Hello, everyone. :D
Firstly, thank you to everyone who reviewed!( Especially KiraraGoesMeow, for telling me how to put the lines in. XD) Thank you very much for the encouragements, and I hope that I won't disappoint you with this next chapter.
Also, I'm going to be in China for roughly 2 months starting the end of next week. In hindsight, starting a story right now probably isn't a very good idea... . I probably won't have access to computers there, but I'll do my best to continue writing! ^^ Expect a new chapter either sometime early next week or late July.
Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray Man in any way, shape, or form.
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Chapter 2: Arrival in China
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"So… I 'gess this is it, then, lassie."
A few seagulls flew over the harbor, catching the golden afternoon sun on their wings as they gyrated in the sky. People hurried back and forth along the creaking walkway that stretched over the shallow waters to the wreckage of a boat, carrying in new repairing supplies and carting out suspicious crates from the small ship's hull.
"Yeah…" The pale-looking girl brushed back a few strands of raven hair and adjusted the small cloth bag slung over her shoulder. Coarse, baggy clothes the sailors had graciously donated to her completely swamped her petite form, not that she was complaining. They successfully hid the cuts and bruises she'd gathered from… from her sailing experience.
The tall man grunted, "Make sure yeh' keep an eye ou' at all times, don' let anyone cheat ya…"
She giggled, "… Y'know, you're such a big softie under that gruff exterior. Who knew that you were such a worrywart?"
Hisoka growled, the weathered sailor mumbling under his breath as he reached into his pocket and took out a cigarette.
"Well, we made 'te trip," he rummaged around for a lighter, "We're in China now, lassie. So, watcha' gonna do 'ere?"
A thoughtful look entered the girl's amber orbs, "I don't know, really. I just wanted to… no, I needed to get away from Edo… I never actually thought much about what I was going to do once I left, though."
The man blinked, "Ya mean ya have no plans at all?"
"Nope!" she chirped.
"How are ya gonna survive out 'ere, then?" Hisoka leaned back against the wooden boards of the docked ship behind him, "Ya ain't got no expenses, ya can't even speak the lang'age-"
"Actually… about that," the girl smiled, "I'm thinking of finding a job as a translator, since I can speak four languages."
The man's eyes bugged out and he choked on his cigarette, "F-four…?"
"My dad was pretty big on my education," She murmured by way of explanation, "So… I don't think I'll have too much trouble surviving around here. Thanks for the concern, though."
Hisoka shook his head, "How the hell didja learn four freakin' lang'ages in fuckin' Edo?" he asked, utterly mystified and completely bewildered.
"Ah, well…" The young woman smiled again, "That's a secret."
"Tch," The burly man bit down on his cigarette, a little harder than he intended to. The bitter taste of tobacco filled his mouth, and he spat out a glob of it into the waters, "Alright then, I won' ask. Still, you be careful out there… I've got this bad feelin' ever since those… those monsters attacked us."
A shadow fell over her eyes at that, and the girl lapsed into silence, looking down at the wooden boards beneath her feet that swung lightly as the men ran back and forth, barking out orders in rapid Mandarin.
Hisoka sighed, straightening from his lazy slouch and setting a hand on the girl's shoulder, "Just… watch yerself, lassie. I wouldn' wanna see ye get hurt real bad like that again."
The girl tried to smile reassuringly, but it was more of a pained grimace as she recalled the total agony she'd been in for most of the trip.
The sailor tossed the still-smoking stub of his cigarette into the water and retracted his hand from the throw, watching as it sank below the water's surface and bobbed up to the surface again. "… 'M gonna set sail again, soon as our lil' darlin' 'ere is all fixed up. Ya sure ya don't wanna join the crew?"
She shook her head, the smile on her face more genuine this time, "Nah, I'll pass. I certainly don't want to be lumped together with you guys when the authorities find you. The prospect of going to jail isn't very attractive to me, thank you very much."
Hisoka let out a loud bark of laughter, secretly glad that the girl had some spine to her now that she wasn't bedridden (well, hammock-ridden) anymore, "That's rich! We've been doin' this for years, and there ain't no authorities that found us yet! Ain't gonna ever happen, either!"
The duo were interrupted by an irritated yell, "Oi, Hisoka! Hurry up and haul yer arse o'er here, yeh've been on yer break long enough!"
