Chapter 2

So pointed out that I apparently had a stroke and renamed Toma Mike...though I'm still convinced the subtitles did it! Or maybe I am watching too much anime and it's all blurring together? Anyway, I fixed it. Oopie.

Thanks for all the reviews and alerts - you guys seriously rock my world!

Disclaimer: I am not the owner of D. Gray Man!

Allen had just arrived back from a mission in Germany and was on his way to check in with Komui and hand over the innocence that he had acquired. Though there were the usual number of Akuma that had been plaguing the exorcist's every move, Allen had somehow escaped with just a few bumps and bruises. He figured that it was because there had been no level twos in sight this time. Maybe they had destroyed them all. His lips twitched at the thought, already knowing that the answer was no. The truth was a Finder had pretty much stumbled upon the strange phenomena taking place in the village and had immediately called in to headquarters. Allen was pretty sure the Earl simply had not had a chance to gather his forces en masse.

Allen sighed and tiredly rubbed his eyes. It was his second solo mission in as many weeks, and he was exhausted. The Millenium Earl and Noah Family had been hitting the evil deeds hard, and everyone was being kept busy. Luckily there hadn't been any fatalities in the order since Juan.

"Oi! Allen! Wait up!" The young exorcist stopped and turned towards Toma, who was walking quickly down the stone hallway with a white clad boy of around eighteen. They slowed their walk as they approached, and Allen could tell by the crinkling of his eyes that Toma was smiling.

"Good Morning, Toma!" Allen said with a tired but genuine smile. "You're not on a mission, huh?"

"No, no, I'm actually showing a new initiate around." He indicated the boy next to him, and Allen was surprised to see that he was almost a full foot taller than himself. He had rakishly messy dark brown hair that flopped forward, looking perpetually in danger of blocking two twinkling green eyes hidden behind thin wire framed spectacles. His skin was a dark olive color that hinted at a South American origin, and his smile was open and slightly crooked.

"This is Alex. I wanted to introduce him to you. Alex, this is Allen." Allen reached out his right still-gloved hand, smile brightening. He couldn't help it - this boy just looked so friendly, like it would be hard not to be happy around him. He had a firm handshake that wasn't over the top, and Allen found himself immediately liking the new Finder.

"Do you guys mind walking with me?" Allen asked. "I've got to make a delivery to Komui."

"Sure," Toma said. They turned back towards the science department, keeping alert for possible disturbances of the crazy robot variety. "Most new initiates have been told too many tall tales about how scary and cranky exorcists are. I thought it would do him good to be introduced to the friendly ones first."

Allen laughed and rubbed the back of his neck, glancing over to Toma. "Have you introduced him to Lenalee or Lavi yet? Though Lavi might be scarily friendly..." Allen mused, lip quirking at Toma's burst of laughter and Alex's questioning look as they turned the corner into a hallway and Komui's open office door came into sight.

"Yes, Lavi does tend to make an impression," Toma said, eyes still crinkling in amusement. Allen quickened his footsteps to pull slightly ahead of his companions so he could turn into Komui's office without a traffic jam. His head was turned so that he was looking at Toma over his shoulder as he took a right into the office, and he wasn't really paying attention to where he was walking. Allen's first clue that the way wasn't clear was the slight widening of Toma's eyes, and a warning noise from Alex. His next clue was less subtle when he ran straight into someone. The force of the collision had him bouncing backwards, eyes wide and barely catching sight of a coat that matched his as he futilely flailed his arms to regain balance. Allen closed his eyes as he realized he was going to fall, but a firm grip on his upper arms stopped his progression towards the floor, and he was yanked forwards against a firm chest. The air left his lungs in a whoosh, and as he struggled to replenish his oxygen, he caught a whiff of a floral scent. One that he recognized from countless missions, fights, and hauling each other around after injuries. Dazed, Allen opened his eyes, slowly craning his head up to meet those of the person he was currently squashed against. Dark orbs bored into him, and he stared back, transfixed and unable to move, a faint blush forming on his pale cheek bones. His hands were resting palm down on Kanda's upper chest, arms trapped between them. It had been weeks since he had spoken more than a polite, emotionless greeting to Kanda, disappointment sharp as he realized the other exorcist didn't seem to notice the change in their relationship. It had only reaffirmed Allen's decision to distance himself from the cold man, though right now he was having trouble remembering his reasons.
After long moments, Kanda spoke. "Idiot bean sprout. Watch where you're going."
Allen blinked, and then glared, his usual response of "It's Allen, jerk!" dying on his tongue as his senses came back to him. He inwardly cursed the blush on his cheeks that he couldn't hide.
Kanda's eyebrows raised as Allen's face went from annoyed to neutral as he took a shaky step backwards and bowed his head. "Sorry, Kanda. I was not watching where I was going."
Allen lifted his head, and was surprised to see annoyance flicker across Kanda's face before going cold. "Che," was his only response before stepping around Allen, pausing for a moment to look at Alex before walking briskly down the hallway. Allen watched him go for a moment, feeling numb, before he shuffled forward into Komui's office.
Reaching into an inner pocket of his jacket, he pulled out the innocence and handed it to Komui, pasting a smile on his face and trying to ignore the whispering of Toma and Alex outside in the doorway.
"Who was that?" Alex whispered.
"One of the scary ones," Toma said back.
There was a pause as Alex considered Toma's words. "Is Allen afraid of him?"
"No, Allen is angry with him."

Allen was woken the next morning by a knock at his door. He blinked and sat up, taking a moment to stretch before swinging his legs over the side of the bed to sit sleepily and rub a hand through his hair. "Just a moment," he said over a yawn, a glance out the window telling him it was about mid-morning, and that he had slept for a good five hours.

After his run in with Kanda he had been in a subdued mood. Not even Toma's company cheered him, and everyone else was out on a mission. Surprisingly it had been Alex who had cheered him up while he ate his usual fare. The boy was funny, and had a way of lighting up those around him that was rare in this world. Allen had appreciated his enthusiasm for life, and was able to shower and go to bed in a better mood than he would have managed on his own.

Allen stood and shuffled towards the door as he adjusted his pajama bottoms, grabbing a shirt off the back of his chair as he passed it and pulling it haphazardly over his head, probably causing his grey hair to stick up even more than it already was. He didn't want to chance that his visitor was Lenalee and answer the door with a bare chest. Not only would it be rude, but he would spend the day running from Komui's latest Komlin.

When he pulled open the door it was not Lenalee standing impatiently waiting for him. It was one of the last people he would expect. Dark eyes slowly moved down his torso then back up, a smirk forming on the lips of the pale Japanese man in front of him.

Allen's eyes widened. "K-Kanda? What are you -"

"We have a mission. Komui wants to see us in his office." Kanda's gaze flicked to his hair. "After you're ready, of course."

Allen glared. Was Kanda laughing at him? What did he expect, impeccable hair first thing in the morning? Okay, it was mid morning, but still! Before he could remember his mantra of nonchalance, he had barked out a terse "fine," and slammed the door in Kanda's face. He couldn't be positive, but he was pretty sure he had seen satisfaction cross the other man's face before the large piece of wood had clicked shut.

Taking a deep breath, Allen turned and leaned against the door, banging the back of his head gently against it. What was wrong with him that he couldn't seem to keep his emotions under wrap around the annoying Japanese man? Sure, he was a jerk, but Allen's mentor had been General Cross, after all. It's not like he wasn't used to jerks. He knew all about them, and was pretty good at ignoring their antics.

Shaking his head, Allen moved purposely towards his bathroom, resigned to skipping his morning regime. I'm sure I'll get plenty of exercise on our mission, he thought. I always do. He stomach flip flopped at the thought of a mission with Kanda. He knew it probably meant a long train ride in a small compartment, a shared room at an inn, and a lot of footwork as they searched for innocence. Maybe Kanda would pull his 'I work better alone' whiny crap and Allen wouldn't have to deal with him. The thought didn't make him as happy as it should have.

***
On the bright side, Toma was the finder assigned to travel with them. They were heading to a very, very small village outside of Germany. Komui, after much shuffling of paperwork and avoidance of work, had finally been forced to quit putting off the inevitable mountain of paperwork he had to deal with after giving them their orders by the business end of Mugen.

