Ughs… finally a new chapter. It took me a while to start/finish writing this one. I wanted to do it before Christmas break but was too busy.
During Christmas break I was too busy shopping in Tokyo. And fell in love right away again with the town. Now my goal is to get enough money to go back as soon as possible. I so miss my beloved money-trap with the name of ANIMATE!!! It was so lovely spending months worth of saving in those shops (Animate, Gamers, K-Books, Mandarake, and all the great second hand shops in Akiba!!! Damn, I wanna go there right now!!!)
This chapter shows a few 'relaxed' weeks for my most beloved Moyashi. And a few hints of what is to come besides the relationship that is still in progress.
Unfortunately this is still not beta-read. Seihi L (who offered to beta read) is on holidays (somehow I am envious :P ) Anyway, since I didn't want to make you wait any longer I post this chapter without any beta-reading and also without a second opinion - the second opinion matters more to me btw! .
Anyway, thanks to all the lovely people who took the time to review my story! *bows* Hope you will enjoy the newest chapter!
Have fun reading! ^o^
The next two weeks were some of the best weeks Allen could remember. His exams were finally done, so the stress was gone, he saw people his own age every day and he could for once in his live decide what he wanted to do every day. At least almost.
The first day after his exams Allen woke up in his bed like every morning… just that he had no idea how he got there or why he still was wearing his shirt. He was alone in his room which meant that Timcanpy was probably with his master.
He stretched lazily and checked his watch. 10:30... He blinked again, his brain starting up slowly.
"10:30..." he whispered and stared some more minutes at his watch.
xox
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
A sudden scream went through the house and Cross wondered if it was worth the trouble to get up and hit his apprentice with his hammer. Maybe he should just stay here the kid would bolt downstairs soon, though that meant waiting. He didn't like difficult decisions like this in the morning as such he just continued to drink his coffee and eat his croissant.
A few minutes later Allen finally came running down the stairs and quickly began searching for food in the kitchen.
"Idiot, what's with the racket?" Cross asked while he took a new addiction-stick… never mind that he hadn't finished eating yet.
"Eh… why are you here?" Allen hadn't noticed his guardian before, having focused on finding food so he wouldn't starve. He took a moment to stare at the cigarette and wondered when his guardian would catch lung cancer or something similar. He didn't give him long anymore… maybe three years.
"Stop staring and answer." Cross said while taking a sip of his coffee.
It dawned on Allen that he did not have time to spare! He was already late, he promised Lenalee to meet her at 10 sharp in school. They wanted to learn math and he was supposed to help out with the festival too.
"I'm late for school. Why didn't you wake me up when you were at home and awake already?" He glared at the man before him while stuffing some sweets into his bag still.
"I didn't know my apprentice is a tiny child needing someone to wake him up in the morning." Cross smirked. "Though I guess it really is your first day of school. Should I have bought a cornet and filled it with sweets too?"
"GAH!!! Everyone can oversleep once! I must have forgotten to put on my alarm clock."
"Considering the way you came back from school yesterday… definitely."
"Why? Did I do something strange?"
"Not really. You slept and your cursing not-friend carried you in. Do you normally give out our address to people that are not your friends by the way? Maybe you give it even to strangers."
Allen couldn't help but hit his forehead. "I do no such things! Kanda was sent by Komui and gave me a lift. Much more annoying though is that I must have fallen asleep in his car yesterday then. I was so tired."
"I wouldn't have guessed." Allen just loved his guardian's sarcasm in the morning. "You didn't even tell me your results yet. And all the grumpy boy said was 'moyashi passed.'"
"It's Allen! That damn idiot!"
Cross smirked. "So you finally learned what the name means then?"
"… I'm sure you know the meaning. What language is it by the way?"
"Japanese."
Allen decided not to ask for a translation. The smirk on his master's face was enough of an indication to know the man was waiting for another opening to annoy him.
"So did you get good grades in the exams?" Cross asked when his apprentice didn't say anything anymore.
"I did well enough aside from History and Art. The most important thing is that I passed, I'm ok with anything else."
"I'll let you decide what you want to do next year. But whatever it is I expect you to do well."
"Don't worry. I won't take a subject that I hate and have no talent for." Allen smiled at him. He remembered that he wanted to give Timcanpy a treat still. "By the way, where is Timcanpy? I don't see him anywhere."
"He should be with you." Cross glanced around the room. True enough, the yellow golem was nowhere to be seen.
"But… he was till I fell asleep yesterday. He was in school yesterday afternoon too."
Cross shrugged. "I'm sure nothing serious has happened. Maybe he got eaten by a cat again. If you don't find him by tonight I'll use a company golem to find him."
"I'll look for him in school too." Allen said… and suddenly remembered that he wasted another twenty minutes to talk with his guardian instead of meeting up with Lenalee.
"OH NO! I have to hurry! I am so late!"
And of course the red haired man had nothing better to do than laugh at his expense.
Marian smirked, he liked messing with Allen when the boy had just woken up. He was so slow then. "Why are you in such a hurry by the way? Your exams are finished and there are no lessons anymore."
Allen shook his head vehemently. No way in hell would he allow the man to think he had time to spare. "I promised Lenalee to meet up with her and I also have to help with preparing the school festival for the next two weeks since I don't have exams anymore."
"Come to think of it, why did you already take the exams? Bak told me you could take next Monday after the official exams had finished."
"WHAT?"
Cross blew smoke in his face and shrugged. "That's what he said when he phoned."
"But… but…"
"Are one word sentences all you can say now?"
How the hell could the man always be so frustratingly annoying? A heated glare was thrown at Cross who remained completely unfazed by it.
