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Chapter 11 here!
Sorry guys. I realized that in the previous chapter Dem was OOC. I am writing several stories at once and am messing up the character-ness. Sorry. Her correct personality would be back in this chapter…somehow.
Writing this with Versailles' album on loop XD I love them.
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"Are you done checking already?" Desdemona asked quite impatiently. The Head Nurse was checking her over for any signs of illness. It was weird, they told her that she fainted and barely had any signs of life. It's quite odd; she didn't remember feeling ill…just…just the other half talking to her.
"Be patient!" The nurse commanded. "I'm checking your wound. I did remove the stitches a few days ago but it still needs to be checked again for infection!"
The girl stayed quiet as the Nurse checked her all over again.
It was the third day. They did say that she could go after the 3rd day. It was 11:58 at night, so two minutes left. The Nurse was not going to let her out early, even for a minute. She sighed. Allen…she wondered how he was doing. Komui told her that he woke up three days ago. He also told her that his Innocence saved his life and filled in the hole in his heart. It's now in some foggy form that follows Allen around.
You should go.
I know. That's a bit late, don't you think?
No, I don't think going now is late.
No, I'm saying you suggesting that to me was a bit late…
Just go…
The grandfather clock standing in the hallway struck twelve. The girl and the nurse both heard it from inside the girl's room.
In the blink of an eye, the girl stood up from her bed and got everything ready. She had her coat on, her weapon at her belt and she even packed her luggage. The Head Nurse sighed. She probably prepared her suitcase days beforehand. "Go, go, go." She said in an annoyed tone as she waved the girl away.
The Eurasian girl smiled gently, "Thanks, Head Nurse. I'll be back."
"No, you don't have to come back." The Nurse said sarcastically.
The girl looked around her room once more before heading out the door and closing it behind her.
The Head Nurse stood up and looked around, planning to put anything out of place back into its right spot. There was nothing out of place. In fact, that's the thing that's out of place. The Head Nurse looked to the floor. Teenagers are supposed to have messy rooms, they are supposed to have dirty clothes lying around, they are supposed to have their beds covered in rubbish, and they are supposed to be screamed at by parents or guardians for their messiness. Then, they are supposed to smile sheepishly or argue back, they are supposed to do a speed 'clean up' that actually does nothing at all, they are supposed to then just fall asleep on their dirty beds like nothing in the world worries them.
They are supposed to worry about nothing.
They are supposed to have fun.
They are supposed to enjoy childhood.
But instead of piles of useless junk, all the Head Nurse saw was a small pile of blood stained bandages in the tray beside her. Everything else is clean, too clean, so clean for a child's room that it almost seemed empty, cold, even. Like no one is living here at all, no signs to suggest that this may be a home.
The Nurse suddenly felt that if she looked into the wardrobe, she may again find some signs of life. She walked over to the tall, wooden furniture and opened it. Inside, there was one uniformed coat that was for backup and a plain, black coat hanging on the horizontal bar. Underneath, a neatly folded pile of white shirt sat on the wood. Two rolls of extra bandage stood beside the shirts.
This room…made the Nurse realize something that was a part of everyday life. Every day she spent with the Order and the exorcists. Every day she was reminded of that something, until the point that that little acknowledgement simply fades out into neglect.
God is cruel. The World is cruel. Must they ask children to fight with their lives on the line? Must they put the burden of the entire world on their small shoulders? Must they rob them of their own childhood, or maybe even adulthood, even their very life?
She was powerless, she was weak. She was not chosen by God, that was a blessing in itself. However, she remembered the reason she is where she is now. Because even if she can't fight like them, she may still offer some insignificant support. She, at lease, can provide them with a safe place they can return to when they're hurt. She can at least help them with their recovery if they are hurt. At least she could let them know they are not fighting alone.
But…that's all she could do. That's all the Headquarter could do. That's all the thousands of people supporting the Church could do.
The Head Nurse sighed. That girl, that girl should take care of herself.
She better take care of herself.
Bak led Allen into a large open space within the Asia branch. Allen looked around, there were peculiar patterns on the walls surrounding him. Especially the one behind him. It looked like some sort of electricity circuit.
"This place is where we were before the room with the sealed door…What will we be doing here?" Allen asked Bak.
"You'll be fighting a serious battle." Bak said. Allen looked to Bak and Wong standing 5 meters away in a dark corner. Bak looked past Allen at the wall behind him. "Fou!"
Allen waited in confusion.
"Man, this is troublesome." A voice said from behind the white-haired boy. It was accompanied by the sound of electricity crackling. "It's not my job to be looking over brats, damn it. Stupid Bak."
Allen looked back. From within the wall with circuit-like patterns, a little girl emerged. Allen recognized her as the girl who said she carried him all the way from the bamboo forest, and thus saving his life…Allen thought she was human.
Bak smiled knowingly, "She isn't human. She has a crystalline body fashion from the 'Guardian Deity' my great-grandfather made."
Fou smiled proudly, "In other words, a warrior that protects this branch. I'm pretty strong, Walker." She said as she became separated from the wall.
Suddenly, her arms transformed into big axes and she swung them at Allen. The shocked boy didn't do much to dodge other than taking a small step backwards. Fou moved fast, lifting her arm so that the blade of the axe was at Allen's neck. "Got your neck."
"Tch." Allen gritted his teeth.
Fou smiled. She turned the blade away from the boy and hit him squarely in the chest with the flat side. Allen was sent flying across the room, smashing into a thick pillar.
Bak and Wong covered their face with their hands, both from not wanting to see Allen's pathetic defeat and guilt of dragging Allen into this.
"Ow…" Allen groaned as he fell onto the floor.
Fou looked at Allen boredly. "Fight me seriously, you brat. Unless you're able to invocate your Innocence…I'm really going to kill you."
Bak was dying of guilt. He tried, "T-t-the quickest way to knowing your Innocence is through combat! People have been known to develop rapidly when faced with an impending crisis! When you're driven into a corner, a means of escape will appear before you someway or other!" He tried to justify this decision, "That's what I thought. But I think you should stop, Walker! This approach might be a bit dangerous after all!"
Allen let out a breath and stood up. He wiped the corner of his mouth with his bandaged right hand. "I'll do it. This 'escape when cornered' strategy may be a good idea!"
General Klaud stood in the Altar, before the large Rose cross, and before the hundreds of names carved into wooden boards, just like how they were all carved into each and everyone's heart.
She looked up to the millions of candles surrounding the Altar. "My students have already been cremated…" A stream of tears rolled down her face. "It's just as well…now that you've turned to ash, you no longer need to bear the cross on your shoulders…"
Lau suddenly screeched at something behind the female general.
"They were all a bunch of loser dogs." A low, harsh voice said. "I have nothing to say to them." General Sakaro sat on the ice cold tiled floor of the Altar.
"General Klaud Nine, General Winters Sokaro." Komui stood before the two, holding his white cap to his chest in respect. "The head Generals are waiting."
General Klaud looked back at the large cross. "The girl…"
"She had set off to the Asia Branch." Komui explained.
Klaud sighed. "That girl…" She shook her head. "Let her be, then."
Ping! Pang!
Sounds of metal hitting stone came from within the training room Allen and Fou were fighting. Three small figures hid behind a column.
"Is this all right? He told us not to trespass here." One of them whispered.
"As long as he doesn't find out, we're fine! You want to see his Innocence too, don't you?" Another one replied.
"Ah, what you really want to see is Walker, Roufa!" Another one teased the first one, who was a girl.
"Shh! Quiet!" The second one warned. "They're really going all out."
The three watched the heated battle between the artificial girl and the boy. Allen came to close calls with Fou's blade, it seems like Fou had the upper hand.
Which was good. Because it meant that Allen will be in danger, then his Innocence would react.
Bak watched the battle from inside dark room, on a large screen.
He thought it would work, Allen thought it should work too. But by the looks of it, this method is not doing much other can putting Allen in danger and tiring out Fou.
Someone knocked on the door. "Come in!" Bak said.
Wong came in and stopped in the doorway. "Mr. Walker has a visitor."
Bak raised his eyebrows. That was quick, really quick. "She's here?"
Wong nodded.
"Let her in."
Wong pointed to the screen. Bak looked back to the screen at where Wong pointed. He couldn't see anything. Just Fou and Allen going all out trying to kill each other. Bak got a hold of the control stick and panned the area. Suddenly, there was a figure next to a large pillar. Bak zoomed.
And there she stood, watching the battle with an indifferent expression.
Desdemona tilted her head to the side. They are doing that too. It might work, though. Last time Master used this method and forced her to invocate her Innocence.
