Sorry for the wait! Chapter 9 is out now~

Thank you to jokerose and MusicianWish for the support! I'm glad you two like my story :3

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man

And now on with the show~

Chapter 9: Goodbye, Hello

Red eyes widened as the man in front of him was slaughtered without a thought. Evan scrambled back as the mysterious assailant turn towards him. Every fiber in his being told him that the man was dangerous, and he agreed with his instincts wholeheartedly. This murderer was lethal and had killed everyone in his hometown.

Evan backed away even further from the man, but was met with a wall. "W-who are you?" he asked. The man was quite tall, standing around 6 feet tall. His venomous neon green eyes seemed to pierce right through him as he stared at the child. The man's short brown hair could not cover all of the scars on his angular face. He was wearing a long black jacket and black pants as well as boots. His jacket had buckles and his arms seemed to look as if he was a former prisoner whose hands had to be bound to his chest. His extremely long sword was stained with blood in the light of the flames, as if it seemed to be thirsting for more.

"Oh?" the man inquired. "It speaks."

Evan's eyes widened in horror at the man's acknowledgement of him. His instincts screamed at him to run away from the danger. He contemplated trying to attack the man or run away. Evan gritted his teeth; neither option held any hope of him living: if he fought the man would simply kill him, and if he ran the man would kill him too. Either way, the mysterious man would simply kill him.

"W-who are you?" he asked again as he groped for some sort of weapon to use against the man. His hand fell upon a knife. Gripping it, he charged without waiting for an answer.

The green-eyed man knocked Evan's knife out of his hands. The man then proceeded to slash his torso. He then mercilessly stabbed the boy in his right shoulder. Evan screamed in pain. He felt as if he were on fire. The man lowered his sword as he stood above the sobbing boy. "Impressive, for a mere child." He smirked. "In honor of your bravery, I shall give you my name. Remember this, boy. My name is…"

Evan's world started to blur around him.

"Lupin. Lupin Xenohart."

. . . . .

Red eyes flew wide open as Evan sat up quickly, holding his agonizing head. 'Was that…a memory?' he wondered once the pain had receded. Around him, Marie and General Tiedoll were still asleep, while Kanda stared off into the horizon. Laying down again, Evan rested his head on his arms. As he stared up at the night sky, he fingered the scar that ran from his left shoulder to his right hip, a single thought on his mind.

'Did I...die?'

"Maria," Seph nudged her awake. "We're here."

"Eh?" Maria yawned. "Where are we…?"

Seph lightly pinched her cheek, "Idiot. We're in Japan."

"Oh…" Rubbing her cheek, Maria looked up at the change in scenery.

"We've reached Edo-cho," Chomesuke announced.

"So this is it," Lavi murmured as he gazed at the row of steps before them.

"Welcome to Japan!"

Maria and Seph followed the others as they were led by Chomesuke up the steps. Looking around, Maria appreciated the natural beauty of the place. "It's beautiful," she whispered as a cherry blossom petal landed on the palm of her hand.

Seph chuckled. "Of course it is. Cherry blossoms only come out during the spring," he pointed out. "It's a very special tree for the people here."

Maria giggled, "I didn't know you knew this much about plants."

"It's not my fault! Tiedoll was the one who taught me this stuff," Seph pouted slightly as he and Maria ran to catch up to the others.

"Someone's there!" Chomesuke exclaimed.

"Sachiko…" the mysterious person whispered.

Recognizing the woman, Chomesuke ran up to her, "Kawamura!" The group stared dumbfounded at the appearance of the other Akuma. "This is my comrade, Kawamura. He's an Akuma that was converted by Marian too-cho." Chomesuke grabbed the other Akuma's shoulders. "You came to pick us up, Kawamura? Thanks so much-cho I'm about to reach my limit!" The other Akuma suddenly started shaking, "Kawamura?" A web suddenly burst out of the Akuma before them, capturing it. Chomesuke reeled back, realizing the danger that was approaching them, "Hide everyone!"

The group hid behind the flags next to the steps, holding their breaths so that the recently arrived Akuma didn't sense them. "Level 3?" Lavi gasped.

"And three of them too," Krory whispered.

They could only watch as the three Akuma began to devour Kawamura. "What…!?" Maria gasped.

"Only the strong survive, huh?" Seph calmly observed the gruesome scene. This land followed the laws of nature like no other.

