The following two days consisted of Kanda, failed yoga attempts and death threats. Devina found herself unable to resist the temptation that came with harassing the Japanese swordsman. It didn't help that he reacted just as she'd expect and she found herself unable to blame Lavi for his antics at the cafeteria on the day she had arrived; watching Kanda fuss and lose his temper was becoming her favorite pastime.
On her last day with Kanda, Devina was quite certain they were doing yoga again, thus, she neglected her sleep and stayed up late reading a book about the Akuma. She hadn't come across one yet and she wanted to be as prepared as need be before she was dispatched on a mission.
She yawned as she pushed open the door to the training hall. In mere seconds, Kanda's sword and form were inches from her and she recoiled from him, stepping outside the hall.
"Stepping out means you surrender," he said, seemingly nonchalant yet challenging at the same time.
"You bombarded me while I was unarmed and unaware!" she snapped.
"You're always unarmed and unaware; you must always be aware of your surroundings," he preached.
"I thought we were doing yoga," she admitted as he stepped aside to let her into the training area.
"You and yoga… are a lost cause," he sighed.
She noticed this was the first time she ever conversed with Kanda, or ever heard his voice without him yelling or going berserk, and she was overcome by how melodic he sounded when he spoke; it was nearly enchanting.
"Is that your Innocence?" she asked, nodding towards the sword held firmly between his hands.
"It's called Mugen," he answered, glancing at said sword, "go on, Komui has told me you can activate your Innocence now. You'll need it to fight me back,"
"But- but, I can't… I was only able to muster a little blade after a lot of concentration," she confessed, feeling feeble.
"I know, which is why I had you do yoga in the first place, to broaden your mind. But you have one as thick as that baka-usagi, so this will have to do. Hurry up, I don't have all day,"
Devina could feel her heart thrashing against her ribcage, like a bird flapping its wings against a cage. She felt trapped and scared. Kanda wasn't Lavi; Kanda wasn't joking.
She summed up her strength and let it course through her nerves, pouring out. Sharp white thin blades flew out towards Kanda and he activated Mugen hurriedly, using the attack Kaichu Ichigen; a swarm of strange creatures devoured her blades and both disappeared.
Devina panted but realized this was not even a warm up for him. She needed something that would keep her on a par with his Mugen. She searched within her for the surging energy again and focused it on her right hand only.
Kanda watched as her bones dissipated inside her and flowed through her knuckles, only to formulate and harden. Once outside of her, the white substance reunited and came together to shape a blade that was at least twice as large as Mugen, sharp and creamy in color.
Devina held it in both hands shakily, not used to the weight of it. Kanda was her senior and he was a lot stronger than her. He was pounding Mugen at her blade and she was barely keeping up, managing to have her blade cover for her with its size.
"How annoying," Kanda complained, "use your upper arms, woman. Use them to hold up your weapon," he advised.
Devina did as she was told, using her upper arms to hold her weapon, shoving her blade against his. She heard him grunt in response and felt triumphant. She gave another shove, dropping her weapon voluntarily and back-flipped, forming smaller blades and shooting them in midair at a distracted Kanda.
"Shit," he cussed, "Kaichu Ichigen," and he deflected her blades again.
Devina groaned in frustration. She charged at him, picking up her discarded large blade. The two clashed and their blades kissed. Devina felt her heart jump and adrenaline coursed through her, nearly blinding her. She gave in, smack after smack, cornering him as a maniacal smile deformed her face.
Kanda's knee collided with her stomach and she bent over, coughing. "What the hell is your deal?" he demanded, before walking out of the training hall and leaving her completely alone.
Devina lay in bed, encompassed by shame and confusion. She didn't understand what happened down in the training area with Kanda; she didn't know what it was that came over her and she could barely remember losing control.
Her stomach still hurt from his attack, and Lavi's before him, but it didn't come close to how awful she felt at the moment. She had chased after Kanda when she came to, but it took her too long to get back to her senses and when she'd started looking for him, he had already left on his mission. She had wanted to apologize for endangering his life, for… for nearly… killing him.
