Devina's head was pounding; it was a kind of pounding that beat against her eyelids, like a strong and insistent heartbeat. The pain seemed to explode in other places, as her consciousness slowly returned. Her body felt foreign, like it was somebody else's, and she tried her hardest to move, sit up, and breathe, in spite of her slipping consciousness.
She realized that the throbbing in her head was a consequence of the awkward sensation in her back. There seemed to be flames, burning at her lower back, right where the last vertebrae was, and she feared any unnecessary movement would result in more damage.
Upon speculation, she guessed she could've broken her back. Nothing else could explain the persistent, blinding ache. She cried out, her eyes shut tightly as tears burned at the corners and then fell, hot and thick.
"…Devina?" she heard a voice to her right. It took a few seconds to place, but when she did, she cringed inwardly. She didn't want the flames of his hair to be the first thing she saw when she woke up. "Devina," he repeated her name, "can you hear me?"
"How does she look?" she heard Kanda's detached voice, and she fought back a snide comment. Not like she could voice it, anyway.
"She's deactivated," Lavi answered before she felt sticky palms probe her arm and side. She was momentarily lifted off the ground, and then her eyes opened and she screamed in protest. It was a blood-curdling scream that enveloped the entire room. "Okay, okay, okay!" Lavi yelled and placed her back down gently. "Devina, I need to assess how damaged you are," he said irritably, but she heard the underlying desperation. If it weren't for the pain, she would've laughed at his comment.
Devina was heaving, "My… back," she whimpered.
Lavi nodded, before he carefully pulled her against his chest to examine her back. He didn't need to lift up her shirt because he could see the bone sticking through it. He hissed, clinging to her because he now understood the degree of pain she could be in. He was fairly surprised she was conscious at all.
"What is it?" Kanda asked.
"There's a…" Lavi sucked in a breath. "…a vertebrae's sticking out," he exhaled sharply.
Devina winced. "Are you… sure?" Her strained voice squeaked.
Lavi nodded, but he realized she couldn't see him. "Y-yeah. I wish I was wrong, but it's protruding through your shirt."
Devina bit her lip to hold back another exclamation of pain. She breathed in and exhaled slowly. "What happened? Did we… the Level Four?"
"Lenalee and Allen are taking care of it," he murmured against her hair. Devina stirred in his arms and she tried to move. "Sit still," he ordered, keeping her in place by tightening his hold on her. "You were fighting that thing longer than any of us. Plus, they seem to have it all under control."
"What are you talking about?" her arms moved by her side as she attempted to sit up. "I barely managed to do anything before it kicked Alle— is Allen okay?" She struggled against him but his arms were like iron claws and they did not waver. "And how's Lenalee fighting? Is her Innocence working again?"
"You don't remember?" It was Kanda who asked, his eyes narrowing. Devina glanced at him, shaking her head. "You and that beansprout were fighting the Akuma for a while," he told her, and when she didn't say anything, he continued. "Lenalee's Innocence transformed into liquid, and she drank it, and then it evolved. She's kicking the Level Four's ass as we speak, so sit still until we get some help, little she-wolf."
"But I need to help. Allen was hurt —"
Lavi's face contorted with rage. "Are you out of your mind?" he yelled close to her ear.
"Are you trying to rob me of my sense of hearing?" she screamed back.
"Shut up, already," Lavi hissed, his eyes closing as he swallowed his feelings. "Why are you so intent on getting yourself killed?"
Devina froze, words failing her. It wasn't that she wanted to get herself killed, but she would rather die than lose her friends all over again. "Your injuries seem kind of bad," she changed the subject once she saw his bloodied green shirt.
"Not so bad," he replied stiffly.
"You can put me down now, I'll try not to- ow, ow, ow," she clung to him, the moment he moved to release her.
Lavi pulled her against him again. "Stop acting so tough," he grunted, his fingers digging into her side.
"Okay," she mumbled tiredly. "Can you tell me what's going on? I mean, I would just look, but I can't really move much."
Lavi spoke softly, his lips inches away from her ear as he narrated their comrades' actions. Kanda interrupted the peace with a nasty comment on Devina not needing the minute-by-minute commentary, which warranted an insult from the female exorcist.