They continued up the steps once again after the level 3s left. Glancing around, all Maria could see was the remains of former Akuma that had been eaten. "What is this, a graveyard for Akuma?"

Suddenly Chomesuke clutched his head, "Argh!" Lavi quickly asked him what was wrong. "I-It's a message from the Earl!"

"The Earl!?" Lavi gasped. "Does he know we're here?"

"N-No I don't think that's it-cho." Chomesuke struggled to go against his instincts as a pentacle appeared on his forehead. "But the range of this message… It seems like the Earl is trying to gather in all of the Akuma in Japan!" Chomesuke soon gave up struggling; there was no use. The Earl's command was simply too strong for the poor Akuma. "I'm sorry Lavi. I have to go to the Earl."

Lenalee gasped, "Wait! When you say 'to the Earl' you mean-?!"

"Right now, at the center of Edo," Chomesuke spoke as if in a trance. "The Earl of the Millenium is here."

The exorcists' eyes widened in horror and surprise at the news; the Earl's appearance could only mean one thing: trouble.

"Chomesuke," Maria's calm voice sounded from the ruckus the others were making. "Do you think you can guide us there?"

"I'll try to-cho," Chomesuke sounded like he was in pain. "Follow me-cho!"

The Earl was standing atop a tower and his voice could be heard throughout the vicinity. "Prepare for a combined attack my Akumas~!" He pointed his umbrella in a general direction. "All forces in Japan, go and destroy the generals~!"

Lavi chose that moment to let loose a fire seal snake. He directed it towards the Earl as it gulped him up, taking the exorcists' mortal enemy with it.

"Come out now, you vermin~" The Earl dissipated the flaming snake as he spotted its source.

Emerging from the smoke were the exorcists. "We aren't going to let you get to the general, Earl!"

"Oh~?" Beaming widely, the Earl mocked their challenge. "And you think you can stop us~?"

"Seph, Maria," Lavi called to them. "Protect the others for me, will ya?"

"What? But…!"

"Don't worry about me. Just protect the others," Lavi assured her.

"But they're too strong for you! You'll die!" Maria's voice was trembling. She didn't want to lose another person that was close to her, that she cared about.

"We won't know till we try!" Lavi and Krory leaped towards the Earl without a second thought.

"Earl, I'll go!" Heading towards them, Tyki swiftly attacked both exorcists as both parties recognized the other. "Well, well. if it isn't the gentleman and the boy with the eye-patch from before."

Lenalee gasped, "That man! He was in Tim's memory!"

"I won't forget that face," Lavi muttered darkly. "That night, you're the Noah that killed Allen!"

"I'm a bit bored at the moment," Tyki smirked as he taunted them. "But maybe you can keep me occupied for a while like that boy?"

"You asked for it!" Lavi stepped forward with murderous rage in his eyes. "I'm the one who's going to get rid of this guy, so everybody, don't interfere!" Lavi readied his hammer, "I'll have to pound him to dust before I can calm down!"

"What?" Tyki asked, surprised at the force of Lavi's rage. "Are you so angry that I killed that trickster? Oh, I guess he was your friend?"

"Shut up," Lavi muttered.

"Ah I see. You guys were friends," Tyki taunted him.

"Shut up!"

"And could it be that the cute girl behind you was also his friend?"

"Shut up!" Lavi grew furious.

"I'm sorry, it's a sad thing. I understand," Tyki grinned sadistically. "'Cause you see, I have them too. What you call friends?"

Hearing the shouting, Maria peeked around the others until she could see who it was. Realization dawned on her as the memories of that fateful day came flying back. "You…!"

"I understand you boy-" "Shut up!" "When friends die-" "Shut up!" "It's a very sad thing."

"Shut up!" Lavi raged as he rashly attacked the Noah who dodged the blow. Tyki used the opening as a chance to attack Lavi but before he could, Maria appeared and attacked him with her swords.

"Oh? It's you!" Tyki looked surprised at the encounter.

Maria could see none of his surprise. All she could see was the man who had held her teacher's heart in the palm of his hand as she died; her teacher's murderer. Her ice blue eyes were filled with anguish and rage.

"Tyki Mikk." The name was filled with murderous wrath. Maria's swords crackled with energy as her Innocence reacted to her fury. Tyki jumped back when he saw black sparks emerge from her hands and into her swords.

"Maria, I thought I told you to guard the others!" Lavi shouted to her.

"When I have the perfect opportunity to kill Ebony's murderer?" she scoffed. "I'd rather die than miss this chance!"

