Cross My Heart
Author's Note: Hello again! I'm back! It's been awhile, hasn't it? Sorry about that. Homework is terrible. Just terrible. If it makes you any happier, the chapter EXTRA long! Well, extra long to me, anyway. Enjoy this last filler chapter (hopefully, but you never know...).
Addy: Thanks! I have finally updated!
Femaleninja22: Thanks! I'm sorry it's taken this long to finally get a chapter together. I assure you, more cuteness will ensue!
Lathya: You, my friend, are a real trooper! You've been with this story since day one, and I always love reading your reviews! Thanks for sticking with me! I think you'll be happy with the amount of fluffiness in this chapter! (So many exclamation points...asdfklj;eksfldfdsflkasdf;lkds)
Chapter 20: Defilade
Kanda knew something was wrong the moment he returned to Headquarters the afternoon after his week-long mission to Africa ended. He tried to ignore the sinking feeling in his gut as he made his verbal report to Komui, and he couldn't get out of his supervisor's office fast enough when he was finally dismissed. The Japanese exorcist had only taken a few steps in the direction of his room when he heard Lenalee calling his name. He turned and saw Lenalee jogging toward him as Krory and Miranda headed for the Ark room.
"Kanda, thank goodness you're back!" the Chinese exorcist said while clapping her hands together. "No one's seen Chloe for two days now. Nii-san says she hasn't left the building, according to the tracking device in her temporary transmitter. Do you mind looking for her? I have to leave for my mission."
Kanda opened his mouth to protest, but Lenalee took it as compliance and grinned before taking off in the opposite direction to meet back up with Krory and Miranda. The Japanese exorcist scowled while heading toward the training area. Something was definitely wrong if even Lenalee didn't know where Chloe was.
The training area was full of finders but no red heads. The library contained one male red head that had absolutely no idea where his ginger comrade was either. The cafeteria was a bust as well, and he left a royally worried Moyashi in his wake when he stalked away. Marie proved to be just as unhelpful and concerned in the meditation room. Kanda made his way to the secret garden she had shown him but found no hint of Chloe. The only place he hadn't checked was her room. It didn't take long to reach Bellerose's door—somehow, she had scored the last room on the hallway when she had been assigned her living quarters.
Kanda debated with himself for a moment then decided to knock on the door for once in a show of politeness. "Oi, Bellerose, you in there?"
When Kanda heard no reply from within, he opened the door and slipped into the room. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the overwhelming darkness of the room despite it being mid-afternoon. In the seven months the Japanese exorcist had known the girl, Chloe had never been one to seek solace in darkness. In fact, she actively sought out bright (but unknown) places when she was troubled.
Kanda gradually made his way across the room in the direction of what he hoped was Chloe's bed. After tripping over a few obstacles (one of the obstructions felt distinctly like a wooden crutch when it hit his shin) and ramming his knee into the end of the bed, the Japanese exorcist felt along the mattress until he hit something definitely human.
"Bellerose?"
The girl didn't answer, but cloth rustled in response to Kanda's voice.
"Can I turn on a light?"
Again, the Japanese exorcist got no answer except for the rustling of cloth. Kanda took that as an acceptance of his request and carefully reached out until his fingers brushed the lamp that he vaguely remembered was on the cabinet next to her bed. He switched on the small light then turned toward the bed. The sheets were twisted around a tightly curled ball in the center of the bed, and a few locks of red hair were splayed out on the pillow smashed up against the wall.
"What's the matter with you?"
There was an incoherent reply from the human-sized lump under the sheets.
"I can't hear you."
The ball slowly uncurled, revealing more red hair and the arm of a dark blue sweater as Bellerose straightened out on her left side. She turned her head slightly so one blue-green eye could be seen. "Kanda, you're back. How was the mission?"
Kanda decided to ignore the weak sound of Chloe's voice for the time being and frowned. "Stop avoiding my question, Bellerose."
"I'm not avoiding the question. Just choosing not to answer it."
"Bellerose."
"That's my name."
The Japanese exorcist had no desire to keep playing this game anymore. He reached over and grabbed Chloe's arm. With surprisingly little effort, Kanda rolled the red-haired girl onto her back, and his frown deepened when he saw the tightness around Bellerose's eyes, the faint tear tracks on her cheeks, and the way her left hand clutched a white-knuckled fistful of the over-sized shirt she was wearing.
