I'm sooooo sorry it took so long! The last weeks, I was kind of busy and then there was so much dialogue to write in this chapter. Sometimes, I really suck at writing a dialogue. I always want to rewrite it ...
A huge thanks to the reviewers! You sure know how to motivate.
TimelessTears: Thank you so much for the first review I ever got. I hope you like the next chapters too!
Angelbott: Thanks. Girl with two fans is a good paraphrase for her. I always called her fangirl ... g
TisNothing: Danke für deine lieben Worte. Ich hoffe, dir werden die nächsten Kapitel auch gefallen. Ich gebe mein bestes!
Ametris: Thanks for the hint! I immediately tried it and look: The chapter seems to be longer than it actually is. So I'll keep it up. And thank you for your offer. I'll keep it in mind!
Disclaimer: D.gray-man and all its belongings aren't mine. If you want an autograph, you have to ask Hoshino-sama.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, the second chapter! Enjoy!
Chapter two: Crossing roads
Ways are supposed to cross one day.
You will meet new friends and then, your loneliness will only play a part in the past's dark dream.
But, what will arise from such a meeting? Happiness? Love? Or rather pain and hatred?
You have to follow the road if you want to know. Just walk right into these shadows representing your own future and you will see if you're able to light at least one candle of hope. And maybe… maybe even the sun will rise one day.
The night sure is strong in your life. To believe that you can see the day again …you nearly don't dare it. You have to release yourself from the past if you want to leave the shadows. But will you be able to do so? These rough ties holding you are really tight; they cut into your flesh. Look, you're already bleeding.
And with every drop of blood the past sucks out of you, you're getting weaker. Listen: You have to free yourself soon! Otherwise you will get lost in your mind.
You will try it, right? To find something you can hold onto. No matter what happens; it is your single hope.
Human… I pray for you…
"There's an akuma coming!" At this very moment, an akuma appeared. It was a weak level one, but ere they could invocate their anti-akuma-weapons; it fired at the little ticket boy. "Watch out!" shouted Allen. He tried to reach the boy to block the attack, but he was too slow. The bullet flew fast towards the boy who just stood there paralysed in fear.
Just as the bullet was about to hit him, a white fan appeared right in front of the boy's face. The bullet slowed down, got stuck in the fan and the boy finally jumped sideways. He stumbled some more steps backwards and bumped against General White who quickly caught the small, trembling body before collapsing. The girl who had saved the boy closed her fan and the bullet decayed into dust. Slowly, she reached to her face and took the mask off.
"So it's you again." she said and gazed with her dark green eyes at the akuma. It stared back without the slightest emotion and aimed wordlessly all its cannons at the young woman. However, sooner than it could shoot again, a ball of dazzling light struck it, leaving a big hole in the akuma's body. It disappeared with a faint, relieved sigh. The people looked around in astonishment to see where the attack had come from and their gazes got caught on General White. He had drawn an old, rusted revolver, his anti-akuma-weapon; one arm still around the boy's shoulder. Now, he let go of the child and lowered his gun, suppressed anger burning in his eyes.
"And why did it have to come again, Sara?" he snapped at the girl. "Because this morning YOU had let it escape!"
She threw an unreadable glance at him. "You've told that already hundreds of times. I know it's my fault."
General White inhaled deeply to calm himself. "Then I hope you'll never do a fault again. Humans had nearly died because of you."
Sara avoided his eyes. Her master expected her to be a perfect exorcist who never made any mistake in his whole life. However, she was not at all perfect. She did slip up and with every mistake, she had to endure long sermons of the General about what could have happened and what she could do to become a better exorcist. Sure, it was helpful, but General White loved to repeat himself over and over again. After some repetitions of the same talk, she usually didn't listen any longer.
"Exorcists cannot get away with blundering!" the General just said without realizing that the people around quickly walked away and threw distrustful glances at the exorcists. He didn't even notice that nobody was listening. Even Timcampy was bored and gnawed on a strand of Allen's hair. Rabi grinned and whispered to his fellows: "Hey, that guy is weirder than the rumours say!"
Linali turned to the little boy who confusedly looked up to the General. He still had tears in his fearful eyes. She kneeled down and patted his head while smiling as warmly as she could. "It's over. You are safe now."
The boy looked nervously around. "Really?" he asked in a low voice. Linali nodded.
