Écarlate (Kanda x OC)

Six

When an elderly woman caught sight of a matured Zion, she clasped her hands over her mouth as she stumbled up to her.

"Zion?" She gasped, her wrinkled eyelids widening to display gray eyes.  The girl nodded with a sincere smile.

"How are you, Mrs. Delacroix?" She asked the elderly woman, kneeling down to reach her petite height.  She woman embraced her in a warm hug while screaming for her husband to emerge from their shared house.

"I'm fine, dear.  Please, please come inside!" The woman pried, taking Zion's hand between her worn fingers and leading her up the steps.  Kanda and Lavi followed quietly, knowing never to mess with elderly women.  Inside an elderly, short man stood from a cushioned armchair, supporting himself with a sturdy cane.

"Hello, Mr. Delacroix." Zion displayed a warm smile.  The house was rather small, but it was cozy.  Crosses stood above every doorway, window, and in the center of each room.  The elderly woman motioned for the young girl and her companions to sit.  At this time, a particular image caught the female Exorcist's eye.  It was something that wasn't typically found in such a religious household.

The old woman scurried through her kitchen, gathering ingredients for a special treat to give to her guests.  Zion took a seat at one end of the old, wooden table in the center of the room, with Lavi sitting to her right, and Kanda cautiously taking the seat to her left.  As Mrs. Delacroix turned on her stove, the young girl noticed the peculiar image that caught her attention.

"Mrs. Delacroix, that cross... It's been flipped..." Zion trailed worriedly.  Flipping a cross was the sign of a demon, but those in this particular household knew too much about the horrors of demonic beings to possibly give birth to an Akuma.

"Oh dear! This is dreadful! How could I not notice such a thing?" The old woman's eyes displayed panic, not something a person possessed by an Akuma would show.  She hurriedly turned the cross so it was upright, and sighed pleasingly.  "Thank you, dear." Mrs. Delacroix gave Zion a grateful smile, which she returned with a warm one, before the woman returned to cooking.

Mrs. Delacroix, Mr. Delacroix, and Zion conversed on what has happened since the Exorcist's last visit.  Kanda appeared to be unsatisfied and bored, but Lavi occasionally engaged.

"Where has Marcel gone? I haven't seen him?" The young girl asked.  The young boy, nearly thirteen-years-old, was the grandchild of the old couple.  No one knew who his father was and the child's mother passed away from an illness a little over three years ago.  Marcel often greeted her with a tight hug whenever she visited, but he hadn't shown up yet.

"Oh, that child is just in the town a few ways away.  We have business there and he is old enough to do it for us." The elderly couple smiled.

The woman brought over some warm dumpling-like baked treats.  Powdered sugar was sprinkled on it's surface as steam rose.  Zion greedily took the one on the top, nearly missing the sneer that Kanda portrayed.  She glared at him when the old woman turned back to her kitchen.

"Eat it or I will beat you with the hot spatula." The female Exorcist grumbled under her breath so only Kanda and Lavi would be able to hear.  Meanwhile, Lavi was already indulging his own sweet dumpling.  She took a bite, letting the creamy filling overwhelm her senses.  It was delicious, just as she had remembered.  In fear of making a fool of himself, Kanda obliged to Zion's demand, also eating his dumpling.

"It's delicious!" Both sociable Exorcists exclaimed in unison.

"Why, of course it is, dears." Mrs. Delacroix stated matter-of-factly, knowing her baking was magnificent.  Kanda even seemed to be surprised at the taste of the treat.  "When you're done here, you should head to the bar.  They've missed you there." She added.  Zion blinked, remembering what she was known for at the restaurant commonly referred to as the bar of the town.