Cross My Heart
Author's Note: Okay, so it's been a little longer than a week, but at least it hasn't been over a year! I'll apologize in advance, I wrote this chapter basically in a few hours last night, so if it doesn't make a lot of sense, sorry!
Anyway, answering reviews time!
Melty-chan 93: Here you go! Hope you like it! (:
Lathya: No worries, my dear! I can't hurt Kanda...much. Chloe would have my head otherwise!
ISeeClearly: Yes, you do see clearly! Thanks, and here you go! ^_^
Here we go!
Chapter 18: Defile
For several terrifying seconds, Kanda stood frozen in shock and honest-to-God fear as the uncoordinated jumble of red and black tumbled through the air. The Japanese exorcist vaguely registered the stomach-turning smack when Chloe's body slammed down on the landing, and he visibly flinched when Chloe's sword impaled itself in the stone only a foot from her head.
"BELLEROSE!"
The shout left his lips unbidden, but it kicked his brain into gear. Kanda regained the ability to move and sprinted toward the prone red head, ignoring the voice screaming in the back of his mind for him to do the opposite and finish off the akuma.
He lurched to a stop when a large blast of Dark matter slammed into the ground in front of him, and he was forced to turn his attention back to the Level 4s when he had to block another blast aimed at his head.
"Tevak, keep the barrier up until I get back."
Kanda was close enough to hear Madarao's order over the fighting, and he spared a quick glance over his shoulder after pushing the two Level 4s back. The Third exorcist had scampered from the safety of the barrier and over to where Chloe lay. Madarao placed a hand against the red-haired girl's neck, and he let out a sigh after a moment. The Third exorcist caught Kanda's questioning gaze and nodded.
She's alive.
The Japanese exorcist held back a relieved sigh as the two Level 4s lunged once again, and he dodged the blasts of Dark matter from the white akuma while parrying the black akuma's punches and kicks with Mugen. Kanda managed to keep the two akumas' attention solely on him until the black Level 4 suddenly stopped attacking and stared right at Madarao as the Third exorcist quickly but carefully made his way back the barrier with Chloe in his arms. The black akuma sped toward Madarao and Chloe, and Kanda had to leap farther away when the white akuma bombarded him with blast after blast of Dark matter.
"Get out of my way!" Kanda shouted angrily as he swiped at the Level 4 with Mugen.
The white akuma laughed and continued shooting at him. Kanda could feel his frustration starting to boil over into rage as the Level 4 danced just out of his reach. He didn't have time to dick around with the damn thing, not with Bellerose unconscious and another Level 4 trying to kill her and Madarao. Mugen seemed to agree with its livid wielder, and power began to outwardly pour from the Innocence imbued blade to match Kanda's growing ire.
Finally, with the new power coursing through him and his blade, Kanda landed a blow on the sick imitation of a cherub. The white Level 4 backed away as fast as it could while missing a leg and part of an arm with the enraged Japanese exorcist hot on its trail. The akuma screamed as Kanda brought Mugen down on its shoulder, and the ear-splitting noise abruptly cut off when the Innocence blade flared with power and sliced through its body in one fluid motion.
"Very good, Exorcist!"
Once again, Kanda found himself almost nose to nose with the black Level 4. He tried to backpedal out of firing range, but the akuma anticipated the move and grabbed the front of his shirt with a smirk.
"That level of power can't beat me, though," it said while pulling back its free arm. "I guess more motivation is needed to—,"
The akuma let out a choked noise and glanced down at the glowing blade buried to the hilt in its side. There was a surprised expression on the Level 4's dark face, and something inside Kanda just snapped.
"As if I'd fall for the same thing twice," Kanda growled as he twisted Mugen.
The Japanese exorcist viciously yanked his sword from the Level 4's body and spun quickly on his heel while bringing up his right leg. The black akuma went sailing into the opposite wall from the force of Kanda's kick, and Kanda couldn't help but smirk as he watched several thick sections of the now destroyed stone fall and pin the Level 4 to the landing. The Japanese exorcist could feel an enormous amount of strength flowing through his body and his sword as his rage was converted into sheer power. A part of him knew that being consumed by his emotions was the worst thing he could do, but a darker part of him urged him onward to the kill.
Kanda fought to calm himself down. Fighting in this mindset would only get him killed. However, as soon as he started to regain his composure, his mind dredged up the chilling memory of Chloe's pained shriek as the akuma's bullet tore through her body instead of his and the alarming way she remained so still after hitting the landing.
All rational thought quickly vanished as his fury quite literally erupted outward in a surge of power and green radiance, and Kanda launched himself at the buried akuma with a savage battle cry. He knew somewhere in his mind that he was going berserk and wondered why he was getting so angry. He supposed he just couldn't find it in himself to stop or hold back anymore, not with the akuma that tried to kill Bellerose at his mercy.
