Chapter 2: Becoming an Exorcist
Next chapter up! :D Not sure if I made any of the canon characters a little OOC so let me know and I'll try to fix it if I really need to.
Thanks to akkichan1, VivaciousWolf245 and IvoryMoonlight for reviewing! :D Glad you find this interesting so far!
Hope you enjoy and don't find this boring! ^_^ (If you do, then I'm sorry T.T)
Disclaimer: Dark-Flame Alchemist doesn't own D-Grayman except her OC
The anxious twelve-year old and her general waited patiently for the arrival of the new branch head of the European branch of the Black Order.
They were sitting on a couch in the office with a desk across from them that was filled with stacks of paperwork.
"He sure is busy… either that or he's just plain lazy," Kurai commented on her observation, comfortable expressing her opinion to her mentor.
General Yeegar chuckled, "Now my student, that's not nice. He really is a good man."
She let out a sigh, "Sorry Master." The old man just smiled and patted her head as they continued to wait.
Not too long after, a Chinese man wearing a scientist coat, hat and glasses came in, "Good afternoon, you two. Sorry I'm late," he greeted while striding towards his desk and sitting down on his chair. He moved a stack to one side so that he could face the two properly.
"That's quite all right, Komui. Kurai is going to be living here after all so there's no need to rush things," the general stated, "Say hello, Kurai."
She bowed her head in respect, "It's nice to meet you, sir. I'll be looking forward to staying here."
The new branch head smiled, looking at the timid girl, "That's right. You recommended this young lady to be a full-time exorcist. Another one her age just joined a few weeks ago. Plus, my little sister has been here for a while too."
"Wait, you're Lenalee's brother?" she asked, thinking that she did see a resemblance to Lenalee, but wasn't sure.
He nodded, "I am. My name is Komui Lee. The staff and I are excited to have you join our ranks, especially with the few exorcists we have at the moment."
Afterwards, he and General Yeegar began to converse about her living arrangements and other necessary information that the general needed to know to assure Kurai would be safe in headquarters.
A smile formed on Kurai's face. This was the first time she met this man and she was already happy with him unlike the previous branch head who was just plain mean and scary. She was glad that she and Kanda were only at the headquarters for a brief time before they went to study under their generals, but she felt sorry for Lenalee who had to stay behind. She still did to this day, but felt relieved to know her brother was here for her now.
"So, if that's all you needed general, you can leave now if you want while I have her synchronization rate checked out. She'll also need some tests taken," Komui stated.
Before the general could answer, a voice cut him off, "Brother, I brought your coffee. You left it behind in the other room."
Kurai and General Yeegar's heads turned to see a turquoise-haired girl with a coffee mug in her hand. She was wearing what Kurai assumed was the exorcist uniform, consisting of a long-sleeved blue jacket with the Black Order symbol and white trimmings, a matching skirt with visible shorts underneath and knee-high boots. She recognized that the girl before her was Lenalee who was shocked to see Kurai. They didn't say anything and only stared at each other.
"Oh my sweet sister! You're so kind! Bringing your big brother his forgotten coffee! Can I hug you, please?" Komui looked like he was restraining himself from doing something he'll probably regret. Lenalee and Kurai had sweat drops on their heads from Komui's behavior while the general didn't say a word.
Kurai's view of the new branch head had now gone from a respected leader to a weirdo with a sister complex.
"Oh brother, stop being so embarrassing…" Lenalee complained while walking over to the desk to place down the coffee. She then smiled at the other girl, "Good to see you again, Kurai."
Kurai nodded and smiled back, "You too, Lenalee."
Komui couldn't hold it anymore and hugged his sister, crying, "Lenalee! I'm so glad that you finally reunited with your friend again!"
"Brother, stop it!" she then tried to pry him off, but he wouldn't budge.
The crimson-eyed girl frowned at the sight as her master shook his head, "Well, I think my work here is done. I really should be heading back now anyway." He then stood up and faced Kurai, "I expect to hear great things from you. When we see each other again, hopefully it will be in battle."
