Fic
Title: The Girl Who Has Yet to Return
Prompt: No one ever dies
Series: D.Gray-Man
Characters (In order of appearance): Lavi, Miranda, Bookman
Rating: G
Comments: Spoilers for chapter 74-75 of the manga.
“That’s not important right now! Don’t you care about Linalee? Isn’t she your comrade?”
The words are torn out of him, dredged out by rage and guilt and hurled violently at his audience. Hurtful words, but she’s had worse thrown her way. The silence that follows is deafening.
“Aren’t you our comrade too?” Miranda whispers into the startled hush. Her voice trails off uncertainly, “Or am I wrong.”
He clenches his fist and turns away hoping they will not see his shocked expression. Damn it. Damn it all. This time, as he speeds off to search for any signs of life, no one stops him.
…
She feels him leave her force field. Feels his wounds tear open and bleed. Feels his pain. Feels him grit his teeth and carry on. A leaden dullness in the pit of her stomach says that until he finds Her, he will not return.
A gnarled, age lined hand comes to rest on her shoulder, steadying her. She looks up into dark ringed eyes filled with empathy.
“When he comes back, I will make him apologize. That stupid-apprentice-of-mine should know better.” Bookman growls darkly.
She whispers a few words in Lavi’s defense. “It was probably the shock and denial talking.” Tells the older man to go get some rest.
“No one ever dies. Man’s not dead while his name is still spoken.” With that cryptic comment, the Bookman leaves her to a long vigil. As she settles down to wait, despite the comfort offered by the other exorcists and crew she can’t quite help the tears slipping silently down her face.
Come back safe, Lavi.
…
She senses his return before the others do, feeling the aura associated with the red-haired exorcist pass into her forcefield. Two unknown presences accompany him. Hope wars with uncertainty, causing her to pale and her heart to thud painfully in her chest.
The other exorcists radiate concern. “What’s wrong Miranda?” They tell her to lie down and not to exert herself too much. But by this time, all she has to do is point to the growing smudge of red on the horizon and the curious light that trails it.
Shouts of excitement break out onboard the vessel. Shouts accompanied by wary clinks as swords are drawn and arms are readied.
…
Finally, it is all over. She returns to her cabin to rest, knowing that Linalee has returned, battered, bruised but alive. The crew readies themselves to sail for Edo, Japan. She should sleep, her invocation should hold, but somehow, she cannot.
A tentative knock. A tall flame-haired youth stands awkwardly in the portal.
“About earlier. I was wrong to shout at you. I have no idea what I was thinking back then and I’m sorry if I hurt you. Please forgive me, Miranda.”
“You were stressed-out, we all were. It’s alright, Lavi.” She’d like to say more. How she understands his frustration since she too was powerless to help Linalee. How her Innocence for all its injury reversing ability is still limited by her own strength to a field around her. Yet, her own lack of confidence stops her from speaking her mind.
The boy grins tiredly, a ghost of his normal carefree self. “At least Linalee’s alive. The Innocence saved its Conformer.”
“Thank God for that.” She echoes, thanking God for more than just Linalee’s safe return.
I pray you’ll always conform too, Lavi.
… END …
More comments:
Bookman quotes Terry Prachett - Going Postal. I was looking for a pithy quote on death and dying or something, but at 1:30 am, my brain went clonk and this was all I could really come up with. Bah.