"Well, looks like I've gotta get goin' now." The man cracked his neck, stretching himself out as he prepared for the heavy manual labor that was waiting for him aboard his 'darling' ship, "Take care o' yerself, lassie."
"… I will," Amber eyes gazed into the fierce brown ones of the sailor, "You'd better take care of yourself too, Hisoka. The waters… they aren't safe anymore."
"When have they ever been?" Said sailor mused rhetorically to himself.
The girl scowled, "I'm serious, Hisoka. Those monsters… what if they appear again?"
"Don' worry 'bout me, lassie," It was now the sailor's turn to make an attempt at a reassuring smile, and he failed spectacularly as well, "The crew an' I, we can take care o' erselves, so don't ya fret o'er us."
She frowned, but didn't press further… much as she wanted to. There was no way for her to change the mind of the entire crew, and, deep down, she knew that Hisoka was a sailor first and foremost. He wouldn't listen to a paranoid girl, no matter what had happened on the trip here…
… but still. Even though she'd survived the trip here… it… it was kind of strange, but she still couldn't shake off the feeling that her troubles weren't over yet.
… Maybe she was a little too paranoid for her own good.
The links of her chain-necklace clinked together with a soft jingle as the young woman finally turned away from the dock and began trudging into town, refusing to glance back at the merry crew of sailors making repairs on their ship… a ship that would soon be resting on the bottom of the ocean floor for all eternity.
It had been so long since she'd stood smack dab in the middle of a busy marketplace. People hustled back and forth along the streets in a busy rush, each occupied with their own tasks. Children played along the sides of the dirt road, frolicking at the edges and taking care to steer clear of the market rush. A horse-drawn cart barreled down the middle of the street, kicking up a cloud of dust with no one even the slightest bit perturbed or bothered by it. Perhaps it was a common occurrence?
The girl's hand slammed down on the tabletop with a resounding 'thwack.' Stupid mosquito.
Ignoring the strange looks she'd gotten from the other inhabitants of the small tea house, she wiped off the palm of her hand on the edge of the glossy table and reached for her tea cup again. The green tea she was drinking right now wasn't quite as good as the one she usually drank, but nonetheless had quite a refreshing taste. Especially considering that she was drinking tea under the sweltering heat waves that were radiating from a practically blistering summer sun.
She tipped her head back and downed the last dregs of her tea in a single gulp.
"Ah…" The girl sighed contentedly, "That really hits the spot!"
Done with her tea and fully refreshed, the girl stood up and prepared to leave. Upon seeing this, the server on the other side of the room promptly hurried over and started jabbering away in Mandarin.
"-can't just leave like this, lady! You still need to pay for that pot of tea!"
The raven-haired girl sweat-dropped at the wild gestures he was making. Right. She hadn't found herself a job yet… Geez, she really had to start paying attention to her spendings now that she wasn't in Edo anymore…
"Um… I don't have any money on me." she admitted sheepishly, automatically adopting the same dialect that the server was speaking in, not that anyone would notice.
The server's jaw dropped open at that, the towel slung over his shoulder almost falling to the ground comically, "Excuse me? Oh, I knew this would happen! It always does, when some hobo comes waltzing into the best tea house in-"
"I have something else, though," The girl pulled off the silver ring on her finger and held it out to him, "Here. Is this enough?"
The server eyed it suspiciously as he snatched the ring from the pleasantly smiling 'hobo', weighing it in the palm of his hand. Distrust was evident from his posture throughout the entire exchange, and he cautiously bit the ring as a final test–
–his eyes widened in pure, unadulterated shock.
The girl continued to smile at him, "Judging by your reaction, I trust that it's enough, right?"
"Y-you…" The server had momentarily lost his voice, "H-how did you… this… it's pure silver!"
"Mmhm," She had a cat-like grin stretching across her face now, and her amber eyes gleamed, "So… it wouldn't be too much to ask for a few cans of tea leaves to take with me now, would it…?"
…
A couple moments later, she found herself facing a gigantic mountain of tea leaves. Well, the entire storehouse, to be exact.
"… Y'know, this really isn't necessary… I only asked for a few cans." She had to crane her head upwards to see the entire stack, and even then she couldn't find the top.
"Silver! Pure silver!" The server boy waved the ring around with stars shining in his eyes.
