If I owned DGM, I would make sure that there were more accessories for fans to buy.

Bruise

Chapter 14: Again

The tenseness in my muscles seems to melt away as I sink my body down into the steaming water in my bathtub. The smell of lavender and jasmine wafted around me from the soap Lenalee had given me, and I had only shaved off a tiny piece to suds up my bath. It was bubble mania! Not that I'm complaining.

It's been a week since Kanda wrote all those words on my mirror, and they were still there, brightening my day every time I so much as glanced at them.

Sighing contently, I rub the thick bubbles over my chest and shoulders, and it helps me relax even more, the aching in my muscles finally beginning to ease. I need to leave myself a note on my hand or something that reminds me not to train with Kanda for five consecutive hours without a break, not to mention the fact that I hadn't used my flexibility to its full potential in over a year, and that was when I was training with Fou to get my arm back.

Kanda's been spending most of his time with me. I mean, he even sleeps in here, my bedroom not the bathroom, with me most nights, but I'm not complaining. It makes me feel loved, and it helped that Lavi hadn't been here for two weeks. Though, the redhead will probably be returning soon.

Knock, knock, knock.

Pulling the shower curtain so that everything below my chest was covered, I call, "Come in!"

"Oi, Moyashi, I thought you didn't needed makeup an―"

The bluenette stops when he sees that I'm in the bath and obviously not applying my makeup, and I say, "I'm covered; what is it?"

"Should I come back later? I was going to walk you to the cafeteria for dinner, but…" he trails off, clearly forcing himself to stare into my eyes for some reason unbeknownst to me. Shaking my head, I smile, "No, it's fine. I like having you around. Makes me feel relaxed."

Rolling his eyes, Kanda sits across from the tub, leaning back against the divider of the vanity and toilet, and I lay my head back, sinking deeper into the water with my eyes closed.

"So this is the reason you smell like a girl all the time."

"Shut up, BaKanda," I mutter. "You never had a problem with it until now, Mister Autumn Woods."

"So you pay attention to the soap I use," he says, and by the way he pronounces it, I'm fairly certain he's smirking like the arrogant jerk he is. Most of the time.

"Kind of hard not to when I have my face in your chest half the time."

"And the Moyashi admits he likes it."

"You never push me away, either, so you can't say anything," I exhale, blushing slightly from the heat. Wait, the heat that's coming from the water! Nothing else! It has nothing to do with Kanda almost being able to see me naked! Well, maybe it has a little to do with that…no, it doesn't!

Step one to insanity: argue with yourself. Check.

Step two to insanity: argue with yourself and lose. Check. Okay, that's a bit scary.

The samurai doesn't reply, and I turn my head to look at him, raising an eyebrow quizzically. He had his long-haired head resting against the wall, his face blank and eyes closed, and I smiled at how comfortable and lax he was around me. Did I achieve something? Maybe.

Even though it was comfortable, I still couldn't stand the silence. At all. So I asked, "Has anything happened to Ally lately?"

Kanda opens one eye in confusion, but then closes it again, nodding, "Yeah, she likes herself a lot more now, or at least that's what I heard from Karou."

"How well do you know Karou? You seem to know a lot about him," I observe. Smirking for some reason, the bluenette says, "I know him quite well. Now that I think about it, probably a little bit better than you know Ally."

Aggravation sets in as I ask, "Yu, are you ever going to tell me who Ally is?"

"I'm not sure. You'll probably figure it out before I tell you."

"Is it that easy to guess?" I question, feeling stupid when he nods. Sighing, I plead, "Can you give me a hint?! Please? Maybe tell me more about her?"

His eyes still closed, Kanda says, "The answer is right in front of you, but you just look too hard."

"So it's a couple that I see a lot?"

He doesn't reply, and I begin to rack my brain for exorcists that were together. It was impossible to figure out! Unless….

"Yu, you don't like Miranda, do you?" I ask, realization hitting me. Of course! Kanda stares at me like I had just asked if he had a vagina before he sighs, "What makes you think that?"

Rubbing a sore spot on my right bicep, I explain, "Well, isn't Miranda dating a finder?"

"How should I know that?"

