, who pointed at Lenalee. A moment later they let their hands drop and laughed.

"I mean, we're worried about everyone," Johnny said with an embarrassed half-grin.

"Yeah, they need your help first," everyone said at once, causing Matron and Komui to sigh in frustration.

"Would you mind operating on Kimura first?" Komui asked. "She received several deep wounds."

"What kind and where?" Matron asked, moving towards Shiori, who began sulking.

The Akuma... Shiori shook her head and started again out loud. "Bite and puncture wounds..." Slowly she touched the spots where the injuries were, mostly on her back and shoulders. "I think they were bleeding a lot but I can't remember. I guess that makes sense, though…I think." Her voice sounded a little unsteady.

"Well, we'll get you fixed up. Camille, could you get the anesthetic, please?" Matron asked and Camille quickly obeyed and began administering it to Shiori. Finders were required to have medical training in case they or the exorcists they helped got injured, so she knew what to do. The female Finder snuck a quick glance over her should as she waited for the anesthetic to take effect, and she saw Emile and Komui waiting beside Johnny, Reever, and Lenalee. They also had a tray of medical supplies and looked ready to start treating the three of them, too. Matron looked over at Miranda and said gently, "You can deactivate your Innocence now. It'll be alright." Miranda nodded once, reluctantly, then closed her eyes and willed her Innocence to deactivate. The cuts on Johnny and Reever and the gashes on their foreheads opened up again and they had the unpleasant sensation of blood creeping down their foreheads, and tensed when the searing pain returned. Miranda felt her soreness and mild cuts returning, but for the most part felt fine. Lavi, Lenalee, and Shiori had done a good job of keeping the Akuma's attention elsewhere. Emile began treating Johnny and Komui began administering Reever.

Shiori was taken by surprise as well when her injuries returned. Her mouth opened wide as if she was about to gasp or scream, but then it closed and she appeared to go into a daze as blood spurted from her wounds and soaked the Finder's cloak she was wearing. Matron pulled a screen around them, and then she and Camille quickly got to work. Komui had used Camille's medical supplies to treat them, but now he removed the old bandages around the scientists' heads. He cleaned the injuries again, re-bandaged them carefully, then went to check on Lenalee. He changed the bandage on her head where she'd gotten a deep cut and then gently touched her ankle to make sure the bandage was still tightly wrapped. It was, and he'd set it on the train. He'd been worried it would re-break when Miranda de-activated Time Record, but as he gently fingered Lenalee's ankle, to his relief he discovered that although it was still broken, it was set exactly like he'd left it on the train. The swelling was starting to go down but he could see purple and blue bruising extending from under the bandage and he winced in sympathy. Komui left momentarily then returned with a medium sized bag of ice. He lifted his sister's leg gently and stretched it out across the bed, then put the ice pack on it.

"How is your ankle, Lenalee? Does it hurt?" Komui asked, looking up with a concerned, focused expression, and she smiled and shook her head.

"It doesn't hurt as much since I'm not walking, and the bandage and ice are helping a lot." Komui sighed and stood up, then ruffled Lenalee's hair affectionately, but she frowned at him.

"I'm not a kid anymore," she said indignantly, but felt her mouth stretch into a smile.

"You'll still always be my baby sister," Komui said. Johnny and Reever exchanged amused glances.

"Awww," they chimed in unison and Komui cast them a menacing look and they slid off of the beds they were sitting on.

"Well," Reever said, lifting an arm to wave, "we're feeling better, so I think we can leave."

"We'd better turn in, anyway," Johnny said, smiling slightly. "Take care of yourself, Lenalee." Matron had given them the all-clear to leave.

"Thank you; I will," she said back with a friendly wave.

"And Kimura, too," Johnny added, casting a worried glance toward the privacy screens.

"She's fine," Matron called, having overhead even though Johnny had been attempting to whisper, "her injuries are serious but if she gets enough rest I think she'll pull through. In a couple weeks or so she'll be completely back to normal." Johnny and Reever smiled at Matron, then seemed to remember something, and in unison they gave Komui a sharp look.

"What?" He asked innocently, but Reever and Johnny knew better than to trust his hurt expression.

"Don't make any Komurins!" Johnny exclaimed. "We've just gotten here and started to settle in."

