THE CAVE: CONTINUUM
Part Twenty-Two
"Now, where the hell has Bean Sprout gone off to?" Kanda mutters, roaming through the market place looking for Allen.
"He was here just a few moments ago. He's always getting lost, maybe I better go back and wait for him where I last saw him," Kanda grumbles, heading back towards the other end of the village.
Kanda returns to where he had last seen Allen to wait for him which is not one of Kanda's best traits. Just when he's running out of patience he sees Allen's white-hair bobbing up and down in the crowd jogging towards him, his hand over his sore rib.
"Where the hell have you been?" Kanda snaps, grouchy for having to wait so long for his partner.
"Sorry Kanda, I didn't think I'd be gone that long. I'm ready now. Here let me help you with the bags," Allen says cheerfully, ignoring Kanda's question.
"I asked you where you've been all this time," Kanda says again his hands on his hips.
"You look really cute when you're angry, especially when you put your hands on your hips like that," Allen chuckles, tilting his head sideways smiling, making light of the situation.
"You're not going to tell me are you," Kanda states, matter-of-factly, his eyebrows knit together.
"Not yet, soon," Allen giggles, picking up one of the bags of food to start walking out of the village.
"Damn you, Bean Sprout," Kanda huffs, and they start their last leg of their journey to find Komui's house. Allen couldn't stop smiling and Kanda couldn't figure out what his companion is up to.
"You shouldn't be jogging with your rib still sore, idiot," Kanda scoffs, keeping his eyes straight ahead, walking past Allen like a pouting child.
They walk for a while enjoying the countryside that will be their new home when on their left they see a Torii gate. Stopping in front of the gate they look up the path seeing a small building that looks like a Shrine in the distance.
"Kanda, do you think we could take the time to go in to see what it looks like?" Allen asks, curious as to what is inside of a shrine.
"Sure, you know this shrine may be worshiped by any of the Japanese religions. Most likely it's the Shinto and Buddhist, but there could be other religions in the area as well. This Shrine is much smaller in scale and was probably built for all the small villages close by, so anyone could come to worship their deity," Kanda explains to Allen as they walk up the path.
It looks pretty big to Allen as the two story building, painted bright red, starts to loom in front of them. Allen's in awe seeing six large pillars, painted bright yellow, holding up the long porch looking overhang and the building's accents of black and gold. To him the bright colors give the building a sort of whimsical appearance. Of course, he is well aware it is indeed a place of worship and not some florid tourist attraction.
Allen loves the way the two blue roofs curl up slightly at the ends, sort of like the curling tips of Aladdin's shoes. They walk up the stone steps and open one of the two large, wood panel doors. Once inside, Kanda removes his boots and nods to Allen to do the same.
Taking his boots off, Allen looks around and sees an altar sitting on a platform in the middle of the large room which has solid wood stairs leading up to it. The room is simple and clean with a few pillows lying in front of the altar. The ornaments are also simple and few, not pretentious as Allen thought it might be, but modest.
Kanda takes Allen's hand and they walk up to the altar and kneel on the pillows before it. Kanda slightly bows his head, closes his eyes and takes Allen's hand once again, resting the other on his thigh. He figures Kanda must be paying his respects to the deity, Kami.
Allen bows his head and sends up a prayer to God and Kami to bless both of them and their marriage. Also, he gives thanks for bringing them here, to their new home, as safely as possible. He toys with the object in his pocket and gives it a blessing of protection and love for the bearer of it.
Rising his head he finds Kanda looking at him with sheen covering his eyes. It's obvious that he too must have asked Kami to bless them and their marriage, even if it is an untraditional marriage. Kami watches over family who show respect to him and hopefully he would accept them as a family. Kanda was about to say something when Allen put his finger to Kanda's lips which he kisses.
"Is it alright to talk to you in here," Allen asks, not wanting to be disrespectful to the deities or spirits in the sacred room. Kanda nods yes to Allen.
Allen pulls the small box out of his pocket and looks down at it thinking about what he wants to say to Kanda. He turns his kneeling body to face Kanda who does the same, wondering what Allen is doing.
"Kanda, this is a small wedding gift for you," Allen says. Taking Kanda's hand he places the box in his palm.
He looks up at Allen perplexed. 'So, this is why he was late, he was getting me a gift,' Kanda's thinking, a lump forming in his throat.
He opens the box, his eyes wide in surprise. He pulls out the Jade that has been hand-carved into the shape of a lotus flower with a rawhide strand. Kanda rubs the beautiful etched piece between his fingers, taken aback by the skill craftsmanship. He looks up at his husband and for the second time ever Allen sees a single tear slide down his partner's cheek.
Allen leans forward and brushes the tear away with his thumb, just like Kanda always does for him. Then he takes the necklace from Kanda's hand and places it over his husband's head and he pats it down once it lies upon Kanda's chest.
