...Imagine a good disclaimer here.
Kanda Yuu stood at attention, studiously ignoring Komui's gushing compliments to the mug of Lenalee-made coffee. He cleared his throat loudly, attempting to catch Komui's attention.
In the dictionary, attempting differed from actual success, and this was one standard of few that Komui actually followed. Kanda stroked his faithful Mugen longingly. If Komui did not look up soon, he would find a very sharp sword threatening his nose.
Luckily for Komui's health (and unluckily for Kanda's great satisfaction) Komui drained the last dregs and regarded Kanda with sudden surprise.
"Oh, Kanda! How nice of you to visit! Has something happened?" he asked contentedly. He set down the empty mug on an untidy stack of papers already marked with overlapping ring stains.
The swordsman grimaced irritably and pointed out, "You called for me first, or else I wouldn't have stood here for five minutes and bother you with your huge backlog of paperwork."
Komui waved off his response off and commented airily, "Lenalee's coffee is so much more important than any boring work."
Kanda sighed. How this man managed to reach and actually hold his position was beyond him. Apparently, it was beyond everyone else in the Science Division too, but none of his underlings cared.
The Supervisor brightened and exclaimed, "I remember now! Would you like to strike a deal?"
Kanda frowned, his danger sense raising its hackles. "What kind of a deal?" he asked warily. Komui leaned back and cheered, "Keep Allen company for today!"
"…What?" Kanda pronounced ominously. If someone didn't start offering details, he would break the mug with the innocuous, grinning rabbit very soon, beyond any hope for repair. His hand settled softly on Mugen's hilt, every muscle tensed and ready to spring. "Explain why I have to be near that stupid bean sprout at all. Make Lenalee or Lavi do it. They might actually enjoy it."
Komui tsked at him, and explained with aggravating patience, "Lavi has already been requested by Bookman for training this week, and I just couldn't make Lenalee work! What if something happens to her? Oh, Lenalee! Noo!" He clung to a framed picture on his cluttered desk, sobbing dramatically as if a terrible disaster had already befallen her.
Kanda was not interested in Komui's theatrics this time. He cut in impatiently, "Still, why can't you put him in the cafeteria and leave Jerry to make him food? He'll be perfectly happy there."
Komui leveled him with a look and said solemnly, "Now how is that attitude towards your comrade acceptable? You should treat him better than that. Besides, there has to be a chance that you two could discover a hidden friendship!"
"No!" Kanda replied emphatically. Komui frowned, and wheedled, "Are you sure? If you work a little harder, maybe…?"
Kanda set his face harder and shook his head. "So I can be bossed around?" he muttered darkly, derailing Komui from his current train of thoughts. In the deepest recesses of his mind, Kanda liked Allen's presence. It was relaxing, even as they stiffly argued about their point of view on helping people. The realization had come very slowly, vaguely wandering around his subconscious whenever he caught sight of the distinctive white hair. He had dismissed it as soon as it popped up, but after the fiftieth time he caught it lazing around the back door, he was forced to acknowledge the fact that Allen Walker did not annoy him nearly as much as it should. Even when the kid landed himself in unnecessary trouble he felt impelled to help despite his threats to leave him. Empty threats, mostly. He still managed to deliver them with enough force that it was not apparent, but Kanda knew it was wearing thin. Knew, but couldn't do anything about. That fact, more than anything else, angered him.
But the seeds of acceptance would not be shown to anyone. Even as the shoots grew inexorably, he could shunt them away from the sunlight, and he would as long as he could. Kanda vowed this to himself, and clung to the promise even as his emotions betrayed his tight self-control behind his glaring mask.
"But you do get something out of this, Kanda," Komui mentioned off-handedly. He scooted his chair back a little as Kanda drew Mugen out an inch but pressed on, "If you agree to take on this mission, then I will not pair you with Allen for any later missions for three months."
Mugen slid back into its sheath with a metallic click. If he only had to watch Allen without any restrictions on behavior, then the job looked much friendlier. Even as Kanda relaxed, he felt a stab of disappointment, but firmly squashed it. He should take it as a chance to burn the change in himself because of Allen.
As if Komui sensed his thoughts, he added, "However, you are not allowed to threaten him in any way. Or else you won't get any reward for this work. People will be watching from time to time."
Kanda ground his teeth. Maybe the slight attraction would finally die down, but the possibility increased that the -how he hated the word- crush would only intensify. By the time Kanda had mustered up enough rage to stalk out of Komui's office, every sense was battle-ready. No matter what would happen, he would keep his vow to conceal all signs contrary to hostility.
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Kanda had to admit to himself, the silence of the library was more than a little anti-climactic. He had marched around the headquarters, checking the rooms, kitchen, and grounds before thinking to enter the library. Happily and unhappily, the shock of white hair was among the laptops and computers lining the far wall. With a face daring Allen to comment on the unusual proximity, Kanda had taken a seat on a relatively nearby couch in case someone did come to check the situation. Yet Allen only nodded at him briefly, surprisingly quiet, and continued to type on a small laptop.
