Kanda's POV

Pride. Something Kanda treasured above everything else.

He took pride in his swordsmanship, and he took pride in upholding his family's honour.

The only thing he'd left with in remembrance of that fact was Mugen; a precious family heirloom which was locked away safely, in an underground cellar, which protected it from the fire which burned down the entire house. Kanda had went and retrieved it the moment the surroundings was deemed safe enough to set foot on.

Mugen was the embodiment of the Kanda family's honour and pride.

It then also became the embodiment of Kanda's determination.

That was the reason why he'd left the quaint little town he's been living for almost 10 years, when Tiedoll had declared that he wanted to travel back to Japan for a change of pace and a change of scenery. Usually, Kanda would've complained relentlessly about the hassle of having to move, especially when now, when he had Allen tying him down here. Ever since he was adopted into the family, they've only moved about twice before settling down into this quaint little town in the more deserted areas of London. It was here which they've stayed for the longest time. Usually it was about one or two years. But Tiedoll had found the place so relaxing that it stimulated his muse easily, his creativity was easily awakened and had never run dry for a moment.

But it was completely different when the country 'Japan' was mentioned. Kanda's birthplace, and also, it provided the best opportunity to train and pick up more skills back in Japan, the root of samurai history, even though he couldn't stand being together with his overly-happy adopted family. So it was the perfect opportunity.

He'd wanted to be the best swordsman that his family could be proud of. But who was he to disappoint them? His family members are descendants of a noble samurai family. There was no way he would end up being someone who'd disappoint his family's honour, even though the way of the samurai was slowly dying out in modern Japan. It was even more important to him now, when his family had already passed on. His full devotion to training himself with the way of the sword had led him to be often ostracized by his peers.

Kanda was more interested in practicing with his shinai and his meditation sessions rather then hanging out with people. That made him extremely reclusive and it soon became a habit of his as he chose not to interact with other people, given all the bad treatment he's been graced with by his peers due to his non-existent social skills. But that didn't stop him from feeling a complete void in his heart.

Ever since Allen came into his life, Kanda had been much happier. Not that he would tell anyone, of course. But being with the shorter male, he was able to feel emotions that he's never felt before, albeit continually putting on a passive front.

He'd promised Allen, to stay with him, never leaving him alone ever again.

Kanda never breaks promises.

But he broke that promise.

He broke that promise to fulfill the one he'd made to himself when he was younger.

But was it really worth it?

Was it really worth risking Allen's feelings for this?

Was it?

It has been only a few months since they've been in Japan.

Kanda had taken it upon himself to train much harder, looking around at any good dojos he could participate in sparring sessions with.

But even though he could see his skills improving much faster then when he was travelling around, the raven-haired male still couldn't shake the feeling of unease.

He missed the damn moyashi.

He missed the damn moyashi way too much that his mind was constantly filled with thoughts of the younger male.

He yearned for his smile.

He yearned for his laugh.

Most of all, Kanda yearned for Allen's touch.

The feeling of the brown-haired boy's cold hands always felt to warm on his skin.

He had tried to banish all these redundant thoughts and focused on the more pressing matter at hand, finish his training. He was successful, however, it was only when he was focusing his mind on his opponent's attacks. During his meditation sessions, he wasn't able to clear his mind and a mental image of a certain beansprout would always unknowingly float back into his mind.

It was annoying.

Annoying as hell.

What is he doing now?

"I don't care."

Does he hate me?

"I don't care."

Will he forgive me?

"I don't care."

What is our relationship, exactly?

"I don't care."

What is he to me?

"I don't care."

What am I to him?

"I don't care."

Is he still waiting for me?

"I don't care."

Is he even waiting for me?

"I don't care."

Will we be able to see each other again?

"… I-"

The next few months, Kanda forced himself to exhaustion through purely physical trainings alone. It was the only effective method of trying to forget about Allen Walker, by forcing his mind into giving commands to his limbs to perform the precise movements.

Well, forget was a nearly impossible task and hence it was only a temporary respite from the brown-haired boy from dominating his train of thoughts. Meditation was clearly not an option, of course.

So once Kanda had exhausted his daily limit, he would collapse into his welcoming bed and dreams about those very same silver eyes which have enraptured him since the day when their eyes met briefly. Allen would probably have any memory of that moment even happening, but Kanda did.

He would never forget it.

Those silver eyes.

I'm sorry.

I never meant to leave.

Just let me finish this.

I swear to you, once this important promise of mine had been fulfilled, I'll return to you and fulfill my promise to you.

A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for following the story thus far. I hope you guys find it a pleasure to read instead of a complete eyesore.

I'd like to thank all of you who reviewed. It really means a lot to me when you guys give me your opinions, be it good or bad. But it's not like I'm forcing anyone at gunpoint to review so don't feel obligated to do so, really. I write because I love to write and I want to continuously improve myself through experience and all, so yeah. Reviews are helpful, not compulsory, just saying. (: