Disclaimer: Hoshino Katsura own –Man, not me.

Note: Since I've deleted my lasy fic, now I'm going to made it up with this uh… 'I Don't Have to Try' (I really need to come up with a better title =.=) It was supposed to be a one-shot but then I've split it up to 3-shots or so.

This chapter is not really that good since it is the opening. But the next one I promise I'll write it as exciting as possible! =)

Read and Review.

Chapter 1: Contagious

As dawn set, sun rose up slowly awakening the sleeps. The former dark skies were painted brighter by ray of gold. Yawning in front of the window in his dorm room, Allen dug his short nails inside his white tresses. Little pearly liquid formed on the corner of his eyes by all the little stretching and he brushed them off. Still a little bit wary, his lithe finger was brought up and pressed onto the foggy window that had only allowed him to see a vague vision of the outside world. For an odd reason, the fifteen-year-old teen started to draw patterns on the glass -a childish maneuver that he would checked done every morning- and as usual the constant patterns soon turned into a random smiling face. Allen loved that face. It stared right back at him and just smiled; an emotion he liked best. But sadly that would only last for a while before it faded away by the outside's heavy mist, and soon another twin for the disappeared drawing formed again on the same window by the same person.

After a while of the immature moment, he turned back to catch a glimpse of his dorm room. Yes, his dorm room, since he was the only inhabitant lives in it. The ever-his-solitude dulled the already grey orbs. The boy was downright lonely. Because of his deformed, filthy, ugly left hand no one dared to be his dorm mate. Allen couldn't help it though, he was born that way.

His gaze was then fixed at the clock on the wall, approximately 6:20 a.m. He got up that early every day, enjoying the blurry view of the outside through the misty window that he was too lazy to open. He would listen to birds and crickets sing; the sound of footsteps getting louder and louder as time passed. Maybe the teen was the first one to awake, at least in the junior dorm building. Who knows there might be someone that awakens earlier than Allen somewhere from the senior dorm building, located just at the opposite direction of his room, which was almost close to impossible because Allen woke up at 5 in the morning every day. It was becoming a habit, getting up that early. Mainly because of the strict rules of his foster father, Cross, -he shivered at that- that he had to obey. It was not a good memory to remember.

Allen missed his friends back in London, especially his closest Lavi and Lenalee. He was treated far different than how he was here. In his homeland, people were nice and friendly despite his physical self. But in Japan, which where he currently was, students kept cuss and insult him. It was difficult being extremely queer from others. He terribly wanted to go back home. His real home, not here. Even in the hallway of the goddamn school, students would give him a second disgusted glance and most girls would whisper to each other about something Allen needn't to guess what it was. Surrounded by everyone that were physically similar; small eyes, tanned skin and dark hair, Allen terribly stood out.

He doesn't want to be here in the first place. It was Cross's fault, promising a friend, whom he had debt with, that he would send someone to work with him until his debt was paid. Luckily the 'friend' was a nice, loving owner of a coffee shop, Froi Tiedoll. Allen doesn't need to overwork himself since that man was far from having a torture fetish (unlike Cross). He knew teens like Allen needs to study and lay low, maybe that was why he treated Allen like his own son. The man even wondered why Cross would let such a young boy to work.

Allen's timetable was simple: Schooling until 3p.m and then rush to Tiedoll's coffee shop until 6. After his shift was over he would go back to his dorm and then finish all the schoolwork given before he went to sleep.

Rose up from the rural thought, Allen realized the sound of chattering was getting louder. With that, he took his school bag that was placed next to the study table and went outside. Of course, after making sure every electrical appliance had been turned off.

-----

"Look, its Kanda-sempai!"

The awful sound of giggling girls was not new to Kanda. So does the stares of adoration from the guys. He hated being in the center of attention. His good looks and excellent studies couldn't help increasing his popularity. Glaring was the only move he could carry on at the moment. However his attempt to drive away all his audiences just enticed them more.

Changing to Plan B, he walked through the hallway faster, increasing his pace as he did so. The faster he ran, the louder his admirers' noisy squeals. It sounded much like a buzzing sound pierced into his ears that he was sick of. The reason of their rising admiration was -as Kanda accidentally heard- because of his long hair flown with grace and the elegance of his slender legs when they moved apart from each other. Those kinds of comments made him wants to throw up. Really, instead of saying such bullshit, these people need to think more about studies, at least, that's what he does.

Finally the hallway was cleared from his vision and was replaced by a classroom, his classroom. It was a bit of relief for him, although there were still large amount of drooling girls in his class which he paid less attention to. Kanda pivoted his sight to his watch, innocently curled around his wrist with a picture of Soba on it. 7:59a.m, if the watch wasn't wrong. He made his way to his seat, letting just few seconds passed until the first bell of the day rang.