Kanda shifted uncomfortably, resisting the temptation to glance at him. He fiddled with a small, thin book about Japanese history, but the crinkle of the pages seemed to echo in his ears.
A sneaky idea blossomed in his head. Kanda abruptly stood up, gripping the plain book tightly. Allen continued to ignore him, this time flicking through long paragraphs of text with a serious expression.
Safe. Kanda quietly padded to a nearby shelf and gingerly eased out an embossed copy of the Bible. He returned to his former seat unobtrusively and opened it to the first page. To all appearances, he was concentrating on the book to the exclusion of everything else. In actuality, he was concentrating on something else to the exclusion of the world. Specifically, Allen.
His changing expression, morphing from puzzled to understanding to doubtful. The delicate fingers tapping idly on the keyboard. The stark contrast of the jagged red line over his eye against his pale skin and hair.
Unfamiliar sympathy coiled around his heart for the burden he must have carried with his physical appearance, a reminder of his curse.
Kanda wrenched his gaze away from the boy and paid attention to the Bible, pondering over the relation between Innocence and the beliefs in the book. Only a few minutes passed before his curiosity dragged his eyes back to the now-grinning boy. Just what was amusing him so much?
Without any warning at all, the cheerful teenager looked at Kanda, who hastily pretended to be absorbed in the Bible. Allen informed, "Watch the laptop, okay? If something pops up, read it for me."
He inclined his head in a dignified manner, but did not look up as the adolescent sauntered merrily out the door. Whatever pleased him had done so in a major way.
Once the door was shut securely, Kanda dropped his masculine pride and grabbed the laptop. Disappointingly, Allen had closed every window. He would have to wait for any updates to appear to satisfy his curiosity.
As if he had called it, an insistent window flashed at the bottom of the screen. Kanda rapidly pulled it up, and stared in bewilderment at the multi-colored bouncing images plastered across a neon-green background. The only sane color was the magnified black banner proclaiming: Read On.
Kanda, thoroughly confused, obligingly clicked the similarly tame arrow to a page blank except for three dots. Anger growing, he brought up the next page, which was thankfully more helpful than the previous one.
It ran: 'Obviously, we have clashed ever since we first met each other. After all, having a sword pointed at another's nose is hardly conducive to a heart-warming friendship. Meetings from there on have only run downhill.'
The best and onlt answer to that was the head bob. Their philosophies were simply too different to co-exist without any conflict at all. Kanda pressed the arrow again.
The next slide was very uncomplimentary. The exact words: 'Your disregard for lives and harsh behavior to everyone bothered me to the extent that no matter what you did, your standing never improved in my eyes.'
Kanda pounded on the keys for the next slide. Sure, he'd had the nagging suspicion that Allen would always see Kanda the same way, but he absolutely hated having the fact laid out for him. Hopefully the next slide would be a little more flattering.
And it was slightly more conciliatory. The short message said, 'However, I think I am having a change in heart towards you. Maybe we can…'
Poor keys. They were slammed on yet again, this time from anticipation. Still, the keyboard didn't care; abuse was abuse, and motives were only excuses.
The keys would have to endure more general abuse from a very frustrated Kanda at another white, innocent page except for three dots. Again.
To be angry, or not to be? Just this once, Kanda managed to rein in his rage by the thinnest of bonds. But if the next page did not deliver…
A coffee break. A coffee break. The image was burned indelibly in his mind: another white background, with a short message, "Intermission for coffee break.' Since when did he drink coffee? It obviously smacked of a made-up reason, and Kanda did not like it at all. It was official. Kanda was very ticked off at Allen, and in short time, the computer.
A crackling, electrical mess of plastic and broken wires remained where Kanda was sitting, thanks to the skillful application of a very sharp sword. The reason? The final page, mocking in its pastel pink decorations, apologizing in an oh-so-fake tone, 'Sorry, but I spaced out and completely forgot what I was going to say.'
That was the very last straw for him. A red haze tinted the edges of his vision, but that wasn't good enough for him. He desired for a real shade of deep crimson to be on somebody, running down and dying skin. Suddenly, he could, aesthetically speaking, truly appreciate the contrast of red against white.
He stalked through the halls, Mugen out in his white-knuckled fist. Normally he would not treat Mugen so callously, but he was so far gone in his rage that everything outside of 'hurt Allen' didn't register in his mind. By now, everyone had enough forewarning to get out of his way; a blockade was almost guaranteed to get hurt.
Yet people do not always do the smart thing; Lavi was an example of that. The red-haired male popped up right in front of Kanda, completely ignoring the gleaming Mugen, and cried, "How nice to see you, Yuu!"
Another point was added to the table of Why Kanda is Angry. "You," Kanda breathed, "Do not use my first name." The deadly steel was brought up between Lavi's eyes to hammer home the lesson. Lavi, however, was blessed (or cursed) with a very selective though thorough memory, and rattled on without any sign of comprehension.
"I just got out of Bookman's clutches, and anything is better than staying with that panda for three more hours. So, Yuu, whatcha doing now? Can I come along?"
