Underneath

Chapitre Four

Sunday

Ugh, extremely sorry to those who were (actually) looking forward to the update. You see I was extremely sick the last few days, right after Easter for some reason, and since then I didn't have the… the motivation to write. Of course, I may nod off once in a while (I started this at 8:46 PM, 4/11/07) and end up posting this up a week from now. Sorry. I think I have Strep throat or something.

Joy.

Note: As of this chapitre one (once Allen gets Kanda's name straight) there shall be no POV switching. Thank God. Hallelujah.

Another Note: (As of 4/20/07 – Wow – 7:41 PM.) The little insert song that Allen sings is a lullaby. I was trying to find a cheery little 'morning prayer' song but I came up with a lullaby instead. And instead of German, I picked the French version since… I use too many German words without knowing what they really mean. Well, I do, but I switch 'em around and stuff. Plus, I use Google translator. Who believes that shit? Anyway, off topic. I don't own the song, and in English it's called "Good Evening, Good Night." The lyrics are very nice, I must say.

Disclaimer: D.Gray-Man belongs to Hoshino. I want to kill her and disclaim it as my own. (Only kidding, everyone.) Oh well, life isn't fair, eh?

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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Kanda noted that getting Allen back to his room was harder than letting him out, which was odd since when they left the house, he carelessly slammed the door shut while he cautiously closed the door when coming inside. His mother almost caught him while drinking tea in the living room, and Uncle Katsuhisa almost bumped into him after exiting the first floor bathroom which was, inconveniently, right across the door, down the hallway, past the kitchen.

The raven sighed; taking care of this boy wouldn't be easy, he knew from the start, but why Rinali and Komui assertively – or maybe more like aggressively, Kanda thought – pushed the boy into his hands was still unclear. As Allen obediently followed him up the stairs with no creaking of the old steps, Kanda swiftly shoved him into his bedroom with such strength that he sent the poor creature flying across the carpeted floor, landing on his behind with a tremendous thud.

"Kanda," his Aunt Fumi called out, voice wavering as the sore throat she had still remained from last week, "are you all right?"

Coughing, the boy replied with a shaky "Yes, Aunt Fumi, I'm fine."

He was so glad he took drama as another little class.

Quickly the boy turned his attention to the frowning creature, huffing in annoyance. "Just what in the world am I going to do with you?" Kanda muttered staring at him with such blunt eyes that Allen began to shake under his gaze. "Stuffing you in the closet sounds like the best way to go, in my opinion."

And then Allen began fidgeting, not under his gaze, but more along the lines of being uncomfortable. The raven arched an eyebrow while he examined him from the door; was something bothering the boy?

"What's wrong, Allen?"

Said creature glanced up at him with pained eyes, which he screwed shut almost immediately. He folded his legs together tightly, arms hugging them to his chest, and he bit his pale lips with his teeth harshly, so hard that Kanda swore he saw beads of blood trickling down from his lips.

"Whoa there," Kanda exclaimed as he tried to restrain the boy from biting a hole in his bottom lip, "you don't wanna pass out from blood loss now, do you?"

Allen sat there clueless, legs still folded up to his chest, rocking back and forth on his behind. The raven stared at him without a clue. Was he cold? Did he feel uncomfortable or something? Was he hungry?

The white haired boy whimpered squirming around impatiently as his rocking became faster. Kanda groaned.

Don't tell me…

"You have to go to the bathroom?"

…

"Stay still!"

"Nie!"

"Take off your pants!"

"Nie!"

"Do I have to rip them off for you again?"

Allen immediately shut up and sat down on the toilet seat put down, inching himself away from the menacing glare of Kanda Yuu. The raven wasn't really in the mood for potty training or whatnot, especially if it was an ancient creature that – seemingly – came from below just a few days ago. He huffed and rolled up the sleeves of his sweater. This, he admitted to himself only, was going to be a whole lot harder than getting him into the clothes.

…

Kanda blinked as the two stepped outside, almost too quietly; the moment before was extremely awkward for Kanda had never been near another boy like that before, much less in a bathroom. Allen was still fidgeting, clearly embarrassed for that evidential, bright, red stain just wouldn't come off no matter how hard he tried.

He stopped midway in the hallway before Kanda's room and tapped the raven on his shoulder cautiously. In response he craned his neck and glanced over his shoulder with an inquiring stare.

…

"Me Allen. You?" Allen managed to stammer out with whatever confidence he had left after that flustering moment in the bathroom together with that dark-haired youth. He stared at him for agonizing moments and soon Allen thought that asking for one's name was impolite in this world. Then he responded.

