Here we go!
…still running away. As fast as he was trying to move his legs, it was like trying to get a grip on air. Daisya just drifted along over the ground as he heard the roaring water behind him. If he didn't get out of this dry riverbed soon, he was going to have a problem—
Ugh.
Something nicked Daisya's ear.
Ouch!
The pain got sharper as he woke up. Hands, check, legs, check, breathing, check. So the flood had been a dream. But something solid was squeezing him. Ouch.
He tried to complain about the pain shooting through his ear, but as soon as he opened his mouth he found that there was something cold and clammy pressed down tight over it. Shit. Shitshitshit—did the Noah find them? Where was everyone? Where was Kanda?
After a few tries, he got his eyes open. All he could see was pale light, and that hurt. He tried to remember where he'd gone to sleep last night, and with who. Wait. That's right! It was—
"Don't move." Lenalee warned before he could start flailing. She whispered to him from right behind his head. "Don't make any noise."
He blinked a few times. Eventually, his dry body mustered up some tears to well up and send slipping sideways across his face. The world in front of him resolved.
It was day.
All he could see from this angle was the forest floor and a few tree trunks, but between them there were sharp shafts of sunlight that cut down to the ground. The clouds from yesterday must have cleared up. With the sun just coming up above the horizon, there was nothing but bare branches to try and block it. It might be dark or dappled later, when the light had to get down through the canopy, if they were lucky.
For now, the light was searing. His cheek ground into the sackcloth he was using for a pillow. It must have been one of Lenalee's hands keeping him quiet, since the other one was pressing down on his arm and keeping him pinned sideways to the ground.
"Akuma," she breathed. "At least four, spread-out. Haven't seen us. As soon as we make a noise, they'll attack. Tell me when you're ready."
With that, she let him go. He'd have liked a better awakening, but at least she had the decency to let him process it before forcing them into combat. Kanda, hell, he'd have kicked him awake without waiting to say "Hello." Maybe he'd have got them all before Daisya knew what day it was.
Daisya indulged himself in waking up for a few minutes, trying out a breathing exercise to get his blood flowing while he stayed stock still. Where was he keeping the Bell, again? His bag…no, he'd stuffed it into the cloak pocket when he set up the makeshift bed. His arm moved slowly down from where it was curled over his head.
He felt along the inside surface of the cloak-blanket for the pocket, slipping his Innocence out silently. His body was waking up one joint at a time as he tensed and released his muscles. It wouldn't be great to be heavy and slow in a fight like this.
Though he couldn't see it, the smell of the akuma was floating around. You didn't learn to notice it until you'd had a few close calls. Sure, it could be just manure, but it was lighter and tangier than sulphur produced the old-fashioned way. It floated above the deep, clear scent of the woods and pricked up the hairs on the back of his neck even more than the feeling of Lenalee's breath.
Once or twice he felt Lena freeze while they were waiting, probably when she saw one of them getting closer. Thank god those things didn't have necks in Level One form. A lot of people owed their lives to that limited field of vision.
The light that sliced and split the world got just a bit brighter in the corner of his eye. There was no colour, the green trees were as gold as the grey dirt.
"Ready," he whispered. "Let's go."
"Find somewhere to hide," Lenalee said.
He still couldn't see her, she was still crouched behind his back, but he knew what would happen.
"Innocence, activate," they both said.
And the world exploded.
Daisya threw himself blindly along the ground, starting to run before he even stood up. Lenalee, meanwhile, launched herself over him and into the air at some place he didn't dare to look. They had to concentrate on their own needs. His bent knees pushed up under him, taking him nowhere and taking him fast. With one hand he pushed off from tree to tree, using the tiny bit of extra momentum to change direction, and with the other he threw of his cloak. The second of distraction that gave them, turrets clanking as they turned to follow the movement, was enough for him to get a grip on his surroundings.
The moment he spotted it, Daisya ran headlong for the biggest of the trees he could see, feet muffled by the layer of dust and needles on the floor of the forest. Bullets shot through his cloak before it could hit the ground and shot the spot he'd been standing in a second before.
He heard the snap of gunfire moving toward him, and the roar of Lenalee's Innocence overhead.
