Ch6

______Get a Bus Schedule BEFORE Running Away________

"Hyaaa~! Allen-chan~! Wha're ya doin' 'ere?!" Lavi's only eye glinted mischievously, elevating the depression in the air. The boy shifted his legs, uncomfortably gazing away from the inquiring eye.

"Er… I… I already am better, so…Kanda let me go home," he lied, smiling nervously. Lavi's beam became sour.

"Ya mean, like, ya're all better now, ain't ya? The redhead crossed his arms and tilted his head. He started tapping his foot, creating a rhythm that, somehow, did not let Allen concentrate on is lie. Crap, knowledge was a fearful weapon, IF you know how to use it.

"Y-yes, t-that-t, r-right!" The boy closed his eyes and smiled, smiled to fool the fire head. Lavi grinned back, narrowing his eye.

"So, where a' ya goin' now? Home?" The boy stiffed, lost for an answer.

"I…I…I y-yeah, I'm going home…" Lavi closed his eye, nodding 'understandingly'.

"Oh, I see… An' how're ya gonna get there?"

"I.. But by bus, of course!"

"Hmmmm, I see," Lavi, smiled blindingly. "But buses start movin' at seven, Allen-chan. If ya want, I can bring ya home, ya now. Dere's nuthin' Lavi tha Great can't do!" He raised his hand Superman style, the other one on his hip. Allen giggled, amused by the older man's childishness.

"I will take your offer, Lavi-san, if I will not impose." Lavi grinned, resembling a huge, glib fox. He skipped toward the car, opening the door and inviting Allen with a servile gesture.

Metallica was yelling stylishly, while Lavi bobbed his head up and down, taken on a mad wave.

"I, I'm your life, I'm the one who takes you the~re!!" Lavi was banging his head now with an amazing force, squealing wildly, closing his eye, forcing the car to dance in a crazy vector, skipping lights and sometimes hitting mysterious creatures, from raccoons and cats to gold fish and the person who was carrying it.

Allen even saw a strange cloaked figure, resembling Death a bit. That is, before they ran it over. Another peculiar occurrence: there were no seat belts in his car. The tires screeched loudly, barely avoiding a street light.

"Yeeeesss, baby, I rock!!!" Lavi let go of the wheel and hit Allen in the shoulder, in euphoria-like state.

"Ain't this the coolest band EVA'? Yahhhh! Do my work, do my dirty work you scape-goat!! Yah!!! Sad but true!!!"

The tires screeched again, this time spinning the car 360 degrees, stopping in front of an expensive apartment complex. Allen stumbled out of the car, barely respiring.

Responding to Metalica's war cry, the nearby dogs howled, creating a cacophony of sounds.

"Here we ar' Allen-chan~!" Lavi's eye cringed playfully, while his hand not-so-playfully grabbed the boy by the arm. Allen stiffened. They were in front of Kanda's apartments. He backed away shaking his head and laughing oddly, his blood becoming as cold as wet feet in a warm bed. Lavi was pulling him toward the building with both hands, while the boy propped both his legs into the ground.

"This, this is not my home, Lavi-san! This is Kan-" He stopped, feeling a bloodthirsty glare. The wind picked up a black hair strand, tossing it jokingly.

"I brought 'im back, Yuu." Lavi let the boy go making him fall on his skinny back. Above Allen, like an embodiment of ice, hatred, and Lucifer's beauty, stood Kanda, eyeing him coldly.

Crap.

"Yuu, I think ya shouldn't scold him. He's already scared outa 'is wits." Kanda tcheed, turning away, his hair slapping his lower back.

"Don't just sit there, dolt. Lavi, be a friend, kick him awake!" The 'friend' laughed loudly, revealing his teeth. He grabbed Allen by the good arm, forcing him to get up and walk. The next minute they were in the elevator, blinking at the bright lights.

The machine hummed sluggishly, carrying the people and a dampening silence. Kanda was standing right in front of the doors. He was dressed in a white bathrobe, his hair falling free on the back. He really looked like a woman from behind, a tall beautiful woman. No kidding, maybe this is why he won his cases easily. Lavi was standing behind him, his eyes closed and hands in pockets. These two were so different. Too different. He suddenly realized that he knows nothing about these men. Apart from what Cross has told him.

