Seven months has passed ever since Iris started working as an exorcist. She has met and encountered different people in her line of work, and it molded her to who she is now.

The female redhead was staring out of the window, looking at the scenery ever since the train had departed. She was quite during the trip, not uttering a word. It wasn't because she was lonely or sad, it was because of her companion.

Glancing to the sit across from her, Kanda had his arms crossed with his eyes closed. Seeing that he was still in that position, she stands up and cleared her throat. It definitely caught the swordsman's attention. Opening his eyelids, he lifted his chin slightly to look at his partner for the mission. With the usual furrowed eyebrows, narrowed eyes, and a frown, Iris knew he's not angered from being disturbed.

"I'm just going to go out." The redhead dismissed herself and went out of the room after hearing Kanda grunt.

Kanda was relieved that Iris isn't crazy today. There are times where she would be crazy as Komui. She would pester and annoy everyone, including Kanda. One time, she hid all his hair ties and Kanda was chasing her with killing intent.

Going out of the room and shutting the door, the two Finders assigned with them stood from the floor. "Do you need anything, Iris-dono?" One of them asked.

The Exorcist waved her hand aimlessly in the air, dismissing the thought. "I just wanted to get out and do something. I'll be somewhere in the middle-class or lower-class section."

"Then I'll go with you." The other Finder proposed. His companion elbowed him slightly, wanting to be the one to go with her.

It's boring during the trip and neither of them wanted to be left behind with Kanda and a door in between. The swordsman is disliked by many Finders.

The redhead smiles in response. "No need. You two can stay here."

Leaving the grieving Finders, she headed to the other classes and tried to keep herself busy by interacting with other people. Iris loves doing magic tricks to other people especially during times like this, seeing people with amazed faces makes her feel happy. Although usually, she just uses her brain and analyzing skills to say that she's psychic.

When the train has made its stop at Austria, the Exorcists and Finders got off and headed to the said location where the paranormal activity happens. The story was about a small village that experiences snow in the middle of summer. It might be the doing of an Innocence fragment.

The two Exorcists didn't talk to each other. Iris respects Kanda's want of being aloof and lone, that's why she doesn't interact with him. She also respects his strength and power as an Exorcist, and the redhead would just stay silent whenever Kanda says his own thoughts. Kanda can say some mean words, and things that Iris disagrees with but she would just pretend she didn't hear it.

Kanda on the otherhand doesn't mind having Iris as a companion whenever she's sane and silent like this. It makes things a lot easier for him because they don't argue or fight over something. She doesn't contradict his actions and Iris can handle herself very well. But whenever Iris is crazy and energetic, Kanda will be filled with annoyance to the point he'll point Mugen towards her.

"So this is it, huh?" When they reached the top of the hill, they see a village covered with snow with the sun high up in the sky.

Without saying a word, Kanda starts to investigate and Iris follows suit. The two Finders that were left behind fought over who'll go with Iris, because accompanying Kanda is a no-no.

Iris was the first to have encountered Akuma and she easily defeated the level 1 and 2 Akumas without really using the power of her Innocence.

"I swear, the Order gives me easy missions." The redhead mumbles to herself, sheathing her sword in its activated form.

In the end, there was no Innocence in the village. It was just the doing if a Akuma who had powers of snow.

Iris was staring at the ground mindlessly, while the Finders were trying to contact HQ of their condition. Kanda was just beside her, leaning against a tree.

"Snow?" The redhead said unconsciously. It was then where an image of a boy entered her mind. She missed the young lad. The snow reminded her of his hair. His hair was soft, she can still remember how it feels.

I wonder, what is he doing right now? How is he? Is papa still harsh on him? Is papa doing well? Hah, he must be.

"What are you doing? You look like an idiot smiling at nothing." Kanda snaps her train of thought.

"I was just thinking of a few people I miss." Iris pointed out.

"Is it Lenalee and that stupid bunny?"

"What? No, and besides the last time we're with them was just three days ago."

With the Finders coming back, they left the village with the snow starting to melt from the summer air. They went back to the Order and reported that there was no Innocence, only Akuma.

Kanda heads to his room immediately while Iris walks aimlessly around the Order. She comes across Johnny and Tapp who were on their way to the cafeteria.

"It's already three in the afternoon, grabbing some snack?" Iris says as she accompanies them, not having anything to do.

"Yeah, we're going grab some sandwiches for everyone in the lab." Johnny explains, fixing his round eyeglasses.

"Want a round of chess?" Iris had a grin on her face as she laughs evilly, feeling cocky that she'll win again.

Johnny laughs nervously. "We're kinda busy, so... Maybe next time."

"Iris is a demon." Tapp says, remembering that one time where she challenged Johnny and the loser had to do a dare made by the winner. Iris won the game and she made Johnny wear a pink lab coat with matching girly hot red glasses for a whole week.

Walking along the halls, it would take two more floors before reaching the cafeteria. As Iris was teasing the two scientists, another bully arrives. He's the only one who has the courage to tease Iris, but others think he's just stupid.

