Prima Materia
Four.| 'Meaningless' Word
|Change truly came to the European Headquarters of the Black Order with the installment of Branch Head Komui Lee.
Plenty for the better. Some for worse.|
|Black Order Headquarters. Two weeks into Komui Lee's assignation as Branch Head.|
The chirping of birds had Celia's attention rapt on the bright warm day just outside her window. And yet, no matter how close, she couldn't close the gap between them. She wasn't well enough yet.
"Celia." Amethyst eyes turned back to the Matron who patiently waited with a couple of other nurses just across from her, standing ready and closeby. Wary of every wobbly step she managed to take. "Are you tired already? Should we call it a day?"
The frown on her brow didn't appear displeased. Simply concerned. Celia stared at her expression for a good second before shaking her head, hand tightly gripping the steel bar attached to the wall that helped her remain on her feet.
"No, Matron," she assured with a smile. "I can still go on."
Celia took a precarious step, lifting her foot painstakingly slow yet doing so with all the strength she could muster. The nurses held their breaths not knowing what to expect with the poor state her muscles were still in. Meanwhile the Matron, despite her crystal clear concern, stood serenely across from her and waited.
Little by little.
That's how the last two weeks of her life had been paced. She understood why as well.
After all, what little muscle she'd gotten over the last year was all but gone. Celia didn't know how long she'd been locked in that isolation cell—not like she wanted to know either. All she knew was that her body had suffered through a lot—enough starvation and dehydration to stunt her growth by a fair bit—and like the Matron explained, it would take some time before she would be able to function as well as she used to.
So despite her chagrin, she was forced to take her recovery slowly.
But at least doing that supplied her with the time to take in all that was currently happening at Headquarters. When she met that long-haired man the day she was freed, Celia really thought she'd gone utterly bonkers, unable to believe that said person was really Lenalee's brother. Thankfully she hadn't, but the whiplash of so many things changing out of the blue could've done the job all the same had she let it.
Through her idle time recovering, Celia could hear the nurses gossip between their shifts about the vast amount of changes the place was undergoing. The first batch of good news was when she overheard them saying Headquarters would be getting rid of the snake in their midst. Him and his murder of crows. That in itself made the atmosphere everywhere a ton lighter.
And though far from over, the place was just less suffocating because of it. She wasn't the only one to notice either from the look of things. Celia couldn't remember if she'd ever seen those around her smile so much before.
Next best thing Komui did was discontinue those ugly things they'd been doing in those dark hallways. It'd been a pain to find this particular tidbit out but after explaining to her that she'd seen this personally and there wasn't a use hiding it, the Matron informed her enough to understand that. All of those experiments were halted within his first couple of days there and the space was now in the works to become storage. It gladdened her hearing that.
Then there was how the treatment given to the Exorcists changed almost overnight. Being confined to the medical ward was tough as it was, but Lenalee and Kanda made sure to visit to tell her how they were faring with such changes too. They were still being sent out on missions—no changing that, huh?—but were doing so with lots more backup than just a handful of Finders. One could even call it safely. What truly convinced her was that Lenalee, although still being on the shy side, could smile a little bit brighter now. Certainly a stark difference from before.
Celia could even glean a bit of hope starting to grow in her dark eyes.
That was a great start in her books. And although she could only see a small glimpse of it all from within her little white room, Celia held out hope too.
"There, all done."
Celia groaned as the nurses helped her sit back on the edge of her bed. Exhausted beyond belief, she carefully laid down to catch her breath from the terrible exertion this therapy put on her. It tired and frustrated her to have to relearn to do all these basic things again. But when that frustration reared its ugly head, Celia would repeat the words Lenalee's brother said to her after visiting her a second time when she was more conscious.
"Take your time. What matters first and foremost to us is that you recover well. So don't rush yourself. If you do it little by little, properly and at your own pace, you'll be back to normal before you know it."
Little by little.
|Two Months Later|
Walking was easier now.
Though gladdened by the news, something about the Matron and Chief Komui's expression appeared rather baffled. Celia, on the other hand, couldn't have been more ecstatic about it. It wasn't just her legs either. Most of her body was healing quite splendidly and it allowed her enough leeway to at least be able to walk around the medical ward with little to no supervision. So long as the Matron wasn't around to scold her that was.
But seeing as she was preoccupied being in charge of the whole ward and with countless of Black Order staff coming in and out like the place had a revolving door, Celia found it easy enough to sneak around and take peeks at how the place ran. The nurses didn't mind her; so long as she wasn't being a problem and wasn't making more work for them, they allowed her to be out of bed without alerting the Matron.
Celia appreciated that. And to show her gratitude for their solidarity, she busied herself in the ward by helping them out however she could.
Hers were menial tasks mostly. Bring gauzes here, throw dirtied bandages away there, make beds when she could somewhere else. Not only did it help strengthen her muscles bit by bit, but it also aided in rendering the boredom that clung to her almost nonexistent. For as much as she thanked the Matron for all the care she provided, Celia also had to admit that it was suffocating at times too. Especially when her idea of rehabilitation implied having Celia bedridden even when she could stand well enough on her own.
Besides, it wasn't like she was doing anything taxing anyhow.
It was during one of her rounds out of bed that Celia met him: a sulking man with slicked-back dark brown hair and saddened eyes. Apparently, he'd been injured out in the field and from what she overheard the nurses chatting about, he was an Exorcist. Just like her. Curious, Celia sprung away from the nurses she shadowed the day after he was admitted and found where he was being treated.
Hiding behind the empty bed across from his, amethyst eyes peered over the edge at the men that sat against his bedrest, staring aimlessly ahead and with bandages covering his arm and face. He looked old. Maybe around Marie's age? Or maybe everybody just seemed older to her. She wondered what happened to him at times. How did he injure himself? A powerful Akuma maybe?
"What are you doing?"
Squealing from the surprise, Celia ducked at hearing him speak but something told her that such a banal attempt wouldn't serve much.
"It's alright. You don't have to hide." Is he pulling my chain? Peeking over the bed again had her meeting the dark gaze of the man, a small smile coming to him at the sight of her.
"Hello there."
Puffing her cheeks, Celia rose to her full height while still holding the edge of the bed in case she needed to push herself off and make a swift escape.
"H-Hi," she timidly offered back.
"What's a young girl like yourself doing playing around in the infirmary?" he asked. Something about the way he did wrung her heart. His questioning was straightforward but with a hint of kindness that she couldn't place.
What's more, it coaxed her to answer his question.
"Treatment," she vaguely replied.
He chuckled, the sound airy. "Why, I hope nothing serious. A young lady like yourself should be enjoying their good health and spending their time with leisure."
Celia didn't understand what he meant by that, but seeing as he was being so chatty, she took the chance he gave her. "How'd you get so hurt?" she pried with a single nod to his arm.
"What this? Nothing much."
"Did you have a hard time with the Akuma?"
It appeared her question caught him off guard by the way his eyes widened for that brief moment. But as they returned to normal, a knowing smile came to his face along with a tender gaze.
"You're...an Exorcist, too…" It didn't sound like a question. Celia nodded all the same. The kind expression he held turned somber as his gaze fell. "I'm still learning to control my Innocence."
Oh. That made sense. Experience did make a whole lot of difference. Celia never expected an adult to have such problems though. Especially after the handful she'd seen that wielded their weapons so masterfully.
Which means…
"Did you just get it?"
"Yes."
"Then there's nothing to be all gloomy about!" Celia exclaimed loudly, taking the man aback with her declaration. Climbing onto the empty bed, she took a proud stand on top of it, tapping her chest with her fist. "I got my butt kicked once or twice too when learning how to use mine. I'm sure you'll be able to get it in no time too!"
