Chapter 6: At Last, Together
Daine stumbled back, her hand blindly thrown out behind her, searching for something to steady herself on. Everything was suddenly lit, gone up in flames, and for a moment, she couldn't see. In the time it took her eyes to adjust from the pitch black the room had been before to a blaze of sparks and flame, the man, no, the Noah who had been in front of her closed the distance between them in an easy two strides.
"Are you going to invoke our innocence and attack me now, cherie?"
Daine blinked feverishly and held her arms in front of her body defensively. Elsewhere, Kanda cursed, struggling to his feet, doubling over as the pangs in his stomach threatened to bring him to his knees once more. The man tilted his head at her curiously before letting out a soft, "ah," of understanding.
"You can't see."
Staggering back from the sound of his voice, Daine fell, knocking her hand painfully against a cabinet, or what she vaguely assumed to be one. She was too preoccupied with the hazy white that was all she could make out in front of her. Slowly, a silhouette was made distinguishable, and then blurry features. The same glowing, tawny eyes watched her with amusement. Elsewhere there was a scraping noise and a deep-throated growl.
In all honesty, for Kanda to stand in his condition, it was a miracle. The Noah had been toying with him, immune to the sickness that had hit Kanda full force. But it would never be said that he had allowed a Noah to take the innocence while he still drew breath. With a rebel yell, he launched himself at the enemy, sword in the air. The Noah smoothly stepped aside to avoid the attack, but the figurative damage was done. Daine scrambled to her feet, the gold glint in a knocked over cookie jar full of flour telling her exactly what she needed to know.
She lunged under the Noah's arm and grabbed the innocence at just the same time that he sent Kanda flying with a vicious kick. Daine shook out the substance of the jar, biting back a scream when the Noah suddenly appeared in front of her, the expression on his face very far from amused.
"Give me the jar, girl."
Daine scrambled away from him, bumping into a cabinet and nearly tripping over a frying pan. The Noah's golden eyes were trained on her in curiosity.
"Still not attacking, hmm? I must admit, I'm rather intrigued. Do you think you can beat me without your innocence weapon? Because if you do, rest assured that that is not even close to the case…"
Daine clutched the jar to her chest, her eyes wide in fear. She crashed and stumbled her way backwards, choking on the dust in the air as she went. Her mind was racing. She couldn't fight, but perhaps if she distracted the man in front of her for long enough…she could make it to Kanda…
"How do you know?"
The man looked at her, a slim eyebrow raised.
"How do I know what…? That you don't stand a chance against me without your weapon?"
Daine kept backing up, trying to keep a level expression on her face. How many steps did she still need to bluff through? She quirked her own eyebrow, trying to sound as cocky as she possibly could manage. Channel Kanda's arrogance…you're Allen, you haven't eaten, and the innocence is a ticket stub for a free twelve-course dinner…be self-assured…you're Lavi, trying to get in some poor girl's skirts…Pretend you have a secret weapon…like a Sir Komlin that actually works…channel the smug Noah bastard in front of you…
"Au contraire, sir. Perhaps it is you who doesn't stand a chance against my weapon and I am only having mercy on your misbegotten soul by not drawing it."
Her voice came out so smoothly she surprised herself. She was walking backwards in small, slow steps, and somehow she felt as though she was dancing with him, every step she took back, he moved forward.
"As suave as your delivery seems to be, darling, I can tell that you're bluffing. I've been around much too long to be fooled by such an act-a good one, but I digress."
Okay, so bluffing wasn't working. Daine decided to stall.
"Suave is a word more often associated with masculinity, isn't it? Are you implying something about my appearance, mister…?"
She hadn't actually meant to sound so flirty, but it had come out the way it had come out, and her enemies eyes roved up and down her body, settling on her face after what felt like an agonizingly long time, glimmering in the fire light.
"Tyki. Tyki Mikk."
