As always, enjoy, review, and I don't own any characters from either of the series. I do own Jen from the last chapter, but I made her up spur of the moment to fill space. -_- Yeah...

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Kimimaro couldn't help the uneasiness building up in his stomach when he stared up at the Black Order Headquarters building. He'd never seen anything, no tree, nor structure, as big as that thing. He wasn't actually entirely sure what it was supposed to be called.

"Um…" Allen got a slightly guilty, but mostly Oh-crap-I-overlooked-something face. "The gatekeeper really doesn't like me, so I usually just climb up to my window…"

"…Alright?" Kimimaro had no idea what the boy what getting at. It was the middle of the night, so it wasn't as if anybody would catch him if he was careful.

"Are you… well… It's on the top floor… so… How well can you climb?"

Kimimaro's face dropped. He was actually a little bit insulted by the question. It was lucky for Allen that he hadn't known Kimimaro very long, and that the Kaguya clansman had taken a liking to him. Otherwise, the somebody might well have been in for a world of hurt. "I can climb very well."

"Oh, good." The exorcist wouldn't have fully believed it for anything. The only reason he himself could get up that way was thanks to his anti-Akuma weapon, and it was a problem sometimes even so due to the wandering scientists who might catch him at any time on their overtime shifts. Being caught seven stories up dangling from a balcony by one's left hand was something Allen didn't desire for the sake of whatever pride he still had that he'd managed to hide from Cross. The shorter white-haired boy looked straight up from where he stood. "My window's right up there."

Walker was surprised that Kimimaro managed to scale one fourth of the way up the building with grace, speed, and silence, before Allen's Innocence was even activated. "Aha… he wasn't kidding…"

--

"You're a little slow, Allen."

"I… hff… I am not! Hfff… Hff…" Allen had managed to at last crawl through his window. He was breathing heavily. How was it that a task that took him at least twenty minutes to complete with difficulty took his new comrade only maybe five minutes, and then he still had the time and energy to hang upside-down from the sill and look around.

Kimimaro shrugged. He knew perfectly well that not everybody could keep up with him, but he wasn't about to say it. He'd save that for when he really needed to combat somebody.

"Right so," Allen picked himself up. "The showers are just one floor below, you can't miss them. I'll go find Komui in a while, and we'll talk to him."

"Wouldn't he be asleep?"

"Yeah, but it's alright to wake him up."

The slightly older teen shrugged again. It wasn't as if he was really an expert on the subject. He opened the door, looked both ways down the hall, and made his way to the stairs.

The Kaguya had reminded Allen over and over again at the tavern that he didn't want, need, nor except any help. But, if there was one thing the kid had going for him, it was definitely determination. It had taken almost two hours before they came to a compromise in the plan of action. Actually, it wasn't so much a compromise as Kimimaro losing a battle of words. As said before, conversation wasn't his strong point.

"… I just lost a fight," he whispered. Kimimaro mentally slapped himself.

--

The people had running water.

They had Kimimaro's respect from that hour onward.

He'd actually never been in a place with running water before. And this explained a lot about him. Everything form his lack of people skills to his continually obvious amazement at the crazy technology of wherever he'd been sent to was emphasized in that little point. He was disappointed in himself for having to take a few minutes just attempting to figure out how to turn the water on.

Kimimaro, now clean and in a far better mood, looked at his clothes. They were in possibly the worse condition he could ever recall. Orochimaru-sama was sure to be upset when…

But, there was no more Orochimaru to get upset with him. Kimimaro took a long, hard look at himself in the mirror. It was strange. He looked like himself. Most of the time, he felt perfectly normal. But, since he'd left his master's side for the last time, he'd noticed his attitude changing. He could remember a time when if he'd been led to think he was in any danger at all, he would attack. Now it took confirmation. Now he was less willing to battle.

He pulled away from his image, realizing he was only succeeding in frustrating himself. Kimimaro quickly got dressed and dried his hair in the manner he deemed fastest- rapidly shaking his head back and forth.

As he exited, he noticed a very nervous Allen tapping his foot outside. The boy's eyes shined with concern. "So… Are you ready to meet Komui?"