Kurai did something that she never did before – she threw her arms around General Yeegar and gave him a hug, "Thank you. I'm glad I had you as a teacher. I'll make you proud."
He patted her head, "You already have. Goodbye exorcist Kurai." After they broke their hug, he smiled at her one last time before leaving the office. Kurai was now on her own with no more mentors to guide her.
Komui finally calmed down and adjusted himself on his seat while Lenalee dusted off her skirt. He then realized that somebody was missing in the room, "Hey, where's General Yeegar?"
"He already left, but you were too busy to even notice," Kurai told him.
"Oh… my bad. Well, let's go see Hevlaska then, shall we?" he informed her before handing sheets of papers to Lenalee, "Can you give this to Reever before meeting up with us?"
Lenalee took the papers from her brother's hand, "Sure, Brother. I'll see you both in a few then." She then gave Kurai another smile before leaving the room with Komui and Kurai left.
Komui then stood up with Kurai doing the same, "Ok, let's get going."
~…~
Komui made Kurai take some tests to get the details of her speed, strength and agility.
Once they finished, she waited in a room for Komui to come back with the results. Eventually, he arrived, "Your skills are impressive, I have to say. You were taught well. Now we just need to go check your synchronization rate."
He left the room with Kurai following behind him. They walked onto a platform where Komui shut the gate behind him and pushed a lever to make the platform rise up.
He stopped it and stayed in place, not doing anything.
"Are we waiting for someone?" she asked curiously, not knowing what was going on.
"Hevlaska," he said simply, "Don't get scared though; she won't hurt you."
Kurai didn't question him any further, just waiting for something to happen.
Soon enough, a tall, immense humanoid-like creature spiraled up in front of them. Kurai was amazed, never having seen anything like it before. Although, she wasn't sure if the creature was looking at her since there were no eyes visible. There were tentacle-like arms all over the body that were floating around too.
"Kurai, meet Hevlaska. She is an exorcist as well as the guardian of this branch for the last hundred years. Hevlaska, this is Kurai, the new exorcist that just joined us. She is the accommodator of the Sacred Daggers," Komui formerly introduced.
"It's nice to meet you, Kurai… I was looking forward to our meeting ever since I felt the arrival of your presence…," Hevlaska spoke in a slow manner.
"You too…" Kurai managed to say while she was still amazed with the unique-looking exorcist, "You're really tall, by the way."
Komui and even Hevlaska chuckled at the child's astonishment before he cleared his throat, "Okay, have Kurai's synchronization rate checked please."
Immediately, two of Hevlaska's tentacles rushed toward Kurai and wrapped around her, raising her up from the lift. She suddenly got scared.
"Just calm down Kurai; remember what I told you," Komui assured her.
Kurai did as she was told and stayed as still as possible without trying to freak out. Hevlaska's body glowed brightly.
"Eighty-eight percent," Hevlaska concluded before gently letting Kurai go back on the platform, "Unusually high for a girl her age, even the other boy's rate was at eighty-two percent."
"It's to be expected since she received her innocence at the age of eight and has been training with them ever since," Komui mentioned while writing some things down on his clipboard.
Kurai raised her eyebrow after fixing up her shirt, "Just how much do you know about me?"
"Besides the time you received your innocence, you grew up in the Asian branch with Kanda, your birthday is December 6th and you were raised by your mentor, Miko Uchiha, an exorcist of the Asian branch who died in the accident that you survived in…," he stopped himself from continuing and looked at the young girl who's eyes hardened a little, "I'm sorry… I shouldn't have mentioned the touchy subject."
"It's fine. Can we just get going please," she requested while crossing her arms.
"Of course," he told her before reaching the lever, "Goodbye Hevlaska. I'll see you later."
"Very well then, Komui... Oh and Kurai…"
The said girl looked up at her, "Yes?"
"I have seen your future... There will be obstacles that you need to overcome... but you'll get through them... and in the end... you'll find what you've been searching for...," Hevlaska predicted.
She sighed, "That's what everyone else would say… that I'll get through them, but what if I don't?"
"I assure you of what your future holds… You just need to stay strong and trust yourself…," Hevlaska added.
