Diamond Flower
Summary:
On a mission to retrieve a possible Innocence and its accommodator, the exorcists are thrown into a side of the world they never knew existed when they witness the destruction of an akuma by human hands. What is Chronos, and who are the Numbers?
A/N:
I'd like to clear up a few things about this crossover. First and foremost, this follows from D Gray-man right after Cross's 'murder' and before the Timothy arc. For Black Cat, it will follow the anime counterpart during the time Train is still a member of Chronos, but will contain a mix of anime and manga events. This also means that he has yet to meet Saya. The location of the Black Cat world will be assumed to be in Japan, and thus the currency will follow in yen. Owing to that, there will be a seven hour difference between the happenings in the Black Order, and that in Sapidor. The name and geology of Sapidor is fictional and taken from the Black Cat manga. And no, I won't do any yaoi pairings. Just no. In fact, I'm not sure if this story will even last long enough to see a pairing.
That aside, don't forget to review and above all, enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Black Cat nor D Gray-man.
[1]
The Beginning
December 16, 00:01
Location: Unknown
A silent shadow against the white moon, the black-robed assassin loomed over the cathedral from his perch on the roof. Golden pupils narrowed as they locked on to the shadow of their target, dangerously surveying its movements behind the window of stained glass. The wind blew, throwing up the tail of his coat.
The shadow behind the glass moved.
The man leapt.
His sinewy shadow raced across the skies like a preying bird. Diving at an inhuman speed, he landed smoothly on the courtyard and slammed the hilt of his gun to the back of the head of an unsuspecting nun.
The woman fell to the ground, unconscious.
The others patrolling the grounds immediately whipped around to the source of the noise. Yet, all of them were too slow to prevent his unwelcome intrusion.
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
The crows, disturbed from their rest, took to the midnight sky. They cawed angrily at the man as he flashed into the church, only to be surrounded by half a dozen more nuns. Their guise up, the women threw off their black robes, revealing themselves to be armed guards as the black barrels of their guns glinted in the minimal light.
Even though they reigned in numbers, they were just as easily disposed of as their companions outside the building. They barely noticed when he blitzed the entire group and dashed straight for their client.
There was only the click of a gun as it pressed into the man's neck.
"Y-You're one of those Chronos people?" he gasped, his eyes making out the thin XIII tattoo carved into his assailant's chest. Fear of his impending doom was no less evident than the shudder of his breath.
Slit, golden irises glared up at him in a cold, ruthless gaze. A murderous aura emanated off his being, his words laced with finality as he spoke.
"I came to deliver bad luck."
Bang!
Blood splattered onto the carpet as the man fell. His bulging eyes held stagnant tears in their corners.
He never drew breath again.
~A~
December 15, 17:00
Location: Black Order, Europe Branch, Komui's Office
"Allen!" Lavi greeted just as the younger exorcist stepped into the paper littered office, Link a step behind his young charge. Catching his junior in a headlock, the red-head grinned cheerfully. "We finally get to go on a mission together! Along with Kuro-chan!"
Said white-haired exorcist scanned the room and its occupants, catching Lenalee's beautiful smile, Krory's nod, Reever's exasperated frown, and Komui's almost serious look. Almost, because the Supervisor was still sobbing somewhat, using a soaked handkerchief to clean his face of the tears that had undoubtedly been brought about by the false announcement of Lenalee's marriage.
"Allen-kun, Lavi, your mission," Lenalee said, handing out the black-backed files to the two exorcists before passing one to Link. They muttered words of thanks before being ushered to the sofa. Komui, who had stopped his hysterics, immediately started the briefing. He pulled down a map and slammed his palm against the marked destination.
"The four of you, Link included, will leave for Sapidor, Japan, tomorrow," Komui instructed, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Detailed information can be found in there, which you should read while you're on your rather endearing journey."
"Sapidor?" Krory repeated.
