Aiko Chapter 2 .yullen.

Chapter 2 - Can’t Escape (できないエスケープ)

“I heard Chief Komui has this really weird experiment that has to do with Kanda and Allen,” a finder named Eric said quietly to another finder as they passed Kanda. Kanda was headed in the opposite direction, to said Chief Komui. It had been far too long (an entire week) since Kanda had gone out on a mission. He wanted to know why, even though he had never complained before.

Kanda knocked on Komui’s office door and was let in.

“Kanda-kun?” Komui asked.

“Why haven’t I been placed on any new missions?” Kanda asked sternly.

“Oh? You’ve only been back a week,” Komui pointed out.

“Put me on a mission,” Kanda said short of demanding.

“You aren’t needed immediately out there. Besides, you have adorable little Aiko to take care of!” Komui said affectionately.

“That’s not my responsibility,” Kanda said flatly. He was already irritated with Allen constantly reminding him.

“Kanda-kun! Really? You can’t talk like that. I’ve been raising him for you for four years-“

“I didn’t know about him and I’m going to keep it that way,” Kanda said defiantly.

“You can’t just ignore your child,” Komui said matter-of-factly.

“For the last time, he isn’t mine! All I came in here for was a mission. Seeing that you won’t give me one on your bias, I’ll leave,” Kanda said backing up from the cluttered desk.

“That’s so sad. How’s Allen-kun taking it?” Komui asked.

“Taking what?”

“Your denial and rejection,” Komui said coolly pushing his glasses up his face.

“Che. He has nothing to do with me,” Kanda said trying to leave.

“Kanda, you can’t ignore him, or Aiko. I’ll try and hide it for you, but this is going to blow up and you know it,” Komui said. Kanda left the office and went back to his room. Not five minutes later, someone knocked on his door.

“Go away,” Kanda replied to the door. It opened anyway.

“He wanted to see you,” Allen said. Aiko pushed past Allen’s legs and ran over to Kanda. Kanda extended a hand to stop the little kid from hugging him.

“Why’d you bring him out?” Kanda asked glaring at Allen.

“I told you,” Allen said going to Aiko.

“Daddy!” Aiko shouted addressing Kanda. Kanda tensed.

“Don’t call me that,” Kanda said still holding back the child.

“But mommy said I could,” Aiko said. He had stopped struggling to get forward. Kanda looked to Allen.

“Mommy?” Kanda asked with furrowed eyebrows. Allen shrugged and smiled.

“He wasn’t sure what to call us,” Allen explained. “And since I’m the one taking on all of the responsibility, I kind of am like the mom in this situation.” Kanda sighed.

“He’s not my responsibility for the last time,” Kanda said making sure to keep his eyes averted from Aiko.

“You’re going to choke on this if you don’t swallow your pride,” Allen said taking Aiko into his arms.

“Mommy, I bored,” Aiko complained. Allen smiled down at Aiko.

“What do you want to do?” Allen asked in the tone of voice that reminded Kanda of four years ago.

“Play ex-or-cist.” Aiko smiled. He hopped off Allen’s lap and started swinging his arm around and making explosion noises. Allen laughed, but a confused expression came over his face. Kanda just watched.

“Why are you using your arm Aiko?” Allen asked innocently.

“You do!” Aiko explained slashing at the air.

“You invoked your innocence in front of him?” Kanda asked.

“No. But I thought you weren’t interested,” Allen said turning his attention back to Aiko.

“I’m not,” Kanda muttered.

“How do you know that?” Allen asked Aiko.

“A dream,” Aiko answered with concentration plastered to his face. “Die akuma! Die!” he shouted running around Kanda’s small room.

“Stop it,” Kanda said abruptly. Aiko dropped his arm and sound effects.

“Daddy?” Aiko asked running to Kanda’s knees.

“You don’t know what you’re doing,” Kanda said with irritation.

“He’s right Aiko, being an exorcist is not a game,” Allen said smiling softly.

“Both you are,” Aiko protested.

