Broken Hearts and Laughing Eyes
By:
SneakAttack29


Disclaimer: I don't own DGM. All rights go to their respective peoples.

Quick Author's Note: WHY THE FUCK AM I DOING THIS TO MYSELF ;_; I'm so behind on schoolwork and on my other fics, but I'm starting a new one whyyyyyyy.

*Ahem* Anyway, moving on. Hi! Welcome to my fanfic. I don't have much to say for myself here other than I've had this idea sort of floating around for a while. I finally decided to spit it out while procrastinating on literally everything this weekend (Bad college student, bad!). So here we are.

I hate the title, first off. I will probably change it in the future. Be warned. Or I may not, idk yet. I also think that this starts a little weirdly, and I apologize. There really wasn't any other way than to throw y'all in and hope for the best.

Some things are going to seem kind of weird at first, but I swear that they will be explained in the next chapter, honestly. Meredith's age and her status as a doctor specifically may seem kind of odd, but there's an honest to god truthful reason.

Also BE WARNED! This story is going to deal with sensitive subject matter including but not limited to rape and abuse. If these could trigger you, please read with caution. I will post warnings at the beginning of chapters that directly involve them.

Without further ado, ENJOY!


Chapter 1: Prayers Without the Words


"Was that just goodbye? You know I couldn't tell.
A heart that's made of gold doesn't mean that it's for sale.
You taught me how to love, then set me up to fail.
Gave me prayers without the words, a cross without the nails.
"

-One Less Reason, Ghost


Meredith Connally is not having a good day, not at all.

"What do you mean we're out of gauze? I thought we got more yesterday!" the mousey-haired young woman yells, brow twitching in annoyance. Before her, the science department member who is also semi in charge of inventory cowers, if only slightly.

Her verbal adversary winces. "W-we did, but a few finders returned from the field earlier this morning. They were badly injured. Two needed emergency surgeries." Meredith's near-black eyes waver at the mention. Emergency surgery is never a good term to hear, though the fact that the man made no allusion to death eases her mind enough to continue her tirade. However, this time it continues for a different reason.

"So, what you're saying," she sighs, an olive-toned hand lowering to rest on a white lab coat-covered hip, "is that two finders needed emergency surgeries, and no one informed me?! What the hell?! I'm head of the bloody infirmary! How early was this?"

"Before dawn! You were still asleep, Meredith, and Victoria and the surgeon were there. If you'd have been needed, someone would have woken you! It was under control."

"Someone still should have told me, Roy!"

He raises his hands. "I'm sorry! You'll have to take it up with the head nurse, I'm just the messenger! I only know because they were fetching supplies, anyway." The pleading look in her friend's—for that is what he is, she admits grudgingly—green eyes cause the brunette to shake her head in defeat. Roy Mathers knows her weakness towards that wide-eyed expression. Whether he's using it deliberately to sway her anger or not, Meredith doesn't know. Either way, it doesn't matter. Puzzling the blond's motives is not why she is here in the storage room.

She pinches the bridge of her nose. "You're sure there's no gauze?"

"Absolutely none," he affirms with a nod. "Why do you need it? I thought you hadn't been to the infirmary yet?"

"I don't need it for a patient. Gin scraped up her knee. My first aid kit was borrowed by Reever, and I can't find him anywhere to get it back."

Roy hisses in sympathy. "Poor kid. I think we've got some wraps. Little overkill, but it'd get the job done. Here, let me grab them." Meredith nods gratefully, hands stuffing themselves in the pockets of her lab coat. She shivers a bit from the early morning chill in the air not entirely blocked by the tower walls. The European headquarters of the Black Order isn't exactly nestled in the warmest of places, situated atop a strangely stable cliff face and lifted above most cloud cover. How the altitude doesn't cause anyone health problems is beyond the medical officer's knowledge, but she refuses to look a gift horse in the mouth and doesn't question it too much.

