Countdown
Chapter Three
"Thank you, Kanda," Komui said as the exorcist placed the heavy box onto the messy desk.
The newest member had just awoken from her nap, and was walking by the office as the clunk sounded throughout the room. Curiosity struck, and she slunk between the partially opened doors to see the conservative swordsman and overexcited Komui. Kanda heard the rustling of papers from beneath her feet and tilted his head to watch her for a moment. He quickly realized what he was doing and shot his attention elsewhere. Komui hadn't taken notice to the new presence in the room and raised an eyebrow at her when he looked up from his usual mess.
"Oh, Youko-chan! It's a good thing you're here-I have your first mission!" he sang, plopping into his chair and almost disappearing from view.
"That's fantastic-where am I headed?"
"You, Lavi, and Kanda will be-"
"Uh… I think I would work better alone," Youko stuttered, seeing Kanda's shocked expression at Komui's mention of his name.
"This is your very first mission, I'm just taking precautions. And your innocence is almost-"
A small hand slapped against the sea of papers before him, successfully stopping the sentence. Youko deemed her own abilities a private matter-Kanda didn't need to know most aspects. She didn't consider herself weaker in daylight anyway-just more fortunate at nightfall. The hand slid off of the stacks, thankfully not earning a paper cut, and the woman took a deep breath before proceeding.
"Why can't Allen attend? It would be easier to scope out the akuma that way, right? I'd personally like to see him in action anyway," she questioned, crossing her arms casually and leaning to the side.
'Really? Beansprout over me? I do not think so,' Kanda hissed inwardly with clenched fists and grinding teeth.
"Hevlaska said that you had a sort of sixth sense-this is just a test!~" he sang, holding his coffee cup in the air, pink bunny taunting the woman.
"Oh, how nice. I suppose death is my only other option isn't it?"
"~Hai~!"
"Pleasant," she whispered to Kanda, who was forcing himself to relax.
Lavi chipped in to the room, Bookman close behind. The red-head's hands locked behind his head, and lips were pursed while whistling a happy tune. Youko forcefully grinned, inwardly rolling her eyes as she thought of traveling with these men. But the more responsible half of her knew that this was a strategic choice-Kanda and Lavi had gone on several solo missions, being far more experienced than herself. It would also give her a chance to watch their innocence in action.
"Good morning Bookman~!" Youko sang, smiling down at the elder who only nodded back to the woman.
"What's this Komui-san?" Lavi asked pointing at the wrapped box that Kanda had placed there moments before.
"It's a part for Sir Komlin the 5th! There have been rumors that Lenalee has been sneaking off during the day to meet someone... So I'm going to send Sir Komlin to finish him off~! Slowly... Painfully…" he finished with a diabolical tone, causing Youko to back away from the man and raise her hands in defense.
He quickly flashed a large cog at them, the wrapping paper on the floor in scraps. The utter size of it made Youko shudder in fear. She had not be able to see or hear of Sir Komlin 4…or 3… or 2… or 1… 'What the hell happened to them?' During her supervisor's unsettling laughter, Kanda stood still beside him with crossed arms and settled gaze.
"Someone put Allen out of his misery now, so he won't have to deal with whatever he's creating," Youko whispered to the red-headed Bookman, causing him to chuckle.
"Pay attention," Kanda snapped at Lavi after whacking him in the back of the head.
Lavi narrowed his eyes at the man, lifting up a finger to point at Youko for a moment while recovering from the pain.
"She started-" he was rudely cut off by a second slap, this one given by the woman in the room.
"Shut up!" Youko had been attempting to listen to Komui, who had began to speak of their mission.
The two clowns had not noticed that Lee had finally given up on his destruction rant. He had since seated himself in the overly comfortable chair behind parchment, almost lovingly petting the large mechanical part he had opened. They now all stood at attention, Lavi's bumps receding back into his skull. Bookman did not openly show his annoyance, but Youko had instinctively inched away from the elder after receiving a very uncomfortable aura.
"As I was saying; A usually heavily populated town in Russia has been decreasing in size at an unnatural rate. Some have been missing from their families for over two months."
"We suspect that it's a demon?" Youko finished, to which Komui nodded assertively.
