Okay, upcoming chapters are going to be a little more boring- so sorry about that.

I tried to make them as interesting and funny as I could- hopefully you will like them.

I do not own D. Gray- Man. It belongs to Hoshino Katsura- I hope she gets better! I can't wait to read what happens next in the Manga!

Chapter 17:

"Bye guys!" Lavi called as he and Bookman got on the boat that would take them to Germany. Yeah, I was supposed to be on the boat with them, but I made the excuse that I wanted to see Marie and Daisya before leaving. Bookman didn't want to wait around. So he and Lavi left for Germany. I sighed with relief as their boat weighed anchor.

I leaned back in my chair comfortably and looked at the sea of people passing the small coffee shop. Everyone was hurrying somewhere. Those that weren't were talking with the sailors, bartering, heaving and lifting cargo, or like me, simply observing their surroundings.

"We should call Komui, see what the missions are about." I said to Kanda, who was sitting next to me, watching the traffic too. He mumbled something and got up, so I took it as a yes. I paid for the meal and drink and we went to the inn where we were staying.

"Hello, Hello!" Came Komui's voice as he picked up the receiver after one ring. Seriously, the guy is the worst procrastinator in the world. He'll do anything to get out of work. Poor Reever. He worked so hard, he was so smart, so dedicated, so passionate, so strong- and he had to work under Komui. Not that the exorcists didn't work under Komui, but Reever needed to deal with the man 24/7! Reever didn't deserve it at all.

"Alright, talk Komui." Kanda growled.

"Now, now, no need to be rude, you can talk nicely." Komui's teasing voice came through the phone. Kanda was going to snap at him, but I laid a hand on his arm.

"Sorry Komui, Lavi's been driving us kind of crazy." I apologized.

"Hannah, you're there? I thought I told you to get to Egypt as soon as possible."

"Yeah, once again, Lavi's been driving us crazy. I'm catching a boat in two hours and then I'll run down to Greece. So that'll save a week of traveling. Be happy." The tone of my voice left no room for argument. "So, tell us what's going on and how's Reever?"

"He's right here if you want to talk to him." Komui knew I had a crush on him, he was so nice about it too. One good thing about Komui.

"Ye-"

"No, just get to the explanation." Kanda cut me off. I glared at him and he ignored me studiously.

"Right well, here's what happened." The grave voice in which Komui spoke alerted us both. We sat up straighter listening. "A few days ago one of our Generals was killed." It felt like he had punched me in the stomach. Who? What? Where? How? I forced myself to breath normally, to keep an impassive face on.

"Who was it?" Kanda asked calmly. He was shaken too.

"It was Kevin Yeeger, the oldest and most experienced of the five generals."

"Yeeger." I said surprised. I had worked with him once. Komui wasn't lying when he said he was experienced. He was very kind too.

"They found him in Belgium. He'd been crucified facing the cross. The words 'God Matter' had been carved on his back. As you know the Generals search for accommodaters as well as innocence. That's why they have several blocks of innocence with them. General Yeeger had eight." I looked at Kanda, he was looking at me. This was a big blow for the Order. "Including his anti- Akuma weapon, we've lost nine units of innocence. Though he was horribly injured, he wasn't dead."

"But I thought you said-" I started turning back to the golem.

"Let me finish." Komui interrupted me. "All he did was sing until he died."

"What did he sing?" Kanda asked. I could feel his eyes on my face. I kept looking at the golem.

"The Thousand Year Duke is looking. He's looking for the heart. I didn't have it. Who will be next?"

"The Thousand Year Duke is the Millennium Earl?" I asked calmly. I flinched under Kanda's scrutinizing gaze.

"We think so." Komui said "Because of this, we are sending teams out to guard the generals."

"Because the Earl thinks a General would have the heart innocence." Kanda said. I looked at him, he was still staring.

"It's most likely." Komui agreed. "Kanda, you'll find your General and Hannah, you find yours. Your mission is to protect your General."

"Understood." I said. "Tell Reever I said hi, there's no time to chit-chat."

"Will do. Good luck to you both." He hung up.

I looked tentatively at Kanda. He was still studying me.

"Okay Kanda, that's creeping me out." He turned to the window.

"You had a mission with General Yeeger, right?" He stated it like a fact, not a question. "I remember you were nervous before you left and really happy when you came back. You could talk of nothing else for a week."

"General Yeeger was a great man and exorcist." I felt tears spring into my eyes and started blinking to fight them back down. Suddenly I felt the bed shift under me. Kanda had come to sit next to me. He brushed his finger under one eye and I realized that a tear had escaped.

"Sorry." I said hurriedly wiping both my eyes with my sleeve to make sure any and all tears were gone.

"Che. I didn't ask for an apology." He was looking out of the window again.

He looked like he was carved from stone.

"I'll go check and see if they have a boat that leaves sooner." I said quietly getting off the bed. Kanda got up too. We took our things and walked out of the inn. Kanda paid for the lodgings, and we went to the dock.

"Excuse me." I asked a sailor, he turned to me and smiled.

"Yes, what can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if you would know if one of the boats was leaving anytime soon for Europe, mainland Europe."

"Mine's leaving in five minutes. Why?"

"I need to get there as soon as possible. Would I be able to travel with you?"

"You'll need to ask the Captain." He said and smiled. He then bowed "The Captain says sure. But it'll cost 15."

"Thank you!" I smiled and he laughed. I reached for my bag but Kanda stopped me. He handed the Captain the money.

"Take good care of her, if she tells me something happened I'll track you down and kill you." He growled. The Captain nodded and I felt really embarrassed- this is just because he saw me cry. All it was, was a tear! Really! I could take care of myself and I really didn't think this Captain was that kind of guy. I had met plenty of those kinds of guys in this line of work. Really, Kanda…

"Don't worry, no one will touch her. "The Captain assured him, completely serious. "Five minutes. That's the boat." He pointed and left.

"Thanks for paying Kanda. But you know that I can take care of myself. Not to mention it was rude."

"I meant it." He looked at me and something in his expression wasn't readable. Maybe it was just the intensity in his eyes, like he was trying to tell me something without using words. There were few other times he used this face and there was no pattern in his using it- it made no sense. I didn't know what to do with it.

"Don't worry, I can take care of myself. Been doing it for some time now, as you know." I smiled at him. He nodded and I turned to board the boat. Suddenly I felt his arms around me. He was hugging me! Kanda was hugging me! Kanda never hugged.

Somewhere below us hell was freezing over.

"Sayonara," he whispered in my ear and let me go. I walked to the boat in shock. I got on, turned around and waved at him like I usually did. He had the same unreadable expression on his face. It was a new expression and I had no clue what to do with it- I had no clue what it meant. Probably could only mean trouble.

I hate trouble.