Dark eyes stare absently at the wall on the other side of the room while Roy is rooting in a pile of boxes to the side. The youngest medical officer to be appointed the position, Meredith found her stay in the European branch rather dismal for the first few months before she befriended Roy. The science member may be a bit of a goof and a little bit of a klutz, but he was the first person not to judge the brunette's ability solely because of her age. People in the Asian branch had enough trouble accepting her as a nurse when she'd first come to the Order at fifteen. Her promotion two years later hasn't been received with any more warmth than her initial appointment, but Meredith can't really fault anyone. She'd be sketchy about a seventeen-year-old doctor, too, in their shoes. However, sometimes those sorts of thoughts go out the window when in a life-or-death situation, and she's come to earn the respect of a few members in the past few months as she slowly proves herself by patching up the exorcists and finders who meander through her infirmary. It's not like they knew her story, so proving her abilities in practice is unfortunately the only way to do so. Most of the patients are treated by the head nurse, anyway, though Meredith tries to do her part. Too much paperwork comes with the job, she grouses silently to herself. However, she supposes that's what she gets for trading a nursing position out for a job that's basically administration.

She's broken out of her thoughts when her blond friend returns holding a roll of bandages. It's clearly the thinnest and most inconspicuous of the lot he could find, but she has to wonder if perhaps it would be better suited for use on him as, in true Roy fashion, he looks as if he managed to sprain his wrist looking for them. "Seriously?"

"It's not my fault!" Roy whines. "The antiseptic bottles held my hand hostage!" The girl opens her mouth to try and retort but seems to decide better of it with a sigh.

Grabbing the bandages gently, she gingerly taps at the scientist's wrist. "Take care of that. I have to get back to Gin and bandage her up but go get that looked at to make sure you didn't manage to do something worse to it."

Roy gives a mock salute. "Yes, ma'am! You tell that little lady of yours to take it easy! No more scrapes for her, y'know?" Meredith throws her head back and laughs as though the idea is absurd.

"She's four, so that's a far-fetched ideal. I'll pass it along though!"

With a few more pleasantries, the young doctor is meandering back down the circular hallways to her quarters. The sun had barely peaked the horizon when she made her way to the store room, and now it reaches its tendrils a bit higher than before. She glimpses fiery strings of golden and pink every time she passes a window. It's truly a beautiful sight, one of the perks of being in a tower so high up.

Reaching the door, she slowly opens it and slips inside. Turning to face the room, she opens her mouth with every intention of greeting the other occupant. However, at what she sees, she stops short and twists her face into one of confusion.

"Ginevra Elaine Connally, where in the world did you get that golem and what in blazes are you doing with it?!"

A dark blonde girl of only a handful of years perks her head up at the sound of Meredith's voice. A cherub-like grin is plastered on a lightly tanned face beneath smiling eyes so seep a blue they're almost purple, despite the bleeding tear across her left knee that has to be painful for such a young girl. Clutched gently in her cupped hands is a golden sphere barely able to fit comfortably in the cradle created by the child's appendages. She has the thing raised to eye level, and Meredith is a little surprised to see it all but cuddling up to her.

Of course, the doctor is fairly certain she knows who the very unique golem belongs to. She's heard of the exorcist, though she's yet to meet him. Several of the Innocence accommodators in the European branch seem to just keep missing her, actually. Allen Walker has proven one of them, though him being relatively new himself hasn't assisted matters any. Apparently, considering the new circumstance, it won't be such for long.

"He flew in after you left!" Ginevra—known better to Meredith as Gin just to avoid the mouthful, except when the girl's in trouble—chirps, tiny voice clear and articulate for a four-year-old. She's leveled a very serious stare, though, which turns her cheery grin sheepish.

"You opened the door, didn't you?"

Gin shrinks in on herself a little. "Yes."

"After I told you expressly not to?"

"But I got bored!"

Dark eyes give the child a stern look. "Ginevra."

Pouting, the little girl looks down. "I'm sorry, Mommy. But he's so cute! Can I keep him?"

Meredith sighs, walking over to where her daughter is perched on the edge of a small bed situated across from the larger one. She kneels down and inspects the small wound. A soft smile is on her face as she recalls asking a similar question what feels like eons ago to her own mother, though about a dog instead of a golem. The smile falters only a little when she then recalls the instance four and a half years ago when she turned that question on herself. Simultaneously happier and more depressing times, the doctor thinks, not entirely sure if she considers the feeling welling in her chest wistful or not.

