Cross My Heart
Author's Note: It's been...ages since I last updated. Sorry about that. Life kind of got in the way. Plus, I had terrible writer's block. Anyway, here's another chapter. So sorry if it is horrible. Opinions are appreciated whether they are positive or negative.
Disclaimer: I own the plot and any characters that have sprung from MY imagination and nothing more.
Chapter 7: Salient
It was supposed to be an easy mission.
"Kanda, left!"
The Japanese exorcist ducked underneath the level 2 attempting to attack his blind spot and rammed Mugen into the akuma's chest. The machine let out an inhuman cry as it fell, but Kanda paid it no mind as he continued to fight.
Komui had said that it would be a simple retrieval mission. Get the Innocence and get out; nothing more and nothing less. Fighting against an army of akumas was not in the plan.
"Bellerose, above!"
Chloe side-stepped the level 3 diving towards her, and she placed a hand on the akuma's body as the strange black markings on her skin glowed. A large depression appeared on the killing machine's body seconds later, starting from the place Chloe had touched and moving outward. The akuma didn't even have time to scream in agony before it exploded.
The akuma army was certainly growing smaller as Chloe and Kanda hacked through the machines, but it was more a battle of endurance for the two exorcists as they faced their seemingly limitless adversaries. Before either knew it, Kanda and Chloe found themselves leaning back to back, panting heavily in exhaustion and struggling to stay upright, as more akumas joined in the "fun."
"We're in trouble, aren't we?" Chloe asked as she reached into her uniform jacket.
"You can say that again," Kanda said while readying Mugen.
"What are the chances we make it back alive?"
"Slim to none."
"Good. Just the way I like it."
Kanda smirked as the akumas began to charge. He didn't understand this girl at all.
"Hey, let's make a bet, since we're probably not coming out of this unscathed and all."
Kanda momentarily removed his eyes from the wall of akumas and glanced over his shoulder at the red-haired girl.
"Whoever kills the most gets bragging rights for a month."
"Che. Why would I do something stupid like that?"
"Because," Chloe stated, "you're just as competitive as I am, and we both know that it would seriously irk you if you lost to a girl you hardly know."
The girl was right, Kanda admitted to himself. His pride as a samurai was on the line now.
"Fine. You're on, Bellerose."
Let the games begin!
"Komui, are you there?"
Said supervisor was currently napping at his desk. The ancient radio transmitter sitting on the desk beside him gave a loud squeal, but the Chinese scientist remained blissfully unaware as he slept.
"He isn't answering."
"The idiot is probably asleep."
Komui twitched slightly, but he slept on as the conversation played out over the radio speaker.
"Komui, get up already!"
"Che. That was pathetic."
"Well, you try it then, Kanda-sama."
"Whatever."
Komui grinned in his sleep, totally unaware of the chaos about to wrench him from his pleasant dream.
"KOMUI NO BAKA, WAKE UP!" (1)
With a yelp, Komui flipped out of his chair and landed in a heap on the floor.
"You up now, Komui?"
"Yes, Kanda-kun, I am awake," the Chinese scientist replied while willing his heart to stop attempting to hammer a hole in his chest. "Did you two finish your mission yet?"
"Well…that's why we called."
"What's wrong, Chloe?"
"Nothing's wrong…it's just…well—"
"—your information was total crap and there isn't any Innocence, just armies of akuma to get rid of."
Komui frowned as he thought about what Kanda had said.
"Are you sure there isn't any Innocence? The finders reported that there was a Conformer living in the town only twenty-four hours ago."
"Either said Conformer is in hiding, or the finders were wrong."
"The Innocence and the Conformer could've also been destroyed before we arrived."
"How long will you both need to confirm whether the Innocence or the Conformer is still in the town?"
"There are hordes of akuma hiding throughout the town, so fighting them and searching at the same time will take a while."
"Do you want me to send reinforcements?"
"We're not weaklings, Komui. We can handle it on our own."
"Are you sure, Kanda-kun? I mean, you both only have so much energy to spend before you get tired, and—,"
"No worries, we'll be fine, Komui. We'll report back when we get something useful."
