Disclaimer: I do not own D Gray-Man.

AN: So this is the last chapter, I probably won't turn it into a story...because I'm not really sure where I would go with it, unless anyone has some ideas, in which case I would be glad to try :D I was really happy writing this though, I just wanted them to have some sort of happy ending. I hope you enjoy it!

Lotus Flower-Radiohead

There's an empty space inside my heart

Where the weeds take root
Tonight I'll set you free, I'll set you free

'Cause all I want is the moon upon a stick
Just to see what if, just to see what is
The bird lights float into my room
Slowly we unfurl as lotus flowers

Kanda swung Mugen one last time, letting out his breath slowly. He loosened his grip and was about to sheathe the katana when he heard an appreciative sigh.

"Hmmm…? That was very graceful…."

Bryony Mason.

She sat on a rock, chin rested in her palms and the usual forced, smile was gone, one of sincere admiration in its place. Her eyes, light brown and usually narrowed, were gentle. He quickly hid his surprise at the fond expression, hardening his gaze.

"How did you get there?" There was an unspoken 'without me noticing' attached to the question.

"I was just really quiet. You looked really engrossed, I probably could've danced without you noticing." The dreamy look was quickly fading from her face.

"Hmph. I doubt it, not with your coordination." He walked to stand beside her sitting spot, looking at her from the corner of his eye.

"Ah, there he is, grumpy." She sighed, letting her chin slip off her hand disappointingly. She had been calling him that lately.

"Don't call me that," He said sharply.

"Then tell me your name!" She burst out, getting up from her spot on the rock and then coughing. "Please." She added.

It had almost become a game, a sinister bullying on his part. He didn't tell her because he didn't want her to call his name.

"Survive a mission first," He said simply, leaving her behind. He heard her angry growl behind him, and he smirked.

"What's wrong?" He asked as she pulled back from the hug. She smiled wistfully, twirling around and intertwining her fingers behind her back.

"It's time, don't you think?" She looked out at the water, the familiar twinkle back in her eye as she sighed contently. Her hair flew gently around her face as the wind stirred it up and she tucked it behind her ears.

"Time…?"

"To let me go." She turned back around, smiling gently and resting her fingertips briefly against his cheek.

"What…?" His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Wait, where were they? Where was this?

He raised his own hand to cup hers. She closed her eyes for a moment, and then opened them, tears welling up in her eyes.

She walked to the water edge, beaming even through her tears.

"Alma? Where are you going?"He stepped forward, reaching his hand out. She gestured out at the never ending water, the lotus flowers blooming brightly.

He had a heavy feeling, and he said the first thing on his mind.

"I love you," He wanted to add 'please don't go', but she was already shaking her head.

"I will always love you." She emphasized the word 'always'. The wind blew again and sent leaves swirling into the air.

"Yu…"

"Kanda?" A feminine voice jolted him out of his state. He was remembering the dream he had the night before. He knew why he didn't want to tell her –Bryony Mason- his name. The idea of hearing her call his name, in any tone that she used, sent his heart pounding. He wanted to say unpleasantly, but if he couldn't even tell the truth in his head, where could he? If she were actually to call his name, with the gentle admiring tone he had only heard once…something inside him was going to break.

He had to stop himself from slamming a fist into the table, the thoughts were making him extremely angry.

Damn it!

He was in the dining hall now eating, well, he hadn't touched his food yet. Lenalee was looking at him worriedly from across the table. She had popped in to chat, probably because of that sense she always seemed to have when something was wrong. He hated that sense of hers, usually because it was right.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

"I'm fine." It came out rougher than he intended.

"Really? You looked really…sad." She said the word like it was foreign to her, and it probably was when it came to describing him.

"No. He's putting me off." He glared at the table at the other end of the room, where bean sprout was eating like there was no tomorrow.

"Haha, well, that's just Allen. I thought you would've become used to it by now." She laughed, a little uneasily, he noticed.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked.

