Reckoning
Chapter 8
a third chance

"Akicho!" Tiedoll called. He beckoned me over and handed me a coat. "Here. This is the new uniform from the Order. This one is Kanda's, but he's currently washing up. Can you take this to him?"

I nodded, but asked, "Why me?"

The General shrugged sheepishly. "He's less likely to kill you."

Gulping, I took the neatly folded cloth and brought it down to the lake, where Kanda was. "Kanda?" He turned around and I noticed something. There was a tattoo on his chest. I gasped at the marking. It was the symbol that Emiko had carved into her wall, and it meant The Eternal in Hinduism, she told me. "You have a tattoo of 'The Eternal' on your chest… why that?"

He scoffed and grabbed the coat in my hands and snapped, "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

I narrowed my eyes and grabbed his hands, stopping him from pulling the coat over his tattoo. "Stop telling me it's nothing. I'm worried about you. You don't seem to care if you get hurt, and when you do, you always insist on moving forward. Take one step back and tell me what's wrong with you."

As Kanda moved my hands away, he replied, "It's got something to do with my past. I know you wouldn't understand." I pulled back his coat again to move a hand over his tattoo. "You really want to know, don't you?" I nodded, my head lowered. "I'm like you."

My head snapped up sharply. "What? You're…"

He smirked. "I'm not an Akuma. But I am dead."

-YU KANDA-

It was true. He died when he was nine years old, and, thanks to the Second Exorcist program, he was brought back by his Innocence. That tattoo of his was the measure of his life. Nine years before, he was dead, and was reborn with new abilities, like to heal excessively fast. True, it could've been considered a gift, but he considered being born again a curse. If he hadn't been born, then those bastards in the Order wouldn't have tortured him like that. Those procedures tore him apart, and killed him many times.

The only person who he really identified with was Alma Karma, his only "close friend" in the world. Alma was another Second Exorcist who, like Kanda, was brought back as well. He was the one who told Kanda that he'd been seeing an illusion of Fou, a warrior of the Asian branch.

But because of that, the Order decided that Kanda was of no more use, and should be killed, or "terminated" from the program. If only they had the chance to kill him, but that stupid Alma decided to save both of them. If only Alma didn't try to save him, then the CROW wouldn't have caught him.

Kanda only remembered blacking out after the guards caught Alma, but when he woke up, he met Bak Chan and Noise Marie.

Those two wanted to help him, but when the CROW came for him, too, nothing could stop them. He was to be killed for knowing what the Second Exorcist program was really about. That was a failure, since Kanda's memories of this one woman kept him alive. He didn't remember who she was, only that she was probably dead. All he knew was that those memories of her were what allowed him to synchronize with Mugen and summon it. He remembered using it to get himself free from his bindings and running away.

Kanda also remembered finding Marie hurt and healing him using his blood. The last thing he remembered was finding Alma with the help of Marie. But it wasn't Alma, in the truest sense of Alma. The Alma Karma that Kanda knew wouldn't hurt a fly, but the Alma Karma that Kanda found was psychotic. He'd killed all of the staff of the Asian Branch, and all of the CROW members with his own Innocence.

The pain he'd felt when Alma cut his arm off during the fight they had still stung when he though about it. Kanda still regretted slashing Alma, but he knew that if he hadn't, Marie would have died, too.

A hand in front of his face pulled Kanda out of his trance. He realized that he'd told the girl next to him everything that he'd just been thinking about. He knew that by the tears in your eyes. She looked at him with the sympathy he didn't want. But she also looked at him with an understanding that he desperately craved. No one ever understood his past. So why did an Akuma understand?

She looked away and put her feet in the water, kicking them around and splashing water up. She looked down and sighed. "Now I understand you, Kanda." He looked forward as well, his feet dangling in the water. "I get why you don't trust people with your past. No one understands the pain you've gone through, right?" He looked back to her. She had a faraway, dazed look in her eyes. "I can't say that I fully understand what happened to you, but I do know what it feels like to have a friend you trust betray you."

He hesitated, wondering to himself if he really wanted to know. Eventually, he just asked, "What happened to you?"

She looked at him, a small, sad smile written on her lips. "I was living with the only person who really understood me. Her name was Emiko, and she was making her living as a nurse." The wind blew some of her hair in her face, but she pushed it back in an attempt to tame it. "It turns out that she's was an Akuma from the beginning. When Allen found me in that village, she attacked me. If it wasn't for Allen destroying her, I would be dead."

The wind blew Kanda's hair, too. His long hair was down, and some of it blew into his face, hiding his eyes. So she really did understand what it was like to be betrayed. She had a past like his. They were both badly mistreated, but found a friend in someone, only to be betrayed by that friend. They were both misjudged due to already being dead, and they were both brought back to a world they hated with a burning passion. She was more like him than Kanda originally thought. They were like a mirror of each other.

