Author's Note: A one-shot for Yullen Week's theme for 12/21, Protest. Great for fresh new Yullen fans, since it's not heavy! Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I am a panda in disguise…but I am not Katsura Hoshino.
"I'm Fine, Really."
It was a typical day at the Black Order really—Lavi was pestering everyone he came across, Bookman chased him and smacked him every so often, Lenalee served the science department coffee, Kanda trained, and Allen was persistently followed everywhere he went by Link. It was all totally normal.
However, something worried Kanda as he trained that day. Some sort of gut feeling wrenched at his insides and nauseated him. He was sure it wasn't any food related issue; soba never failed him before, and the mere thought of him worrying over something sickened him even more. Sheathing his sword, he left the training grounds for a well deserved bath.
Immersing and soaking himself in the warm water did not seem to quell the odd feeling though, no matter how much he wished it away. He punched himself in the sides in protest, damning the emotion away. The swordsman decided that he should leave it alone and not think about it for a while.
He continued on with his normal day, cleaning his sword and taking a break to read a book he'd been keeping up in his room for a few days. When his onyx eyes became sore from the inadequate light, he decided that maybe it was time for dinner. Walking to the dinning hall, unfortunately met up with Lavi, who had already captured Lenalee a while ago.
"Yu-chan, what's up?" Lavi asked happily, patting the swordsman on the back.
"Shut up, Baka Usagi," Kanda growled, grabbing the Junior Bookman's hand and shoving him away.
"Going to dinner, Kanda?" Lenalee piped up, tilting her head to get a better look at his face. Her hair had grown a bit and reached her shoulders, but Kanda guessed it didn't quite fit in her old pigtails yet and therefore she kept it down all the time.
"Yeah."
"Us, too," Lenalee smiled and gathered up Lavi, tugging him along so that Kanda wouldn't get annoyed at their slowness. When they reached the cafeteria, Kanda's eyes swiftly scanned the room, surveying the people inside. Something piqued his interest.
"Hey, where's the Moyashi?" Kanda asked bluntly, "I haven't seen his stupid face today."
"Oh," Lavi remembered, "He was sent on a mission, right Lenalee?"
Lenalee clasped her hands together nervously, but answered despite this, "Yes, he left just a while ago. It was a solo mission. I don't think he'll be gone more than a week."
"Hn." Kanda said nothing more on the matter as he ordered his soba and continued to try and ignore Lavi's existence as best as he could.
Two weeks later Kanda trained as he should and bathed as usual. Walking down the corridor he saw Komui rush by, which startled him a bit, since that crazy man hardly left the science department. Going through scenarios in his head, the swordsman hoped that he wasn't up to doing anything bad—like another Komurin. Frowning at that, he thought of how Lenalee and Allen usually took care of disposing of the creatures.
Then it hit him, "Where's Allen?"
Knotting his eyebrows together with slight aggravation, he marched down the hallways towards the boy's room, knocking on it harshly several times, but receiving no answer. Growling, he went to the cafeteria, expecting to find the young exorcist stuffing his face, but nay, he wasn't there. Clenching his fists tight, he set off to find Lenalee, but that wasn't very hard, since he found her running from the bathroom with a small basin of water.
"Lenalee," Kanda called, walking a bit faster to catch up to her, "wait."
"I really can't Kanda," she replied regretfully, "Is it an emergency?"
Kanda didn't really think it was, but he asked anyway, "Have you seen the Moyashi?"
"Kanda…" she started, the Japanese could have sworn he saw a small tear trickle down her face, "He came back from his mission today, a week late."
"Well," Kanda pressed, "Where is he now?"
"…the hospital wing, Kanda," she choked out, slightly out of breath, "Allen was critically injured. He met another Noah."
Lenalee paused from her running, wiping a little sweat from her brows and pushing some of her bangs behind her ear. The small Chinese girl's face scrunched up, holding in some tears, "He did retrieve the Innocence…but I'm not sure all this fighting is worth it. Especially Allen…I heard Rouvelier say that he's sending Allen back out on another mission in a week, despite his injuries."
Kanda was shocked and worried. He thought it was odd that Allen had gotten so hurt, and why he was sent alone, and what that bastard Hitler-moustache was thinking sending him on another mission so soon when there's plenty of other exorcists who have no current assignments.
Lenalee flinched at the shouts coming from the medical room Allen was in. She bowed slightly at Kanda and dismissed herself quickly, trying her best not to spill the water in the basin. The swordsman stood there at a loss of what to do.
Three days later Kanda heard from Lenalee that Allen was finally recuperating and responding to the medical treatments, and was free to walk around the Order as long as he took the pills he was assigned to take.
The raven-haired teen soon found himself wandering the Order, wondering why he cared so much, and why he had such an urge to see the Moyashi so much.
"Oh, Kanda," he heard a voice from behind him, "Hello."
Kanda spun on his heel to see Allen walking up to him from the end of the hallway. From what he could see, his face looked taught and tired, pale and sickly. The small boy's walk was slow with a slight limp, favoring his right leg, and his innocence arm was wrapped tightly and held in a sling. His cursed eye was also covered with gauze. But the thing that stood out most to Kanda was the absence of the cheer in his smile.
"Moyashi…"
"It's Allen, you know?" Allen tried to laugh, but it came out as a cough. He finally reached Kanda and they set off walking, the taller teen at a slower pace to accommodate the white-haired boy.
"Che." Kanda let the familiar sound out half-heartedly and continued to study the other's wounds. He wondered what other kinds of injuries littered his body under the boy's normal attire, but he figured the boy wasn't up to being asked questions about his torture.
"What?" Allen questioned, walking a little closer to the Japanese trying to figure out what he was focusing on.
"Nothing, Moyashi," Kanda responded immediately and watched as Allen made a face at the displeasing nickname, "I was just wondering…uh…"
"Oh," Allen caught on, "Does it hurt?"
"No. I know it hurts."
"I'm fine, really."
"I don't think so."
The two would always have this conversation each time Allen returned battered from a mission. Bruises, cuts, gashes and burns would taint the white-haired exorcist's otherwise pale skin, and Kanda would look distastefully at it, trying to will the boy in taking a small break to properly let them heal.
And Allen would always protest, "I'm fine, really."
And Kanda was always there to see through it, "No, you're not."
Author's Note: Yay for writing late at night! Lmfao. Please review and tell me how you liked it. Yeah, I know…the Yullen was really really subtle. Like, you literally have to do a handstand and squint to see it. DX
Anyway, Happy Yullen Week. Watch out for more one-shots!