Another Requiem
VI: Vacation
"Hello, Black Order Headquarters?"
"Yes, who's this?"
"This is Eva, General Tiedoll's new disciple. Sorry to bother you so early but-"
"Oh yes, yes! Miss Evangeline! How delightful- we've heard so much about you from the general! You know it's been years since we've had another female exorcist join us and I'm sure my dear sister will be so happy to have-"
Eva blinked, slowly removing the receiver from her ear and holding it at arm's length in reaction to the steadily increasing volume of the excited babbling. Even the little golem that was connecting the phone line seemed to flutter a few inches away. Marie had already adjusted his headphones accordingly.
It was the morning after the eventful train ride. Luckily Dijon was a pretty large city and thus had plenty of room for all the passengers that were stranded for the night. Long lines had stood in front of virtually every working phone at the time- apparently they all needed to inform their relatives that they had almost died on a train.
So obviously the exorcists had decided to wait until morning to report the whole ordeal to headquarters. Not that Kanda or Daisya had had any part in said decision making. They had already left to go to their rooms, leaving Marie and Eva to discuss the issue. That explained why these two were the only ones present to make said phone call to headquarters first thing in the morning.
"Do you know who this is?" Eva whispered, still holding the phone some distance away from her ear. The babbling would not stop. Or even decrease in volume.
Marie nodded. The voice of Supervisor Komui was simply unmistakable.
"I warned you," the older exorcist muttered.
Eva had insisted on trying out the 'golem phone' because she found it so fascinating. She had seen it used once before by a Finder and had been looking forward to trying it out herself one day. Marie gladly gave her the chance, but not without fair warning. He had anticipated something like this.
"Supervisor, why are you on the phone? You should be-"
"Oh go away Reever, this is an important call."
"Sounds like you're just rambling."
"It's important rambling."
"When is rambling ever important?"
Eva was now listening attentively to the conversation going on at the other end of the line. She was in awe—and counting to see just how long she, the caller, would be ignored.
"Three minutes and counting," she quietly informed Marie after said time had passed. They continued to listen to the very strange dialogue going on at headquarters until, quite suddenly, it came to an end.
"It's the new exorcist, okay?"
"Oh. You've been ignoring her all this time?"
"What? I-"
A moment of silence. Eva smiled at the golem fluttering next to her, once again putting a safe distance between her ear and the receiver.
"Hello? HELLO? I'm so sorry, I was distracted by a lazy subordinate- go drink some coffee or something Reever- sorry, where was I?"
"Actually, I was about to report something," Eva replied, and quickly explained the situation before some other lazy subordinate could cause another three minute delay.
"I see. So Team Tiedoll is stuck in Dijon for the time being." The supervisor summarized after Eva's report, sipping his coffee thoughtfully.
"Not necessarily. There are other ways to travel-"
"Oh no no no no, I have an idea! Why don't you all just take three days off? It'll be like… a short vacation. Eat nice food. Buy pretty things. Enjoy yourselves! I hear France is very nice at this time of year and-"
On and on he went. Eva had stopped listening halfway through.
"I didn't know exorcists got vacations," she was telling Marie as she held the phone far away once again. He shrugged.
"I guess we do."
"No."
Kanda narrowed his eyes at the other exorcists who were eyeing him with varying degrees of amusement. In Daisya's case it was more like exasperation.
"What do you mean, no?" he asked, frowning slightly at the Japanese, "How could you say no to a vacation in France? Besides, it's not like we have much of a choice."
Marie and Eva nodded in agreement. Kanda scowled.
This was just like something Tiedoll would force them to do. The fact that the general had had no part in this situation only annoyed him more. It was like he, Kanda, was under some sort of curse which forced him into group-oriented activities all the time- and that curse was obviously caused by someone named Tiedoll.
"It'll be fun, Yuu-kun," Eva cooed, causing the boy's eyes to twitch, "I hear Dijon is a great place for tourists."
She was obviously quite happy about all this. Kanda wasn't.
"Then again, what are we going to do for three whole days?" Daisya put in, hoping that there was something interesting going on in the city. A boring vacation was not particularly welcome.
"Eat nice food, buy pretty things and enjoy ourselves," Eva quoted, though obviously Marie was the only one who got her reference. Daisya raised an eyebrow.
Marie and Eva were soon left alone when Kanda simply walked out on them and Daisya offered to go and make sure that the youngest exorcist wouldn't get into any trouble. Of course, he hoped that there would be some sort of trouble- Kanda was usually quite good at finding (or causing) it.
"So no family vacation?" Eva voiced with a halfhearted sigh, "How disappointing."
Dijon was home to numerous breathtaking cathedrals and churches, not to mention the many museums. A paradise for tourists and photographers, the city dubbed itself a great center of art.
Needless to say, Daisya was pretty much bored to tears. And Kanda was apparently searching for some isolated alley to sulk in.
The rain from the previous night had washed away any traces of clouds in the now beautifully blue sky, but as always, this did nothing to cheer up these two exorcists. It was obviously too much to ask for some akuma-induced action in broad daylight in the middle of a crowded city.
"Three days of this?" Daisya muttered, grimacing at the painfully bright sunlight that shone upon the busy streets. Their black cloaks were getting increasingly warmer as they failed to find a shaded area to retreat to.
"Che," was all Kanda had to say, unwilling to admit that he had no idea how to get back to the inn. Perhaps if he just kept walking he would somehow find himself far, far away from anyone bothersome. Namely anyone blonde and bothersome.
Except that that described most of Dijon's population.
"Oy Kanda, watch ou-" Daisya called in a futile attempt to keep the Japanese from walking into a group of tough-looking French tourists who happened to be in a foul mood for missing the last train the night before.
Not that their demeanors could match the withering glare they received from Kanda, who obviously blamed them for failing to get out of his way in time. Unfortunately, they were incapable of recognizing danger when it was standing right in front of them.
"Watch where you're going, you sissy-looking boy!" one of the men snarled mockingly, his friends chuckling in delight.
They would have received much more than the beating that ensued if Kanda had actually been able to translate what they had said.
Meanwhile, Marie and Eva had been remarkably efficient in touring the city. They had managed to visit most of the cathedrals and swing by the more interesting museums while attending several choir performances and the like, as only two French-speaking exorcists with an interest in the arts could.
They themselves were quite impressed with their speed as they found themselves in front of the last prominent tourist attraction just after lunch. The Notre-Dame de Dijon towered before them as Eva began to describe the architecture in great detail to Marie, who couldn't exactly go sightseeing.
This was how the day had gone—with Eva attempting to visualize everything in a never-ending flood of words, and Marie listening in quiet awe and mild amusement.
Her vigor in playing the tour guide had been a bit overwhelming at first, seeing that he wasn't particularly used to being talked to so incessantly, but he had learned to simply go with the flow and enjoy her vivid imagery while it lasted. After all, when would they ever be able to tour a city like this again?
"Now where's that owl?" the blonde muttered as they walked along the side of the cathedral.
She was searching for a small carving of an owl somewhere on the outside of the cathedral—it was practically Dijon's mascot. Rubbing the owl with your left hand was supposed to cause good luck. Not that Eva believed in such touristy gossip, but the owner of the inn who had supplied this information had made it sound altogether too tempting.
"Hold on," Marie suddenly muttered, having overheard a rather strange exchange of words through his headphones. The two paused in their tracks.
"What is it?" Eva asked, looking around for any sign of trouble. No akuma seemed to be in sight, but she did notice a small group of extravagantly dressed French ladies chatting excitedly up ahead, their high-pitched giggling becoming more painfully audible as they approached.
They seemed oddly familiar.
Marie sighed. Eva blinked. The women were now within earshot.
"And when he just walked away, did you see how composed he looked? Not a hair out of place!" one of them was squealing, the others agreeing with dreamy sighs.
"I never thought we'd see him again! That ponytail of his… it's just so- so elegant!" another exclaimed, swinging her little lace parasol merrily as they passed the two exorcists, who were completely ignored.
Eva couldn't help mimicking their shrill voices as soon as the ladies turned a corner.
"That ponytail of his!" she repeated, grinning broadly at the silliness they had just witnessed and remembering where she had heard those same voices before. They had been fawning over Kanda in the train the day before, and were apparently doing the exact same thing now.
"You don't want to hear what else they said," Marie told her as they stood there, gazing after those frilly dresses which he fortunately could not actually see.
"Yuu-kun has been flaunting his pretty hair around town, I suppose?" Eva suggested, her grin growing wider at the image of the Japanese leaving behind a trail of blissfully fainting women wherever he went.
Marie had to smile a bit at the same thought before answering, "More than that, I'm afraid."
Daisya had given up on finding anything of interest with Kanda who, after confronting that group of rude tourists had decided to retreat to the inn—the rest of the day was thus dedicated to finding his way back. Leaving the grumpy swordsman alone, Daisya had decided to give touring a chance.
Only to give up on that the minute he stumbled across a certain museum dedicated to mustard.
"Mustard? Are you kidding me?" he muttered in disbelief, shaking his head as he turned his back on said museum and entered the busy main streets once more.
He was therefore too busy grumbling to himself to foresee the collision that ensued.
"What the-!" he had exclaimed, now rubbing his already crooked nose where it had come in painful contact with someone's shoulder.
"Look, it's the little one who was with that girly boy!" the owner of the shoulder called out, staring down at the comparatively short Daisya with poorly contained ill intent.
The beating they had received earlier obviously hadn't dampened their resolve to pick a fight everywhere they went.
"Ugh, you again?" the exorcist muttered glumly, eyeing the men with distaste. He wished that he could actually speak French, just to ask them why in the world they kept bumping into people and then saying French things that sounded quite derisive.
