Miss Allen Walker
Chapter Two: Kanda's House
"Mother… I'm home." Kanda glanced around cautiously, hoping to not see the red-haired man that had been coming by the slut-house the past few days.
"Yuu," the Chinese woman, a.k.a. his adoptive mother said, pleased. He froze to the spot, hearing the pleasant, almost sickeningly so, saccharine tone of the woman's voice. As much as he loved this sometimes very cunning mother of his, he knew when to run.
"Yes… Mother?" he said.
Anita smiled, tightening the red ribbon in her long, smooth hair. "Ah you see," she explained, "little Aoba just got her first period today and…"
"…you don't know how to explain it to her," he finished for her. She beamed, saying "exactly". Oh no, he sighed. He knew he should've walked around town instead, but no, he had to come home because his little sister asked him to. Anita stared at him hopefully.
"Can you help me out, just this once? You know I have a pleasure house to run, and I need to make more room for dinner tonight."
Kanda narrowed his dark eyes in disapproval. "That guy is coming over again?" he groaned.
"Cross," she corrected. "And his daughter, so be nice."
Kanda raised an eyebrow in disbelief. He pitied the woman that was forced to bear that man's child. "Cross has a daughter?"
"She's adopted." Oh, like Aoba and me. "Now, go explain the facts of life to your sister please."
"Mother, I do believe I have mentioned this over and over since the day we've fist met: I'm not a girl." Anita giggled and Kanda grimaced with an elegant roll of his eyes before setting off to his sister's room. At least Lavi wasn't here. He'd never hear the end of it.
"Onii-san!" the young, nine-year-old girl wailed, clasping her arms around his middle. "I'm dying!"
"Calm down. You're not dying," he said sternly.
She folded her arms, pouting, looking every bit the adorably childish little girl she was. She had wide dark blackish blue eyes and waist length black hair-a female version of himself if his bangs were slightly uneven. As Anita often said, Aoba was going to grow up prettier than all the… geishas in the whorehouse. "How would you know? Mommy said this was a girl thing."
Kanda rolled his eyes again. "Never mind what Mother said. This is all happening because of…" He felt his voice growing weak. He never had to explain The Talk to anyone, and it was all the more embarrassing when it was his little sister he was speaking to. "Aa. Never mind."
Aoba further stuck her lower lip out, quivering. "Iie! I want to know!" she shouted, promptly stomping her little foot. Now, how was he going to explain what a woman should be explaining to a girl? The door bell, to his great relief, rang, and a familiar, gratingly slurred voice called out a "hi Yuu-chan, I'm home!" At least there was someone he could push the "pleasure" of explaining what puberty was to Aoba.
"Lavi," he grunted in reply. "Come over here." The red-head looked confused, but followed the Japanese boy's order anyway.
"Is there something you want from me?" Lavi asked warily, looking back and forth from Aoba to her older brother.
"Remember last time you said you'd do anything to repay me because I saved your stupid ass from Tyki…?" Kanda said offhandedly.
"Yes…?" Lavi said, not liking where this was going. There was something… sadistic about the way his friend(that he sometimes drooled over)'s aura was flaring.
"I want-"
"Noooooo!" Lavi wailed. "I don' wanna be raaaaaped!" Kanda's anger flared as he snapped, knocking his fist up the side of Lavi's head as he shouted "shut up", mixed with cursing and Japanese. Aoba watched with amusement as she watched Kanda grabbing a fistful of Lavi's shirt, shaking him for all he was worth. Her brother finally settled down, releasing the dizzy redhead as said redhead flopped onto the floor. "Pretty stars," he said, his voice more slurred than usual. Kanda sighed, shoving the toe of his foot none too gently into Lavi's side. Sometimes, she pitied the redhead, forced to go through so much abuse when he only wanted her brother's attention. All she had to do was whine, maybe cry a little.
"Onii-san," she said. "If I'm not dying, why do I bleed?" Kanda froze, shifting his gaze heavily onto the recovering Lavi.
"I'm leaving you to explain to her, baka usagi," he said gruffly, closing the door to Aoba's room behind him as Lavi screeched.
Allen…
"Quit dilly-dallying, stupid girl, and get in," Cross said impatiently, looking back only once at the small fifteen-year-old girl he had taken in under his wing about three years ago. She glared at him, her temper flaring.
"I'm coming!" she replied hotly, stepping onto the stone steps delicately. She was actually looking forward to coming to this woman's house, having met the rather pleasant woman beforehand a couple of times, and dared to hope that Cross would pick and marry this woman. Cross knocked on the glass paned door, and a smiling, elegant Chinese woman opened it, inviting the both of them in.
