Countdown

Chapter Five

'Damn it, this is harder than I thought it would be,' Youko groaned to herself as they arrived at in the small inn just on the outskirts of town. It had been a six day travel and both of them were extremely tired. During the trip, Kanda wouldn't let Youko within five feet within another man on the train. He even looked as if he was going to bite the head off of the conductor… 'Poor guy…' When she left his sight, his golem would follow Youko around until she came back to her seat. But she couldn't stay mad at the contraption forever; it was too cute. She glared at him every time they made eye contact, hoping to get her point across. Kanda helped her off of the train and walked beside her through the station until they arrived at the inn. And Youko had to say it was almost suffocating in a way. She slammed her bag onto the bed closest to the window and pet the wings of his golem that had taken its rightful place on her head.

"What was wrong with you today? You seem different," she said to Kanda as he closed the door.

He said nothing. The only thing that didn't seem normal was his posture. His head was hung down from its normal confident state and his hand was still on the door knob. His golem fluttered its wings and a soft buzzing noise could be heard in the room. An annoyed groan came from Kanda's direction as Youko stood and walked over to the ringing golem. Komui had terrible timing. Kanda was about to ask her what she was talking about that night six days ago. What she asked made him paranoid and that had been the reason for his actions. She said that she would go to the Asian Branch to fulfill her goal and that would mean what? Finding a husband? Not on his watch.

"How is your stay so far?" the scientist asked.

"You mean the entire two minutes? It's been bearable," Youko grumbled.

Kanda twitched at the statement. 'What is that supposed to mean?' he asked, fist clenching. After a few minutes of conversation between the two Kanda was already fed up with it. His palpable cough made her head turn quickly in his direction; a smirk evident on her façade. Komui broke in again with his usual high pitched sing-song tone. Youko would admit he did have terrible timing. The hopes of her trying to explain herself were shattered as soon as the cute creature started buzzing. The two had barely spoken to each other since she practically blurted out what she had to do. She didn't want to marry; she really didn't, at least not yet. There was too much energy inside of her, too any akuma to be destroyed, but far too little time for her to get out of this hell hole that she had dug for herself. The golem flipped onto the bed, probably still trying to recover from the voice of Komui running through his ears. She barely heard what he said, something about finders. 'Probably already on the way,' she smirked.

"Are you ready?" his deep tone seemed to carry.

"I guess we should get a view of the town before they come out."

"You sound like you don't even wish to be here," he commented, hearing the heavy sigh from across the room.

'Spend all day with a man who didn't even give me one foot of breathing room…? OR spend a day walking around shops and meeting other people…? Hard choice.'

"I just come to get the job done, so let's go," she said walking to the door.

Should he stop her? Let her go? Why should he? 'Because I don't control her…' But he did wish to at least be with her. And staying with her all day in a cramped hotel room would probably make her hate him more than what she appeared to. He held the door open and noticed that she was giving him a side stare. It wasn't like he never held the door open before, it was the attitude he did it in. Usually he seemed emotionless, uncaring, but now he looked as if he was happy? Maybe? Oh God she wished he hadn't seen that stare because as soon as her foot left the threshold the door shut and his chest was pressed to her back. So there they were standing in the hallway in a position that-was very nerve-wracking for Youko-but Kanda didn't seem to show any tenseness. 'Damn him…' she hissed. Taking a giant step toward the front desk, she glanced back at him, again, being noticed. He smirked at the pinkish hue on her cheeks but she just scoffed and continued on her way.

"Don't get cocky. I feel like… 'I need to catch my breath'...I have a fever."

And with that being said they left to scope out the town. Usually textbook missions would be like that. Scout through the town, look for those who appeared suspicious, defeat the akuma, and go home. Four simple steps that Youko… just didn't want to follow. Once she was out of the building a quaint looking store was calling her name. Kanda didn't even notice that she was heading towards it until he heard her boots walking in the other direction. He was about to speak but bit his tongue knowing that she would do whatever she felt like doing. So the small brick building's door opened with a chime and a young man standing behind the counter looked toward his new costumers. The first one he saw was the young woman who seemed intrigued by the small trinkets in the window, and then there was the man who looked as if he had better things to do. Youko pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose again, glancing at a few bracelets on a counter.

"Can I help you?" he asked, mostly to the female.

"I think I'll buy this for Lenalee," she held up a think silver circlet.

He nodded and went to the register with her following. Kanda stayed near the door, fully ready to leave at any moment. She set the ring onto the wood and reached in her pocket and placed money on the table. Once the man noticed that Kanda wasn't watching he decided to make a conversation, fiddling with the paper bag like he was having trouble with it.