"It's a small country with a population of 1.2 million, overlooking the Sea of Japan," Komui explained. "Our finders situated there have reported something that might just be another Innocence. Your mission is to check out the object, retrieve it if it is an Innocence, and, if it has one, its accommodator."
"I see… wait, you said four? So Lenalee's not joining us?"
Lenalee nodded.
"I'm assigned to Paris to investigate the Thief G situation there, along with Kanda and Marie," she explained. Allen noted a hint of grudging acceptance in her voice. "Several of our finders who were sent there are currently in custody with the police. We're going to retrieve them in a few days' time, after Marie's recovered from the previous mission."
"Lenalee's upset that she won't get to see the festival," Lavi whispered into his ear, causing Allen to blush. Then he blinked.
"Festival?"
The teen nodded.
"You will take Gate 58, which is the nearest," Komui interrupted, "Gather in front of Gate 9 tomorrow, at 11:00 sharp. When you arrive in Japan, it's a two hour journey by train from the village to the destination point. Expected arrival time should be 20:00, Japan hour. Any questions? No? Then go and get ready. I will personally-"
"Oh no, you don't!" Reever exclaimed, catching the eccentric half-chinese by the collar of his coat just as he moved to exit the room. "You are staying here to finish your paper work! Like you should have done weeks ago!"
"But Reeverrrr…"
"No 'but's, Komui!" The scientist growled, before turning to the audience in the room with a smile. "Allen, Lavi, Krory, do make sure you bring back a few souvenirs if you manage to catch the festival! I heard that their fireworks are something to look at."
Nodding, the party of three exorcists and one CROW member left the room and headed for the cafeteria, leaving the echoes of Komui's protests behind them.
"It's good to be working with you again, Krory," Allen remarked. "We haven't been on the same mission ever since Edo."
"Likewise."
"What about me?" Lavi pouted. "All of your missions have been with Yu and two-pimples. ("T-Two-pimples?" Link cried out in indignation, only to be ignored by the Bookman Junior.) On the other hand, I keep getting paired up with Chaozii and the Old Panda. You'd think they're trying to separate us or something…"
Behind them, Link suppressed the urge to cough.
"So, what's all this about a festival?" Allen asked, genuinely intrigued.
"Figures you'll be the first one interested, Allen."
The boy flushed red.
"A festival sounds nice…" Krory added, his interest also piqued.
"Isn't it?" Lavi agreed, cheerfully skipping ahead of the group. "See, there's a carnival to be held at Sapidor's port several days from now. It's a huge festival that occurs once every year," he explained, sounding more and more excited with every word. He spun around to face them. "The fireworks at the climax of the festivities are really famous. There're even people who actually take time to travel there just to watch them!"
"Then of course, there's everything else you'd find at carnivals: lots of food, drinks, games, and stores selling all sorts of goods! It'll be a blast! That is, if we stay long enough to catch them."
"I'm sure Link won't mind if we stay just a bit longer, right?" Allen beamed at his supervising officer.
Seeing the look on the innocent boy's face, Link could only say that he was very much unnerved by his charge. He would never get used to that eerily pleasant smile whenever the boy wanted something to go his way. Steeling his voice, he replied, "We will dawdle in that area no longer than required."
"The Innocence had better not be an easy find," Lavi muttered under his breath. Link glared at him.
"Then, I'm sure that you are well prepared to write a full report detailing why you took longer than necessary to secure the Innocence, am I right, Bookman Junior?"
Lavi sulked.
"You're no fun at all, two-pimples."
"T-Two-!"
"Ignore him, Link. Lavi's mindset is that of a child."
"Allen, do I have to remind you that I'm four years your senior?"
Krory smiled at the three-way squabble that had erupted from a casual conversation. After everything that had happened in the span of a few months, such a scene was almost nostalgic. Because of the recent revelation that Allen was the host to the memories of 14th Noah, many of the other exorcists were tense whenever they talked to the boy, as if they expected his Noah to awaken at any time. It was painfully obvious that Chaozii and Kanda were taking great lengths to avoid him, and even he was just as guilty of such a thought.
