Chapter 7 up for my lovely readers~ thanks for reading this thus far, and I hope this is better than the previous chapter ^.^"
We're back to our lovely exorcists to see their side of the situation after having seen Allen/Neah
D Gray-man belongs to Hoshino Katsura~
Broken Moonlight
Chapter 7: Arise
As the two Noah left the scene, the three exorcists were left in the frigid rain that teemed down relentlessly. Even subsequently to the departure of the two, neither of the three budged from their seemingly paralyzed state. The dour ambience that overhung the plateau was multiplied by the three figures that stood in grim silence, eyes staring at the thin air within which the pair of Noah had disappeared.
The first movements were courtesy of Lavi, who had opted to test the delicate air as he hung his weapon of choice upon a holster on his hip. His eyes were uncharacteristically void of liveliness as he glanced over at his two companions, a defective smile plastered unconvincingly upon his lips.
"I guess we can return to the Headquarters now…?" he ventured, his words succeeded by a strikingly harsh laugh.
Lenalee was next to regain her composure despite the despair that shone in her dark purple eyes with a lacklustre glow. Her voice was tight and somewhat choked as she attempted to respond without bursting into tears once again.
"We…we should…" she forced from her lips as she turned to look at Kanda.
The long-haired male still remained unresponsive and detached as his eyes fixated inscrutably upon the location where he had last seen Allen. His tense muscles were crying out with exertion as he obstinately refused to slacken his stance.
His mind was left reeling by Allen - no - the 14th, and his ambiguous words. Why had his body refused to budge despite the fact that his reasoning had directed him to do so? He had even allowed that godforsaken creature to touch him.
The thought provoked his initial movement which was the slight curl of distaste that moved his lip. His subsequent movement was the tightening of his grip around Mugen's hilt and scabbard which had scored Allen's flesh, albeit unwittingly.
What he couldn't fathom, however, was why the pained countenance of the white-haired beansprout had caused an ache of guilt to pulsate within his chest. To begin with, it hadn't even been Allen - it was that Noah that had taken possession of his body. Likewise, Allen was not a person that Kanda considered a friend: merely a mutual associate.
"Kanda…?" Lenalee called softly, not daring to speak any louder as though it would shatter the delicate balance that perpetuated the stiff atmosphere.
Without so much as a word, the second exorcist executed a volte-face and began to stalk silently from the tableland, not sparing them a single glance. His gaze was fixated blankly upon whatever sight was before him.
His two acquaintances exchanged a look with each other before following in close suit, but not daring to speak to him, as his morale had taken a visible plunge. The frown upon his lips was laden with more than its distinctive condescension, and that alone was enough for them to be aware that now was not an appropriate time to speak to Kanda.
Even the effervescent Lavi did not have the heart to disturb the long-haired exorcist, not when he himself could not fight the prominent despondency that had settled profoundly in his chest.
He himself had admittedly been shocked by the sight of Allen in such a state, despite the fact that he was aware that it was the likeliest possible outcome, considering the white-haired boy's previous resolution to join the Noah. Nevertheless, it still came across as a blow to witness it firsthand.
His green eye drifted over to Lenalee, who seemed to be concentrating intensely on regulating her breaths. He frowned, his lips parted vaguely to reveal his gritted teeth, and turned his gaze back to Kanda's back.
The second exorcist himself was faring no better, or so the angered bewilderment in his eyes spoke. He had not even taken the opportunity to uncover Allen's…. That Noah's motives. Whatever they were, they must be dyed in the corruption peculiar to the Noah.
"Che…" The sound was so soft, it was barely audible to he himself. If this was the result of Allen's conviction, he would have to kill the white-haired beansprout just as Allen had once requested of the exorcists. A flash of anger flared up within his chest.
Allen had broken his promise after all. His words that alluded to the reassurance that he would not allow the Noah to take over his body had been empty lies. Kanda resented the fact that he had lowered his guard enough to consent himself the latitude in believing the moyashi's words.
He was loath to admit that they had lost a considerable edge in the war on akuma and the Millennium Earl due to the sudden swap of alliances on the white-haired teen's part. The taste of blood grew evident upon Kanda's tongue. He was certain that he was vexed with Allen, and yet, he could not shake the weight that burdened his chest.
"Those faces don't look terribly cheerful," Komui stated the obvious, taking a sip of coffee from his pink bunny-emblazoned mug. His finger lifted to point accusingly in Kanda's direction. "Especially you!" he charged, the rim of his glasses glinting. "You look more grumpy than usual!"
Lavi hurriedly poked Kanda's cheek with a forced grin, ducking as Mugen drew an arc where his neck had previously been situated. "He's just brooding because we failed the mission," he claimed loudly.
"Che.." Kanda's neck turned an abrupt forty-five degrees to the right, a scowl present on his features.
Komui pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose with a frown, his countenance adopting a more serious nature.
"You do realize the gravity of this outcome, don't you? I'm a little surprised, seeing as you're some of our strongest exorcists." he responded, setting down his mug with a faint frown of contemplation upon his lips.
Lenalee stole a fleeting glance at Kanda, who seemed on the verge of bursting before the Supervisor. She smiled weakly at Komui and quickly moved to herd the second exorcist from the office before he could say anything. Upon pushing him out the door, she shut it once again, locking it to prevent him from entering the room.
Moving back to where Lavi stood, she bit her lip. "It probably isn't best to talk while he's here," she finally spoke, her voice carrying a barely audible tremor.
Upon the sight of his sister in such a state, Komui reached out and laid his hands upon her shoulders, staring down at her worriedly, but not in his typical overprotective state. "Lenalee, what happened?" he questioned seriously.
She swallowed, and opened her mouth to speak, but before she had the opportunity to utter a word, tears blurred her vision and spilled down her cheeks. Throwing her arms around Komui, she buried her face in his shoulder, soaking the fabric of his coat.
"It was Allen," Lavi responded lugubriously for her. "No - it was the 14th. He destroyed the Innocence before we could retrieve it."
Looking up from Lenalee to the apprentice Bookman, he frowned. "Are you sure it was him?"
"Of course I am…!" Lavi responded, slightly miffed at the fact that his information was being questioned.
Lenalee's muffled sobs only seemed to grow louder and Komui sighed. "I'll talk to you later," he directed at Lavi before motioning for him to leave.
Nodding, Lavi quickly exited the room, only to find Kanda leaning against the wall beside the door, arms crossed over his chest and fringe shadowing his eyes, the scowl still imprinted prominently on his lips. "Yuu?"
An irritated fist caused an indent upon the door, grazing Lavi's ear as he barely managed to sidle away from the assault. "Die, usagi."
"So cold…" Lavi wilted.
"Che." Crossing his arms over his chest once again, Kanda turned his head away from the redhead and began to storm down the hall.
This time around, Lavi opted to chase after the long-haired exorcist, hovering over him with a feeble grin that didn't quite reach his visible emerald eye. "Don't leave me Yuu-chan!" he griped comically.
A tick of anger pulsed at the raven's forehead and his hand drifted down to the hilt of his sword, fingers just about encircling it. "If you're going to insist on following me, then shut up," he snapped brusquely.
Lavi's hands immediately flew up with the purpose of mollifying the second exorcist. A sigh puffed from his lips as he eyed the hall that they stepped through. "Hey, Yuu, we passed your room already. Where are we going?"
"None of your business," Kanda shot, his eyes scanning the hall. Upon landing on the tall figure of the blond man, he clucked his tongue and stepped towards him.
Without so much as a nod in greeting, he pushed open the door to Allen's room, paying no heed to Link's protests. Lavi followed after him, a sheepish apology leaving his lips, but a frown present within his vaguely narrowed gaze.
Dark eyes drifted around the room before landing upon the arrangement of lotus buds. One of the blossoms was beginning to open, he realized. Stepping over to the side table upon which they crowned, he picked up the floral presentation by their glass vase, and turned to leave the room.
Stepping past Link, he pushed aside the man's hands as they attempted to prevent him from taking his leave. Flashing a sharp glare at the blond, he proceeded to make his way back down the hall, his fingers wrapped carefully around the vase of flower.
Much to his chagrin, a certain rabbit just needed to follow him on his escapade from the abandoned room whose previous occupant no longer resided with them.
"Hey, Yuu, why did you take Allen's flowers?" Lavi chirped, a hint of calculation in his expression despite his somewhat vapid tone. Kanda, however, possessed the perception to catch the moderate intelligence hidden behind the exterior of denseness.
Removing one set of appendages from around the glass vase, he abruptly stabbed his fist towards the rabbit who narrowly managed to evade the blow that aimed to dent his skull. "I don't need to answer to you," he responded coldly. "If you're going to berate me with stupid questions, then leave."
