D.Gray-Man 1. Froi Tiedoll and Kanda Yuu

**Author Notes: **I've been really productive these days. XD Well, this is the first fic I've ever written that isn't placed into the FF7 category. But because I've been itching to write something for D.Gray-Man for several weeks already and to top it off, I absolutely love Kanda, I decided to write this. :3 I hope you enjoy it! 333

**Disclaimer: **I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

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Walking through the main street of the busy city of Sapporo, the grey haired man noted the millions of pink petals falling from cherry blossom trees that were lined beside the road. _'Spring.'_ He loved the season; it was the season when new lives are brought into the world and the time for growth. After a while of walking, the man with glasses sat down below a cherry blossom tree and drew out a sketch book and several pencils. Constantly looking up and back down, the man swiftly and easily sketched out a picture of the main street where he had been walking along earlier. When he looked up from his work, he then noticed a young skinny boy around twelve years of age sitting all alone beside the road with a wooden sword on the ground beside him while a black cat sat there staring at the boy.

The boy had a slightly feminine face that seemed to be devoid of emotions, his pitch black hair reached his shoulder blades and his fringe was cut straight across. He wore what used to be a white kimono with blue prints of lotus flowers on it, the dirt and dust from the ground was making it dirtier by the second. The boy simply sat there, hugging his knees while he stared into the distance, as if waiting for someone.

Picking up his drawing equipment, the grey haired man in a gold and black uniform crossed the road and stopped before the boy who didn't look up at the person who was standing before him. It wasn't after five whole minutes of staring, did the emotionless boy raise his head and look up at the man.

The older man then smiled down at the boy, "You seem like you've been hungry for days. Would you mind if you join me for lunch?"

●**К****αηδα Ġαιδεή●**

The boy with long hair was indeed starving, as soon as he sat down on a wooden stool across the table from the other man, the boy immediately ordered a serving of soba. One after another, the buckwheat noodles were eaten up in amazing speed as zarus were emptied. The old grey haired man said amusingly, "Oh… You seem to like soba a lot." Ignoring the man's comment, the young boy continued to eat to his heart's content. Feeling that it was time to introduce himself to the boy, the older man spoke, "My name's Tiedoll – Froi Tiedoll. And you are…?"

Finishing his umpteenth serving of soba, the boy with the feminine face glared at the man now known to him as 'Froi Tiedoll', considering whether it was safe to tell him or not. When he did arrive at a decision, he replied ruthlessly, "Kanda. Kanda Yuu."

"Nice to meet you, Yuu." Tiedoll smiled at him through his glasses. However, Tiedoll was answered with the deadliest glare he had ever received in his whole life. "Um… Don't you like being called by your given name…?"

Putting down his chopsticks and taking a sip of warm green tea, Kanda Yuu continued to glare at Tiedoll, "I prefer being called Kanda instead of my given name."

"Well… Nice to meet you, Kanda." Tiedoll smiled once again. Kanda relaxed a little and let out a soft 'hmph'. So far, the first impression that Tiedoll has given Kanda wasn't bad. Noticing that Kanda had stopped ordering more soba, "Are you full now?" Kanda nodded. Tiedoll chuckled, "Let's get you cleaned up then, shall we?" Kanda then looked down at the dirty kimono he was wearing; he had been wearing that for at least two months already.

●**Кαηđα Ġαιδεή●**

Comfortably sitting down on one of the stone seats that were submerged underneath the steaming hot water with a freezing cold towel resting on his forehead, Tiedoll let out a sigh, "Ah… This is so comfortable…"

Kanda merely sat on one of the stone seats in silence, simply relaxing and getting rid of all the pains that he had before. "Hey, old man…" Tiedoll looked over at Kanda, waiting for him to continue speaking. "Who are you? You've got weird clothes…" Kanda asked curiously just barely above a whisper.

Tiedoll's smile faded away as a serious face replaces it, "Me? I'm just a normal traveller." However, Kanda could easily tell that he was lying.

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**Index:**

_Zaru_ A draining basket made from bamboo used in the preparation and presentation of Japanese cuisine.

_Soba_ A type of thin Japanese noodle made from buckwheat flour.


	2. The Lotus in the Hourglass

**Author Notes: **I actually think that last chapter was quite short. D: So I'll be trying to make it longer this time! XD Yosh Gambatte ne! 33

**Disclaimer: **I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

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"_**Who are you? You've got weird clothes…" Kanda asked curiously just barely above a whisper.**_

_**Tiedoll's smile faded away as a serious face replaces it, "Me? I'm just a normal traveller." However, Kanda could easily tell that he was lying.**_

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Kanda's eyes narrowed. "What? Don't you believe me?" Tiedoll sighed and shook his head lightly. Continuing to enjoy his time in the hot spring, Tiedoll asked the young boy in return while pointing to at the tattoo above Kanda's heart, "What's that tattoo…?" At the mention of the tattoo, Kanda instantly stood up and stormed back into the change rooms with a towel around his waist. Tiedoll scratched the back of his head, confused by his reaction to his question.

'_Stupid old man who won't shut up…'_ Kanda dressed himself swiftly and quietly with a blue kimono that replaced his original white one. The glass door's that led to the hot springs slid open and Tiedoll stepped in with a towel around his waist, showing several scars on his slightly well toned body. Ignoring the man, the black haired twelve year old headed for the exit of the change rooms, grabbing his wooden sword in the process. The grey haired man who stared at the back of the boy made no move to stop him. _'Probably needs some time alone…'_ Pondered Tiedoll as he started to get changed into his usual attire before he left the change rooms behind with his belongings.

Ducking beneath the cloth that hung from the top of the door of the hot springs, Tiedoll noticed a crowd of people who had gathered around in a circle at the corner of the street. Shouldering his bag of drawing equipment and finding his way to the crowd to see what had happened, Tiedoll heard the silent murmurs of the crowd that had gathered around.

"Who's that kid who looks like a girl?"

"Isn't he the orphan who always stares at the people at the restaurants like he's going to eat them all up any second? What's he doing here?"

Apologizing as he weaves in between people in the crowd and finding himself in the centre of the crowd, Tiedoll saw two boys around the same age as Kanda who were standing beside their mother while they were glaring at the figure who was on the ground. Then his eyes travelled and rested on the feminine faced boy with long hair who was on the ground with his arms pressed into his back while a man held them together so that his arms couldn't move. "Kanda…?"

Looking up at the man with a moustache, the long haired boy looked back down at the ground with a 'che'. The mother of the brothers then looked at Tiedoll before asking, "Are you that violent boy's father?"

Shaking his hand at the woman, Tiedoll forced a smile, "No, no. I only met the boy this morning, but I've been taking care of him since then."

Glaring at the man, the mother shouted accusingly at Tiedoll, "Well, this kid here," She paused, looking at Kanda who was still being pressed onto the ground, "He picked on my two sons, hitting them with that wooden sword of his!"

Tiedoll looked at one of the woman's sons and saw several nasty bruises on his arms; on the other hand, he noticed that Kanda's temple was bleeding from an injury. Scratching the back of his head, Tiedoll apologized to the mother for her children's bruises. The woman retorted, "Hmph! Just make sure I don't see that kid around anymore!"

Then the woman held the hands of the two boys and walked off down the street with them when the two boys turned around to look at Kanda through the gap in the crowd they had created when they left and stuck out their tongue at him before they turned back around again.

The crowd then started to disperse when they realized the show was over. The man then got up from pressing Kanda's hands into his back and glared at Tiedoll, "Keep an eye on that kid will you?" Muttering more apologies, Tiedoll watched the man return back inside the store to resume his work like everyone else had returned to rightful positions.

Offering the raven haired boy a hand, Tiedoll kind-heartedly asked, "Are you alright, Kanda?"

"Che, it's nothing." Ignoring the hand that was kindly outstretched to help him up, Kanda picked himself up and dusted off his kimono. When he was done, he picked up his wooden sword and wiped the thin stream of blood off the side of his face with the back of his hand.

"What happened?" Tiedoll questioned the youngster who started to walk down the street with the older man hot on his heels.

"It's none of your business."

Tiedoll thought in his head, _'Seriously… He's stiffer than the stiffs back at the Headquarters…'_ Letting out what seems to be the millionth sigh of the day, he suggested to Kanda, "How about properly treating that wound then?"

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

At the touch of the soft cotton that was dipped into some disinfectant solution composed of some disinfected water and povidone-iodine, Kanda's head jerked a bit to the side because of the sudden pain. "Are you going to explain what happened before?"

Kanda stared at the ground while he sat on the wooden chair with his hair tied back in a ponytail so that his hair wouldn't get in the way to make the treating process easier. Receiving no answer, Tiedoll used the cotton again and dabbed it onto Kanda's injured temple, causing him to jerk to the side once more. "Well?"

"…Those stupid midgets called me names, I ignored them and they threw stones at me. That's why I hit them with my wooden sword." The boy explained quietly as Tiedoll's eyes flickered over to the battered wooden sword that was leaning against the bookshelf in the room.

Throwing the cotton accurately into the rubbish bin in the corner of the room, Tiedoll grabbed the bandage from the first aid box on the table and started to wrap it around the circumference of Kanda's head. When the wrapping was done, Tiedoll patted Kanda for sitting so still when his wound was being treated, but Kanda only returned a semi-glare to show that he didn't like it unlike some six year olds.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

It was in the middle of a full moon night, the moonlight shone through the window and onto the sleeping figure that was sweating from all the struggling he had been doing on the bed, messing up the sheets.

_He watched as the__ cloaked figure threw the delicate hourglass onto the ground, shattering the glass that protects the stunning lotus flower which had been sealed inside it for many years. The petals that had detached itself from the flower years before blew away in the soft breeze as it swept across the ground._

_Picking up the lotus flower__ which had only four petals remaining attached to the core of the flower; the cloaked figure looked up at the full moon with his violet eyes. Beside the cloaked figure stood a man who seemed to be suffering from something within his body. It was as if he was going to puke anytime and as if he was suffocating from lack of oxygen._

_He watched with fear as the cloaked figure gently pulled a single petal off the core of the lotus flower with ease as the man beside him suffered even more from the pain that his body was causing him. Plucking yet another flower petal off the lotus flower, the man suffered even greater pain. Edging backwards away from the cloaked figure and the man in distress, he tried to tear his eyes off the cloaked figure and the man only to find that his eyes were locked onto them for some odd reason._

_The cloaked figure had plucked off all the petals – but one. The figure's two slim fingers reached forwards and came into contact with the flower petal, threatening to pluck it off as well. Now, the anguish man was on the floor, wrapping his hands around his neck, attempting to kill himself by snapping his neck in half however, it was of no use._

_Pulling off the last petal from the lotus core, the man gave a cry full of different emotions and with a shower of crimson liquid, the man lay on the ground, lifeless and cold. Ignoring the lifeless man on the ground, the cloaked figure took several steady steps forward towards him._

_Standing back up on his two feet and trying to run away from the cloaked figure, he could only stare at his feet which weren't following his brain's commands. _'Move… Move!!' _Screaming inside his head, he looked up to see that the mysterious person was only several steps away from him._

_The mysterious person then reached into his cloak and produced yet another hourglass with a pink robust lotus flower sealed within the protective and delicate glass. At the bottom of the hourglass lay a single pink petal. Taking a step forward, the cloaked figure showed him a grin of madness._

"_You're next, Kanda Yuu."_


	3. My Most Precious Thing

**Author Notes: **Woah… I'm like doing, one chapter a day. XD I'm really productive! HURRAY! Writing this fic is really tiring… I have to research really often about things that they use in Japan and the way how the do things and live life. So it's pretty educational. XD

**Disclaimer: **I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

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_**The mysterious person then reached into his cloak and produced yet another hourglass with a pink robust lotus flower sealed within the protective and delicate glass. At the bottom of**__** the hourglass lay a single pink petal. Taking a step forward, the cloaked figure showed him a grin of madness.**_

"_**You're next, Kanda Yuu."**_

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

The long haired boy sat straight up in bed as if he had been struck by a bolt of lightning as beads of sweat trailed down his face. His breathing was a lot quicker than normal and his throat felt like it was burning, it was as if he had been running continuously for several miles without stopping. Receiving a sudden headache, he remembered the wound on his temples. Covering his eyes with his hand and calming himself down, he cursed in his head, _'The same annoying dream…'_

Kanda untangled himself from the sheets that had gotten tangled with his body and stood on the cold wooden floor, as his warm feet came in contact with the floor boards a chill shot up his entire body, making him shiver for a spilt second. Shaking off the chill in the air, he wandered over to the round table which had a beautiful table cloth with patterns of plants sewn onto it. Picking up the teapot which contained a small amount of water, he poured himself a cup to quench his thirst and cool down his throat. Putting down the empty cup, a feeling of insecurity and fear overcame him all of a sudden. _'Should I go check on it to see whether it's safe or not…?'_ His black eyes narrowed as he stood there glaring at the empty cup.

Raising his head with his decision made, Kanda grabbed his wooden sword from beside the bookshelf and slowly crept up to the door and noticed that there was a neatly folded piece of paper jammed in the gap between the door and the wall. Pulling it out of the gap using some strength, he unfolded it and scanned through the note, taking in the information that it provided for him. Just when he finished scanning through the note which was full of neat handwritten symbols, an explosion occurred several streets across from the inn, illuminating the room for a moment before the light slowly faded away. Turning to look out the window beside his bed immediately at the loud sound of the explosion, he saw that people were now wide awake, screaming and running down the streets, trying to escape whatever it was that was scaring them.

Remembering that he had to check on whether **it** was safe or not, Kanda bolted out the door only to see that people who were staying at the inn had grabbed their belongings and were now trying to get out of the inn as soon as possible. The staff who ran the inn weren't any better, instead of trying to calm the crowd down, the staff basically joined in the pushing near the exit of the inn. _'There's no way I can get out of here quick enough if I join those idiots…'_ Looking around for another means of exit, Kanda's eyes spotted a glass window at the end of the corridor. Running over to it and sliding it open with ease, he looked down at the ground below and jumped off the window ledge and landed on the ground softly. Now that he was outside, the sounds were clearer than when he was inside the building, there were the loud screams and shouts of people, clear gunshots and explosions heard once in a while. Running in the opposite direction of people, Kanda skilfully weaved through the massive crowd of people, dodging hands that tried to sweep him away as well. As he continued to cut through the crowd of people, the crowd got thinner and thinner until only a few people could be seen around him.

When he rounded a corner into another street, there was no one else around him – he was on his own. What he was confronted with were houses that were smashed to pieces, shattered glass, small flames littered here and there, enormous piles of rubble from buildings and what was more terrifying was, lifeless people who lay beneath large pieces of debris. Blood flowed freely from their bodies and the individual streams of blood met together at one point or another, forming a large 'river'. Although he seems like an emotionless and cold hearted boy who wouldn't care even if a million people died before him, this was the first time that he has faced so much blood and corpses. Kanda slowly moved through the maze of terror, his eyes filled with fear. His voice could only reach the volume of a mouse, "What… Happened here?"

"Is anyone… Here? Help…Me…" A coarse and soft voice came from beneath a pile bamboo which had been sharpened at both ends, "Is there… Anyone?" The voice came again.

Feeling the need to help whoever was trapped beneath the pile of bamboo, Kanda rushed over to the pile and started to furiously throw aside the bamboo. When he finally found the man who had been trapped beneath the pile, he recognized him as the man who was the owner of the dango shop on this street. "Hey, are you alright?" Kanda's hands shook as he helped the man up and sat him down near a wall so he could lean against it; Kanda's hands were soon stained with the man's blood. The man coughed and nodded in reply to Kanda's question, this made Kanda relax a little. Putting down his wooden sword beside him, Kanda asked, "What happened here?"

The man blinked, "I woke up when I heard these screams and I looked out my window and saw these monsters… But there was this man who made trees grow out of no where and then the monsters exploded… There were many others… Those monsters started shooting all the buildings around them and… Then it became… Like this…" He then continuously coughed up blood, spraying blood over Kanda's face and kimono. Then the man fell forward and didn't make another sound.

"Hey…" Kanda shook the man's shoulders, but receiving no reply. _'He's…Dead.'_ Letting go of the man's shoulders, Kanda turned around, picked up his wooden sword and ran through the rest of the mess until he reached a large cherry blossom tree where the pink petals were still falling and drifting down from the tree's branches. Rushing over to the tree's roots where the soil seemed like it had only been recently dug up, Kanda put down his wooden sword again and started digging. When his fingers could no longer feel anything and they were bleeding from the sharp rocks that were buried beneath in the soil, he sat back with a bewildered face, "Its not… Here."

A tiny shadow then blocked out the moonlight that was originally shining onto his back making Kanda freeze. The person behind him then asked with a high pitched voice, "What are you look for…Little boy?" As his right hand slowly reached to his side for his wooden sword, a tiny foot stomped on his hand, not allowing him to reach his sword which was just centimetres away. Despite it being small in size, the owner of the foot was able to apply lots of pressure on it, hurting his already numb hand. Turning his head to look at the person behind him as he grit his teeth from the pain from his hand, he was surprised to see a sweet little girl with long silk-like hair which was tied up in a bun with glittering hair sticks decorating it.

"What are you looking for, little boy?"

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Tiedoll stood at the top of a tree, looking at the numerous round things that were floating in mid air. Fixing up his glasses by pushing them upwards a little on the bridge of his nose, the round things let out an anguished cry and one by one, they exploded, sending sparks every where. Tiedoll then softly muttered, "Rest in peace, those whose souls were trapped within these akuma." As he said those words, he could feel and picture the smiles on those whose souls were set free as soon as those 'akuma's exploded. _'I just hope that Kanda escaped from those akumas who got away.'_

Leaping off the tree branch and landing softly on the ground, Tiedoll made his way back into the core of the large city which was now partly destroyed because of the akuma attack. Suddenly, a warm light emitted from the pouch that dangled from his belt. _'Hmm…The Innocence has found its accommodator, has it?'_ Loosening the string around the mouth of the pouch, Tiedoll put in his hand and when he pulled it out, the source of the light was within his palm. Unfurling his fingers, there sat a tiny golden cube that emitted the warm light from before. Speaking to it in a kind voice, Tiedoll said, "Innocence, lead the way to your new master."

As if the cube had understood Tiedoll's words, the cube lifted itself up and zoomed forward down the street with Tiedoll running behind it, following it to wherever it was heading.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

"What are you looking for, little boy? Answer me!" The little girl's arm lurched forward once again, aiming straight for his head. _'What is this… Thing!?'_ Kanda thought while he barely dodged the mutated hand that smashed into the wall beside him. It had been the millionth time the little girl had asked him what he was looking for, each time he didn't answer, afraid of what would happen. "**What are you looking for?" **The little girl asked again with a lot more force in her voice.

"I'm looking for the most precious thing I have!" Kanda shouted at her, rolling aside to escape the wrath of a falling pile of brick. That made the little girl stop attacking him for a moment.

Her mutated hand changed itself back to her normal hand as she replied with a tint of amusement in her eyes, "Oh… And could it be… This?" She reached behind herself a pulled out a shimmering hourglass with a robust lotus flower sealed inside it.

"You…!" Kanda's hand tightened itself around his wooden sword. "Give it back!" He demanded.

The little girl gave him a sweet smile and clapped her hands together. At the sound of her clapping, a swarm of ugly grey round objects appeared all around the area where they were in. They all let out terrible cries, hurting Kanda's ears. "My dear friends, this little was trying to steal my new toy! Punish him for me!" Her 'friends' understood her and all turned to look at Kanda.

'_What should I do…? Would I make it to her if I ran?'_ Kanda swore as he felt the crimson warm liquid flowing from his temple again. When he reached his decision, Kanda's eyes brightened a little and lit with determination. He stood up as a soft breeze swept across the ground, blowing tiny cherry blossom petals across it. Taking in a deep breath, Kanda ran forward as fast as he could just as the little girl opposite him screamed, "**Fire!**"

The girl's friends all shot out bullets aimed at Kanda, resulting in a large boom while the impact made dirt fly everywhere.

* * *

**Index:**

_Dango _A type of Japanese dumpling made from rice flour, it is often served with green tea.


	4. Innocence's New Accomodator

**Author Notes: **Tiedoll is really hard to write about… He doesn't get much screen time and I don't know much about him… So it's really hard to write. Bear with me!!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

* * *

'**What should I do…? Would I make it to her if I ran?'**_** Kanda swore as he felt the crimson warm liquid flowing from his temple again. When he reached his decision, Kanda's eyes brightened a little and lit with determination. He stood up as a soft breeze swept across the ground, blowing tiny cherry blossom petals across it. Taking in a deep breath, Kanda ran forward as fast as he could just as the little girl opposite him screamed, "Fire!"**_

_**The girl's friends all shot out bullets aimed at Kanda, resulting in a large boom while the impact made dirt fly everywhere.**_

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

As the smoke cleared away, a vast amount of dark red bullets that were as large as a man's head were split into halves and were now lying on the floor beside a twelve year old boy. Surrounding the boy was a faint blue layer of energy which also wrapped itself around his wooden sword, moulding it into an impossibly sharp blade. The boy's eyes also shone a shade of blue despite his eye colour being black. The air instantly felt heavier and dangerous when the little girl's yellow eyes met with his blue black ones. The girl flinched a little at the determination that reflected in his eyes, "That's… Impossible! What in the world are you?" The little girl questioned once again. Hearing nothing from the boy, the young girl once again screamed out, "Fire!"

The round shaped monsters fired their bullets once again, but the bullets were easily destroyed once more with several quick swings of the wooden sword that is surrounded in a blue energy. Using a tall Japanese Black Pine as a support, the boy with long hair swiftly leapt into the air from a branch of the tree, blocking out part of the full moon as he held out his sword as if it was a fighting stance. The ugly grey monsters with numerous gun barrels protruding their skin all turn to look at the boy in terror, as the boy used his sword and drew a line in mid air, unleashing a swarm of miniature silver creatures with four shimmering blood red eyes, a sharp needle protruding their head, a jaw full of tiny sharp teeth and small claws with a short tail that trailed behind it as it pierces through the air at amazing speed. Each of the creatures drives themselves through the round monsters and fades away after the monster explodes. By the time the boy had landed safely back on his feet, all the creatures had disappeared and all the monsters had exploded into nothingness.

Standing up from his landing position, his eyes which still shone a light shade of blue locked onto the little girl who had commanded the other monsters previously. The little girl put her hand onto her face, covering most of face from the boy's view and started giggling all of a sudden. When she stopped giggling to herself, she looked up with a spark in her brown eyes, "Are you an exorcist?" When she received no reply, her smile faded into a frown, "Very well… Lets see what you can do, **exorcist!**" The two then charged towards each other without a single bit of hesitation.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Slowing down to a jog and then to a walk before he stopped, he watched the glowing golden cube leap over the top of a wall and soar over the top of a damaged house. _'Gosh…Am I getting too old for this?'_ Tiedoll scratched the back of his head wondering to himself. Not far away, he heard the deafening and clear gunshots before a small explosion of violet light blinded his eyes for a second. Tiedoll knitted his eyebrows together and frowned at the direction where the glowing cube had gone in, _'This is bad… I need to hurry up.'_

Climbing up on top of a stack of wooden crates, Tiedoll hopped over the wall and landed safely on the ground below. Finding a large rock behind the damaged house he had seen before, Tiedoll used it to make his way up onto the roof of the damaged house. Carefully and slowly making his way along it to make sure that it wouldn't collapse under his weight, he neared the other end of the house that looked over this empty space where an ancient cherry blossom tree grew. Surveying the environment, he saw smoke coming from a spot in the empty area and a sweet little girl standing by the roots of the cherry blossom tree. Around the area floated some Level One akuma who had all their gun barrel's pointed at the point where it had been smoking.

As the smoke faded away with the breeze, Tiedoll's eyes glinted with interest at the young boy who stood there unharmed while being surrounded by blue energy, _'So he's the new accommodator that the Innocence has chosen huh…I always knew there was something special about Kanda.'_ Relaxing a little to see Kanda unharmed by the blood bullets that the akuma had fired, Tiedoll stood there on the roof and watched the whole battle between the twelve year old and the last akuma begin.

'_Show me your skills__, Kanda Yuu.'_

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

At first, the two fought on par with each other; when one attacked, the other one blocked or dodged it perfectly. However, the blue energy then grew a little in size, making the wooden sword's impact heavier. One after another, the heavy blows were barely perfectly blocked and dodged by the small girl whose kimono was now shredded to pieces in some places. Continuing to deliver a quick set of slashes, Kanda pushed forward with his attacks while the little girl can only watch as his sword just missed her arm. She grit her teeth as she thought to herself, _'I can't carry on much longer like this…'_ Then she quickly studied the boy's movements for a moment and noticed how smooth they were compared to his movements before the blue energy surrounded him.

Managing to side step away from the boy and backing away until she was sure she was at a safe distance, she looked at him with surprise, "Oh… So it's just your Innocence that's moving your body is it?" Kanda only glared back at her with his sword by his side. Sighing, the little girl reached back with her right hand and pulled out a shimmering purple butterfly shaped hair stick from her hair while her left also reached back and pulled out the other glittering hair stick she had, letting her pitch black hair fall to her waist. Throwing the hair sticks in Kanda's direction as if they were kunais, Kanda didn't even flinch as the two hair sticks flew past his head and hit the thick cherry blossom tree trunk with a soft thud.

Then a strong gust of wind emitted from the girl's body which started to change. When her shape shifting process was complete, the girl no longer looked like a girl. The top half of her body was similar to an eagle; covered in silver feathers, her arms were sharp talons and on her back was a pair of large wings which was also covered in silver feathers. The rest of her body however, resembled a lion and included a lion's tail. The girl had morphed into a monster which resembled that of a griffin, a mystical beast found in fairy tales. The silver monster was double the height of Kanda, giving it the privilege of looking down on him which was quite the opposite from before.

"Let me introduce myself properly to you, exorcist," her yellow eyes glared down at him from above, "I'm a Level Two akuma. Unlike those useless Level One akumas, I have a special ability." Spreading her wings out and lifting her body up as her strong wings beated, the akuma stayed hovering in mid air for a while as Kanda stood in a fighting stance without a word. Throwing her head upwards and looking up at the sky, the akuma let out a high pitched shriek as silver feathers from her wings detached themselves from the wings and formed a circle around the akuma. Letting out another shriek, the feathers dove, every single feather aimed accurately at Kanda.

Running straight ahead, leaving the feathers behind him to hit the ground and create a line behind him, Kanda sliced the air once again like he had done before. The same miniature silver creatures with crimson red eyes leapt forward from no where and shot straight ahead towards the akuma. "Not so easy, exorcist!" The akuma sneered as it let out a nerve-racking shriek which easily made the silver creatures break down into dust.

Not so far away, Tiedoll watched the battle proceed, getting more worried by the second now that he had seen what the Level Two was capable of. _'So the Level Two's ability is sound waves… By shrieking at a high pitch, it creates sound waves which makes the target break down into small particles…'_ Tiedoll analysed what he had witnessed inside his head quickly, _'Be careful, Kanda.'_ Tiedoll then moved closer to the battlefield by hiding in the shadow of a house near the cherry blossom tree, there he continued to watch the battle through his glasses, taking in every single piece of information he could see.

Back down below on the ground near the cherry blossom tree, the battle wore on. Kanda had attempted to harm the akuma numerous time from different angles, but only failing every single time he tried. The akuma beated it's wings to keep floating in mid air, it cocked its head to one side, "Are exorcists only at this level? What a disappointment… Well, it's time to finish this game, little boy." The akuma laughed to itself as the moon shone on its body, making the feathers on its wings and body glow as if being blessed by the moon. By now, the blue energy was starting to wear away and fade out into the air any second, but the determination in Kanda's eyes were still unaffected despite the situation he's in. Around him in a circle were the shining silver feathers that the akuma had shot at him previously, the moonlight was reflected off the feathers, making them glint and shine.

The blue energy that had been controlling Kanda's every moment ever since wrapping itself around him had finally started to disappear in the wind. The Level Two akuma watched as it wore away, leaving the boy back in his original tattered and blood stained state. When the blue energy finally disappeared, it left Kanda breathless and the attacks that he had received earlier from the akuma gradually showed up one by one. _'What was that surge of power I felt after those monsters fired their bullets at me…? It felt strange…'_ Tightening his grip on the handle of his wooden sword, he saw many scratch marks on it and that if it had any more pressure applied to it, it would certainly break. The Level Two smiled at itself, "I've been waiting for that annoying blue stuff to go away… And now that it has, **I'll finish you off!**"

Still trying to catch his breath, Kanda blinked at the akuma and looked around him to see if any has changed yet. True enough, all the feathers that had missed him and had fell onto the ground were now twitching as if someone had attached a line to them and was tugging at them lightly. The akuma's head looked up into the sky as the feathers rose from their fallen positions as well and all aimed at Kanda who was in the centre. Using his sword as a support, Kanda managed to stand back up to face what was next as he closed his black eyes. _'Once more… I need that strength just once more…!'_ When his eyes flickered open, he felt that same surge of power as the blue energy engulfed him and wrapped itself around his wooden sword, moulding an impossibly sharp blade once more. The akuma let out the loudest shriek of all as the feathers flew towards him like a dart, aiming for the target.

* * *

**Index:**

_Kunai_ - An ancient kind of trowel, originated during the Tenshō era in Japan. Used very often by ninjas as fighting tools.

* * *

**Important note to readers:**

**Because I'll be taking a night flight back to Australia on Saturday night, I won't be updating during the school term due to the massive work loads I get from teachers. I'm very sorry to say, but our little story here will have to hang on for a bit until I come back home and continue with the next chapter! My next visit back to Hong Kong will be on the 28****th**** June, which is a Saturday. I might not be able to get to work as soon as I get home, but I'll start working on Monday for sure. :D Please be patient, thank you!**


	5. Old Swordsman

**Author Notes:** You're in luck today guys. I was actually bored like hell today. XD

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

* * *

_Still trying to catch his breath, Kanda blinked at the akuma and looked around him to see if any has changed yet. True enough, all the feathers that had missed him and had fell onto the ground were now twitching as if someone had attached a line to them and was tugging at them lightly. The akuma's head looked up into the sky as the feathers rose from their fallen positions as well and all aimed at Kanda who was in the centre. Using his sword as a support, Kanda managed to stand back up to face what was next as he closed his black eyes. __'Once more… I need that strength just once more…!'__ When his eyes flickered open, he felt that same surge of power as the blue energy engulfed him and wrapped itself around his wooden sword, moulding an impossibly sharp blade once more. The akuma let out the loudest shriek of all as the feathers flew towards him like a dart, aiming for the target._

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

As the silver feather darts flew forward to meet their target in unison, Kanda took in deep breaths to calm himself down despite the situation he was in. _'Focus…Remember…'_ His mind was entirely blank and filled with nothingness until the image of an old man with a long white beard flowed into his mind. A coarse voice echoed out, "Clear your mind of everything and focus… Then hidden things will show themselves to you…" His mind was cleared once more.

There was a twinkle of intelligence in his midnight eyes as he eyed all those shining darts lurching forward for him. The blue light that surrounded him glowed an eye blinding shade of sapphire as time in Kanda's world seemed to slow down immediately. Everything seemed to move ever so slowly, crawling forward several millimetres every few seconds. Kanda looked out of the corner of his eyes, counting in his head as his eye scanned over the silver darts. _'Eighty… Eighty one… Eighty two…'_ The numbers increased as his eyes took in all the glinting feathers. When his eyes took him back to where he had started counting, he narrowed his midnight eyes, _'A hundred and twenty one. This'll be over in seconds.'_ Kanda leapt forward, targeting the shining feather before him.

The griffin-like akuma staggered backwards, eyes wide at what it had just witnessed. It had to be one of the most shocking things it had ever seen in its short life as an akuma. That weak looking boy – that boy that looked like he was nothing but a useless vulnerable orphan – had actually managed to defend himself and slice all those feathers it had sent to him in half. It was simply impossible.

Kanda took a step forwards, the energy around him strengthening as he took yet another step towards the akuma. "You out of attacks already, monster?" Despite his worn out appearance, he still felt a massive amount of energy pumping through his veins, supporting him and pushing him forwards towards victory in the battle. The akuma was speechless, it could only step back as Kanda continued towards it. Kanda looked up, anger evident in his eyes, "Give it back, that hour glass."

For the duration of the battle, the precious hourglass which the two had been fighting over was tucked safely in the cherry blossom tree's strong branches to prevent it from being damaged. At the mention of the hourglass, the akuma beat its wings and perched on the strong branch beside the hourglass, making it wobble on the branch dangerously. "Give it back to you? Not in a million years I don't think! If you have the guts to come get it back, defeat me first!" the akuma yelled at Kanda.

"Hn." Kanda smirked at the thought of a million ways to torture that monster which had caused so much destruction and death in this once peaceful city. Not to mention that it had stolen his precious possession. Stepping out of the circle of shards of metal that had once been a feather from the akuma, Kanda's eyes let off another twinkle of intelligence. His brain simple gave out instructions of it's on accord; what to do in a tight situation, how to execute the action, how to dodge those fatal attacks that none had ever escaped from – it all just came to him naturally as if he knew all of these things all along.

Glaring at the akuma who was standing beside the hourglass that reflected the moon's soft light, Kanda tightens his grip around the hilt of his wooden sword even more. As he stepped forwards once again, this time towards the cherry blossom tree's thick trunk, he gained speed and soon he was running towards the tree. When he reached the tree trunk, he somehow widened his step and rapidly ran up the tree, beating gravity with his speed.

The akuma's eyes had betrayed it; it had only blinked for one nanosecond and then he was gone. The griffin-like akuma looked around the place, searching for signs of the boy with flaring blue energy wrapped around his body and sword. _'When did he?!'_ It wasn't until the sound of his voice had reached its ears, did it actually respond and look up above its feathered head.

Azure light reflected in its yellow eyes, and then there was a sharp shriek and a loud explosion.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

He marvelled at the young boy's skills of sword mastery; to think that a boy at such a young age held such talent with a sword. It was as if an old sword master lived within him; each movement was swiftly and smoothly executed flawlessly. What shocked him even more was the fact that the young boy was actually able to defend himself against an attack that encircled him. Tiedoll smiled at himself, despite all the terror that the akumas had inflicted upon this city, at least something good has happened.

Without blinking or looking away from the battlefield for a single moment, Tiedoll witnessed yet another amazing manoeuvre. Kanda had disappeared in a flash without a sound. He had only left a small whiff of wind stirring up dust behind him. Quickly turning to look at the cherry blossom tree where the Level Two akuma had been, only catching the brightness of an explosion and an ear piercing shriek. _'A second too late huh?'_ Tiedoll leapt forward, rushing towards the ancient cherry blossom tree.


	6. Questions and Answers

**Author Notes:** I'm finding it pretty hard to talk on the phone with my mum and write this as well. Just as I thought, I'm probably the only female on Earth who isn't that great at multi-tasking.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

* * *

_Without blinking or looking away from the battlefield for a single moment, Tiedoll witnessed yet another amazing manoeuvre. Kanda had disappeared in a flash without a sound. He had only left a small whiff of wind stirring up dust behind him. Quickly turning to look at the cherry blossom tree where the Level Two akuma had been, only catching the brightness of an explosion and an ear piercing shriek. _'A second too late huh?'_ Tiedoll leapt forward, rushing towards the ancient cherry blossom tree._

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

The azure energy faded quickly from around his body as soon as his sword sliced the griffin clean in half, detaching the eagle half of the griffin from the lion half. But as they distanced themselves from each other, Kanda's view was covered with the fiery glow of the flames from the explosion. The energy around him disappeared into thin air, leaving Kanda's body cold and weak. His eye sight became fogged up, all his bones and joints ached and to top it off, he had cuts and injuries all over his body, making his body hurt even more. His wooden sword turned into ash under his hand because of his tight grip which loosened as the sword turned into nothingness.

Kanda landed heavily on the ground below with a soft crack as his back collided with the petal adorned ground underneath the ancient cherry blossom tree. He coughed up blood as it dripped down and stained the ground and the pink flower petals from the fall. Kanda looked up, expecting his precious hourglass to drop from the sky; as he blinked slowly, the shining hourglass fell down with a soft thud beside his head. Turning to look at it with his pitch black eyes that no longer held any strength, he wrapped his numb fingers around it and swore to himself that he would never let go of it, no matter what happens.

Then it was all darkness that surrounded him.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

He bent down and studied the young boy's pale dirty face which was partly covered in crimson liquid from his temple injury and the blood that had been coughed up. His eyes then looked at the hourglass with the sealed lotus flower inside it, the moonlight reflected off the surface of the glass of the hourglass. _'The Innocence must have worn him out really badly…'_ Tiedoll pushed his glasses upwards so that they were on the bridge of his nose once again.

Somehow managing to lift the boy onto his back, Tiedoll stood and started walking back towards the direction of where the inn that they were staying at still stood unharmed. The young boy's arms hung limp by his side while his fingers were still tight around the hourglass. Tiedoll retraced his steps back to the inn, skilfully winding his way between all the debris from the damaged buildings around him. Apart from the crackling of the flames around him, Tiedoll could only hear the heavy breathing of twelve year old boy who was unconscious.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

The sound of graphite scratching away on a piece of paper and the sound of sparrows chattering outside the window travelled to the young boy's ears, waking him up from his deep slumber. The window had been covered with a string of reeds that acted as curtains, blocking out all the sunlight that attempts to penetrate it.

Slowly, his eyes flickered open as he stared up at the ceiling, _'I'm back at the inn…?'_ He sat up in his bed and a sharp pain shot through his body. Wincing a little, he touched his forehead which was once again wrapped with bandages. Looking down at his body, he noticed that someone had neatly wrapped bandage around his chest and hands as well. He blinked his eyes, trying to figure out what had happened after he had passed out. Then it came to him, _'The hourglass…!'_

Turning his head to look at the round table that stood with a beautiful table cloth covering its smooth surface, he relaxed as his eyes settled themselves onto the hourglass with the robust lotus flower inside it. It was then that he realized that someone was sitting at the table. The boy's eyes left the hourglass and settled on the figure who sat there beside the table scratching away on a piece of paper with a pencil. "That's great… You finally woke up after sleeping for three whole days, Kanda. You made me worried!" The grey haired man smiled at him as he looked up from his piece of paper.

