Byul & Hoshi note: We just wanted to thank everyone again! Sorry for the late release. Writer's block. Disease (common cold). PSAT, ACT, and SAT. Exams. Severe lack of sleep. Making an entire costume with fabric, luan, Styrofoam, and hot glue. Performance week. Homework. Hoshi and Byul has it. To make up for it, this chappie is extra long! :D

Hoshi has signed in
Byul
has signed in
Hoshi Ha! I finally signed in before you did!
Byul Big whoop.
Hoshi WHOOP!
Byul
...gawd you're so stupid!
Hoshi
Yeah well...you have a dumb foot!
Byul
No you're foot is dumb! XD
Hoshi
-ignores- so anyways, we'd just like to let you know that our school's production of Beauty and the Beast is finally over -tears up a bit- so I can start writing again.
Byul Yeah. Hoshi was Madame de la Grande Bouche (google it!) and I was a tekkie (designed and ran all the lights myself!) :D
Hoshi WHOOP! Anyways I noticed something...
Byul And that is?
Hoshi
There are a LOT of orphans in this story o.o
Byul
Well, yeah, -Man is a pretty depressing series.
Hoshi So true. Sigh but it's full of bishies and plot twists, so IT'S WORTH IT :D
Byul
You said it mah sistah :D
Hoshi
We love bishies.
Byul Love love.
Hoshi
Especially the tsundere type like Kanda *drools*
Byul
Whoo, that man is sex on sexy legs xD
Hoshi
Shall we give them more sex on sexy legs?
Byul
Let's :D

Enjoy~!

Show Biz: Act I

Scene VI
Some Cupid Kills With Arrows, Some With Rabbit Traps

It was Kanda's turn to file away his feelings for later processing.

It wasn't that he was in denial, no, he just needed some time to think...but now wasn't that time. Too much was happening right now to be concerned with such things. Plus, he hadn't even been in a relationship before. He was confused as to what he should do, or whether this was really - for want of a better term - him liking Allen, although he'd never admit that to anyone. Especially himself. He tried to tell himself that he had just met the Moyashi only half a month ago. They fought all the time. This was just a passing fancy. A "crush" as they call it. He would be over and done with it in no time, and he could carry on with his life.

It didn't once occur to Kanda that he was gay. He just happened to like a guy. A very girly-looking but surprisingly toned guy...Gah!...anyways...Kanda had never been concerned about something as trivial as sexualities anyways. Who cares if you were straight or homosexual or bisexual or transsexual or any of those other things? It's not like you were hurting anyone by loving.

But I digress. This was something that could be thought of later. After all, they were partners. If the need ever arose, Kanda would have plenty of time to sort things out with the Moyashi later.

Right?


Allen finished his shower and got dressed in a daze. He had known he liked Kanda, but didn't really want to admit it. He hadn't realized just how precariously he was teetering on the edge of the figurative cliff, and he didn't think he'd be ready to fall any time soon. He had never had much luck with the people he'd loved...he didn't want to ruin the weird, bickery, unstable friendship he and Kanda had developed in the past two weeks. Sure it was a bit strange, but it was nice.

Plus, he still wasn't exactly sure why he was so attracted to Kanda. Like Kanda had said last night, they knew virtually nothing about each other.

But maybe that was it. Maybe it was precisely because he didn't know anything about Kanda that he was so interested. It was his drive to know more that pulled him closer to the man.

Why was he so cold? Why did he hide what he felt? How was his family? Did he...did he have a family? Why didn't he ever talk about himself? Why was he so interested in...in his father? In him?

That was another thing. What the hell did Kanda mean when he said he was interested in Allen?

Saying those kinds of things...doesn't he realize that he's just getting my hopes up? Allen though, feeling drained, forgetting for a second that Kanda had thought he was asleep.

Allen looked at himself in the bathroom mirror and was surprised to see a frail, tired, drained person looking back at him. He couldn't help asking himself why anyone would be interested in him. He was damaged goods. Maybe beyond repair. His retail value was at rock bottom, and it was never going to get any higher. Everything about him was out of order. Like a jigsaw puzzle that had the wrong pieces forced into the wrong place. If he couldn't fix it himself, how could he possibly hope someone else could?

That's it. That's what he really wanted. He needed someone to take him apart, piece by piece, so that not even the twisted image of the messed up puzzle was left. Just a blank slate. He needed some one to do that, and then put the pieces back in order...But that was impossible. Allen himself couldn't even do it. No way was he expecting someone else to be able to, much less want to.

He splashed his face with water one last time and murmured, "Come on, Allen. This isn't like you. Wake up. Smile. Keep walking."

Yeah, keep walking. Easier said than done. But Allen wasn't about to stop. He had stayed still long enough. He had to get moving again.

But not like this... Allen pondered, as his mind once again returned to the thought of Kanda.

What was he going to do? He couldn't avoid the fact that he liked Kanda, no matter how confused he was about it. He wasn't worried about that. He was worried about how to hide it.

Yes hide it. There was no way he could let Kanda, or anyone, know about this. After all, Kanda wasn't in to men, and had made it perfectly clear:

He didn't do relationships.


"Alright both of you take a break," the director said to Allen and Kanda.

They had been shooting for a few hours already, and both of them were ready to relax for a bit.

So far it had gone well. They got there about fifteen minutes early and greeted all the staff and crew in the studio. Then they had been whisked away to change. The staff made full use of Kanda and Allen's polar opposite looks. They had dressed them both in suits with ties, but while Kanda wore all black with a white tie, Allen wore all white with a black tie. They painted Allen's left hand nails black (upon his prior request), and painted the right ones white; they did the opposite for Kanda. The theme was clean cut colors, so the shooting area was all white, with all red props. Red couch, red pedestal, red ribbon, red petals, red bottles for the products – although those were only for special order. It all came together in a very elegant fashion.

