Hitomi: Holy crap! *falls over* When did I get this amount of reviews? Honestly, I wasn't expecting this at all! I love to thank all of you who reviewed so very much, especially hashire for giving me constructive criticism for each chapter.

But while I appreciate the feedback, hashire, I'll make it clear that you're wrong… Rue is NOT a Mary Sue. When creating her, I was avoiding certain factors that would make her a Sue. I didn't describe her in a way that most Sueauthors would (powerful to the point she was undefeatable, drop dead beautiful to the point boys would drool over her and girls would envy her, loved by everyone while nobody couldn't find themselves to hate her, boys would fall in love with her at first sight, etc.). Rue doesn't apply to any of those at all.

Also, it's pretty hard to make an OC of any fandom without making them a bit Sueish. So, consider looking back on the definition of Mary Sue again before calling out on it because, as far as I'm concerned, Rue isn't one. And even she was, the worst she could be is a Partial Sue because I worked hard on her personality and looks and tried avoiding what makes a Sue as much as possible. So, I've already taken anti-Sue measures.

Haha… I better not let my readers down now. I'll do my best in this fanfic. Mind you that I'm still going to develop a lot of things as I write along. I also really need to start planning when to skip to two years later AKA when Allen joins the Order. I think Chapter 20 would be nice, but I've a feeling that would be pushing things a bit and you guys would complain of me possibly dragging this. But, I do want a little more development, so yeah.

And looks like an unexpected visitor will pop in this mission. I wonder who it is.

Disclaimer: I do not own D . Gray-Man, Hoshinou Katsura-sensei does. The only thing(s) I do own in here would be my OC(s).

Unravel

XII

Scarlet Snowdrop

[Something that pure is asking for trouble and

The shadows will stain the night with dark red blood…]

"Looks like nothing's wrong so far," a voice commented with a lazy drawl, bored hazel brown eyes glancing at the castle occasionally. "Seriously, it's like they're having it a little too easy in there what with the Innocence hiding in a place where a party is going on. Why did Supervisor Komui send us along with the Exorcists on this mission again…?"

"Edina, I'm going to say this as politely as possible: kindly shut up. You've been bitching about this for the past hour or so and it's getting redundant as well as tiresome. And to answer your question for the umpteenth time already, it's because we're Finders and we have to report to the Exorcists if we see anything suspicious, be it Innocence or Akuma. But, since we've already made reports about the Innocence here, we're looking out for Akuma now." Another voice snapped agitatedly to the other, letting out a frustrated moan because of putting up with such idiocy.

"But, it's so boring AND cold out here!" Seventeen-year-old Edina whined indignantly, shaking her head of wavy, dark brown locks to emphasize that she was fed up with her assignment. She got up and started to pace back and forth impatiently, stomping her feet to show that she was throwing a temper tantrum. "If I knew being a Finder was going to be this dull, I would've refused joining the Black Order and stayed put in Australia! Then, I could've done whatever I wanted without ever having to suffer like this for the rest of my life! Maybe, I would be in this particular banquet right now and have some fun instead of being stuck out here with you and doing this stupid job!"

"And what, let you continue on living your life as the close-minded, spoiled brat you still are now?" The other laughed sarcastically, taking a drag of his cigarette and watched the exhaled smoke and his white breath evaporate into the chilly air. His light blue eyes looked at her direction, glaring coldly with annoyance and disgust clearly there. "I don't think so. Sorry, sweetie, but that's not how the world works. This should be a lesson of reality—or, how you're looking at it, life giving you a bitchslap—to such a sheltered, unpleasant child like you. Realize that not all people are as well off as you are, so quit acting like a self-centered snob just because you happen to be rich. The world doesn't revolve around you and the Black Order is no exception to that."

"Hmph!" She went up to his face, her hands on her hips as she made a snooty expression. "Why shouldn't it be about me? I'm the one who's suffering out here in the frigid cold, stuck with you and wasting my time, when I could be in my luxurious, warm home and not have to associate with commoners like the majority I've met so far! You, Armando, are no exception to this either!"

Turning away from her and directing his eyes to the sky, the male took another inhale of tobacco, wisps of smoke seeping out from his lips.

"You idiot," Eighteen-year-old Armando made a sound of disapproval, dusting some snow off of his walnut red brown hair; cold, pale blue eyes leering at the girl once more with revulsion. "I never gave a damn about our statuses to begin with. The point is you're not in your precious home anymore and this should be a lesson that it's not like most of the world asked to be poor; sadly, this is just the way things are. You're just lucky you were born in a rich family or nobody would like to put up with this nasty personality of yours."

