Welcome!

About: I have been thinking about this story for a really long time, but finally had enough time to put it on virtual paper. I have always like unusual pairings, especially when there is a lot of potential in one of the characters. Just a warning, considering that one of the main protagonists is Kanda, this story will be quite a slow burn. The first chapter begins between the Phantom Thief G arc and the Artificial Exorcists ark, but I am not yet sure where I really want to go with it. I guess a lot depends on its reception because it is not really a mainstream pairing.

So please let me know what you think and any recommendations to keep my creative energy flowing!

Disclaimer: Of course, I unfortunately do not own D. Gray-man and not making any profit through this piece of writing. Only here to give you guys a good read (hopefully)!

Warnings: For now, Kanda's potty mouth.

Song: Mudvayne - Happy?

Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Second Impressions

It really should have been a great day, in Kanda's opinion, despite the fact that he was stuck on a mission with the beansprout and the rabbit in the most despicable country on Earth, France. He could not stand these croissant-loving, pretentious idiots and their stupid cheek kisses. How they dared to enter his sacred personal space with their filthy presence and even filthier mouths, no matter the death glares he was sending towards them, it was abhorrent. Thankfully, a quick draw of Mugen seemed to work as a perfectly good repellent against them. If he hadn't been so annoyed by their mere presence, he would have enjoyed the absolutely terrified expression on their faces at the sight of his katana.

Serves them well, those idiots.

"Kanda, would it kill you to be nicer?" Allen butted into his loathing session as he caught up to him on the busy streets of Paris. Kanda wondered if Allen was a croissant-eating fucker in disguise, because he as well knew no boundaries when it came to annoying him. "These people are supporters of the Black Order, it really doesn't do any good threatening them."

"Che." The samurai snapped his head away from the white-haired exorcist, his long ponytail only missing Allen's face by an inch. "I don't give a flying fuck about them."

"Yeah, I get that, you don't give a flying fuck about anyone but Kanda Yuu," Allen retorted bitterly, which as always, just further aggravated the Japanese man. He came to an abrupt halt, and before Allen could have reacted, he was already grabbing the other's collar and yanking him dangerously close.

"Damn right, I don't," he seethed. "Mind your own business, beansprout."

"Something bloody nasty must have crawled up your ass today, Bakanda," Allen smirked, which was something he rarely did, it was only reserved for Kanda. That was another reason why Kanda hated that obnoxious smirk even more. If they hadn't been on one of the most crowded streets of Paris, Mugen would have already been drawn and re-acquainted with the white-haired boy.

"Che. Shut your trap, wimp…"

"Kanda! Please, let Allen go," Kanda suddenly heard Lenalee's voice from behind him, and he was sure he felt the girl reach for his shoulder to calm him down, but changed her mind last minute.

Smart girl.

"My, my, you two just can't get enough of each other," another, annoying, sing-song voice sounded behind him. Kanda was just about to let Allen go, but obviously Lavi had to make the situation even worse.

With a fluid motion, Kanda simply yanked at Allen's collar and threw him onto the redhead, causing them both to stumble hard to the ground. In Kanda's personal opinion, there was nothing more satisfying than to see the two idiots trip over each other and land on their asses. It was almost worth it for him to wake up just to witness this scene.

"Get lost, rabbit."

"What the hell, Yuu?" Lavi yelled at him with bewilderment but the samurai had already gone up ahead. "So typical. Man, he really needs to get laid."

"You'd be surprised," Lenalee giggled knowingly, making the two exorcists stare at her with confusion. "Kanda is quite popular with the ladies."

"No way," Lavi gaped with astonishment. "No way. I have been on a ton of missions with him and I never noticed a single glance towards a woman, and I notice everything, ya know."

"Maybe that is why Kanda made sure you never saw anything. If you did, the whole continent would know about his extracurricular activities." Allen laughed teasingly, making Lavi frown bitterly, as they both patted the dust off their uniforms.

"It would for sure become one of history's unsolved mysteries… How Kanda can win over a woman with that attitude. I will eat my hammer the day he finds himself a girlfriend," the redhead laughed while patting the miniature form of his weapon attached to his thigh.

