I'm not even going to say anything...


I do not own D-Gray Man. I do own my OCs.


Scrambling out of the shattered windows, the three Exorcists hurried off as the police arrived, trying to blend in with crowd.

Iris let out a loud sigh. "Well that was eventful." She remarked dryly, her hands behind her head as the group walked to Miranda's apartment building.

No response.

Stealing a glance to her right, Iris noticed that Allen was quiet, his brow furrowed and a deep frown on his face. This made her frown slightly as well. The attack must be really bothering him. But then all of a sudden he stopped walking, making Iris and Lenalee pause and look over at him.

"I still don't understand. Why did they stop attacking?" Allen wondered, staring off into space while his brain worked double time.

Lenalee frowned slightly. "C'mon Allen, Iris. We have to keep moving. I'm getting worried about Miranda."

"By worried, do you mean concerned for her sanity (which I'm pretty sure is gone, mind you) or that she may go on a psychotic rampage, scaring little children to and fro?" Iris hummed thoughtfully only to duck as Lenalee's hand tried to make contact with the back of her head. "Missed me~!"

"I'm worried that Akuma might be trying to find Miranda and we need to be there to protect her." Lenalee huffed.

And with that, she started to walk away. The other two followed her but Iris reached over and touched Allen's shoulder. He looked over at her, appearing puzzled as Iris walked at a slower pace, making him match her stride.

"I understand that you're concerned on why the Akuma stopped attacking," Iris said gently. "I'm worried about it too."

The younger teen blinked at her. "You are?"

Blue eyes looked out amongst the crowd, a serious look on her face. "You said you heard a booming voice just the Akuma were about to attack? When it comes to hearing voices, either you're crazy or something bad is going to happen. Since you don't seem to be the crazy type, I have a really bad feeling that something or someone is going to cause major trouble with us in the future. And I don't like it."

Allen looked down, a reflective expression on his face. "But still, why did those Akuma stop attacking...and who told them to?"

Patting him on the shoulder, the young woman smiled. "Don't worry about it Allen. If you keep on thinking about it then you'll have to worry about losing your hair rather than it turning grey." He smiled tiredly at her, grateful for the comfort.

"IRIS! ALLEN! C'MON!"

"Alright, alright! Sheesh! Don't get your pigtails in a bunch!" Iris shouted up to the younger Exorcist, grabbing Allen's scruff and pulling him along.


"Miranda, Miranda, she's all bad luck! Full of doom, full of gloom, what a dumb and ugly duck! Looking for a job today, who cares you'll just get shocked!"

"Those kids are really starting to piss me off." Iris growled when the mocking song reached their ears. "And I thought I told them to knock it off with that damn song!"

"Rather are harsh, aren't they?" Allen commented as the group raced by with Peter holding a snake on a stick.

Lenalee nodded. "I can see why Miranda's upset."

"Ya think?" Iris grumbled.

Grabbing hold of Iris who was busy shooting invisible laser beams from her eyes at the kids, the three Exorcists made their way towards a good-sized apartment building. Walking into the lobby, the man at the front desk looked up and gave them a cheerful smile along with a wave. Waving back, Iris was tugged away by an impatient Lenalee who led the trio up the stairs and down a hallway. When they stopped at a door, Iris could hear what sounded like the next-door neighbor yelling like a banshee at her unfaithful husband.

"Is this it?" Allen asked Lenalee.

Iris moved over and pressed her ear against the door for a few seconds. "I hear wailing. It's her."

The younger girl gave Iris a disapproving frown but reached out and knocked a few times on the door.

Nothing.

Lenalee exchanged an unsure look with Allen before knocking again. Still nothing.

Allen, taking charge, walked over and grabbed the doorknob, turning it and walking into the apartment with Iris and Lenalee following.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET IN HERE?!" Miranda screamed as she scurried away.

Iris stared at her. "Seriously?" she demanded, a vein popping out of her head.

"Well, I...just walked in through the front door." Allen admitted, confused as Lenalee shut the door. "You did leave it unlocked."

Miranda blinked, tears in her eyes. "Oh right. DON'T YOU COME IN AGAIN WITHOUT KNOCKING FIRST, GOT IT?!" she screeched at them.

