Rika T. Strange is back with more Mirkrory, because I've been neglecting this pairing for far to long! This is a little plotbunny that attacked me one day, that I actually RP'd with someone for a while. They quit after a while, unfortunately, but it was fun while it lasted. I haven't used any of their words in the piece but they helped me get a good idea for what/where I wanted it to go, so thanks, "Kiki Wind Guardian!" Probably wouldn't have gotten around to this without ya.

Character's are Hoshino's, plot is mine!

Exorcists, finders, and science division members alike shuffled through the halls. Komui tried his damnedest to avoid paperwork while guzzling as much coffee as possible. Kanda tried, with limited success, to enjoy his soba in peace. An average day at the Order by any means. Miranda and Allen had just returned from their mission and now stood outside the gate to the ark, waiting patiently for Komui to come debrief them. "Allen, I... I feel strange," Miranda mumbled. Her face was pale and she was sweating, although the halls of the Order were rarely warm enough for that.

"Are you alright?" The boy asked, taking a step closer. The woman pawed blindly at her neck and collarbones, breathing heavily.

"N-no, I think I..." Her eyes rolled back in her head and she fell forward in a faint.

"Miranda!" Allen lunged and barely managed to catch her in time. "Somebody get the medical team!" He shouted to those nearby. Timcampny, meanwhile, fluttered nervously around Miranda, fanning her face with his wings. It didn't take long for a team of nurses to arrive and put Miranda on a stretcher.

"We'll take her to the hospital wing; you should go see Komui about this," one of the nurses told Allen. He nodded and hurried down the halls.

Once inside the science officer's office, it took little time for the boy to explain what happened. "She just fainted! She said she felt funny before that but until then she was fine..." He couldn't help looking at least slightly panicked. "Is she going to be okay?"

Komui frowned and shuffled around the papers on his desk, trying to keep the worry off his face. "We won't know until we get a report back from the medical staff... Are you sure there was nothing out of the ordinary? No close calls with akuma or Noah?"

Allen paused to think for a bit before answering, his brows furrowed as he spoke. "Well... Our host, Ms. Erzsebet..." The boy's face heated up a bit. "Sh-she really liked Miranda. A-a lot. And she was tired a lot more than usual, even though she didn't invoke her Innocence for very long."

The science officer nodded. "I'll keep that in mind. You can go, just drop off the Innocence with Helveska on your way out. Don't hesitate to come talk with me if you remember anything." The boy nodded and hurried off again. Komui, meanwhile, sighed and ran his hands over his face. Any exorcist out of commission meant an added burden on the others… He could only hope she recovered quickly.

In the hospital wing Miranda tossed fitfully in her bed, periodically gnawing through her pillows while tears coursed down her cheeks. She had no fever but sweated profusely, and it was all the nurses could do to keep her sheets from soaking through.

"She just ripped through another one!" One of the nurses shouted, throwing the shredded remains of a pillow on the floor while Miranda chewed on the last, largest piece with uncharacteristic viciousness.

"Did she always have canines like that?" Another nurse asked quietly, bringing a pillow with him. "They're even larger than Krory's…"

"I don't know about her teeth but her eyes sure as hell didn't look like a cat's before the mission," the first responded, taking the new pillow and dropping it near Miranda's head. The woman let out a strangled wail and began to sob into it. "Let's just hope that whatever's infected her gets out of her system soon…"

It took an hour and a half of screaming, sobbing and sweating and about twenty pillows before Miranda finally regained some semblance of conscious thought. "Ah…" She sighed wearily and forced herself to sit up, feeling as haggard as she looked.

"Do you feel any better, Ms. Miranda?" One of the nurses asked, finally feeling it was safe enough to change out her soaked bed sheets.

"I-I'm very thirsty..." She croaked, and the nurse nodded.

"I'll get you a little bit of water. If you can keep that down, you can have some more." Miranda nodded and the nurse was about to leave, when the exorcist caught her hand.

"Wait..." There was a strange gleam in Miranda's eyes and before the nurse or other personal could stop her, she'd chomped down on the woman's wrist. Blood trickled down her arm and the nurse screamed; it shocked Miranda enough that she let go, panting and licking desperately at her bloody teeth. "I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I... I'm just so thirsty..." She started to cry again and one of the other nurses ran to report to the science division.

"She's a vampire, or at least something that's allergic to sunlight and craving blood. I can't tell you how, can't tell you why, just that she is." Reever scowled and tossed the medical report onto Komui's desk. "She's still compatible with her Innocence, however."

The chief sighed. "Get to work on a cure, then... Or at least a vampire-strength sun block. And something to keep her fed! I'll... Find a way to help her adjust in the meantime." Reever nodded and headed out the door. Komui picked up his phone and dialed the communication golem nearest to Arystar Krory. "Mr. Krory," he said once the signal connected. "I need to see you in my office immediately…"

Rika says: That's the end of the first chapter! Hope you enjoyed~ Review and tell me what to do better, please!