"Nobody would want to put up with me? Hah! Then, what about Supervisor Komui? You can't tell me he hasn't dealt with me because he has!"

"He's probably just being nice since he's like that with everyone. For all we know, you could be annoying him."

"Yeah, like I'll believe that! Probably, he fell under my charms and decided to be nice!"

The male Finder snorted at this, again remarking mockingly while rolling his eyes, "And the day he would fall under your so-called 'charms' is the day when Kanda would actually smile."

"You make it sound like it's impossible!" Edina huffed crossly, throwing her arms up dramatically in the air.

"That's because it is! I told you that the majority of us in the Order, and most of the world population, aren't as well off as you!" Armando argued back, now tossing away his cigarette on the white ground and stepping on it with his foot. "If we of the less fortunate piss you off so much, why don't you go leave? I'm getting sick and tired of your constant complaining and this is only your first mission as a Finder."

"Being a Finder is so stupid, anyway! I told you, I'd rather be surrounded by luxury instead of freezing myself out here!" With that, she stormed off, quite annoyed with her colleague.

"Keep this up and you might not even live by tonight." His voice sounded oddly disconnected, causing her to freeze in her tracks by mid-step. Without repeating himself, the male walked past her with an indifferent air.

As she was going to say something, he looked at her over his shoulder, shooting a cold glower.

"No, I'm not concerned for you on whether you live or die; in fact, I really don't give a damn at all." Armando stated calmly with a straight face, making Edina feel mixed in between shock, anger, fear, and maybe something else. "I'm reminding you again that we at the Black Order are in constant danger because of the Earl and the Akuma, so we end up dying often than not. So, stop acting like a drama queen as if you're the only one who's truly suffering because this is probably your first experience with hardships. Trust me, your shallow ramblings of pain and woe are nothing compared to others', so quit harping about anguish and torment because you know nothing on what true affliction really is."

Turning his back to her, he resumed walking around to make inspection of the castle. As the brunette grumbled strings of curses while he went away, there was one more thing the male Finder had to say to her that needed to say or she wouldn't learn.

"By the time you're near Death's door, maybe you'll learn not to be so high-and-mighty and not look down on others. Whether you survive or perish, I don't know and I don't care. But, I will tell you this: stop acting like a pampered child and grow the Hell up, Edina."

The feelings that stirred within her came crashing down along with reality as the cold-hearted Finder left her alone. Whether it was to let her do whatever she wanted or to let her face impending death around the corner, one could only question his motives.

However, it wasn't long before she felt a presence right behind her, which made her tense up nervously. With no weapon or anything to defend herself with, she began panicking on what to do. When she looked over her shoulder to see who it was, she felt fear escalating in her veins.

"Good evening, young miss."

Meanwhile, the ballroom was loud with voices, be it gossiping or otherwise. The crossdressing guessing contest had been going on for a while now (with events going on here and there – most were skits or fashion shows, which obviously involved crossdressing of the opposite gender). Most of the participants had been eliminated due to the fact that the majority of the audience had already guessed their true genders, be it by the contestants' mannerisms during the events or those very few in the crowd who were perceptive to tell apart on who was male or female.

However, certain people had been giving them a hard time on guessing…

"Why am I not surprised that we didn't get eliminated yet?" Rue questioned quietly to the one besides her, blue-gray eyes supervising the noisy spectators in the ballroom.

"Call it a hunch," Kanda grunted back as he fought the urge to wince in hurt, giving her a side glance. Growling in annoyance, he was still on the stage and standing, feet throbbing with immense pain because of the heels. He was so very close to strangling anyone with his shawl if he didn't get out of these bloody shoes soon. "I think we stand out way too much."

"Maybe so, I guess it's because we disguised ourselves a little too well to begin with. Our usual appearances prove that perfectly by how we normally present ourselves."

"Hmph, I bet you the stupid rabbit is laughing his head off at my dilemma right now. Lenalee, I can't say, though I know that she wouldn't forget about this kind of thing so easily, so she's probably finding this very funny too."

"Not surprised." The composed female was fighting the urge to smirk. "You really do look like a female, even without crossdressing. I think it's due to your hair length and that you actually do look like a pretty boy."

Shooting her a look of warning, the male samurai replied with a biting comeback, "You shouldn't talk, shorty. You're supposed to be female, and yet, you're pretty much boyish from head to foot."