"And where there is Akuma there is Innocence!" Lavi shouted, bounding away from his two fellow teens as they reared back for a strike. The group was then given the rest of the instructions before being dismissed. Youko noticed how the man had basically slinked down to the floor with his new toy-they could hear the loud banging four floors down. Youko and Lavi had began to giggle during their journey-leaning on each other in an attempt to walk straight through their laughter. Kanda would peer backwards every now and then, inwardly sneering at the sight. He was very disappointed with his actions-his eyes would jump to the side in hopes of catching her face when he heard her laugh, and whenever he would hear anything that sounded like his name he would nod to the side slightly, attempting to hear more. Bookman began to chastise the two, focusing mainly on his assistant. Youko had managed to calm after that, as well as Lavi-until the group passed Allen on the stairs.
"Should we tell him to steer clear of...?" Youko droned off, thumbing over her shoulder at the silver haired boy.
"Pffft! Nah-Allen's got enough common sense to know when to run for it," Lavi explained while lifting his hands behind his head again, she figured it was his most natural position.
The stairway eventually became darker and Kanda led the way through the corridor leading to the waterway. Taking charge, as seemed his usual way, the swordsman settled into the front, placing his weapon next to his seat. Bookman hopped down, barely shaking the gondola as he did so. Lavi shot in front of the woman of the group, cutting in front of her to quickly step into the boat and offer his hand. At first, Youko found it rude, but his later gesture made her smile.
"Thank you, Lavi-kun" she uttered while seating herself next to Bookman.
The red-head steered them away from the peer, chatting with the woman again. Kanda turned sharply in his seat, barking at the exorcist.
"Quiet, idiot! The last thing I want to listen to on this mission is your insistent babbling!"
The woman reared back for a moment, shocked at the outburst. Lavi let the comment roll off of him, but remained silent through the rest of the ride. This left everyone with the time to reflect on their duties. Lavi, however, was contemplating his relationship with the newest member of the Order. He was not honing in on the woman yet, it would be best to see how she handles herself on this assignment first. The hammer exorcist had also wanted to see Kanda's reaction to Youko. Lavi's intuition had told him that the glum man was hiding a lot more than usual. His first assumption was that Kanda had gone soft-protecting the new innocent from his flirtatious ways-he would admit that. But... 'He's been hitting WAY harder than usual...' Lavi could still feel the stinging pain from his earlier bout with him. Was Kanda jealous? 'No way,' Lavi laughed it off in silence, but still kept a stern eye on the blue haired man while chatting up the woman and his mentor. They hopped onto the train-literally startling Youko at first. She found the story of how Allen handled his first 'train hopping' a lot funnier once she was seated inside of the train. Lavi settled before her, telling of the Finder that they would meet in Russia before retreating into this coy ways. In a polite way, she listened-not truly participating. Youko envied Kanda and his apparent ability to slumber through it all.
(Three days later)
Lavi limped down the snowy and iced road, leaning on Bookman and Youko for support as they traveled. The woman had shot him a warning about fiddling with Kanda's hair. Of course he did not listen, insisting on braiding it as he had done so many times. The other exorcist had found it very comical that a sleeping Kanda was being treated as some sort of doll, and her laughter had roused him awake. Technically Lavi's injuries were her own fault-she should have giggled softer in the small train compartment. Kanda sauntered on in hopes of seeing the hotel soon as his back was quite stiff from sleeping in the sitting position-on and off-for three days. Youko was also feeling the fatigue and prayed for some legit rest before battle.
"Youko-chan~… What's the name of your weapon?" Lavi asked, suddenly recovering from his damaged state and flipping his own weapon around his finger.
"Kyuuten Teishi," she replied, remembering what Komui had named it during her Hevlaska interrogation.
"Heaven's Apprentice… I hope it meets the Order's standards," Kanda spoke for the first time since they left the train station; his comment had actually stunned the red-head, as it had been the nicest backhanded comment he had heard from him.
Youko had blushed at the tone of his voice. It was smooth yet stern and she wondered why she felt warm at the sound of it.
"Are you alright? You're not getting a cold are you?" Lavi asked while placing a hand to her forehead.