"H-huh? Oh, nothing much…"She smiled in almost a panicked manner. He gave her a look and she flinched.

"It's nothing, just….Bree was sent out on her first mission today with Marie. She was really enthusiastic about it, but I'm worried, it's not uncommon for new exorcists to…" Lenalee trailed off, face falling and her hands fidgeting non-stop.

"Die." He finished, it had never bothered him to be straightforward before, but it sent his stomach into knots. No wonder he hadn't seen her in the morning. He felt his temper flare up at the notion he had noticed, getting up and throwing his food away. He walked past the table, where Lenalee was still looking glum.

"She won't die." He glanced down at her and she looked up in surprise. After a moment, she visibly relaxed and took a breath.

"That means a lot from you. Thank you, Kanda." Lenalee smiled. His eyes flickered to the other side of the hall.

"Bean sprout's worried about you." He wouldn't have said that normally, but as much as he hated to admit it, bean sprout could make her laugh. Right now, she needed to laugh. He walked out of the room, clenching his fists tightly. It wasn't that he didn't trust Marie, in fact, Marie was one of the only people he trusted that much, but….

She was a fucking ditz. She couldn't walk three steps without falling. He knew she had been training, but that kind of carelessness was fatal on the battle field.

2 weeks later:

Kanda swivelled suddenly, getting up from where he was bobbing down. A shrill yell had come out from the building, followed by crashes and sounds of utter destruction. He had been there long enough to know what it meant. Komui's shit had got loose again.

Fuck.

Last time he had ignored it, his room had been destroyed. He would slice up whatever was making a racket and hurry back down to finish up.

He sheathed Mugen, watching Komui cry over the sliced up remains of his stupid robot. Hands grabbed his shoulders.

"Phew, good job Yu!" Lavi peeked out from behind him. Kanda shrugged him off briskly.

"Don't touch me, stupid rabbit." He growled.

"Naw, why are you still so uptight? Bree's already back!" He whined. Kanda suppressed a jolt.

She's back?

"Why would I care?" He glared, stalking past him. Lenalee came running up from the hall with Marie, looking anxious. He quickly scanned Marie up and down, he looked uninjured.

"Kanda, have you seen Bree? She just got back and was in the infirmary, but she disappeared when the head nurse was preoccupied." Lenalee frowned.

"Why the fuck would I know?" He glowered in annoyance and she sighed.

"Kanda, don't be like that." Marie scolded.

"Che. Whatever." He brushed past them.

"Where're you going? Aren't you gonna help us look for Bree?" Lavi called from behind him.

"No." He headed down the stairs. He didn't need to look for her.

He already knew where she was.

She was squatting down in front of the small garden, gently touching the petals of the blooming flowers. Her favourites-pink camellias, she talked about them often- had grown a little wild, but he couldn't bring himself to cut them. Her other hand was cradled in her lap, he could see bandages wrapped loosely around her wrist. He halted a couple of steps away from her, now that he was here, he didn't want to be.

"Go back to the infirmary." He ordered.

"Ah, there's grumpy."She sighed, the corners of her lips curling up minutely.

"I'll drag you back." He threatened flatly. She ignored him and he scowled, stepping forward.

"You took care of the garden." She tilted her head, smile still on her face. That smile was real. But her eyes had lost a little of their mischievous gleam. That's what happened to naïve rookies on missions from the Order. They learnt it wasn't fun and games.

"No." He denied immediately. She finally looked at him, untied hair glinting in the sun. The smile turned a little cheeky and he got a bad feeling. She held up her hand and his bracelet dangled from her fingers.

"So…this just happened to be beside it?"She tilted her head. He looked down in shock at his wrist and realised the beaded bracelet really wasn't around his wrist.

He had taken it off and put it in his pocket because he didn't want to get it dirty.

Damn. Must've fallen out.

