Chapter 4

Thoughout the months that Allen and Kanda had known each other, they had gotten to know one another extensively. They had learned many things, both obvious and subtle, about the other. So, taking that into consideration, it would make sense that Kanda figure out a few things about Allen, things the boy wasn't necessarily willing to outright tell him himself, simply by watching him. After he started to live with Kanda, it only became easier that he notice certain patterns about how the young prince moved about daily. And it made no sense.

Of course, considering Kanda still had to go to school, it made it a little difficult for him to be able to figure this out. Even Lavi and Katsura wouldn't be able to tell him themselves given their schedule, though they both seemed to be just as suspicious about it as him. It seemed he'd have to either play Sherlock or confront the younger about it if he wasn't willing to divulge his secrets.

The perfect opportunity came on a Saturday, when everyone was home. Katsura was out tending to her garden, Lavi on the dining room table reading a particularly large book about parapsychology. Allen was sitting on the couch watching a documentary on the television, Kanda next to him reading a book that had been assigned in class. Well, trying anyway. Lately he'd found himself distracted by the rather odd behavior Katsura had been displaying. It wasn't anything extreme; it was rather subtle, almost impossible to perceive, but he noticed. Lavi didn't, which was more than a little weird considering how observant Lavi was, but it was even stranger that neither did Allen, considering he was the one Katsura had been watching lately.

It was obvious to anyone who cared to look that Katsura had her mind preoccupied by faraway things. Whenever he'd caught her watching Allen, her gaze was always glazed over and unseeing, unfocused if even for an instant before she came back to the here and now, and not only when watching Allen. It had only been about a month since Allen had started to live with them, so it was only natural that they still be adjusting to having him there; however, Katsura was not one to space out like that, and considering she only did it around the prince it was easy to deduct that this new behavior was because of Allen's presence.

The cause of Kanda's distraction now was simply how much worse she'd gotten in the last few days. She could still function properly, just with quite a few breaks in between her daily life, caused of course by her spacing out, usually staring at Allen or in his general direction. Deciding that it was best to check on her, Kanda marked his page and twisted around to look at the window so conveniently placed to look out to the garden. There, he wasn't too shocked to find Katsura standing stock still in the middle of the garden, water still running, and staring off into space. Sighing in irritation, he got up and went to the window, opening it, and called out.

"Katsura! Are you trying to flood the garden or something?" he said, causing the woman to jump a good two feet in the air, hastily shutting off the water before turning to look at him.

"Kanda! God, you scared me!" she said, quickly putting down the hose and going over to him.

Kanda sighed, leaning his head on his hand as he stared at Katsura, unamused. "You know, I noticed you've been spacing out a lot recently. Everything ok?" he said slowly, expression passive and bored.

The woman fidgeted, seemingly unsure or uncomfortable with talking about what had really been bothering her, but after a few moments she sighed, giving up on secrecy altogether.

"Well, you remember that old eh... friend of mine?" she started, fidgeting some more.

"You mean the one you never talk about that's basically a ghost?" Kanda said, straightening up, now deeply interested.

"Yeah, that one... Well, I've been having some issues with him for some time, as you probably figured." Katsura moved to lean on the window, hopping up to sit on it. "Usually though, he chooses to ignore me rather than make a scene. Too much effort, blah blah blah."

"And that's changed?" Kanda asked, noticing out of his peripherals that Allen had moved to prop himself up on the back of the couch, television forgotten. Katsura nodded.

"Yeah... He's starting to call me now, sending me messages, letters... since last month, actually. Keeps asking me what I'm doing and how things are going here at home... I know it sounds harmless, if you ignore his fondness for isolation. On a good day, he won't send me a hello text even once. I don't know how, but I've upset him somehow... more than usual, at least." she said, sighing tiredly. They had now gotten the attention of Lavi, who finally closed his book and went to stand next to Kanda.

"Why don't you just invite the guy over?" Lavi asked, rubbing his eyes a bit.