The motto for this series of commercials and photos was: "Do you want to know the secret? It's DHC."

They had Allen and Kanda sit on the couch once they were done getting ready, and the only instructions the director gave them were, "Pretend you have a secret that everyone wants to know, but you're choosing to tell your partner. Make it special. And if you have to talk, whisper."

The director proceeded to told them to act natural and all that jazz, then started filming.

Allen and Kanda just fidgeted for a bit on opposite ends of the couch. Then Allen heard Kanda whisper, "Psst..."

Allen turned when Kanda got his attention. Kanda just jerked his head in a come-over-here motion. Allen caught on to Kanda's act and was happy to oblige. He walked around the back of the couch and leaned over Kanda's shoulder. Allen tugged on his sleeve, as if trying to coax something out of Kanda. Kanda looked both ways before leaning towards Allen and cupping his hand in front Allen's ear, shielding him mouth at the same time. Allen thought the act would end there, but then Kanda whispered, "Soba is my favorite food."

Allen blinked in slight confusion, then looked at Kanda, who just nodded as if to confirm something. In a split second he caught on and broke into a huge smile, grateful that Kanda had shared this small fact with him.

"Aaaand CUT! That was good! An excellent first take! You guys have a nice air around you. Try the same thing but a different scenario," The director shouted as the cameras started rolling once again.

Allen repositioned himself on the red stool to the left of the couch. He sat there with his hands between his legs, giving Kanda furtive glances. Kanda just raised an eyebrow at the behavior. Allen scooted over about half way on the stool, then coughed softly into his hand and patted the now empty area. Kanda looked around then pointed at himself, as if asking whether Allen was talking to him or not. Allen just nodded and patted the seat again. Kanda got up slowly and walked gracefully over to sit down next to Allen. They were extremely close on the small bar stool. Allen's right leg was hanging off, as was Kanda's right. They both sat facing forward, side by side.

This is nice, Allen thought as he leaned in and turned his head sideways towards Kanda. Then Kanda felt something smooth being placed into his palm. He looked down to see that Allen had slipped him a bottle of DHC skin cream as he whispered, "My favorite food is mitorashi dango. I can eat 30 in one go."

Kanda's eyes widened at the ridiculous statement, which was the effect that Allen wanted. Then he brought his fingers to his lips, winked, and went, "Shhh."

The director even forgot to yell cut this time. The cameramen had to stop on their own.

Those two work well together, he thought, immersed in their surprisingly good sync. The two looked and acted like such opposites that most people would never expect it, but they balanced each other well.

Things went on like this for a few hours. They filmed scene after scene. Scenario after scenario. All of which leads us back to our current situation.

Allen and Kanda were currently on break, and Allen was scarfing down as many of the snacks he could cram into his mouth. Kanda just stared at him slack jawed and completely forgot about the soba he'd been eating.

"Where the hell does that all go?" Kanda asked him incredulously. He kept staring at Allen's belly, as if wondering when it would explode.

Allen just gulped down his most recent bite and blushed. "Ah, well, I haven't always had a really fast metabolism. I started eating a lot as a bad habit I picked up from...someone...And for some reason, instead of getting fat, my metabolism just sped up to match. Now it's stuck that way. Actually, my doctor said if I didn't eat so much, I'd probably be extremely malnourished."

"Does your doctor know that your 'nourishment' consists of twenty-seven doughnuts?" Kanda asked bluntly, semi-admitting that he was keeping count.

Allen just laughed and said, "No, I guess not!"

The director came over to them in the midst of their conversation and said, "Hello you two. So, how is your first shoot so far?"

"Che," Kanda said.

"Kanda, don't be rude," Allen said, nudging him in the side. "It's been an amazing experience so far. Thank you for choosing us for something like this."

"Ah," Kanda agreed, refusing to look at the director in the eyes.

"Hmhmhm," the man chuckled, "It's my pleasure. You two turned out to be perfect for this. I wanted to take the opportunity to tell you that you work very nicely together."

Allen just blushed a bit and mumbled a thank you, while Kanda just muttered another "che".

The old director smiled at their different ways of being shy, then said, "It's going to take a while to set up for the photo session. We need to prepare the different camera's you see, and also, one of the photographers isn't here yet. If you two would like, I believe there's enough time for you to wander the shops around the studio. This is a very nice area in town, I'm sure you'll find something you like. And you've earned a break."

Allen and Kanda pondered the suggestion, and surprisingly, Kanda was the first to get up and walk towards the exit. He paused and looked back over his shoulder.

"Coming, Moyashi?"

"My name is Allen, Bakanda," he retorted, nevertheless throwing away his plate to join Kanda. Then a thought occurred to Allen.

"Oh, is it really okay if we walk around in these clothes? They look expensive..."

The director seemed to like the idea and said, "Of course. It's sort of like it's own advertisement. See?" he said as he pointed at Allen and Kanda's shirt collars. They looked at them only to notice that they had 'DHC' on the edge in silver. "Now go! Enjoy the...hmmm...I'd say the hour that you have."

"Thank you, sir!" Allen said as he ran to catch up to Kanda, who was already waiting outside.


"I still don't know how you can eat so much," Kanda commented as he watched Allen stuff dango in his mouth. They had already stopped at five vendors. Three of which were for food. Not to mention they had to run from a pack of girls just before this.

