A/N: I will most likely only make considerable changes on chapter eight, so if you've already read chapters 1 through 7, they are merely reposts with insignificant differences.

CHAPTER 2

As night time approached, Cross ran through cities, towns and the wilderness, because there were no means of transportation that could take him to his destination fast enough.

He could remember the very urgent message sent to his golem as soon as the brat left their hotel rooms for the last time.

The Earl is attacking Rose Cross.

Not "the Earl sent Akuma to attack Rose Cross", or "the Earl ordered the Noah Family to attack".

No. The Earl himself was there.

It seemed the suspicions he had for so many years were true and he couldn't believe his luck. If he had wasted more time, he wouldn't have taken Allen away from the organization in time, she would be there right now… God only knew what would happen if the Earl got his hands on the girl.

Then again, it would've been much better if the leader of the Noah Family had waited two more days or so. Cross had just dispatched his apprentice to meet the people from Yuu Kanda's fleet. He was planning to leave today alright, but not in such a hurry.

He had, of course, done a great research before making his decision months ago. Being unable to know where to find Kanda and his crewmen, due to the fact that they were one of the few organizations that didn't have a stationary base, he sent them an official message from Rose Cross telling about two Exorcists who were wanting to talk about joining a group.

Such an opportunity was one that no Exorcist organization would let pass and thus, he set a day and a place and waited there with Allen. No matter how obedient his apprentice was, though, he knew he couldn't just hand her to a group of strangers and expect that she would cooperate without an explanation. Thus, he sent her to a happy stroll that would inevitably lead to where Kanda's Exorcists would be waiting for her.

The plan was to have his golem get there first and instruct the guys about how to approach her but instead, Timcanpy came back to him almost at the same time he went out, with the urgent message from Klaud Nyne that had him grabbing everything and disappearing so fast he was still planning while on the run. On a second thought, he made sure to order the golden golem to follow Allen and give her his instructions.

Against his better judgment, his thoughts went to that silly child he had just left behind. How would she deal with her new situation? Would her new comrades cause her any trouble? Was she prone to seasickness?

Cross growled, wanting to hit himself. Why was he worrying about that little idiot? Yuu Kanda could have the reputation of being a nasty ass, but he heard the rest of the crew was a bunch of merry do-gooders. He would worry about his organization and forget Allen Walker, who was probably being treated as a princess in Kanda's cheery little cruiser.

::::::::::::::::::::

On a bed in the small laboratory lay the unconscious girl that was brought a few hours ago by Daisya, Kanda and Lavi. With a bandaged torso and dressed in a long white shirt that covered her until above her knees, she would have looked like nothing more than a sick civilian, if not for the black left arm, completely possessed by parasitic Innocence.

And the inverted pentagram on her face. It was hard to forget the pentagram.

"She will be better, now. Thankfully, Kanda avoided any vital points." Komui sent the Japanese man a glare, "twisting the blade was unnecessary, though."

"Even cutting her through was unnecessary! All of it was," complained Lavi, clearly distressed about the situation.

"What are you grousing about, rabbit? It wasn't me who attacked first, and we would've had to scrape her off the ground with a shovel if she hadn't managed to block your twenty-something attacks. What the hell."

"I didn't know… I didn't know."

Komui sighed, mollified by the boy's misery. They engaged so frequently in violence and life or death situations… but they never actively pursued humans, and the ones who died amidst Exorcist conflicts were unfortunate casualties. It made sense that this incident would affect the redhead so deeply.

Letting his stern expression dissolve, he said, "it's not your fault, Lavi. I agree this Exorcist is quite peculiar and could be mistaken, initially, as an enemy."

"What's the problem with her?" Kanda demanded angrily. He had asked this before, but Komui refused to answer before he finished treating his patient.

"It's incredible, really. There's Dark Matter inside her eye and on the whole scar, but also genuine Innocence on her left arm, and both somehow manage to coexist in the same body… but there is some stress, some conflict between them. They are completely opposite substances, after all."

"Demons who hold Innocence…" growled Kanda, his hands clenching. "What kind of experiment is… her?"

Komui's eyes narrowed. "Now, now, I think I made it quite clear that she is human and an Exorcist. She is not Akuma wielding Innocence. The thought is preposterous, such a thing could never happen!"