"No need to stare at me like that. I'm not the one who was behind that one."
"You don't know the reason either?"
"I wasn't told. Though I suspect that this was the earliest time you could do it and if they had a feeling you needed a bit more time you could have had it."
"Why didn't they tell me from the beginning on?"
"Probably they just wanted to make sure you did your best." His guardian shrugged. He didn't really give a damn as long as Allen managed to do what was expected.
"One week longer… I could have gotten some decent sleep that way and done the stupid exams without feeling dead tired." Allen fumed.
"See it from the bright side. Now you are done with them and can enjoy your time while all the others still have exams. I think most will be jealous when they see someone carefree right now. Pray that you won't get bullied."
Never turn to Cross Marian if you want comfort. Like usual when he was upset his guardian knew exactly what to say to make him even more angry.
"As if any of them would have wanted to study useless things nonstop."
"No one knows that. All everyone will see is that they have exams and you have free time."
Allen sighed.
"Do you have time to rest right now? I thought you have to go to school."
"GAAAAH!"
As Allen ran out he could hear the man roar with laughter. One day he would so punch him!
Cross smirked as he heard the door fall close. He wondered how long it would take his idiot apprentice to realize that he had a cell and could use it to call his friend.
Allen had indeed remembered the existence of his cell as he was about halfway to school already and phoned Lenalee. She had been mad at him at first, but eventually calmed down. Mornings really weren't the best time for him.
Once he arrived she told him that at first they would learn math and later on join with the rest of the student council to organize whatever could already be done - like making sure that not everyone would be doing the same things, assigning rooms and drawing a timetable for special halls that more then just one group or class wanted to use. Allen was sure there was more than enough to do by what Lenalee told him.
"I never thought about such things like school… or school festivals before."
"You still have a lot of things to see yet. This festival is special because the whole Black Order is participating. Children as well as adults have a say in it, it's something for every age too. That's why a lot of people from this town… and even further away come here to see it." Lenalee already was looking forward to it. Or maybe it was more the prospect of summer holidays and shopping that brought the excitement, Allen wasn't sure.
In the afternoon they went to the student council rooms, where some students were busy looking through papers and sorting them or working at the computers. They were welcomed warmly and quickly asked to help out with making sure that the special rooms were not assigned to two classes or groups at the same time.
When Lenalee left to take one of her exams Allen also used the time to take a break. He just opened the room to bump into Lavi. "Ah! Sorry, I didn't see you."
"It's alright Allen." The older boy smiled happily. "We just saw Lenalee too, have you been here with her till now?"
"Yes. But what do you mean with we?" Allen asked since Lavi came alone.
"Yuu-chan of course. He'll be here in a minute. Anyway, where were you heading?"
"I wanted to take a break. Also I am missing Timcanpy. I thought maybe he is in school. I fell asleep yesterday when Kanda brought me home and am not sure if he was with me then or not."
"Right! I forgot, you might want to stay away from Kanda today!"
"MOYASHI!" Kanda pushed Lavi away from the door and loomed over Allen.
"Eh… hello to you too Kanda." Judging by the way Kanda's eyes were narrowing even further, that might have been the wrong thing to say.
"You! Not only did I have to take you home and carry you to your fucking room, but then you also leave your damn pet behind. And the fucking thing has nothing better to do than eat my soba!"
Timcanpy, who was flying behind Kanda indeed, was heavily insulted by the boys word (and not for the first time that day. Being the cute creature that Timcanpy was he at once started to munch on Kanda's perfect hair.
"WHAT THE FUCK?" The other roared as his hair suddenly felt slightly damp and was sticking up in a weird angle.
Lavi, who had been chuckling ever since Kanda had come into the room had to hold on to the next chair to keep himself from falling to the floor from laughing.
Allen cleared his throat and bit his lip in order to keep himself from joining Lavi. He smiled sweetly at Kanda. "You shouldn't have insulted him."
Allen grabbed Timcanpy by his tail, before the other could grab him and then swiftly stepped back in case he would take a swing like he used to do with Lavi sometimes.
"I fucking insulted your fucking pet? That damn thing kept making a racket all night long! And then in the morning it fucking ate MY soba!" Kanda growled out while clenching his fists.
"How cruel. Timcanpy isn't used to sleepovers. And you could have given him something else to eat too. Of course something like that would happen. Did you never have a pet?" Allen patted his first and only present from Cross (though he secretly thought that the piano they had gotten was for his sake as well).
Kanda threw his dictionary against Allen's head.
"Ouch!"
"Who the fuck would think of feeding a golem?" Apparently the white haired boy did though. He really wondered how the kid had gotten accepted into their school… and was allowed to skip years too!
"You know what, let's go eat something, I'll invite you to some soba since that's the root of the problem, right?" Allen smiled all the more and dragged Kanda away, not giving him the time to protest.
"Hey wait for me! I wanna join too." Lavi yelled and ran after them.
Allen wisely kept his beloved golem away from Kanda for the next few days. His eyebrows always started to twitch in a fascinating way when he saw either him or his golem. Since he couldn't do anything about his own person he at least decided his golem must be kept save.
Thanks to him helping out with the festival he saw the other student every day. Along with Lavi and Lenalee. Allen truly enjoyed being able to talk with them without having to study (though they still had exams they did talk about a lot of things that were not related to school.)
At one such occasion Lavi confessed just how he got Kanda to join the student council.
Kanda, being fed up with working for things that he held no interest in (which was practically everything besides his kendo lessons), had left earlier than them, muttering about how he would never be part of the 'fucking council' ever again.
