WARNING! This story contains SPOILERS and YAOI! Also a few minor OCs, so don't kill me.
I forgot to mention in the last chapter...I got added to a community! Wewt! Thanks RedLining! ^_^ I don't have much else to say so...enjoy chapter twelve!
sweetkakes35: Thanks! I hope you aren't disappointed. ^_^
sam: Aww, I'm glad you like it. I love writing it just as much as you do reading xD Though to be honest, sometimes I stare at the blank page and will it to write itself... e.e;;
glon morski: GAH! Don't kill me! *cringes* I don't really plan it, this story just seems to end in cliffys a lot. e.e;;
Rated: T [for violence and language] Bold: Used only in dreams or flashbacks to indicate the main character's lines. Italics: Used to indicate dreams, flashbacks, and thoughts.
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Chapter Twelve: Exorcist's Reflection
Raven hair swayed. Sapphire eyes narrowed. Hand clutched around a thin katana, the blade glowing blue. There before him, stood himself.
Crunch.
"Kanda!!"
::
In the brief moment of hesitation, a sharp pain flooded the samurai's left shoulder and he blinked once, eyes leaving his mirror image to trail down to the afflicted area. The replica Mugen had pierced his shoulder, causing blood to seep out rapidly. His torn muscles contorted around the blade in a spasm and the fragmented bone separated further at the movement. A strangled gasp left his throat as the realization of what happened just hit him, along with the surge of sharper pain.
"Kanda!! Kanda-kun!!"
Kyosuke's cries were quickly fading as every sense in Kanda's body focused on the replica in front of him. Eyes narrowed to match the ones staring back at him and he jerked his right arm down, stabbing Mugen into the ground and effectively rendering it upright, innocence allowing it to cut straight through the steel. He lifted his now-empty right hand and grabbed the other sword's blade bare-handed, curling slender fingers around the razor sharp edge. Without flinching, Kanda set his jaw and ignored the sound of tearing flesh as he yanked the weapon out of his shoulder and threw it aside, blood flowing more freely now that nothing was hindering it. The copy of himself snickered in a distorted version of his own voice.
"Heh...'I' must be weak if 'I' let 'myself' get hit right away."
The exorcist gripped the hilt of his sword and drew it back out of the ground, eying the replica, wound forgotten. His image lifted the fake Mugen to his mouth and ran his tongue along the edge, tasting Kanda's blood with a smirk before flicking the blade outward in a perfect horizontal, pointing it at Kanda's nose. Kanda stepped backwards, destroyed shoulder leaving his left arm limp, and lifted his own sword, tip touching tip. The replica's smirk changed into a pitying look.
"Hm...I wonder who's stronger...the original..."
His body flickered and suddenly light surrounded Kanda on all sides, particles of solid flesh forming all over until he found himself completely surrounded by mirrors of himself, all with blades pointed at him.
"...or the copy?"
::
Lenalee gripped her bleeding hip, eyes squinted tightly closed as she waited for the impact. But it never came. There was a clash of metal and grunt, then the sound of soft panting. The girl took in a breath and opened one eye. A white cape obscured her vision, billowing out in the breeze. A silver mask hung down upside-down in a soft mass of white fur, its empty stare focused on her. The feet underneath the cape shifted position, right one skidding backwards a little as the person in front of her took a more balanced position.
"Allen!"
Snowy white hair shifted as Allen's face appeared from over his shoulder, a pained smile clouding his expression. Across his forehead were seven identical crosses, which identified him as a Noah, and his eyes were sparkling golden. It was a painful reminder of what he really was, but Lenalee smiled back happily as she noticed his arm had activated and a slender claw was parrying one of the akuma's horns.
"Just one second, Lenalee-chan."
Allen turned back around and narrowed both eyes at the akuma, eyes commanding and stern. The level two gave a gasp of shock and its wings folded up behind its back in surprise, shuddering.
"N-Noah-sama!"
The exorcist's frame flinched, and Lenalee couldn't help but wonder if Allen was struggling against the pressure of the cow's horn or if it was the word that had shaken him. Whatever the case, he was hiding it as usual.
"Go tell whoever sent you that the "Fourteenth" says rot in hell. Begone, pitiful akuma."
The Chinese girl shivered.
Allen...what's gotten into you? You never were that crude before...
The level two's face reflected Lenalee's concern. It obviously wasn't too keen about telling its master to "rot in hell", but as it was a direct order from a Noah, it had no choice. Spreading its bat-like wings, the akuma hastily flew off.
"Che...good riddance."
...Did he just say what I think he said?
::
Allen winced as he struggled to maintain activated innocence. He cast a glance over at Mono Fei and Howard Link, who were surprisingly unconcerned, though Link was writing viciously. Not that that was abnormal. He sighed and turned to face Lenalee again, offering his right hand, but blinked when he realized she was staring at him oddly.
"...Lenalee?"
"A-Allen-kun...just now you sounded like Kanda-kun..."