Devina's sleep was restless yet again and she awoke from a nightmare, sweating and starving. She grabbed her towel and headed into the shared bathroom and took a cold shower to freshen up. She then headed down to the cafeteria, only to find it closed. She wondered how early it was and whether she could ask Komui or Johnny to lend her a watch. She decided to head to the Science Division and figure her way into the library from there.
When she finally made it to the seventh floor and into the Science Division, she was surprised to see many familiar faces awake.
"Good morning, Devina," Tapp greeted, smiling gently.
Tapp is a slightly large, dark skinned man; He wore a trademark lime-green hat that covered his eyes and had a hole at the top, revealing his tuft of brown hair.
"Tapp, good morning!" she smiled, "Good morning everyone. How come you're all awake?" she asked.
"Haven't slept yet, we're so doomed because Chief Komui is a lazy bum," Reever complained, scanning a sheet of paper on one hand and sipping coffee from a mug in the other.
Reever Wenham is a twenty-seven year old with spiky sandy blonde hair and baby blue eyes; he has a bit of dirty blonde stubble on his chin and is often dressed in a white lab coat over a dress shirt, a tie and a blazer on top with dress pants. He compliments his outfit with two silver bracelets on each wrist.
Devina giggled, "Ahh, I see, that totally fits our Chief Officer," she nodded, "what time is it now?"
"It's ten past four," Johnny answered, stifling a yawn, "why are you up so early, Devina-san?"
"Ahh, I don't know. I got kinda hungry, I guess," she smiled, awkwardly.
"Oh, the cafeteria opens in an hour but help yourself to some coffee and cookies over there." Johnny pointed toward a desk behind Tapp and Reever before beginning his own search for a book among a stack lined on the floor.
Devina dashed toward him and kissed him on the cheek before she headed to the coffee and cookies. Johnny's fingers lifted to trace his cheek, running over the spot where her lips had just been seconds ago. He realized his jaw was hanging open and he forced his mouth to close, gulping nervously, as his cheeks burned with heat.
Devina, on the other side of the room, shoveled one cookie after the other, gulping them down with sips of stale coffee, totally unaware of the young man's predicament.
By five am, she went downstairs and had some cereals and waffles, and then some speakers announced that Komui was expecting her, so she made her way back to the Science Division and turned toward his office. He's probably going to kick me out. He's kicking me out of here. Oh, god. She was sure her guilt would soon swallow her whole.
She knocked and he gave her permission to enter.
"Komui-san," she stood near the door, unable to step forward any further.
"Come in, Devina-san. Have a seat, please,"
Oh, god. Oh god, oh god oh god oh god. She walked toward the purple chaise and sat down stiffly, "Komui, I'm sorr-"
"Kanda reported everything that had transpired during your training session. We had expected a similar result," Komui explained.
"But I… but I almost… I almost killed him," she kept her gaze glued to her palms, wishing she could set them on fire.
"Kanda is stronger than you think, so don't beat yourself up too much. What happened must not happen again, however, Devina-san," He concluded, "I've thought of a new plan of action for you."
Devina bit her lip in anticipation, "what is it?" Here it comes.
"I'm sending you to General Klaud, the woman who brought you here. Since all the other Exorcists are on missions, there's no one to train you here and Klaud is more capable as the General who recruited you, so I'm sending you to her. What do you think?"
Devina sighed with relief. He's not expelling me. He's not expelling me. "Yes, whatever you see fit, Komui."
"Perfect." Komui smiled a tight smile. "I've arranged a Finder to accompany you to Bulgaria where you'll find Klaud waiting for you," he explained. "Can I trust you to keep your Innocence in check, Devina-san?"
Devina gulped before she nodded, "yes, yes. I won't… I won't hurt anyone."
Four weeks in Bulgaria had gone by, and Devina felt more confident and levelheaded when it came to her Innocence than she had when she entered the Order. She still harbored doubts about her self-control, but Klaud had been able to stop her from losing her control over her Innocence every single time she nearly toppled over the edge.