Oh boy, if Kanda had been closer to conscious, or at least far enough gone not to realize what she was doing, she would never hear the end of it. Fraternizing with the enemy, though it might be for the sake of the mission? Scandalous! She stepped back once, then again, backing up more quickly as he advanced on her like a predator after its prey. Her back hit the wall suddenly, and she felt the fabric of his shirt on her bare arm around the jar, he was so close. His fingers toyed with the empty sleeve of her jacket before tugging it off her shoulders, where she had it draped, as usual.
"My, my, the uniforms you exorcists wear aren't the most modest, are they…?"
Daine avoided gritting her teeth in consternation. Her uniform was something similar to a sleeveless turtleneck dress, though the neckline had more of the appearance of a choker and the entire front of her dress was made of thin white belts that buckled closed. It went down to only just above her knee, and it fit snugly against her curves, following tightly along the contours of her body until the very end. It was a far cry from Win's plain tank top and the mid-thigh length skirt that covered a pair of much longer shorts, but there was a reason for it. The same reason why she perpetually wore her jacket draped over her shoulders, rather than with her arms through the sleeves, as normal people did. She could transfer power to others through skin on skin contact. What better way to maximize efficiency than to easier access her skin?
"They're all customized to our fighting styles, Mr. Mikk. Subtly, of course. Though akuma are hardly perceptive enough to deduce the differences in a coat with a hood and a short skirt or a body suit. Can you guess the reasoning behind mine…?"
Tyki was suddenly in her face, his breath cool against her flaming cheeks. She had never been this close to a man, and despite being an evil bastard, Tyki Mikk was certainly a man. He chuckled as though he could palpably feel her discomfort.
"I shouldn't think so…but I'm sure, with ample opportunities to research the matter, I could figure it out…"
He leaned forward and Daine allowed her already wobbling knees to give out and thus dropped like a stone and then scrambled on the floor towards her fallen comrade. Her heart nearly stopped when Tyki grabbed her ankle and sank when she realized Kanda was in his full uniform, coat and all, his hands and face-the only things exposed-out of her reach.
"DAMMIT, KANDA, THROW ME A BONE, HERE!"
Her fingers lightly grasped at his boot, even as she kicked and flailed about trying to get away from an extremely far from amused Tyki. The Japanese exorcist groaned and rolled over, trying to sit up and failing. Seeing Daine-more specifically, the cookie jar full of flour in Daine's hand-he cursed and sat up, doubling over instantly and coughing up blood. Funnily enough, it was this that saved them, because his movement pulled up the hem of his pants around his ankle. Just enough for the tip of Daine's finger to reach.
She felt a familiar rush, and Kanda smirked. The effects of the innocence were nearly null and void, and he could feel that she had given him as much as she could without incapacitating herself. Good. This way, she wouldn't get in his way. He pulled himself to his feet as Tyki watched, curious to the point of letting Daine go. He could hunt her down later.
Daine started digging through the jar, feeling for the innocence as Kanda jumped at Tyki, letting loose his illusions on the Noah he currently had a vendetta against. There was an explosion and she turned her head to the door, eyes wide. Win had been fighting a group of level ones, alone. Surely she couldn't be-
She ran out of time to ponder her friend's fate when an akuma came in through the hole in the wall that had been made when Tyki kicked Kanda into it. She yelped and started running away from it, inadvertently leading it towards the battle going on in the center of the kitchen. Tyki used the distraction to steal away from the fight to chase after her, leaving Kanda to deal with the akuma. Daine cursed, ducking beneath a counter, rummaging through the jar.
"Where the hell did it go? It's a glowing golden cube! They don't disappear, just like that!"
"You're right, they don't."
Tyki was standing before her, nefarious smile and all.
"Fuck-"
She crashed into the same counter she had been hiding under, trapped. He smirked.
"Give me the jar."
Daine panicked. Rather than corner her properly, though, Tyki held out a hand and waited patiently for her to bring it to him. She looked wildly about her, and then there were shouts from the door.
