-Imitation Black-

"My lady-"

"Erm, could you not call me that? It sounds a little… strange,"

"Alright then Reiichi," Tyki purposefully pronounced her first name with a Portuguese accent. "Would you like to dance?" He bowed slightly, holding out a hand.

Caught off guard, she knew it would be rude to decline, but she wasn't exactly confident in her dancing abilities even if Lavi gave her a crash course yesterday.

"I'm sorry, I'm not exactly experienced," she pointed to her shoes. "I might stab you with these."

"Nonsense," Tyki took the empty plate and drink off her hands and dumped it on some waiter walking past. "I promise you won't even touch me."

He held out his hand again. "People are staring Reiichi…"

It was true. Seeing Tyki Mikk ask a girl twice to dance was blasphemy. For the girl to refuse – even more so offending. Reiichi could see the envious glares of various girls staring at her. Yes, he was devastatingly handsome, but no, she did not think it was a very good idea to embarrass herself in front of the said man. She could already picture him ditching her on the dance floor as she stepped on his foot for the nth time.

Seeing her hesitation, Tyki grabbed her hand and pulled her to the centre of the dance floor. It was the first time his seduction efforts failed – failed! - him but it was not going to make any difference. If he had to show her a good time, then he would. He smiled charmingly, taking her hand into his and placing the other on his shoulder. He let his other hand linger on her back, and they were ready.

As if on cue, a new song started and he started to glide them into the music. Reiichi was staring down hard at her feet, trying to remember what Lavi had taught her.

"Step to the left…then left again.. now ri- owwww…." Lavi let go of her, rubbing his abused foot against his leg.

"I'm sorry! Can you still walk? Do you want to sit?" It has been quite a while since Lavi decided to teach her how to formal dance, and it was not working out.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he took hold of her again. "Let's try that again. You're getting a hang of it,"

"I still don't see a need for this," she sighed tiresomely. "I'll just refuse any offers – if I even have any."

"It's a necessary skill," Lavi insisted. "I think you're doing fine,"

They started off again with Reiichi counting the steps under her breath and making absolutely sure that she was in rhythm.

"That's because this is the…. number something time after 2 hours?"

"Take it easy," he laughed. "At least you got it eventually,"

The duo continued for a few more minutes without any major mishaps.

"I don't think I can do the same if I'm wearing those heels,"

"You'll get used to it," he encouraged, then cleared his throat. "Now remember Rei-chan," he started off seriously.

"When a guy places this hand on your back, you can tell what kind of person he is. If he places his hand on your shoulder blade -," Lavi demonstrated, "This is the proper way to support a girl by the way – it means that his intentions are entirely honorable."

"If it is on your lower portion of your back, I suggest you kick him whenever you please," He grinned devilishly, twirling her around just for the fun of it. "He wants something more from you, so you're welcomed to retaliate,"

"This, however," he moved his hand up so it was in the middle. "Is a little ambiguous. It may be because it's just a more comfortable position, or he is hinting at something else. Well, you are still welcomed to kick him."

"If all else fails," he added finally. "Just call me,"

She could feel Tyki's warm hand pressing on the middle portion of her back. She thought that Lavi probably read too much into body language – I mean, would you purposely decide where to put your hands? – but suddenly she could understand what he was talking about. She wasn't even looking at Tyki in favour of looking at where she was stepping, but she couldn't help but feel slightly apprehensive at his intentions.

"Reiichi," Tyki's deep baritone, even deeper than Kanda's, shook her out of her thoughts. "It's rude to ignore your dancing partner."

"Right," she glanced up, but winced when she knew she took a wrong step.

Strangely enough, her foot connected with the floor and not his shoes. Tyki had maneuvered in time to seem as though that step was entirely natural as he led their dance across the floor. He was smirking at her.

"I told you you won't even touch me," he said arrogantly, smug with self satisfaction.

"I should have known," she was a little impressed with his dancing abilities.

Soon enough he was bringing out various topics for them to chat about. Even with Reiichi's slight social awkwardness, she found herself talking with the model.