"I blessed it for protection and it holds my strong love I have for you. So whenever you wear it, or hold it, you will always think of me and our marriage, but also it's to protect you from evil," Allen says softly, looking into Kanda's loving eyes. This moment will be burned into their memories forever.
"On the back is etched, "To my loving husband, Kanda From your loving husband, Allen Forever". It had been the etching that held me up getting back to you sooner," Allen whispers to Kanda, the lump in his throat preventing him from fully speaking.
Kanda overwhelm, quickly pulls Allen into his arms knocking them to the floor, "Thank you," Kanda says, his voice deep and hoarse as he looks down at his husband. Then he kisses Allen passionately right there in front of the altar. Both of them feel Kami blessing them, knowing the strong, deep love they share for each other.
"We better leave, or I may not be able to stop myself I want you so badly," Kanda says, rubbing his hard bulge against the front of Allen's stiff tight pants. Allen sighs and closes his eyes trying to calm the heat burning inside of him for his husband.
"When we find Komui's home …," Allen's starts to say.
"Let's hope it isn't much further, Bean Sprout, or I'll have to take you out into a wooded area," Kanda's soft, smooth voice caresses Allen.
Kanda reluctantly moves to stand and helps Allen to his feet right into his strong arms for one more hug and kiss. Then they walk over to pick up their boots to leave this sacred place.
Once they are back on the road they continue walking for quite a distance from the Shrine. Kanda catches the color of red out of the corner of his eye and stops to peer into the woods to see what it could be.
"Kanda, what do you see? Is it danger?" Allen asks, taking hold of Kanda's arm.
"I'm not sure. I saw something red out in the woods and it's as tall as a man. I'm going to check it out to see what it is. You better stay here, Bean Sprout," Kanda says, his eyes scanning the area.
"No way am I staying here. You could need back up," Allen says firmly. Kanda looks back at the Sprout and sighs.
"Alright, you know the drill, so be cautious, Bean Sprout," Kanda says, not happy about Allen doing this, but Allen just grins at him.
He moves a few feet to the side of Kanda giving them a good distance apart, but not too far for his own safety. Allen hadn't walked but a couple steps when a ruffed grouse explodes from the ground in a flurry, its neck lengthen to its fullest with feathers sticking out, squawking at the top on its little lungs wading with great speed directly at Allen.
Startling Allen, he jumps and falls backward to the leafy ground. He tries to get away from the bundle of feathers rushing towards him doing a backward crawl as fast as he can, but his feet keep slipping out from underneath him in his panic. Timcanpy isn't having any part of this and soars up and away from Allen landing on Kanda's shoulder to get away from the frightening creature.
Kanda also had been startled, but watching the comical way Allen is desperately trying to escape the mad bird has Kanda chuckling, then Allen falls on his ass and sends Kanda into hysterics. Deep, hardy laughter bursts from Kanda and he grabs his stomach bending over he's laughing so hard.
"You … hahahaha … your face … if you could've seen the look on your face!" Kanda laughs, his eyes watering.
"That's right Kanda, have a good laugh. It wasn't you it was attacking," Allen grumbles, but Kanda's laughter is contagious and Allen ends up falling backwards on the ground laughing too – the grouse is long gone. Kanda wades through the shrubbery to get to Allen and pulls him up off the ground helping his partner brush the dirt from his clothing, both still chuckling.
"Well, so much for sneaking up on anyone," Kanda says, still chuckling off and on and Allen grinning at him. It's such a wonderful sight watching his husband laughing. 'When was the last time Kanda laughed?' Allen's thinking.
Kanda figures anyone who might have been there is gone by now. But whatever the red object is its still there. They walk in further scanning the area and it turns out to be a house with a bright red door. The first house they have encountered since leaving the village.
It nestles amongst the trees blending with the landscape because its exterior wood siding is weather wore gray and the cream screens across the front of the overhang are blain and blend in easily.
This house doesn't have the plush green grass lining the walkway. Instead there are different sizes of flat stones that lay as a walkway in a random pattern, more like they're placement is an act of nature.
Reddish and green moss grows in between the stones and around the house. The small front yard of the home has low shrubs, haphazardly planted, with a medium size stone shrine sitting atop a stone pillar which stands next to the steps leading to the bright red front door, the only colorful part of the overall scenery.
It appears the owners are away, for anyone who had heard the racket going on in their front yard would have been outside by now checking to see what the ado was about.
The young couple turns and heads back to the road to continue walking. Kanda's wondering if that could have been the house Komui had told him about that is his closes neighbor. Well, he'll just have to see if the next landmark is further up the road.
They walk almost two miles when they hear the sound of a waterfall. Now that is a landmark Komui told Kanda to listen for. This waterfall abuts Komui's property. He grabs Allen's hand and gently pulls him in the direction of the sound of rushing water filling the air.
The consonance of the falling water is louder now and when they break through the shrubbery – there it is – the waterfall. Clear water flows over the ledge cascading down into a pool of white waves of water bubbling – like a pitcher of water being poured into a glass of ice. The cool spring water continues to flow a short distance over small boulders until it reaches yet another shorter ledge, tumbling over and down into a bigger inviting swimming area.