"So is this for a friend, sister… daughter?" he asked, hesitant with the last word.

He had to admit, the man seemed very protective and she looked almost old enough to marry. 'It's a possibility,' he thought to himself.

"A friend. That sounded like you were calling me old, but you seem like a nice man so I'll let it slide," she giggled.

"Well I didn't know if you and your boyfriend were-"

"He's not my boyfriend," she corrected.

With that he felt a little more comfortable. Youko did whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. And Kanda had no say in it what-so-ever. 'I'm running out of time anyway. Might as well try it again,' she inwardly sighed. A decent looking man with a decent job and probably a decent lifestyle all around. But that was the problem, she didn't want decent. She wanted-no-needed someone like her. Someone who did whatever they wanted, did what they loved without any embarrassment, and was spontaneous. But she would settle for anything at this moment. It was better than going to see her family-God that would be the death of her. Kanda heard the giggles, like he did every time she laughed. He walked over to the counter and nudged her in the arm. She jumped at his touch and looked at the cashier.

"I will see you around I hope Mr.…?"

"Aoi. Aoi Torasuto. I was hoping to see you tonight actually. If your partner doesn't mind," he glanced over at the protective male.

"How about at eight thirty, I'll come by?" she proposed completely ignoring Kanda's silent 'no'.

"It's a date then," Aoi smiled.

'Date?' Kanda thought. It was like that word played over and over in his head. Youko grabbed his arm and rushed toward the door. She had to get him out of there before he dropped dead from lack of oxygen. She saw his eyes widen the moment Aoi finished his sentence. Truth be told, she wanted to do the same thing. A date? It had been so long since she heard those words directed to her. She had given up most of her hope finding a husband about three years ago so when it came to men she was a complete blank slate. Out of her peripheral vision, she saw Kanda walking off so Youko hurried to join him. But after about five minutes he was still silent. 'Hm… I thought that he would nag at me for going on a date on a mission…' she said to herself a little depressed that he didn't look the very least bit upset. Kanda looked up at the large clock tower in the town square. He only had three hours with her alone until she had to meet Aoi, or as he would have liked to call him 'Ass-hole Aoi'. But the plan so far was to scope out the small city and they were already doing that. Youko was clutching her brown bag in her right hand and she was staring into a crowd of townsfolk. Young women eyed her because of her choice of clothing. A dark cloak in June did sound a little impractical.

"I hope one of them is the akuma…That way I can kill them without any guilt," she grumbled, tired of hearing small whispers from the different crowds of women.

"I don't think that was such a good idea," Kanda blurted out completely ignoring her last comment.

'AH-HA!' "What are you talking about?" she asked but was fighting back the largest grin ever known to man.

"Going out with that man tonight, you could put him in danger," he stated.

"I think I can handle myself and my date," she breathed out the last word as if it pained her.

Kanda caught the gesture and cocked a brow. This was what he wanted to hear. She didn't like the idea at all so she could still back out of it. But he knew that she was far too stubborn to back out of anything and that was what probably got her into this mess in the first place. He was determined to find out what the hell she was talking about a week ago and he had a feeling that she was fearing the results if she didn't 'marry'. He hated that word when it implied to her. Youko definitely wasn't the marrying type. And to be blunt, no one was really her type either. The clock now read five thirty and Kanda had wondered where the thirty minutes had gone. It was almost like they hadn't even moved from there spot in the middle of the square. 'And where did all the people go?' he asked himself, noticing that the once crowded streets were bare. Youko had taken notice too because she had stopped dead in her tracks and was frantically searching the windows of buildings for any life. 'It's a little early for them to attack,' she reassured herself. A thick fog seemed to envelope them and Kanda was searching frantically for his partner. He held his hands out and was hoping to find something in the haze. His hands rested on dark material and he moved his hands closer together and found that he was holding somebody's shoulders.

"Whoever the hell you are, it would be best if you removed your hands from my person or I will snap them off at the wrists," Youko snapped.

"I'd like to see you try," Kanda scoffed.

"Are you saying I couldn't? Where did everyone go?" she questioned.

"Yes and I have no idea," he replied, secretly liking the two conversation responses they were sharing.