"About the project Sheryl-san mentioned earlier," she started. "What does he want?"

"Hmm? I'm not entirely sure of the details," he admitted. "But we can work something out to your advantage."

"It isn't too pretentious for me to say that the Noah clan is headhunting me then?"

"I prefer the words "recruit" and "nurture" ,"

Reiichi scoffed in jest at his words.

"A true gentleman never lies," he added. "We won't force you into anything,"

"I still don't understand why," Reiichi looked at him suspiciously. "I've only done two shoots with Kanda so far-"

"Does it really matter?" he cut in. "You know the benefits of joining us..." he murmured, voice dropping low.

Suddenly she felt something slip underneath her corset bindings. It was stroking her spine lightly. She froze, realizing that it was his fingers. Heat immediately crawled up to her face even though she tried to ignore it.

"Mikk-san-"

"It's Tyki," he insisted.

"Tyki-san," she tried again. "Would you… stop that?"

"Stop what?" he looked back innocently.

Another finger slipped in, and she nearly jumped if not for the fact that they were moving.

"Y-your hand,"

"Hmm?" He feigned ignorance, pulling her a bit closer.

Reiichi started to panic, because this would be the second time she was this close to a male, not counting Lavi. Teenage hormones were starting to surface – her heart was beating faster as she became more aware of how painfully close they were and the smell of his cologne and cigarettes. He was undeniably attractive, but she would not stand for being just another girl he was seducing.

She raised her foot, full intending to land it on his feet…

Lavi approached Lenalee when he saw her, but she didn't seem to notice him. It was only when he tapped her on the shoulder did she acknowledge him.

"What are you looking at?" he asked.

The female model pointed to a mass of people some distance away from her. Lavi spotted Kanda in the middle of it all, trying to look at Lenalee to get her attention.

"He's looking for you,"

"I know," she giggled. "But I'm not risking my life for him,"

Sure enough, as Kanda refused yet another girl to dance with him – did they all not get the fucking hint – another person joined the circle and added on to the never ending queue of people trying to get his attention. He planned to find a dark corner and wait the evening away, but thanks to his best friend who ditched him (actually it's Kanda's fault for losing his temper), he was stuck. He hadn't even gotten the chance to take a glass of wine off the waiters walking by, because people were crowding. He hated crowding.

"Kanda-sama," someone was saying. "I'm a representative from-"

"I'm doing freelance photography, wou-"

"Kanda-sama-"

The high pitch screwed his ears. Blonde hair, too much make up, what was her name again? Oh right, Matsumoto's daughter.

"Kanda-sama," she tried again, her face plastered into a permanent smile.

"No," he bluntly replied.

"Yuu-chan~~" It was annoying, but it was sure as hell better than anything else. He inwardly let out a sigh of relief as he saw the red head bounding towards him. "Sorry girls," he grinned charmingly and winked at one of them. "I have to borrow him for a while."

There was a murmur of unsatisfied groans as Lavi pulled Kanda away.

"Where the fuck were you?"

"Nuh-uh, Yuu," Lavi wagged a finger at him. "Is that how you address your savior?"

"Whatever," Kanda discreetly spied Matsumoto trailing after them. "Shit, she's following me,"

Lavi laughed, patting his back. "Not the first time, Yuu." He ensured that both of them kept walking as though they had a specific destination in mind, taking a longer route to get back to Allen in order to try and lose the girl.

Suddenly he stopped in his tracks, because a flash of red hair on the dance floor couldn't be Reiichi right?

"Oi," Kanda nudged him. "Move, she's catching up."

Lavi grabbed Kanda's arm, pulling him closer to whisper. "Yuu, tell me I'm dreaming, because Rei-chan's dancing with Mikk."

"What?" Kanda followed Lavi's trail of sight. "You're dreaming,"

"Good, good," Lavi laughed weakly, then stopped. "Yuu, this is not the time to joke!"