Snorting a little, much to his surprise, she just waved her hand dismissively as if telling him she obviously doesn't care.

"You're still my rival, don't forget that. Just because we're in this predicament together doesn't mean I'm beginning to acknowledge you as more than my opponent. So, if you make me angry, I'll be calling you Yuuri from now on after we're done with this." This sent his jaw agape, which immediately clamped shut as he gritted his teeth in anger.

"Grrrrr… You're such a cheeky brat!" He spat infuriatingly, shooting her an evil glare. "When we get back, I'll make you pay for that in training!"

"Then, I look forward to it. You already know I'm not afraid of you and I know you're a challenge. So, I don't mind." She shrugged, still keeping her eyes up front.

Grumbling something incoherent, he turned back to face the audience.

The young announcer was dazzled by the circumstances that had taken place, his voice booming to the mass, "So now, it's come down to this! Who will win this contest? Will it be the feisty Yuuri?"

There were a lot of cheers and wolf whistles, which made Kanda facepalm because of such idiocy. All the while, he sighed exasperatedly, ready to unleash Hell on them. He could've sworn he heard a certain companion's voice root for him. Scanning the room, sure enough, he found a certain Bookman apprentice basically enjoying this. The dark green-haired female besides him was only grinning, but she was anticipating as well.

I'm going to kill the stupid rabbit and Komui when we go back. He thought at the back of his mind with a motivation to kill, making note on sharpening Mugen later on.

"Or will it be the icy Rafale?"

More cheers erupted, to which Rue gave no reaction to, her dark eyes filled with something unreadable. The only thing you could probably figure out was that she acknowledged this was with one's careful observation: they would swear they saw her nod a little bit. Seeing Lenalee cheering for her while Lavi gave her a quiet, kind smile, the emotion in her eyes was slowly revealing itself a bit more.

To be in this kind of thing, it's a different air compared to being in the Underground Society banquets… I wonder what this feeling is.

While people expected the outcome, the other two Exorcists spotted a familiar someone at an insolated corner. With a ragged breath and bloodstained clothes, Lenalee's eyes widened to see the person in such a condition.

"Armando?" The two ran up to the male Finder, shocked to find him like that. Lavi's voice was urgent, not liking the dread that began forming within him. "What's going on?"

"Lenalee, Lavi…" The male wheezed, clutching in his arms a passed out Edina. Whether she was just unconscious or dead, that was still unknown, but she was also covered in blood. "You've got to get the Innocence now because we just encountered Akuma. Also, there was someone that both of us were not expecting to see at all, so it's best you take the Innocence and get the Hell out of here as soon as possible."

This made the Chinese female narrow her purple eyes with a mix of worry and suspicion.

"Who is it?"

"And the winner of the Winter Masquerade's contest is—"

Shattered glass interrupted the host's declaration. Now, the ballroom was thrown into chaos with people screaming and running as Level 1 and Level 2 Akuma made their way in and attacked. Immediately, the thick smell of blood could be picked up in the atmosphere while the Akuma began their onslaught. Armando ran for it with Edina in his arms, trying to find a good place to hide in for the meantime.

With Kanda and Rue jumping off the stage and going to their comrades, the four were trying to think of a plan.

"All right, it's like this." Kanda barked at once, activating Mugen. "Lenalee, you're the fastest out of all of us, so you get the Innocence. But, you're not going alone. Over my dead body I'm letting you unless you want Komui to unleash Hell."

"Don't worry about that," Lenalee nodded back quickly. "I'll bring Rue with me."

"All right," Rue agreed with a nod of her own, her face serious. "I'll keep watch over Lenalee."

"It's settled, then." Lavi grinned, activating his hammer Innocence to its giant mode as he got ready. "I'll be stuck with Yuuri for the time being."

"I told you not to call me that!"

The four began to separate in the pairs, making sure the Akuma wouldn't get to them all at once. Before setting off, Lenalee ripped off the skirt of her dress. Now, the length of it was above the knee.

"Was that supposed to happen?" The redhead called over his shoulder, grinning all the more widely as he whacked away at Level 1 Akuma.

"Pay attention, you stupid rabbit, unless you want to die!" The samurai snarled irately, casting his Illusion spells on both levels of Akuma.

"Well, the woman at the store did say the skirt's detachable, so I'll have no problems using my Innocence now!" The fourteen-year-old female yelled back with a grin, activating her Dark Boots as she hightailed out to the highest tower of the castle.

Rue silently followed her with an agile pace, both daggers out in case anyone was to interfere, watching her comrade's back. Her hands began to glow with that aura she had seen countless times before, but she was not confused with its presence unlike the first time.

"Vanquish enemies and protect allies in my hands, Deathtrap and Lifeline! Innocence, activate!" The former assassin cried out as the fighting gloves replaced the auras on her hands.

Well, they knew that getting something important like the Innocence was not without the price of intervention. It was not only Akuma that came to stop at their path, but the castle guards as well. When they saw the female duo heading to where the Innocence was, the sentries panicked and went after them with the mindset of the Exorcist pair being thieves.

As Lenalee took care of the Akuma while going in the hallways, Rue trailed the other female closely whereas battling it out with the guards.

Earning a moderate cut at her arm from a jabbing spear, the assassin only grunted in pain, making sure to mark her foe dead by aiming her dagger at the jugular vein. Successfully, attacks ceased as blood sprayed from the fallen corpse.

"Thanks for watching my back, Rue!" Lenalee called from above, killing off Akuma with her Tempest Waltz technique and dodging Akuma bullets while she was at it. "And Komui was right; you are skilled with your daggers."

"Well, I do need to watch over you because I don't want Sir Komui to be disappointed in me." Though with numerous injuries, she kept on fighting, stabbing another guard relentlessly until making sure he was dead. "That and…"

"Yes?" The other female dodged reflexively, dropkicking a Level 2 Akuma in midair.

"…Nothing." Sighing, finding another guard heading towards her, she was busy giving him a sparring match. "Man, too much interference, but this does come with the job."

With a laugh of agreement, the Chinese girl gave a hard kick to the Level 2 Akuma's face, but not before earning an injury on her abdomen.

Lodging a dagger to the throat from behind, Rue felt the weight of the lookout crumble under from under. Getting off the cadaver and sheathing the bloody knife, but keeping the other out, she ran up the stairs with Lenalee by her side. With no sentinels meddling anymore, all they had to do was to deal with the Akuma, which they handled nicely.

Feeling irritation getting the better of her, fire conjured from the fighting gloves as she helped the other Exorcist kill off Akuma without any problems. Though her power was still weak, the least the Exorcist-in-training could do was help build up damage to make destroying the monstrosities easier.

"Glad to see that your Innocence is developing well. Looks like Kanda's training paid off, after all." Lenalee commented with a slight smile, which turned to a wince from pain. "Ow…"

"Are you all right, Lenalee? Where are you hurt?" She was alert, a deep frown on her face, checking her comrade's body for severe injuries while both decided to sit down to temporarily rest.

"Mm, just the stomach, that's all. Obviously, a few cuts and bruises here and there too, but nothing serious."

As she said this, Rue gave her a look as if to tell her something. Sensing what it was, the other girl lifted her skirt, so she could expose her stomach. Though unfazed of such an injury, it still didn't look good. From the Akuma's power, the girl could sniff a faint smell of burnt flesh and there was a deep cut that intersected with the Exorcist's navel.

Feeling strongly relieved that she still took precautions, the Exorcist-in-training dug into her pouch to get out ointment, gauze, and a thick bandage. Quickly applying ointment on the burn and gauze on the cut, she slowly wrapped the bandage around Lenalee's belly. She firmly tied the white binding, making sure it was secure in place, letting the dress fall back down. Both got up slowly, so not to hurt themselves more.

"Thanks, Rue. This will do fine until we get back at the Order. But…" It was the pigtailed girl's turn to frown now, concerned on how the other was sustaining her injuries. "How are you holding up? You don't look well."

"Trying to hold on, though I feel like I'm about to run out of energy." The tomboyish female replied quietly with a shaky breath, struggling to focus. "Or maybe it's because I feel faint right now."

"Yeah, come on. We have to hurry." Grabbing her gloved hand, the two went up the staircase warily. "The sooner we get the Innocence, the better things will get settled."

Rue nodded silently in reply, not minding on falling behind Lenalee.

Damn it. She started cursing in her head now, feeling the familiar presence of nostalgia wavering inside her as they neared the door. I have to resist remembering what happened. I have to ignore it, pretending it doesn't bother me. Right now, we have to focus on getting the Innocence. Just don't mind it.

Lenalee's shaky hand reached to the doorknob, feeling her own past unlock from the back of her mind.

