Woo, new chapter 9 because the other one failed! Actually there's not much that's new about it. I wanted a new beginning, but then I couldn't get inspired so I just pasted the old chapter 9 on the end of it. But whatever! XD Anyway, sorry it took so long to update, hopefully I get re-inspired here again soon and we can have a brand new chapter. Hope you enjoy reading it and please review! I do not own D. Gray-Man.


Kanda saw Niya stand up from her hiding place, stupidly exposing herself to attacks. Her face was shocked, but there were also traces of anger: the same anger that had been there when they had first met. He smiled slightly. She was still the fighter she had always been, and even if it was unwise for her to go up against the Akuma, he still felt pride in her fighting spirit. After all, he had helped to develop it. He destroyed another Akuma on his way over to her, feeling relief that she was alright. That feeling soon turned to dread, however, as an Akuma rose up out of the wreckage behind her. The Akuma glared at the young woman, and started toward her. Fortunately for Niya, the Akuma tripped, its legs tangled in the remains of her house. To vent its rage, the monster picked up a large board from the ground and threw it at her. As Kanda watched with wide eyes, still trying to reach her, to somehow warn her, the piece of wood collided with Niya's head, and her eyes rolled up into her skull. She collapsed in a heap, the impact of her fall jarring her wooden staff from her grip.

"Niya!" He cried again. Instead of veering off toward her, as he had been intending since he charged in, he let his momentum carry him past her, and with next to no effort he smoothly decapitated the Akuma that had thrown the board. He turned around, ready to kill any more that appeared, but his fellow Exorcists had gotten to the scene by that point and had mostly taken care of the opposition. He quickly knelt down beside the fallen Niya and checked her over. She didn't seem to be injured seriously; she would just have a headache when she woke up. He picked her up as the others finished tidying up, her staff clutched in one of his hands and her body cradled in his arms.

"Is she alright?" Lenalee asked him as she came over.

"WHO is she, is the question." Lavi said from behind her.

"She'll be fine, and she's an old friend." Kanda answered shortly, walking past them. "She needs a place to rest now though."

The other three looked at each other, and shrugged. They obviously weren't going to get an explanation until Kanda was sure she was alright, so there was no point in nagging him until then. The trudged along after him, speculating privately.

--

A young girl, barely four years old, sits in her front yard with her toys spread out around her, engrossed in a game of pretend. Her father works nearby, sanding down his latest project as a woodcrafter: a long wooden staff, good for both fighting and walking. He smiles at her, content with this happy life.

Suddenly the peaceful silence is interrupted, and a huge Akuma descends into view of the father and daughter.

"Run, Niya!" Her father cries, jumping to his feet, the unfinished staff held defensively in his hands. "Go to Auntie Mer's house!"

The terrified little girl stands frozen for a moment, then, heeding her father's cry, flees down the road to her Aunt's house. Ever since the Akuma had taken her Exorcist mother's life, she had been afraid of the creatures. She had nightmares about them regularly, and now they were about to take away her father as well.

"Auntie!" She cried as she reached the tidy little house. "Auntie, Akuma are attacking Daddy!" As her aging Aunt comes running out of the house, Niya wonders what she is doing. The Akuma had taken her mother from her; would she allow them to take her father as well?

"Niya, stay here. Go inside." Says Aunt Mer as she runs past, an old, worn sword in one hand. Niya hesitates, then, for the first time in her life, purposely disobeys one of her family members. She quickly grabs a large stick lying on the ground just inside her Aunt's gate, and runs after her. Her shorter legs, however, are not suited to match the pace of her Aunt's, and she quickly falls behind.

By this time, the neighbor's are aware of the attack, and are coming out to examine the damage or help. One of Niya's neighbors, an elderly man who had always been very kind to her, was hobbling down the street as fast as he could. He sees Niya; recognizes her.

"Wait, Niya, you can't go up there!" He cries after her in panic as she rushes past him. He turns and pants after her.

"Niya, you can't—! Wait!" His voice gets more afraid as she travels further away from him. She ignores him, and a scream from up ahead spurs her on.

After what seems an eternity, especially compared to the few minutes it took her to get to her Aunt's house, she finally reaches her home. There is not much left of it.

Desperately, she runs into the yard, hopping lightly over the charred fence, looking about for some sign of her small family. She sees none.

"Niya, wait! Come here, child!" The neighbor has finally caught up to her. "Don't go around there, Niya, come back," he warns as she starts around the only standing corner of the house. Once again, though, she disregards his tone and keeps walking.

