Chapter 4: BaKanda's got competition

Jen: Yo people of the world! Since I'm really interested in this fic, I will probably update often (though I haven't written the first draft at all)

Allen: For how much longer do I have to be a girl?

Z: for about 10 more chapters, I think.

Jen: Less! This fic won't be too long. Thanks to those who have reviewed/alerted or favorited my story! If I get 100 reviews by the end of this fic, I will post a looooong one shot!

Lavi: Jen doesn't own me, Allen or anyone from what you guys call man.

Neko: On with the chappie! Why couldn't this be Yullen?

Jen: *dark aura* What. Did. You. Say.

Neko: LAVEN FTW! (not)

Jen: Hmph. Anyways I'm sorry if Kanda was too OOC in the previous chap. This is the first time and probably only time I'll be writing Kanda's feelings in detail. Please bear with me. Now, Enjoy!

WARNING: YULLEN! (GOMENASAI MINNA! *sob*)

XxxxxxX

The following 2 weeks was the same. During the day: Be the princess and spending time with Daisya and Kanda. And at night, she was 'Nella' secretly meeting Lavi. For some reason, Allena had more fun with at night than in the morning.

"-And that's what happened. Hey Allena are you listening?" Daisya said as he put his cup down.

At the moment, Allena, Daisya and Kanda were down in the garden having tea. (When Lavi was told this, he joked that it was a tea party in which Kanda will get his toys along. Let's just say Lavi had to run for his life after saying that.)

Allena was not listening to Daisya. She was in her own world with her own thoughts. In fact, Allena was remembering what Lavi told her last night. Last night was the first Lavi told her about his past.

-FLASHBACK-

"So Lavi, tell me about your past. You never mentioned it." Allena said. In the past week, she and Lavi became really close and Allena enjoyed his company very much.

Lavi sighed. "Well, it isn't the best past one can have." He said with a sad smile.

Allena pouted. "Mine isn't that great as well." she huffed. She hated lying to Lavi, but it had to be done.

Lavi chuckled. "You sure are stubborn, Nella." He pointed out.

"Yeah, like you're any better." Allena shot back.

Lavi shrugged. The two of them were silent for a few moments before Lavi spoke, shocking Allena. "I was originally born in Mugen. My dad was a knight and my mom was a cook working in the palace. They weren't married but they loved each other. Soon they found out my mum was pregnant and were very happy. Unfortunately, my dad died in war the very same day I was born. My mom was grieved, but she was still smiling and living for me. After 7 years she too, died in an accident. My gramps took me in after that and trained me to be a bookman. Thanks to my incredible memory, I was able to achieve the title of 'bookman's successor'." He said with a sad smile. "Well that's all. The rest of my life was filled with studying and recording history. But then at the age of 15, I entered knight school and graduated not too long ago. I guess I have to thank my dad for that."

-END-

Allena was shaken. How could Lavi be through so much and still smile? Sure, Allena had witnessed her mother's death but at least she had someone to help her forget it. But Lavi had no one. Maybe he had Daisya and Kanda as friends, but she knew for a fact that to become a bookman was no piece of cake. Plus, Bookman wasn't the type to comfort someone. She giggled as she imagined bookman giving Lavi a hug and Lavi looking like he was having a nightmare.

Daisya snapped his fingers in front of Allena's face, causing her to jump. "What was that for?" she snapped at Daisya.

Daisya glared. "I've calling you for the past 5 minutes! What are you thinking about? Let me guess, Lavi right?" Daisya said the last sentence with a snigger.

Allena blushed slightly. "I was…thinking about his childhood. He told me yesterday." She said as she sipped a bit of her (now cold) tea.

Daisya's eyes widened. "Whaaat? It took me a whole to get anything out of that boy!" Daisya exclaimed.

"Really? By the way how long have you guys known Lavi?" Allena asked.

"Since he was 12." The rough and cold voice of the one and only Kanda, was heard. "It was when we first met bookman.

Daisya nodded. "Yeah, but at that time he wasn't like this, he was…bitter and fake let's say." Daisya said.

Allena was surprised. She didn't expect the happy go lucky bunny in other words, Lavi to ever be cold. True, when she first met him she noticed he was acting a bit forced but that was only for the first few days. But, she knew that no one would be all smiles and rainbows with a past like that.

"Oh…" was all Allena could say.

She then noticed that Daisya was nudging Kanda, as if urging him to say something.

Kanda then sighed. "Err…Moyashi…"

"IT'S ALLENA BAKANDA!"

"Do you want to go to town?"

Allena blinked. "Wha-What did you say?" She whispered.

"Che. I asked if you if you wanted to go with me to town." Kanda repeated with a slight blush on his face.

"Bu-but how? My father would never let me!" Allena exclaimed.

