Kenna set one foot on the water, ripples were created beneath her as that occurred. She then looked around, and then set off into the water, carefully walking so she doesn't fall into there. Kenna didn't know where she was, only that she was in some kind of other realm. It was making her feel dizzy at some point, with all the weird looking colors.
After walking for a while, she caught a glimpse of large pieces of a broken tower, which were sticking out of the water. Feeling her legs starting to ache, Kenna bent down on her knees, and flew into the sky, using the tip of her shoes to land on the first one, then the second, and finally the third. As she sat down, her brown eyes averted to the left, and to the right, scanning the place.
What...is this place? The brunette thought. I haven't seen anything like it. There's water, a tower, and jet black trees with no leaves on them whatsoever. She then looked up and saw the moon, which made her eyebrows furrow in confusion, And the moon, which I don't know why it is here.
She let her brown eyes scan the area one more time, until a sudden call for help echoed through her ears.
Casting her eyes down at the direction of the sound, she saw a hand sticking out of the water, moving back and forth as if it was trying to move through a tightened space. It was a tad blurry, but after Kenna shook her head, she gasped in horror. It was Allen's left hand, the cross was still embedded onto it, but parts of his hand were starting to break; small pieces of it splashed into the water.
Help me...Allen's voice was a bit hard to hear, due being camouflaged in the ocean, Help me, Kenna...
Why was he saying her name? And why was he calling for help, with this bone-chilling voice? The brunette was beginning to fill uneasy, sweat started to run down from her forehead.
Allen spoke once more, Kenna...please, help me...before they...
Kenna's eyes widened, her heart beating at a faster pace than it was before. What was he talking about? And who are "they"?
Please, I...don't want to become one of them again...they...took my friends, my life, away from me...
What was Allen referring to, and why did he mention the thing that are important to them? These questions ran through the brunette's head. This had to be an illusion, it must be. Seeing the last pieces of Allen's Innocence starting to crumble, Kenna reached out, but all of a sudden, Allen emerged from the water, his skin an odd grey color. When he casted his eyes upon Kenna, though, his eyes and sclera both were black, as if he had no eyes. He was smiling for some odd reason, which was starting freak Kenna out. When he opened his mouth, all she saw was a canine teeth, not human teeth.
Kenna screamed in horror, "NOOOOO!"
That was when her eyes shot open, and she sat up. Her eyes blinked a couple of times to adjust to the room that she's somehow in; it was dark, and kind of represented a hospital. A half of her body was covering by a light blue sheet, which seemed darker without the sunlight coming through. She then looked around, and saw that there was not much in the room, only a few medicine cabinets were present.
"Oh, I see you're awake." A sudden voice entered the room, and Kenna had to cover her eyes when the figure opened the window, letting the light finally come in. When the brunette finally saw who the person was, she gasped.
The woman was an average height for her age, probably around 4 foot nine or so. Her short, reddish-pink hair escaped from under her purple hat, framing her young-looking face. She had on matching purple clothes, which represented a tube top and bikini. Geometrical teal markings were on her forehead and arms, and instead of having the normal hands of a regular human, she had mitten-like appendages, which Kenna assumed might be useful for fighting.
"Who...are you?" Kenna asked, realizing that her voice was a little weak and sleepy. "And how did I get here?"
The girl bowed, "I'm Fo, a humanoid resulted from complex combination of technology and spells. I act as the Asian Branch of the Black Order's deity, the guard that protects the door." She tilted her head to the side a little, "And your name is..."
"Kenna, Kenna Vikasa." The brunette blurted out, since she hadn't seen someone like that before. "But as I asked before...how did I get here to the Asian Branch?"
A few minutes walked by, a sigh then escaped Fo's throat, "You were lying down on the ground, your eyes were closed, as if you were sleeping. I came across you when I was walking through the forest, shielding my eyes from the bright aura surrounding you...which I think were particles of your Innocence."
Kenna's eyebrows stood up, "Particles of my Innocence...?"
Fo nodded, and put up her hand, letting Kenna know to let the humanoid finish, "Your two friends that you had with you told me what had happened. The white-haired man, which I assumed was Allen, offered to carry you here, but I politely objected, saying that I will instead. But geez, you almost broke my back. You weigh a lot more than Allen did when I had to carry him all the way here when he lost his Innocence. When I finally got here, I found Bak at his office as usual, and informed him about what I saw. And that's how you ended up here." She motioned her hand towards the bed Kenna was in.
Kenna didn't know what to say, "...So I'm...still alive...but how..."
