A/N: Hmm… Well, Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who're reading this! Hope you ate too much and slept until noon. This chapter's theme song is "Jigga What/ Faint" by Jay-Z and Linkin Park.

_-*-_

Celesta was thankful that even though she had Parasite-type Innocence, she didn't have Allen's crazy appetite. Instead, what she had was an addiction to the worst drug: oxygen at high altitudes. And anything sweet. The more sugar, the better. But that too had its downfalls.

For one, the constant longing to be in the air. But every time she even thought about flapping her crystalline wings, her shoulders ached. But other than that, it was better than an outrageous appetite.

This bright morning, she was eating an assortment of fruit. Fruit was her friend. Especially peaches, which had so much sugar, it was hard to believe they were considered healthy. But then again, it was natural sugar. She had iced tea (a great herbal mix of hibiscus and plum blossoms), with no added sugar or anything. Surprising.

Celesta was reading a book (Black Beauty) while munching a peach, when Lavi and Allen came up to her table. She absentmindedly registered their presence and flipped to the next page. "G'morning."

"Morning, Celesta." Allen said before diving into a half-mile pile of plates.

Lavi looked somewhat repulsed. "God, am I glad you don't do that, Celesta. Would totally ruin your 'cute' factor."

"Yeah, 'coz Allen is all cuteness and fluff until dinner rolls around." She said sarcastically.

"Hey!" Allen looked up at her. She rolled her eyes and hid a smile as she turned another page in her book.

…

Look, I know when you want to say something. Spit it out.

…

Inwardly sighing, Celesta turned another page in her book. I don't hang on every word, so not talking is a nice change.

Hm.

_-*-_

For some odd reason, Celesta had the feeling she was being watched. She was all paranoid, looking over her back every once in a while, only to see nothing. She made the mistake of doing so while walking along with Allen. "Are you okay?"

"Uhm, yeah. Fine."

"Okay."

Allen had gotten out of the infirmary a couple of hours ago, so Link was re-assigned to be his guard.

But Celesta still needed to be watched.

Trying not to sulk, she looked out the window. It was such a nice day; the almost-winter air was calling to her… figuratively. She was once again, jealous of those stupid seabirds who got to fly around while she was stuck on the ground.

Considering how you tried to get is killed last time…

Zip. It. Now. You came in without my permission. I don't have to take your opinions into account.

…

For now.

Celesta shut down her mind and tried not to wonder about what the voice had said. It sounded vaguely familiar, like from a long forgotten dream.

You'll get it, eventually. Maybe we'll meet someday. Actually, I don't doubt it.

Meet a voice? Like where, my subconscious?

If you're gonna get snippy, maybe I don't want to meet you.

Whatever. I don't give a shit.

"Hey, Allen." A low voice sounded, bringing Celesta out of her daze. It was an unfamiliar voice, and Celesta realized she wasn't as well acquainted with the other exorcists as she thought.

"Oh, hello Marie." The white haired teen replied, polite as always. "What is it?"

"If you can get the permission, I wouldn't mind sparring. If I don't, I might lose my hand."

"Um, sure. I don't think Link will mind. Right?" he turned to the Pekingese-watchdog. Link just gave a curt nod. Marie turned toward Celesta.

"Have we met?" he asked. His eyes, though pale, were kind. In the huge, dysfunctional family of the Black Order, he would be one of the uncles. The cool one, that you could talk to. Komui was everybody's weird uncle.

"Um, not yet?" the tall black-haired girl stuck out her hand. "I'm Celesta Treani."

"Noise Marie." He replied. His handshake was firm. You can tell a lot about a person by their handshake.

"Hi." Celesta was short on her words today. Maybe she hadn't gotten enough sleep. She was kind of lost in her own head most of the time, so it was no surprise that she spaced out as Allen, Marie and the blonde lapdog walked off. But apparently it rubbed the lapdog's fur the wrong way.

"Are you coming?"

"Bite me." She replied with unnatural hostility in her voice. What the hell was that?!

So you got annoyed. It's natural for a woman of your age to sometimes…

None of that 'crazy-woman PMS' shit, got it? Not in my head.

Jeez, over-reaction much?

Look, I'm not one to lash out. I know myself. That wasn't me. You got anything to say for yourself?

Not really. Besides, you'll get it soon enough. But for now, I don't have to tell you anything you don't need to know.

