Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / D. Gray-man Fan Fiction ❯ Ice On Ice ❯ The Witches’ Forest, Part One ( Chapter 18 )

SailorStar9: Chapter 17 goes up. This is Chapter 18. Read and review.

 

Disclaimers: I do not own both the animes. However, I do own the pairing, I hope.

 

Chapter 18: The Witches' Forest, Part One

 

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In the carriage…

“The Innocence Heart?” Allen echoed.

 

“Yes.” Koumi replied. “The Cube doesn't say anything about just what this Heart is, or how we might recognize it. That particular Innocence fragment may have already have been recovered and placed in the hands of its host. The Earl of Millennium may think a particularly powerful Exorcist plays host to the Heart. The Marshall was their first target. The Noah clansmen who came with the Akuma were no doubt sent to offset his strength.”

 

“It's a virtual certainty.” Bookman added. “The messages that our Exorcists have been receiving are proof.”

 

“Yeah, if someone were host to such an amazing Innocence, he would likely be a Marshall by now.” Lavi agreed.

 

“But even a Marshall would be able to stand against the combined forces of Akumas and Noah clansmen.” Koumi pointed out. “In order to protect the reminding Marshalls, Cloud, Sokaro, Cross and Tiedoll, we've decided to assemble all the Exorcists we have and split them into four groups, each of which to guard one Marshall. Allen and Lenalee, I'd like you both to go to meet Marshall Cross.”

 

“Huh?” Allen blinked. “Then, what about Ami-sempai?”

 

Lavi chuckled, “Yuu literally demanded that Frostbite come with him to meet Marshall Tiedoll, saying something about not letting her out of his sight. Damn, you two must be serious about each other.”

 

“He's being paranoid.” Ami muttered.

 

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“I wish Daisya would've drawn a slightly better map.” Kanda muttered, looking around.

 

“He's a Finder, not an artist.” Ami reminded him. “Just be thankful he drew us a map.”

 

“Not helping, Nymph.” Kanda growled as he read the Finder's message.

I've found a clue to the Marshall's location. I'll be waiting for you in Alfheim, a small town beyond Mitterwald and Dankern. Love, Daisya…

 

“Did he have to write that?” Ami asked warily, referring to the `love, Daisya', as the couple stopped at a signpost on the outskirts of the town.

 

“Going to Dankern?” an elderly woman asked as Kanda knelt by the signpost/ “They took down the signpost so nobody goes there by mistake. You really shouldn't go there, you know. There are some nasty rumors about it going around.”

 

“Rumors?” Kanda echoed.

 

“Yes.” The elderly woman replied. “It's famous for harboring a witch who catches and eats lost children and travelers.”

 

“I have business beyond the forest.” Kanda told her. “Where is this town?”

 

“You really have to go?” the old woman asked. “Quite fearless children you are. Walk straight along this path and you'll come upon a forest. When you find yourselves on the other side, you'll be in the town of Dankern.”

 

“Thank you for your help.” Ami bowed to the old woman and the pair set off.

 

“You really shouldn't!” the old woman warned. “They've been calling that place the Forest of No Return! Three men in wearing white clothes went into the forest and never returned! Hey! Are you listening to me?”

 

“My, my…” she sighed as the two disappeared out of sight.

 

“She sure got your surprised.” Ami giggled as Kanda growled.

 

“Men wearing white clothes…” she mused. “Can we say damn?”

 

Midway, the pair was ambushed by a villager.

 

Kanda turned and knocked the villager on the stomach with the blunt end of his sword.

 

“The second we step in, we get ambushed. What are the odds?” Ami asked, sending a solidified water blade at the Akuma before it turned into its full form.

 

“Do you really have to ask that?” Kanda inquired. “It was an Akuma after all. So that's what makes this the Forest of No Return...”

 

“Who's there?” he demanded, upon hearing a branch break.

 

“D… Don't kill me!” the Finder stammered, hiding behind a tree.

 

“Yuu, your Mugen please. You're scaring him.” Ami reminded him.

 

“Are you a Finder?” she asked as Kanda rescathed his sword.

 

“Yes…” the Finder stuttered, peeking from the trunk. “My name is Guz.”

 

“Um…” Guz started as he trailed behind the pair.

 

“What're your names?” he asked.

 

“It's Kanda.” Kanda replied curtly.

 

“I'm sorry.” Ami smiled. “He's like that. I'm Ami Maris.”

 

“Mr. Kanda and Lady Maris, the Exorcists?” Guz beamed.

 

“What an honor! I just joined the Order a little while ago.” He told them, blocking their way.

 

“I can tell.” Kanda replied, walking on.

 

“Right you are…” Guz noted. “Thank you so much for your help, though. When my team was killed by the Akuma back there, I thought I was a goner. Thank goodness, though, the Order sent the two of you.”

