Show Biz: Act I Chapter 6: Scene v: If Music Be the Food of Love, a d.gray-man fanfic

EDIT: 12.27.11 Okay so I went back to ALL the chapters and fixed as many typos as I found (which was a lot). Oh, and in this chapter, I had completely forgotten that I put Hebraska and Miranda in one part. I fixed it. My sincerest apologies.

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Show Biz: Act I

Scene V:
If Music be the Food of Love, Play On

"The what!" Allen exclaimed as Lenalee broke the news to them.

"You heard me. Allen was offered the protagonist role of the Demon Slayer and Kanda was offered the antagonist role of the Demon Lord. The basic plot is-"

"I'm not doing it," Kanda cut in before Lenalee could finish.

"You're...what?" Allen asked him in complete shock.

"Not doing it. MANA didn't get involved in drama's until he'd built a stable fan base with his music career. That's what I'm going to do."

Allen wasn't expecting to hear that name here. And especially not from Kanda. Beginning on June 6th, Allen had been trying to suppress all of the memories of his father. Before that, he didn't have to. It didn't exactly come up that often. But now...It wasn't easy. Everything he did in show biz reminded him of Mana... But nothing like this. Hearing Mana's name after so long...it was like pulling the trigger on a gun aimed at the lock of his memories. The lock was burst open, and all of them came pouring out, like some twisted, personal Pandora's Box. He was frozen there for a little while, just staring blankly at Kanda. His stare gave nothing away. It was cold. Closed off. And, for some unexplainable reason, it scared Kanda.

"Moyashi?" Kanda whispered as he waved a hand in front of Allen. Nothing.

"O...oi...Moyashi...hey! Moyashi!" Kanda escalated into a shout as he got more desperate. This was bad. What had happened to Allen? "Goddammit look at me!" Kanda yelled as he shook Allen by the shoulders.

No response.

"Kanda, calm down," Lenalee told him soothingly.

"Calm down? How can I calm down when someone turns into a fucking zombie right in front of my eyes?" Kanda said, raising his voice at Lenalee. Even he couldn't explain why he was feeling so on edge.

"This is bad. I don't know how it happened, but this is really bad," Lenalee said, ignoring Kanda's outburst in favor of examining Allen. "This happened to me before, when my parents died..." she said as Kanda acknowledged the statement with a surprised glance before he turned back to Allen. "It's a sort of defense system. When you go through a traumatic experience, you tend to develop one. Something one of us said must have triggered it. Try to think. He responded to your 'I'm not doing it" so it must have been after that..." Kanda couldn't really think straight at the moment, so he just watch as Lenalee stood there with her head down and her arms crossed. She was in this state of deep-thinking for several minutes. She had a feeling that the answer was right on the tip of her tongue...she just...couldn't think of it...

Let's see, what did Kanda say after that? she thought, He said he wasn't doing the drama again. It's not that. Something about a music career? No, it would have been triggered WAY sooner than this if that was the case...so what was before that...

That's when an idea hit her. A crazy idea. So crazy, it couldn't even be a conspiracy theory. She didn't even know how she had made that connection. It just...it couldn't be...could it?

"Kanda, stay with Allen," she said stiffly, "I'll be right back."

Kanda just nodded tersely and sat down on a chair across from the statue that was Allen, hoping for a miracle to happen.

"Come on, pick up..." Lenalee whispered nervously as she phoned her brother. He was one of the only four people that really got a look at the audition info. She doubted Miranda would remember, Reever was new, so he probably wouldn't know, and she didn't have her aunt's number. That left her brother. She wanted to check with him first anyways.

"Lenalee~! My dear sweet sister! How wonderful a day it is that you would call me as I was just thinking of yo-" Komui cheered as he finally answered his cell.

"Brother," Lenalee said seriously, bringing his frivolous tirade to a close. "What is Allen's last name."

"..."

"Is there anything the matter?"

"...I'm afraid it's not in my power to tell you. You'll have to ask the person himself."

"I'm afraid I can't do what you say either, as Allen is currently incapable of speech. And if my hunch is right, it has to do with what I'm asking you."

"Something happened to Allen?" Komui asked sounding concerned.

"Yes, and I need you to answer the question brother."

"...If my hunch about your hunch is right, you already know the answer to that, Lenalee."

Lenalee just sighed. She took a while in responding. It was times like these where the protagonist in a movie takes a long, meaningful drag on a cigarette.

Too bad I don't smoke, she thought.

"Allen is Mana's adopted son."

It wasn't a question, but Komui answered anyways.

"...Yes."

Kanda's head snapped up to Lenalee as she entered the room again. She was alarmed when she didn't see Allen standing there, but Kanda only pointed to the couch. Allen was sitting there, with the same blank stare as before.

"I hope it was okay to move him," Kanda said.

"Yeah, no problem. That might be a good thing. We don't want him to snap out of it and collapse or something. Kanda, I'm sorry but could you leave the room?" Lenalee asked.

Kanda just raised an eyebrow and gave her a did-you-just-ask-that? look.

"I don't care what kind of glare you give me, if you want Allen to recover, then you'll have to leave the room."

"...Che," Kanda growled as he got up and walked out, closing the door behind him.

Lenalee turned to Allen and walked slowly to a spot right in front of him. Then she slowly kneeled down, so that silver and amethyst met. She raised her arms, then gently laid her hands on Allen's shoulders.

"Allen," she cooed softly, as a mother would. "Allen, are you there? If you are, listen to me. I need you to listen."

She took a deep breath before she continued softly, "He's gone, Allen."

Nothing.

"Allen, Mana is gone."

She thought she saw his breath hitch, but she might have been imagining it.

"Mana Walker has been gone for eight years."

He blinked.

"Mana died, Allen. It's been so long. You're only hurting yourself. Please. Please, stop hurting yourself," she whispered.

Allen started to shake. Then his hands slowly came up to cover his face. Lenalee brought him close to her, holding him like she would a small child. And as soon as the first tear was shed, Allen just couldn't hold it in anymore. He cried - truly cried - for the first time since he'd lost Mana. He let loose all the feelings that he'd been bottling up, not just in these past few weeks, but for the past eight years of loneliness. He had finally reached the point where he just couldn't bear it anymore.

"Shhh, shhh, it's okay...it's okay, Allen. Shhhh, you can cry now."

Outside, Kanda heard the sound of sobs coming from behind the door. He rushed back inside only to find Lenalee comforting Allen as he cried into her shoulder. They hadn't noticed his entrance, so he stood there with an awkward feeling in his chest. It was strange...he clenched his fists in anger, confusion, and frustration...why didn't he stay with Allen? Why couldn't...why couldn't that be him? And why did he want it to be?

Dammit...

The ride back to the Dark Order was a silent one. No one talked as they pulled up and got out. Allen was the first one to make it to the doors. He looked up, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw who was standing there, leaning against the counter. The man didn't react to Allen at all, except maybe to look even more pissed off. He finished one long drag on his cigarette before saying in Japanese, "You've done it now, baka deshi."

Allen just gulped and replied in the same language, "A-a-a-ah...you're b-back, shishou?"

Kanda and Lenalee tried to look around to see the one talking to Allen. They got a peek of red hair and glasses before Allen moved a bit and blocked their view.

"Psst, Kanda, you're Japanese. What are they talking about?" Lenalee whispered.

"I'm not sure as to why, but something Moyashi did pissed the other guy off," Kanda muttered back.

"Eh? They know each other?"

"Ah, but judging by Moyashi's reaction they aren't on very good terms."

And what's with this apprentice-master shit?

"Yes I'm back you imbecile. And just look what you've gotten yourself into."

"Shishou, I-"

"I thought I told you I would never let you get involved in show biz."

Kanda was shocked as he thought, Wait, what?

After apologizing and explaining a bit to Lenalee and Kanda, Allen was taken home by the man - who they learned was his guardian, Cross - and a very confused duo was left at the Dark Order.