To be caught blatantly lying….he grimaced and felt the disgusting heat rush to his cheeks. She stood up and walked over slowly, holding the bracelet out to him. He almost stepped back but held his ground, snatching it out of her hand. A look of hurt flashed across her face and he felt like someone stabbed him in the stomach. It felt like someone had then decided to twist the same knife when tears started run down her face and she raised her arm like a child to cry into her forearm.

Oh, shit…

"Why are you crying, idiot?"

"Shut up! I…was excited. I was finally getting the chance to prove myself to the great….mysterious, unpleasable swordsman. But when I met the first akuma, I was so scared. Marie was so nice, you know, he got rid of most of them." She took a deep breath, sniffing. Kanda narrowed his eyes at her. Her arm dropped and her red tinged eyes came into view, tears still flowing down her cheeks. He hated it with a passion. She shouldn't be crying.

"The one that got through….it looked like a little girl. I…I killed her and it feels….well, it feels awful, even if….I know she was already dead. It's silly, I'm just being weak…sorry to rain on your parade, grumpy." She laughed shakily.

It was really pitiful, I was trying not to shake and sniffle like a child in front of who I was trying to prove myself to the most.

I don't know since when. Maybe when I started to watch him train, or maybe it had already started when he carried me up the stairs. I don't know, but at one stage I realised that the impatient and easily irritated man made my heart race. Made me feel lightheaded. Made my stomach fill with butterflies. Made me dream. It was easy to see where this was going.

I had fallen in love with someone who wouldn't even tell me his name.

"Che. What did you expect, scissors?"

I faltered, wringing my hands. Which was a bad idea, seeing as my wrist was hurt. I winced, accidentally loosening the bandages. They unravelled and there was a sigh of exasperation as surprisingly slender fingers caught the material.

"What the hell did you to your wrist?" He quickly retied the bandage, cool fingers running along my wrist carefully. I coughed, letting out an embarrassed laugh.

"It was a stupid injury. I tripped when I was getting off the train and landed on it awkwardly."I rubbed my eyes clear of tears with my uninjured hand. His cheek twitched and I flinched, expecting a harsh insult about how stupid and clumsy I was.

He slipped his bracelet back on and his head turned to the side slightly. I looked at him in confusion as a disbelieving half grimace half smirk grew on his face.

"Broken bones. Internal injuries. Missing limbs. Severe concussion."He pressed his palm into his forehead, a clear action of frustration. The hair covering his eyes was mussed by his hand, but he paid no attention at all, just looked incredulous and a little angry. He looked at me from the corner of his eye.

"What…?" I asked in confusion.

"You….All these injuries I imagined, you…you come back with an injury from tripping on the fucking train….?" The hand on his forehead curled into a fist and he yanked it down beside him.

He was….worried?

There were lines on his face from his grimace, and I wanted to smooth them out from his face. How could he still be so achingly beautiful with that expression?

"Go back to the infirmary," He finally said through gritted teeth.

"But I'm not done-"I turned to look at the garden and I heard a frustrated snarl from behind me. I yelped as my feet were swept out from underneath me. He held me against his warm chest, annoyed expression on his face. He strode up the stairs with frightening speed. I held my hands in my lap, face burning as I stared at my fingers.

"At least you didn't throw me over your shoulder this time." I laughed, sneaking a glance from beneath my hair, and my heart skipped a beat when I met his eyes. He looked away calmly, and I flushed even redder at my own embarrassment. He wasn't flustered at all.

I want to see him smile.

"Kanda," He suddenly said.

"Huh?" I looked up in surprise.

"Kanda Yu."

My eyes widened and the warm feeling in my chest almost exploded. A wide, happy smile made its way across my face.

"Don't. Say. Anything." He warned. I nodded mutely, still smiling.

"Don't cry either. It's embarrassing."

I sniffed, nodding again.