"You've got the idiots and Lenalee and Marie worried," Kanda stated when it was clear Chloe wasn't going to break the silence with answers anytime soon.
There was no reaction from the red-haired girl other than a soft, "Mm."
"Komui even tracked your transmitter just to figure out whether you'd run away or something."
Chloe cracked open her now closed eyes at that.
"They know something is up with you, especially with you pulling a disappearing act when Leverrier is nowhere to be seen. They're not completely stupid, you know."
The red-haired girl had the decency to look somewhat guilty, but still she remained unnervingly silent. Kanda mentally threw up his hands in defeat and turned back toward the door.
"Whatever. Hide all you want. I'm too tired to deal with this right now."
Kanda's hand was on the doorknob when a feeble "Wait!" came from the bed. He turned and waited expectantly for Bellerose to speak again. "The India mission," the girl said after a long moment as she pushed herself up to a sitting position.
"What about it?" the Japanese exorcist asked.
"You remember what happened during that mission?"
"We found the kid with the Innocence after a two-day search and ended up having to stay overnight before we could obtain it and bring it back."
"What happened during that night?"
Kanda thought for a minute, categorizing the details of the mission in hopes of stumbling over what Bellerose wanted him to remember. His eyes drifted unconsciously to the red head's left arm, and he frowned as realization hit him like a ton of bricks. "You're not a parasitic type and you were shot, but your Innocence was somehow purging the akuma virus," the Japanese exorcist stated. "And it's happening again," he added softly.
Chloe nodded while lifting up the bottom of her shirt. Kanda moved closer and winced when he saw a familiar set of markings curling around the girl's hipbone. What he could see of Chloe's right side around the healing bullet wound was completely black, and the fingers of the hand holding her shirt up were darkened as well.
"And you've been like this for two days now?" the Japanese exorcist said.
"It's been two days? No wonder they're all worried," Chloe said with fixing her shirt. "They thought I was missing?" At Kanda's nod, she said, "I haven't left my room, I don't think, and surely Lenalee and Miranda came around looking in here. Unless…"
Kanda gave the red-haired girl a few moments to contemplate before cutting back in. "Unless what, Bellerose?"
Chloe blinked as if just realizing she hadn't finished her thought. "Well, since you weren't here, I probably put up an illusion or something when I noticed the symptoms starting. I didn't want to deal with anyone seeing me like this and thinking I'm dying or something," she replied.
Probably? Right. "Why am I able to see you then?"
"I guess because I subconsciously trust you enough to see me even in my weakest state, Cabrón," Chloe replied with a faint smirk.
Kanda let out a sigh in an attempt to hide the blush creeping up his cheeks. "Getting answers out of you is like pulling teeth, Bellerose," he said in hopes of diverting her attention away from his red face.
The smirk didn't drop from the red-haired girl's face. "Are you blushing, Kanda?"
"Why would I be?" the Japanese exorcist countered with a scowl. The intimidating effect was subsequently ruined when a jaw-cracking yawn burst past his lips a moment later. Damn, he hadn't realized just how exhausted he was.
"You just got back from a mission. Go get some sleep," Chloe said. "I'm not going anywhere, I swear," she added for good measure.
"Damn right you're not," Kanda said. "Move over, Bellerose," he said as he stepped out of his boots.
The red-haired girl looked at the Japanese exorcist in confusion while he shrugged out of his uniform jacket and deposited his jacket, boots, and Mugen next to the bedside cabinet. "Kanda—,"
"I just got back from a week-long solo mission. Then I had to spend an hour looking for an insufferable red head and try to figure out what was wrong with her when I could've been sleeping. The least you can do is share your bed since I had to come all the way here, Bellerose," Kanda said after a second yawn.
"Of course. I'm sure you suffered greatly on your long journey here. I'm such an inconsiderate host, Kanda-sama," Chloe said while scooting closer to the wall. "Here, you can even have my pillow, if it would so please my lord."
Kanda picked up the pillow and smacked the red-haired girl over the head with it. "Shut up and lay down, Bellerose," he said as he flopped down on the bed.
