A/N: Unbeta'ed chapter. Until it does get beta-read, please forgive any typos / vocabulary misuse (well, I'm not a native English-speaker after all) / other bad things that could have been edited out you find.

.:.::.::Untamed::.::.:.

.

What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step. It is always the same step, but you have to take it.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Wind, Sand and Stars, 1939

Chapter 4

Part I

Things have a way of turning into a habit.

You don't even want them to. You don't plan it – you can't plan it – you might even try to avoid it! – but still things find a way of worming their way into your life with such subtlety that before you know it you're used to them.

You start actually looking for them when you know they should be there. Because it's normal.

As insufferable and annoying as it is, the truth is that, by then, their absence is an anomaly. It's certainly not because you like them. They have just… officially become a habit.

So yeah. These things come into your life by soundlessly sitting next to it like they're not being sneaky and before you know it they've become part of it. Sort of like leeches, but not really. Parasites of sorts.

Kanda wonders how he ended up with this particular parasite, and can he please get a shot or something that can get him rid of it?

.:.::.::Habit::.::.:.

Untamed

Kanda was meditating.

Meditation had been an essential part of the day to him ever since it had been taught to him, not too long after he'd opened his eyes for the first time. It helped him clear his mind and control his emotions and his instincts. Meditation had always played a key role in his life, and even after escaping the Shop and hiding in the forest, that hadn't changed.

Now, sitting on the top branches of some evergreen tree covered with snow, hidden in the shadow of its foliage and completely surrounded by the rustling of leaves, Kanda's mind was empty. The cold weather did not reach him. Legs folded, hands on his knees in the right position, back straight and long black tail relaxed and only moving with the wind, the whole word was his breathing: inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Inhale-

"I know you're there!"

Kanda's tail twitched slightly. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale-

"I'm serious! I can tell you're there!"

Kanda's eyebrow twitched angrily. Inhale, exhale, inhale-

"You're so rude! You don't have manners at all!"

The hybrid's furry black ears flattened against his skull. Empty mind, not thinking about anything… His ears relaxed. Inhale-

"Really! You haven't even thanked me yet!"

Exhale, inhale, exha-

"And I bet you're even wearing those clothes I gave you! Ungrateful jerk!"

In Kanda's head, a thunderous angry growl overruled everything else, empty mind and steady breathing be damned to Hell.

Invisible to The Annoyance, a deep, ominous frown wrinkled a smooth (dirty) white forehead. It did not bode well.

Let's get one thing straight, here:

Kanda enjoys being alone. Kanda enjoys meditating. Kanda enjoys peace and quiet.

And Kanda goddamn enjoys ripping out the throat of whoever annoys him.

. . .

…Kanda can't afford to rip out the throat of this particular annoyance.

Pity.

The kid, that white-haired punk that by some chance of fate had found Kanda, seemed to have developed an uncanny sense of Kanda's presence. It was like he always knew when the hybrid was nearby, watching him.

And so the human always knew he would be heard when he started shouting.

So annoying.

Kanda had considered avoiding the area completely – even though the brat kept exploring it more and more (probably so he wouldn't get lost again in case he ever needed to go further) – but the Shop's men were still raiding the forest.

Even though the strange human child seemed to have begun avoiding them (which had surprised Kanda immensely. Did that mean the brat had a brain after all?) he could encounter them again any day despite his efforts.

And Kanda needed to be around in case that happened, to hear whatever was said. He'd sometimes followed the teams (it had been a huge risk, but whatever), but they usually stayed quiet and only spoke to each other when it was time to issue orders like, "you three, go left" or "we go back now", so whatever conversation one of the teams had with the Moyashi was the only thing that could prove useful to Kanda.

Know your enemy.

Kanda's reluctance in leaving the area had nothing to do with the fact that the other day he'd caught himself thinking about this area as 'his hunting grounds'. That was a mere coincidence.

So despite how annoying it was, Kanda kept coming and keeping an eye on the whiny brat.

Even if it felt more like letting the brat keep an eye on Kanda and not the contrary.

Speaking of the brat - why was he so fixated on talking to Kanda? Was it the same reason that had made him lie to the Shop's men?

Black tail whipping violently behind him with the confusion that disrupted momentarily his meditative state, Kanda wondered. What could a human child possibly want from him?

.:.::.::Vigilance::.::.:.

Untamed

What could a human child possibly want from me?

That question hadn't left him alone since the encounter between the pretty human boy and the men had taken place. Throughout the long hours watching the kid shout himself hoarse for Kanda to come out, the hybrid had stared with suspicious flattened black ears and narrowed dark eyes at the kid, as if wishing for the staring to bring out the answer.

Which it hadn't, obviously. The whole thing had just made him more and more confused. The apparent kindness of each of the boy's deeds – not telling anyone what he'd seen, bringing Kanda food, and clothes, and blankets (which he had accepted on a moment's weakness that he still half-regretted) – had only added more confusion.

Kanda did not enjoy feeling confused. Back at the laboratories, feeling confused had meant pain. At the Shop, it had meant imprisonment – and not in his comfortable room.
Now, in the wild, it could mean both. To hesitate for more than a moment was a Bad Thing. So confusion was not a feeling Kanda enjoyed.

But he hadn't formed a proper opinion on the brat yet. Or rather, he hadn't understood or thought of any motives the brat could possibly have. He already had a more or less defined opinion of the brat himself – weak, useless, whiny, and above all, stupid. Stubborn, Kanda would give him that. And he apparently liked to talk, too. Maybe to make up for the brains he clearly did not have.

