The Fine Line

This MIGHT be the last one for today. We’ll see… if I get bored…

Now, I would like to apologize ahead of time for my horrible Swedish. I know there are a lot of things wrong with it, and I’ve had two people try to explain to me how to fix it, but I honestly don’t understand. I’m sorry :(

Disclaimer of Despair: I don’t own D.Gray-man. If I did, there would be long paragraphs of superfluous description in the middle of the manga. Because I lack self-control.

Accident

The wall behind the stove exploded violently, splinters of wood sprayed into the room, snow and bullets riddled the tiled floor less than a moment later. A serpentine mechanical head craned through the new hole, turning its black eyes to the four figures that had until this point, occupied the table. With what might have been a smile the akuma opened its mouth, the gun therein turned to fire.

“Lloyd! Nathan! Run!” Allen called out over the sound of swirling wind and firing guns. He activated his Innocence and vaulted away from the table, his eye taking in the soul of the akuma before him.

Kanda did not bother waiting for Allen to shoot the demon – because Allen was slow and he could do it with his eyes closed and there was just no point in waiting for more danger to come and it wasn’t like Allen was in any position to be putting stress on his arm and –

His sword passed through the creature’s face like a hot knife through butter, but the sound of bullets was unceasing. Everywhere he turned there was another explosion, another crumbling wall; dust was quickly filling the small kitchen, blocking nearly every dark corner from his vision. Lloyd was gone and he couldn’t see Allen. Nathan had vanished as well. What made matters worse was that he couldn’t see a single akuma either.

“Moyashi! How many are there?” He called out over the sound of something falling over and breaking.

“Two here!” Lloyd’s high baritone voice drifted to him from some distance away, in the direction of the foyer.

“Five total.” There was loud explosion from his right and plums of smoke joined with the dusty chaos. Kanda was going to feel than useless if Allen kept it up. “Four!”

Allen dodged a rather slow attack and blasted away at his current pursuer’s body, not stopping until he saw the drift of gold leave the akuma’s body as the soul within was freed. Where this lot had come from and why there were here he could not even guess – but they were stupid, ones and twos, the kind that the Earl seemed to deem expendable, the kind that would not escape him when he was in good, fighting shape. But he wasn’t in shape. After killing two of them he was nearly winded.

“Three!” Kanda’s voice was in front of him, his form nothing more than a black silhouette against the clouds of white and gray that had consumed the inn, billows of smoke and clots of dust choked the air and made Allen’s eyes water. He could not see the last two akuma.

Kanda was attacking something and shortly after another explosion shook the inn. So there was one left. Where?

Allen saw it coming, flying for Kanda faster than any akuma he had seen previously. It did not giggle or call out, or give itself away with a blast of its guns – it flew with great green wings outstretched, fangs barred, and talons reaching. The perfect silence it moved in was eerie like a dream; Allen felt as if time slowed to a crawl as he watched it go.

No, He thought, his feet moving him of there own volition, I have to stop it, I have to get there, I have to. He did not have much energy left, his voice was nearly gone from the smoke, he could only get there and kill it before it caught Kanda from behind. I can’t let Kanda die. His breathing increased with his speed until he though his lungs would burst from use, his heart thundered against in ribcage like a hammer on an anvil. As he leapt, he swung his arm over his head and to the side, hacking the demon into six parts when his fingers passed through it delicately. He smiled to himself; he had done what he had hoped to do. And yet, something was wrong.

Kanda had heard motion behind him, a pounding too fast to be the worn out Moyashi’s feet. So he waited patently for the demon to come, then swung his sword precisely at the instant he felt the air move against his hairs of his neck, aiming to cut the thing in two and be done with it. It was a perfect stroke, but it missed its mark tragically. Mugen sliced with sickening ease through the fabric of Allen’s jacket and into the flesh beneath, cleaving a wound that went from his right hip to his left shoulder, the spray of gore that splattered across his face was warm like fire, the deep red of lifeblood. A line of crimson danced across his vision before spinning away with his momentum. Allen let out a strangled scream when he slammed into the snow covered tile.

“Moyashi!” Kanda stumbled across the kitchen, sinking to his knees when he came to Allen’s side. He couldn’t have hit Allen. He hadn’t wanted to hit Allen. Yet the pool of blood around him was expanding by the moment, his already pale skin fading to a transparent white. His eyes were wide but closing, his hands clutched around the inch deep gash in his torso. “Dammit, say something!” Kanda, commanded, unthinkingly pressing a hand against the blood soaked material that used to be part of Allen’s shirt. There was so much blood. Too much blood. Kanda had to do something to save him.

“It’s… Allen…”

“Che,” Kanda sighed with relief as he pulled himself closer to the boy and started wondering what to do next. “Keep talking, if you stop talking for an instant, I’ll kill you.” The table cloth. It lay on the floor beside them in shreds, made of a thick linen that would serve just find as a bandage until he found a doctor. Kanda picked it up and began ripping it into large strips.