"Watch out, Allen!"
Win saved Allen from losing is head with a violent swipe of her innocence claws. Lavi was already fighting his way to Kanda, cheerfully shouting for them to "find Daine." Said female exorcist cursed at their distance. There were too many akuma between them for her to somehow pass them the jar. Tyki glared at the company, and Daine, in a moment of…madness, lifted the jar above her head and proceeded to smash it on the ground. Flour exploded into the air, blinding both Daine and Tyki, and Daine fell to the floor and started rifling through the white to find the innocence. Tyki did the same, dropping to his knees in a less-than-dignified way, a wild scowl on his face.
There it was, a glint of gold, on the very edge of the pile of spilt flour. Daine stumbled to her feet, the familiar lightheadedness threatening to take over, even as Tyki stood in a single abrupt movement only a step away. Vaguely, their eyes met, and, oblivious to the shouting behind them, they lunged.
Daine was lighter and more desperate. She grabbed the innocence and straightened up. Before she could run over to Allen or Win, the closest, capable exorcists, Tyki turned on her with an almost uncharacteristic snarl, and she closed her eyes tightly and prayed.
There was a sudden brightness in front of her and the unusually small cube in her hand was gone. When she opened her eyes in shock, Tyki was standing there looking at her curiously. The sounds of battle were all but over, and though Allen had been engaged, and Kanda still fought, Win and Lavi managed to stumble onto their side of the kitchen. Tyki straightened, clearly appreciating the fact that it was time for him to go. He smiled at Daine, who was standing shocked, her knees shaking, covered in flour, her messy bun almost entirely undone, her green eyes wide and staring into space, as if she could see something there.
"It was a pleasure meeting you, Daine. You're quite engaging-and now? Positively intriguing. I'm sure we'll be seeing one another again quite soon. Take care of the innocence, yes?"
He took a step closer, lifted her limp hand in his, and pressed his lips to it politely.
"Until then, cherie."
With that, he all but disappeared, leaving naught but chaos and destruction and a trembling Daine in his wake.
Needless to say, Win was not pleased.
"THAT BASTARD! Are you okay, Daine? I CAN'T BELIEVE THE NERVE OF THAT STUPID NOAH! He didn't hurt you, right? ARGH, FUCKING INNOCENCE STEALER!"
Daine had been strong to stay standing up to that point, but here her strength failed her and she fell to her knees, still shocked.
"He didn't take it…"
Nonplussed, Win barreled on.
"THAT LOUSY, EVIL JERK! HOW DARE HE? HOW DARE HE?"
Lavi, however, immune to the fits of irritable exorcists with a temper, heard what Daine said and was taken aback himself.
"You mean, he just gave up?"
"WHAT THE HELL IS HE DRESSED FOR, ANYWAY? HIS FUNERAL? SADISTIC WOMANIZER!"
Daine nodded, albeit extremely unsurely.
"Yes-well, kind of. He couldn't have taken it…because I had it…"
Lavi didn't miss the tone of worry in her voice, but he was so pleased in the success of their mission, he brushed it away. Win was still ranting about Tyki, his appearance, his audacity, his mother, and everything in between. Daine suddenly grabbed Lavi's sleeve, her expression desperate.
"Lavi, we need to get back to base. I need to talk to Komui, Hevlaska too, probably. The innocence is gone."
The redhead stared at her for a moment, frowning, before carefully saying, "you said you had it…"
Daine clenched her fists, trying not to tear up.
"I did have it! I was holding it, and then there was a light, and it melted in my hand. Tyki couldn't have touched it. He was really mad, too, and then he just left. He told me to take care of it. I had it, I swear, and now, I-I, I don't know w-where-"
It was all she could say before she burst into tears. Lavi stared at her for a moment before pulling her into a hug.