"...I didn't know Allen was adopted," Kanda commented absentmindedly.

"I knew...b-but, not any details or anything," Lenalee quickly covered.

Kanda just raised his eyebrow and left it at that.

"What did that glasses bastard mean by not letting Allen get in show biz?" Kanda asked her.

Well, I can understand why, but I can't tell Kanda that... Lenalee thought guiltily.

"Che," Kanda said when he didn't get an answer. "I'm leaving."

"Eh? But we were going to talk about that drama deal."

"I already told you. I'm not doing it!" Kanda yelled in frustration.

"But you and Allen are a duo! Plus, Innocence just started out. It's weird to get separate jobs so soon!" Lenalee argued.

"I...Innocence?" Kanda questioned, getting a bad feeling about the term.

"The name of your 'group'. We were getting a lot of calls about you two already, and they wanted to know who you were. I can't just give them some no-names, so I had to come up with something that sounded cool. I thought to myself: hmm what do they both have in common? Then it hit me! You both act like kids! But I can't exactly call you 'Kids' now, can I?"

At this point, Kanda made the wiser decision to just nod and agree, like he knew what she was saying.

"Right, and the first thing that came to my mind when I thought about kids was how innocent they are. Plus it sounds cool. It's all about the look. The look!" Lenalee finished dramatically.

Just nod and agree, Kanda, he thought to himself.

Kanda started walking to his car and just before he got in Lenalee asked with high hopes, "So, will you do it?"

Kanda looked her in the eyes and finally said...

"Fuck no."

Then he jumped in his car and sped away, leaving behind a frozen Lenalee.

"...You...JERK!" she yelled after him, but she smiled anyways and whispered, "Whatever, kid."

Allen walked inside and winced as Cross slammed the door behind him. He turned to face his livid guardian, and steeled himself for what was coming.

"What the hell is going through that useless brain of yours?" Cross asked quietly.

"Shishou, let me explai-"

"And what, pray tell, would you explain? That you want to follow in your father's footsteps? That this was your only chance? That this is the only thing you've ever asked of me? Oh, or maybe we should start with explaining how you're a liar," Cross cut in.

Allen stood there in shock throughout the onslaught. Since when could Cross, of all people, read him like an open book. He winced again when he heard that last part.

"I...I'm sorry, Shishou. I didn't mean to break the promise I made."

"Then quit."

"...wh...what?" Allen asked quietly, refusing to process that last sentence.

"All you have to do is quit show biz, then we can pretend this little breech of contract never happened. After all, if you 'didn't mean to break the promise' you should be able to stop right now."

Allen clenched his fists and replied tensely, "No."

"What did you just say you little brat?" Cross said as he started to stalk towards Allen.

But Allen beat him to the punch. He stepped forward to meet Cross face to face.

"I said no."

Allen wasn't prepared for the punch sent straight into his gut. He smelled alcohol in the air and kicked himself for not noticing sooner.

Shit he's drunk. Wait, WHAT THE HELL! He's not the abusive drunk type...he's...wait he's seriously that mad. Dammit...

Cross grabbed Allen by the collar before he could recover and pulled him up. "You're in my house, you follow my rules. Don't get cocky, brat," Cross was about to let Allen go, thinking he had thoroughly scared him, when he felt a fist slam into the right side of his face. He staggered and looked up, stunned to see Allen standing over him with his fists at his side.

Damn brat grew a pair while I was gone. Cross thought as he spat out a bit of blood.

Allen just walked to his room, not saying a word, just leaving Cross there, leaning against the wall.

"Oi, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Cross asked, pissed off and itching to punch the kid back - never mind that he had hit him first.

Allen stopped with one hand on the knob. He turned his head slightly to say, "I think...no I'm sure...Father would have wanted me to stop lingering around. He would have wanted me to get up again. To keep walking. I made that promise long before this one. And that promise...I don't intend to break it...Goodnight, Shishou."