Kanda's eyes flashed dangerously, but only muttered, "No, you cannot." There are few things that can truly discourage Lavi once he had his mind set, and Kanda was forced to capitulate. No matter how hard he ran, Lavi would doggedly follow, so he didn't even bother. There may even be a few advantages…
"Do you happen to know where Allen is now?" he questioned Lavi in a strained polite tone. This was a record, and Lavi reacted as such.
Bugging eyes, dropped jaw, and absolute silence. Kanda rolled his eyes, and added in a more Kanda-like fashion, "Or would you like me to force it out of you?"
Lavi recovered quickly and caroled loudly, "Go look in his room! His room!" Kanda nodded in grim satisfaction and marched up the stairs.
Kanda looked at Lavi.
Lavi looked at Kanda.
"…Well?" Kanda asked impatiently.
"……Huh?" Lavi replied intelligently.
Kanda sighed exasperatedly. "Which one is his room?" he asked, motioning to the row of identical doors.
"Oh!" Lavi exclaimed with sudden understanding. "You don't know?" Kanda pointed Mugen at his nose and gritted out, "Tell. Now."
Lavi pointed towards the end. "It's that one," he said with complete conviction. Kanda shot a withering glare at Lavi.
"Pointing isn't any help. Is it the one on the end, the one next to it, the one next to that, the one next to that one, or what?!" Kanda exploded. If he didn't get revenge soon, Lavi would acquire some excruciatingly painful injuries within the next five minutes.
Lavi explained condescendingly, "Allen's room is behind the door with a scratch five centimeters above the doorknob, with three dents arranged in a triangular formation pointing down, the lowest and smallest dent 0.5 centimeters above the floor. The room is three doors closer to this level's entrance from the farthest door."
Kanda strode towards Allen's room immediately, muttering under his breath, "You can remember every miniscule detail about Allen's door, but you can't even remember to stop calling me Yuu."
Lavi blinked and complained loudly, "Hey, you're not telling me something! That's not fair! You're probably insulting me! Hey!"
Kanda tuned out Lavi's shouts and shoved open Allen's door without warning. The white-haired boy looked up from a packet of papers, hiding something behind his back. The little detail escaped Kanda, who was utterly focused on making his fantasies of torture reality.
Allen grinned cheekily up at him, waving a little. Kanda's simmering rage roared up, and he was reduced to squeezing out random syllables. "You saw the slide show, right?" Allen asked rhetorically.
"Naturally! Did you really mean you just, forgot, what you were going to say? I was waiting for something to happen, and then you completely turned around! What were you trying to do?" Kanda yelled, releasing all of his anger in a rare show.
Allen pulled a kicked-puppy expression, and said regretfully, "I'm sorry. Really."
Kanda recoiled. His first reaction was to relent. The second reaction was to be stubborn and never, ever back down an inch. The first won out.
"Maybe. Maybe I will accept your sincere," he punctuated the word with a piercing stare, "apology, but only with a good reason."
But only marginally.
Allen smirked mischievously and confidently attacked, "And what if my apology isn't sincere?"
Kanda began to shake with suppressed emotions, before falling into a natural reflex. Brandishing Mugen in the air, he sprang at Allen quickly. Somehow, the boy dodged and caught his wrist. The hand behind his back was brought out to reveal a mood ring. With a little difficulty, Allen slipped the ring onto Kanda's middle finger, peering at it closely.
The swordsman jerked back uncomfortably, but couldn't move his arm. The 15-year-old, despite his youth, had a grip of steel. It reminded Kanda of the first meeting at the cafeteria, when the animosity between them truly began, except the bean sprout had only grown stronger.
Kanda was beginning to fidget uncharacteristically when the bean sprout exclaimed triumphantly, "Aha! Mood rings do work!" The adolescent abruptly released the swordsman to rapidly flip through the stack of papers.
In response to Kanda's blank look of incomprehension, Allen clarified, "I wanted to know if mood rings actually work the way they're supposed to. According to this," he waved a crumpled sheet of paper above his head, "The ring will turn any shade from black to amber from anxiety, stress, harassment or unsettled emotions." Allen gazed at Kanda and remarked, "The ring is black, by the way."
The swordsman glanced down surreptitiously at the silver ring and confirmed that it was indeed black. A light of understanding broke on Kanda. "Is that why you were provoking me on the laptop and insincere apology?"
Allen took a mock-bow and beamed silently. He bent closer and lightly kissed him on the lips.
Kanda's mind completely shut down. His body instinctively leaned into the kiss, making it more passionate.
The infuriating bean sprout took that time to break the moment by examining the mood ring again. "It changed color to violet," he noted, and referred to the stack of papers. Something on it made Allen pause, and sent the sterner man a delighted peep. "It says that violet is the color of happiness, romance, or passion."
Kanda paled, before shaking his head firmly. "I was just angry that you kissed me," he heard himself say. He was surprised at the authority in his voice.
Allen shot him suspicious looks, before turning away. Just at the door, he yelled back for the entire building to hear, "That ring looks pretty on you." Wisely, he scampered.
Kanda followed, formulating plans about what to do with Mugen if he caught the annoying bean sprout. Unfortunately, all of the plans could not shove away the seductive mental voice that whispered:
'Denial is the first step to acceptance…'