He didn't turn to watch her. The kind of person who'd do that was a dead one.
Instead, he ran. His legs burned. His knees creaked. How Lena was zipping around that fast this early, he didn't know, but he was pushing like hell towards that one tree while the Dark Boots whipped up dirt and twigs around him. The dust cloud she was making and the harsh light would keep him hidden just long enough to get his Innocence up and running.
He grinned. Thank you, Lena.
The big old spruce had layers and layers of branches spreading out around it like skirts; a while ago, someone must have cleared the other trees here for firewood. Maybe they just died out in the shadow of this one. Daisya skidded towards it rather than slow down. His heels dug into the ground when he reached the outer limits of its cover, spinning him around with a twist of an ankle. One hand wound back and, tossing the Charity Bell lightly into the air, he brought a leg up and kicked it with the momentum of his spin. He couldn't even spot it as it shot out into the dust cloud with a whine.
Still moving, he let his speed carry him down around the side of the tree to peek out at the scene. Lenalee was back to fighting them directly, so he could make out the shadows through the thinning smoke. One akuma was over their position, dented and scarred with Lenalee soaring down on it for the final blow. Four—Lenalee said there were only four, but there were five now—four of its friends were heading over, converging on her as fast as their weird floaty movement could carry them. He could just smell the gunmetal.
He let the sync build up inside him as the Bell soared up to her level, expanding like a trick of the eye. Marie taught him this. Don't start with the toll, start with a hum, let the resonance build up inside the Bell and paralyze the akuma first, then when it reaches a crescendo, let it go. The eventual sound wasn't as powerful as a straight blow, but it could cover a much larger area effectively. Plus, it had the advantage of keeping them still. If he froze them, they couldn't shoot Lena. Or, they couldn't if he did this right.
This was the test.
The sun was rising up behind the fight, reducing everything to just black dots as Daisya increased the volume. Sure enough, three of the akuma froze, one going down under Lena's impact, but one swung its guns around and laid down a trail of fire, blindly sweeping back and forth. Shit.
But Daisya's reflexes were primed for this. It was only a second since he'd launched his Innocence, and he'd already tensed to take shelter behind the tree. Vaulting over the lower branches, he disappeared beneath the tree's outer coat and jumped from one branch to the next like a ladder, taking up a spot two metres above the ground and behind the tree.
If he was lucky, the akuma hadn't seen where he went. It would just aim at the ground where it heard the impact of a boot hitting a metal bell.
Wedged between two branches and peering around the trunk, there wasn't much he could see. He could hear the bullets though. Closer, closer—
Right on cue, he got a mouthful of splinters as the gunfire hit the base of the tree, kicking up needles and gods-knew-what. Disgusting. It was a wonder he could keep concentrating on the Bell when he had to keep his eyes hard shut. Sometimes, long-range Innocence was your friend. You didn't always have to aim.
It was about time to end this. With a flick of his wrist, Daisya let the sound waves break.
The chimes of the Bell rolled over them like velvet, drowning out the shots, and Daisya counted one-two-three-four detonations. Huh. Lena must have picked off the one that was shooting at him.
He cleared the debris from his eyes as best he could and opened them, sending out another wave of humming sound just to be safe. The noise of Lenalee's flight had died off too, so that must have taken care of them.
Picking himself slowly out of the tree, Daisya touched down and sprinted for another thick, but bare tree that would help shield him. Safe there, he peered out to see what had happened at their campsite.
…
"Miss Road! Miss Road!"
"Shut up!"
Road snatched up the umbrella before it could panic any more, rolling out of her bed and on to her feet. The one advantage to staying this size so long was the ability to bounce.
As she pushed her hair out of her eyes, she listened to the sounds passing by the velvet curtains of her domain. Hm. She'd been clear about only attacking Exorcists. Maybe one of the Level Twos…no, they wouldn't disobey her. Her servants had found her an Exorcist.
"If you have to say something, be quiet," she instructed. "It's so early."
"Yes, Miss Road!" her umbrella whispered.
It looked so regretful, she put it down on the bed instead of dropping it to the floor.