"Every rose has its thorn," Lenalee noted sweetly. "Women like men who are a little…rough around the edges."

Lavi couldn't help but burst out in laughing, and even Allen let out a small chuckle.

"I'll tell you one thing, Kanda is a pretty big thorn in everyone's ass for sure." He said with a lopsided smile, sending a faraway glance to the direction where Kanda went. "But…can't imagine him be any other way."

"Yeah…" Lenalee agreed with a faint smile on her lips. "He's our thorn."

/linebreak/

The day was coming to an end, the last rays of the sun were softly caressing the world, easing it into the cold embrace of the night. Summer was almost over, the nights were no longer warm, and there was already a chill in the air. As always, Kanda did not give much thought to the weather; he never really understood why people romanticized such trivial things as the sunset, the stars, and especially rainbows. Honestly, he was just glad the suffocating humidity disappeared as the sun dipped below the horizon, and the air felt fresh on his skin again. The Order's uniforms were designed for protection in battle and not exactly for hot summer days, making Kanda not want to leave the inn until the last rays of sun disappeared.

Hopping off the roof of his temporary residence, Kanda slowly made his way towards the hospital, scowling under his breath.

I'm gonna kill Komui when I get back. Of all the people, I can't believe he made me babysit that loudmouthed woman.

It was no secret that this was his punishment for being disrespectful towards the Order's supporters, but the last thing that Kanda would ever do was to beg Komui for forgiveness. As if. All he had to do was to escort that police captain's daughter back to headquarters, no one said anything about being friendly or hospitable to her. If there was a skill that he absolutely perfected over the years at the Order, it was how to ignore annoying and loud people. This was going to be a piece of cake, he was sure of it.

Kanda almost didn't mind it. Almost. Lenalee and Lavi set out to a different mission right after they had arrived in Paris, leaving only him, the beansprout, and that stick-in-the-ass Link to capture Phantom Thief G.

What a fucking joke. Can't believe a snotty kid could rile up the city like that.

At the end, and not exactly to Kanda's desire, the kid joined the Order. He would have much preferred to just carve that innocence out of the boy's forehead, but of course that was too "cruel" and brat was already chosen as an accommodator. It wasn't that Kanda personally very much disliked children, because he could ignore him like he did with the others who annoyed him, the Black Order was just simply not a place for children, and neither was this war.

All is fair in love and war, my ass. Sacrificing brats is just a fucking waste of time and resources.

Having children around just slowed them down. They were too small, too dumb, and too weak to protect themselves, which got them killed just too fast. Occasionally, there was someone who tried to protect them, fail, and die. Two exorcists down for one stupid decision, Kanda just couldn't stomach that.

This girl brat wanted to join the Order too as the little brat's "tutor", but the samurai knew that sooner or later she would want to go to the field with the boy to protect him, like a mere human could ever do that, and get herself killed. Again, a waste of his time to chaperon a dead girl to headquarters. Orders were orders, however, no matter how much they annoyed Kanda.

The hospital was just like any other Kanda had been to: plain and smelled like disinfectant. The nurse at the reception took a long, questioning look at his attire and his sword before she cleared her throat and mustered up the courage to address him.

"Can I help you…sir?" She asked venomously with a thick French accent, but Kanda didn't even bat an eye. Wherever he went in Europe people made a big deal about his looks, but he never cared enough to give it a second thought. Civilians were just too…unworthy.

"I am here for the Police Captain's daughter," he responded sternly, making the woman subconsciously lean back in her chair to put more space between them.

"What is your business with Ms. Galmar if I may ask?"

She probably thinks I want to kidnap her… Che.

Kanda took a deep breath to calm himself before he answered. "None of your business…ma'am."

In Kanda's personal opinion, he was being very nice to this lady, who clearly didn't see it that way. Despite his very half-hearted attempt to calm down, Kanda was fuming. The Order was supposed to tell the hospital that he was coming, so he wouldn't have to talk to idiotic nurses.

"I am sorry, sir, but only family are allowed to visit Ms. Galmar."

The nerve of this woman. I'd like to see how that fucker Komui talks himself out of this situation if I cut her in little pieces.

"I don't care about…" he was about to respond impatiently when a female voice sounded harshly on his right.

