I cracked open my crusted over eyes, feeling as if I hadn't opened them in years. My entire body felt like a dead weight and my arms were like rubber, lying limply on the ground. Pushing myself up once I got a bit of feeling back in my arms, I sat upright with my bank against the wall once more. My head was spinning, but not in a nauseous way, more like as if I spun around in circles a billion times. Everything looked so cool, it all blurred together into one messy blob. It was exhilarating, the nauseating effects would come later. I grinned to myself stupidly as I stood up, almost losing my balance, preventing myself from landing on the floor face first. Using the wall as leverage, I hefted my body upright as I tried to regain my bearings.
When I glanced at the clock that was situated on the coffee table and my happy mood instantly vanished. It was only one hour left before I'd have to leave for work. Honestly, I had no desire to go, but it was a necessity if I wanted to have a warm place to sleep at the end of the month. Black Order, the casino, needed all of there workers to be sober and attentive, but they won't get that from me today. Lenalee and I take the same shifts so we can cover each others backs and help in case anything dangerous happens. As I said before, we made a choice to stay together and we're sticking to it until the end.
OOO
I stepped into the casino after changing into my uniform, and couldn't help reminiscing about my dream. I don't understand how I lasted three years working here without losing what was left of my sanity. I left my adopted family at eighteen and have been working here until my current age, twenty-one. Everything was too bright, too noisy, and too aggravating.
The lights from the machines burned my retinas while the dimness of the rooms made me need to look harder, to distinguish open space from actual people. I walked past all the slot machines, straight to the back of the casino, where all of the poker tables were. The back is for big gamblers, putting high stakes and going all in. Some games even ended with fist fights and can become quite dangerous. I was pretty good at close combat, so the manager thought it best to put me in one of the high-stake tables. It wasn't the highest, but more than enough for me to improve my combat skills in just a week.
I stepped to my assigned table and pulled out the set of cards from its place underneath the table. I took off the closed sign made of plastic, and placed it under my chair. Shuffling the cards like it was second nature, I distributed it to the people who were already here. There were only three players this time, but I could see a few customers lingering around the edges of my table, most likely checking out how much this table was worth. I gave the players a practiced kind smile and placed my black fedora on my head. Tipping it just enough to hid my eyes so that only the people sitting could see them. More privacy.
As I shuffled the cards game after game, I thought about the dream I had last night again. It felt so real and it was definitely fun. Much more fun compared to real life anyways. Usually the only dreams I have are ones to do with "master". A cold shiver went through my spine at the thought and one of the players looked at me oddly. The demon in my dreams was a man who had red hair and half is face was covered by some odd sort of white mask. It looked pretty stupid to me but the girls thought otherwise. He would constantly buy alcohol and play around with various women. Not only was that bad, but I also had to pay for his debts! I hardly have enough money to keep myself alive, how was I also had to pay for him!?
The dream I had last night…it was like playing a video game. I wouldn't know about the dying part yet, but it was definitely fun enough to be addicting. The man my mind made up was beautiful, and just my type too! As I fantasized about the powers of the drug, I heard one of the players trying to catch my attention and jumped back to reality.
As I shook the remnants of my daydream out of my mind, I noticed a girl was looking at me. At first I thought she was Lenalee, with long black hair, but soon realized it was just a stranger. Her hair was tinted more towards red than green. She stood at the edge of the crowd staring at me, and standing alone.
I shuffled the deck of cards again, momentarily looking down and as I looked back up, she gave me a smile. It wasn't a Hey there kind of smile, it was more of a I find you really attractive, you want to meet up later? kind of smile. I almost laughed to myself but held it back. I broke eye contact and didn't give any sort of reply. I hope she got the point. Sure she was pretty with long black silky hair, chocolate brown eyes, an hourglass figure, and pouty lips…okay yes. She's perfect. Just my type if you know what I mean. It's still a really nice feeling to be liked by such a hot girl though. Just because I'm…you know, doesn't mean I don't think some girls are hot.
OOO
I unlocked my door and slammed it closed. I didn't mean to take my anger out on the door, but what else could I do? Dropping my keys and belongings down, I strolled to the kitchen area and looked through my small fridge. Nothing. I sighed and closed the door. Just as I thought. I didn't have much left from last months rent. You might ask why I don't share an apartment with Lenalee if we're so close. The answer is simple. She shares her apartment with her brother and I thought it would be awkward if I just butted in. I wanted Lenalee to think I was fine off on my own and she didn't have to look over me all the time.
I decided to skip dinner and just buy a coffee for breakfast tomorrow. My stomach growled loudly in hunger but I ignored it. In a few hours I would feel the effects of a starving stomach, but for now I was okay. I was used to the feeling for the most part anyways. As I walked past the couch, I noticed something on the coffee table. That's right. As if in a flashback, I recalled every aspect of the dream, shocking me. My memory was never this good. I thought of the boy and smiled goofily to myself. Even though he was a fake, I would still take the pleasure of seeing him.
OOO
My mouth opened wide as a yawn escaped and I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. I looked around and found the familiar setting. My entire body felt so warm and cozy, it was nice. As I sat up and found that I was sleeping on the bench where I found Kanda. I breathed in the crisp scent of drying leaves and looked around for Kanda. At first I was a little worried that he left without his coat, which I was currently using, before I looked down. He sat on the ground in a black sweater and jeans. His legs were crossed and it seemed like he was meditating. I thought it would be a good idea to not disturb him, but I was never one to take my own advice, or others.
