The Hidden Artist

Part Thirty-Six: Preparation

Maze's ramblings: I'm gonna try to make the timeline a little more clear in what's going on. So far, in the story, only a week has passed since the beginning. (I'm keeping track...if anyone's curious.)

I have a tumblr now, for those that didn't know. It's nothing exciting yet, but check it out...It's got...behind the scenes stuff, I suppose.

The package awaiting him was inconspicuous, which was a down-right miracle where Komui was concerned. The note taped to the top of the box was folded into an envelope. Kanda pulled the note out and skimmed the message.

It's not standard issue, but I didn't think you would complain. It's

persuasive enough. Extra clips, ammo, holster included. Be safe!

- Love, Komui

He located a pen knife from among the supplies in the studio and carefully opened the box. The first thing he pulled out was all black, straps, hard-leather, and heavy duty duck cloth. He recognized it as a vertical shoulder holster, with space for two spare clips. He laid that down on the work bench and sifted through the box.

Komui had provided him with a beauty that was definitely not standard issue for a security guard. A matte black, heavy Desert Eagle Mark VII sat at the bottom of the box. Three full clips and a box of spare ammo almost brought a genuine smile to Kanda's face.

Persuasive, he smirked to himself. A .44 caliber would be very convincing to anyone determined to fuck up Kanda's day.

He pulled off his jacket, set it down, and tugged on the holster. How on earth Komui knew Kanda's measurements for such a perfect fit, he really did not want to know. He was grateful, nonetheless, and after sliding a clip into the Eagle, he put the extra clips into the designated pockets on the holster, underneath his right arm. The Eagle slid into it's holster like it was meant to be.

Now, he wouldn't hesitate to shoot that pedophilic son of a bitch, or any other who thought to lay hands on his Moyashi. Or any of the other people at the gallery, for that matter.

He put his jacket back on, then sought out a safe place to put the spare ammo until he could take it home with him. He would have to thank Komui...somehow. Maybe.

With a glance around the studio, a place that hadn't seen much of him but for a few passing moments in the past week, Kanda stalked toward the door leading to the main gallery. Keys jingled in his hand, ready to lock the door behind him. It felt like it had been forever since the last time he had picked up a paintbrush – a part of his subconscious reminded him that it had only been seven days – and somehow he knew it would be a long time before he did again.

If Tyki remained in town for too much longer after the talk Kanda was intending to have the the slimy bastard, then it definitely would a long time. He shut the door behind him, listening with grim intent as the lock engaged.

Guests were beginning to filter into the gallery and the café. Kanda stalked the edges of the room, making his way to the café, passing a distracted Brit on his way.

For the first time since Friday night – a very long four days ago – Allen was sitting at his piano, carefully plunking away at piano keys. Kanda remembered the Brit being cautioned about playing for too long, and saw that he was carefully obeying the instructions from Miranda's weird personal doctor.

Half an hour into his shift, Kanda spotted Lavi walking into the building, gently tapping a thin book against his thigh as he walked. He grinned disarmingly at Kanda – who only glared in response – and made his way over.

"You're late, baka Usagi." Kanda snapped in annoyance.

"Ohh, Yuu! I told ya I'd be back in time! Never fear my precious-" Kanda interrupted the annoying rabbit with a punch to the upper chest, making him cough and sputter.

"-Shut the hell up, moron. What were-" Kanda himself was interrupted as Lenalee walked up, calling Lavi.

"Heya, Miss Lee!" Lavi chirped, grinning at the Chinese young woman. Kanda scowled at Lavi. Something was definitely up. Kanda might not have been the brightest man around, but he could tell that Lavi was too eager to avoid questions or prying. The red-head was just laying it on too thick to not be suspicious.

"Stop dawdling and get into the kitchen, Lavi." Lenalee said, stern but not unkind. She gently knocked her knuckles against the red-head's bandana, almost having to reach on her tip-toes to do so.

"I need you to do some quick baking. Daisya's backed up and can't get to it."

"Of course, of course! See ya, Yuu-chan!" Lavi left the two of them with a wink. Kanda glared after his retreating form. He was going to have to pin the slippery rabbit down to get some answers, it seemed.

"Kan-da." Lenalee said, pronouncing his name rather sharply. Kanda snapped his eyes back to the short female, an eyebrow raised at her tone. She folded her arms under her bosom and stared up at the Japanese man very purposefully. Kanda refrained from stepping back to a safe distance from the short woman.

"What."

"You mind telling me why you're carrying this -" she placed a finger pointedly on the left side of Kanda's jacket, against the not-terribly obvious bulge of the Eagle "- around in my gallery?"

"I'm not blind you know. I've been around security guards plenty at Brother's work to know when someone is carrying." she continued, lowering her voice so only Kanda could hear her.

"Your brother suggested it." Kanda half-shrugged. He glanced around the room, trying not to keep eye contact with the feisty young woman.

"Ah, that was the package this morning?" she asked rhetorically. "But Brother never agreed to allow you to carry in all the time you've been working here. Why now?"

Something flickered in her eyes, and her gaze became a lot more sharp.

"It's because of what has been happening to Allen, right? And the rise in reports of crime around the city?"

"Crime reports?" Kanda asked, bringing his attention back to Lenalee.

"Yeah. My Brother's company keeps an eye out on crime in the city, because of the delicate nature of their research. It can't be allowed to be upset by civil unrest." The way she said the words sounded almost as if they came straight out of Komui's mouth – and knowing the crazed scientist, they probably did.

