Their Place, a d.gray-man fanfic

Author's Note:

I've been wanting to write a D. Gray Man fic for a long time now, but haven't had any idea what to do. The Exorcists are featured prominently in the fics that I have read, and I feel that it is slightly overdone. Same old same, as they say. I didn't want to write something like that. Instead, my thoughts wandered to the Finders. They do so much for the Exorcists, but it seems that they're overlooked a lot. So, with this thought in mind, I wrote this small piece, as a sort of tribute to the Finders.

I hope you enjoy.

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Their Place

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Their meeting was nothing outstanding.

They were simply two strangers, both orphaned by fault of the akuma. The only differences in their stories were the numbers of their families, and their homelands.

She arrived earlier than he did, a stranger to this place of winding halls and vaulting ceilings. She came here to escape the monsters, to find a place of sanctuary, if only for a moment...

No, they brought her here. Taken from her home after the attack, because she had caught a glimpse of the Innocence, because she lived close to it for such a long time. What was the word they had for people like her? Potential Accommodator? No, that was not her. She was just a nine-year-old girl, a girl alone in an ocean of confusion.

She was frightened and felt alienated, being a sole girl in a world of English-speaking foreigners. It was hard. For a very long time, it was hard, not being able to understand a word not spoken in her native French. But she knew. Every time her name came up, she knew that they spoke of her. It was only later, after she'd learned bits of the language, that she learned what they were talking about....what to do about her.

There was no place for her here. Not for a girl who had not been chosen by the Innocence. She despaired for this knowledge. Where would she go? What would she do? How much longer would she be permitted a roof above her head. The thoughts swam in her head like vicious sharks, plaguing her with misery until she would leak tears from her eyes as she sat in the cafeteria.

She knew somehow that she would be abandoned.

It was on a night like that, sitting alone in her misery, that she met him.

He was only a little different from her, in that he had been traveling with his family at the time of their deaths. The youngest, also like her, he had hidden away during the massacre of his loved ones and was found by one of the Generals later on.

They brought him here too, hoping that he'd be the master of the Innocence, an Apostle of God. He didn't, couldn't understand. He was just a child. Just like her...

He too, knew that they spoke of him in hushed tones. It did not take a genius to figure it out. He too, sought solace in the cafeteria, where that strange Indian man fawned over them like they were his own children, making sure they at least had food in their bellies. He'd grabbed his bowl, turning to sit and enjoy a warm meal, when he saw her.

He knew.

Somehow, he just knew that they were the same, and so he sat next to her, silently staring ahead as he ate. Finally, when every morsel had vanished and there was nothing more to lick from the sides, he pointed to himself and, in a stoic tone, introduced himself.

"Min-Kyung." he said simply.

She stared, confused at the stranger before realizing that it was his name. Understanding dawned on her features briefly, and she placed a hand above her heart.

"Estelle." her simple answer rang out in the hollow cafeteria.

***************

Little by little, she began to learn of his language. He spoke a lot in his sleep, and sometimes to her, even knowing that she didn't understand his words. Bit by bit, she absorbed it, connecting his body language to the words. Even though she didn't know what he spoke about, it was comforting to have someone to talk to. After all, both had been overlooked by the rest of the world. She resolved to stay close to him, even if they were kicked out. Because they were the same, she reasoned.

Because both needed the other.

As the months passed, and it seemed that they weren't going to be cast out after all, she finally said her first Korean word.

"Safe."

At that moment, he knew he'd have someone to talk to at last. So he taught her...all the words he knew, every phrase and euphemism of his home tongue. It took a long time, a very long time, before he could actually hold a conversation with her. But when that time came, two years later, he'd not felt such joy since the days he still had a home. The first sentence they shared, the first solid words exchanged, were a promise.

"Let's stay together, no matter what."

And even though it seemed that they may not be able to fulfill that promise, might die or be abandoned, they stuck close to one another from that day on.

Because that was their place, by the other's side.

***************

It was another two years before he properly learned her language. Since he had taught her the speech of his homeland of Korea, she resolved to teach him her own.

"A pretty language." she called it. "A language suited to flowers and poetry, not a manly or strong one."

Still, he learned. He wanted to, so that she could feel more comfortable around him, so that they had something to share.

Because he trusted her, and she trusted him, too.

There were times when she would slip up while talking to him, mincing French and Korean into a bizarre stew of gibberish when she got excited about something. She'd blush and slap a hand to her mouth, ashamed of her foul-up. But he'd just laugh, and called it cute. He didn't want her to feel ashamed. They were friends, after all.

****************

Finally, after three more years in that place of stone walls and dusty floors, the Order decided that they would keep them. Even knowing that they were not keepers of Innocence, the Order would have them. There were other ways they could help, they were told. They could become Finders, or at least begin training to do so. It was dangerous, they said. Thankless and tiring and deadly. Immediately, both agreed.

This was their calling.

Neither had the strength to fight before, when they'd been robbed of their homes and loved ones. Neither even knew what an Akuma was at that point. Only now, only after they had learned the speech of the others, did they know that the Akuma were universal. There were other words, too. Noah. Earl. These words didn't matter to them, though. All that mattered was that now, they had something to protect, and could protect that with all of their strength.

They could protect one another, as comrades and friends.

And so they became Finders, wearers of white to guide the wearers of black, those Exorcists. As they had been told, it was hard. There were so many times when she almost died, or when he got lost on his own. Yet somehow, they always found each other. Even when they got separated by missions away from the other, they always met in the end.

They didn't have to fight all the time. There were moments when they could just sit in the cafeteria like they always used to, listening to the echoes of their words in the wide chamber. She whispers to him in French, secret things and promises of times when they will meet again. He says the same things to her, and they laugh as they sit shoulder-to-shoulder, just whiling away the hours.

******************

They know.

Even without being told directly, they know that they are expendable. They are not precious like the wearers of black. Indeed, one of the wearers of black views himself as superior to them. All they can do is support, he says. Yet, where would the Exorcists be, if not for that support? They make sure all transportation arrangements are set, they scope out areas around the world, hoping for a whisper of the Innocence. They never ask for anything more. All they can do is make sure the way is set for the Exorcists. Yet, they never complain or take offense when they are told of their place.

Because as long as they have one another, it will all be fine.

Even knowing that they will never be remembered, never recognized, never written in the tracts of the Bookman, they fight on. They long for the day when no child will ever have to say goodbye to their homeland or family. So with battered frames and shattered spirits, they take each mission in stride, doing all they can to survive another day so that they can see each other again. They may not carry Innocence, but they too, can do their part. It is a war, they know. A war that they must survive.

Because in the years since they met, the pair has fallen in love. .

And so, knowing the weight of their mission, the small amount of recognition they will receive for their efforts, and the danger they are in simply for existing, they walk on. They walk on in the hope that the words "Akuma," "Earl," and "Noah" will be forgotten to history. They walk on in the hope that at least someone will remember them. But, even in the solitude that comes on long missions apart, they know that they will be remembered.

Estelle will remember him. And Min-Kyung will remember her.

They are Finders, and this is their place.

~The End.~

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There you have it. I don't think I've ever written anything so...sad.

I'm not really sure what I hoped to accomplish with this story, but I hope at least some of you enjoyed this glimpse into the hearts of two Finders. Thank you for reading.