"Rude, ungrateful, and stupid jerk!"

Still, concerning said annoying bitch currently yelling at him, Kanda could not let such insults go. He'd put up with it so far, trying to pretend he wasn't there, but it was time he accepted the fact that the brat knew when Kanda was there. And if he knew Kanda was there, what was the point of not reacting to pretend he wasn't?

The dark eyebrows assumed a determined frown, and the big black triangular ears of the hybrid went from their previous irritated flattened state to attentive in its perkiness.

It was time to finally let some of his temper run free.

Kanda couldn't jump out of the tree and walk up to the child roaring, though. He hadn't really talked to the human yet besides that first time, but he just knew the moyashi would say something stupid and Kanda would end up ripping his throat out anyway which enjoyable as it sounded would entail Bad Things for Kanda and that couldn't be.

So after a few more moments of contemplative silence – on the hybrid's part, anyway; the human boy down there was still shouting how much of a coward he thought the panther-boy was - Kanda exhaled slowly, forced each and every hair of his black tail down, and reached out with his right hand towards one of the small branches just above his head to grab a small pine cone from the tree, a small and roundish thing no wider than half his little finger.

Kanda pulled on it until its tiny stem connecting it to the branch snapped and he lowered his arm.

.:.::.::Offensive::.::.:.

Untamed

After looking at the small hard fruit for a few seconds, a slow smirk spread itself across Kanda's dirt-smeared face and, black tail swishing happily from side to side below him, the Japanese Pet raised his arm again and aimed.

A little to the left, a little more downwards, pointed right at that white-haired head, a slight adjustment of arm position, throw it and-

Three, two, one-

"OW- BASTARD!"

Aaah, the magnificent sound of successful payback.

.:.::.::Punishment::.::.:.

Untamed

Sitting on a tree root clear of snow, little Allen rubbed the sore spot on his head where that stone had hit him. The jerk…! "Owww…" he said with a pout, and rubbed harder, as if trying to make the pain go away faster. He had even cursed! Out loud! Mana would be so disappointed if he knew.

He turned to glare bloody-murder at the trees, in the general direction where he thought the thing had come from.

Still, that had been something. The Pet hadn't ever showed himself to Allen again since that day, much less said anything or showed clear signs of his presence to the human child, so this- this was…

The tight grip that anxiety had kept around Allen's chest these days loosened a little, and breathing was easy again.

The cat-boy hadn't talked to him or showed himself, but now he had shown a sign of his presence at least, and it made warmth and relief wash over Allen. He let out a shuddering breath. It's alright, the thought echoed comfortingly in his head, he'll be alright. I can do this. He'd pull Kanda out of his own dark empty street.

But relieving as all that was, it did nothing to lessen the pain on the back of his head. He was going to have a dent there, damnit.

And just like that the small detail of what he'd just said – yelled, really- came back to him and Allen flinched mentally at Mana's disapproval. He shouldn't curse, he can't curse, Mana says it's unmannerly and disrespectful (not that Allen has any respect left for the ba- for the hybrid), so Allen glared at the trees around him and puffed out his flushed cheeks in righteous rage.

"You're still a bas…! An ungrateful jerk!" he shouts with a tone of outraged finality, shaking his finger accusatorily at nowhere in particular.

.:.::.::Relief::.::.:.

Untamed

Later, Kanda wonders what the hell made him throw that thing at the brat.

Because from that point on, he got more annoying than ever. Goddamnit.

.:.::.::Annoyance::.::.:.

Untamed

The next day:

"…know you're there! I swear I knoooow! Come ooon! Do I have to go get you catnip or someth-" This time, it hit his nose. Hard.

Pain flared heatedly from the bridge of his nose, making Allen's whole head hurt and he wanted to screech in agony, and stuck in between the urge to curse and the teachings of not to curse, the words were out before he could stop them.

"M-MEANIE!" he blurted out through the fingers holding his abused nose.

. . .

Embarrassment flushed his pale white cheeks red and he wished he could hide his face in a hole and never look outside again. Meanie? Seriously? Meanie?

No sounds but the wind and the rustling of leaves came from the forest, but Allen could hear the snicker. He could hear it!

And the day after:

"You know," Allen said with a derisive sniff as he turned a page of his new horror book and pulled the blanket wrapped around him closer, ignoring the little bit of snow that rolled off it, "I bet you're just embarrassed you have long hair, just like a gi-OW! DAMN YOU!"

And the day after that:

"…I'm not leaving! I'll come back every day! I said I would, and I will. So talk to me! Are you afraid or something, kitty-boy?"

Light-speeding pine cone to the head.

. . .

"I hate you. So much."

.:.::.::Stubborness::.::.:.

Untamed

This went on for quite some time.

Before he noticed it, Kanda found himself accepting their meetings. Yes, meetings, not just Kanda silently stalking the human child when he felt bored. The two of them always went back to the same place, waited for the other, and until it was time for the human child to go back, there they stayed. Meanwhile, the kid would try to get some kind of reaction out of Kanda and Kanda would studiously ignore him to the best of his abilities.

Then Kanda would eventually get annoyed enough that he'd retaliate in some silent way – that usually involved many yelps of pain and half-choked curses from the other party.

The kid didn't even bother with shouting and looking for the hybrid anymore, he just came to the usual place, sat down against a tree with a blanket that he now seemed to always carry around in his backpack, and he indulged in his new favourite pastime.