Suddenly a large fist hit Kanda in the back and sent both of the exorcists flying forward. A wall 'broke' Youko's fall and the ground in front of her helped Kanda in the slightest way. His vision was still corrupted by the thick covering of clouds. The only thing that could be seen was a dark outline of a giant blob looking creature. Youko groaned out in pain because her head hit the bricks with great force. She was starting to get dizzy but managed to hold up until the fog dispersed, showing the busy streets of the town once again. Both pairs of eyes widened in shock as they took in the scene. Weren't the people gone? They had disappeared while they were walking to the clock tower…. didn't they? Kanda pulled himself up and searched frantically for…whatever hit them. It seemed rather large to be a person so that only meant one thing, akuma. So far this mission was going perfectly! Youko was having trouble standing, Kanda was brushing himself off, and all of the people in town seem to vanish in thin air… Normal in Kanda's case, but it was rather odd that he couldn't take it down the first time he saw it. Youko's head started spinning and she lost her balance. Luckily she had enough consciousness to stumble backwards instead of on her face. The last thing she saw was Kanda's figure rushing over to her.

Youko had been asleep for two hours, and he was starting to get worried. The brown paper bag that carried Lenalee's present was setting on the dresser and Kanda couldn't help but glare at it. There was some tiny spot in his mind that didn't want Youko to wake up within the last hour. He had it down to seconds. Fifty eight minutes forty five seconds; rather ironic don't you think? Him counting the moments until she would be free and her, the moments until as life-as she knew it-would be demolished. Not much happened for seven minutes…. Thirteen seconds, but who's counting? She stirred under the sheets and felt a hand over hers, which sent her flying upwards and searching for some kind of weapon. His other hand grabbed her shoulder and pushed her back onto the pillows. She calmed at the sight of his face, which surprised her actually. Of course she struggled to get back up, deciding to give him the same trouble he gave her back in Russia…. Damn, there it was again. 'I just had to remember that didn't I?' she scolded herself.

"Go to sleep. You need rest," he commanded.

"Ha! Where have I heard that before?"

He scowled at that. She wasn't helping him at the moment. Russia still replayed in his head over and over whenever he saw her. Kanda stated that it was his fault since he did lean in first. 'She has to take some credit too,' he told himself, succeeding in making himself feel better about the situation. Even if it was only for about one second, she did kiss him back. But if you told her that she would have said that she pushed away as soon as it happened. She sat back up and dashed to the window before he could stop her. How she loved being stealthy! The curtains flung back showing the sun starting to disappear over the horizon. And with only forty five minutes before her 'date', she had just enough time to get there. She took a deep breath and skipped to the door. Kanda stared at her getting a small twitch in his left eye. Would he let her go on this 'date' that even he could see he didn't want to go to? Youko reached out to the coat rack near the door and snatched her cloak. Everything would go normally, well as normally as an evening with an exorcist could be. It was starting to get dark and she knew that her innocence would be at full power by the time she arrived. The doorknob clicked and she pulled it open but felt a little uneasy doing so. She strolled out and turned to the door giving a small smile to Kanda-that actually went unnoticed this time. After he was sure she was gone, Kanda rushed to the window and waited for her to emerge in the streets. 'I'll follow in about five minutes….. Maybe two.'

"Sorry. Am I late?" the young woman asked Aoi as she approached him.

"You did say eight, correct?" she asked another question.

"I closed early. And you are right on time, you seem to be the type to be overly punctual," he chuckled.

That was true even if she hated that about herself. She was never late for anything and always in the room the exact moment asked. Lavi had asked her to meet him in the library at two o'clock one evening to help him look for a few books for old man panda. She waited outside of the open doors with the red head leaning out the doors staring at her until the second hand clicked onto the twelve. Youko walked in and greeted him like she hadn't seen him all day but he had been trying to get her to walk through those doors for about two minutes. Seeing how she handled this 'date' was going to be extremely interesting… at least to Kanda who was hiding in an alley way not too far from where the couple was standing. Truth be told, Kanda did think that Youko had overly compulsive disorder at times. Always perfect on timing, and whenever he would pass her room and sneaked a peak through her door (He's not a perv for those wondering what he was doing) everything would be spotless. That was only because she didn't have anything personal besides her clothes that were hidden in her dresser. But she disagreed, Youko was never a very tidy person because if you lived in the wilderness most of your life, would you be neat and clean twenty-four-seven…? Didn't think so… The two started walking and Aoi was talking about some sort of café or something. The following exorcist was too busy watching the man's body language. Aoi's arm was wrapped with hers and the other shoved into his pants pocket. Youko was fiddling with the edge of her skirt with her free hand; something Kanda knew when she was uncomfortable. 'That's good,' he reassured. But all Youko was thinking was 'No-No-No-No- NO!' Aoi suddenly stopped and Youko jerked back slightly glaring back at him. No one was in the streets at this time and everything was quiet until a low growl was heard from Aoi's throat.