Allen's door closed with a soft snap, and Cross was left there, with nothing to do but search for a cigarette box.

As soon as Allen got inside his room, he grabbed a bag. He started throwing clothes inside. Two pairs of pants, some t-shirts along with his white long sleeve button up. Underwear, toothbrush, and socks.

He walked over to his bedside table and picked up a picture frame. He ran his fingers along the edge tenderly. In the photo were three people. Two older men, who looked exactly alike, except one of them had lighter hair. The dark haired one had his right arm around the other, who had his left arm around a small boy smiling in the middle of the picture. He hadn't realized it when he left eight years ago, but his younger self had unconsciously stuffed the photo into the front of his backpack. Allen stared at the photo for a while, relishing the smiles on every single one of the faces as a melancholy feeling built in his chest.

"Wish me luck, M...Father," Allen whispered as he wiped off a tear from the glass that he didn't realize he had shed. He took a few deep breaths and put away the photo. He looked around his room one last time, getting a strange sense of dejavu.

I think that's it for the necessities, he thought to himself.

Allen put on his sneakers and a black hoodie, then slung the back pack over his shoulders as he slowly opened his door. He poked his head out and check to see if Cross was still around. There was no sign of him.

Good. He either left, or went to sleep. Either way works for me, Allen thought as he sneaked towards the front door. All of a sudden, he felt little needles shot up his leg and back to settle on his head. When he felt a suspicious tugging on his hair accompanied by a damp feeling, he reached up to pull a small little furball of his head.

"Tim, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" Allen whispered. That was a close call; he had almost screamed. Almost. "I promise I'll come back for you if they allow animals at the dorms, okay?" Allen told Tim as he set him down in the catbed by the door. Tim just purred and nibbled on Allen's finger. "Good boy."

Allen opened and closed the front door as quietly as possible. Then ran off to find a taxi.

Unbeknownst to Allen, a pair of eyes watched him from behind a tree in the yard. As he watch him go, Cross took another drag on his cigarette.

"Idiot apprentice. You should've packed faster. Made me stand out here for half an hour."

"Here you are, kid," the taxi driver said to Allen.

"Thank you, here," Allen said as he paid him and got out.

He walked up to the dorms beside the Dark Order and knocked on the door. After a few minutes, a very sleepy and disheveled looking Komui opened the door. He looked confused when he saw Allen standing there.

"Allen? What are you doing here so late? It's nearly midnight."

"Ah, well, actually I need a place to stay, and was planning on moving here anyways. Is there room?"

Komui blinked then a smile spread across his face. "Of course there is. Come in, it's great to have you. Ah lets see, I think we were going to give you room number 7 on the second floor. It's a bit shabby, but it's comfortable. Aaaaaah make yourself at home," Komui yawned as he waved Allen off. Allen thanked him and climbed up the stairs. Exhausted, he stumbled into room 7, dropped his bag on the floor, and climbed into the first bed he bumped into without even bothering to change into the pajamas he'd brought. Withing seconds, he was fast asleep.

Allen was rudely awakened by a scream in his ear. Allen flailed about in panic, resulting in him falling off the bed in a heap, pulling the covers and something heavy off with him. Said something landed on top of him, and was surprisingly comfy. Until...

"Moyashi, either you give me a very fucking good reason why you're in my bed or you're going to be wishing you were dead. Very. Very. Soon," Kanda growled into Allen's face.

Allen looked forward only to notice a shirtless Kanda in a very compromising position above him. All he could do was sputter, "I was I mean I didn't reall know that is um I...I...it's all Komui's fault!" Allen yelled as he threw his arms up in defense.

"...You call that an explanation? You're dead, fucking Moyashi!" Kanda said as he made a grab for Allen, who somehow managed to dodge. Instead, Kanda got a hold of Allen's shirt, which was taken off in Allen's mad dash for safety. Allen scrambled to his feet and leaped for the door. As soon as possible he was running through the hall and down the stairs with Kanda close at his heels.

"Good morning, brother," Lenalee said as she rubbed her eyes and walked up to the breakfast table in the lounge.