There was a brief moment of silence before Allen's legs gave out and he collapsed to his knees, staring straight ahead in horror. A weight that felt like a huge rock hit him in the head, labeled "DOOM". He flopped over, falling onto his hands and quivered as Lenalee tried to comfort him with a hand on his shoulder.
L-Like Kanda?! No! Why...?!
"Allen? Are you alright?"
The boy was down for the count, the invisible boulder looming larger over his white-haired head. Lenalee simply sighed and shook her head, wincing as she tried to move her leg. This woke Allen up enough to blink and look up, instantly concerned, but reminded of his own pain as a flicker laced through him.
"Lenalee, are you alright?"
She smiled as best she could and gave a half-hearted laugh.
"I'm fine, Allen-kun. Fei-san or Link-san can stay with me right now; you should go after Kanda-kun, right? He's been gone a while..."
Kanda...
Allen's heart jumped into his throat and he turned his eyes towards the door Kanda had disappeared into. It shouldn't take this long to collect innocence and return. Something wasn't right. He stood and hissed sharply as another shooting pain coursed up his arm.
"Stop this foolishness, boy. You cannot keep your innocence activated with me in charge. What do you expect from yourself?"
The exorcist gathered himself and ignored the sharp burning of the sparks being thrown from his arm. The Fourteenth had unknowingly just given him further resolve. He flashed a smile at Lenalee and stepped forward to follow Kanda's course, soon gone into the darkness of the long hallway, leaving Lenalee behind with the two inspectors.
The glow from his arm was the only light, throwing long shadows of his figure along the metal walls. Crown Clown's long cape fluttered out behind him as he walked and the only sound that could be heard was the harsh slap of boot to metal and his own breathing, along with the occasional soft hiss of metal hitting metal far-off...
Wait...
Allen paused and listened carefully, narrowing his eyes to peer ahead, a flickering purple light illuminating the very end of the corridor. Was that...?
"I wonder what that could be?"
The voice spoke with more curiosity than concern, and Allen ignored it, struggling to make out what the sound was as he continued at a faster pace.
A sharp cry.
"Kanda!"
The word left his throat in a loud yell and he started running headlong towards the glow, each step he took feeling like it was drawn out. He seemed to be slowing in pace instead of increasing, and the air was punctuated by multiple cries that pierced right through him.
What the hell is happening?!
"Kanda?! Kanda!!"
"A-Allen-kun??"
A sob cracked as a female voice called his name. Allen saw a slender frame stand up, silhouetted in the purple flicker, and take two halting steps towards him before the girl dashed the rest of the way and clung to him. He was forced to skid to a stop and raised his right arm to hold her around the shoulders.
"Kyosuke! What's going on?! Where's Kanda?"
The modified akuma looked up at him fearfully with a dirty tear-stained face and instantly, the white-haired exorcist felt his heart drop to his stomach. She glanced at his Noah markings, then shook her head and grabbed his arm, yanking him the rest of the way down the corridor.
"J-Just hurry!!"
As the two of them burst out into a wide-open space, the acrid smell of blood hit Allen's nostrils. Though the light in the room shone purple, a harsh leering crimson stained the walls and floor. He stopped short and swept his gaze over the entire area, Kyosuke stifling another sob at his side. The old man and his mirror barely even registered in his mind as he spotted them.
Where's Kanda?
As if she read his mind, Kyosuke's finger jutted out, shaking uncontrollably. Instantly, Allen's golden eyes followed it and widened as soon as he saw the figure slumped against the far side of the circular room. It was surrounded by two identical copies of itself, one holding a sword up to it and the other smirking.
Kanda Yuu stood on bleeding and shaky legs, only barely holding himself from falling to his knees. His left hand gripped a rough dent in the metal wall, shoulder twisted in a sickening way, covered with criss-crossing slices. In his right, Mugen shook, glowing the harshest blue it had ever taken on. Raven hair was plastered with blood, having fallen out of the ponytail, and hung limply down his chest. His sapphire eyes, bordered by the sharp lines of his tattoo activation, held in his agony, focused on the replicas of himself with the spark of battle still remaining in the deep pupils. A trickle of crimson flowed from the corner of his mouth. The exorcist uniform was nothing but a pile of damp shreds, barely attached to his body by a few threads that held on desperately, as if in a last attempt to keep his upper body clothed.
Allen could do nothing but stare in shock.
The samurai had five swords protruding from his torn body. One stuck straight through his right hip. Another was just above it, growing from his right side. The third was stabbed through his right leg. One was sliced through his stomach. The last was lodged between his collar bone and his left shoulder blade, pinning him to the wall behind him. Laced between the swords was the sprawling design of Kanda's tattoo, having grown to encompass three quarters of his chest and his entire left shoulder, tendrils of it creeping up his neck. His breathing was labored as his chest heaved up and down and his fist clenched around the hilt of his sword, preparing himself to launch into the fight again.
The younger exorcist choked on a gasp, horror-stricken.
The tattoo is the only thing keeping him alive...