"We're almost at the town. You should sleep-I believe we all need to," Kanda commented after smacking away Lavi's hand harshly.
Youko began to walk a bit faster with her heart set on seeing the tall intricate buildings in the Russian town. In the background, the swordsman and bookman shot nasty looks across the road to each other. After a few moments Kanda inadvertently admitted defeat with a casual click of the tongue. Lavi felt successful and his eyes shifted forward, but then a hard pound at the back of his skull made them close in pain. Kanda's fist was stationary in the air while his comrade fell face first into the snow and dirt. While he was inhaling dust and ice, Lavi noticed how the Japanese man quickened his pace to reach Youko, then slowed so that he would not overtake her. This was odd, as Kanda never waited for anyone-he merely kept his own rhythm and let others be left behind. 'Ooooooo~ Don't tell me big macho guy has the hots for-"
"It's about time! I think I'm going to collapse," she exclaimed after seeing the town on top of a snowy hill in the distance.
This supposedly 'bustling city' was almost abandoned as they entered the gates. There were no children playing in the snow, all of the doors were shut, and the curtains covered the windows. Bookman was darting his eyes from door to door trying to see if anyone would make an attempt to see who the newcomers were. The lack of such evidence meant that the townspeople were frightened. Youko shivered under her coat but she blamed it on the emptiness of atmosphere than the sheer cold. She swore she saw ghosts coming through brick walls and imagined them watching her sleep from the dark corners of her room. The woman huddled deeper into her coat, Kanda noticing the shake in her body and grasping her elbow to drag her into the local inn. The Finder met them in the small lobby, which held a more 'family room' feel than an actual business lobby.
"I'm fine Kanda. Geez! Are you trying to dislocate my shoulder?"
"You must be Youko-san. I'm Maosa," the Finder introduced himself, a bit shocked as the woman raised her hand to take his own.
"It's nice to meet you, Maosa-san," her handshake was light and friendly-which he enjoyed much more than Kanda's dismissal.
"I've already set up you're rooms, I'm afraid that only two are available. A bad storm that came through about a week ago has damaged some of the electricity," Maosa explained, it was a very small inn which was family run-they only had four rooms in a normal circumstance.
"Where will you be staying?" Youko asked, knowing that only two people can stay per room-the beds were not large enough to hold one sleeping man-let alone two!
"The owners have offered to let me stay in the lobby-"
"That's ridiculous! I'll stay down here, you can bunk with one of the boys."
"Let him be. It's his job," Kanda's harsh tone made the woman feel even colder.
"I don't think that will be such a good idea, Miss Shirogane. It is safer if you are thoroughly protected and able to prepare yourself in case of emergencies," she had noticed that the man had started to obtain an accent as he spoke-possibly Chinese.
Before she could argue, Lavi was ushering her up the staircase and towards a numbered room. A golden '3' was painted onto a red door, and it was pushed open with a rush of air meeting her in the face. Bookman maneuvered around her in the doorway, settling onto the windowsill. Lavi also entered, choosing to take the chair across from Kanda's bed. She had assumed a similar position on the remained mattress, switching her focus from person to person. She suddenly yawned, remebering now sleepy the trip had made her. Bookman immediately recommended sleep, questioning who should stay in the current room.
"Bookman can stay with me and you and Kanda can go to the other room," she pondered aloud, speaking mainly to Lavi.
"I wouldn't leave those two alone if I were you, Youko. We don't want a bloodbath," Bookman said while standing, grasping Lavi by the ear and tugging him towards the hallway.
"Then I suppose you two should go to sleep now. We'll take turns scouting after dark," Youko spoke, holding the door open for the two bookmen.
They left, the red-head rather unwillingly, and Youko turned around to face the harsh light of the window. The snow on the rooftops gave the sun an even brighter effect and her tired eyes couldn't stand it much further. Kanda began to settle on the bed closest to the curtains, and the woman clicked her tongue in annoyance. 'I guess he's not very courteous,' she thought while tugging the fabric together. Finally in the dark, Youko made her way to the other mattress. Still aggravated at her partner, she swatted his crossed boots as she went by. The woman was far more proud than she should have been when he half toppled off of the covers.
