Disclaimer - I do not own D Gray Man or Bleach. Just having a little fun.

A/N - thank you so much to everyone who enjoys this story. This chapter is dedicated to Black Sun Upon An Icy Sky who was the first person to review last chapter. I want you all to know that I truly appreciate every single review that I get. And on a related note Kanda is not at all happy with the reviewers (putting it mildly) because apparently everyone thinks that Toushirou could beat him. Personally I do too but I didn't tell him that.

Chapter Seven - Enter the Millennium Earl

Allen and Hitsugaya made their way to the office of Chief Komui, which was located down in the bowels of the Science Division. Hitsugaya had no idea exactly where it was that they were going so he allowed Allen to lead the way. After all this was technically his job anyway. "I'm just supposed to protect the guy," Hitsugaya thought to himself as he adjusted the collar of the coat that he had yet to grow accustomed to wearing. "So I don't see why I have to play this charade."

"You should hurry up Hitsugaya," Allen called out, having gotten a few yards ahead of his companion while Hitsugaya was lost in thought. "You never know what you're going to run into down here in the Science Division."

"Tch," Hitsugaya scoffed, not even the least bit concerned about anything that he might encounter. "Like I'm not a match for anything that may come along."

"Alright," Allen said, turning his gaze forward and continuing down the corridor. "If you say so."

At that moment a crash could be heard resounding down the hallway. Allen's eyes widened as he turned to Hitsugaya and called out, "Come on! We should see what that noise was and make sure that no one was injured."

"Sure," Hitsugaya said as he followed along behind the young Exorcist.

Anxious to make sure that none of the scientists had been injured Allen burst through the door that led into the Science Division and his face visibly paled as his gaze fell upon. . .

"I give you Sir Komlin the Fifth!" Chief Komui called out, his voice filled with excitement as he gestured toward a huge robot that was towering over everyone else. His eyes were shining and it was obvious that he was thrilled with his creation.

"Oh no!" Allen exclaimed, taking a couple of steps back. He was absolutely horrified by the sight of the robot, having encountered several of it's 'siblings'. "Not another one!"

"Allen!" Jake Russell called out, his gaze falling upon the two boys who had just entered the office. "Toushirou! Look out for that thing."

With a nod Allen proceeded to take a couple more steps away from the robot however Hitsugaya stood his ground, gazing up at the robot with a look of dismay in his teal eyes. He was by no means scared of this over grown heap of scrap metal and he eyed the robot through narrowed eyes.

"This boy is too small to be an Exorcist," the robot announced as it focused it's attention on the young Shinigami. "He needs a height adjustment."

The robot took a couple of steps toward Hitsugaya.

"Oh no! Run Toushirou, it has it's sights set on you!"

Making a mental note to knock Allen around for his insistence on calling him by his given name Hitsugaya pulled Hyourinmaru from the sheath that he wore secured across his back and held it up. As soon as the robot made a move to grab him Hitsugaya used his zanpaktou to slice the thing's arm completely off.

Komui howled in anguish, as though it were his arm that had just been forcibly removed, while the rest of the scientists cheered.

Undeterred from it's self appointed mission by the loss of it's arm the robot once again made a move to grab Hitsugaya. This was a fatal mistake as far as the young Shinigami was concerned and he narrowed his teal eyes in anger as he gazed up at the robot. "All right," the young prodigy said, once again pointing the tip of his blade at the robot. "Have it your way." Leaping into the air Hitsugaya effortlessly sliced the robot into several pieces, which fell to the ground with a huge crash.

Landing lightly on the ground beside Allen, the young Shinigami turned Exorcist sheathed his blade in one fluid movement.

"Sir Komlin!" Chief Komui exclaimed, tears flowing down his face as he fell to his knees beside the pile of scrap metal that had once been his beloved Sir Komlin the Fifth. "How could you do that? He's just an innocent baby!"

"My ass," Hitsugaya muttered, glaring at the scientist.

"Um, excuse me Komui, but didn't you have a mission for us?" Allen could tell that Hitsugaya was irritated and since Komui had just lost yet another Komlin he decided that he should probably interrupt the two of them before they traded blows or something like that.

Allen's question served to divert Komui's attention away from his destroyed robot and he quickly got to his feet and rushed over to his cluttered desk. Groping around for a few minutes he finally managed to find what he was looking for and, holding a black and white folder aloft, he turned back to Allen and Hitsugaya. "There are rumors of some strange phenomenon in Vienna and I want the two of you to check into it and see if there's Innocence involved."

"Right," Allen said while Hitsugaya merely looked annoyed.

"Your train leaves in. . ." Komui paused to look at his watch and then he turned his attention back to the two white haired youths. "Twenty minutes."

"What?!" Allen exclaimed, his gray eyes widening as he heard this news. "Don't you think that you could have been a little quicker with this information? Come on Toushirou, we have to go!"

And without waiting for a reply from his companion Allen seized the young Shinigami by the hand and proceeded to drag him from the room. Shocked by the behavior of the young Exorcist Hitsugaya allowed himself to be pulled along for a few minutes before realizing exactly what was going on.

But when he did the young Shinigami pulled his hand free from Allen's grip. "Release me!" he ordered as he pulled free from Allen's grip.

"Fine," Allen said as he released his hold. "But we have to hurry or we're going to miss the train."

"Ugh," Hitsugaya groaned as he followed along behind Allen. "How irritating."

After Allen dashed to his room and hurriedly threw some clothes into a suitcase the two youths left the headquarters of the Black Order and rushed to the train station. When they arrived the train was pulling out of the station and, without a second thought, Hitsugaya seized Allen by the arm and leapt for the train.

Allen screamed as he was pulled into the air, just knowing that Hitsugaya was going to slam them head first into the side of the train.

Luckily for them that wasn't the case. Hitsugaya landed lightly on the platform on the back of the train while Allen fell in a heap beside him and proceeded to thank God that he was still alive, so to speak. Then, once he had recovered from the shock somewhat, he jumped to his feet and turned on his companion. "What are you doing? Are you trying to kill me again?"

"Keep your voice down you idiot," Hitsugaya snapped, glaring at Allen as though he'd like nothing better than to permanently silence the young Exorcist. "If you don't shut up then I really am going to kill you."

Realizing that they were in public Allen calmed a degree. "Let's just get inside the train," he muttered, reaching for the door that led inside.

Hitsugaya nodded and the companions entered the train. Upon entry the two youths were immediately approached by a conductor, to whom Allen offered a broad smile. "We're Exorcists with the Black Order," he told the man in explanation for their rather unorthodox method of boarding the train.

"Right," the conductor said, a bead of sweat appearing on his forehead as he gazed at the two young boys. "Allow me to show you to your compartment."

Allen nodded and he and Hitsugaya followed the conductor to a first class compartment that was located in the first car of the train. Then, once they were alone, Allen turned to his Shinigami companion. "Hey Hitsugaya, can souls have a stroke?"

"No," Hitsugaya replied, not even bothering to glance at his charge as he spoke. "Why?"

"Because my heart's still pounding after that little stunt you pulled," Allen replied, placing his right hand over his heart. "And I'm kinda afraid that it's going to explode."

"You're in no danger of that," Hitsugaya told him.

"Good," Allen said, taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm his shattered nerves.

Apart from the memorable way in which they had boarded the first train the journey to Vienna was wholly uneventful and the two youths were glad when they finally arrived. Hitsugaya hated the fact that he had to travel as a human and was irritated that the trip had taken so long. If only he'd been able to use the Senkaimon, then the trip would have taken mere minutes.

Allen, on the other hand, seemed completely unaffected by the length of the journey. Hitsugaya thought that the fact that he slept during most of the journey probably had a lot to do with his good mood but said nothing on the subject.

He was completely focused on the mission that Komui had given them since the sooner they found the Innocence, or proved that it wasn't there at all, then the sooner they could return to training. Allen would have to grow much stronger if they were to stand a chance in the battle against the Millennium Earl. It was true that the young captain knew absolutely nothing about this enemy however he had to be a major threat for Soul Society to get involved.

"Let's go," Hitsugaya said.

Allen nodded and together the two youths made their way out down the street. It wasn't an easy task to track down Innocence and it was even harder to collect it since the Innocence usually found ways of protecting its self. Hitsugaya had been warned of this by several people in the Order and yet he found that he was in no way prepared for the annoying task of following half truths and leads from people who had no idea what was really going on in their own backyards.

The search continued for a couple of days and Allen was beginning to wonder if there truly was Innocence in this town. He and Hitsugaya had been searching tirelessly since their arrival and yet there was still no trace of Innocence.

On the third day the two white haired youths were walking down a street when they came upon a funeral procession. Both Allen and Hitsugaya bowed their heads respectfully as the horse drawn hearse passed by the spot where they were standing however Allen was forced to look up as his left eye suddenly turned blood red.

His gaze swept over the mourners who were walking behind the hearse until he saw the soul emerging from the body of a teenaged boy. "Hitsugaya," he said, nudging his companion and gesturing in the direction of the procession.

"I see it," Hitsugaya said in a quiet voice.

Both Hitsugaya and Allen jumped toward the Akuma and, as the teenager turned toward them, his skin peeled back to reveal a Level One Akuma. They all had pretty much the same appearance, with a round body and protruding guns, and this one was no different. The others in the procession screamed in alarm as the Akuma assumed it's true form and began firing.

"Don't let the bullets strike you," Allen reminded his partner as he held out his hand.

Hitsugaya nodded. Neither of them knew if they would be affected by the Akuma's virus, since they were already dead, unfortunately the only way to find out would be to get hit and neither of them was willing to go that route.

"Innocence Activate!"

Hitsugaya stepped back and watched as the sword formed in Allen's left hand. He decided that, unless the battle turned in the Akuma's favor, he was going to allow Allen to fight it on his own. It would be good practice and besides, this enemy was low level.

The fight was brief and in no time the Akuma fell to Allen's blade. Once the Akuma had been defeated Allen turned back to Hitsugaya however the young man paused as he felt an ominous presence.

"Allen Walker," a voice called out, as though from above. "You truly are becoming a nuisance."

Allen and Hitsugaya gazed up and watched as a large man with an enormous smile floated through the sky, holding a large umbrella. Hitsugaya grabbed his head as the voice triggered a flash of memory. "What the. . ." the young Shinigami gasped, clutching the sides of his head. "Why does that voice sound familiar?"

"I will put a stop to your meddling soon enough," the man called out before vanishing.

"Who. . ."

"That was the Millennium Earl," Allen replied, anticipating the question that Hitsugaya was going to ask. "The man responsible for all of the Akuma that are created."

"I see," Hitsugaya said, a thoughtful expression in his teal eyes. That was the answer that he had been expecting however it brought about more questions than it answered. Why did the voice of the Millennium Earl sound so familiar to him? And whose memories was he now experiencing?

"Well," Allen said, breaking into Hitsugaya's thoughts. "We should probably report back to the Black Order and tell them what happened."

Hitsugaya nodded, still somewhat distracted.

A/N - And there's the end of chapter seven and now Hitsugaya has met the Millennium Earl. So why is the Earl's voice familiar to him? What exactly is going on? You'll have to stay tuned to the story in order to find out. Please leave a review and tell me what you thought.

Toushirou: For the record, I really HATE trains.
Allen: You really hate everything.
Lavi: It does seem that way doesn't it.
Toushirou: 'Draws Hyourinmaru and glares at the moyashi and the usagi'
Allen and Lavi: RUN!
The Musician: And that's all for now.