“You said… that one has to… look out for himself.”

“And?” He pulled open Allen’s jacket and ripped his shirt the rest of the way, which exposed his skin fair skin to the stingingly chill air. With hurried fingers he snaked the first piece beneath his ribcage and around him so he could tie it close to the place he was pouring blood.

“Kinda going back… on your word, aren’t you?” Allen’s eyes were watching Kanda, watching him try to save his life. There was no mask now, no anger. Concern was his face, worry was his eyes, and guilt were the hands he used to bind him; such things seemed so obvious when looking through half-lidded eyes.

Kanda harrumphed at him. “No, you’re the selfish, naïve, self-sacrificing type. You are incapable of looking out for yourself. Someone has to do it for you.” He started the next bandage, this one slightly lower.

“What’s your favorite color?”

“Blue.”

“When were you born?”

“June sixth.”

“What’s your favorite food?”

“Soba.”

“How long have you been with the Order?”

“Too long.”

“What kind of books do you read in the library?”

“Historical ones. And a few about magic.”

“Why are you answering my questions?”

“Because it keeps you talking.”

“Why don’t you smile at me?”

Kanda almost stopped what he was doing to glare, but thought better of it. He would have a very hard time explaining to Komui that Allen had died while he contemplated his lack of enthusiastic facial expressions. And then he’d have to explain to Lenalee. And then Lavi. And then Sable. And then Jerry. And, on top of it all, he’d never get a horrible love poem ever again.

“I don’t smile at anyone, what makes you think I’d smile at you?”

“No one else seems to want… to see you smile.” Allen let Kanda move his hand away from the place near his solar plexus so he could tie another bandage. He put it back when he was done. “And…if you smiled at Lavi… he might call out ‘strike’ or something. I don’t think I would.”

Despite the circumstances Kanda had to bite down a laugh. Maybe, just maybe, Allen was more observant than he thought if he could come up with an idea like that. Kanda was a little older than Lavi, and Lavi always did go for older women.

Not that I am anything like a woman! His brain reminded him.

“Why wouldn’t you?”

There was something in the tone of Kanda’s voice that did not make it to his face, something oddly hopeful. Allen remembered that letter he had found in his pocket. How it had said so much and said so little. Could he have meant that he wanted to be a strike?

“Because,” He grimaced at a particularly tight knot. “I have self-control.”

And, to his surprise and to Kanda’s, the older Exorcist grinned at him. It was not the sort of womanish, angelic look that Allen had been expecting, it was soft and light, lopsided and smug, his thin eyebrows arched upward at the same angle as his mouth, his high cheek bones gave the look a masculine quality. And there, in his eyes, was a true sparkle of amusement. Those dark gems gleamed beautifully, bringing out the contrast between his hair and skin.

Aw, he really is a strike… Allen’s thoughts were so simple and he was so accepting of them, he never even thought to try and not blush.

He’s blushing at me. Kanda thought without losing his grin. He should not be blushing at me. And like Hell I should be blushing back.

“Stop blushing, Moyashi, your body needs that blood.”

“I said I have self-control; I’m not inhuman.” Allen let his left hand be moved away from the place at his stomach while Kanda bandaged it. He found that he did not have the strength to move it back. “I don’t think… that I’ll be able to walk…to the hospital.”

Kanda frowned at him. His eyes were closing slowly; his pallor had gone from bad to worse. He was more than half done now, and the strips of cloth at the top of his chest were functioning beautifully, but it could have been too much already. He would have to do two layers, just to be safe, before he even tried to move him. And he needed to be moved instantaneously.

“Baka,” He gave his arm a little pinch that widened Allen’s eyes. “I’ll carry you.”

Allen giggled a little. Why did he feel so warm inside? Why did he want to make Kanda smile like that again? Why did he suddenly not really care that Kanda had just called him a vegetable and an idiot? This was not Allen’s normal, logical mind making him feel like this. Blood loss. He thought. Blood loss and that letter.

“Nathan!” Kanda called out into the kitchen. He had finished with the first layer of bandages, but he had also run out of table cloth – the Finder would have real bandages in his pack that Kanda could use. He realized then that he had not bothered to look around the room after Allen had killed the last akuma, nor had he been the slightest bit concerned for Lloyd and Nathan until their presence became necessary to him. He observed that the flames the demons had produced had not caught anything on fire and the smoke was beginning to dissipate. Most of Lloyd’s cooking was in heaps around what remained of the table.

Underneath one of the broken table legs was the yellow fabric of an empty Finder’s uniform. Gray dust littered the tile around it.

“Che.” Kanda nearly cursed.

“What?” Allen asked.

Kanda was glaring horribly again. “Stupid Finder got himself killed. I’ll be back. And don’t shut up while I’m away.”

“You want me to talk still?”

