Mizu: I lives~! Okay, before you say anything, I just want to get one thing out of the way. I love all of you readers, I really do, but you guys need to understand something. I'm a FANFICTION writer, not a professional writer. I'm not going to update nor am I going to jump on it and post just anything just because you keep reviewing and begging for an update. I work my butt off trying to give you guys my absolute best just like I do with all of my stories. Go count how many stories I have in progress on my profile and see how stretched thin my imagination is. I've been stuck in such a rut recently that I haven't been able to focus on one long enough to even get out a paragraph. That's how bad it's been so I'm sorry I haven't posted anything in forever. And just so you know, as soon as I have a chapter done to the point that I like it, I post it as soon as I can so you can read it.
Now that my mini rant is done, here's some good news~! This story now has a beta~! I'm hoping that this will help cut back on my grammatical and spelling faults as well as any slips of the typing hand. The beta is DarkKittehKat and she rocks~!
Disclaimer time: I don't own -Man or any of the characters. If I did, I think that I wouldn't be worrying about how I'm going to get through college.
Innocence's True Form
Chapter 13- Problematic Sight
Two months later…
"Come on, Lavi!" Allen laughed as he took up his stance once more, "Get back up!"
"You're telling me that you can't beat a one-armed teen?" C.C. laughed from the corner. "You need to train your accommodator better, O.K.!"
"Shut up!" O.K. snapped, helping his wielder up, "It's not like he's ever needed to fight hand to hand with someone before."
"True, but neither does Kanda with Mugen," C.C. pointed out, snickering, "And yet he could easily beat the crap out of baka right now."
"Hey!" Allen fumed, "There is no way that BaKanda could ever beat me!"
"Just keep telling yourself that," C.C. snickered.
"What was that!" Allen snapped, charging at his innocence.
C.C. just smirked as he effortlessly dodged his accommodator. Lavi and O.K. blinked as they watched the cursed teen really try to hit his innocence. Or, at least, so it seemed at the beginning. Soon, the two noticed the bright smile on their friend's face as if he was just playing a game with his weapon. Lavi just grinned as he watched his fellow exorcist. He was playing with C.C., something the kid probably had never been able to do – it was a strange game to play, but it was still probably Allen's first time playing with anyone. That thought in itself made the redhead's heart ache a little. The thought of him never being able to play with someone else seemed so unfair.
'The world sure is cruel to him, isn't it?' Lavi asked through his link with O.K.
'Unfortunately, yes,' O.K. sighed, 'and it will probably get crueler.'
'Is that why all of you are trying so hard to make this moment in time enjoyable for Allen?' Lavi questioned.
O.K. flinched, '…Yes.'
"Lavi!" Allen suddenly exclaimed, charging toward him.
"Ah!" Lavi shrieked as he narrowly dodged a flying boot to the head, "What? What's going on?"
"I was just checking to make sure you hadn't let your guard down," Allen smirked, getting back into his stance.
"Wait, I thought we were through sparring for today!" Lavi whined as he heard the door open.
"What are you doing, baka usagi?" Kanda's scoff was heard from the front of the room.
Both teens looked toward the source. There stood Kanda and his innocence, Mugen, just now returning from his lengthy mission. While neither boy would openly admit it, they were very happy to see their samurai companion. It was strange. The three of them had formed a strange almost sibling like relationship without any of them really noticing. It wasn't something that they normally would have noticed but with the added stress from all of them being revealed that they were true accommodators, they unconsciously looked to each other for support. It was normally just Allen and Lavi but they enjoyed having Kanda's opinion to things…even if it wasn't the one that they wanted to hear.
"Can you really not beat such a Moyashi?" Kanda scoffed.
"Oi!" Allen growled.
"I'd like to see you go hand to hand with him, Yuu," Lavi teased, "I bet you couldn't beat him either."
"Tch," Kanda sounded, starting to walk over when Mugen placed a hand on his shoulder, "What?"
"There will be plenty of time for sparring later. You need to get some rest," Mugen said, smiling warmly at her wielder.
"You guys just get back from a mission?" C.C. asked.
"Unfortunately," Mugen said, a slight laugh to her voice, "It wasn't too bad but the akuma aren't too friendly when they think an exorcist is without innocence."
"I would not expect them to be," C.C. chuckled, saddened eyes locking onto his wielder, "Though I don't think it will be as simple for baka and I."
"Why do you think that?" Allen asked.
"Because every single akuma out there will be on the look out for you," C.C. said, eyes serious, "And when they see you without a left arm, they are going to report to the Earl and the Earl is immediately going to come out to come after you."