"Everyone's worked hard so far so try and control yourself," Reever scolded fiercely before leaving with Johnny. Lenalee held a hand to her mouth and giggled, but after she had waved goodbye and watched the two researchers leave, she seemed to think of something.

"Shiori will need a new uniform and new clothes. And, well…new underwear, too. I guess since it's easier to get to towns we can go looking for clothes for her." Komui nodded.

"Leave the uniform to me," he said. "She can wear an extra one we have now but later on I'll ask her what style of uniform she wants. I doubt she'll be comfortable with any clothes for a while, though, judging on how she's lived these past few years." Lenalee hugged her brother goodbye and Komui left the room. Miranda looked back into the room briefly and then followed Komui out of the Infirmary. Sighing tiredly and stretching, Lenalee curled up under the covers of the Infirmary bed she was in and closed her eyes, and soon felt her body becoming heavier as gradually she fell into a deep sleep.

Ow. Hurts. Ow. A lot.

That's good. Well, not good….but it means you're not dead. What do you remember happening last?

An Akuma almost killing Lenalee and me.

But you both defeated it. Remember that much now?

Shiori looked towards where the voice came from but just saw a somewhat short human figure. She was unable to make out who it was because the figure was shadowed, like a bright light was shining from behind it and the place Shiori was in was dark. Looking down Shiori discovered two furry paws of a wolf instead of a human's feet; looked back over her shoulders, she saw more fur and a long bushy tail. Didn't I turn back into a person? Why am I still like this?

You've been in wolf form for a long time, so now it's how you see yourself, the figure commented.

Really? Shiori thought, tilting her head and feeling a spark of interest. She'd never thought of it like that. Her human form had changed over the years, so Shiori didn't really know how to see her present self. The last image she had of herself was how she looked at fourteen, but after a while Shiori began to just picture herself as a wolf. It was too strange to think of her human form and since the exorcist's physical body had probably changed over the two years, who knew what she looked like. She could barely remember how she looked as a fourteen-year-old now.

With time you'll probably start to picture yourself as human again.

Who are you? Shiori asked, finally getting around to the question. She'd been trying to guess who was talking to her, but her head was foggy, and she couldn't come up with an answer. You seem like you know me. A light laugh filtered to her ears.

Of course I know you. We've been together for a long time. Shiori gave a long, tired sigh and felt herself curl up into a ball.

I'm tired. I can't think now, whoever you are. Hands pressed against the sides of her muzzle and gently lifted Shiori's head. Wearily, the exorcist lifted her eyes open halfway.

Don't go back to sleep now.

Too late.

Hey! There are fleas and they'll get you unless you get up and get away!

AAAAARGGGGHH! Shiori jolted up in bed, eyes wide and her hands brushing frantically across her arms and legs. She stopped suddenly when she realized there were no fleas on her. She groaned, her body aching from her healing injuries, then growled, "Kisho, you little twerp. Wait a second…." The exorcist blinked at her surroundings. She was in a hospital-like setting and in a flash, she remembered what had happened, and recalled that she was at the new Black Order's headquarters. Wondering when she had fallen asleep, the exorcist glanced around, but there were no windows—that she could see—that let light in so she didn't know what time it was now. Yawning, Shiori glanced at her lap, where her hands were resting, but couldn't see her skin because of the white sleeves that were covering her arms. They just reached her wrists, but Shiori folded them back once. Then she pushed the covers down and saw that black dress pants were covering her legs. Pinching a section of the material that was over her left knee, Shiori pulled it briefly, then let go. The fabric snapped quickly back to its original position. Whatever kind of fabric this outfit was made out of, it was sturdy and flexible, but still comfortable. She liked her new outfit; the shirt and pants breathed well and felt just the right size. Shiori made a mental note to thank whoever had given her the clothes to wear—it had probably been Komui….but hoped that someone else had actually put them on her.

Shiori became aware of a quiet, but odd sound in the room. She leaned back against her pillows and glanced around the room. Most of the exorcists had been discharged from the Infirmary, but a few remained and were currently sleeping. They didn't seem to have woken up from her angry exclamation earlier. A few snored and some breathed lightly, but they didn't sound like what Shiori had just heard. Then she noticed someone sitting up a few beds away, and the person's head was buried in his arms, which would shake slightly at intervals as if he was crying. Shiori pushed the covers away and stiffly put her legs over the side of the bed and stood up, wincing as her healing injuries burned, but she began walking around the other beds and soon was standing at the person's bedside.