"So mean," Lavi griped, drooping once again.
Blatantly ignoring the guise of idiocy demonstrated flawlessly by the apprentice Bookman, Kanda redirected his steps towards his own room. His eyes drifted down to the floral arrangement within his hands. He was beginning to doubt the inconsequentiality of the blooms which may have seemed easily overlooked.
A slender digit, not marred by scar of callus ran over the petal of the lone bloom upon the edge of the arrangement that had subtly begun to open. His gaze ran over the others, swiftly numbering seven buds. Lowering his hand, his gaze drifted over to Lavi, who still persisted with following him.
"Are you planning to replace the moyashi with me?" he almost stated, his eyes fixing themselves upon the redhead expressionlessly. The statement seemed to surprise the rabbit, which Kanda grudgingly admitted to himself he didn't expect.
"No!" Lavi denied fervently, shaking his head. "It's just…" He drifted off and didn't resume his statement, leaving a stony silence between them.
"Che." Kanda reached out to push open the door that led to his room and stepped in. Striding over to his own side table, he set the flowers down upon it beside his own. His eyes narrowed slightly upon catching sight of the shriveled petal that still clung to the rest of the bloom.
"Wow, Yuu, you must really like lotuses." Lavi disrupted the solitude with the blunt statement. Kanda turned to glare at him.
"Go die," he snapped.
As opposed to his previous exhibitions of presenting the epitome of being crestfallen, Lavi stepped into the room and walked over to the table, scrutinizing the flowers with his ever-present ruminative gaze.
Not desiring to dirty his hands with needless blood, Kanda gave silent consent for him to do so, but stood behind him with his arms crossed impatiently over his chest in hopes that the redhead would take something from his stance and leave him to himself.
"Yuu, what do you think the 14th meant? He had an awful lot to say to you, don't you think?"
Within the span of less than a second, Mugen's tip was buried in the tatami-covered floor of his room. A few hairs of bright red-orange fell to the ground alongside it, causing Lavi to near topple gracelessly onto the floor. Catching hold of the table, he pushed himself up, one hand resting over his chest. "I thought I was going to die!" he gasped comically.
"For how many times today?" Kanda ventured darkly, pulling Mugen out and brandishing it precariously close to the lone uncovered green eye of the apprentice Bookman. "I told you I never wanted to hear you say my first name or ask stupid questions."
"But it wasn't a stupid question, Yuu!" Lavi complained disregarding the previous statement .
A dark shadow cast itself as Mugen drew closer to the tissue that formed Lavi's eye. "Mind your tongue or lose it, usagi."
"But this is my eye!" Lavi riposted lifting a finger to push Mugen away from his face.
Immediately, Kanda twisted the hilt and abruptly slashed the sword sideways, shearing off a few more red hairs off as the apprentice Bookman ducked.
"Get out of my room, usagi - you're contaminating it," Kanda stated, a scowl on his face as his arm remained straightened out to the side, Mugen directed towards the open door. Lavi squeaked and scrambled over to the direction indicated to him by a dangerous pointy object that could potentially hurt him.
"So mean!" he whined.
"Che. Get out," Kanda snapped, stepping over and shutting the door in the redhead's face.
As soon as the action had been completed, he sheathed Mugen and set it down upon his bed. Sliding down onto his knees, he rid the floor of the red hairs and dropped them out the window with another cluck of his tongue.
Standing, he stared down at the eight blossoms that rested upon his side table. He frowned and pulled the bouquet out of its cylindrical vessel and tugged the scarlet ribbon off of it. Returning the flowers to their place, he stretched the ribbon out over the length of the table to dry.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he mused temperamentally upon what had occurred that day. He was uncertain what to make of the 14th, if he were to be completely honest with himself. Of course, the man was an enemy through and through. He was a Noah, and that alone gave Kanda enough reason to end his existence.
However, the thought wouldn't cease to trouble him: why had the man not taken the opportunity to attack him, considering the fact that he had, unfortunately, been paralyzed in his state of shock. He had left himself wide open, and had faced the humiliation of being left unscathed by the enemy.
That in itself was enough to cause his jaw to tense in mortification. For a person such as he, who lived by his sword and for two purposes only, to be left without so much as the memory of an attempted strike from his enemy was one of the worst forms of patronization.
