Dear journal,

I woke up this morning to Nina jumping on my bed. It was nine o'clock. "Justin, Justin!" she squealed. "Here, here, look what I got for you! Your uniform is ready!" I blinked hard and sat up, wiping my eyes.

"Huh?" I murmured. "Can't it wait, Nina? I'm still real tired."

But the girl continued to jump on my bed. "Uh-uh! Come oooon, Riley wants to see how it fits. Besides, it's late. I want you to have breakfast with me and Nate."

Groaning, I knew it was pointless to argue with a nine-year-old. She'd win for sure. So, I ran my fingers through my dirty hair and asked if I could at least take a shower first. She agreed and sat on the edge of my bed patiently. Inside the bathroom, shampoo, soap, and the essentials were waiting for me, so I could hop right in.

When I walked out in nothing but a towel, Nina was still on my bed, kicking her feet as she watched cartoons on my TV. I awkwardly had to ask her to get out while I got dried and dressed. She said okay, but she'd be waiting outside my door. I noticed that folded clothes waited for me on my dresser.

After drying while listening to music on the right channel, I carefully unfolded the clothes. First on were the black dress pants and sleeveless turtleneck. They were both form-fitting, but fit comfortably. A pair of long, fingerless gloves was next. They went up to my elbows, stopped at my knuckles. Made me feel like a badass, too! The boots I was assigned were badass, too. They were black, steel-toed boots that went up to my knees.

And last but not least was my coat: the official mark of an Exorcist. It was long, black with red trimmings, went to my ankles. After fitting the belt and fixing the pouch that went around my waist and hung behind me, I looked in the mirror. It almost looked like a dress, though the front below the belt opened for leg room.

I buttoned up the coat and clicked three gold chains to my right shoulder with a small black hook. The chains came from a button on my left breast. It was red with an E on it. Near the button was a patch sewn into the coat. The design was just like it was on Nina's and Ray's and Nate's: An intricate silver cross with odd markings. It symbolized that you were an Exorcist of the Black Order. Below the patch was a pocket that you could put small items in, but I was more interested in the patch.

It was official. I was a true Exorcist of the Black Order now. If I thought there was no going back before, there definitely isn't now. I touched the badge, frowning. I don't want this, I never have wanted this. I wish I would have tried to find a way to run away by now.

A series of unending knocks interrupted my sad train of thought. It was Nina. She was calling me out because she knew I had to be done already. Forcing myself to smile, I turned off the TV, brushed my hair once more, and hurried out of the room to meet her.

To my surprise, waiting for me outside my room was Nina, Riley, Nate, and Chief Lisa. When we came face-to-face, all of them were very pleased.

"Now I can officially call you an Exorcist," Nate said, grinning. "Welcome to the team, buddy."

Nina's eyes sparkled as she glomped me. "Oh, Justin!" she squealed. "You look amazing! Look at you! You're one of us now! For real!" I had to smile at how undeniably adorable she is.

Riley smirked at his success. "How do you like it?" he asked.

I looked at my gloved hands, blushing from all the praise. "I…freakin' love it. I feel awesome," I answered honestly.

"You know," Lisa said, crossing her arms with a soft smile, "if Yu Kanda had cut his hair and bangs, you two might be twins." She turned to Riley. "Did you do that on purpose, Section Leader Riley? You gave Justin a uniform identical to Kanda's."

Riley's smile weakened. "Uh, yeah, sorry, Chief," he said sheepishly. "I know all our Exorcists need original uniforms, but…Look at him! You said it yourself; he looks so much like Kanda, aside from the eyes–"

"And butt," Nate coughed.

"–It was a temptation too hard to resist." Riley looked defeated. "They even have the same weapon."

I didn't understand why Lisa looked so upset. "Justin's katanas and Kanda's Mugen are nothing alike," she said sharply.

Before the conversation could go on, Nina ran into my room. She came back a few moments later with my swords. I chuckled seeing how she couldn't even lift them off the ground. Kneeling, I gently took the swords and thanked her.

"Here, let me help you get those onto your uniform," Riley offered. I stood and he showed me how to attach my weapons to each of my hips. It was amazing to feel how weightless they were on my waist. They held firm on their holds, too, so the sheaths wouldn't bounce around and hit me whenever I ran.

"Wait a sec," Nate said, "do you even know how to wield a sword?"

I stopped dead in my tracks. In all this confusion and rush these last few days, I completely forgot the fact that I had no idea how to swordfight. The katanas were originally just for show on my dresser. I kept telling myself to try them out, but Mom didn't trust me not to break anything, so I kept them sheathed.