Lavi was gripping his arm tighter. "What if he does something to her?" he started to ramble frantically. "What if he takes her hostage? What if-"

"Tch," Kanda rolled his eyes. "If you're so concerned, then go break up their dance,"

"I want to! But I can't! He's not doing anything yet!"

"Like that has ever stopped you from doing something stupid,"

"Yuu~" he whined. "Why are you being so heartless? I thought you hated Mikk,"

"Duh," he agreed. "And I hate the entire fucking Noah,"

They watched the dancing pair move along. The dancing pair seemed innocent enough, engaged in decent conversation. Lavi spied Tyki's hand slipping lower and lower and he knew it was trouble. When he saw that his hand entered her corset bindings, that was the last straw.

"He is so dead," Lavi hissed, eyes flashing dangerously. "Yuu, go,"

Before Kanda even had a chance to realize what Lavi was talking about, he felt himself being pushed roughly into the direction of Tyki and Reiichi. His eyes widened in realization and he caught himself before he slammed into them. There was no way to escape this. Once he was on the dance floor, it was even more embarrassing to walk off it after stepping in.

Bastard Lavi. He was so going to pay for this.

Tyki's eyes flickered to the right to another person. Scowling with a disgruntled expression, Kanda was glaring unhappily at everything in general. Tyki raised an eyebrow at him.

"Song's over," Kanda snapped.

"Think about it Reiichi," Tyki brought her hands up to his lips one last time before departing. He flashed a smirk to Kanda who rivaled it with his trademark glare.

"Hand," he grabbed hers before she could even reply.

Another song started, and Kanda led them as Reiichi stood frozen in surprise. Did Kanda just save her? It couldn't be, because that would be entirely out of character for him to do so. But then, it still did not answer the question of why he was dancing –with her no less- because she knew he hated socializing which meant dancing. She dared to glance at him discreetly.

Kanda looked extremely pissed off.

"Sorry," she quickly muttered as she stepped on his foot. He wasn't as good as Tyki at dancing, but she was sure he was better than her at remembering the steps.

"Hn,"

Awkward silence began again, and Reiichi bit her lip. It was hard enough to follow the rhythm, and Kanda was not making it any easier by maintaining his angriness at something she didn't understand. Why was he so difficult to talk to? Even Tyki was easier to handle than him. She was strangely aware of his hand that was on her shoulder blades. It felt warm against her cold skin. She could feel the strength of his body holding her up as he moved with practiced ease.

"What did that Mikk want?" he suddenly demanded, looking at her.

"...Nothing," it was not exactly "nothing", but she couldn't just say, "Oh, the Noah clan wants me to join them."

"Keep away from him if you know what's good for you," Kanda stated.

"Why?" She knew Tyki was a little troublesome, but Kanda's tone put her on the defensive.

"All of them – fucking Noah. Just keep away,"

"What for?" Debitto was nice enough to her, Sheryl was creepy but he was honest, and Tyki was courteous towards her before he tried to touch her. It sounded more like a personal grudge that Kanda was holding. "They aren't bad people-"

"So you like random people slipping their hand up your dress?"

She pursed her lips. Of course he was going to bring that up. "No, but not all the Noah-"

"Look, I'm just telling you to keep out of trouble," he snapped. "You think I want to be here? If usagi hadn't forced me-"

Lavi again. Of course Kanda would never help her out of his own free will.

"What? You're saying I can't defend myself?" she bristled.

Kanda lost his patience. He was being nice enough to warn her about Mikk and yet the girl was not listening to him. Was she smitten with Mikk or something? He shuddered. And to think he thought she was (relatively) better than this fangirls. "Woman, what the fuck is your problem?"

"It's not my problem, Mister," Reiichi spoke with barely concealed irritation. "I'm just going to get more annoyed with you, so I'll leave. If Lavi wants me then tell him to call me."

The music was not finished, but he released her and she strode off without a word.

"Good riddance," Kanda muttered, as he walked off in the opposite direction, not bothering to look back.

"Mikk," Lavi was leaning casually against the wall, but his eyes told a different story.

"Bookman," Tyki acknowledged.

