Castle Grey

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Chapter 1

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For a man who hunted monsters on a regular basis, the orders to raid Castle Grey disinterested Kanda. The duffle bag over his shoulder still carried the supplies from his last mission. Coupled with the katana at his hip, he could leave at any time. He hovered at the door and waited for a moment in case that wasn't all Komui wanted from him. The schematics of the train times and travel fares unfolded in his head. If he left soon, Kanda could catch the next one.

"Don't go now." Komui stared aghast at him. "I don't expect you to fight Akuma back to back like this. Wait a day, at least."

That made no sense coming from the man who issued the order as soon as he returned. Kanda huffed at him. "Why should I?" He scowled out at the room in general. "It won't take long. I'll be back by dark." With anyone one else that would have ended the discussion. Kanda sensed he had more to say and made a sound of complaint deep from his throat.

"I've sent people there before." Komui said. His fingers formed a temple on the desk which he perched his chin on. "Good exorcists."

A dent formed in Kanda's forehead. "So?" He half shrugged.

Komui massaged the bridge of his noise, forcing his glasses upward. "No one's ever come back from Castle Grey."

A chill passed through his body, not out of fear, but as if the name meant something to him. Kanda dismissed it and the sudden concern in Komui's eyes. For someone considered a genius, he misinterpreted a lot. Fighting didn't bother Kanda and he knew he wouldn't die. Kanda didn't bother to protest because getting through to him had become Komui and his Lenalee's pet project these last few months and he knew Komui wouldn't believe him.

"So?" Kanda asked again and strode away, not expecting an answer.

The chair fell behind Komui as he sprung up. "Hey, hold on. There's something else."

Kanda waited in the doorway with his hand around the knob. "What?" He asked and Komui had every ounce of his attention and the full force of his stare. The master of the castle piqued his curiosity but Komui's Intel hadn't mentioned anything more detailed than it being powerful. Kanda doubted anything's strength until he compared it against his own.

Komui pressed his lips into a line as if reminding himself to show Kanda his stern side. "There's too much Akuma activity around the castle to go in alone. Take Lavi along—and that's not a suggestion."

He grimaced. The concept or working with anyone frustrated him, but Lavi especially. No one else expected Kanda to be conversational. "He thinks we're friends." Kanda complained and his face scrunched up at the implication of having them. Komui send him a withering look that warned against asking for another partner. And maybe a little insulted on Lavi's behalf.

Kanda crossed his arms. "Whatever." He said and didn't mention the part about Lavi that unsettled him the most. The chattiness he tolerated in degrees, but Lavi inferred his thoughts and could predict his reactions before he did. Kanda clenched his teeth at the idea of being studied. "But one of us won't be coming back."

This time Komui didn't stop him from leaving. Kanda's boots tacked against the tiled floor. After a second he decided it was his uniform and he wasn't stomping. He glared at the sound of other people's voices. The research staff, a bunch of maintenance workers, but he couldn't find a red headed exorcist anywhere. These people Kanda didn't recognize parted to let him pass. It wasn't awe in their gazes when they looked at him or appreciation, but they let him though all the same.

He thought about missing the train and clenched his fist hard enough to leave angry crescents in his palm. How long until the Akuma moved on from Castle Grey and into a town? Kanda's patience with Lavi wasn't great to begin with. He paced around the hallway next to the room Lavi shared with Bookman. Kanda already shoved the door open when no one answered. He found stacks of books but no people inside.

Hours ticked by and Kanda seethed until he contemplated chocking Lavi to death. The last train going anywhere had already left for the night. He counted to forty-six in his head—which was how long it took to stop feeling murderous.

Kanda grudgingly went to the cafeteria because he wouldn't get anything else productive done today. He found him in the back swapping stories with Chaoji. Lavi's face brightened when he noticed Kanda striding toward him. He sprung up and reached to pat Kanda's shoulder, but at the last second, flinched and drew back. Kanda advanced and Lavi kept stepping backward until he hit wall.

