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Innocent Rain	By : saxonjesus Category: +. to F > D. Gray Man Views: 3947 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
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Chapter List
- 20
- 21
- 22
Chapter 21�I Have Friends in a Holy Place

October 13, 2013�The Dark Order, Main Branch

�� Yuuuuuuu!!! I can�t get these goddamn pants on!�
Lavi complained loudly as he hobbled around the room, struggling with the
zipper to his new, formal uniform. They had all received new uniforms for
Artemis�s funeral, and apparently, Lavi�s was a few sizes too small.� All of them consisted of a variation of black
leather pants; long, knee-high black boots; a dress shirt; and a leather jacket.
Their ranks in the newly-formed Coalition Army were pinned on their lapels.

�� Welcome to my
life, rabbit.� Yuu snorted, walking over to the struggling man and
unceremoniously yanking upward on Lavi�s waistband.

�� Gott im Himmel!� He squeaked, arching away from Yuu�s
hands.

�� What the fuck?�
Yuu asked, grabbing Lavi�s belt and threading it through the waistband.

�� I can�t breathe,�
Lavi choked out, his voice still high. �I can�t move, either.� He leaned back
onto Yuu�s chest, and the Japanese man rolled his eyes and scoffed.

�� Stand up
straight,� he ordered, leaning forward and buckling the belt. �And put a shirt
on, we�re going to be late.�

�� I can�t�� Lavi
whined.

�� You�re useless,�
Yuu muttered, scowling. He tossed Lavi his dress shirt and held up his new
jacket.

�� S�not my fault,� Lavi pouted, tears of pain still swimming
in his eye. He held his arms out, and Yuu reluctantly slipped the too-tight
jacket over them. Lavi grimaced. �I can�t lift my arms,� he sniveled.

�� Get over it.�

�� I�m serious!
Look!� Lavi insisted. He tried lifting his arms, and the fabric strained
comically. Yuu suppressed a loud guffaw. He didn�t understand why, but Lavi�s
inability to get dressed properly was quite amusing. He turned Lavi to face him
and forcibly wrenched the other man�s hands up above his head. He heard the
distinctive squeak as the leather stretched.

�� There. Now, are
you coming or not?� He walked out of the room and saw Amanda and Darcy looking
in. He saw a small smile on Amanda�s face, but her eyes belied any amusement.

�� Wait! Yuuuuu!�

�� But Yuu walked off
with the other two Exorcists. The lazy rabbit could follow once he was dressed.

�� The main entrance,
where the funeral was being held, was decked out in somber, black wall hangings
and curtains. The Order�s large, silver cross was draped in the same fabric,
and beneath it was Artemis�s casket. It was made of a splendorous oak, and it
was ornate in a way that suggested wealth that the Order did not have. In the
first row of seats was a short man with graying hair and an equally short, gray
woman. Beside them was a well-built boy of about Artemis�s age and two children
who could have passed as Artemis�s siblings. The three eldest looked disconsolate,
though the children smiled and acted as if they had no idea their sister had
just died.

�� One ran up to
Yuu�s group as they entered and attached itself to his
legs. He scowled down at it.

�� Get off,� he
growled, tempted to activate his Innocence.

�� Don�t be mean to the poor kid,� Amanda said in a monotone, detaching
the child from his leg and walking over to the parents.

�� Are you Artemis�s
parents?� She asked quietly, handing the child back to them.

�� Yes,� the woman
said, taking the child. �Angie, don�t run around,� she added to the girl. �Go
play with Xander.� She put the kid down, and the girl ran off with the smaller
child.

�� She talked about
her siblings a lot, said they were the best,� Amanda said, gesturing to the
ornate coffin.

�� Who are you?� The
woman asked, sounding offended.

�� Amanda�your
daughter was my best friend.�

�� The man, who was
sitting down, raised an eyebrow. The older boy stood up.

�� You�re Amanda?�
He asked, holding out a hand.

�� Yes, and I assume
you�re John?�

�� The older boy nodded
gravely, and a tear fell from his eye. Yuu assumed he wasn�t a sibling. It was
obvious from the way Artemis had said his name, and his reaction to her death
fit with the loving tone. He was either a best friend or a lover, and Yuu was
inclined to think the latter. Not that he cared.

�� Lavi shuffled in,
carrying his boots in one hand, as the lights dimmed momentarily. An old,
wrinkly priest walked out in front of the casket and stood in front of a
podium.

�� We will begin
shortly,� the old man wheezed. �If you would all take your seats��

�� Lavi reached Yuu�s
side and stared nervously at the chair.

�� What?� Yuu
hissed, pushing Lavi down into it. Lavi squawked loudly.

�� Yuu, I don�t bend
that way!� He protested in a weak, plaintive voice.

�� Shut
up, Baka Usagi.�

�� But Yuuu��

�� Shut up!�

�� Lavi�s eyes teared
up, but Yuu was sure it was had nothing to do with the stupid druggie who lay
in the coffin. The priest went through the whole death spiel, and Yuu tuned it
out, instead watching Lavi as he struggled to get his boots on. Several times,
the Stupid Druggie�s mother looked over with a scandalized expression at the
pitiful sounds Lavi was making. Looking around after Lavi finally finished his task, Yuu noticed that the only people crying were the
parents. Everyone else sat, listening to the mass with varying degrees of
boredom and grief. Even Amanda had started to roll her eyes toward the end.
Next to him, Lavi was snickering each time the priest mentioned anything
remotely like �Our Heavenly Father.� This incited more outraged glances.

�� Afterward, they
all stood in line, waiting to say their final good-byes. Farther up in the
line, Yuu saw a commotion.

�� Why the hell
aren�t you crying?� Sounded a screeching, livid voice.
Looking forward with vague interest, Yuu saw the mother pointing accusingly at
Amanda, who recoiled from it, her face shutting down, showing no emotion. The girl
had taken off her lively mask, and Yuu wondered just how similar Amanda was to
Lavi.

�� Amanda stared
blankly back at her, and something dropped from her hand, spreading over the
floor. With horror, Yuu recognized them as the pictures General Varga�s group
had brought back. Striding quickly over, he slapped the woman.

�� Take a look at
the pictures,� he hissed. �She was glad
to die.�

�� The woman looked
shocked beyond comprehension. Her mouth was open, and her eyes bugged out. It
would have been comical, had the situation not been so morbid. The man bent
down and picked a picture up, gasping and dropping it as soon as he saw the
subject. Casting it a glance as it fluttered to the ground, Yuu recognized the
picture as the one in which Artemis was being whipped with a Cat o� Nine Tails.
Hot bile rose up his throat, but he swallowed it back down at once.

�� Those show
nothing. Over the past month and a half, we received presents. I don�t think I need to tell you what they were, but
since you both seem to be dimwits, I�ll go ahead and do so anyway. The first
one was a lock of hair�still attached to her scalp, a vile of blood, a severed
foot and her Exorcist jacket, a pinky finger dipped in chocolate, those
pictures, and a DVD. You want to know what he used on her?
Watch that, and you�ll see why none of us are mourning her,� Yuu growled, anger
bubbling in his stomach. The American Idiot was still speechless, and her face
was still as blank as Bookman�s.