"Restless sleeper?"
"Ch,"
"Child," she jabbed, not caring of hypocrisy.
"Hmph..." Kanda rudely attempted to ignore her, slouching harshly back onto the bed.
"You should really get some sleep-wouldn't want you to be drained by the time your scouting shift comes around."
There were no words to reply, so they each turned their backs on each other and hoped for some rest. Their wishes were granted for about three hours before Youko felt a small flit against her nose. The woman had first brushed it off, swiping her hand back and forth to relief herself of some sort of itch. It returned moments later. As she shot upwards with a glare the woman heard a sort of whirring above her. A large black blob rested on her headboard. Upon closer inspection that small monster had a swishing tail and bat wings. The exorcist shrieked for her life and hopped to the other side of the room with clenched fists. Kanda, who had been dozing here and there, was also disturbed and drew his weapon effortlessly.
The mysterious black mass floated from the bed with a loud flapping noise. Kanda then proceeded to roll his eyes and sheath his sword. An effortless 'ch' left his throat and the young woman across the room glared. The mass then flew towards the window, where the setting sunlight reflected off of the being. The bat-like wings drew upwards and the sphere glided to Youko. She pressed up against the wall at the action and eventually became more at ease with the mechanism.
"O-oh. R-right-it's a golem right?" she felt a bit ridiculous at her stutter.
"Likes you. That's odd, he usually doesn't show affection," he told her, checking to make sure his sword was in its correct place by his side before settling into the sheets again.
There was a sudden buzzing noise from the golem. It automatically flitted to it's owner and awaited a stern command. Kanda's gruff tone demanded for the golem to answer the call from headquarters; Komui must have wanted to know if they had arrived at the inn in one piece. The swordsman shifted to one side of the bed in a silent signal for her to join in on the call. Normally exorcists don't receive their own mechanical henchman until about a month into the job-they needed to make sure they would live long enough. Youko sunk into the mattress and watched the small screen for a few moments. All she heard was a few loud bangs and clashes while peering into Komui's office-or maybe it was the library. Books lined the back wall and there was no real indication of a cluttered mess. 'Most likely the library.'
Komui suddenly popped up on the golem. His hat was a bit askew and dirt was smudged all over his cheeks and forehead.
"I trust that you all arrived safely?" Kanda nodded to his superior with a small 'Nn'.
"Good to hear. Have you spoken to Maosa?" this time Youko responded, a bit more vocal than her partner.
"Yes, but we haven't spoken of the mission yet. We were all pretty tired from the train."
"No matter, then. I just wanted to know if Youko was alright, really," Komui replied in all honesty.
"Why? Didn't think I could handle three days stuck in a small cabin with these men?" Youko thumbed towards the blue-haired man with a smug smile on her lips.
"Oh, no. I had full confidence that you'd survive that. I just didn't know if you'd be targeted by the akuma yet."
"Why would I be specifically targeted?" worry began to show in her voice, and she hoped that Kanda was too focused on his boss to notice it.
"Women of the village have been disappearing at a more rapid rate than men. About 90% of those who have disappeared are women, actually."
"Um, yes. That would have been very useful information to have before we arrived in Russia." Youko hissed in irritation, now having a sudden gut feeling that danger was upon her.
He did not reply. Instead he gave a sheepish smile and waved to the exorcists before logging off of his own golem. The screen blipped and the two stared into a blackened reflection. Youko was quite insulted by his lack of response, but Kanda seemed at ease.
"He's probably reporting to Lavi and Bookman now," it still did not lessen her anger.
As natural as demon hunting was to the woman, it didn't mean it was always easy. But an akuma showing a preference in victimology? Usually they are merely meant to cause destruction in any way possible and hopefully create more despair-therefore creating more akuma. This specific killing spree must be personal for the akuma.
"This might be a more advanced akuma then. I mean, it just seems as if there is something personal about the disappearances. A newly formed demon couldn't think this sophisticated," the two bookman had entered their room without consent, not that Youko minded the intellectual company.
"You're right-so this means that you never get to leave our sights. Right, Youko-chan~?" Lavi sang while pacing in closer to the woman.