"…"
Sigh.
Just as she was contemplating how to break the news to him that there was no way she could ever carry around this much tea, the wall exploded.
It exploded, exploded as in the entire side of the wall was literally blown apart into pieces in less than a fraction of a second.
Next thing she knew, she was staring at the grayish middle of a horrendous, rounded visage … the shape of a certain creature that she had never wanted to see again.
The girl paled.
"Get down!"
She obeyed the shout without a single moment's hesitation as panic overtook her body and she ducked, flattening her body against the ground and wincing as she heard another explosion above her. Her scattered mind was beyond simple fear at this moment, where there was only one thought running through her mind.
Why the hell is this happening again?
There was a growling sound, and the girl chanced a peek upwards. What she saw when she looked, though…
It was still a monster, that much was for certain, but… its shape… somehow, it was… different. It didn't have one of those rounded shapes with spikes sticking out everywhere, it… it had a feathered body and a bird-like head, complete with a long, narrow 'beak' of sorts, and-
"Come out, come out, little Exorcist!" A heart-stopping jolt ran through her as the monster suddenly spoke, a dark gravelly voice cackling manically as the bird-monster pushed off the ground and launched itself into the air, leaving a crater behind where it once stood, "You can't hide forever!"
Exorcist?
"Damn it." Her head swung to the side, seeing a tall man crouched down under a few nearby pieces of rubble a couple steps to her left. His face was contorted into an expression of worry and frustration, and his grip tightened on the wood by his–no, wait, that wasn't just a piece of wood, it was… a bow? Now that she noticed it, he also had a quiver filled with silver arrows slung over his back, which made a sharp contrast to the black robes he wore.
"Of all the stupid times to evolve, it just has to be now, in a place filled with so many people?" She watched him deftly pluck out one of the silver arrows and nock it onto the bowstring–
"There you are, Exorcist!"
Both of their eyes widened simultaneously as the hideous bird-like monster swooped higher into the air and fell into a steep dive, gaining speed and power as it headed straight in their direction from above.
"Shit!" The man cursed, and he suddenly disappeared. She blinked, before something dug into her stomach hard, and everything was flying past in a blur–
"Are you alright?"
The girl gasped as she was roughly tossed down in the opening of a small alleyway, and the serving boy was immediately dumped next to her by the man too. How –how in the world had he picked up both of them at the same time, and still managed to escape from that monster? It was –it was –!
"Aww, how sweet, trying to save the humans too."
Her head snapped upwards, as did the man standing across from her, both of their eyes flickering and pinpointing the grinning monster hovering in the air above them.
"But y'know, Exorcist…" The monster's leer widened, and a ball of pure energy began forming in front of its mouth, "You should never be too greedy!"
The freezing chain around her neck was choking her, the panicked, erratic pounding of her heart was starting to bruise her ribcage, and she was–
"Archer of the High Heavens, lend me your power!" The wooden bow was pulled taut, and the man's eyebrows furrowed in concentration as the long silver shaft between his fingers began glowing, "Purify, Arrow of Light!"
She had to raise a hand over her eyes to keep herself from being blinded by the brilliant light the arrow emitted as soon as those words left his mouth. Torrents of light swirled around the arrow wildly as it flew towards the avian monster straight and true–
"Too slow, Exorcist!"
"Che," The man whirled around, deftly mounting another arrow and not even bothering to concentrate too much power into it, immediately shooting at the monster who had re-oriented itself midair and was currently charging them from behind, "Like you're one to talk, Akuma!" he yelled.
Akuma?
"Big words," The monster –Akuma– had a devilish glint in its pitch black eyes, flickering magenta lights from its own attack reflected crazily in those obsidian orbs, "Let's see if you have the strength to back them up!"
Then the Akuma screeched; a terrible strident, harsh sound that grated on her ears, and its head snapped forward, beak jerking wide open and blasting the energy it had been gathering up all this time at them. Added to the speed it had been flying at…
The world turned white.
Her arms flew out in front of her instinctively in a futile attempt to block out the imminent danger. Amber eyes scrunched shut tightly, and the chilling weight of the chain around her neck had never felt so… so prominent before.
"F-first day…" Damn it, why was her voice shaking? "F-first-"
"ARCHER OF THE HIGH HEAVENS, LEND ME YOUR STRENGTH!"
