Here's the annoying, redundant disclaimer: I don't own D Gray Man! The dark-haired, green-eyed, hawti is my character!

Hope you enjoy this, my friends really think this is worth writing and sharing! So I is doing it! Yays!

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Yes, it is a nice day, Cross Marian thought to himself as the cool breeze seeped under his hair over his warm neck and down his shirt flushing out some over-collected body heat. It felt really good, nice days always feel this good. And only these sort of nice days exist on Spain's gorgeous shores. He could smell the food markets and the open flower shops upwind from where he walked by the decks as ships loaded and unloaded. Voices and laughter hummed in the air accompanied by the rushing bass of the ocean. Yes, it was simply such a nice day; a perfect beginning to the start of his mischievous endeavors. The smell of the grilled food and flowers faded as he took a direction that followed the shore a ways. There was bound to be a bar somewhere and only the best ones stood where there would be the most visitors. Plus, of course, where it was more popular, the more women sauntered in to greet the tourists. This was going to be such a great day that it would go on into the night.

He was practically skipping as he saw familiar lights in the distance. He would have to rent a room before going to the bar. Then the exciting part of the day could begin!

Or not.

The all too recognizable screeching and ripping noises came from behind him. Of course, he was alone and the Akuma knew it. Stupid things probably thought they had the advantage of numbers as he turned around to face them. He was not surprised to see so many Level Ones but superciliously began to count them. Around 50 wasn't bad at all; he could finish this in a heartbeat and get on with his "to-be" great day.

Cross reached into his holster and clasped the friendly curve of the beautiful handle; surprise. He twisted it out and had perfect aim when-

"Hold it!"

The finger flexed around the trigger hesitated and suddenly the Akuma began to explode in groups. His quick gold eyes caught the glances of what looked like shooting stars fly up and land into an area where a cluster of Akuma hovered and BOOM! He saw four more before the flock of demons was gone.

Wonderful, Cross thought as he shoved his disappointed silver companion back into the holster. It has to be someone from the Black Order that found him. It was obvious that whoever-it-was was an exorcist. He turned to run…

"You're welcome, old man."

Cross jolted angrily, confoundedly, annoyingly….Who dared to call him an old man? It didn't sound like anyone he knew and it didn't sound like anyone he owed money either. His bold curiosity kept him from leaping in the shadows to see who it was.

The smoke had almost completely dissipated and there, walking across the distance between them, was a young man strutting towards him like a superhero. He had straight dark hair and bright green eyes that sparkled proudly. His hair was long; his bangs hung in face and down the back of his neck. Like Allen's hair, he noted nastily, only a bit longer. Strangely, he wore normal clothes and carried a bow over his shoulder but he had no arrows with him. He definitely was an exorcist but he either didn't label himself as one or he had no idea the Black Order existed. Cross hoped for the later; he didn't keep tabs on all the newbie's the Black Order hired.

"Oh," the young man's face snapped into surprise once he was closer and could get a better look at him. He was most likely reacting to the obvious mistake he'd made calling him an old man. Cross must've had a disapproving look on his face because the youth retorted. "What's that look for? I just saved your life, man."

"I didn't need it." Cross growled back. He felt this horrible itch in his spine that came with the thought of hitting this snot-nosed kid.

The youth folded his arms, "Whatever, you would've been dead if you had stood there any longer like a bonsai tree."

"You should use your eyes," Cross snarled, "I had my gun drawn and was about to pull the trigger."

The boy snorted and rocked on his heels, "Hate to burst you're superman-ego but regular guns don't kill those things."

This idiot had no idea…

"What?" The young man looked warily at the dumbfounded hint on the red head's face.

"Do you know what an Exorcist is?" Cross knew he wouldn't have an answer but he had to clear this up for humanity's sake.

Now the boy was confused, "Why? Are you a preacher?"

Cross took a deep breath, "No, I'm simply asking if you know what they are."

The young man looked at him suspiciously, "Are you a Jehovah Witness?"

What?

"No, will you answer the question? All I need is a yes or no." Cross felt his fuse light and it was burning fast.

