A/N: I'm following the main themes of Yullen Week, but they'll all fit into a chaptered fic as a complete story. Enjoy! :D
Oh, and Allen's still had his brown-hair and doesn't have a scar on his left eye and cheek (:
Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING!
Allen Walker, at the age of sixteen, was currently living together with his foster father, Mana Walker.
However, recently Mana hasn't been feeling very well and seeing how the temperature of the country is plummeting due to the approaching winter, it really isn't helping him to get any better. Thus, Allen, being the good boy he was, had volunteered to take care of his foster father. At the tender age of nine, he had already learned how to be greatly independent; something Mana had made an effort to instill into the young boy once he deemed Allen capable of taking care of himself.
In this time and day, nobody knows what might happen in the near future. Allen, being an orphan on the run at such a young age; and Mana, being known for not having any contactable family members at the moment, he was bound to have felt some responsibility to make sure that Allen was completely capable of being independent just incase anything should happen to him. But so far, all was well, and it didn't hurt to prepare themselves for unforeseen circumstances. However, the two chose not to dwell into things too much and just take life as it comes for now.
It was freezing, one of the coldest nights that they've had in this year's winter season. The streets were completely empty as everyone was cuddled up with their loved ones in front of their warm fireplace.
Mana was working at a shop selling toys which was mostly centred around a circus theme, since Mana had worked in a circus before deciding to settle down someplace with Allen. On the other hand, the younger boy helped out with odd jobs that the townspeople may need assistance with so as to earn some money to be able to help Mana out. Hence their house wasn't elaborately furnished, but they had all the basic necessities to continue with their daily life. That, to Allen, was more then enough as long as he was with Mana.
So when Mana collapsed due to fatigue, Allen blamed himself. If he hadn't taken him in, Mana wouldn't have to work himself to exhaustion just to bring bread to the table for two. But, when Allen thought about it, if Mana had never found Allen and took him in, Allen would have missed out on feeling the warmth offered by a loved one.
Unfortunately, luck wasn't on his side and while the small boy was making his way back home, a stray dog had suddenly jumped out and barred its teeth at Allen. Probably because it had caught the scent of the food items due to the cold winds buffeting once in a while.
Since it was cold, there would also probably be lesser food to be found so the stray dog was probably starving and hence had no choice but to turn to stealing food from unsuspecting passersby.
The dog attacked, trying to steal at least something which can help to satisfy its empty stomach and tide through the harsh winter. It was acting purely on its survival instinct and Allen couldn't even bring himself to get angry at it.
The teen cried, "No! These are for Mana! I can't give them to you! Go away!"
Honestly speaking, Allen felt sorry for the dog. But Mana also needed the food to nurse his health and all Allen was greatly focused on about at the moment was the importance to get the food back to Mana for nourishment.
On other occasions, Allen would feed it something. Only if Mana wasn't as I'll as he was now.
Allen cringed as the dog lounged, instinctively bringing up his left hand to block. However, it managed to sink its canine teeth into Allen's skin, resulting in a firm grip on the brown-haired boy's arm, causing immense pain. He tried to shake the animal off him, but to no avail. Unbeknown to him that someone had seen the entire scene on the cold winter streets.
Then suddenly, that same person leapt out from the shadows, waving something which looked like a wooden stick to Allen, at the stray dog in a manner which was supposed to be intimidating to it.
"Get away from him!" the stranger cried, and continued to wave the wooden stick, threatening it.
"No! Wait!" Allen pleaded, asking the newcomer to stop what he was doing. At this point in time, the dog was already distracted and Allen made a move to stroke its fur to calm it down. "There there, boy. Don't be scared. Just calm down. Here you go." Having no other choice, Allen broke apart a piece of bread, which was supposed to be his dinner for that night, and offered it to the starving dog. 'Guess eating a little less tonight wouldn't hurt.'
The stranger just stood there and looked at the scene unfolding before him, completely baffled. How could such a young child still keep his calm composure and even tried to soothe the dog even after being bitten all of a sudden?
The dog quickly devoured the small slice of bread and when it had slightly satiated its stomach, it came to its senses and realized its mistake in biting the younger teen. Whimpering, it nudged Allen's left arm before wanting to lick it to ease the pain. Of course, that only caused slobber to coat Allen's winter coat. The nine-year-old just stroked its fur a little more before saying, "Alright, it's cold now and I'd best be going too. You had better find some shelter OK? It's going to be a cold night tonight."
The stray whimpered once more before taking off, back to where it came from.
"Oi! You alright?" A voice shocked Allen, just ask he was attempting to get up after bring knocked down by the stray not moments ago, which effectively resulted in him falling back down again onto the slippery pavements which were already coated with a thin layer of ice.
"Ow… Um. Yeah. I'm OK." Allen was wary and didn't want to have much contact with this person. After all, everybody around him only pushed him away whenever he got a little too close. His time before Mana found him wasn't very enjoyable. When people see someone who was different from them, they would attempt to beat him up, ostracize him and whatnot. It wasn't a pleasant experience and he didn't want to go through that pain ever again.
"Tch, sure doesn't look like it." The stranger retorted as he move towards him, only with the dim streetlights illuminating a vague outline of him. He didn't look very old, that's for sure. Maybe two to three years older then Allen, after all, Allen was kind of short for his age.
Seeing the younger fumbling to get up, the stranger extended a hand to help him up. Allen had raised his left hand in return, but to end up feeling a shot of pain when the stranger attempted to pull him up.
"Oi, moyashi!" The stranger was shocked. Surely he hadn't pulled that hard, right? Upon closer inspection, it could be seen that there was a dark crimson slowly staining the younger boy's winter coat at where the stray had bitten in. "You're bleeding," he stated in a monotone.
"Huh? Oh no! What will Mana think? I can't let Mana this!" Allen panicked and clutched him arm tightly before something else clicked in his mind. "Hey… What's a moy-ah-shee?"
The stranger rolled his eyes and scoffed, "You're injured and all you're concerned about is what a moyashi is?"
"…" trying to avoid eye contact, Allen looked away. Surely the stranger only attempted to help him because he didn't know about how Allen was an orphan who was living together with someone who could be counted as being a loner. Rumours always spread, but only those who had known them for a long time knew that they weren't anyone suspicious.
Giving up, the stranger squatted down to look at Allen at eye level, since the stubborn teen refused to get his butt off the freezing pavement for reasons unknown to him. "Let me see your hand."
"No!" The moment the stranger touched his left arm, Allen immediately retracted his arm back, as if he was scalded by hot water.
Puzzled and irritated at the boy's childish behaviour, the older of the two quickly grabbed Allen's left arm in a vice grip, "See here. I'm trying to help you, which I don't normally do, so COOPERATE!"
Startled at the sudden outburst by the other, Allen meekly nodded. 'He'll run off after that anyway…'
Feeling a little triumphant that he got the younger to obey, the stranger rolled up Allen's sleeve, trying to get a good look at the wound. What he didn't expect to see, was how the arm was completely wrinkled and hard. The bite must have really been strong to be able to break the skin but Allen didn't seem to have much reaction towards the pain in him arm unless pressure is being put on it.
"Wha-?"
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"I didn't want to show you this. I know it disgusts people…" Allen trailed off and then murmured, "That'sprobablywhymyparentsleftme"
Silence fell upon them like a blanket, engulfing them in it for a while before Allen tugged at his arm, shaking Kanda out of his stupor.
"Sorry. I'm sure that wasn't something you liked to talk about."
"Huh?"
"Tch, what?"
"Ah. No. Its just, people usually would be scared of my arm and then take off before I have anything to say. You're the second one to be so accepting…" Allen was surprised. He really didn't expect the other to act like this. He had all but braced himself for a shove or something before the other took off at light speed. But what surprised Allen, was how he was able to blurt out something about his past, which he didn't even like to think about, so easily to the guy right in front of him. "Um… Can I ask for your name?"
"It's Kanda."
"Just Kanda?"
"… Yeah."
"Well, I'm Allen. Allen Walker."
"Tch. Moyashi is good enough for you."
"Hey! Stop that! What does it mean anyway?"
"Bean sprout."
"Hey! I'm not that short! And you haven't answered my question!"
"I just did."
"Huh?"
"Moyashi is bean sprout in Japanese."
"Oh… Wait. You're Japanese?"
"No shit, Sherlock."
"Huh… So what's with your long hair and that stick?"
"I'm keeping my hair long in honour of my family's pride. My ancestors were samurai in the past. And that isn't a stick! That's my shinai. I was training and was heading home until I saw you."
"You're training? In this cold weather?"
"…"
"…"
Awkward silence descended upon them once again before Kanda spoke up, "Its getting cold. Why don't you come over to my place so I can help you bandage that up before you head home?"
"Ah… I don't think that would be necessa-, HEY!" before Allen could even finish his sentence, Kanda had already grabbed Allen's good arm, pulled him onto his feet and dragged him towards the direction to his house.
Dabbing the wound with disinfectant and then tying a tourniquet, Kanda admired his handiwork before putting away his first-aid box.
"I didn't know you lived with Uncle Tiedoll! Your house is right opposite mine! But I thought you were Japanese?"
"… I am. But I'm the only person remaining in my family after a fire broke out at our house. The old man took me in after that. Tch. I was perfectly capable of taking care of myself!"
"How old are you anyway?"
"Nineteen."
"Really? And you can take care of yourself already? Wow!" Allen was intrigued. A boy who was only three years his senior was already confident that he was able to take care of himself!
Seeing the younger boy's eyes sparkle, Kanda got a little flustered, "It's… No big deal."
"So where is Uncle Tiedoll and the rest of the other kids I saw around him?"
"They're out."
"And you didn't follow them?"
"I don't like being around that bunch of people."