Katsura looked at him like he was crazy. "You're kidding right? Do you remember what happened the last time he was here? We damn near had to rebuild this house from all the damage he caused."

"Well, yes, but that was only because he kind of lost it back then. Said he got the flu or something, remember? Besides, how much worse can he get?" Lavi reasoned, taking off his monocle.

Katsura sighed again. "You're right, you know... but I still feel like it'd be a bad idea..." she was cut off as the phone rang, making her groan. "Betcha that's him..."

"Want me to get it?" Kanda asked, receiving a head shake.

"No... I need to talk to him anyway..." she said, hopping inside from where she was seated on the windowsill.

"Next week Saturday, Kat. It'll be a full moon." Lavi said, drawing questioning glances from Allen and Kanda.

"Yeah... ok, that's perfect, actually." Katsura said, giving Lavi a peck on the cheek, finally answering the phone.

"What's so special about the full moon?" Kanda asked after a full minute of awkward silence. Lavi seemed a bit nervous at this question.

"Well, you see– huh?" Lavi was cut off by the sound of Katsura yelling into the phone in the other room.

"NO, DON'T YOU DARE, YOU EGOTISTICAL BASTARD! THIS IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS, DO YOU HEAR ME?" they could almost hear the response coming from the phone. Katsura wasn't the only one upset.

"Listen here, you little shit. You answer to me, got that? I do not have to nor will I explain myself to you. You, on the other hand, will explain what exactly makes you think you can order ME around... no, you will do this in person..." whatever she said next none of them could comprehend, for whatever language she was using to hiss out threats with was no language any of them had ever heard. After a few tense moments in which silence reigned, Katsura was once again heard, though this time they could understand her.

"You had better show up, if not, I'll drag you here myself, and you know it won't end favorably for you." the clack of the phone slamming down on the receiver rang out throughout the house, somehow being more ominous than the sound of Katsura's approaching footsteps.

The three males remained quiet as they watched her enter, grumbling to herself quietly as she moved through the living room and back out the window, instantly diving into caring for her garden with every intention of losing herself in it and forgetting the rest of the world for a few hours.

Kanda was the first to dare to move, closing the window as quietly as possible.

"What the hell was that?" Allen asked, more than a little scared.

"She has this... how do I put this? There's this guy who is more a servant than friend to her, from what I gather. They've been having issues for years now, though she never tells me what about. I don't know much else and she's not spilling anything... it's incredibly frustrating, let me tell you." Lavi said, motioning at Kanda and Allen to follow silently as he made his way to his office.

Kanda and Allen looked at each other, confused, but followed anyway, Allen somehow latching on to Kanda's back as he passed him, curling up his tail so it wouldn't hit the floor. Kanda made sure to stay near Lavi; he didn't want to have to hunt the other down in a library that size.

"So, what do you know then? If you don't know much, as you say, then what was all that about having to rebuild the house and the full moon?" Kanda said. Lavi was stopping here and there, picking up a book or two as he passed the shelves. Allen himself seemed interested in the books, though he made no move towards any of them.

"It's complicated, really. I'm honestly not supposed to say more than what you've already heard. Codes and laws and whatnot. You understand, don't you Allen?" Lavi said, glancing at the boy as he picked up what looked to be an old notebook. On the cover they could read 'Black Order: Scientists and their Backgrounds'. This made them both uneasy, though they couldn't say why.

Allen nodded slowly. "Yeah, I do. These laws apply only within the assumption that we invite you in rather than the other way around, however, and as long as the truth remains true... Bookman Jr., right?" he said, looking at Lavi's single eye hard. Lavi gulped.

"Listen, I can explain this..." Lavi said, trying to pacify the now angry prince.

"No need. I'm sure you have your reasons, though really, you do remember I am officially a prince, don't you? Where is the Bookman, by the way?" Allen said, letting out a frustrated sigh.

Kanda was now not only confused but angry and fed up as well. "Is there something I'm missing, or did you two really forget I'm here?" he said, grabbing Allen off of his shoulders and slinging him rather roughly onto a nearby couch as they finally entered Lavi's actual office, Allen squeaking out his indignation.