Kimimaro simply nodded.

Little did he know of the insanity he was willingly trotting right into.

--

The Kaguya boy silently stood against the wall as he watched Allen enter a room clearly labeled "SCIENCE DEPARTMENT".

Science… Science… The only sciences he ever cared to learn anything about were the completely over complicated drabble Kabuto-sensei would attempt- and fail to- explain. The man with glasses had deemed it a hopeless cause after Kimimaro started his serious training and had no time for anything but missions. However, it was rather nice to know the specifics of one's regular bone structure. Had Kabuto not forced him to chart out all of the major areas of the skeletal system, the white-haired ninja would probably be a mess.

"LENALEE!!!" The ninja found he had jumped when that awful scream erupted from behind the doors. The shock faded fast, however, when he heard people inside grumbling things like "Are you kidding me?!", "Ugh! Not again!" and even "God Komui! SHUT UP!!"

Komui, at being thoroughly convinced Lenalee was indeed still single and untouched, tossed on his hat, grabbed his bunny mug, and poured some coffee very fast as Allen told him what had happened. "-So, he's definitely got Innocence!"

"Indeed! I'll have to have a nice chat with him! Now-"

Allen rushed after the nearly-skipping Head Officer. "Wait! Komui-sama! Be careful! He's a little… well… He's a little bit-"

"Is he as bad as Kanda?" For a split second, true fear flashed in the eyes of the Chinese man.

"No! Not even close! But-"

"Then I'll manage!" His bright grin completely hid the fact that he'd only awoken a few minutes ago. The coffee probably didn't hurt either. The dark-haired man stumbled out of the Science Department, turned literally one his toes to the right, and was face-to-face with a fairly confused Kimimaro. "Hah! You must be the young man Allen has been telling me about! Nice to meet you!" Komui grabbed on to the ninja's hand without consent and swiftly shook it. Had the boy not been so very strong, he might have been tossed around the hallway.

"It's an honor to meet you as well sir." Kimimaro didn't know what he was supposed to say to that. He was actually plenty disturbed by the sudden warmth.

"Oh, no need to be so formal! Now, Allen here says that you possess Innocence. Will you demonstrate?"

"… Innocence?"

Komui's eye twitched a bit behind his glasses. "Oh, Allen~."

"Er, yes sir?"

"You did explain to him what Innocence was when you had the chance, riiii~ght?"

"…Uhm…"

The Head Officer made a face that could give the Millennium Earl himself nightmares. "Oh Allen~!"

"Eh… hehe… Yes, sir?"

"You had me wake up at one in the morning, on a weekend, to speak with this nice guy, and you haven't told him about Innocence, or Akuma, or the Earl, or the Noah, or the Order's purpose, and you think I am just going to do it all by myself? Hm?"

"N-no Komui-sama!"

"YOU'RE DAMNED RIGHT I'M NOT!!"

"Actually," Kimimaro cut in before anything unreasonably violent could take place, "I think I know most of what's going on."

"… Oh?"

"Yes sir."

"Just Innocence then?"

"That was never explained to me."

Komui smiled normally, now in an obviously better state. "Well then, let's go pay a visit to Hevlaska."

--

"Are you kidding me?!" Kanda sat up when three knocks on his door and a childish yowl invaded what little sleep he'd gotten. It would seem Lavi had returned. "Dammit baka usagi! Seventeen times is ENOUGH! No, you may NOT borrow my hair ties!!"

"No, it's not that!" Sure enough, it was the Bookman again. "Yu-chan, there's a new exorcist! I just heard from Reever!"

"Do I give a shit?!... And don't use my first name!!"

"Aw! Come on! Don't you at least want to go meet him?"

"NO!! Go away! For the love of GOD, let me sleep!!" Kanda lay back down and buried his head between his two pillows.

Lavi sniffed. "AW~! But Yu-cha~n!!"

"RRRRGH!!!" It seemed that early-morning would have to be canceled.

Yeah, not the most solid chapter. But have no fear! For next time, Kimimaro meets Kanda! DUN DUN DUN!!!

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