Sleep didn't come easily to Allen at all that night. He was unable to get truly comfortable on Kanda's infirmary bed, physically, mentally, or emotionally. While he managed to doze off a few times, he couldn't stay in a deep sleep which he so desperately needed. He was too worried about his raven haired lover, who'd yet to wake up since being tended to medically. Despite this, the gentle rising and falling of his chest did bring Allen a form of comfort.
Kanda was breathing, and he was alive.
So when the morning finally rolled around, Allen willed himself out of bed, even though his body ached. His stomach grumbled with hunger and he blushed softly. "Maybe I should get something to eat…" He mumbled to himself as he stood from the bed, taking a deep breath. Looking down at the resting man, he leaned down and kissed his unmoving lips as carefully and gently as he could. "I'll be back, Kanda… Please wake up soon…" Allen murmured before pulling away and standing up, walking toward the door. He turned back to look at him once more before leaving and closing the door quietly behind him. Wrapping Kanda's cardigan around his body and crossing his arms across his chest to keep it secure, Allen made his way down to the cafeteria for breakfast.
Walking into the cafeteria, Allen was filled with a familiar feeling of warmth that he was longing for, deeply inhaling the wonderful scents of various breakfast meals that Head Chef Jerry was preparing for the members of the Order. Allen stood there for a minute or so, unable to move. He looked around, finding familiar faces everywhere. A few of them, including not so familiar faces, stared at him intently.
Allen knew not everyone here had forgiven him for running away with Tyki and Road when Apocryphos attacked, even if it wasn't his fault. He had come to accept that he couldn't change everyone's opinion of him, but that didn't make him want to try any less.
"Allen!"
Suddenly, he was pulled out of his thoughts as he heard Johnny's voice call for him, head turning in that direction as the scientist approached him. "Johnny, good morning! I haven't seen you in a while." Allen greeted, sounding almost apologetic. "How are you?"
Suddenly and unexpectedly, Johnny's arms were thrown around Allen, making the seventeen year old flinch and tense for a moment as he gasped, taking a second to hug his friend back. After a moment, Johnny pulled back and placed his hands on Allen's shoulders, eyes filled with concern. "I'm fine, Allen. How are you?"
Allen blinked, keeping the smile on his face. "I'm fine, Johnny."
"Are you?" Johnny asked. "I haven't seen you in a while but I know you're still not feeling like yourself. And no offense, but you look like you haven't slept in days."
Allen's heart got caught in his throat for a moment before he let out a chuckle, shutting his eyes. "Do I really look that terrible?" He asked, scratching lightly at his cheek. "I haven't been sleeping, you're right. I've been really worried about Kanda and it's been keeping me up."
"Allen…" Johnny sighed heavily, hanging his head a bit. "You have to take better care of yourself than that. You're an Exorcist, you need all the strength you can get. Not to mention… You know."
Johnny watched as Allen's expression morphed into one of shock and disbelief, although he wasn't quite sure why. Surely, Allen couldn't have forgotten. He was about to ask what was wrong when Allen opened his mouth, speaking softly. "Who… Who told you?"
That just confused the scientist even more. Told him? He had been there first hand to witness it himself. "Allen, I've seen the Fourteenth try to take over. Remember? When Kanda and I came looking for you?" He asked, silver eyes widening.
Oh. Oh. "I…" Johnny wasn't talking about the baby, he was talking about the Fourteenth.
And now he knew that Allen was keeping a secret.
"What did you think I was talking about?" Johnny asked curiously. "Oh, Allen, you're sweating! Do you feel alright?" He asked, placing his hand against the younger man's forehead, feeling for a fever. Carefully, Allen took hold of his wrists, lowering his hands as he managed a smile.
"I'm okay, Johnny. My mind's just been scattered lately." Allen assured him. "I was confused."
Johnny didn't quite believe what his friend was saying one hundred percent, but he did agree that his mind was scattered. "That's because you're not sleeping well! Come on, let's get something to eat." Before Allen could protest, Johnny was dragging him up to Jerry's window.
Allen couldn't seem to settle his nerves, even as he ordered his usual mountain of food, his anxiety only spiking once Johnny brought him over to the table where their friends sat. He took a seat next to Marie, who turned his head to give him a comforting smile. "How are you holding up?"
Allen returned the grin, looking up at the blind man. "I'm hanging in there. Just tired."
"Understandable. How is Kanda?"
