Chapter one – New student, Allen Walker

There were times when one simply can't be late. They just can't. Upon pain of death and the whole lot, they just can't.

This – Kanda thought sourly as he tried to ignore the milling fangirls – was one of those times.

He had planned to get here early to better make his way to his desk without the aid of violence and his trademark death glare, but the gods seemed to have been conspiring against him and had managed to magnificently foil his plot. Magnificently. With style.

An unexpected issue with the dorms had led too much of Kanda's precious time being pointlessly wasted this morning. Time that could have been better spent idling at his desk so as to avoid his rabid fans. He'd rather not have wasted it being lectured for something that wasn't even his damn fault!

Kanda had known for a fact that he was in Seika dorm. He had always been and had presumed, rather justly, he'd like to add, that he always would be. A letter from the school shortly before the start of the New Year had confirmed that.

And that was why he was infuriated to learn that he'd been shifted from the comfort of Seika dorm without so much as being consulting. A fabulous way to start the school year, Kanda thought bitterly, is to show up at the dorm only to be sent to another fucking one on the opposite side of campus!

And it was simply on one of the headmasters vexatious whims no less! Apparently Headmaster Komui had decided that Seika dorm would better benefit from being changed into a senior-only dorm. Why, Kanda had no fucking idea. He never understood anything that went on in that moron's head.

His morning had been shaping up rather badly as it was, but that hadn't been it. There just had to be a fucking icing on the fucking cake.

He'd be getting a shit-for-brains roommate this year. Something Komui had promised him would never happen again after how his unsuccessful first attempt back in freshman year had wound up. Which, for the record, hadn't been Kanda's fault anyway.

And not only was he to be expected to deal with a petty brat, but this brat would be a bloody new kid!

Someone who had the gall to transfer in at the start of his Junior year. The kid would have a hard time making friends, Kanda thought with a grimace. Two years had passed since the Juniors had reached high school, so it was only expected that they would have already paired off in to their neat little cliques.

Hence Kanda deemed it only reasonable to be in a particularly bad mood this morning, and that being said it was only normal to threaten any of the female roadblocks in his way with the promise of receiving 'Mugen in the fucking guts if you don't move right now!'

The crowd seemed to evaporate immediately, leaving only one person leaning casually against Kanda's desk, a goofy smile playing across his face.

"Move. Now." Kanda grunted, but none the less taking the seat and leaning back to glare icily at his company.

"Awww… Yu-chan. I missed you too." Lavi crooned, tilting his head so a few wisps of startling red hair escaped from the patterned green bandana holding them at bay. Kanda continued to glower at him until Lavi rolled his eyes and pulled his chair over from the desk in front, sitting on it back to front in typical Lavi fashion.

"You're awfully late. Normally you're first here."

"Che."

"Ahh…" Lavi sound thoughtfully, as if Kanda's non-committing sound had given him new insight.

"The business with the dorms, huh?"

Shit. Maybe it had.

"Che."

"Now, now Yu-chan. I know you're not pleased with having a roommate, but there is certainly no need to be so rude about it."

"Che." Move violent this time.

"You will most certainly not do that to him," Lavi said in a mockingly horrified tone, "You'd be breaking several laws!"

"Shut up you damn rabbit! I've had enough of you insistent blabbering," Kanda hissed in a deadly tone.

Lavi cocked his eyebrow – a bodily gesture made slightly strange due to the black eye patch covering his other eye. He opened his mouth to retort but was cut off by the sound of the classroom door rattling open.

Almost instantly the room was filled with a flurry of movement as students rushed to return to their assigned seats now that Reever had entered the room. Kanda watched as the room's noise died down and their homeroom teacher was able to reach the front of the room.

"It's good to see you all back and healthy after the break," he said airily as he reached the blackboard, sounding like he didn't care one way or the other about their health, "My name is Reever Wenham, as most of you should know by now, but Reever-sensei will do fine."

"Oi! Reever! I heard we're getting a new student!" Lavi shouted, completely disregarding the furious hiss of 'Reever sensei,' from his teacher. Lavi threw out his most charming smile and Kanda barely suppressed the urge to kick the damn rabbit's seat.

"Yes, Lavi. We will be given the honour of playing host to our new student," Reever sighed as he set his ever present clipboard on his desk and waved off the over excited whispering that has started up upon his announcement.

"Is it a guy?" A girl in the back piped up eagerly.

"Ask him yourself," Reever muttered grumpily in way of reply, waving to someone who must have been standing just out of sight behind the door, "Walker, you can come in now."

The tense air gave way to surprised gasps as the class stared at their newest member as he walked across the classroom to stand by the teacher's side. Even Kanda felt his eyebrow twitch in a sort of suppressed shock.

"Class, I would like you to meet Allen Walker. He's just enrolled here and I hope you make him feel most comfortable."