Allen's face paled slightly, "Then why don't I just go out with you back as my arm?"
"Because as of right now, our synchro-rate is lower than what you are used to when using my weapon form," C.C. explained, "I lowered it to minimize the stress on your body."
"Of course, you are still at a hundred percent," O.K. smirked, "But your body is so used to having the arm with such a high percentage that if he were to become your arm, just the arm, it could cause your inner timeline to mess up again."
"Correct," T.R. called as he and Miranda walked in, "And I would very much like it if you didn't try to get it tangled it back up."
"Hey, T.R.," Mugen smiled, "Good to see ya."
"Same for you Mugen," T.R. said, "Glad to hear that the first mission with a fully linked duo went well."
"What are you talking about? You and Miranda were on a mission too," Mugen laughed.
"True but we were body guards for the finders," T.R. chuckled.
"Really? You're doing so well with your innocence, Miranda~!" Allen beamed, gently slapping the woman on the back.
"Th-Thank you," Miranda blushed, "H-Hey Allen?"
"Yeah?" Allen asked.
"…B-Be extra careful when they next send you on a mission," Miranda stated, eyes downcast.
"Of course~!" Allen beamed.
"Don't worry, little lady," C.C. smirked, catching his accommodator in a headlock, "So long as I'm around, I won't this little idiot go all martyr on us~!"
"Hey! Let me go!" Allen whined, a bright smile on his face.
"C.C.," T.R. sighed.
"Yeah?" C.C. laughed.
"…Maria wants to talk to you about…well, you know," T.R. said, somewhat solemnly, "…Alone."
"Right," C.C. nodded, before ruffling his wielder's hair, "I've got to go talk some things over with my sister for a bit, so try not to get yourself killed this time."
"What do you guys need to talk about?" Allen asked as he tried to fix his snow white hair.
"Just some stuff about keeping you alive, even though you seem bound and determine to be a martyr," C.C. chuckled before sitting against the wall.
"I am not-… eh…What're you doing, C.C.?" Allen questioned.
"He's opening the shared link between all innocence," T.R. explained.
"Shared link?" Allen blinked.
Mugen nodded, a warm smile on her face, "Whenever we need to inform others about something, we just open our minds and search of that piece's… how to put it… mind's door. Then all we have to is knock and wait for them to answer."
"It's how we've been able to stay in touch every though we're scattered all throughout the world," O.K. added, "And how we tell each other funny stories about what our wielders did."
Mugen stifled a laughed, "I remember when C.C. decided to tell us all about your first mission with Lenalee."
"My first mission with Lenalee?" Allen repeated, tilting his head to the side, "What about it?"
"Just how you decided to become Clock-Man to get a good laugh out of Lenalee and Miranda," O.K. snickered as T.R. blushed a little.
"I remember that now…" T.R. grumbled, "That was so humiliating…"
"Clock-Man?" Lavi chuckled.
Allen tried to hold back his slight laughter, "S-sorry, T.R. I couldn't resist back then."
"Then there was that time with Lavi and Kanda when C.C. found out that for all of your hard earned balance, you couldn't ski to save your life," Mugen giggled.
Allen flushed in response before grumbling something about getting his revenge.
"Oh, and of course was the time that you worried Lenalee to the point she started tearing up and the rest of your group got upset at you," Mugen added, "Then when you gave Lavi a boot to the head for saying something to Lenalee and making her upset again. And then when you found yourself a nice emo corner when that kid John pointed out that you were like a Moyashi~!"
"I-I get it! The bastard likes to use me for entertainment!" Allen fumed, glaring over at his innocence.
The gathered group just laughed at the boy's embarrassment as Reever cautiously entered the training room.
"Hey, guys?" Reever announced, "Allen and Lavi are wanted in Komui's office for a mission."
At the word "mission", Allen instantly perked up. Rushing over to where his innocence sat, he grabbed him by his shirt collar and raced off to the insane man's office. Everyone else just gaped at the dust cloud that was left in his place.
"…I take it he's tired of being stuck in the tower, right?" Mugen sweatdropped.
"It would seem so," T.R. replied amusedly, blinking at the sight.
"Allen Walker reporting in~!" Allen beamed as he managed to stop his momentum just before he collided with Komui's desk.
