Author's Notes:

Oh my, we're already at chapter 60! *faints*

I tried to take advantage of the fact that I have enough time to write, but I am still far slower than I was 60 chapters ago X3

In any case, the story needs to move on and you'll get to read a rather unspectacular mission which only serves to give me a pretense for some Kanda Ellen interaction ;3

Disclaimer: D. Gray-Man belongs to Katsura Hoshino

Kapitel 60: To breathe more freely

The short ride back to her London house was very quiet as neither Ellen nor Charlene spoke. Ellen's heart was still racing, with rage but also with relief that she had just come out relatively unscathed from such a dangerous situation. She did not dare to imagine what would happen now that Tyki, the minister and, in due time, also the Earl knew of her pregnancy. It was nothing that had any influence on her Innocence and they should not care about the state of their enemies' bodies. But Cyril's apparent interest in her condition was quite unsettling, even though he might not have meant anything by it. But what if he did?

Ellen shot her mother a worried glance. What would it mean for her mother and the rest of her family that the enemy was aware that one of them was an exorcist? The cover of Allen Walker was completely blown now, there was no reason any longer to cling to that. The Earl, so much Ellen was sure of, had known from the beginning that she was a girl, but not that she was Ellen Bermont – had been Ellen Bermont. And that Ellen Bermont, chosen fiancée of Tyki Mikk, was an exorcist. Ellen could hardly suppress a troubled groan.

Her mother, surprisingly, did not try to talk sense into her. She had been really silent, her face pale and concentrated, constantly staring out of the window. Ellen wondered what went on in her head, but she dared not ask the question.

-o-o-o-

When the carriage came to a stop, Ellen was long out of the vehicle by the time her mother realized that they had arrived.

‟Mother, I will leave now," Ellen said, taking advantage of her mother's distraction. Charlene, still absent minded, looked at her.

‟Don't you want to come in for some biscuits?"

‟No thank you, I should not have left in the first place," Ellen said and pulled the medallion out of her pocket, giving it to her mother. ‟Maybe you can return this for me. But do not associate yourself with them too much." It felt strange giving her mother advice on her choice of social connections but this time she was sure that she knew better. Charlene nodded, her mouth a firm line again. Ellen could see that her mother wanted to tell her something, but the girl didn't want to wait long enough for her mother to come up with reasons to marry Tyki after all.

‟I should be going." Charlene sighed in defeat and suddenly she looked so frail to Ellen, as if the weight of her years and unfortunate experiences had suddenly been dropped on her shoulders.

‟Give my regards to your husband." Ellen nodded, then she did the cheeky thing – she summoned a gate to the Ark and was gone before her mother could say anything else.

-o-o-o-

It was a good thing, Ellen thought, that the order seemed to be in no state of unrest when she slipped into her room through the gate of the Ark. Link, if he was indeed already looking for her (which he must be) probably had not summoned a search party for her yet. Ellen got rid of her ribbons, combed her fingers through her hair and then she changed into the uniform again. When she passed her table, she noticed that her note lay untouched on the surface. She disposed of it, half daring to hope that her absense had gone unnoticed. After a moment's hesitation she opened the door to take a peek at the corridor, which was empty and flooded with the light coming through the windows. Ellen sighed slightly, then she went outside. She could of course wait inside her room and pretend to have been there all the time, but she wanted to tell Miranda – who had been so kind to point her towards the carriage going to London – that she was back now.

‟Miranda's room is at the end of the lower floor's corridor I think," Ellen mused and headed towards the rest of the living quarters, but was stopped by a hand before she could even take the stairs down.

‟Where were you?" the voice asked, the fingers firm around her wrist.

‟Don't give me such a fright!" Ellen shrieked when she realized that it was Kanda, but he put his hand over her mouth. Ellen narrowed her eyes indignantly, but Kanda motioned her to be silent.

‟You can explain later," Kanda said, „first you need to get Miranda out of trouble." Ellen raised her eyebrows and Kanda took his hand from her mouth.

‟Why? What happened?" Ellen asked with a worried tone. If Miranda had gotten into trouble because of her...!

