Ch 10

________There are monster bunnies under the bed_____________________

"School? I am going to school?" Allen whispered. He stared wide eyed, like he just saw a ghost dancing rumba.

"Tch, brat, I don't like to repeat myself!" Kanda carefully spilled the tea into the sink. It tasted badly. Plus it was lukewarm. So disgusting. Behind his back, he felt the kid tense and grip the cup tighter. Huh. He isn't going to cry, is he? How bothersome. Hn, he was smiling. Kanda crossed his eye, trying to stare into the back of his head. Those sounds were either sobs or giggling.

"Oi. Kid. Stop being so damn happy. It's just a school. You'll hate it in a few days, you know. There is no sane person in the whole freaking universe who would love school." Allen skipped through the room; the single idea of his oldest dream coming true was too much. His soul was squeezed now like a lemon. Happiness was jumping out, ignoring the flesh.

"When?" Tch. What kind of a question was that? Kanda sighed and closed his eyes, massaging the temples.

"Next Monday. In ten days." Allen stiffed. His dead arm was hanging like a dead snake. The second fell in his lap.

"Kanda-san, what grade am I going into?"

"Seventh." Allen slumped. His usable hand was in his face now, clenching the forehead. "What's wrong? I thought you wanted to go to schoo-"

"I can't read." The silence fell easily, like a single hair that was still miraculously growing on a bald head. Kanda stupidly stared. Allen lowered his eyes, biting his lip. "I told you before. I can only read the writing Mana taught me. And the word 'anatomy.' Nothing else, this is all I can do." Kanda's voice was hoarse when he spoke.

"And math?" Allen simply stared. "Do you know numbers?" Now his face darkened. The eyes narrowed, slightly closing. He did not want to talk about it.

"Yes, I do know numbers. Cross made me earn money to pay his debts. I even had to pay his mortgage; I only discovered it was a mortgage for a slut house when Anita-san told me. I couldn't read the document." He slouched, chin in his chest. "I hate numbers." He did want to talk about it.

Kanda gripped his head. Life was laughing hysterically, pointing at him.

WHAT IN THE HELL IS HE GOING TO DOOOOO???????!!!!!!!

________

The boy shyly entered the blue room. It was his room now. He felt food turning poisonous inside. It was slimy, getting in his throat. Kanda disappeared. The bed scornfully creaked, letting the boy on top of it. He squinted, keeping the water inside.

Where did Kanda go? Will he come back? But of course he will, it was his house. He was going to come back. He definitely will. Kanda will come home. The they will clean the house, insisting under the beds. There were creatures under the bed. There were socks too. Usually dirty ones. He had no idea how they got there, but the socks always were easy to find, if he looked under the bed. When is Kanda going to come home? A sleep wave took him surfing.

The boy bit the pillow. It wasn't delicious. In fact, it was bitter. It tasted metallic. The boy lifted his face. A trail of blood was uniting the tainted surface and his lip. Um, when exactly did he bite it? He wiped the flesh. The clock hit eight times. It was eight already? But…

Allen jumped up. It was five in the morning when he spoke to Kanda. Now was clearly a cold November evening. Allen leaped to the window. It was his favorite spot, a huge glass sheet, uniting the ceiling and the floor into an invisible embrace. Many times, the ordeal of sleeplessness was chasing him here; he stared on the microscopical creatures that defiantly called themselves humans. The city was as depraved of sleep as the boy was, and they stared one at the other all night long. The city was sometimes sticking its red tongue out, in a mocking attempt of pissing him off. Then the red train left, taking the noise with it, like a corpse full of larvae, accompanied by flies.

Huh. It was too high to see if Kanda was coming back. Maybe he will not. Maybe he just lied. He slowly rose, taking the Anatomy book in his lap. It was white, with dark margins, severe and curt. Just like Kanda's face. He gripped it to his chest. It was cold. But Kanda wasn't cold, he was very warm, especially his hands. Allen gripped the book tighter, the hard cover hitting his teeth. It was cold, so what? He will warm it. One of the book's margins nudged him into the stomach, painfully digging into it.

"I won't let you go! Even Lavi said so. I will never…" The front door banged, shutting. Allen snapped, throwing the book away and running toward the door. It was dark in the hall. He could just see dark figure leaning unto the wall. It had to be Kanda.

Kanda was leaning on the door way, panting. The damn bastard, that damn lift died. Thirteen floors! Thirteen, no, it was fourteen. Yet it was thirteen… Stupid people. He slid down, catching his breath. Damn shops, they close on holidays. Why the hell? He almost yelled when next to him a sudden white figure plopped down.

"W-what the hell… Oh, it's you…" Kanda smiled in the dark. It was ok, nobody could see him anyway. Allen slowly touched his arm. He was on the floor, next to the sitting man.

"Where did you go?" His voice was broken. Kanda stiffed. He suddenly sensed that something terrible happened, and he had no idea what.

"In the book store. Those fu-" he shut up, reddening. A brat wasn't supposed to hear such language. "There were no textbooks, so I had to go downtown." The boy pulled away. Textbooks, huh. His stomach was tingly. It was much simpler than he could ever guess. How could he think Kanda was a liar? He turned on the light, noticing that Kanda's face was damp. He ran all the way up? The boy felt guilty. He stared at his feet, counting the toes. Kanda's gut feeling was crying out. Something happened.

"What happened?" Allen abandoned his toes, frowning.

"N-nothing, Kanda-san. I just woke up, I'm drowsy." Kanda frowned. Something was stinking. Not literally.

"You're not drowsy. You're lying." Allen froze. Busted. His room was nearby, he will surel make it before Kanda starts raging. Grown up men were scary n their fury. Kanda was no exception.
"Stop." A cold voice slapped his ears like a whip. He obeyed. It couldn't get worse than this. Kanda slowly approached, setting the bags aside. The silence was screaming shrilly. He could hear it.

"Never run away, kid. If you're afraid, face it. You have nothing to lose. Only yourself." He was behind him now. "Come. I will teach you how to read. And you are going to do a damn good job at it, got it?"

________

"M, this one is M." It was midnight now, Kanda sleepily thought. They both were in the brat's room. It was a good room. There was enough light, and it wasn't cold. Allen was catching fast. He was reading now, slowly, wondering what crazy person invented spelling.

"Kanda san, why do people write" through" with "O", and "G" and "H"? These sounds are not even heard!" Kanda snapped from the snoozing. "Can't they just write "Thru"? It makes sense. Kanda-san, you're sleeping." No, he was not. He was just wondering why there was a pink pony in the room. The pony smiled, his hair white and long. No, it wasn't a pony. It was a horse. Tch. Why the hell there was a horse in his house? The horse sneered, poking his face with a hoof. The hoof was white. No, the horse was white. And he was pink. Wait, he was pink? That doesn't make any sense. The horse was pink, not Kanda. Kanda liked blue. He was...

Allen slowly touched his cheek. Kanda was silently sleeping, his neck crooked into a strange and painful position. He will break his neck that way. Allen quietly grabbed the man by the feet, dragging him off the wall, head sliding onto the pillow. Huh, he was heavy. And tall. He didn't fit onto his bed. Allen bent his legs, covering him with the blanket. The man sighed and turned to the window. The hair tie was removed, the hair was falling onto the white pillow. Allen smiled. He did a good job. He took the book again, getting back to his studies.

This one is "U" as in Umbrella and Umberto and U2. Shout, impulsive, broke. No, wait, there is no U in broke.

_____

It was three at night when he opened his eyes. He was comfortably tucked into a small bed. An obscure light hit his eyes. That's strange. His windows were always covered by dark draperies, making the room look like a cool cave. Did he take the draperies off? Nah, that can't be. Yet something was wrong. It was too luminous, the bed too cramped. The city's lights were hungry for attention. He rose, stroking his neck. For some strange reason it hurt. He snapped awake, seeing a small white figure on the floor. Allen was sitting there for a long time, gazing down, repeating the spelling of the word "Neighborhood." Sometimes he tapped the window with the finger, drawing the letters onto the breath stained glass.

"I, as in I and in Idiot," he murmured, breathing onto the glassy surface. The bed sighed, catching his attention.

"Ah, Kanda-san, you should sleep. It's just three o'clock." Kanda incredulously stared, blinking like an imbecile.

"Why are you up?!" Allen put his chin on the knees, closing his eyes. He tiredly sighed.

"I can't sleep." The man closed his eyes, deeply annoyed. Bullshit. That's impossible. Kids like him sleep like dead bears. He surely was up just because he wanted to piss Kanda off. Tch, what a stupid brat. He had nine more days, and he already could read children's book. He caught on fast, so the time wasn't an issue.

"Get in the bed, kid. It is already late." He rose, the bed wrinkled in his shape. Kanda suspected that it broke under his weight. He had dense bones.

'Why didn't you wake me up?" Allen smiled. He started drawing circles with a finger in the carpet.

"It's the first time I have seen you asleep. You looked so peaceful; I thought that it was better to let you." Kanda frowned. He didn't like when people observed him. He wasn't a gorilla. Tomorrow will be Saturday. Another weekend, great. Just freaking great. He will have to fill it up agai-

"Kanda san, tomorrow, can you teach me again?" No, not so empty after all. He had a kid now, an extremely annoying and useless one. Just great to fill the damn weekends. And the work days. And his whole life. Is this an infestation or what?

"We'll see, damn brat." He stretched, muscles elastic and flexible. Allen got up, cleaning up the mess he made. He glanced over the shoulder, to see if the man was still there. Kanda gave him the evil eye, impatiently waiting for the brat, making sure he went to sleep. Allen sighed, then turned around 180 degrees, decising to give the man a piece of mind.

"Kanda-san, please go. I will go to bed, I'm still human. But not now, just a bit late-" But Kanda didn't want a piece of mind. Not even a particle of mind. Not even a neuron of it.

"Now." He tapped the tip of his foot. This was getting irritating. The boy scowled. His eyes were icy now, not even a trace of that soft glitter that usually was present in his eyes.

"Yes, sir." He promptly went to bed, loudly slamming the books into the nearby desk. The coverts flipped, then fell, not even breathing. No 'good night', nothing. Good. He should sleep now. Kanda closed the door, softly pacing away. Then a sudden thought made him stop. He tiptoed back to the room, stealthily opening it. Tch. The brat was up, softly approaching the books.

"I TOLD YOU TO GO TO SLEEP! WHAT PART OF IT DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?" Allen yelped, making the run of his life, easily breaking the record of 100mi/h. The bed grunted, swallowing the boy. His heart beat like crazy against the ribcage, like an angry sewing machine. Kanda paced to the bed, ominously cracking his knuckles. Damn brat. He'll have to get up early tomorrow, for that stupid eye appointment.

Allen squeezed his eyelids and bit his lower lip. He still could hear Kanda's footsteps, muffled by the high carpet. Here he comes. The boy rapidly rearranged is body into a ball. Nothing. He opened one eye and saw Kanda sitting in a chair.

"I'm going to sit here until I will be sure you're asleep, damn brat." Allen jumped up, pointing an accusatory finger at the smirking man.

"I don't allow it! I always go to sleep late! You have to respect that!!!"

"No, I don't. It's bad for you." Kanda wasn't smirking anymore. In fact his face was as scary as breast cancer. "It's not healthy. Now go to the goddamned sleep." Allen withered. He sat on the bed, banging his legs into its margins.

" I know. But if I go to sleep now, I will see nightmares. I usually tire myself out so I just...don't see them." His chin was poking the chest.

Kanda frowned. This was news to him.

"What kind of nightmares?" Allen stubbornly fluttered his head.

"I can't say. Just please... let me stay up until four. Then I would be too tired to think." Kanda raised a brow.

"You have an appointment at ten. If you stay up an hour more, you will not be able to think after you got up."Allen furiously shook his head again.

"I will. I promise." Kanda cheed, getting up. He stared at the crestfallen boy with doubt. He had no idea how to cope with such an situation. He always slept with no dreams. (Pony, pony!!)

"Wait a second, brat. Don't relax yet." He left. Allen heard the beeping of a dialed telephone.

"Komui?"

D as in deal, and dial and... no deal.

___________

Kanda came in, having a surprisingly dark aura about him.

"Brat, come with me." Even his voice was dark. What did Komui tell him? No, who was this Komui? Allen shrunk, feeling a bloodthirsty gaze. He jumped up like a spring. Kanda was still staring with hatred. What did he do now?

The both entered Kanda's bedroom. Allen swallowed his heart. His previous experiences with bedrooms were horrible. He backed away, bumping into Kanda. The man spat hatefully: "Get in." Allen's stomack clenched with a merciless, inexorable hand. He obeyed however, still hoping this man won't...use him. A creak and Kanda was next to him, turning away. Allen blinked. The man turned his back on him.

"If you'll get up because of a nightmare, I'll be here. Just wake me up." Tch. Komui... He will plan his death carefully. Nightmares his foot. He won't hug the for the all gold in the world. Not even for the starving children's sake. "Damn that bastard. I know he was mocking me." Sleep with him his ass. There is no way he would do that. Tch. He was already doing that.

____

Allen gasped. He saw it again. The cold sweat made him shudder. The same woman, the same man. Trembling, he glanced at the lump next to him. Kanda was seeing his thirteenth dream. No, he won't wake him up. He will surely just brush him away.

"Brat?" Allen jolted, taken by surprise. He wasn't sleeping. Why wasn't he sleeping? The boy irritatedly glanced at him, trying to hide the shivering. He didn't want anyone to see him like that. It was too pathetic.

"I..umm, have to go to the bathroom." He turned away making some progress in finding the slipers. They had to be under the bed. His hand froze. Under the bed... He pulled the hand back, sliding away from the margin.

"Brat, it was a nightmare, wasn't it?" The boy gulped loudly. Kanda sat up, turning on the night lamp. The boy was shivering. Clear as day.

"Brat, come here." Allen shook his head negatively.

"I-It's o-ok." Kanda scoffed.

"Brat, don't act all macho. It's pathetic." He pulled the brat by the neck, forcing him to lay down.

"I will leave the lights on." A few seconds, and that bergamot scent was above the boy, touching the top of his head with the chin. The man embraced him, stopping the shivering. He felt his body warming, the fear melting away like a new kind of mutant. He felt safe. Safety.

S as in safety, sleep and ... sardines.

_______

Please do not misunderstand. Kanda is not a pedophile. And I do not plan on making him one. Seriously.