�� The boyfriend bent
down to pick up the pictures, and Amanda snapped back into the present.

�� No!� She
screeched, stepping on the boy�s hand. �You can�t see them! She made me
p-promise!�

�� She would,� the boy�John,
Yuu supposed�said, sounding nostalgic. He continued to pick up the photos, and
Amanda activated her Innocence.

�� Sorry, John,� she
said mournfully, and she slammed her discus into his wrist. He yelped, pulling
back.

�� Yuu bent down and
picked up all the pictures, stuffing them in a pocket of his new jacket. He
felt an arm come around him, and he turned his head to see Lavi.

�� You�re holding up
the line,� he said. �Can this petty fight wait until after the funeral, because
it�s kind of rude to be arguing in front of your daughter�s casket.�

�� The woman
harrumphed and then took an inconsiderate amount of time in front of the ornate
coffin. John pushed her out of the way after a solid five minutes; the line
moved on.

�� The burial took
only a few minutes, and when Yuu looked around, he noted that a solitary tear
fell down Lenalee�s face. She wore a ghost of a smile and sniffed heartily. Moyashi put a comforting arm around her,
and she leaned into it, hiding her stigmata-ridden forehead in his shoulder.
Yuu himself had an arm around Lavi, but that was because the idiot would fall
over without the support.

�� What a touching
scene,� Darcy cackled as he walked over to Amanda. Yuu punched him in the gut,
and Lavi fell to the ground like a plank.

�� Ow!�

�� Yuu shook his head
and picked the other man up from the ground, scoffing at his idiocy.

�� Darcy took charge
of the reception, ordering a large amount of whiskey and singing
overly-cheerful Irish tunes. Allen joined in on Darcy�s fiddle, and for once,
to Yuu�s surprise, the Musician did nothing, although Yuu knew Allen had
absolutely no musical talent of his own. One minute taking a shower at the same
time had convinced him of that. From that time on, he had avoided the showers
at seven in the morning. He still did.

�� Excuse me,� John
said as he came up to Yuu.

�� Yes?� He asked,
lacking curiosity.

�� I�d like to
enlist in the army, if you wouldn�t mind,� the boy said. Yuu scoffed.

�� You�re an idiot.�

�� Excuse me?�

�� Talk to Moyashi,� he said.

�� Who?�
The boy looked curious and slightly desperate.

�� The kid who looks
like an old man,� Yuu answered before walking away, dragging the stupid rabbit
along with him. He heard the idiot boy getting refused a moment later and
smirked to himself. The Order didn�t need another pointless
bottle of ashes to send into the archives below, never again to see sunlight.

�� Walking back to
the room, Yuu noted Lavi�s stiff movements had gotten worse.

�� Pants
too tight?� He taunted.

�� Yes,� Lavi
squeaked. �I can�t feel my legs anymore.�

�� They arrived in
the room a few moments later, and Yuu hung his jacket up before sitting on the
bed, waiting for Lavi to join him. The other man unzipped his jacket with some
difficulty and tried to shrug it off. It wouldn�t budge. Making a disgruntled
face, he reached his arms back to try to pull a sleeve off, but the tight
leather wouldn�t allow him enough flexibility. Making muffled whines, he lost
his balance as he tried, unsuccessfully, to yank it off. He yelped as he fell
to the ground with a large thump. Yuu felt something strange bubble up in his
chest. It was so overpowering that he couldn�t keep it back. Yuu laughed. Not
the tiny snickers he sometimes made, nor the humorless snorts, but full-out
laughter. His sides and face ached with the force, and he fell over, pounding
the mattress in mirth.

�� Of course you
would laugh at my pain, Yuu-chan,� Lavi pouted, still on his back and unmoving.
�Wait!� His face took on a shocked expression that served to only exacerbate
Yuu�s abrupt and distressing sense of humor. �You�re laughing!?�

�� Lavi scrambled up,
somehow divested of the troublesome jacket, and the leather squeaked as he sat
on the bed. He looked both astonished and pained as Yuu grabbed his cramping
stomach, a flood of laughs still spewing from his mouth. Tears prickled at his
eyes. As they finally slowed, Lavi pulled his boots off with grunts of
frustration. Yuu unexpectedly wanted to kiss Lavi, and a mischievous smile
snaked over his lips.

�� What?� Lavi
asked, looking confused. He leaned up, and Yuu grabbed the man�s shoulders,
twisting him and throwing him down on the mattress, almost hitting the
thrice-ruined headboard. He still didn�t remember when he had hit it the third
time, but that didn�t matter.

�� Yuu, what are you
doing?� Lavi asked. Yuu scoffed and swiftly undid the buttons of Lavi�s formal
shirt. Moving down to the pants, he noticed that they seemed to have shrunk.
Snickering under his breath, he activated Mugen and cut them down the seams.
Though it had the added bonus of cutting his boxers off too, Lavi sighed in
relief.

�� Oh, I can breathe
again!� He exclaimed, taking a deep, gasping breath for emphasis. �Thanks, Yuu.
I thought I was going to die!�

�� Yuu snickered
again. �I don�t think your feet are supposed to be purple,� he commented,
divesting Lavi of his undershirt.

�� Oh,
God! My feet are asleep! Oh, shit, my legs, too! And
my ass!� Lavi screamed, contorting himself in order to grab his feet
around Yuu�s body. �God, the pain!�

�� Yuu couldn�t help
it�he started laughing again, and Lavi froze.

�� I�ve never heard
you laugh like this, Yuu,� he commented.

�� That�s because I
never have,� Yuu answered. For some reason, Lavi looked somewhat smug.

�� Makes my stomach
feel funny,� Lavi said, smiling genuinely. The gesture made Yuu�s stomach do that
stupid little flippy thing. Swooping down, he kissed
Lavi, and the other man moaned as the Japanese man nibbled on his lower lip.

�� Wait, Yuu,
what�re you doin�?� Lavi asked, pulling back
unexpectedly. He looked monumentally confused.

�� What does it�
look like� I�m doing?� Yuu responded blankly. Was Lavi
really that oblivious?

�� No, really, Yuu,
what are you doing?� Apparently so.

�� Yuu sighed and
stared incredulously down at the redhead. He didn�t know how to respond. Lavi�s
idiocy had reached new heights. Suddenly, he didn�t feel like doing anything
anymore.

�� Never mind, I�m
going to the bathroom,� Yuu said, getting up from his position above Lavi and
walking out, frustrated. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed again as he
made his way to the toilet. Splashing cold water on his face, Yuu looked at his
reflection in the mirror. He looked tired and� he wasn�t wearing a shirt. Shit.

�� Kanda?�
Darcy asked as a shower stall opened and the man walked out, clad only in a
very short, pink towel that clashed greatly with his hair.

�� What are you
wearing?� Yuu asked. Did the other man have no pride at all?

�� It�s Amanda�s,�
Darcy replied, looking away and blushing. �So what brings you here, scowling
angrily at your frustrated reflection?� He added nonchalantly.

�� Lavi�s an idiot,�
Yuu found himself confessing. It surprised him to note that he didn�t mind
other people hearing a bit about his personal life. He couldn�t remember that
ever happening before.

�� Darcy chuckled.
�What did he do this time?� He asked, his tone amused.

