D.Gray-Man 1. Prologue

Your Eyes Only

For the wonderful woman that gives me enough inspiration to keep on writing despite that there is barely enough time for the Yullen now that finals are approaching. **Kini-Ainotsuki**-_san_, thanks so much for writing your beautiful baby, it always puts a smile on my face, this is a present for you to congratulate you on your 300+ reviews. I hope you like, and I wish you the best of luck on your future chapters or babies.

Ehem, this is very _lightly _based on a manga that I read a while ago, and although the name of it escapes me now, I will try to remember it as soon as possible. I just wanted to give credit where credit is due. Also, this takes place at the end of the _Sengoku_ period and the beginning of the _Edo_ period, so, around the 16th century I think. Corrections are welcomed.

**Warnings for this Chapter: **Um, a bit of light language, OOC, AU, language, Japanese mythology, fantasy crap, a rain of clichés, hints of shonei-ai, and…um. Yeah. Stuff.

**Disclaimer: **AU is wonderful place to live in right now, and I already rented an apartment so I might as well stay a while.

**Your Eyes Only**

**_~_**

**Prologue**

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…"

That was his father's voice, forever kind and gentle, except this time there was no smile on his face as he opened his arms to embrace him for what Allen knew was the last time. On this day, which was as gloomy as a funeral…his wedding day.

Closing his eyes, he bit his lower lip to stop his own sobs as he wrapped his arms around his father's neck, knowing he would be forced to redo his makeup if he allowed his tears to fall. Swallowing, he deeply inhaled the comforting scent of peppermint, hands desperately gripping the fabric of his father's clothes before he was forced to say goodbye forever. His breath hitched when Mana's shoulders trembled as the man hugged him back just as tightly, feeling a dampness on his robes where his father's face was buried. Opening his eyes, he gazed sadly at his father, who he had never seen cry once in all the time he had known him.

Lowering his gaze, he threaded his fingers in his brown locks, trying to calm him down. Trying to make him understand through that simple gesture that he didn't hate him. Didn't blame him for doing this, because despite how much he didn't want to do this, he understood why it was needed for him to go through with it.

Rain. It hadn't rained in years, and for a tiny village like their's that completely depended on farming, water was worth more than gold. Crops could no longer be grown in dry lands, and his village was barely getting by with no food and no water. If it didn't rain soon, if the Gods didn't bestow them with water, they wouldn't be able to keep on going.

And the only way to win the Water God's favor was by offering him a bride, a virgin sacrifice.

"Allen, oh, Allen," his father sobbed, hands clenching his robes in his hands. They were rough, calloused hands from years of farming, from growing crops to make sure his son had everything he could give him, so he would never miss out on anything. All for him, for someone who wasn't even his real son. Allen owed him everything. Mana had taken him in despite that he barely made enough to provide for himself, yet he had still raised him, a kid he didn't even know if he could trust.

That was the only reason why he was doing this, why he hadn't run away when Mana had begged him to flee the village. For him, for Mana, for his precious father. Mana loved this village, his brother and him had come here many years ago to make a life for themselves. This was Mana's precious home, as well as the place his beloved brother was buried in. Allen knew his father would never leave this place, and so he wanted to do everything he could to protect it. Even if that meant he wouldn't be allowed to stay with Mana like he had always wanted to.

As long as his father was alive, he would be happy. That was enough for him to accept his role in life.

"So, he's the bride of the Water God?" he heard someone say, one of the many present villagers here to make sure he did as he was told. There was no sadness in his voice, no pity, but it wasn't as if Allen had been expecting any.

He knew they weren't bad people, they were only doing what they could to survive. If that meant sacrificing one of their own, they would be all too willing to do it. A life for hundreds of others, an ideal bargain. Still, he knew all of them were glad none of their children had been chosen, that their daughters or sons weren't standing in his shoes wearing their wedding robes. The relief in their expressions was all too easy to see. As long as it wasn't them, they didn't care. It wasn't as if it was their fault Allen had been the unlucky one after all.

Stiffening, he swallowed when the priestess placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. A silent warning. There wasn't much time left, the moon would soon be at its highest peak, the time of his wedding to the supposed Water God. He felt a wry smile bloom on his lips. He hadn't been born here, so he had never believed in any of the villager's superstitions. Allen knew there would be no wedding, no vows, no priest singing his blessings. No, all there would be was him surrounded by the vast open sea, waiting for the chill of the icy water to fill his lungs and stop his heart.

"Mana," he murmured against his shoulder, drawing a shaky smile on his lips after much effort. It was such a fake smile, and he desperately hoped his father wouldn't be able to notice the fear and anguish in it. "I love you, don't ever forget that, okay? I will always love you, so please take care of yourself now that I won't be here to make sure you stay safe."

His father's shoulders trembled more violently, the sound of his sobs increasing as he continued to cling to him. Holding back his tears was hard, but it became even more difficult when Mana was forced to let him go, his hands tightly grasping the red and white of his wedding robes, reaching for them when he was held back as Allen was pulled away from him. He knew his expression was an exact mirror image of his; anguish mixed with misery and desperation, yet he didn't do anything to wrench out of the hands holding him in place.

Lowering his gaze to the floor, he gritted his teeth while his hands clenched into tight fists. It wasn't fair, it wasn't. Mana didn't have anyone else but him, he was all alone. His brother had died four years ago, he had no one to care for him. Allen had done that. For years he had made sure his father stayed healthy and safe, but now that he would be gone, there would be no one to do that for his father. If something happened to Mana, it would mean his sacrifice would have all been in vain. It sounded cruel, but Allen didn't care about what happened to the village as long as Mana was safe and happy.

"Allen-_kun_."

He raised his head, looking at the withered features of the old priestess that had condemned him to this wretched fate. He was a little surprised to see pity in her sightless eyes, since he knew she had been the one who had demanded he be sacrificed after reading his palm. Apparently, something in there had screamed 'sacrifice' to the blind woman. Again, he would never under their superstitions, just like he would never understand a lot of things. Fifteen years, that wasn't enough time to learn much, or see all he had wanted to see and share with his father. New memories, he would never make any of those, just like he would never spend more years with Mana and his warm smiles.

Placing a hand on his chest, he looked down, not wanting her to see the sadness and anger in his silver eyes.

"Yes, that's the boy who received the divine revelation. Poor thing, he's so young."

He could still hear Mana's sobs as he was led out of the priestess's chambers, the sound of them doubling the fear in his heart. It made this situation all the more real: he was going to die. He knew enough of the old legends to know that the God's brides never survived, all of them lost at sea, never to return. And how could they? The ocean was fierce and untamable, it was merciless and would never take pity on him, the supposed bride of its master. It would want him to sink, to die in its embrace, an offering to appease the anger of the Water God and bring rain to his village.

"We have to calm down the angry God by offering him a sacrifice. There's nothing we can do, it hasn't rained in years and the well will soon dry up."

It was the only way, he knew that, knew it full well. But, was it selfish of him not to want to do this? He knew it was for the good of the village, that without water they couldn't survive for much longer, that Mana wouldn't survive. Yet…yet, even so, he wanted to stay here. With his father, with his beloved Mana and their peaceful home and live there forever.

If only he hadn't been chosen. If only the divine revelation, the priestess of the village, hadn't picked him. His will, the Water God's will, that was what had chosen him out of everyone else hadn't it? So he had to do it, he had no choice. The Gods had spoken and he had to abide to their will no matter what or pay the consequences of deceiving a God. Again, another cynic smile.

"Even if it's said to be a God, couldn't it be a monster in reality?"

He tried hard not listen, not to hear the words of his people, but it was all he could do to keep the tears at bay. Chocking, he placed a hand on his mouth to stifle his sobs as best as he could while he was led to the seashore. His final destination.

"It doesn't matter. Someone has to be sacrificed on our behalf."

His naked feet stopped at the edge of the shore, the ocean waves dancing on the sand as they tickled his toes with their foamy hands. This time he wasn't able to stop the tears as they rolled down his cheeks, grabbing one of the priestess's bony hands as she helped him into the boat that would take him to the deepest part of the ocean. Water damped the edges of his clothes, making them heavier as he sat down. His hands trembled as he grasped fistfuls of his robes, not wanting to look at the faces of everyone who had accompanied him to what Allen called his funeral. His wedding, ha. What a joke.

"Allen," the old priestess began, her voice cold yet somewhat kind. "Don't look down, hold your head up high and be proud. Proud you are saving your people, saving your home. You're a hero, and we will never forget that."

A hero? For what, he wasn't doing anything. His death wouldn't bring rain, there was no such thing as a Water God, it was all just a bunch of stupid superstitions this village believed in. His death wouldn't help them, it wouldn't make it rain, it wouldn't do anything at all. And when they realized that, that his death hadn't done anything to aid them, they would only send another innocent to die out here.

'_But even so, despite that…_'

It was only when he was too far away from the shore that he looked back, snowy hair sticking to his damp cheeks as he wrapped his arms around his slender frame. He wanted to hate them, hate them for doing this to him, for separating him from Mana. But no matter how hard he tried to, he wasn't able to. Tears falling down faster, he buried his face in his knees, shoulders shaking as the current took him farther and farther away from his home. From his beloved Mana.

Thunder rang in the distance, illuminating the dark sky as it cracked with uncontrollable anger. Blinking, his lips parted in surprise as little drops of water began to gently fall down on him. Looking up at the dark blue sky, his silver eyes widened when he saw the fat, gray rain clouds almost bursting with pent up water. Almost without him noticing, a smile bloomed on his lips as he turned around to look at the far distance where his little village resided.

"What..."

Anger bubbled in his chest, his hands fists at his sides as he cursed the so called God, not caring about any consequences when he saw the lack of rain clouds surrounding Mana's beloved village. Snowy hair stuck to his cheeks in wet clumps, his robes soaked as the rain lashed out at him, at only him and not the village that needed water now more than anything else.

"You liar," he cried, hugging himself as the frozen wind whipped his skin without mercy. "You promised rain in exchange for a bride, you damn no-good cheater!"

As if answering his anger, the clouds finally burst completely. Buckets of rain fell down on the ocean as the sky darkened to an almost black color, the clouds almost as dark as the water trying to knock him out of the boat. Lighting crackled, entangling with the sound of thunder, forcing him to hold his hands over his ears as he tried to hold on to his seat.

'_Let it rain_.'

Coughing, trying to stop the boat from shaking, he gasped when the rain began to fall down much harder. It wasn't normal, it wasn't. This rain wasn't normal. It was too fierce, too cold, too angry to be so. Every little drop of water hurt the exposed skin it hit, bruising his pale flesh as he looked in fear at the whirlpool his boat was swimming to. It was going to suck him in, pull him down and sink him, just like he had imagined it would. Maybe this is what the villagers called invoking the God's anger, after all, insulting a God was never without its punishment.

'_Please, Suijin-sama, let it rain_.'

His robes had too many layers, the cloth too heavy for him to be able to swim properly even if he would have been able to in this awful weather. Bells chimed as his feet tried to battle against the fierce current, his hands roughly pulling at his clothes as he tried to get rid of them. They were weighting him down, making it easier for him to sink.

'_Let it rain, please, let it rain_.'

Chocking as he swallowed a mouthful of salty water, he blinked, trying to see something else that wasn't water and angry dark skies. Something brown, something solid, was swimming close to him. Desperately, he began to swim to it, wincing when he cut his leg on something sharp and pointy. Whatever it had been, remains from the boat or something else, it had cut the inner layer of his robes, allowing him to move his legs more easily.

Clinging to the floating board, he braced his hands against it, not even registering the cuts the crocked edges gave him as he dug his nails in the solid wood. He was gasping for breath, chest heaving up and down as the water continued to splash against him, wet hands trying to force him down as they pulled at his heavy robes. Coughing when he swallowed more salt water, his eyes clenched shut when a particular strong wave crashed against his back, dragging him down and knocking him into the very piece of wood he had been clinging to.

Something wet ran down his scalp, something that he knew wasn't water as the coppery scent filled his nose, the red liquid dispersing in the crystalline water as he was dragged further down by the clashing waves.

His eyes were still closed, and he refused to open them because he didn't need the crushing pressure in his chest to tell him he was drowning. He couldn't breathe, there was no air and his hands clawed at his throat as his lungs cried for oxygen. Finally, when he could no longer take the awful pain, he gasped, immediately regretting it when his lungs were filled with bitter water instead of that desperately wanted air he craved for more than anything else right now.

Slowly opening his eyes, his numb hand tried to reach out for something, anything, to hold on to as his lungs stopped working, the slowly dying beat of his heart ticking in his ears like an over wound watch. His lips parted open again, no longer feeling the water as his vision slowly turned into darkness as the last thing he saw was his white hair dancing in the waves.

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

There was something…tickling his nose.

Groaning, he turned to his side, not wanting to wake up yet. "Five more minutes, Mana…"

Again, that tickling sensation. Frowning, he batted it away, his fingers grabbing something wet and slimy. Something…something with tiny legs crawling all over his hand. Eyes snapping open, he let out a startled sound when he saw the aquamarine crab trying to slip from his grip, immediately shaking his hand to get rid of the thing. He regretted it seconds after, crawling over to the ruffled crab seeming to be glaring at him as it tried to get off its back.

"Ah, I'm so sorry," he apologized, gently taking the crab in his hands to turn it over on its feet. Cleaning the wet sand clinging to its shell with his wet sleeve, he offered it a sheepish smile. "You startled me, I didn't mean to throw you like that."

Little claws snapping at him, the crab turned its back to him and began its crooked walk back to the peaceful blue ocean. Allen smiled at it, still feeling a little embarrassed by his overdramatic reaction.

"Wait…"

Eyes widening as he looked at his surroundings, he felt his mouth open as he looked at the sky, then back at the ocean in front of him again. That…couldn't be possible. There was no way.

He felt weak at the knees as he stared up at the ocean in the sky, where instead of a cheery blue to match the color of sea on the ground, was the perfect imitation of the happy waves lapping at his feet. And…there were rocks…in the sky instead of clouds…and…

Feeling suddenly dizzy, he leaned against a big boulder, his feet splashing in the water as he tried not to pass out and wake up from this bizarre dream. He was supposed to be dead, there was no way anyone would have been able to survive that storm, least of all him. He ran a shop, and sure he helped his father around the farm every day, but no one, absolutely no one would be alive after drowning in the sea.

So was he dreaming? Was this where dead people ended up after passing away? It didn't look like anything he had expected, where were the angels and the golden gate?

"Excuse me, but are you-ah, you are! Good, I've been waiting for you."

Startled, he froze as he was enveloped in a pair of warm arms, back cracking when he was lifted off the ground. Something, not sweet but not spicy either, filled his nose when he was pressed against white and black robes. It was a comforting scent, something achingly alike to jasmine. Although he forgot about all of that when a rambunctious laughter ran in his ears, those arms hugging him tighter and almost making him suffocate. What the hell-

"Oh, you're perfect, I bet he'll definitely like you, son."

He gasped, breathing in a mouthful of air as soon as he was let go. He would have ended up in the ground if someone hadn't steadied him, once again laughing as he flicked wet bangs out of his face with his right hand. Still breathing heavily, he looked up at the face of his would-be-savior.

Warm, brown eyes stared at him behind square spectacles, and old yet happy face shinning with delight as Allen tried not be rude and stare any further. "Look at you, you're soaked, boy! I hope you didn't have a bumpy ride, you look dead on your feet."

"Um," he began, not knowing what to say as he continued to stare like an idiot. "There are…fish flying in the sky."

Nodding at him as if he had just said the dearest of things, the man placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and began to lead him away from the beach. "Yes, yes, they tend to do that a lot. Now, what is your name, son?"

Still wide-eyed as he goggled at the red and white fish dancing around his feet, intertwining its tail with a golden one, he shakily answered. "A-Allen Walker, um, do all the fish here do that or-"

"Allen, what a nice name. Hm, do you mind if call you Allen-_kun_?" the man joyfully asked, glasses glinting in the bright sun.

Nodding without knowing what he was agreeing to, he swallowed and inched closer to the brown-haired man as the golden fish tried to slip under his robes, its slithery skin brushing against his ankles sending a shiver up his spine. "Um, excuse, where _exactly _is this?" Was he dead, or just dreaming?

Frowning, as if asking if he was serious or not, the man calmly said, "Why, the water kingdom of course, Allen-_kun_. Come along, you'll be late if we don't hurry. Dear me, it's late enough as it is, we can't afford to waste more time."

The…water kingdom? Trying to match the older man, he fell into step with him despite that his legs were ready to give up on him. "A-and you are-"

"I am Froi Tiedoll, and I'm in charge of the palace." Offering him a kind smile, the man named Tiedoll patted his head. "Welcome to your new home, Allen-_kun_, if you need anything please don't hesitate to call on me."

Swallowing, Allen looked down at his naked feet. He didn't know what to say, he was still sure he was dreaming, expecting to wake up any minute to either nothingness or his room back in Mana's home. He was hoping for the latter, but he wasn't foolish enough to believe that would be possible. Sacrifices were called sacrifices for a reason, he wasn't supposed to be alive. A human life in exchange for rain, that had been what the priestess had said. So the only option that left him with was that he was dreaming.

Looking around again, he shivered again when the same golden fish from before caressed his ankles. Well, at least it was an interesting dream. Gasping when the fish slipped underneath his clothes, he raised the skirts of his now tattered and ruined wedding robes and glared at the little thing. The fish didn't seem to care, happily dancing around his legs as Allen continued to scowl at it.

Silently following the extremely cheery man and waiting for his dream to end, Allen sighed as he was forced to walk up cold hard stone-steps until they reached what he was sure was the castle Tiedoll-_san _had spoken of. Again, his eyes widened as he took in the structure of the palace, passing through the gardens filled with crystalline ponds and water lilies, three huge gates and more rooms than he could count. He tried to make himself look smaller when they arrived at what he knew was used as the lord's manor, nervously playing with his wet sleeves. Opening a new set of sliding doors, these ones decorated with fine patters of blue dragons, Tiedoll motioned him to come in, Allen doing so half-heartedly as he hoped he wouldn't break anything important.

"Please wait here, I will fetch him soon."

Turning, wet hair sticking to his cheeks again, he gave the kind man a wide eyed look. He didn't want to be left all alone here, this place was huge and he knew he was bound to get lost with his awful sense of direction if he happened to run off out of curiosity. Then, another thing forced itself into his head. "Fetch who?"

Once again looking at him as if he was just the dearest of things, Tiedoll smiled one of those warm smiles of his again. "Your husband, so please make yourself comfortable, Allen-_kun_."

His husband, that meant the Water God. If this was a dream, it was a really good one, depicting his life like this. He let out a soft sigh when the kind man left, closing the doors behind him with a gentle sound.

He really hoped it wasn't a dream, because that meant he wasn't dead and could return to Mana and his home. Still, if he _was _alive and this wasn't a dream, what was he going to do? A sacrifice, he was a sacrifice to a God, that meant that if the Water God really was a monster he would probably be eaten or something like that. Feeling the hand of fear clenching around his heart, he froze and almost let out a startled sound when something bumped against his ankle. It wasn't the fish, the fish was nuzzling his cheek, so…

Grudgingly turning around, he let out a sound of relief when he was met with a bright red ball. Chiding himself for being so stupidly paranoid, he picked the toy up and immediately froze again when he heard footsteps closing in on him. Almost guiltily, he let go of the ball and watched it bounce and bump against the other's feet.

It was a boy, and he smiled when he saw how cute he was. He couldn't be older than eight, his dark hair and eyes making a stark contrast against his fair skin. There were a couple of elaborate hairpins and other beautiful combs holding his shoulder-length hair up in an intricate bun, a few black locks gently framing his pretty face. Stepping closer to him, he picked up the red ball again, holding it out to him as he offered the boy a gentle smile.

"Hello, little boy, do you live here?" he asked, letting go of the ball when a pair of small hands took it.

Simply looking at him with those uninterested dark eyes, the boy wordlessly walked past him, ignoring Allen's shocked expression as well as the angry flush that spread across his cheeks at the brat's rude manners. Not even he himself had been that-that rude when he had been that boy's age! He had raised himself on the streets before Mana had taken him in, yet despite that he still knew how to thank someone!

Running a hand in his wet hair as he leaned against the balcony, he tried to calm himself down. Really, his temper wasn't usually this bad. So the boy had forgotten to say thank you, it wasn't that big of a deal, Allen was just edgy because he didn't know where he was or what he was doing here, right? Even if that old man said he was here to meet his husband, which was both good and bad. Well, if it was the truth of course.

Placing a hand on his forehead to check if he had a fever, Allen blinked when he caught a glimpse of someone in the pond, mostly hidden by all the water lilies. Curious, knowing it was wrong to peep on someone, he ignored the blush on his cheeks and leaned over the balcony to see better, only to have his breath hitch in his throat.

His legs finally gave out on him, falling on the floor while he covered his mouth to stop himself from screaming when he saw the strong back of the man feeding the koi fish. His heart was beating a mile a minute against his ribcage, and Allen desperately hoped the man wouldn't be able to hear it, because…because…

'_He's a very ugly monster, once you see his face for the first time, you will never forget it_.'

Was he the Water God? Hands trembling, full of fear and heart beating like a drum, Allen kneeled as he risked a peek over the balcony again, praying that man wasn't who he thought he was.

'_I heard he eats humans…_'

Shaking his head, he tried to get rid of all the gossip he had heard in the village about the God, knowing it wouldn't do him any good to remember them now.

"Oh…"

He was sure he was going to scream when the man turned around, but instead he felt his cheeks heat up when he saw what the other looked like. There was no way this man was a monster, he was too beautiful to be one. Allen couldn't ever remember seeing eyes the color of the sun, but this man had them, his golden ocher eyes matching perfectly with his sun-kissed skin. Long, dark curly locks were gently held in a low ponytail, and Allen's cheeks grew warmer at the smile the man was wearing on his lips.

If a God could be that beautiful, then he was definitely the Water God.

"Allen-_kun_, is everything alright?"

Once again startled, he turned around and pressed his back against a pillar, a hand on his chest. "Ah, Tiedoll-_san_, I didn't hear you." His cheeks were still warm, although this time from embarrassment.

Not seeming to care, the kind man once again grabbed his shoulder, leading him out of the balcony while Allen tried to keep up with his abnormally quick pace. Weren't old men supposed to be slower than young people? Smiling nervously when Tiedoll chuckled, he tried to forget about the man he had seen in the pond. It was stupid, he shouldn't be hoping for that man to be the Water God. Besides, if he was, Allen was sure Tiedoll would have just brought him to the pond instead of making him walk further away from it.

"-so don't forget that. Also, he's a little bit moody today, so we'll have to be quick. Is that okay with you, Allen-_kun_?"

Snapping out of his thoughts, he blushed again when he realized he hadn't been paying attention. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

He bit his lip when they stopped in front of a pair of tall, red, foreboding doors. These were also decorated with dragons, a set of black twins interlocking together as they curled along the edges of the doors. Stepping in front of him, Tiedoll placed both hands against the heavy looking doors, pushing them open while all Allen could do was nervously chew on his lower lip. He frowned when the ticklish scent of burning incense reached his nose, a heavy scent of water and lotuses wrapping around him as he hesitantly stepped inside the room, the bells wrapped around his ankles chiming with his movements.