"I'm pretty sure that the whole Order knows Marie likes her a lot, and he's your brother―"

"Foster brother."

"―so it would make sense!" I finish, very happy that I was able to figure it out. Though, Kanda still was gazing at me in astonishment, and I couldn't figure out why. Maybe because I decoded everything? Shaking his head, he finally says, "The Baka Moyashi is losing brain cells as I speak."

Pouting, I protest, "I am not! I had a good guess!"

"Not really."

"Shut up," I mutter, flicking water droplets at him, and he glares at me as if I'd poured acid on him. I mean, he can be really scary sometimes!

But not as scary as Lavi's face when he opens the door. He glares at Kanda before furiously yelling, "What the heck do you think you're doing in here?!"

"Lavi, it's fine! I'm cove―"

"Shut up, freaking moron! I'm not talking to you!" he boomed, and I shrink back, tears pricking the corners of my eyes. Kanda had long since stood up, but when the redhead shouted at me, his expression went from calm to homicidal.

"Don't you dare talk to him that way," the bluenette growled, his stance making him look like he was defending me if something tried to attack. Moving to stand nose-to-nose with samurai, Lavi says equally as vindictively, "And if I do? He's my boyfriend, not yours, so you can get your vile self out of here."

Glowering, Kanda whispers something before taking his leave, ramming his shoulder into my boyfriend's, and I hear my bedroom door slam shut. I'm not going to lie. Watching Kanda, my only hope, walk out the door has now left me terrified, shaking so badly that vibrations were sent through the water as Lavi faced me, lividly staring at me while I trembled.

"So you lied when you told me you didn't cheat?!"

Shaking my head, I quickly explain, "No, Lavi! I swear on Mana's grave, I was just talking to him!"

The next sentence I had in mind never left my mouth, the redhead's hand around my throat preventing me from speaking.

I'm falling in the black, slipping through the cracks.

Breath refused to fill my lungs as Lavi lifted my body from the tub by my neck, and I spasm, clawing at his iron-like grip so that I could inhale. The relief is only momentary as my boyfriend flings me into the bedroom, my back feeling like it was shattering.

Falling to the depths. Can I ever come back?

I clamp my eyes shut as he strikes me across the face, but this has happened so many times that I knew that he was wearing that sadistic grin he always did when he hit me. It was nothing new to me.

Dreaming of the way it used to be.

Through cracked eyelids, I see the mirror in the bathroom while pain surges through me, and I can imagine a stoic face that never ceased to brighten almost unnoticeably when its owner was around me. Kanda…help….

Can you hear me?

oO_Oo_oO_Oo

Sunlight in my room. The smell of roses. Bruises covering me head to toe. But luckily, Lavi didn't have sex with me last night. I passed out before we could.

Even so, I felt disgusted with myself, and I sat up, my body aching. The clock read one in the afternoon, and it really didn't surprise me. What did surprise me was that Kanda hadn't come ye―

"Moyashi!"

Never mind.

"Yu, I really don't want to do anything right now. Can we train after dinner, or something?" I ask, my voice not giving away my pain, but when Kanda didn't object, I knew that I must have sounded desperate. Grumbling about idiots, the samurai replied, "I'll come back at five, and I'll break down the door if needed."

"Thank you," I say after I heard him walk away. Four hours. I had four hours to take a shower, put on my make-up, and figure out an excuse to tell Kanda, because he can tell when I'm wearing cosmetics.

After my shower, I spend the next two hours lying in bed, fabricating a new excuse since the bluenette has heard almost every other one I had, and I settle on clumsiness. Come on, give me a break! I've used every other one!

Even with the writing on the mirror didn't help the condescending words that were internally attacking me as I stared at my reflection. Luckily, none of my wounds reopened, but my chest was black and purple, both cheeks matching as well as the left side of my jaw, and I don't even want to describe the shape and color of my neck.

It takes several minutes to cover the shameful markings before I was ready to go to dinner, and I quietly wait on my bed for a certain bluenette to arrive.

"Moyashi, come on!"

Smiling, I hop up and open the door, "Hi!"

