Trivia: 'Nothing Else Matters' came from Metallica's song of the same title. I was struggling to come up with a title for this story when I went to YouTube and listened to 'Stairway to Heaven' by Led Zeppelin when I saw Metallica's video at the suggested videos on the side of the page.

It was Saturday and Allen's day off his part-time job. He had done laundry early that day and cleaned his apartment afterwards, shooing Timcanpy who seemed intent to disrupt everything he did. The cat had decided to claim the sofa when Allen ad been vacuuming it. It had jumped on his back, claws hanging in his shirt when he had been airing out his bed sheets. Lastly it had strutted about the whole floor where he had been sweeping. He had scolded the car then and now, his pet was ignoring him completely. It only wanted to play with him but still, he was irritated that he had finished all his chores past his lunch time when he had been so intent to finish it before twelve noon struck.

Allen was now on his way to the supermarket. He needed to buy ingredients for the mushrooms and tuna pasta he was planning to cook for his meal today. He had already shopped to restock his supplies the other night but he lacked meat and had no mushrooms stocked in his fridge.

Upon entering the supermarket, Allen took a cart and pushed his way in between the shelves and went to the vegetable area at the far corner of the establishment. Varieties of vegetables were neatly piled in individual black boxes and each of them has a label written in Japanese characters with English translations and the price.

He examined each kind of vegetables there, contemplating if he would need to buy them for the next days' meals but he hadn't really planned anything yet, seeing as he preferred to cook what he was in mood for the day. He took some mushrooms of different kinds: shiitake, bunashimeji, ordinary ones, and enoki, and then chose the freshest leaves of shiso and placed them all neatly in his cart. He gave the vegetable corner one last look before he left when the bean sprouts caught his attention. He gingerly rolled to his cart to its direction and took some to peer at them. He glanced at the label which read 'moyashi' in Japanese characters and 'bean sprouts' in his mother tongue. He stared at the word 'moyashi' sensing that it was awfully familiar - an odd feeling creeping up on his skin. He returned his attention to the bean sprouts in his hand, his burrows furrowed.

'Don't eat your own kind, Moyashi.'

Allen jumped and turned his head sharply on his right and found Kanda in his usual high ponytail. He was donned in dark grey long sleeved with turtle neck shirt, skinny black pants, and ankle-cut black leather boots. On his arm was a black grocery basket filled with nothing but instant noodles.

'Kanda-senpai! What are you doing here - and what do you mean by "own kind"?' Allen blurted out.

Kanda quirked his eyebrow at the question.

'What do you think people do in supermarkets?,' he asked sarcastically, 'And what I said exactly. It's called cannibalism when you eat that. You're supposed to be family with that thing.'

'W-what? I am not a bean sprout!' Allen exclaimed vehemently, running after Kanda who walked away from the vegetables section.

'Don't shout here you idiot! And why are you following me?' Kanda asked, eyebrow still hovering beneath his fringe.

'I am so sorry!,' Allen said feeling agitated as he bowed his head apologetically when he noticed that other shoppers' heads were turned in their direction. He tried to ignore them all when he noticed Kanda's items in his basket. 'Why are you only shopping for noodles senpai?'

'Because I like them. Now, fuck off!' Kanda whispered hotly.

'But those are not nutritious - AH! I have an idea!,' Allen said excitedly, grabbing Kanda's shoulder to turn him around, 'Why don't you join me for lunch - to show my gratitude for lending me your handkerchief the other day. I don't want to sound that I'm bragging but I daresay that I'm a decent cook and judging by those instant noodles in your basket, you don't even know how to cook rice.'

Kanda squinted his eyes at his last comment. Then his face took on a contemplating look.

'Why should I take an offer from a stranger? I don't know you at all.' Kanda said with a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

'Oh! I believe we were introduced yesterday so we're not really strangers anymore but I guess it's still hard to trust someone you barely know.' Allen replied thoughtfully. He tapped his finger on the corner of his mouth as he thought of something that would convince Kanda to trust him, 'Er, I cannot think of any reason besides simply accepting my good will and gratitude. Besides, I don't have any reason to poison you, do I?' He said with a chuckle.

Kanda's expression was unreadable as he bore into Allen's eyes.

'Lead the way.'

Allen laughed as he made his onto the fruits section to get himself some avocados and cucumber to finish his shopping.

'What are you having for lunch?' Kanda asked as he dropped his grocery bag on Walker's centre table. He observed the whole apartment; although it was small and enough for a single person to live in, it was clean, spacious, modest, and with a tranquil feel to it. He could tell that some of the furniture like the sofa was of mediocre quality yet they looked well-maintained. The hues used for the whole apartment were light earthly tones. He thought it suited Walker perfectly.

'Mushroom and tuna pasta, and dragon roll.' Allen replied cheerfully. He dragged his heavy grocery bags onto the kitchen and placed them on the counter with a heavy thud.

