Chapter 2

Bloody Damn It: A Prelude

Place - Black Order Headquarters Britain
Level 6 - 1st Floor Entrance
Time: Early Evening

It was after Lenalee had given Kanda a hit on the head with her infamous writing board did Kanda actually stopped advancing upon the small built white-haired kid. Alongside her is Laia, a new apostle Kanda had brought back from his latest mission.

"Geez!" Lenalee said disbelievingly, holding her infamous metal clip-board to her chest. "I told you to stop! If you don't come in soon I'm going to close the gates!"

When Kanda glared at her incredulously, Lenalee gave him a stony look and pointed towards the gates. "Enter now."

"I am Lenalee Lee, and I am an assistant to the Supervisor," said Lenalee confidently, welcoming Allen with a generous smile and a warm handshake. "I'll be the one taking you to the Supervisor. Nice to meet you."

"Hello," said the white-haired kid politely with a slight bow. "Nice to meet you too!" Turning towards Kanda, Allen called out to the Japanese Exorcist. "Kanda, that's your name right? Nice to meet you."

Holding out a hand, Allen awaits Kanda to turn back around to shake hands with him, as do with manners and customs.

Kanda, however, merely glared at Allen and said in a grating tone, "Who the hell would want to shake hands with a cursed person?"

When Allen froze on his spot and muttered, "Discrimination…" to him, Laia bounced right in front of him and holds Allen's hand with both of her hands.

"And I'm Laia Elfreya!" she chirped happily, a playful smile plastered on her face. Laia extends her hand to him and her smile widens, "Pleased to meet your acquaintance. I just came here today too, so I'm sure we'll be fine with helping each other getting along and settle down here."

"Thanks," Allen replied gratefully, his eyes bright with delight and accepting her offered hand bigheartedly. "The pleasure's all mine!"

"Oh, and Kanda-kun?" Lenalee called quickly, halting Kanda in his tracks before the Japanese exorcist disappeared behind a flight of stairs leading towards the exorcist's dormitories. "Nii-san wants to see you and Laia-san before you retire to your room."

Kanda frowned in his thought when he heard what Lenalee had said. Komui never cease to give him troublesome things to handle. His guts told him that things are going to get a lot more taxing for his liking. Nonetheless, he gave Lenalee a nod of reply and turned towards the new girl. He annoyingly jerked his head at her, hinting for her to follow him instead of greeting the new cursed kid.

Laia smiled and gave Kanda a nod, signaling that she understood what he had meant. Giving Allen a handshake, Laia welcomed him to the Headquarters of Black Order once again before hastily followed the gradually retreating figure of Yuu Kanda.

"May I see your Innocence?" Komui said kindly with a luring smile on his crazy face. As per his instinct when dealing around with Komui, Kanda braced up and gets ready for battle.

Ever the smiling person, Laia smiles widely and held out her hand, placing them on top of the examining table. "Certainly, Komui-san."

"I see," Komui said after examining Laia's Innocence, currently deactivated and taking the form of two thick gold and silver bangles, each element on each wrist. "Your Innocence is Equipment type, and their source of power lies in the moonstone on each bangle. Can you activate it for me, Laia-san?"

Without a reply, Laia concentrates and said quietly, "Innocence, activate."

The bangles gave out an eerie shade of incandescent light blue, pearly sheen. Both Komui and Kanda watches on with interest, seeing as they have never seen such a color glow on any other Anti-Akuma Weapon before when invoked. In less than a second, exquisitely carved silver revolver slides out of the moonstone and fell into her open palm. The glow disappears completely and all is quiet.

"That was fast…" Komui mumbled to himself, taking note of all the details he had seen with her Innocence.

No Innocence glows in such a molten color, and certainly, no Innocence takes on a fancy assessor shape like gold and silver bangles. He remembers Kanda's report saying that the Innocence he retrieves reacted to her, and it settles on her and forms these gold and silver bangles. She is sealed in a stone statuette, and when Kanda broke the seal while retrieving the Innocence, she is awakened from a deep slumber and becomes a new apostle when the Innocence in his hand reacted with her and settles on her.

It was then Komui thought back about the recommendation letter Cross Marian had written for Allen Walker. Inside it, the General had attached a private note for him, and he is surprised with the content of said note.

The 14th's adoptive sister from 7000 years ago is expected to arrive soon. Let no others know about this.

C. Marian

He had thought that it's a private joke from Marian, but when Kanda brought back an apostle he began to have his suspicions about the girl. Is she what Marian said she is? If she is, which side does she fights for?

