Prologue

In the Beginning

I opened my eyes to the sound of pounding on my door. I groggily sat up with a creak of my tired bones. Yesterday had included a lot of running; long story short, I was once again sticking my nose where it was not permitted.

"What could you possibly want at this hour?" I mumbled loud enough for them to hear, throwing the blankets away from my small frame. I was being scorned and confined to my room as punishment. I knew there were men standing guard, but none of them needed to report to me for I had no authority in this matter. If it were my choice I would have sent them away a long time ago.

Unfortunately it wasn't my choice. It never was.

"We need you in the Front Hall ASAP!" One of the anxious finders called in a panicked tone. I rolled my eyes, finders. How stupid can they get? They are supposed to be brave, they are supposed to take care of us Exorcists even. But, nowadays, it's the other way around. They just don't make them like they use to.

I suddenly remembered that the Finder was still there and I had made no effort to respond to his call. I heard him shuffle awkwardly on the other side of the door. My irritation still just as prominent as it had been previously, I walked over to the heavy wooden door and opened it. After a strange period of silence, my opening the door suddenly seemed to surprise the young man greatly.

The nerve of Komui! I scoffed in disbelief as I saw the boy.

Sending such a young amateur like him to come and get me! He should know very well by now that the skittish ones are the ones who incur my wrath more frequently than not.

Alright, I guess I'll take back the young tidbit. I was shorter than him after all— and I was probably younger at that— but still! I continued with my internal spat, especially hissy at the fact that this particular finder looked a bit too innocent to be in this line of heroic work. The way he grew flustered as he took in my attire, be it my pissed off expression or the pair of striped tights and exaggeratedly large shirt that made up the entirety of my attire, made me roll my eyes as I spoke.

"What's up?"

His eyes ceased in their persistence to avoid mine as he cleared his throat and composed himself, I found my eyebrows raising in intrigue. So he can handle his terrors. He began to speak in a calm yet poised voice.

I nodded in approval, one at what he was saying and also now that I understood how he became a finder. Maybe they aren't all bad. I nearly laughed at this thought— no, they're all pretty bad.

"…There will be a new Exorcist coming in about an hour. Komui said you knew the drill," he concluded.

I hummed in agreement as I turned to the hooks to my right to retrieve the cloak that I was required to wear in event that involved my person leaving the walls.

"Then I shall take my leave." He threw out as according to proper procedure. I noted in my mind that he wasn't nearly as bad as I had first expected. I tried to remember which file I had read had him in it. He has something about him that seemed important. Then it hit me.

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Whitt," I called back softly. If they didn't know any better some might call it nicely.

His eyes widened in surprise as he turned back to listen to me. I smirked smugly. Just because I don't agree with them being finders, didn't mean I didn't pay attention to them. In my spare time I've read all of their files and have taken it upon myself to memorize most if not all of the important ones.

His profile: Caleb Whitt. Age 21. Finder Class: C. Rank 2 (Meaning second in command of that division). Stands at 6'1" and weighs 190 lbs. Total of 638 missions recorded.

My profile: Elizabeth X. Age 10. Exorcist. Stands at 4'9" weighs 90 lbs. Total of 0 missions recorded.

That's right. None. Zip. Absolutely not. Stupid Order won't allow me to exceed the perimeter of this little island we find ourselves upon.

I smiled at the finder slightly, weakly even (considering my thoughts). He smiled back happily, glad that the rumors about me weren't true. I let him believe whatever he wanted for nearly everything said about me is true, be it the worst of the worst or the worst of the best. At least, that's what if portray them to be, only a select few know of otherwise.

As I went back into my room, I thought of new exorcists. Of my own experiences with being a new one, what it was like being a new one before Komui's time as the head of this division. This led my mind back to the time I had visited Hevlaska— a ritual all exorcists must go through— when the selection process was still going through for the division leader and the Head's of the Order, who feared Innocence greatly, still ruled with an iron fist.

I stood on the elevator leading down to the basement of the order, it wasn't much of a basement besides the fact that it rested beneath the surface of the earth, buried deep as if it were some dark secret. Which it was. It was also the most important room out of the entire order.