"Is something up, Yuu?" Lavi asked and he attempted to smile. "You seem agitated. I mean, more than usual."

From the moment he focused his attention to Kanda, the swordsmen felt himself being analyzed. Bookman claimed to have an infallible memory and maybe Lavi did too. They stared at each other and Kanda searched for his fear, but there was none. As if Lavi didn't think he was capable of beating the shit out of him.

Kanda clenched his teeth and fisted Lavi's shirt to his throat. "The mission. Castle Grey. Where were you?" If Lavi needed more than that to understand, Kanda really might kill him.

"I'm not sure what you're—" Lavi began.

"I will hit you." Kanda informed him. He scowled at the sudden hush though the cafeteria and he wanted to turn around and demand that everyone go back to eating. None of this involved them.

A dent appeared in Lavi's forehead and he stopped trying to unclench Kanda's fists from his shirt. "Killing the monster in the castle?" Lavi's sudden comprehension annoyed Kanda, but he nodded. "Komui debriefed me a few hours ago, but he said you just returned from a mission and not to bother you."

Kanda released Lavi and wished he had something to snap in two. The fact that Komui genuinely cared about him made it even more irritating. He exhaled slowly and noticed Lavi de-wrinkling his long-sleeved shirt out of his peripheral vision. "He could have told me that." For a moment Kanda considered apologizing, but instead he kept speaking because Lavi always pestered him to talk more. Not complaining about Kanda almost beating him up earned Lavi a few sentences. "There's nothing more soul-decaying than free time at the Order. He should understand that."

"Try analyzing great literature with Panda." Lavi grinned at him and Kanda regretted speaking almost instantly. Nothing about what he said or what just happened made smiling socially acceptable. Lavi curved his arm around Kanda's shoulder.

The exorcists eating dinner eyed them harder than before. The urge to flip Lavi over the table became a substantial fantasy until he muttered, "Let's go to the castle right now. Why wait?"

"How?" Kanda narrowed his eyes, but didn't contradict him. Whatever Lavi meant, it reeked of defying the authority over both their heads. A short-lived smirk crossed Kanda's features. He touched the katana at his hip to confirm he could leave at any moment and Lavi nodded. He hitch-hiker-thumbed the back door and tilted his head toward it.

Kanda followed him outside, but he didn't understand until Lavi pulled out his hammer. The flourish he waved it around with implied Lavi was genuinely proud of himself.

"I would rather walk." Kanda deadpanned.

Lavi scoffed. "It's forty-seven miles."

"So?"

Most people flinched when Kanda stared at them that way. Lavi grinned and held out his innocence for him to grasp. If Kanda didn't acknowledge his attempts at conversation, he didn't mind having Lavi around as much. Or so Kanda thought until he caught him staring again. For a second it seemed like Lavi wanted to ask him something, but he bit his lip and glanced sideways.

"Sorry, it's nothing." At least Lavi managed to look sheepish.

He altered the angle of his hammer and deliberated on the position for a second. "Alright, extend." The handle of Lavi's innocence struck against the ground and boosted them a hundred feet in the air. Kanda's knuckles went white with the force he gripped the handle. They both hung, feet dangling. The hammer zoomed up at a faster and faster velocity with only Lavi's shouting to control it.

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They crashed in the forest and brought a quarter of a tree down with them. Kanda grimaced as he felt twigs pressing against his scalp. He rolled off a particularly pointy tree branch and assessed his arms and legs for injuries. Mugen hadn't even jarred from its sheath, but his uniform definitely needed wrung out. Kanda dusted off his overcoat and glanced around. He searched for a landmark or a sign they were in the right place through the dark.

A few feet away, Lavi grumbled too much to be seriously injured. "That went so much better in my head." He confessed. His hammer became a more manageable size and he crawled out of the crater they created.

Lavi stood beside Kanda and managed to look contrite. "Where's the castle?" He wondered.

