Disclaimer: D. Gray-Man and all of its characters belong to Katsura Hoshino and not to me.

AN: I was watching a magic show somewhere and the magician reminded me strongly of Tyki. So I just started thinking, what if poor Kanda was trapped as Tyki the magician's assistant?

The Magician's Assistant

Chapter 1 – The New Assistant

The tall man in a sleek tux strode backstage, removing his tall hat and letting his well groomed hair down. The applauds of the audience and the screams of adoring women still rang out behind him. He let out a sigh of relief, thankful that the show was finally over.

'Another job well done... My, my, the audience seems to love me, don't they?'

A blonde girl ran up after him, nearly tripping over her high heels and fluffy pink skirt. "Mr. Mikk, you forgot your coat!"

Tyki looked back at his assistant, and gave a faint smile that would have caused many ladies to faint at the spot. "Thank you, Maria. I wonder how I'll do without you..."

Maria just smiled and handed the magician his coat. "The great Tyki Mikk can't even remember little things like this... That's what an assistant is here for, right?"

"Speaking of which, didn't you request for half a day off? The show's over, you can go now. But I need you back here by 6, ok?"

"Thanks. I'll take my leave then, Mr. Mikk."

Tyki watched his assistant leave. He gave a sigh and entered his dressing room, hanging his coat on a clothes stand beside the door. The room was rather well kept, with the exception of many bouquets of flowers and cards strewn over the table.

The handsome magician gazed into the mirror in front of him as he undressed. Tyki Mikk, one of the well loved and well known magicians of all time, famous for his astounding tricks and not to mention, his stunning looks. Tyki was well known for his disappearing acts and for daring escapes from chains and locked boxes. Well, no one has to know about his powers, did they? They only gasped and admired his wonderful performances. After all, amazing skills and charming looks, Tyki was a performer through and through.

Tyki's eyes wandered to the clock hanging above him. There was some time left before dinner, he could take a short nap before that, and by then, Maria would have returned. There were some things he needed to assign his assistant before leaving for dinner later.

Sinking into a large armchair, Tyki felt himself drifting off to sleep. That show earlier had taken a lot out of him; it wasn't easy trying to maintain a cool composure for the audience. But then again, it was fun, knowing that countless were mesmerised by his every action. Tyki smiled to himself as he closed his eyes.

The clock struck 9, the chimes waking him up. Tyki shook himself, trying to get the sleep out of him. He glanced irritable at the clock, only to have his jaw drop when he saw the time.

'Shit, I've been asleep for so long? The Earl will kill me for being late for dinner...' He stood up and called for his assistant.

"Maria! I need you here! Where are you?"

There was no answer. "This is weird, where could that girl be? She should have been back by 6, and why didn't she wake me up then? She seems to be slacking in her job recently..." Tyki muttered to himself.

He called again, but when there was no answer, Tyki stormed out into the corridor. He was going to make sure that she heard him this time.

Flinging Maria's room door open, he didn't even bother to knock. But what greeted him was an empty room. And by empty, it wasn't just no humans. It was seriously empty. The room had been cleared out, only some papers and furniture strewn all over the place, as if somebody had left in a tremendous hurry. Tyki stared blankly for a few minutes until the rage settled in again.

"What the hell? What's going on here?" He kicked a fallen chair furiously, his face still unusually calm, but one could tell that the man was seething with rage. Tyki could be very scary when he was mad. He tried to recall past weeks. Maria was definitely acting rather distant for at least a month, and taking leaves more than the regular.

"That bitch. She must have run away... Oh damn..." Tyki went back to his room. He checked the place where he kept his money. Right, just as he expected, it was empty. "Damn that bitch. She's been planning this for a while, I could tell. Ungrateful brat... Now what do I tell the manager? The show can't go on without the magician's assistant..."

As Tyki stalked off to inform the manager, he couldn't help but smirk. He had already been suspecting his assistant's strange behaviour recently so he took some security measures against anything that might happen. Maria doesn't have to know that Tyki keeps his money elsewhere, and that he could obtain counterfeit notes from more than one source anyway.

As Tyki expected, the manager wasn't pleased. "Why did you just let her run away like that?"

"Not my fault. The bitch just wanted a break, I guess. Wasn't in my power to stop her."

"I don't care, Tyki Mikk. You get a new assistant in 3 days or you pay me to get you a new one. And I'm definitely charging a double price."

Tyki raised one eyebrow. "Fine, fine. I'll do whatever you say. I'll get a new girl, it's not gonna be that hard, is it?" Saying so, he strode out of the room calmly, placing his top hat on his curly hair.

He was fuming inside as he walked on the streets though. 'Find a new assistant... Yeah right... Like I'll ever trust anyone else to take care of my stuff anymore...'

Tyki decided that a walk would do him good. After all, every performance for the next 3 days had been cancelled. Until he could find a new assistant, that is. Tyki shrugged. He wasn't exactly keen on getting back on the job. He would just take as long as he liked. He couldn't care less. Tyki smiled. That's the way he was, and he wasn't going to let anyone else change the way he lived his life. The way he led it, taking all the pleasures he wanted.

"You fucking bastard!" A sudden shout broke through the air.

Tyki glanced towards the sound. He wondered what was happening, so he went over to the direction of the insult. Whoever said it was either incredibly rude, or incredibly uneducated.

At a corner, in the midst of a crowd of people, there were two people. Tyki immediately recognised the scene. One of them was a slave trader, he could tell. And the other must be the slave. The trader must've been the one shouting at the slave, maybe the young teen was being a bit hard to handle. Tyki observed the young slave. Hands bound tightly with a thick rope, shirtless, clothed in only a pair of ragged felt pants. He could only be about 18, his long black hair cascading down his back. He was badly beaten up as well, but his eyes showed defiance so strong Tyki felt it burning as well.

Those searching eyes...

"I'll teach you to call me that!" The trader barked at the teen. All the boy did was glare at him and mutter.

"Fuck..."

Tyki smirked. So it wasn't the trader, it was the boy who was yelling all those curse words. Rather bold for someone who was captured and bound. He decided to stay and watch this drama a little longer.

Some of the people watching moved away, muttering something about bad people and bad company. Others seemed interested in buying, but soon left as they couldn't stand the boy's attitude. The trader was furious with his goods.

"Can't you shut up and act civil? I earned a boon today but you're the only one left! Now what am I to do with you?"

"I'm not a slave, idiot..."

His sentence was cut short by a punch in the face. He collapsed on the ground, shaking with rage, his hair spilling around his shoulders, eyes still harbouring that fierce fire...

It struck Tyki that he was beautiful. The young man's hair fell in a lovely way down his shoulders and back, eyes blazing with that somewhat dangerous yet alluring fire. His body was quite well-built as well, old scars marring the surface of the smooth skin. If it wasn't for his attitude, Tyki was sure that he would've been bought already earlier. Even so, Tyki admired that fight in him, and a sudden desire to tame that wild beauty flared up within him. It'll be a challenge he'd most definitely derive pleasure out of.

Besides, it'll be much safer to keep a slave that'll obey orders at all costs. If he could make him, that is.

Tyki stepped forward and greeted the trader. "Good afternoon, my good man. May I inquire his price?"

Both trader and slave looked up in surprise. The trader grinned happily. "Him? He's quite a good worker, as you can undoubtedly see for yourself. Young, and strong. You can't find a better specimen anywhere; I'll give you an offer though."

Before he could finish his offer, the slave snapped once again. "Like hell I'll let you own me!"

"Shut up! I'm trying to strike a deal here!"

"I said I won't! Get your shitting hands off me!"

"Why you..."

Tyki interrupted curtly. "It looks like he can be quite the troublemaker. Can we haggle the price lower?"

The trader stared at Tyki as if he were insane. "As much as I would like to get him off my hands, I'd like to warn you. This crap here can cause more than just trouble for you. He's scared half my customers away since this morning!"

"I assure you, that will be no trouble for me. Just state your price and I'll have him off your hands. So, do we have a deal?"

"Well, you'll find that you're taking on more than you can handle tho..."

Tyki brought out a stack of notes. "Will this do?"