"Strong words for a little lady," Tyki smirked.

"Save it, Mikk," Maria snapped. Suddenly strong arms grabbed her from behind and pulled her back. "Let me go! I'll kill you Mikk!"

"Maria."

She began to struggle from the grip, "Let me go!"

"Maria."

"Let me go!" Tears started to emerge from her eyes.

"Maria!" Seph's voice was soft but firm as he shouted her name at her. Maria's struggling slowed to a stop. "If I let you go, will you promise to calm down?" Maria nodded numbly. "Good girl," he patted her head. "Don't worry about Tyki; Lavi will take care of him."

"But-!"

"Don't worry about it Maria," Lavi assured her. "I'll take revenge for both you and Allen. After all, aren't we friends?"

Maria hesitated, 'Friends…?' Sighing, she gave up on her chance for now, "Fine, but I'll kill you if you die!" She gave him a thumbs up.

Lavi sweated, "Is that even possible…?" He brought up his hammer, "Now…I believe we were in the middle of something."

Tyki chuckled, "I'll take care of you first and then you can watch as I kill the girl."

"Not if I kill you first!" Lavi ran towards the Noah.

. . . . .

"What's going on?" Maria asked to no one in particular. The Akuma around them were combining into several enormous Akuma that towered over the Exorcists.

"Get ready," Seph told her. "It's coming…!"

The giant Akuma shot powerful rays around the entire city. "Time Record, activate!" Miranda shouted. A barrier formed as the house the exorcists were on was saved from the destruction.

"Nice going Miranda!" Maria cheered.

"I can't keep this up for long, so please do something about that Akuma," Miranda looked as if she were in pain.

"Got it," Seph took out his daggers. "Stay here Lenalee, Maria. You'll need to protect the others," he said, referring to Maria.

Lenalee tried to object, "But if you want to attack that Akuma, you'll need my Dark Boots to take you up there!"

"There's a possibility that your Innocence may be the 'Heart'," Bookman responded. "If that is the case, you mustn't fight till the end."

"I'll take them up to the Akuma's head-cho," Chomesuke cut in. "Even I can't stay with you guys forever-cho. Eventually, I won't be able to stop myself from attacking you."

"What happens when you get the desire to kill us?" Bookman inquired.

"I've had Marian arrange for me to self destruct." Chomesuke transformed into his Akuma form. "Let's go-cho! Hold on tight!"

As they neared the enormous Akuma, Chomesuke was hit again and again. Soon, the poor Akuma had reached his limit and was forced to throw the exorcists towards the giant Akuma. Seph glanced back at him mournfully as he flew away. Chomesuke simply sent him a small but encouraging smile and waved farewell as he exploded into nothingness.

Sadly their efforts were in vain as their attacks didn't even make a scratch on the Akuma's face. The three exorcists were knocked into a building below.

"Ugh," Seph moaned, holding his head. "Can any of you move?"

"Yes, but that damn Akuma!" Krory's forehead was now bleeding. "My fangs can't even pierce it!"

"Yes, it's too hard," Bookman wearily agreed. Soon, Lavi fell into the same predicament that they were in. "Lavi!?"

"Shit! He's so strong, it's almost unfair," Lavi gritted his teeth. Suddenly they heard a loud shout calling for help. "Damn it! That bastard is after Lenalee and the rest!"

Maria hadn't been watching when she suddenly was flying through the air and hit the wall. When she got up, she realized that Tyki was choking Lenalee. "Let her go, Mikk!" She charged and tried to attack him with her swords but he simply kicked her in the gut and sent her flying.

"I'll take care of you once I'm finished with this," Tyki called to her smirking. His choke hold on Lenalee's throat tightened and soon the girl was seeing stars. The sailors behind him took it upon themselves to attack the Noah, but their futile attempts only succeeded in ruining his mood. As he called his Tease to attack the sailor, a sword suddenly cut through the ground, revealing the owner to be Kanda. "We have a lot of guests today," Tyki observed as Kanda began to attack him.

Someone stepped in front of Maria's line of sight and she spotted worried red eyes staring at her in the darkness. She grinned weakly at the new arrival, "Why hello there~! Fancy meeting you here."

Evan sighed as he helped her up, "I could say the same to you, Maria."

"Is that sarcasm I hear?"

"I don't know, maybe?" Evan replied sarcastically. "Also, you've been spending too much time around Seph. You're starting to talk like him now!"