"I'm sorry, love, but you can't. He belongs to someone already, and I'm sure that someone would like to have him back." The golem's fluffy tail swishes as if to agree. Tears pop to Gin's face not entirely related to the antiseptic her mother is gently applying to the scrape, and the swishing quickly stops. As if startled, the sphere leaps off of the child's hands and begins flapping animatedly around her blonde head. It seems to garner the reaction he's looking for as she starts to grin when he lands softly atop her hair. The doctor smiles at the sight, expertly finishing securing the bandage.

"He seems to like you, though, so I don't think you'll see the last of him." She pats Gin's uninjured knee before rising to her feet and motioning for the child to do the same. "Now, come on. Time for breakfast. Then we need to find that golem's owner." In actuality, Meredith is fairly certain that if her suspicion is correct, the exorcist they're looking for will be in the dining hall anyway.

Adjusting Gin's mussed, spring green dress and ensuring her own black slacks and blouse aren't themselves ruffled, she takes her daughter's hand gently and sets out for the dining room. The Order's halls are fairly empty for the hour, though she realizes that's because most of them are congregated to enjoy a scrumptious breakfast of Jerry's cooking. She herself is not shy to admit that the man makes a mean pancake.

Still riding atop the four-year-old's head, the golem occasionally twitches his tail to tickle the girl's neck. He's clearly doing so to entertain her, and Meredith marvels at the level of personality imbued within the tiny machine. She's not yet seen a golem at all like him.

Soon enough, the cafeteria is upon them. They push their way through the door to find the hall packed as Meredith had been expecting, chatter of finders and a handful of exorcists causing a buzz to emanate. Oddly, the golem doesn't seem keen to rush towards his exorcist who the doctor can see clearly on the other side of the room (the stories had made their rounds early on in her appointment, so she has a gist of what Walker looks like). She shrugs.

Ordering a nice stack of pancakes for herself and allowing Gin a treat of a muffin to go with her eggs and toast, the two girls meander towards the exorcists after thanking Jerry profusely. The Indian man thanks them with just as much enthusiasm for allowing him to cook for them, and Meredith chuckles. That man is made for cooking, no doubt about it.

"Eh, moyashi, I don't think I'm ever going to get used to how much you eat!" dramatically exclaims a redhead seated at the table. He's adorned with an eyepatch and a bandana with a scale pattern, scarf twined 'round his neck. Sure enough, piled up next to the white-haired exorcist in question is an alarming hill of plates and dishes threatening to topple dangerously.

"My name is Allen!" he grouses between ravenous bites of food. To be fair, Meredith agrees with the redhead on some level. Despite knowing parasitic types need more food, seeing the sheer amount is a little astounding.

She feels awkward striding towards the group with her and her daughter's food in hand, but the annoying thing about being an adult, she figures, is sucking it up and doing it anyway. "Um, excuse me? Did someone lose a golem by chance?"

The first thought through her mind once the table's attention falls on her is that she doesn't know how a group of three people can be so goddamn attractive. Is that a requirement for wielding Innocence? How is that even fair?

Lenalee she already knows from her first day. It's hard to be a new member of the Order and not know the girl. She's sweet and a saint for putting up with how overbearing her brother, Komui, can be, and Meredith respects that. The redhead is probably Lavi, and of course the white-haired boy is Allen. Familiarizing herself with the exorcists' medical files was apparently a good idea, she thinks.

But damn if she wasn't prepared to have liquid silver eyes turned on her. Why couldn't the files have warned her that these people are gorgeous?

Lenalee, the dear, perks up immediately and smiles cheerfully. "Meredith! How are you? I haven't seen you in a while!"

The doctor chuckles. "Hi, Lenalee. I'm alright. I've been busy, is all. Backlogged paperwork is going to be the death of me, I swear."

Giggling, Lenalee looks to the other two patiently sitting in confusion. "That's right, I don't think you all have met yet. Meredith, this is Lavi and Allen. They're some of the other exorcists. Guys, this is Meredith Connally. She's our new medical officer."