"Good morning my dear sweet sister~! Indeed, what a beautiful day it is that I can see you first thing in the morning!" Komui rejoiced as he spun around in circles. He glomped his sister, who was trying to pull him off when they heard shouting upstairs.

"Eh?" Lenalee said, "Brother, did someone new move in?" I could have sworn I heard Allen's voice right now.

"Ah yes!, Allen ran away from home!"

"WHAT?" Lenalee shouted. "Seriously? Wow...wait...what room did you put him in?"

"The one we assigned him to. Room 7. Why?"

Lenalee looked menacingly at her brother, "Brother...did you forget to tell Allen anything?"

Komui put on a thinking face for about five seconds, then it hit him. "Whoopsies."

"You're dead, fucking Moyashi!" they heard Kanda shout as a crash sounded up stairs. Footsteps ran along the ceiling and Lenalee and Komui followed the noise to the stairway.

"Three. Two," Lenalee prepared as she covered her ears.

"I SWEAR IT WASN'T MY FAULT!" Allen yelled at Kanda as he ran into the room and leaped over the table to escape. He turned around to face Kanda who was at the other end of the table, ready to see blood.

"It wasn't your fault you were in my bed?" Kanda growled.

"I was tired! And it was dark! I didn't know what I was doing!" Allen pleaded.

"Then what were you even doing in my room!" Kanda yelled back.

"It...it..." Allen said avoiding Kanda's gaze, trying to look for a way out. Then he spotted Komui and pointed, "It was him! Komui, how could you not tell me Bakanda was in there?" Allen said, both him and Kanda now moving towards Komui with murderous intent.

"Meep!" Komui squeaked as he hid behind his sister.

All of a sudden, Lenalee raised her hand, making them all pause.

"Can I ask a question?" she said, sounding dead serious.

"Uh...sure?" Allen responded, pausing in mid step.

Lenalee looked at Kanda and Allen and asked, "Why the hell are you both shirtless?"

"Eh?" Allen and Kanda said simultaneously, looking down as if they barely noticed their lack of clothing. Allen immediately started to blush and Kanda brought a hand up to to cover his face.

"Wait, don't tell me...something happened? Aah I didn't know you guys swung that way~" Lenalee teased.

"Che, I'm not attracted to anyone. I don't do relationships," Kanda said to Lenalee.

"Ah, I figured you were the asexual type," Komui nodded. Lenalee just raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

An unexpectedly awkward silence hung in the air. Most of it centered around one white-haired individual.

"...Yeah, and Allen here is too cute to be straight hahaha," Lenalee joked to try and lighten the mood.

"I...I...I'm..." Allen stuttered nervously, backing away slowly.

Lenalee was left standing there wide-eyed. "Eh? Allen are you actually gay?" she asked him, a bit shocked. She had just been joking around. Homosexuality was pretty rare in Korea.

Allen just hung his head and stayed silent. He hadn't wanted them to find out this way. If he could help it, he didn't want them to find out at all. Especially not...

"Well there's your answer."

Allen's head snapped up to look at Kanda as soon as he heard his voice.

"Now stop pestering him about it. It's not like it matters anyways."

Allen just gave a small, grateful smile in Kanda's direction.

"I know, I was only curious. Besides I'm used to it," Lenalee said, twitching her head in her brother's direction.

"Eh? Komui, you too?" Allen said, loosening up thanks to Kanda's ice breaker.

Komui just coughed into his fist and said, "Ahem, I don't know what you're talking about. Ahahaha...ha..."

"Oh, don't play dumb with me. I know exactly how you 'persuaded' Reever to move into the dorms."

"Ahba gah but buh uh I ah um-! Lenalee! Not in front of the children!" Komui shouted, as if they were two parents trying to give their kids "the talk".

Allen and Kanda just looked at each other, and slowly tiptoed up the stairs to get changed, and escape from the two bickering siblings.

After that rather embarrassing incident was dealt with, everyone was left sitting around the table. And I mean everyone.

