Stella: Ahh, it's August! Boo...

Lavi: But you're birthday is coming up! And mine, too!

Stella: Lavi! You're finally here~

Lavi: Well, yeah. This story can't really start without me, right?

Stella: Of course~ Well, to the old readers, this is chapter 4 revised! To new readers, this is...chapter 4! It's kinda filler-ish. I took out the next chapter so things might seem a little...off. :P So I'll go edit the next chapter! Enjoy~

After Allen and I came back home from the mission, I went straight to my room. I felt lost and confused, but at the same time I also felt relieved. As soon as I got in my room, I locked the door and slumped down onto my bed. I sighed and slipped the bracers off of my arms and threw them to the side where they made a few clashing sounds before my room was washed in silence again.

I wasn't sure how long I was sulking in my room until I heard a few knocks on my door.

I sat up slowly and stared at the door for a few seconds. "Who is it?"

"It's Allen."

"And Lenalee!" A cheerful voice piped up. I got up and instantly opened the door only to be embraced by two long arms.

"L-Lenalee!" I stumbled back a few steps so I didn't fall over. "I thought you were out on a mission…."

She nodded and let me go. I finally had a chance to look at her face, which had a huge bandage on her cheek. I scanned the rest of her body to see that she was cut up pretty bad, but she was still smiling as if nothing was wrong.

"Are you…o-okay?" I asked unsurely, darting my eyes over her injuries again.

She smiled warmly. "Yes. It's just a few cuts, but I'll be okay. My mission went fine though. We located Innocence!"

Allen sighed wearily. "It's good to know your mission went okay, too. We just had to – " Allen stopped midsentence and glanced over at me. I was staring at my feet with tears threatening to fall from my eyes.

"Y-yes. Komui told me about it. But I'm glad you two are home safe, right, Rosalie-chan?" She asked me, this time with a forced smile.

I forced a smile as well and replied meekly, "Yes, thank you Lenalee. Well…" My eyes glanced at them briefly, "Is there anything you needed?"

They nodded in unison and Allen stepped closer to me. "Yeah, it's almost dinnertime. Don't you want to join us?"

I was about to shake my head, but my stomach gave me away. I laughed nervously and had no choice but to nod my head.

"Sure, why not?"

I followed the two to the cafeteria and was completely surprised when I walked in.

"Surprise! Welcome to the family!" It seemed like almost everyone in the Order was in that room, greeting me. I stared at everyone, not really sure what to do. I glanced over at Lenalee and Allen, who were smiling at me as well. I looked back at everyone in front of me. There were a few familiar faces, but the majority of them were strangers to me.

"I uh…umm…" I stuttered, trying to find the right words. "I r-really don't know what to say…but thank you, everyone." I bowed my head down in appreciation and felt my eyes water up again.

Lenalee looped an arm around mine and wiped my eyes with her sleeve. "Don't thank us. You're a part of the family now, remember?"

Allen nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah. We do this for all our new Exorcists after their first mission. That's why Komui was eager to send you out on one, even though it meant…you know..."

"Yeah, but it's fine. I'm just…" I managed a small smile. "I'm really grateful, that's all."

Before I knew it, everyone else in the room started crowding around me, introducing themselves. I was a bit flustered by all the attention, but it was nice to get to know more people. I met a handful of Finders and a few more Exorcists. Most of the Exorcists I met had just come back from missions. I met a lady, Miranda Lotto, who seemed very nice but very…panicky. There was Arystar Krory III, who reminded me of a vampire because of his sharp fangs that were his Innocence. I also met a tall man named Noise Marie, who was apparently blind, but he had a very good sense of hearing. They were all very kind, but I really wanted to meet the other two teens that Johnny told me about.

"C'mon Yu! She's over here! We're going to seem really rude if we don't introduce ourselves." A young, but masculine voice said. I turned around and saw two guys, one with red spiky hair and the other with long blue hair in a ponytail, walking towards me. The one with red hair was grinning and had an arm over the blue haired one's shoulders who was glaring at the latter.

"Oi! Don't call me that baka usagi." The long haired one said. They got closer and I was able to get a closer look at them. They were both handsome, in their own way. The one with long hair was…beautiful. In a total masculine way, of course. He looked Japanese and his extremely lengthy hair reminded me of my mother. The other guy was cute. And not like Allen cute, but cute in a way that made my heart beat just slightly faster. He had an eyepatch over his right eye, but the one that wasn't covered was a very pretty green. Like, nature green. He had a bandana that held his red hair up and an orange scarf around his neck. Overall, he stood out from all the other Exorcists due to his…accessories, I guess.

"Yu, we're already here, so we might as well introduce ourselves." Said redhead told his companion. So…the one with blue hair's name was Yu? I don't remember hearing about a Yu. I thought it was just Lavi and Kanda. But, they had to be the other teenage Exorcists that Johnny was telling me about.

