GAWD. THESE UPDATES. I CAN'T KEEP IT CONSTANT. DX

Anyway, you readers of mine. I think...I'm gonna end this story next chapter. :) There really isn't anything else to add now. And I feel like if this continues on...I'll just run out of ideas and I'll never get that feeling of completion. SO, I hope you all understand that.

Now that we're in the second to last chapter, I bid you a soon farewell! Btw, this chapter will be focused on Nova and Kanda for once. :)

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Chapter 41: A New Order

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Nova's POV

I gazed at myself in the mirror, staring at my reflection through my left eye. I had a black eyepatch tied over my right eye, and damped brunette hair from my recent shower. I ran a hand through my hair, pulling it back into a ponytail as I kept my gaze on the silver eye that stared back me. You've changed a lot haven't you, Nova? You used to be this bright, naive girl who thought everything would be fine with her brother by her side. And now...

I closed my eye as flashes of the Earl's grinning face appeared in my mind, meeting Tyki Mikk, and finally resting on where I last saw Patrick. Letting out a small sigh, I leaned over the bathroom sink, gripping the sides of it tightly. It's over now, Nova...there's a life ahead of you right here...Taking a deep breath, I stood up straight and opened my eye as I exhaled sharply, smiling softly to myself. I reached for my white coat that was hung behind the bathroom door and glanced at the discarded exorcist jacket that was piled on top of the counter. It's been quite a long run hasn't it? I touched the fabric of the jacket gingerly with my fingertips before opening the white jacket to slip it over my shoulders.

Turning on my heel, I pulled open the bathroom door and stepped out, leaving the exorcist jacket lying on top of the counter.

As I walked through the halls, I carried in my arm a folder with my application in it. The same application Komui had handed me when I was still stuck healing. I decided I would take the offer he gave me. Since I no longer have any Innocence, perhaps it would be better to try a different type of job. I'll admit, I'll miss not being with Kanda 24/7, but...I've got to trust that he'll come back home safe. I pushed the gate of Komui's office open and stepped in, the papers under my feet shuffling as I entered his room.

"Komui-san? You in here?" I called out, glancing around as I tried to search for the Chief of the Black Order. Encountering silence, I let out an inaudible sigh and was about to search elsewhere when I heard his gate creak open.

"Komui-" I whirled around, a bright smile on my face, expecting to see the chipper man when my words were jammed into my throat. Malcolm C. Rouvellier stalked in, his toothbrush mustache as obnoxious as ever. The official narrowed his eyes at me as the gate shut behind him. A tense silence entered the room as we both stared at each other for a moment. I was surprised to not feel any anger emnating from him, or from me. It was just...an emotionless kind of feeling. We had a hostile sort of past.

"Krest," He calmly greeted, nodding his head towards me. I mutely nodded in return as he took a few steps towards me, looking as stiff as ever. I instinctively gripped the clipboard I held tighter, not even realizing I did it. Rouvellier took this into account, the look in his eyes hardening.

"I'm not...going to do anything to you." He growled out as he glared down at me. I pressed my lips into a firm line before nodding.

"I know. I'm not your puppet anymore." I replied without missing a beat, raising an eyebrow at him as I met his gaze.

"That's right, the war is finally over." Rouvellier cleared his throat as he brushed his mustache with his forefinger. I shook my head at his reply.

"No, it's not. There will always be some sort of fight out there in the world. And you'll still be using exorcists as tools in order to be rid of them. You'll still be using them as your pawns. Which is something I hate." I stated in a firm voice, my voice tight. The expression on his face was cold, void of all emotion.

"Well what other tools do we have? We can only use the resources we have, which is the Innocence and those who are compatible with it." He countered steely, his black eyes hardening.

"I know that, but it would probably be better for everyone if you stopped treating us all like we're able to change to your demands. We're human, mind you. Like yourself. We feel, we hurt, and you treat us like something that can't feel anything but the urge to fight. Maybe if you changed your attitude towards everything, then maybe we'd move from having to hate you, to seeing you as the guy who sees the exorcists as human."

There was a stiff silence as we both stared each other down, our opinions clashing against each other.

"Oh! Nova! Did you come by to turn in your application?" Komui's chipper voice broke through the silence as he entered his office, carrying a couple folders in his arm. He seemed to notice the tension in the room, his smile soon wiping off his face as soon as he saw our expressions. I tore my gaze away from Rouvellier and handed him my folder, giving him a smile.