A teacher walked in; tall but not skinny, dressed in charcoal grey suit, a match for his grey hair. "I'm giving back your Mathematic examination papers now, starting from the highest." He sounded after greetings between the teacher and the students were exchanged. Slouching, Kanda bowed his head down to face the desk, knowing whose name would likely to come first. "Kanda Yu." The male teacher said in a professional manner, his hand held Kanda's paper and it was pointed towards the teen. Kanda's classmates let out a huff that signaled an obvious expectation. The girls giggled as Kanda rose up from his seat, walking gracefully towards the teacher.

-----

Allen shifted on his seat. It was never pleasant spending his time in class. As everyone eyed on his gloved hand, surroundings felt uncomfortable. 'Freak', he can hear that from someone's whisper somewhere near him. He was used to this though; he just didn't like it at all.

As the teacher stepped inside the class, they rushed to their own seat and made a 'Good Morning'. The teacher, female in her forties announced about the submission of their exam papers. Of course the papers were given in order from the highest mark to the lowest. Allen's came in last. He strode from his seat and took the paper. Reds of 'X's smudged across the piece, only few 'O's were on view. He actually wasn't that stupid, he just got distracted most of the time during teaching lessons. The distraction was-

"Hey, the freak got the lowest again. Bo-hoo~!" A taunting sound of one of his classmates blasted, making more of them boost into laughter. Cheeks flaming, Allen looked down in huge embarrassment. That was the reason why he couldn't pay attention in class.

When the school period came to an end, students rushed back to their dorm. But Allen headed differently. He gave wings to his feet towards Tiedoll's Coffee Shop. On his way there, still on the school ground, he was taken aback by the happy sounds of the females. Looking towards the sound, he saw Kanda Yu -if he's not mistaken- stood in front of the gate with his body bent down. It seemed that he was tying his shoes. Sure it must be him by the reactions of everyone around. They acted differently everytime the older teen was near.

Although Kanda doesn't know Allen, but Allen knows him, because that man kept being talked about anyway. He wasn't the eavesdropping type of person but by the loudness of the student's voice everytime they enthusiastically having a conversation about Kanda, which was every day, he couldn't help but over heard. By what he had accidentally listened; Kanda was some kind of god for the school. He ace all subjects, master in Kendo and had the perfect looks. He was admired by almost everyone.

Grey eyes still glued on the long haired teen, Allen noticed how high his cheekbone is. With the perfect skin and strong eyes, it just added to the good complexion. His height was to kill for. It just a matter of time before Allen realized his stare was going on for far too long because Kanda had already walked out of the gate. Not only that, Allen was also going to be late for his work if he still stood there like a rock.

Without any further, he ran towards his workplace.

-----

"Have a nice day." Allen threw a smile towards one of the customer that was just about to left. His boss, Tiedoll smiled from behind as he watched his favorite worker. Since today was pay day, the Coffee Shop was stacked with people. The surroundings were loud and it made the old man's lips curved up into a smile.

As the boy was counting the money in the cash register (it was becoming a habit, too), the phone rang and he picked it up. "Tiedoll's Coffee Shop, may I help y-" Before he could finish his sentence, an ever so familiar voice sounded "Oi, Idiot. This is me." Allen let out a starlet groan. It was Cross. "Hi master." He replied, obviously un-contempt. "Brat, I want to make this fast and quick." Marian said through the other line. "You're going back here if you get A's for all your subjects. That's an agreement between Tiedoll and me."

Allen stood there silently, his brain was complying everything his master had just said. As he understood everything, the boy's eyes widened in mild shock and happy. "Wow, I-" Allen heard voices of women from Cross's side. He was most likely mingling with whores again. "Talk to Tiedoll." Were his last words before he hung up. Still flushed in surprise, the teen turned his back towards the man. "It's Cross. Is it true I'll…" Timid mouth still gapped open. In front of him, Tiedoll patted the boy's back. "I think London is where you want to be." He said.

"I… I don't know what to say." Allen's mouth curved up now. "I saw your report cards." Tiedoll said in a calm manner. "I know why your results are… unsatisfying. You're a clever boy, Allen. It's a pity if you keep living here." He continued again. Pure joy swayed in Allen's belly. Without a moment of hesitation, he jumped and hugged Tiedoll on the stomach. "Thank you!!" He cheered in high spirit. Tiedoll just chuckled at his little worker's happy reaction, poked his head and pointed the boy towards the waiting customer. Allen blushed in embarrassment and ran towards his workplace.

"Come again." He chorused everytime a customer paid their bills. He was downright happy.