"We don't know why you are for sure yet." A masculine voice said, causing Kenna to flinch and turn around to look at the man.
Kenna didn't expect the 33-year old man to have a slender body. He had short, messy blonde hair, which fell over his face. He wore a white coat, which was customized into a tight-fitting balero jacket, with the Rose Cross on the left side, which Kenna assumed meant that he is the head of the Asian Branch. He was wearing Italian-style boots, with a beret and tassel and spirit tone on the top. He was also short for his age, which Kenna recognized that he is the same height as Allen Walker.
Kenna's eyes widened, "Who are you?"
The man's jet black eyes meet Kenna's, "I'm Bak Chan, the director of the Asian Branch. I assume that Fo told you what happened."
Hearing the mentioning of the humanoid's name, Kenna looked at her, then back at Bak, and nodded. "And do you know, by chance, what exactly happened to me?"
When Bak heard Kenna ask that question, his expression went from a serious one, to that of a sad one. Kenna's heart sank an inch, guilt started to consume her heart; she felt like she should have not let those words escape her mouth at all.
But, to the brunette's surprise, he spoke up, "...Your heart was punctured due the sudden blow by Tyki Mikk's power when you and your fellow exorcists battled him."
Kenna felt like she was about to throw up, "M-My heart...?"
Bak nodded, "Fortunately, though, it's still up and running. You had a hole in your heart, no blood was oozing out of it, surprisingly. For some odd reason, while you were still knocked out, something had healed that hole."
Kenna felt sweat starting to run down from her temple, "And what would that be?"
"The particles of your Innocence."
A sharp exhale came from the brunette. She remembered the same exact statement that Fo had said when she had explained how Kenna was here, and now from Bak. How can that be? How can tiny fragments of her now destroyed Innocence help the hole in her heart to disappear? These words were racing in her mind as she heard the ringing of a telephone near by. Hearing it, Bak went to go answer it.
The brunette could hear the man's voice as he spoke to the person on the phone. "Yeah. Okay, good. Bye."
He then hung up, and rushed over to Kenna's room. "Someone wants to see you, Kenna."
Kenna's eyes widened in shock. What did he mean by that? Not wanting to ask why, she let Fo and Bak lead her outside to the entrance of the Asian Branch Headquarters.
When they got there, Kenna looked around; she didn't see anyone there. When her eyes locked on Bak's, her expression was that of confusion, "I thought you told me that there was someone here."
"Oh, there is." Bak let a nervous laugh escape from his mouth. "He's just running a little late, that's all."
Kenna sighed, "Oh, okay."
"...Well, we have to get going now, Kenna. Bak and I need to go find the Assistant Branch Hand, Sammo Han Won so we can see what type of medicine is needed to heal you." Fo spoke up, which caused Kenna to look at her as they started to walk off.
"Wait! Is there a special reason why you two are-" that was the only sentence Kenna could get out before she heard the door close in front of her.
There was only silence in the room with her as she stood there, astonished. She then casted her eyes upon the floor, memories of Allen and the other exorcists playing around in her head.
She remembered the first time Tiaoshi and her joined the Black Order, and when they met Allen, Lenalee, Kanda, and many other exorcists that they befriended. She remembered the times she had with Allen and Lavi, most of all, with them cheering her up when she was sad, and being annoyed when she was stuck between them in the mess hall, having to hear both of them eating. She remembered Lenalee, and how well they got together. Lenalee felt like her sister, like a sibling that's been gone for her whole life. Miranda and other female exorcists she met felt that same way to her too. Arystar was more like a younger brother. Sure, he was good at battling, but Kenna couldn't help but stifle a laugh whenever he acted like a wimp. It made him look adorable. The same thing went for Komui, too. Lastly, Kenna thought about Kanda, one of her friends, and also the one she's deeply in love with. She remembered when they first met, how he only showed a tad bit of kindness towards her, and that was all. She remembered the hilarious revenge they had gotten on Lavi and Allen for drawing on their faces. A warm smile came from Kenna, that was one moment that she wouldn't ever forget. But she then knew that was the only time they had gotten along, which was rare.
These memories continued to play along in her head, tears started to fill up in the brunette's eyes. She didn't want to happen. She didn't want to be away from her friends, whom she held on to whenever she needed help. She didn't want to be away from the Black Order, the place that she could finally call a home, after having to watch her own being burnt down in front of her eyes when she was just a little kid. Feeling her anger take over her, she went to hit the door with her hand, but then realized that it wasn't there...neither was her other hand. She looked down at them in shock. What in the world happened to them? Was this Tyki's doing, by destroying her Innocence, the thing she depended on to help her survive?