Nature has broken the ledges to form perfect plateaus for lying in the sun. The water seems to gently caress the boulders and rocks creating a tranquil atmosphere which Kanda and Allen soak up, breathing in the calming, soothing feeling this place provides.
"This waterfall abuts Komui's land, so we're not far from his house," Kanda says quietly, mesmerized by the falling water.
"Maybe we should find it and then we could come back and go for a swim," Allen says, just as quietly also drawn into the hypnotic sight and sounds of the water.
"Yes, let's go," Kanda says, pulling his eyes from nature's enchanting sight.
They walk back to the road excited that it couldn't be much further to Komui's house. Kanda keeps his eyes out for the next landmark Komui had told him about.
The late afternoon had started out sunny in the village, but during their walk out of town it has gradually turned to an overcast sky. Soon it would look like dusk by the way the clouds are growing darker, but none of this is diminishing the spirits of the young couple in finding their new home.
Unknowingly, Allen spots the next landmark.
"Kanda look up there in the pine tree. Isn't that the cutest bird house you've ever seen," Allen exclaims, pointing to the miniature two story bird house that resembles a Japanese home.
"That's the landmark I've been looking for. The path to Komui's house shouldn't be far from this bird house," Kanda says, not hiding the excitement in his voice.
They begin to look for the path that leads to Komui house. Kanda takes Mugen and slashes away at the over growth of shrubbery and weeds hiding it. Breaking through, they stumble onto the path leading to the house. It's covered with mounds of leaves and branches and the bamboo fence on both sides of the path is now partial standing showing years of neglect.
"We can fix the fence, Bean Sprout," Kanda says, looking at his lover, who looks dismay and sadden by the dilapidated sight.
"Of course we can," Allen says, snapping out of his disappointment. He isn't sure what he expected to see when they finally made it here. 'It's crazy to think any of Komui's property might have been taken care of all these years.'
Suddenly, the dark sky breaks with torrents of rain pounding down instantly soaking the couple. They make a run for the overhang on the house as fast as they can, slipping and sliding on the slick ground. Allen slips where he almost lands on his ass, but regains his balance. Kanda grabs his hand as they make a mad dash up the stairs to the porch laughing, water dripping off them.
They drop their packages and knapsacks near the inside wall panting trying to catch their breath. Allen notices the worn sign with the name 'Lee' hanging by one nail and runs his fingertips over the engraving – they have the right house. Allen turns and jumps into Kanda's arm, wrapping his legs around his partner. Kanda kisses him as he fishes the key out of his pocket.
Allen continues kissing his lover while he fumbles putting the key into the lock. Kanda grabs the door knob and flings it open letting it crash against the wall. He carries his husband over the threshold now letting him slide down off his body, but not out of his arms.
The rain pounds steadily on the roof and both are glad to be inside where it is dryer. Kanda lifts Allen's face to look up at him.
"Welcome to our new home, Mr. Allen Walker-Kanda," he says, his breathe brushing against Allen's lips.
"Yes, welcome home Mr. Yuu Kanda" Allen whispers, his husband's lips crushes his in a long and passionate kiss. Than Kanda kisses and licks his way up to Allen's ear.
"Let's bring in our belongings and food before the rain ruins everything," Kanda whispers into Allen's ear giving it a nip and hugs him tighter for a second longer. As much as Kanda didn't want to pull away from his husband they part and start to lug their wet belongings inside.
Opening their drench travel cases they pull out their damp clothing throwing them over furniture to let them dry overnight then carry their knapsacks and bags of food into the kitchen.
It's getting darker, so they quickly unpack the food separating it to dry out. The food can wait until the morning to finish taking care of them once they have dried. Allen pulls candles out of one on the knapsacks with some matches hoping they weren't soaking wet. He pushes them down the countertop to Kanda and finishes pulling the rest of the food out of the bag.
"It looks like we have everything out to dry for the night," Kanda says, finding two candlesticks and lights one of the candles.
"We have enough dry food to eat for tonight's dinner. Oh, and we have the leftovers from the restaurant," Allen says, not sure he wants food right now.
"Kanda, maybe we should go upstairs to see where we'll sleep and get out of these wet clothes," Allen says, coyly, flames of lust flickering in his eyes.
"Yeah, I'm not hungry for food right now. I'd rather eat something else," Kanda says, swaggering slowly and seductively towards Allen. He takes his lover's hand guiding him towards the stairway and Allen grabs the candlestick.
"Yeah, I'm starving for that 'something else' too," Allen says, breathless, tightening his grip following his husband up the stairs.
To be continued …
A/N: Well, our boys finally make it to their new home. What'd you think of the chapter? I hope all of you enjoyed it. Again I thank all of you for your reviews, favorites, alerts and anything else you've done to support me in this story. You're my favorites and love you all!