"Crap... ok, you have to promise not to say anything until I'm done talking alright? Both of you." Lavi said, closing the door behind him and locking it. "I have to explain this regardless."

Receiving nods from both boys, Lavi sighed, and began to speak, his voice low. "I met Katsura the first time nearly twenty-five years ago. At the time, I had only been with Bookman for a few years, long enough to know what he did, not long enough to really know what I was doing. And before you ask, Kanda, the Bookman is my teacher, I am his junior. Part of the Bookman Clan, who record history. Okay? Good. Anyway, I didn't really understand what it really meant, my having met her. Bookman did, and gave me a good whooping for not having told him right away. See, she's not necessarily human, as you might have guessed. More along the lines of witch. But I'm not supposed to know. She doesn't know I'm a Bookman; she can't. This person that she's been having issues with, this servant of hers... is also not human. As you heard her say earlier, the last time he was here he almost leveled this house, and yes it was basically rebuilt. This library was the only thing that survived, somehow... I wasn't here for that. It was about three years before you came to live with us, Kanda. I'd only been living here for about a year... and really, I only started talking to her because I was assigned to follow her. Record her side of things while the Bookman searches for her servant. Cold, I know, but that's what we have to do sometimes. Everything that I know about this guy... I'm not really supposed to know. It's only by chance that I do, having been in the right place at the right time. She's not willing to divulge anything else, and no matter how much I try, she refuses to tell me. Not that I blame her. I'm just as secretive."

Lavi drifted off in thought as he moved to sit at his desk, moving to pull out a black notebook. Opening it up to the middle, he picked up a pen and began to write. The sounds of the pen scratching against the paper gave both Allen and Kanda time to absorb all that Lavi had just told them. That honestly answered many things that they'd both been wondering about for a while now. Only one question remained.

"Why tell us all this?" Kanda asked. His voice sounded shockingly loud after the pregnant silence that had blanketed them.

Lavi however did not seemed startled at all; if anything, it was as if he'd been expecting the question. "For the simple reason that I made a mistake, as our young prince oh so kindly pointed out." he said, addressing Kanda more than Allen here, mainly because he already knew all of it. "I am part of the Bookman Clan, which has an agreement with all creatures, both good and bad, that no matter the situation, we are a neutral party. But of course, this comes with the assumption that should our records be needed, we will tell the full and unbiased truth. In our unique situation, the lines have become somewhat blurred, and really, considering Allen is prince to one of the seven seas, it should've been the first thing I told him. You yourself are here because of your relationship with Allen. Honestly, he's safe here thanks to you. Katsura has absolutely nothing to do with that."

Kanda and Allen both blushed slightly at the implication Lavi barely tried to hide, though they did not try to deny it. Lavi grinned at this, writing something down before finally shutting his notebook and putting it back into its drawer. Standing up, he grinned a little wider, going to the door.

"Come on, Katsura's ought to have calmed down by now. Can't be gone for too long, she might start to wonder. It's dinnertime, at any rate." he said.

Kanda got up to follow, moving towards the door completely forgetting that Allen couldn't walk. It didn't seem to matter, though, for the next moment Allen had once again managed to latch onto his back. The difference this time was that Kanda noticed the breeze that seemed to come from nowhere, centering on Allen for a moment before dying down. He turned to glance at the boy in time to see a faint glow leaving his mercury eyes, the odd coolness on his hands retreating a few moments later. He raised an eyebrow at Allen, who blushed, but refused to explain.

"Shut up." Allen said, his blush deepening as Kanda grinned at him.

"Really? Because I've been wondering how you do that all the time." Kanda responded, relishing in the embarrassed squeak that came from the boy.

"Yes, really. I don't want to talk about it; don't give me that look!" Allen said.

Kanda chuckled, but didn't press the matter... for now. Allen groaned and hid his face in Kanda's neck knowing he'd be questioned later. Lavi stood off to the side, expression neutral, watching as he always did.

