Chapter Nine –

Pain… A whole hell of a lot of pain…

Nadeshiko was only partly conscious of her surroundings, the pain almost too overwhelming. Her head throbbed, eyes squinting at the bright light coming from the chandeliers above her. Her entire body was numb except for her stomach area, which was the source of most of the brunette's pain.

She was distantly aware of the blood running down her torso, not seeing it but feeling the cool paths it left.

"NADESHIKO!"

A voice shouted her name, but it sounded quite a distance away. Though, no matter how far it sounded, said girl recognized the voice.

…Lavi…?

…But…

…When had he gotten there?

Pushing herself up slowly, using only her arms, she noticed the blade of her Sword of Flames had been broken, shattered pieces of metal lying around the discarded hilt.

"What will you do now, Exorcist?" The Akuma cackled. "You're Innocence has been broken, and you've been infected by the blood virus! What is there left for you to do other than kneel over and die?"

Nadeshiko didn't say anything, but instead grabbed the hilt of her broken sword and stood on shaking legs. She glanced behind the Akuma and noticed Lavi standing there, watching her with wide eyes. The brunette closed her eyes and focused on the hilt in her hands.

The temperature raised a couple of degrees, and Nadeshiko opened her eyes again.

Where there had previously been no blade, was replaced by a line of flames.

"Oh ho ho, so you're going to keep fighting?"

"Damn right."

Nadeshiko twirled her sword in her hands a few times before bringing the weapon to a halt with the 'blade' facing the ground. The brunette plunged the weapon into the marble floor, sending cracks towards the Akuma.

"Silly Exorcist! Puny cracks won't affect me!" The Akuma jumped over one of the cracks that were approaching it. Unfortunately for the creature, boiling hot magma shot out of the crack just as the Akuma was directly above it, leaving plenty of scorch marks behind.

"You little bitch!" The Akuma shrieked bitterly as it staggered, having a hard time standing. Magma dripped from its 'body' as it fired a bullet from the rather large cannon that had formed out of the metal on its chest.

Nadeshiko raised her sword to cut through the bullet, when a large black cylinder-shaped object knocked it away from her.

It was Lavi's hammer.

"L-Lavi…?" The brunette questioned slowly.

"Take a break, Nadeshiko." Lavi replied, not looking away from the Akuma. "You can barely keep standing – don't push yourself."

Nadeshiko opened her mouth to protest, only to sharply inhale as her legs gave out on her and she collapsed. Weakly, she nodded and deactivated her Sword of Fire, bringing back her Sword of Healing and removing the poison that came from the Akuma's claw wound from her blood stream.

As Lavi fought the Level Four, the brunette carefully used her sword to sustain her body weight as if it were a cane. Glancing around, she noticed Vera was missing. She looked back to the fight, and gasped in surprise when she saw the dark-haired princess on the other side of the Akuma. When had she gotten there?

Shaking her questions off, Nadeshiko motioned for Vera to run, but the black-haired female stood her ground, staring at the brunette with determined eyes.

The young women unclipped the glowing family brooch from her top, and clenched it in her fist. Her eyes slipped closed as she concentrated heavily on the object in her hand, willing it to help her protect her newly found friends. Suddenly, the faint green glow surrounding the brooch flared outward and formed a cylinder around the Akuma that had disguised itself as her brother.

The Akuma froze, unable to move with the barrier surrounding it.

Lavi blinked in confusion, before tracing the thin green line connecting the barrier to the brooch in Vera's hands. His eyes widened.

"Vera? How'd you do that?"

"…I guess I really am compatible…" The dark-haired woman replied slowly. "I apologize, Lavi, Nadeshiko, for all the trouble this monster had caused. Please, allow me to destroy it – I wish to lay my brother's soul to rest myself."

The red-head hesitated for a moment before nodding and stepping away from the Akuma to give the princess some space to do what she needed to.

Vera glared briefly at Road. "I don't even know you, yet I know that you're not worthy of the life God has so graciously granted you with. Turning my brother into such a cursed creature, impersonating Florentina… I can never forgive you for the horrible things you've done."

The Noah of Dreams giggled from her spot in the air, on top of the umbrella named Lero. "It seems I've made you angry, princess."

"Yes, you have, Road." Vera hissed. "Now, you're precious 'Akuma' will have to pay the price." The black-haired female tightened her grip on the brooch viciously, and the barrier surrounding what was once Yuri exploded, taking the creature with it.

"Aw, you broke my toy." Road sighed. "Oh well, it can't be helped I guess. I'll be taking my leave now, since my entertainment has disappeared for the time being." The Noah summoned a door out of thin air. A swarm of black and purple butterflies appeared and Tyki stepped out to stand next to Road. "Until next time, Exorcists!"

And with that, the two Noah disappeared into the door.

Allen and Lenalee ran in moments later, saying that Tyki had suddenly fled during the middle of their fight, and Lavi filled them in on what had happened in the ballroom. When the red-head mentioned Nadeshiko's injury, Lenalee immediately started to worry.

"Nade! Are you going to be alright?" The emerald-haired girl asked as she knelt down beside the brunette.

"Yes, I'll be fine. I've already healed thanks to my Innocence."

Slowly, Lenalee nodded and helped her friend to stand, wrapping the brunette's arm around her shoulders so that she could lean against her for balance. Though Nadeshiko's wound had healed, she was still dizzy due to blood loss and would need to see the Head Nurse as soon as the group returned to the Order.

Allen, meanwhile, checked to make sure Vera was right. The young woman had reassured him that she was fine, and told him that she would be joining them since she had turned out to be compatible with Innocence. Everyone agreed, and Vera left the room to tell her parents about her departure and that the ballroom was safe once more.

Nadeshiko pried her sword out of the ground and deactivated it, making it take the form of a key, which she clipped back onto her necklace. Then she turned her head to look at Lenalee.

"I'm fine Lenalee; you don't need to do this for me."

The violet-eyed girl shook her head. "No, you're not fine Nade! You were injured by an Akuma!"

"I already–"

"I don't care if you've already healed the wound!" Lenalee interrupted, knowing full well what her friend was going to say. "You're still not well enough to be doing anything brash! You're experiencing dizzy spells, and can hardly stand on your own!"

Nadeshiko sighed. "Lenalee–"

"You should listen to her, Nadeshiko." Lavi spoke up. "It's either you let Lenalee help you or I carry you."

"I doubt you would – LAVI!" The brunette's statement was cut off as the red-head picked her up bridal style. "Put me down!"

"Nah, I'm good."

"Lavi!"

Everyone laughed, Lavi having effectively destroyed the tense atmosphere. Vera returned shortly after – slightly surprised to see Nadeshiko in the red-head's arms, glaring at the floor – but shook it off with a small laugh. The group of five left the castle, and headed in the direction of their hotel. They would set out for the Order in the morning.

{Line Break - my line break button isn't working for some reason! xP}

AN/

It's done! *dodges chair thrown at me*

I'm SOO sorry for not updating in a while! School kinda caught up with me, y'know?

Anyways, IT'S ALL HALLOWS EVE! :D (All Hallows Eve is the day before Halloween, where as All Hallows Day is Halloween, for those who don't know.) Tomorrow night (for Halloween), I'm gonna dress up as a school girl with my best friend 'Soul' and go around singing Road's song and creeping strangers out! xD (Lol… ^.^')

I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please review!

And for those of you who read this story, and my other one called 'Interesting', I'm going to be working on chapter eight (I think it's eight…) of that story… So... Yeah...

Bye!