Disclaimer - I do not own DGrayMan or Bleach

A/N - The Musician here, yes I changed my pen name due to the rapidly approaching insanity. I would like to express my sincerest thanks to all who have submitted reviews to this story. This chapter is dedicated to Nebelkind who was the first to review last chapter. Thank you all so much and I hope that you continue to enjoy the story.

Chapter Five - Return to the Black Order

"Um guys," Allen said in a strange voice, as he casually helped Lavi, Kanda, Toma and Komui build a funeral pyre for his own corpse. "Did you. . ." Okay how exactly did you ask an important question about your own corpse. This was beyond weird and Allen was finding it somewhat difficult to cope. But the question was an important one and he really needed to know the answer. So, after taking a deep breath, he forced himself to ask it. "Did you remove the Innocence from my body?"

A thoughtful expression appeared in Komui's eyes as he was posed this question by the newly deceased Exorcist. "Well we did try."

"Try?" Allen repeated.

Lavi nodded. "It was the strangest thing. We were going to remove the Innocence before placing your body in the coffin but. . ."

"It wasn't there," Komui said, shaking his head. "I have never seen anything like this happen in all of my time with the Black Order. At first I thought that it had been destroyed in the battle and no one had noticed but when you returned and I saw that you could still use your powers I arrived at a different conclusion. It seems as though your Innocence has merged with your very soul."

Allen's eyes widened. He hadn't given it much thought but Komui's theory did make sense. After all he could still use his Innocence so it had to still be there. He could still feel it's power coursing through his veins and despite his situation he smiled. It was the one constant in his life. He had been born with it and had even kept it after death.

"Alright," Komui said, breaking into the boy's thoughts. "We have to get this over with so that we can return to headquarters. If we delay our return much longer they're going to begin to fear that something bad happened."

It felt strange for Allen to be watching the cremation of his own body however he didn't comment on the weirdness of the situation as he watched the flames rise into the air. He was just grateful that his friends had understood the situation and had agreed to keep his death a secret from the Black Order so that he could continue to benefit from their aid while he and Hitsugaya searched for the Millennium Earl and his henchmen. Hopefully this would make things easier for him and his unwilling accomplice.

"Does this feel weird to anyone else?" Lavi asked, lending voice to the thoughts that were bouncing around inside Allen's head.

"Well I wasn't going to say it," Allen said, forgetting about the fact that Timcanpy was sitting on top of his head and running a hand through his white hair. The little golem flew into the air and slapped Allen in the side of his head with one of his golden wings. "Sorry Tim. But since you asked the question, yes. Yes I do."

Hitsugaya was standing off to the side, paying as little attention to the Exorcists as was humanly possible, and Lenalee was also standing alone. She had been acting strange ever since Allen and Hitsugaya had joined the group and Allen couldn't help but wonder if maybe he'd done something wrong. Something to make her upset with him. As he stared at her the young Exorcist noticed that there was a strange expression in her violet eyes and Allen felt compelled to walk over to her. "Hey Lenalee," he said in a quiet voice. "Are you. . ."

The young Exorcist paused as Lenalee turned to face him and he saw the tears that were glistening in her eyes. Allen held up his hands. "Why. . . why are you crying?"

"Because you died!" Lenalee burst out, glaring at him as though that were the stupidest question that he could have possibly asked.

Allen hadn't thought about how Lenalee must be feeling about this situation and he immediately felt bad about it. It wasn't like he had wanted to die or anything however it was obvious that she had suffered due to his demise and he felt guilty about that fact. "I'm sorry Lenalee."

"Don't be stupid," Lenalee said, sniffling slightly. "It's not your fault and I don't blame you or anything. It. . . it was. . . just hard. If only we'd gotten there faster then we could have. . ."

And there it was. Lenalee actually blamed herself for his death and, without thinking, the white haired Exorcist wrapped his arms around her in a comforting gesture. "Don't talk like that. Nothing that happened was your fault Lenalee so please stop blaming yourself."

Lenalee nodded, wiping away the last remnants of her tears on the sleeve of her coat. Clinging to Allen as though she didn't intend to ever let him go the young woman whispered, "Thanks Allen."

This touching moment was interrupted by a scream of complete agony and, breaking apart, Allen and Lenalee both turned to gaze at the person who was screeching as though his life had ended. Chief Komui had turned away from the fire just in time to catch Allen and his beloved little sister locked in an embrace.

"ALLEN HOW COULD YOU?" Komui clenched his hands into fists and gazed around as though searching for something. "TOUCHING MY SWEET LITTLE LENALEE! I'LL KILL YOU FOR THIS!"

Allen paled and quickly put some distance between himself and Lenalee. He hadn't even thought about Chief Komui and his famous sister complex but now it looked as though he were going to pay dearly for this little oversight.

"You can't kill him chief," Lavi said, a smirk on his face as he pulled out his hammer. Skillfully using the little weapon, which he didn't even bother to activate, he knocked their leader in the head, rendering him unconscious. "He's already dead."

"Thanks Lavi," Allen said as he watched Komui slump to the ground. Hopefully when he woke up he wouldn't have any memory of what he had witnessed.

"Don't mention it bean sprout," Lavi said, smiling good naturedly.

"FOR THE LAST TIME, MY NAME'S ALLEN!"

Both Kanda and Hitsugaya rolled their eyes and muttered, "Idiots."

Once Allen's 'funeral' had come to an end the group once again began the journey back to headquarters but not before everyone who knew the truth was sworn to secrecy. Even Toma, the Finder who had been driving the wagon, promised not to disclose the nature of Allen and Hitsugaya to anyone.

Chief Komui had yet to regain consciousness but since it was his idea to bring the two back to headquarters in the first place they were all pretty sure that he could be trusted to keep the secret. Unless of course he caught Allen hugging his sister again.

"I can't believe that I'm actually talking to a Shinigami," Lavi said with a wide grin. "And whatever the hell Allen is now."

"Hey," Allen exclaimed. "That wasn't very nice."

"And who says I'm a nice guy?" Lavi countered, reaching over and tugging on a lock of Allen's hair. "You should know me better than that by now bean sprout."

"I told you not to call me that! My name's Allen! ALLEN!"

"Shut up!" Hitsugaya and Kanda exclaimed in unison.

Both Allen and Lavi's eyes widened at this simultaneous order for them to shut up and Lavi actually shuddered. "Man that's creepy," he said to Allen, holding up his hand in a futile attempt to shield his words from the two irritated members of their group.

"I know," Allen mumbled, shivering.

Lenalee, Komui and Toma were all laughing at the exchange between the four however the laughter ceased as Hitsugaya suddenly jumped to his feet and began scanning the terrain. "Something's coming," the young Shinigami announced, sensing that they were being watched by something. It wasn't a Hollow, of that he was certain. He knew THAT feeling and this wasn't it so the young prodigy could only guess that it was Akuma.

"But I don't. . ." Toma began however his words were cut short as a group of people suddenly appeared from one side of a hill.

Allen was on his feet in a matter of seconds.

"They're Akuma!" both Allen and Hitsugaya announced.

And without so much as another word to the others the two white-haired youths leapt from the wagon and began running toward the crowd. Hitsugaya discarded his gigai as he ran and by the time he and Allen reached the group he was holding Hyourinmaru out in front of himself, ready for battle.

"What are you waiting for?" Kanda exclaimed as he bounded over the side of the still moving wagon.

"Right behind you," Lavi said as he and Lenalee followed suit.

By the time the other three Exorcists made it to the battlefield Allen and Hitsugaya had already engaged the Akuma in battle. Wasting no time Kanda pulled his katana from it's sheath while Lavi pulled out his hammer and Lenalee activated the power of her boots.

"Wow," Toma said as he pulled the horses to a stop a safe distance from the battle.

"It is indeed impressive," Komui said as he and the Finder watched the battle. He had regained consciousness mere minutes before the battle and seemed to have forgotten about the incident with Allen and Lenalee. His gaze shifted back and forth between Allen and Hitsugaya as the group fought against the Akuma. He was equally curious as to whether Allen could still use his Innocence and whether Hitsugaya could really fight the Akuma.

Both questions seemed to be answered in the affirmative.

"So the new kid really does possess Innocence,"Komui thought to himself as he watched Hitsugaya swing his glowing blade, slicing three Akuma in half with one swing. "This is interesting."

Once the battle was over and all of the Akuma had been defeated the group returned to the wagon where Komui and Toma were waiting for them. Hitsugaya collected his gigai along the way and although the merger seemed normal enough when he entered the faux body he realized that he was still wearing Hyourinmaru secured across his back.

This had never happened before.

"Your sword!" Allen exclaimed, noticing the difference as well. "You still have it. I didn't know you could keep it when you entered your fake body."

"Neither did I," Hitsugaya muttered, an uncharacteristic confused expression in his teal eyes. "This has never happened before."

"Maybe it's a good thing," Allen offered but shut up when Hitsugaya directed a glare in his direction.

"Alright everyone," Komui called out, instantly gaining the attention of the group. "Let's get moving. The sooner we get back to headquarters the better."

Hitsugaya wasn't so sure that he agreed with this assessment however he, like everyone else, climbed into the wagon so that the journey could continue. The young captain wasn't sure what was going on with Hyourinmaru however he found that he was oddly comforted by the presence of his zanpaktou.

But what did it mean?

After a journey that seemed to last forever, and two more interruptions to fight Akuma, the group arrived at the headquarters of the Black Order. This place was even stranger than the living world in general and Hitsugaya found himself content to follow someone else for a change. Komui led the way up to a huge front gate which seemed to be decorated by a face.

As soon as Allen saw the Gatekeeper his thoughts immediately flashed back to his first day at the Order and he threw a nervous glance in Hitsugaya's direction. He was one hundred percent certain that the young Shinigami captain's sword contained Innocence however what he wasn't sure about was whether or not the Gatekeeper could be fooled by the artificial body.

Would Hitsugaya, and for that matter he himself, be judged human or would their charade end here?

"Prepare for an x-ray exam," the Gatekeeper announced in a booming voice upon noticing that there was a newcomer amongst the group of Exorcists.

Hitsugaya stood stock still while the Gatekeeper did his exam, a stoic expression on his face. He had been warned about this by Komui however he wasn't worried about it. He knew that Captain Urahara was the best and had complete confidence in the gigai that he had created.

After all it would be utterly pathetic if it couldn't pass a test designed by humans.

"Pass!" the Gatekeeper announced after a few tense minutes.

Everyone except for Hitsugaya and Kanda breathed a sigh of relief as they watched the two large gates open to admit them to the headquarters of the Black Order. "Come on Tou. . ." Allen paused as he caught a death glare from Hitsugaya and altered his words. "Hitsugaya. Welcome to headquarters. This place is like a second home to Exorcists who aren't away on assignment."

Hitsugaya nodded, briefly acknowledging the fact that his charge had spoken, and then followed the group inside.

"Hitsugaya," Komui said once everyone had entered the main hall and the gates had closed behind them. "If you'll come with me I'll get everything set up so that you can enter the Black Order."

Hitsugaya started to protest however Allen interrupted. "Please do this. It'll be much easier to continue our mission with their help and if you don't join the Black Order then you won't be allowed to stay and if you can't stay then by default neither can I."

The young Shinigami winced as he listened to Allen's whining. "Fine," he growled, wanting nothing more than to knock Allen unconscious and put a stop to his pathetic whining.

"Come on," Komui said, seemingly happy about having another lab rat.

Kanda and Toma left to go about their own business, leaving the rest of the group to follow Komui down to his lab in the Science Division. It wasn't as though they had anything better to do and watching Komui torture new recruits was always good for a laugh.

It wasn't long before Hitsugaya found himself seated in a brightly lit room while Komui rummaged around in a drawer as though he had lost something important. Allen and Lenalee both wore sympathetic expressions while Lavi looked on with great interest. This immediately arose suspicion. And he became vastly more suspicious when Komui suddenly wrapped restraining straps around his wrists and ankles. "What the hell is going on?" the young Shinigami growled.

"You'll see soon enough," Komui said with a strangely sinister laugh, going back to searching for whatever it was that he had lost.

A few more seconds passed and then the Chief turned around, holding up an instrument that vaguely resembled a drill. There was a slightly evil glint in his eye as he took a couple of steps toward Hitsugaya and the young captain was instantly wary.

Komui jumped toward the boy, in an attempt to catch him off guard, however Hitsugaya easily snapped the restraints that had been meant to hold him to the chair and, with one fluid motion, sliced the drill in half with Hyourinmaru.

His eyes wide and horrified Komui dropped the remains of his drill and simply stared at Hitsugaya. Then, regaining his composure as though nothing had happened, he said, "Alright then, I think we'll forgo the physical exam. On to the next phase."

"Ugh," Hitsugaya groaned.

An hour later Hitsugaya once again found himself in the main lobby of the Exorcists' headquarters, only now he was dressed in a black and white coat that was almost identical to the one that Allen wore. Hyourinmaru was still strapped to his back however he had traded in his green sash for a white one.

"You look weird," Lavi commented as he and Allen walked cautiously toward the youth.

"Weirder," Allen added, making sure to keep out of arm's reach.

Hitsugaya glared in their direction but made no move to attack. He was still trying to grasp everything that had happened to him this day. It had started out so normal and now, not only was he baby-sitting a newly deceased soul, but he had been told that he possessed something called Innocence.

Or more to the point Hyourinmaru possessed Innocence.

He had never before seen Hyourinmaru perform the moves that he had been able to use against the Akuma and there was also that strange light that now surrounded the blade when he fought and Hitsugaya was at a loss as to how to explain the changes.

None of it made any sense.

"Stop thinking so hard," Lavi said, walking up to the boy and punching him lightly on the top of his head. "You're making MY head hurt."

Hitsugaya glared at the red haired menace however, before he had the chance to retaliate against Lavi, Allen intervened in the hopes of maintaining peace. "Come on Hitsugaya, we should go and get something to eat. I'm absolutely starving."

"Of course you are," Lavi said with a chuckle.

Hitsugaya didn't really have much of an appetite however he followed Allen and Lavi to the dining hall and his eyes widened in surprise as he stepped into the room and saw the huge crowd of people that were assembled within. There seemed to be some kind of banner strung across the ceiling and Hitsugaya absently read the words that were written upon it.

Welcome Toushirou Hitsugaya.

The young Shinigami gasped in surprise.

"Welcome to the family," Lenalee called out in a cheerful voice as she walked over to the shocked youth and offered him a coffee mug. "And thanks for bringing Allen back to us," she added, in a quiet voice that was meant only for him.

A/N - and there's another chapter. Hitsugaya's an Exorcist! This fic just gets stranger and stranger. Hope you enjoyed, please leave me a review and tell me what you thought. Do you like it? Huh, huh, do you? The Musician wants to know how you like the story. So tell me!