Chapter One
The bright sun shone down on Kanda, feigning the heat of a vast desert. It was in this moment that Kanda regretted agreeing to meeting Lavi. He said he had something important to tell Kanda. He could only guess what it was about. Lavi had a way with fixating on certain subjects of study and never letting them go. Kanda had been there for nearly all of those little phases. This one wasn't any better than the others and Kanda briefly wondered why he had even taken interest in it in the first place.
Kanda glanced down at his wrist then back up, adjusting the bag on his back. Where was that damn Rabbit? He had been on that same street corner under the sun for more than fifteen minutes. Why had he even agreed to this anyway? The idiot had several damn facts and ideas he was always happy to relay to him and Lenalee. Mostly regarding to his favorite subject of study, the clocks on their wrist. It was no real legend or some great secret, and Kanda wondered why Lavi ever bothered himself with the facts and details of it. It counted down from your birth and showed you're your soul mate, what was the point in stressing the details? Kanda honestly had no clue, but he indulged the Rabbit in his requests to talk about it at odd hours in the day. It was better under the hot sun than a call at one in the morning.
He glanced down at his wrist once more, the numbers seemingly etched into his skin like a tattoo. But it wasn't, anyone who looked close enough could tell that much, the lines seemed almost unnatural. There were several college classes dedicated to the study of the origin and meaning of these marks. Some believed it was the work of God, others believed it was evolution telling mankind they need to stop worrying and get on with their lives. Romance doesn't have to dominate the whole of your life. Regardless of that theory there were still many who swooned over their markings and a whole sub-culture dedicated to it.
If Kanda thought it was God's work, then he thought he did a shitty job. What was the point to comfort someone if all it did was cause worry and a sub-culture of hormonal teenage girls? Kanda huffed at the thought. It was all so stupid, and yet, here he was waiting for the red-haired idiot to give him more theories and "Interesting" facts about the marks. Though Kanda had to admit, his was counting down much faster lately and he couldn't help but wonder what that meant. He had never given much thought at all as to whom he would be with forever. He tried not to, but it seemed he would have to at some point.
What girl, or guy, could he be matched with? Hopefully if fate were as kind as he heard, it wouldn't be that idiot bunny, or that damn Beansprout. He hated that kid with a flaming passion. He often thought that maybe the past should stay buried, especially if the past was only the simple mistake of a said thirteen-year-old Beansprout. But I digress; Kanda was as stubborn as a mule and not likely to change anytime soon. To his right Kanda heard the heavy steps usually associated with the red-haired boy.
"Finally decided to show up?" Kanda checked his phone, a quarter past three. He tsk'd and placed his phone into his pocket."
"Hey, It's not my fault the old Panda decided to keep my longer than I wanted!" Kanda gave no response to the statement as he looked over at Lavi.
"Just hurry up and tell me what you wanted to already. It's hot and I'm about ready to just up and leave you here." Lavi sighed and held his hands up in a mick gesture of peace.
"Alright, alright, Yu. But first let's go check out Allen's shop, I heard there were some neat things Cross brought back." Before Kanda could protest to either the use of his first name or the fact that Lavi suggested that they go see the Sprout, Lavi was off in his chosen direction. Kanda sighed through his nose and followed. He had waited for so long in the heat, he wasn't going to leave now.
Of course, when Lavi meant Allen's shop, he really meant Cross'. Allen only tend to the shop in his free time. It wasn't old news to anyone, least of all Allen's friends that Allen was left to take care of the shop whenever he could. Cross had a bad habit of just up and leaving nearly all the time. This left Allen in a bad position in trying to juggle school, the shop and still have time to play the piano he loved so much. The only bright side was that Cross often brought back things that would help the Economy of the shop. As it was not unusual that the shop would get little venue until Cross brought something exotic and intriguing back.
Lavi filled their otherwise silent walk with his mindless chatter, making it impossible to get a single thought in. Naturally this Irked the long haired man , but what could he do? Staple his mouth shut? Glue his lips together? The thought brought a small smirk to his lips, which went unnoticed by the other. Finally after several long moments, Kanda was able to get a word in.
"So is there a point to this?" Lavi's eyes lit up and he stopped in front of him, forcing him to listen.
"Well you see," He began in a know-it-all kind of voice. "I promised the both of you that I would meet after school. I kind of forgot about you, Yuu." Lavi brought his hand to the back of his head, chuckling nervously. Kanda responded in kind with a glare that could cause plants to wither and animals to run in fear. Lavi responded quickly to the gesture as a way to save his skin. "-So I decided to get you both in the same place so I could meet with the both of you!" Kanda decided to drop the matter for the moment. He had waited too long in the heat for this to all be for naught.
"Just keep moving, Rabbit." Kanda ordered, nudging the other none too lightly.
"Okay, Okay, Yuu! Jeez, don't get your panties in a bunch!" Lavi started moving, returning to his usual chatter as they went. Not long after they reached the shop. It's exterior leaving much to be desired. The two walked in, pushing and shoving like two year olds as they went. A bell at the top of the door rang as they came in, the only sound in the store.
"Coming!" A voice called from somewhere at the back of the store. From behind a tall shelf came white hair and silver eyes, a smile bright on the boy's face. That smile, however, was wiped from his face at the appearance of a certain long haired man.
"Kanda." Allen said flatly."
"Beansprout." Kanda said in a similar tone.
"For the last time my name's Allen!" The comment sent the two into a bickering match. After a few moments in which Lavi failed to defuse the situation, the two had settled some.
" Why'd you bring him anyway?" Allen said as he turned to Lavi. The comment drew a growl from Kanda, but his biting remark was cut short by said red-head.
"That's not important, shorty. What's important is what I came to tell you both." Allen titled his head to the side as a way of urging him on.
"Well? Go ahead." Lavi straightened his back and took a deep breath in.
"Well you know how I like to research the timers on our wrists?" The other two gave an inward sigh but did not make any move to stop lavi's little speech. " Well, I did some searching and did you know that you can do days, weeks, even years without realizing that your soulmate is right next to you?"
It made sense and beside their unwilling attitude, Allen and Kanda found themselves leaning forward a bit to catch Lavi's words. Those marks were the center of nearly everyone's lives, but most of all Lavi's. It was typical of Lavi as he was a romantic. Lavie spent a lot of his free time trying to determine which of his many past girlfriends would end up being the one. Though his behavior could be classified as unusual to some of the older folks, in this day and age it really wasn't. While most people didn't even consider love until their soul mate, there were some that indulged themselves in the dating scene. Some did it for practice, other's did it as a pastime. Whatever their reason was, the freedom to do this was spreading like wildfire among the younger generation. Lavi had gotten caught up in it like a fish in a storm, much to the chagrin of his grandfather who'd rather he spend his time in the family library rather than chasing girls he would most likely end up never seeing again.
The three talked, or rather fought in Kanda and Allen's case, until the sun wore down to a dark orange. Allen looked up towards the window as he noticed the time of day.
"Not to be rude." Kanda scoffed, "But you guys need to leave. I have to close up shop and head upstairs." By upstairs Allen meant the apartment that was above the shop. At six on the weekdays Allen closed up shop and went to the apartment to get homework done.
"Aw Allen, you're right! I gotta get home before the Panda has a heart attack!" Lavi exclaimed as he ran out of the shop. Once he was gone, Allen turned to Kanda, an eyebrow quirked.
"So are you planning to stand here all night?" Allen asked, sarcasm dripping from his usually polite tone.
"Like I would willingly choose to stand in this trash heap." Kanda sneered.
"Well then leave."
"Fine."
"Fine."
With that Kanda left, making sure to make as much noise as he could on the way out. Allen rolled his eyes and went around the counter to grab his keys. As he reached into the drawer, he noticed something odd about the timer on his wrist. It had seemed to go down significantly during Lavi and Kanda's stay. The marks on his went from more than a week to less than twenty-four hours.
'How odd.' Allen mused as he locked up. Allen placed the keys back into the drawer and walked upstairs. In truth, the idea that he would meet his soul mate in less than a day frightened him. But he gave it no mind, what happens will happen and there was nothing he could do about it. He set about his homework for tomorrow, sure in his mind that he would spend the rest of his life with some pretty lady who respected and loved him as much as he would love her.
Kanda stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel round his long hair. His hair could be a pain to take care of at times, but he'd rather not bother with cutting it constantly. He just didn't have enough time in hi schedule to regularly fit that in, there were much more pressing matters at hand. He brought another, smaller, towel to his face, making sure he cleaned every inch.
As he pulled the towel away, he noticed a difference in the mark on his wrist. Funny, hadn't the time been much greater this afternoon than it was now? Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the mark had in fact gone down. Twenty-two hours and forty-three minutes. kanda grimaced, he really wasn't looking forward to it. In truth he had never given much thought to who he would spend the rest of his life with. He thought he had found the one when he was small, but that hope was dashed by one little moment.
After that he tried not to think much about it. But now it was here and it was really going to bit him in the ass when it happened, wasn't it? He just really had that gut feeling. With that he went to bed with a heart full of dread that no amount of dismissing would fix.
Across town a young silver haired male was having similar thoughts. Who am I going to spend the rest of my life with?
A/N: Finally got this done! I know the whole idea has long gone and passed, but after a roleplay with my friend, I just had the idea to put Allen and Kanda in a similar situation. The idea just would not leave me alone so I typed it up. I liked this a lot so I think I'll finish the story! I have no idea how long this is going to be so Ill wing it. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! And feel free to give me critique. I tried my hardest to keep them in character, but it's been so long since i've written them.
Thank you so much for reading! I'll see you in the next chapter!