Lavi had such an evil grin on his face that he just had to ask him, about how he got him into the council in first place. One could only get into the council if their grades were good, if your classmates would support you and if you signed up for it.
"Ah… that was so fun." Lavi told him, grinning even more evilly. "My grandfather said it would look good on records and such I signed up. Now of course it would be boring if I was alone here, without my best friend, right?"
Without waiting he continued. "That's what I thought as well, as such I decided that Yuu-chan had to join me. Of course I knew that he would need a push to accept and went to his house, to bother him with all the stuff that we needed to get signed, hand in and such. Every year when school starts we have a hell to sign and check and stuff. Checking the contact details of yourself and your parents, paying the school for books and other stuff, signing up for special courses… you get what I mean."
"Aye, so you went there and made him sign the extra paper?" Allen asked.
"Mah… you underestimate Yuu. He reads everything he signs. I just made him do it together with me and offered to take his stuff along."
"Wasn't he afraid of you forging his sign?"
Lavi shook his head. "It's not easy to forge his sign. And I didn't have to anyway. I just let the things drop into a dirty puddle. Then rushed back, having refilled his forms again so he would just have to sign again. He checked the first few things and then was too annoyed so just signed the rest along."
"… Somehow I almost feel sorry for him. How come he hasn't killed you?"
"I was one week in hospital. Still it was definitely worth it! And you shouldn't feel sorry for him. We got plenty of free lessons thanks to that. Of course now it's all work but in total I think we still had more free time than otherwise. Besides, it brought him out of his normal rhythm for a little bit. Kanda needs that once in a while. Luckily Tiedoll agrees, else even with his sign we couldn't have kept him in the council."
"Well, he definitely won't join next year though."
"You're too sweet… and way too naïve, Allen." Lavi started to laugh. "I naturally got next years sign as well. I asked Bak if they had the University papers for next year already and they did. The same trick wouldn't work twice on him. It already was risky this time."
Allen didn't know whether his new friend was brilliant or suicidal. Most likely he was a mix of both. "I think that's like two weeks in hospital for you at least… most likely longer though."
"Uhm… I will manage somehow."
His friend was simply crazy. Allen wondered if all students were like his friends: a genius with no feeling for danger, a brooding man with no anger management and a girl with a sixth sense that had yet to fail.
Lenalee, while she did not know the exact questions only really covered some topics in each of her exam subjects. She said she had a feeling only things of certain areas would be asked. So far she always was right and according to Lavi that was normal for her.
As he thought about this he decided it really was no wonder that he felt so comfortable and normal around them.
Finally the last official exam day arrived. The pre-work so far had been finished in time as well. Allen enjoyed his free time and listened to music while wandering through the school. He still managed to get lost as such he considered it good training for the future.
Somehow during his wandering he ended up in one of the three music rooms that belonged to the high school. He had been here before together with Lenalee when she showed him the school. There were pictures on the wall from students and teachers, along with some other decorations, that he hadn't seen before.
Probably those things had already been prepared in advance for next week, he thought and smiled as he saw a picture of Lavi together with some other people that he didn't know. He also found one of Lenalee, though none of Kanda.
"Hey Tim, shall we add one more picture?" He asked the golem as he headed over to the computer that was besides the teacher's desk and turned it on. Timcanpy seemed to agree as he opened his mouth and projected one of his images to the wall.
Chuckling softly Allen nodded his head. "I agree, this one looks… good." Though the computer was password protected it was no problem for Allen to circumvent this obstacle. He transferred the picture to the computer, printed it and made sure he had left no traces on the computer before turning it of again.
He placed the picture besides the other ones on the wall with a smile. All his friends were there, so it seemed more complete to him now. After that was accomplished he went to the piano, which was standing besides the window and decided to play a little bit. He hadn't played his in a while now and was missing it.
After their last exam this year Kanda quickly got up and left the room before any of the annoying girls in his class could follow him. They were pissing him off to no end. What was so difficult to understand about him not accepting any role whatsoever in the damn school play? Lavi, who had finished his exam early, had already left twenty minutes ago.
No doubt the redhead would call him later on to go out or whatever. Maybe he would even join him.
"Kanda!" He turned around as he heard a familiar voice call his name.
"What?" He asked as he saw Fou.
"Have you seen Allen?"
"… Moyashi? Why would I have?"
"Could you go looking for him? He's still somewhere here but I can't find him."
He rolled his eyes. Why did he have to go look for that fucking kid now?
"Just do it, it shouldn't take that long. Just tell him that he has to finish signing up for University today still."
"… Che. Stupid moyashi."
"Thanks Kanda." The secretary smiled.
Kanda walked to all the usual places where the white haired kid normally was, but he was neither in the student council rooms nor in the lunchroom. The kitchen as well as the garden outside were also void of the idiot.
He just passed the music room when he heard someone play the piano. Or actually it didn't sound like playing the piano… more like torturing it... And everyone who was unlucky enough to hear it. The person probably had never seen a piano before in their life ever. He barged into the room, intending to put an end to the abuse his ears had to go through.
"STOP THA-"
"Eh? K-Kanda?"
"Moyashi! …"
Allen looked at him dumfound. "What the fuck are you doing here, moyashi?"
"It's Allen. And obviously I play the piano. Maybe you need glasses if you couldn't tell that!"
"Playing? You mean more like destroying it. Didn't you say you can play it? Or are you trying to torture someone? If that's the case you'd not be doing too bad."
Allen blushed and glared. "I'm not playing from a score. I'm trying to play a slower version of a new song I heard."