This is not a need-to-know basis. This is a talk-or-you're-getting-thrown-out basis!

You're not in a position to make demands. I'm simply supposed to observe and record, and wait until I'm given orders…. Oops.

Orders? From who?

…

Fine, be that way.

"Celesta."

The blonde lapdog calls.

"Yeah?"

"…It would be wise to learn to control your temper. If those flares become frequent, you may be marked as a traitor. Your looks are enough for many. Don't let your actions feed that fire."

Was that concern, perhaps? Or just more male stupidity about women not being able to defend themselves? "Got it."

Suddenly, the aura she had felt yesterday hit her again. Celesta looked up, her neck making a slight snap sound as it whipped in a sudden pivot. Allen was against a wall, seemingly thrown from the sudden sound, and his left eyes had activated.

Celesta felt her heart drop into her stomach, the juices frying her nervous system and cutting all cranial function. This was bad. Way bad. Worse than just everyday spirits and auras. This was bad. Inhuman. Not despair, like the Akuma, worse. A mix of… what? Her head hurt as she tried to figure it out, tried to put the many together to form one conclusion, and found nothing that made sense. they're not human, not completely. And not spirits, but closer to that than human,

Yeah a really bad spirit. Like a demon. Oh wait.

Shut up.

Nu-uh, this is my house, too.

My head.

…Touché.

"What are you doing, Koushi?" a creepy-looking girl-like figure asked.

"Tch… it's a side-effect." The alleged Koushi said.

Celesta's head suffered a blow from an invisible spike as the 'man's' hand transformed; no that wasn't the word, more like deformed into an odd star-thing. It was really freaky, and Celesta didn't want to think about it. Dying felt like a good idea right now.

She didn't realize she had been clutching her head until she let go. Her head still hurt, like crazy, but she could see what was going on.

The small group of three had finished some sort of discussion, and Koushi's hand returned to normal. When it did, the spike dislodged itself from her head and Celesta felt like she might not throw up. Maybe.

A small crowd had gathered around Allen and Marie as Celesta stood up. She thought about walking away, but at the same time, it just seemed so… rude, maybe. And she wanted to know who these people were.

The one in the middle (the leader of this smaller group, she assumed) spoke.

"Our apologies, Allen Walker. As beings who have been converted into half-Akuma through biological generation, we do not react well to Innocence. I beg your forgiveness. I am Tokusa," he gestured to the girl next to him. "Kiredori, Koushi. And Tevak and Madarao, but they are not with us now.

"We will be here serving as 'third Exorcists'."

They seem interesting enough, but not bad.

Celesta could barely breathe. She could feel a cold sweat drenching her neck, causing her lengthening black hair to stick. The headache had returned, worse than before. "I need air," she told Link, who took one look at her, and, reassured that she wasn't going to fly again by her face, gave a curt nod. She walked past the group, and gave them a wide berth. Unfortunately, she still attracted their attention. Three pairs of eyes turned to follow her steps. "You look familiar," Tokusa said. I can't catch a break!

"Uhm," was all Celesta managed. Sensing there was going to be some sort of over-excitement, Lavi stood. Celesta looked awful, her already death-pale skin turning a shade or two lighter, if possible.

"I don't think this is the time, if you'll excuse us." Lavi said politely. Turning her gently, the two walked off (aware of several stares following them).

They had made it halfway down the hallway when Celesta collapsed onto a bench. "You look sick." Lavi commented, kneeling next her. "What happened back there?"

"Search me," she said weakly. "I'm sensitive to auras, and theirs gave me a kick-arse headache."

"Jeez. Sorry about that." Too curious for his own good, he blurted the next question. "When did you meet them?"

"Um, it wasn't exactly a meeting. I didn't realize they saw me. I was flying along and saw them, so I came in for a closer look, and ended up landing in a heap. It kinda sucked."

"Yeah, I can see how it would." Lavi paused for a second. "Anything else?"

Pausing, Celesta wondered if she should tell him about the voice. Don't you dare, the voice boomed.

"You can trust me."

You can't trust anyone.

Something suddenly broke in her resolve as she realized how true that was. No one had ever proved to her she could trust them. Standing up, she walked away.

_-*-_

A/N: a little static, huh? I finally get to take this where I wanted to since about chapter seven. I'm so glad, because now I can pick this up! Yay!