The Chinese scientist jumped at the sudden appearance of the white-haired exorcist. Taking a moment to calm his heart, he noted Allen's new look. He had recently outgrown all of his old clothes so while Johnny was busy making him some new ones, he was borrowing a couple of Kanda's and the Asian branch's training outfits. It had shocked everyone that the boy had grown so much in two short months. Kanda hadn't been too pleased that the kid had to wear some of his clothes, but thanks to Mugen, no blood was shed when a few finders were sent to retrieve the garments.
Komui chuckled when he noticed the dizzy C.C. that was now trying to recollect his thoughts from Allen dragging him. It wasn't often that one got to see a piece of innocence about to lose his lunch.
"I see that you are," Komui chuckled as Lavi, O.K. and Chaoji all appeared in the doorway, "And I also see that everybody has arrived."
Allen blinked as the two redheads and scowling teen made their way into the office. Instantly, he felt a wave of guilt wash over him as he noticed the glare intensify and settle upon him. He really did feel guilty for what had happened to Chaoji. If he had maybe been there to help, maybe he could have made a difference when the akuma attacked the ship for a second time. The man was only four years older than him and had been an orphan as well due to the akuma that killed his family. He understood the pain that he must have felt when he watched his new family die before him.
He also knew that that wasn't the real reason behind Chaoji's hatred fueled glare. It was due to his too kind ways. If he had just forgotten about Tyki then they could have escaped and then maybe none of what was going on would have ever happened. But he knew that would have actually turned out worse for the Order in the long run. Maybe it would have helped keep himself safe, but the Earl would have gained the new ark and the Order would have lost two exorcists. No matter how bad he felt when around Chaoji, he would never wish to change what he had done. How could he when the results of such a change would damn them all more than just him?
C.C. sat silent as he stared at Chaoji. Allen rarely left his mind fully open to him, now being one of the few times it was. He could understand where his wielder was coming from but the fact that the brunette man beside them was causing him to start thinking like a martyr again right after spending the past two months fighting to stop them just ticked C.C. off to no end. His wielder did not deserve what the teen thought of him.
He was no traitor. If anything, Allen was one of the most loyal members the Order had. He fought to save all those he could, and how could anyone fault the boy for not wishing to kill any more than he had to? The kid knew that Tyki must have had a life outside of what he did for the Noah, so was it really fair to completely steal that away from him? Granted, the Noah's influence was greater than what Allen could stop, what with barely having broken past critical point. It was this that resulted in Tyki losing his "white" half and it was yet another thing that Allen felt overwhelming guilt for. He killed the wrong half and stole Tyki away from his friends who he had once met. It nearly ruined the boy's heart for a while as the thought of doing so had torn him apart.
C.C. sighed to himself. He loved his wielder like a son and that was why he hated seeing him in so much distress. He desperately there was some way that he could allow Allen to stay his innocent self and promise him that they would not ever have to kill another.
It took all he had not to glare at the boy whose hair resembled a pineapple. How dare this guy think badly of Allen when it was clear that the kid was still so innocent in his heart? After everything that the cursed teen had gone through, it was a miracle that he was still so kind. Why couldn't this guy see that? He wasn't supposed to want to kill everyone who stands against him. He was barely sixteen! How could he think that someone that young would be willing just to let the people around him, good or bad, just die? How could this Chaoji guy think his wielder a traitor when the point of the matter was staring straight at him?
How could he think so badly of his wielder that was still just a child?
Komui sighed as he handed out the mission briefing folders, "We have reason to believe that there is a piece of innocence located not too far from here in a town that resides on the other side of a rather impressive mountain. While the piece has not been attacking up as much as some do, it has casted a barrier around the town that is able to keep all akuma from entering."
Komui noted how the two pieces of innocence flinched a little as they read their folders before glancing nervously at Allen, "Seeing as Allen has never been to this town, you will be heading out on foot to your destination. A group of finders are there awaiting you."
'He has been there,' O.K. nervously thought, not even caring that his link to Lavi was open.
C.C. had quickly closed off his link when he read the town's name, 'Th-This is the town that Allen was born in…'
'Dammit Bull! You just had to act up now, didn't you!' both pieces roared inside their minds.
Chaoji grumbled as he, Lavi, O.K., C.C., and Allen trudged down the mountain path. Why was the white-haired freak leading the way? Better yet, why was the Order allowing him outside? Wasn't he supposed to be under trial for heresy by now? What was the point of having the Crow follow the guy around for so long? This guy who was a traitor to the Order was freely walking around just because he just happened to be a "true accommodator." That didn't change anything in Chaoji's book.
'Stupid Noah bastard,' Chaoji thought as his innocence seemed to pulse in agreement.