“But we aren’t playing,” Allen tried to explain.

“Akuma are bad,” Aiko went on defending himself.

“You’re just not old enough yet, you’ll get your chance,” Allen said patting him on the shoulder.

“What do I play?” Aiko asked looking from Allen to Kanda.

“Don’t you have toys?” Kanda asked hoping to get the two of them out of his room.

“I want to play with you,” Aiko said smiling.

“I don’t play,” Kanda said scooting up on his bed. His feet planted on the bed near Allen and folded his arms while looking at his wall.

“Daddy’s a cranky pants,” Allen said pouting. Kanda shot a threatening glare at him.

“Daaaddyyy,” Aiko whined. He crawled off Allen and over to Kanda. He put his small hands on Kanda’s knees and peered over his legs. “Play with me!”

“No,” Kanda said shifting uncomfortably under the small hands.

“Don’t be mean,” Aiko said giving his own glare to Kanda.

“Don’t be annoying,” Kanda said.

“Kanda, he’s only four. Stop being a jerk,” Allen said ruffling Aiko’s hair to comfort him. Aiko turned around and looked at Allen.

“What did you do with Komui?” Kanda asked.

“Tests,” Aiko said wrinkling his nose. Kanda felt a little connection with Aiko and he didn’t like it.

“I’m no more fun than him,” Kanda said trying to repel Aiko.

“Don’t listen to him, Kanda is a lot of fun,” Allen said smiling.

“Play with me Daddy,” Aiko said pounding his little fists atop Kanda’s knees. Kanda kept his glare at Allen.

“He wants you, go to him,” Kanda said peeling Aiko’s hands off.

“Why don’t you like me?” Aiko asked struggling to cling to Kanda. Kanda had never felt mean in his life; everything he said was the truth. His heart twitched a little thinking of telling Aiko why he didn’t like him. The truth was Kanda, in his small black heart, would protect Aiko with his life. Kanda didn’t know this though; he firmly believed Aiko meant nothing to him.

“Che,” Kanda didn’t answer. He let go of Aiko’s hands. Allen crawled across the bed and between the wall and Kanda. He placed his left hand over Kanda’s chest and gave him a kiss on the cheek, he tried to soften him.

“What are you doing? That’s what got us him in the first place,” Kanda said turning his face away. Aiko glared at Kanda with tears in his eyes.

“You hate me,” Aiko sniffed.

“Don’t be a crybaby,” Kanda said roughly.

“You hate me!” Aiko wailed. He jumped off the bed and ran out of the room. For a moment Kanda was smug, then Allen pulled back and hit him.

“He’s four years old and you’re messing him up already,” Allen said remembering his childhood.

“Dammit,” Kanda said disregarding Allen. He jumped up off the bed and ran out the door; he was an older image of Aiko.

“Where are you going?” Allen shouted after Kanda.

“No one is going to know about him! Go the other way,” Kanda yelled back. Allen realized what Kanda was worried about, not Aiko’s feelings, but his presence. Allen wanted to sock Kanda.

“Aiko, you little brat experiment, where did you go?” Kanda asked himself quietly. He stopped running through the hall opening and closing doors as he went. He slowed down in his panic and let a semi-clear head try to prevail.

'If I were crying…' Kanda thought to himself. He couldn’t fathom such a thing. Putting himself in Aiko’s shoes was a big step for him.

‘If bean sprout was crying, he would go to his room,’ Kanda cleverly concluded. ‘Then he’s there already and I have nothing to worry about.’ Turning back around with a dirty look on his face, he was relieved Aiko was away. For some reason Kanda felt the best way to deal with problems was to deny them by hurting them and pushing them away.

“Kanda!” someone shouted. Kanda turned around and saw Section Leader Reever holding the hand of a sniffling dark blue haired boy.

“He keeps calling you…daddy…” he said unsure of the reaction he would receive from Kanda. Kanda felt his heart drop to his stomach, but kept a stone face.

“I don’t know why there’s a kid in headquarters. Go report it to Chief Komui,” Kanda said playing disinterested.

