- Fifth Petal -

Evasion

With each falling petal, Kanda begins to tremble in fear.

In the weeks following the devastating Akuma invasion, Lenalee notices something strange about Kanda. It isn't the size of his tattoo, whose spindly tentacles have spread to his shoulder now, nor is it the effect of the somber cast over the entire headquarters of the Black Order. She can't quite place her finger on it, but she knows it is there, lurking somewhere in the recesses of Kanda's dark soul.

The thoughts drifting about in her head, she walks briskly down the hall and into the cafeteria on her renewed feet. Her violet eyes scan the room, grazing past rows of Finders and a gargantuan mound of food that is Allen eating until she finally finds—

"Kanda!"

He calmly places his chopsticks onto his cup, folds his hands in front of his empty soba bowl, and gives Lenalee an impassive look.

"What?"

"Nii-san is done repairing Mugen."

She puts the katana on the table in front of him with a clatter.

"Hmph. Took him long enough."

Lenalee scowls.

"You should know better, Kanda. The Order has been busy repairing the science department and devising new plans against the Earl. You can't expect your needs to always be first."

"Che."

Without another word, he grasps his blade and stalks out of the cafeteria. Lenalee stares at his retreating back, thinking and wondering before realizing with a start that Kanda has never made eye contact with her all this time. Her mind scrambles to recall past incidents: encounters with Allen-kun and Lavi, interactions with her, and exchanges with anyone of the Order. All starkly limited.

That's it, then: Kanda has been avoiding them more than usual.

Impulsively, she dashes after the swordsman, knowing that he will be heading towards his room.

"Kanda!" she calls. "Wait."

He pauses at, indeed, the door of his room, his free hand already on the handle. For the second time of the day, he turns to face Lenalee with an indifferent air about him.

"What?"

"Look at me," she says sternly.

He remains silently and instead slants his gaze down below Lenalee's eyes.

"Why are you avoiding my gaze?"

"…"

"Answer me!"

"Che."

Brushing aside her demand, he rotates the door handle and steps through the doorway. Lenalee swiftly blocks his progress by snatching the scabbard of Mugen.

"Look at me," she repeats firmly.

Reluctantly, it seems, Kanda slowly turns his gray eyes onto her violet ones.

Lenalee's breathe stops short when she sees the emotion (fear?) imbued in his cold eyes, no longer dark slates of steel. Her heart pounding in a stunned rhythm, she prods her own eyes into the faint light of Kanda's room and lingers upon the still-robust lotus sealed in the hourglass. She has seen the flower before, but now there are not two but five petals splayed at the wooden bottom of the case.

Why are you afraid? Why are you avoiding us?

She swallows once, trying to form her questions into spoken words while struggling in her own sentiments (fear), crystallized through seeing Kanda's emotional leakage.

"Why—"

"Nothing."

"Kanda—"

"Go away."

He jerks his katana out of her limp grasp and slams the door in her face.

A/N: Is there a pairing? No. If you want, you can think of it as Kanda x everyone and Kanda x lotus. (smile) Many blessings to Belladonna-Isabella, tokiya, skele-gro, Sweet Snow2, Halane, Kuro666, RebelFlame, Ai Minamoto, azab, and FirestormAngelBlaze for reviewing/acknowledging. Rock on!

D.Gray-Man (c) Hoshino Katsura