C.C. and O.K. noticed the sudden pulsation of power coming from the other piece and frowned. So there were still those that didn't approve of how C.C. was handling the Noah within Allen. Go figure that it had to be joined up with the prick that was too close minded to see anything that he didn't want to.
"You sure this is the place, C.C.?" Allen asked as he and his innocence stood atop a cliff, staring down at the town below them.
C.C. sighed, "Yep, this is the place."
Allen stood silent for a few more moments before sighing just like his innocence. "Well, let's get this done and over with before any of the Earl's goons come searching for us."
"Sounds good," C.C. nodded before the two slowly made their way to the town.
Allen looked over at the piece of innocence as they trudged through the knee high snow towards the village. Had it really been two months since this had all begun? Since C.C. changed to his truest form and started this crazy timeline of confusion and joy? Allen looked up to the sky. Wasn't it just yesterday that he was being thought of as a traitor of the Order? How could time move so quickly and yet so slow?
So much had happened in the past two months. C.C. and the others awoke in them their truest forms. Central pulled back enough that it was only Link who stayed at the Order, only needing Allen to check in and out whenever he went out on a mission. Kanda had slowly become more social, though that was probably due to Mugen dragging him everywhere by his pony tail. Lavi and Bookman had a falling out, but strangely enough, Lavi seemed happier. All the exorcists were striving to get stronger and link with their innocence. Not that they would. C.C. and the Heart already confirmed that there were no more true accommodators currently at the Order.
Speaking of the Heart, Allen couldn't help but wonder how Maria was doing. She had left some time ago, returning to Cross, no one knowing where they were. Allen chuckled as he remember screaming at Komui that he was NOT going to go out and search for his master again. C.C. agreed that they would not be going, scaring the crud out of the Chinese scientist. That was a sight to see. Sighing, a slight smile graced the cursed teen's lips. Everything and everyone had changed so much in the past two months. The Order definitely wasn't the same Order Allen entered when he first joined.
He himself had changed as well. No longer was he one of the shortest exorcists. No siree~! Thanks to T.R. fixing his inner timeline, his body was finally growing like it should have been. He had already grown a full two and a fourth inches, shocking everyone, excluding T.R., with how much he grew in such a short time. Every time that he passed by Kanda in the hall, a dark smirk would appear on his face before he would snicker about how the day where he was taller than everyone was approaching. Kanda would just grunt in response and Mugen would stifle a laugh as the two parted ways.
It would always be after that that C.C. would laugh at him and inform him that he would only grow to the same size as the form that C.C. took. Apparently, if fully linked before the wielder is fully grown, the innocence takes the form of the tallest that the wielder could become. There was no guarantee that they'll reach the same height, and there was no way that they could grow past said height. At this, Allen would shrug before stating that it didn't matter because he would still be taller than Kanda then. C.C. would always shake his head and mutter something about last minute growth spurts.
Allen also refused to acknowledge that Kanda and Lavi were also still growing, albeit slower, and that they could still end up taller than him.
"Are you sure about this, baka?" C.C. questioned.
"Of course I'm sure," Allen sighed, pulling up his hood as they neared the town.
"I'm just asking," C.C. sighed, "…I don't think I've ever seen you so conflicted on taking on a mission."
"What about when we first went after Master Cross?" Allen chuckled slightly.
"No, you flat out didn't want to do it," C.C. smirked, "If I remember correctly, both Lenalee and Komui had to hold you back when you found out."
Allen resisted the urge to stick his tongue out at the teasing innocence, "You remember what he was like, don't you? Why would I want to find the bastard then?"
"Bet you wouldn't mind finding him now, though," C.C. stated.
Allen nearly stopped walking, "…He just left us. He left me with all the blame and accusations of me being a traitor. He left without answering any of the questions that knowing what I was brought on… He faked his death for what? Just to mess with me some more?"
C.C. smiled as he watched his young wielder go off on a slight rant about his master, the boy's own smile never leaving his face. No matter what anyone said, including Allen, the boy was extremely happy that the redheaded drunkard was alive. Just knowing that the man who had raised him after the loss of Mana was alive pulled so much pressure off the boy's shoulders. C.C. regretted not being able to take the rest off. All the innocence wanted nothing more than that. If they could, they would remove Allen from the war all together and allow him to live his life however he wanted. But they knew that that feeble dream never would come to be.
He felt another power spike from the innocence around Chaoji's wrists. It took everything in him not to growl out loud. It took even more not to go and knock down the door between that piece's mind and his to chew him out. O.K. placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. Now was not the time to address the problematic pair. They had more important things to focus on. Things like keeping Allen away from his mother and sisters at all costs. Normally, they wouldn't worry about him running into people from his past, but when there was a chance that someone might recognize him running high, they didn't want to risk it. After all, how many people did one know of that had bluish silver eyes?
"We should probably split up and search the town," Lavi suggested as they neared the entrance and the finders.
The group of finders consisted of Kie, Maoso, Toma, and Gozu. Allen was rather relieved to see Toma, him being one of the few finders that truly didn't think him a traitor. However, that feeling was reduced when he spotted Chaoji's two friends. He honestly didn't know what they thought of him and it made him uneasy that he could be surrounded by people who didn't trust him enough to allow him to help. The final finder was one that Allen didn't know personally, but he had heard from Lavi that he was one that Kanda disliked quite a bit and yet for some reason never raised his sword to…
"It's good to see you well, Sir Walker," Toma greeted, gaining a surprised look from Gozu.
"Wait, you're Allen Walker?" Gozu asked, pointing dumbly at him.
"Um… Yes?" Allen nodded, feeling rather uneasy for some reason.
Before he knew what had happened, he was wrapped up in strong arms with his face smashed into Gozu's chest. He couldn't even move his arms and if he flailed with his legs, he risked kicking the man in the knee and toppling them over with Allen most likely on the bottom to be crushed beneath the finder. But still, the need for air was great as he struggled to free himself without harming the other. Finally, Gozu released him enough to breath. Inhaling quickly, Allen found his new air being forced back out as the man began to twirl with him in his arms.
"I can't believe I'm finally getting to meet you~!" Gozu laughed as Allen started to look a little green.
'Well, if nothing else, no one will recognize him cause his head will be in a bucket throwing up his breakfast,' C.C. chuckled as Timcampy fluttered around the spinning man, hoping to free his young master.
"I… think… I'm gonna… hurl," Allen whimpered.
"Oh! Sorry~!" Gozu laughed some more as he set Allen free.
Allen responded by collapsing to the ground as his legs gave out on him, "Ugh…"
"It's just that when I went on a mission with Mister Kanda, he tried to cheer me up by telling me about you, Mister Walker," Gozu explained.
"BaKanda?" Allen gaped.
"Are you sure that it wasn't some lady that looked like him?" Lavi asked.
"Nope," Gozu shook his head, "This was long before Mister Kanda fully linked with Mugen. So say, is it true?" He beamed, as Allen did a fancy jump to return to his feet.
"Show off," Lavi smirked.
"Oi, you try getting up with just one hand," Allen grumbled, "I thank my training as a clown so very much to allow me to do so. Anyway, is what true?"
"That when you guys destroy an akuma, the soul that is trapped in its body flies up to heaven," Gozu stated, a pleading look in his eyes.
'He's got an innocent mind and a kind heart,' O.K. thought through his link to Lavi, 'He's a rarity on the battlefield. Most like him get shattered after their first real battle.'
'Maybe that's why Yuu told him about Allen's curse to see the souls of akuma,' Lavi thought, nodding, 'No matter what the guy thinks, he still cares about others and to see a guy like him break would be hard for anyone to do nothing to help.'
Allen blinked in surprise before kindly smiling at the man, his smile holding a small amount of his pain from seeing countless souls trapped and freed, "It is. My left eye allows me to see their trapped souls and our innocence frees those souls from their cages."
"That's great~!" Gozu shouted, jumping for joy.
'I don't have the heart to tell him about what happens if they aren't destroyed by innocence,' Allen thought sadly.
'He doesn't need to know, baka,' C.C. sighed through their link, 'Allow him his oblivious oblivion for this one thing. It'll keep his mind at peace.'
'Right,' Allen mentally nodded, wishing the he himself did not know what happened to those that were not destroyed properly.
"I'm glad to see you guys," Chaoji said to his two friends.
"Same to you, Chaoji," Maoso chuckled as the group entered the town.
"I'm just happy to see that you're doing alright away from your master," Kie added, ruffling Chaoji's hair.
"I'm just happy that they're here to distract Chaoji from bullying Allen," Lavi whispered to the two pieces of innocence.
"Come on Lavi," Allen chuckled in a poor attempt to hide his pain, "He's had plenty of reason to distrust me."
"How could you be so stupid!" O.K. snapped, locking Lavi in a headlock.
"Should I start calling you baka instead!" C.C. growled, glaring at the redhead with one of his stronger glares.
Allen just chuckled to himself at the overprotectiveness that C.C. held for him. It wasn't quite on the same level as Komui with Lenalee, but it was close. Smiling softly, he thought about the strange man C.C. must have been. He thought about how amazing he must have been to have had for a father. It made him feel a little bad but Allen was grateful to C.C.. His innocence was quickly becoming just like his own…
Allen froze mid-step just as his cursed left eye activated, "They sure didn't take long to get their forces back."
"Doesn't surprise me," Lavi stated, noticing Allen's activated cursed eye, "We only ran into fifty or so level twos on our way here."
O.K.'s eyebrows furrowed together as he noticed something odd about Allen, "Allen? What's up?"
Allen trembled as his left eye scanned the area over and over again, his skin paling more than normal while he suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, "Th-there's over two hundred level threes trying to get through the barrier as we speak along with about fifty level twos and roughly the same number of level ones."
Lavi paled a little as did the rest of the humans in the group while C.C. shook his head and O.K. whistled, "Well, the Earl seems pretty determined to get the piece this time."
"Baka," C.C. said, hitting O.K. upside his head, "We both know it's cause the fat bastard thinks he can get to baka."
"…Which baka?" O.K. joked.
"Oi! We're dealing with well over three hundred akuma right now!" Lavi snapped, "Shouldn't you be a little worried?"
"Easy kid," C.C. said, "We just have to find Bull and then baka can set up a gateway and we'll be out of here. Simple as that. Right baka?"
He receive no answer.
"Baka?" C.C. questioned, looking over to where his wielder stood.
Allen had paled so much that his skin now matched his hair. His silver irises were nearly blocked out by the boy's completely dilated eyes. His breathing was ragged and he seemed to be barely able to stay standing. Noticing his wielder's distress, C.C. tried to open their link only to find that once again fear had sealed that link shut.
"Allen?" C.C. tried, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder.
The boy's body suddenly hunched forward as he fell to his knees. His upper body suddenly started to convulse in dry heaves as the boy's only hand came to cover his mouth. His eyes were still wide open, trembling as tears slid out of his right eye and twin trails of blood out his left. He seemed to be desperately trying to close his left eye but it would just not shut. The piece of innocence was sure that if he wasn't busy covering his mouth, the boy would be trying to rip out the damn eye to allow him some momentary peace.
"What is it, baka!" C.C. demanded, kneeling beside his wielder and gently rubbing circles on his back.
Allen just shook his head as he tried to regain control of his body. But the sight… The sight of the condition those souls were in…
C.C. growled out as he quickly looked around them trying to see what the teen had seen. He was lucky enough that he could only see what Allen saw when he was his arm, but that didn't seem so lucky now. He had no idea what was causing his wielder to react in such a way. The only time he had seen him like this was…
C.C. yelped when he felt Allen's body suddenly yanking on their link, seeking any kind of comfort it could attain. The pull was almost too strong to fight off. Looking over to O.K., C.C. tried to think of what they could do to help Allen. They all knew that his eye was no longer stopped by things that were in its way. It could and would see through everything so giving him an eye patch was out of the question.
Knocking him out was also out, because they would need him awake to get home and away from any danger. Letting whatever he was seeing that was getting to him to continue to do so was also out. They had to find some way to help Allen before he went crazy enough to really rip out the eye… Or at least take something and stab it…
'Is that an option?' C.C. thought, looking over to Lavi.
"Hey, both times Allen messed up his eye, it regenerated, right?" C.C. asked.
"Yeah but you should know that," Lavi nodded.
"What are you thinking, C.C.?" O.K. asked cautiously.
"There's something out there that Allen can see that's causing this," C.C. explained, "If we get rid of the sight then maybe…maybe we can keep going and get Bull and get out of here."
"Who is Bull?" Lavi asked.
"He's the innocence we're retrieving," O.K. stated, before smacking his wielder upside the head, "That's not the point, idiot! We're talking about disabling Allen by taking out his eye!"
"Do you see any other way?" C.C. growled.
"How about going out and taking out whatever is out there that is making him freak!" O.K. snapped.
"How about no! The only time I've seen Allen react this way when he was using his left eye was when that level four attacked the Order!" C.C. shouted before paling, "…oh fuck…"
"We're surrounded by over three hundred high level akuma, one of which being a level that NOBODY is able to destroy without the help of a freaking general level exorcist!" Lavi screamed.
