Disclaimer: I don't own D Gray Man. I do not make money from writing this. Please don't sue. I'm quite broke.

Warning: Unbeta'ed. Possibly some OOCness. Clumsy POV shifts. This is an imagined version of Japanese high school influenced by the things I've seen from anime and manga, and input from YuKanda. I don't think it should affect the so called 'plot' but I should try to make it as realistic as possible.

Kuro-chan Chapter 2: Cliché School Life

Lavi stood at the gates of his new school with gleaming eyes. He was a bit early but there were already a few others walking inside to his surprise. He marched forward, bag in hand and grin in place. As he walked and took in the clean surroundings, his mind went back to the eventful train ride he had earlier.

His grin grew wider at the recollection of the bloody face. Frankly, he felt awesome when he made the clean flick of his manga straight to the target's nose not only because he deserved it, but because he was so sure that he'd get some retaliation of some form. And he almost did and he loved deflecting that too, by playing the cocky, not so innocent foreigner. Plus one-chan was a really cute damsel in distress.

"Excuse me, are you Lavi Bookman?"

Lavi turned to find a student with shocking white hair. Obviously a foreigner too, he was a bit shorter than Lavi, and his face looked kind with the smile he was wearing. "Yes, I am. And you would be..."

"Allen Walker. I am from your class. I've been assigned to show you around and help you find our classroom," Allen said.

"Walker-san then," he said and shook his classmate's hand. "How convenient."

"Just Allen. I'm British and that's what everyone calls me anyway," Allen replied.

"How did you know it was me?"

"You are kind of hard to miss," Allen replied gesturing to him.

"Alrighty then," he replied though he wasn't sure what the other meant.

They started walking and Allen showed him to the shoe lockers. They changed into their indoor shoes before Allen showed him around the school's most important places. It was quite a big school, privately owned and associated with one of Japan's most prestigious university. He had no problem passing the qualification exam but he knew the kids here were some of the elite high schoolers in the country. Well, at least that was what Bookman told him, the old man wanted to keep him on his toes as much as possible afterall.

Allen led him to the library, laboratories, classrooms, and corridors while talking about the numerous rules and schedules he needed to follow but with his kind of memory, Lavi mapped and remembered everything in his mind without a problem.

"So are there many people like us in this school?" Lavi asked as they walked to their own classroom. It was on the second floor and was overlooking the front grounds and gates. More students were coming in now.

Allen grinned. "Quite a few. There's you and me obviously, and we have a Chinese girl… and a black upperclassman, and some from the west to name a few. We have some teachers too," he explained as he placed his bag on a table near the door.

Only a few other tables were occupied when they came in. Allen pointed to one near the window at the back to indicate that it was free. Lavi deposited his bag there and the other sat on the one in front of him to keep him company.

"I see," Lavi said nodding. "I just came here a couple of weeks ago so I am not sure what to expect."

"Where are you from?" Allen asked.

"India, lately," he said happily. "I travel a lot."

The other nodded politely. "How do you find Japan so far?"

"Very interesting!" he answered immediately and a bit too enthusiastically that a few of the students shot him startled looks. Lavi smiled at them apologetically and noticed some of his girl classmates were whispering to each other while glancing in his direction.

"Don't mind them," Allen said. "They're nice once you get to know them but since you're new…"

"I understand," Lavi waved him off. "Do students here really come this early? I thought I would be with only three other people at most this morning but there was already a small crowd when I came in."

"Club activities are quite demanding especially at the start of the year," Allen answered. "Those in charge come in early most of the time, especially since today is the first day and they will need to get ready to find new recruits."

Lavi was aware of this and found it interesting. "Sounds like a lot of work. I got a list of clubs in my orientation packet that they gave me after I was admitted to the school. I thought they were joking about the variety they have."

Allen chuckled lightly. "Yeah, there's quite a lot. That's why you need to find a club that you are really interested in. Have you given it any thought?"

He had. A lot. "Nah… I'll check them out first," he said with a care-free tone.

The rest of the time was spent in cheerful conversation about the school and Lavi's travels. A person would occasionally come in and ask the class rep who the new boy was and Allen introduced him. Still, Lavi got numerous curious looks from other students who saw him but chose not to approach him. It was the hair, he knew. Red was eye-catching because of its long wavelength, just like the traffic light captures everyone's attention, and him talking to a person with a shock of white hair might have made it worse. Allen was a nice person though, and he noticed a lot of the other students were friendly with him. He was used to the curious looks he had been receiving too, having been put in the position of being the new guy quite a lot of times already.

