*Edit* For those of you who haven't read from the beginning as of 11/9, please go back and read now! I changed up the plot and characters a bit so you'll be confused if you start from here! D:

I like how this story's going so far! :3

Thank you to jokerose and MusicianWish for the support and reviews! Also thank you to Scarletfire13 for the favorite :D

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man

Chapter 7: The Strength to Believe in Oneself

Maria was in Seph's room that night, sitting on the edge of his bed while he lay on it, arms behind his head as both red and green eyes stared blankly at the ceiling. "Hey…Seph?" She began tentatively.

"Hm?" came the reply.

"Do you think that Allen is gonna come back?"

Seph shifted in bed, propping himself on one arm to look at her. "I'm sure of it," he chuckled. "Knowing that kid and his master, both are too stubborn to die."

"You think so?" Worried blue eyes stared at him in the light of the moon shining through the window. They seemed so…lost.

Seph nodded. "Positive." Smiling, he opened his arms, inviting her in for a hug. Maria smiled and lay in the bed with him as he wrapped his arms around her, surrounding her in a warm embrace. She wished that they could stay like that forever, that this peaceful moment would last for eternity. How she longed for that wish to come true.

Soon she felt Seph's breathing slow down peacefully as he fell asleep. Quietly moving out of his arms, Maria crept up to the deck.

The night sky was beautiful as the moon shone on the ocean once again, reminiscent of two nights ago, when she and Allen had last talked. Glancing around on deck, she noticed another person on deck. Approaching him, she asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Lavi looked at her, startled. Hiding the card, he simply replied, "Just thinking."

"About Allen?" She guessed.

"Kind of," he nervously laughed. Her ice-blue eyes continued to stare at him, seemingly aware of his inner turmoil. He sighed and began to elaborate on his thoughts. "I…Bookmen aren't allowed to get caught up in the affairs of others. We're only involved in order to record history. That's why we have no need for a 'heart.'" Why was he saying this to her? He hardly even knew her! Yet somewhere inside, he knew that she would be willing to listen to his story.

Her eyes signaled him to continue. Sighing, he obliged. "I…I'm supposed to be apathetic; I can't have these feelings of comradeship if I want to become a Bookman. But I can't help it…! I want to save Allen; I want to help Lenalee; I wantto stay with my friends!"

Maria nodded in understanding. Lavi was just like her: lost and confused. She sighed, hoping that her next words would ease his mind a bit. "You're human. It's only natural to feel these emotions." She paused before continuing. "Even if you've built up a wall around yourself, eventually someone will come into your life and tear it down." Maria smiled fondly as she said this, and Lavi momentarily blushed at her smile.

I see… Deep down inside, she's just like me. Her cold appearance and words don't match what she feels on the inside.He realized, envious of the person who came into her life that could have made her smile look so genuine.

"You…really aren't as bad as I thought you were." Lavi smiled at the girl, who scoffed.

"Of course I'm not! That's only because I didn't know you back then!" Lavi ruffled Maria's hair and she puffed as she tried to fix it. "Also, Lenalee needed someone to knock some sense back into her." Something quietly landed on the deck behind them.

Laughing Lavi casually leaned against the railing. "I know, I know."

They didn't even see it coming.

"Urgh…!" Maria struggled to breathe as the Akuma stepped on her neck, slowly crushing her windpipe. Her vision blurred. This wasn't good. Both exorcists were caught by surprise and Lavi was buried somewhere underneath the rubble.

"Title: An Exorcist's Corpse," it rasped, making a frame around Lavi's still hand.

"Goukakaijin: Configuration of Ash. Direct Fire Seal!"

A hammer landed on the Akuma's head, making it momentarily step back just enough for Maria to roll to the side coughing. "Damn it! I got some pointless injuries." As the smoke cleared, Lavi noticed Maria desperately trying to crawl away from the Akuma. "Shit! Maria…!" Glancing back to where the Akuma still stood, Lavi's eye widened in disbelief. "How did you…!"

"Title: How did you recover…?" The Akuma knocked away Lavi's hammer, sending the boy onto the ship's mast.

Still coughing, Maria weakly looked up at Lavi as the other exorcists ran onto the deck. "Lavi…"

Lavi gazed up at the Akuma in fear. He had never encountered on this strong before. The level three floated up to him. "Title: Head Smash." Lavi closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable, but it never came. He opened his eyes to see the punch being blocked by the old man's needles.

"Black needles?" It observed.

"Heavenly Compass: Compass of Spells. North Crime!" Bookman surrounded the Akuma with his Innocence as he leapt onto a rope hanging above the being.

"Gramps!" Lavi screamed before falling off the mast.

At that moment, Seph noticed Maria lying on the ground half dead. "Maria!" He ran over to her and picked her up.

"Seph…!" She winced as she violently coughed again. Glancing up, she saw that the Akuma had taken the old panda into the sky.

"Gramps!" Lavi shouted yet again as he shot up into the sky with his hammer, following Bookman. Hearing something, he looked up towards the moon.

"Title: Old Man and the Moon."

Lavi caught him as the old man fell, shouting when he noticed the panda unconscious. At that moment, Lenalee came from behind him. "Return to the ship, Lavi."

Lavi was about to argue against her when he felt his wounds return. "Tch…!"

The Akuma spotted Lenalee coming towards him. "Title," it began, making a frame around the girl with its fingers. "Are you next?"

"I will kill you." Lenalee said determinedly.

"No Lenalee!" Lavi yelled at the girl. "He's a level 3, he's far too powerful! You can't fight him alone!" Lenalee only ignored him, concentrating on the battle. Lavi watched her swift attacks barely miss the Akuma as it easily dodged and attacked her. Rapidly dodging it's second punch, Lenalee wrapped her legs around its arm and knocked it towards the water. "Lenalee!" Lavi called out to her, worried.

