Hiya, it's been about 2 years. I'm very slow but thank you for standing by this story. I won't make promises but know that I will keep on writing this story. The idea behind this story is very dear to my heart therefor I won't abandon it. The same cannot be applied to another fanfic I should be writing...sigh

Disclaimer: Property of Hoshino Katsura sensei

Warning: Still nothing

Chapter 14: Conversation

"Tch, do you want me around or not, damn moyashi?" Kanda asked with his brows wrinkled in annoyance. Allen stared at him in confusion and then was reminded of what he had said in the bandit's camp.

"Oh," Allen said, his cheeks reddening slightly as he looked away. "I thought you wouldn't want to be around since I'm human and all…" he trailed off. His sentence might have sounded negative but inside he was happy that Kanda actually wanted to be around him.

"You're weird so I don't mind," Kanda said nonchalant.

"What do you mean by weird? You said that the time you invaded my dream," Allen asked pouting.

"You're weird because instead of being afraid you've been looking for me and even hiding my existence from the villagers. What human does that?" Kanda pointed out.

"I think a lot of humans would do that," Allen retorted, "It's not like you've done anything bad to us."

"No, they wouldn't," Kanda said dryly. "I've travelled to most parts of the world and most humans wouldn't give a shit about dragons. They'd have me dead the moment they knew what I was." A cold glint flittered in Kanda's eyes. Allen did not like that look on him one bit.

"I don't want you dead," Allen said slowly. Kanda gazed at the white-haired human and very faintly a smile formed on his face.

"That's why I said you're weird moyashi." Allen stared in stunned silence. The coldness he saw a moment ago had disappeared. At that moment he wished that the eyepatch was no longer on his left eye. He wanted to know what Kanda was feeling…

"Who gives a gift to a dragon," Kanda chuckled lightly as he balanced the clay golem his one hand. He gazed at the item in his hand silently. It had been a long time since anyone had given him anything. It was just that this gift made him feel complex inside. The last time he had this feeling was back when Miranda was still alive. Sadness filled him.

Allen stared silently at the quiet dragon beside him. He was used to seeing emotions with he left eye that now that he was only seeing with his right, he couldn't tell what Kanda was showing in his eyes. Was the dragon angry? Was he upset? All he knew was that he didn't like this look on Kanda either.

"Uhm, are you okay?" Allen asked. Kanda snapped back to the present and scoffed.

"Why wouldn't I be fine?" He said clutching the clay golem and stuffing it into his pocket. "You're really weird, moyashi. Your friends would rather I go far away but you want me around. Why aren't you afraid of me?"

"Should I be afraid of you?" Allen shot back.

"That's the standard human response when they see a dragon, baka moyashi," Kanda was getting more annoyed at the beansprout. Can't he see how not human-like he's behaving?

"If being afraid is the standard then I'd rather be weird," Allen said thoughtfully. "I mean I've heard the stories that dragons killed a lot of humans-"

"Me," Kanda interrupted causing Allen to look at him puzzled. "It was just me that killed all those humans, moyashi." Allen was struck silent by this information. So, he really did kill a lot of people…, Allen thought. He shook his head to dispel the horror that was starting to well in him.

"Even so, you haven't hurt anyone here," Allen said with conviction. "I think you hurt a lot of people because you were hurt." He recalls the memories he saw before he passed out in Kanda's arms, the loneliness and pain when he stared into the dragon's eyes. "That's what I've seen since meeting you."

"Tch, humans can't hurt me," Kanda scoffed. Allen stared at him deadpanned. Then loudly in his mind he thought, 'You came to this forest because you got hurt damnit'. Kanda growled at that and Allen quickly thought of something else and looked away.

"Since you're here, why don't we eat breakfast at my house?" Allen quickly changed the topic. Food usually lightens any mood and they were getting into heavy stuff just now.

"I don't remember smelling meat in your house last night, moyashi," Kanda said looking towards Allen's house.

"Of course not, I don't have any meat in my house," Allen answered. Now Kanda looked at him deadpanned.

"You want to feed a dragon fruits and vegetables?" he shot a question. Allen froze on the spot. He had forgotten that he had been eating with Lavi and Lenalee the past month and hadn't thought of stocking the food in his house. Originally, he had only eaten fruits and grains but since he started eating meat, he had not once looked at his own food inventory. He panicked.

"Uhm, it's a healthy option for breakfast?" Allen suggested but the look of disgust on Kanda's face was enough to shut him up. Without a warning, Kanda turned around and headed back to the forest. "Where are you going?" Allen called back.

"Just wait there," Kanda shot back and he jumped into the trees, disappearing from sight. Allen frowned. He wanted Allen to wait on that exact spot? Was he coming back? If he was, then why did he leave? Allen contemplated for a minute and then decided if he waited, it wouldn't be outside where the wind was blowing cold air. He finished cleaning himself up and went inside to get dressed for the day.

As he finished getting dressed, he could hear the back door creaking open. He left his room to check the kitchen and sure enough it was Kanda, except he wasn't empty handed. There was a juvenile deer slung over his shoulder. Allen was rooted to the floor in surprise. The animal hung limp on Kanda. There was no mistaking it, the animal was dead and Allen knew Kanda expected him to make something with it.

"Uhm, Kanda," Allen hesitated.

"Cook this," Kanda said shoving the carcass over his shoulder and holding the back legs with one hand. Allen looked at the swaying carcass and a sweat dropped from his brow.

"Uhm, I don't know how to skin a deer," Allen said with a nervous smile. Kanda stared at him in silence for a few seconds before sighing.

"Give me a knife," Kanda said as he slung the dead deer over his shoulder again and thrusted his empty hand towards Allen. Allen quickly scuttled for the only knife he has and made a quick move to sharpen it before handing the utensil to the dragon. Kanda exited the house with Allen following behind. The dragon made quick work of skinning the carcass, cutting the meat and discarding the innards. Every now and then he would order Allen to get water or containers for the meat. Allen responded to every command and watched all of Kanda's movement with fascination.

He had never been able to be near dead animals before since his left eye would make the situation nauseating for him. He remembered vomiting the first time he saw the butcher cutting into venison when he was younger. Ever since that, he had made a point never to watch any animal being butchered simply because the residual emotions were too strong for him. Now that he can't see, he found the whole process fascinating. The smell doesn't bother him as much as he thought and it was amazing how a dead animal was skinned and cut and turned into the pieces of meat he had been eating for the past month. Silently, he thanked the animal for its flesh and respectfully buried anything thank Kanda said to throw away.

When Kanda was about done with the butchering, Allen suddenly remembered something as he stared at the cut meat he had in his hands. He didn't know how to cook meat.

"You don't know how to cook meat and you invite me to eat at your house moyashi?" Kanda's tone was full of annoyance as he turned sharply to bore his eyes into the white-haired human. Apparently, his thoughts were very audible to the dragon. Allen laughed nervously.

"I didn't expect you to bring meat to my house or else I would've told you that I can't cook," Allen answered back. He could hear the angry growl emanating from Kanda, the man-dragon was getting angry. But then he stopped and sighed again.

"Get me all your salt and pepper," he ordered at Allen, "and get a fire started out here. Your kitchen's too small. And find something to stick the meat with."

"You want something to skewer the meat with?" Allen asked. Kanda merely nodded and motion for Allen to go away. Allen complied and fetched all the salt and pepper he had, then looked for sticks that he has lying in his house and finally starting a small fire close enough to were Kanda was finishing cutting up the deer.

It took a while but 2 hours later they had freshly cooked venison and were munching on them as soon as they were cool enough to bite into. Allen marvelled at the taste of the meat. It was delicious even though it only had salt and pepper on it.

"Wow, I never thought meat could be so delicious," he hummed happily as he munched on. "I've never had meat for breakfast before but I don't mind having it in the future."

"I heard it's not a good idea for human to always have meat," Kanda commented. He was making quick work of the twenty skewers they had roasted and Allen marvelled at the speed he was eating the meat.

"Do you always eat your meat cooked?" Allen asked.

"I eat animals whole when I'm in my dragon form but I like them cooked when I'm like this," Kanda answered.

"Do you ever eat them raw when you're, uhm, like this?"

"If I'm desperate," Kanda said shrugging. They fell silent again as Kanda made quick work of his tenth skewer while Allen was still on his second.

"I've been meaning to ask this," Allen spoke up as he finished his second skewer and picked up a third one, "what does moyashi mean? You've been calling me that for a while now but I don't even know what language that it."

"Huh? You called me an idiot with that language before moyashi," Kanda said incredulous.

"What? What did I say?" Allen frowned.

"The word baka and moyashi are from the same language," Kanda explained.

"Really? I learned that word from some traveller who stopped by the village a few years ago. They said it was a curse word or something," Allen recalled.

"Baka means idiot, baka moyashi," Kanda elaborated. Allen sputtered in surprise.

"You were mocking me this whole time?" Allen said indignantly. Kanda chuckled at the human's reaction.

"It's a language from an island country far east from here. Moyashi means bean sprout, beansprout," Kanda chuckled again at Allen's frown. He found the boy's annoyed expression interesting.

"I told you my name is Allen, damnit. How am I a beansprout?" Allen grumbled.

"You're small and you're mainly white. It makes sense," Kanda snickered at the indignant expression on Allen's face.

"Fine, have at it then Bakanda," Allen said sticking his tongue out. At the abbreviation of his name, Kanda's expression turned dark and his smirk on his face turned sinister.

"What did you just call me?"

"ALLEN!"

Immediately the two turned their heads towards the direction of the voice. Allen quickly realized that it was Lavi and his stomach dropped at the urgency in Lavi's tone. Something bad has happened.

"I have to go-" Allen said as he turned to Kanda but to his surprise, the dragon was no longer there. Allen blinked a few times just to make sure he was really not there before getting up and running towards Lavi's direction. He dreaded what he was about to hear from his red-headed friend.

I would love a review. But even if you don't I know you still like my work ^v^

Be back with another chapter.