CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

"I love you." It sort of just popped out of my mouth. I wasn't even planning on saying anything of the sort. I planned on saying something like "that bastard" or "I'm going to kill the bastard." Really, any variation of "that bastard" was in the cards. But somehow, I didn't say that.

She had finished her story, and she looked so scared and forlorn, so lost and sad, that suddenly, it was all I could think to say. Her innocence was enchanting. No matter what, I felt an inane need to protect her, rather than myself. Humans are selfish creatures, and it seemed foolish to me that I would want to protect her over saving my own skin. It was like that from the first day that I met her.

I remembered seeing her, legs pulled into her chest, her head resting on her knees, wearing my clothing. Tears had been pouring down her cheeks. I had acted like I was disgusted with her. I tried to hate her.

Truth was, I recognized that she was broken, and I found myself wanting to put the pieces back together. I tried to hate her for making me feel like that. I hated myself more.

There had once been one other person who I wanted to protect. That person annoyed me to no end, yet I still chose to let that person be my friend. In the end, I was forced to destroy that person. I lost someone whom I had loved and I vowed never again to let that happen.

Val was the kind of person that you wanted to protect. You didn't want her to feel any pain or sorrow. The first day I saw her, I recognized that in her, and I felt myself want to keep her safe. Every fiber of my being protested against these feelings, so I tried to hate her. I didn't want to get hurt again by being unable to safe yet another human being.

Somehow, though, she broke through my defenses. We became friends, and all those feelings of needing to protect her grew stronger and stronger. They've enveloped me. Protecting her, keeping her safe, became my main priority. Now, I know that those feelings continued to grow and grow into something more. Love.

I never meant to fall in love.

VAL P.O.V.

"I love you." The words that came out of his mouth were a shock. I had not been expecting that kind of response to my story. I didn't know what to say. My body was in shock. I couldn't move, my lips couldn't form coherent sentences. I sat there, dumbfounded and unsure of what to say.

KANDA P.O.V.

She wasn't talking. I started to panic. I shouldn't have said anything, shouldn't have told her how I really felt. I thought for sure that she felt the same way. I couldn't think of what to do. Do I stay there? Do I ask if she loves me too? Or do I just pass it off as some sick joke?

I did the next best thing. I ran. I stood up and walked out the door. I practically ran to the elevator, where I cut off an elderly couple trying to get in. I closed the doors on them. The woman seemed appalled. So was I.

The doors opened, and I began to walk to the revolving door that led the way to my escape. I couldn't stop thinking about what had just happened, about how I was a fool for letting my feelings finally show, and at the wrong moment nonetheless.

I thought I could hear her calling my name. I shook my head, trying to ignore the sound of her voice pounding through my mind. I was halfway across the lobby.

"Kanda."

It was all in my head.

"Kanda!"

Why couldn't she leave me alone? I already recognized my foolishness.

"Kanda!"

"WHAT!" I yelled, circling around. "Oh."

She was standing there, on the other side of the lobby. So it wasn't in my mind, I thought. She was calling after me.

We stood there, staring at each other for what felt like eternity. Then, finally, "I love you too."

I was across the room in no time at all, holding her in my arms. I promised myself I would never let go.

VAL P.O.V.

I sat in the hotel room for maybe a minute before what he had said really sank in. It was a dream come true. Cliché, I know. But at that moment I couldn't think of any other way to describe it. I had loved him for so long and he never seemed to reciprocate those feelings. I imagined that he just didn't see me the way that I saw him. To find out that I was wrong, that he did feel that way, was an incredible feeling. By the time he was out the door, I knew I had to gather the courage to tell him that I loved him too. I couldn't lose my chance, because otherwise it would be too late and the chance would never again come.

I ran from the hotel room, sprinted to the elevator, only to see that it was on the wrong floor. I couldn't wait, so I took the stairs. I practically slid down the banisters, anything to get me to him faster. I pushed open the door of the stairwell and ran to the lobby. He was already halfway across, his shoulders slumped.

"Kanda," I said.

He didn't hear me.

"Kanda!" I called a little louder.

He shook his head.

"Kanda!" I yelled.

"WHAT!" he yelled, spinning on his heel. "Oh," he said when he saw me.

The moment had come. I licked my dry lips, hoping that I would be able to voice my feelings aloud. I took a deep breath.

"I love you too."

And then I was in his arms. He had never held me like this. His arms were wrapped around me, and he was holding me tightly to him. My arms were tight to my side, trapped by his. My head was against his chest, and he bent his head to lean his forehead against the crown of my head. I wanted to stay like that forever.

There was nothing except me and him, holding each other.

