1st Chapter
Yuu Kanda was walking past an antique shop when it first happened.
He was mulling over that afternoons meeting with his physics-project partner, Bookworm or whatever, when he caught a glimpse of the doll. It was very unremarkable, as all dolls were in his opinion, but then he saw that weird eye-patch/bandage design with the antenna looking headband and something clicked.
He didn't know what it was, even hours after the incident but it kept bugging him until the late hours of the night. The next day, he avoided walking that way again.
(1)
"So, I think we can make this cool mini nuclear bomb, but obviously it's not a real mini nuclear bomb. We'll just have to show the effect of the bomb…somehow…without killing anyone in the process and I think it's going to be totally awesome and now you're not even listening to me, are you, Yuu?"
Kanda's right hand twitched, the only indication that he was seconds away from committing something that would send him to jail, probably with the stupid rabbit ending up dead, too, but said rabbit was being an oblivious dork as usual. Without waiting for an answer from Kanda, he proceeded to list down the merits of using cats as a test subject for their project "keeping in mind, of course, that cats are adorable little buggers and we'll probably be prosecuted if we continue with this plan" and whatever else. Kanda kept his gaze outside, keeping his mind as blank as he could.
He'd been doing this a lot lately. For some reason his nights had been filled with vague dreams about…things. Weird things and weird events. It was driving him mad, if he were to be honest. There seemed to be no end to this. In fact, day after day, the dreams were turning more realistic, if it were possible, and also longer and more nightmarish. Just the other night he ended up not sleeping at all after waking up to a nightmare wherein he had been mauled almost to death by a clown/monster hybrid.
Meditation was really hard to do these days, especially with the schedule he had.
Today was supposed to be a good time to do so, but then this idiot here called for an 'emergency meeting' which ruined Kanda's plans.
"Hey guys. What are up to?"
"Hey yourself, beautiful." Kanda's eyes almost rolled out of its socket, so much was his utter disbelief that the rabbit thought himself smooth with that line. Lenalee just laughed.
"Seriously, what's up?" she invited herself into their table, pushing Kanda's bag out of the way, of all things, but said Japanese was too in love with his life to say anything offending. One can never be too careful when it came to this woman and her homicidal brother. "I see Kanda's being pouty again, no surprise there," she smiled when he shot her a look that could kill, "and you're being your genius self again." She patted the rabbit's head and the stupid ass wagged his bottom like a dog, which was a very contradictory way of describing this situation but who cares anyway.
"We're making the invention of the year, my dear Chinese friend," the rabbit-sometimes-dog exclaimed, attracting the attention of the whole world which was so not cool so Kanda decided it was okay to kick him in the shin. "Fuck that hurt!"
Kanda's expression was Not ImpressedTM. The rabbit thought it was his turn to roll his eyes-eye, really, the other one had been hidden under an eye patch since forever-at Kanda. "I'm totally saying it now, Yuu, if I win an Oscar out of this, I won't be mentioning you in my speech."
"Good." Kanda scoffed. "Cause I would never want to be associated to you in any way."
"Oh shit, that totally cut me, Yuu, I'm bleedin' here."
"Then do me a favor and die."
The rabbit blinked. "Wow, you're really pissed, aren't you?"
"You mean he isn't always really pissed?" the girl to his right quipped.
"Whoa, lady, this is no time to joke 'cause he's seriously going to maim you or something. Just look at that face!"
His face, when Kanda turned to check in the glass wall, was looking homicidal it almost made him cringed. In his defense, though, he'd been out of sleep since the other day and it was not doing good things to his hair, thank you very fucking much.
…and his mood, too.
"Whazza matter, my friend? Your right hand giving you troubles at night or something?"
"Fuck you." He replied. He was ambidextrous.
Kanda blinked when he caught something unusual outside.
"Maybe you should just leave him alone, Lavi." Lenalle said like he wasn't five inches away from her. "I mean, let him cool down on his own. Plus I think your presence here makes him more pissed, no offense."
"Wow, will it not offend you if I take the fucking offense? No offense of course. Besides, Yuu being this pissed only ever happened once. Do you want me to tell you about it? Well, it goes like this. You see there was a duck-."
