I just wanna be a girl!

Chapter two: shopping!

It was... it was... Perfect! 'Twas a master piece! The pure essence of brilliance. Now he just needed to test it!

Allen stood in front of a mirror in his room. He was completely dressed up in his favourite blue chequered dress, white stocking with some black flats. The dress had white long sleeves that extended from beneath the blue patterned material right down to his hands which were covered by white gloves. His face was barely recognisable, his scar completely hidden beneath the previous night's treasure, and he had actually brushed his hair into two smooth piggy tails, mimicking Lenalee's hairstyle as that was the only young female figure he could go off. Since it was only around 10 in the morning on a Saturday he figured he'd use this day to take his shopping trip. Most people of the order used Saturday to train, stay in bed or simply just relax, so he should be able to slip into the train station without notice. Hopefully.

He covered his pale stocking with his black pants but figured he'd get away with the flats (they weren't exactly girlie) then threw his black exorcist coat over everything else, buttoning it up tightly and throwing the deep hood over his head. Most people wouldn't question it, and if they did, then Allen would just have to remove his pig tails quickly before the hood.

He gave a nod of satisfaction at his reflection and spun around to leave. Outside in the corridors he couldn't stop the skip in his step, bouncing his way down the corridors to the train station. It took him some time before he realised that it didn't normally take 15 minutes to reach the underground. It took him less than a minute after that to fathom that he was lost. He was dead in the centre of the hallway, spinning around; there weren't even any intersections nearby, just one long, curving, dark, gloomy hall way. Giving a shout of distress he latched onto the nearest door handle and gave it a shake. It was locked. He jumped away from the door as though it had burned him and ran off down the hallway. All roads lead to Rome! The phrase was going around and around in his head, he'd have to wind up somewhere familiar.

He rounded a stony corner and found himself distracted by a familiar stone and forgot to look where he was going.

"Oof!"

He was tumbling and falling everywhere, arms and legs being bent at odd angles. Eventually the whir of colours and fretful moment stopped and he found himself slammed face down on the floor, his hood blocking all light. There was a warm and heavy weight pressing down on him and he heard it groan before the pressure removed itself, leaving the young exorcist on the floor. Allen flipped himself to a sitting position from where he looked up into the scowling face of none other than Kanda. Ew.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" he demanded with the twitch of an eye. He stood there with his arms folded angrily, and despite his authoritive posture Allen noted, with a certain amount of childish delight, that his hair was messy, some of it having fallen out through the tumble.

Holding back a giggle he replied; "I'm heading towards the train station." Never, ever would he admit to this idiot that he was lost.

Kanda's eyes narrowed, "and you were running with your eyes closed because?"

"My eyes were not closed!" Allen stood steadily, in order to keep the hood shadowing his face; "and I was running because... I might miss the... train?" he finished stupidly.

Kanda sighed knowingly, pfft 'sif he knew anything. "You got lost." Okay maybe he does.

Allen stuck his chin out indignantly and crossed his arms over his puffing chest; "no I did not!"

"Tch. Whatever." And he stalked past Allen, discreetly trying to smooth out his hair.

Allen turned slowly hunching his shoulders, hating himself for the question he wanted so much to ask. He asked it; "are... are you going to the train station too?"

Kanda stopped and looked over his shoulder with a smirk, "sure am. And I actually know where I'm going idiot."

Allen muttered a small 'shut up' before hurrying after the other who had turned to walk off without him.

For reasons unknown and discomforting to Allen, he and the Asian sat in the same compartment on the train. Luckily, as per usual, they sat in awkward silence. Kanda meditating with his eyes closed and Allen staring blankly out of the window at the passing scenery. Figuring Kanda would remain in his silent position for the remainder of the trip into the major city, Allen allowed his hood to slip, not enough to reveal his hair's odd nature but so that he could see with out obscured vision.

The skies were looking rather grey that day and Allen sincerely hoped it wouldn't rain as it would make his make up run, the thought even made him pout; and then his hair would go funny too. Not to mention that if his dress got wet he wouldn't be able to put it straight back into the cupboard and out of sight-

"Are you wearing make-up?"

Allen jumped and everything seemed to freeze, inside and outside; the air becoming dense and slowing his movements and the trains as his heart thumped painfully and fearfully in his chest. Those words shocked him out of his thoughts and he was reminded of where he was, he quickly threw his hood over his face. The scenery outside the window was far more interesting than the rest of the carriage, but Allen could feel Kanda's eyes piercing the side of his head through the thick black hood, he couldn't look away from the window.

"n-no. why?"

He heard the Japanese exorcist give an annoyed huff; "well it's got nothing to do with that ugly scar suddenly missing from your face."

Ouch. That one hurt, so Allen snapped his head around to glare at the staring Kanda, but of course the older male couldn't see his eyes anymore, "maybe it just so happened to disappear over night!"

Kanda snorted in response and looked out the window himself. Allen watched him for a bit and decided he didn't want the other exorcist milling those thoughts over in his mind and so tried to change the topic; "so where is your mission?"

