'Maybe I really should kill Komui this time,' I thought to distract myself from my current situation.
I was on a mission with none other than Kanda himself…again. This was the 3rd one this week alone, one after the other. And as fate would have it, I was stuck alone with him. The female Finder that was assisting us went to go reserve rooms at the local inn while Kanda and I gathered information on the mysterious occurrences that have been happening in this small town.
There were reports of people falling comatose when they went into a certain area on the edge of the forest surrounding the town. According to the townsfolk, this particular area was where the ruins of the town they used to reside in were located before a devastating earthquake destroyed it, forcing them to relocate and rebuild. Since people were falling comatose rather than being dead or disappearing, it was safe to assume that it was Innocence-related.
'At least these missions were pretty close to headquarters. I hope there's lots of Akuma involved in this mission. Anything to get me away from Kanda.'
Ever since the Valentine's Day incident, it has been much more awkward just being in the same general area as Kanda. And while I got to take out my frustration on him, the whole soup-to-the-face episode didn't really help my case. Though this feeling of awkward tension was understandable, it just didn't sit right with me for some reason.
The glare Kanda had been directing at me since we left headquarters was even more painful than normal. I could practically feel the holes being burned through the back of my head. The glare itself was different from the usual one he gave everyone.
Despite the glare, Kanda still acted the same way towards me since before the incident. If anything, I was the one that changed. I only spoke to him when absolutely necessary, and even then it was never more than a few brief sentences. I avoided him as much as I could every time I saw him at headquarters.
The most important change, one that Lavi pointed out to the others and me, was that I no longer made eye contact when Kanda spoke to me or vice versa. Lenalee and Lavi knew the severity of this and filled Allen in when he didn't understand.
If there was anything that everyone knew about me (aside from my apparently "strange" choice of attire), it was that I always maintained eye contact when speaking or spoken to. It was something that was deeply ingrained in me from my upbringing. It showed that I was confident and that I was showing the person the respect they deserved. My fellow Exorcists and I could only speculate as to what this subconscious action meant.
The thought of this subconscious avoidance sent an ominous shiver down my spine. It unnerved me that he could invoke such a drastic change in me. The very thought made me feel even more uncomfortable being with Kanda. I silently prayed that Lavi would just appear out of nowhere and diffuse the tension like he usually did. However, every time this happened the tension during my next encounter with Kanda was always much stronger for some reason.
'Let's just get this mission over with.' I huffed, walking further ahead of Kanda to the ruins.
As I had suspected, the occurrences were Innocence-related. Sadly, there were no Akuma to temporarily distract me from the tension, causing it to escalate further.
'At least we retrieved a piece of Innocence.' I sighed, walking into the inn with Kanda at my side.
"We'll be taking the boat back to headquarters tomorrow. Be ready by 8:30. The boat leaves at 9 AM sharp," Kanda stated gruffly after his call to headquarters.
I looked at the floor and gave a small nod, indicating that I heard him. As I moved to go to my room, he abruptly snatched my wrist. I gasped but didn't look at him.
"Look at me when I'm talking to you," he demanded, snarling threateningly.
"Don't cause a scene," I muttered, ignoring his demand.
Kanda still wouldn't loosen his grip on my wrist. Instead, he let out another feral growl. "Your attitude is pissing me off. Stop acting like such a brat."
"Do you think acting this way pleases me?" I snapped, glowering at him. The shy Finder, who had been silently observing our encounter, flinched at my sudden shout. Noticing this, I ripped my wrist from his hold and led the poor girl to the room I shared with her, leaving the fuming Kanda behind.