Time Flies When You Are Having Fun...(D.Gray-man x Reader)

Chapter 23 - Taking One Step at a Time

Authors note: I know I've been AFK for a little bit, but a lot of stuff has happened in the past 4-5 months I have been gone. I went to New York to study for college, got sick twice, with one of them I had to go to the emergency room. Flew back home because of the Pandemic and now just trying to maintain my terrible grades so I can at least pass classes and get to summertime. I will definitely write more once I don't have classes for those 3 months. So here is a small chapter just to move things along!

As I cross the threshold, I find myself in a small weaponsmith shop. Swords, axes, daggers, and even a couple sythes line the walls. A couple of handmade pistols lay on display tables along with some other unique weapons. Walking over, I find a man hunched over behind the counter. Upon seeing me, he pops up and throws a quick smile onto his face while wiping some sweat from his brow.

"Hello, little lady, is there something you need?" He speaks to me in English with a slight Japanese accent. This might be exactly who I need.

"Would you be able to make me a Kyoketsu-shoge?" I ask him, giving my biggest smile. He has a slack jaw for a second, but it quickly breaks into a genuine smile. He quickly crotches behind the counter once again and brings out a wooden box, opening the lid reveals a beautifully made Kyoketsu-shoge with etched cherry blossoms into the knifes wooden handle. I look in awe and excitement.

"This is perfect! Thank you so much! How much do I owe you?" I look up at him, waiting for a number to drop from the man's lips. But nothing came as he pushed the box towards me.

"It has been a few years since someone specially requested a traditional Japanese weapon in this English country, please take it as a gift and visit once in a while." A warm smile is now radiating from his face, and that same smile quickly warms me to my core. What a kind man...

"Thank you so much! I will visit whenever I have time to..., what is your name, sir?"

"Kyo, but many here will call me Kenneth."

"Thank you, Kyo, my name is ____. I won't ever forget this!" I quickly think back to the Ark and walk through the door to find everyone just how I had left them. They just stood there for all that time? I made it so that you were only gone a couple of seconds here. Good thinking! I begin walking over towards Chaoji with the wooden box in my hand. He tilted his head slightly with a curious glint in his eyes. "This is for you, why don't you try it out?" I place the wooden box in his hands, and Chaoji stands frozen for a few seconds mesmerized by the wooden box before looking up at me.

"What is it?" inspecting the box, he turns it around, expecting to find a name of some sort. I chuckle at the sight.

"It's a traditional Kyoketsu-shoge. To simply describe it, it is a knife at the end of a rope or chain used in more medieval times of Japan. Since you described working with ropes and such, I thought it might be something easier to use. Go on, open it up. It's quite beautiful." I give a small grin after explaining and begin to gesture for him to open it. I notice a steaming Tyki in the background and tilt my head slightly. Why is he in such a fuss? I look around and find Kanda looking away, as usual, Lavi with a smile that looked sort of... fake? Finally, I see Allen with his very bright smile watch Chaoji open the box. At least Allen is acting normal and sweet like usual, and Kanda is wonderfully distant. I turn back to Chaoji to find his eyes slightly watering as he looks down at the handle. A melancholy smile readily apparent on his face.

"Thank you ____. I don't know what to say, it's gorgeous, just like Anita..." His fist tightens around the handle experimentally as a sullen look crosses his face briefly. He steps away from the group and gives it a few experimental throws to fully gauge the weight of the weapon before walking over to the table in front of the course. He starts to swing the rope with the knife at the end in a circle and the speed climbs swiftly. with a flick and release of his hand, the knife goes flying down the course and nails the bullseye. I'm surprised he picked it up so quickly with a great form and technique! I bound down the 200 ft. to where the knife lay embedded into the dead center of the circle. I give a quick thumbs-up before running back to the group.  

"You did it!" I arrive and promptly give Chaoji a high-five while smiling from ear to ear. I turn to see the Exorcists all looking quite happy that everyone had made it through the first two rooms. We now had better odds of everyone making it through with all of their innocence. With celebrations over, I turned towards Tyki and the twins to have them lead us to the last room. Tyki had a smile that he would normally have with his human family and the Twins were looking a little defeated but managed a small smile while rolling their eyes and scoffing at the Exorcists. "Alright, what do we have in store for the next room?" I ask while walking up to Tyki. His eyes bore into mine as a smirk graced his face.

"Wouldn't you like to know darling, but you'll have to wait till we get there." He turns and shouts this over his shoulder as he walks over to a door. "You have the power to get there, so why don't you use the key and find out?"He turns back and gestures dramatically towards the door. I roll my eyes and look towards Kanda. He holds a very bland gaze until his eyes meet mine. A look of realization hits his face as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out the key. Briskly he trots over and jerks the key into the lock. Hopefully, Tyki didn't come up with something too ridiculous. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised.