Disclaimer: I quite obviously don't own DGM. Katsura Hoshino does, and if current information is to be believed, she will be gracing us with a new chapter! Hallelujah, praise everything!

Author's Note(s): 1) I AM SO SORRY! OTL College and life caught up with me and before I realized it was already more than a month since I last updated?! I am so sorry! I will try to update sooner next time! 2) The title of this chapter is a reference to the song Memories by Within Temptation. They're an awesome band; check them out. :)

Warnings: hints at PTSD; Kanda has a mouth

I hope you enjoy!

Kanda POV

How the fuck did I get myself into this mess?

The moyashi and I were sitting at his kitchen table, discussing our AP English project. Turns out, he's not as stupid as I'd thought. Not that I'm gonna tell him that. But we actually manage to agree on this sort of thing – funny, when you think about how opposite our personalities are. Or maybe we're just too similar to get along? I mentally shook myself. Nope, definitely not. We are complete polar opposites. Just like Alma and I were, back in the day…

And there I go again, thinking about Alma! Seriously, this pain-in-the-ass white-haired brat is a danger to my mental health! How can two people be so similar?

And yet so different?

I glanced over at him, brows furled in concentration as he read through one of the pages, making notes in the margins.

Alma had problems, sure, I mean, everyone does… But somehow… I feel like the Moyashi's issues run much deeper. His secrets are probably far darker.

And I'm thinking about him again! I sighed, This is going to be a long weekend…

The rest of the day actually managed to pass relatively quickly. We did have a couple arguments, but I'm honestly surprised there weren't more. We pretty much just did our homework, then ate dinner. It was nothing major, just pasta, but he insisted on helping. I think he was trying to prove something, the idiot. Like, "see, I can manage". Honestly, did I ever say he couldn't? It's only pasta, after all.

While he went to shower, I sat down in the living room and turned on the TV. And what the fuck has to be on? Fucking CSI, that's what. I turned it off immediately, taking deep, shaky breaths. But even with my eyes closed, I could still see the red splattered up against my eyelids.

I leaned back into the couch, eyes still scrunched shut, pinching the bridge of my nose. Somehow, I felt like I could still smell the blood. And hear the shrieking of metal…

I opened my eyes and sighed. Honestly, being so close to the moyashi had really brought back those old memories. All the horrible things, but also the better memories… the things I had completely forgotten about. Like the first time we met. I almost smiled at the memory.

I had escaped the watchful gazes at the house rather easily, and made my way through the woods behind it, towards the cave I knew to be hidden in the middle. The "cave" wasn't really a cave in the traditional sense – it's a rocky overhang high above a large pool. Stalactites and stalagmites do grace the floor and ceiling, but the layer of earth that once kept that natural wonder locked underground had collapsed in one part long ago, making it accessible from the surface. The pool was fed by a natural spring at the top of the far end of the cave, and a stream led the water out. It was the place that first awakened the artist in me, if that makes any sense.

On that particular occasion, I made my way into the cave, and dove into the water without a second thought. I swam deeper and deeper, propelling myself further and further, trying to reach the bottom. And suddenly, I felt strong arms pull me towards the surface. I was so shocked, I didn't even resist. Or at least, not until we got back to the surface.

"Bastard! What the fuck do you think you're doing!?"

"EH, but you were under the water for so long! I thought you were going to drown!" The sopping wet kid stared earnestly into my eyes, both of us treading water.

"Che. I was just trying to reach the bottom, idiot."

"Oh, sorry," he laughed slightly, scratching the back of his purple-haired head in embarrassment. We'd made our way to shallower water, and our feet now touched the rocky bottom.

I looked away. "Have you… ever reached the bottom?"

"Nope!"

"Doesn't that bother you?"

His eyes widened, and he laughed as he pulled himself onto a rock at the shore, while I followed suit. "Not really, no. Why would you want to reach the bottom?"

"Because then you finish! It's a goal to accomplish!"

"Is it fun?"

"What?"

"Is it fun?" He insisted, head tilted to the side, as if in thought. "If it's not fun, then it doesn't really seem worth it – I mean, anything becomes boring when it's something you have to do."

All I could do was stare. This kid had appeared from nowhere, pulled me out of the water, and started explaining a world which I had never even considered before. I looked away.

"What's your name, baka?"

"Alma! Alma Karma!"

I reluctantly pulled myself back into the present as I heard the creaking of stairs.

"Kanda?" The moyashi's voice called out hesitantly.

"I'm in here," I called back.

He came into the room, and his entire posture became more relaxed at the sight of me.

"Did you think I was going to leave?"

He looked away. "I mean, it's not like you're really required to stay or anything," he mumbled.

"Anything that Neah asks is a requirement, as far as I'm concerned. Besides, I'd have to be one Hell of an asshole to just leave you alone."

He smiled a bit, then glanced shyly back up at me. "Do you… wanna take a shower now? Or do you wanna just go to bed?"

Those words should not have sounded sexy, at all. And they didn't, I insisted to myself as I told him I preferred to take a shower first.

Well, how was it? Finally, I was able to start bringing Alma into the forefront, and his relationship with Kanda. :)

Thank you very much to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited, and/or followed my story! Your support means so much to me, and I will try to honor that by updating with more frequency!

Love,

-Red