A/U:

Hello there! I'd like to know what people think of my stories! Reviews are appreciated! :D :3

1. Reviews are nice! =D

2. And ideas or suggestions for the creation of other stories are accepted, always like fan service + cute ideas!

3. I'd like to give a big thank you to all of the people that added my story into story alert and favourites, it was a big motivation! And I apologize for the delays especially this time! I know that this one was more than 20 days since I published the 2nd chpt :S and thank you all for reading it!

Chp. 3 :: The Noah Appear

Lavi woke up to the red evening sunset illuminating his face through the small curtained window next to where he slumbered. Still half asleep, through his half closed eyes he saw a blurry figure across the room. He looked around him to try and remember where he was, the entire room was painted in the red glow from the light.

The figure – who he made out to be Allen Walker – was reaching up to the top of the mahogany cabinet. Rubbing his eyes, he remembered where he was and why he was there. He gazed at white haired boy once more; he was still struggling to reach for a box. Lavi rose from the bed without a sound and stood beside the boy successfully nabbing the box. He handed it to Allen with a smile.

"Thanks," Allen said returning the smile, "err – did I wake you?"

"Nah," Lavi replied waving his hand loosely, "I slept enough."

"Oh! That's right! Come with me," the younger boy led him to the mini kitchen where they sat eating on the counter with two large platters piled high with sandwiches.

After they ate, they dressed warmly in preparation for the cold winter evening weather. Allen and Lavi ventured out into 'The Great forest of Arbenford' located to the east of the castle. It took about 20 minutes to walk there, during their walk, Allen told Lavi about the best places to look for the herb.

"They give off a kind of gleam or flow during nightfall. Since it's winter and it's already dark during evening, it'll be easier to find it since it blends in really easily with other plants. They also grow near small ponds deep inside forests." Allen said as they passed a tall wooden official post sign reading 'The Great Arbenford Forest', underneath it, it said that it may be dangerous to enter without proper preparation.

They were soon enclosed on a clear dirt path, which was often used, surrounded by grand majestic trees. Even during the winter, sounds of animals scurrying in the moonlight could be heard in the dark. Both Allen and Lavi brought their own lamps and specially made botanic bags to store important plants. They silently proceeded down the dirt path following the places they decided to look at from Allen's map. They passed two faint dirt paths 15 minutes in.

"Those aren't on the map; do you know where they lead?" Lavi asked peering through the dim streams of light that lighted their way.

"No," Allen said uncertainly, "I don't usually come to this forest often, and when I have, I don't think I've ever seen them before." They must be fresh… Allen thought.

They soon approached a clearing in the forest with a small pond behind a few trees from the path. They separated to cover more ground while searching. After spending an hour around the area and coming up blank, they decided it was time to head back. It was almost pitch dark now with the clouds covering the moon and it took a while longer to walk back because they were being extra careful not to trip over tree roots or rocks.

By the time they reached the castle's workshop, it was 11pm. Both Lavi and Allen were exhausted and quickly saying goodnight to each other went into their rooms. Allen hastily washed his face and changed into more comfortable clothes just about to collapse onto his bed when there were sounds of brisk footsteps approaching his door quickly followed by rapid knocking.

Allen hesitantly opened the door to reveal an out of breath prince. Kanda composed himself rather quickly turning his face away from the white haired boy, but not before Allen saw the slight anger and worry in his expression.

"What's the matter?" Allen asked sleepily rubbing his eyes. It was very rare and unusual that Kanda would come to him in the middle of the night. The only time he came was two months ago, but that time, he just left after looking all embarrassed and mad.

"…Wha-" He stopped, looking past Allen into his room. He seemed like he was thinking of staying or going.

"Hmm…?" Allen murmured leaning against the doorway. Normally he'd be wide awake and try to look calm but he was just too tired to do all that.

"Where were you this evening that you'd come in so late?" Kanda looked straight into Allen's grey eyes with a steady fixed stare. Allen stood up straighter slightly cocking his head to the side; he was more startled by the emotion in his voice rather than the directness of the question. Allen tried to process just what it was, it seemed as though there was… possessiveness?

They stood there for a minute or two not moving at all, but just staring endlessly at each other. When Allen opened his mouth to speak Kanda looked away scowling.

"Never mind," He said angrily starting to walk away. Allen stepped forward instinctively; he always thought the anger in his voice was directed at him, but this time Allen thought it sounded as if it was directed at himself.

"Wait!" Allen grabbed onto Kanda's arm; Kanda turned surprised frozen in place.

"Um… I was in the forest trying to find an herb." He said quickly.

"Which is why it took you this long?" Kanda asked gruffly still looking away.

"Uh, yeah, it's a really rare herb." Allen replied blinking, this was unexpected. "I still couldn't find it. That's all there is to it."

There was a brief flicker of a smile that passed through Kanda's face, so fast that Allen wasn't all that sure if it was just a figment of his imagination.

