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Title: Secrets and Sacrifices

Author: DnKS-giRLs

Rating: PG-13

Pairing: Kanda-Allen

Disclaimers: humor us here for this time and pretend that we own them, kay? Well, the plot is indeed DEFINITELY and COMPLETELY ours though…

Warning: OOCness and super sappy and over-romantic and… well… you can say it's a modified soap opera… duh… and it's post Mpreg.

Note: This is the sequel to our story titled 'Shattered Innocence' so we suggest you read that first since none of this will make any sense without understanding what event formerly took place. Oh, and this story is AU based on the manga…

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Chapter 2 - Through the Years

Kanda's grim face only got darker as his eyes scanned the bleak world outside the window. Those grey clouds promised the coming of a very great storm. He was usually not someone to be easily affected by weather, but it just happened that Allen had not been back yet to the inn. And damn, he was worried.

He paced some more in that somewhat cramped room that he shared with Allen during their mission that time. A small smile was forming on his lips as he realized that a flying golden golem accompanied him in his pacing. It seemed he was not the only one worrying.

"Waiting for your master, aren't you?" he addressed the golem, not once thinking how crazy that must have sounded: Kanda Yuu talking to a golem. And the golem in question only flipped its wings in a more rapid pace, as if answering his question.

A crash of thunder was heard from the outside and Kanda's frown deepened. He walked to the closed door, thinking of searching for that sprout of his by himself when the once closed door was suddenly opened and he spotted a slightly wet Allen standing on the other side of the door.

"Where have you been in this kind of storm, you idiot sprout?" he snapped at once. True, he was relieved, but he had been very worried, and snapping was the best way to cover it. Kanda Yuu never showed his anxiety. Yeah, never…

Okay, maybe not entirely never…

"Just what did you think you are doing, leaving me to run to God-knows-where when the sky was so dark and those Akuma still lurking there somewhere! You did not even bring Tim! Just how did you expect me to find you in case you're trapped in such dire condition? And now you're back, wet from top to toe, dirty like a dog and…"

"Yuu," Allen sternly cut him halfway. "I know you have a lot to say to me but please, could it wait? We have more urgent business here."

He frowned. He could not say he liked the way Allen cut his sentence but he could see the seriousness behind those grey eyes his spouse had. And suddenly, without knowing why, he felt something constricting in his chest as some foreboding aura filled him.

"What business?" he asked.

He saw Allen stared straight into his eyes before he turned his face to the hallway. With a soft voice he spoke to someone whom he presumed was waiting there since he could spot no one from his point of view.

"Come here, Lucy."

And that was the only thing heralding what Kanda Yuu thought as one of the most shocking revelations he ever experienced in his life. A timid face of a girl peeked into his field of vision. As he saw those grey eyes staring at him, he could not decide whether to smile or to cry as he saw the face of his own daughter after all those years. He could only stare somewhat dumfounded as Allen talked to him in a voice that betrayed no emotion within.

"Yuu, I believe you still remember Lucy," Allen said, placing his both hands on Lucy's slender shoulders. "Something came up and now she's with us."

"Something…?" Kanda said. His eyes looked back and forth from Allen to Lucy. It was then he realized that both Allen and Lucy were wet and that they were still standing on the doorway. With that realization he stepped aside. "Maybe it's better to explain inside."

"Thank you," Allen said as he guided Lucy inside their room, managing to flash a smile to his direction.

"No need to be so formal," he smiled back at them. And maybe it was only his imagination but he felt Lucy's scrutinizing gaze as she walked past him. And what made him a bit terrified was some amount of hidden frown in that gaze.

He shook his head. He was too anxious, it was just that, he thought. After all, how could he be not anxious? He just saw his long lost daughter, coming suddenly to him as if it was a miracle. After all those years… eleven years if his memory did not fail him, now he had his daughter who was once taken away from him appear suddenly before his eyes.

How should he act in front of her, he worriedly thought. Restlessly he turned his head to the direction where Allen and Lucy were. While he was contemplating in his mind, the two had managed to get themselves seated and he watched Allen drying Lucy's hair with a towel. The scene touched him so much. That serene smile on Allen lips, the content look on Lucy's face, the warm surrounding that enveloped them, those things struck him hard and he found it hard to breathe as a certain thought crossed his mind.

It was just like a family.