"It is alright, Ms. Matisse. Please forgive his… crude manners." The girl (whose fist name Kanda of course forgot) was standing next to him now. Her English was much better than the old hag's, there was only a hint of that annoying French accent that Kanda hated so much.

Of course, she could have talked to the woman in French, but oh no, she had to insult his manners of course. That reminded him so much of the beansprout that he immediately decided to dislike her even more.

Kanda took a glance at the girl, who was smiling at the receptionist politely, and concluded that she looked even weaker than when he first saw her. True, she was still recovering some kind of wound (Kanda didn't remember what exactly) but either way she didn't look like she could handle herself. That didn't surprise the samurai though, he imagined that having the Police Captain as a father created a false sense of security and led her to become weak in turn.

Since the girl showed up, there was no reason for Kanda to spend any more time at the hospital. Without a word, he quickly turned on his heels and strode towards the exit.

"Yuu! Wait for me!" The girl called after him with slight panic in her voice, but the Japanese man exited the building without hesitation. She also made sure that her next sentence carried through the open door. "That bastard, how rude!"

Kanda waited for the girl to catch up to him, but only to draw his sword at her, making her back up until her back hit the outside walls of the hospital. It was getting late, so no one was on the streets anymore, not that Kanda would have cared anyways, therefore that was not a single person to come at the girl's rescue if Kanda was to hurt her.

"Listen carefully," he hissed at her, ignoring how much she was trembling under the cold touch of Mugen. Kanda needed to teach her a lesson, and he found that people learnt the best when they were at the end of his sword. "You will not call me Yuu, but Kanda only. Don't talk to me unless you have something important to say. You will do what I say or else I am going to dump your ass and you can find your own way to the Order. I am not your fucking babysitter and I don't owe you anything, so keep that in mind. Understood?"

"Yes," the girl exhaled shakily, and Kanda finally removed the blade from her neck and sheathed it. Once again, his teaching method was foolproof.

"What's your name, girl?" He asked, already turned away from her. Kanda liked to know how to refer to people when he was cursing them out; it made it much more personalized in his opinion.

"Emilia Galmar," she responded with a little more fire in her voice than before. Kanda had a feeling that the girl was going to be pain in his ass, and he really didn't like that. He needed to put her in his place before she gains too much confidence.

"Let's go," he ordered sharply and started walking towards the inn. However, he did not hear the girls footsteps behind her. "What is it?"

"I need to pack some things from my house. I will be moving very far away, after all," she explained.

Kanda wanting to strangle her was an understatement. It had only been 10 minutes since he met the girl, but she was already making his life difficult. The promise of his empty room with the door locked to separate him from everyone seemed farther and farther away.

"One bag," he stated flatly and walked backed towards her. Emilia opened her mouth to say something, but a quick glare from Kanda was enough to silence her.

They walked back to Emilia's house in silence, a gold star for the girl for not running the samurai's mood even more. Kanda hated small talk with a burning passion. It didn't seem like the girl had a problem with their silence either, which made Kanda think that she had already given up on the ridiculous idea of befriending him, much to his content. The Galmar residence looked unbelievably average, with a small front yard behind the white picket fence, and a two-story brownstone occupying the majority of the property. There were flowerbeds alongside the house, full of flowers of different variety in every color imaginable.

It's so idyllic it makes me want to puke.

"I guess no one is going to take care of these plants," Emilia noted quietly, almost to herself as she unlocked the front door. "Please, come in."

The inside of the house looked just as normal as the outside, like a picture of the "perfect little family". The huge windows made the space bright and there were tons of family pictures around. The furniture was nice but not too nice, it looked rather comfortable then pricey. Everything about was just too normal and it annoyed Kanda to no end.

"I will be quick, I promise. Please make yourself at home," she said and disappeared up the stairs. Of course, Kanda was not the kind of person that just made himself at home at some stranger's house. What was he supposed to do anyways? Even sitting on the couch seemed… wrong. He wanted nothing to do with these people and their belongings.

Kanda was determined to not move from his spot by the door, but after five minutes he decided that the girl was taking too damn long. With long strides, he made his way up the stairs and he immediately found himself at the entrance of Emilia's room.

