Disclaimer : I do not own D. Gray-man, it belongs to Hoshinou Katsura. The only thing(s) I do own is/are my OC(s).

Black & White

chapter 1

｢Mira Nicol｣

Have you ever looked up at the midnight sky before, and felt small and fragile compared to the millions of glistening stars above? Well, at the moment, that was how I was feeling as my sky blue orbs took in the majesty of the night that was all around me. It was quiet, a very peaceful and tranquil quiet that one does not normally find within the crowded streets of the city. It was to be expected though, seeing how I was no where near a city in the first place. I was in fact on a large, wooden sail boat that made its way though the darkened sea to the continent known as China. A large, white moon hung high in the star infested sky, its light so bright it reminded me of a beacon leading wary travelers to safety. I smiled at the thought, pulling my dark cloak around me as a cold breeze swept across the deck. My luminous blond hair, which was pulled and thrown over my left shoulder in a low-hanging side pony-tail, swayed in rhythm with the cold gust of wind before settling back into placed only moments later. My eyes lowered from the moon to the sea, and for a few moments I watched in silence as its dark waves splash up against the side of the boat, and then turned into a bubbling foam before returning back into the salty water. My ears perked up at the sound of a door being opened and shut, and soon after I heard a pair of heavy foot steps walk across the wooden surface of the deck and stop a respectable distance to the side of me.

"I do believe this is the first time I've seen you without hood since you boarded my ship, miss." Came the strangers gruff voice.

"My apologies captain, but I tend to feel self-conscious being unveiled around such a large group of sea men, such as yourself." He chuckled, and I heard the fabric of his sleeve rustle as he raised his arm to the back of his neck. I stole a peek at him from the corner of my eye, taking a chance to study the broad man beside me. He was tall, so tall in fact that my head didn't even come up to his shoulders. If I were to guess, I would say he was around 192 cm*, which was a big deal considering I was no taller than 148 cm*. He had a rugged appearance, as per usual of a sea captain, with uncombed, choppy chocolate hair and a pair of worn out, copper colored eyes. From what I could tell, he seemed to be in his late thirties – early forties. He had on an old, dirt colored long-sleeved shirt, which was probably white underneath all that dirt and grim, and loose cotton pants that had a hole above his right knee, and random rips and tears all along the sides of it. For foot wear he had on a pair of thick leather boots, which I found appropriated for the job he held.

"I suppose you would be. You're rather young to be traveling by yourself like this." I turned my head so that he could fully see it, a smile adorning my face as I looked up into his eyes.

"Please do not be fooled by my height," I said, my voice mellow and light, "but I am much older than I look, and I'm quite able to take care of my self when the situation calls for it."

"Ah, yes. My apologies then." I could tell that he didn't fully believe me, but then again, if I were in his shoes I probably wouldn't either. It was rather odd to see a girl of my appearance and physique traveling alone on a boat full of men twice to three times my size, but in stead of saying that I just shot him a closed-eye smile and turned back to gaze out at the horizon. A silence fell between us as we both stared out into nothingness, each of us lost in our on thoughts. Eventually, the captain cleared his throat and turned to me. I simply glanced up at him from under my long eye lashes, waiting patiently for him to say what ever it was he needed to say.

"You should head inside and get some rest. We won't be arriving at port until sometime tomorrow. It's best to save your energy until then."

"I suppose you're right. Good night, captain." We nodded at each other before turning to go our separate ways, me to my tiny cabin and him to do what ever captains do in the late hours of the night. Silently as a ghost, I slipped through the door the captain had emerged from and headed down a flight of stairs to the sleeping quarters. Since I was the only girl on the ship, I was assigned a room to myself, much to my relief. I walked down a narrow hall, passing cabins full of snoring men, before taking a sharp right down another hall and entering through a door at the very end. I shut the door securely behind me before untying the cloak from around my neck and setting it down on a near by chair. I looked around the small, square room that I had been staying in for the past four days. The room had a single bed pushed up against the wall and the far corner, with a teeny tiny square window in the middle of the wall to my right. To the right of the window, right beside me, was a wooden desk with a simple wooden chair pushed under it. A candle, which provided the only light in the room, was placed at the far left corner of the desk while a journal sat in the middle of it. The journal had a worn out leather cover with thin, line-less paper in between it. A gray duffel bag sat hunched against the leg of the table, the top part opened to show that someone had recently been in side of it. I bent over and blew out the small flame on the candle, before turning around and walking the five steps it took to reach my temporary bed. Since I didn't want to sleep in my only day time clothes, pulled off my lace-up sandals before quickly stripping out of my tan sailor skirt and long sleeved, semi-bushy cream colored sweater. Picking up the folded T-shirt that was laying on my bed, I pulled it over my head and watched as it fell mid-thigh. Of course it would be too big on me, seeing as it was one of Master's old cast offs, but it provided for good sleeping wear regardless. I folded my clothes and set them in a neat pile at the end of my bed, and then once I was satisfied, I climbed into the cold bed and pulled the thin covers over my body.

