Disclaimer: I do not own DGM.
Warnings: Unbeta'ed.
Author's Notes: This is a boring chapter. You have been warned. *sigh*
Thanks to the following amazing, great, incredible, wonderful people who reviewed the last chapter!
The great Emi sama/Allied Forces/EXO718/zahedra/TheFeyRa/Error/Lecifer/Ayano131
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"Anyway, it doesn't matter how much, how often,
or how closely you keep an eye on things because you can't control it.
Sometimes things and people just go. Just like that." - Cecilia Ahern
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"What?"
Lenalee visibly flinched at the coldness of the voice. It was unnerving to think how Neah could managed to sound calm and fuming at the same time.
"Kanda Yuu knows where Allen Walker is." Lenalee could now feel the terrible shaking of her hands. "We found out that last year, Kanda Yuu found Allen Walker from Marian Cross. I supposed you still r-remember him, Neah sama? He's Allen's legal guardi–"
"You think I'm stupid, Lena?"
Lenalee violently shook his head, as if the man could see her do so. "O-of course not, N-neah-sama! I was just trying to expla–"
"Where is Allen now?" The voice sounded fiercer than before.
Lenalee gulped as he tried to think of a better way to answer.
"Ms. Lee, I am asking you where is he now."
Lenalee's knees were now buckling. She couldn't help but feel relieved that she was now sitting in a capable chair that could support her now useless legs. She doubted that his knees could stand straight with the way their conversation was now mounting. Neah Walker would definitely have her head after he learned about Kanda and Allen.
"He has h-him, sir. Kanda Yuu has Allen-sama. We found out that they are now l-living together... in... Kanda Yuu's mansion in Kanagawa Prefecture. S-somewhere in Yokohama, sir.
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Neah furiously throw the cellular phone into the wall of the personal jet plane he was riding. The cellular phone broke into pieces after it hit the floor. The people around him, mostly his family's loyal servants, recoiled in fright upon seeing the youngest master of Walker family seethed in fury. They watched the rich, young man gritted his teeth while looking ferociously outside the plane's window. It must be about Neah-sama's brother. They were all aware of how Neah was relentlessly searching for the young boy since his parent's death five years ago. Some of the old employees of the prestigious Walker family still perfectly remember the old story about a young adopted boy who was favored by the Baron and the Baroness. The boy who won the hearts of almost all the people in the castle where he stayed for almost two years. Allen Walker, the cheerful and courteous boy who seemed to have a special place in everyone's hearts. Allen Walker's sudden disappearance brought a tragic loss to the Windsoria Castle*.
Michaelis blankly watched his master fumed on his seat. Lord Neah Walker was a complicated human being, that, he perfectly knew. He wasn't the type to be coaxed to small talks unless he had to and the conversation would benefit him. The young man knew how to take advantage of what his family could offer to him, and used it for his own gain. He was a ruthless young Lord who inherited his parents' fortune without any uproar to the other royal families. They deemed Neah as a capable ruler and sometimes, Michaelis couldn't help but think if it was just fear talking.
Michaelis wasn't new to the Lord's excessive mood swings. He was usually calm and composed, rarely giving away what he was feeling and thinking inside, but sometimes, Neah would just raze anything within his reach. He was deemed violent by other employees, but he rarely took it out to his subordinates. Glasses, tables, books, lampshades, he would thrash anything his hands held on to. It was a must to stay away from the Lord when such incident was happening, preventing unwanted casualties to occur that might jeopardized the noble name of Walkers.
Michaelis knew about the famous story of the pianist prodigy Allen Walker and how his sudden disappearance affected the Baroness' health. He had met Allen several times before too, but his position back then was more restricted than in what he had now, and so those several meetings. Michaelis could only remember an overly courteous white haired boy and his blinding smiles.
Michaelis could still remember the night he heard Neah talked about Allen, and somehow the small talk also gave something about Neah himself which was a rarity itself. The personal feelings of the young Lord – the happiness of having someone and the fear of losing that someone, all in his loud, drunken stupor.
"I am an impatient guy. I get angry... a lot. I am not as righteous as you think I am, Allen. I... I'm not as kind as you think I am... I'm a liar, you know. Just like my father. Just like my father. I probably hate me now... Just like you hated my father..."
Michaelis tried to look at Neah's eyes and the moment he met those orbs, he immediately wished he didn't. Neah's eyes were blank, more vacant than he had ever seen. It was as if you're just looking through a one-way mirror... as if you were just looking right at yourself. It was unsettling, to see eyes as empty as those.
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Allen was dreaming again.
There was a picture on his mind. But he was having a problem seeing it. The image was so blurred. He could also hear a weird conversation but the words were so distant that he couldn't understand. It kept on replaying and replying inside his mind. He didn't understand what was going on. He felt nauseous and queasy. It was cold, bloody cold, and yet he could feel his insides burning.
Wait a bloody minute...
Was he having a fever?
Oh, God... That explains it. He was having a damn fever! Wait...
Ugh... Cross was going to kill him if he saw him like this. He had to get up and cook something for that old loony. Damn... Why now? Why him?
He was a healthy young man.
