Another Requiem

II: The Bleat from the Forest

"It's 'Kanda'," the young exorcist told her through gritted teeth, though his rather obvious annoyance did not seem to faze her. Another vein became visible on Kanda's temple as he watched the woman completely ignore his glare. This is why he hated newcomers- they were always so confident and needlessly happy. He could only hope that this one wouldn't last.

"I'm sure you'll get along just fine. Think of her as your sister," the general told them, obviously quite happy about having found a new member for his little 'family'.

Kanda's expression was far from welcoming. Daisya and Marie, on the other hand, seemed to know all about this new exorcist already. They weren't annoyed about the fact that she very much resembled the general in her tone. Then again, they didn't hate Tiedoll for his fatherly manners as much as Kanda did.

"So, now that we're all here," began Daisya, jumping up from his spot on the grass, "why are we all here, old man?"

Tiedoll looked at them through his glasses with his half-open eyes.

"To see you all together, of course."

They stared at him.

A shadow fell across Kanda's already frustrated expression, Daisya grimaced, Marie felt a sweat bead running down the back of his head, and even Eva's smile was replaced by a deadpan look. They all hoped he was joking, though they knew very well that having a 'family reunion' was enough reason for the general to have them climb all over the Alps.

Kanda was about ready to unsheathe his Mugen when Tiedoll chuckled and assured them that it was all for the best.

"I heard you all had missions in Switzerland, so I thought we might as well have a little gathering," was his excuse, though his disciples did not seem very pleased- mainly because they could have met up in town, where they wouldn't have had to waste so much time trying to locate him 'somewhere near Altdorf'.

A few moments of silence passed by as the four exorcists eyed their general warily- or in Kanda's case, with disdain. Once again, Daisya was the first to speak.

"Fine then," he said, deeming their 'gathering' to be over. He was getting bored. "Marie and I are headed to Zurich. We should get going." The way he said the last part heavily implied that they had lost too much time already because of a certain somebody. Tiedoll didn't seem to notice.

"Eva, you off to headquarters?" Daisya continued, having been on a mission with her in France just recently. Kanda and Marie weren't exactly talkative, so he considered this new addition to be quite welcome. Eva shook her head.

"I'm supposed to meet another exorcist down in Stans," she replied, and noticing the rather violent twitch of Kanda's eye, added, "and judging by that reaction, it must be Yuu-kun."

Daisya didn't know whether to feel sorry for the new girl or the disgruntled samurai. He decided to go with the latter. The most Kanda could do to her was to cause severe physical injury- Eva, however, could probably drive the poor guy insane with her impression of General Tiedoll.

"Che," was all she got out of him for now- along with a threatening look, obviously caused by her usage of his first name.

"Wonderful!" the general piped in, patting Kanda on the shoulder and earning himself another glare, "You two can get to know each other."

Yuu-kun did not approve.

Again, 2 months earlier…

"You wait and see- those children aren't just going to let me leave like this!" the young woman protested as Head Sister Adelheid literally pushed her past the abbey gates. A day had passed since the arrival of Froi Tiedoll, and that was more than enough time for Eva to get ready to leave, according to the stern Sister Adelheid.

The young woman's belongings, nothing more than extra clothes, had been folded neatly into an old suitcase which was now sitting innocently just outside the abbey. Evidently Sister Adelheid had already prepared everything for Eva's departure. General Tiedoll had told her that he would be waiting near the forest while she said her goodbyes, though it seemed as though the Head Sister refused to give her the time for that.

"No really, where are Boris, Martin, Petra, Silvia, Gunter, Gabi and Anton?" the former nun-in-training asked frantically, fearing that this woman really wasn't going to let her see the orphans one last time. Not to mention the village children.

"They're with Sister Nadine," was the simple answer as the Head Sister forced the suitcase on her. Eva reacted by putting on the most pitiful expression ever seen by the eyes of the older woman, whose lips became a thin line. She had become immune to the girl's wide variety of faces over the years.

"They'll be here to wave you off," Sister Adelheid assured her anyway, Eva having resorted to communicating her sorrow by walking straight into a wall. Those words got her moving again, though the corners of the young woman's mouth were still significantly droopy. Before they could reach the outer portion of the village however, the aforementioned children had arrived.

Eva prepared herself for an assault of 'why are you going's and 'don't leave us's along with a lot of pulling and clinging, but it never came. Instead they happily declared their farewells and well-wishes while hanging on to a rather nervous Sister Nadine, who seemed to have become their new favorite. Why those treacherous little-

Her disappointment was interrupted by an impatient Sister Adelheid who proceeded to adjust Eva's cloak (which had replaced her nun's robes), turn the young woman by her shoulders, and give her a push towards the forest where Tiedoll could be seen waiting.

"Now go on," Sister Adelheid said in a surprisingly gentle tone.

"But I-" a bewildered Eva began, only to be cut off by Sister Nadine, who was usually so quiet.

"I'll watch after the children, so don't worry."

"But what about-" she tried again, hoping to get a decent goodbye out of somebody.

"Go!" the two Sisters insisted.

"Fine! No need to shout," the disgruntled exorcist-to-be muttered, turning on her heel and stomping down the path towards her general. "Looks like they couldn't wait to get rid of me."

"Guess again," the old man said gently, nodding towards the village as she approached.

Eva blinked back a few tears of disappointment before turning around- only to let the waterworks run freely at the sight she faced. All of the villagers had gathered and were watching her leave, sobbing goodbyes and waving white handkerchiefs. The orphans appeared to be wailing while Sister Nadine held them back, and even Head Sister Adelheid was blowing her nose on the handkerchief she had been waving.

"Goodbye Appenzell!" Eva called once she had composed herself. Now that she had gotten a decent farewell, she was finally ready to depart. Turning back to her new master, her face faltered at the sight of his pitiful expression. Apparently all the crying was contagious.

"Shouldn't I be… training?" she asked, watching Tiedoll sketch the Alps for the umpteenth time that day. It had been impressive the first few times, but was quickly getting a wee bit repetitive. Apparently he couldn't get enough of the fabulous scenery.

"Hmm? Oh yes, of course," he said, as if he had just remembered her presence. "Can you invocate your innocence for me?"

"You mean turn this into a weapon?" Eva asked, having pulled out her old pewter locket.

She did so at his nod, careful not to impale her own foot as she stuck her halberd into the ground for the general to observe. It was good that Eva was anything but short- otherwise she would have looked ridiculous with such a tall weapon. Then again, it certainly didn't suit her to begin with. Any Order member looking at her would have expected her innocence to be a lot more… girly, what with her soft brown eyes and gentle features. Not to mention her golden hair.

"And it turns into some sort of shield as well?" Tiedoll asked, remembering the scene from the day before.

"Only when I'm about to die, apparently," she told him, several attempts at recreating the shield having failed already. The general eyed the innocence thoughtfully.

"It is very strange for an equipment-type innocence to turn itself into a weapon like this," he informed his new disciple, "Usually it needs to be crafted into one first."

They stood in silence for a while as Tiedoll examined the weapon some more. Eva had nothing to say- she had no idea why her locket had one day decided to turn into a double-sided halberd. Though admittedly, it did look pretty darn awesome. She couldn't think of a weapon she would prefer, quite frankly.

"Have you named it yet?" The question brought her out of her reverie, though she had to repeat the general's words in her mind before they made any sense.

"No," she answered slowly, tilting her head to the side, "Though now that you mention it…"

Back to the present…

"Siegfried?" he repeated, confused, irritated and wishing he could get rid of his hearing for a while.

Kanda did not remember how they even got to this topic. Heck, why was he even talking to her? They had been walking along the shore of a huge lake in silence- having left General Tiedoll to his drawings and the other two exorcists to start in the opposite direction- but apparently this woman had somehow engaged him in a conversation before he had the time to ignore it.

"That is the worst name for a weapon I have ever heard," he sneered. As much as he hated the idea of conversing with this sad excuse for an exorcist, he felt the need to express his utter disgust at her naming skills.

"Well, Harbinger of Death and Destruction to All that is Evil sounded a bit silly," was her gentle response, "and long."

He pitied the innocence that had foolishly decided to synchronize with this woman.

"What's the name of yours then?" she asked as if challenging him to beat 'Siegfried', though her tone remained composed. He wondered whether he should ignore her.

"Mugen," he replied anyway, deciding to ignore her after giving her the name of his own anti-akuma weapon- which was obviously a whole lot better than Siegfried.

Eva had no idea what meaning lay behind the name Mugen, so it did not impress her as much as it might have. Siegfried was clearly a combination of 'victory' and 'peace'- a perfect name for a halberd like hers. And it sounded manly, unlike Mugen- which just sounded Asian.

"A sword called Mugen," she mused as they entered a forest.

Kanda had his eyes narrowed again, just waiting for her to say something worthy of physical injury. Or at least another threat. Wait, he didn't need a reason to threaten her! Her mere presence was enough to make his eyes twitch- but he had lost his timing. Holding a blade to her throat now- when she actually had her mouth shut- would just be a waste of time. Time that had already been lost due to a certain idiotic general.

Meanwhile, Eva gave herself an imaginary pat on the back. From what she had heard from Daisya, this exorcist should have 1) killed her, 2) reduced her to tears, or 3) abandoned her by now, but it seemed as though she had played her cards just right. She was, after all, still in one piece, a relatively good mood, and in his company. She had even managed to exchange a few words with him without being sliced open. Score!

