Apparently this is what happens when I am tired--sort of fic ^^;;
More random scribbling before the next chapter comes out?
Thoughts on Chapter 210
In list form, because this is apparently also the way my brain works.
Though following that note, this chapter apparently inspires the crack.
Sort-of-fic!
Fandom: D. Gray-Man
Characters: Mostly Kanda, Tattoo Dude, and an Akuma. Mentions of Allen and Johnny.
Notes: Complete crack. I dunno. The neighbors have been trying to play Jingle Bells on a guitar? They don't feature here though.
--
Being as they were now on the run, and severely lacking in money due to the usual state of the Beansprout’s finances and Johnny’s money having been stolen after their bar crawl, Kanda couldn’t really refuse. It was the samurai honor thing, probably. That didn’t mean he was happy about it, though. At all. He really should have just sliced up that damned clown when he’d had the chance. Or if he’d just managed to get to that Akuma a step sooner. Then he could have “accidentally” sliced the Beansprout under the guise of doing his job.
Imagining Mugen cutting into Allen (and ignoring what had happened the last few times he’d done that) brought a feral smile to Kanda’s face. Unfortunately, instead of scaring the other people in the room off and canceling this stupid deal, the head thug of the little third rate alley gang only sighed dreamily. “You’re still just as beautiful as I remembered. A beauty made even more so by the extraordinary right hook that put me on the pavement.”
“Don’t touch me,” Kanda growled, putting his hand on Mugen warningly. The thug looked vaguely familiar; he had a recollection of seeing that tattoo somewhere but didn’t really care to figure out the details.
“Of course, of course, just like I agreed to with my Snow Bird,” the thug cooed, with stars in his eyes. “You’re here as a bodyguard, but all you really have to do is stand in that corner there during this meeting. And then my brother Hank will know that, I, Bartholomew, am the true Hunter of Love!”
“…whatever,” Kanda muttered, completely losing any interest in following the inane rambles of the other man. On actual observation, his current “boss” looked rather like one of the low-lifes he’d beaten up in an alley when he and Johnny were trying to find the blasted Beansprout. Maybe he’d hit the man too hard, which was why he wasn’t making any sense. Deciding that ignoring the man was the better part of actually collecting the paycheck from this job, Kanda stalked to his designated corner to stand guard.
The thug, on the other hand, seemed to have other ideas. He clasped his hands together under his chin, lacing his sausage-like fingers together, and sighed wistfully as he watched Kanda take up his position. “Are you sure there’s no chance I can convince you to join me full-time, Pretty? I can offer you more than Snow Bird and that wimp with the glasses can. Anything your heart desires will be yours!” The other thugs, minions of the head thug probably, either coughed and shuffled their feet on the worn carpet, or turned admiring, pleading gazes toward Kanda as well.
“What the hell are you on about?” Kanda started to ask, but he only got out the first four words when the door was suddenly slammed open.
“Bart, my dearest brother!” a voice boomed loudly enough to ruffle Kanda’s bangs off his forehead.
“Hank, my dearest brother!” Bart yelled just as loudly, and there was a loud smacking sound as the two giants met in the middle of the room in what was either a bear hug or some sort of bone-breaking secret assassination maneuver.
Hank’s men filed in after him, and Kanda kept half an eye on the row of men in brightly colored paisley print shirts and the other half of his attention on the manly reunion scene taking place on the carpet. He was just starting to debate if part of his job involved separating a hug that had gone on too long to prevent his “employer” from suffering broken rubs or lack of oxygen when the last goon to file in stepped into Kanda’s personal space. The brute ignored the solid hit from Mugen’s hilt into his stomach, and instead dropped a heavy hand on Kanda’s shoulder.
“So the rumors are true. The fool, Kanda Yuu, has rejoined the Order as one of their dogs again. We were through with you before and would have left you alone if you hadn’t returned.”
Being fired from his “job” as a part-time bodyguard for a second-rate mobster to help pay the food bill was not really his problem. This, however, was.
To be fair to the Akuma, it moved surprisingly fast, and actually managed to both dodge Mugen’s first attack and partially transform. Mugen’s second swipe slashed the ends off the row of tentacles that had sprouted from the Akuma’s fingers before they managed to reach him, and then the confinement and clutter of the small room worked to Kanda’s advantage as he ran the Akuma through on a low lunge when the much taller monster stumbled when it found itself accidentally backed against a large vase. Kanda managed to haul the Akuma by what was left of its paisley patterned shirt and fling it in the general direction of the window, where the explosion took out most of the wall and rained debris over the back alley.
Kanda stood up and surveyed his surroundings a minute later. It seemed the wall had absorbed most of the shock of the exploding Akuma, limiting the damage from flying pieces of Akuma and the spread of Akuma gas. All of the gangsters in the room were still alive, and he would be neatly fired from this job as soon as-
--Bartholomew enveloped him in a bear hug?
Years of experience with Tiedoll and martial arts training at the Asia Branch allowed him to break out of the tight embrace easily, and he added the fist he usually didn’t give to Tiedoll to the man’s stomach for good measure. Bartholomew, on the other hand seemed completely unfazed, and continued his joyous blubbering.
“-the most beautiful attack I’ve ever seen, I am blessed to have been able to witness your fighting skills, rivaled in beauty only by you yourself, and all of it was done to protect me and my dearest brother!”
Kanda blinked, then tried to make a noise of protest that was easily trampled over as the man’s brother stumbled over and tried to grasp both of Kanda’s hands in his own.
“Such unparalleled beauty as I have never seen before! Pray tell, would you be willing to be present at my next meeting two days from now? I would pay handsomely for the services of a bodyguard such as yourself!”
“Hell no,” Kanda snapped, but Bart patted his crestfallen brother’s shoulder.
“Ask the Snow Bird, that’s what I did.” Hank’s eyes brightened as Kanda’s narrowed. Was Allen going around selling his services like he was his-his---broker or something?!
Wait. Did the thugs around here call the damn Beansprout “Snow Bird”?
A minute of deliberation later, Kanda decided the ridiculous nickname would offer no leverage and he’d be better off just beating the Moyashi into a pulp.
Thoughts on Chapter 210
In list form, because this is apparently also the way my brain works.
- I’m very glad Hoshino took the time to show all the character interactions, especially the Marie/Lenalee/Komui scene in the beginning. Also, yay, I guess I got some things right!
- I’m also really glad Johnny actually had a plan. It was much better than mine, though seeing what a giant stack of bills there was, in the long run it might not have been that much more sensible ^^;; I guess it also says something about our current give-me-now sort of mentality post internet (or maybe it’s just due to what goes on with work every day) that I would have a strong affinity for solutions where technology provides instant gratification.
- Johnny seems oddly used to the seedier side of town, especially for the glasses nerd lab rat shown previously in canon =3 I also like how he’s sort of indirectly taken Kanda under his wing for this part of the adventure, even as Kanda’s the one fighting off all the thugs that have gathered around them for various reasons =)
- You’re a good person, Johnny. I’ll be the first to jump on the bandwagon and wave a flag saying most of the Alma arc was one big jumbled mess that had a good concept but very poor and confusing execution, but thank you so much Johnny, for telling Kanda it wasn’t his fault. It’s always a refreshing surprise when my entertainment doesn’t follow up on sucky real world attitudes and allows me my escapist fantasy. Not that Kanda is going to listen, but that’s a different matter entirely.
- Kanda still needs a hug. He’s forever doomed to always need a hug but never quite get one (and wiggle out of it if it happens). That’s why I have AUs. Get on that, Lavi! (Kidnapped!missing!Lavi: …yeah. Sure. Whatever.)
- Glad to see the Allen and Kanda dynamic is still the same. I laughed out loud when Kanda felt the urge to slice up the clown for no real reason. And now I’m imagining some sort of crack!AU where Kanda is Johnny’s pet cat that likes shredding things. A lot. Always for very good cat!reasons, of course.
- I’m very very glad that they managed to find Allen this chapter. Apparently I have a very obvious lack of patience for comedy of errors/just missing a person over and over again revolving doors type dramas. Probably another symptom of what I need to deal with in real time work life. If it was shown that Allen was actually nearby (the bartender), and Kanda and Johnny actually ran into Allen (which they did), I wouldn’t have had much patience for chapters of bumbling around always one step too late, and I was rather relieved that it was resolved this chapter. (If it hadn’t been obviously shown that Allen was still in town or had switched side stories to follow someone else I wouldn’t have minded. Or even if Allen was shown actively hiding from Kanda and Johnny, I guess (which he didn’t have a chance to do). It’s the whole “tee-hee they just barely obliviously missed each other again” potential that I am relieved was averted).
- Now all we need is for Lenalee to catch up to them and the three of them to go off and rescue Lavi, and then I can has OT4 reunion again plz, Hoshino-sensei? =D
Though following that note, this chapter apparently inspires the crack.
Sort-of-fic!
Fandom: D. Gray-Man
Characters: Mostly Kanda, Tattoo Dude, and an Akuma. Mentions of Allen and Johnny.
Notes: Complete crack. I dunno. The neighbors have been trying to play Jingle Bells on a guitar? They don't feature here though.
--
Being as they were now on the run, and severely lacking in money due to the usual state of the Beansprout’s finances and Johnny’s money having been stolen after their bar crawl, Kanda couldn’t really refuse. It was the samurai honor thing, probably. That didn’t mean he was happy about it, though. At all. He really should have just sliced up that damned clown when he’d had the chance. Or if he’d just managed to get to that Akuma a step sooner. Then he could have “accidentally” sliced the Beansprout under the guise of doing his job.
Imagining Mugen cutting into Allen (and ignoring what had happened the last few times he’d done that) brought a feral smile to Kanda’s face. Unfortunately, instead of scaring the other people in the room off and canceling this stupid deal, the head thug of the little third rate alley gang only sighed dreamily. “You’re still just as beautiful as I remembered. A beauty made even more so by the extraordinary right hook that put me on the pavement.”
