Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/810831.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
  Category:
      F/M, M/M
  Fandom:
      D.Gray-man, Final_Fantasy_VII, Tsubasa:_Reservoir_Chronicle, Kingdom
      Hearts, Final_Fantasy_XII, Naruto
  Relationship:
      Kanda_Yuu/Allen_Walker, Tyki_Mikk/Allen_Walker, Alma_Karma/Kanda_Yuu,
      Alma_Karma/Allen_Walker, Lavi/Lenalee, Arystar_Krory/Miranda_Lotto, Kanda
      Yuu/Allen_Walker/Alma_Karma, Bak_Chang/Fou, Fay_D._Fluorite/Kurogane,
      Sephiroth/Cloud_Strife, Zack_Fair/Cloud_Strife
  Character:
      Allen_Walker, Kanda_Yuu, Hevlaska, Lavi, Lenalee_Lee, Komui_Lee, Timothy
      Hearst, Timcampy, Bookman, Millenium_Earl, Road_Kamelot, Tyki_Mikk, Lulu
      Bell, Reever_Wenham, Alma_Karma, Akuma_-_Character, Zack_Fair, Cloud
      Strife, Sephiroth, Loz_(Compilation_of_FFVII), Kadaj_(Compilation_of
      FFVII), Yazoo_(Compilation_of_FFVII), Riku_(Kingdom_Hearts), Kurogane,
      Fay_D._Fluorite, Kairi_(Kingdom_Hearts), Namine, Xion, Roxas_(Kingdom
      Hearts), Ventus, Sheril_Kamelot, Vanitas, Sora_(Kingdom_Hearts), Vaan_
      (Ivalice_Alliance), Reks_(Ivalice_Alliance), Gaara_(Naruto), Temari_
      (Naruto), Sai_(Naruto)
  Additional Tags:
      Yaoi, Mpreg, Nekos, Rape/Non-con_Elements, I_don't_own_any_of_these
      series, Mating_Cycles/In_Heat, semi-crossover_fic, most_non-dmg
      characters_are_just_used_as_extras
  Series:
      Part 2 of Keep_What_You_Love
  Stats:
      Published: 2013-05-20 Completed: 2013-07-03 Chapters: 27/27 Words: 111555
****** Pouring Rain ******
by HinatasShadow
Summary
     When Allen and Kanda were young they knew nothing about the truth of
     society. Now that they are grown, the truth can be a harsh reality.
     When they are forcefully separated, they must find their own ways to
     continue living.
     Main story that can be accompanied by Like Footprints in the Snow
***** Prologue *****
Prologue
Rain has followed the cloaked figure since they initially departed for this
more dilapidated area of the city. The water is soaking into its thin coat
despite how desperately they try to protect a small bundle from the chilling
element. The unwanted wetness encourages the figure to move faster to their
intended destination.
The elements seem to take it upon themselves to hinder the figure as much as
they can by changing the rain into a downpour and adding a fierce wind that
chills the figure to the bone. The figure has a brief respite from the downpour
as it huddles under a porch awning just out of the light of a nearby
streetlamp. The figure gages the distance from their current hiding spot to its
destination, a dark building just out of the streetlamp's influence.
The figure makes a dash to the intended building, quickly hiding their face
from view when passing under the lamps judging light. As the figure reaches the
dark building it slowly and carefully pulls out a simple brown paper bag. They
hold the bottom of the bag carefully as they set it down on the driest piece of
cement they can find.
The figure gives the bag a sad look as the water begins to soak the bag and its
contents within moments of being set down. They turn to the door and bring
their hand up to knock and resign themselves to the fate of whoever would
answer, but the figure looks down once again at the plain brown bag. Something
seems to compel the figure to take one more look at it.
As they move to open the bag and possibly take another look at the bags
contents, a light suddenly appears one of the windows of the very same
building. The figures starts and quickly takes off down the street in the
direction opposite of the one they used to travel, still keeping to the shadows
in their flight. The cloaked figure never looks back, as it flees the truth
reveling light seems to chase them.
….
Kanda had been restless all night. Not even Lavi's attempts to anger him could
distract him from this nagging feeling. It was like something kept telling him
that there was more than just rain outside tonight.
He tossed and turned in his bed as he tried to find some position that would
let him sleep in peace. This was easier said than done, as Lavi was content to
share a bed seeing as a single bed was a bit big for even the two of them
together. However, Lavi slept like a rock and hardly moved from his spot on the
bed, which just so happened to be exactly where Kanda normally slept.
When he could no longer even try to find a comfortable spot to sleep in, Kanda
decided to get up and look out the window and prove once and for all that there
was nothing out of the ordinary outside tonight apart from the pouring rain.
He moved over to the window and used the window seat as a boost to get him
closer to the window. At first all he could see was the rivulets and waves of
rain as streaked down the dingy window, but upon closer inspection more of the
everyday details started to become clearer. The sign at the bakery seemed to be
swaying as a wind started to pick up and even the streetlamp was starting to
have its light become blurry as the water came into contact with the glass.
Kanda was satisfied that it everything was normal just as he thought it was and
that is imagination must just be working overtime again, probably because Lavi
was trying to make him read stories to him and Lenalee again. As he starts to
turn from the window he sees movement near the awning of the bakery. He watches
intently as the figure seems to be holding something close to it and it runs
across the street, heading straight towards this building.
He leans closer to the window, but scoots closer to the bottom edge so as to
try to see the figure better. It stands just barely in his view and he sees it
move the bundle but can't see what it does with it. He goes to lean even closer
when light suddenly floods the room.
He spins around to see Lavi with one hand still on the switch and the other
rubbing sleepily at his eye. "Wha'cha doin' Yuu? Did the rain scare you or
something, or is there a reason you're acting like a goldfish pushed up on the
window like that?"
Kanda sends him an annoyed glare as he turns back to the window. "There's
someone out there. I saw them come to the door and they had something with them
but now I can't see anything. Turn off the light, I want to know if they're
still here."
Lavi turns off the light and meanders over to join Kanda at the window. The two
look intently about for any signs of movement.
"Hey Kanda? I don't think they're there any more. You sure you didn't just
dream them? 'Cause I can't see a thing out there."
"Che, you can't see as well as me. Obviously you couldn't see anything even if
it was right in front of you."
"Hey! Just because you can see in the dark and I can't doesn't make you better
than me." Lavi crosses his arms in a huff. "I bet you made this up just to wake
me up, didn't cha'?"
Kanda just glares at him and climbs off the window seat and heads out of the
room. He heads down the hall and down the stairs making as little noise as
possible. When he is half way to the door he hears Lavi start running after him
sounding like an elephant running amok in the process.
When he reaches the front door Lavi is silent behind him as he reaches as high
as he can to reach the top lock for the door. His hand fishes around for it for
a bit before he is finally able to grab it and turn it to completely unlock the
giant door.
Pulling it open required a bit of effort but soon he was able to slip out onto
the rain soaked porch. He looks around a bit before seeing the bundle off to
the side sitting in a large puddle of excess rainwater. He moves over to it
with Lavi right behind him.
They stand on either side of the bad and each grabs an edge to move back to
reveal the contents of the bag. When they pull back the wet paper they see a
single thin blanket with a single white fluffy cat ear sticking out.
Kanda quickly closes the bag and squats down to pick it up by the bottom and
not drop its contents. He grunts a bit as he tries to lift it, but Lavi quickly
grabs the other side and the two of them carefully lift the soaking bag and
move it and them back into the building.
….
"Miss Hevlaska! Miss Hevlaska!" Lavi runs though the building yelling for the
caretaker. He goes through hall after hall not quite remembering exactly which
room she sleeps in seeing as she normally goes after bed long after he does.
Eventually a young woman dressed in a white nightgown steps out of one of the
many doors lining the corridor that Lavi is currently running through. She
watches the child stumble through the hallway and reaches out to catch him as
he trips over his own feet approaching her.
"My, my. Slow down there Lavi. What could you possibly be doing at this time at
night? Did you have a bad dream? Did Kanda? Did he lock you out of the room
again?" Her eyes flashed a tired concern at the small bouncing boy in her arms.
"Yuu and I found something! You have to come see!" Lavi wiggles huffing and
puffing to get out of Hevlaska's arms and then races off. Hevlaska sighs and
goes back into her room to retrieve her slippers before heading off after Lavi.
She sees him waiting at the end of the hall, impatience clear in every aspect
of his demeanor.
When they reach the front entryway they find Kanda peeling away the sides of
the wet paper bag, exposing its contents. As soon as the blanket becomes
visible, a loud shriek starts up, echoing across the entryway and through the
building. Immediately Hevlaska rushes over and gently has Kanda move back so
that she can see the cause of all this ruckus.
When she sees what is inside the shredded remains of the plain paper bag she
gently moves her hands under the blanket and pick up the still screaming mass
within. She unfolds a little of the blanket exposing just a little more than
the lone ear and a look of shock and sorrow flashes across her delicate
features.
She quickly covers up the newly exposed mass and holding it tight to her chest,
dashes out of the room leaving a curious and confused Kanda and Lavi behind.
They look at each other for a moment, not knowing quite what caused their
caretaker to rush out so fast, or why she took the blanket and mass with her.
They look at what little remains of the bag and carefully tear it apart more to
see if there is anything they missed in there. When they found nothing they
decided that since Hevlaska had not come back yet, they would go and find her
themselves.
They search through most of her normal spots, the kitchen, laundry room,
playroom, and even their room but they cannot find her anywhere. They consider
going and waking up Lenalee and her annoying bother to see if they know where
Hevlaska went, but decided against it as they soon find a light shining under
the door to the nursery and they quietly open the door hoping to find their
caretaker. Inside this rarely used room they do indeed find Hevlaska and the
bundle but she seems too busy to notice them. She is running around picking up
various things, bringing them over to the mass doing something or another
before running to put them back.
After a few moment of watching this, the boys approach Hevlaska as she finishes
rebundeling the mass and holds it close to herself trying to help it stay warm.
When she turns and sees the two boys staring up at her, she smiles at them and
carefully lowers herself to the floor trying very hard to not jostle the
bundle.
"I don't know how you boys knew that he was out there. But had you not gone out
and brought him in, he surely wouldn't have survived till morning. Thank you."
She moves the bundle away from her and shows the boys just what they have
found.
The blanket covers all of it except for its tiny little head. Round and pink
like most babies, but a bit more pale at the same time, a tiny nose that slow
breathes in and out, occasionally twitching at something. Its eyes are closed
tight and small fluffy ears are clamped close to its head. It seems smaller
than a normal baby though its features seem proportionate to its current size.
It shifts around a little and a small hand appears from out of the blanket as
it reaches to rub at one of its closed eyes. "Miss Hevlaska, somethin's wrong
with it. Its arm looks all funny colored." Lavi looks at the kitten with
growing concern and confusion since it is not acting like it is in pain or
anything despite how its arm looks.
Hevlaska gives a small, sad smile as she pulls the child back to herself.
"There's nothing wrong with him Lavi. It's just a birthmark, that's what causes
the different colored skin. It's quite common and if I recall even you have one
on your –
"But why is it covering his whole arm? I know mine isn't that big." He crosses
his little arms in what is supposed to be a posture of defiance but he is
smiling too much to have any effect.
Hevlaska laughs quietly at this defiant display from the little redhead. "I
don't know why Lavi. He is the way he is, just like you are the way you are,
and Kanda is Kanda. Besides, it's just on his arm, see?
She pulls back the blanket showing the younger boys the infant and that the
mark does only appear on his left arm and nowhere else on his little body.
Kanda however, is noticing something else.
"He has a tail." A small tail curves around by his little feet with a thin
layer of fine downy fur on it, the same fur is also on his ears.
She smiles as she quickly warps the baby up again and pulls him closer once
more. "And why shouldn't he, Kanda? He is a neko just like you, you know."
Lavi's eyes grow even bigger at this and he raises his hand and starts jumping
up and down trying to get Hevlaska's attention.
"Yes Lavi?"
"So he's a neko just like Yuu? But why are his ears so close to his head and
his eyes not open then? I can understand it if he's sleeping but I know he
wasn't a second ago, but he didn't even look at us. And considering we saved
his life and all, I think that was rather rude."
"It's because he's a neko that he is like that. In a lot of ways neko kittens
are much like normal kittens. Their ears don't perk up or a day or two, just
like his eyes probably won't open for another week or two depending on how
early or not he was born. And in case you are curious, he won't be able to
control his tail very well for a while either except for instinct."
"Ok I guess that makes sense, but if his ears are still closed how old do you
think he is?"
"Well normally I would say that he is probably only a day or so if even that.
He is so tiny I can't help but think that either he was part of a bigger
litter, or that he must have been early which means that his eyes and ears
could be closed for longer. So I can't say for sure."
The kitten starts to fuss and wiggle around again. Soon it starts crying, not
shrieking as much as before but still loud and strong. Soon both of his little
fists are flailing about as his demands continue to not be met.
"Kanda can you hold him for a minute while I go get a bottle for him?"
"Me? But what am I supposed to do? How do I even hold it?"
Hevlaska just smiles and brings the screaming kitten closer and gently sets him
in Kanda's arms. She makes sure that he is able to support its head and body
well enough before she gently takes one of Kanda's hands, the one not
supporting its body as much, and gently places one of his fingers by the
infant's mouth. It immediately latches on and begins sucking intently on it
hoping that the finger will somehow provide it with food.
Kanda just stares at the kitten in amazement as Hevlaska leaves him and Lavi
and goes off to prepare the formula. Lavi quietly and slowly scoots closer to
Kanda to get a better look at their foundling and a contented smile fills his
face as he watches it. He slowly reaches out and tries to pet the kittens ear,
but as soon as he touches the ear the kitten immediately stops its sucking and
starts crying and shrieking even harder than before, tears streaming down its
little cheeks.
Hevlaska runs back into the room a partially filled bottle in one hand. She
immediately goes to see if the kitten is alright and sees Lavi's hand just a
few centimeters away from its ear and the clues explain themselves.
"Lavi, I know that its ears look soft, but you can't touch them yet. They are
extremely sensitive right now so anything touching them will be extremely
potent. Now, give it a few days when he has gotten used to you and his ears
have fully opened up before you try that again. You don't want to accidently
hurt him do you?"
Lavi looks taken aback with that statement, but is fully ready to defend
himself. "I'm sorry! I didn't know! I wasn't trying to. But why do I have to
wait for him to get used to me even after his ears have opened? He'll probably
just sleep and cry a lot so it's not like he'll know me for a while but why is
Yuu allowed to be holding him and touching him and I'm not? I don't think
that's fair. I should get a chance to hold him." He is huffing by this point,
is own face turning red as frustrated tears threaten to spill out.
Hevlaska looks at him with knowing eyes. "The reason that I can hold him is
because he instinctually recognizes me as a type of mother and Kanda can hold
him because he is a neko, and since this kitten probably hasn't had much
exposure to humans, he sees nekos as safe and doesn't know much about humans.
Do you understand now? He just doesn't know about us, so he clings to what is
familiar. You probably did something like that too when you were his age."
Lavi looks to be in thought for a moment so Hevlaska takes the opportunity to
go and finish preparing the bottle. By the time she returns, Lavi has backed up
a few feet from the kitten and Kanda is letting his finger be sucked on again,
effectively calming and quieting the kitten.
She gently pulls Kanda's hand out of the kitten's mouth and carefully
encourages it to take the bottles nipple instead. It seems confused for a
second with the different texture and taste but after the first few gulps of
milk it begins to suck even more greedily desperate for every bit it can get.
"Miss Hevlaska?" Lavi hesitates for a moment. "What's his name? Or do we get to
name him since we found him and all?"
Her smile brightens as she puts a hand in a pocket of her nightgown. "Actually,
that is a very good question. I was surprised that when I initially took him
out of that sorry excuse for a blanket that he had this around his neck." She
pulls out a small red ribbon with a little piece of paper taped to it. "This
paper has a single name on it, so I assume it's his. Want to take any guesses
as to what it might be?"
Lavi thinks for a moment before shouting out, "Moonlight! 'Cause he's all white
and stuff."
"Good guess, but that's not quite it. Kanda, do you have any ideas?"
"Che, he's Moyashi obviously."
Hevlaska giggles for a moment. "Well you are both wrong but good guesses
though. This is his name." She extends the ribbon over to the boys. There
written in horrible handwriting is the name ALLEN. "See, his name is Allen."
"I don't care what you people call him, his name is Moyashi."
"But Yuu! If he has two names, won't that just confuse him?" Kanda gives Lavi a
glare.
"I know, how about you two go back to bed and figure out which name you like
best? I need to get this little guy changed and ready for bed as well, so how
about you come back and see him tomorrow. Does that sound ok?"
Lavi and Kanda roll their eyes at her. In reality, they can hardly keep their
eyes open, but this is all so exciting that sleep seems to have been forgotten
until she mentioned it just now. Hevlaska reaches over and gently removes Allen
from Kanda's arms and brings him back into her own. The two boys slowly get up
and start heading for the door, and eventually for their room.
As the two leave, Hevlaska gives Allen a long loving look. "Welcome to the
Black Order Orphanage, little Allen."
***** Adoption Day *****
Chapter 1
The sun begins its journey across the vast expanse of sky once again on this
seemingly average day. A lone figure calmly makes his way through the small
fenced yard and over to the one lone maple tree growing in its center. The
figure stares into its intertwining branches searching for his hopefully
unsuspecting target.
There, twitching just slightly in the breeze is the tip of a snow-white tail.
The figure readjusts his position closer to the tail, but only so that if the
owner of that tail were to happen to look down, all they would be able to find
is the shadows of the leaves surrounding it. The tail continues to twitch
restlessly, signaling the figure that his prey is deep into sleep and probably
dreaming which will make this all the sweeter.
Taking his sweet time to avoid stepping on any twigs or astray noisy objects,
the figure is now face to tail with his intended target. The tail starts to
twitch more frantically, even gently swiping the figure at one point, signaling
that the dream must be intensifying and will soon end. Checking once again to
make sure that the owner of that expressive tail is still asleep, he reaches up
and swiftly gives the taunting appendage a good yank startling the owner into
awareness.
"Yaowwwww! My tail! Who would – KANDA! Why did'ja have to do that?" Said Kanda
is to busy internally laughing at how his Moyashi is currently upside down
hanging on to the tree branch for dear life by his arms and legs. However, all
Allen can see is Kanda staring up at him with the same stoic expression as
usual, seemingly unfazed by what he just did.
"Moyashi, get down from there. Don't you remember what day it is? Or are you
still too sleepy to even acknowledge those who came to see you." Kanda gives a
small glare into the tree willing Allen to remember so he didn't have to admit
any of this himself. He can see Allen scrunch up his face a bit as he tries to
remember, the picture complete as his mouth quirks up a bit letting a single
pointy milk tooth stick out. The longer he stays in thought the more he starts
to lose his hold on the branch.
"It's Adoption Day! That means that Lavi and Lenalee are coming back for today,
right?" Allen now smiles widely, pleased with himself that he managed to
remember something so important as the day that two of his best friends were
adopted into real homes. He starts bouncing a little in excitement not
realizing that he is about to bounce the branch right out of his grasp.
However, Kanda notices this and keeps an extra close eye on Allen so that when
he does lose his grip, Kanda will be able to hopefully catch him before he can
finish falling and potentially breaks something. It doesn't take long for the
inevitable to happen as Allen loses his grip and starts to fall with a startled
yelp. The fall is rather short as Kanda is able to catch Allen in his arms.
When Allen opens his eyes to insure that he really isn't dreaming and that he
still is alive and in once piece, he looks up at Kanda trying to express with
words just how grateful he is to him. Kanda looks at the Moyashi to make sure
that there is no underlying pain that he is trying to hide, but is soon
immersed in the silvery oceans of Allen's eyes. It's been like that ever since
Allen first opened his eyes, Kanda would always get lost in how liquid and
stormy they seemed and the colors seem to shift if you look just right, making
it even easier for people to be swallowed in those boundless depths.
Trying to make sure that the Moyashi hasn't caught him staring, Kanda abruptly
switches Allen's position so that he is now slung over Kanda's back like a sack
of potatoes. As Kanda starts walking back to the building, Allen makes a fuss
about being carried around a baby and Kanda is quick to remind him that as far
as nekos go, Allen is still very much a kitten. This makes him relax and stop
struggling, trying to prove that he is not a kitten!
Instead of heading towards the front door to wait for their friends, Kanda
drags Allen into the bathroom. After setting him down on the off-white counter
by the sink, Kanda rushes out of the small room only to return momentarily with
a towel and a new set of Allen sized clothes. He sets them on the other side of
the counter and moves to gently lower Allen to the ground.
Allen looks up at Kanda with confused eyes. Why would he need a bath now? It's
not like he's dirty or anything. Kanda just rolls his eyes and reaches over to
start the water for bath. After making sure that the water is neither too hot
nor too cold, he plugs the tub to let it fill and then goes to move back over
to Allen who is leaning over the tub watching it fill up.
It proves to be a bit of a challenge to get Allen out of his clothes that spent
the night in a tree with him. But no matter how difficult that was; getting
Allen into the bath was a whole other affair. As soon as Kanda turned off the
water, Allen's head automatically shot up and his ears flattened against his
head. He starts to back off from Kanda, but never lets him leave his sights
incase he were to try something to get Allen into the bath.
Kanda, having been used to this game for years by now, uses the one trick he
know will always get Allen into the bath, whether he wants to be there or not.
He lets his own tail flick side to side behind him, making sure to let it
twitch every once in a while to make sure that Allen is paying attention. Sure
enough it works.
Allen's eyes lock on to his favorite toy, Kanda's tail. The black haired cat
didn't like anyone touching or messing with it, so of course Allen made it his
goal to always mess it up just to annoy Kanda. Slowly he crouches down and
carefully slinks towards the tantalizing appendage, all thought of its owner
forgotten. When he finally gets with in swatting distance he is picked up by
his middle and deposited in the middle of the tub.
He flails around for a few moments before finally stopping to glare at Kanda
who just sits there grinning in triumph. Kanda knows that once Allen is in the
water, he won't get out for the rest of the bath even if he just sits there
sulking the whole time. Just to make sure that Allen won't try to struggle
again, Kanda cups his hands and fills them with water from the tub, letting the
water go over Allen's head. This ensures that Allen won't move again since he
despises getting his ears wet.
The bath progresses rather quickly after that and by the time that Kanda pulls
the plug for the drain and picks Allen out of the tub, the still have a few
minutes before Lavi and Lenalee are supposed to show up. There is one problem,
the second he is out of the water, Allen grabs on to Kanda and starts rubbing
his head roughly against his chest, trying to dry his hair much to Kanda's
chagrin.
"Che, you were the one who was slept all night in a tree, you were the one that
needed the bath, not me." But despite his words Kanda cannot help but smile at
the kitten's antics, remembering that it was not long ago that he himself would
do things like that.
"But Kandaaaaaa, you feel really warm." He moves his head around more, trying
to soak up as much of the heat as possible. Kanda has been feeling a little
warm today, but he has also been running around most of the morning trying to
find Allen and make sure that he is presentable for their friends. So it was
easily understandable. Deciding that pulling Allen away from him at this second
was too much work, Kanda set about rubbing the rest of the Moyashi dry, taking
extra care to make sure all the water was out of his tail and that it was
fluffing properly back into place.
By the time that Allen has been wrestled back into dry, clean clothes they hear
the bell for the front door signaling that their friends have finally come for
their visit. Allen dashes out of the bathroom, leaving Kanda to clean up and
put everything away. Kanda sighs a bit and starts to clean up, making sure that
the dirty clothes make it in the hamper along with his now soaked shirt.
After making sure that everything is once again in order, Kanda wanders back to
his room to find a dry shirt, not really caring about his current lack of one
as he walks down the hall. Once he reaches his room though, he is having
trouble breathing and he is feeling even hotter than before. Dismissing it as
just a slight fever or just exhaustion from trying to work with Allen, he sets
off to find wherever the Moyashi and run off too now. It seems to him that
taking care of that kitten can be very tiresome some days.
He stops for a moment to see if he can here the Moyashi anywhere, and he can
here his voice coming from the backyard, near the same tree he was in not even
an hour ago. Sighing to himself Kanda lazily makes his way out to the others,
stopping for a few seconds whenever he comes across a cooler area, anything to
cool his fever a bit.
When he finally finds himself outside he can here Allen's squeals of delight at
something or another. Rounding the corner so that he can take in the scene
before him, Kanda notices that Lavi is busy hugging Allen a bit too tightly and
the neko is trying desperately to get away before his back gets snapped in two
from too much Lavi love. Lenalee is standing back a couple of feet just
standing watching this thinking that this is the most adorable thing she has
seen in ages and how she missed being able to see the little neko.
Kanda rushes over and pulls a gasping Allen out of Lavi's arms much to the
kitten's relief and the redhead's annoyance. Holding the Moyashi close to him
he turns back to Lavi. "Were you trying to kill him or something, how could you
not tell that he couldn't breath?" Daggers in the form of glares are thrown at
Lavi.
"I wasn't trying to hurt him Yuu! I just haven't seen him in sooo long. This is
the only time of the year that I get to see you two anymore and I just want to
make sure that someone loves him right since you're such cold hearted bastard."
Lavi folds his arms and glares playfully back at Kanda.
"Lavi! Not in front of the kitten!" Lenalee scowls, but there is still an
underlying grin that makes the scowl ineffective. The grin is soon broken as a
giggle escapes from her.
"Lenalee Lee. I can't believe I let you convince me to let you come back to
visit people with such dirty mouths! Why I bet they're just after you! Even
that kitten is a device to take my sweet innocent sister away from me! I won't
allow it! Come, we should leave before they corrupt you even m –
Lavi grabs Allen back and holds him out at Komui so that he is forced to look
at Allen's tearful eyes. The unshed tears swimming around with the already
established pools of silver prove to be too much incentive especially as a few
escape their confines and slip silently down his cheeks, making Allen look the
picture of heartbreak.
Komui sighs and backs off mumbling something about how being that cute should
be illegal. He goes and leans on the building, pulling his beret down to try to
hide his expression, but leaving everything still in his range of sight, just
incase one of them tried to make of move on his dear sweet Lenalee. The other
three choose to ignore him.
The day progresses rather swiftly as the three catch up on what has been
happening to each other since the last time they were able to meet. Lavi has
been working as an apprentice to a mysterious person known only as Bookman and
is very serious about his job, especially when it involves traveling to foreign
lands. Lenalee has a more quiet life with her brother as the couple that
adopted them treats them just like any other children and that includes
shipping them off to school everyday with others instead of having a tutor like
they did at the orphanage, something they both miss. They go on to describe and
tell tales about the rest of their daily lives and all of the things they have
seen and done.
To Allen it all seems like a dream. These descriptions of things he's never
seen and done flash before his eyes urging him to go out and see these marvels
for himself. He listens attentively, his tail swaying a little at each new
revelation, ears pricked forward as far as they can in there still partially
squished to his head state as to not miss any detail. His whole posture is
ridged as he attempts to glean as much information as he can.
"Say Yuu? You turn 14 later this month right? Well, how about we go out to
celebrate this time? I know it's been years since you last went out into the
city. Wha'd 'ya say to that?" Lavi looks at him, his emerald eyes attempting to
coax the desired answer from him.
"Che, fine. Just nowhere fancy or anything like that. Simple is good. But what
about Moyashi? He's not old enough to come with us yet." Kanda looks down at
said Moyashi who is currently taking up residence in his lap, looking up at
Kanda with questions bouncing around in his eyes. "Moyashi, you won't be able
to come with us 'cause you can't leave the grounds until you are either adopted
or 14. Would you be ok for one night?"
Allen seems a bit confused and starts to chew a little on his lip, just not
hard enough to break the skin. "Why do I hav'ta wait to be 14 before I can
leave? Komui used to leave all the time and he was only 10! I'm older than
that, so I should be able to come with right?" His smile regained, he once
again looks up at Kanda, a sense of his young logic resounding its rebuttal.
Kanda and Lavi sigh, knowing that this difference will be difficult to explain
to him right now. The fact that it is safer for a human to go out at a younger
age than a neko kitten is a hard one to explain without confusing him too much
with the facts of how the world really works. Thankfully they are saved when
Allen suddenly jerks off of Kanda's lap. "Kanda, you're hot again." He puts one
of his hands on his forehead and reaches over and puts the other on Kanda's
forehead. "You're burning up!"
He races off and into the building, after a few minutes he returns with
Hevlaska in tow. "Miss 'Laska, I think Kanda's sick." The concern evident in
his voice, he doesn't want his best friend to be sick. If Kanda's sick, whom
will he play and cuddle with when Miss Hevlaska is busy?
"I'm sure he's fine Allen, just a little fever is all." She reaches over to put
her hand on Kanda's forehead, just like Allen had. She removes her hand almost
immediately. "Kanda, I think it's time for you to come inside now. I think I
know just the thing to help with your excess heat." She gently grabs hold of
his hand, helping up from his seat on the ground, and starts steering him
towards the building with her. Allen watches them leave, the concern evident in
his eyes.
With Kanda gone, the conversation resumes, but not as heartily as their black
haired friend never did return. Allen looks dejected, distracted, and concerned
the entire time, but he resists the urge to run off to see his friend as he has
others with him at that moment that he rarely ever gets to see. But while it's
nice to see them, he's more concerned with Kanda, fearing that he did something
to make it worse, or that he might catch whatever it might be too.
When the sun finally starts to set the Lee siblings and Lavi say their goodbyes
to Allen telling him to relay the message to Kanda the next time he sees him.
He agrees to that and watches from the front porch until he can no longer see
the three walking away anymore. He sits there a little while longer, hoping
that maybe they will come back, even if it's just to say they forgot something.
Mostly he wishes that they didn't have to leave for as long as they do. He
misses being able to see them whenever he wanted before they were adopted.
….
A week later Kanda was feeling much better, far cooler, and more than ready for
his night out with Lavi and Lenalee. He's a bit anxious since he hasn't been
out of the orphanage since he was left here, but he really wants to see just
how much the city has managed changed in the nearly 12 years since he last saw
it. He really hoped to be impressed by all the improvements he had heard were
rumored to have been put into place.
The night that he gets to leave for his dinner, he dresses in some nicer than
normal clothes, a plain black tee with dark blue jeans and some sneakers.
Deeming himself sufficient for the night, he heads for the door and is ready
for his brief walk alone as he will be meeting the others just down the street.
However, it doesn't take long for Allen to start to follow him to the front
door. When they reach the porch Kanda turns to tell Allen to 'stay', but finds
that Allen has already taken up a seat on one of the top steps.
"Have fun tonight Kanda. Tell me all about it when you come back, ok?" Allen
smiles up at him. His eyes betraying that he really wants to go too, but won't
follow for Kanda's sake. Besides, he has never been out of the orphanage in his
memory so it won't be the same kind of experience for him as it will be for
Kanda.
Kanda reaches down to ruffle Allen's hair a bit. "Of course I will, Moyashi."
He pats Allen's head one more time before turning and heading off to meet his
friends. Every once in a while he looks back to Allen to make sure that he
isn't following, and to make sure that he realizes that Kanda will be leaving
him for several hours for the first time in his life and he will have to live
with that fact.
Allen watches Kanda go off down the street and let his smile fall from his
face. He really wants to go too, but he doesn't want to bother Kanda or get in
the way, so he is content to stay here and wait for Kanda to come back.
….
By the time Kanda comes back to the orphanage that night he was far more
disheartened than he was before he left. So much had changed from what he once
knew, and hardly any of it was good. Yes there had been improvements to the
city itself, but the people were what had changed the most. Their looks and
snide comments still ringing in his ears. Those he could deal with, but the
worst of it was that he had to wear a collar. A collar! Just to be let into the
restaurant! And even after dinner, wherever they went, either Lavi or Lenalee
had to claim him just so that people would be more at peace around him. It was
degrading, and he couldn't wait for the night to end. He didn't like being
looked at like he was some type of freak show. He couldn't even voice his
relief that Allen didn't have to see any of that yet. If the little Moyashi had
had to see or hear any of that Kanda didn't know just what he would have done.
Let the Moyashi stay innocent and ignorant a little longer.
He was a little pleased though when he didn't see Allen waiting on the front
steps anymore, he didn't want to have to explain his current mood to the
younger. Figuring that the kitten had either gotten bored or tired enough to
head inside for the night he made to do the same. As he quietly makes his way
to their shared room, he hears some faint crying and hurries along to see what
is wrong.
Upon entering the room all he can immediately take in was that the light was
off, meaning that Allen was in bed, but Allen was not asleep as he was crying
softly into his pillow. Kanda tries not to sigh as he can guess the reason for
his Moyashi's distress. He gently sits down on the younger's bed, careful not
to disturb him too much. When he doesn't get a response after a few minutes, he
reaches down and pulls the younger to his chest and lets the Moyashi cry out
all his tears, not caring that his shirt is being soaked in the process.
Eventually his crying slowed down enough so that he could choke out a few
words. "I'm sorry Kanda. I just ruined your shirt." His ears are even more
droopy than normal and his tail is between his legs by now.
"Baka Moyashi." Kanda pulls him even closer, his head now resting on top of
Allen's. "It's just a shirt. And those are just tears. Nothing a wash can't
fix. But what I'm worried about is you. What's wrong? Did something happen when
I was away?"
Allen is silent aside from the occasional snuffling for a few seemingly longer
than normal minutes. "I thought you weren't coming back. It got dark and you
still weren't here. It was even after lights out and you weren't back then
either." Allen broke down into soft sobs at this confession.
Kanda lets the Moyashi cry for a few more minutes before he removes his head
and takes Allen's cheeks in his hands, gently tilting his head up to look him
directly in the eye.
"No matter what, I'll come back for you."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
***** Allen's 14th *****
Chapter 2
Allen looks out the window, his eyes widening slightly as they are carefully
tracking even the subtlest movements of the robin. It seems to be completely
unaware of the predator hardly a yard away, just waiting to make a move against
its delicate life. It just goes about its business taking small seed after
small seed from the small cylindrical bird feeder hanging from the rain gutter.
He has been careful to take note of the particular behavior this bird exhibits
when this it is nearly done eating. He has been watching it come for the last
several days, waiting and planning just for this single moment. He backs up
very slightly carefully hunkering down, but always keeping an eye trained on
his intended prey. With barely contained twitches of his tail and his ears
perked as forward as they can go in their still semi-folded state, he waits as
stilly as he can. Within seconds of when he knows it will take flight, he
launches himself at the window, aiming directly for the still seemingly unaware
bird.
There is a resounding thud as Allen leaps face first into the window, but he is
deigned access to what he has planned so carefully to receive. The bird turns
towards the window after the sound of the thud. It looks at the neko for a
moment, its eyes seemingly taunting him, before it flies the short distance to
the window ledge. Once there it looks directly at Allen before it promptly
turns around and poops directly on the window where Allen's face is before
flying off to find a quieter meal.
Hevlaska happens by when this is occurring, but choses not to interfere with
Allen's antics, but to watch instead in case anything were to happen. After the
bird has flow off to parts unknown, she walks over and gently reaches over and
delicately grabs Allen's shoulder, encouraging him to turn around and look at
her. His face is beet red with the fact that he was out smarted by a bird and
that someone was there to witness it. Embarrassment oozes from is very being.
"Allen, what did that poor window ever do to you? It was there first you know."
She lets a small smile escape, but inside she is genuinely laughing at the
antics of this no longer quite a kitten. She gently takes his hand and leads
him to the bathroom so that she can clean up a small cut that is starting to
bleed just over his left eye. Wounded pride in tow, Allen ducks his head and
tries to hid his lingering embarrassment from any that they might have happed
to come across on their short trip. Upon arriving at their destination,
Hevlaska makes him sit on the counter while she goes to the small medicine
cabinet that also doubles as the mirror in front of the sink.
As she returns and starts to dab at the cut with some antiseptic she notices
that despite it being a minor injury, Allen still does not seem to be as perky
as he was before the bird. His ears have drooped a bit and his tail is just
hanging lifeless. Even some of the brightness seems to have left his normally
expressive eyes.
"Allen, it was just a bird. Just because you didn't take the window into
consideration does not mean that you can't try another time or that your pride
has been hurt in any way shape or form." She places a small bandage on the cut,
sealing the area. "Besides, I thought you would be more excited about today.
After all, Kanda and Lavi are taking you into town for your dinner on your 14th
birthday tonight. So smile." She pushes his cheeks into a smile, the goofy kind
that she used to make at him when he was still a baby. But the second she
releases them, they fall back into their original semi-frown.
Allen remains silent and unmoving for several exceedingly long moments. "Don't
you remember? When Kanda came back from his 14th birthday dinner, he changed. I
can't say what caused it, but I don't want that to happen to me. I'm glad to
finally get to see at least a part of the world that has been so close yet so
far away for so long. But I don't know what's out there. What if something
happens, or people don't like me, or we get lost. Anything can happen. It's
kind of a scary thought."
"The outside world can be a very scary thing if you let it. But –" she taps his
nose "that's why you can always come back here when things get too scary. This
may not be the best place in the world, but for many, this is home. And this
will always be your home as long as you want it to be."
"But what if I find a different home and get adopted or something like that?
What if something happens and I can't get back here? Will this still be my home
then?"
She pulls Allen close. "For as long as you want it to be."
….
Time seems to fly for Kanda as the last thing he knew was that he was enjoying
a rather pleasant nap in the sun, but all of a sudden he's standing in the
entry way with Allen practically pushing him out the door in his eagerness to
go out for the night. The eagerness was understandable to an extent, but for
Kanda who had been leaving every few nights for the last month to work on
Allen's present, the thought of how heartbroken Allen was likely to be by the
end of the night was a little much.
He knew that Allen expected to see and experience certain things, and while
most of those expectations would most likely be met, Kanda could not help but
wonder how much of Allen's innocence would be lost as a result. The world was
not as kind of a place as it seemed to be from inside the walls of the
orphanage. And as much as he would have liked to keep the Moyashi safe from it
forever, he didn't have the heart to deny the pathetic and impatient looks that
Allen was now reduced to shooting him from across the room.
He sighed and threw on a simple gray sweater and started to head for the door.
Allen seemed to not be paying him that much attention anymore as he was nearly
to the sidewalk when a streak of white fur happened to fly past him. He tried
to smother a laugh as he could see Allen stopping in front of him and staring
intently at the break in the sidewalk where the property lines of orphanage
ended and the outside world began. He leaned down and slowly reached out a hand
to place it just outside of the line and looked in wonder when it didn't seem
any different from where he was crouching. He quickly stood up and stepped over
the line, only to look back and realize that he really was outside the infamous
line. He had made it successfully into the outside world.
Realizing that he would be staying here for the entirety of the evening if he
didn't do anything, Kanda started to walk past Allen, grabbing him by the arm
to steer him past his first revelation of the evening and on to the entire
purpose of the night, Allen's introduction to the world, not just a single spot
of sidewalk less than an inch from home.
Just walking down their own short bit of street before they were supposed to
meet Lavi proved to be more of a challenge than Kanda had originally planned.
It seemed that Allen was enchanted and enticed by just about everything that
they came across. From seeing buildings that had been hidden from view from
where they live, to the novelty of having to wait to cross the street, and wait
in a spot foreign to him for the redhead to finally get there.
Kanda eventually started to get annoyed that Lavi was running as late as he
was. He was supposed to be at that spot over 15 minutes ago, and since he
wasn't, Kanda was being reduced to having to hold Allen firmly by the arm to
make sure that he did not start wandering off whenever something caught his
eye. And considering that one of the main streets was just visible from where
they stood, this was easier said than done.
By the time that the redhead had finally caught up to them, he could be seen
bent over and wheezing a bit from his run. In that amount of time, Kanda
noticed a small brown, but full backpack with Lavi. This was not in the
original plan, and judging by what little of the expression the redhead worn
when running their way, something critical had changed yet again, and it seemed
to be for the worse.
By the time he had caught his breath and the stitch in his side had decreased
in pain, Lavi was anxious to be moving. He knew that all of the plans that he
and Kanda had carefully concocted for Allen tonight would have to drastically
change. It seems that a new law had just been passed, the third in as many
days, banning all nekos from public establishments without proof of ownership
and a leash. Something he found disgusting and something that he was not about
to subject his friends to.
For Allen's sake he tried to put on the best smile that he could, and
absentmindedly started scratching the back of his neck nervously as he
delivered the news. "Well it seems that there was a little hitch in our plans
for tonight. But never fear! I have a new plan. Instead of a dinner out in a
loud crowded place, we shall be going to my place for our own private meal and
be cooking together! How does that sound?"
Allen looked thoughtful for a moment, but Lavi's attempt at a smile must have
been contagious as a huge grin spread across his face. "I like that idea! I
think some place with a bunch of people might be a bit much, but as long as I
get to be with my two best friends, I'm content."
Kanda had the urge to hug the young one. For once his naivety was proving to be
a useful thing. This way they would be able to explain the truth of things in a
place that he would feel more comfortable and away from more prejudice and
unwanted glares. In all honest, this held just a few more merits than their
original plan, except for the part about first hand experience, that would have
to come later.
"Great but before we go, there are some things that I kind of need you to wear
so that we won't get into trouble along the way." He slings off his bag and
starts dragging out items. "There's a new law out saying that any neko found
without a collar will be brought immediately to the detention center until they
are claimed by an owner. And well, we can't let that happen, can we? Oh, and
Allen, I know it's a little big, but you might want to put on this sweatshirt,
just throw up the hood to try and hide your ears some." The Moyashi looks a
little confused at this, but simply does as he is told, though Lavi was right
in saying that the sweater might be too big, even with the hood up, the
neckline still fell just over his shoulders, but at least his ears are hidden
fairly well.
As Kanda helps him put on one of the two black collars, he reads what has been
written on the tags. It is in the same format as if was a name and address, but
only this was a message. I am a free neko, not the pet of some ignorant fool.
Allen feels that if someone were to actually read this they would either laugh
or be highly offended. He is about to mention this, but he notices Kanda
putting up his own hood allowing his midnight ears to disappear from sight a
bit easier than Allen's since Kanda's have been fully erect for years by this
point.
As soon as everything seems to be in place, Lavi sets off to take the most
direct route to his home, though he occasionally making a slight detour or two
in order to avoid some of the more populated or unfavorable areas. In all it
took roughly 15 minutes to arrive at his home, a bit longer than normal, but as
long as his friends made it there safely and without incident, he had no
complaints.
Upon entering the residence, Kanda promptly removes his hood and takes off his
collar, Seeing Allen having a few troubles with the buckle on his, he bends
down to help his little Moyashi. Eventually the hoodies are discarded in a pile
with the collars for later use and the atmosphere becomes far less tense.
Once the tension has dissipated to a more tolerable level, Lavi turns and heads
for the kitchen, not even bothering to look back to see it the others are
following or not. Now, the kitchen itself was a bit small and cramped with the
three of them, but they managed to make things work out. It took some careful
maneuvering, but by the end of the hour they had finally succeeded in making
hearty meat rich stir-fry.
When the meal was finishing cooking Allen happened to notice that Kanda must
have disappeared at some point. Figuring that he would be back soon and that
his absence is nothing to worry over, Allen continues to help Lavi by setting
the table, though he is a little confused when he is setting the table for four
people instead of three. But he doesn't think too hard about it for he figures
he'll find out soon enough, maybe Lenalee really would be joining them after
all.
Just as Lavi and Allen sit to wait for everyone to come to the table for the
meal, Kanda slips back into the room with a much shorter man following behind
him. The man seems to be a fair bit older than the others present, the dark
rings around his eyes proving that he has had far too many sleepless nights
than a normal person, and quite possibly was suffering from another that night
as the single plum of remaining hair on his head is in quite a disarray. The
man doesn't say anything has he crosses the small room to sit next to Lavi and
across the small table from Allen. He gives Allen and appraising look but never
says anything other than merely inclining his head slightly in greeting.
The meal is fairly silent, as Allen doesn't know what to make of this new
person, but doesn't want to draw attention to himself either. He really does
want to ask Kanda and Lavi about some things like why they had to have collars
and why people thought that nekos need owners and such, but he doesn't want to
have to ask and possibly make a fool of himself with someone he doesn't even
know in the room.
The silence continues until it reaches an uncomfortable level, but still it
continues on until everyone is done eating and the dishes have been cleaned and
put away once more. Kanda looks to Lavi for a moment as if looking for
permission for something and when he receives a nod, goes to sit down next to
Allen again, only digging something out of his jeans pocked in the process.
"Allen, tonight marks 14 years since Lavi and I found out outside the
orphanage. And never once in the entire time that I have known you, have you
ever asked about why you could have possible been left there, or about what
happened to your parents. And honestly I can't tell you those things, but I can
give some speculation as to why you ended up where you did. But before we get
to the serious issues, I have something for you." He holds out his hand for
Allen to examine.
Allen gently twists his hand around and urges Kanda to move his fingers back so
that he can see whatever is hiding behind them. When the fingers flatten out a
small gold ball is revealed. Allen carefully picks it up and begins an
examination of its surface. It is just about the size of a Ping-Pong ball and
completely smooth except for a slight indent in the shape of a slightly lighter
gold, old fashioned cross. Allen moves his fingers delicately over the design
and all of a sudden the ball starts to grow a pair of tiny horns on one side of
the cross and four stubby legs on the other. It shuffles around Allen's hand
for a few moments before a long golden tail with an almost feathery like tip
emerge behind the cross and two extra long golden wings pop out. The object
tests its wings for a moment before it starts fluttering them just enough to
let it start flying lazily around Allen. Allen watches and giggles with
fascination at this strange little device as it moves about and eventually
settling in his hair.
He turns back to Kanda with a huge grin on his face. "Thank you Kanda, and Lavi
I'll bet you had something to do with this as well. Thank you both. I don't
exactly know what it is or what it's for, but it's still one of the best
birthday presents I've ever gotten."
"That thing you have there young neko, is a golem. In this case, it is a
special golem called Timcanpy that will be a constant companion for you, if you
need it to. It also will be able to tell us if anything were to ever happen to
you so that help will come as soon as possible." The older man looks at him
with a serious expression. "You may not know too much about this side of the
world yet, but in time you will be forced to face the harsh reality that things
are not always as they seem."
"What do you mean? Does this have anything to do with the collars and why the
treatment of nekos is different here than back home? Please, I need to know."
He turns and appeals his large stormy eyes to Bookman who merely shrugs.
"I can tell you the basic history of things, but that's about it. You might not
believe it, and that's your choice, but I'll tell you what I can though all of
it is from a human perspective, mind you." He clears his throat for a moment
before continuing. "For many centuries humans and nekos lived in the same
lands, but rarely interacted with one another as they had no need to. Humans
were often too preoccupied with the expansion of their lands and petty wars,
but nekos were more concerned with keeping what they had and letting their
small numbers grow. For you see, nekos have always been small in number for
reasons that no one knows even today.
"Eventually, human expansion threatened neko territories all around the world
and for a while humans looked upon them as simply the uneducated natives. They
started to try and humanize them as much as possible but all that did was
introduce them into an already prejudice society. It became so bad that nekos
started to leave human cities in groups just to try and escape to raise their
younger generations in peace. As you know, nekos live a lot longer than most
humans so while many humans have forgotten many of their misdeeds in the past,
many of the older nekos still remembered.
"For a while things seemed to calm down and the humans left the nekos in
relative peace as long as they stayed together where humans knew where they
were and stayed out of human cities. The problem was that humans knew that they
existed and wanted to exploit that. About four centuries ago, humans started to
kidnap nekos and bring them back into the human settlements either for
entertainment purposes, pets, or slaves. It reached such a point that many of
your kind feared to even leave their homes for what if they never returned to
their families? The elders of that time could remember back to when they had
first lived among the humans in their cities and knew that the situations would
only be worse now. So they put together a council to petition for the release
of their friends and family, but nothing helped.
"Eventually the elders from around the world reluctantly agreed to war against
the humans until they could bring their own people back and put a stop to those
who would try to undermine them again. It was a terribly bloody affair that
lasted for several decades. And despite their efforts, in the end it was the
humans who had the upper hand just by shear numbers and technology. Most of the
causalities were nekos whether they died, were kept as prisoners of war, or
were thrown into the very situations that they had tried to stop.
"It was then that the human governments decided that they needed to 'crack
down' on the 'neko problem.' Within the last two centuries all of the nekos
were all rounded up and forced into larger cities where for the most part they
have simply kept to their own sections of town, but the humans still were not
satisfied. The disappearances continued until the nekos finally made their case
once again to their respective governments. When they showed just how much
their populations had decreased and how if there were still no laws to stop
this, that within the next decade they would have disappeared completely. And
while they might not have full rights as citizens of the countries they were
in, they were never told that they had to be bought and sold like animals. A
law was passed that gave them roughly a century of relative peace, but then
they would have to fight their own battles after that.
"That century ended roughly 30 years ago and the nekos have been paying ever
since. New laws were passed immediately defining nekos as animals and they were
driven out of their homes and businesses. Everything they owned was taken away
from them. It's only continued to become worse since then.
"In recent years, I haven't hears of a single neko family left in this entire
city has been able to escape. It has gotten to the point where humans are now
allowed to own nekos as property. Now the trade of nekos is still technically
illegal, so you won't see it be blatantly displayed in public and people still
do get arrested on occasion for it, but it is there nonetheless. That is why
for so many years, any neko that had been placed in an orphanage was safe until
they reached the age of 14 and could be stolen right off the streets. That is
why staying in the orphanage for you and Kanda is so important. It is your last
safe place for a few more years, but even then, if you wonder even a few feet
from there, you are free game to them.
"You'll have to be extra vigilant now that you've been outside at least once.
Even if you haven't seen them, they've seen you. And they now know that you are
free game and will use that to their advantage. When your time at the orphanage
is up in the next few years, you will need to get out of here as fast as you
possibly can. There are people who will help you and protect you better than
any of us can if you were to choose to remain here. If you wisely choose to try
and escape when the time comes, then this will be considered the first night of
your training. You will need come here at every chance we can safely get you
here and back, and while you are here you will learn more about what is truly
happening to the world as well as how to better protect and prepare yourself
against it. Does that seem fair, young neko?"
"I guess. I mean, I don't really understand what all is going on, but I think I
understand enough for now. If coming here means getting stronger so I can stand
on my own and not have to rely on others that might not be there, I'll do it. I
want to be able to help people, not be a burden to them. When can I start?"
Fire is blazing in the back of his eyes showing just how much he wants to
understand and help despite the grim news he has just received. News that would
have shaken the resolve of most but seems to just be one more reason for Allen
to do as he believes.
"Such a young and eager child. He seems to find strength where others would
fall from what they have learned of the truth. Well, tonight will count as a
brief history lesson and considering how late it's getting, I suggest that you
and Kanda start for home before it's too late."
"Too late for what?"
This time Lavi is able to answer before his mentor. "One of the newer laws is a
curfew for neko. They can't be out any later than 10. And if any do dare to
stay out that late, or aren't fast enough to be off the streets by then, well
let's just say that most of them don't make it home."
"Oh."
"Che, don't let them scare you too much. I've been out past curfew many times
and I've obviously made it home every time without any troubles."
A small bit of tension seems to drain from Allen's face, but it's quickly
replaced by a realization of just how many times he might have lost Kanda, just
because some people can't see past their own prejudices.
"Come on Moyashi. If you're so worried about it, then we better leave now so we
can be safe in out beds before anyone even thinks of crossing out paths.
Personally, I think you are blowing this all out of proportion, but then again,
according to Bookman, my opinion on such matters doesn't carry much weight
around here."
"That's right, because you are still young and cocky. I don't even want to
think of what it would take for you to finally get it through your head the
kind of danger you put yourself in some days." Bookman lets off a sigh that
seems to resonate a bit throughout the room. "Now, I'd be leaving if I were
you. We don't want you to push your luck more than you have to."
"Che, whatever."
With that Kanda, Lavi, and Allen finish up the final cleaning and preparations
for leaving. And after thanking Bookman for the meal and the conversation, they
headed back to the orphanage. Not a single one of the trio remembering the
sweaters or collars left in a pile just off from the entryway.
….
The walk home would have been completely ideal if not for all of the new
revelations weighing heavily upon Allen. The sky is clear with the stars
seemingly shining just a little brighter than normal; the moon is nearly full
providing a clearer view of its uneven surface and also illuminating even more
of the sky than normal. The roads are clear of people as well providing little
to distract Allen from his thoughts.
They stop at their normal corner for parting ways. The orphanage is just out of
sight, but still relatively close by. Kanda is ready to be back home, but he
looks over and sees that Allen is looking a bit depressed. He's not surprised
seeing as the Moyashi has basically been told that everything he thought to be
true of the outside world is actually a lie. He wants to help, so he takes a
deep breath and tries to calm his own nerves before he attempts to calm his
Moyashi.
"Moyashi, you know the more you look at the ground, the more you'll miss by not
looking up." Allen starts a bit when he realizes that he is being addressed,
but quickly turns his head to the sky. Kanda can see wonder begin to fill those
liquid depths as Allen takes is a sight that cannot be found anywhere else,
even by looking out a window every night, but one you have to be able to see in
a more open area like the one they're in. Even Lavi eventually looks up and a
small but content smile drifts onto his features as he allows the moon's glow
to calm even his multitude of thoughts. None of them could say how long they
stayed like that, just looking and reveling in the experience, but they did not
really care.
"Well, well, well. Looky what we got here boys. It seems a couple of escaped
nekos weren't paying attention. Shame on them. They should know better than to
think that something like a curfew could keep them safe on the streets. Why,
just look at how young they seem. I'll bet that they've never even had a master
yet." A sly grin splits the man's face; a look of pure contempt is thrown at
Kanda and Allen, as they have moved a little closer together, trying to figure
a way out of this. "I think we should help them with that."
Lavi steps forward to face the speaker, trying to seem as firm and
authoritative as he can. "I beg to differ sir. These nekos are with me, so I
suggest you look elsewhere."
The man's grin gets even wider. "How can they possibly be with you? They don't
even have collars. Either you don't take very good care of your pets, or these
two are unclaimed. I strongly believe that in this case it is the latter is
true."
In total, there are roughly five men surrounding the three teenagers, each
armed with a simple Swiss army knife. The one that had spoken was obviously the
leader of the group as no one made a move toward the nekos until he suddenly
rushed forward towards Allen.
One of the others went to move Lavi away from the action, but the other three
were trying to trap Kanda on three sides, seeing as Allen was already in front
of him and he couldn't move without pushing him towards their boss.
Kanda quickly analyzes the situation and sees only one way out of this
situation. It is far from ideal, but it will have to do.
He picks up the Moyashi, slinging him over his shoulder and heads towards Lavi.
The three men trying to corner him are joined by their leader and are forced to
reform as Kanda rushes them before they can prepare to restrain him. When the
man holding Lavi back realizes what is happening, he moves to cover Kanda's
possible escape opening on his right, which is a small alley that eventually
leads back to the road to the orphanage.
When he gets close enough to Lavi, he sets Allen down, but before he can get
his bearings, he is shoved into Lavi who starts to head towards the orphanage,
knowing that Kanda will try to follow. Lavi, though running, still has a
slightly slower pace so that Kanda will have a chance to catch up seeing how
all of the men are now concentrating on him.
One of them pulls a small syringe out of his pocket and using it like a
throwing knife, releases it at Kanda. It hits its target dead on.
Kanda panics for a moment, but knows that the inevitable will happen. He turns
back to Lavi and his Moyashi, seeing the fear in their eyes even as they slow
down their retreat, nearly stopping. "Lavi, grab Allen and get him out of here!
Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Just get him out of here."
With one last look at his Moyashi, an attempt to burn his face permanently into
his memory, Kanda then turns back to his attackers and uses what little
strength he has left to try and run off in another direction, hopefully giving
Lavi the time he needs to get them both to safety. However, he doesn't even
make it a block before the drug he was injected with fully kicks in. The last
image he has before he loses consciousness is the image of Allen's tear
streaked faces as he tries to yell for Kanda.
….
Lavi hears Allen scream when Kanda hits the pavement, but he can't stop no
matter how badly he wants to. All he wants to do is go back and defend is
friend as best he can, but right now Allen is more of a concern seeing as he
can't fight for himself yet and even though the men's attention might be on
Kanda for the moment, it could change at any second and target Allen next.
He pulls his young friend along as fast as he can, hearing Allen cry for Kanda
the entire time. And though Lavi wants to join in those cries, he has no choice
but to be the one that moves them towards safety. It seems like an eternity
before he reaches the slightly uneven front walk of the orphanage, but he
doesn't stop until he is inside the building itself.
Hevlaska heard Allen's cries from the street and came down as soon as possible
to find out what was happening. She sees Allen and Lavi and starts to look for
Kanda but upon seeing Lavi's expression of loss and hearing Allen's sobs, she
knows what has happened. She too wants to be able to do something or even to
show even just a little of her own pain at this, but she has to stay strong for
them. Eventually she tries to coax them out of the entryway, but by this point,
neither have the strength nor the will to stand let alone move. So she does the
next best thing. She helps lower them into some sort of sitting position on the
floor.
Lavi starts staring off into space, his eyes open, revealing his mess of
thoughts, but they see nothing through his pain at losing his best friend.
Allen latches onto Hevlaska when she tries to move him and she pulls him close,
letting him cry into her chest. His sobs eventually quiet but last long into
the night even after Hevlaska has tried to clean him up as best she can, but
she needed to let him be alone for a while. But by doing so she is letting him
be in his room, the room he has been sharing with Kanda for the last several
years.
What Allen and Lavi do not know yet, is that less than an hour before they came
running in, a member of the Black Order had come by with a new addition for the
orphanage.
While the Black Order Orphanage lost one neko child that night, another that is
barely three years old has found a home there. A neko by the name of Timothy.
***** Games of Chase *****
Chapter 3
For a while, time seemed to slow down to an agonizingly slow pace for Allen.
His thoughts were constantly consumed by Kanda, and what could possibly be
happening to him at that moment. Would he ever return? Would he still be the
same Kanda, or would he have been forced to change into someone completely
unrecognizable?
Hevlaska was also affected, but she tried her best not to show it in front of
the children, especially Allen. It was getting harder as a sudden surplus of
children were put under her care and her nerves were worn thinner than normal
with the additional work and the fact that the eldest in her care was not
willing or able to drag himself out of his room and his misery to lift a finger
and help her. However, this all started to changed when the second young neko
under her care, Timothy, took it upon himself to make Allen pay attention to
him.
It started off slowly, just sitting in the same room as Allen or playing near
him, making sure that Allen knew that Timothy was there even if they did not
have direct contact. Eventually it came to the point that if Allen didn't pay
him enough attention, he would start pulling on Allen's ears or tail until he
could get a response. This would lead to crying and Timothy kept pushing the
older to play with him and force Allen to pay attention to him in any way shape
or form he could think of.
At first Allen just ignored his antics, but eventually they started to annoy
him to no end. He tried moving to different spots to sulk, ignoring the kitten
an all manner of ways to let the kitten know to leave him alone. It eventually
got to the point when they would start fighting which would result in Timothy
crying and Allen feeling guilty and thus begrudgingly spending time with him.