"So you mean to say you can actually play something? Is it something better than 'All my little ducklings'?" He sneered at Allen, knowing he had hit a nerve.
"Jerk!" Allen ground out before he closed his eyes and started to play another song.
Kanda kept his next retort, a bit surprised by the sudden change of quality in the music. He sat down on a chair next to the boy and listened to the slow melody the other was playing. By the way the other's hands moved he guessed it wasn't the easiest piece either.
After the last note faded out Allen started to play another one. Kanda found himself leaning against the window and closing his eyes. Hearing nothing but the other boy play was nice. Good thing that most students had already left school.
"I didn't think you could play this well." He said after a few more pieces.
Allen smiled a somewhat bitter smile. "My father used to teach me to play. He and his brother had learnt it from childhood on. His brother actually became a quite famous pianist too."
"Will you follow in his footsteps?"
"I don't think so. I love the piano and all and I'll definitely keep playing it. But I wouldn't want to have all the attention on me. Of course I could play late at night in some bars probably, however I don't think that would make me happy."
"Play something else." Kanda requested and leaned back against the window. Allen found that for once he didn't have the urge to say something spiteful to the other. He looked too peaceful at the moment, even his normal scowl was gone.
As such he did indeed play another song, a lullaby that his father had played often. Kanda closed his eyes and relaxed fully. He didn't know why, but the sound of the piano made him relax more and more. It wasn't often that Kanda felt this way.
"Why did you come here by the way?" Allen asked after he finished it.
"I was looking for you. You should finish your registration for university or something. You're such a bother to find." Kanda replied calmly, after all, it wasn't his problem if the other missed the deadline.
"Oh dear… I completely forgot about that. And why didn't you just phone me?"
"Does it look like I have your damn number?"
"Right… Only Lenalee and Lavi had it. Give me your mobile for a second."
And wonder of all, Kanda gave him his mobile, after he made sure the other's number would be saved under 'Moyashi' and let Allen type it in.
"Next time call me. And don't make me play the piano for half an hour when you actually have to tell me something important!"
Kanda shrugged. "You still have enough time."
"Let's go!"
Kanda's eyebrows arched. "Are you trying to command me around?"
"Nope, I am suggesting. Still come along."
"Moyashi… are you still getting lost?" Kanda asked, though he got up and went out of the room, ignoring the white haired boy shouting his name at him. A moyashi would always stay a moyashi.
The following week Allen was mostly busy with helping the seniors with their play. He sighed as he thought about the unfortunate event, that got him into this position.
Two senior girls had come into the music room on Monday. One to practice some pieces for the play and the other to talk with her friend. It apparently didn't take them long to take a good look at the pictures on the wall… and to notice Kanda's.
Now that alone would not have been bad. Just that those two girls unfortunately were infatuated with the elder student… and started to arguing about who was allowed to take the picture home. One of them snatched it from the wall and the other tried to take it away from her. One thing led to the other and in the end the picture was ripped and the girl who should have played the piano had sprained her wrist and wouldn't be able to perform.
Again, all of this would not have bothered him much, if only Kanda hadn't gotten wind of the whole thing. The black haired student had been furious, even more though as he saw the rest of the picture, taken at the time when Timcanpy had messed up his hair. After a shouting match between the two, he told Lavi, that Allen was quite good with the piano. Lavi had been excited - even more though when he realized that Allen was way better than their first choice. The only thing the redhead was unhappy about was his tiny role now, and while this had been fun at the beginning, at the end he couldn't help but be annoyed at the fact that he had to help out now.
He had learned some new pieces that week, had almost died from suppressed laughter the first time he saw the whole play (he just couldn't help but laugh at the cliché of it) and saw one of the performers almost getting killed by Komui for stealing Lenalee's picture from the music room. Lavi had told him that Kanda never had pictures anywhere in school as things made by him or even worse - photographs were always stolen. In case of photographs a hurt wrist was actually not bad at all apparently. He apologized to the stoic boy later on and received a 'Che' as answer before the elder student turned away.
As such it had been quiet an eventful week, and aside from having to perform at the festival the next day a very interesting one too.
He would be glad when the performance was over.
Luckily Friday had arrived fast. They would perform in the early afternoon, as such he and Lenalee decided to go and take a look around before noon. Lavi also was already at school when they arrived and the three of them went through the grounds together. There was so much to see that it was impossible to see everything unless you just walked through in one go and didn't look at things properly.
A big stage had been built in the middle between all the buildings of the Black Order. Some people would be performing here until the end of the day. In other halls there were sports competitions or performances, Lenalee's favorite was the fashion show, that a lot of girls had made their own dresses for.
That day he saw a lot of dances too. Lenalee's class had one of the best he was able to watch that day. His friend of course was part of it. The class decided on a group dance and to Allen's untrained eye it seemed perfect. No one seemed to be behind and all moved in sync. Judging the applause they got the audience seemed to agree with him.
Though the best part of it all was that there was cheap food everywhere and since Lavi and Lenalee were part of the student council they only had to pay half still which was wonderful for Allen who had a snack in his hand all the time.
At midday Kanda joined up with them to Lavi's surprise.
"I thought you wouldn't come until it's time for the play."
Kanda ignored the remark and went to sit down at one of the empty tables. "Do they have soba somewhere?"
Allen meanwhile was busy buying some 'real' meal for himself - which was considerably smaller than what he normally ate (just enough to fill three people, instead of ten) thanks to the snacks he had had before.
"The fuck! How can you eat that, Moyashi?" Kanda exclaimed.
"Yuu-chan… have you never noticed this before?" To Lavi's surprise the other shook his head ever so slightly.
"Anyway… don't be surprised. Allen must be quite the sportsman though to keep his body as slim as it is."
Allen didn't bother to reply before he had finished eating his food, which as always was in no time.
"I just have an eating disorder. My body requires more food than what's normal." He shrugged "It could be worse though. At least I am not one of those size zero idiots."
"You're the opposite." Lenalee laughed. "I am sure many girls would like part of your disorder. They eat almost nothing and have a hard time to keep thin, you eat lots and lose weight."
Allen chuckled "Well… I wonder what kind of disorder is better. Eating nothing or eating much."
"So that fucking meal size is normal for you?"
Allen smirked. "Now you remind me of Lavi, when he first had a meal with me."
"Don't compare me to the stupid rabbit!"
Lenalee quickly clamped her hand over the redhead's mouth before the older boy could react to Kanda's comment. "Don't forget what happened last year, when you two started to fight at the festival." She reminded them.
Kanda che'd and Lavi sulked for a moment while Allen stared at the two.
"What happened?" Allen figured that no one would tell what happened if he didn't ask.
"Not much." Lenalee sighed. "Just another 'friendly' fight that ended with Bak being so angry that he made them come to school for two weeks after holidays started. They had to clean the dirtiest classes and get rid of chewing gums on chairs and desks."
Allen was a little late with covering his very lovely grin which made Kanda clench his firsts while Lavi groaned.
"Lenalee, there is no need to tell him such stories!" Lavi whined.
"Don't good friends share their memories?" the girl's smile held something evil this time.
"Which reminds me that we know shit of moyashi's past."
"Wow, I'm surprised you are interested?" Lenalee hadn't seen this one coming.
"Che…" The other turned and stared away from his annoying companions.
"There is not much to tell about me anyway." He looked at her with a… very dark expression. "Ever since I met Cross I had to go through hell to survive."
"Ehehe… You don't have to tell us. Cheer up mate." Lavi tried to comfort his friend.
"We should get going or you'll be too late to do your performance. Why aren't you part of the play Kanda?" Lenalee decided to once again make her friends think of different things. Sometimes she thought they were stupid, for all that they were called brilliant by most.
"Why the hell would I? It's a fucking school play!"
"And it's the last one you will have in High School. I think it would have been fun."
"I helped all week with the fucking stage design! I'll definitely not bother with the fucking play!"
They arrived just in time to get properly ready for the play, yet late enough to not have to be part of the nervous chattering that normally happens before.
Lenalee helped Lavi with his wig while Allen went to the piano to see if everything was right. When nothing was out of order he sat down and waited there, while watching the others' frenetic last minute preparations. He truly was happy to be out of sight for the most part. There would also be no light on him, except at the very end when all would bow.
Kanda soon after joined him, like he had done the previous week when he had played in the music room.
"Where's Lenalee?" Allen asked, expecting his friend to come here as well soon.
"Still with Lavi most likely."
After ten minutes of more waiting the announcement for the play was finally made and the actors went onto the stage. Allen played a fast melody for the introduction phase. After that he would have to wait a few minutes until the girl and the boy would meet at the end of holidays and then have to part. A slow and sad melody for this scene.
Then came the big surprise, the meeting in the school, both being late on the first day. It truly was a good thing Allen had joined when they practiced. Just thinking of the love story and the partially awkward acting made him smile again.
Kanda from time to time smirked but for the most part looked utterly bored.
Then came Lavi's big part. He was the old, grey haired headmaster. Allen could see Lenalee covering her mouth with her hand and taking out her cell, most likely to save the moment for all eternity on it. Even Kanda seemed amused and he could have sworn he heard a tiny half-chuckle/cough.
Lavi's two words had been joined by a few more. He now was allowed to say five sentences, just as the 'couple' on stage entered the 'auditorium'.
Lavi ended his 'speech' and raised his hands. "Welcome…" He turned to his 'teachers' who were standing a few steps behind him on the stage. The girl that was closest to him whispered fiercely to Lavi "Get on with it already!"
Lavi ignored her and looked at the students and the audience instead. Allen's legs would have given out on him had he not been sitting. He couldn't stop himself from laughing. Trust Lavi who had wanted to have a bigger role to drag it out to this length. Allen bowed over the piano shoulders shaking. He bit his lips and put his gloved hands over his mouth to stifle the laughter.
A quick glance at Lenalee told him, that she wasn't doing any better. "Milking it." Kanda said in an annoyed voice that caused Allen, who had just managed to calm enough, to start giggling all over again.
The redhead's lips quivered slightly before he finally chose to continue with his last word that he also drew out. "… baaackk!" Allen, who should have been playing after that, was in no position to do so. Luckily the actors who played the students ignored it and just cheered anyway.
After that the play proceeded smoothly and at the end the audience was satisfied apparently.
The rest of the day passed in a blur. They explored a few classrooms, Allen got some more snacks and finally it was time for the seniors to assemble in the auditorium with their families. Lavi and Kanda would get their certificates there and they joined up with all the seniors backstage. Lenalee and Allen didn't join them this time.
Lavi's grandpa was there, as well as Kanda's whole family. He had two brothers Daisya (who reminded him a bit of Lavi) and Marie. Tiedoll, Kanda's step-father, was as good at expressing his emotions as Kanda was in hiding them. The man started crying when it was Kanda's turn to get his certificate and cried even more when his son walked over to them.
Lavi's grandpa was rather on the strict side, though it was clear that he cared a great deal for his grandson. He didn't cry, but the proud smile on his face, as Lavi walked down, certificate in his hand and a big smile on his face, told everything about his feelings.
The one thing Allen hadn't counted with this evening though, was for Cross Marian to appear behind him all of a sudden. "Shouldn't you be up there too, idiot?"
Allen gaped at him before he found the words to reply. "But I am not a senior! Besides… what are you doing here?"
"Idiot! You did take the exams and you will start with University. The Black Order wouldn't take someone who did not have a certificate." Lenalee nodded. "You should go now as well."
As if on cue Fou came up to them and pulled him to the backstage area.
"Wait here until you are called."
When it was Allen's turn to get his certificate he was blushing and stumbled slightly. Bak smiled encouragingly at him. He explained quickly, that Allen was a new transfer students that had taken the exams here, before handing him his certificate and sending him down.
He wasn't sure what the smile on Cross' face meant, when he came down. But at least it didn't seem to be something bad. "Well done, idiot apprentice." The man said, ending with his normal insult though for once without any bite in his voice. Allen, who had not expected Cross to come at all hid his eyes with his bangs, so that only a soft smile could be seen. "You seem really pleased." Lenalee smiled at her friend. The boy always got into dark moods when his guardian was mentioned. But he certainly was happy that he was here now.
"Last but not least I hope you all will have a nice summer holiday." Bak said. "To those who decided to leave the school next year or to not study at all: I hope you enjoyed your time at the Black Order and that you will be happy with whatever you want to do in the future."
He continued after taking a big breath. "Though I do hope that I will be able to say 'Welcome… baaackk' to most next year." Bak said in an imitation of Lavi's voice. The cheering and laughing that had erupted in the room could be heard even at the buildings entrance.
After the ceremony was over they decided to go eating. Cross had tried to invite Lenalee, when suddenly Komui appeared behind him. While he didn't show his usual reaction (like killing whoever dared to get too close to his beloved sister), he made sure to keep as much distance between her and Cross as possible.
Tiedoll and Cross had known each other from work since a long time ago as such they agreed to go celebrate together (never mind that Kanda hated the thought of more people at the table.) Lavi had gotten wind of this and decided to ask his grandpas to join up with his friends. The more the merrier after all. His best friend almost killed him for it. He then dragged Lenalee in, in hopes of her helping him to keep the older boy at a calm enough mood. This was proven difficult when Lavi and Daisya hit it off right away and started to talk about a younger Kanda.
Komui, not wanting his beloved sister to be together with the worst womanizer ever quickly decided to join them as well, which meant Bak Chan and Fou, who needed to talk with him still, had to tag along.
Seeing the size of the group that had decided to join them at the restaurant made Kanda's day. He suddenly wished he could just place a bomb somewhere at the restaurant and stop all their worthless chatter.
At least no one had bothered him when they were eating and now all were busy talking with one another. That was until a certain white haired enigma dared to calmly state that if he would keep his sour look he would get ugly wrinkles in no time.
"Who the fuck would think I care." Kanda glared at him.
Allen calmly took the last bite of his dessert before answering with a smile. "You certainly look like you do, especially when one considers your hair. Any-"
"One more word moyashi and I will cut of your hair with Mugen."
"-way, I was wondering how your father knows Cross. And still my name is Allen you imbecile!" The younger sniffed.
Kanda growled. "He's not my father! Tiedoll is my foster father, Marie and Daisya are not my real brothers either, moyashi"
"It's Allen!
"I don't care, moyashi. And I also don't know why your master knows the old man."
"From work." Lavi's grandpa informed them. "Both of them are scientists, they worked on some projects together. You met Tiedoll a long time ago too, Allen. He still remembers you, though he said you had brown hair then."
"I don't remember. Why do you know my name?"
The older man introduced himself. "I'm Bookman, Lavi's grandfather. He tells me a lot about school and his friends, of course also about you. Congratulations on passing your exams by the way."
"Thanks. Lavi helped me a lot too! And he let me use all of his old scripts to learn."
"I'm great, aren't eye?" Lavi put his hand on Allen's head and smiled. "We decided to go drink somewhere, Allen. You're joining too, Marian is busy talking… or now he is flirting with that blonde woman over there. Anyway, he said to have fun and that aspirin helps against a headache in the morning."
"Who would give drinks to a minor? Stupid master!"
"Che. No way he would get into a club! Besides, he obviously is afraid of alcohol!"
"They so let me into a club!"
"Then let's see you try." Kanda said with an evil grin on his face. He so would rub it in if Allen wouldn't get in.
"Allen…" Cross had taken it upon himself to stop flirting with the beautiful woman for a minute. "I won't be back tonight. If you drink too much and mess up anything I want it gone before I am back tomorrow!"
"You're the one who drinks too much!" But naturally his master's attention had returned to the woman again. Allen sighed. He was surrounded by idiots!
"Marie and Daisya are driving."
"Hell no. I drive. Daisya always gets drunk in clubs, baka usagi."
"Awww come on, bro. Tiedoll would even give me his car." Daisya waved the keys in front of his eyes.
"Tiedoll must want his car destroyed then. Drive on your own, I will definitely not drive with you."
"Daisya, come on let's go. You drive with me." Marie took the keys from Daisya who in turn pouted.
"I can join as long as someone drives me home afterwards. I have to be back by 1 am." Lenalee told them. "My brother is way too worried. He almost would have joined if Fou wouldn't have held him back."
"Don't worry Lenalee, I will drive you back when it's time then." Marie promised.
"Thanks!"
With that they left the adults to catch up with one another. Kanda was forced to let Allen and Lenalee drive with him. At least those two were more silent than Lavi and Daisya would have been.
Allen, to Kanda's dismay got into the club without problems. Most likely because he was standing right behind Lavi and Marie and was too small to be noticed. The dirty grin on the other's face as he looked at him annoyed him even further.
"Woohoo, check out that girl over there, ain't she hot?" Lavi at once had set his eyes on a girl at the counter.
Daisya naturally agreed with him. Leave it to idiots to think alike. Lenalee rolled her eyes and dragged Allen to the only free table in the room. Marie and Kanda joined them, while Lavi and Daisya went to get drinks for all… or to flirt with the girls they had seen over there.
"High School will be lonely without you guys next year." Lenalee stated.
Kanda didn't bother to respond, but his sour look had vanished when she said that.
"It's not as if I actually was in High School." Allen said.
"You were here at the end though."
"You'll still see me at lunch. Jeryy's cooking is to amazing to eat at some other place."
"Is fucking food all you ever think about moyashi?"
"Not all can live on soba alone. It's a wonder your body still works, it sure lacks a variety of vitamins, don't you think?"
"Stop it you two! Let's celebrate, not argue for once!" Lenalee interrupted another heated staring contest that Marie had watched with interest.
"Are they always like this?"
"Worse. Sometimes their bickering involves fists and Mugen."
"Kanda, if you continue like this Tiedoll will take Mugen away again." Marie warned his younger brother.
"He won't know shit if you don't tell him!" Kanda answered and realized too late that Allen was showing his happiest smile yet. "I'll kill you if you say anything, moyashi."
"Say what?" The innocent smile on his face made Kanda itch to suffocate him.
Lavi and Daisya came back with drinks. "Coke only for Lenalee and Allen. You two are too young for anything else." Daisya smirked.
Lenalee didn't seem too happy with that while Allen, who knew more than enough about alcohol thanks to his guardian, didn't mind at all. The only thing he minded was the sneer on Kanda's face.
They cheered on managing another year of school with top grades (with the exception of Allen who had had too much to study to get as great grades.)
A while later on his way to the toilet Allen saw a few guys in a corner of the club playing poker. As he stared at them one of them asked if he wanted to join, or if he was afraid he would lose all his money and clothes. Never one to pass on a challenge, especially when it came to poker, Allen naturally joined. At first the guys seemed way too happy. They were going to rip of a naïve High School kid after all. However after five rounds into the game their smiles vanished and they decided that a new tactic was in order.
"You're good. Let me invite you to a coke, mate."
"Thanks." Allen smiled while shuffling the cards and dealing them again. They waited until the other guy came back with a few glasses. Allen drank his in one go, feeling thirsty, before starting the next round. He never realized the grins, that were spreading on his opponents faces.
As over an hour had passed and the white haired boy still had not returned to his comrades Lenalee got worried about him. "I'll go look where Allen is. I think something might have happened to him."
"Stay here. I'll find our little friend." Lavi promised and Kanda joined him. As they made their way to the back of the club Lavi saw him at a table with some men, playing cards.
"What the fuck are you doing, moyashi?" Kanda asked, glaring at the boy.
"I'm… win…ning at poker." Allen slurred a bit and Lavi took note of the three empty glasses in front of him.
"And drinking spiked drinks." He said. "What did you add to his coke?"
"Vodka" One sneered.
Kanda also took in the glasses and glared at the three men. "Couldn't win so you had to resort to such tricks? Che…" The men glared back at him. "Keep to your own business, brat!"
"So that's why I feel a… bit dizzy?" Allen asked confused. "Let me finish this round still." He smiled an overly sweet smile and placed four cards back onto the pile in the middle and took some new ones, he then looked at the cards with a demonic grin on his face. "I never loshe at card games…" he hiccupped and revealed his cards.
"Four of a kind!" He took the money on the table and packed it away. "I'm sh- … so-rry, but as you shee my friends are waiting."
"Wait… where do you think you are going with our money?" The men got up and one of them pushed Allen against the table. Kanda, who had had enough, quickly grabbed the men's wrist and twisted his arm. Lavi grabbed another one and pushed him into the last one.
"Fucking idiots!"
"If you wanna rip someone of choose wiser next time."
Allen was thankful for his friends help. He had had to deal with angry men before, but never had he felt so dizzy when he did. It had gotten all the worse when he had stood up. He never realized the dizziness like this when he had been sitting.
Kanda shot another warning glare at the men. They didn't seem to want to cause problems anymore as such he let go of the one he was still holding and pushed him into the other two.
"Let's go back then." He glared at Allen, all this work for some idiot who got drunk when playing poker for pocket money.
Lavi steadied Allen and lead him back to their table. At first Lenalee was really mad, but Allen looked too cute swaying on his feet. Though surprisingly enough his speech was only a little bit slurred. "How did he get drunk? What did he do to get alcohol? I want some cocktail too!"
"Moyashi was playing some fucking children's card games at the back with some men."
"They got him drunk and wanted to rip him off."
"Good thing you interrupted then."
"… did fine on… my own."
"Sure you did, kid." Daisya was laughing his ass off at Allen while Marie looked worried at him.
"Let's hope it was just alcohol and nothing else." Marie said as Allen plopped down besides him and smiled. "I… feel fine."
A few minutes later though he was asleep with his head leaning against Marie.
Lavi quickly used the chance to paint his face. This time he wasn't stopped by Lenalee. She thought he deserved it for drinking without her. Marie checked his watch and told them that it was a good time to go home or Lenalee would be late.
Lavi and Daisya were disappointed, but quickly exchanged phone numbers to Kanda's absolute horror. He hoped Daisya was staying at his apartment or the redhead would definitely destroy his summer holidays… even more than he already would.
