DISCLAIMER: Don't own D.Gray-Man or its characters. Otherwise, there'd be lots of shirtless Lavi scenes... :drools:

A/N: Thanks so much to lo0ozerz for reviewing!! You get Lavi-shaped cookies! Speaking of REVIEWS, I got plenty of alerts (much thanks to everyone!), which makes me happy, but I'd really like you guys to leave some comments please! Sorry for the slow update, I've been tutoring a bunch of kids and it's draining the life out of me. Anyways, sorry to bore you, on to the story! Mizuki displays some girl power! WHOOT!

"They say it's the best hotel in the city."

"I don't care how intimidating it is! We finally found him!" Mizuki said clapping her hands together with glee.

Everyone sighed with relief. The mission was finally over. They'd get Cross and somehow force him to accompany them back to headquarters.

Allen stood off to the side dejectedly. Dammit, we found him!

"Wait right there!" a husky voice said menacingly. Everyone turned around and was met with a bald and muscular…woman?! "We don't serve kids or first-timers!" she cracked her knuckles.

Mizuki lifted a finger nervously. "Err…we're not here for the brothel…"

Allen and Lavi cowered in fear. "H-he's huge!" Allen exclaimed.

"Hey, wait! He's got breasts!" Lavi noted. She slammed her fists together with force. "I'm s-sorry!" he apologized.

"R-r-run!"

She bent down and grabbed Allen and Lavi by the collar of their shirts.

"H-hey! Let them go!" Mizuki's hand twitched towards her weapon on her back. She's twice the size of me!

"Please stop!" Lenalee pleaded.

The man-woman brought the boys closer to her and whispered to them, "Excuse my rudeness. I will take you to the master's room. Please, go around to the back entrance. We're supporters of the order."

They were led to what looked like a suite-style room with lavender walls and oriental style décor. A beautiful woman sat before them in traditional Chinese garb. "Welcome, honored exorcists," she warmly greeted them. "I am this inn's owner, Anita."

"She's gorgeous," Lenalee whispered, both hands on each side of her face. Everyone stared dumbstruck for a short while.

"…and here we go," Mizuki rolled her eyes.

Right on cue, "S-STRIKE!" huge pink hearts flew out of the red head's eyes.

"She's Cross's mistress, you idiot!" Mizuki whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but Lord Cross is no longer here," her eyes traveled to the ground.

"I knew it!" Mizuki groaned smacking herself in the forehead. "That jerk probably knew we were coming and left!"

"He left on a ship…and that ship…was destroyed at sea eight days ago," her voice held a great sadness.

"Where was my master going?" Allen inquired. His brows knitted together. "It would take much more than that to kill my master."

Tears spilled over Anita's lower eyelids. "You really think so?" she asked hopefully.

Mizuki stepped forward. "Believe me, Anita-san. Marshall Cross is very adept at avoiding things when he wants to." If he wasn't, we would've caught him by now she thought wistfully. This means more work for us.

Anita turned to Mahoja, the man-woman from earlier. "Mahoja, ready my ship for departure." She turned back to the exorcists. "I have always supported the Order from the shadows, as my mother did. If you wish to find Lord Cross, we will guide you to him. His destination was Edo, Japan."

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

They waited outside in the dark for the crew to come and meet them.

A group of burly men came out of the darkness and walked towards the Exorcists. When the crew saw how young they were (excluding Bookman of course), they smirked. Allen walked up to the one who was perhaps the leader, flanked by Lavi and Krory. "Are you Mr. Jan?"

"And it would seem you're the exorcists." Jan crossed his arms and inspected the young man.

"Yes. I'm Allen Walker."

"I'm Lavi."

"Arystar Krory the Third."

"Don't forget me!" Mizuki leaned an arm on Allen's shoulder. She gave a cheesy grin. "I'm Mizuki! Lavi over there is a bit of a pirate too, isn't that interesting?" she jerked her thumb towards Lavi.

