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31_days2008-01-20 10:11 pm
sophiap.livejournal.com) wrote in 31_days2008-01-20 10:11 pm
[Jan. 20] [D.Gray-Man] End of Days, Part 19
Title: End of Days pt. 19
Day/Theme: Jan. 20/bejeweled with diamond droplets
Series: D.Gray-Man
Character/Pairing: Ensemble, with a few OCs.
Rating: PG-13
Part 18
In, out...
In, out...
It shouldn't be so hard to breathe, but for nearly a half hour, it took every bit of Komui's concentration.
Prior to that, he wasn't entirely sure what happened. Well, yes, he had told (yelled at) Rondine to get the hell out of his office, and then the stacks of paper on his desk had somehow wound up all over the floor.
Somewhere in there, Reever up and left him to his own devices. He'd called out something as he left, but Komui couldn't remember what.
"Probably telling me I'm an idiot, again, that's all." He sat up, pulled off his glasses, and wiped them clean with the hem of his shirt. His hands and voice were still shaky, and probably would be for a while.
He rather wished Reever had stayed behind, but well... Komui could also understand why he hadn't. Komui pulled his hat back on and did what he could to straighten himself up. Straightening the papers up could wait until doomsday, as far as he was concerned. Paperwork was what kept the real work from getting done, he told himself yet again as he walked across the uneven carpet of paper.
Well, yes, occasionally there was an important letter or two hidden in the piles, but that was yet another reason to make the rest of it go away.
But then Reever would yell at him again about organization and responsibility, and Lenalee might kick him or bop him on the head with a clipboard. She was always so sweet about it, though. His sweet Lenalee...
Komui stopped at the door, and stilled himself for a moment. Letting his mind ramble on to distract him from other things worked just so long as it didn't ramble on back to what he was trying not to think about in the first place.
He needed to see Lenalee. He wanted to see Reever. But he didn't want to let himself think about why until he was actually there with them. Otherwise, he'd never make it, and they'd find him here, huddled on his office floor, burrowed deep into a drift of paper.
So, he picked a thought, an interesting, shiny idea, and gave it a push. It fell, and broke into two other, related ideas, sparking and sparkling in his mind. These then led to other things, and he was able to chase the bright trail of his thoughts in so many different directions. There was the matter of time, and paradox, and oh, how different and engaging it was when it wasn't all tied into matters of fate, destiny, and people he knew.
He thought about how histories might diverge, or converge, or spin off into infinite and untouchable realities. He puzzled through two different ways causality might follow effect, but that only led him back to Rondine's stories, and the memory of that deep, rolling voice and its horrible secrets nearly scattered all the glittering, fascinating (and safe) thoughts out of reach.
What saved him, for a moment at least, was noticing that he'd reached the infirmary in what seemed like no time at all. It was as if he could get from Point A to Point B instantaneously. His mind touched lightly on the thought then filed it away as something important to be recalled later, and not merely as a bit of philosophical entertainment. In the back of his mind, that thought started to connect with other shining, sparking thoughts about the Ark, but they did so without his noticing.
Someone left the infirmary in a hurry, opening the door and stalking down the hallway without even turning to see Komui approaching from behind.
He got an impression of a ponytail swinging as whoever it was rounded a corner, but that was it. Ah, well. It didn't matter.
Komui had no idea where Reever might be, but unless something truly drastic had happened (and that was one comfort that he could take, that nothing drastic would happen for some years to come), he knew exactly where Lenalee was.
That didn't mean he didn't need to see her. He could imagine Reever twitting him about his 'sister complex,' and that was enough to make him laugh, just a little. Oh, he knew full well his reputation for being irrational about Lenalee.
But it wasn't irrational, not really. After their parents were killed, he'd been the one to raise her. He'd sternly explained to various kindly women in their town that no, it was not necessary for them to adopt Lenalee. They were family, they would stick together.
Of course, that hadn't stopped him for contritely slinking back to those very same ladies for help and advice when he found he hadn't the first clue how to deal with an infant. Lenalee's diet had been, hmm... eclectic, to say the least. He also had to admit she had come by her infinite capacity for patience and forgiveness very honestly indeed.