Komui listened to the loud static pouring out of the transmitter for a few moments as his mind mulled over the entire conversation. It worried him that the information he had been given was wrong. Well, he didn't really know if it was incorrect or not. That wasn't what concerned the Chinese scientist the most.
Both Chloe and Kanda—the Kanda that hated working with other exorcists; that refused to acknowledge other exorcists' strength; that hated people in general—had both said "we" during the conversation.
'We're not weaklings…We can handle it on our own…'
Those two statements had come from Kanda's mouth.
'No worries, we'll be fine…'
…Not to mention the fact that Chloe had agreed as well.
The cogs were beginning to turn in Komui's mind as a large grin spread over his face. He had a lot of work to do…yes…he had work to do!
I'm scared…
She was alone. Everyone was killed by the monsters right before her eyes.
Mama, Papa, where are you?
There was so much blood it made her sick to her stomach. She wanted to leave her hiding place. She just wanted to run away and never look back. However, she couldn't move unless she was told to. Mama had said not to.
"Let's check this part of the house before we stop for the night."
There were new voices. She heard the door to the room just before the one she was hiding in creak open—it had always squeaked terribly—and two distinct pairs of footsteps entered the room. She prayed silently that it wasn't those monsters again.
"Let's go, Bellerose. No one survived here."
One pair of footsteps came to a halt while the other pair continued on.
"Someone did survive. I can feel it."
The footsteps approached the door and came to a halt.
I'm scared!
"Let's just go already."
Someone…anyone…help me!
She heard the door to her hiding place open and gasped softly.
Save me!
"Bellerose, you've wasted enough time already. No one is here. Let's go."
"I humbly apologize for wasting your precious moments, Kanda-sama. If it is your wish to leave, then we shall depart at once!"
"Shut up, Bellerose."
She heard the footsteps growing fainter as the voices faded away and let out a relieved sigh. She didn't know why she was scared. The voices hadn't sounded mean and they hadn't attacked her or anything.
But, she was still frightened. She didn't know what to do.
'Don't worry. I will tell you what you must do, Child.'
Another voice…it sounded so smooth, so soothing.
'Are you still frightened?'
Why would she not be scared?
'Child, you need to get up and come to me.'
Come to whom? She was still too frightened to move.
'I see. I will help you then.'
Help? How?
'Stand up and walk.'
She felt her body begin to move on its own, and she walked across the room and headed outside.
'Good. Now, reach out your hand.'
Her arm lifted up towards the sky without any bidding, and a warm hand gently clasped her own. She was lifted up into the air as if she weighed nothing.
"Hello, Child."
It was that voice again, only, it was from above?
"I will help free you from your fear."
What were those black markings? They caused a shiver of fear to run down her spine.
"Don't worry. It will be painless."
A hand touched her forehead, and all the scared thoughts immediately vanished from her mind. She felt at peace. It was a wonderful feeling…
"Now, I need you to do a favor for me, Child."
I'll do anything for you…Master.
"This is wrong, Kanda."
The Japanese exorcist stopped rummaging through the cabinet and threw a glare at Chloe.
"Bellerose, everyone in this place is dead. They won't care if we use their stuff, unless you plan on freezing to death as you sleep," he stated while returning to his search.
As soon as the sun had set, the temperature had dropped considerably, and snow began to fall from the sky. The two exorcists, as stubborn as they were, decided that it was best to find shelter for the night. They found a small house that wasn't as badly destroyed as all the rest in the town and settled in. Once blankets, food, and fire were obtained, Chloe and Kanda got as comfortable as they could on the hard floor. Kanda sat against the wall closest to the fire (not that he would ever admit to being slightly cold), and Chloe sat down a few feet away from her fellow exorcist.
"How many?" Chloe asked after a long period of silence.
Kanda turned to the red-haired girl in confusion.
"How many what?"
"Remember the bet we made this morning?"
Ah…that. Kanda thought for a moment.
"Two hundred one."
"Really?" Chloe said with a laugh. "I guess you won then."
"How many did you get?"
The red head went silent as she tallied up the number of akumas she had slain that day alone.
"Two hundred and a half."
Kanda raised an eyebrow and turned to meet Chloe's gaze.