This became a bit of a habit for a while, until they were finally able to skip
the fighting and most of the crying and just let Timothy have his way. And
while Allen resented him for a while, he couldn't help but grow to love the
jade-haired neko. He took it upon himself to try to raise the kitten the way
that Kanda helped raise him, but one thing was different in that he only
referred to Timothy by his given name, not something made up to annoy him.
Though it was tempting some days, just to irritate the kitten and rile him up
some more.
While Timothy was a good distraction for Allen, he did completely eliminate the
thoughts of Kanda from Allen's mind. The not quite still a kitten was still
mourning the loss of his friend in his own way. He let his hair grow out in the
nearly two years since Kanda disappeared, it was now long enough that he pulled
it back in a simple ponytail that reached down just past his shoulders. He uses
the little red ribbon he had been found with as a tie to hold it in place. The
ribbon being a reminder that it was Kanda who had found him and helped him
become the person he was today. He also kept Timcanpy with him wherever he went
as the little golem was not only a reminder, but also had a pleasant
personality that seemed to know how to sooth some of his worries away. Timcanpy
also was willing to help distract Timothy for a while if Allen needed some time
to catch is breath or have a few moments to himself, even if Timothy would
always grow bored in the end and seek out Allen's attention instead.
Allen seemed to have more attention to spare him as the nearly two years
progressed. Lenalee and Komui ended up moving with their new family and while
Allen would receive a very vague and repetitive letter every three or four
months, but none of the envelopes had a return address so he could never send a
reply back to them. Lavi was spending more and more time out of the country
with Bookman, and while they still tried to teach Allen more about the outside
world and more specifically, various forms of self defense for when he would
leave the orphanage, they never stayed in town very long for it to make much of
an influence. By this point it had been nearly six months without any contact
from the redhead, and Allen was starting to feel a bit abandoned.
So instead of just sitting around and feeling bad about it, Allen decided to do
something about it. He started to do his own research into the outside world.
He read as much as he could on the past and current political system and its
dealings with nekos, and just about anything with neko history that he could
find, even if it was limited. He also took to trying to use and improve what he
remembered and had learned from Lavi and Bookman for his physical training and
self-defense. But despite all of that, he could only do so much for himself
before he realized once again, just how much he still had to learn from the
others.
…...….
Timothy was, as usual, feeling bored. It was just after dinner and Miss
Hevlaska was in the kitchen cleaning up with the help of some of the older kids
but when he poked his head in to try and find Allen, he didn't see him with the
rest. He looked for Allen in all of his usual places but he wasn't in his room
or hiding up in the maple tree out back. And he definitely wasn't in the
bathroom seeing how he could hear a bunch of the girls in there, giggling at
something or another.
He's getting a little anxious because usually when Allen disappears like this,
without telling him, Allen usually ends up out with that redhead that stops by
every now and again. But the annoying redhead hasn't been around for quite a
while so why else would Allen disappear unless he's off moping about something
again.
He heads off to look in Allen's room one more time, just in case they missed
each other in passing. He decides that he should try to make this at least a
little fun for himself, so he walks as quietly as he can down the hallway,
cringing every time one of the floorboards decides to squeak when he steps on
it. As he nears the end of the hallway where Allen's room is, he sees a sliver
of light escaping from under the door, a sliver that wasn't there earlier.
As he reaches for the small brass knob, he sees something fluttering near the
base of the door. Upon opening the door just a crack a flash of gold whizzes
past his ear and starts circling him madly. His intentions to see Allen
forgotten, Timothy quickly resumes his numerous, and so far fruitless
adventures in trying to capture the elusive Timcanpy!
The little golem speeds off down the hallway making sure that Timothy is hot on
its tail as it makes many sharp turns and guides the neko around furniture and
other children in the process. Some of the other children squeal in protest or
delight in seeing the antics, but most just go back to their business as this
is becoming more and more of a common occurrence for the two.
Eventually their chase leads to the most challenging place of all for a good
chase, the dinning room. The room is full with one giant old wood table with
assorted and mismatched chairs surrounding it at semi-regular intervals. The
difficult part is chasing the elusive golem as it speeds through the chairs and
under the table. Timothy tries to head it off by diving under the table first
thing. After the initial untangling of his legs and the chairs, he lies in wait
for the golem to make the one wrong turn that will allow him to catch it once
and for all.
Their game continues without Timothy making much progress despite his best
efforts and his attention is starting to wander. One can only chase one little
flying gold ball for so long before it starts to lose its thrill, especially if
he never catches it in the end. He starts debating if he should climb out from
under the table or not when another figure enters the room. This figure looks
to be exhausted with dark smudges under his eyes and his hair partially out of
its usual ponytail and in disarray. Timothy decides that he's going to try to
sneak up on Allen and try to surprise him back to alertness, so long as the
annoying gold golem doesn't do it first.
In the meantime, Timcanpy has quit their game and is currently perched on top
of Allen's head, burrowing affectionately into his hair. The white haired neko
doesn't seem to notice as he takes one more suspicious look around the room
before he starts to turn to leave.
As Allen turns his back he hears a large crash from right behind him followed
quickly by some brief sniffles and loud sobs. He turns to see Timothy tangled
up head first in a chair that he appears to have tried to jump though its legs.
Allen hurries over, all of his thoughts of the previous day gone, and takes
care untangling the kitten and chair from each other.
By the time he finishes, Hevlaska comes running into the room trying to see
what all of the commotion is about. "Allen, what happened here? I thought you
were in your room after your training." Concern and confusion lacing her voice
thickly, yet some relief is also evident now that she sees that everyone is
alright.
"I was, but I couldn't find Timcanpy and I saw that the door was cracked open
and figured that he went to go play with Timothy. I hadn't seen either of them
for nearly an hour so I figured I should try to see where they ran off to, and
I eventually found Timcanpy here. Apparently, Timothy decided to try to
surprise me before I left, but he ended up running into a chair in the
process." Allen picks up the still crying kitten and holds him close, letting
him cry his tears on Allen's shoulder. "I'll go see if he needs to be patched
up after all this. I guess it's kind of my fault that he ended up running into
that chair, seeing how I was ignoring him and all, so it's the least I can do."
"All right. Just remember to not let him use this as an excuse to stay up late
again. You remember what happened last time and you two still have lessons in
the morning." She smiles fondly at her two charges. "Now get going so you can
actually have time to sleep. After all, didn't Lavi say that he should be
coming back sometime this week? I know you'll want to see him when he does."
She scoots them out the door with small kisses to the tops of both of their
heads in the process.
By the time Allen has Timothy sitting on the counter of the bathroom, just like
Kanda used to do for him, the kitten's sobs have quieted and the tears have
nearly stopped. He uses his thumbs to help rub away the remaining evidence and
massage some of the redness away. Timothy's bright eyes stare up at him, still
a bit watery from crying, but still bright nonetheless.
"I'm sorry. I just wanted you to play with me for a bit. But I guess I just
wasn't paying enough attention to the things around me." Those bright eyes dim
a bit as he lowers his head in shame for acting so childish.
Allen seems at a loss for a second. "Don't worry about it. I did the same thing
when I was your age, so I suppose there's no reason why you shouldn't. Running
into a chair like that might put a damper on that though." He chuckles quietly
to himself on that one.
He carefully looks Timothy over, trying to find any damage that his collision
with the chair might have caused. All he manages to find is a small scrape on
Timothy's arm that was bleeding just enough to warrant some antiseptic and a
small bandage. He looks through the mirror cabinet and pulls out the necessary
items before sliding it back into place. Placing them on the opposite counter
he briefly exits into the hallway and brings back a washcloth.
As he wets and wrings out the excess water, Timothy stares at him for a minute
before blurting out "Why do your ears say folded to your head like that? I mean
they don't perk up at all like mine do." He perks up his ears and moves them
around for a bit to demonstrate.
Allen starts cleaning the area carefully and slowly as he searches for an
answer. "I don't know, honestly. I wish I did, but I don't. I know that every
other neko I've seen so far, granted that hasn't been very many, has ears that
perk up like yours, but I've never seen them stay like mine after the first
year or two of childhood. Maybe I'm just different, but I'm ok with that."
"So it doesn't bother you that you aren't normal? Wow, I don't think I'd be so
cool with it. I like my ears just the way they are." He pauses in thought
before continuing his random questions. "So if your ears are abnormal, does
that mean your tail is too since it's all big and fluffy and mine is long and
skinny?"
Allen stopped his hand that was applying the bandage before he starts laughing.
Genuine laughter that's not held back by any of the weight he seems to be
carrying around lately. He tries to calm his laughter has he responds. "You
think my tail is weird too? I'm sorry to disappoint you but my tail is just as
normal as yours. Just because you have a short-haired tail and I have a long-
haired tail doesn't mean anything other than that's what at least one of our
parents had. The fur length has to do with genetics just like everything else
about us. Like how you have rounder eyes and mine are more almond shaped."
"I guess that makes sense. But how can you be my big brother if you look so
different than me?"
That little statement makes Allen relax and scoop the kitten into a hug. "You
think of me as a big brother? That's probably the nicest thing anyone has ever
said to me. Thank you. I'll try to be the best big brother I can for you.
Starting now."
He pulls the kitten tighter into the hug and starts tickling him relentlessly.
As Timothy tries to squirm away, he ends up flipped upside down, laughing the
whole time as the blood rushes to his head. Soon his laughter is able to down
out the sound of rain that has started to pour against the orphanage.
In the midst of their giggle fest, there is the sound of the front door being
banged open and hitting the wall beside it. There is a moment when the bang
seems to resonate and intensify in complete silence. A voice breaks the
silence, but it is too soft for Allen and Timothy to hear so they exit as
quietly as they can and creep closer to the entryway, straining their ears to
make out what is being said.
"I know it's here. It's slipped in here and out of my grasp too often for my
liking. Whenever it ventures out it can be seen leaving from here and comes
back here in the end. Where else would it be? Now, had it over quietly and
we'll leave you in peace, otherwise I can't promise the safety of anyone who
gets in our way." The voice is harsh and a bit raspy like the owner has spent
too much of his youth smoking and it has ruined his voice. His breathing is
harsh as well, but so are some of the other breaths coming from that room
confirming that there is more than just that one man.
Hevlaska's voice rings strong despite the situation. "I'll say this once again,
I have no idea what you are talking about. There are only children here, if you
are looking for a 'it' you need to look elsewhere because you won't find one
here."
Allen and Timothy have long since stopped their journey down the hall to hear
what is going on from a safer distance. What they have failed to notice is a
hooded figure behind them. The figure silently raises a small, modified handgun
and brings it into position. He double-checks his aim before squeezing the
trigger and letting the dart fly to its target.
The people in the front hall hear the shot. The man who has been speaking to
Hevlaska lets an evil smirk fill his features. "I told you it was here, but you
didn't want to help or keep yourself out of trouble. Your loss." With that, one
of the other men catches her by surprise and is able to restrain her and the
speaker and the other man head into the orphanage to find their prey.
Allen hears the shot and feels the small prick of pain almost simultaneously.
His first thought is to hide and protect Timothy, but he knows that he won't be
able to do that without Timothy being discovered and losing their one chance to
run. He goes with his second thought and trying his best not to scream in pain,
fear and anger, he races off down the hallway and into one of the empty
bedrooms near the bathroom.
As he runs in, he can hear the man that has been following him be joined by two
other, increasing his urgency. He quickly crosses the room and takes the inside
screen out of the window as he opens it. The wind instantly roars into the new
space, soaking everything it can reach. Allen quickly pries Timothy off of him
and gently helps him out of the window and tells him to run despite the child
not moving and inch.
Allen starts to lift himself out when he is grabbed by a pair of hands and
pulled back in. He can't see who is holding him, but he lashes out, kicking the
man in the head just hard enough for him to loosen his grip and let Allen fall.
He hits his head on the bedframe and in that instant he feels something small
bite his ear, but does not allow himself anytime to refocus before he is
slipping past the other two men and through the building once again.
They follow him again, only now they begin to gain ground as he is still wet
from the rain and doesn't have as good of traction on the wood floors. In his
panic Allen races out to one of the only place he thinks won't be guarded, the
door to the back yard. His spirits lift momentarily as he dashes out the door,
racing past the window where Timothy was still waiting, somehow able to pick up
the kitten in the process.
The kitten automatically latches on to him for dear life, and buries his head
into Allen's chest, not daring to look behind them. As Allen reaches the eight-
foot chain-link fence, he starts to feel a little dizzy and his vision seems to
swim in front of him. But he doesn't let this stop him as he starts to climb as
fast as he can without hurting Timothy or having his feet slip out from under
him.
He is nearly half way to the top when another pair of hands grabs him and tries
to pull him back. He holds on to the fence as best as he can, knowing that he
can't move upward without being pulled back down, and that to just let go will
mean being instantly caught with no hope of escape. His energy is fading
quickly and it is becoming harder to keep his hold on the fence.
He feels one more strong yank on his waist and he loses his grip, as is fingers
slip in the pouring rain. He tries to move to land on his side and try to hid
Timothy from view for as long as possible, even if he can't do much else now.
His landing is successful if painful and awkward. He lands on his arm, bending
it at an extreme angel without breaking it and his half on top of Timothy's
back without putting much pressure on him.
He can feel himself start to sink into the mud and the voices around him become
disjointed. He feels someone pick him up and sling him over their shoulder like
an old sack of potatoes. He can hear Timothy cry for him to wake up, but he is
awake, yet he has no control over his body and the things around him seem out
of focus. He hears one of the men asking about why he is still awake and
another reply about using some drug that will drain his energy and confuse him
for a certain period of time so they won't have to wait as long to move him as
they would if he was unconscious.
As they move, he briefly makes out the halls of the orphanage passing by as the
small group takes their leave. As they go through the entryway, he can see
Hevlaska being restrained, but as soon as the man sees his group begin to
leave, he abandons her in order to retreat. She looks up and sees Timothy and
Allen and begins to scream for the men to stop and release them. She tries to
follow them until one of the men not carrying him or Timothy puts a gun to
Allen's head threatening to kill him if she follows them another step. She
stops immediately, still crying and calling for them.
Allen loses focus again as he tears his eyes from the sight, and can feel the
person holding him shift as they near the road. He is thrown into the very back
of the car with Timothy right behind him. The last thing he coherently
remembers is someone pulling a blindfold on him and binding his hands and feet.
He hears the trunk of the car slam shut, and then, nothingness.
….
Lavi can't wait to see Allen again. It had been six months too long for them to
be apart and Allen was desperate for any news of Kanda. But at least the new
little neko boy had taken a liking to him and was making him live again.
Maybe, just maybe, the news that Lavi was bringing him, that they had found the
men who had kidnapped Kanda and that they were being put on trial with in the
week, would help Allen to recover just a little more. Besides, he liked working
and training a happy Allen then a depressed one.
As he nears the orphanage he sees a nondescript black SUV speed past him,
nearly hitting him in the process. He mumbles something about bad drivers and
hurries on his way when he sees Hevlaska kneeling on the sidewalk in the
pouring rain.
"Miss Hevlaska? Why are you out here in this? Did something happen?"
She looks up at him with tears blending with the rain. Her voice is barely
above a whisper. "They took them. They took Allen and Timothy. I tried to stop
them, but I couldn't . . ." Her voice trails off as her sobs increase.
Lavi gently takes her by the hand and leads her inside. He sets her in one of
the chairs near the entryway before speaking again. "You remember when Yuu gave
Allen Timcanpy? Well that little golem has a tracking system in him, so as long
as it's with Allen, we can find him anywhere. I have one of the handhelds that
we can find him with when we turn Timcanpy on. I'm going to do it now, because
the sooner we find him, the better."
He turns on the tracker, giving it a moment to calibrate before staring
confusedly at the screen. He continues looking at the screen as he makes his
way through the house, eventually ending up in the room that Allen had tried to
escape through the window.
The window is still open and blowing the rain into the room, continually
resoaking everything in its path. A slight rattling sound can be heard from
inside of a music box that was blown over and around in the wind. Lavi picks up
the box and opens it as Timcanpy shoots out of it and starts circling the room
before leaving to search the building for Allen.
Lavi gives a defeated sigh as he returns to the front where Hevlaska is still
sitting. He sits on the floor beside her for a moment. "It didn't work.
Timcanpy didn't make it out with Allen so we have no way to track him for now,
unless . . . Did Allen . . . Did he . . . Did he reach . . . maturity yet?"
Hevlaska just stares at the floor shaking her head. "Not yet. I've never seen a
neko go so long without reaching maturity yet, and it worries me a bit. It
basically means that either he'll never reach that point, or that he is just a
time bomb that could reach that point at anytime, I can only hope that he'll be
in a safe place when it does. Why does it matter though?"
"Because I did find that Timcanpy was able to get a DNA sample from Allen and
when Allen reaches maturity his cells will change along with the ones being
stored in Timcanpy and that change will allow us to track him afterwards."
***** Confusion *****
Chapter 4
For the longest time, all Allen can feel is how uncomfortable his own position
is in the back of the car, roughly where Timothy is pressed against him, and
the seemingly never ending motion of the car. Occasionally he could tell the
change of direction when he was forcefully slid around the back by the g-forces
as the car would turn a corner too fast or stop too suddenly.
The adrenaline rush he had received while trying to escape had long since
dissipated leaving him feeling weak and tired, but his panic keeps him awake,
but not completely alert. The drugs in his system have kept him from being
completely coherent, but he can feel them slowly losing strength and allowing
the situation to sink in even more.
He wants so badly to be able to see for himself exactly what was going on, but
the blindfold prevents him from doing so. He tries to reach for Timothy to
comfort the shaking kitten as best as he can, but with his hands and feet
bound, the best he can to is slightly intertwine their tails to reassure the
other of others presence. They stay like that as long as they can before they
would be jostled around again and have to tentatively find one another again.
Eventually the vehicle began to slow down and eventually it comes to a complete
stop. Something unclear is shouted just outside of the vehicle and the sound of
the back door being lifted up almost seems to doom Allen and Timothy to their
fates. The cool air of wherever they are creeps over them spiking their fear
adding to their already nervous shaking.
Allen feels Timothy being lifted out first, and after a moment, a pair of hands
reaches out to pick him up as well. The second he feels them touch him, he
tries to lash out, hissing his discontent, as words seem too inadequate for the
situation. A second pair of hands reaches out to hold him still and he succeeds
in biting one of them.
"The damn cat bit me!"
Allen is backhanded where he lay, the sting is almost satisfying, but nothing
compared to what he wants to do to his captors. He hears Timothy start to cry
for him and it pulls at his heart that he is unable to stop them himself, but
the cries are quickly silenced as whoever is holding him leaves the immediate
area, his retreating footsteps wounding Allen just a little more.
As someone approaches Allen again, he tries to lash out, but this time more
hands struggle to hold him as another quickly inserts a needle into his arm.
Even though the metal intrusion is brief, the thought of what they might be
doing to him, angers Allen even more, causing him to struggle for as long as he
can. They continue to hold him until he starts to calm down and they are sure
that this new round of drugs will subdue him enough to have him not fight back.
When he has finally calmed down, someone reaches down and none to gently,
throws Allen over his shoulder and walks away from the vehicle and the others.
However, the walk is short and Allen can hear a fairly heavy door open and the
man walks on. They are inside now as the sound of the man's footsteps have
changed just enough so that have a slight echo, and the gently hum of lights
can be heard.
The footsteps seem to last forever until Allen hears another door open and shut
behind them as the man walks through it. He is abruptly shifted off of the
man's shoulder and placed more gently on a startlingly cold metal table. Seeing
as he can't move all that well, he simply lies where he landed, hoping that
nothing worse will happen for the time being.
The door opens again and he can sense another person entering the room and
staring intently at him. He want's to hide, but the most he can do is twitch
his tail in irritation. The new person begins muttering to himself and starts
poke and prod Allen, making him want to fidget more especially the further
south the hands traveled, but by the time they had reached his knees he did
calm down a little, but not much. It eventually ends when the person pokes at
the pads of his feet and after a few seconds, removes the bindings on his feet.
The person that undid the bindings talks quietly with the first man that
brought Allen into the room. There is a moment when the clanking of coins is
overheard and there is another moment of silence before one of them leaves the
room. There is more silence and the one left behind gently goes back to the
table and lifts Allen up and holds him bridal style before exiting the room and
heading down another hall.
The walk is very short and they soon enter another room. This one is quite warm
and smells strongly of chemicals that assault and burn Allen's nose. There
seems to be more people in this room and something is apparently said to them,
as two sets of hands lift Allen out of the man's arms, and move further into
the room.
Soon, the bindings on his hands are removed, but he still remains blindfolded.
He is placed on the ground and hands start grabbing him, and removing his
clothing despite all of his weak, but urgent attempts to stop them. He can't
even tell who or what is grabbing him as all of their hands seem to be covered
with some type of rubber or latex gloves. It doesn't take long before the
fabric is completely removed, he can feel several gazes scrutinize every aspect
of him. He strongly desires just to melt into the floor to hide himself from
those gazes.
But he receives no such luck as he is picked up again and is moved closer to
one of the main sources of the chemical smells. They carefully lower him into a
large hot bath, and the hands waste no time in dousing him in soaps and
shampoos, rubbing his skin hard enough to make it glow a faint red with
irritation. While the hot water and the motion of the hands do help some to
relax Allen's nerves, it also seems to make the drugs stronger, so that even
though they had seemed to start wearing off, they still retained their hold
over him.
After the thorough scrubbing, Allen is lifted out of the tub and immediately
wrapped in oversized fluffy towels search for any water that might have the
gull to remain clinging to him. Finally, he is left with a single towel tied
securely around his waist and is placed in a chair while someone starts to
meticulously brush out his long hair and another carefully brushes his tail. By
the time all of the tangles have been undone and nothing but the silky lengths
remain, his tail is released and another set of hands gently holds his head as
another picks up the hair, cutting it off at chin length.
A breath catches in Allen's throat as he silently mourns the reason for his
long hair. He remembers Kanda talking about wanting to grow his hair out as
they got older, and how Hevlaska would make sure that never happened. He also
realizes that Kanda most likely had to go through the exact same thing he is
going through now. The thought almost makes it a little more bearable, knowing
that Kanda didn't have to go through something too horrifying after his initial
capture, or so Allen hopes.
After the person who cut his hair finishes evening out the lengths and trimming
any missed hairs, yet another person comes and this time they start messing
with his ears. The person tries to get them to stand up like they would on a
normal neko, but all of their attempts fail and the person seems to realize
that it is not just nerves that are keeping them as folded as they are, though
Allen's nerves are obviously not helping them perk up any. Eventually, the
person disappears for a moment before coming back and placing something on
either side of Allen's left ear. There is a tense moment for Allen, but it is
quickly replaced by a sharp pain as a small needle is pushed through the outer
edge of the tip of his ear and is quickly replaced by another small needle that
is clasped shut leaving a small metal hoop in his ear.
Allen moans a little in pain as his ear starts to throb, but the people around
him seem not to notice as he is shuffled off again. This time he can feel hands
pulling and pushing him into a pair of pants and shirt. The shirt seems far too
big and the collar is threatening to fall over his shoulders and he is having a
hard time freeing his hands from the sleeves. The pants at least fit, though it
proves to be difficult to put on seeing as they have a tail hole that is made
for a much skinnier, less fluffy tail, but somehow Allen makes it fit in his
rush to be clothed again.
After he is dressed, a pair of hands helps him to stand. He is a bit wobbly
from the remaining drugs, but at least he can finally stand on his own again
without assistance, instead of having to be carried everywhere. Someone grabs
his right hand and ties something on it, it feels like the same texture and
softness of Allen's ribbon, and he is glad to be allowed to have at least some
part of his past remain with him.
Someone gently takes his hand and leads him out of the room. This time they are
in yet a different hallway, as Allen cannot hear their footsteps through the
thick carpet blanketing the floor. The walk only lasts for about 10 steps
before they stop for a moment and there is the sound of a door sliding back and
they proceed into the room.
Allen's blindfold is finally removed and he is stunned by what he sees. He is
in a very plush office, with a rather oversized wooden desk and even a small
fireplace in the corner. Despite these things, there is hardly anything
personal in there apart from a nameplate on the desk. The office belongs to
someone who refers to themself as the Millennium Earl. As he takes this in, the
oversized chair behind the desk swings around to allow its occupant to see
Allen.
Some type of instinct tells Allen that he needs to run. But at the same time,
curiosity and the pull of the man's eyes keep Allen in place. The rather hefty
man pulls himself out of the chair and makes his way over to inspect Allen. His
eyes scrutinize every detail and Allen can't help but lower his eyes to the
floor, hoping that his man will be more merciful than he seems.
The man finally ceases his immediate scrutiny of Allen and turns back to the
person who brought Allen in the room. Allen follows his line of sight and is a
little surprised by what he finds. He can tell that it is a person, but other
than that, all distinguishing features are covered by some type of white
covering with seemingly random placements of pentacles. The person makes no
noise but hands a file to this 'Millennium Earl' and promptly leaves the room,
leaving the two alone.
The Earl takes a moment to look over the file. A few times he shows some
surprise with what he finds, but otherwise he is expressionless. Eventually he
sets the file on his desk and pushes a button. The door to the hall opens and
another of the pentacle-covered people enters and waits for further
instructions.
"Take this one back to the kitten he arrived with, for today. Tomorrow, we'll
have his arm tattooed to cover up that birthmark and help improve his value.
After that you'll move him in with the others so they can help him adjust and
by the end of the week, I want his complete profile available to potential
buyers. Dismissed."
The person takes Allen's arm and steers him out of the room without a word. The
two travel down a series of halls that make Allen's head spin with his lost
sense of direction. Eventually after what seems like an antagonizingly long
time, they reach one of many plain metal doors with no remarkable feature
besides a number 14 over it. The person uses a pass and code to open the door,
gives Allen a light shove into the room and promptly closes the door.
Before he can get his bearings, he is suddenly grabbed around the middle as
Timothy holds him tight and starts crying. Allen carefully lowers himself to
the floor and brings Timothy closer for a better hug and the two remain there
for over an hour just trying to process everything that has happened to them in
just a single day while seeking comfort at the same time.
Eventually, the weight of their experiences pushes Timothy over the edge and
into an uneasy sleep. Allen wishes to follow, but takes this opportunity to
look over the room and finds only an oversized pillow and a single blanket in
one corner. He gently picks up Timothy and brings him over to the pillow. Allen
brings Timothy to his chest in hope that the kitten will be able to stay warm
despite how thin the blanket seems to be.
Allen contemplates if he should stay up for Timothy to wake up so that they can
actually talk before they are separated again, but the weight of sleep seems
much more inviting. Before he can give in, Allen unties his ribbon, and ties it
securely on Timothy's wrist so that the kitten will have something to remember
him by.
….
Allen's sleep is abruptly interrupted when he felt himself being picked up by a
pair of the pentacle people. He is ushered out of the room before he can do or
say anything resembling a proper goodbye to Timothy, but when he sees the
kitten still asleep, he doesn't have the heart to wake him.
He is brought through the twisting hallways until they reach a fairly small
room with no door. Allen is brought in and placed in a chair, his feet and
hands being secured so he can't try to escape. The two pentacle people leave
the room and Allen takes a moment to find that except for the chair he's in,
there is one movable stool, and a row of ink jars in his immediate view. He
remembers the Earl's instructions for today, and dread seeps through his entire
being.
After a couple more minutes of panicked waiting, another person covered in
pentacles enters the room, and seems to pay Allen no mind as it goes about
preparing for its work. It quickly wipes Allen's entire left arm in some kind
of strong scented antiseptic before it grabs the required needles and ink. It
seems to contemplate for a moment where to start, but it seems to just pick a
spot near his shoulder to begin.
The pain, while not as sharp as the ear piercing, was still constant and
wearing on Allen's nerves. He tries to block it out, to think of other things,
or even allow himself to pass out for a few minutes, but nothing works. He is
forced to endure the pain for hours. His head feels dizzy with the scent of the
ink and the metallic scent of his own blood.
By the time his hand is freed to continue the tattoo, Allen doesn't even have
the resolve to fight back. He simply lets his limp arm be handled and scratched
at with the needle. The person even goes as far as to do something to Allen's
fingernails that makes them as black as the rest of his arm. The pain continues
for hours and Allen can't even tell when the person has finished the inking and
has applied some type of gel to his arm, before finally wrapping the entire arm
in hand with bandages and leaving the room.
It takes Allen a few minutes to realize what has happened, but his pain-filled
thoughts are soon distracted as a new pentacle person comes and undoes the rest
of Allen's bindings. This time Allen doesn't even try to pay attention to how
far they go or how many turns they take.
Allen doesn't even notice when they stop, but suddenly he is pushed into a room
and the door is shut behind him. The room in of itself is fairly basic,
completely white walls that match the completely white clothing of its
inhabitants, small clusters of clear plastic chairs and tables, a small open
area by a TV, a snack area, and finally a simple door leading into a bathroom.
The room is fairly simple, but it is the occupants that stand out. Eight male
nekos ranging from about Allen's age and older are going about their business,
but stop when they see the new comer.
Most go back to whatever they were doing before, but one of the younger ones
approaches him. This one has dark brown, nearly black hair and his demeanor
initially reminds Allen of Kanda, but the two look completely different. This
stranger takes a moment to look Allen over before presenting him with a rather
large smile.
"You're Allen, aren't you? Kanda mentioned you a lot and you look just like his
description. You even have the droopy ears." The stranger stops for a second,
seeing how confused Allen is. "Oh, I'm Alma. Alma Karma. Kanda and I were here
together for a while before we were sent to different homes."
"Yo You've seen Kanda? How long? How long ago was it? Have you also seen
Timothy? He's still a kitten, hardly five years old and we were separated this
morning. Did he come through here?" Allen's voice betrays his panic and fear at
everything that has happened, and what is to come.
Alma thinks for a second. "I'll tell you what I know, but you might want to sit
down for a bit, if they did what I think they did to your arm. It'll be best to
just not use it much for a day or two." He takes Allen's right hand and guides
him over to an empty corner of the room.
"Now I haven't heard anything about this Timothy kid, but if he's as young as
you say he is, he's probably over in the other section with the females and
other kittens. With him that would make about ten kittens and probably only six
women left over there. But then again, most of those females are the mothers,
so they probably won't be separated for a few years and they'll most likely
accept little Timothy with open arms." A bit of Allen's fear leaves when he
finally let it sink in that Timothy should be safe for now.
"As for Kanda, I can't really say what's happened to him. He came through here
about two years ago madder than a hornet, doing everything he could think of to
escape, but it didn't work. It was a bit crowded at that time, so we ended up
sharing a room and getting to know each other. But you really don't need to
know all that. Anyway, he was here for about two months before he was sold off,
and I was gone the next day, so I can't really say what happened to him other
than that he was apparently sent back here once, but was sold again within a
week. Not really enough time to say what happened to him really. And he hasn't
been back since, so either he's still with that person, or he's somehow left
the country." Seeing Allen's fading look, Alma sighs before scratching one of
Allen's ears. "I know he's all right. This is Kanda after all."
Allen is silent for a moment and Alma tries to think of something to distract
him. An idea occurs to him and he quickly pulls Allen up and heads for the only
not completely white wall in the room. Upon closer inspection the wall reveals
that it is covered completely in hundreds, if not thousands of names. Alma
looks closely for a second before pulling Allen over to a spot near the base of
the wall. It's there that he points out Kanda's name.
"Every neko that comes through here puts their name on this wall so that no one
can forget them, nor deny their existence." Alma pulls out a black marker from
somewhere. "It's time for you to add your name. I think that Kanda would want
your name to be by his."
Allen reaches out a tentative hand to take the marker and carefully writes his
name under Kanda's. "Umm, Allen? You need to put your last name on there too,
otherwise there could be a hundred Allen's out there and no one would know who
you are."
"But I don't have a last name. I didn't think I needed one."
"Believe it or not, you're not the first to say that. So that means that your
last name is now Walker. You see, one of the first nekos in this building was
Mana Walker; he was the only one here who never left for any period of time. He
stayed and did what he could to comfort those who had been taken from their
families, and those who had been picked off the streets. He did all he could
for us, and claimed all of us who didn't have a family. That's why those with
no last name share his, its our way of helping him pass on his legacy seeing as
he did before he was ever able to have kittens with anyone."
"So I can really use that name?"
"Of course, I just explained that."
"Just checking." Allen goes back and carefully adds the last name to his own.
Allen Walker has entered the world with a new name and a goal, to find Timothy
and Kanda.
***** Revelations *****
Chapter 5
The next couple of days progress rather slowly for Allen. Each day he is put
back in the white room with all of the other male nekos, and at night he is
taken back to the room he and Timothy briefly shared. Initially, he thought
that he would be somehow be moved elsewhere for potential buyers to come and
see him, but Alma explained that Allen had come in on a Tuesday, and it was
only on Friday through Sunday that people were allowed to come and see them in
person. While this sounds much better than what he originally thought, it only
slightly alleviates some of Allen's fears.
It's over the course of the next few days that Alma attempts to take Allen
under his wing a bit and explain more of the nekos' history, as well as what
was happening to them now, with all of the new human laws. For Allen, some of
his questions are finally being answered even if they are not necessarily the
answers he wanted to hear, for most of the reasons that led human to think that
they are superior seem to be quite superficial, and not accurate at all. But he
also realizes that there is little he will be able to do about that in his
current position.
Later on the same Thursday, Allen finally gets up the courage to ask Alma
something that had been bothering him for a while. "Alma? Why do you have that
mark on the bridge of your nose? It doesn't look like a scar, cut, or tattoo,
but it's still there."
Alma gives Allen a look of disbelief. "That's my Mark, Allen. Everyone gets one
eventually. Why, by your age you should have one as well."
Allen feels very confused at this. "As far as I know I don't have one. Why am I
supposed to have one? Is it bad if I don't?"
Alma sighs. "I honestly never thought I'd have to have this conversation with
someone nearly my own age. Prospective kittens, yes, but not you. Hmm . .
.What's the best way to say this? Umm . . . Have you had your first heat yet?"
There is a pause as Allen thinks for a moment. "I don't think so. Is having a
'heat' important?"
Alma stops for a second before running off and grabbing one of the older males
in the room and dragging him over to their corner. This new male is slightly
taller than average with spiky blond hair that hides his ears a bit, he also
has a fairly fluffy tail like Allen. Even though he looks fairly young, Allen
can tell that he must actually be much older and experienced than his looks
would betray. As this new neko approaches Allen, he reaches out his had for a
handshake and Allen tentatively reciprocates it.
"So you must be the new one. Allen Walker, correct? You can call me Reever. So
what seems to be the problem here, boys?
Before Allen can respond, Alma blurts out, "Allen hasn't had his first heat
yet."
"Alma, that's not something you talk about in pub – Wait. Did you just say that
Allen hasn't had his first heat yet? That can't be right. Allen is this true?"
When he nods his head, Reever starts to think for a moment, his brows furrowing
in concentration, before crossing over to the door and knocking on it. The door
opens a crack and he quickly and quietly says something and the door is closed
again.
He makes his way back over to the boys and looks directly at Allen. "I'm trying
to get permission to use one of the medical offices here. You're about 16ish
right? Well if you haven't had your first heat yet, it could mean that there is
something wrong internally, and I just wan to be sure that everything's in
order." Seeing Allen's concerned look, he adds on, "Don't worry about it.
You're probably a late bloomer is all. And don't worry about the exam, I'll be
giving it personally since I've been trained specifically how the treat nekos
since our biological systems are just a bit different from a human."
The three head to the door, which is immediately opened for them. The second
they are our of the room, a small collar is placed on each of the nekos and
they then follow one of the pentacle people, which Alma has said are called
Akuma, through the maze. After several minutes of walking, they end up in a
very clean, well-kept doctors office. The Akuma closes the door and locks it as
soon as the three have their collars removed and have all been corralled in the
room.
Reever immediately has Allen sit on the exam table, and Alma move off to one of
the corners, out of the way. The exam is fairly standard and doesn't take very
long as Allen seems to be perfectly healthy. However, something makes Reever
stop when he goes to examine Allen's abdomen. He feels gently around Allen's
stomach, but when he pokes just a little lower, he feels something he doesn't
expect. He feels the same spot again, only this time Allen accidently lets slip
a pained grunt.
He steps back and quickly removes the gloves he had been wearing. After Allen
fixes his shirt back into place, he looks at Reever expectantly. The blond
seems to be having a serious internal debate with himself but resigns himself
with a sigh.
"Well there's good news and not quite bad, but not quite good news. The good
news is that you are perfectly healthy and seem likely to stay that way for
quite a while. The good, but not as good news is that there is a reason you
haven't had you heat yet, and while this is actually normal, it's also a cause
for future concern.
"You see Allen; it seems that you're a very rare type of neko. There have been
others in the past, and I've even met a couple before you, but they are still
very rare. You are what we call a Bearer. Basically it means that you have the
potential of being able to bear kittens in the future. Now you haven't had your
first heat yet because you are maturing at a slightly slower rate because you
body has more to accommodate than most. But from everything I can tell, you'll
probably have it sometime in the next few months, just so you know."
"How . . . How is this even possible? I'm a guy; I can't have kittens like
that. As far as I know, I don't even have the right parts for that! Could it be
something, anything else?" Allen is trying to calm his nerves, but the
prospects scare him beyond belief.
"Well there have always been a few male nekos that could have kittens. Never
more than a handful in existence at a time, but they've been there. They're
part of the reason that humans started kidnapping us in the first place. They
wanted to see if science would let certain human males be able to do the same
thing. They have never succeeded, but in their attempts, many Bearers died so
to find one such as you will cause quite a stir.
"I can't tell you if this is a good thing or a bad thing. On one hand, they'll
probably do all that they can to make sure that your healthy and comfortable,
but beyond that, I can't say much. But on the other, they may try to put you in
the Breeding Program the others I met were in. I'm not going to butter this up,
if you get sent there, you are in some serious shit.
"I could just not let the Earl know any of my findings, but if something
happens that exposes you, that wouldn't end well on either of our parts. I
guess I'll just have to submit the paperwork for the exam and hope he overlooks
it. He probably won't, but there's always the chance."
Allen is silent for several minutes; only his small shaking frame betrays the
emotions running through him. "But what if I don't want this?"
"There's nothing we can do. This is just the way you are. You'll have to learn
to live with it. Just don't worry about it too much, ok?" When Allen gives a
slight nod, Reever picks up his paperwork and heads to the door once more with
the other two behind him.
Upon being put in their collars once again, Reever follows one Akuma presumably
to give the Earl his report, and Allen and Alma follow another back to the
communal white room. Neither of them speaks a single word as they walked
through the twisting hallways, but at some point, Alma grabbed Allen's hand in
his and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
The tension flowed off of Allen and his demeanor immediately lightens despite
what he was just told. He is already coming to grips about what he had been
told, and since there was nothing he could do about it, he decided to just
accept it and move on.
….
To say that the Earl is interested in what Reever had found would be an
understatement. All of his other business priorities are swept aside as he
tried to figure out exactly what he is going to do with the gold mine that had
just landed in his lap. Precautions would have to be taken, but in the long
run, this could turn out to be a most promising venture.
His first thoughts are to see if he can get in touch with the Breeding Program
to see if they would be interested in using this new Bearer for their purposes,
with certain limitations of course. A quick call later and an appointment is
scheduled for the next day for someone from the Program to come and make sure
the information is correct.
If the information proves to be correct, then they will work on the fine
details like registering the neko as a Bearer and such. The most important
being that until the Bearer is bought by someone else, it will be living
somewhere outside of the facility, but under close watch and guard. Those
things would be taken care of immediately, but as to where for the neko to live
for now would be another issue.
The Earl wants to keep him close, but still out of the pubic eye, at least for
a while. The best option would be to bring the neko into his own home, but he
already has one neko at his own home, and to bring in another, even if it is
only temporary, could lead to more problems and fights than he wanted or needed
to deal with.
After debating for a while, there seems to really be only one other option. The
Earl picks up his phone once more and punches in a memorized number without
even looking. The phone rings a couple of times before a cheery voice answers.
The two exchange pleasantries for a few minutes, but eventually the
conversation returns to business.
"Sheryl, I was wondering if you would be willing to do me a favor for a little
while. Don't worry about Road. I'm sure she'll be just as willing to help out
too.
….
The following morning, Allen woke up just in time to be brought to the white
room. However, when the door to his room is opened, he is greeted not just by
an Akuma, but by also by a rather tall blond woman in a lab coat. The woman
looks at him for a second before turning and walking off without a word. The
Akuma steer Allen after her and he does his best to keep up with her rather
long stride.
In the end, they end up in a doctor's office, much like the one that Allen was
in the previous day; only this one seems to have a few more large pieces of
equipment at its disposal. The woman wastes no time in taking Allen's
measurements and writing them down. Following that is an exam that is even
faster that the previous day's, she has him remove his shirt and proceeds to
cover his lower stomach in a freezing cold gel. Allen tries not to show his
discomfort, especially when she takes a piece of machinery and starts rubbing
it around in the gel, pressing against stomach to get a better image on the
ultrasound machine.
After a few minutes of this and staring at a screen, she wipes the remaining
gel off of his stomach and actually faces him for the first time. "Do you know
why you were called here today?" Allen gives a small shake of his head. "The
Breeding Program was given notice of a potential Bearer at this facility, and
it is my job to make sure that this call wasn't another hoax or desperate
attempt for publicity.
"My name is Dr. Lulubell, and until for now I will be the one providing you
with all your medical needs until you have reached maturity and can be
transferred over to Breeding Programs facility for further use. If you have any
questions feel free to ask either the Millennium Earl or myself. For now you
will remain at this facility until some more suitable arrangements can be made.
You will be of great use to us and to your own kind, Allen Walker. Take heart
in that."
With that she left the room and an Akuma comes for Allen. This time it put a
different collar on Allen, one that had a small tracking device on the side,
and closes more securely. The walk to the white room seemed endless as Allen
tried to absorb what had just happened, but in reality he couldn't even wrap
his mind around it. He didn't even notice when he is gently pushed into the
room and has the door close behind him, the collar still in place.
He is hardly aware of Alma approaching him and steering him over to their
normal corner. Alma situates him so that Allen can lean on him, and Allen does
so without any realization of what he's doing. Eventually his staring and
thinking allows him to finally break down and soon Alma's shoulder is being
cried on as all the stress and pain from the last several days comes crashing
down on him.
Eventually, his tears start to dry up, and he is able to drift off into an
uneasy sleep. Alma continues holding him, wondering if Kanda knew all of what
was going on with this kitten. Did he know about him being a Bearer? Or was his
desire to protect Allen something that could only be described as instinct?
Either way, the chances of the two of them meeting again seem to become slimmer
and slimmer as more and more unknowns come into light.
….
Allen stays sleeping gently on Alma's shoulder until it is time to head back to
his room. He isn't completely coherent when the Akuma come to escort them back
to their rooms, but he does notices when he is suddenly picked up by an Akuma
and carried out of the room. He doesn't struggle for fear of what the Akuma
might do to him, but he starts to silently shake again and his ears flatten
across his head as much as possible.
When the Akuma opens his door and proceeds into the room, Allen can tell that
there have been some changes since this morning. Once the Akuma has left, he
takes a better look at his new surroundings. Gone is the giant pillow he's been
using as a bed, a real pallet with better stuffing is in its place. The thin
blanket has been replaced with a set of sheets and a thicker blanket more than
twice the size of the original one. The tile floors have been given a layer of
plush rugs over top to take away from the cold they emit. While the overall
comfort they provide is welcome, the reason for why they were brought in in the
first place is still overwhelming to him.
He doesn't get much sleep that night with all of the unfamiliar surroundings,
and the fear of what the following day will bring. He's gotten an idea of what
will happen while his is being 'shown off' from Alma, but he still fears the
experience.
Supposedly, he will be put in a small room away from the others. The room
itself will have just a few things in it with him: a pillow/bed and possibly
some blocks or stuffed animal since he's still technically a kitten. There will
be two doors. One will open in to the hallway, and the other will lead into a
communal bathroom, but only one neko is allowed in there at a time, unless it's
an emergency. There will be cameras in the room, so that if someone has
interest in him, they can show them more than just his profile. Other than
that, the room is the same blank white as their normal room, and just like
every other day, he'll have to stay there until an Akuma comes to take him back
to his room after a quick shower.
His lack of sleep doesn't help his sense of time, but when an Akuma comes for
him, he can tell that it is much earlier than normal. He is lead down through
the maze and is a little surprised when they end up back in the same doctors
office he was in yesterday. Inside are the Earl and Lulubell, the both look
rather excited about something, but for now, Allen can't tell what that
something is. He is guided back to the exam table, but remains sitting up.
Lulubell comes over and after making Allen remove his shirt, carefully starts
peeling off the bandages covering his new tattoo. It is slow going as some of
the skin is still sensitive, but there is immediate relief when the skin
finally meets the air again. The hardest part of the unraveling was when they
try to unwrap his hand. The pieces are so intertwined that they eventually give
up and start cutting the bandages to free his hands.
When all of the bandages are off, Lulubell gives his arm a quick look over to
make sure that it is working properly and not damaged during the tattooing
process. After deeming it healthy, Allen is placed in front of a full-length
mirror to see for himself, what has changed. The arm is completely black until
about six inches before his shoulder. There it has two black rings, then a
series of open circles with closed diamond like structures at the ends.
The Earl comes up and gently holds Allen's shoulder, looking it over carefully.
"They really did a good job with this one. And the integration of the Stigmas
like that is quite ingenious. This way, people will always know that he came
from here." He gives Allen a 'reassuring' squeeze on the shoulder before
exiting the room.
After the Earl leaves, Lulubell soon follows after him, leaving Allen alone in
the room. Just a minute or two later another Akuma enters, but this one carries
a tray with it. It sets the tray and its contents before Allen before taking
its leave.
On the tray is a simple, but very healthful breakfast. A piece of toast, an
egg, and some bacon decorate the plate, and a tall glass of orange juice as
well as a fresh banana remains on the sides. After contemplating if he could
eat it or not, Allen makes quick work of consuming every crumb from the plate.
He contemplates for a few minutes just what he is supposed to do with the tray,
but he decides that maybe going to the door and asking would be better. When he
knocks on the door he is greeted by two Akuma. One takes the tray and
disappears down the hall, and the other motions for Allen to exit the room.
When he does so the Akuma turns around and begins leading him away from the
doctors office.
The walk doesn't seem quite as long this time, but then Allen doesn't know
exactly where he is being taken. The hall soon ends with a rather large center
room surrounded by doors directly across from it. Allen is taken around to the
other side of the hall and is gently pushed into this new room 14.
The room is everything Alma described it as, only one difference, there is a
blanket on the bed. He looks around the room and is amused at finding a rather
large golden ball sitting in the corner. It looked a bit like Timcanpy; it too
has wings, but no tail, feet or horns. Allen looks at it for a moment before he
hugs it close to him, glad for even a little familiarity.
He takes the winged ball and makes his way over to the bed. Once there he folds
himself into a ball, fear and dread seeping through him as he is conflicted as
to whether or not he really wants to be bought to a home or not. Eventually,
exhaustion and rampant emotions lead him to quietly cry himself to sleep,
squeezing the golden ball even closer to himself in the process.
….
Sheryl couldn't decide if helping the Earl is a good idea or not. On one hand,
bringing home a neko for Road is defiantly a good idea, seeing as how she's
wanted one for a long time, and it would make a suitable companion for her when
he was gone for business. The problem would be when they had to let the neko
return to the Black Arc if someone else was willing to pay for it, or if it was
to be shipped off to the Breeding Program. Seeing as how that could happen at
any time, he didn't want Road to become attached to it, only to have to lose it
later.
It is thoughts like these that plague him as he makes his way into the Black
Arc. He is greeted by an Akuma at the door and promptly led to see the Earl. As
always the office was as impressive as it was bare. However, there is a slight
difference this time. There is now a framed piece of paper directly above the
Earl's chair. The paper explains how the Earl has a Bearer under his watch and
how a portion of any success that comes from the Breeding Program will be
directed back to him, hopefully for more success in the future.
The Earl turns his seat around and gestures for Sheryl to take the seat across
from him. Once seated, an Akuma comes in holding an open laptop and sets it in
front of Sheryl. The man looks confused for a moment before taking a closer
look at the screen. A room is displayed, obviously small, but comfortable
enough for a small length of time. In that room, just barley discernable, is a
figure under a rather large blanket. He repositions the camera to get a better
look at the occupant. What greets his eyes is a small sleeping neko holding a
stuffed animal. And while the picture is adorable, he doesn't quite understand
how this is important to him.
"Quite magnificent, isn't he? This one goes by the name Allen Walker. He's the
one I was hoping you would watch for me. I wanted to bring him to my own home,
but I doubt that he and my own neko would get along very well. So what do you
say? Will you take him in for me, on a temporary basis?"
Sheryl is torn for a few minutes, thinking about what Road would like, and what
is unavoidable. The picture of this Allen sleeping so peacefully is what
finally seals the deal. "I accept. Road will be so happy to have a new
playmate."
***** Advice and Shopping *****
Chapter 6
For Allen, the following Saturday and Sunday are very repetitive. It is the
same both days: wake up, eat whatever they give you, go and sit in the other
room numbered 14 for the rest of the day. There is no interaction with any of
the others, just solitude and the occasional Akuma.
However, when the monotony of the weekend ends and Monday finally comes around,
everything changes.
He is sleeping semi-peacefully when the Akuma come into his room. Instead of
one, there are three this time and they are accompanied by Lulubell. She says
and does nothing as they carefully pick up the still groggy Allen and remove
him from the room. They head off down through the maze of hallways until they
reach the white room. Once inside, they release Allen and move to join a few
other Akuma that have gathered along the walls.
Allen wonders sleepily over to his usual corner and is a little surprised to
find that Alma is already there, conversing with a neko he has never seen
before. For the most part, this new comer seems quite normal, long brown wavy
hair with matching ears and tail, and a pale skin tone, but the thing that
throws Allen off the most about this particular neko is that it is female.
He is fairly surprised to see a female neko as they are usually kept in another
portion of the building with the kittens so he hasn't seen one since he was
kidnapped, which make him all the more curious about her. He tires to not be
too obvious in his observations of her, but he does sit close enough to her and
Alma to do so without looking too suspicious.
Alma notices him as he sits and gives him a look of grim amusement. "So, it
looks like I was right. I knew you wouldn't be here for long considering what
you are. Know where they're sending you yet?"
"They're sending me somewhere? I haven't heard anything." Fear starts to taint
Allen's curiosity, causing a nervous uncertainty to resurface yet again.
"Yeah, todays Monday remember? That means that if we were sold sometime over
the weekend, we are officially bought today. That's why we're here so early,
that's why we actually get to be near some of the girls right now." He sees the
growing concern on Allen's face. "Oh, before I forget, Allen this is Miranda,
Miranda this is Allen. He's the one I was telling you about."
She finally looks at Allen, giving a faint smile despite how tired the dark
bags under her eyes betray that she is. "It's an honor to actually meet you
Allen. You've caused quite a stir for both the humans and the nekos. I'm sure
you're getting sick of hearing this, but you really are a rarity and that gives
us some hope, no matter how twisted that hope might be. You have our support
and our grief as well."
"How can I bring you hope, and what do you mean that it's twisted?"
She looks thoughtful for a moment. "I'll try to phrase this the best I can, but
I'm sure that you've already heard most of this, so please be patient." She
takes a deep breath. "You know that nekos have always been small in numbers,
right? Well that's partially because we don't have very many kittens. Like our
ancient feline ancestors, we tend to carry large litters, but normally only one
or two will survive the birthing process. This also limits how many kittens we
can have overall, so most couples only have two or three kittens maximum
survive to adulthood, which accounts for our smaller population growth.
"However, when nekos started to interact more with humans, there were a few
humans and nekos that fell in love and left to have lives together. But there
is a problem with this, no matter how hard they try, humans and nekos cannot
successfully have kittens together. A few have been able to start litters, but
either they all died before birth or they died within their first week of life
because they were to frail to survive. This is part of what led to the decline
of our numbers.
"I don't know if you know this Allen, but at the height of our numbers, we
numbered in the low hundreds of thousands, but now our numbers have decreased
into just a few hundred at best, and that's world wide. With our current
situation with the humans we are exposed to more things that impede
pregnancies, and have lower rates of couples being able to stay together
indefinitely like they should, which leads to few kittens. That's why you are
so important.
"Bearers have always existed, but never that many at once. What makes you
special Allen is not just that you are able to carry litters despite being
male, but that Bearers have a much higher rate of carrying a full litter to
term and having them all survive to adulthood. Also, you are able to have more
litters than most, which greatly helps our numbers.
"However, the humans have noticed this and have been trying to take advantage
of this, but there is one main flaw for them. Like humans, we mate for life,
and for Bearers, there is only one they will ever successfully mate with and
humans seem to think that it all has to do with genetics instead of what is
meant to be. This leads to problems for both the Bearer and the other neko
involved if the humans do not like that pairing for some reason or another
despite them being meant to be together.
Another part of the problem is that if we were still able to live outside of
the humans, it would be several years after the Bearer has matured that he and
his mate would produce kittens, but now as soon as they find a Bearer and he
reaches maturity, they immediately try to mate him to produce kittens as soon
as possible. As a result, the Bearers body is not fully matured enough to carry
that many litters so soon and more often than not, it becomes too much and
frequently the Bearer will die very young because of too much strain forced on
their still developing bodies in such a short amount of time.
"Part of the reason that they try to mate Bearers so quickly is that a Bearer
can only be born from another Bearer. That is part of the reason that their
numbers are so few, but most Bearers will never carry another Bearer, maybe one
if they are lucky, but never anymore. Humans want the Bearers to produce more
Bearers as fast as possible to help increase the neko population as a whole,
but more so to insure that there will be more Bearers for them to research on.
Something they can't do because of how many they 'accidently' killed, and
because of how few of you are left.
"I know that this is a lot to take in, but do you understand what I'm trying to
tell you?" Miranda's wide eyes search Allen hopefully, looking for any sign
that she is understood.
Allen wrinkles his brow in concentration as he tires to process what he has
just heard and how it is connected to what he has already heard. Try as he
might, he can't quite figure out what she is trying to tell him besides some
facts that he knew most of before. He looks up at her, trying to make his
apology visible in his eyes. "I'm sorry, but I really don't know what you're
trying to say."
Miranda looks panicked as she tries to think of how to rephrase everything, but
is saved by Alma jumping in. "What she's trying to say, is that female nekos
have a hard time being pregnant and so they don't have very many kittens. But
for them, having kittens is a natural occurrence so it doesn't put as much
strain on their bodies. However, for Bearers like you, you are more likely to
be able to be pregnant with a full litter and have them all survive, but since
you are a guy, it is more of an unnatural occurrence, and because of that there
is more strain on your body.
"The reason that humans are so interested in Bearers is because they are rare,
and because the more kittens a Bearer can birth, the less they have to worry
and enforce that neko couples have to be allowed to stay together to worry
about making more kittens. The problem is that they don't seem to understand
that by forcing you to have so many litters in rapid succession, they increase
the strain on your body to the point where it gives out, and in a worse case
scenario, it kills you.
"However, you at least, are safe for a little while longer. Since you haven't
had your first heat yet, they can't really do anything with you as far as
finding a mate for you, so your body will have more time to develop, which
means a higher survival rate for you. The problem comes when you actually do
have your first heat and they try to find your mate on their own and without
you being too involved in the process outside of a physical relationship. That
typically does not end well for any one concerned when that. When that happens,
then you can panic." He stops to take a deep breath. "Now, does that make more
sense?"
"Yes, actually it does." He looks back to Miranda. "How do you now all of
this?"
She gives him a small smile. "Oh that one's easy. I used to help watch a
younger Bearer kitten back when I was still a kitten myself."
She doesn't get to say anything else because the door has opened once again;
only this time the Millennium Earl enters the room. "Alright, my sweet little
kitties, you are the lucky few who managed to be bought over the weekend. Now,
you will each be escorted out of here and taken to your new owners who are
waiting for you." He surveys the room once again and notices how the nekos have
clustered themselves close to Allen, almost as if daring someone to try and
take him. "Now, stay right were you are, and wait for the Akuma to collect you.
Good luck, and try to behave for your new owners, little kitties." With that he
leaves the room with one last lingering look at Allen.
Lulubell is quick to make her way through the nekos and over to Allen. She
gently takes his arm, and pulls him away from Miranda and Alma. He tries to
turn back to say goodbye, but their Akuma escorts already surround them,
effectively hiding them from view. As he tries to get one last glimpse of his
new friends, he is whisked out the door and down through the twisting hallways.
In very little time they happen to arrive in a hallway that Allen actually
recognizes. The plush carpet is a dead give away as it leads them to the Earl's
office. Upon entering, Allen is surprised to find that there is already someone
sitting in the chair opposite the Earl's, the figures turns to face the new
arrivals when he hears the door open. He is dressed in business attire with a
simple pair of black pants and crisp white shirt, which blend nicely with his
slightly ashen skin tone and black hair. His hair is pulled back in a loose
ponytail, but a few strands have escaped to frame his face. But the most
surprising aspect of this man is his bright golden eyes, such a stark contrast
with Allen's silvery ones. He gives a soft smile to Allen, to try and reassure
him that everything will be alright.
The man stands and inclines his slightly, signaling the start of introductions.
"You must be the famed Allen Walker. I've heard that there are some pretty high
expectations on you right now, which is why you are going to be living with my
daughter and me for the time being." Seeing that Allen is starting to look
confused and scared, he tries to clarify. "My name is Sheryl Camelot, and as a
favor to my dear daughter Road's grandfather, the Millennium Earl, I shall be
taking you into my home and will care for you until more suitable arrangements
can be made."
He stares at Allen, waiting for a replay that never comes. Eventually he sighs,
"I'm not your master, Allen. And while I expect you to treat my daughter and me
as though we are your masters, we will be a little more forgiving for a lapse
in memory. This isn't meant to be a permanent situation, as soon as you've
matured you'll be either with another master or at the Breeding Program." He
can tell that Allen is still uneasy about all of this. "I'd take advantage of
this if I were you Allen. For the time being you are being guaranteed a home
and we'll do our best to take care of you. Whether or not you choose to accept
this offer isn't a factor. You will be coming with me, and that's that." His
tone is slightly annoyed by Allen's lack of response at this, but at the same
time he figures it must be nerves that are holding the neko's tongue.
Sheryl shifts uncomfortably for a moment before speaking again. "Now, all the
paperwork has already been filled out and turned in, so all that's left is some
final details." He reaches in his pocket and pulls out a bight red something.
"If you're going to be living with my Road, then we need to make you look a
little more presentable. Starting with this." He goes and removes Allen's black
collar, and replaces it with a thinner bright red one. He also carefully takes
out Allen's earing and replaces it with a slightly heavier one that intensely
heats up for a second before rapidly cooling off.
