Chapter 3

Kanda was currently hating his life, and although his life wasn't exactly the best ever, he supposed it could have been a lot worse off than what it was. At the moment, the only thing he could possibly think of complaining about was the nasal voice of his homeroom teacher. He could remember a time when a person's voice was the last of his worries, the first being their intentions.

It was interesting, it really was, just how much his life had changed, how much he had changed. As a child, he would've been wary of men like his teacher, he would've tried his best to avoid him. Now, he couldn't really care less what his teacher's agenda was; if it didn't involve him more than it should, then he could go fuck off. Of course, now he had no reason to be wary. Back then, he did... it was even expected of him. Though no one ever dared say it.

Living in a foster home was never easy, even more so for him simply because of his feminine features. He knew he looked like his mother, though he didn't really remember her much. All he remembered of either of his parents was tainted by the countless memories of moving from one place to another, all throughout his early childhood. After that he didn't really know much, just being dragged by a rather heavy and brute man to a shithole of a house that was supposed to be a foster home when he was eight. The next four years after that he wished he could say he didn't remember.

It had been evident from his first day there. He was somewhat feminine and there was no hiding it. His longer hair didn't help either, but he wasn't going to cut it. Because even after it was all said and done, the one memory that always stuck out to him was the one time he had allowed his mother to brush his hair. She had commented how beautiful it was, and asked him to never cut it. He agreed, if only because he enjoyed watching her smile like that more than anything else. After he arrived at that foster home, it became something of a treasure. He kept it long because he'd promised his mother he would. He kept it long because it made her happy. He also kept it long because the "caretakers" of the foster home didn't like it and it pissed them off that they couldn't get him to cut it. After a while they stopped caring, if only because it attracted attention from the more lecherous and sleazy of patrons to their foster home.

It was on a rather rainy day that Kanda had finally had enough. So far, he had been lucky enough to not have gotten raped, but many of the old men that came by to "see" him had become too... touch-feel as of late. At that point, he was days away from his twelfth birthday. He was maturing quickly, he'd noticed, and so had they.

He had been sitting by the window in the attic, which had been his room for the past two years. It was late at night, and the sky had been promising a flood for the past few hours. It was late in a weeknight, one of the nights when he just felt in his gut, as he always did, something was going to happen. He was nervous, though why he couldn't say. Looking down to the street, he couldn't help but swallow in what was half nervousness, half fear as he saw a black car roll up to the door of the foster home. This particular car he recognized; it belonged to the one man that had decided to touch him first, the one that visited most often. He didn't know his name nor cared to, he just wanted him gone, knowing he was the reason for his anxiety that evening.

Hearing heavy steps going up the rickety, old stairs that led to his room, he couldn't help but look around quickly for any place he could hide. It was useless, he knew, but it was something he did every time someone came to pay him a visit. Hearing the steps coming up the final flight of stairs, he frantically decided trying to pretend to be asleep. It hadn't worked before, but maybe this time it would?

His door creaked open, the sound loud and ominous in the quiet of his room. The heavy steps came up to his bed slowly, the man a tall, wide and imposing shape he could vaguely see through the covers. A low throaty chuckle rang out, and he gulped, bracing himself for the hand he knew was coming. Sure enough, the man reached down and ripped the covers off him, laughing openly at him.

"Didn't think that would actually work, did you?" the man said, making the youth shiver in fear of what was to come.

He knew better than to struggle against this particular man, but there was something in his grip, something about the way he leered at him that made him panic. It wasn't until the man started trying to undress him that he realized what it was: finality. He was going to do it tonight. No trying to coax him this time, no; he was getting what he wanted tonight.

He kicked and bit and screamed at him, trying his best to get him off of him, to no avail. He could struggle all he wanted, but it wouldn't change the fact that he was nothing more than a scrawny boy in front of a fully grown man hell bent on getting his way. Looking out the window as his panic reached its peak, he noticed a light flashing past in the night sky, through one of the breaks in the clouds. A shooting star. In a last desperate attempt, he made a wish, even though it had never worked before, he wished on that shooting star, hoping wildly for something, anything, to help him.

That was when he heard a loud creak above his head. The man stopped for a moment, but began again when nothing happened. Just as he went to touch him, though, the creak rang out again, this time louder than before. Now the man was alarmed, and looking around for the source of the sound, though he hadn't let him go yet. He would soon, however, as another creak was heard, quickly followed by a crack. The next few moments were a blur to Kanda, though he did manage to make out a few major facts, one being that the roof had caved in, another being... it had fallen right on top of the man, somehow missing him entirely. He didn't stay to find out if the man was even alive; he made a mad dash down the stairs and out the door, running wildly away from the foster home, not caring about where he was going. All he knew was that he was out and that the skies had finally opened up to let out the downpour, rain coming down heavily, easily hiding him from view as he ran further away. He ran until the rain finally stopped, and when it did, he walked, following the only road he could, which took him to a rather beautiful cliff, looking out at the ocean. He wandered for a bit, somehow finding his way down to where the ocean met sand in a small secluded beach. Once there, he sat down, watching as the sun rose over the horizon. A sense of peace he hadn't felt in years washed over him, and he knew he would be alright now.

It was then that he was found by a rather peculiar woman, who had also been wandering the cliffs, but upon seeing him, had immediately started fussing over him, going into complete mother hen mode. Her enthusiasm scared him, and she noticed, immediately backing away some, visibly reigning herself in. She introduced herself as Katsura, explaining that she lived in a house not too far from where they were. She asked him his name, and with some gentle probing, he finally gave it. Kanda Yuu, orphan of almost, no- twelve today, if the date was correct, and the woman confirmed the date, yes... twelve on that day. Orphan of twelve years of age and now homeless, or so he hoped. She probed some more, asking the why's and when's, and upon getting those, the how's. When she finally had his full story, the woman seemed to become a living statue. He called out to her after five minutes passed with no movement from her. At his call, she seemed to reanimate, mechanically pulling out her phone and dialing, having a short conversation with someone named Lavi, extending her hand out to him upon hanging up, firmly declaring that she was going to fix his situation, and if that wasn't possible, that she was going to... er, "fix" those people.

She took him back to her house, where she fed him and cleaned him up as best she could. She then led him to a room in the second floor, telling him to take a nice, long, and most importantly, HOT bath while she went to get him new clothes. She shouldn't be gone for too long, she said, and maybe the bathrobe hanging in the bathroom closet would be a tad big on him, but she couldn't let him wander any longer in the tattered old rags he had been forced to wear.

Everything after that was a bit blurry, much like his escape. After his bath, he put on the robe Katsura had pointed out and lay on the bed, falling into a light slumber, easily awakened by the sound of the front door closing. She got him clothes, as promised, and in his proper size too. She stayed on her phone almost constantly once she'd made sure the clothes fit properly, even as she somehow convinced him to come with her back to the foster home, and the whole ride back. Upon arriving, the phone calls abruptly ended. Storming her way in, him in tow, she more than startled the owners of the place as she demanded they let her adopt him. They were shocked, but not nearly as much as him, for it was the first time he'd heard of her plan. They argued with her that it wouldn't work out for her, being single and whatnot, and listed a plethora of reasons why he was the worst to adopt. She argued back, getting progressively more and more angry, until they were interrupted, the door bursting open again to reveal bright red hair that hurt his eyes and an equally bright and annoying smile. The man was quickly introduced as the Lavi that the woman had been on the phone with for so long, and he added that he was her partner in crime. At this, the owners retreated, letting them sign all the correct forms for the adoption. They all knew there was more to it than that, but the owners didn't even try arguing this point. Katsura knew they'd been allowing some pretty illegal activities in their foster home, and they knew she knew. With all the right documents filled out and turned in, Katsura turned to him and asked if there was anything he wanted to leave with. He nodded his head, but was reluctant in going back to his room alone. Lavi suggested she go with him; he would stay in the lobby and ask the owners a few questions.