She stretched, reaching up to her full, short height and let her arms fall back down to her sides. Now, to go immediately, or to get changed first? It wouldn't do to go after an Exorcist General in her nightie. Then again, it might be hard to find him—she'd decided it had to be the Order's own housecat professor or that scruffy old man—once he'd been tipped off.
It turned out that she shouldn't have bothered thinking about it. Before she'd rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, the sounds of battle had died down. The General would be on the move now.
Opening the curtains, she stepped out of her cosy home-away-from-home on to the cold mulch of the forest floor. She had lift a hand to block the sun out, it was way too bright coming out of the velvet darkness of her room. Disgusting. Noah shouldn't be out in the light.
Squinting, she looked at the ranks of waiting akuma for someone to order around. A Level Two in a woman's form jumped forward immediately from the chattering ranks. The Level Ones just hovered dumbly.
"Lady Road!"
"Take your Level Ones toward where that awful noise was," Road said. "I'll follow. Don't mess up."
The akuma saluted and marched off without a word. That was service she could appreciate. Oh, it was cold. Changing was the best idea.
Blowing a stray bit of hair out of her face, she opened up her room again and slipped back in, picking out a pair of woollen stockings from the old oak dresser along one of the walls.
"Miss Road," the umbrella whispered from the duvet, "Don't you need to go, lero?"
"There are plenty of akuma to keep our General amused, don't you think? I'll let him tire himself out. Then, we can have our own fun!"
"Just make sure to catch him, lero. The Earl was very specific about that, lero!"
Road snapped her hand beside her head mockingly. "He can be as specific as he wants. I am not going out in my pyjamas."
"But Miss Road, it's a waste of akuma to send them out like that, lero."
Lero yammered away as she pulled old skirts and dresses out of the drawers, throwing them on to the bed to try and bury him. Ugh. Didn't she pack something for today? It was going to be too bright and too cold and just disgusting. Why couldn't the akuma put off finding him until she had a nice sleep in and time to sit in front of the warm, noiseless fire?
Eventually, she picked up the last piece at the bottom of the drawer and held it out critically. Not her usual style, but comfort was going to be more important today. The General probably wouldn't notice her before she folded the Dream around him.
"…the invasion is a very important piece of the plan! The Earl trusted it to you because you understand, so please pay attention…"
"Lero, what do you think about wool on wool?" she asked.
"Miss Road?!"
"Oh, never mind. You wouldn't know."
Road hung the dress over the top of the dresser and pulled on her stockings, then slipped the thick fabric over top of her gown. Where had she got it again? She wondered. The sleeves were so big they overhung the cuffs and the skirt had so many layers it took her a full minute to find the right way to put it on. By the end of it, she looked like a trashed bouquet.
That's right, it was Lulubell's last Christmas present. She never seemed to remember that Road liked sleeves that flared at the wrists. Colours. Any colours. How hard was that to remember! And every year, she got the latest fashions in jet black. Tyki's presents were much better, even if he was a jerk.
Finally, she managed to get the stiff cuffs done up. At least the neck was her style.
"Lero, we're going," she ordered.
"Yes, Miss Road."
She made sure her collar was pulled as high as possible, then she opened her hand. The umbrella obediently floated over.
"Don't you think there should be more colours out there than black?" she asked.
The warm, dark room folded up around her, opening on to the same starting rows of akuma. At least it didn't feel that cold out. It was still too early in the morning. Mana was really going to owe her for coming all the way out here.
"I'm sure Lady Lulubell was only trying to give you a suitable gift for a young—"
"Shut up," she said.
Road pulled the umbrella behind her and sat sidesaddle, feet dangling in the air. The akuma all turned to watch her go, but none of them moved. She had told them to stay here a week ago, so they did.
"Yes, Miss Road!"
She still didn't know how her powers worked through the umbrella, only that it didn't fly one day and then it did, and after that it started talking. That couldn't have been her choice, it was way too annoying to want around. But she still had to pull on the magic that was her birthright to get it to fly.
Skimming just above the ground, she waited until she'd gathered speed to rise.
It's been so long that I've resorted to youtube compilations to remember Road's character voice...here's hoping it doesn't clash! Thanks again everyone for dropping by, come again soon!