The Japanese exorcist was within a few feet of the Level 4 when something heavy crashed into his side. He swung his sword wildly at the new attacker as they stumbled sideways, but his wrist was caught and twisted in an iron grip until Mugen slipped through his pain ridden fingers and spiraled out of view. Kanda's anger grew ten-fold at being disarmed, and he brought his knee up into the assailant's gut in retaliation as they fought for control. He heard a strangled yell and the hold on his wrist tightened enough to nearly crush bone. Kanda cried out when he was brutally slammed down onto unyielding stone, and his other wrist and his legs were quickly immobilized by another hand and two bony knees before he could start struggling again—not that he didn't try.
"Calm down! Calm down, Cabrón, it's me!"
Kanda's eyes flew open at the familiar voice, and, sure enough, Chloe Bellerose was leaning over him with a scowl on her bruised, dirt-streaked face. His eyes wandered from her face down to the leaking hole in the red-haired girl's side, and his rage spiked even more at just how much blood had and was continuing to soak through the remains of her shirt. Kanda managed to free one wrist and was working on the other one when the side of his face exploded with pain. Blood filled his sinuses and clogged his throat, choking him momentarily until he rolled his ringing skull to the side and coughed to expel the metallic-tasting liquid from his mouth. He dragged his eyes open when he could breathe again and found himself staring into angry crimson eyes. Kanda recoiled when an enormous amount of power began to press down on him, and Chloe's eyes narrowed as she leaned down until her nose nearly touched his.
"You feel this power, Kanda?" she hissed. "This is the power of anger and hatred. It seems strong because anger is easier to mold into strength, but this power isn't that strong at all."
The unbearable pressure suddenly released, and Kanda blinked up at Chloe in confusion a second before another sensation swept over him. Warmth began to fill his body as the red seeped from Chloe's eyes. Anger was rapidly replaced by a mixture of emotions in her blue-green irises, and Kanda could feel his own rage slowly ebbing away with each passing minute of eye contact with Chloe.
"Anger and hatred may give you great power, but the cost of this power is self-destruction. I don't want that to happen to you."
Chloe leaned back and regarded the Japanese exorcist coolly.
"And, if you ever start with this crap again, Kanda, I'll personally kick your ass until you come to, understand?"
Kanda nodded, and Chloe smiled while lifting up her right hand.
"This might sting a bit," was all the warning the Japanese exorcist received before the red-haired girl's glowing hand slapped down on his stomach and pain lanced through his midsection.
"ARGH!"
Tyki Mikk opened his eyes at Charlotte's shout, and he frowned when he saw the red-haired woman doubled over and gripping her left wrist.
"Charlotte?" he said while reaching over and poking her shoulder.
The red head swore vehemently in French, Spanish, English, and a few other languages Tyki hadn't heard in years while leaning back. Tyki winced when he caught sight of Charlotte's charred hand and tried not to wrinkle his nose at the burning-flesh smell that was assaulting his nose.
"Cette salope m'a vraiment fait mal! Moi, sa propre soeur!" Charlotte hissed as her hand slowly began to heal itself. (1)
"Are you all right?" Tyki asked once the swearing died down.
Charlotte nodded and flexed her fingers with a scowl. The flesh was no longer burnt, but the pain was lingering for some reason.
"She's never retaliated."
"Until now," Tyki pointed out.
"Yes, until now," Charlotte said while glaring at her fellow Noah. "No matter, though. Enough leaked through, and I have all the information I need. That should please the Earl when he returns."
"What do you plan to do now?" Tyki asked.
Charlotte's dark frown morphed into a malicious smirk as she closed her golden eyes once again.
"Chloe must be punished severely for her actions."
Kanda was silently damning Chloe Bellerose's immortal soul to the deepest pits of Hell when the agony finally tapered off.
"Not so bad, right?"
The Japanese exorcist chose to sit up and breathe rather than to glare at Chloe for her sarcastic remark.
"The hell was that for, Bellerose?" he finally choked out once the pain had lessened to a more manageable level.
"Precautionary measures," the red-haired girl replied as she stood up. "You ready to finish this?" she asked while holding out a hand.
Kanda took Chloe's hand and allowed her to pull him to his feet. The Japanese exorcist scanned the area for Mugen and was pleased to note the blade was within stepping distance. He wasn't sure he could get much farther at this point without help, and Bellerose was in no shape to assist him with her injury (rather injuries, he should say). Kanda slowly made his way over to his sword and carefully bent down to pick it up. He heard something shifting as he straightened back up, and he turned in the direction of the buried Level 4 while placing two fingers at the tip of his weapon.
"Mugen, act—,"
The sword sparked violently before the word could leave Kanda's mouth, and the Japanese exorcist crashed to his knees as his stomach twisted and clenched. He tasted blood in the back of his throat. He was rebounding.