"May I introduce you to your husband, Allen-_kun_?" the kind man at his side gently said as Allen went stiff, knowing it would be rude to say anything so he did his best to be quiet despite the angry flush on his cheeks.

He was leaning his face against his hand, an arrogant expression on his pretty face as he sat among piles of plush pillows and rich furs, free hand holding a brush dipped in black ink. Putting it down, the little boy refused to acknowledge the other two people in the room, serving himself some tea, giving off the attitude of someone not giving a damn about what was going on around him.

Allen's fingers were trembling, his silver-plated eyes wide as he stared at the boy who had refused to thank him after he had returned his ball back to him. It was the same; the pretty childish face and the dark eyes, those raven tresses tied up with those elaborate hairpins. This…there was no way a kid like this was-

"Kanda-_sama_," Tiedoll began at his side, ever present smile on his face. "This is Allen-_kun_, he will be your new bride from now on."

Dark lashes tickled pale cheeks as the boy closed his eyes, a frown on his infantile face. Although his pretty features were ruined when he drew a haughty smirk on his lips, almost black eyes opening to finally look at Allen, his dark gaze assessing him before he scowled in annoyance and clicked his tongue.

"Hmph! Stupid humans, I told them to sacrifice their prettiest virgin. I'm going to give them a five-hundred year drought instead of just five years."

It was all Allen could do not to dump the teapot on the chestnut-sized brat.

**TBC?**

**--**

Ho ho ho! I couldn't help myself, although I bet most of you are wondering how the hell is there going to be p0rn if Kanda is a cute little eight-year-old boy. Well, you're just going to have to wait until the next chapter, which…might take a while because I am super busy with school-related stuff. Also, I hoped you liked, **Kini**-_san_, this is all for you.

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed, and comments are treasured in my…chocolate box. Yes, let's go with that. Until next time, whenever that may be~


	2. Jasmine

Ah, thank you so much for all your lovely comments! There are so many of them, I don't know what to do with them. But thanks so much again, they made me really happy. I'm so glad you liked this, and I hope you'll stick with me till the end of the ride too. Um. This chapter was a little rushed, since I wrote it all like, eight hours ago (I'm bedridden, so super sick here), but I still hope it won't disappoint any of you. Also, please ignore any grammar errors you see here, I'm posting this secretly (again, I'm suppose to be resting) and so I haven't had the chance to read it over. So, I hope you all like~

**Warnings for this chapter: **Language, nudity, Allen the peeping tomb, shonen-ai hints, OOC, an innocent little kiss (?) and hints of Poker Pair. They're small, but still there, and have I mentioned that English isn't my first language yet? Well, there's that too.

**Disclaimer: **Not mine, or else Kanda would have made Allen his bitch-ehem, bride, the moment he laid eyes on him…and -_cough cough_- make him bear his (many) samurai babies…

-

**Your Eyes Only**

**_ ~ _**

**Chapter I-**_Jasmine_

It was a very uncomfortable dinner, Allen decided as he took a small sip of his oolong tea. Gently placing the small cup down, he shyly glanced at his 'husband' from the corner of his eye while he picked up his chopsticks.

Kanda had a very bored look on his infantile face, once again dipping his brush in the bottle of black ink after having written a long series of complicate kanji on the large roll of parchment in front of him. He looked devastatingly annoyed, strokes rougher and messier than they had been before as he glared down at characters he had written so far, and Allen couldn't help but want to be very far away from him. No matter how cute he was, his personally left much to be desired. It didn't fit his pretty face at all, and it really was such a shame.

Carefully looking at him from underneath his lashes, he couldn't help but study his profile again. Just to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

Nope. It was still the same pretty child he had met almost an hour ago, the one mister Tiedoll had said didn't have much time for him today, the same one who had asked (demanded) Allen stay and eat dinner with him tonight. So with no other choice but to obey, Allen had been shoved into a room, stripped naked, washed and redressed again before he was thrown into the dining room. Tugging at his collar, he ran a nervous hand in his recently washed hair, hating the scent of lotuses and jasmine clinging to his skin as well the stupid makeup he had been forced to wear. As soon as he was out of here the first thing he would do was take was take a bath again. _Alone_.

Letting out a soft sigh, he looked down at his tea and stared at his reflection.

It was almost…disappointing. He had grown up hearing legends and tales about the so called Water God, and despite that he had never believed in any of them, he couldn't help but feel somewhat cheated. _This _was the cause of all his village's suffering? This little bratty kid the size of a bean sprout?

This was the reason why Allen had been forced to leave his precious Mana all alone with no one to take care of him?"

Gripping his chopsticks with force, he gritted his teeth. Yes, he definitely felt cheated. Cheated and humiliated. How dare that brat insult him? Sure, Allen knew he wasn't as pretty as the boy, but that didn't mean anything! He had given up everything, absolutely _everything _that mattered to him to come here and be his sacrifice, his payment for making rain and the kid didn't even have enough decency to…to…

Silver eyes widening, Allen dropped his tea, not even registering the little shard that cut into the skin of his wrist as the empty cup shattered at his feet.

Rain. He didn't even know if the so called God had kept his end of the deal. Fear wrapped its deadly claws around his heart, and he worriedly bit his lower lip as he tried not look at his would-be husband sitting next to him. And if he hadn't? If this God, this spoiled child, had simply played a mean trick on him and his village? Gods were very fickle, or so Mana had once said, they amused themselves by toying with human lives without caring about their feelings. This boy, this Water God, could be one of those. He could simply be playing with him, with his village, as a fun way to pass the time.

Clenching his hands into tight fists, he bit down harder on his lip.

"Master Allen, you're bleeding."

Snapping out his thoughts, he turned to his other side and was surprised to find Tiedoll looking at him with concern in his warm brown eyes. Blinking, he tried not to pull away when the man gently grabbed his hand, pulling him closer. He didn't like to be touched by people he didn't know, specially if they were _this _kind of people.

Smiling softly at him, the brunette tenderly wiped the tiny droplets of blood painting his bottom lip crimson with a small handkerchief he had pulled out of his robes. Embarrassed, he looked down and was glad that his hair hid most of his face from view. Tiedoll was such a nice person, and he felt a bit bad that he wasn't able to fully trust him. Mana had raised him to be kind, to always be polite and to never think bad of people. But there was something about all of this, something about the boy named Kanda, that just didn't sit right with him. Something, something that was almost close to fear.

Swallowing, he closed his eyes and tried not to think about who was sitting on his right.

"_Che_. He reeks of blood, clumsy kid probably hurt himself when he dropped the damn tea," the pretty child suddenly scoffed, looking more irritated as he threw Allen a dark glare.

Flinching, he quickly avoided that dark gaze, his cheeks reddening for some reason. Anger, yes, it was definitely anger. No matter how cute this boy was Allen wasn't going to fall for that pretty face of his…even if he was really adorable and made him want to pinch his cheeks. But that didn't matter! This kid was an evil, rude little brat. Yes, cute or not, he had made him throw his life away for him, and he would never forgive him for that. Never.

"Get rid of him, will you? Damn smell is making me hungry." Still glaring at him, Kanda scowled as the human continued to avoid his gaze, making him click his tongue in disdain. Impudent brat.

Freezing when he heard those last couple of words, Allen turned to look at the boy with horror. Hungry? Did that mean that he really was going to eat him? Then he really was a monster, just like Mana had said. B-but he was half his size, there was no way he could eat him just like that, it wasn't possible, right?

Still, he couldn't help but remember all those stories. He hadn't been the first sacrifice to be offered, there had been plenty of other people that had gone through this before him, and they had never come back. Not one of them.

So if those legends really were true, then what had happened to all of the God's past brides?

Just when he was about to damn it all to hell and get out of there as soon as possible, he was stopped by a small hand briskly grabbing his face, fingers tilting his chin up to look at black eyes. No, not black. He could see the specks of blue in them from this distance, his forehead almost touching the dark-haired boy's as those pale lips curved into a mean smile. Breathing a little heavily from their close proximity, Allen bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from pushing the other away from himself.

Raising an eyebrow, almost as if asking if he really was this stupid, Kanda brushed his index finger along his lips, making him shiver without wanting to. He didn't want to be this close to him, to this person, not when his mere presence made him feel so awfully nervous. Which, of course, didn't make any sense. He was just a small boy, how much harm could he do?

"Hm. At least they did give me a virgin this time," Kanda casually said as he licked his lips, though Allen could still see a few traces of something red on them. "I might just take a couple of years off their sentence, after all, what would people say if I take in a common bitch as my bride?"

He was mocking him, the little bastard was mocking him.

Hot blush on his cheeks, he tried hard not to scold him for speaking so crudely. Didn't he have any shame? One just didn't get up and start talking about things like that in public, specially when anyone could easily hear them! Hadn't his parents taught him any manners? He had got to be the rudest child Allen had ever met in his life.

"Isn't it time for Allen-_kun _to be shown his sleeping quarters, Master Kanda?" Tiedoll cheerily asked, although his happy expression turned to a sort of scolding one when the small boy ignored him. "And please do not use such language around our guest, I don't recall ever teaching you such foul words."

Kanda rolled his eyes, lips forming a sardonic smile. "What I say is none of your damn business, old man."

Despite his face, he really wasn't as cute as he hard originally thought. Wrapping his arms around himself, trying to find some sort of comfort, Allen looked down at himself when those dark eyes stared at him again. He didn't want to stay here, but he also wanted his village to get that promised rain. Everything was too complicated, and it made him miss his simple life more than ever. Still, he couldn't just get up and leave, so what was he to do?

"_Oi_. You, brat with the old man hair."

Quickly looking up, almost giving himself whiplash, Allen found himself face to face with that rude little kid again, the boy arrogantly sitting in front of him on the table. A scowl settled itself on his lips. It didn't really surprise him, he already knew this child had no manners whatsoever. Though that didn't stop him from backing away when delicate hands grabbed fistfuls of his hair, pulling him closer to the small boy. Eyes widening, he let out a sound of protest when his hair was yanked on, wincing when a mean smile bloomed on those pale lips.

"You little-"

"Damn stupid humans, paying me with damaged goods," Kanda groused, brow furrowed. Allen flinched when those fingers traced the scar marring the left side of his face, something which only seemed to make the little boy even more amused. "We can probably hide it with those ugly gray hairs of yours, that way no one will know any better."

Were insults the only thing his mouth could spew? Glaring at him, he tried to stay as still as possible, hands itching to wrap themselves around that skinny throat and wring the life out of him. It was a bad idea, he knew that, but right now he didn't really care. Rain, rain, that was the only thing he was here for, he had to remember that. His village needed rain to grow crops, Mana needed rain to keep the farm going or else he wouldn't be able to pay for his medicine. If Allen had to stay here for the rest of his life to make sure it would always rain on his village, then he would do it.

It was the only thing he could do.

"It's time for us to leave, Master Allen." A hand was placed on his shoulder, helping him get up and Allen sighed in relief when Tiedoll began to lead him out of the room. Good, he didn't know if it was possible for him to stay here another minute without teaching the brat a thing or two about respect.

Some happy 'marriage' he would have, stuck here with a bratty kid half his size who wouldn't known the meaning of being polite even if his life depended on it. God, he almost wished he had drowned in the ocean. At least it would be better than being here, he knew that for sure. Nothing could possible be worse than having to listen to someone younger than him and do everything he said. It was big blow to his ego, being married to a boy, specially when he had always dreamed of marring a pretty girl and having a family, maybe raise a kid or two if they could.

Sighing a bit sadly, he ran a hand in his short hair. No choice, he had no choice but to do this, he knew that better than anything else.

They were almost to the door, Allen almost tasting freedom, when that lilting voice stopped them and he mentally cursed the brat with all the foul words he could think of. Evil little kid, he just knew the brat was trying to make his life miserable. Well, more miserable than it already was.

Grudgingly turning around, he looked at the boy, a frown etched on his sulking face.

Raising an eyebrow, the boy only graced him with a simple look. "Put him in my chambers, he'll sleep with me from now on. I don't want any of those old farts gossiping before morning, stupid imbeciles always give me such a migraine."

For some unexplainable reason, he felt his cheeks heat up a little when he heard that. Then he shook his head, grabbing fistfuls of his robes as Tiedoll once again began to lead him out the room after he had nodded at the small dark-haired boy. What else had he expected? They were married now, it was normal for married couples to sleep in the same room and share the same bed. Besides, it wasn't as if it was expected of Allen to satisfy his husband _that _way. Kanda was just a child after all, barely if not ten years old, there would be no dirty bed sheets to be washed in the morning.

"I must warn you not to go out during the night, my boy, we wouldn't you to get lost now would we?" Tiedoll smiled, a comforting hand on his shoulder as he opened another pair of heavy looking doors leading to what Allen knew was Kanda's room.

He nodded, knowing he would follow that rule no matter what. His sense of direction left much to be desired, and this place was so big he knew he would never find his way back if he got lost in here.

"There's a place here for you to wash yourself if you wish to take a bath again, and if you get hungry just call for me. Do you need anything else, Allen-_kun_?" the kind man asked, concerned as Allen nervously chewed on his lower lip.

It's just that this room was so beautiful, but it also feel so empty and lonely. It just gave him the chills, that was all. Turning around to face the man, he gave him the best smile he could possibly give him, bowing. "Thank you, I'll make sure to call if I need anything."

Concern leaving, the brunette smiled more warmly this time. "Don't worry, I'm sure Master Kanda will warm up to you soon."

Blinking, he was left alone to stare at the man as he closed the doors in front of him, locking him inside this extravagant yet empty room until he was joined by his, _ehem_, husband. Tired, suddenly feeling exhausted and mentally drained, he made his way to the bed and promptly threw himself on it. Staring up the ceiling, he wiped his face clean of the makeup with his sleeve, barely noticing the red and black splotches now ruining the white silk.

So…this was his new home from now on. No more waking up to help Mana run the farm, no more selling flowers in the streets to make a little side money, and specially no more stupid dreams of marrying and moving away to find a place that could make better medicine for his father. No, all he had now was a husband he did not love and didn't even like, and nothing else.

Covering his smudged face with his hands, he bit his lip to stop the sobs he knew were coming. This was so stupid, he usually didn't cry so much or so easily. It had to be because this was his first time away from home. Yes, it was probably that. He was homesick, and he missed Mana terribly.

"Why the hell are you crying?"

Eyes snapping open, he sat up too fast and made himself dizzy, not even noticing the tears tumbling down his cheeks. He was surprised to see Kanda by the door, arms crossed and expression one of irritation and wonder. Feeling suddenly embarrassed, he quickly scrubbed his eyes to get rid of the tears. "Ah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

"Don't care, and go take a bath because I'm not sleeping with you looking like that." Pointing at his makeup smeared face, the little boy kicked off his shoes and yanked out the hairpins and combs from his hair, hissing as he carelessly threw them on the floor. "Your clothes are on the closet on the right, touch my stuff and I'll kill you."

Running his hands in his hair, Kanda sat on the bed next to him as Allen continued to stare at him with curiosity. He seemed to be angry about something, the way he was trying to get rid of the knots in his shoulder-length hair was enough to tell him that. Unsure of himself, the snow-haired boy bit the inside of his cheek before he swallowed his fear and gently ran his fingers in those black tresses to get rid of the all the knots. He felt the boy stiffening under his touch, Allen's usually pale cheeks heating up as he tried to ignore that and continue with what he was doing when the child didn't push him away.

Stupid parental feelings, they always got the best of him whenever he was around small children. That's why Mana had said he would one day make a good dad. A small smile bloomed on his lips as he remembered that.

"Here," the other suddenly said, startling him when he handed him a small yet intricate comb. "I don't want you touching me with your hands, so if you're going to make yourself useful at least use this."

Uncharacteristic anger bubbled in the pit of his stomach. Briskly taking the comb from the pale small hand, Allen breathed in harshly through his nose and tried to calm down Of course, how could he have forgotten a lowly human like him had no right to touch a God? Even if said God was a bratty prepubescent brat Allen was still too filthy and unworthy of even looking at him. Clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth, he ran the comb through the pitch black strands with as much delicacy as his anger allowed him to.

Suddenly exhausted, his anger evaporated when he remembered something. Something very important. Nervous, not knowing if he was even allowed to speak about the subject, his hands stopped what they were doing. He could either be scolded for his insolence, or maybe nothing would happen, but either way he had to make sure the other end of the deal was kept. After all, that had been the agreement, right? A bride in exchange for rain. His life, for water.

"Kanda," he murmured, the name feeling strange coming from his lips as he tried it out for the first time. How could a God have such a normal human name? Although, it was a pretty arrogant name if he stopped to think about it. And, in some sort of weird way, it fit him. **(1) **"Kanda."

"What?" the boy irritatingly snapped, turning around to look at him with a sour look on his face. "And stop saying my name like that, it's annoying."

That unfamiliar anger came back again. Allen couldn't remember ever being mad at someone else, he usually got along with everyone pretty fast. But this boy, this boy just brought out that uncharacteristic feeling in him. "Um, I wanted, ah…"

How to go about this without sounding rude or impatient? No matter how uncouth, bratty or small this person was, he was still a God. His village's life was in his hands, he had the power to either destroy it, or save it. Nervous, he bit his lips. The priestess had said he had to always be respectful, that this boy was his husband and that he had to do everything in his power to make him happy. To always make sure he was happy and pleased with him, that if he gained his favor the God would bring their village water.

Blushing when he remembered some of the things the old woman had told him he could do to make the God favor him, he avoided the boy's inquisitive gaze. Well, that was impossible. Kanda was so young, he probably didn't even know half of the things the priestess had mentioned. That blind woman believed the Water God was a full grown man, or something close to a man, so she had expected Allen to satisfy his most base desires to win him over and save their village.

Smiling sadly as he began to once again comb the young boy's dark hair, who was staring at him as if he were crazy, Allen tried not to remember the priestess's demeaning words. He had been offended, of course he had, why wouldn't he when she had so coldly told him to sell himself so cheaply? He had wanted to refuse, hating the idea of giving himself to a monster who might not even resemble a human being. The mere thought of sharing a bed with some disgusting and depraved beast had almost made him listen to Mana's words and flee the village. It was repulsive, it was humiliating. It was something he would never ever do.

"Are you done?" Kanda huffed, arms crossed over his chest as he glared up at him. Though his little childish face was so cute he didn't really manage to look as threatening as he might have wanted to.

Laughing softly to himself, Allen nodded. The Water God was such a cute child, he looked nothing like the monster he had thought he would be. Sleeping in the same bed as him wouldn't be so awful, not when the worst thing that could happen was Allen kicking him off the bed due to his messy sleeping habits. That, and the fact that they didn't really seem to get along that well, so maybe sharing the blankets would be an issue.

Placing the butterfly patterned comb at his side, he fixed the last couple of knots with his fingers. "Um," he began again, hoping this time he wouldn't back down. "When do you think my village will get their promised rain?"

Crap, he hadn't meant to sound so demanding. It sounded like he was scolding him. Feeling a bit embarrassed, he tried to take his words back. But-

Slapping his hands away, Kanda glared up at him, anger more prominent now. "They'll get it when I say they're ready to get it. Now got to sleep, I have to wake up early tomorrow."

'I thought he said he wanted me to take a bath,' was the first thing he thought, if only to ignore his anger and the almost unbearable urge to hit him, maybe scold him once or twice to teach him some well needed manners. It wasn't fair, Allen had given up so much for that stupid rain, the least this selfish God could do was give it to him. That was the deal, damn it, why wasn't he keeping his promise? He was a God, the Water God, it shouldn't be that hard for him to make it rain on a small village.

Furious, no longer caring about being polite, he got up and crossed the room in a couple of long strides and snapped open the wardrobe, almost pulling the doors off their hinges as he roughly rummaged through its contents to find something decent to sleep in. It took a him a while to notice the angry tears rolling down his cheeks, hands clutching a new set of clothes. How he hated crying. This brat simply brought out the worst of him. Wiping his face, he cleared his throat and unclasped the fastener holding his robes together, shivering when the silk slid down his body and fell at his feet. Quickly getting dressed, he tied the cords holding this piece and walked back to the bed without once looking at the boy intently staring at him.

Laying down on the left side of the bed, he pulled the covers over his body and let out a frustrated sigh. This was the worst, the absolute worst, and it was all this kid's fault. If his village didn't get that water soon, they wouldn't be able to live past this crop season, and then what would happen to Mana? His whole life depended on his farm, water was something that he absolutely needed to make money and live his comfortable life, free of most discomforts. If Allen didn't convince Kanda soon, if he didn't get that rain to fall, Mana would…

Bitter, distressed, and most of all angry, he tightly closed his eyes and tried to remember the many prayers he had been taught when he had been younger. Allen didn't believe in any of his village's deities, but back in his home country, a place on the other side of the ocean, somewhere far, far away from here, there had been one God he had believed in. And he still did.

So he prayed.

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

Allen woke up feeling abnormally warm, and he furrowed his brow when that warm heat got closer, almost suffocating him. But he refused to fully wake up, not opening his eyes despite that his body temperature was rising by second. Letting out a sound of protest, he turned to his side and hoped the abnormal warmth would go away and leave him alone. It was so hot, and if he weren't so damn tired he would have taken off his clothes in a desperate attempt to cool down. Smiling in his sleep, he wrapped his arms around his pillow, deeply inhaling the comforting scent of jasmine it seemed to give off. It was a really nice scent, making him even sleepier as he began to relax again.

Something long and silky began to tickle his nose, and Allen frowned as his hands grabbed fistfuls of whatever it was as he turned to the other side. Annoyed, he pressed his lips together as his fingers got stuck in whatever he was grabbing. Damn it, was a night of sleep too much to ask? Mana usually let him sleep until it was time to herd the sheep, and today was the seventh day of the week so there was no need for him to do that when they were getting their wool shaved.

Sighing in frustration, knowing he wouldn't be able to fall asleep again, he opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling.

And promptly wondered when the hell had his homey home turned into a lavished room full of expensive silks and marble structures. Immediately sitting up, he almost fell off the too big bed when slender arms tightly squeezed his waist. Stiffening, he looked down, his eyes widening when he saw his demonic husband nuzzling his stomach as he continued to peacefully sleep on top of him. W-what, why…

"_Ngh_…shut up," the small boy murmured in his sleep, brow furrowing as he buried his face in Allen's sleeping robes. Yawning, Kanda's fingers unconsciously pulled at his clothes, a shiver running up the fifteen-year-olds' spine when they slipped down his shoulders.

Tongue-tied and heart beating faster than it was normal, Allen blinked down at him. Oh, right. They were supposed to sleep together, it was their 'honeymoon' after all. Cheeks feeling a bit warm, he sighed and ran a hand in his messy white locks. It would take sometime for him to get used to this, waking up to this bratty child instead of Mana's smiling face and his delicious breakfast. Chest heavy, feeling suddenly depressed as that almost forgotten aguish came back, Allen scrubbed his eyes before those stupid tears had time to form.

He should stop thinking about his dear father, it only made the loneliness grow and suffocate him even more. If he kept on like this, he would turn into a ball of misery. Allen didn't want that, he was stronger than that, Mana had taught him to be better than that. Positive thoughts, he had to think positive.

Looking down at the boy sleeping on his lap again, he drew a tiny smile on his lips. "At least like this, there's no rude mouth to ruin his cute looks."

Kanda was very pretty; he had noticed that the first time he had seen the boy, but asleep like this, without that ever present scowl on his childish face, the boy really was beautiful. If only he didn't have that horrible personality, he would probably make a really good little brother. Allen didn't have any siblings, Mana had taken him in when he had been a little older than the boy in his lap, but he had always wanted to have one. Being alone was something he had always disliked, and he wasn't naïve enough to believe that his father would always be with him, so he had wanted someone to raise and take care of after his Mana was gone. He liked children, and they always seemed to like him back. Or at least until he had met Kanda, who obviously hated his guts and regretted ever getting him for a bride.

Besides, he was getting off topic. Kanda wasn't his little brother, could never be because he was his husband and nothing else. Allen should start getting used to that idea sooner rather then later, it would make things a lot easier for him if he learned his place before he had to be put in it by force. He was going to be stuck in this place for the rest of his life (or at least until the boy got tired of him and got rid of him), so he should at least try to be optimistic and make the best of it even if he really couldn't seen any good in his situation. Again, he felt those frustrating tears start in his eyes, and he let out a sound of annoyance, wiping them with the sleeve of his robes before they had a chance to fall and give him away.

Mana, he had to remember that he was doing all of this for Mana. For his precious father, his father who had given him everything he could have ever wanted, so the least Allen could do was suck it up and do this for him. He was a man, and a man never broke his promises.

Sighing for what seemed like the millionth time that morning, he began to run his fingers in that charcoal hair as he leaned against the pile of plush pillows behind him. He might as well enjoy the silence, right? Kanda always seemed to be in such a horrible mood, and it was more than obvious that the boy didn't like him. Allen didn't want to wake him up when he could take a little breather from his atrocious attitude.

Shivering when the ocean breeze coming from the balcony caressed the bare skin of his shoulders, Allen tried to fix his clothes. The key word being tried, since Kanda had a really firm grip on his robes and he kept pulling them further down his shoulders until they finally pooled at his elbows. It seemed the God was a really messy sleeper, and it was so unlike the arrogant boy that it made Allen's feeble smile grow a bit. He was a child after all, no matter how mature and overconfident he acted, he was still nothing but a child. It made all of this a lot easier. Now instead of being his 'bride' in every meaning of the word, Allen could simply act as sort of babysitter, although he was sure Kanda would rip his head off if he ever heard him say that.

Carefully wrapping his arms around the sleeping boy's shoulders, he laid down on the bed again. It was still too early, and Allen was tired. Bringing the little body closer to his own, he placed Kanda's head on his chest and pulled the covers over their bodies. He only hoped he would be able to wake up before him or else he would suffer the boy's wrath for touching him in his sleep. Really, this kid needed to act his age and behave like the child he was instead of the adult he wasn't.

"Eugh, you smell so disgustingly sweet, how can you stand it?"

Allen had just barely closed his eyes before they snapped open again when he heard that voice. Damn it, why did he have to have such rotten luck? There had to be some evil fate who haunted his comical, there just had to be for him to be _this _unlucky. Looking down, he wasn't the least bit surprised to see those dark blue eyes staring back at him. At least the boy didn't look half as mad as he thought he would be for waking up in his arms. Though what he really wasn't expecting was for the boy to simply scoff at him and bury his face in the crook of his neck, his warm breath making him shiver. What-

Placing a trembling hand on his head, Allen swallowed before he spoke: "I-I thought you said you didn't like my scent."

He felt the boy smirk against the sensitive skin of his throat. "I don't, it just makes me less hungry."

How did that even make sense? Shouldn't the scent of a human make him _hungrier_? Then again, he was basing this off those silly tales he had heard in his village. For all he knew Kanda didn't even eat people, maybe he was a vegetarian and Allen's scent was so awful to him that it completely ruined his appetite. Yes, maybe it was only that.

So why was his heart beating so fast?

"Calm down, idiot." Shivering, hands fisting the bed sheets underneath him, Allen let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. "I would never eat an imbecile like you, you'll probably make me sick."

Blushing, that ever present anger returning when he was around this boy, Allen frowned. He didn't understand Kanda's words, sometimes it seemed like he was just teasing him, other times he really didn't know what to make of those insinuations he made. Everything wall all so very frustrating, it made his head hurt. He almost wished the boy would just decide to either get rid of him or simply stop bothering him so much. He hated the conceited way he talked to him all the time, as if he knew something he didn't and was just dangling it over his face like a piece of meat.

Burying his face in his pillow, he curled into a ball after he had pushed the child off of his body, not wanting to look at him right now. He liked him better when he was asleep, he was much more easier to handle like that.

"_Che_. Don't ignore me, stupid."

Wincing when the other grabbed a fistful of his hair and pulled on it, he grudgingly turned around and glared at the bratty kid. Kanda's lips curved into an amused smile, making Allen flinch once more when he pulled on his hair again. "Wake up, you're helping me dress."

Why that arrogant little monster- "Aren't you old enough to know how to dress yourself?" he almost snapped, patience running thin.

Finally letting go of his hair, the dark-haired boy sat in front of him and raised his arms above his head, waiting. "I'm old enough to know I'll hit puberty before you. Now get to it, I have a meeting to attend and if I'm late that old man's going to start bitching at me again-ow!"

Rubbing his head, the boy looked at him as if seeing him for the first time, expression one of complete surprise. "What the hell did you just do?" he hissed, anger in his voice again.

Allen kneeled in front of him, hands on his hips as he glared down at him. "Do you kiss your mother with that mouth? Children shouldn't be using those words, have some manners."

Really, this had to be rudest and most impudent boy he had ever met. How could mister Tiedoll stand taking care of such an impolite kid? Allen had only been around him for less than a day and he was already all too willing to jump out the balcony if it meant getting away from this little monster. He felt nothing but the deepest amount of respect for the man for having survived so many years babysitting this brat. Tiedoll had to be nothing short of a miracle to be able to do that.

Dark eyes wide, Kanda blinked in disbelief as he continued to rub his sore head, not being able to believe what this stupid human had just done. When he finally seemed to snap out of his daze, he glared back at the snow-haired boy. "That's none of your damn business, human. Your job here is to do everything I say, or don't you want your village's drought to come to an end?"

Freezing, his own eyes widening, Allen gritted his teeth and bit back his own retort. Not only was this kid bratty, he was also an evil manipulating little bastard. "You liar, you said you would make it rain if you got a sacrifice. I'm here aren't I, why haven't you kept your end of the deal?"

Crossing his arms, the boy scoffed and looked down at him with arrogance. "The human race is doomed anyway, they always make the same mistakes and never learn from them. Why should I help them when they've never done anything for me?"

Furious, he clenched his hands into tight fists and tried to hold his composure. He didn't want him to see how truly worried he was, how afraid. "Because you promised, you said you would make it rain as long as someone was offered as your sacrifice. Why else would you do something like that if you never intended to go through with the whole thing?"

Why else would Allen leave Mana's side if not to save him? The priestess had said it was the only way, the _only _possible way for their village to survive. Allen didn't want to do it, he didn't want to have to leave his father to fend for himself, but he had still done it. And now it turned out that Kanda had never meant to keep his promise, that Allen had given up everything he held dear for nothing? Looking back at him, Allen felt a shiver run down his spine when he saw the look the boy was wearing on his face. It didn't fit his face, he was too young to wear such an angry and cold look like that. The way his dark blue eyes were glaring at him made his heartbeat speed up, his body feeling suddenly colder.

"My reasons are my own," he began, getting closer and Allen unconsciously stepped back, the tangled bed sheets making him fall down on the bed with a silent gasp. He turned his head to the side when those black tresses caressed his cheeks, his breathing a little shallow when a small hand was placed on his chest, right over his heart. "And it's on your best interests to do as I say, or I might just have to ask for more of your little village."

It wasn't normal for a child to speak like that, so maybe that's why Kanda's words sounded so dangerous. Breath hitching in his throat when the boy grabbed his face in his hand, his silver eyes widened when he felt soft lips against his own for the smallest of seconds. It had been such a chaste touch it didn't even count as real kiss, but still…still…

Blushing, he reminded himself that Kanda was so much younger than him. Just a kid, nothing but a kid, he didn't know that it wasn't okay to do those kinds of things. He probably thought it would be fun to tease him like that. No matter how much Allen didn't really like him, Kanda was still a little boy despite that he didn't act like one (well, bratty and spoiled attitude aside). It wouldn't be right to get mad at him for this, it was such a small thing anyway. Touching his mouth, he looked at the boy still straddling his hips, his expression full of confusion as he momentarily forgot what they had been arguing about.

Licking his suddenly dry lips, he ignored the hot blush on his face and stared up at his so called husband. "Why, what was that for-"

Rolling his eyes, the boy waved a dismissive hand in the air, not even giving him time to finish his question. "Call it a whim, now help me get dressed."

Oh, that evil incarnate. He was trying to make him forget about their argument, wasn't he? Well, that trick wasn't going to work on him. Allen hadn't just thrown his whole life away for nothing, he was going to get that rain no matter what he had to do. And if that included hassling an eight year old little boy until he got it, by God he would. Give him everything and keep nothing, that had been the priestess's words, and now Allen had to abide by them.

Gently grabbing the boy by his shoulders, Allen tucked a lock of white hair behind one ear and sat up. Kanda looked at him, that now familiar scowl falling into place as he stared at him with slight annoyance. "Well?" he asked. "What are you waiting for, a damn invitation?"

Taking a deep breath, he tried to make his body relax, not wanting to show how nervous this kid made him. "What," he began, swallowing when the words momentarily got stuck in his throat. This was so, so damn humiliating. "What do I have to do to change your mind? I'll do anything you want, I promise I will. "

If only his pride wasn't so big, if his stubborn nature was a bit more docile, this would be easier to do. Yet, Allen wasn't like that. He prided himself on being polite and respectful whenever the occasion called for it, because that was the way he had been raised, but he had never begged anyone for anything. His pride just wouldn't allow him to, he wouldn't allow himself to fall that low. He had been pitied for being an orphan when he had been younger, and he had always hated that. He didn't need anyone to feel sorry for him, least of all pity, when he had been blessed with so many good things after he had met Mana. So now, to be asking something like this to the most egotistical person he had ever met, it was enough to make him want to bite off his tongue.

Kanda's eyes widened the tiniest bit, then he scowled and composed himself. Huffing, he crossed his legs and sat in front of him, brushing away dark locks from his eyes. "Since your brain seems incapable of maintaining even the tiniest bit of information, let me set some things straight for you."

Suddenly uncomfortable, he played with the sleeves of his robes and fought down the urge to look away from him. If he looked away, if he admitted any weakness, it would feel like he was losing something.

"You were given to me as an offering, a peace maker of sorts, and that's all you are. An object, something I can use to decorate my room and show off-well, if you were the least bit appealing that is." Shrugging his shoulders, the small boy sighed and drew a satirical smile on his lips. "But I guess your village must be blind or something, since they obviously sent me the wrong package."

His words made the humiliation burn even brighter, and Allen wanted nothing more than to wring his little neck with his own two hands. Silently gritting his teeth as he continued to sit in front of the small boy, he straightened his robes and refused to let the other see how much his words had offended him.

Getting off the bed, not bothering to look at him as he slipped in his shoes, the boy continued, that arrogance rolling off of him in waves as usual. "As my 'bride'," he snorted here, as if the mere mention of that word being used in the same sentence as Allen was ludicrous, "you are expected to fulfill your duties to me. Right now you're nothing but a ball of misery, so I'll be nice enough to excuse you from obligations. Don't expect to be treated like a princess here though, I have no use for idiots so you better start performing your responsibilities tomorrow morning."

Hands trembling with his fury, he stayed seated as the boy began to dress himself, angry flush still on his cheeks. Hot, burning shame filled his veins, and it was all he could do not to…to…

"I don't want nor need anything from you because everything of yours already belongs to me."

Fixing his collar, Kanda stared at himself in the full length mirror in front of him as he pinned his hair up with a different set of beautiful combs, the rubies at the ends of the hairpins making a stark contrast against his charcoal hair. "You're lucky I'm even letting you keep your name, so be grateful."

Hands tight fists at his sides, Allen's shoulders trembled with fury even after Kanda had left, closing the heavy woodened doors behind without even sparing the snow-haired boy a last glance.

That…that damn little bastard.

Throwing the blankets aside, he grabbed his sandals and, not bothering to change into more appropriate clothes, rushed towards the balcony as that hot shame continued to burn his cheeks. Hands firmly holding onto the rail, he looked down and felt his chest tightened when he saw how high up he was. If he jumped from this distance he would probably break a leg on his way down, or worse, kill himself.

But what was worse, breaking a leg or living with Kanda for the rest of his life?

Mana would understand, he wouldn't be ashamed of him for doing this. He had been the one who had told Allen to run away, to escape the horrible fate his village had bestowed on his son. Once he was back home, he would convince Mana to leave with him and find a better place to live in, one who didn't rely on some stupid prissy God for survival. Yes, they would start a new life, forget about this whole mess and keep on living as if nothing had ever happened. He knew Mana loved his tiny village, but he would have to agree with his son and leave. Allen wasn't naïve enough to believe that he would be forgiven for abandoning his duties, he knew what happened to those who disobeyed the rules in his village. So Mana would have to agree with him, even if Allen had to trick him to get him to leave. It was a horrible thing to do, but it was the only way, the only way for them to be happy now.

There was a pond down there, it didn't look that deep. Nervous, Allen cast one last look at Kanda's room and swallowed before he balanced himself on the thin balcony railing. Crap, it really was high up. Holding onto the pillar on his right, he closed his eyes and brushed away a couple of white locks from his face, the salty ocean breeze making him shiver.

Stumbling a bit when he heard the sound of the heavy doors being opened, he clutched the pillar with more force.

"Master Allen, I brought you your breakfast-Allen, what are you doing?!" It was Tiedoll, the sound of china breaking filling the room. "Get down from there this instant, you can get hurt!"

He probably thought he was trying to kill himself. Well, he knew Kanda better than him, so he really shouldn't be that surprised that after one night with the brat Allen would be at the end of his patience. Never before had he hated someone as much as he hated that child, a child of all things. He had never thought it would be possible for him to hate any child, but Kanda was the absolute worst. Taking a deep breath, he ignored Tiedoll's words and let go of the pillar.

Really, why would he try to kill himself? He was only trying to get as far away from that demonic brat as possible and go back home. It was obvious he wasn't going to keep his end of the deal, his village would get no rain, so Allen had no reason to stay here. After all, he wasn't here because he wanted to, he was here as an exchange for that damn rain. If his village wasn't going to get that rain, then Allen sure as hell wasn't going to stay here any longer.

Now all he had to do was a find a way back home.

Gasping, breaking through the surface of the water, he coughed and tried to get as much air into his lungs as was possible. He had been wrong, this pond was really deep. Ignoring the annoying way his clothes were sticking to his skin, he didn't look back at the palace and began to swim to end of the pond. Freezing, soaking wet but alive, he stumbled and had to lean against the closest tree to catch his breath. Running a hand in his wet hair, he grimaced and pulled out the lotus petals knotted in the white ringlets, throwing them away as he continued to rid his hair of leaves and twigs. Sighing when he was done, he pressed his back to the rough bark and stared down at his feet. No shoes, they had probably fallen off while he had been swimming. Sighing again, he winced when he moved his leg.

Pulling up the skirts of his robes, he groaned when he saw the blood oozing out of a cut on his thigh. It didn't look deep, but it stung like the dickens. Cursing his luck and everything else he could think up, he huffed and childishly crossed his arms.

Positive thoughts, he had to think positive thoughts. Well, he was alive wasn't he? And far away from that little demon, so that was good news. Also, he was going home back to Mana.

Smiling despite himself, he squeezed the water out of his clothes.

This was probably one of the stupidest ideas he had ever had, but so far it was working.

"My, my, what do we have here?"

Startled, he turned around, and felt his breath hitch in his throat at who he saw. Those honey-colored eyes, that sun-kissed skin and that beautiful smile. Unexpected heat bloomed on his cheeks, and suddenly feeling self conscious, he tried to fix his rumpled clothing when the gently smiling man continued to look at him. Then, his brain caught up with him and promptly slapped him in the face.

What was he doing here, smiling at this man when he should be running away? Mister Tiedoll was probably looking for him by now, after all, he was Kanda's property wasn't he? That arrogant brat may not like him, but he didn't seem like the kind to just let him go like that. Yes, he was the kind of person that would want to make him miserable for the rest of his life just because he could.

Besides, he didn't even know _who _this person was. For all Allen knew he could be one of Kanda's men, sent here to bring him back to live out the rest of his days in total misery in that palace. Panic taking over him, he paid little to no attention to the pain in his leg and tried to run into the thick forest surrounding the magnificent structure, hoping the lose the man once there.

"Well, it seems I've caught myself a little lamb." Gasping when he felt arms wrap around his middle, Allen froze as the man turned his body around to face him. "And what a cute little lamb too. Yu really outdid himself this time."

You? Twisting in the stranger's arms, he glared up at him and pushed at his chest. "Let go, I have to-"

Smiling again, the man shook his head at him. "Let's be quiet now, little lamb. You don't want to get caught, do you?"

Allen frowned, about to ask what the hell he was talking about when he felt a hand being placed on his mouth, silencing him as the dark-haired man dragged him to the forest's edge and hid them behind a thick cheery tree. It was on full bloom, hiding their silhouettes perfectly. Struggling, he tried to speak through the hand covering his mouth, failing miserably as he was only pressed closer to the taller man's body.

"There's no need to be ashamed, you're not the first one who has tried to run away from that little brute," the man murmured, hot breath tickling the young boy's hairline. "Kanda is not known for his gentleness, that boy has never treated his women with any ounce of respect."

Kanda. Then he did know him. Struggling even more, he glared up at the man, who only smiled down and him, making his cheeks heat up again. Damn bastard and his pretty face, they were trying to distract him. He stiffened though, when he hears noises quickly approaching their hiding spot, and the beautiful man smiling at him suddenly lost his cheery smile and frowned. As if disappointed.

Finally falling still, Allen tried to hear what they were saying (for it was obvious these men were looking for him, why else would they be here?), but was sadly disappointed when his captor pressed his back against the tree, his larger body around him preventing him from hearing anything. Cheeks still hot and body soaking wet, he let out a tired sigh. That bad luck was never going to leave him alone, he was doomed to live a life full of rotten misery. Maybe that's why he had been chosen to do this. Out of all the other people in the village, it just had to be orphan taking care of his sick father the one who had gotten picked to be the God's sacrifice.

"You must have done something really bad for them to have sent so many guards after you, doll." Blinking when he was finally let go, Allen pushed the other away from himself and pressed his back against another tree while he glared at the golden-eyed man. "Then again, you might have not. Maybe Kanda simply took a fancy to you and refuses to let you go."

Allen had to snort at this despite the situation he was in. "Yeah right, that brat hates me. I doubt he's ever loved anything in his miserable short life."

Golden eyes widened the smallest bit, that smile appearing again. Stepping closer to him, Allen pushing himself further back into the tree, the tall man ran a hand in his long chocolate curls. "Feisty, you're quite different from all his past brides."

There was something…odd about this man. "If they all tried to run away before the first day was over then I doubt we're that much different."

Chuckling, suave smile blooming on his lips, the other shook his head. "No, I'm positive of it. You're nothing like the other countless of women he's had."

Then he was in front of him, one hand on each side of his head as he leaned down to his height to press their foreheads together. Silver eyes completely wide, Allen's heartbeat skyrocketed. He hadn't heard him move, not even a broken twig as he had reduced the distance between them down to nothing

Tilting his chin up, the man charmingly smiled at him at the same time Allen noticed the soft texture of his white gloves. "The name is Tyki Mikk, doll, but you can just call me Tyki and I'll call you Allen. Hm, how does that sound?"

"H-how do you know my name," he stammered, powerless against this man's charming charisma and bold moves. His cheeks were on fire, he noticed, and his body felt abnormally hot.

And Tyki seemed to be aware of that too, his smile widening as he pressed their bodies closer together without caring that his clothes might get wet. "My boy, everyone knows of the Water God's new bride. You're very popular in our world you know."

'In our world', what was that supposed to mean? Hands trembling, he pushed the man off of him, not once looking at his mesmerizing golden eyes. Dear God, what was wrong with him? He felt so dizzy, so tired, as if he had suddenly been drained of all energy. How was that even possible, for him to feel as if he were seconds from falling asleep?

Warm hands steadied him before he had a chance to fall, his eyes seconds away from falling shut. Holding his aching head, he frowned and looked at his would-be savior with confusion, who simply laughed good-naturedly at him as he helped him stand up on his own two feet.

It was strange though. Every time Tyki touched him he left a trace of heat on his skin, the warmth spreading all the way down to his fingertips until it left Allen feeling like an idiot. That, and terribly tired. Nice, it felt surprisingly nice, and for some reason he couldn't understand, he found himself reaching out for the older male, wanting to make direct contact with his skin instead of his gloved hands. Letting out a sound of protest when the man stopped his hands from touching his face, Allen frustratingly looked up at those bewitching ocher eyes.

"W-why are you so warm?" he asked, ready to pass out any second as the statuesque man carefully put some distance between them, touching him as little as possible as he settled him down at the foot of the tree. Pulling the skirts of his ruined robes up to his thighs, Tyki winced when he saw the bloody cut he was sporting.

"Ow, that must have hurt. What did you do to yourself to get this-"

"You didn't answer my question," he stubbornly plunged on, feeling less dizzy and more clear-headed now that there was a bit of distance between them. "Your hands, they…um…" Not knowing how to continue, he suddenly felt a bit embarrassed with himself. At his thoughts, at the way his body felt so hot and…his blush doubled.

"Don't let an incubus steal your heart, doll, they love to feed on the souls of the innocent," Tyki simply said, chuckling seconds after when he saw Allen's confused expression. "Never mind, just remember to have a warm meal once you get home and you'll feel better again."

Allen didn't understand, and he wanted to ask more but the words died in his mouth when he saw the man tying a red blood handkerchief around the cut on his thigh, being careful not to make it any worse as he gently pulled him up to his feet again. Not knowing if he should thank him or ask him why he was being so nice to him (he could still be one Kanda's men), he settled on bowing down slightly, muttering a quick apology he hoped the other had heard. It was a bit embarrassing, he was old enough to take care of himself yet this man here had done that for him without batting an eye.

Looking a bit surprised with his apology, Tyki waved a dismissive hand in the air. "Ah, don't worry about it. If I was in your place I would have probably done the same thing. Kanda's not the nicest person to be around after all, the giant squid is much better company than that old grumpy-pants."

He was so nice, nothing like that brat from Hell and his rude comments. "Then you know him?" he asked. "Kanda, do you know him?"

Nodding, not seeming the least bit preoccupied of the darkening sky (unlike Allen, who was wondering how the hell was the even possible when it was supposed to be morning) as he continued to keep a bit of distance between them. "Sure I do, I'm here to have dinner with him but he kept bailing out on me. Oh, you probably wouldn't want to know," he added when the young boy opened his mouth, "it's all dusty political stuff and silly rules. Boring stuff, really."

"The why are you here, shouldn't you be up at the palace?" he asked yet again, because despite being a really nice guy, Tyki still had that _something _about him that put him on edge.