He winked and the unceremoniously plopped into a chair just across the way. Bookman held himself with far more grace by seating himself on the edge of her bed. Kanda, who had once been laying quietly in his sheets, sat upright with haste while glaring at the younger bookman. Youko had pegged his reaction for his noisy entrance into the room.
"Oh, please. I can take care of myself... after dark that is," she sighed a bit and pulled the curtains back a smidgen.
An awkward silence met the room, and Lavi made a questioning noise while contorting his body to see her fully. Kanda's mind was also filled with wonder for a brief moment before he asked.
"And why is that?" this was far too inconvenient for his liking.
"My innocence is weakened by the sunlight and at its most powerful after nightfall. So it's a very good thing that akuma are primarily nocturnal," she shrugged while watching as the sun finally dipped beyond the snowy mountains.
"I believe that changes nothing," Bookman's comment fell onto deaf ears as Youko sauntered towards the door.
"Now that it's sundown, I'm going to patrol. I'll be back in a few hours," she opened the door and greeted Maosa, also telling him to stay behind and rest from the cold.
The inn's door slammed behind her and the cool evening air pushed against her face. No one was seen flitting about in the streets-as they had all probably been terrified of the disappearances. Youko marched onwards without care, glancing back at the window of the hotel to see Lavi and Kanda having what looked to be a serious chat. Hanging a left, she continued down the path and made various twists and turns before seeing a few street lights lit up. Oddly enough, someone had mustered up the courage to leave his home to light them for the night. Because of the lack of humans about, the young exorcist felt safe to say that anyone she saw bustling about outdoors would be the monster. 'But it just seems too obvious... I think this thing's way smarter than what we're giving it credit for,' she thought, trudging through a snow drift to find the sidewalk. An alleyway on her right needed little inspection, as she only saw a few tipped over garbage pales and a cat rummaging for dinner. It caught her eyes for a moment, and the bright yellow slits struck fear into her bones-but all cats tended to do that to her.
"~It's not nice to walk away~" the voice sang from somewhere behind her.
It was most definitely not human. Youko spun quickly to meet her enemy, but faced nothing. The wind blew loose snow across the road, and it swirled daintily through the air. The lone black cat from the alley popped it's head out from the hiding place-it was hard to make out in the still fading light. The woman huffed in annoyance, but held her fighting stance as she turned back to her walk. Not a soul was in sight, and the only other thing out and about this night was 'The cat!' Youko pivoted again, watching with anger as the feline stood on hind legs and morphed, grew, and contorted in impossible ways. As she had suspected, a level two demon shred through the cat fur. Her initial shock was amateur and the air whooshed from her lungs as a large clawed hand flung her to the nearest building. She had an eye full of her enemy. Tall and lanky, with silver skin and two sharp claws her hand, moving like scissors. The head was oval with a hollow circle punched through the right cheek, and three blue stripes reached from the hole, down its chest, and ending on the right thigh. She didn't get any farther than that, as the scissors pinned her down and the other pair of razors started towards her neck. In a vain attempt to activate her innocence, Youko's arms tried to warp around the blades and graze her necklace. She knew it would be basically pointless anyhow. With five minutes left until complete nightfall, the exorcist had never felt this helpless. The akuma dropped his weapon suddenly, opted to opening his sharpened mouth and let a light blue streak shoot out at her. The noise resembled roaring rapids and she knew that the water would slash through her body like the blades on his hands. The brunette was still reaching for her weapon with eyes shut tightly and a scream that shocked even her.
"Kanda!"
(Inn)
It had been fifteen minutes after the girl had left, and Kanda had been pacing for ten of them. He had actually shoved the red-head out of his way a few times to draw the curtains back and check for her presence. Angered at the sight of the sun's rays still protruding over the mountain tops, the swordsman slammed the curtains together, almost drawing them completely to the middle with setting sun rays climbing through the windowpane. Lavi, who was attempting to read a book on Kanda's bed, huffed at his partner's unfocused state. The soft thuds of the Japanese man's boots halted when the training bookman held out his innocence to stop him in his tracks.
"Dear Lord! Just go after her already-I never would have thought you were such a romantic worrier," he grinned stupidly at the man before being punched harshly in the jaw.
"What are you talking about?" Kanda hissed, drawing his fist back with smoke emanating from it.
"I'm talking about you being in love! Hopelessly so. Just make sure she's alright if you're this worried," Lavi flipped his hand towards the door, scrambling up from the sheets as he did so.
Bookman held the door open, Kanda ignoring the short man and ordering Maosa to follow him. He was not in love with that woman-not in the least. He barley knew her! And not to mention she was almost just as childish as Lavi-in public anyway. Her entire 'secret hatred' was not exactly something that he trusted. Yet Youko had trusted him enough to show him that truth. Or was it truth? Maosa's walk was brisk to keep up with the heated exorcist, and he brought up his scarf a bit higher on his face. Kanda was tracking by this point, leaving his conflicting feelings aside to focus on his current purpose. He couldn't just let her be killed because of her own stupidity-he had a soft spot for all new-comers; as shown a bit with Allen on their first mission. The only footprints he had seen were tiny. 'She is petite...' he had thought back onto his first meeting with the girl, him being about six feet tall and her no more than five and a half, if he'd guess. These prints could surely have been hers, and she wasn't running it seemed-just leisurely strolling. He had remembered her run as well, just a few days ago at the party. Youko was clearly a physically fit woman. 'She can take care of herself.' 'I can take care of myself.' Kanda was turning to tell the Finder to return to the inn, that their haste was not necessary, but a scream stopped his voice.
"Kanda!"
"Shit!" Mugen was being pulled from its sheath in seconds as the two Order members rushed towards the noise.
Youko was waiting for the crushing force of water to slash her body open. There was a feeling of droplets stinging her face, nothing like what she had expected. Her eyes had shut with her scream and they crept open to see the back of one of her comrades. Her glasses were askew on her nose and when her hands were freed from their pointy prison, she repositioned them. Kanda had taken the blow and was glaring at her over his shoulder.
"Are you alright?" he asked, stunning her for a moment.
"Y-yeah," she moved from between the wall and her savior, turning to watch the moon breach the horizon and darkened shadows creeping over the buildings to consume them.
"About damn time. Kyuuten Teishi!" Youko yelled as her finger grazed the jewel on her choker.
White fog surrounded her fingers and Kanda could make out the form of a tall staff appearing. Her hand dragged downwards to the ground and an ebony rod appeared in its wake. The wood was so much taller than her, about his own height, and it separated at the top, wood twisting and braiding around a small glow. Kanda had figured it being the jewel on her necklace. The bright light temporarily blinded the akuma for a moment, giving the swordsman a chance to slip from his radius. Youko watched as Kanda moved away, his limp blatantly obvious. The woman glared at the enemy and lifted her staff to proceed with her work.
"Kami no Senshi!" (Warrior of God)
The wooden staff was brought down heavily and collided with the ground. White dust swooshed from underneath it and encircled the woman and her comrades, Maosa attempted to step out of its reach-to no avail. This part of her technique was harmless as it was only to maximize her attack range when needed. White crystals began to form yards ahead of Kanda, and he watched on as they stacked upon one another in seconds. A traditional soldier rose before him, sparking and shining like stars. This new weapon wasted little time in executing his attack. The swordsman watched on as the giant thing collided with the akuma, fists clenched and pounding into the stomach. It had to have been about eighteen feet tall with a flanged mace on the right hip and a claymore on the other. His armor shined as brightly as the rest of him and the Japanese man shielded his own eyes for a moment to find his partner. Maosa's voice sounded in the mist.
"Sir Kanda!" he had turned just in time to watch a myriad of bullets hurtle towards him from a level one akuma.
A large hammer blocked their path and switched trajectories to bash the demon towards the clouds. Lavi smiled from behind the man.
"Get your head out of the clouds Kanda!"
Said man huffed angrily before returning to his original duty of killing akuma. Youko's warrior was busy pushing against the torrent of water that the level two akuma produced. It pushed the flood back, quickly grasping the mace and dragging it across the enemy. The area of impact shown through the night and the stars reflected off of the woman's glasses. The war that boomed behind her made a majority of the glowing dust flow back towards her. She hissed in annoyance, as her range of attack was now dwindled in half. The level two demon retaliated by swiping the starry fighter across the chest plating with his razors. Youko winced, her chest feeling as if it partially collapsed on itself. She pushed through and brought the staff across her body and twirled it around her hand. THe warrior quickly changed weapons, bringing the claymore up and through the demon's skull. Kanda's Netherworld Insects made quick work of the remaining akuma, who had started popping up and out of the ground like daisies. Lavi had held his own while Bookman and Maosa warned the exorcists of oncoming weapons or dangers. Youko had caught glimpses of his battle from her peripheral vision-thoroughly impressed, she was.
"Is that all?" the woman asked after dissipating her weapon.
"Yeah, I think so. It's a good thing we came when we did. What was with you Kanda?"
He fumed for a moment, before turning sharply and beginning the trek back to the inn. As he pivoted, however, his earlier bumps and bruises began to surface and Kanda swayed. The world around him blurred and the group seemed to rise up to meet him. Youko, who had noticed the way he limped away from the first water attack, watched him stumble and managed to catch him before colliding with the ground.
"Ah, damn it! Lavi-help me!" she barked, and it was the last thing that Kanda had heard before blackness.
(Four hours later)
He woke up not being able to distinguish the shapes beside him. There were no sounds in the darkness, except for a soft breathing across the way. Youko's hair fell over her shoulders and her glasses slid down and off of her face while she snoozed. The clang of her eyeglasses on the ground woke her and her eyes shot open from fear. The battle had made her a little on edge, and her own injuries made her paranoid. The easiest-and cheapest-way to kill an enemy was when they are injured, and she knew that from experience. Kanda had heard the commotion and shot up from his own terror familiarity. Youko saw and immediately whipped out her weapon, successfully smacking him on the head-right between the eyes. A thin but rough had reached up to sooth the spot and shield from any further attack. Her commonsense caught up with her and the woman automatically held her hands up in defense. That soon faded when her motherly side caught up with her.
"Go back to sleep. You need the rest."
"Ch" he responded stubbornly by pushing the sheets off of his body.
She huffed and hit him again as she sat on the bed parallel to his. Kanda pushed the stick away and continued to unravel himself. This was extremely difficult when he realized that the covers were wrapped around his body like a tight cocoon. 'God, was the plan for me to emerge like a butterfly?' There was a small giggle from the female exorcist as she watched the struggle.
"You can thank Bookman for this. He knew you'd want to hop out in a hurry."
"Ch" he finally succeeded in freeing himself, and swayed his legs over the side to sit up.
Youko shot over to stop him from moving any further. His head was banged around pretty good on his first hit, and not to mention the bruises he managed to acquire from dodging akuma bullets. The last thing he needed to do right now was move around. 'Macho man' ideals aside, she did not want to have to explain his fatigue to headquarters if he came back worse for wear. Kanda, stubborn as he was, shoved her aside with great force and sent her toppling backwards onto her own mattress. She puffed up from anger and he thought that her long hair trembled a little as she rose up from the bed.
"I noticed that our powers are complete opposites. So if you piss me off I swear-swear-that I will give you a fight you won't soon forget. Yu," she was close to his face when she hissed his name, their noses basically poking one another.
Youko had thought that the battle was over as he, as per usual, said nothing and she retracted from her stance. The woman had pulled away so fast that her hair whipped towards him for a moment and Kanda caught the smell in his nose. 'Lemons,' he thought and he tried to deny the knowledge that his eyes rolled into the back of his head for a moment. The fact that she uttered his first name was not forgotten; if anything it stuck in his mind as an afterthought. The way her black hair swayed, and dark blue eyes squinted behind the dark frames, and how her lips moved effortlessly in that sly smirk. The swordsman had figured that he would give her this round, and settled back onto the bed while still providing a miffed aura. Youko returned to her business-checking behind the curtains to see if Lavi, Bookman, and Maosa had retrieved any innocence. So far they had discovered that the townspeople were not cowering in fear, they were already transformed into akuma. It was odd that there was only one advanced leveled demon in their midst. But Youko didn't question it too much, she was only grateful that it was over. Lavi had deduced that the innocence-if there was one-was more than likely hidden in an obscure place as the akuma had obviously not found it yet. They generally don't stick around if their job is done; their leader would have moved them on to a different location. The bright moonlight fell into their room and Kanda actually shielded his eyes from it. His head began to thump heavily and eyes burnt from behind his closed eyelids. He had hoped she didn't see it.