“But he knows who you are,” Reever said looking down to Aiko placing a vague idea together.

“I don’t know him,” Kanda said indifferently.

“Daddy! Stop hating me!” Aiko shouted tugging his hand out of Reever’s. Reever watched the scene unfold. Kanda looked down at Aiko like he was a nasty little bug.

“Did you find him Kanda?” Allen asked coming up from behind. “Oh, you did. Good- Section Leader Reever! Ah, ha ha, how are you? Are there any new development in the science department?” Allen came between Aiko and Reever. It was Kanda’s cue to take Aiko and leave.

“Let’s go,” Kanda said to Aiko.

“No! You hate me!” Aiko said angrily.

“That doesn’t matter, we’re going,” Kanda said rushed.

“I’m not going,” Aiko said folding his arms stubbornly.

“Stop arguing,” Kanda said grabbing Aiko’s wrist. He found it was drowning in his large hand. Pulling a now crying Aiko, Kanda tugged too hard and Aiko tripped. He started wailing and Kanda pulled him back up.

“Shut up,” Kanda said harshly, he couldn’t handle the pitiful crying. Allen and Reever stopped talking and looked at Kanda and Aiko. Aiko tripped again and in his heavy breathing and shaken limbs, Kanda found it easy to drag him along.

“What are you doing?!” Allen asked in horror. He came running over and swooped down to scoop up Aiko safely. He ran his hand over Aiko’s hair and pressed him into his chest, the little boy’s head resting on Allen’s shoulder.

“You take care of him,” Kanda snarled. Aiko stopped heaving and calmed to a whimper while Allen kissed his hair and kept Kanda locked in place with a death glare.

“If he wasn’t here, I would cut off your hair and make you choke on it,” Allen said kissing Aiko’s cheek. Kanda was shocked to hear something that angry coming out of Allen. By now, besides Reever and the dysfunctional family of three, Lenalee, Lavi, Crowley, Komui, and Miranda were all peering out of their doors. Kanda soon became painfully aware of that fact. Komui came over and from behind Kanda; he took him by the shoulders and led him back to his office.

“I know this is not Parenting 101 Kanda, but you can’t treat children like disobeying pets,” Komui said carefully. “You’re not little anymore, he is your child, and you’re old enough to make your own decisions, but I can’t let you abuse a four year old.”

“Then don’t let me near him,” Kanda suggested.

“You can’t place everything on Allen,” Komui said shaking his head. “Two parents are better than one.”

“You can play ‘Daddy’ then because I did not sign up for this,” Kanda said stubbornly.

“I did, for four years Kanda. Aiko is something special that you should love. His Innocence is remarkable and you helped make that,” Komui said placing a hand on Kanda’s shoulder.

“Something special?” Kanda repeated with curiosity.

“Yes,” Komui nodded. It became quiet.

“Don’t be immature Kanda, he is human,” Komui said dismissing Kanda’s thoughts on Aiko only being a ‘thing’. Kanda grunted. “Can you step up and let Aiko be the child and you the adult? I know both Allen and you are young in this situation, but the only struggle you really have to go through is raising Aiko. Not a worry financially which is a big burden for most young couples,” Komui went on.

“We are not a couple,” Kanda argued.

“Call it what you will, an affair, a relationship, friends with benefits, but both of you are responsible,” Komui tried to instill. Kanda’s eyes glazed over with fire. He hated anyone in his personal life.

“Everyone is going to know about Aiko now that stunt outside has branded you,” Komui said, “What are you going to do?”

“That’s my problem,” Kanda said turning around to leave.

“Just remember Aiko doesn’t think the same,” Komui reminded him. Kanda left to find the hallways deserted. He walked back to his room with silence ringing in his ears.

‘He’s so small…’ Kanda thought about the twisting wrist he held earlier. Anger and remorse mixed inside his body and mind. Aiko was not Allen, he did not ask to be made, he didn’t understand the world yet and his role models were two exorcists with personal problems at young ages themselves.