 

“The Order?” Kanda echoed.

 

“Yes.” Guz nodded. “The Order assigned us to investigate the village that lies beyond here. They said they'll dispatch an Exorcist when they receive word from us. Isn't that right?”

 

“Hey, um?” he called out as Kanda walked off.

 

“That's not my concern.” The swordsman replied.

 

“Oh no!” Guz whined. “Wait a minute, Mr. Kanda!”

 

“Return back to Mitterwald.” Kanda told him. “If you wait, another Exorcist will come by in no time.”

 

“No!” Guz cried as he ran after the pair. “Mr. Kanda!”

 

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Back in headquarters…

 

“The forest near Dankern has gained a reputation lately as impassable.” Koumi told Lenalee as he pulled out a map. “Apparently, people who try to reach the village never return.”

 

“Here's your briefing.” Reever handed Lenalee her instructions.

 

“Thank you.” Lenalee took the papers. “Then, this may be a result of a phenomenon caused by Innocence?”

 

“Precisely.” Koumi agreed. “For that reason, we sent in three Finders two days ago, and they have yet to contact us. There may be Akumas there. I'd like you to meet up with Allen as soon as you can but find out what's going on in there first.”

 

“Understood.” Lenalee nodded.

 

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Back in the forest…

 

“He's persistent. I'll give him that.” Ami noted as she took a side glance at Guz who was trailing them. “I suppose there goes our alone time then.”

 

Kanda suddenly stopped, causing Guz to pause in his tracks. Then, Kanda took off running. Ami sighed and followed the swordsman.

 

“Wait for me!” Guz cried out and went after the pair.

 

“Were you a runner before you joined the Order?” Kanda asked as Guz caught up with them.

 

“Yes, I was a football player.” Guz replied. “I managed to get by on my fleetness of foot.

 

Suddenly, Kanda skidded to a stop, causing Guz to slide a few meters before he finally stopped.

 

“Was that necessary?” Ami asked warily.

 

“Don't stop so suddenly!” Guz complained, hugging a tree to stop himself. “You're such a meanie!”

 

“On second thought…” Ami added, when she realized they were surrounded.

 

“Ah, could these be the residents of Dankern?” Guz asked.

 

“Do friendly citizens carry axes, Guz?” Ami rolled her eyes.

 

“What the hell are you people?” Guz asked as he quickly hid behind the two Exorcists.

 

“No need to ask, it would seem.” Kanda replied.

 

“Don't these guys ever give up?” Ami asked as the villagers turned into their Akuma forms.

 

“Do I need to answer that?” Kanda inquired.

 

“No.” Ami smirked.

 

Turning to the Finder with them, she placed a glowing Ward on the floor in front of Guz.

 

“Whatever you do, stay inside.” She warned, the Shield Ward expanding into square around the Finder.

 

“What was that?” Kanda asked as she returned to his side.

 

“A Shield Ward. “ Ami replied. “Another one of the Science guys' wracked-up inventions and as usual, I'm the guinea pig. Let's just hope it works. They're working on a Stasis Trap Ward as we speak.”

 

“Let's go, Mugen. Innocence, activate.” Kanda unscathed his sword, activating his Innocence.

 

Each taking a side, the two Exorcists used their Innocence to cut through the Akumas attacking them.

 

“This just gets better and better.” Ami muttered as the reminding Akumas returned to their full forms. Kanda quickly sliced through an Akuma as Ami rained her icicles on another.

 

An Akuma charged, firing its nose gun at the two. Kanda and Ami split up, Ami tossing an ice spear at the Akuma chasing them, while Kanda used a nearby tree as leverage to cut through the Akuma behind them.

 

“Diamonds.” Ami whispered, blasting her ice attack at the nose-revolver Akuma, freezing it instantly as Kanda sliced through the frozen Akuma.

 

“One more.” Kanda noted.

 

“Help me!” Guz called, the last Akuma raising its axe, only to be repelled by the invisible shield.

 

“Surprise, surprise. It actually works.” Ami remarked.

 

“Please help me!” Guz cried as the Shield Ward's energy dispelled.

 

“Don't move.” The Akuma warned, placing its axe on Guz's neck, holding the Finder hostage. “I'll kill him.”

 

“Do as you will.” Kanda replied. Ami shook her head.

 

“I say, do as you will.” He repeated as the Akuma's and Guz's puzzled looks.

 

Dashing forward, he was about to attack the last Akuma when the Akuma pushed his hostage towards the swordsman.

 

“Move, dullard!” Kanda scolded as Guz crashed onto him.

 

“Yes, right away!” Guz replied, getting up.

 

“He got away.” Ami remarked, as Kanda climbed to his feet.

 

“I'm sorry.” Guz apologized. “It's all my fault! I'm sorry!”

 

“That Akuma may run back to the village.” Ami reasoned, keeping the Shield Ward. “I'm so going to have a talk to Koumi about extending the Ward's life.”

 

“Um right.” Guz agreed.

 

“Hurry!” Kanda urged.

 

“Right!” Guz nodded and he took off after the two.

 

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Once in Dankern…

 

“”So this town is Dankern…” Guz noted. “No sign of Akuma. Still, it's a mighty desolate town…”

 

“Mr. Kanda, I think everyone is scared of your bloodstained clothes.” He commented as the villagers shut their doors.

 

“It's no big deal.” Kanda told him.

 

“Yes it is, damn it!” Guz shouted in his ear.

 

“And you guys wonder why I prefer to destroy Akuma while they're still in human form.” Ami shook her head.

 

At the two males' glances, she replied, “Because it's less messy.”

 

“And,” she added, rubbing off the dried blood from Kanda's face. “It's a lot less bloody.”

 

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By a pond in the forest…

 

“What do you think? A lot cleaner, is it?” Guz asked as Kanda washed his face. Beside the swordsman, Ami had doused a piece of cloth with the water and was wiping off the splattered blood from her neck.

 

“Still, the villagers were so scared.” Guz noted as the two Exorcists put on their coats. “We'll hardly be able to investigate as things stand.”

 

“I didn't come to investigate anything.” Kanda told him.

 

“That's…” Guz whined as the swordsman walked off.

 

“That's a mighty creepy cottage, isn't it?” he asked as the two Exorcists paused in front of a hidden cottage.

 

Ami then blinked, turning slightly when she heard a bell ring.

 

“Um…” Guz started, as the trio saw Sophia by the pond.

 

“Nice to meet you!” he greeted as Sophia turned to face them. “Do you live in this cottage?”

 

“No.” Sophia replied. “No one lives there.”

 

“Oh I see.” Guz noted as Sophia walked towards them. “It certainly is creepy, isn't it? Somewhere a witch might live.”

 

“There is not witch.” Sophia told him.

 

“Oh, no, um…” Guz stammered.

 

“Has anyone suspicious come to this village of late?” Kanda asked.

 

“Suspicious?” Sophia echoed.

 

“Yes, well, a man we've been chasing may have come here.” Guz replied.

 

“No, I haven't seen anyone like that.” Sophia answered as she turned to the pond.

 

“A lotus…” Kanda noted at unbudded water flower.

 

“I hadn't seen these flowers in this pond before today, though I've live here all my life.” Sophia commented.

 

“Perhaps this is the first time they've bloomed.” Kanda replied. “The seed of a lotus might sleep for a millennium before springing forth again.”

 

“It has been sleeping within the earth for a thousand years?” Sophia echoed.

 

“Yes.” Kanda replied.

 

“And it's awakened from its long sleep just now?” Sophia added. “Poor thing. It just flowered, and it's already drying up.”

 

“It's no drying up.” Kanda replied. “It will bloom again tomorrow morning.”

 

“Really?” Sophia smiled.

 

“Yes.” Kanda replied.

 

“I can't wait for tomorrow.” Sophia remarked. “You certainly know a lot about flowers.”

 

“Only the lotus.” Kanda replied.

 

“Yuu…” Ami blinked worriedly.

 

The swordsman remained silent.

 

Ami said nothing as she entwined her fingers with his, knowing what her fiancé was thinking of.

 

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In Sophia's place…

 

“Here you are.” Sophia placed a plate of soup before her guests. “I'm sorry, this is all we have.”

 

“Not at all! A room for the night and a meal to boot!” Guz beamed. “Thank you very much! Well then, I guess I'll dig in!”

 

“I see my daughter Sophia's cooking suits your taste.” Sophia's father told the Finder.

 

“It's delicious!” Guz smiled brightly.

 

“Guz…” Ami rebuked the Finder mildly.

 

”Hey!” Kanda whispered a reminder.

 

“Ah, right, sorry.” Guz apologized. “I'll ask right away.”

 

“If you don't me asking,” he started. “Do you have any other family, sir?”

 

“My wife passed away more than ten years ago of a long illness.” Sophia's father replied.

 

“I see.” Guz noted. “So, that's why you're such a good cook, Ms. Sophia.”

 

“Thank you very much!” Sophia smiled. “What are you three doing in such a remote town?”

 

“Actually, we're here on an investigation.” Guz replied. “We've been hearing rumors that people have been unable to get back out of this forest.”

 

“Oh really?” Sophia blinked.

 

Kanda and Ami shared a look.

 

“Has anyone besides been here lately, aside from the villagers?” Guz asked.

 

“Um…” Sophia thought for a while.

 

“Aside from us.” Guz added.

 

“I've actually been away from here for a while.” Sophia admitted.

 

“Oh, really?” Guz blinked.

 

“I was away from here for a long time in Mitterwald, working as a seamstress.” Sophia replied. “I finally got some vacation time, so I figured I'd come home to visit.”

 

“You came home, through the forest?” Guz asked. “When was that?”

 

“Um, ten days ago today.” Sophia nodded.

 

“Is that so?” Guz noted.

 

“Is something wrong?” Sophia asked.

 

“Oh no, I'm just glad to see it's such a peaceful town.” Guz answered. “We'd heard rumors that there was a witch here, you see.”

 

A plate crash was heard as Sophia's father dropped his plate, a fearful expression on his face.

 

“Ah, sorry.” Sophia's father apologized after he dropped the plate.

 

“Are you all right, father?” Sophia asked as she picked up the shattered pieces.

 

“Yes, I'm sorry.” Sophia's father replied. “My foot is hurting a bit, so I'll be getting to bed now.”

 

“There are many people here who believe in witches and old superstitions.” Sophia told her guests. “Everyone avoided that cottage we saw earlier, and it is said to be home to a witch.”

 

“And you don't fear it?” Kanda asked.

 

“If it were real, then I would be afraid.” Sophia replied.

 

“Then, it isn't real?” Guz asked.

 

“No.” Sophia nodded. “Actually, there was an old lady living there until a few months ago. She was just a normal person who settled down in the village, but everyone called her a witch.”

 

“Do you mind?” Kanda reminded as Guz nosily slurped the soup.

 

“I'm sorry.” Guz apologized. “I got kind of hungry, in my relief.”

 

“Not at all.” Sophia chuckled.

 

“Um…” she started. “If you'd like, you can have these.”

 

“Here.” She presented Guz with a bag of jellybeans.

 

“Ooh, thank you!” the Finder beamed. “I love jellybeans. It's getting late, we should be really off to bed.”

 

“I'll show you the way.” Sophia offered.

 

“Yuu…” Ami blinked at the swordsman's stern expression.

 

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“You can use this room.” Sophia told her guests. “I'll be sleeping in the next room over, so if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask.”

 

“Thank you very much.” Guz smiled as Sophia walked off.

 

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In the room…

 

“Mr. Kanda, Lady Maris.” Guz told the two Exorcists. “You two take the bed.”

 

“This town is at peace, and there's no sign of Innocence.” He sighed as he sat on the floor. “I guess this Forest of No Return deal was all because of those Akumas from earlier. Another dead end.”

 

“Will you two be heading to your original destination on the morrow, Mr. Kanda, Lady Maris?” he asked.

 

“After I defeat the Akuma.” Kanda replied.

 

“Ah, right you are.” Guz nodded and dozed off.

 

A dead end… Kanda wondered. No information on the Akuma…

 

“Yuu…” Ami turned to the swordsman.

 

“There's something strange here.” She told him.

 

“Yes.” Kanda agreed.

 

What? What is it that's wrong? What's bothering me? He pondered.

 

“Get to sleep Peacock.” She told him, taking Kanda out of his musings when her lips pressed against his. “We'll figure this out tomorrow.”

 

After removing their coats, the reunited couple cuddled together on the bed.

 

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Dream sequence

 

A water drop was heard as the camera pans out to reveal a Sophia-lookalike sitting on a chair and playing a harp in the middle of a pond.

 

Sophia? Kanda wondered. No, not her…

 

Then, the scene changes to the lotus flower in his hourglass, its petals dropping off one by one.

 

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At that, Kanda jolted awake.

 

“Yuu?” Ami asked groggily as she sat up from her side of the bed.

 

Turning around, she saw Guz was missing.

 

Sharing a look with the swordsman, the two Exorcists dressed and leapt out of the open window.

 

“Guz…” Kanda wondered, picking up a jellybean on the floor.

 

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“What are the odds that we'll end up back at the forest cottage?” Ami asked as Kanda picked up another jellybean on the way.

 

“Very huge.” Kanda replied, as the Akuma from before appeared in front of them.

 

“You again?” he asked, drawing his sword.

 

“These guys are like the plague, aren't they?” Ami joked.

 

“Why do you kill those people who come to this village?” Kanda asked.

 

“Because my master orders it.” The Akuma replied.

 

“And how is your master?” Kanda asked, preparing to activate his Innocence.

 

“Yuu, I thought you already know that arguing with them is useless.” Ami pointed out, using a water bubble to protect them, before solidifying the water bubble into ice and sending numerous ice spikes through the Akuma's stomach.

 

“I'm sorry.” The Akuma apologized. “Please forgive me…”

 

“Forgive him?” Kanda echoed as the Akuma exploded. “Why?”

 

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“And here we are, back again.” Ami sighed as they stood in front of the cottage.

 

“The witch's cottage…” Kanda noted as the two dashed towards the cottage.

 

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SailorStar9: Well, finally a Kanda-centered episode. Read and review.