Allen pretended he didn't hear that and popped the last dango into his mouth happily. Kanda looked around and spotted something interesting. It was a beautiful urn. A cream color, with thin silver and black vines lacing it's entire surface. From a distance, the design looked like random paint splatters, but up close it was easy to tell it was a work of art. He asked the vendor what else the stall sold.

"European goods. Mostly antiques," the man said, before turning back to another customer.

Allen walked over to Kanda just in time to hear that.

"Hey, Moyashi," Kanda said over his shoulder. "Aren't you a foreigner? Are you from Europe?"

"...Yes. I was born in England."

"Really? Which part?" Kanda asked curiously as he looked at the urn again.

"I...don't remember," Allen said.

"What?" Kanda said, now turning to fully face Allen.

"I said I don't remember. Now, let's go," Allen said as he turned to leave.

But Kanda wasn't having that.

He grabbed hold of Allen's arm and pulled him back.

"Oi!" Kanda said once he'd turned Allen around. "Stupid Moyashi. I'm sick and tired of you getting mad every time I ask about you. It's fucking annoying! If something is bothering you so much, just get it off your chest already."

Allen blinked. Besides his father, no one really tried to get to know him before. Sure, people would ask, but Allen would always avoid it, and that was that. They stopped trying. Stopped caring. Allen didn't want that sort of weak bond that could be lost in an instant. He wanted something stronger. For once, it seemed that someone was willing to give him that.

"I don't remember because I was only four years old when my parents left me at an orphanage on their trip to Japan. Apparently, they didn't even want me in the same country as them," Allen blurted out, sounding surprisingly cold.

Kanda stared at Allen. He hadn't actually been expecting an answer. He thought Allen would just close up, or get pissed off. This was a different thing all together. It was a cold that only people who had lost something over and over again had. Kanda knew it all too well.

"Why?" he asked boldly. He knew as soon as Allen replied to him that he had managed to crack Allen's hard outer shell. Somehow, he had managed to get a bit closer to this mystery of a boy.

Allen didn't answer at first. After a moment of silence he said, "I don't really know. I heard some volunteers talking one time. I don't remember it happening, but they said my...parents..." Allen spat out spitefully, "...had left me at the gate with a note clutched in my hand. Something about not wanting a child that was so high maintenance. I don't know whether it was my hair or metabolism or arm, but that's it."

What about his arm? Kanda thought, making a mental note to ask about it later.

"...They say I didn't go in at first," Allen continued, unable to stop. "That I kept t-telling them...They'll be back s-s-soon...M...m-mommy said to w-wait h-h-here...We're going h-home today...Kanda..." Allen said, surprising the man in front of him by calling his name suddenly, "How could they?" Allen whispered. He was tense from holding back the tears. It seems like that's all he'd been doing lately. He'd already broken down once, and it was humiliating. So damn humiliating, but strangely relieving. But was that not the end? How much more did he have left bottled up inside him? Had he really pent up that much sadness, stress, and anger in his short life? It made him sick. "Did I do something w-wrong? Was I bad? Fuck, how could they? How could they?" he said, clutching at his hair. He was so angry. So angry and hurt and confused and happy to be letting all this out that it was overwhelming. Allen was strong, but everyone has a limit. Everyone hits a wall. It seemed that, when he was with Kanda, Allen hit that wall over and over again. It kept breaking down so fast that he didn't have time to build it up again, and it felt surprisingly good to feel that part of him breaking.

Dammit...I'm so weak. I've been crying too much lately. This really freaking sucks, Allen thought in frustration as he futilely tried to wipe the tears before they fell.

Kanda thought fast and pulled Allen between two stalls, deep into the alleyway. There, in that tight space, Kanda had the excuse to hold Allen to his chest. "Moyashi, listen well. I'll only say this once."

Allen was clutching at Kanda's vest, refusing to look at him.

"You're the most idiotic person I've ever met...but, you're also the most stupidly selfless person I've ever met. There's no way it was your fault."

No! Allen wanted to shout. You're wrong! Dammit, take it back! I didn't use to be like this at all before that day, so take it back! But Allen couldn't find it in him to voice all of this. He started to shake and Kanda felt a damp spot on his shoulder. If he hadn't felt the tears, he wouldn't have known that Allen was crying. He was too quiet. Kanda was filled with a mixture of emotions. One was a small twinge of guilt for pushing Allen so far. Another was a small sense of victory. This time, he was the one holding Allen. Comforting him. But, the most prominent and forefront emotion was dissatisfaction.

"Che, stupid Moyashi. You need to learn how to cry properly..."


Allen and Kanda got back to the studio just when the photographer got there. He apologized for being late, and they started the photoshoot right away.

"Okay," the director projected, "This time keep in mind that we're taking photos not videos since these will be used in poster ads. You're going to have to stay still for a bit in each pose. I'll tell you when to stop and start. First, I want to start out with some directed scenes. Our photographers have some ideas of their own. Once they're done, you can improvise like you did before. Okay?"

"Yes sir!" Allen said, feeling much better as he dragged Kanda over to the set.

Two photographers came over and told Kanda and Allen to stand back to back. They loosely wrapped the red ribbon around the two and took a few close ups and head shots. The photographers seemed to like the image of Kanda and Allen pressed against each other with a ribbon tying them together so they stuck with that for a while, putting them in various poses. After several shots of that, they were relocated to another part of the set where a small, square, red table and two red chairs waited for them. The table was moved for later use, and the two chairs were moved back to back. However Allen and Kanda were made to face each other, straddling the chairs in the process. Allen blushed a bit, but Kanda just rolled his eyes and pulled him into the chair.

