I've been visiting Allen every day. And every day, he seems to be worse than the day before. The gray of his skin has been spreading nonstop, and now it seems that his entire right side is infested with the wretched color. His manner has also been steadily declining.

Every time I come to see him, he's wearing long sleeves and a fox mask that he had gotten at a civilian festival on a mission, along with gloves. He tells me that he doesn't want anyone else to see the monster that he's becoming, and that he doesn't want me to have to look at the scars that he'd given to himself on the day that I found cuts on his wrists.

Something tells me that there are far more of them than there were then, but I'm too afraid to find out. After all, if my hunch is correct, what would I do? Yell at him and make him cry and more depressed than he already is? That's the last thing that I want. I don't want to worsen his situation. I don't want to harm his mentality any further than it already is. I don't want to get angry at him. I just want him to get better. I just want him to be okay.

I want Allen to survive. To live. To smile his true, bright, happy smile. I want to break down his façade, and make his grins real ones. I want to be the light to his growing darkness, to be the sun that will expel all of his fears.

No matter what, I don't want him, my precious flower, to wilt. I simply won't allow for him to fade, to lose all of his petals and die. I will save him.

"…Kanda…?" he speaks one day when I visit.

"Hmm?" He looks down at his feet, sitting on his bed beside me, his mask off. I blush a little when he leans against me, and I wrap my arm around him protectively. "What is it, short stack?"

"Why are you so nice to me? Even though… Even though I'm like this…?"

I look down at him, worry creasing my brow. "What do you mean? I'm your friend. I care about you. I'm sure that Lenalee, Lavi, and all the rest would be the same. You're still you, no matter what color your skin becomes."

He smiles a little in a wistful manner and shakes his head, sighing. "That's not what I meant…"

"Then what did you mean?"

Finally, he casts his gaze into my own. "I'm a monster, Kanda. Look at me. I'm becoming a Noah. And if our bosses find that out, which I'm sure they will soon… They'll kill me. And if they were to find out that you've known and have been helping me anyways… They might kill you, too. That's why I'm asking you why you're being so nice to me. I want to know why you, a supposedly cold-hearted samurai, would be risking his life for a monster like me," he murmurs, adding one last whisper, "Because I'm not worth it…"

I grind my teeth, thumping his head with an angry expression, scolding him. "Stupid! Of course you're worth it!"

"No I'm not! Nothing about a monster like me is worth the life of such a wonderful, kind, stoic, strong, great friend like you! You could have so much more, Kanda! You could have a family, and live a long, happy life! But if you keep treating me like I'm worth something instead of killing me, and the Order finds out… They'll kill you, too… Kanda, I don't want that… I don't want you to die…" he sobs, clinging to the side of my shirt. I groan and hold him closer, much to his dismay.

"You are worth it, Allen. You're worth more than every other life that this planet has to offer. To me, at least." I grow quiet, my blush and embarrassment intensifying along with my feelings of sorrow that were caused by the boy saying his life wasn't worth the kindness I was giving him. His sobbing stops, and he looks up at me through his tears, hiccupping a little. I look away, trying to calm my racing heart beat. He was so cute, even when he was miraculously changing color.

"What… What do you mean…?" he asks quietly.

"I mean that I don't want a family or life or anything like that unless you're in it." Finally, my feelings were coming out. The bean sprout stares at me with wide eyes as I continue.

"I mean that to me, you're worth more than every other life that has ever been lived, or is being lived. I mean that to me, you are precious, beautiful, and wonderful. I mean that, to me, you are everything."

"…K-Kanda…?"

"I love you, Allen." The white-haired boy's tears stop completely, and he gazes at me with his wide, open, moon-like eyes. He trembles slightly as he watches me, though I do not move or look at him as I try to hide my reddening face.

"…You… Love me…?"

"More than anything."

He seems to contemplate this, and I grow nervous from the silence, finally gaining the courage to look at him. Water droplets line his closed eyes, and he smiles. A true, happy smile. He leans against me, nuzzling into my chest.

"Thank you, Kanda… I… I love you, too… I have for a long time, I just never thought that… That you ever would feel the same…" My own eyes widen and I smile a little, folding my arms around him and holding him as close to me as I can without crushing him. My stomach felt odd, kind of… Fluttery. My heart soared, and I leaned to kiss his forehead.

"I have always loved you," I murmur. "And I always will."

Busy, busy, busy. My life has been on the role. I'm glad that I finally had a chance to write, and I apologize for the wait! I felt it was time to get this chapter done. XD Cuteness overload! The time had finally come for Kanda's feelings to be shared! Please Review and tell me what you think! I love hearing from my readers! It keeps me feeling like I don't suck at writing.