Kanda could hear a baby crying. Whoever's baby it was, It sounded off in the distance… He could hear someone else crying…

"Kanda…"

Moyashi… It was his bean sprout who was crying. Why was Allen crying?

"Kanda, please… I'm begging you… You can't leave us. You can't leave us like this. Please, for the love of God." He heard Allen sob. "Open your eyes!"

"He's dead! Oh my God, Kanda is dead!"

Where was he?

"He's not dead! He's able to heal his wounds!"

That was that idiot, Chaoji. He recognized his annoying voice.

"Chaoji, I saw the light leave his eyes!" He heard a woman shout frantically, sounding like she was struggling to hold back tears.

Everything rushed back to him as he regained consciousness, remembering that he was in the middle of a battle with Christine and Chaoji.

Christine let out a distressed shriek as she kept her shield steady over the three of them while Akuma pounded attacks against them, holding Kanda closer to her chest.

"Look! He's waking up!" Chaoji cried in relief, watching as the light returned to Kanda's eyes.

"Oh, thank God, General!" Christine nearly cried out. "I thought you were gone!"

"What happened?" Kanda choked out, his throat dry. He felt like his body was on fire and an indescribable pain was pulsing through his head.

"You got hit from behind and the blast sent you flying." Chaoji tried to explain, flinching as the attacks kept coming.

"We're cornered right now, General Kanda." Christine said, trying to stay calm despite the overwhelming amount of fear she was feeling. "Chaoji and I are pretty exhausted, and you're looking a little worse for wear… I don't really know what more we can do…"

"Don't say that!" Chaoji yelled, slamming his knuckles against the ground. "If you can just keep your shield up for a few more minutes, I'll be ready to get back out there and General Kanda will be healed!"

"I don't know if I can keep it activated for much longer!" The woman's arm shook as she struggled to keep her weapon activated, the invocation beginning to take a toll on her. "I used up a lot of my energy fighting them when they first attacked us and I'm using even more since I've been shielding us."

Chaoji looked like he was going to argue with her again before he looked past her with wide eyes, the woman whipping her head around to look behind her as an Akuma began priming its attack.

"Your back is wide open, Exorcists!" They laughed, ready to take them out.

Christine thought she was imagining things when she heard someone yell out from the other side of her shield, but she soon realized she wasn't when she saw a white belt restrain the Akuma, followed by Lenalee Lee slamming her foot down on its head, crushing it against the ground.

"Lenalee!" Chaoji exclaimed, feeling relief as well upon seeing his comrade. Allen soon landed on his feet, retracting his Clown Belt.

Everything he didn't want to see, everything he'd been fearing the past few weeks suddenly came crashing down on him as time came crawling to a halt and he stared at Kanda's damaged body in the Norwegian woman's arms. He couldn't hear what Lenalee was saying to Chaoji or Christine as Lavi rushed in to hold off the Akuma with Marie. He, Miranda, and Lenalee took cover under Christine's shield as Miranda began to activate her Innocence.

Lenalee helped Christine relax as they were shielded by Miranda's Time Record, finally able to deactivate her own and catch her breath.

Allen had taken Kanda into his own arms as he knelt beside him, his eyes glistening with a mixture of concern and tears, filling with relief as the swordsman turned his head toward him, eyes lidded. "Moyashi…?"

Letting out a breath of relief, Allen tightened his right hand's grip on him firmly as he leaned his head down, pressing their foreheads together carefully. Allen heard Kanda let out a soft groan as he closed his eyes. His tears that welled up trickled down his cheeks and dripped off of his chin. He wanted to hold his face with his left hand, but couldn't because Crown Clown was activated. "I told you to be careful, BaKanda." Allen murmured, keeping his eyes closed.

"I heard you…"

"I know you heard me, but you didn't listen to me." Allen said as he opened his eyes, not noticing as Miranda gasped as the injured Exorcists began healing, glancing around with uncertainty.

"I heard you crying…" Kanda mumbled, his injuries slowly starting to fade away.

Allen blinked in confusion. Heard him crying? Allen wasn't crying… 'He's delusional.' He thought to himself, sniffling away the remainder of his tears. 'Maybe he has a concussion.'