“Yes,” Kanda stood up and started walking away from him, glowering like normal. “Get to it, Moyashi.”
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“It’s a phone call. One phone call. It’s not like I’ll be telling him anything important.” Sable explained to a serious looking Komui. “He’s my brother. You must understand that bond at least.”

Komui adjusted his hat while he studied the young woman before him, trying to pretend like that last little part of her request wasn’t tugging at his heartstrings. He did not know that Sable could look in a mirror and conjure her brother’s image if she so desired. He did not know that Sable was talking about calling her less-favorite sibling. All he knew was that Lenalee had been holding a handkerchief to her eyes since about a half second into Sable’s speech, and she was sniffing on occasion.

He almost wanted to cry himself, and not because Lenalee was crying (no, no, that would just be ridiculous). How was her poor, socially awkward brother supposed to run an inn on his own?

Oh, he’s so letting me. Sable thought with an internal grin. All she had to do was cry…

The best he could do was pretending that he did not want to let her break the rules. “Sable-chan what you are asking if very close to something I cannot allow.” He folded his hands in front of his face, looking at her thoughtfully. “But I will allow it, because he is your brother and the circumstances are extenuating. But please, be brief.”

Sable almost hugged her superior, but managed to restrain herself when Lenalee did it for her.

“Thank you so much Komui-san! I promise that I won’t complain no matter where you send me next mission!” And Sable was gone, Lenalee zipping away behind her.

Sometimes… Komui thought as he picked up his coffee cup. I wonder what the two of them are planning…
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Kanda had just finished with the good bandages when the phone in the front room took to ringing annoyingly. It wasn’t the low, dignified pulse that he was used to either; it was a high, loud, happy ring that gnawed on his nerves.

“God dag?” It was Lloyd’s voice – quiet and shaking – that sounded when the ringing stopped.

That bastard! Kanda cursed, whirling to face the doorway. He’s been alive this entire time, just staying in the front room while Allen bleeds to death? That coward!

“Sable! Syster! Hur Jag har missat du. Nej, allting är böter. Jag rättvis fik två gästerna i idag, ändå de auktoriserat inte förstöra köken. Allvarligt?” Lloyd wasn’t talking hurriedly either, just having a conversation with whoever the Hell was on the other end of the line. Not that Kanda cared. All he cared about was that he had been hiding out when Kanda could have used him. “Brunn den där er enkel, tid och oavsiktlig möte vilja göra den hända. Verkligen? Det var då märklig. Två mannen kom här och slåss något demonen inne om kök. Jag tro på deras namnen var Kanda och Allen. Den där er häpnadsväckande! Ja Rätt bort.” And if kept it up, Kanda was going to kill him.

“Kanda! It’s for you!” Lloyd yelled. “And is it safe for me to go into the kitchen yet?”

Kanda furrowed his brow. For him? But how? He came out of the kitchen to find Lloyd half under his desk and half next to it, the phone in his hand. “Go find out where the nearest doctor is then watch Allen until I come for you.” Lloyd did not understand what was going on exactly, but he nodded anyways, disappeared out of the inn without his coat. Kanda gently took the phone in his hand then put the phone to his ear.

“Hello?”

“Oh my sweet Jesus it is you!” Sable’s voice erupted from the phone. “Lloyd told me that you guys killed some demons and annihilated the kitchen – anything else going on that we should know about? I mean seriously, Lavi is about ready to pronounce you dead being you haven’t called in so long.”

Sable speaks Swedish? Kanda shook his head – that wasn’t what was important here. “There were rough seas and we were delayed. Allen is wounded.”

“Oh? Did you beat his skull in like I told you?”

“I sliced him with Mugen.”

“Ouch. On purpose?”

“He…was in the way.”

Sable noted the reluctance in his voice. “He’s not going to die, is he?”

Kanda glared at the circular dial on the phone for her even suggesting it. “I will not allow him.”

“I’ll have Komui send someone. You two stay put for now – don’t worry about the Innocence.”

“We’re here for the Innoc—”

“You’re there for the reason the Order tells you that you are there. I can put Komui on, if you really want him to command you to stay by Allen’s side.”

Kanda seethed silently, half angry at her and Komui, but still half grateful. Even now, after the ten days they had spent together, after more glares than he cared to count and a grin he would rather not admit, after nearly dying himself and attempting to save the life of that damn Moyashi, he didn’t want to leave him. He wanted nothing more in the world than to stay there and be… protective. He wanted Allen safe. Capable of producing more laughable poetry.

“That will not be necessary.” He said at last.

Sable grinned on the other end of the line. “Good.” The line went dead.
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Oh, so looooooong! This was the never ending chapter because I am a description whore. I’m sorry. I just…can’t hold it in sometimes. Please don’t be too angry…

And, to answer my previous question… Uri means ‘light’, Sable means ‘dark’, and Lloyd means ‘gray’. Maybe you should keep that in mind for later… :D

I love reviews like I love cookies. Maybe even more being they don’t make me fat =)