A/N: Hey everyone! This is my first time posting a fanfiction here so I'm treating this as practice. I'm not sure how things work here exactly yet, not to mention I'm a newbie when it comes to this stuff (I mean writing). So if you find any mistakes or if you have any suggestions, please tell me!

Summary: Pre-DGM, slightly AU? Kanda, Lavi and Lenalee are sent on a mission to investigate the appearance of a mysterious white-haired exorcist who seems to know a lot more than what he's supposed to. (Suggestions for a better summary are accepted! :))

Disclaimer: I don't own D.gray Man. Does anyone else think this sentence is a bit overused already? xD

Prologue

Normally, he wouldn't need three exorcists for confirming a rumor regarding the existence of Innocence; however, something is proving to be make things more difficult for Komui. He looked through the various papers in his desk containing reports he believed were related to each other, working, for once, without Reever's constant (pissed-off?) reminders. Something about this case intrigued him, and he had a vague feeling in his gut that this isn't something to be taken lightly; in fact, he felt that this was a major thing to consider, however illogical gut feelings may seem. He took his cup and sipped his coffee without averting his eyes from the documents that lay before him, whether in fear of losing his train of thoughts or simply due to extreme interest, no one knows. He wondered if he's making a wise decision, but it's better to be safe than sorry, right?

Three consecutive knocks, along with a muffled "Nii-san" came from the door and shook him out of his concentration. He almost forgot the cup in his hand, trying to run (more like skipping in glee) and open the door for his precious sister. Fortunately, he caught himself on time and placed the cup down on the table first, before proceeding to welcome the Chinese girl with a glomp.

Well, we all know what happens whenever Lenalee appears in front of Komui, so I won't even bother writing that part.

A few "gah"s and "che"s later, Komui was finally calm enough to explain the mission. The three exorcists who were assigned to this, namely Lenalee, Lavi and Kanda, sat on the couch, waiting for Komui to start. Komui cleared his throat, and began to give them folders containing information about their task.

"I have received reports from Finders about the confirmation of Innocence in the area I had provided you," Komui started as the exorcists opened their folders and began to read some of the information as he went along. "As you may, or may not know, recently whenever I send exorcists on missions to retrieve confirmed existences of Innocence, someone beats them to it. We still have no information about who's doing it, however, according to the Finders' report, whenever this mysterious person comes to get the Innocence, the akumas around the area seem to disappear, or rather, they seem to be gotten rid of."

This caught the attention of all three exorcists in the room. Even Kanda, though he would never show it.

"Do you think it's a person containing Innocence, nii-san?" Lenalee asked.

"My dear Lenalee, we don't know for sure, that's why I'm sending you three on this mission. I want you to retrieve the Innocence and confirm the identity of this person who's been snatching the Innocence and killing akumas before our exorcists even get there," Komui answered. "I've sent some exorcists to do the same before, but they were unable to find out anything. This person is proving to be tricky. If he is indeed a person containing Innocence, I want you to bring him here if you can."

"Heh… This seems like an interesting mission," Lavi said in a happy-go-lucky way.

"…But isn't it rather strange? Normally people who have Innocence outside the Order don't know how to use them unless they've been trained by a general, which would mean the general is with them," Lenalee wondered. Komui grinned proudly.

"Ah! What a very good point my dear Lenalee! As expected of my precious sister! I'm so proud of–"

"Che… Just get straight to the point, sister-complex," Kanda interrupted before Komui went on a full-blown speech about how proud he is of his dearest sister. Lenalee blushed in embarrassment.

"Ahem… Anyways, to answer my beautiful, dearest, most precious –"

"Umm… Komui…" This time, it was Lavi who interrupted, backing away from Kanda who seemed to be really close to unsheathing Mugen in annoyance. Lenalee sighed and bonked her brother on the head with a clipboard she randomly found on the table.

"Nii-san, please just get on with it," Lenalee scolded as Komui clutched the part in his head where his sister hit him, muttering something along the lines of 'yeshh Lenalee'. He, once again, cleared his throat.

"As my dear Lenalee pointed out to us, usually when an exorcist knows how to use their Innocence, they're with a general, because they would need someone to teach them. This person knows, not only about Innocence, but also about akumas. Considering the fact that none of the Finders see anyone else with this person, and that when we contacted the generals, none of them knew of this, I think that someone else outside the Order have taught him. Of course, there's still a possibility of General Cross however, I don't see why he wouldn't be in contact with us for this long. Also, why wouldn't he send this person to the Order if it was indeed him who taught this person? And… well… Honestly, I can't imagine General Cross teaching someone," Komui said, twitching at the image that came to his head with Cross torturing an apprentice to no end while laughing like a maniac. He shivered and shook his head to get rid of the picture. Apparently, the others were thinking along the same lines, sharing scared looks and possibly pity for someone who would end up as Cross' apprentice…if he would have one.

"Anyways, you guys are to disguise yourselves as normal townspeople. The reason for this is that if this person sees you in your exorcist uniform, he or she might change his or her route. I tried tracing this person's movements and the place you are going to right now is where I think this person will appear next. If he – let's just refer to this person as a 'he' – recognizes you as people from the Order, he might run away and our chances of figuring out his identity would become smaller. Apparently this person has something against the Order, according to other reports. We don't know why as of yet."

There was a moment of silence among the exorcists, thinking about their latest mission. After all, this is the first time they had ever encountered a situation like this.

After a while, another "che" came from Kanda and Komui dismissed them after hugging Lenalee's knees and crying, muttering stuff like 'be careful' or 'I was only forced to send you to this mission'. They left to pack their stuff, leaving Komui alone with his thoughts once more. He doesn't know whether or not to believe that General Cross is somehow involved in this, having not been in contact for a long time. Should he be worried? Is the general betraying them? Komui, once again, shook his head.

I shouldn't doubt anyone here!

Komui mentally slapped himself.

A/N: Ok that's how it starts, I guess… Please tell me what you think by reviewing! Until the next update!