Chapter 44 - Forward
"Cloud!" Kisho called, and ran up to her when she stopped and turned to face him. "I mean, General, ma'am…" She touched his lips gently with her right hand, shushing him.
"Call me what you always called me, Kisho. It's alright." The female General smiled. "What did you want to tell me?"
"I wanted to thank you for saving me, and training me…and I just wanted to tell you that.." Kisho trailed off but when Cloud Nyne nodded gently he continued. "I'm a Finder now. I like it, but I liked being an exorcist, too…but I think that being a Finder was the right thing for me to do."
"I think you're right. And the fact that you helped Allen made your decision even more important. We might not still have him if you hadn't done something." Kisho nodded.
"Right. So I don't regret." Kisho smiled up at Cloud Nyne. "I learned to not want any other outcome from you, even if what happened wasn't the best. But I think what happened was the best outcome." Cloud Nyne nodded once, and her eyes got a faraway look in them.
"You're exactly right. We try and help people move on." The General's eyes cleared and she looked down at Kisho again. "About Hyun-Ae….she didn't act in an appropriate manner. Komui and I have discussed the incident with her." Kisho narrowed his eyes doubtfully.
"She wouldn't hurt anyone, would she? She said some things that made me think she didn't care about the exorcists."
"She won't," Cloud Nyne responded with an understanding look. "I can tell you that there were some events in her life, and recently, that made her do what she did. She thought what she was doing was for the best. If you want me to tell you her motives, I will, but if not then she may tell you on her own eventually." Kisho shook his head. He doubted Hyun-Ae's reasons would make sense, and even if he heard them, he might not care about what they were. Cloud Nyne faintly smiled and continued. "Komui and I have spoken to her about the incident. She is still a trustworthy ally, but we are keeping an eye on her, as much for her sake as The Black Order's. We don't need to lose any of our members now."
"She tried to do something to me with her Innocence…what was it?" Cloud Nyne looked troubled but answered.
"Her Innocence has the ability to cover up people's memories, to obscure them so that they're just like a very early memory. A handful of exorcists can do this. She didn't want you to remember what she'd asked you to do, but she didn't get the chance to cover up what you'd seen."
"I'll still work with her…I mean, I have to, but that's not the only reason. Just…she wanted me to stop looking for Innocence. Maybe that's the part I agreed I didn't want to know…but is that all okay? With you and Komui?" He asked insistently.
"It is. That's what we discussed with Hyun-Ae, and we managed to convince her to not act on her own like that again, or try to use her Innocence on you anymore. We also reminded her again of what the exorcists' job is, and how important they are—how she must trust them. And herself, since of course she is an exorcist too."
"That's a relief," Kisho mumbled with a sigh. "Then I don't have anything else to complain about. Thank you, Cloud."
"It's my pleasure. Why don't we—" The General began, but stopped when a faint but high-pitched sound caught her attention. Kisho noticed it also and stood with a confused look on his face. The sounds were familiar, but he couldn't place them yet. Then the strange noise got closer and the two were able to listen closely and hear what it was. It sounded like scared yelping. As if in confirmation Shiori—as a wolf—suddenly tore down the hall from around a corner and was running so quickly that Cloud Nyne and Kisho's hair ruffled back and then forward as she galloped by. She appeared to be afraid and running away from something—her ears were flat, her eyes wide, and her tail was between her legs. The young teenager glanced up at his mentor and she looked down at him. Both people had bewildered expressions on their faces. Then, trying not to laugh, Kisho gestured an open hand to where Shiori had disappeared around another corner.
"Have you met my sister?" He asked casually as if he was politely introducing her to the General. A louder sound than the yelps broke the brief silence and then a brown duck was waddling swiftly down the hall, flapping her wings and quacking. Then she had disappeared around the corner after Shiori. "And Marbelline the duck?" Cloud Nyne stared after the bird, then at Kisho, and started laughing. Lau Jimin was screeching and clapping his paws.
"This place has gotten a lot of animal variety recently," she said while laughing softly. "Should we see where they're going?"
"Sure," Kisho replied.