I stood up as quietly as I could and squatted in front of him. I put both hands on the bench, on either side of his shoulders, and I leaned in until my nose was almost touching his. I held my breath and smiled.
"Boo!" I shouted and his eyes flew open. His hands jerked up into a defensive position and he flinched at our closeness.
"What the hell?" He yelled at me and I moved away, laughing. I wiped the tears away from eyes and snickered a bit, still trying to get over his reaction. Who new Kanda could show so much emotion. He growled at me and stood up, picking up his coat and wrapping himself in it. When Kanda and I were both using it as a blanket it seemed so floofy and soft, but once he put it on, it seemed a lot thinner and almost fit his shape. I stared at the coat in awe, it's magical.
"Well since you're finally awake, let's go." He turned his back on me and walked down the leaf covered path. I stood up and followed him, a few steps behind at first but soon caught up.
"Shut up." I frowned at him. "Where are we going?" We came to the end of the path and in a few moments we would be in the middle of the city again.
"Walking around. We need more members than just the two of us you know." He stated it like I was an idiot. I let out a breath and ignored him, it looks like someone's being bitchy today. As we walked down the streets, going from the better part of town to the darker areas, I couldn't help but let my mind wander. What would Kanda look like as a female dog?
I looked around at my surroundings in wonder. It was shabby to say the least. The buildings were dilapidated and on some buildings there were large holes as if some person kicked it all the way through. I stuck a bit closer to Kanda and surveyed the area nervously. If he noticed, he didn't say anything. There were very few pedestrians walking around while everyone else seemed to be part of one group or another. By groups I mean gangs of course, or at least it looked like it. I heard loud shouting come from my right, one of the alleys.
Kanda and I both stopped to peer in. It was dark but the outlines of people were unmistakable. There was something harsh that sounded like a punch before a girl shot out. She almost tripped on the sidewalk in her hurry, but righted herself just in time. She didn't look injured so it was safe to assume she was the one doing the punching. That's when I realized just how familiar she was.
Her black hair tinted green, was let loose instead of put into two high ponytails on either side of her head. Instead of her signature frilly dresses, all her clothes were black and white. Ranging from her tight black band t-shirt underneath a warm fuzzy black and white sweater. She wore ripped black jeans and leather boots. She wore lots of necklaces and bracelets with spikes, along with eyeliner around her eyes, making it look like panda rings, but it still looked cute, but in a creepy way.
"Lenalee!" I shouted and she looked at me in surprise. She straightened herself out and walked over to us, flipping the bird at the person in the alley as she passed, who then started swearing at her.
"Allen!" She stopped in front of us. "I didn't know you were here." She regarded us coolly, which amused me to no extent. She would never act like this in real life.
"Neither did I." I replied.
Kanda stood off to the side watching both of us, clearly feeling left out of the conversation and confused. She suddenly grabbed both of our hands and dragged us both back to the way we came. I saw Kanda out of the corner of my eye trying to shake his hand out of her grasp, but to no avail. Lenalee stopped dragging us after a few metres and continued at a normal pace.
"What happened?" I questioned her and got startled when her expression turned sour.
"I left the group." She replied simply but I knew it was anything but. She looked over at me and sighed. "Hard to believe, but I'm in a gang. Surprise." She lifted her arms in a dramatic flourish, faking astonishment. I laughed at her expression, which was extremely hilarious, especially since she was wearing so much black makeup.
"Why don't you join our group then?" I asked her and she looked over at me, shocked.
"Since when were you in charge of a gang?" She looked incredulous and my gaze shifted over to Kanda who was walking a few steps behind us, not wanting to intrude on our conversation.
"Since yesterday." Shrugging, I jerked my thumb back to where Kanda was. "He was the first member." Kanda saw my hand movement, but couldn't hear what I said. He glowered at me, confused, but I didn't bother explaining the situation to him. She grinned at Kanda before accepting my invitation. Great, now I have two members.
"I can get someone else to join you. She's one of my friends. She doesn't fight much, but she's amazing in the medical area." Lenalee informed me and I nodded along with her words.
"What's her name?"
"Miranda." Miranda? My brain stopped for a second before whirring back to life. I swear I heard that name somewhere before. It was on the tip of my tongue. My fingertips lightly touched my lips as if it could help me think. Was she a colleague from work? No. I would have known. Despite being casino employees, we're like a family. Everyone knows everyone else, by first and last name at least.
"Moyashi." My skin prickled and I glared back at the person who called me by the nickname. My friends back in high school would always call me that because I was a midget and all white.
"What did you say?" I ground out at Kanda through gritting teeth and narrowed eyes, before realising he wasn't even talking to me. My posture straightened and I lost the deadly aura. He was staring at an advertisement for ramen with extra bean sprouts. He glanced over at me just to see my deadly glare and smirked. Oh damn.
"So your nickname is moyashi, eh?"
"N-no." My face flushed and I pouted, facing the other way.
"Mo-ya-shi." He sounded the syllables slowly and teasingly, grating on my nerves. My eye twitched and I heard him chuckle behind me. During the short time Kanda and I had known each other, we already formed a strange relationship. We had a knack of pissing each other off and getting into arguments, but we never really cared. I guess it was just for show, despite the fact we were missing an audience.
"Shut up!" I yelled at him and stomped away, cheeks flushing angrily. Damn bastard. Bakanda. I heard Lenalee laugh at our antics and I couldn't help relaxing, just a bit. It's going to be like this everyday now, isn't it? I could get used to this.
A/N: Yay. J'ai fini :3 Have fun and please follow the story :D Of course reviews would be appreciated.