"Oh…"
"…"
"Well, I think I'd better be going. I'm worried about Mana. I'll see you soon?"
"Tch, whatever."
Kanda walked Allen to the door in silence before the both of they bid each other goodbye, with the promise that they'll see each other again.
That day, Allen went home with only one thought in his mind.
'It's the first time that anyone other then Mana has cared so much about me even after they had seen my ugly arm.'
And his heart would always flutter whenever Kanda and his kindness came into mind. It was stupid. How could someone feel so flustered just because of an act of kindness?
Once Mana was feeling better, Allen told him about how he'd met Kanda.
Being the usual chatterbox he is, Allen went on and on about his new friend.
Of course, like a doting guardian, Mana was elated to know that there was someone who was able to stand by Allen should anything ever happen to him. He was also relieved to know that at least there was someone who was capable of taking good care of the younger boy.
Although, he was greatly puzzled as to why Kanda, of all people, had Allen grown attached to, since he'd heard a lot about the Japanese boy being completely anti-social and hates being around people. But if he thought about it, Allen had a bright aura which was able to melt even the iciest of hearts as long as they allowed him to get close to them.
So as time passed and the two spent more time together, Allen learnt that there was another side to Kanda. Mean, rude and uncouth. Even then, he would still look out for Allen like a protective older brother.
Allen would then question, why would Kanda act like this even though he really hated human contact? Even Tiedoll was puzzled when he heard that Allen and Kanda were always spending a lot of time together.
But the adults had just wanted to wait and see what happens next.
Ever since Allen had fed the stray dog some of his food the other day, it had been able to trace Allen's scent and track it to their house. It occasionally brought some food items, for which Allen lightly reprimanded the dog not to do so because he didn't want it to be stealing things just because it was feeling sorry for that bite on Allen's arm, which was already healing quickly.
Seeing how attached it had gotten towards Allen, Mana chuckled lightly and asked Allen if he would like to keep it as a pet to which Allen replied with gusto, "Yes!"
It wasn't dirty, but it wasn't very clean either. Other then that, the dog looked completely like someone had owned it before…?
"Hey… Were you, by and chance, abandoned?" Allen asked it. He wasn't really expecting a reply but when it had dipped its head and whimpered, Allen knew that his guess was right. "Don't worry! I'll never leave you alone! Now let's get you cleaned up!"
He patted the dog's head affectionately before leading it to the bathroom inside the house to get it scrubbed clean.
Once the scrub down session was over and done with, the layers of dirt were successfully removed to reveal beautiful golden fur underneath. "There! Good as new! Now all we have to do is give you a name. Hmm… What would be good? How about… Timcampy? And Tim, for short?" Allen smiled.
The Golden Retriever then moved to nuzzle in Allen's open palm, beckoning it to pet it again, as a way to show its approval towards the name.
Allen grinned and reminiscent, thinking back on the very day where he had met Tim, which was also the day where he had made the acquaintance of Kanda.
Days, weeks and months have passed since then. Allen treasured all the moments they had shared together. He wasn't really used to having someone who would stay by his side for so long. Even though he'd gotten used to Kanda's frequently changing moods, being able to be on par with him when they were both arguing, and also knowing how to read the atmosphere around the older male to adapt to, he still had the feeling that there was something more to them rather then a platonic friendship.
"You know… I can't really describe how Kanda really is. We spend time together but most of the time he's just so quiet. He doesn't speak at all and I'm always the one doing the talking. Unless, of course, when he tries to insult me or something by calling me a 'moyashi'," Allen scowled. "It doesn't really feel right, you know? Kanda gives off this aura that he doesn't like having people around him. So why doesn't he mind me hanging around him? He's special to me, that's for sure. But am I… Special to him?" Tim gave a slight whimper and tilted its head, as if wondering what Allen really meant.
"I just don't understand this, Tim. He's so silent, but he still does give me some sort of indication that he's listening to what I say. Even though sometimes I could tell by how irritable he was getting, but even then, he'd still listen to me talk. For some reason, that makes me kind of happy. And… There's this feeling in my chest that I can't really understand how to tell him. I'm not sure what this is."
"Guess when it comes to this, I'll just have to wait until I can find the words to be able to relay how I really feel about Kanda to him then. But maybe, some other day."
A/N: This turned out slightly different from what I planned and pictured it. But it is still somewhat the story I wanted to tell. This chapter is supposed to be solely focused on their meeting and Allen-centric. And it's kind of rushed in places, I know. But I didn't want the story to be so long and draggy that it'll become a, well, drag to read. I might edit some pieces in this chapter though, cause it came out rather rushed. I didn't have much time to sit down and slowly let the muse come to me to write and I went to drag it out of its hiding place instead. I am totally swamped with work since my part-time job is at its peak period right now.
It's a chaptered fic! Don't worry! It's the first chapter out of seven, of course, each chapter following the respective themes for Yullen Week. Enjoy! And do let me know what I should improve on (the review button is right below this~!) so I can add it in when I get around to do some editing! :D