Kanda gave the boy who he would be sharing his room with – albeit, reluctantly – a once over.

There were so many things wrong with the picture.

For one, 'Allen Walker' had a shock of white hair. Not white-blonde, or hair going prematurely grey. White. What kind of trend the kid had been following when he had dyed it Kanda had no idea. Although, with his own long, raven hair Kanda was aware he hardly had room to talk.

The second thing was the extravagant tattoo on the kid's right eye. Blood red, it wound its way up his cheek, continuing on his eye lid before finally twisting itself into a pentagram just above his eyebrow. I am a demonic Satanist, it seemed to scream, contrasting nicely with the peaceful smile on Walker's face, fear me. Feeeeear me.

Lavi gave a low whistle only Kanda could hear, leaning back in his chair to whisper, "That must have been one hell of a painful tattoo."

The third thing that caught Kanda's attention was the pair of white gloves the kid was wearing, completely hiding his arms and hands from view once you factored in the long sleeved white shirt and tan woollen vest that made up the mandatory uniform.

Being neither a warm nor cold day, Kanda couldn't really make much of this, but he'd never seen somebody rock up to his first day of school layered up like it was the middle of winter. Well, nobody trustworthy anyway.

And last but not least, the golden… Thing, which wasflapping above the boys shoulder.

Circular and sporting what looked like horns it fluttered merrily beside the boys head, it's twisting tail flickering this way and that which has much of the class hypnotized. Kanda, however, would not fall victim to such trickery. No matter how many times the tail drifting left, right, left, right… left… right… FUCK!

Kanda shook his head roughly, managing to return back to reality in time to see Allen bowing his head to the class. Straightening up, he flashed the class a smile so bright that Kanda had to wince away.

"Good morning. My name is Allen Walker and I hope we can be good friends," Another flashing smile. A chorus of whispers swept furiously through the room accompanied by the giggling of the easily manipulated females in the class.

"Well, Yu-chan," Lavi whispered as he leaned backwards once again, "there go half of your fangirls."

Kanda however sat still as a statue in his chair.

No.

Oh, fuck no.

He was going to be living with this for a year?

"Oi! Allen~Chan!" Lavi chorused loudly without a hint of shame. Allen turned around and his mouth moved to form the words 'chan?' Kanda had to smirk slightly at this. The bean would learn quickly that nicknames given by Lavi were for life.

"What's with the golden snitch?" Lavi asked innocently, gesturing at the bobbing ball still hovering over Allen's shoulder.

Allen blinked, turning his head to stare at the thing as if he had forgotten it was there. A flick of snow white hair he turned to face the class again. "This is my golem, Timcanpy. Ahh, I guess you wouldn't know what that is…" Allen held out his hand so the flying ball of golden metal could land gently on his palm.

"Ohh…. That's pretty neat." Lavi said in surprise.

Kanda frowned. Lavi may be a genius, but Kanda had no fucking clue what the hell a golem was and it seemed the rest of the class shared in his bewildered ignorance. But going by, the grins the two were sharing Kanda did not feel like asking. He also had a nasty feeling that their shared geek-ness was going to give birth to a bond of… friendship.

Kanda shivered at the thought. Not because he dislikes the idea of Lavi making friends, but because he dislikes the idea of Lavi forcing said friend upon him – which the redhead had a nasty penchant for doing.

"Alright, Walker. There's a seat over there beside Kanda," Reever pointed out and Kanda could have sworn that he heard the man mutter, 'there's always an empty seat next to Kanda.'

Kanda watched in distaste as Allen's eyebrow rose at the mention of his name and he shifted an inquisitive, curious glance his way. Obviously the kid knew who he was rooming with.

Slowly, Allen weaved his way through the desk to sit beside Kanda, the golden snitch – golem, Kanda corrected himself – resting on his shoulder. He offered Kanda a bright smile and which Kanda did not trouble himself to return. Rather, he presented him with a freezing and frigid glare.

"Eyes to the front Moyashi."

"… Moyashi?"

"What are you? Slow?" Kanda asked, clear irritation in his voice.

The grin on Allen's face vanished Kanda was privy to a deep look of annoyance, and, perhaps, something much darker hiding behind those sugar and honey-comb eyes.

"I am not a Moyashi. Whatever that is."

"Che. Arguing with me isn't going to change what you are." Kanda scoffed and Allen's eyes grew even harder before he managed to force his obvious irritation mildly under control.

"My names Allen! Allen, BaKanda!" Kanda himself appeared to be graced with a nickname of his own.

There was a loud cough from the front and Kanda and Allen stopped their petty quarrel long enough to look up into Reever's annoyed features.

"Am I allowed to start the lesson now?"

Allen slumped low in his seat.

Well… looks like this year's off to a fan-fucking-tastic start.