"Thank you, Captain Obvious!" C.C. snapped, silencing the redhead instantly, "If it really is a level four, then we need to get Allen into a more conscious state than him on the ground nearly losing his precious previous meal. The only way I can see that happening is if we take out the source of the problem for a bit."
"But won't he bleed to death if you do so?" Toma voiced.
"Don't worry, I can stop his bleeding," C.C. stated, "One of the many advantages of having a parasitic type wielder. I won't be able to help him heal though. He'll just have to wait and allow time to do its job."
"Won't it…Won't it hurt him?" Gozu asked, worried about his new friend.
"Of course it will hurt!" Lavi nearly snapped, "We're going to be taking out his eye without surgical equipment!"
"W-What if we don't take it out?" Kie asked, also worried about the trembling exorcist.
"Y-Yeah, what if we just injure it?" Maoso added.
"That's what I was thinking of doing," C.C. snorted, "Give me some credit, will you? Like hell I would try to rip out my baka's eye, cursed or not."
"We probably should get this over with or we'll risk gathering a crowd," O.K. stated, keeping a close look out for any unwanted spectators.
"Right," C.C. said before taking a look around, "Let's get him into a building first though. We don't want to freak out the town any more than we already have."
"Sounds good to me," Lavi nodded, running to the closest house, "I'll ask whoever lives here to see if they'll let us stay."
"Come on baka," C.C. groaned as he picked up his wielder, "Let's go get this over with, okay?"
"Why do I get the feeling that this is going to come and bite us in the butt?" O.K. asked as the group headed after Lavi.
"What if Mister Walker stops acting like this once we get inside?" Gozu asked.
"He won't," C.C. said simply.
"What C.C. means is that his eye that allows him to see the souls of the akuma can see through anything. If he's actually like this out here, he will still act like it in there," O.K. explained.
"Oh…" Gozu whimpered.
"Hey, don't worry," C.C. sighed, "I hate to say it but this kid's been through a lot worse. Plus, this won't be the first time he's had to go without an eye."
"She said yes!" Lavi shouted, causing everyone to sweatdrop as some nearby women giggled.
"Great now let's get this over with," C.C. ordered as he carried Allen through the doorway.
The innocence didn't even take time to note who the owner was and what their home looked like. All that mattered was taking care of Allen. Sitting him down on the couch once they reached the living area, C.C. quickly worked to pin the boy down as he changed his left hand into Edge. His heart tore at the fear and pained look that the boy gave him as he raised a sword like finger to his eye.
"Wait! C.C.!" O.K. gasped at what he saw, "Are you insane!"
"What?" C.C. questioned.
"That eye is an akuma eye, right?" O.K. questioned, hoping C.C. would get it so that he didn't have to explain any further in front of pineapple hair boy.
"Yeah so?" C.C. asked.
O.K. smacked his forehead, "Then if you stab his eye, he'll lose that eye forever idiot!"
C.C. instantly returned his hand back to normal and looked sympathetically at Allen, "I'm sorry baka."
"Now what?" Lavi asked, "You two can't do it and I have a feeling that Allen's going to thrash around so much that he'll end up causing more damage than needed."
"I can hold him down," C.C. stated, "But one of you guys needs to stab the eye."
Lavi shook his head, tapping his eye patch. "Sorry but I'm out."
"Sorry but I'm squeamish with this kind of stuff," Toma apologized.
"I-I don't think I'd be able to do such a thing," Gozu admitted.
"Same," the two other finders agreed.
'Fuck…that leaves-' the three that still cared about Allen thought.
"I'll do it," Chaoji announced.
'Chaoji…' the three groaned.
"Fine, but go see if the owner has a knife or something that she wouldn't mind to lose," C.C. sighed, moving Allen so that he sat in his lap, "I'm really sorry about this, baka…I know we haven't asked what you think we should do, but I'm asking now…"
"I-I just want the image t-to go away," Allen whispered weakly, tears still falling, "A-And a-all their v-voices to stop crying o-out to me…"
"Shhh," C.C. hushed, his cloak appearing and wrapping around the trembling boy, "It'll all be done soon…It's gonna hurt like hell first."
Allen chuckled very weakly, "C-Can't be w-worse than t-to have a lit c-candle fly into your s-socket."
"True…Though I can sympathize seeing as I had huge nails imbedded in me and then you ripped them right through me in your attempt to get free," C.C. teased.
"Y-You for-forget that I-I felt th-that pain t-too…" Allen remarked.
"I found a knife," Chaoji announced with his return.
