A/N- Well this is one of my first published stories and I have never written a D. Gray-Man fic before, but I think I can actually go places with it. It will be a Kanda/OC fic.
Summary- The Noah have made their presence known and The Order knows it needs every Exorcist at their disposal, even those MIA. When Allen and Kanda find an Exorcist on a mission and bring her to The Order she ran away from, problems can only ensue. But could love as well? And with a certain unlikely, unlovable Samurai? Can two cold hearts thaw and melt as one?
Disclaimer- I do not own -Man, but I claim rights to my own character.
A Smell So Sweet
Chapter One
My nose burned with the scent that filled it. It was a difficult smell to describe, similar to the burn of alcohol. It's the feeling of your sensory receptors being singed, your throat burning, and your eyes watering as the smell becomes overwhelming and that slight gag reflex that is triggered when you inhale the harsh scent. There was a hint of decay hidden in the burn and it was enough for you to lose your lunch. It was the smell of an Akuma and I loved it. This, now, familiar scent made my heart race and pound in my ears, the adrenaline pump throughout my body leaving me with a sense of euphoria, it made my mouth water and my teeth ache in anticipation. Nothing could compete with that scent and it sent me seeking out the wonderful aroma. That's why I was here, in France, trying to catch that scent that gave me shivers of excitement.
The stars shone brightly in the sky and the crescent moon gave just enough light to see by in the dark. The band of silver around my neck glinted as the light of the moon and stars caught it just right as I ran, following that wonderful smell. However another scent mixed with the smell of the Akuma. The smell of humans wafted just under the Akuma's stink.
Explosions just ahead had me leaping to the roofs of the many small French shops to get a better look. A dozen or so level one and a couple level two Akuma floated around the tops of the trees in the park and at the roots stood two boys, Exorcists. I stop at the last shop and watched with mild curiosity. One boy had strange short white hair. His Innocence manifested as a large armored claw that he was using as no more than a shield at that moment from the on slot of Akuma bullets being shot at them. He was unable to do much more than defend. The other however, had long dark hair and moved with grace, deflecting the bullets with his katana, which I assume, was his own Innocence. But neither was gaining much of an upper hand against the Akuma.
I smiled, "Collar of Imprisonment, free me of my confines."
I leapt from my perch and the silver collar around my neck glowed as the Innocence activated. My body shifted smoothly and when I landed on the ground below, I landed on four huge, clawed paws. My Innocence had transformed me into a large wolf, with a coat red. I propelled my immense form up and at the nearest, delicious smelling Akuma. I sunk my teeth into the mask and tore it off, then promptly jumped away from it just before it exploded. The other Akuma turned their attention to me and I let out a satisfied growled as they moved toward me.
The Exorcists watched as a very large dog leapt at an Akuma. It was much taller than a grown man and must have had a body longer than eight feet. It had large, sharp teeth and claws and two tails almost as long as it's body. It tore off the mask of the Akuma it attacked and jumped to the ground as it exploded.
Allen and Kanda watched the animal in confusion.
"What is that?" Allen asked amazed at the creature.
Kanda snorted, "What does it matter? We still have the Innocence to find before the Akuma, I won't be held up by some mutt." He then sliced through two of the Akuma, the explosion whipping his long hair in different directions. He then jumped away at another one of the Akuma.
It looks like it's trying to help us. Allen thought as he watched the large wolf distract the Akuma that were just moments ago overwhelming him and Kanda. If it hadn't showed up, he wasn't sure how much longer they could have just deflected the attacks. But now they were all focused on the wolf and he couldn't stand here and not help. He struck an Akuma close to him, destroying it.
"Here puppy, puppy. Nice puppy. Do you want to play?" One of the Level Twos asked.
I growled in response, baring my white teeth, not bothering to validate the creature with a verbal response.
"Oh! I'm so scared!" The Akuma danced around, laughing and pretending to shake. A sinister grin broke out on its face. "Let's see how scary you are dead!" It yelled and dashed towards me.
I jumped out of the way and bit down on the Akuma's leg, throwing it into the ground, leaving a crater. It yelled and screamed and threw golf balls at me. I looked at them curiously and sniffed them 'What the hell? That's its attack, golf balls?' I thought then looked up at the creature as it giggled in joy, Then I heard a yell from beside me a few yards off,
"They're explosives! Get away from them!" The white haired boy warned and I leapt away as the Akuma laughed manically and the golf balls all exploded. I would have lost my nose.
I growled in annoyance and ran at the Akuma, who threw more golf balls. I was prepared this time and used my tail to effectively throw them back in his direction. The Akuma shrieked as they exploded in his face, leaving him dazed. I ran forward to make the kill, but was met by the other Exorcist who sliced through the Akuma and my side.
The wolf howled in pain as the blood sprayed from the long cut along its rib cage.