He was watching them. He saw the Asian man run across the lobby to hold the girl in his arms. It was terribly cute how they were holding each other: so tightly it seemed as if they would blend into one body. He grinned.

A hand rested itself lightly on his shoulder. Lord Tyki Mikk turned his head to the side to look at the woman who had touched him. She was a young woman, in her early twenties, with long blond hair tied back in a purple ribbon. She was wearing a black suit with a blue tie, high heeled boots, and dark sunglasses.

"How touching," she said, sarcasm lacing through her voice. Mikk chuckled.

"Now Lulu Bell," he began, "let them have their fun. They're young, in love."

"Love is a ridiculous concept," Lulu Bell said.

"To you, maybe. To them, it is not. They've loved each other for a long time. I think that Kanda Yu just recently realized what his feelings toward Valeriya are. Through my observations, however, I could always see that he loved her. It just took him a while to realize that his desire for her was that."

"Desire and love are two different things, Tyki," Lulu said.

"I suppose it would be unwise of me to argue with you about that, as you are the Noah of Lust. Of course you would know better than I."

Lulu Bell said nothing, simply watched as the young couple left the hotel, oblivious to the fact that they were being watched.

"That they have declared their love for each other only makes my job easier. It won't be difficult to destroy them while they are distracted with each other."

"The Russian girl, I've noticed that she is very protective of Kanda. She values his safety more than her own. She is the weak link."

Lulu Bell nodded. She smiled softly.

"I already have a plan," she said. Tyki Mikk grinned hugely.

Val and I were walking through the city. I kept sneaking glances at her. She kept smiling, and it seemed that every time I glanced at her, she would glance at me.

"So what are we doing?" she asked.

"We are looking for Mari. We have to make a plan of action. We're no closer to finding the general than we were before."

Val nodded, her eyes setting into battle mode. It was unbearably endearing. I wanted to reach out and push her hair out of her eyes, hold her face in my hands. I kept walking.

"He should hear us coming," I said. "I'm sure he's not far."

"Kanda."

"What?"

"What are we doing?"

"What do you mean? I told you what we're doing."

"No. I mean, what are we doing? We're at war, and yet, all of this," she said, gesturing wildly.

"All of this?" I asked, confused.

"This. Us. You and me. What are we doing?"

I stopped walking. I grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face me. "Val. We're doing what we should have done a long time ago. This should have happened years ago, when I first met you. I've loved you since the day you carried me to the hospital, after I was injured by that akuma, when we were only eleven years old. I loved you when we became friends, even though I always yelled and got irritated with you. When we were on that mission with Lavi, I was jealous that he was the one to carry you back to the village after you fell through that ice. And at that ball, I thought you looked absolutely stunning. You're beautiful and so kind to everyone, even if they don't deserve your kindness. I love you."

I stood there, holding her shoulders, forcing her to face me. She was crying.

"Oh Kanda, I love you so much," she said. And then I kissed her.

After finding Mari, we grabbed some food from the local market, making sure to find soba for Kanda, and returned to the hotel, where the three of us sat down to discuss what the next step was. I was still recovering from the kiss.

"If only the General had his own Timcampy, then we would be able to find Tiedoll. Too bad we aren't looking for Marian," I said.

"General Cross Marian won't be found unless it is in his own interest to be found. He is the only general who is hiding. Tiedoll isn't purposely hiding from us," Mari said.

"I don't care if we find the General at all," Kanda said. I shook my head at his remark.

"Finding the General is important to the Order, Kanda," Mari said. "We can't fail. The Noah are on the move again. Their involvement can only mean that the Earl is planning something. We must stop him."

"I know."

We continued our planning, each of us throwing out ideas, each idea more ridiculous that the last.

"Why don't we torture Kanda until the General comes and saves him? Tiedoll has a special bond with his Yuu-kun," I joked. Kanda pushed me off the couch.

I was about to act like I was horribly offended by his behavior when we heard screams coming from outside in the streets. Kanda stood up, grabbing Mugen off of the table.

"What the hell?" he said, moving quickly to the window. "Shit."

Without even hesitating, Kanda pushed open the window and jumped out. I screamed. We were three stories up and he just jumped out a window. Mari turned is head to me, as if he could see the panic on my face.

"Let's move. Grab your Innocence." For the second time that morning, I ran from the hotel room to find Kanda.

I burst through the lobby, registering frightened faces. An explosion erupted from outside. I pushed through the crowd of people, some of them guests of the hotel, others just random passerby from the streets. This was bad. I made it outside to the street.

It was chaos. People were laying on the streets, some injured, some dead. Huge craters dented the street. Akuma were everywhere. I knew I should burst into action, but my heart wouldn't let me. I needed to find Kanda, make sure that he was alright.