Kanda had been poking him in the side for the past hour, each poke becoming increasingly harsher and more difficult to ignore, but he managed. He'd been trying to get him to explain just what that show in the library had been, with little success. Lavi had, of course, watched from the side, an amused grin on his face the entire time while Katsura ate her food silently, no longer angry but still too lost in thought to really notice what was going on around her. Even now she was still sitting at the table, resting her head on her hand, just staring off into space. Allen wished he had that same ability of ignoring everything. It would keep him from wanting to slug Kanda in the jaw anyway.

'At least this sweater is thick... and warm...' Allen thought, rolling in the incredibly large sweater Kanda had given him to wear. The house was warm, yes, but with winter fast approaching it was better to keep him as warm as possible, considering if it did get too cold, they'd only be able to cover his upper half.

Allen rolled again, away from Kanda and nearly off of the couch where he'd been trying to dive back into the documentaries that were playing. He giggled as he accidentally hit Kanda with his tail, rolling again and again and thoroughly enjoying the warmth of the sweater and the couch and Kanda now grumbling about antsy people even as he reached to tickle his fins and failing as Allen rolled again, somehow not falling off the couch. He yawned suddenly, stopping his rolling and settling into the plush cushions of the couch, content. Kanda stared at him for a moment before getting up, extending a hand to him.

"Come on. Might as well turn in; it's getting late." he said. Allen giggled again and accepted his extended hand, giggling in warm giddiness as Kanda lifted him up and out of the couch, carrying him to their room. Of course this meant that Kanda no longer felt the need to hold back, so the moment he hit the bed, Kanda wasted no time in tickling him mercilessly, not caring about the mess his writhing was sure to cause.

It only took Allen five minutes to give up. "Sto-stop! I-I'll tell you, I swear, just stop!" he somehow managed to say in between giggles and breathless gasps.

Kanda chuckled, torturing Allen for a few more moments before stopping. "Alright then... so tell me. What exactly was that?" he said, grin firmly in place as he watched Allen catch his breath before answering him.

"Well, you see... how to explain it...? There's a ritual that they do, a kind of blessing, for when a mother is about to have a child..." Allen started, getting more comfortable on the bed, fixing the sweater so he was better covered. "Specifically, this ritual is for when a mother is expected to bear female young."

"That's nice to know, but what does it have to do with you?" Kanda asked, getting impatient.

Allen huffed. "I'm getting to that." he said, sitting up as best he could. "In my mother's bloodline, this ritual is a little more complex. Considering that before me, every first born has always been female, she didn't even consider it possible that I'd be male, in spite of the warnings her council and advisers gave her, and went ahead with the ritual. Now, this ritual isn't just a blessing. Since she's the high priestess, and essentially queen, it does more than just ensure health and good luck and such. There's a magic that only the high priestess and her successor has access to, and since it was the males that were cursed all those years ago, this ritual is only performed for females. She refused to believe her first born would be male, maybe perhaps thought doing the ritual would change the facts somehow. Of course, it didn't work like she'd hoped it would, instead making her barren and giving me what no other male has ever been allowed."

Kanda sat silent, taking all this new information in much like he had every other time Allen had indulged him with his story, processing it bit by bit until a question emerged. "Why are males not allowed to be blessed?" he asked after a moment of silence.

"Ah, well... that's more speculation than known fact, really, and has to do with the curse that plagues them. The stories vary depending on who's telling it, naturally, but a widely accepted fact is that the witch that cursed them did it to get revenge on the one male that seduced her to gain access to her gift, so she'd give him everything he wanted, then left her without a word. The curse affects everyone, male and female, but it's only really observed on males, considering that's who it was made to affect. Rumor has it that if they try to bless a male, it'll bring misfortune to his bloodline and all those around him for as long as he lives. Of course, it's just rumor and has never been proven, but after being cursed, they refused to take any chances." Allen said, giving a one-shouldered shrug.