"Hey," she said gently, putting her hand on the edge of his bed to steady herself, "Should I call Matron to come and check on you?" The person shook his head and didn't look at her. "What's the matter, then?" Shiori asked quietly, being careful to not sound too commanding, for whatever was bothering him seemed to be something important.

"The….the exorcist I was…on a mission with….was killed…" Finally lifting his head, Shiori saw that the person had a bandage around the whole left side of his face. The female exorcist also noticed that there were casts and a sling around both of his arms, and a thick wrapping of bandages holding a large white patch was over the right side of his head, hiding half of his face from view. He was bald, so she had no clue what color his hair was. It seemed that his hair had been shaved so the area could be operated on and bandaged. The person gave her a harsh look and covered his face with his arms again. Lowering her head and giving a quiet sigh, the female exorcist sat on the edge of his bed.

"You're a Finder, right?" She asked softly, and the person raised his head slightly and nodded once. "Whatever happened, I doubt it was your fault."

"Are you serious?" He hissed. "Finders are supposed to die protecting exorcists—not the other way around. Even if I didn't want to die, I knew what my responsibility was. I don't know why he did it—I just don't know why." Hesitating momentarily, Shiori took a deep breath. Kisho didn't have his Innocence anymore, so he was more like a Finder than an exorcist. What else was left for him to become in order to stay here? He didn't have much aptitude for being a scientist or researcher, even if he was smart, and liked reading and studying some things…

If Kisho did become a Finder, he was just as likely or more likely to die now if he was in the field with Akuma. But she pushed aside the thought for now and hoped it would be okay to ask this Finder questions.

"What….I mean….how did it happen?" The Finder looked away as if ashamed, but his tone gave Shiori the impression he'd been wanting to talk.

"….Well….the exorcist I was with was fighting some Level Three Akuma, and there was a Level Four that I was trying to keep trapped while he finished them off. But it was too strong to be trapped for long and it broke free. The next thing I knew I was on the ground, I couldn't feel the right side of my face, and my arms felt like they were broken. My whole body hurt so much that I couldn't move." The young man looked at himself. "My arms are broken, one was a closed fracture, but the other was open. Matron fixed it and it's not infected, but I might not be able to use it as well as my left….and I won't use my eye again." Shiori closed her eyes, failing to suppress a shudder, but kept listening as the person continued with his account.

"Then I saw that Terence was fighting the Level Four. He was hurt, and badly, from what I could see. But even though he was hurt and the Level Four attacked him, he managed to kill it…" the Finder looked away, "but Terence died. I stayed conscious long enough for him to give me his Anti-Akuma Weapon—it was Equip—and then he was gone. I wanted to treat his injuries—I didn't believe he was gone—but I tried moving and the pain was so bad that I must have passed out. I don't remember anything except waking up here but I knew I'd kept his Anti-Akuma Weapon." He paused, and Shiori didn't say anything, just waited for him to start talking again. "Komui came and told me later that he'd given the Innocence back to Hevlaska." The teenager gave a miserable sigh. "I didn't know if I was going to die, but he said he wanted me to hold on until someone came to help me." His fists clenched. "'Me', not 'us'."

"I'm….really sorry," Shiori murmured, not sure what else she could say. Terence was already dead, so what good would any of her words do? And Shiori knew that every time she tried to make someone feel better, she just made things worse. It was probably because she had an automatic tendency to be blunt instead of comforting, and thus any attempt to make people feel better usually failed. But what she'd said seemed to calm the Finder down marginally, for he sat up slowly and leaned back against the headboard.

"I woke up here and when I asked where he was….even though I remembered what he said, I still asked….and Matron just looked away and didn't answer, so I knew. But it's, well…the worst part was….he had a family, somewhere. His wife died, but he still had a son, even though he lost him."

"'Lost him'?" Shiori echoed, and received a shrug.

"I didn't ask much. Even if we were friends, I didn't feel like prying. Terence just said that he had a son but he didn't know where he was. I don't know if he got kidnapped, or they just got separated or something, but it seemed like he wanted to go find him. When we were going to Germany, where our last mission was, I saw him looking at a picture of someone. I got a glimpse of it and there were three people in it—him, a woman and a baby. But I didn't find the picture after that. But even if I had it, it wouldn't really do any good."

"I guess not…." Shiori concurred, feeling a pang of anguish, even though she had never known any of the people this Finder was talking about. That didn't matter, really; she knew how losing someone felt….hell, everyone at the Order probably did, whether it was the Earl's fault or not.

"But maybe I could, sometime. I know his family name, and his kid's name….but he wouldn't look the same now…" The Finder murmured, seemingly to no one in particular; Shiori felt a pulse of worry and tried to strike up a conversation again.

"What's….uh….what's your name?"

"Celio. Celio Ruiz." He looked at Shiori with a curious and wary expression. "What's yours?"

"Shiori Kimura," she replied, giving her first name first, since the Finder had Celio nodded once, then looked away. "And…." She really wasn't any good at consolation, "….don't blame yourself for what happened to him." Shiori felt her heart squeeze with dismay when Celio turned his light brown eyes, narrowed in hostility, at her but she kept going. "I mean….not that it makes things any better…but if he was here now and you were dead, he'd probably have wanted to have died instead of you." Celio stared at her, suddenly not angry. "He'd be thinking there was something he could have done to save you. So…it's hard to think about…but since you're here right now, he did what he wanted and saved you."

"Exorcists take more priority to protect, and it's a Finder's job to protect them," Celio said fiercely, and Shiori could tell he wasn't just reciting the party line; there was a strange light in his visible eye that let her know how much he meant what he said. She began to take deep breaths in and out, but Celio didn't notice. "We were friends from a long time ago. Even though we'd been going on mission for six years, and helped each other out, I still knew that if I had a choice of saving myself or him…I had to—and would—choose him," Celio said, then closed his eyes and shook his head.

What if Emile did that? Or Toma or Camille? Or….Kisho….

"I wish I could've saved him….because he saved me, he died. I guess he was thinking the same thing I was, though. Conflicting interests. But if he hadn't died, he could have gone off to go see his wife again—well…her grave—and maybe find his kid…"

"Celio," a voice said firmly, making Shiori and the Finder jump, and they saw that Matron had come in and was walking towards them. "I've told you this before, Celio, but you're still moping. I'll say it once more and hope you believe me this time: Terence's death wasn't your fault. He'd been injured badly by the Level Three, according to your account, and he pushed himself too hard when he fought the Level Four. It was so you'd be able to live, but it wasn't your fault that he died. And you kept his Innocence safe. If an exorcist is beyond help, you retrieve their Innocence." Shiori nodded hesitantly when Celio just sat with an incensed expression and didn't respond.

"Things just….happen sometimes," she said solemnly, "and some of the time it's not anyone's fault….do you know what I mean?" Without warning Shiori's expression darkened. "But in that case…."

"The Earl…it's because of him that Akuma show up." The Finder closed his eyes and clenched his teeth and fists. "You know, sometimes I just want to go out and find him so I can make him suffer like he's made so many others suffer….but I'm not an exorcist. He'd wipe the floor with me."

"And even if you were," Matron said sternly, piercing Celio with a scolding glare, "you wouldn't end up accomplishing anything. And you'd just be needlessly endangering your life." Celio sighed and his fists unclenched slowly.

"You're the voice of reason, as always, Matron." The Finder lowered his head and held a hand to it. "You, Terence, and about a thousand others always told me I was too quick-tempered for my own good…" he muttered, and Matron stepped forward and held her arm out; Celio took the glass of water that she had been holding and drank it slowly.

"Get some sleep, Celio. You need to recover." Matron retrieved the water glass once Celio had finished.

"...Goodnight, Matron, and Kimura. Thanks….both of you," he said quietly with a forced smile before settling under the covers. Once he had dozed off Matron watched Shiori head back to her bed and took her arm as the exorcist stumbled dizzily.

"You should get some rest, as well. When you wake up I'll bring something for you to eat." Shiori nodded gratefully and slid into her bed, and began thinking about everything Celio had said.

She knew where her brother's path was heading, and even though she was trying not to, Shiori felt deep down that it would lead Kisho to becoming a Finder. The siblings hadn't exactly chosen the safest job out there, but still….for the first time Shiori wished that Kisho had never come to The Black Order. Knowing that if he hadn't he'd probably be dead just made her feel worse for wanting him to have stayed away. Shiori pulled the covers over her head and curled up in a ball. Despite her troubled thoughts, after a while of tossing and turning, she became exhausted from worrying and dropped off to sleep.