So, we're entering the second season of the amazing anime that is -man! Of course, it's wild from start to finish. Ready?
Answer: Well, depends on anyone who's reading but I personally enjoy writing them!
Hope you'll enjoy reading too!
In the end, we didn't cast off. Technical problem, I think. And we needed more furniture, too.
So, as the boys were treated like slaves and worked to the bone to transport all the cargo around, and Lenalee went to talk to Lady Anita, I walked to Mahoja, who was leading the operations.
"Mahoja-san, ma'am" I called, getting her attention.
"Just call me Mahoja" she smiled a little, looking at me.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" I asked. "These chauvinistic men won't let me handle the cargo and seeing as I can't cook to save my life, placing me on cooking duty would probably just kill everyone on the first day. So…"
She chuckled at little as I smiled sheepishly. She then took out a piece of paper.
"There's this errand that I needed to run, but I couldn't find the time" she said, handing it to me.
I read the short list: three barrels of water, some tissue to sew back the sails –in case anything happened-, a bag of screws, and…
"Of course they'd want some beer" I shook my head. "I'll go now, then. Anything else?"
"It'll be all" she assured.
"I'm off, then"
She nodded and went back to leading the operations while I went back into town.
I easily got everything we needed but, on my way back, I heard two horrified screams. Ready to face another Akuma attack, I had to blink a few times to understand that it wasn't anything of the sort.
There were two kids –well, I say kids, but they're around my age- chased by three angry innkeepers.
"WE DIDN'T AGREED TO THIS, DAMN IT!" yelled the black haired one.
"NO WE DIDN'T! WE DIDN'T!" repeated the blond haired one.
"GET BACK HERE, BRATS!"
"LORD CROSS SAID YOU'D PAY FOR HIS EXPENSES SO YOU'LL PAY!"
"AND FOR EVERYTHING!"
I froze at Cross's mention, then sighed. It was just like him, making innocent kids pay for his stupid bills. Hell, I know since he did the same to me, and more than once. However, I had gotten good to avoid these kinds of situations.
They tripped as one and landed roughly on the pavement. The innkeepers circled them, laughing evilly. Taking pity on the poor victims, I placed my things on the ground and jumped in between them.
"Hello, hello, ladies!" I greeted, waving to get their attention. "So sorry for the disturbance!"
"Who're you, lad?" one of the woman asked.
I grabbed the boys, one arm each, and pulled them up.
"Play along" I hissed quietly, before turning to the women. "I'm so very, truly sorry, ma'am, but my brothers and I are on a tight schedule right now, and we really have to go!"
"R-right! Our parents will be very worried" the black haired one piped in.
"Better go" squeaked his friend.
"No way!" objected one when I tried to move. "They've got to pay…"
"This horrible man has been tricking us all along!" I cried dramatically. "But fear not, I have just what you need!"
I then threw the bag of screws I had kept on myself all along, and the third one caught it.
"Have a good day, then!" I then pulled the two stunned teens away.
I pulled them closer.
"Get ready to-"
"HEY!"
We only made three meters before they found out the masquerade.
"Run!"
Darting away into the alley, the other two followed without any apparent difficulty. The three woman tripped on the furniture I had bought sooner, and we used the momentum to briefly disappear onto the roof. They got up, and looked around, angry, before the third one threw the bag of screws angrily and the three of them stomped away. I let out a shaky sigh, laughing a little.
"Who the hell are you?"
Blinking, I turned to the other two. They were eying the cross on my chest with a weird look, so I opted for the safety option, for once.
"… Eliade! Nice to meet you!" I made the peace sign, internally groaning at the name I chose on a whim. "Stole the coat to a weird bunch of travellers five days ago. You like it?"
They seemed to relax somewhat at that, and I got up.
"Well, it was fun and all, but I've gotta go, now" I said.
"Why'd you help us?" asked curiously the black haired one.
"Pity" I admitted. "Got tricked like that a few times. And I was bored, too. What's your names, by the way?"
"I'm Devit!" he presented himself.
"And I'm Jasdero!" added the blond one.
"Together, we're Jasdevi!" they exclaimed, waving their toy guns around.
I grinned.
"You're funny" I said. "But I really have to go, now"
Quickly, I got back on the ground, and gathered everything, before waving at them.
"It was cool while it lasted, Jasdevi!" I yelled, running away.