"How," he began slowly, "do you only kill half an akuma?"
"We both landed the finishing blow on the same one. Makes it half and half."
Chloe chuckled after a moment and pulled the blanket even tighter around her shoulders.
"That means we tied," she stated once she had regained her composure.
Kanda scoffed.
"Che. I'm older than you, so I win."
"How do you know that, Kanda? For all you know, I'm twenty-one."
"Are you?" Kanda asked.
"Didn't think you cared," was Chloe's answer.
"I don't."
"Doesn't matter anyway," the red-haired girl stated. "You didn't win."
"I've been in the Order longer. Makes me the senior exorcist."
"I'm a General, ergo, senior exorcist or not, I outrank you."
"Whatever," came Kanda's intelligent response.
Chloe smirked.
"Neither of us won."
"Yeah, yeah. Just shut up already," Kanda hissed while closing his eyes.
Chloe grinned. Victory was sweet.
Komui knew that he was being impatient. It was obvious that staring at the transmitter wouldn't make a voice suddenly come through, but he had to try. Besides, it was a good excuse to get out of work.
The transmitter let out a squeal and a series of ear-shattering pops a moment later, and Komui instantly grabbed the microphone with a silly grin on his face.
"Lenalee-chan?" he asked.
"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not her."
"Hello Chloe. Have you two found anything?"
"Not yet. We're giving it one more day."
"How come?"
"Kanda sensed something following us on our search this morning, but it disappeared. Also, we only encountered akumas in one place in the town today."
"So you believe the Innocence is still there?"
"Yeah. The Conformer might still be alive too."
"That's good."
Komui wished that he could believe his own words.
"Anyway, I'll get off so you can listen for Lenalee. Tell her I said hello."
"I will," Komui said with a smile.
"Oi, Bellerose, get over here!"
"I'll talk to you tomorrow, Supervisor."
"Good luck."
"Sí. Buena suerte." (2)
Static poured from the transmitter when Chloe's voice faded away, and Komui leaned back in his chair with a sigh.
"I miss my Lenalee-chan…"
The next few days for Kanda and Chloe passed by at an extremely slow rate. They had scoured the town for any signs of the Innocence and had come up with nothing but akuma. However, the exorcists had discovered the one place where the akuma seemed to be congregating at over time. That meant one of two things—Noah or Innocence.
Kanda and Chloe found themselves searching the grounds of a lavish mansion a few miles east of the new ghost town, but the trip so far had not produced any results.
"It's a wonder nothing in the mansion hasn't been destroyed yet," Chloe stated while staring up at the Rembrandt hanging on the wall.
"Anything downstairs?" Kanda asked.
"Nothing but blood and ash. No Innocence."
"Bayu-bayushki-bayu…Ne lozhisya na krayu…" (3)
Both exorcists froze and listened as the childish voice drifted down from the next floor.
"…Pridyot serenkiy volchok…"
Chloe sprinted up the marble staircase without waiting for Kanda. The child's voice was nearby, but that wasn't what worried the red-haired girl.
"…On ukhvatit za bochok…I utashchit vo lesok…Pod rakitovy kustok…"
All right, so sorry it's short. I had to end it here or the next chapter would be even shorter than this one is. Hope you liked it. If you didn't...sorry?
Reason I chose "Salient" as the chapter title - the salient is surrounded by the enemy on three sides, making the troops occupying the salient vulnerable. The enemy's line facing a salient is referred to as a re-entrant (an angle pointing inwards). A deep salient is vulnerable to being "pinched out" across the base, forming a pocket in which the defenders of the salient become isolated.
Translations:
(1) Komui no baka - it means, to my understanding of Japanese, "Komui, you idiot/fool."
(2) buena suerte - "Good luck" in Spanish.
(3) Russian lullaby - "Baby, baby, rock-a-bye/On the edge you mustn't lie/Or the little grey wolf will come/And will nip you on the tum/Tug you off into the wood/Underneath the willow-root."
I have now expanded my collection of phrases in different languages from German, French, Spanish, and Japanese to Russian! How cool am I? (Not very, if you ask me.)
Anyway, I must sleep now. Gutennacht.