"Interesting innocence. But why do you call it the opposite of Mugen?" Kanda had asked through his pain, successfully hiding it from Youko.
"Your 'Netherworld Insects'? Was that right? I saw them during the fight. Your innocence has 'Hell' properties, mine has 'Heavenly'-at least that's how I take it," he saw how her fingers brushed against the fabric of her necklace and how her dark eyes flicked to his own weapon on the chair.
That would not do. Mugen was more of a safety net when not in combat. Being a room length away was nerve wracking and Kanda wasn't one to suffer like that. When she finally turned her back to him, the man made his move. Only it wasn't fast enough. Youko saw the movement out of the corner of her eye and whipped around to stop him-she jumped across her own bed and slapped her palms onto his chest. Surprised by her strength-though it was probably from how she propelled her body-Kanda slumped back against the mattress. His dark eyes dragged down to where their bodies met and he saw the bandages around his chest and under her fingers. It was then that he became more aggravated-he was a fast healer and the use of medical equipment on him was a waste. Kanda struggled again.
"You're pissing me off Yu!"
"Let me move," he argued in a far more calm manner.
"You shouldn't be moving, you should be resting!"
"I don't need rest!"
"Shut the hell up and lay back!"
Their heads had gotten so close together in the heated moment that neither could establish who bent forward first. Both were surprised when lips pressed together furiously and lingered on one another until breath was required. Youko had embarrassingly looked away, while Kanda stared with wide eyes into the darkened room. She swallowed around an invisible lump in her throat and quietly excused herself. He heard the sound of the door handle being pushed hurriedly, and the loud slam of it as she exited the room. Then-silence. He could make out his own harsh breaths and a harmonious 'thump, thumpthump,' pounding in his ears throughout the room. The woman had fought the urge to slide down the door in the hall in fear of his heightened senses catching it. So she continued her way down the stairs and towards the front desk where a paper calendar was hanging near the reception desk. It was in the dark hours of May the sixth and she was one day closer to her deadline. Three hundred and sixty one days left
'What the hell am I going to do?'
But that kiss had made a small beam of hope shine within her-but she knew it was ridiculous. There would be no way that he would help her meet the deadline-it was plausible 'What was I thinking? Kanda wouldn't… he would never… right?'
(Eight hours later)
Kanda's golem fluttered about Youko's head, causing her to smack it away out of irritation. Word had traveled fast that the dangers of the town had been vanquished and a few vendors and families returned to the village almost overnight. The group of five were heading back to the train station miles away-opting to walk instead of bother a small shop owner for a ride. Maosa had been quiet for the morning, which Youko appreciated-but Lavi... He had showered her with compliments since he arrived back at the inn with the innocence. (They had found it in an old book store just a few streets away from the battle site. It had been abandoned for ages and the innocence had been concealed within a biology book).
"All that power and one little diamond! I mean-"
"Holy shit-stop! You've been talking about it since breakfast this morning!" Youko interrupted the red-head, her fist pounding into the front of his face from anger.
"Diamonds for the lady?" the question had stopped the group in their tracks, and they all looked down to see an old man holding up a small chain with a few diamonds sprinkled around it.
"No thanks. I can't pull off diamonds," Youko brushed it off with full politeness and continued down the path in silence.
The men were left to pick up their jaws which had simultaneously dropped to the snowy ground. Kanda had recovered the fastest, and made his way to catch up with the lady. Nothing was ever said about the interaction in the confines of their room-and as far as he was concerned it would never be uttered aloud. He had noticed her tense when he overtook her pace and it took all of his strength not to look upon her with soft eyes and speak his true feelings. He in no way wanted to make her feel uncomfortable, they would be partners from now on and her ability to work with him would mean life or death for the two. It had to be strictly professional-but he would be damned if he didn't want that kiss to happen again. But he knew that it would never be allowed...