"Thanks for the help!" Davit yelled back.
"Thanks! Thanks!" cackled Jasdero.
"Any time!"
And with that, I ran back to the boat, unable to stop thinking about how I probably escaped something very dangerous without really knowing what.
Meh. It's not like I'd see them again anyway.
When I finally got back, I saw all of my friends around Allen, who seemed very flustered.
"Hey guys, what'd I miss?" I asked, popping in.
"Ary!" exclaimed Jumper.
"It's not-"
"Look at Allen's arm!"
Ignoring his protests, she pulled said arm and I froze at the sight of the anti-Akuma weapon literally falling apart.
"I don't know whether to be worried or disgusted" I admitted. "The hell's happening to you, Kiddo?"
"He says it's because his Innocence is tired, but I've never heard of anything of the sort before" answered Lavi, frowning.
"Maybe because it's a parasitic type?" proposed Allen, apparently trying to find a way out.
"My wings are still as beautiful as ever, thank you very much" I replied, crossing my arms.
"Maybe because I don't have regenerative abilities like yours?"
"You're just grasping to straws, now!" accused the redhead.
He chuckled nervously.
"Certainly, that eye of yours forces you to fight twice as much as any of us" remarked Bookman.
"I've been thinking…" said softly Lenalee. "Your arm's awfully fragile, isn't it, Allen?"
With that, she started shaking, making Allen freeze in fright.
"Allen made her cry!" said Lavi.
"Yeah, he did" nodded Bookman.
"His fault" confirmed Krory.
"N-no, I didn't!"
"You're all ridiculous" I huffed. "Jumper, don't go crying over that. Allen is fine for the time being, and if it ever gets too dangerous, then I'll tie him down myself to keep him from fighting, okay?"
"T-that won't be necessary!" he shook his head quickly.
At the same time, the chimney blew it's smoke at the sails set loose.
"Let's go help the crew" I finally said, stretching a little.
I could see the souls of the boys escaping from their body at my proposition, making me snicker a little. Messing with them was so much fun! Before Lavi walked away with the others, though, I grabbed his arm.
"Do you really have no idea about that?" I asked quietly.
"None" he assured. "But I'll see if I can find something later with Ji-ji"
"Thanks"
Then, he walked away, and I frowned, going to the room I shared with Lenalee. Once I was assured to be alone, I activated Angel and examined my wings.
They were their usual self, white and plain, but when I turned my feathers to steel, I could see the weird rust forming on the edges. Biting my lower lip, I've decided to tell them once we found Cross. My Innocence's state wasn't even close as bad as Allen's, so it wasn't important for now.
The first night came, and everyone was eating and drinking in the warmth of bunker. However, I couldn't find it in me to enjoy myself. My guts were twisting painfully and a lump in my throat stopped me from eating. In the end, I simply walked outside to get some air.
Taking a few deep breaths at a fresh wind gently hit my face, I smiled a little.
"You're bad at surprising people, Bookboy"
There was a annoyed sigh behind, and he came next to me.
"You just have freaking eyes all around the head" he muttered. "What's up? You look a little pale"
Frowning, I let my gaze wander on the ocean once more.
"… the air" I finally said. "It's heavy. Something bad is going to happen"
"… I'm tempted to say that you're worrying over nothing, but I feel it too" he sighed. "I think it's the same for the others, but they just don't want to worry the crew"
"I guess" I shrugged, letting my head rest on his shoulder.
We stayed silent for a moment.
"What'd Ji-ji gave you, by the way? He passed you the weird bottle again" he asked casually.
I glared a little, half-amused and half-exasperated.
"You never give up, do you?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Aw, you know you love me!" he grinned, swinging an arm around my shoulders.
"Of course I do" I sighed.
There was a moment of silence as I bit my lower lip to stop the smirk forming on my face.
"…wait, what!?"
Unable to help it, I started laughing.
"O-oh God, your face" I choked on my laughter. "Really, sometimes, your reactions are just precious, Bookboy"
"That's just mean, Tenshi" he pouted.
Next thing I knew, I was trapped in his hold while he rubbed his knuckles roughly against my skull. Wriggling to break free, in part laughing, I tried to breath between my chokes.
"L-Lavi! Let me- let me go! Lavi!"
I finally managed to free myself, and I took in a deep breath to stop the giggles still forming in my throat.
"Moron" I finally managed to say.