"Yuu-chan~ don't be so mad, jus' say sumthin'!!!" The silence fell down; Kanda stiffed.

"Don't call me that, idiot." The elevator's doors opened, and the group proceeded in the hallway. A few seconds and they were in the apartment now, the cold left outside, like a stray dog.

"Take off your shoes, rabbit, and you too, damn brat." The named people obeyed; Lavi jumping out of expensive addidas sneakers, frequently advertised on TV, and Allen shyly pushing aside a worn out pair of same brand, but at least ten years older.

Lavi closed his eyes, inhaling the air. He was a fox right now; why did Kanda call him Rabbit?

"Yuu-chan~! It smells so good!! Are ya bakin' sumthin'?" Kanda smacked him in the back of his head, pushing him aside. He then curtly pointed to the kitchen.

"In the oven. Stuff your face and shut up." Lavi grinned, the bribe worked. He raised two thumbs up.

"Yeah Baby! Yuu-chan's pies are the best! Thank ya, Yuu-cha- no wait, Okaa-san!!" The next second he was picking up his bones, clasping his eye.

"You. Come with me." Kanda shortly said, his back still facing the brat. This was bad. The shoulder blades of this man were ominously moving, obeying the movement of the arms, long and slender. Kanda tied his hair at the base of the neck. He did not look like a woman anymore, his back wide and imposing. Allen gulped when they entered the living room.

"Undress."

Wha… Allen resembled a fish right now, opening and closing his mouth in search of an answer. His eyes bulged out. Now he really was a fish. Kanda advanced toward the door, leaving the boy behind. He returned in a few seconds carrying a huge bag.

"Are you deaf? I said: Undress."

"S-sir, I don't feel comf-"

"I don't care what you feel. No tramp is entering my house." He nodded toward the bathroom.

"I want you in the tub in ten seconds, or else… Ten, one." He clasped the boy by the neck, pushing him inside the cool dark room.

"Where are the other seconds?? Didn't you tell you'll count till ten!?"

"I lied." Kanda ripped the shirt off the boy, flinching at the smell.

"WHAT?" Allen already was in his briefs, staring at the man that towered over him.

"God, you are Famine materialized." With these words he exited, leaving Allen in the company of the sparkling tub, full of hot water and pink spume.

____

"Yuu-chan… I brought him." Lavi looked like a huge rodent now, his cheeks puffed with stuffed food. He casually pointed at a small youth who entered the apartment without the knowledge of its master.

"Hullo, Kanda-san! I'm Johnny, Johnny Gill, sir." The creature was small, wearing headphones and glasses. A typical geek. A beat up laptop was under one of his arms, while the other one was adjusting the glasses. He smiled sheepishly, revealing a row of teeth that came in different sizes, colors, and styles. A strand of snot was slowly running down, slightly touching his lip. He inhaled it back, making Kana cringe with disgust.

"He's one of tha BEST" Lavi munched his third pie, pointing at the small repulsing creature. Tch. Another weirdo.

"He better be, or you're dead, rabbit." He turned toward Johnny. "I want you to find me every little detail about Cross Marian and Allen Walker, from their political views to their sexual orientation. I'll pay you as much as you want. I want the results ASAP."He paced to the door, leaving the strange pair behind when a sentence caught his attention.

"Well, what do ya think?" Lavi pointed at a char and made another cup of tea. Johnny smiled again, this time openly admiring.

"Yah, the rumors seem to be true, Bookman san!" He turned on the laptop, smirking. "There is no mistake about it."

"Hehe, ain't it so?" Lavi grinned gaily, grabbing another pie and ripping it in two. "Too bad 'e doesn't swing that way, ya know," The teeth sunk into the pie, crumbles of dough and meat falling on the white table cloth. "Yuu-chan's sensible about it so don't mention it, jus' drool quietly!"

"Mention what?" Lavi stopped munching; the pie's remained fell on the table cloth, escaping the fire-head's mouth. Johnny yelped like a woman who just was caught with adultery. Kanda eyed them with a dark and dangerous curiosity.

"Mention what?" He repeated, crossing his arms.

