Kanda didn't know why he was in Allen's mind but he didn't like it. He also didn't know why Road was there with him, he knew that Road liked Allen but in his mind? Road seemed to know why they were there but decided not to tell Kanda he only motioned to him to come over to her.
"Before you ask Allen does not know that you're here, he knows that I am here but I shall not tell you why. Shall we go? I don't really think he would appreciate it if you saw his memories, and if we don't get a move on we will. You cannot leave a mind when a memory is playing, we would have to wait until after it." Road told Kanda and Kanda agreed, he didn't want to see Allen's memories either.
They didn't like each other but he knew that was because they were kind of alike. As said before Kanda did not like Allen but he felt for him nearly as if he was a brother. Kanda was shocked by this thought and immediately put it out of mind; Allen was just that annoying bean-sprout, the short-stack. Kanda decided to take Roads advice and get out of there. When they were about two feet away from the opening in the mind where they would get out it closed and everything around them went dark.
"What's happening? Road you there? I'm not going to ask why we are here, well not yet, but what just happened?" Kanda asked Road and she looked at him sympathetically.
"Okay that was the opening in his mind that we came through in, when a memory is in motion all openings close. Memories play all the time in everybody's minds even if you don't know it, most of the time the memory doesn't get to the conscious mind or even the sleeping mind, just the subconscious so if Allen was awake at the time then things .... You know what, I'm gonna explain later." Road answered Kanda and then mumbled something to herself that Kanda did hear but pretended not to as he was clearly not meant to hear it.
"God I hope that time doesn't come up" was what Road had said, this confused Kanda but he decided he did not want to know what the girl was talking about. At least not now.
A scene came up and Kanda paid attention to it, it was of a boy about the age of ten, with Brown hair, silver eyes, and raggedy clothes. It was not Allen, he had brown hair for starters and he had no scar on his face, well that's what Kanda reasoned. That was until he saw the kid's left hand, and he remembered that the kid got his scar and white hair when he got cursed. He was curious to see what the boy was like before he got cursed, and was very surprised to see the nasty look in the boy's eyes.
An older boy came into view of them and Allen looked at him with hateful eyes, and then ran away.
"Oh no you don't, you little rat. I'm gonna hunt you down, I am stronger than you and am faster than you. I am smarter than you and you owe me, GET BACK HERE, DON'T MAKE ME HURT YOU." The older boy shouted after Allen before he himself started to run after Allen. Kanda wasn't sure about the other two but the boy did look stronger than Allen and was definitely faster at the moment. Allen made the mistake of looking behind him and tripped, he might have gotten away if he didn't look behind him but when Allen started to run again the boy was a lot closer. Allen was coming up to a metal fence with spikes. Kanda was wondering what Allen was going to do when he saw the boy jump.
The idiot! He's gonna get impaled on the spikes. Hang on he can make it? What the hell... ah! Kanda thought as Allen jumped put one hand round a spike and a foot on the railing itself. He then put his other foot in between a spike and was about to get over to the other side when the older boy grabbed the foot Allen had closest to him. There was a sickening crack and the foot in the boys hand went limp, the force of Allen being pulled backward made a spike slice into the arm Allen had over the fence. The older boy was going to pull him back all the way when he got kicked in the face by Allen's bad foot. Allen ended up jumping the fence and running off ignoring the terrible pain in his arm and ankle. Kanda just blinked. He was sort of impressed that Allen held back from crying out in pain.
"We're probably going to have to stay longer, memories normally string together, rarely is there one memory on its own. And the seam in the mind may open up anywhere." Road said and then sighed. Kanda held back a gasp, he had forgotten that Road was there with him. Road, sighed again.
"Sometimes it's hard to imagine that he used to be that boy and not the white haired gentleman we know." Road said to herself, not caring that Kanda was there with her. She sighed to herself again, and looked at the young Allen with longing in her eyes. Kanda saw that longing and then realised that she really did love the kid.
Everything melted away to show an Allen with white hair and a scar. He looked scared; he was running away from about a dozen men all at least twice his size. Being terrified and smaller not to mention younger Allen had the slight advantage but these men knew the territory and Allen didn't. Allen came up to a corner and skidded to a stop and turned to go a different way, another man had come. Because of the sudden change of direction the men were closer than they were before; Kanda noticed two of the men disappeared down a side ally as the others kept on running. Allen rounded another corner only to see the two men that had disappeared before. One of them punched him in the stomach making him double over and the other kicked him in the groin. Allen doubled even more if that was possible and sank to his knees.
Kanda winced, Allen was clearly scared of these people, although Kanda did not know why but Allen had reason, if they did that to, what, a twelve year old? What shocked him even more though was when they circled him all that was heard were Allen's cries of pain.
"You tell Cross that he owes us. He owes us big. If we can't get to him we can still get to his apprentice, that's you isn't it?" one of the men said and there was a whimper in response. The men dispersed and left the twelve year old child bleeding on the floor. Although Kanda would never say it his heart went out to Allen. Allen gritted his teeth and tried to get up; he tried to get up three times before he finally did. His face was bloody, his clothes torn, it looked like his leg and shoulders were injured, but Allen walked away.
"I really do hate Cross for what he made happen to Allen, but he did help Allen in a lot of unspoken ways, you know make his a little more street wise than he already was." Road said to Kanda. Kanda understood what she was saying. "I think this is gonna be the last memory in this string." Road mumbled to Kanda as the scene changed again. This time it was Allen on the floor against a wall looking scared and into the faces of four big men.
"Cross owes us, you're the closest thing to breaking him." The man on the far left grumbled, and balled his hand into a fist.
"Ah no, come-on what will it take to pay back the debt? How long will I have to work? Please." Allen said to them and Road smiled.
"He's good, he's gonna get out of being beaten up." Road whispered to Kanda. He just looked at the scene with a fascination.
"It will take a year and a half of hard labour. The hours will be fifteen hours a day six days a week." another man said sneering he too now balled his fist, Allen winced.
"Is there any other way? Other than that and you beating me senseless?" Allen asked and Road laughed. Kanda looked at her quizzically but she only shook her head and indicated for him to pay attention.
"Well there is gambling, if you're up for it." The third man said also balling his fist. Kanda now understood that this whole time in this memory he was trying to get to this moment.
"Urh. I can play poker? If that's what you mean?" Allen said in a small voice, Kanda had to admire his acting skills.
"But you have to give me a chance to get back the money Master owes and win some for myself maybe. Anything I still owe at the end I will try to work off and if I can't..." He said. Road smiled very brightly at this. She thought Allen was very streetwise.
A while later and Allen had won back most of the debt he owed. They weren't even half way through their game. Road then nudged Kanda and made him look very closely at Allen, when he was dealing. Kanda gasped when he saw Allen rig the deck and put four nines down his sleeve. Allen didn't win this round but he still won money, the next round he wasn't dealing but because he had rigged the deck he took all but one card out of his hand, put them to the side and when he was about to get four new cards let the fours slide out of his sleeve and picked them up, needless to say he won big that round. By the end Kanda had a new-found respect for the Bean-sprout, Road could tell this and just giggled. Even though Road was instinctively and enemy to Allen she respected him highly and really did like him, she knew by the end of the war, she would no longer be a Noah and would have a normal life again. Maybe she could have a normal life with Allen?
Everything went black and the image faded after Allen had paid back the debt and won for himself twice as much as Cross' debt, it was a little sad to see Cross take his money from him, but at least Allen had hidden half the money he had won. Road took hold of Kanda's hand and dragged him to a little pool of light ahead of them. She walked into it and pulled Kanda with him. When they got out of Allen's head they saw him sitting against a wall, eyes closed. They didn't want to disturb him even though they knew he was awake. As they were walking back Allen spoke.
"So how did you like my memories? I don't know why you were there and I don't want to. I don't know what you saw and I don't want to. You will not speak to me about it, unless there really is no other choice, as in life or death." Allen calmly said and at his words Kanda wondered what the kid had really been through. And how had Allen known that he and Road had gone into his mind and saw some of his memories? Road seemed to think that he wouldn't have noticed us if he was asleep and much less if he was awake. He did not show his questions on his face and just walked on, he may respect the kid a little more than he used to but he was still the stupid, annoying, Naive Been-sprout!
