Disclaimer: D. Gray -Man is the property of Hoshino Katsura.

Hello, my dear readers! I know, I should be working on my current fics...I tried to resist writing out this new idea, I really did!! But alas, the temptation to write has gotten to me, and this irresponsible writer has come and humbly present a new series to her wonderful readers...! Forgive this selfish writer, for she is weak towards the allure of fresh themes and this one had really screwed her in the brain. Please enjoy the first chapter of the latest series!

Chapter One: The Bride, A Human Boy

A long, long time ago...When demons and heavenly beings still existed as real beings to humans, there was a legend...A legend of how the celestial beings descended to Earth and left their marks, even offsprings to those who were fortunate enough to marry the maidens. But what happened to the legend of the arrival of demons? Apart from the terror they struck into hearts of humans, what other legacy have they left behind?

It was glowing. The material felt soft, almost unearthly in his hands. It looked to be some cloak, but cloaks were usually made of sturdy material. This cloak was too valuable; the cloth it was made of was surely not of this world. Even a fool would know at a glance that it was no ordinary item. He looked around; maybe someone dropped it. There would be no way that something this precious could be left lying around.

"Could this be..."

When he was a child, he heard stories. Legend, to be more specific. There were celestial maidens who'd come down to their Earth to play, and if someone is able to steal their robes when they left it unattended, the person could make the celestial maiden his bride. He shuddered, just thinking of it. A celestial maiden must be heavenly and beautiful, but that was too much of a responsibility to shoulder. He had better things to do than to marry someone.

He decided to return it if the owner came looking for it, as no one was around the vicinity. He silently chuckled to himself. It wouldn't belong to a heavenly being, otherwise they wouldn't leave it lying around in the middle of nowhere. And if no one would claim it, he would sell it off. He was human; he wasn't below that act. After all, he needed the money and this cloak would fetch a fine price. Packing it into his travelling bundle, he started on his journey once more. The next town was not close and he still had two days before he would reach it.

Travelling through the forest was difficult, but he was used to it. He was after all, a wanderer cursed to travel forever. Something rustled in his pocket and he drew it out. A golden coloured ball with a long tail unfurled its wings and fluttered about his head. He smiled at it. "I know, Timcanpy." Satisfied that it had cheered up its master, the little creature slipped back into his pocket. The boy tightened the hood around his head. He never mourned his misfortunes, despite having nothing good in his early years of life, except one...

A sudden rustling to his right startled him, prompting the boy to freeze. As if to answer his apprehension, something came out from between the bushes. The paw of the creature was equipped with long and sharp claws. It looked like a mountain lion, but there could be no way a mountain lion had horns and violently crimson eyes. And the thing was DROOLING. He bolted as soon as his mind logged into the meaning of the monster's appearance.

He ran as fast as he could, screaming, "Why?! Why is it always me?!"

The monster behind him gave a loud roar and chased after him. No matter how fleet-footed the teenager was, there was no way he could outrun the beast behind him. When he stumbled, he honestly thought it was over; his short fifteen years of life. But before the lion-like monster could pounce, something else attacked it. A screech resonated throughout the forest as another monster descended. This time, it was a monster which looked like an eagle, but its plumes were a bright violet and within its beak were teeth sharper than that of a dog's.

However, the boy had on a relieved smile. He was saved again. Whenever he was chased by monsters, there were several occasions when some monsters would step in to protect him. He did not understand why, but he was grateful. He picked up his pace and began running again, leaving the two monsters to fight it out. He did not make it far, when a man stood before him.

"Sir, you shouldn't be standing there, it's dangerous!"

He tried to steer the man away from getting involved in the monster brawl, but the man merely looked at him. It was after a while that he realised the other man was blind. "Are you the one who took the robe?" Surprised by the sudden question, it took the boy a few moments before he could answer. "Robes? If you mean the white cloak, then y-yes. But now's not the time to talk! There are monsters back there!" The man nodded.

"Yes, now is not the time to talk."

The boy squealed when he was thrown over the man's shoulder. "W-What are you doing?!"

"My master demands that you reveal yourself to him."

* * *

"Marie has secured the boy, Kanda-sama."

The young man in the throne stared at the empty hall before him. In an instant, a black hole appeared and a man stepped through it, carrying what looked like a brown bundle over his shoulder. The brown bundle was struggling, yelling, "Put me down! Where are you taking...?! Where is this?!" With a soft chuckle, Marie set the bundle down. Kanda could see the thing wrapped in the brown travelling cloak shrink in fear and hastily tighten the hood around its head, obscuring its face.

"You are the one who took the robe."

Kanda said it as a statement, not a question. The thing twitched in recognition. "Y-Yes, but I planned to return it to the owner if they were looking for it. Are you the owner? If you are, I'll..." It stopped talking when it saw Kanda unsheathing a blade. A very dangerous looking blade. It stepped back, even as Kanda descended his throne to approach the tightly wrapped being. "W-What are you doing...?" The bundle was paralysed with fear, with its back against a pillar with nowhere to run. Kanda raised the blade and slashed down.