"Oi, frenchie, what the hell is taking so long?" The samurai asked harshly, making Emilia jump and drop the book she was holding on the floor.

"No one has told you before that it was impolite to barge into a lady's room?" She asked nonchalantly and bent over to pick up the book from the floor.

"I don't see a lady anywhere," Kanda deadpanned, making the girl chuckle to his greatest surprise. To be honest, he was not used to people ignoring his insults just like that.

"I suppose not," she smiled at him softly and places the book on the bed. "I'm sorry, I have become nostalgic going through my things."

"You won't need half of this crap at the Order," Kanda stated flatly which made the girl glare at him curiously. She looked like she was going to ask something but then just nodded and pulled out a large suitcase from under the bed.

"Right, essentials only," Emilia confirmed and started pulling out various clothing pieces from her closet and drawers.

When different bras and underwear started flying across the room into the suitcase, Kanda wondered whether it was improper for a woman to act in such a way in front of a man, but then again, he didn't really give a shit. It probably would have annoyed him more if she made a big deal about a trivial thing like that. All that mattered to him was that she packed all her crap as fast as possible.

While Emilia was packing, Kanda got the chance to examine her room a little more closely. It was decently big with a large window that opened to a small balcony that was facing the backyard. Just like the rest of the house, her room was also extremely average looking, just how Kanda would picture the life of the average upper-middle class civilians. There were three pictures on the wall: Emilia was on all three of them with Captain Galmar, but only one picture from the time when Emilia was very young had a woman on it as well. Looking at the woman's bright green eyes, it was clear that she was Emilia's mother, and Kanda wondered why she was missing from the others. He quickly concluded that she was probably the one who took the other two pictures.

"I think I am ready. I will send someone for the rest," she said suddenly, tearing Kanda's attention from the pictures.

"About time. I'm starving," the samurai answered coolly and turned on his heels to exit the room.

Emilia didn't answer, she was more occupied with trying to force her suitcase closed, with little success. She sighed disappointedly and moved to take out some things, when Kanda suddenly appeared next to her and with a quick move closed the suitcase for her.

"Thank you, Kanda," Emilia looked at him with appreciation and unhidden surprise.

"Che. I was not going to wait it out until you decide what to take out. Let's go already." Kanda didn't like packing and he definitely didn't like waiting for other people, and his patience was wearing extremely thin. The girl must have felt his forming anger because she quickly picked up her suitcase and followed Kanda out the door.

Despite wanting to leave fast, Kanda let her linger a little bit downstairs and take some time to say goodbye to her childhood home.

After all, she will be dead before she can return.

That was just how the Order worked. Civilians who worked there didn't exactly sign up for a long life, and there was something about this girl that told him that she could be quite rash when it came to things that she cared about, like that new snotty brat.

Stepping outside, a loud sigh escaped her lips, then she looked shyly at Kanda with a faint blush on her cheeks. "You must think me a fool for getting so emotional about leaving even though I am already 18, hardly a child anymore."

"I think you a fool for joining the Order," Kanda answered flatly, but to his greatest surprise the girl only laughed.

"And why is that?" She asked with a curious smile. Kanda didn't know why but the girl's non-caring attitude annoyed him to no end.

"The Order is not for weaklings like you. You won't survive the year," he stated simply, not even deigning to look at her.

"Well, I guess I just have to get stronger then, no?" She asked, her smile never fading one bit.

In that moment, Kanda decided that he hated that smile because it ignored all the ugliness in the world. It was one of those contagious smiles that was supposed to make you feel warm and fuzzy on the inside and make you believe that everything is all right. But things were not all right. They were at war, lives were lost every day, and there didn't seem to be an end to in the near future. Kanda had been fighting this "Holy War" as long as he could remember, yet they made no progress. In fact, the Earl was only getting stronger, and they were losing more and more exorcists by the day. Allen would have said that she had a smile he would want to protect, but the samurai whole-heartedly disagreed.

Kanda wanted that smile to crumble and those green eyes to open up to the horrendous state of the world. He wanted her to see with his eyes and run far, far away, never looking back.

Until next time! Please, let me know what you think!