At least this is the last night I'll be spending on this boat. Was the last thought that ran through my mind before my eyes slowly closed and sleep over took me.

It seemed like it was only a matter of minutes before I was awoken by the sound of yelling and loud foot steps above me. Bright rays of sunlight streamed in through the small window, quickly arousing my mind from its sleepy state. I yawned and stretched my arms and legs, feeling the nice sensation of unused muscles stretch. Pushing my blankets off my body, I pushed my self up and out of bed. A shiver ran up my spine when my bare feet come into contact with the cold ground below me, and I couldn't help the groan that left my lips in response.

"Last day, huh?" My eyes gazed out of the window to the clear blue sky outside. The ocean, which last night had been dark and unnerving, was a calming blue color against the intensity of the sun. I sighed, stretching my arms above my head once again, and then quickly changed from my sleep ware into my normal day clothes. I hooked my finger under the band that held my hair together and pulled it out, letting my hair flow back behind my shoulder. Grabbing the hair brush from within my duffel bag, I brushed my hair at a leisurely pace, making sure to get all the stubborn knots and kinks out of it. Once I was satisfied, I placed my brush back into the bag and pulled my hair over my left shoulder, wrapping the band around it to keep it in place. Grabbing my cloak I tied it around my neck, pulling the hood up over my head as I opened the door and left the room. I made my way down the halls and through the door that led to the deck, making my first appearance into the sunlight that day. The first thing I noticed upon leaving the threshold of the ship were the dark, ominous clouds that floated on the horizon.

"There's a storm coming. I looks like it's going to get bad." The captain said, moving to stand beside me. I glanced up at him, wary of the warning that seemed to lurk in his voice.

"Yes, but I'm sure you can handle it. You weren't named captain of the sea just for show, so I've heard." I watched as a ghost of a smile played across his face, disappearing just as fast as it had come. His eyes hardened, a serious expression taking control of his features.

"It's not just the storm that worries me, miss. It's the things that might lurk within it." With a pat on my shoulder, the captain turned on his heel and walked away, shouting orders here and there to crewman as he went.

"Things that lurk within it." I mused silently to myself, my gaze locked on the nearing clouds ahead of us. "We'll see."

For the next few hours, I loitered on the deck, being sure to keep out of the way of the crew members. Every now and then one of them would stop what they were doing to making friendly chit-chat, which resulted in the captain reprimanding both them and myself for not getting the work done. However, all to soon the storm was upon us.

"Man the sails! Don't let us go adrift men!" Wind, water, and rain pounded against the ship in an attempt to sick it, the fury of the ocean evident in each wave that tried to uproot us from the water. I watched from the security of door as the men rushed, slipped, skidded and tumbled over each other in the rush to complete each of the captains orders. The wind blew hard against the ship, it's vengeful burst accelerating the rising water as it tried to sweep away the crew into the dark depths of the ocean. Least to say, the situation wasn't good. I jumped in surprise as a loud roar of thunder suddenly clapped in the sky, and soon after that I saw a bright streak of light hit the water.

"Master, I'm going to kill you when I see you." Pulling my cloak tightly around myself, I pushed open the door fully and stepped out side into natures chaos. I quickly made my way up the stairs to where the captain stood behind the wheel, almost falling when one of the crew pushed past me on the stairs.

"Captain!" He quickly turned, giving my a once over before shouting more orders out at the crew.

"You shouldn't be here, miss. Please return to your room." He said, tightly gripping the wheel until his knuckles turned white with the strain.

"Isn't there anything I can d-" I instantly lost my balance when a large wave hit the boat, throwing men off their feet and sending ropes flying from their hands as they desperately tried to regain their balance. The captain quickly reached out and caught my arm before I could fall, pulling me against his chest and holding me there securely just as another wave fell over the deck. The wind whipped at my cloak harshly and the rain felt like millions of tiny pellets as they beat against the bare skin on my legs.