"Yeah, whatev―"

Kanda cuts himself short as he pushes me back into my room, shutting the door and pinning me to it, and I squirm in his grip, trying to free my hands from his as he holds them above my head. When our chests touch though, I stop and ask, "What are you doing, Yu?"

"Why are you wearing makeup?" he questions bluntly, staring me in the eyes until I finally look away.

"Come on, you know how clumsy I am! Does it surprise you that I tripped getting out of the tub last night?" I cheerfully reply, gluing a plastic smile to my face. Even though he obviously didn't buy my excuse, Kanda releases me silently, leading me toward the cafeteria, but when the doors come into sight, he turns the corner instead, heading in the direction of the Science Division. Tilting my head, I ask, "Where are you going?"

"I'll see you in the cafeteria. I've got to check something, but go ahead and get your food," he answered, not looking back, but I wasn't going to listen to that. So being the cunning person I am when no one is looking, I follow him silently, being careful to keep plenty of distance between us, and I'm slightly surprised when he vanishes into Komui's office.

Pressing my ear to the door when I get close enough, I listen carefully, trying to figure out what they were talking about since I missed the first part of the conversation.

"Komui, you have to do something!" a deep voice growled, and that didn't leave a doubt in my mind that it was Kanda. Another voice, probably Komui, answered, "I can't do anything unless Allen comes forward and admits it."

Admit it? Does Kanda think I committed some sort of crime? I wonder, listening harder.

"I told you a month ago that he was acting weird, and if you had taken a look at his body two weeks ago, you would agree!"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I went to check on him and some jerk had abused him!"

"Abused?"

"I've seen it enough to know that someone whipped him over fifty times. Some even required stitches, and there was a bruise around his neck where he was choked with it, too."

"Kanda, I want to help as much as you do, but I can't do anything unless Allen tells me that someone has done that to him," Komui said, obviously upset by this information. "Do you think you know who did it?"

I could feel Kanda's hatred emanating through the door as he growls, "Lavi came back last night, and when he saw that I was with Allen while the sprout was in the bath, he flipped out."

"And?"

"Moyashi is wearing makeup again today after not needing it for several days. Supposedly he was clumsy and tripped when he got out of the tub."

Komui let out an exasperated sigh, "I still can't keep Lavi and Allen apart. You need to do something to get Allen to confess that Lavi is hitting him."

"Why can't you do anything?"

"The law here is like anywhere else. Technically, there is no domestic violence if the victim won't speak of it. It's the same as rape or assault."

Unfortunately for me, that's when Kanda decides that he wants to storm out, and I'm hardly able to move five feet before the bluenette sees me.

"Moyashi! I thought I told you to―"

"Jerk!" I yell as I ram him into the wall, holding him there with my furious gaze. "You had no right to do that!"

Glaring back at me, he says more calmly, "So you decided to eavesdrop on Komui and me?"

"Don't change the subject! What makes you think that Lavi is hurting me?!"

"I find it relatively obvious."

"Well, you're wrong! Lavi loves me, and if it's so obvious, why are you the only one who supposedly notices?!"

Moving so I was against the wall instead, Kanda pins me there, holding each of my wrists to either side of my hips, "I'm the only one you've let in."

Biting back a scream of frustration, I growl, "And that was a mistake that I should have noticed before something like this happened."

Leaning closer, Kanda whispers in my ear, "You think it was a mistake? Does that mean you regret the times you've slept in my arms? Or the times that I've supported you when you were weak?"

"It means that if I hadn't let you in, I wouldn't be about to cut myself," I say, breaking away from him and running back to my room. I ignore Kanda's yelling from behind me, trying to flee his quick footsteps that would catch me sooner or later.

Locking the door behind me, I dig out the first aid kit from under the sink, disregarding the angry banging on the door as I pull out the scalpel.

Should I feel guilty as I slice my skin, watching the blood ooze out? Even for me, are four cuts a lot? Am I supposed to be pressing gauze to the heavily bleeding wounds?

Is it a good thing when the door bursts open just as I fall to the floor in a small puddle of blood, unconscious?

Author Note: Cliffhangers! You gotta love them! If you have a theory about what's going to happen, please, Please, PLEASE R/R! Falling Inside the Black-Skillet.