Stella: I got this out way faster than the others...but that's probably cause it's the shortest chapter.
Kanda: All your chapters are pretty short.
Stella: Nu-uh! Not all of them! Stop making me yell, my face huuuuuurts!
Lavi: *pokes cheeks*
Stella: STOP THAT!
Rose: Please stop messing with Stella-chan, Lavi. She doesn't seem to like it.
Lavi: Ahh, okay...*messes Rose's hair up*
Rose: *grumble grumble*
Stella: *clears throat* Anyways...chapter 8 semi-revised! My cheeks hurt...
Third Person P.O.V.
"Come on and play, Exorcists!" The main akuma started running towards Rose.
Kanda jumped in last minute before Rose could land a hit.
"K-Kanda?! What're you doing?" She exclaimed in both an annoyed and frantic tone.
"You're just a rookie. You don't know what you're doing!" Kanda held his katana up to the icy sphere. Lavi came in and used his Hellfire Stamp and was able to buy a little time before the other two akuma could attack. He conjured a snake made of flames that held the akuma in its place.
"You should probably be careful, Rose. These are level threes after all. It's bad enough to fight one, but three…" He trailed off with an unsettling edge to his voice.
Rose looked down at her trembling hands and wiped a tear away that was threatening to fall. "I-I'll try not to let you down…"
He sighed and sent her a nervous smile. "I didn't mean it like that. I just don't want anyone to get hurt too badly…"
Kanda jumped beside them and added on to the conversation. "So don't go and fight one by yourself, curly. Only I can do that."
'Do they think I can't do this?' Rose wiped her eyes again and took a deep breath. 'It is our lives we're fighting for after all. I can't afford any mistakes.'
"What's wrong? I expected a lot more from Exorcists." The akuma finally broke free from Lavi's fire seal and was rejoined by his two comrades.
No matter what they did, the trio just couldn't seem to finish them off. Together, they managed to send one flying to the other side of the empty field. Rosalie was being careful not to get scratched up too bad due to the previous fight. Kanda fought one on his own while Lavi and Rose took care of another. By herself, Rose wouldn't be able to hold her own against a single level three akuma. She wasn't as experienced as the other two Exorcists with her. Lavi made sure she didn't hurt herself too much, but he also had to focus on the attacking akuma. One of the akuma that they knocked across the field made its way back without any of the Exorcists noticing. It kicked Kanda up in the air and caught him by his ponytail.
Kanda growled, "Damn it, you bastard." The akuma threw Kanda towards the city.
"Yu!" Lavi's eye followed the flying Kanda and got caught off guard. The akuma used it to their advantage. The main akuma used one of his spheres and smashed Lavi into the snow. As they headed for Rose for the second time, she realized there would be no one to save her.
She saw blue sparks form around her weapon again and winced at the shock.
'Owww. Bloody hell, not this again. But I can't stop now. I'm sorry Innocence, but my friends are in danger and I need to help them.'
She took a look at the akuma and started heading towards them but…
"Lord Exorcist! Run away, I'll give you some time!" Jim ran into battle with his arms outs in a defensive position.
"No, Jim don't! I can take care of myself!" Rose protested desperately. "You're not an Exorcist, you can't defeat them…
'But can I defeat them? Am I strong enough? I wish you could be here to guide me, dad…'
Jim shook his head and grabbed Rose's shoulders. "I have to, Miss Rosalie. You need to live."
And those were his final words as the akuma pierced right through Jim's body in front of Rosalie. The white snow beneath him started turning crimson.
"No…" she whispered. She took an uneasy breath and let out a bloodcurdling scream. "Jim…NOOOOOOOOO!" Her world went blank. She had already seen her own mother and father die, but it the feeling still remained the same. And it was feeling she didn't want to relive. To be killed by an akuma was such a horrible thing to witness.
She looked up at the akuma with raging eyes. "Damn it. I swear I'll put an end to you!"
'I can't stop now or Jim's death would've been in vain. Jim, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.'
Rose managed to hit the akuma that killed Jim, but the other ones grabbed on to each arm. She couldn't move at all and her Innocence was still electrocuting her.
'No, I can't die. Not now. I need to be stronger than this. Please…someone…'
Rose's eyes shot open at the sound of her one of her arms breaking. She screamed out in pain while the akuma laughed.
"Wow, such a weak girl. So easy to break." They threw her to the ground and the leader of the three stepped on her back, cracking a few ribs.
"No…" She whimpered weakly, "It can't end this way…"
Kanda, a few miles from the scene, was making his way back as fast as he could. He was scratched up pretty bad, but it wasn't enough to stop him. He knew Rose couldn't handle them by herself. She was completely inexperienced with anything stronger than a level one. If she fought them by herself, Kanda knew she had a high chance of not surviving the battle.
"Damn it. I need to hurry." He muttered annoyingly and sprinted faster towards the field.
