MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE MANGA
1
Three Days Later
"Wake up."
Indigo eyes slowly slid open before quickly shutting as the midday sun hit them. A groan soon followed, and the figure that had fallen from the sky slowly sat up, a small hand rubbing at the messy, oily hair. They moved through the mass of hair and soon found their skull; a large bump met their search. What had they been doing? They winced at that thought, and they didn't have an answer.
"I'm surprised you survived such a fall."
They jolted in surprise at the softer voice before looking around with a slight frown. A teen with shoulder blade length dark hair and gold eyes smiled down at them in concern. They didn't even question the clothing that felt far too old fashioned for someone so young; instead, they quietly studied the teen.
"Are you all right?" The teen asked, his concern growing at the lack of acknowledgement, "Y-You can see me, right?"
The person's head tilted to the side at those words, and a frown appeared. That had been an interesting question.
"Why wouldn't I?" They asked, and the teen blinked.
Ah, the person was a female. He hadn't wanted to assume, but he had thought so with the long hair and eyelashes. She looked at him, and he watched confusion appear on her face.
"Well, you'd be the only one that can," He answered as he sat down outside the crater; his movements hadn't even disrupted the dirt, "and the only one that's been able to hear me so far."
"Sound's lonely," She commented.
"A bit," He admitted, "so, can I ask why you're in a crater?"
"I'm in a crater?"
That question caused them both to remain quiet. He watched as she finally took in her surroundings and gained a baffled expression. She slowly got up from the ground, her joints loudly popping in a manner that made him wince. Her clothing was in tatters and looked to be some sort of school uniform. Her dress shirt was missing a sleeve, and the front of it showed parts of her chest.
"Oh, you must've had a run-in with an Akuma," He muttered, narrowing his eyes in thought before allowing his expression to relax.
"Akuma?" She questioned, "The term sounds vaguely familiar, but I would appreciate knowing its exact definition."
"An Akuma is a type of weapon; in mythology, they are known as demons," He explained, giving her a strange look, "that cross embedded in your chest is typically a signifier of an exorcist."
She let out a sound of disbelief before shaking her head. That sounded…wrong. She may not know what happened, but she was sure that wasn't it. She grasped onto the edge of the crater and slowly pulled herself out of it. Dirt hit her face as she did so, and annoyance showed on her face. She was panting by the time she got out and plopped down next to the other teen, the dirt shifting under her weight.
"I don't think I was an exorcist," She informed him as she regained her breath, "it just sounds wrong, and I think I'll trust whatever gut feeling I get."
"Are you saying you don't remember?" He questioned.
She turned to him with a smile, and he could see the discomfort in it. His guess had hit true. He gathered it wasn't just what she had been doing, but everything. He let out a sigh before shaking his head in slight amusement. It seemed that he'd have to stay by the kid's side. It could be interesting, and he could learn what it was like from the exorcist's side. It wasn't like the innocence in her chest wasn't going to go unnoticed.
"I think I know of a place where you can change clothes," He informed her.
Her brows raised in reply.
"Why was it under a tree?" She muttered as she pulled on the oversized, light tan coat.
"It was the best place we could think of on the run," He said, looking to the side in embarrassment.
"I see, thank you," She said, giving him a bright smile.
It worked better, seeing as her clothing was no longer in tatters. It was some of his old clothing that he had hidden just in case. The style was old, but it worked for a shorter female. Granted, she had to roll up the legs of the pants to fit them into the boots. He shared a boot size with her, and he didn't know how to feel about that.
"Right, let's get going then," He stated, "you can't just stand still, not while you have innocence running through your body."
"Where would I even go?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.
"We'll find a general," He answered, "not that they'd be able to see me, but they'd see you."
She nodded her understanding at that and slowly began to walk, hoisting up the briefcase that held her old clothes. A part of her didn't want to get rid of them, and she didn't know what it was. She tugged on some of her greasy hair in thought. It was such a strong feeling that she gathered there was some importance there. Too bad she couldn't remember.
"Oh, I'm Mana, by the way," He finally introduced, snapping her from her thoughts.
"…I…" She faltered for a few seconds as she tried to remember her name.
"That fall might've taken your memories completely," Mana mused before bringing a hand up to his mouth in thought; he then clapped as his expression brightened, "how about Flora? And you can borrow my last name!"
"Flora," She muttered, trying it out for a few seconds before smiling softly, "it's pretty, but what's your last name?"
"Campbell," Mana answered, smiling, "now, let's go find a general and try to get you used to your innocence."
"Is the innocence the reason behind why it's so hard to breathe?" Flora questioned.
"Yes, innocence can sometimes weigh heavily on the body of parasite types," He answered, and she nodded in understanding.
Mana had only one other person listen to him like that, and he had failed them terribly. He wasn't going to fail Flora, not if he could help it. He could remember his brother's lessons and the time that he created that golden golem. He'd teach everything to her because that was the only thing he could do. He wasn't even sure how he was walking around again, even in a ghostly form. He should've still been a part of the Earl. He wasn't going to be mad about it; it was an odd gift.
"How are we going to find a general if we don't know where they might be?" Flora asked.
"Good point," Mana gave a light laugh.
There wasn't an easy way to do so except walk around. It was possible that they could run into someone he knew, but the likelihood of that was incredibly low. He closed his eyes in thought as they walked through a forest. They could head to India; there was usually a general stationed there. He simply hoped that they'd find one. Flora needed to be trained with using her innocence, not that she knew how to activate it in the first place. It wasn't going to be pretty when she did so for the first time. He wasn't looking forward to it. He looked back towards her and noticed that she was studying the trees as they walked. He tapped his hand against his cheek; it was going to look weird if she started to talk to him around other people. But could he even create a way for them to communicate without ruining her quiet personality? He'd have to try. He brought his hand away from his cheek and lightly tapped the back of her head. She blinked and turned around to look at him in confusion.
"Sorry, I was just trying to think of a way to communicate quietly," He apologised.
"It's all right; you just startled me, is all," She stated before turning her attention in front of her.
'Did it work?' He hoped that it did, and watching her jump made him know that it had.
He had been lucky; it could've gone so wrong. She turned towards him again, and her expression caused him to chuckle a little. She gave him a slight glare before looking back towards the forest. She was pouting, and it caused him to grin a bit. The longer he was around her, the more her personality showed itself. It was nice.
They finally found a road and decided to travel on that. Mana watched as some carriages went past them and his expression turned melancholy. Things had changed in the years that he was "dead". Flora spared him a glance, somewhat gathering the reason behind how quiet he was. She wasn't going to say anything; what could someone who didn't even remember their actual name say? He deserved silent sympathy and a few moments to let it all sink in. She looked up towards the sky, and her brows pinched at the sight of dark grey clouds overhead. It was going to rain; she could smell it. They'd have to find some form of shelter to avoid the rain. She couldn't afford to get sick; she felt that generals moved around a lot. She didn't want to chase one of them down while running a fever.
'Good thing I always packed an emergency umbrella,' Mana's cheerful voice rang through her head, and it caused her to jump slightly.
'Where?' She answered, finding it strange to reply in her mind.
'Your voice is so distant; you must be thinking pretty hard about something…right, the umbrella should be in the bottom of the case.' Mana informed her.
She nodded and stopped at the side of the road, and opened the briefcase. She searched past her dirty clothes, a nightshirt that would be far too long on her, and a few extra pairs of clothing. She found the umbrella and noted that it was a shade of indigo that was quite dark. She closed the case and opened the umbrella. It had been just in time. She looked up as a few drops hit the umbrella and rolled off. She found that the world was quiet when it rained, and a small smile appeared on her face.
Mana's humming brought her out of her thoughts, and she tilted her head at the familiar song. She couldn't place where she'd heard it before, but she was sure she had. She bit the inside of her cheek in thought. She was brought out of them when she had to step over a pothole that had filled with water. The rain was coming down in sheets and flooding the road. A sudden thought hit her.
'Hey Mana, how am I going to pay for things?' Her question seemed to cause him to pause.
They had no way of making money, and he realised that. He rubbed the back of his head in thought and looked towards Flora. He didn't know; he didn't know her skill sets. They'd have to figure something out while walking to the nearest city. If they were lucky, they'd be in central Europe and not England. While her accent would stick out, it was Welsh mixed with something he couldn't place; it wouldn't be too out of place.
'Let's hope we're in central Europe and not England,' Mana said, 'We can figure something out while walking.'
The unsaid "hopefully" hung above them, and Flora's shoulders slumped slightly. She was starting to dislike not knowing anything. She tightened her grip around the base of the umbrella and turned her attention towards the drops of water dripping from it. She jolted when the sound of hooves hitting the wet ground got her attention. She looked behind her to see a carriage coming towards her. She moved towards the side and brought the umbrella to the side, and it blocked the mud from splashing on her. It went back over her head, and she frowned. People could be so rude.
'Can you play cards?' Mana's question caused her to blink in confusion.
That caused her to get a total rundown of the different types of card games. If they were in dire need of money, then she'd be able to play a game, granted she needed to learn how to cheat. It would be difficult to teach that to her, seeing as he didn't cheat at them. That was more his brother's trait than his. Their mother also knew how to cheat in cards; it seemed to skip him altogether. He could see Flora getting a little overwhelmed, but she was learning; the link gave her some idea of what the different hands looked like. It was vague, but it worked.
It was night when they finally reached a town. The signs around them were in French, and they both became relieved at that. It meant that they were in central Europe, and getting to India would be a bit easier than it would've been. If Flora could win a few games of cards, she could earn enough money to buy a train ticket. Either that or she could become a trainspotter. She wasn't impartial. Flora stopped outside a bar and entered, heading straight to a table where a game of cards was about to start; they just needed one more player.
"I can't tell if you are naturally lucky or are a better poker player than we originally thought," Mana dryly commented as he leaned against her chair as she placed down another royal flush.
Flora didn't even react to his words as a man reshuffled the cards, Mana had done the math, and they had enough money to get to India. That was with the prices he knew from his youth, not the current prices. She was going to try to get a few more hundred to make sure. She just needed to keep an eye on the other players; it could be bad for her if she made them mad. The cards she got were enough for her to win if she got an ace. She picked up one of the cards and placed it down before picking up a new one—the ace she needed.
"How?" Mana muttered as she got another Royal Flush.
That was two in a row and enough for her. She was confident they'd be set for a train ticket and took her leave of the game with her winnings. Flora had won with two straight flushes, a four of a kind and then the two royal flushes. She would've been screwed if she had played against someone who knew how to cheat. She left the bar and headed towards the train station.
"I hope they're still open," She muttered, and Mana nodded his agreement.
It would be bad for them to stay around for much longer. If she had managed to make the other poker players mad, then they'd want retribution. Flora had to be the luckiest person he knew; the station was still open for another twenty minutes, and there was a train to India waiting. She paid for the ticket and still had some money left over for food when they got there. She took a seat on the train and laid her head against the seat with the ticket in her hand.
'I don't think this luck will last for much longer.' She informed Mana as a conductor came down the aisle and asked for tickets.
'I'd have to agree; that's usually how it goes.' Mana stated as the ticket was punched, and she put it in her coat pocket, 'At least you can take a nap; it's going to take quite a while to get to Dehli.'
Yeah, she'd be living on the train for a while. The ticket wasn't just for France to India; it was for France to Germany, then Germany to Turkey, and so forth. She'd have to change trains many times. Mana looked outside the window as the train began to move and he realised something.
'You'll be there in time for Holi.' He informed her, and she nodded at that.
Not that she knew what Holi was. The conductor came by, and she quietly flagged him down to ask if he had a travel book she could borrow as she didn't know the trains system that well or the holidays of the different countries. He did have one, and he handed it to her with a smile as she thanked him. Mana didn't have to read it; he already knew it.
Hours had passed, and he was aware of when she fell asleep. One of her legs had fallen from the crouched position she had been sitting in, her head leaning against the window. She looked her age while sleeping. Fifteen years old, he had been able to gather that much when creating that small link. He smiled slightly at that. His smile fell a bit at the memory of Red doing the same, though he was going by Allen by the time they had their familial bond. The amount of psychological torture that his son had gone through by his hand weighed heavily on his mind. He couldn't do anything to right it, but he could do better. His mind wasn't shattered in this form, but he was aware that things could go south rather quickly. He wouldn't let it, not if he could help it.
"I've heard that parasite type accommodators could pack a lot of food away, but this is ridiculous," Mana muttered as he watched Flora eat her fifth loaf of stollen bread.
'I haven't eaten in a week,' Flora defended, a slight frown on her face.
He grinned at her as she finished and let out a sound of delight. She could sit on a train again, which is what she had to do. All she knew was that riding the train was very time consuming, and there were so many times that she could read the travel book that the conductor had given her. She just hoped the entire trip wasn't like that. She didn't know what she'd do if it were.