She had to endure so much over the years, that Kanda knew that she had a will of steel. His motivation to keep going was his revenge, but for her… he felt no hatred of people or Akuma from the girl. Akicho was only saddened and tortured, with no hate driving her to destroy and kill. She could only be angered if they decided to hurt someone, but she could never hate. She wasn't like Kanda in that sense. She was different because she didn't let her negative emotions take control of her life. She didn't feel a need for revenge.

That confused Kanda.

"Why can't you hate that person for betraying you?" Kanda asked lowly, his eyes still hidden.

Akicho laughed dryly and looked down again. "I can't hate her because she was like me. On the way to the Black Order, Allen told me that when he had destroyed Emiko, the soul inside had told him that it was sorry for hurting me, and that it was thankful to be freed. If it was in control of its own emotions, I don't think it would have hurt me. The things that are already dead don't have control unless they can overpower their dark side. There are very few Akuma that can take control of their bloodlust and use it to fight without having to kill." She was smiling humorlessly.

All Kanda could do was scoff. "I hate Alma for betraying me. He was always annoying and trying to stay by my side, but then… he just left me. For that, I won't forgive him."

Silently, the brunette turned to him and slowly, almost hesitantly, lifted her arms to wrap them around him. He could barely hear her mutter into his skin, "You don't hate Alma for betraying you, or for being annoying. You hate him for leaving you alone, don't you?" He looked up sharply. "You do… Do you hate me for being an Akuma? I'm betraying you by being what I am."

Kanda looked back down at her. "No. The Innocence chose you."

"The Innocence chose Alma, too. Yet you still feel like he betrayed you," she replied softly. "Why?"

He sighed. "He attacked both Marie and me, and almost killed Marie. I won't forgive him for attacking."

She pulled away from the hug and looked down. "I could attack you at any minute, too, Kanda," she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut.

It was then that he realized what Akicho was so scared of.

He looked up, away from her, and snapped, "You're an idiot." She looked up at him with wide eyes. "You're strong enough to hold back your bloodlust. And if you don't, know that all of us will do our best to get you back to normal… and if we can't, we'll destroy you." He meant every word he said, and even though he tried to make it sound like he was angry, he wasn't. He was worried that she believed she was a monster.

She smiled slightly, her lips twitching up on her pale face. The now smiling girl nodded. "I'll accept that."

-AKICHO LAMURIA-

So Kanda would destroy me if I went crazy. I took comfort in that, and even though I didn't feel anything happening to me yet, I knew it was only a matter of time. I knew I was an Akuma, and I knew I was dangerous. But lately, I hadn't been feeling the need to take a human's Innocence from them. Perhaps it was all the destruction of Akuma I'd been witnessing lately. I had more blood than usual.

I sighed. I didn't know what I should do now. Did Kanda tell Marie and Tiedoll about his past? Maybe… I knew Marie was part of his past, but I didn't know if he had told Marie all of it. Did he even tell Tiedoll any of it, or was Tiedoll one of the reasons why he was like he was?

I looked around the small town we were in. It was looking like we were so close to Japan. All that was left was to cross the ocean from where we were. It'd taken weeks, I don't know how many, as I'd lost count, but we were finally in South Korea. We were currently residing in a town called Seoul, the capital of South Korea. I had to admit that, as beautiful and nice as Seoul was, I was really anxious to get to Edo. We were almost there.

As we were getting closer, I noticed something. The Akuma swarms were getting bigger and bigger. True, that gave us more training, but it also slowed us down. We were delayed about a day and a half behind when Skin told me to be there. It'd been almost three and a half weeks now, and four weeks was our deadline. From South Korea, if we don't hit any interruptions, it would take around… four, maybe five, days to get from her to Japan, and I know we're going to meet obstacles, so it'll take a longer time now.

I sighed. Marie and Tiedoll were off getting us a boat. I wasn't too sure of their methods, though. We decided to get a boat that only fitted all four of us, since Akuma were bound to spot a bigger boat more easily. I also hoped that Marie would get one of his boats like the one he got to bring us to Barcelona. So I was stuck with Kanda, buying food for the trip.

Picking up a few apples and examining them closely, I asked, "Kanda, should we bring a few of these?" He grunted in approval. "Okay, I'll take a few of these," I told the owner of the stand, handing him a bit of money. "Thanks very much." I slipped the fruits into my bag and rushed to catch up with Kanda. "I think that's it, and it's been about an hour, so I think we should get to the dock. Marie and General Tiedoll should have a boat ready for us about now."

Marie's boat looked a lot like the speed demon he got for us in Spain. Hopefully it was just as fast. He and Tiedoll were already ready for us to leave. "Get in!" he called, starting up the boat. Kanda made a huge jump and successfully made it, while I climbed in just as it was leaving. "Okay, to Edo!" I laughed and agreed, collapsing into one of the seats on the boat. Kanda sat next to me, holding Mugen to his chest and Tiedoll sat across from me.

As I pulled open my bag, I pulled out a few of the red fruits I bought. "Anyone hungry?" I asked, tossing one to Tiedoll. Kanda looked away, but I grabbed his hand and put one in it. "You have to keep up your strength. So eat the damn thing, and don't you dare complain." He sent a deadly glare at me, but took it and rolled it around in his hands. "Marie?"

He shook his head. "No. I already ate a little while ago. I have to focus on getting us all to Japan." At his words, a large group of level one and level two Akuma arose from the sea.

Kanda fiercely drew Mugen. I ran to stop him and raised both my hands. "Keep the boat going, Marie!" I yelled, putting the base of my palms together. A huge vortex of fire, much like the one in the clearing, sprouted from my hands and engulfed all of the Akuma. All of them in the vortex blew up as we continued to go forward. "Now let's go."

I sat back down and dug into the apple. "I've noticed something in the time you've been with us," Tiedoll pointed out. "You don't have as big an appetite as most of the Parasite-type accommodators."

Scoffing, Kanda added, "Yeah, the bean sprout eats about ten times what you do. You eat like a normal person, sometimes even less."

I thought for a moment, trying to come up with a good, viable solution that would make sense, for even me. "Well, I guess it's because of my blood," I replied. "Yeah, that's it! I mean, my blood is what fuels my Innocence, not my own energy, so I don't really need to eat as much as normal Parasite-types. The more Akuma I destroy, the more powerful I become, due to the fact that the more life I take, the more blood I gain. Every Akuma is like that." I looked down at my half-eaten apple. "I used to think that I had to kill humans to gain more blood, but it's starting to happen whenever I destroy Akuma nowadays."

Tiedoll nodded, smiling. "So you have to continue to destroy Akuma to survive," he suggested. It made sense when he said it. "Much like Akuma have to kill humans to survive, am I right?"

I bit my lip, but nodded. "Well, at least continue to move, as a weapon. I'm just hoping that human deaths don't play a part in my strength."

Days passed much like that. Kanda, Tiedoll, and me destroying the Akuma that got in our way. We even faced a level three. Kanda managed to beat it by combining his First Illusion: Underworld Creatures and my Ice-winged Butterflies. Why butterflies, I wondered. Maybe it was because of him.

It'd been four days since we left South Korea, and we'd had very few interruptions. Maybe a few swarms of Akuma every day, but not so many as they slowed us down too much. Damn stupid level three is what made us lose a few hours. Not too much, but it was enough. We landed on the shore of Japan, really close to Edo, and I could see the Akuma flying over us, trying to get somewhere. I narrowed my eyes and called to the others, "Something's happening! We've got to get to Edo, and fast!" I looked around for something I could use to get us there quicker.

However, something in the back of my mind completely overtook me. Kanda took one look at me. His eyes widened as his eyes pierced mine as I started to feel a trickle of pain in my head. It was giving me a bad headache. "There's a pentacle on your head," he said softly.

I gasped and held my head as the Earl's voice rang through my mind, telling me a message that only the Akuma and the Noah could hear. "He's telling all of the Akuma to go to Edo… The message is longer than anything I've ever heard." I groaned in pain and gasped as I grasped what he was ordering. "The others are there already! We've got to go… now, or it's all over…"

Then I spotted all of the trees, making a crazy, but possible, idea pop into my mind. Smirking, I used my Innocence to create a slim piece of bark, light enough for all of us to float on, but thick enough to hold the combined weights of all of us. "What the hell are you doing?" Kanda demanded, coming over and looking at what I was doing. I had finished making the system, sturdy enough to keep all of us up, but light enough to float. I sent him a smirk, and gestured to the wood.

"Get on."

Everyone climbed on the bark, and I used every bit of power I had left within me to push it up and push us forward, fast. Marie and Tiedoll had to hold on tightly while Kanda and I were simply sitting on the bark. The tower of Edo was growing closer and closer as we pushed forward through the air.

Kanda noticed, too, and yelled, "We're almost there!"

Edo was on the horizon. We were almost there. A giant… thing was there, too. "Is that an Akuma?!" I cried out in horror. "Oh, God, it is!" It was going on an angry rampage, and I was sure that the town was being completely destroyed. "Hang on tight; I'm going faster!" I sped up the wind and we were going even faster than before.

I wouldn't allow anything more to happen. This battle, maybe even this war, was going to end in Edo, just like Skin told me it would. And even if I died, once again, I'd know it was for my friends.

We arrived up on top of a cliff and everyone got off of our transport. We looked down over Edo, the cherry blossoms flying in the wind in the background, providing a nice back to our smooth entrance.

Kanda smirked. "This is going to be a tough opponent. Finally."

-shot for failure-

But here we go. Um. Not much to say, very little to explain. Shitty chapter is shitty. I'm sick. Blah blah blah. I'm also really bored. I want to start my oneshotsssss... but I have to finish stuff first. Um... yeah. So I'm almost done writing this story, Reckoning... and yeah. So I'm almost done with a lot of my fics. Uh. So um..

Yeah.

Review please.