Swoosh!
Desdemona was shocked when Fou took a clean swipe at Allen's neck. He tried to defend himself with his Innocence but it didn't stay in its physical form. When it turned back into particles, Allen was left unguarded and Fou took full advantage of that.
Desdemona was shocked. She opened her mouth slightly and took a breath in, as if beginning to talk.
The three hiding behind the pillar Desdemona stood beside gasped. She knew they were there. She knew they weren't supposed to be there. She knew that they were trying to hide. So she didn't react when she saw them, they were quite thankful.
After a second of suspense, during which Allen and Desdemona actually waited for Allen's bloody head to fall off and the three scientists trying to trick themselves into believing their eyes were deceiving them, Allen blinked a few times and held a hand to his neck to check if his head's still there. To his surprise, his neck was still attached.
"Huh? It's still attached?" Allen asked himself.
"Fwaaaah" Fou yawned from behind Allen. He looked back. Fou's body was shimmering in and out of visibility. "Sorry, I'm so tired. I can't keep up my physical state anymore. We've been fighting for over 10 hours so I'm going to take a nap now. We'll continue after I wake up." Fou skipped into the wall where she came from and merged in with the building material.
Allen watched after the artificial girl. He still had his hand around his neck. So if she wasn't sleepy, I would have lost my head? Then, out of both mental shock and physical exertion, Allen fainted.
The four around the large pillar watched as Allen fell down with his legs up in the air. Roufa ran instantly to the boy's side with the two other scientists following close behind. Desdemona was about to walk over when she heard some loud noise.
Snore~
He's snoring. Desdemona noted. Which meant that he's sleeping. Which meant that he was ok. And plus, those three already went, they don't need her.
Desdemona stayed next to the pillar.
A black golem flew over to the crowd around an unconscious Allen. Bak spoke, "YOU GUUYSS! YOU NUMBSKULLS! I TOLD YOU THAT PLACE WAS OFF-LIMIT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!"
The three 'numskulls' smiled awkwardly at the golem. "S-sorry."
Bak was still angry. "Forget it! Since you are already there, carry Walker to a bed! As punishment, you'll be cleaning up the entire data storage room!"
"EEHHHH!" came the response of the three. Bak ignored them, instead he turned around and gave orders to Wong. "Wong, get the IV and bandages for his injuries. After you're done with Allen. Go sort out Dem."
"Yes sir!" Came Wong's reply as he ran to execute his orders.
The girl looked at the three. Shifu (the short male) was trying to wheel a bed into the training grounds. Rikei and Roufa were trying to drag/lift Allen to the bed. Desdemona noticed that Roufa might be struggling, so she ended up going to help too.
Rather than letting Roufa hog up Allen's left side and blocking Desdemona of a great place to get a hold of him, she told Roufa to go do something else that's useful. By the looks of it, Roufa can't find that useful thing to do, so Desdemona'll have to tell her.
The Eurasian girl came up behind Roufa and tapped on her shoulders. The Asian scientist looked back. "Oh, Dem!"
"I'll help Rikei here, you go help Shifu. He seems like he got the bed jammed in between those two poles."
Roufa nodded and ran to Shifu. Desdemona now realized that his left side has nothing for her to throw over her shoulder, like an arm or something. Her brain rarely worked, and this was one of those rare times.
"Rikei!"
The man looked at her. She was in front of Allen, bending her back down. "Put him on my back!"
"Wait, no. I'll do it. You put him on my back." Rikei said.
"Just do it." She insisted.
Rikei did what she told him to. He helped Allen onto the girl's back. He was quite unsure. She was much shorter and smaller than himself. He had a feeling that she won't be able to support Allen's weight.
When Allen's weight was completely placed on her, she adjusted his weight a bit and activated her Innocence. Rikei was quite confused, what is she doing? Then, he saw that she, without touching the whip, willed the whip to wrap around Allen.
Desdemona explained. "To me, everything Thora wraps around reduces in weight. Or else I would no way be able to throw 2 ton akumas around."
Rikei nodded. "But how did you do that?" Referring to her not touching the whip.
"Level 2's other form. Usually used for infiltration and eavesdropping. I can will Thora to crawl and extend in any direction. If I concentrate enough, I can see and hear as everything Thora can see and hear in its position. But in this form, Thora cannot damage anything."
