Stay Away From Him

It was a difficult mission, even for Kanda. For two weeks, he planned what he could do, how to stop the innocence from falling into the Akuma's hands, even though he couldn't find it himself. However, the Akuma couldn't either, and they kept going around in circles. This was an intelligent level 4 demon he was up against. They kept avoiding each other, or attacking with no damage to place. But what could he do if he didn't even know the whereabouts of the God's crystal?

On the map he had of the villages, he marked off the places that he couldn't find the innocence, trying to find even a slight change of climat in the others if something was wrong. But he just couldn't figure it out. Again and again, he searched and failed, along with his opponent. Nothing. They could find nothing. Yet both knew that there was innocence, since they could sense it. He wandered around forest after forest, mountain after mountain, even cave after cave, yet he could not find one trace of the innocence.

Where on Earth was the innocence? What could he possibly be doing wrong to find it? He stopped at yet another inn on the last day of that second week. A room for one night, he asked for, the man at the desk giving him the key to his room after he'd payed. Once inside the room, he took off the sheath holding his katana, placing it neatly next to the bed. The exorcist took out a piece of paper from his black coat pocket and placed it on the bedside table after he moved the rotary dial telephone.

He examined all the village locations. They all had big Xs on them except for one: the village he was currently in. However, the young man had already discovered everything he could about the town in less than two days. He came to the conclusion that: it was boring. Everything about the town, there's was nothing interesting about it. No abnormal weather, no murders or theft. Not even of any known pickpocketing in the last three months. Everyone was either single, married or had an average sized family. The mayor was a polite man who cared for his people. There weren't even any sort of wild beasts near the village. Hunters had to go relatively far to get their Game.

He took out a quill from the same pocket and marked this village with an X as well. He lingered right at the end, not taking the pen off the paper. The ink slowly bled onto the paper, moisting the dark circle it made at the tip. The more Kanda thought of the innocence, the more it angered him. Never had he had so much trouble on a mission, and it tampered his temper more than usual. He pressed down on the pen harder and harder, so hard that it finally broke in two. Ink flew everywhere, staining the paper and his hand. He ran to the bathroom and found a towel, quickly wiping his hand and dabbing at the map. But just like his hand, the black lingered there. He growled. He had to get a new map and a new pen. Perfect.

Once again, he went to the washroom. He washed his hand as much as he could until only a trace of the black ink was left. He went out, taking his Mugen with him, and went back to the man at the desk to ask for a map, and a pen if he had one. The man generously accepted his request, giving him a map of the surrounding villages and an extra pen he was happy to give. He even gave a free map of the area around the village. Without gratitude, the exorcist went back to his room and scratched all the villages out again, and the forests he remembered exploring. But then somthing caught his eye. He had the second map placed folded beside the telephone, but something on it was bothering him. He opened it and placed it on top of the first map. At the edge of the village he was in, there was a cave. One he hadn't explored yet.

This town may be dull, but I can't be sure it's nothing, he thought to himself as he closed the map. I'll go first thing tomorrow. The exorcist was tired of his travels, so he layed down his weapon. He took off his jacket and shirt to follow, then climbed into the bed and fell asleep right away.

He awoke the next morning, steadily getting up from bed. He got himself dressed and left with his katana. He travelled through and out the town until he reached the cave. He was careful while entering. He took quiet strides through the cave, examining its damp walls. Screeches could be heard as bats came flying from the blackness right in front of the exorcist. All he heard was flapping and screeching as he swiped through the air with one arm and covered his face with the other. Once the cloud of black passed he opened his eyes once again and continued further into the cave.

Damper and darker it got the further he went in. The air was getting cold and thick, making it slightly harder to breath. And then he made it to the end. A dead end. This cave is as boring as that village. I should have known, He thought as he was about to turn around.

But something started to stir in the darkness. He stared at that one part. There was a figure moving on the ground. Most of it seemed dark and hard to tell, but one small part was white. It was hard to see however, but he knew it was there. The figure started to moan in a slightly family voice. The silhouette moved a bit, but it was still too dark to see what it was.

"K-" it muttered in a very weak voice, "Kan... da."

The Mugen wielder widened his eyes, now realizing whose voice it belonged to. Allen.

"There's no need to worry, he won't die just yet," said another voice from the darkness. Suddenly, lights came on one by one in the cave, each making it brighter. They were floating candles, quite colorful too. It became clear to him who the owner of the voice was. "Heehee! I didn't think it would take you this long, exorcist."

"Road," he announced seeing the young looking Noah.

"You remember my name! I'm glad," she cheered while sitting next to Allen, gently resting his head on her lap, "You know, I specificly set up this 'mission' so that you would take it, Yu Kanda. I thought you'd be quick about it, but I guess I was wrong after all," she smirked while looking up at him.

Kanda took out his sword, getting ready to attack. Just like any other exorcist, he felt an anger towards the girl. But unlike the others, he felt something more too. Seeing Road holding Allen like that infuriated him for a reason he didn't understand. He cringed seeing the white haired boy being cuddled by the Noah. No, he felt hatred toward the girl keeping Allen in her hold.

She gently put the barely conscious exorcist back on the ground as she stood up next to him. She stuck out her tongue, as if taunting him. This irritated him, but he remained calm all the same. And then he attacked. He swiped at the Noah, who easily doged, jumping back a few feet. Again, he lunged for an attack as she slashed at her, who avoided it the same way. They did the same thing over and over, the exorcist attacking the dodging Noah who was howling with laughter.

When they both stopped, she laughed again, "Well, I admit, it was fun playing with you today, Yu Kanda. But the wait made me really annoyed," once said she summoned a door, a checkered door of red and black, gold outlining the strange heart like shape of the door, and a king's crown right at the top. "I look forward to playing with you again, Yu Kanda," she giggled while waving and leaving. The door closed behind her and the door disappeared, but the candles remained.

"K-Kan... da," Kanda turned around abruptly to see Allen staring up at him, almost sorrowfully. He started crying, tears passing over the small gash on his cheek. His body was covered in cuts and bruises, and his hair was bloodied at the tips. Kanda sat down next to him, this time placing Allen's head gently on his own lap. Allen lifted a hand weakly placing it on Kanda's cheek. "Thank you," he smiled. Slowly and carefully, he sat up.

"You should stay down, beansprout. You're in no condition to be up yet," Kanda said, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. But Allen ignored his request, putting a hand on the exorcist's cheek again. He inched closer and closer to his face, bringing their lips together until they collided. Kanda resisted at first, he didn't want to be kissing the boy who brought him in this trouble. But he somehow found a certain... pleasure in the kiss, and decided to kiss back. They locked for a few seconds more before they broke off. Kanda kept his face neutral, but Allen smiled.

The white-haired boy suddenly felt a bit dizzy. He closed his eyes, his body going limp before he fell into Kanda's arms, unconscious. "You idiot beansprout," Kanda muttered while picking the boy up bridal style.

Once he made it to the Order, he laid him in a bed of the nursery. "Take care of him," he ordered the head nurse as he head to Komui's office. He reported what happened to Komui and left back to his room. He had left out the one part about Allen and his kiss, he didn't want the Black Order to think he was going soft. But he lay in his bed, thinking of that precious moment before falling asleep.