Ch 5

_________There are Germs on the Antibacterial Soap________________

Allen carefully tiptoed to the door, poking his head outside, his hair resembling a huge, white hedgehog. It was Monday morning, if 4:00 AM could be called morning. The boy still felt the tiredness of the other day in his bones, laying low and waiting to be soothed. He shuddered slightly, the temperature in the room quite low.

Kanda was probably asleep, seeing his thirteenth dream, so he should be fine. That man slept heavily, like a bear on pills. Hehe… This was going to be good.

The bathroom was dark, cool and restful. Allen carefully came inside, shutting the door with a cringe, as if the quiet sliding sound could wake up the Cerberus. (Aka Kanda.) He then delicately jigged toward the tub, slightly resembling a sparrow, and put a huge bath towel in the ring. That thing more resembled a furry skin of some cotton animal, not a towel.

The water was running down, sliding in boiling circles and going down the drain. The boy pouted, looking for the cork. Everything in this bathroom was organized, clean, and sanitary, as if the inhabitant was a well bred lady. The deep blue walls with black veins enforced the feeling of the ocean's bottom. Allen leaped toward the small black cabinets, opening them one by one, careful not to make loud sounds.

Whoa, Kanda even had candles and salts, and even some peculiar looking herb to put into the tub… Huh, he must be rich, since a good half of the products was order-made. Yup, even candles. The boy snickered, imagining Kanda in the tub with the candles around him, with some sweet music, and..

Here it is! The cork. Allen almost jumped up gleefully when a deafening sound shattered his tympanic membranes. One of the expensive looking bottles with some sort of hair-length solution inside was artistically arranged on the floor, spreading into a huge, pearly white, sticky puddle.

Allen felt a horror that penetrated his bones to the very marrow. All the sound-sources were suddenly connected to a huge amplifier that made his heartbeat sound like a drunken Metallica. He mentally shut everything up, trying to convince everyone who was available that that will not wake up Kanda. "Pleasepleasepleasepleasedon'twakeupdon'tdon'tdon't…"

Silence.

Allen opened one eye, still not believing his luck.

Same old silence was present.

The boy sighed, relieved. He closed his eyes and slid down the wall, feeling its cool and calming touch on his bony back.

"Thank you, God.."

The cork was inserted in the opening it belonged to while the boy rapidly jerked his fingers back. The water was hot, so very transparent and wonderful. Nothing was better than a bath. He hasn't had one in a long time, and judging by the grayish color of his skin, he really, no, desperately needed one.

He took the biggest bottle with aromatic salts and dumped it in the water, almost dropping the huge glass jar. The bubbles went second, filling the tub with foam that started dripping on the floor. Allen threw his clothes on the floor and approached the HUGE foaming monster. The spume was up to his chest now. The boy felt giddy inside, a tickling sensation spreading over his skin.

He raised his hands, joining them above his head, now resembling an extremely skinny and pallid frog. He somewhat bent his knees, rocking back and forth, to gain speed and velocity for the swim. A huge leap and-

"What the hell is that, brat?" A rapid swirl of black and white vamoosed past Allen and turned off the water. Allen was spread on the floor like hardened butter, forcefully and insistently trampled by Kanda's feet.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, DOLT????!!! You put too much bubble solution in!!!"

The tub started vomiting foam, in a few seconds both people and a chair were in it by waist. Allen quietly thanked God for the lather was hiding his organs, not internal ones. Kanda was swearing lusciously trying to keep his hands out of his eyes, which was almost impossible because the damp bangs were entering his peepers like invited guests, guests with spears, daggers, and a damn bazooka.

In this white hell, the phone rang.

"Who in the whole damn world is calling NOW, in this damn second?!?"

Kanda was red and frightening and a small lump of foam was stuck to the tip of his nose. Allen almost barfed the laughter out, his skinny body frantically trying to suppress the greater force. He covered his mouth with both hands, as if he were underwater with no oxygen nearby.

"You! What are you laughing at?"

Kanda was twice as tall now, his eyes squinted dangerously. He slowly squeezed the handle of the faucet, until the said item broke off, letting a fountain of cold water out. In a blink of a second, the walls, the ceiling and the people inside were swallowed by an avalanche of cold water, plus foam, plus salts, and plus the foam in other bottles. Allen slipped on a bar of soap, and was down, swallowing lather and shampoo. The water easily covered his ankles, while the foam was still growing, encouraged by the second fountain Kanda created to shut up the first one.

The phone still rang, annoyed and furious.

"GET THE HELL OUT, BRAT, AND CALL THE PLUMBER!!" Kanda picked the kid up, throwing him into the door, mentally opening it. But his mentality wasn't very convincing for the door was still closed when Allen touched it with his skull. The boy got up, dizzy and rapidly getting mad. He covered his pride with a wet rag.

"I DON'T KNOW HIS PHONE!!!" He jumped up, startled when a strange white explosion covered the room up to the ceiling in foam and now wrinkled rose petals. The boy was outside now, watching with a mix of horror and amusement at the milky hugeness. A few seconds later, Kanda was spat out, panting and white as if he suddenly grew old. He jumped toward the bathroom then, slamming the door with the trembling white mass inside.