"You rotten son of a bitch!" All of a sudden the place was wrapped in silence. Allen, taken aback by those vile words looked towards the source of the noise. It just made that day sour.
From his vision, he saw a man, slightly built, with both hands on a table. Clearly he slammed on it just a few moments ago. "Because of you my girl left me, for not being good enough!" Rage was clearly engraved on his face. Everyone in the establishment was now having their attention on the particular scene.

"Shut up." Deep voice crashed through the silence. "Your face makes me hard to enjoy my coffee."

The white-haired boy moved closer to the crowd and he saw something he didn't expect to see. It was Kanda, getting yelled by some big guy. Kanda doesn't seem to look scared or something. His face was stoic. "What did you say?!" The huge guy yelled again. "My girl and I have been together for 5 fuckin' years. And it ended just because- of some, of some girly asshole!"

Clenching his fist, he rose up his hand and was going to pound Kanda over. Just before Allen could stop him, the long haired teen avoided the attack, took the man's neck in his hand and gripped it tight. "Heh, it's not my fault you're not damned 'good enough'." Smirking, his tone was taunting. "If you want a fight, then just say it asshole, stop crapping like a damn son of a bitch" He held the neck tighter now and the sound escaped from the now-helpless man was too painful to even be heard.

Acting by his instinct, Allen rushed inside the scene and grabbed Kanda's hand in his. "Stop." He had rare venom on the tip of his tongue. "Don't cause a ruckus here, if you please." The boy glared at Kanda. He doesn't care if that man was 'prince' but he sure abhorred his attitude.

"Let me go." Kanda spat. Brow twitched, Allen shoved the older teen's hand away. "I have the authority to kick you out, so stop now." They were exchanging glares now. "Imbecile." Dark eyes met grey ones, and he continued, "People like you disgust me."
Allen's heart beat faster with despise. How this… this inconsiderable jerk was the king of school?? He doesn't get it. Sure the bastard has the brain, the looks and everything but the attitude was pure rotten!

"I take that as a compliment." It was a shame getting his hand in contact with that rude bastard. "I'm outta here." Kanda, glare still glued on the boy, fished his hands inside his pocket and took out a black wallet. He threw the bill to Allen and strode away, leaving the boy with everyone's eyes on him.

Just when Allen bent down to collect the money, Mr. Tiedoll took his hand and flashed him a warm smile. "I'll take care of everything from here. You go back to your place." The old man said, referring to the counter.

------

Small hand shoved the white bangs away from his eyes. Allen walked, almost stomping his way towards his dorm. It was 6:15 in the evening and that afternoon's incident was still pristine in his mind. What a way to ruin a happy news, which was rare for the boy ever since he stepped his foot on this 'Land of Rising Sun'.

Suddenly it hit him, just because he had a chance to go back to London doesn't mean he will. There's one condition and the condition was that he had to get all A's, which was hard for him. He couldn't concentrate in school with all the interruptions he got every day. With that, Allen's face went down. If only, he thought, I have a personal tutor then everything will be alright.

"Excuse me." Allen's strode halted as someone called him from behind, if he was right. Sure enough, there stood a girl, a bit older than him maybe, someone he had never seen before. "Are you heading to Nariwa High School?" She asked. Allen nodded timidly.

"Oh good. My name is Lou Fa, a Medical student. You see, I need to make a project about cleanliness of different schools in Tokyo. I want to start off from your school, but strangers aren't allowed to enter. So, can you please help me?" The girl requested with her hands hold his. A bit awkward, Allen cocked his head a little. He was not sure whether it's a good thing to give a hand to strangers. But seeing she looked very educated and polite, he found her harmless. "Um… okay. What can I do?"

Smiled, the girl took out an instant camera that looked quite a fortune. She handed it to Allen "It's simple. All you have to do is taking a picture of your school's dorms, toilet, library, and canteen. You can send me the pictures through Mr. Bak."

"Mr. Bak?" Allen asked absent-mindedly.

"Yes, Bak. You know, one of your school's staff. He was a friend of mine. Actually I wanted to seek his help but he was absent to teach today, he got a very bad fever." Lou Fa sulked slightly. Eyes scanning the camera, Allen curved his lips up. "Sure, I'll help."
Lou Fa's face changed its color from white to red as Allen smiled. "Thanks!" She said, barely audible and for some reason the boy couldn't figure out, she ran. Allen stood there for a moment. "Er… I guess I can start taking pictures now?"

-----

Plik, plak, plik, plak

The boy shivered by the sound of his own footsteps. It was dark outside and he was in the silent hallway. Luckily he made friends with the school guard so he was allowed to enter the building (secretly from the teachers, anyway), and the guard accompanied him behind. He had finished taking pictures of the toilet, library, and canteen so there's nothing else to do in the school. Allen breathed out a sigh of relief and finally stepped outside the building.