-the white was gone; everything suddenly cleared, and the girl winced at the bright glare of the sun in her eyes. However, her eyes immediately widened again upon seeing the black-clad man standing in front of her and the serving boy still collapsed in a heap on the ground, bow held in front of him and arrow at the ready.
… It would've made for a dashing, heroic image, if not for the puddle of blood that was forming under his feet.
"Stupid Exorcist!" The bird-like monster crowed triumphantly as it circled overhead, laughing sinisterly as the man stumbled and slammed his bow into the ground in an effort to remain upright, "How very noble of you to protect those humans... but all you've done is ensure your own death!"
"Sh-shut up, Akuma." The man slowly straightened up again, raising his bow and resting his arrow against the elastic string, grinding his teeth together, "You know nothing. Now begone!"
The arrow from this shot was much weaker than the first two, painfully obvious even to her inexperienced eyes. She could only watch on helplessly as the bird-monster easily caught and crushed the silver arrow with its cruel, sharp beak.
"Any last words, hmm?"
"… Yeah," The man set another silvery arrow against the wooden bow, and though his eyes showed that he was resigned to his fate, the determination to keep on fighting was burning strong within those hazel orbs, "Do us all a favor and just die now, Akuma!"
The monster cackled, "Hahaha, not today, Exorcist! You're the one who's going to die!"
Her hands tightly clenched the coarse cloth of the rugged sailor's clothes she was wearing, anxiety rising in her heart as she watched the battle from the sidelines. No, it wasn't even a battle anymore. It was clear that the avian monster was only playing around with the man right now, and had the power to end his life any time should it choose to do so. But even so… even so, even though he knew that as well as she did, he kept on fighting; firing one arrow after another–
"What the hell are you just sitting there for?" The man roared at her when the monster gyrated high up into the sky once more, hazel eyes blazing, "Have you no sense at all? Grab the boy over there and run for it, girl! I didn't save the two of you just for you two to go ahead and die!"
… Die.
Everything seemed to fade away into the background, becoming mere static, and she couldn't make out what the man was saying anymore. Die… she could really die, huh? It was just that… these monsters, her mother, her home, everything, everything just… everything just seemed so fake, so surreal. Even on the ship, panicked and faced with those monsters again, she'd… she'd blindly clung onto the hope that this was all just a dream, and that she'd wake up soon. She'd wake up in her bedroom and find her clothes laid out for her on the side, and she'd put on the dress and get ready to begin another day of studying…
…
… this… it all just… but… despite her hopes, she knew… she knew that it… it…
…
It wasn't a dream.
Dreams don't bring physical pain. Right now, she could clearly feel the blood running down the side of her arm from a cut when some of the debris had scratched her. Dreams weren't this vivid, this detailed. She could see every feather covering the monster's body and every blow that the man had to block or parry as he continued shouting at her.
Dreams don't hurt. Not like this.
"First day…" Her mind was worlds away, peering into a darkened world overflowing with black waters and bitter rain, tumbling around wildly… and yet she was still here at the same time, her eyes watching every breath the man took as the monster's claws neared his chest, "I reject!"
The effect was instantaneous.
She gasped as everything suddenly sped up again –when had they slowed down, come to think of it?– and the bird-monster squawked indignantly in anger and shock as its claws rammed into a shimmering barrier that had formed out of nowhere. The black lines drawing out a cube finally enclosed the demon, and the process of disintegration began.
Painfully.
"AAAAAAH! What –what is this?" Feathers were falling, flying everywhere before they disappeared upon hitting the shimmery walls of the cube, "Why –ugh –how –?"
Her fingers unfurled, and she glanced down in surprise when she felt her palms stinging and throbbing. Blood seeped out from rounded fingernail marks, and the crimson fluid stained the rough fabric that brushed over her skin.
Lifting her hands up in front of her face, she curiously studied the scarlet liquid that formed a bead-like shape, steadily growing larger before it wobbled unsteadily and lost its shape, trickling down her wrists and forearms in a small stream. Everything went blank again for a moment when her body moved of its own accord, her head inching forward and her tongue flicking out of her mouth to lick away the blood.
She blinked. It was… sweet.
"No –no –noooooooo!"
