Really sorry for the late update, I had exams, then my internet stopped working or some shit like that, so I couldn't post it at my house. And I forgot I had to go to summer camp for three weeks (don't ask me; I have no clue how I forgot…) and its one of those 'love the environment' places with no electronics *sigh* so… yeah. I also have a feeling that this chappie sucks really hard, so for you anger management problem peoples, don't hurt me please! (Oh well; life goes on :P) Now for brighter stuff:
OMG thank you sooo much for the reviews. I posted the new chappie, and within the next 20 minutes I have new reviews XD. I'm so glad to know that people actually read this stuff!
For those of you who wish to know what BAWB means, I have decided that it will be one of those 'reveal at end of story' things
WARNINGS: Lots of cursing in English, Japanese, and British (which is still English, just weirder) and fighting and stuff… super OOC characters (especially Tyki)… usage of a hand held weapon (don't touch guns, kids, they're extremely dangerous)
DISCLAIMER OF DOOM: I do not own D. Gray-man. If I did, there would be man on man lovin'… yeah :D
AND REMEMBER: HUGS NOT DRUGS
*jumps on random horse* On with the story! *rides away into the sunset*
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Unexpectedly, Kanda and Lavi were working well together. There weren't (many) arguments, they learned to get along with (almost tolerate) each other, and they began to understand one another on a more personal level (that's a lie).
Okay, so maybe their partnership wasn't going very well. But that was to be anticipated. One doesn't just go from being enemies with another to being 'BFF's with a wave of a magical wand.
Magical wands don't exist, regrettably.
They did, however, agree on one point; they wanted to win. Lavi and Kanda both had that competitive edge and 'losing' wasn't a word easily comprehended for them. This goal was what drove them to put aside their differences and at least try to civil.
It wasn't as simple as it sounded.
"No. I already told you that would screw up the entire design!" Kanda said, exasperatedly, for the third time. Lavi didn't seem to be able to comprehend that 'no' means 'no.' It does not mean 'I bet if you say it one more time, I will agree; just keep trying.'
How hard is that to understand?
"Well, I already told you. If the photovoltaic modules went here, then it would be able to absorb the maximum amount of sunlight." Lavi said it as if it were obvious. Kanda face-palmed.
"I know that, baka usagi! I get what you are trying to say." He said, struggling to keep his voice even, but ultimately failing. "But, if we do what you are saying, one of the guidelines will be screwed up. Were you even listening at the conference last week? Everything has to be perfect or we won't win! If we have to, we'll redo the design; we still have a long time before the competition ends. And no we can't spray paint the fucking things!" He cut off Lavi before he could make a stupid comment. But the redhead seemed distracted.
"'Idiot rabbit?' Why do you keep calling me that?" Lavi questioned, looking at Kanda with eyebrows furrowed. He blinked, anger momentarily forgotten.
"You can speak Japanese?"
"A little." Kanda smirked.
"Anata wa kuso urusai yarōdesu. Kuso jigoku ni ikuto subete no I kea no tame soko ni taizai!" The words rolled off his tongue a lot easier than English. It was a little weird, though, to speak in his native language after so long of not doing just that. It felt good, too.
Lavi obviously didn't think so. "Yuu-chan, that was very rude." He reprimanded. "Is that really how you feel about me?" Kanda shrugged.
"Back to what I said before, if this was-"
"You didn't answer my question." Lavi looked at him expectantly. Kanda sighed.
"Is this really so important that we ha-"
"Yes." Lavi interrupted. Kanda's eyebrow twitched.
"Fine." He said. "It's simple, really. You are a fucking idiot." Lavi's frown deepened even as a small smile spread across his face. "And, for some unknown reason, you remind me of a rabbit. Probably because rabbits are the stupidest most idiotic creatures ever to walk the face of this earth." He didn't mention the part about him thinking rabbits were cute. He would kill himself before he ever told Lavi he thought rabbits were cute. Then he might think Kanda thought Lavi was cute.
And that would destroy the earth, zombie apocalypse be damned.
He felt a sharp tug at his neck and let out a (very manly) yelp of surprise. A strong hand was yanking on his tie. He was pulled forward until he came face to face with a laughing Lavi. The redhead drew him even closer and for one strange second, Kanda thought Lavi was going to kiss him. But he didn't; he just hovered in front of his face, grinning. "Please don't call me an idiot, Yuu-chan. If we're going to work together, we have to play nice."
"Tch. I'll play nice when hell freezes over. And stop calling me by my first name."
"Then don't call me an idiot."
"You are one, why shouldn't I?"
