Chapter 13

3 Months Later

The cold night breeze did nothing to sooth the distressed figure writhing on the bed. It has been three months since the fateful incident. Laia's Heart Innocence shattered, but it became one again soon enough when it touches the ground. Kanda had caught her when she fell from the sky, and with that, the end of the battle is starting.

There is no case of akuma in these three months, but the Vatican knew that the Earl is planning to unleash his troupes of akuma into the world. Laia became all powerful, but greatly weakened, taking long hours to regain her strength and eats more than Allen. Leverrier left her alone, and Allen is caught as the traitor. No sooner, Allen escapes with the help of Lenalee Lee, where they shares their first kiss as lovers. Allen left them, and Link is pronounced as dead. All there is left is the people in the Black Order, minus Allen, Link and of course, Kanda Yuu.

Kanda had escaped with the help of Allen Walker, and Laia believes firmly that he is living somewhere else with Alma Karma. He has chosen him, and with that, she has no regrets. Because she has loved the great exorcist once and that is more than enough.

As she slept writhing on the bed, rain started to fall heavily. Laia sleeps in her bed, and turns around frequently, not being able to sleep because of her nightmares. Usually the third exorcist, Madarao, would wake her up. But now that he is dead as well, she could only writhe in her never ending nightmare.

A figure came into her room quietly and closes the door. He did not turn on the lights for fear of causing her harm again. The handsome-almost-beautiful Exorcist sat beside her bed, brushing her hair away from her face while watching her with a forlorn expression on his face. Her hair had gotten longer, getting into almost everything and flowing right down to the floor. Much more longer than her ankles, and it has only been 3 months since he last saw her. It would seem that her Innocence is taking her life much more than necessary, and causes her to grow older faster. But still, she remains as young as she is from the first day he saw her. Perhaps the Earl of Millennium has made her an immortal?

It was quite another while of trashing and anxious whimpers before she woke up with a start in the middle of the night, screaming her lungs out shrill into the night with an anguished bloodcurdling howl.

Wrapping his arms around her, Laia fought with the dark figure embracing her and pushed him away from her. Kanda continues to hold her down and attempting to calm her down with his voice.

The door bursts open and in came tumbling all the Exorcists, their face a frantic shock when Laia wakes up the whole Black Order again with her nightmare.

"What happened?" Lavi exclaimed fretfully, his eyes flitting from Laia's struggling form to Kanda, and back at her again only to ask Kanda, wanting answers desperately from the Asian Exorcist. "Is it her nightmare? And is that you… Yuu-chan?"

Kanda gave Lavi a stiff nod and pulled her head close to his, her wide fearful eyes staring into his while he held himself against her hands beating all over him.

"Laia," he said almost gently, feeling her recognizing his voice and lessens her struggle when he continues to call out to her softly. "It's me. It's me, Yuu. Laia, wake up. You're safe with me here."

Her eyes caught onto the very image of Yuu Kanda, complete with dark eyes and long dark hair tied back with the hair tie she had made for him on his birthday. Her eyes started to water rapidly, and the next thing he knew, she started sobbing mournfully in anguished throaty sobs into his shoulder, glad that his scent is there with her when she woke up as she took in her surroundings in her half slumbering state, thinking that she is still stuck in her dream, and that dream-Kanda is there for her like she wishes him to be.

"I'm glad you've left, Yuu," she sobbed sadly into his shoulders, moving up to the crook of his neck, her tears soaking the front of his white button down Oxford shirt. "I'm glad you're not here to suffer with me. I'm glad you're gone with Alma, and I'm glad that you're happy with it."

Kanda responded by holding her tightly, wrapping his arms around her to protect her from the nightmare haunting her still and from the gazes of the other Exorcists and a few of the staffs from the Science Department. Rocking her gently, Kanda stroked her hair soothingly and kisses her temple.

"I'm okay. We're all here," Kanda said in a low tone, not wanting anyone else to hear what he wanted her to listen. He continues to murmur sweet and calming nothings to her, comforting her with the rhythmic rub behind her back that he knew she loves. She responded with another deep, sad sob, burying her face in his embrace.

"The only thing I regret, up until now, is that I didn't confess to you one last time…that I didn't tell you how much I love you…and how much I've wanted to follow you till the end of the world…My heart ache so painfully every time I thought about it, Yuu…I…I can't, no matter how much I wanted to…I can't…Yuu, I can't leave the others behind to die…"

"Then I'll be here with you…" Kanda said softly in a voice only she could hear. "I'll be here with you. I'll come back for you, and I'll stay with you just as you have stayed with me all these while…"

"Yuu… Yuu!" Laia calls out to her as she sobs mournfully, holding on tightly to Kanda's torso, not wanting to wake up from this wonderful dream. But when she notices that Kanda is warm and hard, she releases herself from his holdings and stares at him.

"Yuu…?" Laia asks him, not believing her eyes. Then, she fainted.

"Laia!" Kanda calls her, but she did not respond. Komui and the Matron came in and chased everybody out of the room.

A while later, they came out. Everybody swarms around them and ask them various questions.

"How is she, matron?" Kanda asked, concerned with the young girl resting on the bed, hiding her face from the entrance and preferring to stare up the walls in her own room. "I planned to see her later in the evening, just to check up on her a little. I didn't expect her to collapse so soon again. It's just two days ago since she last passed out…"

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with her. She does seemed to prefer silence nowadays, but apart from that and her eating habits that has subsided, she is completely fine-" the Matron said, but her words are cut off by Kanda.

"Wait…eating habits?"

"Don't you know?" the Matron said, feeling strange that Kanda would ask such questions She stopped eating a while ago, only taking water and nothing else."

"Nothing but water? Why?"

"I tried giving her food, but she just threw them back out. She can't even take small crackers, for God's sake! How could you people just abandon her trust and treat her like the traitor everyone said she was!? You are comrades, aren't you?"

"What's her condition got to do with us being comrades?"

"Her eating disability came to be when she lost the trust of her own comrades. The first trust she lost is Kanda's, and she had started to eat less and less. Eventually, she came to what she is today, unable to swallow anything but water. She was once a cheerful girl, but now she is just the sad beautiful girl sitting in the infirmary."

"And Komui-"

"Yes, Matron," Komui said, pushing forward into the crowd.

"She tells me that her sight gets bad as the day goes by. I think she is going blind," the Matron said sadly, and walks away from her room. Everyone lamented at her pitiful state, because she has been crying none stop since Kanda left them. She is so sad because she thought that she has lost him.

"Yuu…" Laia mouthed weakly. Immediately, Kanda leaped to her side.

"Yes, Laia?" Kanda said. "I'm here. Don't be afraid…"

"My Innocence will heal my eyes. Don't worry. Please… are you really here?" Laia ask, touching his face and feeling the warmth from his face.

"I am. And I came back to stay with you…" Kanda said, holding her hands in his tightly and kissing the back of her hand. Laia sheds another tear of gratitude.

"Thank you… for coming back. I know how awful you thought this place is… but… I just…"

"Shhh…" Kanda started, silencing her with his fingers. "Sleep. Rest. You have a great day tomorrow. I shall be by your side… always…"