Kanda suddenly lurched forward, tearing himself off of the wall and lifting his blade. A harsh cry erupted from his throat as both he and the replica holding the sword lunged at the same moment. Mugen pierced the copy first, and it gave a shriek before its form shifted into a flickering white light and then disappeared. The other replica chuckled, amused, and five more lights stepped out of the glowing mirror, once again surrounding Kanda on all sides.
The copies...don't leave blood. So...
Allen surveyed the room again. The blood that was coating the walls was solely Kanda's. He'd lost too much. Way too much. Allen instantly made a decision.
::
Red.
All he could see was red.
The forms moving around him were only a deeper shade of the color that flooded his sight, mind, and body. There was no more pain anymore. He was beyond feeling.
Why won't they stop coming?!
He'd become accustomed to the flickering lights and shapes that came and went like the tide. It was no longer a surprise when the replicas doubled or even tripled. He stabbed one, two more appeared. It was the current cycle of life. Nothing else mattered. Nothing else existed.
Swish.
Damn it, another one got me.
He only noticed it because of the added weight, making it more troublesome to move. It would be easier if he pulled the swords out, but that would leave his wounds free to bleed his life away faster. Which was even more troublesome.
Gritting his teeth, Mugen lifted for still another swing, tearing at his already damaged muscles in his right arm and the shattered left shoulder as he gripped with both hands. He was fully prepared to release his seventh round of Hell's Insects, yanking the sword downwards in a summoning slash.
"Oi!! Stop, BaKanda!!"
The familiar voice pierced through the crimson haze like an arrow. Kanda was halted right before he had a chance to cry the command for First Illusion, blinking as some of the red faded and he was suddenly enveloped in a dome of white fabric.
"Cross Grave!"
There was an explosion and the white dome lit up with a harsher white glow for a second before it faded. The cloak fluttered back, freeing Kanda and revealing the room once more, all replicas gone. With barely a warning, a broadsword suddenly appeared in front of his eyes, white and black with a cross marking on the tip. It hung there for a brief second before the figure in white lunged forward towards the mirror, crying out.
Gentle tinkling of glass shards hitting metal echoed around the room and instantly they were cloaked in darkness. The battle-torn exorcist squinted as his eyes slowly became accustomed to the dim light that he now realized shone a soft green from an orb of innocence in the center of the room. The last bit of scarlet faded from his vision and he clearly made out a one-armed exorcist walking back towards him, sword in hand, with a sorrowful smile.
"...Moyashi?"
"B-BaKanda...trying to take on...this yourself? D-Don't do that again or I'll kill you myself..."
Allen's voice shook with a swallowed sob. Kanda couldn't help but smirk weakly.
"Che...like you could."
Allen's sword became an arm again as his innocence deactivated. He knelt down on the ground and gripped Kanda's good shoulder with his right hand, and the samurai could make out seven cross marks on his forehead. Before he could mention it, the younger exorcist forced him to his knees as gently as he could, leaning him back against the stained wall behind him. Kanda's tattoo crept further up his neck and down his shoulder towards his back without him knowing.
"Kanda...you look like shit."
The boy tried to choke out a laugh but failed miserably. Kanda sighed and closed his eyes.
"Pull them out."
There was a soft noise of surprise.
"Th-The swords? But you'll bl-"
"Pull them out. I'll heal faster."
"Heal?! If I take them out, it'll only hurt more and you'll lose so much blood...Kanda...I..."
"Idiot. Just do it."
Silence. Then he felt the blade piercing his right hip move carefully and the burning heat of pain flooded him as Allen drew it out. His eyes closed tighter and his good hand clenched into a fist. Teeth smashed together and he barely contained a hiss as the metal soaked with his own blood finally left him.
"I-I'm sorry..!!.."
"Sss...fine...keep going..."
One by one, Allen took the swords out of Kanda's body until he was clear of them. The blood flowed more freely from his wounds and the samurai could feel the energy leaving him, but the bleeding was slowing by the second as the tattoo worked its magic. His sapphire eyes opened and he focused on the white-haired boy's face, studying the golden pair gazing back at him.
They sat like that for a while, both looking at each other with unspoken words that had been hidden from the one another expertly passing between them. Kyosuke had finally gotten the courage to come cautiously over after the extraction of swords had been completed. Though they were both aware of her presence, neither exorcist looked towards her or spoke.
Except when she cried out with a strangled gasp of pain, eyes rolling backwards, a gloved hand sticking straight out from her chest.
"My, my. You two look awful."
The infamous voice chuckled in amusement, and the hand slid smoothly out of Kyosuke, letting her crumple to the floor. Both exorcists stared in stunned silence.
"Long time, no see, Mr. Kitchen Knife and Cheating Boy."
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Psh...Allen and Kanda thought they'd be done after that. Haha, funny. The person who correctly guesses which episode of the anime "Mr. Kitchen Knife" came from will get a cookie. ^_^
Next chapter...Tyki.