The Word Is... D-Gray Man One~Shots

Ceremonial Procedures

The word is... Ceremony.

A formal event typically used to celebrate something of importance. Some ceremonies are meant to be happy and full of joy. Other ceremonies are often sad and littered with thoughts that turned into pain inducing parasites. A ceremony from hell that was supposed to signify the end of a five year war turned out to bring different people together in a way no one would have thought.

***

It was 1864... The war had been going on for four long years and an end didn't seem to be in sight for either side. The accumulated body count was high and the fear of losing everything one could ever love and hope for seemed to be turning into more than just a nightmare. Soldiers would leave their homes in their respective colored uniforms, ready to fight for what they believed to be right, but for every soldier that left home for the battlefield several pine boxes would return. This was a risk that everyone was aware of and while some were not willing to leave, others were ready to bear their crosses. This was the reality of life that everyone had to accept, but it didn't stop some people from trying to ignore it.

A knock echoed through the small space of the servants quarters and for a moment Kylie Tsuyosa thought it was their ridiculous master, Komui Lee. Don't mistake her feelings. She liked Komui and his younger sister well enough. After all, they treated her and her younger sister nicely. Much better than their last owners who seemed to enjoy punishing her... That was all Kylie could bring herself to remember not wanting to think about what the piggish man had done to her baby sister. The knocks continued and she hoped that Komui would just leave the sisters alone, but the knocking was relentless as if the plantation owner was afraid. That couldn't be right... Komui Lee? Afraid? There wasn't a chance in hell that he would be afraid of anything... At least not openly around the Tsuyosa's.

Kylie slowly closed the book she had borrowed from Lenalee, Komui's younger sister, and watched as Natalie Tsuyosa dried her hands carefully and made her way to the rickety old door. The slender girl pressed her ear to the cool wood listening carefully to whatever she could hear on the other side... There was breathing that seemed to come out harsh as if the person had run a marathon in Boston. Between the soft knocking and the laboured breathing Natalie could also make out the faint sounds of a deep, unfamiliar voice cursing and pleading for the door to open. Out of curiosity for the strange visitor, Natalie obliged to the strangers wishes and opened the door a crack so that she could peer out into the darkness. What she saw shocked her and she reeled back as three men came barging into the already cramped space. The last man to enter the quarters quickly closed the door and leaned against it crossing his arms over his chest and closing his eyes as if he were relieved to be invading someone's home.

He was a handsome young man that appeared to be of Japanese decent although he was dressed in a worn navy blue uniform indicating that he was in the Union Army. He scowled when Kylie jumped up from her place on the torn sofa and picked up a rusted fireplace poker like it was a sword. His sapphire eyes stared in annoyance at her hazel ones and it was like you could feel the electricity buzzing between the two instantly. She grabbed Natalie, hauling her to her feet and kept the poker trained on the three intruders, but the air stayed tense and silent for a few more long minutes as evaluations were made. It gave the sisters enough time to examine the other two and determine if they had a chance to get away from the soldiers.