Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-man.

Chapter 10

"How did your mission go, Miranda?" Marie asked once he had managed to find Miranda. She had been gone for a few days, and none of the other exorcists had heard back about the group on the mission. He hadn't exactly been worried, it had only been about three days, but he couldn't help but wonder how she was doing. It was always a relief when a friend returned to the Order from a long mission.

"It went fine, how have things been here?" Miranda sounded tired, but it was to be expected. Exorcists returned to the Order as soon as mission were completed with the Ark; they didn't get a chance to rest before returning back. Miranda's innocence was also very energy draining which would have added to her exhaustion.

"Things have been fairly tense around here. Since the staff was informed about Allen being the 14th things have been more than a little uneasy," Marie admitted.

"Oh," Miranda mumbled. She hated that everyone seemed to hate Allen, even though he hadn't done anything to harm anyone. Even if there was the chance that he would he hadn't yet, Miranda just couldn't see why everyone thought so poorly of him.

"Don't worry, I'm sure everything will sort itself out. Usually when something like this happens it takes a few days for the shock of it to settle a little," Marie assured.

"Really? I didn't think anything like this had happened before," Miranda questioned. She hadn't been at the Order very long, but she was sure that she would have heard stories from someone if there had been another situation similar to the current one in the past.

"There haven't been situations exactly like this before, but there have been situations where the order has been given to kill exorcists. Usually they betrayed the Order somehow, and every time it's happened before things were about like this for a week or two after. Don't worry, things will be a bit less tense in about a week," Marie explained.

Upon entering the cafeteria Miranda could tell what Marie had been talking about. It seemed everyone who knew about the situation that was in the cafeteria at the moment just ate silently. Not more than five minutes after Miranda and Marie had gotten their food and starting eating had Allen entered the cafeteria. With his entrance accusing murmurs could be heard between many of the newer members of the science department. Only the finders, it seemed, were unaware of the situation.

"Poor Allen," Miranda broke the silence at their table.

"He does have rather unfortunate luck, doesn't he?" Marie agreed with her comment.

"Do you think one of us will really have to kill him eventually?" Miranda knew that she shouldn't let the conversation take this type of course, but she couldn't help it. She was fond of Allen, she wanted to protect him because he had been so kind to her. She thought of him as a younger brother, and the thought that he may someday kill them if they didn't kill him was a hard thought for her to grasp.

"Who knows. I doubt any of us could say for sure," Marie answered.

"Marie, do you want me to read to you?" Miranda asked.

"If you would like to," Marie said, "It's been awhile since we've had the time to relax, so it does seem like a good idea."

"Do want me to pick a book, or find a few and read the summaries to you?" Miranda asked. After three times getting lost the two had finally managed to find the library, and they were both very glad to see that many of the books from the old Head Quarters had been salvaged.

"Pick a book that you think sounds nice," Marie smiled.

"Oh, okay," Miranda smiled back as she began looking at the various books, occasionally pulling one from a shelf to read the back of it. After about five minutes she had found a good book, and walked over to the small table Marie was sitting at. The room in this building that was being used as the library didn't have a soft, carpeted floor like the old building had. Miranda started reading.

Neither of the two exorcists had realized just how much time had passed until Miranda realized they only had three pages of the book left. It had been a fairly long book, and after she had finished reading she glanced at the clock that sat near the door. It showed that they had been there for nearly two hours.

"Wow, we've been here for two hours," Miranda laughed slightly. It was nearly nine o'clock at night, if the clock was correct.

"I thought it seemed like you had been reading for awhile," Marie said.

"I guess I had. It didn't really seem like that long, up until the last few pages. Do you want me to start another book?" Miranda offered.

Marie shook his head no in response, "Your voice is getting hoarse from talking, you should take a break."

"I guess you're right. Do you want to go get dinner?" Miranda asked. Neither of them had been hungry earlier before they went looking for the library, so they hadn't eaten dinner yet that day. Miranda was starting to get hungry.

"Sure, hopefully we can find the cafeteria," Marie agreed. He was sure he would be able to hear the usual babble of voices from the cafeteria, but he still had trouble finding the generally crowded room sometimes.

"Yes, hopefully," Miranda agreed. She wasn't going to admit how many times she had gotten lost trying to find the room. Even though she visited the cafeteria so often she just had a poor memory for directions and it showed in situations like this.

Thankfully it didn't take too long for the two to find the cafeteria, though this was mostly thanks to Marie's hearing.

After they had finished eating Miranda decided she needed to go back to her room and finish her part of the mission report from her mission a few days before, "I'll see you tomorrow. Sleep well."

"You too, Miranda. Good luck finishing the report," Marie said. He was lucky enough that he didn't have to fill out mission reports anymore, though he knew it was because he couldn't write legibly anymore.

A/N: Oh look, another chapter with next to no story progression, yay~ I promise I will go further in the events of the manga next chapter. Sorry that I am a lazy writer. Thanks so much for reading.