"I hope it's not the cafeteria," a voice said, and Kisho immediately turned around and couldn't help narrowing his eyes at Hyun-Ae, who was walking down the hall with Allen walking calmly beside her. Timcampy was on his shoulder. When the two exorcists stopped the golden Golem flew towards Lau Jimin and circled Cloud Nyne a few times. The monkey gazed at Timcampy the way a cat watches a bird and suddenly reached his paws out and grabbed the Golem by the tail and tugged a few times before letting go. Timcampy fluttered back to Allen's shoulder and swished his tail indignantly.
"That's what you get, Timcampy," Allen chuckled, then nodded respectfully to Cloud Nyne. "Good to see you. I hope you're doing well." The General nodded.
"Well enough. Where were you two headed?"
"The cafeteria."
"Let's walk together. Does that sound good, General?" Hyun-Ae asked, and neither Allen nor Kisho said anything. It was Cloud Nyne who nodded once and responded politely.
"That sounds excellent," she replied pleasantly, and turned to lead the way. As the group followed her and Kisho fell back to trudge along while Hyun-Ae walked next to Cloud Nyne, Allen noticed that Kisho was glaring unpleasantly at the Korean exorcist's back. He tapped Kisho's shoulder and the younger teenager looked over and up at him.
What's going on with you and her? Allen thought, and Kisho was silent for a moment, his face dark. They could communicate with their thoughts because Kisho had some of the Innocence that Allen now had in his blood. That was what they guessed, anyway, because it was similar to how Shiori communicated with people as an animal.
I just don't like her. Kisho looked at Hyun-Ae's back and glared again. And she sounds polite, like she was honestly asking what Cloud Nyne wanted to do, but she's being sarcastic.
That's just how she is, Allen thought back with a sigh and shake of his head. You used to not be this bothered by her attitude. That seems like the right way to handle her.
Well, I'll ignore her around here, anyway. But on missions…
Right… I bet even she knows that she should be cooperative on missions.
Hope so.
"We're here. What do you two look so serious about?"
None of your damn business, Kisho wanted to snap, but he just took a quick breath and said, "Nothing. Let's go inside." The two women walked into the cafeteria before Allen and Kisho and Hyun-Ae stepped back so that Cloud Nyne would be first in line. The General raised her eyebrows, looking slightly taken by surprise, before she smiled and nodded her head modestly. Allen gave an amused smile and knocked Kisho lightly on the head when he noticed that the Finder was balling his fists. It might be because Cloud Nyne was here, but the kid was suddenly acting a little differently than usual.
Alright, alright…I'll ignore her. Cloud Nyne ordered her lunch, then Hyun-Ae, and when they were done Allen and Kisho stepped up. While they were waiting to order Hyun-Ae tapped his shoulder and he jumped a little and stepped back. She was smiling and that unnerved and annoyed him. "What is it?" He asked, trying (but probably failing) not to sound faintly annoyed. She apparently had to tell him something but Kisho doubted it actually was necessary or important. Hyun-Ae motioned for him to step aside and he hesitatingly obeyed.
"Are you still upset about our little meeting before?" She was still smiling, an expression that was too adorable for her. But still, the fact that it even was adorable annoyed Kisho.
"Yes, I'm upset," he replied, frowning at her. "I know that apparently everything's worked out, and I won't say anything about what happened from now on." Hyun-Ae's eyes brightened a little but any other time Kisho wouldn't have noticed it. "I don't want to make a big thing out of it, but I still don't want to talk to you outside of what my duties are." The exorcist gazed at him, and the Finder stared up at her without turning away. Kisho stared into her medium-brown eyes and told himself that he just wanted to decipher the meaning behind the emotions in them. But he couldn't figure anything out, and he ended up just being drawn in. He'd never looked closely enough at her to realize that there was a lot more feeling in her eyes than she showed everyone. Then Kisho glowered as Hyun-Ae's smile faded and she sighed at him.
"I was just trying to do that for your good, you know," she said, almost mournfully. "And everyone else's, too."