"But I'm your moron!" he beamed.
"Doesn't make you less of an idiot, though" I snorted.
"… I'm still taller"
"TAKE THAT BACK!"
Not once did he realize I had managed to change the subject.
The day after that, the brief peace of mind Lavi had helped me achieve was utterly gone, and I had to use all my self-control not to throw up. I was now engaged in a game of poker –half to get my mind of my troubles, half to reassure myself everything would be alright-, and we finally called our games.
There was a moment of heavy silence that etched for a minute as all the Exorcists present tensed at the results.
"I… lost?"
"HOLY SHIT WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!"
"SHUT UP!" I wacked his head. "Another game, now!"
The crew was confused at our now deadly serious attitudes as I distributed the cards once again.
We had no time to loose, though. We had to find out just how bad it would turn out.
"That's it, the planet is about to implode or something like that" stated Lavi when I finally won.
Because winning after a series of looses determined the level of the oncoming events. However…
"Thirty-two looses" Bookman counted.
"This is bad" Allen shook his head.
"No shit" I snapped his way.
"What exactly is happening?" asked Lady Anita, frowning.
"Long story short, I always win my games" I answered, getting up. "When I loose, it usually predicts something bad is about to happen. For me to loose so many games in a row… oh Dieu, ça va mal se terminer, cette histoire"
The nodded in understanding.
"Get ready to face anything" barked Mahoja to the rest of the crew. "Be on your guard!"
"Hai!"
Sighing, I put back the deck of cards in my pocket.
"This isn't going to end well" I muttered under my breath.
"Hey, what's up!"
Turning to Lavi, I saw that he had addressed Allen, who was now standing at the watch.
"Everyone!" Allen yelled back. "Akumas on the horizon!"
We all lifted our eyes to the sky as the air went even heavier, and my breath hitched at the dark and buzzing cloud approaching us.
Demons, yes.
And it was gigantic.
"There's so many of them!" exclaimed Lady Anita, horrified.
The bell started ringing as the crew went to get their arms and readied for the oncoming battle.
"Ary?"
I snapped my eyes at Lenalee's worried one, and I realized that I was frozen in place. Shaking my head, I fall back to my senses.
"Let's go join the others" I said.
So we did.
"The timing of this attack must mean…" Bookman trailed off.
"They knew we were coming" Lavi cracked his knuckles.
My eyes trailed to Krory, who was shaking.
"Hey, you okay, Buffy?" I frowned at his state.
Still shaking, a dark smile suddenly spread on his face, and he turned to his vampire form.
"My teeth are aching" he simply answered.
"Good, you're going to need them" I nodded, rolling my shoulders a little.
"Innocence: activate!"
As soon as I felt my wings on my back, Allen opened the hostilities by shooting the closest ones. However, instead of attacking us, they simply passed the ship at high speed, making me grit my teeth as a harsh wind whipped our faces.
"The hell are they going like that?" I exclaimed angrily.
"They're bypassing us completely!" added Lavi, hammer in hands.
"Wherever they're going, we can't let them!" yelled Allen, still up there.
He kept on shooting, and I nodded.
"Right. Feathered Blades!"
Seven of them exploded, making me smirk a little. I could shoot with my eyes closed and get a maximum of targets anyway, with how many they were.
"Just as I thought!" exclaimed victoriously a voice above us. "They're Exorcists! I knew I recognized these black coats!"
Two demons, Level Two. Allen tried to shoot them, but they easily escaped his attacks.
"Allen, I'm coming!" assured Lavi, prepared to use his hammer.
But before him -or any of us for that matter- could move, other Level Two appeared all around us.
"There are Exorcists here!"
"What's this?"
"Oh, there's a bunch of humans too!"
"Dinner time!"
They flew at Lady Anita, but were harshly stopped by the shield she lifted.
"Don't even think about it!" she warned.
"Cheeky bitch!" yelled one, scrapping the shield. "Do you thing this'll hold off us, Level Two!?"
"Maybe not the shield, but how about some steel blades through you stupid metal skulls, tin cans?" I yelled, slicing through them in one go.
They exploded and, at the same time, another one appeared behind the group.
"I've got you now!" it announced, flying at Lady Anita.
As it was about to grab her, Mahoja intervened and literally kicked it away, making me whistle a little.
"You won't a finger on my Master" she announced proudly.
"Nice one" I nodded.