"We have a medical officer?" Allen questions curiously, head tilted to the side. Meredith can't help but think it's kind of adorable.

"It's mostly administrative, but yeah. I just oversee the infirmary as a whole. Nurse Victoria takes care of you all for the most part. It's nice to meet all of you—I apologize that I haven't had the chance until now." She jumps in quickly and back to the point before the others can get a word out. She is not a social butterfly, thank you very much. "But like I asked, is anyone missing a golem? One happened across my room this morning, it seems." Of course, Gin decided to be shy when the conversation started and is hiding behind her mother. Her dark blonde head barely peaks out from the white coat, but the glinting of gold on top of her hair catches the attention of its owner rather quickly.

"Tim!" Walker says cheerfully, food all but forgotten. The golem flits happily to the boy, much to Gin's displeasure and Meredith's amusement. "When did you sneak off? You know better than to go in other peoples' rooms without their permission! Thank you for bringing him back, Miss Connally."

She hums. "It' s 'Doctor', actually. And don't thank me entirely. It was Gin who conned him into the room, I think."

"Gin?" questions the redhead before bursting into laughter. "Timcanpy really is Cross' golem, then, if he's conned into a room by a drink!"

Meredith's eye twitches before she looks back and down at the girl in question, gently prodding her to standing at her side as opposed to behind her. "Oh, for the love of—no! He wasn't lured by a drink. She did it." Kneeling next to her daughter, she looks the meek girl sternly in the eye and whispers, "Piccola, presentati, per favore." Knowing that her mother is not to be trifled with when she pulls out the Italian, the girl pouts but does as asked. Well, sort of.

Shuffling forward a little, Gin glances down as if abashed before she speaks. "I'm sorry. He flew by the door this morning. I thought he was cute, so I tried to play with him. But I hurt my knee before, so I couldn't move enough. He stayed with me, though! But Mommy said I had to give him back." The last bit is muttered grouchily. Meredith gives her a stern look.

"Piccola," she warns with a tone. "You're forgetting something."

"Oh! Yeah! My name's Gin Connally!" A bright, wide grin forms, any earlier irritation forgotten as she waves a tiny hand enthusiastically. Lenalee smiles fondly, having met the child previously as well. Allen is blinking at her a little as if blindsided by her presence—children in the Order who aren't exorcists in some manner is practically unheard of—and Lavi lets out the closest thing to a dignified squeal as she thinks a grown man can muster.

"Awww! You're adorable, Silver-chan!" The Japanese honorific isn't missed, and Meredith gives him a strange look. Lavi is obviously not Japanese, but to each their own, she supposes. Looks aren't everything—

"Silver?" asks Gin, brow quickly furrowing. Her mother hides a grin as she, at the silent behest of Lenalee and her own screaming arms, places the tray in her hands on the edge of the table occupied by the exorcists. The redhead had done it, now. "That's not my name! My name is Gin!"

Lavi, completely unaware of the monster he has unleashed, tossed his nose in the air, lifting a finger as if a teacher giving a lesson. "Ah, but your name is close to 'Gin' and that means silver in Japanese! So, Silver-chan!" The child crosses her arms with a huff and stamps her foot on the ground, thankfully choosing to do so with the uninjured one.

"That's not my name! It's Gin, not that! It's not pron…proun…uh...said the same way!" Her adorably ferocious demeanor slowly melts away as she struggles with the word.

Meredith smiles mischievously. "Pronounced is pronounced 'pronounced'." Her daughter gives her a blank stare.

"…That's just weird, Mommy…"

Soft chortles turned into full on laughs, and Allen gently scoops up Timcanpy and deposits him softly back atop Gin's head. "It's nice to meet you, Miss Gin. Here, I don't think Timcanpy would mind sitting with you a bit more, if you'd like. He seems pretty taken with you."

Awe passes the child's face as she brings her own hands up to accept the golem from the exorcist's gloved ones. "Really? Thank you so much!" Allen smiles at her expression before nodding to Meredith's silent gratitude. Really, at the prospect of having to return the golem, the little girl had quite looked like she was going to cry. Meredith cringes at the thought of dealing with a crying Gin. It's usually a trip and a half to get her to calm down again. She's usually a rather happy child, but woe unto he who causes the girl upset.

