Disclaimer - I do not own D Gray Man or Bleach, just having a little fun with the characters.

A/N - this chapter is dedicated to Black Sun Upon An Icy Sky, who was the first person to review the last chapter. I would like to thank all those who have reviewed and helped me to reach triple digit reviews! The Musician is pleased.

Chapter Ten - Departure

Hitsugaya awoke early the next morning and, after a brief workout to stretch his muscles, the young captain got dressed in the cloths that he had been given by the Order. His new wardrobe was comprised of black trousers, white button up shirt with a black string tied at the throat and the black and white coat that bore the crest of the Black Order.

Then, once he was dressed, Hitsugaya left his quarters and made his way to the room that belonged to Allen. Hitsugaya knocked lightly on the door and, seconds later, he heard, "Come in." Pulling the handle Hitsugaya entered the room and saw that Allen was doing push ups with one thumb.

Pushing off with his thumb Allen flipped and landed upright. "So I take it that you're ready to leave?"

Hitsugaya nodded. "I thought we could have breakfast and then depart."

"Good plan."

Together Hitsugaya and Allen made their way down to the dining hall where Jerry was more than happy to fix them a large breakfast as a parting gift. Lenalee joined them soon after they sat down and she once again had to marvel at their voracious appetites.

"Truly an amazing sight isn't it?"

"Hey Lavi," Lenalee called out as the red haired youth joined them.

Both Allen and Hitsugaya shot Lavi a dirty look however neither of the white haired youths ceased eating to reply verbally. They merely continued with their meal however if looks were enough to kill then Lavi would have dropped dead immediately.

"Are you causing trouble with your big mouth?"

"Hey panda!" Lavi called out as an old man walked over to the table. The man was dressed in the same black coat as the other Exorcists however there was something different about him. Hitsugaya couldn't figure out what it was but this old man definitely wasn't like the others, of that he was sure.

The old man walked over to Lavi and immediately smacked him on the top of the head. "I told you not to call me a panda you half-wit!"

"Hey!" Lavi exclaimed as he rubbed the spot on his head where the old man had struck him. "That hurt you old geezer!"

"Not as bad as it's going to if you don't shut your trap," the man threatened, holding up his fist once more. "And stop calling me old!" Lavi's eyes widened and he quickly backed away from the old man, knowing that his master did not make idle threats. The old man turned away from his apprentice and locked his gaze on Hitsugaya. "Forgive my apprentice, his mouth works faster than his brain. You must be the new Exorcist that Komui was telling me about."

The young Shinigami nodded. "Toushirou Hitsugaya."

"You can call me Bookman," the old man said, nodding in the youth's direction before making his way across the dining hall.

"Okay," Hitsugaya said, watching as the old man walked away.

"The bookmen record history that normally wouldn't make it into the history books," Lavi explained once he was certain that his master was out of hearing range. "I'm in training to become one right now and we're working with the Exorcists so that we can record the accounts of the war."

A few minutes passed in silence while Allen and Hitsugaya finished their meals and then the two youths got to their feet. Both already had suitcases and Allen turned to Lenalee. "I guess we'll be going now. The sooner we find Master, the better."

"Good luck," Lenalee said cheerfully.

Allen waved over his shoulder as he and Hitsugaya left the dining hall, with Timcanpy flying along between them. "So," Hitsugaya said as the two youths made their way down the corridor that would lead them to the underground entrance. "You have absolutely no idea where to find this guy Cross right?"

A shadow crossed over Allen's face as he shook his head, answering the question in the affirmative.

"Well then," Hitsugaya said, not the slightest bit deterred by this knowledge. He honestly hadn't expected anything different from Allen. "Pick a destination. The most likely place for him to be. Somewhere that he would want to return to."

Allen thought about the situation for a few minutes, racking his brain in an attempt to come up with something, and then he turned his attention back to his traveling companion. "I guess we should try Liverpool first. Master and I went there more than other places."

"Is there someone there that he knows?" Hitsugaya asked.

A blush rose to color Allen's face as he rubbed the back of his head. "Other than bill collectors there's a lady there that Master went to visit any time that we were there."

"Right," Hitsugaya said, not even remotely interested in why the general had gone to visit the woman. Not that he didn't already have a pretty good idea due to the blush that was coloring the other boy's face. "Liverpool it is then."

Allen nodded and together the two youths departed the headquarters of the Black Order. Neither was especially looking forward to this trip however both were resigned to it. They had been ordered to find Cross and if it brought them closer to their goal of defeating the Millennium Earl then they would do it despite how much the thought annoyed one and terrorized the other.

Before long Hitsugaya once again found himself seated on a train and he had to admit that he was really beginning to despise this method of transportation. It would be so much faster if they used the Senkaimon to travel from place to place but no, they had to travel as normal humans. Which neither of them was and, Hitsugaya was beginning to suspect, never had been.

"Hey Hitsugaya," Allen said, his gaze locked on the smaller boy.

"What is it?"

"I was just curious about what it's like in Soul Society," Allen said. Now that they were alone in their private car he felt that it was safe to ask this question. He had been thinking about it a lot since Hitsugaya had told him that he was no longer a part of this world.

"Depends on who you are," Hitsugaya replied honestly. There was no point in lying to the boy. "Normal souls are sent to the Rukongai, which is terrible as long as you end up in one of the upper districts. The higher the number the more difficult life there is. And then there's the Seireitei, which is by far the most pleasant place to live, and is where the Shinigami live."

"I see," Allen said.

Hitsugaya could tell that Allen was concerned about how his life would change once he went to Soul Society. "Don't worry about it. We have more pressing things to deal with right now."

"Right."

Hitsugaya returned to his meditation but that didn't last long as Allen posed another question to him. "So what exactly are we supposed to do once we find Master?" There was a somewhat sheepish expression on the young Exorcist's face as he asked this question. "I was too busy having a nervous breakdown to hear what Chief Komui said."

"We're supposed to bring him back to headquarters," Hitsugaya replied. "Preferably alive."

Allen's eyes widened as he heard this last part. "What?"

"I'm fairly certain that Komui was joking when he added that part," Hitsugaya said, touching the hilt of the sword that he was currently holding in his lap. "But I make no guarantees."

Suddenly completely exhausted Allen slumped in his seat. This was turning out to be more than he bargained for and he was beginning to wonder if this was what Hell was like. "That's it," the youth thought as his tortured mind called forth an image of his Master. "I'm in Hell."

_________________________________________________________________________________

"Do you really think that those kids will be able to track down General Cross, Chief?" Reever asked as he carried yet another stack of documents into the office of the Supervisor. "And that they'll be able to bring him back even if they do."

"Maybe," Komui said, lifting his coffee mug and taking a sip. He was exhausted from pulling an all nighter and really needed a caffeine fix right now. And the sight of all of the paperwork that Reever was carrying did absolutely nothing to improve upon his mood.

"I know!" he suddenly exclaimed, startling Reever and causing him to drop the stack of papers. "Pick those up Section Leader Reever," he ordered as he practically danced toward the door. "I'll go and see my sweet sister Lenalee! That ought to cheer me up."

"But Chief. . ."

The cry fell upon seemingly deaf ears and Reever sighed as he began picking up the papers. Chief Komui had waltzed out the door as though he didn't have a care in the world, leaving him to clean up the mess and more than likely complete the paperwork.

It just wasn't fair.

With a broad smile on his face Komui bounded down the hallway, practically running into Kanda who was traveling in the opposite direction. "Watch where you're going," the Japanese Exorcist exclaimed angrily, glaring daggers at his superior.

"Sorry Kanda," Komui said, bowing in apology. "I was just in a hurry cause I'm off to see my sweet Lenalee."

"She's not here," Kanda said in an irritated tone as he straightened his coat.

"What do you mean she isn't here?" Komui demanded, whirling back to face the young Exorcist. There was a somewhat demented expression on his face as he asked about his sister. He didn't like it when she wasn't around and he liked it even less when he didn't know where she was.

"She and the rabbit left earlier," Kanda called out over his shoulder. "Said that they were going into town for a couple of hours."

"WHAT?!" Komui exclaimed, a look of complete and utter horror appearing on his face as he envisioned his sweet little sister with that red headed menace. "How could you my sweet sister? Dating Lavi and not even telling me? That's horrible!"

"Oh no," Russell said as he listened to the anguished screams of his boss.

"That spells trouble," Reever exclaimed, jumping to his feet and once again dropping the paperwork that he had just managed to pick up from the floor. He knew that he needed to get to the Chief before he did something foolish.

Something that involved Sir Komlin the 38th or whatever the hell number they were currently on.

Minutes later Komui found himself tied to the chair in his office. Several members of the Science Division had forcibly dragged him there and then made completely sure that he couldn't leave. "I'm going to kill that rabbit! Let me go!"

"Calm down Chief," Reever said. "I'm sure it's not what you're thinking."

"But how could Lenalee not have told me that she and Lavi were. . . were dating?" Komui howled as though he were in utter agony.

"Because we're not!" Lenalee said, walking over to the spot where her brother was bound and kicking him on the head. "I had to go to town to pick up something and Lavi came along in case any Akuma showed up. Geez brother you're such an idiot."

"My sweet sister," Komui said.

"Ugh."

"Alright guys," Komui said, regaining his composure and reverting back to his serious side. "Now that I know that Lenalee's not off somewhere with Lavi you can untie me now."

"No," Russell said with a smirk.

"I think we have you right where we want you," Reever added, walking forward with the stack of paperwork that he'd picked up from the floor for a second time. The Section Leader untied one of Komui's hands and then stood back smirking. "We'll let you up once you've finished with these documents."

"But that's not fair!" Komui protested loudly. "Help me Lenalee."

"Oh listen," Lenalee said, placing her hand to her ear as though she heard something off in the distance. "I think Lavi's calling me. See you later brother."

"NO!" Komui screamed as his sister left the office.

A/N - and there's chapter ten and Allen and Hitsu weren't even in half of it. Oh well, just trying to diversify things a little bit. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a review and tell me what you think. And as always, if you have any suggestions feel free to let me know. Contest! For all those interested, the first person who guesses what's up with Hitsugaya can request a one shot of their choice. Let the game begin! The results will be announced once everything has been revealed so I'm not going to tell you if you get it right. Sorry.

Komui: I can't believe it! My sweet Lenalee and... Lavi!
Lavi: STRIKE!
Komui: WHY?!
Allen, Toushirou, and The Musician: Idiots.