When he was still amazed at the revelation, Allen caught his gaze. With a smile he said to him, "Why are you still standing there, Yuu? Come here."

"Pardon me," he said as he snapped out of his reverie. He walked to their direction and seated beside Allen. He saw that Timcanpi had already gone before him and was now flying rapidly around Allen, seeming so happy in having its master back. He was also happy in having Allen back. He was elated in having Lucy back! But… there were still some things that made him ponder.

He scrutinized the scene before him. There was something wrong.

"Can we…" he began but stopped for a moment to rephrase his words. "Could you enlighten me about what exactly is going on?"

He saw Allen sighing before he folded his hands neatly on his lap.

"I cannot say I know the whole details myself," Allen said. "When I walked around, I sensed a presence of Akuma. I thought they were still intent on laying their hands on the innocence but I found them chasing after one little girl. Of course I destroyed them and then I found out that it was… well, it was Lucy... and so I brought her here… and, well…that's about it…"

He frowned and carefully examined Lucy with his gaze. It was unusual of Akuma to chase after a certain human being under no command. True, they sometimes chased after them, the Exorcists, but it was because the innocence they had in possession.

Suddenly he remembered something. Innocence. Lucy did have an innocence inside her. He even could say that Lucy was the innocence itself considering the way she came to be born into the world. Could it be possible that the innocence was awakening inside her? Could it be possible that Lucy's presence had already been known to the enemy? But if so, she should be under the protection of the organization, she should not have been running alone like that. And her parents should be with her, unless…

He looked to the side, silently communicating with Allen. The moment he caught the other's gaze, he knew that Allen too had been thinking the same possibility.

"Lucy, may I inquire something?" he dared himself to ask. At the girl's nod he took a breath and braced himself from what he was about to say. "Could you please tell us if we might contact your family?"

At that question he felt Allen's warning glare directed at him. He cared less. He had already suspected that Lucy's foster family might have become nonexistent at that point but he needed to know the truth. And it would do no good to the girl pretending that all was good. It would do no good not mentioning her late foster parents before her under the pretence of protecting her. He knew. He was there long time ago. And if Lucy was indeed his child, he knew she would be strong enough to endure and move on.

And his faith in his brave little daughter was not proven wrong.

"My father and mother have already passed away," Lucy said with faint tremble in her voice. "They were… they were killed."

He saw Allen reaching out his hand as if he wanted to gather the silently sobbing girl to his arms. Yet he stopped his action and folded both his hands on his lap instead. He knew that Allen wanted to comfort their daughter but they both know it was not their place to do such thing. After all, in Lucy's eyes, they were nothing but two people she briefly encountered in her childhood.

"We offer you our greatest condolence," he said. "Though we only have the pleasure of meeting your mother once, we know she is a nice woman. And we believe so is your father."

"Thank you," Lucy said. She seemed to be lot in her thought for awhile before she looked straight into his eyes with new determination. "May I continue my story?"

He nodded and felt proud of his strong little daughter, "Please."

"My father is… was working as a finder for The Western Branch Headquarters of the Black Order," Lucy said calmly but her eyes belied her composure. "And mother helped out too. So we lived in the Western Headquarters ever since I could remember. We… we were happy, really happy."

Kanda observed how Lucy seemed to halt for a moment as if she was lulled by the memory of those happy days long past. For a moment she almost looked peaceful but abruptly she snapped back and her face resumed its prior state of sadness. It was too cruel for a girl her age to be showing such amount of sadness on her face.

"I… they always kept me within the Headquarters," Lucy continued. "I could never get outside without company. My parents too never let me out of their gaze. At first I did not know why they did it… I thought they were only some over-protective parents. I never knew and I used to take everything so lightly until…"

Lucy took a deep breath and clenched her hands on her lap. Seeing that, Kanda could guess what would happen next.

"That day I went outside alone," Lucy said. "My friend was hurt and I wanted to see him. The Headquarters were suffering the aftermath of an attack so the security was a bit lax. I managed to sneak out but I mistook an Akuma for a girl and before I knew it she… it chased after me. I called for help and my parents came but then mother… she was… killed and father got hurt terribly… to save me…"

Hearing the tragic fate that befell upon Lucy's mother, Kanda's face went grim. He glanced to Allen's direction and saw the same dark expression gracing his face. It was always a terrible fate to die by an Akuma and to think that the woman who had taken care of their daughter for years was subjected to such fate made something in him rage.