Inside his room, Kanda punched at the stones and cursed.

“Dammit,” he said casting his hand against the brick, still in a fist and his head hung. He took a deep breath and decided to meditate to clear himself up.

Even after hours of meditation and a personal resolve to not ignore Aiko, Allen still hadn’t come to visit Kanda. Kanda told himself that it was better if he and Allen stayed apart. The last thing he wanted besides this kid was for anyone to know what he did behind closed doors.

Kanda went to the cafeteria for dinner. Suddenly more than a dozen eyes pierced him. He let Jerry serve him and though Kanda was never cheerful, it was simply eerie for Jerry to not be over exuberant. Kanda guessed the entire headquarters now knew about Aiko. What they knew was still a mystery though. Kanda tried to tell himself it didn’t matter what they thought. He had only gotten away with that farce because he and Allen showed hate for each other in public and love and lust in private. Kanda assumed there might be speculators but no one ever approached him about it.

Sitting down with his soba, he heard the room whispering around him. Phrases like, “little kid”, “abusive”, “Kanda and Allen”, and “how long” were circling around Kanda’s head and tangling them in his food, making it unpleasant to even look at. With closed eyes, he raised his voice in a clear manner.

“Shut up. I’m trying to enjoy my meal and all I hear are finders with big mouths and no brains who are incessantly gossiping about things they don’t know about,” Kanda said silencing the room while he spoke.

“We’re not the one who abandon his kid and pawned it off,” a finder said who was truly appalled with the situation. Kanda tried to keep his temper in check and didn’t turn around.

“Does any of that involve you?” Kanda asked knowing his romance with Allen would soon be public knowledge.

“No, but it doesn’t mean any of us can’t be offended,” the finder said. He was standing up behind Kanda. He was scrawny and had a strong belief in family, something he had left behind.

“Keep your damned opinions to yourself, because I don’t care,” Kanda said losing his appetite altogether.

“I think Allen was right when he said you were thick,” the finder muttered sitting down.

“And you take Moyashi’s word as gospel, don’t you?” Kanda kept the argument going.

“His name is Allen, and I just think he’s right about you,” the finder shouted over his shoulder. Kanda stood up and stood over the finder.

“What makes Allen the authority on me?” Kanda asked glaring.

“Well obviously the two of you are always going on missions together,” the finder began.

“And what is that suppose to mean? I get assigned missions baka,” Kanda tried explaining the situation with a hasty tone. He had never really defended himself before. Swords were better than words. He had also always left the other person frustrated with their thoughts on him, he felt uneasy about people figuring him out.

“You wouldn’t be getting so defensive if you didn’t have something to hide,” the finder said coolly.

“Mind your own business you useless finder,” Kanda said leaving his plate.

Inside his room again, he slammed the door. He wanted to see Allen to hurt him; this was entirely his fault in Kanda’s mind. Seething, Kanda left his room and stomped over to Allen’s. He yanked open the door and saw Allen reading to Aiko. That didn’t cross Kanda’s rage filled mind. He hit the book out of Allen’s hand and picked him up by the collar. He then proceeded to ram the nineteen year old into the stone wall of his bedroom. Aiko screamed. Kanda’s fists tightened around Allen’s clothes, his breathing was heavy.

“You talked me into this damn affair. He is your responsibility and your fault! Don’t pin any of this bullshit on me, don’t tell me to take care of him or be nice-SHUT UP!” Kanda shouted at Allen and then to crying Aiko. The screaming and crying didn’t go unnoticed. Lavi and Crowley were in the room almost instantly after Kanda erupted.

Lavi restrained Kanda while Crowley comforted Aiko as Allen picked himself up.

“Don’t pretend you didn’t want it too Yuu!” Allen shouted back miserably. He went over to Aiko and held the crying boy again.

“Don’t use my first name!” Kanda snarled trying to escape Lavi’s hold. Lavi dragged him out to the hallway and wrestled with him all until reaching Kanda’s room.

“What the hell were you doing?” Lavi asked a fuming Kanda.