Chloe carefully shifted back down onto her left side, and Kanda was about to roll over so his back was to the red-haired girl until a hand latched onto his wrist with a surprisingly strong grip. Said hand guided him to move onto his other side facing Chloe then wrapped his arm loosely around her waist before releasing the hold on his wrist.
"Helps," Chloe murmured as she rested her arm over the Japanese exorcist's.
Kanda remained stiff for several moments while his heart raced. Sure, he had hugged Chloe before, hell, he had even carried her once (and that was all before he had kissed her), but they had never been in such close physical proximity with each other except in fighting situations. It was new. It was different. It was human and warm and intimate and so many other words that escaped him at the moment. And he liked this feeling. A lot.
The Japanese exorcist tightened his grip on the red-haired girl's waist while shifting close enough that her back was pressed lightly against his chest. He was on the verge of drifting off when one last question momentarily brought him back to semi-awareness.
"Bellerose, will your illusion or whatever hide me too?"
"As long as you don't let go, it probably will."
"So you have no idea."
"Not a clue."
"…Great."
Kanda wouldn't say he was mad. No. He wasn't mad. No, not at all. He was pissed.
He and Allen had been standing outside the Spanish chapel for nearly an hour with no luck in gaining entry from the protective priest inside. All the exorcists needed was a small piece of Innocence near the altar that a finder happened to spot while going to a Sunday service during some time off, but nothing either boy said could convince the balding, rounded priest that they were only visiting his chapel with friendly intentions in mind. It didn't help that the man apparently didn't understand English. Allen knew more Spanish than Kanda did and had been attempting to speak to the priest with no real results.
"Moyashi, make him understand that we're not here to destroy the chapel!" the Japanese exorcist growled when he reached his tolerance limit.
"I'm not fluent in Spanish, BaKanda, so be patient!" Allen hissed back. "Señor, por favor hablar lentamente—," (1)
The rather small Spanish priest threw up his hands and began yelling once again at Allen in his native tongue. Allen held up his hands to placate the priest but only succeeded in agitating him further. The priest was turning an interesting shade of purple the longer he screamed at the British exorcist.
"Oi, Cabrón, quit laughing at Allen!"
Kanda would never admit to anyone that he in fact jumped when he heard the familiar voice suddenly cut through his thoughts over his wireless transmitter. He glanced over at Allen and the priest, and when he was satisfied that no one saw him start, he took a few steps off to the side to deal with the caller. "I thought your wireless transmitter was broken, Bellerose."
"It is, but Komui's working on a new one for me while I wait. He's also letting me man the other wireless transmitters until he gets back. It's quite entertaining. You should try it sometime, Kanda."
"I'm glad we're entertaining you while you laze around."
"Crutches and medical leave, Cabrón, does not 'lazing around.' And so says the guy that's not doing anything but laughing at Allen's plight."
The Japanese exorcist scowled at Chloe's challenging tone. "What do you want, Bellerose?"
"I can help you two get into the chapel so you can come back to Headquarters within the hour."
"How?"
"Turn on the portable golem and send it over to Allen."
Kanda pulled the device from his coat pocket and switched it on. The bat-like machine looked at the Japanese exorcist expectantly until he walked over to where the priest was continuing to berate Allen. After several more seconds of listening to the little man screech, Chloe's voice filtered through the golem's circular speaker.
"Disculpe, señor, pero no parece haber un malentendido," she said in an authoritative, yet kind-sounding voice that instantly shut the priest up, "Estos muchachos trabajan para el Vaticano. El Papa me pidió que estudiara retablo de la capilla, pero me enfermé. Los chicos son mis aprendices. Les envié en mi lugar para estudiar el retablo, así que por favor les permitirá acceder a su hermosa capilla para mí." (2)
The priest glanced from Kanda to Allen to the golem bobbing through the air between them. After several seconds, the man shook his head and reached into his frock. "Lo siento. Hemos tenido tanta gente tratando de robar el retablo últimamente, así que asumí que estos dos también estaban tratando de tomar el retablo por sí mismos. Me disculpo." He turned and unlocked the chapel doors then glanced back at the golem. (3)
"Entiendo. Esa es otra razón que el Papa quiere que examinar el retablo. Mis aprendices se asegurará de que ningún daño ha llegado a esta preciosa pieza de arte cristiano que el Vaticano quiere preservar. Le doy las gracias por su comprensión, Padre." (4)
The priest smiled brightly and clasped his hands together. "Voy a dejar a sus aprendices a su trabajo," he said while stepping aside to let Kanda and Allen through. (5)
Allen and Kanda made their way to the chapel's altar and began "studying" the large, three-paneled work of art behind it.