"What was that Chibi-chan?" Lavi put her in a headlock and dug his knuckles into her skull. "This'll teach you to mess with me!" he laughed evilly.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" she yelled trying to pry his arm from her neck. "I'll kill you ero-seinen!"

"Not from that position you're not!"

"Hey guys, quit it," Krory put his hands up and took a hesitant step towards them. He lifted the two quite easily by the backs of their coats. They growled at each other and then looked away quickly, crossing their arms over their chests with a "hmph!". "There we go." Krory dropped them back on the ground gently. "You two should act more mature, especially in the presence of Anita-san's crew," he scolded.

"I'd like to thank you for helming Anita's ship," Allen said ignoring the three behind him.

"Thank me?" he scoffed. "I'm just following orders. There's no need to thank me."

"But the voyage may be dangerous!" Allen insisted. "I'm certain it was the work of a demon. We're sending you into treacherous seas."

"Well, Madame Anita is coming with us." Everyone raised their eyebrows at this. "She's a stubborn lady, you see. Once she decides on something, she follows through no matter what." Mr. Jan shrugged his shoulders. He closed his eyes and waved his hand, "Don't worry! We'll protect Madame Anita." He opened his eyes and smirked evilly at Allen. "You're a different story. Just make sure you don't get in our way."

"That's our line you obnoxious jerk!" Mizuki said angrily, she walked forward and would have beat the insufferable man to a pulp had Krory not grabbed the back of her coat. "Grr, leggo of me Krory! I'm gonna teach this idiot a lesson!"

"We're fully capable of defending ourselves," Allen said seriously. "And all of you, as well," he added.

"What?" Mr. Jan looked amused.

"We're exorcists. It is our duty to fight the demons," Allen explained. "If we failed to protect your lives, we would fail as God's servants as well."

He leered over Allen. "You're gonna protect us?" he grabbed Allen's arm and lifted it up. "What are you gonna do with these bean sprout arms of yours?"

"I will protect you all!" Allen said forcefully.

"Can't trust that," he looked over to two of his men, who grabbed two crates and piled them on top of each other. Sitting down, he rested his elbow and flexed his fingers. "Let's see just how strong you are."

Behind Allen, Mizuki smirked evilly and cracked her knuckles. She moved forward, pushing Allen out of the way. He stumbled and after one look at her face sweatdropped.

"I'll take you on!" she clenched and unclenched her fists experimentally.

The men laughed raucously. Jan had tears in his eyes as he slammed his hand on the table in laughter. "Really, now? I don't think a cute little girl like you should involve herself in a man's game."

Her expression darkened.

"Hey…Mizuki…" Lavi reached a timid hand out towards her shoulder.

She cracked her neck loudly and Lavi quickly withdrew his hand. "Did you say 'little'?" Mizuki asked calmly. Too calmly.

"You heard me," the captain said smugly.

Allen, Lavi, and Krory cowered together waiting for the explosion.

An angry vein pulsed visibly on Mizuki's temple as she raised her fist. "I'll show you who's little!" She stomped over and sat down, throwing her arm on the table.

"I accept your challenge!"

"Don't underestimate me because you think I'm a 'cute little girl'. Oh and by the way, when I win, I want you to apologize to Allen for saying he has bean sprout arms. I didn't take his place because I didn't think he'd win. I just want to wipe that smug smile off your face personally."

He growled and grabbed her hand, squeezing tightly, but she didn't falter.

"Err…what'll happen if she loses?" Lavi wondered.

"Maybe we'll get thrown in the brig as soon as we board," Krory thought miserably.

"Or whipped into submission." They thought of different scenarios that might be a consequence of Mizuki losing and dropped their heads in depression.

"Have a little more faith in me guys," Mizuki didn't take her eyes off her opponent. "I won't lose this one."

"Three…two…one…go!"