"I talked to him yesterday. The king agreed with me. As long as no one knows who you are it's okay." Kanda explained. It was easy to get the king to agree but it was a pain in the ass to get Neah to. And the king, in no matter what case, will take in his brother's decision. But then at long last, he begrudgingly, said yes.

Allena smiled. And to everyone's surprise, she hugged Kanda, causing said boy to blush harder. "Thank you Kanda! This is the greatest thing anyone has ever done for me!" She said as she beamed dazzlingly at the older boy making the boy look like a (very) red tomato.

"Che. Whatever, moyashi."

"It's Allena! Why did I even thank someone like you, BaKanda!"

As the two bickered, Daisya had a frown on his face. He knew Allena always wanted a bit of freedom and here, Kanda was giving her exactly that. Surely, Allena would think anyone who can do that is like a god.

"Wait, did dad say that I have to just stay in the carriage or can I look around town on foot?" Allena asked as they headed back to the castle to get ready for their outing. Apparently, it was like a date to the both of them, because Daisya wasn't going with them (Kanda refused to have him along with them.)

"We won't be taking a carriage. We're going to go on my horse. And yea you can go around down in foot. He said that as long as I was with you, it's fine." Kanda said with a grunt. "I'll wait for you at the front gate. And go see your father before we leave."

Allena smiled and nodded. She couldn't believe it; she's finally going to go see her own kingdom! Sure, she was going to go with Linali and her brother to see their grandparents in the next town. But she would only be able to see the town through the carriage window. In fact, Linali was supposed to come last week, but unfortunately, her grandfather died, and they had to stay for another 2 weeks. 'At least she'll be here for my wedding.' Allena thought as she took out some cloths and changed. After she was done, she went to the throne room to see her father.

XxxxxxX

Lavi sighed as he finally finished all the work the old panda gave him. 'Man, can't he give me a break?' Lavi thought as he got up. He was in the mood of pissing Kanda off, but he knew he would be with Allena most probably. He decided to go around town for a little while so he headed towards the stables. When he reached the stables he saw Daisya and Neah talking about something. "Hey guys!" he called as he reached them.

Daisya and Neah jumped in surprise. "Oh hey Lavi." Daisya said casually. Neah just nodded.

"Say, where's Yuu?" Lavi asked.

Daisya and Neah looked at each other. "He's with the princess." Neah said.

"Oh, that's nice." Lavi said as he placed his hands behind his head.

Daisya and Neah shared another look. "Well I got to go. See you Daisya, Lavi." Neah said before taking his leave.

Lavi looked at Daisya with suspicious look. "What was all that about?" He asked.

Daisya frowned. "I don't know what you mean." He said

Lavi snorted. "You know exactly what I mean. You're forgetting that you're talking to the future bookman here." Lavi said.

Daisya sighed. "We were just wondering if you still had a crush on Allena." He said.

Lavi blushed a bit. "I-I don't know." He muttered. He didn't actually. He lost his crush on the princess about a week ago. But now he has one on another person.

"Then what about Nella?"

Lavi blinked at Daisya. "Why do you want to know?" He asked with a blank expression, though the blush was still evident on his cheeks.

Daisya shrugged. "Just asking." He said simply.

Lavi sighed. "I can't have any feelings for her. So there's no point in asking." He replied.

"You didn't deny it. So it's true, right?" Daisya said.

Lavi nodded. There was no reason to hide it anymore. "It's just a little crush. It'll go away I guess." He lied. He knew it was a strong feeling. But Daisya doesn't know that. The more time he spends with her, the more his feelings grow.

The two friends stood, neither knowing what to say. Lavi decided to go on with his plan and spoke. "I'm gonna go to town now. Wanna join me?" Lavi could've sworn he saw panic flash through Daisya's face but it was gone as soon as it came.

"How about we go hunting? It's been a long time since the two of us have gone alone." Daisya said hastily.

Lavi narrowed his eyes at Daisya, causing the younger to look away from the redhead's intense gaze.

Lavi sighed. "Alright, let me just get my bow and arrow." Lavi said. He turned his heel and left, leaving the brunette. Daisya sighed in relief. 'I hope I can at least distract him for 3 hours…dammit! Why do I have to be the matchmaker here?' he thought with a groan. Then, he too went and grabbed his equipment.

XxxxxxX

~Allena~

Allena had a huge grin on her face as she and Kanda went around town. She never thought it'd be so much fun going around town. She wondered why her dad didn't let her go before; everyone was so nice! He bought many things like figures and souvenirs (even though it was technically her kingdom.)

"Kanda, Kanda! Can we go there?" Allena asked as she tugged the prince's sleeve and pointed to a theatre.

Allena could've sworn she saw Kanda smile slightly. "Sure, moyashi." He said with a smirk.