His frown deepened. As if that were not enough, he had been presented with a cordial greeting, which would have chagrined him less, was the Noah in the beansprout's body not affected by the wound inflicted on him, courtesy of Kanda himself. The 14th had the effrontery to say that he was glad that Kanda had returned.
Even then, the Noah had traced his own problems to Kanda? The thought was iring to Kanda's mind. It was that 14th and the other Noah that were causing problems for the world itself, and the man could only say that Kanda himself was the cause of his problems?
Planting himself into a seated position upon his bed, Kanda took his displeasure out upon the eight blooms that rested upon his side table, boring virtual holes into the pink petals with the edge in his dark gaze.
He had to come to terms with himself? Had he not already done so? After all, if he had not, then he would never have left Alma. His teeth chewed against the suffering flesh of his inner cheek at the thought. Of course, he still contemplated upon whether he should have remained with his first friend, but that was only normal… wasn't it?
He gritted his teeth, clenching down forcibly on the flesh and re-acquainting himself with the harsh tang of blood. Aside from the 14th's words, the mere sight of his presence within Allen was enough to drive Kanda into a seething rage. Whether it was directed towards the Noah, towards Allen or towards both of them, he wasn't certain.
Perhaps both, he decided. After all, Allen had broken a promise and that Noah had taken over his body. If this persisted, they would meet once again, he knew, and when that meeting occurred, he would kill both of them. His tongue clucked in grudging resignation.
He was well aware of what he had stated when they had only begun to acquaint themselves of each other. He truly did despise the self-imposed heroic words of the white-haired boy. That attitude would be the death of him, and that was precisely why he had warned the beansprout of that fact, despite his words carrying threat beneath them. Allen's type would die young.
Nevertheless, the thought of having to kill the moyashi with his own hands did not rest well with Kanda. The sparks of guilt had already begun to light flames in his chest, causing his clenched jaw to tighten further as his gaze dropped abruptly from the lotus blooms to the ground.
A hiss of aggravation passed his slightly parted lips. That 14th Noah had stated that he was running after something. He didn't recall running after anything - he wasn't a person who would blindly chase after anything in particular, Alma not included.
His stance froze as his eyes widened. Alma… His thoughts drifted back to the Noah's words. It had always been there? His frown deepened. What was that supposed to mean? Nothing he had chased after had always been there.
The only thing that he had sought incessantly had indeed slipped out of his grasp, but the Noah had spoken as though it still remained. Just what was it? The fact that he hadn't the knowledge that he required on the subject of the Noah's words antagonized him.
He had been left with an exhortation that commanded he hastened before time ran out. If that had been a threat, it definitely did not come across as one upon first registry. Kanda wouldn't die - not yet. He still needed to fulfill his promise to Allen, as well as find that person…
His thoughts skidded to an abrupt spot. That….person…? He had seen her before, and lastly with Alma. Was she gone as well? He frowned. The only person that knew her was he and Alma, so how did the 14th come to know of her? Nevertheless, his words implied that she was still there, albeit not for long.
Kanda massaged his forehead with his hand. The ceaseless revelations were wearing his mind out, and the certain ire that rose up with each thought of Allen and the 14th did not aid in any way.
His eyes lifted slightly to stare out the window. Rain continued to pelt the Headquarters and the ground, but still could not wash away the sin that defiled the building and the soil in the form of bloodstained hands. Slowly, he pushed himself to his feet.
His dark gaze trailed over to the bouquet of lotus buds that stood within their vessel, landing upon the one opening bloom. His eyes narrowed. For a flower that had been stripped from its roots and starved of sunlight, it was blossoming at a terribly quick pace.
His fingers encircled Mugen, picking it up purposefully, and holding it for a few moments before setting it where it typically hung at his hips. As much as he was loath to admit it to himself, he ought to take up the matter with the Supervisor. After all, the man was a genius in the guise of a fool, much like the rabbit.
After a moment's hesitation, he grasped the scarlet ribbon that lay drying upon his bedside table, and stored it within the confines of his coat. Turning to face the door, he made his way to it and pushed it open quietly, so as to cause as little disturbance as shut the door behind him, casting a dark gaze down the hall.
Behind the closed doors, a lone flower unfurled in full bloom, manifesting its pale pink glory.
Stuff happened. I wonder what it all means...Kanda wants to talk O.o it's a miracle!
Please review~