�� He�s oblivious,�
Yuu growled, running his hands through his hair again.

�� Oh!� Darcy
exclaimed, holding out a hand. �Let me guess!�

�� Yuu stared as the
man continued. �You tried to get things started with him, got him completely
undressed, and you were kissing him, and he looked up at you and asked, �what
are you doing?��

�� Yuu�s mouth
dropped open embarrassingly. �How did you�?� He asked, his voice trailing off
in astonishment.

�� It was the same
with Amanda. Only her response was, �Darcy, you�re touching me in places that
shouldn�t be mentioned�why?� I nearly facepalmed
myself.�

�� Facepalmed?�

�� You know, smack?� Darcy said, demonstrating the
action. Yuu had indeed felt the same at the time.

�� Why are our
idiots so similar?� Yuu questioned in anger.

�� I don�t know, but
you better go back before he thinks you�ve left him,� Darcy suggested. �Trust me, I know from experience�it can get dangerous.�

�� Yuu�s heart froze
in his chest. �Fuck,� he said, suddenly urgent. �You�re right.� He hurried
toward the door.

�� Oh,
and Kanda?�

�� Yuu turned around.
�What?� He bit out. He needed to get back to that room. Right
now.

�� I�m not going to
ask about your back, but goddamn.�

�� Yuu nodded gravely
and left the bathroom, rushing to get back to his room. If Lavi didn�t remember
him again or went despondent again or�and Yuu shuddered at the
possibility�tried to off himself
again, Yuu didn�t know what he would do. Whatever it would be, though, he knew
it wouldn�t be in the realm of pleasant.

�� He slammed open
the door and saw Lavi sitting with legs�still covered with the fabric of his
ruined pants�outstretched on the bed, his hands supporting him between them. As
Yuu walked in, Lavi smiled brightly and genuinely.

�� Yuu-chan!�
He called. �Glad you�re back. Have a nice piss? I was bored.�

�� Adorable,� Yuu
whispered, quite by accident.

�� Wha?� Lavi asked. Yuu shook his head and walked
over, sitting next to Lavi on the bed. Throwing the fabric of the redhead�s
pants aside, Yuu pushed Lavi down again and leaned over him, determined to get
him to respond properly. �Yuu, what are��

�� Don�t say it,
rabbit, because I am going to explain it to you. You are sitting there, naked.
I am here, on top of you, dressed only in a pair of pants and boxers. What
would want to do in this situation?� He couldn�t believe he was saying this.

�� Er� well, I�d kinda like� well�
it�d be nice if� we could maybe� y�know� do
something�� Lavi hedged, making doodling patterns with his hands.

�� Spit it out,
rabbit,� Yuu snarled, resisting the urge to run the other man through with
Mugen.

�� Well� perhaps we
could� well� er� you and I could�� Lavi continued
hesitantly.

�� It would only take
a second to activate his chokuto�

�� I�d really like
to� but I don�t know if you do� so maybe we� but
then��

�� Yuu smirked
mischievously and reached over to toy with Lavi�s left earring.

�� I�� Lavi gasped.
��We could� maybe do�� Lavi gasped again, louder this time. ��something
rather�� Lavi�s good eye glazed over a little bit. ��Fuck, Yuu, if you don�t
take me now, I�m going to explode!�

�� Yuu�s smirk
widened to a wicked smile. �I see you�ve gotten the point,� he said, squeezing
Lavi�s earlobe. The man made a strangled whimper.

�� Yuu paused. He
didn�t know quite how to begin. He�d never done anything of the sort before,
after all. Face burning, he reached down, placing a hand atop Lavi�s growing
erection. The man�s eye grew wide and impossibly green as he gasped, presumably
in simultaneous shock and pleasure.

�� Wait, Yuu�you�re
actually� gonna� take the� lead?� He gasped out as Yuu began to move his hand slowly
along his lover�s length.

�� Yes,� he
muttered, and he let his lips descend onto Lavi�s in a deep kiss that made
desire pool in his stomach. He had never initiated such a passionate kiss with
Lavi before, and it felt good, somehow. It was important that he show Lavi how
much he loved him, even though he couldn�t say it. From Lavi�s deep, guttural
moan, Yuu figured he got the idea.

---

October 14, 2013�The Dark Order, Main Branch, Cafeteria

�� Lavi�s ass hurt.
He could barely walk because every step felt like needles poking his ass. They
were very large, very sharp needles. But he couldn�t find himself regretting
it. As Lavi yawned from only a few hours� sleep, he felt it had been
well-spent. Several times well-spent.

�� He groaned as he limped
into the cafeteria. The mood seemed to be rather somber, and Lavi couldn�t help
but feel a bit� out of place. He was too happy.
Sitting down very gingerly with his large tray of food�he was famished�Lavi
winced. His ass hurt even more in a
seated position. Grimacing, he adjusted himself so he was sitting on his knees.

�� Allen and Lenalee
sat down across from him, the former carrying a bowl of pretzels, probably left
over from Artemis�s reception. He popped one in his mouth and smiled knowingly.
�You�re up awfully late, Lavi. I mean, I�m already on my afternoon snack, and
you�ve only just appeared. Where�s Kanda?�

�� He�s taking a
shower,� Lavi said primly, stabbing a sausage with his fork and stuffing it in
his mouth.

�� You�re sitting
rather� stiffly, Lavi,� Allen commented, tossing a handful of pretzels into his
bottomless gorge.

�� Why yes, yes, I
am,� Lavi said as stiffly as his posture. Amanda and Darcy sat down next to
him, both sporting trays of breakfast. Amanda, too, was walking a bit too
delicately to avoid suspicion. When Amanda saw him, she smiled widely.

�� That
good, huh?� She asked, her smile turning devious.

�� You have no
idea,� Lavi replied, his voice going a little breathless as he remembered the
previous night.

�� What do you mean,
Lavi?� Lenalee asked na�vely. Allen glared at him, and Darcy sighed.

�� Give it up,
Allen. She needs to know. You can�t shelter her forever,� he said. Allen sighed
and nodded resignedly, making a �go ahead� motion with his hand.

�� Lenalee, come
over here for a minute,� Darcy said, grabbing her wrist and leading her a meter or two away. �Now, Lenalee, there are some
things you need to know. When two guys love each other very, very much�and I
mean love, like romantic love�like,
like, Romeo and Juliet, only Romeo and Romeo� Well, anyway, when they love each
other very much, there are certain� physical things they can do with each
other,� Darcy explained.

�� Really?�
Lenalee asked, her voice astonished. Lavi wondered
vaguely if Darcy was rocking her entire perception of the world.

�� Yes. You see� you
do know how sex works, right?� Darcy
asked, shifting his eyes nervously toward Allen.

�� Of
course. I�m not oblivious, you know,� she said, sounding somewhat
offended. Darcy snorted, and Lavi tried not to choke into his eggs.

�� Alright, well,
you see�� he leaned forward and whispered a series of things into Lenalee�s
ear, too quiet for Lavi�s expert Bookman hearing to catch. Lenalee�s face grew
more shocked with each passing second.