"But its fun!" Maria pouted. "Oh there's an enormous Akuma heading this way," she pointed out nonchalantly as if it were an everyday thing. "Just so you know~"

"Don't worry about it. Marie and Kanda will take care of it," was the only reply. They jumped onto the roof of the building where they were met with an angry exorcist and a scared bunny.

Suddenly a voice called out to the group, "Oh its Yu!" A sword was unsheathed as Kanda searched for the source of the voice. Seph jumped down from a building higher up, "Why hello there~! Fancy meeting you here."

Evan groaned and looked pointedly at Maria, who only grinned cheekily.

"Call me that name again and I'll slice you!" Kanda violently swung his sword around at Seph but the latter dodged his attacks easily. "Baka Piero!"

"Now, now, don't be so harsh~" Seph teased him even more, inviting a string of curses from Kanda's mouth. "It's not polite to be cursing at someone who you haven't seen in years, isn't that right Bakanda~?" he emphasized each syllable of the nickname. Cackling at Kanda's fury, Seph simply ran around in a circle knowing that the samurai would not be able to catch him.

Another group of giant Akuma suddenly appeared near the group. "Kill it," Maria spoke to Evan, giving him a cheeky grin.

"Kill it with fire," Seph called to him from behind Lavi, who paled when Kanda's sword aimed straight for his head. Seph and Maria exchanged smirks at their joke and gave one another a high-five.

Evan sighed, pulling out Oblivion and activating his Innocence. Maria and Seph did the same, not wanting to miss the thrill of working together once again.

"Innocence, level two!" Seph called. "Noise of Echo!" His Innocence gave off a brilliant green glow and wrapped around his arms, forming lethal claws. "Just the way I like 'em~"

Evan gave orders to them. "Maria, you take the left Akuma. Seph, the right one is all yours. I'll handle the middle one."

"Got it!" both answered him. Maria ran along the buildings and used her shadows to help her leap off of the roof and onto the Akuma's left arm. Running up the arm, she stabbed both swords into the Akuma and dragged them up to its face. Jumping up once again, she finished her attack by slashing the face with an X as she landed like a cat, the explosion of the Akuma behind her making a dazzling effect. "Humph," she put away her swords.

Seph nimbly dodged the Akuma's clumsy attempts to squish him, twisting and turning as he deftly shredded its arms. When the Akuma raised its hands in pain, Seph hopped on one of them as both claws gave off a bright green light. Finishing his charge, Seph swiped his claws at its face, the razor sharp air slicing the Akuma into pieces. "All done here~" he purred as he landed on a roof.

Evan's eyes seemed to blaze as he boldly charged up to the Akuma and dodged its futile attacks. He jumped onto its arm and ran along it, as it tried to swat him away like a fly. Dodging and attacking at the same time, Evan leapt onto the hand that was coming towards him and used it as a leverage to get to the face. "This is the final strike!" he called as he ran his sword down the middle of the Akuma's face, cleanly cutting it in half.

The trio had landed near the group, and when they had finished dealing with the Akuma, the other exorcists, excluding Kanda and Marie, only stared in shock. "Y-you two were really that strong?" Lavi gulped, remembering the mass destruction the Akuma had wreaked.

"What?" Maria's indifferent tone only seemed to awe him even more. "Is that bad?"

"N-no, it's just that…I didn't think that anyone other than Kanda could defeat that monster." Lavi shuddered.

"It's not a question of can or can't," Maria advised him. "There are some things in life you just do."

Suddenly they sensed a powerful aura coming from the tower. Glancing up, they realized that the Earl was charging up a large black ball that kept on growing bigger and bigger. "How…impudent!" the Earl finished as he released his attack towards the exorcists.

Maria's eyes widened in horror at the sight of the large black ball coming towards her; she was the closest person to the Earl, after all. Stunned by the sight of impending doom, Maria could only watch as the dark energy came ever closer. Seph and Evan stared in horror as their childhood friend was about to get killed through the Earl's attack. Their legs refused to move and remained frozen in place.

"Maria!"

*gasp* What's going to happen to her? Find out next chapter~

Going to be a bit busy, so chapters will come out less often than before :x

Please review~! :3

*Edit* Forgot to mention this when I first posted the chapter, but "baka piero" means idiot clown XD. There weren't any major edits in this chapter, save for a few grammar mistakes so I finished this really fast XD. On break now so hopefully I'll finish rewriting the next couple of chapters and then we can finally get on with the story :D