But when Laia turned her head up and smiles at Komui, all negative thoughts about her disappears. He had never seen eyes so clear before, and that sincere smile; so innocent and naïve and yet she is so determined that her life and future is to be dedicated to serving Black Order and saving humankind from the Earl's devious plan.

"Alright then!" Komui piped up, grinning widely at her and Kanda. "We'll go and see Hevlaska. She can tell us more about your Innocences! You shall come with me too, Kanda!"

"Che," Kanda scowled darkly, following the pair nonetheless towards the elevator. "Why am I dragged here to do stupid things? I have better things to do."

"Your wound is healing slowly, Kanda," Komui said in a singsong tone, grating on Kanda's nerves. "You can do nothing but rest, so why not follow us around? Gotta learn a few tricks with the boss, eh!?"

It was a long time descending down towards Hevlaska's Domain. When they finally arrived, everyone looked up and Komui greeted the Commander-In-Chiefs and smiles towards Laia.

"Now then, Hevlaska will examine you and your Innocence. She is an Exorcist too, and she's great at what she does best. You'll be fine, I promise."

Laia smiles kindly at Komui, and once again he is struck by the thoughts of her being the 14th's adoptive sister almost 7000 years ago. It appears that she does not participate in the war of the Three Days of Darkness, for nothing is told about her existence and her Innocence in the Cubes. Minus the strange language and accent that she sometimes slips into, Komui is unable to make himself believe that she came in a time long time back when the world is still one and pure. It would be wonderful if she would tell him what it was like 7000 years ago…

White glowing tentacles came up to the side rails and Laia is lifted off the ground. She appears to be calm with everything, and allows Hevlaska to poke at her Innocence bangles. Lifting Laia towards her, Hevlaska leans in and places her large white forehead on Laia's forehead.

"7%... 14%... 21%... 35%... 49%... 70%... 78%," Hevlaska counted robotically and stops at the last number, releasing Laia from her mind power. "You are alright now, Laia Elfreya. It looks like 78% is your maximum synchronization with your weapon. You do, however, have a rather strange vibe with your Innocence."

"Wonderful!" Komui clapped his hand from the sidelines, his mind power quickly summing up the possibilities of what Hevlaska had said. "How simply wonderful! 78% synchronization rate for an Equipment type?! Simply amazing!"

"I haven't started using my Innocence yet, so it's only 78%," Laia said in a matter-of-factly voice, her eyes staring bright and wide at Hevlaska, who, too, is staring at her from above.

Cocking his head to the sides, the Supervisor said curiously, "What do you mean by that, Laia-san?"

"Her Innocence is made for her," Hevlaska answered for Laia, not breaking their eye contact. "The Innocence she now wields doesn't get to choose her. It is Fate that she and the Cube are united." Reaching out to Laia with one of her many tentacles, Hevlaska places her tentacles on top of Laia's head and said echoingly, "The lives of the Innocences depend on you, Laia Elfreya," said Hevlaska, focusing entirely on Laia's strangely calm being.

Nodding once, Laia said knowingly, "I know. Nii-sama told me."

At this, Komui perked up, his inquisitiveness resurfaced once again. "You have a brother?"

Laia nodded as a reply.

"What's his name?"

Turning her head towards Komui, Laia answered him truthfully, "I don't know. He never told me. I just called him Nii-sama since he said that it's alright to I call him that. He's not that particularly fond of his name."

"Interesting…" Komui muttered, rubbing his chin and appearing to be in deep thought before he suddenly jumps up and piped cheerily, "Alright! Kanda-kun, why don't you show her to her room? I'm sure the both of you needs ample amount of rest and such before I give the both of you missions briefings tomorrow."

"Che," Kanda scowled. Stepping forward, Kanda crosses his arms in front of his chest and glowers at Komui, "Where's her room?"

"That stupid psychopath…" Kanda cursed Komui while trudging along the 1st floor leading towards the Exorcist's dormitories. Turning around sharply at a corner, Kanda jerked his head towards the open room and scowled darkly at the prospect that her room is beside his. "This is your room."

Smiling brightly, Laia pulled on the front of his uniform and drew her face nearer to his. He didn't know how it happened, but strangely, she didn't make him feel the need to pull back or put up his defensive barrier. All he did feel is that he allows her to pull him down to her short level, and the next thing he felt is her soft butterfly kiss on his cheek. Pulling back shyly, Laia hugged him tightly to her on the neck and whispered by his ear in a grateful tone, "I thank you, Yuu-sama, for bringing me here despite not knowing anything about me. I'll repay you somehow."

All the while, Kanda is silent. When Laia finally releases him from her hold, Kanda watches as she walks into her room and waved brightly at her, the light blush on her face an evident of embarrassment. "Goodnight, Yuu-sama," she said in a small voice, her clear emerald eyes and a smile on her face the last thing he saw of her when the door closes in front of him.

Place - New Black Order Headquarters Britain
Floor -Top Floor Individual Rooms
Time: Dawn

The loud slamming sound of a door being manhandled woke Kanda up from his second dream.

It's barely 6a.m in the morning at the Black Order's new headquarters. The cold in the morning seemed to pierce through his thin clothes. Being a morning person, he sits up and his eyes automatically went to the lotus in the hourglass. He briefly thought about how pathetic it seems to have his life measured with the life of a lotus in an hourglass. He hated the sight of it, yet he needed it to survive.

The lotus now had been restored to complete full bloom, its petals a healthy vibrant pink. He frowned as he thought about how Laia had used one of her Innocences's powers to heal his soul, bringing the fallen petals back to the lotus flower, extending his life. He remembered how he had balked at her abilities and called her a monster then, and he remembered just how briefly the feeling of regret settled on him when he saw the great hurt and tears in her eyes.

She never spoke to him since then.

It didn't bother him much. He couldn't look into her eyes anyway.

It didn't bother him much. Just a little bit.

Only a little bit.

A little bit…

He told himself it was an accident that that monstrous word spilled out of his mouth. How could he call another person a monster when he himself is one? He slaughtered his best friend to put him out of his misery and live in resentment because of that, he had a higher tolerance with Akuma's poisonous gas than most people does because of his altered genes and the magical properties in his blood as the sole living experiment from the Second Exorcist Project. For all he knows, he is the monster, and monsters are not supposed to exist. He is an experiment… not a human…

He swung his foot off his bed and trudged towards the adjoining bathroom. There was the sound of tap water rushing, but it didn't stop him. He happens to share the bathroom with his next-door neighbor, and he knew instantly that it's her and that bastard Third Exorcist, Madarao.

Rooms in the new Black Order headquarters are built with the idea that one luxurious bathroom will serve as the wall between two different rooms, and that there is a small corridor in between those two rooms that will serve as the bridge to the bathroom. He didn't like it, and she didn't seem to give a response to it when Komui told them about the new room's arrangements. So, he'll have to settle with keeping his mouth shut and just go on with the arrangements.

Nonetheless, the bathroom's door was slightly ajar. He took that as a sign that he could enter and slammed open the door in an unattractive manner. If she could slam doors open in the dead of the night, then why shouldn't he do the same?

The first thing his eyes picked up in the bathroom was Laia. It was her, always her. She always stole his attention away, no matter how annoying she was the first time he saw her or no matter how achingly beautiful she was on her birthday, wearing a burgundy dress with lots and lots of frills, courtesy from Johnny. If she were to hide herself in a large crowd, the first person Komui would assign to look for her would be him; him and his robotic eyes that would just seem to zoom into her regardless of her whereabouts in a crowd. His eyes had somehow got used to the fact that Laia would always be the first person he saw every single day ever since that fateful day.

He saw Laia had her white poet's shirt completely opened, revealing her black bra and pale skin. She continued to brush her now shoulder length dark brown hair. It once reaches up to the small of her back; its lustrous shine would have shamed his hair back in the old days, glowing even more ethereally beautiful in a blazing flame color when shone under sunlight. Her hair was mercilessly hacked away from her by Lulubell in the midst of a fight. It was an unsettling display, the sight of her hair falling around Hevlaska's Domain like fine spider webs. The one thing that he knew she held most precious and proud of is her hair, and she had lost it. That is the main reason to her sudden rise of power and why she is so determined to destroy Lulubell.

She appears to not be bothered by his presence at the door, not even batting her eyelashes at the sight of him walking by her, as if he were not there to begin with and as if he did not slam the door and created a gunshot-like sound to vibrate around the bathroom. Slowly, taking her own sweet time, she buttoned up her shirt and stared into her reflection in the mirror, as if loathing the girl in the mirror looking back at her with such hate. It was one thing that Kanda noticed about her new self. She seemed to transform in a short span of time into an entirely new girl, one who no longer smiles and be happy even at the worst timing of her life. He would die before admitting that a part of him missed that part of her.