"Daisya drive with Kanda this time. I'll bring Lenalee and Lavi back. Can you take Allen as well?"
"Fine, I'll take both of them along, but don't touch anything in the car!" He glared at Daisya.
Daisya just grinned. "Still as touchy as always."
"Che…!"
Lenalee bit her lips. "Didn't Cross say that he wouldn't be around tonight? What if Allen feels bad and needs help?"
"He has his fucking pet to take care of him."
"Kanda, don't talk like this to a lady! Marie sighed.
"Shut up!"
"Just take him to our house. I'm sure Tiedoll would be happy about it."
Kanda fumed and left without another word, leaving the youngest boy asleep at the table and the others to stare after him.
"Jeez, always so helpful." Daisya remarked while waking Allen up and helping him stand.
"Don't worry Lenalee, Allen will stay at our house tonight." Lenalee nodded and thanked Marie. Good thing Kanda had an older brother that was responsible.
"I'm sure panda wouldn't have minded him at our place either if it's too much trouble." Lavi offered, but Marie shook his head. "It'll be good for Kanda too to have someone over who likes to argue with him."
"D-Don't like to arg… he'sh annoying."
"But you like him." Lenalee jabbed a finger at him and Allen nodded. "It's… fun."
Daisya laughed and clapped Allen's back, making him lose his balance and fall down. "… Sorry." Allen shook his head and got up again with Lavi's help.
They made their way to Kanda's car and Lavi helped Allen into the backseat.
"I'll give you guys a call tomorrow."
"Don't bother. I won't answer if it's from you."
"Cruel as always Yuu-chan! But I can call your beloved moyashi-chan instead now."
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Kanda's Mugen was pointed at him and Lavi squeaked. When had he taken that damn sword into the car?
Lenalee pulled at Lavi's sleeve and dragged him to Marie's car. "See you soon, guys." She called. "Hurry Lavi, if I'm late my brother might call the police and god knows who else!"
Kanda didn't waste time and started to speed towards their place when Daisya said, that he would be sleeping at his own apartment.
"So kid, how's the first time being drunk?"
Allen shrugged after a minute. "Tired."
"Damn. I was hoping he would puke into your car."
"I'd throw him into the ocean with weights on his legs if he did."
Daisya ignored his brothers lovely words. "You played poker with them, right? Was it worth getting drunk at least? How much did you win?"
"Don't… know. Shome hundred?"
"Fuck moyashi! Do you often play for money?"
Allen shrugged again. He was too tired and felt too weird to want to talk.
"With that much money next time we'll go out it'll be on you." Daisya grinned.
"… ok, one r-round." Allen answered before falling asleep again.
When they arrived back at their house Tiedoll indeed was happy to see that they had a guest, even though the guest was sleeping in Daisya's arms at the moment. He had tried to wake the white haired boy up, but the kid wouldn't and he refused to punch him like Kanda had suggested.
"That's the first time one of Yuu's friend's is sleeping here." He cried from happiness. Kanda's hand started to itch for his Mugen at once.
"Prepare his bed in your room, Yuu!" The old man said before placing a hand on the boys cheek and ignoring Kanda who had started to shake with anger and would have loved to throw things at his father. "Is he drunk?"
"Some guys spiked his drink when they played poker." Daisya filled him in.
Tiedoll chuckled. "So he still plays the game. I remember the guys at the lab complaining about how he always bet them and won a hell of money. The kid had to pay for Marian's debts. The guy is so irresponsible." His voice held a hint of disdain at the end.
"But he can't do much of that in University."
"Didn't I tell you? I'm working with Marian at the moment. The payment is covering even that guys expenses with ease."
"Is that guy any good then?" Kanda asked truly interested for once.
"He's the best computer scientist at the moment. Even the government keeps a watch on him. He hasn't done anything against the law, but with his skill he probably could cover it up quite easily."
"Oh, better than you?" Daisya didn't think that was possible.
"He's the better programmer, I'm the better builder I would say. It's a close call. Allen is probably a programmer as well. He was learning a lot when I met him all those years back. Marian told me that the kid has gotten some nice skills meanwhile."
"What was Cross working at before this new project?" Kanda hoped to get an answer to this. It was a question he never had the time to ask the younger boy.
"I don't know. Rumor has it that it was some sort of super-computer. I don't know how much of that is true though. Things like that always sound fishy. All I know is that one of the people on the project died recently."
Damn. So Tiedoll didn't know either.
"How come you are interested in it though?" Tiedoll was happy about that fact, but he also wondered.
"Never mind." Was all his beloved son answered however.
"Anyway… go and prepare his bed Yuu. It's best to sleep in a bed." Tiedoll said while watching the sleeping boy Daisya was still holding.
Kanda, still thinking about the information and about how likely it was that Allen knew more went upstairs and for once did as he was asked to do. After a few minutes Daisya brought Allen up, knowing that if his brother was asked to bring Allen to his room he would start a fight over it.
Marie came home a few minutes later and quietly checked on them, before heading for his own room to get some hours of sleep as well.
Well that's it for now. Some things that I have been asked should have been explained now. And just for your information: Kanda, being the loner he is, never had joined the group at midday. So until the festival he had never seen Allen eat. And even then he didn't eat his normal amount as he had been snacking the whole time. ^o^
On a side note: I LOVE, LOOOOOVE Chemistry - Period!!! It's such a great opening. Truly fitting for Fullmetal Alchemist (I LOOOOOOOOOOVE Fullmetal Alchemist!!! So much that it's a series I probably will never write a story for) Most of this chapter was written while listening to that lovely song.
Review please!