"Cute _and _smart." He sounded impressed, and Allen raised an eyebrow as he crossed his arms. "Kanda's luck just keeps improving, it almost makes me jealous. But yes, I am supposed to be up there, actually, I'm on my way there. I would offer to take you along with me but I take it you're not heading the same way I am, or am I wrong?"

Blushing a bit, Allen pouted. Tyki smiled again, looking amused instead of disapproving. "Don't worry, I won't tell on you."

Surprised, his eyes widened. "You won't?"

He hadn't been expecting that. After all, if he was dining with Kanda then that meant they had to be friends, or at least acquaintances. Surely a friend would tell another friend when they're wife was trying to leave them, it was the honorable and right thing to do. So, how could he trust this man to keep his word? Kanda hadn't kept his, he had to remember that he couldn't trust anyone here since this was that brat's kingdom and everyone probably worked for him.

Instead of looking offended by his mistrust, Tyki gently grabbed his hand and brought it up to his lips (turning Allen into pile of mush again), brushing his cheek against the skin there before placing a chaste kiss on the palm on his hand.

"A gentleman always keeps his promises, Allen, and I pride myself on being a man of my word. You can trust me not to tell your temperamental husband about our little rendezvous."

Dumbfounded, eyes wide and breath more that a little labored, he nodded like an idiot once Tyki had let go of his hand. Giving him one last smile, the man affectionately ruffled his hair, turned around and whistled. A sudden burst of air made Allen close his eyes, covering his face to protect himself from the turbulent winds. Cursing his back luck again, he opened his eyes, blinked, and was surprised to see that the man was gone.

Then again, he should be getting used to this by now. After flying fish and waterfalls that fell from the skies, this paled in comparison.

Still…

Hands on his hips, Allen scowled. "What kind of gentleman leaves a poor boy lost in the woods all by himself? He could have at least told me how to get out of this place and go back home, the jerk."

Cursing his rotten luck yet again, he didn't look back as he walked deeper into the thick canopy of trees, soaking wet and cold again.

It was when he was deep in the forest, completely lost as he fought with a particularly stubborn tree branch that refused to let go of his clothes, that he figured out why Tyki made him feel so on edge.

He reeked of blood and death.

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

"It's dark, why is dark when it's supposed to be around midday?" Allen complained to no one in particular as he took off his dirty clothes, throwing them on the ground and sighing in relief once he was inside the spring he had come across on his way out of the forest.

Washing his face, getting rid of all the dirt and filth clinging to him after spending what felt like hours in an unending forest, Allen bit his bottom lip in thought.

What was he supposed to do now? He didn't know how to get back home, and it wasn't as if he was going to go back and ask that arrogant brat either. He'd much rather eat his own shoes then ask that kid for anything.

Groaning, he pressed his back against the cool rock of one of the many boulders in the pond. They were pretty, cut into shapes to resemble dragons and mermaids, water sprites and other things he wasn't able to recognize. It seemed that no matter how far away he ran from the palace, traces of the arrogant brat where everywhere he went. Well, it was his kingdom, it was only normal for it to be decorated after him. Hm. Not only was he arrogant, he was also conceited. Damn egomaniac.

"Ah!"

Falling backwards when something slimy and slithery brushed against his legs, he swallowed a mouthful of water before he was able to resurface and glare at the water. What the hell-

"Oh, it's you," he murmured, flicking wet bangs out of his face as the same golden fish from before floated to his side, nuzzling his cheek and sending a shiver down his spine. "What are you doing all the way here? Don't you live in the beach?"

Golden scaled shimmering, the fish twirled around a couple of times before diving into the water, making Allen shiver again and again as it kept rubbing his legs. It was cold, it looked like it was getting ready to rain and now he had a pet fish. Great, could things get any worse?

But of course, his bad luck had to catch up with him at some point.

Pressing his back against the creepy looking dragon statue, his chest heaved up and down when he saw someone else entering what he had claimed as his little pond. Nervous, shushing the golden fish staring at him again, he looked at his surroundings and grabbed one of the many peltate leaves floating around the water surface. Feeling a little bad as he pushed the beautiful lotus from its little home, he covered his face with the robust leaf and risked a peek, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu.

At first, he had thought it was that pesky brute otherwise known as Kanda, but then he reminded himself that the brat was only about nine years old or so. After all, this person had to at least be in his twenties, tall and definitely male, or so his very nude body said. Feeling a light heat on the skin of his cheekbones, he swallowed and convinced himself that he wasn't a peeping tomb, that he was just making sure nobody was hot on his trail.

Licking his suddenly dry lips when those large hands undid the crimson cord holding those ebony tresses together, Allen's blush doubled as he finally looked at his face. It wasn't Kanda, but this man and him shared many features. For starters, their eyes were the same: that dark almost black color, cobalt or sapphire blue maybe. They could be twins, except that this man had a good foot on the boy and his hair was a lot longer, he was anything but a child and Kanda didn't have a funky tattoo on his chest. Blinking, he tried to make out what it was, only seeing a weird curvy three and dozens of black tendrils wrapped around the man's left pectoral and bicep. And Kanda was a wee little boy, while this man was…well, he was a man.

Holding the golden fish to his chest so he wouldn't make any noise and get them caught, he tried to inconspicuously get out of the water without being noticed. Allen knew he couldn't get caught now, there was no way he was going back to that palace and its arrogant God. They'd have to kill him first.

"Shit," he hissed when he cut his toe on what felt like a very sharp rock, something red immediately swirling around in the water. Why did he have to be so damn clumsy? It was going to be the death of him one day.

He froze though, when he heard the other man in the pond move, felt the water ripple as he turned his dark gaze to where Allen was hidden. Despite knowing he hadn't been caught yet, he felt terribly nervous as goose-bumps rose in his skin. Ribcage suddenly feeling two sizes too small, he breathed in harshly and stumbled back into something solid…and warm and definitely alive. Something that felt a lot like human skin and muscle.

"I can smell your blood a mile away." Water drops slid down the body behind him, making Allen shiver all the more as he stood petrified, still holding his new pet in his arms. "What the hell are you doing here, human?"

Oh my God, he was going to eat him. It was the only thing his brain could think of, human instincts screaming at him to run away and put as much distance between himself and this man as was physically possible. '_Predator',_ it rolled off of him in thick, condensing, waves, pouring over his smaller body and stopping him from moving.

And he was the prey.

Long, sharp nails were at his throat before he could even attempt to run away, digging into his skin, cutting. Breath hitching when he felt something warm and coppery running down his neck, Allen swallowed with difficult and stopped himself from doing anything stupid as he was roughly turned around and slammed into the dragon statue. Wincing, sharp stone digging between his shoulder blades, he blushed when a larger body was pressed against his own, cutting off any exits.

His silver eyes were completely wide, and he tried his hardest not look at the other's naked body as the dark-haired man tightened his grip around his throat. He could easily tell his cheeks were on fire, their close proximity only reminding him of how naked he himself was as the stranger continued to press his body against his own. Blushing even more when a hand grabbed his face, he tensed as he was brought even closer to the taller male, embarrassment growing when he noticed their lips were almost touching.

Immediately looking away from those furious dark eyes, he stared at the intricate tattoo on the other's chest, needing something to distract him from the very obviously naked man trying to kill him. It didn't work. He could still feel that dark gaze on him, could feel those dripping black tresses sticking to his sides as his attacker got even closer, and he tightly closed his eyes when he felt that hot breath caressing his crimson cheeks.

"Again, what the hell are you doing here?"

**TBC? Reviews?**

**-**

**Final Notes: **Well, here it is. The second, crappy chapter…eugh. It's getting so cliché and stereotypical, damn it (Tyki was the only cool thing here). I promise to make the next one better, since I really can't write very well when I'm coughing up my intestines every five seconds. I've been sick all week, when is it going to end? Oh well, I'll try my best next time…though I really do wonder how I'm gonna do that lemon for you, **Kini**-_san_. I promise to find a way for you, _querida_ :D

Also, I have a question for my dear readers: Do you guys want this whole story to be from Allen's point of view or do you want a Kanda centered chapter next? Hm, that's a tough decision for me. It might take me longer to update this time, since I have to catch up with all the work I missed while I was sick but…eh, I'll try my best, okay?…can't promise anything but that right now, sorry.

**(1) **Oh, stupid Kanda. "God's field"? Really, what an arrogant name you have, no wonder you're so screwed up in the head (and your first name…oh, Lord. Were your parents on crack? Oh, I forgot, you're a fucking automaton! *_sobs_*)


	3. Datura

**Warnings for this possibly last chapter ever: **It's Kandy POV, so, well, expect the worst. Also, crap chapter alert! I practically BS-ed my way through this at the last hour, seriously. Read at your own risk, kiddos. Also, there's a bunch of mistakes cus I'm making my Betas read Reborn! so they were too busy to check it for me. Corrections are totally welcomed.

**Disclaimer: **Hibari is a beat-up-the-person-I-like-to-a-bloody-pulp first then ask questions later kind of man, why does that sound so much like Bakanda? _OMG _they're twins!

**Your Eyes Only**

**Chapter II-**_Datura _

This boy was so stupid, so damn utterly stupid.

Droplets of blood tumbled and fell, creating gentle ripples in the water as well as dying it a vibrant crimson that quickly disappeared. He tried not to breathe, tried his hardest not to inhale that seductive, tantalizing scent he hadn't smelled in almost three decades. It took all of his strength not to lean down and taste the red rivers running down that fair skin, to finally break the stupid diet that had been forced on him and finally have something worth eating. But he stopped himself, loosening his grip around that pale throat enough to let the kid draw in some much needed oxygen, if his face was anything to go by.

He had better self-control than that, and he'd rather die than let that stupid bitch win.

Tilting his head to the side, ebony tresses falling over his face, he examined the child he had in front of him. It was definitely him, there was no doubt about that. Same snowy hair, deathly pale skin, and that weird scar marring the left side of his face. Damn it, he'd thought that old man had told the brat to stay in his room. Clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth in disdain, he glared at nothing in particular while he continued to hold the human boy captive. This hadn't gone according to plan; the stupid kid was supposed to stay in his damn room and wait there until he had served his purpose, not run away the second he left him alone. Fuck, were all humans this dumb now? It had been a while since he had visited their realm, so he couldn't be sure. The last time he had gone down there they had been doing remotely well, despite their human nature.

Eying the inviting dust of pink on the boy's cheeks, he scowled in irritation. He absolutely hated it when his plans were spoiled, especially by brats that had no right to meddle in his affairs. It wasn't as if he wanted the human child in his home, he hated all of his race with a passion after all, but he did need him if he wanted to get out of this damn deal he had made with that know-it-all bitch.

Chest heaving up and down, the boy pressed against the marble statue that had been made centuries ago, at the same time he once again tightened his grip around his bloodied throat. Shit, he hadn't noticed that. She wouldn't take the kid if he was too injured. Fuck the damn woman and her incredibly high standards to hell, how he hated her and everything involved with her cursed name. Running his free hand in his wet hair, he gritted his teeth and slowly let go of the kid, his scowl deepening at the sound his claws made when they clacked against the stone and pulled away from the human's flesh. Probably shouldn't have done that. Whatever, at least it wasn't that deep, just a simple flesh wound. It was the damn kid's fault for being here when he was supposed to be in his room, doing what he had told him to do. Ungrateful runt, he had been kind enough to let him rest and what had the stupid human done? Spit that generosity back in his face. This was the last time he ever took that mad doctor's advice, freak could go rot in hell for all he cared.

Frowning as he looked at the little annoyance again, stiff as a statue in front of him, he took a deep breath and tried to think of a way to make sure he kept his trap shut. No one was allowed to know, he had to remember, that lest he was stuck this way for all eternity (and there was no way in all the seven hells he was going to allow that).

Ignoring the sweet scent of blood that clung to his left hand, he stepped back, finally allowing the kid some room to breath at the same time he tried to ignore the urge to kill him. Holding his breath, he glared at the terrified boy still tightly closing his eyes.

Great, what was he supposed to do now?

His train of thought was stopped when he was abruptly kicked in the stomach, doubling over as he clutched his abdomen and let out a string of curses at the fucking little shit who had dared to touch him. Narrowing his eyes, he growled in anger as his free arm shot out to stop the mortal from running away, yanking him back into the water. And against his chest.

"Pervert!" the boy screeched, blindly reaching out to him but only managing to snag his fingers in his long black hair. Wincing when the kid yanked on the dark tresses, he did his best not to snap and rip his throat out. "Let go me go you bastard!"

God, how he hated children. They were the absolute worst thing in the whole damn universe. Holding in the almost painful urge to snap his throat, he gripped his shoulder and pushed him against the statue again, holding him there at arms length. Struggling, the kid tried to pull away, tried to kick him while Kanda simply tried to come up with a credible lie the idiot would be able to buy. He knew him and his younger self didn't look that much alike besides the hair and eye color, well, that and his temper, but that was beside the point. Wincing when his hair was, yet again, pulled on, he glared at the child, who froze, fingers still tangled in his black tresses. Little punk, the last person who had dared to touch his hair had gotten one of his eyes ripped out, and then thrown to that stupid Mikk's domain because that same person had the gall to touch him as well.

Covering the others mouth when he seemed ready to scream again, Kanda took a deep breath to calm himself. "I don't want a big commotion so if you promise not to scream, I'll let you go. Go it?" he said, voice tight and brow furrowed.

Silver eyes stared at him with suspicion, wary, and the finally the kid nodded, slowly but he did. Shoulders relaxing, he tentatively pulled his hand away. His dark eyes widened as he caught the fist coming his way before it could land, the tiniest bit surprised by the others action. Then he gritted his teeth, cursing himself for being so stupid. Right, he had forgotten how fiery this brat was.

"Who are you?" the boy asked, pressing his back against the statue behind him to try to put as much distance between them as was possible. "Were you spying you-you…"

He didn't know? Oh, right. A normal human couldn't even imagine he was the same person, especially this guy who obviously had a piece of fluff for a brain. Suddenly feeling more relaxed, he let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. The last time one of his 'brides' had accidentally found out about this, he had had to kill her and start all over again since that know-it-all bitch had special tastes. This one was the last one, and Kanda had no desire to start all over again if it was possible.

"How do I know you weren't the one spying on me, brat?" he retaliated, still holding his right hand captive. "This place is off limits to anyone but the guy upstairs, no trespassers allowed."

Allen's eyes widened before narrowing, lips a firm line as he struggled in his grip. "Yeah, well the same could be said to you."

Kanda smiled, throwing his wet hair behind one shoulder with his free hand as it was getting in the way. This brat had spunk, he'll give him that. "I work here, so what's your excuse, kid?"

Allen glared at him, refusing to say anything else. Proud and stubborn, not a good combination. It reminded him too much of that witch and that annoying personality of hers. Either way coming up with a cover wouldn't be too hard; the boy didn't recognize him like this, it made things a lot easier. Letting go of his hand, he clicked his tongue and turned to where he had thrown his clothes before getting in the water. He had been working all morning and needed to relax, tsunamis usually left him feeling drowsy after he was done. The old man hadn't liked it, but it wasn't as if Kanda cared. Those stupid humans had it coming, it was their own damn fault.

Grabbing his damp clothes, he took a whiff of the air and was glad to see the water had washed off any last traces of blood. Good, he didn't want to accidentally take a bite of his ticket out of this damn mess. He had worked too hard over the past couple of centuries to have it all ruined by some prepubescent brat, so he sure as wasn't hell wasn't going to let him go. Trying to run away, how stupid was he? There was no way out of here, not unless he let them, and there was no chance of that happening anytime soon.

Squeezing the water out of his hair, he spared the boy a look. Now all he had to do was find a way to bring him back to the castle. Hmph. It couldn't be too hard. "So what the hell are you doing here, you have a death wish or something?"

Lips curving into a disdainful smile, the boy rolled his eyes at him. "What makes you think I'll tell you that? You could be one of the brat's servants ordered to bring me back for all I know."

So there was something in that empty little head of his. "Che. Who would want you back? From what I can see, whoever brought you here must have knotholes for eyes."

There was a dark blush on his cheeks now, probably from either anger or embarrassment. Or both. "For your information, I'm that snotty God's bride, so I have every right to be here, unlike you."

Kanda raised an eyebrow, buttoning his shirt and, debating with himself at first, then threw his coat at the kid's face. Blinking, Allen looked at the garment in his hands for a couple of seconds before slowly walking out of the pond, figuring it out that it was better than nothing. Kanda couldn't help but snicker quietly to himself when the boy turned his back to him, a dust of pink on his cheeks.

"Look away, jerk," He half muttered, attractive blush still there. Seeing that Kanda was still intently staring at him, he gritted his teeth and splashed water at him. "I said turn around, you damn pervert."

Smirk disappearing once the water hit his face, Kanda grunted in annoyance and turned around, crossing his arms and muttering a couple of obscenities under his breath. Fucking child, as if he had anything worth looking at. Although something else was bothering him. How was it the kid was still there when, not too along, he had been this close to killing him? Were his survival instincts that bad or something?

"You," he said, "what are you doing here? If you're the master's bride or whatever you claim to be, shouldn't you be up there at the palace?"

Allen snorted, now dressed in a too big coat that slid down one of his shoulders. "What, are you going to make go back too? You'd think that after trying to kill me you'd be nice enough to let me go."

"What makes you think I care?" he shot back, brow furrowed and lips set in a scowl. "It's not like you can just get out of here, you need permission for that otherwise you're screwed. If you want to leave so much, take it up with the owner of this place."

Shoulders slumping, the kid pouted after letting out a deep sigh. "Tyki said the stuck-up brat was at a meeting, besides, I'm not planning on going back there until the little runt makes good of his promise."

Kanda snorted, tying his hair up despite that it was mess of tangles and knots. "If he said no, then he meant it. You might as well go back otherwise you'll be dragged back by your hair, kid."

"What would you know?" the other snapped, silver-plated eyes narrowed in his kittenish fury. "Who the hell are you anyway? How do I know you're not one of his men?"

Thinking fast had never been his forte, so he said the first thing that came to his head. "The gardener, what's it to you?" he snapped back, mentally slapping himself in the face as the words slipped out of his mouth.

The _gardener_? Of all the stupid things he could have come up with the first thing he had said was the gardener? Damn it, that rabbit's stupidity must have been rubbing off on him. He made a mental note to never let the bubbly red-head get near him again and scratched his head, trying to come with a more believable lie. Although, once again he had forgotten this kid had the brain of a goldfish, and was almost as smart as one so it didn't really matter if his excuse was lamer than a cripple.

After a moment of silence, the boy's wary stance relaxed and he offered him an almost apologetic smile, running a hand in his wet hair. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell like that. You can call me Allen, ah…"

Stiffening, Kanda swallowed thickly. "Yu," he finally said, ignoring the slight heat in his cheeks as he looked away from those trusting gray eyes. "Now get the hell out of my pond, brat, so scram."

Turning around, shoulders still stiff, he winced as the others loud voice ringed in his ears.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Stepping over to him, Allen bit his lower lip as he stopped a couple of feet in front of him. "Don't tell anyone I'm here, okay?"

"Why shouldn't I?" Putting more distance between them, making sure to hide his face a bit in case the boy recognized him by some ironic twist of fate, he licked his lips. "I don't want to lose my job just because I hid some bratty human boy from the boss, besides, he's going to find you at some point so you might as well just go back on your own."

When was the last time he had talked this much? He couldn't remember, and he wasn't really enjoying having to repeat himself.

Pouting and crossing his arms, Allen clicked his tongue in disdain. "That guy's a total jerk, there's no way I'm going back there. He'll have to drag me back by force if he wants me."

Vein throbbing in his temple, Kanda did his best to grin and not look like he wanted to bash the kid's face in. "Yeah, well he's going to if you don't get your ass back in the palace by morning."

Kicking one of the fishes surrounding his ankles aside, he tensed again when the brat stood closer to him. What the-hadn't this kid ever heard of personal space before? "What?" he growled out, hands itching to put him to 'sleep' so he could begin dragging him home.

"Is he really as mean as he seems," the boy wanted to know, "the Water God I mean. You work for him, right? Tell me, what kind of person is he like?"

"What am I, your servant all of a sudden?" he replied, not believing the audacity of this kid's words. "Che. He's supposed to be your spouse, you figure him out."

"B-but at first he didn't seem that bad," the other pressed on, walking faster to keep up with his longer strides. "I thought that since he was a kid I wouldn't have to really do anything for him, but he's such a rude little brat-"

His left eye was twitching, and there was an almost unbearable urge to throttle the person next to him just waiting to be let out.

"-and, well, I usually get along with children just fine, but we didn't really seem to get along that well," he lamented, slim brows knitted together in worry as he chewed on his lips, hands holding the front of the long dark coat together.

"Look," he finally hissed, having just about enough of the brat's unnecessary babbling, "yes, he's a jerk, and no, he won't let you go home until after you're old and gray. Can you please shut up now?"

Eyes wide, the boy stopped. Kanda made a sound of approval, his head feeling much better now-

"I'm sorry," Allen murmured, arms wrapped around his frame at the same time Kanda turned around and rubbed the hell out of his temples. "It's just, you're the only one here who seems to be telling me the truth and well…I don't know anyone here you see, so I'm sorry I latched on to you like that."

Kanda made a skeptical sort of sound, nodding for the boy to continue despite himself. Maybe if he let it all out at once, he would shut up faster.

"Do you really think he won't let me go back?" Expression practically demanding pity, Allen looked at him with worry filled eyes. "My father is very sick, and he needs me to take care of him-"

"He won't care," he finalized, hands itching for his sword. "You were brought here as a peace offering, learn to live with it, brat."

Snatching a butterfly from the air, he grinned at the little creature trapped in his hand, making sure not to crush its delicate wings as he turned to look at the boy at his side. "Do you know what this is?" he asked, waving his hand so the kid could get a better look at it.

Snapping out of his state self-pity, Allen turned his silver eyes to him, bottom lip stuck out in a sulky pout. Staring at the intricate pattern of the butterfly's wings, he looked back at Kanda, as if asking if he were serious. "It's a butterfly, what else?"

It was a good thing the brat wasn't from around here. "What do you think?" Grabbing his right hand, he carefully placed the bug on it, smiling the second the thing fluttered its wings as he stepped back a couple of feet.

Frowning, the snow-haired boy brought his hand up to eye-level, narrowing his eyes at the little thing. Sneezing, he grimaced. "Eugh, what's that smell…"

Making sure not to inhale any of the gold dust the thing's wings were spraying all over the place, he made a mental note to thank the stupid old man for bringing that freakish butterfly from that witch's garden of hell. He remembered the first time he had fallen under the bug's trap, he had almost killed the woman if not for her crazy older brother and his sick sister-complex getting in the way. That stupid rabbit had been there, and he had never let him live it down, always reminding him how he had missed one of the most important festivals made in that womanizer's name because of a little bug.

He watched him fall in his arms with maybe a hint of amusement, a badly concealed chuckle escaping him at the accusing look those sleepy silver eyes gave him before falling shut. Bad move, trusting a stranger so much. Absentmindedly patting his head, he looked up at the sky. There were a couple of hours left until sunrise, that gave him enough time to sneak the kid into his room and wait for the first rays of sunlight before he could come in through the front doors and tell that old man to go to bed and stop waiting for him to get home like some worrywart father. He always did that whenever he went out, and frankly, he was getting tired of it. Damn old man never learned.