"Do you think that will make me change my mind about what I do?" Kisho asked sharply in an undertone. "It won't." Hyun-Ae was just starting to say something when her words turned into a startled yell halfway. She jumped away from Kisho and looked down. Shiori was standing there, her ears and tail raised. Marbelline was nestled between her shoulder blades and didn't seem the least bit angry now.
"Oh, it's you," Hyun-Ae grunted, obviously not happy to see Shiori, but a tiny hint of amusement at seeing the duck showed in her expression now. "Well, what is it, Fluffy?" Shiori growled and the Korean exorcist narrowed her eyes down at the canine, but seemed a little wary as the wolf stepped in front of Kisho. Hyun-Ae stepped back even further when Shiori's lips lifted and her fangs became visible. There was silence for a moment; then Hyun-Ae returned to her old demeanor. "Fine, Fluffy, I'm leaving. He's all yours." Kisho and Shiori jumped, since the suggestive tone in her voice had been crystal clear. Face reddening, Kisho spoke slowly but didn't bother to keep the aggravation out of his voice.
"Are you stupid?" He hissed. Hyun-Ae appeared to be surprised.
"What? Oh, come on now. You aren't really related," she declared indifferently.
"That doesn't matter," he growled quietly. "We're still siblings." A strange glint had come into the female exorcist's eyes as she looked at Kisho and Shiori.
"So you're available," Hyun-Ae stated innocently, and she barely reacted when a loud growl from Shiori filled the air.
Jerry had just finished Cloud Nyne and Hyun-Ae's meals and, along with the nearest section of the dining hall, was silently watching the small confrontation. Cloud Nyne quietly picked up her tray and moved towards Kisho and Shiori while Hyun-Ae got her tray and walked off without a backward glance. Allen took his place in line and began ordering his usual huge lunch, and while he was waiting, turned and walked towards the small group. Shiori hid her teeth when the General approached and touched her on the head.
"So you are Kisho's brother?" Cloud Nyne asked. "I think that he may have told you I was his mentor, but all the same, it's nice to meet you. He told me a lot about you, and now we finally meet each other. My name is Cloud Nyne." Shiori sat down and Marbelline slid off of her back without a complaint and waddled off towards a table where Lenalee, Chaoji, and Miranda were sitting. Allen watched her go with an amused expression; Timcampy had flown after her and was hovering just next to her. Then Allen, Kisho and Cloud Nyne laughed when Shiori held up her right paw and put it in the General's hand. "How polite," she chuckled, shaking Shiori's paw in greeting, and then they let go. "Did you already get something to eat?" The wolf moved her head back and forth.
"It's because you were too busy being chased by a duck, right?" Shiori sniffed and wagged her tail. "Mm-hm. What did you do?" The wolf traced her right paw in a circle and lowered her head. "She thought you were trying to eat her and she chased you?" Kisho snickered and Shiori growled at him. "You're wrong. It's still funny."
"So you can communicate with her by thought," Cloud Nyne remarked. "What did she say?" Kisho looked up and smiled.
"She was trying to play with the duck, but wound up scaring her and getting chased and bitten a lot." Kisho glanced down at his sister abruptly. "She can run fast. You know for next time, don't you?" Shiori showed her teeth to Kisho but unlike last time, he could tell she was just joking around. Cloud Nyne nudged Kisho and led the two of them over to Jerry, who brightened and waved.
"Hello!" He said cheerfully. "What will you have?"
"I had pasta once…with chicken, spinach, mushrooms, and some kind of cheese sauce….I don't know what it was called." Jerry smiled and nodded.
"I can manage that! How about you, doggy?" Shiori jumped onto her back paws and pressed her front ones against the stone wall of the dining hall. "The usual?" He asked before the wolf did anything and received a nod. "Chicken florentine, seafood pasta, a ham and cheese crepe, and lobster bisque." The last three things were for Shiori. She'd had some new foods recently but already Kisho thought her meals were just weird combinations. "I'll get your usual drinks too."
"Back again, Mr. Harmony Pearl Tea?" Lavi clamped his hands on either side of Kisho's head and leaned over him. "Let me know how all that harmony's working for you."
"I'm doing fine, thanks, but kindly get off of me." Kisho grabbed Lavi's wrists and attempted to wrench them away but he let go on his own. Shiori and Cloud Nyne were looking on and Cloud Nyne was smiling while Shiori was wagging her tail.
"It's good how they get along," the General murmured. "A bit like brothers." A short while later the group had their food and was heading to where Lenalee, Chaoji and Miranda were sitting. Lavi had a peculiar expression on his face and his arms were crossed.
"Didn't I tell you?" He said as soon as everyone had sat down. There was silence for a moment until everyone figured out that he'd been addressing Kisho, and then everyone's eyes were looking towards him. Kisho stared back.
"You told me lots of things." He picked up his spoon and slid some of the bowtie pasta onto it. "Which thing are you talking about?" Kisho asked, then put the spoon in his mouth and started chewing the pasta.
"That Hyun-Ae bothers you because she likes you." Kisho widened his eyes and he choked and started coughing; everyone covered their food and urged him to drink something.
"She's just odd," Kisho gasped after drinking some of his milk tea. "You're confusing dislike and affection."
"You keep saying that," Lavi groaned. "When are you going to admit you have a thing for her too?"
"Never," Kisho grunted and returned to his food, but was sure that no one would believe him.
"Really?" Lavi asked lazily. "Then why is your face red?" Kisho looked down at his chicken florentine.
"It's hot." Lenalee, Miranda, and Lavi laughed, while Chaoji held a hand to his forehead and sighed.
"Hot? Your food, or the weather? Because it's definitely not the weather," Lenalee laughed. "It's only two weeks into November and it's snowing." Shiori suddenly perked her ears up, taking a break from eating as cleanly as she could from her plates. When she was an animal and ate she often made a mess (even if she could awkwardly hold her toothbrush there was no way she could handle cutlery) so Shiori ate a few places away from everyone until she was done eating and had wiped her mouth off. "Um," Lenalee said, looking over at Shiori, who was wagging her tail and staring at Kisho while she lifted a paw and pointed at him. It was a strange sight. Shiori held up her right paw. "One word? Do you want to play a game?" The wolf shook her head and pointed her paw at Kisho, then raised her paw again. "Something about him?"
"This could take a while," Chaoji mumbled, resting his face in his hands. "One word. Short?" Lavi snorted.
"You can just tell us," Miranda said, indicating Lenalee, Lavi, and herself. Shiori shook her head and everyone moaned.
"It is more fun this way." Lavi grinned, then waved. "Yuu! Shady's playing Charades. It's one word about Kikun." Kanda stopped and briefly glanced at Kisho; a wisp of a smirk crossed his face before he became serious again.
"Brat," he said, then kept walking.
"I'm just waiting for this to be over…" Kisho grumbled, picking at his food. Shiori meanwhile had lowered her arm and was lowering her ears crossly when Lenalee's face brightened.
"Wait. Does it have something to do with it being November?" Shiori barked. "About him? Is it his birthday?" She wagged her tail again.
"Hey!" Kisho snapped, dropping his spoon just as he was about to take a bite of pasta. "I didn't tell everyone when it was your birthday!"
That's because I hate my birthday. Shiori was wagging her tail in what seemed to be a smug manner. Kisho narrowed his eyes.
"What about all of your favorite foods you asked Jerry for that day—exactly what mom made for you each year." He threw a piece of bowtie pasta at Shiori but she opened her mouth and caught it. "Don't tell me that wasn't a birthday meal." Shiori snorted and moved back to her spot at the table and resumed eating.
"How old are you?" Miranda asked with a polite smile.
"Twelve," Kisho replied, glancing at Lavi on purpose. They shared a laugh. "Not really. I'm fifteen now."
"You're the right age for you-know-who now," Lavi said, winking, and he jumped when a piece of pasta smacked him in the forehead and stuck there.
"Shut up," Kisho warned, pointing his spoon at the redhead, who pulled the piece of pasta off in disgust and threw it to Shiori, who caught and ate it.
"Oh no, a spoon," he said in mock fear.