"But we did knock a couple of times, you just didn't answer the door. We were worried that you might be in trouble so we decided to come in." Lenalee explained while sharing a sheepish look with Allen while Iris just gave the hysterical woman a blank look.

"It's official. She lost her marbles."

Miranda sniffled, her entire body shaking as she stared at the three Exorcists. Allen and Iris watched the woman carefully as Lenalee stepped forward.

"So Miranda-" Lenalee started.

But a shrieking Miranda interrupted her as she climbed on top of a table, looking a bit blue in the face as she shook her head back and forth, tearing pouring out.

"Just calm down, we're here to help!" Lenalee hurriedly explained.

"Can't we just knock her out and tie to a chair or something?" Iris demanded, rubbing an ear.

"IRIS!"

"What?! Her screeching is getting annoying."

"How can I calm down when-!" Miranda was cut off when the chain around her neck broke, and she lunged for something with a scream, only to fall off the table. The sudden scream and actions made the Exorcists jump. Scrambling for the item that had hung around her thin neck, Miranda cradled it her hands as her shoulders shook.

"That spooked me." Allen said shakily.

Iris exhaled weakly, placing a hand over her heart. "Understatement of the century, Allen." She groaned. "Holy fudge bunnies, I think I lost 10 years of my life."

"Is that key for the grandfather clock there?" a slightly startled Lenalee asked, making the group take a look at the clock.

Miranda exhaled softly. "Yes." she answered, almost sad. "I know it's silly. To keep a clock key around my neck." She looked up at the three Exorcists.

Allen and Lenalee exchanged a look and Iris silently coaxed a frazzled Timcanpy onto her shoulder as Lenalee told Miranda that it wasn't silly at all.

"It's a memory from your past, isn't it?" the pigtailed girl ask the woman.

Miranda looked up at her, tears still brimming in her eyes and then looked down at the ground. "There are people out there who struggle in life because they're no good at anything..."


Iris listened quietly as Miranda explained how she was laughed at and mocked throughout her life. By the children she had called friends, the boss who fired her because she was so clumsy and just how miserable her life truly was. Iris huffed quietly. Misery? Miranda knew nothing of the sort.

"…Accept it, Iris..."

Choices.

"…This is your destiny..."

"…Be an Exorcist..."

Excuses.

"…She's too weak. Too young. Her body…"

"…It doesn't matter…"

"…If he could handle two…"

Rejection.

"…She is no longer my daughter…"

"…My beautiful little Flower Bud is gone…"

Release.

'To escape that misery, you must take your own path and be free. But I bear the marks of the path I did not chose.'

Iris pinched the bridge of her nose, letting out a quiet sigh. Timcanpy, sitting on her shoulder, brushed one of his wings along her neck, offering silent comfort.

"I wanted somebody to say "thank you" to me and I wanted them to accept me." Miranda said softly, a slight smile on her lips. She looked sheepishly at Lenalee. "I've…never had anyone say "thank you" to me. That means I've never been helpful to anyone."

From there she explain how she stumbled upon the grandfather clock. It like a mirrored image of herself. Considered useless. Nobody wanted it. When she first turned the key, the first ringing chime moved her very heart.

"Miranda?" Allen asked gently, making the woman look up at him. "Don't forget, we also need your help."

Miranda blinked. "You do?"

"Well, there's not other choice. You're the only person in the entire town that isn't affect by the time loop." He smiled kindly. "In our opinion, its because of your correlation you have with the Innocence found here."

Iris spoke up. "In other words, you're the only one that can help us find the Innocence that you match with and return the town back to its normal time."

Miranda frowned slightly. "You speak of this Innocence. Tell me what it is." she begged.

Exchanging a look with the other two, Iris stepped in.

"It's called from the God Crystal. And its power is beyond belief. Innocence can cause mysterious wonders, some might even call them miracles. It can take on any form and inhabit anything, even ones that we wouldn't even think of. Those monsters that attacked us in the pub? Those are called Akuma and they are after Innocence to use against us."

Lenalee took over. "As Exorcists, its our job to...hunt down and collect Innocence and destroy any Akuma we come across." she explained.

Realization dawned upon Miranda and she let out yelp of terror. "Is that the reason I've been attacked lately?!" she demanded. "Because I don't think I can help you! I don't even know what this Innocence looks like!"

