Discovery

Allen slashed horizontally through a Level Two Akuma with his sword, then continued the swing, which led him to slash three more Akuma in half. He had been surrounded by four of them, but now they all fell and disintegrated. Breathing a quick sigh he sprinted forward and cleaved another that had been advancing on Lavi, who had just finished off a dozen or so with his fire snake attack. Kanda was slashing Akuma in half with the same spinning technique Allen had used when he'd been surrounded. Allen saw a humanoid Level Three Akuma hovering over Kanda and staring down at the exorcist with sunken black eyes. Its skin was white as a ghost, and black wings sprouted from its back (Lavi had started calling it The Angel of Death). The Akuma appeared to be preparing to dive-bomb Kanda, who was turning now to spot the winged Akuma. Lavi was selecting another fire spell from the seals above his head; Allen transformed his sword back into an arm, tensed his legs, and sprang into the air with his claws ready to slash at the Akuma. Once he did he'd quickly drop out of the way so he wouldn't get in the way of Lavi's attack. Allen kicked off an intact building and shot even higher into the air, but could see that the Akuma was going to attack Kanda before he could and he was still too far away. Kanda was looking up and took in the situation, and raised Mugen, readying himself to meet the Level Three's attack.

Allen was grinding his teeth as he forced his tired muscles past their endurance. He raised his left arm, stretching the claws towards the Akuma, and wished that he could still use his left arm as a cannon. It would be easy to shoot the Akuma out of the air if he could. The exorcist let out a startled and pained yell when his left arm started burning. He shot out his right arm and grabbed onto the edge of the building while he stared at his left arm. He'd willed it to transform into a cannon, and a moment later he saw that it had apparently heard his desire. Allen aimed his cannon-arm up towards where the Level Three was getting ready to drop out of the sky and attack Kanda. Bright white crescent-shaped projectiles streamed through the air and struck the Akuma just as it had folded its wings to dive, causing its wings to freeze up. The flying Akuma began to plummet from the sky, and Allen called out a warning. Kanda looked up, saw the Level Three falling, and swiftly leapt out of the way. Lavi slammed his hammer into the Thunder Seal and a massive bolt of lightning shot from the heavens and ran the Akuma through as it fell. When its body hit the ground, a shockwave issued outwards which caused several buildings to tremble and then start to collapse.

Allen covered his face from the debris, then let go of the building. He let himself go into free-fall a moment before he kicked off of the building and turned himself in midair so his feet were facing the ground. A moment later he touched down and hit the ground running to get away from the building. He caught a glimpse of Lavi gesturing wildly so he changed course for his friend and reached him in seconds. Lavi had made his Anti-Akuma Weapon grow enough so that it would make a shelter of sorts from the flying wood and other debris from the buildings. It only protected them from one side so they had to cover the vital spots on their body, their faces mostly, and hope the buildings would finish collapsing. A moment later the air was quiet and the two leapt to their feet and Allen reached for his left arm, now willing it to turn back into a sword. It shifted from a cannon to an arm and then to a sword as Allen gripped his wrist.

He glanced towards the spot where the Akuma had fallen but didn't see it anywhere. Lavi shot his gaze skyward, then kicked his foot forcefully into Allen's back, which sent the younger exorcist sprawling away just before lethal claws plunged down on the spot where he'd been. Lavi ducked under the Level Three's slashing claws and beating wings, then swung his hammer with all his might. The Akuma avoided the blow and took to the sky again but was punished for it when Allen transformed his arm into a cannon again and didn't waste a moment in firing. A terrible grating cry rent the air as the Akuma reared up and tried to swipe the projectiles out of the air. But wherever the crescent bullets landed on the Akuma, they burned through its skin like acid. Kanda raised his sword and summoned Hell's Insects, which swarmed around the Akuma and attacking any bit of flesh they could get to. The Level Three grabbed one out of the air and ripped at it with its claws, but more appeared and kept tearing at it. Allen, though exhausted and feeling on the verge of passing out, raised his arm one more time and opened fire on the Level Three. The Hell's Insects weren't affected by the attack; the projectiles merely passed through them and struck the Akuma, which caused it to once again shriek its agony into the sky. Lavi's attacks, the insects and the projectiles had finally done their job, and the Akuma slumped forward onto the ground and vanished into black particles which faded as they rose into the air. Allen stopped firing, and Kanda sent the insects away and breathed a sigh. Static crackled through the black Golem in Lavi's breast pocket and he looked briefly startled, then grabbed for it and held it up. "All ears!"

"Lavi, that female Broker is here!" Kisho's voice hollered. Lavi squeezed the Golem and it flapped its wings frantically. Allen knew right away which 'female Broker' Kisho was talking about.

A scream came suddenly from the other end and Lavi stared, his eyes wide. "Kisho! Hey!" He yelled at the top of his lungs into the Golem while Kanda and Allen ran up to him in time to hear the connection suddenly cut off. "Great," Lavi growled, shoving the Golem back into his front pocket. "We should get back there, but Akuma might show up and we shouldn't lead them to the hospital." A shot echoed overhead and Kanda dodged out of the way as a virus bullet struck the ground where he'd been an instant before. Lavi's frown lifted into a grin. "Problem solved. We'll finish them here." Allen lifted his left arm and fired upwards, and several explosions were heard. He saw that there were hundreds and hundreds of Akuma floating down towards them, but that they were only Level Ones. "Good shot, Bean Sprout!" Lavi cheered, and Allen barely heard him as he fired at the Akuma again. Using his Innocence like this was rapidly draining his energy and he didn't know how much longer he could do it. Kanda raised his sword and destroyed some of the Level Ones with Hell Insects. Lavi quickly selected the Fire Spell and sent the fire snake circling in the air far above and incinerating any Akuma it touched instantly. He kept it up even though his energy, too, was waning and a few minutes later the sky was void of any of the Level Ones. Panting, the trio of exorcists took off for the hospital, hoping they would get there in time.

Timcampy lighted on Kisho's shoulder and clung tightly as he yanked a trench knife from a holster halfway down his thigh and looked up just in time to see the woman's knife inches from him. He twisted away but the woman stabbed at him again, and the blade grazed across his left shoulder. In a split second he recalled being trained about knife combat. An important tactic he learned was to distract his attacker in any way possible. So Kisho grabbed Timcampy from his shoulder and tossed him into the woman's face; she gave an alarmed yell as Timcampy clamped his teeth down on her nose. Kisho darted around to the woman's left side, the side that was her blind spot since she had bandages over her face there, and punched his right fist into the back of her left hand. Her hand opened and the knife fell to the floor with a clatter. Despite having a Golem biting her face, she dove for the knife, but Kisho had lunged to grab it a second before and swept it into his left hand. He gripped both knives firmly in each of his hands and pointed them at her. I had a chance, he thought as he glared at her. I could have killed her. I should have. The woman froze, stood slowly, and something warned Kisho. He backed off a bit, out of arm's reach, in case she tried to get one of the knives he held. "Don't move!" He shouted, then said evenly, "You called the Earl."

"What will you do about it?" The woman asked in an undertone, then stood up completely and stepped towards Kisho. The patients who were awake watched in stunned silence. The nurse had removed Yu from his bed and she'd retreated far from the Broker and Kisho.

"I said don't move!" Kisho ordered the Broker again, harshly, but she kept advancing. Footsteps thudded up the stairs suddenly, and Kisho almost took his eyes off the woman in case it was someone else he'd have to fight, but he focused on her again when he recognized the voice of Lavi.

"Kisho!"

Allen stood on Kisho's left with his sword raised in his right hand, and Lavi stood on his right holding his hammer, while Kanda held Mugen a foot from the woman's throat, and she finally came to a halt. Her hostile look had vanished, but instead of staring fearfully at Kanda, she was gazing intently at Kisho.

"Kisho," she murmured, glancing at Lavi. "So, you didn't just have the same name as my son."

"What are you talking about?"Kisho asked defensively. Something about her tone had changed; before it had been hostile, and now she looked like she was in a daze. Kanda's eyes flicked briefly towards him before returning to the woman.

"She's the Broker?" Allen asked, and Kisho nodded quickly. "She's the same one from Portugal. The Earl must have already been called by someone, and he brought Akuma." Kisho shot the woman an accusing look but she just kept staring at him, and it was the type of stare that indicated she was seeing something that she couldn't recognize or thought couldn't be real. There was a tense pause. Allen sighed and Kisho looked at him.

"Did you find any other people?"

"No," Allen replied. "We didn't see anyone, dead or alive. Most of the people in the city have taken cover."

"We didn't see any soldiers, either," Lavi put in, and Kisho felt worried, but then wondered if they'd taken cover like everyone else.

"If the Earl retreated, and took any remaining Akuma with him...then it'd be safe, but we can't know for sure." Allen studied the woman and muttered in an undertone, "Let's see if she'll tell us."

"You shouldn't be alive."

"But we are," Allen retorted. "Is the Earl still in the city?" He asked, but the woman didn't answer. "Tell me. Is the Earl still here?"

"That attack should have killed you," the woman said, then murmured so quietly that it was hard to hear her. "Even though he said he'd keep you alive." She moved a little and met Kanda's eyes. "Let me go."

"You're in no position to ask that," Kanda growled, still holding the woman at sword point. Kisho also gave her an angry look and spoke up loudly.

"We shouldn't be alive? Well, we are, no thanks to you!" he snapped. Lavi turned towards Kisho with a frown.

"Has she tried to kill you before?" He questioned.

"No, not that I know of..." Kisho shook his head quickly.

"Enough!" Kanda ordered, looking at them over his shoulder. "What did she mean about keeping you alive?" Kanda asked sharply. "Are you on her side?"

Kisho jumped, looking distraught. "No," he responded. "I don't know her and I don't know what she means."

"Kanda, stop," Allen ordered, and reluctantly, Kanda dropped the subject.

Kanda stepped forward. "Is the Earl here now?" The woman didn't respond and Kanda pressed Mugen closer to her neck. "You'd better answer."

"No," the Broker finally said. Kanda narrowed his eyes and lifted Mugen from her neck, but just slightly. "The Earl's done here. I failed, but he accomplished what he came to do." The Broker looked down at her hands; Kisho thought of the man who'd died as a result of the Akuma attack, and felt a rush of anger. "I doubt he'll…"

"Give you your reward? So he just left you to get killed," Kanda surmised with a grim expression on his face. "Good riddance." Kanda and Allen moved quickly as a dark circle appeared beneath the Broker. Allen grabbed for her hand but the woman had disappeared within seconds of its appearance. The portal vanished as Allen reached it. He held his forehead and mumbled something under his breath, then looked over at Kisho.

"Back then, when she was talking about her son...she meant you." Kisho shook his head quickly.

"I know Shiori's parents weren't really my parents but that doesn't mean she's my real mother." Kisho balled his fists. "She doesn't know what she's talking about!" Kanda shook his head.

"It seems like she does," Lavi put in quietly, and Kanda glared at Kisho but turned sharply away from him and faced Allen.

"We should go check the city for any more Akuma, make sure the people are safe, then leave," Kanda announced. Allen nodded in agreement.

"And let's not mention any of this until we get back," Allen stated firmly. Kanda looked away and Kisho sighed, lowering his head. "It doesn't seem like the Earl's coming back, but this town should be put on radar. If another major attack happened again, we couldn't handle it for long. There are still some Akuma stragglers, but we can take care of them." Lavi turned to Kisho.

"You stay here and help Nurse Yue. We'll be back before you know it." It was hard for Kisho to gather his thoughts back up again after everything that had happened. But Toma had taught him how to get his head straight in times like this, so he took a deep breath through his nose, let it out, and thought about what his duties were. He needed to forget his emotions for now and get to work.

"I'll tell Komui we're almost done," Kisho told them slowly. "If anything goes wrong, retreat if you can. But no matter what, when you get back, come straight to me and I'll treat your injuries." Lavi nodded and tapped Kisho on the head.

"Gotcha," Lavi said, throwing Kisho a grin as he turned and headed swiftly out of the room with Allen and Kanda; Allen glanced over his shoulder at Kisho briefly, and before he could say something Nurse Yue came up and led Kisho away towards the patients.

An hour later Allen, Lavi and Kanda staggered upstairs. They looked even worse than before, obviously on the verge of over-exhaustion. Allen trudged over to the end of a bed and flopped down onto the floor, completely worn out, while Timcampy flew out of his pocket to rest on his head.

"Well?" Nurse Yue asked carefully. "Is the city going to be safe now? Are more of those things coming back?" It was Allen who responded, sounding out of breath.

"We went all over the town, and there were only a handful of Akuma left and they weren't very strong." The group had been searching for hours after fighting the Akuma. "There aren't any more otherwise they would have shown up. The rest of the people in the city are scared, but we didn't find any people who were injured." Lavi approached the nurse and tried not to stare, but she was pretty.

"Where's Kisho?"

"He's downstairs getting some more supplies, but he should be back soon." She gazed around the room. "And I think we're about done," she explained, going back to checking the young boy named Yu. Because of the child's name Lavi thought he was Kanda's long-lost brother.

"I'm beat," Lavi remarked, then slid down the wall he'd been leaning against and yawned, resting his arms behind his head and letting his eyes close. Kanda walked over to him and roughly nudged his foot, causing Lavi's green eyes to open slowly. "Come on..." he groaned.

"Anything could still happen. Stay awake." At that moment Kisho appeared at the top of the stairs carrying a tray of medical supplies: bandage rolls, washrags in bowls of water, several glasses of water and bottles of medicine. Under the tray, folded up, were some tan-colored blankets. Kisho nodded quickly to Lavi and Kanda as he passed, indicating that he'd seen them, but he didn't say anything. Setting the tray down on a nearby trolley he picked up one of the bowls of water and rushed over to the bed with a young woman in it and placed the cold washrag on her head. This patient had a fever, and though the nurse told him it was going down, the young man was still sweating and dozing restlessly. Then Kisho checked on the young patient, Yu, and made sure he was doing alright; he was still sleeping calmly. Kisho checked to make sure the bandage was clean, then made his way across the room, and a few minutes later had finished.

With a sigh, he headed back over to Lavi and Kanda, trying to keep his mind focused on treating patients and not falling asleep. He wanted nothing more than to just fall down wherever he was and sleep. But people needed his help, and now, Lavi and Kanda needed medical attention. The nurse had checked the rest of the patients Kisho hadn't gotten to and now was treating Allen's injuries. So Kisho headed over to Lavi and Kanda.

"How are you feeling? There are some free beds, so go ahead and use them." Lavi wearily moved his hand in a sign of refusal.

"We aren't supposed to sleep, according to Yuu."

"Shut up." Kisho held up his hands wearily and with more than a little annoyance in his voice addressed the two exorcists sharply.

"I'm not sure how you can still argue in your condition."

"We're not arguing," Lavi laughed. "You'd know if we were arguing. We're just messing around." Kisho smiled wryly, then nodded once.

"If you say so. Let me take care of those cuts." Lavi had a particularly bad one, almost crescent-shaped, in the middle of his forehead, and several large but less serious ones on his arms and face. The Finder picked up the tray and brought it over, set it on the floor between Kanda and Lavi, and got some small strips of bandage and put disinfectant on it and carefully dabbed at the cut on Lavi's forehead after lifting his new dark green headband with white trim out of the way (the previous one had become worn and finally it had fallen off during a fight sometime and had never been seen again). But the redhead seemed happy enough with his new one, though now he was wincing as Kisho wiped the bandage over the cut and then cleaned it out with a washrag that had been dipped in warm water. He dried it with another bandage when he was satisfied that it was completely clean. He put a large bandage on the front of Lavi's forehead and firmly pressed the edges down so it would stay on, then slid Lavi's headband down around his neck and wrapped a long white strip of bandage around his head so that the bandage patch beneath it would be sure to stay on. He tied it quickly, then cleaned the remaining cuts and put smaller bandages over them, then stood to administer first-aid to Kanda. The swordsman glowered down at him but Kisho didn't take the hint to back off.

"I won't take long," he said. "Even if you don't want treatment, you need it." Kanda stepped backwards. "You still have cuts that don't look like they'll getting better anytime soon unless I treat them."

Whose fault is that? Kanda thought, but reluctantly let Kisho clean the various cuts on his arms and face and put bandages on and around them. He wrapped the last cut on Kanda's right arm and then sat down against the wall near Lavi's bed.

"You were a good patient for once, Yuu," Lavi remarked. Kisho's mouth tightened, like he was trying not to smile, as he crossed the room and gave Kanda a glass of water, which was taken reluctantly. "You deserve a piece of candy for that." Kanda glared angrily, then closed his eyes and rolled over. Kisho looked at the two exorcists, then got to his feet and stood at the foot of Lavi's bed.

"Get some rest. And I mean close your eyes and sleep, don't get into a fight." Kisho retrieved the two blankets he'd brought, gave one to Lavi, and then approached Kanda and passed the remaining one off to him. The blankets weren't that heavy, since they weren't absolutely necessary in a tropical climate. "I'll stay up and keep watch until you've rested enough." The nurse had finished treating Allen and he stood up and climbed into an empty bed across from Lavi's, but one over from the one Kanda was sitting next to. "We have the Innocence," Kisho explained, "so anytime you are ready, we can go. I called Komui a while ago and he said ferries travel from the capital to mainland China. Nowadays only soldiers come but Komui requested that a ferry be sent to take us back. It'll be here in a day or so."

"You sure that's enough time to rest?" Kisho hesitated, then shrugged his shoulders.

"I haven't really been fighting as much as you, and you're already exhausted. There are beds on the ferry, so we could rest on the way back." Kisho headed towards the stairwell. "I'm going to see if anyone in the hospital needs help." Before Kisho had gotten to the first step to the floor below, Nurse Yue stopped him by touching her hand to his shoulder.

"You need to sleep too. I can tell you're overexerting yourself." She spoke firmly and was gesturing to a bed next to Lavi's, but as much as Kisho wanted to rest he felt a responsibility to make sure everyone was doing alright.

"I can still work," he said, and took a step forward, but felt himself sway a little.

"See?" the nurse asked with a shake of her head. She pointed to the hospital bed. "Go. I'm used to working long hours here. You've helped me a lot already." Kisho wound up giving in when he got a look from the nurse, and clambered into the bed. Kanda climbed onto a bed too after also getting a look from Yue, and then the nurse headed downstairs. When it was just Lavi, Allen, Kisho, and Kanda awake in the room Lavi rolled onto his side towards Kisho, who had curled up under the covers, trying to let his tense mind rest.

"Who was that Broker? She seemed to know you," Yue murmured from the bedside. The recent incident came back to Kisho but he didn't answer for a moment; he was tired and trying to process too many things. He and Nurse Yue had been so busy with patients that the Broker had left his mind, but now he'd been reminded again. The whole thing was really bothering him. She had been looking at him too emotionally for just having seen a stranger. She'd been the same Broker from Portugal who had asked Allen if he knew a Kisho, and Allen had said something that Kisho still didn't believe—that he was the woman's son. It had made sense after she told him their mothers weren't the same person. Kisho knew he didn't look like Shiori or her mother, while Shiori's eyes and hair matched her mother. That female Broker's hair was light brown, almost the same as Kisho's, and it was the same consistency—longer, but thin and stringy.

"I don't know," he admitted to Lavi, folding his arms, then lifting one to rub his head which was aching slightly. "No offense…" he said to Allen, "but I still don't really believe you." The Finder glanced down at the floor. "Even though you met her before and she...told you those things." Allen raised his eyebrows and Yue sensed she should leave and walked quietly away.

"You don't believe me," Allen asked, "or don't want to?"

"I don't know." Kisho looked up uneasily at Allen, then Lavi. "Am I a...traitor?" Allen and Lavi exchanged glances; then looked sharply at Kisho. Kanda appeared to be lying down in his bed, either asleep or ignoring the conversation.

"How should we know?" Lavi asked in an offhand manner. "Have you done anything that would make you one?"

"No. But that woman and I…." Lavi's mouth turned down and he appeared interested as he raised an eyebrow.

"You think you might be related now?" Allen asked, and Kisho looked down.

"I didn't mean you were a liar...I'm sorry. But if she is my mother, she's a Broker. What's that mean about me?"

"Nothing," Lavi answered. "And no one will think anything about it as long as we don't tell them. But Komui needs to know." Lavi looked hard at Kisho. "And he won't think you're with her."

"The fact that she's a Broker doesn't mean you will be too," Allen told him. "At least I hope not," he said with a smile faintly resembling his Poker smile. Kisho promptly shook his head and looked down; that smile was too unnverving ometimes. "So don't worry," Allen told him cheerfully.

"He seems crazy on the surface, but he's actually reliable," Lavi stated, giving Allen a grin. For a moment, Kisho leaned back and closed his eyes, resting. Lavi wondered if he was just tired, or feeling in over his head. "We've earned a little break, so let's take it easy."

"You're right." Kisho lifted his head and stood up. "I still have things to do. I need to get some more supplies. Be right back." He gestured to a few of the empty beds. "Get some rest." Kanda was sitting by the wall, arms crossed, and head leaning forward a little. His eyes were closed and he didn't respond to what Kisho had said, but Lavi stood up and stretched out on top of one of the beds, covering his eyes with his arms.

"Get some rest," Kisho said after a moment. "I'll...come back to check on you soon."

"You don't need to babysit us," Lavi yawned. "Just wake me up when it's time to leave."

"Alright." Kisho stopped at the doorway, staring down the white steps, wanting to say something else to Lavi but found he wasn't able to form any words. Eventually, he trudged down the stairs without a word.

So there we go, Kisho learns what Allen knew about the Broker probably, and comes to terms with it, at least a bit.
I'm going to start a new story for Howling Innocence, but it'll still be the same story, just the last part of it. I'll do that soon. Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed it.