Disclaimer - I do not own D Gray Man or Bleach

Chapter Twelve - Searching and Searched For

The trip to Liverpool turned out to be a complete waste of time for the two youths who were out searching for General Cross Marian. They hadn't found so much as one sign that he'd ever visited the city and, as a result, no clues as to his current whereabouts. And on top of everything else bad that had happened to them thus far they were now engaged in a battle with a huge group of Akuma. This was the most Akuma that Allen had seen grouped together at once and they immediately attacked him and his companion.

They were on the outskirts of town when they were ambushed by the Akuma, who were attempting to masquerade as humans. Of course this didn't fool either of them since they both had the ability to see the souls that were trapped inside the Akuma.

"Give it up," Allen said as his eye began to glow red. "There's no way you can deceive my eye. Innocence Activate!"

When they saw that their plan to take the two Exorcists by surprise the Akuma assumed their true forms and immediately aimed their guns at the two young boys.

"Great," Hitsugaya groaned. He made a move to use his Gikongan to emerge from his gigai however the Akuma attacked him before he had the chance. Growling low in his throat in annoyance Hitsugaya pulled Hyourinmaru from the sheath that he wore secured across his back. There was nothing for it. He would simply have to fight the Akuma while still in his gigai.

It was an annoyance but far from impossible. Especially with the caliber of gigai that Captain Urahara produced.

"It seems as though we're a magnet for trouble," Allen said with a small laugh as he held up his sword. "And all because we have to find Master."

"I can't believe that we wasted all that time for nothing," Hitsugaya growled as he used Hyourinmaru to slice through a group of Akuma that had suddenly appeared and attacked him and his traveling companion. The woman that Cross was acquainted with didn't have the slightest idea where he was currently hiding and as a result they had wasted all of that time.

Allen didn't comment as he used his own Innocence sword to take out a second group of Akuma. He had pretty much known that finding Cross wouldn't be that easy and, although he was disappointed, he wasn't the least bit surprised.

The skies behind the two youths turned the color of fire as the Akuma exploded behind them. Both Allen and Hitsugaya landed lightly on the ground and the young Shinigami sheathed his sword while Allen's Innocence reverted to it's normal form.

"How long are we going to have to keep fighting these weaklings?" Hitsugaya grumbled as he sheathed Hyourinmaru and returned to his gigai.

Allen shrugged. "Until we defeat the Millennium Earl I guess."

That was not the answer that Hitsugaya wanted to hear and yet he knew that Allen was more than likely correct. These Akuma wouldn't stop chasing them until the Millennium Earl had been defeated and that knowledge only served to increase Hitsugaya's foul mood. "Well come on. We should probably attempt to cover some ground before the next wave of those damn things arrives."

"Right," Allen said.

Having discovered that Liverpool was a lost cause the two youths had left and searched other cities in England, all of which turned out to be dead ends. Now they were making their way across Europe in the hopes of coming across a lead that would help them in their search for General Cross.

"So annoying," Hitsugaya thought to himself as they walked.

When they finally found General Cross it was going to prove very hard for him to not kick the guy in the side of the head. Forcing them to endure all of this annoyance simply because he didn't want to be tracked down by the people he owed money to or the people that he worked for.

"Ugh."

Allen couldn't help but smile at his companion's annoyance. Hitsugaya was really annoyed with the low level Akuma that were constantly attacking them and had actually stated on one occasion that if they were going to be pursued the Millennium Earl could at least have the decency to send someone stronger.

Timcanpy was flying around his head however the little golem suddenly decided that he needed a break. And instead of landing on Allen's head like he normally did, the little guy landed right on top of Hitsugaya's unruly white hair.

"What the. . ." Hitsugaya exclaimed, feeling the strange weight on his head.

"I guess Tim likes you," Allen said with a smile.

Hitsugaya rolled his eyes yet made no attempt to remove the little golem from his head. Seeing that he wasn't about to be displaced Timcanpy settled down, wrapping his long tail around the neck of his new perch. Allen smiled at the irritated look that appeared on Hitsugaya's face but knew enough not to say anything.

"Ty. . . ki," Road whined as she and her companion made their way through England. "When are we going to find them? I'm so bored I'm gonna die."

"You're not going to die," Tyki said calmly. "And we'll find them when we find them. Now stop whining."

Road stuck her tongue out at him and began twirling Lero over her head. This had turned into her favorite past time since the Millennium Earl had given them the assignment to track down Allen and Hitsugaya. After all, there wasn't anything better to do.

"We've received word from some of our Akuma that the two boys were spotted in Liverpool," Tyki said in his customary, calm voice. "And we have to go and check it out."

"Oh alright," Road said, sounding less than enthusiastic. She wouldn't be happy until she was fighting with those two boys. That was going to be fun and she couldn't wait. Literally. The wait was beginning to drive her insane and even tormenting Lero had lost some of it's appeal.

Hoping forward, a few steps away from Tyki, Road began to sing, an eerie little tune of his own design. "The Lord Millennium is in search of you. Looking for the heart now, have you heard the news. . ."

Meanwhile, back at the Headquarters for the Black Order, Chief Komui had received word from a group of finders stationed in Barcelona that a large group of Akuma was heading direction toward the city. This was bad news because one of the four remaining Generals, General Tiedoll, was rumored to be somewhere in Spain. One general had already been killed and if the Millennium Earl was targeting them, as the Order suspected, then General Tiedoll would be in danger.

"Send word to all Exorcists," Komui ordered. "If they are not currently working a case that involves known Innocence then they are to change course immediately and head to Barcelona. We must protect the Generals and the Innocence that they possess."

"Yes sir!" the scientists all chorused. With this order fresh in their minds the group of men quickly made their way to the many phones that were located in the Science Division. Each of them took it upon themselves to contact one of the Exorcists who were away on assignment and give them the new orders.

It was of the utmost importance that they send these orders as quickly as possible so that the Akuma who were descending upon the city could be stopped and the General could be protected.

"We must protect General Tiedoll," Komui thought to himself, a mental image of the artistic general appearing in his mind's eye. This was the general who had trained Kanda, among many others. "Make sure that Kanda knows what's going on."

"Right," Reever said, hanging up the phone and then immediately picking it back up.

If the Black Order lost another of it's generals then the outcome would most assuredly be disastrous. The generals were charged with finding Innocence and Accommodators for said Innocence. Without them then the mission to find new Exorcists would take a major hit.

"That must not happen."

Hitsugaya and Allen were walking along a lonely road, both silent and absorbed in their own thoughts, when Timcanpy suddenly moved from his chosen perch on Hitsugaya's head and began fluttering around the two youths. "What is it Tim?" Allen questioned.

Timcanpy opened his mouth and Allen heard the voice of Section Leader Reever. But it was distorted, as though the little golem was picking up the signal from another golem. "Attention all available Exorcists! A large group of Akuma has been sighted heading to the Spanish city of Barcelona. General Tiedoll is rumored to be in that area and he must be protected at all costs."

Upon hearing these words Allen turned his attention back to Hitsugaya. "We should go there. It's not that far from here, relatively speaking, and it seems more important than tracking down Master Cross."

"Very well," Hitsugaya said as Timcanpy once again settled on top of his hair.

So when the two boys came to a fork in the road they took the path marked Barcelona. They couldn't see the city from where they were however Allen judged that they should be able to reach the city by nightfall tomorrow if they hurried.

At that moment the two youths heard the sound of a wagon approaching them and they instinctively shifted their gazes in that direction. Their searching gazes fell upon a covered wagon traveling toward them and neither boy sensed the presence of an Akuma.

That was a good sign.

The driver of the covered wagon pulled the team of horses to a halt as he pulled up alongside the two white haired youths dressed in black. "Hello," he said as he gazed down at the two children. "Where are you boys headed?"

"To Barcelona sir," Allen replied politely, always the gentleman.

"Well hop in," the man said, offering them a smile. "As it just so happens that's where I'm heading myself. That's a long way to walk."

"Thank you so much," Allen said, offering the man a bow before he and Hitsugaya clambered up into the back of the wagon. It was so nice of the man to offer them a ride and just in time to. He was beginning to fear that his legs were going to fall off.

And on top of that he was starving.

"Thanks again for offering to give us a ride," Allen said to the driver, in an attempt to divert his attention from the fact that he was starving and hopefully to keep the others from hearing the rumbling of his stomach. It was complaining loudly about the serious lack of nourishment.

"Oh it's no problem," the man said. "I'm grateful for the company. After all, I've been by myself for several weeks and it'll be nice to have someone to talk to for a change."

Allen glanced briefly at Hitsugaya, hoping that his rather gruff companion didn't do something to ruin this. The young Shinigami however had fallen fast asleep, leaning up against the side of the wagon with Timcanpy still perched on top of his head.

"I guess I'm the one doing the talking," Allen thought to himself with a smile. Leaving his companion to sleep Allen climbed up front with the driver and the two of them passed their time with idle chat. Considering the man's kindness offering him some company was the least that Allen could do.

And on top of that it helped to occupy his mind and keep him from dwelling on the fact that he and Hitsugaya now had not one mission but two. They had to fight the Akuma that were traveling to Barcelona plus on top of that find Cross.

A/N - and there's chapter twelve and Allen and Hitsugaya are on their way to Barcelona to fight the horde of Akuma. And the two members of the Noah Clan, Road and Tyki, are on their way to fight with the two white haired youths. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, please review and tell me what you thought.

Toushirou: Why does the little golden ball like me so much?
Allen: 'shrugs' I don't know. Guess it has something to do with your magnetic personality.
Timcanpy: ...........
The Musician: 'Breaks up fight before the two main characters kill one another.'