Nothing was new, quite frankly. The rules, the faces, the social customs, the language, and the sights were all new, yes, but the change and the adjustment was normal for him. Lavi was quick to adapt to his environment, he had learned, and he was confident that he'd blend in quite well in no time.

And soon enough, he was sharing stories with a couple more of his classmates, laughing and chatting with them until he was surrounded by a small group. They were amazed by how fluent he was in Japanese. They thought he didn't know the language well enough so not many approached him at first but that changed quickly. Even sooner, he was everyone's nice guy buddy even before the bell rang.

It was almost too easy, he wished he wouldn't get bored.

Five minutes before the start of class, Allen peered at the window with a worried look. Some students were still walking through the gates and he seemed like he was looking for someone.

"What's the matter?" Lavi asked.

The other shook his head. "Nothing. My friend is just a bit late."

Lavi frowned slightly. "There's still time."

"She has never come in less than fifteen minutes before the time because she's the girl class rep," Allen said. "But yeah, she might just be a little late."

The British kid looked pitiful that Lavi felt obliged to comfort him. He engaged him with more questions, this time about cosplay and anime which the other knew quite a lot. His face brightened considerably until Lavi asked the question about Kuro-chan.

"Oh, you know about her?" Allen asked with a slight smile.

He nodded with a smirk. "I found one of her photos on a manga and I just have to see her. In the flesh."

At that moment, the door slid open and a girl with long hair in pigtails walked in. Lavi instantly perked up at the sight of the beautiful face, long legs, and black hair. His mind was threatening to erupt 'strike!' when she stepped aside to make way for another person and his rabid mind went blank.

Fuck

He was a boy (or was it girl?) with black hair longer than the girl's, tied up in a high ponytail. His features said he was Asian and his uniform said he was a boy, unless cross-dressing was somehow allowed in this school. He had an irritated, bored look on his face that made him seem royally and elegantly pissed at something as he ignored whatever it was the girl was saying. The boy rolled his eyes once he had his back on her and made his way towards Lavi which made him suddenly anxious. The boy froze when he spotted Lavi there, something like surprise gracing the his face. They locked eyes for a few moments before the new comer forced his gaze away to glare at Allen sitting on his chair.

"Get lost, Moyashi," he said stiffly.

Allen gave him a pained smile but quickly moved to let him take the chair. "It's Allen. I thought after a year you would have already known."

"Tch" was the only reply he got. Allen rolled his eyes and turned back to Lavi who was still stunned that he didn't even notice the pretty girl walking to Allen's side.

"This is my friend and this class' other representative, Lenalee Lee," he said and the girl smiled at him, saying 'how do you do.'

"Fine," Lavi said finally regaining his composure. He smiled brightly back and bowed gracefully like a proper gentleman. She giggled.

"This is Kanda Yu. He eats people," Allen added hastily, gesturing to the grumpy boy.

Lavi watched the back of Kanda's head as he shook it, almost seeing the eye-roll he was definitely doing. He grinned widely and leaned in front of his table. "Nice to meet you, Yu-kun,' he said happily while giving the Japanese boy's shoulder a pat.

Kanda stiffened and his eyes were cold as ice as he turned back to Lavi with a menacing glare. "Do not touch me again."

"Whoa," Lavi muttered as he raised his hands in surrender. "O-kay. No need to get pissy. Sheesh!"

"And it's Kanda," the other barked before turning back to the black board and ending their conversation.

Allen was chuckling lightly before he leaned a bit closer to Lavi and said, "Don't mind him. Has a stick up his ass since forever."

He nodded with smile and the bell rang. The class settled down as the teacher, a jumpy woman with large eye bags stepped in front of the class. Lenalee told everyone to stand and they did, followed by a synchronised bow that Lavi jerkily followed.

As the class went, Lavi tried to pay attention to the teacher, Ms. Lotto, drone about geometric theorems. He was of course familiar with the subject, having taken it a few years prior this moment. He found himself watching the rest of the class. Most were diligently listening and scribbling with heads down. Allen and Lenalee were taking down notes like the rest of the class. His gaze wandered to the person sitting in front of him and he was mildly surprised. Kanda had his chin propped against his palm as he watched the window to his left with a pensive look. He stayed like that for several minutes until Lavi's gaze seemed to have finally gotten his attention. He shot him another glare before fishing a pen and scribbling away with the rest of the class. Lavi smirked.

