A/N: Yay for a quick update! I'm starting the fall semester soon, and I doubt I'll have much time write once that happens, so I did my best to put together a new chapter for you guys!^.^

And thank you to SheuOgama, Shinigami Merchant, secondnina, Fairygirl34, lizyeh2000, Guest, and Jeiido for taking the time to review! And a thank you to all my new followers as well! I appreciate every single one of you and I hope you enjoy the chapter!(:

Disclaimer: I'd like to think if I owned D. Gray-Man, I would've already killed off every character, which is the exact reason I don't own it, but that's okay, because with FanFiction, I can rewrite the same thing in as many different ways as I want.^-^

Chapter 9

—3rd Person POV—

~Red~

If the Millenium Earl had expected a happy reunion between Red and the rest of the clan, he was more unhinged than Red had originally assumed him to be. Still, they were in the midst of a war, and even the Earl recognized that the finale to his beloved "play" was nearing and there was much work to be done.

The moment Red turned his back to the wreckage of the North American Branch and stepped through the Ark Gate, he found himself in a dim room within the Ark filled with floating portraits and a long dining table, the remaining clan members joining them after the completion of their own missions. Red's expression was dark with ire and bloodlust, but he said naught a word as Tyki firmly guided him to the seat at the right hand of the Millenium Earl. Stiffly, he eyed each of the Noah through narrowed eyes, not once flinching away from the triumphant smirks and the suspicious glares rampant among the Noah.

The animosity was tangible between Red and the Noah Clan.

"Who invited the fucking traitor?"

Red wasn't all too sure who said it, but the resulting turmoil shook the room as shouting matches erupted across the table.

With a snarl, Red slammed his fist against the table with resounding crack, gaining everyone's attention. "Shut the fuck up," Red growled, eyes flashing, "Whatever shitty relationship ya had with the Fourteenth ain't my problem, so back the hell off."

"The fuck I will!" a Noah unrecognizable to Red immediately rebuffed. "It's because of you that I'm missing memories from my previous incarnation!"

"I can remove a few more if ya'd like," Red spat, shooting up to his feet and causing his chair to topple back with a heavy clatter.

"Once a traitor, always a traitor," someone else hissed.

"That's enough." The Millenium Earl's voice was quiet and devoid of emotion. Suddenly, the rest of the Noah seemed to recall his presence and recoiled, averting their eyes and directing their glares at the tabletop. When Red realized they had been successfully subdued, he dragged his chair upright with a huff, slumping back into his seat, a nasty glare still twisting his expression.

"I know that…" Road suddenly piped up, her doll-form still clinging to the top of Red's crimson spikes, startling him. He'd forgotten about her plush figure situated beside Timcanpy. "I know what happened thirty-five years ago was agonizing, for all of us. But… Red, just like the rest of you, no longer recalls what happened, do you, Red?"

His molten eyes dimmed, remembering the fragments of Neah's memories. "Not a damn thing," he whispered, hands clenching into fists atop the table.

"Brother," the Earl sobbed, gazing at Red as tears spilled down his cheeks.

The mood eased from vexed to somber as the Noah watched their leader shield his face with his hands, shoulders shaking.

"He's not lying," the white-haired Noah, Wisely, quietly added. "I can see the memories in his head and they're mere fragments. Unrecognizable to even him."

Red winced, forgetting about the damned mind-reader.

But Wisely's admission further defused the tension. And in the silence that settled, an emotion foreign to Red bloomed in his chest. It was an unfamiliar warmth that erased all lingering doubts of joining the Noah. Dare he say, feelings akin to loyalty and love were the emotions clouding his head and his heart—something he'd only felt in the briefest of moments when he had been a member of the Black Order.

Is this what ties the Noah Clan to the Millenium Earl?

Swiftly, Red stomped on those mounting feelings with forced resentment.

"Why do you continue to deny us?!" Wisely demanded with unexpected ire, eyes boring into identical tawny eyes. "Why do you not accept your place beside us?"

Red bared his teeth. "You all said it," he snarled, "I'm a fuck-up—a traitor. I'm neither Exorcist or Noah. I'll stick around for as long ya like, but don't expect me ta be like the rest of ya. Just watch, I'll botch this up sooner or later, just like I did with the Exorcists."

"But Red—"

"Hush, Road~," the Millenium Earl spoke once again, removing his hands and wiping his tears. "Tyki-pet, will you please show Red to the room we have prepared for him~? This conversation is over for the time being~."

"Yes, Lord Millenium," Tyki agreed with wearied expression, and the group of Noah disbanded quietly, each lost in their own, fragmented memories of the past.

Red trailed after Tyki through the dark passageways of the new Noah Ark, a rigid silence persisting in the face of Red's turbulent feelings and Tyki's conflicted thoughts. Red dug his hands in his pockets, concealing his fists, back slouched, and eyes narrowed as he glared at Tyki's back, gilded eyes following the sway of his long, wavy ponytail. For no real reason the sight irritated Red, and his fingers itched to chop off the stupid hair. Instead, he cast his eyes to the ground.

"Boy," Tyki's sudden acknowledgement derailed him of his thoughts and he skidded to a stop before the taller Noah. "Welcome home," Tyki said blandly, tossing him a key.

With a snap of his wrist, Red caught it, eyeing the fancy twisting of looping metal and teeth skeptically.

"Tyki!" Road whined, her little poppet figure still nestled amongst his thorns of red hair, "Don't forget his welcoming present! It was Tyki's idea, but I helped him," she giggled, patting his head with her round, plush hands.

Digging into the pocket of his white pants, Tyki pulled out the gleaming, brand new deck of cards tied together by a scarlet ribbon. Red caught the deck with his other hand, gazing down at the impressive, high-quality playing cards, his chest constricting with raw emotions unidentifiable to him.

"And!" Road piped up, "Since we knew you couldn't bring any of your stuff with you, we went and bought you a whole lot of new clothes! We figured you were around Wisely's size, so we used him as a dummy," she laughed.

When Red didn't immediately reply, Tyki leaned in close, eyes narrowed suspiciously, "Boy, why are your eyes so shiny?"

"Sod off," Red hissed, jabbing the older Noah in the chest.

Damn it all, the stupid Noah in me is makin' me feel all wonky. Shite.

Tyki held his hands up in surrender. "Well, Cheating Boy? Are you going to take a look?" he wondered, gesturing towards the simple door leading to his room.

"Yeah, yeah," Red grumbled, jabbing the key into the slot and twisting until a sharp click resounded. Turning the knob, Red swung the door open and entered his room, Tyki at his heels.

"What do you think, Red~?" Road chirped, tugging at his hair.

Without a word, Red jumped forward and flung himself on top of the massive canopy bed, instantly sinking into the dark gray, silk sheets. "It's like a fuckin' cloud," he groaned into the bed, voice muffled.

Road, who'd flown off his head and landed somewhere above him, atop the mountain of pillows, burst into giggles. "Only the best for you~!" A miffed Timcanpy squeezed himself from the nook of pillows he'd disappeared into and gently settled beside the doll.

Overall the room was quite simplistic, the massive bed the only thing that appeared remotely extravagant. The rest consisted of two nightstands, a desk in the corner, a wardrobe, and a sitting area situated by the fireplace, with a simple color scheme of dark grays and blues.

Reluctantly, Red pushed himself off the cloud—bed, his feet sinking into the plush carpet and sauntered over to the giant wardrobe, flinging the doors open and rummaging through the mass of clothing. Slutty Noah outfit? Check. Fancy getup that could transform any hardarse into a duffer? Check. "Damn it ta hell, Road," Red groused, "What the fuck? I can't wear any of this!"

Doll-Road pouted and then sighed, "Check the drawers beneath."

Yanking the drawers open, Red dug through the neatly folded clothes consisting of informal wear, underclothes, and training outfits, and with a triumphant smirk, pulled out a pair of sweatpants and a sleeveless tank. "Brilliant!" Without a hint of shame, Red stripped out of his combat boots and Exorcists uniform. Tyki sighed in exasperation, facepalming, while Road burst into giggles. Once in his boxers, he tossed the articles into a dirty pile in the corner right beside a laundry basket and yanked on the new clothes, before tossing himself right back onto the bed.

