Disclaimer: I do not own -Man or any of its characters.
Kanda's POV:
Allen and I were walking around in the second town of the morning – this one on the American frontier, when he suddenly stopped short. He reached into the bag that was hanging across his shoulder and pulled out one of the pieces of Innocence. As it sat cupped in his hand, hovering slightly as they tend to do, he looked at it carefully and then closed his eyes. After a moment, he came to a conclusion. "This piece is reacting," he said softly. "It's Accommodator is in this town." He handed it over to me and said, "Here, take a closer look. It's as if it's vibrating very quickly."
"I see it," I said. "But I might not have if you didn't tell me what to look for."
"It's easy to miss. But more significantly, it also gave off a feeling of need. That's what made me want to look at it, and a lot of people have trouble with noticing it. Can you feel it?"
I didn't. So I concentrated harder. But I still didn't sense anything out of the ordinary – outside of the realm of what I've felt from Innocence before. "No. It feels the same as any other piece of Innocence."
"Let me see if I can describe it then. It's like the senses I get from normal Innocence, but even more exaggerated. Warmth. Strength. And especially the yearning."
I closed my eyes and tried again. "It's always been vague for me. Maybe this one does give off a stronger sense but I can't say for sure."
"That's alright. I want Lenalee and Lavi to have the chance too, so we'll all come back here together. Try again to feel its normal state when we get back to the Ark, and one last time here before we find our Accommodator."
I nodded and handed it back to him. "We have to meet our spy right now anyway."
"Don't make it sound so devious, Kanda," he said. "We're meeting an old friend."
"That's not how Central Command would see it."
"You're right about that." He looked at the clock in the town square. "Let's head to the rendezvous point."
We stood in the nearby woods, just a little off the beaten trail. The doorway to the Ark was a few minutes' walk from there. We were going to meet with Chaoji and find out how the Black Order and its members have been fairing.
My thoughts turned to reflections of him. I'd come to respect Chaoji since the time that he started participating in battles. He trained hard and fought hard, improving quickly. And he treated his job as an Exorcist with the seriousness it deserves. He managed to treat everyone in the Tiedoll unit like they wanted to be treated, and while I thought at first that it made him two-faced since the General and I could not be more different, it turned out that he just understood us all. He used that ability to make us find some common ground, too.
Before long, I heard the sound of a horse walking along the trail and it was coming to a stop nearby. Chaoji appeared a moment later with a smile on his face, and we shook hands when he reached us.
He spoke first. "It's been too long."
My answer was short but true. "Yes, it has."
Chaoji then moved on to Allen, throwing his arm around Allen's shoulders. "And here's the center off all of the controversy himself! Good to see you, Allen."
"Good to see you too. Shall we go? We'll be able to catch up with each other more easily on the Ark."
"I wanted to tell you first," Chaoji said to me when we reached the other side. "Mari married Miranda Lotto a couple of months ago".
Though I knew the two of them had become close, I was still surprised by the news. I'm sure my eyes were wide in reaction. I couldn't understand how she made him happy but I knew that he was. I thought Miranda was rather annoying and absentminded, and I've expressed that opinion many times over. At one point Mari made it clear that I should shut up about it; that was the maddest I've ever seen him. It took us a month to start talking again, but eventually he told me what he liked about her. I still didn't really understand, but I decided not to bring it up again.
I searched for the words, and eventually said, "I'm glad Mari's happy."
Chaoji gave me a knowing smile.
After the initial commotion caused by some twenty people greeting one man, we sat together around the conference table: Chaoji, Allen, Komui, Johnnie, Lenalee, Lavi, me, and the two Finder squad leaders named Michael and Bruno. The leaders commanded the other Finders while they performed missions that didn't include any Exorcists, and were also in charge of the training of all Finders.
Komui began the conversation, "No one will be expecting you for a while, Chaoji?"
"No. General Tiedoll was feeling a little sick this morning, so I suggested that he sleep in. And it's because of that opportunity that I contacted you right away for a meeting," responded Chaoji.