If this were anime, I swear I'd have dreadlines right then. I scratched the back of my head and kicked at the tiles. "Well, I, uh, you know, um…" I stuttered.

Nate facepalmed and Lisa laughed. "Don't worry about it, Justin," she said, touching my shoulder, "we'll get on that right away. I'll have Ray teach you about swordplay. Is that okay?"

Hell yes it's okay! "Yeah, it's fine," I said coolly.

Riley said that he was glad I liked the uniform and then went off to continue working. Lisa told me that I was free to do whatever I wanted, but she recommended that I start training with Ray today and tell her it was Chief's orders. After my approval, she saluted me and then went back to her office. Once Lisa was gone, Nina grabbed my hand and bounced about, leading me to the cafeteria.

So, Nate, Nina, and I ate breakfast together in peace. Nina informed me that now that I have my uniform, it's okay to go to town. That took me by surprise; I didn't know we were allowed out of the Order. Needless to say, I was excited when my comrades offered me the chance to get out of here and check out the island. They said we'd need to have the approval of Chief Lisa, but that would be easy. We're going to head out tomorrow. Today, they wanted me to start training with Ray and start reading D. Gray-man.

Now that I was aware we could leave the Order, I asked them, "What else haven't you told me?!" I was only joking, but I guess there were things I didn't know. Lisa never showed me what was behind the cathedral, nor did she tell me there was an elevator to lower floors.

Behind the church was a large field that had few trees. It didn't lead anywhere special, though; just a place to feel the breeze, look at the ocean. It sounds nice. I'll definitely go there if I want to get away. Nate says he's been thinking about making Nina a tree house in one of the trees back there, just so she has a place to play that's in the fresh outdoors. It's sweet to me what good friends they are. She must think of him as an older brother, or even a father.

Regarding Lisa not telling me about the elevator, Nate said it was understandable. The elevator isn't far from the infirmary. He was surprised I missed it. It leads down to the depths of the cathedral where we keep our aerial means of transportation. The airplane I came here on is down there and rumor is that they're working on jets down there. The obvious answer as to why was since we don't have the ability to control the Ark, we're going to have to have a way to get around the world fast. They say the jets are supposed to be faster than normal jets, but it's not official yet.

So, why is it understandable that Lisa didn't tell me? Well, I asked him, and he said that Innocence has been gradually activating over the process of five years. After five years of Exorcists not using that elevator, you almost forget it's not there.

After breakfast, I said goodbye to Nate and Nina to go to the library. Just as I thought, Ray was there, but this time, so was Bookman. Bookman greeted me formally and Ray asked what I was up to casually. It's like she doesn't remember telling me that I'm just "ink on paper." But, hey, if she doesn't remember, I can live with that. Personally, I'd like to forget it, too.

"Nothing much. I'm finally going to start reading D. Gray-man," I said, heading over to a bookshelf.

"That's wonderful!" Bookman said. "You know you have a choice: You can read the manga, watch the anime, or read the books that Lisa has put together based on the manga and anime."

I shivered at reading a book. Books weren't really my thing. Manga were much better. "Well, what do you recommend, sir?" I asked, studying the whole section. There were currently twenty-three manga volumes, eight DVD volumes, and twenty-three huge book volumes as well. Bookman said there were even more books and manga to come. "Uhh, actually, should I start the manga or the anime first?"

Bookman chuckled. "The manga is definitely is longer and more informative, but the anime does have some more information on certain things, while the books are more descriptive," Bookman mulled aloud. "I would start with the manga, Master Justin. Start the anime after chapter 158 of volume 16, but even then, continue reading the manga."

I gave him a blank stare. Ray wasn't kidding when she said that Bookmen remember everything. But, I listened to what he said, though I won't remember for long what chapter I'm supposed to start the anime on. Ray allowed me to sit beside her while she read a book on folklore, about a succubus, whatever that is.

D. Gray-man started out pretty interesting. I liked the way they introduced the main character. I got through three volumes this afternoon. It's going to be easy getting through this one. Allen is cool, Kanda is badass, Lenalee is hot. When Kanda was introduced, I stared at him a long time. At first, I thought he was a flat-chested chick, but then I realized this is the guy people have been telling me about. The next volume is sure to have excitement waiting for me since they met the Noah Road Kamelot, but I'll save that for tomorrow.

Once I was done with the third volume, I told Ray about Lisa's request for her to train me.

"Sorry," she said, "but you'll have to find someone else to help you. I'm a little busy with my studies."

I grinned, knowing I'd win this. "No can-do, Ray-Ray, they're Chief's orders." I paused. "Chief's…Black Order…s."

I burst out laughing at the joke and Bookman cracked a smile, but Ray just stared at me. Pfft. She knew that was funny.

