Summary: Let us focus on Tiedoll's disciples for a change. There's the notorious Kanda, the soccer-fanatic Daisya and the comparatively decent (though blind) Marie. Add to that a brand new female exorcist. Will she survive under Kanda's withering glare? We'll see. OCfic- Possibly future KandaOC.

Disclaimer: I own my OC and this here story. The rest belongs to Hoshino.

The time setting of this story is approximately 8 months before Allen Walker enters the Order.

Another Requiem

I: Good News

Yes, Switzerland was absolutely beautiful at this time of year- green hills as far as the eye could see, beautiful snow-capped mountains all around, and wild flowers blooming in all their colorful glory- but none of this managed to cheer him up.

Then again, Kanda was never exactly cheerful to begin with. His expression didn't change in sunshine or rain, and the prospect of meeting his all-too-friendly general actually added an extra angle to his already furrowed eyebrows.

Happy woodland creatures stopped in their tracks and hurriedly retreated to safety at the sight of this mood-killing exorcist. Even the wild flowers seemed to droop, though that may have had something to do with the fact that he had carelessly stepped on them as he passed by.

For once there was no Finder to guide his way and/or tremble in his presence. Kanda had been about to return to headquarters after a mission when he had received a message from General Tiedoll, ordering him to come and meet him near Altdorf- supposedly a small village in the Central Alps. To get there was quite a bother, seeing that there were no train stations nearby.

Kanda had not become an exorcist just to go hiking all over Switzerland. Needless to say, he wasn't particularly pleased with the general's instructions. At least his next assignment was nearby.

Just as the disgruntled exorcist arrived at the top of another hill and gave an unsatisfied huff at the sight of, oh joy, more hills, something in his gut told him that someone was near. Sure enough, his eyes soon fixed upon a certain area of grass somewhere to his left.

An old man was perched on top of a flat boulder, leisurely sketching the scenery around him, no doubt. But what really caused Kanda's sharp eyes to twitch was the sight of the three figures sprawled on the grass around said boulder. Two of them were easily identified as Noise Marie and Daisya Barry, also disciples of General Tiedoll, but the third was unfamiliar.

Not only was this figure cloaked and hooded, but also partially obscured by the aforementioned Marie, who happened to be quite large. They all seemed to be enjoying a nice chat- either that or they were all napping. In any case, Kanda was not impressed.

2 months earlier…

The green hills of Appenzell were covered by a lining of trees that wove around and throughout the village. A small abbey inhabited the middle of the sunny valley, where most of the houses were gathered. The sound of children playing merrily could be heard over the occasional mooing of satisfied cows grazing nearby, and General Tiedoll found himself captured by this scenery as he attempted to replicate it on a piece of paper.

Just as he was sketching the little children, he looked up to see that they were all running towards the forest, squealing in delight. A figure on horseback had arrived, stopping just in time to avoid overrunning all the excited children. A delighted smile appeared on Tiedoll's face as he identified the figure to be a nun- the robes and veil made it rather obvious. It was wonderful to see a servant of God so loved by the village children.

A chorus of "Sister Eva! Sister Eva!" convinced the nun-in-training to get off her horse and be assaulted by hugs and kisses. She laughed at the all too enthusiastic welcome as she was literally dragged along towards the village. The scene was soon captured in Tiedoll's drawing.

"AIIEEEEE!!!!"

The bespectacled general hurriedly put away his drawing tools at the sound of a scream- followed by the unmistakable noise of an akuma. It came from the direction of the abbey. He hadn't expected anything to happen here- all those children!

"Alright kids, you know the drill! To the cellar!" someone was shouting as Tiedoll arrived in the center of the village. Sure enough, a level 1 akuma was wreaking havoc as the villagers took cover- most of them running into the abbey, while the rest locked themselves in their houses. A nun- presumably the one he had seen earlier- was ushering a group of children towards the abbey, but the akuma had already seen them. It looked like they weren't going to make it in time.

General Tiedoll had already pulled out his crucifix and chisel- but a curious sight stopped him from invocating his innocence. The nun-in-training, seeing that the akuma was targeting her and the children, held up what looked like some sort of pendant- and suddenly, a shield of light was formed as the akuma fired.

"What're you waiting for? Get in there!" she yelled before the dust clouds had time to settle, and the children were heard scurrying into the abbey. The shield of light was gone but in its stead, the young woman held a double-sided halberd which she practically rammed into the akuma that had approached within arms length.

It exploded a split second later, leaving behind a rather sad looking nun and several destroyed walls. She sighed. Head Sister Adelheid was definitely not going to be happy about her tattered robes and veil.

"And I didn't even have to do anything! Well done," came a voice from behind her, causing her to flinch in surprise. Luckily her weapon had returned to its original form, or she might have accidentally skewered someone.

"Eh? Who- what- how-" the young nun began at the sight of the old man smiling warmly. His expression did not match all the visible destruction around him. Was he some sort of architect, here to sap them off their money under the pretense of rebuilding their homes?

"May I ask what that is you are holding?" the man asked, pointing unnecessarily at her hand that was closed into a fist. Sister Eva blinked a few times, eyeing his cloak and what looked like his art supplies- he seemed pretty harmless. She unfolded her hand to reveal a small, round locket with a rather complicated Celtic knot design.

Of course he couldn't have witnessed this small object turning into a seven-foot-long (and rather heavy) medieval weapon. If others found out, they would think it was some sort of devilish magic- and the fact that she was a nun-in-training would only make things worse. This thought caused her to close her hand and hide it in her robes. The old man still had that gentle smile.

"I see," he said, just as the villagers began to emerge from their homes, and the flock of children burst from the abbey to run towards the young nun.

"Sister Eva, are you okay?"

"You're all dirty, are you hurt?"

"I was so scared! Weren't you?"

"Did you kill it? Did you kill it, Sister Eva?"

"Why do these monsters keep appearing?"

General Tiedoll raised his eyebrows at the last thing he heard from the otherwise incoherent babble of questions that Sister Eva was expected to answer. She nodded and shrugged several times, though it all got a bit confusing and she resorted to shushing them with a rather frightening glare.

"I don't know where these things are coming from- however," she smiled encouragingly at the scared little faces around her, "Know that as long as God is with us, we need not fear a thing."

General Tiedoll was faced with a slight dilemma. He was sure that this young woman would make a fine exorcist if trained properly- but what would happen to these poor children? Before he could think any further however, another nun appeared on the scene- this one a lot older.

"Sister Evangeline, look at you! That's the third robe you've ruined this month!" The younger nun cringed at the scolding that followed, and the children quickly dispersed, fearing the wrath of Head Sister Adelheid.

"Trust me Head Sister, I did not enjoy the explosion that caused this." Adelheid was about to reply to that when Tiedoll finally decided to step in. He had been ignored long enough.

"Excuse me Sisters, I have to ask- have these 'monsters' appeared before?"

"So they're called akuma, and only a certain group of people who call themselves exorcists can destroy them?"

Tea was being served to the bespectacled stranger in the Head Sister's office. Only Sister Adelheid and Eva were present, the other Sisters having been sent to help the villagers repair what damage was done.

"Yes," replied Tiedoll, "and Sister Eva seems to be one of them."

There was a moment of silence in which Sister Adelheid shot a half-hearted glare at the nun-in-training. Head Sister Adelheid had a strange way of showing her affection.

"That locket you have," the old man continued, "that is your innocence."

Sister Eva raised an eyebrow at this, seriously doubting that the small accessory in her hands could be the embodiment of her moral purity. If it was, it seemed awfully tiny…

It took a while to explain the whole ordeal, and by the end of it all, Sister Adelheid actually looked a bit worried. Then again, knowing that these monsters that had been appearing so often could cause people to die rather instantly was a bit unsettling, to say the least. The village of Appenzell had been very lucky indeed not to have had any serious injuries- though there had been a case where a family had almost been caved in (only to be rescued by the rest of the village within the hour).

"And the reason these demons keep appearing is because of her 'innocence'?" the Head Sister asked, eyeing the pewter locket with an accusatory glare.

"That seems to be the case, yes," the old man confirmed as gently as he could.

"But I've had this locket for years! Why would they decide to show up now?" Eva wasn't very receptive of the idea of destroying the one thing she owned- which Sister Adelheid was no doubt suggesting with that piercing gaze of hers.

"Perhaps it lay dormant until recently," Tiedoll suggested, having thought this over before, "In any case, destroying it is not an option."

Sister Adelheid was obviously disappointed, though Eva gave a small sigh of relief. But wait, what did this mean? If destroying the locket wasn't the answer, would she have to give it away instead? She didn't like the idea of that either.

"Well, it looks like you must join the Black Order, Sister Eva," was the solution General Tiedoll suggested. The two Sisters frowned at the name.

"The Black Order? Sounds rather ominous, doesn't it?"

"Young people these days… They come up with the strangest names." They muttered amongst themselves, ignoring the exorcist seated in front of them. He watched them with a warm smile, sipping his tea contently.

"But who will take care of the children?" Sister Eva asked in an undertone after they had exchanged more than enough comments about the current situation.

"Sister Nadine should be able to-"

"I thought she was allergic to children," the young woman put in, obviously hoping to prove that her presence in Appenzell was crucial.

"No dear, she was joking." Apparently, it wasn't.

"Oh, but maybe the children are allergic to her-" she tried again before Sister Adelheid cut her off.

"Sister Eva, if it comes down to it, I will take care of the children."

The young nun-in-training gave a dramatic gasp before hiding her fake tears. Sister Adelheid was not impressed. Her expression made it clear that Eva's fate was decided. After eight years of living in the Alps, she would have to leave behind all that was dear to her- namely the orphans she had been taking care of for so long- and embark on some sort of epic journey to destroy all evil.

"What about my vows? I can't just leave the abbey-" Yes, she was getting a bit tired of the evergreen scenery around her, but that didn't mean that she was ready to take off so abruptly.

"Eva, you haven't taken your vows yet. You're only a sister in training. In other words, you are not obligated to stay here." The Head Sister pointed out rather promptly. Eva frowned. She had hoped that that minor detail would be overlooked.

Back to the present…

"There you are, Yuu-kun," was the general's warm welcome as the young exorcist approached the scene. 'Yuu-kun' narrowed his eyes in disgust at the sound of his name- it didn't matter how many times he insisted on being called 'Kanda'. People like General Tiedoll simply didn't listen- one reason why Kanda disliked him so much.

"Who would have thought he'd be the last one to show up?" was Daisya's input on the younger exorcist's supposedly late arrival. He was promptly ignored. Marie simply nodded in greeting as Tiedoll eyed his own sketch with satisfaction before fully turning his attention to his youngest disciple.

"Yuu-kun," Kanda's eyes twitched in anger, "I'd like you to meet my new disciple," said the general, smiling warmly and gesturing towards the figure next to Marie. Only then did Kanda realize that it was a young woman hidden beneath the cloak. She had stood up and pulled back her hood only slightly to reveal her face.

"This is Evangeline, our newest exorcist. I found her myself," the general stated complacently, apparently proud of the fact that he had discovered someone compatible with innocence. The Black Order hadn't found any new exorcists for a while now, so he had every right to be satisfied with himself. Again, Kanda was not impressed.

"You can call me Eva," the young woman finally spoke with a slight curtsy. Kanda eyed her with his characteristic scowl. Her soft gaze and warm but playful smile reminded him of only one thing- Tiedoll.

"General Tiedoll has told me so much about you, Yuu-kun."

He hated her already.

-to be continued-

A/N: A halberd looks like a combination of a long battle axe and a spear/lance. It is designed for both stabbing and slashing, and Eva's weapon, being double-sided, can be used to swing both right and left. The bottom of her halberd also ends in a short but sharp… point, used mainly for painful poking.

I don't know too much about nuns and titles- so go easy on me. The title 'Head Sister' probably doesn't exist...

The name Evangeline actually means 'good news', hence the chapter title. The next chapter will also be a combination of the past (Eva leaving her home) and present (bothering Kanda). Hopefully the time skips won't be too confusing.

Hope I got you interested- a few nice reviews would be very encouraging! Review and I will update fast.