"Brother told me yesterday that in the past four or five days, there has been a sharp rise in reports of vandalism, property damage, and assaults. All of the reports have been minor in nature, though."

Lenalee looked thoughtful for a minute. She then nodded to herself abruptly, as if she had made up her mind.

"Don't be reckless, Kanda." she said, poking him in the chest with a pointer finger. She looked as if she accepted the fact of him carrying a gun, but only reluctantly. At least, that was what Kanda thought he read from her.

"Che. I'm not stupid." he shot back with a frown. Lenalee just gave him a stern and knowing look, her thin eyebrows drawn together. She turned heel and walked away toward the café.

Business picked up after that, and Kanda was kept busy with watching over the guests. Two guests in particular got into a heated argument about a piece, and Kanda was forced to settle the matter. Which just meant that the guests were given the choice of continuing to be a pain the ass and getting kicked out – with force – or shutting up and behaving themselves. It was Marie's day off, so Kanda had no one to come along behind him and soothe ruffled feathers.

That was just as well; Kanda didn't think it was necessary to pander to the two incompetents for arguing over a damn piece of paint-on-canvas.

Later, as he was finishing up with another guest, caught attempting to sneak under the rope that blocked off a statue from public reach, Kanda spotted a suave – scratch that – slimy Portuguese man waltzing into the gallery. Tyki met Kanda's eye with a nod and a smile that set Kanda's nerves on edge. He glared back in response, and then looked away pointedly.

Tyki made a bee line for the café, touching his forehead in semblance of tipping a hat at Allen as he passed by. The brat waved cheerily – but politely – back to Tyki, until he saw Kanda's scowl. His smile drooped a little before he looked away and went back to his piano-playing.

Damn brat, Kanda thought with a sigh.

He made his rounds through the main showroom of the gallery, keeping an eye peeled on the café and the piano that sat near it.

Tyki spent almost an hour in the cafe, hovering near where Lavi worked. Kanda was torn between watching – so that he could send hate-murder vibes to the creepy bastard – and not watching – because Tyki was such a creepy bastard, and was doing his damndest to crawl over the counter to the damn rabbit.

It was disgusting, and Kanda wanted to burn his eyes as much as he wanted to skewer the Portuguese fuck.

Near the end of the night, Kanda realized that – somehow – he had lost track of both Lavi and Tyki. He hadn't even seen either of them leave the cafe, he realized with an annoyed start.

Kanda stalked over to the brat, who was carefully wiping down his piano with a cloth.

"Where's that idiot rabbit?" he demanded, arms crossed over his chest in annoyance. The white-haired Brit glanced up at Kanda, his gray eyes big and innocent, and then looked around the gallery.

"I...don't know. I thought I saw him head toward the back of the building, though." Allen said helpfully, with a smile. Kanda gave a nod of gratitude and proceeded to the back. Perhaps the stupid rabbit had stepped out through the back entrance.

When he got there, he saw that the back door was indeed open.

Kanda rounded the corner of the open door and spotted Lavi's figure, pressed against the side of the building, head turned away. Kanda stalked angrily over to the red-head, fulling intending to give the shit head a piece of his mind, and let him know just what he thought of that fucking phone call this afternoon, and the sketchy behavior since then.

When Lavi spotted him, hearing the footsteps approaching, the red-head threw up a hand in warning. Kanda got closer, ready to yell, and Lavi popped that hand over Kanda's mouth. The Japanese man's eyes nearly popped out of his skull. The fucking nerve-!

"Shut it! Don't say a word!" Lavi hissed, for once being the one to do the scowling. The shock of Lavi speaking to him that way, speaking that way at all, kept Kanda in stunned silence long enough to hear a voice from around the corner.

"Merda! Those fucking idiotas followed me, didn't they?!"

The voice definitely belonged to Tyki Mikk, and clearly he was pissed about something. With a rough twist of his hand, Kanda removed Lavi's offending hand from his face. With a pinched, but silent, expression, Lavi nursed his hand. They tuned back into Tyki's conversation.

"How do I know? Como? My rental car is fucking missing, that's how!"

"Filho da puta! Christo, who on earth told them about this!"

A long, furious string of Portuguese followed, broken by occasional silences. Kanda pinched Lavi's exposed arm roughly, and – once he had the red-head's attention – jerked his head in Tyki's direction. Lavi shook his head and shrugged. Apparently, Portuguese wasn't in his dictionary. Lavi pointed toward the back door with a jerk of his chin, and pushed Kanda toward it quietly.

The Portuguese tirade didn't relent until they had made their way back into the building and closed the door behind them, quietly.

"Mind telling me what the fuck that was about?" Kanda demanded. He would have loved to punch Lavi a few times, but the red-head's expression was so serious...

"I'm not sure. He was calling someone named Sheryl. If I remember my research correctly, that's Tyki's half brother or something. As you heard, someone followed him here from Austria."

.

Lenalee is apparently a mother hen.

And I spent about twenty minutes just looking up Portuguese profanity, listening to sound clips and videos, and trying to figure out what would sound fun coming out of Tyki's eloquent mouth. Needless to say, it was fun.

Merda! = Shit!

Como? = How?

Filho da puta! = Son of a bitch!

Who are the idiotas, I wonder? I've dropped two hints already, before now, if anyone can tell me when that was. Review, meus amores!