"Please return to the cabin quickly, miss. This isn't any place for someone like you." Although my pride took a hit with that, I couldn't help but agree with him. Just as I was about to submit to his request and just return to the dryness of my room, an all too familiar sensation shot through me.

"No," I said, pushing away from him as I quickly scanned the area around the boat, "you're going to need my help in a second."

"Wha-" I heard it before I saw it. Without a moments hesitation, I acted. Closing my eyes, I concentrated on the massive energy quickly shooting toward the boat. A ball of warmth started to gather within my chest, before swelling and spreading through out my entire body. I felt light and at ease, regardless of the situation at hand, and soon I didn't even feel the cold rain beating savagely against me.

"In coming!"

"Those monsters are attacking again!"

"Captain!"

"Miss!" The captain called urgently over the cries of the crew members as they spotted the zooming purple bullets heading straight for the boat. The captain reached out for me, just seconds away from being hit by the akuma's attack. However, just before the bullets hit, before the captain could get a hold of me, my eyes snapped open and a blinding light shot out of my body and surrounded the ship. The bullets exploded as they made contact with my barrier, creating a huge cloud of smoke that swallowed the entire ship within a dark, gray cloud. The smoke cleared and the captain and the crew opened their eyes, gasping at the sight before them. Surrounding the ship was a shimmering orb of transparent light, a barrier I had created. The rain, no longer falling on us, bounced off the barrier as the waves splashed feebly against it.

"Don't worry. I'll handle it from here. Just concentrate on getting the ship to port, okay?" The captain stared down at me, eyes wide and mouth agape.

"Something wrong?" He wasn't able to answer, though, as the second wave of attacks came. Once again my barrier deflecting them effortlessly. Once the smoke had cleared, I was able to finally spot my opponents. Surrounding the ship in a menacing circle was a chain of level one akuma.

"Miss, this is-"

"Don't worry," I said, easily cutting off the captain, "just focus on getting to port, okay?"

I jumped up on the rail with a easy leap, before letting my legs push me off of it into a high jump. Catching onto the rope netting, I quickly climbed to the top and into the crow's nest. I figured the captain had finally snapped out of his stupor when I heard him yelling commands at his crew to get the ship back on course. The large round lumps of akuma stared at me with their haunting eyes, their ugly faces twisted into a half-crazed smirk.

This isn't good. My eyes traveled to the akuma one by one, scrutinizing them as they did the same to me. The truth is, I don't have any offensive skills . . .

"Captain!" I yelled above the howling wind to the man below me. Upon hearing me, he glanced up at my location inquisitively. "How much longer 'till we reach port?"

"We're still a ways off!" He replied, instinctively flinching as the akuma's restarted their feeble attempt to break the barrier protecting the ship, "If I were to guess, I'd say a couple hours, give or take."

Damn. My eyes narrowed as I looked back at the malicious looking akuma, my mind going a mile a minute as it tried to come up with an idea that could spare us of the akuma's wrath. If only master were here, then there wouldn't be a problem. I can't do anything to get rid of them as I am right now.

As the akuma continued with their consistent attack, I figured the only thing I could do was try and wait it out. As long as a higher level akuma didn't appear, I was pretty confident that I could hold my ground until we were close enough to master that he could sense their presence.

If only I could risk using that. But . . . my eyes scanned the people rushing on the deck, watching them as they went about their duties hurriedly. Their eyes were filled with both fear and a confidence so strong it surprised me a bit. I sighed, stuck in a silent battle with myself. It wasn't as if I was afraid of it getting back to master, he already knew about my special condition as he liked to call it. What I was more worried about was it getting back to other people, such as the exorcists.

I'm in the middle of the ocean. I don't think I really have much to lose here. Letting the air I had holding captive in my lungs slip through my teeth, I closed my eyes and forced myself to relax. What ever repercussions there would be for doing this, I would just have to face them later.

Bree: Hey guys! Sorry that this chapter is kind of . . . well, blah. But I suppose all first chapters are. As you probably noticed I got lazy at the end, so for that I apologize. It's been tiring with school and babysitting so cut me a little slack okay? XD For those of you who don't know what cm (centimeters) converts to in feet & inches, I've decided to be nice and tell you.

*148 cm – 4'8" 1/2

*192 cm – 6'3"

So yeah . . . poor Mira is a shortie. Well, hoped you liked it regardless of its blandness. I might go back and revise/rewrite it eventually, but for now this will do.