3. The Black Order
We passed quickly into the passageway. The door slammed behind us. Darkness engulfed our bodies. Suddenly a flame burst through the darkness. Tiedoll had lit a candle.
"This way," he said, leading Mari and myself forward. We stopped when we reached a dock. It was much more well lit here, and Tiedoll blew out the candle. He gestured towards a gondola rocking in a steady motion. "Hop on."
I attempted climb unsteadily onto the gondola. It tilted this way and that as I managed to get both feet planted on the bottom of the rocking boat. Unfortunately, Tiedoll and Mari decided to "hop on" literally. The boat pitched and I found myself plunging headfirst into the water.
Hands grasped my own and I was pulled from the murky water. Coughing and sputtering, I lay on the bottom of the boat. I could feel it rocking slightly as we moved forward. I looked up into Tiedoll's smiling face.
"Sorry," I said. "I'm really clumsy." This made him laugh.
"Don't worry about it. You have nothing to be sorry for. We," he added, pointing to himself and Mari, who was steering the gondola forward, " are the ones who made you fall."
I smiled at him. I knew that I had nothing to apologize for, but I couldn't help myself. I was constantly saying sorry for things that weren't even my fault. I liked to keep everyone happy.
I sat up and looked around. We seemed to be in a sort of underground canal. The stone walls curved with the river. I looked up only to find that the ceiling was too high to make out. I crawled over to the edge of the boat and let my hand trail in the water. I leaned over the edge to watch the ripples flow away from the boat.
The boat bumped against something. This time, when I almost fell out again, Tiedoll was ready. He caught me just before I slipped into the river. He lifted me up and placed me on another dock. Mari was already out and tyeing the gondola to the dock.
"Welcome to the Black Order," he said. Then he addressed Tiedoll. "Is she going to be your apprentice?"
"I believe so," he replied.
"What? Apprentice?"
"Every exorcist is trained by a general. I am one of five generals. I'm hoping to have you join my group. I have two others aside from Noise. They are both about your age. Daisya Barry and Kanda Yu. I think you'll like them."
He stepped around me and grabbed the suitcase. "Well, let's head up."
I started to get nervous as we made our way up a staircase. Questions flowed through my head. What if this was all a mistake? What if I wasn't really an exorcist? Would they leave me on the streets again? Would they like me? My mind was spinning with worry. I clung to the back of Tiedoll's jacket.
"Don't worry," he told me. "It's all going to be fine. You'll see."
We reached the landing in no time at all, it seemed. I sucked in a deep breath. Mari laughed, and I knew that he had heard me. I let it out shakily. A big stone hallway greeted us. It slipped into a curve ahead of us, blocking my view of what was to come.
"Where are we going?" I asked as we twisted around a corner.
"We are going to see the new supervisor. Chief Komui," Tiedoll said. "He's nice. A bit eccentric, but nice. I like him."
We entered an open space. The whole hall twisted in a circle. I stepped up to the railing and looked down. The darkness below me seemed to go on forever. I stepped back, knowing that with my luck I would fall into the abyss below. Tiedoll was already walking away when I turned back. I ran to catch up with him.
"Where did Mari go?" I asked, as the exorcist had suddenly vanished.
"He mentioned the cafeteria and his room , I believe. This way," he said. Leading me through a door. Heads popped up all around.
"General! Welcome back!" said a man with light brown spiky hair. He was dressed in brown pants and a white dress shirt and tie. He had a cup in his hand and took a long sip from the straw.
"Reever! Good to see you! Is the supervisor here?"
"Yeah. Lets see if I can wake him up," the man, Reever, said. He led us to an office space overflowing with paperwork and books. A man was sleeping face down on the desk. Reever took his shoulder and pushed him.
"Chief! Chief!" he repeated. Then he sighed. "Sorry about this. They are taking Lenalee away again," he said. The man shot up and immediately started crying.
"Lenalee! Stop them! Don't let them take my precious Lenalee!" he sobbed. Then he caught sight of us standing there. Tiedoll looked rather amused. I myself was a little horrified.
The man straightened up and looked at Reever. "Thank you for awaking me, Section Leader Reever. I'll take it from here," he said as he straightened the beret on his shoulder length black hair. His glasses perched at the end of his nose and he was wearing a coat much like Tiedoll's, only his was all white. Both had the strange cross on the breast above the heart. He stepped out from behind the desk and extended his hand to the General.
"Tiedoll," he said. "Welcome back."
"It's good to be back," Tiedoll replied customarily. The man smiled at me. I looked down.
"And who are you?" he asked, crouching down on the balls of his feet, knees bent. He was still smiling.
"I'm Val," I replied shakily. He reached out and grasped my hand in a handshake.
"I'm Komui! Pleased to meet you!"
"It's nice to meet you too," I said. Tiedoll cleared his throat. Komui stood up and turned to face him. Tiedoll gestured him closer and when Komui leaned in, he whispered in his ear. I watched as Komui's face showed a thin mask of shock, his eyes widening just barely. I saw him glance out of the corner of his eye at me.
"Well. That is excellent news! Oh, I'm so excited!"
"Of course she will be my apprentice, right?" Tiedoll asked. Komui nodded vigorously.
"Yes, yes. She will have to see Hevlaska straight away! We need to form an anti-akuma weapon for her," he said in a rush. I realized that Tiedoll must have mentioned that I was to be an exorcist. I stood there in my damp clothes while Komui raved on and on about how Lenalee, whoever she was, would be so excited to have another girl here. He was still chanting when I sneezed.
"Oh dear," Tiedoll said. He rolled his eyes at me, silently apologizing for the man's obsession with this Lenalee girl. "We need to get her warm, dry clothes first. Lenalee's clothes would be too small. The girl is a twig. I think we had better just borrow something of Kanda's for now. He is closest to her size. We'll meet you in Hevlaska's chamber, Komui," Tiedoll said.
He ushered me from the room. We walked down the hall. I was trembling, from both the cold and wetness of my clothes, and the fact that I was to meet another exorcist. I was incredibly nervous. Tiedoll must have noticed my fear.
"Don't worry," he said.
"Are you sure it's fine for me to borrow some of...um... Kanda's clothes?" I asked, momentarily forgetting his name. Tiedoll smiled.
"Of course. Yu-kun won't mind at all."
I liked this chapter. Do you think I portrayed Komui right? I don't think I did too bad.
In case you are wondering I changed what they say to wake Komui up because I figured that it would be over the top for them to say she's getting married when she's nine years old.
Please Review! Kanda's coming next chapter!