"Alright, I guess that makes sense... now, why do you keep saying 'them'?" Kanda said. This time, Allen was caught off-guard.

"What do you mean?"

"When talking about this curse, you keep saying that it affects 'them'." Kanda clarified.

Allen flushed slightly at that. "Ah, yeah. I forgot to say... When the high priestess had the ritual performed for me, the clash of the forces, between the curse and the blessing... it ended up overpowering the curse. Because at that point it had been stretched and weakened from the generations that have been affected by it, the ritual not only did what it was meant to, it also freed me of the curse, but only me. Of course, the high priestess and I are the only ones that know this. Aside from those present at my birth, but they were killed the day after this was discovered."

Allen shifted his tail so he could sit up better, reaching over to uncover his right wrist. "Everyone that is affected by this curse is born with a mark on their wrist, usually a swirling pattern that under the sunlight looks like a heart split in two... or so I've heard. "

Touching his index finger to his wrist, he started to move it around in circles. Kanda watched as Allen's skin started to glow faintly before the glow concentrated into an odd circular pattern, to Kanda it looked kind of like swirling water, and maybe two fish circling each other, but the image lasted only a moment or two and looked broken up.

"That's the most I've ever been able to get out of that... everyone else's mark is permanent, and they usually take measures to try and fade it out as much as possible, not... the opposite, anyway." he said, looking up from his wrist to Kanda, somewhat surprised to find he was barely a breath away from him.

"So that's the remnants of the curse, then?" Kanda asked, backing up some, though not a lot.

Allen nodded. "I've actually ended up being stronger than my mother. Since she's afflicted by the curse and I'm not, I've been able to develop my abilities much faster and easier than her."

"So what can you do then?" Kanda asked. Honestly, he was so intrigued he looked like a child.

"Aaah, well..." Allen then spent the next hour and a half explaining and showing Kanda everything that he'd managed to master in the rare moments he had peace and solitude.

"And that's about it. Other than camouflaging myself, that's everything." he said.

"How do you mean, camouflaging yourself?" Kanda asked.

Hesitantly, he answered. "It's more along the lines of assimilating, really. Depending on where I am, I can blend into the environment, sort of like becoming one with whatever I'm near, like a hole in a cliff or that sort of thing. Sometimes, I can even mimic the appearance of other species, but that's much harder and dangerous... though I haven't tried it in a while."

Kanda was starting to get excited. "So you can morph, is that what you're telling me?" he said.

"Er... yeah." now Allen was looking at everything and anything but Kanda.

"So... how would that even work? Like, would you be able to turn into an octopus or something?" Kanda asked.

Allen laughed at the suggestion. "Well, I don't know, I haven't tried. I have changed the appearance of my tail, just to test it out, you know? But I could never maintain it for long. Not that it was tiring or anything, just, mommy dearest would see and figure it out." he said, rolling his eyes.

Kanda let out a chuckle, watching Allen, hesitating for a moment before childish impulse took over. "Can I see?" he blurted out.

Allen was startled by the sudden question, and was in the process of panicking at the prospect of morphing himself into anything, when he stopped to think about it, and came to a simple and stupidly obvious conclusion. "Yeah, sure. Why not?" he said, smiling. Without warning, a bright flash emitted from him, blinding Kanda, getting stronger with every passing second. Kanda heard Allen grunt and fall back on the bed, though with the bright light still emitting from him there wasn't much he could do. Finally, after the longest two minutes of his life, the light dimmed and disappeared completely, just as suddenly as it had come. It took him a moment to get his sight back, but when he did, he was nothing short of shocked.

Kanda couldn't help but fall back and off the bed at the sight that greeted him. There, laying on the bed, was a human Allen. The sweater he wore was large enough to where it covered his family jewels, but short enough to where Kanda was sure he was blushing. Extending past the sweater were slim, creamy, hairless legs that Kanda couldn't help but want to touch, just to see if they were as soft as they looked. Allen groaned and sat up, legs bending out to the sides as the boy tried to reorient himself, hands clenched as he pulled the sweater down some, no doubt self-conscious about his new state of undress. Tentatively, he looked up at Kanda, lips at a pout, blushing in embarrassment.

