This chapter is the same scene from chapter 12 but in Kanda's perspective. It's shorter than I usually go for, but I felt like it deserved its own chapter.
Please leave a review and let me know what you think! I hope you're still enjoying the story!
The sunlight slowly fades into darkness. Kanda peers down at the sleeping body currently curled up against his chest. Robin's breathing is slow and calm, confirming that she is in fact asleep. He allows himself to smile. Her face looks so peaceful. He restraints himself from pulling her closer. He doesn't want to accidentally wake her.
Outside the rain crashes against the mansion. Kanda focuses on the sound of the storm. There's a flash of lightning from the window. One...two...three...four...There's a loud crash of thunder. The time is getting shorter, Kanda muses. The storm must be getting closer.
Robin suddenly shifts and he turns his attention to her. She peeks up at him with her large, caramel eyes. He places a hand against the soft surface of her face.
"Did I wake you?" He asks.
She shakes her head. Her eyes gaze into his eyes and she places her own hand on top of his. He leans closer so his lips barely touch. Suddenly she pulls away. Confused, he watches her slip out of the covers and stand over by the bed. She faces the window, silently watching the rain fall against the balcony doors. She stays like that, eerily quiet.
"What's wrong?" Kanda asks. Okay, so he admits sometimes he wants her to stop talking every now and then and just let him meditate in peace, but for some reason this doesn't seem right. Robin shouldn't be this quiet.
"Robin?" He asks. She takes a step forward and unlatches the balcony door.
"It's pouring outside baka." He says, but she doesn't hear him and steps out into the rain. Kanda rips the blankets off him and follows her.
The rain hurls itself on them. The wind wipes up his long hair and he silently curses himself for leaving it free. Robin stops at the balcony edge, staring straight ahead at the ocean.
This is wrong, Kanda thinks. Something isn't right. He tries to pinpoint it, but can't quite put his finger on it. He moves to her side. She doesn't shift and stares down at the drop before her. Something in her eyes shifts and she grabs hold of the railing to pull herself over.
"Robin?" He asks. He pulls her away from the edge and stares straight into her eyes. They're blank and she doesn't seem to recognize him. Kanda suddenly remembers Cross' warning.
"There are records of visitors who have received injuries from staying in that room. Some have even reported suddenly attempting to commit suicide and have died as a result. One report said that one visitor lost all control of her body and she threw herself over the edge just like Elizabeth."
He mentally kicks himself for being so careless. Is whatever was affecting the other visitors affecting Robin? Kanda grabs hold of her and pulls her toward the room. Her body starts to panic and she struggles against him.
"Robin." He says, trying to calm her down. Dammit. The rain makes it difficult to keep his grip and he feels her slip free and run for the railing. He reaches for her from behind and wraps his arms around her trying to pull her away. If he could just get her away from the balcony...
A hand frees itself and she lands a blow to his face. He sees spots as pain shoots across his jaw. Robin is small but Kanda knows she's strong. She is, after all, able to keep up with him on missions and hold him back when he loses his temper. She pulls away from him and Kanda reaches for her again only to have her knee him in the groin. He groans. That little...If it was anyone other than Robin they would already be dead, sliced into bloody chunks with Mugen.
Kanda ignores the pain and grabs for her again. "Robin." He says louder. She lets out a loud scream and struggles against him in a frenzy. She scratches and bites at him, but Kanda merely smirks. He's done holding back. He shoves her onto the balcony floor and twists her arms above her head.
"Robin!" He yells.
She screams her head off and thrashes against him. Kanda grits his teeth and pushes her down. Hopefully she won't bite her tongue. Suddenly the thrashing stops. Robin lays underneath him motionless.
"Robin?" He whispers. He places a hand to her cheek. Her face is cold. She stays completely still and Kanda feels his heart race.
"ROBIN!" He yells.
She shifts and her eyelids slowly flicker open. He sees the familiarity in her eyes and relief washes over him. She glances around them confused, then focuses on him.
"Robin?" Kanda asks unsure. He has to make sure Robin is herself and won't make a break for the railing as soon as he lets her go. She sees him and suddenly screams again and tries to kick him off.
"Calm down." He says.
"Let me go!" She yells. "Rapist!"
Rapist?
"What the hell are you talking about?!" He yells.
"Don't touch me!"
"I'm trying to keep you from jumping baka!" He yells.
"Why the hell would I do that?!" She yells.
She doesn't remember? He stares directly into her eyes. She isn't lying. He lets her go and she shoves him aside. She rips open the balcony door in a frenzy and makes for the room's exit. Kanda follows. He can't be sure she won't try again as soon as she gets out of his sight.
"Robin!" Kanda yells. He grabs her wrist trying to get her to stop. He feels her flinch and she turns to face him.
"DON'T. TOUCH. ME." She growls.
She glares at him. Her eyes radiate hatred and he feels his temper slip. Kanda clenches his jaw tight. Her hate burns, but Kanda blocks it out, trying his best to remain calm.
"You tried to jump." He says, hoping she'll see reason.
"You tried to rape me!"
"What?!" He asks confused.
"Don't play dumb!" She growls.
"I'm not!" He yells.
"Don't lie!"
"I'M NOT!" He yells. He wasn't. She looks away in disgust. He watches Robin exhale a breath.
"Robin!" He yells. He places both arms on either of her shoulders and forces her eyes to reach his. "I don't know what you think happened, but I would never do that!" He says. "Believe me." He has to make her believe him.
She shakes her head and pulls away. He doesn't budge. There's no way he's letting her go after she just tried to jump of the bluff. He needs to get her to calm down and take her to Cross. The general has to know something. She struggles against him. His grip tightens and she suddenly raises a fist and lands another blow to his jaw, knocking Kanda back.
If there is any doubt of Robin's strength, it evaporates into thin air as a trickle of blood runs down the side of his mouth. She runs for the door and it slams shut, leaving Kanda alone. He hesitates before getting up and running after her. Despite the storm and what had just happened, Kanda can only focus on one, single coherent thought.
Before she left, Robin was trembling.
If you recall, I asked about any strange and unexplained phenomena way back in chapter 9. Thank you for everyone who replied! :) I enjoyed reading them.
Since this chapter is kind of short I figured I'd enthrall you all with my own encounter of the paranormal kind.
I was on a day-long field trip to Salem, Massachusetts, commonly known as the location of the Salem Witch Trials where 19 innocent people were hung to death for allegedly participating in witchcraft. It was the week of Halloween and my class had just finished The Crucible. (By the way, Salem during Halloween is just plain fun.)
The sun had gone down and my teacher let us visit the town's graveyard to try to catch anything on camera. (Orbs, apparitions, etc.) The only rule was that we had to be respectful and ask before taking any pictures. Yes, she wanted us to ask (out loud) to any present spirits before we so much as pull out a camera. (I love my teacher.)
My friend and I took the back corner of the graveyard. We both asked as politely as we could if we could take any pictures. Seeing how there was no real way for them to respond we assumed it was a yes unless they gave us a sign otherwise.
I started snapping pictures when the camera blinked and suddenly turned off. I swapped the batteries with new ones and even double and quadrupled checked that they were in the right way. The camera refused to turn on so we gave up and went to join the rest of our class.
We had only gone three feet when out of nowhere the camera blinked to life. My friend and I stopped and turned around to look at the area we were before. The wind blew all ominous-like and we both broke out into profuse apologies and ran to the bus.
I ended up having pictures covered with strange white orbs that only appeared once we took the pictures. I still have them too. I feel like it's enough evidence to support the existence of ghosts. But, hey, I'm biased.
Anyways, I hope you're enjoying the story! I'll try to update soon. Feel free to leave a review or send me one of those private message things. I love hearing from you guys! :) Thank you!