Allen had stabbed the Akuma with his sword, and Lenalee had used her evolved Dark Boots to fly away from the two, as close to the ceiling as she could, before she launched swiftly, using all of her power to land on Allen's sword and further damage the stabbed Akuma.
"I wouldn't want to be that Akuma right now," Lavi quipped smartly.
"Have you wanted to be an Akuma any other day?" Kanda inquired, and Devina released a strained laugh.
Out of nowhere, Devina heard a crash. "What's that?"
Lavi was silent, absorbing the situation, before he answered her. "General Cross showed up," he said a little enthusiastically.
"Ahh, that pervert," she grumbled. She was growing significantly aware of how strongly Lavi was holding her, his breath coming out short and rapid. She wanted him to release her sooner rather than later. She didn't want his help, not after their last encounter, yet she knew she would suffer if she'd shifted away from him now.
"Kanda, Lavi… Are you guys okay? Is that Devina with you" the sound of the Chief's voice distracted her from her gloom, and she fought back a smile. "I'm sorry I made you fight without your weapons!" he was shouting from atop a high platform, Devina could only guess as his voice echoed.
"What's that? It's our job to battle the Akuma, so you don't have to apologize," she heard Kanda yell back and she could only picture his face.
"Yu, you're so manly!" Lavi teased, and she deadpanned, anticipating Kanda's retort, but it never came.
"Lavi," she called.
"Hmm?"
"Help me sit," she reiterated stubbornly, returning to the present, to not wanting to force herself upon him any more.
"I thought it's already been established how painful that is for you," he argued, moving her slightly and having her wince in order to prove his point.
"But you can't even breathe properly, just…" she planted her arms into the ground before she pushed her weight against them to pull away from the redhead. He didn't object until he saw her lips disappear as she smacked them closed, sucking them in harshly so she wouldn't scream.
"Just let me help you," he said harshly, his arms moving to grab hold of her, but she had already crawled off of him, her arms shaking in protest at the effort. She only managed to drag herself an arm's length away from him when her muscles gave in and she collapsed, lying on her stomach with her cheek to the ground.
She groaned at the pain, but she refused to scream again. "Son of a…" she hissed.
"Shit, shit, shit!" Lavi was frowning, his eyebrows knotted in concentration. "The Akuma is up again!" he answered her unasked question.
She pushed herself up on her elbows to turn her head in the opposite direction. "Why won't it die?" she asked out loud. "I need to do something!"
"Devina!" Lavi objected, but she wasn't listening. She was still lying on the ground but her Innocence had surrounded her once again, dressing her up in the armor of bones. The blades were coming out of her swiftly and it seemed like there would be no end to them. "You need to stop!" his words fell upon deaf ears.
The blades were hitting the disoriented Akuma, who was too busy dealing with Cross, Allen and Lenalee. They pierced through the hard skin and the Akuma shrieked, before it flew up, only to be met with several kicks and slashes from Allen and Lenalee. The struggle went on, Devina landing several blades into the creature accurately, while the other two combated the Level Four closely.
Cross stood before the Akuma suddenly, his appearance unwarranted and unexpected, with his gun pointed at the beast. He shot at it but the Akuma seemed to deflect the bullet. Cross spoke back, but Devina couldn't hear anything from where she lay, and that was when the Akuma's body began to deform, growing in size as if a balloon inflated with gas. The general's bullets had seemingly landed upon their target.
The Akuma jumped, flying off toward the open ceiling. She heard someone shout at Hevlaska to close the shutters, but Hevlaska's reply echoed as she admitted she couldn't manage it in time.
The throbbing in Devina's head increased as her concentration waned. Fluid was gushing out of her in waves, as it rushed past the Akuma and closed the open ceiling, while Allen's Crown Belt held it back. He drew it in and then moved in with Lenalee, each of them using their Innocence to cut through its body, and the Akuma's head rolled down beside Cross.
Lavi watched as the tiny girl next to him began to cough harshly. His eye widened as blood splattered across the floor. He was about to speak when her head snapped in his direction.