"That's okay," Allen said, kneeling before Miranda. "You must have been in contact with it at some point. That's why we all need to look for it together."

Miranda huffed. "Don't look at me like that! That's your job!" she said before crawling away.

A tic mark appeared on Iris' forehead. "Excuse me?" she hissed. "Like it or not, you're part of this now."

Miranda looked up at her tearfully. "I'm really sorry but I don't think I can help you! You're the ones with all the power, not me! I'm a weakling! I'll just hold you back from saving the town just I've done since I was girl. " she sobbed.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Iris scowled out the window as Allen attempted to pacify the paranoid woman. No one had a choice once Innocence chose them to be the Accommodator. Lenalee was dragged from her home and away from Komui, Iris had been born with her winged Innocence and was dragged into the Order at a very young age and Kanda...

Kanda.

Iris shook her head, firmly. No time to think of the past. But she wouldn't deny it. They needed Kanda's straight forwardness to get some sense into Miranda. If they couldn't convince Miranda to help, who knows how long they'll be stuck in the rewinding town.

"Please Miranda." Allen begged. "Will you help us?"

At some point during Iris' musing, Miranda had moved back over to clock and began to polish the glass. The woman glanced back at them tearfully before giving them a shaky nod.


Miranda took them out around town, pointing out what she did every day and the places she visited often. As they walked, the three Exorcists formed a protective triangle around Miranda all while keeping an eye out for Akuma. Miranda explained that after she reads the newspaper, she hears her neighbors fight, then takes her walk with the children singing the blasted song and throwing the snake; and after all that, she goes looking for a job.

Suddenly Allen and Lenalee went tense and looked around wildly. Iris raised an eyebrow at them. What was their problem?

Leading them to a newspaper stand, Miranda opened a book with job listings. She pointed out the clippings. "Problem is everyplace that's hiring are places where I've been fired from in the past." she sighed, closing the book.

Lenalee smiled weakly. "So is there any other places you go?"

Miranda looked up. "Just one. In the old shopping district."

As Miranda lead them towards the district, Iris looked up at the red sky. After walking around for hours they still had no clue of where the Innocence could be hiding. Miranda insisted that she lead them everywhere she normally goes but nothing seemed out of the ordinary but the presence of the three Exorcists. Miranda's gasp of excitement made Iris look over curiously.

"This is the store where I first saw the clock." With a happy giggle, she hurried over to dig through a crate. "At night, I like to go through this bin of trash and repair whatever I can." she explained as she cradled a torn stuffed cat to her chest.

"Another man's trash is another man's treasure." Iris quoted, peering into the box.

Leading the Exorcists back to her apartment, Miranda pulled out a sewing box and sat down at her table while Allen and Lenalee gathered around her. Iris stood by the window, keeping an eye out for anything thanks to Lenalee's suggestion. With surprising expertise, Miranda began to mend the torn toy. "I just can't ignore things that have been abandoned. Its against my moral being."

Allen let out a soft hum and leaned over to Lenalee. "I was hoping to be alerted to something but came up empty."

"Me too." the girl said, obliviously disappointed.

"Oi." Iris' voice made the two look over at her. She seemed tense herself, arms crossed over her chest as she leaned against the wall. "The Innocence will show itself when the time's ready. Relax."

Pausing in the stitching, Miranda let a tired yawn, which wasn't surprising seeing how it was nearly midnight. Sighing, Iris pinched the bridge of her nose as the clock's rhythmic ticking was starting to make her tired. Looking over, Iris quirked an eyebrow at Lenalee who was staring up at the clock and then looked over her shoulder with a grin.

"Just a couple more minutes till midnight." she declared.

Iris straightened up form her position and walked over to Allen and Lenalee. "Be ready for anything." she ordered.

Allen blinked. "Why?"

The white haired Exorcist resisted the temptation of rolling her eyes. "Think about it. One specific day is being repeated over and over again. At what time would a new day usually begin?"

The two went quiet for a moment but Lenalee gasped in realization.

Ding! Cue the light bulb.

"Midni-!"

The echoing gong of the clock interrupted her, signaling the time. The moment the chime sounded, Miranda froze, her dark eyes glazing over.

She stood, the chair sliding back as the clock sounded. Allen frowned.