Within seconds, his snores filled the room, and Tyki took that as his cue to leave.

"Rude brat," he grumbled, tossing an extra blanket atop the redhead, dimming the lights, and shutting the bedroom door with a soft click.

In the early hours of the morning, Red stirred awake. Blinking open heavy, sleep-filled eyes, he first noticed the small, dying fire within the fireplace, which he didn't ever recall lighting. Red sighed, the events of the previous day heavy in his mind. On the one hand, he wished he didn't care—he hadn't ever before, so why did he have to start now? Giving up his place in the Order for the sake of Kanda and Alma hadn't been a difficult decision. He'd been bound to join the Noah sooner or later, and the clusterfuck at the North American Branch had only served to speed things up. And a small voice, in the back of Red's head, imagined that Lenalee, or even Lavi, might have done the same thing.

What really aggravated Red, was the turmoil that had flared within him, subsequent to joining the Noah Clan. In his head, it had been simple—he'd join the Earl, screw around, do some of his dirty work, and if he got terribly bored, he'd ditch them in the same way he'd done the Order. It was simple. But the Noah within him was incurring emotions that had Red gripping his chest with confusion and frustration.

"Fuck it all," he grumbled, gold eyes burning alight with the glowing embers reflected in them.

And at the sound of his voice, someone shifted beside him.

Red froze, before carefully twisting his head and gazing at the close proximity of Road's face, who was no longer in her doll form. The Noah girl was dressed in her white dress, stockings, and wide ribbons encasing her chest and arms. At some point, she must have kicked off her shoes, because her frigid, bare feet were tucked beneath Red's leg. Timcanpy was snuggled on her other side.

Their intimate position served to put Red on edge, and with an irritated huff he pushed aside a blanket he didn't recall having and jumped off the bed. He ambled over to the wardrobe, pushed up against the wall opposite to the fireplace, and tugged on a pair of socks, and then his combat boots. With yawn and a rub of his eyes, Red exited the room, leaving Road and Timcanpy fast asleep on his bed.

It took five minutes tops for Red to realize that there was absolutely nothing to do in the Ark. Thus far, he'd run into a few Akuma servants, who had skirted him like the plague, and that was about it. He was lost, starving, and just as Red was getting ready to rip open an Ark Gate of his own in hopes of finding a place to go out to and eat, he ran into one of the Noah.

"Oi, blondie," Red called, "Do ya know where the kitchen is around 'ere? I'm bloody starvin' and those damn Akuma run off every time I see them," he groused.

The "blondie," or as she introduced herself, Lulubell, shifted her glasses and answered in a calm and polite voice, "It is likely they are avoiding you due to the Innocence you possess. As for your other question, it's nearly time for breakfast to be served in the dining room. You are always welcomed to join us there."

"Eh? Seriously?! Quit dithering then!" Red snagged her by the arm and began dragging her down the corridor.

"Out of curiosity, where are you taking me?" Lulubell asked, completely unruffled neither by his aggressive nature nor by his uncouthness. "The dining room is in the opposite direction."

"Well, why didn't ya say so?!" Without skipping a bit, Red turned them right back around and hurried back, his stomach growling noisily.

"You'll be turning left down here," Lulubell calmly directed, and Red was happy to follow her instructions if it meant he was closer to getting a bite to eat.

As soon as the duo burst into the dining room from the previous night, Red released her and dived into his seat, while Lulubell followed at a more sedate pace. At the moment, the room was empty barring the two, and Red had to wonder how early it was, that not even the "proper" Tyki, who was always insistent on cramming manners into him, couldn't be bothered to show up. On the bright side, it meant there was more food for him. The Akuma servants had generously piled the table high with all types of breakfast dishes, and the aroma had Red's stomach growling ravenously.