Rikei nodded. Shifu and Roufa seemed to get the bed unjammed from the two poles and wheeled it towards them. Desdemona walked forwards to meet the two and lowered Allen onto the bed.
Wong appeared just in time to mummify Allen with IV and bandages.
"Yeah, she's here." Bak said into the telephone. Komui has been calling him much more frequently these days.
"Is she ok?"
"By the looks of it, she's quite fine."
"If that happens again, get her back to Headquarters immediately."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. What exactly is wrong with her?"
"I don't know. She just suddenly fainted without any signs of life, slept for a whole week and woke up being lively as ever."
"Quite strange…"
"Yeah. How's Allen doing?"
"He's doing the best he can, but he's still unable to invocate. He'll need some more time."
"I see. The boy can be quite brash, so look after his health for him, Bak-chan."
"Yeah, I know."
"And also, how's THAT going?"
"I got some information, pretty vague. I don't even know if it is related to her."
"Tell me anyway."
"Sometime in the past, a daughter of the Qing family, a large family, or I would rather say clan here in China, married their daughter to the Vaughan family in England, who were also quite an influence in London. The marriage was meant for political and industrial friendship."
"Is that all?"
"Yeah…"
Desdemona woke up to an unfamiliar ceiling. She blinked a few times before it registered in her mind that she was at Asia branch. She stretched her arms far above her head and deep breathed.
Why was she here again?
Oh, she was worried about Allen.
But now it seemed stupid. That overwhelming flood of strong emotions was gone. She forgot how it felt like to be worrying about him. It was quite stupid, now that she's thinking over it. It wasn't like her at all. Why would she care anyway?
Why do you care?
I don't know.
You should know.
But I don't.
She was quite annoyed by it, the other half. She wanted it to stop using Bidelia's voice. Makes her miss her every time.
She got up and got dressed before leaving her assigned room. She absent-mindedly wandered through the Asia branch. It's quite a phenomenon, building this entire network of tunnels and chambers within a mountain. She wondered what will happen if there was an earthquake.
The Asian branch probably wouldn't be damaged. It's been standing there for hundreds of years. It's not like it hadn't experienced earthquakes yet.
Unknowingly, her own legs carried her to the training area Allen and Fou were fighting yesterday. She looked around the tall pillar. A visible white head sat on the floor, staring intently at the wall Fou was resting in. He just sat there, staring at the wall.
Desdemona walked up to Allen. He heard footsteps from behind him so he turned his head slightly to see who it was. Because of his low altitude, he only saw her tight pants tucked into her knee-high boots.
"Good morning." Allen greeted.
"What are you doing here?" She said, stopping beside him, staring at the wall with him.
"Waiting." He shrugged. "You arrived yesterday, didn't you?"
"Yes."
"Thank you."
"Who said it was for you."
Allen scratched the back of his head, an awkward silence then stretched on.
"But I guess you should've thanked me anyway."
"Why?" Allen looked innocently up at the girl.
Without lowering her head, she looked down at the boy. "You are so heavy that I felt like dropping you the second I carried you."
Allen laughed awkwardly. She didn't laugh.
"What are you waiting for?"
Allen looked back at the wall. "Fou. She wouldn't come out. She said that she wants to rest for longer."
"It's only 4:30."
"I realized. But I couldn't just sleep and do nothing."
"Why can't you do nothing?" Desdemona asked.
Allen thought it was quite an odd question. But somehow, he knew the answer to this odd question. "Because I must keep on walking forward."
"Why don't you just annoy her until she snaps and comes out to attack you?"
Allen thought about it. It was actually a pretty good idea. But, he didn't want to annoy Fou. She's doing this for him, he can't be too demanding.
"THAT WON'T WORK!" Fou screamed from within the wall. "I ALREADY SAID THAT I DON'T WANT TO EVER COME OUT AGAIN! MY JOB DESCRIPTION NEVER SAID THAT I HAVE TO FIGHT WITH A BRAT NON-STOP FOR HOURS ON END!"
"The faster he can invocate his Innocence, the earlier this will end." Desdemona pointed out.
"NO WAY! I'M NOT COMING OUT TODAY!"
"She says that she won't come out today." Allen stated.
"I know. I am not deaf."
"No, what I'm trying to say is. Just then, before you came, she just said that she won't come out for another 5 hours."
"Are you blaming me now?"
"No."
"Then what are you trying to get at?"