"Yes! I hope you'll think I'm qualified." I brightly said as Komui went behind his desk, setting his folders down. He let out a small chuckle as he took the application out from the folder.

"Of course I think you're qualified. You're already hired! I just needed to get this application from you~" He sang as he gave me a grin. I blinked in surprise. I was already hired?

"Wait, so what would you like me to do as the Exorcist Assistant?" I inquired as I straightened up and put my hands by my sides.

"Hold on one moment, you're giving her a job?" Rouvellier cut in, stepping up as a tone of disbelief filled his voice. My eyebrow twitched at his words. Komui glanced up at the words of Rouvellier, nodding. "But she-"

"She is still allowed to live her in the Order, even if she doesn't have Innocence anymore. I'm sorry but you have no right in saying what is wrong or right in a matter like this. Did you need anything by the way?" He interrupted in a serious voice as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. Rouvellier stared at him for a few moments before burning up, his cheeks turning red.

"Excuse me. I'll come back later," He quietly uttered as he turned on the heel of his foot and booked it out of there. I gave Komui a smile of relief as he nodded in return, soon reaching to the folders he brought in. He handed the entire stack to me.

"So, your first job is to give these folders to each individual exorcist here in the Black Order. It is the new system that I've created that I need all of them to understand." Komui explained as I took them in my arms, surprised by how many there were.

"A new system?"

"Mm, a new system. Now that there is no threat of any akuma or Noah in the world anymore, we need to change the system. There will be something that rises up from the ground. I won't doubt that. And I know that it will be different from a Noah. Therefore, we need to change the way we run things around here."

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Kanda's POV

It was nice to see that she was moving around and about again. From the corner of my eye, I could see Nova running around with a huge stack of folders in her arms, handing one to each of the exorcists that were present in the dining hall. She had this flustered look in her eye as she scrambled around, the other exorcists chuckling at her goofy demeanor. I sipped my tea as Lavi made a remark about Nova across the dining hall.

"It's good to see her like that again, huh?" He grinned as he observed her with an amused look in his eye.

"It sure is." Allen chimed in as he smiled. I set my cup down just as Nova stopped by our table, looking breathless. She had this alive look in her silver eye as she paused to catch her breath.

"Well, look who it is!" Lavi exclaimed as he let out a chuckle. Nova let out a groan as she slumped over the table for a moment. Then she righted herself and grinned, handing each of us a folder.

"Hey guys! Take one each! It's about the new system!" She greeted as she caught my gaze. I gave her a small smile as she grinned back, a radiant look on her face.

"So what's this job you're doing now, Nova?" Lenalee inquired as she set the folder in her lap.

"I'm your Exorcist Assistant." She chimed in before she shuffled the remaining folders in her arms.

"Hm? What is-"

"Ah! I'm sorry, but I have to go! I need to give all these folders away as my first job! See you all soon!" Nova suddenly exclaimed, cutting off Allen's words. She waved at us quickly before dashing off to another table.

"It's good to have her back." All our heads turned when we saw Sam beside our table, a tray of food in his hands.

"Sam! How are your injuries?" Lenalee greeted as we all scooted over to let him sit down. The exorcist smirked as he sat, setting his tray down.

"Almost gone, I should say." He replied as he popped a grape into his mouth. I noticed in silence that he didn't seem as bitter anymore. He seemed...almost happy. Well, maybe that's because-

"Yo~!" We all jumped up when Victoria suddenly jumped out of nowhere, a bright grin on her lips. She leaned against Sam, her arm wrapped around his neck as she pulled him closer to her.

"Hi, Victoria." Sam quietly muttered under his breath, his cheeks turning a light pink.

Yeah, that's why he seemed to be a little bit happier. Victoria was back and here to stay.

"Did you guys see Nova back there? She seems a lot lighter now." The black haired exorcist brought up, her blue eyes bright. We all nodded in response, giving her the story of what just happened about a minute ago. She burst out laughing as she took a seat next to Allen.

"We owe our lives to that girl..." She suddenly said, a wistful look appearing in her eyes. "Don't we, Sam?"