'You've got a decent place.' Kanda commented, his head turning left and right surveying the place.

'Thank you,' Allen smiled, 'I hope you don't find it too tiny though.'

'Well, it is tiny, but it's not cramped,' Kanda said with a shrug, 'You're small anyway.'

Walker faced him with a scowl on his face.

'You really know how to poke where it hurts, senpai. And may I correct you? I'm not small, I'm of average height.' he said hotly.

'I'm just honest.' Kanda said with a slight smirk. He pulled out a chair from the dining table and watched Walker as he busied himself from preparing the tools and ingredients.

'Brutally honest.' Walker added as he whirled around the kitchen counter.

'Is that anyway to talk to your seniors?' Kanda asked in taunting tone.

'If you must know senpai,' Walker turned his head on his direction, back still facing him, 'I am a foreigner. I am not used to being really submissive to someone who's just a couple of years older than me - but I do now how to be polite.' he finished, his eyes glaring at him.

'Tch.' Kanda said. He found it fun to tease Walker. He was small, and wasn't passive. He knew how to retaliate without looking like a scardy cat. People around him would usually cower in fear just because their gazes met - but this kid - Walker - he would have his fun with him. His gaze wandered around Walker's arms which were covered by the long sleeves of his white button-up shirt, he also wore pure-white gloves to cover his hands. Kanda supposed it was all to cover his supposed hideous arm, according to the rumours. He felt bad for him but of course he wouldn't voice it out loud - ever. He wondered how Walker's arm ended up like that and how could he endure wearing such suffocating clothes all the time. But surely, he wouldn't wear gloves in sleep, would he...?

It wasn't just the peculiar clothes and gloved hands that made Walker stand out. He also had an odd pure white hair which reminded him of untouched snow or of ivory, depending on the light of which it reflected. His face was another oddity Kanda had never seen before; on his left forehead was an angry red scar that resembled a badly drawn inverted pentagram, then, just beneath the point of the star, a vertical line was drawn over his eyebrows and eyelid dragged past below his eye, hooked slightly on his cheekbone, then it formed a curve following the contour of his cheek, then an additional single wave line of scar on his lower eyelid, marring the otherwise smooth texture of his face. Aside from the attention-stealing scar on his face, Walker also had a curious shade of big, bluish silver round eyes which Kanda felt that could penetrate one's soul upon gazing at them. The thought made him slightly uncomfortable.

Kanda's train of thoughts was interrupted by non other than Walker himself.

'Senpai, I hate to be rude but, aren't you going to offer help? I know I invited you on my own will but it would be nice if you could help me so we can eat earlier - and I think I need to teach you how to cook too because judging by the things you bought earlier, you only know how to cook instant soba.' Allen said with a smile. Kanda felt it was a jibe

Kanda scowled and stepped beside Walker and he harshly shoved him by the shoulder. He grabbed the knife from him and took one of the avocadoes sitting on the chopping board.

'Tell me what should I do.' Kanda said with a clipped tone.

Allen peered at him with a smirk - then he laughed freely - not in an insulting way but in good humour. He laughed like a child and it reminded Kanda of wind chimes making tingling sounds as the gentle wind blew past it.

Kanda grimaced at his thought.

Walker must have misunderstood his expression because he quickly straightened his face and then cleared his throat.

'I apologize. I did not mean to insult you in anyway, I just found your expression adorable, senpai.' Allen said with a shrug. It was obvious he was still fighting his urge to laugh.

Kanda thought he didn't mind if Walker laughed some more . He wasn't offended anyway. Then he remembered Walker said something about 'adorable' and he was about to snap at him about it when he felt something brush against his leg which made him yelp. He was ready to chuck the knife at the thing when he recognized it to be a cat.

'Timcanpy!' Walker cried as he picked up the bushy, yellow, ugly cat.

'Is that yours?' Kanda asked, not making any effort to hide his disgust.

'Yes. Isn't he lovely?' Allen said as he nuzzled with it, eyes sparkling.

The cat's yellow-green eyes focused on Kanda.

'Uh...' Kanda said, aware that he sounded dumb just now.

Then the cat called Timcanpy scratched Walker mercilessly across his face - Walker howled in pain and dropped it on the floor - it landed on its feet, glared at Kanda, then stalked off somewhere in the room.

'I forgot we fought this morning. He's usually a sweet little fellow but sometimes he's just - ugh - I shouldn't have scolded Tim earlier. He just wanted to play with me.' Walker said as he turned the faucet on and splashed some water on his scratched faced.

'Right. "Sweet little fellow" it is.' Kanda sneered.

'Ugh! Going back to avocadoes - please peel them all and then slice them in half then in thin width wise.'