"Wait what's going on?" he demanded.

"Miranda?" Lenalee called out cautiously.

Iris waved a hand in front of Miranda's face. "Yoo-hoo! Heyo? Anybody home? Miranda?"

The woman ignored them, walking straight to her bed and climbed in while still dressed in her day clothes.

"You're going to sleep?" Allen questioned in disbelief.

Iris stared at Miranda as the woman pulled her blankets over herself and placed her head on her pillow. "Well, most people do go to bed when its midnight." she commented.

"That was bizarre." Lenalee said, a surprised look on her face.

"What I find bizarre is that she could fall asleep that fast." Iris said, twisting her head to get a better look at the sleeping Miranda. "I've never se- HOLY CRAP!"

Allen and Lenalee let out gasps of shock as clock appeared all over the room. The ceiling, the walls, the bed, even the windows. As more appeared, a blue light emerged from the clock and covered the room in a blue haze.

"What is this?" Iris demanded.

"I-I-I don't know!" Lenalee stammered, her eyes trailing out the window. "Look! Outside! There are clocks everywhere."

Allen spoke up, his eyes trained on the grandfather clock. "Look. The clock is turning backwards."

It was true; the hands of the clock were turning backwards. 12, 11, 10, it kept on going. A sudden strong suction came form the clock, all the clocks that decorated the room being drawn within the clock. The three Exorcists crouched down, trying to keep themselves from being drawn into the pull from the clock.

Lenalee flinched and shifted her weight but the force pulling at them managed to get a hold of her. Letting out a shriek, she flailed madly as she tried to grab hold of something.

Allen, hearing his comrade's cry, whipped around and stretched his hand out. "Grab my hand, Lenalee!" he cried out. The girl grabbed his hand in a panic, and using surprising strength, Allen pulled her close to his side.

Iris squealed as the suction started to pull at her. "No, no, no!" she cried out, clinging onto the floor and leaving scratches on the wood.

"Iris!" Allen called out, reaching out and grabbing Iris' wrist to tug her against his side. Tucking herself into a ball, Iris cowered under Allen's protective arm and shouted,

"That's it! I HATE this town AND this Innocence!"

Lenalee looked up at the passing clocks and gasped. Images of the past time spent in the Rewinding Town zoomed past the trio. Allen and Iris talking to each other, the Akuma attacking in the diner, it all ran past them and went into the grandfather clock.

"What's happening?" she cried out.

"It's destroying everything that happened today!" Allen shouted.

"Oh how wonderful!" Iris screeched.

It ended as fast as it started, the curtains lazily falling back into place over the windows as sunlight tried to peek through.

"THE SUN?!" Allen spazzed as the three Exorcists gaped at the light and Timcanpy fluttered madly.

The grandfather clock let a chime, the hands at 7 o'clock. In the morning.

"What. The. Hell. Was. That?" Iris asked slowly, peering out the window to see a few people walking around outside already.

"I...I have no idea." Allen stammered, his face pale.

A soft moan alerted the Exorcists as Miranda sit up in bed, a dazed and tired expression on her face. She blinked. "Oh, no. I don't remember going to bed at all."

The three turned to stare at the woman, all looking a little blue in the face and strands of hair popping out.

Iris let out groan and did a face plant into the floor with a bang. "Screw this." she moaned into the wood. "I'm wanna go home where clocks don't go all screwy and try to suck you into some funky portal and where little boys don't hear imaginary voices in their head."

"Hey!" Allen angrily pouted at her. "Who are you calling a "little boy"?"

"You unless Lenalee, myself, or Miranda grew a pair in the last 5 minutes." Iris mumbled.

XxX

Soon the sky turned dark, and while Miranda was making tea for the trio, Iris and Allen were inspecting the clock. It took a few minutes to get the older Exorcist up and moving but they did it.

"What do you think?" Allen asked, glancing over at his senior.

Iris pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Its possible. If Miranda is the only one who can tell that time is being repeated, that this clock responds only to her; plus that really creepy time rewind we just went through, we just might be looking at Innocence here." She scratched her head, her brow furrowed. "We can say it's an Equipment Type Innocence, that's the oblivious part. But how was Miranda activate it I wonder?"

Could she be...