"Okay, now I want you two to get reeeeally close. Like, cheeks touching close," the director told them. "Closer...come on, we don't have all day lads!" he continued as he saw the both of them hesitating.

"Just bear with it for a while," Kanda leaned closer as whispered to Allen, who just blushed even more and nodded vigorously.

"Y-yeah," Allen responded nervously

Everyone was left staring and smiling at the shy duo on set.

They're so cute... they thought.

"Ahem, now create your own scenarios again. It worked extremely well the first time," the director told them happily.

So they did. At first they repeated the scenarios they did before, letting them get some still shots of those. Now, in between each pause, a small secret was passed between the two. But...these secrets slowly turned into those that were much more than just favorite foods...

"My birthday is on Christmas..." Allen admitted in one scene.

"Mine was June 6th. The auditions were a present to myself," Kanda professed in another.

"When I was little, I would ask for a new ball for all my presents," Allen whispered, earning a snort from Kanda. They had to redo that take.

"I...I'm an orphan, too..." Kanda muttered. Allen's eyes widened. He longed to ask all the questions resting at the tip of his tongue, but he held himself back. He didn't want to push Kanda after he'd shared that information so willingly. It didn't seem like something he would tell just anyone. That fact made Allen feel honored, in a way.

"I ran away from...home when I was nine..." Kanda looked at Allen. It seemed like every time this kid opened his mouth, it left him with more questions than answers.

"...MANA is the reason I got into show biz," Kanda whispered, extremely serious now, thinking he was divulging a secret when Allen already knew. He was slightly flustered, but he looked Allen straight in the eyes when he said it, and Allen saw something there he didn't expect to see. A great sadness. Swirling around in those dark onyx depths was a deep sorrow that showed Allen how much Kanda had truly respected, admired, and loved the man known as MANA. Allen tried not to close up this time. Tried with all his being not to flinch away or freeze up or tremble. He didn't want to snap at innocent people anymore. He wanted to change. To be strong; as strong as the man sitting besides him.

"He's my reason, too."


"Finally finished!" Allen said as they exited the studio, back in their normal clothes and ready to hit the hay.

Allen stretched, yawned, and checked his phone. "Man, it's already past eleven! That went later than I thought. Let me call Lenalee to pick us up."

As Allen called their manager, Kanda looked at him. He noticed Allen shivering, and remembered something about a small cold front blowing in. Leave it to Allen not to bring a jacket. He sighed and took off his own and walked over to lay it on Allen's shoulders. Allen just looked up at him and gave him a heart melting smile. Something he might not have done before today. But it was different now. So much had happened. So much had been learned. Kanda turned away, flustered, and said, "Che, what are you smiling about, stupid Moyashi? I just didn't want to hear you bitching about how cold it was."

Allen just chuckled softly. What a tsundere,* Allen thought. His head jerked a bit when Lenalee finally answered the phone, getting his attention.

"Ah, Lenalee...Yes we're done...Eh? I sound happy?..." Allen just looked over his shoulder at the proud man behind him, who was looking at a firefly in a nearby bush. Like this, he seemed like a little kid. Allen smiled and replied, "Nothing special, really."


The next day, Allen and Kanda were once again rushed to a filming site, although this one was in a semi-outdoors restaurant and bar. There were some portable changing rooms where Kanda and Allen put on their waiter outfits.

"Hey this looks a bit like my old school uniform," Allen commented as they both exited and walked over to a table to wait.

"What ever happened to that anyways?" Kanda said, noticing for the first time that Allen wasn't going to school.

"Ah, well, Lenalee and Komui handled it for me. They told my teacher how busy I would be over the next two months. And actually, I'll have more time for school once production starts, since that's all I'm going to be doing. If I get the role that is."

"Che, have some confidence. You mean when you get the role don't you?" Kanda said, annoyed at the Moyashi's obvious lack of confidence.

Allen just rubbed the back of his head and mumbled, "Ah, I just don't want to get my hopes up."

"Che."

"Thanks though, Kanda," Allen said, smiling to show he was grateful for Kanda's rare act of friendship. "Anyways, the teacher agreed only on the condition that I catch up with homework and supplementary lessons whenever there is a gap in my schedule," Allen said, shivers going down his spine when he thought of the work he was going to have to do. "What about you Kanda, aren't you a Uni student?"

"Yeah, but college is a lot more flexible than you think, Moyashi."

"Hmm..." Allen pondered, but was interrupted by the director dragging them to their places.

"Alright," the woman with braids said, "All you need to do is give to the main scene. Don't take too much attention, got it? Act like a bartender would. Clean some counters, wash some glasses, prepare some drinks. Don't use the real stuff though, there are some props under the counter there that you can use. That's pretty much everything. I've been informed that you have other things scheduled for this afternoon, so you're allowed to leave as soon as we finish with you. You only appear in the back of the first part, which takes place outside here, so it shouldn't be too long before you can go. I need to brief everyone else, then we can get started. Be ready for your cues, okay?"

"Yes. Thank you, miss Director," Allen said, giving her a coy smile.

The woman just blushed as her glasses fogged up and hurried away, her twin braids flying behind her.

Allen chuckled softly until he heard a scoff from behind him. He turned to face a grumpy looking Kanda. Of course, Kanda always looked grumpy anyways. The thought made Allen keep chuckling for some reason, which only served to deepen the scowl on Kanda's face.

"Che. Do you always treat girls like that?" Kanda asked him.

"No, but being back in uniform kinda brings that attitude to the surface. Old habits die hard," Allen said as he picked up a champagne glass and twirled it around his finger while reaching for a towel to clean it. Kanda just stared and asked, "What the fuck kinda uniform gives you those kinds of habits?"