"He still hasn't woken up… But he's stable." Allen said, pushing around the contents of a bowl of oatmeal with his spoon. Marie sighed in relief.
"That's good to hear…" He muttered. "... Other than that, is everything alright?"
Allen looked up at Marie, taking a second to answer. He had nearly forgotten that Marie was suspicious of him. Still, he calmed himself as much as he could before answering. "Of course, I'm feeling great." Allen could tell from the smile on Marie's face that the man didn't quite believe him.
Out of nerves, Allen began to shovel oatmeal into his mouth, hoping no one else questioned him. He sat closer to the table so he could rest his unoccupied hand against his stomach while he ate. He couldn't exactly pinpoint why, but it brought him comfort when he did that. Maybe it was a subconscious feeling that he was protecting his unborn child, even if it was just a small gesture.
The rest of breakfast went by quietly for Allen, the conversation carrying on around him. He didn't mind being left out. He was mostly wrapped up in his own thoughts anyway. Like how he was going to have to come clean to Marie, and probably Miranda, about how he had nearly blabbed to Johnny and probably made him suspicious as well. Of course, the reminder that Kanda's seal was acting up crossed his mind again. Whining softly, he muttered a small 'fuck' under his breath, covering his face with his left hand as he closed his eyes.
"Allen… Maybe you should go rest."
Allen opened his eyes again to see that, alarmingly, the only ones left sitting at the table were Lavi, Lenalee, and Johnny, the woman staring at him with concern filled eyes. 'Was I really that out of it that I didn't notice anyone else get up?'
"Lena's right, you're gonna need all your strength for when Yuu wakes up anyway." Lavi said, tacking on a chuckle at the end.
"I can't sleep forever, you know. I can't just solve all of my issues with naps." Allen said, finishing off his last plate of food.
"You should try it sometime." Johnny piped up, smiling, even though he was exhausted from another long night in the science division. Allen looked at him apologetically.
"I don't know if I'm going to go back to sleep, but I am going to go back to the infirmary to check on Sleeping Beauty." Allen grinned as he stood, hearing a collection of giggles from the three in front of him.
"Give Yuu our regards!" Lavi called after him.
"I will! When he wakes up, I will."
Lenalee waved after him, turning her head as she heard Johnny sigh next to her. "What's wrong?"
Johnny turned his head toward her, worry evident in his expression. "Allen isn't well, is he?" He asked, the two next to him both staring at him now. "He's trying to hide something and put all the weight on his shoulders again."
It wasn't relieving to see the speechless look that Allen's two closest friends gave him, which, to him, confirmed his fears. Still, he felt a comforting hand on his back, looking over to Lenalee again.
"No matter what happens, Johnny, we all just have to just… be there for Allen." The woman said softly, trying to offer him a comforting smile. "He's having a hard time right now, but he just needs his friends to have his back."
Without a second thought, Johnny nodded at that. Of course he'd have Allen's back, he promised the teen that himself, back when they talked in the inn. But it would be so much easier to help Allen if he knew what else was bothering him…
He had to find out.
Standing from the table, he smiled at Lavi and Lenalee, who kept their eyes on him as he got ready to leave.. "I will. You can count on me to have his back, no matter what. Anyway, thank you for saying that, Lenalee." He told her, the two continuing to stare as he started to walk away. "I'll just be getting back to work now! See you around!"
The scientist soon disappeared from view, the two of them staring for just a few more seconds, trying to wrap their heads around his skittish attitude. Lenalee turned her head toward Lavi as he let out a soft groan, covering his eyes with his hand. "Ten bucks says he finds out before the day is over."
The Chinese woman's brows knit together anxiously. "Don't say that, Lavi."
Dark blue eyes burned slightly as they opened up to the lit room, closing again quickly to stop the minor pain.
"Fuck… Where am I?" Kanda muttered to himself softly opening his eyes again carefully, scrunching them until they adjusted to the light. He sat up slowly, his body aching horribly. A pained gasp left his mouth as he raised one of his hands to his wounded abdomen, the throbbing in his head nearly making him lose consciousness again. Letting out a heavy groan, Kanda shut his eyes, lacing his fingers through his bangs before gripping the dark hair tightly. "What happened to me?" He mumbled to no one in particular as he waited for the pain to ebb away. Opening his left eye a crack, he realized that he was in the infirmary, by himself at that. When he looked down at himself, he saw that his torso was wrapped in bandages, and, given by the amount of pain he was in, he could tell that he wasn't fully healed yet. The memories of the previous mission began flooding back into his aching head, remembering his last conscious memory being of Allen, his Moyashi, sitting over him, calling his name with the most fear stricken expression he'd ever seen on the boy, begging him to stay awake. "Allen…"
After a moment or two, Kanda heard the knob on the door creak as someone turned it, expecting to find one of the nurses coming in to check on him.
