Wow. I finished this earlier than I thought (2 weeks ago)... It's longer, too... But then, there was that "Error Type 2" thing, and I got sick... Anyway! Onto my thanks!

Thank you so much! Your reviews mean so much to me. Don't go thinking, 'She just says this every time.' I sincerely care about each and every review, and with all the troubles I'm currently facing, they make me happy and make me smile (to which my classmates stare, since I don't smile too often...). So, please continue reviewing!

In light of the tragedy facing Japan, I hope after you read this sentence you will take a moment of silence to pray for those whom are missing and to honor those whom have been lost.

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Disclaimer: I own this plot. Characters? Not so much. D. Gray-man belongs to Hoshino-sensei, whom I hope is okay during the chaos facing Japan.

Warnings: Language (F-word included, but I don't use it 4 times in a row or something), Fo, Stalking, Kanda Marshmallows (? !), Laven (One-sided... or not?), Suggestive Content, Revelations, General Seriousness

Notes: Enjoy and REVIEW please!

"...": Line Break that tells you that the memory is continued in the next section

/

Last Time:

Alma gave a scary face, but still dropped the boy and left with a "See you soon, Shorty". After the door closed, Allen collapsed, and Johnny was there to catch him. As he began partially dragging Allen up the backroom stairs to his apartment to let him stay the night, he tried to soothe the frozen boy from his fears, but he knew that was something he couldn't do for him.

/

Geisha Boy

Chapter 9: In the Snow of Year-Old Tears and Revelations

/

Johnny sighed as he pulled a blanket over Allen who had eventually fainted from the whole ordeal and was now snoring lightly.

But the store owner knew there was something—someone—else that needed to be dealt with at the moment.

He returned to the shop and quickly flipped the sign in the door to "Closed", before approaching the changing room's entrance. Seeing the door untouched from its last position, Johnny wrung his hand together and leaned beside the changing room's slightly ajar door.

Clearing his throat, he began, "You still there, aren't you?" There was no answer, but he continued, "Allen fainted, but he's sleeping now, so don't worry about it."

Was that a sigh of relief he heard?

Johnny gazed at the door, as if that person was going to come in again.

"Did Allen hide in there with you when Alma arrived? You guys must have fought or something, since Allen ran out so fast... You probably feel like shit now, after watching that. Didn't think someone could do that to him, did you?"

Johnny heard nothing, but with a moment of thought, went on.

"Neither did I, but last year, he ran in here at three in the morning with his left arm wrapped with a towel covered in blood. With that guardian of his, he couldn't go to the hospital because the police would be called in, and Cross isn't really a law-abiding citizen... Anyway, Allen runs in with his arm covered in blood, and after looking at it, I could see that it was a burn that was really deep and that a cross had been embedded deep into the back of his hand. I was a Pre-Med student before I went into Fashion Design, so I did what I could, but it still didn't heal right."

Taking a breath, Johnny let himself slide down the wall before pulling his knees to his chest and resting his chin out top.

"But that wasn't the problem obviously. 'Who did it? Who could do this?' was all I could think of while Allen cried. That's right. Allen cried. He cried for hours, until exhaustion got the better of him. I only found out who did it because Allen had nightmares that night."

The shop owner tightened his grip around his folded legs.

"'Alma'. 'Alma, please stop'. 'Don't!' I had to put my headphones in on high. He screamed the name over and over again. I have no idea what happened, but I don't think it was one of those things that you can tell your friends about so easily."

The silence in reply almost echoed through the store, but Johnny could sense the person beyond the door, and he pressed his face into his kneecaps. Then, his muffled voice sounded once more.

"I had no idea who this 'Alma' person was until I called that one lady, Anita, the next morning. Apparently, Allen was in the Final Three in the biwa competition and was posed to win the whole thing, but when I told her about his arm, she told me the next day was the last stage of the competition. There was no way Allen could compete, win, and still have function in his arm, so while he was still asleep, Anita went to the panel of judges and forfeited. Then, she came by with a girl named Fo and a guy named Bak, and that's when I found out who Alma was..."

...

"Stupid idiot! Weakling! What a waste of space!"

Fo, a girl with burnt orange hair and a pretty revealing outfit, looked absolutely pissed and continued to scream at the poor boy, who was sleeping on the bed, while Bak, an older boy with tanned skin and blond hair that contrasted with his Asian features, warily held her back from attacking and scolded her for trying to hurt injured people.

The fearful Johnny nudged Anita. "Who is this psycho?"

