8

"You know," he said, sitting up and looking at me, "I don't think I've ever had a real friend before." I sat up too and took a good look at him. His angular face was striking and his hair had now grown out past his shoulders. The biggest difference, though, were his eyes. They were the same onyx color, but they showed no hate when he looked at me.

We were outside in the grounds of the Order. It was a beautiful spring day and the sun was raining warmth down on the cliff. I knew that this day would probably be the last rain free say for a while, if the clouds in the distance were any indication.

It had been a year since the day that Kanda and I became friends. At first it was a rocky start with Kanda always snapping at me, but we eventually were able to become pretty close. I told him everything about myself and he told me pretty much everything about himself. When I was sad I was able to escape my pain just by being with him. Kanda had kind of become my sanctuary.

With being Kanda's friend I learned a lot of things. I knew that he didn't have any parents, and he would always mention the Asia Branch when the subject was brought up. Then he would be abruptly silent and I learned that it was useless to prompt him for more. The only thing I didn't know about Kanda was what the lotus in his room was and how he was able to heal so quickly.

Yuu had arrived back to the Order from a mission late last night and he had been bloody and battered. I couldn't tell if it was his blood, however, as most of his cuts had already healed. The only indication that he had even been injured was the thin scar currently residing on his neck. It was slightly raised, but I knew that it could be gone within the hour. I didn't know how he was able to heal so fast. I had asked the question so many times that he eventually threatened to run me through with Mugen. Needless to say I stopped asking him about it.

"What about Marie or Daisya? Or Lenalee?" I asked. He crossed his arms across his chest and sighed.

"Che. Marie is in his twenties. I highly doubt that he would want to hang out with a thirteen year old. And Daisya gets on my nerves. Lenalee's alright, but she's always so happy, it gets kind of annoying."

I was glad that we had finally become friends. With Kanda everything was simple. He said everything as he saw it. He was more open with me than even the general. I enjoyed talking to him, telling him my secrets. And he listened.

"Daisya's not that bad," I argued. "And Lenalee's really sweet." Kanda's frown became more pronounced.

"They're annoying."

"You think everyone's annoying," I reminded him. He shook his head.

"Not true. I don't think you're annoying."

"Aw! Kanda!" I teased. He blushed.

"I didn't mean it like that!" he yelled. "You're annoying to, but I just have a better tolerance for you than for them." His face was red and he glared off in the opposite direction with his arms folded across his chest. I could see that his knuckles were white.

"I'm just teasing you," I attempted to relax him. He turned his glare on me.

"Well don't!" he snapped. I recoiled and his face softened.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to yell."

"It's okay."

He stretched his arms out in front of him, fingers spread wide. He studied his hands, turning them this way and that. Then he bowed his head and spoke.

"I'm trying to be nice," he said, voice only just higher than a whisper. I cocked my head to the side and listened intently. "I just...I don't know. I'm not used to having to be nice. I always pushed people away and was mean. The Asia Branch was hard on me, I think. Experiments lead me to not trust anyone. Which is why I'm probably mean to everyone else."

"Experiments?" I asked.

"Damn. I said too much. That's not something I want to get into. So just leave it," he said. I nodded. I probably would have continued if not for the shadow that I saw pass onto his face when he mentioned the Asia Branch. It must have been a really hard time for him. I hoped that I would find out eventually what it was about the branch that scared Kanda so.

When he continued to gaze in the other direction I decided that it was time to cheer him up.

"Hey. I challenge you to a match," I said. He turned to me and grinned.

"You're on!"

"Don't go easy on me," I told him.

"Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you."

The ceiling of the training room looked down on me. It was kind of like it was mocking me. I lay on the ground and stared up at it. Stupid ceiling.

A hand extended above my face and I reached up and took hold of it. Kanda pulled me up and I winced at the pain in my chest. It was hard to breath. He looked at me with a smirk on his face.

"Holy heck, Yuu. That hurt," I said, clutching my stomach. I had just been sent flying from the force of the kick Kanda had delivered to my stomach.

"You said you didn't want me to go easy on you," he reminded me, smirk still in place. I nodded and grabbed my water bottle.

"I know," I said. "But I didn't think that you would send me flying to the other side of the room with that kick. God, I can't breathe."

He just laughed and grabbed a towel to wipe his face. He took a long pull from his water bottle and grabbed his katana from off the bench.

"I'm going to take a shower," he said.

"Okay. Meet you in the cafeteria in about a half hour?" I asked. He nodded as he walked away. I smiled at his attempt to appear indifferent. He tried so hard to seem not to care, but I knew he did. That thought commanded my mind as I made my way through the Order's halls to the ladies showers.

My goal is to have each chapter be over one thousand words. This chapter, minus my little rant here, is 1,106! So I have fulfilled my duty so far. I'm having a hard time coming up with a chapter title for this one, so I'm just going to call it Chapter 8. Origional, huh?

I hope you liked this chapter and please, please review. I'm begging. Would you review if I said "Happy Tuesday!"?