Disclaimer : I don't own -Man
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Chapter 16
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"I shall ask once more, who is willing to come with me?"
None of the leaf tribes answered his question. They simply stared silently at their white flower, their eyes not even focusing on their flower, it was almost as if, they were only there because they were forced to. The silent was too much for Allen to handle it seems, for he soon sighed before turning around and left the tribes with his only three loyal leaf tribes.
The new clan, which was founded for less than a century fell, all because of the bond between a flower and his leaf tribe.
It was hard for Allen as well, he wanted everyone to live peacefully ever after, yet he knew that if he continued staying with those leaf tribes, soon, Yuu would ended up killing each and everyone of them. All just to protect him. Sure he was happy, yet he could hardly erase the guilt he felt for the dead leaf tribes killed by his partner.
They had die for his sake.
This is for the best, he kept reminding himself.
Leaving the clan behind is the best option for him. The leaf tribes will soon return to their respective home as soon as they realize that their white flower will not return. If only they still consider him as their flower, that's it.
"Lavi, Leenalee, you don't have to force yourselves, you know?" These two was his most loyal leaf tribes right after Yuu. Was it really alright for them to follow after a flower like him instead of some other more normal flower?
"Allen, none of the flowers were willing to heal my arm back then, you were the only one who did. From then, I had swore to myself that I'll follow after you and serve you as my flower." Leenalee stated with a smile.
"You were the only flower that allows us to use magic freely as long as we didn't do anything harmful to others. I'm pretty sure I can't find another flower like you in this world if I leave your side." Lavi said with full confidence, for he had knew the answer from his experience.
Every living thing on earth are selfish.
When one being that will harm their position on earth appears, that one being will be killed in the cruelest way ever. He had once thought that leaf tribes and flowers will be different, seeing that they were rumored to be the kindest kind on earth. Well, guess even rumors can be unreal at times. Allen was the only flower he encountered that accept him for who he really was. What much more could he ask for?
A flower that would accept him for being him, that's all he need.
"But I'm not normal. The rumors are right, I'll save Yuu first if anything happens." Even though happy with how loyal those two are, Allen still feel that he should make things clear to them.
"Yeah, we knew that long ago." They answered in harmony.
"And that doesn't bother you...?"
"Look Allen, we knew you will save Kanda first if anything bad happens. But that doesn't mean you'll dump us behind."
"How can you be so sure?! Even I'm not sure myself!"
Oh look, another reason they are willing to follow after this white flower. Such kind-hearted flower he is, to even care for them that much when he had a bonded partner of his own.
A chuckle escaped from Leenalee, her smile getting wider and wider as she continue placing her sight on their white flower. "Do you know, Allen? Like other things on earth, flowers have such thing call "obsession" over something without a reason."
"You mean the bond didn't you, Leenalee?"
"Nope. The bond is bound to happen on every living things, just that leaf tribes and flowers are more sensitive to them. A bond is a bond, an obsession is an obsession. They're not the same."
That took Allen by surprised. He had always thought that Kanda was his obsession due to the bond.
"You're bonded to Kanda, you'll care for him so greatly that you'll even throw your life away in order to save him. As for us, both Leenalee and I, we're your obsession. True, you'll go to Kanda first, but you will never let us die. We'll suffer a bit more than him, but we won't die. For you'll come for us as well when danger strikes." Lavi patiently explained to the young flower.
"It might be painful when we wait for your salvation, but we can handle that much pain. 'Cause we know, you'll never leave us behind." Leenalee added after Lavi.
"Remember that time you tried to kill the leaf tribes that attack me back when you healed Leenalee's arm?" Allen dumbly nodded.
"If we're not your obsession, you'll never react that way. You'll simply leave and let us die, just like how other flower would."
Someone patted his head gently, his voice flowing smoothly into his eardrums, "He's right, Allen. You don't have to doubt them at all. If they ever show any sign of disloyalty, I'll — "
"No, Yuu. I forbid you from killing any of them."
He could feel Kanda tightening his grip on him, "... What if they'll cause harm on you?"