�� They put what where?� Lenalee shouted,
sounding horrified. Lavi coughed as tried not to inhale his eggs. �But�but��

�� At that moment,
Yuu walked in, and Lenalee ran up to him. �Kanda-kun� you� and-and-and Lavi�
and the things� and the places� and the putting there� with the things� and the
Romeo� with the other Romeo� and I don�t� with the� with the� with the��

�� Yuu pulled Lenalee
into a big, body-encompassing hug, one hand behind her head and the other
around her back. �Who broke your brain, Lenalee?� He asked.

�� Both Allen and
Lavi snorted simultaneously, the former inhaling a pretzel. He began to choke
loudly, and Lenalee looked over, concerned. Yuu walked over, pushing Amanda to
the side, and sat next to Lavi. Stealing Lavi�s tray and fork, he began to eat.
Looking up at Allen, Lavi noted how purple he was becoming.

�� Er, Allen� are you alright?�

�� Allen choked out a
tiny scream and shook his head emphatically. He brought his hands up to his
neck in the universal sign for choking.

�� Heh� Moyashi�s
choking,� Yuu snickered quietly, taking another bite of eggs. Amanda looked
alarmed and stood up.

�� Allen, I�m Red
Cross certified in the Heimlich maneuver. I�m required to ask you these
questions: are you choking?�

�� Allen stared at
her in disbelief and then nodded sharply several times.

�� Do you want
help?�

�� Allen looked at
her as if she was an idiot, nodding again.

�� Amanda walked
around to the other side of the table, moving quickly. �Now, I�m going to touch
you in places that your virginness may be
uncomfortable with. You sure you want me to�?�

�� Allen spluttered
and coughed, yanking her arm until it was around his middle.

�� Why, Allen!�
Amanda exclaimed breathily, fanning her face with her free hand. Allen began to
fall forward, his face taking on a somewhat blue hue.

�� Slowly, almost
erotically, Amanda ran her finger across his beltline and moved it up to his
bellybutton. She covered her fist with her other hand above said bellybutton
and jabbed up and in. Allen made a retching motion, and the pretzel shot from
his mouth.

�� Oh, Lavi thought, it�s headed in my direction. It�ll miss, though�

�� The pretzel
impacted his uncovered, blind eye, and the force of it knocked Lavi off balance
and onto the floor, where he hit his head.

�� Ow!� He shouted, bringing one hand to his eye and the other
to his head. �That fucking��

�� Up on the bench,
Yuu was snorting with suppressed mirth. Amanda sat back down next to him in her
same mockingly seductive manner, and suddenly, Yuu cracked. Gales of laughter
erupted from his formerly stoic mouth, and the entire cafeteria went silent.

�� Moyashi choked on a pretzel!� He
muttered between laughs, and Amanda joined in. They turned, and Yuu placed his
arms around her in a very uncharacteristic gesture. They laughed together for a
while.

�� Only you would
laugh at my pain,� Lavi said, repeating his pout from the night before. Yuu
laughed harder.

�� Abruptly, he
pushed Amanda away and brushed himself off. �Enough of that,� he commented and
returned to Lavi�s eggs. A moment later, he spat them out and mumbled angrily,
�taste like fucking shit.� He stormed off and returned
a moment later with some soba noodles. Lavi got up off the floor and sat back
down next to him.

�� Every few moments,
Yuu would snicker to himself, muttering things along the line of �Moyashi� or �choked� or �pretzel� or
�eye.� His laughing face struck Lavi as very� pure, and he liked it. There was
something very refreshing�not to mention arousing�in Yuu�s laugh.

�� Grabbing Yuu�s
chopsticks from his hands, Lavi tossed them across the table and threw his arms
around his lover. Yuu fell backwards into Amanda, who in turn fell into Darcy,
and they all tumbled to the floor, knocking the bench down as they went. The
rest of the Finders and soldiers fell as well, and they all mumbled curses as
they straightened it. Darcy held Amanda closely, just as Lavi did Yuu, and as
they lay there, doing nothing�although Yuu was glaring and scowling at him like
he�d done something stupid�Allen and Lenalee walked out. Allen carried his big
bowl of pretzels and munched on them as they left.

�� Don�t choke!� Yuu
called out after them. Allen coughed and thumped himself on the chest. Raising
a hand, he gave them the finger as he and Lenalee finally reached the door.
Lavi chuckled and leaned down, unable to keep his lips from Yuu�s any longer.

---

September 6, 2013�Ontario, Canada

�� Wrapping her whip
around the closest Akuma, Cyrah pulled back, tightening it until it sliced
through. A gratifying explosion followed, and she deactivated her Innocence,
turning back to the kid sheltered in the tiny alleyway.

�� You okay, kid?�
She asked the quivering lump.

�� I�m�I�m
K-K-Kevin,� he stammered. �And why�?�

�� I didn�t ask who
you are, only if you were okay,� Cyrah responded sharply, jamming the flexible
gray rod into a belt loop.

�� You�re glowing,�
the boy commented shakily, pointing at her.

�� Not anymore,�
Cyrah said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

�� No, you�re
glowing!� The kid insisted.

�� What?� She asked
harshly. The kid jabbed his finger at her chest, and Cyrah looked down. Her
eyebrows shot up impossibly far.

�� Well, I�ll be��
she muttered disbelievingly, opening her General�s jacket and pulling out a
glowing shard of Innocence. Krista had brought this particular piece they had
found back to the Order to be reduced to element form. She had only brought it
back the previous day. It irked Cyrah that it had taken three days, but Krista
probably needed a break from the war anyway. The poor girl was only twelve, and
she was being asked to carry a very heavy burden, one that was much heavier
than Cyrah�s had been when she had first joined the Order.

�� You said your
name was Kevin?� She asked the boy, and he nodded emphatically. �Well, Kevin,
you�re going to be an Exorcist. Stand up.�

�� The boy looked
confused, but he complied, standing on trembling legs. Cyrah bit down on her
admonishing response and explained the war to him.

�� But�but, I don�t want to fight! I want to go back and
paint my nails and listen to Hawthorne Heights!� The kid exclaimed. From the
tight, black jeans, the effeminate black shirt, and the sweeping black haircut,
it didn�t surprise her. She handed him the Innocence, which, distressingly,
turned into a utility knife. Cyrah shook her head, pondering the mental
stability of the boy she had just picked up.

---

September 28, 2013�Northern
Rockies, Canada

�� Snow blew hard
through the mountainous path. Bak cursed the fucking Akuma who had the gall to make avalanches in the middle of
a snowstorm, and to make matters worse, they had somehow gotten separated from
Cyrah and Maya. He was stuck with the annoying little brat and the emo freak
that insisted on being called �Jayde.� What the fuck kind of name was Jayde? Bak shook his head and leaned
against the cold, rocky wall of the cave they had found.

�� Baaaaak-k-k! I�m c-c-c-c-cooooold!�
Krista complained, huddling up in the tiny space blanket that was in her
emergency kit. He did feel a small bit of sympathy for her there. She had let
her ridiculous pigtails down, but she still had a very short skirt as part of her
Exorcist uniform. The jacket�if it could be called that, sleeveless as it was�was
relatively thin with a large, open back. She shuddered pitifully, unable to
rest her back against the wall as Bak did. Looking over at her, Bak noted her
lips were turning a bright shade of blue. Alarmed, he walked over.