The Black Order's map played behind my eyelids. Eleven floors total: Six floors of hallways that consist of the boring brown doors that are all of our bedrooms; one floor is the cafeteria; another is the basement which is the Innocent Holder's room, alongside the Surpassors; one floor is the training room; and the final two rooms are the Science Lab and the Science Workroom which were off limits to all but the ones with security clearance. This did not including me— granted, that's never stopped me before.

The floating platform jerked to a stop as we reached our destination. I nearly fell, with my wrists and ankles shackled with heavy metal chains being a major cause of that. Of course the men stood completely sturdy, they wouldn't have been selected to escort the dangerous Exorcist Elizabeth X if they were enough of bumbling idiots as to fall when faced with an elevator.

We climbed off and walked along the bridge to where we would meet Hevlaska, the Innocence Holder. The metal of my cuffs rattled as my feet shuffled forward and my expression remained stoic despite my fear.

Innocence is a weapon given to us: the Apostles of God, also known as Accommodators, or even just plain Exorcists to the common public. We are selected by the Innocence to fight the Millennium Earl and his weapons, the Akuma. Or, at least, most of us fight them. Only the ones that can be trusted, and it takes a lot to gain even a margin of the Head's trust— mostly just prostrating yourself before them as if you are a sacrificial lamb.

Hevlaska appeared before us, steeling me away from my fearsome thoughts and allowing the terror I was feeling internally to cross my face before ebbing away altogether.

She's truly a beauty, so gorgeous that it's become fact that she intimidates me more so than anything I've ever faced before. She's by far the scariest thing I've ever encountered. But I guess that comes with being the holder of innocence. The stuff is scary! I've seen it attack its own wielder before through cracks in doors and screams that have directed me towards said doors.

Hevlaska reached out to me, a good number of her ghastly tentacles wrapping their way around my thin body before drawing me close. I heard the whispers of the Innocence within her almost immediately, and they soothed me as she tightened her grip as to not drop me. She placed her forehead to mine and our innocence reacted to one another. But it wasn't a normal reaction, it actually hurt, a lot.

Hevlaska dropped me suddenly, her tentacles flying to her head as if she were in pain. I felt myself fall, but it was in slow motion. My temples throbbed, covering the sounds as the many men of the room called out to me. I didn't realize that the audience was so large. I recognized their words as demands to know what was happening, screaming at me for harming their precious Innocence Holder.

I almost felt guilty for causing her harm. I almost found myself concerned for the beast that had caused me this pain in the first place. But my own Innocence screeched at me, demanding that I worry about myself and not feel pity for those who intentionally try to harm me. I didn't quite understand where that voice was coming from, what it was talking about, but I didn't really pay much mind as I felt my body hit the floor, slamming against the metal that had previously seemed so far below. The wind was forced out of my lungs, blood spurting between my lips as my eyes flew wide in surprise. I would have screamed had I not been overtaken by the shifting of bones within myself and the lack of wind to scream on.

Suddenly the throbbing started to ebb away, blackness seeping into my senses and replacing it. The last thing I heard was Hevlaska screaming in my stead.

"SHE'S IT! HER INNOCENCE! THAT CHILD IS WHAT HE IS LOOKING FOR! SHE IS THE KEY! WE MUST PROTECT IT!"

I glanced at the clock that stood in the corner and nearly had a heart attack. I was really losing myself to my thoughts! I took off running down the halls that I now found that I knew very well.

I almost know what Hevlaska was talking about. I get that I'm not of the common Innocence users, an Equipment-Accommodator. Or even an exceptionally rare user, the Parasitic-Accommodator. I get that I am in my own category, something unlike any of the others, something that scares me and everyone around me, I am an Alloy-Accommodator.

The theory behind it is so complex that even our smartest scientists don't quite get it. But I suspect that I'll come to understand it better as my age grows and my experiences increase. One thing's for certain, however, something we've all come to accept, even if we can't even begin to comprehend it:

I am Innocence.