"It's actually very fortunate that we came to the town you were in. Before we met up with you, a piece of Innocence responded to someone in that town," said Allen.
Everyone was surprised by that news. We hadn't told them yet. Komui was the first to speak, "Did you make contact the Accommodator?"
"No, not yet. I wanted to give Lenalee and Lavi the chance to sense how different the Innocence feels when it's close to its Accommodator. Also, we didn't want to be late for the rendezvous with Chaoji. We can all go back there later today," Allen said to everyone.
"We shouldn't wait too long, even though the enemy doesn't know anything about it. Also, the news shouldn't leave this room, and none of us should go anywhere near Wisely at least until we have the Accommodator," I suggested.
"I think we'll have to stay away from Wisely for even longer than that. A new Exorcist will give us a strategic advantage," Lavi said.
"This won't be the last time we hold information we don't want the Noah to have. From now on, we'll have to use fewer Guards who are more dedicated to that duty. And they won't be allowed to know anything of strategic value," said Komui.
Yes, that was the most conservative plan, which we had reserved for a future time. But it gave the Noah so much consideration. "Can't we just put him to sleep or something? He's getting to be more trouble than he's worth," I said.
Allen replied calmly – not just to me but to the room, "For how long? We don't know how long we'll have to keep them here. Even if the Earl was gone, the Noah might still be a threat. We need a permanent solution, not something that's convenient for the moment." I knew he was right but I didn't say so.
"Remember, we thought this through before. I think the frustrations that we have are getting to us now, and we're pushing aside the plan that we decided on because it puts even more of a burden on us. Let's stick to having a few dedicated guards among the Finders," Lenalee appealed to us.
There was silence, and then agreement from all at the table as I knew there would be in the end.
Chaoji spoke up then. "How did you do that? You all work so well together. And the decisions you come up with make so much…sense. No politics, no personal agenda, no mysterious decrees. I guess I got so used to how things were at the Order now, that I forgot how they should be. I don't mean that it's that way amongst the Exorcists, scientists, or Finders, he clarified. But the real decision makers and their personal guard have been leaving us scratching our heads."
"What do you mean, Chaoji?" I asked. This was just verification that we were better off leaving the Order.
"Well, as you know," he began, "we move in small groups now, two to three exorcists and three to four Finders per unit. Then there are the two-man Finder teams. The teams with Exorcists have pieces of Innocence with them and we're always on the move. Mostly, we're left on our own to decide how to proceed. But once in a while, we'll get orders that don't make much sense. Recently, General Tiedoll and I were told to go to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania here in the United States, but were never told what we were looking for. We were already in the country so it didn't take long."
Allen had a look of recognition on his face. "I was there with Lenalee about two weeks ago, but only for one day."
"We got the order…13 days ago. When we reported nothing of interest, we continued traveling Southwest."
"They're trying to keep tabs on us?" Allen asked. They were wasting their resources tracking us? Their interest in us is ridiculous and unfounded when compared to the dangers of the Noah clan.
"More importantly, how did they know to look in Philadelphia? As leaks go, the best case is that the wireless isn't as secure as I thought. The worst case scenarios…" Komui said thoughtfully and trailed off. There were quite a few that I could think of.
"I don't know if they're trying to find you, but I do know that they don't trust you," Chaoji said.
"What about everyone else's trust? Our friends?" Lenalee asked.
"Your friends are still your friends," Chaoji confirmed. "And they wouldn't be your enemy without seeing good evidence that you want to hurt them, or destroy the world or something. Me, Krory, Miranda, General Tiedoll, Mari, Section Chief Reever, and Division Chief Bak Chan are included at the very least."
"If General Tiedoll is an ally, then why wouldn't he come here as well since he's traveling with you?" Michael asked.
"The Generals are under the most scrutiny by Central Command. I'll tell him only what he needs to know right now," Chaoji looked at everyone in the room "– mostly whether you're still on the righteous path, and whether you need support. But when the day comes that you need him, he'll be there. We'll all be there."