"Miranda, what's the matter?" Lenalee asked, putting her hand on the woman's shoulder. Kanda stirred for a moment before he sat up fully, much to Allen's relief.

"It's like what Marie said before," Miranda fretted, looking at the clock on her wrist, "I'm keeping someone else's time besides the eight of us here, but… I don't know how."

Allen stared at her for a second as Kanda stood up before the realization of what was going on crashed down on him like waves against rocks.

Marie and Miranda were picking up on the baby's presence.

Allen's blood began to run cold as the others started discussing it around him. "That can't be, Miranda. There's only eight of us." Chaoji said to her. The German woman didn't look very convinced, still worrying over the kept time. She knew what she saw and felt. There was someone else there with them.

Lenalee could see Allen's eyes shooting back and forth around the group of them, noticing something was wrong. Opening her mouth to ask if he was okay, she was immediately cut off. "Worry about the math problems later!" Kanda barked at them, snatching Mugen from off the ground. "Lavi and Marie are the only ones out there fighting right now. You two are healed now, so get the fuck up and help them!" Chaoji obeyed his commander without question, rushing back out to fight with Christine right on his heel. Lenalee was the next to rush out, then Allen stood up slowly to follow after them. But suddenly he felt his face being grabbed, Kanda squeezing his cheeks gently as he scowled at the younger Exorcist, making him look at him. "You're not supposed to be here, Moyashi." He growled, keeping his voice low.

Puffing his cheeks out as he narrowed his eyes at his boyfriend, Allen gave a snarky remark through pouting lips. "You were supposed to come back in one piece."

"Tch, I am in one piece." Kanda stated in annoyance, letting go of Allen's face.

"Christine's hands were soaked in your blood because of the wound on your head." Allen said, emphasizing his words. "You promised me you'd be careful." Kanda could see how upset Allen was through his eyes alone, silver irises piercing him like steel. Soon, he was able to feel the guilt start gnawing at him. Kanda started to turn away but his head whipped back around when Allen gripped his forearm, the boy hardening his gaze at the samurai.

"Stop looking at me like that."

"Then don't be stupid. Keep your guard up and don't count me out. I'm not losing you here."

The assertive tone coming from the bean sprout brought a smirk to Kanda's face, much to said bean sprout's displeasure. His glare hardened, thinking the older man was brushing off his concerns. "I'm not losing you here either. You better watch your back or I'll kick your ass."

Allen was unable to stop the grin that made its way to his face. He looked down to the woman kneeling on the ground. "Hang in there, Miranda. We'll try to take care of this quickly."

"Please be careful out there, you two. Especially you, Kanda. Please try not to sustain any more injuries than you already have." Miranda babbled nervously.

Kanda huffed as the woman worried over him, turning his head away. "Those wounds will be healed by the time we're done here. Stop worrying about me." He demanded as he activated Mugen, rushing back out to fight off the horde of Akuma.

Allen smiled thankfully at her after his boyfriend's rude attempt to get the ultra caring woman to stop fretting over him before he ran out after, immediately jumping into action.

"Watch out, Bean Sprout!" Allen heard Lavi shout as the redhead hurdled toward him, just managing to land on his feet. Allen clenched his fist, gritting his teeth as Lavi straightened himself up.

"If you call me that one more time-"

Lavi gripped his hammer, looking up at the Akuma flying toward them. "Help me out here, buddy! I can't get a hit on him without him jumping all around!" He shouted, cutting the ivory haired Exorcist off. Allen rolled his eyes and extended Clown Belt to grab onto the Akuma, letting out a grunt as he swung it into the ground, allowing Lavi to swing his hammer down and destroy it with the Fire Stamp. Allen wasn't as ready for the impact as he would have liked to be, body swaying as the hammer made contact with the ground, gasping as he steadied himself.

"Allen! Are you okay?" He heard Lenalee shout from a bit away, turning his head in her direction to shout back.

"I'm fine!"

"Watch out, Moyashi!"

When did that Akuma appear in front of him like that? All of a sudden, Christine was shielding him and Kanda was using said shield to jump up and slice at the monster. The woman protecting him turned her head back, looking at him with concern. "Are you sure you're okay? You don't seem like you're one hundred percent." The boy looked at her as Kanda landed on his feet after the Akuma had been destroyed. "Were you hit?"

"I promise, I'm fine." Allen said confidently, turning to see the swordsman walk up to him, looking down at him as the woman ran off.

"If you're unwell, you should be sitting this one out."

"I said I'm fine." Allen spat stubbornly. "If I wasn't, I wouldn't be here. Now stop worrying about me and focus on finishing this!"

An Akuma floated down next to the two of them, laughing maniacally. "That's right, Exorcists! You should be focused on us!" Kanda and Allen turned toward them, standing shoulder to shoulder as they both drew their swords. "Nothing is more insulting than killing an Exorcist that's not paying attention!"

Allen smiled politely at the Akuma, greatly confusing the monster. "My apologies. You deserve to be acknowledged while your soul is purified." Those words paired with the sickeningly sweet smile the Exorcist wore angered the Akuma, so much so that they didn't even notice the black haired samurai disappear from their view.

Readying their weapon, the Akuma sneered down at Allen. "As if you'd be able to land a hit on me-"

Allen's smile widened as Mugen impaled their chest from behind and silenced them. That smile was the last thing that Akuma saw before Allen activated his own sword, delivering the final blow.

That smile is what drove Kanda absolutely crazy. The way that white haired brat was able to smile in situations like this. The way he could force a grin to a grim, repulsive demon that didn't deserve to be graced with such kindness. But nothing compared to one of Allen's genuine smiles, the ones that lit up his gorgeous face in the morning when those equally beautiful eyes opened to meet dark, cobalt blue ones.

And that's when Kanda really realized, standing there in the middle of the battlefield as the enemy continued to fall around them, that this stubborn, spoiled little bean sprout had him wrapped around his finger. When Allen turned around and gifted him a warm, genuine smile, the stoic Exorcist felt his heart clench in his chest for a moment before he nearly melted.

How did Allen Walker manage to make him feel this way?

Kanda quickly snapped out of those thoughts as he watched his boyfriend sway for a moment, rushing over to keep him steady. Allen gripped the sleeve of his left bicep with his right hand, head drooping for a second to rest against his chest before he picked it back up, taking a short breath. Kanda looked down at him with concern. "What's the matter with you? Why are you still getting lightheaded?"

Allen let out a soft chuckle. "It's the hormones, Kanda. It's going to keep happening." He said, activating his eye to look around the area.

"How many are left?" Kanda asked, still gripping Allen's shoulder as he looked around with him.

"Only four. We can take them out." Allen told him, beginning to pull away. Kanda didn't let him, wrapping his arms around him to keep him in place.

"You're straining yourself." Kanda said, lowering his head to mumble into Allen's ear. "Just because you know the reason for your ailment, doesn't mean you're fine to push yourself past your limits." He pulled his head back to see Allen look up at him, surprised that he wasn't giving him any lip back. "You did well, Moyashi. We'll take care of the rest of them." He said as he pulled away and turned to run off to aid Marie and Lavi.

Allen would have argued with him if his body wasn't feeling more fatigued than it should have. As much as he didn't want to, he swiftly retreated back to rest with Miranda under her Time Record, almost falling over as he knelt next to her. "Allen, are you okay?"

"Mhm." Allen hummed reassuringly, brushing his fingers against his forehead. "I'm just a little light headed. Kanda told me to sit out."

"Light headed?" Miranda repeated before gasping. "You must be dehydrated! Oh, Allen, you must be more careful!" The woman exclaimed as she began to fret over him, going through her bag and pulling out a bottle filled with water. "Here."

"But what about you, Miranda? You have to stay hydrated too." Allen said, not wanting to take his friend's supplies away from her.

"I'm alright, Allen. You're the one who's feeling dizzy." She insisted, practically shoving the bottle into his hand. "Now, drink it."

Allen was grateful for how worried she was about him. He couldn't help but smile as he brought the bottle to his lips, taking small sips at a time. "Allen," Miranda spoke again, the young man looking in her direction, "I'm really confused and nervous."

Allen's face fell a bit, lowering the bottle. "Why? What's wrong?"

Miranda looked down at the Innocence on her wrist, brows knit together. "I'm keeping everyone's time… All of you are accounted for… Plus one." She said, lifting her gaze to meet him eye to eye. "I can't figure out why this is happening."

Allen gulped as discreetly as he could, trying not to outwardly panic. Miranda was so close to finding out. While he had no issues with Miranda knowing, the thought of telling another one of his friends the news made him anxious. Miranda was so kind and sweet and he doubted she would stop being his friend because he was pregnant, but the slim chance that she would frightened him.

Luckily, the subject matter changed when Lavi landed next to them, startling the two of them slightly. A fresh gash on his arm began to heal before their eyes as he caught his breath, holding said arm. "Dammit."

"Lavi!" Miranda gasped. "Are you alright?"

"Just a little scratch." He assured her, standing back up, picking up his hammer that had landed on the ground.

"A little scratch?" Allen repeated, giving Lavi a look to match his annoyed tone. The older boy was about to retort when Lenalee landed in from above, running to them. He barely had a chance to turn around before she wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his chest.

"Lavi! Why did you jump in front of me like that?" Lenalee questioned, raising her head to look at him.

Lavi smiled down at her with a soft gaze. "If I didn't, you would have gotten hit."

"But you got hurt." She said, looking to his arm, forgetting for a moment that he'd already been healed. She let her hand linger where the injury should have been.

Lavi put his hand on her shoulder, keeping his smile on his face. "It's nothing. I'll get it wrapped up later and it'll be fine. I'd rather deal with a cut for a while than see you get hurt."

"I second that." Allen piped up from behind them, Lenalee's hair whipping as she turned her head toward her younger friend.

"You… Both of you! I can take care of myself, you know!" The flustered young woman argued, clutching the fabric of Lavi's coat. She only became more flustered when the man in her clutches leaned down and pressed a caring kiss to her forehead before resuming his smile. In addition to Lenalee staring up at him with surprised, glimmering royal purple eyes, Allen and Miranda also gaped in shock at the redhead's open affection.

"I know that. Doesn't mean I'm going to sit back and willingly let you get hurt." Lenalee was frozen in her place as he slowly let her go, still staring up at him.

"'We don't like each other!'" Allen exclaimed in a childish, mocking tone. "My ass!" Poor Miranda had nearly choked hearing his outburst.

"Allen!"

The two in question both joined Miranda in looking at the bean sprout in shock. Allen looked at them, shrugging his shoulders. "What?"

The four of them then heard an explosion to their right, noting that Christine and Chaoji had destroyed the Akuma that they were fighting, which left only Kanda and Marie left before they could finally end this and go home. Realizing that it was almost over, Allen got up onto his feet, letting out a huff as he stood, rushing to the edge of where Miranda's shield covered them, still able to hear metal on metal as Kanda swung his sword at the demon over and over. "Kanda! Marie!" He shouted. "Are you two alright? I'll help!"

"Stay back, Allen!" The Austrian man answered back, his strings shooting toward the Akuma, restraining their limbs. "We've almost got it!"

Allen watched as Kanda used his Double Illusion Sword to finish off the particularly stubborn Akuma, a small bit of relief overcoming him, allowing him to finally breathe. That was only the second illusion. It didn't put very much strain on Kanda's life force, which was good. But then again, Allen hadn't been here for the first half of the battle, when the group had been surrounded by a swarm of Akuma. The relief started to ebb away, anxiety and worry beginning to replace it. Allen closed his eyes when he felt a small pang of discomfort in his stomach, moving his right hand over to the spot, thankful that Crown Clown's cape was covering him. He only opened his eyes when he felt a firm hand on his shoulder, Kanda standing in front of him as he looked over the smaller man's head at his exhausted team, letting out a few huffs of breath as he tried to wind down from the high of fighting.

"It's over…" Kanda mumbled, letting his eyes close as he tilted his head back. Allen looked up at him, seeing how tired the General really looked.

"You actually broke a sweat." Allen noted, lifting his hand to let his fingers carefully brush against Kanda's sharp jawline. "Are you getting soft?" The remark earned an annoyed 'tsk', only making him smile cheekily. "I want to kiss that pout right off your face."

"Well, don't." Kanda mumbled softly, carefully lowering Allen's hand from his face to hold in between the two of them. "We're not the only ones here, remember?"

Allen slowly pulled his hand out of Kanda's as he turned around, the two of them walking back to the rest of the group. Then he whispered, "Would it be bad if I said I don't care?"

Allen didn't get to see the small smile that tugged at his lover's lips. Chaoji did, however. The Chinese Exorcist thought back to earlier when he saw Allen Walker holding the General on the ground, their foreheads pressed together. Kanda would never let Allen that close. Ever since that day in the cafeteria when Kanda attacked that Finder, Chaoji had really begun to notice this change in behavior.

Kanda seemed to notice his subordinate looking him over. He made sure to lock eyes with him, eyes cold and threatening. "Is something the matter?"

Becoming flustered upon being caught staring at his higher up, Chaoji shook his head. "No, nothing is the matter." He almost shivered when Kanda's glare hardened.

"Then get fucking moving." Kanda spat out, Chaoji nodding before leaving the two of them be. Allen gave Kanda a look as they joined the rest of the group. Marie was helping Miranda stand up off of the ground when she looked at Christine, Chaoji, and Kanda.

"I can keep Time Record activated until we reach the Ark gate at the church, so you all don't have to walk all the way back with your injuries." She explained to them, Christine nodding in understanding. Chaoji thanked Miranda, even though she insisted it was no big deal, that she was just doing her job.

As the group made their way back to the Ark gate Allen glanced around, reading everyone. Lavi and Lenalee were standing close together, as were Miranda and Marie. Allen could tell from the older man's expression that he was still perplexed by the unexplained heartbeat and where it was coming from. He knew he wouldn't be able to keep it from the two of them for much longer. That would have to be something he discussed with Kanda when they returned home.

Once approaching the Ark gate, Miranda took in a shaky, nervous breath. "Okay… I'm ready to deactivate now." She informed them. Christine and Chaoji both nodded, preparing for their injuries to return. Miranda looked over at Kanda, worried about him the most. "Are you sure you're ready, Kanda? I just don't want-"

"I said I'll be fine. They'll be healed." He told her, trying his best not to get short tempered with the woman. Looking down at her wrist, Miranda hesitantly deactivated her Innocence, time returning to the injured Exorcists. Allen looked on as Lenalee kept Christine steady, the woman almost losing her footing as exhaustion came back. Marie had a hand on Chaoji's shoulder, the younger man leaned over with his hands on his knees. Even the gash on Lavi's arm returned. It was hard to watch, but they were alive and he knew they'd pull through.

"Yuu!"

Allen's head whipped around just in time to see thick, crimson blood pour from the gash on Kanda's head before he began to collapse, both him and Lavi rushing toward him to try to catch him before he hit the ground. Allen could feel his heart begin to race as he panicked, eyes wide with fear.

"Yuu! YUU!"


"The only reason you're allowing him here is so you can slack off from your work again, Sir."

"Bridget, I am hurt that you would insinuate something like that. Do you really think that lowly of me?"

The German woman turned around, a hand on her hip. "Of course not, Sir. It's just that it looked like you were putting away your papers that are due by tonight."

Komui stopped tapping the papers on his desk the second she said those words. "... I would never." He said. "Besides, this meeting is strictly business."

"Business about what?"

Komui opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He then began to sputter, stopping when his golem began to ring. "Oh, Bak! We were just talking about you!" He laughed nervously, his assistant narrowing her eyes at him.

"As flattered as I am, I'm afraid we're going to have to push our meeting back a bit, Komui." The Asian Branch Chief said. Komui could hear quite a bit of commotion in the background.

"Bak, what's going on?"

The blond was struggling to find words for the current situation. Komui could tell he was on the move. "Meet us in the infirmary, Komui."

"Who is it?" Komui asked immediately, standing up from his desk, his golem following him as he made a beeline for the door.

The name Bak said was the last one he was expecting to hear. "It's Kanda Yuu."


After hanging up with Komui, Bak focused on keeping up with Noise Marie, who was carrying his unconscious comrade to the infirmary from where they returned using the Ark gate located in the front lobby. Allen Walker was on his heel, the entire way.

Bak had just arrived with Wong through the Ark gate connected to the Asian Branch. He hadn't even taken two steps in when he was startled by people shouting practically right next to them.

"Kanda! KANDA, wake up, buddy!" Lavi shouted, holding a torn rag to his head wound, trying to see if he could get it to stop before they moved him.

"H-He's not healing…" Allen wept quietly, clutching tightly onto his lover's arm. "Why isn't he healing?"

"What do you mean he's not healing?" Bak questioned, rushing over the second he heard what Allen had said.

"Bak!" Allen exclaimed, his worry masked by surprise momentarily as the other man knelt down beside him. "He was severely injured during the battle, and now he's not healing."

"What?" Bak asked, eyes widening. 'This isn't good…' He thought to himself, standing up. "I'll take a look at him in the infirmary. Let's get him there quickly.'

"Allen, help me get him up." Lavi said.

"No." Marie interjected, taking Lavi's place. "It'll be easier if I carry him there."

Komui had arrived a minute or so after the rest of them, taking in the sight in front of him. Marie and Allen were standing motionlessly off to the side, beside themselves.

Kanda seemed to be awake. Whether he was responsive was another question. His skin was ashen and he could see he was breathing rapidly, even if he wasn't gasping for air. Komui was almost certain that he was in shock. Head Nurse and another veteran nurse, Vivienne, jumped right in, working on opening Kanda's coat. Komui walked closer as they opened it, revealing unseen wounds and injuries.

Seeing the condition his love was really in caused Allen to let out a strained whimper, shutting his eyes tightly as he turned his head away, the boy's stomach churning instantly. "Oh…"

Komui seemed to suddenly realize they were there, looking over at them. The Supervisor looked pale, which didn't help Allen feel any better. "Marie, Allen, if you could please leave. The nurses need space to stabilize him, and Bak and I will need space to evaluate him."

Marie nodded in understanding, beginning to walk out of the room until he realized Allen wasn't following him.

"Allen? Did you hear what I said?" Komui tried to ask as calmly as he could manage. "We'll call you back as soon as everything is under control."

"Walker, are you alright?" Bak asked.

Allen felt like he had cotton in his ears as people tried talking to him. As the sounds became muffled, he soon became unable to read their lips, only able to focus on his semi conscious lover laying on the bed in front of him. He felt like he had tunnel vision and everything was in slow motion as he watched Vivienne place her hand on Kanda's forehead, lips moving silently as she tried speaking to him. Allen's breaths were beginning to come out in quiet, jagged huffs. Slowly, blackness began to creep around the edges of his field of vision, everything feeling heavy.

It was a familiar feeling…

Like when he was alone with Link, just before Nea made another attempt and Apocryphos showed up.

Marie's hand on his shoulder suddenly brought him out of it, all of his somber and confused feelings soon replaced with anger. "Don't touch me!" Allen snapped suddenly, pulling his shoulder away. He could see how it startled the older man, but he didn't care in that moment. He was starting to feel cornered.

"Allen, I'm not arguing with you right now." Komui said, uncharacteristically stern. "You need to leave. Now. We can't check him over while you're freaking out behind us. I know you're scared, but hysterics aren't going to help right now." His eyes drifted to behind the boy as Wong entered the room, upon hearing the commotion. "Wong, would you please take Allen out of here?"

"Of course. Let's go, Allen." The older man said calmly, carefully placing his hand on the boy's shoulder.

From there, things moved fast. It seemed like barely a second passed after that. In response to the hand on his shoulder, Allen had activated Crown Clown, much to the shock of everyone else in the room. Marie had moved to restrain Allen, the younger moving to throw his arm at the two of them. "I said don't touch-" Allen stopped suddenly, his body falling limp instantly as Wong removed his hand from his shoulder, helping Marie hold him up so he wouldn't hit the ground.