"What happened on that night…? Were you the one that took me back here?" Kanda's eyes were full of confusion although his face was emotionless.

Tiedoll's smile was replaced with a frown, "Do you want to know everything?" Kanda nodded. "Very well." Tiedoll took in a deep breath and let out a sigh, "That night, akumas attacked the city and killed lots of people. And yes, I was the one who brought you back here."

It was Kanda's turn to frown, "Akuma…? Don't they only exist in ancient folklore?"

Tiedoll shook his head, "This isn't the type of akuma that you find in legends. Akuma are killing machines made from a mixture of machine, soul and despair. When a loved one has died and the living still mourns for them, the Millennium Earl appears at their side. He asks for their cooperation to bring back the soul of their loved one and places it in a special mechanical body that the Earl had created. It's only once this is done that the mourners realize their terrible mistake. The soul inside of the akuma has no freedom whatsoever, and is doomed to follow the Millennium Earl's orders for all eternity unless it is freed by destruction from an exorcist."

"The Millenium Earl… An exorcist…"

"Exorcists are the people who are responsible for destroying akuma and releasing the soul of an akuma from the akuma, they are also chosen accommodators of Innocence." Question filled the young Japanese boy's eyes; Tiedoll continued to explain, "Innocence is a material left by an ancient civilization which, if compatible with a person, can form into the weapons that exorcists use to stop the Earl. The Earl's plan is to prevent the revival of the Innocence. However, Innocence has been scattered all over the world after the Great Flood which is mentioned in the Bible; after the flood, Innocence took on different forms and make strange things happen."

Kanda looked doubtfully at Tiedoll, "Are you an exorcist…?" Tiedoll nodded. "Is that why your clothes are so weird?" Kanda looked at the black and gold uniform that the older man was wearing.

"Yes. I'm a general of the Black Order. The Black Order is an 'army' of the Vatican and extends into every continent, having a branch Headquarters in each and the main Headquarters in Europe. The entire Order is divided into active services and support services. The active services consist of the generals and exorcists; it is even said that a secret group exists in the active services." Tiedoll smiled at Kanda who was deep in thought, "Is this too much information for you?"

The young boy shook his head, making his long hair sway from side to side, "What else haven't you told me?"

Tiedoll stood up and left the sketching pad and his pencil on the table top as he walked to the window and lifted up part of the curtain made of reeds to let the sunlight flow into the dim room. Kanda curiously looked at the sketching pad and was amazed to see a sketch of life-like lotuses floating on the surface of a lake. When Tiedoll spoke again, Kanda tore his eyes away from the drawing while the sketch etched itself into his memory, "One of the Innocence that I have with me has chosen you as its accommodator."

Kanda's eyes widened in surprise, "Is that what the blue energy was?"

Tiedoll let go of the reeds and it fell back into its original place, "I'm surprised you're acting so calm." Kanda looked at Tiedoll, his eyes urging him to continue with his explaining, "Yes, the Innocence was the blue energy that surrounded you on that night." After a long silence, Tiedoll asked, "Well?"

"What?"

"What are you going to do now?"

Kanda's gaze dropped back onto his lap where his left arm lay as if it was a lifeless thing. "Do you want to follow me and become and exorcist?" Kanda's eyes brightened a little at the suggestion as Tiedoll continued, "I'll accept you as my apprentice and take you to the main headquarters of the Black Order. However, the road to being an exorcist will not be easy."

That left Kanda's mind spinning with many more questions. Should he stay an orphan, being bullied at for the rest of his life? Or should he follow Tiedoll and become a person of some use? Would becoming an exorcist help with his search for that 'someone' that he's looking for? After a while, Kanda locked his determined eyes onto Tiedolls and accepted his invitation to become his apprentice. Kanda then asked once again, "This is my last question; why did the akuma come after my hourglass? Why did it attack me?"

"Ah yes…" Tiedoll bent down and rummaged through his bag, searching for something, "The akuma are sent by the Millenium Earl to retrieve Innocence from all over the world. That' why they attacked you because they probably felt that strong aura that always surrounds you. As for why they were targeting your hourglass…" Tiedoll looked up onto the table top at the gleaming hourglass, "Maybe because one of the akuma saw you burying it under the cherry blossom tree and figured out that it was important to you?" Finding what he was searching for in his bag, he neatly placed the bundle onto Kanda's bed and smiled at him, "If you're going to follow me from now on, you better put on some clothes that'll be more suitable for travelling instead of a kimono."

The twelve year old merely stared at the bundle of clothes and blinked. Tiedoll then started to head for the door, "I'll be right back." Then he left Kanda on his own.


	7. Beginning of the Journey

**Author Notes:** And our real journey starts from here on out! 33 WHOOO! 2 chapters in a day!! :3 HURRAY TO HONG KONG! is from Hong Kong

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

* * *

_The twelve year old merely stared at the bundle of clothes and blinked. Tiedoll then started to head for the door, "I'll be right back." Then he left Kanda on his own._

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

When Tiedoll returned a while later, he had returned with a pair of black boots that seemed to be slightly too small for his own two feet. Kanda mumbled a 'come in' when someone on the other side of the door knocked on it twice. The door swung open and closed as Kanda was buttoning up a snow white shirt which he was given earlier. Instead of having his hair loose like it had been previously been, Kanda's black hair was tied up neatly in a ponytail that rested on his left shoulder. Tiedoll placed the pair of boots beside the bed and returned to his seat beside the table to continue his sketching.

Kanda sat back down on his bed and started to put on his new pair of boots while tucking his pants' legs into the boot as well. He had seen travellers being dressed like this before; a simple white shirt, a pair of pants with their legs tucked into their boots and a jacket. When he was done, he stood up to properly do up the belt that wrapped itself to his waist. Then he picked up the last piece of clothing on the bed which was a long jacket that reached his knees.

Tiedoll smiled as he completed his sketch of lotus flowers which now looked more realistic than ever, "Lotus flowers are such beautiful flowers. Don't you think so, Kanda?" Kanda raised an eyebrow at his odd question; Tiedoll only smiled in return. Putting away all his sketching tools back into his bag, the grey haired man suddenly dragged out a suitcase out of no where, "Why don't you put all the things you want to bring along with you in the suitcase?"

'…_How many more surprises can this old geezer give me?'_ Kanda's eyebrow twitched at the thought of more things popping out of no where. Kanda closed in the distance from his bed to the table with several steps before he simple picked up the hourglass and shoved it into the suitcase and slammed the suitcase shut. He was only an orphan, how much stuff does Tiedoll expect him to bring?

However, the old man didn't ask a single question about his personal possessions but only announced, "Well then, let's get going shall we?" To be truly honest, Kanda wasn't at all surprised when Tiedoll announced that they were going to leave Sapporo straight away; he was used to travelling around the place without a single care in the world. As the pair made their way down the main street, people stared at Kanda and made silent comments about him. There were several positive comments occasionally, but most were negative.

"Wasn't he that orphan who didn't even have the money to buy food? Where did all the fancy clothes come from?"

"So that old man decided to adopt that kid? How nice of him!"

"That old man must be rich to be able to afford those fancy clothes…"

Ignoring all of the quiet mumbling from the people around them, Tiedoll and Kanda made their way to the main harbour where ships left to other places in the world. When they got to the harbour which wasn't far from the inn that they had stayed at, Kanda looked around the place. He had never been to this part of the city and he was surprised at how beautiful the sea was, glittering under the sunlight.

Not long after, they boarded on a ship that was going to take them to China where they'll have to walk on foot or hitch a ride on a carriage of some sort to take them over to Europe. It would be a long journey, but it's not as risky as the long journey across the Pacific Ocean where they might encounter storms and the like.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

It was night time again and Tiedoll was once again, scratching away with his pencil in his sketchbook. What he was drawing, Kanda didn't know. Kanda was simply staring out the window of their cabin whilst sitting on his given bed with his suitcase beside him. "Is it okay if I ask you some questions?" Tiedoll asked suddenly. Kanda turned his head to look at the general and agreed to answer his questions. Still scratching away in his sketchbook, the general started his questioning, "What's with that tattoo on your left chest? If I'm not wrong, it's a sort of Hinduism symbol right?"

Kanda sent narrowed his eyes and sent the old man a threatening glare that gave the message, _'Wrong question. Move on.'_ Getting Kanda's message, Tiedoll asked the next question he had in mind, "Do you learn how to use swords from a master of some sort?" Kanda only nodded. "What kind of things don't you like?"

At this question, Kanda replied coldly, "…I can't even list them all myself."

Tiedoll half smiled but continued with his asking, "Do you have any family in Japan?" Kanda shook his head. "What do you like to do during spare time?"

Now Kanda is just plain irritated and annoyed at the same time, "What's with these questions, general?!"

The general laughed, "I just wanted to know more about my new adorable pupil! What's wrong with that?" Kanda winced at the phrase 'new adorable pupil'. He didn't feel like being an adorable pupil at all.

"How are you feeling? Are your wounds hurting anymore?" Tiedoll asked curiously. Kanda shook his head as Tiedoll came over and started to unwind the bandage from Kanda's forehead. As the bandage fell and draped itself on Kanda's shoulders, Tiedoll stepped back with a face full of confusion and surprise. "Your injuries heal fast compared to normal people…" The old general mumbled.

Unbuttoning his white shirt, Kanda fiddled with the bandage around his chest until it came undone and fell onto the bed's surface. Tiedoll's eyebrows knitted together in deep thought, for the injury that was supposed to take around a month to heal for a normal person isn't there anymore. It just vanished like it hadn't been there at all before. While Tiedoll sat down beside Kanda on his bed thinking, Kanda buttoned his shirt back up and unwrapped the bandage from both his hands as well.

"It's to do with the tattoo."

Tiedoll looked up, "Huh?"

Kanda put his hand onto his right chest, "The tattoo links me to the lotus flower sealed in that hourglass. If the lotus flower withers and the last petal falls before I find that person, I will die. Until then, the tattoo grants me the ability to heal quicker than normal people."

"Then take care of the hourglass, Kanda." Tiedoll smiled at him warmly, "I don't want to lose my precious student so soon."

Kanda closed his eyes and returned his master's smile with a smirk of his own, "I won't die that easily, stupid master."

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Several days had past since both master and student had boarded the ship that took them to the most developed harbour of Southern China – Hong Kong. The place was merely a cluster of houses that made up the large fishing village; most of the people who lived here depended on fishing to make a living. The men worked all day, using a simple bamboo stick to transport buckets of fish to other places; they would have two buckets of fish on each end of the bamboo stick and then they would lift the stick up onto their shoulders so that it would be easier to carry around.

Despite the foul scent of seafood and fish, Hong Kong was a beautiful place. There were mountains, trees, lakes and last of all, the sea that spreads from one end of the horizon to the other. The people who lived here also owned special boats. Unlike the boats seen in Japan, these boats have bright red sails shaped like fish fins and they had three sails, all overlapping each other a little. The ends of the boat don't curve as much either.

Stepping off the plank that linked the ship to the harbour, Kanda wiped the sweat from his brows. _'It's awfully hot here…'_ Despite the fact that he had his hair tied up in a ponytail, taken off his jacket and undone a few buttons of his shirt, he was still sweating under the sun. He looked over at the other end of the harbour where men were unloading fish from their boats, the men didn't even bother to wear a shirt at all, and they just worked under the sun with a hat and a pair of pants.

"Rightio. We'll stay here for tonight and continue on our journey back to the Black Order tomorrow morning at dawn." Tiedoll smiled at the sun that hung high in the sky.

Kanda's eyebrow twitched, _'Dawn…'_ Dawn didn't sound like a nice time to be waking up at.


	8. Towards Italy

**Author Notes:** Now what could the pair be up to in Hong Kong…? But I absolutely love Hong Kong no matter how run down it becomes!! Even if it goes under the sea when the ice caps melt!!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

* * *

"_Rightio. We'll stay here for tonight and continue on our journey back to the Black Order tomorrow morning at dawn." Tiedoll smiled at the sun that hung high in the sky._

_Kanda's eyebrow twitched, _'Dawn…'_ Dawn didn't sound like a nice time to be waking up at._

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

The pair looked to their left when they heard the loud screams nearby from one of the ships that were unloading buckets full of fish. Immediately, Tiedoll retrieved two items from his bag at the sound of the horrible shouting of akuma – a hammer accompanied by a chisel. Kanda looked at the hammer and the chisel and soon figured out that it was the general's Innocence weapon when he heard the old man mutter, "Innocence, activate!" He looked up at the place where level one akumas started show themselves and float above the sea which was now decorated with splinters of wood. A faint chain made of light then appeared and linked the chisel with the hammer, "Art!" Tiedoll then uses the hammer and slams it onto the chisel which dug into the ground.

Amazingly, thick vines sprouted from beneath the cement on the harbour and wrapped themselves around each akuma, strangling them until they were destroyed. People could only stare in awe as the monsters were easily defeated. All their eyes were locked onto Tiedoll and Kanda. Tiedoll put away his Innocence and scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously, "Pretend you saw nothing?"

Kanda looked sideways at his master, _'What a moron…'_

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Kanda's eyes stared straight ahead, his eyes missing the usual bright gleam that they had. His face was also paler than usual and there were bags under his eyes. His hair was tied up a little messier than usual as well; he didn't seem to be in a great mood either. After all, he had stayed up all night staring at the ceiling of the room that he shared with his master because of all the questions that were swirling in his head and last but not least – the general's loud snoring. And so the older man woke up bright and early with a huge grin on his face while Kanda couldn't even get a single second of peaceful sleep during the night.

As he continued to stare ahead into space, the environment around him moved away from him quickly with some bumps and shaking. Behind him he could hear the familiar scratching of graphite on paper again and the amazing gasps from the daughters of the man who owned the carriage. The Chinese family so happened to be also heading west, towards Italy or so they say and they had gladly accepted the request from the general and his pupil to hitch a ride not to mention that they had wanted to repay the two in some way for saving them.. When they got to Italy, they would take the express train; if there was one available.

"Wow! You're really good at drawing aren't you, Mr Tiedoll!" The older daughter's eyes shined with admiration. She seemed to be around Kanda's age and she wore a plain violet qi pao with a pair of pants underneath it while her fringe was clipped to one side with a clip. The girl had long silky black hair which fell between her shoulder blades.

Her little sister on the other hand, wore a red qi pao with a pair of shorts underneath it instead of a pair of pants. Her little sister's hair had been tied up in two buns, one on each side of her head. The little girl also stared at the sketch in awe.

Tiedoll chuckled, "If you want, you can have this." He tore out the sketch of a night view of a crowded city and handed it to the older girl.

"Really?" The girl in the violet qi pao asked. Tiedoll nodded and smiled at her warmly like a father. The girl hopped up in excitement and ran over to her father to show him her gift from the general.

Suddenly, a small head popped up beside Kanda, "Hi! My name is Zhiying! What's your's?" Zhiying blinked at Kanda blankly.

"Kanda." He continued to stare off into the distance with a blank expression. What does the girl want from him anyway?

Zhiying smiled sweetly at him, "Nice to meet you, Kanda-gege!" Kanda simply ignored her.

Then another head popped up beside Kanda, this time it was the older sister. "I'm Haiying. Nice to meet you, Kanda!" Kanda said nothing. She pouted as she sat behind her sister who was sitting beside Kanda, "Mr Tiedoll, is he always like this?"

Tiedoll smiled, "Yeah… He's such an antisocial humbug isn't he?" The girls and Tiedoll laughed while Kanda frowned. This was going to be a long trip to Italy.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

The golden sun hid behind the tall mountains, allowing only a little bit of sunlight shine out from behind the mountains. The light cast shadows behind the drifting clouds in the purple sky as a lonely golden eagle beat its wings to soar across the dense bamboo forest. Despite it only being sunset, Kanda couldn't help but fall asleep under the shade of the carriage where it was cooler than the outside. He used his suitcase as a pillow while he used his jacket as a blanket. It could be hot during the day, but at night, the temperatures drop dramatically low.

Haiying smiled at his sleeping figure before she whispered, "He hasn't exactly had a smooth life huh?" Tiedoll looked at her sleepily; waking up at dawn took its toll on him. Haiying turned to look down at her little sister who was also sleeping peacefully with her head on her lap and stroked her hair with her hand gently.

The carriage gradually came to a halt as the two horses in front snorted and danced on their hooves, crunching the leaves beneath them. They had arrived at a clearing beside a river. The father of the girls hopped off the carriage and stroked the horses, "We're going to stop here for the night."

One by one, they hopped off the carriage except Kanda who was still sound asleep. They set up a small campfire and sat around it, watching the freshly caught fish get cooked by the fire. Zhiying skipped around the fire to the other side where Tiedoll sat and tapped him on the shoulder. Tiedoll turned around and asked what it was she wanted to say to him. She turned her head and looked at the carriage, "Why's Kanda-gege still sleeping? Doesn't he want to eat with us?"

Tiedoll chuckled, "I guess he's not hungry. But I think he's tired, so we'll just let him sleep for the while." Zhiying nodded and smiled before skipping back to her seat beside her father. When the fish was cooked, each person took their share of fish and ate silently at their own paces.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Kanda stretched his stiff arms, making them making soft popping noises. He frowned at the sounds that his bones made and sat up, staring out the carriage into the dark depths of the bamboo forest that surrounded the carriage. Then it hit him – where was the loud snoring that he should be hearing from the general? He looked around him; the two girls and their father were sound asleep in the carriage.

He stood up and put on his jacket when he felt someone – or something – watch him do every single thing. Kanda turned around and looked behind him into the spaces between the bamboos. He shivered at the thought of some man eating monster leaping out of the bushes and devouring the carriage, the horses and them. Quietly, he hopped off the carriage and onto the leaf covered ground; he winced as the leaves crunched under his boots.

Kanda scanned the area for signs of any creatures, but all he could see was the pile of ash that was left from the fire that had been once lit by the Chinese man and a thick layer of fog. There was a refreshing scent in the air and the sound of the river flowing by like a piece of never ending silk. Suddenly, the two brown horses that had been dozing off to sleep while standing woke up and started making irritable noises like neighing and snorting. Kanda couldn't help but shoot them a glare. Then he felt a shadow loom tall above him and heard a low growling noise.

**Index:**

_Qi pao_ – A type of traditional Chinese dress for girls to wear.

_Gege_ – It means 'older brother' in Chinese.


	9. Family of Traders

**Author Notes:** Hmmm… Didn't stay long in Hong Kong… Oh well. XD I'm not really that sure about Hong Kong's history anyway… So… Hmm…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

* * *

_Kanda scanned the area for signs of any creatures, but all he could see was the pile of ash that was left from the fire that had been once lit by the Chinese man and a thick layer of fog. There was a refreshing scent in the air and the sound of the river flowing by like a piece of never ending silk. Suddenly, the two brown horses that had been dozing off to sleep while standing woke up and started making irritable noises like neighing and snorting. Kanda couldn't help but shoot them a glare. Then he felt a shadow loom tall above him and heard a low growling noise._

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Haiying rubbed away the sleep from her eyes, slightly annoyed at the horses for disturbing her sleep. _'What do they want…?'_ It wasn't the first time that this had happened on one of her travels. Once, the two horses had been stamping their hooves because they were hungry and demanded some food to be given to them. She then noticed the figure in front of her which was nearly the same size as her and Haiying soon recognized that figure as Mr Tiedoll's student, Kanda. She blinked her brown eyes in confusion as to why Kanda was frozen on the spot, "What are you doing, Kanda?" Zhiying soon woke and joined her sister, blinking in confusion.

"Run away…" The silent murmurs escaped Kanda's lips.

Zhiying leaned forward, "Huh? I can't hear you, Kanda-gege!" She cupped her hand near her ear to try and catch Kanda's voice.

Kanda looked up and looked at the two girls sharply then shouted at them, "Run away!" He threw a rock at the horses and they lurched forward, tugging the carriage after them with the girls and their father on board.

Haiying then saw a flash of blinding light while the horses carried the carriage off to somewhere else, leaving Kanda behind. By the time the flash of light had faded away, Kanda was out of view and hidden behind the thick wall of bamboo. She screamed at the direction from where they had come from, "Kanda!"

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

"Che…" Kanda wiped off the splat of blood from his right cheek with the back of his left hand. The smoke cleared when a breeze whistled between the bamboos, revealing a massive oval shaped creature that had once been a tiger which had been standing on its hind legs to tower over him. _'Akuma again?'_

The twelve year old looked down at his right arm which was now bleeding from a blood bullet that the level one akuma had shot at him. The bullet had whisked past his arm, poisoning him with the akuma's blood. He winced as black pentacles started to appear on his arm, but then they started to disappear once more as the wound healed itself, restoring his arm to its original form.

Kanda dodge rolled to his right to dodge another blood bullet from the akuma. _'I need a weapon…'_ He looked around for something to use as a weapon, only to find nothing but bamboo and leaves. Kanda cursed just as a shiny object flew from a one o'clock direction and stopped itself when it stabbed itself in a bamboo. _'A katana…'_ Kanda grabbed the hilt of the sword and tugged it out of the bamboo before he leapt forward into yet another shower of blood bullets.

Breaking through the shower completely unharmed and slicing all bullets clean in half, Kanda tilted his katana sideways and drove it through the level one akuma, making it let out a horrific cry before it exploded. Standing up properly from his semi-crouch, Kanda studied his environment and felt the existence of several other creatures that had been hiding in the shadows come into view. Using the fog as their advantage, a panda and a tiger transformed into ugly beings and pointing all the gun barrels on their bodies at one point.

The fog had become so thick that it wouldn't allow Kanda's eyes to see anything apart from ten meters around him; he could only rely on his other senses to help him survive in this situation. Kanda closed his eyes and concentrated on his surroundings, taking in all the sounds, smells and the things that he felt on his skin. The moisture in the air, the sound of the river, the soft screeching of machines, the smell of dead rotting animals…

Without opening his eyes, he escaped from another shower of bullets fired from different directions. Kanda tightened his grip around the hilt of the katana and he felt the same familiar surge of energy coming from every inch of his body. The Innocence was once again telling him everything he needed to know now that it had decided to take part in the battle with him. He used the katana and cut through the fog, leaving a trace of blue light behind which transformed and became a hole where ten of those small crimson eyed creatures sped forwards, "Kaichu: Ichigen!"

The creatures that somewhat resembled insects gave a squeal and dove onward, making holes in a level one akuma as it passed through. When they had completed their mission, they returned to their master, hovering by his shoulders for a while before they disappeared. When Kanda opened his eyes again, he swung his sword so that the dirt all came off the katana's shining blade as the two akuma exploded into pieces before him.

Behind him, someone clapped as they stepped forward towards the clearing. Turning around to face the hidden figure, Kanda waited for the figure to reveal itself. Stepping out into the moonlight, Tiedoll smiled while he continued to clap, "That was fantastic performance considering the fact that this is only your second time destroying akuma!"

Kanda held out the katana to Tiedoll, "Che, it was just small fry."

Tiedoll pushed away the katana, leaving Kanda slightly surprised, "No no… You can keep the katana, it's for you to use until we get you to the Black Order." The general handed him a sheath which the katana's blade fitted into perfectly. Tiedoll continued to walk forwards towards the direction where the carriage had ran off to with Kanda beside him, "I'll give you an 'A' for that small test. You did well to get the carriage out of the area and did well with destroying the akuma… But there's one thing that you're not thinking about."

"And what is that?" Kanda held the katana at his side.

The moonlight reflected off his glasses, "Have you thought of the possibility that there are other carriages that will be targeting the carriage along the way?" Kanda remained silent until the carriage was in sight. Tiedoll tapped Kanda's head twice with his index finger before saying, "You're lucky this time. Make sure you think of consequences next time, Kanda."

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Thus, the restless night went by quickly and a new day begun as the sun rose above the horizon, lighting up the land with its infinite energy. Kanda continued to sit there with his legs dangling off the edge of the carriage and watching the environment speed past as they left the dense bamboo forest. His expression was still blank but the only difference was that now he held the katana that he was given close to his side at all times. Haiying approached him quietly and sat down beside him, letting her legs dangle over the edge of the carriage as well.

"…Why is a Chinese family travelling to Europe anyway?" Kanda asked out of the blue.

Haiying held up a finger and smiled, "I'm glad you asked!" She paused then continued, "It's because our father is a trader. We constantly travel all over the world to trade with people from different places. Right now, we're going to go to Europe to trade our goods with other people." The Chinese girl motioned towards the crates that stacked up high in a corner of the carriage.

"Che… A family of traders huh…" Kanda frowned and continued to stare off into the distance as his grip around his katana tightened. No wonder both girls were so chatty; it's all because of they're from a family of traders.

* * *

**Index:**

_Gege – _means 'older brother' in Chinese.

_Katana – _a type of Japanese sword.

_Kaichu: Ichigen_ – One of Kanda's techniques; 'First Illusion: Hell's Insects"


	10. General Tiedoll's Test

**Author Notes:** They're taking the exorcists to Italy! They're taking the exorcists to Italy!! (Excuse my bad sense of humour with 'They're taking the hobbits to Isengard'.) OMG! WE HIT 10 CHAPTERS!! YAY!! throws confetti

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

* * *

"_Che… A family of traders huh…" Kanda frowned and continued to stare off into the distance as his grip around his katana tightened. No wonder both girls were so chatty; it's all because they're from a family of traders._

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Tiedoll took in a deep breath of the sweet Italian air before cupping his hands around his mouth and shouting out into the city centre at the top of his lungs, "Saluto Italia!" The white doves and the grey pigeons that had been pecking at bread crumbs left behind on the ground by the people who lived in the city all took off into the endless blue sky, leaving behind a deserted city centre.

Kanda raised an eyebrow at his master while the Chinese girls could only put on a face with several expressions mixed together. Picking up his suitcase from the floor and swinging it over his shoulder and holding onto it with his left hand while his right held his katana. Kanda left the side of the carriage and said coldly, "Thanks for the ride." Behind him, he could hear the unhappy complaints from Haiying who had her head poked out from behind the carriage's wooden wall.

Not long after, the girl's shouts and the sound of the hooves of the horses clattering along the road soon disappeared out of earshot, leaving only the sound of the fountain in front of them filling their ears. The fountain was chalk white and had several minor cracks in it while the lion that stood majestically at the top with water flowing out from beneath it and into the lower parts of the fountain.

Both master and student started to head towards the north east side of the city where the train station was situated. It was still early in the morning and people haven't woken up from their long sleeps yet. However, café's were open and the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee floated down the street, filling up the pair's noses. Being an orphan who hadn't come across coffee before, Kanda scrunched up his face into a scowl at the smell while he was looking around, taking in the types of buildings that were around him and wondering to himself what type of place Italy was.

On the other hand, Tiedoll breathed in the scent of freshly brewed coffee and couldn't help but smile, "Ah, freshly brewed coffee; just the type of thing you need in the morning!" With that, the general quickened his pace and started to head to the café at the corner of the street, just opposite the train station. Staring at the disappearing figure of his master, Kanda sighed and rushed after him while his face was still scrunched up at the smell of the strong smell of coffee.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Slowly sipping his warm cup of coffee and letting out a sigh, Tiedoll exclaimed "Italian coffee is the best!" The young Japanese boy who sat opposite to him looked out onto the streets through the large glass window of the coffee shop. People had finally started to wake up and start their day's work, rushing up and down streets to hurry to their jobs. Horse carriages travelled down the neatly paved streets, the horses' hooves making clip clopping noises as they trotted proudly down the streets.

Kanda's eyes wandered to the far left hand side of the window and stared at the black steam train that just pulled into the station. He watched with interest as he watched people tip large amounts of coal into a container that was semi-filled with the same black rocks. While that was happening, people with suitcases boarded the train after some other people got off the train and went on with their business in the city. Tiedoll pointed at the pitch black train, "That's the express we're catching." He quickly finished the remainder of the coffee left in his mug and left some coins on the table before the general picked up his bag and started for the door with Kanda close behind.

As the pair approached the steam train, a man in a neat uniform and a matching hat rushed over with a nervous face. His hands were gloved and a shining name plate glinted in the sunlight, "Excuse me sir, this is the first class car and only passengers with reservations are permitted to board the first class car…"

Tiedoll smiled at the nervous young man and replied, "We're from the Black Order, would you please prepare a cabin for the both of us?"

The young man looked at the rose cross on Tiedoll's uniform and bowed with a flushed face, "I'm very sorry sir! I'll arrange one immediately!" And with that, the young man rushed off into the train to make the said arrangements. When a cabin had been prepared for them, the young man rushed back to meet up with the pair and led them both to their cabin.

He helped them properly stow away their few pieces of luggage before he mumbled an apology for the inconvenience he had caused before he bowed a second time and shut the door as he retreated back outside of the cabin. Kanda stared curiously at the shining rose cross on his master's uniform. Tiedoll slid his index finger across the smooth surface of the rose cross and explained, "The rose cross on exorcist uniforms grants us permission to access any place in the name of the Vatican." Kanda blinked at the rose cross reflecting off the rays of sunlight that were spilling in from the window. Suddenly, Tiedoll asked, "When's your birthday, Kanda?"

"June 6th."Kanda replied as he slid the window open so that the light breeze that swept the salty taste of the sparkling emerald see could fill the cabin. As the breeze came in through the window, Kanda's long hair flickered messily in the wind.

"That's not very far away is it?" The older man studied the youngster's expressionless face before stating, "It's already May… Gosh, time flies." Trying to search for another topic to talk to his student about, he noticed Kanda's long hair being messed up by the breeze. "Why don't you cut your long hair? It'll be out of the way then."

The twelve year old glared menacingly at the older man, "That's none of your business." He had often wondered to himself why he had bothered to leave his hair so long instead of cutting it shorter. The answer never showed up and he had never bothered to think about the question much anyway.

"Hmm…" Tiedoll pondered to himself for a while before he reached into his pocket and rummaged around until he found what he was looking for and held it out in his palm for Kanda to take, "Use this to tie your hair up."

Kanda blinked several times at the two strings that were knitted together to merge into one string that was multicoloured. He took the piece of string and tied up his hair in a high pony tail while he left two thick strands of hair hanging by his face. "There, isn't that better?" Tiedoll smiled kindly at the Japanese boy.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Long hours came and went in the spacious train cabin with absolutely nothing to do. But finally, the black train slowed to a stop at a busy and noisy station. Kanda's eyes shined with curiosity as he looked out of window at the grey sky with small flakes of snow gently floating down from high above. It wasn't the first time he seen snow, but the sky here was dull unlike the blue sky that could be seen in Italy and Japan. "Come on Kanda, we're getting off the train." Tiedoll motioned for him to leave the cabin.

Kanda tore his eyes away from the grey sky and hurried to pick up his suitcase as his master strode out into the hallway of the first class car of the train. As the pair passed other cabin doors, sounds of suitcases falling onto the carpeted floor with loud thuds could be heard. Arriving at the end of the car, Tiedoll pulled open the door and let in the cold air from outside before he stepped down onto the station platform while people rushed past him to reach their destinations. Kanda leapt off the train and landed softly on the concrete while he properly put on his jacket to shun his body of the cold winter feeling that surrounded everyone.

"Let's hurry along now, Kanda." Tiedoll smiled at him before he walked into the massive crowd of people. Kanda ran after his master, a part of him afraid that he'll loose sight of the general. But the gold and black uniform helped Kanda easily pick out his master from the rest of the crowd. Once they were outside the station and separated from the busy human crowd in the station, Tiedoll waited for Kanda to catch up. When the Japanese boy finally caught up and was within earshot, Tiedoll handed him a piece of neatly folded paper and instructed his student, "Kanda, I've got a small errand to run on my own. If I don't come back within half an hour, open this note and it'll have the directions to the Black Order. The note also tells you what to do once you get there." With that, his master picked up his own bag and merged into the human traffic on the main street.

And so for half an hour, Kanda sat on the roadside like he used to, hugging his knees to keep himself warm. Looking up at the clock that stood tall and straight beside the entrance of the train station, it read: 4:00pm. _'It's already been half an hour since the general left…'_ Kanda stood up on his feet and retrieved the note give to him before from his jacket pocket.

Unfolding it, he scanned through the neatly written note:

_**My dear student,**_

_**This is yet another test for you! Like I said, the directions to the Black Order are written in here but you will need to get there yourself. I'll be getting there myself via another route. I hope you don't get lost, Kanda!**_

Like Tiedoll mentioned in the note, the directions to the Black Order were neatly handwritten below the small message. When Kanda finished, he immediately grabbed his suitcase and ran to find the street that was mentioned in the directions because there was a time limit written at the bottom of the note: _**Be at the gates of the Black Order by 5 o'clock.**_

'_Curse him and his stupid tests!' _Kanda thought as a chain of different ways to torture his master afterwards came floating into his mind.


	11. The Black Order

**Author Notes:** PHWOAR! Suddenly, the Black Order Headquarters remind me of Hogwarts. And I have submitted two chapters in one day once more! XD

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

* * *

_Like Tiedoll mentioned in the note, the directions to the Black Order were neatly handwritten below the small message. When Kanda finished, he immediately grabbed his suitcase and ran to find the street that was mentioned in the directions because there was a time limit written at the bottom of the note: _**Be at the gates of the Black Order by 5 o'clock.**

'Curse him and his stupid tests!'_ Kanda thought as a chain of different ways to torture his master afterwards came floating into his mind._

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Lifting himself up with the last of his strength, Kanda lifted up his head above the rocks with his suitcase's handle held tight in between his teeth. _'Why the hell is the Black Order headquarters in a place like this?!'_ He tried his best to glare at the black towering building in front of him with black microscopic looking creatures fluttering around the building. _'Are they bats? What is this place, Dracula's castle?'_ He had heard the story about the famous vampire from his master one night on the train when they had caught glimpses of bats in the sky.

Finally managing to lift the rest of his body up, Kanda picked up his suitcase from where he dropped it onto the ground just seconds ago. Trying his best to dust himself off from all the dirt and dust, Kanda continued walking towards the dark building. As he neared the building, he noticed that the seemingly microscopic creatures fluttering around were not bats after all; they were small, yes, but they weren't animals. The small things had a long wing span and they were all black despite some of differences in shape. All of them had a camera of some sort planted in their main bodies which took up most of the space.

The Japanese boy ignored the creatures that watched his every move and continued to walk to the front gates of the castle. The castle had seemed so big in the distance and now that he was up close, Kanda just stared up at the towering building that seemed to block out the sun that was starting to set behind the horizon. Despite his effort to ignore the small creatures flying around him, he started to get really annoyed at the constant flapping noise that their wings made. One of the creatures separated itself from the rest of the group and curiously stared at Kanda.

"Who are you, and what is your purpose here?" A gentle yet strong voice came through from the creature that continued to hover in mid air and look at Kanda.

Kanda turned to look at the creature, "I'm General Tiedoll's pupil. He has sent me here; he should be in the headquarters…" His voice trailed off.

"Ah, Kanda Yuu, yes? General Tiedoll is here alright. Mind if you get a scan from our gate keeper first before you enter the headquarters?" Kanda nodded but he didn't exactly know what to expect. A scan? What scan?

Soon enough, a face's features appeared on the small wall between the two front gates of the Black Order. Kanda stared at the emerging face uncertainly while his fingers looked for the hit of his katana. Then it hit him like a rock – when he was climbing up the cliff, his katana had slipped and fell down back to the dark depths of the earth. Cursing under his breath, the strong gentle voice came again, "Don't worry, the gate keeper won't hurt you."

The gate keeper's head bent forward all of a sudden with his eyes bulging out of his sockets. Then the gate keeper's low voice bellowed, "X-Ray examination! This will distinguish whether you're an akuma or human!" Kanda still looked warily at the gate keeper as a ray of light passed over his body. Seconds later, the gate keeper's head shrunk back into the wall and two circles appeared in his eyes while he bellowed again, "He's clear. He's not an akuma."

The voice from the fluttering creature travelled to Kanda's ears, "I'll send someone to the front gates to meet up with you, Kanda." The gate keeper's face once again became blank as his eyes stared straight ahead. There was a loud rumbling noise and then the gates beside the gate keeper's face opened up and revealed a man wearing a white coat with rolled up sleeves and a white shirt and matching pair of brown pants.

The man in the white coat made his way over to the twelve year old Japanese boy and greeted him, "Welcome to the Black Order, Kanda. I'll introduce myself; I'm Reever from the Science Department. Head Officer Wales sent me to meet you." Reever held out his hand to Kanda, "Nice to meet you, Kanda."

Kanda held out his hand in return and shook the Australian man before the pair of them entered the castle and the large gates shut behind them with a loud bang as it came into contact with the ground. Inside the ground was tiled and chandeliers hung from the tall ceiling. People with white coats like Reever and other people who wore casual clothes rushed to and fro of the hall. At some doors, guards with black and purple uniforms held spears beside them as they guarded the doors. When they saw the young Japanese with Reever, they muttered things to one another about another kid being forced onto the battlefield.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

"I was so afraid you wouldn't make it, my lovely pupil!" Tiedoll sobbed as he embraced Kanda in a bear hug. Kanda only stood there seemingly petrified. Reever could only stand there and stare at the general while he listened to Kanda's mumbling about stupid tests and something else about the general.

When Tiedoll finally released Kanda, Kanda seemed like he had already suffocated. To their right, a door opened to reveal a young man with long brown hair tied in a ponytail. When he spoke, Kanda recognised him as the one who had spoken to him through the small black creature, "I'm Head Officer Wales. Nice to meet you Kanda; well, would you mind coming in for a chat?"

The Japanese boy nodded and entered the room alone while the man's eyes twinkled as he shut the door behind the boy. Kanda looked around the room while a bad feeling shot through his body. Head Officer Wales produced a small pouch with bright light leaking out of its opening. Kanda caught the pouch when it was thrown to him by the Head Officer. Tipping out its contents onto his palm, he saw that it was a small golden cube. _'Innocence…'_ He blinked at it as the light reflected off his eyes.

"I've heard about you and the Innocence from General Tiedoll. It seems that you're an equipment type." Head Officer Wales rummaged around a shelf in the room which seemed more like a lab. Kanda had learnt about the different types of Innocence from his master already; there were two types – equipment type and parasitic type.

Equipment type was like Kanda and Tiedoll. The accommodator would only be able to activate their Innocence if it was with them or in their weapons while parasitic types are when Innocences are inside the accommodator's body and could be activated anytime even without a weapon because the Innocence was a part of the accommodator's body.

"General Tiedoll has also told me all about you and your background… I suppose for a weapon you would choose a katana of some sort?" Head Officer Wales lay out a bunch of katanas that were all styled differently. Kanda's eyes scanned through the pile of swords but found one particularly unique. The sword's handle and sheath was pitch black with a line of white straight through the middle. Kanda put the Innocence back in the pouch and placed it on the operation table that stood before him and picked up the black katana. Unsheathing a tiny section of the sword, Kanda found it odd that the sword had a black blade instead of a silver one like all the other normal swords. Unsheathing the rest of the katana and swinging it around swiftly to test it, Kanda found it lighter than all the other swords he's ever encountered. "Hmm… So you like Mugen?" Head Officer Wales said with a tint of interest in his voice, "Mugen never gets chosen because of the black blade. People say it's weird for a sword to have a black blade."

Kanda sheathed the katana and held it out before him, "Heh, interesting. I'll take it."

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

By the time Head Officer Wales and Kanda emerged from the room, General Tiedoll was gone and only Reever was left behind waiting in the corridor. "General Tiedoll's gone to the canteen for dinner already." Reever informed Head Officer Wales.

The brown haired man nodded, "Reever, you can go have dinner as well if you want. I'm going to take Kanda to Hevlaska." Reever nodded and left the two in the corridor. "Right then, come along now!" Head Officer Wales rushed Kanda along down the lit corridor.

Minutes later, they emerged from the dimly lit corridor into a large space. In front of them was a platform of some sort that hovered in mid air. The pair went on the platform and when the brown haired man was pressing buttons on the keyboard to operate the machine, Kanda stared around him in awe. Surrounding them were different levels with doors lined on each floor. Each door looked identical; if a person didn't know their way around, they would easily get lost. Not long after, the platform started to descend. Head Officer Wales caught Kanda staring at the doors around them and explained, "Those are the exorcists' quarters, most of them are empty though. All exorcists leave from the headquarters so they call this their home. However, there are some who don't want to come back. Generals are usually on long missions so they're usually not here, but if they're not on missions, they usually come back."

When the platform descended into a dark hole, the ceiling above their heads closed and candles were lit all around them as they continued to descend. When the platform finally stopped, a glowing white figure appeared from the shadows and several people with hooded black and gold uniforms sat at a distance away, staring down at the people on the platform.

"Hevlaska, take a look at him and tell us what you think of this kid." Head Officer Wales smiled warmly at the white glowing figure that had wavy hair that flowed all around its face, covering her whole body and face except for the lips. Kanda's grip tightened around Mugen when strands of Hevlaska's hair wrapped around his body and lifted him clear off the ground. He wasn't sure what Hevlaska will do to him, but he could feel an aura of kindness around the white glowing figure, telling him that it would be fine.

"You're the first to not struggle against my touch, young boy…"Hevlaska's gentle voice echoed through the dark. Kanda didn't reply but simply kept still. Putting her forehead against his, she started to slowly mumble percentages, "60... 70... 80..." Then Hevlaska stopped and placed the twelve year old back on the platform where he had been before, "It seems that your highest synchronisation rate is currently 80."

Head Officer Wales clapped, "Impressive, Kanda! I'm sure you'll become a fabulous exorcist!"


	12. The Exorcist Uniform

**Author Notes:** And he finally gets new clothes to wear!! :D Let's hope he gets more as he goes on… He needs some fashion advice too I reckon. XD

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

* * *

"_You're the first to not struggle against my touch, young boy…"Hevlaska's gentle voice echoed through the dark. Kanda didn't reply but simply kept still. Putting her forehead against his, she started to slowly mumble percentages, "60... 70... 80..." Then Hevlaska stopped and placed the twelve year old back on the platform where he had been before, "It seems that your highest synchronization rate is currently 80."_

_Head Officer Wales clapped, "Impressive, Kanda! I'm sure you'll become a fabulous exorcist!"_

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Tying back his hair in a high pony tail and grabbing Mugen and setting off down the hallway towards the main control room, people in creamy white clothes looked at him and whispered quietly. In the note that lay on top of his uniform, someone had scribbled messily: _**Come to the main control room and I'll take you to see Head Officer Wales.**_

The uniform was customized by himself, and it came out just like Kanda had wanted. Around his waist and underneath his uniform's collar were two loose belts that weren't done up together. The belt itself was black and white; a strip of black that was surrounded by two strips of white. The uniform was basically like a long jacket – the end of the jacket reached the middle of his calves. The uniform also has large buttons made out from pure silver. Below the line of silver buttons, the uniform was left open without anything to keep the two sides of the uniform together, which in turn forms a sort of triangle. Besides from new uniform, a pair of new boots was also given to Kanda. These new boots had a sheet of metal covering the tip of the boots and had thick rubber soles; making Kanda seem a little taller than before.

Upon arriving at the main control room which was messily covered in flying papers and television screens attached to the walls here and there, Reever motioned from a corner of the room for Kanda to follow him. Doing as he was told, he arrived at another room which was even messier than the main control room. The room's wall was lined with shelves that were jammed full of books and the floor was semi-covered in sheets of paperwork. By the time Kanda had finished marvelling at the numerous books in the book shelves; Reever was standing beside Head Officer Wales' desk with a clipboard in hand, waiting for Kanda. Leaping over several small steps, the Japanese boy arrived in front of the Head Officer's desk. "Take a seat, Kanda." Head Officer Wales pointed at the couch parallel to his desk.

Kanda slumped down into the couch with a small 'poof' as Reever handed him a booklet with lines of writing printed onto each page. Head Officer Wales leant forward behind his desk a little and spoke in a serious tone, "General Tiedoll has told me that the two of you have both arrived here as soon as he accepted you as his student. So I suppose you haven't been trained properly yet?" Kanda shook his head as he continued to read through the first page of writing in the booklet that he was handed. Then the Head Officer leant back into his chair while he rested his arms on the arm rests of his chair, "So you're going to spend several years travelling with General Tiedoll to learn more about being an exorcist and the like."

The Japanese boy looked up from the booklet that was overflowing from information on the Innocence, akumas, exorcists and the Black Order. He couldn't help but make a frown at what Head Officer Wales had just said to him. _'Spending __**several**__ years with that old geezer that could easily suffocate me anytime with hugs?! You've got to be kidding me…'_ Ignoring the frown that was evident on the boy's face, Head Officer Wales brought out a small rectangular cardboard box from underneath his desk and looked for something in the box amongst all the other contents that it held. Finding what he was looking for, he took out several tools from a drawer of his desk and started to fix whatever it was that he had found in the cardboard box. When he was done with his quick repairing job, he tapped the small thing that lay on his desk twice with his finger and the thing – being lifeless before – flapped its long black wings and hovered in mid air using its rapid flapping.

Reever spoke into the microphone that was attached to a set of speakers that was hanging from his neck, "Does it work?" Seconds later, a clear 'yes' was heard from the other side. With the confirmation, he nodded at the Head Officer.

"Oh, jolly good!" Head Officer Wales smiled at the now active creature. Kanda stared at the creature that landed on Head Officer Wales' open hand and finally recognised it as one of those black flying creatures that all crowded around the Black Order headquarters.

Kanda pointed a slender finger at the creature, "Isn't that one of those things flying around outside the headquarters?"

Head Officer Wales blinked, "Oh, you've recognised them? That's good. They're really handy things, mind you. They're called golems and they're basically communicating devices. You can attach them to telephones and contact headquarters no matter where you are in the world. Each exorcist has one of these golems; they're also useful tracking devices. And you can communicate with other exorcists with golems within a 500 mile radius." The brown haired man paused for a while before continuing, "These handy little buddies are made by the Science Department. So if it breaks or if you lose yours they'll be able to fix it or provide you with a new one. For now, this golem is yours to use." Pointing at Kanda, the golem with a spherical body zoomed over to Kanda and hovered around him before finally resting on his shoulder.

Head Officer Wales then stood up, "Now that we've briefed you with the situation, I'll escort you down to the underground channels." Following the two men, Kanda pondered to himself, _'What underground channels?'_

At one point, Reever had split up with the two of them, saying that he had work waiting for him. Before he went down a separate corridor, he wished the twelve year old exorcist good luck with his training. When they were nearly at their destinations after a winding passageway full of winding stairways that led deeper and deeper into the lower levels of the headquarters.

Minutes later, the pair arrived at a small platform where it was dimly lit by only three candles. There on the platform, General Tiedoll stood waiting for the pair's arrival with a small boat that was tied to the sturdy fence that surrounded the platform. "Underground… Channels…?" Kanda muttered disbelievingly before he shot his master the deadliest glare he could muster, "You mean there was an easier way to get to the headquarters?"

"I told you, Yuu; it was test for you and I told you I was going via another route!" Tiedoll smiled kindly at his student as if the glare wasn't there at all.

Kanda's fists were clenched tightly, making his knuckles turn white as he tried to suppress his anger, "Don't. Call. Me. By. My. Given. Name." The black golem simply hovered around its new master, waiting for the next thing to happen.

Head Officer Wales placed a hand on Kanda's shoulder, attempting to calm him down a little, "Well er… I'll wish you luck with your training, Kanda!" Now that he had seen the consequences of calling the young exorcist by his given name, Wales has learnt a lesson; like they say, you learn something new everyday! Giving the twelve year old a reassuring smile, Head Officer Wales patted Kanda lightly on his shoulder, "I'll be looking forward to seeing you again after your training."

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Using all his strength to keep the small boat gliding across the water's smooth surface, Kanda listened to his master talk to him. "Lets see… It seems we have a short errand to run in London. Why don't we head there first before leaving Europe behind again?"

"London…" Kanda mused. What kind of place is it going to be? Is it going to be like this; with the tall buildings, clock towers and busy streets?

Flicking through a folder containing millions of sheets of paper with writing printed on its surface, Tiedoll continued to speak, "So this is the strange phenomenon… The legend of the Happy Prince eh?"

Kanda raised an eyebrow; he had recalled seeing something about strange legends and stories being linked to the Innocence in the booklet that he was given. In the booklet, it had been written like this: After the great flood, Innocence sank into an underground seabed. But somehow over the centuries, the Innocence's mysterious powers lead humans to find them; and now they have come to exist in various forms. Thus, phenomena occur because of the Innocence however the reason why they occur is currently unknown.

The general let out a sigh and pulled out his sketch book and started to scratch away with his pencil again, "I've heard of the tale of the Happy Prince; he was statue with a kind heart…" A minute or so later, he revealed the sketch to Kanda. It was a flawless sketch of a statue of a young boy. By his side there was a beautifully carved sword where a jewel was set into its hilt and on the statue's head was a crown with more jewels set into its walls. Despite it being a sketch of a lifeless statue, the eyes of the young prince evoked a million different emotions and on his cheeks were two thin lines which marked the trail of tears.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Not long after abandoning the boat to a guard who stood at the small dock, master and student were lead by another guard to a carriage that waited for them. The pair of black horses that were harnessed to the carriage pawed the ground and snorted impatiently; their long slender legs were restless, seeming like they were always ready to leap forward and gallop along endless roads. Their eyes were covered by a small circle made from leather to keep their eyes from wandering off to the side, helping their eyes to only focus on the road ahead of them.

The carriage wasn't a fancy one like Kanda had seen ladies and men ride in the city. The ones he had seen in the city were elegant black boxes with a door fitted in its side and curtains framing every single window on the carriage; sometimes the wheels of those carriages were painted a shade attention-attracting gold. However, this carriage wasn't in the shape of a box. It didn't have a ceiling to cover the passengers of the carriage from precipitation; instead, it had a hood that was folded back at the back of the carriage. The carriage was black and the edges of it were lined with golden paint. At the front of the carriage was a small seat for the driver of the carriage and there was a small hook there to keep all the reins of the horses together so they wouldn't get tangled up in the other reins.

Stepping into the carriage, Tiedoll looked at the driver's seat in front and at the rumps of the two restless horses then asked Kanda who was staring at the horses while in his mind he feared for the worst, "Can you drive a carriage?" The question struck the twelve year old like a hammer on a nail.

Kanda shivered a little and nodded silently. When he was small, he often had to take jobs like driving carriages to help deliver things from the countryside to the town to earn some money to stay alive as a young orphan. However, his hands were full of blisters because he hadn't been taught how to drive carriages properly and was constantly getting burns from the reins. To prevent his hands from suffering anymore, Kanda had quitted the job and looked for another small job that he could easily do to earn himself a living. After that, he swore not to touch the reins of horses ever again unless necessary.

"Well then, hop on and let's get on our way to London." Tiedoll smiled warmly at his student, "I'd like to see your driving skills, Yuu." The general nodded at the guard to dismiss him while Kanda settled himself on the driver's seat and took all the reins into his hands and wrapping them around his hand twice. Kanda could no longer get bothered to get angry at Tiedoll for calling him by his given name, and settled for ignoring that one word. Leaving Mugen to sit silently in the carriage behind him, Kanda gave the reins a thrust, making a wave sort of pattern that travelled along the reins and to the horses.

As soon as the horses felt the wave in the reins, they lurched forward into a quick trot. Kanda sat in the seat with his back slumped a little at the amount of work that his master was making him do. At first the clip clopping sound of the horses' hooves was a random messy clump of sounds, but soon their paces fell together; merging the different sounds together into one.


	13. The Tale of the Happy Prince

**Author Notes:** Last chapter was an extra long one… XD I've got more spare time now; I've handed in lots of my work already so yeah… I've got lots of missions in store for our little exorcist…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

* * *

_As soon as the horses felt the wave in the reins, they lurched forward into a quick trot. Kanda sat in the seat with his back slumped a little at the amount of work that his master was making him do. At first the clip clopping sound of the horses' hooves was a random messy clump of sounds, but soon their paces fell together; merging the different sounds together into one._

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

"Yuu, you seriously give me more surprises every single day! First you surprise me with your skills at swordsmanship and now you surprise me even more with your excellent driving skills!" Tiedoll chuckled as he comfortably sat there in his seat sketching away in his sketch book once again while Kanda sat in front on the driver's seat with his legs dangling above the ends of the horses' flicking tails as they continued to travel through the countryside. "Now that I notice, didn't you bring anything with you for these few years of training?" Tiedoll pondered out loud.

Kanda froze and remembered that Reever had actually asked if he had wanted some extra clothes for the trip, but Kanda had turned down the offer, forgetting that he was going to be away for several years. Seeing his student stiffen up, Tiedoll continued to rub it in, "Well, did you?"

"Shut up!" The twelve year old shouted his master, unhappy that he was teasing him about forgetting his belongings.

The general chuckled, "Oh well. Then we'll only have to get you some while we travel then." Turning back around to look at the front of the carriage, Kanda let out a quiet 'che'.

Hours went by; day turned into night. By the time the moon's serene image was starting to become clearer in the fading sky, the pair were in the city gates of London. The streets were even busier than he had thought, as Kanda looked around in curiosity. Amongst the large buildings, a specific structure caught his eyes – the Big Ben.

Illuminated by the lights that were situated by the clock face, the clock's big hand struck twelve as the small hand moved from number seven to number eight. The numerous bells kept in the Big Ben rang; their melodious tones echoing through the whole city, reminding the citizens of London what time it was. The Big Ben towered over the city like a guardian protecting its children.

As time wore on, the streets grew dimmer as the sun disappeared behind the horizon. By the time they stopped outside an inn that wasn't fully booked, the streets were pitch black except for the light that shops and houses provided. Leaping off the driver's seat and stretching his arms, Kanda grabbed Mugen off the carriage and left the horses and the carriage in the care of the boy that worked in the stables.

A woman around the age of forty held the door open for the twelve year old; he mumbled his thanks as he entered the warm lobby of the inn. The lobby was decorated with decorations that gave off a warm feeling to make it seem more like home to people who came to stay at the inn. There was a fire place where several comfortable looking couches were located, surrounding the warm fire place where a bright flame crackled and spitted out ashes and flaming hot particles.

The woman who had held the door open for Kanda came out of the kitchen with a large plate of food. Placing it on the table, she motioned for the young Japanese boy to come over to the table and dig in. Forgetting his manners, Tiedoll was already at the table busily stuffing himself with food. Kanda sat in one of the chairs across from the old woman who was waiting for her guests to start eating before she herself started.

Kanda glanced at the cutlery laid out neatly on the table beside a plate full of salad. He remembered what Tiedoll had taught him on the train ride when they were in the dinning car, _'You start from the outside and move inwards as the dinner progresses. Fork in the left hand and knife in the right.'_ Picking up the fork that was placed on the left hand side of a smaller fork in his left hand and a knife in his other hand, Kanda carefully cut himself a small portion of the salad on his plate. Swallowing the food that he had chewed up in his mouth, Kanda continued to eat his salad silently.

When he was done, the woman had just finished eating her salad as well and stood up and smiling warmly, making the wrinkles on her face clearer, "Please excuse me for a moment gentlemen…" Silently retreating back into the kitchen with their clean plates, she returned with plates that were loaded with a piece of fabulously done steak and some vegetables on the side to make the meal more balanced. Sitting down again, she gestured for the general and Kanda to start eating first.

"Say, Mrs…?" Tiedoll left his sentence half hanging to wait for the forty year old woman introduce herself.

The woman smiled and replied with a British accent, "Mrs Ablewhite."

Tiedoll smiled in return as well, "Say, Mrs Ablewhite; have you heard of the rumour about the Happy Prince?"

Kanda looked up from his meal and listened in on the conversation. Mrs Ablewhite – who seemed to be the inn keeper of this inn – replied after pondering to herself for a while, "I have; I heard about the statue of the Happy Prince shedding tears…"

'_A statue that sheds tears?'_ Kanda continued to chew on his small slice of steak that was inside his mouth.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Once in their rooms, Kanda unbuttoned his exorcist uniform and hung it neatly on the coat rack by the door and unbuttoned the top button of his white shirt that he wore underneath his exorcist uniform. His master had taken off his uniform earlier as well and hung it from the coat rack as well. Slumping down onto his bed with a face full of exhaustion, Kanda stared up at the ceiling and asked, "What's the story of the Happy Prince?"

"Well, once upon a time there was a golden statue of a boy who was called the Happy Prince. There was a ruby set into the hilt of his sword and two sapphires as his eyes. The people of the city thought he was beautiful and left him there to guard the park that he was placed in. One day, a swallow came to stay by his feet because he was left behind by the other swallows because he was in love with a beautiful reed. By the time he had lost his interest in her, his own kind had flown all the way to Egypt." Tiedoll's low and calm voice ringed in the air, "But somehow, drips of water kept dropping onto him and when the third drop dripped onto him, he looked up and saw that the statue of the prince was crying. When the swallow asked why he was crying, the prince answered, "When I was alive and had a human heart, I did not know what tears were, for I lived in the palace of Sans-Souci, where sorrow is not allowed to enter. In the daytime I played with my companions in the garden, and in the evening I led the dance in the Great Hall. Round the garden ran a very lofty wall, but I never cared to ask what lay beyond it, everything about me was so beautiful. My courtiers called me the Happy Prince, and happy indeed I was, if pleasure be happiness. So I lived, and so I died. And now that I am dead they have set me up here so high that I can see all the ugliness and all the misery of my city, and though my heart is made of lead yet I cannot choose but weep.""

"Che, so he's not solid gold after all." Kanda was slightly disappointed. He had hoped to be able to see a pure gold statue at least once.

Tiedoll laughed at his student's response, "That's exactly what the swallow said!" He paused for a while to calm himself down from the laughing, "Anyway, continuing with the story… The prince told the swallow that in a house some streets away, there was a poor woman who was a seamstress and her son is sick. But they are so poor that she doesn't have money to buy her son some medicine and so the prince told the swallow to pick out the ruby in his sword's hilt and be his messenger for one night. The swallow saw how sad the prince was and did as he said. The next night, the prince saw a man in the garret who was writing a play but was turning cold from the lack of warmth; so he told the swallow to pick out one of his eyes and give it to him. The swallow rejected his request at first but then he did as the prince told him. The next night, the prince saw a girl selling matches who dropped all her matches into the drain. He told the swallow to pick out his remaining eye and give it to her so her dad wouldn't beat her. The swallow did it after some coaxing and the swallow said that he'll stay with the prince for ever because he has become blind. The next night, he saw children who were dying of cold and hunger so he told the swallow to tear off the gold on him and give it to the poor. The swallow did as he was told."

Kanda said nothing in response.

"When the winter came and it became colder, the swallow said to the prince that he must leave. The prince agreed with him that he had to leave for Egypt but the swallow said he was leaving to Death's house. Before the swallow died, he kissed the prince on the lips because he loved him a lot. And so the swallow died at his feet. When the citizens saw him, they said he looked ugly and melted him. But when the workers melted all the metal, they couldn't melt his heart which had split in half when the sparrow died so they threw it onto the dust-heap where the sparrow's body was. God then said to one of his angels to bring him the two most important things from the city and the angle brought him the sparrow's body and the heart of the Happy Prince. God agreed with his angle and said: "You have rightly chosen, for in my garden of Paradise this little bird shall sing for evermore, and in my city of gold the Happy Prince shall praise me."" There Tiedoll stopped speaking, signalling to Kanda that it was the end of the story, "But of course, that's only a story and it isn't true. They haven't melted it down and the statue is still there in the park."

"So the strange phenomenon is that the statue's shedding tears like he had shed tears in the story?"

Tiedoll replied to confirm Kanda's theory, "Yes. So we'll be going to the park tomorrow and try and figure out what's happening."

Slipping underneath the blanket, Kanda turned around to face the blank wall. Several thoughts swirled in his head as he stared at the wall. Shaking away all those thoughts, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.


	14. Tears of Sorrow

**Author Notes:** Has anyone heard of the story of the Happy Prince? I read it when I was young and I really liked it. It was so sad… That's why I decided to bring it up in our little adventure. :3

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

* * *

_Tiedoll replied to confirm Kanda's theory, "Yes. So we'll be going to the park tomorrow and try and figure out what's happening."_

_Slipping underneath the blanket, Kanda turned around to face the blank wall. Several thoughts swirled in his head as he stared at the wall. Shaking away all those thoughts, he closed his eyes and fell asleep._

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

They leisurely strolled down the street, heading towards the park where the golden statue of the Happy Prince stood overlooking his city. Sparrows called out to one another from different corners of the park, excitedly chattering about the two people who wore odd uniforms with silver accessories glinting in the faint early sunlight.

When the pair arrived at the centre of the park where the statue stood, Tiedoll was amazed at how absolutely beautifully sculpted the statue was. Ever single detail of the statue seemed to once be a part of the prince's real features. His sapphire eyes were a shade of deep blue and the ruby in the hilt of his sword was a shade of bright blood red. A thin layer of gold coated every single inch of the statue's surface. Unlike most statues, the golden statue was clean of bird droppings; not a single tiny drop of the white liquid was on the statue.

Benches surrounded the statue at all angles; Tiedoll wandered over to one and sat down as Kanda followed him. Sitting down in the chair and leaning forward so that he could rest his elbows comfortably on his knees, Kanda stared the black katana that he held in his hand – his own aniti-akuma weapon. His black eyes trailed the two white lines on the hilt to where they merged together to form one line which continued to travel down the sword's sheath. For once, he felt that he had some sort of odd connection with the sword; a connection that reminded him of the feeling of having friends; it was as if the katana was his friend.

Kanda drew the katana, showing the world the katana's opaque black blade that gave off a small glow as the sunlight reflected off the metal. People who passed through the park stared the young boy staring intently at the black sword and sent him odd glances.

"Oh my, that young boy's got a sword!"

"Why haven't the police confiscated that sword from the boy yet? Hasn't anyone reported him?!"

Tiedoll tapped the young boy lightly on the shoulder and nodded at him; Kanda obediently sheathed the sword again to decrease the amount of attention that he was attracting. It was already odd enough to see two people wearing similar uniforms and a young boy with long hair that was tied up in a high ponytail.

In the distance, the bells in the Big Ben rang out into the chilly air. Kanda asked out of the blue, "Are we going to sit here all day until the prince decides to cry?"

Tiedoll turned his head to look at his pupil, "Do you have another idea?" Kanda merely shrugged. His master was right; was there another choice apart from waiting?

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Kanda's jaw closed on the end of the long baguette and tore it away from the rest of the bread, making bread crumbs crumble off from the bread. A light breeze swept through the park, taking away the bread crumbs and making them land metres away from Kanda. Still holding the baguette in one hand, his other hand held a bottle of water and he gulped the liquid rapidly. "Hey hey, slow down, Yuu! You'll choke yourself!" Tiedoll chuckled nervously.

The twelve year old sent the old man a glare, "I won't die that easily."

"But still…" Tiedoll scratched the back of his head.

Tearing another chunk off the baguette, Kanda stared up at the golden statue then mumbled quietly to himself, "Just hurry up and cry will you! Stupid statue…" By now the park was empty save for the general, the twelve year old Japanese boy, Kanda's golem that sat leisurely on its master's shoulder and of course, the sparrows that continued to flutter around the trees, sending wary glances at the pair from time to time. Most of the citizens of London have hurried off to their day's work and haven't the time to admire the beautiful golden statue that stood lonelily in the centre of the park.

Suddenly, as if the statue had heard Kanda's mumbling, the shimmering golden statue of the Happy Prince cried. Thin lines of tears trickled down his smooth golden cheeks. At the sight of the tears, Kanda stood up while his hand still held the baguette that he was eating for lunch. "He's really crying…" Kanda rubbed his eyes disbelievingly. Was this an illusion? Was the statue really weeping for the poor of the city?

"Seems like our plan has succeeded, Yuu." Tiedoll walked towards the statue until he was directly underneath the statue and staring up at the prince's moist sapphire eyes. Just then a small bird landed onto the prince's shoulder and perched there, staring curiously at the general who stared back at him with the same curious eyes. The bird was a swallow.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

After witnessing the Happy Prince weeping, they thought about the possibilities of the strange phenomenon being caused by the powers of the Innocence. And after reaching a satisfying conclusion, the pair split up for the rest of the afternoon and asked around the area for more information. They had agreed to meet up back at the inn when the Big Ben's bells tell them that it was seven o'clock in the evening.

It was late night and Tiedoll sat in the lobby of the inn just by the fire place, waiting for his dear student to come back from his information gathering. He had done his fair share of information gathering and had returned on time at seven o'clock. Mrs Ablewhite had warmly welcomed him back to the inn and had told him that dinner was already ready. However, Tiedoll had smiled and simple replied, "I think I'll wait for Yuu to come back first."

Thus Mrs Ablewhite ate her own share of dinner first before she excused herself and retired to her bedroom while Tiedoll continued to wait by the fire place. Tiedoll had refused to eat anything at all until his pupil returned safe and sound. He stared into the core of the fire that crackled and spitted in the fire place. Despite the warmth that the fire provided the man, Tiedoll couldn't feel anything that his fingers touched as if his fingers had been placed in a bucket of ice.

As time wore on, he had become more and more worried about his pupil. Outside a large storm cloud made its grand entrance by sending strikes of lightning and large booms of thunder to the city. Droplets of rain descended onto the ground, turning the streets into a dark coloured grey. Looking out into the dark deserted streets of London, Tiedoll's grey eyebrows knitted together in worry while the droplets of rain splattered against the window.

'_Where did you go, Yuu?'_


	15. New Discoveries

**Author Notes:** OH NO! Yuu has gone missing! D: -gets diced by Mugen-

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

* * *

_As time wore on, he had become more and more worried about his pupil. Outside a large storm cloud made its grand entrance by sending strikes of lightning and large booms of thunder to the city. Droplets of rain descended onto the ground, turning the streets into a dark coloured grey. Looking out into the dark deserted streets of London, Tiedoll's grey eyebrows knitted together in worry while the droplets of rain splattered against the window._

'Where did you go, Yuu?'

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

He blinked slowly at the sky while it poured its tears on to him. His hair stuck uncomfortably to his face and the rain drops constantly threatened to get into his eyes. Large splotches of crimson liquid were smeared on his face, slightly washed out by the rain. The park was currently abundant with smoking pieces of machine parts and splotches of red similar to those on his pale cheeks; but only larger. A small black creature resembling a bat flapped its wings to stay hovering above the ground at its master's height while its master himself only stood there in solitude. The sword that was in his hands was glowing a shade of blue while the blade itself was a shade of dashing silver that reflected the lightning that appeared for a millisecond from time to time. The heavy rain poured all over the golden statue, thick streams of water flowing down the Happy Prince's face, making it seem like he was crying.

"_**Thank you for saving me."**_

The boy who stood there in the heavy rain turned around to look up at the statue that stood in the centre of the park. He looked up at those deep sapphire eyes of the prince's that seemed to show a million emotions.

"_**For saving me, I thank you. I wish for you to accept a gift of mine; please take a leaf of gold off me."**_

The long haired boy continued to stare aimlessly at the statue's eyes before coldly replying, "No."

"_**Why won't you accept my gift of gratitude?"**_ The prince asked.

The young boy blinked his piercing eyes at the statue, "Keep your treasure for the poor." And with that final answer, the boy turned around again to survey his blood stained surroundings. After a few seconds of silence except of the continuous pitter-patter of the rain, the boy asked again, "Why were you crying?"

The Happy Prince answered from his position high up on the pedestal, _**"I wept because from here I could see the ugliness and all the misery of my city. I used to never question the outside world when I was alive and had a flash body. I lived in the palace; I played all day with my friends but never questioned about what was beyond the confines of the palace. And thus I lived my life and died. Now that I'm high up here, I see all the misery and sorrow in the city and I weep for their unfortunate destinies."**_

'_Just like the story…'_ the young boy in the damp black and white uniform thought to himself.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Tiedoll held the dark coloured umbrella above his head and rushed through the nasty storm in hopes of finding the person he's searching for. He had asked around the city and all of the information that he got from the citizens of London pointed towards one single place where his new pupil would be at this time of the day.

Slowing down a little as he approached the entrance towards the park, the general noticed that chunks of machine that made a light hissing sound lay across the road. His grey eyebrows knitted together in worry once again as the machine parts dissolved into nothingness. Bolting down the rest of the street to reach the park, Tiedoll slid to a stop at the entrance of the park and the scene that welcomed him was not a pretty sight.

The entrance of the park went straight through to the centre of it where the golden statue stood on the pedestal and watched over the city from its height. Slowly but steadily, the old man held onto the umbrella firmly as he neared the statue. All around the statue were more machine parts but what was more disturbing, were the large puddles of blood that mixed in together with the rain, making a metallic and rotten stench fill the moist air in the park.

Using his fingers, the general wiped away the large droplets of rain from his glasses, letting him see more clearly than before. When he completed his small task of briefly cleaning his glasses, the machine parts dissolved like the other parts he had seen before in the streets. In the centre of all this mess stood the precious statue that had been unharmed and the general's precious pupil; who sat there below the pedestal with his chin resting on top of his hands which were resting on the hilt of his black katana as if he was waiting for somebody.

Glad to see that his treasured student was physically alright apart from the smears of blood on his face, the general let out a sigh of relief before rushing over and holding the umbrella over the young Japanese boy's head. The general smiled in a fatherly way at his pupil, "You'll catch a cold if you keep staying the rain like this any longer." However underneath that smile of his, the general was horrified. When he first saw his student who sat at the bottom of the pedestal, he had seen his eyes that stared straight ahead. Unlike the eyes that he had become familiar with over the past months, these eyes held no emotion and regret; they were cold and merciless eyes. They were eyes of a soldier.

Without looking up, Kanda stood up and continued to stare ahead, "Like I'd catch a cold that easily." He silently walked out from underneath the umbrella, out into the heavy rain once again.

The general caught up with his young pupil and threw his jacket on top of Kanda's black and white exorcist uniform just in case the boy was feeling cold

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Tiedoll opened the door that lead into the warm and dry inn and pushed Kanda through the doorway before closing the umbrella and leaving it on the rack to dry. Mrs Ablewhite who sat at the table with her fingers interlaced with one another stood up instantly and smiled, "Oh thank goodness you two came back alright! I was getting worried…" the lady did then said thankfully, "Thank you Lord for listening to my prayers!" Rushing over to close the door behind the two, General Tiedoll brushed off the small droplets of rain that remained on his white shirt while Kanda simply stood there, seemingly deep in thought.

Mrs Ablewhite noticed the state the pair were in and immediately rushed into the laundry room and returned with two fluffy towels and handed one to Tiedoll while she unfolded the towel for the twelve year old and placed it on the boy's head, covering his face. Tiedoll murmured his thanks before using the towel to dry himself. Mrs Ablewhite placed her hands on her hips, "Come on young lad! Let's get you cleaned up for dinner! I saved you two some food from dinner." With that, she pushed Kanda up the stairs and into the room that he shared with Tiedoll while Tiedoll followed close behind.

"That's an order, Yuu! Get cleaned up for dinner! I'll be right behind you, okay?" Tiedoll took off his uniform and hung it from the coat rack. Seeing the boy still deep in thoughts, his master smacked him hard on the back, "Oh come on! Don't make me take off your uniform for you!" Tiedoll laughed at his own joke, thinking it was the funniest thing he had ever heard.

Kanda instantly cringed at the 'joke' and rapidly stripped himself of the wet uniform and then rush into the bathroom. There was a slam and a loud curse from inside the bathroom until the sound of water flowing could be heard.

Outside, Tiedoll picked up the uniform that was messily thrown on the floor and waved it around so that the rain droplets that were left on the uniform would hopefully drip down onto the floorboards. Completing his simple task like a professional, Tiedoll hung it on the coat rack as well like he had previously done with his own uniform.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

His tense muscles relaxed as the warm water warmed his body up, making him feel better by the minute. The boy continued his short interrupted thoughts from before; recalling all that had happened in the past afternoon and evening.

Earlier in the day, he returned to the park to come up with a conclusion to all the information that he had gathered in the past three hours The citizens that lived around the area said that a single swallow was seen hanging around the park all the time ever since mid autumn arrived. That fitted into the story that Tiedoll had mentioned to him. From some men who visited bars during the night, Kanda had heard that they could hear monsters of some sort calling out in the night. And so to find out the origins of the monster's calls, he made up his mind to stay in the park until late at night. By doing so, he found out that the monsters were actually Level One akumas that were desperately trying to harm the golden statue of the Happy Prince by continuously firing their guns at the statue. To the akumas' dismay, their plan did not work for between the statue and the akumas lay a special barrier of some sort. Thus, Tiedoll's and his suspicions were confirmed – the cause of this odd phenomenon is indeed, the Innocence.


	16. Hypothesis and Conclusions

**Author Notes:** I was actually stumped at this point of the story. I didn't know what to do with this 'Happy Prince case'. I thought I'd simply go with the flow - write whatever comes into mind. But I guess that didn't work… So I ended up spending approx. 20 mins thinking it out. And thus, I am done. XD

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

* * *

_Earlier in the day, he returned to the park to come up with a conclusion to all the information that he had gathered in the past three hours The citizens that lived around the area said that a single swallow was seen hanging around the park all the time ever since mid autumn arrived. That fitted into the story that Tiedoll had mentioned to him. From some men who visited bars during the night, Kanda had heard that they could hear monsters of some sort calling out in the night. And so to find out the origins of the monster's calls, he made up his mind to stay in the park until late at night. By doing so, he found out that the monsters were actually Level One akumas that were desperately trying to harm the golden statue of the Happy Prince by continuously firing their guns at the statue. To the akumas' dismay, their plan did not work for between the statue and the akumas lay a special barrier of some sort. Thus, Tiedoll's and his suspicions were confirmed – the cause of this odd phenomenon is indeed, the Innocence._

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

A knock came at the door, once again interrupting his train of organised thoughts. A familiar muffled voice said, "Yuu, I've got you a set of clean clothes; open up!" Kanda narrowed his eyes and glared at the door, trying to pierce through the wood and kill the man on the other side of the door.

"Tsk…" Kanda twisted the knobs until water ceased to flow and wrapped a towel around his waist before opening the bathroom door, unlocking it in the process.

"Here you go, hurry up; we couldn't want to keep Mrs Ablewhite waiting downstairs. She's kindly offered to do our laundry for –" Tiedoll smiled kindly at the boy who snatched the clothes out of his hands and slammed the door in his face. Smiling at the door, the general finished his sentence, "– us…"

Slipping on the clean shirt and buttoning up the buttons one by one, Kanda once again resumed his task of organizing his thoughts. It was now confirmed that this phenomenon about the Happy Prince crying was the doing of the Innocence. Looking at the other pieces of information about a swallow living here in London in late autumn and about the Happy Prince weeping because of all the ugliness of the city all followed the plot of the story that Tiedoll told him about… If the storm goes away and by tomorrow the ruby from the sword hilt is gone, then this case of the weeping statue might follow the exact same storyline of the tale about the Happy Prince.

Finally doing up his belt properly after spending sometime fumbling with it, Kanda left his hair loose, not wanting it to become curled because of tying it up so often, not to mention that his hair was wet. Using the towel to absorb the last droplets of water dropping off his hair onto his shirt, Kanda left it hanging around his neck and opened the bathroom door, only to see something that could be could not be described by mere words.