"Thank you, ." He smiled to the man. Toma smiled back and continued his patrol. Allen's next and last destination was the dorm. Since he couldn't enter the girl's building, (not that he wanted to) he walked towards his own instead. On his way there, he passed the senior building. 'I can just take the picture of the senior's dorm, while I'm here'. He thought and changed his direction.

As the boy cleared his vision, he realized that he was in the senior's building, but at the backyard. There were trees and bushes and a long thick line of string where the students hang their clothes (which, Allen could see, were a lot). It was 8:30p.m and probably no one was there.

However, through the silence and howls of night's wind, Allen's hearing senses perked up by a sound of grass and bushes being disturbed. Clearly someone was there, and Allen guessed it right as he saw a tall figure between those hanging clothes. It was odd for the boy. He thought everyone was already in the building. Allen moved closer towards the silhouette.

For a reason his hand was shaking the camera. His heart beat fasten rapidly. He had this weird imagination of a burglar. But no sane person would rob a dorm. However that thought was vague in his mind as his fright took over most of his brain cell. Silently Allen shook his head, trying to calm himself. When he brought his head up, the figure was no longer there. Feeling odd, the boy turned back and caught sight of someone's back.

"WHAT THE HELL!" He shouted his high pitch shout, taken aback by the sudden view of the too close-skin. The said person turned back with eyes widened, accompanied by a "WAAH!!"

"Gyaah!!!" Allen joined the shout. His hand threw everywhere harshly and all of a sudden he accidentally clicked on the button. As the camera flash dashed on the person, Allen quickly picked up who he was. "Kanda?" He said, mild-laughing.

"What- who the hell are you?" Embarrassed, Kanda took the boy's shirt and brought him up face-to-face. "Aren't you that brat from the coffee shop?" He said again, eyes winced. Allen pushed the taller man away. "Yes I am." He looked closer at Kanda. He could only see his face since that place was too dark.

Suddenly the instant camera finished projecting that wasn't-supposed-to- be- taken picture. Small piece of hard, flashing, mild damp picture slipped from the bottom of the camera. Allen took it and got a small glance at it, and laughed. "Oi, what's so funny beansprout?!" Kanda said through rage. Still in laughter, Allen showed Kanda the picture.

On the piece, there's Kanda on it, with a bright yellow towel wrapped around him from chest to knee just like how women does. There's even a smaller pink towel around his long wet hair. And the expression… god, the expression was fabulous. His two eyes were huge with surprise and his mouth was wide open. "I… I don't know you're dressing like that!" Allen burst out. The taller teen's face was going redder if it's even possible. "IMBECILE!" He shouted and thrust his hand towards the picture. Out of luck, Allen already avoided it.

"Give me that picture you little bitch!" The older hissed through gritted teeth. Allen continued to avoid all Kanda's attempts to take the picture from him. "If you're nicer maybe I will!" The boy laughed again.

After a long 15 minutes chase, both boys stopped and panted for air. "Ha… You- stupid…" Kanda discontinued his sentence. The white haired boy slumped down onto the ground. "I'm beat." He said. "Give. Me. The. Picture." The older still didn't give up. "Why? You don't want me to show this to everyone tomorrow?" Allen said with a coil smile. That man deserved it anyway, seeing how bad he behaved that afternoon.

"No, no!" Exasperated, Kanda took the smaller's arm in his and gripped it tight. "If you do that, I'm going to kill you." A glare pierced inside Allen's eyes. But Allen doesn't seem to be affected, much. All of a sudden, the boy had an idea.

"I won't do that." He said and Kanda let out a sigh.

"But with one condition." Allen continued and shoved one finger in front of the man's face. "For god's sake what?" Kanda replied, obviously annoyed and uninterested with the boy's offer. "Be my personal teacher."

Silence filled the place. "Be fucking what??"

"My, personal, teacher." Allen repeated slowly. "I heard that you're good in studies, so you should be able to help me."

"Tch, I need to be a tutor for a fucking beansprout?" Kanda's eyes bore holes inside the smaller boy's one.

"Bea- what?? My name is Allen!" He fired up. But then he sat down again. "Fine, if you don't want to I guess its sheer humiliation for you." Allen brought the picture up and swayed it around the man's face. "Give me that!" Kanda lunged forward but he end up falling next to the boy who were laughing his lungs out. "Okay fine! I'll be your tutor! Baka moyashi."

"Why are you calling me a beansprout? I already tell you my name you know."

"Hnn, like I care." Kanda rose up and walked away from the ground, heading towards his dorm. "I hate you." He stammered before walking away. Allen still sat there looking at the picture, and later his laughter blasted again.

"Che." Kanda was annoyed. He was not a people person. It would be a miracle if the beansprout would survive while he was teaching. But… it's just teaching, it's not that bad, right?