Wrote this in the library on some paper when I had some free time the other day so I'm just typing it into the computer and uploading it. I only hope no one was reading over my shoulder.

Disclaimer: You know who DGM rightfully belongs to.


Chapter 9 - Distrust

Tyki checked his reflection in the mirror. Looking good as usual, he told himself, and then he decided to go check on Kanda. That boy had been acting rather strangely ever since that evening ball two days ago and had definitely not been himself since. Tyki recalled, on the night they came back, Kanda had slipped out of the house in the middle of the night. What for, he didn't know.

All he knew was that Kanda was already back around dawn, before Tyki woke up. The magician has been so tired that day he forgot to ask his assistant about it and later, the following night, Kanda slipped out of the house yet again. Tyki furrowed his eyebrows as he pondered over this. Why was Kanda going out on all these little night excursions?

Heaving a small sigh, he knocked on his assistant's bedroom door. Upon hearing no answer, Tyki lost his patience and entered Kanda's room.

It was dark and unlit, and labored breathing came from a figure curled under the bed sheets. Tyki approached the bed slowly and placed his hand on Kanda's shoulder gently.

"Kanda? Is everything alright?"

The boy gasped and jerked away from his touch, pulling the sheets tighter around him. Tyki was shocked to feel the heat emanating from his body that he could feel just by touching him, and traces of cold sweat lingered on his palm. Immediately he reached out again to feel Kanda's forehead.

"You have a fever, my dear. A terrible one at that."

"I'll… I'll be fine… I'll be up in… A few… A few minutes…" Kanda answered hoarsely and succumbed to a coughing fit as he tried to sit up.

Worry gripped his heart as he watched Kanda tremble after coughing. Without a word, he went out and then came back again with some pills and a glass of water. After much coaxing, he managed to get Kanda to sit up and lean on his shoulder.

"Here, take this. It'll make the fever go down."

Kanda fumbled weakly as he felt for the pills, took them and swallowed the tiny white tablets with the help of the water. Then, shuddering, he slumped back under the sheets. Tyki looked at him for a few moments before leaving to get a towel from the bathroom.

It had rained heavily last night, Tyki knew, and if Kanda went out in that storm, it wasn't surprising that he fell sick. Tyki shook his head. That assistant of his was really a handful, getting sick and all. He would've thought a boy his age could've taken better care of himself.

Not that Kanda was as old as him. He reminded himself that the boy was nearly a decade younger than him, eight or nine years' gap to say the very least. Something was definitely troubling the younger man, if he wasn't already so troubled.

Tyki went into his room again and wiped some of Kanda's sweat away gently. Kanda was breathing heavily, his slumber interrupted now and then by sudden coughs. As Tyki gazed at his shaking form, he decided to let things be for a while. Leave all the unanswered questions till later.

Just as he was about to get up and leave, Kanda muttered softly.

"No… Don't leave yet…"

Tyki paused, and then settled at the bed side to stroke his hair. "I won't. I'm not going anywhere."

Kanda shifted slightly before moaning. "It's not… No… I have to find him…"

He was delirious, Tyki realized. His fever must be terrible. But at the same time, a strange feeling crept into his heart. Who exactly was Kanda talking about?

It was a while before Kanda stopped tossing and turning in his sleep and Tyki judged it safe enough to leave him. Yet everything left an unpleasant void in his soul, many questions were still yet to be answered.

But he had already decided not to pursue those matters for today, did he not?

Still, Tyki couldn't help but mutter angrily. "Shit, Kanda, why aren't you telling me anything? What the heck are you hiding from me?"


"Say I can't come."

"But Elizabeth will be there and she'll be awfully disappointed."

"Do you think I care? Road, I'm busy."

"Sheesh, Tyki. Father won't be pleased."

Tyki rolled his eyes as he clutched the receiver tightly. Road had called to ask him over for tea, but Tyki knew better than not to expect a date waiting for him.

"My assistant is ill. I need to take care of him."

"He's a grown man. He can take care of himself, can't he?"

"He was delirious. It's really bad."

"Stop being so stubborn, Tyki."

"Am not."

"Am too."

"Stop being so childish."

"Just go!" An angry voice burst out and Tyki looked up to see Kanda glaring at him from the door. Then his entire frame shook, his eyes closed and Tyki dashed forward to catch him before he hit the ground.

"Damn it, what are you doing out of your room? You're sick, Kanda." Tyki carried him to the couch and placed him carefully on it.

"Just… Go where ever you need to be… I'll be fine on my own."

Tyki felt his forehead again. "The fever is still there. I don't feel safe about leaving you here on your own. God knows what kind of trouble you'll get into."

"Che, I can take care of myself."

The older man glanced at the clock overhead. Then he looked at his young charge. "If I go now, I'll be gone for a couple of hours or so. I'll try to be back before then but will you be alright on your own?"

The Japanese nodded slowly. "Just fucking leave before this talking gives me a headache."

Tyki chuckled and dropped a kiss on his forehead. "Rest well, okay? I'll be back as soon as I can."

Kanda opened his eyes and glared at him. "Don't treat me like some stupid kid who needs… Who needs a goodnight kiss from his mother."

"Alright, alright, point taken."

He heard Tyki go out and the door closed behind him. There was silence in the house for a few moments, only the sound of the clock ticking could be heard. Kanda opened his eyes slowly again and blinked to clear his vision. Groggily, he pulled himself up and tried to stand.

His vision swam before him but he forced himself to walk to the closet and grab a new shirt. He pulled it on and then proceeded to sweep his hair into a ponytail. Then he made his way out of the house, careful to close the door behind him.

His head was spinning so badly but Kanda was stubbornly making his way to town. He had to find something to do, some random errand to run, for he needed cash desperately. He knew he would be in deep trouble for losing Tyki's money but he wasn't going to tell him that. Kanda decided that he would just do things his way and try and earn the money back. He didn't want to have to rely on Tyki anymore.

Kanda's only worry now was that Tyki would get back before he did. That would spell trouble. Of course it would be much easier to just tell the man what was going on. Kanda shook his head. No, no more relying on him.


Tyki got down from the carriage and entered the garden from a small side gate. The lawn was neatly kept, and the fences were white washed. Not far off, Tyki could hear some chatter. It sounded more than just his brother and Elizabeth. He groaned. How many people will there be exactly for this tea party?

Cyril looked up as he heard Tyki approach and smiled broadly. "I'm glad you could make it, my dear brother! Come over here and have a seat."

Tyki pulled up a chair and sat down, greeting Elizabeth with a dazzling smile as he did so. The girl blushed and smiled back at him.

"Good day to you, Sir Mikk."

"Feel free to call me Tyki."

Road came over and threw her arms around his neck. "Tyki, you came!" And then she muttered in an under tone. "I thought you weren't coming?"

"I changed my mind."

"You changed it, or did Kanda change it for you?"

"Road, why don't we leave your uncle alone so he can spend some free time with our guest?" Cyril asked. Road gave Tyki a look that clearly said "Do you want me to stay or not?"

Tyki looked up at his brother. "I um… I kinda promised Road I'll take her out to the stables today."

"Yeah, I wanted to see the pretty horses."

Cyril clapped his hands together. "Wonderful! Tyki, you can bring not alone Road along, but Elizabeth too. I'll have the groom bring out two of the best horses for riding."

Tyki nearly fainted at the proposal but he merely smiled and accepted it. It would be useless to convince his brother otherwise, and besides, he had to a gracious host, right?

He remembered the times when he was younger. His brother would teach him how to ride a horse, like a gentleman would, Cyril always said. He loved his family, and he loved being part of the Noahs, but things have changed now. What he would give to go back to those times.

Road got onto one of the horses and held the reins. Then Tyki realized something.

"Uh, wait, two horses for three people?"

His niece glanced at the two of them. "Oh, I guess you would have to share with Elizabeth, wouldn't you?"

If Tyki were any younger he would have blushed but instead he raised his eyebrows. Turning to Elizabeth, he offered his hand.

"Do you mind?"

The girl hesitated then shook her head. "As a matter of fact, I don't."

He helped her get on the horse and then settled behind her. Tyki watched the horse in front of them at the same time. Road was liable to start galloping the horses and then Cyril would have his head for "endangering" his precious daughter.

At the same time, he couldn't help but worry about his assistant back at home. He hoped he could leave soon, and check on Kanda.

He felt Road's eyes on him and looked up. His niece was smirking as she turned back to her horse and Tyki heard a voice in his head.

'Tell him how you feel, wouldn't you?'

'No can do, my dear. Concentrate on guiding your own horse.'

'Oh, the horse can see for itself. What would your lover think if he knew you were dating another woman?'

Tyki felt somewhat annoyed. 'I am not dating another woman and I do not have a lover.'

'Whatever.'

Yet, he knew he couldn't go on like this. Who was he to berate Kanda about hiding things when he himself had so many secrets to keep?


Getting back home wasn't easy this time, because there was such a burden on Tyki's mind. He wondered if they could have a proper talk when he got home. Then a figure at the front door caught his eye.

It was Kanda, who looked as if he just got back from somewhere. Tyki froze in his tracks. Did Kanda pretend to be sick so that he could leave the house when unattended?

As if answering his question, the young man reached out to unlock the door, but dropped to the ground before he could enter in a faint. Tyki ran over to his unconscious body and picked him up gently.

"You fool, where the heck did you go? What's so important that you could risk your health not to miss?" He muttered angrily as he carried Kanda back to his room.

The fever went down already, but Tyki knew that his body was extremely weak and over exhausted, which was why he fainted in the first place. His clothes looked rather worn out too, and he was quite dirty all over. So it was only natural when Kanda opened his eyes eventually for Tyki to ask.

"Do you want to take a bath now, Kanda?"

The boy sat upright in shock. "You're… You're back."

"What's the matter? Missed me already?"

Kanda looked away angrily. "Che. No."

Tyki got off his bed. "You better wash up, but remember to dry yourself. We can't have you catching another cold."

As the magician walked out, Kanda gripped the bed sheets. He was sure that Tyki was starting to catch on, but he still had one last errand to run before everything could go back to normal again. Till then, he just had to keep this façade up. He didn't count on falling sick though, and catching a cold only slowed down everything. Just his luck.

He knew tomorrow was Thursday already. And that would mean that the moyashi and his friend would be waiting for him at Madison's Square at dawn.

Kanda pushed himself off the bed and made for the drawers. He pulled out a roll of notes and added some new ones from his pocket to the stash. Looks like he would have to go out again tonight for a few more errands. He had added his own money that Tyki had given him for allowance to the stack as well. The sum was nearly enough, and Kanda wanted to at least be able to return the money he lost to Tyki before he left for Madison's Square the next morning.

He counted the money for one last time, and then kept it into the drawer before heading to the bathroom.


"Why can't I get you out of my head for just one fucking moment?"

Tyki sank into his arm chair and placed his head in his hands. He wanted to just stop thinking about everything for just one moment and calm himself down. His life had changed so much ever since Kanda made an entrance and he wasn't sure what he would do if the boy ever left.

"This isn't working…" He mumbled as he reached for a bottle of wine on his table. Maybe if he was drunk, it would be easier to forget everything for a while.

Staring at the amber liquid that strangely reflected the color in his eyes, Tyki wondered if it was too much to wish that they were both living in a different world than this.


Just a note for the next chapter: Things will be getting really graphic and violent, and for those who cannot take non-con, do steer clear from the next chapter. I warned you.