Beloved
A -man story
ch4. Surprises

The first few days after the encounter, Yuu didn't show up at all. The finders were convinced he ran away, however the general didn't share the thought. He, instead, decided to leave some more food and blankets out, in case the boy decided to come back; which he did. Another week later, Alex and Edgar finally allowed the general to go on his own, making him swear on his life that if anything bad happened, he would launch a flare and let them know.

When Tiedoll arrived at the ruins, he was pleasantly surprised to find Yuu on top of the altar, cuddling in a red blanket and trying to do something to the weird-looking katana. The boy was so concentrated, he didn't notice the general until he spoke, by when he was only a few feet away.

"That's quite the sword you got there" The boy immediately slashed at him, obviously startled by the sudden voice. But, to his surprise (and relief, after noticing just who it was), he found his swing had been blocked by a rod the other was holding up. "And good reflexes too. No wonder the finders had trouble looking for you!" Yuu retrieved his innocence and pulled the blanket closer to him, all the while murmuring "It's called a katana…"

The general smiled and sat down, knowing full well to stay at least two feet away for the boy to feel comfortable enough to not run away like he did the first few times. "By the way, I'm glad you like the blanket I left you! You really should wear some more weather-appropriate clothes too. How about we go shopping? I'm sure you-" "I told you I'm not going anywhere! And I don't need any stupid clothes! Why the hell are you here anyway!? Don't you have something to do other than come bug me!?"

Tiedoll stared at the kid a few seconds, and he stared back. "Wow, you talk a lot more when you're angry, huh" And now the staring transformed into a full on glare, practically screaming "Are you fucking kidding me!?" The general couldn't help but giggle, making the other even more annoyed. "Hey, old geezer, what do you want?"

At this point, Froi just smiled and pointed at his companion "You know, back at the Asian Branch" He noticed the other tense, but continues, while silently getting ready to activate his innocence "a lot of people got killed, along with that other one; what was his name now, Al-" He didn't get to finish his sentence, instead dodging a furiously powerful strike. In the next second, his innocence was activated, a giant hand keeping the raging boy pinned to the ground. "Phew, that was a close one" he picked up the katana that had been knocked out of the other's grip and moved to kneel down next to him.

"Fucking shit; let go of me! Get off! God damn it!" The general stabbed the sword in the ground and turned his attention back at his little hostage. "That's not very nice." "The fuck do I care! Let go damn it!" "I can't do that; you'll just start jumping on me again. I didn't even finish my sentence" he ended with a pout the other completely ignored, rather trying to punch him in the face.

"As I was saying, back at the Asian Branch, almost an entire science division was killed because of you and your little friend. They had families too, you know. Like that Bak boy… and now their bodies will be incinerated and their families back home won't even be able to see them one last time. Isn't that sad?"

He noticed the boy was still trying to make the hand blocking him move aside, but his pushes and punches had become much weaker. His anger seemed to have also been replaced by something, but he couldn't figure exactly what. Yuu then suddenly stopped moving. He stood still a few seconds, then turned the most grudging glare Tiedoll had ever seen his entire life straight at him and growled "Then what about us?"

Before the General could even muster what he had heard, the boy practically broke his innocence with incredible strength, got up and dashed toward his own weapon. Thankfully, Tiedoll was experienced enough to have quick reflexes, and was able to dodge and block most of the kid's attacks. "I SAID WHAT ABOUT US!?" Another slash that the general barely escaped, after which he rolled to the side, getting ready to summon one of his giants. However, he was interrupted by a few unwanted guests.

"I feel innocence here! Hehehehe!"

Suddenly, all around the two apostles, a small army of level two's and a few level three's appeared from within the woods. Yuu seemed to take a few moments to realize what was happening, after which he growled at them, turning his blade away from the general. Tiedoll was more than happy to take care of the pests rather than fighting an obviously capable and very strong boy, so he too summoned his giants and directed them at the akuma.

Yuu didn't bother to wait for the monsters to make a move. He instead jumped, sword at the ready, and sliced at a level two. The thing was caught off guard, so it exploded instantly. On the bad side, the others became aware of the kid's capable swordsmanship and began attacking him. He was doing rather well, until a level three joined in, and Yuu found himself overwhelmed.

Honestly, even though his memories made him more skilled than should be normal, he was still trapped in this small body with barely a few months of experience. He was already pushing himself by fighting more than one at a time. Now, looking at the level three, he suddenly became aware of how unprepared he was.

Before throwing another slice, he felt two hands grab him from behind and holding him still. "Look what I found! Hehe!" Yuu immediately turned his head around to see a bird-like akuma staring down at him, claws burying in his arms. "Let go you freak!" "No way~" He heard movement in front of him and, upon turning his head back, he noticed in his horror that the level three was pointing it's claws straight at him "Say bye-bye little exorcist!"

The monster launched itself at full force, arm extended in its front and going straight for his heart. And that was the last thing he saw before blackness overwhelmed him.

A/N: Yes! Cliffhangers! Because who doesn't love cliffhangers, right? *wink* Sorry for the long wait, hole you like it, also, hope you'll like the rest of the story too! Please, feel free to review or somethin' :D And I'll be seeing you next chapter! Yay~