Instead, a warm, comforting feeling ran through his veins as his eyes landed upon the form of his boyfriend, standing still in the doorway, silver eyes wide and glistening as he realized that the samurai had finally woken up.
Before Kanda even had a chance to open his mouth, Allen had rushed toward him, wrapping his arms around the samurai's neck in a firm, loving embrace. Kanda could feel the relief pouring out of his boyfriend's body, letting out a soft sigh as he wrapped his arms around the boy's waist.
"Y-You're awake!" Allen exclaimed, unable to hold back his tears any longer. He put his hand on the side of Kanda's head, burying his face against the smooth black locks as he let out another cry. "You're really awake!"
Kanda closed his eyes, nuzzling his face into Allen's shoulder, wrapping his arms tighter around his body. "Of course I am. I told you I was coming home in one piece, didn't I?"
"You died twice, y-you fucking idiot." Allen said, hiccuping as he tried to stop his tears from falling so heavily, pulling away to rub at his eyes. Kanda carefully took one of his hands into his, bringing it to his lips. Allen opened his eyes to see Kanda staring at him, hiccuping softly again. "I-I was really scared, you know…"
Keeping Allen's human hand pressed softly against his lips, Kanda opened his mouth to speak. "I'm sorry for scaring you. That wasn't my intention."
Allen couldn't help but snort upon hearing Kanda apologize, lidding his eyes as he lowered his gaze, using his left forearm to wipe his eye again. "You definitely have a lingering concussion."
Rolling his eyes, Kanda tsk'd in response as he lowered the hand from his lips. "Refresh my memory. What do you mean I died twice?" Kanda felt Allen carefully nudge at his thigh with his fingers, getting that he wanted him to move over so he could sit down. He complied, carefully moving his sore body over a bit on the bed so his boyfriend could take a seat on the edge of the bed.
Sitting down slowly, Allen let out a heavy sigh as he folded his hands on his lap. "When we got there, you were down. Christine told us that she was positive that you had died, but your seal was still working enough to bring you back." Allen spoke slowly, having trouble getting the words out as he tried not to think about the scene they'd arrived upon. "And once we got back to the Ark gate, Miranda deactivated her Innocence and your injuries came back. You were gone for a few seconds before we moved you to the infirmary."
"Who is we?"
"Marie, Bak, and I." Allen answered. "Komui met us here after Head Nurse and Vivienne started tending to you. Bak and Komui observed your seal to see if they could find a reason as to why your healing ability is slowing down."
Kanda nodded once. "Did they find the reason?" He could tell by the way Allen hung his head and clammed up that they hadn't, and that the bean sprout was just a few moments away from breaking down again. Carefully, he moved his hand to rest on Allen's lower back, hearing him let out a shaky breath as he rubbed the clothed skin in a circular pattern.
"Let's be honest. It's probably from the years and years of the seal healing you and shortening your life." Allen said in a small voice, keeping his head down. "Bak said that he would do his best to research if there's anything he can do to strengthen your seal, but… Who knows if he'll find a way." Silence fell between them as Kanda let the information process in his head. He barely noticed the way Allen's arms curled protectively around his stomach as he leaned forward a bit, a few tears falling from his eyes.
Kanda continued the motions on Allen's back, trying to comfort him. "I'm still alive, Moyashi. You don't have to cry."
Allen's shoulders trembled slightly as his tears continued to stream down his face. "I don't want to lose you, Kanda. No one knows how much longer you have with that seal, I-I-" He stuttered, raising his hands to cover his face, his breath hitching as his crying became heavier. "I can't lose you! And I can't raise our baby without you! I just-"
Kanda wrapped his arms around his lover, carefully pulling him over to lay against him. Allen cried out, keeping his hands covering his face as he nestled closer against Kanda's body. He then felt his head being tilted up, uncovering his face just as a kiss was gently placed on his lips. He blinked away the tears lingering on his long eyelashes, finding Kanda staring at him sternly with his finger still tilting his chin up. "You're not going to lose me. Not now, not ever. I give you my word."