"Oh, Allen!" Head Nurse gasped, beginning to fret over the young man from her place next to the bed.

"Allen?! What happened to him?" Marie questioned with concern, able to tell that Allen's blood pressure had dropped suddenly.

"I hit one of his pressure points." Wong said, a twinge of guilt in his voice. "I didn't want him hurting himself or anyone else."

"You did the right thing, Wong." Bak said, letting out a shaky breath. "That was the safest way to detain him, I think."

Realization had hit Komui so hard that he nearly fainted himself, eyes widening. The pressure points had caused a drop in blood pressure, which wouldn't have been much of a problem for Allen. No, Komui was more concerned with how this would affect Allen's child. He knew that the Exorcist was already dealing with dizzy spells. He didn't realize that Bak was calling him until about the third time, when Bak had raised his voice a bit. Komui swallowed. He'd have to check on Allen later. "Right. Wong, Marie, please bring Allen to another room to let him rest." He turned his attention back to Kanda, glancing up at Head Nurse for a moment to see the worry in her eyes.

Once the two older men removed the unconscious Allen from the room, the four who were left got to work on fixing Kanda's wounds while checking the state of his regeneration abilities. "Komui…"

Raising his dark colored eyes to look at his colleague, he let out a sigh, knowing that the blond knew something was up. "... Allen and Kanda are together. That's all I can tell you for now."


"Well, he's still regenerating, just… Slowly. Very slowly." Komui heard Bak say as he stood next to Kanda's bed in the infirmary, hand clasped firmly over his face. As distraught he was over how many times he'd warned the young General to be careful to avoid something like this from happening, Komui realized that it was inevitable. Perhaps that's what really was upsetting him.

"Can you do anything for him?" Komui asked, moving his hand away from his face.

"As far as the seal goes?" Bak asked, rubbing the top of his head lightly. "I'm not sure. I'll have to look into seeing if I can do something to strengthen it but… I can't promise anything."

Komui exhaled deeply, nodding. "Thank you, Bak. We can't have him die." He said quietly. Selfishly, he wasn't thinking about losing a high ranking Exorcist. He was thinking of Allen and their child, and how devastating it would be if he were to die and leave them alone.

The Asian Branch's Chief watched Komui as the taller man pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing. "Are you thinking about Walker?"

Komui opened his eyes, looking over at the blond. He was right. He was thinking about Allen for a multitude of reasons, checking on the unborn child on the forefront of his mind. "Yes." He answered simply.

Bak turned his attention back to Kanda, who was resting peacefully. "I would have never thought… Kanda and Walker…"

Letting out a snort, Komui turned to the door. "Me either. Leave it to those two to keep everyone on their toes." He said just before reaching the door. Now would be a good time to check Allen. "Oh, and by the way, that's not public information."

"Got it." Bak said, Komui nodding as he left.


Lavi sat at their usual table in the cafeteria, arms crossed as he stared at the same spot for a few minutes, the recently returned Exorcists enjoying their first decent meal in days. They were joined also by Krory and Timothy. Marie joined them once he returned from taking Kanda to the infirmary.

Lavi had gotten his wound tended to. But that was the least of his worries. He was more concerned about his friends and how they were holding up.

"Do you think Kanda will be okay?"

Looking up, Lavi saw Christine looking down at her bowl in front of her, pushing around its contents with a spoon. She looked guilty. "Of course he'll be okay. He's a stubborn bastard." He said, grinning. Still, the woman frowned.

"I feel like I should have done a better job. Maybe he wouldn't have been in so bad of shape if I had."

"Me too…" Chaoji added, resting his chin on his folded arms.

"You guys did all you could until we got there." Lenalee said as she approached them, setting her tray down on the table next to Lavi, sitting beside him.

"Yeah." Lavi agreed. "Yuu is an experienced Exorcist, and a General. He's not going down so easily."

That brought a smile to Chaoji's face, but did little to comfort Christine. She could still see the image of Kanda lying lifelessly in her arms. He was dead then, no question about it. She suddenly lost her appetite, setting down her utensil.

"So, that's what happened?" Krory asked. "I was wondering why there was suddenly a commotion in the infirmary."