"BaKanda, did you understand a word of what Chloe said?" the British exorcist said as he knelt down to look for the piece of Innocence under the altar.
"Why would I?" Kanda shot back as he leaned forward to examine the painting further. "This isart? The people don't even look realistic."
"You and Chloe seem like friends, so I didn't know if she was trying to make you more intelligent by teaching you other languages or something. And yes, this is considered art. It's not like you're an art expert, BaKanda," Allen replied.
"Whatever you say, Moyashi."
Allen rolled his eyes and took a moment to study the altarpiece while Kanda searched behind the work for the Innocence. The Japanese exorcist spotted the glowing cube within arm's reach, and he effortlessly plucked the Innocence from its unnatural resting place in the railing surrounding the altar. Kanda shoved the piece of Innocence into his pocket then headed for the exit. Allen lingered for another moment before following after his Japanese comrade, and the priest thanked the exorcists profusely in a combination of broken English and Spanish as they walked away from the chapel at a steady clip.
"Did you find the Innocence?" Chloe asked over the golem.
"We did. Thanks for your help, Chloe-san!" Allen replied as the Ark gate came into view.
"No problem, Allen. I'll see you both in a few minutes."
Which was a lie. When Allen and Kanda made it to Komui's office, only Komui was at his desk, and the man was grinning broadly at the two exorcists in a manner that didn't bode well for anyone in the vicinity. It was the look the scientist got when building one of his "Komurin" machines. Kanda and Allen glanced at each other and silently vowed to destroy the damn robot on sight should one appear.
"Did you recover the Innocence successfully?" the Chinese scientist asked.
"We had a little help from Chloe, but otherwise, yes, we did," Allen replied with a nod at Kanda.
The Japanese exorcist pulled the Innocence cube from his jacket pocket and placed in on Komui's desk. "Annoying priest wouldn't let us in for almost an hour, and it only took five minutes to locate the damn thing."
"It happens," Komui said as he leaned back in his chair. "All right, I need your written reports on my desk no later than tomorrow afternoon. Both of you are dismissed for the day."
Allen bounded out of the office when his stomach let out a monstrous growl, and Kanda followed slowly after the boy when his belly also rumbled in protest. He wondered vaguely where Chloe had gone as he walked down the hallway but quickly pushed the thought away. At least, the Japanese exorcist tried to push the thought away. One minute he was walking, and then suddenly his feet were flying out from under him. He hit the ground and blinked in confusion as a shadow fell over him. Chloe grinned down at the Japanese exorcist as she tossed her ponytail over her shoulder.
"The hell was that for, Bellerose?" Kanda asked while picking himself up off the floor.
Chloe let loose a laugh and sprinted down the hallway. Kanda grinned slightly when he noticed that the red-haired girl was running, and he quickly took off after the red-haired girl. Neither exorcist was aware of the attention they were getting from the other members of the Order as they fought their way through the sparsely filled hallway.
"The crutches are gone," Lenalee commented over the faint crashing noises and yelling in the background.
"So the first thing Chloe does when she's all healed is attack Kanda?" Allen said with a confused frown.
Lavi and Lenalee exchanged knowing glances then shrugged.
"Have any of you seen Chloe? Komui has something for her," Marie asked after rounding the corner.
"We've seen her," Lenalee replied.
"But we may not see her again for a while," Lavi added.
Marie tilted his head to one side and listened for several moments. "The crutches are gone."
Lenalee nodded. "They are."
"And Kanda was just given first hand knowledge of that fact," Lavi said with a smirk.
Marie grinned knowingly and said, "Ah. I'll let her know tomorrow then. Komui didn't make it sound like he needed to see her right away."
There was a loud boom and a thud then a "WHEN I FIND YOU, YOU'RE DEAD, BELLEROSE!" echoed throughout the Order as Kanda stomped out of the training area and down the other hallway covered from head to toe in soot. Laughter filled the air behind Marie a moment later, and Allen, Lenalee, Lavi, and Marie turned and found Chloe doubled over against the wall shaking with amusement.