He steps back for a second, observing the small changes. "The collar is a
definite improvement, not as large and clunky as the only one, but then this
one doesn't have a tracking chip in it, the new earing has it instead. Now
before you even think of just taking the earing off and escaping, if you try to
remove it, it will superheat and will burn you. The only people who can remove
it are the ones that have their fingerprints programed in, otherwise that thing
does not come out. Understand?"
Allen slowly nods his head; his head still reeling from how restrictive this
will be on his already forming escape plans. He pauses his thoughts for a
moment to clarify one thing. "When do we leave?"
Sheryl gives a confident smile. "We'll be leaving now, but we won't be heading
to my home right away." Allen looks confused for a moment. "We'll be doing some
shopping first to find some more suitable clothes for you to wear. After all, I
can already tell that Road is just going to love playing dress up with you."
….
For Allen, leaving the Black Arc wasn't all that exciting. It consisted mainly
of following Sheryl through the maze of hallways, being ushered into the
backseat of a new BMW, and leaving for who knows where. He did have some hopes
of seeing where he is headed, but quickly discovered that windows he could see
out of were tinted both inside and out so he couldn't see anything. He also
discovered that he couldn't open either of the backdoors, thus ensuring that he
is stuck back there. This made the journey far less interesting as time seemed
to slow to a crawl without any interaction or change of scenery.
Arriving at the shopping center did bring about one surprise. When the door to
the back is opened for Allen to come out, Sheryl is not alone. Another man
stands by him staring intently at Allen. This man is rather tall and
proportionally broad, or at least much taller than Sheryl, but with the same
dark hair, bright golden eyes, and ashen skin tone. He wears a simple pair of
black jeans and a plain dark blue short-sleeved shirt.
"Allen, this is Skin Bolic. He will be your bodyguard for whenever you are out
in public. The two of you might not necessarily get along, but you'll just have
to live with the idea of working with each other. And just because you might
not be able to see him, doesn't mean that he's not there. Just remember that."
And with that Sheryl turns and heads into the shopping center.
It turns out that the shopping center is really more of an outdoor mall. There
are some large expanses of cloth to keep out some of the sun and provide some
relief from the heat as it radiates off of the ceramic tile floor. The mall is
divided into more expensive stores on one side and less expensive stores on the
other. For most of the mall, these two parts don't mix too much, a clear sign
of the division of social classes, but there are places like the food court,
restaurants, and the occasional sitting area that connects the two fairly
peacefully.
For the most part, shopping is very boring for Allen. He has a long leash
attached to his collar as soon as they enter the mall, making his cheeks redden
with embarrassment, and humiliating him to no end. He is also given an
oversized gray hoodie to wear and told to keep up the hood and cover his ears
as much as possible. While this does annoy him, he tries not to show it because
he doesn't want to cause a scene.
Throughout the morning he is led to many of the higher-class stores where at
each one he is measured and forced to try on pile after pile of various types
of clothes. He tries on so many that he soon loses count and starts to pray for
an end. Shopping is more work than he remembers, and he never thought that he'd
be so grateful to hear that Sheryl wants to stop to grab something to drink
before continuing the shopping spree.
He is thoroughly excited to head to the food court to feed his roaring stomach,
and is pleasantly surprised when Sheryl opts to eat in one of the more quiet
restaurants. However, he is a little disappointed when he sees Sheryl eating a
full meal consisting of a thick hamburger, salad, and large soft drink, when he
is left with a large glass of milk. He is grateful for something, but he is
still hungry, and Sheryl doesn't seem to notice him eyeing his full plate.
Eventually, Sheryl decides that he's had enough and heads out of the restaurant
and back to more shopping, much to Allen's chagrin. As they leave and travel
through the rest of the food court to get back to the main area of the mall,
Allen is still musing over his empty stomach. And during this musing Allen
catches a glimpse of something dark red out of the corner of his eye. He turns
to make a double take to make sure his eyes aren't deceiving him.
All he can see is the man's back, but the color is so close . . . he mentally
urges the man to turn, just to make sure that his mind isn't playing tricks on
him. A moment later, it's almost as if the man hears his mental pleading, as he
turns and looks vaguely in Allen's direction. The bright green eyes, and
knowing gaze confirm his identity.
"Lavi . . ." His voice is barely above a whisper, as if uttering the name will
somehow change what he is seeing. When nothing does change, he stops walking
and watches as Lavi looks confused, like he is missing something important, but
eventually turns and heads back towards the food court.
Allen stakes a tentative step towards Lavi's retreating figure, having a brief
mental struggle to accept that he is truly there, before breaking out at a full
out sprint towards his friend. He feels the moment that the leash is torn out
of Sheryl's hand, and when his hood flies back with his speed, but he doesn't
care about that, or the fact that Sheryl is calling after him. Allen starts
yelling Lavi's name at the retreating figure, desperate to get his attention.
Everything seems to move in slow motion as the redhead turns around just in
time to see Allen's smile fade away has he stumbles as an electric shock
attacks him from his collar, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the
ground. Lavi goes into autopilot and starts to make his way to Allen, a smile
bursting across his face at the sight of his found friend. But before he can
get too close, Skin appears from seemingly nowhere, and picks up Allen, slings
him over his shoulder, and heads back towards Sheryl.
Allen tries to resist as best he can, but his mind is still reeling from the
sudden shock, but he is coherent to look up and see Lavi still trying to make
his way to him, calling his name in return. A crowd has gathered to see the
spectacle, which is impeding him, but he is doing his best to get to him
despite all of the obstacles. Allen continues to cry out his name, reaching out
his hand as if he can close the distance and grab Lavi's hand. Tears are
spilling down his cheeks as his friend grows smaller and smaller in his line of
sight.
….
For Lavi, he is trying to do everything he can to resist the gathering crowd to
rescue his friend. He dodges and twisting around the suddenly crowded food
court, calling out to his formally missing friend. He can see Allen being
dragged further and further away, his hand reaching out for him, and the sight
breaks his heart.
He couldn't believe it when he thought he heard Allen's voice. It had been more
than a week since the young neko went missing, and they couldn't find any leads
as to his whereabouts. So for him to be here of all places would be hard to
believe. He turned to see if it was just his imagination or not, but he
couldn't see anything out of the ordinary besides some poor nekos being led
around on leashes. When he can't see anyone that resembles Allen, he turns back
to go find some lunch.
He starts to move when he hears it again, Allen's voice. Only this time it
sounds too real, to solid to be a figment of his imagination. He turns back one
last time to see something he never thought he'd see again: one of his best
friends running towards him, relief and desperation written across his
features. Those emotions are quickly replaced by surprise and pain as he slips
and falls to the ground. Lavi sees this and starts to run to his friend, for he
sees a large man making his way purposefully towards Allen, as if he is going
to catch him and separate them again. Lavi calls out Allen's name, trying to
reassure him that he is coming and will rescue him.
Lavi begins to struggle to catch up to Allen, a crowd has gathered having heard
their shouting and feeling obligated to come and see what the commotion is all
about. They don't seem to notice or care that they are in his way, nor do they
even try or care enough to get out of his way.
The man catches Allen and slings him over his shoulder like a misbehaving
child, not seeming to be bothered by the gathering crowd. He is imposing enough
that people quickly get out of his way and he is able to make faster progress
away from Lavi than Lavi can make moving towards him.
Even at their current distance, Lavi can see Allen's tears and wishes to be
able to nothing more than stop those tears and hold him close like he used to
do when Allen was still a tiny kitten. When Allen reaches his hand out for
Lavi, Lavi automatically does the same for Allen, even though the crowd is
becoming even thicker and the distance between them quickly becomes so great
that they can no longer see one another.
Once he finally makes it out of the food court, the crowds are fairly sparse,
seeing as most of the mall's customers migrated to see what all of the
commotion is about. He looks about searching for any sign of Allen or the man
that took him, but he can't find any clues. He takes off in a random direction
desperately keeping his eyes peeled for his friend.
A mall that would normally take him several hours to walk through, is
completely seen in nearly aspect in just over ten minutes. Despite all of his
efforts, he still can't find a single trace of Allen. It's almost like he
managed vanished into thin air.
Lavi stops and sighs for a moment, accepting the inevitable, and letting the
rush of emotions run their course. From the frustration of nearly having his
friend back, the grief of losing him all over again, and the uneasy nervousness
of how he's going to break the news of this discover to the others. Tears of
stress threaten to break through his emotional barriers, but he refuses to let
them show. He can allow himself to mourn the loss again, but no one will ever
know how badly beside himself.
….
Allen starts to cry more heavily and loudly when Lavi is finally out of sight.
His desperation and anguish at the situation becoming more and more evident.
People stop to stare and a mummer of rumors can be heard as people watch him be
taken away by Skin. Eventually he feels another shock from his collar, this one
is more centered on his vocal cords, and suddenly his voice is forced to leave
him. Despite this, he still cries silently as he is dragged further and further
away from his friend.
As soon as they exit the food court, Skin takes them down the most immediate
employee service hallway and makes his way to where Sheryl is waiting for them.
Even though he can't see his current caretaker, Allen can still feel the
negative emotions running off of him.
"I don't know what that was back there, and I don't care. You have embarrassed
not only yourself, but by association, the House of Noah as well! Don't think
that you will escape from this unscathed." He pauses for a second, trying to
relieve a bit of the anger in his voice. "I'll deal with you when we get home.
But for now, you are not to make sound or move that I don't approve of. If you
don't, your punishment will only increase."
And with that, Sheryl tries to make his face as blank as possible, despite his
brow still furrowing a bit in anger, he turns and sets off through the service
hallways towards the parking lot. Everyone present could already tell that it
is going to be a very long ride home.
***** A Temporary Home *****
Chapter 7
The car ride back really is long, both figuratively and literally. No words are
spoken, only the hum of the engine and the sounds of passing cars break the
silence. Allen can tell when they leave the city, the sounds of other traffic
dies down, and he can feel the car accelerate as the speed limit increases. The
hum of the motor is louder in the tense silence that envelops the vehicle.
Thoughts of what is to come swirl constantly and erratically through Allen's
mind. Sheryl mentioned some type of punishment, what will it be, and how bad
will it be? And what about this mysterious person named Road who supposedly
owns him now? What will become of him? Of Timothy? Will either of them ever be
free again, or are they just more victims to this relentless cycle?
So many questions whose answers are about to become clear as the car slows
down, and Allen assumes that they have reached their destination. Soon he can
see Sheryl and Skin exit the front of the car and one of them makes their way
over to open one of the doors to the back to let him out. What greets his eyes
is like nothing he could have ever imagined.
He knew just by Sheryl's appearance that he must be fairly successful, but he
didn't expect him to be quite this successful. A veritable mansion stands
before him, with a drive that extends back as far has he can see. The building
itself is made of what appears to be a light tan marble with large picture
windows, and various shrubs, bushes, and trees frame its four stories, making
it look quite picturesque.
Skin gently grabs his arm and starts dragging him towards the mansion. The
inside seems just as grand as the outside, but Allen has little time to take in
the details, as Skin doesn't stop in the entryway for Sheryl to deal with
Allen. Instead, he travels down one hallway off to the left and after about two
right turns later, stops in front of a set of double doors. Pausing for a
moment to knock, Skin shifts for a moment as if trying to straighten out his
clothes.
The door bursts open and a girl dressed in a common maid outfit steps out. She
takes one look at Allen before squealing and tackling him in a hug. Skin
releases his hold and instructs the maid, "Master Sheryl would like him clean
and presentable for when Mistress Road returns home. I'll leave him in your
capable hands. Just remember not to hurt him too much." And with that he turns
and leaves Allen alone with the maid still hanging off of his neck.
She is quick to grab his wrist and drag him through the doors, making sure to
lock them. The room they are now in is like a rather large sitting area like
space with a large comfortable looking couch, a few filled bookcases, and a
chair on one corner with a lamp for late night reading. It looks like somewhere
Allen wouldn't mind spending some time in, but the maid seems to have other
ideas as she leads him down a smaller hallway that divides the room, and stops
between two doors.
She leads him through the door on the right, which turns out to be a rather
large bathroom. Inside are five maids who stop their respective jobs to turn to
see who the new comer is. When they lay eyes on Allen more squealing ensues and
this time they bury him as they all come to hug and play with him at the same
time. Soon he can't even be fully distinguished as a single entity as they
start to fawn over him and play with his ears and tail.
Eventually they manage to strip him of all clothes without his noticing, and
move their fangirling mass over to the large in floor tub. There they carefully
ease him in and while three of them are still fawning, the other two retreat
into a large walk-in closet that occupies a corner of the bathroom. There they
sift through all of the soap, shampoo, etc. until they find just what they are
looking for.
When they return they waste no time diving back into the fray of cleaning
Allen. Allen tries to voice his complaints and tries to request that they
please back off and give him some space, that that there are some things he can
do on his own, like clean himself! But not matter what he says or does; they
don't give him a single chance to wiggle out of their grasps.
Somehow with all of the cuddling and cooing, Allen manages to find himself
completely dry and wearing a new set of clothes as the maids have him cornered
and pinned down in a chair near a vanity. Though how and when he arrived there
is still a mystery. His back is to the mirror as two of the maids are busy
playing with his hair and ears while another is attempting to brush out his
tail, and the others are attempting to trim his almost short claw length finger
and toe nails.
Just the thought of what they are doing to him, let alone all of the touching
of all of these women, is enough to put him on edge. And while he does
appreciate some more cheerful company than the cloud of doom that is currently
Sheryl, this is a bit extreme, even for him. Between not wanting people
touching his ears and tail, and having so many women trying to cuddle him, he
is more than ready to bolt out of the room, even if he does have to face
Sheryl's wrath for it.
As he starts to put the final touches on his escape plan and get into position,
he notices someone putting a pair of socks followed by a pair of sneakers on
his feet. While this wasn't in his plan, especially since he really hates
anything covering his feet if he can help it, he does decide that the extra
traction could be of some use.
He tenses, trying to reposition himself for a better launch angle and distance
when the door flies open. A teenage girl is standing there looking like
Christmas has come in July. Her bright golden eyes lighting up when they see
Allen, her cheeks taking on a extra shade of pink under her ashen skin tone,
and her bright blue hair even seems to bounce happily as she races to him.
She doesn't say a word as she runs up to him. The maids quickly back off and
bow their heads in respect. The girl stops and looks over Allen carefully for a
moment before she carefully picks him up and hugs him close. Her cool breath
tingles across his neck as she breaths out, "You're mine, Allen Walker. My new
doll."
To say that the girl's words spook Allen would be an understatement. He wants
to say something back about how he can't be owned by anyone, but there is
something in her icy smile that promises excruciating pain for any disobedience
or contradiction. That is something that he desperately wishes to avoid,
especially if since he doesn't plan on staying there very long.
He feels himself freeze in place despite her taking his wrist and dragging him
through the mansion. She babbles on about 'all the fun they are going to have'
and how happy she is to have him, but Allen doesn't pay her too much attention.
He is too busy trying to not freak out after her underlying threat, and is
trying to see if there is anyway at all that he can escape the nightmare he
sees heading his way.
….
After his first day at the mansion, life becomes fairly routine for Allen. He
wakes up early so that Road can play with him before she heads off to school,
then he goes and spends the rest of his day in his small section of rooms and
throughout the day someone will leave a meal or snack for him. When Road gets
home from school, he is let out of his room and is required to spend as much
time with her as she wants, and since she can't seem to get enough of him, they
spend quite a bit of time together. After Road is sent off to bed, Allen is
returned to his rooms, and after a quick bath, he too is off to bed to do the
same thing again the next day.
Though his days do seem to be monotonous, there are always a few things to make
life more interesting. For instance, every two to three weeks Lulubell comes by
to see how Allen is doing and if he's matured yet or not. She does a physical
with each visit, just to make sure that Allen's being properly taken care of
and healthy. She does give him some news as to whether or not the Earl has
found a new home for him or not, and how the Breeding Program is searching for
his possible mate for after he has matured. So far there has been no success
with either cause, but she still tells him, all the same, as though she is
trying to give him something to look forward to.
The only other times when things aren't monotonous is when Road's uncle comes
to visit. Her uncle, Tyki Mikk, is an unusual person to say the least, he
travels frequently and always comes back telling her all sorts of tales of his
adventures, as well as a souvenir or two for her amusement. He occasionally
brings stuff back for Allen as well, figuring that he might want to partake in
the occasion as well. However, for Allen, the best part about Tyki coming to
visit is not the stuff he brings with him, but the fact that he usually stays
for several days and always makes sure to let Allen outside or explore the
mansion, anything to make sure that he doesn't have to stay in his room all day
while Road is away.
For Allen, Tyki is really the only person he can count as a friend, in his
current situation. Sheryl is simply the one who's house Allen is staying in,
and a person to be avoided if at all possible. Skin is Allen's bodyguard for
whenever he is outside or wanders too close to a door leading outside when he
is alone. Then there is Road. Road is unique in that she treats Allen nicely
most of the time, but when she gets mad, Allen's mental stability becomes even
more unstable, and she has on rare occasion, become violent, but those
occasions have all been reprimanded by Lulubell, seeing as Allen is so special
and all.
But Tyki is different. He treats Allen, not as a pet or dumb animal, but as
someone who has thoughts and feelings and just happens to live with his bother
and niece. He inadvertently gives Allen something that he's been longing for
since being kidnapped, a sense of being an equal. Not a neko or a Bearer, but a
person. And while Allen enjoys this feeling, it only comes around when Tyki
lets it be, never before.
This cycle of monotony mixed with a bit of adventure is steady for the next
five months. However, all good things eventually meet an end.
….
As usual Allen wakes up early to be ready for Road, still a bit tired from the
day before when she had them go hunting for lightning bugs the night before.
She had them stay out extra late, just so that she could hold one and collect
enough in a jar for her to watch all night after she was supposed to have gone
to bed. He had fun at first, but eventually he had gotten tired, wanting to
just go inside and sleep, but he had to stay out as long as Road did, simply
because she wanted him too.
He sighs as he thinks about everything he'll have to do for her today, and
figures that he would much rather stay in bed all day if he could. He feels a
little off, sort of like he's coming down with a cold or something, but nothing
too bad. He tries to shake it off by standing and stretching a bit, but he
finds that that type of actions lead to him feeling nauseous, so he quickly
lays back down.
After a few minutes he can feel a fever coming on, and knows that today is
going to be a stay in bed type of day. He knows that Road will come looking for
him if he doesn't find her soon, but with the way he's feeling, he decides to
risk it and stay in bed. He hopes that she'll go easy on him since he's sick,
but he isn't going to hold out on that notion.
Sure enough, not five minutes later, Road can be heard making her way through
the first door into Allen's rooms. She calls his name in a teasing manner, as
though he's purposefully hiding from her for a type of game. When she doesn't
get a response, she makes her way into Allen's room, not bothering to knock
first.
When she finds Allen still in bed, she tries to be very quiet before pouncing
on him, giggling the whole time. "I found you. Come on lazy bones; let's go get
some breakfast before I have to leave. If we have some time, I want to play
with your hair too. I think it would look cute pinned back a bit." When Allen
doesn't respond she throws off his covers and grabs his wrist. "Whoa, you're
really hot. Are you sick or something?" She feels his cheeks and forehead for a
moment. "I'll go get Daddy, he'll know what to do."
Once she leaves the room, Allen can't help but feel some relief. His fever has
escalated in the last few minutes and his limbs are starting to feel like lead
when he tries to move them. All he wants is some peace and quiet, and probably
some sleep too.
To him, it feels like only mere moments before he hears Road and Sheryl rushing
back into his room. Road is asking if he'll be alright, and about what's wrong
with him. Sheryl is trying to reassure her that he's sure that everything is
alright, just a minor bug or something that she shouldn't worry about. When
they enter his room, Allen doesn't even bother to open his eyes to see if they
are alone, it's too much effort.
He hears someone kneel on the floor, probably Sheryl, guessing by the sound of
rustling suit jacket material. That person puts a hand on Allen's forehead for
a moment before taking one of his wrists and feeling for a change in pulse.
Next, he gently pulls back one of Allen's eyelids, exposing the dilated pupils,
the darkening gray, and unfocused gaze. Allen can practically hear Sheryl's
brow furrow for a moment.
He stands up again before speaking to Road, but making sure that Allen can hear
too. "It looks like he's sick today, honey. I'm going to go call Doctor
Lulubell just to make sure that it's nothing serious. Now come on, breakfast is
waiting and you still have to go to school today."
"But can't I stay home to take care of Allen?" Allen can practically see and
feel the kicked puppy face she is giving Sheryl. It's a face that Allen knows
that he can never hope to stand up to, but he hopes that Sheryl has had
practice becoming immune to it.
"I'm sorry, honey, but school comes before pets. Now let's get going. Who
knows, after Doctor Lulubell visits, he might be just fine when you get home
later today. How does that sound?"
"Ok, but he better be better when I get home."
Sheryl laughs as they leave. "We'll see, Road, we'll see."
….
The morning progresses slowly for Allen. After Road leaves for school and
Sheryl for work, he really doesn't feel like moving and his fever just keeps
getting worse. He's already left the covers pulled back and has purposefully
removed all of his clothes and thrown them to unknown areas of the room except
his boxers, but it doesn't seem to help. He rolls onto his stomach, attempting
to burry his head under the cool side of the pillow.
He lies there, panting softly with the heat and wishing for the sleep that
seems to elude him. Lulubell still hasn't come, so he knows that at least for a
little while, he won't be able to have any relief via any sort of medication.
But that does give him some encouragement to wait it out until she comes, if
only so that he can feel better later.
He is only slightly surprised when he hears his door open, but is surprised
when it's not Lulubell's voice that fills the room. "Shouen, I heard you got
left alone again. Well don't worry; I'm here to make sure you get out and about
for the day." He comes over and gently nudges Allen. "You feeling ok? Wow,
you're really hot." He too checks Allen's cheeks and forehead; only he leans
closer in case Allen has anything to say. When he doesn't he clears his throat.
"No offence, but you're kind of panting like a bitch in heat right now. Need me
to get you some water, or something, anything else?"
When he doesn't get a response, he gently shakes Allen, trying to get a
response. When Allen finally opens his eyes. "There you are, sleeping it off
today? I don't blame you, you look like a mess. Besides, did Road douse you
with some type of perfume before she left today? You kind of smell funny, not
bad, just off. Now, since no one else is here, I'm going to try my best to take
care of you."
With that he leaves Allen for a moment before returning with a glass of water
for the ailing neko. He sits on Allen's bed and gently picks up Allen and
slides him into his lap, holding his head up and raising the glass to his lips,
encouraging him to drink. After the neko has drunk his fill, Tyki sets the
glass on the nightstand and continues to hold Allen.
After a few minutes, Tyki's body heat becomes too much for Allen, while feeling
him holding him makes his skin dance with delight despite the heat, the heat
itself is screaming to be released and to find something to cool him off. He
wiggles a bit, trying to give Tyki and obvious hint to what he wants, but the
Portuguese man refuses to let go.
Allen looks up at him, a little surprised when Tyki is already looking directly
at him, but is surprised even more by Tyki's eyes. His eyes have dilated
slightly and they have very strong lustful gaze boring down on Allen. "Tyki,
you can let me go now. It's kind of hot for cuddling, don't you think?" When
Tyki does nothing but continue to stare at him, Allen tries again. "Tyki let go
of me. Please. Let go of me now!"
Tyki's eyes flutter for a second, but he surprises Allen even more when he
slowly lowers his head to capture Allen's lips in his own. Allen stops for a
second not knowing what to do, and not being in a very good position to pull
away as one of Tyki's hands is holding his head in place. Tyki tries to deepen
the kiss by rubbing his tongue against Allen's closed lips, asking for
entrance. When Allen denies him, he backs off slightly before smashing their
mouths together, causing Allen to gasp in surprise, and at the same time,
giving Tyki the access he desires.
He takes his time allowing his tongue to swirl around Allen's and to feel every
crevice and detail that the neko's mouth has to offer, from the strangely
textured tongue to the small fangs. He pulls back slightly, breaking for a
moment of air before diving back into the younger's mouth. With Allen still not
responding, he tries nipping at his lips and engaging his tongue for a battle
of dominance, but the younger refuses to budge or join in the games.
As he tries even more to entice Allen into playing as well, he slowly and
carefully slips one of his hands up to play with one of Allen's exposed
nipples. The younger involuntarily gasps at the trails left by Tyki's hands,
feeling them burn and freeze at the same time. He wants more of those feelings;
they help distract him from the heat.
Tyki notices his reaction and takes advantage of this by making a point to use
his fingers that are not currently occupied with playing with the younger's
nipple to trace random patterns and designs on the surrounding skin. He
continues with this even after he has switched to the other nipple, leaving the
first one pert and hard. He makes a mental note that the flushed pink of the
nipple and the blush on Allen's cheeks match perfectly.
Too soon for his liking both nipples no longer need the attention of his
fingers, so he trails them lower, still tracing the random patterns and
designs. He mouth lower at the same time, taking his time to find a sensitive
spot on Allen's collarbone. He sucks, licks, and gently bites the spot until it
signs a deep red and will surely leave a mark for days to come. He gives the
spot a few more gentle kisses and licks before continuing further south.
Allen's mind is in a fog as Tyki continues his ministrations. Confused and
conflicted about what is happening. All he can really understand is that Tyki
is distracting him from the heat, even if it is in a somewhat unconventional
way. He almost wants to beg Tyki for more, but when he opens his mouth, he
feels Tyki's hands move below the elastic for his boxers.
That one motion snaps everything into perspective for Allen. He doesn't want
this. He doesn't want the heat either, but he definitely can't let Tyki do
anything else. He pulls together what little strength he has and tries once
again to push Tyki away. He tries calling Tyki's name, trying to push at his
chest to release him, even trying pulling his hair to move his head back, but
Allen just doesn't have the strength for Tyki to notice his resistance.
His attempts become even more desperate as he feels Tyki's hand run over his
member. Even more pleasurable sensations join his adrenalin rush and he can
feel his cheeks burn with embarrassment. When the hand takes a firmer hold and
starts gently stroking him, trying to coax him to the point of release, he
can't stop the moan that escapes his mouth.
The older seems to take this as encouragement and soon two hands are working
the neko's member, bringing it to full erectness, much to the distain of its
owner. It becomes nearly impossible for Allen to stop the moans and mewls of
pleasure that try desperately to be heard. He is still trying to get away form
Tyki, but what little strength he had before is leaving and his attempts are
becoming weaker and weaker. Tears of frustration start to fall, but he does
nothing to stop them.
Suddenly, Tyki stands and flips Allen over so that he is on his stomach once
again. The neko looks at the older and almost wishes he hadn't. Tyki is busy
removing his own pants and boxers, freeing his full erection from its confines.
He gives a small smile of relief as the cool air embraces his need, but his
quick to go back to his earlier mission, Allen.
Allen watches him come closer again and in his last burst of strength he can
muster, rolls himself off the bed just as Tyki makes to grab him. He lands on
the floor with a thud and his shoulder protests as it takes the brunt of the
impact. Allen pays it no mind as he attempts to crawl his way to the door.
He can't even pull himself onto his knees before Tyki crosses the room to lock
the door and returns to grab him from behind. Instead of moving Allen back onto
the bed, Tyki pushes him back to the floor, taking care to whisk Allen's boxers
off in the process. His mouth latches on to the back of Allen's neck as one of
his hands begins to probe around Allen's entrance.
The tears flow freely from Allen as his fear starts to take a more solid hold
on the situation. He really doesn't want this, but without any strength to
move, he can't so anything to stop him. He can feel when a finger is shoved
roughly into his behind and he doesn't even try to hide his pain, hoping
against hope that his cry will pull Tyki back into reality.
His wishes remain unfulfilled as two more fingers are roughly inserted at once.
His cries swiftly become yells and shouts of pain and distress, but still the
older pays them no mind. The fingers move, stretching him in ways he didn't
think possible, and the pain that accompanies it surpasses any other feelings.
Allen gives a silent sigh of relief when the fingers suddenly disappear, but
his shouts return with a vengeance with something much larger is forced inside
of him. Tyki's member is far more painful than the fingers were, and he doesn't
allow for Allen to adjust before thrusting with vigor.
The young neko feels like he is being split apart from the inside out. The pain
travels down his spin causing his entire back to feel every single movement of
Tyki's, and every amount of pain increases tenfold. As Tyki's thrusting
increases in speed, the pain inside of Allen makes his entire being throb,
leaving no room for thoughts of escaping.
He cries and shouts for Tyki to stop, but nothing can seem to break his trance
like state, even in the slightest. Allen begins to lose hope of coming out of
this alive when something he believed impossible happens.
The door bursts open and a very frustrated looking Lulubell appears before his
eyes. Fury quickly flares in her eyes; only the fury is directed at Tyki, not
Allen. She wastes no time in grabbing Tyki from behind, forcing him to retreat
from inside Allen just as he climaxes within him. She drags him out of the
room, not even bothering with his nakedness, and while he is still in his state
of euphoria and locks him inside of Allen's bathroom.
She wastes no time in returning to Allen only to see the neko barely conscious
on the floor, some of Tyki's essense leaking out of him. She makes a move to
touch him and assess the damage when something catches her eye two thin red
lines are staring to make an appearance around Allen's left eye. One runs
vertically from just above his eyebrow down on his eyelid to just under his eye
before becoming briefly horizontal and then continuing on down his cheek to his
jaw. The second line is much smaller and simply intersects the first line
horizontally, halfway between his eye and where the first line becomes
horizontal.
When she realizes what has happened, she grabs one of Allen's blankets and
begins to wrap the neko up in them despite his weak protests of being touched.
When he is sufficiently covered, she carefully picks him up and begins carrying
him out of his rooms.
Allen really doesn't want to be touched, he feels so dirty and the pain is just
too much. As they pass his bathroom, he can hear Tyki pounding on the door,
demanding to be released. Allen cowers further into his blanket, hoping that it
will somehow hide him from the person he once thought was his friend. He just
wants this torment and pain to end.
Lulubell makes her way as quickly as she can back to the vehicle she has parked
outside. When she exits the house with Allen, Skin appears next to her, and
without even asking, Lulubell gives him the basics of what just transpired, and
where to find Tyki. The only thing she requests of skin is that he not release
Tyki until she and Allen are both completely off the property. Skin nods his
response before turning and heading back towards the house to keep and eye on
Tyki.
When she reaches her car, she struggles for a moment to grab the handle to the
backseat, but manages to do so without jostling Allen too much. Once the door
is open, she takes care in laying Allen on the backseat. He groans a bit in
pain when she finally releases him, but she knows she doesn't have time to
worry about that now. She opens the front passenger door and digs through her
emergency bag that she brings with her whenever she leaves the ground for the
Breeding Program. It takes her only a few seconds to find what she is looking
for.
Going back to Allen, she uncaps the syringe and after removing all air bubbles,
she quickly inserts the needle in Allen's arm. The neko doesn't seem to notice
as his other pains overwhelm that of a simple needle prick. Once all of the
liquid has been distributed, Lulubell wastes no time in climbing into the
drivers seat, and after taking a quick peak back to see that the drugs have
already taken effect and Allen is already asleep, she puts the car in drive and
races off of the property.
….
Nearly an hour and one very important phone call later, Lulubell pulls into the
emergency garage for the Black Ark. The second she steps out of the car she
sees four figures running towards her. One is the Earl himself, next to him is
the neko doctor that's been there for quite a while and his following Akuma,
and last is one of the human doctors that the Ark keeps on hand just incase
anything were to happen to any of its precious merchandise.
She pulls Allen out of the backseat of her car by the time the others get
there. After yet another reiteration of what transpired, this time with more
details, the group rush inside to do what they can for Allen.
….
Elsewhere, Timcanpy starts to behave erratically, flying around frantically and
in no particular pattern, with no intended destination. Out of everyone
present, the only person to take notice is a very tired looking Chinese man
with a white beret. He sets down his pink coffee mug and after several attempts
to catch the golem, finally manages to do so.
"What's gotten you so riled up Tim? Did you short circuit or something?" The
golem beats its wings against the man's black hair, trying to get him to
understand. "Settle down, settle down. There's nothing to be worried abou – "
The man's eyes widen in shock and dread. "Tim did it finally happen? Did little
Allen have his first heat?"
The golem calms down when the man says those words and in its own way, it nods
its head.
***** Connecting the Past *****
Chapter 8
Allen opens his eyes to a familiar, but yet, not familiar room. The blank white
walls, constant beeping of a heart monitor, the thin blankets over his equally
thin excuse for a garment immediately alerts him to a general idea about his
present whereabouts. A hospital room, or at least some type of in-patient room
at a clinic. He feels like he's been spending a bit too much time in this type
of room as of late.
His head feels heavy as some type of anesthetic wears off, leaving him feeling
wide awake and completely aware of his surroundings, but unable to move about
freely on his own. He is aware of the IV needle taped to his hand, multiple
small and larger bandages covering much of his small frame, even one wrapped
around his head that's just a little too tight for comfort. And though
presently, the worst physical pain is that his head may feel heavy, but his
entire being feels filthy inside and out. Despite everything surrounding him,
all he can feel is Tyki, still inside of him, still pounding into him
relentlessly.
Allen lays on the uncomfortable bed, shaking as memories of what occurred
assault his mind as if they are happening again, right at that very moment. He
slams his eyes shut, hoping that the rush of images and emotions will disappear
along with his physical view of reality.
He's too busy trying to block out his memories, that he doesn't hear the door
open and when that person tries to speak to him, he can't hear them. The only
reason that he is aware that there is another person in the room, is that that
person gently reaches out and shakes his shoulder, attempting to get him to
stop panicking.
Allen lets out a scream when the person makes contact with him. His mind is
convincing him that Tyki is back for another round, no matter what Allen says
or does. Allen lashes out, eyes still shut, and mind still consumed in the
past, making his movements uncoordinated and indirect. A pair of hands tries to
hold his arms down, but Allen will have none of that. He starts to try to kick
at whoever it is, his mind hoping that maybe he can delay Tyki for just a
little longer.
The figure releases a sigh before calling for assistance, and before too long,
another person enters the room of the still struggling Allen. One holds him as
still as they can while the other reluctantly secures Allen's hands and feet to
the bed, greatly limiting his mobility and his ability to lash out. They
observe him for a moment as he struggles against the bindings, and one of the
figures steps forwards and lowers themeslf down by his head. The figure takes a
deep, reluctant breath before shouting "Allen!" into the young neko's sensitive
ears.
His eyes snap open and fear is the most prevalent emotion that is displayed.
His unfocused eyes try to scan the room for the source of the shout, but his
mind is too locked in the past for him to register anything that is happening
at the current time and place.
One of the figures quickly exits the room only to return in under a minute, a
capped needle in their hand. The figure uncaps the needle, the top flying off
to some corner of the room, and after squeezing out the air bubbles, they
expertly inject the substance into Allen's right arm.
It takes a couple of minutes, but eventually the young neko stats to calm down.
The tension starts to leave his body, his tail smooths down to its original
state, and his eyes start to become clearer, more present and understanding,
but there is still an underlying blankness in them.
"Allen." Lulubell's voice is soft, but still demanding of what little of
Allen's attention she can gain. "Allen, you don't have to be afraid anymore.
Both Tyki and the heat are gone. No ones going to hurt you. You must understand
this." When she doesn't get a response, she tries another strategy. "Allen, do
you know where you are, or what day it is?"
The small neko slowly turns his head in her direction, his eyes and expression
still completely blank. He stares in her direction and just as slowly, shakes
his head.
Lulubell internally sighs. She knew that Allen would deeply affected by what
happened, but for this shell to be all that's left is not quite what she was
expecting or hoping for. She knows that for a Breeder to be forcibly mated with
someone whose not their intended mate can leave some mental trauma, but nothing
to this great of an extent has even been seen before. She knows she needs to
find someway to regain the old Allen as much as possible, or else his use for
the Program could be in jeopardy, as well as her position.
"Allen, you are in the main medical facility of the Black Ark. Your injuries
were unknown and needed to be taken care of right away. I brought you here so
that you could receive the needed attention as soon as possible. And while it
seems that most of your bodily injuries were minor, we did have to knock you
out for a bit." When the flicker of a questioning look passes through Allen's
otherwise lifeless eyes, Lulubell continues. "You were already partially
unconscious by your own subconscious doing, but in that state you weren't
letting us help you, and in fact while trying to stop us, you just ended up
hurting yourself worse."
She gently taps Allen's head. "That's why we had to knock you out." She pauses
for a second, trying to figure out the best way to tell him the next bit.
"We've been forced to keep you under sedation for nearly a month. At first it
was just because every time you were even slightly awake, you would attack
anyone close to you, or start unintentionally harming yourself, mumbling about
how you can still feel him inside of you, how you want to escape, and that you
wish that you weren't in such pain. Every single one of those times we had to
restrain you and put you back under so that the new wounds you would inflict
could heal.
"Somehow in all of that you ended up hurting yourself enough that you developed
an infection that needed our immediate attention. It only lasted for a few
days, but enough to give us quite a scare. If it had grown anymore with out us
knowing, it might have been carried even further in your blood stream and the
litter might have been miscarried, which at that point, could have put more
strain on your body than it could have handled at that point."
She stops as Allen's eyes, still lifeless in gaze, widen a fraction, betraying
his surprise at something she said. "W – wha – what – l – li - litt - litter?"
Lulubell gives him a small sad smile. "It seems that since your first heat was
so strong, it forced you to release massive amounts of pheromones, not just
enough to effect a human, but enough to force them to loose all coherent
logical thoughts, and in effect, drive them to mate with you. That's why Tyki
attacked you, it's nothing you did, but something that you couldn't help and is
perfectly normal for you. It's not yours or Tyki's fault that this happened. It
was just a natural biological response to the pheromones." Allen eyes betray
the distress that is building with each mention of Tyki, and the annoyance that
Lulubell still hasn't answered his question. "Basically Allen, because of all
of this, you seem to be carrying a rather larger litter."
She looks at his confused, disbelieving look. So many emotions are flickering
through his otherwise lifeless demeanor, each one more confused, resentful, and
angry than the last. She watches him for a minute and can tell that no matter
what she says, he'll be going to pieces soon as he tries to process this new
information, so she had better finish what she is saying a quickly as possible.
"I'm sorry Allen, you're now carrying Tyki's litter. But because he's a human,
they won't be able to survive. If they are lucky, they might survive to be
born, but not much past then so you should prepare yourself for the inevitable.
Also, because we already know that they won't live we would normally just give
your owner the option to have you receive an abortion and have you begin the
recovery process as soon as possible so that you can carry a new neko litter
sooner, but seeing as you don't officially have an owner outside of the
Millennium Earl, and because we need you as healthy as you can be, seeing as
how you are a Bearer, you will be carrying them until either your own body
chooses to abort them, or they are ready to be birthed, live or not. This way
anything and everything that happens is natural and the amount of damage
inflicted on your body is limited."
She can tell that she's starting to lose Allen to the mentions of Tyki and the
revelation of the doomed kittens. His eyes are glazing over again; tears are
slowly trailing down his face despite the lack of other visible emotion. He
starts to subtly shake again, the swirling mass of emotions demanding a
physical response that he doesn't want to show, his tail starts to curl close
to him as his ears go flat against his head, trying desperately to block out
her words.
Lulubell resigns herself to being shut out for the time being and heads for the
door. She nods at Reever as she leaves, signaling that it's up to him to try to
calm Allen down and make him comfortable until she returns. He returns the nod
as she shuts the door behind her, locking it before she continues down through
the halls.
Reever looks around for a moment, trying to figure out what he can do for his
friend in his current state. Eventually he just grabs one of the spinning
chairs in the room and scoots it over to Allen's bed. He sits backwards on it,
staring at the younger neko for a few moments, knowing that this young one has
experienced something that no one should ever have to. He reaches and gently
holds the younger's hand, trying to have that contact radiate as many positive
emotions and as much support as he can, for the younger deserves something
positive despite all that has happened.
At first, Allen tries to pull away from the touch, more tears streaming down
his face showing his discomfort, his tail twitching angrily even fluffing up
slightly. After a few minutes of Reever not letting go, but not moving his hand
either, Allen begins to stop trying to pull away from him. He doesn't try to
touch or grab Reever's hand, but he doesn't reject it anymore. He simply lets
it be there as long as the hand doesn't do anything.
They just stay like that for a while, letting Allen cry his fill, letting the
horrors of the recent past flow away with each tear and ease away as much as
they will for now. When Allen has calmed down enough to understand most of his
surroundings again, Reever starts to talk to him, not about anything important,
just the everyday things that happen at the Black Ark, things both familiar and
foreign to Allen, anything that might help him reconnect with the present.
He tells Allen how after his group was sold, Miranda was back within the week
because the person who had bought her made her more nervous than normal and
ended up giving her a panic attack. This made the woman return her instead of
worrying if her belongings would be accidently broken or if her new pet would
be paranoid enough to try to commit suicide, a waste of money in her eyes.
Reever also tells Allen of what became of Alma after they parted ways.
Apparently man who had bought him was hoping to start his own type of selective
breeding program and thought that Alma would be a good first candidate for it.
When Alma caught wind of this, he and the man had a bit of a fight and while
the man was tending to his bleeding face, Alma managed to somehow escape from
this house, make it past his other security measures and hasn't been heard from
since. They only way anyone at the Black Ark even knows about this is that
anyone who had had contact with him the previous week was interrogated. After a
week of no new information, he was labeled as missing property of the Ark and
no one has been able to present any real leads to his whereabouts.
By now Allen has significantly calmed down, despite still being extremely
tense. Reever gives a small smile at this. He goes on to tell Allen about what
has become of Timothy. The kitten has remained with the other kittens at the
Black Ark doing whatever is required of him to stay out of trouble with the
Akuma, but that doesn't stop him from causing havoc for the other nekos he
stays with. He has been keeping up with his new studies, trying his best to
remember all the basics of spelling and mathematics, despite how much trouble
they seem to be for him. Otherwise he had is sixth birthday, right after Allen
left to stay with the Noahs, and is still a growing kitten that is desperate
for attention.
By this point Allen has fallen into an uneasy sleep, but still manages a small
quirk of a smile after hearing that the kitten is alright. Seeing the quick
smile is all Reever needs to know that eventually, and it still won't be for a
long time, but eventually Allen will be alright again, despite everything
that's happened to him.
….
Allen stays confined to the same room for the next two weeks, between a few
more meltdowns and a small flu, it was better for everyone concerned that he
stay in one place. During that time, Allen starts to gain back some of his
former privileges and freedoms. First it starts with no long having to be
restrained and having the ability to walk freely around the room, and
eventually he is even allowed to stay in his old room during the majority of
the day. He doesn't have any companions in either room besides seeing either
Lulubell or Reever while in the clinic room, other than that, he remains alone
with his thoughts.
Allen slowly starts to get used to being around the other two and being able to
stay in his own room, and away from the clinic lets some familiarity away from
the Noahs come back to him, helping to ease a little of his tension. However at
the end of those two weeks, Lulubell decides that Allen is stable enough to
start interacting with some of the other nekos again. Allen is still scared,
but a little excited to be seeing others of his own kind again.
Only this time, Lulubell is taking no chances and instead of having him rejoin
the male group where she feels that Allen will be more uncomfortable or
ostracized for his being a Bearer, and at the very worst, attack him for
carrying the doomed kittens of a human. Instead she is having him stay with the
females and kittens. She figures that the atmosphere will be better for him,
many of the females will be able to empathize with him and be able to
understand his circumstances better, besides, maybe spending some time with the
kittens will help him to be more optimistic about having some in the future.
The morning that he is supposed to start joining the women and kittens, Allen
is a little surprised when he wakes to a knocking at his door, and is even more
surprised to find an Akuma there. The Akuma quickly ushers him out of the room
and starts heading off in a direction that Allen is sure he's never been taken
before.
After a few minutes of walking through the seemingly endless hallways that seem
even more unfamiliar that usual, the Akuma stops in front of a pair of rather
plain doors. It swipes a card and one of the doors opens just a crack. The
Akuma gestures for Allen to enter, and once he hesitantly has, it shuts the
door, locking it as it heads off to another part of the Black Ark.
Allen finds himself in a room that is nearly identical to what he is used to
with the male nekos, but he is a bit confused when he finds the room to be
occupied by female nekos and kittens. They all stop what they are doing to look
at him for a moment, confusion, then understanding crossing the faces of the
females. They had been told that the Bearer would be staying with them for a
while. Seeing the Mark on his face tells them everything they need to know, the
Bearer has finally had his first heat, and in order to protect him if it
suddenly flares up, which is not unheard of, he is to stay away from the males
who might be affected by the heat.
They go back to whatever they were doing before, trying not to stare, but
finding themselves sneaking glances to the awkward teenager by the door. The
kittens are a little less subtle about their curiosity, the seven of them
rushing up to him, squealing in delight at the sight of the strange newcomer.
Out of all of them, Timothy is the most surprised and excited to see his old
friend again. He pushes through the others pulling Allen's legs in as tight of
a hug as he can muster. He doesn't notice the older freeze with the contact, or
feel when Allen backs into the door, fear and panic flooding the older's
senses.
Taking the cue from Timothy, the other kittens start to try to grab and pull
him, trying to convince him to play with them. When he doesn't respond they
just get louder, pulling harder and harder, making tears of pain and panic
stream down his face, as he remains frozen in place.
Lucky for Allen, Miranda happens to be in the room, and after seeing Allen's
response, comes to his aid. She announces to the kittens that the snacks are
ready and they rush off to find their food, leaving Allen alone with Miranda
and Timothy.
The female carefully takes his hand and guides him over to a chair at an empty
table. Allen sits, unmoving with slower tears still managing to escape. Miranda
watches him for a moment and after she realizes that she wont' be getting a
response out of him anytime soon, she leads Timothy back to the others, telling
him to give Allen some time to get used to being with them again.
However, despite the best efforts of Miranda and Timothy, nothing changes for
Allen. His only emotions being brief expressions of his eyes and the occasional
tears when the stress becomes too much. Everyday he comes into the room and
sits at the same table, never moving, never talking with anyone. The kittens
have long since given up trying to get him to respond and have moved onto more
exciting things. Miranda and Timothy will sit with Allen for part of the day,
either just to be near him, or to talk to him about their day or things that
they've heard are happening other places outside of the Black Ark.
He does seem to relax in the slightest when they talk to him, but he never
really responds unless it is the slight shaking or nodding of his head. Timothy
even managed to untie the ribbon that Allen had given him and knotted it onto
the wrist of the older, hoping for at least a smile. He received only a
surprised, but thankful look from Allen before he resumes his staring at
nothing.
This continues for the next month before Lulubell decides that Allen needs to
be moved from the Black Ark and into a home again, and with any of the houses
owned by the Noah out of the question, she suggests having him stay at the one
place that is left at their disposal. The home of the Millennium Earl.
….
Before he is to go to stay at the Earl's home, Allen is told where he will be
staying and why. He makes no response to this, and doesn't even flinch when
they inject him with something that will knock him out for the trip, making
sure that he will not be able to remember how to get from one place to the
other, or anything in-between the two that might give away their locations.
So when Allen wakes the following morning in a room has never seen before and
doesn't remember entering, he doesn't panic as much as he would have if he had
not been told the night before. He stares at his surroundings, taking in how
extravagant they are compared to anywhere else he's ever been before. The bed
he is sitting on is king sized covered with a dark red, down comforter and soft
white cotton sheets. There is a black canopy and sides bound to the dark wooden
posts at the corners of the bed, blood red ties holding them in place. On one
side of the bed is a small end table with an alarm clock. The other side has
another end table, this one with a flower vase containing a single black rose.
Beyond the bed is a rather large room with a full wardrobe with clothes that
are already Allen sized. He notices a few with a slightly large waist for when
his stomach starts to grow more with the unborn kittens. Opposite the wardrobe
is a full-length mirror.
Allen approaches the mirror, having not seen his own reflection since he left
the house of Noahs. He immediately notices the red Mark that now dominates his
face, and how hollow and empty his eyes have become. He then takes note of how
thin and paler than normal he has become. He knows that he has been eating the
same as always, but it seem that the unborn kittens want more nutrition than he
has been able to give them. He turns to the side where he can see the subtle
bulge of a once flat stomach. Because he was thin to begin with, he knows that
he's showing more than normal, that and with the amount of kittens he's
carrying, it will be a wonder if he can even stand on his own when it comes
time to birth them. At a recent appointment with Lulubell, they tried an
ultrasound and discovered what appears to be five small forms within him. For
all they know there could be more kittens that they couldn't see, but for sure
there are five on their way.
Allen turns to face the mirror again. This time he reaches up and carefully
peals off the bandage that has been covering most of his forehead since he
started to claw at it during his initial breakdowns after being raped. Once
they fall free, he stares at what he finds, confused and slightly amused at the
same time. Apparently his claw marks scared over to form a pentacle connecting
to the very top of his Mark, making the two flow seamlessly together. He lets
out a slight laugh at the irony of the unintentional curse mark he forced on
himself.
He turns away from the mirror and begins to explore the room again. He finds a
door by the wardrobe that leads into a rather spacious bathroom, not as big as
the last one he had personal use of, but still more than ample. A shower is
separate from a large soaking tub, and there is a large counter with two sinks.
Shampoos, soaps, and other necessary items have already been left in their
respective places just waiting for him to use them.
As he looks around he starts to hear the slight sounds of music drifting
through the room. He makes his way over to the main door, and after some brief
hesitation, is rather surprised to find it open. He pokes his head out of the
room, waiting to be yelled at for leaving without permission, but with not a
soul in sight, he exits the room, leaving the door slightly ajar so that he
knows which room he is supposed to be in.
He wonders down a couple of rather ornately decorated hallways filled with
antiques and paintings, each one different which makes it easier for Allen to
remember where he has come from for when he needs to find his way back.
Just off of the second hallway is a room that is occupied by a full wall length
window overlooking a garden maze on the grounds below. In the middle of the
room is a grand piano, it's haunting melody filling the room with memories and
images long forgotten by everyone except the music.
There is a neko at the piano; his eyes are shut as his fingers dance across the
keys with ease. His black tail swaying in time with the music, and his ears
pricked at attention of the music, making sure not a note is out of sequence.
Allen notices that he looks vaguely like the Noah, with his dark hair and ashen
skin tone, but there is something about him that seem different, more at ease
with himself.
When the last note fades and the room is filled with complete silence as the
memories retreat back into their music, the neko turns to look at Allen. His
dark golden eyes look surprised for a moment but a small smile makes itself
visible. He walks over to the glass window and motions for Allen to take a seat
next to him.
"So you must be the neko that's staying here temporarily. Allen is it? You know
you've caused quite an uproar around here, I haven't seen the Earl this excited
in ages." He pauses looking at Allen for a moment. "You know, you're not
exactly what I was expecting. You're a little on the short side and you
absolutely reek of Tyki. Did you fall asleep on him or something recently?"
Allen quickly looks down at the suddenly very interesting floor, trying
desperately not to relive or revive those memories he's tried to hard to bury.
The new neko looks confused for a moment, but noticing the slight bulge in
Allen's stomach and sensing his discomfort, he is able to get a rough idea of
what happened.
"Ok sorry, touchy subject." He too looks down at the floor, trying to think of
something to say to distract the other. When he notices the ribbon on Allen's
wrist, he quickly grabs onto the opportunity. "Where did you get that ribbon?
Can I see it?"
Allen looks a little reluctant, but slowly and carefully offers his wrist with
the ribbon to the other neko. He takes it carefully so as to not frighten
Allen, and looks it over with a slightly amused expression. He stops for a
moment to smell it, and a confused look crosses his face. He sniffs it a couple
of more times and sharply releases Allen's hand.
"That – That's impossible! But scents don't lie." He looks Allen directly in
the eye. "Where did you get this? Who did you take it from? Where are they?
TELL ME NOW!"
Allen starts backing away from the now yelling neko, holding his wrist close.
"It – It's mine! I've – I've always – always had it!" He slips on the floor
falling back, he doesn't attempt to get up, but simply stays where he is,
attempting to look smaller than he already is, hoping that the other will lose
interest in him.
The other neko stalks over to him and sits on the floor pulling Allen close.
Allen struggles to get away, but the other takes no heed, as he is too busy
trying to inhale Allen's scent. After a moment he stops and gently pushes Allen
away a couple of feet. He looks at Allen with eyes wide with confusion, joy,
and disbelief.
"This is impossible! It's been over 17 years, and yet here you are." Allen
scoots further away. "I should have recognized your scent right away, but I
just couldn't believe it. No, I didn't want to believe it. But your ribbon
confirmed it, after all, scents linger on even after they have left their
original owner." He looks Allen dead in the eye once again. "I'm your brother."
Allen looks at him with confusion and fear.
"I know you don't believe me, but hear me out, I'll prove to you that what I'm
saying is true." He pauses to collect his now jumbled thoughts. "I was born to
one of the nekos in the Breeding Program, back when they were in their last
building, I don't remember his name because they separated us right after I was
born, and only mentioned it once or twice in the next couple of years. All I
know is that this neko had dark hair that he used to keep pulled back with a
red ribbon, and fair skin. There was much excitement when I was four because he
finally became pregnant again after so long, they were hoping that he would
have multiples this time, instead of just one like with me.
"I remember catching a brief glimpse of him one night after everyone was
supposed to have gone to bed. He was rushing past my room, very obviously in
pain and with a brown paper bag filled with blankets with him. Now I heard the
rest of this later and didn't see it myself so please believe me.
"Apparently he somehow managed to sneak out of the facility. I don't know
exactly what his plan was, but apparently he only made it a few miles before
his water broke and he went into labor in some random street. I'm guessing that
the labor didn't last very long otherwise he would have been caught much
sooner. Anyway, he was eventually found several miles from the Breeding Program
building at that time, he was brought back as quietly as possible, as to not
let anyone know what happened.
"But I saw him, I saw him when he left, and I saw him when he came back. He was
very obviously not as round as before, his hands slightly red with blood from
the single blanket he was carrying, no bag or second blanket in sight. But more
importantly, his hair tie was missing.
"The next day I was brought in to see him for some reason. He didn't say much,
just looked at me and told me that somewhere out there is a neko, my bother,
named 'Allen'. He told me that he left his hair ribbon with you, just so I'd
know it was you. Now, I thought he was crazy so I just left the room after
that, but I sort of wished that I'd stayed. It was the last time I ever saw
him. He died later that day."
He looks at Allen for a moment, taking note of the similarities they two of
them share, and the differences that make them unique. "I know that you
probably don't believe me, but I hope that eventually, you will. Now there's
something I need to do since you're here."
He stands up and exits the room, leaving Allen alone with this new information.
He returns moments later, looking slightly panicked. "I didn't expect the Earl
to be returning so quickly. Now, this might hurt a little, but believe me,
it'll help in the long run."
He pulls out a piece of what looks like tape and very carefully and gently,
takes Allen's left ear and presses the tape against it, making sure that his
thumb is directly over the print. After a moment, there is a very slight heat,
and the earing unclasps. The neko claiming to be Allen's brother quickly
removes it and takes one that looks identical and clasps it into place.
He hears footsteps approaching. "That new earing looks like the one with the
tracker, but it's just a piece of special metal that will come out for anyone.
Now I need you to keep the tracker with you for now, really soon you will be
able to leave it behind, but until then, keep it with you at all times.
Understood?"
Allen doesn't have a chance to respond as the footsteps are at the doorway to
the piano room. The older neko says a quick "I'm sorry" before swiftly
scratching Allen across the nose, making him jump back in surprise.
A pair of strong hands are quick to pick up Allen, and immediately head towards
the door. Whoever is holding him stops for a second before heading down the
hall. "Neah! I expressly told you not to fight with him. Now I have to go take
care of this poor kitty, but I'll be back so either you make yourself scares,
or you wait here and take your punishment sooner rather than later." As they
leave the room, Allen sees that Neah's face is to the ground, but a small smile
escapes and his tail is happily twitching.
The Earl continues down the hall, still holding Allen. He mumbles multiple
apologies to the young neko, but the only thing that stands out, is that Allen
will be going back to the Black Ark now that Neah refuses to accept him and
will likely attack him. Something that the Earl is not willing to risk.
...
The redhead walks down the familiar hallway before waltzing through one of the
closed doors. The occupant doesn't respond, but chooses to ignore the intruder.
But the redhead will have none of this as he sits across from his long time
friend, eyes glancing at the sword that the dark haired one holds.
"We got a hit today. One of our informants was able to give us last bit of the
security system's layout. I guess that this means that we'll finally be able to
do it. Finally be able to break into that place, get as many out as possible,
and if we work fast enough, completely purge their system of all useful
information. Who knows, maybe we'll find out where he went."
Dark eyes flash up to meet bright green. "I will find him. Even if I have to
tear apart this entire city to find him.
***** The Plan Moves Forward *****
Chapter 9
To say that Kanda is not amused with the current circumstances would be an
understatement. There is so much that could have been changed and things could
have turned out better in the long run. So much time that could have been spent
doing more important, more productive things. So much wasted time, and look
where that's gotten him.
The day that that nearly forgotten golden golem had started going crazy was
like an awakening for many who had lost hope of ever finding their friends and
loved ones again. They had automatically redoubled their efforts to hack into
any organization or website that had anything at all to do with nekos. For
weeks they had searched through thousands of sites and organizations with
varying results. Most of the new information revolved on recruiting people to
go out and kidnap more nekos, and scout out where they lived, or keep tabs on
any kittens that were still in some type protective custody.
Interestingly enough, it was the Baka Usagi who managed to find what Kanda was
looking for the most. The redhead had been working on a hack for an
organization that seemed to be overly protective of their files. Most people
figured that if a week of attempted hacking with no results and a still
standing firewall, it must just be a plant to distract them from the real
files, and it was ultimately dismissed.
However, Lavi kept working on it, saying that he had a good feeling that this
one was the one that they needed. He spent nearly a month playing touch and go
with the firewalls, but eventually he managed to find a crack to expose. In a
matter of seconds, his screen was flooded with files and documents from the
last several decades for a place referred to simply as The Black Ark.
With this discovery, Lavi quickly selected a few people to help him sift
through all of this new information and to try and find what they were looking
for. Lenalee and Komui threw themselves into the task with great enthusiasm,
somehow knowing that this is what they had been searching for, ever since Kanda
had initially been taken.
The amount of information they had discovered was simply overwhelming.
Everything from names and current locations of nekos across the globe, to the
network that could activate the tracking devices each one is forced to wear
somewhere on their person at all times. Profiles of 'available merchandise',
and even live feeds on the current inhabitants of The Black Ark all became
available with just a click of a mouse or the push of a button.
By the third day of this, Kanda caught wind of just how much information was
being uncovered and began to look into the new information on his own time.
Before he can really start his search, he was bombarded with more names and
faces than he thought he would ever see in his lifetime, all of which has spent
at least some time in The Black Ark. Even though he had this intimidatingly
large group in front of him, he only had two names and faces that he cared
about more than the rest.