"It's Allena!" Allena said with a smile on her face. She really appreciated that Kanda came with her and she had to admit, she sure was having a lot of fun. Suddenly, the image of a certain redhead flashed in her mind, causing her to shake her head. 'Why am I thinking about him now?' she thought with a frown.

Kanda noticed Allena's change in expression. "Are you ok, moyashi?" he asked.

Allena smiled cheerfully at him. "I'm more than ok Kanda. This is the best day of my life! I'm glad you came with me." She said as she gave the older boy a hug.

Kanda hugged her back with a small smile and a light blush. 'Maybe I still have a chance with her. I won't let Lavi have her.' He thought as Allena broke the hug. Kanda grabbed Allena's hand and began to lead her towards the theatre. He didn't miss the blush on her face, and in a long time, Kanda felt content.

~Lavi~

"Honestly Daisy, you just had to choose the worst day to go hunting. There's nothing here except rabbits!" Lavi said with a groan. He and Daisya were currently in the forest. They didn't go as deep as they usually do for they were alone. Even though the forest is said to be perfectly safe, some people have heard that a few wild animals dwell deep within, so king Froi did not allow them to go too far. Today, however was not a good day to hunt (in Lavi's opinion) since all that they could see was rabbits. And Lavi never hunted rabbits. To him, he thinks its wrong for such awesome beings to be killed by hunt.

Just then Daisya shot a rabbit. "Oh come on, they're fun to hunt. I bet Yuu would've loved to come today. Killing rabbits is probably his favorite hobby." Daisya said with a smirk a he grabbed the dead rabbit and put it in the bag he got along with him. "Anyways, we should head back. It's getting dark."

Lavi had to agree. It was getting pretty late and he wanted to rest a bit before having his dinner and meeting up with Nella. "Yea let's get back"

The two friends mounted their horses and began to make their way towards the stables. On the way none of them spoke, but when Lavi couldn't bear the silence anymore, he spoke. "Hey Daisya, do you think the princess and Yuu would be happy together?" he asked.

"No." Daisya replied immediately.

Lavi was taken aback by Daisya's quick response. "And why's that?" He questioned.

Daisya grinned. "You'll see." He said as he sped up.

"Hey! That's not an answer." Lavi said as he chased the prince. "Get back here!"

Daisya laughed. But his laughter was cut short when he reached the stables. From a little distance he could see Kanda and Allena returning from their trip. "Daisya, Don't leave me behind!" all Daisya could think now was. 'Oh shit.'

XxxxxX

A/n: Ahh…cliffie? Jk jk!

XxxxxX

Lavi soon caught up with Daisya outside the stables. Lavi noticed that Daisya was staring at him. "Eh…Daisy, are you ok?" he asked. The boy in question kept on staring. "Daisya?" Still no response. Lavi waved his hand in front of Daisya's face.

Daisya blinked. "Huh?" he said smartly.

"Dude, stop scaring me like that!" Lavi said.

"Oh, sorry. Hey, Lavi I wanted to ask you, why doe bookman have so little hair." Daisya asked.

That did the trick; Lavi instantaneously started ranting about how careless and annoying the old man was.

Daisya wasn't paying attention to Lavi. He was looking behind Lavi. Kanda and Allena just got back and Kanda was currently helping Allena down. His jaw touched the ground, when he saw that Allena gave Kanda a kiss on his cheek. Kanda blushed and put his hands around Allena's waist. Allena reddened as well and circled her hands around Kanda's neck. The two were leaning closer and closer….

"Hey Daisya, what are you gaping at?" Lavi asked. Daisya turned to face Lavi and saw that he was about to turn around.

Panicking, Daisya kicked Lavi's horse on its leg. The horse neighed and bolted forward.

"Woah!" Lavi yelped as the horse began to move frontward.

Lavi's yelp snapped Allena and Kanda out of their little world and the duo turned and saw Daisya.

"Hey Allena, Yuu! Had fun?" Daisya asked with a smirk.

Allena's blush darkened and she stormed into the castle. Kanda glared at him before following suit.

Daisya grinned to himself. He didn't let Lavi see Allena and he didn't let Allena kiss his brother. 'I LOVE killing two birds with one stone.' He thought with a chuckle before going off to find Lavi.

XxxxxxX

Allena was exhausted. Wait, that was an understatement, she was BEYOND exhausted. As soon as she got back her father and uncle came to her and asked her a hell lot of pointless questions till dinner. At dinner, Allena thought she was going to fall asleep a minute now. Sure, she was excited and all after she got back, but she was at least hoping to rest a bit. She washed her face hoping that'll wake her up a bit. It didn't. She looked at the time and noticed it was half past nine. 'I have to meet Lavi in an hour. I'll take a quick nap before that.' She thought as she lied down on her bed. Within a few minutes, Allena was fast asleep.