"Yuu! How could you not trust them?!" He couldn't believe it, Lavi and Leenalee had been with them for so long, so much longer than those leaf tribes they left. Any doubts on them should be dismissed long ago, so why was Kanda still doubting them?
"Trust no one, Allen. I'm the only one you can trust."
Kanda twirled his hair with Allen's gently, shocking Allen slightly as he whispered into his ear, "I'll never hurt you."
Under normal circumstances, he would be trilled to hear those words from Yuu, but- but! He tried glaring at Yuu yet his silver soften as soon as he stared into those gently cobalt eyes behind him.
"Never will I hurt you."
"... At least, I get to choose if they are loyal or not!"
Receiving no answer from Yuu, he took it as an encouragement to continue, "You shall not harm them until I say so."
Kanda wanted to object yet when he gave it a thought, he groggily accept Allen's statement.
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"Flower please! Please do something!"
Road sat on her seat with her eyes close, she could swear that her headache was resurfacing once again, even when she knew it clearly that flowers does not goes through headache. Well, that just proves how much problem she was currently handling.
"I said, nothing happen without my command. Are you all deaf or something?!"
"That's why we did nothing! Flower please, Tyki's getting worse! We must stop him before he —"
"Flower!" Oh great, speak of that person and he shall appear... Hold it. What was that thing sticking onto Tyki's now-severed bond over there...?
"Flower, please let Neah out!" Tyki strained his voice to the max, his voice nearly breaking as he kept begging his flower.
"Tyki, you're hopeless! Get away from flower!"
"All of you, out!" She quickly walked to Tyki and pushed the others out of the room by force when she saw them refusing to leave.
"Tyki...?" Shit, the rejection on Neah started already?
"Flower, I'm begging you, please. Let Neah out."
And what, let the rejection affects you too? Uh uh, like she'll do that!
"Tyki, I know that you care for Neah but I can't —"
"He's dying, flower!" Tyki was literally screaming at her.
"He's not. Listen Tyki, He has a bonded partner, he won't die that easily."
"But his bond was one-sided!"
Say what now...?
"I just, I just don't know anymore! It's so clear that he care for that white flower, but that white flower already has a bond with someone else! Neah will really die like that —"
The hugging was so unexpected that it managed to stop Tyki from continue losing control over himself. He could feel his flower's strong grip on him, he could feel her trembling against him.
"... Flower?"
"His partner is not that white flower, damn it!" It was Road's turn to scream at Tyki.
No, at this rate, she'll blurt everything and make everything worse. She needs to calm down. Breathing deeply and slowly exhaling them out, she tried her best to calm herself down.
"... It's not that white flower? Then... Who?"
She shut her mouth tightly, refusing to speak. She can't say it. If she said it, Tyki will feel the rejection as well.
"Flower? Tell me? Who is it? I'll bring him or her here. At least that could slow Neah's death!"
She could only shook her head harder, her grip becoming tighter as she stared at the severed bond that was trying their best to connect to respective partner.
Cut them off now. Make it clean, and Tyki will not suffer.
Yet, if she do so, Neah will die on the spot.
Let's leave it to fate then, she thought, her short hair floating on mid-air as she continued hugging Tyki tight, stopping his every motion to run back to Neah as the rejection gets stronger.
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"... Road Camelot, you said?"
"Hm, a blue rose she is. Seems like her hair is short. This is quite unexpected, since most flower will never cut their hair short. Their hair are like their limbs, so why would she cut her hair short?"
Road cutting her hair short? Now that's impossible. At least if it's the same Road they're talking about, there's no way she'll —
"You knew something, don't you?" Leenalee was snapped awake when she felt all stares on her.
"Well, I — I'm just wondering if this information..." She didn't even get to finish her sentence when Kanda interrupted her.
"What is it?"
"Road Camelot, the blue rose that had a strange obsession with her blue strands."
"Oh, that rumor. I heard it before too, Leenalee. But are we talking about the same blue rose. It's just... You know, weird for that blue rose to cut her hair short..." Lavi understood Leenalee's hesitation, agreeing on her point of view as well.