"I'm not an idiot!" Lavi whined.
"Tell that to me when we win." But Lavi ignored him to continue ranting.
"You can call me an asshole, a douchebag, a serial rapist; I don't care." Lavi pouted, seemingly having forgotten that he had a grip on Kanda's tie. "But I am not stupid and definitely not an idiot. I would appreciate it if you would stop saying that to me." Kanda glowered at him. Someone cleared their throat.
"What?" Kanda barked, turning in the direction of the noise. That was when he realized there were other people in the room. Lavi released his tie.
The side of the table Kanda was sitting on had ten of his closest representatives. The same went for Lavi on the other side. And almost every single one of them was looking very uncomfortable.
"Why, Yuu, I do believe we have forgotten where we are."
"Tch." Kanda rolled his eyes and glared at Allen who was sitting next to him. "What do you want?" Allen pouted mockingly.
"Why do you just assume it was me? It could have been that guy." He said, pointing at a curly-haired man across from him. The man in question was laying his head in his arms, looking uninterested in what was going on. He raised an eyebrow when he spotted the accusing finger pointing at him. "He looks suspicious."
"Yuu, control your employees." Lavi chuckled, serious for once. "I'd appreciate it if my Vice President was left without emotional scarring." The man scoffed.
"'Emotional scarring?' Please, Bookman, spare us from your antics." The Akuma VP said silkily, running a hand through his wild curls. His intelligent golden eyes regarded Allen with disdain. "And you are…?" The white-haired man made an indignant noise.
"My name is Allen. Allen Walker." No response. "I just said my name at the beginning of this meeting." Still, nothing. "We've also met before." Allen tried to get a rise out of him, but the man seemed unmoved by his words. He sighed, frustrated. "I know who you are, Tyki Mikk."
"Is this supposed to impress me? A lot of people know who I am." Tyki said drily, inspecting his nails. Allen slumped over in defeat.
"Has anyone ever told you you're an egotistical pricky bastard?" He muttered dejectedly. Tyki slammed his hands down on the conference table and stood up.
"Excuse me?" He snarled, his golden eyes flashing with anger. Kanda's eyebrows shot up. Bookman's Vice President had an anger management problem, apparently. He wrote that down in his mental notebook for later use.
The woman sitting beside Tyki placed her hand on his arm.
"Calm yourself, Tyki. He's not worth the trouble." She said softly, raising a finger to push her glasses up her nose. Tyki shook her off.
"Sorry, Lu, but this little brat needs to learn his place." Allen stood up as well, fury swirling in his silver eyes.
"I am not a brat and I am definitely not little." He threw his arms up. "In case you hadn't noticed, we have the same fucking job, bastard. Why you think you are better than me is ridiculous because I bet I worked my ass off to get where I am a lot harder than you, you insufferable twat!" Allen yelled, his British accent that he always tried so desperately to hide coloring his last few words. He covered his mouth with his hand and his eyes widened. His hand clenched and he cursed.
"Look what you've done now! I'm so angry, I'm British!" He cried. Kanda watched unbelievingly. Was this seriously going to turn into a fight? In the middle of his conference room?
Hell no.
He glanced over at Lavi. The redhead was looking at the two with a small smile on his face. He didn't seem to be getting up and stopping this any time soon. And those two idiots were still arguing. Not only that, but it seemed as if everyone else had joined in.
Looks like it wasn't just Kanda and Lavi that couldn't get along. Where was Tim when you needed him? Kanda hovered on that thought.
Where was Tim? There was one question he wanted the answer to. He took out his phone and dialed Tim's number.
It didn't really make any sense that Tim had a phone, seeing as he didn't talk and all. Kanda had only bought it for him last month, just in case he needed anything. Tim didn't need to say a word; just listen.
The line picked up and Kanda said, "You're needed in the conference room. It would be nice if you could help shut everyone up." He heard a short laugh on the other end before a grunt of assent. The line went dead, so Kanda put his phone away with a sigh. He decided that he should at least try to stop the argument before Tim Canpy got there.
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Allen's face was completely red as he continued to shout at Tyki, who was just as furious as the white-haired man. They were both leaning across the table, noses almost touching, oblivious to all the others who were also yelling at their company counterparts.
Kanda grabbed Allen's arm. "Allen, what the hell do you think you're doing?" He growled, tugging harshly so they were facing each other. Allen turned his wrath onto Kanda.
"Oh, belt it, you damn wanker!" He was surprised at the fierceness radiating off of Allen. He was also surprised at how he didn't really understand what he was saying. "You can take the damn project and shove it up your ass. I will not work with this imbecile!"