Whatever it was the rabbit was going to say next died out when Kanda suddenly stood up, made a jump over Lenalee that would make that cow cry in envy and dashed out of the coffee shop. He pushed everyone out of the way, maybe sending an old lady flying but he wasn't really paying attention. He was trying to make it to the other side of the street and he wasn't really going to make it if that fucking light turned red now wouldn't he? He pushed a mother out of the way, not really caring if it died or not. He just had to make it across the street because-
A car honked loudly, almost running him over when Kanda made a step to cross. More vehicles followed and to Kanda's frustration, it blocked his view of the other side. A minute later and he was barreling his way through the thick crowd, almost tripping over someone's shoe in the process. He made it across but what he had been after was no longer there. He almost smacked himself. What was this, a scene in the movie? It was so cliché it wasn't even funny. Why did he have to run after something-someone-he didn't even know? Just because he felt something…
He jerked his head to the right and there! Just turning round that corner was a boy. With white hair. And Kanda was running after him. Whoever he was wasn't important because there was a tugging in his heart he hadn't felt since-
-because I am a small man, my heart is moved by what's in front of my eyes, not by what the whole world needs. I can't just abandon what's there in front of me-
"Hey, watch where you're going!" Someone bumped into him around the corner, upsetting his balance and making him fall on his ass. He gave the man the finger, ignoring the "tch, kids these days" and looking left and right to see if he was there. Who he was, Kanda didn't know, nor if it was really important to meet him. There was just something about him.
Kanda sighed, more irate now, scratching his head self deprecatingly. There was really no point to this, he decided. He never even got a good look at that person. All he saw was his hair. He turned around, intending to go back to the shop when a sound caught his attention. More specifically, it was the foreign lullaby coming from inside the shop he was standing in front of.
-I want to be a destroyer that can save-
The doll, which until that point was just a doll to him, was being cradled by a child.
"Mom! I want this one! Please, I want Lala!"
Kanda ran.
(1)
"Whoa, what was that about?" Lavi scratched his temple, clearly puzzled out of his mind. There were few things that could do that to him since has a genius but this; well this needed some Einstein level of reasoning to figure out.
"You're the genius here and you're asking me?" Lenalee asked. She picked up Kanda's bag and handed it to him; for safe keeping as well as keeping it as far away from her as possible, Lavi was sure. He loved Kanda, he really did, but some things really were not meant to be shared with best buds. He would never forget that incident with the tong and the squirrel and Kanda's bag, and apparently so did Lenalee. It was too traumatic to be forgotten. Seriously.
"He's never acted like this before. It's like his here but his not at the same time." Lavi contemplated this for a few minutes before deeming it long enough to make him look like a genius which he was but most people tended to question its validity. "At the rate he's going I'll be doing this project on my own which is unfair. I was relying on him to do the finishing touches of our mini nuclear explosion. He's good at that, you know. Explosions, I mean."
"Lavi." The redhead blinked when a hand descended on his head and proceeded to pat it. "You're really worried about him. I can see, you know. You were babbling."
"I was? Well damn." Lavi pouted. It was okay to do so because it looked good on him. He already checked. "I just don't get that guy sometimes. I mean it's okay to be cool and all, but sometimes he just forgets that I'm here." He sighed, already feeling the depression sinking in. A cough made him look at his friend.
"Are you sure you're just friends?" Lenalee asked cryptically.
Lavi paused, blinked, blinked again for good measure because, wow, was Lenalee implying what he thought she was implying, because that was just "Not cool, Lenalee! I mean, sure Kanda's hair is girly but I would never, and I mean ever, look at him with anything other than friendship in mind."
She coughed again, and she looked disappointed in Lavi's eye. God, women. "Just checking."
"Well," Lavi huffed, adopting an offended air, "Check all you want. I'm telling you that my conscience is clean and Kanda is asexual so nothing is going on between us, illicit or otherwise."
"Sheesh, I was just kidding," Lenalee held her hands up in defense. "I don't know about you, though, but have you seen his face? Those were killer eye bags he's got there. Maybe you were right about the right hand?"
"Asexual, remember? And now that you mentioned it, he's been pretty distracted during class, too. He's also getting ticked off by the most random things. I wonder why." They shared a moment of silence to contemplate these facts before Lenalee broke it with an exclamation.
"Oh! Oh! I forgot I was going to tell you earlier. Remember the archaeologists my brother's working with? The very famous group with members from all over the world?" Lavi nodded, not even trying to hide his smile at Lenalee's excitement. "Just the other day they discovered something really mind blowing! My brother's saying that it's really big in their field and I think it's even going to make the news one of these days. Can you believe it, Lavi?" Lenalee was visibly shaking with glee and Lavi just had to suppress a dreamy sigh. Man, she is gorgeous. Wonder why she thinks I'm gay.
"I think it's somewhere in Europe. There were lots of very old documents, and I mean old, 'cause he said some of it were written in languages that doesn't even exist in our time and then there were lots of…" At that point Lavi had stopped listening and was just shamelessly ogling her. Well if Kanda was going to be a bitchy bitch then the least Lavi could do was enjoy this simple blessing.
At the back of his mind though, he still wondered what the heck was wrong with the Japanese. He hoped that at some point he could get an insight of what Yuu was really feeling. He really wanted to help because, you know, that's what best buds are for.
Maybe he'd just confront him tomorrow.
(1)
Alone at his apartment, Kanda was methodically preparing his afternoon tea, keeping his mind away from irrelevant things. Deep breaths. In, out, in, out. He was succeeding for the most part and minutes later he was already enjoying his tea, sitting at the balcony and facing the busy street below. There really was no point in dwelling on past events. All he needed to do was to sit here, drink his tea and relax.
-blood. Blood everywhere and he was sinking getting tangled with all the lotusLOTUSlotus and fuck them all I hate them all I hate it I Hate the INNOCENCE-
He almost dropped his tea when a shrill sound broke his concentration. He carefully placed it on the table, absently noting his sweaty palms and sweatier forehead. He walked inside and picked his phone on the dining table.
"Hey, Yuu!" It was the stupid rabbit.
Kanda walked to his living room, unconsciously trying to make no sound because what if they were there and he didn't have his mug-
"Hey, you there, Yuu?" The voice held a hint of worry and Kanda wasn't even annoyed to hear it. He was worrying himself, too.
"…don't use my name, stupid rabbit." He said belatedly. The laugh he received in answer was shaky, as if the other man was unsure of what to do.
"Soooo," and wasn't that just obviously awkward, "what happened earlier? You saw your ex or something?" The Japanese gathered his tea and put it in the sink, it was getting cold anyway. He leaned back at the counter. He blinked a few times when he noticed that his heart had been racing a mile a minute all this time. He willed it to calm down.
"Nothing."
"…are you sure?"
And for one crazy second, Kanda almost started telling him about the dreams and the doll and the white haired boy. But the second passed and he shut his mouth. He wouldn't. It was not important and the rabbit would probably just call him crazy. In all honesty, Kanda wasn't even sure if he was still sane at this point.
"I'm sure."
"…"
"Goodbye."
"Hey-."
The rabbit was just overreacting. He was just overreacting. It was just a couple of stupid dreams anyway. He was sure that it would go away at some point.
Hopefully.
(1)
Three days of darkness
The lamp light flickered ominously, casting the room in semi darkness before lighting up again.
Earl of the Millennium
Drops of water continued to fill the place with sound, creating a rather eerie rhythm to the already creepy atmosphere.
Noah's family
There was a crack somewhere behind but it was probably just the old brick walls. This place was ancient after all.
Innocence
Akuma
Anti-akuma weapon
This was truly a marvelous discovery. He couldn't wait to share it to the whole world. They were going to be famous. He was going to be famous. He wasn't going to let anyone take the credit for this. It was all his.
The creaking sound was getting louder by the second and he spared a glance at the entrance of the laboratory? Library? Maybe a mix of both? There was nothing there, of course, why would there be? He focused his attention back at the ancient files in front of him. He could barely see anything! It was a shame that the lighting here wasn't working anymore. How brilliant was that? Electricity already invented and actually used in various ways during the 19th century. Oh he could already see it. The publicity, the fame, the fortune!
"Good evening."
Suman Dark jumped off his seat to face the owner of the voice. He had a hand pressed against his chest and he could feel that his heart was trying to beat out of it. When had this person entered the room? He didn't even hear a single footstep.
"Who are you?" indeed, this guy was unfamiliar. Maybe he was one of the underlings? He sure looked like it, with his stubbled chin and fat physique. Suman hated underlings.
"You don't know me?" The grunt asked, an eerie smile creeping on his lips. "That's a shame. You're actually quite infamous, Mr. Suman."
Of course he was. He was one of the head of this group. But who was this person to talk to him in that condescending tone? He had no right. "Who are you?" he asked again, this time taking a bold step forward even though the other man was a good head taller than him.