"That's right," Kisho said, putting another piece of pasta in his spoon. As he aimed it, Lavi grabbed Shiori by the collar and dragged her across the bench towards him.
"Get it!" He yelled as Kisho flung pasta at them.
What the fetch? The pasta flew into Shiori's face and stuck in her fur, but she combed it out and threw it at Lavi. He dodged when he saw the wolf lifting her arm and it went flying through the air. Uh-oh, Shiori thought, seeing Noise Marie walking up and moving into the pasta's line of fire, but the exorcist caught it easily and acted like nothing had happened. Shiori never ceased to be amazed.
"Pardon me, but I need Chaoji to come with me. Komui has a mission for Kanda, Chaoji, and myself." Chaoji finished the last few bites of his seafood congee, picked his dishes up, and walked away. The remaining group waved goodbye.
"We'll see you later!" Miranda called, waving, and Noise smiled kindly to her and walked off. Chaoji left with him after dropping off his dishes.
"Who wants to go outside for some training?" Lavi suggested suddenly and everyone at the table looked at him.
"What kind of training?" Kisho asked curiously after finishing the rest of his pasta.
"The kind that you can only do when it's snowing," the redhead replied with an eager grin.
"Oh, great. You mean snow fights," Lenalee sighed.
"That's exactly what I mean!" Lavi confirmed eagerly, rising to his feet. "We'll be having fun but getting exercise, so what's the problem? Let's go!" After glancing at each other, Allen, Miranda, Lenalee, Kisho, and Cloud Nyne stood and followed after cleaning up their plates and thanking Jerry for the meal. Once outside everyone discussed briefly and decided to split up into teams. Miranda, Lenalee, Cloud Nyne, and Lau Jimin paired up, while Allen, Lavi, Kisho, and Marbelline got into a group. Then each team quickly got to work and made a mini-snow fort which had a protective wall in front and two walls that surrounded the team members. The snow fort Allen, Lavi, and Kisho had built had walls seven feet high when they'd finished. Kisho had looked around the edge of the wall at a prompt from his teammates and almost got a snowball in his face.
"Guys against girls, huh?" Allen whispered as the three of them cut squares in the main wall, openings big enough to toss snowballs through.
"Marbelline's with us," Lavi said. The duck was sitting in the hood of the brown Finder cloak Kisho was wearing. "She's a girl, and Lau Jimin's with them…I think he's a guy but I doubt anyone's really thought to check. And I don't even know if he'd have..." Lavi trailed off. "…those parts." Kisho used the knife he was training with to cut some square openings, Lavi used a little fire to melt holes, while Allen used his claws to slice openings. Soon there were openings at Kisho's, Lavi's, and Allen's height.
"This is kind of like Himeji Castle…" Kisho thought aloud. "With all the openings that archers or gunmen could fire through." Lavi peeked through one of the square openings, then bent down to make a snowball. "They're called loopholes sometimes in English."
"Where's Himeji Castle?"
"A lot further south from where Shiori and I lived, and kind of to the southwest of Edo…I think. Where I lived, all anyone heard about it was that recently some rich person bought it, and that it has restless spirits." Lavi threw a snowball through one of the openings and looked down at Kisho.
"Spirits?" The Finder nodded. "Are you pulling my leg?"
"Uh….does that mean…" He stalled.
"He wants to know if you're kidding," Allen said while tossing a snowball over the top of the wall. Startled yells and screams broke the silence a moment later. "One for us!" He yelled triumphantly.
"Then no," Kisho answered. "They call the spirit Okiku. She worked at the castle for a samurai who thought she was very beautiful. Every time the samurai approached Okiku, wanting to marry her, she rejected him."
"Loser," Lavi snorted. Allen rolled his eyes.
"The samurai was angry that she kept rejecting him, so he played a trick on her. Okiku took care of a set of ten of plates that belonged to the family living in the castle, and the samurai played a trick and hid one. Okiku thought she had lost it, and she kept counting the plates up to nine, but never found the tenth one. Losing one of the plates was a crime punishable by death. Okiku went to the samurai and confessed to losing the plate, and he said if she would be his lover, he'd forget the whole thing."