"It's good to see you Allen, Cross," Anita said warmly as the pair shook off their shoes. "I heard from Linali that you're friends with her." She giggled. "It's a good thing you're a girl, you'd be skinned alive otherwise." Allen laughed, feeling twinges of sympathy for any males that had fallen for the sister of the "mad scientist". "She's in my son's room down the corridor, last door on the left if you want to see her," Anita said. Allen brightened, fast-walking over down the long hallway. "Yes, that's the one." Allen smiled at Anita before sliding open the door and heading in.
"Allen!" the Chinese girl greeted enthusiastically while the redhead and Kanda beside her glanced at said albino curiously.
"Hi Linali," Allen replied, glancing at the unknown redhead and Kanda, a little put off by the unnerving ever present scowl on the Japanese boy's face. She gulped. "So… which one of you is Anita's son? Kanda or the redhead?"
"Er, I'd prefer it if ya didn' talk 'bout me like I'm not 'ere," the redhead piped up. "And my name's Lavi!"
"…whether or not who's Anita's son has nothing to do with you," Kanda said, sipping at the green tea. "It's not as if that information would benefit you." Jerk, Allen immediately thought. She knew Linali said that Kanda wasn't that bad of a guy, but this was her second impression of the teenager. They say third time's the charm. Allen smiled as nicely at the moment as possible.
"I haven't introduced myself earlier, and for that, I apologize. My name's-"
"Allen Walker," Kanda finished. "Yes, I heard at the beginning of class."
Lavi jumped up, enthusiastically shaking Allen's hand, beginning to babble, much to Allen's nervousness.
Lavi…
Wow… she's pretty, was his first thought when he saw her. She was as beautiful as Kanda was, only completely opposite. For one thing, she was completely female, her snowy white hair a stark contrast to Kanda's own midnight black, and milky grey eyes that radiated with light and warmth, whilst Kanda's sapphire blue eyes had an icy quality of cold beauty. "Laaaviii!" OMG… don't tell me she's going to ask me about it again! "Hide meeee!" he cried, diving behind the older Kanda's back for coverage.
"Dope," Kanda snorted, shifting slightly to cover the baka usagi. Lavi was currently wishing he wasn't taller than Kanda.
Allen…
"Onii-san, have you seen Lavi-nii?" Lavi heard Aoba barge in, saying cutely.
"Linali? Who's she?" Allen asked.
"That's Kanda's little sister. Cute, isn't she?" Allen warily eyed the young girl, seeing the sweet smile on Aoba's face, and thought that Kanda might look nice if he smiled like her.
"I can sorta see the resemblance…"
Everyone heard Anita's voice ringing from the kitchen as she called "time for dinner". Lavi was the first to run out of the room, narrowly not bumping into Aoba. "Oh… so he was behind Onii-san the entire time…" she said. She pouted slightly. "Onii-san, after dinner, Mama wants you to try on one of the dresses that she designed…"
Again Allen looked toward Linali, her eyes questioning. Linali giggled. "You'll see later." Apparently this wasn't the girl's first time over. Why wasn't her insanely protective older brother around, making sure no men were being feely touchy or even looking the wrong way at her? "Oh, Ge ge's here. He's just in the kitchen." That explained it. There was no way that man with a sister complex would obediently sit on the couch back at their home twiddling his thumbs.
"Oh, I get it." This girl's never gonna get married… Allen stood up, following Linali.
"I knew you were coming over tonight, and you don't have a uniform right?"
Allen snorted rather un-lady like. "With the way Cross spends money on other things? I'm up to my neck in his debts. I don't think I'll have money to buy my own uniform for the next several months."
"You can have my old one. I've outgrown it." Allen felt touched, hugging the struggling older girl tightly, all the while repeatedly say "thank you".
Dinner was a quiet occasion, save for Linali's and Lavi's chatter, and sometimes their conversation quelled out to include Allen. She had quickly finished the delicious food-a plate of fried mangos and stir fried strips of beef, lathered generously with sweet orange sauce.
"So Lavi," Anita said with mock hurt. "You really won't model for me?"
"No ma'am," Lavi laughed. "I prefer to keep as much of my manhood as I can."
Anita sighed a stage-sigh. "I suppose I'll have to make do with my unwilling son then." Kanda promptly dropped his thick mother-of-pearl spoon, looking rather pale, and then glared balefully at a sheepish Lavi, hissing "I'm so going to get you for this". Allen looked up Kanda stood up, a murderous aura surrounding him as he stood before his mother. Anita held out a silky looking fabric as he stared with distaste.