Allen studied the clock and reached out, the tips of his gloves barely even touching the oak…

"Iris?"

The two jumped when Lenalee called out for the Exorcist. The white haired Apostle growled and looked over at her shoulder. "What?"

Lenalee beckoned her over, her eyes trained on Miranda's back as she fixed the tea. When Iris left Allen's side for hers, Lenalee whispered to her,

"Did you and Allen find a way to find the location of the Innocence yet?"

"...We were working on it until you interrupted us." Iris said answered, annoyed.

Lenalee flushed. "Sorry."

Miranda's footsteps made them pause in their conversation, placing a steaming teacup in front of Lenalee with a soft smile. "Here you go."

Lenalee took the teacup with a sigh, enjoying the soothing aroma. "It smells great."

"Lenalee! Iris! You've got to come and see this! Quick!"

Allen's excited voice made them turn around, curious to see what the boy found.

He grinned at them with Timcanpy sitting on his head. "Pretty neat huh?" He spread his arms out wide. "I'm a clock Exorcist!"

Allen somehow managed to fit in entire body into the clock, with only his head and arms sticking out of the top and sides. He. Looked. Adorable.

Lenalee and Miranda both shrieked in surprise.

"You okay Allen?! How did you do that?!"

"GET OUT OF MY CLOCK!"

Iris stared. "How did you do that and can you teach me?" she asked, grinning widely at the prospects of tormenting Kanda when they got home.

Allen crouched down to slide his upper torso through the clock and raised his arms to calm to the two hysterical women. "No, no. Its okay, I'm not even touching it." He said soothingly as he completely stepped out of the clock. Miranda, taking advantage of Allen being out of her clock, crawled over to embrace it while looking a little blue.

"I'll show you. Watch what happens when I try to touch it." Allen instructed, his hand reaching out to touch the clock's face. "See?"

"Ooo! Can I try?!" Iris called out, a grin on her face as she watched Allen's entire arm slide through the face and his hand reappeared, sticking out of the clock.

"Iris!" Lenalee scolded the older girl. "Now is not the time!"

Iris pouted. "Party pooper."

"See? No matter what I try, I can't touch the actual clock." Allen explained, withdrawing his arm and then inserting it back into the clock.

"Wow. It went right through again." Lenalee said in awe while Miranda whimpered.

Allen smiled, wriggling his fingers. "What I think is, is that the clock is being very selective. Only Miranda can touch it."

"My Innocence senses are tingling!" Iris chimed in a singsong voice, leaning against the wall.

Lenalee frowned. "Which means, that the clock is most likely activated."

"Factoring in the timeline rewinding earlier, the most likely reason of this phenomenon has to be Innocence." Allen declared, withdrawing his arm from the clock. "It's just as Iris and I theorized."

Miranda jumped up, her eyes wild. "Wait, what are you saying?! That my clock is the one causing time to reverse in this town?!"

Allen blinked. "Yeah." But he cowered back in terror as Miranda morphed up while holding a rather big and sharp looking butcher knife.

"Don't tell me...that you'll destroy...my only...friend!" Miranda hissed, holding the knife up.

"What is it with you people and pulling things out of nowhere?!" Iris demanded as she eyed Miranda warily. "Sheesh! Where do you get these things?!"

Lenalee, after her pigtails stopped standing up like a pair of bunny ears when seeing the knife, automatically tried to calm the woman. "Easy! Now Miranda, think hard okay? There has to be a reason why the clock why the clock has chosen to act this way. Just try to remember. All the way back to the original October 28th."

"I have idea too. How about we get the sharp and pointy knife away from the scary lady first?" Iris suggested from her spot behind Allen.

Slowly Miranda lowered the knife, giving Allen the chance to slowly ease the knife out of Miranda's grasp. As he did this, Miranda began to remember and relayed the memory to the Exorcists.

"I remember that day because I had been fired for the 100th time-"

"Holy crap you do have bad luck."

SMACK.

"OW!"

"IRIS!"

"Losing one job just once is hard enough but 100 times is down right pathetic."

"Yeah it is."

"IRIS!"

SWIPE.

"Ha ha! Missed!"

BONK.

"Continue Miranda." Allen said kindly as Iris huddled in the corner, nursing her goose eggs while Lenalee glared down at her.

"And that's how I felt."


(Flashback)

Miranda sat in front of her clock, a number of empty wine bottles surrounding her as she sobbed. A half empty wine bottle tipped over, the crimson slowly pooling unto the polished floors.

"I don't think I can take this much longer!" Miranda wailed. "Think positive!" She let out a halfhearted chuckle. "So what does that mean? I don't even care about my life anymore."

She sniffled, teats falling rapidly down her cheeks. She felt so alone, so unwanted. That empty void inside her grew, the turning and twisting turmoil of being alone. Taking in shaky inhales, she wept,

"I wish tomorrow would never come."

The moment those words left her lips, a single ringing chime echoed from the clock and an invisible light radiated through the town.


"That's it!" Lenalee declared.

"Yeah. You made a wish. And the Innocence in the clock mad it come true." Allen agreed.

"NO WAY!" The teary Miranda gasped, waving her arms wildly. "I was depressed and complaining, nothing more! I don't even understand why a clock would do that anyway."

"As I was saying from the very beginning," Iris said annoyed. "Innocence can take on any shape or inhabit any form. And I'd say after seeing all this evidence we collected proves it."

Lenalee nodded. "Miranda...is it possible that you're the accommodator of this Innocence?" she wondered.

Allen whipped around to stared at Lenalee with shock. "You think so?!"

"Think about it. If the clock is causing the time loop in reaction to Miranda's wish that it's possible the two are syncing up."

Iris stared at them. "...THAT'S WHAT I'VE SAYING THE WHOLE DAMN TIME! " she yelled, a vein pulsing in her forehead. "DO YOU PEOPLE EVEN LISTEN TO ME?!"

"Then I could of caused all this?"

"Miranda see if you can reason with the clock and have it stop reversing time." Allen instructed.

Iris wilted in a corner, a dark cloud over her head. "I hate you all."

Taking a deep breath, Miranda approached the clock and placed her hands on her face. "Hello my dear, will you do me a favor and make time back to normal again." she begged.

The sound of the newspaper being shoved through the slot in the door made Allen and Lenalee run for it like the Earl was on their heels. Opening it together, the two scanned the paper for the date, Timcanpy and Iris peering over Allen's shoulder.

"It says October 28th!" Lenalee called out.

"Interesting..." Allen hummed.

"How is it interesting?" Iris question. "We're still stuck here in the rewinding town and the supposed accommodator can't even stop her own Innocence. Who knows how long we'll be here."

"It has to be her," Lenalee insisted. "It's the most logical explanation."

Allen was silent for a moment, his grey eyes studying the paper. Then he dropped it and did a 360, walking over to a depressed Miranda and placing a gloved hand on her shoulder. At his touch Miranda let a shriek of surprise.

"Hey don't worry," Allen said soothingly. "Everything will be back to normal soon."

Lenalee popped up from behind Allen with a sheepish smile. "Uh, Miranda. We need to come up with a plan."

Iris crouched down, her face buried in the paper as she read a small ad at the bottom. "Hey Miranda?"

The pale woman looked over at the call of her name. "Yes?"

"You said that the only places hiring are the places you've been fired from, right?"

Miranda sagged in depression and Allen and Lenalee rounded on Iris.

"Iris!" Allen said with a frown. "We're trying to help her! Not depress her!"

"Did you have to bring that up?" Lenalee demanded, hands on her hips.

"First off, she is already depressed enough fill up an entire country." Iris told them with a sniff. " And second. Miranda."

"Ye-Y-Yes?"

A twinkle appeared in Iris' blue eyes. "How do you feel about being a witch?"


DON'T HURT MEEEEEEEE!

I don't think anything I can say to make it up to you wonderful readers and reviewers out there!

Thank you all for reviewing!

To Dinos are cool: Thank you for reviewing and I'm glad that you shared your opinion on my story. There are reasons to why Iris has wings and a scythe but that's going to be in the far future.

P.S. - I think a few characters from Soul Eater, Pandora Hearts, Naruto, 07-Ghost, Shugo Chara, Vampire Knight, Bleach, Seikon no Qwaser, Durarara and Queen's Blade would disagree with your note on scythes being bad weapons.

REVIEW PLEASE! It helps make my world go round!