"Kanda!" Allen yelled, horrified at what he'd just done. The animal wasn't their enemy, it was their ally. What Allen had come to identify as a fellow Exorcist. "Why did you do that?" He demanded.
Kanda simply looked at the agonized animal, blood pouring from the wound he'd just inflicted and said simply, "It got in the way."
I growled in anger at his response, but felt a weird sense of respect for his ruthlessness. I rose to my feet and stumbled slightly. As I gained my footing though, the Akuma rained bullets down on me.
Allen watched as the large animal got to its feet shakily, but before it could do much more the Akuma zeroed in on the, now, injured wolf and berated it with bullets. His eyes were filled with shock and concern. He was not able to stand and stare though, as when the Akuma assumed that the wolf had been eliminated, they turned to him and began firing. In a rage that the wolf's death could have been prevented if Kanda wasn't such a bastard, he fired back killing two, then changed his arm into a sword and cut through three more. Kanda had eliminated the rest of the Level Ones and the Level Two remained.
It laughed at Allen's pain and anger at the death of the wolf, its fangs dripping with venom, before launching at Allen mouth open as wide as a snake. Allen readied his gun up to shot it in the mouth, but before he could let off a shot, the Akuma was tackled in mid air and rolled across the ground.
Allen stood, frozen in surprise. He looked to the side and saw the great wolf ripping the head of the Akuma off. It stumbled back and fell, seemingly unconscious. With the last of the Akuma dead, Allen deactivated his arm and approached the wolf. Suddenly the wolf's body glowed bright green and Allen covered his eyes with his arm. When the glowing stopped and he put his arm down, a human girl lay unconscious where the wolf had been.
Allen ran to her side and examined her wounds. Kanda had injured her badly. Her clothes were soaked in her own blood and her breathing shallow.
Allen looked up at Kanda from his kneeling position, "She's hurt badly you jerk. She might not make it."
"Che. It's not my problem she got in the way. If she dies, she can only blame herself." He responded indifferently, though his gaze lingered on her longer than it should have for someone that did not care.
Allen just glared at the Samurai Exorcist, before scooping up the girl. She had risked her own life for them and saved him from what was sure to be a fatal bite from that Level Two, he wasn't so heartless as to leave her there to die. He'd get her to an infirmary.
"What are you doing?" Kanda questioned, raising an eyebrow at Allen.
"I'm taking her to a doctor. It's the least I can do." Allen replied looking down at the unconscious form in his arms.
"Hmph. You're such a bleeding heart Moyashi." Kanda replied arrogantly, eyes closed to the sight before him and his face turned away. As Allen took the girl to an infirmary not that far away, Kanda returned to the inn they were staying at to give Komui a call and give him an update of the nights events.
I took in the smells around me as consciousness returned. It smelled clean, too clean. There was the smell of humans everywhere. I was in a hospital. It was the only place in the world that smelled so clean.
I opened my green eyes and sat up to look around the room I was in. I quickly grabbed at my side as I went to move and sealed my eyes in pain. I looked down and the bandages there were already soaking through with blood from my newly reopened wound. I hissed and scolded myself. I ignored it though and looked around the room. It was plain, white everywhere, wall, curtains, sheets, chairs, everything. I was definitely in a hospital. When had I gotten here? How long had I been here? Did the Exorcist's bring me here? Many questions ran through my mind and I would find someone to give me the answers.
As if somehow summoned a young female nurse entered the room (A white uniform of course). She looked at me in surprise and then, noticing my bandages steadily turning red, she looked at me as though a child that had played in the dirt in their perfect Sunday Church clothes.
"What are you doing moving around?" She asked moving towards me with an air of authority. "You're going to make your wounds worse."
"How did I get here?" I questioned, ignoring her and moving my feet to hang off the bed. The IV pulled annoyingly at my hand and I proceeded to remove it.
"Don't touch that!" She all, but shrieked and held my hands to prevent me from continuing, "And get back into bed, you really shouldn't be moving around."
I glared and repeated my question more sternly, "How long have I been here?"
She huffed, "Only a few hours. The boy that brought you here said he would be back in a few minutes. Now please lay back down and rest."
I bit back a growl and laid down again. The nurse went about fussing over my bandages, but I told her they were fine and to leave me alone. She finally left the room, angry with my attitude, but I couldn't care less I was just glad to have her gone. Several minutes later someone else entered the room and I turned to look at them.
"Oh! You're awake." The boy with white hair exclaimed as he walked in, a friendly smile on his face, "I thought for sure you'd be out longer. Kanda caused a lot of damage." He walked to the side of the bed, "How are you feeling?"
I stared at him for a moment, "Kanda?" I questioned.
"Uh.. Yeah. The other boy I was with. He injured you when he destroyed that Akuma." He replied scratching the back of his head and laughing nervously. "I'm Allen, by the way, Allen Walker."