‟When Link noticed that you were not at the usual places and nowhere around me either, he started to get suspicious. Surprisingly, Miranda showed up, saying that you were in the bath and she was about to join you." Ellen looked troubled and shook her head. Together with Kanda she tip-toed to the new communal baths where Link was indeed glaring at the door, then walking around a few impatient steps and again went back to glaring.

‟I'll distract him a bit. Can you get in?" Kanda asked and Ellen nodded. There was a servant's door and even if there hadn't been she would just use the Ark. Kanda left her after a last inquiring glance at her.

‟Oi, what are you doing in front of the women's bath?" Ellen heard her husband say and used that moment to rush towards the little door almost hidden because it blended into the tapestry, hurried down the tiled, narrow corridor and burst into the bathroom. Miranda almost shrieked when she heard the door opening, but when she recognized Ellen she started crying tears of relief.

‟Ah! Ellen! You're back!" she whispered and Ellen nodded, ‟thank God! I think Howard was about to come into the bath! I would not have known what to tell him then! I am so bad at coming up with excuses. Oh, I am useless!" Ellen embraced her to make her stop saying nonsense.

‟Thanks so much for covering for me!" Ellen thanked her and Miranda stopped fretting.

‟You're welcome," the woman replied with a smile, wiping her tears. The two of them then hastily stripped so that they could get wet enough to pretend that they had taken a bath.

‟Towel? Is there a towel?" Ellen asked loud enough for Link's keen ears to hear it through the door. Miranda handed it to her and she wrapped her hair in it after getting dressed again. ‟Thanks for joining me," Ellen said while opening the door.

‟Ellen Walker." She was staring right into Link's face and Miranda shrieked, hiding behind Ellen.

‟Mister Link," she retorted with a smile and Link's displeasure grew.

‟If you want to take a bath then first inform me!" Ellen managed to frown at that.

‟Why? It is just a bath! I got angry about a letter and wanted to cool down!" she argued ‟and I was not alone after all!" Miranda nodded and Link looked at her suspiciously. It was clear that he was not entirely buying the story, but now that Ellen had indeed showed up in the bath he had not proof that the two of them were lying.

‟You have been away for 4 hours. You could not have been in the bath all time." Ellen shrugged and Link snorted. ‟Das geht so nicht. That won't do. I must know where you are at all time."

‟You're annoying. She is not your wife, don't overdo it!" Kanda spoke up and Link shot him a disgruntled look. Ellen also thought that this was not the best argument that her husband could have come up with.

‟Mister Link, I am sorry for the disturbance. I did not mean to worry you, but even I need some time alone to think..." Link sighed, but he didn't say anything to that.

‟I... I should leave, I promised to meet Mari before dinner," Miranda spoke up and Ellen nodded. ‟Will I see you there?"

‟Of course! I am looking forwards to it!" Ellen said and, showing them a warm smile, Miranda left the three of them.

‟I want to change into more comfortable clothes for dinner," Ellen told the two men and Kanda nodded. Link, still angry at Ellen's disappearance and really keen to not let her out of his sight more than absolutely necessary, followed her as well. He did stay in the living room of the Kanda's bedroom and Kanda waited there with him while Ellen changed. He would have liked to ask her where she had been, not even informing him about her departure, but he couldn't without having her reveal the information to Link as well. It had to wait until night-fall.

-o-o-o-

Ellen was tense throughout the rest of the day but she did try to behave normally. During dinner Link always had his eyes on her, but nobody else seemed to take notice of her forced smiles. She gave a start when Kanda noisily put a cup of tea and two slices of cake before her. She looked up at him while he took a seat opposite her at the small table in her sitting room.

‟Thank you," Ellen mumbled and Kanda shrugged before fixing his stern eyes on her.

‟Spit it out. What happened? What did your mother want?" Ellen sliced through the cake with her fork, sighing.

‟So you read the note?" she wondered and Kanda nodded, ‟I had to go meet the turned down fiancé to explain myself." The young man raised his eyebrows in surprise, but remained silent for a while. Ellen continued eating the cakes and sighed again after she was finished, but a bit less tense than before.

‟What do you mean by explain yourself?" Kanda wanted to know, his mouth a displeased line and Ellen leant back in her chair.

‟The... gentleman did not want to give up on me so I had to meet him and refuse in person... My mother, even though she eventually understood that I would never consent, was quite upset. She is afraid about there being a scandal I think..." Kanda crossed his arms over his chest, visibly irritated. Of course, Ellen mused, he did not quite understand what it would mean to cause a scandal. But he still reacted quite negatively every time her admirer was mentioned.

‟And how was he like?" Ellen looked at Kanda with a skeptical expression.

‟What? Why would you want to know that?" Kanda shrugged but refused to give an answer. „Unbearable of course! Did you honestly think that I would reconsider just because I've met him once?"

„Well, your mother must think him to be a good match," Kanda started but before he could continue, Ellen cut in:

„He is very handsome and knows how to charm a woman. Next to that he has a title, influential relatives and money. Of course my mother would think him a good match!" Kanda frowned, but remained silent. Ellen took a sip of her sweet tea. She slowly put it down again and looked Kanda straight in the eyes.

‟Yu." Kanda straightened in surprise, not being used to hearing her address him with his given name. ‟Put some faith in me. I will not leave you, for nothing, for nobody." Kanda studied her, seeing the determination in her eyes, and sighed, drawing his hand through his hair in slight embarrassment, his cheeks red.

‟Thank you...," he mumbled and Ellen smiled brightly. ‟And what will happen now? Do you think your mother will finally accept our marriage?" Ellen pulled her lips into a line, furrowing her brows.

‟Oh I don't know... It seemed like she should," she answered, recalling her mother's lack of protest after leaving the tea-house. ‟What other choice does she have at this point?"

‟Marry you off by force?" Kanda suggested and earned himself a disdainful snort.

‟She cannot do that while we are still married. And I doubt she will dare to dissolve our marriage at this point because of my pregnancy. I think that whatever she wants to do, she must do it after the child is born, which leaves us with some time to think." Kanda nodded, apparently brooding on these issues. Ellen knew that of course her mother could try to declare their marriage illegitimate right now because Tyki had consented to adopt her child, a thought that filled her with horror. But, and Ellen put all her hope in this, it had seemed that her mother would really give up on this union. Tyki on the other hand... Ellen did not want to think about that. It all came down to their actual task – her fate as an ordinary human depended on her success as an exorcist. If they managed to defeat the Earl and the Noah, then there was no reason left to fear what Tyki could do. As far as influence was concerned he had his minister brother backing him up, but Ellen had her family. At least she hoped that they would support her.

The girl was so deep in thought that she didn't realise that Kanda was speaking to her again until he cleared his throat.

‟What? I am sorry, I was not listening," she confessed and Kanda looked at her quizzically, ‟Go on. I am with you now."

‟I was wonder what your mother could do now. Back when I first met her, she told me if her plan, whatever that might have been, did not work out, she has a deal to offer me."

‟A deal?" Ellen asked in surprise, ‟when did you speak to her?"

‟She just mentioned it before I left the room to follow you," Kanda explained and Ellen frowned suspiciously.

‟A deal... Well if her plan was to try making me marry that lord, then she certainly failed with that."

‟What kind of deal could she have in mind?" Kanda asked but Ellen shook her head.

‟I do not know. Maybe she wants to offer you money in return for me?"

‟I don't think that was what she was aiming at... But I can't figure out what it could be..." Ellen sighed.

‟I think we just have to wait and see what steps she will take now... My mother is not a bad person, she will not do anything terrible... But that she suggested a deal to you without talking to me is a bit unnerving...," Ellen confessed.

‟Well... I am your husband, you belong to me now," Kanda said flatly, but when Ellen stared at him with indignation, she saw the smile on his face. ‟Right?" Ellen, still a bit unsettled by his statement, reached over the table to gently hit his arm.

‟Oh, shut up." He caught her hand and kissed her fingers.

‟And I belong to you in return. I certainly got the better end of the bargain, but I think you might be content with what you got as well." Now Ellen genuinely had to laugh, warmth creeping up to her cheek.

‟Of course," she said and he leant over the table to meet her lips in a kiss. ‟Certainly a good deal, Yu."