"Great…" C.C. groaned, tightening the cloak around Allen so that it the only thing that could move was his head and that too was being held by C.C.'s hands, "Take a deep breath, Allen…"
Allen somehow managed to calm his ragged breathing and slow his heartbeat as he waited for the inevitable.
Chaoji's grip on the knife tightened as Lavi and O.K. seemed to be ready to jump him at any second. It was no secret to any in the room that Chaoji despised Allen. They all knew of his anger towards him. It was something that his two friends just couldn't understand. What they did understand was that something was about to happen that would most likely turn up to be something bad.
'I can finally treat this traitor to what he deserves,' Chaoji thought as he brought the knife up to Allen's face. C.C. had had to already use his fingers to keep the boy's eye open as human instincts started to kick in, 'I can finally inflict some of my pain onto him.'
'That's right, Chaoji,' a sickeningly sweet male voice sounded inside his mind, 'And with that, we too have joined the ranks of those fully linked…'
'Fully linked?' Chaoji thought as his, C.C.'s, and O.K.'s eyes widened, 'Are you my innocence?'
'What a smart boy you are,' the voice chuckled, 'Yes, yes I am. But do not worry about activating me to reach my true form. I rather dislike being in such a form so even if you did activate me, I won't change into that form.'
'Right,' Chaoji noted while the other two pieces scowled at his innocence.
'Now onto more pressing matter,' his innocence smirked, or at least sounded like it did, 'Weren't you just about to show this bastard a taste of the pain that you've endured?'
'Oh! Yes!' Chaoji exclaimed, reading the knife again.
'Good boy,' his innocence said, 'Why don't I lend you a tiny bit of power to help show him who he's messing with.'
Before anyone could stop the boy, his innocence flared to life briefly and died down just before Chaoji rammed the knife into Allen's cursed left eye. A blood curdling scream left the boy's throat as he used up all his air to show the world his pain. C.C. struggled to hold him still while the knife was still in his eye. The boy's right eye was wide open, staring straight into his fellow exorcist's face. What he saw made his heart want to stop…
Chaoji was smirking down at him, enjoying his pain…
Allen let out another scream as his fellow exorcist twisting the knife a full ninety degrees. By then, Lavi and O.K. had snapped out of their shock and grabbed onto Chaoji, yanking him away from their friend. C.C. quickly released Allen's head in favor of yanking the knife out. Releasing his breath that he hadn't known he had been holding, C.C. was dimly aware that if Chaoji hadn't turned it then he probably would have ripped out the eye. But he still didn't need to twist it so much.
Allen was thrashing his head side to side as he struggled against C.C.'s hold. Even with just one arm, the boy was quite the handful for the piece to hold onto. Toma and Gozu quickly rushed to his side and started to bandage up the boy's eye as Kie and Maoso tried to get Chaoji to tell them why he did such a thing. Nobody noticed the woman standing in the doorway with bluish silver eyes, watching with tears running down her face…
Mizu: There you go. There's the latest chapter. I hope that I managed to brighten some of your days.
Lavi: *nervously* W-Weren't you going to tell them something else?
Mizu: Of course I was. I just want you guys to know again that I love my readers but I am not a miracle worker. I've got my own problems in the real world that require most of my time. Hell, for the next week I'm going to be working my fingers to the bone trying to make three different cosplay outfits for the convention I'm going to next weekend.
Lavi: And…
Mizu: *sighs* Look, I really don't want to tell you guys this but I'm flat out annoyed. Your reviews do inspire me to keep writing and I love you all for that. But there are some of you guys that are getting on my last nerve because you are spamming me with constant reviews of nothing about how you want/need/beg me to update. As stated at the top, I will only give you guys what I deem to be the best for my stories because I feel that you deserve nothing less than that. But I can't just put my life on hold to write these stories no matter how I wish I could.
It's not that I'm telling you guys not to ask me to update. I have no problem with that so long as you don't start using the word as if it was my name or spam the reviews with the pleads if you don't get the update you want within a week of your review. By spamming I mean reviewing three or more times on the same chapter and saying nothing but how you want me to update or that I'm disappointing you. That's not cool guys. I have pretty low self-esteem so reading your reviews are the highlights of my day because I feel important and that somebody out there actually enjoys what I do. When I read how upset or disappointed you are of me for the petty reason of me not updating every single week, that makes me feel like crud and makes me want to write even less.
Lavi: There, now was that so hard?
Mizu: Yes…I didn't want it to come to the point that I actually had to tell my readers that it was bothering me…Anyway, remember that I truly do love all reviews and suggestions so long as you aren't spammers. Ciao for now minna-san…