Those dark gloomy eyes of his widened ever so slightly. Celia barely noticed them but there was no denying that something about her simplistic way of thinking struck some kind of cord within him. He let out a chuckle that floated in the room as he looked up to her.
"Well, if someone as experienced as yourself tells me so, it's hard not to believe it."
"Exactly!" Celia climbed from the bed, this time ending on the other side of the empty bed with his and coming closer to him. "My name's Celia, by the way! Celia Valentine."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Celia. I'm Suman Dark."
"Suman's a weird name. Where are you from?"
"Germany."
"Where's that?"
"Well, it's…"
It was curious how approachable Celia became once she brought her walls down, but something about Suman had her eagerly coming to him. During his short stay in the medical ward, Celia was sure to come and visit, talking about everything and nothing nonstop. What she liked most was that not once did Suman lose his patience with her. Much like Tiedoll or Marie, Suman held that same kind of serene atmosphere about him.
Despite not being able to properly describe what it made her feel, 'safe' truly was the closest word she could think of. It certainly gave her a reason to return.
Several days into their acquaintance, Celia realized that there was a lot to learn from Suman. Unlike books, people were livelier and some even more receptive to teaching her things that lifeless pages couldn't. Suman seemed more than pleased to answer any and all questions she could have. From simple things to much more complex ones. It was easy to talk to him seeing how safe he made her feel. It made Celia wonder if this was what Lenalee meant to say when she described how being with her brother made her feel.
It was during one of her now frequent visits, all the while Suman went about teaching her how chess was played, that she'd asked about the locket that hung around his neck. He obliged her question, letting her see the locket up close while asking her to be careful with it. Holding it cautiously in her hands, Celia did her best to open it with all the care in the world only to find a simple picture inside.
One of a little blonde girl with pigtails smiling broadly with a stuffed rabbit in her hands.
"Who's this?"
"My daughter."
Static. Celia scratched at her temple, willing the annoyance away as she scrunched her nose and asked. "What's that?"
Suman in return frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Yeah," she said, "What's a daughter?"
At first, Suman believed her to be playing a prank on him, but the utter perplexity on her face ultimately made him believe that she was being serious about her question. It took a minute for him to come up with what he believed to be the simplest kind of answer he could muster.
"Well, it's a little person that comes about when a mother and father love each other very much."
He couldn't believe her frown could get any bigger, and yet it did. "What are those?"
"What? Mother and father?" Celia nodded, her eyes wide and ears open, attentive to his every word and making Suman rather confused. "Well, all mothers and fathers are the same. So, they're like yours. They loved each other and had you."
"So if they're all the same, does that make you my father, too?"
"No, no. That's not—your parents are your parents. You only have yours. I'm only the father of my daughter."
"You're confusing me," she retorted with a frown.
Suman groaned before simplifying it as much as he could. "It's like a family."
Oh… Celia lowered her gaze, her enthusiasm leaving her at that wretched word.
"I don't have one."
"What?" he muttered.
"A family," she repeated, closing his locket and returning it to him with an impassive expression. "A madame found me wandering the streets when I was little and took me in. I don't remember anything before that. So...if that's what a family is, then I don't have a mother or a father."
"That's not true." His words caught her attention then, her gaze lifting to meet his as he lowered his hand on her head to stroke it. "We all have a mother and father. Even when you don't know them, we all have them."
"Really?" He nodded. Her cheeks dusted pink and her eyes turned a bit wider as she asked, "Even me?"
Suman nodded with a gentle smile. "Trust me, your parents were two people that cared so deeply about one another that their love turned into you."
I have...a family, too?
"Celia! What are you doing back here again?"
The fact that she was scampering off Suman's bed when the Matron caught her red-handed didn't faze her in the least. The thoughts that he had brought in had her heart fluttering at the thought of such a pair of people existing. People who actually cared for her the way that Suman so obviously cared for his daughter.
The revelation felt like the start that would bring her closer to understanding that unfathomable 'family'.
"Your family?"
Celia nodded vigorously Lenalee's way as both stood in line at the cafeteria of the Order. Three months in, the place was livelier somehow even through its silence. What was more, there was a warm and delicious scent in the air that had her spirits even higher.
"Remember Suman?" Lenalee nodded; she'd told Celia how the two had met at brief times while getting dispatch to missions. Apparently, he would always greet her with a gentle smile, too. "Well, he was explaining to me how we all have a mother and father, and that even when I don't know them, that I should have them too! So by that logic, they must be out there somewhere, right?"
Lenalee tilted her head pensively before nodding. "It sounds like it."
"Right?!"
"How would you go about finding them though?" Lenalee asked as they moved forward through the line. "You told me you only knew Miss Red, right?"
Celia's mood deflated instantly as she turned pensive herself. Lenalee was right, but it's not like she hadn't thought about it before either. Celia was well aware that there was close to no information about who her parents or family was. Though her memories from that night were clear, anything before them was a mess of static and darkness. Even trying to force herself to remember was useless; she'd tried it before and it was a non-starter.
All roads she'd taken had brought her back square one. But for as discouraging as that was, she wouldn't allow it to bring her hopes down. They were out there somewhere just like Suman said.
All I've gotta do is look.
And she'd find a clue to her starting line someday somewhere.
"Well, hello there, you absolute cuties!"
The high-pitched male voice caught Celia off guard and popped her bubble quite quickly. Behind the front counter where one would usually just grab whatever food was available there now stood a dark-skinned man with positivity radiating out in waves. Dreads adorned his head of a curious pink color and his eyes were hidden behind some neat dark glasses. From what he wore, Celia could tell they were one of the cooks but what were they doing out in front?
"Good afternoon, Jerry-san." Beside her, Lenalee took her skirt in both hands and lightly fanned it out to either side of her before lowering herself and bowing her head ever slightly.
Across the counter, the man—Jerry—cooed. "My word, what a lovely curtsey! You've been practicing, Lenalee-chan!"
"Yes, thank you!" Lenalee said, her cheeks pink and smile a bit wider than Celia was used to. Turning to her, Lenalee introduced them. "Celia, this is Jerry-san. He's the new head chef."
"Oh!" Celia turned to the man but froze when she was met with a searching gaze that she could practically sense from behind those dark glasses. "U-Um...nice to...meet you?"
Jerry took a moment to ponder before his broad smile returned along with that bouncy personality of his. "What a little cutie pie you are, dear. It is most certainly a pleasure to meet you, Celia-chan~ Now, despite how much I would love to chat with you, I'm afraid a more important matter calls for me! So, what do you ladies feel like having this fine afternoon?"
It was strange having a choice in what to eat now. Having spent the better part of this change cooped up in the medical ward, it excited her to imagine the kinds of things Jerry would be able to put together for them. Her mouth watered at the delicacies her mind could only imagine.
"What will it be for you, Celia-chan?" Jerry asked again once Lenalee finished telling them her order.
"Can I really have anything I want?"
"Anything at all!"
"Then...I want one of everything, please!"
The unfaltering declaration took Jerry aback for a moment as he stared at a smiling Celia. "Of everything?"
"Oh, if that's okay," she added, thinking she'd been rude to request something blatantly.
"Are you going to be able to eat so much, Celia?" Lenalee asked, her bafflement more visible than Jerry's.
Celia nodded. She may not seem like it, but Celia had a mighty and voracious appetite. It just so happened to be satisfied through small meals every hour or so.
But since he's offering~
"Well, I did say 'anything', didn't I?" Jerry chuckled and nodded once, their enthusiasm renewed as determination shone through those dark sunglasses of theirs. "You got it, Celia-chan. One of everything we've got on the menu for the day coming right up!"
Giddy with anticipation, Celia skipped beside Lenalee as the pair headed to grab themselves an empty table. Thankfully, the wait wasn't long. Lenalee got her dish first, but as Celia had ordered the whole menu, her dishes gradually kept coming. When one went down the hatch, another two were already at the table, piping hot and ready to be devoured. Dish after dish, Celia ate them all, unsatiated in the least up until desserts started coming out.
Everything was delicious; so succulent, so tender, so good!
Wolfing down the desserts as they came, Celia couldn't tell which was her favorite out of all.
"What is all this?"
Celia stared back mid-bite through a creampuff, her amethyst gaze catching the foul grimace upon Kanda's face as he stood next to the open space beside her, a tray of what looked like noodles in hand. Pushing the pastry into her mouth, cheeks puffy, she chewed through while speaking. Peeved by her lacking manners, Kanda slammed his metal tray onto the mess of a table.
"Don't talk with your damn mouth full!"
She blinked a couple of times, unfazed by his shouting, before chewing her way through the sweetness and swallowing. Picking up the extra pastry she had, Celia extended it out towards him.
"Wanna try it? It's delicious!"
"Get that thing away from me," he growled, pushing it away from his face. His dark gaze scanned through the dirtied dishes stacked towards one side of the table. "Who ravaged through all this?"
Lenalee pointed at Celia while Celia pointed at herself, cheeks puffed once more with the pastry she'd offered him. A veined popped against his temple, unable to believe such ridiculousness.
"You can't be serious," he deadpanned.
"It's true." Lenalee nodded a couple of times, getting Kanda's attention. Meanwhile, swallowing down the last pastry, Celia eyed the noodles on his tray, head tilting trying to remember what the dish was. "Celia's practically gone through the whole of today's menu already!"
Baffled, Kanda looked down to Celia only to shout at her while handling his tray as far away from her when he saw her reaching for his noodles. "Haven't you had enough!?"
"C'mon, don't be stingy!" she exclaimed. No matter how much she tried to reach over him to the tray, Kanda was sure to keep her away with a firm hand over her face to push her back. "I just want to try them!"
"HAVEN'T YOU ALREADY!?"
Their bickering stopped as quickly as it started the moment Jerry came to the table personally to deliver one last dish: a humble piece of apple pie. A smile forming on her lips, she thanked them before digging in. The moment that first bite touched her tongue, however, her stomach turned.
Not because it was bad, but because of how it suddenly made her feel.
Lenalee stared baffled. "C-Celia?" Kanda simply watched, eyes narrowed just barely.
"Oh my," Jerry cooed. "Is it not to your liking?"
Celia couldn't respond at first, her hand holding the fork in her mouth gently as her taste buds savored the sweetness of the baked apple, the tanginess of the cinnamon, and the crunchiness of the crust—all of it so...familiar. A bubbly chuckle came out of her, tears she wasn't aware of falling when she did. Celia wiped at them and continued to laugh unable to help it, her lips trembling as she mumbled something under her breath.
"It's good," she said. Cutting another piece with her fork and eating it, the warmth spread and the tears came anew. "It's really good."
What a wonderful feeling.
|Four Months Later|
"Are you three ready?" Komui asked with a playful smile.
Celia turned with a clear 'yep' as she, Lenalee, and Kanda stood at the foyer of Headquarters. Not far, Finders waited on the trio to finish saying their farewells before heading off to their first group mission.
Finally getting some fresh air, she thought earnestly.
Despite what many a doctor dictated, Celia couldn't be feeling any better even after only five months of rehabilitation. They had all predicted her recovery would take far longer than that, a good eight or nine months maybe. So when she was practically up and about doing everything like she used to in much less time than that, it caught their attention. Concern for her wellbeing drove them to test her again in case she had somehow worsened her health by recklessly ambling about. To their surprise, however, everything came back perfectly normal.
All that was left as a reminder of that torturous solitude now was her rather small stature for her age.
But Celia was nothing if not persistent. Yes, she may have pushed herself a bit too far during her recovery to have gotten where she was now, but it didn't take away the fact that somehow her body healed stupidly fast. Komui as a scientist could garner a hypothesis as to how that was.
"Parasitic-type?"
"Yes. You see, unlike Lenalee or Kanda whose Innocence have to be given physical shape with some kind of man-made object, yours simply lives within you and uses you as that conduit instead. Because of that, it may be helping you heal faster than most."
It made sense, though at the same time it didn't. But she wasn't about to argue on the semantics. All that mattered was that she was well enough now to be allowed back out into the field again. And what better way to celebrate than to have their very first unsupervised mission together.
For once, the idea excited her.
"Alright then," Komui finally said, once they all were sure they had everything for their mission. "Take care, you guys."
Kanda turned without a word. Celia waved before turning to catch up to him. When neither noticed Lenalee following, they stopped and looked behind them. There, Lenalee stood looking a bit hesitant to leave, her hands fidgeting with her suitcase. Noticing that, Celia shared a brief glance with Kanda before sprinting up to Lenalee and whispering in her ear.
"Jerry told us that this is where we're supposed to say 'I'm off', remember?" Confused, those purples eyes met amethyst, prompting Celia to grin as she said, "Y'know, 'cause then when we come back we get to say 'we're home'!"
Stuttering somewhat, it took Lenalee a moment before she mustered up a quiet 'I'm off then'. Komui upon hearing this smiled at his sister and sent her off with a more personal 'take care' than before. Celia felt her chest tighten at the exchange before tenderly taking one of Lenalee's hands and bringing her to where Kanda impatiently waited for them.
"Tell Jerry-san to have some apple pie and chocolate cake ready for when we come back, Komui-san!" she shouted, turning away but stopping and glancing back one last time. "Oh, and soba too!"
"I will."
|A few hours later.|
"I'm surprised the matron released Master Valentine."
"The new Chief Director signed off on her release apparently. Maybe to place more Exorcists out on the field?"
"The Generals and their older pupils have been managing fine, though. Isn't sending the younger ones by themselves reckless in itself?"
Amethyst eyes narrowed at the chit chat she overheard on the other side of the closed door. The Finders that accompanied them had gone out to contact the field team that was stationed near their destination and out of curiosity, Celia made a silly excuse to go snoop around. Out of everything they could have gossiped about, she just had to be the topic, huh?
Well, she couldn't blame them entirely. Though she still held her reservations about Komui's intentions for the Order, Celia didn't think he would willingly send out the younger Exorcists like themselves out on the field without a clear purpose. Especially when one of them was his little sister. That meant that something else was afoot here.
"Don't trust them."
Unconsciously, her hand slapped her temple, groaning and hoping that it was enough to dispel the voice that perked up at the doubt that rose in her mind.
Damn thing.
The voice that had haunted her during her days in solitary confinement had continued to do so weeks after they brought her out. Over the last few months, it had slowly but surely quieted until it was nothing but a vague whisper at the back of her mind. Regrettably, it didn't stay that way for long. Celia came to notice that it would regain volume whenever morose or negative thoughts came to mind. Almost like they fed it and allowed it the opening to rear its ugly head through.
Knowing what drew it out, though, taught her how to fight it back.
Think happy thoughts. Happy thoughts...
A miscellany of them popped into her mind, from most mundane to most precious to her, and it easily drove back the voice to a quiet unintelligible hum.
"And stay there."
The sudden rummaging coming from the other side of the door brought her attention back and let her know that it was time to scatter. As silently as possible. Doing so, Celia returned to the cabin they shared on the train that would take them to their destination.
"Welcome back, Celia," Lenalee said with a meek smile. "D-Did you find the dining car?"
"Dining car?" It took her a second to recognize the lie she'd told Lenalee when she'd intended to eavesdrop on the Finders all along. At last remembering, Celia let out a chuckle. "Not at first. I found the galley and I asked about the food though. They pointed me towards the dining car. Dinner's in two hours by the way."
"You could have told the Finders to find that out." The pointed look from Kanda and the underhanded tone she heard in his voice told her that he knew what she'd been up to, but appeared much too indifferent to raise any flags.
"Couldn't find them," she instantly replied. "So—" With a little 'humph', Celia jumped onto the free space next to Lenalee before looking up at Kanda. "What are we going for?"
Innocence was the easy answer, but she wanted the details. Obviously, Kanda was reluctant about telling her, complaining that she should read the report herself. After substantial whining from her part, though, it was easy to get the information out of him.
Bralin was their destination. More specifically the old church that lingered not too far from the outskirts of the city. Though vacant for the most part, some of the townspeople were reporting sights of ghastly apparitions during the night. According to the Finders stationed there, there was no sight of Akuma as of their last report which was good news in her books. If the apparitions they saw were actually real and what was causing them was actually Innocence, then it'd be easier to search for it without dumb machines getting in the way.
The train ride to Bralin was easy enough with it only taking a few hours. Provided with food and some rest, Celia was more than ready to finish this mission and return to the Order. Her growling stomach was already craving some good pie. Now, as they stood before the dilapidated church, the three children scanned it briefly with a couple of Finders at the ready behind them.
"It...looks scary."
"It's decrepit."
"It's abandoned, you idiot."
Celia frowned at Kanda for the insult, but let it go quick enough to ease some of Lenalee's qualms with a smile. "It's not that bad, Lena. After all, it's the middle of the day! Ghosts don't appear in plain daylight."
"G-Ghosts?" Lenalee repeated.
Kanda groaned, irritated. "There's no such thing as ghosts."
"All the better," Celia pointed out gleefully. "If there are no ghosts, then if we find anything then it has to be Innocence, right?"
Her logic did little to assuage Lenalee's fear but at least now, she could step forward without holding her hand. The three pushed their way through the creaky old double doors with the Finders in toe and scanned the empty-looking building.
Kanda was right. The place was clearly abandoned. The whole first floor was clear of any pews and was instead covered in a thin layer of dust that easily burst up with every step they took. Windows were broken which let the sunlight cleanly through, lighting the place well enough for them to not need lanterns. From what she could garner there were some cobwebs, bird nests, and random wildlife that scurried off when they came too close. Aside from that it truly was empty as could be.
Would the inner sanctum and upper floors be just as unexciting?
"Okay, how do we start?" Celia began, both her and Lenalee turning to Kanda. It took a long exasperating moment before he groaned and pointed out towards the upper floors. "Lenalee and the Finders are going to inspect the first floor. You and I are going to check out the rest."
Both girls looked at each other before turning back to Kanda; Lenalee with a determined nod and Celia with a mocking salute. Though separating from Lenalee's side wasn't what she would've opted for, Celia at least had the certainty that the Finders would protect her if anything happened. Long enough for her and Kanda to come back and finish whatever started, anyway.
Reaching the far left corridor that hugged the wall and walking all the way down showed them the door that led into a small intersection. One led right and seemingly towards the rest of the sanctum while a spiraled case led upwards towards the second floor.
Celia garnered both ways and turned to Kanda with her fist held aloft, ready to play rock-paper-scissors. Unamused, Kanda scoffed before taking the spiral staircase up to the second floor. She blew a raspberry at his back before venturing towards the rest of the sanctum. Much like the front, the inner rooms were desolate and emptied of any signs of life. Remnants of furniture and beds were there alongside tattered and moth-eaten clothes that laid haphazardly in some, but aside from that, there was no sign of anything out of the norm.
Entering the last room to be checked, Celia scowled at finding nothing yet again and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Is there really Innocence here?"
Setting one foot further into the room, however, gave her a semblance of an answer when tiny sparks jumped at her fingertips. Huh? Were Akuma close? No...when they were the electricity went haywire wanting to chase after them. Plus, that skin crawly feeling wasn't there. So if it wasn't Akuma, then there was only one other thing it could be.
Emerald sparks jumped once more and a bit further this time, heading down into the floor and disappearing. Celia tilted her head at the odd response and crouched down, eyeing each of the stone slabs that made up the floor she stood on. Her hand reached out tentatively and brushed away dust as she moved it around, only to stop short when sparks flew at one in particular. At a single push, the slab appeared loose. Looser than the others, anyway. Picking it up wasn't easy but it worked, and as she did so, realized the ones close to it were also just as loose. It took a moment, but after eight slabs were removed, Celia found herself a large opening in a staircase that led downward.
Curious, she didn't hesitate in going down. Taking her hairpin in hand, she activated her Innocence yet didn't fully summon her glaive, wanting instead for the glow it emanated to serve as a makeshift lantern on her way down.
There wasn't much to this underground room despite how long it took to get there. Dirt floor, stone walls, and a stone slab further in. Dark stains laid on it, ingrained into the stone from how long they'd been resting there. And the smell that permeated the room. Ugh. Sulfur...and something else. Something disgusting. Everything about this sent a chill down her spine.
I should go tell the others.
Just as the thought crossed her mind, more emerald electricity shot out of her fingers, this time to wrap around her wrist and hand like tiny hands. Almost like it was reassuring her of something.
Could the Innocence be here?
Reaching out her hand to the air, she led it hover there and waited for the sparks to do...something, she supposed. Anything that told her what exactly they wanted to convey. Given permission, they fell from her hand jumping towards the slab in pulses and lighting her way towards it with a bright luminescence. Celia felt sick to her stomach at the thought of having to go near that thing but knowing she'd be scolded if she didn't search every nook and cranny, she pushed herself to go forward.
Now that she could see it closer and more clearly, Celia recognized the dark stains on the stone before her. Blood. Dried blood. Someone killed something on there. The sparks freely flying now touched the edge of the stone illuminating it and nothing else.
"The side?" Celia asked, only answered by the way the light became a brighter hue with each pulse. "Wait, you mean push it?"
Almost at once, the sparks brightened permanently at her words. Guess so. Her stomach twisted at what it asked her to do but determined to get somewhere, Celia placed her hairpin back in her hair before going about pushing the edge of the slab. It took a couple of pushes but eventually, the old stone gave way and dragged as she pushed it off of what was now clearly a coffin. The stench that struck her was horrendous the moment it opened and had her gagging. Celia held her stomach, this close to puking, and stepped back to get some clean air. It wasn't much though. The odor from inside the coffin was poignant, very much revolting, and seemingly endless from how quickly it filled the room. Holding her breath, Celia stepped forward again, the sparks on her hand jumping out guiding her.
Inside was nothing more than a bunch of bones. Human bones. But what caught her attention aside from that was how much different the skull inside was from everything else. It seemed intact unlike the others and glowed a bit. What was most telling was how a green crystal jutted out from its eyes and mouth, almost as if protecting whatever laid inside it.
From the way the electricity hovered over and circled it, Celia could take a guess at what it was.
Disgusted at first, Celia took her cloak and used it to grab the skull without actually touching it, gagging a few times while at it. Quickly, she wrapped it and rushed up the stairs only to feel the floor shake from beneath her halfway up as an earthquake hit.
No, not an earthquake. The emerald energy came to life erratically and that sickly crawling sensation said differently. An Akuma.
Celia took the steps two at a time and reached the room just in time to feel the floor around her quake again as another impact from somewhere landed. The sound of destruction not far told her exactly where she needed to go, but she didn't get farther than the corridor before it got demolished by another oncoming attack that took her with it. Her body crashed against the rubble, her head hitting against one and opening a gash on her forehead
What in the hell destroyed the cathedral?
"Well, well, I see I've caught a little Exorcist rat in my search." Through her blurry and now bloodied vision, Celia saw the Level 2 that stood before her, taunting her with a grotesque smirk as it held an oversized metal club over its shoulder.
Still dazed, Celia wobbly got on her feet as the Level 2 began to take considerable steps towards her only to stop short when something else caught its attention. Her gaze followed where it led only to gasp.