As soon as Allen finished his British rant, Kanda gave up and waited for Tim to get there. He usually loved screaming at people to shut their mouths and sit down, but he wasn't feeling too hot today. He'd rather have someone almost as scary as himself do it for him.
Hence the Tim Canpy.
Allen had spun back around to face an amused Tyki. His expression morphed into one of complete rage as the white-haired man shot a particularly offensive insult at him. Tyki proceeded to affront Allen in a similar way, and it just escalated from there.
"It looks as if we're the only ones who aren't trying to rip out each other's throats." Kanda glanced over to Lavi to see him watching the whole scene with a small smile on his face. When he noticed Kanda's look, he turned and his smile widened as he winked. "Why, sweetheart, I think this is progress."
Kanda had the sudden urge to rip his throat out.
A loud boom resounded throughout the room before Kanda could accomplish what he wanted to do. Some people stopped arguing to see what it was, but most continued. The long-haired man saw Tim enter with four Security guards trailing close behind.
"About fucking time." He jumped up and met Tim halfway into the room. Tim flashed a sharp-toothed smirk and gestured to the guards, raising an eyebrow. "I only needed one." He said, reaching out to the closest man, a tall brunette with green eyes, and grabbed the gun slung on his waist. The man clearly wasn't expecting it and Kanda managed to dart out of his wild grasp and back to his seat. Not wasting any time, he raised it above his head and shot it twice. The whole room went silent.
"Sir, you aren't allo- Woah!" Kanda lowered the gun and everyone seemed to collectively duck to the ground. He scoffed disbelievingly and tossed the gun at feet of the man he took it from. The man's eyes widened and he hopped deftly away. "Eh! That could've gone off and hurt someone. You have to be more careful sir!" Kanda shot him a resentful glare and watched in satisfaction as the man visibly gulped.
"What is your name?" The man looked taken aback.
"Uh, Jackson Welsh, sir."
"For fuck's sake, stop calling me sir. That was my father and he's dead." Jackson winced. Ignoring him, Kanda knelt and picked up the gun. A range of gasps and exclamations went through the conference room and members of Akuma and First Illusion alike cowered in fear for their lives. "Do you really think I could've killed someone by dropping this?" He turned the gun over in his hands, examining it as he asked the question. He turned his gaze onto Jackson, waiting for an answer. The man adopted a stern expression.
"Yes sir, which is-"
"Stop saying that!" Kanda snapped. What little noise had been in the vicinity disappeared completely, replaced by a thick silence as they waited with baited breath for the outcome of the confrontation. Kanda looked down at the gun in his palm and ran his finger over it lovingly. "When I was about seven years old, my father bought me my first gun. A derringer. He taught me all about it and others. After a year, he showed me more. He showed me how to shoot a moving target in the heart from a mile away. He showed me how to take down three men with my eyes closed. He showed me how to tell exactly how many bullets are in each gun. And you really think someone could have died." He sighed. "Let's see." Before anyone could protest he pointed the gun right at Lavi's head.
The room erupted in shrieks and protests, but Kanda's voice rang louder than them all. "Everyone shut up!" And they did.
"Don't worry, he's not going to kill me." Lavi regarded him with an interested countenance. "He will shoot me, but he's not going to kill me." He grinned. "Take your best shot, Yuu!"
Kanda growled at the lack of fear in his partner's eyes and voice. How was he not cringing in horror and grovelling on the floor for his life? He couldn't possibly know what Kanda did. He couldn't possibly know there weren't any bullets left. Could he?
"Now, Kanda. Let's take a minute here to sort through things, okay? How does that sound?" Kanda rolled his eyes at Allen's desperate plea and cocked the gun. He glared at the redhead, the other staring levelly back at him with a hint of amusement on his face.
That did it. He pulled the trigger.
A thump was heard as Lavi's body fell to the floor. Kanda smirked at his mischief. Tyki looked as if he had caught on too and was holding back laughter. Allen, on the hand, screamed his dissent and many shocked faces stood up beside him. A few people tried to tackle Kanda, but the three other security guards kept them away. All of a sudden, it seemed as if every person was trying to get at either Kanda or Lavi.
The dark-haired man crossed his arms and tapped his foot, getting fed up with waiting. He looked between the bodies of the guards and called over to where Lavi was.
"Hey, baka usagi! How long do you plan on playing dead?" This stopped the ruckus and all eyes were on where Lavi's body was. His sitting up and laughing body. Kanda growled and walked through the crowd of personnel. He came to stand in front of the redhead and sent him the strongest glare he could muster.
Kanda could muster some pretty fucking serious glares.
Lavi rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, looking up at Kanda through his long eyelashes. He smiled shyly and coughed to fill the awkward silence. Something stirred in his chest, but he ignored it, choosing to be angry instead. He's Kanda Yuu, it's what he does best.
"How did you know?" Lavi blinked back with false innocence.
"I know a lot of things… What exactly did I know?" Kanda seethed silently, his rage slowly mounting.
"Everyone out." He said, deadly calm. To his dismay (or rather theirs), no one moved an inch. He spun towards their makeshift 'audience.' "Get the fuck out!" After that, it was a stampede just to get to the door. He saw a flicker of red out of the corner of his eye and his hand shot out, latching onto the white dress shirt attached to the idiot ginger trying to escape. Lavi squeaked as he was yanked back and thrown into his chair harshly. He smiled enthusiastically up at Kanda while he, in turn, glared as usual.
"How did you know I wasn't going to hurt you?" He asked bitingly. Lavi shrugged and held his gaze steadily as most else wouldn't dare to do.
"I trust you." Kanda's glare fell off his face for a moment as he regarded the redhead. He seemed sincere. Maybe… maybe this could work, given some time. Maybe they could get along and get this project done without any more fights. "There is also the fact that you would have gotten get arrested and sent to prison, basically throwing your company in disarray and losing a lot of money. You don't seem like the kind of person willing to take bets and definitely not willing to lose money. Am I right?"
Or maybe not.
"This isn't working out." Kanda stated flatly. Lavi's playful smile faltered. "You and I both know it. It has been two weeks since the competition started and we barely have a rough sketch, much less an actual design. I think we'd be better off with other partners for this competition." He turned around with finality. The whole plan to get information from his partner could go fuck itself. It wasn't worth it. But Lavi's hand latched onto his wrist before he could exit the room.
"Wait." His muscles tensed at the unwelcome touch. But he found that it wasn't as unwelcome as it should have been. "I didn't mean to make you angry." Kanda glared over his shoulder. "Okay, I did mean to make you angry. But it was just for fun!" Lavi said quickly as Kanda yanked his arm out of his grasp. "Okay okay okay! I'm sorry! But you have to listen to me! We can't just stop now, we have to see this through to the end. If we don't, these past couple weeks would have meant nothing." Kanda scoffed.
"We got nothing done. They already do mean nothing." Lavi chuckled.
"Well, then. Let's make them mean something, hmm?" Kanda wasn't angry anymore. He just wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible. Then they could go back to not talking or associating with each other except as competitors. That was the day that Kanda strove towards.
"You're right." Lavi smiled in relief. "But this time, it's just us. I don't know if I can stand that VP of yours for much longer. His lazy attitude is getting on my nerves." Kanda wanted to change the subject before things got too sappy. He hated sappy things.
"It's just a façade." Lavi explained, oblivious to Kanda's 'I-don't-give-a-fuck' expression. "He likes to pretend he doesn't care, but he does. You should've seen him when his niece came with his brother to pick him up one day. He looked really happy…" Lavi started reminiscing about what he was talking about and Kanda had to snap his fingers to reclaim his focus, which annoyed him to no end.
"Okay, lover boy, let's get to work." In a flash, bouncy hyperactive Lavi was back. Kanda didn't know if Lavi didn't hear his comment or just chose to ignore it, but he wished he would have gotten a reaction to see exactly how the redhead stood with his VP…
Woah.
When did crazy jealous teenage girl infiltrate Kanda's head?
He really needed to get a hold of himself or he might go insane. Insanity was not a good quality when one needed to get something done… and boy did he need to get this done. It was almost exhausting…
Wait a minute.
Exhausting. Exhaust. Emissions…
Bingo.
"We need to work. Now." He darted over to the table and took up the pen they had been using before, leaving a gaping Lavi in his tracks. Kanda glanced back at him. "What are you waiting for? I have an idea." Lavi bolted over with a grin on his face and hope that this 'idea' wouldn't blow up in their faces.
Yeah, I'm gonna go die now.
Anyways, review and tell me what you thought and I promise next chapter will be a lot better. I have a whole plan for this story, the hard part is leading up to it. And also, I'm going to be in Michigan for the next week and a half and I cant bring my laptop (blerg) but I promise to update within the next two weeks.
Well, I hope I can DX
I will also post the first chapter for this other fanfic that I started writing. Its gonna be rated t cuz its OOC and stuff, but please give it a try :D :D :D :D :D :D I'll luv you forever!