Kurai smiled and bowed, "Thank you Hevlaska, I hope you're right."
The hundred-year old exorcist gave a nod before disappearing down out of sight.
~…~
"I'm glad you stood your ground with her, unlike Kanda who almost sliced her up when she entangled him," Komui frowned as they walked along the hallway.
Kurai giggled a little, "Sounds like Kanda to me."
"Hey, you finally laughed."
She became embarrassed and looked away.
"Don't be all nervous. It just shows me that you'll do fine here," he guaranteed.
"Thanks… I still think you're weird though," Kurai bluntly stated, causing him to cry, exclaiming how he just loves his dear sister and why people think that's not normal.
"Brother, you're so loud! I was able to hear you from this very spot!" Lenalee scolded as the two entered his office. She was sitting on a chair next to his desk, apparently waiting for them.
"B-but Lenalee!" he sobbed, going to a corner.
Kurai shook her head, "That's some brother of yours…"
"Indeed," Lenalee agreed while massaging her temples.
As the young exorcist took her seat on the couch again, another person walked in the room, "Hey, you're the new branch head, right?" he asked the crying man.
Kurai took a good look at the person, recognizing his uniform as a general's since her master had the same gold trimmings with a black coat. He was tall and possessed red hair with a hat on top of his head. Plus, he had a mask that covered the right side of his face, making him mysterious.
Komui immediately stood up straight and composed himself as he went back to his desk, "Sorry about that and yes, I am Komui Lee, the new branch head of this headquarters." He was now all serious while talking to the high-ranking exorcist in his presence.
The man smirked, "Good. You seem like a better one than that other guy who was so annoying. The name's Cross Marian, by the way, and I'm just here to give in a report," he said before placing some papers on the desk.
After knowing his name, Komui seemed to recognize who he was right away, "So you're the notorious general I heard about who keeps disappearing all the time. I should consider myself lucky that you stopped by. I take it that you'll be leaving again as soon as you're done with your business?"
General Cross nodded, "Have another long mission to do right away," he responded before noticing the two young girls in the room, "Now who do we have here?"
"This here is Lenalee, my sister and that over there is Kurai Uchiha. They are both exorcists of the Order," Komui told him.
"Uchiha, huh?" Cross whispered before taking a good look at Kurai, then to Lenalee. He tipped his hat to them and smiled, "Hello ladies."
"Hello to you to, general," Kurai and Lenalee greeted simultaneously with the latter curtsying and the former bowing her head in respect.
He chuckled at their good manners, "They'll definitely be fine women one day…"
Komui gritted his teeth, not liking the general one bit, "I also heard that you can be quite the womanizer… so I would appreciate it if you didn't get near either of them, especially my darling sister."
"We'll see when they get older," he grinned, saying his goodbyes before leaving the office.
Komui sighed, "That's probably going to be the first and last time I see him."
"Brother, what's a womanizer?" Lenalee asked him, not knowing the meaning.
"Maybe it's like what your brother does, only worse," Kurai declared from her observation of both men's behaviors.
The branch head blushed before yelling, "I do not have a problem and please don't compare me to that guy of all people!" He then turned to his sister, "Lenalee, shouldn't you be showing her to her room already? The poor girl needs her rest."
Kurai huffed, "I do not…"
Before Lenalee could say anything, Komui lightly pushed her and also Kurai out of his office, slamming the door shut.
They then headed to her new room which was in the same floor as Lenalee's. The small area consisted of a bed, closet, desk and bedside drawer with a lamp. On her new bed laid a box which had some possessions and a few sets of clothes and pajamas that she brought with her. She knew she didn't need much since she was just going to wear a uniform most of the time, but she still wanted some casual clothing. They were mostly like what she was wearing at the moment – black pants, a long-sleeved red shirt and knee-high boots – except they were different styles. Also, her cloak that she previously wore when they got to headquarters was now in her new closet since she didn't need it yet.
Lenalee helped Kurai unpack and put everything away before the older girl was hungry so they went to go eat.