"Ha…haha…Hehee, Yuu-chan~ You-were-listening-damn-we're-dead!" Jonny laughed desperately, poking at his watch, "Hehe… look at the time…" He was gone then, in a blink of a second. Kanda twitched, grabbing the rabbit by the throat.

"What were you talking about?"

"I will neva, neva say! Kill me, fry me, ya will not hear not a word! Not a word!" Kanda sneered. Tch, damn rabbit. He smirked then, thinking of a devious plan that made the Saints weep. Uh oh.

Kanda's hand flashed and in an instant it was on the red-head's abdomen, the other one clasping the neck. Lavi's Idiot Sense was flashing: alarm, ALARM!!! Alarm, dammit!

The next second the man was wriggling on the floor, like a worm that was just cut in half by a shovel.

"Hahahaha…Ghahahaha! Kan-kanda stopit! Stoppit, dammit, or I'll piss my pants!!Ghahaha!!!" Kanda stooped the tickling, letting Lavi regain his dignity.

"Well?"

"Gah, ok, ok, I'll tell ya, jus' let me catch my breath…" He got up, wiping the laugh tears. Kanda sighed straightening, and was very, verrry sorry he let go. A wild red tornado was in the doorframe now, the next second the car yelled Metallica again, and the hounds responded.

He was gone.

Tch.

___

Huh, he fell asleep in the tub. Gahh, it's so hot…Allen shifted in the tub, discovering it was long, too long to reach the other end with his toes. The water was gray now, gray with suds and stuff he did not want to know was there. His arm was red, a hideous lump of meat that floated like a piece of crap. Allen averted his eyes, his disposition making a bungee jump. He still did not feel it, and deep in is mind he did not want to feel it. He did not want to acknowledge it; that thing was not a part of him. His calmness bolted quickly when he saw the knob turning quietly, letting Kanda in.

"Ka-ka-ka-" Allen sat up brusquely, rearranging his bubbles.

"I came to wash you, brat. There is not much you can do with one hand. Be grateful and shut up."

And Allen followed the advice.

___

A half of hour later, he was dry, clean and even combed. He looked outside the French window, gaping at his reflection. He never knew he could be this pale, and good smelling. He lifted his arms watching is new pajamas move with him. They were white, they had blue lines, and they were the greatest asset possible.

"Oi, brat, stop admiring your monkey face and come here." Kanda was in the kitchen, cleaning after the two bastards. Tch, how could people be so negligent when it came to eating? Hn, he won't invite Lavi here, never again.

Allen shyly poked his head through the crack of the door.

"Ka-kanda san, did you call me?" Kanda murmured something, suspiciously sounding like blasphemes. He was making tea, the one in the sparkly gray box. A bergamot scent filled the air and struck Allen like a hammer. This was it. The strange, bitter oriental scent that hit his nostrils when he cried on Kanda.

"What are you staring at, dolt?" Allen snapped out of his memories, lifting his eyes and gazing at the beautiful creature in front of him.

"…nothing, really." He entered the kitchen feeling very out of place. Kanda sat on one of the tall chairs, putting a cub of sugar into the fragile cup. His back faced Allen again, broad yet willowy.

"I won't repeat it again, brat. Consider yourself a prisoner, until I let you leave. If you do what you did today, wave good bye to your second arm." He sipped his tea, his eyes half lidded,calmly looking out the window. It was seven AM now, and he had to leave for work.

"Understood?" Allen stiffened, barely hiding his happiness. He could stay. He could stay even if he didn't want to. But he wanted to.

"Yes, sir! I Understand!" Kanda turned around, watching him rather surprised.

"Good." He then pointed at a chair, silently commanding the brat to use it. Allen sat quietly, holding his breath. He could stay! It was like magic. Kanda pushed a cup of tea, fragile and slightly pink, like an egg shell. Everything about this person was so high class… Allen glanced sideways at the man's profile. He was very handsome. It was a wonder he was not married yet, with a few kids behind.

"Kanda san, can I ask a question?" He gingerly broke the pregnant silence. Kanda had his eyes closed, inhaling the aroma of tea.

"Shoot." Allen squirmed uncomfortably.

"A-are you…Well, umm-"

"I am what?" Kanda was watching him now, with those frightening eyes of his. Allen gulped.

"A-a-are you married?" Kanda raised an eyebrow.

"Do you see a woman in this house?" Allen almost said yes and pointed toward Kanda, but a strangely logical thought crossed his mind and he shut up.

"I-I meant, a-are you dating anyone?" Phew, this was better. Or not. He backed away, almost crushing the eggshell in his hands. Kanda was squinting at him, his lips parted with a snarl.

"Did that idiot Lavi make you ask this?"

"N-nononono!!" He desperately waived his hands in front of him. "I-i-I was just curious! I'm sorry!" Kanda eyed him quizzically. "He really didn't ask me. He really did not!!" Kanda softened, looking away.

"I am not dating anyone, kid," he smiled sadly and sipped another mouthful of coffee." I haven't met anyone who was right, you know," Allen stared incredulously.

"That is a lie! It's impossible that women don't cling to you!" He reddened then, shamed of his loudness, and possibly because of his words. Kanda barked out laughter.

"You are stupid, kid. Just because women cling, doesn't mean I will take them. They expect something else, going solely by my looks." He let the cup down, standing up and stretching.

"I have to go to work now." Allen jumped off his chair, readily looking into the face of the man. Kanda glaced down, startled by his readyness.

"You stay here. Don't dare leav-"

"I won't, I promise!" Allen yelled, clutching his chest. Kanda eyed him with suspicion. "I..I wanted to thank you, Kanda-san for everything you did for me!" His voice broke. "I..I know I don't deserve it, because of the intentions I came here with! I..I would like to than-"

"Shut up. I don't need that crap. Tch. You are just a thirteen year old brat with no sense of direction. Brats like you are not grateful. So just shut up and act like it."

"But I am grateful, " the kid replied with a frown. "And I want you to know that I am grateful!"

"Then show me that gratitude, brat." Allen stiffed. A few horrible memories with the word gratitude incorporated played in front of his eyes.

"H-how?"

"Through your life, of course. How else could you do it?" Kanda was amazed at the brat's stupidity.

"T-through my l-life?" Allen sighed relieved. Then he frowned. Again. "How?"

Tch. This dolt was even more idiotic than he appeared.

"Do you have goals? Dreams? Ambitions? Realize one of them, at least, and I'll accept your gratitude."

A piece of silence fell, unstuck from the ceiling. It always wanted to enter, but there just was no space in the dialogue. Allen poked his lip. He spoke shyly, afraid to amaze the man with his hard achievable dreams.

"I always wanted to go to school. Then I wanted to graduate from a community college. Then…Then, I don't know." Kanda snorted.

"That's it? Are you serious?" Allen turned at him like a furious cat, indignantly.

"That's it? What do you mean, that's it? I'll be lucky if I get to school, never mind the college! Just because you can afford it doesn't mean I can!" Allen shouted with hatred. "This is my dream, don't trample it!" Kanda snorted, mockingly raising one brow.

"You really are petty. But at least you have guts. And nothing else." Gahhh, this man was impossible!!! The boy exasperatedly sighed in that I-want-nothing-to-do-with-you style. Kanda smirked.

'Tell you what, damn brat. When I return, you will proclaim your dream, the real one. Now, think not what YOU can AFFORD, but what you could BE if you WANTED. Anything, even the president. This is your homework for the day." With each boldfaced word Kanda hit the table, the sugar bowl moving dangerously to one side.

Allen shifted his legs. Something was going on, and he had not the slightest clue what.

"O-Ok, Kanda-san," He murmured, clasping his arms behind the back. "But when will you be back? And what am I supposed to do the whole day, besides thinking?" Allen reddened when he caught Kanda's eye that were penetrating him as if he just said an inappropriate joke.

"Do what you want. And for ideas, check out the bag." He pointed toward the huge hill of bags from the mall.

"Huh?"

A click of a door, and Kanda was gone.

------

Huh, 3000 words. One of the longest eva. By the way, I totally love Metallica. And Bon Jovi.

The song Lavi was singing is "Sad but True" By Metallica.

I laughed like crazy imagining Lavi behind the wheel. He would be a disaster. Hehehe. Sorry y'all Johnny fans. This is how Kanda sees him, not me. And Kanda sees everything at least two times worse than it is. Believe me, please.