"Father said it was not my fault that mother died," Lucy continued. "But I still felt responsible. Father also told me that I had a potential to be an exorcist so I underwent the training that the Western Headquarters prepared for me. It was… harsh but I am willing to do it for mother, for father, for people that I love. I thought I could endure anything but… it's still harsh. Then after a moment, someone managed to get me a transfer to Central Headquarters. During my transport to Central Headquarters, some Akuma were attacking us. Father… died in the ambush… and I… ran… I could not do anything so I ran and… I feel terrible…"

Kanda then saw his little girl choking back a sob and Allen quickly drew out a handkerchief from his pocket. Tentatively he offered the white handkerchief to Lucy and the silently crying girl took it. She had to be still in some kind of shock, Kanda thought before he snorted out loud in his mind. Of course she was in shock! Her father had just died and her mother's grave was still fresh. She had just experienced some terrible incident that surely made a major change in her life. She had just been robbed off of her most precious people. She had just seen the cruelty of life before her eyes in such an early age.

And neither he nor Allen could do anything to protect her or to prevent all those things from happening, he thought with a sarcastic smirk. What a set of parents they were.

"Sometimes…" he began, trying so hard to sound calm and compassionate without overstepping his boundaries. "Sometimes the wisest choice in battle is to run. Your father tried to protect you and surely he wants you to survive."

"It's true, Lucy," Allen said, his tone soft. "Your parents are surely glad knowing you are out of harm's way."

Lucy dabbed her damp eyes with the handkerchief one final time before she whispered, "I wish it's true…"

Kanda gave a little smile but an important thought entered his mind. He stared at Allen and said to him, "This inn is not particularly safe. I don't think it's wise to remain here for a long period of time, moreover with Lucy being with us. I believe it will be best if we contact the Main Headquarters and get back there tomorrow, what do you think?"

There were two things following his statement as Kanda noticed. The first was Allen's guarded look and the second was a look of horror passing over Lucy's feature. He did not know what made Lucy possess such expression over the mention of Main Headquarters but seeing from the gist of it, he thought darkly with narrowed eyes, he felt like he would not like it.

"Lucy is against the idea of going to Main Headquarters," Allen explained when Lucy seemed not wanting to speak.

He frowned. He then glanced at Lucy who seemed to stare blankly at her lap. She said they were going to Main Headquarters so why did she suddenly refuse to go there? Then again, why did she suddenly get transported to Main Headquarters? He remembered Lucy said she got some training in Western Headquarters. It was possible that her transfer was to enhance her training.

Kanda snapped at the thought of training. He recalled her words saying that the training was harsh. He recalled the very same words were spoken to him by a different person a long time back. Rinali, he thought with his heart suddenly in turmoil. Rinali said that to him when she told him about her earlier training as a candidate to be an exorcist. And he knew what she meant by harsh training. If the same thing happened to her daughter, Kanda thought darkly, someone would die to pay for it.

"Lucy," he addressed the girl. "Why are you adamant of going to Main Headquarters?"

Lucy was silent for a while before she raised her face to stare right into his eyes. "If Main Headquarters is the same as Western Headquarters, I don't want to go there."

Kanda could not hold himself back and finally he blurted out, "What have they done to you in Western Headquarters, Lucy?"

"They trained me," Lucy said shortly.

"How exactly they trained you?" he asked.

Lucy's eyes seemed to darken with a hint of fear and hatred for a moment before she blinked them away and answered bitterly, "By any means they thought fit but I think it's more appropriate to be called torture."

"Torture?" Allen said in dread. "What do you mean by torture? What have they done to you? Did they hurt you? Are you hurt anywhere, Lucy?"

Under any other circumstances, Kanda might warn Allen that Lucy could see his apparent worry as overstepping his boundaries. But he could not do that for he too felt greatly apprehensive over what Lucy had said. Torture she said. And Kanda could not hold back a shiver of fear when he thought of what they had possibly done with his daughter. Sometimes the Headquarters could be so inhumane in their so called training for the exorcist candidates and that was something he always resented them for.

"Lucy," he addressed the girl. "If you are hurt anywhere we can treat you. It's not good if you leave your wounds untreated. Would you… please let us do that?"

"No, it's okay," Lucy quickly said. "It's just… some bruises… they are healing already. I did not undergo training lately because of my transfer… I'm all right…"

"Just… some bruises?" Allen said in disbelief. "Lucy, they should have never treated you like that. How could they do that? Was there no one to help you?"

"No… I mean… my father tried to help, and I also had my friends with me," Lucy said. "It wasn't that bad when I thought that I still have them with me. And my Godfather helped out too, it was because of him that I could get transferred to escape the training… to Main Headquarters..."

Kanda raised one eyebrow, "Your Godfather?"

"Yes," Lucy said carefully. "General Cross Marian is his name."

At that Allen's eyes grew impossibly wide and he blurted out, "Master Cross!?"

Lucy blinked upon hearing that outburst and innocently piped up, "You know him?"

"Know him?" Allen said. "He is my Master, the one who trained me to be an exorcist. I just… I never thought that he is your Godfather… oh, that old man…"

Kanda saw Allen throwing an exasperated gaze to his direction and he believed he also possessed the very same intensity of frustration on his face. That cunning Cross Marian, he thought with half amused half annoyed feeling. He never guessed… they never guessed that Allen's somewhat devilish Master had been in contact with Lucy throughout the years. He recalled that Cross had said once to them that he would take care of Lucy in his own way. Who might guess that he would do it to such extent as to become Lucy's godfather and guardian? But it was not something they could resent him for. If anything, Kanda knew they should be thankful over Cross' intervening with Lucy's so called 'training' before something worse should happen.

"Uncle Cross told me that I would get proper training and that I would be safer in Main Headquarters," Lucy explained. "Because of that, my father and I were willing to get transferred. But during our way… we got attacked and Uncle Allen saved me… and… and here I am now…"

Lucy released a small yawn after she finished talking and it made Kanda realized that it was getting late. Lucy was surely tired out. And he was also aware that they had not yet had dinner. It was not good to continue talking when Lucy was surely in the need of bath and a hot meal and of course sleep.

He silently communicated with Allen and from his eyes he could see that Allen understood his intention. He saw how Allen gently touching Lucy's shoulder to get her attention and spoke to her gently.

"How about we discuss about your transfer to Main Headquarters later?" Allen said. "For now, I think you better take a bath. I will prepare some dinner for you and afterward you can sleep. You must be tired."

Lucy eyed him for a moment but she seemed to accept his offer. With a slight smile she said, "I think it sounds nice…"

Allen smiled back as he continued, "I don't think we have clothes that could fit you, I'm sorry. But you can take my bed and tomorrow I will try search for some spare clothes, okay?"

"All right," Lucy said meekly, "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," Allen said. "We are happy to have you join us, right, Yuu?"

He smiled lightly as he stared at Allen. Allen really looked happy. And of course he was happy. They were given the chance, such rare chance of something they thought as impossible. To think that their Lucy was once again under the same roof with them, even if they knew it was only for a moment, of course they were happy. And thus, for once he was not at all unwilling of telling the truth.

"Yes," he said. "We are happy to have you join us, Lucy."

"Come on," Allen said, guiding Lucy to her feet. "I will show you to the bathroom. If there is anything you want us to help just say so. I know it must be hard for you and we… we will try our best to help you. Don't hesitate to ask for anything, please."

Lucy kept her silence as Allen helped her to her feet. She kept her silence when Allen led her to a door that would bring her to the bathroom. But Kanda could see something was bothering her daughter. She possessed a look of trouble and discontent on her face as if she had something bothering her mind.

Considering all those, Kanda was not really surprised that suddenly Lucy stopped in her track. He saw as his daughter turned her body to face him directly. And seeing the intensity she had in her deep grey eyes, Kanda felt the shiver that he had been feeling since the moment he first laid his eyes on Lucy that day returned full force to him.

"I have a question," Lucy said in determination.

Kanda did not know why he felt really anxious over what Lucy had just said. But he calmed himself and said, "What is it?"

He had prepared himself for anything that he thought Lucy might ask but he did not really prepare himself for that. No, he really did not prepare himself to hear Lucy's slightly trembling voice as she asked him with her accusatory eyes.

"Are you my father?"

- end chapter 2 -

(A/N: So… is that something you might dub as a cliff-hanger? Maybe, maybe not. We do not know. But we do know that we will very much like to hear your comment about this chapter. Thank you for reading the second chapter of 'Secrets and Sacrifices', we hope you had a good read. We wish to see you in the next chapter, of course, and for now, we bid you good bye.)