"Well, we should return to the theatre." General White said. He had finally finished his preaching. "It is much more comfortable to talk while having a cup of tea." Rabi bent down to Allen.
"Does that mean it's going to continue? " he spoke softly. "The rumours really understate. But actually, how odd is this guy?" He grinned. That looked just like a job for the hot and famous bookman-in-training!
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The theatre was big. Compared to the size of the town, it was an exaggeratedly large building with long rows of black seats and a wide stage. The curtain, red and heavy, was raised and some actors rehearsed a scene from the musical. They wore beautiful, shot coloured costumes. The stage design was stunning. A big, luxurious castle was painted on the background which was secured by ropes and props. Some additional settings - a tower, dark clouds and a moon - were also hold by ropes. Suddenly, a woman began to sing. Her voice ascended into the air and floated right into the hearts of the listeners. She spread her arms and her voice swelled getting louder and more emotional. The other actors began to dance around her and joined in her singing. They sang about the everlasting bonds of love, about the beauty and the bliss of a pure love and a heart filled with longing for another one.
"So, why are you helping the promoters?" Rabi asked. They sat at a table behind the stage. All-over the place requisites were scattered. People bustled around, but no one paid attention to the exorcists.
"Well, it is kind of a coincidence." General White said while taking a sip of tea. "They needed some help. So I decided to stay a little longer. After all, I am known as White, the generous general."
"Don't you think it's rather General White Lie?" Sara stood in the door that leaded to the dressing rooms of the actors. She had changed her clothes and wore now a simple pair of trousers and a blouse, clothes that would be far more convenient for a battle than the dress before. She sat down next to the General who cleared his throat and rested his hand on her arm.
"Ok, it's time to introduce you my current student. This is Sara, a compatible." One after another, the General introduced them to each other.
"What did you meant by white lie?" Allen asked her after the General finished.
She smiled. "It's because we're not helping out. We're working off our debts. His debts."
Flashback
It was a wonderful morning in the picturesque little town. General White and his student had just set off to take their train as they came past some performers. A beautiful woman sold tickets for the long-awaited musical 'The Beauty and the Beast'. Catching sight of her, the General turned around, mumbled something like "We should have five minutes to spare" and walked over to the lady.
"Would you like to buy a ticket?" the woman asked cheerfully, but General White shook his head. He grabbed her hands and looked deeply into her eyes.
"I just had to stop and admire your outstanding beauty. As if your gorgeous eyes were sparkling stars, I feel like being blinded … Now I know for sure there have to be a loving god."
Sara rolled her eyes. The General sure didn't leave a chance behind.
The lady blushed and pulled her hands out of his grip. "I … I'm married!" she finally managed to say.
He sighed. "Your husband … is he, by any chance, tall, brawny and aggressive?"
"N-no…"
"So, what's the problem?"
"Master White!" Sara shouted. "We don't have enough time for your amorous adventures!"
The General sighed again. "We can take the next train. It's not like that we have to arrive at the headquarters as soon as possible."
Sara stared insistently at her master, but didn't achieve anything. "Ok, if you think so…" With these words, she turned over -
And looked right into the eyes of an akuma. It directed a cannon at her forehead and shot. Sara could evade the attack just in time, feeling the harsh draught of the bullet. The projectile hit the building in the background and broke a big hole into the wall. General White, alarmed by the noise, drew his gun, spun around and knocked over the lady to get her out of the fireline. His first attack missed the akuma, but the next at least touched it. It screeched and jumped at some spectators. Quickly, Sara took her fan out of a pocket and invocated it. With a hasty movement, she created a strong gust and threw it at the akuma. It tried to dodge the wind, but because of the reach of the sickle-like gusts, it carried away lots of slight wounds. The enemy was only a level-one, however, it was very fast. Within a second, the akuma flew higher, turned around and attacked the people who were dashing away from the scene.
"Sara, destroy it!"
The bullets were flying rapidly, so the people wouldn't get off lightly. Sara opened her fan and again, a strong wind arose in front of the fleeing folk. The shots got slower and soon they fell to earth. Yet, the akuma flew faster and faster and after a few moments, they lost sight of it. It had escaped.
"Why didn't you follow my order?" the General shouted angrily at her.
Sara pointed into the direction the people had run to. "Should I watch them die?" she yelled back.
