Innocence of the Shadow(A D-Gray Man Fanfic)Wattyawards First Place Winner 2015

Chapter 8

I changed into the dress, put my shoes on, and sat at my desk. My mirror was propped up against the wall and I looked at my reflection. There was a knock at my door and Lenalee walked in. I smiled at her and watched as she walked over.

"I thought you could use something else, so I brought makeup." Lenalee smiled.

"I have never worn makeup before." I sighed.

"Well, close your eyes and I will change that." She smiled.

"If you want to do anything more go ahead and do it. Tonight I'm trying something new." I said as I closed my eyes. I sat still as Lenalee applied the make up. I felt something brush my eyes and a few seconds later something brush my lips. It seemed like she put lipstick on my lips, it was strange but somehow familiar to me.

I kept my eyes closed and left my hair brush against my cheek. I was curious about what she was doing, but kept my eyes closed.

"You can open your eyes now." Lenalee said. I opened my eyes to see my reflection. I barely recognized myself. My eyes were more noticeable, black and gray decorated my eyelids, my eyelashes appeared to be longer and darker, and my lips were stained with a red gloss. My hair was down and had subtle, gentle waves running its length. I was shocked by how different I looked.

"You look amazing." Lenalee smiled.

"So do you." I replied, taking my first good look at her. She had her dress and shoes on, but she had blue brushed onto her eyelids and her lips were colored pink.

"Come on, we don't want to be late for the party." Lenalee smiled.               

"I'll be there shortly don't wait up." I smiled. Lenalee hesitated but walked out of the room in the end. I stared at my reflection, trying to remember why this all seemed so familiar when Unmei pulled at my hair. I blinked and looked around, waking from my daze.

"You're late." Ko'lae sighed. I looked at her and grabbed my mask, placing it on my face and making sure it was secured to my ears before leaving my room. Ko'lae and Unmei followed me, staying close to my person as I made my way to the masquerade ball. I was just about to enter the room when Unmei flew in and disappeared, and Ko'lae meowed at me. I took a deep breath and entered the room.

I was late and felt uncomfortable as the room became silent and all eyes were on me.

"Go on, don't stop walking. You're only drawing more attention to yourself by standing there like an idiot." Ko'lae told me. I walked into the crowd of people, looking for Lenalee and a way to avoid attention. After a few moments of everyone else mumbling questions to each other the attention was drawn away from me and I relaxed. I couldn't find Lenalee and saw people walking to the center of the room to dance to the songs that were being played.

I heard a voice I had heard before, but couldn't place a name on and looked at the woman who was singing. I couldn't see her face or make out most of her outfit, but I knew I had heard that voice before. I was lost in thought when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around to see a man in a black suit and a raven mask standing before me. I realized it was Kanda as soon as I saw his hair, black and pulled into a ponytail with strands of it hanging down beside his face on either side. I don't know if he was able to recognize me, but the chances of it were quite high.

"Care to dance?" He asked me. I had never danced before, but took his hand anyway. Why did I take his hand and let him lead me onto the dance floor? I could feel eyes on me and looked to my right to see the generals and a few of the other exorcists watching us with shocked expressions. I followed the example of the other woman on the dance floor and could tell Kanda was following the example of the men. I listened to the music and found the rhythm within seconds, I had heard this song before, but where?

Kanda began dancing and I followed his lead, not knowing what I was doing. It didn't take very long for us to fall into step with the other dancers and only made a few mistakes. Finally the song ended, I followed the example of the woman around me and curtsied to Kanda before exiting the dance floor.

"That was the most awkward thing in my life." I complained to Ko'lae. She didn't reply, I knew she found it funny to watch me and him dance and it irritated me.

"You looked like a natural out there." Lenalee said from behind me. I looked at her and tried to smile.

"No, I made a fool of myself out there, I know it." I replied. Lenalee grabbed my arm and I didn't reject, there was no point in acting like a child. I didn't realize where she was leading me until I noticed the ring of a bell. I tried to hide my annoyance at the sound and looked at the few exorcists in front of me.

"We thought you could use some friends." Lavi said. Well I think it was Lavi, same red hair, same eye patch, same tight pants, same holster with a small hammer on his thigh. It had to Lavi, only he was dressed in a suit and tie, he looked presentable for once. Two other people walk up to us, one was a female in a simple black dress with a mask decorated in what looked like clock faces. Her hair was down and she had a smile on her face. The male was wearing a simple black suit and had black hair with a white streak that fell in his face. His mask was a simple white color and he looked quite nervous.

"This is Miranda Lotto and Count Arystar Krory." Lenalee said, pointing to them as she said their names.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Mimiteh." I said with a smile.

"Hello." They said at once. I smiled at them and realized they were tense.

"Is this the first time you have been to something like this?" I asked them.

"Yes." Miranda said. Krory said nothing, only looked down.

"Don't worry, I haven't been to something like this before either." I replied. They smiled at me and I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned around to find Cross staring down at me. He was dressed exactly the same as the first time I met him. Without asking me, Cross pulled me onto the dance floor. He held me just a little too close to him as we danced.

"If only you looked this beautiful when we first met." Cross said. I ignored him and tried to hide my uncomfort.

"You do look gorgeous tonight." He said, trying to charm me.

"The only reward you will receive with flattery is a slap to the face." I hissed. This was torcherous, I was forced to dance with the man I wanted to be rid of the most. He smiled at me and I looked away from him, resisting the urge to glare. The song was close to ending and Cross leaned closer to me. I moved slightly and the light caught my bracelet just right. The light glistened off of the jewels and caught Cross' attention.

I escaped his grasp and started to walk away. He grabbed my wrist and looked at the bracelet.

"Where did you get this?" He asked me. I fought to free my wrist and stared him down. He looked at me expectantly, waiting for my answer. I pulled my hand free and drew it across his face, one of the jewels cutting his jawline.

"The information of this bracelet will never be told to the likes of you." I hissed angrily before walking away. Ko'lae meowed and I stopped just long enough to pick her up before leaving the room. I walked the halls until I found myself standing outside of the black order.

"I guess I need a break from this place." I sighed to Ko'lae.

She looked up at me and meowed "I know exactly where we can go that they won't find us."

I undid my necklace and dropped it on the ground. Unmei flew to my extended hand and I closed it around her.

"Lead the way, Ko'lae." I said. She meowed and started towards the train station. I got on the train without any issues and waited for Ko'lae to tell me to get off the train. After a few days on the train Ko'lae pulled on sleeve. I followed her off the train and looked around, this was a larger town and I could see many powerful families.

"Welcome to Florence, Italy." Ko'lae read from the sign outside the train station. I nodded and began to walk with her in my arms.

A.N. Hey Peeps! This chapter was fun to write. I told you that it would be a little more interesting than the previous one. Let me know what you think.

As always: this is Okami signing off!