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

Chapter Thirteen - Battle for Barcelona

"Have you received word from anyone from the Order?" the Finder in charge of the contingency that was guarding Barcelona barked out to one of his men. He couldn't see the large group of Akuma that were traveling toward the city but he had received reports from the Finders who were monitoring the situation and he knew that they were close. They were moving slow, it was true, however it was only a matter of time before they reached the city and he had to admit that he was scared. From the reports that he had received from his men he estimated that they would be upon the city by nightfall.

They didn't stand a chance against the looming attack unless some Exorcists arrived and he knew it. And yet despite this knowledge he and his men would do what they could to protect the citizens of the city. They may not be able to fight the Akuma but they had their ways of stalling them.

All the had to do was stall them long enough for reinforcements to arrive.

Hopefully they would be able to because if they didn't. . . The captain shook his head, riding himself of that disturbing thought. It didn't bear thinking on.

Having received the order to travel to Barcelona Kanda was on his way to the Spanish city, a scowl on his face. He would go, because he had been ordered to, but that didn't mean that he would be happy about it. The word from the Order was that General Tiedoll was somewhere in this region and that the Akuma were most likely after him and the Innocence that he possessed.

In all honesty Kanda had no desire what so ever to see that man again. It was all he could do to endure the training when he had first became an Exorcist. "I can't believe this," he thought to himself as he dashed down a road that was lined on both sides by trees.

The jingling of a bell suddenly rang out.

Kanda drew up short, his hand instantly going to the handle of his sword. He didn't see anyone however he could still hear the sound of the bell and he needed to be prepared in case the noise was being made by an Akuma.

"Yu!"

Kanda groaned as he heard the familiar voice, along with the sound of the bell growing louder. He released his grip on Mugen though he didn't want to. This guy wasn't an Akuma however his presence was far from wanted. A man dressed in a white trimmed black coat landed lightly on the ground a few feet from the spot where Kanda was standing. His hood was pulled up over his head and there was a small bell attached to the tip of it.

"Yo!" he said as he focused his gaze on Kanda.

"Daisya," Kanda said in an irritated voice, nodding ever so slightly in acknowledgement of the Exorcist who had also been trained by General Tiedoll.

The Exorcist named Daisya offered Kanda a smile. He was used to the man's grumpy nature and it didn't phase him in the least. "So I take it that you're here to look for the old man too?"

"I have been assigned to search for General Tiedoll," Kanda said in a dignified voice. "And to stop the Akuma who want to harm him."

"Always so stuffy," Daisya said with a chuckled. "Well come on then. We may as well travel together. When dealing with a huge group of Akuma two Exorcists are better than one."

"Very well," Kanda said, which was a tribute to just how dire the situation was.

"How many of these things can there possibly be?" Allen asked as he and Hitsugaya finished a battle with no less than thirty Akuma. The remains of the weapons lay in smoldering heaps all along the road and the two boys sighed. Allen had told the man who was giving them a ride to flee when the Akuma had appeared and he had obliged the request.

That action had kept him out of harm's way, as well as kept him from being a liability to them during the battle, but now that he was gone they were back to walking. "Oh well," the taller of the two boys said with a sigh. "At least we're almost there."

"Let's go," Hitsugaya said, sheathing his sword.

"Right."

Kanda and Daisya were unable to track down General Tiedoll before reaching the city of Barcelona and unfortunately they knew that there wasn't going to be time to go back and take a second look. The Akuma could now be seen heading toward the city in mass numbers and, since they were the only Exorcists around, the two disciples of Tiedoll knew that they would have to fight for the city alone.

"Let's go," Daisya said, pulling the small bell from the tip of his hood.

Kanda nodded, unsheathing the sword that he wore secured across his back.

The two Exorcists split up and prepared to battle the Akuma. The Finders were also prepared for battle, equipped with the barrier machine that would allow them to capture and paralyze the Akuma long enough for the Exorcists to destroy them.

When the mass of Akuma finally reached the city all hell broke loose. Kanda leapt from one building to another, slashing at Akuma as he went. They were facing impossible odds but he refused to be weak and worry about that. He would kill these vile creatures.

"Innocence Activate!" Daisya called out, tossing the little bell into the air and watching as it grew in size. "Charity Bell!"

With a mighty kick the nineteen year old Exorcist launched the bell, now the size of a soccer ball, toward the nearest group of Akuma. The bell sailed right through the bodies of the Akuma, causing them to explode in a sort of domino effect.

Daisya offered the defeated Akuma a very cocky smile before moving on to the next group. He enjoyed doing battle with Akuma, enjoyed the excitement that the battle elicited. This was way better than that boring life he'd led before General Tiedoll had found him.

"Thanks Master."

