Epilogue

A sunny June day. Nearly five years since Allen Walker, the Destroyer of Time, fulfilled the prophecy and killed the Earl. Nearly five years since Kanda Yuu, the skilled katana-wielding Japanese Exorcist, unleashed Mugen's final power and swept away all the Akuma in the vicinity, taking the weakened Noah with them. Gone like sea foam. Washed away into the sea of nothingness. For no one had managed to find Kanda's corpse among the rubble of stone and festering metal.

Rome, being the battleground of the final stand between the Black Order and the Earl, had virtually been completely destroyed. While Italy's capitol was being rebuilt, the Vatican moved to France, temporarily staying in Avignon's Palace of the Popes. The Black Order, rendered obsolete, was disbanded after a tearful farewell party (for the occasion, Komui had specially built a super ultra deluxe version of Celebratory Komurin VIII, which had somehow become berserk and then crashed the party). Many of the Exorcists, Finders, and scientists returned to Rome to help in its reconstruction, while Bookman and his apprentice Lavi, having no more purpose to remain with the former Exorcists, left to continue their recording of unwritten history.

And it is on that day in June (the kind that seems to preen and flounce its glorious sunshine on a celestial canvas of azure and fluffy white) nearly five years after the war ends that Bookman and Lavi arrive at Edo. Like Rome, Japan's capitol is in the process of being rebuilt, albeit at a slower pace due to the meager population of slowly-returning Japanese. The new Edo is a ghost of its former glorious self: stubby pagodas with exposed wooden skeletons; hastily-constructed shacks along the dusty paths; murky rice fields with intermittent green patches; citizens ambling around in ragged clothes, though some are slightly better than others'.

Lavi notes all these sights and imprints each detail into his memory. He and Bookman have parted for the day in order to cover more ground, but the redhead yearns for some company. Despite the requirement that he, the future Bookman, cut off all relationships, he frankly has been missing his old friends and cannot help wondering how they have been faring in the past years.

"Ahh, so boring," he mutters, betraying the silence he is supposed to maintain as he trudges down the rows of building.

Lavi sees a dozen or so customers chatting quietly in a teahouse and eating dango while fanning themselves, probably taking a break after an arduous morning. Across the path, an old man, his wispy gray hair tied into a top-notch, patiently cleans a pot out of the assortment of clay pottery he is selling in a nearby store. He looks up momentarily when Lavi passes by and sends a puff of dust in his wake. Next to the shop, a long-haired blacksmith, dressed in a black sleeveless jinbei with his back facing Lavi, is hammering a long piece of scorching-red metal with his anvil. The Bookman apprentice is about to pass the blacksmith without a second look when the blacksmith turns a little. Something seems familiar about him… Lavi stops abruptly and gapes at the man, who is dousing the metal in a small pool of water, completely unaware of his rapt observer.

"Yuuuuuuu-chaaaaan!!" Lavi suddenly yells in sheer happiness. "Is that you??"

The blacksmith turns around suspiciously (yes, Lavi shouts, it's the same scowl, the same feminine face, the same, the same, the one and only Yuu-chan!) and stares at the exuberant redhead, jumping madly in his brown traveling robes and attracting many whispers and looks of sympathy (or, in some cases, bewilderment) at his apparent insanity.

"Yuu," Lavi breathes after reaching the blacksmith and finally calming down, "so this is where you were all this time! You're alive! Why did you go without saying a word? We all miss you—especially Allen. He was devastated when we couldn't find you, you know, and poor Lenalee was bawling her eyes out. Bookman and I are just passing by Edo, but you really should go to Rome and apologize to everyone for running off like that. Such a prideful, arrogant jerk you are, Yuu! I would strangle you to death, but since it's been nearly five years since we last saw each other, I won't do anything—"

"Che, you wouldn't dare," the blacksmith growls (the same grouchy voice, Lavi nearly cheers), his black eyes flashing. "Who the hell are you anyway?"

Lavi, once swelling with such exhilaration, now suddenly deflates. His heart pounds hollowly.

"What… what do you mean, Yuu?" he says in surprise. "I'm Lavi, your friend from our Exorcist days."

Even through his shock, however, Lavi does not see the look of recognition in Kanda's eyes. But why? Why doesn't he recognize Lavi?

"Friend? Exorcist? I don't know what the fuck you're talking about. I don't have any crazy red-haired friends like you, baka. And don't call me by my first name."

"Eh? But…"

"Get out!"

"Wait, Yuu—" Lavi begins, flailing his arms as he is dragged out into the open.

"It's Kanda! Now get out of my sight!!"

And so Lavi is shoved out of the building and tossed into the middle of the gathering crowd of curious onlookers. Muttering in annoyance and rubbing his arms in pain, Lavi sits up and finds himself looking right into the scowling face of his master.

"Eh, hello Panda-jiji…" Lavi grins sheepishly, rubbing one hand behind his head.