"Hii..!!!"

He thought he would be killed the moment the beautiful madman put his blade upon his flesh, but there was no pain. Slowly, he opened his clenched eyes and suppressed a gasp. He was covered by a white cloak...The white cloak he had in his possession beforehand! How did it happen?! Kanda's blade was stopped by the cloak, being unable to cut through it somehow.

He thanked whichever god owned it, for a normal cloak would have been cut through, and him with it. As Kanda, or so the madman was called, withdrew his blade, the cloak dissolved. All of a sudden, burning sensation overpowered his left arm. Hissing in pain, he hastily pulled back the sleeve of his shirt only to witness the cloak fusing onto his skin as some sort of black mark...A tattoo. "W-What is this...?" Now that the tattoo was completely formed, he could see that it took up his whole arm; a cross with three pair of wings. The first pair were folded over the cross, the second pair curled around it, and the last pair spread wide. Completely shocked by the turn of events, he almost missed the ongoing conversation.

"...To the extent that it merges..." Kanda mused, looking a bit thoughtful.

Marie and the other man in the room looked at each other. "Kanda-sama, does that mean..."

Kanda smirked. "Yes, we've found the one. Oi, what's your name?"

Startled at being addressed, the hapless hero, or should I say 'heroine' of this particular legend introduced himself. "M-My name is Allen Walker..." So, a male, was it? Not that it made much difference to Kanda. "Oi, moyashi. From today onwards you are..."

Allen twitched at the degrading nickname and cut off what Kanda was about to say. "Moyashi?! Excuse me, it's Allen, you kidnapper!" So what if he was short?! That gave the madman no rights to insult him!

The yet to be introduced stranger was insulted. "Rudeness towards Kanda-sama is...!" But he was cut off when Kanda raised a hand to silence him.

"That's enough, Chaozii. Listen up, moyashi. From today onwards, I am the one who will be your husband, Kanda Yu." As if the fact that he was kidnapped to somewhere unknown was not startling enough, the sudden statement from the handsome madman (or so Allen thought of him as) caused only further confusion for the boy. Keeping his travelling cloak tightly wrapped around him to protect his identity, Allen demanded, "What do you mean, husband?! I've never heard of any marriage nonsense, and in the beginning, we are both guys! There's no way we can get married! I don't even want to be married to you!"

"Of course we can get married; it's normal," Kanda muttered, not understanding Allen's confusion.

Allen was in disbelief. He travelled a lot and he had NEVER heard of any kingdom which gave blessings for two men to be married. Lovers were seen, but not formally married and settled ones! "Which country did you come from?!"

Marie stepped in and answered for Allen, knowing the young human was quite confused. "You are now in the lord's place of birth and country, the demon kingdom of Youen."

"Right, right, the demon kingdom...WHAT?!" Allen, who was nodding thoughtlessly suddenly snapped in surprise. No one could see how his eyes went wide as he hid his face well beneath his cloak. Kanda snorted, glaring at the boy. "Don't act so surprised all the time, it's noisy and disturbing." Allen glared at the man, but once more, it went unnoticed.

"I don't want to be lectured by BAKANDA. First of all, I was kidnapped! Then you tried to kill me...And now you say you're my husband! Who wouldn't be surprised?! And the cloak, why has it become a tattoo on my arm?!" Allen snapped. He may be intimidated by the whirlwind of events about him, but it didn't mean he did not have the fire in him to lash out at the apparent injustice dished to him.

Kanda looked offended the moment he heard Allen call him BaKanda, but Marie interrupted before his lord got violent. "The story is long...Might you make yourself comfortable first?" Allen shook his head vigorously. Even to other humans he looked abominable...There were no assurance that these demons, assuming they were since he WAS in a demon kingdom after all, would not judge him by his appearance. "I am comfortable enough in my cloak. Please explain." At least this person who carried him off had manners.

Marie nodded, and looked to Kanda. Kanda stiffly gave a slight tilt to his head, giving Marie approval to speak on his behalf. "Some time ago, the Witch Oracle had predicted a future in which a dark destiny would befall our kingdom. In that moment, one who would be the bride of our prince and lord, Kanda-sama, would possess the power to break this dark future and save this kingdom. To find this bride of the demon prince, the Witch Oracle wove a robe and granted it to our lord. The robes has powers which can only be unlocked by the bride."

If Allen's hood was taken off, they would have seen how far his jaw was hanging, too stunned by the words of Marie, but Marie was not yet finished with his explanation.