"Ah, Lenalee, are you sure it's alright if we sit here?" asks the doctor, turning the conversation away from her daughter's antics as she begins to play again with the golem. "I don't want to intrude—I've done enough of that already."

The other girl smiles. "Not at all! I'm sure the boys don't mind either, right?" Violet eyes send the other two exorcists a look that causes them to pale a bit before rapidly nodding their assent. Meredith scratches the back of her head. That's Lenalee for you…

Gin, oblivious to the oddity of the conversation, happily perches herself next to Allen (thankfully not on the side containing the mountain of plates), and tugs at her mother's sleeve. "Mommy, can I have my muffin?" Sighing as she sits to the other side of her daughter, the doctor instead passes the little girl her small plate of eggs.

"No, you may," she emphasizes the proper wording with a look, "not, but you may have your eggs first. Do you mind if she sits there, Allen? I can tell her to move."

To his credit, the boy only looks a bit sheepish. "Ah, she's alright! I don't mind."

"I want my muffin," pouts Gin. "Can I just eat my toast? You can have my eggs!" Meredith sighs, making a face.

"You ordered those eggs, you're not getting out of eating the—" The young woman pauses upon noticing the impish grin on her daughter's face. Her own darkens. "You little imp!"

Gin's grin turns serene. "If you eat more eggs, maybe you'll end up liking them!"

"Mangia." The switch to Italian causes the little girl's face to fall. "Adesso. Hai lezioni."

She picks up her fork and morosely begins eating at the reminder. "Sì, mamma." Meredith sighs suddenly, reaching out a hand to ruffle the girl's blonde hair.

"The fact that I loathe eggs isn't going to change, love," she says wryly.

Lavi's amused voice almost startles the doctor, having forgotten briefly the audience. "She tries to con you into eating eggs?" He suddenly breaks into guffaws of laughter. The other two exorcists chuckle, causing the doctor to blush. Gin remains oblivious, suddenly fixated on devouring her food.

Meredith looks anywhere but the others. "They're her favorite. She apparently takes offense to the fact that I don't like them. I don't know why." More laughter ensues, and Meredith finds herself grinning a little despite herself as she chews on a bit of pancake.

"So, are you from Italy, Miss Connally?" Dark eyes glance over the golem on her daughter's head to peer at Allen's silvery ones. She's ashamed to admit she has to focus on finishing her bite of food to avoid getting lost in them because why in the seven hells does he have such pretty eyes, dammit?!

The young woman shakes her head and stabs another slice of her breakfast. "Good catch. No, but my mother was. She taught me to speak the language when I was a child, so I'm doing the same with Gin. It's…sort of working." Meredith snorts a little, smiling fondly at the girl in question. "Her pronunciation is horrible."

"That word is still weird!" Gin mutters around a mouthful of toast, causing another round of laughter. Conversation from there turns mundane, simple things. The exorcists speak of amusing tales from their missions, complain about Supervisor Komui's latest endeavor in robotics, and argue about whether coffee or tea is the better beverage (Meredith weighs in on that one with a strong vote for even stronger coffee). Meredith interjects with stories from the people she's treated in the infirmary, skirting around the topic of the injured finders which the others don't seem keen on talking about, either. Gin's childlike contributions imbue a sense of levity that is quite a welcome respite from the way gloom has a tendency to cling tightly to the Order and its workers. All in all, Meredith sends a thankful glance to Timcanpy. The conversation proves almost cathartic, and she hadn't been aware how much she'd been craving lighthearted social interaction until it was staring her in the face. The golem is in a sense the reason she approached Lavi, Allen, and Lenalee in the first place.

Once Gin and Meredith's plates find their way stacked atop the tray in front of the doctor, said woman stretches a little and glances down at her daughter. "Well, it's about time for me to get this little rascal to her lessons and myself down to the infirmary. Thank you for letting us eat with you."

Lavi gives a face-splitting grin. "Not a problem at all, Doc! It's been fun." The nickname amuses Meredith greatly. They'd yet to ask her age, and the brunette is quite okay with that. It only means they haven't judged her occupation for it as she looks a little older than she actually is, and it limits the questions about Gin. A glance is spared to the girl again.