"You make it sound like you think we'll be the ones to end this war," Allen said uncomfortably. I knew that Allen thought it was likely true, but he didn't want everyone else to take it easy as if their actions didn't matter.
"Sorry. Maybe we do expect something great from you, though." Chaoji said.
"Well, if we figure it out we'll let you know!" Lavi cut in.
We continued our discussions with Chaoji and in the end both sides admitted it felt like they were feeling blindly in the dark for solutions. One fortunate piece of news was that General Cloud, with the help of Timothy, killed the new Wrath. So there's one less enemy to worry about, at least for a time.
"I feel a pull, that way," said Lenalee as she held the Innocence.
Lavi had some success as well, right before she did. So, I would have one more try at this. I took the fragment from Lenalee and closed my eyes. I focused on the Innocence in the same way that I would meditate, but after minutes of trying I still couldn't feel it. I was about to give up when I heard the distinct sound of Allen's cursed eye focusing on an akuma.
I looked around me and saw nothing but human beings, which is no surprise, but one blond man seemed to be looking openly at us instead of going about his day. More specifically, he looked at the Innocence I held in my hand and at the way the four of us were dressed.
Allen shouted and started running in his direction. I caught the akuma's eye right before he ran away as fast as he could, still in his human form. I gave chase, and shouted for Allen to take the Innocence and get on with the search for the Accommodator. I threw it to him as I continued to run after the akuma. Lenalee's form blurred past me and she got to him first, using her momentum to knock him against the adjacent wall, and then break him in half with her boots. It exploded then, which was the best way to confirm that an akuma was dead. The lookers-on ran from the scene, panicked and scared.
"He was using the payphone," said Lenalee when I caught up. She was looking at the receiver dangling by its cable off the hook.
I walked over to it with some dread and picked it up. "Hello?" I said into the phone.
"Who's this? An Exorcist?" said the man on the other end.
I saw no benefit in playing dumb on that score. If I revealed myself, I would have a good chance of confirming who I was talking to. I was fairly certain this was someone we couldn't ignore. "Kanda." I looked at Lenalee as I talked.
"You found an Accommodator. How many Exorcists are with you, Kanda?"
I was even more convinced of who he was when I heard him speak again. "…Tyki Mikk?"
Lenalee sucked in a breath.
"You recognize me by voice. I'm flattered. You have a gentleman's attention to detail, but you're conversational skills are still sorely lacking…You won't tell me, then?...Well, I'll find out for myself soon enough. I won't keep you waiting."
I then heard a click and the conversation was disconnected. I used the wireless, and also looked at Lenalee to make sure she was listening. "Allen, Lavi. We have to get out of here as soon as we can. Tyki Mikk knows where we are, and if he uses their Ark it won't take him long to arrive."
Lenalee gave an affirmative nod to me, then said to Allen and Lavi, "I'll take a look around and see if I can spot you two", and jumped high into the air.
"We're in the eastern part of the main square," Allen said helpfully then added, "we found her but we haven't approached her yet. She's a young girl – maybe twelve years old."
I could tell that he still wanted to be diplomatic with her - talk her into coming with us, despite the danger we were in. I had to cure him of that delusion as quickly as possible. "We're going to have to take her with us without explanations. There's just no time. And she's too important."
Lenalee was back on the ground by then. She said, "Found them. Now Kanda, get on my back."
Even though I knew we had to move, I still hesitated. She's so much smaller than I am; it seems like a ridiculous position.
"Kanda, now, or I'll drag you by your collar. This is the fastest way," she said impatiently.
"Now, now. You're a team player aren't you, Kanda?" egged on Lavi. "No time to waste."
"Fine," I conceded. I stepped behind Lenalee and wrapped my arms around her upper torso. I refused to jump on piggy-back.
She took off then, probably as fast as she could go while still being able to turn a couple of corners along the way. The force of her turns meant that my legs didn't have time to change trajectory, and one time they collided painfully with the wall – She probably did it on purpose. By the time I realized I should have wrapped my legs around her after all, we had arrived at the side of the others.
