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Kanda knew that something was wrong the instant he arrived outside the door to the room that he and Johnny had taken the idiot Beansprout to. His instincts were screaming, his heartbeat pounding as his ears strained against the silence of the hallway, no sound coming from within the room. The scientist was never quiet, always humming to himself or talking nonsense to that golem of his; even sleeping the older man wasn’t entirely silent. And there was no noise coming from within the room.
He had Mugen drawn before he had even cleared the doorway, had the blade at “Allen’s” neck before the other could even register that the door had flown open. Out of the corner of his eye, Kanda caught sight of Johnny, unconscious, with blood soaking into the pillow beneath his head, his body a motionless heap on the other bed, his golem flying in anxious, panicked circles around his head. Kanda’s heart skipped a beat and plummeted; he forced himself to refocus on the cold-eyed stare of the teen in front of him, pressing the cold steel into his neck, breaking skin. He should have taken his head clean off.
But even as the thought crossed his mind, Allen’s eyes glossed over and then, with a succession of quick blinks, returned to the normal, overly-emotional look that the Beansprout always wore on his face. Somehow that only pissed Kanda off more as he readjusted his grip on Mugen.
“Kan..da?” Allen’s eyes were wide in confusion, the look rapidly devolving into panic as he became aware of the blood dripping down his neck, homicidal rage clear in the swordsman’s eyes. “What the hell is going on?!? What are y—”
“Are you the fourteenth?!”
“What? No, I’m Allen!!” Kanda growled, choking up on the hilt of his sword. “Honest! I’m Allen! Kanda, what happened?!”
“Then how do you explain that!” His head jerked in the direction of the other bed where Johnny still lay unmoving. The pure shock in Allen’s eyes making it clear that he was in fact who he claimed to be. Allen opened his mouth to say something, gaping, just as Johnny let out a pained groan, pulling Kanda’s attention away from the other exorcist as he abandoned his interrogation and rushed to his friend’s side, biting at his wrist and pressing it against the scientist’s lips in hopes that he wasn’t too late to help him.
It was bad. In that moment, Kanda prayed that whatever god was out there would be merciful. The stupid Beansprout needed someone like Johnny in his corner, believing in him even when he couldn’t believe in himself. He needed someone like Johnny. Kanda gritted his teeth, waiting. After what seemed like an eternity, the blood slowly trickled to a halt, though the gash remained and his face still bruised. Johnny’s eyes slowly blinked open, staring up unfocused at Kanda’s face.
“Huh…? Kanda…?”
He sighed out a breath of relief. After all that he had lived through and survived, Johnny Gill was absolutely going to be the death of him. “How’s your head?”
“My…head…?” The scientist lifted a hand to his temple, freaking out as he drew back blood. Allen watched the two of them, horrified, voice caught in his throat and heart hammering out of his chest with the realization that he had been the one that had done that to his friend. He pressed his back into the wall, fighting against the first tremors of the panic attack that threatened to overtake him as Johnny moved towards him, realizing that Allen was still there.
“Don’t come near me!” Johnny’s smile faltered as tears streamed down Allen’s face, his innocence activating. “I’m sorry…I’m so sorry, Johnny…but right now, I cannot…WILL not, be caught by the church…”
Kanda saw the scientist’s body begin to tremble, fists clenched in the bed sheets in front of him; part of Kanda worried that maybe he had finally given up, finally seeing just how dangerous this could be for him. Any concern that Kanda had though left when Johnny finally spoke again, his voice not showing any of the unsteadiness that his body did.
“Those eyes of yours are eyes that haven’t given up hope…I’ll be by your side, you know? That’s why I left the church, so that I could be here, with you.” The scientist’s body steadied, his words determined, “I’ll stay with you until the end, Allen Walker. As Johnny Gill, as your friend, I want to help you.”
Pride swelled within Kanda, turning into a smirk when Allen’s face flushed a deep red. But if Johnny had a way with words, that stupid Beansprout had a way of ruining moments, breaking out into hysterical laughter at the heartfelt declaration. In retaliation, Kanda seized that moment to ambush the other exorcist, tackling him to the ground and using the pipsqueak’s smaller size against him as Johnny helped him wrap Allen from head-to-toe in heavy rope, sticking a handkerchief in the younger teen’s mouth for good measure. Once he was secured, Kanda turned back to Johnny, pushing him back down onto the bed by his shoulders.
“Let me take a look at your head.”
While Kanda's blood was slowly healing the wound, Johnny still shied away from Kanda's hands as he tried to get a better look at the cut on the scientist's forehead, fingertips gingerly brushing against the bruised skin. He tried to not let his fury show, half hoping that the fourteenth would make another appearance so that he could express his anger to the responsible party.
Noticing his clenched jaw and the dangerous glare directed at the former exorcist, Johnny reached out and placed his hand on Kanda's cheek, mirroring Kanda's hand on his own and drawing the swordsman's attention away from the other bed where Allen lay bound and gagged, struggling to get out of the coils of ropes that they had wrapped him in.
“I’ll be fine, Kanda. No harm done, okay?” The small smile that Johnny offered wasn’t half as bright as it usually was, the scientist still kicking himself that he hadn’t been able to recognize that it wasn’t his friend that had stood before him. The throbbing in his head wasn’t helping much either.
“Tch, no harm done?! The bastard bashed your head in!!” At this point Kanda wasn’t sure who he was angrier with—the stupid Beansprout for losing ground to that noah, or Johnny for dismissing the severity of his injury. The transparency of the emotions on Johnny’s face as he attempted to put on a brave front was enough to make Kanda drop the issue. The scientist was as stubborn as his skull was thick, and nothing that the samurai did or said would change the fact that Johnny was in this mess for the long-haul, regardless of whether or not Kanda was there to protect him.
They sat in silence for a few moments, Johnny allowing Kanda the time to process his emotions without interference. When the tension in Kanda’s shoulders lessened some, the scientist wiggled closer to him, resting the uninjured side of his face on Kanda’s shoulder. They had found Allen, and for now, that was enough for the both of them. Kanda squeezed Johnny’s hand in his own, watching as Allen fought against the rope.
This was enough. The rest could wait.