"I'm alright, Lavi." She looked at him with sad eyes. "I'm alright now," she repeated. "I've made my decision. Go ahead of me and protect the boat." Putting forth a burst of speed, Lenalee fell faster towards the water. "I'll be sure to catch up to you later," she murmured quietly.

Lavi was torn between his desire to help Lenalee and his duty as a future Bookman. "L-Lavi," Bookman muttered to him. "Re-return to the…ship. It's not just him… In the clouds…there are many more!" Lavi quickly glanced up at the clouds just as an enormous amount of shots came out of the coverage, hitting the ship.

Back on the ship, Maria was looking up at the sky when she noticed numerous projectiles rapidly approaching the ship from the clouds. Quickly activating her Innocence, she created a bulletproof shield large enough for her and Seph, as well as the people around them. Her eyes glazed in pain as she tried to increase the radius of her shield but to no avail; any further than this and she would suffer the consequences. She could only watch as the other crew members were hit again and again by the Akuma's bullets. Suddenly she spotted a large tentacle emerge from the water, making its way towards Miranda. Pushing the woman out of harm's way, she was swept off the boat by the Akuma.

Miranda, shocked by the sudden arrival of the water Akuma, only sat there looking shocked before screaming, "Maria-san!"

Pulled deeper and deeper into the water, Maria struggled to get free of the large tentacle, but her efforts were futile. The Akuma's strength far overpowered her own. She could faintly make out someone standing underneath the water, crossing her arms. Teacher...?The woman slowly walked towards her and held a finger up to Maria's lips.

"Wrong~" She said in a singsong voice. The woman raised her hand to her lips and blew a kiss, but an enormous air bubble came from her lips instead. Maria was suddenly absorbed into the air bubble and she knelt on the ground, her throat burning due to the seawater she had accidentally ingested.

"Who...are you?" She panted trying to regain her composure. The woman before her wore a cloak that was strangely dry even though she had been underwater just before. The cowl of her cloak covered most of her face, but Maria could see the ends of her short, boyish black hair through the shadow of the cowl.

"Someone from the past." She replied mysteriously, and danced around a bit before placing her hand on the spot where the giant Akuma that had pulled her in appeared. "So how did you like Cetus?" She smiled maliciously while Cetus let loose a low growl.

Maria said nothing. She was too busy sorting through her memories for the face of the woman who seemed so familiar to her, yet she had no recollection of ever meeting her.

The woman grew impatient and took out a small pin. Fingering it delicately, she slowly and smoothly slid it into Maria's shoulder. Maria's eyes widened in shock and she screamed as the pin soon lodged itself there. "I said," the woman said dangerously, "did you enjoy your new friend?"

Maria glared at the woman as she attempted to pull out the pin from her shoulder that screamed in pain. The woman calmly stared down at Maria as her amber eyes regarded her in quiet contempt. After extracting the small pin, Maria sent it flying towards the woman, who effortlessly dodged it.

" Pitiful," the woman sighed and shook her head as if she was disappointed in her. "We were hoping that you weren't this weak. I suppose Khalia was correct in her report earlier." She placed a foot on Maria's injured shoulder and pointed a small emei dagger at her heart. "Now...how should I make you suffer...?" Maria winced as pain once again erupted in her injured shoulder. "Oh I know!" The woman suddenly perked up as an idea came to her. Raising one of her hands, she pointed her dagger at Maria's stomach and swiftly brought it down.

Maria's eyes widened as the pain exploded from her gut and she screamed at the burning fire that appeared to have emerged at the same time as the wound in her stomach. Clutching her stomach with one hand, she rolled to her side as tears streamed from her eyes. The blood flowed freely and spread around her in a puddle, staining her blond hair a crimson red.

The woman gingerly stepped around her and knelt down so that her face was inches away from Maria's, whose eyes burned with hatred. "What a beautiful expression you have there," she smiled sadistically. "Now...where were we?" She placed a finger on Maria's chin and tilted it up to look at her. "Oh yes!" The sadistic smile grew wider. "You were drowning."

Maria's eyes widened as she realized the true meaning of the woman's words. She quickly held her breath as water suddenly poured into the bubble, returning Maria and Cetus into the depths of the ocean. The sea monster's large tentacle once again wrapped around and pulled her deeper towards the bottom of the ocean. The pressure of the water pressed down on her lungs; she couldn't hold her breath any longer than this. Her consciousness began to fade as her memories flashed before her eyes. Her vision soon faded into nothingness.

A sudden voice called out to her in her stupor.

He's a tough one, isn't he?

Her eyes widened. That voice…!

…Brother? What are you…?

I seem to remember a time when you were able to handle Akuma tougher than this. What happened? Her brother's voice lightly teased her.

I…

Don't worry, I'm here.

Brother, I-I miss you.

Remember what I said that day?

She remembered.

"Never cease to believe in yourself."

Do you believe Maria…?

She opened her eyes.

Do you believe…in yourself?

I do.

Maria reached inside her heart, where she knew her Innocence would be. Innocence, give me the strength… Give me the strength to protect my comrades…!

Her Innocence responded questioningly. It seemed to be asking, "Why?"

Because…

Her mind's eye shined with conviction.

Because I believe…

Her Innocence waited for her to continue.

Because I believe in creating a greater future for this cruel, ridiculous, yet beautiful world.

Her Innocence complied. "Fair enough," it seemed to say.

See? Everything's…alright.

I love Ryou :3 Such a sweet brother. I wish I had one like him T_T Jk I love my brother :3

I have nothing to do this summer (Where are my friends? T_T) so I'll just sit here writing away! After all, creative writing is fun ;3

Please review~!