X~_10:45_~X

Allena was awaked by the sound of 'flick' coming from her balcony. She rushed there and saw Reveer was looking up at her.

"Princess! Where have you been? Lavi has been looking for you!" He said.

Allena rubbed her eyes. "I was asleep. Why, what time is it, Reveer?" She asked the night guard.

"It's 10:45."

Allena's eyes widened. "Oh damn! I'm late!" She flew back inside and quickly grabbed the rope and put on her cloak. Reveer hastily led her to where he told Lavi to wait.

Lavi let out a sigh of relief when he saw her. "Nella! Where've you been? I got so worried!" He said as he gave Allena a hug.

"Lavi let go! I was only late for 15 minutes! Jeez!" Allena said as she tried to get out of Lavi's grasp and trying not to blush. 'Why the hell am I blushing anyways?'

Lavi let her go and turned to Reveer. "Thanks, Reveer!" He said with a smile.

Reveer beamed. "Welcome Lavi. But please don't go yelling next time that Nella has been kidnapped." He said.

"He did WHAT?" Allena asked. "God dammit Lavi! I was just having a nap!"

"But, I was worried! I care about you!" He said with a pout.

Allena sighed and Reveer chuckled. "Whatever, let's just get going." She said.

Lavi nodded and took her hand, causing the girl's blush to return. "Make sure to be back when you here the horn!" Reveer called as Lavi and Allena made their way to the clearing.

Once the two sat, Allena took off her hood and Lavi gasped. Allena turned and saw him staring at her with shocking expression. "Lavi, what's wrong?" she asked, confused.

Lavi gulped. "N-Nella, w-why do you have that mark a-above your left eye?" He asked with a hint of fright.

Allena eyes widened in shock. "What? H-how do you know?" she whispered. As she covered he left eye.

Lavi continued staring at her, there was a hint of fear and something Allena couldn't put her finger on in his emerald eyes, sympathy maybe?

Allena then remembered that after washing her face she took a nap and when she woke she was in such a hurry that she forgot to put on her makeup.

Lavi slowly raised his hand, but Allena moved away. "D-don't touch me!" She screamed with tears in her eyes. "Stay away! Please, I didn't do anything!"

By now she was sobbing by now. Lavi was the first person apart from her family who knew about her eye. Heck, not even bookman knew about it!

Suddenly, a pair of hands pulled her towards the warm body. "Nella, calm down, I'm not going to judge you." He wiped her tears away. "I don't believe someone as good as you can do anything bad." He whispered in her ear.

Allena then notice the position they were in; she was sitting on Lavi's lap and Lavi had his hands around her waist. Not to mention, they're faces were inches apart. Allen blushed. "But Lavi, don't you know what this mark means?" she half whispered.

Lavi softly smiled at her. "I know. And I would like to know how you got it. Even if you did something when you were younger, you're not the same person now, right? To tell you the truth, you're kindest and most selfless person I've ever met." He surprised Allena by kissing her forehead, exactly where the pentacle was. Allena never thought she'd ever blush so much in her life.

Allena looked up at Lavi again. The boy he still had that radiant smile on his face, and was it just Allena or was he blushing lightly as well?

Allena returned the smile. "Thank you Lavi. Apart from my- I mean, the king and the princess. You're the only one who knows. I got it as a birthmark. I had to cover it up so no one will think about me being a bad person." She said. She felt guilty for lying to Lavi, but she had to.

Lavi just nodded understandingly and pulled her closer her closer to his chest. The two stayed like that for a few minutes, but in reality it was much more than that. Tonight, the horn blew quicker than ever and both were sad that they had to go.

Lavi led Allena back to where Reveer was. Both were silent on the way but both had an unmistakable blush on their face which the other didn't notice. However, that didn't escape Reveer's observation. After Lavi and Allena bid each other farewell, Revver decided to ask her.

"Your highness, I know this is none of my business, but I want to ask you, do you like Lavi? As in, more than a friend?" He asked slowly.

Allena blushed and hesitated. She did like the bookman a lot but she wasn't sure that it was more than Kanda or Daisya. "I-I don't know." She answered truthfully.

The whole way she was thinking about Lavi. She remembered his smile, his emerald eyes, his handsome face, the fact that he can make her laugh in any condition and also…he believed her when she said it was a birthmark and she didn't earn it.

As she got into bed she finally came to her decision, she liked Lavi more than a friend and almost as much as her suitor. 'I wonder if the feelings will increase…but I know we can't be together. I'm a princess and he's a bookman. Yeah, we can ever be together.' She thought with a sigh before sleep consumed her.

XxxxxX

Jen: Ok I'm in hurry…So hope you like it! Bye and see ya!

p.s: Sorry but updates will be slow!