A groaning attracted finally their attention. The woman the General had knocked down before were still lying at the ground.
End of flashback
"Now she has a twisted ankle and we had to stay." With these words, Sara finished the story and threw an angry look at her master.
"You were lucky that the akuma returned. Goodness knows what it could have done while you were occupied." Linali said. "It sure could sneak up well …"
Kanda snorted. "It wouldn't have taken us by surprise if bean sprout had paid more attention."
"But I'm not responsible for the appearance of the akuma!" Allen exclaimed.
"For what do you have your eye if you don't use it?" Kanda glared coldly at the young exorcist. "You're so useless."
"I am not."
"You are."
"I am not!"
"You are."
"I am not!" Allen jumped up and his chair toppled down.
"You definitely are." Kanda said colder than ever. He couldn't stand it when someone contradicted him so persistently. It always made him want to draw his katana and behead the opponent.
"Ok, gentlemen!" the General interfered. "Please calm down. If you destroy something, you have to work. I won't pay your debts. But let's come back to your eye." He turned to Allen. "Am I right that you are Allen Walker, the student of my bosom friend Marian Cross?" Allen nodded. "Then, it is true that your eye can sense the akuma! What a helpful ability!"
Allen smiled triumphantly at Kanda, but said guy just stared back in rage. After a few moments, the white-haired boy gave up and looked at General White. "My father cursed me after I turned him into an akuma. It feels like having a part of him in my left eye." He gently touched it. "But I don't know why I didn't noticed the akuma earlier. Usually my eye forewarn me, even when I'm sleeping."
"Well, I guess that's my fault." Sara said. "That dance back then was supposed to attract the akuma. Maybe it influenced your eye too …"
"That's Sara's special ability. She can attract and distract akumas. Unfortunately, it doesn't work with every one." the General explained. "It could be quite useful if Sara was stronger. But I'm confident that she can handle the high-levelled akumas one day. Though, it will be a long way."
"And your anti-akuma-weapon is a fan?" Allen asked curiously. Sara nodded and opened her fan. It was black and had a floral design on it with blossoms and twines, all in black.
"I've some fans, because it would be weird to dance with only one. This fan is a reminiscence of my mother. She gave it to me a long time ago. That's nearly everything I can remember …"
The General leaned forward. "Sara has lost her memory. Though, she can remember some small things like her name, but she doesn't know her family, her last name or where she comes from. She can't recall anything what happened before she met me."
A long and piercing shriek interrupted their conversation. They looked up, alarmed. Allen checked the surroundings, but couldn't spot any akumas. Then, the woman who sang before dashed towards the exorcists, holding something in her hand - Timcampy. She held its tail between two fingers and showed it to the General.
"Does this mite belong to you?" she asked enraged. General White shook his head and pointed at Allen.
"Tim! Where have you been?" As the golem heard the voice of its master, it tried to fly to him but the woman was still holding it.
"This … whatever it is … It has bitten the main actor!" she yelled and threw poor Timcampy at Allen. He could manage to catch it. Immediately, Timcampy crawled into his sleeve to hide from the woman. Then, they heard heavy steps approaching and the main actor showed up. He held a cloth at his nose.
"Where is this rat?" he wanted to know, but the only answer he got was Rabi's laughter. The red-haired boy almost fell out of his chair as he caught sight of the actor's costume. It was the main actor, so he played the part of the beast. Hence, he was masqueraded as an akuma. It resembled the costume they had seen earlier, yet it looked much more laughable. It was normal-sized, but there were two wings of cardboard on his back, painted in black and red. That, the horns and the smoke made Rabi laugh madly. He pointed at the actor and gasped for breath.
"Oh my god! That's too much to take!" he screamed and finally fell out of the chair. He tried to grip something and got hold of a rope hanging on the wall. With a loud noise, he snatched it off and whatever the rope had upheld came off. Unfortunately, it was a part of the stage design. Due to the sudden missing of one rope, the construction began to sway. One after another, the remaining ropes loosened and the entire setting tumbled down. The actors stood silently in disbelief. Everyone was staring at Rabi.
He grinned embarrassed and scratched his head. "Oh!"
author's notes: Like I said - tons of dialogue! But don't worry, I already made a note for the next chapter: More action, LESS DIALOGUE!