"Is it okay if I go to sleep now?" she asked, blinking heavily.
"Yes, Devina…" he sighed, moving to catch her, "you've earned it."
"Wait…" she gripped his forearm, trying to stay awake. "Allen… help… Allen first…" Her eyes almost closed and she nearly gave in, but then she was washed over with fright over the lives of everyone she had come to care for at the Order. "I… need to see… everyone," she gasped, straightening.
Lavi stood up, pulling her with him; her flinch made him wince. "I need to check on Gramps, Devina," he admitted guiltily.
"Oh, yes… of course, Bookman… Go, I'll be fine," she lied through her teeth. She knew she wouldn't be able to stand at all without him as a pillar.
A second set of arms closed around her waist, and she froze when she realized it was Kanda. "I have her. Go," he told Lavi before he placed her arm around his neck.
"Are you sure?" Lavi asked.
Devina and Kanda nodded simultaneously, and she even gave him a little smile. Lavi spared a last look, his face shrouded in uncertainty and distress, before he ran.
"What's going on between you two?" Kanda asked abruptly, and Devina's delayed pain processing overshadowed any embarrassment his question could have triggered.
"Nothing," she answered quietly. "Nothing at all." Kanda walked her slowly and steadily, but the pain in her back only increased, and that in turn intensified her headache. "Can you just walk me around? I just want to make sure everyone made it," she requested.
Kanda obliged silently, with his trademark scowl. The two walked glided through dozens of familiar faces carried on stretchers.
"Kanda, I don't see Allen," Devina finally blurted, panic rising within her as she scanned every face around her.
Kanda's mouth opened to respond, but he was cut off by two male nurses carrying an empty stretcher forward. "You need immediate medical attention. The Exorcists take priority in treatment. Please, Kanda, help her lie down," one of them directed.
"I need to find Allen," she protested, fighting against Kanda's hold.
"Someone must've gotten to him. Now get some rest, you stubborn woman!" Kanda yelled at her.
Devina recoiled from him, and he immediately gripped her wrist to catch her from falling. He grumbled incoherently as he sat her down on the stretcher before she swung her legs over it. "I can't lie down. My back…" she trailed pathetically.
"Okay, we'll carry you over to the Head Nurse and she'll take care of you," the second nurse said.
"Have you seen Allen Walker?" she asked the two of them desperately.
They shook their heads, and one of them, the younger one with blonde hair and blue eyes smiled reassuringly. "Everyone's working hard to make sure all exorcists are taken care of. Please let us do our job, Miss."
Devina bit the inside of her cheek before she finally relented. She was carried slowly to the Medical Wing, so as to not upset her injury, but she was beginning to grow numb.
While navigating her through the injured, Devina spotted Lenalee running past her, and she wanted to call out to her but held her tongue when she saw the girl's urgency. She watched as the Lenalee fell to her knees and her shoulders began to shake.
"Hold- hold on," Devina said airily, mindlessly addressing the two nurses. "Please," she added in a hurry.
Johnny was sitting in front of Lenalee with a person… or at least she thought it was a person, resting their head in his lap. The person resembled the creatures the Level Four had killed earlier, and she remembered Reever calling them Skulls, but she didn't understand why Reever, Johnny and Lenalee, along with Komui, standing a few feet behind her were all so stricken by this Skull's injury.
And then she heard Johnny cry out. It sounded like Tapp, but Devina wasn't sure what he meant. Tapp was nowhere to be seen. "Don't die! You can't die like this, Tapp,"
The world swayed and Devina's eyes widened, before they brimmed with tears as the Skull opened its mouth. "If… I could… go on living…" the Skull spoke, and Devina shook her head furiously. No, no, no, no. "…I wouldn't mind doing overtime forever."
Johnny sniffled, pulling back to look at Tapp, and despite his cries, the Skull continued to decay and turn into dust. Devina saw Komui bow, paying his respects before she turned to the young nurse. "Go, go!" she wanted to yell, but when her mouth opened, a loud sob escaped, and she shook involuntarily.
She hadn't known Tapp at all, and she merely exchanged a few niceties with him. She didn't have the right to grieve at all. But the way Johnny was wailing and Lenalee was sobbing had stirred loss inside her heart. The Noah did this.
"Take her away," she heard Kanda order the nurses. She hadn't realized he was still there, but she was very grateful he spoke for her. She turned to thank him, but he had already disappeared among the crowd.
The two nurses carried her to the area with all the beds to wait for the Head Nurse. They placed her stretcher right next to the bed and instructed some nurses to help transfer her when the Head Nurse appeared.
"Devina!" she shrieked.
Devina's head hung limply, her hair shielding her solemn expression.
"What have you done to yourself?" the nurse chided and stormed in her direction. "Back off, back off," she ordered all the nurses around, and directed her gaze at the two male nurses who had carried Devina in. "What's the situation?" the stern woman demanded.
The older nurse startled before he replied. "I wasn't able to examine her just yet, but from her posture, I can see she has several broken ribs, and her arms are swollen, and well, she fractured her back, it seems…" the man trailed nervously.
"How many times have I had to tell you to be careful with your body? It's true you're Parasitic and your body will end up healing but that doesn't mean you get to exploit that privilege. Your body is —" the Head Nurse's mouth snapped shut when she realized the girl wasn't even listening.
"I'm sorry, Devina, but this is going to hurt," The Head Nurse continued, hoping to prepare the young exorcist. She glanced at Devina's back, and she saw the protruding bone without needing to lift her tank top. Her sharp gaze turned to the young male nurse. "Help her to her feet. I need to reset the fracture."
She could see the girl but her lower lip as the nurses began to straighten her up, pulling her to her feet. Devina bit back a scream, but her tears welled up all the same.
"Do it," the older nurse instructed, and the other two secured Devina in place, holding her under the arms.
The Head Nurse's palm slammed into Devina's back, and the sound of her bone resetting was engulfed. She heard the scream before she realized it had ripped out from deep within her throat.
"It's over, it's over…" The Head Nurse hushed, but Devina's eyes remained shut and the tears rolled down freely, whimpers spilling out of her lips. "Devina, are you still with me?" the Head Nurse asked, steeling her heart.
Devina lifted her head slowly, the sobs escaping her were so foreign to her. "I'm… I'm fine," she cried.
The Head Nurse smiled at her. "No, you're not," she instructed the two males to set her down on the bed. "You've broken your arms, too. I have… I have to…"
Devina shook her head. "No, no. I can't, just leave them be, please, I… they're healing, look, I can move them." And sure enough, the pain in her back was so intense that it completely eclipsed the meager pain in her arms.
"I'm sorry," the Head Nurse said, frowning, before she set Devina's wrist back into place. Devina didn't scream though. She just watched as a blurry Head Nurse headed over to the left side of the bed and set her elbow into place. "Bandage her abdomen and clean that ugly gash and then cover it." The older woman instructed before she retreated. She stopped just before she was completely out of sight. "The worst is over, Devina," but the girl had already blacked out.
Author's Note:
Hi guys,
It's been nearly a year since I last updated this. It seems like I'm always spitting out excuses on why I'm always slow on updates, but you all know how life gets in the way.
I definitely don't want to give up on this story. I've still got a lot in store for Devina and Lavi, and the mysteries behind her relation to the Noah are all set up, but I like slow burns and usually take my time exploring plot, but they're not forgotten and random: they will be explained at some point in the future.
As for upcoming chapters, I've written up to 7 chapters ahead years ago, but as my writing has changed and the direction of how I'd like this to be read has changed, I might begin excluding content that was copied from original material, as we all have that from the manga. OC-inserts are clearly fun, but I just don't want anyone to be bored reading the same material with a few changes. Let me know how you feel about this?
As for Devina's fate, it is definitely going to become harder for her and Allen to remain in the Order the further I reveal about her Noah relations, hehe.
Anyways, TO THOSE STILL READING:
Thank you so much for sticking around and enjoying this ride along with me. You guys make me happy, even though you don't know it. Your reviews, and the way you notice small things with plot or my writing are always a treat. Please keep your comments and ideas coming, they fuel me.
Have a nice day,
Bella