I think this'll be the last of the 'laying railroad tracks under feet as i run along' section - though just about all of this is pre-typed, the two or so stories after this are more fleshed out (in my head at least). This entire arc (it'll probably just be this chapter and the next) came about purely because I was listening to one song by (I think?) Two Steps From Hell and had a scene very vividly imagined to it. Unfortunately that scene was the equivalent of like 5 minutes of real-story-time. Oh well. The rest is all just extraneous nonsense, as usual.
Thanks so much (again and again) to the reviewers! I know I tend to passive-aggressively ask for feedback, but it is really incredibly useful to know how each chapter comes across.
The song Daisya sings is just a folk song I learned when I was a kid, which I decided to work in because I love it and this entire fic is just one bit work of self-indulgence. It can be slow or fast, haunting or lively. This one is a good version ( watch?v=ZXAi8BL4BYU)
Anyhow, here we go.
"Got anything yet?" Daisya asked, tapping his feet on the ground. He felt a bit smug about it — the chairs were high, but his growth spurt had come quicker to him than to most kids his age. Kanda's feet still dangled above the ground even on the short benches at Headquarters.
The finder fiddling with the telephone contraption — was it Marina? Marietta? Something Italian, anyhow — shook her head. She didn't look too interesting. Most of the finders didn't, and they all more or less looked the same. Not too tall, either stringy or plump, and nervous. They hunched over a bit, and shook, like the trees in the rocks at home whenever a breeze blew up. Kanda was saying that they did kick the bucket pretty quickly after joining up, so he couldn't blame them.
"Not yet—"
Maria's — that was her name — hand jumped slightly as the line crackled.
They sat by the telephone in the corner, Maria hunched over to fiddle with the dials. Golems were sometimes unreliable, depending on how close they were to their owners, so the Order had been trying out different ways of communication between teams. So far, this seemed to be the best. A golem was kept on the Order's end of the line, repeating data, so that whenever any exorcist called they'd get a quick update.
Gingerly, Maria held the phone up to her ear, and listened for the words hidden under all the static. Daisya also cocked an ear, as the sound filtered out.
"Croatia team…three more akuma spotted. Bulgaria team…possibility of Noah activity. Act with caution. Bosnia team…no change. Bohemia…"
The finder hung up the phone. Daisya might have expected her to be relieved, what with nothing much happening on their mission, but instead her face was drawn as ever. On the trip over here, she'd mostly kept to herself. Daisya guessed that she'd been here longer than most, like Marie.
"There's nothing," she said quietly, "But I suppose you heard that. If we can get this over with quickly, we can get to Bulgaria in a few days for backup."
She pulled a chair out from the table, both worn grey by years of use. The innkeeper seemed to like that colour enough to leave most of the furnishings that way. The walls were wooden planking and stone blocks, and the floor was shale and leftover planking over soil. Good old grey. You couldn't find a more boring colour if you tried.
"Yeah, yeah," Daisya said, speaking around a mouthful of bread, "You got a friend there?"
He started to tap the edge of the table, sticking one finger out to tap, then folding it in and moving to the next one. He seemed to be more concentrated on that than on the conversation.
Maria's eyes narrowed by a fraction of an inch.
"Why are you asking?"
Daisya shrugged, and swallowed hurriedly. Maria was now giving off the same aura Marie did when he was annoyed. Which wasn't as often as Kanda, but definitely worse.
"Dunno. You don't seem to be having fun."
Maria tore herself a chunk off of the loaf in the centre of the table.
"Really."
…
The day was bright, and mercifully free of revolutionary gunshots. They'd run into a skirmish between Slavic nationalists and some sort of military force a few days back — they hadn't stuck around long enough to find out who. Could've been the Germans, could've been the Magyars, could've been any number of Ottomans. He'd been considering signing up the army back home, when he was old enough, but now he'd found the Black Order. The old man was better than come crusty major, and a bell was better than a rifle.
Was that what Maria had thought when she joined up? Probably no one knew. She certainly wouldn't have said much about it.
