The Price of That Wish

…

"So you agree?"

"…it's not as if I have a choice, is it?"

"You could always run."

"I've tried that."

A dark smile. "That's certainly true. How did you like it?"

No response.

"That's right, isn't it? There's no place to run. You will never escape. From the moment you cast that accursed spell, you bound both your body and your soul to this fate, to this misery."

"…I know that already."

"Don't worry. It could be worse; you could have fallen to the other side. At least I have the decency to allow you to die."

"Eventually." A bitter laugh.

"That's right, eventually. But not now." Not until there's no longer any use for you, at least.

…

Two days had already passed, and Kanda hadn't seen any sign of the bean sprout from before. The papers that he had tried to read still lay by his bed, untouched. He hadn't had the heart to read them, but it was probably fine, he reasoned.

A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts, and he grudgingly rose out of his chair to open the door. He was in a bad mood, and he hoped that whoever was outside would be someone he could murder safely. His hopes were dashed – it was Daisya, his foster brother.

He stepped outside with sword in hand, but Daisya, recognizing his murderous irritation, quickly sidestepped the blade with a cheerful "Yo!" before swinging an arm around his neck in greeting, effectively locking his movement. Kanda glared.

"Sheesh, Kanda, you could at least greet your beloved brother with a bit more affection or something." Kanda's only response was to continue glaring.

"Alright, alright," Daisya hastily retreated, laughing. "So, are you ready?"

"Ready? For what?"

Daisya looked at him blankly. "For what…? The mission, of course."

Kanda immediately recalled the papers at his bedside. "Explain. Now." The blade of his sword flashed forward to greet Daisya's face threateningly.

"What? So you mean to say that the Kanda, Kanda Yuu, didn't read the job detail? This is abs—"

"You have one minute, Daisya. No, thirty seconds."

"Okay, okay! You're touchy today." Daisya gave him a look of mock disapproval. "We're supposed to guard to the main house for a couple of months or something. Tiedoll's direct orders."

"The main house? We have to live there?" Kanda made an exasperated noise; he hated living in his foster father's extravagant, "art"-filled mansion. "What could possibly be so important?"

Daisya shrugged. "Beats me. We'll know when we get there, so hurry up."

Kanda shot him one last scowl before grabbing his coat and gliding out the door, leaving Daisya to catch up with him. Even walking as quickly as they were, the trip to the main house took several hours, and Kanda's sullen mood kept even the talkative Daisya quiet. The short man still couldn't resist making a couple of snide, whispered comments, but Kanda chose to ignore those.

Upon reaching the mansion, one of the footmen spotted them and quickly alerted several of the servants inside. Within moments, a butler had scurried to the door before stopping to adjust his bow tie and bowing elegantly. Wordlessly, he escorted the pair through several hallways until they reached the ornate door that led to the music room, where he called, "Master Tiedoll, they've arrived."

The heavy door opened just a crack, and Tiedoll poked his head out delightedly. "Kanda! Daisya! I haven't seen you since before my last trip to Barcelona!"

Kanda's face twitched. "Skip the useless commentary and tell us why the hell we're here, old man."

Tiedoll gave him a pitiful look in response, and Kanda backed away slowly in irritation. Finally, the old man relented and sighed. "They're Leverrier's orders, actually. Top priority. We're taking care of a certain boy who is to masquerade as a servant here. A pianist, in fact. Your job is to protect him."

From what? Kanda thought, but he simply made a noncommittal noise and moved to open the door. Before he could, though, Tiedoll stopped him.

"Kanda…"

"What is it now?"

"Be nice to him, okay? Daisya, you too, but Kanda especially." Kanda looked at the old man suspiciously, but Tiedoll just shrugged. "He's been through a lot. Besides, you need practice in being nice."

That was the last straw. Kanda's patience snapped, and he pushed past Tiedoll and kicked the door, which flung open and hit the wall behind with a loud bang, revealing the bright chandeliers and the ivory piano inside.

Kanda froze.

The boy sitting at the piano had his back turned and was speaking to himself, but there was no mistaking that snowy hair and melodious voice. At the sound of the door, he turned around to see what had happened, and the shock that flitted across his face must have matched Kanda's. Several other things entered his silver eyes – horror, fear… resignation? – and Kanda scowled. Was it really such a bad thing to see him?

Just as quickly, Allen rearranged his face into a composed smile and said as if they had never met before, "Good morning. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

He still hadn't asked for Kanda's name.

Kanda's face twitched. "What do you mean, make my acquaintance? We—"

"Kaaanda! What did I just say?" Tiedoll groaned, almost tackling his foster son as Kanda's eyes widened in surprise. He shot a look at the bean sprout sitting at the piano that said this is not over, brat! before turning back to yell at the old man. In the midst of the commotion, Allen quietly slipped out of the room from the exit on the other side and sighed, resigned.

