Underneath
Chapitre Three
Aren
I'm so glad that I received such wonderful feedback from everyone so… I thank you. Super fast update, here we go!
By the way, to a reviewer for chapitre one (I couldn't give you a reply by e-mail since you didn't leave it; sorry), yes, there is going to be Noah coming out. Certain ones, not all, but they're going to be quite a nuisance if you get what I mean. -Smile- All right let's get this chapitre started…
Note: If you find any depressing or awkward moments like in the previous moments it's because right now (8:35 PM, 3/28/07) I'm in some kinda family-financial crisis. Seems like my parents are in a sour mood right now – I don't know why, that's the problem – so … yeah. –time skip; right after the first sentence after an excruciating two hour break- Now I feel worse, so if I continue this (tomorrow, 3/29/07) and it seems all emo and depressing, you can fully blame me. I'm sorry.
Another Note: Yeah, I was reading through the previous chapitres and I must point out a few things. One: accidentally I forgot to put that the song Rabi was singing (Y'know, SNOW KISS) is sung by NIRGILIS and is not mine. If you want a translation go to -g e n d o u (dot) c o m- without the hyphens or spaces and such; I'm too lazy to put it up right now. Two: I realized (well, a reviewer pointed it out) that I described the boy's face as 'pale' but his hands/finger as 'tan.' Sorry to confuse you but let's just put it this way. His face is obviously pale because he never saw sunlight before, but his fingers would be a tan-brown because well, he probably touched dirt a lot underground since hello, they live in a freaking maze. So yeah, just to clarify that… Three: Please, please, if you notice any typos/grammatical errors, please tell me. I tend to overlook a few and when I spot them, I literally cry. Four: And to also clear out the whole Kanda-going-to-school-and-knowing-that-he-isn't-really-smart thing; in the first chapitre, I clearly put that Kanda first stepped into London the day before. Therefore let's say his mother is the strict kind and forced Kanda into school the day after they arrived. That was a Friday, so the second chapitre took place on Saturday. If you think about it, everything falls into place. And Rinali is destined to be in one of his classes, no? Same with Rabi; they should all go to the same (public or private, you choose) school, yah?
… That was one big paragraph. My eyes hurt.
And did my story already reach 500 hits? -Gasp- It's a miracle, a miracle!
Disclaimer: The beloved D.Gray-man belongs to Hoshino. I want it more than Death Note, XXXHOLiC, Switch, X/1999, Gohou Drug, and Nabari no Ou combined. And, my fellow readers, that means a lot.
Summary: Underneath the ground we stand thrives a civilization unknown to man, where creatures – half beast, half human. Among them is a young boy who got lost in the twisting labyrinth, eventually leading him to a single door that opens up to Earth's surface. There, he meets an older teenager, reluctantly bringing him into shelter. The boy who once lived underground learns of new things that the world above has always used, and with that, love.
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Instinctively Rabi wrapped his arms around the creature's waist and tried his best to do the Heimlich maneuver, focusing on trying not to choke the boy but hard enough to get him to cough up the candy.
Rinali began throwing a tantrum for the second time – the first was when she found her brother and one of his co workers, River, doing a particular something in the middle of their living room floor – and began spewing remarks at the troubled raven. All the while she was patting the trembling boy.
"Really, Kanda, can't you do anything instead of standing and gawking like a deer in the headlights?" the girl snapped furiously without taking her seemingly soft, worried eyes off the pale figure.
Well what am I supposed to do? Kanda asked himself, screwing his eyes shut in aggravation. The last time I saw someone choking was…
His eyes snapped open and he literally lunged at the two huddled over the third, pushing them away and wrapping his own arms around the boy's stomach. "Have you not learned how to do this properly in what, grade three?" the raven retorted angrily, not knowing how harsh he sounded in that situation. It wasn't like he was really angry; he just wanted to hide his emotions with fake anger.
Just focus on this brat, not them.
"Spit it out, damn it; spit!" Kanda yelled so loud that everyone paused just to wince in pain.