Daisya took his opportunity to fill the silence with sound. Maria didn't talk much, but she didn't seem to mind noise.
The trees were tangled with bushes on either side of the path, and the sun hung straight overhead, blazing a halo around itself. It put Daisya in mind of the bell on the end of his hood.
It was too late in the year for birdsong, and so Daisya made his own contribution. The song Jeanne had taught him came out in a low alto, stumbling here and there.
"V'la l'bon vent, v'la l'joli vent, v'la l'bon vent, mamie m'appelle, v'la l'bon vent, v'la l'joli vent, v'la l'bon vent, mamie m'attend…"
The song hopped along under his breath as he crushed dry leaves beneath his boots.
Y'know, he sort of missed the other exorcists. Finders were all right, but they were all the same, and they only lasted a few months, apparently. Boring. All the exorcists had survived way too much to be boring.
The old man hadn't been back in a while, either.
"…trois beaux canards s'en vont baignant…"
Actually, it had been just him, and Kanda, and Lenalee ever since they'd got back from Poland. Though, Marie and the old man were back now from the Asian Branch, so they'd be around a lot more.
The wind had shifted now, blowing warmer though the forest and picking up the red-and-gold leaves. The warmth of summer was fading fast.
He felt really…hungry when there was just another scaredy finder. He wanted something other than the weak, watery tension of awkwardness and anxiety.
Eh, whatever. At least he was having fun.
He breathed in sharply, then out. Yeah, he felt hungry, but he still felt something burning, without any pain. The pills were great for that. Mostly. Kanda's training sessions still packed a punch, but the painkillers took away any distractions. The thing burning wasn't on his skin.
Sun and moon above, bell below, flames in between.
He loved it like this.
"…oh fils du roi, tu es méchant d'avoir tué mon canard blanc…"
…
"I think we might want hurry up," Maria said softly, holding the golem above her shoulder, "They called in the Croatia team for reinforcements."
Daisya stopped humming, and turned back to look. Still the same expression as always. The forest had shifted slightly, fading into mixed evergreens and oak.
"Who's that again?"
"Hansi. And one of the twins."
Daisya whistled, and grinned sardonically.
"Well, they're all going to be useless against a Noah, anyway. The old man says even he can barely handle them."
Maria's slow and measured pace had sped up, taking her past Daisya.
"Yes. That's why we need to hurry."
Daisya planted a foot carefully in a stack of dried leaves near the roadside, relishing in the crunching noise they made before catching up.
"And you've got a friend over there, haven't you?"
Maria decided to return the shot this time. She seemed to be getting fed up. They all did, after a while.
"I believe you also have one in the Croatia team. You should be concerned."
Daisya frowned slightly, and kicked a pebble up the road. Ew. There were more evergreens up ahead, and the bright colours were fading. Then he grinned.
"You mean Kanda?" he asked, "Nah, he's way too annoying. And he's stuck up."
"Mm."
Maria managed to convey annoyance, weariness, and doubt in a single sound. She really was a lot like Marie. When she got fed up, at least.
"We should get going."
Daisya nodded absently,
"O-kay– hey, wait up!"
Maria lengthened her strides yet again, leaving Daisya in her wake. Damn adults. Their legs were far too long.
Daisya took a breath of the air that still smelled of dead leaves, and started to run. He'd played enough soccer to keep up a good run. Maria was not going to win this round of pettiness, at least.
Though maybe he was just looking for something to fight against.
He worked his way past her into a slow jogging rhythm, keeping ahead of Maria, but mimicking her pace.
Yeah, it had been a while since he'd had much fun. Boring old Marie was miles above most finders when it came to fun. He taught them all useful things, and played music, and got fed up waaay more easily now that he knew Daisya for a brat. Maria was okay, though. She was starting to lose patience after only a couple of weeks.
Even the Innocence was boring. It didn't even put up a fight. Well, sure, the ghost had been a bit tetchy, but compared to Kanda it was a walk in the park to convince him of something. The akuma were what made things interesting.