They were outside the ballroom away from the event, in one of the corridors in the manor. Tyki took out a cigarette and lit it easily, sticking it in his mouth as he savored the nicotine. Lavi did not protest although he most certainly hated the smell.

"What do you want with her?" Lavi's voice was hard, very unlike his usual demeanor.

"Her?" Tyki took a long drag, blowing out the smoke. He noticed Lavi's expression getting colder and colder. "Oh, Reiichi, was it?"

"Don't play games with me," Lavi spat, walking closer to him.

"Too bad. We've set the rules and the board," Tyki smirked, leaning against the wall behind him. "And I play for keeps, Bookman,"

Lavi grabbed the front of Tyki's shirt, pulling him dangerously close.

"I know you want me and Yuu, but leave her out of this," he glared, making sure he got his point across.

"You see," Tyki replied unfazed. He pried Lavi's fists off his clothes, straightening the creases. Damn, he liked this shirt. "When the Earl wants her, he wants her,"

Lavi so badly wanted to hurt him and the entire Noah clan in general. Could they not see that they were not interested? But if Tyki emerged with a punch print, the media was going to have a wild frenzy which would be troublesome to play down.

"And you just follow orders?"

"Of course," That infuriating smirk did not leave his face as he took another drag. "It doesn't hurt to have a little fun along the way,"

Reiichi was wandering around the manor. She was already a good distance away from the ballroom, and the hallways were getting darker, signaling her deviation from where the crowd was. She didn't really have an aim in mind, just that she had to get away from Kanda before she lost her cool.

Granted, it really wasn't his fault and that she was still in his debt for saving her, but it didn't mean that he could push her around. He could have been just a little nicer couldn't he? Maybe she was just overreacting. Well, better to be away from the cause of irritation for safety.

She glanced around. She was sure she had passed the same painting a few times. Was she lost? Suddenly the lights switched off, plunging the entire corridor into darkness. She was starting to feel a little creeped out. Quickening her pace, she turned a corner.

A hand covered her mouth, pulling her backwards. All she registered was the smell of chlorofoam filing her nose and she blacked out.

Kanda was sitting outside. He had found a deserted garden (just how big was this manor?) and decided to wait it out there. People had already seen him in the ballroom so he figured it was fine since there was already evidence that he attended the stupid ball.

He had walked probably a thousand rounds around the small pebble path. It had already been two hours since he found this place and he wanted to go home. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he fully intended to notify Lavi that he was leaving.

20 missed calls. He scrolled down the list. It was all from Lavi.

His cell vibrated in his hand, the caller ID told him that it was Lavi again.

"Yuu!" came his voice immediately. "Why haven't you been picking up? Is Rei-chan with you?"

"No," he snapped, still clearly remembering their little spat earlier. "Why should she be?"

Lavi paused. "..Did you guys have an argument again?"

Kanda's silence was affirmation.

"Yuu,"

"What?"

"I can't find her," he sounded scared.

"Call her idiot,"

"I've tried," he started to ramble. "I've asked everyone where she is and the last time anyone saw her was when she was dancing with you,"

"…"

"It's been 2 hours since I've last saw her, and I can't find her anywhere," Lavi was on the verge of panic.

"Usagi, calm down," Kanda sighed. "Have you checked the restroom? Asked the Noah?"

"The restrooms are empty. Mikk hasn't seen her either, and I know he's not lying,"

Kanda started to feel a sense of dread. Was it guilt? It was definitely not his fault that the idiot girl got lost or something.

"Yuu? What if she-"

"You don't know yet. I'll call you back when I find her," he shut his phone, grunting.

Owari.

I had an incredibly hard time writing Tyki. Hope he was well, Tyki-ish enough. D:

Who do you think kidnapped Reiichi? Dun dun dun.

For people who are wondering about the sort of love triangle:

Rest assured that this fic is purely KandaOC. Reiichi will not fall in love with another character. I already have a hard time trying to make her like Kanda enough ;_; The Noah are definitely going to stir up trouble though.

The next chapter will take a while.