�� Here, Krista,� he
said, sighing and wrapping her in his own space blanket. �Emo boy, scoot
over�we�re sharing.� He couldn�t believe those words were coming out of his
mouth.

�� My name,� the emo idiot said, �is Jayde.�

�� I don�t give a
fuck,� Bak bit out. �If you don�t want to die here, help me make a fucking
fire.�

�� B-b-b-but
B-B-Baaaak! I�m st-st-st-st-st-still c-c-cooooold!� Krista
wailed, and when Bak looked exasperatedly back at her again, he saw tears
falling down her tiny, preteen face.

�� Rolling his eyes,
he sat next to her, wrapping an arm around her thin, unclothed shoulders. She
shivered roughly into his chest, and Bak turned and glared at Kevin�he refused
to call him Jayde�who was failing
repeatedly at his task.

�� Do you want to
warm Krista up, or do you think you can handle a pair of matches?� He shot out
nastily. Kevin glared at him and turned back to his work, doing an annoyingly
practiced hair flip. Bak rolled his eyes. They were doomed. They had no cell
phone service, their golems were out of range, it was too cold and snowy and
windy for Krista to use her powers to find the others, and they couldn�t even
start a fire.

�� Bak had wanted to
follow his father�s footsteps and be a scientist for the Dark Order, but the
Innocence had decided his fate for him. Perhaps that was why he was so bitter,
but as the idiot in his arms shivered further, he thought that it was most
likely the company. Why had he gotten
stuck with Cyrah�s group? He would
have preferred Chu-chan�s or even Tamas Varga�s, but
he had somehow gotten the butt of the lottery, and he was stuck with General
Kabbah. But even Cyrah wasn�t so bad as the other Exorcists. Maya, the Mexican woman, was
a complete and total domineering bitch, Kevin was emo and kept saying he wanted
to die, and Krista was annoying, although she was allowed, because she was so
young.

�� Perhaps I�ll die
here,� Kevin said, sounding cheerful, and Bak resisted the urge to slap him
upside the head. He knew for a fact that the kid was only doing it for
attention, and it tested his nerves every day. He wanted to haul out and punch
him, scream at him for taking something like that so lightly, for wanting to
take the life his parents had given him, against all odds. The wind abruptly
stopped roaring, and the snowflakes stopped drifting in.

�� I�ve never heard
of a suicidal Exorcist before,� said a high-pitched, girlish voice. Fear colder
than the wind settled deep into Bak�s heart. Road jumped down from the top of
the pile of their packs at the entrance to the cave. Instantly, Bak was on his
feet, Innocence activated. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw both of his
companions looking confused at his reaction, and he hissed for their benefit,

�� Noah, get the
hell out.�

�� Well, that�s not
very nice!� Road complained. �I was going to help you!�

�� Why would you do
that?� Bak asked, a bitter edge to his voice.

�� Because
I�m bored!� Road replied, striding past him to where
Kevin sat. Creating a lit candle from nowhere, she jabbed it into the
ground. �I left my door up so there�s less wind,� she added absently, holding
her hands in front of the fire as if she had actual human needs.

�� Stop glaring at
me!� Road cried at him, �If I was gonna kill you, I woulda
done it already!� Bak thought about it for a moment before walking over and
sitting next to the fire, Innocence still active. Road scooted away slightly,
heading toward Krista.

�� What?� Bak asked,
offended despite himself.

�� It hurts to be
near it,� She replied simply, shuddering.

�� The night passed
excruciatingly slowly, and when the sun finally rose, the snowstorm had blown
over completely. Sometime during the night, the wind had died down enough for
Road to remove her door, and they all felt slightly more at ease at its loss. A
loud explosion ripped through the air, and Road cursed. Running from the cave
into the freezing mountain air, Road looked up. The rest of the Exorcists
followed her.

�� What are they
still doing here?� she hissed, her face taking on a dark expression, �I told
them to leave!�

�� An Akuma descended
next to her.

�� Why the hell are
you still here? I told you��

�� The Earl�s orders
trump yours, Mistress Road.�

�� Road�s face went
livid. �What did he tell you?� she demanded.

�� We are to
self-destruct upon finding the Exorcists, causing avalanches,� the tiny Level
Two responded before promptly exploding. There was a deep rumble from above,
and Bak looked up, horror-struck, at the forming avalanche.

�� Snow roared like a
wave down the mountainside, and he vaguely saw Road grabbing their packs and
throwing them into another door she had created a few meters away.

�� Get in!� She
shouted, but Bak shook his head. If they made it back to the cave� �You have
to! You�ll die!�

�� You�re a Noah!
This is your ploy to kill us!� Bak shouted. Road stamped her foot in a
surprisingly childish gesture and grabbed Krista, throwing her in after the
packs.

�� You
two!� She screamed desperately at Bak and his emo companion. �If you
don�t want to die, get in here!�

�� Bak saw no other
choice and ran toward the door, noticing a few seconds later that Kevin was not
following. �KEVIN! GET YOUR FUCKING ASS OVER HERE!� He yelled over the
deafening roar of the approaching snow. The idiot stood, transfixed, at
oncoming death, and a smile grew over his face.

�� This is an
interesting way to die,� he commented happily, though Bak could barely hear it.
Cursing, he turned and ran back to his stupid companion, pulling him along and
tossing him to Road, who threw him unceremoniously into the portal.

�� Running toward it
himself, he saw Road extending her hand. He was five meters away, then four,
and then he felt something strong and powerful lift him up.

�� It�s your
fault!!!!� He screamed at the tiny form of Kevin�s head, which was sticking out
of Road�s door. �If I die, I�m going to haunt you!!!!� Then the snow overpowered
him, and he saw himself going overtop of Road�s door.
Well, fuck, he thought, this is a hell of a way to go out. He
felt himself impact something very solid, and the breath was driven from his
lungs. Still the snow roared on above him, pushing him further down and down
until all he could see was black.

---

September 28, 2013�A random road
in Atlanta, Georgia

�� Road
stared in shock, arm still outstretched, as the snow overpowered the man.
She didn�t know where he was, so she couldn�t open another door. Horror filled
her as the snow hit and pushed her back through the door, out onto the street
she had opened it to. She waited a few moments before closing it, hoping the
Chinese man was somewhere in the large pile that had
followed her in. The tiny, annoying girl that Road had thrown in first started
screaming at the girly, even more annoying black-haired brat that reminded Road
how much she hated humans sometimes.

�� Chan-chan is
right!� She screamed, tears pouring at an alarming rate from her eyes. �It�s
your fault! Go burn in hell!�

�� Little children
shouldn�t even know those words!� The boy screamed back, looking depressed in a
way that actually seemed real. Over the course of the night, Road had dismissed
the boy as a fake, but perhaps there was some truth to his suicidal thoughts
now. She fervently hoped so. She had liked Bak. He
had been surprisingly good company, despite them technically being enemies�not
that Road wanted to fight anymore.

�� I�m not a child!
I�m just as much an Exorcist as you! More so, because I can
actually fight!� She yelled back, and Road saw for the first time what this little
pipsqueak had in the way of powers. Huge, powerfully flaming green wings
erupted from her shoulder blades as talons grew from her fingers and toes. It
was potentially very powerful Innocence, and Road stepped back, glad she
wouldn�t have to face this girl. If the war continued and she survived, she
would probably be unstoppable. She was very much like Road�small but very, very
strong.