Kenna gritted her teeth when the thought of the Noah entered her head. Tears were uncontrollably running down the brunette's face as she slammed her right arm against the door again and again, finally falling down to her knees when her arm started to ache from all the pounding.
"You know that's never going to work, shortcake." A familiar masculine voice said, which caught Kenna's attention. She looked over to see Yu Kanda right there before her, looking down at her. Kenna gritted her teeth, she didn't like Kanda's female version of "beansprout" or "short stack".
Her brown eyes locked with his, "...What are you doing here, Kanda?"
"I came to check up on you, since beansprout and Tiaoshi have to go on a mission." The dark blue-haired man gritted his teeth. "I heard about what happened, though."
Kenna felt her face turning a light red pigment, her expression saddened, "I figured you would. News like that spreads fast, doesn't it?"
The 18-year old nodded, "The Black Order never leaves those things alone."
Kenna went to ask what he meant by that, but Kanda stopped her from doing so by putting up his hand. He then squated down, now at the same height Kenna is, who is still on her knees. Kenna felt the pigment of her skin turn a darker red. Kanda's dark, blue eyes were gazing into hers. Kenna felt her heart racing.
"So how are you holding up?" Kanda asked the blushing brunette.
Kenna grimaced, "...Do I even need to answer that question?"
Kanda looked at her in shock, then did his usual sardonic laugh, added by a smirk. He then stood back up. "That's the problem with you beansprouts...you always need backup."
Kenna's eyes narrowed in annoyance,"Shut up, Kanda."
"Come on, get on your feet." Kanda pulled her up by her forearm. "It's not going to do you any good just sitting there and pouting like a child."
She tried to tug away from him, but Kanda held tight on her.
"What? Do you want to sit here and mope, letting the akuma win, or do you want your Innocence back?" Kanda's voice was serious.
Kenna fell silent as she let Kanda's word penetrate her mind. Her body untensed. She then nodded, her lips pursed.
"An exorcist doesn't give up, shortcake. He fights harder."
As much as Kenna hated agreeing with Kanda-because it just fed on his ego-he was right. A long silence fell between them. Kanda lowered his head. He then gazed into the brunette's eyes once more, his expression suddenly saddened, "...I'm sorry if I was too harsh."
His statement caught Kenna by surprise. "What?!"
Kanda smirked, "I know losing your Innocence wasn't easy. However, you have to push forward...or you'd be worthless to the Black Order."
No words escaped her mouth, she just blinked. She, for one thing, couldn't believe that Kanda was being so open, and second, apologizing. She fell silent, really not knowing what to say. The only thing she heard besides Kanda's voice was her fast heart beat. The pounding filled her ears. The annoyance she felt was slowly turning into motivation. Kanda was right. She had to get her Innocence back, or else she might as well leave the Black Order.
Another round of silence fell upon the two. A sudden hand resting on Kenna's shoulder caught the brunette's surprise. When she looked up, she saw that it was Kanda's hand resting on her shoulder, but he himself was looking down at the ground. Kenna can somehow see a dark pink pigment going along his cheeks and nose. He then looked up. "I...also want to apologize for my behavior."
"...Your behavior?" Kenna asked, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
Kanda nodded, "I'm not somebody that caters to other's feelings. Feelings get in the way when you're an exorcist, and weakens you...but I've been a bit too harsh on you. It's only because you have great potential."
Kenna gasped, shocked that Kanda was saying this. She nodded with a small smile, parting her lips. Before she even has a chance to thank him, Kanda slowly leaned forward, he placed his palm against her cheek, just staring deeply in her eyes. More silence fell. Kenna could feel her stomach rumbling, as if a swarm of butterflies were trapped inside. Kanda then lowered his hand with a smirk, letting his fingers trace her jawline to her chin, soon tilting it upward as he delievered a very unexpected kiss upon her lips.
The brunettte's eyes widened in shock, her heart was racing a mile a minute now, her face now as red as a tomato. ...Holy crap... was all Kenna could think. Kanda lowered his hand and pulled away, then without looking at Kenna one last time, blushed massively and stomped off with his usual tell-tale smirk laden upon his lips.
Kenna felt her knees go weak as she saw his figure vanish before her. She fell to her knees in a daze. Her heart was still beating loudly withing in her ears.
The brunette couldn't believe that just happened. She went to raise her hand up to touch her lips, forgetting that she had no hands, so she used the tip of her arm, placing it on her mouth where his lips had touched hers.
Then within a swift moment, Kenna felt herself getting dizzy, a goofy smile covering her face before passing out.