“Don’t touch me,” Kanda growled, putting his hand on Mugen warningly. The thug looked vaguely familiar; he had a recollection of seeing that tattoo somewhere but didn’t really care to figure out the details.
“Of course, of course, just like I agreed to with my Snow Bird,” the thug cooed, with stars in his eyes. “You’re here as a bodyguard, but all you really have to do is stand in that corner there during this meeting. And then my brother Hank will know that, I, Bartholomew, am the true Hunter of Love!”
“…whatever,” Kanda muttered, completely losing any interest in following the inane rambles of the other man. On actual observation, his current “boss” looked rather like one of the low-lifes he’d beaten up in an alley when he and Johnny were trying to find the blasted Beansprout. Maybe he’d hit the man too hard, which was why he wasn’t making any sense. Deciding that ignoring the man was the better part of actually collecting the paycheck from this job, Kanda stalked to his designated corner to stand guard.
The thug, on the other hand, seemed to have other ideas. He clasped his hands together under his chin, lacing his sausage-like fingers together, and sighed wistfully as he watched Kanda take up his position. “Are you sure there’s no chance I can convince you to join me full-time, Pretty? I can offer you more than Snow Bird and that wimp with the glasses can. Anything your heart desires will be yours!” The other thugs, minions of the head thug probably, either coughed and shuffled their feet on the worn carpet, or turned admiring, pleading gazes toward Kanda as well.
“What the hell are you on about?” Kanda started to ask, but he only got out the first four words when the door was suddenly slammed open.
“Bart, my dearest brother!” a voice boomed loudly enough to ruffle Kanda’s bangs off his forehead.
“Hank, my dearest brother!” Bart yelled just as loudly, and there was a loud smacking sound as the two giants met in the middle of the room in what was either a bear hug or some sort of bone-breaking secret assassination maneuver.
Hank’s men filed in after him, and Kanda kept half an eye on the row of men in brightly colored paisley print shirts and the other half of his attention on the manly reunion scene taking place on the carpet. He was just starting to debate if part of his job involved separating a hug that had gone on too long to prevent his “employer” from suffering broken rubs or lack of oxygen when the last goon to file in stepped into Kanda’s personal space. The brute ignored the solid hit from Mugen’s hilt into his stomach, and instead dropped a heavy hand on Kanda’s shoulder.
“So the rumors are true. The fool, Kanda Yuu, has rejoined the Order as one of their dogs again. We were through with you before and would have left you alone if you hadn’t returned.”
Being fired from his “job” as a part-time bodyguard for a second-rate mobster to help pay the food bill was not really his problem. This, however, was.
To be fair to the Akuma, it moved surprisingly fast, and actually managed to both dodge Mugen’s first attack and partially transform. Mugen’s second swipe slashed the ends off the row of tentacles that had sprouted from the Akuma’s fingers before they managed to reach him, and then the confinement and clutter of the small room worked to Kanda’s advantage as he ran the Akuma through on a low lunge when the much taller monster stumbled when it found itself accidentally backed against a large vase. Kanda managed to haul the Akuma by what was left of its paisley patterned shirt and fling it in the general direction of the window, where the explosion took out most of the wall and rained debris over the back alley.
Kanda stood up and surveyed his surroundings a minute later. It seemed the wall had absorbed most of the shock of the exploding Akuma, limiting the damage from flying pieces of Akuma and the spread of Akuma gas. All of the gangsters in the room were still alive, and he would be neatly fired from this job as soon as-
--Bartholomew enveloped him in a bear hug?
Years of experience with Tiedoll and martial arts training at the Asia Branch allowed him to break out of the tight embrace easily, and he added the fist he usually didn’t give to Tiedoll to the man’s stomach for good measure. Bartholomew, on the other hand seemed completely unfazed, and continued his joyous blubbering.
“-the most beautiful attack I’ve ever seen, I am blessed to have been able to witness your fighting skills, rivaled in beauty only by you yourself, and all of it was done to protect me and my dearest brother!”
Kanda blinked, then tried to make a noise of protest that was easily trampled over as the man’s brother stumbled over and tried to grasp both of Kanda’s hands in his own.
“Such unparalleled beauty as I have never seen before! Pray tell, would you be willing to be present at my next meeting two days from now? I would pay handsomely for the services of a bodyguard such as yourself!”
“Hell no,” Kanda snapped, but Bart patted his crestfallen brother’s shoulder.
“Ask the Snow Bird, that’s what I did.” Hank’s eyes brightened as Kanda’s narrowed. Was Allen going around selling his services like he was his-his---broker or something?!
Wait. Did the thugs around here call the damn Beansprout “Snow Bird”?
A minute of deliberation later, Kanda decided the ridiculous nickname would offer no leverage and he’d be better off just beating the Moyashi into a pulp.