Allen closed his eyes tightly as he continued to weep, lowering his head to hide his face in the crook of Kanda's neck. He couldn't stop his tears and he couldn't quite bring himself to fully believe in Kanda's words. Not now, when he'd been so close to death's door the previous day. He then felt hands pet down his medium length hair, starting to feel his nerves calm.
"Your hair got longer."
Allen sniffled, opening his eyes to stare at one spot on the bed, letting Kanda continue to pet his hair. "Yeah… I was going to cut it, but Lenalee said she liked it." Allen murmured, reaching his hand behind his head, touching the white hair behind his neck.
"I like it too."
Allen's heart fluttered in his chest, his cheeks turned rosy, and his eyes gleamed as he looked to the other man with surprise. "Really?"
"Yes, really."
"You're not just messing with me?"
Kanda looked at the skeptical expression on the boy's face, clicking his tongue lightly. "If I thought otherwise, I would have said differently."
Allen hummed softly, twirling the ends of his hair with his right hand. "I don't know. I guess I thought you were just trying to make me cry or something." He looked up when he heard Kanda snort at him, hardening his gaze.
"You just got done crying. Why would I make you cry again?" Quickly, Kanda grabbed Allen's hand as the brat tried to reach up and pinch him, letting out an amused snicker as he did so.
The moment ended a second later when both of their heads shot up, hearing a knock on the door, silence filling the room. Allen's first instinct was to get up, which he began to do.
"It's just me."
Relief filled Allen as he sighed, sitting back down in his place as Head Nurse entered the room, closing the door once more behind her. "You're finally awake, I see." Kanda grunted softly in response, which she had expected. The young man had never been one for manners. "How are you feeling?"
Kanda let out a deep breath as he tried to sit up straight. "I feel like there's a knife in my chest. And my temple."
"By the severity of your wounds, I'd say that's a fair assumption." The older woman stated, walking closer to them. She tilted his chin up, checking his eyes before checking his pulse. "You gave us quite a scare, Kanda. You were in shock, concussed, practically gushing blood. You're lucky your seal did as much as it did."
Kanda heard the boy next to him let out a shaky breath, just catching him as he turned his head away. "I'll be fine once these wounds are healed enough." His brows furrowed in annoyance as the woman scoffed a bit at his words.
"I think you'd better discuss that with Chief Komui before you jump to any decisions."
Before Kanda had a chance to argue, the door was suddenly thrown open once more and Adelina quickly entered the room and closed the door behind her, a slight look of panic on her face as she struggled to catch her breath. Allen guessed she must have ran to them. "Central is here."
The panic transferred to Allen who's heart clenched in his chest, suddenly feeling short of breath as he froze in his place. His left hand subconsciously reached up to lay on his chest, his fingers slowly gripping his shirt.
"What do you mean Central is here?" Kanda demanded, sitting up straight again, despite the burning pain from his wounds. "What the fuck do they want?"
"They want to question you with the Chief about what happened with the mission." Adelina responded, looking at Kanda. Allen blinked, his shoulders relaxing oh so slightly.
"They… They're not here for me?" Allen asked, his hand letting go of the fabric of his shirt, keeping his hand in place. He glanced over to Kanda, the man staring ahead with a scowl on his face.
"No," Kanda said defiantly, "absolutely not."
"Kanda, you have to." Allen muttered, keeping his hand on his chest, over his still rapidly beating heart. "You know if you don't speak to them, they'll make your life miserable until you do."
Kanda wanted to argue with every fiber of his being, but could only manage to silently open his mouth and shut it, clenching his fists tightly as he sneered and turned his head away. Moyashi was right. If he didn't go, those crumbs from Central would just hunt him down until they got what they wanted from him. "Fine. Fine, I'll go." He grumbled, crossing his arms.
Adelina sighed in relief, glad there wouldn't be a confrontation. Head Nurse nodded from his statement. "I'll explain to them your condition to buy you a little time to return to your room and freshen up. Can you stand?"
Allen turned his head in Kanda's direction as the swordsman immediately began to try to get up, himself hopping quickly off the bed to help his lover stand. Instead of shoving the boy away, he gripped onto Allen's hand as Allen carefully took his arm and guided him into a standing position. His core was still aching, causing him to let out a grunt as he covered his stomach with his own hand for support. Giving Allen a look, he nodded, Allen's expression softening as he was filled with relief once again.