He wondered if Eliade would chide him for thinking that way of the person who brought him back into society.
"…ro-chan!"
Krory blinked in surprise when Lavi's gloved hand swept downwards before his eyes, startling him out of his thoughts.
"Lavi?"
"Ah! Kuro-chan's back!" He cheered, before that smile melted away into a neutral expression. "What were you thinking about? You looked so serious."
Looking his comrades, Krory shook his head.
"It's nothing. I was just thinking about Eliade," he answered, a slight blush creeping onto his cheeks. This did not go unnoticed.
"Oh! Kuro-chan's blushing!" the Bookman Junior teased, poking him in the ribs. "So, what about her?"
"Lavi!" Allen scolded.
His smile returned and he chuckled again. Truly, this was one of the few precious moments where prejudice did not reign. Allen's weariness was obvious even through the mask that he put on. A festival would work wonders. It would serve to take their mind off the current affairs, even for a little bit, and restore their spirits. He would try to talk to Link, for Allen's sake, try to persuade him to allow them to stay for the celebrations.
Because if he wasn't mistaken, then beneath that stoic, workaholic front that the CROW member tried to maintain, Link was just as worried as any of them.
~A~
December 16, 01:50
Location: Unknown
Train drained the last of his milk before setting aside the empty bottle, allowing his gaze to linger on the moon. Again, he had killed. Again, his hands were stained with the blood of someone else. But that was how reality was, wasn't it? Kill or be killed. Only the strong would survive. That was the rule of the world. His teacher, his parents' murderer, had taught him the way of the gun. Sephira had taught him to kill. Both taught him to show anything but mercy to his targets. And yet…
Please! Please let me go!
He shook his head violently, scaring his feline companion, Shiro, from its drink. It looked at him with wide eyes and mewled curiously, sadly. He regained his stoic composure and shook his head.
"I'm fine."
That's right. He was fine. As long as he continued his job to erase those who threatened the peace of the world, he would show no mercy in his kills. He had been told that the man was a tyrant, that he had done many awful things while the village was under his tyranny. That's why, if he was killed, the village would surely be better off. The evil was vanquished, the peace restored, and the villagers free.
He had done good again, hadn't he? And truthfully, he couldn't continue to dwell on the morality of the world. His previous mission to assassinate the newly elected governor Lib Tyrant was swift and deadly, though he had made his presence known to the man with the suitcase. Dwelling on such trivialities would only hinder his performance, just like it did at that party.
A gun was a weapon for killing. That, only that, and nothing more. At the very least, he didn't suffer, much.
BAM!
That's right… One bullet to the head, bam, and everything was over. He doubted that the man even felt anything, and everyone would be better off as well. All was good in the world.
And it was then that he cursed himself for being so caught up in his thoughts. His narrowed eyes immediately swept the area around him, an instinct honed from experience. Shiro stared at him curiously.
That sound just then was most definitely a gunshot, and though he shouldn't be the slightest bit concerned about what was happening, there was something… wrong… about that sound. He frowned, just as the night rattled again with the sound of metal shells.
BAMBAMBAM!
Locating the source of the gunshots, the stunned assassin easily deduced that it originated a fair bit of distance away from his abode, somewhere towards the south. It would take him less than fifteen minutes at top speed. In any other scenario, he would have cared less.
But not this time.
It was impossible for its echoes to travel so far, and as loud as it had been.
By the time the Black Cat arrived in the area, however, the culprit was already long gone. Although, the state of his surroundings told the Chronos eraser all he needed to know about this mysterious assailant. His fingers brushed over the craters formed in the soil and stone, apprehension growing as he followed their trail. When the trail lead him to a deserted part of the district, his eyes widened and his breath hitched.
Where bodies should have been, all that was there was a mound of dust over bullet-ridden fabric and discarded shoes.