"Kanda, move!"
The Japanese exorcist dragged his gaze from the ground up to the blurry black thing standing in front of him. He saw the large white "4" on the thing's belly and tried to push himself back up with Mugen's help. Kanda made it to his feet, but he couldn't move any farther. It had been a very, very long time since his last rebound, and that one had left him unable to move for nearly a week, but he had been able to make it to the infirmary before he'd collapsed. This rebound, however, seemed to be much worse than the previous one.
"Chloe, you must be punished for your actions," the black Level 4 said. "Self…"
Time slowed to a crawl as the akuma enunciated the last word of the deadly command.
"…de…"
Kanda caught a glimpse of red hair when he was suddenly pushed backward.
"…struct!"
The akuma exploded in a flash of light and fire and with a scream so foul everyone in the building shivered.
General Tiedoll's eyes widened as a tremor passed through the cafeteria hard enough to shake dust and mortar from the walls and floor. The only thing capable of causing the building to shake so hard was an explosion, and the only thing he could think of that had the ability to cause such a large blast was an akuma—more specifically, a Level 4 akuma.
"Lavi, take Allen and Krory and search for Chloe and everyone with her," he ordered with a frown.
The red-haired boy nodded and jogged through the slightly open doors with Allen and Krory at his heels. The general's frown deepened when he noticed the barrier outside the door was disappearing.
"Komui, are there any more akuma in the building?" Tiedoll asked.
"None are showing up on the radar here. Why?"
"Did the last Level 4 disappear a few seconds ago?"
"As a matter of fact, it did. General, what's—,"
"Komui, I think the akuma self-destructed."
"What makes you say that?" Komui asked after a moment.
"Intuition, I suppose," Tiedoll replied. "Where was the akuma anyway?"
"One chamber away from Hevlaska."
The general relayed the location to Lavi, Allen, and Krory.
"Has Lenalee come back to the cafeteria yet, Tiedoll?"
"No, I'm afraid she hasn't, but not to worry—,"
"Nii-san?"
Tiedoll blinked at the interruption, but Komui wasted no time.
"Lenalee-chan, are you all right? General Tiedoll said the akuma self-destructed, and I was afraid you were hurt, and—,"
"Nii-san, I'm fine. So are Madarao and Tevak."
"That's great to hear!"
Tiedoll smiled at the news.
"But Nii-san, we can't see Chloe or Kanda anywhere."
The grin instantly dropped from his lips.
"Where were they before the explosion?" he asked.
Lenalee whispered briefly to someone else before answering.
"Madarao says he saw them standing in front of the akuma just before it self-destructed."
All was silent across the radio waves.
"Lenalee-chan, if you and the Third exorcists can walk, try to find Lavi, Allen, and Krory. They are looking for you," Tiedoll finally said.
"But General, what about Kanda and Chloe?"
"Our priority now is to get the Lenalee and the Third exorcists back here for treatment. We can look for—,"
Tiedoll stopped abruptly when he heard two muffled thuds and several alarmed shouts. The general swiftly made his way over to the source of the noises. He pushed his way through a clump of chattering finders and gasped when he saw two very familiar and very injured exorcists lying on the floor.
"What happened?" Tiedoll asked the closest finder.
"This giant hole just opened up in front of us, and then General Bellerose and Kanda fell out of it," the man replied.
"Someone get Matron over here, now!" the general said while kneeling down in front of the prone exorcists.
Kanda and Chloe were covered in dirt, grime, bruises, and blood, but the most worrying of their injuries were the angry red burns covering Kanda's left side and Chloe's right leg. Matron appeared at Tiedoll's side after a few minutes, and she almost immediately turned around and called for two stretchers.
"Marie and Chaoji will escort you all to the infirmary and clear the way," Tiedoll said as several nurses and doctors carefully lifted Chloe and Kanda onto stretchers.
"General Tiedoll?"
"General, what's going on?"
"Kanda and Chloe are still alive," Tiedoll replied.
"What?"
"How?"
"I have no idea. I imagine Chloe had a hand in it, though," he said with a smile.
"Thank God you're all safe! Please rest. I'll be over there as soon as I can."
Tiedoll let out a long sigh and collapsed at a nearby table. The battle was finally over, yet the war was far from being finished. Tiedoll knew this fight had been a test, but for what, he didn't know. There were too many questions that needed answers, and, at the moment, the general was much too tired to go looking for them. For now, all he could do was hope that the answers came before it was too late and countless people were killed.
Translation:
(1) Cette salope m'a vraiment fait mal! Moi, sa propre soeur = French for "That/this bitch actually hurt me! Me, her own sister!" Charlotte has a bit of a potty mouth today, it seems!
Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll do my best to update soon!