"Damn bitch!" it growled.
Before it could attack again, though, Lenalee fall from the sky and destroyed it with her Dark Boots.
"Arigato, the both of you" smiled Lady Anita.
"Don't thank us just yet" I shook my head.
"Exorcists!"
"I'm hungry!"
"Humans too!"
The explosions had attracted the attention of the rest of their bunch, and they were now surrounding the whole ship.
"I could flail about with my eyes close and still hit something" remarked Lavi.
"Yes, I will eat my fill tonight" smirked Krory.
"Here they come" concluded Bookman.
"And here we go!" I yelled, rising into the air. "Spin rocket!"
We had only been fighting for ten minutes, at most, before Allen dear thought it was a good idea to get FUCKING KIDNAPPED!
"Allen!" yelled Lenalee as he was dragged away.
"I'm going after him, stay and help the others!" I exclaimed, taking off after him.
"Hai!"
Going as fast as I could, I destroyed all the Akumas on my way, with the only objective of saving my friend.
A minute later, we had passed the port and went passed some of the mountains. I had no idea where the hell all this bunch of weapons was going but one thing was for sure: I didn't like it one bit.
I finally managed to spot Allen as he kept shooting at his kidnapper, missing each time. Casually, I flew next to him.
"Kiddo, you won't break free with an aim as shitty as that" I deadpanned.
"A-Ary!" he tried wriggling out of the Akuma's grasp.
"The hell!?" exclaimed said Akuma, finally spotting me. "What…"
"Feathered Blades!"
It exploded in a screech, and I suddenly realized my mistake as Allen plummeted to the ground.
"SHIT! I'M COMING, KIDDO!"
I managed to grab his arm and a part of his coat, slowing down the fall somewhat but, being unable to fly with a… err, passenger, I couldn't control exactly our landing, with resulted in us destroying a few trees on our way down before finally hitting the ground. Nothing was broken, which was a plus, but I'd definitely get bruises for that.
"You okay, Kiddo?" I asked, rubbing a sore spot on my shoulder.
"Couldn't you think this through before shooting the Akuma?" he mumbled, still laying on the ground.
"What was I supposed to do, let you trapped up there?" I raised an eyebrow, not convinced.
"I nearly died!" he wailed his arms around, exasperated at my lack of concern.
"But you didn't" I retorted, getting up. "Now come on, we've got to-"
There was a sudden explosion nearby, and the ground shook harshly under our feet.
"What the hell?"
"Look!"
I did as told, and felt my throat go dry at the sight as my heartbeat went wild.
"What… is that?" muttered Allen.
A giant –bigger than the mountains around, I swear- body, without head and arms, and countless tentacles-like things for legs, was now floating a few kilometers away from our position. There was a weird halo around what would be it's neck, and it was glowing faintly, the same color as Innocence. The bunch of Akuma was quickly gathering around it, and I felt an indescribable dread fill my heart as the air grew thicker and what seemed like a pain-filled, guttural, scream echoed.
I clamped my hands against my ears to block out the horrible noise, shaking my head. I knew what it was, I knew what it meant. I saw it once before, with Lenalee.
"The demons are attacking!" Allen pointed out suddenly. "Is that big white thing what they were after?
"That's not… that's not just a thing, Allen" I whispered, my breath hitching.
"A-Ary?" he seemed frightened.
Oh, right. I never called him by his name before, have I?
"It's…" I gulped. "It's a Fallen One. An Exorcist, who failed in the eyes of God"
Another scream echoed, and I swallowed the bile rising in my throat.
"It's not- you have to do something drastic to come to that!" I added, more frenetically, trying to see it's heart. "How- who would-"
And then, I saw it.
Him.
My heart stopped beating, and my knees gave in to the shock, sending me tumbling to the ground.
"Ary!" Allen grabbed my shoulders, stopping my fall.
I placed an hand on my my mouth to stop my own scream from escaping. I couldn't breath right, it was just wrong.
Not him, I pleaded quietly. Please, I'm begging you, not him!
"Summan…"
Ooh, things starts a little rough, don't they? And poor Ary, finding Summan like that. Also, the little meeting with Jasdevi was just for shit and giggles. There's really no other point, other than the reactions when they meet back.
French traduction: "Oh God, this story will end badly..."
Question: Did I get Jasdevi's character right? I'm really unsure...
Thank you, and reviews!