He never had fevers before and he was do darn proud of it. He always knew if he was going to be visited by sickness and he always managed to beat it up before it show to his door.
Then how the bloody hell?
He had to wake up now.
He had to...
He had to...
What was that?
There was a gentle hand on his hair.
Someone was stroking his hair... It felt so... good. Who was it? Cross?
Allen grimaced in his sleep.
As if.
Then who was it?
It felt so good. The heaviness of the fever was slowly going away. Hey, whoever you are, please don't stop... yet. Okay?
Let me sleep a little more.
Just... a little more.
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"...had to..."
Kanda was startled when Allen suddenly talked. He withdrew his hand that was petting the white haired boy and he sighed as he fought to his inner self of whether he should continue or not. Allen's fever was now almost gone but he told the doctor to let the boy sleep some more. Because knowing Allen, he would definitely not stay in bed for a long time if he was awake and that would, worry – irritate Kanda more.
He sighed and he hovered his hand on Allen's head again and continued feeling the soft hair of the boy. When Allen purred in his sleep and snuggled to his hands, a smile leaked out to his face.
"Snow...flakes f-fly..." Allen murmured in his sleep.
Kanda looked stricken upon hearing the hushed words. He looked at Allen and he felt his heart violently pounded into his chest. He gulped as he lowered his face to Allen's countenance; his heart was almost rampaging inside his ribcage, threatening to take his breath away anytime.
Allen was talking.
Kanda's hands clenched and unclenched on his sides.
Allen was remembering.
Kanda inhaled the unique scent of Allen and his lips trembled.
"Please... Let Allen remember me..."
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He was counting the snow slowly piling on the street. Children were merrily playing outside and building snowmen near the cathedral's stairs. But amidst the laughter of joy Allen was hearing from them, it was a surprise that the boy wasn't feeling jealous at all. Allen loved to socialize with other kids. He was a well-loved child that earned the affection and liking of almost everyone he knew. He would usually bugged Kanda to let him play outside until the older kid given up on him but today was kind of different. Not when he had Kanda on his side, busying himself in taming Allen's shoulder-length hair.
Allen loved to be petted in the hair.
He was giggling nonstop as his small, stubby feet mimicked the way the snowflakes fell from the sky. Allen thought that someday, he would like to be a snowflake–to gently flutter in the air until it hit the squishy plies of snow lying in the road. This activity of him earned an exasperated sigh from his friend, who was sitting on his back and currently braiding his almost shoulder-length ebony hair. He was resting his small elbows on Kanda's knees while he still continued wiggling his feet. It ridiculously felt good. Kanda's hands on his hair felt so good.
And warm.
Allen could feel Kanda's breath on his neck every time the boy would breathe. The sensation would double whenever Kanda would sigh. It's tickling Allen to no end. They were sitting on the warm chairs inside the church, the gentle chirping of the birds inside the church was echoing into Allen's ears.
"Yuu, can you see those snowflakes outside?" Allen asked and turned his head around to peer at Kanda who was still busy doing something on his hair.
"Yeah."
"I would love to be a snowflake, Yuu. You think I could be a snowflake?"
"I don't know."
Allen's eyes followed a particular snowflake as it danced its way to the ground. It's a lot bigger than the rest that were now fluttering in the air that's why it was more noticeable to the albino's eyes.
"They seem like they are flying, Yuu."
"Snowflakes don't fly, moyashi."
"But they came from up there, right?" Allen pointed the vast sky outside and wiggled some more. His lips were now visibly pouting as he tried to reason out to the older boy. "They came from the sky. Therefore, snowflakes fly, Yuu."
He heard Kanda sighed. "But that doesn't mean they have wings and they can fly, idiot."
"They do! They do!" Allen insisted as he wiggled more aggressively than before. "And I am not an idiot! Yuu is the idiot!"
"Hey!" Kanda huffed as he tried to stop the wiggling body. "Stop squirming like a worm, moyashi! I'm braiding your hair!"
"Snowflakes fly!"
"Yeah," Kanda scoffed as he gently held the twisting small body, "and cats fly too. Now stop squirming and let me finish your hair."
Allen blinked as he stopped his squirming. Cats fly? He hadn't seen one yet.
Kanda continued braiding the soft strands of hair and Allen heard him sighed again. "I should have cut this months ago," Kanda murmured as if talking to himself.
Allen blinked again, not understanding Kanda. "But yours is much longer, Yuu."
Another sigh.
Allen tried so hard not to giggle.
Kanda didn't seem to notice this.
"I can take care my hair and you can't, Bean sprout."
Allen blinked and pouted again. "Stingy," he said as he stuck out his tongue. "Who said I can't do it?"
"I do," Kanda jeered.
A vein popped on Allen's smiling face and he gleefully said, "Maybe you should also braid your hair, Yuu! Solomon said that you look like a girl, anyway." Solomon was a kid who had a nasty breath. He once tried to kiss Kanda on the cheeks that hellishly earned a year of punching from the furious Kanda Yuu. The next thing he did, that Kanda could and would never forget was that particular kid also tried to kiss Allen in the lips. Bloody war immediately ensued right after the kissing attempt.