"Allen! Are you going to just let him point that at me?" Komui had screeched from behind the pile of papers he was using as a shield. Allen had simply shrugged and stared steadfastly at the wall behind Komui.

"Right." The head of the science department had straightened, an uncharacteristically serious face changing his features into someone you might actually expect to hold such an important job. "Is this going to be a problem?" Komui asked, gesturing between the two exorcists standing before him before steepling his fingers in front of them to give them a firm look.

Allen had straightened, cheeks going red at the rebuke. "Is what going to be a problem?"

Komui sighed as Kanda crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the floor. "This little tiff you seem to be in. If you can't effectively do your job while working together..."

"We'll be fine." Kanda snapped. "The bean sprout just has his girlie panties in a knot. We're both good exorcists, we can handle it."

Allen just stared at him, mouth opening and closing, torn between shock and pleasure that Kanda had called him a good exorcist, and outrage at every other word that had left the older man's lips.

"Allen? Do you agree?" Komui asked.

"Y-yes," he said, swinging around to face Komui. "We're not in a fight at all."

Komui had looked at him, obviously doubtful, before finally nodding and relaxing his stance. "Like I said, you'll be disembarking from the train at a small village called canyon's edge. That is not, however, where you will be spending most of your time. As you can guess from its name, the village is at the edge of a canyon - well, about a mile from the edge of a canyon - a very large one at that. During the summer they have a lot of tourist activity because of it. This year there have been reports of a strange scent emitting from the canyon, and some...phenomena."

Allen sighed. "What sort of phenomena?"

Komui shrugged. "Apparently people fall asleep if they breathe in too much of the scent."

"Fall asleep? That's it? What makes you think it's innocence and not some airborne particle or natural gas leak?" Kanda asked, the annoyance in his voice making it clear that he thought his time was being wasted.

"Because finders have checked for all of those things. And gas masks don't keep them safe - they all end up falling asleep if there is too much exposure. So far there have not been any Akuma reports, though I would expect them soon."

Allen nodded. "Yes, they never seem to be far away, do they?"

Komui had smiled, and sent them on their way with Toma. Half an hour later found the three of them sprinting towards the train on the tracks below them before making a wild leap off of the bridge to land on the top of the moving cars. Allen didn't understand why Komui had to drag the meetings out to the point where they were performing death defying acts just to catch the train.

After making their way into the train the three were shown to their cabin. Toma took up his customary spot outside the door with his deck of cards. Allen thought about staying with him and chatting, but Kanda's mocking look changed his mind, and face neutral he plopped down in his seat, promptly closing his eyes and pretending to attempt sleep.

A few minutes passed in silence until Kanda's voice jerked Allen's eyes open. "How are we supposed to get close to the innocence without falling asleep?"

Allen thought about it for a moment before shrugging. "I don't know...maybe Mugen's attack can push the tainted air back long enough for us to neutralize whatever it is that has caused the innocence to react this way."

Kanda frowned, and Allen noticed the lines the expression put between his eyebrows. "Yes, but the Finders couldn't detect anything in the air. I wonder if it's truly particles that can be pushed, or if they are impervious to physical attacks?"

"Whatever it is, we won't know until we get there," Allen said, pulling his eyes from the crease before he did something silly like reach across to smooth it out. Silence descended upon the small car and Allen allowed his eyes to close again. He was still tired from his last mission.

A small sound that could have been Kanda sighing woke Allen from a slight doze. "You're not actually still angry with me? You act like you've never been punched before." Kanda snapped. Allen stared at the handsome man scowling in front of him with his arms crossed over his chest in disbelief.

"You - you think that's why I'm angry? Kanda, you are an idiot." Allen said as his fists clenched at his sides and his cheeks flushed with color. How could he have ever convinced himself that he could feel only neutral towards this jerk?

Kanda straightened. "Don't call me an idiot."

"Than stop acting like one!" Allen said, standing up flinging the door open, making Toma look up in surprise. He slammed it behind him before Kanda could say anything else infuriating and stomped to sit in the next car over, finding an empty seat for the duration of the train ride, the words You are not my friend echoing in his head.