Head Nurse smiled warmly at the two boys. "Good. Now, as soon as you're done with your meeting, I want you resting again. No ifs, ands, or buts."
Allen had walked to Kanda's bedroom to sit with him while he got dressed and to make sure he was okay. The General was silent as he pulled on fresh clothes. He fastened the buttons on his shirt, opting to not wear an Exorcist coat. Allen looked him over, concern still lingering. The head wound was nearly gone, but he had no idea about the ones on his chest and stomach.
"I know you're staring at me, Moyashi." Kanda said, Allen snapping out of it as his boyfriend spoke, keeping his back to him. "You can stop worrying about me now."
"Never." Allen stated firmly, arms crossed over his chest. "You could be physically invincible and immortal and I would still worry about you, idiot." Kanda straightened his back, turning to look at the younger man with an icy gaze, but was a bit caught off guard to find the other suddenly behind him, feeling his face being cupped by two warm and loving hands, an equally warm and loving kiss placed upon his lips. Then another, and then another. Kanda could tell from the way Allen hungrily began to deepen their kiss that he was desperate for intimacy, but unfortunately, now was not the right time. Carefully taking his wrists and lowering them as he broke their kiss, Allen started to catch his breath as he looked up at him, eyebrows knit together.
"I promised you we'd spend some alone time together when I got back home, didn't I?" Kanda asked, loosening his grip on delicate wrists to move his hands to hold Allen's. He felt fingers tighten around his and he brought them to his lips, kissing them gently.
"I missed you so much. I don't want you to leave again." Allen murmured, the corners of his eyes beginning to sting with a new threat of tears, a lump forming in his throat.
"I'm not leaving. I'm just going to see what the clowns from Central have to say and then I'll be right back. Then I'm all yours." Kanda said, waiting for Allen to look him in the eye. "Now, stop crying or I'll beat your ass." Much to his pleasure, Allen let out a soft laugh, closing his eyes. Before letting go of his hands, Kanda pressed a kiss to his lover's forehead.
Allen watched him go, letting the back of his knees hit the mattress before plopping down. Before closing the door, Kanda turned back to look at him one last time, hand on the knob. "That was an insult to clowns, by the way."
Kanda rolled his eyes, unable to keep an amused smirk off of his face. "You're an idiot."
"But I'm your idiot." Allen responded cheekily, leaning back on the bed.
"I know what you're doing. Will you let me go already?"
Pouting softly, Allen let out a huff. "Go. Just hurry back, okay?"
And with that, the door closed behind the samurai, and, once again, Allen was by himself.
Well, not so alone. The golden golem, who he felt like he hadn't seen in days, suddenly peeked out from in between the pillows, launching out and hitting Allen on the back of the head, making him yell out in alarm. "Timcanpy! Where have you been? How did you get in here?" Allen asked, taking the golem into his hands. "God, my thoughts have been so scattered lately, I can't even remember the last time I saw you." Allen smiled in delight when Tim began to nuzzle himself against his master's cheek, raising his hand to hold him in place. Allen's train of thought stopped suddenly when there was a tap at the door, Tim lifting his wings in surprise.
It couldn't be anyone looking for him, right? This was Kanda's room, so they'd be looking for Kanda. Maybe if he stayed quiet, they'd just go away. Thinking that idea had worked, Allen let out a silent sigh, just before being startled by another knock.
"It's me, Walker."
Allen blinked, taking only a second to recognize the voice behind the door. Hesitantly, Allen got up from the bed, walking over to the door, opening it a crack, confirming his suspicion. "Link? What are you doing here?"
Link glanced to the side for a moment. "If you let me in, I'll tell you."
Allen furrowed his brows. "Are you spying on me for Central?"
Crown Clown was almost activated out of instinct as Link pushed his way through the door, shutting it fast behind him, back on it as he stared at Allen, who was glaring fiercely at the blond.
"Link-"
"I thought I heard a voice. I'm supposed to be dead, remember?" Link stated, trying to calm the Exorcist down. It seemed to work as Allen began to look less standoffish, physically relaxing. The boy closed his cardigan around his front, crossing his arms on top of it. "Central isn't here for you, though Rouvelier asked me to keep an eye on you."
"So you are spying on me, then."
"Would you rather it be me or another Crow that you don't know?" Link watched as the realization slowly washed over the younger boy's face.
"So you're… Protecting me." Allen said slowly, Link blinking.