Allen, Kanda, Lenalee, Komui, Miranda, Reever, and Hebraska (who all live in the company dorms, Allen found out) were gathered around the breakfast table on the first floor, discussing what to do.

"Alright, everyone," Hebraska said to get their attention, "Since someone doesn't want to do the drama for personal reasons, we can't really stop him, as the official auditions have not even happened yet." - Kanda squirmed a bit in his chair - "The drama, The Demon, is being postponed by two months, in order for them to scout more people. Allen, the auditions are a bit different." Lenalee said now addressing Allen. "Each Demon Slayer will audition with a Demon King. So, one of the reasons they postponed was to find you a suitable partner. Their scouts are combing Seoul as we speak. I'll leave the rest to you guys. I have a meeting," Hebraska finished as she walked out.

"That's good then, but what are we going to do in the two month gap we have?" Allen asked her.

Then he heard a small 'ahem' to his right. When he looked, he saw Miranda holding a stack of papers.

"I-I-I'm in charge of sched-d-dules. Lenalee and I already booked you guys for the entire two months, l-l-leaving a bit of room at the end in c-c-c-case they find your partner and y-you need time to p-p-practice," she managed to stutter out.

"Wow, thanks Miranda!" Allen said. Then he and Kanda felt a dark aura from their left. They turned slowly to see Lenalee and Komui grinning evilly in their direction.

"Yeeeessss, but aside from that~" Komui began.

"We're working you to the booone~" Lenalee cackled.

"Ssssooo you'd better sleep all day today~"

"Becaussse tomorrooow~"

"You enter Hell!" they both finished maniacally, going off to chat about all the money the company will make and how well they were using their tools. Miranda ran away in fear.

"..." Allen and Kanda sat there stunned.

"Ah, that's right," Reever commented, "Those two, when it comes to keeping the company up, they're like devils. Oh, I don't think we've been properly introduced. I'm Reever Wenham. Just call me Reever. I help Komui with choreography, but I also teach guitar."

So this is the guy who...with...Komui... was the basic thought process of the two throughout his introduction.

"Wait, did you say guitar?" Allen asked, getting his mind out of the gutter. "Great! I've been meaning to learn more, but I can only get so far teaching myself," Allen told Reever.

"That's good then, when you both have time, I'll be glad to give you lessons."

"That would be amazing. Right, Kanda?" Allen chirped.

"Che," Kanda agreed.

"Yup I thought so too," Allen said.

How the hell can he translate those Che's? They all sound the same to me. Oh well, Reever thought.

"I'm going to get us some food, the fridge is empty. You guys want anything specific?" he asked them.

"I'm fine. Kanda?" Allen asked.

"Che. Soba."

"Okay," Reever said.

"Anyways," Lenalee said as she and Komui returned to reality, "We need to go over the schedule you will have."

"Oi, Komui, I'm going to need help carrying all the bags."

"Coming~!" Komui said as he followed Reever outside.

Once they were gone, a stunned Allen said, "Did Komui...just leave Lenalee?"

"...Che."

"Ahem. Now, where were we?" Lenalee said, surprisingly sweet.

Allen and Kanda looked at each other for reassurance, then they realized what they were doing and turned away.

"Che."

"Hmph."

"...Okay...Well, here it is. You have two PVs*, another dance gig for 2PM, and one commercial," Lenalee listed.

"That doesn't seem like much," Kanda said, sensing that there was more to come.

"That's because I'm not finished yet. You're doing the commercial first thing tomorrow. It's for DHC skin cream, and you'd better thank Bak for helping me get you that one. His show is one of their main forms of advertisement, so he has connections."

"That explains the lack of auditions," Allen stated.

"Yes. That, and he showed them your photos and they love both of your naturally clear skin. And before you ask Allen, they don't mind the scar. They'll just cover it with silver like you did for the dance. But I digress; you don't have to do much for the commercial. I think you guys only talk at the very end, so there's no script. They'll probably want to take a bunch of photos, too, so you'll be there pretty late. You'll go to the studio first thing tomorrow, so rest up."

Wait...when did they get our photos? Allen thought, a bit disturbed.

"Now, onto the first PV. The PV is for someone else, they're a new girl group, but that's a minor detail. You two will just be extras in the background. It's filmed in a cafe; I believe you guys will be waiters. You only have to be there for half a day, but do your best. That will be filmed two days from now."

"Why do I have a feeling you still haven't told us something really important?" Allen asked nervously.

"Hold on I'm getting there. Your dance rehearsals with 2PM will start as soon as you get out of the PV shooting, so make sure you're ready. The dance rehearsals with 2PM will last until eight, but don't even think of resting. It'll only depress you, since you aren't going to be getting more than a few hours of sleep. You boys are going to haul ass to get this job done, are we clear?" Lenalee said menacingly.

"..."

"I'll take that as a yes. You only have a week to learn two dances. When you aren't with 2PM you'll be with Komui and Reever. You still with me?"

"Che."

"Yep."

"Okay, so now is the finale. You may have noticed that all this only takes up nine days total out of your two months, and now you only have one PV left. That's a lot of empty space. This is why. Innocence – ah, that's right Allen doesn't know. That's the name of your group. Well, technically it's a duo, but I digress. The second PV will be the debut of Innocence as their own group. It will show in two months, which will be when Allen starts filming The Demon. Assuming he gets the role that is. You will get the role, won't you?" Lenalee threatened Allen who nodded his head vigorously.

"Hold on," Allen pondered, "How are we going to make our own PV if we don't have a C-...Oh no," Allen suddenly blanched.

"Oh yes," Lenalee cackled maniacally.

Kanda was left looking back and forth between the two. "What the hell are you guys talking about."

"Asked the demon standing in front of you," Allen said weakly, pale faced.

Kanda just raised an eyebrow at Lenalee, who said, "You need to make a CD."

"Okay?"

"Let me clarify," Allen suddenly pitched in, "She expects us to make an entire CD in less than a two months. That means thinking of a song, writing the lyrics, finding a melody, deciding on harmonies, who sings what, what notes what instruments should play, possibly learning a few instruments, recording, editing, and repeating all of that for each song. Which will probably be from ten to fifteen times. Not to mention actually publishing and making the CDs and putting them in stores. All of that usually takes, well, let's say way more than two months. And we have to do it in less than two while worrying about what the PV for it will be like? Forget it..." Allen finished. He looked at Lenalee and said, "But...I'm sure as hell going to try. We might be able to do it if we only do ten songs...and if we don't die of exhaustion."

Kanda was staring at Allen, and although he was a bit daunted by the overwhelming task of making their debut, he was more curious about one thing...

"How the hell do you know all this information?"

Allen looked at Kanda, and something strange happened. Kanda saw something unusually cold in Allen's usually smiling face. It was like iron shutters banged shut behind his eyes as he said, "That's none of your concern, Bakanda."

"...what...did you just say to me, fucking Moyashi?" Kanda growled quietly.

Dammit. Allen and his show biz complex! I'd better do something, Lenalee thought.

"Ahahaha, ha, Allen was just kidding, Kanda. He knows that because of...of...uh...oh! His guardian, Cross. Yeah, him! I found out from my brother that he's a big informant in the entertainment industry."

Kanda wasn't buying it just yet, but he dropped the issue.

Allen shook his head as if realizing what had just happened.

"Ah, I...I'm going to bed."

Then Allen walked upstairs without looking Kanda in the face.

"Well, ah...Kanda, could you make sure you guys wake up at 6 am?"

"Che, whatever. Anything else?"

"Yeah, your first CD will be called 'The Heart', and Reever is back with your soba."

Kanda's head snapped around to the door where Reever and Komui were stumbling in with a ton of groceries.

"Lenalee~~! I missed you~!" Komui squeed as he threw the bags away (which Kanda caught reflexively) in favor of glomping his sister.

"I guess you're helping me then. C'mon," Reever told Kanda as he dragged him to the small kitchen.

Once they were away, Lenalee said, "Brother?"

"Mmyeees, my sweet sister?" Komui said, still glomped over her shoulders.

"Your shirt is inside out, and you're wearing Reever's shoes."

"..."

"Heeey! Did you guys need any help ahahaha..haha. Ha..." Komui said as he wandered off in embarrassment.

"Oh boy..."

"Oi, if we're done here, I'm going to bed," Kanda told everyone as he started walking upstairs.

"Goodnight!" they all chimed.

Kanda waved without looking back and opened the door to find the moyashi passed out on the other bed.

Shit, I almost forgot he was staying here, Kanda thought as his heart skipped a beat – which he totally denied. Against his better judgment, he walked over to Allen's bedside and crouched down so Allen's face was only a little bit away from his. On an impulse, he tucked a bit of Allen's hair behind his ear.

It's soft, he thought simply.

"Che, you're only my partner," Kanda whispered, thinking out loud, "You're just some stupid Moyashi that I met a while ago. I don't know anything about you."

He leaned a bit closer to looked at Allen, from his soft white hair, to his long eyelashes, to his small straight nose, to his strange scar that accented his sculpted cheekbones, all the was to his small chin.

"Nothing...So why am I so interested?"

Kanda stared at Allen for a few more seconds, then got up and went to get ready for bed.

As soon as he got upstairs, Allen got changed, brushed his teeth, and promptly proceeded to viciously murder his pillow.

"Gah! Why did I have to snap at Kanda of all people! Stupid! You idiot! Aaaaaah," Allen roared, and was in the middle of trying to bite his pillow's head off when the door knob started to turn. He instantly moved the pillow under his head and tried to look as passed out as possible.

He heard the door open and close, then a small gap of silence.

It must be...Kanda? Allen wondered. What is he doing?

Then, to Allen's surprise, he heard footsteps walking towards him. It took a huge amount of effort to remain relaxed as he sensed Kanda get closer. His heart nearly leaped out of his chest when he felt a tender hand brush some hair behind his ear.

Kanda? No, who is it? Kanda wouldn't do this. Especially not to me, Allen thought bitterly.

"Che, you're only my partner."

Believe me I know...wait...Kanda! How...why...? Allen thought as Kanda continued.

"You're just some stupid Moyashi that I met a while ago. I don't know anything about you..." Kanda said as Allen felt him lean closer. His heart stopped when he heard Kanda whisper, "...Nothing...So why am I so interested?"

Eh? No...he...he can't mean it that way. No way...

Then he felt Kanda's presence get up and walk away. Leaving a very confused Allen behind.

In the morning, Kanda and Allen was no different from their usual selves. Kanda showered, kicked Allen awake, they bickered, and Allen went into the restroom to shower.

Kanda sat down on the bed and thought long and hard about why he'd acted the way he had been acting around the moyashi.

Allen splashed some water in his face, and looked at himself in the mirror. He then opened his mental filing cabinet with the big label of DENIAL, and looked real close at the contents.

They both went through a check list of behaviors typical for their suspicions.

Allen started his list:

Pounding heart?

Twisting gut?

Breath hitching?

Weird sensitivity to what they do?

You tense up around them?

You bicker all the time?

Once they went through their lists, both of them though one thing:

Shit.

[Scene end.]

T. B. C.

* A PV is a Promotional Video. In Korea and Japan, they are used as a sort of advertisement. A bit like a music video, but it's one song advertising a CD before it comes out.

Byul Well, that was a weird list on Kanda's part.
Hoshi But strangely it makes sense.
Byul Yeah actually xD
Hoshi And the bad news is that I skipped updating last week. The good news is, IT'S CHRISTMAS! This extra long chappie is your present, be happy! XD
Byul Merry Christmas!
Hoshi And to all a good night!

Thank you for everything everyone. We really love all of you! Merry Christmas! You can give us reviews for each chapter as our present! xD