A/N: D-Gray Man's so awesome! I am so ashamed to have started the series so late. I binge-watched the entire series and have read up the manga till the last chapter and I am so in loooveee with it!

And so, just like any fanfiction lover, I couldn't help but get Hoshino-sensei's characters into my cesspool of a brain and generate something crazy which is the following story. And before anyone asks, yes this story is going to be Yullen but the relationship development will take some time. I am also introducing an OC who...I dunno, read it to find out.

And the readers who follow my other fics-I will be updating ABYSS BREAK within a couple of weeks so stay tuned.

Reviews are always loved...

Read on!


USO NO MONOGATARI: A TALE OF LIES

CHAPTER 01: FIRST LIE

Allen Walker would never term Black Order as something normal—the general idea of normalcy did not include a Komurin hell-bent on chasing people in the dorm corridor. But still, for once, lives were not in danger because of some rotund man in a top hat. For once, people slept in peace knowing full well that when they will wake up, the biggest worry would be deciding what to have for breakfast.

Temporary, but Allen welcomed the peace.

He could hear the faint sounds of destruction emanate from the distant Science Section; since yesterday, Komurin number god-knows-what had been under the impression that Reever had "impure" thoughts regarding Lenalee. And so, the robot had been chasing the scientist at every opportunity it could get. Allen could have destroyed the rogue robot with one sweep of his Innocence but currently he was having too much fun to do that.

At present, he was in the cafeteria, enjoying one of the many mid-day snacks Jerry specially made for him. A mac-n-cheese bowl washed down with apple juice.

Allen knew that as an exorcist, it was his duty to see that humans were always on the winning side in this war—and he liked his job. Freeing souls trapped by the Millennium Earl gave him a pleasure which perhaps no luxury in the entire world could attempt to endeavour. But all said and done, he too needed a change of pace at times. And so, when the Earl suddenly disappeared off the map along with his Noah cronies, he didn't complain. Akuma attacks were becoming less and less frequent, and even his "shadow" was quieter than usual. This peace was fleeting, but Allen was determined to enjoy it.

But Fate as usual had other ideas.

After licking off the last bit of cheese from the bowl, Allen debated mentally over his next course of action. He could always visit the library—a good book and a quiet afternoon was indeed a luxury he could enjoy. Or he could visit the training hall for a bit of exercise. He frowned at the second option.

If he would be there, he would be having much more than a bit of exercise.

No, library was better.

He waved at Jerry and was about to exit the cafeteria when he bumped into Lavi.

"Hi Lavi," Allen greeted.

"Thank God I found you, Allen," Lavi said, huffing, as he clutched a stitch on his side. "Komui, now!"

Before Allen could figure out what was happening, his arm was being dragged by Lavi as they wended their way to the chief's office.

They found the chief and Lenalee waiting for them in the office, the former wearing a rather uncharacteristic serious look on his face. Even Lenalee looked paler than usual.

"Close the door, Lavi. And bolt it too—I can't afford this to be overheard by anyone," Komui said heavily, sitting on his usual chair. Even the desk was clean.

Allen could feel the tension in the air.

After the three of them had settled down on the chair opposite Komui's desk, the chief began speaking.

"We have found the Heart."

To say that pin-drop silence greeted his words would have been laughable—Allen could actually feel the quiet. He couldn't even hear the thumping of his heart.

"Wh-who?" Lavi managed to stammer. Lenalee was clutching her skirt tightly, knuckles whitening with pressure. Allen swallowed, readying himself to digest the inevitable.

Me? Or Lenalee? Who's going to be?

Komui adjusted his glasses before answering.

"It's neither Allen, nor Lenalee," he said, relief evident in his voice though his eyes still held that serious look.

Allen saw Lenalee's fingers relax somewhat; and his heart started thumping again. He felt a weight lift off his shoulders—he never realised how weighed down he had been.

"It's Shiraihime Kanzaki."

It was Lavi's turn to gasp, his only eye round with horror.

"No," he whispered softly, sounding suddenly weak.

Allen looked at him, puzzled. Did Lavi know this person?

"You three have a mission; go to Edo and retrieve Miss Shiraihime Kanzaki. The dossier has the details," Komui continued, handing Allen a folder. He turned to Lavi, his eyes softening slightly.

"It goes without saying, Lavi—Kanda must not know about this mission."

*/*/

"Who's Shiraihime Kanzaki?"

The trio were seated in Lenalee's room, a location impossible by anyone—exorcist or otherwise—to spy eavesdrop on. Allen was seated on the desk, his legs a couple of inches off the floor which were currently swinging to-and-fro. Lavi was straddling the back of the only chair in the room while Lenalee was seated cross-legged on the bed. Allen stared firmly at the apprentice Bookman, his grey eyes narrowing.

Lavi looked back at him, then to Lenalee who too was glaring with all strength she could muster. Her short hair now lent her an intimidating aura, which now coupled with a fierce look seemed quite dangerous at the moment. Lavi gulped as he realised that escape was no longer an option.

"I guess you know about the Second Exorcist Program and Alma, right?" he sighed resignedly.

Allen nodded; he wouldn't forget about that in a hurry.

"This was long before I joined the Black Order as an exorcist, or even Kanda, for that matter. After Alma went missing, Kanda was devastated. He was the only friend, confidante, companion he had—so you can very well imagine his pain. Old Panda met him during a routine visit and decided that Kanda was too mopey for his own good. So he introduced him to a girl the Order had taken in a few months ago. Even for a kid, she was damn pretty."

"Kanzaki?" Allen guessed.

Lavi nodded.

"She was nice, kind of playful and happy kind. Yeah, she liked playing in the grounds...and she liked hanging around Panda, listening to all the old stories and legends. I wasn't involved with the Order much so I lived more or less in the library. I still tried to talk to Kanda, and I could see Shiraihime too attempt the same but Kanda had the social skills of a door-knob, so things weren't fun at first. But slowly, he warmed up to her and was quite friendly with her. She could wield the katana pretty effectively—I guess that's how they both connected initially. At that time, I thought she was brought in because she was an orphan—I was under the impression that someone from the Order had adopted her and kept her close. "

Lavi's face clouded over.

"It was that git Levellier who had brought her in. I was sneaking into the archives one night when I heard Komui and Levellier arguing—apparently, Shiraihime had a very high sync-rate, off-the-charts high. But her Innocence wasn't a tangible one—neither a Crystal type, nor Equip, not even Parasitic. Levellier wanted to experiment on her, wanted to see whether she could be useful." Lavi spat out the last word with distaste before continuing.

"She...she was just a kid," he added softly, his green eye clouding over. "Two days later, we got the news that she had become too unstable for visitors—a month after, she was announced as dead."

A pin-drop silence followed his words. Allen was dumbstruck—he knew Levellier was no angel. But to do something like that? But did not Komui say to find Kanzaki?

"But isn't she dead?" Allen asked, slightly puzzled.

Lavi smiled sadly before answering.

"At first, everyone thought that. But a couple of weeks after that announcement, Panda told me the truth—Shiraihime had escaped. Komui had helped her, giving her false ID documents and everything. I don't know how but the Science guys came up with a suitable corpse to pass off as Shiraihime's," he said. "But we refrained from telling Kanda about it—knowing him, he would tear apart the world to find her."

Allen could feel eyes smart, and Lenalee's tears were already tracking down her cheeks.

"So Allen, you know now why Yuu cannot know about any of this," Lavi said, standing up. "Better rest up a bit, I've a funny feeling sleep's gonna be on the lesser side in the coming days."

*/*/

Yuu Kanda hated his first name—he wondered who had named him so in the first place. It was so goddamn girly. Now "Kanda" was fine enough...couldn't that work as his given name and be done with?

"Now now Yuu-kun, fill up the form," Tiedoll cajoled the exorcist, his eyes twinkling as usual. Kanda snorted under his breath as he continued to write. At eighteen, he was old enough to be living on his own—but Tiedoll wouldn't hear it. His residential address still had to be that of the old General's, nothing he did or said changed that. Though these days, it didn't matter much; the dorms were the only place where he rested these days. He wondered how his old room was.

He mentally swept away those thoughts and focused on the form.

Man, this is stupid.

As if the Vatican higher-ups actually cared how the exorcists fared. Or even read the feedback for the matter.

He had a feeling that this entire pile would end up as fuel in someone's fireplace in the coming winter.

He signed on the last dotted line and handed over the paper to the old man. Tiedoll patted Kanda's head in a fatherly fashion before taking his leave, ignoring the not-so-invisible shudder of the latter. Now that work was done, he was itching to go back to the training room.

His eyes fell on the calendar that hung on the wall opposite to the bed where he was currently seated. Today was May fifteenth.

Shiraihime Kanzaki's birthday.

A soft smile spread on his lips, a phenomenon which no one had witnessed till date. He slipped out a photograph from a hidden pocket in his jacket. Two people were there in the photograph—one with dark navy blue hair tied up in a ponytail and looking glum was obviously him. And next to him was a girl. Her jet-black hair was long, and the wind had blown it to the side. Her amber eyes were laughing as she tried to pinch Kanda's cheek, explaining why his cobalt eyes had an irritated look. But that tell-tale blush on his cheeks told a completely different story to the one who could see.

And Kanda at present could see it quite well.

She was as pale as that beansprout, but the laughter had made her face a bit pink, her rose-pink lips were parted slightly, the corners turned up.

That rabbit, for once, had done a good job with the photograph.

He slipped it back in, a soft sigh escaping his lips. He missed Kanzaki.

"Why did you leave, Kanzaki?" he whispered to himself, uncharacteristically trembling.

"Bakanda! That's what I will call you!" Kanzaki giggled, sticking her tongue out. Kanda tried to jump up the hillock on whose top the girl was standing but he slipped on the dewy grass, landing in a heap at the bottom. Kanzaki doubled up at the sight, her tinkling laughter adding to the music of the quiet summer morning.

Kanda sat up right, a small grudging smile on his fourteen-year-old face. He loved it when she smiled, it was as if the gods themselves descended from the heavens. Before they could enjoy the moment more, two officials from the Law Enforcement division walked up to her, their grim faces telling more than their crisp, monotone voices.

"Sir Levellier requests your presence in his office, Lady Kanzaki," one of them bowed. Kanda hated that man and the two spots he had on his forehead. He often fantasized using Mugen to join the dots but Kanzaki would give him the "glare" whenever he mentioned it within her earshot. Though he refrained from voicing it now, that did not mean he gave up it.

Kanda shook his head, trying to get the memories out of his head; going down that road never ended well for him.

He stood up, took Mugen from its stand and went out of his dorm, planning to tire himself to dreamless sleep.

Stupid Kanda Bakanda

Tried to climb a wall

Stupid Kanda Bakanda

Had a great fall

People tried to help

But he did his scowl

He stood up to yelp

And it was a big foul!

By the time he reached his training room, the finder who passed by him could almost swear that those usually emotionless cobalt eyes were shining with overwhelming emotion. But he shook his head before hurrying away to his destination—no way the stoic exorcist would be crying now, would he?

*/*/


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