"Nothing…"
Desdemona narrowed her eyes at him. He simply replied by staring at the wall.
She gave up, staring back at the wall too. "Then what are you going to do?"
"Sit here and wait for her to come out."
"I already said. You don't have to wait. Just annoy her out of the wall."
"SHUT UP YOU TWO! IT'S NOT LIKE I CAN'T HEAR YOU! WHY MUST IT BE ME? THAT ANNOYING GIRL CAN FIGHT TOO!"
Allen widened his eyes. Why hadn't he thought of that before?
Desdemona looked slowly down at Allen, again without even lowering her head. Staring back at her was a pair of glittering silver eyes that carried such a huge amount of hope and pleading. She felt uncomfortable, being looked at like that, so she instantly looked away.
Murderous glares, accusing stares, challenging glowers; she's fine with all that. None of them gets to her at all, her animalistic instincts would just make her glare back at them until they admit defeat. But such hopeful gazes, she cannot stand them, for reasons she herself cannot even comprehend. She'd do anything for them to be stop looking at her like that. Even if she turns away, she can still feel the stare on her, and it gives her goosebumps.
"Stop looking at me like that."
"Like what?"
She clenched her hands that were crossed at her chest into fists. She wants to punch him in the eye.
"Fine."
"Fine what?"
"If you so insistently want to be killed, I'll kill you."
"Really?" he replied, excitedly.
Without a warning, a green glowing whip struck at Allen. He dodged just in time.
He looked back at the girl. She was staring right at him with anger in her eyes. He didn't understand. What did he do that angered her so much?
She glowered at him. What sort of response is that? She said that she'll kill him. He asked her, "Really?" She swear, now. She WILL seriously execute the promise she made to herself the first day she met him.
She will definitely kill him…someday. Because right now, she needs to put things into perspective. She needs to put him in considerable danger without killing him. That's even harder.
"W-wait!" He said. Probably stalling time.
She ignored him. Instead she thought more about it. A whip, it doesn't do much on a human being other than causing scratches and pain. Maybe she should use that form to fight him.
She pulled the whip towards herself and caught the leather in her left hand while her right hand was still on the handle. She closed her eyes and concentrated. Innocence activate level 2, Scorpion's Tail.
Allen watched as she ran her index and middle fingers from the handle to the end of the leather, the black leather became a single-edged blade as her fingers glided over. He was surprised. He never knew her Innocence could become a sword.
She experimentally swung the sword forwards and towards the ground. Suddenly, the sword broke up into sections with a thin cord connecting them together, forming what looks like a whip with blades stationed on it. She then swung the blade-whip back up towards herself and the sections of the blade clicked back together, returning to the form of a normal sword.
Allen gulped. He has never seen any weapon like that before.
She looked up from her blade-whip towards Allen. He flinched. She was smiling, but it was not a comforting kind of smile, but a cold, challenging smile, almost sadistic. Her eyes showed no other emotions. Somehow, Allen knew that she would not hesitate to really kill him.
He braced himself, ready for her attacks.
She charged at him and took a swipe with her blade. He dodged the blade by moving to the side. But suddenly he realized that was an extremely stupid move. She flicked her wrist and the blade disjointed and extended. Allen, who stayed within the range of the weapon, tried to duck. That was again, a stupid move. Her weapon is not just a sword. It has the flexibility that a normal sword does not have. That appearance was extremely deceiving.
With another simple flick of her wrist, the blade-whip wrapped itself around Allen's body, immobilizing him while still lightly cutting him. Then slowly, like a predator enjoying its prey, the girl leaned in to Allen's face, forcing him to look at her in the eye. Those eyes were cold and penetrating as ever, but somehow, being stared at by them for so many times, Allen felt like he's gotten immune to them, or rather, he'd hate to admit, addicted to them.
Allen tensed as something cold and hard was pressed against his neck. He glanced down without moving. The majority of the blade-whip was wrapped around his body. But the last segment of the blade, the one closest to the hilt, was curved around his shoulders to be placed at his neck. He looked back up at the girl.
Even though she was not openly smiling, Allen can see a small, triumphant upward tilt at the corner of her lips. She raised an eyebrow. "Pay attention."
She unwrapped the blade-whip from Allen's clothes, tearing through some of his clothing and skin with the sharp blades in the process. After the blades were off him, she returned the weapon to its joined form and waited for him to stand up.
He staggered up, carelessly examined his torn clothing and grazed skin. Since she was waiting for him, he thought that he might use this chance to catch her off guard. He continued examining his clothes. She waited for him to start actually paying attention. It did occur to her that he may be just stalling time and that she should strike already, but somehow, it felt like she was taking advantage of his weaponlessness.
Suddenly, Allen lunged at the girl, knocking her down to the floor while taking the blade away from the girl.
The overwhelming feeling of triumph filled Allen. Maybe pride is contagious. It took over Allen's mind so much that he did not even realize the position they were in. Only after smiling triumphantly at the girl beneath him for an overly long period of time, he started noticing that this girl, who has superiority complex, is not even a bit fazed by her defeat. She simply returned Allen's idiotic smile with a bored stare.
He was suddenly brought back to reality, and he realized their positions. He was on top of her, straddling her stomach. She was lying on the ground, with her arms folded on top of her chest in a displeased manner. Then suddenly, she closed her eyes.
He started panicking as well as feeling blood rushing to his cheeks. He didn't even know what to do.
Something in his hand started vibrating slightly. He looked down at the blade in his hands, it was glowing green. Gradually but quickly, it turned back into the thin black whip. He lifted the whip up to look at it closer but was shocked when the leather moved by itself. It first curled itself around his torso, then his chest, wrapping his arm in too.
Once Allen was again completely immobile, the girl extended an arm and pushed the boy off her. She got up and frowned down at the English exorcist, "Stop messing around, get serious." She held out a hand and the whip released Allen and returned to her.
Allen got up. He really should get serious. He should stop getting tied up by a whip. He just realized that he knew absolutely nothing about the girl's fighting styles. Absolutely nothing.
Clack! Clack!
Allen looked to the girl. She dropped the heels on her boots, picked it up with ease, and put it to the side. She looked back up at the boy. "Pay attention now, if you don't want to be killed."
Then, the girl became a black blur. He tried to follow her with his eyes, but she was too fast. Before he knew it, she was behind it. She swung, again, something new at him. It was the black whip form, but the leather was thicker with small spikes on it. He ducked, barely dodging the attack. Then, she reappeared before his eyes. She turned around quickly, landing a hard kick at his stomach. He was sent flying backwards, then sliding across the floor.
He shakily got up, wiping the corner of his mouth with his hand. He looked around, she wasn't anywhere to be seen. He felt air moving from above him so he looked up. Nothing. Then, something black blurred across the corner of his eye, he stepped back in the opposite direction. However, once he stepped back, he felt something sharp pressed on his back. Probably the blade again.
"Too slow." She said. Before Allen was sent flying again.
She sighed. This might not work. All she's doing is reopening the wounds Wong had so painstakingly fixed up.
He stood back up again. She held up four fingers. "4 hours. I'll give you 4 hours to get your Innocence back. If you don't in 4 hours, I'm going to get something to eat and pause for a while, and then it's another 4 hours."
Allen nodded. She charged.
~x.X.x~
She's been getting slower and slower, Allen noticed. It's only 3 and a half hours.
At the very beginning, Allen couldn't even see where she is, but now, he could see clearly everything she did. But still, she's still much faster than him.
She is low on stamina, that's what he concluded. That's why she said to go in 4 hour sections. She probably can't keep going at it like Fou did.
Desdemona flicked the blade-whip at Allen, who dodged it easily. She can feel her own body getting heavier and heavier. She'll have to stop soon.
Damn Allen, still unable to keep the form of his Innocence. He did activate it, it does stay for a couple of seconds before bursting into particles again. She saw it, it was different from his old one. Rather than looking like an enlarged human hand, his new one is much more slender and black instead of silver. It looked much more like a claw than a hand. She couldn't tell the details as he could only keep that shape for mere seconds.
Somehow, she had a feeling that even if they keep on going, he's not going to get anywhere. But she didn't say anything. This was the only logical and possible way of getting his arm back, if she shatters his hope then nothing will do.
But going on like this for another hour is pointless. He's getting more and more distressed every time the Innocence turns back into particles. His mental state, she somehow knew, is collapsing. It wasn't just now, but ever since he woke up. He hid it well, but he still can't hide the frustration and anger while he fights. She realized that he was using this chance to vent out his anger. He was angry with himself. That won't do, it'll only cloud his mind and make him act without thinking.
All these pointless combats are doing is allowing him to grasp onto some hope, allowing his mental strength to at least stay up for a bit longer.
However, her physical state is not keeping up. She dodged one of his attacks as he tried to invocate the Innocence and strike her. It became harmless particles just before it touched her. She jumped back anyway.
Desdemona flicked her wrist upwards and the blade-whip retracted into a sword, which she then deactivated and changed back into a whip. She returned the whip to her belt. "Let's stop."
He looked at her. She saw refusal in his eyes. She felt anger well up in her. What makes him think that she will let him vent all his anger on her? She stared back at him, though careful not to mix anger into her stare. One thing she learnt was that he was very fragile and delicate now. One extra glare might accidentally break him.
She slapped herself in her head. So what if she breaks him? Why should she care?
…
Why should she care…
She shook her head. Not wanting the answer to that question to come to her.
He seemed to go with her decision, as he just dropped himself onto the ground on his back, staring at the ceiling.
Allen stared blankly. There's nothing he could do. She was slowing down, he could tell. She was getting tired, he could tell. But he can't just sit here and do nothing. He can't just wait around for nothing. Lavi and Lenalee are fighting right now, probably. He can't just sit here.
He absent-mindedly raised a hand up as if to reach something in the air. He looked up to his hand. Only if he had more power, more power to be able to protect the people around him.
He flinched as Desdemona suddenly appeared over him. She stared down at him. "Stand up. Don't just lay there."
He didn't respond. He wasn't sure how to respond. Somehow, he felt that there was a deeper meaning to that. He wasn't sure. Maybe he was just imagining.
He didn't respond. She frowned. She grabbed a hold of his upraised hand and pulled him to his feet. She started walking away, expecting him to follow. The loud sound from her boots, she's put the weights on again.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"Kitchen."
At the sound of that word, Allen's stomach grumbled like thunder. He scratched his head with an awkward smile. She simply kept walking on. He ran to catch up to her.
"Your Innocence…looks different than before." She commented.
"Yeah. I know."
"If it's different, shouldn't you be activating it differently? Shouldn't you be feeling it differently?"
He went silent. The feeling he was trying to get was how he felt before his Innocence turned into particles. Maybe she's right. Maybe he's activating it the wrong way. "Yeah…"
"I might be wrong."
"No, you might be right."
"Maybe it's your way of thinking."
He frowned. "What?"
"I said, maybe it's your way of thinking that's wrong."
"What do you mean?"
"Aren't parasitic types connected greatly to the accommodator's emotions? Maybe you don't have the right emotion to be activating it."
"Then…how do I find the right emotion?"
"Maybe, just maybe. You should stop fighting to vent your anger and start thinking."
"I'm not venting my anger. Who am I angry at anyway?" he laughed. She did not find it amusing.
"Yourself."
He went silent.
"Sometimes, it's useful to ask yourself why."
"But how does asking myself 'why' help with activating the Innocence?"
She suddenly felt really, really angry. She stopped and looked at him. "I think you're missing the point here. Activating the Innocence is not your ultimate goal, is it? Why do you want to activate the Innocence?"
"Because I want to protect everyone!" he got angry too. But, just like she said, it was mostly at himself.
"But why do you want to protect everyone? You know you can't do it! Why are you still bothered to try? Why can't you just give up and do something realistic for once?"
Allen didn't know the answer. He doesn't know. He continued on to keep the promise with Mana, that he will save the souls of the akuma. He doesn't remember when or where that he started wanting to protect the people around him. Or why he wants to protect them. He can't answer, he doesn't know. He only did it because it was the right thing to do. But that was it.
She took in his silence for a lack of answer. She calmed down a bit but her tone was as sarcastic as ever. "If you really want to be with your Innocence that much and don't care about anything else. Why don't you just turn into particles and ask Bak to shut you inside that room forever?"
She turned and walked away, leaving Allen standing alone in the corridor.
Ohohohoho! Ahahahaha! Yeah, I'm high, on sugar. XXDDD XXXDDD Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter! I got the timeline mixed up but oh well, who cares?
Pick out my mistakes and correct me! If you have opinions for just random anon hate, chuck them at me anyways. Haha.
Oh, and something I really wanted to add. XXDD "...he was very fragile and delicate now. One extra glare might accidentally break him." A GLASS CASE OF EMOTION!
Review!
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