Kanda gingerly picked up one of the potatoes and began peeling it while Walker busied himself with something else and so the moment passed by in silence. He thought peace would last a little longer when -

'What are you doing? And what is this thickness? Ha! Ha! Ha! Oh my god you don't even know how to peel a fruit properly? Senpai, this is considered a talent - pfft! - Ha! Ha! Ha!'

Kanda wanted to chuck the knife at Walker's face so badly in embarrassment. He could feel his face oozing off with boiling heat which crept to his neck and down his back.

Walker howled in laughter some more.

Late lunch had gone in relative peace in opposed to the mayhem that had happened earlier while they were preparing their food. After pointing out to Kanda his fascinating talent at peeling avocadoes (or any fruit or vegetable for that matter, Allen guessed), Kanda had an expression like he so badly wanted to thrust the knife at Allen's heart or skin him alive - thankfully, he had only slammed the knife on the table and had attempted to walk out. He had to pacify his anger by apologizing profusely while trying to keep his face serious. He had accepted the apology with threats that Kanda would end Allen's life should he make fun of him again, and had gone back to the kitchen, stomping his way in the process. After that, Allen had calmly taught him how to peel an avocado and how to slice it in his preferred shaped for the dragon roll and so the cooking process had gone by without any blood shed.

'Thank you for joining me for today's lunch. I had fun.' Allen said with a sincere smile after wiping his mouth off with a napkin.

Kanda gave him a sharp glare.

'No! Don't misunderstand senpai. I'm not making fun of you - I meant - it had been so long since the last time I had dined with someone. I had almost forgotten what it felt like.' Allen trailed off.

'Where's your guardian? You mentioned him the other day.' Kanda asked.

'Oh! Cross? He went back to England saying he had something urgent to do there. He ditched me right after we arrived here in Tokyo.' Allen replied.

'You mean he abandoned you?' Kanda asked incredulously.

'No! Cross did not abandon me. He had to deal with something in England. No matter how ridiculous Cross' actions appeared to others, he did them because he had valid reasons. And besides, I'm not alone. Timcanpy is with me.' said Allen defensively. He was getting uncomfortable about how Kanda viewed his godfather. It was true that Cross was sometimes unreasonable but he had great respect for him. After all, he was the only one who willingly took Allen when no one else did because they found his arm and scars hideous. Cross protected him from harm and he kept him well and alive after all these years.

Kanda must have detected his discomfort.

'Tch!' he spat, almost inaudibly.

'But I believe I'm faring well. Japan is a lovely place; it's not hard to quickly grasp how things work here. And my godfather said he'll be back after a few months.' Allen said with a crooked smile.

'I suppose it really isn't unusual for high school students these days to live alone. I also live apart from my family.' Kanda said nonchalantly. He was picking on his leftover mushrooms on his plate.

'So I was right about you.' Allen said with a sheepish grin.

'It's nothing big. My family is from Kyoto. They sent me here in Tokyo to study at Hoshino International School.' Kanda answered in a reserved manner.

'And judging from where you shop, you also live around here.' Allen concluded.

Kanda only jerked his head as his reply.

Allen chuckled and shook his head off. Then he remembered he still had a tub of chocolate and strawberries ice cream in the fridge so stood up from his seat to get it.

'Time for desserts!' he announced excitedly.

'You're still not full?,' Kanda asked looking astounded, 'The amount of food you've inhaled was like for five gluttonous people!'

'I'll always have room for desserts!'

Kanda trudged back to his bedroom and slumped on his bed. He started to regret accepting Walker's invitation to lunch. It seemed to him that Walker tried to kill by force-feeding, that cheeky runt! He had never been this full before. He had a funny feeling that he wouldn't need to eat for the next three days.

Kanda was about to get ready for bath when his phone rang indicating that he got a new e-mail. He flipped his phone and opened the message; it was from Walker.

Kanda-senpai,

Again, I would like to thank you for joining me on today's lunch. I hope you enjoyed the food as much as I did. ＼（＠￣∇￣＠）／ Too bad you didn't get to hang out with Tim because he was sulky today. I thought you'd definitely hit it off at first sight. (。┰ω┰。) Next time you come, I'll definitely make sure Tim is in his best mood - and I'll also teach you how to cook some basic stuff for survival. See you on Monday! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

Allen Walker

Kanda shut his phone close and pocketed it. He did not expect Walker to be the kind who'd use a lot of emoticons in his messages. Never mind, at least he had something to look forward to on Monday – ticking the hell off of Walker.

A/N: This chapter title sounds stupid. It just came to me randomly. I don't have any naming sense, do I? As always reviews are always very much appreciated. Point any grammar mistakes, or if you find this chapter boring, or if you have any other suggestions, just say them in reviews. I try to reply to all of you but I have short attention span, as I have come to accept recently haha! One moment, I'm typing my heart-felt messages, next moment, I'm off reading something, forgetting that I still have not sent or finish the message.

Didn't have much time to proof read so I expect this to be worse than usual.