As I shook out my legs, Allen said, "I think Kanda's right about not having enough time. Lenalee, can you get her to the Ark right away and then come back here? We'll still need to defend the town because Tyki and whoever he brings with him might tear this place apart trying to get to the Accomodator."
"Yes. Point her out," she responded.
Lavi looked pointedly in one direction and said, "The blonde girl there with her mother - both are carrying bags of grain. She's wearing a pink cotton dress." The girl, like most of the other people in this town looked like she wasn't a stranger to hard work. Hair pulled back in a messy pony tail, practical clothing, and a casual air.
"I see her," said Lenalee.
"I'll open the gate once you've got her and get close to it," responded Allen. He gave her the piece of Innocence that belonged to the girl.
Lenalee approached her quickly, but not unnaturally so. The commotion we caused from killing the akuma didn't make it to this area. I could tell the girl and mother were startled by her sudden appearance.
We could hear the conversation through the wireless. "You're in danger, you have to come with me," said Lenalee.
"Strangers shouldn't come up to folks sayin' things like that. You tryin' to cause trouble?" She obviously didn't believe her.
"This is a grand town and we look out for our own here. What do you think we have to fear?" her mother asked Lenalee.
"I'm sorry, there isn't much time. You're a very special person, and there's a very powerful man that would like to kill you if he has the chance. He'll be in town very soon now, but if you come with me I'll hide you someplace safe."
"Not sayin' as I believe you, but couldn't every soul here be in danger iff'en there was such a man?" said the girl.
"Yes. My friends are staying behind in order to protect this town. But if he realizes you aren't here, he may leave town faster," answered Lenalee.
"Or they might take hostages," said the girl. She's smart.
"We won't let that happen," said Lenalee.
Allen, Lavi and I were looking in all directions through the square during this conversation in hopes of spotting danger as quickly as possible. This was really taking too long. But that effort turned out to be ineffective, as Tyki seemed to materialize right next to the three women in an instant.
I yelled, "Lenalee, go now!", but Tyki's hand was already on Lenalee's shoulder, barely touching. The threat was clear, and we all knew that he could rip her apart from that range before she could get away with the girl. Damn, we would have been better off more or less kidnapping her.
Tyki Mikk announced his presence, getting as far as "Good afternoon, ladi…" before Allen knocked him to the ground. Lenalee took the opportunity to grab the girl and leave. Tyki was obviously confused about how things ended up the way they had, and we wouldn't enlighten him about just how quickly and easily Allen could make and use gates connected to the Ark.
The girl's mother's eyes were wide, shocked at how the scene had changed.
Allen addressed her when he stood up, "Ma'am, you're daughter is safe. Please tell the townspeople to go into their homes, now."
The woman nodded dumbly at first, but then her face became more determined and she left.
In the mean time, Lavi and I moved so that the three of us were in the formation we had practiced for the situation where there was one confirmed enemy but there could be more. Allen followed suit, so that Tyki, who had stood up himself by now, was surrounded by a loose circle.
"You missed your chance, Tyki. Just leave," urged Allen.
"I may have lost the chance to kill a newborn Exorcist, Allen, but there are many opportunities still in front of me. The way I see it, I can kill three or four Exorcists today – depending on whether Lenalee comes back, and not only destroy their Innocence, but all of the pieces of Innocence they're carrying. And the final opportunity, though I admit I don't hold out much hope for it, is that you come with me and finally take up your intended role," answered Tyki.
Allen's face was closed off as he responded, "I'm as likely to come with you as you are to come with me. You should also know that we're not carrying unclaimed pieces of Innocence with us. They're all on the Ark."
"I see. Then perhaps my goal should be to torture you until you let me and the other Noah onto your Ark, so that we can destroy the Innocence, free our prisoners of war and take the Ark which you stole from us.
You should see how sad Road has become, and how angry Lord Millennium has become. Tell me, how much do you remember now? Are you really Neah and not Allen at all anymore? Do you know how terribly he betrayed the Earl? What about your Noah memory? Do you feel what the Noah Clan felt seven thousand years ago?"
"I have Neah's memories, and I see them like they're my own. I know what he's done, but I don't know all of the reasons why. I was filled with the Noah's memories on the day that the stigmata etched into my forehead, but I can't make sense of them," said Allen. Why was he telling that Noah anything?
Tyki said coaxingly, "We have so much to talk about. Don't you at least want to make sure that you have all of the information before choosing what side to fight on? You'll think differently if you let Noah's memory wash over you. If only you knew what we –" He stopped himself there. Whatever he was going to say he didn't say it, but that's not what I was focused on.
I couldn't stand there listening to his appeals any longer, so from my position at Tyki's left flank I activated my Innocence and let loose a stream of energy right at him. He sunk below the ground and avoided the attack; he was as quick as ever. The energy caused the decimation of the tree line that was behind where Tyki had been – like a thick blue laser beam. Lavi looked ready to join the attack, but we no longer knew where to aim. Allen looked irritated but joined the tighter circle that we moved to form. Tyki arose from the ground right in front of me and started a barrage of attacks that I parried with Mugen. He slipped away again before Allen or Lavi could respond.
When he appeared again, it was 20 feet away. "You'll never learn any manners, will you? I was talking to my dear brother, Allen." Even though I knew his words were designed to rile me up, I couldn't help that they did.
I gave Allen the opportunity to respond, but when he didn't I charged after Tyki again. Lavi's hammer beat me to it, and Tyki sunk down once more.
Allen called to us, "An akuma is coming in fast from the North. I can tell he's very powerful; maybe a Level 5". I honed my senses in preparation. A Level 5 akuma was as strong as ten Level 4s.
"I see him," responded Lenalee. She must have just returned from the gate.
"Don't fight him on your own," reminded Allen. "Meet us here in the town square."
She arrived five seconds later, and joined our circle. The akuma landed opposite Tyki on the other side of our circle. It had an angelic form as all Level 5s do. Where Level 4s looked like decrepit cherubs, Level 5s looked like large adult humans – very tall and proportionally wide, with halos, and wings as wide as their bodies were tall. The two seemed to be wordlessly communicating, and it made me very uneasy.
It was during that standoff that General Tiedoll and Chaoji ran onto the scene as well. I was glad to see them, and gave them a nod in greeting. The six of us managed to use this time effectively by separating our enemy. They simply hadn't accounted for so many of us.
Allen, Chaoji and I surrounded Tyki. So as not to harm each other during this close quarters combat, we Exorcists used attacks of concentrated force. When Tyki took to the air in avoidance and to gain the higher ground, Allen grabbed me around the waist and his armor took us up to meet him. I unleashed a wave of energy that he couldn't avoid this time. Compared to what I used before, it had a greater surface area but provided a weaker hit overall - and he guided himself to the ground, in pain. Chaoji hit him with his heavy club when he landed, but it passed through him. The weapon itself was not made up of Innocence, and Tyki managed to avoid it.
I yelled to him, "This guy can only be hurt by Innocence directly or an attack he wasn't prepared for, Chaoji. You'll do better fighting the akuma instead."
"Ok, Kanda," he replied.
Lavi, having heard this said, "I'll join you, Kanda, Allen. Tell Chaoji to switch with me."
"Wait until Chaoji gets to your group first," instructed Allen.
"Got it," Lavi replied.
"I'm going," yelled Chaoji, and he took off towards the battle with the akuma. I took the opportunity to glance towards that battle, which I had been keeping tabs on until now and hearing through the wireless. Though he was formidable, three experienced Exorcists would be able to defeat him.
Tyki batted Allen with is arm, and Allen landed against a tree 100 feet away and cracked his head. There was no more time to worry about others. I fired at Tyki but he was out of harm's way too quickly. All of a sudden he was in front of Allen, who seemed dazed, and smashed his head against the tree some more. The tree splintered from the force.