Kanda had to agree. He strode forward and scowled at the burst of malicious presence he sensed. Kanda and Lavi exchanged glances and then he unsheathed his katana. "Akuma"

Maybe Lavi dropped them close to Castle Grey after all. The feeling of being watched didn't disappear, but nothing ambushed them. Kanda experimented by taking a few steps into the woods with his hand off Mugen. The Akuma still didn't attack. Kanda shrugged and strode forward. He couldn't control his enemies, but he knew he wasn't leaving until he killed the master of Castle Grey.

Lavi grimaced at him, but he followed. The circumstances—it being night, surround by enemies, out of touch with any reinforcements—should have made Lavi less chatty. "Earlier, coming back from that last mission, didn't you have a sprained ankle?" Lavi asked, but Kanda sensed more to the question and halted.

Kanda sent him a sideways glance, but he knew Lavi noticed as much or maybe more than he did on the field. Talking wasn't that much of a distraction for either of them. He pressed his lips into a line. Even Komui hadn't noticed that he got injured during that last mission. Or maybe he had and that's why he tried to keep Kanda from this one. "I heal fast." Kanda said in a tone of voice that warned against any more questions.

Still, he kept talking.

"Yeah, I've noticed." Lavi scratched his cheek and ignored Kanda's glower. "It's only been a few hours." His voice grew speculative. "But that seems to be normal with you." Lavi pressed his index knuckle to his lip. The overwhelming sensation of being a research project overcame Kanda. He didn't even remember coming across Lavi earlier.

A moment past before Kanda understood. He lunged at Lavi and speared him into the nearest tree trunk. "You little shit." He wished an Akuma would come out so he could tear something to pieces. "You fucking liar." Kanda hissed and this time Lavi flinched. He avoided his gaze and that's all Kanda needed to know that he guessed right. "Komui never said anything about me needing rest, did he? That was you trying to get data on me." As if Kanda's restorative abilities were any of his business. Disgust balled in his throat as he thought about how he received that power in the first place.

Kanda glared at him when he didn't answer. Silence usually equaled guilt. "I should have followed my instincts." He pushed away from Lavi. Being that close to a liar repulsed him.

Lavi looked taken aback. "You suspected that I was lying?" He asked and pushed a hand though his hair. The regret in his voice only pissed Kanda off more.

"No, I meant my instincts to hit you." Kanda scowled and glanced down at his fist. He still might.

If Lavi valued his face, he wouldn't have started talking again. The red head bit his lip, "I wasn't experimenting on how long it would take your body to heal." He said and Kanda scoffed at him. If this wasn't a mission he would have strangled him already. "I didn't." Lavi protested and he made eye contact with him again for the first time. "It wasn't about that, I swear."

"So you're just lazy then." Kanda's face contorted into a sneer. He wondered why they were still talking.

A dent appeared between Lavi's eyebrows. He struggled to keep his air of nonchalance. "I avoided you because I thought would be exhausted mentally, if not physically. That part wasn't a lie." He said and managed to look sheepish. "I consider you my friend and I didn't want you to get hurt. But later, when you were about to hit me in the cafeteria" Lavi skewed his lips and Kanda glanced away, "you seemed fully recharged." He shrugged and managed a smile. "So I went with it."

The idea that Kanda needed coddled was so ludicrous he almost laughed. "That's retarded." He folded his arms and tried to comprehend what Lavi meant by friendship. And why he thought that made lying to him acceptable.

"Well, I just recently figured out that fighting makes you happy." Lavi fiddled with his hoop earring and Kanda scoffed. "Excuse me for treating you like a normal person, now I know."

Lavi had insisted they were friends for a long time and it bothered Kanda because he could tell he meant it. Either Lavi had more trouble reading people than he thought or Kanda had somehow led him to believe he wanted friends. "Whatever." Kanda said and huffed. He decided he didn't care anymore. "I'm still thinking about hitting you.

"Cause you know I love it when you take charge and get all domineering, right?" Lavi said and Kanda stared at him until he held his palms out in surrender. "That was a joke. Sorry."