"Hey, you tried. You tried as hard as you could, and for someone who can't even fight akuma, you did a damn good job. So don't cry, okay? And…even if we don't have the innocence, at least the Millennium Earl doesn't have the innocence, right? Better have it gone than in their hands. But you did good, you tried your hardest and you saved Yu, right?"
Daine sniffled and buried her nose deeper into his chest, causing him to sigh. Lavi really did think she'd done a good job. He wasn't, though, sold on the notion that everyone else would see things the same way. Everyone else being Kanda.
And of course, when you speak of the devil-or so much as think of him-he will appear.
"What the hell happened?"
The Japanese exorcist was mad, raging, and it was obvious. Win glared at him, always ready to shout a few choice words in his direction.
"What HAPPENED, asshole, was that Daine and I got attacked, so I told her to go ahead and give you a hand, and she did, and she had a damn time with it! What HAPPENED, Kanda, was that the two of you didn't know that the akuma had found a new way to get to the innocence-one that didn't involve us."
She was spitting mad, but after hearing what Lavi had told Daine, she couldn't believe the nerve of the man. Allen, just come over, put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down, Lavi, still holding Daine, tried to calm the wrath of Kanda in his own less confrontational way.
"Hey, don't worry, Yu-chan, they didn't get the innocence."
Kanda turned to him with a snarl, though seemingly more prepared to listen.
"Don't call me that!"
He paused, turning aggressively to Daine.
"You have the innocence then?"
She shrugged helplessly at him, furiously trying to blink away her tears, still wrapped up in Lavi's comforting embrace.
"I don't-"
She swallowed and Allen tried to intercede.
"She had it, Kanda, and somehow it disappeared. Tyki didn't take it, though, and that's something to be thankful for, right?"
The black haired exorcist glared at him before stalking off. Once he was gone, Allen's face furrowed into a frown. Innocence didn't just disappear. It joined with a weapon, with its accommodator. Daine already had her innocence, it was impossible for her to receive another one. Right? He thought back to what Win had told him about their meeting with Hevlaska.
"So, how did it go?"
They were walking down a hallway at headquarters. Win fixed him with a grin and two thumbs up.
"It was great. I'm at 87% synchronization normally, but just for an experiment, we tried it after Daine had been checked and she gave me some power and I ended up at 261%! Hevlaska had never seen anything like it! And that was only a third of what Daine had. After that she was running at about 17%."
She suddenly frowned.
"It was weird. Hevlaska couldn't tell when she first checked Daine whether she was running at 48% or 98%. Isn't that weird?"
He nodded in agreement.
"It's not like Hevlaska to not be spot on."
He felt as if there was a possibility staring him in the face, and he simply couldn't see it. It was bothering him, but he couldn't do anything about it. It was pushed away until they reached headquarters, but he made sure to mention it to Komui, who promptly called for Daine and took her away. Lavi, Win, and Allen waited nervously in Komui's office for the results of her test. It had long since been agreed that the innocence must have been absorbed into her somehow, but they hadn't come up with any sort of explanation for it during the time they could get away from the Kanda's anger and Daine's melancholy. Both viewed the mission as a failure and spent the trip back in silence.
"Ugh, Lenalee's so lucky! I wish I was in there with Daine-I mean, I'm practically her sister!"
Allen sighed and shrugged, used to Win's complaints. They had been waiting for quite a while, as the ones to escort Daine in to see Hevlaska had been Lenalee and her brother, and they still hadn't come out. Allen smiled cheerfully at the scowling Win.
"Don't worry, I'm sure she'll be out any second now."
At least, that's what he would have said, had the door not noisily been thrown open and Win jumped up and ran over to Daine, excitedly, worriedly asking, "what did she say?"
Komui had walked off, scribbling furiously while muttering about beginning a new, vital research project and Lenalee was beaming. A shocked, if tired Daine smiled wearily at her friend, holding up both hands unsurely.
"The innocence that was on the ship…apparently, it was mine."
At Last, Together/End.