The Innocence.
Before she knew what took over her, Celia mustered whatever strength she could and rushed to intercept the Akuma. It swung its club at noticing this and Celia reacted, quickly ducking and sliding under its swing, bypassing it entirely and catching the crystallized skull in her hands before sprinting away. The Akuma ran amok chasing after her, destroying everything in its path and cursing her to hell and back. Celia didn't dare look back though. What mattered was getting the Innocence away from it and reuniting with the others before she lost consciousness. If she could do that, then she wouldn't have gotten a concussion for nothing.
At turning the corner, Celia smiled at the sight of Kanda and Lenalee but felt her gut twist at seeing them fighting with Level 1s with the Finders assisting them. And they weren't just a few.
It was a damn hoard.
Her lungs burning like the pits of hell, she barely managed to get close enough to call their attention.
"Lena—"
What little air was left before she shouted was struck out of her as the club caught her side and sent her flying against the walls that still stood of the cathedral. Something broke on impact, whether it was the wall or something else inside her, she wasn't sure. But even as she spat out blood and heard her ears ringing, her little hands held onto the skull for dear life.
That is why they were here. It was why those machines were attacking them. It was their source of power. The source of their pain.
I hate you.
Her hands clutched at the eye sockets, fingers digging into the edge of where the crystal protruded from as a scowl came to her lips.
But without it...what can I do?
It is your power, too.
Celia's breath hitched at the voice in her head. It wasn't like the one before. This one was calmer and much more soothing. Friendly, even. A low chuckle rumbled through her head as it spoke again.
This little one wishes to help. Hearing that, Celia felt the familiar sensation of electricity running under her skin, warmer this time as it concentrated on her fingertips near the crystal. Allow it.
Knowing not what else to do, Celia followed her gut, scrunching her eyes shut and shouting, "I allow it!"
A brilliant emerald shine exploded blinding all of the ones present; even the Akuma staggered back in surprise. Hotness she couldn't describe suddenly festered in her chest before making its way to her left wrist and encapsulating her hand in a thin black inkiness that solidified into a makeshift glove around it. The moment it touched the skull Celia watched through the blinding light how it melted the crystal into liquid and absorbed it along with the black glove back into her wrist.
What the—
Now, puella, do as you would. Fight the Earl's machine. We shall aid you.
Reinvigorated by their words and adrenaline, Celia shot up, tossing the empty skull away and pulling her hairpin away from her hair, and summoning her glaive. Instantly, something felt different. And she could see it, too. Despite her glaive being the same as always, a dark emerald static surrounded the blades now, jumping from one to the other while passing through her as well. And unlike the sparks coming from her body, these felt like actual electricity.
Like lightning.
"Where!?" the Akuma shrieked. "Where is the Innocence!?"
It wasted no time in charging at her, enlarging the club so as to not miss. Celia didn't hesitate and took a step forward before charging as well. However, instead of the normal speed she was used to, she sensed how the lightning coating her blades traveled through her body and to the soles of her feet, shooting her across the field and through the Level 2's gut. She struggled to regain her footing from the high speed but once she had, Celia glanced over her shoulder to watch the Akuma explode without warning.
She...killed it.
Make haste. Before the little one tires you.
Her grasp on her glaive tightened at their warning and locked gazes briefly with Kanda and Lenalee before pinpointing the locations of the remaining Level 1s. Seven of them, with two being kept at bay by talismans. If this 'little one' helping her could make her that fast, she was willing to bet that it could make her even faster.
"Let's kick it up a notch!"
Lightning coursed through her and shot her out as she stepped forward towards her targets. Despite speeding her up beyond what she could do on her own, Celia managed to keep up, counting in her head the Akuma she pierced through with her glaive and stopping when all seven were accounted for.
Skidding to a top, Celia pivoted with her glaive at the ready to take on any that may have survived. It was unnecessary. The seven exploded in the blink of an eye that it took her to pass through them.
With the threat dealt with, Celia could finally breathe, something she hadn't noticed she stopped doing for that half a second it took to take down the hoard of machines. But now that she did, she could feel the lightning receding from her and see it physically retreating from her glaive as it returned to the cross in her wrist.
The call of her name from Lenalee and the Finders as they approached her snapped her out of her stupor, smiling to assure them of her safety when they asked. Kanda was the last to approach and, for some reason, appeared far angrier than any other time before that. But before she could even ask what his problem was, a strange suffocating sensation came to her as something lodged in her throat. Immediately, Celia coughed into her hand in an attempt to dislodge it only to see bright red splotches marring it.
Why am I bleeding?
She didn't feel any pain. Or any discomfort for that matter. But the sight of it and their words of concern was undeniable, as was the dizziness that suddenly took over her and sent her plunging to the ground.
"Anemia?"
Itchy. Damn IV needle.
"T-That's what the doctor said," Lenalee continued with a forlorn expression.
She hung to Celia's bedside at the hospital they were currently in. Thankfully their stay was fully paid for, not to mention short as from what Lenalee said her affliction would be more than healed by the time the next train came to take them back.
Not everybody was happy about that though. Celia hadn't seen hide nor hair of Kanda since she woke up a few hours ago and what she had seen sent a chill down her spine. He was pissed. About what only hell knew. Celia for one couldn't even fathom what could possibly have him in such a foul mood. Then again, maybe the fact that they lost the Innocence may have something to do with it.
And she was using 'lost' in the very loose sense of the word, too.
After it liquified and went into her wrist, there wasn't any trace of the crystal she'd found inside the skull. It worried her what that could possibly mean, but that wasn't something they would know until they got back to the Order.
Now that the danger had subsided, however, that took a backseat compared to what Kanda being seemingly mad at her presented. He wasn't a social kid, but neither was she outside of them. For all intents and purposes, they were the only friends she had in that place and after this long, Celia would be lying if she didn't admit she cherished them. Which meant him being angry at her was something she very much wanted to avoid.
"Say, Lena..." The little girl beside her, only having bandaids remaining after that fight on her cheek and forehead, raised her head to pay attention at hearing her name called. "What's the matter with Yuu? Why is he so...mad at me?"
Lenalee's expression softened a few seconds after hearing this. "I-I'm not completely sure. But he seemed really worried after what happened."
"Worried?"
"I've never seen him act like that before. He was shouting at the Finders to contact the nearest doctor and practically brought you here all by himself," she explained. "And I kind of get why. What happened to you looked very gnarly."
"What do you mean?"
"When you...did what you did? When that happened, the veins on your face and everywhere else started bulging out and had this green color. Especially here—" Leaning over, Lenalee pointed at the edges of her eyes and then on her neck, "—and I could kinda see them poking out from here, too, while you were resting. They...were a little bit gross, to be honest."
"How long were they there for?"
"A good couple of hours, I think."
That piqued her interest somewhat. It definitely had her thinking about whatever had happened that gave such a boost to her Innocence. What intrigued her the most was the one that had guided her through the process. It hadn't been the voice from before, the one that had haunted her for those past months in isolation. No, this one was much gentler.
Celia liked it much better.
"Y-You know, I think I understand Kanda-kun a little."
Lenalee's out-of-place comment caught her off guard and had her tilting her head quizzically. "What do you mean?"
"Well, I was pretty worried about you, too, when you suddenly jumped in without a word and ended up...like this. Really worried, actually. And I think...he was too."
Celia was quick to dismiss Lenalee's theory with a wave of her hand. "No way. Yuu's only mad because I jumped the gun again and he hates when I make a mess."
"I don't think so, Celia," she retorted softly. "You didn't see him. He was really, really worried."
There was no getting Lenalee out of her train of thought, and though at first she didn't agree, a part of her also thought that that could very much be true. She could still remember the way he shouted when Marie and General Tiedoll brought her out of her cell. The way he sounded. And above all else, how warm his hand felt when she was finally brought to the hospital ward.