"Did you see his face?" she said between chuckles. "Priceless!"
"Your best friends are gone," Lenalee said with a smile.
"I finally ditched them! They were a bit too stiff for me, being made of wood and all," Chloe said. "Matron wouldn't let me burn them, though, even after I told her all the evil things the crutches did to me!"
Marie chuckled at the red-haired girl's childish tone. "Chloe, Kanda is making his way back around and will be here in about two minutes," he said.
"Right. Thanks, Marie!" Chloe said before taking off down the hallway leading toward the rooms.
True to Marie's calculations, Kanda appeared about two minutes later with an angry gleam in his eyes and Mugen partially unsheathed.
"Where'd she go?" he growled as he stopped in front of Lenalee, Lavi, Allen, and Marie.
They pointed in the direction Chloe had gone. "That way," the exorcists said in unison.
Kanda nodded and stalked forward without another word. As soon as the Japanese exorcist was out of earshot, everyone but Allen collapsed with laughter. Allen let out a sigh and glanced over at his snickering friends.
"What am I missing?" he asked.
"Allen-kun, Kanda and Chloe-chan are good friends," Lenalee said once she regained her composure.
"Yeah, and? Everyone knows that. Still a bit weird to even associate BaKanda with the word 'friend,' though—,"
"Moyashi, you're missing the point," Lavi said while slinging an arm around the boy's shoulders. "Yuu-chan and Rouge-chan are very good friends. Think about that for a minute."
Allen took more than a minute to contemplate what Lavi said, and his eyes widened as he gaped at hallway Chloe and Kanda had disappeared down. "You mean…they're…oh, oh," was all he could say when understanding dawned on him.
"I think he's broken," Lavi said when Allen began mumbling to himself.
"Kanda and Chloe tend to have that effect on people. Well, Kanda does at least," Marie said.
"This is true. Nii-san's not going to like hearing about the damage they caused since the repairs were finally finished yesterday," Lenalee said with a shake of her head. She glanced over at Allen with a concerned frown. "Maybe we should take him to the cafeteria? I'm sure Jerry's cooking can snap him out of it. Link—,"
"What's wrong with Walker?"
Lenalee and Lavi froze at the sound of Link's voice directly behind them, and Allen continued to ramble on incoherently while his friends tried to think of an explanation. Marie cleared his throat after a moment and turned to Link. "Allen is very tired and hungry since he just got back from his mission with Kanda. Lenalee suggested we take him to get something to eat but was unsure whether you would want us taking your charge without your knowledge, Junior Inspector," the blind exorcist stated. "What do you say, Link?"
Link glanced over at Allen, who had fallen silent but still had the stupefied expression on his face, then let out a sigh. "Lead on, Marie," he finally replied.
And so, the four exorcists and the junior inspector headed for the cafeteria. Allen eventually recovered the ability to think and speak coherently after consuming copious amounts of Jerry's cooking, and Link dragged the poor boy off to do paperwork. Lenalee, Lavi, and Marie stayed in cafeteria long after Allen was taken away and did what exorcists did best (besides killing akuma): they gossiped. Shamelessly.
Translations *WITH HELP FROM GOOGLE TRANSLATE SO IT'S NOT MY FAULT IF STUFF'S WRONG*:
(1) Spanish = "Sir, please speak slowly—,"
(2) Lots o'Spanish = "Excuse me, sir, but there seems to be a misunderstanding here. These boys work for the Vatican. The pope asked me to examine your chapel's altarpiece, but I got sick. The boys are my apprentices. I sent them in my place to study the altarpiece, so please allow them access to your beautiful chapel for me."
(3) Spanish = "I'm sorry. We have had so many people trying to steal the altarpiece lately, so I assumed these two were also trying to take the altarpiece for themselves. I apologize."
(4) Spanish = "I understand. That's another reason the pope wants me to examine the altarpiece. My apprentices will make sure no harm has come to this precious piece of Christian art the Vatican wants to preserve. I thank you for your understanding, Father."
(5) "Spanish = I will leave your apprentices to their work."
Lots of translations today! Hope you liked it! (: Until next time!
~B.R.136