"I don't want to go to the Black Order, I don't care that I'm able to control Innocence or whatever it is! I want to stay with my brother! Let me go, let me go NOW! KOMUI, SAVE ME! BIG BROTHER KOMUI!"

"Matron, these boots are so heavy… And so cold… I don't want to be burdened with the task to save the world."

"Kanda… Is this what it's like to be an Exorcist?"

"That's it! Since it's come to the fact you've tried to attempt suicide countless times, we're going to tie you down! You're an Exorcist and you wield Innocence to take out the Akuma that plague the world! That's your job!"

Ugh, was this was Lavi and Rue were talking about earlier? Lenalee inwardly cringed, feeling overwhelmed by remembering, but all the same twisting the doorknob and opening the door. Then, it's definitely Innocence. I don't want to recall my past either…

What greeted the two pairs of eyes was darkness. But, as the two cautiously went into the room, the room was lit up with numerous candles from ceiling to floor. From what Rue could observe carefully, the reason for the numerous candles was because of mirrors in the room. Even so, in spite of the dangerous situation they were in, it was breathtakingly beautiful to capture the image in her eyes.

"Wow…" Lenalee voiced out her exact sentiments, eyes aglow from the room's luminosity. "Beautiful."

Looking around, the strawberry blonde-haired girl found something that caught her eye. In the middle of the room and softly glowing from the candle lights was a book on top of a small desk. White and hard covered, black and gold formed into delicate, intricate designs all over. On the upper part of the book's spine was a hint of a cross.

"I think this is it." Rue called to Lenalee, who was on another side of the room, picking up the book.

"Is it?" The other approached, examining the tome. "Well, the cross is there, so this is definitely it. Come on, we should meet up with Kanda and Lavi and get out of here."

Nodding, Rue held the book securely in her arms. Looking over her shoulder, she took one last look into the room, and then, closing the door on her way out.

As the two descended down the stairs, they heard an eerily cheerful voice.

"It seems that Innocence has been snatched out of our hands by some pretties…"

Both instinctively turned their heads at the voice, finding a fat, purple skinned figure wearing a long, brown coat, white gloves, and a top hat. He was grinning widely, wide enough to even be called creepy or borderline insane, but it surely had evil intentions behind it. The glow his small spectacles were giving off was only amplifying that vibe, but one could see carefully that his inhuman, yellow gold eyes were filled with an unfathomable evil.

"That's…" Lenalee mumbled with a hint of fear, frozen on the spot, unsure of what to do now.

That can't be… The Earl of the Millennium is here? No way… Rue thought with uncertainty, her blood frozen at the sight.

Hitomi: DONE! FINALLY DONE! *dies*

Okay, I started off the chapter with the Finders because I haven't forgotten about them. Edina was actually inspired from someone I know in real life, this being the only way to get back at her for calling me an idiot in the Filipino language. As for Armando, he was based off of nobody, but I wanted his personality to clash with Edina's. Whether Edina will live or die in this fanfic, I don't know~ *sadist*

You shouldn't be surprised that Kanda and Rue were the finalists in the contest, really. XD They just stand out way too much for their own good. The winner of the contest WILL be revealed, but I won't tell who it is yet.

Lenalee was the choice that made sense on who would get the Innocence since her Dark Boots make her the fastest Exorcist out of them all. While I could've picked one of the males to go with her, I decided to partner her up with Rue because I need to develop their relationship too. I needed Rue to protect Lenalee from other things AKA the guards that were going after them.

XD Besides, it's fun to torture Kanda by partnering him up with Lavi. Look forward to the next chapter with the two.

Since Lenalee and Rue were getting the Innocence, like what I did with Lavi and Rue in Chapter XI, Lenalee started to recall memories of her past too. I wasn't really sure how I was going to pull it off with only dialogue, but I'm satisfied with what I came up with. I think once the four are reunited in this mission, Kanda will get a piece of his past being remembered as well.

The room where the Innocence was hiding in was based off of the art exhibit, Aftermath of Obliteration of Eternity, by Kusama Yayoi. Look it up, it's very beautiful to look at. I was having a bit of difficulty on what shape the Innocence took. However, since it triggers memories, the Innocence being a book was the first thing I thought of.

I did hint an unexpected visitor would pop in, didn't I? So, I wonder if you were surprised or not. Looks like the girls are in trouble now. This is also Rue's first encounter with the Earl, so I've yet to see how this'll go.

Be seeing you next chapter! And sorry for being slow on updates lately!