Author's Notes: Hey-the chapter is looking all perdy now! Yay! Okay, so, this chapter didn't take me as long to finish as I thought it would. But that doesn't mean the rest of the chapters will just come along as quickly. Sorry if I disappoint some but I don't want to raise false hope. On a lighter note; I'd like to thank everyone who fav'd and reviewed the first chapter! I appreciate it more than you know! :D

Disclaimer: I don not -Man or any of its characters. They all belong to the great Hoshino Katsura-sensei. I merely own this story which is purely fan made and I do not make any money off of it.

Lavi and the Beanstalk

Ch. 2 "Rollin' in the Greens"

Following the wishes, or rather, demands, of his grandfather, Lavi planted the beans out in the newly tilled fields. And just like Rinali said, the beans were able to grow despite the poor soil quality. Within a matter of weeks the beans had sprouted and grown into four-foot tall stalks. Soon after that the stalks were producing beans by the truck load. Lavi and Bookman could barely keep up; once they had finished picking and eating their harvest, another wave of beans would then be waiting for them out in the fields.

"This is getting to be ridiculous." Bookman sighed as he gazed up at the ever-growing bean stalks.

"Now do you believe me, gramps?" Lavi growled as he stood next to his grandfather.

Lately the beanstalks had been growing at an alarming rate. At first, Lavi had to replace the bean poles every few days just to keep up with their height. But now the beanstalks were thickening as they grew taller. Lavi damn near had to take an axe to the plants just to take the bean poles out. When he finally removed the bean poles, the stalks were so thick and sturdy that they could support themselves, which was yesterday. And now, today, the beanstalks had begun to intertwine amongst themselves-making it almost impossible to harvest the beans.

"You can't honestly expect me to get anything from this mess, can you?"

Lavi pointed an angry finger at the beanstalks that were now somewhere between eight and nine feet tall. Bookman just stood there. He was seemingly deep in thought and more importantly; ignoring Lavi.

"Well, aren't you gonna say something?"

Lavi quickly tired of waiting for his grandfather to respond.

"Quit being stubborn already! Let's just hurry up and sell this thing, pand-ACK!" Lavi flinched greatly as Bookman shot him a dirty look.

"Enough of your childish nicknames. Why do you wish to sell something that provides nourishment for us?"

"Because it's impossible to reap anything from this mess!"

"Oh, my. That certainly is something else."

Lavi and Bookman turned to see the town's one and only school teacher; Froi Tiedoll, coming down the hill. He was a tall, sturdy man who would often let his work with the town's children take over his life. And did it ever show; his dark curly hair was unkempt at best. All of the time he spent with his nose in a book had long since taken its toll on his eyes. He was forced to wear a ridiculously thick pair of eye-glasses just to see the faces of his students.

"Good morning, Professor Tiedoll." Bookman greeted the teacher as he walked up to where the two stood at the beanstalks. "It's rather odd to see you here on your day off, especially since its so early in the morning."

"Yes, it is unusual but I kept hearing these rumors of your plant trouble in town-and after I asked Yuu about it I decided to come and see it for myself." Tiedoll explained as he shook hands with Bookman.

Lavi swallowed hard. He knew that Yuu was going to find a way to blame him for being forced to hold a conversation with Tiedoll. Back when they were 9 and 10 years old, Lavi and Kanda, retrospectively, dropped out of school t help their families earn more income. Lavi helped his aging grandfather on the farm while Kanda went and helped his father, Zhu, the town butcher. Tiedoll always handed the two of them about coming back to school despite their ages. He was especially tough on Kanda when Lavi went back to Tiedoll and Klaud Nyne, the town bookkeeper, to catch up on his studies during his spare time. Kanda never did go back and now grievously dreads talking to the man.

"Ah, so our newest produce has intrigued your interest?" Bookman asked.

"Why, yes, Klaud and I were talking and we thought it'd be interesting to document the growth rate of these particular beans."

"Hey, have you talked to the crazy glasses guy? You know, Komui? He's the one we got the beans from." Lavi piped up.

"Actually, I already talked to him just yesterday." Tiedoll recalled as he turned to face Lavi. "I heard about that man and his family's wares through the grapevine. The children certainly love his sister. She's always giving little treats to them."

"So, what did this man have to say about the beans we received? His younger sister, Miss Rinali, said that they were cross-bred to grow in any type of soil." Bookman stated.

"Yes, Komui said that as well. He also said that he had bred several breeds of bean plants along with an Asian grass called 'bamboo.'"

"Bamboo." Lavi repeated. "Sounds weird-just like him,"

"Hush, brat." Bookman glared at Lavi but once he turned to face Tiedoll, his expression softened greatly. "Professor, what happened exactly is this 'bamboo,' was it?"

"Oh, yes. Here," Tiedoll took off his backpack and set it on the ground. He bent his knees and took something out as he spoke: "Bamboo is actually a grass that can grow upwards to 12 feet tall. It comes from the oriental country of China and is quite populous up in the mountains." Tiedoll handed a strange looking book to Lavi and his grandfather. "Komui mixed the growing and reproduction qualities of the bamboo grass with the European bean plants. He did mention that he might've added a few other plants' characteristics for good measure. But he can't be certain since he doesn't completely remember. Although he said that he always took careful notes when he experimented and that he'd get back to me when he found the notes."

Now that sounds more like Komui, Lavi thought to himself.

"Lavi, why don't you tell the Professor all about the condition of the beanstalks. After all, you'd be the one who knows the best, seeing how you've tended to them everyday. "Bookman smiled very coyly as he snatched the foreign book away from his grandson.

"Right," Lavi was a little dumbstruck. Who knew the old man could be so underhanded? Maybe that's where Lavi had learned it. Lavi sighed as he looked up at Tiedoll, who looked at him expectantly. Sometimes the old guy was no different than the children he taught. "Okay, here's what's been going on,"

Lavi went through the hardships of the past few weeks with Tiedoll. He racked his brain recalling every little detail for Tiedoll's finicky notes and diagrams. After finally settling the school teacher's curiosities, Lavi collapsed onto the ground where he stood. Tiedoll, seemingly unaware of Lavi's plight, took up station with his sketch pad and began to carefully detail every part of the beanstalks. Meanwhile Lavi massaged his temples in desperate hope to keep his brain from exploding.

Next Sunday afternoon, when church had let out, Lavi went wandering around town looking for Kanda. Kanda had managed to slip out of church while the congregation shook hands and bid farewell to Father Reever. Granted this happened every Sunday but Lavi kind of enjoyed the chase. And he never missed the opportunity to drop by and give Kanda a hard time.

This particular Sunday, Kanda was hiding out in a clearing near the outskirts of town.

"Ha! Found you." Lavi and his crooked grin beamed down on his raven haired friend.

Kanda merely growled in response. The reason he went so far out of town was so that he could meditate in peace. This is actually something he tried to do every Sunday after church. Lavi, however, always had different plan in store.

"Hey, Yuu, how's it going?" Lavi plopped down next to Kanda, who was doing his best to ignore Lavi. Not like he actually expected Kanda to respond.

And Kanda didn't.

For some time, close to twenty minutes, Lavi sat there grinning like a dog with a bone. While Kanda simply sat there refusing to acknowledge the red head's existence. It was now a battle of wills; which of the young men would cave under the mounting tension? Certainly nor Lavi who would erupt into giggling fits every time a new vein popped on Kanda's temple. Despite all that, Kanda successfully kept up the silent treatment.

Like always, it was Lavi who broke the silence. Although, this time the subject matter was strange enough to break the routine.

"So, Yuu, your family has some Asian heritage, right?"

"What of it?" Kanda watched him from the corner of his eye.

"Nothing really-just curious." Lavi was taken slightly back. He didn't actually expect Kanda to answer him. "Have you ever heard of a plant called 'bamboo'?"

"Yeah, it's some sort of grass. It grows in forests in China." Kanda said shortly.

"Apparently, that Komui guy bred beans with bamboo. That and something else called 'moon vine.'" Lavi continued talking ignoring Kanda's piercing glare. "Moon vines are actually a flower that grows only at night. S o, these beans that me and gramps got really are like magic-cause they grow both during the day and at night. It's something else, ain't it?"

Lavi playfully slapped Kanda on the back. A deep growl escaped from his throat which would've normally induced fear but only caused Lavi to laugh.

"I already know about that too. That freak, Tiedoll, came by and told me all about it when the sister complex finally gave him those notes."

"Must be nice to live in town like that. Near the town's bazaar like that, you'd be able to talk to everyone." Lavi sighed as he dreamt of such an interesting life. It wasn't like he didn't love his grandfather, but life on a farm in a tiny out-of-the-way town wasn't the most exciting thing in the world. He didn't envy Kanda's job as a meat butcher but at least Kanda got to see people on a regular basis.

"What? You want to change lives for a day or something?"

"Oh, no way! I don't wanna be a butcher!"

"Fair enough. I don't want to work on your stupid farm."

"It's just that I, I," Lavi trailed off. Kanda looked at him rather shocked. In all the years they've known each other, he'd never seen Lavi so exasperated before. "I just get tired of the same thing-day in and day out. Nothing ever seems to change around here."

"And you're just now realizing that?"

"No, no I'm definitely not! I guess, everything's finally coming down on me."

"You must really, really appreciate those giant beanstalks. Something new and different in your life, right?" Kanda smirked.

"Well, its certainly a unique experience. But I was hoping for some sort of grand adventure. Something more traditional, ya know? Beggars can't be choosers I suppose."

Kanda shook his head as Lavi easily shrugged his depression off. Why did he ever worry about that stupid rabbit?

"On that note, how are the gypsies' magic beans coming?"

"Like you wouldn't believe!" Lavi exclaimed. "The stocks have gotten to be as thick as trees and just as tall. No seriously, those things are twice the size of my house-at least! That and they're all so tangled together now, I have no idea where on ends and the next begins." As Lavi talked he waved his hands about erratically.

Anyone who saw him and didn't know better would assume he was having some sort of spaz-attack. However, everyone around already knew them and wasn't surprised. It was nothing new. Like every Sunday, Kanda was held forcibly against his will, while he suffered threw Lavi's ramblings. Truly, today was a day like any other. Which is why all of the daily routines and simple lifestyles could never have prepared Lavi for what he would wake up to come the next Sunday?