And then suddenly, after much coughing and patting, the boy managed to spit the candy out, just to collapse back and fall into Kanda's arms; that didn't really help the sour and somewhat guilty mood Kanda was in already.
"He's alive!" Rabi shouted in glee, flinging his body onto the unconscious white haired boy and wrapped his arms around its petite figure. "I thought Kanda was going to kill him!" The raven automatically kicked the redhead in the shin, earning him a loud yelp. He bore a deep frown on his face as he greatly disliked being leaned on, so he pushed the boy into Rabi's arms, dusting off his coat in a formal matter.
"Yuu-chan," Rabi pouted which earned him yet another kick, "shouldn't you take care of the kid? He likes you after all. Who wouldn't fall for this adorable, small, cuddly…?" As the redhead realized that all eyes were on him, the one who was snuggling the poor boy that was currently knocked-out, he paused. Clearing his throat as a distraction, he concluded his statement with a quick "Yeah, you get the point so take him away."
Kanda frowned. This time it wasn't the fact that this boy, this creature, was too peacefully resting in his arms, but that he just spent hours with these freaks instead of around town in London.
Not like there isn't much to do for me anyway. This is better than getting molested by crazy women, period.
"… home, right, Yuu-chan?" Kanda managed to catch onto the last few words, sending the redhead a harsh glare; he felt that asking someone to repeat what they said would just put him in a state of embarrassment, but Rabi got the point just by his confused look.
"I said you'll take him home, right?"
He gawked, the usually mysterious, cold mask falling off his face, at the grinning Rabi before him. Did he miss something while he was spacing out a moment ago? Gritting his teeth together to cover up his shock and replace it with false anger, Kanda gave a flat-out "No."
Rinali and Komui pouted – the raven concluded that it must have been some close-sibling thing – at the same time, reaching out to grab both the boy and Kanda at the same time.
"Kanda Yuu," they started at which the raven immediately jumped at, "you are to bring this boy into your house, take care of him, and treat him like a close friend until further notice."
Rinali added, "Besides, you're an only child; I have a brother and Rabi has siblings he has to take care of!"
Komui leaned forward, hat still placed securely on his head, and muttered,
"Take care of him. Got that?"
What else could he do but nod under the adult's menacing glare?
…
They had to literally push Kanda and the still unconscious heap – or, in some case, drag; Rabi took Kanda's left arm, Rinali his left and Komui had the boy over his shoulder – to the front porch, and the moment they reached it, they hauled the two onto the wooden floor carelessly. They all sat down, they as in the three who went through such tough labour, and sat there to catch their breath, all the while sending Kanda the "You-are-the-most-stubborn-person-in-the-world" look.
The boy was still in Kanda's arms, and still at that point, he had no idea what to do with it. So as his instincts struck again, the raven twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open, dragging the white haired creature along with him, trying to cover the oddly smooth horns that poked him in the ribs.
"Mother, are you there?" he called out in precaution, taking long strides to avoid being caught by his aunt or uncle. When he heard creaking noises from the stairs above, Kanda quickly pressed himself and the boy up against the left wall where the stairs were, hoping his mother or whoever it was wouldn't glance his way. With the boy taking most of the space, Kanda tried hard not to lean on him and crush the lithe body underneath him, but utterly failed as one leg caught in-between the boy's gave away. He knocked his head together with the creature, drawing out a loud groan of pain and annoyance.
"Kanda? Kanda, are you home already? It's only three in the afternoon right now!" As she heard the raven continue with his hissing, she ran down the stairs faster. "Kanda? Kanda, are you all right, dear? Did you hurt yourself?" She approached the boy with worried eyes and cupped his face, lifting and pulling his chin, examining him.
"Mother," Kanda choked out as he managed to press the boy behind his back to make it seem like he wasn't there and not cry out in pain as his mother pressed the forming bruise on his forehead, "I'm fine, really. I just knocked my head against the wall out of frustration."
She gave her son an odd look, one of her slim eyebrows cocked up and her crystalline azure eyes sparkling. "Kanda, if you lie to me, you do know that you'll end up in your room-?"