After all the childhood falls and fevers, he knew exactly how fragile she was. No one else ever seemed to understand that. And when, after far too many years apart, he was able to take charge of her again, he vowed that he would never see her that broken ever again.
It wasn't anything as simple as a 'sister complex'; in more ways than he could count, Lenalee was his daughter just as much as she was his sister. So why shouldn't he be doubly protective? Looked at from a mathematical perspective, it was all purely logical.
His stomach churned with uneasy, transient relief when he saw Lenalee safely asleep in her bed, curled up on her side with her blanket pulled up to her nose. Truth was, given what he knew about himself and his own proclivities, Lenalee was probably as close as he was ever going to get to having a child of his own.
Reever was also there, sacked out in the visitor's chair, head tilted back and mouth open. Komui didn't want to wake either of them, so he just stood in the doorway and watched them both for a little while. For a while, it made him feel better, just seeing that they were there, and whole, and to see that Reever was doing what he could to look after Lenalee. As time passed, though, he it occurred to him that if standing there was all he could do, what good was he.
That's when all the sparking, glittering thoughts began to flash and swirl in his mind, not distracting him but consuming him. What was in there, what manipulation of time and causality, could derail the future Rondine had told them was coming for them?
Lenalee's knees and back curled more tightly under the cover, and there was a unh! of discontent, as if she'd picked up on her brother's agitation. Her eyes fluttered open and she rolled to a half-sitting position.
"Brother...?" She looked to her side, and was adorably, sleepily confused to see Reever sitting there. "Why are you two here? Is everything okay?"
"Yes." The lie came easily, and without thought. "Well, not exactly," he admitted, although he would not admit the full truth. "There was a brawl downstairs, and it seems that Lavi's come down with some sort of flu."
She woke up completely at that. "Lavi? I heard he was--is it serious?"
She was loud enough that Reever jerked awake with a shout of "What?" He ran his hands down his face, then turned to Komui. Instead of the usual glower or look of pained longsuffering, Komui only saw acute anxiety and concern--concern for him, and how he was reacting to what they had heard earlier that evening. It was gratifying, in its way, but he would have preferred the scolding. It would have been easier to take.
"It's too early to say if it's serious, but we're taking it seriously," Komui said, after some careful thought. The speed at which Lavi's symptoms had set in had was worrisome, and the difficulty he had breathing was only compounded by a growing inability to use what little air he was getting.
"I had the nurses put him in his own room, and move the others to a clean ward," Reever said, yawning. "Probably too little, too late, but every bit helps."
Lenalee's eyes went wide at that, and Komui thought he might just have to strangle Reever.
"Just normal precautions," Reever quickly explained, no doubt impelled by the weight of Komui's murderous glare. "We're down in numbers as it is--we can't afford to have anyone sidelined because they have a bad case of the sniffles. Or something. I told you earlier it wasn't anything to worry about."
"Oh." Lenalee's hands twisted and pulled at the hem of her blanket. "He didn't seem sick when he came in to see me earlier."
"He came in here?" Reever was in no way sleepy any more. "When was this?"
"He didn't seem sick? At all?" Komui demanded. He was at her side in an instant, pressing the back of his hand to her forehead.
"No! And I feel fine!" Lenalee pushed her brother's hand away. He pouted, but she was unmoved. "He just seemed... I don't know, tired? Weak? But we all do."
Over in the other bed, Miranda murmured, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." then went back to her deep sleep. If Lavi had been in here, she could be at risk as well.
"Reever--Lavi didn't have any contact with the others before he got sick, did he?"
Reever rapped on the arm of his chair as he thought, then shook his head. "Not that I know of, but I'll ask the med staff. They passed through here, but if Lavi came to see Lenalee... We'll have to ask. I can't say for sure."
"Others? What others? You don't mean Chaoji and his friends do you--"
"Never mind," Komui said at the same instant Reever said "Don't worry about it."
Lenalee knew what that sort of talk meant, and her cheeks puffed out in stubborn indignation. Before she could tell them to stop being silly, the sound of a metal tray hitting stone rang out like a call to stations.