It might have been just him, but the frail branches of the trees seemed to be clawing at the sky now. Ooh. Really menacing.
Suddenly, Daisya skidded to a halt. Maria. It would be rude to leave her behind.
Quickly, he doubled back to her side, averting his eyes from the road forward. It was getting colder, and the wind was blowing against them.
Funny. Why'd he do that?
He skipped to a halt, facing her, and started to trot backwards.
"Come on," he said, "Didn't you say we should hurry?"
"We are hurrying," replied Maria, impassive. "Don't worry, I'll be fine even without a brat watching me."
Hey, that was rude! That settled it. If she was going to be in a bad mood, Daisya wasn't they guy to stop her by force.
He ran back ahead along the dirt path, watching the trees grow darker and sharper against the bright blue sky. He hated when the old man stopped just to draw something or say it was pretty, but this was beautiful, but it was sort of nice. He liked the more jagged shapes of conifers, even if they didn't have the lovely leaves of normal trees.
Something compelled him to pause. There was a nice pile of leaves beside the road. He should go crunch them.
Quickly, he looked over, nearly stumbling over a root as he did.
No leaves.
Daisya stood stock still, shivering slightly as the cool headwind leached the warmth from him. Not cool. Bitingly cold.
What leaves?
Up ahead, the forest closed over the path, blocking out the sun.
Why had he stopped?
Maria. Shouldn't leave her behind.
He ran back again, dragging his feet over the earth, and felt something lift off of his shoulders.
Yes, that was right. He should go back. Should just go home.
He stopped again, and tried to turn his head back to look at the path, but a gust of wind stung his cheek as he did.
Why was he feeling homesick now? He hadn't thought about it in months. Apart from a letter every two months, he had nothing to do with it.
Suddenly, the sky seemed to brighten, and the wind died down.
Innocence. That was it.
He came to a halt, and turned back forward again to fall in step with Maria.
"You are energetic," she said flatly, "Are you that worried about your friend?"
Daisya grumbled something under his breath — in Turkish, not anything Maria would know — then spoke up.
"Just give it a couple of seconds."
"Give what a couple of seconds?" Maria asked, looking down at him with a new expression.
Daisya felt his feet grow heavy, dragging him down.
"That."
They both stopped, and now that Daisya noticed it, he felt a weight in his chest.
Not just the feeling of being tired of being beaten by Kanda for the umpteenth time (he swore someday he'd beat him, just like Lenalee had). Something dumb and emotional.
The sun dimmed, and they sky turned the dull grey-white of a day neither sunny nor rainy. Not one thing nor the other, just plain and heavy. Grey trees, grey earth, grey skies, grey stone.
Daisya wanted to go home. He missed his family. He missed the bright blue ocean. He missed the trees. Those damn, pathetic, drought-stricken trees. His stupid brothers, and whiny sister. The stupid tourist trinkets, the gewgaws in all their colours.
He—
A breath caught in his throat, and stayed there.
He hated that place.
Maria turned around, walked back, and Daisya chose to lift one foot, plant it behind him, turn, and follow.
"Hey, Maria, why'd you stop?" he asked mockingly, tugging at her coat, "Didn't you want to help out?"
Maria paused for a second time, and looked down at him.
"So you weren't actually that excited," she said dryly, "Something made you."
"Yeah," Daisya continued, "That's what I thought. D'you think it's Innocence?"
Maria's eyes narrowed, as they did when she was thinking.
"There's nothing else it could be, besides a Noah."
"Then how're you sure it's not a Noah? What do they even do, anyway?"
Daisya placed his hands on his hips, and tapped his foot in mock impatience.
"It's simple," replied Maria, "If it are a Noah, we would be dead."
"That's depressing."
"That's irrelevant. You should try activating your Innocence. It should grant you some sort of immunity. At the very least, it will be insurance against akuma."
Daisya gave her a mock salute.
"Yep. Give me a second."
He whipped around in a circle, letting the force of the motion rip the Charity Bell from his hood.