"Oh shit… You've got-to-be kidding me right?" she groaned, taking a few steps back so she could watch the transformation of the akuma, ready to strike.

Sure enough, Aoi did change from the blonde haired deep green eyed man to a bulky looking creature. Horns protruded his neck and dark green lines shot down the chest, turning into swirls at his abdomen. The light hue of purple tainted his skin and a wide toothy grin shot back at Youko's examining glare. 'Damn it! Out of all the descent men I choose a demon! Good going Youko, good going,' she stated to herself. The verbal irony shooting through her brain lasted until one of the horns from his neck shot a web like string at her. A quick jump to her left solved that problem and she reached up and claimed her staff. Hebi Za Tenkan (Serpent of the Milky Way) would be her best chance. The white dust swept before her and a large serpent stood in her wake, almost pleading for a command. The staff nudged toward the direction of the monster and almost instantly her creature was gone; slinking across the grounds so quickly nothing could be seen. Sparks flew as the glittering teeth of Youko's snake clashed with the twisted horns of the akuma. Of course this wasn't going to be easy because the repulsing creature threw Youko's powerful friend onto the ground. Kanda saw Youko flinch when it crashed to the ground. Kanda drew his sword and ran to her side but before he could attack, she stopped him; blocking the path with her arm and giving a pleading look. She was a little disappointed, because one; she knew he was following them. And two; he didn't think she could handle herself. Trust was important on missions but he was showing none at all. Newbie or not, she knew him better than that. Grabbing her weapon with both hands, her lips made a fine line as if concentrating on something. Kanda watched as a large swarm of stars clashed with the serpent, sucking it back into the crystal wrapped in ebony. Kanda heard her deep breathing and felt the ground shift under his feet, but it was barely noticeable to the monster because, well, most akuma are too stupid to know any better. The water dragon shot through the ground, but again its path of destruction was obscured by the monster. It went flying into the trees and hit a tree with an ear shattering smack. Youko fought against the urge to let out a blood curdling scream and grabbing her side. She couldn't loose and she wouldn't! Her Innocence glowed and sent the serpent through back of the akuma and he fell forward. But she wasn't done yet. A loud scream of pain could be heard as the end of her staff plunged in his stomach.

"I always pick the winners, don't I?" she chuckled as she finally let her tired conscious take her over.

Kanda caught her and noticed that she had some scrapes but she never was hit directly. 'The hell?'

It was about midnight when the female exorcist shot up from the covers and flinched at the sudden pain. She bit her lip as her hands went to her side and tried to feel for the damage. But it was wrapped up so she couldn't see anything. A dark silhouette sat on the other bed watching her and of course it could only be one man.

"Why are you up?" she asked, trying to avoid any replay point of Russia.

"Waiting to ask you some questions," he stated secretly wishing Russia would happen again.

"Ask away."

"I have three. One; Are you alright?"

"Yes," she chuckled. 'Why is he so predictable?'

"Two; why didn't you let me help you?"

"Because I knew I could handle it myself," she stated, feeling a little less humorous now.

"Last one then. What happened to you?" he asked moving closer to the bed.

"Unlike your Innocence or anyone else's for that matter, I don't rely on physical strength as much. Mental ability is much more useful for my powers. But that doesn't mean that I don't get hurt as much. My pain is both mental and physical while yours is only one of those. And I must say, it-freakin'-sucks!" she moaned.

Whenever Youko was hurt she would suffer from migraines for days on end plus all of the scratches and bruises. Her brain was what controlled her Innocence, not muscle. Sure that did help and she wasn't exactly a wimp either but if she didn't fully take control of her power through her mind, everything would crumble. That included the constellations, her staff, and her future plans. Which at that moment didn't sound so bad. Another wave of pain shot through her head and she hissed in pain. Kanda frowned and sat on the edge of her bed. She felt the shift and waved for him to fetch a damp washrag. When he came back she placed it over her eyes and sighed in relief as her head hit the pillows again. Kanda smirked and sat back down watching her.

"I can practically hear your smirk! My eyes are aching, so please-" but she was cut off when a slight pressure on her eyelids.

Kanda had lifted the cloth and kissed her closed eyes before placing the rag back. She was shocked but didn't move or say anything for the rest of the night. Oh yes, she was blushing and hoping that Kanda couldn't see that. But he was flushing too, so it didn't matter if she was. 'Could 'this' possibly work? No, no, of course not.' But she did have onlyone year, three months, and seventeen days-oh excuse me, it's two minutes past midnight- sixteen days left… Maybe things would work out in her favor.