"I'm sorry about my brother. I think it's because we were away from each other for so long that he acts like that," Lenalee apologized to Kurai as they walked down the stairs to another hallway, intending to go to the cafeteria.
"There's no need to apologize. To tell you the truth, I prefer him over the other branch head. I really should be the one saying sorry for leaving you though," Kurai sadly replied before a hand rested on her shoulder. She turned her head to see Lenalee smiling at her, "You're here now and that's what matters. I also think we're both doing much better than before, don't you think? You're becoming more social from when we last saw each other."
Kurai nodded, "You're right… and you also look happier."
"I really am," the teal-haired girl beamed as she removed her hand from her friend's shoulder and they continued to walk.
"By the way, how's Kanda doing? Is he nicer now?" Kurai asked curiously.
"Kanda's still Kanda," Lenalee told her.
She pouted, "Oh come on! You're too nice! Just say that Kanda's being a pompous, arrogant brat!"
"What the hell? Who's talking about me?"
Lenalee and Kurai looked forward to see the familiar, scowling face of a certain Japanese boy with dark hair that was held up in a ponytail. He was wearing an exorcist coat that was long-sleeved and went down to his knees along with black pants, boots and his sheathed sword held up on his waist by a belt. It was Kanda Yu.
He walked until he was in front of them. His eyes widened when he recognized Kurai before a scowl was replaced once more, "Oh great, it's you. I had a weird feeling all afternoon that you were around and hoped I was just getting a cold."
Kurai snorted from his rudeness, "I don't see you for a few years and this is how you greet me? By the way, Yu is your name, remember?" she mocked him.
He growled, "You know I don't like being called that, boke (knucklehead)! Why are you here anyway?"
"You're as rude as ever, sakana (fish). I'm officially an exorcist now, thank you very much," she explained to him before running a hand through her hair, "I can't believe I actually missed you… and here I was excited to actually go on missions with you."
"Che, fighting akuma is dangerous, you know. I would rather you stay here at headquarters where it's safer since it'll be a pain to watch over you," Kanda claimed.
"I beg to differ! Do I need to remind you that I've had more experience than you in the field? Far longer than you have?" she declared.
Kanda had nothing to say back, knowing she was right, so he just glared at her while she did the same. They made it seem like they were in a staring contest to see who was going to drop dead first from the stares.
Lenalee decided to stop the bickering and separated them from each other, "Now, now you two. Let's just go down to the cafeteria and eat some lunch." She didn't wait for a response from either of them, just pushing their backs with her in between them.
~…~
They finally made it to the cafeteria with a few people around, mostly finders who were sitting together in some tables.
Lenalee led the two to an open counter where the kitchen could be seen behind. Out of nowhere, the chef popped out. He had black hair that was braided up, dark skin and he also wore sunglasses, although he was indoors.
"Lenalee, my favorite girl! How are you today?" he asked her, all happy.
She curtsied, "Very well, Jeryy."
He clapped his hands, "Just like I taught you! I'm so proud!" he wiped a tear drop that fell down his eye. Kurai and Kanda just blinked at the interaction between the two, not saying a word.
"Thank you," Lenalee smiled before gesturing her hand towards her friends, "This is Kurai, the new exorcist joining us and you know Kanda."
Jeryy gave a nod to Kanda before facing Kurai and going into a gentleman-like pose, "It's nice to meet you, my dear. I'm Jeryy, the head chef. Feel free to ask for whatever food you want!"
Although she became a little shy, Kurai bowed her head in respect, "I'm pleased to meet you too, sir."
The chef became all cheerful, "So polite! I'll make you something special! What would you like to eat?"
She gave it a thought before deciding on what she wanted, "Soba noodles please."
"Coming right up! And please just call me Jeryy! Sir makes me feel old…," he told her before looking at the other two kids, "and how about you Lenalee? Kanda? What would you like?" he asked while starting to prepare Kurai's food.
"Not hungry," Kanda immediately stated before leaving, heading for a table.
"Umm, I'll have some of that soup I had yesterday," Lenalee decided.