I ran as fast as I could to meet them. My long range attacks would do no good with Allen to close to Tyki.
Tyki hauled Allen, now unconscious, over his shoulder and traveled quickly through the air, presumable to the location of the gate of his Ark.
Fear set in - uncommonly strong fear. I yelled out Allen's name and hoped that the others would hear my voice and notice what was happening. My need to stop Tyki from leaving with Allen filled me completely and my Innocence responded. A new Illusion entered my mind from the same place as Hell's Insects, but something larger. It came forth at my summons – a humanlike centurion from Hell, which would follow my commands but also think for itself. I had no doubt of what it was capable of and I told it without speaking that he must stop Tyki Mikk and keep Allen Walker safe. It left with speed enough to catch up, and fought against Tyki with great strength. I ran closer as I watched on and I felt gradually weaker over time, having given so much energy to my Illusion.
I heard Lavi, "I'm on my way. Whoa, what the hell is that!"
"Tyki's trying to take Allen with him. My Illusion's stopping him." My voice sounded tired. "You're closer to them than I am now."
I could see Lavi extending his hammer to get there faster, and meet them in the air. When Tyki unintentionally dropped Allen, Lavi was able to catch him. A felt a great rush of relief, followed by horrible anger. The Illusion - Hell's Guard - felt my intent and fought on all the harder. Tyki couldn't avoid it, taking blow after blow. I smiled. A hammer-fist brought him down to the ground, and he skidded to a stop near me. I smiled more in satisfaction, no longer allowing myself to be a bystander.
Tyki and I were both tired and pissed off. As a result, we each left some openings we wouldn't normally have. I sliced him across the chest, maybe an inch deep. He gouged at my side, taking a literal pound of flesh. A moment later, I was surprised to find that I wasn't regenerating quickly enough. I could feel the effects more than I should. My Illusion arrived then to take up the battle and I fell on my back in exhaustion.
From up close I could see that Hell's Guard was more battered than I had thought. As for myself, I pressed the wound tightly to stop the heavy bleeding. My vision was getting blurry as well.
Quite suddenly, I could see nothing but white and I thought for a moment it meant I was unconscious. Then I realized that it was Allen's armor; the white cloak surrounded us both. He pressed his hands on my gouged side as well, but then looked forward at my Illusion.
When I looked myself, I was surprised at what I saw. The centurion also wore a cloak like Allen's and seemed to use it quite naturally to defend as he saw fit. 'Surprised' didn't cover it, I was amazed. Tyki was being beaten to a bloody pulp.
Tyki fled then and I seriously considered ordering the Illusion to go after him, but I was barely conscious and needed the energy to return to me. So I called it come. Thankfully, my regeneration became somewhat more substantial as a result.
"I should heal faster now," I told Allen. "But don't let go yet."
He gave me a relieved smile, and then in a false-superior tone said, "You're pouring blood, idiot. Of course I'm not letting go."
"Tyki's gone then?"
"Yea."
"What about the akuma?"
"Defeated. Just a few moments ago by the other team." If that was the case, why didn't he deactivate the armor?
I looked at him more closely and noticed that he wasn't doing all that well himself. "You're head's bleeding in the back."
"It's fine. Worry about yourself."
"That's my line. At least put some pressure on it. Che."
"How am I supposed to do that? My hands a full with you."
Lavi piped up then, "I've got it, Allen," and walked over to us to see to Allen's head. Lavi poked his head over Allen's shoulder to speak to both of us. "Everyone's beaten up but more or less ok. They're coming over here to meet us now."
Lenalee arrived first, and sat beside me. Allen deactivated his Innocence so that she could get close. "Are you alright, Kanda?"
"I'll be fine," I told her. Did she really expect a different answer? Maybe the weak voice I used to say it gave me away, though.
General Tiedoll sat on my other side, already crying pathetically, with Chaoji standing behind him with a concerned face. I didn't have the energy to be irritated by all of the attention. Instead, I felt covered enough to let go of my hold on consciousness.