Tracing the scar marring the left side of his face with his thumb, he made a face. Hopefully the stupid woman would take the kid as he was, damaged goods and whatnot, otherwise he was screwed. Standing up, throwing the sleeping brat over his shoulder, Kanda ran a hand in his hair while muttering curses under his breath. Stupid kid was heavier than he looked.

Grunting as he shifted the dead weight on his shoulder to a more comfortable position, he prepared himself for a long walk back home.

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

He woke up wrapped in his arms again, snuggled against the human boy's chest with his snowy hair tickling his cheeks. Furrowing his brow, he contemplated the idea of simply kicking the brat off his bed, but then thought better of it as that warmth every human being gave off enveloped him once more when the kid pulled him even closer. Yawning, Kanda slowly opened his eyes and turned around, face centimeters from the sleeping boy's own.

Sitting up, he brushed a couple of dark locks from his face. Right. He had returned to his room after sunrise, sort of glad the kid was still asleep and dead to the world. That had made things a hell of a lot easier for him. Two idiots already knew of his special 'condition' and he'd much rather die than have to add another to the already too long list. Although, this human brat was an idiot, so he really had nothing to worry about there.

"An idiot, couldn't they have given me someone with more brains?" he asked no one in particular as he ran a hand in his hair. Hm. It already reached past his shoulders; he would have to cut it soon.

Yawning again, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and reached for something to pull his hair up. It was such an annoyance, specially at night. Scoffing at the hairpins in his hand, he shrugged his shoulders. It was better than nothing, and he had to hurry up too since that stupid old man had mentioned something about someone coming to 'visit'. He wasn't too sure, he had been sleeping when the old fart had drawn out his schedule after all.

"Ngh…father…"

Stopping, hairpin still between his lips, he turned around to look at the sleeping child on his bed. There was an expression of slight pain on the pale boy's face, brows furrowed and hands clenched into tight fists. A little bit startled when he saw crystalline tears slide down the others flushed cheeks, Kanda swore and dropped whatever he was holding to crawl over to the annoying pest he now had to deal with. Cursing under his breath when he saw the those really were tears on the brat's face, he tried hard not to drop something heavy and blunt on his skull. Stupid human, he was going to get snot all over his bed.

Sighing in exasperation, he rubbed the hell out of his temples. Well, if anything, the boy had an interesting outer appearance. Exotic, that bitch would definitely like that, hell, she might even count the boy as two instead of one. Glancing the child from the corner of his eye, he tentatively ran a hand over his cheek, fingers brushing against soft tresses.

What…a really weird mortal this child was. Kanda had never seen one of his species with that kind of hair color before. Snow, it was the color of snow. Frowning, he caught a couple of those salty drops before they could fall, bringing his finger up to his mouth. Salty, it tasted like ocean water. How curious.

Sitting up, he threw the covers over the boy's face and began to undress, hoping the stupid old man wouldn't be dumb enough to send someone after him this time. Last time he had done that the guard had quit. Smiling, he finished tying his hair up, sparing the boy on the bed one last glance, opened the door and his smile promptly dropped from his face.

Of course his semi-good day had to come to an end at some point. It always did. Closing his eyes, he pretended he hadn't seen that obnoxious red-hair, nor those ridiculous goggles on top of the other god's head that were practically his trademark, much less the irritating grin playing on the taller man's lips as he closed the door behind him. But despite his hard efforts, it was almost near impossible to ignore the Sun god's disgustingly cheerful voice as it rang in his ears.

"Yo! Yu-chan, I heard you got a new wife so I came to congratulate you on your new matrimony-"

"Shut the fuck up and get out of my house before I blow your damn brains out," he promised, not bothering to look at the red-head as he walked past him, hands clenched into tight fists at his sides. Damn it, why today of all days? Was that stupid wench still holding a grudge against him for not coming to her birthday? Fuck, he already watered her plants every day, what else did the witch want from him?

Chuckling, hands in his pockets, the red-head caught up to him in a few long strides, and how Kanda hated being smaller than him during the day. "Ma man, is that any way for a child to speak? I should wash your mouth with soap."

Migraine definitely here now, Kanda gritted his teeth. "You of all people know that I hate being bothered during the day, especially by you, so leave."

Grinning, Lavi sneaked a peak at the door they were leaving behind, and whistled. "You're sleeping in the same room? Whoa, you must really like this one then. It's been a while since you've had one too, last one was from a couple of decades ago if I remember correctly, and I always do."

Then why rub it in? Oh, right, this was that overly obnoxious so-called genius, that old man's prodigy. What had that geezer been thinking, appointing _this _imbecile as his heir? Couldn't he have found another, less stupid and irritating one during all of those travels of his? No, he just had to pick this one, just because he had showed a bit of potential and had memorized half of the world's library in less than a week. Fuck, this place was going to the dogs.

"So, what's her name? Or is it a cute boy this time? I don't really care as long as she can take a joke," the annoying God persisted, sticking to him like glue as Kanda muttered curses and death threats under his breath while he tried his best not to simply stab the other god and dump his body in a river. "Ha ha, I bet she was surprised to see that her 'husband' is a cute little boy! Makes one wonder what you two did on your honeymoon."

Oh, someone better get this idiot away from him before he brought down his old man's wrath on him for damaging him again. Turning around, stopping the other in his tracks, he frowned at him. "What are you doing here? And don't say something stupid because I swear to Gaia I will kill you this time."

Lavi smiled, hands behind his back as he bounced himself on the soles of his feet. "I don't think Lena would like that, blood isn't really a good fertilizer for her plants you know."

Hands twitching in the almost impossible urge to wrap themselves around this imbecile neck and strangling him, Kanda forced a smile on his face that didn't look friendly at all. "I don't care what that witch wants, she's a fucking sadist and her brother is-"

"She's mad at you too," the other cut him off, a sudden serious look in his face. "For the tsunami from last night, since you didn't tell her about it and some of her little 'babies' drowned."

Of course. Great, just great, that woman was probably coming here next. This was just exactly what he needed right now. "That's none of hers, or yours for that matter, business. I can do whatever the hell I want without consulting you about it first."

Lavi looked like he wanted to wrap an arm around his shoulder, but thought better of it and decided he didn't want to lose some fingers just yet. "Yeah, well, tell that to her. Man, is she pissed."

"Pissed enough to come here?" he asked dryly, already planning how to stop her before she even reached the first gates. Cute, weak, little animals were her number one weakness…

Lavi blinked, then scratched his head for a second. Finally, "Well, no, but-"

"Then I don't really care, now get out," he ordered, glaring up at him despite that he knew the other was no longer affected by it. "If you have no more business in my home then I expect you to not be here when I get back."

Swiftly turning around, somehow stopping the impulse to just turn back and punch him the face, Kanda sighed tiredly as he flicked dark bangs from his face. He sure hoped whoever was here to meet with him would leave soon too, he was in no mood to deal with more idiots today.

"Ah, where are you going, Yu?" the other relentlessly asked, making the smaller of the two gods regret not killing him all those years ago when he had first met him. "Come one, chat with me a little! It's been a while since I've last seen you, would it kill you to try?"

Yes, yes it will.

"Last time we saw each other was at old man Cross's wedding-he's got a new wife by the way-and you only stayed for like, five minutes! Let's go out and have a drink in that funky machine Lena's older brother made you for your last birthday," the prankster suggested, waggling his eyebrows at him and causing Kanda to frown in disgust. "What do you say we pick up some mortal babes and have some fun with them tonight after you stop being a pipsqueak?"

How had this complete dumb ass found out about his 'special' condition again? Biting his lower lip in thought as he was forced to stop walking when an arm was thrown over his small frame, he narrowed his dark eyes. Fuck, it had been so long ago he couldn't even remember anymore. It had been like, what, a few centuries ago since he had made that stupid deal with that damn she-demon, right? Lavi had been with him, or had that been that witch's brother? No, it had been the stupid wacko of a scientist, that he was sure about. Then that meant the rabbit had been eavesdropping, yeah that was probably it. It sounded like something the imbecile would do after all.

"Holy-is that your new bride, Yu?" the red-head suddenly asked, voice layered with surprise and approval. "Whoa, that's some babe. You really know how to pick 'em, it almost makes me want to ask for some brides from my temples myself, but doing that is so _tacky_. Not my style at all. Still, it's temping."

Taken off guard, he turned around, brow furrowing when he saw the slim boy closing the doors to his room behind him. By the slight horrified and disgusted look he had on his face, Kanda could guess he had been standing there for a while, and most probably heard most of their conversation. Oh well, his fault. Crossing his arms over his chest, he felt a smile bloom on his lips when their eyes crossed, the boy looking away first with a light pink tone on his pale cheeks. If anything, the kid was a fun away to pass the time.

Clearing his throat, Allen drew a shaky smile on his lips, no trace of disgust on his features as he took tentative steps over to them, Kanda jabbing an elbow in Lavi's ribs when he whistled. Idiot, why couldn't he just _leave _and never come back? Damn old man, he was going to have a talk with him about not letting the rabbit into his estate no matter what he said; he was sick and tired of seeing his idiotic face.

Huffing, he tried his best to ignore the idiot at his side and focused his attention on the snow-haired human. He wasn't going to lie, he was a bit curious at how the kid would act in front of him. Kanda knew the child didn't like him, that he hated him, that he was afraid of him because he didn't know how to behave around him. Being polite was his best option if he wanted to get that water, not that he would anyways but Kanda was a bit bored and wanted to see what the other would do to try to convince him. Sure, it was a bit cruel but this was the only way he would be able to see how much of a liar this one was, after all, everyone wanted something, and would be willing to do almost anything to get it. Humans were selfish like that he had learned.

Smiling at him, tucking a stray lock of white hair behind one ear, the boy wrapped his robes around his body before patting his head. "Good morning, Kanda."

Eye twitching, he tried to ignore the upcoming headache as well as the urge to just kill this brat. "You…who do you think I am?" he asked through gritted teeth. Fucking brat, he was treating him like some sort of useless little kid.

Ignoring him, Allen left his head alone when he looked down at him, a warm smile on his lips. "Ah, one of your buttons isn't done right," he said, kneeling in front of him, and Kanda wasn't surprised to see his hands tremble at the prospect of touching him. Fear, the runt was afraid of him.

"I'm not a kid, so stop treating me like one and get out of my way," he snapped, snatching the others wrist in his hand before he could touch him. Silver eyes widened in surprise, a hint of fear in them as the pressure around his wrist increased. "And don't even think for one second that this will make me keep that silly promise, so you might as well stop pretending you like me."

Humans were always so two-faced, yet another reason as to why he just plain didn't like them. Pretending to care when they actually couldn't give a damn about something, only to get money or power or another stupid material possession. This boy was no different, he was also willing to fake and pretend he didn't fear him to save his village. Still, he had to give the kid some credit. He was doing all of this to save his people, it had been some time since he had gotten one of those selfless martyr types.

"Are you really just going to let them die?"

Blinking, he looked up, almost forgetting he had company. Then, seeing the kind of expression the human child had on his face, he scoffed. Did he really think that sad-puppy face was going to get some sort of pity from him? How naive. "And if I am?" he asked back, crossing his arms over his chest.

He looked frustrated, Kanda noticed, a small chuckle escaping him. Yawning, he sat on top of the silver railing, hand tracing one the dragons engraved into the metal. Huh, when had that gotten there? He didn't remember putting it.

"Why are you doing this?" the boy finally asked, hands fists at his sides. "I don't get it, what good does it do to make droughts and tsunamis?"

Smirk on his lips, he leaned against a pillar and randomly plucked a flower from one of the many bushes surrounding them. "Why shouldn't I make droughts?"

Allen looked taken back, probably not expecting that kind of answer out of him. "W-why? Because people get hurt! People get killed. That's what you're doing, every time you stop the rain from falling you're taking a life. It's wrong, do you realize that's what you're doing?"

"Yes, of course I do," he answered plainly, sparing Lavi a harsh glare at his side to shut his damn giggles up. "But, there's something I want to ask you."

Mortals were so naive, well, at least the small ones. Once they were old enough to know how to take a life they didn't bother asking such silly questions, they simply knew why and how and went on with their meager existence without bothering to try to understand why they did such things.

"Why _shouldn't _I kill people? Why is it wrong?"

Silver-plated eyes widened in shock, stammering before he could form half a decent sentence. "Wh-why…? Just because!"

Drawing an amused smile on his lips, he flicked a stray bang from his face. "People kill lost of animals don't they? And trees, and plants. Do they care? Humans don't give it a second thought though, about the carnage in their wake."

His shoulders were shaking, he noticed with a hint of interest. How cute. "Why is that? Because plants are not as smart? Because animals can't talk back? Does that mean you can kill things that can't talk and aren't as smart as you?"

"N-no…" the boy stammered, wide silver eyes staring at his dark blue ones. "N-no, of course not…"

Kanda laughed, crushing the rose in his palm, the red petals slipping through his fingers and to the ground at their feet. Allen's clear eyes glued themselves to the fallen petals, avoiding his at all cost.

"No? Does that mean you've never taken a life? Have you never eaten meat, have you never plucked a flower? On your way to your home, have you never stepped on a tiny bug?" He continued, out of spite now instead of simple curiosity. How this kid irked him with his innocent gaze and simple, yet complicated personality. For the sake of his village, was that really why he was doing all this?

"Animals kill each other all the time, to eat and survive. But humans don't need a reason. Humans kill without a thought, just because it suits their purpose. They'll even kill each other-on a simple whim."

Lavi sniggered at his side, poorly concealing his amusement as he turned their back to them. Kanda curled his lips in disdain. Really, that idiot.

"But they're not all like that!" the child suddenly burst out, finally looking at him again, brow furrowed and with just the tiniest hint of desperation in his voice.

Raising an eyebrow, he felt his lips twitch. "True. But even those who 'aren't like that' kill in order to live. So tell me, why are humans the only _animal _to be exempted from the law of the hunt?"

There were tears forming in the corner of his eyes, and his shoulders were trembling more than ever now. It reminded Kanda so much of the boy he had seen last night, the way the kid had opened to him, shared his fears and regrets with him. Maybe, if he had met the boy a couple of centuries ago, he might have let him go. However, he had a reason for what he was doing, an even bigger one than his so he really had no room to pity him.

"What if an even stronger, smarter creature came along? Could it kill people?" he asked, not really enjoying the conversation anymore. Boring, human children were always, in the end, boring. "Would that be okay?"

It wouldn't, of course. His brothers and sisters would never allow such a thing to be born, but again, this child didn't need to know that. All Allen needed to do was learn his place and how to respect his elders. Damn cheeky brat reminded him too much of that idiotic rabbit sometimes. Raising his chin, looking down at him, he felt a smug smile on his lips. "So I'll ask again, why shouldn't I kill people? Why is it wrong?"

He was crying now, pearl-like tears silently rolling down his cheeks as he stared at him in what Kanda could only take as appalled horror. He rolled his eyes. Been there, done that. What did this kid take him for really? Expecting some sort of pity from him was like expecting that dumb red-head to use that piece of fluff he called a brain: impossible, simply impossible. He had been alive for too long and seen too many things to have any of those weak feelings anymore. They had always clouded his judgment when he had been younger, making feel concerned for those idiotic mortals and actually helping them when all they had ever done for him was make his job more difficult than it needed to be. If he had learned one thing from that stuck-up bitch, it was that feeling pity for someone only brought you closer to your grave.

"…you're a monster."

Jumping off the railing, he spared the boy little to no concern as he walked past him, frowning when he heard footsteps and muffled chuckles behind him. God, what telling the idiot to stop crowning around him too much to ask?

"Monster, you're a monster," the boy murmured again as he silently stood rooted to the bridge, glaring at him through the tears filled eyes. Looking back at him, the dark-haired god frowned in confusion. He looked both angry and, for some reason Kanda couldn't fathom, terribly sad.

Why the hell would he be sad? Was he already mourning the deaths of his loved ones, or was it something else. No matter how much he pondered about it, this kid remained a mystery to him. He looked at him for a couple of more seconds, saw the stiff shoulders and the way he clutched his robes in his fists, but most of all, those silver-plated eyes glaring at him yet sort of pitying him at the same time. Scoffing, not liking the suddenly strange feeling in the pit of his stomach, he turned away and didn't give the boy a second glance.

It didn't matter. He had more pressing matters to attend and that stupid human child wasn't one of them.

"Hm? Where are you going, Yu?" the red-head called after him, winking at a passing group of women who blushed and giggled as they peered at the young god from behind their feathered fans.

A vein throbbed in Kanda's temple, and he stared up at the sky with what he hoped wasn't a wistful sigh. How he hated the sun, and it was always so damn sunny and hot when this idiot came over. "Somewhere where you won't be able to bother me, so scram before I lose it."

Lavi laughed behind him. Kanda's fingers twitched, missing his faithful sword. One day, one day he was definitely going to visit that womanizing drunkard and ask for a petition to kick this dumb ass off his chair and get someone less annoying to take his place.

"Take me with you, my lovely Yu! Children need to be chaperoned this late at night, what if some weird pervert comes onto you?!" the one-eyed man (Kanda would never regret that, even if he did have to write a formal apology to the imbecile's old man) cried, fake worry filling his features as he ran after him. Damn him and his longer legs.

"Fuck off!"

Yes, Kanda really did hate sunny days the most.

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

It had been a while since he had come up here. Just like it had been a while since he had used this fish-shaped metal airship he liked to call a deathtrap. He had always wondered what that idiot Komui did in his spare time, and to one day be surprised by this thing that could float above the mortal realm, maneuver itself through the sky where his waterfalls were suspended, well, Kanda had been a tad bit surprised. He could remember throwing the crazy mad scientist from his own invention the first time he had been on it, furious with him for actually daring to say the fickle god was pleased with one of his 'babies' for the first time in his life.

Kanda never told him how right he was.

Sweet, lulling notes filled the air as the woman at his side refilled his cup with bitter sake. He had never been a fan of drinking, he indulged himself in alcohol sometimes, but it was very rare to see him with a bottle in his hand. Tonight, though, was different. Tonight he had come here to vent, to get rid of some of his anger and frustration. Fuck, since when had mortal children become so difficult? Last he remembered they had been sweet and polite, well educated, not fiery, rude little brats like that goddamn kid back in his house.

"Fucking brat," he cursed as he slammed his cup rather rudely on the fine floor. Wincing at the sudden pain in his skull, he cradled his head in his hands as he snapped at the woman to serve him another drink. Useless wench, he should have left her back home along with that-

"Ha ha, Yu looks mad. Tell me, when was the last time you got laid?"

-idiotic rabbit. Shit, he had forgotten he was here too. "Shut the fuck up, that's none of your business," He muttered, glaring at the woman at his side to hurry it up. Alcohol never solved anything, but right now it was the only thing keeping him from killing his so called 'best friend'.

"Why are you being so ill-tempered, Yu?" the idiot asked, drowning himself in the moon sake they had brought along on their little trip to the surface. Hiccuping, the red-head laughed when the woman serving them drinks coldly refused to be charmed by his dumb pick up lines. "It's not as if you don't like the kid."

Kanda ignored him, leaning against the plush pillows littered around the inside of the compartment set accommodate him on his trip. Stupid idiot, why had be brought him along again? Oh, right, he hadn't. Damn pain in the ass had forced him to bring him along, not taking no for an answer until the water god had finally gotten sick of his childish antics and given in.

"You're not planning on keeping your promise to the human child, are you?" Lavi smiled, leaning against his hands as he stared down at the vast open sea below them. "Even if those mortals are on the verge of death, you won't give them the rain you promised them in exchange of that boy. Ma, that's so not cute of you, Yu."

Scoffing, he took a sip of his drink. "Human kind is doomed no matter what I do, they're the ones polluting the earth, polluting _my _waters. Why the hell should I help them? Either way things will repeat themselves again, they always have."

Killing each other, starting war after war…why was humanity so damn stupid? Weren't they supposed to learn from their mistakes instead of repeating them time after time again? Even if he helped them now, even if they would be grateful in the beginning, there was no doubt in his mind that they would repeat their mistakes again. After all, Kanda had gone through this so many times in his lifetime that he already knew the cycle by memory: the stupid mortals would cause their own demise, turn to the deities for help, offer sacrifices for another chance, promising to never make the same mistake twice, that they had learned their lesson, that they could _change_.

But they never did. And the cycle would repeat itself all over again, the gods foolishly believing that this time humanity had changed, giving them the second chance they didn't deserve.

Laughing, hiding his chuckles in the sleeve of his robes, the crazy red-head coughed to hide his amusement. "Ya, Yu-bear is really strict. He was a cold child to begin with but over time he has gotten worse, hasn't he?"

He snorted, paying the man little to no attention as he too looked at the dancing waves clashing against each other in the ocean. It had been some time since he had paid the human world a visit, and he drew a grimace of disgust on his face when he saw what kind of state it was in. Was it really that hard to keep their land clean, their rivers? Idiots, cutting more wood that was necessary, didn't they know that every time they cut down a tree they were killing themselves? Flora was needed to make the oxygen they depended on so much, without it they would die. Not now of course, but over they time their mistakes would catch up to them.

"You know, Yu, a God's happiness is supposed to be his people's happiness," the other softly said, barely above a whisper as he stared down at the clear liquid in his cup. "They live for them, love them, love them for the same mistakes that make them imperfect and unfinished. There's no room for selfishness when you have so many people depending on you for survival."

"We aren't needed," he immediately answered, voice sharp and final. "One day we won't be here anymore and what will they do then? Helping them over and over again is just making them depend on us for everything, and one day we won't be here to fix their mistakes and their whole little society will fall apart at their feet."

The other man seemed to contemplate his words, fixing the goggles on his head. Finally, a sigh, a tired sort of smile. "That may be true, but isn't that what makes life beautiful? Living in a society where nothing ever changes, where time stands still and tomorrow never comes, doesn't seem that much fun to me to tell you the truth."

Idiot could say that, his job was a hell of a lot easier to do than his. Leaning his head back, black locks falling over his eyes, he drew a dry smile on his lips when he felt the silvery light of the pale moon dance over his skin, shivering lights so much like scales on water. If there was one reason why he came up here every couple of decades, it was to see this, the star speckled night sky and the goddess of beauty the mortals liked to call the moon.

"One way or another, I actually like this world," he muttered to no one in particular, aware that the red-head seemed to sober up once he heard his voice, one green eye wide as if he hadn't expected him to actually say anything. "The ground is undoubtedly dry with its extreme ugliness due to the drought and the people fight and kill each other continuously, but the moon is always beautiful."

Accepting the cup of sake the pearl-draped woman handed him, he took a sip as he continued to look at the pale moon, liking the way its light danced on everything it reached and managed to touch from all the way up there.

"It's not me; the humans are killing themselves."

Countless of wars, countless of repeated mistakes, human kind really had no future.

"Once it's over, everything will be destroyed. The humans make the water unclean and contaminated. Killing off not only their own kind but also other animals."

Disgusting, the human race truly was disgusting.

"Even so, are you going to make your cute little bride cry?" Lavi chuckled, dropping himself on the koto player's lap, not seeming to care about the icy glare the woman gave him as her fingers froze on the strings, causing the sweet music to come to an abrupt stop. "'Why is it _wrong_?' Ha ha, that's a very tough one. 'Why _shouldn't_ we kill people?' Poor boy, he was practically near tears because he couldn't answer your question, Yu babe."