The twelve year old couldn't help but feel slightly disturbed at the sight that welcomed him from his comfortable warm shower. His master had decided to 'save some time' and 'get ready for his shower' before his pupil decided to leave the bathroom. Put simply, the general had decided to strip himself completely, unless you counted the towel wrapped around his waist. "What are you…Doing?" Kanda's eyebrow twitched at the scene before his eyes.

His master took off his glasses and left them on the desk in a corner before he approached his student who was rooted to his position. "I'm just saving time so we can have dinner more quickly! Isn't it a great plan of mine?" Tiedoll grinned at his flawless plan of time saving.

'_What a moron this geezer is…'_ Kanda grabbed the wet shirt and pants that he left in the bathroom before leaving the room with a shiver down his spine. As the image of his master being fully naked save for the towel around his waist floated back into his mind, the young boy couldn't help but feel a shiver run down his spine once more.

Arriving at the bottom of the stair case, Kanda was welcomed with the sight of an immaculately laid out table with several simple but delicious looking dishes placed on the table. Mrs Ablewhite's familiar figure appeared from the kitchen, wiping her wet hands on the apron that she wore on top of her dull dress. Seeing the young boy staring at the neatly set out table, she smiled motherly at him, "Let me clean those clothes for you, Kanda. And if you're hungry, just help yourself first to the food; I'm sure Mr Tiedoll won't mind."

Mrs Ablewhite hurried over to Kanda and took the wet clothes from him before motioning for him to sit down at the table. Quietly thanking the woman for doing his laundry for him, Kanda sat down in the wooden chair, thinking of a way to sum up all of his findings of the day. So, he knew that this was the Innocence's doing, the magical barrier was proof enough. His hypothesis would be that the Happy Prince's destiny would follow the story's storyline. He would most possibly get taken down and melted after he had nothing else to give to the poor – if he does ever give anything to the poor. But the information he had acquired about the swallow… Is that enough to support his hypothesis, or does he need more information?

Perhaps it was because he was too deep in thought to notice that time was flying by, because Tiedoll's entrance soon broke through Kanda's layer of concentration. The older man smiled apologetically at Mrs Ablewhite, "I'm so sorry, Mrs Ablewhite. It must be troublesome to wake up to just cook the meal for us again."

The lady waved away his apology, "Oh don't worry about it! Now sit down and eat up!" The woman in her forties seemed to be younger than Tiedoll, but she somehow sounded like a mother to both the youngster and the older man. Obeying the younger lady's command, Tiedoll sat down across from his pupil and smiled at him before picking up his fork and knife. Kanda did the same. Mrs Ablewhite covered her mouth as she yawned, "I'll just do the laundry and I'll go back to sleep. You can just leave the dishes in the sink; I'll do them tomorrow morning." And with a smile, she disappeared from sight.

"You worried me so much when you didn't come back like we had agreed to, Yuu!" Tiedoll looked sadly at Kanda while the youngster continued to chew on his food.

Sending him a glare after he had swallowed hi food, Kanda warned his master once again, "I told you not to call me by my given name."

Tiedoll then put on a high pitched voice and whinged, "But it's such a beautiful name!" However, the general was silenced with a knife that was threateningly pointed at him. After a long eerie silence with the knife still pointed at him, Kanda finally took the knife back and resumed his eating. When Tiedoll was sure that the boy had calmed down once more, he asked, "So what have you found out today, after spending so much time outside?"

Swallowing the food that he had chewed up in his mouth, Kanda replied, "To sum it all up, I can tell you that this is definitely the Innocence's doing."

"How do you know for sure?"

"Because when I went back to the park at night, I found that a group of Level Ones were trying to attack the statue but a barrier protected the prince from their attacks. So I'm absolutely sure it's the Innocence. Also, I've developed a hypothesis; the prince's destiny is going to follow the storyline of the story you told me about."

"A hypothesis? Interesting… Have you got any thing to support it so far then?"

Kanda nodded, "I got news about a swallow being here in mid-autumn. And it's odd for a swallow to appear here at this time of the year, right?" Tiedoll nodded. "Then it might be the swallow that was mentioned in the story as well."

"Hmm… God you're so smart!" Tiedoll praise his student lovingly, "All I could find out about was how to bake perfect apple pies!"

Kanda's eyebrow twitched at the last sentence, _'Maybe that's just you and your bad information collecting skills…'_ The youngster hesitantly continued his meal, still slightly puzzled himself as to why he had gladly accepted the offer of becoming this old man's pupil.


	17. Fall of the Prince

**Author Notes:** Meal times are such great times to muck around with. XD

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

* * *

"_Hmm… God you're so smart!" Tiedoll praise his student lovingly, "All I could find out about was how to bake perfect apple pies!"_

_Kanda's eyebrow twitched at the last sentence, 'Maybe that's just you and your bad information collecting skills…' The youngster hesitantly continued his meal, still slightly puzzled himself as to why he had gladly accepted the offer of becoming this old man's pupil._

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

"What plans have you in store today, gentlemen?" Mrs Ablewhite smiled gently as she served breakfast. Breakfast was nice cooked scrambled eggs, several delicious smelling sausages and beacon. Just the smell was enough to make Tiedoll's mouth water. Although the smell of the appetizing breakfast didn't seem to affect Kanda, deep inside his heart was yearning for the breakfast that was being taken over to him ever so slowly.

It wasn't until the plate was placed in front of them did the general and his student reply, "We're going to the park again."

"Again?" Mrs Ablewhite sat down herself and gestured for her two guests to start their meal. "Does the statue of the Happy Prince attract your attention that much?" she asked curiously as the two ate their meals hungrily as if they had gone hungry for days without food.

The young twelve year old nodded frantically, answering the lady's question.

She let out a sigh. "Very well then… When will you two return?" Mrs Ablewhite thought up of a long list consisting of different dishes. It was just so difficult to choose only several dishes to cook for one meal!

Finishing the last of his breakfast in record breaking speed, Tiedoll replied, "Hmm… I suppose we'll be back before it starts to get dark? I thought it'll be nice to relax for a little bit in the coming days." Kanda cast a surprised glance at his master while still munching on a mouth full of food. His master beamed at him lovingly, "I never like to work people too hard."

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Kanda leant back and rested his head against his master's arm and looked up at the sky that had cleared up a little because of the thunder storm last night. Sparrows flied t o and fro across his eye sight, while a particular shadow caught his attention. It was the scissor-shaped tail of a swallow. "Oi, the swallow's here." Kanda continued to look up at the sky leisurely. He could hear the cheery tone hanging in the general's voice as he hummed a tune that he had heard on a radio as they walked past the shop.

Today, the general seemed to be in a happy mood. He had brought with him to the park his drawing gear and ever since the pair had settled down on a bench in the park, he had started to start scratching away with a pencil in his sketching book, adding more and more drawings to his collection. Kanda sneaked a glance at his master's sketching pad and marvelled quietly at the life-like picture of a swallow that perched on the branch of a tree.

Sitting back up properly, Kanda watched as the swallow landed onto the shoulder of the Happy Prince. The swallow had regarded t he two humans as creatures who were of no harm to him, therefore it had ignored their careful watchful glances. Cocking its head to one side, it seemed as if the swallow was listening to the soft whispers that the prince sent to it. After a few seconds, the swallow took off with the blue sapphire that had served as the Happy Prince's right eye.

Leaving his master and the bench, Kanda made his way to the pedestal upon witch the golden statue stood overlooking London. He looked up at the prince's face, "Did you tell the swallow to bring your eye to the poor?" Kanda added to his sentence in his head, _'Just like you gave the ruby on your sword's hilt to the poor?'_

The prince's only remaining eye glinted in the sunlight, _**'Yes. I cannot bear to watch the poor die of hunger. Nor can I bear to watch my citizens suffer. I will help those who I can help.'**_

"I'd suggest you stop if you want to continue to stand here in the park" The Japanese boy whispered to the statue.

"_**I do not mind if I were to be taken down and melted down as long as lives can be saved because of the gifts I have sent them."**_ The prince's face remained emotionless like it had been from the time his statue had been made.

"Che, it's up to you to choose, prince." Kanda turned around briskly and slumped back down in his seat beside the general.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Kanda lay down on the warm carpet just in front of the fireplace, enjoying the warmth that the fire in the fireplace provided for him and the room. Tiedoll walked past and saw for the first time, his pupil's lazy side. Walking over, he used the tip of his boots and nudged Kanda with it, "Hey, hey! This isn't the Kanda I'm used to seeing!"

Turning his face to glare at his master, the youngster replied, "People have moments when they feel lazy. Now piss off!" Kanda didn't like being teased at all. All the teasing he had received when he was young was already enough for him, he didn't need anymore.

Regaining his temperature quickly, Kanda stood back up and wandered into the kitchen after his master had decided to leave him alone. Once inside, the sweet aroma of an apple pie wafted up his nose, filling the youngster's head with nothing but the image of a scrumptious apple pie. "Ah, you're just in time, Kanda!" The inn keeper put on her hands a pair of thick gloves before she opened the oven and took out the apple pie that had a shade of golden brown, making it look even more appetizing. Putting away the pair of thick gloves away in a drawer, Mrs Ablewhite grabbed a knife and neatly divided the apple pie into eight equal slices. Grabbing a clean plate from a cabinet, he placed a slice on the plate which was accompanied with a fork. She smiled at the young boy, "Here, have a slice. And do you mind calling down Mr Tiedoll as well?"

Kanda looked at the slice of apple pie and nodded before leaving Mugen beside the slice of apple pie and sprinted off upstairs in search of his master. When he had found him, Tiedoll looked up and asked, "What's the hurry for?"

The twelve year old blinked, "Mrs Ablewhite wants you to come downstairs to try her apple pie."

Tiedoll sprang up from his drawing immediately and energetically made his way out of the room with Kanda behind him, "There's food? Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Kanda then muttered to himself, "That's because you locked yourself in the room like some depressed guy would…"

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

It has been at least four days since they had arrived here in London to try and solve the case of the weeping Happy Prince. Little by little, the prince's precious jewels were sent to the poor of London, soon even the thin layer of gold was stripped from the statue, only revealing the ugly metal that lay underneath it. The sparrow that miraculously survived a week in the cold weather had also died from the cold. In the end, it couldn't reunite with the rest of his companions that were in Egypt.

People had been murmuring about whether they should leave the statue standing there or take it down. Most people had decided to take it down because of how ugly it looked and how it served no purpose anymore. When the final decision was made, workers took down the statue and brought the golden statue to the factory to melt it down in the flaming hot furnace.

On that day when the prince's statue was going to be taken down, both master and student asked around the place once again in hopes of gaining information as to where the statue might be taken to for melting it down. By the time the Big Ben that stood looking over the city struck mid-day, the pair were resting at their usual bench in the park, watching the workers take down the statue. Once again for lunch they had bread; Kanda had been offered a basket full of croissants by a kind lady who thought Kanda was a really sweet child for running his master an errand like information gathering. On the other hand, Tiedoll had a small box of chocolate coated donuts that had a mouth watering aroma that filled the air around the pair.

"Do you think there's something fishy with the workers?" Tiedoll whispered. Kanda nodded while his mouth was stuffed with croissants "Want to find out what they're up to?" There was a glint of mischievous in the general's eyes.

Kanda's lips curled into a determined smirk, "That'll be interesting."


	18. The Prince's Twin Brother

**Author Notes:** That is the first time our little hero has smiled. Well… Not exactly smiled… WHOO! Nearly 20 Chapters! :D That's amazing! This is the first time I've had something go on for so long. XD

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

* * *

"_Do you think there's something fishy with the workers?" Tiedoll whispered. Kanda nodded while his mouth was stuffed with croissants "Want to find out what they're up to?" There was a glint of mischievous in the general's eyes._

_Kanda's lips curled into a determined smirk, "That'll be interesting."_

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Kanda tried to muffle his coughs by covering his mouth by both his hands. The ventilation shafts of this metal factory were filled with dust balls and lots of other little particles that tickle your pharynx until you're in a coughing fit. _'Damn that old geezer… Making me go through this tiny shaft while he uses the underground sewerage system instead…'_ The general had said that he couldn't fit into the shafts, but in fact, there was plenty of space for him to fit into the ventilation shafts.

Calming down from his coughing, Kanda held his breath and continued to venture deeper into the puzzling maze of ventilation shafts. Up ahead, he saw rays of light shine through into the dusty ventilation shafts. Crawling over to the light, he peered down onto the ground underneath. The ground was covered with cement with lines especially drawn so that people wouldn't slip on the wet ground when it rains. Bending down low so that his face was near the ground, he saw that the statue of the prince was standing there in the light beside a large machine that resembled the oven that Mrs Ablewhite owned in her kitchen. The fire was being kindled with care by a work who moved as if he was a robot. Not too far from the furnace was a drain which leads underground to the sewerage system. Inside the collar of his exorcist uniform collar, Kanda could feel his golem shifting uncomfortably.

The young boy continued to watch the man who messed around with the fire until it blazed strongly. Another man arrived onto the scene, the man asked the other, "You got the fire going, Pete?" The man who had been starting the fire nodded in an unnatural way. The man rubbed his hands together for warmth, "Alright. Down to business then!"

The other man's head suddenly jerked at an awkward angle as he croaked out, "I've got something… To do before… That…" A point jutted out of the man's neck and out of the man was a Level One akuma.

'_Damn it!'_ Kanda jammed his fingers into the net and threw it aside before he leapt down onto the ground underneath, unsheathing Mugen in the process.

The other man was petrified at what he witnessed – a giant monster that floated in the air with lots of gun barrels pointed at him and the young boy that stood in front of him confidently. "R-Run away kid… That's…That's a monster!" The man warned the young boy who stood before his eyes.

The air around suddenly felt heavy as the akuma let out a shriek, and several others joined it. They had appeared from behind several machines at the other end of the room. All the akumas' guns were aimed at the two humans that stood at the centre of the room while the prince stood silently at one side still with his hand placed on the hilt of his sword.

Kanda placed his index and middle finger on the section of the black blade of Mugen which was closest to the hilt. _'Innocence… Activate!'_ Slowly, he trailed his fingers down the blade of the katana, leaving the blade shinning silver in their wake. The katana shined a bright light, blinding the akuma for a moment. Without a second thought, Kanda drew a glowing blue light in the air and unleashed the silver creatures, "Kaichu: Ichigen!"

The group of crimson eyed creatures charged forward and split up before piercing the Level One akuma into little pieces as they exploded. The man was still petrified by the time Kanda had disposed of all the akuma in sight. Suddenly out of no where, a dark figure emerged from the darkest shadows within the lighted room. The figure stepped out into the light, showing the world its face.

The young boy had white blonde hair that seemed like sunshine with a pair of sapphire blue eyes to match his hair. The boy wore a red uniform with golden embroidery and silver decorations. He wore a pair of white pants where the legs of the pants were tucked into a pair of shining black boots. At his side was a sword with a golden hilt which hat a large ruby fitted into it.

After what seems like a millennium, the now dull statue of the Happy Prince spoke, _**"That… Is me? Why am I there?"**_

Kanda glanced at the statue, "You?" Before he could ask any further, the young boy with blonde hair drew his sword out of the hilt and started delivering a vast number of quick slashes. Caught off his guard, Kanda could only carefully dodge each swing of the sword before he could find a chance to actually defend himself with Mugen.

With a loud clang, Kanda gritted his teeth before taking his eyes off t he emotionless prince in front of him and looked back at the petrified man. "Get your… Get your butt over to the statue!" He shouted at the man before the man actually sprung into action and clung onto the statue for dear life. The prince focused all his strength onto the sword and Kanda's boots slowly skidded backwards._ 'Where are you, General Tiedoll!?'_ Kanda's heart raced as he defended himself against the enemy, trying his best to hold up the enemy until the general got here. Until the general gets here or until he figures out a way to get rid of the prince, he'll have to hold up.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Ducking under low ceiling of the pipe, Tiedoll searched the walls of the slimy pipe for clues that would help him get to his destination. "Dear me, how could I get lost like this? Yu might be in trouble right now! Hmmm…"

Tiedoll continued to venture into the depths of the sewerage system. He turned his head to one side and found a thin shaft of light coming from t he ceiling higher up. Accompanying the shaft of light came the clear sounds of metal against metal, making loud clanging noises. "Ah! The exit!"

Happy with what he had found, Tiedoll climbed up the ladder carefully and peered outside. Unmistakably, the sound of metal clanging came from here. Not so far off, he could see two pairs of shuffling feet. Both were black. _'Which one is Yuu's?'_ Tiedoll pondered to himself. _'Oh well.'_ Shrugging the thought off, he withdrew a hammer and chisel from his bag witch was swung over on one shoulder. _'Innocence… Activate!'_

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Something wrapped itself around his ankle; Kanda looked down to see what it was, but he was too late. Within seconds, he was upside down. He looked sideways only to see the prince also fall victim to the thing that had wrapped around their ankles and dangled them upside down. Looking at his ankle, he realised what had caught him around the ankle was in fact – a vine. _'Finally…'_ Kanda let out a sigh as blood dripped down onto the floor below and his hair dangled towards the ground in a messy way. Wriggling so that he had enough momentum, Kanda swung himself up and cut the vine that wound around his ankle.

Landing softly on the ground, he watched out of the corner of his eye as the prince tried to copy his trick, only to find that his sword wasn't able to slice through the vine like Mugen had. Slowly make his way over to the drain where the vines sprouted from, he looked mercilessly down onto the cover of the drain and thrust Mugen down, piercing the thick drain lid. He heard a small whimper below. "About time you came."

Walking away from the drain, and removing the lid which was stuck on the katana, Kanda carelessly swung his sword, making the drain lid slide off his sword and smack the prince in the face. The lid slid down from the prince's face with a loud clang. Out of the drain came a man in golden and black uniform, "That was so mean Yuu! You couldn've killed me just then, and I saved you!"

Kanda had casted aside his exorcist uniform where it rested at the statue's feet. The shirt which Kanda wore underneath the uniform had clean cuts in them where some of them had been stained red but injuries were no where to be seen.

Tiedoll looked up and saw the vine that was sliced off before looking at his student and whinged, "You didn't have to cut my precious vine, did you?"

Kanda turned to glare at him, "If I didn't, then you probably would've let me dangle there until I die from all the blood that rushed up to my brain." Even though Kanda wasn't happy about what he had done, Tiedoll couldn't help but smile in relief. He was glad that Kanda wasn't hurt too seriously.

As master and student continued to chat, the prince that was hanging upside down smirked. Holding the sword straight in front of his face so that the sword seemed to split his face in half, he used the sharp point of the sword and sliced off his calf without a single sign of pain. Kanda and Tiedoll watched with surprise as the prince thudded to the floor and the leg land metres away from the body. Using the sword to help him stand up properly, the two exorcists continued to stare at the prince. The pair watched as the stump started to morph and 'grew' a new calf. Going over to the calf that he had sliced off earlier, he picked up his shiny boot and slipped it back on.

Apart from the blood that splattered all over the boot, he looked like he hadn't been injured at all. The prince smiled scarily and stretched his neck, making loud cracking noises. "I'm the Happy Prince's twin brother. Nice to meet you, exorcists."

* * *

**Indec:**

_Kaichu: Ichigen_ – One of Kanda's techniques.


	19. Heat of the Battle

**Author Notes:** 20 CHAPTERS! OMG YAY! –must draw something to celebrate this-

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

* * *

_Apart from the blood that splattered all over the boot, he looked like he hadn't been injured at all. The prince smiled scarily and stretched his neck, making loud cracking noises. "I'm the Happy Prince's twin brother. Nice to meet you, exorcists."_

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

'_Twin…. Brother?!'_ Tiedoll and Kanda stared in shock at the boy that stood before them.

"_**I had… A twin brother?"**_ The statue whispered in surprise.

The prince turned around to face his brother, "I suppose it'll be logical for you not to know. After all, even the King and Queen didn't bother telling you about me. Do you want to hear my story?"

"_**My twin brother…"**_ The statue murmured to himself out loud. Seizing the chance to take advantage in the fight, Kanda leapt forward and once again, the Happy Prince's twin brother and the twelve year old engaged into a lightning fast battle. The dull statue called out, _**"Don't! I want to hear his story!"**_

The prince's brother and Kanda leapt away from each other, creating a safe distance between each other. Kanda's heart raced and he breathed heavily with several new cuts added onto his shirt. The Japanese boy ignored the statue's request, "Che, so you're not as bad you seem."

The blonde boy opposite him tutted him, "I'm not good at all. Your skills are just dull."

At the comment, Kanda frowned and his brows knitted together, "You can insult me. But not my skills!" He had spent nearly all his life as a child with his master, sharpening and perfecting his skills as a swordsman. His master had spent a massive amount of time helping him in his goal to perfect his skills. How dare that stupid prince underestimate his skills? How dare he say that his skills were poor, after all those days of continuous practice?

"You're too naïve, kid!" The prince smirked and easily dodged Kanda's swift attacks easily and bent down then drove his thin sword through the young boy. Kanda chocked a little on the blood rushed up his throat and spilt onto the rough ground below. "And to think that you could've actually fought on par with me for a while… Is that all you've got?"

The Happy Prince's statue stood by the wall in silence as every second of the fight slipped before his eyes. Behind him somewhere, Kanda heard a loud bang as the vines that had wrapped around his ankles before grew once again, this time wrapping itself around the prince's neck. "Guh!" The prince let go of the golden hilt of his sword, leaving it in Kanda's body. Both the prince's hands flew up to tug at the vine that mercilessly dragged him away from Kanda, tightening its grip around the prince's neck every second.

Suddenly, Kanda's body felt limp as Mugen slipped out of his grip and fell to the floor with a clang before his body also collided with ground. He watched as the shining silver blade returned to its original pitch black state. A rush of footsteps and his master was by his side with one hand on Kanda's shoulder and one hand on the hilt of the slim sword.

"Hahaha…" The prince laughed weakly as his body was tightly squeezed by the strong thick vines, "It's no use… I dipped my sword in… Deadly poison… He'll be dead… In a minute at the most…" Tiedoll shot a glare at the prince and the vines instantly tightened their grip around the prince's body, making him cry out in pain.

"Forget what that kid just said, Yuu. You'll be fine, trust me…" Tiedoll attempted to comfort him although his heart was racing as he spoke.

"Che…Like I'd be killed off that easily… With some random… Poison!" Closing his fingers around the hilt of the prince's poisonous sword, Kanda gave it a mighty tug. The sword came free as maroon coloured blood oozed out from the corner of his mouth and out of his wound. Out of the small cut in his shirt which was now stained with blood, Kanda could see black pentacles spreading out over his body. Within seconds, the pentacles were fought back and they disappeared off his skin.

Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Kanda wiped off the blood on his sleeve, leaving a long trail of crimson on his sleeve. Tiedoll smiled with relieve, he had nearly forgotten that his student had the special ability to withstand akuma blood and recover extremely fast. "Going to show us your true form, twin brother of the Happy Prince?"

"Very well…" The prince chuckled with a small trickle of blood coming from his head, staining part of his white blonde hair with red. The prince's shape twisted and turned then slithered out of the vines' tight grip. Once on the ground, the prince was no longer human looking. He had morphed into a serpent like reptile, the scales on his body glinting in the light. Despite him looking similar to a dragon, his size was unbelievably small. He was only as tall as Tiedoll at the most. "I'm a Level Two akuma. As you can see, I'm entirely made of water, "The akuma flicked its tail, splashing water drops onto master and student's faces, "My ability is," The dragon-like serpent's appearance shifted once again, this time transforming into Kanda, "To morph into anything I want."

"Heh, that's convenient." Kanda commented sarcastically. He leapt into a battle once again, this time however – a battle against himself.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Swords clashed, blades met, the light dimed and soon only the sparks that's created from the clashing swords and the furnace were the only source of light. Kanda closed his eyes like he does when his eye sight no longer helped him in his fight. Relying on his other senses to help him.

'_Just hold on Yuu…'_ Tiedoll slowly headed towards the direction of the statue on all fours with the sound of swords clashing behind him. He whispered quietly to the man who remained huddled beside the statue, "Listen, to me. I want you to do this for me…"

Mugen once again slashed through the liquid-like body of his enemy. "How many times have I told you exorcist? You can't cut me with that sword of yours." Kanda dodge rolled to the side to avoid the dangerous thrust that came from the opposition. His heart was racing and his breathing had quickened. _'I can't hold on for much longer if I can't cut that puddle of water…'_ Sweat beaded his forehead and slid down his face as he bent there on the ground observing the image of himself across on the other side. _'Even if I activate Mugen, I won't be able to cut that akuma because it's water… Water, water, water!'_ Kanda thought hard for a way to defeat this difficult opponent._ 'Water… Heat! That's it!'_ His eyes darted over to the still burning furnace in the corner. "General! The –!"

Tiedoll smiled tiredly at him as the akuma looked at the blazing furnace in terror, "On it already!"

The man who now boldly stood away from the furnace grinned, "All done!"

The fire now blazed even a brighter shade of orange, red and yellow. An empty container stood beside it – it had once been filled to the brim with coal. Tiedoll used his hammer and chisel and the vines lurched into life once again. They wrapped around the hot metal and ripped off the top part of the furnace, exposing the bright monster to the air in the room. With the large amount of oxygen provided to the fire, it blazed even more strongly than before. The temperature in the room instantly increased.

Kanda slumped down onto the hard ground and watched with his cold eyes as the akuma squirmed in pain as parts of its body dissolved into gas. "Ah… Now who's the one without brains?" The Japanese boy tapped the side of his head lightly.


	20. Twelve to Thirteen, Thirteen to Fourteen

**Author Notes:** I just watched DGM episode 88; I have just realised what a huge mistake I've made in the story line… Panda and Lavi only arrive at the order after Lenalee and Komui's appearance at the order! D: Also, before I forgot to upload Chapter 21 (this is meant to be Chapter 22). And I accidentally deleted the file. I couldn't be bothered to re-do Chapter 21 again so I just put 22 as 21; fixed somethings and there you have it. A story that's been mended. XD

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

* * *

_The fire now blazed even a brighter shade of orange, red and yellow. An empty container stood beside it – it had once been filled to the brim with coal. Tiedoll used his hammer and chisel and the vines lurched into life once again. They wrapped around the hot metal and ripped off the top part of the furnace, exposing the bright monster to the air in the room. With the large amount of oxygen provided to the fire, it blazed even more strongly than before. The temperature in the room instantly increased._

_Kanda slumped down onto the hard ground and watched with his cold eyes as the akuma squirmed in pain as parts of its body dissolved into gas. "Ah… Now who's the one without brains?" The Japanese boy tapped the side of his head lightly._

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Tiedoll pushed Kanda into a comfortable chair at the table that they usually enjoyed their meals at. All around him was darkness; he knew something fishy was going on today! The general had disappeared into the darkness around him. _'Now what is he up to…'_ Kanda grumbled inside his head.

Suddenly, he felt someone's presence as the person neared him. Turning in his chair to look at the direction that the person was coming from, he saw a total of thirteen candles standing on the smooth white surface of a cake which was decorated with fruits. There were strawberries, cherries and slices of kiwi fruit, mango and lots more. As the person who was still shrouded in darkness approached him, Kanda watched as the cake was placed gently onto the table. Soon, a high pitched and a low pitched voice started to sing, "Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you; happy birthday to Kanda! Happy birthday to you!" When the song ended, a small applause followed.

The lights flickered on, filling the room with light once again. "Make a wish, Kanda!" Mrs Ablewhite urged the young boy. Kanda blinked as Tiedoll also agreed and urged him to make a wish before blowing out the candles. He stared down at the cake aimlessly; pretending to be making a wish then blew out the candles on the cake.

"You're official thirteen, my beloved student!" Tiedoll embraced Kanda in a tight hug, making Kanda cough while his body was being constricted by an anaconda in the form of General Tiedoll. When his master had finally decided to release him, he then realised. It was the 6th of June – his birthday. He had been so busy lately with the Happy Prince's case that he had lost track of the date and the days that had gone by so quickly.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Tiedoll waved vigorously at the disappearing image of Mrs Ablewhite who stood at the door of the inn, waving her handkerchief around in the air. They were once again hitting the road, travelling to other parts of the world. What does the big enormous world hold in store for master and student? Will they meet more people who were compatible with the Innocence or will they just travel for the rest of his training?

"How you feeling, birthday boy?" Tiedoll cheerfully asked his student. It has only been two days since his birthday, but perhaps the nickname seemed to successfully tick Kanda off everytime, Tiedoll has continued to use it.

Kanda grumbled, "Now what?"

"Nothing Just asking how you're doing, that's all!" Tiedoll replied energetically like a child going to a zoo, excited to see the different species of animals.

Despite it being only two days past his fourteenth birthday, Kanda was still in charge of driving the carriage. The pair had discussed where to go next, but the conversation had ended without an agreement or conclusion. So now they were basically just aimlessly wandering along the road.

When they stopped to rest for the night at a small village, Tiedoll told him about the Happy Prince. Tiedoll explained to his student how the prince's heart had refused to melt even in the high temperature of the furnace. That was how the general had come to the conclusion that the heart was the Innocence.

Next morning, they woke early and set off on their way once again – with the prince's heart safely inside the general's bag.

_**..:●Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●:..**_

Kanda curled up into a small ball on the bed on the large ship that sailed for Asia across the Pacific Ocean. This ship would arrive at the city of Tianjin which was just a hundred and twenty kilometres away from China's capital, Beijing or more commonly known in Europe as Peking.

Half a year ago, they had met a group of finders and two exorcists; both were Tiedoll's students coincidentally. The taller exorcist was Noise Marie and the shorter one who always seemed impatient with things was Daisya Barry; they had just completed their mission but was lacking transportation to go back to the Black Order, so the general decided to give them the carriage that Kanda and he had been using for the past half a year. This made it a gap of a year already ever since Kanda had completed his first mission at London regarding the weeping statue of the Happy Prince.

During the past year, he had grown taller and he had gained more muscles; his hair had also grown longer, the ends of his hair now reached the middle of his back – it wasn't much to be honest. What was more, his voice also grown slightly deeper compared to what his voice sounded like when he was a kid. It wasn't surprisingly, considering the fact that he was now fourteen years old. However, the general still treated him like a nine year old.

It was now in the middle of the night, most of the passengers of the ship have already retired to their cabins aboard the ship. Finding it quite difficult to sleep tonight, Kanda threw on his thick exorcist uniform and left his room, heading down the thin hallway towards the deck of the creaking ship.

He paused momentarily at the top of the wooden stair case to open the door that lead to the deck. The salty water of the Pacific Ocean sprayed onto the sides of the ship, covering the edges of the deck with sea water. The ocean wind travelled in between the masts, making soft whistling sounds as it passed. The whole ship creaked and bobbed up and down as it conquered every single wave of different sizes, both big and small. The fourteen year old carefully made his way to the tip of the bow spirit, keeping a hand on the flying jib at all times to prevent him from falling into the strong currents hidden beneath the surface of the dark sea that glittered faintly in the moonlight.

Kanda closed his eyes and let the nature flow into his body. The teenager took in a deep breath and let it out, releasing a small poof of warm air into the cold night ocean air. When he opened his eyes once more, he noticed just exactly how numerous the stars were; dotting the night sky, lighting up every single corner of the sky. It had always interested him; how on earth can humans see those distant planets that shone in the sky? They were merely just twinkles in the sky, rays of light that travelled from millions of light years away from this world that they lived in. Kanda let a small smile escape his lips; Mother Nature never fails to amaze him with her wondrous abilities.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Kanda stepped off the ship lightly with Mugen close by his side. When his boots collided with the cement harbour, they made a small tap. He stared sleepily ahead; the jet lag had taken its toll on him. Passing the International Date Line wasn't exactly the best thing he had experienced.

Tiedoll wasn't looking all that great either. Like his student, the International Date Line has done nothing but make him more exhausted than he already was from the restless sea travelling. "Well then!" Tiedoll smiled half-energetically, "Shall we try and locate a place to rest for the rest of the day before the effects of the International Date Line harm us anymore?"


	21. China's Capital

**Author Notes:** The International Date Line is one evil thing! D8 I have experienced its after effects and it isn't that enjoyable...

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

* * *

_Tiedoll wasn't looking all that great either. Like his student, the International Date Line has done nothing but make him more exhausted than he already was from the restless sea travelling. "Well then!" Tiedoll smiled half-energetically, "Shall we try and locate a place to rest for the rest of the day before the effects of the International Date Line harm us anymore?"_

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

A grey haired old man shook the black haired boy feverishly; in high hopes of waking up the teenager who was still sound asleep in bed. However, the teenager responded with a grumble and rolled over and returned to sleep. "Come on Yuu! Time to get moving!"

The older man complained to the teenager. Several more shakes and he had completed his job. The Japanese boy grabbed the hilt of sword and slowly tapped his master's forehead with the tip of the katana's sheath before the Japanese boy said with a slurred voice as if he had just been drunk, "Shuddup… I need ta sleep…"

The general sighed, "But we need to reach Peking by dusk, Yuu. If we don't get moving now…"

"Che…" Kanda threw his sheets aside and sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He hated waking up at dawn; it always made his patience become a lot shorter and made his mood terrible.

Yesterday when they got off the ship, Kanda was so tired out from the sea travelling that as soon as he took off his exorcist coat and came into contact with the bed, he had fallen asleep without even changing. As he scrambled out of bed still half asleep, he put on his exorcist coat and buttoned up the large silver buttons swiftly.

Kanda's exorcist coat was now slightly worn out from all the battles that he's been in against the akuma in the past year. The silver buttons and the shining rose cross on his chest were now scored with millions of tiny faint scratches. The white cuffs of the coat were now slightly grey.

Kanda his hair loose before tying up his hair in a high ponytail again, leaving two thick strands of hair at beside his face, making his face look sharper that it already is. "Breakfast?" Tiedoll handed him a croissant as big as one's fist and held out Mugen to him.

Kanda grabbed Mugen and the place with the croissant on it. "Let's go then, General." The Japanese boy stuffed the croissant in his mouth and opened the door with his foot. As he walked down the corridor, a inn staff stood there with a trolley of dirty plates and cutlery. Kanda placed the plate neatly on top of the stack of dirty plates and continued on his way while the staff just stared after him and Tiedoll walk off quickly towards the exit that leads to the outside world.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

The marketplace was lined with millions of stalls selling different things; fresh fruits, herbs, vegetables, chickens, pigeons and all sorts of poultry held captive in bamboo cages. At some stalls, they even have small monkeys trapped in cages for sale. It may seem cruel for people to capture these small creatures, saw open their skills while they're still alive and pour in hot oil on the brains then scoop the poor monkey's brains out while it was still alive. It may all seem very cruel, but the Chinese believe that eating monkey brains can cure impotence.

Not only was the marketplace lined with millions of stalls selling a wide variety of goods, the marketplace was also over crowded with people trying to buy vegetables and meat for their families for dinner that night. Crabs bound with strong pieces of string made from bamboo dangled from people's hands which held other things like bundles of vegetables and meat. Both men and women wandered around the stalls, looking for the ingredients required for producing a tasty dish for their families.

"Excuse me! Sorry!" A small twelve year old Chinese girl with her long hair tied in two pig tails apologized as she pushed through the crowd hurriedly. She carefully carried a bunch of vegetables which were bound with the bamboo string and a fat chicken that flapped its wings feverishly as its cage swung to the left and right while the girl hurried through the crowd. The young girl wore a simple loose light blue coloured top with a fish-shaped buttons decorating each sleeve and a few that lead from the collar to the side of her chest that helped keep the clothing together. She wore a matching pair of white bagged pants and a pair of black Chinese shoes. Like most of the girls her age, the twelve year old Chinese girl had her ears pierced.

Turning to look up at one of the men who glared at the young girl for bumping into him, she bowed at him and apologized a million times before she ran off again. The crowd was starting to thin out, but it wasn't long before she bumped into another person. This time, she accidentally dropped the vegetables and the cage with the chicken inside it, making the cage door fly open and the chicken inside stepped out into freedom. Without looking up, the young girl apologized for the bazillionth time of the day, "I'm so sorry for bumping into you!" She bowed at the young fourteen year old who stood before her staring at her.

"It's okay, you don't have to apologize." A kind voice came from someone before her.

The twelve year old Chinese girl looked up curiously at the Asian boy who had long hair tied up in a high ponytail with two thick strands of hair framing his feminine looking face; he also had a straight cut fringe. The Asian boy wore a black and white long coat which reached mid-calf with a belt dangling undone beneath the high collar and one around his waist. Underneath the long coat the boy wore a pair of black pants and a pair of black boots with a sheet of metal around the toes. In his right hand, she recognised a sword. She let out a small gasp at the sight of the weapon.

Behind the Asian boy stepped out a figure that was slightly taller than the boy. He had grey frizzled hair, a moustache, a pair of glasses perched on the bridge of his nose and he wore the same clothes as the young boy who seemed only two years older than her. The clothes were exactly the same save for the colour scheme and the style of the clothing. Unlike the Asian boy, the old man wore a coat that was black and gold while he simple wore a pair of black pants and a pair of regular black leather shoes. On his shoulder was a bag that seemed to contain a load of things.

"Please don't be afraid. Yuu might look a bit scary sometimes…" The old man in the black and gold uniform comforted the young Chinese girl while smiling nervously at the fourteen year old boy who stood motionless. "Yuu, help this young girl catch her chicken will you?"

The Asian boy rolled his eyes and set off quietly in the direction that the chicken had fled with the cage in hand. As he went, his ponytail flicked here and there by the light breeze and the young girl blinked at the boy's retreating back.

"What's your name?" The old man inquired while he held all the vegetables in one hand and held out another to her.

The Chinese girl turned and blinked at him, "Huh?"

"What's your name?" He asked again with a gentle smile.

The Chinese girl stood up herself and dusted off her clothes. When she was done, she looked up and stared at the older man in the odd clothes, "My older brother told me not to tell strangers my name."