"Do you hear that?" Hitsugaya asked his companion, coming to a halt and gazing in the direction where he knew the city lay. He could tell that they were close, should be able to see it once they reached the top of this hill, and he could already see explosions.

"Looks like the battle's already began," Allen said. "We should hurry."

Hitsugaya nodded and the two white haired youths began running toward the city where the echoing of the battle could be heard. Just as Hitsugaya suspected Barcelona fell into view as soon as they reached the top of the hill however neither of them stopped to gaze at the scene.

Both knew that it would be bad and both knew that they had to get there and help the others as soon as possible.

"Allen," Hitsugaya said, pulling a by now familiar dragon-headed device from the pocket of his coat. "I know a way to get us there quickly but we run the risk of being seen."

"That doesn't matter right now," Allen said without hesitation.

Hitsugaya nodded and popped the green pill into his mouth. The young Shinigami Exorcist emerged from his gigai and then turned to the fake body. "Go and hide amongst those trees and do not come out no matter what. I'll come back to get you when this is over."

"Yes sir."

Turning away from his fake body Hitsugaya once again focused his gaze on his companion. "Hold on tight," was the only warning that he gave the guy. Seizing Allen by the arm the young captain used his flash-step to take them to the top of the wall that had been erected around the city.

"Thanks," Allen said as he dashed off to help with the battle.

"Don't die!" Hitsugaya called out a second before he too became engaged in the battle against the Akuma. There were countless Akuma attacking the city and the place was littered with the bodies of Finders that had fallen in the line of duty. Hitsugaya hated the sight but he knew that there was nothing that could be done for them right now. He would perform Konso once the battle was over but at the present moment the living were more important than the dead.

Hyourinmaru's blade began to glow with that by now familiar blue aura as Hitsugaya wielded the zanpaktou against the Millennium Earl's henchmen. The young Shinigami had become accustomed to that sight however he was still unable to explain it.

Not that the how or why really matter at this present moment in time.

The fact that Hyourinmaru miraculously possessed Innocence was a huge help in this war that he was now being forced to fight. It would have been far more difficult to carry out his mission were it not for his partner, who had been at his side for as long as he could remember.

He was the only Shinigami in history to have been found with a zanpaktou. He was also the only known soul to have gone to the Soul Society without having someone perform Konso. He had merely shown up out of the blue and been taken in by Head Captain Ukitake. No one had ever been able to explain why he had always been in possession of Hyourinmaru but, until now, it had never really seemed all that important to him.

Perhaps the Innocence had something to do with that?

The battle was fierce and lasted for hours, leaving all of the Exorcists exhausted and wounded. And the job had lasted even longer for the Shinigami Exorcist since, once the Akuma were defeated, he had to perform Konso for everyone who was killed.

And when that daunting task was complete the young captain still had to retrieve his gigai.

Leaving Allen with the others Hitsugaya quickly made his way back to the location where he had left his gigai. Then, once he had collected his fake body, the young Shinigami returned to the partially demolished city of Barcelona.

The death toll from the battle was immense and the Finders who remained now busy collecting the bodies and preparing them for their final return to the Black Order. It was mandatory that all deceased be taken to the Order so that they wouldn't be made into Akuma.

Allen had been the one and only exception to that rule.

"Has anyone seen Daisya?" an Exorcist name Marie asked, gazing around in search of the Exorcist with the bell.

Kanda, Allen, and Hitsugaya all shook their heads.

"We should probably look for him," Marie said, to which the others nodded. Even Kanda was relenting to, if not wanting, to search for the missing Exorcist. The group made their way around the city but they had no luck. That is until they heard the shouts of a group of Finders.

The four Exorcists made their way toward the sound as quickly as possible and their eyes widened in shock and horror as their gazes fell upon the cause of the Finders' distress. The body of Daisya was hanging, suspended to a street lamp.

Marie and Kanda quickly moved forward so that they could move the body of their comrade, placing him gently on the ground. Then Kanda turned to the Finders. "Take care of him. We have to go and find General Tiedoll."

"Yes sir," the Finder said, bowing his head in reverence to the dead.

So together the group of Exorcists left the remains of Barcelona, determined to locate General Tiedoll. Hopefully the Akuma hadn't managed to find him before they attacked the city. That was what they chose to believe, until it was proven different.

A/N - I hate fight scenes! But with this genre what choice do I have? Hope it wasn't too awful. And before you correct me about Hitsugaya's past, this story is AU and I had to change it a little to fit the later plot. So that's what's up with that. Our heroes get a shove in the right direction in the next chapter. Please leave a review and tell me what you thought.

Daisya: This story is AU so you didn't have to kill me you know.
The Musician: Sorry about that but...
Daisya: Innocence Activate!
The Musician: Not again!