13 The Mission
A gentle shaking woke me. I sat up groggily, my eyes adjusting to the dim light of the room. The dream was still fresh in my mind, and the image of my parents deaths was haunting me through my closed eyelids. I tried my hardest to not blink, hoping that I could keep the image from returning to my mind. The shadow, the man, had been walking towards the closet, and I knew I was probably supposed to be next.
My memory of that day was very vague; I could remember little of what had happened exactly. The Order had tried to get me to remember what exactly had happened, and the Science Department had concluded that I was probably supressing the memory in the back of my mind. I had had the dream once before, on a mission with Kanda. He had been paniking when he managed to wake me, and when I told him what it was he had looked at me sadly. Then he told me to put it from my mind, we had a mission to complete.
Now I registered Kanda slipping into his exorcists jacket across the room. Lavi withdrew his hand from my shoulder and stepped back grinning. He too was already dressed in his exorcists clothing.
"Good morning!" he said brightly, pulling his headband onto his head. It made his hair stick up in odd angles. His eyepatch was secure on his forehead, covering his eyes, and there were slight bags under his one visible eye. He looked tired but I knew that he was keeping a record of everything going on at the moment. He would fulfill his duty as a furture Bookman.
"What time is it?" I asked, yawning. I stretched my arms over my head and swung my legs off the bed. Standing up, I grabbed my uniform and headed towards the bathroom to change.
"Six," Kanda grunted from the other side of the room. He held a hair tie in his hand and his hair cascaded down his back.
"I thought we agreed to leave before dawn?" I said.
"I was going to wake you up but-" Lavi said, breaking off to shrug and look pointedly at Kanda. He glared at the red head and angrily pulled his hair back into its usual ponytail. His cheeks flushed.
"But?" I pried.
"Kanda said to let you sleep and that we could wait a few hours to get started. And you know how he is, always rearing to get going on missions. He willingly decided to wait," Lavi said, astonished.
"Baka usagi! Don't make it sound like that!"
"Like what? Like you are crushing on Val? I know you just wanted to watch her sleep some more!"
"Lavi!" we both yelled simultaneously, Kanda with anger, me with an admonishing tone. I could feel my cheeks growing hot and I quickly entered the bathroom, shutting the door behind me.
I was, and though I would never admit it to him, surprised that Kanda hadn't woken me up. Every other time we were on missions together he never had any problem poking and prodding me until I would wake. The fact that he had made the choice to let me sleep and not wake me was a little shocking.
What Lavi said, though, had me thinking. Kanda couldn't possibly have a crush on me anyway. The thought was ridiculous. Surely he thought of me only as a friend. He certaintly only ever treated me as a friend. I shook my head, deciding that it was best if I let it go and turned on the water in the shower, hoping the hot water could clear my mind.
KANDA'S P.O.V.
I watched Val go into the bathroom, her cheeks slightly pink and her long hair making a curtain about her face. I heard the lock click from across the room. I waited for a moment, and as I knew it would, the shower water began to run. Excellent, I thought. Then I was across the room in two strides, knocking Lavi back into the wall. I had one hand on the wall behind him, my other arm bent with the forearm pressing against his chest.
"What the hell is your problem?" I sneered, my mouth right next to his ear. Lavi slipped out from beneath my arm and skirted to the other side of the room.
"Nothing. I'm perfectly fine, thank you," he joked. My anger boiled up inside me and I fought the urge to punch him in the face. I glared at him. Lavi shuddered under my gaze.
"You should try smiling more," he said. Then, as an afterthought, "Val likes when you smile."
I didn't hesitate this time, and when my foot collided with Lavi's stomach, I barely realized that I had moved. He doubled over, the breath knocked out of him.
"Don't talk like that," I said.
"You like her!" Lavi accused, his breath short. "I can tell!"
"You're wrong," I said, trying to sound sure, because, in truth, I wasn't sure anymore how I felt of Val. It was like overnight I had realized that even though she was an exorcist, she was also a woman. And last night had me worrying over her.
It had been years since she had had that dream. The first time she had it we had been on a mission. I was a little cold toward her, telling her that she needed to ignore the dream and focus on the mission. I was truly scared for her, though.
