Disclaimer : I don't own -Man
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Chapter 13
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A total of 100 leaf tribes went missing in his watch.
Was he not strong enough? Was he that weak?
"Allen..." Kanda stared at him with worry, unsure of what to do to cheer his flower up.
"Leave me alone for now." With that said, Allen turned away from his leaf tribe and walked deeper into the woods. Probably sensing the depression in him, Kanda did as he told.
"...Call me when you need me, Allen."
He stared at his trembling hands silently, with his head hanging low, he managed to hide his fear-struck face from view of the others with his silver strands.
How did it even happen? He could feel it when leaf tribes leave the woods, so what difference does it make? Why couldn't he sense the location of those missing leaf tribes?
Lavi and Leenalee were worried as well. They were afraid that those leaf tribes joined force with other tribes and went against them in the future. Personally, Allen refused to believe such nonsense, but seeing that Kanda agreed with it, Allen chose to stay silent at their statement. At least, that was what he thought in the beginning. As the number of missing leaf tribes increase, he could not help but to doubt if what Lavi and Leenalee worried about was true.
100 leaf tribes.
100 leaf tribes that could handle magic.
Thinking over and over again, he slowly understands how serious it was.
Neah's leaf tribes, who could not even handle magic manage to cause such destruction; what would happen to his leaf tribes that could handle magic if they ever went against him?
"Flower?" Allen slowly raised his head and stared at the leaf tribe who spoke.
"You will protect us... right?"
Allen nodded, flowers are born to protect their leaf tribes.
"You will never abandon us?"
"I will never." With furrowed eye brows, Allen stared at them with a weird look. His leaf tribes were acting strange. They never once doubt his ability to protect him, so why now? Was it because of the missing leaf tribes?
"Then... Among Kanda and us... Who will you choose?"
Huh?
"Will you abandon us for Kanda?"
Allen could only send them a puzzled look.
"Let's say, Lavi or Leenalee is in danger, you will save them, right?"
A nod.
"Then what if Kanda was in the same danger? Will you save them or will you save him?"
"I will save all three of them."
His leaf tribes shook their head, their eyes staring at their flower's hesitatingly.
"What if... you can only save one of them?"
"I will save all three of them." He repeated, confused with the strange question asked.
"Then, if you have to give up one of them to save the other, who will you choose?"
Ah, so that was it.
His leaf tribes were worry that he would choose Kanda over them. To be honest, his leaf tribes' worries were real. He will choose his bonded one over his leaf tribes. But he can't say it out.
Kanda will be in danger.
Just like that Tyki guy.
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"... Allow us to ask once more, will you abandon us for Kanda, flower?"
"What in the world are you doing!"All turned to the source of the shouting.
His leaf tribes panicked and backed away quickly from Allen. Allen, however was pushed to the back by the very leaf tribe stood before him now. Those long raven strands flowed behind that leaf tribe was the biggest giveaway for his identity.
"Kanda, back off! We are asking flower something!"
"Shut up. How can you make him choose like that?!"
"Why not?"
"We are all his leaf tribes, he will protect us all. What are you plotting, asking him questions like that?"
Kanda's sharp eyes glared at the leaf tribes, his voice cold and harsh, "Do you perhaps, have anything to do with the missing leaf tribes?"
That manage to shake the leaf tribes awake from their mistake.
How could they have doubted their flower?
"But, but the rumors —"
"What rumors?"
The leaf tribes appeared to be hesitating. Their eyes kept staring at Kanda and Allen in turns.
"... When danger strikes, you are the only one flower will save, but this is just a rumor! We are sure that flower would not do that, so we, we—"
"Where did you hear that from?" Allen stood ahead, ignoring the shouting of a premonition by his instinct.
"A leaf tribe from the outside, he said that you will not save us if Kanda's present. Of- of course, we did not believe him!"
"And the missing leaf tribes?" Kanda and Allen asked at the same time.
"... They sort of... believe in it?"