Mari was already fighting the demons. "Val!" he yelled.

I just barely managed to get my dagger before a Level Two launched itself at me. I cut it's leg, causing it to cry out in pain, and quickly set my bow and shot an arrow into it's heart. It exploded in a mess of metal and blood, covering me in the sticky substance.

I had no choice but to continue fighting akuma. There were too many, and no time to find Kanda. I was panicked. I found myself praying to God, for the first time in my life, to keep Kanda safe.

Arrow after arrow, slice after slice, I fought. Mari was gone, having followed an akuma swarm somewhere else in the city. There were so many.

A giant hand came toward me, and pinned me to the stone wall of a building. My head struck the stone, and I could feel blood start to trickle down my neck. The Level Two in front of me smiled.

"Hello, Exorcist," it said. I spat blood out of my mouth.

"You've put up a great fight. I've been watching you."

"Let go of me," I said. I knew it was no use. There were too many akuma. We wouldn't win, and I was already done for. I searched frantically for Kanda, craning my neck every way possible.

"What are you looking for, Exorcist?" the akuma asked. It cocked it's head to the side, giving me a view of what was going on behind him. Demons were everywhere, shooting bullets, making huge craters in the ground, and killing people who couldn't get to safety fast enough.

"I asked you a question!" the akuma screamed, it's face contorting into grotesque anger. It punched me in the stomach, and I curled over as far as I could, gasping for breath.

"She's looking for me," said a familiar voice from above. I didn't have time to look up before he jumped down from the terrace, slicing the akuma in two. Blood spattered both of us, and at this point I couldn't tell what blood was mine, and what blood was from the akuma. My knees gave out beneath me.

"Val!" Kanda crouched down beside me. "Are you all right?"

"I'll be fine. I hit my head pretty hard on the stone when the akuma attacked me."

"Are you okay to fight?"

"I'm not giving up. I can't give up yet. Not until all the akuma are gone, until all the Noah are killed, and not until the Millennium Earl finally loses this battle." I pushed myself up and picked up my bow. Kanda grinned.

"Let's do this." We entered the fight again.

It had been a few hours when, suddenly, the akuma seemed to retreat. I watched in awe as they stopped firing and turned around, soaring in the other direction. I looked at Kanda, who was just as confused as I was.

"Don't let them get away!" he cried. He burst into action, running through the streets, jumping over obstacles in the road. I made to follow him when yet another explosion knocked me off of my feet. I saw Kanda turn around and run back to me, abandoning the fight.

"Val, are you-" he started, before another explosion sent him flying into the side of a building. I heard him cry out in pain.

I started to get up, when I saw something in the corner of my eye. A familiar form was making its way toward us. Mari was running toward us.

"Val! Kanda!" he yelled.

"Mari!" I cried, thankful to see him. "What was that explosion? Why did all the akuma retreat?"

He reached me, putting a hand on my shoulder. "I don't know, Val. It's curious. The Earl could easily have won this battle, and yet he called for the demons to return to him. Where's Kanda?"

"Oh!" I turned around, looking for the exorcist in question. "He went to follow the akuma, but an explosion stopped him. He went flying into a wall. I think he might be hurt."

I quickly walked down the road to where I last saw Kanda. The rubble was everywhere, and dust was thick in the air. I searched the sidewalks, but yet again, I couldn't find Kanda.

"Kanda!" I called. "Kanda!"

"I'm right here."

I turned around. There he was, standing behind me. His face was bruised and bloodied.

"Oh. Hi."

He shook his head and smirked. "Hi." Then he turned to Mari.

"I tried to follow the swarm, but obviously," he said, gesturing around, "that didn't work out. It so strange that they suddenly left."

I only half-listened as Kanda and Mari continued their conversation. Bits of the buildings around us still continued to fall, causing dust to swirl up into the air. It was only for a second, but as the dust swirled up, I thought I saw a figure turn into an alleyway. Curious, I made my way over to the alley. I couldn't see anything, but the alley twisted around a corner, so I continued walking down it.

I turned the corner, and a small gasp escaped me. I heard the sounds of people running over the rubble in the main street, and I knew it was Kanda and Mari, Mari probably having heard my intake of breath. I was shocked at what I saw.

Kanda and Mari soon approached and as they did, I heard Kanda breathe in sharply. "Dammit."

The alleyway opened up into a huge plaza, which was deserted of all people, save one. Standing in the center of the plaza was a man in a black and yellow coat, the Black Order insignia on the breast pocket of the jacket. He was surrounded by Level Two and Three akuma. All of us recognized who he was.

General Froi Tiedoll.

Please review. I love getting your feedback. This chapter kind of sucks, and for that, I am sorry.