The smile quickly ran away from the captain's face when he realized this wasn't going to be an easy win. Mizuki gritted her teeth in determination. Of course, she's not the strongest girl in the world. But what they didn't know was that she couldn't have mastered a weapon like the bō without some rigorous upper-body training.

"Get 'er, Captain! Kick 'er girly ass!"

"Keep it up, Mizuki!" Lavi shouted.

"I don't want to be whipped to the bone!"

"Dammit, little girl!" he put forth a burst of strength and was able to force her back a little.

She smirked in response and with a yell, slammed his fist into the crate, cracking it (the crate, that is).

The crew was silenced with looks of shock plastered on their faces. Allen, Krory, and Lavi displayed a similar expression.

"You did it!" Lavi pumped his fist in the air happily.

"You did it! You won!" Krory put his hands on her shoulders.

This just makes her even scarier, Allen sweatdropped.

"Thanks guys," Mizuki got up and wiped her hands on her pants. "Wow captain, you got really sweaty there. Anyways, I won. So apologize to Allen, please."

"Sorry," he grunted and bowed slightly. "Dammit! O-one more time! I can't lose to a girl!"

"I'll take her on instead." Mahoja stepped forward in all her manly glory with her hands on her hips. Anita, Bookman, and Lenalee stood behind her.

"Miss Mahoja?" said Allen with surprise.

"I will be accompanying you on your voyage. I'd like to see if you're capable of protecting her."

Mizuki laughed. "Well, I'll have to turn that one down. I was sure I could beat the captain. I'm not quite so sure if I can beat you. Why don't you take on Allen instead? He was originally supposed to be the captain's opponent anyway," she pushed the young boy forward despite his protests.

"Very well then." She agreed.

Lavi put a hand up next to his mouth and leaned towards Mizuki. "Hey, Mizuki. So does that mean you're as afraid of Mahoja as we are?"

"Don't be stupid." She crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't have anything to prove to Mahoja. The captain was the one who pissed me off." She sweatdropped. Actually, she does scare me a little.

Allen sat down, looking even meeker than usual against Mahoja. He gulped and wrapped his fingers around her massive hand.

"Three…two…one…go!"

Allen was putting up a good fight, but his left eye activated suddenly, breaking his concentration. Mahoja slammed his hand down, winning the match. Allen quickly got up and turned around, activating his left arm. "Watch out!"

"There you are!" a frog Akuma came charging towards them. Lenalee quickly grabbed Anita and activated her dark boots, jumping out of the way.

"Get it!" Mizuki activated her bō as the Akuma began hopping away. It lifted its hand and several other Akuma came out of the water.

"Stay back everyone. I won't let them lay a finger on you." Allen proclaimed.

The frog Akuma laughed sinisterly. "I'll kill every last one of you!"

Mizuki scoffed. "Psh yeah, right. Bring it wart-face!"

"Send the exorcists to the bottom of the ocean!" the Akuma commanded.

Despite odds against them, the battle did not last very long. They were all level ones, excluding the frog demon. With Bookman, Lenalee, Mizuki, Allen, Krory, and Lavi, they annihilated the Akuma soon enough.

Allen charged brandishing his left arm. The frog dodged quickly and tried to hop away. With a cry, Allen raised his arm and severed the Akuma's head.

"So much for sending us to the bottom of the ocean." She shrugged and returned her weapon to its rightful place on her back.

"Wow…so that's what exorcists do," one guy from the crew said.

"Allen…you protected us like you said. Thank you," Jan said gratefully.

Mizuki walked over to Lavi and Krory. "Yeah…sure…ignore us," she mumbled and rolled her eyes.

"Looks like we'll have a safe voyage with you aboard."

"Now, let's shake hands like good boys," Mizuki said.

Captain Jan extended a hand with a smile of gratitude. "Thank you," Allen grasped his hand firmly and shook it.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Hurry! Hurry! Get going!"

"What am I, a dog?" Mizuki's clenched her teeth and shifted her crate as she made her way to the cargo hold. She looked around. "And why the hell am I the only girl here doing physical labor?"

