Title: Junshou 純情
Rated: G
Summary: Kagome is sent on a mission, and some things about her shared past with Allen come to light...
A/N: It's only been about one month, it's not that bad, right? -winces- Anyway, here's the next chapter! Things are going to get interesting soon...
Junshou
Reconnected Bonds
Kagome passed the time by watching Allen sleep, since she was too excited to do the same. She had her own room, but they had gathered together in Allen's room for now. Toma the Finder was sitting in a chair, dozing lightly. She had promised to wake them up if anything happened before the sun set.
The fading sunlight touched Allen's snow white hair with a an amber glow, creating a halo around the sleeping boy. His face looked relaxed, and was turned away from the sunlight. From the remaining light in the room, she could see the red marks of the curse contrasting with his pale skin. Unconsciously, she started to reach out to touch the marks, wanting to feel the texture of them.
Suddenly, his eyelids twitched, then fluttered open. Intense gray eyes stared into hers, and she stared unwaveringly back with her own blue orbs.
"O-onee-chan?"
The voice was muffled by the effects of sleep, and it sounded so much like a little child. Her eyes widened, did Allen remember the past? Did he recognize her after all?
"Otouto..."
She whispered back, one hand reaching across the short distance between them to stroke her brother's soft hair. He leaned closer to her, a bright smile already on his lips.
"I knew you'd find me, Onee-chan!" His hands started reaching out for her, wanting a hug.
"Allen..."
Kagome was suddenly unsure whether Allen was dreaming or actually awake. His voice had changed into the higher pitch of a child, and the way he was speaking was certainly that of one. She stopped stroking his hair, and placed her hands on his shoulders instead.
"Allen-kun, wake up."
"But I'm already awake, Onee-chan." Allen watched her surprised face with wide eyes, then he grinned. "I'm really awake, Kagome-chan. I had a dream about the past a few days before you came, and I remembered."
Allen sat up, the sheets fell to cover his legs. His white hair was mussed from the pillow, and the shirt he was wearing was wrinkled. He was rubbing his eyes sleepily, but his gray eyes were alert as he looked at Kagome.
"I've known since you came into the Black Order, Onee-chan."
Kagome was just shocked, she had not expected Allen to remember anything about the past, since she herself had no recollections of it. If she had never found that box, she would not have known anything about her younger brother and real family at all. As she sat there, stunned, Allen looked more nervous by the second, and he fidgeted constantly.
"Do...do you want me?" His voice trembled, with both hope and fear of rejection.
Kagome's eyes softened as she looked at her little brother. She opened her arms, and Allen slowly reached across the distance between them to hug her tightly. They stayed like that for a long time, siblings finally reunited after years of seperation.
A flash of memory suddenly came to Kagome.
FLASHBACK
She was smaller, and she was hugging a bundle in her arms. Peeking inside the folds of cloth, she saw her new little brother for the first time. He had a chubby face, and tufts of white on his head. She touched the soft tufts of hair, and watched the baby flutter its eyelids in response. Her face split into a wide grin. She turned to a warm figure standing behind her, and exclaimed cheerfully.
"Mama, mama! It moved!"
Her mother chuckled, and kneeled down beside her. Her mother's face was gentle, and her black hair was freed from its usual bun.
"Kagome-chan, your little brother is not an 'it'. Allen is a 'he'." She scolded mock-sternly.
The girl saw through the play, and giggled with her mother. She turned back to the baby, who was stirring again.
"Hello, Allen-chan!"
Tiny fingers pushed out of the cloth and smacked her face gently. Her mother laughed, a warm sound that always made her happy.
"He's saying hello to you too, Kagome. And no, you can't hit him back."
She pouted and let her hand drop down. The baby gurgled happily and opened its eyes. Clear gray orbs watched her with utmost solemnity, and Kagome could not help but hug the bundle to her tightly. An arm poked out and tried to circle her neck, the baby trying to embrace its older sister. Turning to her mother, Kagome stared with determination, and as much seriousness as a three-year-old could attempt.
"I'll protect him, Mama, and I'll love him forever!"
Her mother, unsurprised, smiled gently and hugged her two children to her.
"You will, Kagome. You will."
END FLASHBACK
Coming out of the memory, Kagome hugged her little brother to her even more tightly, and felt the same action back. Catching sight of the dark sky outside the window, she reluctantly loosened her arms, and smiled at Allen.
"It's night now, we have to go out and search for the Akuma."
He nodded, and let go of her as reluctantly. He got up and collected his exorcist coat, hanging on a chair next to the bed.
"Eh? Where's Toma?"
The chair he was on was empty. Kagome blinked, and then smiled. 'He must have gone out to let us have some time together.' She liked the Finder even more now.
Suddenly, the missing Finder popped his head out from the room door, Timcanpy fluttering around his head, and addressed them.
"Kagome-san, Allen-san, are you ready to go?"
They nodded, and followed Toma out of the hotel and into the streets.
They headed straight to the district where the strange events had been occurring. Each of them had a communications golem, while Allen also had Timcanpy, and they split up to search the whole area. Allen headed to the left, Toma took the center, and Kagome took the right.
Kagome crept silently around the twisted alleyways and shabby houses of the area, sticking to the shadows as she looked for anything happening. There were extremely thin strays gathered around the garbage, both cats and dogs standing silently together. She shivered when she saw it the first time, it seemed so unnatural, and sad that even natural enemies banded together to protect what little food they had in this outcast area.
She continued past the strange sight, and looked around more. She passed a few more garbage piles, but there were only cats or only dogs there, and other species were chased away fiercely. She frowned in confusion, and decided to walk back to the area where she had seen the cats and dogs together. She retraced he steps, and found the garbage pile again, but the animals were all gone. None of them were there, not even a rat stirred in the place. Again, a chill made its way down her back.
She stepped forward cautiously, senses developed from hunting youkai in the feudal era. She felt it when hundreds of eyes opened and looked straight at her. Quickly activating her Innocence, she shot a bright arrow into the air, willing it to burst when it reached a suitable height. The purely white fireworks sparkled and showered glitter upon her as she turned to face her opponents.
Hundreds of cats and dogs, all gathered in front of her, blocking the only two exits out of the alley. Their eyes glowed unnaturally, and they all looked feral in the half-dark.
They were standing still for the moment, but Kagome was unsure of how long it would last. She hoped that Allen and Toma got here soon, because she did not think she could handle all these animals attacking her at once. Suddenly, the animals blocking one of the exits hissed and growled. The cause of their unsettlement was a large bulky machine floating in the air. It had faces that looked like masks and cannons sticking out from its body. It was an Akuma, and the first one that Kagome had seen, apart from the pictures and diagrams she was shown.
Without warning, the animals rushed forward and started attacking the Akuma. Its faces seemed to grin in mad glee, and it shot purple lights at its attackers. Any animal that was touched by the light immediately froze as black stars spread across their bodies, and they turned into dust. The claws and teeth wielded by the cats and dogs did not make even a scratch on the hard body of the Akuma, and they only fell prey to the purple light.
Kagome stared, horrified at the thing she could see floating above the machine. It looked like a human soul, chained to the machine below, and it was crying out pitifully for salvation. She had heard about how Akuma were made, but she had not thought that she would be able to see the chained souls.
She narrowed her eyes, and shot the Akuma without hesitation. The Innocence-based arrow, combined with her purifying powers, blasted through the Akuma body with ease, and her reiyouki enveloped the broken soul in white. She heard a soft sound of gratitude, before the Akuma and the soul faded away.
Allen and Toma came rushing through the exit that had been cleared of animals by the Akuma, just in time to see Kagome finish off the Akuma. Allen's cursed eye activated, and he could see the soul being freed from its prison by a white aura. He noticed that Kagome was looking directly at the soul, not at the Akuma body itself. His eyes widened, and he froze for a second.
'Can she see the souls too?'
His gaze swept the whole of the alley, noting the dust on the ground and the stray animals still gathered around Kagome. He activated his Innocence claw, and swiped at the air above them, trying to scare them away. They did not move, or even startle, but only watched him unblinkingly.
His eyes turned to what they were guarding. 'A pile of garbage?' His brows drew together as he thought. 'There must be Innocence inside there, then.'
He stretched his transformed arm out, easily reaching over the heads of the stray animals, ignoring their growls, and grabbed a slightly glowing bag. 'Why didn't I notice the glow before...?'
He opened the bag, wary of the hostile sounds coming from the animals. Kagome was standing by Toma now, also watching the animals. He drew out the Innocence, and passed it to Toma for safekeeping. The Finder nodded, and slipped it into his pack.
"Let's go before the animals attack us."
Kagome agreed with Allen, and Toma pointed at the only clear way out. They rushed towards it, Allen covering the rear in case they were attacked. They made it safely, and returned to the hotel. Once they were safely in their rooms, Kagome sighed in relief, still panting a little from running all the way. She collapsed on the bed and listened to Allen and Toma talking.
"I did not see any other Akuma while we were there, but they might be in hiding. We should be on alert from now on."
Toma nodded in agreement, and set down his large backpack on a chair.
"I will contact Headquarters and inform them that we have retrieved the Innocence." He used the phone attached to his monstrous pack, and was soon engaged with reporting to Komui.
Meanwhile, Allen turned to Kagome, and sat on a chair next to her bed. "Are you alright, Kagome-chan?"
She waved his concern away with a careless wave of her hand.
"I'm fine, Otouto. Just... a little tired."
Allen could not help a smile when she addressed him as her little brother. Peeking through one eye, Kagome caught the smile, and she returned one of her own.
"You can call me Onee-chan if you want to, you know."
"Thanks, Onee-chan."
Kagome sat up and hugged her little brother, still not quite getting over the fact that she had a sibling, one that was actually blood-related this time. Toma, already finished with his report, smiled under his mask when he saw the sister and brother hugging. He quietly slipped out of the room to give them some privacy, Timcanpy followed him out as well.
"Onee-chan, just now..." Kagome gave Allen a questioning look, releasing him slightly from her hold. He continued speaking, "...you could see the soul, right? The soul bound to the Akuma body."
She nodded slowly, not understanding where he was going with this. "Normally, people can't see the tortured souls, not even Exorcists. Up till now, I have been the only one capable of seeing the souls, with my cursed eye." At the mention of it, his hand brushed across the red marks on his cheek unconsciously.
"It might be because of my powers as a miko that I can see them." She replied. Looking more closely at the curse marks, her hand came up, one fingertip almost touching his skin. "How did you get cursed?" Kagome asked in a soft voice, knowing that it was mostly likely something very personal to him, but still wanting to know.
Gray eyes stared sadly at her, the depths swimming with sorrow. Allen had known that she would inevitably ask this question, so he only took a deep breath to brace himself, before he narrated to her the past years of his life, when he had met Mana, and the incident that ended those happy years. When he was done, he found that his cheeks were wet, and that all the raw emotions that he thought he had cried out at Mana's grave had returned, still there and hurting badly. The next instant, he was wrapped up in a warm embrace, and he could hear the steady beat of another heart as his head laid on his sister's chest.
He cried, sobbed, and opened up his heart to his sister in the next few moments, all that he had ever felt and suppressed over the years, because Mana had wanted him to keep walking on. He cried and cried, until finally, there were no tears left in his eyes. He felt hollow and empty inside, but he also felt strangely free, light and carefree for the first time since Mana died.
He fell asleep, still wrapped up within loving arms, and whispered his gratitude before he succumbed to sleep. Kagome only smiled, and hugged her brother more tightly. Somehow, during the time he was telling his story, they had managed to shift from leaning against the wall to lying on the bed. She released him from her arms, pulling up the blanket over him. She tucked him in nicely, then gently kissed his forehead like a mother would.
With one last smile, she retreated to the bed on the other side of the room, falling to sleep herself.
A/N: Writer's block, tests, and a lot of stress conspired to bring this story down, but here's the new chapter anyway! Hope you enjoyed the sibling interaction, and there'll finally be some Kanda x Kagome interaction in the next chapter!
-luzopi