Her head tilted upwards as she mutely observed the cube breaking apart, and amber eyes caught the merest glimpse of white bone before everything exploded in a sea of dust. The dust rained down everywhere, falling over the ruined buildings, settling on the uneven street…
She rubbed her eyes when a small breeze wandered past and blew a cloud of the dissipating dust all over her.
"Don't," Surprise shot through her as a calloused hand shot out of nowhere and grabbed her wrist, and the girl cocked her head at the Exorcist-man questioningly. "You're only going to get more of that stuff into your eyes. And you're bleeding."
Her gaze flickered down to the numerous wounds littering his body, to the deep gash in his side that was still leaking blood, "… So are you," she said in a soft whisper.
"I'll be fine," he grunted, "I've gotten worse injuries than this before. Something like this won't be enough to-" The chestnut-haired man broke off in a pained hiss as the girl poked his side.
"You're not okay," she said flatly, "It hurts… it hurts really bad, doesn't it?"
"I said," A drop of sweat rolled down the side of his face as he slowly recovered from the 'poke of evil' "I'll be fine."
The girl bit her lip at his stubbornness. He obviously needed medical attention, something which her studies had never covered, but from the looks of it, he had no intention of getting treatment-
"C'mon, let's get going now," The man muttered as he turned around, using his bow as a crutch, "Asia Branch isn't too far from here-"
"What?"
He rolled his eyes, "Asia Branch. Okay, I know you were a bit slow to react to the Akuma, but I'm not blaming you for anything, alright? That thing is dead now, and I still need to get back to Headquarters after I-"
"Um, hang on just a second," she said slowly raising her hand as if she was still sitting in one of her lessons and asking a question, "I think I'm missing something here. What's this 'Asia Branch'? And that –that monster, you called it an Akuma? Why did -Are they –are they all over the place? Wherever I go, I keep seeing them, ever since that fire, and-"
Her thoughts were messed up. Words kept tumbling out of her mouth as confusion hit her like a sledgehammer in that moment. That monster… 'Akuma'… he'd acted like he'd seen and fought so many of them before, like he was experienced, and the way that he talked, and… what the heck was an 'Asia Branch'?
"-the people, they turn to dust afterwards…" her ramblings trailed off as she noticed the man staring at her strangely, "…"
"You mean…" he said lowly, incredulity leaking into his tone, "You mean you don't know anything? B-but… how is that possible? How did you –you used your Innocence on that Akuma just now-"
"I used my what?"
"…" He stared at her, wide-eyed and (apparently) in shock, "… You really don't know?"
Confusion. Turmoil.
She shook her head wordlessly.
"Well then, how should I put it…" He scratched the back of his head, "Crap, those Science Division guys never told me how to explain this... So… uh… um, I'm Lin Jinyu… I'm an Exorcist, and we fight Akumas and… well… an Akuma is… oh, damn it, where's a Finder when you really need one?"
"… Explain to me later, then." She sighed, watching him wobble dangerously on his bow again, as he struggled to articulate himself clearly. The pain and blood loss was obviously affecting him much more than he let on, "You should get your wounds treated quickly."
"Right, then…" 'Jinyu' began the long, arduous process of hobbling along with the support of his makeshift crutch, "Let's get to the Asia Branch now then, shall we? They've got medical support there, and the people will probably explain things much better than I can to you –oh, by the way, what's your name?"
The girl briskly caught up to him, swiftly stepping over the rubble and pausing for the faintest of moments to watch the last traces of Akuma-dust drift away. She quickly snapped back into attention through, hurrying along and speeding up her footsteps to walk next to him.
"… Lassie."
He frowned, not expecting anything from her after that silence that had fallen between them, "Huh?"
"Lassie," The girl nodded decisively, feeling a new sort of fire burning within her –one that was so similar and yet so different from the fire on the ship. This new fire was burning away her pain, burning away her doubts, and setting her onto a new path. "My name is Lassie."
…
The seven links of her silver chain that hung down her front glowed briefly before reverting to its normal state again.
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Canon characters will start coming in next chapter as Lassie arrives at the Asia Branch and becomes an official Exorcist. This chapter was more of 'transition', I guess, and I apologize in advance for not being too good at writing action scenes. ^^" Hopefully I'll get better? Feel free to help me and add suggestions!
Please leave your comments and thoughts before you leave. Constructive criticism is appreciated!