The old man with grey hair laughed, "Your brother has taught you well!"


	22. The Lee Family

**Author Notes:** I'm going home this Thursday! OMG. I got the story line all wrong!! I wanna re-write the story!! PHWAR I WANNA SCRAP THE STORY AND START AGAIN!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

* * *

_The Chinese girl stood up herself and dusted off her clothes. When she was done, she looked up and stared at the older man in the odd clothes, "My older brother told me not to tell strangers my name."_

_The old man with grey hair laughed, "Your brother has taught you well!"_

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Moments later, the Asian boy who had left them earlier to retrieve her chicken returned with the bird in the cage. As he walked back towards the pair, the twelve year old Chinese girl can evidently see that there was a frown pasted on the boy's face. When he had finally responded to her staring by looking back at her emotionlessly in the eye, she flinched.

"I'll take those myself," She took the bundles of vegetables from the old man's hands and took the cage from the Asian boy's hands, "Excuse me, my brother's expecting me to be home by now…" Her voice trailed off as she saw a familiar figure approaching in the distance.

"Lenalee! Where are you, Lenalee?!" The man called out while frantically searching for the person he was searching for. The man wore a loose white Chinese jacket like the Chinese girl and a pair of black baggy pants and black Chinese shoes. He had long black hair that was tied in a ponytail at the nape of his neck, his bangs hanging beside his face.

The young Chinese girl who had long hair tied in pigtails waved, "Brother!" She ran toward her brother who bent down and embraced his littler sister.

Lenalee's older brother pulled away and looked her up and down, "I thought you went missing! You weren't in your room and… I'm just glad you're safe!" He once again embraced Lenalee tightly.

When they broke apart again, Lenalee explained to her brother, "I heard you mumbling in the kitchen about forgetting to buy the food for dinner tonight, so I just grabbed some wen from the table top and snuck out to buy some food. It was a busy hour, so I took some time… I bumped into those people and the chicken ran away. But that boy over there helped me catch it again." At this point, she turned and pointed at the Asian boy with long hair and a sword.

The siblings got up from their position and with her brother in lead, Lenalee walked back over to the pair of oddly dressed people. Her brother bowed to them, "You have my thanks for helping my younger sister, "When he stood up properly once again, he continued. "You two don't look like you're from around here. Would you like to stay at our place for the time being?"

Lenalee tightened her hands as she held onto the sleeve of her brother; something about the Asian boy was bugging her. His eyes were emotionless like his face, but there was a chilling feeling that rested in his eyes and it gave her the creeps whenever she looked into his black pupils.

"We've been looking for a place to stay at too… Would it be fine to stay at your place?" The grey haired man replied before the long haired boy could respond.

"We would be honoured." The Chinese man smiled kindly at the pair.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Kanda closed his eyes and after a while opened them once again before proceeding to pick up his pair of chopsticks. Tiedoll on the other hand, seemed to be struggling with his pair of chopsticks; he was after all, a foreigner. The young Chinese girl used her chopsticks skilfully and took a piece of beef from the dish in front of her before eating it.

"Ah, forgive my impoliteness… I haven't introduced myself yet, I'm Komui Lee. And this is my little sister, Lenalee Lee." The Chinese man apologized while he smiled. Lenalee blinked uncomfortably at her brother.

"The same with us; we haven't introduced ourselves either. I'm Froi Tiedoll and this is my student, Kanda Yuu," He gave Kanda a look and added in a whisper, "I think you'd be better off calling Kanda though." Kanda only ignored his master's glance and continued to enjoy his bowl of perfectly cooked rice.

After a few minutes of awkward silence ensued, Komui broke the ice, "Kanda, you seem skilled with chopsticks. Are you from Asia as well?"

"I'm from Japan. " Kanda placed another clump of rice into his mouth with his chopsticks.

"Ah… And you, Mr Tiedoll?" Komui asked the older man curiously, "You don't seem to be used to chopsticks, would you like me to get a spoon for you?"

Tiedoll chuckled at his clumsiness with chopsticks, "Oh, I'm from England; and thank you, I think I'd be better off with a spoon…"

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

"Lenalee, could you please gather up the plates and wash them for me?" Komui asked Lenalee kindly. Lenalee nodded with a smile and gathered up all the plates, bowls and chopsticks from the table top before she hurried off to the kitchen.

When he was sure that Lenalee was out of ear shot, Komui's facial expression changed from a peaceful one to a serious one, "You two are from the Black Order?"

Tiedoll nodded as the light reflected off his glasses, "And how would you know?"

Komui swallowed, "Our parents were killed by akumas when we were young… At that time, men in black and white clothes like Kanda came with a white clothed man. They came in search of the mythical beast – the Nian. People had been spreading rumours about seeing the Nian and that it was linked with the numerous children disappearances during that time." Komui took a sip of tea from a small tea cup with tea leaves floating about on the surface of the warm liquid, "The n one day a group of akuma came and attacked us, killing our parents. But the men from the Black Order have already left at that time, and so the attacks continue."

"That doesn't explain how you know we're from the Black Order, Komui." Kanda leisurely tapped his fingers on the table top.

"The men from the Black Order came here after the attack and explained to us all about what those monsters were. Lenalee was very small back then, she probably doesn't remember. The men said that they'd constantly seen a beast come to our garden. They said they think it's the Nian or more exactly – the Innocence." Komui replied, "The two men in the black and white clothes said that either me or Lenalee must be drawing the Innocence; meaning either one of us is an accommodator of the Innocence."

* * *

_**Index:**_

_Wen_ – This was a currency used in China from 621 to 1948. They're basically coins.

_Nian_ – In Chinese mythology, it is a beast that lives under the sea or in the mountains. Once each spring, on or around Chinese New Year, it comes out of hiding to attack people, especially children. The Nian is sensitive to loud noises and afraid of the color red.


	23. A New Mission

**Author Notes:** I wanna re-write the story……… UWAAA…. The storyline's all wrong; I should've done more research first!!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

* * *

"_The men from the Black Order came here after the attack and explained to us all about what those monsters were. Lenalee was very small back then, she probably doesn't remember. The men said that they'd constantly seen a beast come to our garden. They said they think it's the Nian or more exactly – the Innocence." Komui replied, "The two men in the black and white clothes said that either me or Lenalee must be drawing the Innocence; meaning either one of us is an accommodator of the Innocence."_

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

"The Nian…" Tiedoll mumbled to himself as he flicked through the pages of a booklet with numerous phenomena recorded within it. When he finally found the correct page, his face lit up with delight. "Here it is, Yuu!"

Kanda walked over and peered from behind Tiedoll's shoulder at the page which the book was open to. Quickly scanning through the passages he mumbled to himself, "Just like Komui said…"

"Ah, but what's more interesting is that it's recorded in this book," a sparkle glinted in Tiedoll's eyes while Kanda looked at his master confusingly, urging him to continue, "If it's recorded in this book, then it's still unsolved – this phenomena." Kanda blinked at the general, "We've got work to do, my dear pupil."

"But how exactly are we going to 'solve' this? Peking's such a large city… And where should we start?" Kanda paced around the room with a face full of questions.

Tiedoll continued to sit at the table in the centre of the spacious room that was dimly lit by candles that were all around the room, "Do you think the Nian actually exists?"

The young Japanese boy shook his head, "But I've heard about the traditions of the Chinese. They tend to dress up as the Nian and do lion dances. They tend to do that for celebrations like Chinese New Year; but in Southern China like in Hong Kong, they also do lion dances to celebrate opening of shops. This is done by rounding up people to make up a team for the performance…" He looked up at his master before their first lead to solve this phenomenon hit him in the face, "Check all the lion dancing teams!"

Tiedoll used his hands to make a gun-like shape and aimed his index fingers at Kanda before letting out a soft 'bang' to imitate the sound made when guns were fired, "Bull's eye Yuu! But we can't let Komui and Lenalee know about this… We'll probably get kicked out if we do." The general sent his pupil a wink before he took off his heavy exorcist coat and folded it neatly, placing it on the table before retreating to his bed in a corner of the room.

Curtains made from silk-like fabric with flowers sewn on them were tied up by a small rope, making the bed feel very welcoming to whoever it was that was staying in the room. Unlike the normal pillows you would get in inns, the pillows here in China weren't made with soft materials like feathers. Instead, they were often made from hard materials like wood, stone, metal or porcelain which would be stuffed with fabric on the inside. The pillow would also be wrapped in silk-like fabric to make it more aesthetically pleasing.

Lying down on the hard bed, Tiedoll threw the blankets over himself before mumbling to his student, "Sleep early. We need to work hard and early tomorrow…" And without further delay, the low rumbling snores echoed in the room.

'_How am I supposed to sleep with you snoring?'_ Kanda sent his sleeping master a glare and a frown. Even though it had already been some time since he started travelling with Tiedoll, Kanda still can't find a single way to get a good nights sleep when sharing a room with his master.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Early next morning, the birds chirped and sang their songs while perching on the high walls of the Chinese household, stray cats leaping off the roof tops of the house to hide themselves back into the shadows. The sun hung just a small distance above the mountains in the distance which were semi-shrouded in mist and fog.

Despite all the beautiful things happening in the outside world, the world within the young Chinese girl's head was absolutely chaotic. The dream she had was yet another nightmare; the same as the ones she had been suffering from for months already.

Destroyed buildings sat half-drenched in water, the sky was a gradient of orange and red without a single cloud in sight. There were blood stains everywhere; on the walls of the damaged buildings and in the large pool of water that lay below, waiting for its next victim to fall into its dark depths, never to reappear again.

On the wall sat a young teenage girl who bore facial features similar to the young Chinese girl's but only more mature looking. The teenage girl had long hair which was tied up in two pigtails and she wore a slightly worn out and torn black and white uniform with a shining rose cross on her chest. The young teenage girl's face was buried in both her hands as she wept while the world continued to fall to pieces around her.

As a light breeze picked up, it disturbed the serene surface of the water, creating ripples that disappeared as they spread out. In the middle of the pool, in front of the teenaged girl was a hand that protruded the water's surface. The hand was crimson red with a cross embed on the back of it. The owner of the limb also wore a black and white uniform – only it was more damaged than the girl's. The figure lay under the surface of the water without a single hint of life.

That was always where it stopped. Lenalee sat up with tears at the edge of her eyes and her heartbeat raced as if she had ran all around the city. Her hair was all messed up with stray strands of hair popping up here and there. When she realised it was only a dream, the Chinese girl let out a sigh of relief with a reassuring hand at her chest.

Suddenly, the unmistakable smell of delicious and slightly burnt food wafted into her room through the minuscule gaps between the doors and the windows. With that, Lenalee threw aside her blanket, got out of bed, brushed her hair neatly as she tied them into pigtails, dressed properly and made her bed before she rushed out happily to the kitchen where her lovable brother was currently attempting to cook a decent breakfast for his guests and sibling.

"Good morning brother!" She smiled brightly at her brother who returned her greetings with a gentle smile and a simple 'good morning'. "What are you cooking?" She asked curiously while eyeing the small stack of food steamers suspiciously.

Rolling up sleeves a little, Komui lifted up the lid of the food steamer as puffs of hot steam rolled out into the air. "Just some manjus in here and…" Replacing the lid onto the food steamer which was made from bamboo, he tipped the wok to one side to show several manjus being fried into a golden colour while the edge of some of them turned a little black.

As she stood there trying to resist the urge to just snatch one from the hot wok and eat it up instantly, Lenalee took a deep breath and inhaled more of the delicious aromas that drifted around the kitchen. "Lenalee, would you please go and wake up our guests?"

Nodding, she skipped off towards the other side of the house where the guest room was situated. Coming to a halt just when she entered the garden, she was surprised to see the fourteen year old already awake, "You're already awake, Kanda?"

"Who could sleep in there with that old geezer…" The Japanese boy mumbled to himself.

Lenalee blinked her eyes with a confused expression on her face, "Anyway, is your master up yet?" Kanda nodded as he continued to glare at the inside of the room that he shared with Tiedoll. Just then, the Japanese boy's stomach let out a soft low grumble. Coughing embarrassingly with his cheeks slightly flustered, he watched the Chinese girl giggling at him, "Well isn't someone hungry!"

* * *

_**Index:**_

_Wok – _Is a cooking utensil that every Chinese family uses. It is still widely used today.

_Manju_ – Is a type of bun that is available in Japan and China. These were usually big in size in the old days and can be bought with just a few coins.


	24. The Longfeng Team

**Author Notes:** After so long, I finally update. XD I'm such a loser for not updating... I had to research a lot on Lion Dancing despite being a Chinese myself (what a shame), and I even had to go on YouTube to go get some reference for the lion dancing moves. XD The describing killed me--!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

* * *

_Lenalee blinked her eyes with a confused expression on her face, "Anyway, is your master up yet?" Kanda nodded as he continued to glare at the inside of the room that he shared with Tiedoll. Just then, the Japanese boy's stomach let out a soft low grumble. Coughing embarrassingly with his cheeks slightly flustered, he watched the Chinese girl giggling at him, "Well isn't someone hungry!"_

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

"Speaking of which… Do the both of you have any plans for today?" Komui neatly placed his pair of chopsticks on his bowl, balancing them perfectly on the rim of bowl like Kanda and Lenalee had done previously.

The grey haired man who sat across from the long haired Chinese man pondered on the question. When he reached an answer he smiled kindly at the younger Chinese man, making wrinkles appear at the corner of his eyes, "I don't think so. Unless Yuu has something he wants to do here…" At the mention of his first name, the Japanese exorcist sent the grey haired man in the black and gold jacket a murderous glare before turning his head around to stare at a bunch of Shuixian that grew healthily in a beautiful pot which had Maodans painted on it in a shade of bright red that made it stand out against the white background.

Lenalee's older brother returned a gentle smile of his own, "Just in time to show you some lion dancing then! Lenalee, there's a lion dancing performance that's going to be performed by the Longfeng Team right?"

The young Chinese girl nodded, "But if you're going to watch their performance, you better hurry! Their performance starts soon!"

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

"Did you know, the Longfeng Team is the best lion dancing team from the Southern regions of China?" The twelve year old happily informed the older boy who silently walked beside her. Over time, Lenalee had come to understand that Kanda was not really that cold hearted as he seems from the outside. He might tend to ignore people and give really negative and harsh comments about things, but he was really a friendly person who you could count on anytime.

However at the moment, the fourteen year old seemed to be deep in thought and had rejected all the noises surrounding him. _'Lion dancing… Innocence…Lenalee or Komui being accommodators…The Nian…'_ He needed to find a link in between all these clues they've gathered together. "Kanda, are you listening?" The Japanese boy blinked at the twelve year old who pouted and looked at him sternly in the eye. Letting out a sigh, Lenalee muttered to herself, "You're always spacing out like that…" Pretending that he didn't hear that last comment, Kanda cleared his mind for the while and focused on the present. Just in front of them was a large crowd of people who waited for the coming performance of this lion dancing team.

Children, teenagers, adults and old men and women gathered around the stage which had several pillars of different lengths set up at one end of the pillars were two wires attached to another small group of pillars at an angle. At the side there was a small group of people who wore identical Chinese clothing and a large drum, four sets of cymbals and lastly a small gong. On the other side of the stage were two young men who wore white Chinese styled shirts and a pair of unique pants. These pants were silver in colour and were made using layers of fabric with each layer's edges being wavy and lined with fur. The end of the pants couldn't be seen like normal ones for the end of their pants blended in perfectly with their shoes. Beside them lay a heap of fabric and a large lump. The fabric was the same shimmering silver of their pants and was also made with layers of fabric with wavy and fur lined edges. When the one of the men picked up the large lump, Kanda noticed that the large lump was in fact the head of the so-called 'lion'. It had a single stout horn at the top of its head, beside the horn were two small floppy ears covered in fur. The lion had two large eyes which were painted bright red and they were bordered with fur as well. Two bright red pom poms that were firmly attached to the lion's nose on strong springs and the lion had a massive mouth; its upper lip was lined with fur as well. The lion's bottom jaw hung loosely with its lower lip lined with strings to imitate a beard of some sort; you could see the lower jaw with the lion's teeth painted onto the hard material that was used to make the lower jaw.

Not long after, a loud rough voice rang out from the stage. "Silence please!" The muscular man shouted as he held up his hands to emphasize his point, "Thank you for waiting so patiently for our long awaited performance! We – the Longfeng Team – have come all the way from Guangdong to perform here in China's capital, Beijing. Now without further delay, we would like you all to enjoy our performance!" As soon as the man finished, he walked off stage to where the percussion instruments were situated and positioned himself behind the large drum and held the two thick drum sticks in his hands. The crowd cheered as the lion dancers shifted under the lion. The young men who was in charge of the lion's behind had bent down low to make the lion look more like an animal. The man in front pulled some strings to test them if they worked or not, which made the lion blink its large eyes. Soon, silence ensued without a single soul making a single sound. When the drummer nodded, he started using the drum sticks to hit the rim of the large drum. At the sound of the tapping, the lion came to life as the man in front bent down low and the one behind moved to make the lion wiggle its stubby little tail.

When the cymbals and the gong joined into the rhythm, they had a small drum roll while the man at the back picked up the man in front and walked onto the wide stage as the man in front kicked his legs quickly. As the rhythm of the drums became faster, the performance got more exciting as it progressed. When the lion arrived at the first short pillar, it hesitated and walked from side to side as if it was a real beast with a mind of its own. The lion blinked, flicked its stubby tail and looked from side to side while it continued to hesitate going onto the pillar. It wasn't until several minutes full of hesitation and coaxing did the lion leapt up onto the pillars with the performers showing off their brilliant skills.

At one point of the performance, the drumming stopped and the lion – at its high and dangerous position on one of the highest pillars – paused and looked down around itself, realizing that it had already come up to this high point. When the music started again, the lion leapt into action once more. Then a series of drum rolls came as the lion hopped back several pillars as it looked at a small bundle of vegetables with curiosity. One after another, the lion hesitantly stretched out its 'paw' and touched the vegetable only to immediately take it back, afraid that the bundle of vegetables was some sort of creature that would harm itself.

The bundle of vegetables was bound together with a bright red scroll with a ribbon. Finally making up its mind, the lion boldly stepped forward towards the vegetable before looking around, blinking at all the spectators down below. Then it stepped back one step and raised its forepaw once again to scratch its face and then look around once again at the people down below. But then the lion ignored the vegetable and jumped over the pillar, heading towards the two wires. Skilfully, the performers confidently walked across the thin wires to the other side, the lion blinking its large crimson eyes once in a while. Then without warning, the lion jumped off the pillars and rolled over its back until it stood on all fours once again, blinking and wiggling its small tail. Then the performers took off the lion's head for a moment and bowed, revealed their sweat drenched faces. Cheers then instantly came from the crowd.

Ducking back down and going back to their performance, the lion dancers made their way to the pillar where the vegetable lay and the lion looked high and low, studying the distance and height between itself and the vegetable. And with a small amount of coaxing, the lion dancers leapt up onto the pillar successfully which earned them another large round of applause. Another series of soft gentle drum rolls came as it bent down and sniffed the vegetable before 'eating' it. With another few stunts performed on the pillars, the man acting as the head and forepaws of the lion was hoisted up onto the other's shoulders, imitating the lion rearing up onto its hind legs. Then with a final boom from the percussion instruments, the red scroll unfurled itself from inside the lion's mouth, revealing a sentence of Chinese characters written in glittering gold paint.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

"That was a fabulous performance!" Tiedoll smiled brightly at the sky while they all headed back towards the Lee Household. "I've never seen anything this upbeat and exciting!" The grey haired man said with a positive attitude.

Komui chuckled and replied, "I'm glad you liked it. Those two men that performed as the lion dances are more possibly part of their local martial arts club. They tend to train and master their skills and stunts perfectly there. It's really impressive."

"The Longfeng Team is from Guangdong which is in the Southern regions. But their performances involve elements from both Southern and Northern styled lion dances." Lenalee added, "Northern lion dances are usually used for entertainment purposes in the imperial courts while Southern lion dances are for exorcising evil spirits, celebration and the summoning of good fortune and luck."

* * *

_**Index:**_

_Shuixian_ – Is the Chinese name for Narcissuses.

_Maodan_ – Is the Chinese name for Peonies.

_Longfeng_ – 'Long' means dragon and 'Feng' means phoenix; put together, they mean 'dragon and phoenix' in Chinese.


	25. Arrival of New Enemies

**Author Notes:** You know, I'm starting to think I keep making Lenalee sound way too young. She's supposed to be 12 here, but I make her sound like a 6 year old. XD And just to keep you all sticking to my story, I'll give you a spoiler: There's going to be a little bit of hinted KandaxLenalee in the next chapters. And no, I'm not a fan of KandaxLenalee. XD

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

* * *

"_The Longfeng Team is from Guangdong which is in the Southern regions. But their performances involve elements from both Southern and Northern styled lion dances." Lenalee added, "Northern lion dances are usually used for entertainment purposes in the imperial courts while Southern lion dances are for exorcising evil spirits, celebration and the summoning of good fortune and luck."_

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Gently placing down the small cup that had once been filled with warm tea, Komui turned to Tiedoll who stared at the children playing with small pebbles by the road side and asked hesitantly, "Um… I've got some business to take care of, would you two mind taking Lenalee back to the house?"

Beside her brother, Lenalee frantically shook her head and gave her brother a look that told him 'please-don't-leave-me-alone-with-the-guests!' Kanda could only raise an eyebrow at the twelve year old as he continued to sip his tea from the small cup and poured himself another cup. Komui gave his sister an apologetic smile. However, the grey haired man shook his head and replied, "I'm afraid I have some things to take care of as well, Komui. I'm sorry."

"I'll take her back." Kanda emptied his cup of tea again, "I'm feeling a little tired today anyway…"

Komui's face suddenly brightened up, "Really? That'll be great; thank you, Kanda!"

As Komui continued to talk and ask Kanda about whether he knows the way back or whether the two of them could go by the market and buy some food for dinner, Tiedoll slid a little closer to his pupil and whispered in his ear, "That's rare of you to volunteer for something like this, Yuu."

"Shut up." Kanda replied in a whisper as well before he stood from his seat and grabbed Mugen from the empty seat beside him, "We should get going; it looks like its going to rain soon." He leant forward a little to take a peek at the greying sky.

Lenalee also stood up nervously and bowed politely before following the Japanese boy outside to the streets that were now slightly deserted because of the grey clouds that were now moving to cover the sun and shield the city from its bright rays. In the distance, the unmistakable sound of thunder could be heard. "Kanda, would you mind stopping by the market, we need to buy food for dinner tonight…" Lenalee jogged a little to keep up with Kanda's big strides.

Narrowing his eyes and frowning at no one in particular, Kanda replied, "Make it quick." Thus, the pair went from one stall to another, buying vegetables and meat. Once they were at the end of the main street where the market area ended, Kanda lifted up both his hands where bundles of vegetables hung, "Is this all?"

The Chinese girl scanned over the vegetables that dangled from Kanda's hands and then to the meat that she held and nodded, "That's all. Let's go home then… Ah yes! I know a shortcut; this way." Lenalee started heading off towards a narrow alleyway filled with large tall baskets made out of bamboo and bamboo sticks left over from construction projects. "It's a little tight in here, but it leads us straight back to the house." Lenalee explained as she walked around the bamboo sticks and baskets.

Sensing the presence of someone or something, Kanda paused momentarily. When she felt that Kanda wasn't following her, Lenalee turned around and gave him a questioning look as she asked him what the matter was. Kanda shook his head and continued on his way after Lenalee. But when that same presence continued to stay around, Kanda started to doubt things; and when he saw a shadow move out of the corner of his eyes, he knew something was coming after them. "Lenalee," he called out to the girl in front of him, "Take these and run as far as you can."

"What's wrong – " Lenalee asked as the vegetables were shoved into her already full hands. But before she could finish her sentence Kanda pushed her down the alleyway, urging her to go. After the Chinese girl's back disappeared behind a stack of upturned baskets, Kanda turned around with a hand placed on the hilt of Mugen, ready to unsheathe the katana when needed.

When silence ensued and not a single thing moved in the narrow alleyway, Kanda inquired, "Who is it? Show yourself."

"As expected from an exorcist." A teenager's voice came from the wall. Looking up, Kanda saw a teenager similar to him in age crouch on top of the wall. At the sight of the teenager's face, Kanda instantly recognised him as one of the Longfeng Team's performers.

Drawing out the gleaming black katana from its sheathe, the fourteen year old exorcist glared challengingly at the lion dancer, "Who are you and why are you following us?"

"Questioning now are we, exorcist? But since you asked, I'll answer you." The teenager gave Kanda a superior look, "I'm a Level Two akuma. I just wanted to find out what you exorcists are doing in Beijing."

Kanda gripped Mugen's hilt tightly, "Che. That was easy to get answers."

"And are you going to help me complete my purpose?" The teenager grinned.

Kanda smirked and sheathed Mugen once more, "We're just here since we're travelling. Not much special reason. Why ask?"

The teenager blinked its now amber eyes at the exorcist, "Oh? Just worrying about whether you guys knew about the strange phenomenon from eight years ago."

"As if we'd know about that. We're not even on a mission right now." Kanda turned and started to walk off towards the direction where Lenalee had ran off in. By the time droplets of rain started to make the dirt covered ground turn a dark shade of brown, Kanda could no longer sense the akuma's presence. Just then, a piercing scream came from further down the alleyway. Realizing that it was Lenalee who had screamed, Kanda raced down the alleyway to where the scream had come from.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

"Well, how have you been, Zhilan?" A man in his thirties who wore a simple navy blue Chinese article of clothing that resembled a qipao except it was made for males. Underneath the mandarin-like clothing he wore a pair of plain white pants and a pair of black Chinese shoes to match.

A stunning lady in an attractive baby pink qipao that had chrysanthemums sewn at the corner of her dress. With an easy flick, the folding fan in her hands opened and the woman covered the bottom half of her face with the fan which had a beautifully painted picture of orchids on it. "I've been very well, Wenlong. I've been looking forward towards your arrival."

At that moment, a teenager came into the room silently and whispered something into the man's ear before retreating out of the room respectfully and closing the door behind himself. "What is it?" Zhilan snapped the fan shut again and waited for the explanation.

"It seems that our little exorcists know about and are here because of the phenomenon from eight years ago." Wenlong gave the stunning woman a smile as he sipped his tea.

* * *

_**Index:**_

_Qipao – _Chinese for mandarin dresses.


	26. Bodyguard

**Author Notes:** I just watched Episode 92 of DGM. And I practically cried when Allen played the piano and everyone came back… cries I'm absolutely in love with that piano piece now! I'm looking forward to the release of the next OST! :D

I also saw The Dark Knight (Newest movie on Batman) today in the cinemas with my friends! It was real good! :D I also bought Vol.9 of DGM from the bookstore and I spotted DGM for sale in the HK Records shop! I wanna buy it but I didn't have enough money. XD It was either the manga or anime.

To all those KandaxLenalee fans out there (I'm not one); enjoy this chapter. It's a little hinted. XD

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

* * *

_A stunning lady in an attractive baby pink qipao that had chrysanthemums sewn at the corner of her dress. With an easy flick, the folding fan in her hands opened and the woman covered the bottom half of her face with the fan which had a beautifully painted picture of orchids on it. "I've been very well, Wenlong. I've been looking forward towards your arrival."_

_At that moment, a teenager came into the room silently and whispered something into the man's ear before retreating out of the room respectfully and closing the door behind himself. "What is it?" Zhilan snapped the fan shut again and waited for the explanation._

"_It seems that our little exorcists know about and are here because of the phenomenon from eight years ago." Wenlong gave the stunning woman a smile as he sipped his tea._

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

The light rain that had only started minutes ago was now a heavy thunderstorm. The whole city was drenched in rain water and puddles of mud were spotted here in there. Stalls in the market had closed up and the merchants escaped back to their homes where they would be safe from the rain water. Possibly every single citizen of Beijing were tucked away safe in buildings save for several. One of them being a Japanese boy who ran in the rain in search of a certain someone.

'_Lenalee; where are you!?'_ The agile young exorcist stopped at various dead ends and other alleyways already, but couldn't find a single trace of the twelve year old Chinese girl anywhere. _'Che… Screw this!'_ Kanda spotted a pile of crates stacked up that led to a building's rooftop. Easily leaping onto the roof top with a little support from the stacked up crates, the Japanese turned around while scanning across the cityscape, hoping to find some sort of clue.

"Don't come near me!" A girl shouted loudly below where Kanda was situated.

Crouching down low and silently moving towards the edge of the rooftop, Kanda peered over the edge of the rooftop with a ready hand on Mugen's hilt. The girl that had just shouted was in fact the girl Kanda had been searching for – Lenalee Lee. Taking his eyes off the commotion for a moment, he mentally slapped himself across the face for his stupidity. How could he not have sensed those people's presences? Was training not enough or was it just because his skills were starting to turn dull?

Pushing aside all other thoughts, he trained his eyes into the small narrow alleyway that would only fit people in a single file at the most. It was a dead end for the Chinese girl. A group of three muscular men stood at a distance from the girl, but were slowly advancing towards her. On of the men held the bundles of meat and vegetables while the other two advanced towards Lenalee. "No… Don't come near me!" Lenalee pressed herself against the sturdy brick wall, willing it to tumble down to allow her to escape.

"Oh? The pretty little girl's afraid of us, Huqing. It's no good scaring pretty ladies!" The less muscular man spoke to the other.

"Heh," Huqing, the more muscular out of the two smirked, "We'll see about scaring pretty ladies after you take your share out of this little girl here."

"Kanda…" Lenalee whispered to herself as her whole body shivered, "Kanda, where are you?" Tears poured over her slightly purple coloured eyes as hope seemed to desert her at that single moment.

In a flash of black and white, the long haired fourteen year old exorcist intercepted the men's journey towards the Chinese girl; his long coat flapping in the wind. Landing in a crouching position with Mugen's blade firmly stabbed into the ground, the katana's black blade had only missed the men's toes by a millimetre. "Cornering young girls and doing whatever you're planning to is a sin, fatsoes." Kanda looked up at the men with a menacing glare.

The men instantly flinched at the sight of the armed teenager as they stepped back to create a safe distance between themselves and the Japanese boy. "W-Who are you and what right do you have for saying that?" Huqing asked nervously as his eyes flickered to the sharp black blade that was still firmly stabbed into the dirt.

"Me? I'm saying this as this girl's bodyguard. She's the daughter of a rich man in this area, idiots. And might I add her father's really influential around here too…" Kanda easily pulled out Mugen from the dirt, leaving a deep thin slit in the ground where it had once been.

The two men looked at each other before the skinnier one stepped up and said, "What proof do you have? Why should we believe you?" He stared at the swordsman with challenging eyes and smirked when silence ensured his questions.

Just then, a lightning cracked over head, leaving a trail of bright hot roots in its wake. By the time the men's eyes were no longer distracted and blinded by the light the gleaming black blade of the katana that the long haired boy held was already within a radius of one metre. If the 'daughter of a rich man' hadn't called out and stopped her 'bodyguard' who was in the middle of a fatal attack, the man's head would no longer be attached to his neck.

"Kanda, that's enough!" Lenalee grabbed onto Kanda's exorcist uniform's sleeve, forbidding anymore movement of his arm. "Please don't kill them!"

"Che," Kanda frowned at the now frightened men and sheathed Mugen once again as Lenalee let go of his sleeve, "Don't let me see you guys again! Next time I do, I'll surely chop off your heads."

The pair blinked disbelievingly at the young skilled swordsman as they ran out of the dead end only to stop and look back at the swordsman again when he demanded the return of their food. The men instantly tried to get rid of the bundles of vegetables and meat as fast as they could.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Stepping into the dinning room of the Lee household, the Japanese boy wiped away his hair that stuck to his face because of the rain water. He had taken off his exorcist jacket and let the Chinese girl wear it because of the heavy rain outside, making himself drenched in rain water and his shirt nearly invisible as it stuck to his body. The exorcist had insisted that she wear if because if she caught a cold, he would feel guilty about it – he had only said that because he had ran out of ideas to try and persuade the Chinese girl to actually wear it temporarily.

However, when he looked around the room, he didn't find a single soul within eyesight. He blinked confusingly at the empty room thinking, _'She must've gone to the kitchen to put down the food… Wait, didn't she do that already?'_

"Kanda," a female's cheery voice came from behind the swordsman, scaring the daylights out of him. Seeing the normally emotionless boy jump, the Chinese girl giggled to herself before handing him a set of light blue and white Chinese clothes that were neatly folded in a small stack, "You better change out of those wet clothes or you'll be the one getting a cold. These are my brother's clothes so they might be a bit big – " But before she could finish off, the swordsman let out a sneeze. "See! I told you! Now get changed!" Lenalee pushed the clothes into the boy's arms and pushed him into the dinning room before closing the door behind herself.


	27. Hints and Clues Revealed

**Author Notes:** There's still a little more KandaxLenalee to go. XD Well what I think is hinted anyway. Whoo! I've been uploading 3 chapters within my last few days here instead of working on _**Shards of Memories**_ which is now on hiatus because I only upload it during holidays. Hehehe… I left a nasty cliffhanger at the last chapter. XD

I reckon I made Kanda too out of character in this chapter.  
Wow. I actually did two chapters in 2-3 hours. I'm amazed at myself. XD

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

* * *

"_Kanda," a female's cheery voice came from behind the swordsman, scaring the daylights out of him. Seeing the normally emotionless boy jump, the Chinese girl giggled to herself before handing him a set of light blue and white Chinese clothes that were neatly folded in a small stack, "You better change out of those wet clothes or you'll be the one getting a cold. These are my brother's clothes so they might be a bit big – " But before she could finish off, the swordsman let out a sneeze. "See! I told you! Now get changed!" Lenalee pushed the clothes into the boy's arms and pushed him into the dinning room before closing the door behind herself._

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

"I wonder when Mr. Tiedoll and brother would be back…?" Lenalee put down a traditional Chinese cup with a lid placed on it onto the table top as she pondered out loud. She herself had also changed into a set of dry clothes; this time a mint green Chinese styled shirt made from silk like fabric and a simple pair of white pants and black Chinese shoes to match.

Kanda continued to fold up the long sleeves of the light blue Chinese shirt, but when he lifted his eyes, he saw the cup that Lenalee had put down on the table, "What's that?"

Lenalee snapped out of her daydreaming and blinked before registering the question Kanda had just asked, "Oh this? It's a cup of tea which helps prevent colds. It's really helpful; I made it for you since you kept sneezing…" Even as she explained what the substance was, the Japanese swordsman sneezed yet again. "Come on, drink it." Lenalee urged the fourteen year old on.

Taking the warm cup and taking off the lid, the strong stench of Chinese medicines and ginger wafted up his nostrils, making Kanda scrunch up his nose at the smell. Looking up at the younger girl, he seemed like a little boy begging for candy to be bought for him, "Do I really need to drink this?" Lenalee put her hands on her hips and nodded firmly, meaning that she will not accept any excuses. Glaring as hard as he can at the bottom of the cup which he cannot see because of the dark coloured liquid contained inside, he counted to three inside his heart before putting the cup's rim to his lips and chugging down the whole cup.

"Feeling better?" Lenalee smiled a little at the exorcists. She knew exactly how bitter and disgusting the tea tasted, but she would drink it anyway because it meant preventing cold's from being caught. Being a Chinese, Lenalee actually despised Chinese medicine; Chinese medicine was by far the smelliest and most bitter medicines she's ever smelt or tasted on Earth. Receiving no answer from the boy, she sat down beside the exorcist and watched as his skin turn from its normal pale colour to a slightly green one. Lenalee could tell that he wasn't swallowing the large gulp of tea, "Swallow it now, Kanda."

Giving the Chinese girl a hesitant look, the swordsman obeyed and swallowed the liquid, making him look even sicker than before. Then all of a sudden, Kanda slammed his head onto the table, making a large bang as the small flower vase in the centre shook from the vibrations. The twelve year old girl couldn't help but laugh at his reaction to Chinese medicine.

"Now that I've noticed it," Lenalee began, "Your hair's quite long, Kanda. Why don't you cut it?" The swordsman didn't say anything and Lenalee took it that he didn't want to reply or he didn't even know why himself. Deciding to change the subject, Lenalee spotted a comb carelessly placed on one of the book shelves, "Ah! Your hair's all messed up, mind if I tie it up for you?" The fourteen year old didn't say anything.

Taking it as an 'I-don't-mind' answer, Lenalee picked up the comb and undid the string that held the swordsman's hair together, making his long hair spill over his shoulders. _'Not only is it long, it's also so smooth…'_ Lenalee thought in her head as the comb's teeth easily slipped in between every single individual hair.

Finally looking up from his head-desk attack, Kanda let himself relax and simply let his head rest on the table cloth which had lily patterns sewn onto it to decorate it. Then out of the blue, a string of round semi-transparent beads dangled from above. "It's a gift from saving me from those men earlier. If you weren't there I could've been…" Her voice trailed off into the silence. Kanda simply stretched out his left hand towards the string of beads and let the bracelet rest on his wrist.

The bracelet was made of semi-transparent beads which were a golden amber colour. It wasn't a stylish bracelet that would attract people's attention. "Think of it as a lucky charm." Lenalee smiled as she watched the Japanese boy stare at the bracelet that now rested on his wrist as it glinted in the light. "Alright, I'm done." Lenalee stood back to admire her work as she tightened the knot a little to make sure it stayed in place.

Outside the thunderstorm was slowly coming to a stop and the rain had ceased to bombard the city with its extremely large drops. Animals and insects emerged from their hiding places to continue their daily lives, looking for food and repairing damaged parts of their homes. Kanda stepped outside the room as a cool gust of wind greeted him. Looking down onto the ground at a puddle of water, he stared at his own reflection. A reflection that had eyes without emotion; however, it wasn't his eyes Kanda was looking at, it was his hair. _'She's good at this…'_ Kanda thought in his head as he stared at his reflection in the puddle.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

"Boss!" Two Chinese men scrambled into the room without knocking, looking absolutely petrified. They were both very muscular, except one seemed skinnier than the other.