"What the hell is her, then?" Kanda snapped heatedly.

"A cursed Exorcist! And we don't know the full details of the curse's consequences, but if she had been completely possessed, her Innocence would have rejected her as a host. There is nothing else to do but wait for her to wake up, so we talk. Honestly, it's just an eye. If she can pulverize other people's Innocence with a look then we have a problem, but otherwise, she is quite harmless."

Daisya snorted at the sarcasm, took a last worried look at the girl, and left the room. Kanda still seemed cross, but Lavi spoke, urgently, "are you sure we shouldn't take this chance since we are still on land, and take her to a big hospital? I mean, she was spurting a lot of blood…"

The Chinese man shook his head. "Usually, you would be right. But very much like Krory, she possesses parasitic Innocence. It will heal her in a faster than normal rate."

Lavi nodded, still seeming unsure, and Komui spoke, "there's some equipment I need downstairs. It will help me to do some scans. Lavi, do help me fetching it, please." Lavi nodded and they started leaving the room. Before he left, though, Komui sent Kanda a pointed glare. "Don't do anything to her, Kanda. You are mistaken – deal with it."

Kanda stared at the man incredulously. He couldn't remember Komui being this stern with him.

Komui lead Lavi to the storage room and started looking inside many drawers, until he sighed and closed them all, deciding to stop with the pretense. The boy looked at him with a questioning look.

"I think it's quite obvious by now that I brought you here to talk privately," the scientist started. "I don't know what's up with Kanda. I know he can be quite unyielding and cautious, but his actions today were too much. I am certain the girl is human, and already assured you all many times, but he doesn't seem to budge. I want you to keep an eye on things and look out for her while she is with us."

"Sure, we will try our best," Lavi said earnestly.

"Hurting another Exorcist in the era we live in is unforgivable. She is also a human and that should matter, too. I don't want any harassment going on this ship."

"I'm sure Kanda will stop being a dick soon", Lavi said, and Komui raised an eyebrow. "Seriously. He will always be his cranky self, but I don't think he will harm the girl as soon as we make him see reason. He's not stupid, just too worried about this ship's security… and his constant suspicion did save our necks more than once."

Komui nodded, deciding that was all they could do for now. Clapping his hands together, he said in a much happier tone, "alright, Lavi, now let's pick this box here and take it to the lab."

Lavi laughed weakly. "It's good to see you in a good mood again, Komui, seriously. I was scared back there, you really cared about that girl. It was almost as if we had attacked Lenalee…"

The temperature in the storage room dropped significantly and there was a deep silence. Lavi instantly knew he had spoken too much. He turned to look at Komui, who had the same fierce expression he had when he heard Kanda had stabbed the girl, multiplied tenfold.

"You would all be dead, and your carcasses would sink with this ship", the scientist declared without hesitation. Lavi trembled, his hidden Innocence trying to activate against his will when it felt its accommodator's life was in danger. "Now pick up the box."

"A-aye, sir."

::::::::::::::::::::

Kanda paced in the small space in the lab, taking occasional looks at the patient on the bed. He had been thinking about Komui's words, and Lavi's and Daisya's worry.

When his two comrades helped the stranger to flee from a fight in the streets, he decided to follow them, but watch from afar. He was annoyed at their interference, and also at the commotion started in the very same street they were supposed to meet the two Exorcists at. Talk about bad luck.

He expected Daisya and Lavi to drop the kid somewhere safe and quickly go back to their posts, so imagine his surprise when Lavi started fighting the boy. Listening to their dialogue, it was made clear for him that the boy was an Akuma in disguise, and his comrades had expertly managed to take it away from a populated area in order to destroy it without hurting anyone.

And then there was confusion, and an arm blocking Lavi's Innocence, and Daisya saying the kid was an Exorcist and then the supposed demon-exorcist hybrid freak fled and Daisya and Lavi followed-

What the hell, Kanda thought, pissed off at the two's incompetence. I will deal with this.

So the Japanese man also followed the three, trying to remain hidden. When the Akuma-Exorcist-Whatever entered a room and the two followed through, Kanda also broke in the building from another entrance, stealthily appearing behind the boy-thing who apparently no one knew what was.