�� Shut
up, brat!� The other kid screamed wildly, activating his own Innocence.
Road shuddered away. It was too powerful, and in her corrupted form, she
couldn�t stand its purity.

�� Stop it, both of
you!� Road exclaimed, putting them both in clear boxes, more to get away from
the raw, throbbing power of the Innocence. �We need to do something!�

�� We should find
his body, then,� the girl said quietly, deactivating. Road let her out of the
box. �Because you
killed him!� She added, pointing furiously at the black-haired kid. Road
tried not to chuckle at the girl�s antics. It wasn�t the time. That�s what
Faith would say.

�� Road opened
another door, this time a few meters up. She needed Lero to fly up to it, and
she cursed her inability to call him. The Earl couldn�t know that she was
helping the Exorcists, and since Lero was his golem, he would probably tell the
oversized clown. Creating a simple staircase that would in all probability only
work for her, she beckoned to the younger Exorcist.

�� We have to leave
the kid, but since it seems you can fly, you and I can both look. I�ll be able
to melt most of the snow, I think,� she said, and the girl Exorcist nodded,
activating her too powerful Innocence again.

�� Stepping out of
the door as the girl fluttered behind her, Road saw that she had made it
approximately at the right height. She was glad she had a feel for these
things. Creating a couple overlarge candles, she flared up the fire until it
was powerful enough to do any difference. The girl flew around her, tossing
snow hither thither in her attempts to find the man, and as the sun set, Road�s candles finally melted a layer of snow on top of
a human-shaped object.

�� There was no
denying it was Bak, and somewhere in Road�s heart, she felt� sad. It was the
first time she had felt sadness for another human being who was not her kin.
This was an interesting development. The blood in her veins burned for a
moment, and Road nearly screamed out with pain. It left only a moment after it
came, though, leaving Road slumped over Bak�s body,
nearly in tears.

�� That was when she
felt the approach of excruciatingly strong Innocence. It wrapped around her in
a stinging thread, and it burned like
a tiny, white-hot wire. This time, Road did scream. It was all she could do to
keep herself there, to not create a door and escape. She deserved this. She had
killed Exorcists, created Akuma and human slaves, all because her twisted mind
told her it was okay. It was not okay, though, and now she was paying for it,
and as the Innocence burned through her skin down to the bones, she felt she
was being judged.

�� The sting
lessened, but only slightly, as the young girl alighted nimbly on the snow in
front of her, batting at the Innocence that bound Road so tightly.

�� General Kabbah,�
the girl said in her squeaky voice, raising her arms protectively outward, as
if that would keep the Innocence from wrapping agonizingly tighter around
Road�s ribcage. �She didn�t kill Bak!�

�� What nonsense is
this?� The middle-aged General asked incredulously.

�� Kevin did!�
Krista insisted. �So don�t hurt Road, she saved our lives!�

�� Road missed
whatever happened next, as she shut her eyes from the pain, but apparently,
something in Krista�s face convinced the old General, and she let her Innocence
relax somewhat. Still, it charred wherever it touched, and Road felt tears
falling to the ground, melting the snow it hit.

�� Where is that emo
kid?� Cyrah questioned, and Road barely heard it through the rushing in her
ears. Vaguely, she realized her voice had long lost its power.

�� In�Georgia!�
She managed to croak. �Through� door��

�� The Innocence
loosened again, sitting atop her skin threateningly, as if waiting for the
first sign of attack to tighten again. Though it hurt to be near, it was no
longer in her blood, scorching her from the inside out, and she could begin to
think again.

�� Krista, go get
him,� Cyrah ordered.

�� But he�s heavy!�
Krista complained loudly. Road opened her eyes in time to see a chilling glare
aimed at the little girl, who activated her Innocence�Road winced�and flew back
up to the door. She felt the familiar rush as someone used the portal, then
twice more as two people returned to the snowy mountains.

�� Distant sounds
finally came back to Road; she heard the whine of Akuma cannons blasting the
region, leveling it in places. She wondered how many human lives would be lost
from this attack. And then she wondered why she was wondering. The burning in
her system lessened again, and she stood up shakily.

�� I� cannot excuse
my presence here for much longer,� she explained in a shaky, coarse whisper
that was all the sound she could produce from her raw throat. �I will� take the
Akuma away. I know there were� supposed to be Level Threes around here.�

�� Why are you�?�
The General started asking, but she trailed off with a shake of her head.

�� I� am tired��
Road responded, and she closed the door above in favor of one right behind her.
As she stepped through, she added, �I am sorry� for� your loss�� It surprised
her to note how much.

---

October 11, 2013�Cozumel, Mexico

�� There was
something about Jayde�s mental stability that had seemed to just� collapse
after Bak�s death. Cyrah repressed the angry shakes that had been eating at her
for the past two weeks, ever since Bak had died. She didn�t know exactly what
had happened, but it had had something to do with the annoying brat blaming him
for it.

�� You bitch! Get
your ass up and train!� The girl yelled. Cyrah wondered where she had gotten
her mouth from.

�� Looking over,
Cyrah saw her kicking Jayde�dammit, his name was Kevin!�in the shins repeatedly. Maya was staring at them angrily.

�� Fuck off, ho!�
Jayde�Kevin�shot back, trying to
punch her and missing as she activated her Innocence and flew out of range.

�� No! You need to
get good at fighting so you can make up for killing
Chan-chan!� Krista yelled, her pink-bobbled pigtails flapping in the air in
tandem with her wings.

�� I can see your
stupid teddy-bear panties! Get your ass down here!� He yelled, turning slightly
green. Cyrah didn�t blame him.

�� Come and get me
then!� Krista taunted, making antlers with her hands and sticking her tongue
out childishly.

�� Will you both
just shut the fuck up!?� Maya finally screamed, sounding furious as usual.
Cyrah sighed. Whenever Maya joined a conversation, it invariably ended up in an
obnoxious fight that gave Cyrah migraines. Closing her eyes and pinching the
bridge of her nose in an attempt to calm herself, she took a deep breath.

�� Don�t wanna, not for you, �cause you�re mean
to me!� Squeaked Krista�s annoying voice. Cyrah opened
an eye to check on the situation and froze.

�� WATCH OUT!� She
screamed, and she watched, horrified, as the scene unfolded. She was too far
away to help at all.

�� As one, all three
Exorcists� heads turned to her as a Level One Akuma sprang from the ground,
priming its cannons. Kevin was the first to hear it, and he made a double-take-esque motion as he looked back at it. The Level One aimed
at Krista, who was now hovering just a few feet from the ground. In
desperation, Kevin yanked on a blond pigtail, and the girl squawked as she was
pulled out of the way of the bullet. Kevin got knocked off balance as Krista
plummeted. Cyrah watched, horror-struck, as the bullet pierced its way into his
side.

�� Kevin blanched,
offsetting his black hair and clothes marvelously. The Akuma virus spread until
he was as black as coal. A moment later, the wind carried away his ashes as he
disintegrated. Maya screamed in rage, and her Innocence-flaming sword descended
on the Akuma, rending it in two. As it exploded, a cruel laugh echoed from the
forest, and Noah�s Strength stepped out from behind the trees.

�� Whoops,� he
chuckled. Cyrah froze once more. Strength was dressed in an undershirt that was
covered in dried blood. His old, faded jeans, too, were bloodstained, and Cyrah
felt bile rise in her throat as the smell of sweat, blood, and piss wafted down
to them. �I just wanted to tell you that you don�t have to worry about Artemis
anymore. She�s in a much better place now.� He smiled menacingly down at them
in what Cyrah supposed was an attempt at being cheery.

�� Rage billowed
through her veins, and she grabbed her Innocence without even meaning to. She
felt her cell phone vibrate in her pocket, but the wind was roaring in her ears
with her fury, and she could concentrate on nothing but the corrupted man in
front of her who had just been responsible for the death of yet another apprentice. Ironically,
Krista would have survived, but Kevin hadn�t thought of that. Perhaps what
irked her most was that the death had been pointless. From Krista�s incensed
expression, Cyrah knew this fight would not only be hers.

�� A padded, crowned
door opened next to them, and Road stepped out. She looked furious, and when
she stood next to Cyrah, the older woman decided that she could trust the girl
to some extent.

�� CHAZ!�
She screamed, small candles appearing around her as
they all shifted into a world Cyrah didn�t understand. It was black and dark,
and all around her were floating candles, piles of presents, and a table filled
with food that looked like it had once been delicious. She opened her mouth to
question the girl Noah, but said girl was already moving on into a screaming
tirade that made Cyrah grateful she had suffered worse from Maya�s mouth.

�� CHAZ!
YOU KILLED HER! YOU TOOK THAT GIRL,
AND YOU KILLED HER!!!� Her voice cut
off in a hoarse yell from apparent overuse, and she continued, softer, �Faith
is so angry at you. What do you think
you�re doing, hurting Faith?�

�� Faith doesn�t
matter,� the bulky Noah spat venomously. Road�s eyes narrowed to snake�s slits.

�� Faith is the only thing that matters!� Road asserted.
Cyrah was confused, but now was not the time to lose her guard. If the Noahs� spat ceased, they would both be after the Exorcists
in this dark, spiraling world.

---

October 10, 2013�Noah�s Ark,
Artemis�s Room

�� It was the power
that first brought her to consciousness, that sheer, tainted power that filled
the room with a vile electricity. Road�s eyes
fluttered open, and she flinched back as putrid, unclean breath hit her face.
The Earl had not brushed his teeth�not that that was what Road was
concentrating on at the moment. Her hand was stuck to the bed, caked in layers
of blood and gore that was not hers. Her hair felt dirty, and her face was in a
pile of what smelled like dried vomit. Road itched to heave and hurl whatever
was left in her stomach, but the Earl�s golden eyes were flashing with a rage
Road had only seen once before, when Sebastian had left.

�� The Earl did not
need to say anything; he simply pulled at the umbrella golem that Road was so
fond of, and it formed his twisted, destructive broadsword.

�� Of all of us, you
were the one I least expected to betray me,� he seethed, still smiling a
clownishly wide, toothy grin that stretched literally from ear to ear. It was
his default expression, one that he could not rid himself of, but the anger in
his bespectacled eyes belied any possibility of amusement.

�� Road scrambled to
her feet, taking the dirtied sheet with her. Her hand would not detach, and she
didn�t have time to extricate herself. She needed to get out of the room before
the Earl struck at her. �I betrayed no one,� she whispered, horrified, as she
created the smallest door possible from the room. She didn�t know where it was
going�it could go into the middle of the Dark Order�s Headquarters, for all she
cared�she just needed to get out before the Earl killed her.

�� The Earl stepped
forward as Road paced back toward the door, and this, too, was a mood Road had
seen before. It was that murderous wrath that he only aimed at his so-called
Destroyer, Faith�s Heart. She no longer felt any tenderness for the Earl.
Whatever she had had before was long gone�it had left the second he had drugged
Faith. She was the last of the remaining Noahs to remember exactly what
happened.

�� I disagree, dear
child,� the Earl said, advancing further. Road stepped back again, tripping
over the threshold and through the door. She felt herself hit nothing but
water, and she hastily attempted to close the portal.

�� Thrashing,
half-drowning, Road watched in terror as the Earl jammed Lero into the swinging
doors. She let herself sink. She was a Noah, she could survive. If she tried
hard enough, she could return to Faith�s mind, but she knew she could never do
that. She was too strong, she always had been. Instead, she was struck with
another idea, and as the Earl plunged in after her, she created a door
underneath her, taking her to the one place where she always felt safe: Greece.

�� She closed the
door directly behind her, but the water poured through it for a long while
before she could force it completely shut and make it disappear. Sighing in
relief, she realized the Earl hadn�t followed her and she�d left the disgusting
sheet behind. Taking quick action, she traveled through several countries
through a series of doors, stopping here and there to find herself food or
steal some clothes.

�� Road drifted for a
while, travelling here and there as she thought out a course of action.
Obviously, she couldn�t stay still. The Earl would invariably go to Faith and
force her to locate Road through her bonds. Road shivered. She didn�t want the
Earl mistreating her most valued sister, but now that she was no longer there,
she had no say in the matter, no way to distract the Earl from it. A wave of uselessness
hit her, and she struck the ground as her legs collapsed beneath her.

�� How long had she
been moving? She didn�t know. She was tired, though, so very, very tired. The
sun had long since fallen, and it was now beginning its daily ascension in the
eastern sky. Her eyes felt so very heavy, and the dreams around her became
apparent as they did every time she sank into an oblivion
similar to sleep. One particular dream tugged at her mind, and it played in
front of her eyes before she could repress it.

�� It was Faith�s
world, and in the middle of it stood the girl herself. Road ran up to her,
gathering the girl in an embrace.

�� Faith! She cried, tears of relief
running down her face.

�� Road, the girl replied, smiling into
Road�s neck. Feeling something wet striking her shoulders, she looked up into
Faith�s face and saw the other girl was crying as well. I thought the Earl had killed you! I haven�t been able to wake up, and
you�ve been gone for hours!

�� Road squeezed the
other girl tighter. Faith, did the Earl
drug you again? She asked angrily. Faith nodded against her neck, and Road
pulled back, furious. I�m going back, and
I�m going to�

�� No, Road! Faith exclaimed, sounding
alarmed. You can�t come back here! The
Earl will kill you! Please, be safe.

�� How do I do that? Road asked, genuinely
curious.

�� I don�t know, Faith said hesitantly.
Road slipped her hands into Faith�s.

�� I have an idea, she said. Faith raised
her eyebrows until they nearly hit her heavenly stigmata. I can�t tell you about it now�if the Earl uses the bonds to find out,
then I won�t be safe, but I�ll contact you when I am asleep again.

�� Faith nodded in
understanding, tears still pooling in her eyes and running down her face like
waterfalls. The dream dazzled out of existence, and Road opened her eyes,
hugging nothing but the sterile air of what was undeniably a hospital room.