"I know you love me. But….it really is time, isn't it?" She stretched, reaching her fingertips to the sky. She took in a deep breath happily, still looking out at the sparkling water.

"Yeah. I won't forget you, Alma. Never." He looked into her gentle eyes, heart aching, but it was a sweet kind of aching.

"I know, Yu. Goodbye." She smiled, sad but blissful tears sliding down her cheeks. She stepped forward out onto the lotus covered water top and he felt a tear slide down his cheek, feeling anguished and at some sort of inner peace to be about to lose her. No, not lose. Let her go. He smiled at her one last time….and then she was gone with the sweet breeze. He was alone, looking out to the water.

"Kanda?" A soft voice called. Or not.

He straightened, glancing around. There was a pink flower where there wasn't one before. He bent over, touching the soft petals. He knew these flowers. They were the ones grown in her-Bryony Mason- garden. Her favourites. He had been the one who had taken care of them while she was gone. The ones he didn't want to cut.

She told him what they meant once, but it had slipped his mind.

"Y….Yu?" The voice stammered and something did break inside him. The things holding him back.

Oh, now he remembered what they meant.

'Longing for you'

His eyes opened and he released a long breath. He was lying on top of his covers and he raised his hand to his eyes. He sat up and wiped away the tears there with a grimace.

It had been a long time since he had woken up crying and he gritted his teeth together in annoyance. But something that was usually tight in his chest was gone. It was replaced with a nagging sensation, telling him to find her.

Bryony Mason.

There was a knock on his door and he narrowed his eyes. He thought that knock was only in his dream. It became slightly more impatient and insistent and he scowled, striding towards the door.

"What-"He flung open the door and lost track of the words he was about to say. Of course it would be her.

Are those….flowers?

"Um! Sorry, I know it's rude or…something to call you by your first name but you weren't coming to the door and-"

"What do you want?" He interrupted her babble. He tried not to smirk at her instantaneous pout and kept himself from being impulsive.

I want to hug her.

He waited for the familiar anger that would usually accompany that thought. It was shocking when none came. Refreshingly shocking.

"Right, right, just wait." I frowned, trying not to grip the stems of the flowers I was holding too tightly. I was also trying not to stammer and flush a brilliant red. His hair was down and his clothes was slightly crumpled, a rare sight. Somehow, it just made him look….sexy.

Focus.

Yes, I was there to give Kanda flowers. But only because when I was on the mission, I realised where I had seen his expression before, and because I was far better at conveying feelings with flowers….here I was.

But I started to doubt myself, his expression was different from usual. Maybe it was the lighting.

"Well, do you mind if I come in?" I asked. His face stayed emotionless, but his eyes narrowed a little. I stifled a shiver and let a brilliant smile grow on my face.

"Oh, but it's perfectly fine if I stay here, I just thought you might not want other people to see a girl giving you flowers…" I shrugged flamboyantly. I saw him twitch a little.

"Also, if you close the door, I'm going to sit down right here and cry. Which one do you think is easier?" I smiled angelically. His breath hissed through his teeth agitatedly.

"Che." He reluctantly opened the door and I skipped in. He closed the door and crossed his arms, leaning against the door. His long hair spilled over his shoulder and he pushed it back tiresomely.

"Hurry up." He muttered. To be honest, I was surprised he hadn't cut the flowers in two and let me cry outside his door.

Is he acting a little different today? Maybe he's sick…? It would explain the slightly flushed look.

"Right, um, well….here." I thrust my hand out in front of me, offering the handful of flowers I had picked. White poppies and a single pink camellia. They weren't usually grouped together, but I wanted to show him how the pink camellias outside had grown. It had taken me a while to find the perfect one.

"I'm not taking them." He looked at them with a scowl. My head drooped slightly and I turned the stems in my hand.

"Well, I can't say I didn't expect that….it's just that when I first saw you, you had this…look. It was always there under the glares, under the growls, and I tried to remember where I had seen it before. I finally put it together, and even though I might be wrong…" I glanced up, looking into his unblinking eyes. There was something that was a little less cold about them. I dismissed the thought.

He probably actually has a fever…

"White poppies symbolise dreams, but are more commonly used for offering condolences, you know? That look you had, I had seen it before on people. It was the look people had when they came in to buy flowers…..flowers to put on someone's grave." I couldn't really keep up the smile I was trying to maintain. It hurt me inside, the way he always looked like he was carrying something heavy, always, always mourning.

"I just…thought I should offer my condolences…if I'm wrong, you can just ignore that. On….on another note, I bought a pink camellia, I thought you might want to see how beautiful they had grown…" I sighed, shaking my head in self ridicule. He had been very still ever since I began talking, other than the slight jerk when I mentioned 'someone's grave'. I started to worry about my safety, I had probably overstepped some sort of personal boundary. He still stood against the door and I walked up to him.

"Forget it, sorry for interrupting you." I smiled sheepishly, moving the flowers to my other hand so I could reach for the door handle. He didn't move from his spot, and I reluctantly looked up. I didn't realise how close I was to him, and my breath caught in my throat. There weren't any lines that usually accompanied his face, neither was the glare. His mesmerising dark eyes were almost-almost- gentle and the corners of his lips were slightly higher, as if he was laughing at an inner joke.

"Uh, t-the door, if I could just…." I stammered. He didn't budge, and my face started to burn. Finally, he shifted to the side and I grasped the door knob like it was a lifeline. I had only just begun to turn the handle when his hand slammed against it, holding it closed.

"Wait. If you're so good at recognising looks…"He tilted his head a little higher, like a challenge. "Tell me. What look?"

I was taken aback and I gaped at him a little.

"You want me to…tell you what look you have?" I asked disbelievingly. He nodded and I saw a familiar twitch of impatience. For some reason, that relaxed me more than when he looked calm.

"Fine," I said, boldly stepping closer to him. I tilted my head, unashamedly running my eyes across his face.

Hmmmm…? He doesn't seem sick…is it particularly warm in here? Or has his expression actually changed?

I noticed his eyes sweeping along my face as well and tried to ignore it.

"Well, it's more relaxed and less tense…but now you're starting to feel a little awkward and you don't like the scrutiny." I raised my hand automatically to brush his hair out of the way when it fell forward. I froze halfway through the motion and I caught the intake of breath Kanda took.

"I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"Just keep going." He growled and I frowned at him.

"Now, that's no way to talk to a la-"I chided but was stopped by the look he shot me. I sighed and started looking again.

"So…there's a very faint tinge to your cheeks…" My hand hovered carefully and I waved my fingers over his cheek. "Your lips are slightly parted and you're breathing a little hard, as much as you're trying to control it…" I talked automatically, and my fingers brushed over the various indicators I was talking about.

"You aren't just looking into my eyes, you're also looking over the details of my face-which, by the way, makes me very self conscious-and though it's hard to see because of your eye colour, your pupils are dilated even though it's sufficiently bright in this room. If I didn't know better, Yu Kanda, I'd say you were in-"love.

I cut myself off, suddenly realising the meaning behind my words and my hand hovering at his cheek. My heart started beating so loud that he could probably hear it. A flush returned to my cheeks and I stepped back immediately, eyes flickering towards the door handle and his hand, which was still pressed against it.

"In what?" His voice was a little hoarse, and I turned, back now pressed to the door as he stepped around and forward. I felt a little like a trapped animal. I could see his hand from the corner of my eye, and he was tall enough that I was eye to eye with his neck. He tilted his head downwards a little to look me in the eye. I was still tightly holding the stems in my hand, and now I gripped it with my other hand to my chest, using it like some sort of barrier between me and the unwavering swordsman.