"Ah, well...I used to have to work a lot of part time jobs, and the only ones I could squeeze in at night were bar jobs."

"Why the hell did you need money so bad? Owe a debt or something?" Kanda smirked jokingly. As soon as the d-word passed his lips, Allen froze, and slowly turned towards him. The look on his face was both the most miserable and laughable thing that Kanda had ever seen. The corner of his mouth twitched as he tried to cover up a laugh.

"Cross shishou is a demon. An evil, whore loving, wine drinking, exotic traveling, debt racking demon," Allen croaked out, completely serious. This made Kanda want to take a step back and/or burst out laughing. He couldn't decide what to do so he opted to stayed still.

"You don't even want to know how many zeroes that shit is. Damn. I even had to enter illegal poker tournaments to even try and pay that. I had to put up with that for two years until..." Allen continued, not even trying to hide his dark side by now. "Still, I was crazy to agree to that..." Allen trailed off.

His curiosity getting the better of him, Kanda asked, "Until...?...That?"

"Ah, well, you know that promise I made with shishou?" Allen began guiltily, "The 'no-getting-involved-in-show-biz' deal. I was twelve at this point. It was right after I got beaten half to death by these guys I had won some major money from. Of course they took it back so I was at my wits end on how to pay the bills. He found me, dragged me back to the place we were staying at, then shook me awake and asked if I wanted it to stop. Of course I agreed. I don't know why, but he made me promise not to get involved in show biz in exchange for paying half of all the debt from now on. Of course I agreed. Hell, I was only half conscious at the time."

"...Have I ever told you you're completely retarded?" Kanda blurted out without thinking.

"Oh, that's a new one," Allen said sarcastically. But, as always, the rough attitude Kanda put up managed to lighten his mood.

Allen's story had piqued Kanda's curiosity. He was about to ask more questions - Why the hell was Allen with Cross? Did he live in Japan before, or had someone taught him Japanese? Why was his hair white? What traumatic experience made him freeze up that time? Did it have anything to do with his strange scar? Why did he have this power to pull Kanda towards him and snare him in? What was so special about Allen? How did Kanda know nothing about him but his first name, yet still be so captivated? - but the director called action and he was forced to hold his tongue as the shoot began.


"Well, that was a nice experience," Allen commented as they he waved to the cast and crew behind him while Kanda walked ahead to the car.

"Che," Kanda scoffed as he and Allen scooted into the back seat. All of a sudden, they were pulled in by Reever and had barely even buckled in before Lenalee was speeding off. It was like this every time. Everyone was scared shitless to drive with Lenalee. It was like there were rocket thrusters attached to the car when she was driving. Allen would bet his life that she could out-drive an airplane. When she wanted to get shit done, this woman made even the laws of physics bend to her will.

When they opened their eyes, Allen and Kanda found themselves at The Ark once again. 2PM must have been in a contest here or something. Before they had time to think about it further, they were being dragged and pushed up the steps and into a dressing room down the hall to change into some sweats.

"Okay, we still have some time before they get here, so I want you guys to watch Reever perform your parts. Make sure to note the parts that you know you'll have difficulty with. Once everyone get here, you'll all practice together with Reever and their choreographer. Don't be surprised if the dance changes as you go. This was a pretty last minute thing, deciding to put you guys in as backup dancers. They took a liking to you guys last time they were here, so be grateful and make sure to thank all your sunbae*. Got it?" Lenalee ranted as she shoved them into the practice room where Reever was waiting in grey cargo pants and a black muscle shirt.

Leanlee immediately rushed off to finish the massive ammounts of paperwork at the Order, and Reever pushed them into some seats and started to dance, doing his best to explain as he went. Allen and Kanda sat there quietly, tense and itching to dance themeselves, but knowing they had to watch this first, or they'd be totally lost when the others got there. Almost as soon as Reever had finished the dance, 2PM walked in the doors, followed by...

"Lavi? Is that you?" Allen said, feeling lighter once his fiery haired friend walked into the room. The members of 2PM looked back and forth between the two and decided to go get some water for practice while they caught up.

"Allen~!" Lavi squeed as he glomped the boy. "How've ya been? Is Yuu being grumpy as usual?"

Kanda froze in his tracks to face the overly friendly red-head and a confused looking moyashi.

"What the fuck did you just call me?" he asked menacingly, glaring Lavi down.

"Eh? I called you Yuu. That's your name, isn't i-meep!" Lavi squeaked as Kanda grabbed a hold of his collar.

"Who told you? Who the hell told you that name?" Kanda snarled.

"Ack! M-my...grandpa...now...l-lemme go!" Lavi choked out as he tried to pry away Kanda's vice-like grip.

"Don't you ever call me that again? Got it, baka usagi?" Kanda growled in Lavi's face, then shoved him away and stalked off in Rever's direction. Dancing always helped him release some steam.

"Yeesh, didn't think he'd react like that," Lavi coughed, rubbing his sore neck.

"What was that about anyways?" Allen asked Lavi. "What's this about calling him Yuu?"

"Eh? Allen, you mean you're partners and you don't know? That's Kanda's first name. I found out from my grandpa."

"How'd your grandpa know?" And how did I not know that?

"Oh! That's another thing! My gramps knows your old man! They're in the same business."

"Eh? Old man...pf...pffffft! Ahahaha are you talking about Cross shishou? Ahahahaha oh that's rich! So, haha so your grandpa is an informant, too?" Allen asked between bouts of laughter.

"Yeah, that's how I got into show biz. And how I found out Mr. Grumpy Pants' last name," Lavi explained.

They both took a break from their conversation when the members of 2PM walked back in. While Lavi went over to socialize, Allen walked slowly over to Kanda. Out of the corner of his eye, Lavi looked over at Allen and felt his mouth twitch in the beginnings of a frown. However, instead of satisfying his urge to go snatch Allen away and stop him from going to Kanda, he just put on a smile and continued his conversation.

Sometimes, I wonder why I'm so nice...


Kanda was conversing with a very nervous Reever. And why was Reever nervous, you ask? Well, only a select few wouldn't crumple under the menacing aura that Kanda was unconciously emanating from his body. He felt someone place a hand on his shoulder, and whipped around to spread his wrath, but froze when he saw big silver orbs looking right at him. Reever saw that shit was about to go down, so he mumbled something about choreography techniques and made his quick escape to talk with 2PM's dance instructor.

"Che. The fuck do you want, Moyashi?" Kanda scoffed as he turned away again.

Allen wasn't having any of that. He circled around so he was in front of Kanda. They stood there for an awkward few second before Allen risked saying, "...I didn't know your first name was Yuu. I always assumed it was Kanda."

"Don't...!" Kanda said a bit too loudly before he lowered his voice with an annoyed sigh. "Don't call me that! It brings back things I would rather forget..."

"Okay."

Kanda blinked. Then he looked at Allen with one of his rare confused faces. "O...'Okay'?" Kanda asked. "That's it? What happened to the annoying, overly curious Moyashi? He on lunch break or something?"

"It's not that...it's just...I know the feeling. You know. Of wanting to forget."

"Ah..." Kanda said lamely. A large part of him was grateful for Allen's respect for his privacy. There was this smaller part of him though, a very small part, that wished Allen would just ask and get it over with.

They were both startled out of their awkward silence when they heard a chorus of cheers behind them. They realized that practice was finally starting, and Allen looked at Kanda and smiled. "Come on!"

He ran off to join everyone, leaving Kanda to stare at him as he mingled easily with the crowd. Kanda just grimaced as he too walked over to start the dancing.


"Ugh, Komui, please...No more! It's nearly midnight!" Allen begged, threatening to collapse at any second.

As soon as the rehearsal with 2PM had ended, Allen and Kanda were whisked away to the Dark Order to squeeze in some more practice beforethey collapsed from exhaustion. It wasn't humane! This was torture. However, Allen was proud that he didn't say enything...that is...until he noticed the time.

"P...Pish posh. Y-you can still go...for a bit longer," Komui tried to say between yawns, causing Kanda to scoff at him.

"Che, yeah, we probably could, but not you old man."

"O...Old man? Why you...you...yaaaaaah," Komui yawned once again, making his attempted threat much less menacing.

Kanda just grabbed his stuff, and started heading for the door, Allen soon close on his heels.

"Just get some rest, geezer," Kanda muttered. Komui got confused, but Allen smiled, knowing that Kanda was just trying to tell Komui goodnight without sounding "stupid", as Kanda would have put it.

After they left Komui thought, Wait...since when did they get along so well? I can't really remember...oh well, time for bed.


It was 1:17 A.M. and Allen just couldn't get to sleep. He kept dozing off, then waking up a few minutes later to toss and turn, then repeating the entire process. Suddenly, he shot up in bed. "Oh...oh my, God..." he said as he slowly pulled the covers off himself. "Holy crap...oh my God!" he whispered, frantically now, as he flung the rest of the covers off and sprang over to the small desk in the corner of the room. He tried not to make too much noise as he rummaged for a piece of paper and a pencil in the drawers. Apparently though, he was making more noise than he thought, because he soon heard some angry mumbling from the corner, and lookd around to see a shirtless Kanda sit up in bed. He blushed and quickly turned around, and found what he was looking for.

"Do you always have to sleep shirtless?" Allen asked, slightly flustered.

Kanda ignored the question as he brushed some long locks out of his face and asked groggily, "What the...hell you doing?"

Allen just smiled over his shoulder and held up the paper and pencil.

"I'm writing a song."


In the end, Allen managed to finish two songs that night, another melody coming to him just as he was finishing the first song. Even Kanda got interested in the end, helping him think of what to do with the drums and harmonies in both songs, and even a guitar solo in the second song.

Once they managed to get back to sleep, it was already 4:30. They only got two hours of sleep before they were rudely awoken by Kanda yelling, "What the hell is this thing!"

Allen shot up to see Kanda with part of his hair sticking out at an odd angle. It looked strangely...moist? And he noticed Kanda making a disgusted look at whatever he was holding at arms length. It's only when said object meowed that Allen started to realize what it was.

"Tim!"

The golden fluffball perked up his ears and let out another mewl, then started squirming around trying to escape the evil clutches of Kanda.

Kanda promptly dropped Tim in disgust and walked to the bathroom to assess the damage to his hair. Tim bounced on the bed, then sprang off and scurried towards Allen. He stopped right under him and meowed indignantly as if to ask, "What was that rude creature, and why can't I chew it's hair?"

Allen chuckled and scooped up Tim in his arms. "Tim, most people other than me would react like that when you chew their hair."

He only received a small sneeze in reply.

After Kanda recovered from his initial shock, he walked back into the room and asked gruffly, "Where the hell did that thing come from?"

Allen was mid-way through saying that Tim was not a thing when he realized...how did the little feline get here? There was no way he had snuck on board his bags, he'd been there for weeks already. And the same thing went for following him. So how did Tim get here? There was only one other person who knew where he was right now that could bring Tim here...but there was no way he had brought Tim. That man had never done a single thing for him in his life.

"I don't know," Allen finally answered.

Kanda just raised an eyebrow and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Allen said as he walked a few paces to catch up.

"Che, stupid moyashi, if anyone would know how that dumb cat got here, it'll be Lenalee or Komui."

Allen made his usual retort about the nickname and they proceeded downstairs. When they found Lenalee and asked she said, "Oh, that. Cross dropped him off. At least I think it was him, since he matched the description you gave me and-" Lenalee was interrupted by Allen, who had stopped listening after the word Cross came in to the conversation. He snapped out of it and cut Lenalee off.

"Wait. So you're telling me that the devil himself dropped off my cat for me?"

"Oh, Allen, he isn't that bad. He actually seemed rather sweet."

"Ooooh not you too!" Allen groaned. "Why do all women like Shishou? Why! He whores around, drinks wine up the wazoo, and has a debt that would make your unborn grandchildren cry."

Lenalee was hilding back a laugh by the time Allen's tyrade was over. Finally she couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out in a mad fit of giggles. Kanda showed no sign of amusement...unless you counted the slight twitch in his frown now and then.

"What?" Allen said looking back and forth between the two. "What'd I say?"


"Next!"

"I guess that's me. Wish me luck gramps!" Lavi said as he got up shakily to walk to the audition room.

It had been a month since he, Allen, and Kanda had finished the dance with 2PM. Everything had gone well, and Allen had even given him a goodbye hug. He smiled at the thought as he handed the assistant hisstood before the judge.

"Just tell me when to start," he said confidently from the center of the room.

"Now is as good a time as ever," the judge droned, obviously bored from the dozens of auditions he had seen that day. They had found several suitable people for some of the Demon Slayers they'd picked, but there were still a few they couldn't match. What irked the judge the most was that one kid had a partner already. A very nice one too from what he'd heard, and the partner had just walked away from the deal. Just one more person to match up. And it was difficult too. It was extremely rare, if not unheard of, for a newbie to be climbing the ladder so fast before he even officially debuted. From what he heard, the kid had gotten a lucky break with 2PM and his duo got noticed right away by the scouts at the performance. When they learned he was already signed with someone, they went after the manager. Aparently, he and his partner's looks fit the bill to a tee. All they needed was for them to audition to see if their acting was as good as their dancing. However, one of them had backed out, so now the kid they wanted for the Demon Slayer was pushed into the "partner-pending" group. He didn't know why they wanted to hold the final auditions with only pairs, but so be it.

Now, for the first time, the judge deemed it worthy to look up at who he was auditioning. Immediately, his eyes were drawn to the vibrant red hair, messily shoved back with a black headband. For a moment, he wondered if it was dyed, then he pushed the thought aside. The color was too clean, there was no sign of damage, and no hint of any other color peeking out of the roots. If he needed any more convincing, he got it when he looked into the young man's eyes. They were a shocking emerald green, which could only mean...

Oh, a foreigner!, the judge thought, Now that I think about it, the kid whose partner quit...wasn't he a foreigner? Wait, this was the other one they told me about! He was the other kid who was in that 2PM dance...Hmmm well, I'll make a note of it. Anyways, this should be interesting...I wonder, should I shake him up a bit?

"Well kid, what have you got? I can't sit here all day!" the man said as condescendingly as he could.

"I rather thought I'd let you choose, sir," Lavi said with a coy smile. He hadn't missed the gleam of interest and recognition in the judge's eyes. The truth is, Lavi already had an audition piece; a very nice one from a popular Korean film that came out several years ago. However, after the judge's opening statement, he decided to step up to the challenge.

Lavi could see his sudden confidence working its magic as the judge blabbered for something to say.

"You...you though- I...what?" said the rather flabbergasted judge.

"You decide. Pick any recent movie and I'll perform a scene from it. Go ahead, sir, I'll gladly wait," Lavi replied, expertly hiding the immense enjoyment he was getting from the situation.

Sometimes, it payed to have a photographic memory.


"I...I can't believe it. We're...done...Finished!" Allen said ecstatically as he held the dozens of sheets of music in his hands. "I would hug you Kanda, but you're much too antisocial."

Instead of attempting to murder the Moyashi, as he would have done to anyone else (including Moyashi) if he wasn't so tired, he just let out an extremely annoyed "Che!" from where he was laying sprawled out in a chair.

"Point proven," Allen mocked lightly.

Again, Kanda held back the urge to strangle the smaller man. He was too tired and - dare he admit it? - feeling somewhat happy with the work they had done.

"Let's go and tell Lenalee!" Allen suddenly squeed as he moved to drag Kanda up by the arm, then became self conscious at the last moment, deciding to cover the action by reaching for the doorknob instead. But this didn't go unnoticed by Kanda.

Truth be told, this had been happening a lot recently. Allen would reach out to Kanda, then stop. Would be about to tell him something, then just walk away. And Kanda, despite Allen's efforts to play the incidents off, had noticed every single one of them. And frankly it was making him...uncomfortable. Not nervous, no, Kanda never got nervous.

Because sure, aside from today, he and Moyashi fought...a lot...but that was no reason to completely avoid him right? Unless - and this wasn't the first time Kanda's imagination had entertained the idea - that is...unless Allen had found out about Kanda's...feelings? Whatever they were exactly. Was he trying to tell Kanda he wasn't in to him. Almost as soon as he thought it, Kanda dismissed the idea. Not just because of the growing (and slightly disturbing) sentimentality building up inside him, but because he had never acted on those feelings. Not one. Single. Bit.

Unless you count that one time when we were looking at stalls during the DHC commercial. Which I'm not, Kanda thought.