"Go on." Allen could guess what happened next, but just to confirm his suspicious, he urged the leaf tribes to continue on.
"They went with that leaf tribe to somewhere. I don't know where, I just know that they refuse to return after going that 'somewhere'."
Looking at each other in the eyes, Allen and Kanda nodded at the leaf tribe before leaving the woods together.
Seems like things were worst than what they thought it were.
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That unfamiliar scent is here again, today.
Those missing leaf tribes, perhaps it was this stranger that took them away?
The roots swirled up the stranger's leg and held him tight in his position.
"Flower!"
I waved my hand slightly, asking the others leaf tribes to leave.
"So, who are you?" The stranger had his back facing me.
"The 4 missing leaf tribes, you took them away did you not?" I continued.
"... Why yes. I took them with me days ago."
I froze.
After years and years of waiting, never had I thought I would be able to hear that voice again.
I ran to his front, lifting his face up as I breathed in a sharp breath.
He's... Alive.
He's really alive.
I hugged him so tightly, relieved washed through my being.
He's warm, he's really alive!
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"Tyki—"
"...Do I know you?"
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When he said those words, I didn't know how to react.
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"... Tyki, stop joking."
"I'm serious. How do you know my name by the way?"
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Did he... forget about me?
We were bonded to each other, he should be able to remember me clearer than anything else! Unless, he lost of memories...
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"The Eastern leaf tribe, what happened to them?!" I tried asking him, hoping that he could answer it.
"Their tree died, a flower went and saved them."
Good, he remembered that. "Which flower?"
"... I don't know." Tyki started staring at me with a raised eyebrow.
"Your leaf tribes? What happened to them?"
"Died. Humans attacked us."
"And you flower...?"
"Dead."
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His flower... dead? But I'm right here.
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"... Does Neah D Campbell rings a bell?" My voice was shaking, though I doubted Tyki noticed.
"Well, you're Neah D Campbell."
"Anything else...?"
"Nope."
"Tyki, are you... bonded to someone?"
"I don't think so."
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It's clear.
He does not remember me.
He does not remember anything about us.
Not a single bit.
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Neah D Campbell
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Finally, after so long! Lavi grinned, satisfy with his result on finding the one who "kidnapped" the missing leaf tribes. All that's left is to capture him.
Wait, that leads to another problem... Can they even catch him? No, more precisely, could they manage to catch him?
His smile faded into a frown.
Just then, the door was slammed open by a panicked looking female leaf tribe.
"Lavi, did you hear about the rumor!?"
"... What rumor?" Let's just hope this is nothing serious, Lavi silently prayed.
"Allen will only save Kanda when danger strikes."
Lavi quickly slammed all doors and windows shut, even creating a vacuum around Leenalee and himself.
After making sure their conversation could not be eavesdropped, he asked, "How did they found out?"
"Actually, I don't think any of the leaf tribes here know the relationship between those two. They only heard that Allen care more of Kanda than the others."
"Still, it's really dangerous for such rumor to exist..."
"Lavi, I think the rumors have something to do with the missing leaf tribes."
"Actually... I found out the "kidnapper" of that case."
Lavi handed his papers to Leenalee and sat back down on his chair.
"This... Does our flower know?"
"You're the first I'd told."
Silence overtook the room.
"Let's leave Neah out of this." Leenalee suggested.
"Agree."
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He found me.
Such careless mistake I'd made.
Neah is way more powerful than that white flower.
"The 4 missing leaf tribes, you took them away did you not?"
Damn, he's smart too. I started bringing leaf tribes away from this clan for only two days and he already figure out I'm the culprit? Sharp, indeed. As expected of the one who caught my eyes.
"... Why yes. I took them with me days ago."
He lifted my face, staring at me in shock. His eyes, such a unique color it was, I could feel myself drowning in those golden eyes. And then, he smiled.
He smiled at me.
That smile looked so familiar, yet unfamiliar at the same time.
"...Do I know you?" I didn't even realize I spoken it out loud.
Hurt was visible in his eyes, yet he still forced his cheeks upward. Is that what they call a bitter smile?