"Exorcists exercise demons, right?"

"Yes," Cross sighed internally and was about to say more when he interrupted.

"Yeah, I guess I know what they are; why?"

"You have what is called Innocence that has the ability to destroy Akuma."

The young man stood there for a moment trying to make sense of it all and Cross seized the moment to continue.

"Akuma are those weapons you just destroyed. The Millennium Earl makes those to kill human kind." Cross stared into the youth's green eyes to portray the seriousness of the matter to him. "Exorcists are the Chosen Ones of God to defeat them and stop the Earl's twisted plan to destroy the world."

"Wow," The boy's eyes widened and Cross smirked to see he had done well to enlighten him. "I just have one question though," The young man looked Cross in the face with wonder and anticipation then shuttered to a flat glare, "Are you kidding me?"

Cross grounded his teeth. Fine, if this sarcastic brat was going to be stupid and arrogant, he wasn't going to bother training him to be an Exorcist. He would just drop this opportunity like a dead egg out of a nest; it wasn't his problem. Without a word, Cross turned on his heel and walked off.

"Hey," the boy called after him and Cross grudgingly stopped, "I'd like a thank you for saving you're crazy a-! Hey!"

Cross shot a bullet at the kid's feet; cutting him off. "Beat it, brat! If you don't want to be an Exorcist and fight for a better cause other than your pride, it's not my issue as long as you're killing Akuma and not people." As Cross turned he let out a satisfied sigh through the smirk on his lips. The idiot with the dumb string toy deserved a scare. Surely he knew crazy old men can't shoot guns with that accuracy….

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Cross went into the hotel and rented a room, then to eliminate any chances of future embarrassment, he checked the room to be sure it was decent. He nodded in approval as his eyes scouted the main room. It was a cozy mid-sized area. The living space conjoined with the kitchen on the left. Then on the right, a door led to the master bedroom. The closet space was clean as well as the bathrooms so it was a well taken care of spot. And perfect for two.

The bar, luckily, was close to his rented living quarter. It was a convenient ten minute walk; Spain really knew how to pair its buildings. As well as the saloon, there were other restaurants as well so he could go elsewhere for breakfast if he chose. He had the perfect timing to this nice day; he'd arrived near sunset so the nocturnal were starting to stir. As well as his thirst for his drink.

He sat at the bar for a while and waited. It wasn't too long before he gathered some wanted attention from some hot girls nearby. He bought their drinks and they laughed for a good time. Now he had to pick which one he liked better; the ditsy long haired blonde or the sassy brunette with the nice legs.

"Hey, you over-dressed hobo!" Came a booming voice at the doorway. "We have some 'orders' to settle with you!"

Never mind…

So now that his night was cut short, he decided he would need rest anyway. Those stupid brokers chased him around a good while; he almost got lost. Oh well, he wasn't very much in the mood for any excitement anyway; he was ship-lagged.

/\/\/\

"Really?" the young man groaned, "but I have nowhere else to go. Is there someone who's supposed to leave tonight?"

"I'm sorry," The lady behind the counter shrugged, "this hotel is completely full."

The man thought for a moment as he stared at her. "Then could you tell me who's bunked alone? Maybe they're nice enough to let me sleep on the floor or something?"

As she thought, she wrung her hands together nervously. "Well, I suppose I could but don't expect any polite responses."

He slipped a sly smile at her, "No worries, I can be convincing."

The young man let out a sigh and headed for the next room on the list. Out of the four rooms he was given, three of them ended with: "heck no". It was sad to think that his orphan story didn't work. Even his favorite heart-wrenching story of looking for his long-lost uncle didn't faze those other three. If this one didn't work, he would have to go back to that park….with that jerk who claimed that bench under the streetlight to be his; that was the nicest one.

He took in one more breath, then knocked on the door. After a few moments, the door opened and he and the old man exchanged shocked expressions.

"YOU again?"

Cross glared at the impish Cretan and slammed the door. The young man stood there with a grimace; he should've known, they were heading in the same general direction. It should figure that the crazy religious old guy would take the last available room. Well, he'd already said 'hello' to this weirdo so it was either him or the jerk in the park.