"I'm… Kanda. Kanda Yuu."

…

Did he scare him or something?

Allen was staring at Kanda with such blank, wide eyes that the raven began to fret; did he name shock the living life out of the boy, or was it just Allen? He reached out carefully to shake the boy by his shoulders with a grim look on his face. The raven jumped back as Allen's eyes came back to life a bit too suddenly.

"Allen," said youth started slowly, staring at him carefully in the eye; he didn't want the kid to jump out the window and sprint from the house, revealing himself to the world for them to see him weak and vulnerable. "We are going to sleep now."

The creature cocked his head to the side and gave him a quizzical look.

"Sleep?" he repeated confusedly. Kanda nodded. Again the creature put on that bemused face, questioning the raven. Usually at a time like this, kids would be getting ready for school and an adventure outside in the mazes. Going to sleep this early in the night was odd for him but, after much decision, Allen spoke up saying,

"I sleep not. School in morn."

It was now Kanda's turn to look stumped. Surely he didn't mean that creatures from his land went to school from ten in the night to twelve in the afternoon? He sighed; at least the boy had understood him with that basic knowledge stuffed in that air-packed head of his. Kanda frowned.

Time to test that logic of his.

"School here," he said agonizingly slowly, staring at Allen, "is later at around seven in the morning. You sleep now." The creature just stood there without a clue, and Kanda swore he could see tumbleweeds rolling through that empty skull. Giving up, the raven sighed.

"Bed," Kanda grumbled as he pointed to the mattress in the far corner of the room; Allen's eyes followed. "Sleep."

Luckily he seemed to understand, for the white haired boy crawled underneath the covers like he did when Uncle Katsuhisa barged into the room, this time in no hurry. "Sleep," Allen repeated with a goofy smile on his face rather cheerfully. Kanda let out a silent breath of relief. "You sleep."

This caught his attention immediately. The raven gave him a look, a look that simply stated 'No thanks, I'd rather sleep on the floor or in the basement than with another person like you', but Allen's urging gaze forced him to do otherwise. He sighed again; was this kid getting to him already?

Figuring that getting up and changing in front of this kid would be a nuisance, Kanda slipped into the bed, with Allen by his side, fully clothed. He thought that the creature would flip out if he took off his shirt, despite the odd stuffiness in the room that night.

Maybe it's because I'm sleeping next to another person, thought the raven as he shut his eyes closed.

It's been a while since I did this. It's like… a sleepover.

He vaguely felt Allen shift beside him – or maybe, he thought in distaste, it was Rabi hidden underneath the sheets for hours, ready to pounce of him and strangle him the moment he opened his eyes – and then warm hands on his shoulders. Kanda stiffened instantly at the contact, trying to shift away slowly away from the boy. He turned his back against him, hoping Allen would get the idea, but then he felt arms wrapping around his arm.

The raven stifled a groan.

I'm not going to be happy tomorrow morning…

…

Allen woke up in the middle of the night, scared and anxious. Perhaps it was the queer atmosphere, but he suddenly felt naked and unprotected in the bed. He slowly opened his eyes, just to be greeted by a broad back, and he sighed. Kanda, that human, was resting before him, back to his face, with his own arms wrapped around that lithe waist.

Wait a minute, said creature thought for a second, metallic eyes going wide. He jumped up from the still, breathing figure without waking him up. Allen breathed heavily. What was he doing just a second ago?

Minutes had passed and there was no movement from the raven human. He sighed and, slowly, stealthily, he crawled out of bed and walked towards the window. Curtains had been draped over it almost elegantly, for the dim moonlight that shone through brightened the room, just enough to lift his spirits up from the unsettled mood he was in. Allen inhaled sharply, trying to calm down all the spazzing nerves in his body.

"Bonsoir, bonne nuit, gardé par dex angelots
Qui te montrent en rêve
L'arbre du petit enfant Jésus:
Dors seulement, bienheureux et doucement
Regarde dans les rêves du Paradis…"

Kanda jolted up with a start, yelling out "Who's there?" without even knowing it. His eyes quickly darted to the left where Allen leaned against the window sill, his own eyes on him. The teenager sighed, placing his hand on his chest, surprised to feel the rapid heartbeat pounding beneath it.

"What're you doing?" he asked simply, causing the creature to shift uncomfortably. The song had been soothing, yes, and Allen's voice was oddly attractive and exotic, but the fact that he had been singing in the middle of the night, smiling, without even waking him up bothered him greatly. "You should be sleeping right now. It's," Kanda muttered as he squinted at the blaring numbers on his digital clock that read two thirty-one, "hours before normal people wake up."