"Okay then. I was just wondering if you got kidnapped or something…" The older man trailed off walking steadily away. Allen stood there in a daze and retreated mindlessly into his room closing the door behind him. He slipped under the blankets, laying his head on the fluffy white pillow. He laid there with his eyes opened, he just couldn't fall asleep. But at the same time, his mind was way too tired to try and understand what was going on. He couldn't fall asleep until 2 hours later.

SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW

Allen was back in the garden when Lavi woke up from his sleep. The white haired boy was closely examining the new packets of seeds he received for his birthday from Lenalee. Lavi upon entering the garden spotted a pretty light pink flower on the pathway. He gently held it in his hand as he kneeled next to the young boy who was sitting next to a large basket.

Lavi smiled at Allen in greeting glancing inside the basket.

"Wow, there sure are a lot! Where did you get such a variety?" asked Lavi.

While you were sleeping, my friend gave this to me yesterday", said Allen smiling back at him. "I know almost all of the flower meanings in here, but some of them I'll have to search them up."

"Hmm… well then, I found this lying around. Do you know what it means?" He lifted his hand which still held the pink flower. Allen took it, delicately lifting it an inch above Lavi's hand; it didn't take long for him to remember.

"It's an alstroemeria, it symbolizes friendship and devotion. The leaves grow upside down, with the leaf twisting as it grows out from the stem, so that the bottom is facing upwards – much like the twists, turns and growth of our friendships." The young boy said knowledgeably.

"Hmm, it must be fate. I bet we'll be great friends." The red haired grinned happily. Allen returned the grin still feeling groggy from the lack of sleep.

While Lavi helped Allen plant Marigold seeds, the younger boy's mind was on the kingdom's prince, Kanda Yuu. Now that it was morning and his mind was clearer than it was when the strange event occurred, he felt somewhat uneasy. He felt the need to see him and clear up whatever needed to be cleared.

After they were done planting and washed their hands, they decided to go to the castle kitchen to eat breakfast. They were walking down the hallway and about to turn the corner when they heard footsteps around the corner. Allen was again reminded of the previous night and was unguarded when he tripped over a fold in the carpet.

"Oomph!" He felt two pairs of strong arms catching him before he fell. He knew that one was probably Lavi's – then the others' would be…

Allen swiftly regained his balance taking a few steps back.

"Thanks," He said laughing nervously. But his two saviours weren't looking at him, but at each other one with a nervous smile and the latter with a surprised angry expression.

"You!" The prince yelled pointing at Lavi. "What are you doing here?"

"Yuu-," He was interrupted by Kanda unsheathing his sword and pointing it at him.

"I told you never to call me that," He said gravely.

Allen watched this bizarre exchange silently thinking, 'what the heck is going on here…?'

"Kanda, I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't kill my guest," the white haired boy said carefully avoiding the sword while separating them. The raven haired man's eyes flickered over to him now.

"What? Do you even know who he is?" He asked with an eyebrow raised questioningly. Now that Allen thought about it, he didn't really know much about Lavi, but he couldn't let Kanda know that.

"Yeah, he's Lavi Istez, a friend of mine." He said with as much confidence as he could muster.

"You know I could have him arrested or better yet killed for being here." Kanda said bluntly. Seeing the blank face on Allen confirmed that he didn't really know anything about the redheaded traveller.

"The king would never allow that, you know our kingdom's are on friendly terms." Lavi said. Allen was really lost now.

"The king is comatose and has been for the past several months which means that I am basically the king. As for the friendly terms, there are still rules and regulations to follow you know." Kanda sneered.

"Could we talk about this somewhere else? I'll tell you everything – and Allen's involved in this now too, so he should know," Lavi glanced at Allen apologetically.

They sat in the empty kitchen around the large table with a mountain of food on the centre. While they all ate – mostly Allen – Lavi told Kanda why he was here in Arbenford and to Allen, about his background.

"Okay, so you're the prince of Iusidalara…" Allen repeated nodding slowly, nibbling on a dango then swallowing it almost whole.

"So when are you leaving?" Kanda asked tapping his fingers on the table.

"I told you, after the herb is found and the potion made. Don't worry, since we're living together and al-" Lavi was interrupted by Kanda abruptly standing up slamming his hands on the table. He glared angrily at Lavi, so hard that Lavi cleared his throat uncomfortable and took a bite of a sandwich.

"What do you mean you two are living together?" Kanda hissed through his teeth.

"Calm down, Yuu, it's not like we've eloped or -", the prince had shoved the sandwich Lavi had been holding into his mouth almost choking him.

"Kanda, if you would help then the whole process would be a lot faster," Allen suggested. If their squabbling went on any further, one of them would probably get hurt. And maybe if they spent time together, Kanda would put aside their differences.

Kanda sat back down silently eating his soba noodles, after he finished and laid his chopsticks neatly in his bowl he made up his mind.

"Fine, whatever will get him out of here."

SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW

After they finished breakfast, they planned where to go this time. The next closest – but still deep in the forest – pond was going to take them an hour to walk to from the castle in total, so they decided that they should pack in preparation for the trek. In the end, Kanda was with Allen in his room to get more botanic necessities.

"How does this plant look like anyways?" Kanda asked leaning against the wall holding the one strap backpack Allen gave him previously.

"Oh, right!" The white haired boy said smiling sheepishly. "You can't find it if you don't know how it looks." He leafed through a small pile of papers on his bedside table and handed him a picture of the herb.

"It kind of glows in the dark, which is why I came back so late yesterday," Allen said slowly his back turned to the older man shuffling through his drawer. When there was no comment from the prince he went on.

"But we're still going to leave after we're done packing because we need to find it as soon as possible."

Allen gave the basic necessary items to Kanda who stood there scanning the paper with his eyes.

"Err, what is it?" Allen asked.

"I think I may have seen this once before…" Kanda said uncertainly. "It was only once and about three months ago, so it might not be it."

"Where did you see it?" Allen asked excitedly.

"I used to go training in the forest every month, and there's this trail that leads to a small waterfall which was connected to a stream, not too far off from there, there should be a few under a really big tree."

"The last time Lavi and I went to the forest we passed two faint trails that weren't far off from each other; do you remember where the trail you went on is?" They had to be accurate if they wanted to find this herb soon.

"Not really… There was only one trail last time I went." Kanda said putting on the bag.

Lavi, Allen, and Kanda met up in the doorway to the workshop packed with supplies that surprisingly didn't weigh much. To waste less time and energy, they decided that Allen would go to the first trail and Kanda and Lavi would go to the second trail and meet up at the entrance of the first trail after an hour to compare their results. Allen was secretly hoping that the two of them might become friends or at least more friendly to a degree while they were alone together.

It was still bright out so they walked quickly enough for it to only take about 15 minutes to arrive at the forest. 5 minutes in, they were at the first trail where they separated. They all silently recorded the time in their minds glancing at their watches.

"Remember! An hour!" Allen said enthusiastically looking back as he began walking into the forest. He soon broke out into a fast sprint for 10 straight minutes before hearing the sound of water, soon arriving at a small waterfall. He walked down the stream for a few minutes before he saw a big tree and ran to it with high expectations. He fell to the floor quickly examining the greenery around the trunk of the tree.

Then he saw it, the herb they've been searching for – the cat's claw. The herb looked just like the picture, the thick green leaves and stems – there was a rustling in the nearby bushes. But Allen was too preoccupied with unpacking his bag to notice. Allen had a big grin on his face as he successfully packed the herb into his backpack putting it on. He stood up and turned around to leave but almost bumped into a tall stranger who stood smiling.

This person had ivory skin, wavy black hair, odd glasses and wore suspenders. He also held a basket of delicious looking apples. In Allen's haste to find the herb, he forgot about his hunger. He hadn't eaten for 5 hours now and ran around a lot so his appetite was bigger than usual. The tall man watched him with a happy expression.

"Why, hello there! Fancy seeing you here." He said jovially. "You look hungry, here, why not have an apple? They're already washed." He held out the basket at Allen who took one happily.

"Thank you, it looks really good." Allen said, he was always friendly to anyone he met and this person was being very friendly himself. "I'm Allen; do you live near by or something?"

"I'm Tyki, yeah, actually I live just behind those bushes over there-" he said pointing to the bushes beside them. The bushes rustled again and out came two people of equal height. The two were dressed in rock style attire, one had long blonde hair, and the other shorter black hair. In spite of the chilly weather, they were both dressed not so warmly; they were grinning and stood on either side of Tyki elbowing him in the ribs.

"What are you two doing here?" Tyki sighed exasperatedly.

"Are these two your relatives or friends?" Allen asked taking a bite of the apple.

"Hmm…" Tyki smiled looking satisfied, "Yeah, something like that, they're like my brothers."

"I'm Jasdero," the blonde one said snickering.

"David here!" The black haired one said lazily raising his right arm.

"Nice to meet you two, you guys should try Tyki's apples, they're really great!" Allen said taking his third bite. Tyki looked a bit surprised as Allen continued to chew. But looked relieved when the young boy finally fell to the ground, unconscious. David whistled.

"Wow, that took longer than we thought. So what're you planning to do with him?" David asked leaning against Jasdero.

"Okay, if you two help me keep him a secret, I'll do your chores for the next month." Tyki said seriously. The two boys nodded eagerly. "We need to hide him and keep him a secret from Road and the earl. I had my eye on him first and no way in hell am I gonna give him up." He had a mischievous look in his eyes as he carried the boy gently in both his arms.

A/U: I'll really try and update soon this time! And thank you all for reading this and reviewing! *^* ILUV!