A Battle of Loyalty

Chapter 3

"I'm not their little princess anymore."

Kayo started down the hallway with Reever to chief's office. God knows what he wanted to tell her. Maybe she'd be kicked out on her second day in the order! A million thoughts buzzed in Kayo's head. All the anxiety started to give her a headache. When they reached his office Kayo stood frozen in place. "You okay?" asked Reever.

"I'm fine."

"Well then go on ahead." Reever opened and Kayo stepped in and saw Komui playing with his pen.

"Sir?"

"Kayo! How did you sleep?"

"Fine really." She said sitting on the sofa.

"Great! Well I wanted to give you your first official mission." He said standing up.

"Mission?"

"Yes, didn't I explain this to you yesterday?" Kayo was never more nervous in her life.

"Yes you did, but chief I never destroyed an akuma before. Do you think I'm ready?"

"Don't worry you'll be fine." He gave her a reassuring smile. It didn't help much though. Kayo barley knew how to control her weapon. Plus that scar on her arm doesn't help the control level at all. "Your mission will take place in England. There seems to be fragment of innocence located in London. We've received reports of a ghost. A couple months ago a young girl named Mary James was murdered. People claim to see her roaming around her home town .You need to look into that and find the source of innocence. Got all that?'
"Ghost?" Kayo was terrified. A ghost! Kayo never wanted to get close to a ghost.

"You might as well get used to ghosts. You are an exorcist now. You know what I mean. If it will help I'll send a finder with you."

"Okay sure." Kayo had met a couple of finders, they were very nice. After Komui went over the rest of the mission Kayo went to pack. When she opened her door she found a package on her bed that said "hope it fits newbie!" Kayo ripped it open. Inside was a pair of shorts and a jacket. Both made out of leather with silver lining and a shiny crest of a cross. Kayo pulled on her uniform along with her worn out pair of converse. Kayo was heading towards the end of the hallway when she ran into Allen.

"Hey. Already on a mission, huh? He asked.

"Yep."

"Nervous?"

"Yes." Kayo was usually very open about her feelings. She wasn't afraid to say she was nervous.

"Don't worry. You'll be fine."

"Yeah I've been getting that a lot."

"Good Luck Kayo. Be careful 'Kay?" He said with a chuckle.

"Sure thing. Bye Allen." Later that day on the train Kayo kept reading the mission packet over and over again. Maybe she'd find any tips on how to kill huge demons with poisonous bullets. Yep she was doomed. The finder seemed concerned.

"Miss Kimura, if I may, you shouldn't be worried. I am here and you can fight." The finder had wraps over his mouth and the hood of his long tan jacket was over his head.

'Thank you…?"

"Tomo, pleasure Miss Kimura."

"No the pleasure is all mine." They sat in silence for a while. Then Kayo spoke. "Tomo, I don't think I can do it."

"Do what?'

"Kill. I couldn't stand the guilt. I'd feel like monster."

"Miss Kimura, you aren't killing. By destroying the akuma you are putting the trapped soul out of misery." Kayo did feel a little better. She tried hard to ignore the feeling of regret that hung in the back of her head. Komui wasn't right. She was not ready for this.

By the time they had reached London and got an inn Kayo was worn out. She couldn't wait to sleep. She woke up at about 6 AM the next morning. After she got dressed Kayo headed over to Tomo's room. After knocking on the door about 3 times with no answer she assumed he was asleep. "It couldn't hurt to go into town." She thought to herself as she tip toed out of the inn. The streets of London were beautiful. Every corner was full of street vendors and shops. The people seemed friendly, but Kayo learned not to judge by appearance. As she was walking past a building of apartments she heard a shrill scream. Kayo ran after the shrieks until she reached a dead end. At the end was a girl that looked about the age of seven. She was sitting on the floor with her face in her knees and was screaming at the top of her lungs.

"HELP ME! DON"T LET THEM GET ME! PLEASE!" The girl was insane.

"Excuse me, little girl are you okay?" Kayo tried to shake the girl out of her trance but Kayo's hand went right through the girl. She couldn't believe it. She was face to face with Mary James, the girl who was murdered and the reason for her mission. "Hey can you hear me?" The girl stared up at her and with tear stained eyes. Then she looked down to the crest on Kayo's Jacket and began to scream again.

"EXORCIST! I WON'T LET YOU TAKE ME! THIS IS MY LIFE." Then she stood up and ran away as fast as she could.

"Hey wait up kid!" Kayo ran after Mary. They ran through crowds of people and over bridges. Then they reached a dense forest.

"What do you want?" Mary was stepping back slowly.

"My name is Kayo Kimura. I want to help. Are Mary James?" Asked Kayo breathing hard.

"Yes. I like living like this. You can't take it away."

"What are you talking about?" Kayo frankly was getting pissed off. Mary was being so vague and Kayo didn't know what the heck was going on! "Please explain to me what's going on."

"The green light."

"Green light?" Of course! Kayo the innocence that was inside Hevlaska was definitely green!

"Where is the light Mary?" Kayo was proud. She was solving this whole mystery on her own. Maybe she was ready.

"I'll never say. It keeps me here, on this planet, that's where I belong!" Kayo inched closer to Mary.

"Please, Mary, if you don't tell me many people you love will get hurt. That light that's keeping youalive attracts what we call akuma. They are demons. They destroy the green light and everything in its way. That green light is called innocence .We, the exorcist, we protect the innocence. Do you understand?"

"Who will get hurt?"

"Your family, friends, everyone." Mary began to cry again. Kayo was not good with kids. At all.

"I was murdered! I was killed in my own home!" Kayo didn't know what to say. This kid was serious and Kayo found herself fighting back tears. "I don't want to put anyone through that." Kayo got down on her knees to Mary's level.

"You don't have to. Just tell me where it is."

"I don't want to disappear. I'm scared." Now Kayo was crying.

"This way I c-can still visits my m-mother and my father. Though every time I walk through the door they don't even see me, and then when I try to talk to them they start, they start to cry and scream." Mary sunk to her knees again. "I'm not their little princess anymore." Kayo couldn't believe what someone Mary age has had to go through. Kayo had gone through something similar, but she never realized people had worse lives than her.

"You know, sometimes people are scared of me." Mary looked at Kayo with surprise." I mean look at me." Kayo pulled up her sleeve and showed her scar. The area around it was black and blue.

"Oh my god." Mary looked miserable. "Does it hurt?"

"Sometimes. Mary its okay to be scared to disappear. I promise if you did "disappear" you'd be able to visit your parents all the time. Without the screaming. Sometimes you just need to make a sacrifice." Mary glued her eyes to the ground without saying a word.

"I understand."

"Then you need to tell me where the light is."

"You see, I don't know exactly where it is. I see it in my dreams and I sense it sometimes. Likes its calling me. That's all."

"Well can you help me find it?" Kayo asked with a soft voice.

"Okay." No one could see Mary but Kayo. Must be because the connection through the innocence. So Kayo looked insane talking to herself. While they were walking a women came up to her with blood on her forehead.

"Please help! There's a monster!" then the women disintegrated in front of them leaving nothing but ashes in her place. Kayo ran to the scene. In front of her was a huge floating monster with guns all over his body. It had a star on its forehead had black circles around its eyes.

"What is that?" asked Mary scared.

"An Akuma. Innocence Activate!" Kayo's right arm transformed into a razor-sharp blade and she aimed right for the akuma. But her aim was off and she landed on her back with a pound. The akuma pointed its bullet right for her and, BANG! Kayo shut her eyes. Had she died on her first mission? Great. Yeah she had a lot to be proud of now. Then she opened her eyes. She wasn't floating in the afterlife. She was still there in London, struggling to her feet. Except Allen stood in front of her with a bullet through his chest. Then pentacles started to materialize on his face.

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