After going up to retrieve the heirloom his mother had left him with, they finally left the foster home, Lavi with one last reminder of what would happen should the adoption papers mysteriously vanish. Katsura and Lavi gave him a warm smile, declaring he was now free of that place, and could have a real home, with them. The room Katsura had taken him to that morning would be his, and he could personalize it all he wanted, after a bit of shopping for new clothes, of course. All this washed over him, warming his cold insides slowly but surely. He let a small smile show. He was free.

That first week truly was hell for Kanda, more so because Allen hadn't come back and he couldn't quite hide that he was worried sick. All his teachers had decided to give them homework on wednesday, thursday and friday, making it even worse for him, for with every day that passed with no Allen showing up, his worry grew, though he somehow managed to complete his work. He passed the first three weeks of Allen's absence like this before he finally managed to get a hold of himself and continue with his life... somewhat. When one month turned into two, Kanda only grew more concerned, though he knew it wouldn't do him any good, nor would he be able to help Allen if he really was in any trouble. Finally, it was in the third month of his absence that things changed.

It was saturday, which for Kanda meant training with his sword Mugen, his precious heirloom and pride. It was early afternoon, the sun not quite beginning to set, when he wrapped up his session and began the trek back home, from a cave not too far from the beach Katsura had found him in. Upon nearing his home, he couldn't help but feel something was wrong. Katsura's car was still there, as it had been that morning, but so was Lavi's, which was somewhat unusual, but not so rare...

Walking in from the rear door, he headed towards the kitchen, again feeling that he was missing something important. His confusion was cleared soon, for the moment he moved to get himself some water, Katsura ran out of the dojo in their basement, looking around in what he recognized to be panic. Finally noticing him, she screeched something at him that he honestly couldn't begin to hope to understand, which she seemed to realize, for in the next moment, she grabbed his wrist and dragged him off towards the basement where she, and apparently Lavi, had been for a while.

Looking around the mess that used to be the dojo, Kanda couldn't help but notice all the herbs that where decorating the floor in strange patterns, though purposefully so. Looking closer, he realized they were all healing herbs, some of which, if not all, Lavi was taking and mashing together in a rather pungent-smelling paste. Mixing and mashing and adding and more mashing, only to take it and apply it onto an unconscious person on the floor, beginning again with the mixing and mashing... wait. Person?

Kanda looked closer at the unconscious person on the floor, his heart racing as he traced a jaw that he'd dreamed and fantasized about, silver hair that he'd longed to run his fingers through. He once again traced the lines of that tantalizing body, following them down from that creamy collarbone, to the lean muscle on his abdomen, to that silvery tail... that was twitching constantly in pain.

"What's wrong with him?" Kanda said, breaking the suffocating silence in the room and effectively giving his caretakers a heart attack.

"Kanda, for the love of all that's holy, don't do that!" Lavi said shakily, setting down the mortar and pestle.

Katsura sighed. "We don't know. I found him hiding behind one of the bushes by the dock, already like this... we've been at this for a good hour already, but nothing works. Whatever he was running from didn't want him surviving this..."

Kanda cursed. "His fucking mother..." he said, forgetting english in his worry-induced anger.

Lavi and Katsura both looked at him in shock. "WHAT? His mother... did this to him?" they seemed more than a little shocked at this, naturally. In spite of having seen them talking often, they'd never known what it was they talked about, so they had no idea Allen's life was so miserable.

Kanda nodded, moving to kneel next to Allen, slowly beginning to cart his fingers through his silvery locks. "He's dehydrated." Kanda noted after a few moments of silence.

"I know... we tried to move him, but every time we did, he started thrashing about, so we left him here... it's the coolest room in the house, so..." Katsura said.

Kanda looked at Katsura and Lavi out of the corner of his eyes, beginning to grin. He'd suspected they'd known about Allen, but how much did they truly know about him?

Turning fully to the twitching mass that was Allen, Kanda swept down and grabbed the boy, standing up and turning around in one smooth movement. The surprised look on their faces was well worth the embarrassment he was sure to face later.

He took Allen up and out of the basement, then out the back door to one of their favorite groves to go to. It was fairly close to the house, so it didn't take him any longer than five minutes to get there. He'd managed to convince the dynamic duo he could handle it from there; the herbs wouldn't work anyway, though they had helped soothe Allen.

He carefully laid the boy on the edge of the pool that hid there, letting his tail dip into the water as he stripped himself down to his underwear. Sliding into the shallow end of the pool, he once again picked the boy up, taking care not to move him too much, and slowly let himself sink in, until they were both seated comfortably against what could be called a small bank or step in the pool, with only their heads above the water. Kanda shifted Allen some so he was laying on him across his torso, head resting on his shoulder. He'd be there for a good while before the water worked its magic and began to heal the boy, so he decided on meditation in the meantime.

This particular hideaway he'd discovered when he was fifteen. Immediately liking the spot, it was his favorite place to go when he wanted or needed to meditate. Although his home had a dojo, he didn't actually use it as much as his guardians. He himself preferred nature over a man-made structure, this was no secret, so it was no surprise that he spent the majority of his day outside at the small beach near home or in one of his caves, or even the woods that covered the large plot of land Katsura called her own. After finding out about Allen, he'd only barely been able to hide his eagerness at showing him this particular spot. It didn't take them long after that to find out the water in the grove had healing properties, so after Allen told Kanda of exactly who it was that gave him such nasty bruises, they developed the habit of visiting the place rather often.

Thinking of the day he'd first taken him to the grove they were in now made Kanda think of all the other places he'd shown Allen, which in turn made Kanda's mind wander to many other topics, and so, for the first time in what felt like forever, the boy's presence made Kanda lose track of time as he easily lost himself to his musings. It was only several hours later, when he felt the boy stirring on his lap, long after the sun had set and the moon risen, that Kanda was roused from his stupor. He looked down at Allen, his heart once again ablaze with emotions, watching as his eyes fluttered open, unfocused and confused, then warm and happy, but still confused, as he was finally able to process where he was and with who.

"Kanda...? What... happened?" Allen asked, his voice barely above a whisper as he slowly began to shift his body around to a more upright position.

Kanda couldn't help the chuckle that bubbled up at the boy's expression. The confusion and exhaustion made for a pretty cute image, he thought. "We'd like to know that as well, you know. All I know is I arrived back from my practice to Katsura freaking out because neither she nor Lavi could heal any of your wounds." he said.

This only confused him more. "Your... guardians? They found me?" he asked.

Kanda nodded. "Katsura said she found you hiding behind that bush that's by the dock, in front of the back door. Allen..." he paused, hesitating. He wondered if maybe it was too early for that question.

Allen answered anyway, knowing what his unspoken question was. Shifting to grip Kanda tighter, Allen buried his face in Kanda's neck, letting silent tears of rage and sorrow and fright fall from his eyes. "She tried to kill me... again... she tried the curse again and when that didn't work, she-she..." he said, his sobbing growing with each word he let out.

Kanda rubbed the boy's back in what he hoped was a soothing manner, calm and collected on the outside, though inside his mind was reeling. "What do you mean, she tried to kill you again?" he asked quietly.

Allen calmed his sobbing long enough to sit up and point to the scar on his face. "T-this scar... I got it when I was twelve and tried to run away for the first time. She'd tried to k-kill me by cursing me, with what, I don't know. I managed to fight it off, ending up with this scar as proof of the curse I'd overcome." he explained.

Kanda couldn't help but feel a bit silly for forgetting the boy had such a scar in the first place; he was always staring at his eyes, so how he could overlook it even he couldn't comprehend. It wasn't small by any means. If he were to guess, he would say it was made purposefully large. Starting on his forehead, above his left eye, was an upside-down pentacle. From the point at the bottom extended a line that became jagged after it passed his eye and reached his cheek. It wasn't hideous, on the contrary, it was a very clean looking depression on his face, so it could almost be seen as a tattoo of some sort. To Kanda, however... it only made the boy on his lap all the more exotic and he had trouble subduing his suddenly overactive libido.

"So the wound on your chest is...?" Kanda asked, again softly so as not to further agitate the already upset boy.

Allen nodded. "The result of another curse... overcome." he whispered.

They lay there for a few moments longer, Kanda waiting for Allen to calm down further, and Allen merely lost in memories. It was only when he noticed the moonlight shining at the entrance of the small cave that he realized just how late it was.

"Kanda... how long have you been here?" Allen asked, somewhat alarmed.

"A few hours... Why?" Kanda hummed into Allen's ear.

Allen shook his head at what was obviously a distraction. "How long is a few hours?" he insisted.

Kanda sighed, answering reluctantly. "When the sun was still up..." he muttered.

"... That is easily at least five hours ago... You... stayed the entire time?" Allen said, incredulous.

Kanda snorted. "Of course. I wasn't about to just dump you in and leave." he said.

Allen said nothing at that, not that he could have even if he'd wanted to. It was the second time since meeting Kanda that he feared loosing control of his voice should he decide to speak, so he said nothing, choosing instead to flick his tail in a nervous and embarrassed manner.

Kanda, noticing Allen was no longer in any pain, decided it was finally safe to bring Allen back to the house. "Is there any pain anywhere?" he asked Allen. At the shake of his head, Kanda nodded, pleased, and began to rise out of the water, letting Allen lounge near the edge of the pool once again as he pulled himself out of the water.

Now, Allen had gone swimming with Kanda before, so he wasn't a stranger to Kanda's form. Watching Kanda come out of the pool to reveal he was in his underwear, though, left him in a bit of a dilemma.

"U-um... Kanda? A-are you going to... I mean, your clothes..." Allen said, flushing slightly, unsure of how to word his concern.

Kanda frowned, looking at him confused, until it clicked in his mind what it was that he was trying to convey. "Ah... I hadn't thought about that..." he muttered, looking sheepishly at his soaked underwear. Thinking for a moment, he slowly got up and walked over to where he'd put his clothes. Picking up his pants, which were more like a hakama than actual pants, he shrugged, saying, "Fuck it. Why not?"

Allen's eyes widened as he watched, face turning a deep crimson before he hid his face in his arms, taking a deep, shaky breath at the sight that had just graced his vision. "What are you DOING?!" he practically squealed before diving hastily back into the pool, ignoring the pulling of his muscles as he did so.

Even at the bottom of the pool he could see Kanda's outline, though hazy, and could tell he was grinning from ear to ear. He waited until he saw his outline moving around, watching carefully for the pair of pants that would hide the other boy's dignity. Once he had them on, he slowly allowed himself to float up to the surface, peeking over the edge just in time to see Kanda put on his shirt. Kanda, noticing Allen had resurfaced, grinned again.

"Are you shy, moyashi?" he said, voice dripping with amusement.

Allen frowned, though to Kanda it looked like a pout. "Are you an exhibitionist? And what does that mean anyway?" he said.

Kanda raised an eyebrow. "What, moyashi? It means beansprout, and no, I'm not an exhibitionist, though that's hilarious coming from you." he said.

Allen frowned, not sure what to respond to first, even as the words flew out of his mouth before he could stop it. "What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded, jabbing a finger in Kanda's direction. "I have no need for clothes; you do." he said.

Kanda snickered. "Exactly. So who's the real exhibitionist here?" he said.

"I'm not the one that'd be flashing my parts to the world if I decide to skip out on wearing clothes." Allen scoffed, pulling himself out of the pool once again.

He knew he'd won the argument when Kanda looked away, face flushing red with embarrassment. Allen grinned, turning to look at the mouth of the cave and sobering instantly when he remembered why he was there in the first place.

Silence enveloped them as they sat, or lay in Allen's case, next to each other, both deep in thought.

"Kanda... What's going to happen to me now? I can't go back; she'll kill me for sure." Allen said, breaking the suffocating silence.

Kanda sighed, thinking for a moment before responding. "Well, I wasn't going to let you go back anyway; I mean, it's been how many months? And considering the state you were in when you got back..." he turned to look at him, tracing with his eyes the outline of the bruises that had been there mere hours before. Shaking his head, he continued. "Anyway, Lavi and Katsura already knew about you, so that's no problem."

Allen still seemed unsure, so Kanda decided to clarify. "You're staying with me, idiot. There's no way I'm letting you go back to that." he said, drawing a blush from the boy, though why he couldn't say.

Kanda got up, tossing his soaked undies to the side as he moved to pick Allen up again. They'd gone like that many times to many of the caves Kanda frequented, though there was something more intimate about the way Kanda was holding him this time, something softer, warmer. Allen couldn't help but lay his head on Kanda's shoulder as he carried him back to the house, letting himself relax in the warmth that Kanda provided, feeling it spread out inside him as Kanda's hold became tender.

Allen and Kanda both couldn't help but feel guilty once they got back. Walking in, it immediately became apparent that Lavi and Katsura hadn't been pacified by Kanda telling them that Allen would be fine, and, waiting for them to return, had fallen asleep in the living room. Kanda made a face, trying to decide on what to do, though Allen's quiet protests decided for him.

"You can't just leave them here! They were waiting for us, the least you could do is let them know we're fine." he said quietly.

"Well, yeah, but... oh, fine..." Kanda said, his argument falling apart at the, admittedly, cute pout Allen was giving him. In true Kanda fashion, he lifted one leg, balancing perfectly on the other in spite of having Allen in his arms, and with careful aim and precision, kicked Lavi in the ass, effectively waking both him and Katsura up.

"KANDA! For the love of all that's holy, what kind of hour is this to be coming home to?!" was the first thing that came out of Katsura's mouth, underlined with Lavi's wails and moans of pain as he tried fruitlessly to ease the pain on his behind.

"Dunno. What time is it anyway?" Kanda responded nonchalantly, beginning to walk up to his room, Allen hiding his face in the crook of Kanda's neck, more than a little embarrassed.

"It's nearly four, smartass. Four in the goddamn morning. We were worried, Kanda... you should've at least taken your phone." Lavi said, surprising Kanda and making him flinch, though only Allen noticed.

"I... I know, I kinda... lost track of time..." was all he could say, finishing in a rather awkward and embarrassed note.

"How the fuck do you... wait, we've had this conversation before..." Katsura said, and Kanda turned to her, practically able to see the gears turning in her head as she looked at Allen, who smiled sheepishly.

"That was my fault..." he mumbled.

"And that one time before...?" Katsura asked, receiving a nod.

"That was my fault too." he confirmed, hiding his face again.

Katsura and Lavi just stood there, mouths opening and closing for a good five minutes before Katsura found her voice.

"Oh shit... I owe Yuu an apology then..." she said, receiving a glare from Kanda at the play on words.

"Don't worry about it; it was months ago anyway." he said, shrugging.

"Okay!" was Katsura's immediate and cheerful response, complete with the Cheshire cat grin and bubbly happiness.

"Well, aren't you heartbroken." Kanda deadpanned, watching as Lavi began waving his hands wildly in the air, bouncing around like the retarded rabbit he really was.

"Is... is he okay? I mean, does he do this often?" Allen asked, glancing between Kanda and Katsura only to find identical expressions of bored amusement.

"Sadly, yes." Kanda responded, following Lavi with his eyes as he dashed out of the living room and into his office without saying a word.

"So, he's sleeping with you I assume?" Katsura said suddenly, startling them both. She'd only just managed to keep from adding in the much needed "again" in there.

"Uh, yeah..." Kanda said, again embarrassed and barely managing to keep the blush from forming on his face like it had on Allen's the moment the sentence registered, though considering the look she was giving them both it was evident she was aware of not only their chagrin but also the reason why.

"So, um, yeah... I'm just going to... go... to my room now..." Kanda said, already moving towards the staircase and away from the manic lady that was giving him an admittedly scary look now.

"Good night then, darlings. Sweet dreams." Katsura responded, once again giving the Cheshire cat grin, though this time, instead of annoying, it was more than a little creepy.

"Right... you too." Kanda muttered before he turned and walked up the stairs as fast as his pride would allow. Well, more like ran.

Katsura's creepy grin turned to a fond smile as she watched Kanda run up the stairs with Allen in his arms, shaking her head at his reaction. It was difficult to believe, but in spite of all he'd been through in this life he was still naïve in a way. Turning, she decided to give her hyperactive boyfriend a good night kiss before retiring to their room. Finding him though was more difficult than it should be. What he called his office was actually a library they'd built opposite their training room in the basement, spanning the other half of the space beneath their house, which, considering the size of their house, was large enough to become a maze of bookshelves filled to the brim with books that varied in sizes, languages, and content. She wandered around for a good five minutes in there, looking at the various books and noticing a few new ones based solely on the lack of wear on the spine. When she finally did find her elusive partner, it was perched at the very top of a ladder, one arm hooked on the top step, reading a large tome about psychology.

She shook her head again, calling out as softly as she could so as not to startle him too much. "Hey, bunny boy." she really couldn't help the grin when he pouted ever so slightly at the name.

"Not you too, Kat..." Lavi said, putting the book down and descending to talk to her.

"Hey, you can't deny he has a vast wealth of imagination when it comes to nicknames." she said, moving to wind her arms around his shoulders.

Lavi laughed. "True true... so, what are we going to do about our new goldfish?" he said, resting his hands on her hips.

"Keep him, of course. Our dear Yuu has already made that choice, after all." she said, shrugging.

Lavi chuckled. "And what about that... old friend of yours?" he asked.

"Oh, that old thing? What about it?" she said.

"Won't 'it' get upset? I thought their kind ate mermaids." Lavi looked worried, and a bit confused.

"Oh, don't worry, love. Allen's a bit... different, isn't he? And besides," Katsura said, her face morphing into a cold sneer. "It's not like we see that particular pet of mine often."

"...Katsura?" Lavi whispered, more than a little frightened.

Her eyes focused on his, slowly regaining their warmth the longer their eyes remained locked. When she finally was herself again, she shook her head, moving to stand closer, shaken herself.

"I'm sorry... I haven't quite mastered self control yet, it seems." she said.

Lavi hugged her, comforting her just as much as he was reassuring himself. "It's okay. Let's just focus on schooling Allen for now, alright?" he said.

"What do you mean?" Katsura said, looking at him.

"Well, if he's going to stay in a human home, he has to understand how things work, doesn't he?" Lavi said, grinning a school boy's mischievous grin.

"You're going to make him do something ghastly, aren't you?" Katsura deadpanned.

"Hey, he has to learn somehow!"Lavi defended, and they both laughed.

"School then?" Lavi asked, and Katsura nodded, matching his grin.

"Allen's going to be a freshman in highschool." they said in unison, then proceeded to laugh like the true maniacs they are, scaring Allen and Kanda all the way up in the second floor.

A.N.: It's been forever, I know. I have no excuses for how long I take with these... Review?