Lavi held his face in his hand, smiling over at the older man. "Why were you in the infirmary? Spending time with your girlfriend?" He asked calmly.

"Shut up, brat." Krory said, frowning as he blushed, turning his nose up in the air. "I was merely visiting her." Lavi snorted. "Marie, I saw you carry Allen into another room. Was he hurt?"

Marie picked his head up and thought for a minute before speaking. "Luckily, no. He was just fatigued. He should be alright now." He said, smiling. Miranda looked up at him. Marie looked like he had something else on his mind that he wasn't saying. Maybe he'd tell her later.

Chaoji frowned as Krory let out a sigh of relief. The younger man thought back to when they had arrived back to headquarters, when Kanda was laying on the floor. He had been standing behind Allen, trying to get a closer look at the unconscious man, when the boy sitting in front of him suddenly snapped at him.

"Give me some fucking space!" Allen nearly growled as he whipped his head around. Chaoji flinched when he saw the dangerous, almost deranged look in the boy's eyes, taking a step back.

Chaoji definitely didn't trust Allen Walker the way the rest of the Exorcists did and he couldn't bring himself to. And what he couldn't understand was how strange he and Kanda were acting toward each other. He knew something was going on, but he wasn't ready to be disappointed by someone he looked up to as a leader. He said nothing as the conversation moved on.


Allen awoke with a loud gasp, his eyes shooting open as he sat up on the infirmary bed that he didn't remember laying on in the first place, seeing Adelina jump in alarm, nearly dropping whatever she had in her hands.

"Jesus Christ, Allen!" She shouted, clutching the things to her chest as she gave him, looking annoyed to be alarmed so suddenly. "You scared me!"

"I'm sorry, I just didn't know where I was or what happened." Allen said, rubbing his left eye with his palm. He felt really weird. Looking down with his right eye, he moved his left hand away when he noticed that his uniform coat was gone, instead replaced with a familiar article of clothing. "Where did Kanda's cardigan come from?" He asked softly.

Setting the things down so she didn't risk dropping them, Adelina faced the young man. "Lenalee went to your room and got it. She said it would probably help calm you down."

Allen smiled softly, pulling the garment closed around his front. Lenalee was right, he was feeling calmer already, even though he couldn't quite remember what riled him up in the first place- His head shot up suddenly, eyes widening again as he tried to jump up from the bed. "Kanda!"

Quickly, the nurse's hands were on his shoulders, holding him back the slightest bit. "Don't even try lashing out at me, Allen. It's not gonna work." She warned, giving him a stern look that could match Head Nurse's. Once she felt his shoulders relax a bit, she made him sit back down on the edge of the bed. "Kanda is doing okay. He's still unconscious, but he's stable." She told him, watching as silver eyes shimmered with hope and relief. "If you keep a level head, you can go in and see him." Allen began to nod vigorously. Without another word, he left the room he was in, a bit disoriented at first, a few of the nurses staring at him as he tried to get his bearings. Adelina held his shoulders from behind him, leading him to where Kanda was resting in another room. She left him be as she walked off to see if anyone else needed tending to.

Upon entering the room, one probably wouldn't be able to tell that anything had been wrong. The samurai was asleep in the bed, breathing soft and quietly. The wound on his head had closed, though not completely healed. He looked strangely peaceful. The sight made Allen's heart flutter, rather than ache, which he was expecting it to. When Allen walked over, carefully brushing black bangs away from his boyfriend's lovely face, then realizing that Kanda was going to be okay. Allen's breath hitched slightly as tears gathered in his eyes before he moved to the other side of the bed, crawling up onto the mattress. He snuggled up close to Kanda's right arm, nuzzling his face against it, while his left hand trailed down, locking their fingers together. His right hand cupped the other side. Before he knew it, his eyes were lidding as he drifted off to sleep for a second time.


Well, this chapter took entirely too long to write. I'm really sorry for the wait. Hopefully in the next chapter I can get the ball rolling again. Thank you again for the reviews, they're much appreciated.

Sorry for the reupload, none of the italics saved when I copied and pasted it from my documents.

DGM belongs to Katsura Hoshino