"Yes, yes, mother, I understand," he stammered hurriedly, mentally kicking himself for stuttering. "Nothing's wrong, everything is all right." His mother hummed a note, slowly walking towards the direction of the kitchen, left of where he was standing, as his eyes were locked onto her. She craned her neck to peek over Kanda's shoulder but he quickly swung to the wall in front of him which separated the hallway and the living room, smashing his body up against it with the boy still behind him.
Well now, he grimaced, I don't think he'll like me for doing that.
"All right then," she concluded with a sigh and left to the kitchen, muttering something like "Kids these days."
The moment Kanda heard running water from the marble sink in the kitchen, he slung the body over his shoulders and sprinted up the stairs as swiftly as he could, and cringing as the steps creaked threateningly. Once he got to his room, he opened and shut his door quickly but quietly and threw the boy onto his bed. He let out a sigh.
Never am I taking a stray into my house again.
For seconds – it seemed like an agonizing eternity for the raven – he stared at the white and brown lump on his bed, sprawled messily all over his perfectly spread blankets. He frowned as he saw no movement from the white haired creature and was confused. Was it dead? Was it his fault he choked on the cough drop and, seemingly, died?
"No, I will not think such obtuse thoughts," Kanda muttered to himself as he pulled out the chair he wanted to throw at Rabi earlier and sat down with a huff. Leaning forward, he rested his head in his left hand, the right idly swinging back and forth beside the chair. He searched for any sign of movement, any sign of life, from the boy.
And then it stirred.
The crumpling of the sheets in the silent atmosphere jerked Kanda awake almost immediately, and his anxious eyes glanced at the lump settled on the bed before him. Slowly the white haired creature rose, rubbings his eyes with hands that, Kanda noted, were mismatched; one a sickening crimson red while the other was a mixture of tan and a creamy colour. Then as his hands dropped to his legs, the raven noticed the scar that ran along the creature's right eye.
"Well that's a first," said Kanda aloud, catching the boy's attention. He whipped his head to the side and stared at him with intense eyes, the silver and blue orbs unreadable.
He began speaking again, just like he had before when he woke up: a language which made no sense to him whatsoever. Kanda's head was spinning by the time the creature stood still on the bed body shaking, face paler than before. Sitting up, he walked over to his bed and carefully watched the eyes follow his movements. Then Kanda sat down next to the boy, who in return quickly scooted away in fright, and let out a heavy sigh.
"This isn't going to work, is it?"
"Human."
Now the raven had something to be amused about; the boy spoke in English, if not with a rough accent, and was pointing at him with one of his scaly, red fingers.
"You is human."
Kanda couldn't help but snort at his grammar. Sure, he himself wasn't the smartest kid in class, but at least he could speak correctly most of the times. He said,
"No, you idiot, you're supposed to say 'You are human', not 'is.'"
The boy didn't seem to get what he said and simply cocked his head to the side in a cute – was it cute, Kanda really didn't know, but he bet Rinali would swoon if he saw the boy now – manner, sending him a questioning, innocent look. Kanda sighed. He wasn't going to let this boy affect him, not matter what.
This thing's just another creature from another world. No need to be so alarmed.
Yep. He's not cute; who would think so?
… Why is he staring at me like that?
Kanda cocked an eyebrow in a similar fashion like his mother, except his stare was more of an annoyed one. The creature seemed to withdraw almost immediately, staring at the ground with mock fascination.
…
This was abnormal.
No, this was beyond 'abnormal.' This was just atypical, unusual, strange, peculiar, deviant, and irregular.
Cowering back in fear as the raven shot him a look, he focused on the seemingly furry ground that his foot was barely touching. Rubbing his toe against it, the boy realized that it felt rather smooth and not as rough as it looked like. He kicked off both his shoes and stood on the ground with precaution, legs wobbly at first, and ended up standing firm and tall before the engrossed human sitting almost peacefully on what he was sitting on before, legs drawn up.
He craned his neck and pointed at the human once more, asking,
"You are human?"
Said raven nodded his head simply. And in return he smiled serenely.
"Haro," he said cheerfully, turning around to face him completely with his face right in front of the human's. The familiar stare didn't seem to bother him now as he stared at the raven with such fascinated eyes.
Humans looked like this. In the modern time, millennia after the last time one had stepped onto the surface, the humans looked nothing like the drawing of one from long ago. The boy had seen it himself, the picture of a human, and was clearly intrigued by the slender face, the sharp eyes, the flowing dark hair…
"What?"
The boy jumped back as the raven spoke. "What?" the boy repeated, mocking his tone and face. In truth he actually knew what the human had said, but he decided to act stupid around him just for a while, just for fun.
Sending him another look similar to the one before, he leaned forward just enough for his white bangs to brush the raven's nose. Said human twitched and pushed him away arm's length.
…
"Look here," Kanda snapped at the boy, pleased with the shocked face he got in return, "I'm not looking after you because I want to. No, it's the exact opposite of that. I was forced to take care of you." He patiently waited for it to sink into the boy, but seeing no reaction he let out a loud sigh.
"This is hopeless!" the raven cried out, breaking the none-too-peaceful silence, startling the boy once again. "I can't believe me, of all people, ended up being stuck with some Neanderthal who can't even speak in full sentences!"
"Kanda, are you all right?" Uncle Katsuhisa called from outside his door, rapping his knuckles against the hard wood door. The creature jumped and made way for the bed, scrambling on top of it and tugging at the covers, desperately trying to hide under it. Surprisingly the boy managed to hide himself very well before his uncle walked into the room, messier than usual.
"You were yelling. What were you yelling at?" the man asked in curiosity, examining the room with slanted eyes; all Kanda could do was stare at the ridiculous lump in the middle of his bed. His uncle caught sight of the little bump on the bed that Kanda was staring at and made way towards it, leaning forward and brushing away his bangs from his eyes. "Well now, this is unusual." Fixing the small ponytail he had his hair in, Uncle Katsuhisa prodded the lump with his finger. "What the hell is this, a dead person?"
Kanda paled which was shocking for his since he tried his best not to show any emotion excluding anger and hatred. Plus his face was already pale; if his mother saw him walking around like some stark-white ghost, she'd flip out.
"Uh, Uncle Katsuhisa!" Kanda shouted and tackled his uncle to the ground before he pulled the covers off the creature. He saw the lump shaking in fear.
"Just what in the blazes are you doing?" his uncle barked, trying to pry the raven off his waist.
Quick, Kanda thought, think!
"I was just trying out my tackles," Kanda stammered all the while wanting to keep his cool, "because I wanna get on the football team this year in our school! I heard that they just opened a club and I wanted to join the team."
Uncle Katsuhisa gave him an odd look.
"I've never seen you so active in school before. Kid," said uncle muttered as he poked the boy in the ribs, earning him a yelp of pain, "you'll never make it with a body like this. You'll be snapped in half like some twig."
With a grunt he got up and dusted off his pants, shooting the lump and his nephew a look. "Clean up this room too, it's a mess. Mud in the room, I thought your mother taught you better than that." He pointed at the splotches of brown and dirt over the white sheets that were once splayed across his bed.
"Yeah, I'll clean it up later," he said hurriedly, trying to hide the upcoming scowl on his face as the lump moved an inch, "so, uncle, go drink some tea and look for auntie. I'm sure she wants to see her beloved husband." Kanda ushered his clueless uncle out of the room, not thinking that he was rude in any way whatsoever, and slammed the door shut once he stepped out. The raven sighed.
I was going to ask for his shotgun, too…
"All right, come out," Kanda muttered as soon as he heard muffled footsteps from outside. Then he smacked his forehead; he forgot that the creature couldn't speak English. "Ugh, you're pissing me off already!"
He grabbed the sheets furiously and whipped them off, revealing a shaken white haired boy, knees drawn up to his chest, eyes wet with tears. Kanda rolled his eyes. This was the boy he was going to take care of?
"We're going to have to teach you some English," he declared in a rather melancholy voice, tugging at the boy's scanty clothes, ready to pull them off. "But first, we gotta get you into clothes that people actually wear in this world."
…
He flushed.
This person, a human – and a boy at that! – was going to undress him?
All he could do was sit there in shock, metallic eyes wide. This was something he hadn't had in mind.
"Nie!" he yelled out, whacking the raven's hand away from his shoes. It was completely nerve-racking for a person his own gender to be forcing him to dress up in whatever he was planning on. Instead of fighting back like he wanted to, he quickly scooted far away from the frowning human before him, back flat against the wall, knees drawn up to his chin now.
"Nie."
The human rolled his eyes at him; was he that pathetic?
"Look," was all he could pick up from the human and, obeying what he said, followed the finger that he waved in the air carelessly.
"Okay?"
All he could do was sit there, confused.
The human groaned.
…
This is going to take forever! Kanda thought, clearly agitated, as he sat down on his chair once more. Let's just calm down, soothe and ease your mind… Oh what the hell, this isn't working!
The raven stood up from his chair abruptly and knocked it back, not that he really cared, and stomped towards his dresser. Pulling out a black turtleneck sweater, he chucked it at the boy with not much care, and smirked as he heard grunting and rustling from the bed. Apparently the boy was fighting with a sweater.
One day he'll probably end up fighting the world, he thought, his smirk still in place.
He walked back towards the struggling creature and reached out to pull away the leather-like material draped around his torso. Ignoring the kicks and bites and random shouts, Kanda ripped it off and stood off the bed, proud of his work.
"Glad that's over with," he mumbled under his breath and threw the old raggedy clothes over his shoulder. Snatching the sweater away from the boy, he forced it over his head.
Only to get it stuck on his horns.
"God damn it!" he cursed out loud, and then,
"Kanda, no cursing in this household!" his mother and aunt called out at the same time.
Yeah well tell Uncle Katsuhisa that, Kanda thought as he struggled with the stubborn sweater that grasped onto the horns for what seemed like its dear life.
Wrapping both arms around the sleeve of the sweater, Kanda tugged hard, pressing his foot against the edge of the bed until he heard creaking and more cries from the breathless creature beneath him.
"Nie!" he cried out in pain as he clutched his head, clawing at the material. "Hurt! Hurt!"
Instantly the raven let go of the sleeve, sending the creature flying back towards the wall. He inwardly flinched as he heard a crash and more cries.
"I guess you know some words," Kanda muttered thoughtfully, placing his hands on his waist and shifting his weight to his left foot, deep in ponder. "Well then, maybe it won't be as hard as I imagined it'd be."
"Follow."
He made a gesture to himself and to the door and soon left the room, leaving the creature, pain and all, in his bedroom by himself.
Seemingly catching the hint, he got up and, while rubbing his horns, swiftly exited the room just to bump into the raven's chest.
"Eh," he squeaked, falling back against the open door which really didn't help him from his fall, allowing him to freely fall on his behind in pain.
"Quiet," Kanda drawled, placing his index on his lips to indicate that he wanted the boy to shut up. The boy nodded and in return Kanda smirked once more.
This is easier than I thought.
…
Luckily Kanda managed to stuff the kid in jeans without getting noticeable bruises, and with a sigh of relief, he fell back against the brick wall of the apartment. The creature was struggling with the tight, confined material that trapped his legs and the rough material he wore that covered his chest. He definitely wasn't enjoying it at all.
And that was what made it fun, Kanda declared.
They were outside in the field, late at night so no one could see the horns sticking out from the messy patch of white hair, and to his luck – perhaps Lady Luck was on his side that night? – Rabi and Rinali were inside their houses, doing whatever they were to do that night. It was a Saturday and, Kanda thought, he should have some fun outside while was at it.
"All right, kid," Kanda stated, catching his attention instantly. "Don't go off this area, okay?" He patted his hand against the grassy earth and closed his eyes once he saw the kid nod. "Very good."
No worries for me today.
Now that he thought about it, the house was oddly quiet that night when he snuck the creature out of his room.
Maybe they were talking in the kitchen? Kanda pondered, recalling the hushed, fretting whispers from the room down the hall. The raven couldn't help but frown at the thought of his family talking amongst each other without him; usually if it wasn't a problem, he would be included in it, but for him to be left out, it must have been serious.
"Aren! Aren!"
He slowly opened his eyes and cocked an eyebrow as he saw the creature twirling in the oversized sweater and long jeans that he tripped over, but that didn't stop his joyous attempts of spinning around freely. For once Kanda noticed a wide smile plastered on the kid's face and, with that much gayness radiating from that small smile, Kanda couldn't stop himself from smirking a crooked smirk, just a bit. Nothing much. Just a tweak of one corner of his mouth.
"Aren!" the boy shouted again, grasping at the empty space around him. To Kanda it looked like he was trying to grab the stars which he knew was a completely futile attempt for him to try.
"Air!" he laughed, taking in deep breaths of the crispy air around them. Kanda arched an eyebrow.
Aren.
Air.
"Allen?" the raven thought aloud in his own little world, not noticing the look the creature gave him.
Aren means air. Aren sounds like Allen, the way he says it. And in the air are stars and clouds. And from clouds comes snow. And his hair's like snow so…
Kanda simply said, "Allen."
…
He couldn't help but think: was the raven haired boy calling him Allen?
His real name, after all, was Neviki, which stood for some white substance that once fell from God's kingdom, its whiteness cleansing the soul of all who sinned. Cocking his head to the side, he wondered, why Allen?
Then he thought: maybe because 'Allen' sounds like 'Aren?'
Air. I am named air, the creature thought quizzically in his own language, scratching the nape of his neck in utter confusion. Why am I called air?
But he grinned, nevertheless, at what the raven had called him.
Allen.
A new name, a new identity.
…
Kanda was rather relieved – why he was, he didn't know at that moment – when the creature seemed to have nodded a confirmative. He felt another smirk crawl up to his face; if he could get this creature to understand and agree with him this quickly, life would be a whole lot easier than he'd ever imagine.
"Well then, come, Allen," the raven said, holding his hand out to the white haired creature in awkwardness; the name felt strange on his lips. "Let's try to get back in my room without alarming my family."
Feeling a cold hand wrap around his, Kanda made his way to his apartment's door.
Things weren't so bad after all, perhaps.
Sure, he was stuck with his ancient creature, but things would unravel.
…
A goofy smile slipped on his face as he held a warm cup of hot chocolate up to his pale lips.
Rabi rocked back and forth from his porch, right beside Kanda's house, and let out a wholehearted laugh.
Things were just getting interesting between those two.
I like it already.
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As of today, 7:10 PM (EST time haha), 4/4/07, I officially declare this chapitre… over!
Bleh, this was kinda odd because I left off at a sour mood and then suddenly, on a dark – yet somehow peppy – day, I pick it up again. Then again, maybe the chapitre ended rather oddly because I was listening to Hare Hare Yukai? 'Cause that's one crazy song, especially Haruhi's version. (Hare Hare Yukai is the first ending song to The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya or Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu.)
So umm, anyway, I hope you enjoyed this… because it's just getting started! -Imagines people running away and groaning- … Okay, maybe it's not such a swell start, but it'll unravel!
Soon!
… I hope…
Well, don't mind me, go ahead and review or something. Or just flee. Y'know, that's fine with me. … Maybe not but I'm not forcing you to, haha.
I hope (some) people will actually look forward to the next one… -Sigh- This better come out well since I literally gave up my Tsubasa stories for this. Not that I actually really like Tsubasa anymore, but still…
By the way does anyone know where to get more Switch scanlations? The one by Naked Ape, not the one that was plagiarized. Or is only Timcanpy scanlating that? Wah, I want volume four!
Oh yeah sorry for the late update. I have a good excuse, too. I had like, four projects due this week (huge, grade-threatening projects) and because I'm a procrastinator, I spent most of my time working on it. Sorry.
(And yes! More people think JUNE sounds like a guy! -Cackles-)
-Muffinizer, myuu