Chapter Twenty-Six

My wound was healing nicely. Nurse said that I would soon be able to go back to work as an exorcist. I can't say that I was particularly thrilled, but what was I supposed to do?

I was allowed to leave the infirmary and go back to my own room. It was very comforting to be allowed to sleep in my own bed. There was a picture next to my bed of me and my friends from a few years ago. Lavi, Lenalee, Allen, and I were smiling, while Kanda was scowling at the camera in his typical fashion. I longed for the days when life was easy and we all got along.

I was sitting on my bed, looking at the picture, when there was a knock on my door. Quickly, I got up and opened it. Kanda was standing there, holding a tray with two steaming bowls of soba and two cups of tea. I stepped aside and let him in. He set the tray down on the Japanese table in the room.

"This is a nice surprise," I said, sitting down on one of the pillows that served as seats. He sat down as well, taking a bowl and a pair of chopsticks. He shrugged.

"I was hungry, but it was too loud in the cafeteria," he said. He took a bite of soba. I wasn't put-off by his statement, however. I knew that he had come to make sure I was alright. Smiling to myself, I took a sip of tea.

"How long has it been since Allen and the others left for Edo?"

"A few weeks," Kanda told me. He was sporting a fresh scar on his arm, which he received during a short mission. Komui had been sending him on simple missions until I was well enough to go back into action. I understood his reasoning. We both knew that Kanda could get a little restless.

We made idle chitchat while we ate (well, I made idle chitchat), and when we finished Kanda said that he was going to go to the training hall. He grabbed his tray and was at the door before turning around.

"Val," he said. I looked at him questioningly. He jerked his head in a gesture that I took to mean that he wanted me to come over. I walked to the door.

"What? What is it?" I asked. He kind of smirked before leaning down and giving me a kiss.

"Nothing. See you later," he said, and then he walked away. Smiling, I closed my door.

ONE WEEK LATER

Komui had called Kanda, Mari, Tiedoll, and me into his office. We were sitting on the purple couch in front of his desk, wondering what he could possibly want. He was currently not in the room, a fact that Kanda was quite angry about.

"Why the hell call us here if he isn't even going to be in the damn room?" he said angrily. I had to hide my laughter at his lack of patience. He noticed, however, and shot me a look that could kill. This only served to make me laugh even more.

"Alright, settle down, settle down," Komui said as he strolled into the room, taking great care to pour coffee into a bunny mug. He took a sip as he sat down behind his desk. Reever walked into the room just seconds later, his arms filled with papers.

"You need to sign these, Chief," he said, setting them down on the already overflowing desk.

"Not now Reever, I'm busy," he said with a wave of his hand, accidentally (or purposefully) hitting the tower of papers and causing them to scatter.

"Chief!"

"Reever, please leave us."

"One of these days, Komui," Reever muttered mutinously as he stormed from the room.

"Now then," Komui said after the door had closed. "I'm afraid I have some very bad news."

He paused, and I felt worry settle on my bones. Bad news? What had happened? He took a sip of coffee, and seemed unsure of how next to proceed.

"Well?" Kanda snarled. "What?"

"It appears as if Allen has gone missing."

There was stunned silence for a moment and then Kanda spoke.

"Missing?" he said. "How can he have gone missing?"

"He was separated from Lenalee and the others. Lavi and Lenalee searched for him, but he has disappeared. We are unsure what to make of this, and we are unsure as to whether there was any Noah involvement in this occurrence. We don't know for sure if he is dead or not. But the fact that there was no body for us to find is, to say the least, disturbing."

"We are sending you all out to meet the others in Edo. We have recently acquired knowledge that the Earl is planning some sort of movement and, without Allen, the others couldn't possibly dream of taking on the Earl, especially in their weakened state. I know the news comes as a blow to you, but we have no time to mourn. You leave in two hours time."

Komui stood up and gestured for us to leave. We walked out single file, and as soon as I passed through the door, Reever barged back in, the stack of papers ready in his hands and a look of determination on his face. I silently wished him luck.

"Well," began Tiedoll, "this is unsettling news." He opened his mouth again to say something else, but Mari placed a hand on his shoulder.

"We should all get ready to leave," he said. I nodded and watched as he and Tiedoll walked away towards their rooms. I turned towards Kanda, unsure of what to say. He reached down and took my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze of reassurance.

"It's so terrible," I said. "I hate this war."

"I know," he replied. He began to walk, pulling me along behind him. I let him tug me through the Order and to my room.

"Get ready," he said. "I'll be back."

I nodded, and retreated into my bedroom. Once inside, I collapsed on the bed and shut my eyes, keeping them tightly closed as if I could block out all of the pain. Sighing, I rolled onto my side. Tears didn't come like I had expected. Instead my eyes felt painful and tight, like I had already been crying for hours. They were exhausted. I knew that I needed to get up and prepare to leave, but my body felt like lead. Slowly, I drifted off to sleep.

In the dream, I was walking along a tree- lined path. I was wearing a simple day dress, and the light fabric fluttered weakly in the wind. The trees were blossoming, and white and pink flowers were opening before my eyes. I paused and reached out, plucking one from the tree. The cherry blossom in my hand seemed to be pulsing.

Suddenly, the wind picked up and blew the flower from my hand. It flew this way and that, and I found myself running to catch it. I was struggling to keep up when the wind suddenly died. The flower drifted delicately to the ground. I bent over and looked at it. It had wilted and was dying at a rapid rate. Alarmed, I looked around and stared in shock. All of the trees were shedding their blossoms, each delicate flower wilting and dying.

All along the ground, vines began to crawl. They slithered over the ground, crushing the flowers beneath their bellies. I traced them back to their source and saw that they came from an ugly, weathered tree at the end of the path. It was huge and gnarled and gave off an ominous aura. Suddenly, images flew into my mind. The face of Daisya was first, followed by numerous Finders, and then lastly Allen. I realized then that this tree was dangerous. I tried to run, but no matter which way I went, the tree was always there.

A new face swam into my vision. Kanda. In the back of my mind, I could hear the tree laughing. His face was still there. Panicking, I spun around on the spot, but it was no use. I couldn't get his face out of my mind. I knew that it was bad that I should see him right now. I shook my head, screamed, dug my nails into my palms, but his face stayed. Suddenly, the image began to grow. I saw the whole of Kanda. He was lying on the ground, eyes closed. His hands were folded over his chest, gripping his katana sword. I called his name, but he wouldn't answer me. I knelt down next to him and nudged him. He didn't stir.

Desperate, I shook him. It was no use.

"He won't wake up, Val," came a voice. I turned around. There was no one there.

"Who said that?" I called. "Who's there?"

"He won't wake up," the voice repeated. It seemed to be coming from the warped tree. I could feel the anxiety in my chest. He had to wake up. He was only sleeping, wasn't he?

"I know what you're thinking," said the voice. "But he's not asleep."

"Yes, he is," I said to the voice.

The tree was closer somehow. It was shaking violently, and I heard a high, cruel laugh. Slowly, the tree began to transform. I stared in awe as it took on a new shape. When the new shape had completely formed, I gasped in terror.

"What don't you understand, Val? He won't wake up. He won't wake up, because he's dead." The Millennium Earl threw back his head and laughed.

I woke with a start, shooting upright in my bed. I gasped and breathed in huge gulps of air. The dream – nightmare- had been so vivid, so real. I shut my eyes, but the image of the Earl was emblazoned on the back of my eyelids. I willed myself to calm down, and wished desperately for a cup of chamomile tea to soothe my nerves.

The door to my bedroom burst open. Kanda strode in, looking incredibly agitated. I pushed my hair back from my face, feeling the sweat on my forehead. Sighing, I swung my legs over the side of my bed. Kanda sat down, the look of extreme agitation still on his face.

"Tiedoll is getting on my last nerve," he said, in lieu of a greeting. His hair, I realized, was no longer in its customary ponytail. His hands skillfully pulled it up and away from his face. He shook his head, and then looked around.

"Why haven't you packed?" he asked. He looked at me for a moment before getting up and kneeling in front of me.

"You don't look well," he said.

"I'm fine," I said. I didn't want him to know what I had dreamt. Also, I didn't want him to think of me as weak.

"Are you sure?" he pressed.

"Yes. I'm positive. I just fell asleep, is all. That's why I haven't packed." Kanda didn't seem to think that this answer would suffice, however.

"Something's happened. I can see it in your face. Tell me."

"Really, Kanda," I said, wishing more than anything that he would drop the subject. "It's nothing."

He looked concerned still. "You've had the dream again, haven't you? The one about your parents?"

"Yes," I lied. I felt horrible about lying to him, but I didn't think that I could bear telling him the truth about the dream. It seemed like a bad omen, as much as I hoped that it wasn't such a thing. My heart was racing, my mind screaming that it needed to be just a dream. Just a dream, only a nightmare. Fiction. Absolute fiction.

Kanda was still staring at me. Was that accusation in his eyes? Could he tell that I was lying? I stood up, thankful that my legs were not as shaky as I thought they would be.

"I should pack. I'll meet you downstairs by the gondolas," I said, moving forward toward my wardrobe so that I wouldn't see his dark eyes staring at me. I opened the heavy oak doors and began pulling out extra shirts and socks, folding them in a deliberate manner.

I heard Kanda sigh. I continued packing with my back to him until I heard the sound of the door closing gently behind him. I turned, saw that I was alone, and sank to the floor. I would not cry. There was no reason too. It had just been a dream, of course, I knew that. But the nagging feeling was there. It had shaken me to my core. Because I wanted nothing more than for Kanda to be alive and well, and any dream that showed otherwise rattled me.

I pushed the dream from my mind and began to shove more clothing into my suitcase. Finally, when it was zippered securely, I stood up. Taking a deep breath, I left the room, closing the door securely behind me.

I arrived to the underground canal, where Mari helped me into a gondola. Kanda was already sitting in it, and he wouldn't look at me. Tiedoll kept glancing between us. I sat down next to Kanda as the Finder on our team started to push the gondola forward.

"Is everything all right Yu?" Tiedoll asked. Kanda was sitting with his arms across his chest, glaring out at the walls of the underground tunnel.

"Tch."

I wanted to reach out and touch his arm, but I knew that my touch would be unwelcome. Kanda knew that I had lied. There was now no doubt in my mind. I wasn't the best liar on a good day, and Kanda was unusually shrewd in his assessment of others. I glanced at his face, trying to catch his eye, but he ignored me. Sighing, I focused instead on the gentle rocking of the gondola in the water, hoping to think up some way to explain my dream without letting Kanda know that I thought it a bad omen.

My dear readers,

It has been a long time. I won't try to make excuses, other than to say that I lost inspiration for this story. I truly do want to finish this story for you all. I don't know how long it will take me, I don't know when I will be able to post again. I leave on Monday for Peru, where I will be for a month. I'm bringing my laptop, so hopefully I will be able to write while I am there, but I won't be able to post anything. Once again, I apologize for the horribly long delay in presenting you all with a new chapter. I hope you enjoyed this one, it's not my favorite, but I did enjoy the part with Komui being Komui.

Please review. I will write more as soon as I can.