Today,I was chosen to go to a mission with Kanda. When I heard this,I practically begged Komui to switch me with someone else "Come on,Komui! I really don't wanna team up with him! "

" Oh it's alright! You get along better with him than anyone else! You're the only one who could make him talk first! "

What ?! Make him talk first?All he'd ever did was fight! But I have no choice because before I knew it,we were jumping down from a high bridge down to a moving train "You're light on your feet,red. "

"Don't call me red. I'm Xue Hwa. "

He opened the roof door and we climbed down,me putting the hood down and brushing off the sticky snow. A train attendant cam hastily came in and said "Sir!Madam! You shouldn't - " she stopped when she saw the emblem on my hood and Kanda's chest. "Please follow me. " she said as she walked to an empty cabin with the emblem on the door. As we sat down,Kanda automatically said "Exorcist have a free pass to trains,hotels and all sorts of convenience. We also have a finder. " He said as a guy in uniform and a large,metal backpack knocked on the door. "Excuse me. I am your finder,Maki. "

"I am Yu Kanda and this is Xue Hwa. "

"Very well. I will be guarding outside. " He said as the door clicked close. I turned to Kanda.

"What's a Finder?"

"group of volunteers working for Black Order who traverse the world, studying abnormal phenomena and determining the possible locations of shards of Innocence. The name says it all. "

"Okay... "

Awkward silence fills the cabin.

"So... How does your bow work? " Kanda asked. I felt awkward enough to be in the same cabin as him but for him to ask this kind of question.

"Mmh... I guess the Innocence uses light and materialize it for a while before turning back to its simplest form:light. I guess... "

"Hmm. "

" Can I see your Mugen?" I asked,pointing to the sword that was sitting next to him. "Sure. Just be careful. " He said as he handed me the blade. As I unwrapped the cloth and unsheathed the sword,my eyes must have been glistening. The blade was polished and smooth,sharp and simply beautiful. It was jet-black with silver at the edge and it shone with pride and glory. I must have been staring at it for a moment because when I regained my senses,my arms were aching a bit. I sheath the sword back and wrapped it,tying a Mizuhiki knot before passing it back to him. He examined the knot and asked "How do you know this knot?"

" My mother taught me. "

I took the pins from my ponytail and let my hair down. "We're almost there. " I said as I tied my hair into a bun and concealing most of it with my hood. "Why'd you hide your hair?"

"I don't think anyone would find a red hair normal in Mexico. "

It was a lot warmer in Maxico,so I took off the hood and asked Maki to hold on to it. As we went towards the Aztec temple,my eye suddenly reacted and I could sense Akuma. "Some Akumas are here. " I whispered softly as we continued on the empty street.

"Level?"

"1,maybe 2. 2 at your east and 2 at my north. " Suddenly,guns shot out of nowhere and both of us seperated to dodge the bullets. Two men were transformed into Akuma as they pursue us. Level 1 Akumas were easier to handle and I shot them both in a moment. Then came the level 2's. One which has a giant belly with a pentacle on it and one that resembles a porcelain doll. I was distorted when I saw the soul of the Akumas. I tried resisting but I vomit when I saw what has become of the soul. Kanda came in to block an attack from the Level 2 Akuma "Oi,get a hold of yourself! " he shouted.

" The souls... " I said as I wiped my mouth and stood up.

" We don't have time to space-out! " He shouted again,this time demanding. In the corner of my eye,I saw the porcelain doll-like doll aiming for Kanda's left side,its arm becoming a giant saw. I quickly stretched the bow and shot two arrows at it. It changed its form to a donut shape and the arrows just passed through it. "Shishi... Too bad,girly... I can change my form to dodge those pesky arrows! " It shouted as it changed its target to me. Kanda was fighting the big bellied Akuma which uses gravity but that doesn't seem to affect him much. "Target:locked. " I mumbled under my breath as arrows loaded at my bow "Arrows of everlasting purity! " I shouted as I kept shooting as many arrows as I can,forming a swarm of them. Again,the Akuma changed its form " What are you,stupid? No matter how many times you shoot,you will never get me! " it shouted as its arm turned into a saw once again. I didn't have time to dodge the attack and the blade dug into my shoulder,cutting my flesh. Blood spurted from it and I let out a howl of pain. "Hehe... Now... Die!" it said as pentacles appear the wound "I'm not going to die... " I said as I pointed its back "You are. " The Akuma made a foolish move and turned its head. The arrows came and pierce its head and body. "You... damn exorcist... !" it said as it crumbles to pieces as the soul rise into the sky. I pulled out the blade and watched as the pentacles disappear. The blood still flowed but I ignored the pain as I shot the other akuma. But the gravity was too heavy and the arrow immediately shattered on the ground when it entered the field. Shit. With this kind of gravity,none of my arrows can even graze him. Despite the gravity that could even crush light,Kanda was still standing. That's when I found an opening to this little trick. Holding back the pain,I angled the bow as high as I could and shot five arrows. They were right on top of the Akuma when they entered the field. The gravity pulled them down and in less than a second,two of them dug themselves into his head. The gravity effect lessen and Kanda immediately cut it in half,shattering every piece of Dark Matter in it. "Took you long enough. " I said to Kanda as Maki helps fix my wound.

" Ch. Are they still any Akumas in the radius? "

"No. Aren't any your bones broken from that force of gravity?"

" I'm stronger than you think. Now... " he said as he held his hair up "You got a string or something? "

"Use mine. I don't really need it since there's no one here. " I said taking out the ribbon. He accepted it and tied his hair in the usual way. It's hard to believe that still that smooth. We continued our journey to the Aztech temple. It felt better when my hood is down since it felt nice having wind through my ears. As the building came to our view,I was astonished by how big and beautiful it was. But it wasn't time for a tour as the mission consists of retrieving Innocence from a ghost. as we walked cautiously through the pillars,I saw something shifting in the corner of my eye. I turned and saw nothing but pillars and broken pieces of marble and limestone "What is it? "

"It's nothing... I must be hallucinating from all that blood loss. "

But I could still feel the presence of whatever was watching us,and I couldn't even sense any Akuma. Suddenly,we heard a noise "Give it back... " We surveyed the area and something came out of a deity statue "Give it back... my life... ! " the young girl suddenly shrieked as it came towards me "I'll take your body!" it shouted as I swiftly shot an arrow through her head. The arrow was still stuck in her head but she kept persisting " I-I want to be alive again! Those people dug my heart out in front of me and pushed me down to the bottom of those treached temple! " she shouted as she tore off her rib cage,the bones breaking furiously and showing a hollow hole where the heart should be. Instead,Innocence was lying cozily between the lungs. I nodded to Kanda as a signal and I shot her again. She dodged ran to me like a maniac. But in two seconds,Kanda cut her in half,the hip down part collapsing and the upper part falling to the ground. She was making gaping noises and looked traumatized when she saw that her legs were lying beside her. I went to her and held the Innocence,squishing her lungs "Don't ... Stop ... " She said as tears fell from her red eyes.

" I'm sorry. And rest in peace. " I said as I ripped the Innocence from her chest,letting her body to crumble and her soul to go free. "May your soul find a way to Heaven. " I mumbled under my breath and suddenly,a darkly familiar voice rang "Why hello,little Exorcists~~ ! " I froze and clutched the Innocence as tightly as I could. Stiffly,I turned around and cursed in my head when I saw him. Kanda was already unsheathing his sword.

It was the Millenium Earl.