"Crap. This is bad. It's just 4:30 in the morning." Tch. He jumped to the phone which was now breathless.

"Jiji, are you there? COME, QUICKLY, THIS IS APPARTMENT ****, FOURTEENTH FLOOR! Now!" He slammed the phone down then, letting himself fall on the sofa.

Allen watched the man curiously. He had never seen Kanda like this, shaking, wet and covering his eyes with a lathered palm. He suddenly realized whose fault it was. At the same moment he self-consciously clutched the towel around himself tighter, shamed of his nakedness.

"K-Kanda – san, I'm really sorry!.... about all this… I apologize!" He stood there, bent and shaking. Kanda tiredly got up and turned on the heater. He then faced the boy, speaking in a weary voice.

"What were you trying to do, anyway?" The boy quietly followed him via sight, as the man approached the closet, digging his hand shoulder deep in it.

"I..I wanted to take a bath." Not even turning toward him, the man replied in the same drained voice:

"At four in the morning?" He paced to the boy and kneeled himself to meet his gaze. Allen cringed inside, closing his eyes, expecting a smack, hit, kick, and other etceteras. The only touch he got was a heavy, warm palm on his cheek that wiped the foam away. Another huge black cotton towel was laying on top of his head. He opened his eyes and immediately tried to back away. Kanda was closely watching him, directly into the gray irises. Only then, Allen saw fine lines under the man's eyes. He was at least twenty five. Fine hair was covering his jaws, making him look so much older. Kanda shook his head softly, moving the bangs. His hair was long, really long. It whipped his butt when he was running.

"Your scar is healing, kid. It became just a white thick line. I think the plastic operation will surely cover everything." He rose, patting his head. A yawn made it all clear. The man was tired, tired and sleepy.

"Go to bed, kid. I will be up in an hour, so get all the sleep you can." He walked away, sighing and murmuring. His bedroom lit just for a second, and then it was all black, like before the Word appeared.

Allen felt ants on his legs. They climbed higher and higher, biting the flesh. He withdrew into a corner of the sofa. The towel hugged his skeletal frame, feeling the strange shuddering of the body. The soap flakes fell into his eyes, opening wells. Or maybe the tears came out by themselves, filling his chest with a painful heat.

This man…was so stupid. He believed him. He believed everything. Why, why did he trust him? He bit his lip, trying to muffle the weeps. He couldn't do it. He was not good after all. He even could not do his mission properly. Allen let his nails dug into the cheeks.

Cross has told him that many times. Throw your heart away. Fool if you can, pretend to be fooled if you can't. This was the right way. But… it was not. It was not correct. Maybe it was right, but it definitely was not correct. In his screwed up world, lying and cheating were right. He wouldn't have survived then. The correctness was not there though. This kind of dirty, fucked up world shouldn't exist. He gritted his teeth, his nails drawing blood. This man, this…creature was pure. The boy felt a jolt in his very soul. He could do it. It was simple.

He got up, letting the towel fall. In a few seconds, he was in the kitchen, grabbing his clothes from the small plastic bag near the garbage bin. Kanda did buy him clothes, but he didn't take them. Thank god Kanda hasn't thrown the garbage out yet.

He dressed hastily, a few times mistaking a sleeve for the neck hole. The old jeans were on him now, supported by a piece of yellow wire. He frowned. It smelt horrible, just like the leftov-

He shuddered. He has gotten used to this life. His soul was squeezed by an invisible hand when he remembered the days in the gutter. He was proud then, proud that he could cheat so easily. That pride was crushed a few days later when he found out that the old man he won in cards over hanged himself.

He cried that night, and Cross called him a sissy.

One dollar seventy five cents. This will take him to the outskirts of the city, that is, IF the buss comes. He trod softly to the front door.

A click and he was gone.

___

The streets were mute. A stray wind couldn't find a goal in his existence, so he just playfully hit Allen's face, considering it a funny joke. When the boy wiped his eyes, the wind laughed and threw sand at him. The leaves joined too, creating a strange zombie dance. Allen crossed the bridge, stopping just for a second to catch his breath. The buses were asleep, like huge white caterpillars that swallowed people.

A full moon came out, spiting her image in the lake. The lake drowned it, letting the reflection float aimlessly around, like a putrid corpse.

Allen shuddered and pulled the coat tighter on his body. The Autumn was in the air, she just didn't know that.

The cars were a rare sight now, but this one stood out even in the car crowds. It was small and impossible red. In a few seconds, it stopped, spitting out another impossible red-haired dude.

"Hiaa~ Allen-chan~!!! Wha're ya doin' 'ere?"

____

Huh, my computer died so I couldn't update. Sorry guys!

Thank you for so many reviews and subscribers, I am really happy to get them!

What characters from DGM do you want me to insert in this fanfic? I really need your advice!

Just an example: Lavi= journalist. (This is jst an example, I still did not decide who Lavi is... apart from being annoying.)