Kanda groaned and fell back in utter defeat.

Sure, he wasn't particularly what you would call a 'normal teenager', especially if you had this beast that looked like he just popped out of the Prehistoric section of the museum and was currently living in your room, but he himself needed sleep. Everyone needed sleep. An hour or two, maybe at the least, but nevertheless, everyone relied on sleep.

So why couldn't he sleep when he was excruciatingly tired?

It's Allen, the raven screamed inside his head – he winced because of the loudness of his own thoughts – and silently fumed, he's the one making me stay up late, I know it.

"Come back," Kanda slowly instructed as he patted the area beside him on the bed with his hand, "and sleep until I wake you." Obediently the white haired creature walked over, stumbling over air, or maybe it was his own feet, Kanda really couldn't tell in the pitch black, and he closed his eyes tight once he felt that warmth beside him once again. Allen shifted and fidgeted, twisted and turned until he found the right spot; by the time he found it, the raven swore he was going to throw up because of the constant movement.

He felt sleep finally wash over him as Allen stilled completely, and the last words he heard were,

"Regarde dans les rêves du Paradis…"

…

When Kanda's eyes snapped opened, the digital clock resting lifelessly on the wooden bureau blinked 'five forty nine.' He groaned and sat up, stretching his back with his arms wide out beside him.

"Ai!"

The raven jumped when he heard the exclamation, whizzing his head to the side, coming face to face with a whimpering Allen. Of course, Allen was too busy trying not to cry out in pain again, with his hand stuffed in his mouth and eyes scrunched tightly in pain.

"Ai…"

Kanda blinked sleepily, all the while muttering "Hn. Sorry."

Allen glanced up at him with a scowl on his face and he pulled out his hand. The teenager stared at him, his unwavering scowl bothering him greatly, and wondered if the white haired creature was cursing him right now in his mind. He sighed heavily.

"Well today is Sunday which means I have a whole day off…" Kanda said thoughtfully, scratching his chin as he sorted out his plan for the day. Then he glanced at Allen who was impatiently sitting beside him, scowl still firmly etched on his face. Sighing, the raven concluded,

"But I have to take care of you. Let's start this day off with some basic English words, huh?" He shrugged off the sweater he wore during the night to reveal a simple undershirt beneath it, and then he got off the bed, making way to his desk. Turning on the lamp, he picked out a notebook and pen stuffed between the countless books stacked on top of each other. Allen followed curiously, the frown slipping, replaced by an inquiring look.

I don't know why I'm trying so hard, Kanda groaned inwardly as he scribbled down words quickly on the notebook. Maybe it's because Komui or whatever looks extremely scary when mad.

He tsked and rolled his eyes.

Yeah right. Like they can hurt me?

"All right," Kanda suddenly exclaimed after moments of silence and the scratching of the pen's tip. "This is the alphabet." He wrote down the word alphabet above the stream of letters, both big and small. Tilting his head to the side, Allen followed his finger.

"A-l-p-h-a-b-e-t. Now repeat after me," the raven instructed. Sounding out every word, the teenager waited for Allen to follow him. Instead he stood there beside him, staring incredulously at Kanda, then at the letters. This time Allen frowned deeply in frustration.

"A…" Kanda drawled dragging the vowel out for seconds until the boy finally got the point.

"A," he repeated hastily, the sudden feeling of pride fluttering in his chest for that brief second. Allen heard Kanda whisper a "Thank God", wondering what he meant by that.

"Now, B."

…

Both the raven and white haired boy groaned in frustration, dropping down to the floor with a thump. Kanda was having a pounding headache and a distracting sore throat, while Allen's head was spinning in confusion.

So many letters, Allen moaned inwardly as he clutched his head and grimaced, so many letters to memorize at once.

"This really isn't working," Kanda grumbled, ignoring the saddened look – was it a sad or a sympathetic look, he didn't know – that the white haired boy was giving him. The raven sighed and settled down on his chair before the desk once more, glaring at the notepad.

I can't do this alone. But I don't wanna ask anyone in this house since they don't know Allen's here.

He shot said boy a look, scowling.

Now my life's going downhill because of this random boy that popped up. Why is he messing with my life? Why not some other person in the Americas or something?

Kanda let his head fall to the desk with a thump rather grumpily, not moving to push the annoying strands of hair that fell before his eyes. He heard Allen get up beside him and the pen right beside his ear suddenly disappeared. Glancing to the left, Kanda arched an eyebrow when he saw the boy fussing over the pen and trying to copy the letters written on the lined paper. Slowly he sat up, watching him curiously as Allen wrote over the letters, line by line, curve by curve almost perfectly.

For that split moment, he smirked.

Allen worked furiously, trying to copy every single letter, not noticing the slight grin that the human had put on, just for him.

…

The doorbell rang downstairs and made the two boys jump in unison. There was the sound of muffled steps and the sound of locks twisting and clicking, until the door swung open, greeted with a,

"Good morning, Mrs. Kanda! My, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Rabi from next door – we've met you a few days ago, right?"

Kanda flinched at the happy-go-lucky voice of the redhead from the house right besides theirs and the grin immediately fell from his face. Allen glanced up at him with curious eyes, wondering what was bothering the raven so much; there was a big commotion going on downstairs, yes, but he didn't find that so bothersome. Great shouts and loud stomps were usually heard throughout the day as greetings and rituals.

"Oh, you're here to see Yuu-chan?" Kanda's mother chirped, and at that moment, the raven swore he just saw him mother's face brighten with glee. He didn't have to be there to see it; he felt it deep, deep inside.

No. No, don't let him in, mother. Don't, Kanda's mind begged just as he heard two sets of footsteps marching up the stairs. He collapsed on the floor, head in his hands, and let out a stifled scream of annoyance.

"Yuu-chan, Rabi's here to see you!" she called out as she flung the door open, pushing the smiling redhead inside. "I'm sure you'll get along just fine; Rabi is such a fine, young boy!"

Oh shit, the raven thought as his eyes locked onto Allen. He leaped as his mother stepped in, pushing the chair out of his way and sending it toppling over to the side. Kanda shoved Allen underneath the desk instead, and swiftly pulled the chair upright to sit right before the confused and confined Allen.

He glanced up and found his mother looking down at him, a strange look on her face. Kanda cursed silently.

Surely she didn't see…

"Well, Rabi, I hope you enjoy your stay," she said rather hastily, patting him on the back as she walked out the room without hesitation. "If you need anything, I'll be downstairs!"

The redhead waved back and, the moment the door closed, he turned around to kneel down beside Kanda's chair, peering into the small area underneath the desk where Allen was squatting in. He smiled and reached out his hand, waiting for some response from the creature. There was none.

"Allen," Kanda muttered as he pushed the chair back and bent down beside Rabi. He too held out his hand, ready to pull him out. "Out. Now."

All Kanda saw was a stubborn boy, one as mulish as a young toddler who didn't receive a cookie for dessert after dinner, no matter how long he begged.

However, Rabi saw clearer and something completely different.

For that split second, he saw pain.

The redhead grasped Allen's arm and pulled him out slowly, careful not to force him out and make him hit his head against the desk above him. Allen teetered to the side as he tried to find his footing, barely raising his head to look at Kanda. He was standing there, unmoving, with a look that held nothing.

"So you named him Allen?" Rabi questioned, causing the silence to break. Kanda looked at him and replied,

"Yes." And then,

"What do you think you're doing in my house? Did I invite you?" he hissed, grabbing Allen from Rabi's grasp. Allen reluctantly let his body fly to the left, where he stood firm and tall beside the raven. Blinking, the teenager gave Kanda a shrug.

"Well, I thought you would've wanted help with taking care of Allen here." He flashed Allen a kind grin, and sheepishly the boy smiled back.

Kanda let out a "Tch" and shrugged. "It's harder than you think. I don't suppose a laid-back, happy-happy joy-joy guy like you would understand."

The redhead laughed heartily, embracing Allen tightly while doing so, earning him a squeak of protest.

Ah, Yuu, Rabi thought to himself as he teased the white haired boy by playing with the ivory horns, you would think so.

But I think I've been through just as much as you have.

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Why am I always ending with Rabi's thoughts? Oh, I know.

'Cause he's so fucking awesome. XD

Anyway this chapitre came out kinda odd since, well, I was slacking (Surprise, surprise) and I didn't really have… the heart to finish it. I was working with another story for D.Gray-Man (A thriller like story with Kanda as a serial killer. Kinda. Think of him as like, Raito-kun from Death Note. Trying to get rid of all evil and stuff. But that'll be out soon later, once I finish other stories) so if it came out… kinda crappy, I'm sorry.

But I still love the story, so other chapitres (once it gets its dramatic, romantic fucking plot) will be quite good, I hope. It's just beginning. -Evil smile-

All right, I'm out. Drop a review or something if you have time!

-Muffinizer, aozora no namida