"... I suppose you can put it that way." Link answered, crossing his arms as he looked away.
The truth was that he felt incredibly guilty for his decision to not trust Allen during the battle at the North American Branch. He'd tried to make up for it when Allen was attacked by Apocryphos, but he still had lingering feelings of regret that he just couldn't seem to get rid of. He wasn't sure if he could ever make it up to the Exorcist that he had come to think of as a friend, but that didn't mean that he couldn't try.
Link wasn't expecting the giggle that came from Allen, turning his head to see the white haired boy standing with his hand over his mouth. He gave him a questioning look. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh." Allen told him, moving his hand. "I was just thinking about how following me around used to be just an order for you, and that was it."
Link didn't say anything. Walker was right, it did used to just be an order, thinking nothing more of it. Going off the cuff suddenly reminded the blond of what he had found out from snooping around in Central's database. "Walker, I did some digging for you."
Sitting on the bed, Allen looked at Link skeptically for a moment before he realized what he was talking about. "You did? What did you find out?"
"I found her name."
Allen stared at the other for a few seconds, expression blank. Link was about to ask him what was wrong, but Allen began to speak. "... That's it?" He asked quietly, sounding disappointed. "I already know her name. That's about the only thing I do know." He whined, falling back against his pillows as he covered his face with his hands.
Crossing his arms with a huff, Link sat on the edge of the bed, facing away from the groaning brat. "I found Agnes De Haven in Central's database, Allen. That means someone knew about her. I don't know who, but someone."
Allen moved his hands away from his eyes, blinking. "Oh… Oh, you're right." He said with a soft gasp, sitting back up. "What else did you find? Was she a Noah? An Exorcist? From Central? One of the chefs? What?"
Shaking his head at the eagerness in his tone, Link turned his head to look back at him. "All I got was a confirmation that she was on Central's radar, one way or another. I'm sorry. At least it's a start." He added at the end when he watched the other's arms collapse back over his face. Link was unable to help but smile, shaking his head.
"You're quite the character, Allen Walker." The Inspector mumbled to himself.
"Hey, Mr. Kitchen Knife! I wasn't expecting to see you here!" Kanda whipped around just in time to draw his sword to that God forsaken Noah, Tyki Mikk, who had appeared behind him. "I don't suppose that boy is with you, is he?" The Noah narrowly managed to duck as Kanda's blade came dangerously close to his neck, laughing as he jumped back. "I guess you're not very talkative today. Maybe the Akuma will have an easier time getting you to squeal." When Kanda turned around, at least fifty more Akuma had appeared around them. When he whipped his head back around to glare death at the Noah of Pleasure, he was gone.
"A shame we couldn't spend more time together. Next time, we'll have more fun. Next time."
"General Kanda?"
If there was one thing Yuu Kanda hated, and he hated many, many things, it was being interrogated. So when he arrived at this God forsaken meeting, his blood began to boil once he saw that the other Generals would be attending as well. It was to keep them on the same page, in the event this battle occurred as another attack on the Generals as a whole, but Kanda still didn't like it. He had to explain what had happened in front of the lot of them, and he swore to God, if that nutcase Socalo teased him at all, he was going to lose his mind. "What?"
"So you were saying that the Noah were there, and they retreated?"
Kanda took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. "They appeared after we'd fought off a horde of Akuma. It seemed like they were looking for something, and I guess they didn't find it. When they left, they sent in another horde and that's when we started having trouble. At one point, I'd been severely wounded and incompacitated."
Rouvelier rubbed at his forehead, thinking over the General's statement. "So… At this time, we're unaware if they're resuming their plan of going after Generals or not." He said, folding his hands on the table in front of him. "Were there any Noah present when Allen Walker showed up?"
"No." Kanda answered curtly. "They'd been long gone by that point."
"Did they have any interest in the Innocence you had received?" Komui asked calmly.
"None."
Kanda had blocked out the rest of the meeting as he stared blankly at the table in front of him. Even though he resented the old bastard Director for insinuating once again that this was somehow Allen's fault, he couldn't help but ponder his own worries. Tyki Mikk had mentioned Allen. For the most part, Allen's awakening had been put on hold, or at least it seemed that way. Kanda's fear was that the Noah were trying to gauge how deep into the awakening he was, or worse, to try to catch him in another ploy to kick start it.