"Huh. So did she?"
"No." Kisho shook his head. "She refused him again. The samurai became furious and threw her down the castle's well."
"Wouldn't a huge castle have more than one well?" Lavi asked.
"Probably. He threw her down one of the wells on the grounds, and Okiku died from the fall. But after that she became a vengeful spirit who haunted the samurai for a while. Okiku would count up to nine, but just like she did in life for the plates, she couldn't find the tenth plate and her ghost would scream, then vanish. This continued until an exorcist was called."
"An exorcist…" Allen murmured curiously.
"The 'exorcist' was probably a priest or a monk," Kisho explained. "It is interesting, though. Haven't some ghosts or monsters just been Akuma?" Allen and Lavi nodded resolutely.
"Yeah." Allen crossed his arms in thought and Lavi knelt and began making a pile of snowballs. "What happened after they called the exorcist?"
"The exorcist waited until Okiku appeared and began counting the plates like she did every night. Before she vanished, the exorcist yelled 'Ten!' and that allowed Okiku to go rest since someone had found the plate for her. The samurai wasn't bothered by Okiku anymore, but he'd kind of gone crazy by then." Kisho tossed a snowball he'd rolled through one of the openings he'd made and watched it hit the front of the girls' fort.
"Kind of sad, but I think he deserved it," Lavi commented and pitched two snowballs over the top of their fort. Yells and a bark followed, but this time a minute later a snowball landed next to Allen, another grazed Lavi's arm, and the last one hit Kisho in the face and made him fall backwards into the snow.
"Has anyone actually seen her or did they just make that up?" Lavi asked, gulping, hoping he'd never have to go to that castle. Kisho wiped the snow off of his face and stood up, brushing snow off as he picked up a snowball.
"One for us!" Lenalee was heard yelling from the other side.
"Well, some say it's a real story, but I don't know. From what I've heard and seen, I don't think it's a ghost."
"Yeah. It's either an Akuma or nothing at all," Allen stated resolutely. "If it is an Akuma no one's reported anything about it."
"And the story's really old." Kisho threw a snowball but as he looked through the opening a golden blur caught the snowball and flew away with it. Allen had seen it too and looked around the edge of their fort.
"Timcampy!" He called, wondering where the Golem had gotten to. Allen and Kisho watched Timcampy fly over their fort and drop the snowball. It fell on Lavi's head—he'd been too busy looking through one of the openings in their fort to pay attention. He jolted and brushed the snow off, then shivered as some went down his shirt.
"It's cold. How long have we been out here?"
"Twenty minutes, maybe?" Allen guessed. Suddenly a hail of snowballs rained from the sky and the males ducked for cover and tried their best to dodge.
"Give up?" Miranda yelled, sounding unexpectedly competitive. The only reply the boys gave were yelps and shouts of pain.
"Ow!"
"Whoa!"
"AGH! That snowball was hard!" Allen brushed the snow away from a snowball and found a hard gray stone. "Did you put a rock in it?"
"Oh, a rock? How'd that get in there?" Came Lenalee's overly-innocent reply.
"You put one in!" Kisho yelped, looking at Allen's forehead. There was a slight cut and small bruise forming. "That's dangerous!"
"Shiori asks if you give up!"
"We give up! And it's freezing out here now thanks to you!" Lavi shuddered, wrapping his arms around himself. "Let's go in and hit the hot springs."
"The women always triumph!" Miranda cheered as the groups left the protection of their snow forts. Lenalee, Miranda, and Cloud Nyne were walking together and smiling while Lavi, Kisho, and Allen were shivering and rubbing their hands together. Timcampy had perched on Allen's shoulder and Kisho was checking to see if Marbelline was okay. The wind had suddenly kicked up so he took her in his hands and wrapped her in his cloak before hugging her close. But soon they were inside and warming up quickly, but still decided to go to the hot springs.
Just before Kisho went inside the mens' changing rooms, though, something made him pause and look around. Hyun-Ae was standing there with a vacant look in her eyes and she was gazing at something in her hand. "What are you doing?" Kisho asked, stepping closer. Lavi noticed Kisho wasn't following him and answering back. The redhead turned and walked back out of the changing room. Kisho set Marbelline down and she began waddling away while quacking quietly. "What is that?"