At this Kanda give a growl of distaste, his face contorting into a frown, "just the next major town."

Allen's heart dropped but tried to make light of it to cover his anxiety; "isn't that good though? Close to home."

At this Allen's previously smiling face was met with an angry Kanda as he glared at Allen somewhat incredulously, making the younger boy back down into his seat.

"no." was the curt reply before Kanda turned to look out the window again.

After a while Allen asked what the mission was, half expecting Kanda to pull the whole; "it's confidential" shit on him. But surprisingly the Asian answered him, if with a scowl. Did he ever not do that? It seemed that everything Allen did pissed him off. Sure he had noticed it before, but now it was pissing Allen off; would it hurt to smile, even just once?

"Just the usual. Akuma sightings. Komui wants them gone before they get any closer to the order."

"Oh. Ok."

Kanda seemed to think seriously about something and he frowned at the report on the chair beside him, "something doesn't make sense though." He thought out loud.

Allen said nothing, not wanting to break his concentration. It seemed as though Kanda would leave it at that, Allen wouldn't have been surprised since Kanda never spoke, let alone about his direct thoughts. That fact actually made Allen feel pretty crap; it was as though Kanda considered him to be nothing but air, or not even there.

Eventually he continued; "it says that the killings are few and far between. They're not out of control. But they're supposed to be stupid, and random."

Allen frowned also, but knew better than to interfere, it was Kanda's mission after all and there were plenty of other missions which had circumstances similar to that. Kanda seemed to think this as well as his shoulders seemed to lose their tenseness, only slightly, and he looked back out the window, Allen followed suit.

Not too long after that they arrived at their station and they left the compartment together. Once on the platform they went their separate ways with no more than a nod, Allen giving a cheery "good luck!" that wasn't replied to, not even a simple wave. Allen dropped his hand to his side and scowled at the back of the departing exorcist before running off to find a bathroom, suddenly very excited again.

"Good morning there miss! What can I help you with?" a friendly teenage boy asked a customer in a pretty blue dress. The girl was chewing on a finger nail hidden beneath white gloves as she stared at rows and rows of shoes. She had a small frown caressing her features but the creases were broken as she turned with slight shock to face the clerk beside her. She gave a warm hearted smile, tilting her head cutely.

"Good morning! I'm just looking at the shoes," she turned back to the shelves, still smiling, "but there are so many, I don't know which one to choose."

The boy's heart pumped a little. She was so cute! If a little odd looking with her white hair but it was really rare to find a girl this young and pretty wandering around by herself, let alone being friendly.

He tried to force the blush back as he stumbled over his words; "ah... well w-what are you looking for?"

She whipped her head around with a certain alarm and seemed to be taking a timid step back, "girl's shoes!" she blurted out. "shoes for girls!"

He stared at her wide eyes for a moment, basking in how they seemed to reflect the wintry sky. They looked watery, as though she was about to start crying. He thought that maybe she only just realised that she was unaccompanied, he wondered how old she was.

"Ah-heh... right umm, well you're in the right place."

She was rubbing her hands together nervously, "yeah ummm, cause umm I am a girl. Heh."

He looked at her confounded, "yes... yes you are." Well now this was just awkward, "so were you looking for flats? Or heels? Work shoes? Designer brands? Erm, joggers?..."

Allen's head whirled. So many different types of shoes were listed for him to choose from but luckily he picked one he could recognise, "just some heels please."

The boy smiled back politely; "right, well just this way then."

Allen was lead to another shelf completely covered in more heels. The selection wasn't getting smaller, it was getting bigger! The shoe shop was deceptively huge! The white haired exorcist stood in an amount of horror as he stared at his choices.

The teenage shoe seller saw things a little differently however:

She stood there gazing in pure awe and he couldn't help but feel proud of his wide selection. One thing about girls was that they liked choices. And he had given her choices. She stood staring at the shelved wall for what seemed like a life time and the boy allowed himself a good stare as well, only at her. Her strangely white hair was pulled cutely up into two high piggy tails, leaving a bit of a fringe to cover her smooth face. She had simple, yet elegant, features; thin eyebrows and minimum make-up. The clerk liked that in girls, too much make-up made them look fake. But this girl had just the right amount, her lips covered in a natural gloss were opened in a delicate 'o' over perfect, white teeth. He could just see the light and sparkles emanating off of her.

"I... I..." she started to stutter, catching the boy's attention and he noticed she was cowering away from the shoes, "I'm sorry!" she cried at him before turning away and abruptly running from the store, arms waving dramatically above her head.

He stood shocked, staring out the front of the store absolutely confused and somewhat heart broken. Minutes later he finally went back to work mumbling downcast; "I thought girls liked choices."

Allen stood in the middle of the cobbled street, a good run from the shoe shop, hunched over, with hands on his knees, and catching his breath. He stood and took in his surroundings, muttering to no-one in particular; "like hell I'm gonna buy shoes. Ever!" he frowned as he thought about his statement; "well there goes Lenalee's Christmas present."

He looked around excitedly enjoying the friendly atmosphere that surrounded him and all the other shoppers. He realised that for once he wasn't getting odd or pitying looks from the people; women and elderly people were smiling at him as they went by. She watched the children giggling, asking for lollies, being scolded. He wondered vaguely if Mana had ever told him off like that.

A small child ran into the back of his legs, falling over onto the damp street. The little boy looked up with nervousness, "sorry miss!"

Allen blushed at that, being referred to as a girl was rather nerve racking. Especially when he was in the shoe store, he wasn't sure if he really looked like a girl and couldn't tell if people were seeing through his guise. But 2 of 2 were affirmative so his confidence was growing.

"Please don't tell my mum I was running!" and with that the little boy was off again, running, to the candy store. Allen chuckled warmly at this and heard a sigh from behind him.

"I'm very sorry dear," a middle aged woman with dark, wavy hair came up behind Allen making him look up into her kind face, "he gets a little excited sometimes."

Allen smiled heartily, enjoying the normal interaction. He had no idea that people were so friendly. Growing up with both Mana and Cross he had had people scowling in his direction, deeming him untrustworthy. And then when he had joined the order people had looked at him, and the other exorcists, with fear; never daring to come towards him. He never would have thought that all this would change with the mere switch of gender.

"That's alright, he didn't hurt me."

The woman smiled in return and said; "I told him he could have some candy. I can't afford to treat him very often so he got a bit excited."

Allen laughed; "isn't he lucky!"

"Would you like some candy too?" the lady asked politely making Allen nervous.

"Ah no thanks. I'm alright. It was very nice of you though."

"You're very polite for a girl your age." the woman began walking towards the lolly shop, Allen following behind her, "your parents must have brought you up well. Where are your parents?"

"Ahh..."

The woman stopped and looked at Allen incredulously; "do not tell me you are here alone!"

Allen smiled very nervously, "well I was... here with... er a friend. But, um, we got separated. I was just looking for him."

"him?!" the woman smiled as though she knew some dark secret, " I see now!" she reached out and gave Allen a pat on the head, "well I shan't hold you here any longer, you go find him darling. Go on, have a lovely date now!" she giggled delightedly and as Allen walked away he could still her chuckling to herself, "huhu young'uns these days."

Allen didn't realise that it was so strange for a girl to be wandering around by herself but he suddenly started to notice it. Each young girl he passed on the street was either linked at the elbow with an older woman or a man or boy around her own age. Even the majority of the older women had someone escorting her. Suddenly the polite smiles men and young boys were throwing at him seemed a lot less polite. But then he saw the make-up store and, being easily distracted, ran for that. He needed to stock up since he was sure that Lenalee wouldn't make the mistake of buying foundation too pale for her own skin again.

Kanda was standing in a dark alley somewhere. Just keeping an eye on the behaviour of the people. It was strange that none of them seemed to be affected by the deaths plaguing the city. Sure there weren't many happening but he expected people to be at least more street cautious. Instead he saw children running off ahead of their parents, girls calling out to friends and family carefree. Filled café's and restaurants.

A flash of white hair dashing across the street caught the exorcists eyes and Kanda followed it with surprise as it ran into the make-up store. There was only one person he knew with white hair and, as gay as he was sure that kid was, he would never expect the sprout to run into such a girly shop. As the people continued to pass the alleyway by, however, he noticed that it wasn't who he had thought it was. In fact, it wasn't even male.

A pretty little girl stood, frowning at the choices of make-up. She took a step forward and picked up some objects, foreign to Kanda's world, and turned them over in her hand. The shop assistant came over and helped her out a little. And, embarrassingly enough, Kanda found himself continuing to watch her.

He just didn't understand how someone else, other than that freak could possibly have white hair. He also couldn't understand how she could pull it off; it suited her, it actually looked nice. Everything about her was pale which made her so different to the dull, dark colours of the milling crowd and for the first time ever Kanda found his heart pulsing just that little bit faster. She really was rather pretty, no matter how much she reminded him of the beansprout. And when she smiled the sun shone through the clouds, or so Kanda thought anyway, with a smile that beautiful. He was so glad that no-one could read his thoughts, if the rabbit or Sprout for that matter, even caught wind of this strange feeling that Kanda couldn't comprehend he knew he'd never live it down. He almost started to hate the girl, but found he couldn't, so instead he turned away and continued his mission, despite his mind being elsewhere.

A/N no I don't believe in love at first sight. I'm dead serious. So just to set things straight Kanda isn't in love. Yet. Muhahaha. He just thinks she's very pretty. In all honesty I cant figure out if that is a complement or insult to our dear Allen. Ohs well. Erm hope you like it. Allen's first shopping trip. I don't actually like the idea of Allen in high heels. I was going to make him try them on anyway but decided against it. If you're angry at me for doing that then I'll add it in later, just let me know you're upset

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