Val was the only person I felt comfortable talking to. I opened up to her and her alone. I told her everything. Well, most things. I hoped that I would never have to tell her about the lotus flower or my tattoo, both of which she was very curious about. I didn't want to see her face when I told her that they were both sort of measurements of my life.
Lavi was watching me with a smirk. It was like he could see the gears turning in my head, analyzing anything I had done to show that I may have a crush on Val. I tried to keep my face emotionless, and it was an easy thing for me to do.
"No. I'm certain I'm right," he said. "How could you not? I mean, Val is pretty cute. If you're not going to go after her, I think that maybe I will."
VAL P.O.V. AGAIN!
I walked out of the bathroom just in time to see Kanda lunge at Lavi and punch him in the face. Shocked, I dropped my things and ran over to where the two were now brawling on the floor.
"Stop!" I cried. I tried to pull Kanda off of Lavi, but he shrugged me off. I fell to the floor, smacking my elbow on the corner of the coffee table.
Pain shot up through my fingertips and I cried out. KAnda immediately dropped the fist he had ready and turned to me. Lavi, though, was quicker and was at my side within a second of Kanda lowering his arm. He held my waist and pulled me up.
"Are you okay?" he asked. I looked at Kanda, who looked livid. Lavi noticed what I did not; that Kanda's glare kept trailing to his hand around my waist.
"I'm fine," I said, rubbing my elbow. "Lavi, you're bleeding!"
"It's fine," he said, swatting my hand away as I reached out to his bloddy nose. He let go of me and wiped the blood with the sleeve of his jacket.
"Why did you punch him?" I asked Kanda. He glared at Lavi.
"Che."
"Kanda?"
"As if I'd tell you," he snarled.
"Oh. Okay," I said, hurt at his harsh tone. He had always told me everything and now suddenly he was keeping secrets? I felt my eyes fill up with tears and quickly breshed them away. He saw the wetness in my eyes and his face softened. He lowered his arms from his chest.
"I'm sorry," he said. Behind me Kanda saw Lavi smile at his apology. "What happened was...well it's not important. I shouldn't have punched him. I'm sorry."
"Yeah, don't worry about it Val," Lavi said. "I provoked him anyway. Come on. Let's get going."
I followed Lavi and Kanda out of the room and downstairs into the lobby. The man at the front desk was sitting in a chair, snoring as he slept. We crept quietly to the door and pushed it open, letting the cold air blow snow into the lobby, where it melted on the carpet.
I pulled my scarf closer around my neck as we wound our way through the town. The air was bitter cold and it felt like thousands of tiny needles were poking my skin. Lavi seemed to feel the same way, as he too kept winding his scarf closer to his neck. Kanda seemed to be unfazed by the wind, and kept walking with his head held up, no scarf.
We reached the edge of town and the start of the forest. The trees cast eerie shadows on the ground from the morning moon. I shivered, only this time it was not from the cold. The whole forest seemed to radiate a chilling vibe and I drew closer to Kanda, clutching his sleeve. He looked down at me quickly, letting me know that he would keep me safe, blinked and turned back to face the forest.
"Let's go," he said. We walked forward.
The tree bark was rough beneath my palms. I was walking with my arms out, letting the trees graze my skin as I passed. We had been walking for hours in the knee deep snow, and I was tiring. My stomach felt like it was going to explode, as I hadn't eaten since dinner the previous evening. The sun was high in the sky and I guessed that it was about noon.
Kanda was walking a few yards ahead of me, the least tired of all of us. Lavi was a ways behind me, moving incredibly slowly. I trudged through the snow, attempting to place my feet in the holes already dug out by Kanda's.
Kanda turned around and called behind him.
"Lavi! Pick up the pace!"
"Huh!"
"Stop walking!"
Lavi made an awkward attempt at joggin through the snow. Kanda snorted.
"Jogger!"
"Not happy when I walk. Not happy when I jog. There is only one conclusion! I must crawl!" he declared.
Kanda made a loud noise of dissent and started walking again. Lavi winked at me, but ran and caught up to us. He walked in tandem with me behind Kanda.
We continued to walk for what seemed like forever. I was starting to get seriously hungry, and my toes were freezing. We had made no progress and we had no clue how ling we would have to continue to walk. Kanda was getting visibly frustrated.
Being the stealthy boy that he is, I didn't realize that he had stopped walking until I plowed right into him. Unfortunately, given my coordination, I completely lost my balance and fell backward into the snow. It exploded around me as I landed a foot below the surface.
Hysteric laughter reached my ears. Then a shout, the thud of two things colliding, and a gasp of pain. I pulled myself up and deduced what I had missed.
Lavi, doubled over clutching his stomach,had been laughing at my misstep. Kanda, already agitated with the lack of progress had hit Lavi in the stomach with the hilt of his katana, which he was clipping back onto this belt. I had been left to help myself.
"What the hell?" Lavi gasped. His bandana slipped forawrd on his head and fell into the snow. Kanda sighed.
"You're too loud. You could give away our position to any akuma around," he said in a monotone. Lavi made a retort back and soon the too were arguing. Loudly.
Exasperated, I climbed into a tree and sat between two branches, waiting for the fight to blow over. Getting involved would only make Kanda angry with me, and I didn't want that.
"... and you never take things seriously!" Kanda yelled. "Is this all a joke to you? Do you like seeing your comrades die?"
"That's taking this too far!" Lavi growled.
"What if it was Bookman next?" Kanda sneered. I inwardly groaned at his lack of tact.
"What! That is low, and you know it!" Lavi yelled. Kanda turned around.
"Don't you walk away! Come back, you weak piece of -"
"Stop!" I yelled. "That's enough! You two are comrades! You should be protecting each other, not fighting!" Tears started to roll from my eyes. Lavi immediately looked ashamed and Kanda stopped glaring at Lavi.
"I'm sorrt Val. I didn't mean to make you cry," Lavi said, looking up at me. I jumped down from the tree.
"It's okay," I said, giving him a hug.
"I'm sorry for for fighting with you too, Kanda."
"Che."
"Kanda, please apologize to Lavi."
"Che." He folded his arms.
"Kanda!"
"Fine! I apologize for saying those things," he said in an even tone.
"Apology accepted," Lavi said. Then, in a lower tone to me, "Even though it wasn't very sincere."
"Sorry," I whispered back, my own apology for Kanda's actions. Lavi shrugged.
"Anyway," he said louder, "what now?"
"What do you mean 'what now?'" Kanda said angrily, unable to mask his frustration.
"Well, we're at the place where the Innocence was traced to."
"Really! How do you know?" I asked.
"Mental record of everything," Lavi replied, tapping his temple twice with his pointer finger. I smiled at my friend's ability to know, well, everything.
"Split up," Kanda ordered. "Yell if you find anything." He dashed off. Lavi shook his head and turned to me.
"Good luck Val."
"Thanks. You too. Be safe."
"Mhmm. Shin!" His hammer extended and Lavi disappeared. I turned the other direction and started walking, scouting the area for the usual unusual phenomena.
The forest was silent. I could hear only my breathing and the sound of the snow beneath my feet being packed together. It was unsettling. My own movements held me rigid with anticipation, and I kept my bow in one hand, my other constantly lingering behind me, hold onto the shaft of an arrow.
The gound sloped unexpectedly downward. A flat level of land lay at the bottom of the hill, like a valley of sorts. I picked my way cautiously down the slope. Without warning, my foot slipped and I found myself tumbling down the hill. I rolled out onto the flat.
I put my hands beneath me and pushed up. I looked around and saw that my bow was laying at the top of the hill. I lifted one foot and took a step forward. Underneath me, the ground shifted. I looked down as a crack like gunshot erupted from the ground. Out in the forest, I knew that Lavi and Kanda had heard. I looked down at the crack. Water pushed its way through what I understood now to be ice on top of a small lake. I screamed as the ice broke entirely where I stood, and I plunged into the water.
All around me was darkness. I struggled in the icy water. I opened my eyes and could see the surface where I fell through, but no matter how hard I struggled I could not get my body to move upward. It was as if something was dragging me down. My lungs felt like they were going to burst and dots erupted in front of my eyes. I knew then that I was going to drown and stopped fighting.