Reever pitched forward and out of the chair, and nearly beat Komui to the door. Half of a broken syringe rolled to a stop a few feet away. The head matron was half leaning, half sitting on the desk in the waiting room, shivering and pressing her hand to her cheeks, her forehead, and again to her cheek.
"I'm sorry. It just slipped from my hands--it was heavier than I thought, and I--I must be worn out from being on my feet all day. That's all."
The tray was not very large. In addition to the syringe, Komui saw a box of bandages and a small pill cup lying on the floor.
Sweat glistened on her forehead, but her skin was ashen, not flushed.
"Reever, call one of the other nurses. Now!" Komui didn't look back as he ran to the men's ward. He flung open the door then stopped, struck cold when he saw it was empty. It took him much longer than it should have to remember what Reever had said about them being moved.
Part of him said he shouldn't be doing this, but his too-active mind reminded him that he'd already been exposed.
The next ward was empty, but the one after that held the others who'd been sequestered with Lavi. Krory and that Chaoji fellow were sleeping, and Allen was still missing.
Marie was facing the wall, so Komui couldn't get a good read on how he was doing. He had the covers pulled tight around him and was shivering. Kanda, on the other hand, had tossed his covers aside. His forehead glittered with sweat, glittered like the thoughts that now sparked cold in Komui's mind.
Each thought was a perfect crystal, diamond clear and diamond sharp.
Kanda had seemed perfectly healthy early that evening. Bruised and humiliated, but healthy.
He stepped nearer, and saw even in the dim light that Kanda's lips were tinged gray-blue. Nearer still, and he could hear the harsh, wet rattling of Kanda's breath. Komui hoped like hell the fleck of dark red at the corner of his mouth was just a leftover from the fight.
All those guards had been with him. The Finders. Tapp and Johnny. Jamie Dark, who was now God knew where.
Komui held his breath, cursing to himself as the tattoo on Kanda's shoulder slowly spread, the color seeping across his skin like a wine stain on cloth.
He'd been in the God-damned dining room, Komui thought, and that was the last thought before he ran back to the waiting room.
Five minutes later, the notice went out: effective immediately, the entire Order was under quarantine.
Part 20
Day/Theme: Jan. 20/bejeweled with diamond droplets
Series: D.Gray-Man
Character/Pairing: Ensemble, with a few OCs.
Rating: PG-13
Part 18
In, out...
In, out...
It shouldn't be so hard to breathe, but for nearly a half hour, it took every bit of Komui's concentration.
Prior to that, he wasn't entirely sure what happened. Well, yes, he had told (yelled at) Rondine to get the hell out of his office, and then the stacks of paper on his desk had somehow wound up all over the floor.
Somewhere in there, Reever up and left him to his own devices. He'd called out something as he left, but Komui couldn't remember what.
"Probably telling me I'm an idiot, again, that's all." He sat up, pulled off his glasses, and wiped them clean with the hem of his shirt. His hands and voice were still shaky, and probably would be for a while.
He rather wished Reever had stayed behind, but well... Komui could also understand why he hadn't. Komui pulled his hat back on and did what he could to straighten himself up. Straightening the papers up could wait until doomsday, as far as he was concerned. Paperwork was what kept the real work from getting done, he told himself yet again as he walked across the uneven carpet of paper.
Well, yes, occasionally there was an important letter or two hidden in the piles, but that was yet another reason to make the rest of it go away.
But then Reever would yell at him again about organization and responsibility, and Lenalee might kick him or bop him on the head with a clipboard. She was always so sweet about it, though. His sweet Lenalee...
Komui stopped at the door, and stilled himself for a moment. Letting his mind ramble on to distract him from other things worked just so long as it didn't ramble on back to what he was trying not to think about in the first place.
He needed to see Lenalee. He wanted to see Reever. But he didn't want to let himself think about why until he was actually there with them. Otherwise, he'd never make it, and they'd find him here, huddled on his office floor, burrowed deep into a drift of paper.
So, he picked a thought, an interesting, shiny idea, and gave it a push. It fell, and broke into two other, related ideas, sparking and sparkling in his mind. These then led to other things, and he was able to chase the bright trail of his thoughts in so many different directions. There was the matter of time, and paradox, and oh, how different and engaging it was when it wasn't all tied into matters of fate, destiny, and people he knew.
He thought about how histories might diverge, or converge, or spin off into infinite and untouchable realities. He puzzled through two different ways causality might follow effect, but that only led him back to Rondine's stories, and the memory of that deep, rolling voice and its horrible secrets nearly scattered all the glittering, fascinating (and safe) thoughts out of reach.
What saved him, for a moment at least, was noticing that he'd reached the infirmary in what seemed like no time at all. It was as if he could get from Point A to Point B instantaneously. His mind touched lightly on the thought then filed it away as something important to be recalled later, and not merely as a bit of philosophical entertainment. In the back of his mind, that thought started to connect with other shining, sparking thoughts about the Ark, but they did so without his noticing.
Someone left the infirmary in a hurry, opening the door and stalking down the hallway without even turning to see Komui approaching from behind.
He got an impression of a ponytail swinging as whoever it was rounded a corner, but that was it. Ah, well. It didn't matter.
Komui had no idea where Reever might be, but unless something truly drastic had happened (and that was one comfort that he could take, that nothing drastic would happen for some years to come), he knew exactly where Lenalee was.
That didn't mean he didn't need to see her. He could imagine Reever twitting him about his 'sister complex,' and that was enough to make him laugh, just a little. Oh, he knew full well his reputation for being irrational about Lenalee.
But it wasn't irrational, not really. After their parents were killed, he'd been the one to raise her. He'd sternly explained to various kindly women in their town that no, it was not necessary for them to adopt Lenalee. They were family, they would stick together.
Of course, that hadn't stopped him for contritely slinking back to those very same ladies for help and advice when he found he hadn't the first clue how to deal with an infant. Lenalee's diet had been, hmm... eclectic, to say the least. He also had to admit she had come by her infinite capacity for patience and forgiveness very honestly indeed.
After all the childhood falls and fevers, he knew exactly how fragile she was. No one else ever seemed to understand that. And when, after far too many years apart, he was able to take charge of her again, he vowed that he would never see her that broken ever again.
It wasn't anything as simple as a 'sister complex'; in more ways than he could count, Lenalee was his daughter just as much as she was his sister. So why shouldn't he be doubly protective? Looked at from a mathematical perspective, it was all purely logical.
His stomach churned with uneasy, transient relief when he saw Lenalee safely asleep in her bed, curled up on her side with her blanket pulled up to her nose. Truth was, given what he knew about himself and his own proclivities, Lenalee was probably as close as he was ever going to get to having a child of his own.
Reever was also there, sacked out in the visitor's chair, head tilted back and mouth open. Komui didn't want to wake either of them, so he just stood in the doorway and watched them both for a little while. For a while, it made him feel better, just seeing that they were there, and whole, and to see that Reever was doing what he could to look after Lenalee. As time passed, though, he it occurred to him that if standing there was all he could do, what good was he.
That's when all the sparking, glittering thoughts began to flash and swirl in his mind, not distracting him but consuming him. What was in there, what manipulation of time and causality, could derail the future Rondine had told them was coming for them?
Lenalee's knees and back curled more tightly under the cover, and there was a unh! of discontent, as if she'd picked up on her brother's agitation. Her eyes fluttered open and she rolled to a half-sitting position.
"Brother...?" She looked to her side, and was adorably, sleepily confused to see Reever sitting there. "Why are you two here? Is everything okay?"
"Yes." The lie came easily, and without thought. "Well, not exactly," he admitted, although he would not admit the full truth. "There was a brawl downstairs, and it seems that Lavi's come down with some sort of flu."
She woke up completely at that. "Lavi? I heard he was--is it serious?"
She was loud enough that Reever jerked awake with a shout of "What?" He ran his hands down his face, then turned to Komui. Instead of the usual glower or look of pained longsuffering, Komui only saw acute anxiety and concern--concern for him, and how he was reacting to what they had heard earlier that evening. It was gratifying, in its way, but he would have preferred the scolding. It would have been easier to take.
"It's too early to say if it's serious, but we're taking it seriously," Komui said, after some careful thought. The speed at which Lavi's symptoms had set in had was worrisome, and the difficulty he had breathing was only compounded by a growing inability to use what little air he was getting.
"I had the nurses put him in his own room, and move the others to a clean ward," Reever said, yawning. "Probably too little, too late, but every bit helps."
Lenalee's eyes went wide at that, and Komui thought he might just have to strangle Reever.
"Just normal precautions," Reever quickly explained, no doubt impelled by the weight of Komui's murderous glare. "We're down in numbers as it is--we can't afford to have anyone sidelined because they have a bad case of the sniffles. Or something. I told you earlier it wasn't anything to worry about."
"Oh." Lenalee's hands twisted and pulled at the hem of her blanket. "He didn't seem sick when he came in to see me earlier."
"He came in here?" Reever was in no way sleepy any more. "When was this?"
"He didn't seem sick? At all?" Komui demanded. He was at her side in an instant, pressing the back of his hand to her forehead.
"No! And I feel fine!" Lenalee pushed her brother's hand away. He pouted, but she was unmoved. "He just seemed... I don't know, tired? Weak? But we all do."
Over in the other bed, Miranda murmured, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." then went back to her deep sleep. If Lavi had been in here, she could be at risk as well.
"Reever--Lavi didn't have any contact with the others before he got sick, did he?"
Reever rapped on the arm of his chair as he thought, then shook his head. "Not that I know of, but I'll ask the med staff. They passed through here, but if Lavi came to see Lenalee... We'll have to ask. I can't say for sure."
"Others? What others? You don't mean Chaoji and his friends do you--"
"Never mind," Komui said at the same instant Reever said "Don't worry about it."
Lenalee knew what that sort of talk meant, and her cheeks puffed out in stubborn indignation. Before she could tell them to stop being silly, the sound of a metal tray hitting stone rang out like a call to stations.
Reever pitched forward and out of the chair, and nearly beat Komui to the door. Half of a broken syringe rolled to a stop a few feet away. The head matron was half leaning, half sitting on the desk in the waiting room, shivering and pressing her hand to her cheeks, her forehead, and again to her cheek.
"I'm sorry. It just slipped from my hands--it was heavier than I thought, and I--I must be worn out from being on my feet all day. That's all."
The tray was not very large. In addition to the syringe, Komui saw a box of bandages and a small pill cup lying on the floor.
Sweat glistened on her forehead, but her skin was ashen, not flushed.
"Reever, call one of the other nurses. Now!" Komui didn't look back as he ran to the men's ward. He flung open the door then stopped, struck cold when he saw it was empty. It took him much longer than it should have to remember what Reever had said about them being moved.
Part of him said he shouldn't be doing this, but his too-active mind reminded him that he'd already been exposed.
The next ward was empty, but the one after that held the others who'd been sequestered with Lavi. Krory and that Chaoji fellow were sleeping, and Allen was still missing.
Marie was facing the wall, so Komui couldn't get a good read on how he was doing. He had the covers pulled tight around him and was shivering. Kanda, on the other hand, had tossed his covers aside. His forehead glittered with sweat, glittered like the thoughts that now sparked cold in Komui's mind.
Each thought was a perfect crystal, diamond clear and diamond sharp.
Kanda had seemed perfectly healthy early that evening. Bruised and humiliated, but healthy.
He stepped nearer, and saw even in the dim light that Kanda's lips were tinged gray-blue. Nearer still, and he could hear the harsh, wet rattling of Kanda's breath. Komui hoped like hell the fleck of dark red at the corner of his mouth was just a leftover from the fight.
All those guards had been with him. The Finders. Tapp and Johnny. Jamie Dark, who was now God knew where.
Komui held his breath, cursing to himself as the tattoo on Kanda's shoulder slowly spread, the color seeping across his skin like a wine stain on cloth.
He'd been in the God-damned dining room, Komui thought, and that was the last thought before he ran back to the waiting room.
Five minutes later, the notice went out: effective immediately, the entire Order was under quarantine.
Part 20