Said pastime was annoying the hell out of Kanda with whatever he said, in particular, and his existence, in general, and see how long it took for Kanda to throw something at him with deadly aim to shut him up. Or to try to shut him up, at least.

Because he never shut up, the moron just kept babbling endlessly. Kanda had to use every bit of self-restraint not to start arguing with him.

Kanda didn't want to actually say anything. Or shout, or growl, or anything of the sort. Actually addressing the other child would be arguing with him. Arguing would demand closeness. Arguing could make Kanda approach the human in fury. And Kanda was still too suspicious to feel safe getting closer to the human. Traps, darts, poison, subterfuges in general – all these things crossed his mind whenever he thought about it, as well as the now familiar question plaguing his mind, why? Why?

So instead, Kanda aimed for more painful places and his shots got progressively more vicious.

.:.::.::Frustration::.::.:.

Untamed

Another thing that Kanda took note of was how the kid's reactions got more hilarious as time went by. Apparently, he thought that Kanda's replies in the form of painful shots of little stones or small pines aimed at his body were insulting or something. Kanda thought he was just being a sissy.

At night, when going back (sometimes carrying some of the food the brat had brought) to wherever he'd decided to sleep that night, Kanda snorted to himself with amusement while remembering the brat's earlier shocked or pained expressions and his following fits of insulted rage.

At one point Kanda started almost disregarding most of the insults directed towards him and just threw things at the brat on principle for the entertainment; Kanda would have made a sport out of it too if not for the following insult or bout of endless chatter that truly pissed the hybrid off.

The little fucker irritated him beyond reason. He clearly wanted – and could – curse rather colorfully at times but he didn't. He was insufferable while being so fucking polite it got on Kanda's nerves, and then he went all sarcastic and shit and Kanda really felt like going up to him and beating a good lesson into that thick pale skull so he'd learn respect.

Kanda hated little bastards like him. No matter what was wrong, no matter their problems or their feelings, they kept smiling. Freakin' smiling.

Even when the human child got angry beyond words at Kanda for some reason or other, he still smiled. The hell! Why smile? Why be all easy going, fuck? Kanda couldn't stand that type of people. And he knew the eerie white kid was exactly that type.

And if the little bastard was also the type to believe that Kanda needed "to be saved" and that the kid himself was "the only one who could do it"…

-It was not like it was the first time Kanda met someone like that-

…the moment the moyashi bastard began lecturing him on friendship or seeing the light or some shit Kanda would send caution and whatever else to Hell and kick some human ass into oblivion.

.:.::.::Past::.::.:.

Untamed

…yet Kanda came back every day.

And the brat always got there shortly after.

.:.::.::Companionship::.::.:.

Untamed

When he'd accepted the blankets from The Annoying Brat, Kanda had started looking for a place more suitable to settle in than his usual spots high up on a tree's branches or under a big rock. He had conceded to accepting help from a stranger, might as well make the most of it. And blankets would do no good if he was soaked to the bone or buried to his nose in snow.

And he'd found a place: a hollow space under the roots of an old tree, that he'd discovered when a skinny hare (the first he saw in weeks! WEEKS! He had been STARVING) he'd been following had suddenly disappeared when the tree root on which it had been standing had given way.

Kanda had blinked, surprised, at the sudden disappearance. What the hell had happened? A few seconds later he had gotten out of the bush where he'd been hiding, long tail curling and swishing curiously behind and above him as he approached the place carefully on all fours. This could be a number of things – all of which he'd seen on TV back in the Shop at some point, in movies, National Geographic documentaries and TV series – like a trap dug on the ground, the lair of some animal, a cave…

Sniffing the air cautiously, furry black ears perked up and attentive to any sound, he'd approached the base of the tree, soundlessly stepping closer, his naked feet and his hands apparently knowing where to land so he wouldn't make noise. But apart from the lingering scent of the hare he'd been pursuing, there was nothing. It didn't feel dangerous. If it was a lair, it had been abandoned a long time ago.

Knowing there was no big angry animal to fear, in a flash Kanda had been standing right where the hare had disappeared.

Hmmm. Between the two tree roots in front of him and behind a big rock stuck in between those roots, there was a dark hole in the layer of snow. So maybe…?

Experimentally, Kanda reached down and pressed a hand, covered in what was left of a big dark green glove (the gloves the human brat had given him hadn't lasted long under Kanda's care, since the hybrid tended to forget he was wearing them once he saw a potential meal running in the snow covered forest…) to the snow next to the hole. With a little more pressure, it had given way and disappeared inside the hole, leaving a wider opening.

It was still too small for even his head, though. With a little effort, Kanda pushed aside the rock and started getting rid of the snow and the layer of fallen branches, little sticks and dead leaves under it that had supported the snow.

Gradually, the opening was cleared till it reached its original state, and Kanda could now see inside. The opening was big enough that he could slip inside the hole easily.

He was now catching more clearly the scent of the frightened hare hidden inside, huddled trembling somewhere in the dark trying to pretend it didn't exist. Kanda sniffed in amusement, but decided to ignore it for the moment so he could inspect this discovery.

Positioning himself so he wasn't blocking the sunlight, Kanda peered inside the hole he'd just uncovered, forgetting about his prospective meal for a moment.

Oh, interesting. It actually looked big enough for Kanda- ah! There was the hare. It was too terrified of the predator in front of it to even try leaping through the opening to get away, it seemed. But better safe than sorry. Fast as a snake, Kanda's hand shot out and he curled his ragged-glove-clad fingers around the animal's neck with a snap, claws extended so they cut through flesh and arteries with the movement.