Okay, besides the whole hugging-Allen-between-the-stalls-while-he-cried incident (which was a total act of friendship, as Kanda saw it), nothing. So...what the hell was it? I couldn't be that...Allen hated him?

Could it?

"Che. Annoying," Kanda muttered to himself before getting up to follow Allen downstairs.


Meanwhile, Allen was berating himself for nearly touching Kanda...again.

Gah! Allen, you dumbass! You're only acting more suspicious by veering away at the last second, Allen argued with himself, blushing face buried in his hands.

But, Allen reasoned, its not as if he could help it. Recently, every time he tried to touch Kanda, even for something as trivial as tapping his shoulder, he always got extremely self conscious at the last second. His impulsive nature didn't help either. As a matter of fact, it had nearly been the death of him many times in the past month. On several occasions, he had nearly confessed to Kanda - tempted to get the imminent rejection over with - but had managed to stop himself in the nick of time. There was no sense ruining the perfectly sound(?) friendship he and Kanda had built up in the two months they'd known each other. The only thing that comforted Allen through his inner turmoil was the fact that Kanda hadn't noticed his strange behavior. After all, he didn't want Kanda to think he was avoiding him.

Thank God for small miracles.

While he was thinking about all of this, Allen had unconsciously stopped just outside the doorway. Then, when an unaware Kanda rounded the corner and bumped into Allen, there was a split second of awkwardness before Allen realized who was right behind him and lunged away with a small yell.

He turned to see an extremely annoyed looking Kanda scowling at him.

"The fuck was that, Moyashi? What, am I fucking contaminated or something?" Kanda growled, making no attempt to hide the annoyance - bordering on anger - in his voice.

...Hey Big Guy, you know that thank you? I take it back, Allen ranted in his head.

There was no hiding it now. He'd been caught in the act. He and Kanda stood there in a tense silence and, right when Allen was about to say something along the lines of an apology, they both heard voices coming from the dining room.

"Eh?" Allen said. "That's Lenalee. But...who else is that talking to her?" Allen wondered out loud. The second voice sounded like an older male's, and although there were two of them here this male was much older. His voice came out almost in a rasp. Somewhere between a confident orator and a wheezing old man.

Kanda, his anger momentarily forgotten, just gave Allen a look before walking in that direction to see who it was.

Allen stood there exasperated. Can't he say a "follow me" or "let's go" just ONCE in his life? Oh well... Allen shrugged it off as he once again followed without question.

They walked downstairs to see Lenalee and one other person - indeed, a shrunken old man with long white hair tied in a high and scraggly ponytail - talking away...in...Chinese? Suddenly, papers were being traded, and signed, and traded back again. Then suddenly, the old man beckoned for someone out of sight to come and sign some of the papers. The person he had called to suddenly walked into Allen and Kanda's line of sight, earning a gasp and growl respectively.

"Lavi!" Allen exclaimed joyfully, oblivious to the (once again) annoyed Japanese behind him.

His shout automatically drew all attention to him. Lavi had the most dramatic reaction. His face spread into a wide grin as he waved frantically, as if he and Allen were separated by a hundred yards instead of only a few.

"Allen!" Lavi replied joyously.

The two adults at the table smiled at the friends' display and Lenalee turned to speak to Allen.

"So you do know each other. Good! I'd heard for Mr. Bookman here that Lavi had been in both of your performances. When he said he was the young man with red hair, it was hard not to remember him!" Lenalee commented, turning to smile at Lavi.

"Aw, stop it Miss Lee, yer making me blush," Lavi said dramatically, pretending to cover a non-existent blush.

Lenalee just laughed and continued her conversation with Bookman. Lavi took the chance to walk over to where Allen was in the middle of the stairs. "Yo!"

"Good to see you Lavi!" Allen said above the "Che!" that Kanda muttered. "I didn't expect you to be Chinese."

"Ah, that's just my Gramps. Truth is, he's only half. I'm even more mixed up, as you can see by my dashing, foreign looks," Lavi replied with a wink.

"Keep telling yourself that," Allen teased his friend before continuing. "So really, what are you doing here?"

Allen just happened to ask the question right as the paper signing was finished, and Lenalee took it upon herself to answer.

"Well, your friend here is your Demon Lord for your final auditions! Isn't it wonderful? Plus, his manager has agreed to sign him with the Dark Order! He'll be moving into the dorms soon."

Allen smiled at the news, oblivious to the murderous aura radiating from behind him. Lavi turned away from Lenalee to beam at his friend in return.

As he did, he caught Kanda's disgusted look. They two men looked into each others eyes for a second, just a second...but Lavi noticed something...different in the man's gaze. Something...challenging...

Ah, so that was it, Lavi thought to himself...

Finally caught on to your own feelings, eh? Well then. Challenge accepted.

[Scene end.]

T.B.C.

Byul So, yeah, if anyone can spot the guest character and name him/her then you get a special PM or email from us with an awesome picture Hoshi drew.
Hoshi Yeah, but it's under creative commons so don't go around saying you made it! xD
Byul Oh! And if you know where the whole "dumb foot" reference is from, you get infinite internets.
Hoshi Plus one, just because.
Byul Yeah, once again, sorry fro the lateness. You know...life.
Hoshi Anything that can go wrong, WILL go wrong.
Byul That's pretty much it...
Hoshi Yup, that sums it. I already almost finished the next chapter, so expect a double release this week as an apology for the lateness. Bye!
Hoshi has signed out
Byul Hey wait for me!
Byulhas signed out

*Tsundere - means someone who is gruff on the outside, but doesn't like showing how nice they are on the inside haha