The two of us got up and headed out to the training area. I hadn't been inside there, only seen it from the doorway. This secluded area of the church is huge; this place could be a gym and then some. There were treadmills and weights and contraptions that I have no idea what they're called. Even with all this equipment, it was really spacious: Lots of room to spar if you wanted to. Which is exactly what our aloof, no-name Exorcist was doing at the moment.

He was shirtless and blindfolded, wielding a long, wooden staff. He was breaking a sweat as various wooden "monsters" popped up out of nowhere. I was surprised to see how well he was doing with hitting them even before they even came all the way out of the ground. Must have been testing out his hearing and strength.

"There, see?" Ray said, putting her hands on her hips. "Lisa could have always had Kyo teach you."

"No, Lisa couldn't," the Exorcist I now know as Kyo called out. He stomped once on the ground and the monsters disappeared into the ground. After pulling off the blindfold, he shook out his Rin Okumura-esque hair and wiped the sweat off his brow. It was only then that I noticed his sharp eyes were an odd purple-ish shade. There was something familiar about him, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

He didn't wear his coat, but under his uniform was like mine. Same black, sleeveless turtleneck, long fingerless gloves, dress pants, and long boots. As he made his way over to a bench where his coat was folded, and then slipped it on. It went to his ankles, was left open, and had short sleeves.

"You should know by now, Bookman," he said as he picked up a crossbow, "I don't work with others."

Ray smirked though she was defeated and crossed her arms. "Couldn't hurt to try," she said. She walked forward as she unbuttoned her coat. "Come on, Justin, let's get started."

I nodded and followed after Ray, unbuttoning my coat as well. Obviously things were going to get sweaty in here. As I passed by Kyo, he gave me a vicious glare and a quick once-over. The look was almost like a warning of some sort. What the hell did I do? He adjusted the crossbow across his chest and strode out.

Once he was gone, I folded my coat beside Ray's. "What's with him?" I asked. "Does he think he's Kanda?"

"Everyone does," Ray said seriously, even know I was kidding. She went over to a pot with staffs and picked out the right ones for us. "His full name is Kyo Lee. As in-"

"Lee as in Lenalee Lee?!" I exploded.

"That's exactly right. Kyo is a great grandson of Lenalee Lee – how many greats there are, no one is sure," she explained.

"Well, who did Lenalee sleep with?" I asked, mind utterly blown. "Was it Allen? Or Kanda, maybe?"

"That's the problem," Ray said, turning to face me. She tossed me a stick and I barely caught it. "We have no idea. We've tried checking online, but it's like Kyo has never existed. He was abandoned by his parents when he was very young, back when he never bothered to ask Mommy and Daddy's names."

"So how do you know he's really related Lenalee?" I asked, squinting.

"When his parents left him, they left him with a button from Lenalee Lee's coat. It was an old and rusting red button with Lenalee's name engraved in it, just like we have."

As she spoke, I went over and checked each of my buttons for my name, and sure enough the third button on my coat said JUSTIN DAVIS.

"They told him it belonged to 'grandma' and for him to keep it forever."

When she paused, I stopped to take it all in. He has every reason to be pissed off at the world. I wonder if his parents knew he was going to be an Exorcist one day. Still, that's no reason to abandon him out of the blue. I furrowed my brow. "Do you…think his parents are dead?" I asked quietly.

"If you want my opinion, yes," she said. "But Kyo still believes they're out there." The Exorcist girl ran her fingers through her thick black hair and tapped the staff on the floor. "Come on; no more talking about people behind their backs. Let's get started with your training."

I smirked, liking the sound of "training." "Sure! I totally got this!" I twirled the shaft in my hand to look awesome, but ended up whacking myself on the head with it and dropping it.

Ray rolled her eyes and shook her head, allowed me to pick up my staff once more, and then we began training.

…Ray and I trained for hours. I felt ashamed that a girl was kicking my ass. But, I had fun, honestly. And I like training with her. Especially when she grabs my hands to adjust my placement. I don't know how obvious I'm making it that I'm into her, but if she pays as much attention to detail as I think she does, she'll figure it out in no time.

I know it sounds dumb; she totally hates me. But she's the first girl that isn't anime that I think is gorgeous. She might as well be an anime girl, though, with her looks. It definitely isn't love at first sight, but I think if I give it time, she'll come around. All the ladies do.

Haha. I sound like a love-struck teenage girl! Hope you won't laugh at me when you read this, Mom.

We're going to train together again tomorrow at the same time. I think I'll get some exercising done beforehand though. I'll try not to forget.

Good night, Mom. Good night, Kayla.

Good night, Ray.