The hare had died in a matter of seconds, but the panther hybrid had barely been paying attention to the dying animal in his hold, too focused on inspecting the inside of the hole and gauging its size. Yes, it looked more than big enough, and apparently not connected to small underground tunnels (which could house other small animals that would be a pain to get rid of… though they could be tasty. Hmmm. That was an interesting thought. The air currents would make the place cold, though.).

Absentmindedly shifting his hold on the dead hare to a more comfortable position, Kanda had then lowered himself to the dusty hole.

It wasn't humid or moldy for some reason, and it pleased the panther-hybrid greatly. Had it been possible, he would have kept sleeping on the trees or under rocks on the surface, but it was too exposed to the elements. He'd endured it long enough to know he wouldn't survive the entire winter in such conditions, so a cave or a hole in the ground like this would have to do. The fact that the place didn't even seem that unpleasant to be in was a great plus.

Aw, fuck, the damn hare is dripping blood everywhere, he suddenly noticed with a scowl. He threw the hare out the opening and, licking the warm blood off of his dripping hand, started imagining what it would be like to use that place as a… lair of sorts, while looking around.

Big enough for Kanda to lie down without having to curl in himself and to sit up without having to bow his head. Good. And with the blankets… this would be pretty comfortable.

Big enough, while still being small enough to get warm after a while solely due to Kanda's own body heat. It had just one problem: the entry was directly above. The rain and the snow would fall almost directly on Kanda if he was inside.

He'd have to find something to use as a door. Or make one with intertwined branches or something, like he'd seen in that one TV show once…

Well, he'd have to think about it.

With a resigned sigh, Kanda had gotten out of the hole and used a big rock to at least hide the entry from direct view before picking up the dead hare and leaving towards the place where he'd left his blankets. He'd peacefully choose a tree to eat his meal after he was done with this.

.:.::.::Hidden::.::.:.

Untamed

(A few days later)

Anyway, sometime after he'd discovered how truly satisfying it was to hear the moyashi hiss in pain whenever he annoyed Kanda too much- wait, no, not when he annoyed Kanda too much, when he annoyed Kanda period – sometime after he discovered that, the weather got considerably worse. Especially at night, the cold and the wind got worse. The snow fell more heavily than ever.

Safely curled up in his "cave", warm in there due to his own body heat and the fluffy blankets and clothes, Kanda wouldn't have been that affected if the weight of the snow on top of his improvised door hadn't suddenly broken it and snow had started to fall furiously – even if it seemed more like the snow was being forcefully shoved - inside the cave.

The cold and fluffy substance quickly got packed inside the small space, and Kanda found himself fighting not to be buried under it. The damn wind seemed to be aiming straight at the tree above, so strong Kanda could hear the tree above him creaking, and he knew even his claws would not help him if the huge tree fell on him. It would kill him immediately.

And he knew wouldn't live to see the dawn of the next day if he tried to survive out there in the cold without a shelter of some sort. Even the small cave he was in, even with the threat of being buried under the snow, was better than outside, surrounded by white, unable to see a thing, slowly freezing to death.

He had no choice but to remain where he was and do whatever he could to keep the snow out and himself warm in doing so.

And so the hybrid set to work, using both hands to throw out the snow, trying to ignore the cold and the wind and his long hair getting in his face. It was a laborious process, and not exactly a rewarding one – more snow was constantly falling to replace what little he'd been able to get rid of.

In his struggle with the elements, time seemed to stretch on impossibly.

When he wasn't actively pushing snow out, Kanda allowed himself a few moments to curl up and rest a little, clutching the half-damp blankets to his thin, shivering body, but he knew he couldn't let himself fall asleep or he might never wake up.

.:.::.::Survival::.::.:.

Untamed

Meanwhile, in a house back in the city, Allen looked out the window of his room thoughtfully, big grey eyes focused on the wind tossing snow around outside.

Through the door came Mana's voice, quick and grave as Allen's father paced back and forth in the living room while he talked to a client on the phone. It sounded important. Maybe it was important. It didn't matter.

It didn't really matter.

The white-haired boy looked at the snowstorm raging outside, strange clear silver eyes unreadable.

.:.::.::Worry::.::.:.

Untamed

It had lasted three days.

Three- god-fucking-dammit- THREE DAYS.

Three fucking days of intense cold and no sleep.

To say that Kanda was pissed off was an understatement. He was very literally a dripping wet and cold cat, nose red and running, furry black ears hanging down in distaste and black tail rigid in pure anger and exhaustion. He felt like biting off the head of whatever crossed his path just for the stress relief it would give him.

Not that he would. To Kanda, taking a life was only something to do for a good enough reason.

(Though he kind of tended to overlook that little self-rule when it came to humans… not that he had killed one yet. The intention had been there, though. And taking a limb or two was perfectly fine in his book.)

So considering that he couldn't just exterminate the first creature to cross his path in a bloody and enjoyable way, Kanda wished there was a weather god or something just so he could rip its head off to show him his appreciation for the three fucking days of hell.

Lady Fortune could be blamed too, and judging by her name she conveniently already had a perceivable form (with a convenient head to be ripped off), but Kanda didn't hit females.

.:.::.::Anger::.::.:.

Untamed

He was just… so... tiiiiiiiiiiired.

He needed to rest, but right now being a minute longer trapped in that tree would have been torture, and he was starving anyway. So he'd gathered his blankets – which were wet and really cold – and made a bundle with them, wrapping the bundle in another blanket that he'd then tied around his torso, and left.

He was running – more or less clumsily (he was just so tired) – to keep himself warm and functioning, and was more or less aware of where he was heading – not that he knew where that was. He hadn't made a decision exactly, but his feet were carrying him through the cold snow, his hands were frantically helping him get over whatever obstacles appeared in his way, his hunger urged him to keep going, and that was all that mattered.

The need for food kept him awake and functioning and had sharpened his senses… or maybe that last part was just him being so tired he was imagining things. But at-

-he interrupted his train of thought when a certain scent filled his nostrils and he looked down from his high perch on the leafless tree (when had he climbed to a tree? Why hadn't he noticed when the ground had suddenly been so far away…? No matter. He was just so tired…) and his dark eyes zeroed on the small shadow on the white expanse of snow under him.

This scent… food.

…there.

He fell on the careless rabbit like a vengeance from the heavens and tore it apart savagely, blood squishing everywhere and staining the virgin white snow and the trees around him. In his ravenous hunger the hybrid barely took notice of the unappealing scent of the wet and dirty fur that only lasted the few seconds it took Kanda to expose the meager rabbit's insides with a clean slash of his claws. Sinew, flesh and bone offered no resistance, parting like butter being cut by a knife, and the metallic scent of blood made Kanda almost drool in anticipation. Almost.

His head was descending, jaws open, before he even thought about it.

After killing, Kanda usually preferred to go eat his hard-earned meal up in a tree, where no one and nothing would bother him, but right now he was just hunger and thoughts of food, and his instinct to climb a tree and only eat there didn't even make its appearance in Kanda's mind.

The meat and innards were deliciously warm, the blood warmer even, and after three days of nothing, the raw metallic taste was heavenly. Rivulets of blood slid down his jaw and neck; his hands were almost immediately black with dark blood, and sticky. He bit down again and gulped everything down hungrily.

Kanda bit and tore at the poor dead animal in a frenzy, too hungry and tired to have any semblance of control.

Not that Kanda usually had to control himself from killing and devouring all his prey like he was doing to that one now – much on the contrary, Kanda was actually not inclined to react in that way. He was by nature a very methodic and disciplined creature of naturally calm and somewhat rational ways. Only when provoked would he react explosively. And he had a short fuse in regard to some things, or to most things in general if he felt threatened or uncomfortable. But three days without sleep or food and fighting against the cold were more than a slight provocation.

It was no surprise to Kanda when, when he finally came back to his (tired, tired) senses, he was sitting on his haunches on the naked branch of some tree, carefully licking his claws. He blinked, finally back to himself.

A brief second of sudden awareness, of realization of what had happened, and Kanda resumed licking his claws one by one before retracting them to their protective sheath under his human nails. So he had kind of lost it for moment, so what? It was nothing important. He was so goddamn tired.

The hybrid took out his claws once again to look them over one final time. That done, he inspected himself quickly.

His warm clothes (that had been big on him, but he'd cut the parts that were too long and tied the rest with knots as he could so they fit snugly to his thin body), given by the kid, were stained red – all of the front, the knees of his pants, and on the forearms up to the elbows. It was a little bothersome, but he couldn't do anything about it now. It was not like he bothered with what he smelled like anymore, and it would hopefully dry (or freeze?) soon. Since he had other two shirts under the outer one, its dampness would not bother him.

The blankets were still on his back, fortunately. He'd lost his warm socks sometime during the snowstorm so that was old news that didn't even deserve much attention – his white and almost blue feet, covered in bleeding scratches and aching like something fierce, vehemently protested against such a dispassionate assessment – and his midnight-coloured hair, too long, too dirty, and with lots of knots was a tangled mess falling over his shoulders. Damn, he'd lost the hair-tie.

With an impatient growl, he gathered it all in a bun, twisted it, and snapping a little stick from the branch he was sitting on, pinned his hair in place as well as he could manage.

Aside that, his insides were now a little warmer and his limbs didn't feel as impossible to move as before, even if they somehow felt heavier. His tiredness, though, seemed to have increased three-fold. His sore muscles screamed in agony and his eyelids, now those were heavy. Even his head and ears were starting to feel heavy. He leaned forward a bit-

Wait, no… I can't sleep here…

Shaking himself awake, Kanda got up and jumped to the next tree.

.:.::.::Tiredness::.::.:.

Untamed

Kanda would have been lying if he said he was surprised when he found himself on the place where he usually met up with the bean sprout.

He really hadn't been thinking about it, but it was more or less obvious this would be the best option. The human should come. He always came. And so far the kid hadn't done anything that had proved to be harmful to Kanda. Having him around would mean the panther would (probably) get a warning in case anything – or anyone – approached, or if it started snowing and Kanda didn't wake up.

The kid would definitely warn Kanda.

Right?

And again, the hybrid would have been lying if he said he hadn't felt relief when he'd gotten to his usual tree and, looking down, the human kid had been there, wrapped up in a bunch of blankets while calmly writing something on a book, his tiny hands covered in thick dark blue gloves, fluffy white hair falling over the focused silver eyes.

.:.::.::Trust::.::.:.

Untamed

Kanda jumped from branch to branch, somewhat noisily and sending snow everywhere, his usual gracefulness nowhere to be seen, until he got to the tree against which the kid was sitting – a pinetree of some sort, covered in dark green leaves even during winter.

The pretty human boy didn't look up from what he was doing.

Without so much as a sigh of relief, Kanda settled on a big branch quite far from the ground after throwing down the snow covering it. He let his limbs hang down on the air and there he stayed, panting.

He calmed down slowly, until finally the pants for breath stopped, and Kanda laid on the hard branch breathing softly. His muscles ached, his scratches burned, and his throat was beginning to feel a little strange. But at least he was resting, and his stomach was satisfied. He exhaled softly.

Amazingly, the kid hadn't said a word so far.

So it seemed the brat was capable of being quiet, after all. Kanda would have felt surprised had he had any energy left to summon up the feeling. As it was, he just stared at the snow covered trees to the right, waiting for his aches to fade a bit so he could sleep.

"Today…"

Oh, the brat had found his tongue, after all. Kanda should have known he wouldn't take too long finding it, wherever he'd left it.

"…I have studying to do, so please do not throw things at me, or insult me. I won't bother you either, so. If you don't mind." Damn stuck-up kid with his mannerly ways.

Kanda's tail twitched, the only sign of slight annoyance the hybrid could display at the moment. Well, apparently the kid's annoying ways could still get through to him despite the extreme exhaustion. The panther was not surprised.

But still, studying? Kanda had heard of that. He was pretty sure it had something to do with how people learned things like reading and writing. It was often related to that "school" thing some TV series and movies showed occasionally. Some even focused a lot on it. He hadn't really liked those. He always changed channels.

Kanda tried gathering some leftover energy to feel curious. He wanted to take a look at what the kid was doing, and he couldn't see if he had his head lying on the branch, looking to the right like that.

With an infinitely small (but oh so difficult in his current condition) effort, Kanda dragged his head and shoulders a few centimeters to the right. A little more. And a little more, until his head was looking down, with his left cheek touching the side of the branch.

Damn leaves and lower branches. He couldn't see anything.

The panther-hybrid tiredly reflected for a few moments. He'd probably be able to see the human if he got to one of the lower branches. But he didn't want to move. He really didn't want to move. He absolutely, entirely and most definitely refused to move.

A few minutes later, Kanda moved.

Goddamn you, curiosity.

.:.::.::Curiosity::.::.:.

Untamed

Kanda dragged himself down the tree until he stopped on a lower branch from where he could watch the kid. The branch was quite far from the ground and the kid still, so Kanda didn't feel too uncomfortable, and the tree had so many leaves that only someone looking up from directly under the tree would be able to see him, so the Pet didn't feel too exposed. The kid already knew he was there anyway, so yeah, so what if he saw Kanda?

He took a moment to reach for the knot and untie and unwrap the bundle of blankets on his back, since the knot on his stomach had been digging painfully into his flesh when he'd been lying down on the branch. Not that it had bothered him that much.

Since the outer blanket wasn't that wet, he covered himself with it before tucking the bundle with the rest of them against the tree trunk. Then Kanda lay down again, stomach down, positioned so that he could look down at the base of the tree, where the bundle that was the human kid wearing his big jacket and wrapped in all those blankets was sitting.

And just like Kanda had seen on TV, the white-haired boy was writing neat lines of letters on his notebook, from time to time pausing to read something from a book covered in letters and one or two pictures that he had under the notebook he was writing on.

Kanda found it somewhat interesting, actually.

Dark blue eyes followed the swift movements of the pencil travelling across the paper, leaving lines of small little symbols behind. The soft scratching of the tip of the pencil against the paper reached Kanda's sensitive ears in the silence of the snow-covered forest, and the nearly rhythmic sound was soothing.

Occasionally the scratching stopped, and there was a slight rustling as the human boy moved his notebook to look at the book under it or the sound of pages being turned when there was no more room for letters on a page. They disturbed the rhythmic scratching, but Kanda was too busy watching the whole process despite his heavy eyelids to mind.

Lines of letters flowed smoothly from the tip of the white-haired boy's pencil, covering the page, overflowing to the next page, dripping down the notebook to the snow covering the ground and staining it in graphite's dark grey…

Kanda was slowly lulled to sleep and found himself dreaming of rivers of flowing dark letters without noticing it.

.:.::.::Sleepiness::.::.:.

Untamed

Aw, look at that. Kitty-girly boy was sleeping.

The Pet was almost in clear view, and he was sleeping. Allen hadn't seen him so clearly since the first time they'd met.

Standing a few feet away from where he'd been sitting, Allen looked over the other kid slowly, paying attention to every little detail he could see from this position. The branch the Pet was lying on obstructed most of the human's view – he could only see a hand, a bit of the right side of the Pet, from below, and part of his face – but it would have to be enough, since Allen didn't want to scare the other by approaching him suddenly.

The child was pretty sure the cat-boy hadn't been looking this bad back then, though.

The Pet looked reaaaaally tired. And his face was all dirty and- wait, was that blood? And there was blood on his hand too! And-

Oh, wait. Blood around his mouth and on his hand means- ah, right.

The Pet had probably killed and eaten some animal. Huh. Raw? Probably.

Raw.

Ewwwwwwww…, little Allen shuddered in disgust. Gross, gross, gross, gross!

The Pet hadn't even taken off his glove, it was all red! Or what was left of it, anyway. The fingers of the glove were gone, and part of the rest as well, so it was more like a band of thread wrapped around the Pet's palm. The other glove probably was in no better state. Humpf. Ungrateful jerk, should at least be careful with his presents…, the human boy thought angrily.

At least the pants and the shirts and the blankets seemed fine, if a little dirty… Mana would freak if he knew. Heh, hopefully he wouldn't notice four of their many, many blankets missing… and he'd never wanted to wear those clothes apparently, since he always complained about how old Froi never knew how to pick decent-looking presents…

Ah well.

Still, it was quite surprising. The Pet had been hiding himself so stubbornly from Allen until now, and all of a sudden here he was. And sleeping to boot.

Ah, right... He had come sleep near Allen, hadn't he?

The place where you slept – and next to whom – could determine whether you woke up safely the next day or without any clothes and with a knife kissing your throat – if you woke up at all…

So this- this meant- the cat-boy had to trust him at least a little, right? He needed Allen at least a little, right, right?

So despite the Pet being a rude, irritating, annoying bast- jerk, Allen's chest felt warm and a smile tugged at the corner of his pink lips.

No, despite all his flaws, Allen wouldn't leave the jerk alone. And not just because he'd said he would. Because he wanted to.

Then Allen remembered with a wince how much being thrown things at had hurt (his arms and body were covered in bruises!) and he decided a little revenge was in order.

He'd let the bast- the jerk sleep for a few hours, until it was time for Allen to leave. But then- oooohohoho, then he would see…

.:.::.::Revenge::.::.:.

Untamed

Kanda was sleeping. The sea of blackness, blessedly free of nightmares or past memories, extremely soothing-

"GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!" he jolted awake at the sudden flare of pain on his head and almost fell off the branch, which he did not because he threw his arms out, trying to hang on to something, and his claws caught the tree's trunk and halted his fall. He fought to get a better hold as his feet slipped and got even more scratched and it hurt and- "FUCK- shit, fuck, fucker fuckity fuck, shiiit-" Hissing and spitting curses, he clumsily climbed back to his previous spot and, head still spinning and throbbing painfully, turned around just in time to see a snickering moyashi's back disappear through the trees as he ran away.

After having thrown a little stone at sleeping Kanda's head with deadly precision.

"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!"

"HOPE YOU ENJOYED YOUR BEAUTY SLEEP, KITTY BOY!" was the cheeky response the thrice-damned bean sprout shouted over his shoulder.

Kanda was going to kill him and feast on his insides.

.:.::.::Brat::.::.:.

Untamed

The next day, Allen was welcomed with a loving shower of small stones and pine cones that left him practically black and blue all over.

The silver-eyed boy yelled quite loudly after that. A smirking Kanda sat on a low branch and calmly informed him that he should learn to duck more quickly.

When Allen went home, he went directly to his room to sulk.

.:.::.::Pay-back::.::.:.

Untamed

It was… yellow.

It was small, furry, and… very yellow.

And for some unfathomable reason, it was emitting a murderous aura that darkened the atmosphere of the room from the place on Allen's bed where it had taken residence.

Little Allen blinked at the furry yellow ball. Twice.

"Mana!" he called at last, still staring flabbergasted at the thing, "Why is there afeather dusterin my room and why do I feel like my bed has been kidnapped?"

At the shout, a smaller yellow ball appeared from behind the bigger one, two triangular ears popped up on top of it, and it rotated slightly to the right to reveal two huge slanted golden eyes glaring fiercely at Allen that completely freaked him out. He almost fell on his back as he scrambled away. "WHOA! It's alive?" the child yelped, his own silver eyes open wide in surprise.

"…ers stomping all over the floor, coming home at this hour…" Mana appeared on the doorway then, grumbling. "And what do you mean, kidna- oh." Mana's face lit up in understanding, "Oh, right. I see you two have met already."

"Aaah?" Allen whipped his head to the left to stare dazedly at the man.

His father smiled excitedly, practically bouncing into the room and towards the bed to pick up the yellow thing by its middle and turn it around so it faced Allen.

"This," Mana said happily, his smile so wide there were wrinkles in the corner of his eyes, "is Timcanpy! I'm sure he's very happy to meet you." The kitten hissed, hanging by the scruff of its neck from Mana's fingers, long, loooong yellow tail swishing irritably in the air. It did not look pleased to meet Allen.

Surprised silver eyes met fiercely glaring golden ones, and the kitten opened his mouth to hiss threateningly, displaying an impressive set of white, sharp, and incredibly huge (too huge!) teeth that made Allen's eyes widen. Holy sh-!

"Are those his teeth?" the child asked incredulously. Those razors? He looks like a chain saw with two little yellow felt balls attached. And a tail.

"Yes!" Mana confirmed, ridiculously happy, "He looks just like a little furry piranha, doesn't he? Doesn't he? And all yellow? I mean, look at him! Yellow! And those teeth~!" Mana brought the disgruntled kitten up to his face and excitedly rubbed his cheek against the furry little head. "It's just so terribly adorable!" he squealed.

Allen's jaw hit the floor.

.:.::.::Surprise::.::.:.

Untamed

Without taking his eyes off of his adversary, Allen moved cautiously forward.

"He's only a little upset for having been separated from the other kittens," Mana had said. If anything, the tiny cat looked majorly pissed off at the world in general and Allen in specific, almost like another certain someone. "Just give him food and you'll have his heart in no time."

The question was, would Allen still have his hand afterwards? The kitten's heart wasn't nearly as important to Allen as his own hands were. Even the defective, ugly one.

Still, now here he was, staring at the little cat from across the kitchen, an open can of cat food in his hand. Timcanpy was by his new plastic plate, golden eyes narrowed suspiciously at his new owner.

Oh yes, the cat had been a present for Allen.

"This doesn't mean you can't keep looking for the other kitten." Mana had said. "Maybe if you take Timcanpy with you, the other one will come out to play!"

"For some reason, I really doubt that…" Allen had muttered.

"Nonsense! Now go feed your cat! You have to bond, bond!" And he'd promptly shoved the two of them into the kitchen and left with the satisfied expression of someone who believes to have just accomplished something wonderful.

Allen took another step forward, and the golden kitten went from glaring daggers to wishing for Allen to spontaneously combust right there and then with his eyes.

The child took a hand to his head and threaded his fingers through the white strands, pulling a little on them in his exasperation. "Look, I really won't do anything bad to you, so you don't need to be afraid. Really. See, here?" He stretched out his arm, presenting the cat food. The cat hissed. "It's just food. Aren't you hungry?"

The worst part was that he didn't even feel stupid while talking to the cat.

He'd been doing something similar way too often lately.

"Goddamn cats, all of them jerks…" Allen mumbled under his breath and with a wide forced smile as he took another step forward.

The golden cat did not look convinced. The fur on its back was all standing up.

Allen sighed. He was too tired of trying to charm and befriend feline personalities. This time, if the cat wanted food, then the cat would have to come to the human and take it. No more begging for permission to help.

So with a confident nod to himself, the white-haired boy let himself fall to the ground and sat Indian-style, the can of cat food right in front of him, open and inviting, and a spoon and a small plastic plate on his lap.

"Take your time." Little Allen said, somewhat sulkily, and settled down to wait with his arms crossed over his chest.

.:.::.::Alluring::.::.:.

Untamed

Ten minutes later, Timcanpy took a hesitant step forward.

Five minutes after that, the kitten was in the middle of the kitchen, eyeing the human cautiously. Allen's eyebrow twitched in annoyance at how long it was taking.

Fifteen minutes after that, and the yellow cat was finally approaching the food.

He sniffed experimentally, and Allen had to resist the urge to roll his eyes.

A tentative lick, another sniff. A glance up at the human, to make sure it wasn't moving. It wasn't. And was the human staring at the kitten's teeth? Heh. Let it stare.

Another lick. Then he tried to bite. Gah, the food was… not in a good position to bite. Grrrr. Damn can. The kitten's fur stood up in his irritation.

Allen snickered mentally and, moving slowly, picked up the spoon and the other plastic plate he had on his lap, trying not to think about those dangerous-looking teeth.

The cat looked startled, eyes wide with sudden fear, but then Allen was already putting delicious-smelling food on the plate right next to the kitty, and Timcanpy mentally thanked the wonderful human that was giving him food.

And oh, did it give him food. Whenever Timcanpy looked up clearly hoping for more, the wonderful, amazing human put more food on the plate! And with no brothers or sisters or mother to share it with, it was all his! All of that delicious, tasty, juicy food, all his! Oh, joy of joys! He was in heaven!

This human- this human was amazing! A-MA-ZING! Oh, food, glorious food!

Timcanpy looked up at his most adored human in the whole wide world and mewled softly for more food. His request was almost immediately answered, and Timcanpy immersed himself in food-induced bliss.

.:.::.::Surrender::.::.:.

Untamed

Allen blinked, surprised. He had put the cat food on the plate, and next thing he knew the golden kitten was eating delightedly, all signs of suspicion and aggression-waiting-to-happen gone, and seemingly not even minding the closeness of the boy.

If only it was always this easy.

Since only a spoonful didn't seem enough, even for such a small kitten, Allen had put another. And then when the kitten had finished and looked up again, and sniffed the can in Allen's hand with clear interest, Allen had given him a little bit more. But after eating that, Timcanpy had looked up once again and purred, actually purred, with a hopeful look in those – now friendly! -golden eyes, and a shocked Allen hadn't even thought twice before giving him a little more food.

And there the kitten was, eating happily and without a care in the world.

Well. Then maybe he wouldn't mind if Allen…?

The boy reached out with one hand, and tentatively stroked the kitten's back. It felt silky, and very warm…

The kitten paused in his eating momentarily to look up at Allen, who froze. Was the cat going to react badly…?

Timcanpy mewled softly and then went on eating. The boy smiled widely, completely delighted, an expression that made his pretty face light up. Timcanpy hadn't minded the touch!

But Allen knew animals did not appreciate being bothered while they were eating, so he decided to wait until the kitten was finished to try to pet him again.

A minute or two later, Timcanpy was licking the empty plate, and deciding that had been enough food for the evening, stepped back and sat on his hind legs to lick his front paws.

The white-haired boy watched, fascinated, as the miniature cat thoroughly cleaned himself with an expertise surely only an adult cat would have. Allen had never seen a cat do that from up close, though, so the whole thing was quite curious to him. There was even a position or two that left Allen intrigued enough to want to try those positions himself later. They looked really difficult, how could the cat make his body do that?

But what really surprised the boy was when the yellow cat finally finished his "bath" and very calmly, like it was an everyday matter, climbed into Allen's lap, massaged his thigh with his front paws (the little claws coming out to dig into his skin, but they were so tiny it practically didn't hurt) and then curled up on it, shifting until he found a comfortable enough position.

Allen had followed the kitten's movements with curious silver eyes, and seeing it settle, a furry little bundle warm on his thigh, he raised his hand and tried stroking the fluffy golden fur. That earned him a loud purr from Timcanpy.

The bright smile from before appeared once again on little Allen's face. And it grew, and grew. His cheeks felt very warm, for some reason.

The child spent the rest of the evening petting and hugging his golden kitten, who was more than happy to allow his most adored human to do so and purred as loudly as a car motor for all he was worth.

.:.::.::Friend::.::.:.

Untamed

End of Part I of Chapter 4

To be continued after the interlude