Seeing his comrade's hostile instance towards the enemy, Kanda made his decision, piercing him with Mugen and waiting for the shrieks and the combustion that should come from an Akuma hit by Innocence.

Instead, only a pained gasp came, while Lavi cursed. Kanda twisted his blade.

"Kanda, stop! It's just a person!"

As warm, red, human blood coated his hand and dripped on the floor, Kanda was more perplexed than ever. "I figured," he growled, and hit the back of the kid's head, just because.

So now that the confusion had dissipated and Lavi had confessed he had not thought the 'boy' was an Akuma initially, and just wanted to save him from the angry group of men, Kanda could finally think clearly and analyze the situation.

If he was honest to himself, Komui could be right. This person certainly looked inoffensive now, and the arm was clearly Innocence. The substance wouldn't allow a demon host. Its very nature was to destroy them.

He could hear some low grumbling from the girl as she started waking up. Well, that was fast. He didn't activate his Innocence, but wouldn't sheath Mugen either. Staring firmly at her cursed eye, he watched as she slowly opened her eyes and stared around in tired confusion.

"Good night, ma'am," he bit out sarcastically, making sure to be in her field of vision. Mugen's blade glistened dangerously by the candle's light.

"Ah… where," said the soft voice, and then she gulped, staring not at him, but at his Innocence, "you…"

Her left eye twitched and widened unnaturally. Kanda growled, caution be damned. He took the two long steps needed to close the distance between them and pointed his sword right between her eyes. "Don't move."

The girl looked suitably frightened for a couple of seconds. Then, her eyes narrowed in livid determination that had no place in a person who just woke up from a beating, and she attacked.

::::::::::::::::::::

Komui happily walked back to the lab, wanting to see how his patient was. He just saw his dear sister in the corridor, and that always put him in a good mood. Even if they saw each other many times a day, because they lived in the same place.

Lavi had excused himself before, nervously saying he had to go to his room or something. Komui wondered what was up with the strange boy. He hoped the redhead wouldn't waste time and bring the box soon. He did ask Lavi to carry something for him, after all.

There were clashes coming from the lab. Komui startled and ran towards it, praying to be able to solve whatever problem he might find.

His patient, that poor girl, was in a fight with Kanda. The nearby stand fell over and the bed where the girl was before had been kicked to the side. Both of them sported bruises and had their Innocence clashing one against the other, fierce looks in both faces, like one wanted to rip the other apart.

"Enough!" Komui roared, running to put himself between the two. Kanda hastily withdrew his sword so it wouldn't hurt the scientist, and the girl did the same.

"What in the world is happening here?" he demanded, staring more at Kanda than the girl.

Kanda seemingly refused to answer. At the same time, Lavi entered the room with the box of bandages, and took a worried glance at the messed up room.

"Lavi. Put that bed back into place," Komui said, while picking up some ointments from the fallen stand, and starting to tend to the girl's bleeding forehead. She tensed initially, but, seeing his good intention, let him take care of her, even if her Innocence was still dangerously activated.

He made her sit on the bed as soon as Lavi had it up, and quickly had the shallow cut bandaged up before the blood could start seeping into her eyes.

Komui stared at the Captain, expecting an explanation. He couldn't believe it. Ever since this poor girl had entered the ship, Komui had been forced to act as the only adult around. And Kanda's silence only strengthened the scientist's suspicion.

"He attacked you out of nowhere, didn't he?" he asked the girl, while lifting her shirt and starting to undo her bandages. "Now, let's take another look at your wound. It could've opened. Boys, get out."

::::::::::::::::::::

Allen's breath was only now slowing down. She had only a few seconds to wake up and take a look around her surroundings, before feeling a great pain in her abdomen and seeing the very person who caused it staring at her. She would recognize that blade anywhere, after seeing it protruding from her belly, covered with her blood.

And then the guy threatened her while she was still waking up. She just wanted to defend herself and get out of here, wherever in the world here was. They clashed against each other, Innocence against Innocence – and what in the world was happening to Exorcists nowadays, what about the unspoken global agreement not to hurt each other – then some guy in white clothes was screaming at them to stop, putting himself between Allen and her aggressor.

Now, it didn't matter how mad she was, Allen wouldn't hurt a person who was not trying to harm her.

Surprisingly, the horrible man who had been trying to kill her also withdrew.

