Hey! Edge-chan here. Thanks for your reviews. It's true what they say about the reviews making you want to write more. I appreciate those of you who are honest enough to point out the discrepancies in the story as much as I appreciate being showered with praise (okay, so I like the praise more, sue me).

Lirre13: Thanks for bringing up the thing about Kanda's healing ability. However, when one breaks his or her collarbone, sometimes surgery is required to set it back in place, and here I'm assuming that the surgery would take care of Kanda's injury faster than his curse could heal it. He would need the painkillers before going into surgery, anyway. I'm also assuming that the infirmary in the Black Order actually has an operating room- I don't know for sure- but it would make sense if they did.

Okay, enough with the long-winded explanation. On with the story.

Oh, and I don't own D.Gray-man. Woe is me.

Where the Current Leads

Chapter Two: In Which Kanda Confesses

Komui reached into the endless depths of his lab coat and produced a syringe, which Allen shied away from out of habit. The needle looked incredibly sharp and none too small.

"You can rest easy, Allen-kun, this is for Kanda." He explained, squirting a tiny amount of the liquid inside into the air to test the syringe.

"What is it?" Allen eyed the clear substance with a cautious curiosity.

"It's a painkiller. A very strong painkiller I invented recently."

"Really… how strong is 'very strong,' exactly?"

"Well, what it is is a combination of a fast-acting sedative and a gradual but powerful anesthetic and narcotic. It will take away his pain and calm him down, but we'll have enough time before he falls asleep to take some x-rays and find out where the fracture is."

Shivering in fear and fascination at the man's genius, Allen nodded, still trying to make his eyes avoid the long needle.

"That's handy." Komui nodded to him, then headed over to Kanda, and to Allen's surprise, it only took a few words for Kanda to consent to the painkiller. He gasped in awe as Kanda actually watched the needle pierce his skin, and didn't so much as wince when Komui depressed the plunger.



The man had not lied about the strength of the drug; no more than a minute after the injection, Kanda's eyes grew slightly hazy, and his iron grip on the arm rest of the wheelchair slackened to nothing. When he spoke, he slurred quite audibly.

"Damn, Komui, thish ish really shtrong shtuff." However, Komui ignored him and motioned for the infirmary workers to wheel the patient in for an x-ray, and without a second thought, Allen followed with them.

Growing increasingly more relaxed, Kanda leaned back in his wheelchair with a sigh, and Allen gathered that it no longer hurt him to breathe. Kanda didn't even blink when the I.V. needle was slipped into his hand, and the nurse smiled at Kanda once there was tape over the needle to keep it in place.

"There we are."

"Thanks." He was no longer slurring, but now, something even stranger- he smiled back at her lazily. He'd been yelling at this same nurse not two minutes ago. Allen raised an eyebrow.

What's the I.V. for?"

"He needs more sedatives. The one he was given by Komui only lasts about five minutes."

"I see…" Allen noted with some concern that Kanda was still smiling; only this time, the smile was directed towards the ceiling.

"Having fun, Kanda?" the addressed exorcist's eyes slowly traveled to settle on Allen's, and the boy felt his heart skip a beat when Kanda smiled wider- at him.

"Oh, you bet. Wow…you have pretty hair."

Allen's eyes widened, and he blushed up to the roots of said pretty hair.

"Right, um, nurse? How about you lead the way to the x-ray room, and I'll push his wheelchair." She chuckled, motioning with her hand for him to follow. As Allen pushed his drugged-up comrade down the hall, Kanda attempted to turn around to look at him. Finding that this was all but impossible, he leaned his head way back and gazed at Allen from an upside-down perspective. His smile still lingered somewhat, but his eyes were wider, and he studied Allen with a dazed fascination.

"You have pretty eyes, too… they're the color of a rainstorm."

"Really…" Allen coughed, thoroughly embarrassed. "Well, uh, so do you…" Kanda shook his head, making his bangs tilt back more and expose his forehead.

"No, I don't. They're dark and cold and mean-looking and I don't like them." He crossed his arms stubbornly over his chest, frowning like a frustrated child. He even stuck out his bottom lip, which almost made Allen stumble out of shock. After he caught himself, Allen laughed a bit.

"Well, I like them." At this, Kanda's face lit up, and his smile returned with a vengeance.



"Really?"

It was such an enthusiastic, sincere response that it made Allen blush again, and he nodded.

"Really." Seeing that the nurse had stopped and unlocked a door, Allen steered Kanda into the room. The nurse nodded towards a metal table that was inside.

"Help him get up there, and have him lie down." Allen gulped; he had a nagging feeling that this would not go well. Nonetheless, he obeyed the nurse's order and helped Kanda shakily to his feet, presented with the problem of getting him up on the table. Reluctantly, he gripped Kanda's hips firmly.

"When I say so, push on my shoulders and get yourself up onto the table." Kanda didn't seem to be paying attention, but he nodded. Bracing himself, Allen lifted the older boy with a grunt.

"Go." He hesitated a moment, but then Kanda pushed himself up using the leverage from Allen's shoulders. He hissed slightly when he thumped onto the table, but otherwise showed no discomfort as he lay down.

The x-ray was taken, and then Allen had to run to stop Kanda, who was intending to jump from the table to the wheelchair ("Watch this!"). To Allen's surprise, Lavi was waiting for them outside of the room.

"Lavi, where have you been? I could have used your help!"

"Sorry! I had to get something." Lavi's gaze fell on Kanda, who was currently staring with great interest at his hands, as if he was wondering what their purpose could be. "How are you holding up there, Kanda?" Kanda's attention shifted sluggishly to the one who had spoken to him, seemingly noticing his presence for the first time. He grinned and gave Lavi the thumbs-up.

"I feel gooood." At this, the redhead's eyes went wide, and he regarded Kanda as one would an unstable mental patient. That passed, though, and he looked at Allen with a sort of cautious amusement.

"How many painkillers did they give him?"

Allen scratched the back of his head, feeling for some reason like he was in trouble.

"A few," he admitted. "But I have to say, they sure did calm him down."

"Gee, you think?" Lavi laughed a little, and Allen didn't miss the sarcasm in his comment. He was about to retort when the nurse piped up.

"Well, he's going to be out cold in a couple of minutes, so wish him luck now, if you want."

"Right. Don't kill anyone when you wake up, okay, Kanda?"

The dark-haired boy nodded sleepily, and Allen circled around the wheelchair to talk to him.

"Good luck in there, Kanda. They'll fix you up, don't you worry."



"Thanks, Allen." Allen (blushing and shocked) and Lavi (just shocked) exchanged a look. Kanda lowered his voice into a stage whisper, like a child telling a secret. "Guess what?"

Allen was almost afraid to know.

"What is it?"

Kanda spread his arms as wide as they could go, making the nurse fuss over his I.V.

"I love you this much." Instead of skipping a beat, this time Allen's heart stopped dead for a few moments, before he remembered to breathe, and it shuddered to a surprised start. His face would have put a rose to shame, and his eyes were so wide he thought they'd pop out of his head. He was aware of his heart thumping so loudly he could actually hear it. Finally, he was able to summon his voice.

"Do you… really mean that?"

"Of course I do. I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it." For a person high on painkillers, Kanda had a very serious expression on his face. Allen couldn't help but smile.

"True. Are you ready to go to surgery now?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I won't go without a good-luck kiss."

Allen went profoundly red once more as he debated what to do. He knew he couldn't say no- drugged or not, Kanda was famously stubborn. Those stubborn eyes gazed at him expectantly, and Allen had no choice. He leaned down, and Kanda's eyes closed in anticipation, but they flew open and he gasped when Allen's lips pressed warmly against the delicate curve at the hollow of his collarbone. It was such a sweet gesture that Kanda blushed, himself, and shivered despite the heat that had flared up within him.

It was too much excitement, it seemed, and as he heaved a sigh, his eyelids fluttered, and within seconds, he was fast asleep. The blushing nurse wheeled him off towards the operating room, and Allen and Lavi were left alone in complete silence. That is, until Lavi began roaring with uncontrollable laughter. Allen jumped a few feet in the air out of surprise, and flushed in embarrassment.

"It's not funny, Lavi! Stop laughing!"

"Are you kidding?! That was freaking hilarious! I'll never let Kanda forget this one! Oh my God, I'm a witness!"

"A witness of what?!"

"Of Kanda confessing his love to you! And… and you kissed him!"



"O-only on the collarbone… for good luck…" Allen's excuses were feeble, due to his red face and shy posture.

"Yeah, but do you have any idea how hot that looked? You should have seen Kanda's face, I thought he'd get a nosebleed for sure!" Something seemed to dawn on Lavi, and a mischievous grin spread over his features. "Um, hey, you know what? I'll see you later!" he made to run, but Allen caught his sleeve.

"Wait! What are you gonna do?!"

"Oh, nothing…" Allen paled; Lavi was never up to "nothing," and especially not with that tone he had right now.

"Oh, no you don't. You're not telling anyone about this!"

Briefly, Lavi broke away, running again, and Allen had to tackle him to stop him- and even then, the redhead still struggled.

"But this is huge news!" He raised one fist up in the air from underneath Allen. "The people must be informed!"

As Allen fought to dissuade his friend from telling everybody what had happened, in the back of his mind, he hoped that after the drugs had worn off, he'd be able to see that happiness in Kanda's eyes again. Subconsciously, he longed for Kanda to feel the same way he had- without being high and disoriented, and altogether not like Kanda.

More than anything, he wanted that and that alone.