"Tsk," Wenlong sighed as a puff of smoke emitted from his lips while he carelessly dangled a smoking pipe with his fingers, "How rude of you to just charge in without knocking, gentlemen! How many times is my conversation with Lady Zhilan ever going to finish if you keep interrupting?"

The two men then instantly bowed down to Wenlong and apologized, "I'm sorry, boss! But…"

"But…?" Wenlong urged them to hurry up and not waste his precious time.

The pair looked at each other before turning to face their boss, "We were just going to have some 'fun' and this weirdo guy who uses a sword nearly kills us! He said that the girl was the daughter of a rich man in these areas who is really influencial!"

"Oh?" the Chinese man in the navy blue Chinese clothing sat up in interest, "A guy wielding a sword? What colour clothes does he wear"

The more muscular man replied with his head still down in respect, "He wore black and white clothes. I remember he had a rose cross on his chest – I think its made out of pure silver."

Then the beautiful woman in the pink qipao who sat beside Wenlong smiled sweetly at the men, "Thank you for that information, gentlemen. Please enjoy yourselves downstairs in the reservation room."

At the sound of the 'reservation room', the men's eyes brightened up as if lit up by a fire and they instantly swivelled around and bolted towards the largest room in the whole restaurant downstairs. The reservation room was in fact a reserved room for Wenlong's subordinates who were granted special permission from either Wenlong himself or the restaurant's owner Zhilan. In the room were the best ladies that the restaurant has.

This restaurant was in fact a restaurant that runs night business; men come here after work and drink alcohols till they're all dizzy. Beautifully stunning girls will accompany them during their time here, but if the customer decides to take a certain girl out for the night, then the money used to hire the girl for the night would be pocketed by the girl herself. What happens after the customer and girl leave the vicinity of the restaurant is none of their business – or so they say.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

"So, why did you volunteer to bring Lenalee back here?" Tiedoll as he looked through pages of quickly scribbled handwriting under a candle light.

Kanda lay in bed with the blanket covered up to his chin, "I was tired. And I still am. So be quiet." He turned around to face the wall and closed his eyes.

"I know you wanted to slack off from work, Kanda. I know." Tiedoll chuckled to himself when he saw Kanda tense a little out of the corner of his eyes. "Anyway, I spent some time asking around the place about the case from eight years ago. It seems that most people have forgotten about the case or pretend to not know. The ones that do know something and are willing to tell me about it says that some witnesses claimed that the Nian resembled the one that the Longfeng Team uses for performances."

"Oh? That silver one?" Kanda asked curiously as the image of the majestic silver lion glinted under the sunlight that morning when they watched the performance.

"Yes, which means the Longfeng Team is somehow connected to this case. Also, I found out that the main coach and manager of the Longfeng Team is a man called Wu Wenlong. He's a skilled young man who specializes in martial arts. He became the Longfeng Team's coach and manager at the age of twenty two - this was nine years ago." Tiedoll explained everything to his pupil.

There was a rustle of papers before the general continued to speak, "After some detailed searching about Wu Wenlong, I found out he has a 'acquaintance' who is the owner of Azalea Tower – a night business restaurant. The owner of Azalea Tower is a lady called Rong Zhilan. Known for her stunning beauty, she is probably the person who is the closest to Wu Wenlong."

This time however, Kanda didn't reply. After the general had finished explaining, Kanda's mind blocked out everything, cleared out everything and relaxed a little as his tired mind fell deep into sleep. He was indeed tired today for some odd reason – usually a small fight in an alleyway wouldn't tire him out so much. So why…?


	28. Special Training

**Author Notes:** Now we're getting to the core of this mission! Har har har!! D

Oh, and I found the music sheet for the piano piece that Allen plays in Episode 92. D

Training time is fun! :D Trust me; it's so fun it bores me sometimes. XD

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

* * *

_This time however, Kanda didn't reply. After the general had finished explaining, Kanda's mind blocked out everything, cleared out everything and relaxed a little as his tired mind fell deep into sleep. He was indeed tired today for some odd reason – usually a small fight in an alleyway wouldn't tire him out so much. So why…?_

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

"Good afternoon, Yuu." Tiedoll smiled kindly at his student who had just woken up from his deep sleep. "It's past midday in case you were wondering. I just didn't have the heart to wake you up." Tiedoll wandered from one corner of the room to the other, searching for something.

A small grumble came from Kanda's stomach and he drowsily scrambled out of bed and made it before putting on some proper clothes. Looking at the neat bed across from his own, Kanda noticed how everything was in the same place as last night. "Didn't you sleep last night?"

Tiedoll chuckled and shook his head, "I had some things to do. I had to prepare a little surprise for you after all. We've got things to do today – you'll be busy!"

"Things to do?" Kanda buttoned up the last button on the Chinese shirt Lenalee had lent him yesterday after they came back to the Lee household.

Already pushing him through the door, Tiedoll grabbed Mugen and replied with a slightly exhausted smile, "I'll explain on the way."

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Tiedoll let out an impatient sigh. Even after explaining to his pupil several times, Kanda didn't seem to understand what all this meant. Tiedoll had tried to make it as brief and easy to understand as possible, but it seemed that his pupil just didn't seem like himself today. "I'll explain one last time. You know how when you activate Mugen, the main technique you use is Kaichu: Ichigen?" The grey haired man tried as hard as he can to speak above the loud noises of the streets.

Kanda nodded. He had felt that his anti-Akuma weapon held a lot more than just one technique, but the Innocence wouldn't tell him anything about those other things held within his weapon. "In other words, what I'm trying to say is that there are more than – at the very least – two techniques that an anti-Akuma weapon holds. However, sometimes other techniques can only be used in the presence of another. Parasitic-type exorcists' anti-Akuma weapons can sometimes shift their appearance in order for the accommodator to be able to use certain techniques." Tiedoll searched through his dictionary-of-simple-words for easily understandable words to try and express what he was trying to say.

"Just get to the point, general." Kanda raised an eyebrow suspiciously at the grey haired man as the thick crowds of people thinned out, making it easier to hear above the noises. They were slowly moving out towards the more deserted areas of Beijing which is near the edge of the city.

"The point is, I think you're old enough to learn some new techniques and raise your level of synchronization with your Innocence." Tiedoll smiled confidently at the fourteen year old, "But let me tell you, this is going to be hard work and may endanger your life…"

'_The lotus flower and the tattoo eh?'_ Kanda thought to himself as he looked down at his feet as they continued to journey towards a wide empty space fit for their training. "That's fine. Life is bound to come to an end in some way or another." The young exorcist looked up into his master's eyes with renewed determination and confidence.

"Very well." The general nodded his head and handed his student his weapon. The black katana named Mugen which was once an outcast of the sword collection in the Black Order's Weapon Storage. "Activate Mugen and we'll start straight away."

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

"Oh, welcome back; Mr. Tiedoll and Kanda." Lenalee gave them a warm smile before noticing all the dirt on their clothes. "You're all dirty." She blinked at the pair, "Take a bath before we eat dinner?" As master and student hurried away towards their rooms to grab a set of fresh clothes, Lenalee shouted at their backs, "I washed your clothes and put them on your beds!"

Seconds later, Lenalee looked up when the sound of shuffling feet were heard outside the lounge room. Leaning back from her chair, she peered outside and saw the Japanese boy and the French man in their dirty clothes, walking out of the house's sturdy gates wordlessly. "Going to the public baths I guess?" The Chinese girl returned to her previous sitting position and continued to sip at her warm cup of jasmine tea.

On the other hand, the pair that had silently left the Lee household to go to the public baths were already comfortably enjoying themselves inside the warm baths; they had deliberately come out to the public baths because they had thought it would be better to discuss about their 'work' while being out of the Lees' ear shots. Comfortably settling down into the warm body of water and placing the neatly folded towel which was drenched with ice cold water onto his head, the French man let out a sigh, "It's so good to take a warm bath like this after a day full of long work…"

'_As if you were the one working the hardest…'_ Kanda complained inside his head as he also seated himself across from his master, dipping his entire body save for his head into the water. "Found out anything else about the Nian case?" He quietly mumbled to the other man as his cheeks turned a light shade of pink from the warmth from the water.

"No, but I have a feeling that this case will be hard to handle. If we don't get you trained up soon." Tiedoll took off his glasses and left them beside him, away from the water since they were fogged up with steam. "So I had been thinking about how to speed up your training…"

"Well? Did you come up with a way?" Kanda asked lazily as he closed his eyes and let his whole body and mind relax for the first time that day. The French man shook his hair lazily. "Che…"

The training that he had to go through was very harsh. It involved placing himself in a life or death situation and yet be able to make clear decisions. In other words, it could be easily summed up as a training method to force your inner talents out under a suitable amount of pressure. Of course, this meant that there has to be something that is causing this pressure which is, in other words; Tiedoll. Being the fabulously nice and caring teacher he is, Tiedoll had already held back while going up against his beloved student. Despite knowing that his master was holding back, Kanda still found it difficult to reach his teacher in a ten metre radius. This only proves how big the gap between the two is.


	29. Illusion Blades:Flowers,a Praying Mantis

**Author Notes:** Australia is so cold... TTATT So cold I could cry. ANYWAY; I'm sorry I procrastinated a bit... This should've been uploaded ages ago. XD

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

* * *

_The training that he had to go through was very harsh. It involved placing himself in a life or death situation and yet be able to make clear decisions. In other words, it could be easily summed up as a training method to force your inner talents out under a suitable amount of pressure. Of course, this meant that there has to be something that is causing this pressure which is, in other words; Tiedoll. Being the fabulously nice and caring teacher he is, Tiedoll had already held back while going up against his beloved student. Despite knowing that his master was holding back, Kanda still found it difficult to reach his teacher in a ten metre radius. This only proves how big the gap between the two is._

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

A trail of dirt rose in small clouds as the boy slid to a stop. Lowering his arm which held tightly onto a black katana, the boy used his other to wipe off the sweat that trickled down the sides of his face. As he bent over to stare at the ground, he could only hear his own heavy and rapid breathing. Trying his best to slow down his heart beats and breathing, the fourteen year old took in several deep breaths then stood up straight with determination clear in his pitch black eyes.

Opposite him stood a man who had grey frizzled hair and a thick moustache. He too took a small break, letting down his guard completely and taking his black rimmed glasses off and wiping away several large drops of sweat from the lens. In that split moment, the long haired boy took his chance and dashed forward with the black katana in hand. "That wasn't fair, Yuu!" The grey haired man complained to the boy as he dodged several swings of the katana, earning him an unpleasant frown.

"There's nothing called 'fair' in fights!" Kanda raced towards Tiedoll, carefully avoiding the thick agile tree trunks that shot out from beneath the ground, "You find a weakness and take advantage of it!" He easily avoided all the offensive attacks aimed at him and finally reached Tiedoll within a five meter radius. When the French man once again blocked his attack and distanced himself from Kanda, the Japanese boy let out a soft 'che', showing that his patience was starting to run out.

Within the blink of an eye, the black katana was no longer black; instead it became silver and gave off a soft glow as the faint sunlight that pierced through the heavy clouds reflected off the blade. Concentrating all his energy into his calloused hands, the sword gradually glowed a shade of cerulean. The energy wrapped itself around the sword, shaping itself so that it produced an impossibly sharp blade. The energy then proceeded to spiral up the young swordsman's arm before it travelled behind his back and spiralled down his other arm where he held a black scabbard. Like how it coated the katana, the cerulean energy wrapped itself around the sword's sheathe, moulding itself into another impossibly sharp blade. "Nigentou!"

Seeing that Kanda had finally regained enough energy to use this more advanced technique that he had only just mastered hours ago. This technique required a lot of energy which would mean that Kanda would soon run out of energy. But nonetheless, Nigentou was not to be underestimated. The cerulean energy that coated the scabbard and sword vibrated at high speeds, shaping the edge of the energy into an impossibly sharp edge. The glade can probably cut almost anything in half; not to mention the fact that by using this technique, it boosts the user's agility, making their movements faster than usual.

"Alright then Yuu, now clear your mind and tell me what the first thing that comes to mind is." Tiedoll carefully avoided all of Kanda's swift attacks. One swing of the sword had just trimmed a small strand of grey hair from Tiedoll's head. Ignoring the fact that a tiny amount of his hair had been cut off, the French man concentrated more on avoiding his every single of his pupil's attacks.

Obeying his teacher's instructions, Kanda closed his eyes for a moment and cleared his mind. In his mind, there was nothing – it was simply a space devoid of any thoughts that may have been there a second ago. However, when he opened the gates and let all those thoughts fly back into place, the first thing that caught his attention was a single robust flower – a beautiful pink lotus.

"A lotus flower." Kanda replied clearly above the loud thumps of tree trunks falling down onto the ground, blocking the route.

'_Of course he would think of the lotus…'_ Tiedoll ducked to avoid another swing of Mugen. "Very well then! Let's see what you can do with a lotus flower!"

Gathering all his remaining energy into his hands, Kanda stoped chasing after his master and stood there silent. The air all around seemed to be drawn towards him, as if a black hole had appeared where the boy stood, sucking the air into it. When the fourteen year old finally moved, he immediately sprang into action. Slicing the air, the blue energy in the form of crescent shapes seemed to split off from the energy-coated katana. One after another, a total of eight swings of Mugen in the air created eight strips of energy, curved like how the swing of the sword was.

"Hakka Tourou!" Kanda called out as the eight strips of blue energy flew straight ahead, aimed at only one target – General Froi Tiedoll.

Without much thinking, the French man let the hammer in his hand collide with the top of his chisel, making the other end of the chisel dig into the ground. A large tree with a very thick truck soon shot out from beneath the ground, intercepting Kanda's attack's course. As the cerulean energy came in contact wit the tree trunk, deep marks were left in the trunk as if they had been burnt in there by something flaming hot. When all the splinters had descended onto the ground, faint smoke trails drifted up from where the marks remained embed into the tree trunk.

Hesitantly coming out of his hiding place from behind the tree, Tiedoll smiled nervously at his pupil who stood silent at a safe distance. The French man then spoke while scratching the back of his head. However, Kanda could only hear muffled noises coming from his master. "…Seriously Yuu, were you trying to kill me with that just then?" Tiedoll chuckled nervously to himself. Kanda could only breathe in pain as his lungs seemed to burn with every breath he took. Finally letting the energy that he had kept concentrated in his hands return back to where they came from, Kanda felt as if he had large amounts of energy deducted from his body, making him unable to stand up any longer. As he felt his consciousness fade away, he saw the blurry image of Tiedoll running towards him but that was all he saw before everything turned black.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Letting out a small gasp, the twelve year old rushed towards the figure that had quietly slipped into the front garden. His clothes were completely drenched in rainwater, a single bag loosely dangling from his already full hands. "What happened? You're all drenched!"

"Ah, it's nothing; more importantly…" Tiedoll glanced at the boy who he carried on his back. The boy was also in a wet state, strands of hair sticking to his face. His breathing was rapid and his cheeks were a faint pink shade. Lenalee quickly took the bag from the French man's hand and rushed to the guest room, opening the door in advance so that Tiedoll wouldn't need to open it when he came later.

Quietly following behind the adult, Lenalee helped the unconscious boy slip down from the man's back. With some struggling, she managed to lay him down on the bed and as soon as she stood back up straight, Tiedoll commanded instantly, "Get a set of clean clothes please, Lenalee." With a nod of her head, she was out the door, bolting down the hallway towards her brother's bedroom.

* * *

_**Index:**_

_Nigentou _– Kanda's technique; Double Illusion Blades

_Hakka Tourou _– Kanda's technique; Eight Flowers Praying Mantis


	30. Descending Petals

**Author Notes:** …I HAVE HIT 30 CHAPTERS. OMG. XDDDD I'm surprised I made it this far. Thanks guys

P.S: Happy Birthday to me on the 13th. XDD

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

* * *

_Quietly following behind the adult, Lenalee helped the unconscious boy slip down from the man's back. With some struggling, she managed to lay him down on the bed and as soon as she stood back up straight, Tiedoll commanded instantly, "Get a set of clean clothes please, Lenalee." With a nod of her head, she was out the door, bolting down the hallway towards her brother's room._

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

One…

Two…

Three…

One by one, soft pale pink petals gently descended down from the top half of the hourglass into the bottom section where they gathered up together into a small mini mound. The horrific sight of the petals slowly falling to the bottom of the hourglass was shocking to its owner. _'No… This can't be happening…'_ His own voice repeated inside his head, over and over again to attempt to bend the truth.

With a loud cough, his eyes opened to see half of his eye sight blocked by a warm damp towel that was neatly folded into quarters and placed onto his forehead. Deep in sleep, he had unintentionally let the towel slip downwards, covering his eyes. Finding no energy at all to move any of his hands to move the towel aside, he could only stare ahead at the sapphire blue cloth. His cheeks felt as if they had been right beside a fireplace just a second ago and sweat rolled down his face, while small strands of hair stuck to his face. Letting out another cough that made his lungs and throat burn painfully, swallowing his saliva had only made it worse.

"Oh, you're awake…!" An exhausted yet unmistakable voice spoke gently to him as the person seemed to awake from his or her sleep. Lifting off the warm towel off his forehead, Kanda moved his head slightly to the left and saw the familiar facial features of his master. It wasn't until now that the Japanese boy realised how many wrinkles were carved into his face. Letting the towel slowly sink to the bottom of the wooden basin which was filled with cold water at his side, Tiedoll let his hand rest on one of Kanda's cheeks before he then took out one of his limp hands into his own, "Still not improving…" In a matter of seconds, tears cascaded down the French man's face like waterfalls and he was sniffing, "I'm so glad you're alright, Yuu! I was so worried, I had no idea – "

However, Tiedoll was cut off when Kanda lifted his hand from where it was held by Tiedoll's and gently hit the French man on his head. "Stop crying, old man." He painfully spoke with his now rough and husky voice. But when an urge to cough came to Kanda, his hand slowly retreated back under the blanket as he turned his head to face the wall where he let out two loud dry coughs.

Just then, the wooden doors that lead outside to the hallway were pushed open to reveal the owners of the house. The young Chinese girl had been the one who pushed the door open for her older brother who was carefully carrying a try with a bowl and a spoon resting on it. "Mr Tiedoll, you haven't been resting ever since you came back. Maybe it's a better idea to go get some sleep. Lenalee and I will take care of Kanda." Komui asked as he approached them with Lenalee closing the doors and following her brother's tracks.

"That's right. I don't need to see a face that has snot and tears smeared all over when I wake up next." Kanda said with his raspy voice.

Tiedoll stood up and let out a sigh, "I guess I'm not needed here then… Get well soon Yuu, we have work to do." With that, the French man left the other three in the room.

"He really cares about you, that Mr Tiedoll." Lenalee commented as she retrieved the towel from the bottom of the basin and twisted it so that the excess water would fall back into the basin. Then she let the towel rest beside the basin on the small wooden bedside table.

Komui chuckled to himself before adding, "Practically spoils you rotten, Kanda. Anyway, I've brought you some food; do you have an appetite?" Instead of letting his voice do the answering, Kanda let his stomach reply with a loud grumble which earned him a chuckle from Komui and a fit of giggles from Lenalee. Slowly using his arms to help sit himself up, he leant back until his back and head rested comfortably while Komui sat himself down on the chair where Tiedoll had sat a minute ago. Holding the bowl delicately in his hand, he dipped the spoon into the white mixture.

"I've let it cool a while already, it shouldn't be too hot." Lenalee smiled as she picked up the tray and exited the room, heading down the hallway towards the kitchen. Quietly humming a flowing melody as she walked, she listed the numerous ingredients for her concoction of Chinese medicine. It wasn't the firs time she had made something to treat the sick since her brother constantly gets sick when he stays up late at night to do his work. Komui often caught colds and had nasty fevers because of the chilly night winds.

Ten minutes later, Lenalee emerged back from behind the wooden doors with a bowl of steaming hot liquid perched on they tray that she held in her hands. "Just in time, Lenalee." Her brother smiled gently at her as she approached the sick boy and Komui. "Did you add enough of that? You know he hates Chinese medicine…" The long haired Chinese man whispered into Lenalee's ear as he placed the empty bowl onto the tray. Lenalee gave her brother a wink as she took the other bowl which was filled with dark murky black liquid as puffs of steam rolled off its surface.

When she neared the Japanese boy, the boy let out a cough and turned his face to the other side so that he stared at the wall before he defiantly declared, "I'm not drinking that. Never."

"Even if it'll make you feel better?" Lenalee sat down on the slightly warm seat as her brother watched amusedly from behind her.

Kanda shook his head, making him lose his sense of direction and feel dizzy. When the dizziness subsided, his face turned even paler, _'Damn it. I feel so bad.'_ Then he made a mental note not to move his head too much when he has a fever ever again. "I think I'll go back to sleep…" He said to no one in particular as he slowly sank back underneath the warm blanket.

"No you're not!" A girl's name shouted at him, as a hand shoved his blanket roughly aside, "You're going to drink this whether you like it or not, Kanda Yuu!" The Chinese girl's eyebrows knitted together when she received no response and with some effort after putting down the bowl of Chinese medicine on the bedside table, Lenalee managed to flip Kanda over so that he faced her. "Are you drinking it or not?!" She shouted angrily at him when he stared up at her like a puppy who was silently whimpering. "Fine then. I'll give you three counts; if by the time I reach three, you're still not drinking it; I'm going to get Mr Tiedoll back here to make you drink it!"

Just the thought of the French man's face was enough to convince him, "I'll drink it." He reluctantly agreed as the twelve year old girl flashed him the most beautiful smile ever; but the smile was ignored as Kanda thought of what that bowl of pitch black liquid would task like. Just thinking about it made him shiver. _'This girl is so scary when she's angry…'_

Outside in the garden, a pair of firethroats delicately perched on the tree branches, chirping merrily as they cocked their heads from side to side curiously. But then a loud shout shot through the air, breaking the peaceful silence that had once surrounded the house.

"IT'S BITTER!"


	31. Losing Consciousness

**Author Notes:** You have no idea how much I hate Chinese medicine. It's the bitterest thing you have tasted on Earth. I swear. It's terrible.

GO CHINA AND HONG KONG FOR THE OLYMPICS! And go me for my birthday!

My dad said he'll get me a notebook for my birthday present! Then I can update more often!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

* * *

_Outside in the garden, a pair of firethroats delicately perched on the tree branches, chirping merrily as they cocked their heads from side to side curiously. But then a loud shout shot through the air, breaking the peaceful silence that had once surrounded the house._

"_IT'S BITTER!"_

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

"Wenlong, are we going to make a move on those dear exorcists?" The elegant lady in a violet qiapo leant forwards across the table towards the man with sharp features, "It's been a week already."

The man ignored the beautiful woman and stood up with both hands behind his back and stared at a plain vase that contained a small bundle of startling pink orchids. "We'll make a move. But we'll present to them an introduction for our upcoming performance first." As he spoke, he swivelled around and flashed the woman a handsome smile. But as soon as it appeared, it disappeared and became a frown, "Ping and Lin! I've got something important for you two to do."

At the sound of their names, a teenager with broad shoulders and rippling muscles came forward from beside the door and bowed down before Wenlong while a young girl stepped forward and curtsied before Wenlong, "Yes Wenlong?" the two spoke in unison.

"You are to go to the Lee household and kidnap Lenalee Lee; the twelve year old girl that your friends encountered along with that nasty-mouthed brat who claims to be her bodyguard." Wenlong paused and pondered for a while then continued, "Bring her back here but don't make a big hassle and hurt her in any way; we need her alive and well. Wait for Lin at the back door."

"And me, Wenlong?" Lin dared herself to raise her eyes and looked at Wenlong with respect.

"As for you, Lin; I want you to make one potion and a special gas. The gas is priority – I need you to make a sleeping gas for Ping when he goes to the Lee household. The potion can be prepared afterwards; the potion needs to be able to seal away the victim's own consciousness and replaced by one that obeys all our commands." Wenlong stared back at the young girl with cold eyes.

With an understanding nod of their heads, the pair retreated outside of the room to carry out their tasks, leaving the woman in the violet qipao and Wenlong alone in the room.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Changing into more comfortable clothes suited for sleeping, Lenalee professionally untied the strings that held her hair together in pigtails, letting her long waist length hair spill over her shoulders. Blowing out the candle and making her way through the dark towards her bed, Lenalee couldn't help but feel tired. All day she had been cooped up in the kitchen most of the time since Tiedoll had gone out once again after he had rested up, her brother had brought his work into the guest room to work and take care of Kanda at the same time while she was left in the kitchen to fix meals for Kanda, her brother and herself. _'I guess life as a housewife isn't as I imagines then…'_ She giggled to herself as she lay on her bed under the blankets and closing her eyes, letting her consciousness slip away as sleep claimed her mind.

Unbeknown to the young Chinese girl, a shadow loomed outside of her bedroom stealthily, waiting for silence to fill the rooms of the house. When the moment came, the figure outside poked a short hollow bamboo pipe through the paper that covered the doors and blew in the sleeping gas that had been made by his companion. The instructions given to him was to wait ten seconds after blowing it into the room and the gas would take effect on the victim.

After silently counting ten seconds in his mind, the broad-shouldered figure pushed the doors wide open. He then held his breath as wisps of fain purple gas floated out of the neat bedroom. Ignoring his surroundings, the figure quickly made his way to the bed in the corner and picked up the sleeping beauty, carrying her out of her bedroom, only to be caught red handed.

"What are you doing?!" A merciless strong voice shouted at the silent figure as the shadows covered his face. When his eyes spotted the sleeping Chinese girl in the figure's arms, anger burnt in Kanda's eyes, "Where are you taking her?"

As if the figure had felt the unusually hot heat radiating from the Japanese boy's body, the person shrouded in mystery replied, "Sick people should stay in bed." With that, the figure leapt like an agile cat onto the high walls that surrounded the household. Unable to resist the dizziness from standing and walking any longer, Kanda's eye sigh become blurred and then he felt the world turn upside down before his skin came into contact with the cold tiled floor.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

'_Where am I…?'_ Lenalee blinked her eyes as they adjusted to the strong light in the room and when she tried to move her hands, she found them bound together with ropes. When she tried to speak, her voice came out muffled because of the cloth that prevented her from producing loud noises of any kind. Looking around at the room, she noticed how there was the faint smell of perfume in the air and how the room was beautifully furnished.

"I see you've woken, Miss Lee." A girl's voice addressed her respectfully as she approached her, "Did you have a good sleep?" Lenalee could only reply in muffles. "That's nice to hear. I bet you must be thirsty by now, would you like something to drink?"

The young girl bent down at her side and took away the strip of cloth from her mouth, letting Lenalee speak once again, "Where am I?!" She asked eagerly, wanting to know where she was currently situated.

"You're in a safe place, don't worry." The girl replied with a gentle smile, "My cousin saved you from the person who kidnapped you, so don't worry. Now drink up, you must thirsty." The young girl offered her a cup of warm liquid that smelt like jasmine tea.

The cup of warm liquid looked very welcoming, and Lenalee nearly believed the girl's story when she realised that she hadn't loosened the ropes around her wrist and ankles instantly, "You're lying aren't you."

"Just drink up, Miss Lee." The girl smiled cheerfully as she forced the cup to the other girl's lips, pouring the liquid down her throat whether she wanted to or not. By the time the cup was drained, the effects of the potion were already taking action, making Lenalee lose her consciousness once again.

Moments later, the door of the rooms swung open to reveal an unconscious girl in Ping's arms who was followed by Lin. They bowed down before Wenlong and Lin reported, "The task you have told us to execute has been done."

"Well done, Lin and Ping. Lansi, go get your mistress to dress her up in more presentable clothes." Wenlong commanded as a shy girl hurried away to go complete her task. "Ping, go with Lansi. As for you Lin, you may go as well if you wish, but if not; you are dismissed."

"As you wish." Lin curtsied and hurried away down the hallway back to her quarters. When he was left alone in the room, Wenlong turned around and sipped at his cup of chrysanthemum tea. When he placed the empty cup back on the table top again, his lips were shaped into a smirk.


	32. Plan Gone Wrong

**Author Notes:** I think I'm starting to drag a little on this arc… I should hurry it up. XDD AND! Special little additional two paragraphs! :D

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

* * *

"_As you wish." Lin curtsied and hurried away down the hallway back to her quarters. When he was left alone in the room, Wenlong turned around and sipped at his cup of chrysanthemum tea. When he placed the empty cup back on the table top again, his lips were shaped into a smirk._

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

"How are you feeling?" A male's calm voice asked him, yet he could sense the concern and urgency in his voice. It was early in the morning, just as dawn was breaking. Faint wisps of fog were still evident in the air, small delicate droplets of morning dew dripping from the dainty pink petals of the cherry blossom tree planted in the garden.

Managing to focus his eyesight and see his surroundings, Kanda noticed how his body no longer felt the dizziness from moving too quickly or just breathing. His throat no longer burned as if he had swallowed fire and his unusually high body temperature had decreased back to his regular temperature as if that nasty fever had never occurred to his body. "I feel just fine…" He blinked oddly at his own body as it wasn't his own. After a small pause, he concluded this strange occurrence with one simple word, "Odd."

The Chinese man let out a small sigh of relief, "Thank goodness…" However the urgency and concern returned to Komui's voice, "Do you know what happened to Lenalee?"

At once, last night's encounter with that kidnapper sprang back into his mind, slowly replaying every scene before his eyes. "Kidnapped." The Japanese boy whispered into the cold morning air.

"What?" Komui's eyes widened in shock. For what reason was his little sister abducted for?

"I said… Kidnapped!" Kanda shouted at the man's face before getting on his own two feet, he rushed to the guest room and changed into his white shirt and black pants, hurriedly putting on his pair of sturdy black boots and doing up the belts on his boots tight enough so that they wouldn't come off in battle. Swiping the piece of string that he uses to tie his long hair up in a high ponytail, Kanda quickly gathered up his hair and tied his hair up, leaving two thick strands of hair to frame his face as usual.

Komui stood dumbfounded at the room door, watching as the boy that had once been suffering from a terrible fever move every part of his body like that fever had never been there. "Where's Tiedoll?" Kanda searched around the place for his black katana as he waited for the Chinese man's reply.

"H-He went out soon after we woke up to find you here on the ground and Lenalee's room empty. Why?"

Kanda's eyebrows knitted together, forming deep crease lines and he gritted his teeth in annoyance, "Damn it!"

Rushing to the front gate, Kanda threw open the heavy wooden door only to be confronted with the stern face of Froi Tiedoll. After several seconds with Tiedoll's serious stare trained on his pupil, Kanda stepped aside and was about to bolt out the door when the French man stretched out an arm to prevent the young exorcist from stepping out of the safety of the Lee household; not that it was safe anymore due to the kidnap of one of the house's residents.

"What are you doing? We have to save Lenalee!" Kanda glared up at his master with rage, angry because the general had prevented him from saving that key person in this case.

"Save her we will," the French man replied, "But we should have a plan in mind before we get into action. That's the most reasonable thing to do when we get in these situations."

Stepping back to let his master into the vicinity of the house, Komui rushed over and closed the large gate before baring the door with a sturdy plank of wood to prevent other people's entry. "If we're going to make a plan, I'll help out. I might not be able to help with any fighting but I certainly can help the both of you with devising a plan."

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

'_Why does it always have to be me…?'_ Kanda complained in his head as he tightly squeezed the rope that was attached to a bag that hung from his shoulder. He had been planning to take a crucial role in the plan, but he didn't exactly think he'd be the one slipping into the enemy territory. Both Tiedoll and Komui had come up with reasonable excuses while he had none. The citizens of Beijing quietly turned to stare at him when the young boy's face turned from the angriest face to the most pleasant face you could find on the surface of this world. _'Act normal. Don't fret.'_ Kanda repeated in his head as he tried to keep that small smile on his face as he tried to act like a normal young man who decided he wanted to go to the Azalea Tower and enjoy himself for the first time.

The entrance to the famed Azalea Tower was decorated beautifully with bright red lanterns and two ladies stood beside the door to show the customers into the large hall of the restaurant. When he approached the door, one of the girls winked at him and said, "Oh, it's rare for a young man like you with a handsome face to come to our Azalea Tower. It's been a long time since one as young as you visited."

Pushing the urge to turn around and run all the way back to the Lee household aside, Kanda ignored the girl and entered the restaurant. The girls simply shrugged and returned to their previous job of showing the guests into the hall. The hall was an impressive large room, a western styled crystal chandelier dangled from the ceiling that loomed high above all the people's heads. The strong thick pillars that hold up the ceiling were decorated with clothes of different colour; all snaking around the pillar's wide diameter. A small vase containing small azalea flowers were place in the centre of each table, making the air hang with the scent of azalea flowers. A set of grand stair case allowed entry to the upper floor of the restaurant which was mainly reserved for special guests or big functions like political figures coming to celebrate a colleague's promotion.

Briefly scanning across the room, Kanda could see half drunken men who were being fed by the beautiful ladies who wore different shades of colours; you name one and it was there. In a flash, several ladies who were not occupied at the moment came and slipped their slender arms around his own slightly muscular ones. The ladies all spoke at once as if they were all mothers who pestered their son to go do their homework instead of playing with his friends out on the fields. Blocking out their voices, he watched as the whole restaurant fell silent as a loud bell rang out into the grand hall.

Following the bell's melodious ring, two stunning ladies stepped forwards to the stair case and started to descend it elegantly as time seemed to freeze in their presence. Half drunken men stared at the pair in awe as if nothing else in the world seemed to be more beautiful than the two ladies were. The other females in the room maintained their normal expressions except jealousy shone in their dark brown eyes.

However, the pair stopped in their tracks and let their eyes sweep across the table tops like hawks looking for their prey. When their gaze returned to where they had started, the younger lady of the pair caught the young Japanese boy's staring eyes and smiled at him. The older lady then spoke with a smooth yet firm voice, "Tonight we have a very important addition to our restaurant," the woman let her eyes settle on the young girl beside her, "Let me introduce you to our new girl, Qingfeng. Tonight is her first night so I do hope that every single treasured guest here would be nice to her."

When the speech ended, the men in the hall cheered and continued with their activities while some demanded that the young lady come and accompany them with their celebrations. The young girl continued her decent down the stairs with grace and brushed past him with a faint azalea scent trailing behind her. The Chinese girl wore a white qipao with an unusually high cut, letting the world see the smooth flawless skin beneath the fabric. On the white qipao was a beautifully sewn on pattern of a chrysanthemum flower.

Kanda's eyes followed the girl's back as she weaved in between the tables and carefully listened to her exchanges with the men at tables. The other lady who had accompanied her down the set of grand stairs tapped him lightly on the shoulder, drawing his attention away from him just as the Chinese girl walked away with a tall rich looking man's arm around her waist. "Excuse me young man, having trouble looking for a suitable accompaniment here?" She smiled politely, showing off her sparkling white teeth.

'_Damn it.'_ Kanda cursed in his head as he lost sight of the Chinese girl within the crowd. "No, I'll be fine with this young lady here." The Japanese boy took the warm hand of one of the girls and led her off towards the direction where the Chinese girl and the tall rich man had wandered off to. _'Damn it!'_

Things were not going according to plan. Not at all.


	33. The Rabbit, Hare and Tiger

**Author Notes:** Today's special tip – Azalea Tower is actually a place where prostitutes work at in case you haven't noticed because of my bad crappy descriptions! :D

I'm so sorry for the looooong delay… I've been really busy with school and exams and all that junk; PLUS I had to work on a story for my friend's birthday and do translating work (which I'm not getting paid for sadly) for my aunt… The fact that I'm still not done with my friend's story is really… GAH.

SO SORRY!! I wrote extra loads this time, so forgive me!! TTATT (I wrote 4 pages for your info. XDDD)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

* * *

'Damn it.'_ Kanda cursed in his head as he lost sight of the Chinese girl within the crowd. "No, I'll be fine with this young lady here." The Japanese boy took the warm hand of one of the girls and led her off towards the direction where the Chinese girl and the tall rich man had wandered off to. _'Damn it!'

_Things were not going according to plan. Not at all._

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

The plan originally was to use the rabbit and the hare to lure the tiger out of its lair by having the hare go into the tiger's lair with a bright red ribbon tied around its neck. If the plan goes smoothly, the hare will be able to save the trapped rabbit and be able to lure the tiger out of its lair. But from the look of things, the plan would go slightly off track before returning to its original designed course. The room was dimly lit with a single candle with its tiny flame flickering in the soft breeze that came into the room through the window that had been thrown wide open.

He had succeeded in getting rid of one of the people who blocked him from carrying out his mission successfully; an unconscious girl lying on the ground seemed to prove as evidence that he had erased an obstacle from his mission. Now for the vital section of the mission – how was he supposed to locate the 'rabbit' and save her to make the plan go back onto track? As he pondered on the question, he could hear the soft clicking of high heels on colliding with the tiled floor outside in the wide hallway and the sound of shuffling feet. Kanda blew out the candle, letting darkness swallow the entire room. Silently, he crept to the door, placing his ear against it to try and listen to the conversation outside and it seems that luck is on his side tonight.

As the noise became gradually louder, Kanda grabbed an article of clothing from the bag that he had been carrying around before. He slipped on the thick piece of clothing before returning his concentration back to the people outside in the corridor. Suddenly, the sound of shuffling feet stopped and the sound of a person fumbling with keys could be heard. After a while of fumbling, a man's slurred voice cursed and spoke to his companion, "Just wait… The door will be open in a second…" The man then continued to mumble to himself while his shaky hands sorted out his keys, making loud jingling noises.

Quietly opening the door so a small ray of light poured into the dark room, Kanda peeked outside to see the 'rabbit' and yet another annoying obstacle just across the wide corridor. If he could just quietly do what he has to do without being noticed… Opening the door wider so that more light poured into the room, Kanda crouched down low and crept up behind the young Chinese girl, standing directly behind her when he stood up. He quickly silenced her by covering her mouth with a hand and pulled her back into the safe darkness of the room with a single powerful tug. The pair of wooden doors shut safely behind them, ensuring their safety once again within the shadows.

"When I release you, you can't scream or shout or make any noise alright? I'm not going to hurt you…" Kanda whispered as he slowly took his hand off her mouth. But instantly, the girl screamed for help at the top of her lungs, forcing Kanda to silence her once again until her words only became soft muffles. In a brief moment, Kanda had already organized his thoughts and added several things into the plan to make it run more smoothly. To make movements more swift and easy, his only option right now is to knock out the 'rabbit'.

The young Chinese girl's eyes darted around the room, searching for ways to escape. When her eyes adjusted to the lack of light, she could see clearly a seemingly lifeless body sprawled out on the cold ground which had been no doubt, killed or knocked out by her attacker. As she registered this in her head, her breathing quickened rapidly; would this attacker kill her? But he just reassured her that he would not harm her. But her chain of thoughts were soon cut short when her attacker used his hand to knock her out completely. _'Alright. Now I just have to proceed with the original plan.' _Kanda stood himself up before picking up the young Chinese girl and made for the window. The window was slightly ajar but it was soon fully open when a gentle kick let the cool night breeze sweep into the room. As he crouched on the window sill, ready at any time to escape from the building, footsteps echoed loudly outside in the hallway. After several seconds of voices conversing, the door to the once dark room was kicked open, letting light flood into the room and settle itself on t he unconscious body of a girl in her twenties. Just as the group of armed men looked up to the open window, they glimpsed a corner of a snow white qipao which had blue sewing on it; it was only a corner, but there was no mistake what it was.

'_That silver glimmer… There's no mistake, it must be the Innocence.'_ Kanda landed lightly before dashing after where that silver glimmer disappeared around the corner. Carrying the body of the Chinese girl weighed him down, making him less agile than usual; the loud shouts and shuffling of feet could be heard clearly behind him – no doubt the guards of the Azalea Tower. When he rounded the corner, the silver glimmer was gone from the empty street, but when Kanda looked closer, he found the white and silver head of the Nian poking its head out from a narrow alleyway. However, it didn't run away when it saw Kanda approaching, in fact it seemed to be beckoning for him to follow it. When he stood in front of the alleyway, Kanda saw that the small narrow alley was filled with large baskets, stacks of crates and bunches of unused bamboo sticks which were used usually for construction. But the silver Nian was however, gone like the wind.

Ignoring the fact that it had disappeared out of sight, Kanda crouched low behind the largest stack of crates and held his breath as his pursuers bolted past his hiding spot without any suspicions. From a distance, he could hear voices of men talking to one another and then he heard one of them ask a late city dweller who seemed to have a horse beside him due to the constant stamping and nickering of a horse. But the voices soon died away and the loud sound of shuffling feet once again came to life.

Letting himself breathe again, he got up from his hiding place as he slowly walked down the street towards where the late night dweller and his horse. The horse was grey and dappled with strong neck muscles rippling beneath its well brushed coat as it nervously threw its head backwards and forwards. Kanda called out, "Can I please borrow your horse?"

The man swivelled around and looked shocked, "Why do you have such a pretty girl with you?" Then the man's lips curved into a grin, "Eloping away with your lover are you?" It seemed that the man did not register the fact that the girl in his arms was unconscious.

Kanda's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, but held back from swearing since he was the one asking and not the one deciding, "Yes, her family's guards are chasing after us, can you please lend us your horse?"

The man instantly shoved the grey dappled horse's reins in the Japanese boy's hands and wished him good luck after stating that he was about to sell the horse anyway, so Kanda could keep the horse. With that, the man strode off down the street happily, knowing that he had done a good deed and would have news to spread tomorrow morning at work about how he had helped a pair of lovers escape the wrath of their parent's authority. The grey horse eyed the Japanese boy suspiciously as Kanda gently placed the 'rabbit' onto the horse's back before swinging onto its back himself.

The horse snorted and stamped its hooves at the weight, but with when Kanda softly nudged the horse side's accompanied by a light flick of the reins, the dappled horse gladly galloped down the street, heading back towards the Lee household with the Chinese girl resting against his chest. When they neared their destination, Kanda tugged at the reins, slowing the horse down to a slow trot. When they arrived at the back door of house, Kanda slid off the horses back and caught the unconscious girl as she fell off the horse's back. Scanning the area for a good place to hide the girl, Kanda decided to leave her next to the door where the shadows would be able to hide her.

Praying that she wouldn't be found, he sneaked into the empty household. Swiftly navigating through the household, Kanda arrived back in the room that he shared with his master. With the silver moonlight shining through the window that had been thrown open, Kanda located Mugen that had been left on the round table in the centre of the room. Finding it uncomfortable to wear a set of Chinese clothes under his black and white long coat, Kanda quickly shrugged off his long coat and changed into his usual attire – a white shirt and a pair of black pants matched with a pair of sturdy boots made to withstand battles. Outside, voices of men could be heard.

"Isn't that the horse we saw earlier?"

"Hey, is that the girl there?"

Cursing in his head, Kanda threw on his long coat and bolted outside back to the grey horse. When he emerged from the house's back door, he swept up the Chinese girl in the snow white qipao and swung his leg over the grey horse and nudged the horse's sides, making the horse eagerly dash down the street, leaving the group of men behind.

"That was the boy! Split up, half of you get some horses, half of you follow me" The leader of the squad shouted out commands and ran after the galloping horse with lit lanterns in hand.

As the wind whipped past his face, Kanda struggled to button up his long coat that helped keep him warm single handed. When he had completed the task, he focused on the road ahead while he held the reins in one hand and Mugen in another. Things were once again getting off track; he couldn't go meet up with Tiedoll or Komui anymore at this rate. _'Where to go… The forest!'_ Kanda remembered the dense forest that had been created during his training sessions with Tiedoll. _'They would definitely find it hard to look for me there without dogs...'_

Inside his exorcist coat collar, something squirmed and struggled until it was free in the air. The small black device furiously flapped its long wings to keep up with Kanda. Suddenly, a crack sounded and a man's calm voice came through, "Kanda, what's the situation?" Kanda explained the situation and his plans to the man briefly, only giving details when informing the man of places. "Roger that. General Tiedoll will come over as soon as possible. For the time being, please take care." With that, the small black golem returned to the safety of the exorcist coat's collar.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

As his eyes faded back to their normal deep brown colour, Wenlong looked up at Zhilan who looked out the window into the city where two small groups ran around the capital with lit lanterns. "They're headed towards the north western part of Beijing. Some sort of forest it seems…" Wenlong let out a puff of smoke as he smoked on a pipe.

"Are you going to go help those useless humans?" Zhilan looked back at the man with marron eyes.

Wenlong looked at the striking woman softly with kindness in his eyes, "If that is your wish, yes; but I'm not going to treat them as companions."

The woman smiled and approached Wenlong before giving him a small peck on his face, leaving a faint pink mark on his cheek. "Then please go." Within a blink of an eye, the man was gone. Not a single trace was left of him in the room save for the small violet sparks of electric left behind where he once stood.

Zhilan flicked open her fan, she covered the lower half of her face, only revealing her marron eyes. Then a swirl of gold appeared in her eyes before her words echoed in someone's mind far away from where she stood.

"You're not getting away alive, my sweet little exorcist."


	34. The Nian

**Author Notes:** It's the holidays again! How merry and happy One update a day hopefully for you all :D I'm pretty late this time. XDDD I've been busy, going out nearly every single day this week…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

* * *

_Zhilan flicked open her fan, she covered the lower half of her face, only revealing her marron eyes. Then a swirl of gold appeared in her eyes before her words echoed in someone's mind far away from where she stood._

"_You're not getting away alive, my sweet little exorcist."_

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

'_Alright, they shouldn't be able to track me from now on…'_ Kanda slowed the grey dappled horse down into a quite walk as they entered a large forest that teemed with nocturnal life. Animals and insects moved around in the undergrowth,eyes glowing and letting out eerie sounds. Above their heads somewhere, the top of the trees finally reach the sky and owls perched in the trees hooted at a regular pace like a rhythm and beat to a piece of music. The grey horse snorted at all the unfamiliar sounds within the maze of trees but with a reassuring and encouraging pat on its muscular neck, the horse bravely ventured down deeper into the core of the natural maze.

Kanda halted the horse and tried to listen to the noises outside the maze of nature. Some distance behind him he could hear a large group of men; some on foot and some on steeds that were snorting and whinnying in fear.

"Did he really go in there?"

"Doesn't look too friendly in there."

"Do we pursue them or not?"

Questions were quickly addressed to the group leader as the leader quickly tried to make a conclusion. Somewhere deep in the forest, something roared and growled the sound echoing through the forest. "Tsk. Retreat! He's not going to last long in that forest with whatever's in there anyway." With that, the thunder of hooves slowly died away into the breeze.

Satisfied, Kanda nudged the horse onwards into the depths of the forest. Whatever had roared was not going to become a threat to him if he ever encounters it. His eyes briefly flickered to his anti-Akuma weapon before his eyes swept over the twelve year old Chinese girl in his arms. He narrowed his eyes on her pale face before concentrating on the road ahead and mumbled, "You've caused a lot of trouble for me, Lenalee Lee."

Minutes passed and finally, they arrived at a spacious clearing which had a wide stream running through it. The stream tumbled over evenly spread out mounds of smooth faced pebbles. A small cluster of fireflies floated around the stream and drifted above blades of emerald grass as if they were dancing to the melodious tune of the stream. Kanda tugged lightly at the reins, stopping the horse from venturing further into the forest. He slid off the saddle and caught Lenalee as she too fell off like before. Gently placing her down on the soft grass, Kanda leant her against the thick trunk of a pine tree while he left the grey horse to rest and nibble at the grass. With a relieved sigh, Kanda stood beside the horse and placed a hand on its neck while it munched on the grass. Now that Lenalee was rescued, all that remains in this plan was for Tiedoll to come and accompany back to where Komui's temporary quarters were.

A soft breeze swept through the forest, bringing with it the sweet soft scent of blooming flowers. Ignoring the strands of hair that swayed and blew across his face, Kanda tightened his grip around Mugen's hilt. He tread softly on the grass and stoof before Lenalee, shadowing her from the small amount of silver liquid-like moonlight that made the stream glitter. "Show yourself."

Slow clapping ensued as a tall man in sapphire blue Chinese clothes revealed himself by stepping out of the shadows. "Surprisingly alert for an exorcist, especially for one as young as yourself."

"Oh? Is that a compliment?" Kanda blinked his empty eyes at the man.

A small smirk flashed across the man's features, "I would like to think so. Ah, forgive me for my manners; I am Wu Wenlong, as you heard from your master."

"Kanda Yuu."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Kanda. However, I have some business to tend to and I would like to get this over and done with as quick as possible."

"Business? With me?" Kanda casually lifted his eyes skyward where the tops of the trees were visible. The stream continued to run quietly through the clearing as Wenlong stood silent on the other side.

Wenlong's eyes glinted with a faint violet glow, "Indeed. Would you kindly hand Lenalee Lee over?"

Kanda closed his eyes and smirked dangerously, "That's something I can't agree with."

"Oh? And why's that?" Wenlong's voice trembled slightly in annoyance, but his face remained serene, masking his true emotions. Up ahead, something rustled the bushes but both males continued to train their eyes on each other, daring the other one to be the one to draw their weapon first.

Finally, Kanda drew Mugen to reveal its pure black blade, sheath while a single white line ran down the hilt and split before becoming two horizontal lines that travelled to the other side with the same pattern; a shorter white line wrapped itself around the hilt horizontally near the pommel. "I'm her bodyguard during our stay here in China in return for her hospitality." He readied himself in a fighting stance while thin rays of moonlight shone down into the clearing, making everything seem like a dream.

Wenlong too, stood in a fighting stance used by martial artists, "Let's have a fair fight then shall we? Winner takes the girl."

"Agreed." Kanda narrowed his eyes and focused on his one and only opponent.

At lightning speed, the two charged at each other without hesitation. Dodging, blocking and attacking all at the same time. To normal people, it seemed that the pair were performing a dance at some sort of festival. The long haired Japanese boy moved like the water of the stream, each attack or defence executed with ease and yet, each deadly swipe or swing of his katana would be able to rend even the hardest stone in two. On the other hand, Wenlong's movements were like that of a small swallow, light-footed and quick, but not to be underestimated as he struck with legs and fists with impossible precision.

Some moments later, the two broke apart, leaving thin strips of grass drifting down to the ground with some tree leaves accompanying their journey to the ground. Beads of sweat rolled down the side of their faces as they puffed and watched one another with doubtful eyes. Somewhere above in the tree tops an owl hooted into the lonesome night.

"You're pretty good." Wenlong breathed hard as he wiped some sweat away from his face. Kanda continued to hold Mugen firmly and just let sweat roll down his face and drip onto the ground while Wenlong continued to speak, "It's not going to end at this rate; perhaps we should give everything we got?"

Kanda smirked menacingly before he searched through his mind for the ice-cold presence of Innocence. When he found it, he placed his index and middle finger at the top of the blade while he focused on it until he felt the surge of energy submit to him, "Innocence… Activate!" Kanda trailed his fingers down the black blade, making it radiate a blinding shade of silver like the moonlight. As Mugen turned into a silver colour, it seemed as if all the sounds and noises of the forest vibrated against the metal, making a soft seemingly sharp humming noise.

"A beautifully made sword," the Chinese man complimented as his body twisted and churned like liquid while his voice also changed. When the transformation was complete, Kanda was surprised at the form Wenlong had taken, making Chinese mythology seem like reality. Wenlong who was once a man, was now a creature that seemed to combine the body parts of different animals from the land, air and sea. The creature was made with the beak of a rooster, the face of a swallow, the forehead of a fowl, the neck of a snake, the breast of a goose, the back of a tortoise, the hindquarters of a stag and the tail of a fish. Wenlong cocked his head to one side in a peculiar manner, "Mind if you tell me its creator?"

"Che, I don't know either." Kanda leapt into the air, his long coat flapping in the cold night air, "Kaichu; Ichigen!" With a simple slash of the sword, the familiar sleek crimson eyed creatures moved like the waves of the sea, rapid yet emitting a dangerous aura. But just as one of the creatures' points came in contact with the odd bird's feathered chest, the place where the bird had once stood on the grass became nothing. Only several flickers of faint violet sparks were left in his wake.

'_Where did he go? Damn it!'_

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

She was aware of something warm against her cheek and that there were constant thuds of hooves on ground. Cold air whipped against her face and body, but she could hear another sound apart from the whistling wind and the thundering hooves of a horse – the faint beating of a heart. As time passed, she noticed how the beating accelerated but then her eyes would not open even if she willed them to, without the ability to even open her eyes, she realised she could do nothing but remain still and try regain control of her own body. Eventually, she had drifted off to sleep once again.

When she awoke again, she had the feeling that something wanted her to wake up urgently. This time, the source of warmth and all the noises she had heard earlier have been replaced by faint zapping noises and the something relentlessly humming in the midst of the zapping noises and sounds of trees being severed then falling to the ground with a large thump. Apart from those loud noises, she could also hear the uncomfortable restlessness in a dappled grey horse as it fearfully snorted, stomped its feet and threw its grey head up and down. Around her she could feel the soft breeze brushing against her skin and a bright and gentle presence that shielded her from any harm.

Blinking her deep brown eyes, she could finally rely on her sight instead of hearing to observe whatever was going on around her. Not far away, she could see somebody wearing a black and white long coat swinging a sword at something non-existent or perhaps, whatever it was, it was moving at a rapid speed. When she felt her sense of touch return, she raised her head only to be confronted by a pair of large eyes that were black and white save for the emerald pupil that stared into her own brown eyes. She wanted to shriek in surprise but couldn't find her voice.

Looking closely, she finally recognised this as the Nian that had been used by the Longfeng Team at their performance the other day. Its scales shined brightly, reflecting a million spots of light onto the trees around them. The Nian once again blinked its large round eyes as if asking her a question. She weakly reached out with her left hand and let it gently rest on the top of its head in a comforting manner. The Nian blinked and cocked its head to one side. Slowly, she watched as the Nian's scales dulled; they no longer shined and became a plain grey before changing once again into a pitch black colour. Everything had changed colour save for its emerald pupils. While the Nian had altered its colour, she too, could feel something changing within her; her once rich chocolate brown eyes had shifted into a light shade of purple.

The Nian blinked and bowed down in front of her so that they eyes were level. Then it gradually edged closer and everything apart from it and her seemed to be invisible and non-existent. Finally, the single stout horn brushed against both her knees and then the Nian began to break down into small pieces like a puzzle as all the pieces all settled on her legs, covering them from just below the knees to the tip of her toes like shoes. The final pieces of the Nian settled onto her legs, providing her with a pair of pitch black boots.


	35. Feng and Huang

**Author Notes:** I'm going to leave home soon again… TTATT I'm sorry I haven't updated much!! I was busy with other fics… -gets punched-

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

* * *

_The Nian blinked and bowed down in front of her so that they eyes were level. Then it gradually edged closer and everything apart from it and her seemed to be invisible and non-existent. Finally, the single stout horn brushed against both her knees and then the Nian began to break down into small pieces like a puzzle as all the pieces all settled on her legs, covering them from just below the knees to the tip of her toes like shoes. The final pieces of the Nian settled onto her legs, providing her with a pair of pitch black boots._

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

"It seems our precious Nian has decided to show itself." The bird's words echoed among the trees of the forest as he flapped his large wings, floating in midair with ease while it cocked his head to one side and stared at the said creature in fascination. He snapped his beak once with a clear click and dashed downwards at a sharp angle, aimed for the Chinese girl and the mysterious beast.

'_Ichigen isn't working on him…'_ Kanda cursed. Ichigen wasn't fast enough to be able to hit the akuma. _'Nigentou isn't stable enough; it drains too much energy…But it seems like I have no choice.'_ Once again, he reached into the back of his head for the soothing source of strength and drew it out. Already, he could feel the strength being rapidly drained away from his body by Mugen, "Nigentou; Hakka Tourou!" Mugen and its scabbard were covered in blue energy, sharpening its edges. He sliced the air eight times, creating eight surging arcs of blue energy that whizzed through the air and hit the bird in his exposed side, burning a flower-like pattern into his dull coloured flesh.

"You…!" Wenlong's rage was evident in his voice as he ascended again into the sky, blocking out the moonlight as he remained in front of the full moon.

'_I'll just have to hold out until Lenalee manages to synchronise with the Innocence…'_ Kanda frowned as he cast the girl a glance before reverting his gaze back on the akuma. _'Innocence, just bare with me!'_ He could feel his body become lighter than before as he leapt into the air, Mugen held out for offence while the scabbard was kept close to his body for defence.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

"These are…" Lenalee mumbled as she marvelled at the black knee length boots. At her ankles, two bursts of aqua energy flared like flames while a single aqua line started to run up her thigh, glowing as it went until it ended mid-thigh with by splitting in two and formed a hexagon. Using the tree as a support, Lenalee stood up, feeling slightly faint but once the dizziness subsided, she found her legs a little heavier than before. Looking up from her legs, she watched as the silhouettes of a large bird and a swordsman danced across the moon's serene face. The swordsman held a glowing blue sword in each hand as he slashed the bird with speed, but Lenalee could tell that his energy was quickly draining away and that he wouldn't last very long if this continues. Slowly walking towards the battlefield, Lenalee cautiously trod towards the pebble strewn stream that ran through the clearing. Without warning, her legs moved forwards and bent down low before pushing off the ground, sending her drifting through the air as the stream's moonlit water reflected her own image of her doing a back flip. Instead of being afraid, Lenalee felt no fear; in fact, she loved the feeling of the soft breeze brushing past her cheeks, it felt like the wind was her long lost friend that she just got reunited with.

While in the air, she could now see the swordsman's pale face that was illuminated by the moon. "Kanda!" The swordsman looked up briefly before the bird sent him flying with a powerful gust of wind. Moments later, she could hear the thud of something colliding into a tree trunk. Her purple eyes flickered from the treetops of the forest to the mutated looking bird. _'The legendary feng as described in the Erya…?!'_ Something within her told her to attack it and without a second thought, Lenalee landed softly on a strong tree branch before pushing off it once again with a crunch, leaving a large dent in the branch. With a shout, Lenalee dropped at an angle, leg outstretched ready to attack. But as the tip of her boots touched the creature's feathered body, it dissolved into the air, leaving only purple sparks of electricity behind in its wake. Even though the creature had physically disappeared, Lenalee's boots continued to move her legs accordingly. With a mighty kick into the air, a small whirlwind was sent into the air, only to hit nothing.

Landing gently on ground again, she looked around herself for signs of the feng only to hear a male voice echoing throughout the forest from different angles, "Cursed exorcists!" Not a single breeze swept across the forest, making it still. Fireflies continued to drift around while crickets continued their night performances on blades of grass.

"Teleportation by splitting up into small particles?" A voice queried from behind Lenalee.

Turning around, Lenalee smiled, "Kanda! Are you alright?" He nodded as he came to stood beside the girl, clothes covered with patches of dirt and several small splashes of dried blood. Despite the beaten up appearance, the Japanese boy didn't seem to sport any injuries at all.

"I knew that you didn't actually completely disappear when you teleported. But your presence merely moved elsewhere. The wind helps you to recollect and reconstruct yourself from particles, right Wenlong?"

Lenalee gasped. This creature was Wenlong? The famed lion dance team manager and coach? "As expected of a skilful swordsman; I expected nothing less from you." Wenlong's voice echoed through the thick forest once again.

Suddenly, Lenalee felt her legs buckled under her as the glowing energy at her ankles seemed to dull a little, Kanda caught her by the shoulders and whispered, "If you ever fight in a dress or skirt again, make sure you wear shorts underneath."

Lenalee widened her eyes in horror then looked down at her white qipao with a high cut that reached her upper thigh, "Kanda, you…!" A blush came to her face as energy seemed to return to her legs and with a quick precise move, stood herself up and pushed Kanda so that he fell back onto the grass.

"Immature brats are always immature brats," A gust of strong wind whipped against their faces as a stunning bird landed on a branch of a nearby pine tree. Unlike Wenlong, this bird truly resembled a phoenix; the huang seemed to be a composite of many different birds combined together. The huang sported the head of a golden pheasant, the body of a mandarin duck, the tail of a peacock, the legs of a crane, the mouth of a parrot and the wings of the swallow. Its feminine voice came out from her beak, "Wenlong, how did you manage to get defeated by these immature brats?"

Wenlong appeared once again beside the huang, "I apologize, Zhilan. I was caught off guard by the awakening of Lenalee Lee."

"Oh?" The huang cocked her head to one side and stared at the Chinese girl with interest, "Then let's see what these two together can do." Below, the bushes rustled and parted, revealing large spherical machine like creatures. Behind the two birds, another group of the same creatures emerged from their hiding place.

"What are they?" Lenalee staggered backwards a little, watching as the creatures closed in on Kanda and herself.

Kanda stood in his fighting stance and smirked, "Level One akuma. They're small fry, shouldn't be a problem for you. Lenalee, take down the ones in the sky." With that, Kanda sliced the air several times, creating an opening where silver creatures shot forwards, piercing several akuma at once. Lenalee watched in confusion until one of the akuma from above point its gun barrels at her and fired.

'_It's either destroy or be destroyed…'_ Lenalee thought in her head and frowned as she dodged it with impressive agility and landed heavily on one of the ugly grey creatures before she pushed off to destroy another, leaving the creature to explode into flames. Below, Kanda had no problems with defeating the akuma either; with only one or two swings of Mugen, at least two akuma would be sliced in half, splattering Kanda's coat with more blood before the akuma exploded.

"Now!" Zhilan's pupils became slitted as Wenlong dashed forwards, flying low to gain speed and perched on Kanda's shoulders, using his wings to balance himself as he miraculously balanced on the exorcist's shoulders with his hooves. Using his long scaled neck, Wenlong stared into Kanda's surprised eyes.

"Shall I break you down into particles?"

* * *

**Index:**

_**Erya – **_The oldest extant Chinese dictionary.

_**Feng **_– A male Chinese phoenix.

_**Huang**_ – A female Chinese phoenix.


	36. Next Destination

**Author Notes:** So sorry for the delay… I finally finished my friend's story though. :D (43 pages lol.) But to make up for it, I wrote 6 pages for this chapter!

I was told by a friend that they were getting sick of this arc so I ended it. XDDDD As quick as possible before she bashes me with a frying pan. OFF TO THE NEXT DESTINATION!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.

* * *

"_Now!" Zhilan's pupils became slitted as Wenlong dashed forwards, flying low to gain speed and perched on Kanda's shoulders, using his wings to balance himself as he miraculously balanced on the exorcist's shoulders with his hooves. Using his long scaled neck, Wenlong stared into Kanda's surprised eyes._

"_Shall I break you down into particles?"_

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

In a matter of seconds, Kanda was pinned down by the mutated bird with purple sparks of electricity making a series snapping noises that surrounded him. _'That goddamn bird…!'_

"Kanda! I'll come help you right now!" Lenalee stood on a tree branch as a series of explosions occurred in the sky as if it was a fireworks performance. Just as she was about to launch herself at the mutated bird, her legs felt a lot more weaker as if they were simply twigs that supported her body that suddenly felt as if they were as heavy as a ton. She instantly used her hand to steady herself then she looked up at the trapped fourteen year old boy on the ground below.

"Don't worry about me; just find a safe place until Tiedoll gets here!" Kanda grit his teeth as a violet spark snapped at his cheeks, making him wince a little.

"But I can't – "The Chinese girl protested. As if to prevent him from speaking, the violet sparks linked up through Kanda's body and for a moment, nothing happened until he screamed out in agonizing pain. Then after an unbearable minute, silence ensued while the sparks stopped their moments and continued to encircle his motionless body.

"That should shut you up for a moment. Now let us erase that girl and your existence quietly." Wenlong sneered at the exorcist then looked up at the phoenix that remained standing on the rock while the sound of flowing water continued to ring through the peaceful forest. "Would you like the pleasure of killing the girl, Zhilan?"

The phoenix snapped her beak together, "I'd much rather wait till you finish the dirty work, Wenlong."

"Then I shall start with you, annoying little brat." The mutated bird turned his head back to face Kanda. The bird blinked his large marron eyes at Kanda while the boy remained motionless save for his heaving chest.

Then suddenly, the tips of the young exorcist's fingers twitched slightly as he regained consciousness as sound flowed into his ears immediately. Someone was calling out to him urgently but he could barely hear the calls over the deafening noises of electricity. _'That's right.'_ He instantly opened his eyes as his pupils shrank under the bright violet light emitting from the electricity that leapt from side to side, the sparks inches away from his face. Everything came flying back into his mind as he remembered the dire situation Lenalee Lee and he was in.

"Just run!" Kanda shouted despite knowing the consequences of speaking again. The Chinese girl among the lower branches of a pine tree opened her mouth to protest again, only to be cut off by the fourteen year old's voice, "Go; now!"

Lenalee blinked back tears as she stared at the scene before her with hesitation. She stared down at her feet where the aqua flames had diminished to what seems to be a small flame made by a lamp. The mysterious flame flickered in the light breeze as the light it gave off cast onto the uneven surface of the pine's tree trunk. As if it had a mind of its own, the flame suddenly blazed with energy once more, deciding Lenalee's next step for her. Looking up with renewed determination, Lenalee turned around with a hardened heart and fled from the scene.

Behind her, she could hear the Japanese boy screaming in pain. _'Don't look back. Kanda knew the consequences and still went ahead with making this decision. Don't look back. Don't go back!'_

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

With a final scream, the sparks disappeared into the air as Kanda remained motionless on the grass; drops of dried blood stuck to his face and burns evident on his skin all over his body and the most worrying injury of all was how his body became semi transparent. The only trace of electricity left in the clearing was the small sparks still dancing around the cold pitch black blade of a katana held firmly in the young exorcist's hand.

A cold breeze swept across the clearing, rustling the leaves of trees and making the blades of grass seem restless. Fireflies had fled the clearing earlier but had now returned and the crickets continued their nocturnal serenade. Owls continued to scan their large eyes over the forest from their solitary position at the highest branches of trees, hooting continuously through the night. The clearing had returned to its previous serene peace, the light of fireflies reflected across the stream's surface which had an occasional pebble protruding the smooth surface of the water/

"Your next request, Zhilan?" The feng frantically flapped its large wings and gently landed on the patch of grass in front of the elegant huang that peered doubtfully at the still body of the semitransparent exorcist.

"Go after the girl."

"As you wish."

Just as the feng was about to use his abilities to teleport to some unknown place within the forest, a thick vine rapidly sprang from underground, wrapping its sturdy body around the birds and squeezing tightly. The same happened to the huang except that the vine had burst out from below the rock, pushing it apart and rending it in half. But as it wrapped itself around the birds' feathered bodies, the plants did not cease to grow. Long and strong they grew until the birds were securely captured did the plants stop growing and finally bear a striking pearl coloured flower that bloomed and swallowed the birds as if the creatures were caught and trapped within a cage before the flower that had been blooming before returned back to its bud state.

"I won't let you off so easily for hurting my prized student so heavily." A man's low voice came from within the depths of the forest.

"Who are you? Come out here!" Wenlong's voice came out muffled but was still heard by the stranger that slowly stepped out from his hiding place from within the forest.

As the shadows left his face, the silver rose cross on the man's chest shined brightly and the soft breeze carrying a sweet floral scent ruffled his grey curled hair. The moonlight reflected off the man's glasses. The man had a thick grey moustache and he wore a black and gold jacket matched with a white shirt underneath and a pair of black pants with a pair of quality travelling boots. In his one hand he held a chisel that was linked to the hammer in his other hand by a glowing chain.

"Je m'appelle Froi Tiedoll. General Froi Tiedoll." The man introduced himself in fluent French.

"Speak English or Chinese for goodness sake…" Wenlong mumbled, making the space around him in the flower bud tighten, restricting even the smallest movement.

Ignoring the two birds encased in the flower buds, Tiedoll made his way over to the semi-transparent boy lying on the grass. Bending down to his height, Tiedoll let the side of his head rest gently on the boy's seemingly non-existent chest.

_Ba-bump. Ba-bump._

Despite the faintness of the constant beating of the vital organ in the boy's chest, Tiedoll smiled at the reassuring sound nonetheless. A part of the boy's abdomen had already started to break off into small dust like particles as another breeze swept across the clearing. _'I have to bring him to Komui as soon as possible before his whole body breaks down into particles.'_

Scooping the fragile boy up in an arm, Tiedoll started to walk away from the clearing and with each step he took, a trail of flowers bloomed in his wake and when he was at the edge of the clearing, the French man looked back at the two birds encased in the pearl coloured flower buds and said with a small smile, "Disappear with this forest when these flowers bloom." Without another word, he walked off into the depths of the forest.

Once the shadows engulfed him again, the general called out into the chilly air, "You can come down now Lenalee; Kanda won't get mad at you. He's not conscious anyway."

With the swiftness of a swallow, the Chinese girl leapt down from the tree tops with a heavy thump as the ground beneath her crumbled a little at the sudden air pressure. She stared down apologetically at the squashed plants beneath around and beneath her. Then the weak feeling from before returned and this time, the flame around her ankle died and her black boots started to divide itself into small hexagons and fell off from her legs like dried blood as General Tiedoll helped steady her with his free arm. Even the aqua tattoo on her thighs disappeared. But the hexagons had merged together to form a single glowing golden cube that shone brilliantly like sunshine.

Tiedoll smiled at her, "It seems that this Innocence chose you to be its accommodator."

"Accommodator?" Lenalee blinked curiously at the golden cubed that seemingly beckoned for her to hold onto it tightly.

The French man chuckled, "I'll explain afterwards. Can you walk?" The Chinese girl nodded. "The edge of the forest is just ahead, Komui was so worried about you he came too…"

At the mention of her brother's name, Lenalee immediately brightened and smiled. When they arrived at the edge of the forest, a single figure paced worriedly across the clearing. When General Tiedoll greeted the man, he turned around and smiled at the sight of Lenalee by the French man's side. Despite the weakness of her legs, Lenalee still ran with all her might into Komui's welcoming embrace. Behind them, the forest became a large globe of light before all the flowers bloomed and the petals of each flower fell off, the sweet breeze carrying them away into the distance, the sweet floral scent of flowers spreading throughout the whole city.

"I'm back, brother."

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Kanda sat up as if he had just had a bad dream, sweat beading on his head as a neatly folded towel fell off his forehead. He looked around him with confusion; wasn't he being attacked by Wenlong? Wasn't it night when he fought him?

He looked at the blanket that covered his body up to his stomach. There was something familiar about it. Looking up when he heard the sound of people sipping tea, he was surprised to see the Lee siblings and his master sitting around the familiar circular table drinking jasmine tea.

His master wore a set of beige Chinese clothes while Komui wore his usual white Chinese clothes. Lenalee on the other hand wore something slightly more animated than the other two; she wore a faint green Chinese top with white swirling patterns sewn on the sleeves which were matched with a pair of white Chinese pants and around her waist was a single piece of decorative fabric that had the images of clouds printed on them.

"You finally woke up I see." Tiedoll said calmly without looking at the Japanese boy and continued to sip his cup of tea.

"How long was I unconscious for?"

"Hm… A few days at the least. Amazingly, your injuries all healed within two days. But maybe you were way too tired or something, you slept on after you recovered. Your stomach grumbled all the time."

As if to confirm that, the Japanese boy's stomach gave a loud hollow grumble. Lenalee smiled a little. But the smile disappeared as soon as it appeared and a stern face soon replaced it, "Now that he's conscious again, can you explain to us what this whole Innocence thing is?" Tiedoll nodded and began his explanation

'…_Wake me up, tell me I was hungry and start chatting away without a care in the world.'_ Kanda grumbled inside his head as he stared blankly at the trio that sat around the table. After what seemed like a decade to Kanda, Tiedoll finally completed his long speech.

"So what are you going to do with Lenalee?" Komui asked with a tint of fear in his voice.

"Accommodators are to be taken to the Black Order." Kanda replied firmly before Tiedoll could reply. Then the boy added with emphasis, "Regardless of age and whether you have family around or not."

During this time, Lenalee had sat in silence beside her brother, staring at the swirling cup of jasmine tea in her hands. "Please," She began, "Please don't take me away from my brother. He's my only family left. Don't take me away; I beg you!" She looked up with tears in her eyes. Then she got off her seat and knelt down beside the table and stared at Tiedoll, "Please!"

Tiedoll instantly got up from his seat and asked her to stand back up. Kanda sat on his bed with a frown. The general looked at him with sorrowful eyes as if Kanda was the general and not him. After some moments, Kanda crossed his arms across his chest and looked another way.

"Che."

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

"Thank you for your hospitality." Tiedoll smiled as he bowed slightly politely. Looking beside him, he watched as Kanda ruthlessly glared at him from his height. Tiedoll frowned. Kanda was still motionless. Without a warning, Tiedoll used a strong hand and pushed Kanda's head down until he too was in a position like himself, bowing to their hosts.

Komui smiled sheepishly, "No, we are in your debt. If not for you, who knows what they could've done to Lenalee." Lenalee nodded shyly in agreement. "And now we owe you yet another debt for keeping her a secret from the Black Order even if it meant disobeying the higher ups." Komui reached out with a hand for a hand shake, "We are truly thankful."

Tiedoll stood back up to his full height as Kanda straightened his clothes. The French man extended a hand as well and shook the Chinese man's hand firmly. With that, master and pupil departed the Lee household, leaving for their next destination somewhere else in the world. To destroy the akuma and search for the next selected accommodators of the Innocence.

Taking his eyes off the receding backs of the two exorcists, Komui opens his clenched fist so that his palm faced the sky. A single golden cube lay in the centre of his palm. When he shook the French man's hand, he could see an unspoken message in his grey eyes.

'_Lenalee and you might need this some day.'_

* * *

_**Index:**_

_Je m'appelle… - _This means 'My name is…' in French.


	37. Test of Skill

**Author Notes:** Sorry for the big massive delay, but I've had more work to do than ever recently… ;__;

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters.

* * *

_Taking his eyes off the receding backs of the two exorcists, Komui opens his clenched fist so that his palm faced the sky. A single golden cube lay in the centre of his palm. When he shook the French man's hand, he could see an unspoken message in his grey eyes._

'Lenalee and you might need this some day.'

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

'_Gah. I feel sick.'_ Kanda's face was a light shade of green as he stumbled off the large dark coloured ship named the _Black Swan._ Unlike the name that she had been given, the _Black Swan_'s journey across the Atlantic Ocean cannot be described as a trip that was comfortable, swift and smooth like a swan would swim across the surface of a lake. Heavy winds had aided the _Black Swan_ to swiftly reach her destination but had only caused the passengers much discomfort. More than half of her passengers had ended up sea sick while on board.

"Ah… That was a fabulous trip across the Atlantic Ocean!" The French man beside him stretched and took in the fresh European air. Kanda shot him a glare from beside the French man and mumbled something rudely which the man couldn't hear. "Now, to contact headquarters…" Tiedoll looked around and then spotted a man on a telephone in a nearby red telephone box. "Where's your golem Yuu?"

"Che…" Kanda blinked annoyingly as the black bat-like golem that had hidden in his collar emerged from his uniform collar before flapping its wings furiously to stay in the air.

When the man in the telephone box had hung up and left, Tiedoll entered the box and attached a wire from the golem to the telephone before picking up the telephone itself and speaking into it while Kanda leant against the box's glass wall while waiting. Not long after, Tiedoll came out of the telephone box and announced that Head Officer Wales had sent some finders to pick them up. As his golem perched lazily on his shoulder, Kanda listened as Tiedoll said, "Yuu, I think you've done enough training; training usually goes for several years but you've easily picked up things that other people take months to achieve. So I've decided after 2 years of travelling, I believe its time you became independent and start working for the Black Order. This time we return to the order to allow you to become a true exorcist."