She watched the interaction of the three men in the room. The doctor looking one approached her carefully, staring worriedly at her forehead. She understood what he wanted to do and let him help her, even if she felt too insecure to deactivate her Innocence.

The guy who had put the bed back into place was the same redhead who attacked and pursued her. He sent her a worried and apologetic glance with his lone visible eye. The memory of his worried screaming when he realized she was human came to her mind, and she sent him a small smile.

He smiled too, and his shoulders sagged in relief. Then he left the room at the Chinese man's dismissal. The black haired bastard also left, to her relief, and closed the door behind him. She watched as this medic carefully undid her bandages and inspected her wound. If he noticed her Innocence was activated, he didn't make a comment.

"The wound opened a little, but your Innocence's regenerative powers are impressive. You'll be fine, but no more fighting for a while, alright?" the man asked kindly, changing her dressings that were a little stained with blood.

Allen sighed. She'd love to stop fighting, if she could. "If no one attacks me again," she said, and the man nodded, before standing upright.

"My name is Komui Lee," he said, extending a hand. "I am this ship's scientist and I also provide the Exorcists medical aid."

Allen shook his hand out of automatic politeness, but was startled. "Ship?" she asked, staring worriedly at the only window in the room, a circular one that displayed the sea, but also the coast, and that calmed her down.

"Yes, but don't worry, we haven't sailed yet." Was it relief in his voice? "What is your name?"

"I'm Allen Walker," she answered, "an Exorcist for the Rose Cross organization."

"Ah, Rose Cross!" Komui smiled, recognizing the name. "So you are one of the Exorcists sent by them?"

"Um… I guess you can say so," she answered uncertainly. "I came here with my Master. Are you all Exorcists from an organization, too? You must be, I've seen three already…"

"Oh, yes, we are an Exorcist organization. Our base is this ship, and we retrieve Innocence in the sea, islands and other places considered remote for stationary groups. But I am not an Exorcist, just a scientist, really. My cute little sister is, though." And he smiled dreamily, making Allen giggle. He was kind of funny, and dissipated the tension.

"That's a lot of Exorcists," she said.

"Yes, and there's even more!" Komui smiled at her excited expression. "But I heard there's a lot in Rose Cross, too. It's one of the bigger organizations there is, right?"

Allen nodded. "Yes… there are only a few Exorcists. But the ones in there are really, really strong. Not me though, I'm just an apprentice. We also have lots of civilians who agreed to join us. It is quite nice." She sighed. "Thank you so much for your help, Dr. Lee." She stood and bowed.

"Just call me Komui, and please, do not stand," he said worriedly, "you must rest."

"Don't concern yourself with me, I have had much worse," she said, refusing to go back to the bed. "Again, thank you very much. Please inform your comrades that I am not a threat, just in case we ever meet again. I must go, now."

"What? I insist you should lay down and recover for a while longer. You said you were with someone else, where is he?"

Allen squirmed anxiously. "I… don't know. He suddenly left." She remembered the empty rooms, with absolutely nothing left. What was her Master up to? "I must go and find him."

Komui tilted his head. "I expected you to stay with us, to be honest."

"How so?" Allen couldn't understand. Why would the man expect such a thing?

"Well, we did receive a message from Rose Cross a couple of weeks ago. It's the reason we are here at all, you know. We were told to meet two Exorcists looking for an organization to join."

Allen was baffled. "I was told no such thing. Master came with me because we were to meet someone too, he said, but we were to recruit them."

Komui scratched his head. "How confusing. None of this makes sense. Can't you send them a message? We aren't able to make any direct contact, they talked to us through a trustworthy informant in a distant town."

"I will. No, wait. I have none of my things with me." Komui stared at her. "I-I know it's very strange, but my Master left without telling me anything. He also took everything we had, even my own things, with him. I'm not lying-"

"Calm down," Komui said, putting a placating hand on her shoulder. "Listen, we were told to meet two Exorcists, and two Exorcists came indeed – you and your… Master. Ahem." He looked a bit disturbed. "Even if one of you is gone. If he left of his own volition, doesn't that mean you are to join us?"