Kanda's eyes twitched and before the older boy could stop himself, he lightly pulled a couple of white hairs and the next thing he heard was Allen shouting 'bloody hell!' while scratching his scalp that was throbbing a little because of the pull. Allen saw Kanda sneered and all hell broke loose. A series of nose and cheeks pinching (Kanda) and futile attempts on retaliating (Allen) immediately took place.
After quenching their thirst for bloodshed, the peace resumed in silence. Allen continued watching the snow outside while Kanda continued braiding Allen's hair.
The kids outside caught that particular scene and all of them suffered a few bruises when their jaws risibly hit the floor.
Allen, who was now gently rocking his body that was swaying from right to left, now took notice of the birds soaring on the cathedral's majestic ceiling and he couldn't help but watched a particular bird hopping on one window to another while slowly and gently flapping its tiny wings to the cold air. Allen's ashen eyes suddenly grew wide. Forget the boring and unexciting snowflakes. He would like to be a bird! It seemed rather cool flying and maneuvering like that–not just fluttering like leaves leaving from its branch. Allen flapped his arms on both sides as if he was gliding in the air.
This startled the older kid. "What in the fuck's hell are you doing now?"
Allen ecstatically bounced on Kanda's legs.
"Forget being a snowflake, Yuu! I wanna be bird! A bird!" Allen shouted as he started squirming again, while Kanda started holding him down.
Kanda sighed and tried to smother his own hurting neck.
Allen was a headache, first class.
Allen giggled again when he felt something brushed on his neck.
"Now, what?" Kanda edgily asked as he gazed the lump of white hair in front of him.
The giggling continued for a minute before the pale boy turned to Kanda and with a jovial expression, he exclaimed; "Your breath tickles, Yuu"
Kanda momentarily stared at those ashen eyes, sighed again (It seemed like Kanda tend to sigh a lot when Allen was around him), and then smirked. Really, Allen never ceased to amuse him with his random antics. He snuggled to Allen's neck and held the boy's much closer than before. Allen laughed while squirming on his hold. Kanda couldn't help but think how small the white haired boy was.
Kanda stared at the snow piling outside the colossal cathedral. There were many children playing in the snow at the moment, and he knew that somehow, Allen wanted to play too, but he just couldn't let the small kid to play outside especially not on this extreme weather. Kanda hugged the boy tighter as he rested his chin to those silky strands. The doctor back at the hospital said that Allen's lungs were a little delicate to the hard weather and his asthma wasn't helping him get better.
Kanda closed his eyes and snuffled the sweet fragrance of Allen's hair.
"Your hair tickles, moyashi."
Allen smiled to the words and with a peaceful smile, he said, "Well, not as much as your breath, Yuu-chan."
Kanda couldn't help but smile at this. With a little tug, he pulled Allen much closer to his body and closed his eyes.
"Don't call me Yuu-chan, baka-moyashi."
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"We all spend so much time not saying what we want, because we know we can't have it. And because it sounds ungracious, or ungrateful, or disloyal, or childish, or banal. Or because we're so desperate to pretend that things are OK, really, that confessing to ourselves they're not looks like a bad move. Go on, say what you want. ... Whatever it is, say it to yourself. The truth will set you free. Either that or it'll get you a punch in the nose. Surviving in whatever life you're living means lying, and lying corrodes the soul, so take a break from the lies for just one minute."
– Nick Hornby
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*Windsoria Castle: Okay. The name is originally from a real and existing royal palace in United Kingdom. I just kind of borrowed it, tweaked it a little to avoid direct connection to the original. So I hope no one will sue me by using it or by tweaking the name a little. Yada. Yada. Yada.
Author's Notes (again): Okay... So I was quite overwhelmed for the last chapter's reviews. You guys seriously made me sniff and later cry! My sister, who accidentally (or so she said) opened my email last week and accidentally (or so she said) saw the review alerts I've received from Fanfiction(dot)net was spurting something like 'you threatened them that's why they reviewed' thingy. Hahaha... Hope I didn't sound like threatening or emo in my last note. Urgh. That would be totally embarrassing. I am so sorry for that. That would be the last time I'm gonna post something like that. And so, THANKS A LOT FOR YOU GUYS WHO REVIEWED! Reviews are fueling my little plot bunnies for this story! I'll reply to your reviews guys not later than this evening. ^_^
Error: Thanks a lot! Hope you'll read the next chapters too! ^_^
BlueStar1937: And as always, you have my thanks. Thanks a lot for ALWAYS, ALWAYS reviewing! Mwah! Mwah! I'm so glad my stories are making you kind of happy. And about Neah... Hmm.. let's see what he will become in the next chapters! ^_^
evilpunk99: I will, don't worry! ^_^ Thanks for reading and reviewing! Hope I'll see you again in the next chapters!
Kia Akeem: Who said I don't need luck in continuing writing this? Kanda is so hard to write! hahaha! Thanks for reviewing, seriously. That made my day.
ginnysak: Thanks for reviewing! I bet you're feeling like that because the story is kind of slow, no? Hahaha XD Don't punch me yet. I promise the story will move on eventually. Thanks for reading!