After listening to their jeering and knuckle-cracking for a few moments, Daisya decided to give them what they were asking for. Combined with his superb aim and kicking abilities, even a couple of insignificant pebbles on the ground became quite effective weapons.
The group of men shrieked rather pathetically as they were showered with small rocks; they stumbled away immediately- only to crash into a very large something. Or rather, someone. They looked up, caught sight of a rather grim expression and that same uniform, and promptly ran for their lives.
Eva emerged from behind Marie, dusting off her robe were she had also been bumped into just now. She shook her head.
"Daisya," Marie called calmly, eyeing the smaller exorcist with mild disapproval. Daisya shrugged sheepishly.
"Kanda started it."
"Black Order Headquarters?"
"Yes, who's—"
"Team Tiedoll here. Again."
It was evening, and Eva was on the 'golem phone' for the second time that day. Marie was once again standing nearby, except that this time Daisya was also listening in.
"Eh? Oh hello, Miss Eva! How is your vacation going?" It was Reever who had answered the phone this time. Komui was busy pretending not to sleep while the rest of the science department was buried under a never-ending pile of paperwork.
"Well, that's why I called. We want to leave Dijon tomorrow," Eva answered, absentmindedly twisting the phone chord around her finger, much to the annoyance of the little golem that connected the line.
Reever blinked a few times upon hearing this unexpected reply. He could not imagine why anyone would ever want to cut a freely given vacation (an infinitely rare blessing) short. He himself would have killed (preferably a bespectacled, curly haired supervisor) for such an opportunity.
"Why is that?" he thus asked incredulously.
"For the greater good," Eva responded rather solemnly, and that was enough to convince Reever. He had just remembered a certain swordsman with a rotten temper who probably didn't care much for sightseeing.
"Ah. I see," Reever muttered, suddenly feeling quite sorry for the new exorcist, "But I thought there weren't any trains leaving for another two days?"
"Yes, but Montbard is relatively close by and apparently we can catch a train from there," the young woman replied, further explaining that they would be walking to that town in the morning.
Just then the door was pushed open, revealing a disgruntled Kanda who had finally, after hours of wandering around the city, found his way back to the inn.
The three other exorcists all stared at him in silence—even Reever on the other end of the line listened intently, having heard the fairly loud sound of a door through the phone.
Their expressions all displayed varying degrees of awe at the length it had taken the Japanese to return. They had even had dinner without him, none of them particularly worried about his absence.
Kanda's eye twitched in irritation.
"What."
"Nothing," Daisya replied, shaking his head innocently. Marie simply looked away while Eva smiled serenely, gazing up at the ceiling.
The youngest exorcist narrowed his eyes at them, shooting one last glare at their newest member before turning on his heel to go to his room.
"We're leaving tomorrow, Yuu-kun!" Eva called after him, her voice dripping with sugary-sick sweetness.
The door was slammed shut.
Reever was speechless at what he had just overheard. The young woman on the other end of the line had just sounded exactly like a female version of General Tiedoll. It was astounding… and perhaps a little disturbing.
"Hello?"
"Uh- yeah. So… we'll contact you if anything comes up," Reever said, feeling somehow slightly intimidated by the way she seemed to pretend that nothing had just happened. "Have a safe trip."
Once Eva had hung up the phone, the three exorcists began to discuss the details of their plans for the next day. Surely Kanda wouldn't mind being excluded—he rarely ever had anything to add anyway.
"You didn't really have to cut this 'vacation' short just because Kanda likes to assault random people," Daisya pointed out, completely ignoring the fact that he himself had done some assaulting as well.
He further explained that this was a very common occurrence when traveling with the Japanese swordsman which, sadly, wasn't particularly hard to believe.
"It's not just that," Eva told him, poking the little black golem thoughtfully, "Marie and I have been to every place worth visiting in Dijon today, so I don't see why we should waste any more time staying here."
Marie nodded in silent agreement.
"And I'm really looking forward to finally arriving at headquarters," the female exorcist added with another serene smile that could simultaneously scare and soothe any observer.
Daisya exchanged rather uncertain looks with Marie who, though blind, was still somehow able to do such things.
"You know it really isn't that… great," Daisya said hesitantly. Eva's smile faltered.
"You mean it isn't a Gothic-style black tower with numerous floors mounted on a seemingly endless cliff and surrounded by a dark, gloomy atmosphere?" she questioned, her eyes wide with curiosity.
"Well, no- yes?" Daisya replied, unsure of what it was she wanted to hear.
"That is what it looks like," Marie put in helpfully, not surprised by the incredibly accurate image she had of the Order's headquarters.
Eva's smile returned.
"Oh yes, then I am definitely looking forward to it."
-to be continued-
A/N: Right… so not a lot of action in this chapter… Hope you liked it anyway. The next chapter will finally have them arriving at headquarters... I think.
Thanks for all the nice reviews (keep 'em coming)! I apologize for taking so long.