The school bell rang to signal lunch break and soon the teacher was stepping out while the students broke into small groups. Lavi was unsure of what to do so he stayed in his seat, pretty much how he had been since morning with his notebook open and with barely any notes. He watched quietly as Kanda got up from his seat and packed his things into his bag before fishing out a small plastic pack that seemed to contain bread. He glared at Lavi before inquiring, "The fuck is your problem?"

He straightened in his chair. "Nothing. Sorry, I didn't realize I was staring."

"Tch," Kanda said and got up. "Staring is rude, especially in this country. Stop it or it will earn you a beating."

Lavi watched the other walk away without another word, neatly dodging a few people before slipping out of the door. Staring was rude but it wasn't always an easy thing to avoid, especially since he's in Lavi's line of sight. Not to mention he had gotten a lot of rude stares himself…

"I'm sorry, Lavi," Allen called, snapping him out of his daze. He was walking to him in a rush with his packed lunch. "I had to help sensei with his things but I came back as soon as I was done."

"It's fine," Lavi said with a smile. He didn't even realize Allen was gone. "We have lunch in the classroom, right?"

He nodded. "But we can also eat outside if you want. I'll introduce you to some more people."

A few of the girls from class approached them before they can make it to the door. Lavi entertained them readily while Allen introduced each. They made their way outside and onto the rooftop with the girls trailing behind. As they walked, Lavi calculated the chances of seeing the antisocial long-hair again. It seemed as if everyone plus a few new faces that he could only guess were from the other classes was here to eat in their own respective circles. Allen was friends with Lenalee. Lenalee came in with Kanda so they must be friends too. Did friendship have transitivity?

Lenalee was sitting there with two other people he hadn't talked to yet. She introduced him to both. Allen and Lenalee opened their lunches and offered them to him. He happily accepted and offered the contents of his lunch box in turn. Kanda was nowhere to be found.

"Where's Kanda?" he blurted out.

"Probably sulking in a corner, as usual," Allen said and Lenalee hit his head with the lid of her lunchbox.

"He doesn't like people much," she explained, ignoring Allen's glare.

"So he doesn't eat?" Lavi fished.

"Of course he eats," she said. "Probably in the kendo club. He's a member so," she trailed off.

Ahh… Kendo huh?

"He does seem the kind that would want to keep to himself," he commented.

Lenalee laughed lightly. "Did he scare you, Lavi?"

"Apart from looking like he was about ready to rip my head off, he seemed quite normal actually."

Both she and Allen laughed.

"Don't worry. Kanda hates everybody. It's nothing personal," she told him with a wink.

Allen scoffed. "Yeah, everyone except you," he told her.

Lavi raised an eyebrow. "Really? You two are…?"

"What? No!" she said quickly, shaking her head and blushing slightly. "We're just good friends."

"Hmnnn…" he murmured glancing up the sky. He could tell they were at least friends, Allen too. The two were the only ones Kanda interacted with in the classroom though he seemed a bit hostile towards Allen. But hey, they seemed like they were both having small arguments with him and they got off without the murderous glare. That must mean friendship? "What's moyashi?"

Lenalee laughed and Allen's eye twitched. "It means beansprout," he answered nonetheless.

"Kanda likes to make fun of his height," she said.

"How nice. You are a friend of Kanda's too," Lavi told Allen.

"Nope, not really. That guy never did anything other than diss me about my height just because he has what? A few centimeters taller? Just he wait till I get my growth spurt," Allen ranted.

"Allen skipped a level so he's a year younger than everyone," she explained.

"Ah," Lavi acknowledged though his thoughts were still on Kanda.

It didn't make sense to him that a person would hate being around other people so much that he would stalk off and have lunch alone in some club room. Was he trying to act cool? He looked the part… He thought back to the BL manga he had read and decided that Kanda would make a very good uke. With the way he looked of course.

"Something wrong?" Allen asked after a while.

He did not notice that he was staring off. "Nah, just wondering," he said and turned to Lenalee, "do you read BL manga?"

She blushed and glanced at the other people around them who weren't paying attention before nodding with a smile. "Why do you ask?"