Stans was another town in the Central Alps, right by Lake Lucerne and smack-dab in the middle of Switzerland. Eva had once visited these parts years ago on her way to Sarnen, which lay a few miles ahead. Most towns in the Central Alps were familiar to her- after all, she had lived in this area for most of her life. She told this to an uninterested Kanda- who simply ignored her- as they reached the town.

The Finders they were supposed to meet were nowhere in sight, so Eva took to asking the nearest townsperson.

"Excuse me," she called, "have you by any chance seen some strange men in white robes walking around?"

Kanda stood off to one side as the young woman interrogated a few more passersby. He would have abandoned her right away if he had known where to go. Those cursed Finders, he thought, miffed at the fact that the only interpreter available was the new recruit. Well, he certainly wouldn't recognize her as an exorcist until she proved herself to be useful- more useful than to the extent of being able to translate Swiss German into English.

He turned his attention back to her, wondering what the heck was taking so long. It looked as though she was being strangled by a wrinkly old lady. Good.

Wait, what?

"Do NOT go there- you'll be killed, KILLED I tell you!" the old woman was screaming, clutching the front of Eva's cloak and shaking her wildly.

"Yes, I understand. You've been repeating that for the last minute," replied the poor girl, trying her best to gently pull away from the old lady's surprisingly strong grasp. Said old lady suddenly let go before shuffling off and leaving behind a disheveled and confused exorcist.

"I warned you!" was the last they heard of her before the old woman disappeared into the village. Eva stared after her, mouth slightly open at the strange warning (or threat) she had just received.

"Oi." Kanda's annoyed voice brought her out of the state of temporary shock.

"Well," she began, adjusting her hood so that it covered her head more neatly, "it looks like our Finders went off to investigate a certain pasture nearby. They say that people and cattle have gone missing there, and according to that lady just now, there's a lot of killing involved."

They found their way to the pasture in question with the aid of a simple but surprisingly accurate map, which a friendly old farmer had drawn for them. Again they received a warning to stay away from the place, which was now considered haunted. They were thrown off by how peaceful and scenic it actually was as they reached it.

"Really doesn't look like the scene of death and destruction, does it," Eva muttered, sounding slightly disappointed.

"Is this it?" Kanda asked, silently agreeing with her and furrowing his eyebrows.

"I'm quite sure, but there's nothing-" she began to answer, pausing at the unmistakable bleat of a goat. They turned towards the sound-

"Whoa!"

-and were forced to jump away from where they had been standing at the attack of an akuma, which seemed to have emerged from the forest nearby.

"I didn't know akuma sounded like goats!" Eva yelped, narrowly dodging a shower of virus-infested bullets. Kanda had already unsheathed his sword.

"They don't," he informed her before slicing the level one in half. It irked him to see that her weapon was still nowhere to be seen.

"For your information," the more experienced exorcist began, eyeing her with obvious dislike, "do not assume that I will rush to your side when you are in danger- if I judge that you are interfering with the mission, I will let you die."

Eva was impressed. She had never witnessed him talk for more than three seconds at a time. Then again, she had only known him for a day.

"Fair enough," she said lightly, spying a few more akuma emerging from the forest, "here they come."

Kanda had had just about enough of this woman and her infuriatingly careless attitude. Luckily he wouldn't have to deal with her now, seeing that the sudden appearance of a horde of akuma would keep him occupied for at least a few minutes. Brandishing his Mugen, he immediately took care of several level ones with one strike. In the few seconds of time this gave him, he looked back to see how the new recruit was doing.

She seemed to be doing pretty well, actually. The anti-akuma weapon she had lovingly dubbed Siegfried was quite impressive in its size and destructive power- and thus did not suit her at all. The slashing and hacking movements she used were anything but elegant, though obviously effective as she annihilated akuma left and right.

Another second of checking on her and he would have fallen prey to an attack from behind. Kanda was however, too skillful and experienced to be surprised by such an assault. Overall, it took them about three minutes to wipe out all the level ones. The sun was starting to set.

"Hmm, isn't there usually another one that's smarter?" Eva voiced when no more akuma seemed to be turning up.

Her halberd then turned back into the small locket attached to the chain wrapped around her wrist. Kanda couldn't help blinking in mild wonder. He hadn't thought about the fact that her weapon seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, and here was the rather strange explanation.

"It must be in there," he said coolly, turning his head towards the forest.

"Heading into a dark, akuma-infested forest at sunset," the female exorcist mused, seemingly intrigued by the obvious danger, "What a great idea. Let's go!"

Unable to think of any other option that would allow them to finish the mission faster, Kanda followed, dimly wondering whether she was being sarcastic or just plain weird.

Either way, he couldn't wait for this mission to be over.

-to be continued-

A/N: I bothered to distinguish Swiss German because it simply isn't the same as standard German. Oh, and though the anime is very vague about languages (while the manga addresses the issue), I assume that the exorcists communicate in English, while the Finders are the ones who translate for them wherever they go.

Is it that bad? Review? Anyone? Please?