The Hidden Artist
Part Eight: Expectations
Kanda didn't realize until after Allen had left the Hidden Artist for the night that he had forgotten to tell Allen that they needed to talk. He sighed harshly as he helped Lenalee and Lavi close up the gallery. Daisya had left early so that he could start packing for his trip to Europe with Marie and Tiedoll, and Allen had left, claiming to feel ill, so the job had been left to the three of them.
"Hey, Yuu, can I get a ride from you?" Lavi asked as he flicked off the lights of the café after wiping down the tables and putting the chairs up.
"Fine. You, too, Lenalee?" Kanda asked the Chinese woman. Lenalee looked up from her purse, in which she had been searching for something.
"Ahh, no. Brother should be sending me a car to drive me home. Thank you, though, Kanda." she said, smiling at the older man.
"Do you want us to wait until the car gets here?" Lavi asked, probably figuring that Kanda would not object. Not that Kanda would...Nevertheless, the Usagi was being rather presumptuous. Lenalee thought for a brief moment before responding.
"You can if you want, but I will be alright if you don't," she said, still smiling, "I believe, though, Kanda, you have some business to attend to with our youngest friend, who is likely waiting for you at home right now."
Kanda stared at Lenalee, almost tempted to ask how she knew, but that would give him away. He figured that he knew how she knew anyway.
Women's intuition.
He shook his head in dismissal and folded his arms to wait for Lavi.
"Are you sure?" Lavi asked Lenalee, tilting his head to the side.
"Yeah, Lavi. I will be fine. Good night, Lavi. Good night, Kanda." Lenalee said, ending the matter with a gentle finality. Lavi nodded and quickly embraced Lenalee, pulling her close quickly and then letting her go just as quickly.
"Good night, Lenalee." the red-head said with slight embarrassment. He turned around and walked past Kanda, not looking the slightly older man.
"Night, Lenalee." Kanda said, arching an eyebrow at the blush that adorned both the Chinese girl's face and Lavi's face. Whatever.
"What the hell was that about." Kanda sniffed once the two of them were well on their way to Lavi's house and there was no escape.
"What was what about?" Lavi asked in return, staring pointedly out the window. He didn't even try to go for innocent.
"Fine. Whatever." Kanda slowed for a turn, then sped up, going at least fifteen over the speed limit.
"What was with what Lenalee said to you about Allen?" Lavi asked. Kanda rolled his eyes.
"Fucking women's intuition," the Japanese man muttered in disgust.
"Oh." Lavi laughed.
"So you were going to confront Allen? Like I suggested this morning?"
"Do you want to walk the rest of the way home? Stopping the car and kicking your ass out wouldn't pain me in the least." Kanda asked, glaring directly at Lavi.
"Watch the road, Yuu, please?" Lavi asked, watching the road worriedly.
"Stop calling me that name!"
The rest of the ride was silent. Lavi didn't even make a move for the CD player, as he usually would in an awkward situation in Kanda's car. Kanda pulled up to Lavi's driveway and put the car in park, waiting impatiently for Lavi to leave.
"Well...Good night, Yuu."
"You don't listen do you??"
Lavi shrugged, smiling harmlessly.
"I am hard of learning. See you tomorrow, Yuu. And good luck with Allen." he said as he got out of the car, waving at Kanda.
"Don't hurt him when you see him." With a lecherous wink, Lavi shut the door and hurried to his front door, not quite sure that Kanda wouldn't try to run him over. Kanda revved the engine and pulled his cell phone out of his pants pocket. Sometime during the day, he had turned the sound off, so as to not be disturbed during work. He turned the sound back on now, checking his calls as he drove.
Two calls from Lenalee –probably trying to figure out where the hell her employees had disappeared to-, two calls from Tiedoll –no surprise there, the man called at least twice a day, or texted, just to see how Kanda was doing-, one text message from Marie and one text message from Daisya.
Marie messaged what Kanda already knew; the trip to Europe, blah blah blah. Daisya asked if Kanda wanted to drop by to pick up some stew that he had made earlier in the day.
"Che....Everyone is so concerned with my eating habits. Ridiculous. I am a full grown man; I know how to take care of myself." Kanda muttered sourly. Admittedly, the offer was tempting, but the drive to Tiedoll's would take another fifteen to twenty minutes, and Kanda was tired. He just wanted to get home, never mind to any food offers.
Just as Kanda was about to slip the cell back in his pocket, it rang an unfamiliar tone. Kanda pulled his hand up from his pocket and suddenly recognized the tone. It was one that was horridly obnoxious and been had assigned to play for whenever Allen called. Grinning cruelly, Kanda answered the phone.
"What is it, Moyashi?"
A slight gasp on the other side of the line, as if the caller hadn't quite expected for the phone to be picked up. Or that the caller hadn't quite thought it through before dialing the number.
"Hello, Kanda."
"I'm not going to repeat the question."
"Huh? Oh! Right. Umm...Well....I got your note. The one that you left on my door? I...I'm in my apartment, though. I didn't feel well and I needed some pain relievers."
"Okay."
Allen stammered on his words for a few moments and Kanda could almost feel the kid's emotions through the line.
"I...I do want to talk to you. Kanda."
"Whether or not you wanted to talk was not part of my decision to talk to you, Moyashi."
"Ye-yeah. But....I don't know what you want to talk to me about, but...well, I would have called Lavi...to talk, but...I can't get a hold of him."
"That's because I just drove him home."
"Oh...well. There was always Daisya that I could have called. But I don't have his number...and I am not close enough to him to quite-"
"Trust him?" Kanda asked, leaning his foot down on the peddle, pushing the car past 60.
"Are you driving, Kanda?"
"Yes."
"Oh..I'm sorry...I can-"
"Finish what you were saying." Kanda commanded, feeling a little irritated.
"Right...Sorry. Anyway...there is no one else I can..." The Moyashi faltered, but he did not stop in time to cover the break in his voice. He cleared his throat.
"No one else I can talk to. I need you, Kanda. Can you come to my apartment?"
Kanda couldn't get his mind around the "I need you" part, or even get his mind out of the gutter, as Lavi would put it, but he was just able to grunt an agreement before Allen hung up. He dropped the phone in a random compartment in the center consol and put his hand on the stick shift.
What the hell has happened to me in the past day? That I would have accepted the fact that I- that the stupid kid actually means more to me than a verbal punching bag? And that I would currently be rushing to his side right now because he just might start crying if I don't hurry? That I wouldn't be able to control my thoughts because that same kid just said that he needs me....and in such a desperate voice?
"Damn." Kanda hissed, gripping the steering wheel tightly.
I blame Lavi. Fucking rabbit.
He parked in his usual parking space, grabbed his phone and keys, locked the door and then slammed it before heading towards the entrance of the building.
He made it to Allen's apartment in record time and then knocked on the door impatiently. He heard shuffling on the other side of the door and then several locks clicking out of place. The door opened, revealing an almost haggard-looking Allen.
"Jesus, Moyashi. And I thought you trying to get drunk last night was bad. What the fuck's wrong with you?" Kanda huffed, actually rather shocked. Allen laughed weakly and opened his door further to admit Kanda.
"Hello to you, too, Kanda."
The apartment wasn't nearly as much of a mess as the noises that had been made the night previous would allow, so Kanda had to assume that the mess had been cleaned.
"Do you want something to drink? I have drinks in the refrigerator...If you want anything?" Allen offered, trying to make Kanda comfortable.
"No." With that, Kanda continued standing by the door, waiting.
"Right....Down to business, huh?" Allen muttered, moving over to sit on the couch.
"You can sit if you want. It might be a bit more comfortable."
Kanda made an odd noise in his throat and moved to a recliner chair opposite Allen.
"So what the fuck has been wrong with you? Why have you been acting so much like a spoiled little brat?" Kanda demanded after a few moments of relative silence.