Finding the information on Alma wasn't as hard as he thought it would be, given
how much trouble the two of them caused. But with a simple search by name and
age, the older neko was fairly easy to find, especially as he was currently
labeled as missing, and there was a watch for any neko fitting his description.
After that, Kanda wasted no more time is searching for his Moyashi. This search
took much longer and was much more tedious as most of the information, or even
mention of the white-haired neko was kept confidential, and kept away from
common, less wealthy, potential customers or employees. But with enough time
and effort, he was finally greeted with a profile and picture of the one he was
torn from so many years ago.
The date on the picture said that it was from more than seven months ago, so
right after the Moyashi was kidnapped, and after knowing what would have
awaited the smaller neko, Kanda knew that he must have changed in appearance by
now just from the stress and lifestyle forced upon those living in The Black
Ark. His appearance would have aged him closer to his actual age instead of the
more youthful state that nekos his age should still be in. Kanda still manages
to smile at sad smile for a bit at the photo, despite their long separation;
the Moyashi still looked very much the same. The same bright eyes, now laced
with fear and uncertainty, the floppy ears that still refuse to stand proud
like they should, and the shock of white hair that makes the Moyashi unique
compared to all of the other nekos that Kanda has ever met.
Moving past the picture and scanning through the rest of the profile, Kanda
discovers many things he never knew before about his Moyashi. He never knew
about him being antisocial around other nekos, but then again, it was only ever
just the two of them for the longest time. He also never knew that Allen had
and affinity for taking care of and protecting younger kids, especially
kittens, but yet again it was only ever the two of them so they never had never
been around any nekos younger than themselves. But the most shocking thing that
Kanda learned was that Allen was a Bearer.
Kanda had always known about Bearers, in fact, his family has protected Bearers
and any Bearer kittens for centuries before this mess with the humans happened.
It was considered an honor to be serving someone who helped their people so
much, and even back before humans became and issue, there had always been a
need for Bearers. Back when the rival neko clans would have wars and skirmishes
with each other, it was always the Bearers that were in the most danger. The
danger came not as a threat of death, but especially for non-mated Bearers, the
danger came in the form of being kidnapped and spirited away to the other clan
to help increase their own people. That was why Kanda's family took it upon
themselves to protect the Bearers as best they could, and make sure that no
harm came to them. When the Bearers had started to die out as a result of
humans, his family increased their efforts, but it was in vain. Before too
long, all of the Bearers in known existence were under the control of humans,
and Kanda's family was no longer able to serve and protect them as they had in
the past.
The irony of the situation is great for Kanda. Here he was in the perfect place
to protect one of the last free Bearers, to carry on his family's legacy, but
he failed. He failed at protecting not just a Bearer, but also his best friend.
Thoughts of shame and regret fill his mind as he reads further into the
profile, noting how much his Moyashi is worth in the eyes of humans, and what
he means for them. He also notes, how unlike the other profiles, there is no
knows location listed for the Moyashi, something that puzzles Kanda to no end.
He has to tear his eye away from the screen, away from the image of a lost
friend that he could do nothing for and could not find. He holds his head in
his hands as the situation weighs down on him yet again. A single tear slowly
made its way down his face, its trail burning with his emotions and regrets.
That was nearly three months ago. Nearly three months have passed since they
had finally opened the one file that had spurred everyone into action. Nearly
three months longer since Kanda has been separated from his Moyashi.
And in that time, there is so much that has happened to find and rescue
everyone that they can from The Black Ark, that once again, thoughts of Allen
seem to have flown from the immediate thoughts of everyone except the people he
was once able to call friend. For those people, this mission means not only
helping so many others, but maybe, just maybe, being able to finally find a
dear friend that has been stolen from them.
But tomorrow that is going to change. Tomorrow they will finally be able to
carry out the plan that they have been working on for the last few months. And
even if they can't find Allen, Kanda will tear that place apart, even if it
means interrogating the Earl himself, just to find out where Allen is so that
he can go and finally bring him home.
….
For Allen, the last month has been one of complete boredom. After being hauled
back to The Black Ark, he was separated from everyone else again, just to make
sure that Neah hadn't hurt him in any other way besides a scratch to the cheek.
He has been left in his room again, only being let out to see Lulubell and use
the restroom, otherwise he was never able to go anywhere else and was only
given a couple of books to try and ease the resulting boredom. Needless to say,
those books didn't last very long, and even after rereading them a time or two,
they just didn't hold much appeal to Allen, and the boredom quickly returned.
Even though he is still leery of others, he is willing to even go and sit in
with either of the neko groups, just to have someone or something to watch, and
to truly remember that he is not the only one in the facility, that there are
others being held there as well. He really doesn't want to interact with any of
them directly, but still knowing that they are there might be a little
comforting.
Eventually the boredom is put on hold for a bit when Lulubell decides to break
some news to Allen. It has been decided that he is to be moved to the main
building for the Breeding Program where he will be able to receive better
medical attention as the doomed pregnancy progresses. The other reason for the
sudden move is that the Program believes that it might have isolated a few
prospective mates for Allen. They want him to meet them, and hopefully bond
with one of them and when the time is right, successfully mate with one of
them.
The thoughts of his looming future consume his already confused and conflicted
thoughts. Who are these suitors? Is Kanda one of them? What if one of them is
supposed to be his mate? What if none of them are meant to be his mate, but
will they still want him to mate with one of them? Will he be able to meet the
other Bearers? What will happen to him after his kittens are born? Questions
swirl around with more ferociousness confusing him and making him worry more
than normal.
The morning of day that he is supposed to be leaving for the Breeding Program,
he is led out of his room one last time, and finds himself being given one last
checkup before they leave. Lulubell watches from the sidelines as Reever makes
quick work of monitoring the necessary aspects of Allen's health.
There is one thing different about this checkup than normal, and that is that
Reever puts his stethoscope to Allen's stomach to see if he can detect
heartbeats from the unborn kittens. He smiles for a second before handing the
stethoscope to Allen. Allen listens for a second before his eyes widen in
surprise as he is greeted with the sound of not just one heartbeat, but several
small, very fast heartbeats.
It doesn't take very long for him to be swept up in the sound, blocking out
everything around him except for the beating of so many tiny hearts. However,
his concentration is startled back to the present when an alarm suddenly starts
blaring throughout the hallways.
Lulubell immediately snaps to attention. She goes to ask the Akuma outside the
door what is going on, but finds them nowhere to be found. She hesitates for a
second before spinning around to face the two nekos. "Something's happened. You
are to stay here until either myself or another member of The Black Ark comes
to get you. Do not leave this room for any other reason." With that she rushes
out of the room, carefully locking the two nekos inside.
The two look at each other for a moment before finding their own respective
areas to settle into while they wait for someone to come get them, figuring
that this is some kind of false alarm. Reever takes a seat near the door where
he can see out of the small window, and Allen curls up in a corner out of sight
of the door. When several minutes have passed and still no one has come to
collect them, their nerves begin to tense, sensing that something out of the
normal is happening. They don't need words to express to each other that they
will wait to see what happens, and if given the chance, try to escape.
Soon minutes seem to stretch into hours as sounds of far off fighting begin to
reach their sensitive ears. The sounds of weapons fire and metal clashing on
metal, ring in the air with the continuing sirens, permeate the air. Though the
sounds are too far off to immediately concern them, they still pay close
attention to them.
In the middle of the commotion, Allen begins to feel lightheaded and starts to
feel an extreme pressure in his lower stomach. He clenches his teeth, trying to
slow his breathing, and regulate it to keep the pain at bay, but despite his
efforts, it persists. Pretty soon he can't even concentrate and can feel
himself falling out of consciousness as the pain takes over.
Suddenly there is a muffled voice outside of the room and after a few seconds
the door flies open with tremendous force.
….
Kanda stands with the group, impatience clear in his entire being. He's been
standing with the others for the last five minutes as some expert tries to
unlock a door without setting off any alarms and alert the buildings occupants
any earlier then they eventually will. He knows that he needs to be patient,
and the longer he can remain so, means the sooner that he can see his Moyashi
again, but the possibility of being so close to his goal is driving him closer
and closer to just breaking the locks and the alarms be damned.
Just when he thinks that his nerves might finally snap, the door is finally
opened and the group floods into the building. He knows that he has less than
half an hour to find what he's looking for before they have to retreat to the
extra vehicles that will be arriving at that time. As soon as he's in the door,
he quickly sets off down a hall with Alma on his tail, knowing that it's just a
short matter of time before he can find out just exactly where they are.
He stops at the next split in hallways and leans over to check near the bottom
quarter of the curved wall to see what symbol had been left there. He knew that
even a slight scratch is not to be overlooked, especially since it had taken
him and Alma both of their entire times here to constantly sneak out and mark
the hallways to find out where each went and how to follow the symbols to get
from point A to point B without getting lost. Smiling triumphantly when he
finds what he is looking for, he quickly sets off down the next hall eager to
find his target.
He is less than halfway down the hallway when the alarm begins to alert the
facility to the intruders. He tries to not let it bother him, but he knows that
he has even less time now than he had hoped for. He and Alma quicken their pace
as they head for the Earl's office.
After two more turns, they catch sight of a blond woman hurrying down the hall
towards them, but not looking up from the floor. As if she senses their
presence and them looking at her, she stops to look up at them, and after
pausing for a second, turns and tries to run in the opposite direction yelling
about intruders.
Alma wastes no time in catching up to her and tackling her to the ground,
pining her as best as he can without seriously hurting her. She struggles to
get away, but instantly stills when she feels the slight prick of a blade at
her neck. Looking up the long katana blade, she finds herself face to face with
Kanda. She can feel the malice radiating off of him, but her attention is
diverted back to Alma as he tries to speak to her.
"Where is he? If you're here then that means that he's here too. So why not
make this as painless as possible and tell us where he is? We promise to let
you live if you do." The strain in his voice is evident as he tries to control
his emotions, namely his rage at the woman before him.
She manages to glare at him. "I don't know who you're talking about. Now, if
you'll get off of me I can pretend that I didn't see you for a few minutes,
before the Akuma come after you and return you to your rightful owners."
The two narrow their eyes dangerously at her. Both knowing that she has
information that she needs, but both assuming that she knows something
different. Alma sneers this time as he speaks. "Where. Is. Allen? The only damn
reason you were ever here in the first place is because of him, and I'm going
to bet that the same is true now." She simply blinks up at the two. "Tell us
NOW!"
She defiantly refuses to even speak, just smiling with the knowledge that she
knows something they don't. She knows that she will never tell simply because
she knows that her job and her life is on the line if anything were to happen
to the Bearer because of these two rogue neko. But her eyes betray her for just
the fraction of a second as she looks off down the hallway she just came from.
Kanda catches this movement, and without a second thought, takes off at a
sprint, knowing now that his Moyashi is closer than he's been in years. He
doesn't even notice when Alma doesn't follow right away, his thoughts too
consumed on his new task.
He sees that the hall fills with rooms further up, and since only a few have
lights on, he decides to start checking those first for any signs of life. Most
of them appear to be empty, but out of the corner of his eye, he spies the tip
of a brown ear in one room. He tries the handle for the door, and after finding
it locked, he tries to tell the occupant to back away, before he backs up
before charging the door.
The door slams open and Kanda quickly regains his balance as he uses the
momentum to move him closer to the center of the room. He immediately sees that
the brown-haired neko has stood up with his sudden entrance. "If you want to
leave this place, head out of this room and go to the right, there should be a
black-haired neko named Alma down there who will help escort you out of here.
Now, if you'll excuse my, I have some unfinished business here."
The brown-haired neko looks confused for a second. "Alma's here? But we thought
he had gone AWOL. Is he here to get Allen out of here? Who are you, and how do
you know Alma?"
Kanda freezes at the mention of the Moyashi. His eyes locking on those of the
older neko. "You know Allen? Where is he? I NEED TO KNOW!" He doesn't even
apologize for shouting, knowing that the sooner he finds his Moyashi, the
sooner he can calm down.
The older neko doesn't answer; he simply heads over to one of the corners of
the room. Kanda follows behind, becoming annoyed with the lack of answers. When
he notices the older leaning over something, he looks over his shoulder to see
just what is hiding in the corner.
The second he sees Allen, his heart stops for a second, trying to take in what
his eyes are seeing. His Moyashi is leaning on the wall, his brown furrowed and
face contorted with pain. His Mark stands out sharply against his paler than
normal skin, making it appear to be darker and bloodier than normal on the
slightly gaunt face. The rest of Allen seems to be far too thin to be healthy,
his already small clothes falling off his even smaller frame. Kanda feels his
eyes drawn to Allen's slightly protruding stomach, noticing that it doesn't
seem like the Moyashi was putting on weight, but the fact that his stomach is
still larger than normal concerns him.
He doesn't wait for any movement or consent from the older neko as he scoops
Allen into his arms. The younger is far too light to be healthy, and far too
hot. His skin is practically blistering compared to Kanda's. Allen groans
slightly in pain as he is moved, and Kanda is quick to notice this and move the
Moyashi as little as possible.
Reever stares at him for a second as he makes his way to the door, surprised by
his actions and that Allen didn't try to push him away, despite being
unconscious. He follows Kanda, confused by what he just witnessed.
Kanda exits the room briefly stopping in front of Alma. Alma takes quick note
of Allen, and after a small smile graces his face, it is quickly replaced by a
frown at his appearance and unconscious state. He looks between Kanda and Allen
for a moment and his frown deepens for a moment.
Kanda chooses not to notices as he gently repositions Allen so that he is being
held bridal style as he begins to make his way back to the meeting point. As
they reach some of the main hallways, Kanda notices more members of his group
leading small groups of nekos out of the building. Always having the move
forward when the group member looks behind them to make sure that they aren't
followed and to stop anything that tries.
After a minute, Kanda manages to get Allen out of the building and rushes him
over to the medical vehicle. On his way over he spots a familiar shock of red
hair being loaded inside of the van. When the medical team spies Kanda, they
waste no time in gently lifting Allen out of his arms and sliding him into the
van with Lavi. Shutting the doors after him, effectively hiding him from
Kanda's view once more.
….
Lavi felt himself being laid on a stretcher before being slid back deep into
the van. His right eye hurt like hell and he wasn't any closer to finding
Allen. He had tried to use the limited information he had found in the database
to track roughly where Allen would be in that building, but his group ended up
being ambushed before he could even begin his search, setting off the alarms in
the process.
He can hear another stretcher being slid back towards him, and after it stops
moving, he cracks his one good eye to see who his traveling companion will be.
His eye widens in shock as he take in the appearance of Allen Walker lying
beside him.
***** After the Mission is Over *****
Chapter 10
The next few weeks following the breakout are filled with chaos. Roughly twenty
nekos were freed during that one day, most of them immediately expressing
desires to be reunited with loved ones, to be able to leave the city all
together and go somewhere where they can be safer, or they expressed desires to
stay and help the project that helped to free them in the first place. All in
all, including a still unconscious Allen, three nekos decided to stay, the
rest, including all of the kittens, were carefully and secretly sent of in
pairs to their intended destinations, the majority being transferred to a safer
location, and ultimately, out of the city.
But none of that held any sort of interest for Kanda. His entire being is spent
torn between making sure that the Baka Usagi actually does what the nurse tells
him, and staying by Moyashi's side for as long as he can. The one thing that he
is thankful for is that both the Usagi and Moyashi are eventually moved into
the same room, making it easier for him to keep an eye on both of them.
Lavi bounces back from his injury with a grim determination to make sure it
never happens again. It is obviously difficult for Lavi to get used to
functioning with only one eye, but he tries to make light of the situation and
the mistakes he makes while trying to return to some semblance of normality.
And while he knows that he should be focused mainly on his own recovery, he
often devotes his time to watching over Allen with Kanda.
…Flashback…
Once Allen is rescued, he is immediately brought to the emergency medical unit
that has been set up ahead of time, knowing that there was likely to be some
type of injuries sustained by the raid. Kanda refuses to leave his side, or
even release him to the medical staff, but eventually they are forced to call
Lenalee over to have her help convince Kanda that it would be better for Allen
if he would just let him go, he could visit Allen after the medical staff was
through with their examination and the proper care has being given to both of
them.
At first Kanda resists, but after the reality that he can't do anything more
for Allen at the moment, he reluctantly lessens his hold, and Allen is quickly
swept out of his arms and into another room, out of Kanda's line of sight. He
stays by the doors the entire time, waiting for the moment when he can see and
hold the Moyashi again.
Eventually Allen is released from the examination room, and moved into a more
private room for more specific medical attention. Kanda follows the still
unconscious Allen into the new room, and after watching the medical staff exit
the room, pulls a chair over to keep watch for the moment when the Moyashi
would finally open his eyes.
After a couple of hours of watching and waiting, Lenalee comes in and tells
Kanda to go get some sleep, when he refuses to leave the younger neko's side,
she pointedly tells him that he has another friend that has also been injured
during the raid, and that Kanda needs to go and at least thank him for his
efforts. After all, if it weren't for Lavi, Allen wouldn't be back with them
now.
Kanda begrudgingly goes to pay the Usagi a visit, but is thoroughly shocked to
see the extent of his injuries. Half of his face is covered with bandages,
bright red blinding and soaking into the pure white covering, his pain blatant
in his one good eye, despite the positive, smiling façade he tries to present
to his childhood friend. Kanda simply gives him a look that says 'Baka Usagi,
didn't I tell you to be more careful'. But Lavi simply smiles back, knowing
that if Kanda wasn't worrying that much about him, he shouldn't either.
Kanda and Lavi stayed staring at each other before Lavi finally asks if it was
true, that they really had been able to get Allen out of that place. Kanda's
look softens for a moment; that is the extent of his confirmation, but Lavi is
able to interpret it easily. The two started at each other for a few more
minutes before a nurse comes and shoos Kanda out so that she could take the
required readings from Lavi.
Kanda turns back down the hall to Allen's room, finding Lenalee still in there,
only now she's crying as she holds his limp hand in her own. She manages to
garble out apologies amidst her tears, and promises to never let anything like
that happen again fill the air. Her distress is so clear, that there is no
doubt as to her feelings for the neko before her. She is acting like a younger
sibling has been gravely injured due to some negligence on her part, despite
there having been nothing that she could have done to prevent anything that
happened to him.
He contemplates disrupting her and making her leave to go sob somewhere else,
but he knows that she feels that she needs to do this. To apologize for
something that wasn't even her fault, and give empty promises that Kanda is
determined to make sure never have to be put into effect. He intends to make
sure that Allen never has to face anything like that again. If all goes
according to plan, Kanda even plans to get him out of the country and to one of
the safe points for nekos, anything to keep him from disappearing from his life
again.
Eventually Lenalee manages to wear herself out, falling asleep still holding
Allen's hand despite her exhaustion. Kanda contemplates leaving like that, but
instead he quickly looks around for someone to contact Komui and get him to
come down there to collect his sister. It takes him less than a minute to find
someone to carry out the task. In the mean time, he remains outside of the door
to Allen's room, hoping to be there when Moyashi manages to open his eyes again
for he feels that it will happen soon.
When Komui finally makes his way to Allen's room to collect his sister, he
takes a moment to try and absorb what he's seeing. He can't help but smile at
the sight before him, a sight of Allen being back with the people he belongs
with, and of his sister seeming to have finally found some relief from all of
the stress and grief that she inflicted on herself. After the moment ends, he
enters the room and carefully separates Allen's and Lenalee's hands despite her
best attempt to hold tight to Allen's, he gently picks up his sister and exits
the room to find a better place for her to sleep.
As he leaves, he hands a file to Kanda; a look of dead seriousness in his eyes
replacing the normal gleam of mischievousness that normally resides there. He
hesitates before leaving the two nekos, but he takes one last look at Allen
before turning his attention back to Kanda. "These are the results of the exam,
the compiled data from The Black Ark's database on him, and the report given
from the neko doctor that was helping to provide care for the duration of his
stay in that place. When you read this I want you to do one thing. I want you
to not act on what you read, it's a lot to absorb even for me, but I think that
it will effect you differently." When he sees Kanda's confused look he sighs
before continuing. "Just keep that in mind. I'll be sure to be back in the
morning to see how his condition is holding out." With that, he heads out of
the medical section with Lenalee, leaving Kanda alone with a sleeping Allen,
and a file filled with records of everything that has happened to his Moyashi.
Kanda steps into the room, quickly occupying the chair that Lenalee has just
vacated, the one closest to Allen. He takes a moment to look the Moyashi over
and is disheartened upon discovering that nothing has changed. He is paler than
normal, his skin seeming almost translucent. His hair is greasy and tangled,
resting around his shoulders in knots. His nails are long like real claws, but
rough and dirt is visible under them. His white clothes seem far to big for
him, they hang limply on his frame, reveling his rather large stomach despite
his ribs showing above it. His eyes are shut tight from the world, and his
breathing is labored. An IV runs into his arm, trying to replenish much needed
fluids, but they will take time to make any obvious effect. But the part that
hurts Kanda the most is that his ears are completely flat an his tail is
between his legs, wrapped around them in fear and distress.
Kanda lets his thumb ghost over Allen's Mark as it stands out so starkly from
his pale skin, both admiring it, and mourning the loss of Allen's innocence to
the heat. Kanda stops his motions when Allen's face scrunches up in what
appears to be pain. Kanda pulls his hand back, and after a few seconds Allen's
face becomes as expressionless as a mask once again.
Kanda gives the Moyashi one last look over before muttering, "Just what the
hell happened to you?" He takes the younger's hand in his own just like Lenalee
had. He notices when it tries to pull away, but he refuses to let that happen
and gives a reassuring squeeze. The hand calms down after the squeeze and Kanda
is able to return most of his attention to the file before him, though a part
of his attention is still monitoring Allen for any signs of change.
The file is as descriptive as it is graphic. Everything that has happened to
Allen from the time he was captured up until they rescued him is carefully
documented and no detail is spared. Kanda can feel his anger rise with each
passing page, but he nearly loses his remaining calm when he reads about
Allen's encounters with the Noah, and even more so when he learns of the
younger's rape. He stares at the page, as if trying to will it to say something
different, something that will have never hurt his Moyashi. But when it fails
to change, he immediately sets the file aside and moves to sit on the edge of
Allen's bed. He gently and carefully pulls the younger neko to him, holding him
in his lap like he often had as a kitten, only this time he mourns for Allen,
and all that he has been forced to lose. A few silent tears escape, but he
makes no effort to hide them, he allows them to show, for all the tears that
Allen deserves to have shed for him.
He keeps Allen close despite the younger's unconscious efforts to get away, the
attempts pulling at his heart even more. He now understands why his Moyashi is
acting like his, but it still breaks his heart to see what has become of the
young neko. Eventually the attempts for release cease, but a look of stress and
discomfort never leaves Allen's face.
Once Allen seems to have calmed down, Kanda picks up the file and resumes to
read of the horrors that his Moyashi was forced to endure. He reads of the
Moyashi's downward spiral after his first heat, of his apparent inability to
interact around others without being overcome by fear and memories of what was
forced upon him. He has to force himself to continue; even though he knows that
nothing good will lie ahead at this rate. He ends up stopping again when he
reads the results of some of Allen's medical exams, post heat.
When he learns of Allen's pregnancy, his anger flares past any normal limits.
He starts to shake with is rage of what that bastard did to his Moyashi. A
growl threatens to rip from his throat at the very thought that some bastard
not only had the audacity to rape Allen, but for that man, no that human to
impregnate him with a litter that will only break Allen's heart, no words can
explain his rage at the man that stole everything from his Allen.
He only stops his mental rampage when he hears a slight groan of pain from
Allen. When he glances down he realizes that he's been holding someone so
broken far too tight, and probably too close for his comfort. He eases his grip
on Allen, but continues to hold him close, hoping that just being near someone
who doesn't want to hut him will be enough to begin repairs on his broken
spirit. Allen starts to struggle for release again, but like before, Kanda
refused to let him go, even more so now that he knows of some of the horrors
that the frightened Moyashi was forced to endure.
Once the two of them calm down a bit, Kanda reluctantly picks up the file, and
warily reads the rest of its contents. His anger flares briefly when he learns
that Allen was brought to the home of the Earl, but when he discovers Allen's
relation to the neko already living there, he anger disappears, knowing that
this was probably the best neko for Allen to meet at that time. That this was
probably the only neko anywhere near that place who might be able to truly
explain to him about what could have happened to him if he had never been
rescued.
The rest of the notes and reports give him little information that he didn't
already know, but there are the last medical exam results that catch his
interest. The results reveal that Allen's pregnancy is progressing much faster
than normal. While a normal neko pregnancy is usually about the same as a
humans at nine months, the normal time for a Bearer pregnancy is between ten
and eleven months so that the body can better adjust and care for the typical
larger amount of kittens. The problem is that Allen's pregnancy is progressing
too quickly and even though his is less than three months along, he is showing
signs of development that should only appear just past the six month mark, and
if all progresses as it is, the litter could be birthed within the next couple
of months, putting extra strain on their carrier.
At first, Kanda is utterly repulsed by the thought of Allen carrying the
bastard litter for that long, especially if they are already doomed, but at the
same time, he is proud of his Moyashi for being able to carry so many for this
long, despite everything that's been happening to him. But above all, he's just
glad that Allen won't be forced into the Breeding Program now that they know
that he can carry a litter. That would guarantee a permanent separation for the
two of them, and that is something that Kanda is prepared to fight against with
everything that he has.
After he manages to calm down yet again, he sets the file aside and pulls the
Moyashi just a little closer, holding him and quietly purring at him, trying to
reassure him, despite his unconscious state. Despite the time he's already
spent with the younger neko, Kanda stays like this with Allen all through the
night, never letting the younger neko slip from his hold, and making sure to
watch out for the broken spirit, and protect and heal it as best as he can.
The following morning, a nurse comes in to check up on Allen, but she pauses
for a moment when she sees Kanda curled up with Allen pulled next to him. She
knew that the two of them would be in here, but she had expected Allen to still
be in the same place that he was left, and that Kanda would most likely be
asleep in the chair next to the bed. She also expected Kanda to be rather
agitated and fierce after reading through the files, but the two seem much
calmer than she expected. The sight brings a small ray of hope and while she
really doesn't want to pull them apart, she knows it must be done.
She carefully reaches over the bed to wake Kanda, making sure that she is still
on the other side of the bed in the event that he should be violent after being
awakened. He wakes within moments of her touching him, and after immediately
looking around and realizing the lack of danger, he turns towards her. She
apologizes for waking him, but insists that he is to leave so that she can
perform her duties. When he looks like he's about to refuse, she reminds him
that she has the authority to make sure that he will not be allowed back in the
room if he should choose to go against her.
He sighs, and reluctantly untangles himself from the Moyashi and gathers up the
files before giving him one last look upon leaving the room. Once he is out of
the room, the nurse shuts the door behind him. He contemplates what to do until
he's allowed back in, but in the end, the need of food and a shower outweighed
his desire to stay. He doesn't leave immediately, a fear that the Moyashi will
disappear before he can return runs rampant in is consciousness before he is
forced to shake the thought from his mind and take care of his own needs for a
moment.
After fulfilling his own needs, Kanda heads back to Allen's room, anxious to
prove his fears to be unfounded, only to find the door still shut, only now it
is locked. He figures that if the door is locked, then his Moyashi is still in
there, so he resolves to wait to be let in again. It doesn't take too long
before he glares at the offending door, resolving to leave for a while longer
and then return shortly. He heads off to see if Lavi's room is locked as well,
and if its open, stop by for a few minutes before going back to wait to see the
Moyashi.
He isn't even near Lavi's room when he starts to hear the laughter of the
redhead echoing through the halls. He reluctantly follows the sound to its
source, and a room full of people being pulled in by Lavi's bright attitude.
Lavi is still stuck in his bed, but the nurse, doctor, and respective well-
wishers line the room, adding to the brightness, as his positive attitude seems
to be infecting them all with better attitudes.
Kanda watches for a moment before stepping into the room, his appearance
abruptly halting the good mood. Many of the well-wishers excuse themselves, and
the doctor and nurse move on to their next respective patients. Lavi gives
Kanda a curious look before a file is dropped in his lap. Kanda goes to leave
the room, but a quiet voice stops him.
"They say I'll be moving to a different room soon. Since there wasn't too many
of us injured, I'm trying to get permission to room with Allen. I know that
he's in a bad way, and I'm guessing that this file will help to fill in some of
the blanks, but I just want to be able to see him smile again. Is that too much
to ask?" His single bright green eye searches Kanda for any sort of answer to
ease his wondering.
Kanda looks away and heads towards the door once again, only he stops and puts
one hand on the frame. "Just make sure that no matter what you are going to
read, make sure that no one else ever sees that, especially Lenalee." With that
he heads back to wait to reenter the Moyashi's room.
When he arrives at the room, he sees that the door is still closed, but someone
is already waiting there. Kanda crosses the hall to lean against the wall,
opposite of Alma who simply continues to look at the floor. Neither of them
speaks, but the air is visible tense around them.
Eventually it is Alma that breaks the silence. "So how is he? I heard that he
was unconscious when you found him. With everything that's happened to him, I'm
not surprised, but do you know why? Why is he in such bad condition?"
Kanda refuses to look at Alma, but chooses to stare at the floor like him.
"He's stable now, or at least he was when I left. He ended up unconscious when
he started to have false contractions, the stress was just too much, and with
the condition the rest of his body is in, I guess he just doesn't have the
strength to wake up yet."
"False contractions? You mean someone actually mated with him and was
successful enough to produce a litter already? I find it hard to believe that
they didn't ship him off to the Breading Program if that's the case." Alma
raises his eyes to try and reach Kanda's. "There's something you're leaving out
isn't there? Don't you dare try to hide it! I know you better than anyone else,
and I can see through your lies."
Kanda raises his eyes to meet Alma's. "He didn't mate with anyone by choice! A
fucking human raped him and left him to carry his bastard litter! Of course
they couldn't bring him to the Breading Program like that! If the media caught
wind of it, there would be a scandal the rich politicians who's pockets pay for
their facilities would be forced to pull their funding, leaving the Program in
a rather dire situation." His glare hardens as he stares at Alma. "Don't you
dare try to speak of this casually, they've stolen that neko's innocence and
left him to pick up the pieces."
The ferocity of Kanda's speech halts any comeback or retaliation Alma was
planning to make. He is speechless for a moment, but is quick to collect
himself. And while he flounders for words to defend himself, the door the
Allen's room opens and the nurse hurries down the hall, leaving the room open
to the two of them.
Kanda enters first, leaving Alma in his wake. The sight before him erases all
thoughts of his previous anger towards Alma. It is evident as to why the nurse
was in the room so long, she was busy taking care of Allen and trying to
restore him to some normality. His hair has been cut back to being just
slightly longer than jaw length, and it is now much cleaner and completely
combed out. He has obviously been given a bath as the dirt and smoke smudges
have been cleaned off and new, clean clothes that actually fit him are in
place. His nails have been trimmed down to a more normal, smoother, and less
threatening length. The overall effect makes Allen seem much healthier and more
at peace.
Kanda wastes no time in claiming the chair, and after seeing that their
'discussion' is over, Alma takes a spot next to Kanda on the floor. The two of
them are only there for a few minutes in uncomfortable silence before a loud
voice carries through the door.
A nurse enters with a rather loud redhead in tow. The redhead look up and upon
seeing Allen his smile fades. But he escapes from his nurse and makes his way
over to Allen's bed. Once he makes himself situated at the foot of the bed, he
turns to the Moyashi and starts talking to him, telling him everything that has
happed to him since they last met.
…End Flashback…
Allen is confused as to what is happening to him. One second he is intense pain
and the next is like that pain never existed.
He can feel himself floating through what seems to be nothing, but yet is still
substantial.
He can hear snatches and garbles of things happening around him, but he can't
latch on to a single voice or follow any of the sounds for more than a second.
He tries to open his eyes, to at least try to see what his happening around
him, but he knows that he must be dreaming when he is greeted with an image of
Kanda, a grim determination on his face as he carries him through somewhere
that is out of focus.
His eyes snap shut, the image too difficult to handle since there is way for it
to be true. Kanda disappeared many years ago, and now the he too has been
kidnapped, there is little to no chance of ever seeing each other again.
He lets himself float back into unconsciousness, not wanting to have to face
reality just yet.
After what seems like no time at all, more voices begin to surround him, some
seemingly familiar, and other completely foreign. Allen tries to follow the
familiar voices, but they seem to slip out of his grip.
He begins to lose hope of being able to deny himself to reality when a new
voice is heard. This one is familiar, and seems to be making some sense, even
if it isn't very clear. He tries to follow what the voice is saying, but he
struggles to keep up, and eventually he grows frustrated.
He forces himself to focus and open his eyes to a sight he never thought that
he would see.
***** The Pond *****
Chapter 11
Kanda notices the second that Allen's eyes begin to open. Hope and relief
replacing the anger that has been raging, begging to be released upon the
Moyashi's tormentors. With each growing sliver of silver, everything else at
the moment disappears, all except for those glowing, shimmering pool of liquid
metal.
He freezes when the younger neko's eyes are fully revealed. Those pools that he
has lost himself in so many times before are now flat, dead, as their light and
vitality has vanished. Those eyes stare blankly ahead, not completely seeing
anything, but still managing to take in everything.
He wants to pull away from those eyes, to be able to look back and see them
glittering with life once again, but try as he might, those dead eyes refuse to
let him escape from the truth.
Someone has left his Moyashi broken, and no amount of effort will truly make
him be the same carefree kitten he once was. He's been forced to grow up in a
very short period of time, even though it is of no fault of his own. His
Moyashi isn't completely dead, but he will never truly be Kanda's Moyashi ever
again. Too much has happened for that to even be considered a possibility.
Kanda slowly reaches out and brushes the few stray hairs from Allen's face.
Noticing the grimace etching the younger's features with the contact, his heart
breaks just a little more, knowing that the Moyashi is even afraid of his
touch. The moment that contact is broken, the expressionless mask returns,
hardening Kanda's heart towards the bastards that dared do this, even more.
He doesn't notice the silence that has filled the room ever since Allen's eyes
opened, yet he takes notice of it when he leaves. He wants to turn back, but he
knows that he can't handle seeing those soulless eyes staring at nothing, not
when they should be full of life and laughter. But even as he leaves the room,
feeling the eyes of the others following him, he knows that there is one pair
not following. And that pair is the only one that Kanda truly cares about right
now.
….
Once he manages to pry his eyes open, Allen knows that he is still dreaming,
after all, the sight before him is no longer possible. Even though seeing
something like this has plagued most of his waking thoughts, having it manifest
itself so vividly simply for a dream is cruel.
He can see Lavi at the foot of his bed, leaning over to get a better look at
him. The redhead seems to be silent, and for some reason, half of his face is
covered in bandages. Lenalee is just behind Lavi, tears seeming to dance in her
eyes as she too continues to stare at him. Just out of the corner of his eye,
he can see a glimpse of Alma, a look of shock etched in his features, yet at
the same time, a smile is quirking at his mouth.
All of it seems like it might be possible, not very likely, but still possible.
That is, until Allen feels a hand pushing his hair out of his face. When he
turns to see who it is, he knows without a doubt that he is dreaming a very
cruel dream indeed. Before his eyes is a nearly perfect replication of what
Allen remembers Kanda to look like. There are some subtle differences from his
memory, but there is no mistaking that nearly black hair that always has a blue
sheen to it, or those eye such a deep blue, that even the depths of the ocean
present no competition. This version of Kanda also sports a very tired look,
dark smudges appear under his eyes, and he leans forward as if in defeat of
something. Allen knows this is only a dream, but he wants to reach out, just to
try to touch this apparition and prove to himself once and for all, that this
isn't real, that his Kanda is only a figment of his imagination. But he knows
better than to reach out, it will only make the image disappear faster, taking
more of his broken heart with it.
Allen flinches away from the sudden touch, knowing that this too isn't real. To
have nearly everyone he's ever cared about all together, in the same place, at
the same time, it's just and impossibility. Too many things have happened for
this to ever be a reality. Allen hasn't seen Lavi since the day that Sheryl
came to take him to the House of Noah, he hasn't even seen Lenalee in years,
especially not after she moved. Then there is Komui standing in the corner
watching with what appears to be a sad interest. And Alma has been listed as
missing, so why would he suddenly be here of all places, why not somewhere
where he can truly be free, like he wants to be. And Kanda, Allen doesn't even
know where Kanda is, much less what he looks like now, or if he's even still
alive for that matter. Just too many impossibilities in one place to have a
chance at being real.
But Allen figures that even if it really is only a dream, he might as well
enjoy it. He goes to look at Kanda again, knowing that even as a dream, this is
still one of the few chances that he has to see the older neko, something he
has been wanting to do ever since Kanda was first kidnapped all those years
ago. When he goes to turn to look at is long lost friend, he is slightly taken
aback when he sees his dream image of Kanda stand and making to leave the room.
Allen looks away, knowing that he won't be able to handle the sight, even if it
is only a dream leaving him.
Since Kanda is leaving him, he turns his attention back to the rest of the
people in his dream, all of whom seem to be watching the dream Kanda leave the
room with varying degrees of curiosity and sadness written across their
features. They watch him for a moment before turning their attention back to
Allen.
He can see that Lavi is trying to say something to him, a semi-forced smile
upon his face, but no matter what he says, Allen can't understand him. It's
almost like Lavi is on the other side of a long tunnel and the sound has become
distorted and irregular, losing it's meaning. Allen tries his best to
concentrate and understand Lavi, but all he hears is unconnected and seemingly
unimportant garble.
The amount of energy he expends trying to focus on Lavi's words soon becomes
too much for him, and he can feel himself becoming very exhausted by the
effort, but he fights against this feeling, not wanting this dream to end. He
is vaguely aware of a nurse like figure just inside the door, telling the
occupants something that is again, lost to Allen, but still must be important.
The dream figures of his friends look despairingly back at him, before one by
one, they all leave the room.
After a few moments, and some backwards glances, Allen is left completely alone
with this new dream nurse who starts to write something down on her clipboard.
He pays her little attention, after all, this is just a dream about to end, and
soon she too will disappear along with the rest of his friends.
He lets his mind begin to drift again. The images of this dream becoming
distant and unfocused as he continues to fight the inevitable end. He smiles to
himself thinking that at least he got to see his friends one last time, even if
it was truly only in a dream. He takes some comfort in this, knowing that even
if it was only a dream, at least he now has something new to look back on. He
eventually lets his weariness overcome him, as he drifts off to the next dream,
hoping that it will be as nice as this last one.
….
Later that night, Kanda finds himself, restlessly wondering through the halls
of the White Ark. He doesn't really pay any attention to where he's going; his
mind is too wrapped within itself to truly care. He is having a very hard time
coming to terms with all that has happened to his little Moyashi. To think that
such a small and innocent kitten was forced to go through all of that, only to
have his mind be forced completely into himself once he finally does find
himself in a safe place.
Kanda can understand why the Moyashi is doing that. After all, he's been forced
to endure so much pain, that it will take him a while to truly realize that he
is in a safe place. The realization that he might never truly ever feel even a
little safe here unsettles Kanda. It may be a matter of days, weeks, or even
years before he can finally accept the truth of his safety, but Kanda plans to
be there for him every step of the way, no matter how long it takes.
Eventually Kanda decides to find out just where he is and looks up to find
himself just outside of the Moyashi's door. He contemplates entering just for a
minute, but at the same time, not wanting to have to see those empty eyes
again, but he knows that he needs to get used to that sight if he is to be of
any help at all for Allen. He opens the door as quietly as possible, trying not
to disturb the Moyashi inside. He peaks though the crack in the door, before
opening it even wider to find a sight that he had hoped he would never find
here. The room is completely empty with no Allen to be found.
He races from the room, running towards the Records desk. He quickly asks if
the Moyashi has been moved to another room and when he receives no response, he
alerts them to the absence of Allen. They run off to the room to confirm this
for themselves, and upon finding the room empty, they start an alarm blaring
throughout the White Ark.
In a matter of seconds, people are running up to the Records desk to find out
what has happened. When they are informed of Allen's disappearance, a massive
search begins. People begin to organize into groups and set off in all
directions looking for the young neko.
Lavi and Lenalee appear just after the first group has left. Upon discovering
what has happened, they go and inspect the room themselves, and upon finding
nothing out of place besides the missing Moyashi, they set off together to find
their lost friend.
Before he sets off with the others, Kanda stops for a moment considering what
he already knows and what he assumes the Moyashi knows, anything to help bring
the Moyashi back to the people who can help him and truly care about him. He
knows that Allen is still fairly weak from his recent experiences and thus
won't be able to have gone very far, he won't know where he is and will
probably get lost and confused very easily meaning that he could be pretty much
anywhere, and the Moyashi will probably try to go outside, or at least some
place quiet and open to try to figure out just where he is. Kanda thinks for a
moment on these things before heading off to the one place that he is pretty
sure that the Moyashi might have gone.
He runs though the levels of the White Ark, heading for his destination at the
very center of the vast complex. The only problem is that this location is only
accessible through the lower floors, where as the medical units takes up most
of the middle levels. This means that while this is more likely where Allen
would go, but it also means that it would be very easy for him to get lost on
his way there.
He finally makes it down to the fifth floor before using one of the access
points to jump into the nearest tree and make his way down to the ground level
from there. He makes his way to the floor of the indoor park before stopping
for a moment to see where exactly he ended up.
He is in the middle of what would appear to be a clearing in a forest. Trees
reach up through the levels towards the giant skylight overhead, making it seem
as though it truly is exposed to the natural elements. There are pathways made
with misshapen stones but there is plenty of evidence where people tend to
stray from the path and into the greenery. Flowers, smaller trees, and bushes
dot the indoor landscape, hiding most of the artificial elements that make this
room possible.
Kanda continues down the path towards the one area that he thinks that he will
find the Moyashi. He ends up in one of the most tranquil spots in the entirety
of the White Ark. A small waterfall cascades through the trees and into a small
pond, the constantly moving water provides a home for two coy fish. It is by
this pond that he finds the Moyashi staring at the one black and one white
fish. He gaze is still not completely seeing, but he does seem a bit more aware
of himself than before. He is leaning against the sign telling people not to
disturb the fish with his feet dangling over the edge of the pond.
Allen seems to be completely relaxed despite probably feeling completely lost.
Kanda stares at the sight in front of him, never expecting to ever see
something quite like this, but treasuring it all the same. The moonlight coming
in from the skylight seems to reflect off of his white hair and clothing,
making it seem like his is some type of mystical guardian of the forest. Kanda
does not wish to disturb such a scene, but he slowly makes his way over to
Allen, careful not to make too much noise and disturb the younger neko. Allen
seems not to notice as the older sits beside him, but continues to stare into
the depths of the pond.
They stay like that for a while, not moving or saying anything, but simply
being there. Eventually Kanda feels Allen rest his head on his shoulder. He
looks down and is surprised to find a slight spark in the Moyashi's gaze.
Nothing seems to have sparked this light, and it is nothing even close to what
it once was, but it is there all the same. And the fact that Allen isn't
shaking or trying to get away surprises him even further, but he doesn't wish
for that reaction to return to the younger neko either. Slowly, Allen looks up
at Kanda and gives a slight smile. "I've missed you. Even if this is only a
dream, I've still missed you."
Kanda is frozen at those words. He is rather gratified to know that the Moyashi
has missed him, but to find out that he thinks that all of this is only a
dream, that hurts Kanda more than he'd ever care to admit. He looks into those
silver eyes, seeing the sadness in their depths with the though of this only
being a dream. He takes a risk and pulls the younger close to him, not wanting
those eyes to be so sad.
The two of them stay like that long after the younger neko drifts off into
sleep once again, only this time he sleeps in the arms of the one he has
searched for, for so long. Kanda holds Allen close to himself, not wanting this
moment to end, knowing that as soon as Allen wakes, he will revert back into
his shell, only this time, no one will be able to say just how long he will
stay there.
As the sun begins to make itself known to the little area of greenery,
footsteps pound through the lowest level, disturbing the tranquility that had
been there a moment ago. Kanda turns to face the oncoming people, but is
careful not to shift too much and wake the sleeping Moyashi. Kanda can see a
few lights dancing between the trees as the group comes closer, and eventually
one light breaks through landing on him and the Moyashi.
Alma and Lavi approach cautiously, despite Kanda trying to shoot them a glance
telling them to leave. They ignore him, but when they get close enough to see
Allen resting on Kanda, they both turn off their lights, not quite believing
the sight before them. Lavi stares at the pair just a little longer before his
usual goofy grin appears and he flashes Kanda two thumbs up before silently
retreating. But never letting the sight before his eyes escape before they are
swallowed up in the little remaining darkness.
Alma stays watching the sight before him with mixed emotions. On one hand it is
perfect opportunity to finally be able to say what he has been wanting to for
so long, but at the same time, if he says something now, it might do more
damage than good. He stares at the pair, contemplating what to do before he
takes it upon himself to let these feelings be known once and for all,
especially since that baka usagi is finally gone. He closes the distance over
to Kanda and Allen and sits on the other side of Allen so that he can face
Kanda while he talks.
Kanda watches him for a moment, an eyebrow raised in question, but Alma doesn't
reply yet, instead he opts to shift the Moyashi away from Kanda and into his
own lap. Somehow Allen manages to stay asleep despite the movement. But seeing
this Kanda's entire being hardens, his ears pin themselves back and his tail
stills as he sees Alma grinning with his head on top of Allen's.
"Just what do you think you're doing?" Venom laces Kanda's words, each one
meant to sting the neko holding his Moyashi.
A sly grin crosses Alma's face. "I'm just giving little Allen here a little bit
of familiarity. After all, as far as we know, he doesn't know that you're
really here, so wouldn't it make more sense for him to wake up in the arms of
someone who's more likely to have actually found him? After all, we did grow
rather, close, while you were off who knows where. And unlike you, I was able
to give him comfort where and when you couldn't."
Kanda's glare darkens. "Do you honestly think that I spent all of my time doing
nothing? Do you think that all those escapes attempts from that accursed Black
Ark were just for fun? Of course not! I did everything I could to get out of
that place and back to him. If I had known that he was going to be brought
there, don't you think that I would have acted sooner!" Rage blazes from
Kanda's being, all because of Alma's seemingly pointless and accusing
questions.
Alma scoots closer to Kanda, the Moyashi now being the only thing separating
the two of them. "But you want to know what irks me the most? All you and Allen
ever talk about is each other. I think I've spent enough time with the two of
you to say this. You don't deserve each other."
Shock and rage is written across Kanda's face, and it elevates when he sees
Alma lean his head down so that he gives Allen a rather extended kiss on his
sickly pale lips. Kanda stares for a moment, completely in shock at Alma's
forwardness. However, his staring is interrupted as suddenly he finds Alma's
lips upon his own, brushing and gently pulling him in deeper.
Kanda breaks off the kiss, his eyes wide with confusion and fear. He tries to
take the Moyashi back from Alma, but the older neko prevents it. He watches
Kanda with an amused expression. "What? Did you honestly think that after all
of that time together, I would simply just let you run off with Allen once you
found him? I'll admit that once I met Allen I was a bit put off by his sense of
loyalty to you, but at the same time, I admired it. Eventually I accepted that
I could love the both of you, though you will always be my first love between
the two of you."
He leans in to give Kanda another kiss, but Kanda pulls away, using the
opportunity to pull the Moyashi back to himself, a look of utter possessiveness
etched in his features. Alma gives him an amused look. "That's alright love, I
understand that you need time to process this, but remember that my love is not
just for you, but the love for the two of you will still be there. Just let me
know when you are ready to accept this." A growl emanates from Kanda's throat,
sending the threatening sound towards Alma, but only just so he can hear it,
but staying quiet enough not to wake the Moyashi.
This earns a small smile of approval from Alma. "You can growl all you like,
but it won't change my feelings. After all, who wouldn't be attracted to you,
especially if they knew as much about you as I do. And who wouldn't love little
Allen, so fragile and pure in his ambitions. The two of you are perfect. I
don't think that I could have picked a better pair to love."
He leans in to give Allen another kiss, but stops when Kanda's growl deepens.
"Keep your filthy mouth to yourself and away from us, especially Allen. I don't
know what you think you are doing, but I know I don't have the same type of
feelings for you as you do for me, and I'm sure that the Moyashi feels the
same. Besides, what do you mean that you know me better than most? There are
only two people who I can honestly say that they know me, and you're not one of
them. We knew each other for a brief period of time, enough to meet each other,
but not truly know anything about the other. We were partners in finding escape
routes out of that hell hole, but nothing more."
Alma continues to smirk. "Whatever you save love. I can leave you and your
opinions be for now, to let you get used to the idea of the three of us." With
that Alma gives Kanda one last loving look, and Allen, a brush on his jaw with
the back of his hand. He leaves the area with Kanda's eyes burning a hole in
the back of his head, but not really caring, feeling that Kanda will come
around to the idea of the three of them together, soon enough.
Kanda watches Alma's retreating form, praying that he will get it through his
thick head that Kanda doesn't see him like that, more like a brother, but no
where near a lover. And that idea that another, Alma or not, would love the
Moyashi, and want to be his mate, drives Kanda to glare even more after Alma.
And the very thought of the three of them together, like that, is just too much
for Kanda, the very idea of having to share the Moyashi with another is far to
unpleasant to even give a moments thought.
He shakes his head, trying to clear away those thoughts, after all, they might
bother him, but in the end, nothing will ever come from them except needless
worry. Just the thought of anything like that is just absurd.
As the sun continues to make it's presence known, Allen begins to stir in his
sleep. Kanda smiles at the familiar movement, recalling how the Moyashi has
always done this before waking, even since he was just a few months old.
Knowing that he doesn't have too long before Allen will wake; he picks up the
younger neko so that the other can still rest his head on the elder's
shoulders, without being moved around too much. With his arms helping to hold
Allen up close to his knees and feeling the slightly protruding stomach of the
younger rub against him as he walks.
Feeling this roundness reminds Kanda that no matter what he can do for the
Moyashi, there is still more physical and mental pain in the future because of
this bastard litter. He's pretty sure that Allen has already started to feel
protective and parental to these unborn kittens, but he knows that that
attachment will only make it worse for Allen in the long run.
…...
Allen feels the heaviness that comes with waking from a deep sleep begin to
lift. He wishes that the sleep wouldn't leave, simply because two of his dreams
had had Kanda in them, and even though it's only in a dream, he wants nothing
but to see Kanda again.
He can tell that he's being carried somewhere, but that's not too uncommon,
especially since Lulubell tends to like to have him have his medical exams
early in the morning, before anyone else is even awake, including himself. He
hope that she won't take too long, so that he can go back to his dream, even
though it was too good to be real, it was still very inviting.
Allen leans into the arms holding him, he's not quite sure why, but this person
seems very familiar. Maybe it's because only one person has ever carried him
quite like this, or maybe it's because he can tell just by the scent of the
person that they are a neko, just like him.
For just a moment, it almost seems like it is Kanda carrying him, even the
scent is slightly like that of his lost friend, but at the same time, he
doesn't want to open his eyes, knowing that if he does, he won't be able to
handle the thought of being held like that by anyone other than Kanda. He
decides to indulge in his fantasy, just this once, and imagine that it really
is Kanda carrying him like he used to all those many, many years ago.
However, his fantasy is interrupted when he feels something in his stomach
move. He thinks nothing of it for a second, but pays closer attention to where
the kittens are developing. About a minute later he feels the same type of
movement again, only this time in slightly different spot.
His eyes snap open, quickly taking in the growing area of his stomach, almost
as if he expects to see his stomach physically move with each internal
movement. When nothing happens, he lets his excitement fall and decides to at
least get a glimpse of whoever is carrying him.
When his eyes see the dark black hair with a blue sheen, his spirits fall,
knowing that this won't be Kanda; no matter much he wishes it to be true. He
dares another glance, only this time making it past the familiar color of hair.
As Allen's eyes meet the deep sapphire depths, time seems to stop. Looking into
the eyes of the one he's searched for, he knows without a doubt that this is no
illusion, that he is indeed looking into the eyes of the one he truly loves.
***** Sitting in the Rain *****
Chapter 12
Allen takes a minute to stare into those sapphire depths, trying to take in
everything that is Kanda, everything uniquely him and only him, all at once.
His scent, his movement, how deep blue his eyes truly are, and simply how he
looks now. To really know that this is real, that Kanda is in fact in front of
him, holding him close like he used to when they were younger. He really does
know this to be true, but he can't bring himself to believe that it is true.
If Kanda is holding him, then that must mean that either Kanda has been brought
back to the Black Ark, or that somehow, they were able to get him away from
that place. He hopes that's the latter, that he is finally away from those
dreadful people. But he truly doesn't care, either way, by now Kanda must know
everything that has happened to him. How dirty and worthless he really is, and
yet for some unknown Kanda is allowing himself to hold such undeserving filth.
Why? Why would Kanda do something like that? Why would he bring himself down to
that level to associate with such dirt? Allen is thoroughly confused. The Kanda
he knew couldn't stand humans who would just give themselves away to people who
held no meaning to them, so why wouldn't his situation be any different? After
all, Allen is no longer a virgin, he no longer could hold his head high around
others because he knows that all he is now, is a common whore.
Shame and fear wash over Allen in waves as the situation begins to finally sink
in. He doesn't deserve any kind of treatment like this, not by someone so
caring, someone he loves, and who has known him for most of his life. He's
filthy inside and out, a nobody who deserves not even a single kindness due to
the severity of his actions, and ultimately the results of his actions.
It takes all of his will power, but he is finally able to look away from those
beautiful, pure bottomless depths. He knows that he is completely unworthy of
the person holding him, no matter how much he wants to be held by him, so
close, but yet because of his worthlessness, so far away.
Allen takes on last lingering look at Kanda, trying to memorize everything
about this beautiful creature before him one more time, knowing that it is not
meant to be, otherwise it would be Kanda's kittens he is carrying, not the
small lives that will never live to see what life can truly be like; what it is
to love, and what it is cry.
He knows what will happen to them and because of that, he has cried all of his
tears for them many weeks ago, but the reality of their impending demise still
haunts him. He knows what will happen, he knows that all of his care and love
for them is useless, but he still can't bring himself to love them any less
because of it.
And that is why, for his own sanity and to escape the displeased and disgusted
looks he is sure to receive from the one he loves, Allen manages to wiggle his
way out of Kanda's arms and before Kanda can make a move to stop him, takes off
down the hall, not daring to look back, else he lose his resolve and end up
tainting the older neko.
….
When Kanda is suddenly greeted with those liquid sliver depths that he's longed
for for so many long years, he can't help but stare back for a moment, trying
to figure out why this liquid metal has finally come back to him. He halts his
staring when he notices that something is very off with the clarity of the
sliver, too much pain is written there, threating to overcome any lingering
familiarities with the pure liquid metal that they once were.
He chances a look at the face of the neko with the haunted silver eyes, hoping
that the pain is only haunting his eyes and not the rest of him. He finds that
shame is written upon the younger neko's features, a sight that Kanda can't
even begin to comprehend. What would the Moyashi have to be ashamed about? It's
not his fault that either of them was kidnapped, or that they ended up at that
place. And clearly him being pregnant certainly wasn't his fault; he's too
young and small to overcome anyone who would possibly try to take him.
An internal debate suddenly seems to rage across the younger's features for a
moment, but it ends quickly and that expressionless mask that Kanda has come to
despise returns once more. Even though his eyes are no longer flat like before,
this is still not the Allen that Kanda used to know. The neko before him is
scared beyond belief, and for some unknown reason, carries a lot of self blame,
a potentially dangerous situation for the younger neko if he lets it continue
for too long.
Kanda feels the younger start to wiggle out of his grasp. Instinctually, He
tightens his hold for a moment, hoping to calm the younger down, or at least
give him a little reassurance, but it only seems to make the smaller struggle
even harder. He really doesn't want to let the Moyashi go. Even if this really
isn't the same Moyashi that he used to know, he is still his Moyashi, and no
one else is allowed to have him for themselves.
Eventually he loosens his grip just enough for the younger to slip out of his
grasp, hoping that maybe the Moyashi will calm down, even just a little bit and
relax for a moment before his panic becomes too bad. However, the moment he
does loosen his hold, the little white neko slips out of his grasp, running
down the hall as if the hounds of hell are at his heels.
Kanda is completely stunned for a moment, trying to figure out just what he did
to make his Moyashi react like that. Was it that his trying to hold on to him
making him that uncomfortable, or could it be that he is still resenting human
touch after being raped? What was it? Was it something that Kanda can fix, or
is it something that the Moyashi will need to get over on his own?
After a moment of contemplating this, he suddenly realizes that Allen doesn't
know where anything is in the building, and will probably end up lost and
possibly hurting himself if he's still in the same frame of mind for too. He
sets off running down the same hall that he'd last seen Allen go down, hoping
that he will be able to find the younger neko before he can manage to get
himself too lost.
He runs through the vast number of hallways as quickly as possible, trying to
figure out where Allen could have possibly gone. A few times when he starts to
become too desperate, he actually stops and asks a few people if they've seen
Allen come by. But it seems that no one can tell him anything about the
whereabouts of his Moyashi.
Eventually Kanda tries looking around the medical wing to see if maybe someone
has found him since he started looking, and was smart enough to turn him back
in to the medical staff. He checks Lavi and Allen's room, and when he finds it
still empty, he goes to ask one of the nurses at the Records desk to see if
he's in a different room or in an examination. When the nurse at the Records
desk can tell him nothing, he goes off to ask the only other person he can
think of that might have an inkling as to where the Moyashi might have hidden
himself.
It doesn't take too long before Kanda finds himself across a table from the
redheaded Usagi that likes to annoy him to no end. And when Kanda explains that
Allen went missing in the White Ark again, Lavi simply stares at him. There is
a moment of silence before Lavi seem to have collected the majority of what
Kanda has been trying to tell him.
"Well if I was him I'd probably try to go to the one place here that would make
me the most comfortable and the place that I'm most familiar with. However,
Allen doesn't know anything about this place, where anything is, after all he's
pretty much been completely oblivious since arriving here, so my guess is that
he'll keep running and hiding until he finds somewhere where he feels at least
a little safe. Where that will be, I haven't a clue, but I'm sure we'll find it
eventually, that or eventually he'll come out of hiding all on his own.
"In the mean time, the best thing we can do is give him some space and time for
now. After all, he's probably feeling very overwhelmed and will need some time
to adjust and really get a grasp on what is going on around him. If we try to
force him too much, he'll probably just try to retreat into himself again." He
sees Kanda frowning at this. "Look, I'm not saying that we leave him alone
forever, or that we completely disappear away from him for a while, all I'm
saying is that we need to approach him as like he's a small scared animal,
which is pretty much his state of mind anyway. We need to approach him on his
terms, not ours. Too much and we might just end up pushing him away."
Kanda gives Lavi a slight glare. "And just pray tell did you figure all of this
out? Please don't tell me you're interested in the Moyashi too. And why exactly
am I supposed to treat him like a small animal again?"
Lavi waves off the glare. "I actually figured this out a long time ago.