Lavi sighed. "Nothing. Just… wondering."

They exchanged looks before Lenalee dragged him away from the rest of the students. They found a relatively clear area and she went in. "You have a crush on Kanda?"

Lavi's eyes widened before grinning. "You would love that, wouldn't you?"

"Oh she will," Allen droned as if speaking from experience.

"Oh shut up, Walker," she muttered and turned to Lavi again, "all this questions about him and then suddenly thinking of BL, you like him?"

Who knows?

"Just interested, ma'am," he told her confidently. "I've never met anyone as grumpy as him nor who has hair as long as his. He's quite intriguing especially to a new guy, you have to agree."

"He is a mystery, I guess," she relented. She looked like he was going to say more before deciding against it.

He sighed. "Sorry to break your fujoshi heart but, no. I'm as straight as a pole. In fact, I just found a cute and pretty model from an ad this morning that I think I would be stalking on the internet tonight."

"Not to mention Kanda would probably punch out his lights if he ever tried coming on to him," Allen said and he totally agreed.

"You're no fun," she said.

Lunch ended and Lavi didn't see Kanda at all. When they walked into the classroom, he was sitting right there on his chair, head resting on his palm while watching the window. Lavi said 'hey' as he walked by him but he was ignored.

The trip back home was less eventful than what he had that morning to school. Lavi got his first taste of Tokyo rush hour home but he didn't think it was too bad. If one would keep out of the way and occupy their minds with something else, the trip was much more bearable. And Lavi had a lot to think about.

It wasn't that he was attracted to Kanda though he had to admit that the boy was pretty and Lavi was a man of unique taste but he had never considered himself being attracted to a person of the same sex. So no, it wasn't that. Something about him was drawing Lavi, like a faint sense of familiarity in a déjà vu sort of way.

He had some homework to do at home but that wouldn't take much of his time so he looked forward to an evening of relaxing unless Bookman gave him something else to work with.

He arrived at the small apartment unit that he and his guardian had been living in and was surprised to find it empty. It was a basic living space with a small kitchen merged with dining area, a small space for a living room, a bathroom, and two bedrooms. He removed his shoes by the door and walked into the small dining area. He saw a note on the table saying there was food he could heat in the fridge and that the old man had urgent business he had to attend to that might keep him till late morning tomorrow. Lavi shrugged, used to this already and made his way to his room.

This room was small, just enough to fit a single bed against the wall, a small study table where his laptop had been currently residing, a tiny closet, and a bedside table. All his things were already unpacked and neatly stored in the closet and drawers weeks ago though the room remained hugely impersonal. The walls were bare, no pictures on the tables, no posters or anything. He had learned not to get too comfy in all the places he had visited knowing that he'll leave later on, so he avoided putting anything that would make the space his. It was easier to leave like that.

After a quick shower and eating dinner in front of the TV, Lavi decided to get his school work out of the way. He was done in under an hour and he found himself in front of his computer, thinking of what to do.

Why not?

He typed in the words 'kuro-chan' and waited. Pictures of a cyborg cat appeared and he sighed with annoyance before adding the word 'cosplay' to his search. That got him smiling.

Kuro-chan had a lot of works. She posed as characters for various anime that he recognized and more that he had no idea about. There were also pictures of her in different maid costumes of different lengths, colors, and designs, in different hairstyles. Lavi saved one picture. And then another. And another. He kept on going until he decided to make a folder dedicated to the cosplayer on his laptop, not willing to make a virtual mess.

After he felt like he had every, or at least most of Kuro-chan's works, he started researching about her. He tried looking for a blog, a profile, an interview, or anything that would give him any information about her but he failed. There was absolutely nothing on internet about her that would reveal anything about the cosplayer except for her face. All her pictures only have the same watermark at the edge, a boot with wings. Some had photo credits similar to the one on his BL manga that said Dark Boots Photography.

Lavi sighed and looked up Dark Boots Photograpy. He found a small site that contained barely anything, just a list of the services offered (pictorials and post processing, mostly), list of past clients with testimonials, and a short portfolio of sample works where one of Kuro-chan's pictures was displayed. The only contact detail was an email address.

He rested the back of his head against his computer chair and slouched, sliding down until his knees hit the edge of his table. Something didn't add up.

"Just hold it for a little bit more," the girl said and Kanda wanted nothing more than to punch something at the moment. Still he held on for a bit fucking more, not moving as she pressed the last pin in his hair to secure the obnoxious blue green wig. Lenalee adjusted one of the floor-long pigtails slightly with a comb and smiled as she stepped back to admire her handiwork.

He was wearing a white sleeveless school blouse with green necktie, short black school skirt lined with green at the bottom, cut black sleeves that left his shoulders and upper arms bare, and thigh high black stockings and shoes.

Lenalee's smile was disturbing. "Sometimes I think you're too pretty. It's almost scary."

"You're the one to talk," he said as he stood from the make-up chair. "Besides, you put so much crap on my face that I barely recognize myself anymore."

She moved to the shooting area where she had assembled lamps that Kanda hated with passion because it turn any room into an oven, and a tripod earlier and began mounting the camera. "Your face is just so easy to work with, like a doll's."

"Let's just get this over with," he muttered with a 'tch.' She sometimes forgot that Kanda was a man and that being compared to a doll when you were a man was offensive.

"Alright," she said and pointed to the spot where the lamps were directed, "stand there and do a cute pose."

He mechanically did as he was told but interpreted 'cute' as 'pissed' so he ended up slouching and looking more like a thug than Hatsune Miku. She clucked her tongue and sighed.

"Straighten your back. Yes, that's it. Then bend your legs a little on your knees, nope, just a little. There. And point your toes inwards. Great," she muttered as she checked Kanda from her camera. She took a test shot and smiled. "Just cock your head a bit to the side and relax your arms. Perfect!"

A session like this usually took around two to three hours with most of it intended for makeup and putting on the costume. The actual photo shoot took less than half an hour as he did different poses with various props. He used to take much longer but as time went on, he had desensitized himself a bit and learned to just do things to end his misery quicker.

After the last shot with him not so innocently splayed on the floor (oh the things this girl's mind came up with), Lenalee called it a day. She was smiling like a psycho as she checked the raw shots on her laptop, giggling from time to time. He ignored her and made his way to dresser to start tedious process of removing all the gunk on his face.

Komui dropped by to check out their work, though Kanda knew well he was still paranoid that a 'cross-dressing man might suddenly jump his innocent sister.' He brought in drinks and snacks apologizing again for the mistake he did that morning. Kanda 'tch-ed' at him dismissively, noting that the man still had the small bump on his head that had resulted from the vengeance kick he had unleashed earlier at school.

"Everything seems in order in here," Komui announced needlessly and made his merry way out. Lenalee just shrugged.

"You seem more tense lately," she commented as she helped him remove the wig. "Is everything alright?"

Kanda's eye twitched. "Fine."

"How is he?"

His finger froze for a moment before continuing on removing a pin. "Not very good."

She gave him an encouraging smile from the mirror and squeezed his arm lightly. "It will be okay. Brother is helping and I know he'll do everything he can."

"Tch," he muttered under his breath as he removed the last pin holding his hair up in place. It fell like a shower of black rain on his shoulders and he tried to hide his face behind it.

But she saw the slight tremble in his lips and his eyes looking deep within the mirror but not seeing anything. Kanda was not good with expressing his feelings but she had learned to read these small details to know that there was storm within his uncaring façade. She tried to be comforting but not too pushy, a tricky mix at the start as he hated when others took pity on him. He was a strong person to have borne this kind of problem in silence all these time and she admired him for it, but she sometimes wished that her friend would just let go and let out some of those locked up emotions. But Kanda never did.

So Lenalee stepped away and walked to her camera, saying something about changing the lens. Kanda continued with fixing himself up and she didn't say another word.

"I'm going," he announced after he was relatively makeup free and had changed into his own clothes.

She smiled at him with a nod. "Thank for your hard work. The client will like your photos. They look amazing." He nodded back. "I'll transfer your fee to your account before the week ends."

He just nodded again and slipped out of Dark Boots Photography studio.

Author's notes:

This took so loooong! I'm so sorry for the wait. :( My distraction was the anime Shingeki no Kyojin and the Ereri fandom. I just couldn't take my eyes off it!

So yeah, this is probably littered with inaccuracies, typos and OOCness but I posted this in a hurry. Insomnia's next chapter is already half done so that one might follow soon. Anyway, thanks so much for waiting and hope you enjoyed. :)