The General's dog nodded in response, taking a sip of his drink. "If it weren't for her, we would probably be dead." He added on as he quickly ate his food.

"Mm, hey we should probably get going." Victoria reminded, standing up from her spot.

"Where are you headed?" I inquired as the pair got to their feet. Sam threw away his trash, stacking the tray up on the can with the other trays. Victoria looped her arm through his, a small smile on her face.

"We have to go talk to the other Generals and Komui about why I was gone all those years ago. It's time to clear everything up." She explained as she glanced over at Sam with a softened look in her dark blue eyes.

"Hm, well good luck with that. Here, why don't we come with you?" Lavi offered as he stood up. The others agreed, chiming in as they threw their trash away. I followed as well, though not moving for the same purpose. As the others followed Victoria and Sam out, I scanned the dining hall for Nova. Seeing that she wasn't here anymore, I exited the dining hall, deciding on a place to get some quiet for a while.

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Nova's POV

"Ah...finished." I sighed to myself as I flopped on to my bed, exhausted. It took forever to find the last two of the exorcists whom I missed. It was like tracking someone who kept moving. I could only find them when they had come out of the conference room with the Generals. Victoria and Sam were surprised to see me breathless as I handed them the folders. I bet it was quite an amusing sight.

Deciding to just let my mind relax, I pulled off my white coat and hung it over my chair. I stepped into the hallway and stretched my arms high, feeling the kinks in my back go away. Simply walking around in the silence of the hall, I let myself wander around. It wasn't until I found myself standing at the steps to where the outside training grounds were did I realize that I actually had been walking around aimlessly.

Sitting on the stairs, I held my chin my hands as I gazed up at the stars above me. They were beautiful. Watching them twinkle and shine brightly in the sky. It was an amazing sight. For the first time in a while, I felt an absolute calm within me. Nothing was bothering me, no sense of imminent danger. No threat of something killing me. Just...silence. Letting myself sink into the quiet, I almost didn't notice the person that was lying in the field of grass in front of me. Startled, I scrambled to my feet, trying to get a good view of who it was. When I caught the dark blue hair that was splayed out on the grass, a wide grin appeared on my lips.

Jumping off of the stairs, I landed on the ground and ran towards him.

I don't think he saw me. After all, I pounced out of nowhere and scared the living daylights out of him. I barely caught the sound of surprise escape his lips, resulting in me bursting out into laughter at how cute it was. When I opened my eye, Kanda was glaring me with a small frown.

"I'm sorry but that was just adorable," I greeted as I turned to sit down next to him on the grass. His arm wrapped around my shoulders as we both laid down on the soft grass, gazing up at the magnificent view above us.

"I'll get you back for that," Kanda grumbled next to me, his threat hanging in the air. Scenarios of what he could do occupied my mind immediately, making me fear for my safety.

"Eh? Like how?" I chuckled nervously as I glanced over at him quickly. I didn't expect the jab in my side in the next second. I don't know what I sound made in the moment since it hurt, but I do know that Kanda was grinning down at me. I rolled my eyes as it was my turn to jab him in the side. The grin on his face wiped away as he met my gaze. He poked me hard in the side, making me do so in return.

"Don't turn this into a war, Kanda." I warned as I got up on to my knees, giving him a wary glance. Kanda sat up, giving me a raised eyebrow. We stayed like that for a few seconds before we burst out laughing. I fell into his arms as he leaned back down on the grass, the warmth he was giving off coming on to me.

"How's the job as our Exorcist Assistant?" He inquired as we both gazed up at the stars. I grinned at how fast I handed out the folders, surprising the exorcists each time.

"Considering it's my first day on the job...pretty well, I guess! It does suck that I don't get to go on missions with you all anymore." I wistfully added on, before cheering up. "But no matter! I'm with you guys and that's all that really matters to me." I turned my head to see Kanda staring down at me, a softened look in his dark eyes. I couldn't help but smile as I felt butterflies in my stomach.

I nuzzled myself against him, closing my eyes as he turned and wrapped his other arm around me. Before I fell asleep, I muttered, "...love ya,"

I felt him kiss the top of my head before falling asleep.

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So much fluffy cuteness! Oh I sooo enjoyed writing that ending part. 3 I hope you enjoyed reading this 2nd to last chapter!

KandaxNova forever!

See you in the last, and final update!

FallenWing21