The realization did not fill me with terror. I only regretted that I couldn't have seen Kanda once more before my passing. I wanted to say goodbye. He was my best friend, the one who looked out for me, the one I loved. His face swam in my mind. I could see him yelling, gesturing wildly. I thought that he should be smiling as I was going to die. If anything, all I wanted was to see his smiling face. But here he was taking off his jacket and boots.
Stupidly, I understood. I was still alive and Kanda was here. He was here to save me, as always. I started to fight again. I couldn't believe I had just accepted death so callously. I could feel my strength leaving me, and just as I felt myself about to give up for the second time arms wrapped around me and pulled me upward. My head broke the surface and I tried to gasp for air, but instead ended up spitting up water.
Lavi grabbed me and pulled me out. I lay in the snow, gasping for air. My chest was tight and I felt like a huge weight was sitting on my chest. I turned my head to see Kanda laying next to me, panting. He rolled over onto his hands and knees so that his head was right above mine.
"Are you alright?" he asked in a panicked tone. I tried to say 'yes' but I ended up having a coughing fit and started to spew more water from my lungs.
"She needs a doctor," Lavi said. I felt someone gather me up into his arms. I looked up to see Kanda holding me. My cheeks flushed red in embarasment, but Kanda just looked at me with even more concern and Lavi put a hand on my forehead.
"She's running a small fever."
"I'll run back with her," Kanda said.
"No," Lavi replied. Kanda started and glared angrily.
"I'm the fastest!" he protested.
"Actually, I am. I can use Odzuchi Kodzuchi to get there."
Kanda looked reluctant as he handed me over to Lavi. Lavi sat on his hammer and positioned me in front of himself, holding onto me from behind.
"Don't worry," he said. "I'll take care of her."
Kanda nodded. "Fine. I'll continue without you."
"Good luck," Lavi said.
"Che." He started to back away. "Don't do anything stupid Lavi. If she gets sick, I'll kill you."
"Right. I'll hold you to that then. Shin!" We started forward in a burst of speed and left Kanda behind. Kanda watched until Lavi and I were but a speck in the forest, before turning around and sprinting off.
Lavi held onto me tightly the whole way back to the town. He cursed every time I had a coughing fit and needed to stop to regain my breath. In time we reached the town and got to the hospital, where I was admitted and spent the majority of the evening undergoing various tests.
Later, in my hospital bed, Lavi came in. He walked over and pulled an extra chair right up close to my bedside. I let him hold my hand in his strong grasp.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes. I don't have pnuemonia or frostbite or anything. Just a high fever."
"Okay," he said, nodding. He lay his head down on the bed and was soon snoring. I fell asleep listening to the sound of his breathing.
An increase in my fever temperature woke me up hours later. Lavi had slumped back in his chair, so he didn't wake when I started to thrash around in discomfort. I had not realized that Kanda was there until his strong hands were on my shoulders, preventing me from moving any further. He pushed aside the IV cord and sat down on the bed.
"Val, relax. Here," he said, passing me a glass of ice water. I drank it greedily, not realizing how dry my throat was until the water soothed the pain. I took a deep breath after gulping the water.
"How are you?" he whispered.
"I'm okay. Lavi's been here for a while. He fell asleep almost as soon as he sat down."
"Che. You can't trust him to do anything."
"Kanda."
He made a face that said that he wanted to protest, opened his mouth, then closed it again. He stood up.
"At any rate, I've found the Innocence and have it. There was a small akuma gathering, which I eliminated. We should be able to leave on the next train, which is later today. That is, if you get discharged by then."
"Alright," I said, taken aback by his abrupt change in mood. He nodded and then said that he was going to go back to the inn to rest. He started to wake Lavi, but I stopped him. He looked quite peaceful where he was, and even though he was asleep, I liked the company. Kanda said goodbye and left.
As soon as he was gone I broke into tears.
At last! A new post! I'm so sorry that it has taken this long. I made it seven pages long on word, but it doesn't look like it is here.
I hope you liked this. Please, please review. Review to show me you don't hate me.
I'm not quite sure where it is going from here, so I hope it doesnt take me that long to continue the story. Review! Please. :)