"Piccola, say bye to Timcanpy. I'm sure it won't be a problem if you play with him later, but you've got lessons with Ms. Sadie. We don't want to be late to those."

"Ah, actually, I need to talk to Komui, something about a mission," Allen says with a smile as he stands. "I can walk with you. I'll probably have to leave soon, so Tim can stay with Gin until then, if she wants." As if indicating his agreement, the golem in question flits up from where he's still perched on the child's head, flaps a circle around her, and then settles again. If he could grin, Meredith has the distinct impression that he would. Gin's wide eyes and even wider smile indicate her own assent and excitement with the prospect.

Amused, Meredith nods and stands herself. "So long as she still focuses on her lessons. Thank you. Piccola, we need to go."

"Alright!"

Farewells are made, and the exorcist, doctor, and child walk out of the cafeteria with a comfortable hum of a light conversation. Gin skips ahead, chasing after a playful Timcanpy while Meredith and Allen watch, amused.

The boy chuckles. "Tim took to her pretty quickly. I don't think I've seen him do that before." Meredith looks at him, surprised.

"Really?" She blinks. "He's pretty smart for a golem. Has one hell of a personality. I've never seen a golem quite like him. Wasn't he created by a General? Cross, was it?"

She's not expecting him to deflate at the mention of the name, nor is she expecting how meek his affirmation sounds. "Uhh…Allen?"

"General Cross was my master," he bemoans as an explanation.

"Not a good one, I take it? I've heard some stories."

He shudders. "Not even close." All Meredith can think to do is hesitantly pat the boy on the shoulder in consolation. He seems to appreciate the gesture, at least.

They part with Gin at the library where the girl takes the lessons she's started attending in the last two months. Her tutor, a kindly older woman named Sadie who Gin seems relatively fond of, accepts the girl with a smile. Meredith agrees to walk with the exorcist to Komui's office since it is on the way to the infirmary anyway, and they keep a light conversation on the way to the door.

"Ah, I'll step in with you for a moment," she says. "The supervisor has some documents I need for a few patients. Permission for health reviews."

The place is cluttered as it always has been the handful of times Meredith has been in here, and she sighs at it, hand twitching with the urge to straighten the unholy mess even if just a little bit. Allen seems resigned to it as he moves to wake the sleeping man. She's only slightly been warned about the method needed to accomplish this, so she's still somewhat alarmed when Komui pops up from where he'd been hunched over on his desk.

"LENALEEEEEEEEE!" he cries, fat tears flying from his eyes. Allen has to restrain the man as he blubbers something about "boyfriend" and "never in his lifetime". Meredith can only blink at the spectacle, firmly deciding then and there that the supervisor has to be a certified lunatic.

Poor Lenalee

Eventually, they manage to calm Komui down, though they were aided by the very girl he'd called out for since the shout had drawn her attention. Meredith glances to the girl once again with sympathy for the crazy she has to put up with.

"Ah, Allen. Have a seat." He says cheerfully, though his eyes slide over to the doctor and his head tilts. "Doctor Connally? What brings you here?" There's a glint behind his glasses that Meredith isn't entirely sure she likes.

"Supervisor," she greets with a nod. "Do you have the records I requested for those two finders? The permission to release forms? I need access to their medical histories."

Humming, he fusses with a few sheets of paper on his desk of the stuff, before drawing a small stack and handing them to her. She checks the front to make sure they're the correct documents, and to her unending surprise, they are. How he's able to find anything in this mess astounds her.

"Before you go, I actually have a request."

Meredith pauses, and Allen appears to focus a bit more on the conversation. "Oh?"

"Meredith, I want to send you on this mission with Allen." Where the girl's face darkens and her lips purse, Allen and Lenalee's eyes go wide.

"Komui?"

"Why do you need me to go? I thought we agreed when I transferred that you wouldn't send me out anywhere because of Ginevra." Allen blinks and turns those silver eyes back at the young woman. A contemplative look is plastered to his face that Meredith doesn't want to acknowledge.

Komui scratches the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, yes, but I'm not sending you on the mission, per se. You put in a request for some rare supplies that we tracked to the same village. Instead of having a finder or someone else collect them, I figured we could just send you along with Allen since he's going to the same place. That way you can ensure they're the supplies you're wanting."

She sighs. "Avoid a repeat of last time, you mean…"

"What about any Akuma, Komui?" Allen interjects quickly, brow furrowed.

When the man flippantly shrugs, Meredith's not sure who wants to decapitate him more—her or Allen. "Ehhh, there shouldn't be any! You're going to Romania!"

"How can you say that so calmly?!" screeches the doctor, glowering harshly at the carefree idiot they call a supervisor. How did he even get the position if he's like this?!

Lenalee laughs nervously, grabbing a book from her brother's desk and handing it to Allen. "He's probably not wrong, actually. Here're your orders!" The boy accepts the book cautiously and cracks it open, head tilted.

"Romania?" he asks. Meredith makes her way behind the couch to peer over his shoulder at what's contained within. "What are we doing, exactly?"

Komui pushes his glasses up his nose and answers simply, "Searching for someone." Meredith narrows her eyes at the hint of apprehension lining the man's face. "There's evidence that a certain VIP stopped through this town. I'd like you to investigate while Meredith obtains the items she ordered, and hopefully you'll find him."

Meredith is definitely suspicious. "Is that really something within an exorcist's job description, Supervisor?" Komui begins pacing, heightening the doctor's suspicions.

"See, it's not usually something an exorcist would be doing, Meredith," he says. "But this is one mission only Allen can take on."

The boy in question looks down at the book. "Why is…EH?" His scream upon looking at the page causes Meredith to jump. The red skin of his left hand only slightly takes her by surprise as he lifts it to cover his face. Must be his Innocence, she thinks. The poor kid almost looks like he's going to throw up before the book is tossed to the floor, the exorcist who had been holding it trying to suddenly bolt from the room. Lenalee and Komui are far quicker than Meredith to react, grabbing Allen in an attempt to restrain the flailing teen.

"NO!" He all but cries. "No, no, no, no, no!"

The supervisor grunts as Allen struggles to free his arms, though there's a level of sadism laced in his eyes. "You're the only one who can do this! You have to go!"

Lenalee chuckles a little from where she's tugging at the boy's waist. "C'mon, Allen, buck up!" Curious, Meredith breaks from her stupor a bit to wander over where the file dropped. She scoops up the photograph that drifted to land atop the paper on the floor, turning it over to see a very egotistical smirk reflected back at her from the glossy cardstock. The man is draped in an Order uniform, obviously an exorcist, and a hat sits over what looks to be very unruly hair. Half of a mask covers the right side of his face. The doctor blinks down at it, unsure who it is. However, what Allen screams next puts things very neatly into perspective.

"Not Master Cross!" Meredith gulps, looking back at Allen with a sense of abject horror.

"Mio Dio…I've got a bad feeling about this…"


Final Words: First off. Translations (if I made a mistake on any, please tell me. I'm in the process of learning Italian, so it'll help).

Piccola, presentati, per favore - "Little one, introduce yourself, please."

Piccola - "Little one"

Mangia. Adesso. Hai lezioni. - "Eat. Now. You have lessons."

Mio Dio... - "My God..."

Alright! Now that that's out of the way - I want to tell you all now that the characters are going to be a few years older than they are in the anime for reasons. With some of the themes and plot devices I'm going to be employing it made more sense to me to have them be about two years older. So, Allen is 17 instead of 15, Lenalee is 18 instead of 16, etc. It's not going to be noticable or really relavent, honestly, but just so you're warned. Ginevra is a huge plot device in and of herself, and I needed them to be a little older for numbers to match. Don't worry too much about it.

Meredith is a doctor of sorts for yet more plot reasons that are actually going to be shown next chapter, so hold on for that one. Not too much longer. I'll say that she's reached that point from a combination of honest study and another thing that may or may not be green that also may or may not have some sort of support capabilities...

At any rate, I think that's about all I had to say. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!

R&R!
-Sneak