"Red riding hood~!" Lavi gets the end of his scarf and puts it over Iris' head to make it look like a red hood.

"What is it, Pirate?" Iris removes the scarf over her head in slight annoyance, getting used to his teasing.

"I missed you-"

"Hell no!"

Pushing Tapp forward, she uses him as a shield from Lavi's assault. The male redhead backs away immediately. "I hugged a man!" He says with doom, paling.

They finally reached the cafeteria and Lenalee was seen helping Jeryy with the dishes. She smiles and waves at Iris.

"Welcome back, Iris." The twintail says with a bright and welcoming smile as she puts down the clean dishes she was holding.

The female redhead clings to Lenalee's side in return, hugging her right arm. "I'm back." She smiles as well.

"Ah," Johnny remembers the reason why they were there in the first place. "Jeryy, can we have sandwiches for the whole Research team?"

"Of course! I'll do anything to help you guys." Jeryy fixes the plates first before preparing the food.

The rest waited at the cafeteria, seating at one table. Like the usual, they were exchanging stories and this time it was Iris' turn. She told how her mission went but it was short because nothing really interesting happened.

"By the way, where's Bookman?" Iris asked Lavi.

"He's probably reading books somewhere, or probably chewing some grass and bamboo." The boy replied, not interested in the topic.

"I heard that!" Bookman kicks Lavi in the back and he falls to the ground.

"Ouch! Gramps, that hurt!"

"Well, maybe next time you should think before saying anything."

With that, Bookman drags Lavi out of the cafeteria, leaving the rest with sweatdrops on their heads. Iris just looked their disappearing figure.

I bet Bookman will remind Lavi to keep his distance. Iris sighs internally.

One time, she overheard their conversation and that's how she knew that Lavi and Bookman are just here to record history. It made her perfectly aware to why she can't seem to see the meaning of Lavi's smile. Lavi is all mixed up inside to the point that he doesn't even know it himself.

Jeryy arrives with trays full of sandwiches and the two female Exorcists helped the scientists with the sandwiches. After some talks with the other scientists in the lab, Iris leaves to rest in her room. Lenalee stayed behind, wanting to help her family in any way possible.

Along the way, she sees Komui talking with two Marshals. Marshall Klaude and Marshall Yeager. The redhead paled when she sees the crazy General.

Passing by quietly without uttering a word, she halts at Socallo and Yeager's back for a second and bows at their direction to show respect. After that, she quickly tries to go away.

"Don't think that you managed to escape me, Iris Marian." Marshall Socallo says, making the redhead stop in her tracks.

I thought I had it!

"Finally, now that I'm back, we can have a fight!" He does his signature laugh and activated Madness.

"Head Chief, Marshall Yeager, help me!" Iris begs as she tries to avoid getting hit by Madness.

Marshall Socallo acts this way because he wants to see Iris' full potential and power. If she is Marshall Cross' daughter, that would mean a lot of people expect her to be as good as him.

"Weakling! Come and fight me like a true Exorcist! How will you able to become a Marshall?!" Socallo yells as Iris ducks and escapes, with Madness shattering a column.

"I never said I wanted to become a Marshall!"

"Nonesense! You are Cross Marian's daughter with a highest synchronization rate of 92%! Fight me and break the critical point!"

Komui managed to make Marshall Yeager stop Socallo and Iris fled from the battle, going to her room. Fighting Marshall Socallo is like a death wish, there is no way of telling that Iris will live. But she never tried fighting him, meaning no one can really tell if she can take a Marshall on or not.

Sighing, she decided to rest for a while along the corridors. Leaning her elbows onto the railings, she looked at the bottom of the Order. It was dark, nothing can really be seen at the bottom.

She misses Cross, his voice, his demeanor, his attitude, everything. The past months was hard for Iris, not because Cross isn't with her, but it's because Central Agency won't leave her alone. They won't give up interrogating her for information. But as of now, their investigation and interrogation are becoming less and less because Iris couldn't possibly know Cross' location after seven months. But then again, the Central Agency must not overlook anything.

"What's with the long face?" A certain someone puts his red scarf over Iris' head again.

"None of your business." The female redhead says in a harsh tone and removes the scarf.

"Mood swings again? Do you possibly have-" Iris pulls Lavi's ear and he yells in pain.

"Mine was already over last week!"

"No wonder~ You've been really bipolar during that time."

"I swear that you're such a d*ck, Deak." Iris showed an evil grin in triumph.

"Woah, woah, no need to get personal!"

Iris only knew his former Alias because the bookmen were so oblivious to notice her presence when they first entered the Order. When Bookman and Lavi were riding on a boat in the waterway to the Order, Iris was in a dark corner of the waterway, avoiding people of the HQ. There, she overheard their conversation.

Sometimes, this leads to Bookman and Lavi being awfully a lot more cautious around Iris.