"Thus, our lord first had his kingdom put to test, but none could use the robe. We had no choice then, but to leave the robe on Earth, thinking that perhaps a mortal human may be the predicted one. There were some who found the robe, but none were able to activate it...Until you, that is. When Kanda-sama attacked you, it was to see if the robe would respond to the danger posed to you. As you may have seen for yourself, the robe has by your unconscious will prevented Kanda-sama from attacking you, and even fused with you. This is all the proof we need...That you are the bride of the demon prince that we have been waiting for."

Allen staggered back, overwhelmed by the story. He could accept the existence of celestial maidens. He believed in demons and the mythical robe. But he had NEVER heard of a legend which consisted of the robes of a demon prince!! And he was to be bride? Preposterous! "But, there must be some mistake! A man can't be the bride of another man! It's unheard of!"

Kanda snorted, looking disdainfully at his bride-to-be. "You're full of nonsense. It's common sense that anyone can marry regardless of their gender."

Allen growled, his dislike for his so-called husband increasing every moment. "I'm sorry if I don't get the customs here, but for humans, there's never been a formal union between men. I've seen lovers once in a while, but there are no rules which allow for the binding of two of the same gender." To his unease, Kanda smirked. The prince was beautiful in a manly way, he'd give him that, but his behaviour irritated him to no ends. Demon prince or not, rude people should be put in their places!

"Moyashi...I'll remind you, you are now in my country, not any human kingdom. Here, we are allowed to marry and that is that. Not that I believe in the crap known as destiny and all."

Allen was offended. "If you don't believe in destiny, then why do you even bother with me? I mean, it could be a hoax. Besides, why would a human like me be suitable for marriage to a demon prince?"

Kanda stiffened at the mention, but he did not answer Allen's question. Marie and Chaozii exchanged looks. They knew that their prince was hotheaded, stubborn and most definitely did not believe in whimsical things such as predictions or destiny...But they also had no idea why he followed through the Witch Oracle's predictions and searched for his bride. After a while, Kanda turned away from Allen, hiding his expression.

"...Just shut up, moyashi. You are to be my bride, and from now on you're staying here. And take off that stupid cloak."

Allen fell silent for a moment. This was entirely surreal to him. He could easily say no, but what could he do, one human alone against the demon prince and two of his servants? He would have to act smart and play along. "...Kanda, was it? I will stay of my own will...Provided that you will allow me to keep myself cloaked at all times."

Kanda was surprised that the human boy would easily agree to be kept at his side, especially after the big fuss he made previously. He was not as nosy as to disturb the privacy Allen requested. "Fine. Marie, show moyashi to a room, and inform the other servants that he is to be treated as I am treated...But don't pamper him."

"Yes, my lord."

Kanda left, his robes sweeping magnificently, while Allen was hissing like a cat and seething at the retreating back. He did not need to be pampered! His rage was cut short when Marie approached him, with a bow and said, "Please follow me, Allen-sama." Allen shook his head.

"Allen will be just fine. I am not accustomed to formalities."

Marie smiled. He was beginning to like the boy already. "Ah, I could hardly tell from the way you speak. You possess very polite speech."

Allen smiled, a little at ease in the presence of Marie. At least he knew harm was not to befall him. "I was...raised by someone who was a gentleman in essence...But I am not of noble birth, if that is what you imply. I...I do not know of my origins." Marie was surprised. Not just by what Allen revealed to him, but also by the fact that Allen spoke openly of these matters to him.

"Is that so? What happened?" Marie questioned, trying to find out more from the boy who would be their future lady.

"...It feels embarrassing to say this, but...I have not much memories of my life as a young child. It's all blurry, but I knew for a fact that I was alone. And then, when I was seven...I met my foster father. He saved me from being another useless human, and I treasured him so much. However...He died when I was ten. At eleven...I met another man, who sort of became my guardian. But he was simply outrageous. He hardly cared, and even let me shoulder his debts! But...He was there for me when I needed someone to support me, and he taught me how to live on my own...So I am grateful to him, in a way," Allen rambled, suddenly pausing. "I'm sorry...I must bore you with my pathetic life story."

"No, it was very interesting, Allen. Do you regret your decision to stay here?" Marie was a little concerned. He did simply whisk Allen off, but Allen might have someone waiting for him. At that question, Allen gave a little laugh. "Regret? I don't suppose so. In a way, I should be glad to be here. At least...There may be a purpose to my life here."

Marie nodded thoughtfully. Allen proved to be far more interesting than ever. What was his life on Earth like, then? And why was Allen so adamant on keeping his identity a secret? As a sign of trust and respect, he decided not to ask. "We have arrived at your room. If you need anything, just go down the hall, turn right, and you will find my room third one on the left." Allen nodded shakily, knowing inwardly that he was a professional at getting lost. But it was just down the hall, right?

Life was merely beginning for the demon prince's bride.

So...How is the beginning? I hope you liked it. In case people haven't already figured out by now, the robe is in fact the Crown Clown, Edge-version (The black claw version), and it is attached as a tattoo on his arm rather than as a whole black arm.