"Sir, um, sorry to bother you but," he turned aside to bite his tongue, this was going to hurt his pride, "what you said to me….back at the docks," he groaned internally and sucked on his tongue for a moment to get rid of the blood. Was this really worth getting out of the park for? "Um, I believe you and I," he sighed and gave up; he just wanted a bed. "I want to be an Exorcists and fight those…balls with guns."

"Akuma," Cross corrected as he opened the door. "Why do you want to be an Exorcist?"

Rats, "Um," he scratched his head, "well, I've been told I'm an all-around good guy and saving people makes me feel good." He lightened up, finding the perfect story, "My parents were killed by those things and I remember that night clear as day. I regret not being able to do something so now that I'm bigger and stronger, I can save other kids from having the same fate as me. I want to be an Exorcist so I can say that I didn't watch from the sidelines like I did with my parents." That was so good he could hear the orchestra playing the perfect background song.

Cross stared at him flatly, "Right, you got anything else besides that cheese stick? I'm not a stupid old man born yesterday."

"What?" The young man balked, "Why don't you believe me? Do you do this to everyone that bears their soul at your feet?"

"It's not your soul unless there are tears. Besides that, you suck at acting. Now shove off, brat." SLAM!

Desperation out-howls wolves when it comes down to dirt and nails. The young man clawed at the door, "No wait, please, if you just give me a bed, pillow and blankets, I'll leave you alone! That's all I ask for is somewhere to rest my head!" He waited for sound leaning against the door. This was true hope steaming fresh out of a hot tea kettle of stress. He hadn't slept comfortably for months and with things piling up he felt it was the least he deserved so he could sort it all out.

"So what if I do,"

"Whoa!"

Cross had yanked open the door purposely knowing the boy was slumped against it. However, he caught himself on the door frame from plank flopping onto the floor.

"If I do take you in like a little lost pup, what's in it for me?"

The young man dropped all his fake efforts for hope, it wasn't going to go as planned but the little luxury would be worth it. Maybe if stayed with this guy, he wouldn't have to worry about being homeless again. He looked up at Cross with a guilty but shy smile, "A new apprentice?"

Cross smiled almost wickedly, "Good,"

/\/\/\/\

"Ahhh," he sighed happily as he plopped onto the couch. This was what those clouds in the sky felt like; soft, mushy, cozy, fuzzy, thick, fluffy, and freaking comfortable. This couch put that bench to shame; shame that you could only experience in Hell. That jerk could have the Hell-shameful bench all he greedily wants.

The lights in his vision went out when more soft things were thrown over his face. He didn't move but inhaled deep into the bottom of his lungs. "Blankets! They smell like flowers." He shoved them into his face and kicked his feet hanging over the arm of the couch. Actually, it was his legs performing the habitual jump of excitement but since there was no ground from which to leap, it looked like kicking.

Cross stared before asking, "How old are you?"

The young man was so happy the fact that the question was an insult flew over his head. He sat up, yanking the blankets into his lap and beamed at Cross as the static danced with his hair. "I'm 23."

Cross raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure?"

"Yep!" he flopped back down and shoved the blankets in his face again, "My birthday's next month!"

Cross ran a hand through his hair, this was going to be a pain, he could feel it. When he thought of this location being for two, he didn't count on sharing it with a boy. "So," he began tiredly as he sat down on the coffee table in front of the couch the boy was thoroughly enjoying. "Do you have a name?"

The young man shook out the blankets and laid them softly over his lean body before answering. "My name's Ayden. What's yours?"

"My name is General Cross, Marian but since I'm teaching you to be an Exorcist, you will address me as Master."

He blinked a few times and frowned behind the blankets. "Geez, even your name is religious?"

"Do you have something against it?" Cross threatened.

"No," He stared for a moment before his brows collided curiously, "You're a General?"

"I'll explain that in the morning." He sighed, he wasn't up for briefing tonight.

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Hope you liked it! Please R&R so I have reason to continue this story. I think you all would really like it. It's got quiet the twist!