Kanda let out a startled gasp and shuddered as someone unexpectedly placed their hand on his shoulder, being brought back to his senses. When he looked around, the room was empty, leaving only him and his Master by themselves.
"You seem very distracted, Yuu. Are your injuries bothering you?" Tiedoll asked his former student, not flinching when the young man, expectedly, smacked his hand away as he stood up.
"I'm fine. Leave me alone." Kanda insisted, his voice calm despite the biting words he used. Without another word, he made his way to the door, his hand on the handle.
"You were distant during the last meeting as well. Is it Allen Walker you're worrying about?"
Slowly, Kanda's fingers fell from the cool metal, standing still. His heart beat rapidly in his chest, waiting for the older General's next words to come.
"The two of you have been through a lot together. It's natural for you two to gravitate toward each other." Tiedoll explained delicately.
Kanda tightened his fist, turning his head to threateningly glare at the old Frenchman. "What are you getting at, old man?" The swordsman glared the entire time his Master walked over to him, placing a caring hand on his shoulder.
"I suppose what I'm trying to say is the same thing I've been saying for years." Tiedoll chuckled, keeping his hand on Kanda's shoulder. "That I'm behind you, no matter what." Kanda stared at him intently for a moment, remembering what had happened just before he, Allen, and Johnny had returned to the Order, they had been temporarily separated and Kanda ran into that Apocryphos freak. After the fight, Tiedoll had found him, telling him pretty much the same thing as he was now before convincing him to take the position of General.
"I can't go back. I have something I need to do."
"If you want to help him, then become a General. We're experiencing a shortage, and you've had a General's strength for quite some time."
Kanda couldn't help but let out a humorless snort, looking at the older Exorcist. "This is the second time you've insinuated that something is going on between me and the bean sprout."
Tiedoll let out a laugh of his own, putting his hand back on a stiffened shoulder. "I would never insinuate something that held no truth in it." Tiedoll had to admit. Seeing the flustered and shocked expression on his former student's face was worth it, even though he looked like he was going to pull his weapon on him. Tiedoll moved his hand from Kanda's shoulder to the door, opening it for the both of them. "Anyway, everyone was very worried for you, Yuu. We're glad to see you recover."
Kanda's jaw tightened into a pout as he was unable to will his flustered blush away, annoyed with his mentor for pushing his buttons like he always did. Yet, as much as he didn't want to admit it, deep down, and he meant deep down, he was grateful to have support from the older man.
Kanda would never admit it out loud. He'd die a million deaths before that happened.
Shaking his head as he tried to clear his thoughts, he started to make his way back toward his room when he noticed the two familiar figures standing and talking to each other in the hall. He tried to walk by Komui and Marie as swiftly and quietly as he could, but as usual, God was not on his side.
"Kanda! How are you feeling?" Komui asked as the two began to approach him, pretty much cornering him.
"Tired. Now let me go back to my bedroom."
"Of course. I just wanted to let you know that I'd like to speak to both you and Allen when you get a chance. I'm sure you know why."
"I got it. Now, will you leave me the fuck alone?" Kanda asked as calmly as he could muster. Komui gave him a look of understanding as he nodded, letting the younger walk past him.
Kanda thought he was in the clear after that. He was mistaken, as he felt someone grab onto his forearm. If it were anything else, Kanda would have sliced them in half with Mugen, but given it was Marie, all the older man got was a scowl that he could not see. "What?"
"I wanted to ask you something that's been on my mind the past few days." Marie said, letting go of his comrade's sleeve.
"Well, spit it out, Marie. I have to get back to my room."
"It's about Allen." Kanda's eyes widened a bit in surprise, not really expecting to be questioned about the bean sprout from him. "As of late, every time I've been around him, and only him…" Marie started out. "... I've heard overlapping heart beats. Like there's someone else here with us, but only when Allen is around."
Kanda felt his blood run cold as his throat began to tighten, trying to swallow against the lump forming.
"Kanda, is Allen okay?"
So
Hey
I'm so sorry about how long this took. I've really been struggling with filling in some gaps and on top of it I've been really busy with work and stuff. I hope this chapter isn't too bad, and I'm getting to starting chapter 14 right away! That chapter should be better. Hopefully. Thank you all again for the support and nice reviews! I appreciate it so much.
Also go easy on me if you find any mistakes. I had to rewrite this whole chapter because what I had initially was worse than this. A lot of copying and pasting was involved.
DGM belongs to Katsura Hoshino