"Will be done in a jiffy!" he said before going to work. Kurai was amazed at how passionate he was with his cooking. She couldn't help but feel, though, that she had seen the skills and techniques before. They reminded her of the chef from the Asian branch when she was living there. She just shrugged it off and waited for her food.
After a few minutes, their orders were done. Kurai and Lenalee each got their trays and thanked Jeryy for their meals before going to the table where Kanda was just resting his head on the palm of his hand. Kurai sat next to him with Lenalee sitting across from them.
"Kanda, why don't you eat? I've barely seen you do ever since you got here," Lenalee told him.
"Che…" was his reply.
"Leave him be, Lenalee. He's too stubborn," Kurai stated before starting to eat her food with Lenalee doing the same.
Not too long after, she noticed eyes looking at her and saw that Kanda was staring at her food. She looked down at her food, then at Kanda, "You want some?"
Seeing that he was caught, he turned forward and closed his eyes, "Hell no. It looks weird."
Kurai frowned, but smirked all of a sudden, "Hey Kanda, what's that over there, to your right!"
He abruptly opened his eyes and looked in the direction Kurai told him, "Huh? Where?"
Quick as lightning, she stuffed some of her noodles in his mouth.
He got all mad with his full cheeks that made him look like a squirrel, "What the hell? Are you trying to kill me?" he was trying to say with his stuffed mouth.
"Hmmph… just chew and swallow it, sakana," Kurai ordered him while continuing to eat her food, "I don't want you spitting out perfectly good food." Lenalee just shook her head at the two.
Giving up, Kanda did as he was told and slowly ate the food like he was being poisoned. After what seemed like a while, he swallowed it. His eyes became all sparkly and his face looked like he had an epiphany from tasting something so great.
Kurai grinned from his reaction, "You like?"
He got out of his daze and cleared his throat, "It's… all right."
She chuckled at his denial and pushed her tray of food towards him, "Take it then. I already ate enough and there's plenty more."
Without a second thought, Kanda ate the noodles while Lenalee and Kurai were being amused by the scene.
The doors to the cafeteria opened and in came two scientists – one of them had sandy blonde hair that stood up with a slight stubble on his chin while the other had big glasses, headphones on his head and hair that was up in two small puffy pigtails.
"Hello Reever! Johnny! Are you on your break?" asked Lenalee.
The sandy blonde-haired rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, your brother is killing us with the work he doesn't do. It's pretty annoying."
"Besides, we wanted to greet the new exorcist and get her measurements for her uniform," the other one replied.
"Well, you're in luck. Here's Kurai," Lenalee stated, pointing at her.
Kurai became all nervous and bowed her head in respect, "Hello."
"So we got another young one again, huh? Hi, my name is Reever. Welcome to the Black Order," he said while shaking her hand.
"Mine is Johnny! I'll be the one to take your measurements and design your uniform!" he smiled before shaking her hand too, "You don't mind if I do it now, do you?"
Kurai seemed hesitant and looked at Lenalee for help – the Chinese girl ushered her friend that everything was going to be okay. Trusting her, she nodded at Johnny, "A-all right."
"Awesome!" he stated before asking her to stand and extend her arms. He then went to work, commenting to himself about the design he was going to do.
While Kurai was trying her best to be as comfortable as possible, she couldn't help but look at each of the faces she encountered that day.
She watched as Kanda continued to eat the soba noodles, enjoying them like a little kid.
Lenalee and Reever were conversing, laughing a bit from talking about her brother. Komui suddenly came in, wondering what was so funny.
Jeryy was cooking a meal for another finder, smiling while doing his job.
She finally saw that Johnny was done with his task, telling her that he'll have the uniform done soon enough before he went to join the conversation between Lenalle, Reever and Komui.
As Kurai went back to her seat, she couldn't help but smile, thinking that her new life wasn't going to be so bad after all. She had familiar friends with her and she felt that, little by little, she was going to be more friendly and comfortable with everyone else as the days go by. She was sure of it.
'Master was right. I think I'm going to be okay here.'
Like I said, hope you like this so far. Sorry there was no action, but there will be some next chapter! Lavi won't make his appearance for another three chapters while Allen won't appear until about the 20s.
Review please!