Then there was her complexion; she looked so pale and weak that her lips had turned into the color of pale white, almost like someone being drained off blood. He noted that she constantly frowned deeply, and he knew that look; she frowns because she is trying to stay on her ground, the telltale sign clear on her glazing eyes, appearing so dead to him. He could see her wobbling just by standing, and she even had one arm up to propel her on the bathroom counter. She doesn't look good in general.

And her eyes, Kanda noted. Once upon a time, her eyes glinted and burned with life. Now, it was glassy most of the time, sometimes blankly empty, indicating her lack of consciousness and gradual slipping of focus in reality.

Even so, Kanda strode into the bathroom. His mood darkens to a degree of violence when he finally noticed the Third Exorcist is standing right beside the inner bathroom counter, awaiting Laia to finish washing up no doubt. Kanda loathed the Third Exorcist. He especially hated it when Leverier ordered that the two suspected person, namely Allen Walker and Laia Elfreya, is to be watched over 24/7 and that they are not to be put out of sight by their watchers. Even if Laia is a girl, Leverier had still assigned Madarao to watch over her, naked or not. He felt his blood boiled further at the thought of Laia being in the same bathroom with Madarao.

He shakes his head slightly to stop himself from thinking anything else further. What's done is done. It's not like he could do anything to help her. No one can save her. Both Allen and Laia are damned beings in the Black Order.

They are bound to die soon with their reputation.

Turning on the tap water, he splashed water onto his face and ignored it even if he had accidentally splashed water on her, who was standing right beside him, close enough to brush his elbow if she so moves a little to the left. Fishing out his new hair tie, he tied up his hair in a high ponytail and stepped into the transparent shower room, stripping down to nothing openly and turned on the shower, hyper aware that Madarao is observing both him and her from the stupid corner he stood in.

Even after he had finished and came out with a towel wrapped his lower torso, Laia is still standing right in front of the mirror, taking up most of the spaces on the bathroom counter. After the invasion of the Level 4 Akuma, Laia had suddenly taken an interest in make ups and lipsticks and lined them up in the bathroom. It was a long time before he realizes that she used them to cover up her pale skin. She didn't want questions about her pale visage arises.

She turned and headed for the door before she stopped suddenly, one hand going to her head. Going back, she headed for the sink he now occupies and without warning, collapsed heavily onto the ground, her head colliding with his calf and leaned against him.

Madarao, her new guard, stood standing by the door side and stared ahead of him stonily without a bother. Throwing the towel he used to dry his hair aside roughly, he reached towards her and pulled her up roughly on her arm, sighing and clicking his tongue in disapproval. Laia winced from the contact and moments later, Kanda felt thick liquid started to seep through her clothes, blood blossoming rapidly onto the crisp white fabric and dripped onto the floor.

His eyes widened in shock upon setting his eyes on her blood-soaked arm. He saw how much damage he had done to her just by trying to keep his pride. He knew she had just returned from a mission, but he didn't know that she didn't patch herself up in the infirmary. He didn't even know that she had the capability to get this injured.

From all the while he had been teamed up with her, she has never ever gotten a scratch. No, not even one tiny scratch. She's new in the Exorcist department and yet her skills in using her Innocence as widely as possible is superb, even more so than Allen Walker's Innocence. He'd rather be known as the cold-hearted Kanda Yuu than be known throughout the Black Order as someone who had helped a damsel in distress. Guilt welled deep in his chest when she wrenched her arm away from his grip, splashing more blood onto the floor.

Buttons rained down onto the cold tiled floor when Laia ripped the now blood soaked white oxford shirt without a care that her body is entirely exposed to Kanda and Madarao, leaving her only in her black bra and her now extremely white and pale body, a clear unhealthy shade of color for skin. Snatching up the towel he had discarded by the side of the sink, she wiped her bloodied arm with it and threw it back to Kanda.

Cold eyes fixated upon the beautiful male Exorcist, Laia said coldly, her voice vibrating in the quiet joined bathroom. "Thanks."

Turning around, she walks out of the bathroom without a care in the world that her arm is bleeding freely from the horrible deep gash that made her arm looked as if they're half severed from her torso despite her earlier attempt at wiping the blood with his towel. His heart gave a hard tug at having forced to watch her walk away from him yet again, her back to him while her dead eyes staring ahead of her without perceiving anything in particular. Biting his lips to prevent himself from letting out a howl of distress, Kanda turned instead towards the tiled walls and slammed his fist into it, cracking one of the tiles with his immense strength.

"Damn it," Kanda said quietly, water dripping down his pale visage, the sound of the droplets meeting the tiles the only sound greeting his ears. "Damn it…"