Demon's Kiss

The battles begun

Tidal POV.
I watched him, the son I wished I had. He was beaten, down but Kanda never gave up. He did then. Yu would never stop fighting but he gave in, to him. My eyes flashed to the white haired boy kissing him. The kid that was going to kill him. I knew what was at stake. I had heard what Bookman said. If Allen Walker dies, so does my son.
Had it only been eight years since he came into my life. A thin waif of a boy. The constant scowl was on his face even then. Noise had brought him to me that morning. We were on the hills over a lake. Which one I couldn’t quite recall. I had seen them coming for miles away. Noise's large form nearly blanking out that of the boy.
They had climbed the mountain as I painted. Growing ever nearer to me. Until they crested the hill. “Ah, Noise, what has the wind been whispering to you?” I called out. He had snickered.
“There is a gopher digging a tunnel, a rat searching the bins. The night animals have gone to roost. What brings you so far General?” he answered.
“Why, have you seen this sunrise?” I chuckled.
“What are you idiots blabbering on about?” cold anger radiated from him. It never truly left. He was possessed. Even then the demons tore at him day and night. The screams the darkness swallowed. How I always sat there, waiting for him to ask for comfort. A desire that never came.
“I bring you a lost one.” Noise's voice had dropped. The sadness he felt. He told me later he had been unable to reach the boy. How wrong he had been. His kindness never went unnoticed by the ever growing silence in the child.
“What do they call you?”
“Yu.” He growled out.
 “Not a name you care for?”
“I hate it.” He snarled. A wild animal in human form.
“Then change it.”  He blinked at me, stunned into silence.
“It's simple. If you don’t like something, then change it.” I said wiping off my brushes. “What kind of name would you chose for yourself?”  he didn’t answer. Not right away. His small hands fretted over the hilt of his sword.
“Call me whatever you like!” he shouted. I smiled.
“Fine.” I walked around him, looking him over. Squeezing his shoulder. Kneeling down in front of him I lifted his small face upwards.
“I think, I will call you Kanda.”  He jerked.
“That sounds like a snake.” He muttered.
“A fierce snake. One ready to defend what is his. One strong enough to fight for what it believes in. One who will make the change it wants.” He folded his arms cheed at me, looking away. Even to this day that was the name he chose to go by.
I could already feel the tug on the innocence inside my coat. The boy had been chosen. To give him this life, one that could drown him in the sorrow, it terrified me. How could I condemned him so. It was obvious he had gone through so much. He was too young for this. Yet I had condemned younger.
“You have an exciting future, Kanda.” I had stated when I reached to open my coat. The pain in my chest making it hard to breathe. “You will become an exorcist. A fighter of demons.” I stated. His eyes had narrowed.
“I already killed one.” I couldn’t stop the green orb shooting out to him. It went through his hand into the hilt of the sword. Sewing the pair together. Kanda the unstoppable was born that bright morning. A darker force had never taken form before. His strength and stamina served him well.
Komui, Bookman and myself watched him grow. I hid him as much as I could. Telling them he needed to be trained. Kanda refused to call anyone master. Not that I wished the title on myself. He simply called me….
“Tidal?” I blinked away my musings as the boy I had been thinking of now stood before me. No longer a boy. No longer free. I reached a hand out. He had one arm dropped over the white haired teen. The other a hairs breath from the hilt of that accursed sword. My palm cupped his face.
“Kanda…” I whispered the name I had given him so long ago. He bore it well for nearly half his life… He blinked shocked, unsure. Emotion was always something he could never understand. Normally he would have smacked my hand away by now.
“I never did thank you.” He whispered. I drew back. What? Kanda showing… affection. He caught my hand. I looked at him surprised. How he always surprised me.
“Tidal, you know…” he paused. This was his way though, when emotions got too much for him.
“You know how I feel…” he shook his head. “I kept the name you gave me, to show you the respect I have always had for you.” He stated in a rush. He looked down at Allen. “I…”
“He knows. We all do.” I squeezed his fingers. “Do what you always do, my son, fight.”
“I was blessed and cursed the day I met you. You were the father I wished I had.”
“ALLEN!” The wind carried the name over to us. The boy stiffened.
“It has begun.” I whispered.
(Allen POV)
Kanda had returned the kiss. It was shorter than I wanted. I never wanted him to leave me. Never wanted him to stop. He pulled away. Then stood on shaking legs. I moved to support him. We walked up to Tidal. The general had a far away look on his face. The two spoke for a time then, I heard it. The cry of my master.
Before I could even turn, I was thrown into the dirt. Kanda stood above me. All weakness gone from his body. He had invoked his innocence. The faint green tinge to his skin proved that. How had they all missed it before.
“Kanda let’s no one get this close to him.” Tidal whispered in my ear.
My master was there. He stood on top of the spire before us. I stared in horror. Kanda stood over me, Mugen drawn. When had night fallen? I wondered.
I felt something stir in me. I was Manna Walker’s son. I did not grovel in the dirt. I had a reason to fight now. I stood up beside him. My eyes went to Lavi as he ran up to stand on the other side of me.
“Hey, you ever wonder why he kept us from being alone?” I asked.
“Allen now’s not the time.” Lavi hissed.
“Isn’t it. You know I’m still a virgin.” All eyes fell to me. “It was the one thing he insisted on. No one ever touch me.”
“My god!” Tidal hissed. His eyes went to that of the gnome like man between us.
“He isn’t just the gatekeeper.”  Tidal whispered.
“Don’t tell me…” Lavi muttered dramatically. “Let me guess. He is the key, or at least his fucking virgin blood is. Man I hated those movies. Never understood why the virgin was always female!” he ranted. He was slapped upside the head by Kanda.
“Thanks, Yu.” Lavi grouched.
“Any time stupid rabbit.”
“Ya know if you hadn’t been so slow you could have avoided this by just sleeping with him at headquarters!”
“Don’t make me hit you again.”
“Do you want them to just strip and take care of it right here?” Krory demanded glaring at Lavi.
“Well, I wouldn’t stop them…” No one was able to keep Kanda from punching him. I laughed.
“Thanks.” I giggled then walked away from them. My eyes were on Cross. I was stronger now. I had friends. Yet the fear was still there. It gripped my heart. I couldn’t let him hurt anyone. I also should have known I wouldn’t get far.
Not even three steps, that was when Kanda's hand caught my shoulder. “Let go.” I said quietly.
“Where do you think your going?” he demanded. I twisted my head to look at him over my shoulder.
“He is standing on the spire. I was thinking that I would be the only one he would allow to get close enough…”
“For what?” Lavi looked puzzled.
“He doesn’t know what my innocence is. Don’t worry Kanda, I won’t get too close. Just let go, for now.” His hand slipped from my shoulder. I walked to the edge of where eden had been. Here was good.
“Hey Master?” I called.
“Get up here, boy!” he yelled back.
“I was wondering, did you ever learn how to fly.” With my last word my arm shot out. The claw growing as it smashed into the bottom of the rocks he was standing on. He tried to keep his balance, but began to fall toward me.
Lavi snagged the back of my shirt. Pulling me up onto the handle of his hammer. Together we flew back to where Tidal waited. Kanda had come with Lavi, of course. Once we were safe,  I watched Cross tumble into the beach.
“My blood is the only thing that will open the gate.” I told Kanda. “All he has to do is shoot me. There’s little you can do to stop that.” I pointed out.
“Well I have been known to cut bullets in half out of the air. My neither world creatures can eat them, or we can see what Daimon can do.” He looked down at me. “I don’t care what you think, I have my own ways of doing things.” I smiled up at him.
His lips touched mine as Lavi brought us down to the ground. The battle has begun.