Klaud can really be described in one single word, which is awesome. Devina really, really liked Klaud and appreciated gaining such a respectable strong individual and woman as her Master and mentor. She was both strong and capable as a General and a human being. Her relationship with her Innocence, Lau Jimin was the most aspiring and Devina loved watching the General interact with the little monkey who was always at her shoulder.
Their brief time together however had to come to a halt when Komui called with a couple of bad news. One involved Klaud's unit members and their mysterious perish which required Klaud's immediate return to the Order. The other involved the group of Exorcists looking for General Cross, struggling to complete their mission; Komui had requested that Devina'd better join them as soon as possible, if she thought she were ready. Due to the urgency with which he spoke, she said she was. And she was not.
Klaud and Devina headed to the train station together, and Devina embraced the older blonde woman, not letting her eyes linger too long on the X-shaped scar across her face.
"Remember, when you're out of control, there's a little part of you that is slightly conscious and aware. That part can stop your Innocence from completely taking over. Whenever the Innocence goes wild, bring forward this conscious part of yours and you will be okay, Devina," she ruffled Devina's hair and Devina leaned into her touch.
"Thanks, Klaud. I'll see you?" she asked hesitantly.
"See you, kid," the General smiled.
Devina was most definitely lost. She held the map closely to her face, squinting carefully at the brothel she had marked upon it but as she scanned her surroundings, she couldn't spot her friends or any of the Finders. Komui had mentioned that someone was definitely going to meet her by the time she arrived.
Devina had been waiting in the area until nightfall, and she managed to try out a few nearby Chinese restaurants before she sat down on a barrel outside the brothel, legs and arms crossed. She was growing tired and impatient when she heard familiar voices.
"So, that man said the owner of this brothel is General Cross's girlfriend?" Lenalee asked.
"Really, now," Devina complained, standing up and walking over to them, "I've been waiting here for ages and you just get here and don't even acknowledge me and-"
"Devina!" they all shouted but for one tall pale Exorcist with spiky black hair that has a lone white streak from the front. He has long pointed elf ears, dark eyes and sharp looking teeth. She assumed he was Krory, since he's on the list of Exorcists on this mission.
"You're wearing your uniform!" Lenalee pointed out, gushing excitedly turning everyone's attention to the black sleeveless jumpsuit that now fit every fiber of Devina's body. It was lined up with white from the sides and twice across the chest and each foot, with the Order's crest adorning her left breast. A little black and white jacket with the same design was tied around her waist. She was consciously aware of Lavi's gaze; it was sending chills down her spine. He did not seem happy to see her.
Lavi did not know she was coming. Lavi did not know she was arriving today and he was not ready to see her looking so vibrant and healthier than the last time he saw her.
When their gaze met, he had to look away or he would've embarrassed himself with one of his infamous 'Strike' moments. The suit Johnny had designed hugged her body in all the right places, and he felt his face reddening, and this is Devina for goodness sake; she will also be excluded from the pages of history. Johnny was really aiming to kill him.
For an entire month now, he had not been able to get that hug out of his head, and he wanted to, he really, really wanted to. He wanted to shrug it off as the simple thing it was: a silly orphaned girl showing him gratitude for having given her something, because she had probably received so little in her life, and then that made his chest ache and it all made his skin crawl and the idea of wanting her to wrap her arms around him again made him want to smack his head against the brothel wall.
Just play it cool, he told himself, do not think of her like that. You don't want her to touch you and you don't want to be near her either, Lavi.
He inhaled, before his attention was forcibly turned towards a giant of a man – or a woman; bald, grey eyed and dressed in a red and gold cheongsam. "Kids and first-timers are not allowed in here. Get the hell out of my sight." S/he bellowed.
"Are you a man?" Devina squeaked.
Lavi couldn't help himself, "she's obviously a woman. Can't you see her breasts?"
"Ooof, of course, Lavi. That's all you see, isn't it?" she retorted.
"Well, yes, if they're all out there in my face, then, yes." He yelled.
"You pervert, stop looking at women's chests and stop yelling at my face," she shouted.
"You stop first," he stomped his foot.
"Guys," Allen broke their bickering, "you wanna… maybe, you wanna come in?" he asked pointing towards the back door.
The group was led into an elaborate room; lanterns hung from the walls, which were painted a grass green color, the floors a dark purple. Two curtains revealed a beautiful woman sitting on the floor, waiting. She had short hair, except for the long streak hanging behind her back and a fringe decorating her forehead, her black eyes were painted with blue eyeliner and her lips were stained red. She wore an interesting Chinese robe-like floral dress of black and pink and purple, with a hat of matching colors.
"Welcome to our humble brothel, honorary Exorcists. I am Anita, the owner." She greeted, and Devina felt enchanted. She heard Lenalee mumble, "she's pretty," and Lavi yell out, "Strike!" but before she could slap him across the mouth, Anita continued, "Unfortunately, Cross-sama is no longer here. He sailed on a ship and that ship was destroyed at sea," she spoke quietly and calmly, but Devina could see the storms raging behind her dark eyes.
"What did you say?" Lenalee asked. "Can you please repeat that?"
Anita obliged patiently, "I said, eight days ago, the ship carrying Cross-sama was destroyed at sea."
Devina felt dubious. Was Anita being honest or was she trying to fool them? From what Johnny had told her, Cross was really smooth and lithe and quite fond of hiding. A person like that would probably not be killed so easily.
Her thoughts were interrupted when Bookman asked, "how can you be sure? Were there any witnesses?"
"A passing ship received their distress signal and went to help but all they found was dark aura and endless poison, no ship and no passengers." Anita explained.
"I don't believe that would've been enough to kill my Master; where was he headed when he boarded that ship?" Allen questioned.
The silence stretched but Anita broke it by standing up, staring unblinkingly at Allen; a tear finally fell down her cheek. "Do you really believe that?" she asked, lips trembling; Allen did not waver. "Very well. Mahoja, prepare my ship. If you'd like to find Cross-sama, we'll take you to him; his destination had been Japan, specifically Edo."
"Thank you, Anita-san," Lenalee replied, being the most socially capable. "Well, we should go look up a place to crash for the night."
"Yeah, I'd really like to sleep right now." Devina admitted, stretching.
"What are you all rambling about? You're all welcome to stay here until we sail in the morning," Anita declared with such finality that no one dared to object. "Mahoja, show them to my guest room, please."
The group followed Mahoja along a narrow hallway, less lit than the room they just exited and Devina fell behind. She wanted to be able to talk to the last one in line, Krory. She felt the need to introduce herself and make a new friend.
"Krory," she called, catching up to him. He turned around and looked at her worriedly, "don't be afraid, I just wanted to introduce myself and, you know… say hi, or something, since we never officially met." She babbled, "I'm Devina."
"I know who you are," Krory said, and she wanted to dig a hole into the earth and then bury herself in it. "I'm Arystar Krory; it's nice to finally meet you." He seemed to have a light blush permanently etched upon his cheeks.
"Nice to meet you too," Devina extended a hand to him and he shook it.
"Oi, Kuro-chan, come check out these futons," Lavi's head seemed to literally pop out of nowhere, and it nearly gave Devina a heart attack. She retracted her arm from Krory, letting it hang limply, before he left her in the doorway. She stood there for a few seconds, contemplating whether she should confront the redhead or not, then she shook her head indignantly and entered the room.
Inside, six futons were laid down asymmetrically, two for the girls on the right and the four belonging to the boys to the left. Lenalee took the one closest to the window and Devina was left to take the empty one. She dropped down onto the futon, confused, aching and exhausted. She was out like a light.
Author's Note: ...not much to say about this chapter, haha, but please hit me with some comments and feedback. I'm demotivated and I'd like to read what you guys think so far. Action-packed chapters are coming up, yus!