"YOU GREENHORN!" Bookman roars, kicking the poor redhead out of the startled crowd. "How many times do I have to tell you to NOT interfere?"

"Ah…"

"Stand up!" Bookman snaps, grabbing the scuff of Lavi's robes. He sends his apprentice flying again with amazing fortitude, considering the height difference between the two. "We're getting something to eat."

"Eh, okay…" Lavi replies meekly, still smarting from being tossed around thrice in a row. He certainly does not want to experience it four times in a single day.

"Panda-jiji," Lavi suddenly says in the middle of their meal (miso soup and rice balls with a side of mitarashi dango and hot green tea to drink). "That definitely was Yuu I saw. Why does it seem he has amnesia?"

Bookman puts down his dango skewer thoughtfully. A frown creases his wrinkled brow.

"I have heard of many strange cases of curses," he begins. "In Kanda Yuu's case, his curse is one that gives him extraordinary healing powers in exchange for part of his life."

Lavi nods in understanding; Komui, one of the very few to know about the tattoo and the lotus, had explained Kanda's curse to the Black Order. Needless to say, everyone had been shocked to learn about Kanda's apparent sacrifice. It was then that Kanda's strange last words were made clear to Lavi: There's only one more petal left anyway.

"When we saw him earlier today, I noticed that the tattoo markings that had spread to his arms are now gone. In this case, from what history tells us, I can say with high certainty that his curse has completely disappeared."

"What about his memory loss?" Lavi persists.

"This is all hypothetical," Bookman responds. "Most likely, somewhere, somehow, Kanda met the one who placed the curse on him. He might have made a deal with his curser, and then exchanged his cursed, shortened life with his memories. Such a risky move could jeopardize the powers or even the life of the curser. Or it could be a strange phenomenon," Bookman adds as an afterthought at seeing his apprentice's brooding face. "We can never tell with curses."

"Sacrificed himself," Lavi says in an undertone to himself. "Lost not his life but his memories of the Black Order."

The redhead gives a heavy sigh and runs his hand through his hair. Either way, it is a situation that he does not like. Who is going to angrily chase after him, waving a sword, and calling him baka usagi, after all?

"Lavi," Bookman says sternly, breaking into his apprentice's thoughts, "everything in life, especially with curses, comes with a price. Humanity is stupid and pitiful, but we do our job and record unwritten history. Don't forget that Kanda Yuu is merely a single soul in this endless string of events.

"He is only ink on paper, soon to be forgotten… just like you and I. Never forget that, Lavi."

Lavi nods expressionlessly, for he knows that is the truth. Deep inside, however, he thinks to himself, Yuu maybe only be ink on paper, but he will forever be the nameless hero who won this war.

And our good friend.

Thank you.

He smiles.

A short distance away, along the outskirts of Edo, a lone figure carrying a katana crouches in the middle of a field of frail grass sprouts, bathed by the soft moonlight. Kanda stands up after his sword practice and sheaths Mugen, its blade glinting silver, before sneezing. Rubbing his nose, he scowls in annoyance but decides to brush it away. No one could possibly be talking about him. Unless it's that crazy redhead who approached him today.

"That baka usagi," Kanda mutters.

He stops in the middle of his walk back home, surprised at the phrase that flowed so smoothly out of his mouth. Now that he thinks about it, the redhead does look a little like a rabbit…

Che, such triviality, he scoffs. His past means nothing to him now and is merely a blank slate. He resumes stomping back to his dwelling, but despite his resolve to not linger upon the issue any longer, Kanda finds himself inexplicably smiling.

FIN.

GLOSSARY:

jinbei – traditional Japanese clothing worn by males during the summer

mitarashi dango – Dango is a Japanese dessert that is similar to mochi and seems to be a favorite of Allen's. The dumpling is made from rice flour and contains a sweet substance. Three or so dango dumplings can be stuck to a skewer. Mitarashi is a dango syrup made of soy sauce, sugar, and starch. Yum.

A/N: Finally, we're at the end of "With Each Falling Petal!" I couldn't bear to write off dear Kanda as dead (plus, that'd be too predictable), so I came up with this.

Thank you very, very much to pika318, namikun masaki, Shinigami's Voice, whiteninjaachemist, nellchan0013, Phantom Fox, Belladonna-Isabella, Yume Li, se-tar, whitelanc3r (especially for reviewing on every single chapter in one shot!), ms.swirlyglasses, Kawaiichibi2345, chibi.hazel-chan, Velvet Blindfold, RebelFlame, Tears of Eternal Darkness, azab, Ishikawa Yui, byebyebyrdie, and silent readers for continuing to support me throughout the course of writing this fic. You always make my day with your reviews, which have really contributed to inspiring me to continuing to write. (deep bow)

Happy reading/writing, and I hope to see you around more DGM fics in the future!

.moose

D.Gray-Man (c) the great Hoshino Katsura