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A stone tower appeared above the tree tops and the atmosphere thickened with the presence of Akuma. Kanda tightened his grip on Mugen. The enemies he sensed probably guarded Castle Grey. That meant a high level Akuma lived inside. The air felt pungent with loathing and Kanda wondered if it was directed at him or if Akuma just exuded hatred in general. In just a few seconds, a dozen of them surrounded Kanda and Lavi. He had never seen so many in one place and Lavi swore under his breath.

"No exorcist's ever come back from here alive." Kanda informed his partner in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Huh." Lavi muttered before the Akuma ambushed them.

About half of them piled on Kanda and he lost track of Lavi almost immediately. He hacked the weak Akuma to pieces and drudged toward the castle while avoiding the persistent bullet shots of the ones pursuing him.

He trusted that Lavi avoided dying just the same and felt a flicker of dissatisfaction at the idea of him getting killed. Kanda couldn't waste time tracking him down though. Killing the master of the castle would disperse the Akuma nesting outside faster anyway. With Kanda's speed, he doubted it would take long to hunt him down.

Castle Grey was suddenly in front of him.

Built with medieval stone blocks, its size made Kanda reconsider his estimate for finding and cutting down the master of the castle. He reached the lion knocker on the door and spun around. The Akuma sprung away from him and lunged backward into the trees. They wouldn't approach the door and left a wide berth between themselves and castle. That didn't keep them from watching him though. Their yellow eyes gleamed in the dark. Kanda tossed his hair from his shoulder, turned, and kicked the door open. He didn't have time to waste.

Past the threshold he caught sight of a marble floor and a grand staircase. He scoffed at whatever drove Akuma to mimic the lifestyles of actual people and strode inside. Kanda checked to make sure nothing followed behind him and then he investigated further. The cobwebbed furniture and scent of mold made him crinkle his noise. He didn't notice the door disappear after he stepped inside or the castle seal itself off from the outside and vanish.

Kanda still expected Lavi to join him so they could each investigate a wing of the castle and cover more ground.

The muffled song of piano music reached his ears and Kanda knit his eyebrows. Komui didn't mention anything about civilians here. The pianist played a rapid-fire flourish of bitter notes. It sounded like an absolutely crazy person trying to infuse their soul into the keys. He had the sudden overwhelming sensation that he didn't belong in this place. That it was less of a castle and more of a tomb.

Kanda felt his throat seal up, but above all else, he wanted to know who was playing the music. It couldn't be an Akuma, but he didn't believe it was a human either. The personified shrill of either genius or madness floated through the halls.

A young girl narrowed her eyes in the shadows. Until that moment Kanda hadn't sensed anyone with him. He pointed his katana at her and her smile grew wider. Kanda found himself searching for fangs in her impossibly broad grin. Her skin reflected a grey color and she wore a frilly skirt that struck out in every direction.

"He's been waiting for you." The girl fussed with her clothing and pouted when he didn't immediately respond. She repositioned her hands on her hips. "Aren't you here to see the master of the castle? It's not like you're leaving here any time soon, but still." She had the look of someone full of secrets she wouldn't tell.

Kanda clenched his teeth. "What the hell are you?" He didn't trust the way she looked at him. Like she could gobble him up at any moment she chose.

"I'm human. We're all humans here." She snickered, but her yellow eyes reassessed him as if she might revoke Kanda from those ranks. "Let's not keep him waiting." She took off in a sprint up the stairs toward the rapid stroke of piano keys and Kanda chased after her. The girl disappeared into the wall. She phased though it and left him in front of the room where the music sounded loudest.

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Author's Notes

1. Allen/Neah will debut in the next chapter. Also, Tyki.

2. This story is Yullen. As for side pairings, Lavi has a complicated relationship with Tyki and Road is her usual flirtatious self, but Kanda and Allen's relationship has center stage.

3. This is my first D. Gray-Man fanfiction and it's scary as hell to post this. Any feedback is appreciated.