Lips a thin line, he glared at the idiot through the black tresses partially obscuring his dark eyes. "If you know so much, then why don't you answer my question, idiot? Why shouldn't we kill humans, why shouldn't _I _just do them the favor of ending their stupid race before they can?" Chuckling, feeling suddenly amused, he raised his cup up to his lips. "It'll certainly spare them a couple of hundred years of misery, that's for sure."

Smiling good-naturally, the red-head winced as his hand was slapped away before it could reach the long-haired woman's thigh. Turning to the older god, he frowned as he tried to remember what the temperamental man had said. "Hm? Oh, that's easy, Yu."

Raising an eyebrow, he spared the sun god a look over his half-filled cup. "Oh really?" he replied, a little bit sarcastically and not without a hint of iciness in his voice. He was in no mood for this bubbly idiot's antics today, today of all days.

Playing with the necklace of pearls wrapped around the gorgeous woman's neck and body, the fiery red-head drew a gentle smile on his lips at the same time Kanda felt a sort of empty feeling in the pit of his stomach at the look in his one lone eye.

"Because there is always someone who would grieve," The other simply answered, matter-of-fact attitude made worse with the shrug of shoulders the red-head gave. "Every time a life is taken, somewhere in the world, there will always be someone who will be shedding tears for them, Yu. Always."

For a moment, he couldn't find anything he could say, words gone and forgotten, and in the end, teeth gritted at the smug smile the other god had on his face, Kanda scoffed and turned his back to him. What a stupid reason. Because someone would be sad? That was the answer he had been looking for all these years? There were ideological, moral, and biological arguments, every point of view shed new light to the matter. Yet, out of all the myriad answers he had been given over the centuries, not one of them could be called perfect just yet.

So to have this complete moron come out of nowhere with his half-arsed reason of 'people will cry' was not only presumptuous, but down right insulting. Then again, he reasoned as he tried to battle with the coming headache his 'friend' always brought along with him on his visits, this was Lavi. He was an idiot, his head was filled with nothing but hot air and that piece of lint he liked to call a brain, so he probably just messing with him, after all, if he didn't get a rise of him at least once a day his life just wasn't complete.

Still…

'Because there is always someone who would grieve.'

Always, huh?

Closing his eyes, he frowned at the memory of the boy sleeping on his bed, tears falling from his lashes as he continuously murmured that man's name, his father's name, the pain and longing all too evident in his voice. The child had tried to run away the moment he had learned the water Kanda had promised his village would never arrive, angry and hurt at the betrayal, going so far as too meet with _that _asshole known as Mikk to try to escape.

Clicking his tongue, he stared at the crystal clear liquid of his cup as he leaned back against the richly decorated doors of that wacko's airship, the chilly winds playing with his long hair and kimono robes. Tears, Allen had been shedding tears because he knew that without water, his beloved father would die. One more life taken, yet another death to be added to his long list of kills he had made over the past couple of centuries.

'Monster' the boy had called him, pretty face damp with those salty tears, 'Monster'. It wasn't the first time he had been called such a thing, hell, he had been called worse things than that throughout most of his life, so it wasn't as if he wasn't used to it. He was, it came with the job after all. Kanda was by no means a good man, he himself was aware of his selfish and unkind nature, and he had never had any problem with it. He liked himself the just way he was, saw no reason to change himself, and cared little to nothing about what the other deities could think or say of him.

So why, why did that stupid mortal child make him feel like he truly was a monster for simply disregarding his tiny little village? He had done the same thing to countless of other villages before, and he had never even felt the tiniest bit of guilt or regret. They had deserved it; for not taking care of their rivers and ponds, for overlooking and taking all of the past chances he had given them for granted. And so had Allen's village. It had once been such a popular town despite its size, attracting tourist from all over the country because it was a village created on top of a lagoon, filled with green, healthy flora and fauna. But that had been more than a century ago, long before that kid had been born and when Kanda had amused himself by favoring that little town above much bigger ones.

'_Monster, you're a monster_.'

That prickly, annoying feeling came back again. Scowling, he placed a hand on his chest. How strange, he had never felt that kind of feeling before. It reminded him of the days when he would forget to tend to his gardens, when he was too busy to visit his father's temple or lit his daily incense so he could begin his morning prayers to the earth. It felt like forgetting to treat a wound, the death of a yet another plant or animal, it felt almost like…

Eyes widening the tiniest bit in realization, he straightened up, lips parting a bit and…chuckling, he buried a hand in his long hair. Ma, what an interesting kid, he had to really be something if he was able to catch his interest like this. What a pity, he almost regretted having to give him to that old witch. Either way, a happy mortal made a much better meal than a sad, depressed one.

Hmph. It seemed he had no choice.

Sighing, he rubbed his temples with his left hand as he stretched his right arm out the window, tilting back his cup and pouring its contents down the sky. He didn't need to look to know that the stupid red-head was smiling, the muffled noises filling the otherwise silent compartment the dumb ass's badly concealed chuckles.

Droplets of sake clung to his fingers as he dangled the now empty cup out the window, the moon's pale light making them seem like expensive pearls just begging to be picked up and cherished. They winked at him, giggling little water sprites before they too fell and joined the rest of their brothers and sisters as they laughed and snickered on their way down to the vast open sea below them.

"God is meant to forgive humans in the end even if he is betrayed each time, huh?" he asked, blowing a couple of charcoal tresses off his eyes as he gave the earth below him one last glance before he turned back to look at his companion.

Lavi said nothing, comfortable in the koto player's lap as he raised his cup at him, expression one of deep amusement as he waited for him without any sign of impatience on his features. There was no sign of him wanting to answer, but it wasn't as if he had been expecting him to, after all, Kanda knew him all to well and just what kind of person he really was.

Smile curving his lips, he touched his own empty cup against the other's full one in a toast.

"What a joke."

---

Somewhere down on Earth, in a small tiny village next to the ocean, a man continued to mourn the loss of his child even as the rain began to fall.

**TBC? Reviews?**

**-**

**Final Notes: **Wah, bad chapter! It so didn't turn out like I wanted it to. Oh, well.


	4. Lavender

**A/N** Ah, did I miss this baby! Sorry for leaving you alone for so long, dear, I hope you can forgive me one day -huggles YEO- I've been busy with my family, who I hope I've made happy since I did spend a whole month with them. Hopefully they'll get over the fact that I spend more time with my laptop instead of them one day ha ha…To tell the truth, I wasn't sure I would be able to continue writing this, but I looked over the notes and outline (what outline? -shot shot- ) I had of it and was sort of sad that it only ever made it to the second chapter. So, here I am.

**Warnings for this chapter: **Hints of a plot, shonen-ai, and Lavi-pon. Eh, some language?

**Rating for this chapter: **T (I want some sexy scenes, damn it!)

**Disclaimer (warning: ch.187 spoilers): **I got my greedy little hands on the script and pics for chapter 187 (now I'm glad I took those Japanese courses)! Oh dear lord, Kanda and Allen look so…moe (their faces are to die for)! And Tyki, Jesus Christ, Tyki looks better than ever! And, more facts about Kanda are revealed! The Fourteenth, the Earl, the Third and Second Exorcist project…crap, I want chapter 188 now *foams at the mouth* And you, Allen, you're _so _stupid! They keep throwing hints at you about Kanda and you…well, I guess your stupidity is what makes you so darn endearing to me and your idiot of a husband. Also, those damn sneaky Noah! They're like damn roaches, they just never die! The best part was the art cover for the new chapter though, Allen and Kanda look like they're on a date, kyah.

D Gray-Man _will _return to serialization in **Jump Square'**s December Issue, which will be released this November. Also, the new chapter will be out in the next issue of **Akamaru Jump**, which will be released in August. It will have a cover page (it was really pretty, I loved it), a color page, and 50 pages of content. The release will be August 17th. So the 187th night '_Party and Party'_, will be coming to you, em, probably next week (but also, since **Akamaru Jump **is published on weeks when there are Japanese holidays, I did extensive five-minute Google research and found out that Obon, a Buddhist festival, is generally celebrated/observed at the end of the second week of August (specifically the 15, a Saturday), so I think we can expect it then)! Stay tuned, kiddos~

**Your Eyes Only**

**-**

**Chapter III-**_Lavender _

"Allen-kun, please, you can't just refuse like this-"

Eyes narrowing, Allen huffed loudly and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm sorry, Tiedoll-san, but I can't have dinner with that, that egotistical Neanderthal. I just can't."

Tiedoll's brow furrowed, a worried look over taking his elderly features. Setting the tea tray he had brought up with him on the table, he sat down on the bed next to the sulking child. Allen stiffened, then relaxed, slowly turning around to face the man who had been taking care of him in this strange land he practically knew nothing about. Tiedoll wasn't surprised to see the boy had been crying, though he tried to hide it by quickly rubbing his cheeks with the sleeve of his robes. Smiling gently, the kind old man placed what he hoped was a comforting hand on the youth's shoulder.

"I know Master Kanda is a tough person to deal with, but you must understand, he has his reasons for doing what he does," he said, hoping the young boy would understand. "I'm sure that whatever he said to you he didn't mean it, he isn't very good with words you see. Besides, he was in a bad mood yesterday, I'm sure he'll apologize for his behavior today."

Scowling, Allen snorted. Mister Tiedoll was too nice sometimes, really. "I'll believe that when I see it. That kid is _rotten_, he's evil to the core and…and…"

"And you can't just judge him without first knowing him, I expected better of you, Allen-kun."

Criticizing words dying in his mouth when he met Tiedoll's disapproving look, he shrunk back and pulled his legs closer to his chest. Biting his lower lip, he looked down at the bed he had spent the last twenty hours laying on, not even going out of the room because he didn't want to see that bratty child again. Frowning, he avoided the man's eyes, a sudden hot blush of embarrassment dyeing his cheeks.

That's right. In the end, no matter what he called it, what he was doing was running away. He didn't want to face Kanda because he didn't know _how _to, not after that disastrous conversation from the day before. It was frustration, that's what it was. He was usually so good at dealing with people, but Kanda…

Squeezing his eyes shut, he shook his head.

He had never been so quick to dislike someone before. It was true he got along pretty well with almost everyone he met, but even so there would always be someone who he wouldn't be able to get along with no matter how hard he tried. He knew that. He couldn't always have it his way, that was selfish and not like him. Mana had taught him better, had taught him to be kind and accepting with everyone, to never judge anyone without first getting to know them.

Frowning, he clenched his right hand into a tight fist. 'But, what he said…'

'_Why _shouldn't _I kill people? Why is it wrong?'_

Flinching at the memory of those cold words, Allen gritted his teeth. It wasn't right, either way it wasn't right for _anyone _to think like that. No one should ever have the right to take a life away, no matter who that person was. Be he bad or good, man, beast, or god; that person didn't deserve to die on somebody's whim, not when life was so precious and short, with so much to live for. Everyone should live their life to the fullest, and even if they made mistakes, it wasn't right for them to be punished for them by death. Allen believed everyone paid for their wrongdoings while they were alive, not when they died, and so he hated the idea of death being used as a punishment. He might have not believed in his village's superstitions, but he could remember enough of his life before Mana to know what he did believe in. The memory of that white church, tall and proud and with so much life, was one of the clearest memories he had of his life before meeting his father.

He didn't agree with Kanda's beliefs. Not all humans were bad; he would be the first to agree that his race wasn't always right, but there were good things about them, too. They were kind, warm and nice people. They may have their faults, but that was okay because no one was perfect.

A sudden image of that spoiled kid came floating to his had, arrogant grin plastered on his pretty face as he boasted about his perfection with that ever-present air of supremacy around him.

Grimacing at the thought, he made a sound of disgust. He wouldn't put it past the brat to say such a thing, he was _that _pigheaded.

And yet…

'_Animals kill each other all the time, to eat and survive. But humans don't need a reason. Humans kill without a thought, just because it suits their purpose. They'll even kill each other-on a simple whim_.'

Feeling a pinch of pain in his chest, he lowered his gaze to the floor. Kanda's eyes, they had been so cold when he had said those things, as if he truly believed the words he was saying. That wasn't right either. For a child to speak of things like death so easily, it wasn't right. From what he could tell, Kanda appeared to be about twelve years old, maybe a little bit younger, and yet he acted like someone decades older sometimes. It was true that he was immature, bratty even, but Allen had never seen a boy his age act in such a way back in his village. Shouldn't someone his age have fun, run around and play with other children his age rather than stay locked up in this stuffy place doing God knew what?

He frowned again, and his teeth moved unconsciously to worry his bottom lip.

Maybe that's why he was so angry all the time.

"And well, will you be coming down to dinner?"

Startled, he let out a small sound of surprise at the same time his right hand went to his chest. Cheeks heating up, he drew a nervous smile on his lips when he saw Tiedoll's kind face staring back at him. Right, he had forgotten he wasn't alone.

"Hum, well…"

'_Monster, you're a monster._'

Suddenly feeling guilty, he avoided looking at the other man present in the room as he gave him his answer. "Um, I'll be down in a minute." Turning around to face him, kneeling on the bed, he bowed his head. "I'm sorry for being so rude after you went through all the trouble of cooking for me, too."

A smile broke through Tiedoll's concerned expression, toffee colored eyes warm again. "It was no trouble at all, Allen-kun."

Returning his smile, Allen slowly got off the bed, not minding the bubbly man as he opened the doors to his (it was still strange for him to think of anything in this place as 'his') wardrobe. Biting the inside of his cheek, he set aside most of the clothes on the stool sitting next to him until he choose the simplest clothes he could find. Fixing the wrinkles on the cobalt blue cheongsam**(1)**, he grabbed hold of the stool to steady himself while he slipped in his shoes, frowning all the while.

Mister Tiedoll was right, Mana was right. He shouldn't have judged Kanda without knowing him first, it had been rude and completely unlike him. What was wrong with him? He loved kids, they were cute and fun to play with it. Hadn't he always said he wanted to have children of his own someday? Sure, Kanda wasn't exactly what he'd had in mind when he first thought that, but one shouldn't be too picky.

Absentmindedly brushing his achromatic hair and untangling the stray knots with his fingers, Allen let out a deep sigh.

Maybe he should apologize after all, even if what Kanda had said was very rude. Technically, despite how young he was, he _was _the master of this house. He was just a kid, angry and insufferable, but still just a kid. Allen Walker was good with children, he had never met one he couldn't befriend before, and Kanda would not be an exception.

Smiling, he tucked a couple of stray white locks behind one ear. Children were complicated, but they were nothing he couldn't handle, he was sure he could get along with the boy if he really tried. The reason he probably hadn't been able to get along with him yet was because he wasn't trying his hardest, because the first thing he had done since getting here was resent the person who had forced him to come to this strange land. For taking him away from Mana. It was strange, he had never done that before. Allen wasn't the kind of person to hold grudges.

Besides, if he befriended Kanda, he might be able to get the boy to keep his promise. That way his sacrifice wouldn't be in vain.

Laughing softly now that he was in a better mood and had a new goal in mind, he set the comb down. Nodding his head to himself, he took one last look in the mirror, turned around and headed to the door only to stop a couple of feet away from the exit.

"Mister Tiedoll."

"Hm?" Looking back at him as he finished doing the bed, the keeper of the palace fluffed the pillow in his hands one more time. "Yes, Allen-kun, is something the matter?"

Scratching his nose, Allen tried to ignore the light heat that had suddenly appeared on his cheeks. "Um, who tends to the gardens here?" he said, feeling a bit embarrassed for some reason. "Eh, I mean, ah, are there any gardeners who take care of them or-" Swallowing thickly, he quickly shook his head as the blush across his cheeks grew worse. "N-never mind! I'll be going now."

Bowing his head one last time, he prayed his blush would go away and rushed out the door, leaving behind a chuckling Tiedoll.

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

Cursing himself for what seemed like the millionth time, Allen pinched his left cheek. He had been waiting for this to happen again, so he really shouldn't be that surprised. Sighing, he looked back and forth between the two corridors standing in front of him. Now, which way should he go?

Half an hour later, he groaned and slid down to the ground, now somewhere lost in the many gardens surrounding this enormous house. Back against the bridge he had found next to a large koi pond, he buried his face in his knees, placing a hand on his grumbling stomach. He was famished, and completely lost, again.

Staring numbly at the green vegetation from underneath white bangs, Allen bit his lower lip and asked himself the same question he had been asking himself ever since he first arrived here.

What would he do once he got Kanda to keep his end of the deal? He would have liked to leave as soon as he accomplished his mission, go back home and see his father again. Yet, that wasn't possible, right? No matter how small and bratty he was, Kanda was the Water God, and if he tricked him, if he dared trick a God, well, he would be screwed. But he didn't want to stay here! He didn't belong in a place like this, there was nothing here for him. All he would be able to do if he stayed here was waste away and die without ever accomplishing anything with his life. A lonely life like that, Allen didn't think he could live a like that. It would be terribly said to always be alone without anyone to be happy with.

'And Kanda, was he alone, too? Had he always been alone?'

Frowning at the sudden thought, he raised his head from his knees. "Alone, huh?"

Looking up at the ceiling, he ran a hand in his short, messy hair. This place _was _pretty big, and Kanda was so small. Besides Tiedoll and that strange red-head from yesterday (Tyki didn't count; he didn't seem to be living here after all), Allen hadn't seen anyone else in the palace. Resting his cheek in his hand, he clicked his tongue. Well that wasn't right. Seeing how young Kanda was, wouldn't it make sense for his caretakers to get him some playmates to play around with? Children his age were very impressionable, they should live in a nice and healthy environment where they could be themselves, not play adult games and pretend to be older than their years. Also, what kind of kid his age went around-

He stopped, suddenly realizing what he had been thinking about.

"Eh?"

Cheeks flaring at the train of thought his brain had taken for the past couple of minutes, he quickly shook his head. W-what had he been thinking? Of course Kanda wouldn't have any friends, not with the way he behaved. Little monster probably scared them all away with his 'holier than thou' attitude. He was probably the kind of boy who pulled his love interest's hair and played pranks on them just to get their attention.

Hands still on his slightly warm cheeks, he pursued his lips. His love for children was going to be his downfall, he just knew it. Damn it, he knew he shouldn't fall for his cute, innocent little face! The brat was a demon in disguise, using Allen's weakness against him.

Heaving a deep sigh, he closed his eyes in defeat.

"I can't help myself, I can't hate him. Not when he's such a cute kid," he muttered to himself, tone reproachful as he huffed.

No matter what, Allen couldn't make himself hate Kanda. Even if it was his fault he was stuck here for what seemed like forever, even if he had said all those horrible things and refused to aid his village, Allen couldn't bring himself to hate him, specially if he was nothing but a little boy. It wasn't in him to hold grudges, now matter how much the person on the receiving end deserved them. He knew better than that. Revenge was petty, and in the end, both parties were left with nothing.

"Ho ho, what do we have here!"

Startled, he sat up so fast he made himself dizzy. Holding his head, he winced.

He heard laughter, then a hand shot out to grab him and steady him before he had a change to fall down. Stiffening upon contact, he squeezed his eyes shut and swiftly turned around to face his assailant.

"Ow! Ah, you didn't have to do that. Jeez, you're awfully strong for a little guy," the red-head from before whined, rubbing his sore cheek. He was still holding Allen by his wrist, ignoring all of the boy's attempts to break free from his grip as he continued to try to yank his hand back. "Ow, ouch. Yu's taste is really freaky, I'll never understand that guy."

Stopping his failing attempts to get free, Allen blinked at the sound of that familiar name.

'_The gardener, what's it to you?_'

Checking his jaw to make sure it wasn't dislocated after that surprisingly strong punch, Lavi flinched when his fingers gingerly touched his bruised cheek. "You pack quite a punch, little man. Maybe it's true what they say, big things come in small packages-eh?"

"Do you know him?" Allen asked, shaking the tall red-head by the collar of his shirt. Frowning when he got nothing but a weird look from the green-eyed man, he doubled his efforts, the other's head lolling back and forth. "He's the gardener, right? Tall, long black hair and the personality of a block of ice? His name's Yu, right?"

When he had woken up in his bed alone, he'd thought it had all a dream. The pond, the man, their conversation. Maybe it had all been a part of his overactive imagination, because there had been no evidence he had ever been in that pond but his blurry, doubtful memories. His dirty, muddy clothes had been scattered on the floor, and he'd woken up on his sleeping clothes. And, that thought had made him feel sad for some reason he couldn't fully understand. It had probably been because that man had been honest with him, when everyone else he had met so far had their own selfish reasons for wanting him here.

"Gardener, Yu?" the red-head whose name he still didn't know laughed. "Really, now there's a fun image. You know, I'm starting to think you were picked for you looks instead of your brains. Not that I'm complaining, it's a darn good view."

Hot blush coloring his cheeks when he noticed the grin the other was giving him, Allen narrowed his eyes and let go of the taller man with a huff, distancing himself.

"Aw, I'm kidding!" the jokester apologized. "It was a joke, a joke."

"I'll forgive you of you tell me who he is," he moodily responded, crossing his arms. He was hungry, damn it, and lost, he was in no mood to take a joke (and he could always apologize later). Besides, he really wanted to see that man again.

After all, if he knew he could trust anyone here, it would have to be someone who wasn't involved in his predicament. An uninvolved, neutral party.

Blinking, the red-head frowned, then grinned that devilish grin Allen was quickly learning to be wary of. "Oh, you mean _that _Yu. Yes, I do know him. We're good buddies you know."

"So he does work here?" he continued asking, feeling strange for asking so many questions about someone he barely even knew. All he knew was his name, and what his face looked like. And his horrible, disgusting personality but that wasn't really much.

Nodding his head, the red-head flicked a few vermillion locks from his eye-patch. "_Hm. _Technically. Although he's not really a manual labor kind of person. You could say he likes to, eh, get out there and do things his own way though."

Making a face, Allen pressed his lips together. This guy…

Noticing his expression, the other laughed, waving his hands in front of him. "Okay, okay, I'm done joking. Phew, you really don't know how to take a joke, do you?"

"Not today I'm afraid," he answered, tapping his shoe in the floor. He was impatient, how unlike him. Usually he was in better control of his temper, but it seemed the hunger was too much. He always was in a better mood when his stomach was full.

Scratching the back of his head, the man whistled. "Okay then, no more joking around. Ah. Well, since you and Kanda are joined in sweet, holy matrimony, you can say Yu's your brother-in-law of some sorts."

"What?"

Either he didn't see his staggered expression or he was just ignoring him, the cheery red-head ignorantly went on. "Well, kind of. Kanda and Yu are cousins you see, so technically he's not really your real brother-in-law, but in the eye of the beholder he sort of is." Clapping his hands, he nodded. "As for the gardener thing, I don't know anything about that, but hey, it might be his new hobby, he's weird like that."

Kanda's cousin? Well, now that Allen thought about it, they _did _sort of look alike. They were both always frowning, and their looks were similar, too. The idea wasn't that far fetched, actually. Still, it was a bit hard to believe they were related. Then again, he didn't know either of them that well, heck, he didn't anyone in this place that well.

"So, how 'bout a kiss?" Allen's eyes went wide when he was lightly pushed backwards, trapped between the taller male's body and the bridge against his back. What the- "For being such a good sport and telling you about your new family's history. Gossiping isn't really my thing you know, so I think I deserve a reward."

Raising an eyebrow, he gave the red-head a withering look. He had to be kidding him. "Excuse me?"

"Nothing in this life is for free, babe!" the other exclaimed, smiling widely. "An eye for an eye and all that." Allen winced at the crude pun there. "So here, lay on it me, doll." Leaning closer, he patted his left cheek with a finger, grinning cockily at him.

Threateningly raising his fist, he gave him a sweet smile. "Are you sure?"

Smile withering a bit, Lavi laughed again and backed away a few steps. "Then again, a 'thank you' works out just as fine, right?"

"Right," Allen agreed. Then, "Thank you."

Frowning, Lavi narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

Slipping out of the somewhat claustrophobic position he had been in, he turned back to look at him, "For helping me, what else?"

Having said that, he smiled at the man one last time in thanks and continued on his way to the dining room, feeling much better now that he knew where to find the mysterious gardener from last night. Or, whatever he really was. Either way that didn't matter, all Allen wanted was to talk to him one more time, that was all.

"Well, who would've thought he'd be this cute."

Staring at the boy's back as he took a left turn to the stables, Lavi gingerly touched his cheek. It had been a really good punch, with enough strength behind it to make his head reel for a few seconds. Even as the bruise slowly disappeared beneath his fingers, he knew he would remember the first punch anyone had ever landed on him in the past couple centuries, and not died for it, for quite a while.

Licking his bottom lip, he grinned at the taste of his own blood.

"Really, I might even miss this one after _she_'_s_ done with him."

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

Eyebrow twitching in irritation, his tapped the table with tiny, fragile fingers. He was aware of the tense atmosphere surrounding the dining room, knew his anger was the cause of it, but did nothing to reassure his idiotic servants standing a few feet away from him, waiting for his orders to be delivered, that he wouldn't kill them on the spot if his mood did not improve in the next couple of minutes.

He knew what they said of him, that he had gone crazy, finally snapped, ever since he had first started collecting humans like a low-class demon almost a century ago like his bastard of a father. Rumors had been flying around for decades, even that drunkard Cross knew of his 'hobby' by now. He wouldn't be surprised if the whole underworld was also aware of what he was doing-oh right. That conniving Mikk knew, so it wouldn't be long before _everybody _knew of his affairs. Also, he had to take into account that gossiping rabbit. For a damn God, he was awfully chatty. Then again, he was an idiot, he couldn't expect much from him. Friend of no friend, that wretched pain in the ass was going to be the death of him. Despite the fact of his immortality...

Huffing, he narrowed his eyes, not needing to look to know the servant girls standing behind him had gone still. An annoying buzzing in his ears forced him to grit his teeth in irritation, close to doing something he knew he would regret later. Blood was so hard to wash off after all.

Closing his eyes, he felt his anger rise to another level when he caught a small wisp of what they had been whispering amongst themselves. Chopsticks breaking in half when his grip around them tightened, he allowed himself a tiny smile of satisfaction when the insignificant worms stiffened in fear.

"Strange, I don't remember giving you permission to speak, much less breathe," he snapped at them without once looking their way, patience close its breaking point. Not even the shiver of fear than ran through his servant's bodies was able to help his bad mood, not this time. Chin resting on his hand, his eyes slid from the plate of food in front of him to the empty seat on his right. Brow furrowing, he scowled.

That stupid kid, how dare he refuse to eat dinner with him? After he had been kind enough to invite the human to dine with him, he had dared insult Kanda by refusing to show up. This was the first time anyone had ever publicly humiliated him like this without suffering the consequences for their mistake before the day was over. The worst part was that he couldn't make the kid pay for this, and that only made him even angrier. Children these days had no respect for their elders.

"Ma ma, Kanda-kun," a tittering, annoying and certainly not missed voice said to his left, "don't you think you're going a bit overboard? Being nicer to your followers won't kill you, you know."

Taking a deep breath, he balled his hands into tight fists and hoped his self-control would be enough to stop him from gutting this idiot once and for all. Lenalee wouldn't be happy with him if he killed her brother. "I don't think that's any of your business, Komui, specially since you came here uninvited and are eating my food."

Laughing good-naturally, the mad-doctor waved his words away as if they were nothing more but buzzing flies. Years of knowing him had made Komui immune to the grumpy God's scathing comments. "That's not true. I told you I would be coming to check up on you at least two weeks ago, remember?"

Kanda rolled his eyes, now glaring at the small hands resting on his lap. How he hated this diminutive body. It was so disgustingly weak, especially on sunny days. Scowl growing heavier when he remembered Lavi was staying here, he cursed behind gritted teeth. Right, if the stupid Sun God was here, that meant the days would keep getting hotter and hotter. Great.

"I am not so weak yet that I need you to baby-sit me, Komui," he replied, stormy mood growing worse by the second. "So leave. Seeing your face has ruined my appetite."

Taking a dumpling into his mouth, the jolly man smiled. "How harsh, Kanda-kun. And my darling Lenalee has been so worried about you lately, too."

He scoffed. "Your sister wants to kill me, idiot, what planet are you living on?" Not that he could blame her. He usually got along rather well with the Earth Goddess, so he could only image how angry she was with him after what he had done to her plants. Hmph. Whatever, it was the woman's fault for trusting him so much. She should know that Gods were very fickle creatures, and that placing one's trust in one wasn't the safest thing to do on many occasions.

Drowning out the man's jabbering while he unsuccessfully tried to finish his meal, he turned his gaze to the window for a lack of things to do, staring at the orange sky. It would soon grow dark. Stiffening the tiniest bit, he cursed himself under his breath. He had almost forgotten, damn it, that stupid rabbit must have been rubbing off on him. Leaving his food unfinished, he stood up.

Almost as an afterthought, he looked at the empty seat next to him. That kid, he hadn't shown up to dinner. Shaking his head to rid himself of those unnecessary thoughts, he pushed his chair in.

It didn't matter, that child was of no concern to him. He only needed him for one, and one thing only. Once his usefulness was gone, Kanda would no longer have to involve himself with the human ever again. Or, whatever was left of him. It didn't matter.

"Komui," he called the man, gaze sharpening when the idiot simply looked up at him from his food. "If you did, as you yourself said, come here to check up on me, you will do so in my rooms. Now move it."

Not waiting to see if the doctor would follow him, he glared at his servants as a warning for them to stay behind and quickly made his way to his chambers, the coming sunset weighing heavily in his mind. He had been alive for so long, there were very few things he was wary of. The night was one of them, the second one was the stupid rabbit when he was planning a bad prank.

Pushing open the doors to his room, he ran a frustrated hand in his shoulder-length hair, yanking out the elaborate combs holding it in place, throwing them on the floor in one of his rare childish fits. He would be the first one to admit he wasn't what one would call entirely 'mature', but he had never really cared for what others might think of him. He could count the number of people he trusted in one hand, and have fingers left to spare.

Undoing the buttons of his clothes with a calm rarely seen in him, he winced when he heard his visitor's overly loud voice. Damn it, did he hate having people in his home.

"Kanda-kun, you're room's color scheme is so gloomy! You should let my beautiful Lenalee decorate your house, she has such exquisite taste."

Sadly, this moron was one of them, as much as he regretted to admit it. Unceremoniously dropping himself on the mountain of cushions on the floor, he rubbed his head to try and get rid of the oncoming headache. At least he could thank his luck the rabbit was off wandering somewhere, and not here to make this night even worse than it already was. Komui was one thing, but Lavi was an entirely different matter all together. The last thing he needed was to have both of them together in one room, one of the at a time was more enough.

He blinked when he felt a hand on his forehead, narrowing his eyes when Komui came into his line of vision. "What," he growled, voice deeper than it had been minutes ago, "the hell do you think you are doing?"

Smiling shamelessly at him, the doctor shook his head. "Sorry, it's just always so interesting seeing you change. It's fascinating." Tilting Kanda's face up, he grinned happily from ear to ear. "Now if only you would let me examine the effects of the curse a little bit more intimately, I would die a happy man."

"What am I, your new lab rat?" he asked the second he recognized that familiar glint in the man's eyes, batting the intruding hand away from his personal space. "You dare come close to me with those stupid witch potions, and I'll kill you. I don't care if your sister threatens to blow me sky high, I can handle an angry woman."

Pouting, Komui whined. "But Kanda-kun, think of all the things we could learn!"

"Don't test me, I'm not in the mood right now." Combing through his long, black hair with his fingers, he glowered at the man. "Now, tell me why you're really here. Don't expect me to believe you came here to visit me, everybody knows you don't leave your sister's side for nothing less than an emergency."

Sitting up, he wrapped a spare, thin blanket around his waist, his right hand supporting his cheek. "Well, I'm waiting."

Komui laughed nervously, scratching the back of head and avoiding Kanda's eyes. Clearing his throat and fixing his glasses when the dark gaze drilling holes in his forehead intensified, he reached for the tray of tea sitting on the table next to him for something to do so he wouldn't have to look at those impatient blue eyes. "Well, you see, I'm here on a favor."

Kanda's stiff shoulders relaxed once the aroma of hot herbal tea reached his nose, and he grudgingly accepted the steaming cup the other man handed him. "And?"

Drinking his tea as slowly as possible, Komui reached into his robes. "And so here I am, playing messenger."

Accepting the scroll, Kanda narrowed his eyes when he saw the seal. "The Empire kingdom?"

Shrugging his shoulders, and still avoiding looking directly at the other's eyes, Komui shook his head. "I didn't read it, in case you're wondering. Goodness gracious, do you really have so little trust on me, Kanda-kun?"

"I don't trust you all, what makes you think I wouldn't put opening my mail above you?" he scathingly replied, bad mood back. Shit. He only knew of one person from the Empire kingdom that would send him letters via an actual person, and he had no desire to ever hear from them again. It had been long, or not long enough in his opinion, since he had last visited that wretched place, and he had no desire to do it again for as long as he lived. However long that was.

"Don't be such a sourpuss!" Raising his cup in a toast at him, Komui chuckled. "It's such a beautiful night, you should be spending it with your young bride. I heard from Lavi the human is quite stunning."

"That idiot has knotholes for eyes, he wouldn't know what true beauty is if it danced naked in front of him. Besides," he tucked a stray black lock behind one ear, bracing himself on one arm as he sat up, "that human is a child, I can't get excited for a mere child, you pervert."

Frowning at the memory of the kid, he sighed. Right, that brat, he hadn't seen him since yesterday. From what that old man told him, the boy had a very poor sense of direction. Hm. He was probably lost somewhere by now then, or dead. That wasn't good, Kanda still needed him, the boy hadn't lost his usefulness to him yet. No. Not yet.

"Fifteen summers isn't considered much in the human realm, I am aware of that, but the least you could do before you no longer have any use for him is try to make the child's time here as comfortable as possible," the doctor commented behind the cup of tea in his hands. "Really, I say one little thing and your mind instantly thinks of such filthy things. Tut tut, something is not right with your head, Kanda-kun."

"Something isn't going to be right with _your _head once I'm done with you," he bit out, ignoring the light heat that had appeared on his cheeks after that particular comment.

"There's no need for any violence," Komui pouted, voice reproachful as he refilled his cup. "I'm just concerned is all. After all, you've been alone here for a very long time, Kanda. I've forgotten the last time you left your kingdom, it's not healthy. I was happy when I first heard you were taking a bride, but that was almost a century ago, and when I found out the real reason _why _you needed those humans…"

Closing his eyes in what might appear to be pain, the doctor sighed a lonely sigh. "I will never judge you, Kanda, but it would make me very happy to see you settle down for once. With a real bride, not one of these fake ones," he added as an afterthought, brow furrowed in slight distaste. "You must be aware of what everyone is saying of you."

Rolling his eyes from his position on the floor, Kanda snorted before he opened the scroll. Of course he knew people were comparing him to his dead father, how stupid did this idiot think he was? Anyways, he didn't care. His father had been a good leader, a strong man, and a ruthless general. Now if only the man hadn't been such a disgusting womanizer, he wouldn't mind being compared to him so much. At least he had gotten his personality from his mother, that was the only thing he would ever be grateful to her for.

Unrolling the scroll, his eyes quickly scanned the contents, silently praying for something good to happen to him every couple of centuries. Surely the fates couldn't possibly hate him that much. And then he went dead stiff, knowing it had been stupid to hope for the better. Whenever it concerned _her_, nothing ever went right for him. Fuck.

"What is it, Kanda-kun?" Komui asked, carefully taking a sip of his tea while he made himself comfortable on the scattered cushions tastefully arranged on the polished wooden floors.

Gritting his teeth, Kanda glared at the scroll in his hand before crushing it in a tight fist. Of all things, it had to be now, now when had no time to deal with all the problems the woman always brought along with her. Besides, he knew why she was coming, and he knew she wouldn't be pleased once she saw that stupid kid. He wasn't up to her liking, he knew her taste better than anyone else after all, which meant he would have to go through the painstakingly long process of getting a new human for her. Again.

Sighing, he glared at nothing in particular and tiredly rubbed his temples at the thought of all that work.

Still, he knew he had to. If she didn't like the brat, there was nothing he could do but try to get one that she _did _like and was up to her expectations. Scowling heavily, he turned his head to the side and frowned at the little hourglass innocently sitting on the windowsill. Glowing softly behind the crystal glass, the lotus caged inside remained undisturbed by any outside occurrences. Once, a long time ago, the flower had been in full bloom. Now there were barely two petals weakly hanging on to the stem, the rest of the once beautiful blossom withered and long gone.

Clicking his tongue in disdain, he closed his eyes and covered his face with his arm. Pretending the damn flower wasn't there always made him feel better, rather than stare at it for agonizingly long hours that only ended up with him pissed off and half of the furniture destroyed.

Breathing softly, the words tumbled out of his mouth a lot easier than he'd expected.

"Mother is coming for a visit tomorrow."

**TBC? Reviews?**

-

**End Notes: **Hm. I'll continue this story if you guys want me to. Just be aware that I might only be able to update it every two weeks or so, with short chapters like this one, because school is starting soon and this is my most important year. I'm taking an extra two classes so I have to wake up earlier to have enough time for them, and then when you add extra curricular activities and work, that only gives me so much time to write (someone please kill me before the torture starts, I'll give you cookies, promise!). Ha ha, sad isn't it?

So just let me know if you want me to finish this story, and I'll promise to do my very best :D Thanks so much for reading me, and for not giving up on my hazardous schedule. See you on my next update, dears!

**(1) **Cheongsam-translates to 'long tunic'. It's one of those form-fitting Chinese dresses my Beta loves to wear. Men can also wear one, like D in Petshop of Horrors. Okay, I am getting off topic here.


	5. Lady's Slipper

**A/N** So, I busted my knee, got kidnapped, got buried under a ton of homework, began my first painting of the year, colored with oil pastels for the first time, bought a ton of manga, learned that Advanced Placement Classes aren't as fun as I thought they would be, almost got hitched with the ex again (_so _glad I escaped that horrible disaster), and finally, fell in love with Allen all over again when I saw him drawn in Hoshino's new style. Ahh. Smell that? That's the smell of a brand new school year…and it. is. painful. Yet somehow fun. Although I'm glad I finally had the chance to write again, even though there's a huge pile of homework staring at me in the face right now, all creepy and whatnot…oh well. I'd rather be a procrastinator until I have to go back to Satan's Playground. I missed writing; besides, I can always pull an all-nighter and finish my painting before the bus comes to pick me up tomorrow morning, right? _Right_.

Also, much thanks to _Abreaction _for always being there to help, support, and make me the happiest woman in the world. You are a wonderful person, always willing to go over my crap for me AND ALL YOU OTHER WRITERS BACK OFF SHE'S MINE.

**Special Notes for this Chapter: **Language, some plot development, and small hints of shonen-ai? Maybe? Perhaps a little? There are _signs_, small ones, but I'm sure they're there somewhere.

**Disclaimer: **Not mine, but boy do I wish for it to happen. That, and for some goddamn sleep, because God, do I _**need **_it.

**Your Eyes Only**

**-**

**Chapter IV-**_Lady's Slipper_

The sky was a slowly moving mass of bleak, windswept gray. The clouds hung so low they seemed to cover the Water Kingdom in an all-embracing blanket, weighing heavily even on the white walls and towers surrounding the main city. For Kanda, to call them 'foreboding' would have been a huge understatement.

But he knew that wasn't true. His anger was the reason the clouds were heavy with pent -up water, why the winds were sharp and cutting, why despite the Sun God being here, the weather was abnormally cold, even for his kingdom. That's why even though it was still night, Kanda went back to his office despite his current appearance and dismissed everybody who was anywhere near it with a few sharp words.

There was always enough paperwork to be done and since he definitely needed to get his mind off what had just happened, he could as well tend to it. It wasn't new for him to sit in his office until late at night, working. Everything was better than to be alone in the huge mansion, a horde of servants waiting behind closed doors to run immediately if he had just the tiniest desire for anything. He had nothing to do there, nothing but feel like a spoiled child, which brought him back immediately to what that idiotic scientist had delivered.

That bitch, she was coming here tomorrow. Shit, and she was probably going to bring her whole parade with her too. If he wanted his home to look like a fucking circus he could damn well do it himself.

Running a hand in his loose hair, he scowled at the long tresses before scolding himself for thinking back on it. He knew his mother well enough to expect this from her. One day or another she was bound to come and collect her prize, so why was he so surprised? Maybe it was because he had never liked having visitors, specially if they were rude enough to send a day's notice, and only a day's notice, before arriving. This was his home, he had kept it safe for centuries, it was only natural that he didn't like having people come whenever they damned pleased. He had never been one for sharing. Although, his mother did have a right to come whenever she wanted. Strictly speaking this was her home as well. Still, he didn't like having visitors of any kind breaching the boundaries of his estate just because they felt like they had a right to.

Gripping his brush hard enough to turn his knuckles white, he muttered a few curses under his breath when he came to a certain stack of papers. Right, that kid never did show up for dinner. After Komui left (he'd had to kick the damn busybody off his estate to get him to leave him alone) he had completely forgotten about _that _little problem; holing himself in his room for hours as he waited for the moon to be replaced by the sun. Or at least, until he grew bored of waiting and came here. He lifted one of his hands to his forehead and tried to focus, tried to order the mess in his head, to calm down all the emotions that invaded his walls. He had to have a clear mind if he wanted to work out this problem in a way that could be called appropriate. Rolling his eyes at the word, he pushed aside the finished stack and reached for the next one.

Should he go look for him? It _had _been hours since dinner, he could be lost. Or, maybe he was lying dead in a ditch somewhere. That would be bad. Kanda had no time to go look for a replacement right now, not if he wanted to have everything ready by the time that bitch arrived. That woman was too damn strict for her own good, always pressing him to be same every time she came to visit. Their way of ruling was just too different, complete opposites; it was the cause of countless and endless fights between them. And if she didn't like the boy, that was exactly what was going to happen today.

He pressed the brush onto the paper so hard it left an ugly black blotch even on the wood underneath. He forced his fingers to loosen, then put the utensil to the side and shuffled through some more documents just to keep his hands occupied. The tension in Kanda's hands sent a shiver through the forms he held. He swallowed once and then forced himself to put them to the side with exaggerated care, arranging them neatly into an additional stack that would be sent back to Tiedoll first thing in the morning.

He scowled at the slight trembling of his fingers and short thereafter he scowled even more as he heard steps in the hall before his office. They were loud and cheerful steps, leaving no question as to whom they belonged. The one single knock against the door was energetic and relentless and almost made Kanda flinch in his chair.

"Just open the fucking door," he near snapped, striving to keep his voice steady and calm.

To say that he was surprised to see the bubbly red-head sitting on his desk before the door even had a chance to fall shut would be a lie. He was, though, a tad bit curious about the droplets of blood staining the orange scarf the Sun God wore around his neck.

"Yo, Yu-dear, how's it going?" Mock saluting, the redhead attempted to throw his arms around him and pull him into a hug, something Kanda skillfully avoided by planting his foot on the other's face. Glaring at him, he cursed himself for leaving his sword in his room.

"None of your business. There, we've had a wonderful conversation, now leave," he ordered, trying his hardest to ignore the disease sitting so close to him. "Your mere presence is making me sick to my stomach."

Drawing a hurt look on his face at that, the redhead leaned even closer to him, the large pile of papers the only thing standing between the foolish rabbit and an early death. Kanda breathed hard through his nose, not making eye contact as he continued to work. He could feel the other's gaze on him as he filled paper after paper, on edge because the redhead wasn't saying anything. If anything, that only proved the idiot was up to something. Sighing, he tucked an annoyingly long lock behind one ear. He knew he shouldn't have granted old Bookman permission to borrow some books from his library, specially if the springy coot was going to send his grandson in his place.

Dipping his brush, he stopped what he was doing when, as he raised his face, he came dangerously close to locking lips with the imbecile invading his personal space. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand when he felt Lavi's hot breath warm his lips, a grimace of disgust appearing on his face the second he jumped back a couple of feet away from his desk. Back against the wall, he wiped his mouth for good measure. Eugh. Rabbit germs.

"I don't like your attitude today, Yu-babe," Lavi finally spoke, childishly kicking his legs back and forth at the same time Kanda felt something in his brain snap.

"I have the same problem with your face," he spat, peering at the window in his office to check how much time he had left before he could go back outside. Staying here with this idiot would cause him permanent brain damage. Hell, his stupidity could be contagious for all he knew.

"It's been raining so hard! There's practically a freaking hurricane out there, have you noticed that? You need to learn to control your anger better," the redhead let out, making exasperated, wild movements with his hands that despite what he thought, came closer to breaking something valuable rather than making any sense. "You don't see me scorching villages just because Lena doesn't want to go out with me, do you?"

"That's only because if you did, she'd kick your sorry ass," he deadpanned, wondering what he was still doing here. "Besides, her brother would skewer you before you could even hope to get close to her."

"Yea, well," the redhead crossed his arms over his chest, expression one of stubborn immaturity, "you just wait. One day Lena's gonna be my woman. You can be my best man if you play nice and stop the rain. After all, it's ruining my hair."

Returning to his seat once he deemed it safe enough from the stupidity plaguing his office, Kanda rested his cheek on the palm of his hand. "Why don't you just leave?" he suggested, voice dripping with cynicism. "That way I won't have to keep seeing your stupid face."

"Eh, but I leave before Mommy Dearest shows up, I won't get to see any of the fun."

Shoulders tensing, he scowled. "Don't you ever get tired of being such a busybody, rabbit?"

Lavi smiled at his expression, "So, when's she coming?"

"None of your damn business, so get out before I lose my patience." Picking up his brush, he tried to erase the frown on his face, failing miserably when it only deepened as the redhead leaned back across his desk. Eyebrow twitching, he smiled a tight, razor-sharp smile. "Don't start something if you're not willing to finish it, imbecile. Don't tempt me right now, I'm itching for a fight."

Carelessly knocking over a rather valuable vase he had received as a gift from Lenalee herself with his right arm, the rabbit smiled up at him from his sprawled out position on his desk. "You're always in a bad mood when you hear from her, I'm not surprised. I thought you'd be happy, after all, it's still dark outside."

Smile vanishing, Kanda narrowed his eyes at those words. "I don't think anyone would be in a good mood if they constantly had a leash wrapped around their neck. After all, no matter how long that leash may be, you're never free."

Lavi whistled, reaching out to grab a stray black lock. Twirling the dark strands around his fingers, he grinned up at the older God. "Ma ma, you really are greedy. I can certainly see the resemblance now, between you and your late father."

Kanda scoffed at that, batting the other's hand away from his personal space. "My old man may have been a good fighter, but other than that he was a complete waste of air. Don't ever compare me to him again or you'll find yourself missing something important the next time you wake up."

"Na uh! He collected brides, too! It seems it's true what the humans say, the apple never falls far from the tree, heh?" Waggling his eyebrows at him, the younger God drew a lecherous grin on his lips. "By the way, that new bride of yours, he's pretty cute isn't he? And feisty, just the way your old man liked them. Maybe you inherited more than just his looks from him, Yu."

Dealing with this idiot was just impossible. No matter how much you struggled, one way or another he always dragged you down to his own level and beat you with his stupidity. Rubbing his temples with the air of a desperate man around him, Kanda heaved a deep sigh. It wouldn't do to lose his temper, not before that woman arrived. He knew himself too well, and knew he would take it out on her, which would then make breakfast a lot more uncomfortable than it had a right to be. So he settled on not saying anything. He knew the idiot would somehow, someway, twist his words around to egg this annoying conversation even further, so there really was no point in using words to best him.

"Hey, Yu, can I look at this for a bit?" Waving a heavy-looking book in front of his face, the redhead grinned from ear to ear. "It's not every day I'm allowed to enter your office, much less your private library, right?"

"No one let you in you piece of-you know what, just take it and shut up," he added, knowing this was a golden opportunity he shouldn't just throw away. There were very few things that could hold the rabbit's attention for more than ten minutes; books was one of them, and since Kanda had no women here, he would just have to settle for this. It wasn't as if he was particularly fond of the books his mother had left here all those centuries ago. He'd never read them, and he was sure the redhead would cry when he saw the conditions they'd been kept on for all these years.

"Wah, Yu, how could you do this!" Sure enough, there it was. "Do you know how hard it is to find a copy of this book in this day and age?! You fiend! One day they'll be calling you a book-murderer!"

"Shut up! I'll treat my shit however the hell I please, you got that?!" he snapped, one second away from grabbing the lamp on his left and committing murder. So much for keeping his temper, but shit, this imbecile always pissed him off.

Giving the trembling redhead one last glare, he took a deep breath, sat back down, and folded his arms across his chest. Absentmindedly picking up his writing utensil, he looked at the window at his side for a lack of anything to do now that the rabbit had finally fallen silent, and frowned at what he saw. At the very least, he had four, maybe five hours tops before morning came. Looking down at his hands, he couldn't help but feel irritation towards them. Compared to his smaller body, this one housed so much power, the scent of it ancient and long forgotten by this world. Yet all of it was useless if it couldn't be used.

Gritting his teeth, he snapped the brush in half.

What good was all of this strength if he couldn't even use it when the time called for it? One would think that after more than three centuries of this damn cycle he would be used to his weakness, but he wasn't. Not when he knew what he had been, what he could be again, if he broke the damn spell.

Which brought him back to the matter at hand.

That stupid bitch, how dare she show her face here after what she had done to him? As if having him on a leash wasn't enough already, she just had to come here and rub it on his face. Wasn't sealing his strength away enough? Damn bimbo, how he itched to kill her and dine on her blood.

A small, amused chuckle escaped from his lips at that pleasant image, and he leaned back on his chair at the same time he placed a hand on his chest.

Still, he had to hand it to her. Taking his power away during day, and giving them back to him at night; what cruel torture, even for her. He still didn't know how the damn thing worked, or else he would have broken the curse centuries ago. It was a big fat pain in the ass, the one thing that always kept him up at nights, grumbling and cursing the bitch's very existence. If only, if only he could get his hands on the damn woman's archives. But that was too big a hope; even he himself knew such a feat was more than impossible. She kept those things under a tighter lock than any other person he knew, the barriers surrounding her mind more than he could ever hope to break. Of course, she had centuries of knowledge over him. Everything he knew he had learned it from her; her secrets and her spells, all the knowledge she had acquired and collected throughout the years as the world changed from one setting to another.

He should have known though, that the witch would never teach him _all _of her tricks. Hell, he wouldn't have either. Deception, deceit and intrigue were his bedfellows. They were fickle lovers, but still, she had taught him better than to ever let them leave his side.

'_Those who do not fear the sword they wield have no right to wield a sword at all, Yu_.'

She was a fucking bitch as a person, but she had been a good teacher, he would never deny that. And he would never forgive her, no, he would kill her with his own two hands one day. He had never been fond of her, had never held any sort of appreciation for her other than her strength; he wouldn't miss her. A student had to surpass his teacher at some point, even she should know that.

Taking out a new brush from one of the drawers, he set to work again while he tried to ignore the memory of that bitch's disgustingly arrogant voice.

'_Stop trying to act like a grownup._'

The God's eyebrow twitched and the corner of his mouth pulled down. Silently, he gritted his teeth hard enough to grind his molars into dust, filling paper after paper in hopes of getting rid of that stupid haunting voice.

'_You're an animal_.'

His jaw set with his lips pulled tight.

'_Animals have no right to any strength_.'

Glaring at the pale moon outside his window, he wondered when the heavy silence had set. You could never go wrong with silence, yet Kanda had never liked it much. Most of all when it was dark; one never knew when enemies would attack, and for a man like himself, silence meant danger. Sound was better; with sound you knew where your enemies were, what they were doing, and where to strike to kill them. He had never quite liked the silence of the night.

Of course, he could always count on this idiotic fool to break that silence.

"Are you going to introduce them?" Lavi asked, voiced serious all of a sudden from behind the book he was reading. The curiosity in his voice wasn't anything new, the wariness, though, was. Kanda raised an eyebrow at the out of place emotion. "Allen and her Highness, I mean."

"Allen? Who the fuck is _Allen_?" He rattled his head to try and remember if he knew anyone by that name. "Shit, is he that new guy those old farts are sending over from the Capital City to inspect how I'm treating my workers? Che. Whatever, it's not like I'm not paying them to work."

Lavi gave him a look, the kind of look that said he couldn't believed he was here of his own free will. "If my memory doesn't fail me, I believe Allen is your 9,999 bride. Remember, he came in a couple of days ago? Cute, small, does it ring a bell?"

Kanda closed his eyes, fleetingly remembering silver eyes, achromatic tresses, pale skin and a warm body next to him in the past couple of mornings. He gave himself a shake and a pursing of the lips and opened his eyes to see Lavi was once again sitting on his desk and was now staring at him. They both regarded each other silently. Kanda let one arched black eyebrow rise. Lavi snorted and started to raise his fingers to his nose, and then thought better of it.

"Idiot," he finally said, irritation coating his voice. "You know damn well he's going to have a front-row seat when she comes, so stop asking stupid questions."

"And how are you going to do that if Allen is lost somewhere in the wild, alone and defenseless?"

Despite popular belief, he didn't always favor fighting. Specially at night. So he sighed, drumming his fingers on top of his desk, thinking. "I'll just send someone to go look for him," he finally settled on saying, not knowing _why _he was even having this conversation with this certain idiot out of all the other people he could be discussing this with. _Smart_, intelligent, _pleasing _people. "He can't have gone too far."

"I think you should go," Lavi voiced out, scratching his chin and, for some reason, avoiding looking straight at his eyes. Burying his nose in the thick book when Kanda tried to make out his expression, the redhead cleared his throat rather loudly. All in all, very suspicious behavior, even or him. "Something tells me he might take being found by his spouse a lot better than some random stranger you send after him."

Kanda brought his hands together and laced his fingers, elbows on his desk. Neither of the two men said nothing, the tense silence only stretching. Then, "You're up to something."

The look of fake surprise on that stupid face didn't make him feel less suspicious. He spoke before the other had a chance to open his mouth. "I better not walk out of this room and find the rest of my house burned to ashes, rabbit."

A green eye widened, its twin hidden behind an eye patch as the imbecile quickly shook his head and drew a mortally offended look. "I have not done anything to merit this kind of distrust from you, my friend. Really, sometimes the way you treat me is fiendish. Just fiendish."

Kanda smirked easily and put his chin on his laced fingers. "Just letting you know that if you do anything stupid today, I'm going to have to kill you."

"Why, the little trust you put in me hurts me dearly, Yu," Lavi drew a pained expression on his face, having been stabbed in the back by his loyal best friend. Well, best friend in his mind. "I would _never _plan anything behind your back, you know me."

"Che. This coming from the idiot who every day makes my life a living hell by being an incompetent moron with half a brain," he snorted, placing a hand on his desk. "If I could, I would exile you."

"You're so charming," Lavi chuckled behind his book, "Sometimes you make me breathless."

Picking up his brush again, he began to separate his papers into neat stacks. His work was never done, and no matter how much he hated it, someone had to do it. Besides, irresponsibly was not something he tolerated. "Tell you what, I'm going back to work, when you have something bordering on sanity to say, come and see me."

Which would hopefully be never; the redhead was known for his constant bouts of insanity after all. Kanda really had no idea how that woman put up with him (then again Lenalee knew how to take care of herself), and hopefully one day she would be merciful enough to pass on the secret. But just to spite him, the Gods (that fucking drunkard bastard was a sore loser), had to go and make this night even worse.

"Oops. Sorry, Yu!" Laughing, Lavi tried to hide the mess that had once been half of his finished paperwork, not dripping with ink, behind another large pile of unfinished paperwork. "Don't worry, I'm sure they're still legible."

"That's what I hate about you," Kanda drawled out, voice incredibly dry, "Always on the ball, never a dull moment with you," and the man folded his arms on his desk and leaned over the stacks, "so, what are you still doing here? You've got what you came here for, scram, bookworm."

"If you'll pardon me, your Highness, and not to inflate your already precariously balanced ego," the redhead grinned, undaunted, "but you are not, despite what you believe, the reason I am still here. You may be cute and all, but I'm not masochistic enough to go for you. You're too tall for me, not enough height difference to kiss right. Unlike your bride, who may I say is just at the _perfect_-"

"No. You are not staying," he sharply cut him off, eyes narrowed and fixed on the bane of his existence. "I don't want you here when that woman arrives. One of you is enough for the day."

He should have known, right from the very beginning, that the rabbit was only here for gossip.

"Lena also sent me to keep an eye on you. She says she's had enough of you killing her children when you're throwing one of your little fits."

He also should have known that nothing he could say would stop the idiot from being here on this miserable day to help make it even more miserable. "Look, idiot," he began, positive he was about to have a small stroke, "listen up, and listen good. I will _kill _you if I see you here when that stupid woman sets foot in my house. I will skewer you with your own damn intestines, I will-"

"Of course, I could always just ask my drinking buddy good ol' Mikk to bring me as his second," Lavi cut in, confidence dripping from every one of his pores. "He has every right to come here, after all, it's his job."

The dark-haired man's eyes never moved from the younger God's face, but they did, in fact, flash in intricate eye morse code, obviously saying that the redhead was treading very dangerous ground and should perhaps duck and cover within a very few moments.

"He'll be absolutely delighted to come," throwing him a smirk from behind the heavy book in his hands, Lavi's one visible eye flashed wickedly. "Specially since he's taken such a liking your new bride and all."

Kanda's skin went the color of pure driven snow, on the first day of the first fall, in a place very far away, where no human had ever set foot. He slowly began to curl his fingers around the hilt of his sword-only to remember that said sword was somewhere in his sleeping quarters. He cursed everything and everyone's existence before turning his narrowed eyes to the smiling redhead.

"Don't you dare," he growled with vindictive fury, "bring that _thing _into my house-wait, what did you just-"

"That's right!" Throwing the book behind him, which miraculously landed unscathed on top of the bookshelf, Lavi jumped up, hand pumped in the air as he stood on Kanda's once upon a time neat paperwork. "While you were away, being all moody and whatnot, Tyki seduced your bride and swept him off his feet faster than you can kill people!"

Now Kanda could care less about the human boy, to him the child was just a means to achieve his goal, nothing else. But he had always been competitive by nature, and he had never been one to share. These two factors combined with the universal knowledge that was his ultimate hatred for one lousy, conniving and filthy Tyki Mikk (it was a long story) could only end up in one way, and one way only.

Even if Kanda himself wasn't aware of this, the truth was that sometimes he could be very childish.

"I mean, seriously, even I smelled Tyki's scent on the kid," shaking his head, Lavi sighed. "But then again you were never very bright, were you?"

Slamming a fist on his desk, Kanda growled out his words, "That brat is mine, he has no right to even _look _at him, much less touch him. I'll rip off his throat if he dares."

Muffling his snorts of laughter, the Sun God caught himself before he fell off he desk. "Ha ha! This is too rich! One minute ago you couldn't care less for the human boy, and now you're practically staking your claim over him. Damn, I can't wait to tell Lena about-gack!"

Tightening his grip around the other's throat, Kanda glared down at him, shaking him once or two for the hell of it. One eye wide with apprehension, the redhead avoided looking at those dark eyes, knowing if he did, it would be the end of him. Any other day, Kanda would find some sort of amusement in making the rabbit jump like this, but not today. "Listen to me good, imbecile, because I am not going to repeat myself."

Swallowing with difficulty, Lavi quickly nodded his head while his eye wandered to the only exit out of this room. A rough shake made him stop. "If I smell that no-good bastard here, see hide or tail of him, I'll make you regret the day you were ever appointed as that old man's successor. Are we clear?"

Deep frown on his face, he grimaced at the bad taste the mention of that man's name had left in his mouth. Hand still wrapped around the redhead's throat, he glared at nothing in particular while he tried to get rid of it. It was no use; it never was when that bastard was mentioned. That asshole, an annoyance almost as big as the stupid rabbit. Tyki-fucking-Mikk, that bastard. How he tired of that man, always sticking his nose into other people's business, ruining one reputation after another one. If only he wasn't that goddamn Emperor's nephew, he would have killed him a long time ago. So of course he wasn't going to allow that _thing _to step one foot in his land, much less come close to his precious human sacrifice.

_Thump_. The unique sound of a body collapsing to the floor echoed down the hall outside. Kanda paused in the middle of chocking the stupid rabbit to death, who used this opportunity to press himself against the farthest wall away from his psychotic friend. Looking sideways at the door, the dark-haired man made a face before barking out, "Get inside and stop that ruckus at once, idiot!"

He would recognize that presence anywhere, so he wasn't surprised to see his General enter the room, bowing a second before he straightened. He tensed for the slightest of seconds though, not sure if the other man would recognize him in this form or not. A quick look at the other's reaction made him relax. His face was as stoic as ever, no emotion or recognition on his handsome features as he pulled something from behind him. Stumbling, the small figure had to catch himself so he wouldn't fall on his face, hair ruffled and clothes ruined. Kanda's eyes widened the slightest bit. What the hell-

Sharp eyes inspected the neat, tidy office while a hand shot out and stopped the human boy from leaving his side. Turning to the only face he recognized, Madarao finally spoke, "Courtier Lavi, I was not aware you had come to visit the Master's estate."

Still rubbing his sore throat, said redhead coughed a bit before answering. "If that's your way of asking where Kanda is, don't worry. He's, um, off picking flowers for his new bride." It outstood Kanda how fast the rabbit could forget about his own wellbeing to act like a complete idiot, truly it did. "Who, may I say, is forever in your debt for helping him find his way back home. Isn't that right, Allen?"

There was an expression of utmost annoyance on the boy's face, somehow managing to look dignified covered in mud and grime while he tried to yank himself free from the grip Madarao had on him. His struggles were in vain; Madarao didn't even seem faced by the glare the child was giving him. Nodding at the redhead, the tall man then turned to Kanda, who had already been expecting this from his right-hand man. He had taught the man well, maybe too well he sometimes thought.

"And this?" The smallest amount of emotion passed over his face at the same time the fingers of his right hand caressed the hilt of his sword. It was an action Kanda had seen on himself many times in the past before he killed one of his enemies.

"Flesh and blood of your Lord," he replied without the slightest sign of hesitation, knowing if the other detected any lie in his words he would probably be attacked on the spot. He couldn't afford to lose Madarao, but he also couldn't afford the danger of someone else sharing his damn weakness. "You could almost call us brothers."

Lavi chortled, tears on the corners of his eyes. Muffling his laughter as best as he could, he took a second to compose himself while he straightened up. Noticing all eyes were now on him, he gave a weak smile. "Eh…now that we all know each other what do you say you let Allen go, Ma-tan?"

If Kanda needed any more proof to know Madarao was perfect for his second-in-command, it was that the man didn't even bat an eyelid at the horrible butchering of his name. Hand still gripping the human boy's wrist, the stoic man refused to let go of the child go. "I found him in the stables, frolicking with one of the servant boys."

Ah. Now he saw what the problem was. Taking a step forward, he yanked the boy out his General's firm grip. If he was surprised at this, Madarao didn't show it. "I'll see to it that he receives a fit punishment for leaving the Master's bed," Kanda lied, wondering when the hell this man had become so damn loyal to him. For some reason, this amount of devotion unnerved him. "You can return to your post now."

At first, he thought the man would protest. But he should have known better. Madarao was anything but a bad subordinate; if he knew anything it was how to follow orders down to the letter. Bowing his head, he gave the human boy one last, undecipherable look before he returned to guard the gates. Running a hand in his long hair, Kanda sighed. That had been close. Sometimes Madarao was just too perceptive for his own good, and no matter how good of a general he was, Kanda wouldn't touch his heart for him if he knew about his 'special' condition. Anyone who knew of his weakness had to die, there was no way around it. Or at least, until he broke the damn curse.

Bad mood returning, he frowned when he remembered he still had something else to deal with. A problem of lesser concern, but still pretty important. Little brat, didn't he know Kanda couldn't afford to lose him? As his last precious human sacrifice, this kid was his only ticket to freedom.

Loosening his grip on the boy's shoulder, he turned the human around so he could properly look at his face. His silver gaze was downcast, the messy white tresses hiding his face from view not allowing Kanda to get a good look at the expression he was currently wearing. Stubborn and stupid, never a good combination. Tilting his chin up, he brushed the child's hair from his eyes. Silver eyes looked away from his own, glaring at the wall as those thin arms were crossed over a slim chest. Cupping his face, Kanda turned his face back to himself. His annoyance only grew though, when the boy continued to refuse to look at him.

"Oi, idiot, look at me," he ordered, a hint of steel to his voice. Still not budging, the stubborn frown on the child's face only deepened. "Don't make me whip you, boy."

"You're his cousin," the human finally said, a note of disappointment in his voice. Kanda was a little surprised to see that hidden in that disappointment, was also a hint of sadness. "Liar. You said you were the gardener."

"What I am is none of your concern." This kid was weird, no doubt about that. "You, on the other hand, are a possession. And as such, your place is at the foot of your owner's bed. So get to it, human."

Heat flooding his cheeks at Kanda's words, Allen sputtered in indignation. "W-what, you bastard," he hissed, gray eyes narrowed in anger. Despite himself, Kanda took a step back. "I looked for you everywhere and this is what I get for my efforts? I don't even know what I was thinking anymore, you're no better than-"

"Than who?" Grinning, he sat back down on his chair, finding himself surprisingly amused by the human's antics. Maybe it was the tension hanging thick in the air, the knowledge that once the sun rose, that woman would arrive. Either way, he was never one to pass up an opportunity to simply laugh at another person's pathetic attempts to aggravate him. Those moments were so rare nowadays after all. "Kanda?"

Blush intensifying, the boy squared his shoulders and huffed. The God raised an elegant eyebrow at that behavior. "I'll have you know that Kanda has been very good to me."

A smile almost escaped him. Almost. Resting his chin on his hand, he stared straight at the boy. "Really?"

He thought it impossible, but the child's cheeks grew rosier. "Yes, really. The first time he saw me he said I was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen."

It was his turn to muffle his laughter, and from the corner of his eye he saw Lavi doing the same thing. Gutsy _and _stupid. That was an even worse combination. "Humph. From what I know of him, Kanda's nothing but a brat. I'm not surprised to see that his taste in lovers is as bad as his personality."

Clutching his stomach, Lavi hit the floor repeatedly as he tried to control his laughter. Cheeks still flushed, Allen averted his gaze, visibly embarrassed. "How crude, your cousin is still just a child."

Looking at the window to deduce how much time was left until sunrise, Kanda couldn't help but grin. He could see why that woman preferred virgins, they really were very gullible. "It doesn't matter if he is a man or a child, you should return to his room before he notices your absence or else you'll get a good whipping."

Eyeing the boy up and down, he wrinkled his nose. "And take a bath, you reek."

Stupid, gutsy, and stubborn. So not cute, not cute at all. Although he had to admit the boy's temper was amusing, the kid was fun to rile up. Having lived many centuries, finding things that amused him were hard to come by now. It was nice to know there were still some of those rare amusing things out there in the world. Looking at the window again, he felt that anxiousness return. He had two, maybe one hour before the sun rose, and then she would come. Tardiness wasn't like her, so he knew better than to hope she was late. Tapping his desk, he frowned as he tried to organize the turmoil that was his mind. He had to get rid of Lavi, that was a no-brainer, and the kid would have to stay somewhere close at hand so he could call for him when she arrived, but not close enough to see him change. She didn't tolerate anything less than perfection, again, one of the many reasons why he couldn't stand her for more than three seconds. Just thinking about her made him gag in disgust.

"You should also make the child change into something decent, Yu," a cold, amused voice cut through his thoughts like a knife, and Kanda had no time to prepare himself before he was suffocated with the overpowering scent of orchids. "As one of the many brides to the Water God he should present himself with poise and grace, and not as a common harlot you bought off the street."

He could almost _taste _the blood in his mouth from how hard he clenched his teeth. Not looking at the woman standing in front of his desk, or at the two idiots stuck dumbstruck by the men garbed in black clothes standing at her side, Kanda allowed an icy smile to grace his lips. "I don't think that's any of your business, woman."

Ever the epitome of grace and elegance, Reni Epstein, Goddess of Punishment and Torture, hid her amused chuckles behind her hand. She tucked a stray blond lock behind one ear, the small movement making him tense in his seat. Her ruby lips curved into a coy smile at that, and her light colored eyes looked straight at his dark ones without even the slightest trace of fear most people's eyes held when they so much as felt him near. Unwillingly, he felt a shiver run up his spine.

"Why, Yu, is that any way to address your mother?"

Now he really regretted leaving his sword behind.

**To be Continued…**

**-**

**End Notes: **Okay, actually, this chapter was supposed to be out by Friday of last week. But, one of my assistants (I won't mention any names, but you know who you are!) recommended I read Bleach and FullMetal Alchemist. I told her I didn't have the time for it and she immediately got on my case about it: "You bastard, what color is your blood?!" to which I replied with "Fool! Black ink flows through my veins!"

…but in the end, I gave in. I'm a sucker for my two assistants. Anything they say goes, I just love them too much. So, I wasted the whole weekend reading/watching Bleach and FullMetal, fell in love with RoyxEd and GrimxIchi, which thus ended with me neglecting my babies. So, I wrote all of this today, and, eh, well, it didn't _quite _turned out like I wanted. Oh well. Que sera, sera. At least Lavi got more screen time this chapter, and Madarao-chan too. Also, bet you weren't expecting _her _to show up, were you? Kaboom, points for me :D

Until next time! Comments are loved and help wake me up in the horrible mornings, also, pray I won't die from work-overload this weekend~


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