"Stop." Rose whispered. She moved her right arm and fire started to form.
"Oh? She's still able to move? We'll need to break that arm too." The main akuma picked her up again.
Rose moved her arm forward swiftly, despite the excruciating pain she was in, and made contact with the akuma's icy scythe. A small circle of fire engulfed half of it and melted it away, causing the end of what was left of the arm to steam.
"D-damn you, Exorcist! Now you'll really pay!" He hissed in an infuriating tone. All three of them started walking towards her. Her arms started sending off little lightning bolts. She cried as volts of electricity surged throughout her body and forced her to shake involuntarily.
"Rose!" It was Lavi. He was cut up everywhere and there was blood dripping down his face, but he was determined to come between the akuma and Rose. He couldn't though, because the voltage of electricity was strong enough to shock him as well.
"Ahh! What the hell?" Lavi tried to get closer to her, but failed as he was forced to take a step back to prevent form getting electrocuted.
Rose continued to have spasms as she tried to stand back up. "NOOOO!" She screamed out in pain, causing Lavi to flinch.
The akuma closed in on her, but before they did…
A bright, bluish-white light emanated from Rose's anti-akuma weapon and caused a large, heated explosion that forced everyone to be knocked back a few feet. After everything settled down, Rose began to notice the snow underneath her started to turn red.
'W-what's happening…? What is this? It's like my Innocence was acting on its own. Where did all this power come from? But now I feel really…weak.'
The explosion was strong enough to kill all three akuma, but it left Rose in a life-threatening state. However, her life wasn't the only one in danger.
"Rose…" A voice whispered hoarsely. She looked down to see Lavi, who was clutching at his side.
She ignored whatever pain she felt and dropped to her knees beside him.
"Lavi? What…just happened? What's wrong?" She could barely speak. Blood was dripping down from her down her arms and falling into the snow. It was still causing her immense pain and her arms were paying the price. She noticed Lavi's pain, too. Blood was escaping his body from where his hand clutched his wound. His head was bleeding, too. There was blood…all over.
"Lavi…no, please no." She started crying. She couldn't control her tears, and they fell endlessly. The blood accumulated on the snow beneath them, just like when Jim died.
"Is this your blood…or mine?" Rose choked out, unable to move now. She looked down at the half-conscious Lavi.
'What's wrong with me? I've lost blood before, so I should be fine. And Rose…she's crying so much. Is she crying for me? I wish I could tell her…not to worry, but I can't. I'm sorry, Rosalie…I can't hold on…much longer…'
Lavi closed his eyes, passing out from all the blood loss. Rose started panicking, but then an idea came to mind. A desperate, dangerous one.
"He's still bleeding, but if I sear his wound…I have no choice. He'll die at this rate. Lavi, I'm so sorry." She murmured and moved away some hair from her face to concentrate.
She used her last bit of energy and seared Lavi's wound, but not without leaving a scar. More blood dripped down from her arms and Rose fell down into the snow, unable to hang on to her consciousness, but not before seeing a glimpse of long, dark blue hair.
"Curly…you're such a pain in the ass…" A voice muttered in an unsatisfied tone.
Kanda looked at his two unconscious comrades. He noticed the huge scar on Lavi and the blood that was still dripping down from Rose's arms. He tried to pry the bracers off of her, but gave up as they kept shocking him. As he went to go pick the two up, he noticed Jim's corpse lying in the snow. Letting out a weary sigh, Kanda threw his jacket over him and slung Lavi and Rose over his arms.
"Komui." Kanda angrily spoke into his golem.
"Yes? What is it Kanda?"
"I need Bookman and another Finder."
"What? Why, what happened?" Panic could easily be heard in Komui's voice.
"Our Finder got himself killed and I can't carry all three of them back." He paused and sighed again. "These two dumbasses are more trouble than they're worth."
Komui hesitated in attempt to calm himself down. "Alright, I'll send Bookman and another Finder right away. Please, just get the two somewhere where they can rest for now."
"Che."
As they got closer to the city, Lavi's eyes fluttered open for a second and he smiled weakly at his friend, "Oh, hey Yu."
Kanda shot him a glare, "SHUT UP!"
Stella: Ughh, I start school in less than three weeks. I haven't done my summer reading...and I need to get my license...Where did the summer go?
Kanda: What's this got to do with the story?
Stella: Stop being so mean to me! TxT
Allen: Am I eating mitarashi dangos on your screen?
Stella: Allen! *glomps* You're not supposed to be here yet! But yes, I've discovered shimejis! They're absolutely adorable.
Lavi: Hey, I see me climbing! Oh...and I just fell...*pokes cheek*
Stella: I TOLD YOU TO STOP THAT!
Lavi: But your cheeks are so big and cute. Like a chipmunk.
Rose: *sighs* Why can't we all just get along?