Just for shits and giggles.

~Don't own D. Gray-Man~

Chapter 1: Remember Her Face

Allen sat on the edge of his bed, trying to see in the faint light that came from the moonlight cascading through his window. What time was it? Had to be late. He rubbed absently at his left eye, wincing at how raw it felt. He'd had that dream again. The one about his real family – no, scratch that. About his real sister. He had been dreaming about his sister. Her red hair and the smile that had been all his when they were children.

She had been older then him by only a couple of years, but had treated him like her own child since their own mother had neglected them. She had watched over him with stern green eyes, keeping him out of sight and out of harm. It had been years since he last saw her. There'd been no contact. He wasn't even sure if she was still alive.

So why was he dreaming about her now?

He frowned slightly and looked around, searching for Timcampy of all things. He had to get his mind off her. He'd initially thought of searching for her when his master had told him to escapade off to the Black Order, but even he knew it was impossible to find her. He wasn't that naïve. So he had given up. What was the point, anyway? She was probably dead somewhere in a pauper's grave…

But his dream was so real…

He shook his head to clear his thoughts and laid back down. His eyes, however, were wide open and he stared at the brick wall, curled up half way into a ball. His silver hair glinted in the light as he clenched the blanket in his fist. He was starting to forget her face…

Lenalee was the first to notice the white haired boy's strange behavior. She pursed her pink lips thoughtfully as she watched him poke at his food, her own fork lying forgotten in her hands. "Allen, is there something wrong?" She asked, her legs tucked neatly to the side underneath the table. "You haven't eaten breakfast at all." She pushed back a long strand of hair from her pig tails as she peered at him.

Allen offered her a small smile before turning back to his food. "I'm fine, Lenalee. Just not hungry." He yawned, covering his mouth.

"Well that's just odd."

They both looked up to see Lavi and Kanda come to sit next to them. It was clearly apparent that Lavi had all but dragged Kanda over, from the angry scowl on the swordman's face. The happier of the two was pushed away violently as they came closer.

"You're never not hungry." Lavi pointed out, plopping down next to Allen. "You're like the incredible never ending well. You just suck everything in." He poked the younger boy's stomach and made a sucking in noise.

Lenalee giggled and Allen's smile brightened a bit. Kanda ignored them, as per usual.

"It's nothing guys, really." Allen assured them, pushing Lavi off half heartedly. "I just didn't sleep well last night."

"You here that? Beansprout had a nightmare. Can we all get on with our lives now?" Kanda snapped glaring at the wall to the side of them.

Lenalee frowned. "That's not very nice." She'd tried her hardest to keep Kanda and Allen from killing each other, however difficult the task turned out to be.

Kanda snorted.

Allen stared at his food as he said quietly. "It wasn't a nightmare."

"So…if it wasn't a nightmare…" Lavi tapped his fork on his plate, cupping his cheek with his other hand. "Then it was a good dream, right?"

Allen nodded.

"So why so sad?" Lenalee asked, trying to see Allen's eyes.

"I was…I was dreaming about my sister…my biological sister…" Allen said, almost sheepishly.

"Oh. Do you miss her?" Lenalee asked kindly.

"I haven't seen her since before I met Mana." Allen explained. "She was kinda the one who took care of me before that. I don't even know if she's alive now."

"And you're having dreams about her?" Lavi asked.

"For a week now…" Allen agreed, putting his head in his hands.

"What's her name? Maybe one of us knows her." Lenalee asked helpfully.

Allen smiled a little. "Unlikely, but her name is Victoria Walker."

Kanda froze. "You've got to be kidding me…" He groaned.

Lavi had a series of emotions playing about his face. First, recognition. Then, shock. Then humor. Humor and shock battled it out for a bit. Humor won. He busted up laughing.

Allen shot up. "What? You guys know her?"

Lenalee smiled. "She's an exorcist here, Allen. But she goes by Vicky."

"I wouldn't make the connection…" Lavi studied Allen. "Probably because her hair's mostly red."

"So was mine before I was cursed." Allen said excitedly. "Where is she? You have to tell me!" He stood immediately.

"Chill out!" Kanda snapped, not looking at him. "She's on a mission."

Lavi nudged Kanda and snickered as Kanda punched his arm temperamentally.

"What's with him?" Allen asked, giving Kanda an odd look. "Is there something I don't know? Tell me everything about her!" He turned to Lenalee.

"Well," She started. "She's short. She has two types of innocence. Kind of like General Cross, actually. She's been a great asset to the Black Order and she's been here for…six years now? Hmm…She did mention a younger brother occasionally, didn't she Kanda?"

Kanda grunted noncommittally.

Lavi smirked. "Tell him the best part, Lenalee. He's gonna find out anyway."

Kanda punched Lavi harder. "Shut up, Rabbit!" He hissed.

Allen turned to Lavi. "What? Tell me!"

"Well…" Lenalee smiled a bit. "She and Kanda are…an item, you could say."

Kanda stood up and left without a word.

Lavi laughed. "That was so amazing!" He took off in an opposite direction, still chuckling.

Allen couldn't bring his jaw back to his face. "What…?" He asked weakly. "With…him…?"

"I'm afraid so." She nodded.

"That's not my sister."

Lenalee laughed a little. "But!" She leaned in closer. "And don't tell anyone I told you this, but word has it that Lavi likes her too, but he won't admit it because he's the Bookman's apprentice and because Kanda's very protective."

"Wow, you know all the gossip, don't you?" Allen asked, awed.

"I do." Lenalee said, somewhat smugly. "And because of it, I have good news. She should be arriving today!"

"What was she sent to do?" Allen asked, curious. This all seemed too good to be true.

"One of our exorcists got involved with a Russian mob out in the middle of Siberia. Seems they had some innocence that they were unwilling to give up and…negotiations fell through. Vicky was sent to clean up the mess." Lenalee looked up and found a clock. "I need to go see my brother, but I'll find you when I get word she's here. And then you can see for sure." She stood and squeezed his shoulder companionably – the right one. "I'm so happy for you Allen." She said and left.

"Yeah…" Allen said to the floor. "If it's really her, I will be too…"

There wasn't enough to do for Allen. He spent half the day doing absolutely nothing but counting how push ups he could do in an hour on each arm. Then he counted how many footsteps he heard outside his door. When he actually tried to go out of his room, he wandered around in a circle and then retreated, unsure what to do with himself. He tried not to think too hard, for fear that doubts would plague his thoughts. What if it really wasn't her? What if she didn't want to see him? What if she was dead now? He sighed, trying to conjure up a picture of her face again. He couldn't and that disturbed him now more then ever.

There was a knock on the door.

"Co-" He started to say.

The door slammed open, the entire door frame rocking on its hinges.

"Come on!" Lenalee gestured hurriedly for him to get out of his room. "She's here! Kanda and Lavi are seeing her right now!"

Allen jumped up and followed the girl exorcist, his heart pounding in his throat. It felt like his blood was clotting as he ran; like he couldn't run fast enough. This was it. His moment of truth.

There was a large welcome party for Vicky Walker, and she almost hated it. If she didn't consider these people family, she would've told them all to get lost. She leaned heavily on Kanda, glad he was there for support. Oh, how she hurt. She held on to her bruised and broken ribs as she smiled at people and put their fears about her condition at ease.

"Where's Moriko?" Lavi asked from her left.

She smiled at him briefly at her friend. "Oh I'm sorry, Cyclops. Am I not good enough for ya?"

"Aw Vicky…" He pouted. "That's not fair…"

"Actually, I'd like to know where she is too." Kanda said darkly. "So I can run my sword through her and watch her bleed… They send you to clean up too many of her messes." He held onto her possessively, glaring towards the way he'd seen the scrawny girl escape to. No one hurt Vicky on his watch. No one.

Vicky looked up at him through red hair, with two white streaks in her bangs. "And that's why I love you." She glanced around as the crowd started to dissipate, most likely with other things they had to do. She kissed his cheek quickly before he could object and smiled slyly. "I missed you…"

Out of her peripheral vision, Lavi shifted uncomfortably and looked away.

Kanda was about to reply when Lenalee came rushing into the room. "Red Walker!"

"Little Lee!" Vicky smiled hugely but put up a hand before Lenalee could hug her. "Broken ribs."

Kanda growled angrily.

Lenalee took Vicky's hand. "It's so good to see you!"

"And you." Vicky squeezed her hand. "Who's your friend?" She glanced behind the younger asian girl. "He looks new." She smiled at him encouragingly.

The boy hesitated, several feet from them all. He rubbed his left arm with his right, the sleeve riding up a little to show the state of his arm.

Vicky's eyes became glued to it, suddenly aware of how familiar it looked. Her mouth became dry and, shocked, her head lifted up and she looked into bright green eyes. "A-Allen…?" She said weakly.

"Victoria…" He said, awed. "Sis, is that really you…?" He couldn't believe it. She'd known right off from his hand.

Vicky pulled away from Kanda walking towards him. "I tried looking for you everywhere in Europe…!"

"I'm sorry…I was training…" Allen felt tears come to his eyes as she came closer. "It really is you! I gave you that scar-" He traced a faint line next to her left eye. "-when we were kids!" He then looked sheepish. "I'm really sorry about that."

Vicky laughed, tears streaming down her face as she hugged him tightly. "Who cares about a damn scar? Allen, I've missed you!" She pulled back and gasped a bit. "A little…too much…"

"You're hurt!" Allen gasped as she started to sink to her knees.

"Obviously, moron-" Kanda started, walking up to Vicky.

Vicky hissed at him, "He's my brother!"

Kanda blinked a bit, looking a bit confused, and then rolled his eyes.

"Let's get you to the infirmary." Lenalee suggested as Kanda and Allen helped her up. She skipped ahead, leading the party through HQ.

Vicky ruffled Allen's hair. "I guess we'll…have to catch up later…" She winced as her ribs shifted.

Allen smiled at her and gave her arm a squeeze. "We will, sis."

Later that night, Allen took a vacant chair next to Vicky's bed in the infirmary, looking around the place. It was large, meant to accommodate a large number of people. Yet Vicky was the only one in here now. His eyes wandered down to her face, awed momentarily. How did he find her after all these years? He smiled a bit, unconsciously, as he pushed strands of hair out of his eyes. He could remember her face now. As a kid, she'd always had this way of pouting her way out of things. It had saved him on more then one occasion from bullies and other things. She also had a reckless courage about her that he'd admired. In fact, that's what had given her the scar next to her eye.

Something growled softly and he gasped, jumping up, as something cold and wet nudged at his hand.

It was a large white dog. No, it had to be a wolf. But it wasn't looking at him, choosing to stare straight ahead. It wagged its tail and whined softly, putting it's head on Vicky's bed.

Allen inspected it closer and realized it was blind, grey eyes staring straight ahead. It had large black crosses on its fur, like spots on a normal canine, wrapping around its back and belly. "What on earth?" Allen whispered.

The wolf cocked an ear towards him but staid put. However, Allen knew it was on guard. It was aware of him and it wasn't happy about his presence in the room.

The door opened and the wolf's head lifted completely off the bed, turning towards the door. It wagged its tail and its face split into what could only be described as a grin, tongue hanging out. The tail thumped against Allen and the bed wildly.

"She still unconscious?"

Allen looked up at Lavi as the wolf rushed to the older boy, almost knocking him over. "Yeah. Is he Vicky's?" He gestured at the wolf.

Lavi scratched behind the wolf's ears, smiling. "This is Xepher. He's actually innocence. And yes. He is Vicky's."

"Well at least he likes you." Allen said dryly, sitting again.

"Xepher may be innocence, but he's still an animal too." Lavi patted the wolf on the head. "Give him a chance to get to know you." He pulled up another chair and laughed softly as Xepher forced his head into the red haired boy's lap.

"Lenalee told me a rumor." Allen said quietly.

"Oh? She's full of those. People trust those innocent green eyes of hers." Lavi said, cradling Xepher's head in his hands. "Not like you, eh? Everyone thinks you steal babies! Baby stealer!"

Allen smiled a little. "She said you like Victoria."

Lavi froze, his muscles stiffening. "So she told you that one, huh." He said softly.

"Yeah." Allen looked worried. "Look, it was just a rumor so…"

"No, it's cool. People say dumb things." Lavi never looked up from Xepher. "I don't like your sister like that. She's just a neat person. Everyone likes her."

"I noticed that." Allen commented. "She's really popular, isn't she?"

"Yeah."

They sat in companionable silence for a minute.

Finally Allen exhaled. "I'm going to go sleep. You staying in here?"

"Xepher will wake her up if I don't." Lavi said ruefully. "Goodnight Allen."

Allen waved as he walked out, yawning.

Lavi waited until the door closed and then finally turned his gaze to Vicky. His look softened and his smile faded. He hesitated then softly touched the back of her hand with the pads of his fingers. Registering that there was no reaction to this impromptu motion, he leaned more forward and ran the back of his fingers over her cheek bone, marveling at how soft her skin was and how beautiful she looked in the low lamp light.

Vicky sighed in her sleep and her head turned towards his hand, her breath raising goose bumps on his arm.

Lavi withdrew his hand and clenched it, his look becoming bitterer then before.

Xepher nudged his knee and Lavi never glanced down as he petted the wolf.