When she turns the corner, she regrets it.

With a scream, she hurls herself forward, trying to deny the sight that meets her: her father's clothes, and the staff that he had been using to defend himself, surrounded by a sickly looking dust. Another pile nearby, with the old rusted sword and her aunt's clothes piled haphazardly around it.

The neighbor's frail hands interfere with her lunge for the dust, pulling her back. She fights them, but they are still strong despite their age. She falls to the ground, and watches her tears pool in the dark brown dirt beneath her. They are beautiful, in a sad sort of way. She's aware of mumbled conversation around her, but doesn't pay attention to it. Instead, she contemplates her tears in the dust.

"What a shame…"

"First her mother, now her father and aunt…"

"Oh, the poor child, where will she go now?"

"Her mother's best friend will take her, I'd imagine…"

"Yes, but…"

"What shall we do with her now?"

"There's nothing we can…"

"Well, I think…"

"So tragic…"

The voices all whirl in her head, merging into one vast sound. She is limp when they pick her up and carry her into the neighbor's house. All she sees, all she hears, is the buzzing sound of too many voices, and her tears, beading together in the dirt.

As they lay her down on a soft bed, however, a sense of vertigo overtakes her, and she struggles. Gentle voices shush her, calming her, and a blanket is pulled up over her shoulders.

The vertigo clears, and she awakes to light, and Kanda's worried face hovering above her own. His eyes light up slightly as she stirs, and she feels a sense of déjà vu as she slips back into the comforting darkness.

--

"Well, Kanda, you've got some explaining to do," Lenalee said as the girl drifted back into unconsciousness. He sighed, knowing she was right.

"Alright," he said hesitantly. The others stared at him, having never heard that tone of voice come from him before. He sat down in one of the hospital chairs, motioning for them to do likewise. He fixed his eyes on Niya's face before starting.

"She came to my house years ago, when she was a little more than four years old. Her mother, an Exorcist, had been killed a year or so before, and the Akuma had just recently targeted her and her father. Her father and aunt, her only remaining family, were killed in the attack. My mother had been her mother's best friend, so she came to stay with us. In a way, we adopted her, though she was never part of our close-knit family as I was."

He stopped his narrative briefly to lick his lips.

"Is that it? She was like you're sister?" Lavi, never subtle, asked in the silence.

"No, it was never like that." Kanda said, ignoring Lavi's impatience. "She was never like my sister. She just lived with us. She was, at first, a stranger, someone who kind of usurped my place in the family, a weakling who had lost everything. Then she became a friend. Then…" he hesitated, not knowing how to go on. Lenalee finished the sentence for him.

"Then you fell in love."

Kanda nodded, looking startled. Lenalee smiled gently at him.

"We females are always more aware of these things than men are," she said wisely, before motioning him to continue the story.

"Well, yes, we fell in love," Kanda continued. "We were going to be married, until it was discovered I was the Accommodator for an Innocence, and was taken away to the Black Order two years ago." He lapsed into silence. The others stared at him.

"That's…tragic," Lenalee murmured. Kanda immediately flared into anger.

"We don't need you're pity!" He said, eyes blazing. He hated revealing himself to others; he felt so vulnerable and weak afterwards. Lenalee seemed to sense that, though, and wisely said nothing. Kanda clenched his hands into fists and bowed his head.

"Well. Do you think she is an Accommodator?" Lavi asked, more to break the silence than out of any real curiosity. Kanda's head snapped up.

"She can't be!" He said incredulously.

"Why not?" Lenalee replied reasonably. "After all, Akuma don't usually go after the family of an Exorcist, especially if the Exorcist is already dead. Perhaps they know that she is an Accommodator, and that's why they attacked her."

"But—" Kanda started to protest.

"But nothing, Yu," Lavi interrupted. "Besides, if she were an Accommodator, she'd come to Headquarters with us. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Kanda stared at him, but was saved from having to answer by a small moan from Niya. He immediately looked at her, his concentration centered on her well-being.

She sat up groggily, looking thoroughly befuddled. "What happened?" She asked. The four Exorcists looked at each other, and then settled back again.

"Are you sure you want to know now?" Kanda asked her gently, one hand tenderly touching her brow. "It's a long story."

She looked up at him with foggy eyes, and nodded.

He sighed. "Well, then, where shall I start?"

Her eyes narrowed. "When you left."

He winced, and sat back down. "Alright…"

And so the tale began.