"N-nothing, it was stupid, I should go-"

"Say it." He did nothing short of demand it. I flinched and raised the flowers a bit higher to hide from the intense gaze he was now staring at me with, and to hide my own bright red face. I moved my hands forward, flowers still in hand, and tried to maintain some space between us by pushing him back and regaining some control. It didn't really work on account of our strength differences, I just ended up pressing my hands against his warm chest. I could feel his heartbeat pounding underneath my fingertips, and it was very distracting.

"You're acting odd, a-are you feeling alright?" I couldn't keep the stammer out of my voice and I was too embarrassed to meet his eyes. Cold fingers made me shiver as they slid along under my chin, forcing me to look up at him.

What is going on? There is something wrong with him!

"Say it." He repeated with the same authoritative tone, except this time he sounded like he was enjoying teasing me. Kanda did not tease. Kanda did not act like this. Kanda certainly did not step closer and tilt my face higher.

"A-alright! If you let go, I-I'll tell you!" I resisted the urge to squeeze my eyes shut, he could probably feel my heart accelerating and pounding in my neck. There was a pause and the fingers loosened, sliding away. Now that they were gone, I missed the feeling they had brought.

"I-If I didn't know better, Y-Yu Kanda, I'd s-say you were in….l-love." I looked away, embarrassed tears almost forming in my eyes. He was going to scoff or poke fun at me. Why was he being so mean?

This is so embarrassing….!

"And?" His hair tickled my face as he somehow came even closer. I squirmed, hating myself for being so easily manipulated.

"And what?" I plucked up the courage to retort.

"What's your reply?" He asked flatly.

"R-reply?"

"You said I was in love. You're the only person in here. What's. Your. Reply?"

I was stunned for a moment, and my brain raced. If it was possible, my face got even hotter.

"Reply to…?" I said slowly.

"What the hell do you think?" He said impatiently.

"Right! Sorry!" I squeaked. My heart ricocheted in my chest and I could feel my hands shaking a little.

Is he really asking me whether I….

"I…lo…"

And then I had a sudden epiphany. Who cares if he's really asking me? To hell with it, I wanted to tell him. So what if it was completely wrong to what I thought he was asking? I loved him and I wanted him to know it, regardless of the repercussions.

"Yu Kanda, I love yo-"

He cut me off suddenly with a kiss and all thought flew out of my head. After a beat I vaguely realised I had dropped the flowers and a little voice inside my head reminded not to crush them as I stepped forward and raised my arms to wrap them around his neck. I had to tiptoe a little as I kissed back gently and I felt his arms encircle my waist to pull me closer to him, pulling my back away from the wall. It was surprisingly tender for a person like him, and so, so sweet I almost cried.

My heart felt like it was going to explode with happiness, but I eventually had to open my eyes and breathe. I held his face in my hands, reluctantly pulling my lips away from his. His hair cascaded over his shoulders and ran along my arms. I breathed shakily, and he rested his forehead against mine. I moved my hand over his heart, feeling the strong hammering, and stepped back breathily, almost having to force my arm to push away a little. I looked up to his face, and I saw one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen.

Kanda was smiling, even if it was a minute one, a tiny, miniscule one, and his eyes were the most tender I had ever seen them.

"I love you, Bryony Mason." He murmured, almost a smug or relieved look on his face. My name flowed off his tongue, even though when anyone else said it, it sounded like a cat being sliced up. I smiled uncontrollably up at him, a happy blush decorating my cheeks. I whacked my hand against collarbone.

"Geez! And you made me say it first…" I covered my mouth with the back of my hand in embarrassment. His eyes flickered down briefly and he bent over to pick up the scattered flowers. He raised them to his face, smelling them….almost mockingly. He looked at me from the corner of his eyes and smirked.

"Not bad. But…" He shuffled through them and handed all but one back to me. I took them, looking at him inquisitively. He held the single pink camellia flower in his hand, and he looked up from it to meet my eyes.

"I only need this one."

AN: Yay! Done! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed :)