THE CAVE: CONTINUUM
Part Twenty-Nine
Kanda takes long strides walking back to his home from the village. He's anxious to give Allen his gift, but also the anticipation of devouring his lover, after seeing the delight in his eyes about satisfying him when he got home—arouses him. 'Damn if Bean Sprout can't excite me by just the thought about him in bed,' Kanda's thinking, picking up the pace a bit.
Suddenly, the strangest feelings quake through Kanda's body and an aura of doom covers him, sending a strike of terror zinging down his spine. Immediately he knows something bad has happened to Allen. He breaks out into a sprint, never letting up—sweat breaking out all over his body from the exertion.
Komui's house is up ahead and Kanda jumps the stairs flinging open the door, rushing through the kitchen and comes to a screeching halt. There's blood on the counter top and large splatters of it on the floor—Kanda's heart aches its racing so fast at the thought of what might have happened in here. 'Bean Sprout!' echoes loudly through Kanda's mind. Shaken he rushes over the bridge to their home.
He sprints up onto the deck and into the open living area of their home and stops, his chest heaving forcefully; gasping for air and the adrenaline is pumping through his veins. His eyes focus on the ladder lying on its side, the thick puddle of paint from the can streaking across the drop cloth, and the paint roller's trail from where it must have dropped out of his lover's hand—but no blood.
Kanda searches all the rooms and still no Bean Sprout and no Cross. Frantic, he rushes outside, coming again to a halt when he sees Cross walking out of the shrubbery—without Allen.
"What the fuck happened here!" Kanda demands to know trying to cover his shaking.
"Where is Bean Sprout!? Cross, answer me!" Kanda shouts, his voice starts to quiver.
Cross looks up at Kanda. Fear, pain, and anger all roll into one big emotion is what Cross sees in Allen's partner's eyes and on his pale face. The General squares his shoulders, standing up tall, making himself look like he's under control. He is under control on the outside, but inside he too has those emotions pulsing through him.
Putting a hand inside his coat, he withdraws the rag used to take Allen. He was probably taken by Rouvelier's minions and they were afraid of Allen's Crown Clown. With ether, it would render his apprentice unconscious, therefore no fighting involved in kidnapping the young Exorcist. He hands the rag to Kanda as he walks by him going into the house to sit down.
Kanda knows the familiar odor. With weaken legs he cannot stand any longer, and drops to sit on the edge of the deck overtaken by a pain so deep rooted he feels he has to vomit it out of his body. He is powerless, his friend, lover and husband taken by that evil man. His inside feels as if someone is slashing and ripping him apart, and the aching filling his chest makes him breathless, feeling as if he's suffocating—his lungs ready to burst.
He gasps for air, the pressure heavy, the sharpness of pain unbearable as fear squeezes his heart. He sits bent over holding himself, slowly rocking, the pain not giving up—his emotions drowning him.
In those agonizing moments, Kanda's whole world crushes down on him, pulling him back into the depths of anguish he had never wanted to ever visit again. Cross stands in the doorway, not saying a word to the teenager Exorcist as he gives the young swordsman time to process what had just happened to his lover.
Cross himself has to regain his composure. He could only imagine the wretchedness Kanda is dealing with at this moment. If he hadn't seen the sketch of the two of them in love, and the glint of determination in both their eyes, he might worry about Kanda totally losing it. But Cross is sure he knows Kanda's will power, and right now the boy needs to deal with his loss as quickly as he can, before he will be able to push down these emotions of loss and get furious.
'Why kidnap him? His minions could have killed Allen when they had attacked and rendered him unconscious. So why?' Kanda's thinking when suddenly a thought runs through his mind sending a shuttering chill down his spine. Because Rouvelier didn't just want to kill Allen, he wants to torture him, hence the demons from the fiery hell he has been conjuring up.
He closes his eyes, and sees his husband in his mind, chained, being tortured or worse—already dying. Kanda's despair turns into acceptance about his lover being captured. The acceptance turns into anger over this even happening, and anger turns into a fiery ball of fury, now ready to kill Rouvelier.
Cross watches as Kanda slowly sits up straight, then rises to his feet, and turns to look at Cross.
"I don't know where the fuck you were when this happened, and I hate you for not being here for him, but right now I have to put all of that aside and go after Allen," Kanda's deep, low voice sounds threatening, his blazing eyes boring into Cross's.
"Well, I'm happy to see you're back, Kanda Yu. Cause it's that fire in your belly that will help get Allen back, because you're determined to save him," Cross firmly states, his eyes cold as steel.
"Tell me what you know," Kanda grounds out, wanting to hear what Cross has to say.
"I followed their tracks to a roadway about a mile from here. They took him by wagon as the tracks are still fresh, taking him in the direction of the castle I told you about," Cross explains, with an even tone to his voice.
"How far did you estimate the castle is from here?" Kanda asks, keeping his eyes on Cross's.
"It's definitely a little over a day's travel," Cross replies, his eye not wavering from Kanda's.
"I found a report Komui must have shoved into my case before I left my hotel room. The report confirms Rouverlier is occupying the castle," Cross says, matter-of-factly, steeling himself from any emotions.
"How convenient for you to find this out today," Kanda growls, bristling, his lips curling up and back.
"I suppose you'll have to wait here to see if the Third Exorcists show up," Kanda says with a tone of sarcasm.
"I'll need to wait at least until tomorrow morning before I should leave. If they don't show up before dawn I'll start your way. If you leave shortly, you should make headway before dark then start out as early as possible tomorrow. You'd arrive sometime before nightfall just outside the castle walls. I made a map for you with instruction how to get there," Cross explains, rolling up the map and instructions handing them over to Kanda.
"I'm not going to be far behind, so if you have any patience, it would be wise if you wait for me to get there," Cross says, doubting the Exorcists swordsman would wait.
"Maybe I'll wait, it depends on how slow you travel, bastard," Kanda sneers at Cross, loathing the man, knowing he's responsible for this happening.
"Just try to wait, or you could get capture, or worse killed, and that wouldn't help Allen at all," Cross retorts, trying to put some sense into the kids head.
Kanda goes into their bedroom to retrieve Mugen. His eyes roam over to the unkempt bed where they had been romping around and making love earlier today and the picture on the wall that Allen was going to pay him back tonight for hanging. He slips his hand into his pocket and pulls out the wedding gift for Allen laying it on top of their dresser. A lump forms in his throat finding it hard to shallow. He takes a deep breath and exhales.
"I'm bringing you home Bean Sprout—I promise," Kanda murmurs, taking his last look around before walking out the doorway of their bedroom.
To be continued …
A/N: So, the final act of finding Allen begins for our heartbroken Kanda. I really was trying to convey the depth of his aguish and hope I accomplished that. He hates Cross right now, probably always did, but let's hope Cross shows up on time.
Again, I want to say a huge thank you for everyone reading this story and following it. You all, light up my life with your wonderful comments and reviews, and many of them make me laugh out loud they are so cute. All of you give back to me in your own ways and it's just, well— fabulous!