"Didn't work anymore…knew it couldn't help...would make things worse…" The female exorcist was saying lifelessly. "So she took it out…took it away…"
"Lavi…" Kisho murmured, gazing uneasily up at his friend. "What's she talking about?"
"Your guess is as good as mine," he replied, looking at Hyun-Ae with a troubled expression. "But…what's she got in her hands?" A green glint caught their eyes, but they noticed that it was also mixed with a deep red. "Innocence!" Lavi stepped forward. "Where did you get that?" He demanded angrily, still moving forward. He reached an arm out and just as Kisho began moving forward he saw Hyun-Ae's hand starting to close over the Innocence cube. At that moment Kisho and Lavi realized that both of her hands were bleeding.
"Don't want it anymore…"
"Hey! Stop!" Lavi shouted, lunging forward.
"Don't do that!" Kisho yelled, panicking, and also ran forward but before he could say anything else a bright green light filled the corridor, and he felt his mind going fuzzy. His body was tingling and something made his legs stop moving and he felt himself just staring at the scene happening in front of him.
Lavi had reached his hands out for Hyun-Ae's as he tried to take the Innocence cube she was crushing in her hands from her. Innocence couldn't be destroyed by normal means, but still, both people had obviously had the same idea of getting the bunch of material away from Hyun-Ae. Lavi had pried the exorcist's hands open and grabbed the Innocence cube. The cube of sacred material was floating in his palms now and a hint of pink sparked within its green depths. Lavi's visible green eye widened as he realized what he had, and the redhead watched in wonder as the cube lifted up into the air and floated level before his eyes. Light sparked from the cube and Lavi continued to gaze at it.
"I remember." He spoke softly. "And I can see them...all of them…"
"Lavi—" Kisho heard his voice say, but he still couldn't move. Lavi lowered his head and touched the Innocence to his forehead. A jolt of power went through the air and Kisho felt it so strongly that he wrapped his arms around himself as a cold tingle went up and down his spine. With the feeling of power was the stir of familiarity, as if a memory buried for a long time had just been rediscovered. When the feeling had faded, Kisho blinked and realized that he could move again. Hyun-Ae was nearby, lying on her back with her legs curled up close to her body. Lavi was kneeling over her. As Kisho approached Lavi looked up briefly. Something was different about him but the teenager couldn't place what it was yet. He was still a little confused about what had just happened.
"Kikun…" Lavi stated. "She had a Heart fragment…and I just got it."
"She did?" Kisho echoed, but knew it made sense. And for some reason it had been taken from her.
"And I remember now—something happened to my memories. It was the memories of being a Bookman in training…everything I learned, and my last name." Lavi held his hands to his forehead and rubbed his temples. "I forgot all of that. I remember now that I agreed it would be okay that Panda suppressed my memories, though…" He shook his head a few times. "Help me pick her up. She doesn't look too good." Kisho nodded and hugged Hyun-Ae's right arm and pulled her upright as Lavi took her other arm. Together they headed off quickly towards the Infirmary. In the seriousness of the situation, Kisho hadn't noticed what the difference about Lavi was, and he also hadn't noticed a round black piece of cloth lying on the floor behind them.
Author's Note ~
Me: Am I obvious?
Lavi: Yeah.
Kisho: Maybe…
Allen: Don't play Poker.
Shiori: Transparent.
Me: Thought so. :D I don't own the characters, their names, except the characters I make up, I just looked up their names though. The D. Gray Man universe belongs to Hoshino Katsura. I keep wanting to call her Hoshino Katsura (author of a Japanese comic called Kijitora Neko no Koumei-san). I gotta watch that.
The next holiday vacation is only in a few weeks! The months seem so short but I have a few finals to go through but I can do it! I have to so I can shop for presents with no worries!
At the time I wrote this chapter, my story was almost in the same month as the real world month….cool. It's because I've started time skipping out of laziness. XD