So Kanda was the name of that bastard. "I'm feeling fine and you have my thanks for saving my life, but I will be leaving now." I said and reached over and removed my IV and threw the sheets off.
I winced as I sat up and stood on the far side of the bed where Allen was not standing. He stood in a stupor for a moment before realizing what I was doing and proceeded to freak out.
"What? No! You're not in the condition to be moving around like that. You'll just make yourself worse." He scrambled to the other side of the bed and put his hands on my shoulders gently trying to persuade me back into bed. "Plus, I have orders to bring you to the Black Order as soon as possible."
I stopped my harsh reply and the punch to the gut I was about to administer to Allen when I heard the last sentence, "What?"
He looked at me startled a bit, apparently expecting me to lash out, but taken aback with the more shocked reply, "Uh, yeah. You're an Exorcist, right? I was told to bring you back to Head Quarters with us. But you shouldn't move until your wounds have healed, they aren't expecting us for a while."
I had been looking down at the floor, rage steadily building as I listened to him. When he finished I slowly brought my eyes up to meet his and he gasped and wisely took several steps back,
"I will not go anywhere with you, especially not back to the Black Order. If you try to make me I will not hesitate in tearing you apart." I said rather calmly.
Geez, thought Allen, She sounds like Kanda. And what does she mean "back to the Black Order"?
"Uh-" Allen didn't really seem to know what to say and I took advantage of his speechlessness to start out the door of the hospital room. "Wait!" He called out following me.
I ignored him and continued towards the door, but as I reached it my path was blocked when the boy, now known as Kanda, appeared in the doorway. I glared at him and he glared back down at me, being slightly taller.
"Where are you going?" He asked sharply, arms crossed over his chest.
"Out of this hospital and away from the two of you." I responded shortly and tried to make my way around him, but he stepped back into my path.
"No. You're staying here until your wounds heal and then we're taking you to the Order as we've been ordered to." He said matter-a-factly.
"As I told you're friend over there, I will not go anywhere with either of you and if you try to make me, I will rip you limb from limb." I threatened, though I wasn't sure how well said threat was going to hold.
Kanda smirked, "Go for it mutt, because I will not go against orders and I will not fail in my mission."
I growled and my collar began to glow, but before it could activate Kanda disappeared from the doorway. I looked around in slight confusion and then felt him behind me. I couldn't turn around fast enough and I felt the crack of the hilt of his sword colliding with the back of my head and was promptly thrown into unconsciousness, again.
Allen watched the confrontation between the girl and Kanda and he knew it would not end well for one of them and it probably wasn't going to be Kanda. He winced when he heard the solid crack as he rendered her unconscious with the hilt of his katana and winced again when he heard her fall to the ground.
"Bakanda, do you have to be so brash?" Allen asked, "I'm sure we could have talked to her and convinced her to go with us. You didn't have to hit her." He continued as he walked to the girl and picked her up. He started towards the bed to set her down,
"Don't bother Moyashi. We're leaving now." He said and walked out the door.
"What? But what about her injuries, they haven't healed?" He inquired, confused.
"If we put her back, we'll have to watch her so she doesn't escape. It's easier to get back to the Order now, while she's unconscious and unable to refuse." He explained without slowing his stride out of the hospital.
"It's a long trip back Kanda, she'll wake up on our way there." Allen countered.
"Then I'll hit her again." He replied.
Allen blanched, "You're going to give her brain damage."
"Not my problem" Kanda said without looking back at Allen as he entered the busy train station.
People started curiously at them as they waited for the train. Kanda stood impassively ahead, but Allen could not help noticing the stares and whispers over the other passengers.
"People are staring. They must think we are kidnapping her or something. Although, technically we are, as she isn't coming of her own will." He trailed off.
Kanda rolled his eyes, but ignored the Moyashi. He talks too much, the bleeding heart idiot. Kanda thought. He just wished that the train would get here and that they get back to Headquarters soon so that he didn't have to listen to him any longer.
On cue, the train rolled into the station and opened its doors for boarding passengers. Kanda entered the train and gracefully made his way to an empty compartment and sat down. Allen on the other hand, carrying an unconscious girl that was taller than him, did not manage so gracefully.
As Allen boarded the locomotive, he hit her head on the door, smacked a fellow passenger with her feet , stumbled over a piece of luggage that he could not see, and knocked over a another passenger while trying to regain his balance. When he finally made it into the compartment and set her down on the empty bench, he plopped down next to Kanda with a relieved sigh. Then his eyes grew dark,
"You could have helped you know!" He snapped at the samurai.
"Che."
My head hurts, was the first thought I had when I started to wake up. The second thought was, I'm going to kill them. I was at the Black Order. Like a hospital, The Order had its own unique feel and smell and there was no mistaking it, not once you've experienced it.
