Allen and Kanda have known each other for years, ever since Allen was just a rookie at the Black Order. Due to Allen's first experience of meeting him, he and that dark-blue haired man didn't get along at all. Fights and arguing were the norm for them. Each time Kanda called him "short stack" or "beansprout", the white-haired man could feel that anger and rivalry boil up inside of him, allowing those emotions to force words out at Kanda, thus starting bad things to happen.
But one day, however, Allen scanned those memories in his head, thinking over them. He could feel his heart pacing at a faster speed then before, his cheeks flushing a rosy pigment. He had one hand resting upon his chest, clenching the folds of his shirt; the other hand was in his short, white hair, strands of it escaping from between his fingers. He gritted his teeth. He was suddenly feeling a different emotion, one of that he has not experienced before.
What...is this feeling?
Allen fell silent. "Oh god."
...
It was a nice, crispy morning outside. Allen's grey eyes gazed into the light blue sky, watching as the birds flew by, their usual, beautiful melodies escaping their beaks. Allen's hair whipped against the wind as a look of realization and sadness masked Allen's feature. He was still playing those memories in his head, still not able to decipher how this could've happened...how these sudden feelings for Kanda made their way into his brain. Maybe he was coming down sick? This sudden awkwardness was nothing less then irritating.
Just then, the sound of the door being pried upon got his attention. Turning around to see who the culprit of the sound was, he saw it was no other than Lenalee Lee, his old friend.
"Oh, hello, Lenalee." Allen blinked. "What brings you here?" Lenalee's eyebrows furrowed, "Well, I wanted to check up on you since you've been in your room for a while now. You haven't eaten breakfast yet, and are usually the first one to order your food."
Allen let a long sigh escape his lips, "Yeah, sorry about that. I'm...not really hungry right now."
The female exorcist tilted her head the side, her long, black pony-tailed hair going along with the movement of her cranium. "...Not hungry? But Allen, you know that if you don't eat, you will starve."
Allen nodded, "I know. I'll...probably get some food later."
Lenalee then recognized her friend's melancholy expression and slowly walked over to him, her face shaped in that of confusion. "...Is something wrong, Allen?"
Allen was caught by surprise when those words escaped her lips. She could sense that Allen's sudden denial of his usual food routine was being caused by something else. Allen could feel his heart moving at a faster pace, beads of sweat emerging from his temple. He didn't want to let Lenalee know how he was feeling. Would she understand him? Or would she not comprehend at all?
A lump appeared in Allen's throat, "...No. Just feeling a little sick, that's all." A smile crept across Lenalee's face, "Ah, okay." She then went to leave the room, but looked over her shoulder at her friend, "Come on, we need to get you fed."
Allen went to protest, but then sighed in frustration, "Okay...I'll eat a little bit." He then followed the female exorcist to the dining hall.
...
The white-haired man set down his plate, which was a smaller pile than usual. Dango, ramen and other mouth-watering foods occupied it. Allen allows himself to pick up a fork, not noticing that his eyes were locked on Kanda's, who was sitting a few tables across from him.
"Right, Allen?" Lenalee's voice was continuing on the conversation her and Allen were having. Lenalee then let her eyelashes flutter as she saw that her friend wasn't paying attention. "...Allen?" No response was heard. Letting out a huff of frustration, Lenalee decided to follow his gaze. Her eye widened in shock, but moments after, seemed to relax as a smile touched her lips.
Allen softly smiled, "Yeah, yeah, I think so too." Lenalee couldn't help but giggle; his reply was completely opposite of what she expected. Hearing it, Allen turned around, his cheeks flushing in embarrassment, "Gah!"
Lenalee smiled, "Oh, I see how it is..."
Allen let out a girly scream, "No no no! I-It's not what it looks like, Lenalee! Honest!"
Lenalee chuckled, "Sure, sure."
The white haired exorcist then realized that he was stabbing his fork into his pile of food. Feeling uneasiness emerging inside him, Allen sunk his teeth into a piece of dango, slowly chewing it. But what he didn't know was that Kanda had seen him, that he felt a pair of eyes on him. His eyebrows furrowed in utter confusion. What? Was there something on my face? "No...it can't be." he muttered to himself.
Not wanting that to nag at his brain, Kanda gritted his teeth, and went back to slurping down his soba.
...
"Come on, slowpoke! We're going to be late!" Kanda's voice broke the silence as he waited for Allen to put on his exorcist suit. Allen hurriedly fingered the buttons on his coat, slipping them through their holes. Allen's face was shaped in that of bewilderment. What's wrong with me? he thought to himself. I'm usually bothered by his name-calling.
"Did you hear me?! I said...let's go moving!" Allen could tell by Kanda's raising tone that he was growing impatient. When Allen was finished, he closed the door to his room as he entered the hallway. The dark-blue haired exorcist let out a sigh, which was that of a mixture of annoyance and relief. He muttered a flat "Finally" as he and the white haired man made their way to the canoe.
"So what the heck's gotten into you, beansprout?" The 18-year old questioned as they sat themselves down in the canoe.
Allen felt his heart sink, and started to choke on words. "Uhuh...uhh..."
Kanda frowned, "Well?!"
"Well...I-I'm...not feeling good, Kanda. T-That's all."
Kanda smirked, "Man up. We have a job to do."
A sudden sharp exhale escaped Allen's throat. He didn't expect Kanda to use his original, sardonic smirk. He had expected him to huff in frustration and say something else. A burgundy pigment flushed on Allen's high cheek bones. Why in the world am I finding this cute? Allen deliberated to himself.
As Allen and Kanda got on the train, they found out that first-class seats were reserved for them, so they thanked the conductor for doing so. The blueberry haired man flopped down onto his seat, his ponytail flowing along with the movement. Allen followed suit as well, but decided to sit across from him. Allen casted his eyes upon the window, then looked at Kanda, "So what was the mission again?"
Kanda sighed in frustration, and facepalmed, "Do I even have to tell you for the 100th time, beansprout?! We've been assigned to go to Poland, said to being infested with akuma. The problem is only getting worse as the population there is decreasing." He put one of his clenched fists on his hips. "Now do you comprehend?"
Allen blinked, "Y-Yeah, I think so."
Kanda slumped down in his seat, "Okay, good."
Just then, the train hit a bump, and Allen was thrown forward, his hands brushing up against Kanda's as he tried to regain his balance. Blushing out of embarrassment, Kanda pushed back, and bared his teeth, "Get a grip, beansprout!"
Allen blushed, rubbing his head, "Sorry. Didn't expect to fly into you when the train hit a bump in the ground, that's all."
Kanda slid his teeth together, "Yeah, right."
The sound of the train stopping got the two exorcist's attention. As they set foot outside the train, Allen marveled at the scenery. It wasn't what he had expected. Many stores were in front of them, some with small, striped roofs shading them. Trees surrounded the place, their leaves flowing like weightless feathers in the wind. To their surprise, they saw people walking around, talking and laughing. Children rushed to catch up with their parents. And for some odd reason, they didn't see any akuma in sight.
"Well, that's odd." Kanda said. "There's no akuma around."
Allen shrugged. "Yeah, it does. The invading of akuma and decrease in population might be a rumor."
The dark-blue haired man sighed, "Yeah, might be."
They then proceeded into the city, passing by more people as they walked down the street. Then, as if it came out of the blue, a sound of people screaming and calling for help got their attention. The two exorcists then ran in the direction of the sound, wanting to find out what the suspect of the sound was. And surely enough, it was a level 2 akuma, which looked like a mechanical frog, spikes replacing the usual feature of a frog's body.
Kanda's eyebrows furrowed. "I stand corrected." He then grabbed a hold of his sword, slowly taking it out of its hilt. Aiming it forwards, he rested his first two fingers upon the smooth metal, proceeding them upwards to the tip of his anti akuma weapon. The mugen radiated a light blue aura as the dark-blue haired man lunged, then thrusted himself toward the akuma, easily slicing it in half.
As Kanda focused his attention on battle, Allen felt the bones cracking inside his body, breaking apart and piecing together. When the transformation finished, the white-haired boy's left arm was now that of a large, metallic claw. Digging his feet into the ground, he ran towards the akuma, joining the blueberry haired man in battle. The teamwork that they share flowed in their veins as they took turns destroying the akuma, Allen hoping his best wishes to the akuma that they rest in piece.
Dust then entered the scene. Allen felt the particle tickle at his throat, digging its claws into it. A series of coughs occurred. The sound shot through Kanda's ears as he turned around to look at the white-haired boy. His eyes widened as he saw Allen's reverted left hand clenching the folds of his exorcist suit, trickles of sweat running down his forehead. Small huffs of air were able to free themselves from his throat. Kanda sensed that the dust is not normal dust, it's a poisonous chemical manufactured in the frog-looking akuma if it's ever killed in battle.
Kanda's eyes watched as more series of huffs occurred, then rushed over before Allen's head could collide with the ground. He rested his right hand on the back of the white-haired boy's head, his hair easily escaping between the 18-year old man's fingers. The other hand was rested under the tip of Allen's knees, just at the ending of the upper part of the legs.
Kanda casted his eyes upon the young exorcist, his expression still, his eyes closed. Kanda let out a long sigh of annoyance, followed by a "Che. As usual." as he went to get some help.