"... Tyki, stop joking."
"I'm serious. How do you know my name by the way?" As much as I know, he should not know me at all.
Then, he started asking questions. I could see him crying in the inside from my every answer. He was still smiling, but none of it reaches his eyes. Was he perhaps trying to convince himself something even though the truth was openly exposed to him?
"... Does Neah D Campbell rings a bell?"
It hurts me to see how painful his smile is right now. I could see from his eyes that he was actually crying and screaming out in pain from the inside.
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"Well, you're Neah D Campbell."
"Anything else...?"
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"Anything else"? What was he expecting?
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"Nope."
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He breathed in a deep breath, still refusing to let the tears at the corner of his eyes to fall.
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"Tyki, are you... bonded to someone?"
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Bond... It sounded so familiar.
Now that he asked about it, do I even have a partner?
My flower never once mentioned my past life to me. If I have a partner, my flower would have told me as soon as I woke up, right...?
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"I don't think so."
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I don't get it.
Why does he look as if his whole world is gone?
Stop, it hurts to see you like this.
Wipe those tears off and stop looking at me like that.
I felt like I'm —
— Suffocating.
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M. T
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"Made up your mind?"
The leaf tribe nodded.
"Well then, let's go—"
"Where do you think you're taking my leaf tribes to?"
Tyki lazily turned around to face the white flower. The leaf tribe beside him however, freaked out and kept apologizing to the white flower before running back into the woods. Glancing at the flower's side, he realizes there stood three leaf tribes.
Lavi Bookman, the leader of the new clan.
Leenalee Lee, the helper of the leader.
And lastly, Kanda Yuu, the leaf tribe which the white flower seems to favor.
He glanced at the raven-haired leaf tribe, wondering if he had met that leaf tribe before. He looked oddly familiar...
"I'll ask once more, where are my missing leaf tribes?" The white flower looked pissed for some reason. It was the white flower's fault that his own leaf tribe decided to go with him anyway, so why the hate?
"Somewhere they truly belong. By the way, they don't seem to have the urge to return here."
"Where are they?"
"Dear flower, I did say that they do not wish to return."
Sharp leaves were aimed at him, swirling his whole being as they trapped him in his current position like an invisible life-size cage. For him, a leaf tribe that could not handle magic, the current situation he was in was as good as dead. One wrong move, and he would lose his life.
"They leave here by their own choice, white flower." Although afraid of death, Tyki still refuse to tell him the exact location of those missing leaf tribes.
"You lied."
"About what? That you will save that Kanda Yuu over there instead of your tribes when anything happens? We all know that's a fact."
When the white flower hesitated, Tyki knew he spoke the right thing.
"Leaf tribes should not be in contact with magic, we all know that. When one leaf tribe handles magic, he or she will be attacked by other leaf tribes, so tell me, white flower," Smirking at the paled white flower before him, he continued, "What do you think will happen to your clan of leaf tribes that can handle magic?"
The others will attack the clan, that's for sure, Allen realized.
"So, what's wrong with running to some other safer place before the attack strikes?"
A chuckle escaped his lips before he went on,
"Not to mention that you will still choose to save Kanda Yuu first when the attack strikes."
The leaves around him were released, traveling to him at high speed. He closed his eyes and expected the worse.
"Wait Allen! You can't! He's —"
It was all dark after that.
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TBC
A/N : Happy Chinese New Year~! Here's a new chapter for my beloved readers ^^ Er... yeah, M. T is actually the short form for "Mikk Tyki" Since "Tyki" is the given name, it should be placed at the back. Surname comes first, followed by given name. Well, at least that's how my race's names works =~=lll
REVIEWS :
Cutiepie120048 : Yup, 2 years TAT As you can see from this chapter, Tyki still have feelings for Neah. As for why he did not returned to Neah back then, there's a specific reason but that will be revealed in the future chapters ;)
ShadowSpears & Silent Death Walker : Thanks a lot! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter as well~!