-o-o-o-

At day-break the next morning Kanda and Ellen were ready to leave. Link would of course be accompanying them, but Komui saw no need to add another exorcist for a mission of this kind. For all that Ellen knew about their current task it could as well be a short holiday trip. Komui's words before they departed further convinced Ellen that this mission was arranged as a way of apology: ‟I hope you will enjoy yourself!" Enjoying herself was not exactly what Ellen should do on missions, at least that was Kanda's view, but Ellen could not help breathing in deeply when the gate of the Ark opened up to green fields and a vast blue sea.

‟Hurry up, the meeting point with the finders is half an hour away," Link reminded her and Kanda nodded. He of course would refuse to see this mission as a chance to get a bit of fresh air; Kanda had prepared himself intensively, like always and he didn't allow himself to relax until the mission was done.

‟Come on, beansprout, we are not waiting," he reminded the girl when she just remained where she was, gazing at the slow moving clouds overhead. Ellen allowed herself to pout but started walking down the gravel path.

‟I have been here before, with Mana," Ellen said after a while and looked back over her shoulder where a little inn stood overlooking the road and the fields beyond.

‟So that's why we were able to use the Ark," Kanda answered and Ellen nodded proudly.

‟There are not that many places where I have not been, at least not in England," she told him, but Kanda was not in the mood to praise her.

‟How about further away? Do you think you can establish connections to the other head-quarters?" Link wondered. Ellen shook her head, frowning. ‟That's okay. Inspector Leverrier was suggesting that you travel around a bit so that we can get more connections."

‟Well... If it is what the Black Order requests me to do then I will have to comply," Ellen replied, holding back a sigh.

‟Good, we expected you to agree," Link said calmly and Kanda shot him a dirty look. Of course they did, Ellen had no choice, but this was the fate of every exorcist. Both Kanda and Ellen knew better than to complain now that a wrong step might lead Ellen straight to her destruction.

‟So I must travel the globe then?" Ellen wondered as they were walking further away from the closest village into the open landscape.

‟You have been as far as Japan, surely travelling to the other continents will not inconvenience you too much. There too Akuma are causing harm to mankind."

‟I was not complaining," Ellen exclaimed with a frown, ‟maybe being away from the order for some time is even a good thing." She looked up and met Kanda's eyes as the man was looking back over his shoulder. She smiled and he nodded. At least he would be by her side, no matter where she went.

-o-o-o-

The sun was hiding behind a thick layer of clouds by the time the small group arrived at the meeting point. They had left the main road to follow a little path up the hills some time ago. Through various fields with grazing sheep and cows, they had made their way to a place where they had a splendid view of the fields and the ocean beyond.

‟Thank you for coming so quickly," one of the finders said after exchanging greetings. They were at a little cottage that looked a bit run down from the outside, but once guided inside Ellen was quite pleased with it. It was small, but homely, smelling of food and wood.

‟Take a seat," a middle-aged, friendly looking woman said and pointed towards a set table, ‟and I will tell you the story." The two finders and the other three took a seat while the woman, apparently the owner of the cottage, served them a healthy breakfast. ‟It must have been fifteen years ago," she started pensively and stirred her tea. ‟My husband and I had just moved to this house. The previous owner had grown old and wanted to go live with his daughter's family. He left us two things: a sealed tin box and a warning."

‟A warning?" Ellen asked when the woman paused to eat her scrambled eggs on toast.

‟Yes, darling. Edmund, my husband, was to bury the box at a place indicated by the old man. Of course, my Edmund wanted to know what was inside, but the old man refused to tell, predicting terrible things will come upon us if we dared to open the box or forget to bury it."

‟And did you bury it?" Kanda asked without much interest in the story.

‟Well, we are not superstitious people, but we'd rather not take any risks. So, on the next day Edmund went out to bury it and that was it," the woman explained.

‟But if that was the end of it then why did you look for someone to purify the object?" Link asked, because that's why the finders had taken notice of this case.

‟Because I think that whatever is in that box is cursed. Even though we did bury it and half forgot about it, strange things happened and I could no longer bear it." Ellen urged her to go on and the woman heaved a deep sigh. ‟You see, about five years later, my youngest boy ventured out and came across the place where we had buried the box. A most strange thing had happened; even though it was the beginning of spring, the ground around it was dry, all the plants had withered and the brown earth was cracked." Ellen looked at Kanda, hoping for some kind or reaction that might tell her if it was possible for Innocence to do that. But Kanda was motionless, merely listening to the woman's story.

‟And it went on. The occurrence was a bit strange, but nothing to worry about. My boy was to stay away from there just to be sure though. He's a good boy, he listened to us and nothing happened at all. Some years ago though, Edmund had to go look for a sheep that had lost its way. His search brought him close to the place he had buried the box. All the grass around it was a sickly, dry yellow. Of course that scared us because year after year this dried up patch of earth kept on expanding, and its center was the box!"

‟And that was why you called for help," one of the finders concluded, but the woman snorted, shaking her head.

‟We were uneasy, but that was no reason to flee and abandon our home. No. It was because something unholy must be going on there. Last week I was out of the house late in the evening when I noticed a shadow passing over the house. I looked up because the size and the slowness with which it moved startled me. And what did I see there? A roundish shape flying over my roof! If I were a lesser woman I might have fainted!" Her face was flustered with renewed excitement and she fanned air towards her face so that the finders handed her a glass with water.

‟Did you see what it could have been?" Kanda wanted to know after the woman had had a sip of water.

‟Under the moon's light it looked as if it was made of some dull metallic material because it reflected the light a bit. It was no bird, I can tell you that and it was moving further inland. Call me crazy, but I bet it was going towards that cursed box!"

‟Madam, did this happen again or was there just one of these shapes?" Ellen wanted to know and the woman regained her composure rather quickly and assumed a thoughtful expression.

‟I am not entirely sure because we've had a new moon recently. It's been hard to see anything, but Edmund swore that he saw two strange birds flying far overhead yesterday at dawn... But the good man is not concerned about these matters. Sell the house he said! No, I wouldn't have that, so I had to take it into my hands!"

‟Well, and you were right in doing so," Ellen commented, pretty convinced that it was in fact Innocence they were dealing with, the sightings of the woman seemed to imply that.

‟You can deal with it?" the woman asked hopefully and Ellen nodded. Kanda got up from the table and went out of the house without a word.

‟Your friend seems to be impatient," the woman commented with a laugh and Ellen smiled at her apologetically. ‟What?" she explained when Ellen got up, ‟you are going too, darling?"

‟I am also an exorcist, so yes. I will take care of the matter," Ellen assured her and the woman seemed undecided what to think about that. In the end she laughed.

‟Well, there is nothing better than a woman's courage and determination, good luck to you!" Ellen grinned and left the house to consult with Kanda and the others. There seemed to be no doubt in her companions that they were dealing with Innocence.

‟It is not uncommon for Innocence to have an influence on its surroundings," Kanda said as the finders were leading the way to where the box was buried.

‟I still cannot completely comprehend the different forms Innocence assumes and the impact it has on humans and the surroundings...," Ellen said, lifting her hand to look at it.

‟Raw Innocence is different to that which had been shaped by human hands. Raw Innocence is far harder to understand because its mysterious power has not been channeled into a proper use," Kanda explained, pulling Mugen free. Ellen gazed at the sword and her husband's reflection on the blade.

‟Take your Innocence for example," Kanda started again as they were climbing a hill. His voice was calm and flat, even though the finders – new ones apparently - were getting excited because they got nearer to the Innocence and the danger. ‟Even though it is attached to your body its shape and power is not definite. A hand, a claw, a sword. Power fluctuating with your emotions..." With a swift movement and before anybody else could react, he swung his sword in a clear arc, slicing an Akuma that had tried to ambush them.

‟Akuma!" the finders shouted and raised their defensive shields, but Ellen was as calm as Kanda. She grabbed her wrist, transforming her arm into a sword. She looked at Kanda and nodded at him, then they rushed off to destroy the two other level one Akuma with a single attack, awing the finders.

‟This is the power of the Kanda couple," one whispered.

‟Beautiful and destructive," the other replied with a shudder. Link snorted at their comments and apparent admiration for the two. Ellen though looked at them with wonder.

‟Kanda couple?" she asked doubtfully, while Kanda marched on, crushing the dried gras under his boots.

‟Among the finders both of you are rather legendary. We are new but we've been told all the stories!" Ellen tried to smile, but she doubted that she wanted to know what 'stories' there were about them.

‟Both of you are really strong and have distinctive and very opposing personalities and powers, but to see you two working together on a mission... This combination is legendary!"

‟Shut up and get the Innocence," Kanda hissed and the finders hurried down the hill to a patch of dry, cracked earth.

‟Do they really call us the Kanda couple? I am a little bit worried about my reputation within the order..." Ellen muttered, while the finders digged around the earth all under the watchful eyes of Link.

‟I couldn't care less about that," Kanda snorted, ‟not your reputation. I mean what they call us." Ellen sighed deeply, nearly stabbing Kanda's foot with her sword as she pushed it into the soil. ‟Watch what you're doing, idiot!"

‟Oh come on. It would not have hurt you anyway," she said with a laugh and stopped the invocation.

‟You've got to be more careful. You don't just stick a sword into the earth!" he complained and sheathed his sword properly. Ellen rolled her eyes and the finders came back with a wooden box, or what remained of it. It had cracks and holes, certainly it had also suffered under the Innocence. Kanda opened the box and took out a simple metal flask.

‟This is Innocence?" one of the finders asked doubtfully, ‟it doesn't look particularly mysterious..."

‟This is definitely Innocence," Ellen said, feeling the familiar tingling in her hand as she drew her fingers over the surface. ‟It does not need to look out of the ordinary. Sometimes human convert the substance to everyday objects..." Link took the Innocence from Kanda, wrapped it up in a tissue and put it into his jacket's pocket.

‟We destroyed the Akuma and retrieved the Innocence. This mission has been completed," the young man announced, but he did not ask Ellen to summon a gate back to the Black Order. ‟A room in a nearby inn has been booked for us. We leave tomorrow at noon. Spend this day however you want to." Ellen had to smile and nodded, excited to have some hours away from the new Black Order headquarters.

-o-o-o-

The inn stood a little bit removed from the coast on a hill overlooking fields with high grass and eventually the sea. The windows were open and the light breeze from the sea made the white curtains flutter. The sky was still overhung, but a bit of diffuse light spilled out onto the wooden floorboards of their room. Kanda was sitting in a comfortably worn armchair, wearing casual clothes and with his hair pulled out of his face. Ellen stood next to the bed, more interested in the wonderful figure of the young man than the actual room, even though she found it almost equally charming. She shifted her weight just a bit and the floor creaked loud enough for Kanda to turn his head towards her.

‟I," she started, but her voice was drowned by the sudden and loud calls of a flock of seagulls. After silence had returned Ellen sighed and walked over to Kanda in fast strides. He, alarmed at once, was about to get up from the armchair, when Ellen put her hands on either side of his face and kissed him. Kanda's cheeks were red when she looked at him afterwards and Ellen found his expression to be rather endearing.

‟We have not had much time to ourselves since we married. This is almost like a honeymoon," she whispered against his cheeks, putting her hands on his shoulders. He remained sitting, but wrapped his arms around her waist.

‟I'll take you somewhere. Tell me where," he said, equally quiet, as if a word spoken too loudly could break the moment. Kanda liked to feel Ellen's warm breath on his skin when she spoke to him:

‟I do not care, wherever you want to take me is fine," she answered, then she withdrew. ‟But first we need to finish our task as exorcists. And who can know how long it will take..."

‟We don't have the time to allow it to go on forever. We will finish this war soon," Kanda insisted, taking her hands, squeezing them, and Ellen smiled, nodding.

‟But now," Ellen said cheerfully, pulling Kanda up on his feet, ‟how about we enjoy ourselves?" Kanda just had time to see the sparkling in Ellen's eyes, before she started dragging him through the room, dancing and laughing. Kanda, after a moment of confusion, snorted, but did nothing to stop her, so they danced around the room to a melody only they could hear, the floorboards creaking loudly under their feet. It was moments like these, where Kanda saw that there was no point in trying to push Ellen forwards in their relationship. All the love was already there, fresh and impulsive. It was not as passionate and demanding as Kanda's, but whatever nature Ellen's love for him was, he would appreciate every little bit of it.

To be continued

Notes:

I hope you could enjoy the chapter! :D