Especially right after Allen was kidnapped, Panda and I talked a lot about what
Allen might be like when we found him, and we figured that this might be a
possibility. We didn't really consider that it would be quite this bad, but I
still tried to keep it in mind for when we found him. Basically, right now he
doesn't know where he is or what's going on, he's pregnant which will make him
more defensive, and he's still probably scared that someone will try to attack
him again. That's why you need to treat him like the small wounded animal he
currently is.
"Now on another completely separate note, just why in the hell do you think
that I'm attracted to Allen? He's a good kid, cute too, but I'm not into that
whole interspecies, personal relationship thing. To me, he's like my kid
bother, and I'll always be the big bother there to look after him and be there
for him when he needs it. Nothing more and nothing less. He's part of my
family, and I'll never see him as anything beyond that. Now, what do you mean
by 'too'? Who was trying to challenge you for Allen?"
Kanda just rolls his eyes, he lowers his head into his hands before mumbling
out something about Alma and him being an insensitive bastard. Eventually his
mumblings become very incoherent, but every once in a while, Lavi is able to
pick out a word or two and after an hour or so, roughly figure out what
transpired between the three of them.
Once Kanda has quieted down, and his head is now lying completely on the table,
a look of defeat across his features, Lavi makes his opinion known. "To me it
sounds like you and Allen both have a rival for one another. Now I can't tell
you what to or not to do, but I can tell you that you need to make your
intentions and feelings clear to both of them if you want this to stay or go
away. I'm pretty sure that Allen won't be up for a threesome, and I highly
doubt that he'd want to share you. But some of that is up to you too. But
seeing as you've never told Allen your feelings for him, he might not return
them, that or after everything that's happened to the poor kid, he might not
feel like he can love anyone, at least for a long time. So yeah, you're pretty
much stuck for now, or at least until Allen returns your feelings."
Kanda looks up at him from the table. "That's probably one of the most
depressing and confusing things you've ever told me." He sighs, letting it
linger for a moment. "I guess it's too late and too soon to go looking for the
Moyashi again. I guess I'll go turn in for the night."
"Are you going back to stay with Komui and Lenalee like you have been for the
last few months? Or are you finally going to move back into your room?" When he
gets no response from the neko he tries again. "You know, you could always go
and stay the night in Allen's room, just in case he manages to find his way
back. That way you'll be the first to know."
Kanda contemplates this for a moment before leaving the room and Lavi behind.
Eventually he stops for a moment outside the door to his own room, a room which
he has yet to manage to sleep in. He steps inside before grabbing the blanket
off of the bed and heading for the door again.
His next stop is the Moyashi's room. He wonders for a moment if a nurse will
kick him out for sleeping here, but he decides that he doesn't really care. He
once again takes up residence in the chair closest to the bed, making sure to
wrap himself in the blanket. He struggles to sleep for a while, but the thought
of being able to be there for Allen when he manages to make his way back to
this room allows him to drift off into a light dreamless slumber.
….
Allen runs for as long as he can, but before too long he starts to feel his
fatigue and the strain on his bulging stomach become too much. With his body
forcing him to slow down, he is much more cautious with how he proceeds.
Several times he has to duck into a room, or behind a door to avoid being seen
by other people walking purposefully to their intended destinations.
All of the walking and dodging, makes Allen hopelessly lost, and though he
still wishes to remain unseen and left alone, he still can't help but want to
stop one of those occasional people he sees and ask them where he is, or at
least for directions to somewhere, anywhere in this confusing building. But no
matter how much he wants to ask, he can't bring himself to taint others with
his presence.
After what seems like hours of endless wandering, Allen finds himself in the
doorway to a room that seems vaguely familiar, but completely impossible at the
same time. Beyond the door is what appears to be a room that is outdoors, but
yet somehow manages to remain contained indoors. He can't believe his eyes, but
it even appears to be raining in the not-outdoor outdoor room. Pouring
actually, each raindrop glistening as it reflects light from the outside world
on its fall to nourish the ground and everything living there.
He takes a hesitant step into this wonderland, marveling at the feeling of wet
grass between his toes, and the soft earth molding briefly around each bare
foot that meets it for any period of time. He slowly makes his way to the
center of this room, a large redwood whose branches reach beyond his line of
sight and throughout the room. He reaches out and carefully touches the tree,
slightly surprised to find that despite the rain, it is slightly warm to the
touch.
Running his hand delicately along the bark of the massive tree, he winds his
way through the branches until he finally stops on a branch where he can sit
and lean back against the ancient tree, while still being able to feel the rain
on his face. The warmth of the tree, and the coolness of the rain help to sooth
his aches and pains, as well as help him to calm down and collect himself.
He lets the comfort of the tree and rain drown out most of his thoughts, lest
they become too chaotic and return back to one of the two issues he really
doesn't want to have to face right now, his rape and thus his litter, or that
of the breathtaking and confusing Kanda Yuu. He lets the pounding of the rain
on the leaves around him drown out these unwanted thoughts and let him drift
into a blissful, thoughtless oblivion.
So far gone is his awareness, he doesn't even notice when another neko sets
herself on the branch above him, staring down at him for a good half hour. This
new neko just stares at him, never moving, but also never looking away.
Eventually her brows begin to knit together and she hisses out "And just who
are you and what do you think that you're doing in my tree?"
Allen is startled out of his oblivious bliss, only to find this rather annoyed
neko staring at him. He immediately looks away and begins to pull himself off
of the mighty tree, hoping to not anger her any further.
The female neko just watches his attempts to leave before sighing. "You know,
you don't have to leave. I just want a name and why you are sitting in the
rain, in my tree." Seeing Allen stop, but still looking unconvinced she
continues. "Come on, I don't bite, at least not that much. Besides, I want to
know what kind of nut job chooses to be sleeping in the rain like that, in a
tree of all places. You'll catch a cold if you're not careful."
Allen doesn't answer, feeling like he must of trespassed on her property and
thus angered her, he tries not to provoke her more by staying and listening to
what she says. But when she starts demanding things like his name and why he is
there, he feels that he can't honestly answer her.
He really doesn't feel like he knows who he really is anymore, so what would he
tell her? And why is he in her tree, how is he to explain that he didn't know
it was her tree when she sounds like it is obvious that it is her tree and no
one else's. He chooses to say nothing, hoping that she will just leave him in
peace so that he can just disappear to another part of this vast place without
bothering anyone else.
When she realizes that the boy in front of her won't answer willingly, she
pushes her reddish orange hair out of her face and hops down onto the boy's
branch. She slowly makes her way towards him, making him retreat until his back
is against the tree once more. She looks at him with her large brown eyes,
trying to encourage him to speak, but when he still refuses to, she extends her
tattoo-covered hand for him to shake. "Ok if you're not going to start, I will.
My name is Fou, I'm the first neko to ever be brought here and I've been the
guardian of this area ever since." She waits for any sign in the young boy that
he's understood at least part of what she said, even if he still refuses to
shake her hand. "Now, since I told you my name, I think I have the right to
know yours."
He looks away, and his cheeks turn slightly red, but she does manage see his
mouth move, mumbling out something. She strains to here, but the boy in front
of her is either just too quiet or the rain is just too loud. "Let's try that
again, only this time say it loud enough for me to hear it."
With him still looking away, she still can't catch the name, or at least she
thinks she's missing something. All she managed to hear was Allen, no last
name, that part must have died out with the other mumbles and falling rain.
"I still can't here you!"
He turns his head back towards her, annoyance and fear obvious in his every
feature. "I said my name's Allen."
She smiles smugly at him. "See that wasn't so bad now was it Allen." When he
starts to turn his head away again, she speaks again. "Ok, so I know that your
name is Allen, but what about your last name? Surely you have one of those too,
don't you?"
Allen gives a resigned sigh, figuring that this loud female will just continue
to pester him with questions until she's satisfied so he might as well give her
the information that she wants and just jump out of the tree if she tries to
pry too much. The ground really isn't too far down, and the ground looks like
it would probably be soft enough to break his fall if need be.
"I don't really have a last name, the one I do have was given to me when I was
at the Black Ark. They said that all nekos that come through without a last
name are given the last name of Walker in honor of the first neko to ever be
held there."
Fou stares at him before a small sympathetic smile graces her features. "I
remember being offered the same last name when I had my stay at the Black Ark,
but I didn't want it. I was brought there over fifty years ago, when nekos
could still go out and interact with society as people, instead of as pets. I
was brought in when I was just older than you are now. However, I was one of
the lucky ones, I was never bought and after just a few months, I was rescued
and brought here. The man that rescued me told me that he would help me leave
and go somewhere safer, but I told him that I wanted to stay. At first I
thought I owed him something, but as times have changed I've taken up the role
of guardian here for his remaining family.
"That man was truly a saint, when his son found out that he would never be able
to have children with his wife, he helped them adopt a young kitten that had
been hidden and left behind when its family was ripped from their home. That
kitten is now one of the directors for this whole operation."
She falls silent, smiling slightly at some memory, and leaving Allen to process
what he just heard. However, the smile disappears quickly and a smirk is soon
in its place. "Now I'm just going to take a shot at what your story is, that
way you don't have to tell me, but I do hope you'll tell me if I get anything
wrong. How's that sound?" When Allen gives a small nod, she continues.
"I'm guessing that you were probably in that last group of nekos to be brought
back from the Black Ark, and seeing as how most of them have left, you either
decided to stay like me, or you haven't been officially released from the
medical unit yet. Am I right so far?" Allen gives her a small nod.
"Now I might be wrong on this one, and if I am, then I'm sorry and it was never
meant as an insult. I'm guessing that you are a Bearer. You seem far too small
and thin to be having such a full stomach for any other reason besides that.
Now, did I get that part right?" Another nod. "Since you're here by yourself,
your mate must not be here, or you must not have a mate do you? But if you
don't have a mate, then how are you so full with a litter?"
Silence reigns for a few minutes as Fou tries to figure out why Allen has a
litter, but eventually he breaks the silence. "They're from a human. A human
that t- to- took me during my first heat." He turns his head away in shame.
A look of understanding and acknowledgement shows clearly on Fou's face.
"Allen, Allen, look at me. Come on look at me. Good that's better. Now, I know
you've probably heard this s thousand times by now, but this wasn't your fault
and it doesn't make you less of a person because of it. You aren't the first
Bearer to come through here like this, and I highly doubt that you'll be the
last. What has happened to you, the fact that you are carrying a litter, is
their fault, not yours, and it never will be your fault. From what I can tell
of your character, you did nothing to seduce that person, nor did you enjoy it.
You probably struggled as hard as you could to get away right?" Tears stream
down Allen's cheeks with each every word she says.
"I'll take that as a yes. That means that this isn't your fault, yes they hurt
you, but you need to be able to move past that and strengthen yourself so that
it won't happen again. Now that choice is yours and yours alone to make, but
I'm sure that you'll make the right choice."
She watches him as the tears continue to flow, and eventually begin to dry up.
Sensing that he is calming down, she tries to distract him, even just a little.
"So, you never did tell me what you're doing out here in the rain."
A smile quirks at Allen's mouth, though it never reaches any farther. "I've
always liked the rain. I don't really know why, but for some reason, it feels
like an old friend, one I can rely on. One that will eventually bring help if I
ever really need it."
A confused look crosses Fou's features, but she decides to let the young neko
have his opinions and ideas, despite how crazy they might seem to her. She
replaces the confusion with a smile after a minute or so. "So, it's getting
late and the two of us should be heading off to bed soon, and probably a hot
shower too after sitting out in the rain for so long. Now, I'm guessing that
you don't know where anything is yet, so I'm just going to show you how to get
up to the medical wing and they should help you be able to find your room from
there. Come on let's go."
Once they both make it out of the tree and are heading for the door, Allen
turns around to take another look at the mighty tree he just spent the last few
hours in. Fou turns at the doorway to see Allen looking at the tree and a
genuine smile make itself known, but she is quick to replace it with a smirk
lest Allen catch it. "You do know that that tree will be there later, right?
Just make sure to stop by and see me when you come to climb it next time. Ok?"
Allen gives a small nod before following her once more.
….
The sound of softly shuffling feet brings Kanda back to consciousness, but he
keeps his eyes mostly closed, trying to see who it is without startling them
too much. Through that small sliver of vision, relief floods though Kanda as he
sees Fou, the White Ark's resident guardian talking to the Moyashi and
gesturing for him to go in his room. She is speaking too softly for him to
hear, but Kanda knows that if Allen's been with her this whole time, then he's
just fine.
He watches her leave and Allen finally come in the room, but he is very
confused as to why his Moyashi seems to be dripping wet. He tries to figure out
just what the Moyashi might have gotten into to be in his present state, but
nothing immediately comes to mind.
That is, nothing comes to mind until he remembers that he came in with Fou, who
also seemed to be quite wet. If the Moyashi was with Fou, then he must have
made it back to the indoor park, and that's why he's completely soaked through.
They said that they were going to open the skylights so that the days'
rainstorm would be able to help water the plants inside with out using more
resources.
Once the situation is understood by Kanda, he goes back to watching the Moyashi
only to find him climb into bed, still completely soaked, but content
nonetheless. Kanda tries to suppress the urge to wake Allen up, insisting that
he take a proper heated shower before going to bed, but he stops when he sees
that Allen is already deep asleep.
Kanda waits a few minutes to make sure that the Moyashi is deep enough asleep
that he won't wake due to too much noise. When he is sure that it is safe to do
so, he untangles a hand from his blanket and lets his hand ghost over the
Moyashi's ear, feeling the softness and warmth of the small folded ear. He
freezes his hand when the Moyashi starts to move.
Fearing that his touches woke Allen up, Kanda's eyes fly to his face only to
find him still fast asleep, only now his head rests in Kanda's hand.
***** Birth *****
Chapter 13
The following morning, before the sun has even had a chance to breach the dark
halls of the White Ark, Kanda is suddenly awaked from his sleep. He first turns
his attention to see if there is any immediate danger threatening the Moyashi
or himself, and after a moment, when he is satisfied that they are still safe;
he turns his attention to the figures standing at the door.
That orange hair and purple clothing makes it obvious who the shorter figures
is, but the taller is just out of Kanda's line of sight, and still an unknown
other than that the shadow they are casting reveals the telltale ears and tail
of a neko. He knows that he can trust the shorter, and if the other neko is
with her, he knows that they wouldn't dare try to hurt the Moyashi.
After Fou has seen Kanda take note their presence, she and her companion beckon
for Kanda to leave Allen's side for just a moment to come out and speak with
them. Kanda hesitates for a moment, looking at the young neko who is still
using his hand as a pillow, a small smile gracing his features with the contact
that he has subconsciously been seeking. Kanda carefully removes his hand from
under the Moyashi's head, trying his best not to disturb the sleeping neko. The
moment his hand is gone, the Moyashi's face contorts into a mask of confusion
as he unconsciously moves his head, seeking out that warmth and comfort that
has suddenly disappeared on him.
Kanda gives the Moyashi one last look of longing before he shuts the door
behind him, making sure to close it without a sound, lest it wake the sleeping
Moyashi. Once in the hall, Kanda takes notice of the expectant looks decorating
the features of the two nekos in front of him. Fou has a rather mischievous
grin on her face, where as her companion seem to be a bit more contemplative,
his dark golden eyes contemplating and analyzing the taller neko before him.
There is an audible silence as the three appraise the current moods of each
other, but Fou is soon to break it with her eagerness. "Yuu Kanda," said neko
bristles at this, but she pays him no heed, "we've put our heads together, and
if you're willing and patient enough, we think we might just have a plan to
help Allen become more comfortable around people again, and to get him to trust
you again."
Kanda looks at her companion who is nodding his head to the extent where Kanda
begins to wonder if his white hat will fall off or get caught on one of his
ears. "Of course this won't happen overnight, and we'll need Allen's
cooperation as well, but I'm sure that this will work!" Determination flashes
through those golden eyes at the owner's statement.
The taller neko looks between the two in front of him, watching as their
eagerness and determination seems to grow with each passing second. His first
thoughts are to refuse their help and continue to do things his way, but a look
back at the door that hides his Moyashi makes him think again, makes him think
of Allen.
He sighs before turning his attention back to the other two. "I'll give this
one month, but if there doesn't seem to be any improvement for the Moyashi, I'm
scrapping the idea and doing it my way, understood?" The two nod adamantly at
this. "Ok, now that that part is settled, what do you want me to do?"
The two look at each other for a minute before the blond backs off leaving Fou
to do all of the talking. She gives him a slight pouting glare, but doesn't
seem to mind too much. "Right now all you need to do is go and do all of the
physical and mental training that you used to do each and every morning before
the raid."
Kanda raises an eyebrow. "And just how will that help the Moyashi?"
"He needs some personal space, and yesterday really was his first mental
awakening since being brought here, so that means that he is more likely to be
able to adapt to this environment. However, he was with you when he came to
this realization so he'll probably associate you with this awakening, which
seemed to be mostly filled with pain and grief, so on some subconscious level
he'll probably have those negative feelings about himself when he's around you
for now, and that may be the case for a while. It's possible that those
feelings might not ever completely leave him, but we try to help him suppress
those negative feelings with more positive, distracting ones. To do that, we
need to start with limiting your time with him, just for now. Pretty soon
you'll be able to spend more time with him, probably not doing or interacting
how you want to just yet, but it will be a step in that direction.
"Right now we want to start by letting him wake up on his own and alone in his
room; to be able to collect his thoughts and feelings before someone comes in
to see him. Now, since I've dealt with this type of situation before, and he
seems to be responding positively to me, I'll be the one to show him around and
help him interact with others more for the next few weeks. Today I plan to take
it slow and have it just be he and I, and then I'll have you come in to see him
for about and hour or so before he goes to sleep. Now, after he goes to sleep,
you can spend as much of the night in the room with him as you want, just as
long as you leave before he wakes up." She pauses to breath for a moment after
explaining so much so fast. "Any questions?"
"How exactly is this supposed to help him adjust?"
Fou rolls her eyes. "Each day he'll get to see someone he's already becoming
comfortable with for most of the day, me. Then he'll get to see you and me at
the same time so that he can start to readjust to your presence. Eventually,
I'll start having him spend time with other as well, with and without you
present, this way he'll be able to associate you and others with positive
emotions and memories. Each day we'll decrease the time I spend with him bit by
bit, and expand the time that you and others are around him so that over time
he becomes more and more comfortable with his surroundings and the people here.
"Now you know that he's gone through a lot, and the likelihood of him ever
completely getting over it is practically nonexistent, but we can do our best
to help him move on. He probably won't be the same as you remember him to be,
too much has happened for that to even be a possiblity, but you two can still
be together again, it will just take some time and some readjusting on both of
your parts."
She pauses before looking Kanda square in the eye. "I have no doubt that Allen
can do this, that he will help himself to recover with time, but I have to say,
from what I've seen, I don't know if you'll be able to restrain and restrict
yourself enough to let him help himself. Yuu Kanda, are you willing to do
whatever it takes to help Allen, no matter your own personal feelings and
desires?"
His first instinct is again to challenge what she is asking him, but Kanda
realizes that she really does only want what's best for the Moyashi, so he
stops for a moment to ask himself if he really is willing and able to do this
for his Moyashi. After much contemplation he looks between the two other nekos.
"As I said before, you have one month to let me start seeing results, I'm
counting on seeing some by then. I'll go along with it for that long, and
longer if it seems to be working. But only if it seems to be working by then"
A look of relief crosses Fou's face, but she is quick to cover it up by
grinning up at Kanda. "Ok so you know your part in this, so get out of here
already. We can't do anything until after you've left."
Kanda just looks at her. "Che." And he gives the door one last look before
setting off down the hallway to the training room.
Fou holds her grin until she can no longer see Kanda's back as he makes his way
down to the training grounds. After that she lets the grin fall and turns to
her companion, "Bak, I really hope this works."
A pair of arms circles her waist, pulling her close. "We all do. But it's not
up to us. It's all up to Allen now."
….
Time passes quickly after this, and even though each day is very much the same
as the ones before, by some perspectives, if someone were to compare Allen from
one week to the next, the changes they would be able to observe would astound
them if they knew all that had happened to the young neko. Even though there is
progress, there are still many things that need work, and some things that
might never be completely fixed, but the important thing is that despite all of
this, Allen is doing his best to move forward.
For Allen, the days that pass seem incredibly long and trying, but at the end
of each day, he can tell that it was all worth the effort. And he can tell that
day by day, things seem a little brighter, and maybe, just maybe, there really
is hope out there, even if it isn't as obvious as he would like it to be some
days.
From that first day that Allen woke up alone in his room, he somehow knew that
things were going to change, and after that, Fou came in and explained to him
that she wanted to help him to recover, but only for as long as Allen was
willing to try and help himself. He had hesitated at first, not because he
didn't want to be able to try to help himself, but because he wasn't sure if he
would be able to do it. It took him quite a bit of self-questioning, but
eventually he was able to give her the answer that the both wanted.
At first, it was all extremely overwhelming for Allen, so much so that at times
all he wanted to do was just leave things be and revert back to being alone and
staying that way, but eventually after much arguing by Fou, a few unknowingly
wisely spoken words from Lenalee, encouragements from Lavi, and from those few
times when Allen would see Kanda, he would always be able to overcome his
difficulties, somehow, and would eventually try to allow himself move on.
With each day, bit by bit of Allen's confidence and self-respect begins to be
pieced back together. It may not be all at once, but each piece helps him to
recover and to become the person he really wants to be, not someone whose life
is rules by fear and mistrust. And each and every day that Allen is able to see
Kanda, he knows, deep down, that this is really what he wants. To be able to be
with Kanda, if Kanda is willing to except him as he is now, and as what he has
yet to become.
….
After about a month and a half of this treatment, Allen is faced with one of
his toughest challenges yet, moving out of the hospital wing and into an actual
living space. He has grown comfortable in the little room that's away from most
of the residence of the White Ark, but he knows that he needs to get used to
the idea of being away from what is familiar, and moving on to something new.
The biggest question that still remains for Allen is where exactly is he going
to stay? He's had several offers by his friends to help him pick out a room,
most likely near one of their own. But he has also received several offers from
people stating that he can stay with them for as long as he would like, or
until he can find a more permanent place to call his own. Fou offered to let
him stay with her and Bak Chan in their room near the forest room, but he
politely declined saying that she has done enough for him already, that anymore
on his part would just be imposing on even more on her personal life. And
though she still insisted, Allen would only give her a small, fake smile and
continue to decline the offer.
Lenalee and Komui offered to try and find space in their shared set of rooms
for Allen. They told him that even though Kanda has been sleeping on their
couch practically since he was brought to the White Ark, that if Allen wanted,
they would be more than willing to make more room for him to stay with them.
After hearing that Kanda was already staying with them, he immediately declined
the offer, saying that they already had one guest to care for they didn't need
another. Besides, after hearing that Kanda was staying with them, he began to
wonder about how Kanda really was holding up with everything that had happed to
him, let alone what has happened after he found Allen again.
Lavi even offered to let Allen crash with him or Bookman if he ever wanted or
needed to. The two were right across the hall from one another, so one of them
would always have a door open for the young neko if he ever wanted it. After
all, to them, Allen has always been a part of their family, and family takes
care of family. Allen was tempted to take Lavi up on his offer, but knowing
that Lavi was still having some trouble adjusting to only having one eye, he
decided that at least for now, he would find somewhere else to stay so that
Lavi would have a better chance at a quick recovery.
The last person to offer Allen a place to stay is Kanda. Allen is a little
surprised at this, especially after hearing that Kanda has been staying with
Lenalee and Komui for the last long while. He asks Kanda just where exactly he
would be staying, and the older neko led him to a room tucked away from most of
the main hallways, but still close to the medical ward, indoor forest, and
cafeteria. The room itself is nothing special, just a simple small sitting area
with a small kitchenette in the corner with a microwave and sink and two
cupboards above and below the kitchenette. There is a door leading off to a
medium sized bathroom that looks hardly used, and another door leads to the
only bedroom. The bedroom itself looks practically untouched aside from missing
bed coverings and some scattered clothing on the floor. After looking around,
Allen agrees to take Kanda up on his offer, because even if Kanda isn't there,
the whole room smells of Kanda, and that alone helps to calm Allen to a point
where he feels that this will be the most comfortable for him to stay for any
extended period of time.
The first few days of living in those rooms are strange for Allen. He knows
that the room technically is Kanda's, but with the older neko gone most of the
time, and with him off staying with Lenalee and Komui at night instead of
staying with him like he did while he was in the medical ward, he begins to
feel a bit lonely.
Eventually, one night as Kanda is getting ready to leave, Allen comes up behind
him, grabbing the bottom of his coat as he puts it on. His voice is small, and
with his head hanging, his voice is a little muffled, but Kanda can still hear
him. "Please don't go. Please, please stay, even just this once." The two stay
like that for several minutes, both afraid to make the next move. At long last
it is Kanda who gives his customary 'Che' before taking off his coat and
announcing that he'll stay with Allen, at least for the night.
After a while, this becomes a type of routine for the two of them, Kanda will
act as though he is going to leave for the night, and each night that Allen
asks for him to stay, Kanda will put his coat away and after making sure that
Allen is asleep, will settle in on the couch for the night ahead.
It is a comfortable routine for them, but one night changes this routine into
something even more.
After about half a month of Allen living with Kanda, Kanda is awakened by some
instinct he has no name for. Somehow, without even stopping to see if he can
sense any sort of danger, he immediately heads to his Moyashi who is supposed
to be asleep in the bedroom. But when he opens the bedroom door, Kanda is met
with a sight that he hadn't anticipated in the slightest.
He can see that the Moyashi is trapped in a nightmare as the young neko
thrashes around the bed, seemingly trying to get away from some unseen foe. He
can see tears spilling down those pale cheeks, as screams and words die in the
throat of the Moyashi who can't seem to escape back in to reality. Sweat
dampens his hair and clothing, showing his exertions of trying to escape from
his dreams.
Kanda tires to carefully shake the Moyashi, hoping to gently wake him up, but
when the nightmare continues, Kanda tries to talk to Allen, to talk and shake
him, but nothing he does will wake the young neko. Eventually, Kanda sits on
the bed and after maneuvering his Moyashi into a more comfortable position, he
simply holds the Moyashi, hoping that his presence will somehow alleviate the
dream or at least allow some comfort to become available to him.
The nightmare continues long into the early hours of the morning, but Kanda
still holds onto his Moyashi, despite all of the struggling, and the strange
and confusing noises coming from the younger neko. Eventually all of that seems
to die down, and the Moyashi is allowed at least a little bit of restful sleep,
but Kanda still doesn't leave his side, opting to continue holding the younger
neko for a while longer.
Kanda ends up falling asleep while still holding Allen, and when Allen is the
first to wake, to say that he is surprised would be an understatement. However,
this is not an unwelcome surprise. In truth, Allen has been longing for Kanda
to come and share the bed with him like they used to do when they were younger.
At that time, whenever there was a storm, Kanda would let Allen into his bed,
and hold him close until morning would come. And for this to be finally
happening again, especially after the nightmare that he had just had, it is
exactly what Allen needs.
Allen tires to be discreet as he wiggles closer to Kanda, taking in his warmth
and the calm that seem to radiate off of him as he sleeps. But even the slight
movement makes Kanda wake up. When those deep blue eyes, still lazy with sleep
see liquid silver ones staring back at them, Kanda freeze for a moment, fearing
that he has overstepped some type of boundary.
Kanda's confusion and concern is evident, and it makes Allen worry for a moment
that he did something wrong. So after little contemplation he does the first
thing that pops into his head. He leans in closer to Kanda, and when the other
neko doesn't move, he draws the older neko into a kiss.
Their lips meet and it is if time has stopped. The molding of soft flesh on
soft flesh, and the desire to be closer and closer rings with clarity. Allen is
a little surprised when he feels a tongue hesitantly wipe at the crease in his
lips, and after only a moments hesitation, he opens his mouth just enough so
that the kiss isn't broken, but the exploring muscle is allowed entrance. There
is no battle for dominance, only continued passion, until the spell is broken
and the two nekos are forced back to reality with the need for oxygen.
The two look at each other for a long time, neither moving nor speaking, both
hoping that that moment wasn't simply a dream, but part of reality. Eventually,
Kanda breaks eye contact with Allen, and the younger neko takes the opportunity
to lie back down and snuggle closer to Kanda, intertwining their tails
together.
Kanda is stunned, but after seeing his Moyashi drift back to sleep, and being
able to still taste the younger on his tongue, he wraps his arms around the
younger neko, holding him close as he too falls back into a much more peaceful
and restful sleep.
After that one kiss, everything about their interactions changes. Both of the
nekos are more forward with each other, asking and saying what they want
without fear of miscommunication. Kanda begins to start sharing the same bed
with his Moyashi, making sure to hold him through both the good dreams, and the
reoccurring nightmares. Allen beings to seek out Kanda more and more, and while
his interactions with others continue to improve, it is only when he is with
Kanda that he truly feels like himself.
The two begin to spend more and more time together, one never too far from the
other. This happens especially since Allen's pregnancy is progressing so
swiftly, and with such a large litter, that by the time he is five months
along, his stomach is so full with kittens that he has to help going anywhere,
and doing anything that involves reaching up or bending down. Kanda takes this
as an opportunity to have an excuse to spend more time with his Moyashi, and be
near him.
It is also around this time that the two nekos start to go off on their own
every once in a while, after meeting up with their friends for a rather loud
dinner. Sometimes the two of them simply wander the halls, hand in hand, and
other times they go and sit in various spots in the indoor forest, letting the
beauty around them fill the peaceful silence. It is also during these times
when more kisses are frequently exchanged and whispers of nothing and
everything are exchanged.
One night when the two of them are off in their room, tired enough that their
actions become automatic and with no thought, that Allen begins to feel that
something is off. He disregards it and continues with his shower, just hoping
to not fall asleep before making it to the bedroom. As he rubs the last of the
excess water from his skin he stops when he feels a pain shoot up his spine.
His eyes widen, but when the pain doesn't return, he ignores it and wearily
makes his way into bed where Kanda is already asleep.
His sleep is constantly interrupted that night, the pain returns out of the
blue, and he can feel himself lose his focus on everything, even though he is
still awake. He wants to wake Kanda, to have him reassure him that nothing is
wrong and that he is just overreacting, but he decides against it, knowing that
the older neko is just as exhausted and if he can get some sleep, then he
deserves it.
Eventually the pain increases and starts to become more constant, by then, all
Allen can do is concentrate on is trying not to make too much noise and wake
Kanda, but with each wave of pain it becomes increasingly difficult. It is one
particularly loud grunt of pain that finally wakes Kanda and alerts him to
Allen's condition.
After a few minutes of observing his Moyashi, Kanda quickly becomes worried and
starts to find his keys so that he can get his Moyashi to the medical wing as
soon as possible. Finding the keys ends up being the easy part as getting Allen
to concentrate enough on anything except the pain becomes exceedingly
difficult, not impossible, just difficult.
Eventually, Allen is able to stand while using Kanda as a support. He tries to
focus solely on each step forward, but by the time they finally reach the hall
to the elevator, he is wracked with another wave of pain, only this one is
slightly different. After the pain subsides, Allen feels a wetness slide down
his legs at an alarming rate and volume.
Before he can even fully react, Kanda seems to notice what has happened and
gathers Allen in his arms, carrying him in much the same way he did during the
raid on the Black Ark. Kanda begins to run the rest of the way to the medical
wing, only stopping to wait impatiently for the elevator.
Upon arriving at the quite medical wing, Kanda begins to call for a doctor, for
anyone to come and help Allen. Within seconds, a nurse rushes down one of the
halls and after seeing exactly what the emergency is, ushers Kanda and Allen
into one of the nearest rooms where she immediately calls for help.
While they wait for more assistance to arrive, the nurse wastes no time in
setting out, gathering supplies and checking on Allen's condition every few
seconds. After only a few minutes of this, Komui rushes in the door, and after
taking one look at Allen, kicks both the nurse and Kanda out of the room.
Out in the hallway, the nurse is quick to tell the arriving help exactly what
she wants, and soon Kanda is left by himself outside of the door, worrying
about Allen the entire time. After roughly fifteen minutes of waiting, the door
opens and Kanda is allowed back into the room.
Upon entering Kanda notices that Allen is now dressed in one of the hospital
gowns, and a thin blanket helps to cover everything below his waist. He doesn't
even seem to notice when Kanda enters, his breathing labored and pain written
across his features. Kanda takes a seat near his side, and takes hold of the
younger neko's hand, only to have his grabbed and squeezed tightly instead.
Kanda looks at Komui for answers, but he doesn't get the chance to ask as the
door bursts open again and more nurses rush in with various supplies before
either leaving or trying to get Kanda to leave with them. Kanda refuses to
leave until someone tells him what his going on and what is wrong with his
Moyashi.
Eventually, Komui takes Kanda by the shoulder and steers him out of the room,
telling him exactly what is going on. "Allen has gone into premature labor and
it appears that his water broke on your way here. At this point there is no
turning back or waiting any longer. He's about to birth his litter." And with
that he heads back into the room, leaving a very stunned Kanda in the hall.
For Allen, all he can feel is pain pulling at his stomach and lower torso. The
pain doesn't seem to be coming from just one point, but from multiple points,
each shifting causing even more pain. He tires to pay attention to the things
going on around him instead of the pain, but at this point he can only
concentrate for a few seconds at a time, but never long enough to really
understand what is going on.
Finally he sees a glimpse of Komui trying to talk to him, so he tires even
harder to concentrate on what the man is saying, but even then he still isn't
able to catch everything, but he is able to catch just enough to know roughly
what is happening.
He now understands that the pain he is feeling is from going into labor, that
his water has broke, and that any minute now, the first kitten would be trying
to come out.
He doesn't have to wait long before the pain becomes even more intense and he
can hear people shouting at him to push. He does what they tell him, screaming
with the pain and effort.
He feels something slide out of himself, but doesn't have much time to dwell on
it before the pain begins anew.
This continues three more times, and each time the pushing becomes harder and
the pain seems to never end.
By the time he is being told for a fifth time to push, he has no energy left to
even try. He can hear people calling to him, urging him for just a little more,
to hold out for just a little longer.
With a final desperate push, Allen uses up the last of his energy and falls
into a sweet, painless oblivion.
***** Aftermath and Questions *****
Chapter 14
Time seems to be moving at a snails pace for Kanda as he is forced to remain in
the hallway while his Moyashi is on the other side of the door, giving birth to
the doomed litter. He wants nothing more than to be by the younger neko's side,
just to be there for him, lend him his own strength if possible.
The silence is too great for him to bear alone, especially when the Moyashi's
cries of pain begin to pierce the normally silent night hours. His cries and
screams echo throughout the deserted halls, each remaining sound helping to
push Kanda closer and closer to doing something, anything just as long as he is
finally by the Moyashi's side.
Each sound of pain emanating from the room seems to be only the beginning for
Kanda. He knows that once this is all over, his Moyashi will be in even more
pain, pain that will not just be physical, and that may never completely fade
away no matter what he does. But each scream is also a reminder that the
Moyashi is stronger than something like this, that eventually he will be able
to move on.
Eventually, there are a few minutes of silence, and Kanda begins to wonder if
it is done, if now he'll be let in to see and comfort his Moyashi. But that
silence is broken again, only the force of such a pain filled scream leaves
Kanda's ears flat against his head, and the hair on the back of his head stand
up. And if the scream itself wasn't bad enough, the fact that it is cut off
raises panic and fear for the much smaller neko behind the now taunting door.
Kanda makes a move to the door, determination to do what he can to ease his
Moyashi's pain the only clear thought present. He doesn't know what he can do,
but he knows that he must do something, else both he and his Moyashi be left in
such mental and physical pain for the moment.
He reaches for the doorknob, but something stops him from turning it. The fear
of what he might be greeted with makes him freeze, filling him with a fear of
what kind of condition he might find the Moyashi in, and let alone that it will
only become worse once the younger neko finally has the reality that his litter
is dead.
He doesn't know just how long he stands like that, but after a time, it doesn't
seem to matter what he does or doesn't do. Nothing can change what has just
happened to his Moyashi. He knows that there is nothing he can do to change
what has already occurred; he can only try to change what will happen. But how
to do that, he has no idea where to even begin.
He feels the handle lightly turn beneath his hand but makes no move to stop it,
or to move his own hand away. When the door swings inward, he lets his fingers
fall from around the handle, his arm falling silently back to his side in the
process.
A small procession of nurses make their way past him, muttering and mumbling to
themselves. The only thing that seems out of place with them are their frowns,
and the three small wrapped bundles that they are carrying amongst them. Kanda
glances briefly at each bundle, knowing that inside each and every one is
something that will break his Moyashi's heart.
After the nurses have passed him, he heads into the room; wary of what sort of
state he will find his Moyashi in. And upon entering, he immediately looks
towards where his Moyashi was when he left. When he discovers that the younger
neko is missing from the now stripped bed, he immediately begins to panic and
turns to the only other person in the room, eyes not even caring that they are
begging for answers.
Komui feels Kanda's eyes upon him and reluctantly turns to meet the questions
that he is sure will be waiting for him. But when he sees just how many
questions there are, as well as the underlying panic, he knows that this is
going to take a while, and he might as well clear away the majority of the
questions as soon as possible.
Without speaking a word, Komui makes brief eye contact with Kanda; just enough
to let the neko know to follow him, before heading out a door that connects the
room through as secluded hallway to other medically equipped rooms. Komui leads
quickly, sensing the growing panic from the one behind him, the destination may
only be one short hallway and one room away, but he's sure that each step will
seem like an eternity for Kanda.
He rounds a corner and immediately into a room where two constant, semi-smooth
beeping sounds are heard. Knowing that Kanda will do whatever he thinks that he
ought to do, Komui leaves the two older nekos to each other, making sure to
check on the vitals of the room's other occupants before he turns to leave.
Kanda stares at the sight before him, not completely sure that what he is
seeing is real, and not just some dream from his unconsciousness. His Moyashi
is out cold to the world around him, his hair still plastered to his forehead
with sweat, but there is a slight look of peace upon his features. He seems
much paler than normal, but at the same time, not a sickly pale. The most
obvious change is that his stomach is already noticeably flatter, now that it
is no longer full with a litter, and that even in his sleep, the Moyashi is
holding a small white bundle close to himself.
Another look at the room itself reveals an incubator near the bed, inside is
another white bundle, only this one seems to be hooked up to many different
machines all at the same time. A monitor displays the tiny, irregular heartbeat
of its small patient.
Kanda notes that his Moyashi is still sleeping, so he goes over to the
incubator, trying to see if its little white bundle really is what he thinks it
is. The plastic is slightly warped, making the bundle a bit blurry and out of
focus, but there is no denying it, inside is a small thing. Something not quite
neko, but not quite human either. Something so covered with wires and monitors,
that Kanda can't even see any distinguishing features to even tell just what
this thing looks like.
Despite his fascination with the small thing beneath the mass of wires, he
still turns his attention back to the Moyashi when he hears the younger neko
begin to stir. He makes the few steps over to the bed, quick, yet each step
brings a sense of dread with it. An unknown as to how the Moyashi will react to
his new surroundings, both in location and with the new beings present.
….
Allen feels utterly and completely exhausted, but he knows that he needs to
wake up, to face whatever awaits him, for good or ill. His instincts tell him
that something dreadful has occurred, but yet at the same time, there is
something nagging at his consciousness, telling him that everything will be ok,
just as long as he opens his eyes and keeps an open mind.
And while he would like nothing more than to be able to drift back into sleep,
there is an unexpected weight on his arm that he feels that he should be
familiar with, but yet can't seem to place. With reluctance, he opens his eyes
and lets his line of sight drift down to a small white bundle that he wasn't
conscious of holding. He can't see too much at this angel, except for a small
pink nose poking out of the blankets.
He carefully rearranges himself and the bundle, bring it closer for a better
inspection, and what he sees shocks him to no end. The creature in the bundle
looks like a human for the most part, but there are a few things that
automatically proclaim it to be something entirely different.
For one thing, it has two sets of ears, one normal human pair, but another,
small, neko like pair higher up on its head, nearly at the top, something
completely unheard of for a neko. Also, there seems to be a blaze of dark fur
like hair running from the bridge of it's nose up to into it's hairline, sort
of like the strip of fur that every neko has running from the base of their
skull down their spine until it mixes with the fur on their tail. A tip of a
tail is felt underneath the blankets, but it doesn't seem long enough to be
considered a full tail, nor does it seem sturdy enough, more like it is simply
there, limp with no means of movement.
To anyone else, this child would probably be seen as misshape, or even
disfigured, but for Allen, he couldn't imagine a more beautiful child in his
arms right then, no matter who their sire was, nor how they were conceived.
Just the simple fact that this child is alive, despite the odds against it is
enough to convince Allen to love it as much as he can. Though a part of him
does wonder what will become of this child, but at the same time, all he wants
to do for that moment is to hold it close and be able to hide it from the
cruelties of the world, even if it is only for a short period of time.
A slight shuffling noise alerts him to another presence in the room, and he
can't help but give a small smile when he looks up from his bundle to see Kanda
move to sit next to him. He carefully, and painfully scoots over a bit,
allowing more room for the older neko, but still keeping at tight grip on his
child at the same time. Once they are both settled on the bed, there is silence
between them, it is slightly uneasy, but also full of questions.
Allen leans against Kanda, making sure to still support the baby, but still
giving Kanda a better view without having to let it go just yet. Without even
looking at the older neko, Allen can feel his gaze shift to the thing in his
arms, and can feel the body next to him stiffen a bit.
Allen knows why the older neko reacts the way he does, but he really does hope
that Kanda will be more open after he has had a chance to get used to the
appearance of the baby. Now that he knows that at least one out of his litter
is alive, he hopes that Kanda will still be there for him and the newborn, even
if Kanda isn't the sire.
As his thoughts and exhaustion begin to weigh heavily on him again, Allen moves
closer to Kanda once again, and leans most of his weight on the older neko. He
feels Kanda shift a little, but just enough to allow him to plant a small kiss
on Allen's head before he feels Kanda move himself and the child closer to him,
holding them in his arms.
He stays in Kanda's arms for several hours, never moving, but never quite
sleeping either. He knows that he is more relaxed now that Kanda is here, and
he knows that if he really does begin to sleep, Kanda will be sure to keep his
child safe, but there is still something that is keeping him from sleeping.
Almost like a feeling that there is more to this than what he already knows,
but for now he is gently lulled into his peaceful state by hearing the steady
beating of Kanda's heart.
However, the feeling of something more, nags him, trying to tell him to wake
up, that there is something that he needs to know, and for some reason, his
need to know seems be becoming even more urgent, and his peaceful state is
quickly becoming interrupted. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he can hear
the sound of a machine becoming louder and more frequent, and he knows that
this is important, but he doesn't know why.
Cracking open his eyes, he can see Komui and a couple of nurses running into
the room and crowding around something on the other side of the room. It seems
that the loud screaming machine is over there somewhere past the people, but he
can't see exactly what it is that is causing such a sound. All he can catch is
glimpses of some plastic and at one point, a white blanket.
Something tells him that he needs to be over there, at that moment, but at that
moment he can't figure out just how to get over there. His entire abdomen and
lower half is practically numb when he doesn't move, but when he does move, the
pain becomes excruciating, not allowing him to move more than a little in order
to let the pain try to ease away.
He knows this, but this urge, no this need to be over there is quickly becoming
far too great for him to resist. Trying to be as careful as he can, he pulls
away from Kanda, trying to use some of that inital momentum to aid his
standing, but the pain proves to be stronger than he had anticipated.
As he falls towards the bed, he can feel Kanda grab his waist to keep him from
falling, and after taking a moment to once again let the pain ease, Allen
begins once again to stand, and though the pain is great, and he is still
trying to hold on to his child as well as support himself, he knows that he
must make it to the other side of the room, and soon.
After only a few small steps, tears are streaming from his eyes due to the
shear intensity of the pain, and he is very unsteady, but he is still trying to
make it there on his own. He can hear Kanda calling after him, apparently it is
even enough to distract a nurse for a moment, but even that isn't enough to
stop Allen from trying to reach his intended destination.
He is a bit startled, but not surprised when a pair of strong arms grabs him,
pulling him close to the body behind him, and effectively halting any movement.
He doesn't know why, but the tears begin to fall faster and harder, and even
though his voice is nearly completely gone from earlier, he still tries to beg
Kanda to release him, to let him go, but his words go unheeded.
Eventually through his own sobbing, Allen hears the machine in front of him
give one single, continuous scream, the loudest yet. The movements of the
nurses and Komui in front of him only increase and become quicker, but in the
end, the movement stops and the screaming is cut off.
Their movements begin to slow and one of the nurses makes her way around the
others and past Allen with a completely wrapped white bundle in her hands. She
seems not to notice the neko screaming after her, nor does she stop for
anything or anyone as she leaves the room and its' occupants behind.
When the nurse walks past with the white bundle, Allen knows what has happened.
He knows that he had managed to ignore a second child of his, and now he will
never be able to see it, as it wasn't able to survive outside of him.
He ceases his struggles to move forward, opting to let his body win as he
slumps to the floor, Kanda still holding him steady and tightly. He lets his
tears flow freely now, not even bothering to try to remain calm. He feels Kanda
settle behind him, murmuring reassurances in his ear, feels his arms wrap even
tighter around him.
Eventually as second cry joins Allen's. These cries are sharper, and less pain
filled, but still enough to bring Komui and the remaining nurses over. One of
the nurses tries to lift the baby from Allen's arms, but he jerks away from
them, not letting her get close to the only child he has left. Komui gives the
nurse a look and she leaves, an annoyed look in her eye.
Komui comes over and after making sure to reassure Allen that it is just him,
he carefully and slowly lifts the child out of Allen's arms. When Allen seems
confused as to where the bundle went, Komui makes sure that Allen sees that the
baby is alright and with him, before carrying the still screaming child down
the hall.
Allen remains in Kanda's arms. Never moving except to burry his head in the
older neko's chest. Even after his exhaustion finally overwhelms him and brings
him sleep, he still sheds tears, but despite all of this, Kanda never leaves
his side, never lets him leave the safety and comfort of his arms.
….
The next month passes in a wash of tears and grief for Allen. He still blames
himself for not noticing what was happening to his other child at the time, he
still feels that there must have been something he could have done to keep that
child alive, despite everything being out of his control.
Only a couple of days after the birth of his litter, he insisted that he be
able to hold a proper burial for them, and even though he technically wasn't
fit or cleared to leave the medical facilities of the White Ark, Komui made
sure that Allen was able to get his wish.
The four out of the litter that didn't survive were buried in the forest area.
The massive redwood that looms over everything in that area had a hallow in one
of its' exposed roots, there the four were buried, surrounded by their 'mother'
and the rest of those at the White Ark who had come to care for Allen, and for
their wellbeing's.
Throughout the entire ceremony, Allen's eyes never left the bundles holding his
three daughters and son as they were given a final resting place. Even their
surviving sister was silent through the whole thing, as if she knew what was
happening, and knew that it could have just as easily been her in their place.
After the ceremony, Allen was taken back to the medical facilities, seeing as
he still hadn't completely healed yet from his rough birth. For the rest of
that day, he didn't say anything, and people knew better than to push him. He
simply sat in one spot, holding his one surviving child while Kanda sat with
him, holding his hand, and trying to provide him with some form of comfort for
the rest of the day.
….
When the day finally comes for Allen to be released from the medical
facilities, Komui steps in to see him off with Kanda. He watches the two
interact with each other and with the newborn for a minutes before he makes his
presence known. The two look, and acknowledge his presence, Allen even attempts
to give him a small smile, but as it has been for the last long while, the
smile doesn't reach his eyes.
Komui clears his throat before he begins with his words for the two before him.
"Well Allen, it seems that all of the final paperwork is done, so now you are
free to come and go as you please, just make sure to visit sometime when you
aren't hurt, ok?" A slight blush flashes across the young nekos' face. "Now
before you go, I do have some questions for you, and while they might seem a
bit redundant, it's for the best if you think before answering them."
He can tell that he has both of the neko's full attention now, whether for good
or ill. "Now Allen, now that you have a newborn to take care of, have you
decided where you're going to be staying? I know that you've previously been
staying with Kanda, but if you were to remain there and something were to
happen and your child needed medical attention, the time it would take to reach
this level could greatly decrease the chances of survival. Not to mention that
it is a one-room apartment with no room for a crib. I suggest that if you still
want to stay with Kanda, you might want to consider finding a bigger apartment
to move into as soon as you can. That way you will have space for the child,
and hopefully be closer to the medical facilities, should you ever need them."
The two nekos look at each other for a few minutes before Kanda answers for the
both of them. "There had better be some easily accessible apartments as close
as you say they are. I'm not about to have everyone move more than once, just
because you claim to have found a better location after we settle into out new
one."
Komui smiles at this, and a small laugh manages to escape. "Ok then next
question, and I think I speak for everyone when I say that we all want to know
what the answer to this one is. What do you plan to name that child in your
arms?"
Both Kanda and Allen look at the sleeping bundle in Allen's arms, a small tuft
of jet-black hair managing to escape from the wrappings. Allen looks at Komui
before responding. "Her name is Rose. When we were last in the forest area, she
somehow managed to find a rose and refused to let it go, so we figured that
we'd let her keep it."
Komui's smile softens at this. "Ok now this last question is rather important,
and you can change what you plan to do later on, but we will take whatever you
say now and use it to help you plan for the future. I know that it wasn't that
long ago that Allen had his heat, but as long as things stay the way they are,
he should be expected to enter his heat sometime about three months from now.
Now when this happens, it should only last for a day or two and should happen
about twice a month. But if anything were to happen, say Kanda starts his heat
around the same time, what do you plan to do? I wouldn't advise trying to have
Allen become pregnant again for at least a few more months, considering
everything that happened with that birth, especially how it was a month early
so the muscles hadn't been able to relax yet, there was quite a bit of damage,
nothing permanent, but still serious enough to need more time to heal."
Kanda looks down at Allen. "I think for now, it would be best if I just made
sure to stay somewhere else for those two days, that way you'll still be able
to take care of Rose, but that way you won't have to worry about anything
besides that."
Allen looks up at him with large eyes. "Just as long as you don't go to far."
Kanda smiles down at his Moyashi. "I don't plan to completely leave you alone
for a long time to come."
Komui clears his throat again, trying to get their attention back to the task
at hand. "Like I said, that is changeable in the future, but for now at least
you have something to think about. Now, before you go to do your apartment
shopping, do either of you have any questions?"
Once again, the two nekos look at one another before Allen asks, "What do you
mean that the muscles weren't able to relax when I gave birth? What is that
even supposed to mean?"
Komui turns a shade of pink for a moment before considering Allen's question.
"Allen, how much do you know about Bearer anatomy when it comes to becoming
pregnant and giving birth?"
Allen looks away, suddenly finding the floor to be very interesting. "Not much
really, I just know that somehow it's possible."
Komui turns an even brighter shade of pink and sighs before beginning. "I'll
try to explain this as simply as I can without using too many medical terms.
Basically, when you have sex, there are two possible places for your partner's
. . . eh . . . 'fluids' to go. The first is basically the same place it would
go for any male relationship like yours. The fluids would just remain in the
rectum until they manage to escape or are forced out later on.
"However, you also have a second place for those fluids to go. You see, when
you find your mate, your body and theirs will react to such a degree that part
of one of the walls of the rectum will shift enough to let the fluids through
to a type of vaginal passage. That passage leads to the uterus and that is
where any fertilization of eggs will take place. It is also the first passage
where the resulting child would be pushed through on their way out.
"But that passage will only open for your mate. There is some type of chemical
reaction that takes place in your body when the two of you spend enough time
together and that allows for that wall to have it's density and composition
shift enough to allow this process to occur in the even that the two of you
should ever have sex."
"But why was I able to become pregnant even though I . . . even thought it was
. . ."
"Allen there was nothing you could have done. When that man raped you, he ended
up tearing that part of your rectum in several places, allowing his fluids to
make their way into your uterus.
"And now because of you premature birth, it wasn't able to heal like it should
and where the chemicals that your body would have naturally started to release
before you started to have contractions, to relax the muscles down there to a
point where they would be able to expand and contract much more than normal for
a short period of time. However, because of the tearing, and the premature
birth, the muscles weren't able to receive as much of these chemicals as
needed, and that resulted in more stress on the muscles, causing them to tear
again.
"Now, that doesn't mean that you'll never be able to have kittens again,
assuming that you ever want more. It just means that it might be a while before
you can safely carry any again. It might take some time, but eventually you
should be just fine internally."
Komui watches as the two nekos in front of him try to understand what he just
told him. Meanwhile, his blush is becoming more and more prominent and he
really doesn't feel that he can explain it any better, and he really hopes that
the two of them don't ask for him to explain it all again. When he sees that
the two are still lost in thought, he takes the opportunity to slip out before
they notice, knowing that if they have any questions, they know where to find
him.
By the time that the two nekos seem to have at least partially understood what
Komui just told them, he is long gone, and the two of them are left wondering
just how long they've been standing there since he left.
Kanda sighs and takes his Moyashi's hand, leading him out of the medical
facility levels. "You know what this means."
Allen looks up at him, questions in his eyes. "What does what mean?"
Kanda just grins. "It means that we're going to need a bigger apartment, and
maybe a new bed to go with it."
***** Midnight Wanderings *****
Chapter 15
For Allen and Kanda, the search and subsequent move into a new apartment turned
out to be much easier and far faster than they had originally thought that it
could possibly be, especially with having to take care of a newborn and all of
its demands at the same time. Eventually, they ended up settling in a simple
two-bedroom unit located two floors below the medical units, and just down the
hall from the elevator so that the medical facilities, cafeteria, and the
forest area are never too far whenever any of the inhabitants either required
or wanted to go somewhere.
With their new apartment in such a convenient location, it has become far
easier for Allen to be able to go out whenever he wants or needs to, as well as
for him to be able to interact with others in the White Ark. Now, Allen will
actually spend time, of his own choosing, with those he has known since he was
young, or that he has met throughout his journey to the White Ark. This
interaction has led him to become more outgoing and accepting of those around
him, though he still seems to panic in a large group if there are too many
people, or if he is by himself for too long.
It eventually comes to a point where Allen decides that he should go out and at
least become familiar with where some of the other areas of the White Ark are
located and what purpose they hold, both for something to do, and for future
reference. However, it doesn't take him long at all before he is completely and
hopelessly lost, and though he tries not to show it, he begins to worry. After
all, the White Ark is so large that even though he could be near someplace
familiar, even just a hallway or two away, he would never know it with how this
place is designed.
However, being completely lost is the least of Allen's worries, that he can
deal with, he knows that he'll either find something familiar eventually or
come across someone to ask directions from. No, his biggest worry is that Rose
will soon wake from her nap, and will be demanding something to eat, and when
she discovers that her demands aren't being met right away, she will most
likely throw a tantrum until she either wears herself out and needs a change of
diapers as well, or someone hears her cries and comes to investigate,
effectively leading Allen back towards home.
Allen really can't decide if he should just wander around until that point is
reached, or if he should just stay where he is, wherever that may be. Wandering
would improve his chances of someone finding him and helping him find his way
back before Rose wakes up or Kanda finds out. But at the same time, staying in
one place seems nice, especially after a restless night that ended up with his
wandering around in the first place.
…flashback…
He had had trouble falling asleep, and since Rose kept waking up every few
hours for one thing or another, and he knew that Kanda was getting even less
sleep than him, since the older neko would leave early in the morning to train
before coming back to cook breakfast, supposedly before Allen was supposed to
wake or before Rose woke him up once again. But this time it was the middle of
the night, and Allen already knew that he would never get any sleep that night,
so he figured that he might as well try to use his extra time wisely, maybe
take Rose out with him and let Kanda get a few more hours of uninterrupted
sleep.
He had grabbed the sling that Miranda had made for him, and after making sure
that Rose was situated and comfortable inside against his chest, he made his
way out of the apartment and down one of the hallways as quietly as possible,
trying not to wake any of the other inhabitants of the apartments. His
wanderings eventually led him through many different areas and levels of the
White Ark, each different and unique in function and purpose. But after a
period of mindless walking, and a few deviations from the main path, Allen
quickly realized just how lost he really is.
…flashback end…
With an elongated sight of defeat, Allen leans up against the nearest wall, and
lowers himself carefully to the floor, careful not disturb Rose. He can feel
the weariness of so many sleepless nights, and constant care of his child
weighing down on him more than normal. He knows that he's doing his best and
then some, but everything still feels so overwhelming, just too much for him to
handle even now, even after being here for nearly three months and supposedly
recovering that whole time. Even after being welcomed in by so many wonderful
people, he still doesn't feel like he quite fits in, almost like he is on the
other side of a glass looking in, watching but not actually participating and
interacting with those around him.
Even Kanda, Kanda who has been so wonderful and patient, even Kanda sometimes
feels like too much for Allen to be around without feeling like he is part of
everything. He knows without a doubt that he loves Kanda completely and without
any doubts, but there always seems to be something holding him back, something
that keeps him from showing his love any further than just simple kisses and
touches. Even though Kanda always says that that is more than enough, that
Allen needs not do or give him anything except his love, he still wishes that
there is something else, something more that he can do for the older neko that
nurtured his injured heart.
But at the same time, Allen knows that he really can't do anything more until
he can learn to forget, and not just try to forgive Tyki for doing all of those
things to him. He knows that he'll remain damaged until those memories fade and
much time has passed, but for now, they are still to strong, it is still too
soon. There are still too many reminders of what happened, that at this point
forgetting seems to be utterly impossible.
Every time he looks into his daughters eyes, he sees not only his child, but he
sees him as well. Those bright golden eyes, holding so much resemblance to
every Noah, but especially to him. Allen knows that he tries to look past that
and not see any of the Noah, but only his daughter. But sometimes it can become
incredibly difficult to differentiate between the two, especially knowing that
because of him, she really is one of the Noah, if not in personality, but in
blood and looks. He knows that his child blames no responsibility for her
existence or for what happened to him for her to exist, but the fact still
remains, the Noah continue to haunt him, even if it is only in his mind.
He looks down at Rose, who is somehow still sleeping, smiling but sleeping
despite being hauled all throughout the White Ark. He knows that she is
innocent, and seeing her like this, being so peaceful and with a slight smile
on her small lips, it really does help him to remember that she is his and
Kanda's, no one else will ever be able to even touch or claim her without their
permission. He smiles at that thought, of her belonging to both him and Kanda,
it seems to be bittersweet somehow, but it is true nonetheless. Even if she is
only related to Allen by blood, Kanda will always be her father; no one else
will ever get to be that for her.
Seeing his daughter so happy and peaceful helps to lull Allen into a fuzzy
frame of mind where his thoughts begin to wander even more, and before too
long, both neko and child are sleeping deeply and peacefully in one of the
unmarked hallways of the White Ark.
….