Keeping her sad gaze toward her mentee, the woman smiled weakly. "That's Fo, one of Allen's competitors. She's not as bad as she seems, just prefers tough love to compassion, you know? Allen and her are actually pretty close, even after she found out he was a guy."

Johnny looked over to the struggling Bak and stuck his index finger toward him. "So, that's the third competitor in the Final Three? He's a Geisha Boy, too?"

"Actually—"

"Pfft! Bak with that much talent? That's a good one!" Fo suddenly appeared before them, dragging an unconscious Bak by his collar. "Nope, Number 3's a creeper. Offered me sex and stuff to forfeit, since he couldn't unlock my locker to break my instrument like everyone else's. Everyone except Allen's, that is. We both share a locker, so both of our instruments didn't get busted, but..." Her fierce eyes had a slight tenderness to them as they looked back toward the out-cold boy. "It doesn't matter now since he can't even play."

Then, as if a light switch was flicked on, Johnny fit everything together. Everything clicked perfectly into place. Carefully and still uncertain, the designer said, "Is his name Alma?"

All three (including Bak, who had just regained consciousness) stared at him with large eyes, and Anita spoke first. "How did you know that?"

He wasn't sure if it was okay to tell them, but he couldn't keep this a secret. He had to tell, for Allen's sake. "That was the name Allen said while he was having nightmares last night."

A good amount of time passed before Fo threw a punch into the wall, breaking through the drywall.

"I'll skin him. I'm going to kill him, stab him through the heart, skin him, and donate what remains to the shark tank at the zoo."

Somehow released from Fo's grip, Bak cleared his throat. "As your family's butler*, I would have to advise against it. As Allen's friend... I'll buy the weapon and contact the zoo about the food donation."

Gaping, Johnny turned to his last hope. "Anita! Tell them how Allen would say that murder is not the right way to go about this!"

Pondering something, the woman simply remarked, "My alligator skin purse is in need of a replacement..."

...

"... Luckily, I convinced them that Allen wouldn't want his friends to kill for him, so we attempted to find another solution, but since Cross's reputation ruled out getting Alma arrested, the only thing we could do was make sure Fo won and Alma lost. We could have told the judges that Alma was a guy and not a girl, but then he would have told them about Allen, too. Allen was out for a week, so, the next day, I slipped out of nursing duties for a bit and happily watched Fo beat Alma fair and square. I memorized Alma's face while I was at it, so I knew who caused Allen so much pain." Suddenly, Johnny jumped to his feet. "Well, I'll let you go now, but please apologize to Allen. I haven't seen him as happy as that with someone else in a long time. You know his secret, and you don't mind and are still his friend. Maybe you could become more than that to him, but I'm not too good with that stuff, so you'll have to figure that stuff out on your own."

He walked to the register and flicked the lights before tossing a key toward the changing room, saying, "Make sure to lock the front door after yourself, and return the key when you can."

Johnny began to walk up the back stairs, but paused as he heard quiet movement, a jingle of the key, and then the slam of the front door. "Like a cat, yet not like a cat. Allen sure picked himself a feisty feline."

/

A Week Later...

"Lavi! What should I do?" Allen dramatically collapsed on the table they were sitting at in the coffee shop, ignoring the wayward stares he got.

Completely aware of the looks, but like Allen, not caring about it, Lavi chuckled. "Yu-chan and you are having a lovers' spat?"

The musician gave him a murderous look, but a blush still formed.

"Fine, an argument. What's it about?"

Paling, Allen answered cryptically, "A difference in opinion."

Lavi leaned forward, egging him on. "Opinion about what? Favorite movies? Music?"

"A person..."

Raking a hand through his surprisingly not-held-up hair, the redhead smirked. "So, it's about the green monster?"

"The green monster?"

"The green monster is a way of saying jealousy."

Allen dropped his jaw, which made a bang noise that attracted even more looks. "Jealous? Kanda can have that twat for all I care... No, that weasel doesn't even deserve Mr. Stick-Up-My-Ass. Even Hell needs to make a special section for him, so he doesn't set all the demons free 'by accident'."

Lavi leaned back till he teetered on his chair's back legs. "Okay... I'm guessing the full details of the argument won't be disclosed then."

"Yep."

Pouting a bit, the older boy sighed, "Okay. Then, what can a guy like me help a pretty mademoiselle* with?"