Frankly, the more Celia thought about it, the more plausible it became. She wasn't dumb enough to think that Kanda didn't care about her and Lenalee. He did. In his own grumpy way.
Celia let out a long sigh as she laid her back against the bedrest. "I'm sorry for worrying you guys."
"It's okay," Lenalee said with a smile that brightened her face and turned her cheeks rosy. "I'm glad you're alright."
Well, that was easy.
Apologizing to Kanda wouldn't be though. With another sigh, Celia mentally began preparing herself for the earful that she'd get from him this time around.
|11:17 pm. On a train headed to Black Order Headquarters.|
For as tired as she was, Celia couldn't think of sleeping. Even when the train ride back to the Order would last till the next morning, there was no way she could fathom a wink of sleep with Kanda there.
All because she still couldn't muster the courage to apologize to him.
Sweating bullets on the bed she and Lenalee were sharing, her back was turned away from the bed opposite of them where Kanda laid soundlessly. Was he asleep? Awake? Celia dreaded finding out. Lenalee was sleeping soundly beside her. A true miracle seeing as Celia had done nothing but toss and turn for a good couple of hours. Even counting dumb sheep did nothing to help.
God, I hate my conscience.
Clearly, it had to be it that was keeping her awake. She admitted to herself and Lenalee that, yes, she understood that the way she acted so recklessly had been a problem. Especially when, as the younger Exorcist put it, they were sent there as a group for a reason. They were meant to work together and collectively complete the mission without burdening themselves too much.
And she'd done the exact opposite of all of that.
Why is it so hard for me to think before doing anything reckless?
"Could you stop brooding so much? I can practically hear your thoughts."
Celia froze at his terse tone and let out a tiny 'eep' at being caught. Helpless and unable to think of anything else, she whimpered a bit at her indecision. "S-Sorry."
"Just stop and go to sleep already."
Easier said than done.
Something she definitely proved when after ten more minutes she still couldn't find any sleep. Heaving one last sigh, Celia turned herself on the bed in order to face Kanda across the narrow walkway that separated their beds. His back was turned to her but even through the darkness of the night, she could still tell apart the inky blackness of his silky hair from everything else.
There was no telltale that he was either awake or asleep, but she couldn't go on like this any longer. So even if he didn't hear her...at least her conscience would.
"I know...what I did was dumb." Her voice was nothing above a breathless whisper, but that would have to be enough. This was for herself. "I know that I never think before I jump in and it's a problem. But...I never intended to worry you or Lenalee. It's just that sometimes when I think about how you two have been doing this so much longer than I have, I can't help but think 'they've sacrificed more. I need to pull my weight, too'. It's never conscious—I certainly never think it—but I know the feeling it brings up in me. And when I feel it...I act."
Her hand balled the thin blanket that covered both her and Lenalee as her stomach twisted. "But I realize that when I get hurt, others worry, and I'm not protecting anyone that way. So...what I'm trying to say is...I'm really sorry...Yuu. I'm sorry for worrying you both."
A full second later only silence answered her. Unlike what she thought initially, just blurting what she felt out in the open didn't make her feel better. Oh, well. She'd apologize in the morning for sure this time.
"You're still an idiot."
Celia felt her heart stop at Kanda's voice rushing through the quiet air. Despite being as quiet as her own whispers, they, along with her own thundering heartbeat, drummed against her ears louder than anything. Kanda turned over on his bed and faced her with that scowl of his, but with the distinct edge from before now gone.
Just his regular old frown.
"An idiot?" she repeated, her voice wavering a bit with a sob.
"Yeah," he affirmed. "You worried Lenalee and made trouble for us. Not to mention hurting yourself doing whatever the hell it was you did. You're nothing but trouble."
His words hurt a little, but Celia knew to expect this kind of chewing from him. Before she had time to sulk, Kanda spoke up again.
"So don't do it again."
This time when he said those words, Celia lifted her gaze and met his, briefly catching the sight of his expression softening to something more neutral than displeased. With rosy cheeks, Celia nodded, humming in agreement.
"I won't. I promise."
"Tch."
"W-What are you clicking your tongue for?!" she hissed back.
"Your words are emptier than that airhead of yours. Promising to nothing won't get you to keep your damn word."
"Who're you calling an airhead?!"
Rolling his eyes, they landed at last on his own wrists from where he easily pulled off his dark blue beaded bracelet. He reached easily over the little pathway separating the beds and offered the bracelet that he now held in his hand. Celia eyed his hand for a moment before meeting his gaze briefly.
"Take it already!"
Celia stumbled in her panicked hurry to snatch the beaded bracelet from his hand and rapidly placed it around her small wrist. The bracelet was big on her, falling a bit down her forearm.
"Why are you giving me—"
"Swear on it."
That caught her off guard. "What?"
"Whatever it is you want to do, that you want to get better at, just swear it to that. I'll believe you then."
He left her with those last words, turning on his bed then to give her his back once more. Silence came over again as the night continued on. Now, however, Celia felt a whole of a lot better. Holding tightly onto the beaded bracelet and keeping it close, she spoke under her breath quietly for herself.
"I'll take better care of myself. I won't worry you. I swear it."
Maybe Kanda was right. Maybe this would help her keep her word this time.
|Morning. Black Order Headquarters.|
"Welcome home, Lenalee."
Celia smiled at the exchange by the siblings, watching tenderly from a distance beside Kanda with a grand smile on her face. Kanda, on the other hand, quickly turned away to leave upon the display. Celia felt inclined to follow as she didn't wish to impose on such a touching moment. Before either of them could, however, a large hand landed on their heads patting them fondly.
Both turned to find Komui towering over them with a warm smile on his face and Lenalee by his side with a small one.
"Welcome back, Kanda-kun, Celia-chan."
Her heart jumped at the words, chest swelling with an uncanny feeling that she couldn't place. But it wasn't bad. It brought a meek smile to her face as she sheepishly turned down somewhat taken aback by the affection.
"We're home."
|That Night; Hevlaska's Chambers|
"How is it looking, Hev-kun?"
Being held several feet off of the ground still unnerved Celia but the fact that Hevlaska was as delicate as ever did calm her anxious mind, even as she inspected her.
"Complicated."
You're telling me.
Not long after they returned and they debriefed Komui on how their mission had gone, the vital detail that perplexed them all equally was how the Innocence they had found had disappeared and entered Celia's body. It was a puzzle to say the least, one they hoped Hevlaska could illuminate them on at the very least.
Her answer sounded all but promising though.
Celia did her best to hide the grimace that wanted to form on her face at the strange sensation of Hevlaska's appendages 'connecting' to her Innocence. It reminded her of that skin crawly feeling she hated about the emerald energy. At last, Hevlaska stopped mid examination, her head jerking slightly as if in realization.
"Hand of God...absorbed the Innocence."
Amethyst eyes widened.
"It absorbed it?" Komui repeated just as baffled. "What do you mean?"
"Exactly as it sounds." Despite not believing her fully at first, Celia found herself unable to dismiss Hevlaska when she so clearly felt it. When that connection she had between them tugged at a certain part within her body, it felt like she was pulling apart two things that were glued flimsily together, but strong enough to resist such a weak attempt at its removal. "Hand of God absorbed the Innocence Celia and the other children discovered. At the moment, it appears to be in the process of assimilating it."
"If they haven't fully yet, then you can separate them still, right?"
"I should be able to, yes."
A grim smile came to Komui's face as he looked up to Celia's hovering figure to address her. "Celia-chan, we need to extract it before it finishes doing whatever it's trying to do."
She knew. Assimilation didn't sound like something pleasant to her either. The faster they took it out, the better.
Still…
Warily, her gaze lifted to meet Hevlaska. "Will it hurt?"