"Ahh..Well, that was what I wanted to…talk about. It's just…I kept remembering…something from my past. Well, you see, when I was young….My birth parents abandoned me not long after I was born. I kind of grew up on my own somehow, going from foster family to foster family, but none lasted very long…. When I turned eight….I met my adoptive father…."
"You mean that red-haired freak who was bothering me this afternoon?" Kanda asked, arching an eyebrow as he stared off at the beat-up upright piano in the corner.
"Huh? You mean Master Cross? No, no, he is more like my…teacher. No…He came along later…after my adoptive father…."
Allen stopped. Kanda finally looked over at Allen and noticed the pained expression that adorned the kid's face.
The Brit stood up suddenly and moved away from the couch, clenching his fist. Kanda watched him with narrowed eyes.
Now what the hell was his problem?
Allen was quiet for a long time, back turned to Kanda. Kanda almost lost patience, but Allen then spoke.
"Sorry. It's…still really difficult to talk about for me. Even though it has been almost ten years." Allen said quietly. Kanda almost rolled his eyes. The kid took things too seriously.
"I don't quite remember when it happened, but about the time I turned eight, I met a traveling circus. I joined up with them, and became a part-time clown of sorts. One of the other clowns there was named Mana…"
Kanda cocked his head to the side, recognizing the name that the kid's master had said earlier.
"What would Mana Walker say?"
Mana….Walker? So did Allen get his last name from the traveling clown?
"So he adopted you." Kanda said bluntly.
"Ehh…Yeah. After a while. We knew each other for about a year before he took me in." Allen said, nodding a little. He hand unclenched a little, as he recalled old –obviously more pleasant- memories.
"Mana… was always there for me. He took care of me, taught me everything he knew. He meant so much to me. He was the closest thing to a father that I have ever had. I even considered him my father for a while."
Kanda sighed. It reminded him faintly of Tiedoll. Big-hearted fool.
"But then…a few years later….There was a terrible accident. M-Mana…he got hurt. There wasn't anything that could be done. Afterwards…He died on the scene of the accident. At the age of twelve…I was left alone again. But the way he died…."
Allen stopped again, his voice cracking.
"So that is what has you acting like a child."
Allen growled. He turned around sharply to glare at Kanda
"Why do you have to be such an insensitive-!" He stopped again, sighing. Kanda could almost see Allen reeling himself in, his body shaking ever-so slightly.
"I don't care what you think has been going on with me. You can go on being an arsehole all you want. Just do it out of my apartment." Allen said dismissively, moving into his kitchen. Kanda didn't move, staying right where he was, staring at the upright piano.
He listened to Allen moving about the kitchen as he did something –Kanda wasn't quite sure- being quite noisy as he worked. He didn't know really what to do, but he knew for sure that he wasn't leaving just yet.
A little while later, Allen made his way back into the living room, shuffling tiredly, and looked up.
"Ehh? Why are you still here, Kanda? Thought I asked you to leave."
"You never said anything about leaving, Moyashi. You said something in your ridiculous accent about being an asshole elsewhere, not that I cared to listen to you." Kanda said, smirking at Allen.
"Ugh. You're a jerk. You want anything to drink, since you don't plan on leaving any time soon?" Allen huffed, giving in to Kanda's stubborn attitude.
"Tea, no sugar."
"Heh. Fine. I'll be right back. Anything to eat?"
"No."
Kanda felt his eyes slowly drooping down, his body being overcome by exhaustion. He had probably stayed awake for far too long the night previous. And dealing with Allen and Lavi's antics all day had done nothing to preserve his energy. Kanda sighed and relaxed into the recliner.
"So..Kanda, how did you come to work at the Hidden Artist?"
Allen's voice snapped him back into the wakeful world. Apparently he had almost slipped into sleep. The kid was handing him a cup of steaming tea in a porcelain white coffee mug. Allen bristled a little at Kanda's expression at the coffee mug and said stiffly, "A poor college kid can't afford expensive or nice things, you know."
"Whatever."
"So?"
"So what?"
"How did you come to work at the Hidden Artist? Doing what you do?"
Kanda tensed, thinking for a moment that Allen was talking about his work as the Hidden Artist, but realized that there was no way that Allen could know.
"The old man that I used to live with, Tiedoll, knows Komui and recommended me."
"That simple, eh? But did you really want to be just a security guard?" Allen asked, his look of curiosity the only thing preventing Kanda from actually being insulted. Just a security guard? Really?
"Che. I grew up with an artist, so I know a few things about art."
The kid was silent for a while, sipping at his tea. Kanda was reminded of his own tea and took a small drink. It wasn't that bad. For a poor college kid's tea, Kanda thought with a little amusement.
"Do you know who the Hidden Artist is?" Allen asked suddenly, still very much curious, interrupting Kanda's train of thought. That look on his face…was kind of…cute?
Kanda cringed at the thought.
Apparently Allen mistook the expression as denial.
"So you don't?"
"Are you really that interested in this Hidden Artist person?" Kanda sniffed. Yes, he might be the artist in question, but never-the-less, the kid put way too much into the whole situation. It wasn't as though he really cared about the whole thing. However, Komui had signed him into a contract that stated Kanda couldn't tell anyone that he was the Hidden Artist. Komui got the name for the art gallery, and Kanda was saved from being mobbed by the media. The town's newspaper editor and reporter were rather fanatical about the Hidden Artist, so Kanda kept his identity -and private life- safe.
"Well, I just think that his, or her, art work is just amazing. It is so expressive, but you can't quite grasp those emotions if you just look at it and expect a normal picture. It catches you off-guard and hits you with the full brunt of those emotions when you least expect it. It is such amazing work…." Allen said, his voice filled with awe and praise. Kanda almost felt himself start blushing, but fought the urge. The kid practically worshipped his work. What a freak.
"I suppose you fancy yourself some sort of art expert or something?" Kanda asked, sounding a little defensive in his own opinion. It was rather ridiculous to be acting like this, but the Moyashi didn't seem to notice.
"No. I just like his work. I'm taking an art class and I have done some painting myself….And sometimes I do compare my work to his. Though I can draw and paint just fine, nothing I do can hold a candle to his artistry."
Shut up already! Kanda felt like strangling the Moyashi. They were just pictures! Nothing to get stupid over.
"Che. You're an idiot."
"Yeah…Thanks Kanda." Allen sniffed. Kanda finished the rest of his tea and thrust his cup at the kid. He eyed the cup with a little curiosity.
"You want more tea?"
"Yeah."
"Okay. I'll be right back. It will take a few minutes to brew the tea, though, just so you know."
"As if I haven't made tea before." Kanda remarked, not without a little disdain.
Allen sighed and made his way back into his kitchen.
By the time Kanda had moved to Canada, he was proficient at artistry. He was almost as good as Tiedoll himself –lacking in the obvious experience, since Tiedoll exceeded him in years almost four times over. But Kanda had no real interest in being an artist –hidden or not- for the rest of his life. That did not sound, well, exciting to him.
Kanda felt his eyelids slowly closing.
Just a security guard? Well, Kanda didn't want to be just a security guard. There were so many other things that he could do. He had had training in dozens of fighting styles –ranging from swords to katanas, throwing stars and daggers, fists and other body parts, archery, javelins, crossbow…you name it, Kanda knew it. He had mastered nearly every one of them as well. He knew how to unarm and disable an opponent with lethal and non-lethal force. He could probably kill a man with his own hands and not break a sweat.
A gentle darkness took hold of his consciousness, pushing him into sleep.
Just a security guard? Kanda was a teacher at the university –though he could probably be called more of a coach, he guessed- and taught a physical education unit that touched on many different martial arts as well as body training, and he was also a student there. He wasn't a genius, but he could outwit Lavi if he tried. Kanda was well-equipped to excel in nearly every field he chose. Of course he wouldn't be a scientist or an astronaut –both sounded excessively boring in his opinion- but he was good at what he did.
Just a security guard? What more did the kid want from him?
The dark of sleep was complete; encompassing Kanda, blocking out the stressful events of the day.
..Just what…..would it take….for the kid to open himself up to Kanda…?