Tainted Innocence [Tyki Mikk]

Chapter #11

"That's what I should be asking you!" Allen glared at the beautiful exorcist.

Sin moved away from the two, closer to Lavi so that she didn't get in between their quarrels. She wasn't hurt in any way but hearing Kanda's voice again made her want to run away, even though it was reassuring since he was so strong.

"I was chasing the curly haired Noah! Hey, Lavi, did you see him?!" Kanda turned to the red head.

"Huh?" He rubbed the back of his head, "Oh yeah, that old macho guy I fought...wait, what's going on? The Noah aren't anywhere to be seen..."

Hearing that was reassuring for Sin. That meant that she didn't need to deal with what she didn't want to deal with, but she realised that that was only running away from her problems.

I'm such a coward, she berated herself.

Kanda and Allen began to bicker, threatening to chop off their hair in the process.

When Lavi had tried to intervene, he was shut down epically, with both of them telling him that they'd shave him bald, too.

Sin cracked a small smile, seeing such a familiar scene before her. She let out a long sigh, one that she didn't know she had been building. Her shoulders felt stiff.

That's no good...

She glanced around, trying to find Lenalee. It was then that she saw her on the ground, a strange smoke around her, with green crystals melting away. She hurried over and called her friend's name, worry filling her inside.

"Lenalee?! Lenalee!" Sin shouted, kneeling down. She pulled her friend up, and was thankful that Lenalee was fine. She did notice two huge differences, though. "Lenalee?! Your hair!" It was incredibly short now, shorter than how Sin used to have it, when they first met. The second difference was her legs; they were all bandaged up, like something happened to them.

"Sin..." Lenalee spoke quietly, her purple eyes opening. She felt happy to see her friend.

"Lena...! Are you alright?" Sin felt relief flood through her as her knees hit the ground. She placed Lenalee's head on her lap. "I'm so glad you're fine..."

"What about you, Sin?" Lena asked, raising a hand to hold her hand. "I was so worried about you...!"

Sin pulled a smile, but she could feel it faltering as a sob shook through her body. She didn't realise how much she missed Lenalee and her friends, nor how much this situation was dire. Even more so than before, she felt the pressure.

No tears came from her eyes, just sobs that shook her body. She hugged Lenalee tightly. Seeing her in this weakened state only made her want to protect her.

That's right. I'm only an exorcist to protect my friends. To protect the people I travelled with—my family, and now, the new friends that I gained when I entered the Order.

However, her thoughts stopped when she came to realise that one of them might not even be a valid reason anymore.

Please, don't let it be Tyki.

-

Tyki let out a long exhale as he and Skinn Boric were dragged in the Ark by the Earl.

"It was getting fun, why'd you pull us out, Earl?" Tyki almost sounded like he was sulking. "That exorcist girl could have been the Heart, too."

"So heavy...my, you two sure have grown." The Earl ignored them and continued dragging.

"Are you listening? Hey."