I sat up and noticed I was in the infirmary. There were many beds lined up along the walls, while normally most lay empty, there was an unusual amount of injured here. Why so many? What happened? I'll admit I was a tad concerned. There were never this many Finders and Exorcists in the infirmary, unless something unexpected or devastating happened. Nurses scurried to and from different bed, tending to their patients and were too busy to notice I was awake.
I turned and stood up, ignoring the sharp pain that ran through my body from my ribcage like volts of electricity. I walked past bed after bed looking at the injured Finders occupying them. The nurses didn't really pay me any mind, their focus on the more needy of their attention.
I pushed open the door and took a step out, but that's as far as I got before I heard a shrieking command,
"Don't you leave this infirmary."
I looked over my shoulder to see the head nurse stampeding towards me. I growled and continued. I made it down the hallway and out of the vicinity before she could exit the infirmary. She must have gotten held up, I know she can move faster than that. I thought to myself. I could hear her screaming several hallways away though.
I was beginning to get annoyed by the pain in my side and activated my Innocence,
"Collar of Imprisonment, free me from my confines." The collar glowed and my body was transformed in to the same large wolf form. The wound on was set a light with the Innocence and minutes later it faded away and I was fully healed. I shook my massive head to and fro, before deactivating and returning to my human self.
With the wound taken care of I went on my way to the exit. The time that I spent using my Innocence seemed to have given the nurse time to notify someone of my escape and that someone was a certain supervisor.
I glared at Komui's approaching figure,
"Let me go Komui. Don't make me stay here." I almost begged.
He gave me a friendly, yet sad smile, "Victoria, I wouldn't if I didn't have to."
"But you don't. You don't have to. You can pretend you never saw me." I offered.
His smile fell and he moved closer, though I stepped back, "I really can't Victoria. The Noah Clan has reared their ugly heads and we need every Exorcist we have. I am sure you saw the devastation their appearance in this war has caused. It's your duty."
I growled and looked at him incredulously, "My duty? My duty! I took on the duty once and look what it got me. This so called "duty", brings nothing, but suffering for those that are unfortunate enough to befall it."
"I do not consider myself unfortunate."
I spun around and stared at Allen, How long had he been there?
"Then you're a fool." I answered.
"I admit, being an Exorcist beings pain and suffering. Sometimes it makes you want to give up, run away from it all, but it's the best thing that could have happened to me. In the beginning I could not see how my cursed left eye could be anything else, but now I feel it is a blessing." He brought a hand up to cover his scarred, cursed eye, "Here I can use it to protect those that matter to me, my friends. I am able to help the world with my curse and my gift. Those blessed with the power to contend the evil of the Millennium Earl should embrace them and use them, not shun them no matter the amount of suffering." Allen had been slowly walking towards me, seemingly in his own head instead of merely talking to me. He stopped and looked up at me, a smiling.
I stared, captivated and enraged. Gifts, blessings? Who was he kidding? To be subjected to a loss of those you hold dear because of your "gifts" and "blessings" is not something to be embraced. I opened my mouth to berate him for his naiveté, but Komui stopped the words before the spilled forth,
"Allen, tell her how your eye became cursed."
Allen looked over to him, surprised, but Komui merely nodded his head in encouragement.
"Mana, my adoptive father, cursed my eye the night I returned him from the dead as an Akuma." Allen said sullenly.
My eyes widen in shock. Allen turned his own father into an Akuma?
"Before I knew of Innocence, Exorcists, and Akuma, I had Mana. I was cast aside by everyone, until Mana. He took care of me and raised me. Then Mana died. I was devastated; I had just lost the only person in the world who loved me. The Earl preyed on that and one night, asked me if I want to bring Mana back. I didn't think it was possible, but if it were? I could have him back and accepted The Earl's offer and called Mana back." Tears looked like they would fall from his storm gray eyes, "I was so happy to hear his voice, but it sounded pained and disappointed. Then The Earl order Mana to kill me and wear me. Mana tried to fight it, but an Akuma cannot deny The Earl's orders. When he attacked me he cut my left eye and told me he cursed me for turning him into an Akuma. My Innocence awoke then and destroyed him. I was taken in by My Master, General Cross and became an Exorcist."
Allen looked down trodden, though a smile graced his face, it covered great sadness. I knew that sadness, but instead of finding the positive light in my darkness I nestled further into it.
I swallowed the words I had been about to say to Allen and turned to Komui, who stood there a satisfied smile on his face. Asshole, he knew this would happen.
"I suppose I could stick around long enough to kick some Noah ass." I resigned, "But after, you promise me that I am not bound here. That is I choose to, which I surely will, I can leave." I said sternly, giving Komui and hard stare.
"I can't promise The Order will not look for you, but if you were to slip out while we slept, there's nothing I can do." He smiled slyly.
I have already started the next chapter, so if you want it to continue let me know in a review!