Kanda stood up off the floor slowly, eyes locked onto Allen's form. Looking at the newly human Allen, wearing nothing but his oversized sweater, in that position, blushing, and on his bed...

"I need tissues..." Kanda muttered, hand moving up quickly to cover his nose as it started to bleed. Looking away quickly, he went to his bathroom, turning on the sink to clean off the blood from his hand and face, then grabbing some toilet paper to hopefully stop his nosebleed.

"Kanda...? Are you okay?" Allen asked quietly, leaning forward some to try and see what Kanda was doing.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Kanda said, walking back in the room. His nosebleed had somehow stopped already, luckily. Looking at Allen again, though, threatened to make it start back up.

Making sure to maintain his gaze above Allen's waist, Kanda asked, "So, are you planning on staying like that?"

"Um... yeah... I figured it'd be easier than my original form, because... you know... legs, and whatnot... is that alright? I can change back...?" Allen said, more than a little nervous. Kanda was looking at him kind of funny, and he was starting to believe he was at fault.

"Wha– no, no, that's fine, just... let me see if I have some pants for you or something..." Kanda said, going to his dresser. "Katsura's going to have a field day when she sees you..."

Allen merely tilted his head to the side in confusion, saying nothing. Kanda tried hard not stare too much at the expression on his face, pulling out an old pair of pajama pants he'd outgrown and neglected to get rid of.

"This looks like it'll fit you. Okay then... don't suppose you can stand?" Kanda asked, looking just as conflicted as Allen.

"Don't know... I've never assumed this form before. No harm in trying, though." Allen said, straightening out his legs and moving to sit at the edge of the bed.

"Let's get this on you first. Now, how...? Alright, let's do this..."

Kanda knelt before Allen, helping him guide his feet in the pants before instructing him to hold on to his shoulders. Straightening up, he pulled Allen up with him, pulling up the pants as well. Allen did not let go of Kanda after this though, instead clinging to him like moss to a rock, dangling a bit as Kanda straightened to his full height.

"I'm going to put you down now." Kanda said, chuckling as Allen started to shake his head furiously. "Don't worry, I'm not letting go. Come on."

Allen looked at Kanda, his hesitation evident on his face as he nodded slowly. Gently, Kanda set Allen down on his feet, keeping a good hold on him as he said, waiting until he felt he was steady to pull Allen's arms off of him, grabbing a hold of his hands instead, helping the boy in finding his balance. Then he had the joy of teaching Allen to walk, or rather, walk without tripping. Since he'd been swimming all his life, he didn't really have to worry about having the strength to stand; this was not a problem. The problem was in him getting used to having to put one foot in front of the other.

It took another hour of Allen walking around in the room with Kanda guiding him for him to get the hang of it, and by then, it was nearing midnight. Kanda could only thank whatever deity was watching over him it was the weekend.

Allen was already yawning by the time Kanda said they should get some sleep, a goofy smile on his face as he let Kanda push him back on the bed, giggling softly and waiting for Kanda to join him. Kanda couldn't help but laugh softly as he watched Allen cocoon himself with the thick blankets they slept with, his lips stretching out to a boyish grin as he grabbed one edge of the blanket, untangling him from it with one hard tug. Allen only laughed at this, simply getting more comfortable on the bed, motioning for Kanda to lay down with one hand. Kanda relented with a roll of his eyes, a gentle smile adorning his face as Allen cuddled up to him the second he finally did lay down, covering the both of them with the blanket.

"Tomorrow is going to be interesting, isn't it?"

A chuckle. "Definitely."

Oookay, so there's that. I know it's been a few months since my last update, so I just want to thank all my lovely followers who've been so patient with me. I'm really bad with this one but anyway, don't forget to review! Tell me what you thought of if; if you maybe think there's something I could improve or any ideas that you may have. Hope you enjoyed!