"Hmm, you mean why isn't Lenalee helping? It's probably because she's wearing a dress, like normal girls," joked Lavi.

She stopped in her tracks and stretched her head around the side of the crate to look him in the eye. "I really wouldn't suggest starting a fight with me right now. I have a big, wooden crate in my hands," she narrowed her eyes at him. "And what do you mean by normal? I'm just not a big fan of dresses. Or pink." She shuddered involuntarily.

Lavi closed his eyes, an amused smile stretched across his face. "Well normally, girls aren't violent and headstrong like you are. Lenalee's more gentle and calm. In other words, she's considerably more lady-like." He opened his eyes and screwed up his face, deep in thought. "Though it would be nice to see you in a dress…" he trailed off. He lost himself in his blissful imagination.

Everyone sweatdropped. "I'm not sure if I should be angry or disturbed." Mizuki resisted the urge to kick him hard in the shin.

Lavi, still lost in fantasy world, walked straight into Krory, and both fell on top of each other ungracefully.

"What do you think you boys are doing? Get up, you slackers!" Mahoja yelled.

"That's what you get for visualizing unnecessary things," Mizuki said in between fits of laughter.

"Eh? You guys okay?" Allen nudged Lavi with his foot. Lavi got off Krory quickly and sat, leaning back on one hand. He rubbed his nose, "Jeez, Kuro-chan, you're like a brick wall!"

Mizuki set her crate down gently and offered Krory a hand, helping him up, still laughing. Allen did the same for Lavi. "Anyways, I don't mind not being girly," she wiped the tears of laugher from her eyes. "I'm perfectly fine with who I am, aren't you?" she didn't wait for an answer, but picked up Krory's box and placed it on top of hers. She inhaled deeply, bent down, and picked up both crates. She proceeded to walk into the cargo area, ignoring the gaping mouths behind her.

"They're treating us like slaves!" Lavi collapsed against the side of the superstructure and panted heavily.

Allen walked over and bent down, leaning his hands on his thighs, winded. Krory fingered the neck of his collar uncomfortably. Mizuki leaned on the side of the boat. "At least that means we're ready to take off soon," she said in between gasps of breath.

"Good work, all," Lenalee walked up to Allen and smiled.

He turned to her, surprised. "Oh! Lenalee."

"Hmm?" she took a look at his arm, which was twitching involuntarily. "Let me see your arm for a minute, Allen." She grabbed it quickly and pulled up his sleeve. His arm appeared to be deteriorating or peeling off.

"Hey, your arm's flaking!" Lavi said.

"When did this happen?" Mizuki examined his arm.

He pulled back quickly and rubbed the back of his head, throwing out his good arm. "It's nothing, really! It doesn't hurt or anything. We've been fighting so many Akuma lately, I guess it's just tired."

"I've never heard of a weapon getting tired," Lavi said incredulously.

"Well, maybe because it's a parasitic type?" Allen offered.

"Quit making excuses, Allen, this could be serious!" Mizuki reprimanded.

"That eye of yours does force you to fight twice as hard as any of us," Bookman noted.

"I've been thinking…" Lenalee said softly. Her face was lined with worry. "Your arm's awfully fragile, isn't it, Allen?" She looked down and started trembling, tears forcing their way out of her eyes.

"Hey!" Mizuki reached out towards Lenalee, but Lavi and Krory held her shoulders back.

Allen smiled down at Lenalee. "Lenalee?"

"Allen made her cry!" Lavi announced.

"He did," Bookman said.

"Yes, it's his fault," Krory echoed.

"I-I didn't!" Allen stammered.

"You guys are kind of evil," Mizuki looked up skeptically at her comrades.

Lenalee continued to look pensive, gripping Allen's arm tightly, afraid to let go.

"Cast off!" came Mahoja's voice came from the wheel.

"Looks like it's time."