"I'm not really surprised you don't remember. After all," the man paused, tilting his head in a move reminiscent to a child's. "This is the first time we've met."
There was that creeking sound again. It was louder than ever and it was driving him insane. It sounded as if someone was clawing down the walls with thousands of metal claws. He took another step forward, patience already running thin. There was a lot to do and-
"In this lifetime, anyway."
That was the single most puzzling statement he'd ever heard and he was going to tell this man so but he couldn't. The clawing sound had reached a deafening height and then it ended with a wet plop. The taste of copper was suddenly rich in his mouth. He was coughing up blood and when he looked down there was a hand-a giant metal hand-sticking out of his stomach, spilling his intestines and turning his body inside out.
He looked up, the urge to scream very strong but his throat was clogged up with blood. The man was no longer a man.
"This is going to be our first move. It's going to be really fun this time, don't you think so?"
"W-who…ck…ar…you…?"
A booming laugh. "Earl of the Millennium, at your service. It was nice doing business with you."
There was another wet sound and the pain accompanying it was dull. The hand had pulled out, leaving a gaping hole at his middle. Blood splattered every nearby surface and coated the floor as Suman Dark fell. He was dead even before he hit the ground.
(1)
"Seriously, guys, I'm not going to accept late submissions. We've already talked about this. The due date is next week and that's final." This declaration was followed by protesting groans and a chorus of 'But Riveeer'. "No buts. And call me Professor Wenham, you bastards. At least let me feel like I'm being respected here."
"Yeah right." The one eyed rabbit said beside him. "River's like my big brother or something. And if I ever had a big brother, I'm positive that I'll never be respectful to 'im."
"Hey, I heard that, Lavi!"
"My bad!"
The last five minutes of class was spent in the same manner and it was all irritating to Kanda. Last night he had another dream again, though more mellow than the others. In fact, it was nothing important, just some kid playing the piano. He wasn't even sure if it was related to all those other dreams.
"Hey, Yuu. Wanna grab lunch with me?" The rabbit asked, bag already slung on his shoulder and waiting for him.
"No thanks. " He answered. The rabbit still walked with him, anyway, all the way to the cafeteria. There they met with Lenalee and Kanda was forced to endure half an hour of inane chatter.
"Hey, have you heard about that new shop down 5th avenue?" Lenalee asked around a mouthful of noodles.
"What, that music store? Totally. I was actually thinking of going there after school. I've been wanting to buy my own drum set, you know."
"Really? I thought you were more a flute person. Or maybe a triangle."
"Har har, Lenababe, you're really funny. But seriously, wanna come down there to look?" For some reason, the one eyed idiot was looking at him. A glance to the side confirmed that so was Lenalee. He had no energy to argue about useless things right now so he really had no choice but to agree.
And that was where he found himself after school, walking behind the two lovebirds-not yet but it was only a matter of time-and glancing impatiently at his watch.
"There it is!" Lenalee's irrationally excited voice exclaimed. There was nothing to be excited about the shop, once Kanda had taken a look at it. It was relatively small, just like the other shops around it and the place looked quite old for a newly opened store. There were a couple of violins displayed, and also a whole lot more other instruments but Kanda couldn't name any of it.
"I suddenly miss playing the violin." Lenalee said mournfully to his right. Lavi who was already opening the door turned back.
"You played the violin? Really? How come I haven't heard of this before?"
"Because," she said, pushing past him, "it's none of your business."
The bell overhead rang, signaling their entry. They were immediately assaulted by the smell of wood and wax and something sweet. There were a couple of costumers milling about and their chatter was drowned out by the sound of music.
Piano
Kanda's head zeroed in on the culprit immediately and his heart almost stopped.
So the little infant fell into a deep sleep
Among the grey ashes in the flames shining
First one, then two…
The player stopped, as if sensing his sharp gaze. Slowly, as if he was purposely teasing him, the white haired boy turned around. It was almost unsurprising when his eyes immediately locked with Kanda's. It was a familiar shade of grey, the one that belonged on a far off dream. And that smile…
"Welcome."
(1END)
This fanfic is written for fun only. I don't own anything except for the plot of this story. There will be grammatical errors and typos and I will deal with it if I can. Questions are welcome, of course. This is very clearly an AU-modern day AU to be exact- well sort of.