Kanda stared at the French man's face blankly without any particular reaction. He had indeed grown taller and stronger during his travels with Tiedoll; he was sure if he looked in a mirror, he wouldn't see a weak boy anymore but a young man who had seen many things that no other man had seen. Even his skills as a swordsman had improved over the years.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

"Welcome back, General Tiedoll." Head Officer Wales took off his white beret and bowed along with several other scientists that stood behind him. When he stood up again, he gave Kanda a big grin and patted his head, making Kanda growl at him. He hated being treated like a kid. "You've grown so much Kanda!" Then with a warm smile on his face, Wales said, "Welcome home."

For the rest of the day, a million things awaited Kanda to complete. He had to see Hevlaska again and indeed, his synchronization rate had increased. At lunch a man who wore a pair of shaded glasses with stubble on his face and wore a lab coat with other odd garments had come over and sat across him at a table; that man had obviously not realised that Kanda wanted to eat his lunch in peace and quiet while he waited for Tiedoll to complete his reports to the grand generals.

"Oh? So you're the young kid who came back from training with General Tiedoll eh? We've got high hopes for ya!" The man grinned as he ripped out chunk from the piece of bread he held in his hand while Kanda quietly sipped his warm green tea. "Not quite the talking type are ya? Oh well… That's to be expected from what General Tiedoll's told me about you… A social humbug or something…" The man shrugged.

Something snapped in Kanda as the man continued to ramble on about what General Tiedoll had told him about when he had passed him in a hallway. His hands tightened around Mugen's hilt until he could bear no longer and withdrew the katana and the point of the black blade rested beneath the scientist's chin. "Name and purpose?" He asked roughly as he continued to glare at the horrified man sitting across from him.

When he didn't respond, Kanda held Mugen a little closer to his neck until the man spluttered, "Didi Lejeune of the Science department! I've just come to chat a little to you and the maker of Mugen wanted to meet you!"

The scientist had said his words so quickly that it took several seconds for everything to click into place and make sense to him then register in his head. He blinked surprisingly and slowly withdrew Mugen before putting on his sour look again and sheathing Mugen. Although he didn't show it, he was quite curious as to who had created this black blade as it was made with care and was practically invincible, having the ability to be able to cut through nearly anything in existence that had been made by God. Kanda mumbled a 'che' then finished his lunch before rising and leaving the scientist behind sitting rooted to his seat.

Kanda growled as he turned to face Didi, "Are we going or not?!"

Didi instantly shoved the rest of his bread roll into his mouth and hastily fell off his seat before smiling hesitantly and leading the way for the young exorcist. Then spiralled down one of the complicated set of staircase that lead down into the slightly lower parts of the tall ancient castle where the Black Order resided. The journey was so confusing, it was filled with so many twists and turns that it amazed the Japanese boy how the scientist managed to find his way through these long tunnels like a mole. Just when his patience was running short, the entrance to a large room was finally in sight and when they came through, they were overcome by a large room that would match the size of the cafeteria. Inside the hall men and women alike bustled about like busy bumblebees, working all their lives. They hurriedly signed paperwork, shouted across the room to one another for assistance and team leaders rushed around shouting orders to their subordinates. Kanda was somehow astonished by the antlike system that ran beneath the less busy floors up above in the Black Order. Didi beckoned for Kanda to follow him as they pushed past the crowd of people rushing around then they approached a door where the sounds of metal clashing on metal could be heard from. As they entered the small illuminated room, heat exploded in their faces as they watched as a stout but muscled old man in his late forties lifted his muscled right arm above his head and let it swing down and the hammer in his hand created a deafening clash as it collided with the thin linear sheet of gleaming red hot metal that rested on an anvil.

Seeing that the man had not taken notice of his guests, Didi shouted above the clashing noises, "Old man Zu! I brought the kid!" Kanda shot the scientist a glare at the mention of the word 'kid'. When Didi's voice had found its way to the old man's ears, the man stopped his work and turned around to face Didi and the Japanese exorcist. The man's face was covered with soot and beads of sweat formed on his face. His short hair was shades of different greys and black with yellow splashed across his figure while shadows danced on the walls. Closing the small door to hide the blazing fire from view, the room instantly dimed and the strong shade of yellow disappeared although the strong stench of ashes and smoke still hung in the air.

"The name's Zu. Call me old man Zu like Lejeune does. I don't care." His voice was rough and firm, "So you're the kid who chose Mugen? Heard you made good use of my child too." Kanda could tell Zu hates people who go in circles when saying things and that he treats each of his creations like his own children.

The young exorcist nodded his head. "I'm Kanda Yuu, General Tiedoll's student."

"Ah… So you're that art-maniac's student?" Zu chuckled and said jokingly, "Then you must be ace in the art of sword. Well to be honest, I wanted to see you because I wanted to see how you put my dear child to use. I've also arranged for an opponent for you and he should be waiting at the training grounds by now. Come now, hurry along!"

Zu left his tools behind and dusted himself as best as he could before opening the door leading outside and urged the scientist and exorcist outside. Once they were faced with the busy bustling of people, they set off across the traffic and snaked their way up stairs and down corridors to reach the training grounds that were in the higher parts of the Order, situated above the cafeteria and lounge. Minutes later, they arrived at the entrance of the third level of the training grounds. The large room was built with sturdy brick walls and lights that dangled from the ceiling to provide enough light for training exorcists to see. Wooden steps lead up to the large gateway that probably allows you to access the other levels of the training grounds, but it was currently blocked off with a lowered portcullis. From the uneven ground, Kanda could tell that this level of the training grounds was used often.

"That took you quite some time, Didi." A loud upbeat voice echoed across the large room. "Oh? You're the new guy the general took in when he was in Japan right?"

Blinking confusingly at the slightly older Turkish boy that wore a black and white cloak with a cowl where a round golden bell dangled from the point, although the bell looked heavy, it would weigh down the cowl so that it kept slipping off the Turkish boy's head. There were purple markings on his face just beneath his eyes. An impatient look was painted on the teenager's features.

Breaking the awkward silence that hung in the air, Kanda narrowed his eyes, "Do I know you? You look familiar." When the other exorcist opened his mouth to complain again, Kanda added, "Oh, you're the idiot who loves to kick things. Your name was Daisy or something?"

Enraged by the Japanese boy's comments, the bell attached to the tip of his cowl detached itself miraculously and with a single kick, made the ball fly over his head and then fall back to the ground where he timed his kick perfectly and smashed the bell towards him while it rang melodiously, "It's Daisya Barry and you'll do well to remember it, girly face! Charity Bell, activate!"

Instantly leaping out of harms way, Didi and Zu only escaped the speeding bell by a hair's breadth while Kanda simple sidestepped to avoid the ball without drawing Mugen out of its scabbard. Kanda smirked devilishly in response to Daisya's 'poor' attack and unsheathed Mugen as it gleamed under the lights. "Mugen, activate!" As he traced his index and middle finger down the blade's smooth surface, the black katana shined a brilliant shade of blue as the blade became shimmering silver.

"T-t-they started without us saying anything…" Didi stammered as he crawled over where Zu was, watching the two exorcists fight in the training grounds while debris flew in all directions.

"That's what I call a good swordsman. Straight and to the point!" Zu grinned widely as he watched Kanda.


	38. True Exorcist

**Author Notes:** I'm so sorry! I really am!! TTATT I've been extremely occupied by dinners with relatives and outings with my old friends from my old school… So I haven't had a chance to actually write much! SO SORRY!!! *bows*

**Disclaimer:** I don't own -Man or anything related to it.

* * *

_Instantly leaping out of harms way, Didi and Zu only escaped the speeding bell by a hair's breadth while Kanda simple sidestepped to avoid the ball without drawing Mugen out of its scabbard. Kanda smirked devilishly in response to Daisya's 'poor' attack and unsheathed Mugen as it gleamed under the lights. "Mugen, activate!" As he traced his index and middle finger down the blade's smooth surface, the black katana shined a brilliant shade of blue as the blade became shimmering silver._

"_T-t-they started without us saying anything…" Didi stammered as he crawled over where Zu was, watching the two exorcists fight in the training grounds while debris flew in all directions._

"_That's what I call a good swordsman. Straight and to the point!" Zu grinned widely as he watched Kanda._

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Without a word, Kanda leapt into action. In the blink of the eye, he was already within close combat range. Daisya was awestruck by his speed but then grinned happily – this was exactly the type of challenge he wanted to engage himself in, after all, life was meaningless without challenges. Mugen's sharp edge sliced through the air as the Turkish boy back flipped out of harm's way.

"Watch out, newbie!" Daisya sneered.

Hearing the whistling of the wind as something surged through the air towards him, Kanda ducked only to nearly have the golden bell that had been kicked like a ball at him earlier nearly slam into the side of his face. He hadn't expected the bell to actually move like a boomerang and return to its starting point after being kicked. For a second, doubt and uncertainty was reflected in Kanda's pitch black eyes but then those feelings were replaced by mischievousness. _'I'll just have to keep up my speed and pay attention to my surroundings then…'_ Kanda smirked. This wasn't even a challenge for him. As he organized his thoughts and what he knows of this Turkish boy, a plan and strategy to defeating him began to form, spinning into one big masterpiece like a spider spinning a web to trap its prey.

Huddled close to the sturdy stone walls, Zu observed Kanda's swordsmanship carefully. _'Perfectly executed attacks, dodges and defence. Firm fluent strikes. Quick movements. Effective usage of the surrounding terrain. This kid's got talent alright.'_ The scientist beside him only stared at the battle in awe. He had never witnessed a battle between exorcists; especially when one of them was a talented expert with swords. The training grounds echoed with the resonating sounds of a bell ringing violently and crumbling stone. As the battle wore on, the strength of the two exorcists seemingly evaporated into thin air since they couldn't break through each other's defence. Simply put, their strength was matched despite their difference in fighting styles and choice of weapon.

"That's enough," A rough voice boomed in the large room that was now half destroyed with chunks of rock still falling from large dents in the walls as if an invisible meteor had decided to embed itself there. The two teenagers in black and white coats huffed and puffed as sweat rolled off their faces. The silver blade of the katana that Kanda held in his hand slowly returned to its normal pitch black state while Daisya placed a foot on top of his golden bell. "That was a fabulous match, Kanda; I doubt anyone within the Black Order can match your swordsmanship. Not only did you effectively use your surroundings and deliver your blows firmly, I believe you had a strategy in mind? Sadly, I doubt it came out with the same expected result."

"Che." Kanda frowned and glared at the Turkish boy opposite him who grinned as Didi excitedly spilled out a bucket load of compliments to him. The next day, the whole Black Order were mumbling about the battle that had taken place that day and about how the new kid was a talented swordsman with impressive skills.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

"I heard about your battle with Daisya Barry, Kanda." Head Officer Wales said as he pressed a button on the lift. They wouldn't usually take the lift but the platform they usually used was under maintenance. "I heard your skill improved again."

"…People gain experience from battles…" Kanda quietly replied as the lift started to descend to the basement where Hevlaska resided.

"Oh… Then I suppose your training wasn't for naught then." Head Officer Wales jokingly said as they exited the lift and made their way into the depths of the headquarters. Kanda growled unhappily from behind Head Officer Wales, making him laugh.

When they left the dark corridor, they arrived onto a bridge that connected from one side of the large room to the other. As they made their way to the centre of the bridge, Kanda's boots clanged against the metal, making the noise echo in the room. When the pair came to stop in the middle, a silver white glow flared from below them and then a figure started to piece itself together from the light like a puzzle. Soon, the tall towering figure's features were finally distinguishable by Kanda.

"Ah…" Hevlaska began softly as a holy aura seemingly surrounded her, "Welcome back, Kanda Yuu." Kanda nodded respectfully at Hevlaska. "I too have heard of your battle against Daisya Barry," Kanda grumbled something inaudible, "But let us tarry no longer; I do believe General Tiedoll has matters to discuss with you."

Before Kanda could ponder on Hevlaska's words, strands of Hevlaska's hair had already wrapped themselves around his body and lifted him off the ground. She held him up to her face until their foreheads touched only slightly. "10…30…50…60…70…80…85…89…" The constant whispers of Hevlaska's voice echoed eerily in the dark room. "It seems you have improved Kanda Yuu; your current synchronisation rate is 89%."

Replacing him safely on the bridge, Hevlaska gently untangled her hair from his body and said, "Your future is marked with numerous obstacles and challenges await you. However, you will not be able to overcome your challenges without sacrifice."

"Kanda, you should think about Hevlaska's words; her prophecies are really accurate." Head Officer Wales looked at the fourteen year old worriedly. "Mark her words."

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

The wooden door swung open as the Japanese boy walked into his quarters in a half asleep state. But his black eyes widened in surprise at his guest that stood looking out his window. After a while, the surprised facial expression was soon replaced with a frown and a glare that could kill the scariest monsters on the face of Earth. Kicking the door shut behind him, the door slammed shut as if to announce the room owner's arrival. The grey haired man didn't flinch but only continued to stare out at the sun that slowly dipped behind the horizon in the distance; shades of orange, red, purple and a little blue splashed across the sky like watercolour on a piece of paper.

"Isn't it a beautiful sunset?"

"…I should be the one asking questions."

"Then fire away, Yuu; I understand that sons always have questions for their beloved fathers."

At first there was silence. "Why the hell are you in my room!?" Kanda screamed angrily at the French man. "And I'm not your bloody son!"

Tiedoll had blocked his ears in time to reduce the volume, "Pupils and sons are equal to me; after all, as your master, I have the responsibility of looking after you as if you were my own child. And I'm not deaf Yuu, you don't need to shout, my beloved son." The grey haired man turned to smile warmly at his pupil.

Kanda started to speak but was interrupted, "Stop calling me your –"

"Ah, I understand. That was a shout of love for me, your dearest father wasn't it?" Tiedoll placed a hand on Kanda's head and ruffled his hair, "Oh my, I know that you can't express your love for me in a proper way…"

"General Froi Tiedoll, that's not it. Please stop calling me your son; it's disgusting. And don't ruffle my hair." Kanda said stiffly as the general continued to ramble on and on while ruffling his hair. Kanda didn't have that much strength left to get mad at the annoying French man anymore; he's already had enough trouble with nearly all of the Black Order coming up to him and praising him about his skills during his battle with Daisya yesterday. Grabbing the general's wrist and taking it off his head, Kanda sat lazily on his bed and added, "I hate your attitude; just get straight to the point."

"From now on, you're officially an exorcist. You'll commence work for the Black Order from now onwards and I will continue on my journey to accomplish my mission. You'll have to co-operate with other exorcists and numerous finders, so be nice." Tiedoll smiled as the last of the sun's warm light sank beneath the horizon.


	39. Farewell and Greetings

**Author Notes:** I got a new phone, a new phone!! :D Ahem… This chapter actually took a long time for me to plan out… XDDD

**Disclaimer:** I don't own -Man or anything related to it.

* * *

"_From now on, you're officially an exorcist. You'll commence work for the Black Order from now onwards and I will continue on my journey to accomplish my mission. You'll have to co-operate with other exorcists and numerous finders, so be nice." Tiedoll smiled as the last of the sun's warm light sank beneath the horizon._

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

"Well then… I'm off." Tiedoll smiled through his thick glasses.

Head Officer Wales and a small group of science team heads bowed respectfully. "We wish you luck on your mission, General Tiedoll." Mumbling a 'thanks', Tiedoll turned slightly to look at Kanda who had been roused by Reever that morning; and as a result, Reever nearly had his body chopped into quarters by Mugen.

Kanda's frown became deeper and his pitch black eyes narrowed in annoyance, bags under his eyes showed exactly how much sleep he was lacking. '_If you're leaving, hurry it up! I need some sleep…' _

"Yuu…" A man's voice called out his name.

Kanda responded half heartedly as he tried to count the amount of tiles on the ground, "What?"

Then there was the sound of shuffling feet before a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around Kanda's body and squeezed tightly, "Yuu, I'm going to miss you so much!" Tiedoll sobbed as he sniffed. "It's so sad I'm going to miss the growth of my beloved son!"

"Oi! I told you I'm not your son…" Kanda managed to croak out, "And more importantly, I can't breathe let me… go!"

"Remember to eat all three meals every day and train everyday to become a fantastic exorcist and make more friends in the Black Order…" As the list continues, the scientists couldn't help but laugh and smile at the scene before them.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Stifling a yawn, Kanda holds up his arms high up in the air and stretches his muscles while a few bones make a small click as he moves his joints. He had just returned from a mission in South Africa where it was boiling hot with the sun's rays beating down on his back all the time. But the strange phenomenon that they encountered happened to be just a kid doing things to grab attention from his parents and hence, Kanda returns empty handed and tired. Not to mention the reversed seasons of the Northern hemisphere and the Southern hemisphere.

"Oh my Kanda, you look quite worn out." A man wearing white chef-like clothes said, "You want something to eat?"

Letting his eyes slide over to the man's face, Kanda replied, "Yeah. Something warm would do."

"How about ramen and green tea?" Jerry offered. Kanda lazily nodded. "Hold on for a second!"

After enjoying his dinner at an empty table in the cafeteria, Kanda returned the tray to Jerry before leaving the cafeteria. Walking down the main hallway, Kanda peered curiously into the rooms that were accessible from the main hallway as doors were left ajar. He himself had never entered one of those rooms that looked oh-so-prestigious. Throwing his thoughts aside, Kanda continued down the main hallway when suddenly a shout of alert echoed through the main hallway. "Don't let that kid get away! Someone help catch her!" A guard dressed in purple and black shouted from his position near a door that had been pushed open in a shady corner of the hallway.

The escapee was a young Asian teenage girl around thirteen years old. She had long hair that reached the middle of her back and she wore a black dress that reached just above her knees. Despite having thin limbs, the girl was a quick runner and easily outran her pursuer. When two more guards holding long spears left their positions by the wall, Kanda could tell that the girl wasn't paying attention to what lay before her since she always turned back to see if her pursuer was any closer to her. When she finally realised that the guard wasn't going to be able to catch up with her, it was too late. The two spears swung down towards her to prevent her from going any further. Unfortunately, she couldn't stop in time and all she could to was raise her delicate arms in defence and readying herself for the coming blow as she held her breath.

However, it never came.

Opening her eyes, she heard the clatter of wood and soon the sharp ends of the spears soon rolled into view on the tiled ground. The entire main hallway that was usually bustling with noise and life was now seeped in silence. Then a strong hand wrapped itself around her thin arm and tugged, making her stand up on her feet that seemed like two twigs.

"Ah! Thanks for stopping her from escaping…" The guard that had shouted out before thanked the mysterious person that held her arm tightly and wouldn't let her go no matter how much she struggled while she kept her eyes concentrated on the ground. She hated this place so much she could burn it down so it would become nothing but charred crisps and ashes.

Looking sideways, she placed her rich purple eyes on black and white clothes accompanied with silver buttons that glinted in the light. "What is a girl like her doing here anyway?" The mysterious person spoke.

'_I… Recognize this voice. Who…'_ the girl's eyes widened in surprise and she instantly raised her head so she looked into the mysterious person's dark midnight eyes as tears sprung into her own.

"Actually, don't…" His voice faded into silence when he noticed movement from his captive and Kanda looked down while his eyebrows knitted together and his lips formed a frown. "…Lenalee? What are you…?"

The girl smiled weakly as tears rolled down her cheeks. He remembered her after all, even though it had been a year ago when they met each other in China.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

"….Head Officer Wales. Can I ask a question?"

"Eh? You asked me already."

Kanda shot the scientist a glare. Head Officer Wales laughed, "I was joking! Go ahead. I'll answer you if I can."

The fifteen year old Japanese exorcist crossed his arms over his chest, "…Do you know someone in the headquarters called Lenalee Lee?" The man that sat at a messy desk suddenly stiffened. "Well?" After a minute of silence, Kanda stood and headed for the door that leads out of the Head Officer's office. Placing a hand on the door knob, Kanda turned and added, "It doesn't matter whether or not you tell me, I'll find out myself."

With that, the exorcist left. Head Officer Wales cursed himself; the fifteen year old was determined to find out why that Chinese girl was here at headquarters when both he and General Tiedoll had kept quiet about her. No one can stop him; nothing will.


	40. Under Attack

**Author Notes:** Things are getting interesting! XDDD I've got more important massive arcs planted ahead for the fic already! Stay tuned! WHOOO! 40 chapters! 8D

**Disclaimer:** I don't own -Man or anything related to it.

* * *

_The fifteen year old Japanese exorcist crossed his arms over his chest, "…Do you know someone in the headquarters called Lenalee Lee?" The man that sat at a messy desk suddenly stiffened. "Well?" After a minute of silence, Kanda stood and headed for the door that leads out of the Head Officer's office. Placing a hand on the door knob, Kanda turned and added, "It doesn't matter whether or not you tell me, I'll find out myself."_

_With that, the exorcist left. Head Officer Wales cursed himself; the fifteen year old was determined to find out why that Chinese girl was here at headquarters when both he and General Tiedoll had kept quiet about her. No one can stop him; nothing will._

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

The clock that continued ticking in a dark unlit room suddenly let out a slightly louder tick as the hands overlapped each other at the top of the clock's face. The windows of the room had been left carelessly open as wind circulated around the room and the weak moonlight shone through the glass. At a time like this, normal people would be snugged up and comfortable in their sweet dreams – but the owner of this bed is missing. Several floors below from where the room was situated, a single shadow dashed across a tall glass window. The figure dashed from shadow to shadow, keeping to the dark and shunning the light. Whenever a guard or a person walked past or nearby, the figure would noticeably tense up and hold his breath until the danger passes. Then he would continue on his journey to his destination and to answer his questions.

When finally his destination came into view, he raised his alertness. He crept around the large hallway and hid behind a thick pillar's shadow near where two guards holding spears stood guard beside a polished oak door that was locked tightly with five different sets of locks. The only sources of light within entire hallway were the two solitary candles that stood beside the oak door. Minutes passed by until two other guards holding candles approached the two by the door. After a few brief exchanges, the two guards that just arrived replaced the other guards. When he was sure that the now off duty guards were out of sight and hearing range, the mysterious figure edged a bit into the light, but his steps didn't betray his presence to the guards. A sudden soft breeze swept through the hallway, making the delicate fires burning on the candle wicks flicker and disappear into the breeze, the smoke following the direction of the wind.

"Oi, what happened? The windows should be shut." One of the guards questioned the other while they attempted to stay calm in the darkness.

After seconds of silence, another man's voice replied, "I-I don't know, they –" His sentence was cut off as something collided with the back of his head, knocking him out.

Amongst the darkness, the other guard hesitantly called out to the other man, "Hey… You alright?" Somehow when he bent down and blindly searched the ground, he found his partner on the ground unconscious. Before he could stand back up again, a fist came into contact with his face, knocking him out too.

Eyeing the heavy locks on the oak doors with annoyance, the attacker bent down low and searched the guards for keys. When a minute passed and his patience was cut short, he glared at the locks again. "Che, so troublesome."

Unsheathing the silent black beast at his hips, the heavy locks fell to the ground with a soft 'thunk' in a swift swing of the sword. Replacing the thin metal blade back in its black scabbard, the dark figure pushed the oak doors open gently, revealing a rocky tunnel-like passage that was lined with candles as the oak doors swung back. Entering the passage way, he carefully continued on his way. As he walked down the passageway, he passed firm iron doors that had a small cut out square at the top which was lined with bars to allow outsiders to watch whatever was contained in the cell. Peering into one of the cells, his dark pupils widened with horror; a small child was contained within the tight cell. The cell contained nothing aside from a single chair and a bed where the small girl – perhaps the age of eight – was chained to the bed's posts. The girl's head turned to look at the door. She wasn't even crying out to anyone for help at all, and from the look in her empty glazed eyes; he knew that she had lost sight of hope and freedom. And perhaps – just maybe – this child might as well think that she's doomed to die in this state. Tearing his eyes from her pale face, he continued on his way. Despite how much he wished he could simply overlook the heavy iron cell doors that separated the prisoners with freedom, he could not simply ignore his goal. He peered into every single cell, meeting eyes with young children that were devoid of hope until he found what he searched for.

Unlike the other cells, this one was guarded with two guards; each held a spear like the ones he had encountered outside the oak doors. When he approached them, they turned to look in surprise. "That black and white coat with silver buttons… What's an exorcist doing here?"

After a quick blur of punches and kicks, the two previously conscious guards now lay on the ground in uncomfortable positions as their spears clattered to the ground. Looking into the cell, his eyes located a bed and a chair by it like the other cells. But the thirteen year old girl who lay on the bed had her limbs wrapped in chains and locks; those who had imprisoned her even went as far as to wrap a chain around her neck. The girl's long hair sprayed across her pillow like water over pebbles and stones in a stream. Quickly bending down and searching the guards' bodies, he found a set of keys. Shoving a random key into the keyhole, the cell door produced a light click. Dragging the door sideways, the heavy door gave way and slid aside, granting the intruder entry to the cell.

One foot before the other, the intruder closed the distance between himself and the bed where the girl remained chained to. He remained speechless as he quietly unsheathed his sword once again and in one swift motion, the chains that bound the girl to the bed were cut with ease. Instead of instantly bolting out the cell door, the girl remained on the bed although now she could move freely. The Chinese girl turned to face the wall, away from the intruder and whispered weakly, "…What do you want from me again? Stop performing experiments on us… Don't force us to synchronize with the Innocence!"

"Was that what they were doing to you and these children?"

'_This voice…Could it be?'_ Despite her lack of strength, the girl sat up and turned around to look at the dark haired boy that stood by her bed with a black sword at his side. Suddenly, tears filled her purple eyes as she stared up at the slightly older boy who stood there. Reaching out with a frail hand, she lightly placed her hand on his face as she felt him close his eyes beneath her hand, then she slowly let gravity pull her hand downwards, letting her fingers slide over his features. Her tears had blinded her eyes by now and everything was a blur, "…Kanda."

The young swordsman asked as he opened his eyes again, "What are you doing here, Lenalee?"

"The Black Order sent men to China and dragged me here. Away from brother…" At this, Lenalee looked down at the sheets on her bed and her hand slowly gathered up into a fist, clenching the black dress that she was wearing. "They forced me to synchronize with the Innocence but I didn't want to. All I wanted was to go home. I ran away several times, so they chained me up and locked me in here." She used the back of her hand to wipe away her tears then sheepishly laughed, "But I suppose it was only luck I ran into you on my last escape. As for the other children… They're the Black Order's science experiments."

"Science experiments…" Kanda echoed the girl's words.

Lenalee reluctantly explained, "They force Innocence to synchronize with their bodies and if they fail, they…" She paused and looked up at Kanda like the little girl he knew when he was in China. He shook his head, making his ponytail and fringe swing a little with the movement. "I just… Want to go home… To where brother is…"

Just when Kanda parted his lips to say something, a large vibration shook the entire Black Order. Outside the small rocky passageway, the sounds of shuffling feet, shouting men and sounds of crashing came travelling into the cell. Then the sound of echoing footsteps came and Kanda instantly unsheathed his sword as cloaked men spread themselves around the room. Unlike normal guards, their entire bodies were covered in fabric and their faces were covered with masks. Then a man with a commanding aura surrounding him appeared at the cell door. He had a toothbrush moustache and dull blonde hair. The man wore a uniform-like suit matched with a stripped jacket with a large emblem of a shield at the chest. A stripped ribbon was tied around beneath his shirt collar and a small gleaming badge perched in the centre of the ribbon.

"Oh? An exorcist? What're you doing here? This area is off limits." The man smirked, "But I believe you're needed upstairs, not down here."

Kanda tightened his grip on Mugen's hilt, "…What do you mean?"

"The Black Order's just been attacked by an entire group of akuma. All the exorcists here have already been alerted and are tending to the situation. Don't you think you should go as well?" The man explained. Despite the situation, the man seemed very calm. "Oh my, please excuse my manners. I heard you're a newbie here, Kanda Yuu. My name's Malcolm C. Leverrier; I'm an inspector sent by the Vatican."


	41. Everything Unfolds

**Author Notes:** OMG. SUCH A LARGE GAP. What a big hiatus I've been on… School absolutely sucks! I shall try and make up for this somehow… And I didn't do an extra long chapter either... D:

**Disclaimer:** I don't own -Man or anything related to it.

* * *

"_The Black Order's just been attacked by an entire group of akuma. All the exorcists here have already been alerted and are tending to the situation. Don't you think you should go as well?" The man explained. Despite the situation, the man seemed very calm. "Oh my, please excuse my manners. I heard you're a newbie here, Kanda Yuu. My name's Malcolm C. Leverrier; I'm an inspector sent by the Vatican."_

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

"Inspector from the Vatican…" Kanda murmured. Behind him, the Chinese girl he had been conversing with earlier shook with overwhelming fear. He looked at the shivering girl out of the corner of his eye.

In addition to the shaking, Lenalee was muttering phrases under her breath. "Leverrier… Experiments… Hevlaska… Synchronization… Exorcists… Black Order… The Fallen…"

The inspector chuckled as loud noises rampaged upstairs continuously, "Aren't you the hard working one, Lenalee Lee? Always thinking about the experiments," Leverrier smirked and said, "No doubt you're aware that there were other experiments being carried out by the Black Order apart from the experiments that you were created from, Kanda Yuu?"

The Japanese boy frowned, his eyebrows slanted sharply. His grip on Mugen tightened and his hands started trembling from all the force he was using.

"Oh, but then again, you were a failure; I would've escaped like you if I was a failure. It must've been shameful! After all, you had all the fundamentals and skills; it was just that you couldn't synchronize with the Innocence! I was surprised to hear that you had actually become an actual exor –" Leverrier pursed his lips as the dark point of a sword was seconds from drawing blood from his throat.

"That's enough talking," Kanda stated firmly. He didn't need any reminding of his past and origins. "I'll offer you a deal, Leverrier. Bring Lenalee back home and leave her alone; then I'll do my job and stop digging deeper into the darker secrets of the Black Order."

The dull blonde haired man snickered with superiority, "Are you in the position to negotiate? Now you better attend to your duties before you get into more trouble, you insolent child."

Without another choice, Kanda briskly sheathed Mugen and marched out of the cell, abandoning the Chinese girl unwillingly. He bit back the bitterness swelling in his heart and continued to march onwards. Behind him, he heard Lenalee's screams as Leverrier ordered his men to take the girl to another cell in the basement and choose a cell that is the most isolated.

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

The large castle usually shrouded in darkness, mystery and suspicion was now damaged beyond repair in some areas where large holes in the thick walls exposed the interior of the structure to the dark night sky. Outside the castle, explosions that resembled the death of small stars scattered across vast space. Fueled with so many mixed and confusing emotions, Kanda relentlessly sliced down whatever stood in his way apart from his supposed 'allies'. Flecks of crimson red blood splattered themselves across his monochrome uniform and his unchanging stoic face.

Wandering through the forest that surrounded headquarters, the dusk haired exorcist made no effort to keep his presence hidden, crushing twigs beneath his soiled boots. Hearing the irregular footsteps of someone, he paused among thick bushes and dense trees. Kanda looked up listlessly towards the sky although the sky itself was shielded by branches and leaves. The moonlight barely pierced the trees' leaves. When the person got closer and closer, Kanda turned his gaze to his left where a finder emerged from the darker shadows with his stomach bleeding. The finder's face twisted into a maniacal smile as his arm twisted into a cannon pointed towards the exorcist and fired as many bullets as it could at one time. Staying rooted and staring at the monster before him, Kanda let the bullets whizz past as they all planted themselves in the area behind him, digging into the ground and putting holes into tree trunks.

Stupidly enough, the akuma stepped towards him with a large frown on its human face. The finder raised his other hand which had morphed into cannon too and aimed at Kanda as it continued to close the distance between him and the long haired boy. Once within a suitable range, the Japanese exorcist drew a thin horizontal line with a simple arm movement, adding more crimson decorations on his already red uniform as the monster slumped onto the ground, tainting the grass with its shining red liquid. Without a second glance, Kanda strode deeper into the forest, losing himself in it.

Just when the sun rose and cast warm golden rays onto the battleground, waves of more akuma – this time of various levels – swarmed the place. Tendrils of thin smoke drifted away from different places in the headquarters as squads hurried around searching for casualties, hiding from the sight of akuma under the guard of only one or two exhausted exorcists.

Seated silently on a makeshift chair made with a stack of large hard covered books in the medical ward because he had been scolded for wandering around with injuries, Kanda held Mugen idly as it rested on his lap. He hadn't felt like he had the energy to waste on bickering with someone who wanted him to go to the medical ward so he simply did as he was told. The room was filled with patients and frantic nurses and doctors as they tried to save as many lives as possible although there were times when Kanda would see the staff shake their heads as they stood over a person lying on one of the beds.

After a while, someone had decided to stack themselves a stack of books as well and settled down next to the long haired exorcist. "You look a bit worn down and slightly cut up." The man remarked as he took in the fifteen year old's rugged appearance. To prove him wrong about the cut up part, Kanda used the cuff of his uniform and wiped off the blood on the side of his face where a nasty scrape used to be but no longer exists. "So you broke into the basements huh?"

Kanda didn't reply and an awkward silence hung in the air as squads carried litters into the room urgently. "You approved of the experiments."

"I didn't."

"You knew about Lenalee and us. And yet you didn't tell us anything."

"I couldn't."

"Why not?"

"I can't tell you."

Frustrated with all the answers that he was receiving, the young exorcist stood up, unsheathed the black blade hidden within and placed it on the man's shoulder, the katana's razor sharp edge inches away from cutting into flesh. People in the background were too busy to notice the commotion and those who did wouldn't dare to stop the boy. Head Officer Wales looked up at Kanda solemnly. "Are you only going to believe the answers that you want to hear?"

Kanda swallowed and kept his hand steady. He could tell that Head Officer Wales was telling the truth. The boy could tolerate only a small range of things and being kept in the dark about things wasn't one of the things he can keep quiet about. Seeing through Kanda's emotions, Head Officer Wales told him in a slight whisper what exactly had happened and why the experiments proceeded without his permission.

There was a meeting held between all Branch Heads with a representative from the Vatican – Inspector Malcolm C. Leverrier. In that meeting it was proposed, discussed, debated and voted upon whether experiments that involved the forced synchronization of Innocence should be put into action. Head Officer Wales had disagreed strongly but the majority agreed. And thus, terrible experiments took place deep underground in the darker areas of the Black Order.

As to why Lenalee Lee had been taken to headquarters by force in order to be included into the project, Head Officer Wales had no idea how they had acquired the information. He knew about the girl's relationship with Tiedoll and Kanda since the general had reported it, but he never said a word about it to anyone.

Sheathing the dark katana roughly with a smooth swing of a hand, the Japanese boy slumped down on his stack of books with a huff. With a hand holding onto Mugen, his other covered his face as he drifted into his own thoughts for a moment. When he came to a conclusion, he let his hand slide down his face to reveal a pair of resentful eyes.

"Leverrier…!"

●**Кαηδα Ġαιδεή●**

Ripping a chunk of bread from his hand hungrily, Kanda hurriedly chewed before swallowing it and then taking a large gulp of water from his cup. It was now nearly midday and there were still no signs of decreasing in enemy numbers. The sun hung high in the air, the light and heat beating down on the Black Order's headquarters. It was winter, however today was a clear fine day and the sunlight was unbelievably warm for a cold season and it definitely affected all members of the Order. Kanda had been forced to continue to wear his thick exorcist coat so that people could easily locate others among the forest and in other parts due to the contrasting colours amongst the surroundings in daylight. Even with all the buttons and buckles and belts undone, the temperature still got to Kanda who adorned a slightly thicker shirt on the inside.

Draining his cup of water, Kanda grabbed Mugen and set off towards the front lines again. Departing what could hardly be recognized as a place where everyone at headquarters dines in at some point of the day due to the accumulating amount of casualties who could no longer be kept in the medical ward, Kanda watched as various other exorcists wandered towards the cafeteria with dirty uniforms and sweat beading on their foreheads. As they walk past, several of the exorcists waved or said a friendly greeting but were ignored by Kanda. Striding down the corridor, he arrived back at the grand foyer where he remembered all of his first impressions of this large place, of how amazing this entire structure was. But now he stared down at the foyer, littered with twenty coffins, ones who were majorly injured, those who comforted others and those paying their respects to their allies. Tracing the white outlines of lab coats that the scientists adorned, Kanda paid no attention and simply kept walking until his eyes rested on a recognizable face, only that the person was also wearing a white lab coat.

Stopping in his tracks, the Japanese exorcist stepped towards the railing which curved in a circle to fit the circumference of the tower. It was definitely someone he knew; the dark long hair tied in a ponytail and the intelligent glint in his eyes… Wanting to figure out who it exactly was, Kanda descended the stairs that led to the foyer and weaved through the maze of coffins and people towards the man he had seen.

A few feet from the man, Kanda slowed to a halt. He didn't speak. The person standing by a coffin with Reever took no notice of the staring boy until his Australian companion called out with surprise in a worn out voice, "Kanda?"

The exorcist blinked in response as both heads turned to look at him. The sorrowful expression that had previously adorned the older Asian man's facial features was now replaced with a small smile of relief. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

'_Komui…He must be here because of Lenalee.'_ Thoughts raced through Kanda's mind as images of an imprisoned Chinese girl flickered before his eyes. Reever chimed in, "Oh, you guys know each other?"

"Yeah. General Tiedoll and I stayed at his place in China when we had a mission there." The exorcist replied casually.

"Reever," Komui turned to his companion, "Do you mind if I have a private word with Kanda?" The Australian shrugged and said he'll be back at the office if he needs him. Komui waved goodbye. "Let's have a chat then, shall we?"


End file.