"Uh? No, No!" she shook her head, denying the idea vehemently. "Leave Rose Cross? Of course not, if that were so, he would've told me, and why should I leave anyway-"

"Oh, heavens, we are going nowhere with this talk. Please lay on the bed again, and don't hyperventilate." Allen obeyed, even if just because she wanted to have some time to think. "I will go and talk to the crew. I promise no one will attack you anymore, and we won't sail without warning, okay?"

"Alright…" she answered, because she had nothing else to say, and watched as he left the room. What in the world was happening?

::::::::::::::::::::

"And that's the situation," Komui told the crew, that had been reunited thanks to a helpful Lavi and a grudging Kanda.

"I can't believe you guys just attacked a young girl!" Lenalee said, scandalized, and her brother nodded firmly at her side.

"We didn't know, okay?" Daisya said for what felt like the hundredth time.

"So you're saying she could be one of the Exorcists sent by Rose Cross," Kanda said, trying to interrupt the drama that became very tiring. "And also that she has lost all of her documents and was abandoned by her… did you say Master?"

"That's how she refers to him," Komui said, also feeling weird about that. "Each organization has different rank types. I can only say I'm glad you let us call you by your name or Captain."

Some snickered at the thought of calling Kanda "Master", but the man himself didn't see very amused. "I think it is very suspicious that she would lose all of her documents and the person who should be with her mysteriously disappeared. Basically, she has no means to prove what she says is the truth."

"Kanda, what would she earn by lying? Allen has expressed many times her wish to leave the ship."

"And some of our best Exorcists came to us through suspicious looking conditions," added Lenalee, glancing pointedly at Krory, who smiled and lowered his head in embarrassment.

Kanda sighed. "Fine. We will let her stay for now."

"Good! I can't wait to tell her," said Lavi, jumping from his seat and leaving the room.

"What the… Lavi, wait!" Komui tried to stop him, but it was already too late.

::::::::::::::::::::

Allen woke from her short nap when someone broke in the room.

"Hey," said the now familiar redhead with the eye patch, "good news! You're staying with us!"

The white haired girl stared before stating, more than asking, "what."

"Yuu has allowed you to stay!"

"I allowed myself… no, I did no such thing," said Allen, nonplussed by the boy's apparent insanity and inability to speak proper English.

"Huh? No, no. I mean, Yuu, our Captain, has granted you membership. His name is 'Yuu'. Or you could just call him Kanda. That's his last name, but it's no fun at all-"

"Stop, stop," said Allen, completely unable to follow. "I was serious when I said I was not going to stay. I am already part of another organization. I thank you for the considerate offer, but…"

Whatever she was going to say got interrupted by a commotion outside. Voices, cries and breaking things could be heard, until the door opened with a bang and from it a very familiar winged golden golem entered, baring his pointy teeth, followed by three haggard looking people.

"Tim!" Allen exclaimed, delighted. "I am so happy to see you!"

"You know that thing?" asked a very peeved looking young man. Allen took a look at the many bites and scratches in her surprise visitors.

"Yes, this is Timcanpy, my Master's golem," she said, happily patting him. "He must know what has happened."

As if on a cue, Timcanpy stopped flying and landed on her knee, opening his mouth. From it came a projected message of Cross Marian, looking a little out of breath.

"Hello, idiot," greeted the flickering image, and someone snorted, but she didn't bother to see who it was. "I don't have much time. As you must have surmised, I have left. The reason for which I did so is none of your business. I am ordering you to go to a tiny boat currently anchored in the coast. It is owned by some stupid dick named Yuu Kanda or whatever. The hobos there may be abnormal, but they're actually an Exorcist organization, no matter how insignificant, and you'll work with them. Timcanpy will stay with you. By the way, you're not a member of the Rose Cross anymore, and you are absolutely forbidden of coming back. If you do, I'll kill you. Enjoy your new life with your new silly little friends. See ya."

The image flickered out, leaving a speechless Allen staring at the empty air with enough rage one would believe the Earl himself stood before her.

Meanwhile, it seemed like other people had entered the room and heard the message, too, and felt the need to express their opinions about it.

"Tiny? This ship is like, enormous! It's almost a war ship!"

"We aren't abnormal… are we?"

"Insignificant organization, indeed! Is Rose Cross much better? Do they know how many Akuma we have killed?"

"Hahahaha… stupid… dick! Haha! OUCH! Sorry, cap'n! He wouldn't say that to your face, he wouldn't, that scallywag. Arr!"

What was her Master thinking, Allen thought, and why did he do that to her? She wanted to believe Cross was just messing with her, but Master didn't kid around. His orders were clear. She was to stay here… and not come back home.

She looked, disheartened, at the many people who had invaded the room and were now having a huge argument.

A small hand covered her shoulder. "Are you okay?" asked a pretty Chinese girl with a gentle tone. "My name is Lenalee Lee."

"Allen Walker," the white haired Exorcist answered. "I'm… well, not okay. But I'll be."

"Um, I don't know your… Master?" Allen nodded. "But I imagine it must be pretty hard to receive a message like that. He was quite insensitive."

Allen laughed bitterly. "You saw his softer side today. He's usually much worse. But…" Allen stared at the floor, "being dismissed like that, and just thrown away from the organization… I don't know what he's planning."

"There must be some hidden truth behind that decision. In the golem's projection, he looked fairly tired-"

"Drugs to that to people," was Allen's dry answer. Lenalee gaped.

A pair of leather boots came to Allen's field of vision. She looked up and growled when she saw the person she had learned to hate in little time.

"Welcome to my tiny boat, beansprout," snarled the fuming man, "I'm Kanda. Let's work together."

Allen gaped at him. He was the captain, Yuu Kanda? This couldn't be. They would never work together, they would kill each other. But, most importantly…

"Just what did you call me?"

:::::::::::::::::::

Piles of concrete, twisted metal and broken stone were amidst still falling debris and pieces of objects destroyed by great explosions. The once intimidating building in the middle of a certain European forest was now nothing more than a wreckage still in fire.

Limping, Cross Marian went to a pile of rubble that moved suspiciously. With his Innocence, the revolver Judgment, in hand, he moved away the remains of a wall, revealing a familiar figure.

"Hang on, Tewaku-chan. Can you move?"

The blonde woman coughed twice and started trying to get up. Deciding she hadn't broken any important bone, Cross grabbed her arm and helped her to stand.

"M-Madarao… the others…?"

"Quite fine," he assured her. "A little beaten up, but no more than you."

She nodded in relief, and he took her away before more of what was still up from the Rose Cross building fell apart.

The Earl had underestimated their organization and didn't come out of the battle unscathed, but also managed to destroy much of what they had.

"How many casualties, I wonder?" asked Klaud Nyne, who had been helping to find survivors and take them away from the dangerous place.

"Not too many. Most of our personnel were busy underground, fortunately."

Klaud narrowed her eyes. "It didn't collapse?"

"Nope," answered Cross. "Everything from the floor and below is perfectly fine. We did well to reinforce everything recently. It withstood even the horrible explosions."

The tall woman's fists clenched. "That's all very good, but too convenient. I don't care if it was Reever who said we should improve the underground's structure because of Hevlaska. I know quite well who suggested it to him in the first place."

"Who?" asked Cross with what he hoped was a truly curious expression, but Klaud was unimpressed.

"YOU. Do not lie to me. Did you know this attack would happen?"

"Eh? Of course not. How the hell would I know? Let's help Tiedoll and the others check for survivors and then you can rest your head. Paranoid woman."

Klaud was clearly not over her suspicions, but then she remembered something important. "Marian. Where is your apprentice?"

Cross sighed. Of course he couldn't expect everyone to conveniently forget about Allen's existence, but he did hope a little. "I don't know."

"What?"

"I lost her in the city and then I received your message. There was no time to look for her so I just came by myself."

"That is dangerous, the girl is still learning to fight. You should go back and look for her."

"She knows the way home, I'm sure she will come back," Cross lied. "Now, what about the dozens of workers who could be buried under our building's ruins right now?"

Klaud had a fierce scowl on her face, but knew he was right. Saving anyone who was hurt or trapped was their priority. Cross regretfully let go of Tewaku, handing her to a worried Howard Link, and went back to the ruins to do the hard task of searching.

He could still feel the Earl's rage when the leader of the Noah family hadn't found his target. Even if this fight had been terribly unpleasant, it was a relief that Cross took the necessary measures in order to hid what that homicidal maniac most wanted. What were the chances of him actually looking for her in the sea?