Unlike Lulubell, who didn't appear rushed and had simply sat in her chair, a book in her hands, Red was quick to pile the food high on his plate. Surprisingly, the blonde Noah didn't appear bothered by his lack of manners. Red was sure that if Tyki were here, he'd have already given him an earful. Red shrugged off the thought and inhaled his way through the food so much so that the Akuma servants were soon forced to step in and refill the empty platters along the table. One of the them was even brave enough to remove Red's pile of dirty dishes and silverware to replace it with a new set.

By the time the rest of Noah began taking their seats, Red was on his fourth helping, and was at this point eating more for pleasure than hunger. Without a word, most of the Noah simply sat and began to serve themselves, including Lulubell. Their lack of greetings gave Red the idea that the Noah Clan were not morning people, and the idea was so ridiculously domestic, he couldn't help but snicker into his orange juice.

"If I may, what is it that you find so funny?" Tyki groused, having taken his seat across from Red and the first to notice the redhead's snide expression.

"Damn Tyki, what crawled up yer arse? Not a morning person, I see," Red sniggered, scooping up a generous helping of scrambled eggs and shoveling it into his mouth.

"At least I'm not the one eating like a savage," Tyki huffed, taking a sip of his coffee.

Red shrugged, unphased and continued eating without a care. It was once the Millenium Earl joined them at the head of the table that Red noticed the only Noah missing from the table was Road. Somehow, the idea didn't surprise him. Road, just like the rest of her family, did not seem like a morning person.

"How is everyone this morning~? Did you all have a good night's sleep~?" the Earl, with his ever chipper smile, greeted the clan.

General murmurs of agreement arose across the table, and out of the corner of his eye, Red noticed a of few them were half asleep, faces resting against palms, the table, and one was even slumped back against his chair.

"What about you, Brother~?" the Earl gazed at him with a hopeful expression.

Red wrinkled his nose with distaste, slightly miffed with the Earl's affectionate tone. Nonetheless he shrugged, and swallowed his food before replying, "Damn right. That bed was like a fuckin' cloud."

Tyki snorted across from him. "You don't have to worry about a thing, Lord Millenium. The boy slept like the dead. He was out as soon as he hit the pillows."

"Yesterday was an exhausting day for all of us~," the Earl consented, "And I'm glad to hear you're adjusting so well, Red~."

Red shrugged, unable to answer through the forkful of waffles he'd shoved into his mouth.

"Now, my dear family, if you would do me the favor of please waking up," the Earl began, casting a baleful glance to Fiddler, who'd accidentally started snoring in his seat, "I would like for us to do some formal introductions, seeing as Red is not familiar with every one of us. Tyki, since Road has yet to arrive, would you please start us off?"

"Yes, Lord Millenium," Tyki sighed, setting his coffee cup down and turning to look at Red. "Hello, boy. Obviously, we've met, but in case you didn't recall, I am Tyki Mikk and am currently the Third Apostle of Noah and represent Noah's Pleasure."

Tyki then indicated for his older brother to continue, and the older man who Red recognized from the North American Branch attack spoke up, his voice eerily similar to Tyki's, "Hello, Fourteenth. I am Sheryl Kamelot, brother to Tyki and adoptive father to Road and Wisely. I am the Fourth Apostle, the Noah of Desires."

And like so it continued around the table with Wisely, Lulubell, Tryde, Devito and Jasdero, Mightra, Mercym, and Fiddler. Until finally, Red realized it was his turn. "Eh," he shrugged waving his fork around, "I'm Red, an Exorcist-slash-Noah. Host ta Crown Clown and the Fourteenth Noah. Not too sure what the Fourteenth represents though," he shrugged, tapping the fork against his lips.

The Millenium Earl startled, "What do you mean, Brother~?"

"The Noah memories should have already assimilated you accordingly," Tyki accused him.

"Huh? Didn't I tell ya my memories were all botched?" Red rolled his eyes.

"He's not lying," Wisely noted, brow furrowed, "I would even go as far as to say that his Noah may be incomplete, as though the incarnation process became defective."

Red shrugged, unphased, and unwilling to think too much around the mind-reader.

"It may explain why it's been so difficult to assimilate him into the Noah Clan," Lulubell murmured, setting her book down, "The realization of familial loyalty is being birthed within him at a much slower pace than that of the rest of us."

"Does that make him weaker?" Fiddler wonder, rubbing at his eyes.

"Not necessarily. He's also in possession of an Innocence shard, which has yet to rebel against him," Sheryl eyed him shrewdly.

"But it certainly hinders his capabilities as a Noah, I'm sure," Mercym grunted, appearing unbothered.

"Why don't we find out~?" Devito suggested with a raised gun, Jasdero agreeing with a hysteric giggle.

Before Red could shoot back a snarky reply, Road barged into the room with Timcanpy on her shoulder, her hair messier than usual as she trudged towards the empty chair beside Red. "Why didn't you wake me up, Red?" she pouted as she served herself breakfast.

The redhead glanced down at her from the corner of his eye. "What am I? Yer mum?" he huffed, forking some of the food from her plate.

She didn't bat an eyelash. "I almost missed breakfast because of you! That's just mean," she sulked.

"Then next time don't take a kip in my room," Red groused as soon as he'd swallowed.

Belatedly, Road and Red noticed the strained silence that had befallen the room. Simultaneously, the duo looked up and were faced with Sheryl's dark, demon-like expression. "You mean to say, that this piece of garbage slept in the same bed as my Road?!" Sheryl hissed, his grip tight on edge of the table.

"Shite."

Red flung himself from his seat, in time to witness his chair being sliced into shafts of wood by the Noah of Desires.

"Dad!" Road shrieked in protest, while the rest of the Noah watched on, as though Red being killed by Road's father was the best entertainment they'd had in a while.

But that didn't phase Red in the slightest. While Road was distracting her dad, Red took the opportunity to launch himself over the table and tackle the older Noah, initiating a tussle that left both foregoing their supernatural powers in exchange for using their fists.

It was just as Red managed to get in a good punch across Sheryl's jaw, that he was suddenly snagged away by Tyki, while Road crouched over the prone form of her father.

"Alright, boy, I think that's enough. This isn't the streets."

"Whatever," Red huffed, shaking him off.

"Before everyone goes~," the Earl voiced, unbothered by the ruckus that had occurred, "There is one last thing that must be discussed~. Road, Tyki, Sheryl, and Red, if you would please return to your seats~."

Before Red could protest, a pair of Akuma servants entered the room. One swiped away the mess created by Sheryl, while the other one lugged in a replacement, making Red wonder just how many chairs had been destroyed in the past.

A lot. Probably a lot, Red concluded. Wisely's discreet nod of agreement only confirmed his thoughts.

"I am overjoyed that you are surely becoming part of our family~," the Millenium Earl began, gazing at Red, "But, it is not surprising that a few of us aren't convinced you've fully given up whatever loyalties you may hold towards the wretched Black Order."

Red blinked, and part of him wanted to remind the lot of them that he'd been blackmailed into coming here and didn't have to prove anything to anyone, but in the end, Red convinced himself that it'd be useless because he just didn't care. At all.

"We want to see you successfully complete your first mission~," the Earl encouraged, pushing a playing card towards Red.

The redhead lifted his eyebrows, and at the Earl's nod, he picked it up and read the name scribbled on it.

Lenalee Lee

"Your first assignment: Kill the person whose name is written on that card~!"

Red's expression was pale and frozen. Molten eyes flickered and gazed at the expectant gazes of his "family."

A swell of emotions battled for dominance in his chest. Red pushed past it with difficulty, and instead gave the answer that would cause him the least trouble, "Alright."

The Noah cheered, and Red felt as though he was about to retch up every last bite he'd taken.

A/N: Uh oh! What will Red do?! :0 Let me know your predictions in a review! And I apologize for any mistakes you find. It's two in the morning, so it can't be helped!:P I'll try to come back and edit later. Or maybe I'll just try to squeeze in another chapter. Maybe.

Also, let me know what you think about his relationship with the Noah so far. I could've gone in a few different directions with this chapter, but ultimately, I decided to keep the conflict lower than the norm. Just needed a bit of a break, because the rest of this story is conflict, upon conflict.^^"

Anyway, please review!(: