A/N: I think I did actually miss this deadline... oh well I knew it would happen some time... sigh

7/ 6 move.

I absolutely couldn't believe I was being sent on another mission with the idiot Moyashi. I would have thought that the mess he made of our last assignment proved that we weren't well suited to work together. I also thought it was clear we didn't get along. Every time we were forced to interact, sparks flew in the worse possible way.

Yet here I was, staring at the name of my partner for this assignment printed across the top of my mission folder. No matter how long I gave it my best death glare, the letters didn't miraculously rearange themselves into anything more tollerable. The best outcome would have been if they just vanished all together, but I would have taken anything else, even the baka usagi. Although he had a habit of braiding my hair when I slept, which pissed me off without fail, at least I could threaten him with Mugen, and he wouldn't compromise the mission for something stupid.

"Get someone else," I ordered Komui, giving him a look that would leave anyone less accustomed to me running for cover. I wasn't sure whether I was telling him to find me a different partner, or find someone other than me to work with the idiot with old man hair. Either worked.

"Why?" The crazy man asked. "You worked so well together last time."

My eye twiched. "Where the hell have you been?"

"You were able to defeat your first level two together, even knowing very little about them. You fought together and recovered the innocence despite any other issues."

"You're just ignoring the fact that there were other issues," I growled at him. "If we work as well together as you think, we wouldn't have so many problems to work around in the first place!"

Komui sighed. "I don't want to have to do it, but I will give you an absolute order to go on the mission. I would prefer if you accepted it without a fight."

"Don't bother," I snarled, snatching the mission folder and stalking out of the room. Trying to fight over it would just be too obnoxous, especially if Komui would over rule it in the end.

The Moyashi was already waiting on the dock of the underground river when I arrived. I scowled; I had been hoping that he would be late and I would get a few moment's respite. He didn'tlook. Exactly happy either, but he had his mask so it didn't show as much. That almost pissed me off more. He knew we disliked each other mutually, so why did he need to hide it. It wasn't like he needed to impress me or any shit like that.

I made sure to ignore him because I didn't want to see that polite face. If he would only look angry or annoyed it would be better. There was a stony, heavy silence between us on the boat. At least on the train there was the sounds of the wheels and whistles to cut through it.

The Moyashi disappeared behind his mission folder immedately and studied it intently. I scanned it briefly, enough to read the name of the place and the disturbance before I tossed it on the seat next to me in disgust and propped my chin in my hand to look out the window. I could see the city approaching from miles away. It covered a vast landscape in an unnatural sprawl. There were only two things in the world that grew that fast: cities and weeds. They had another similarity too; once they had taken root they were impossible to pull up.

It was more than obvious I hated the places. Stinking mazes of winding streets packed with people hid darkness all too well. Centers of poverty, crime, disease and death, they were the perfect breeding ground for Akuma.

"Oh wow, it's so huge!" Exclaimed an annoying voice from the other seat. Fake. The excitement he put on wasn't genuine. What was it covering? Fear? Distaste?

The train pulled into a lavish station done up in fancy types of wood and curling metal decorations leafed in silver and gold. It was too perfect; I didn't like it. I had seen several other tracks branch off or run along our line and enter the city at different points. I doubted those stations were nearly as nice. This place was just one more damn mask.

Sure enough, as we wandered down side streets and away from the city center, all that fancy gilt felt away to show the true face. Its nose was broken, collapsing buildings and its lips cracked and peeling paint. Stinking garbage rouged the cheeks of its streets, and its hungry eyes peered out from every doorway, window and shadow before darting away into the darkness.

"If we're to find the Akuma, this would be the best place to start," Moyashi said.

"Obviously," I stated.

He ignored the remark and scanned the surrounding tenement buildings, stacked high and leaning dangerously, though his eye didn't activate. "Shall we continue further in?"

I brushed past him and headed down the street in response. I could hear a sigh from somewhere behind me, and then footsteps following. Manners actually mattered to the Moyashi; I couldn't say why and definitely couldn't agree. He should be getting angry at my rudeness, not meekly following without comment.

I have no idea how the Akuma managed to hide themselves from the cursed boy's eye, but we didn't know we had walked into an ambush until they attacked. Two of them sat on top of a high roof in front of us. One swung mutated legs, and the other inspected long claws for dirt. I drew Mugen and the Moyashi activated his arm at the sight of them.

"Look who's in town," said Claws.

"It's been so long since we had a proper visitor. I want to play with them," added Legs, kicking faster in excitement.

"Now, now, we must be polite and welcome them first with a great party. Don't worry," the Akuma executed a mocking bow with a hand over its heart. Its claws were so long they extended past its shoulder. "We have already made all the provisions, including a rather impressive guest list."

"Che, I don't see anyone," I stated, holding my blade at the ready for the moment they attacked.

"Um, Kanda, you should take another look around." The Moyashi was slowly backing toward me and turning at the same time to survey every angle, his eyes darting from shadow to shadow. I glanced around and saw faces leering from almost every pool of darkness. They lurked in doorways and windows, down dark alleys and over crumbling rooftops.

"Is that all you've got?" I taunted. "Che, too easy."

"I wouldn't tempt them," my partner recommended.

Claws and Legs took offense to my comment. Perfect. They came streaming with their hoard into the street and attacked. It was a mixed group of level ones and level twos. Usually it would be more than easy to get rid of them, but it was hard to move in the cramped way which barely qualified as more than an alley. And, there was always one more Akuma than I thought. Damn cities and their dumb people who let the Millenium Earl trick them. Damn slums and their thousands of hidey holes.

The other Akuma were fairly easy to kill. I noticed quickly that Claws and Legs were the real opponents when they managed to evade every swipe of my blade, using the confusion to slip away from sure death. They cackled constantly as they wove in and out of the frey. I was pissed at these two; I wanted to kill them and they wouldn't let me.

I lost sight of them for a moment, and that's when the voice shouted, "Kanda, move!" before I was shoved to the ground. I caught myself on my hands and whirled around to yell my head off at Moyashi. What was he doing pushing me over in the middle of this, where if anyone else was in my place they would be trampled. However, he wasn't there. There was a thump and a grunt of pain off to the left. He had been sideswiped by Claws and thrown into the side of a building.

Idiot Moyashi, that's what he got for trying to be a hero. I just ignored the stupid exorcist and kept fighting, or at least tried to. My eyes flicked back to him and he still hadn't gotten up. He had been thrown into buildings before, through buildings, and only been slightly dazed. So what was wrong? Why wasn't he getting to his feet to face the set of Akuma closing in on him? It looked as if he hadn't even moved from where he had dropped into a crumpled heap.

I had told him once before that if he hindered the mission, I would leave him behind. Well, it wasn't like I was going anywhere soon anyway, surrounded as I was, and all of these Akuma had to die at one point. I wasn't protecting him, only deciding to take out that group first. I wasn't standing over him so he couldn't be attacked while my back was turned, only choosing an easily defensible spot where none of them could sneak up behind me.

He's even doing me a favor, I thought coldly. Without having to worry about paying attention so I didn't hack up a partner along with the enemy, I could let the battle rage and adrenaline course through my veins and direct my sword where to go. I blinked and suddenly the street was clear.

I wiped Mugen clean of Akuma bits and sheathed him before bending over to check on the Moyashi. His pulse was faint and stuttering, but still there, so at least he wasn't dead yet. 'Not dead yet' could usually be treated if you had the right connections. Seeing as exorcists had clearance everywhere, we had all the right connections, one of the few perks (other than fighting) of this obnoxious job.

I rolled him over to find something much more concerning. His uniform was sliced in four parallel lines down his torso, the wounds and fabric dyed red. That could be patched, but the green tinge to the skin around each cut, that I wasn't sure about. The Akuma's power must have been some poison in the claws, and different from the typical poison made from their blood or his innocence would have already cleansed it.

I didn't know much about poisons, especially how fast this one acted, so I did a quick bandage job over the wounds so he wouldn't bleed out, and ran back through the slums with the Moyashi over my shoulder, back to the city's mask.

"Mr. Black Priest," a nurse said nervously. I had found a hospital and turned the idiot over into their care. Then I had leaned against the wall outside the room where they took him and glared at any of the staff who came too close.

"What?" I snapped.

"The doctors have cleaned Mr. Walker's wounds as best as they can and stitched them up. The skin began to return to its normal color, so it seems they were able to remove the poison. He hasn't regained consciousness yet, and I've been told to warn you that since this particular poison and its effects are unknown, he might never," the nurse informed me, flipping through her clipboard instead of meeting my eyes

"What the hell are you talking about? You said they got the poison. Why would he still die?"

"He most likely won't die, but he might remain in a coma. In that state, he maybe could be able to hear people and understand things, but he wouldn't be able to respond."

"The Moyashi will wake up," I told her firmly, "he's just too stubborn to stop like that. He's got this stupid thing about how he has to keep moving, so I'm sure he'll do it."

I pushed past her and into the room. The Moyashi was white on white; with his hair, pale skin and bandages, he almost blended into the sterile-colored bed. I couldn't tell where that conviction about him out in the hall had come from.

I sighed and pulled out the mission folder; I might as well go retrieve the innocence while I was waiting for him to start moving again. I flipped through the report quickly, looking for some mention of it. I scowled when I didn't find it and started over again, thinking maybe I'd missed some small detail. This time when I read it, I noticed the note on the very first page. It read, "no confirmed innocence, clean-up of Akuma infestation."

I threw the folder on the floor in frustration. The papers scattered out the side, forming a white fan. I dropped into the only chair in the room, an uncomfortable folding thing that nearly collapsed. I swore at the stupid contraption and let my head hang back, suddenly exhausted, and suddenly doubtful.

What if the Moyashi didn't wake up, didn't start moving again? There was no point to this stupid mission, nothing important. If he died or got stuck like this over something so idiotic, I would personally kill Komui. I was angry at Moyashi too. Why the hell had he pushed me aside and taken that blow? He knew I couldn't die. If I had taken the hit instead of him, the both of us would be walking around right now and pissing each other off. It had to be his whole obsession with being a savior.

That stupid hero complex of his, what was hiding behind it? He had so many masks that buried somewhere deep, there had to be some reason he felt the need to save everyone. I believed too little of humanity to think it was entirely out of a noble character. He hated me, so it certainly couldn't be because he had wanted to protect me.

I glanced over at him out of the corner of my eye. I hated the look on his face; it was worse than his mask, and the mask was what pissed me off the most about him. It was placed there, carefully schooled and controlled, but at least the emotion was somewhere underneath. This was entirely blank.

If he died here, how many people would have seen the real Allen Walker, not tiny glimpses that he let slide through or snuck through the cracks in his mask? I wanted to break it off and make him show his real feelings instead of something fake. I knew there was something moving under that false face, strictly contained and channeled out at need. I wanted to break that emotion free of its prison and watch every single one flicker in his eyes. I would be pissed if I didn't get the chance.

Come on, I willed, move, wake up. He didn't head the silent call. He stayed perfectly still, like white carved marble, cold and lifeless.

I slept the night in the chair. It seemed like just too much effort to get up. The mantra, "move, move" played through my dreams. The next night, Komui called for an update. I refused to tell him. If I didn't say it, maybe it wouldn't be as real.

As I grew more tired, the doubt came back. Maybe I should just walk away, like I'd promised him I would do those many months ago. I feel like I would have done it then, but something weird had gotten into my head lately. I could tell my dreams would be restless and unpleasant as I was starting to fall asleep, once again in the uncomfortable hospital chair.

I thought the first flicker of motion was a trick of my tired mind. The second caught my attention. Had his hand twitched? No, not possible. It couldn't be because if it was, I couldn't convince myself to walk away. I already couldn't stop myself from staring at that blank face for any sign of life. Otherwise, I might have missed when his eyes blinked open.

"You were here the whole time." He didn't ask me, he told me. "You were thinking about me; I could sense it, and hear you telling me to move."

I was about to say "che," and look away, when his face broke into a radiant smile. It was genuine. One emotion down, thousands to go. Even if it took a lifetime, I would find a way to make him show them all.

A/N: Perhaps all in all spoken a bit more eloquently like Kanda, but there were just some metaphors and descriptions that made me totally geek out, the 'face' of the city in particular. I'm curious what people thought of that image alone, whether it would be something Kanda would think or not.