This update is abmormally quick compared to my usual.

As before, this is set in childhood - you can view it as happening some time after the previous scene or as a totally seperated entity. Done for 50 scenes.

Disclaimer: D.Gray-Man is Hoshino's.

Bodies

#002: Burn

This year she was to be eleven, and he was to turn twelve.

They were still children. They still had a long way to go.

The afternoon sun blazed high in the sky. Lenalee watched from the grass as Kanda packed his belongings away studiously ignoring her. Mugen, the sword that was almost too big for him never left his grip. His hair was down and strands clung onto his sweaty face making him look even more feminine than he usually does. She had never seen anyone practice so hard. She opened her mouth to speak to him but try as she might, she could never quite catch his attention. Or rather, no matter how far she craned her head around he always managed to deliberately present her his back.

Miffed, she accused him, "You are so cold."

A beat later he rebutted this with an eloquent grunt.

She puffed up half triumphant, half annoyed. "See – I told you so. You just don't talk. You are so rude sometimes." She got onto her knees and made to move forward only to halt again after Kanda turned around and glared ferociously. She did not back down. She was not afraid of those glares anymore and just gave him a levelling stare in return.

Finally, he just crossed his arms over his chest, and plopped down on the grass – a considerable distance away from her. He wrapped his arms around his legs folded them into his chest. Closed from her. "Tch. How annoying. The old man says you are getting – attached – to me. I can't let that happen. I don't want any bonds. Don't need them. So… just leave me the hell alone."

Mouth open and about to interrupt his speech, it fell closed and she dropped back down onto the grass hiding her face behind gripped shoulders.

He waited for that outburst that would inevitably come. Because she was, at times, a very demanding brat. Always bothering him. Talking to him. Looking for him. His days were far from peaceful.

He shifted uncomfortable after no reply came from her after a stilted silence. He found her silence unnerving after tolerating for days, her doll-like stare, then weeks being unable to avoid her despite his efforts, and then after that, months of replying to her inquisitions with curt words and mumblings of disinterest.

Oh, no. He did not make her cry again did he?

He turned rigidly and his hands and knees moved forward slowly, painfully and awkwardly to peer over at her. His eyebrows were knitted together so hard that he felt that any longer and the stitches that held his face together would unravel. He was not worried. He saw that her hands were picking at the grass.

Then suddenly he found the wind knocked out of him a blur colliding into him. She had thrown herself at him, her head knocking into his chin painfully.

He landed on his bottom, "Urg!"

Lenalee had grasped tightly onto his waist. She had seemed to come to a resolution during that time as she shouted at him. "I'm not leaving you alone! You – you…" her voice drifted off and she said the last one in a hushed, blurred whisper, "Idiot!"

"You are mad." He told her trying desperately to pry her hands off. This was terribly embarrassing.

She hugged tighter, "I won't let go of you. Ever. Because we'll be friends forever, right?"

"…" He stopped resisting, his hands still on her wrists.

"Will you at least say something nice for this moment?"

Letting out a rough sigh he gave up – there was no winning against annoying people – and fell on back onto the grass ignoring the little squeak of pain Lenalee let out as her hands became trapped between his back and the ground. "Che. To you? No way."

This was all he said but his actions were more truthful than any words from him could ever be.

She rolled off him and lay next to him making sure their bodies touched. She closed her eyes and felt the sunlight tingling at her eyelids. "Kanda," she told him, "I take it back. You're not cold. You're not warm either." She remembered how he looked practicing with Mugen, "You're burning, but you don't burn like the hot fire which hurts. You burn deep down where no one can reach." She paused to consider her words, "Make that deep, deep down."

He scoffed disgruntled by her idiotic musings. "Hmph. Just shut up."

A/N: Well this one did not turn out the way I had intended it too and I don't like it as much as the first but it's considered done and so I'll post it up. It will probably be a while before the next scene will be written up for those who are interested as I have a stackload of tests in the next few weeks, and after that if I have time, I want to try and write something for Red Threads (Naruto).

Any comments, critiques etc.?

07/09