For some unknown reason, Alma found himself bolting upright in bed, his sleep
cut off abruptly and with no warning, almost as if someone had called his name
in his ear while he was unprepared and not paying attention. When he stops to
find out just what is was that forced him from his slumber, nothing but silence
greets his flickering ears now, and yet something in the back of his mind tells
him that he is required to be up and out of bed at this early hour of the
morning, almost like he is needed somewhere else.
His thoughts immediately flicker to his two loves, Kanda and Allen, both of
them often the cause of many of his worries, but it seems that that same
feeling that is telling him to leave his rooms at this early hour, seems to
also be reassuring him that nothing serious has happened to either them, or at
least nothing he needs to be too over concerned with, and yet he must still get
up because he is needed elsewhere.
He rolls over and grumbles into his pillow for a while, not wanting to get up
this early and leave his comfortable bed and warm blankets, but when the
feeling continues and only seems to intensify, he finally, begrudgingly roles
over once again. He sleepily makes his way through his bedroom to grab a robe
and pair of well-worn slippers before heading out to see just where he is
needed and why, after all, he has never had a feeling like this that was wrong
in the past.
He sleepily makes his way down a couple of halls towards the elevator when his
ears happen to catch the barest traces of an inconsistent, piercing sound. He
stops and closes his eyes for a moment, letting his ears swivel about to
discern from which direction the sound is coming from. His eyes snap open after
a moment, and quickly heads in the direction of the sound, having a feeling
that there is something more to this sound than just what he can hear from
here.
It only takes about two turns before Alma realizes why that sound is familiar,
it seems to be the sound of a baby crying, and judging by the intensity and
shrillness of the screams, its demands aren't being met and haven't been met
for a while. However, there is one thing that is strange about this sound, it
seems to be remaining in one spot, not moving around like it should if someone
was caring for the child. But who would leave a child unattended in a hallway?
His question is answered once he rounds the final corner to discover the source
of the shirking. He finds Allen dressed only in a simple pair of pajamas and
Rose's sling, leaning against a wall; slumped over, his hair covering what must
be Rose from sight, yet remaining completely unmoving and oblivious to Alma
approaching him and his child. Alma moves closer, amazed that Allen still isn't
moving even with the racket that Rose is putting out, but at the same time he
is becoming exceedingly worried about the younger neko's lack of response.
He tries talking to Allen and Rose, trying to get Allen to respond to the sound
of his voice, but the only thing that changes is that Rose quiets a little,
recognizing his voice, but still continues to scream her tiny lungs out. Alma
sighs and leans down to shake Allen awake, trying to get any sort of response
at this rate, and is quite startled when nothing changes about the younger neko
besides Allen's head shaking a bit as Alma shakes his arm.
Eventually, Alma eases himself onto the floor and scoots closer to Allen,
talking to him the whole time, still hoping that something, anything will
change with the younger neko, or at least reassure him that he is a friend and
that he's not going to hurt him. Seeing that Allen still isn't responding, Alma
eases Rose out of her sling, cradling her in his arms, hoping to calm her down,
even just a little while he tries to figure out just how he is going to wake up
her 'mother'. When her screams fail to cease, he tries to put a finger to her
lips, shushing her in a seemingly futile attempt to quiet her. However, she
quickly decides to begin sucking on the offered finger for all she is worth,
trying to receive some sort of nourishment from it.
Seeing that she is content with sucking on his finger for the time being, and
being quiet about it, he turns his attention back to Allen who despite
everything, is still unmoving and totally unresponsive. Alma uses his free hand
to scoot himself even closer to him, pulling the young neko to him and letting
Allen lean against him, despite the younger's unresponsiveness.
He looks at that exceptionally pale face, noticing the prominent dark circles
underneath his closed eyes, displaying just how tired he really is. Alma hears
the breath coming and leaving in constant intervals from the younger neko,
reassuring him that Allen is simply exhausted beyond all means, and nothing
else is amiss, well besides him sleeping in the middle of a hallway, in the
middle of the night, while his child is crying for his attention.
After a few minutes of her sucking, Rose seems to lose interest in the finger,
seeing that it isn't giving her anything more that just something to suck on,
and certainly not any milk, she releases the finger to begin her crying once
again, hoping that maybe her mother will give her food this time. With the
shrill cries starting up again, Alma sighs before placing Rose back into her
sling, and after doing so, carefully and gently picks up Allen bridal style to
make sure that Rose is still secure between Allen and himself so that she won't
be in danger of falling out of the sling.
For some reason the trip back to his room takes far less time than it took Alma
to find the two in his arms, but at the same time, Alma reasons that he is
actually awake now, especially with all of Rose's crying, and that he now knows
that one of his loves really does need his attention instead of just having a
feeling that something demanded his attention. In all reality, he realizes that
with the way the White Ark is designed, Rose's cries were probably resonating,
causing him to go needlessly down several hallways before finding her and her
'mother', forcing him to waste time in finding the two.
In just a few minutes, Alma back in his apartment and is able to lay Allen and
a still screaming Rose on his couch while he heads to his small adjoining
kitchen area, trying to find something that Rose will be able to eat and make
her happy, and hopefully quiet. With all of his searching, he does manage to
find a small container of whole milk that he normally would have used for
cooking but he figures that it will have to do for now. After all, he wasn't
exactly prepared, nor expecting to be helping to take care of, let alone feed a
child anytime soon.
Knowing that he doesn't have anything even resembling a bottle for Rose to use,
he grabs a spare washcloth from a linin closet before heading back to the pair
on his couch. Once again, he reaches down to take Rose out of her sling, her
screaming the whole time. Once she is free, Alma grabs the blanket that was
draped over the back of the couch and covers Allen with it, hoping that it will
provide him with at least a little bit more warmth than just his pajamas. He
watches as Allen tenses for a moment when the blanket is laid on top of him,
but after a few moments, the tensing melts away and a small smile threatens to
become visible on his features.
Satisfied that at least one of his loves is content for now, Alma turns his
attention back to the screaming child in his arms. He takes her back over to
the kitchen where he has been carefully heating up the milk, and away from her
sleeping 'mother'. Once entering the kitchen, he checks the temperature of the
milk, and after deeming it not too hot not too cold, he scrunches up his
washcloth in the middle so that it forms a funnel shape. Dipping the tip of the
funnel shape in the milk for a few seconds, he offers it to Rose, hoping that
she will be able to just suck the milk out of the cloth.
When the cloth is brought to her lips, she rejects it at first, only ever
having known that food comes from a bottle, and that most certainly is not a
bottle! But after a drop of milk manages to find her lips, her small pink
tongue darts out of her mouth in instinct, and after discovering food there,
she hesitantly begins to suck at the cloth that the milk came from. Soon
enough, Alma has to continually dip the cloth in the milk as she takes it all
in greedily.
Eventually the milk has all been consumed and once Rose realizes that there
isn't any more coming, she starts to scream again. Alma looks at her, confused
at how she can eat so much but still be hungry. As her cries continue, and
threaten to wake up Allen, Alma puts her over his shoulder, patting her back,
hoping to calm her down at least a little so that he can think of what he
should do next.
He doesn't have to wait too long, he feels Rose freeze for a second before he
hears a small burp amongst the sound of something being spat out. A warm fluid
begins to quickly make its way down his back and onto his tail, soaking almost
instantly into his shirt causing him to groan in complaint as Rose seems to
fall asleep almost instantly after throwing up on him. She snuggles closer to
him, acting as if nothing ever happened, and the person holding her isn't
covered in her puke.
Alma gives out a frustrated sigh before heading to the bathroom to clean both
him and Rose off before hopefully, all three of them can sleep. He is quick to
remove his puked on shirt, tossing it into the trash in the process. As he
starts the water to let it warm up, he realizes that he can't just set Rose in
the tub, she's still too small and can't sit up on her own yet. He leave the
water running and starts looking around his apartment for something that could
hold water long enough for him to clean her off so that he can finally get a
shower himself.
Despite all of his looking, the only thing that mighty possibly be ok to use to
bathe Rose in ends up being the bottom of an storage container that up until a
few minutes ago, and been holding an extra blanket for his bed. After taking
the container and sleeping Rose back into the bathroom, he is careful to adjust
the temperature for her before filling up the shallow container about half way.
He turns off the faucet and gently lowers Rose into the water, hoping against
hope that she won't wake up.
Feeling as though luck is on his side, Alma quickly and thoroughly washes Rose
before wrapping her in a soft blanket so that he can find somewhere for her to
sleep and then clean the diaper that she had been wearing before the bath. In
the end, he ends up drying out the same container that Rose was washed in, and
after lining it with a thick blanket for comfort, he lays her in there, still
wrapped in the other blanket. He sets the container and child in his room, just
around the corner so that if she were to start crying again, he could be there
quickly to try and calm her down.
He returns back to the bathroom once again and he starts off by washing Rose's
diaper, and after discovering that he has no means to dry it himself, he hangs
it on the towel rack, hoping that it will manage to dry out before Rose can
manage to poop in his blanket, and her current bed.
Finally feeling that he has a few minutes, he rushes through a shower as
quickly and thoroughly as he can, not wanting to feel the presence of baby puke
on his back any longer than he has. The warm water prove to be a good means of
relaxing, as he manages to calm down, and enter a slightly sleepy state once
again.
It is in this state that Alma begins to wonder just what it would be like to
have a litter or two of his own. Especially if that litter were to come from
the young neko Allen Walker, who just happens to already be sleeping on his
couch right now. What would it be like to be able to hold and care for those
kittens, who would they look like? Would Kanda finally be able to accept him by
then, and if so, would the kittens really be his or Kanda's? But by that point
it really shouldn't matter, just as long at it is the three of them together,
and not separate like they are now.
Once he is finally done with his shower, Alma makes a quick stop in his room to
grab some fresh clothes as well as to check on Rose after having left her alone
for so long. Finding the clothes proved to be no great challenge, and as an
after thought, he pulls his bedding down so that he can climb in easier later,
but taking his eyes off of Rose does prove to be a challenge. Taking in her
sleeping form, he realizes for the first time just how little she actually
resembles Allen. Her midnight locks are far to dark to have even dreamed of
coming from the younger neko, and he knows that when her eyes open, the gold
with silver flecks that only prove to enhance the brightness of their color and
to prove her standing as a Noah, of the very people who hurt his Allen so
deeply.
Turning way from such a hurtful child, he makes his way back to his couch and a
still sleeping Allen. He takes a moment to admire and observe the creature
before him, one of the two who have captured his heart. He lets his hand run
through the silky locks, admiring the near liquid sensation against his
fingers. He even chances to let one hand ghost over one of Allen's unusual
ears, the very ones that marked him for what he is, a Bearer. The fur on those
ears is so soft, that Alma fells that he could easily continue stroking them
for eternity and never grow tired of their texture and smoothness.
Reluctantly he pulls his hand away, but he now uses both hands to carefully
pick up Allen once again so that he can carry him into the bedroom. He makes
his way into the room as silently as possible, trying not to wake either of his
guests; he does spare Rose one glance though, just to make sure that nothing
has changed. He makes his way over to the bed and carefully lays Allen upon it,
taking care to remove the sling that he's still been wearing ever since leaving
his own apartment earlier that night. Alma folds the cloth sling and places it
by Rose before walking around to the other side and climbing in himself.
He reaches down to pull the blankets over both him and Allen, but before he
let's them settle over Allen, he takes a moment to give his love a lingering
kiss on the cheek before letting the blankets fall into place. After that he
turns on his side so that he can face Allen, and reaches over with his free arm
to pull the younger neko closer to him, and places another kiss on the top of
his head is close enough.
He looks down when he feels a slight tugging at his shit, finding Allen's hands
fisted in it, hold on to it like it's a lifeline. A warm smile brightens Alma's
face, and he whispers, "I love you" to the neko in his arms. Just the thought
and feeling of holding onto Allen is more than enough to allow Alma to descend
quickly into a deep sleep.
He falls asleep just before Allen murmurs "Kanda" into the night air.
***** Missing Moyashi *****
Chapter 16
Kanda
Kanda wakes instantly from his deep slumber when he hears his Moyashi call out
to him. It's the same feeling every time, that urge to make sure that the
Moyashi really is there beside him, and that everything that has happened in
the past few months hasn't been some wonderful, yet tauntingly horrible dream.
He sometimes dreads waking to reality, thinking that he will learn to expect
his Moyashi to still be there, only find that this has all been merely a dream
and that the reality is that Moyashi is still nowhere to be found.
He reaches out with his arm to pull his Moyashi closer, hoping that the contact
will sooth him, just being able to physically hold the younger neko and
reassure him of his presence, and possibly help what is probably just another
nightmare, to fade into a more peaceful slumber. When his arm wraps around
nothing but air, Kanda feels around the Moyashi's normal sleeping spot for a
few moments, wondering just where the Moyashi wiggled off to this time. Having
no success at searching blindly for the younger neko, and discovering that side
of the bed is rather cold for someone to have left it not too long ago, Kanda
finally opens his eyes, already exhausted with the thought of even moving
across the room.
However, Kanda manages to sit up, pull off the blankets and begin the weary
task of wandering into the next room to see if the Moyashi needs any help
feeding or changing Rose, something that is most likely the cause of the
younger neko's absence. It happens practically every night, the baby will wake
up needing some type of attention, food, or changing, so it's crying will wake
the Moyashi and he'll drag his sleep deprived self over to see just what is the
matter. Usually, if he is gone for more than just a few minutes, Kanda will
wake from his absence and find him elsewhere in their apartment, most likely
holding the baby for something or another, but having managed to fall back
asleep wherever he happened to be standing or sitting at the time.
So when Kanda discovers that neither Rose nor the Moyashi are currently in the
nursery, Kanda doesn't even have to bat an eye. This is fairly typical, and
nothing to worry about, after all, the apartment is only made up of a few
rooms, and it's not like his Moyashi would go to far out of the apartment if he
had to, especially this late at night, and even more so since he seems to have
Rose with him.
Kanda releases a small sigh before heading out to search other areas of the
apartment that he remembers finding the Moyashi sleeping in before. He checks
the kitchen, bathroom, living room, and yet no matter where he looks, he can't
seem to find the Moyashi or Rose anywhere. Giving a sigh of frustration, Kanda
goes back and rechecks all of the rooms in the apartment, making sure to turn
on all of the lights this time, leaving nowhere unsearched, figuring that he
probably just overlooked seeing his Moyashi at this late hour, or that maybe he
just looked in the wrong spot and will go back only to find Allen leading
against a dresser or something instead of sitting on a chair or leaning against
a wall.
Figuring that somehow, he must have just missed his Moyashi despite all of his
searching, Kanda heads back to bed, figuring that his Moyashi will probably
already be there waiting for him, or already fast asleep. Kanda shuffles back
into the room, and immediately his eyes are drawn to the bed. A bed that is
unmade and completely devoid of anyone, neko or otherwise.
Realizing that his Moyashi and child are nowhere in the apartment, Kanda grabs
a bathrobe and a pair of shoes before heading further into the White Ark. His
first stop is the cafeteria, figuring that his Moyashi probably is just hungry
after being woken up at such an early hour, it's happened before and usually
the Moyashi can be found fast asleep at one of the tables, Rose in his arms
while the cook, Jerry, keeps watch over him. But when he doesn't see Allen with
a first glance around the room, Kanda makes his way further in, hoping to spot
his Moyashi this way. Seeing that the entire room is for the most part,
deserted apart from those who work various night shifts around the White Ark,
Kanda promptly leaves, heading across the hall to the elevator, and hopefully
the hiding spot of his missing Moyashi.
Upon arriving at one of the lower levels, Kanda proceeds directly into the
forest area, careful to stop for a moment and let his eyes adjust to the lower
light and allowing for some time to let his night vision become more prominent.
He quickly makes his way through the trees and bushes into the very heart of
the small indoor forest, the home of the giant redwood. This wouldn't be the
first time that he's found his Moyashi here either, whether it is to spend some
time at the graves of his dead litter, or to simply sit in the great tree that
towers above the rest of the room. However, it has only ever been once or twice
that he has found his Moyashi here this late at night, and those few
occurrences were both just after the death of the young neko's litter.
After Kanda's eyes have finally adjusted to the darkness, he first makes his
way over to the root that serves as a marker to the small graves below it. The
soil is still dark and moist as it covers the small forms hidden beneath it,
but the surrounding grass is still upright and undisturbed, indicating that it
has been at least a few days since someone last stayed there for an extended
period of time.
Kanda makes his way over to the trunk of the redwood, taking a second to
appreciate its sheer size and age, knowing that this tree has seen more history
than he'll probably ever see throughout his entire life. He starts his climb up
to what seems to be his Moyashi's favorite branch, one that his just large
enough for the younger neko to sit on, and that it sticks out further into the
forest so that he can sit in the rain if he so chooses. Finding the branch
empty, Kanda carefully shifts his weight onto it, hoping that maybe this height
advantage will allow him to find out where exactly his Moyashi disappeared to,
assuming that he is in the forest area at all.
A slight rattling of leaves alerts him to two other presences in the tree one
much closer than the other, but he pays them little mind, the weight and
movements of the newcomers aren't his Moyashi. Most likely they are just Fou
and Bak Chan taking a few minutes to care for the gift that was left to them by
the family that rescued both of them.
A soft voice is carried down to him from one or two branches above him. "He's
not here you know. I saw him wandering through the halls about an hour ago. I
think he had Rose with him." An orange tail falls into his line of vision. "But
I wouldn't worry too much, I saw Alma heading the same way not too long ago."
A flash of red clouds Kanda's vision. Just hearing that Alma might be that
close to his Moyashi, knowing that the Moyashi is far too naïve enough to
realize what is going on, and knowing that Alma will most likely take full
advantage of that, it is nearly enough to make his blood boil. No one is
allowed to be close to his Moyashi with out his permission! But Alma defiantly
isn't one of those privileged few, the neko has no self-control and doesn't
know when to keep his paws to himself, or that a 'no' really does mean 'no'.
He quickly climbs down the giant tree before racing back up through the
hallways, hoping to find his Moyashi along the way before Alma does. In just a
few minutes, Kanda finds himself in front of the door leading into Alma's
apartment; his breathing is harder and faster than normal, just from the amount
of adrenaline pouring through his veins, forcing his heart to beat ever faster
and faster. Rage is threating to paint his world red once again, staining
everything before him. Without even asking permission or knocking first, he
throws open the door to the smaller apartment, eyes frantically searching for
any signs of his Moyashi, or even of Rose.
He makes his way quickly and thoroughly through the apartment, leaving no area
unsearched or unseen in his desperate search. Nothing is left untouched or
unmoved as Kanda desperately searches for his Moyashi and child. After making
sure that everything is back in its original place, he steps back for a second.
It quickly becomes apparent that neither his Moyashi nor his child are here,
and seeing how he really doesn't want any sort of encounter with Alma for the
time being, he makes to exit the room and leave it behind him as quickly as
possible. However, with his hand on the knob, he stops to give the room one
last look, hoping against hope to see the white tip of a bushy tail rounding a
corner somewhere. With a sigh he finally leaves the room, knowing that there is
nothing for him to find there.
He begins to walk down random hallways, continually hoping to stumble across
his Moyashi, but also keeping an ear open incase Alma should try to approach
him. Running into the other neko is something that he really doesn't want to
face right now. Not only could it lead to why Kanda was in his apartment in the
first place, but knowing Alma, he would insist on following Kanda and aiding in
the search for the Moyashi. And while another set of eyes could be nice, the
fact that the owner of this pair wants both the Moyashi and Kanda as his lovers
is a bit too much for Kanda to handle. Moreover, if Alma does succeed in
finding the Moyashi, then many of the past suggestions and innuendos will
probably come up once again, and Kanda knows that even his Moyashi isn't that
innocent to not understand what Alma is hinting at, and that is something that
Kanda does not want to have to deal with.
It is during these mindless wanderings that he pauses for a moment, not quite
understanding what he is hearing, or at least thinks that he is hearing. A very
faint crying can be heard, not the loud sob of a child or someone older, but
one of a very upset baby and probably hungry. Why anyone would be wandering
around this late at night with such a disgruntled baby is far beyond Kanda's
understanding.
But at the same time, his Moyashi is somewhere in the White Ark wandering
around with Rose, and as far as Kanda knows, his Moyashi is the only one, neko
or human, to have a child that young at this point in time. It takes a moment
for that realization to sink in, but once it does, Kanda starts tearing through
the hallways, trying desperately to locate the source of the crying.
Making sure to keep the crying at the forefront of his mind, Kanda follows it
as much as he can and at times the crying seems to be exceedingly far away, but
others it seems like he is right next to the child even though there is not
another soul in the immediate area. He knows that sometimes the halls can twist
and shift sounds, making it seem nearly impossible to track anyone or anything
based only on a sound, but at the same time, any possible sign of his Moyashi
is better than none.
He follows the sound for what seems like hours, the echoes all too soon
becoming distant and faded. After several minutes of not being able to hear
anything other than his own panicked heartbeat, Kanda finally looks about to
see where exactly he is.
Across the hall from him is a window looking out into one of the higher levels
of the forest area, and at just the right angle, he can see another window
across that room, and through it, he can see the cafeteria. Knowing that all he
needs to actually return to the cafeteria is to just follow the hallway to the
right, he proceeds, hoping that someone inside will know where his Moyashi and
child are.
As he makes his way to the cafeteria, Kanda notes that the sun is already
beginning to light the forest, meaning that morning is in progress and more
people will be about, meaning a greater chance of someone having seen the
Moyashi. He meets a few people on his way to the cafeteria, many of them
pausing to say hello, but he ignores them for the most part, knowing that most
of them don't know the Moyashi, meaning that he probably would have never
approached them, even if the younger neko was lost.
Once he enters the cafeteria, he quickly scans the gathering crowd, looking for
anyone familiar that either knows the Moyashi, or at least knows of him. His
attention is immediately directed to the back of the room where the Baka Usagi
is doing something that obviously involves greatly exaggerated gestures that
are obviously making the female neko across from him rather uncomfortable.
Kanda heads directly towards their table, ignoring the eyes that follow him
across the room.
As he approaches the table, the brown-haired neko woman turns her attention on
him before blushing and looking down at her feet, but doesn't try to engage him
into any sort of conversation. Lavi on the other hand, doesn't even pause his
motions as Kanda approaches, either ignoring him, or just to involved with his
own story to notice the taller neko. Kanda stands beside him, waiting for the
obnoxious redhead to finally notice him, but he is paid no attention.
Eventually Kanda becomes annoyed enough that he reaches out and grabs Lavi's
hand during a particularly wide gesture.
The redhead turns a bright smile on the taller neko, attempting to pull his
hand out of the other's grasp. "Hey Yuu! Didn't see you there." His smile never
faltering as he looks behind the taller neko for Allen and Rose, despite the
glare being directed his way. "So where's Allen and Rose? I know that the three
of you don't normally come down here for breakfast, but usually you're still
all together." His brow furrows as he contemplates what he just said for a
second. "Yuu, did something happen to Allen or Rose? Are they ok? Are they sick
or something?"
Kanda tries to keep himself from grinding his teeth every time the Baka Usagi
uses his given name, but at the same time, he knows that this isn't the time to
encourage any of the usual comebacks from the Usagi. With a very tense voice he
replies, "I don't know. If I did, do you honestly think that I would be here
instead of back home eating a peaceful breakfast with them? I was hoping that
you might know something, or even know where they're at."
Lavi thinks for a second before coming up with an obvious question. "Did you
try looking in the forest area or the surrounding hallways? I know that he
likes to spend a lot of his time there, or at least in that area."
"He's not there, and he's not in our apartment or in any of the other wings and
places that I've found him sleeping before. Believe me, those the first places
I checked like most people who know the Moyashi would."
"Did you try asking Alma or looking at his place to see if Allen is there or at
least close to there? I know you might not like the guy much right now, despite
how much he claims to like both you and Allen." Kanda scoffs, "But you never
know, he might actually know something. He is one of the best trackers for
people in the White Ark after all."
There is a long and tense pause before a small voice speaks up. "Did you say
that Allen is missing? I saw him earlier and thought that he was ok seeing that
he was with Alma earlier this morning, so I didn't try to stop him." She
trembles for a second, still staring at the floor. "If I'd known that someone
was looking for Allen I would have said something." Another pause. "I'M SO
SORRY! I'VE FAILED YOU AND NOW ALLEN IS MISSING ALL BECAUSE OF ME!" She begins
to sob rather loudly, calling attention to the trio at the table.
Lavi and Kanda both switch their attention to the sobbing neko before them, one
in shock the other in a tried patience. Lavi is the first to speak. "Miranda,
there is no way that you could have known that Allen was missing, after all, he
seemed to be in good hands, right?" Kanda shoots Lavi a glare, before listening
for a response. "Now, I need you to try and remember some things for me, ok?"
She gives a small, teary nod. "Where and when was it that you saw Allen and
Alma?"
She is quiet for a few moments before taking a shaky breath. "I was on the way
back to my room after a late meeting with Krory, I had just rounded a corner
onto the main hallway that runs by the forest area on my floor. Alma was
carrying Allen towards his room; from what I could see, I think that Allen
might have been sleeping. But I'm not completely sure of that." She falls
silent, tears still slipping down her face. Lavi puts a hand on her back and
starts to rub soothing circles on it, trying to calm her down as best as he can
for now.
Kanda, on the other hand, is already setting off out of the cafeteria, red once
again starting to paint his vision. His steps are quick and heavy with purpose
as he makes his way up the few levels, back to the apartment of the one neko
that he wants nothing to do with at this point in time. The journey takes less
time than before since his destination is already known and predetermined. He
once again, fails to knock before he throws the door open, eyes widening at the
sight before him.
Alma turns around to see just who is entering his home uninvited, especially at
this early morning hour, but his hand remains on the small of the Moyashi's
back as the younger neko stirs something in a pan on the small stove in front
of them. When Kanda realizes that his Moyashi isn't even reacting to his
uninvited entrance, or especially to the placement of Alma's hand, his vision
is completely drenched in red. He wastes no time in rushing towards Alma, rage
pouring off his entire being.
"How dare you! How dare you try to sneak away with what is mine, thinking that
I wouldn't notice or care!" He thrusts out his hand to grab the collar of
Alma's shirt, feeling somewhat confused when the older neko doesn't even try to
stop him. But at the same time, the rage is just too much as his hands shake as
he tries to hold himself back in front of the Moyashi, who is now staring at
him with his mouth open in surprise and shock.
Alma responds to the accusations coolly. "I didn't do anything that I didn't
thinks that you weren't already aware of. Seeing Allen asleep on the floor with
Rose crying for something to eat was obviously not answered by you, and I knew
that I had to do something. And I figured that if they were out at that hour
you must have knows, so I couldn't just leave them there and pretend to not
have seen anything!"
"You could have brought them back home! That's what anyone with sense would
have done!"
"I just happen to live much closer to where they were than you. And with the
condition they were in, I thought that it would be more appropriate to just
bring them here and help them as soon as possible. Is that a crime? If so then
I'm sorry for trying to help out when one of my loves needs my help for a
change."
Kanda opens his mouth to reply, but stops when he feels something grab and tug
on his arm. He looks down to see his Moyashi staring at him, tears in his
surprisingly angry eyes. "Stop it! JUST STOP IT!" Kanda is at a loss of words,
and even Alma seems a bit taken aback by the small one's statement.
Once he seems satisfied that Kanda and Alma have reached a point where won't
kill each other if he leaves the room for a moment, he disappears as the two
try to stare each other down. He reappears just a few minutes later with Rose
securely sleeping in her sling.
He turns first to Alma. "I'm sorry for all of the trouble I've caused you.
Hopefully I'll be able to make it up to you, for the both of us." He shoots
Kanda a very meaningful glance. "Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll be
taking my leave and my idiot lover with me." With that he gives Alma one last
small, sad smile before spinning around to grab Kanda's arm and pull him from
the apartment before he can do or say anything else.
***** Becoming Mates *****
Chapter 17
Allen could not believe Kanda's behavior! Sure he was a bit surprised himself
when he woke in a strange room and bed without even Rose or Kanda in sight, but
after a minute of looking around and seeing familiar items and recognizing the
familiar scent that he knew belonged only to Alma, he immediately calmed down
and became much more relaxed about the situation. He had sat in the bed for a
few more minutes before climbing out from under the all too inviting blankets
only to find Rose sound asleep in a makeshift bed not that far from him at all.
He had taken a moment to look her over and make sure that she was alright and
comfortable before making his way out of the room as quietly as possible.
Once out of the room, he had smelled something coming from the kitchen and went
to investigate. There he found Alma looking very tiredly at his half full
coffee pot. It took him a moment to notice that Allen had entered the room, and
when he did he tried to urge Allen back in to bed, insisting that he had
everything under control for now.
When Allen had asked about how he happened to get there in the first place,
Alma had been able to respond easily with the truth, still insisting that if
Allen had been so tired as to fall asleep in a hallway while Rose was crying,
he really needed to get back to bed and rest while he could. The only problem
was that by the time that Alma finished with his explanation, Allen was already
fully awake.
It was at this point that Allen had started to look in the fridge for something
to eat, and maybe for something to feed Rose with later. When Alma had asked
what he was doing, Allen had simply smiled and said that he would make
breakfast for everyone, considering he was already awake. At first Alma had
tried to stop him, insisting that since Allen was the guest, he shouldn't have
to, but the younger neko proved to be rather persistent until Alma had no
choice but to let the younger neko cook for him.
It was during this time that Alma first placed his hand on the small of Allen's
back while watching the white neko cook. At first Allen had thought that it
must have been an accidental placement, or meant as a simple pat on the back
that was just a bit too low, and that very soon, the hand would move, but when
it didn't, he had turned to tell Alma to remove it.
It was during that time that Alma and leaned down and had tried to kiss Allen,
but seeing what was about to happen, he turned his head away. Alma had backed
off and when Allen had tried to explain that he was uncomfortable with Alma's
actions, the older neko had agreed to stop them just as long as he was still
allowed to hold him close. Not wanting to potentially lose a good friend, Allen
had agreed and Alma's hand went back to its former resting place, to Allen's
chagrin.
It was just after this that the door had burst open. At first Allen didn't
think anything of it, thinking that it was probably someone coming to see Alma
with important news or information, he did work for the Black Order after all.
But that assumption was quickly altered when he felt a very familiar presence
behind him. He turned around just in time to see Kanda grab the front of Alma's
shirt in a clear threat. The fact that Kanda would ever do something like that
to someone that was their friend deeply confused Allen. But after hearing what
Kanda was accusing Alma of, it all made horrifying sense.
And while he could easily begin to see where Kanda was coming from, at the same
time, it still didn't give him the right to do what he was doing. Just seeing
the two of them like that, one that he had known his whole life, and the other
that he had met only just recently, but still considered a dear friend, it hurt
his heart very deeply.
He didn't know what it was, but something inside of him snapped at that moment,
and the next thing he knew he was pulling on Kanda's arm, yelling at the two of
them. It wasn't until he saw their faces that he came to realize what he had
done, but at the same time, he wouldn't have changed his actions even if he
could have.
It took him a moment to be convinced that the two were too busy staring each
other down to do anything if he left the room for a few minutes to collect
Rose. He made his way back to Alma's room as quickly as he could, and when he
picked up Rose and she started to fuss, he took a few minutes to calm her down
and make sure that she was settled back into her sling before heading back out
to face the two older, very angry nekos.
Seeing the two still locked in their staring contest made Allen internally
sigh, thinking that this was what he got for being around strong willed people.
But at the same time, he knew that he needed to separate the two of them
quickly before they started to try and attack each other again.
Before he left he made sure to apologize to Alma, but at the same time, trying
to convey that he didn't approve of all of Alma's earlier actions. The other
seemed to get the message, but at the same time, might have only been doing it
to put the younger neko more at ease, or at least to try to make Kanda more at
ease. After the apologies, Allen made sure to grab onto Kanda's arm and steer
him out of the room, lest he try to go back and fight with Alma again.
Now after a very tense and silent walk, they are back in their own apartment,
but Allen refuses to meet Kanda's gaze as he sets about making sure that Rose
is properly fed and settled back into her crib. After making sure that his
child is taken care of, Allen takes care to close the door to her room behind
him, something he rarely ever does.
He turns to face Kanda, who up until now has been standing dejectedly in the
small kitchen area, acting much like a scolded child, but the flames of
discontent are still evident in his eyes. Allen takes a moment to take a deep
breath to try and steady his nerves a bit more before slowly making his way
over to the older neko. He stops on the opposite end of the kitchen, staring at
Kanda, waiting for him to acknowledge his presence somehow, or at least move.
When it is clear that the other either refuses to acknowledge him, or is still
too consumed by his own emotions to respond, Allen's face becomes completely
blank before he speaks in the strongest and demanding voice he can muster at
the moment. "How could you do something like that? What could have possibly
compelled you to treat Alma that way? I thought he was your friend!"
Kanda's head snaps up, staring back at Allen, anger and hurt swirling
chaotically throughout his features. "A friend does not try to steal the
possessions of their friend. A friend knows when to back off and just let
things be before they get out of hand."
"Oh? You mean like what you're doing right now? Letting things get out of hand?
Because that's all I see at the moment. You say that I'm your possession, but
has your jealousy blinded you to the truth?" A threatening tone begins to creep
into Allen's voice, but his eyes shine dangerously.
Kanda gives him an incredulous look. "Don't talk of things that you don't fully
understand. There is more to this than what you think that you know. So just
drop this before anything else happens and I end up doing something that I'll
regret later."
Allen's eyes widen in fury and he clenches his hands into tight fists. "Do you
honestly think so little of me? To think that I wouldn't notice the change in
the way the two of you behaved around each other? Why else do you think I would
have tried to pull you two together more, to try for the two of you to have
peace and not this strained relationship that you have now."
Kanda's eyes narrow, and his voice becomes strained. "You know nothing of our
relationship, then or now. You should stay out of things that don't concern
you."
"Doesn't concern me? What part of this doesn't concern me! I know a lot more
than you think I do. I know that Alma took an interest in you sometime while we
were separated; even a blind fool could see that. "
"That was the past, it doesn't concern you now."
"Like hell it doesn't concern me! I know that those feelings of his for you
still remain, and I know that he now sees me in the same light. But at least I
know when to put my foot down on certain issues, but still be able to carry out
a friendship, one that you seem pretty damn determined to control I might add."
"So you knew the reasons behind his actions towards you, and yet you let them
continue? Do I displease you so much that you have to seek a mate elsewhere?"
Allen is taken aback by this statement, his anger rushing out of him. His head
falls, and his voice becomes barely audible as it begins to crack. "How can you
say something like that? What have I done to show disloyalty to you? You are
the one I gave my heart to, why would I ever need to look anywhere else?"
At his words, Kanda's anger begins to ebb away, but something in Allen's tone
does not seem to sit well with him, so he crosses the remaining distance
between them and reaches out to carefully take Allen's head in his hands,
gently tilting it upwards to search for truth in the younger neko's eyes. But
when he looks, his heart stops as the truth swirls in those liquid metal
depths, becoming even more molten as it mixes with the tears that are now
silently making their escape.
The face before him erases all traces of doubt and anger out of Kanda. Instead,
the overwhelming desire to protect and love the one before him grows until it
seems to blaze under his very skin. At first he tries to hold himself back from
doing anything too rash, but eventually he can't stop himself as he claims the
lush lips before him.
At first Allen is confused as to what Kanda is doing, after all, they are in
the middle of an argument, and yet here he is, holding his head ever so gently
and kissing him as though there was never anything between them. Allen tries to
pull away, his unease with everything that has happened this morning still
fresh in his mind, but Kanda's hands hold him still and his resistance is weak.
Slowly and subtly, Allen feels the tip of Kanda's tongue graze the seam of his
lips, as though hesitant to ask for entrance. At first, he refuses, choosing to
press forward and give some of the kisses, instead of just receiving them.
Kanda seems to pause for a second at this, but only begins to bring their lips
together more aggressively, making sure that they only time that they are not
touching, is when they both are in need of air, but even then, only a few
inches separate the two as their foreheads remain touching one another.
Allen gasps for a moment when he feels Kanda's hands leave his face and rub
down his sides before stopping for a moment and squeezing his behind. That
gives Kanda just enough time to plunge his tongue into Allen's mouth. Kanda
wastes no time in making sure to rub his tongue over everything that he can,
trying to memorize every nook and cranny of the smaller neko's mouth. And while
he eventually does pull his tongue out so that the two of them can breath, he
plunges back in almost immediately, this time taking a slower, more sensual
approach as he tries to memorize the very taste that is his Moyashi.
Trying not to break the kiss, Allen carefully, and slowly presses his hands
against Kanda's chest, marveling at just how hot it is to his touch and he
slowly begins to trail his hands upwards to wrap around Kanda's neck to pull
him closer still. The older neko gives a slight sliver at the trailing hands,
and is quick to give Allen's behind another squeeze before reaching behind his
knees to lift him up for better access to the mouth before him.
Eventually Kanda begins to shower Allen's face and neck with small butterfly
kisses, only to find a rather sensitive spot just between his neck and shoulder
that he pays much more attention to, making sure to lick and suck on that spot
so that it leaves a nice bright red mark behind. Whenever he sucks on that
particular spot, Allen's head rolls back as he relaxes, and his muscles become
less taunt, forcing Kanda to make sure that he has a firm hold on the younger,
less he accidently drop him in such a relaxed state.
Whenever Kanda does this, Allen feels like he is slowly losing himself to the
heat that is radiating between the two of them, that it is fogging his mind and
allowing all other thoughts to leave him. For his part, he is still trying to
kiss and nip at whatever part of Kanda he can reach; making sure that his own
mark will be visible as well.
Allen is so lost in the sensations of everything going on around him that he
doesn't even notices when Kanda starts making his way towards their bedroom and
out of the kitchen. His mind barely even registers when he is suddenly placed
on the bed as Kanda quickly slips his slightly oversized nightshirt over his
head before removing his own.
Kanda wastes no time in distracting his Moyashi again by encouraging him to
participate again in their earlier ministrations. Only now with more skin
showing and more room, Kanda begins to trail his kisses and nips down past
Allen's neck and onto his chest and stomach.
Allen knows that they have done things like this before, the touching and
kissing, but they have never ventured farther than that. Between Allen's
disastrous first time leaving him emotionally unready, and Kanda being able and
willing to wait until Allen is ready, nothing has truly happened between them,
and by neko tradition, they aren't even officially mates yet seeing as they
have yet to do the actual act.
But there is something in the back of his mind telling him that something is
different this time. That there is no longer any need to be afraid because it
is Kanda that will be with him, and no one else. And while he's not completely
sure if this is what he wants, he knows that he wants to be able to claim Kanda
as his mate, and if it means having to face the uncertainity of what will
happen, he knows that Kanda will stop if he asks him. But for now, he just
wants to be able to do something for Kanda for a change.
He lets himself fall into the heat and sensations around him, noticing how
careful and loving Kanda is being, but at the same time, feeling the strain of
his erection beginning to make itself known. Allen knows that he won't last too
much longer, but he wants for Kanda to be able to cum too, knowing that the
other will probably need some type of release soon.
He sits up, effectively halting Kanda's administrations. The older neko looks
down on him with dark lust filled eyes, taking in Allen's motions as he slowly
pulls Kanda's pants lower until he can start palming the older neko's erection
through the single remaining layer of clothing.
Kanda taking the hint, stands up for a moment to discard his remaining
clothing, but does not go back to touching the Moyashi until he too has been
completely disrobed. The two stare at each other for a moment, each sporting a
slight blush at seeing the other without clothes, even though it isn't the
first time that they've found themselves in this position before.
Normally this is about where they end up stopping and going their separate ways
to deal with their demanding erections, so Kanda is very pleasantly surprised
when Allen leans forward, making sure that their throbbing erections rub
against one another for just a moment before whispering huskily in Kanda's ear.
"Don't stop."
Allen can see something flash in the corner of Kanda's eye, but before he has
time to figure out exactly what it was, he finds himself once more on his back
as Kanda is now kissing him in earnest, now a bit more aggressive then before.
He feels his entire frame shake as Kanda begins to rub up and down his sides
before the overly warm hands leave as Kanda's tongue begins to make it's way
back towards Allen's stomach.
Allen is completely lost in a haze of pleasure as he feels Kanda begin to suck
and nip at his sensitive nipples, causing his mind to go blank and not
completely notice the single slick finger that has found its way into his
entrance. He can feel something moving down there, but for the moment all he
cares about are the sensations that Kanda is bringing to him.
However, he does begin to become uncomfortable when a second finger is added.
He can tell by the amount of extra care in distracting him, that Kanda really
doesn't want him to be in pain, and while he isn't for the moment it is nothing
more than uncomfortable, he knows that there is still more to come, and that
nothing he has felt so far will be able to stop the impending pain.
He tries to concentrate only on Kanda, especially once the older neko returns
to claim his mouth once again, but even that doesn't stop him from letting out
a whimper of pain as a third finger is added and begins to move inside of him.
He tries to hold back his whimper, but he can see that Kanda is growing
concerned that he is hurt him.
Allen tries to relay that he is fine, that Kanda should continue, but Kanda
doesn't seem fully convinced of this. In one slow movement, Kanda's fingers
move once more, only this time one of them manages to brush something inside of
Allen that has him feeling nothing but white pleasure. He can feel his body
arch closer to Kanda, his head being thrown back as the pleasure fills him for
a moment.
Suddenly the fingers are removed and Allen has a vague sense of loss from where
they were, but he doesn't have too long to dwell on this as he can feel the tip
of something much larger than the fingers. He cracks open his eyes and sees
Kanda giving him a questioning look, and when Allen gives a slight nod, Kanda
slowly begins to push into Allen.
Allen can feel his muscles clenching as the pain seems to grow as Kanda slowly
makes his way inside, but soon tears are flooding too much of Allen's vision
for him to see how Kanda is responding to this. All he can feel is Kanda moving
forward before stopping for a minute. That gives Allen a bit of time to adjust
to this new size inside of him, though he still feels a bit more stretched then
he thinks is right.
Slowly Kanda begins to back out, leaving just the tip inside, before slowly
thrusting in again. He still gives Allen some time to adjust, but each
repeating time the thrusting becomes just a little faster and the adjustment
time just a little bit less until Kanda is setting a steady pace without any
stopping.
The sensation is strange for Allen, he can still feel his own need becoming
even more painfully hard with each of Kanda's thrusts, but he feels no pleasure
beyond that and Kanda's mouth that is still gently sucking on the spot between
his neck and shoulder. Eventually, Kanda shifts ever so slightly and Allen is
once again greeted by that wave of white pleasure.
Seeing Allen react like that, Kanda then makes an effort to hit that spot each
and every time. Loving the way that Allen makes a face of absolute pleasure,
and how tight the younger neko is around his throbbing need. Kanda catches a
glimpse of Allen reaching to start pleasuring himself, but Kanda moves one of
his hands and begins the ministrations himself.
Allen arches even farther off the bed as his body is now wracked with pleasure
from two sources, making any other thought or feeling practically nonexistent.
He can feel an even more intense heat than before coiling in his lower stomach,
signaling that he will reach his release soon. When the pressure becomes too
much he tries to warn Kanda, but no sound escapes his mouth other than a silent
scream of pleasure as he releases onto both of their stomachs.
Kanda feels the walls around him constrict as his Moyashi releases beneath him,
and that is just enough to send him over the edge as well, making sure to
thrust a few more times so that the Moyashi will be able to take all of his
seed.
Allen begins to come off of his wave of pleasure when he suddenly has the
feeling of being filled with a thick, hot substance. The feeling is not
completely comfortable, but it becomes more bearable when he feels Kanda slid
out of him. The older neko collapses beside him, both panting as they ride the
last of their pleasure and from the intense heat of the situation.
As they both begin to surrender to their exhaustion, Kanda gently grabs Allen
around his middle and pulls him close. He leans closer to him and whispers in
his ear, "Now you truly are my mate."
….
Kanda wakes from one of the best rests he has had in many a night. He smiles a
bit, as the memory of becoming mates floods through is mind. He looks over at
his still sleeping mate, who now seems to almost shimmer in the after glow of
their actions.
Kanda reaches a hand over to lightly brush some of the Moyashi's hair out of
his face, only to find a small smile decorating the face of his lover. Kanda
leans forward to let a kiss brush against his forehead before backing off to
let the other continue to slumber.
As he stands he notices that there is still ample evidence from their
activities, and he crosses the room and digs in the dresser for a moment before
heading back to the bed with a white cloth in hand. He is careful not to
disturb his Moyashi as he tries to wipe off as much of the drying cum as he can
without them actually washing anything, including themselves.
After deciding that the rest can just be cleaned of its respective surfaces
later, Kanda leaves the cloth at the end of the bed before grabbing a set of
clean clothes to go shower and then check in on Rose, supposing that his
Moyashi hasn't woken up yet.
He gives his Moyashi one last look before leaving the room, smirking as he
realizes that everything is going to change from now on. He knows that he
probably shouldn't have taken advantage of his Moyashi like that, even if his
own heat was becoming too much for him, but at the same time, he wouldn't have
changed anything. After all, they are officially mates as a result.
…...
Allen slowly wakes, trying to linger in the dream world as long as possible,
after all, even though he can't remember what he was dreaming about just now,
he does remember that it left him with the best feeling that he's ever had.
However, the sound of water running in the bathroom is just enough to convince
him to open his eyes, letting the dream world escape once more.
As his eyes adjust to the low light of the room, Allen notices that Kanda is
gone from his side of the bed, and after reaching a hand over and discovering
some lingering heat, that it must not have been too long ago that he left,
presumably to take a shower. Allen leans towards the heat for a minute before
feeling something slightly crusty under him. He sits up, but has to stop for a
moment as his backside throbs in rejection of his movements.
He sees the mess left behind from their lovemaking the night before, and can't
help but smile. He knows that this will change everything about their
relationship, but at the same time, it's what both of them wanted.
As he looks about for a little longer, he slowly starts to become aware of the
cum that has dried to his chest, and is feeling rather itchy and uncomfortable.
He initially goes to reach for a blanket, figuring that they will just be
washed later anyways, but then he notices the white cloth at the end of the bed
that seems to already have some cum stuck on it, so he figures it won't matter
if he adds anymore to it.
He begins to rub at the cum on his chest, confused as to why the feeling of
this cloth against his skin is so familiar, and yet he knows that he hasn't
worn any sort of white pants since he was held in the Black Ark. He holds them
in front of him, glaring at them when he realizes that they are the pants he
had worn at the Black Ark.
Seeing as he would rather just burn those cloths then have to remember anything
because of them, he throws them across the room, but jumps slightly when he
hears the sound of something small but hard hitting the dresser.
Ignoring his aching backside, Allen carefully climbs off of the bed and heads
over to where the pants are now heaped in a pile. He stops is journey over
there when he feels something hard under his hand. When he picks it up and
uncurls his hand to see just what it is, his heart stops for a moment.
In his hand is the small tracking device that he thought he had long since lost
when the White Ark had launched its raid against the Black Ark. He knows that
it is the real one since the fake that Neah gave him is still in his ear.
Allen can't stop staring at the small device in his hand, knowing that this
thing has indirectly led the Millennium Earl directly to everything that he
hold dear, and he knows that it is only a matter of time before the Earl comes
and destroys all of that.
***** Morning Surprises *****
Chapter 18
Allen continued to stare at the small, cold tracking device in his hand. Never
would he have imagined, even in his wildest dreams, that one of the few things
he was so sure that he had lost during the rescue mission from the White Ark,
would come back to haunt him, especially after all this time. He knew that
there was always a slim possibility of something like this happening, but as of
late, those thoughts had begun to disappear from his mind, and some aspects
were all but forgotten.
But now, with reality staring back at him, he knows that everything he thought
that he knew and had known up until now is going to be put into jeopardy once
again. And all because of this one small, seemingly innocent device.
He knows that he needs to try and not panic, but he can't help that his mind is
now completely distracted. Allen tries to force himself to concentrate, to find
something that he can do without thinking, just so he has to think about it.
But in the end he ends up mechanically beginning to search through various
drawers in the dresser next to him, pulling out random articles of his
clothing, all the while still having his head spin with this new fear.
As he silently works on getting himself dressed, he doesn't even notice when
Kanda enters the room, still fairly wet from his shower, with naught but a
towel wrapped around his waist. He doesn't notice the soft steps that make
their way across the carpet in his direction. He hardly even notices when two
slightly damp arms grab him from behind as Kanda settles besides him and begins
to nuzzle his neck while his long hair tickles his back.
"What are you doing over here? I thought that you would still be sleeping
everything off." A slight chuckle reverberates through Kanda's chest. He pulls
Allen just a bit closer to him, trying to get a better reaction from his newly
made mate, but it is the subtle shaking of his mate that alerts him of Allen's
distress. Concern immediately washes through Kanda. "What is it? What's wrong?
Did I hurt you?"
Allen looks up at him, unshed tears thick in his eyes, threatening to spill
over. "This" he holds up the small tracking device, "this is what's wrong."
Kanda carefully picks the device out of Allen's hand and examines it for a
moment. "What exactly is this? It looks exactly like . . ." His voice trails
off as he becomes confused with the sight of an exact duplicate of the earing
that is still in his Moyashi's ear from when Alma was supposed to have made the
switch back before the rescue mission to the Black Ark.
"Th – this is the tr – tracker they put on me back at tha – that place."
Allen's voice cracks and shakes as he tries to keep himself together. He knows
that if he loses control of his emotions now, it will only make it harder when
he has to confess to the others that he has been endangering the White Ark and
its occupants this entire time.
Allen hangs his head in grief and shame, not noticing Kanda fist the hand that
holds the earing. His hand shaking at the memories of what that place had done
not only to himself, but especially to his mate. He knows that they must do
something and quickly if they are to have any peace of mind later, but for now
he has something more important he mist tend to, the wellbeing of his mate and
child.
However, Allen does feel the remaining arm around him tighten, bringing him
even closer to the warm, comforting body behind him. "Don't worry about it too
much. If we've been here this long and nothing's happened, then there is a good
chance that nothing will happen for a while longer, and that means that we have
time to prepare and try to throw them off our tracks." His neck is nuzzled once
again. "Now, how about you go worry about cleaning yourself up a bit and I'll
go start warming up some milk for Rose. After that we'll go and talk to Komui
and Bak about this. That sound alright to you?"
For as much as Allen would rather not prolong the inevitable, he knows that
what Kanda says is true. Besides, as much as it pains him to say, taking the
time to clean himself off might not be such a bad idea, especially with the
evidence of last night still prevalent on his stomach and thighs, and becoming
rather uncomfortable. That, and taking the time to clean up a bit might just
give him the opportunity he needs to calm down and be able to explain the
situation much more calmly later on, not only to the others, but to himself as
well.
He slowly nods, but enough so that he knows that Kanda will understand, and
before he leaves, Kanda gives him one last lingering kiss on the neck before
backing off from the younger neko. For a moment afterwards, Allen wishes that
Kanda would hold him again, just for a minute, just long enough for him to put
himself back together enough to continue the day. But at the same time, he
knows that he needs to be able to get up and move on his own, otherwise he will
never be able to overcome it, and that in the end, he really can't try to block
out something that is staring him in the face.
After he hears Kanda leave the room, Allen rises slowly and painfully, but
manages limps the short distance to the bathroom, a bit surprised by just how
sore his backside really is. Once he enters the bathroom, he starts to
mechanically go through the motions of getting ready for the day, not really
noticing anything around him or what he is really doing. It isn't until he
finally steps under the steaming water that everything from this morning seems
to fade away and everything from last night really hits him like a ton of
bricks.
He has a mate.
He, Allen, has a mate.
And not only that, he already has one child, but this means that now he might
eventually have others, and those kittens will all be Kanda's kittens as well.
It might be a small, trivial fact to others, but the thought of eventually
being able to carry and raise Kanda's kittens is a far more appealing idea than
Allen would ever let on. After all, he wanted to be able to see small versions
of Kanda running around all over with the older neko.
A small, content smile quirks at the corner of his mouth. Yes, more kittens
would be nice. Not now, not when there is so much going on, and far too
dangerous for him to even consider bringing new, innocent lives into the
picture, but hopefully someday. Someday when he and Kanda, and everyone else
can finally not have to worry about the Millennium Earl, the fear of being
kidnapped again, or what might happen if they were to ever be discovered by
people other than their friends.
He shakes his head in frustration with himself, making water droplets splatter
against the walls of the shower. No, he's not going to let his thoughts go down
that dark path. For now his immediate concerns should only be around finishing
up with this shower so that he can go make sure that Rose is fed before they
leave to go find Komui and Bak and give them the bad news.
As the fear of what this meeting might mean begins to rise once again, Allen
leans into the wall of the shower, letting the water softly pound on only part
of his body now. He closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths before moving
away from the wall, and after he closes his eyes, he turns his face towards the
showerhead, letting the soothing rhythmic drumming of the water against his
face wash away his worries and pound away his fears.
Within a few minutes all Allen can coherently think about is how soothingly
warm and comforting the water is. With great reluctance he finally turns off
the water and quickly grabs a thick fluffy towel to dry himself with, hoping
the whole time that at least some of the heat gained by the shower will remain
to continue easing his sore behind. He looks around the bathroom and spots a
pile of clothes that Kanda left, apparently realizing that Allen forgot to
bring any in with him before heading into the shower.
He takes his time, finding that bending to put on his pants is literally more
of a pain than normal. He especially has a harder time today with easing his
now even fluffier than normal tail through the small tail hole in the back,
since even the base of his tail is feeling some of the pain from the previous
nights' activities.
Eventually, he is able to feel that he is presentable enough for the day with
his gray long-sleeved shirt and blue jeans that will more than likely have to
be changed by the time that Rose has finished eating, and consequently burping
at least part of her meal on him afterwards. He carefully makes his way out of
the bathroom and down the hall to find Rose, all the while taking extra care
not to move too quickly and make his limp even more apparent.
When he enters Rose's room he is a little surprised that she is still sleeping,
but at the same time, a bit relieved that that means that she most likely slept
through everything that happened earlier. He did not want to find out that he
inadvertently scared her for life at such a young age. He smiled a bit as he
gently runs his hand through her dark curly locks of hair before gently picking
her up.
He holds her for a moment, hoping that she will wake up more gently this way,
but she still continues to sleep on. Allen gives a small sigh of contentment at
this and wanders into the kitchen with Rose still sleeping soundly in his arms,
figuring that when she hears the normal morning kitchen sounds that she will
wake up demanding her own breakfast as well.
By the time he manages to ease himself into the kitchen area, Kanda is already
busy trying to make breakfast for all of them, dressed in a pair of black jeans
and loose navy blue top, he appears to have not really bothered too much today
with appearance, but more with functionality. A bottle of milk stands ready on
the counter for Rose, the toaster is busy browning some bread, and the skillet
appears to be occupied by some eggs that are currently beings scrambled as they
sizzle.
Kanda looks up from his work as he can feel a set of hungry eyes staring at the
pan in front of him. He gives a bit of a mischievous grin as he piles the eggs
on to two plates and pulls the toast from the toaster and distributes that as
well. He brings them over to the table and motions for his mate to sit before
heading back to the kitchen area to grab the bottle for Rose.
When he gets back to the table, Allen is already seated and trying to gently
rub Rose awake so that he can eat after she is done eating. When she still
refuses to wake up, Allen releases a small sigh as he stares wistfully at the
plate of cooling food, but smiles at Kanda and whispers a quick "Thank you"
before turning his attention back to a still sleeping Rose.
After a few minutes of this, it quickly becomes apparent that not even the
temptation of food is going to bring Rose to alertness just yet, so Allen
resigns himself to just having to wait a while longer before he can eat the
food that Kanda has made for him.
As of yet Kanda has yet to even touch the food on his plate, having decided to
wait so that he and Allen could eat together after Rose was done, but seeing
how she hasn't awakened yet, Kanda is starting to see just how hungry his small
mate really is. He starts cutting into his own plate of food and carefully
balances some egg and toast with a fork before carefully and slowly bringing it
over to Allen's mouth.
When Allen sees what Kanda is doing he gives him a slightly confused look, but
one look at Kanda's grin lets Allen feel more at ease as he allows his mate to
feed him while he still focuses mainly on trying to wake up Rose. However, it
doesn't take too long before the entire plate of food has been devoured and
Allen is giving Kanda a guilty smile while a piece of egg still managing to
rest on his cheek.
Before Allen really realizes what is happening, Kanda leans over and delicately
licks the egg off of Allen's face, making the younger neko blush deeply as
emotions from last night still reside near the surface. Kanda gives another
grin before slipping Rose out of Allen's arms and into his own as he tries to
wake her up himself, all while looking at Allen expectantly.
Allen laughs for a moment before sticking out his tongue at his amused mate,
and begins repeating Kanda's previous actions of trying to balance food on a
fork before feeding it to his older mate. Apparently he doesn't have as good of
balance because more of the food ended up on the table than Kanda ever dropped
for him, but Allen can tell that Kanda is enjoying it the entire time as he
lets his gaze flicker up and smolder directly at Allen, who continually turns
darker and darker shades of red under that gaze.
Eventually, despite their best efforts, the plates are cleared of food and the
table is currently sporting several crumbs of varying size and contents as the
two nekos are staring across at each other in contentment. As Allen begins to
rise to start cleaning up the dishes, Kanda makes a motion for him to sit back
down. Allen does so with a puzzled look on his face. Kanda stands and hands
Rose back to Allen, before picking up their plates and heading to the sink.
A warm fuzzing feeling surrounds Allen's heart at this simple gesture. To know
that he is so lucky to have such a caring mate while so many others will never
be this lucky. But at the same time, his previous fears are nagging at his mind
again, reminding him that this could all disappear at any moment.
He holds Rose just a bit closer at this thought, but his thoughts are
sidetracked when he notices something a bit off. He looks over to make sure
that Kanda is still busy cleaning up, and when he is sure that he won't be
noticed, he leans his head over so that is forehead is touching Rose's
forehead. He jerks his head back as the heat emanating from his small child is
far to great to be anywhere near normal, even for her.
"Kanda!" Said neko hurries over to the table at the sound of his lovers frantic
voice. "Something's wrong. Rose is too hot, even for her and she's still not
waking up!"
Kanda frowns and repeats Allen's previous action of placing his forehead
against that of Rose. His frown deepens as the unnatural heat assaults his
skin. He looks up and at Allen, concern obvious in his slight frown. "Let's
head over to see Koumi, I think this takes greater importance than anything
else right now." Allen nods deeply in agreement before easing himself out of
the chair and back down the hall to retrieve Rose's carrying sling.
….
Under an hour later, both nekos are left sitting out in a hallway as Komui is
busy giving Rose an extensive checkup just on the other side of the door. Kanda
is holding Allen close on the floor opposite the door as the younger neko
becomes increasingly and unconsciously clingy as his stress levels increase.
But Kanda isn't too bothered by this, after all, Rose is Allen's one surviving
daughter, and in a strange way, his own daughter as well. Sure she may not be
his flesh and blood, but he has helped raise her more than her biological
father will ever know. And it is because of this that he feels that he is
indeed her father, and she will always be his daughter, even if only in his
mind.
Another hour of anxious waiting and Kanda can feel Allen begin to sag as lack
of sleep threatens to overwhelm him. Kanda gently picks up his younger mate and
positions himself so that he is sitting in Kanda's lap and able to lean back so
that his head is under Kanda's chin. However, they are only in this position
for a short time before the door opens and Komui emerges.
Allen's eyes light with hope at the emergence of Koumi, but they quickly dim
and become wary as the look of the man before him is not one of a person
bringing good news. Komui takes a moment to compose himself and push up his
glasses before speaking. "It looks like Rose has contracted some type of virus.
Now, we're not sure just what it is yet, but I think that it would be best if
she stayed here until we can figure out exactly what is causing her symptoms."
Allen nods his head slowly. "Can we still see her?"
Komui gravely shakes his head. "I don't think that that would be wise. As it
is, the two of you have probably already been exposed to whatever she has, so
the both of you will need to stay here overnight as well, just to make sure
that she hasn't passed anything on to you two. And just incase she is infected
with something and you aren't, I'll have you separated for now, but I'll make
sure that we put you two in a room next to hers so that incase anything were to
change, you'll be able to know right away."
He gives the two a sympathetic look. "I'm sure that it's nothing other than a
simple virus that will be gone by the end of the week, but we have to take
precautions just in case." After observing a nod from both of the nekos before
him, Komui continues. "Now, if you'll follow me, I'll show you to the room that
you'll be staying in for the night." And with that he turns down the hall
looking over his shoulder to make sure that the two nekos are following behind.
….
Allen sighed, already feeling like he has spent more than his fair share of his
time in hospitals these last few months, but at the same time he can understand
why Komui is having them do this. And even though he understands, the fact that
there is something wrong with his child makes him want to hold her, or at least
be near her even more.
Even Kanda is starting to become visibly annoyed as time passes, just as
desperate as Allen for some solid answers. He stands next to the door, his gaze
drifting between it and Allen, neither one ever completely out of his sight,
but never fully in it at the same time.
For hours they stay in that room, moving only when a nurse drops by with some
food, but only food and no news of Rose. To say that the lack of news had no
effect would be very incorrect.
After their short meal, Kanda pulls Allen onto the bed with him and just sits
there, holding the younger neko and whispering empty encouragements in his
ears. Eventually worrying too much wears Allen out to the point where he falls
asleep, still leaning against his older mate.
Kanda tries to force himself to stay awake so that when they do receive word of
what his happening to Rose, he will be able to be ready for anything. But as
the hours drag on, he too begins his own war with sleep, and in the end, he
falls asleep just as he is, with his arms wrapped around Allen, and his face
towards the door.
….
The sound of the door being quietly opened alerts Allen back into
consciousness. He can feel Kanda shift underneath him, so he knows that he too
knows that something is happening. He opens his eyes and looks towards the
door.
A dark figure is standing there. Their identity kept a mystery except for the
outline of a beret on the figure's head.
Allen straightens up, and reaches for a lamp near the bed so that he might
better be able to see Komui's expressions as he tells them what is going on
with Rose. He feels Kanda straighten up behind him, an arm holds Allen even
closer, as if to try to protect him from any bad news that Komui might bring.
As he steps into the room, Allen can tell that something has happened. Komui
looks exhausted and grim. Part of that might have been that it is already in
the early hours of the morning and it seems like Komui probably did not get any
sleep as of yet, and that is what Allen his hoping for.
However, these hopes are dashed when Komui begins to speak.
"Allen, Kanda, there's something you need to know."
***** Bite Marks *****
Chapter 19
A feeling of absolute dread fills Allen. Just by the way that Komui is holding
himself suggest that he comes with bad news. If Rose still has not woken up and
yet Komui still looks so defeated, there must be something else. Something even
more terrible than he thinks that Allen will want to or should know about.
Alarm bells ring in his mind, warning him that something is seriously wrong. He
pulls back the covers, and pulls himself out of Kanda's hold. He takes careful,
measured steps towards Komui. Fear and dread rising to even higher levels, as
his old friend remains silent and stoic.
He stops before the older human and looks him directly in the eye. "Let me see
her. Please." There is a moment of hesitance, but when Komui exchanges a quick
glance back at Kanda, he sighs before motioning for Kanda to rise as well so
that both nekos can find out the sad truth together.
Kanda makes his way silently over to Allen. He can sense the anxiety rolling
off of his mate, so he reaches out and takes the smaller hand in his own,
giving it a small squeeze of reassurance. Allen looks to him for a second,
gratitude evident in his quivering silver eyes.
The two silently follow Komui out of the room and swiftly into the one next
door. The one where Rose has been mysteriously sick in for the last few hours.
Inside the room, they find it filled with various machines and cords, all
attached to a small incubation chamber looking machine. Allen rushes to it, his
hand leaving Kanda's in his haste. Through the clear plastic covering, Allen
can see Rose still and silent as the last time he saw her, but now there
various cords, and monitors attached to her, making things seem far worse than
what he expected.
Tears begin to well in his eyes, as he feels Kanda come up behind him, seeing
for himself the damage that has been done. He lets his gaze linger on his
daughter for a moment before turning back to Komui.
With tears now silently streaming down his face, and his desperation evident,
he manages to whisper, "What's wrong with her? What did I do wrong?"
Sadness washes over Komui's features. "There's nothing you did wrong, in fact
the fact that you and Kanda have been taking such good care of her is probably
the only reason that she's been able to live this long."
"What do you mean?"
Komui sighs and hangs his head a bit, but he never lets his gaze leave the two
nekos before him. "Allen, it seems that while you were at the Black Ark, they
implanted some type of tracking device into Rose while you were in earlier
stages of your pregnancy. I'm guessing that this was done in hopes that her
body would develop around it without it being implanted to forcefully. However,
it seems that whatever that tracker is made of is eroding into Rose's
bloodstream. In effect, the metals used for that device are now poisoning her.
"Normally I would suggest a series of blood transfusions to help flush out the
extra metals, but Rose has a blood type and structure unlike any I've ever seen
or heard of before. Because of her mixed genetics, there are no possible donors
that I know of without one part of her genetics rejecting the blood."
A sharp voice cuts in, "What exactly are you saying? Is there something we can
do, or is there no hope."
Komui bows his head. "I'm sorry that there's nothing more we can do. For now
all we can do is keep her comfortable and try to make her passing as peaceful
as we can." He walks over to the incubator like machine and starts turning off
monitors before leaving Kanda and Allen alone with Rose. "I wish there was
something more that I could do for her. I'll give you some time alone now."
There is silence after he leaves. With the monitors switched off, and no other
sounds drifting through the room, it almost seems like Death is already in the
room. Allen manages to break the silence ever so slightly by padding softly
over to where Rose lies. He carefully holds her close as he cries softly, his
tears falling on to the blanket she is wrapped in.
Kanda makes his way over to Allen and holds him close. No words are spoken, but
many more tears are shed.
For Allen, his tears flow from all of his regret for this happening to his
daughter, for what he sees as his failure to care for her and protect her like
he should.
For Kanda, the tears come from his grief that Rose will soon pass, but mostly
they fall for his Moyashi, his new mate who seems to only know pain in this
world, and with this adding to his burden, his tears fall for everything that
his mate must endure, knowing that an entire litter has died with nothing they
could do to change that fact.
The silence reigns for a stretch of time before it is broken. "Kanda, she . . .
I . . . I want to take her there. Just one . . . one more time. It is . . . was
her favorite place."
Without any questions, Kanda knows exactly where it is that Allen wants to go
with Rose. He leans down to pick up Allen bridal style so that Kanda would be
able to carry the two of them, at least once more. He leaves the room without a
backwards glance, his hatred for that place growing with every step.
….
They have been in the forest area for more than an hour now. Allen found a spot
protected at the base of the large redwood and has remained there for the last
hour, holding Rose close with Kanda behind him, holding them both. Somehow,
during this time, Allen's tears finally ceased and he was lulled into sleep
with Rose still in his arms.
Kanda looks down at the two in his arms and sighs, knowing what he must do to
protect those most dear to him. He carefully shifts Allen so that he is the one
leaning against the tree. And as he slowly stands, he looks into the great
tree, knowing that they have not been the only ones grieving here.
"Watch over them, just for a little while. There's something I must do now,
before it's too late."
Silence is the only reply he receives, and silence is all he needs before
casting one last look at his mate as he heads out of the forest area in search
of one particular neko.
Down the halls he strides, stopping for no one, letting nothing distract him
from his goal.
Once he reaches his destination, only then does he hesitate, but only for a
moment before he gives the door in front of him two swift, but loud knocks. The
door opens in just a few seconds revealing a rather disheveled neko.
Surprise and a restrained curiosity fill his question. "What are you doing
here?"
Kanda's ears go back against his head as his tail gives an aggravated swish.
"I'm here not because I want to be, but there's something I need you to do."
Eyes narrow to slits. "You need me to do something? And why should I? You've
made your intentions clear to me, so why come to me now?"
"It's not about me, if it was I wouldn't be here! This is about the Moyashi."
"And what could he possibly need from me that he couldn't get from you?"
"Dammit Alma! Rose is dying because of them, and now Allen will have to pay the
price. Is that what you want?"
Alma visibly deflates. "What do you mean that Rose is dying? She was just fine
two days ago, what happened? What changed?"
Kanda starts to calm down. "Komui said something about an eroding tracker that
we didn't know was in her. Somehow the metal is getting in her bloodstream and
poisoning her."
Alma's eyebrows crease in confusion. "But couldn't Komui just give her a blood
transfusion? Wouldn't that help to flush out the excess metal until her own
blood is restored?"
Kanda shakes his head. "Because of her being a mixed species there is no blood
for her to take that would be compatible. If the metal didn't killer, then that
would." His eyes soften as he looks Alma in the eye. "This is why I need you to
do something, not for me, but for Allen."
Alma slowly nods. "You know that I would do anything for either of you. You two
may not be the lovers I had hoped for, but beyond that, both of you are my
friends, and I don't want that to change."
Kanda nods as well. "Friends I can deal with. So I ask you again, as a friend.
Will you help me?"
"How about we go back to your mate and on the way there you can explain what is
going on. Agreed?"
A nod is all that he receives as Kanda starts back through the halls and to his
mate.
As Alma begins to follow, Kanda begins to explain more into the situation.
"Last night Allen and I became mates." A look of surprise and almost jealousy
passes through Alma's eyes, but he restrains it. "Afterwards, he found the
earing that Neah was supposed to have had him hide somewhere back at the Black
Ark, but apparently he never got that part of the message, so its been here
this whole time."
Alma stops. "Wait. What do you mean its been here this whole time?"
Kanda sighs in frustration. "I mean exactly that. The thing was never
deactivated so they know where we are, and I'll bet anything that they aren't
going to remain silent for too much longer. We have someone they want, and
they'll do anything to get him, and probably us as well, back. I'm not going to
stand back and do nothing." He stops for a moment and closes his eyes in defeat
of the inevitable. That's why I asked for your help."
Alma come up to him, and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Tell me what you want me
to do, and I'll do it. Don't blame yourself for this, there is no way that you
could have known."
"Saying that doesn't make any difference." Another sigh. "But this is about
Moyashi. Not me." He continues down the hall. "I want you to perform the final
act of the mating ritual on Allen with me."
Alma stops again, but this time it is pure shock and a bit of fear that holds
him. "Do you know what you ask of me? This is too much for you to ask! The bite
mark is a symbol of being mates, and yet you would have me give it to someone
who is not my mate? How can you ask this of me?"
Kanda grabs Alma's shoulders and forces the older neko to look him in the eye.
"I know the significance of what I ask, and that is why I ask it of you, and
you alone. I know of your feelings for him, as well as for myself, but that is
exactly why I ask it of you." He tightens his hold as Alma tries to look away.
"When those of the Black Ark and of the Noah come, I want to give him the best
chance for survival as I can. But in order to do that I need you to survive as
well. When they come, they will do everything they can to avoid hurting Moyashi
physically, but they will not hesitate to hurt anyone around him. When they
come, I need you to stay as close to him as you can, to try and get him away if
you can. I will come as soon as I can, and the three of us will head out
together, giving us a better chance of survival. But if we all end up getting
caught, the bite marks might save the three of us.
"I don't doubt that they'll send Moyashi off to the Breeding Program as soon as
they can, but when they see the bite marks, they won't be able to do anything
or try to mate him to anyone else because only mates give those marks. It
probably won't take them long to figure out that those marks belong to you and
I, and when that happens they'll still have to figure out which of us truly is
his mate. That will give us more time, and hopefully that will be enough for us
to escape and be long gone before they ever figure it out."
Alma sighs before finally facing Kanda. "I'll do it. It weighs heavily on my
heart to do this, but I will. If it can help in the future, for all of us that
is. I'll do what I can." His look turns fiercer. "And when they come, I will do
everything I can do make sure that all of us make it out of here alive, and
free."
Kanda smiles, his fangs flashing slightly. "That's what I wanted to hear."
The two of them continue in silence until they reach the forest area. Once they
arrive, Kanda wastes no time in rushing over to where Allen lies, still in the
same position as when he left less than an hour before. He quickly notes that
Allen is still sleeping before turning his attention to Rose. She is even paler
than before and her breathing seems to be shallower, and more erratic. It is
clear that her time is almost up.
He carefully shifts Allen so that Alma can kneel on one side of him while Kanda
is on the other. The two share a quick look before Kanda carefully leans
Allen's head forward so that the other nekos can take their positions. Kanda
gives Alma one final look before biting down on Allen's right ear, feeling the
cold earing in his mouth, while Alma does the same to Allen's left. The two let
their teeth stay lodged in the ears for a moment before withdrawing. The only
indication that Allen is aware of something happening to him is a soft grunt of
pain, but continues to sleep.
They both take a second to see that there is some blood that is quickly drying
along the bite marks, indicating that the marks will stay, and that their job
is fulfilled.
Kanda carefully repositions Allen against the tree, silently thanking any and
all higher powers that his Moyashi didn't wake up during that. However, he is a
bit surprised when Alma suddenly leans forward and bites Kanda's left ear.
"That way you'll have a better chance if you get caught. Allen will be fine,
but you need to worry about yourself too." He stops for a moment, backing away
from a still stunned Kanda. "Make sure that he bites your other ear soon. If
what you say is true, they'll be on our doorstep before long, and time is
something we can't afford to lose."
Suddenly, short, harsh pants start up. Instantly drawing their attention back
to Allen and Rose. "I'll leave you now. Take care of him Yuu. He needs it more
than he'll ever admit."
Alma rushes out the door, shouting for Komui, someone, anyone, to come help.
Kanda rushes back to his mate and daughter. Holding them close, and gently
shaking his Moyashi to try and wake him. After a few seconds of shaking, Allen
is fully alert, and panicking as the child in his arms begins to
hyperventilate, and there is nothing he can do to stop it or make it better.
Within minutes the forest area is swarmed by people from the medical area,
trying to get closer, but by then it is too late. All they find is a pair of
neko mates holding each other and crying over the lifeless form of a halfling.
….
A week later finds Allen and Kanda back in the forest area, this time they are
in front of the graves of Allen's first litter, now all of them as a new small
grave is hidden with the others under the same tree root. Though the official
funeral for Rose was more than four days ago, the grief is still fresh for
everyone, but especially for Allen.
Ever since the day of his daughter's death, Allen has reverted back into the
broken individual he was before he was rescued by the White Ark. He rarely
talks, he's not eating, and he doesn't want anyone touching him. It even took a
while to convince him to let Kanda hold him, and comfort him again.
Though most people are worrying about Allen, Kanda knows that this will pass
along with the freshness of his grief. Once Allen is able to accept what
happened, he will be able to move on, but for now he needs to be allowed to
grieve. So for now, he'll do what he can to support his Moyashi, and when the
time comes and Allen starts letting more people back in, then he'll have their
support too.
As they sit there, the rain starts up and before long both are completely
soaked through. Kanda knows that if he left to go dry off, Allen would just
stay there, unmoving. So he walks over to his mate and carefully picks him up
and carries him back to their room.
By the time that they arrive back at the room, both are thoroughly chilled, so
Kanda sets Allen in the bedroom while he starts running water for a shower for
both of them to heat up with. As he heats up the water, he can feel his own
temperature start to rise, taking that as a good sign, he heads back to the
bedroom to strip both himself and his mate so that they can go warm up.
A few minutes and much convincing later and both nekos are in the shower, going
through the routine of cleaning themselves and warming up. However, Kanda is
startled when he suddenly feels his head being pulled down by Allen's arms. He
feels the hot breath of his mate on his neck for only a second before he feels
a sharp pain in his right ear.
He jerks away from Allen, only to look back and see those silver eyes filled
with pain, fear, and a deep need. A need for Kanda, for someone to be close
too.
Kanda hesitates for a moment, knowing exactly what it is that the Moyashi
wants, but at the same time knowing that this is mostly likely some type of
coping mechanism instead of just pure love and need. But at the same time he
wants to help his Moyashi in anyway he can.
Soon mouths crash together under the heated water and Allen is pushed back into
the shower wall as he wraps his legs around Kanda, trying to bring him closer.
It takes little time before Kanda is pounding into Allen, and finally spilling
his seed inside of the younger neko as both reach their ends together.
It lands on Kanda to finish cleaning them both up before heading back into the
bedroom. As he works on drying his Moyashi off, he notices that Allen is
feeling a bit feverish. Feeling guilty for what he just did to his mate while
he was in such a state, he takes extra care to make sure that Allen is dressed
warmly before dressing himself.
After checking to see how Allen's fever is doing, Kanda climbs into bed and
swiftly pulls his now sleeping mate to him, hoping that maybe his own body heat
will help burn off Allen's fever.
….
The Millennium Earl looks out of his office window to the great city beyond.
Seeing all of the lights and life below him never fails to bring a smile to his
face. A door opens behind him and two figures sporting the usual grayish skin
and yellow eyes of the Noah family.
"Ah, why if it isn't Jasdero and Devitto. I was hoping that the two of you
would be able to make it tonight. I have some important business to discuss
with you. And if you are interested, a job." The mention of a job obviously
catches the attention of the twins. "Now, if you'll just take a seat at my desk
we can begin."
As the two parties sit across from one another, the Earl passes a folder to
each of the twins, both containing the same information. "This is a neko that
was in my possession a few months ago, but went missing when the White Order
launched an attack on us about five months ago. While a few other nekos went
missing at that time, this is the only one I've been able to keep tabs on, and
now it is time for him to finally come home."
The twins look at each other for a moment. "Why should we care about some
filthy neko? Can't you just find another one?"
The Earl's smile widens. "You see, that's the thing. This neko is a bit
different. See how his ears are still closed and floppy? That shows that he's a
Bearer, a male neko that can become pregnant. And as far as we know, there are
only a total of four, including him, in existence." Seeing the puzzled looks on
the twin's faces he continues. "That makes him rather valuable, and I already
have a set up with the Breeding Program that will start as soon as he is
returned. That's why you two are here. I need you to go and collect him for
me."
"But why send us? Why not Tyki? Isn't he usually the best one for stuff like
this?"
"While that's true, I think that it would be best for Tyki to sit this one out.
Besides, I'm sure that the two of you should be able to handle this. So what do
you say? Are you interested in becoming part of this business venture?"
The twins look at each other for a moment before responding. "It will be
simple. After all, nothing is impossible for Jasdevi!"
***** Alarms and Jasdevi *****
Chapter 20
When Kanda finally wakes up from his much needed sleep, he dreads actually
having to get out of bed and face reality. It means that things will go back to
being the way that they have been, that they really are. The Noah will still be
after him and his mate, his daughter and her siblings will still be dead, and
his mate will still be lost in grief over her death and the residual grief of
the others' deaths.
This is something that Kanda wishes for no one to have to wake up to, but for
him, it is all too real.
He sighs for a moment, watching his as his breath ruffles his mate's hair, and
feeling his mate's back lean further into his chest. For a moment, it seems
almost peaceful, but Kanda can feel that his mate's muscles are tense and
strained with stress despite him still being asleep.
Kanda reaches a hand over and runs it though the silky mess of his Moyashi's
hair. Smoothing it out, letting his fingers trail across his soft, delicate
ears, and caressing the bite mark near the tip, his bite mark.
Guilt, and shame fill him for a moment when he thinks back to what he requested
of Alma, but despite that, he does not regret it. He will do anything he can to
make sure that Allen stays safe, anything at all. After all, they are mates,
and that means that they are supposed to look out for each other, no matter
what the cost.
He slides his hand through the smooth white hair once more before carefully
pulling away from his still overly warm mate, and silently gathers up a set of
clothes for the day before leaving the room. He dresses quickly and after
pulling his hair back in a ponytail, Kanda picks up a small metallic piece from
the counter, and glares at it for a moment.
"For something so small, you have caused us too much trouble. It may not do
much good now, but I will make sure that you never hurt my mate ever again."
He closes his fist tightly over the small device before taking one last peak to
see if his mate is still sleeping. Seeing the small form of his mate stops him
for a moment, forcing him to choose between his head and his heart in that
moment. While a part of him wants to stay with his mate, he knows that he needs
to make sure that they are rid of that device once and for all. So against his
better judgment, he walks over to plant a small kiss on his Moyashi's forehead
before leaving to find the one person who should be informed of their situation
first.
He strides quickly and purposefully through the fairly deserted hallways.
Though not many people are out and about this early in the morning, Kanda knows
that this is the best time to get anything done without being distracted or
cornered by anyone, especially a certain baka usagi.
Soon the halls gave way to vines, leaves, and grass as he made his way into the
forest area. With no searching he made his way to the great redwood and circled
its base to the darkest side before knocking loudly on the trunk.
He waits a few seconds with no response before raising his fist to knock again.
"You know, just because you knock, it doesn't mean that he's going to come
out."
Kanda looks up into the branches above him, only to catch a glimpse of an
orange tail flickering out of sight. "If he's not here, than where is he? I
must speak with him quickly."
A sigh is heard rustling through the branches. "He's off with Bookman in the
main meeting room. He said something about the Noah making a move that's out of
character."
Kanda's eyebrows knit together with this piece of information. With each
progressing thought, his tail begins to swish violently behind him. Suddenly he
turns on his heal and runs out of the room, hoping that he won't be too late to
find Bak.
The halls pass in a blur as Kanda races towards one of the topmost levels of
the White Ark, hoping to find the others on their way back, but only to end his
journey at the meeting room. When he opens the seemingly innocent black door,
he is met with the sounds of Bookman and Bak arguing.
"I tell you, something is wrong here. They are pulling together a small force,
they must be preparing for something."
"As much as I appreciate your opinion, Bookman. I highly doubt that it is
anything to concern ourselves with at this time. This has happened before and
we never saw they come anywhere close to this place. What makes you think that
this time is any different than the rest?"
"Che." The sound of Kanda's annoyance draws the attention of the other two in
the room. The turn to look at him with a mixture of surprise and uncertainty.
"If they're gathering their forces, it's probably because of this." He holds
out the hand holding the tracker. "Apparently Neah never got around to
deactivating it, so this thing has been sending them our location ever since
the rescue mission."
Bak's ears go back as he reaches for the small device. "Are you sure? But if
that were true, then why would they wait until now to do anything? Wouldn't
they have launched some sort of counterattack as soon as they realized that the
signal wasn't moving?"
Bookman takes the device from Bak and begins to examine it closer. Kanda
responds with a tight and annoyed voice. "They probably assumed that that thing
is still in Moyashi's ear. They want him back, I'm sure of that, and this
little thing is what is leading them straight to him. They knew that he was
carrying a litter, and that it was not going to be an easy birth, so they
probably wanted to wait until it was over with before they came to get him.
They knew that we wouldn't do anything to harm him, so they probably assumed
that we would take care of him through all of that too." He pauses for a second
before lowering his voice. "And that we did, and now they have come to take him
back. We need to get that thing and Moyashi out of here and away from each
other as soon as possible, and probably ever other neko that's here too for a
while, just to be safe."
"Kanda, do you know what you are suggesting? That we uproot people and have
them leave just because of your assumption? Do you know just how many of us
there are? And what about some of the families that are here? You want them to
move as well, even though some of them have young children? Or even mates such
as Miranda and Krory, who are in the middle of carrying their first litters?
And just what are we supposed to tell them? That –"
"He's quite right Bak. This device is still active and his assumptions fit with
what the Noah have done in the past. It will be safer if we evacuate everyone
as soon as we can, even if this just proves to be a false alarm, then no harm
will have come to any of us, instead of us ignoring this and possibly having to
suffer severe consequences as a result." Bookman places the tracking device in
one of his many pockets. "The sooner we get everyone out of here and on the
move, the better." He walks over to the door and places his hand on the handle.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I'll go find my idiot apprentice so that we can help
get everyone informed of the situation and out of the White Ark as soon as
possible."
With that, Bookman exits the room, closing the door softly behind him, and
leaving the two nekos behind. Bak lets out a weary sigh before slumping down in
a nearby chair. "Is this really what it has come down to? That even the one
place we always thought would be safe will never truly be that safe again?"
Kanda sighs before taking a seat next to Bak. "This isn't something that any of
us could have expected, nor wanted to happen, now or at any other time. But
let's face it; they were bound to find out about this place sooner or later. No
matter what we did, they were going to find this place eventually. After all,
nothing this good can remain hidden for long can it? Not when it's practically
right under their nose."
"I guess you're right. But I guess that I never expected for it to happen now,
or even years from now. I had hoped that there could have at least been some
improvements out there for our kind before it came to this. Maybe even some
little Baks running around." He gives a small smile at that thought.
Kanda gives a small laugh. "Great, just what the world needs. Mini versions of
you. Komui will be terrorized for ages."
Bak joins in his laughing. "You think so? I sure hope that that they give that
sister complex some harassment. It'll prove that they really are mine. After
all, Fou does have a tendency to -"
Suddenly, a rather loud and high-pitched alarm sounds throughout the White Ark.
The sound causes Bak and Kanda's ears to go back with the harshness, but it
also brings them back onto their feet. They give each other a knowing look
before bolting out the door and though the halls for the alarms mean only one
thing.
The Noah have arrived.
….
Allen woke up alone in his and Kanda's bedroom. Though his heart still feels
heavy, he physically, and mentally feels lighter than before. He smiles a bit
at that realization. Maybe today won't be as bad as the others have been
recently.
He turns so that he is facing Kanda's side of the bed, running a hand over the
slightly warm sheets for a moment. Then he moves to sit up, but winces a bit
when he realizes that his backside is rather sore. Confused for a moment, he
thinks back to what may have caused this, and turns bright red when he
remembers the heat of Kanda and the shower surrounding him and in him the night
before.
With this realization, he takes extra care in easing himself from the bed, and
making his way about the room, gathering clothes for the day. It takes a bit
longer than normal for him to dress himself, but he figures that he can take as
long as he wants since Kanda isn't there to distract him.
When he finishes getting dressed, he goes to head out of the master bedroom and
grab a bite to eat while he waits for Kanda, but he stops when he goes to pass
the second bedroom. The door to the bedroom is open a crack, reveling the
blanketless, and empty crib inside.
He reaches out a hand to touch the doorknob, but something stops him. The
knowledge that there is no one waiting for him on the other side of the door
makes him drop his hand back to his side, and his heart ache even stronger.
Suddenly, he is overwhelmed by the desire to not be alone any longer. So he
runs out of the apartment, heading for the dinning hall. Hoping to find someone
there, someone who will help to keep him from falling apart again.
As he runs though the halls, tears flood his eyes, blinding him from everything
and everyone around him. Suddenly, a hand grabs his arm and spins him around to
face its owner, but the tears are coming too fast to see who it is.
"Allen. Hey Allen? What's wrong? Are you ok?" Lavi gently holds the sides of
Allen's head so that he can see his friend better. When he sees the tears and
ache behind them he releases Allen's head and pulls him into a soothing hug. As
the young neko in his arms begins to sob, Lavi holds him closer, gently running
his hand through Allen's hair, hoping that the simple gesture will help him to
calm down some.
He knows that there is nothing more that he can do for his friend at that
moment than for him to simply be there. To give Allen something solid and real
to hold onto while his heart lets its pain be known. He gently guides Allen
closer to one of the walls so that they are no longer standing in the middle of
the hallway, and hopefully for a small bit of privacy.
He holds Allen for what seems like only mere seconds before the alarm begins to
sound. Knowing that the old Panda had left earlier for a meeting with Bak Chan
because of something like this, he acts immediately.
Pulling Allen so that he is facing him, Lavi looks him in the eye. "Allen, we
need to leave. The Noah are here looking for you, and we need to get you out of
here now. Kanda knew that this might happen so we have a meeting place set up
to meet up with him again. Ok?" Seeing a look of fear flash across Allen's face
with his words, he knows that the young neko understands all too well what is
happening. "Now, I'm going to take you to where you are going to meet with
Kanda, from there the two of you are going to go somewhere else until it's safe
to come back. But for now I need you to keep up with me. Think you can do
that?"
Allen slowly nods his head as the situation fully begins to sink in. "Ok," Lavi
grabs hold of Allen's wrist, "Let's go." The two race off through the halls,
with Lavi leading the way to their escape.
However, they don't get very far before they are stopped by a figure with
familiar gray toned skin and dark eyes. Fear roots Allen to the floor as the
figure in front of them grins like a predator that has cornered its prey.
Lavi quickly yanks Allen away from the Noah and turns back the way they came;
only to stop again as that way is now blocked by another Noah. Leaving them
effectively stuck between the two with nowhere else to run.
The dark haired Noah before them now grins the same grin as the one behind
them. "Seems the Earl was right about this one. He does look a bit different
than the others." He takes a step closer to Allen and Lavi. "But I don't
remember the Earl mentioning anything about wanting a red haired human. Did he
Jasdero?"
A cackle comes from the blond Noah behind them. "I don't remember him saying
that." Another cackle. "That must mean that he's expendable."
This time Devitto laughs. "More like useless to us. But who cares. We found
what we were sent to get so let's grab it and go."
"You think it'll be that easy?" Lavi glares between the twins. "The way I see
it, there are two of you and two of us. Fairly even odds if I do say so
myself."
The twins just laugh. "Who ever said anything about fighting you? The Earl
wants it back in one piece and as unharmed as possible, and that's what he's
going to get."
While Jasdero was busy distracting Lavi with his statements, Devitto has sent a
small canister rolling towards Lavi and Allen. Smoke erupts from the canister,
surrounding Lavi and Allen, and causing them to cough as it is inhaled.
The twins stand back away from the smoke so that they aren't affected by it and
wait for it to dissipate. And after a minute the smoke disappears revealing the
unconscious forms of Lavi and Allen.
The twins laugh and grin at their success before striding up to the unconscious
pair and dragging Allen away from Lavi. They bind his wrists and feet incase
the effects smoke runs out too quickly, and then have a brief argument on who
has to carry Allen. In the end Devitto is left with the job and the two of them
leave Lavi behind and head back through the halls of the White Ark with Allen.
….
After a few floors, Kanda and Bak part ways and each go to their own
destinations. Fearing that his mate won't know what is going on or where to
meet him, Kanda heads back towards the apartment, hoping that either he is
still there, or that someone came to help him find the right escape route.
As he gets closer to his destination the crowds of people running in their own
direction become thinner and fewer between. And it is not too long before he is
alone running through the halls.
When he is just a few halls down from the apartment he finds Lavi collapsed on
the floor. He runs up to his annoying friend to see if he is alright, he very
surprised to find him limp and unresponsive. Kanda tries to wake his friend,
but nothing works.
Suddenly, Lavi takes a sharp intake of breath before cracking open his eyes to
see Kanda holding him up. "K – Kanda? What are – you doing here? Shouldn't you
be looking – for him?"
Kanda looks at him sharply. "Him? Which him? What happened?"
Lavi coughs. "Noah. Two of them. Some type of gas. Here for Allen." Lavi opens
his mouth to say more, but the gas regains its hold on him and he is forced
back into unconsciousness.
Kanda's eyes widen and harden with his words. So the Noah really are here, and
they've come for his mate. Setting Lavi gently back on the floor, Kanda races
though the halls, praying that he find those who desire to take his Moyashi
away from him.
As he races through the halls, he catches whispers from unfamiliar voices
drifting through an upcoming hall, and turns to see if those voices will lead
him to his mate.
Instead he finds Alma holding a man by his throat against the wall, demanding
to know where he and Allen are. When the man refuses to answer, Alma resorts to
yelling at him and applying pressure to his windpipe.
"Alma." Kanda says as evenly as he can.
Alma turns to see Kanda smile and relief flashes across his face. "There you
are, I was looking for you. Now, where's Allen, or did you come back for me?"
Kanda's eyes grow dark as he shakes his head. "I found you by chance. I found
Lavi earlier and he said that two Noah have him. I was looking for them when I
found you instead."
Alma's smile disappears. "Well in that case, why don't you help me finish up
here and we can find him together?"
Kanda gives him no response, except for pulling Mugen out of its sheath, after
all, he always carries it with him when he leaves the apartment, and now is the
perfect time for it to be put to good use.
As He approaches the man that is still being held by Alma, Kanda stares the man
down. Rage, desperation, and overall annoyance boring into the unsuspecting
man. Kanda raises Mugen to the man's throat, just above Alma's hand and asks in
a quite but commanding and powerful voice, "Where is Allen Walker?"
The man tires to avert his gaze, but finds himself desperate to give the deadly
neko before him the desired answer, in hopes that he might be spared from that
intense glare. "The twins Jasdero and Devitto have him. They're supposed to
bring him to the Breeding Center."
The man tries once again to tear his gaze away, but Alma grabs a fist full of
his hair to hold him still. The man begins to shake under the neko's
interrogation. "They'll leave the same way we got it. A door about six halls
down and to the right from here."
That was all that Alma and Kanda needed to here. They let the man fall to the
ground and run off in the direction indicated.
They are less than two hallways away from their destination when the twin Noah
emerge from a different hallway with an unconscious Allen draped across the
shoulder of the dark haired one.
The Noah turn when they hear the two nekos approach, and matching grins cross
their faces. "So there were others here. And look they even spared us the work
of searching for them by coming to us."
The blond twin grins even more. "I don't think that it's us they're looking
for. It's probably the small one in your arms they want."
The dark haired one holds Allen even closer to himself. "Well, if that's what
they want, then they'll have to take it from us first."
That is all the incentive that Alma and Kanda need before they launch
themselves at the Noah. The Noah are light and nimble on their feet, quickly
dodging all of Kanda and Alma's blows, but managing to make none of their own
either.
Realizing that this fight will take far to long to decide a winner, the twins
decide to take things into their own hands.
Devitto throws Allen between the two nekos while quickly backing away with
Jasdero. And while the two nekos move to catch the smaller one, Jasdero
releases his own small can of smoke towards them.
Alma hears the sound the metal hitting the ground and moves to push Kanda and
Allen out of range, but does not make it in time as the gas spreads quickly and
heavily over them. The two older nekos try to pull themselves and Allen out of
the smoke, but the effects come too fast, and soon the three of them are lying
unconscious on the ground.
This time, when the smoke clears, the grins of Jasdevi are even larger than
before. "It's not quite what the Millennium Earl asked for. But considering we
did do what he asked and have the white one, he'll probably be even more
pleased when he sees that we brought him two more."
The twins walk over to their prizes, they make sure to bind the wrists and feet
of the two new nekos and after much thought, call for backup to come and move
the neko so that they can head back to the Earl.
As they watch the nekos being carried out of the White Ark, Jasdevi turn to
look at each other. Pride matching their features. "Let's see Tyki do that well
next time he gets sent out by the Earl."
***** Kittens Everywhere *****
Chapter 21
A subtle dull pounding slowly works its way into Allen's consciousness. The
throbbing is persistent and slowly grows to the point that it slowly begins to
wake Allen. As it continues to grow and intensify, Allen finally becomes aware
of the throbbing and reaches out to rub his head with his hands in hopes to
sooth it.
As he moves his hands along his temples he finally opens his eyes, not quite
sure why his surroundings feel off. But when he opens them, he finds himself in
a nearly empty room. The only thing he can see is the bed he is currently
sitting in, a door set in a wall to the left of the bed, and a mirror on the
other side of the small room. The walls are pure white and the bedding a light
cream color that add to Allen's unease.
But the most important thing that Allen realizes is that he is alone. Kanda is
nowhere to be found.
Immediately panics sets in and Allen scrambles to get out of the covers.
However, he underestimates the pounding in his head and ends up staggering
towards the center of the room before falling over, clutching his head in pain.
A small jingling sound can be heard in the room for a moment, but Allen pays it
no mind as he tries to hold back the pain as best he can. A short series of
footsteps bring a stranger towards Allen, a syringe ready in their hand.
Allen's right arm is pulled away from his head, and a needle quickly injected
into it. Allen jerks and tries to pull away, but whoever his holding his arm is
much stronger than him and is able to maintain their hold until the contents of
the syringe is fully inserted into Allen's arm.
Once the syringe is empty, the stranger quickly removes the needle and releases
their hold on Allen's arm. The stranger then turns abruptly to leave the room,
never giving Allen a second glance.
Allen quickly pulls his arm back to himself once it is released. A dull ache
around the puncture wound calls for his attention. However, as the stranger
heads back towards Allen tries to catch a glimpse of who or what it is.
What he can see from the back tells him nothing, so he tries calling out to the
stranger. "Wait."
The stranger stops and turn to look at him for a second, but once Allen has a
good look at the stranger before him, he quickly scoots himself as far away as
he can, and eventually into the wall with the mirror.
The Akuma stares at Allen a while longer, as if questioning his behavior,
before making its way out of the room, locking the door behind it.
The realization of seeing an Akuma again brings a rush of memories back to
Allen. Everything he ever associated with Akuma and the Noah rushes back, the
memories vying for his attention, but slowly tearing him apart as they fulfill
their destructive purpose.
He slowly tires to crawl away from the wall, hoping that maybe more space will
chase away the memories or at least ease his mind. Even if another Akuma were
to come, Allen thinks that that would be better than the memories that are
coming back to haunt him.
He manages to make it mostly towards the center of the room again before being
forced to give into the memories, as they seem to come and go even faster. He
lies there, holding his head close and pulling his knees to his chest trying to
make himself as small as possible, as if that will encourage the memories to
leave him alone.
The memories only come faster and stronger than ever, so much so that they even
being a frantic pounding to match the pounding in his head.
Allen lies there for what seems like hours, praying for it to end. The memories
seem to finally be fading some, but the pounding seems to becoming even louder
and more persistent by the minute.
After a few more minutes of lying there, Allen finally cracks his eye open,
hoping that maybe a glimpse of reality, no matter how grim it may be, will help
the pounding in his head to die down a bit. With his eyes open, he begins
looking around the room, hoping for find a secondary sources for the pounding,
hoping that it is not all just in his head. When his eyes fall on what has been
making the pounding so much stronger, he scrambles up from the floor and runs
to what used to be a mirror.
He runs up and immediately the pounding stops. Tears begin to stream down
Allen's face when he sees Kanda on the other side of the glass. He looks his
mate over frantically, taking note of each and every scrape and bruise that
were not there the last time they saw each other.
There are several small scrapes near Kanda's wrists, and a few higher up on his
arms as though someone tried to grab him. There are also several bruises all
over arms and a rather fierce looking black eye. But while his looks dictate
that he was obviously in some sort of fight, there is still a fighting spirit
unbroken in his yes.
Allen sees Kanda's mouth move rapidly, as though he is trying to tell him
something, but even when he puts his ear to the glass, he cannot hear what
Kanda is trying to say. Kanda begins to pound on the glass again, this time
Allen can tell that he is yelling, his ears are pinned almost flat against his
head and his tail is swishing angrily behind him, even though there is still no
sound. Eventually, Kanda begins to calm down, and though he finally
acknowledges that Allen cannot hear him, he rests his hand where Allen's is on
the other side of the glass. Soon his other hand is pressed against the glass
as well, and Allen readily complies and puts his hand on Kanda's, hoping that
somehow this glass that separates them will just disappear.
Suddenly, Allen hears a faint clicking noise and his attention snaps to the
other half of the mirror, which up until this point in time, he had not
realized was still dark and reflective. From his current angle, Allen can tell
that there must be another room on that side too. A room much like the ones
that he and Kanda are currently in.
Allen looks at Kanda trying to signal that he is going to check something out,
whether or not Kanda understood or not, Allen would never know as he moves
towards the right half of the mirror that now has light coming from it. He
looks inside and his heart aches for a moment when he sees just who is inside.
As Allen tries to pound on the glass to grab the attention of the neko on the
other side, but Alma apparently does not notices his efforts, as he seems
content to be trying to find a way to open the door that appears to be locked
like all the rest. Allen increases his pounding, trying to gain Alma's
attention. Hoping against hope that maybe Alma can actually talk to him, or
that maybe Alma will be able to talk to Kanda.
It takes a few minutes, but eventually Alma turns his attention to the glass
and looks rather shocked before he runs up to the glass, obviously trying to
talk with Allen. When he notices Allen trying to talk back, but without being
able to hear what he is saying, Alma's ears droop back as he looks around his
and what he can see of Allen's room.
Satisfied that nothing else seems too off about the situation, Alma tries to
speak to Allen once again, only much more slowly this time in hopes that Allen
will be able to read his lips. After a few minutes of this and Allen giving him
strange looks, Alma realizes that that strategy would not work. So after some
careful pacing in front of his side of the mirror, Alma comes closer and
breaths on the window and begins to write in the steam.
Allen quickly realizes what he is trying to do, and steps back a bit so that he
can try to read what Alma is trying to tell him. It takes about a minute or so
for Alma's message to be clear enough for Allen to read, but he quickly
understands what Alma is asking. "Kanda?"
Allen points to the other side of the room and to the mirror. His motions
confuse Alma, so Allen tries once again pointing to the quickly fading question
of Alma's and then to the other side of his room and then knocks on the mirror.
Alma gives him a less confused look, almost like a hesitant smile, but still
seems to be a bit confused by what Allen is trying to tell him.
Eventually Allen is forced to do to Alma what he did to Kanda and try to motion
for Alma to just wait a moment. And like with Kanda, Allen left Alma before he
could respond, only this time he went back over to Kanda's side of the glass.
Kanda had obviously been waiting for him to come back, but looked rather
annoyed at being left behind and out of the loop. Allen tries to point and
slowly say Alma's name, much like Alma had tried with him, but unfortunately
the results are the same with Kanda. Out of frustration, Allan starts to breath
on the glass like he had seen Alma do, and after a few minutes was able to
spell out 'Alma' and an arrow pointing to the other side of Kanda's room.
It takes Kanda a few minutes to understand what Allen wrote, and what it means,
but he eventually understands. Allen sees Kanda calm down, just a little, but
enough to know that he got his message.
Allen goes to try breathing on the glass again to see if Kanda is ok, but
before he can begin writing again, the lights behind the glass are suddenly cut
off, leaving Allen facing the mirror that is once again hiding Kanda and Alma.
Allen looks frantically back and forth between the areas where the two rooms
are now hidden, hoping that maybe something will change and he'll get to see at
least one of them again. Soon he begins to pound frantically on the glass,
hoping to catch their attention, or even feel them pounding back in response,
but again he receives nothing in return for his actions.
Eventually tears stream down his face once more with the new fear of his mate
and friend being stripped away from him again. He looks back at the mirror
before throwing himself into it, hoping to break it and reach at least one of
them.
He only gets a few attempts in before Akuma suddenly rush into the room, trying
to grab and restrain him. He fights them for all he is worth, but eventually
one of them injects something into his arm and within moments, Allen looses
consciousness. The Akuma are quick to secure his wrists and ankles before
dragging him out of the room.
….
Little did any of the nekos know, but a tall blond female Noah was busy writing
down all of their actions and reactions of this encounter in accurate detail.
The woman looks at her notes and back at the room fondly. She knows that she is
close to picking the right one, and once that is done, then the real work will
begin.
….
"-llo."
A voice cuts through the darkness that has been surrounding Allen like a
suffocating blanket.
"Hello?"
Stronger this time, the voice slowly helps Allen to regain consciousness and
fight back the darkness.
"Hello? Is anyone in there?"
There is a slight tapping on Allen's forehead.
"HELLO!"
This time Allen's eyes snap open and he abruptly tries to sit up, startled by
the shouting near his ear. Effectively, he ends up head-butting the person
leaning over him. Allen falls back with a yelp of pain, a hand raised
protectively and soothingly over his now throbbing head.
"You know, just a simple 'Hello' or 'Go away' would have worked just fine. No
need to get violent over a little lost sleep." A slightly muffled voice groans
across from Allen.
Allen moves his hand so that he can see whoever it is that is sitting on the
other end of whatever he is laying. For now all he can see is a rather skinny
blond neko, whose tail is curled in their lap, on the other end of what appears
to be some sort of couch in what looks like an open living room. Allen is
immediately distracted more so by the room, and what it might mean, than by the
blond neko.
However, his view is suddenly blocked when a smiling face blocks his view.
"Let's try this again, ok?" Allen takes a moment to recover from the shock and
nods slowly. The blond neko backs off to the other end of the couch before
speaking again. "Hello! My name is Fai and I've been instructed to be your
guide for the next couple of hours. Now, what's your name?"
By now, Allen is no longer paying attention to what Fai is saying, but rather
to Fai himself. The short wavy blond hair frames his pale face very precisely,
two mismatched eyes, one bright blue the other gold, watch him closely as they
wait for a response. A slim golden tail rests in his lap as blond neko
continues to smile at him, a smile that does not quite reach his eyes. But the
most striking detail for Allen, is the fact that Fai's soft golden ears are
still folded, much like his.
It is then that Allen realizes the most vital aspect. Fai is a Bearer. He
reaches out a hand to touch his ears, to see if they are real, but pauses mere
inches away, his shock evident.
"You know, staring is very impolite. Besides, you never answered my question."
Fai gives him a fake pout as he watches Allen quickly try to address his rude
behavior.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to be rude. It's just that I've never seen another
one before."
Fai gives a knowing look. "Another what?"
Allen lowers his eyes as he catches himself staring again. "Another one like
me. Another neko with folded ears. Another Bearer."
Fai's voice lowers a bit. "There aren't very many of us left. Or at least not
very many who aren't deep in hiding already. I would be very surprised if you
had met another." A smile appears once more, this one attempting to be brighter
than the last. "Now that that little observation is out of the way, am I ever
going to get a name for you, or do I get to call you whatever I want?"
Allen blinks, startled out of his musings. "Allen. Allen Walker."
A small pout appears on Fai's face. "But that's no fun. Can't I call you
something else instead? Like Shion? Or maybe Toshiro?"
Now a small smile starts to appear on Allen's face. "No thank you, I think
'Allen' is just fine."
The pout spreads. "Poo, you're no fun."
Then quicker than Allen could catch, the pout is gone, replaced by a rather
mischievous smile. "Well now that Allen-kun has finally given me his name,
let's go meet the others." He leaps from the couch, bending to extend a hand to
Allen. "Shall we?"
Allen stares at the offered hand for a moment before carefully reaching out his
own. The moment his hand is in range, Fai grabs it and pulls him from the couch
and across the room, and through a short hallway before stopping by a plain
white door. Fai releases his hand just long enough to spin him around and
attach a thin collar to his neck.
"As much as I wish we didn't have to wear these, it's better to have one and
have no questions asked, than to go without and be punished for it later." He
fiddles with Allen's for a moment, before putting his own on. He turns Allen
once again so that Allen is facing a mirror. "At least the color suits you."
Allen risks a look in the mirror to find what this new collar is like, and is
pleased to see that it is a fairly basic collar with a latch he can undo
himself, and the color is a deep red. A color that stirs faint memories of
Road, but not enough to cause him any more mental grief. He pulls his gaze away
from his reflection and turns to face Fai. His attention is immediately drawn
to the bright blue thin collar of a similar design.
His observations of the other neko are halted when Fai grabs his hand once
again and rushes him out of the room and into the building beyond. And what he
finds there, surprises, and scares him more than he already is.
The halls outside of the room are far more sterile, mostly white with little to
no variation of tones, occasionally a few pieces of muted pastel art adorn the
walls, but the atmosphere remains the same, albeit the space seem rather bright
as sun streams in from a few occasional windows. Too clean, sterile, and above
all, completely deserted.
He does not get a chance to dwell on this for too long, for Fai seems to know
exactly where he is going, and seem set on reaching their destination as soon
as possible. It isn't too long before Fai stops before another door, this one
slightly different than the others given that it is a set of double metal doors
with two spaces for windows, both of which are currently blocked off so that no
one can see in or out.
Fai pauses for a moment before opening one of the metal doors and pulling Allen
in along with him. While Allen had no expectations as to where Fai was taking
him this whole time, this is certainly like nothing he could have ever
imagined.
The room he is now in is rather spacious and there are indications of more
rooms being connected to this one, however, it is not the space that captures
his attention but rather it's inhabitants. The room is filled with neko kittens
of various ages and genders all mingling, playing, reading, and generally doing
whatever they want to, wherever they want to. There is one adult neko off to
one side of the room, a small kitten in his arms as he watches the others.
When the kittens here the door close, they all turn as one to see who is
entering their play area. One of the youngest kittens in the back lets out a
squeal of "Mommy's back!" and there is a rush of kittens running towards Fai
and Allen.
Fai kneels down and meets the rush of kittens with hugs and kisses all around,
as well as promises to come play with them in just a minute. Most of them back
off after that, content with their hugs, and now off to do better things. Fai
watches them go with a sad smile, but Allen does see some true contentment
behind that smile.
The other adult neko approaches them softly, the brunette kitten still sleeping
in his arms. As he approaches, Fai goes up to him and eases the kitten into his
own arms while mumbling a quite "Thank you" to the other.
It is during this time that Allen takes the opportunity to observe this new
neko, who appears to be just a few years older than himself, but still younger
than Fai. This neko is also blond, but even paler than Fai, with soft, yet
angular features that are defined even more so by his gravity defying ultra
light blond spiky hair, and unique blue-green eyes that seem to give off a
slight glow. Allen also notes that his collar also matches the color of his
eyes. However, one of the most unique features that Allen observes are the
newcomers ears and tail. Both are pure white but with black spots covering
them, even to the point where the tips of this neko's ears and tail are black.
However, his tail is the longest Allen has ever seen, nearly as long as the
neko himself is, so that it is dragging the floor when he walks. And finally,
like Fai, this newcomer's ears are also folded, signifying that he too is a
Bearer.
Allen feel the gazes of the other Bearers on him, and it is then that he
realizes that he has been staring for the last while, and quickly averts his
eyes and mumbles his apologies. Fai just laughs and ruffles Allen's hair. "It's
ok. Everyone stares at Cloud-kun the first time too. After all, he is a rather
rare breed." Fai receives a swat at the head for that comment.
The one that Fai called Cloud extends his hand for Allen to shake. "As you
probably just heard, my name is Cloud. And obviously you've met Fai."
Allen shakes his hand. "I'm Allen. I'm sorry for staring, I've just – "
"Never seen another Bearer besides Fai before. And I'd wager to guess that
you've never met anyone with snow leopard in them before, have you."
"No, no I haven't."
Fai takes the opportunity to jump back in. "Well you better get used to it.
There are several of them around here somewhere." He readjusts the sleeping
kitten in his arms. "Now, I think that this would be a great opportunity to
introduce Allen to everyone." Cloud gives a small shrug of indifference. "What
do you say Allen-kun? Are you up to it?"
Allen looks between the two for a moment. "Well, as long as it won't
inconvenience anyone." Cloud gives a small snort of amusement. "Then yes that
would be nice."
"Alright then. Where to begin? How about we start with the youngest and work
our way up? How about that?"
Allen gives a small overwhelmed smile. "Whatever works best for you."
Fai smiles in return and starts off to one of the areas that are spreading off
the main room. Inside is a small pile of three kittens sleeping in various
positions and states of sleep. Fai kneels down and carefully peals the kitten
that has been sleeping in his arms, off and places it back into the pile with
the others. Allen quickly notices that each of the kittens in the pile have a
color the same color as Fai's.
Fai stands up again and begins to whisper the names of each kitten to Allen.
"The one in the corner there, the one with black hair, is Vanitas, he's the
oldest in this litter. When he is awake, he has two golden eyes, much like
mine. He is also the troublemaker of the litter, but thankfully they are all
only five years old, so he can't do too much damage for now. Next to him is
Ventus, who is the second oldest and probably the quietest. He and his brother
Roxas both get their gold hair from me while Vanitas gets his from my mate. The
way to tell Roxas and Ventus apart is that Ventus's hair is slightly less spiky
than Roxas's, but even then it can be hard to tell between them. And the
youngest one here that is being rather clingy is Sora. When their eyes are
open, Ventus, Roxas, and Sora all have brilliant blue eyes. Do not be taken in
by them, or else they will run circles around you and have you wrapped around
their little fingers."
Allen looks over the sleeping pile of kittens for a moment longer before his
brow furrows a bit in confusion. "Fai, am I seeing things or do three of them
have folded ears like a Bearer?"
Fai sighs and nods his head. "I don't know how it happened, and have never
heard of it happening before, but yes, Roxas, Sora, and Ventus are all Bearers.
I almost wish that they weren't, just so that they could have a chance to get
out of here, but now that will never happen." He gives them a small smile
before turning away. "But no matter what, they are still mine, and I'll love
them all the more because of that."
Just then a small silver haired boy runs into the room, white and black spotted
tail in his hand instead of dragging on the floor, and starts to shake Sora,
trying to wake him up. Cloud walks over to him and scoops him up, causing the
kitten to give an undignified squawk before he is turned around and Cloud
starts heading back into the main room with Fai and Allen trailing behind.
"Riku, what have I said about waking them up while they're sleeping?"
The kitten called Riku rolls his eyes, eyes that match Cloud's perfectly. "You
said not to do it because they are still little and need sleep. But they're
only a year younger than me so I don't see what the difference is."
Cloud gives a small exasperated sigh. "They don't have the same amount of
energy as you do. So how about you let them sleep for now, they should be up
and about soon enough. Why don't you go play with the girls or even your
brothers for now instead?"
"But they aren't any fun." He squirms for a minute before Cloud puts him down.
"I'll just go color for now." And with that the little silver kitten runs off,
his silver hair moving just enough so that Allen catches a glimpse of a collar
matching Cloud's in color.
Cloud shakes his head. "There is something off with that one. One moment he can
be throwing a tantrum and complaining about Sora, and the next he thinks that
they're best friends." He runs a hand over his face. "This is what comes from
having only one kitten in a litter. They go a bit funny after a while."
Fai laughs and drapes an arm over Cloud's shoulder. "It could be worse. Be
grateful it's only one. You don't have a litter full of girls about to enter
puberty together. Now that is a scary thought."
Cloud groans. "We'll never have a moment's peace when that time comes."
Allen just gives a small, confused smile. Watching the two older nekos talk
about things he obviously knows nothing about, but still being able to get a
sense about them and his new surroundings.
Fai notices Allen's confused look, before attracting his attention once again.
"Well since we seem to be finding them in reverse chronological order, shall we
go introduce you to the girls?"
Allen gives a small smile and nod before Fai grabs his wrist and starts
steering him off to another area of the large room.
Here he sees three female nekos sitting at a table, all of them wearing collars
to match Fai's. A blond one is in the center drawing something, a raven, and
redhead are on either side of her watching and quietly commenting on it. The
girl in the middle looks up when the group approaches. She stands up and grabs
her picture before walking up to Allen.
"We heard that someone new was coming so I made this for you." She hands him
the picture and he looks at it, surprise by what he sees. In the picture, there
are three adult Bearers, all looking surprisingly like Cloud, Fai, himself, all
surrounded by neko kittens, eleven kittens in total. She smiles as she watches
Allen look over the picture, but before he can thank her, she is back between
her sisters with another piece of paper ready to be drawn upon.
Fai smiles at Allen. "Naminé heard that you were coming and wanted to make this
for you. She's been working on it for a couple of days now. I don't know how
she knew what you looked like, but she did." He looks back at the other girls.
"Kairi, the redhead, wanted to help too, but she's not much of the artistic
type, but Xion, the raven, went around and found everyone so that Naminé could
draw each of them accurately. Not a bad instance of teamwork for a group of
seven year old girls."
Allen looks at him in surprise. "What do you mean that they're only seven? They
seem much older than that."
Fai's smile falters for a moment. "Because that's how neko kittens age. You
should know this. Or did you not grow up with any other kittens?"
"I grew up with one. He's sort of my mate now. He's a couple of years older
than me."
Fai gives him a sympathetic look. "So then you would have never seen these
changes until now, because your mate is older than you. Well it looks like it's
up to us to teach you everything we know. Right Cloud-kun?"
Cloud opens his mouth to speak but the doors are thrown open once again, and a
trio of young silver haired kittens waltz in. Cloud gives them one unconcerned
look before it is quickly replaced by a look of fury that crosses his face and
he marches over to them.
"Which one of you thought that is was funny to throw Riku into the hall last
night? Did you think it was funny that they got in an uproar and thought that
someone had either broke in or was trying to sneak out? I hope you know that
thanks to your actions we are all under suspended privileges and extra security
for the next month. And besides all of that, you three are all grounded until
one of you tells me who did it, whether you or one of your brothers. Do I make
myself clear?"
Two heads hang in shame while the third, and shortest kitten glares at his
mother. "I don't have to listen to anything you say. The only one with
authority over me is Father, the sooner you realize that the better." The
kitten strides past his parent with indifference, giving the siblings behind
him a small glare of frustration before continuing further into the room.
Cloud gives a sigh before turning back to the other two. "Well I think that
that answers that question. The two of you are no longer grounded, but be
warned that if I ever catch either of you doing, or planning anything like that
again, you will live to regret it."
The two remaining kittens mumble quick 'I understands' before walking quietly
away from their enraged mother.
As the two leave, Fai and Allen make their way over to Cloud, who is starting
to visibly deflate in defeat. Fai pats Cloud on the shoulder. "It's not your
fault. They learned their behavior from their sire, not you. But at least Yazoo
and Loz are starting to take responsibility for their actions. They may be from
the same sire, but I think that those two will turn out ok in the end. After
all, they are only eight years old, so they have some time."
"Yeah, time to become more like him. Even Kadaj knows that I can't do too much
to them to try and set them straight. He'll just undermine me in the end, just
like he always does."
The two fall silent at this, leaving Allen with more questions than answers.
It is Cloud that breaks his silence first. "I hope that that mate of yours is
really something or else you just found yourself in hell."
Allen watches him, trying to figure out what he means, or if there is another
meaning. Eventually he gives in and asks. "What do you mean by that? What is
this place anyway?"
Cloud's eyes widen for a moment. "You don't know? You really don't know? Didn't
Fai tell you?"
Allen looks at Fai, hoping for some clarity. Fai looks at him with guilt in his
eyes. "Allen Walker, welcome to the Breeding Program."
***** Where You Are *****
Chapter 22
Kanda glares at the mirror in front of him. Hoping, that it will just relent
under his gaze and turn back into a window, letting him see his mate once
again. The longer his demands are denied, the more likely it seems to him that
the Noah are somehow behind wherever it is that they are now. Only they could
possibly be so twisted and sadistic as to do something like this to them,
simply because they can.
Kanda lets a frustrated sigh slip out as he begins to pace around the small
room, searching for something to possibly break the glass with, or even
something to make it change back into a window to let him see his Moyashi
again. When nothing immediately comes to his attention, another frustrated sigh
escapes.
He begins to make his way back to the wall of glass when a strange sound begins
to slip almost silently into the air. His ears twitch in an effort to discern
exactly where the noise is coming from, but it proves difficult, as the sound
seems to be everywhere, and yet nowhere all at once.
Slowly, Kanda begins to feel very tired, his lungs begin to burn, and the
weight of his body slowly brings him closer and closer to the ground. This
alerts Kanda to the true meaning of the strange sound.
Gas.
They are gassing the room for some reason.
Kanda tries to will his body to move, to try to get to any higher point to try
to escape the gas, but with so much of it already coursing though his system,
he is unable to move anywhere but down towards the floor and further into the
gas.
….
As his consciousness drifts around the dark recesses of his mind, Kanda slowly
begins to become aware that things are not as they are supposed to be. For one,
his mate is not in his arms as he sleeps, and there is no lingering scent of
his Moyashi anywhere. And the other, most blaring oddity is the feeling of a
thin collar around his neck.
This last realization kicks Kanda's mind back into gear, forcing him to bolt
upright from his forced sleep. A quick look around shows him that he simply in
a room, not much bigger than the previous one, but this one has a bed on which
he is currently sitting, and no mirror like the previous room.
Cautiously, Kanda eases himself to stand next to the bed. The remnants of the
gas still in his system, making his limbs still feel abnormally heavy and
uncoordinated. He gives a small sarcastic chuckle when he realizes just how
much work it feels like he did, and all just to simply stand up.
After giving himself a few minutes to get used to his now vertical position, he
slowly and carefully makes his way across the room towards a small metal door
that is set in the wall opposite the bed. After what seemed like hours, but was
probably only minutes, Kanda finds himself in front of the door, peering out of
its small glass window into the hallway beyond.
After about a minute of staring into the hallway, a slight movement in what
appears to be a nearly identical room across the hall catches his attention. As
the movements from the other room become more apparent, Kanda is able to make
out enough features to be positive that it is Alma in the other room. Seeing
his friend, Kanda raises a hand to the window, hoping that the movement will
catch Alma's attention.
The moment his hand clears the glass, Alma's attention successfully snaps
towards him. The two stare at each other for a moment, especially at the black
collars they both wear, before a brief wave of relief is felt between the two.
However, their moment is interrupted when there is a sudden shrill buzzing, and
the sound of locks sliding back. The two stare at each other a moment longer
before tentatively pushing at their doors. After a slight delay of resistance,
both doors swing out into the hallway.
The two nekos exit their rooms and take a couple of steps down the hall as the
doors to their rooms close once again. No words are said to one another, as
they both understand that their next step is to look for Allen.
After looking up and down the hallway, they notice that there is only one other
door besides the two leading to the rooms. Otherwise, the hallway is simply
long, empty, and completely void of any other landmarks, rooms, or windows.
The pair head to the only other door, which is situated at one end of the
hallway. After taking a moment to note that this door is solid beige colored,
painted door without windows, the two pull at the handle together. What they
see on the other side is not what either of them could have expected.
They file into the comfortable looking room, quickly taking note of the two
plush looking couches that face each other with a simple solid plastic coffee
table between them. A small kitchenette makes up one corner of the room, and a
table and chairs enough to fit up to six people is opposite of that. Another
corner of the room is blocked off, and an open door reveals a small bathroom
inside.
But the most stunning and surprising aspect of the room is that from nearly
floor to ceiling of the wall with the kitchen and table is almost completely
glass, only a couple of feet near the floor is solid concrete.
The two look out the window and the view leaves them speechless. A rather large
room with several smaller off shooting rooms is visible below them, but the
most surprising thing of all is the inhabitants of that room.
Nekos. Nearly a dozen of them at first glance.
A closer inspection reveals two older, possibly adult nekos, both suprsingly
enough, appear to be Bearers, at least from this level. There also appears to
be three nearly teenage, silver haired nekos as well, but they seem to be
heading towards a set of double doors. But the rest seem to all be fairly young
kittens running about.
Their observations are interrupted when a door suddenly opens. The two quickly
spin around to see another dark haired male neko enter the room through the
same door that they themselves came through not that long ago. The newcomer
looks up to see Kanda and Alma looking back at him. Making a rough sort of
grunting noise the newcomer says, "It's too early for this" before making a
beeline for the kitchen, and resulting coffee maker.
Kanda and Alma silently watch the newcomer as he goes about making his coffee
and wandering over to the table to pick up an outdated newspaper. They quickly
note his short black hair, and slim black collar. After a few minutes of their
staring, the newcomer lifts a hand over the paper and waves them over. They
take seats opposite of each other at the table, but with an extra seat between
either of them and the newcomer.
The newcomer sets the paper down, sets his elbows on the table and folds his
hands together. "First things first, who are you two, and what exactly what are
you doing here?"
Alma speaks up before Kanda even opens his mouth. "I'm Alma Karma, and that
deadly looking fellow is Kanda. Now I have no idea as to where we even are, so
I don't think that we can answer that last question of yours before you explain
a bit of what's going on here Mr. ummm?"
"Kurogane." Seeing a look of confusion the newcomer rolls his eyes. "Kurogane,
that's my name, and that's all you need to know. Now you two can't be
completely oblivious to where you are, can you? I saw you looking out that
window. That alone should practically scream your location."
A heavy silence settles across the table. A silence that Kanda breaks with one
simple statement. "We're at the Breeding Program, aren't we."
Alma's eyes shoot up to meet his. "You can't be serious." He looks at the
glaring red eyes of Kurogane, "Tell me that this is some kind of sick twisted
joke."
Those red orbs close in regret. "It's true, and the sooner you accept it, the
better." His eyes open once more and wander back and forth between the two neko
in front of him. "However, I am wondering why there are two of you? They
announced a few months ago now that a new Bearer would be arriving, but they
said nothing of a mate, so we assumed that he would be alone. Seeing one of you
would be no surprise, seeing that one of you would probably be a mate, or
potential mate to this kid. But for two of you to be here, something must be
up."
Alma opens his mouth to speak, but Kurogane holds up a hand to stop him. "For
whatever reason the two of you are here now is none of my concern and it should
stay that way. I'm going to guess that this is probably the result of some
scheme to protect the Bearer gone wrong, and that one of you is his mate, and
the other was just trying to protect him. Then again, it's just a guess on my
part." A sigh escapes him. "I don't need to know any more than that, just as
long as you don't do anything to hurt that kid. God knows that Bearers have to
deal with too much shit as it is."
Kanda simply nods his agreement and turns towards the window. "So if this is
the Breeding Program, I'm assuming that you're the mate to one of the Bearers
in the room below."
Kurogane follows his gaze with a small grin. "Yep, and I'll say that he is
probably the most stubborn and irritating person I've ever met." He goes up and
stands in front of the window, gesturing to Alma and Kanda to follow him. "See
those two older blonds over by that table with the girls? They are the only two
adult Bearers here other than the one you came with. They are Fai and Cloud.
The tall skinny one is Fai, he is my mate. The other is paired with Sephiroth,
another rather obnoxious neko that you'll probably meet later on."
Kanda interrupts him. "Why did you say that Cloud is paired with this Sephiroth
person, and not mated with him? Has Cloud not found his mate yet, even at this
age?"
Kurogane reaches to scratch the back of his head for a moment. "Those two are a
bit complicated. From what I understand, Cloud was originally mated to another
called Zack, but Sephiroth killed his mate and took Cloud as his own. And even
though the two of them are pureblooded snow leopard nekos, they have only had
cubs through force since Cloud's heart still belongs to his dead mate, though
the two of them haven't been fighting like they used to as much. Probably
starting to wear each other down after so many years here."
Kurogane retreats back to the table to retrieve his coffee before continuing.
"Those two have four cubs here. The three oldest are triplets, and currently
the oldest cubs here. They leave for lessons during part of the day but will be
back later. And their youngest isn't that much older than my own youngest
litter. He was a single cub that seems to take more after his bearer than his
sire. All of them look alike with silver hair like their sire, and a
combination of blue-green eyes."
He takes a swig of his coffee before continuing. "Now the rest of the kittens
belong to Fai and I. The oldest of ours are the three girls over by the table,
they can be a bit of a handful since they take after their bearer a bit too
much if you ask me with all of their mischief. And our youngest kittens are
those four young boys that are wandering into the corner room over there. That
litter is a bit strange because three of them ended up as Bearers, something
I've never heard of happening before, but they'll be treated just the same as
the rest."
Kanda tears his eyes from the seemingly peaceful sight below him. "How did you
find your mate?"
Kurogane frowned for a moment. "I used to be a guard for the Princess Tomoyo,
she often visited other lands, and in one of those trips I met Fai.
Unfortunately, we happened to be there while he was going though a heat cycle,
and though his twin, Yuui, was smart enough to try and stay near him to mask
the scent of the heat, it didn't really work. I ended up coming back with
Tomoyo several times for political reasons, and it was during our last trip
there that Fai's master, the King Ashrua, discovered us. Right after that, by
mutual consent of both of our rulers, we were sent here, and we've been stuck
here ever since."
Alma frowns and moves away from the window. He makes his way over to the
couches and simply let's himself fall on one. "So why haven't you tried to
escape yet? I mean I get that it would be hard with kittens, but don't you want
to leave this place?"
Kurogane's attention snaps to him, his eyes burning with a hardly retained
rage. "You think we like it here? That we are content here? That we want our
children to go through the things they will have to because they are here? Then
you need to think again. We've been trying for years to escape, but so far the
kittens have been too young to try to get out of here without giving themselves
away. I'll have you know that someday soon, we will be getting out of here, and
my litters will be able to live a better life because of it." His eyes narrow
to dangerous slits. "I don't ever want to hear you speak that way of my family
again. Do you hear me?"
Alma slowly nods his head, and averts his eyes.
However, his attention is distracted when he hears Kanda breath a sudden,
"Moyashi" under his breath. This sends him scrambling back to the window.
Sure enough, Allen is being led into the room by Fai. Kanda watches him look
around for a moment, and wishes that he could call out to his mate, but from
the way things seem to work around here, he doubts that his Moyashi would be
able to hear him, let alone see him. So for the time being, he settles for
setting his hand on the glass.
….
After watching Allen interact with the other nekos for a while, the three
eventually make their way into the kitchenette and the preparations for lunch
begin. Not a word is spoken the entire time, as each is lost in their own
worlds and ideas of being at the Breeding Program. As they sit down to eat, the
door opens once again and this time a rather imposing neko enters.
Kanda automatically figures that this must be the one called Sephiroth that
Kurogane told him and Alma about. The long silver hair and bright green cat
like eyes, as well and the long spotted tail and ears are a dead give away.
This neko says nothing to the group but simply goes about looking in the fridge
for any food not already claimed for lunch by the others.
The tall silver neko remains silent the entire time as he makes himself a plate
of food before exiting the room just a few minutes later.
Kurogane lets out an audible sigh of relief after he has left the room. "I'm
surprised they even let him in here today. His current round of punishments
isn't supposed to end until the end of the week." Kurogane looks at the clock
that hangs just above the door for a moment. "They must be letting him off for
good behavior or some such nonsense."
Kanda looks up from his food. "Punishment? Why would he be under some type of
punishment?"
Kurogane's jaw tightens a bit. "Last week he got into another fight with Cloud,
only he ended up hitting one of my Bearer kittens not long after, and so he was
stuck with an initial punishment of isolation for a couple of days. But
apparently Cloud went into heat that same night so he broke out just for that.
I swear he tries to knock up that guy as often as he can."
"Wait, you said that he hit one of your kittens. So that means that he must
have been in the same room as the others, right?"
Kurogane gives Kanda a strange look. "Yeah, it's not like we stay up here all
day. Normally we get to go join everyone right after lunch unless there's
someone new to show around like today. Otherwise we should get to go join the
rest of them soon."
A look of pure relief spreads across Kanda. "Good. I thought that they were
going to take Moyashi away until his heat came."
"Moyashi? That's a strange name for anyone. I'll admit that yes his is white
and all, but really? A beansprout? Did his parents not love him?"
Alma shakes with quiet laughter. "His name's not Moyashi, that's just what
Kanda's always called him for some reason. His name is Allen. Allen Walker."
Kurogane laughs a bit at this. "To each his own I guess." He takes another look
at the clock. "You guys ready to go and join the others, or do you want to stay
here a little longer?"
The two stare at him like he is crazy. Together they answer, "We want to go see
him now."
***** Unexpected News *****
Chapter 23
For the rest of the morning, Allen remains silent, knowing that his worst fears
have been confirmed. The two older nekos respectfully give him the time and
distance he needs, however, when naptime ends the once sleeping kittens begin
to gather around him.
It started off rather simply, one by one the kittens woke up and sleepily
wandered out of the small room, and after catching sight of Allen sitting by
himself, came over and tried to wiggle their way into his lap. Soon Allen has
not choice but to look up at the wide and curious blue eyes, and is quickly
take in by them.
The two blonds, Roxas and Ventus, each grab an arm and begin to try to pull
Allen to his feet. At first Allen resists, but when he feels a third kitten
behind him, trying to push Allen to his feat while its brothers pull, Allen
relents with a small smile and lets the kittens pull him where they will. They
lead him over to the table that the girls had previously been drawing, but now
the space is occupied with Fai and Cloud.
The two look up from their conversation when they catch sight of Allen being
dragged towards him. Fai smiles and waves them closer, taking time to hug and
tickle each of his kittens for their work. Cloud simply sits there and smiles
at their antics, but is also keeping a watchful eye on his youngest that is
currently trying to sneak up on a certain brunette kitten.
Once the kittens are satisfied that their job is done, they scurry off to their
own doings, leaving the three adults alone. Allen looks at the others
sheepishly, hoping that they were not offended by his previous actions. When
both give him small nods of acceptance, he takes a seat next to Cloud so that
he can still see the kittens playing throughout the room.
"You know Allen," Fai begins, his voice somewhat sad and distant, "it wasn't
always like this around here. So open and friendly. It used to be so cold and
cut off from everything. You never really saw anyone other than your mate on
occasion, but now, now everything is so much more oriented around the kittens
and them being able to interact and grow. And we have you to thank for that."
Allen tilts his head to the side ever so slightly, not understanding what Fai
is trying to tell him. Fai and Cloud both turn their attention to him, but this
time Cloud speaks. "If you hadn't caught the eye of the Noah's, well I believe
it is safe to say that they never would have made so many donations or
arrangements with this place, so far all of which have benefited us and our
children."
"But more importantly, there has been on thing that has changed the most, and
it could possibly be exploited so that –" His words are cut off as the sound of
the metal doors opening.
Allen turns to see what is going on, and what he sees makes his eyes widen in
disbelief. He jumps out of his seat and runs towards the newcomer that is
calming walking towards him. With each step that brings him closer, his heart
seems to want to burst out of his chest, even though it seems to tighten at the
same time.
The moment that the figure is close enough, Allen jumps on to him, wrapping his
arms around the figure and enjoying the feeling of being in his mate's arms
once more. Their tails intertwine so that they are able to come even closer to
one another. The two stay like that for some time, simply basking in each
other's presence. Allen rests his head on Kanda's shoulders, enjoying the
feeling of Kanda's heart beating against him, and taking the time to breath in
the unique scent of his mate.
After finally lifting his head, Allen looks behind Kanda to see two more nekos
entering the room, one that he has never seen before, and one that he had been
worrying over since he woke up. He carefully releases one hand from its hold on
Kanda's neck to wave to Alma, gesturing for him to come over.
When Alma is finally standing next to Allen and Kanda, Allen reaches over and
pulls Alma into a hug, all while still managing to keep his legs wrapped around
Kanda's waist, pulling the three of them together. Though the hug is much
shorter than the one with Kanda, the relief is still evident for both of them.
As the three of them separate back into their previous positions, Allen turns
at the sound of a third set of footsteps and sees the other neko that came in
before Kanda. The two stare at each other for a moment, and Kanda's grip
tightens ever so slightly, but once the stranger extends his hand to Allen, the
tension eases, and Allen cautiously shakes the offered hand.
The dark haired stranger lets out a slight grunting sound as Fai suddenly jumps
onto his back, all the while smiling at Allen. "It's nice to see the four of
you getting along so well. Allen, this is my mate, Kuro-poo."
The dark haired neko sighs. "It's Kurogane." He looks over his shoulder at his
mate. "And who told you that you could go and feed the newbie false information
before I even get a chance to meet him?" Fai simply smiles before hopping off
of his back. Kurogane rolls his eyes as he watches his mate walk away and start
calling their kittens to him. He turns back to take another look at Allen
before speaking to Kanda. "Well here comes the fun part, you guys get to help
us find all of the kittens and herd them into the cafeteria down the hall so
that people can finally eat."
Allen reluctantly releases his grip on Kanda and lowers himself to the floor.
He gives Kanda and Alma a quick smile before heading off to help look for any
missing kittens. Kanda stares after him, wondering just how his Moyashi has
been able to become so comfortable and open around these strangers already.
After a few minutes the kittens have all been found and the short trek down the
hall into a rather spacious cafeteria continues without incident. Upon entry,
the kittens scatter once more, each one trying to find a spot that they liked
that was not already taken by someone else.
Fai releases a sigh and shakes his head before leading the rest of the adults
over to a counter where multiple dishes of food are already waiting. He
instructs each person to grab two plates each and then to go set them at the
large table stainless steel that dominates the center of the room.
As the food is distributed, the kittens calm down and focus on their meal, or
trying to take the meal off of someone else's plate. During this time, the
doors to the cafeteria open once more, only this time Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz
file in behind their sire. The tension in the air becomes almost visibly high
and the four silver haired nekos make their way to the table, the youngest
three sitting closer to the younger kittens while Sephiroth takes a seat across
from Cloud.
With all of the adults now present and sitting at one end of the table, Allen
can sense that there are many mixed feelings surrounding them. Some of them are
surly his, but the others are so mixed and confused that he can no longer tell
what any of the others might be thinking.
One thing that Allen does notice however, is the fact that each of the adult
bearers has a plate of food in front of them, but none of their mates or Alma
does. Allen turns to his left and looks up at Kanda, the question clear in his
eyes. Kanda simply runs his hands through his hair, reassuring him that
everything is alright.
Seeing the simple gesture makes Cloud visibly relax somewhat, knowing that
Allen has a good mate for himself helps to lift some of the tense atmosphere.
Just his simple reaction helps the rest of the table relax somewhat, but the
tension is still thick.
After a few minutes of this, Allen begins to fidget a bit in his seat, wishing
that there were some way that he can ease the tension. After a moment of
thought, he turns to Cloud. "So what were you trying to say earlier? Before we
left for lunch?"
Cloud looks up at him, a surprised look on his face, and a slight frown as he
tries to recall what he was trying to say at the time. As he contemplates
whatever it was he said, Fai interjects with the missing thought. "What he
meant to say is that thanks to you," he lowers his voice to a whisper, "we now
have a chance to get out of here."
Small sparks of hope light up the eyes of the adult nekos with those words. But
the sparks are restrained, as if none of them dares to believe that escape
could ever be a real possibility.
Allen's brow furrows for a moment. "But you said that these changes started a
while ago. Why wait until now? Or do you mean that if things keep changing like
they have, then it might be a possibility?"
Cloud's quiet voice answers this time. "Initially, we were going to leave as
soon as all of the kittens and cubs were old enough to be able to keep up and
stay quiet. But then we knew that we couldn't let anyone else be condemned to
this fate, no matter how many improvements are made here, it is nothing short
of a prison." He stops for a moment as deep cutting emotions threaten to seep
into his voice. "We knew that we had to get you out too."
A silence settles over the table for a moment before Kurogane speaks. "And
while things might have changed a bit," he gestures at Alma, "We can leave as
soon as we work on the fine details with you, and then we can work on picking
out the best time for everyone to leave."
The sparks of hope seem to ignite small fires around the table. However, there
is one who does not share those sparks.
"And our time was wasted. If we wait around any longer than it might take years
to get everyone out safely and at the same time. And by then who knows what
might happen." Sephiroth's words are like a blade cutting through those flames
of hope, diminishing some quickly, while others only waver with his words.
Alma's words bite back. "And what exactly is that supposed to mean? Are you
saying that this is somehow our fault?"
"Well obviously the albino didn't get pregnant on his own, now did he?" Seeing
the surprised looks across the table, Sephiroth releases an aggravated sigh
before standing. "I can't believe that none of you noticed. He practically
reeks of it!" And with that he strides towards the door, causing all of the
petty arguing amongst the kittens and cubs to die down and watch as he storms
out.
All eyes swivel to the adults, curious as to what just happened. Curious,
except for one set of green eyes that are glaring daggers at his blond mother.
Allen looks at all of the eyes now trained on him, feeling uncomfortable, he
shrinks back into his seat a bit. Alma leans over so that his head is
practically resting on Allen's right shoulder. He takes a deep inhale of breath
before slowly releasing it, watching as it makes Allen's hair shift with the
resulting breeze.
As he pulls away, he looks up at Kanda. A strange look of pride and regret
filling his eyes as they drift between the pair. Alma still wishes that they
would both let him into their lives, but at the same time, he couldn't be
happier to see them together once more.
Alma looks back to the others that are watching him, waiting for his verdict.
"It's true."
Tears form in Allen's eyes, and for what reason he is not sure. Memories of
loss and pain from the last time it happened fill his mind. But a small part of
him is secretly overjoyed at finally being able to have a litter with Kanda. A
litter that should be able to survive this time.
A large hand envelops his own, holding it and squeezing it gently. Allen looks
up to see Kanda give him a fain smile, one that seems to quirk at his lips,
threatening to become something much larger.
They share a brief knowing look before turning back to the others. This time,
Kanda speaks up. "We appreciate that you would want to help us leave as well,
but you should take the chance as soon as you can to get out of here. As long
as you make it out safely, we'll be fine. We'll find our own way out
eventually."
"You say that like it's so simple." Alma looks at Kanda, his eyes nearly
burning in disbelief. "If they manage to make it out, you know what will happen
don't you? This place will become even more difficult to get out of on your
own." He sees Kanda give him a look that says won't you be coming with us? "Be
realistic Yuu, it won't take them long to figure out that you're Allen's mate,
not me. And you know what will happen then. I'll probably be sent back to the
Black Ark, and there is no way in hell that I'm going back to that place."
Allen grabs Alma's hand. "Then go with them. Go, and be safe and free."
"Allen, you know I won't do that. That I can't do that. I'm not leaving you and
Yuu in a place like this."
"And maybe you won't have to." All eyes widen a fraction as they focus on
Cloud. "I'll go and talk to Sephiroth, and see if there is anyway that we can
leave within the week. We should still have that long before it becomes too
dangerous for Allen."
Fai sets a hand on his shoulder, concern heavy in his eyes. "We'll find some
other way, you don't have to do that unless you really want to.
"You know that there's no other way. If there was I would have taken it a long
time ago." The last words were so quietly muttered that only a few really heard
what he said as he stood from his chair. "Can I ask you to check every once in
a while to make sure that they are behaving?"
Fai smiles, though the smile does not quite meet his eyes. "No problem."
As the blond neko leaves the room, Fai mutters at the table, "I hope he knows
what he's doing."
….
After lunch, the group went back into the large room from that morning, and
each wandered off to do something or another. After an hour or so, the food
seemed to be doing its job and one by one the kittens and cubs drifted off into
dreamland.
One of Fai's kittens, the brunette named Sora, somehow managed to fall asleep
in Allen's lap, his soft breathing bring a sad smile to the older neko's face.
Just moments later, Kanda, who also has a kitten with him, sits down next to
him and they both lean against the wall.
"What are we going to do? I had no idea that this was going to happen, and now
everything that they planned will be for nothing." A single tear escapes and
slowly slides down the pattern of Allen's mark.
Kanda leans over, mindful of the two kittens, and places a soft kiss on the
tear, effectively stopping it in its tracks. "We are going to do whatever it
takes for you to stay healthy and have a healthy litter. Even if it means
staying here longer while the others leave. Once things settle down for us and
the litter is old enough to leave, then we'll go."
"But what if they . . . what if they don't make it again? I don't know if I can
handle that again Kanda."
"Moyashi, I highly doubt that a place like this would let any of them die.
Besides, there are my kittens too, and that means that they are going to be
tough and that they will survive." He places a small kiss on Allen's head
before looking down at the kittens they are holding. "And if the worst happens,
then we allow ourselves to grieve and eventually, we move on. But no matter
what happens, we will always have each other."
At that moment, the kittens chose to wake up, their respective blue and golden
eyes blinking tiredly at the people holding them. The two kittens give a small
hug to those holding them before carefully climbing out of their laps and
walking towards their parents.
Kanda and Allen watch them leave, small smiles threatening to break out at the
sight. They turn to each other and give each other a small peck on the lips.
"You know Kanda, maybe this will turn out alright after all."
***** Plans of Escape *****
Chapter 24
When evening finally begins to roll around, some of the earlier routines seem
to play out once again. The kittens and cubs are all rounded up once more and
herded into the cafeteria for an evening meal, and in many ways it proceeded in
much the same way as before with only a few small differences. The main
difference being that each neko had a plate of food waiting for them, not just
the bearers and little ones.
By now everyone is tired enough to take a seat without much complaint, however,
once everyone is sitting at the table, the two empty seats ring much louder
than anything else. Cloud has yet to return, and the tension and slight fear
radiating off of Fai and Kurogane is enough to make everyone wary as well.
The meal progressed quietly and rather quickly. By the time that everyone has
eaten their fill, some of the younger kittens are starting to nod off in their
spots, heads threatening to become one with the plates before them. Noticing
the encroaching sleep, Fai and Kurogane gesture for Allen, Kanda, and Alma to
help clear away the dishes and urge, and if need be, pick up a kitten or two
and follow them.
They travel down just a few short hallways before coming to a single door with
guard on either side. One of the guards steps forward and goes up to each neko
scanning the collars and making small notes on a device that seems to get
information from the collars. Once the guard has scanned each of the collars,
the other guard unlocks the door and lets the group begin to file into the new
hallway.
However, once Alma tries to step through the door, the guard with the scanner
grabs his arm, halting is progress.
Sensing that something is wrong, Allen turns back to see Alma standing alone
outside the door, his arm in a tight hold from one of the guards. He sees the
guard start to pull Alma away, as the other guard begins to close and lock the
door once more. Seeing what is about to happen, Allen turns and runs towards
the door.
With each step of his feet pounding against the floor, he feels as though he is
moving in slow motion while the guard and door are moving at a normal speed. As
Allen gets closer to the door, he can hear the lock clicking shut, but that
doesn't stop him from running straight into it, as though hoping that the door
and lock are much weaker than they appear. Pain immediately erupts up his side
causing him to grimace while still trying to open the door.
Alma looks back after hearing a loud thumping sound. Upon seeing Allen's pained
face as he struggles against the door, Alma struggles harder against the grip
on his arm, trying to get to Allen, to try and reassure him that things will be
all right in the end. However, the guard's grips is just too strong for him at
the moment, and step by step he is dragged farther and farther away, visibly
causing Allen to panic even more.
As Alma is dragged away, he catches one last glimpse of Allen before loosing
sight of him. In that brief instant, Alma saw Kanda come up behind Allen and
gently place a hand on his shoulder, trying to help him calm down. Guilt, and
something akin to jealousy tries to rise in Alma's mind, but knowing that he
does not belong with them, not like he would have to be in a place like this,
helps to put his mind at ease as he is pulled further and further away from his
two friends.
….
The hallway behind the guarded door happens to be the living quarters of the
nekos at Breeding Program. A series of doors line each side of the hall and at
the end opposite of the only door into the area is a small collection of comfy
looking seats around a small table. The atmosphere at that one spot is so
completely different than the rest of the hall, which at first Allen does not
know what to make of it.
Allen sees Kanda further down the hall staring at one of the doors with a
somewhat murderous expression. Upon closer examination it is revealed that the
door has a single number painted onto it, and underneath that number is a small
sick on tag with both of their names on it.
Seeing that Kanda is not likely to be making a move soon, Allen reaches past
him and gently pulls the handle of the door, effectively opening the door into
their new room. The inside is fairly simple, a single area with a couple of
chairs, a half wall separating a bathroom area, and another wall with four
doors. One of these doors is already open; the others stand blankly against the
wall.
Allen walks up first to one of the closed doors, only to find it locked. He
then proceeds to try it with the other two, finding that they too are locked.
Eventually he goes and looks into the room behind the one open door. Inside is
a fairly small and bland room with a small dresser and a single medium sized
bed. The room itself is completely white, like the rest of the space, and the
only break away from the same color is the occasional silvery colored object in
the small room and the slightly larger room that connects to the hall.
Allen walks over to the bed and slowly lowers himself on to it, feeling the
weight of the day bringing him down. The squeaking of the bed must have acted
like a summons for Kanda, for not a moment later; Kanda is striding across the
room, and finding a seat next to his Moyashi.
No words are spoken between the two, but there are none that need to be voiced
at that moment. Instead, the two simply sit there, holding one another, leaning
on each other for the much needed support in their new situation.
After what seems like mere minutes, but is a few hours in all actuality, there
is a soft knocking at their door. The two share a brief look of confusion and
exhaustion before Kanda stands up and makes his way over to the door. Upon
opening it, he initially sees no one, but a soft cough brings his attention a
bit lower.
Kanda looks down to find the blond kitten called Namine smiling shyly up at
him. She looks behind Kanda and gives a small wave to Allen who is quietly
coming up behind his mate. Once both of them are at the door, she gestures for
them to follower her. After sharing a quizzical look, the two make an agreement
to follower her.
She leads them down the hall to the small sitting area. Once there, she runs up
to her parents and gives them both a short hug before running off and into one
of the other rooms scattered throughout the hallway.
Fai and Kurogane gesture for Kanda and Allen to sit at one of the few remaining
chairs. Once they find seats, no words are spoken as though they are all
waiting for something, even if they do not know what that 'something' is.
Moments later, one of the doors is thrown open so hard that it crashes against
the wall shattering the previous silence. Sephiroth storms out, his eyes are
narrowed as if daring someone to stop him, or come near him. He makes his way
to the only door out and bangs loudly on it. "Hey, I need to see Hojo.
Something's wrong with Cloud."
Kanda and Allen shoot each other questioning glances, each one not sure exactly
what is going on, and yet sharing worry for their new friend.
The door opens almost immediately and Sephiroth continues to storm down the
hallway despite one of the guards trying to desperately catch up to the much
larger neko.
A few minutes later, after everything seems to have calmed down some, the same
door that Sephiroth slammed against the wall opens once more and a blond head
carefully looks up and down the hallway, seemingly checking to see if the coast
is clear.
A moment later, Cloud dashes out of the room and over to the small sitting
area. He quickly takes a seat on the floor slightly behind Fai and Kurogane.
This spot gives him an advantage to see if anyone is coming down the hall, but
mostly blocks himself from view unless someone looked closely.
Cloud keeps his voice soft and quick. "He'll see what he can do. He says that
he can't guarantee anything, but if it can work on the other side as well, we
by the end of the week before something will happen. If nothing happens, then
it means that somewhere along the lines we were compromised, and we'll have to
start over from scratch again."
Fai releases a small sigh. "Well it can't be helped I guess. I mean it is
rather short notice, especially with circumstances being what they are. Thank
you for doing this, I just hope it wasn't too rough to try and sway him to try
and see things our way."
A dark chuckle fills the air. "It wasn't so bad this time. Sephiroth hasn't
been to see Hojo in a couple of weeks, meaning that he has regained some of
himself, but I don't know for how much longer he can escape that maniac's
grasp."
"Who is 'Hojo'?" Asks Kanda, his voice fairly even, but some concern still
manages to linger.
"Hojo," Cloud begins, "Hojo was initially the 'doctor' assigned to the mates of
each of the bearers here, however, once the Noah began to influence how things
are run around here, he has been demoted to working much more behind the scenes
as it was found that much of his work could be considered unethical and
potentially damaging to the purpose behind the Breeding Program."
"What do you mean by 'potentially damaging'?" Kanda's words are staring to pick
up a slight blade in them, cutting into the air with each word.
Another dark chuckle. "To put it simply, nothing good ever comes from Hojo,
especially when he manages to 'experiment' on us. Personality and violence are
just the tip of the iceberg of what can and has happened. I fear what might
come if he is allowed to continue his work."
Allen's voice softly conflicts with Cloud's darker one. "Is that what happened
to you and Sephiroth? Did this 'Hojo' person cause the two of you to become the
way you are now?"
Kanda shoots Allen a sharp glance that clearly says that was rude. Cloud merely
shakes his head. "I'll just say that we have never had a very good relationship
to begin with, and none of this has helped. I'm at the point where I worry
about his stability. He may have seemed fine today, but at any moment he might
snap. And I can't afford to let anyone get caught in the cross fire, least of
all the kittens and cubs. Some of them may be his, but that means nothing when
he isn't himself."
Allen grows silent, and Kanda's expression darkens. "So how do you know if you
can trust him if he is so violently unpredictable?"
"Because I know that he wants out of here just as badly, if not more so than
the rest of us. And he's not capable of doing anything to jeopardize that
chance of regaining his freedom."
….
Sephiroth finds himself in Hojo's lab, waiting for the maniac to come bursting
in at any moment wanting to know what is going on. He does not have to wait
long before the hunched over 'doctor' with greasy hair comes in looking
agitated.
"This had better be of some importance, so of us do have better things to do
than jump every time you tell us to."
Sephiroth merely rolls his eyes, sticking to the lie he and Cloud had agreed
upon. "I think you'll find this to be rather important. Cloud doesn't seem to
remember having his heat in the last few weeks and since I haven't been allowed
to see him I have no doubt that he is correct. And that either means that he's
been wandering around with cubs for the last few weeks without proper care, or
something else is wrong that is preventing him from going into heat."
"Sephiroth, as much as you know that I would love to go and check on Cloud for
you, you know better than anyone that he has been assigned to that idiot
Hollander, and is not my problem. However, seeing that this may be vital for
the good of the original project here, I can see about getting him a pregnancy
test. If it comes back negative you tell Hollander in the morning and leave me
out of issues that don't concern me so I can get back to more important
things." The 'doctor' steps out of the room in search of the test for Cloud.
As soon as Hojo leaves the room, a guard enters, seemingly there to guard
Sephiroth and make sure that he doesn't touch anything. However, Sephiroth
knows better and speaks quickly and quietly to the newcomer. "Things have
changed. We now have three more to get out, one has been separated from the
rest of us, and another is a bearer that is currently in the early stages of
carrying a litter. As soon as they find out about him, everything will
collapse. We might be able to hide him for a few more days, but we need to get
out by the end of the week."
The guard gives a small nod and starts heading back to the door as Hojo
reenters the room. Hojo slams the small test in Sephiroth's hand. "Now leave so
that I can deal with more important matters."
….
Many miles away in a secluded location a meeting is being held. Members and
friends of the Dark Order from all across the globe gather in a single room
eager for any news of the goings on in the Breeding Program facility.
A clock ticks on the wall, and as soon as it strikes the hour the room falls
deadly silent. No one dares breath for fear that they might miss something.
Suddenly a hushed voice crackles across the room.
"It's just as we thought, only we need to move sooner than expected. One of
them has been separated from the group and is being held elsewhere in the
facility. And one of the bearers is now carrying a litter. We only have a
matter of days at best before they find out and make our work up to this point
mean absolutely nothing."
The voice disappears and murmurings begin to spread across the room, some
louder than others.
One voice shouts out over the rest. "Well, what are we waiting for? If we have
so little time we need to get moving now or we won't be able to do anything.
I'm not leaving my friends in a place like that."
A hand gently but firmly grasps the shoulder of the girl. "Lenalee, I know that
you have friends there, I have someone important to me there too, but we can't
just go in with guns blazing. We need to make some adjustments now that there
are more people to rescue, and to make sure that we don't jeopardize the health
of the pregnant bearer."
"I know all of that, but it doesn't mean I want to just wait around, I want to
do something! I just got one of my friends back only to loose him and another
right away. I can't just sit and do nothing!" She turns on the neko holding her
arm. "You just wouldn't understand." She storms out of the room, her
frustration causing people to part before her.
Zack Fair hangs his head and slightly shakes his head. "I understand far more
than you know."
***** Escape *****
Chapter 25
The next week progressed much like Allen's first day had, with one main
exception. The tension and anxiety in the air has been growing thicker and more
unbearable nearly every hour. Everyday activities are carried out in a much
delayed fashion, as though hoping that something will happen, something out of
the ordinary that will throw everything into chaos and signal to them leave
right then and there.
It is also in those days that Allen discovers that some of the symptoms of his
pregnancy are becoming apparent. Much to his dismay, he soon finds himself in
the small bathroom each morning, releasing the few contents of his stomach into
the white porcelain as Kanda gently rubs small circles on his back while
murmuring words of comfort to him.
Between the tension and the resulting fatigue from not being able to keep most
things down, Allen wishes for nothing but the end of that week to come as
quickly as possible. And though he would not admit it aloud, he knows in his
heart that if anything happens and he ends up slowing the others down should
they be able to attempt escape, he will willingly stay behind as a distraction
so that the others might have the chance to reclaim their freedom.
He may not have known the other nekos very long, but already they hold a
special place in his heart. They understand him more than most others could
ever hope to. They have welcomed him with open arms and acceptance, not judging
him or asking him about his past. In many ways they have become part of his
extended family, a family that he would do anything to protect.
Now it is the last day of the week, the last chance for him and the others to
be able to leave before things become overly complicated for all of them once
again.
On that day no one made an effort to even try to make things seem normal for
any watching eyes. The wariness is extremely evident in their stiff movements
and limited attention spans. Any one who cared to look would be able to tell
that something is obviously off.
As the afternoon rolls around there seems to be the sparks of a resigned
acceptance filtering through the room. It is as though none of the occupants
truly want to give up their hope, but the reality seems to be crushing them
further and further down.
The tension thickens as the metal doors to the large communal room open and two
guards walk silently into the room, shutting the doors behind them. One of them
steps even closer and reaches to pull off his helmet.
As the helmet moves, revealing shockingly bright red hair underneath, Allen's
eyes grow wide with the sight of his old friend.
Lavi gives a small smirk at the sight of Allen's wide eyes. "Don't tell me that
you forgot me already? I'm hurt, truly. Who else is there that will give Yuu a
hard time for you?"
With that comment, Kanda's eyes narrow a bit, but a grin cannot help but
escape. "Baka Usagi, why'd they send someone like you get us out of here? Are
they all color blind back at the Order, or do they not realize just how
annoyingly bright that fire on your head is?"
Allen struggles to hold back his laughter, knowing that this is not the
appropriate situation for him to be laughing, but he cannot help it. Seeing his
mate and his good friend pick up where they must have left off brings light and
happy feelings despite the present situation.
Everyone turns to stare at him for a moment, puzzled by his reaction. After a
moment, Allen wipes a single tear of happiness from his eye before turning back
to his old friend. "Why are you here, Lavi?"
Lavi's face immediately becomes stoic and grim. "We" he gestures to the still
masked figure next to him, "are here to get you out of this prison. We are here
to make sure that all of you make it out safely. The Order has secured a
location where you will be safe and under their protection." He looks about the
room, silently counting to make sure that all nekos are accounted for. "Now, I
don't know about you, but this place is giving me the creeps, so let's go
already."
Lavi turns and starts walking towards the door, not bothering to look back to
see if the others are following or not, but judging by the number of footsteps
that are already following him, he believes that it is safe to say that they
are following.
As everyone quickly urges the kittens together as they begin to follow Lavi,
Allen runs over and pulls on the sleeve of the other masked man that entered
the room with Lavi, one that has not yet made a move to follow the others out.
"What about Alma?"
The masked figure looks down at him. "We already have someone locating him
right now." He turns to see that the only neko left in the room with them is
Kanda who is carefully watching Allen. "Come on, let's go catch up with the
others. Your friend should be meeting us on the way out."
Allen gives a quick nod before running over to Kanda and the two of them hurry
out of the room and down the hall to catch up to the rest of the group.
Neither of them turn back, otherwise they would have noticed the slight sway of
the black tail of the neko that had followed Lavi into the room.
….
After running through the halls for a few minutes, two figures run towards the
group from one of the many perpendicular hallways. Kanda notices out of the
corner of his eye and turns to face the newcomers. He lets himself fall into a
defensive stance as the figures approach, but quickly straightens at the sight
of two more of his friends.
The neko at the end of the group stops and calls Lavi back. Lavi turns, and
upon seeing the two standing there, runs over and sweeps the girl with her
greenish pigtails into the air before planting a joyous kiss upon her lips. The
girl squeals in delight and embarrassment before wiggling out of her hold. As
Lavi releases her, Lenalee says nothing before turning back down the hall that
she and Alma had initially come from.
Lavi motions for the group to follow him down this new path, again, not looking
back to see if the group is keeping up.
After nearly half an hour, the group is beginning to tire from all of the
running and stress that has been building. Sirens warning of their escape
started a few minutes back, and the sound is causing the sensitive ears of the
nekos to ache and cause even more physical pain as the noise continues. This
makes them easily distracted, and many of the kittens and cubs are beginning to
try to hold their ears and try ease some of the pain.
At one point, Cloud's youngest cub, Riku, trips, causing him to release his
ears, and the pain to increase yet again. The young cub begins to cry silently
due to the pain, and Cloud is quick to notice. He stops to bend over to pick up
his cub, but is roughly pushed to the side by Sephiroth.
Cloud looks up, about to protest when he stops, the word caught in his throat
as he sees the older neko attempting to disarm one of the facility guards who
had been attempting to inject something into Cloud's neck. Cloud watches the
two continue to battle it out for a moment before he scrambles to his feet and
picks up Riku, who was also pushed out of the way.
Cloud watches as the masked man that came in with Lavi runs past him, and
releases the broadsword that has been strapped to his back. He joins Sephiroth
in trying to knock the syringe out of the guard's hand, as well as to knock the
small pistol he somehow managed to retrieve from its holster on his leg, out of
his other hand.
The three continue to struggle, and all Cloud can manage to do is just sit and
watch with stunned eyes as he keeps a tight hold on Riku who is still crying
from the noise and fighting going on before him.
Suddenly a shot rings out. Quickly followed by two more. Cloud's ears fly back,
and his eyes widen in fear at the sound of the shots.
Sephiroth freezes as well; he looks between the small pistol and his chest,
seemingly fascinated by the blooming patches of crimson on his uniform white
shirt. Without a sound he sinks to his knees, his breath coming out in shorter
bursts.
The black tailed neko gives him a short glance before managing to knock the
pistol out of the hand of the guard. Once the guard is disarmed, he retreats
from the nekos, knowing that he is outnumbered and out gunned at this point. As
soon as he believes that he is far enough away, he turns and runs back down the
hallway, calling for backup as he runs.
After the guard is gone from sight, the black tailed neko knees next to
Sephiroth. "Where did he hit?" Sephiroth merely looks at the neko with a
mixture of shock and disbelief. For even though the voice is muffled by the
helmet, it is a voice that he cannot forget no matter how many years have
passed.
Noticing that Sephiroth is still unresponsive to the helmeted neko, Cloud
carefully moves from his spot against the wall. As he approaches Sephiroth, he
begins to shake, knowing in the back of his mind that his life will never be
the same once again.
When he approaches, Sephiroth turns to him, fear in his eyes, something that
Cloud has seen only once before. He knees down and carefully begins to remove
Sephiroth's shirt so that strange neko can see how bad the damage is, but once
it is off, Cloud cannot help but release a shocked gasp.
The bullets have managed to hit just left of his heart, and two in his stomach.
Three wounds that are impossible to heal with the time they have.
Cloud looks up at him, their eyes meeting before Sephiroth breaks the shared
look and turns to the stranger. "I had thought that I had killed you, all those
years ago. But it seems that I was wrong about that as well." He spares Cloud
one more look before hanging his head. "Cloud, I know that you hate me. You
have every right to. But I need you to listen to me this one last time." He
licks his lips, trying to gather his words but only managing to stain his pale
lips scarlet. "Go with Zack. This was all my fault, and now I will reap that
which I have sown. Go with him, and live the life you should have had."
Cloud looks up to the masked neko, seeing if he understood the strange words
coming from Sephiroth's mouth. Instead, he sees the neko lift his mask off,
revealing the all too familiar spiky hair of the neko he once fell in love
with. Cloud does not believe his eyes, for he clearly remembers seeing his mate
bleed out in the snow, however now his eyes tell him differently.
"Go." The raspy voice of Cloud's former captor breathes out.
A part of Cloud wishes to stay with Sephiroth as his end seems to be near,
despite everything that has happened between the two of them, however feeling
Riku hold his arm in fear draws him back to the reality of the situation. As
much as he would like to be able to be there for Sephiroth as a small thanks
for trying to protect him since their arrival at the Breeding Program, he knows
that he must put the his own life, and the lives of his past mate and cub
before his own wishes.
Cloud stands with tears silently running down his cheeks, gathers Riku into his
arms and begins to walk down the hall in the direction the others have gone. A
hand is placed on his shoulder and as Cloud turns to look at Zack, a look of
understanding passes between them.
They know that in the last 9 odd years, many things have happened to the both
of them, and they are not the same people that they were before. However, they
have a chance once more to try again. To try and make some good from all of the
bad that has happened.
Riku looks over at Zack a slightly confused look on his young face. "Who are
you?"
Zack removes his hand from Cloud's shoulder in order to ruffle the cub's hair.
"Let's just say that I'm a very good friend of you mother's."
….
After a few minutes of running after the guard had tried to attack the group,
Allen suddenly realizes that Cloud and Riku are not with them anymore. He asks
some of the kittens if they have seen the two snow leopard nekos, but they
don't seem to know and are too frightened by what is happening to be of any
more help.
Suddenly Fai's youngest, Sora, breaks away from the group and begins running
back the way that they came. Allen calls for him to come back, but the kitten
does not heed his words. Allen turns and runs after the kitten, feeling the
familiar presences of Kanda and Alma following him.
After a few hallways, they manage to catch up with the fast kitten. But when
they find him, they also manage to find Cloud and Riku as well. Allen notices
the strange neko jogging next to Cloud, and lets his guard down just a bit as
he notices the familiar clothing of the masked man he had talked to when they
left the common room.
Riku look over his shoulder and catches sight of Sora. He begins to wiggle to
be put down, and once his feet touch the ground, he runs up and hugs Sora in
the middle of the hallway. The two than take the hand of the other and begin to
run down the hall back towards the others. The five adults quickly following
them.
When they are about to catch up with the others, they see that the rest of the
group is waiting for Lavi to punch in a code that will open the final door that
leads to the main delivery area for the Breeding Program. This extended covered
area is the last area between them and the vans from the Black Order waiting in
the blinding sunlight beyond to take them away from this place, and towards
freedom.
Allen sees the garage style door slide up and Lavi gesture for everyone to
follow him out. Lenalee looks back to find Allen and the others and gestures
for them to hurry up as they can hear the pounding footsteps of multiple
facility guards and personal right behind them.
The kittens are able to make it out first, followed quickly by Zack and Cloud.
However, before Kanda, Alma, and Allen have made it half way across the large
room, someone manages to set the doors to begin closing.
As they run, Allen trips and quickly loses his balance and falls to the ground
as Kanda and Alma continue running. Alma notices first and runs back to Allen,
pulling the younger neko to his feet as Kanda turns to head back. Alma calls
for him to keep going as the doors move closer and closer to the ground.
Kanda ducks to get under the door and sends a silent prayer that the other two
will make it out.
Alma and Allen make it with the door is nearly to the ground. Not bothering to
explain what he is doing, Alma knocks Allen to the ground and begins sliding
him under the door, knowing that the shorter neko is still not short enough to
be able to crawl under the door fast enough.
Once Allen is past the closing door, Alma turns to face the mass of people
running towards him, knowing that he will have to find his own way out. Not
that he had not already considered this and resigned himself to this fact as
soon as he heard about the plan.
A single figure strides through the crowed towards Alma, fire and anger in her
delicate features.
"You are not the one we want." Lulubell's words bite through the air, but Alma
is unaffected by her words. "However, we may have use for you yet."
Alma grins, knowing that this is all part of his contingency plan. He allows
the guards to surround him and begin escorting him back into the depths of the
facility. All the while playing with a small device in his pocket.
….
Allen watches the door slide shut, effectively stopping Alma from being able to
follow them, keeping him prisoner in that horrible place. Allen cries out his
name, hoping that he will reply, hoping that the door will open once more and
Alma will stride out grinning all the while.
Allen feels arms slip around him, pulling him away from the door. He never lets
the door leave his sight as he is maneuvered into a bridal like position in
Kanda's arms.
When he does tear his eyes away from the door and look up at Kanda, he lets his
eyes ask the silent question of why.
Kanda shakes his head gently as he jogs towards the vans. "He knew what he was
doing." A moment later, and so softly that Allen is almost unsure as to whether
or not he really heard it or thought it he hears "He'd better know what he's
doing."
Before Allen can ask what those words mean, the sound of a large explosion
fills the air, the resulting shock wave sending Kanda and Allen flying forward
and into the blinding light that is the beginning of freedom.
***** Epilogue *****
Epilogue (Five Years Later)
Allen wakes up from a peaceful sleep with the sun streaming into the room,
warming and brightening the simple room with its rays. He lets out a pleasant
sigh before turning his head to see his mate still sleeping soundly next to
him, his dark hair spread out around the two of them. A smile graces his lips
at the sight, knowing that these peaceful moments mean more than anything to
him.
His ears twitch slightly at the sound of the door to their room being opened.
He relaxes his face and slides his eyes closed, hoping to be able to fool the
intruders.
He hears the light pitter-patter of small feet and struggles to maintain his
composure. When the footsteps cease, he allows his ears to prick forward ever
so slightly, knowing what is about to happen. Suddenly his feet are pounced
from and he sits up quickly and grabs one of the intruders, tickling them into
submission.
Allen glances over and sees his mate doing much the same thing to their other
child and being rather effective at it if the giggles are anything to go by.
Eventually the laugher of all four of them dies down and Allen leans back
contentedly. Kanda leans over and gives his Moyashi a quick peck on the cheek,
effectively ensuring that their twins are making gagging and disgusted noises.
Kanda gives a slight snort before pulling back and sitting upright once more.
The oldest of the twins crawls forward on the bed and places a hand on Allen's
rather swollen stomach. "When do you think that my new brothers and sisters
will be ready to come out?" He looks up at Allen with his nearly black eyes
full of curiosity and wonder.
Allen raises a hand and gives the kitten's hair a quick ruffle, making his ears
go back before springing up once again. "Well Sasuke, they will be ready when
they are ready. We can't rush them or else they may never want to come out."
Sasuke's eyes grow large at this and he looks down to where his hand is
pressed. His twin come up behind him and sets his own hand next to Sasuke's.
"We won't rush you, we just can't wait to meet you as all."
Kanda gives a short chuckle and ruffles the blond hair of the youngest twin.
"You might not have to wait too much longer, Naruto. Your mother's been
carrying them for quite some time, why they might be ready any day now." He
gives Allen a pointed look which makes Allen stick his tongue out at him.
Naruto looks all around Allen's stomach as though searching for something. "I
just don't understand how they got in there in the first place." He looks
between his mother and father, looking for an explanation.
Kanda coughs and looks away while Allen turns a bright red and begins to
sputter random words, not knowing what to tell the four year old.
Thankfully, he is saved the task of having to come up with an age appropriate
explanation when the ring of the doorbell rings throughout the moderate sized
home.
Kanda growls a bit before standing up to and searching for a shirt to go with
the sweatpants he hand worn to bed the previous night. Allen also works on
trying to be presentable by also looking for a shirt, only his search goes much
more slowly as his stomach often makes his want to simply sit down and forget
the effort.
As he finally finds a shirt, his twins race out of the room, with cries of
delight as their visitors make their way into the house. When Allen finally
makes his way down the stairs and into their living room, he reaches down to
grab a stray cub that is trying to make a mad dash up the stairs. Not even
pausing in his movements, he takes the cub's hand and guides him back to his
parents and siblings.
Once in the living room, Allen relaxes after finally being able to sit down
after his careful trek down the stairs, the litter in his stomach moving in
protest. When he relaxes he allows himself a wide smile upon seeing his
visitors. After all, it wasn't everyday that Cloud and Zack were able to
venture out with all of their cubs. Even Kadaj is there, even though he is
attempting to sulk by the door as Naruto pulls at his pant leg, trying to pull
him into the room with the rest of them.
As he makes his way over, he walks past and grabs his youngest brother who is
once again trying to scale the stairs and drags him back to the group. Upon
being set down, Vaan turns and pouts at him before flopping into his older
brother's lap.
Rekks, Vaan's twin, gives his younger brother an annoyed look before settling
further into his mother's lap.
Cloud sighs and shakes his head at the two of them, knowing that without a
doubt that they are going to be trouble when they finally grow up. In the
meantime, he turns back and takes note of just how large Allen's stomach has
been growing. Without a doubt, signaling that multiples are on the way once
again for the younger bearer.
Allen notices Cloud and Zack's gazes at this stomach and blushes a bit, but
simply reaches over and takes one of Kanda's hands into his own.
Their visitors stay only briefly as the two toddlers are easily distracted, and
the older cubs also show signs of stress being there, at least one of them
still not completely happy that his 'mother' has so many friends and supporters
after his father was left to die. Allen gives Cloud and especially Zack a look
of sympathy at this, knowing that it has not been easy for them with the older
cubs, and with each other's pasts now having to be put forward and pushed aside
to start anew once more.
….
Later that afternoon, Allen has been taking a nap on the couch, not wanting to
face the stairs quite yet, when he feels a slight pain rippling through him. At
first he ignores it and continues with his nap, but when a second similar, but
slightly more painful ripples occurs, his eyes shoot open.
Struggling to sit up from his relaxed position, he calls for Kanda, hoping that
his mate is not outside with the kittens. After a couple of minutes he hears
small footsteps running to him. He turns his head to see Sasuke standing near
him with a worried expression. "Can you go find your dad for me, please?"
Sasuke nods and runs off back into the upstairs of the house. Not long after,
the smaller footsteps return accompanied by a larger set.
Allen finishes working himself into a sitting position as Kanda makes his way
to sit next to him, concern evident in his eyes. "Is it time?" Allen simply
nods in return.
Kanda pulls out a cellphone and hands it to Allen. "Call Aerith, I'll go get
the car ready."
….
A few hours later, Allen lets out an exhausted sigh. He smiles slightly as
Kanda leans over and give him a small kiss on his sweat drenched forehead. As
Kanda pulls away, Allen hears him mummer "You did well."
He desperately wants to close his eyes, wanting sweet sleep to take his
exhaustion away, but he is determined to stay awake. After all, he already took
one brief unexpected nap, and now he wants to be able to see his kittens before
sleep takes him once more.
As if reading his mind, Reever enters the room with Lenalee and Lavi behind
him, each carrying a small tightly wrapped bundle. Allen's face lights up at
the sight.
Lenalee approaches first, passing the small bundle to Allen. A bright tuft of
red hair is the first thing that Allen notices about the kitten, that and the
slight smile as he sleeps. Lavi approaches next, a second bundle being added to
Allen's arms. When he looks down at his daughter, her eyes are already trying
to open and a tiny hand reaches out grabs his finger, making him note that she
will probably be a rather strong and stubborn one.
Finally Reever approaches with the last bundle. Even from this angle Allen can
see the dark tufts of jet-black hair peaking out of the pale brown blanket.
Allen smiles down when the last kitten is handed to him, noticing that this
kitten too sleeps peacefully.
Reever clears his throat, "Congratulations to the two of you and your new
triplets, and to the proud parents of a new bearer."
Kanda and Allen share a brief look of surprise before looking down at their
kittens, instinctively looking towards the smallest with the black hair. They
look back up at Reever who nods at their deduction.
Allen sits there, a bit dazed as Kanda leans over and kisses him deeply on the
lips. "Thank you."
Once they part a very confused looking nurse walks into the room. She looks at
them for a moment before wordlessly passing a blank envelope to them. Allen
takes the envelope and she leaves the room in a hurry.
Allen and Kanda share a quick confused yet curious look before Allen carefully
rips open the top of the envelope. Turning the envelope upside down, a single
photograph falls out landing on Allen's lap. He sees writing on the back and
feels quite confused by the words until we meet again.
Turning the photo over Allen cannot help the gasp that escapes. In the photo is
of a sunny beach background, but the part that makes his heart stop for a
moment is the image of a smiling Alma. It takes a moment to recover from the
shock but after that recovery, Allen notices that Alma is standing next to a
dark haired female neko and that Alma is holding a neko kitten that appears to
be about three years old.
Passing the photo to Kanda, and after witnessing his mate go through the same
reactions, the two look between one another and the photo. Eventually they
share a quick chuckle before passing the photo to Lenalee and Lavi, both of
whom experience the same range of emotions.
However, that moment of shock and relief passes as, two small kittens burst
into the room and run to jump on to the bed before Kanda quickly catches them
to which Allen breaths out his thanks. The two boys wiggle and pout wanting to
see their new siblings, but settle when Kanda holds each of them to look, but
not yet touch.
Not long after, the small room quickly begins to fill up with friends and
family that they have met in the past and since they have arrived in Radiant
Guardian alike all smiling and offering their thanks. The photo of Alma is
passed around to those who knew and met him, and several times a nurse comes by
to tell them to limit the number of visitors and to let Allen rest, but none of
them, including Allen listen.
Eventually Lenalee manages to get everyone to calm down before asking the one
question that has been burning on the minds of those present. "What are their
names?"
Kanda looks over and points to each in turn. "The blond here is the oldest, she
is Temari. The middle kitten with the red hair, he will be called Gaara."
At this point Allen take over after giving a small kiss on the top of each
mentioned kitten's head. "And the youngest is the one with black hair is Sai."
The room erupts in applause and further congratulations for the pair and for
their twins at now being the older siblings. However, after awhile, Allen
really begins to show signs of his exhaustion and Kanda discreetly encourages
everyone to head home, thankful that Aerith volunteered to watch the twins for
the night.
Once the mass of friends and family have left the room, Allen releases a heavy
sigh, a smile of contentment on his lips. He reaches out a hand, which Kanda
takes into his own and gives it a slight squeeze.
Seizing the moment, Kanda leans over giving his Moyashi a slow and deep kiss
before pulling back.
Allen stares back Kanda as his mate retreats from the kiss, a grin on his
mate's face. Allen grins as well, knowing that despite everything that has
happened and everything that will eventually happen, he has a mate that will
always be with him no matter what. And for now, that is all he needs.
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