"Hi, you must be Rosalie Hinode, right?" The red haired one asked me cheerfully.

I blinked a few times and nodded. "Yes. You must be…" I took a random guess at the only two names I knew. "…Kanda?"

He stared at me for a few seconds and let out hysterical laughter. The blue haired one glared at me, instantly filling my body up with nervousness. Okay…I guess his name wasn't Kanda. After a few more seconds, the redhead wiped his tears away and patted me on the shoulder.

"Wow, that was a good one. Thanks for the laugh!" He said and let out a few more chuckles. I stared at him and pursed my lips together.

"Then you're…Lavi?" I asked, suddenly unsure of myself even though that was the only name left.

He grinned and nodded. "Yup! I'm Lavi! Nice to meet ya."

"So then he…" I slowly turned to the other youth who wouldn't stop glaring. "Must be Kanda? But, I thought I heard you calling him Yu."

"Yu's his first name. You should call him that from now on." He laughed and put an arm over his friend's shoulders again. At least, I thought they were friends.

"No. It's Kanda, that's all." Yu, or Kanda, finally said. His voice was serious and it seemed like he was in a bad mood.

"O-oh, okay. Well, it's nice to meet you, Lavi and Kanda." I stated happily and smiled at them.

"Che." Was all that escaped from Kanda's lips before he walked away.

I gulped. "D-did I do something wrong…?"

Lavi smirked and ruffled my hair, much to my displeasure. "Nah, he's always like that. Don't let it get to you."

I sighed and turned to face him. I just barely came up his shoulders. I looked up into his single green eye and smiled nervously.

"Well, I look forward to working with you."

He nodded and returned the smile. "Yeah."

After that, I couldn't think of anything else to say and I suddenly got nervous. For some reason, it just seemed easier talking to Lenalee or Allen. As soon as I opened my mouth to say something, Komui came up to us with a big smile on his face.

"Rosalie~" He sang a little too happily. "Oh, and Lavi too! Good, the two people I needed to see."

"What is it, Komui-san?"

"Well…I know you two just came back from your own seperate missions, but…" He looked around nervously.

"You need us to go on another one? Yeah, I'm not really surprised there, Chief." Lavi interjected and ran a hand through his hair.

I looked at the ground. I wasn't all that keen about going on another mission so soon. But, as an Exorcist, that was my job. I had to accept it. I had no other choice. And it wasn't a bad thing either, since it meant I would be saving people. That's what I kept telling myself, anyway…

I sighed. "Okay. When do we leave?"

"You, Lavi and Kanda will leave in two days to go to Rome where we believe there is Innocence. There have been reports of water deprivation from most of the waterways, except for just one water fountain." He informed us seriously.

"Man, and we're going with Yu? You're sure the life of the party, Chief." Lavi joked.

"Well, since Bookman isn't back yet, Kanda is going in his place."

"Oh yeah, the old panda sure moves slower these days, doesn't he?"

I looked back and forth between the two, wondering who they were talking about. Lavi caught me looking at him and smiled.

"The old panda is an Exorcist too. He's sort of like my mentor or something…" He admitted sheepishly. "Well, I'm heading off to bed. Nice meeting you, Rose. Later!" And I watched as his figure faded into the long dark halls.

'He seems…interesting…'

"It is getting pretty late, Rosalie. Maybe you should get some rest too." Komui told me. I looked up and realized that most everyone had already left. Others were passed out on the floor. Lenalee and Allen were asleep with their heads on a table.

"Yeah, I'll do that. Thank you, Komui-san. Even though I just got here, I'm starting to feel like part of the family already."

He smiled and patted my head. "Good. Goodnight, Rosalie."

"Goodnight."

I inhaled a deep breath and turned for my room. I guess today wasn't such a bad day after all. I met a lot of new people and they were all so nice. Well, except Kanda, but maybe he and I would be able to get closer on the mission. Lavi was very nice, too. Something about him just seems…a little familiar. But I'm sure I would've remembered if I've seen him before. Oh well. I'll have time for questions during the next mission.

Everything was still happening too fast, but with my new family, I knew I'd be able to overcome whatever obstacles were thrown my way.

Stella: It's nice not having Rose all depressed like how I originally wrote it.

Rose: Yeah, despression doesn't really suit me.

Lavi: Strike!~

Stella: *glares* No, Lavi. Down boy!

Rose: What does that mean?

Stella: You don't wanna know. Anyways, I hope this chapter wasn't too boring. I know it's pretty short, but I'll make sure to make the next one long! :D

Lavi: Please review! Maybe as an early birthday present for me and Stella-chan? *puppy eyes*

Rose: *blushes*

Stella: Haha, even Rose can't resist the cute puppy eyes. xD