The teen could only stare darkly as he was passed from one owner to a new one. He glared angrily at the well-dressed man in a coat and tall hat. He hated him, loathed him, despised him from the very core of his being. Who was he to just buy him like this?

The deal was sealed and the trader handed over the rope to Tyki. After he left, Tyki kneeled down and looked the slave in the eye.

"Shall we?" He stood up and gave the rope a rough jerk, forcing the boy to walk, which he did, though hesitantly and stumbling. The teen glared at the back of his new master, his mind already devising a plan to try and get away, to try and regain his freedom, his pride.

They reached home by evening. It was already growing dark outside. Tyki glanced at the boy. He had to tug at his rope countless times and even drag him along quite a few times during the whole walk back. He was beginning to feel that this was going to be harder than he expected.

He had already released his grip on the rope, but the slave just stood there, head slightly down but his gaze still firm, never leaving Tyki. Tyki cocked an eyebrow at his defiance.

"Right, this is your new residence. So, what's your name?"

"Kanda."

"Kanda? Nice to meet you, Kanda..." Tyki put a lot of emphasis on the last word.

"Che."

Tyki smiled. Young as he was, this boy must've been through quite a lot. He obviously suffered a number of beatings ever since his capture. There was even a tattoo or a brand on his chest. Tyki sighed and walked over to him. He didn't even flinch. All Kanda did was just stand there as Tyki came up to him. He shut his eyes. He didn't want to look at his master anymore.

A sudden movement behind him shocked his eyes open. Tyki was gone, but Kanda could feel a pair of hands behind him, gently moving down his bound hands. Kanda didn't dare to move, he was unsure of what to do, how to react.

"You are very beautiful, Kanda..." A voice whispered into his ear.

Kanda froze, wondering how this guy could move so silently and so fast. Kanda didn't even notice Tyki moving behind himself. Those hands moved lower, until they paused over the ropes tying his wrists painfully together.

They were undone swiftly, falling from his sore wrists to the ground. Kanda was shocked, and he quickly rubbed his wrists that were red from the rough rope. He felt a thick coat being placed gently on his shoulders.

"Better? I think that was rather cruel to tie you up so tightly. But then again, I bet they wouldn't have if your mouth wasn't so rude."

Kanda scowled. He still didn't like this man any more than just now. Tyki walked in front of him again.

"Would you like to wash yourself, Kanda? I'll show you where the bathroom is, and then we can get started on your duties as my assistant."

Kanda looked up in surprise. "Assistant?"

"Why yes. That's why I bought you in the first place. I need a new assistant, my former one ran away. And when I saw you, I knew I had to have you... As my assistant of course." Tyki added hastily.

Kanda narrowed his eyes. "You're not going to... Treat me as your slave?"

"I didn't exactly say that. You'll have plenty to do, but I'm not sure whether or not you consider work slavery. It's not easy, I can guarantee that, to be a magician's assistant."

Kanda's jaw dropped. "Magician? What the hell..."

'I don't know a single thing about magic, damn it! I don't even believe in that crap...'

He snapped. "I don't know how to perform magic tricks. And I will not pull rabbits out of your tall hat for you. So get this straight, I will not be your assistant."

Before Kanda had any time to react, he was pinned roughly against the wall. A pair of strong hands held his hands fastened against his sides, and he could feel hot breath near his ear. Kanda shivered.

"I don't believe I said you had a choice in this, did I, boy? You are my slave, and you better be thankful that I'm offering you a position close to that of any free man. You had better listen to me, or else..." Tyki whispered into Kanda's ear.

He let him go, and Kanda fell to the ground shaking. He didn't know what was wrong, but somehow Kanda had the feeling that this man was dangerous. Extremely lethal. And Kanda also sensed that he could very well do worse things to him.

All of a sudden, Kanda felt scared. But he wasn't going to let this man know. He decided that his best bet before he could escape was to play along with this seemingly twisted magician.

Oh, and that included becoming his lovely assistant.

How I enjoy putting Kanda through mental torture by Tyki. I am such a sadist. Tell me what you think of it, I'd love to hear from you.