"I will make it as swift and painless as I possibly can."
That didn't sound promising, but it would have to be enough. Bracing herself, Celia took a deep breath, scrunched her eyes shut, and nodded. Hevlasks began then, her appendages entering her body through her wrist.
It felt mildly uncomfortable at first. Almost like Hevlaska was scraping through her insides searching for where she'd found that other Innocence. It was truly disgusting. At last, she found it; Celia could feel it, almost as if a hand had caught something inside of her in its firm grasp.
Then she pulled—
An ear-piercing scream escaped Celia instantly.
Emerald electricity responded in kind, running haywire and lashing out at Hevlaska who refused to release what she had taken a hold of. Apologizing through her actions, Hevlaska continued to pull. Celia's screams only got louder. After a few minutes, the connection between the two Innocence finally snapped. The pain and electricity stopped simultaneously in response. Celia fell unconscious almost instantly, her small body going limp in Hevlaska's grasp, while in another appendage hovered the raw Innocence she had extracted from that same body.
"H-Hevlaska. Is she—"
"Unconscious." Hevlaska lowered Celia as gently as could be onto Komui's waiting arms. As he searched her for injuries, he quickly came to realize that there were none that he could find. As if to answer his unsaid question, Hevlaska lowered herself to speak. "Her body is intact. It is her mind that suffered the rebound."
"What do you mean?"
"What Hand of God attempted to do—the assimilation—I have only witnessed it a handful of times before. Unlike other parasitic-type Innocence we have seen, it does not only leech off of its host. It does so with other Innocence as well. It attempted to harvest the Innocence's powers for itself."
"That does sound familiar." Komui's frown burrowed at how familiar that description sounded and it took him a moment to recognize where he had encountered such details before. "If I remember correctly, the records described the one capable of that being—" His own thought stopped midway, the answer playing out in his head rendering him speechless.
"Komui..." His gaze lifted from the little girl unconscious in his arms to Hevlaska. "To thoroughly guard this child, I suggest you further investigate and verify for yourself what transpired during that person's last mission nine years ago. You may not find the answer there, but it shall be a start."
Komui remained silent for a moment before nodding. "I will. Thank you, Hevlaska." Leaving her thereafter, the massive woman began to descend back into her dark abode as ominous thoughts continued to linger in her mind.
"I hope that our qualms are baseless ones, child. For your sake."
|4:28 am|
Celia's eyes shot open and met the darkness of her room at the Order.
What...happened? The last thing she remembered was being at Hevlaska's chambers to see what had happened with the Innocence they had recovered. She was supposed to...take it away. Pain struck her chest then, twisting and burning. Her hand reached up to clutch her shirt over her heart. Uneasy, she looked herself over in the mirror but there were no injuries to speak off. Whatever Hevlaska did that hurt her hadn't left a mark, but it hurt all the same.
It felt like she was tearing a piece off of me.
And when Hevlaska did...Celia swore she saw something.
Almost as if triggered by what Hevlaska had done, Celia saw the flicker of something just before she lost consciousness—the silhouette of someone...and a voice. It hadn't been the haunting one; it'd been the gentle one that she heard during their mission. The one who helped her to use the Innocence she accidentally absorbed. But despite recognizing it, there was something different about it as well. It was clearly a man's voice...but it didn't feel like it had been them. She could barely recall what she'd seen—when she tried recalling it, all she could see was static—but she could vividly recall what she felt.
Warm. Safe.
"Rest well, my little aster."
Loved.
Unable to fall back asleep and not wanting to stay in the darkness of her room any longer, Celia slipped on her shoes before quietly exiting. Her way was aimless. There wasn't really anywhere in particular that she wished to go or had a particular interest in being. From the darkness she could see through the windows she passed by, it was rather late. Not a soul was wandering the hallways either.
None but her.
Her body stopped unconsciously as her mind wandered, the five words she'd heard in her sleep playing over and over in her head so as to burn them into her memory.
Celia couldn't understand the reason why 'love' had been the word that came to mind when she thought of the man in her dream. Even more so because the word just sounded so foreign to her. But it felt appropriate all the same. Right, even. She wondered if this was what Lenalee felt when she spoke of how much she cared and loved her older brother. She wondered if what brief distant speck of memory she recalled had been someone who had loved her as much as Komui loved Lenalee.
It certainly felt like it.
Clumsily rubbing her eyes dry off the tears that stung the corners, Celia glanced up to meet the door where she'd unconsciously stopped at. The sign next to the door read 'Records'. She didn't remember this being here. Could they be one of those new storage rooms she heard about? Curiosity getting the best of her, her hand grasped the brass knob and turned the door open with ease. The inside was dark. Eerily so. Thankfully, there was a set of lit candles scattered around the hallways with how late it was, and Celia took one with a quiet apology before going inside.
Shelves upon shelves stood arranged in a way to waste the least amount of space possible all the while being stacked to the brim with boxes and files, some even settling on the floor with a thin layer of dust. The shelves stood at two or three times her size and towered over her claustrophobically. Despite the sight, all of it was quickly set aside in her mind when she caught the name on one of the boxes.
'Tiedoll, Froi.'
General Tiedoll?
Setting the candle on the floor, Celia made quick work of pulling out the box with the general's name on it and opened it to find an array of miscellaneous items within. Old letters, some art supplies, half drawn-on canvases. What caught her attention most was the folder that stood straight against the inside of the box. Skimming through it, Celia found it full of jargon she couldn't understand but what she could garner caught her interest quite a bit.
Information. Personal information. Like his place of origin and familial ties.
Setting it aside, Celia tried reading the names scribbled on the boxes that were illuminated by the candlelight. Many she didn't recognize, but a handful were familiar names.
Marie, Noise. Lee, Lenalee. Kanda, Yuu. Dark, Suman. Others Exorcists.
If they were anything like the general's, they would contain personal information aside from all the rest. And if they had one…
Maybe I do too.
It took her a while but eventually, Celia found the box labeled with her name. Struggling at first, she pulled it out of its place, not caring about the rest of the files she disturbed in the process. Inside it were very few things; old clothes from her time with Cross that she'd misplaced, old toys she hardly remembered, and even a book or two she'd forgotten about. All those mattered very little compared to the folder she found neatly at the bottom of the box. Celia wasted no time in looking through it.
Science jargon. Stuff about her Innocence. There, personal information. Celia read through the text best she could, hoping against hope that there would be something there. Something she didn't know.
Surely this huge organization found out a thing or two that they're not telling me.
But no. All the information they had on her was the same kind that she had. It put her country of origin as China, despite her clearly not being of Asian descent. Which meant that they only had that on her file because that's where Cross first encountered her. Familiar ties were no better either. Worse, actually.
They were marked as 'not applicable.'
Irritating after having had her hopes up, Celia threw the folder against the shelf before kicking the practically empty box across the narrow hallway in frustration. So narrow in fact that when her kick didn't hit straight, the box bounced every which way, spilling its contents everywhere.
Celia didn't care. She was too disappointed and angry to bother.
Her gaze wandered to the mess she made briefly and stopped. A letter. It was peeking out from between the pages of one of the books. She hadn't seen it before while going through the stuff; hadn't bothered to look through old books when what had mattered had been the folder, after all. Baffled, Celia walked up and picked the book from the floor before taking the letter out.
The envelope was torn already; someone had opened it before. What caught her attention instantly, was the single name written so messily across the front.
'Cross'.
Cross sent this?
Celia had never heard of Cross sending her any letters. After the way he sent her off, it never occurred to her that he would've bothered contacting her. But...he had. Or at least that's what it looked like. Dying to know now, Celia took out the letter inside. It seemed particularly new as well. Whichever the case, someone had definitely read it from how crumpled it was. It was a single page folded to fit neatly inside the small envelope.
The actual contents were no different. Curt and to the point.
'Lee,
The name you're searching for is Ashford. You might be onto something with it as well. The fact that Hand of God has an accommodator already can't be a coincidence.'
"What...is this…?"
Lee? Did he address this to Komui? How did Komui get in contact with Cross in the first place? And why? What did Hand of God have to do with this?
Who is Ashford?
"Who's here?"
Celia froze, the letter in her hands crumpling at the sound of somebody coming in. Her mind in a frenzy, she crumpled the letter while shoving it in her pockets, hiding it from sight just as somebody's light turned the corner.
She recognized the man. Reever, if she recalled correctly. Celia didn't know the whole lot of scientists that worked at the Order but this one certainly stuck out with him being the Section Chief and the one that spent the most time at Komui's office when she went there. Haggard as he was and with those awful-looking bags under his eyes, it was obvious that he was more than half-asleep when he came in though.
Eyeing the mess on the ground, she understood what brought him in.
The noise alerted him.
"Ah, you're...Celia, right?" He blinked a couple of times trying to blink away his grogginess as well. "What—what are you doing here? Never mind that, why are you up this late?"
"I couldn't sleep," she quickly replied. "I wandered around and found myself here."
Reever groaned as he massaged the back of his neck for a second. "You shouldn't be here, kid."
"S-Sorry." Feigning remorse, she lowered her gaze only to meet the mess she'd made once more. Not wanting to be caught, she stepped over it subtly, letting the skirts of her nightgown hide what they could from sight.
"C'mon," he said, letting out a long-drawn-out sigh. "I'll take you back to your room."
Thanking the heavens that it'd worked and that he was tired enough not to notice, Celia sprinted to his side and grabbed onto his dirtied sleeve and hand when he offered it. Amethyst eyes looked up as they turned the corner to head out of the records room.
"Can we stop by the cafeteria and get some warm milk?"
Revere tilted his head as they exited, closing the door behind him with a key. Celia tilted her head herself, watching carefully as he let said key fall into his pocket. "Will that help you sleep?"
Celia nodded vigorously.
"Alright then. I could use some coffee too, anyway."
"What's that?"
"The complete opposite of warm milk," he replied with a chuckle.
"Is it good?"
He yawned, his mouth opening wide as could be. "It does its job."
"Can I try it?"
He looked down at her as if contemplating the question briefly before chuckling nervously.
"Maybe some other time."
|One Month Later|
Her first solo mission had gone by in a breeze.
It was hard to think they trusted her to not cause too much havoc to let her off the leash. Though she supposed that still having a Finder following her around was still the equivalent of that. Not to mention… Celia gazed up at the black golem Komui had given her as it floated by her side, its tiny light blinking as it gave off her location. It was bothersome, to say the least. To think that the one time she could come out on her own, she was more tailed than the Pope himself.
Celia heaved a long sigh in frustration.
"I'll contact Headquarters to let them know we're heading back."
She nodded back at the Finder that left her to find the nearest telephone to contact them through. It was nifty how by connecting it with a simple machine it was easy to intercept communications and contact Headquarters directly. It piqued her interest how well-made that had to be made to do such a thing. The Finder disappeared around the corner and Celia stood by at the corner of the train station, overhearing the train approaching. It wasn't theirs though.
Walking over to a bench, Celia plopped herself down along with her suitcase and waited. But as she did, her mind wandered as it often did this past month to the one subject in particular.
Cross' letter.
No one had suspected she knew of it, much less had it in her possession now. And though short, its contents were very telling about one thing: the name 'Ashford' had something to do with her Innocence. And if what she interpellated of Cross's few words was remotely factual, so could she. Whoever these people were, they could mean something to her. Maybe even be that ever-elusive family she couldn't help but think about now more than ever.
Her first thought the day after discovering the letter had been to confront Komui about it but refrained from doing that at the last second after giving it some thought. The letter had been hidden away in the records room; it'd been in a place that nobody visited unless they had a purpose to do so. That letter was there for a reason, and the fact that it was addressed to Komui meant that he had been the one to place it there. That meant that, as things stood, asking Komui wouldn't yield anything fruitful.
He hid the existence of the letter before. What made her believe he wouldn't lie to hide anything else?
Which leaves...
That mangy old priest.
Celia never thought anything of Cross knowing how Hand of God worked back when he first took her in. Not even after she came to train under Tiedoll did she wonder if it was normal for them to know how other Innocence worked. It wasn't. That, coupled with this letter, meant Cross knew more than he ever let on.
And seeing as he was the only viable option to question, finding him and asking in person was best.
That's never happening though.
Celia's mood instantly deflated at the sordid thought. Cross was a damn sleazeball that wouldn't be found by anybody if he didn't want to be found. At least...not unless one knew where to look.
And if living by that man's side for a year didn't teach her that at least, then she truly hadn't learned anything.
Searching for Cross...huh.
Even if she wanted to, when would she even find the time to do it? Glancing idly up at the golem, Celia stared at the train that had stopped at the station, the worker announcing that it would be departing momentarily. It wasn't until it began to slowly pick up momentum to leave though that her eyes widened with the epiphany that suddenly came to her.
"If I can't find time...I'll just make it!"
Grabbing her luggage, Celia didn't hesitate to chase after the train and jump on to catch it by the caboose's railings. It took her a moment to haul herself up but after she did, all she could do now was watch the station quickly disappear behind her as she left it behind. A quiet apology escaped from under her breath for the poor Finder that would have to deliver the bad news to Komui and promised that she would pay it back to them.
Besides, it's not like I'll be gone for long.
Only until she found Cross and got the answers she wanted.
Just as she was about to head inside and grab a seat, though, the sight of the golem still by her side blinking red caught her attention.
"Ah. I forgot about you."
The golem didn't react. It simply hovered above her, blinking. Tracking her. Celia grimaced as what she had to do now pained her a little. Reaching up, she took the little golem in her hands. Its wings flapped mindlessly even as she held it so carelessly, not sensing in the least what was about to happen.
"Sorry, little guy."
Emerald energy sparked briefly from her hands and eroded the golem, turning it into a lump of feathers and white alabaster. Its wings stopped the moment she transfigured it and all that was left in Celia's hand in the end was a lump of white. Wordlessly, she tossed it overboard and watched the lump break apart into pieces when it hit the tracks that were just as quickly left behind.
There. That would give her some time.
In spite of how daunting a task it appeared to be, Celia didn't doubt she would find Cross. It would be just a matter of exactly that—time.
"I'll go look around for a bit," she spoke into the air, watching the sky roll by alongside her. "But I'll be back home soon."
At the thought of saying those most important words, Celia's hand found the beaded bracelet that rested cozily around her wrist still a little too big for her.
"I promise."
|This would be one of the last few known whereabouts the Black Order would have of the eleven-year-old Exorcist, Celia Valentine.
No verifiable information would surface for the next six years.|
A/N:
Told ya'll it wouldn't be long before the next chapter. Super happy that I separated them now. And technically I didn't lie about the childhood arc ending here. *Technically*. But anyways, this was more a chapter to establish some key points and relationships that I hope the look into in future chapters. One or two new ones that certainly weren't in the old story to boot. I assure you they'll all pay off one way or another in the future of this one tho.
Speaking of which, I believe next chapter I'll finally add the small snippet preview that I gave in the old "Not :One: of Us" story. Of course with a few changes here and there to fit the story now but, it's finally coming!
I thank you all for the welcoming reviews and favorites after the long while that I was gone! It certainly gave me the drive to write/edit this out quick as I could despite it being finals week.
I really hope everybody enjoyed this long ass chapter and that you stay tuned for the next one where we'll jump into a new age in Celia's life as she starts on her long search!
Thank you everybody and have a great rest of your day/night!
*Evie*