/

Kanda Yu, if asked, would say he was obviously NOT stalking certain plant species named Allen Walker. He was NOT "hiding" behind a wall. It was easy to see that he was just enjoying a cup of black coffee in a coffee shop he's never been to at a table where he could—coincidentally—see the Moyashi and the Usagi behind a wall if he looked around it, but they couldn't see him as easily. If you asked about his outfit, he would tell you that he liked trench coats and liked wearing a scarf, a hat, and sunglasses indoors. Some habits die hard, right?

With his head looking around the wall, he felt a smaller person jump on him, placing their head on top of his. Kanda quickly stopped his onslaught of curses by biting his tongue.

The person hugged him around the neck and asked in a sweetly innocent voice, "Hey, Kanda, why are you stalking my doll?"

Then, the weight on Kanda's head grew, as if someone placed another head on top. "Road, don't treat your family like toys. Allen is not some doll from your dollhouse."

"But, Tyki—"

"No, don't 'But, Tyki' me."

By this time, Kanda was wishing that he had brought his beloved Mugen with him. "Both of you shut the fuck up and get off."

Unstacking their heads, the three retreated behind the wall. Road and Tyki stole two seats from occupied tables (Road knocked a woman to the floor in the process) and sat across from Kanda. For dramatic effect, the girl grabbed the dangling light fixture and pointed it at the high schooler who was thankfully still wearing his sunglasses.

Like a police interrogator, she questioned, "Kanda Yu, why were you stalking a certain Allen Walker?"

Crossing his arms over his chest, the "suspect" simply replied, "Che. I'm not 'stalking'."

Tyki, who was trying to wave over a waitress to order, cut in, "So, watching someone who doesn't know you're there isn't stalking? I suppose I have to call up those morons who wrote the dictionary then."

"Shut it. 'Stalking' insinuates I follow him, too. But, I don't."

Road beamed mischievously. "Oh, is that so, Kanda?"

Shifting in his seat, Kanda glared. "Yes. Anything else, Miss Elongate-Every-Word-You-Say?"

"I was just wondering why you were outside his apartment, if you're not stalking him."

Tyki coughed to hide his laugh, knowing Kanda was done for and seeing the tell-tale reddening on the tips of his ears that on lesser men would be called a blush.

Chewing out his words carefully, the boy shot back, "If I had been there—which I wasn't—would you even have proof of it?"

Taking a hot chocolate from the table over (and from the woman she had previously knocked to the floor) and sipping it, the Lolita-wearing girl smirked, "Yep."

"What's your fucking proof then?"

"Tyki and I saw you, since we were stalking him, too!" She smiled ear-to-ear, as if she hadn't just admitted to stalking her own cousin with their uncle as an accessory to the crime. "We're like 'Stalking Buddies'!"

"Road, why don't you tell him why we are stalking the Shounen before you start a club for Allen stalkers, alright?"

A pout curved her lips into a frown, but she agreed. "Fine, but after... Kanda must tell his reason."

'Why do I keep getting involved with Moyashi's life?'

"'Cause deep, deep, deep, DEEP down you know you two are a match made by some higher power."

'... Shut the hell up, Conscience... '*

"Whatever. Just say your spiel, so I can continue not-stalking Moyashi."

Dropping the now finished mug onto its original table, Road sent a sidelong glance at Tyki, who shrugged back to her. "...'Kay. Well, you see, last year, Allen got all hurt and stuff during the competition, but we never knew why, so now, we're just watching his back, you know? ... Yep! That's it! Now, what's got you in a stalking mood?"

"Moyashi's fault," Kanda supplied.

Tyki finally ordered a cup of coffee for himself, so he returned to the conversation. "How so?"

"This morning, I had something to say to him, but then that Baka Usagi showed up," the long-haired boy grumbled. "Now, I have to follow the two idiots, until the Usagi leaves, so I can say the shit I need to."

The younger girl perked up. "So, what did you have to say?"

"None of your fucking business, shrimp."

The oldest of the group patted the girl's head in a scolding manner. "Now, now, Road. If he wants to hide his proposal to the Shounen, it's in his right to do so."

Slamming his hands on the table, he shouted, "Fine! I was going to fucking apologize!"

The two hung their heads, mumbling "Damn, that's all?" under their breaths.

"Yeah, Baka... that's all."

/

Lenalee Lee chose a bad day to get some coffee for her brother. Her favorite coffee shop proved to be filled with the weirdest things.

Allen and Lavi were together (their faces were pretty close, she noted), looking like they were on a date. While that tragedy was happening, she noticed Kanda conversing with the oddest people, a gray-skinned, pre-teenage girl and an equally gray-toned, young man in his twenty's.

'What. The. Hell. Is. Going. On.' Lenalee's gaze swiveled from the assumed "couple" to the weird group talking in low voices.

Shaking her head quickly, she quickly bought what she came for and left without being noticed.

/

Allen blinked. "Seriously? That's it?"

Nodding, Lavi smiled, but it was a sweet smile, instead of the usual, mischievous one. "Kanda is like a chocolate-covered marshmallow, hard on the outside and soft on the inside, but you have to bite him to see. Allen, you can stand up to him and be on the same level with him, and I've seen how his marshmallowy insides start to show around you. So, I think that if you two are fighting, your relationship'll just go back to normal without the drama of getting that prick to apologize. His tongue will always be poisonous, and you just have to deal with that, but you have to remember that he has a heart beyond the light-years of cruelty."

"Lavi, that is probably the most profound thing I've ever heard you say."

"I know, right? I kind of feel like washing my tongue with antibacterial soap!" The older teen once again approached Allen's face, a bit closer than before with their lips centimeters apart, but the geisha boy didn't flinch away. Taking the chance, Lavi whispered, "Well, now that I know you aren't going out with Yu-chan..." He reached a hand below the table and brushed Allen's jean-covered knee, but still the other didn't reject him. "How about we go somewhere less-crowded?"

Lavi Bookmen was a flirt through and through, a good one at that, but he never expected that Allen would...

/

"Kanda! Kanda! Look! Look! That 'Usami'* guy is feeling Allen up!" Road whisper-shouted.

Kanda, who had turned back for only moment to take a swig of his black coffee, peeked around the corner with the girl and Tyki, but then he froze up. His mind went blank, and he couldn't call a single thought to his mind. Conscience began to worry and made snarky comment, but Kanda didn't respond at all. Tyki and Road remained unaware of the situation because they too were carefully watching the "Usami" guy closing in for a kiss—probably a kiss—and they could clearly see that hand on the white-haired boy's knee—no, wait, it's on the thigh now!

The long-haired boy was speechless, watching it all. Kanda could admit it was not the first time he had seen Lavi flirting with a girl with a little "petting"—as Lavi calls it. He could easily say that every time he saw it, it disgusted him, but this time, as he watched the Usagi's hand slide up the Moyashi's leg and their faces get closer, he felt really... pissed off.

When his brain began to function again, plans for murdering a certain Lavi Bookmen swarmed together in his mind. Kanda was baffled by it. Sure, he has wanted to murder the Usagi before (sometimes on a daily basis), but never were the plans as brutal as what he thought up. He just couldn't understand what made him so mad. If it wasn't the public promiscuity, then what?

Then suddenly... that happened.

/

Allen Walker chuckled evilly in his mind.

'This is going to be fun.'

/

Lavi felt it first. The sudden, soft touch of cool lips pressed to the corner of his mouth that sent waves of pleasure throughout his body, but it wasn't like it was something new, so it really confused him. It wasn't even actually on the lips!

But it did not confuse him enough to block out what Allen said next.

"Why are we even still here?"

/

Studying the younger male, Tyki wondered if Kanda's soul died or something. When the kid got kissed by Allen, it was like the lights went out in that thick skull. Tyki was relieved when he saw Allen and the—admittedly very handsome—redhead get up to leave, and when he saw Kanda hurriedly regain his composure and stood as well, flagging down a waiter to pay.

His niece saw how busy the waiters were and left first, so they could keep their eyes on Allen. However, after waiting two minutes, the fiery, raven-haired boy slammed down more than enough in bills and raced out. Tyki took a last sip of his drink and followed quickly after.

/

A light snow began to fall as the crowds dispersed into the heated shops. Still, individuals and couples dotted the sidewalks.

A cold wind whipped the white flecks into Allen's stormy eyes, causing him to shut them and pull his scarf to his chin. Seeing the pale "girl" take the cold air, Lavi, being the gentleman he is, removed his coat and placed it on Allen's shoulders, its newly added weight making "her" stumble, so—obviously with common chivalry in mind—he wrapped an arm around the musician to help.

Lavi's night was booked. He was sure.

"You're on Winter Break now, right?" Allen asked, breaking the silence.

Chuckling, he answered, "Yeah! Our school is a private school, and they get to choose our breaks, so our break started at the beginning of the month and will end halfway through next month*. Jealous?"