"Anyways, I'll be going to my room now." The girl stretched her arms and yawned. "See you later."

As she walks away, Lavi couldn't contain himself and just said it. It has been bothering him more today than it should be.

"Be careful."

Iris turned around with furrowed eyebrows. "What?"

Lavi just shrugs. "I don't know. I always have a feeling that you're unstable and fragile. No offense, it's jut how I feel."

Ah, he was probably scared that one of my companions during the mission would die, and I would do something unthinkable. Has he been like this ever since he found out my vow?

"I appreciate the sentiment, but you do know that if someone precious to me dies... I can't help but let my wrath out, right?"

"I know. Just... Stay away from people of the outside world."

"Hah?" Iris snapped. "If you're talking about Akuma attacking me, you know very well that I can handle myself."

"No, it's not that. You know it perfectly well, Iris. The more you interact with those normal people, they'll become something precious to you. They're just normal people, Iris! Akuma can just come and attack them at any time! You're digging your own grave!"

"Shut up! I don't want to hear that coming from someone who had gave up on humanity!"

"You are contradicting yourself! Start helping yourself by lessening the chance of your vow happening!"

Iris scoffed. "Why don't you just watch from the sidelines and don't interfere yourself with others like what Bookmen normally do. When the time ever comes that I suffer the consequences, why don't you just watch and record it all, then rub it in my face with a triumph look."

She hits the spot where Lavi is most vulnerable, his duties as a Bookman.

After giving him a nasty glare, the female Exorcist marches to her room and locked herself in it. Lying on her bed, she was mad at Lavi. But he was right about some things.

I just can't stop myself from wanting to know people better.

During free time, Iris interacts with strangers and tries to get to know them better. She would first observe their actions, movements, tone, and she'll cone to a conclusion. Once the conclusion is made, she'll approach the person and try to know his or her personality better. Then she'll know if her first impression on the person is right or not.

She loves to know different people and how to handle them. It makes her feel somewhat sane and human.

What Lavi was pertaining to earlier was the group of people that would see Iris' magic tricks and so-called physic abilities. They're fifteen people, fifteen normal people from different walks of life. Some were men and women, a few were old people, and most of them were teenagers and little kids. They mix in to the crowd during Iris' magic tricks but after the show, they'll tell stories and have some fun that is applicable to everyone.

Iris started seeing them since last month, and everything seems fine. Nothing is wrong with her meddling with other people. After all, she's still human. They're all one and the same.

♱⁜♰ D. Gray-Man ♱⁜♰

Three months later, it just shows that Iris had been working in the Order for a year now. The Central Agency wasn't bothering her anymore, they simply can't extract anything from Iris and they came to a conclusion that she really doesn't know Cross' location, which is the truth.

She become much more closer to the people at HQ, and she sees them as a one big family.

But of course, the world had different plans. During Iris' first year in the Black Order, an incident happened. It didn't happen in HQ, but somewhere else. It didn't concern Exorcists, but it concerned Akuma.

After that destructive day, Iris was locked up and restrained by the orders of the Pope. For four months, her freedom and rights was out of reach. It was so out of reach that no one can stretch out their hands farther enough to pull her out. Not even the Head Chief can reach her.

Along with restrainment was occasional punishments. The Central Agency said it was to make Iris repent for her sins. Void of any communication from her friends or sunlight, she was clouded with a good kind of negativity, but it was still negativity no matter what. She was depressed and numb, physically and emotionally.

Released after four months of being restrained, she was still depressed. Stepping out of the room she calls "jail" or "hell", guards accompanied her to the entrance of the Order where her friends are waiting, or what remained of it anyway.

Stepping into the building, her true friends had their eyes widened with shock. The expression on their faces were beyond describable. It was mixed with so much emotions, while Iris had only one.

Anger, sadness, shock, regret, they all felt it. But their hearts broke when they see Iris again after four months for the first time. Is this what has really become of her? They all thought.

Iris' hair was roughly cut on the level of her neck. Some strands were longer that it reached her armpits, others were of the same level of her shoulders, and the rest leveled her neck. Her hair was so messy, dirty, and oily. She probably hadn't taken a bath for a long time, or probably never for the last four months. Iris treasures her hair so much because it was proof that she's the daughter of Cross, it was long and wild as his but more thinner and manageable. Now, it looked so horrible and ugly.

Her eyes were empty, soulless. Those once flaming red eyes are now dull, void of any passion. Her cheeks are so skinny.

Her body was also skinny that one might think if you slice a part of it, it'll reveal bones instead of flesh and muscles. Aside from being skinny, people can easily detect the black and purple bruises in her right shoulder and left leg. If there's anything else other than bruises, it was scars. Scars, permanent injuries. Scars were visible on her arms and few can be seen on her legs.

How can they see all this? Iris was only wearing black short shorts, and a black sleeveless top.

It's even unsure if her chest, abdomen, and back are injured since it's covered.

Just what exactly did she commit to receive such treatment?