"Innocence, activate!"
The trees looked fairly calm in the autumn afternoon, and Daisya took mental stock.
Randomized guilt: 5% of maximum
Homesickness: 0.8% of maximum
Regret: 1% of maximum
Sense of Duty: 0.9% of maximum
He started to jog, letting the bell hop from foot to foot. Say what you will, it's always time for football practice.
Towards the barrier, he noticed the trees start to shift again. Definitely Innocence. It got into your mind, and worked you from the inside out.
Time to jump. What with dodging Lenalee in training, he'd had plenty of experience with those.
A few seconds later, a leap landed him far over the invisible boundary. Already, it felt as if something was pushing him backwards.
Randomized guilt: 12% and rising
Homesickness: 10% and rising
Regret: 9% and rising
Sense of Duty: 6% and rising
But there was no way he was going to go back.
"Hey, looks like it's working!" he shouted back to Maria, still standing there in her canvas cloak.
He saw her nod.
"Find the Innocence," she called calmly in reply, "I'll watch for akuma."
"You sure?"
"Yes," she called impatiently, "Now hurry up!"
"All right, all right."
Daisya turned around, and faced the path. The Innocence could be anywhere.
He grinned. Now this was fun.
He took a breath, and slowly, deliberately started to run against the ever-growing wind.
…
The sky had become mostly violet, fading to yellow, when Daisya's footsteps started to drag.
Finding the Innocence was harder that it looked, because you had to go the direction that you didn't want to go, and that took effort. The more your feet felt heavy, the more you had to push on. The Innocence must have been really strong, to have this much of an effect.
And to make it worse, Daisya wasn't even sure that things worked properly in here. He hadn't heard any of he birds that hopped along in the trees, or seen the squirrels that liked to steal any food they could get their hands on. Even the trees seemed to be running out. It felt more like home, now, with a hard, rocky soil and a few bushes.
Daisya took a heavy breath, and stopped. He felt like he was at another crossroads, so he started to turn around clockwise, gauging how much he wanted to walk in a direction against the instantaneous feeling of randomized guilt.
What directions were there?
The forest felt inviting, as did the plains going off to the north.
So Daisya turned, and stopped turning as he faced a rocky uprising in the landscape.
It looked like someone had just randomly decided to drop a mountain range on the map. A bunch of rocks were piled up near the front, forming a sort of wall with only a few cracks through it. It did not look like a nice place to visit.
Obviously, it was the place to go. Daisya just wanted to grab the Innocence, and get this over with.
…
The last of the akuma fell in shreds.
"Looks like we weren't the first ones here," the finder muttered. "Do you want to have a look at this?"
The forest was starting to grow darker as the sun set, but Kanda hadn't bothered to stop walking. This finder was lazy, but there was a town about half an hour away, where they could rest.
Until then, they had work to do.
He sighed, sheathed Mugen, and walked to where the finder was standing, above a pile of equipment, the standard-issue canvas cloak given to finders, and a pile of dust.
"Do you think they were already on this mission?" the finder asked nervously. He was still a kid, and a coward to be taking orders from a child years his junior.
"Doesn't look like it. There were two or three exorcists on the Bulgaria team, and they should be days away from here."
Kanda had already drawn his conclusion as to the identity of the dust, but he couldn't decide what to do with it yet.
"Maybe they were also reinforcements? Didn't the Bosnia team say they'd be heading over once they'd finished? They might still have been here."
Kanda had already started to look around. His eyesight was pretty good, but it was dark, and there was no sign of any human life. Or a specific human life, for that matter.
"Yeah, but where's the exorcist?" he retorted. "They last longer than finders."
Damn. They couldn't afford to get sidetracked, but you couldn't trust Daisya as far as you could throw him, when it came to acting smart.
The finder shrugged.
"Maybe he just ran off."
"Wrong."
"Well, I don't know–"
"I do. He's somewhere around here. Probably not far."
The wind rustled the fallen leaves of autumn, and the ink-black spruce reaching up above them.