"I don't have to go to school at all."

Lavi stuck his tongue out. "Don't make me jealous, smarty-pants."

"By the way..." Allen pulled the older boy a bit closer to enjoy the warmth. "... you already knew, right?"

Perplexed, the redhead questioned, "I already knew what?"

"That you're homosexual."

Lavi turned as red as his hair. "What the heck are you saying, Allen?"

"You figured out my secret that time you hugged me. I could tell when you stiffened a millisecond during that hug. You probably figured out that you are attracted to males some time after that. Am I correct?"

"Damn." The high schooler dropped his head sideways to bop the boy's. "You really are a smarty-pants." Suddenly, he pulled Allen close. "Hey... earlier when I asked if you wanted to go somewhere, I wasn't joking around."

Within the next moment, Lavi had himself and the other in a skinny alley, forcing their legs to be almost intertwined. Using the wall behind the younger boy's back for support, the redhead bent down to have Allen's lips in reach. "Will you let me kiss you?"

A whisper passed through those cool lips. "Why should I? So you can see the difference?"

"Please? Just this once?"

Turning his face away, Allen replied, "I could never..."

"Why?" Then, it hit Lavi. He was an idiot for not seeing it. "Allen, you—"

"Bakanda," the boy hissed.

The older boy blinked. "... What?"

Allen faced his head back toward the alley's entrance and called out, "Kanda, I've known the whole time that you, Tyki, and Road were following me since I left my apartment. Show yourselves already."

Still very confused, Lavi heard a familiar voice reply.

"You always get attacked by men in alleys, don't you, Moyashi?"

At its sound, Lavi knew he may very well be a dead man.

/

**Baka Omake!**

Lenalee observed the snow falling outside and wondered aloud, "Wasn't it just barely into autumn just a few days ago?"

With a frown, Komui drank his icky, non-Lenalee-made coffee before he cheered himself up knowing Lenalee and he may be snowed in together tomorrow, thus they could enjoy another Sibling Fest. Now happy, Komui explained, "13-chan didn't think about timelines at the time she wrote it, and it just sort of turned out weird like that.*"

Lenalee tilted her head to the side—'HOW ADORABLE!' thought the sister-complex-side of Komui—and asked, "Who's '13-chan'?"

Frozen solid because he knew he couldn't lie to his sister, Komui wanted to cry. Then, suddenly unfrozen, he collapsed to his knees and yelled at the sky, "I can't do this! Just tell her! This is torture, pure torture!"

A voice from above grumbled, "I should have been more careful with who knew..."

Lenalee squinted at the sky. "Komui, did you make an invisible, flying Komurin that controls the weather and time?"

Komui coughed, seeing the bit of hope, "Maybe..."

Pondering something, his sister suddenly beamed. "Just let summer come earlier, okay?

'SAFE!'

/

TBC...

*Bak is Fo's butler. After his family died in a tragic accident, he was surprised to find that his friend, Fo, was the one to inherit his family's home and fortune. So he wouldn't be homeless, he made a deal with Fo to be her butler in exchange for room and board.

*Part 1: Conscience is a reoccurring OC (an unintentional one) since Chapter 4. He is Kanda's conscience and oddly has personality that is a mix of Lavi, Lenalee, Allen, and a tiny bit of Kanda. Conscience is known for rooting on Kanda and Allen's friendship and possible romantic relationship. It is unknown where he came from, having appeared just recently to Kanda.

Part 2: Kanda didn't deny it, if you noticed.

*"Usami"- Tyki and Road couldn't remember how Kanda pronounced "Usagi". They are not referring to "Akihiko Usami", a well-known seme from Junjo Romantica, though I did unintentionally put "Usami" (formal name) with "Usagi" (nickname for Usami).

* Thus, Lavi, Lenalee, and Kanda's Winter Break is about a month and a half in length. That is so unfair...

*See further explanation below.

Sooo? How'd it turn out? It may not be the best, but I'm still learning as a writer, so be merciful when reviewing!

The Laven-ish scenes should not worry you, since Tyki's shown some interest. XP

With the Baka Omake!, it wasn't its usual, mildly funny self, was it? Probably not, but I had to explain that the time skipping was unintentional, but it was necessary. Based on my calculations, the competition starts in a week or so (the chapter after the next).

Next Chapter: Kanda's Been Discovered! Lavi Fears For His Life! Cross And Anita Appear! Who Is That In The Shadows?

Till Next Time, 13

/

Next Chapter (April): In the Small Details...