�� Sighing, Road sat
up, glad to see there was no IV in her ashen arm. She seemed to be cleaner,
though, and she smelled of industrial soap. Her nose wrinkled. Sneezing, she
got out of the bed and found a pair of her stolen clothes. Creating a door, she
left the hospital room immediately, glad that the Earl hadn�t found her.

�� A bell rang, and
she looked up at a clock tower. It was eight thirty in the morning. She hadn�t
been sleeping for too long. Exhausted and anxious, Road began her journey. She
hadn�t a clue where the Exorcists would be, and since she was out of contact
with anyone�or thing, as it were, as she�d have to ask Akuma�who would tell
her, she felt rather useless.

�� She wandered
around the world for several hours, simply to keep moving, and after a while,
she zoned out enough for dreams to pelt her waking mind. The first one she felt
was Chaz�s, and its gruesome reliving of the girl�s death made Road try to snap
herself from it. It was too strong, though, and when Chaz
thought of where he was going, Road knew she needed to be there. She didn�t
care at this point if Chaz was part of the greater whole, he was going down,
and she was going to be the one to do it.

�� Stepping through
her newest door, she felt the bright, hot sun of Cozumel.

---

October 11, 2013�Cozumel, Mexico

�� Fury shot through
her veins like adrenaline as she saw the scene in front of her. Cyrah Kabbah,
illustrious General of the Dark Order, had her Innocence out, a similar look of
wrath on her face. The annoying pipsqueak that Road had come to like was flying
up toward her corrupted brother. Suddenly, she needed to act, needed to save
the stupid Exorcists who were about to throw themselves at him.

�� CHAZ!�
She screamed, diverting his attention to her. A large, crazed grin snaked his
lips from ear to ear in a way that only Tyki could do with any finesse. She
needed to get him away from the Exorcists, or at least away from reality, and
the only way to do that was to force him into her world. She tried not to shudder
as she reached out for his mind and physically yanked it out of the world proper and into her dreamscape. She felt
other minds come with her and winced as she sensed the presence of the three
Exorcists.

�� CHAZ!�
She continued, ready to let her brother have it. �YOU KILLED HER! YOU TOOK THAT GIRL, AND YOU KILLED HER!!!� Apparently, the fatigue from the day before, as well
as the lack of water and strange hospital chemicals had robbed her voice from
her, and she couldn�t continue on in a full-out raging scream. �Faith is so angry at you.� That was no lie. In
the dream, Road had felt Faith�s
palpable resentment toward the idiot they called Brother. �What do you think
you�re doing, hurting Faith?�

�� Faith doesn�t
matter,� Chaz spat back at her, and Road narrowed her eyes. He dare say that Faith, the one they all originated from, didn�t matter?

�� Faith is the only thing that matters!� She retorted
in a croaky voice, raising a hoard of candles above her head and tossing them
all at Chaz, who dodged them with surprising agility.

�� So the Earl was
right�you�re betraying us,� Chaz sneered.

�� I�m only
betraying the betrayers!� Road declared, an unwanted tear leaking from her eye.
�You don�t know why we�re fighting anymore! All of this, it�s all been for Faith!�

�� It doesn�t matter
who it�s for, only that you�re fighting with them,� Chaz yelled back, punching away a little fluttering thing
that turned out to be Krista, probably for emphasis.

�� Another boiling
string of rage poured through her veins, scalding them and strengthening them
at the same time. Road felt her world become suddenly darker, and she no longer
held back as she attacked her brother. She pinned him to the wall with
impossibly fast candles, one on each wrist, and one on his ankle in a
justifying parody of what he had done to Artemis.

�� She pinned his
shoulders next, not wanting him to choke quite yet. Enlarging her candles, Road
aimed for his forehead. A quick, fast move would take out his eye, and then
another would get his brain, and then he would die, and she�d be okay with it.

�� Road! Stop! Faith screamed, and Road
jumped and let the candles still in the air fall to the ground with a clatter like
overlarge bullet shells.

�� Faith?�
Road asked. It had to be her, because she controlled everything in this world.
The only one who could manipulate it better was Faith herself.

�� Road, you mustn�t
kill him,� Faith said, smiling sadly. She turned to the dumbfounded General.
�You are General Cyrah Kabbah?� She asked, and the woman nodded mutely.

�� Walking slowly up
to the woman, Faith wore a serene smile. She knelt before Cyrah, bowing her
head, and she reached her hand out to touch the whip of the woman�s Innocence.

�� Warm,� she
commented, smiling softly up at the confused General. Road stared in disbelief.
Had Faith come here because of the strong pull of the Innocence that was
anathema to the corrupted ones, to herself?

�� The Innocence
flared gold and then began to glow steadily in the
same, pure color, steadily lengthening and growing until it resembled a Cat o�
Nine Tails. Road gaped. Faith seemed to have strengthened the Innocence.

�� I am furious at
my so-called brother. He is corrupted, but I believe now that the only way to
save him is to kill him, purify him with Innocence. Please, General Kabbah,
next time you get a chance, kill him!� Faith
pleaded. Cyrah nodded, her expression becoming determined despite her continued
silence. �Thank you,� Faith added in a whisper.

�� Next
time?� Road said. �Kill him now!�

�� But he�s gone,�
Faith replied. Road looked around. The only thing that attested to the other
Noah�s presence was the series of bloodstains and holes in the wall.

�� You let him out?�
Road asked, and Faith nodded.

�� Yes, I did,
because the Earl needs to trust me just a little bit longer. If we are to stop
his plan, I must find out where and when, and more importantly, how it is going to happen. Please, Road,
go with the Exor�� Faith cut herself off, becoming
wide-eyed.

�� Faith?�
Road asked worriedly. A bright, dazzling smile that lit up Road�s dreary world
played on Faith�s lips as her eyes shone with unadulterated hope.

�� You must go with
the Exorcists, Road! You�ll be with my Heart, so you�ll be safe. You�ll even be
able to help, and I know you want to,� Faith said, shining in a way that she
did only when she was very, very happy.

�� Reluctantly, Road
agreed, nodding her head numbly. �You�ll be okay?� She asked.

�� I may be drugged
now, but I will wake again�I�ve done it before�and when I do, I�m going to go
straight to the Earl and gain his trust again. Please, trust me, Road, and I
think I�ll be able to end this war soon.�

�� Turning to Cyrah
Kabbah, Road extended a hand. �I� must come with you,� she said, speaking
softly and awkwardly as she averted her eyes. Going to the Order sounded good
in theory, but there were many there who no doubt wanted her killed.

�� She did not feel
the burn of the Innocence as the General walked over and grasped her hand
firmly. They shook, and Road knew that somehow, whether from her own actions or
Faith�s presence, she had gained a very small sliver of trust from the woman.

�� I must go now.
Contact me soon, because I won�t be able to reach you,� Faith said.

�� Nodding and taking
a deep breath, Road let her world dissolve into the real one.

---

A/N: The plot thickens!!! Dun dun duuuunnn! And a little more healing on
Kanda�s part. :) He may have seemed a bit OOC, but that�s because he�s
dealing with strange, new emotions. Also, we wanted to include a more
smutty/awkward version of Kanda�s first time leading, but that failed. Maybe
over the summer, if one of us is bored enough� :/
Also, give healing thoughts to Em1, who is suffering from an infection in her
mouth :(
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Innocent Rain