It was probably his punishment for daring to break that rule.

The echoes of angry yelling could still be heard even as he entered the kitchen. He glanced around curiously – it was a much bigger kitchen than any he'd seen before. The mouthwatering smells prompted an eager rumbling response from his stomach, and he heartily agreed. "Is there any food?" He asked.

A couple of the cooks looked up and recognized him. "Oh! Master… Walker, right?" One of the girls blushed furiously, and he tilted his head. "Um, yes, yes, there's plenty of food… Tiedoll had it prepared for you already."

"Really?" His eyes lit up. "How thoughtful of him." He gave her a grateful smile. "Just Allen is fine, really."

"Oh! Um, yes. Right." She gestured at a door across the room. "It's all in there."

Without a moment's hesitation, Allen crossed the wide distance between him and the precious, precious food and opened the door. He gasped in delight – there really was enough for him here. Heaps upon heaps of heavenly delight. He didn't waste any time looking and dug in.

Even as he ate, though, the memory of Kanda's shocked face wormed its way into his thoughts, and he sighed just as he was about to lift another bite of steak into his mouth. He set his fork down heavily, his appetite suddenly gone. Reluctantly, he got up and made his way into the halls, wandering around the huge mansion slowly. Within minutes, he was lost.

Just as he was about to give up, he heard the unmistakable sound of Kanda's frustrated yell, and he quickly hurried over. From behind a wall, he saw Daisya being ejected from Kanda's with unusual vehemence and a stream of angry invectives. When the sound of Daisya's footsteps had faded, he cautiously made his way over to the door, glancing around to make sure that there were no passersby. He couldn't afford to make another mistake. Finally satisfied, he turned the knob and pushed at the polished oak as carefully as he could.

Kanda was sitting on his bed, his eyes closed and his crossed behind his head in a makeshift pillow. At the sound of the door opening, he scowled and opened one eye. "Daisya, I told— Oh." His scowl deepened as he noticed Allen. "What are you doing here?"

"Nothing…" Allen hesitated. Now that he thought about it, he wasn't actually sure how to go about doing what he needed to do.

"Well, if you have something to say, don't just stand there," Kanda snapped, but he eventually sighed and gave up his angry tone. "Oh, whatever. You'd better have a good reason for what happened before, bean sprout."

Allen shrugged and pasted on a smile as he sat down next to Kanda cautiously. "I guess you took my advice."

"Advice? What advice?" Kanda was still annoyed.

"Not to remember my name."

"Tch. It's not as if I was listening to you. You're just too stupid for me to bother with. Being a bean sprout is fine. Besides, it's not as if you've asked for mine."

"Yours?"

"My name."

Allen was quiet. "It's better if I don't know," he said finally, looked down at his hands.

"What?"

"I can't say anything about what I don't know."

Irritated, Kanda grabbed the boy's wrist and looked straight into his surprised eyes. "Look, bean sprout," he glared, "a name isn't all there is to a person. Even if you get caught in some weird trouble and someone asks about me, you still know me. You could still tell them about me, even if you don't know my name. So suck it up and stop acting like a whiny girl. My name is Kanda Yuu, understand? But I'll stab you if you call me Yuu. Kanda. It's Kanda."

Allen searched his face for any sign of hesitation, but there was none. For a second, Allen himself almost believed that everything would be alright. Even if he did allow himself to get close. But that was impossible. With a small smile, he sighed. "Alright, then… Kanda. I'm sorry."

"What is there to be sorry about? Don't act like you did anything to me – they were all my own choices, and I'll be damned if I let anyone else decide what happens to me."

"Yeah, I know. That's why I'm saying sorry."

Kanda narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on Allen's wrist. "You're not thinking of doing anything funny to me again, are you?"

"Funny, huh…" Allen murmured in a resigned voice. He leaned in towards him, lifting his other hand and brushing one finger against Kanda's face. "I didn't want to. I wanted you to remember me." He took a deep breath as he laid his lips softly against Kanda's face .

"Wha—" Kanda's eyes widened for a second, but they quickly became blank and closed softly as he was pushed into a deep sleep.

"Sorry," Allen whispered to him. "I broke a rule. I got attached. This is my punishment, not yours. You won't remember anything from that day. It'll be fine." He let his hand run through Kanda's silky black hair one more time before he straightened up and quietly left the room.

The hallway was dark, and Allen took another deep breath before he stepped out into the shadows. He had just rounded the corner when a cold, predatory voice issued from behind. The blood in his veins chilled, and he turned around slowly with dread.

"Allen Walker." Leverrier's eyes rested on the door to Kanda's room for a fleeting second before returning to Allen's face. "What are you doing here?"

"Nothing," he heard himself answer, the blood pounding in his ears. "I could ask the same of you… sir."

Leverrier raised an eyebrow. "Were you visiting Kanda Yuu?"

"… perhaps. It's not really any of your business, is it?"

The wolfish man snorted. "If you want a momentary illusion of happiness, it's none of my business. As long as you remember that you can't escape." He stared at Allen with a threatening intensity. "You can't escape, Allen."

"I know." He gritted his teeth.

"You are mine. You are nothing but a tool, a curse."

"I know!" He all but shouted before turning and storming down the dim hall.

Behind him, Leverrier smiled just a bit, a flash of his sharp teeth gleaming even in the scarce light.

…

When Kanda Yuu awoke, it was already nightfall. Slowly, he sat up, his head still unclear. He felt as if something was missing somehow. Absently, his fingers brushed against his face as if the action would make him remember something. Vague, unclear thoughts and memories swirled around in his mind.

Next time, I'll definitely save him.

Save him…? Save who? I can't remember?

No, that had been a dream, he thought. He couldn't remember the dream, though. Rain… and an ethereal spirit, blown away by the storm. But it was just a dream, a fantasy.

He shook off the last traces of his drifting thoughts and got up slowly, trying to recall what he had been doing. This was Tiedoll's house. He was on a mission. He was guarding someone… a boy. A pianist? Something like that. He made an irritated noise at his inability to remember the boy's face but quickly ignored it and continued thinking. Daisya… he remembered kicking Daisya out of his room. And then?

Unable to figure out the rest, Kanda sighed and put on his coat. He had probably fallen asleep by accident, he thought as he cursed himself for his own stupidity. If Tiedoll wanted both him and Daisya to guard some kid, it must be important. He hoped the stupid brat hadn't gotten killed already.

To his surprise, he bumped into Marie halfway to Tiedoll's office. Rubbing his nose in irritation, he snapped, "What are you doing here?"

His other foster brother lifted an eyebrow. "Kanda, you weren't paying attention to where you were going? That's rare."

"Neither were you," he gritted his teeth. "Blindness finally getting to your senses?"

Marie chuckled. "Are you developing a sense of humor? No, probably not, huh. Anyways, we've got another mission." He added quickly before Kanda could say anything.

"What? You, too? All three of us to guard one damned bean sprout?"

"What? Oh, no, it's a regular mission. You and I and Lenalee are going. So is the, uh, bean sprout. Why do you call him that, anyways?" The big man lifted an eyebrow. "Do you know him from somewhere?"

"No." Kanda scowled. "Why do I call him that?" he muttered under his breath, but gave up and settled for glaring at his foster brother, who couldn't see him anyways. "Whatever. We're bringing the bean sprout on the mission? Aren't we supposed to protect him or something?"

Marie gave him an odd look. "Not from those…"

It sounded like Marie was trying to say something, but Kanda didn't have the patience for puzzles anymore. He simply huffed and resumed walking. "Whatever. We might as well get on with the mission, then. You bring the bean sprout."

His foster brother paused. "… No, I think you should," he said finally. "You haven't heard it yet, right? He's in the music room."

It? Heard "it"? More riddles. "Fine! Whatever." Kanda gave up and stormed off to find the music room angrily, his memory still somehow frustratingly blurry with bits and pieces of a dream that he couldn't quite shake off.

"Stay away! Just stay away!"

I can't. I have to save him.

Who…?

...

Snort. Those of you who've read my other stuffs are prolly getting tired of the name thing by now. But! I only do it once here, so don't worry. Besides, it's important, I think.

Anyways, this was a pretty darn fast update... it's prolly not a good idea to get used to it. xD But then again, who knows?

Oh, I just thought I should throw this out there now: this fanfic operates in the world of everyone-is-bi. There is no sexual identity/homosexuality angst, for several reasons. Firstly, there's already more than enough angst. *laughs* Also, I don't have very much real-world experience with the subject, and I certainly don't have the skill to handle something like that from my imagination. So it's better to omit it entirely than to write it badly and screw it up, in my opinion. That's it.

Anyways, hoped you liked! And thank you to everyone who reviewed! xD Reviews make my heart happy. They're like metaphorical cookies. I like to check my email every few hours alerts, and when I get reviews (and +favs, too, of course) I smile idiotically because it's nice when people take the time to comment on my work, no matter what they say. (Besides flaming, you know, but I haven't gotten any of that yet.) It really does mean a lot to me, so thank you all!

But anyways, yeah. That's it. xD Look forward to the next chapter! And feel free to ask any questions - I'm never sure when I get a bit too confusing with foreshadowing and stuff. As always, thanks for reading!