"Even so," Lavi continued, "she disappear for decades back then. No one knew what happened to her between those years she went missing."
"Is she dangerous?" Allen asked.
"Not really. She's quite the opposite actually. She's totally harmless."
"But she's a flower?"
"Not all flower is strong like you, Allen. Even so, I understand your question: If she's that weak, how did she manage to keep herself alive for that long?"
"Actually, I heard of some other rumors," when all attention was shifted to her, Leenalee went on, "On how she lose her long hair and still manage to live for so long."
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As the strands fell onto my hand, I secretly held them tightly, away from the attacker's sight.
This will be the only ones left after the cut.
Perhaps it was just me, perhaps it was really a living thing, I'm not really sure which was it but, I felt them pulsing in my palm.
They pulsed.
Tears threaten to fall but I held them in. No way am I going to cry there! My hair... I was knew they were special. No, its not only to me. They are special. They are different from other's hair. They warm me up when I was cold, somehow producing heat from the end of the hair strand, allowing my body to absorb the heat all the time.
Perhaps they were the reason I was able to live on this country without needing a jacket or scarf. The country I live in could be expressed as having summer all year long, yet its different to me.
I felt cold instead.
Others laughed at me, telling me to stop lying to them. How should I stop lying when all I spoke was the truth? I let my hair down when I was alone, knowing that no one will comment about them, and will always drowning myself in the pleasure of being surrounded by my lovely blue strands.
Once more, it pulsed in my hand, just like how a body with a heart would, it pulsed regularly. When the sound of two blades colliding drew closer, the pulse quicken.
I knew it.
It was not my hand that were pulsing, it was my no-longer-attached-to-me hair that were pulsing. The warmth on my head evanescent so quickly, leaving my skull to feel the coldness of the wind. It was then I realize - They stopped providing heat for my body.
They... hate me now, dont they?
The pulsing in my hand weaken, speed decreasing gradually and soon it stopped.
I ran my trembling fingers across them slowly, still holding back the urge to cry.
Its... rough.
It was smooth when it was still pulsing, but now it... It turned rough.
The coldness spread from my head, straight into my body. I could even feel my spine turning cold.
...My hair... Are you there..?
The fallen strands lied motionlessly on my palm.
Hey, stop playing. Move a little...?
There were screamings in my head, crying out for their fallen comrade before them.
Move... please, move.
The screamings only got louder and louder, so loud to the point they could deafen someone if someone aside from my heard it.
The strand remained there, not moving at all.
"Ah..." I'm sorry...
I killed them. I killed my own cells...
I knew they were made of dead cells but that doesnt mean they are dead! They were once alive.
"Im sorry..."
They communicate with me, they protected my from danger.
how could such things be dead to began with?!
I'm sorry. I'm really sorry -
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Road Camelot
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TBC
A/N : I knew it. The purple eyes are such big giveaway. Everyone got the identity of Tyki's current flower correctly. LOL Well, as you can see from this chapter, Road's having short hair. The reason was slightly introduced at the end of this chapter. And oh, just in case I forgot to mention, flower should have long hair, when they cut their hair away, it's like they cut their limbs off. So if they cut their hair, they'll lose the ability to control their hair.
REVIEWS :
DarkestWritterEver : LOL hope you enjoy this too~!
DaughterofAbyss : Yes, thank you so much for noticing such detail! ^0^ I'm aware of that as well, however in this story, Kanda is a leaf tribe. Leaf tribes don't really bother with their names. They only care for their given name, their supposedly "surname" was actually a cover for them to live in human society. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well ;)
OtakuShipping : Bingo~~
Cutiepie120048 : Here's more for you~ And yes, Neah can't hear. ((Sadistic smile))
Kanna Raimi : Thanks a lot for reviewing~~
Latias426 : Allen probably haven't realize yet but his clan actually only consist of Kanda, Lavi and Leenalee. Only those that were willingly follow after their flower could be consider as their clan. Tyki's current flower is Road. And yes, she's good QAQ She's trying her best to keep both parties alive.
Kyla : Here you go~! Hope you enjoy this as well~