I'm taking a break. Let's pretend my four month hiatus didn't happen, and that I'm only taking a break now.

But taking a break from what, you might ask. Well I'm taking a break from Black Carnival. It is going HAYWIRE. And not in a good way. Good god, this is what I get for not planning something at all.

Urgh. It's all my fault. ALLMYFAULT. (But let's pretend it's not for the sake of my ego.)

Oh well. Hopefully when I finally get this out of my mind, I'd have better chances of being productive with BC.

Disclaimer: I do not own -Man. I only own the mistakes in this story.

Pilot: Duct Tape Solves Everything

Ignoring the backpack on his back that probably weighed three times more than him, the teen tried to heave the two heavy suitcases and a small cage out of the trunk of the taxi with much difficulty. He tried for a few more times until the driver decided that he had enough and repeatedly slammed his hand on the honk of the car. The teen sighed and finally realized that he cannot lift all of his bags at the same time, so he instead removed the bags one at a time with two hands. And though it took a lot of strain on his part, he finally managed to carefully drop his three pieces of baggage on the ground.

As soon as he slammed the trunk of the car closed with a huff, the taxi sped off, leaving thick clouds of pollution behind it as a trail. He coughed violently and waved the smoke out of his face. "Bloody smokebelchers...," he muttered under his breath. He pulled out a handkerchief from the back pocket of his white jeans and wiped the sweat off of his forehead.

He turned around and looked up to a three story house, which was surprisingly bright and well maintained. The white metal fence seemed newly painted and the windows were clear of any speck of dirt. The young man chuckled; When he read in the letter that he would be living off without his father, and sent to a house provided by him, he expected something that would highly resemble Amnityville, but the bright exterior of his new home defied all his expectations and was really more than satisfactory.

Now all he had left to face was his... he shuddered at the word, stepbrother.

Now, believe him when he say that he doesn't like being stereotypical. Hell, he doesn't like judging people, but he knew that if the child came from his father, Cross, the child had to be messed up, one way or another... It just runs in the family, he guessed with a shrug.

But he shoved all the negative thoughts away, and just hoped that his stepbrother defied his expectations- just like the house.

And so, armed with his heavy backpack, his two heavier suitcases, an animal cage from which soft purrs emitted, and a bright smile on his face, Allen Walker pushed open the low unlocked gate, and marched over to his new home.

Yuu Kanda had been lounging on the black leather couch in his new residence, contemplating.

The house was clean, fully furnished, using mostly black, white and some hints of red. The pantry was fully stocked, and the four bedrooms on the second floor had fresh, clean sheets and pillows. There was even a small (obviously man-made) pond at the back, complete with koi fishes, and bushes of different kinds of flowers and a few trees.

So, yeah. It wasn't bad at all.

Now all he had left to face was his... he gritted his teeth at the word, stepbrother.

Kanda had always been the person who, well, not specifically hated everyone; But he'd rather be left alone. His rules were simple- Do something stupid, and he will deny he knows you (if he even remembers your name). Do something that will piss him off, and you will die- in a very creative way. He does not care about you. Do not touch what is his. Don't talk to him unless it concerns something he cares about (which isn't much). And generally, just stay the fuck out of his way.

He snorted as he imagined what his stepbrother would be like. Probably a freak, he scoffed. That was the deal with their patched up family. Except his mother. But he knew that she had probably been a little bit crazy to even get married with Cross. But she's still sane.

At the thought of his mother, Kanda's hand had automatically reached up behind his head to touch the silver hair clamp-tie that had an etched cross on it. It had been all they found from the charred remains of his mother. The accessory had been saved from burns as it had been clenched by his mother.

Now, Kanda had always considered himself as an alert person. But he was not the type who'd flip just by hearing a small squeak. He was the type who'd grab his katana and run over to stab and-or attack the general direction of the noise.

So when he heard a vehicle stop near his house, he did not bat an eyelash at the noise, but instead reached for his cup of coffee. He closed his eyes, as he held it under his nose, inhaling the rich aroma.

But then he heard the gate creak open, his eyes flew open, then narrowed as he heard the footsteps grow closer. He immediately reached for the space beside him, only to find his sword MIA. He cursed as he realized that it was upstairs, with all his other pieces of luggage. A steady stream of swear words flew out of his mouth as he surrendered to the fact that the only thing he could use to maim whoever was approaching was the teaspoon that was placed innocently on his saucer. He placed down his cup, grabbed the teaspoon, and stood up from the couch.

In three long strides, he was in front of the door. And just as the doorbell rang, he wrenched open the door, and pointed the teaspoon threateningly at the face of the person outside.

"What the bloody hell?" "What the fuck?"

The least thing Allen had expected when he tried to enter his new home was to have a teaspoon shoved up his face. And then he did a double take. Wasn't he supposed to have a stepbrother? He stared at the rather feminine but angular face glaring down at him. He still gulped though. The surprise attack had almost given him a heart attack.

And hell, it was true that Kanda had expected a freak to be his stepbrother, but really? Really? A god damn elf, with a mop shocking white, yes, white, hair, and a long red scar across his left eye, starting with a pentagon from his forehead down to his cheek. Kanda became more aggressive because of the scar, which suspiciously looked like a tattoo- Kanda wondered if the kid was a Satanist, or if it was a sort of celebratory marking elves got when they reach their maximum height.

Nevertheless, it was a totally awkward scene and Kanda, being the one who's maiming and threatening bodily harm, spoke first. "The hell are you?" he snapped, jabbing the teaspoon harshly at Allen's cheek.

Allen irritably batted the offending eating utensil aside, and forced a smile. "Is that a 'what' or 'who' question? Because if you are asking what I am, then I can assure you that I am a hundred percent human." His voice was coated with a thick British accent, which Kanda found annoying. "But if you're asking who I am, then my name is Allen. Allen Walker. And you are..." his smile brightened as he extended out his hand.

Kanda just sharply jabbed the hand away as he gave a low growl. "Don't get smart with me, Frodo. The name's Kanda."

Now that, set off Allen's bitch mode. Somehow, he was already positively sure that he would not get along with his stepbrister. "I don't suppose that you're the Teaspoon Fairy, are you?" he said wryly.

"Move your ass and get in before I get some duct tape and tape your mouth shut. Or better yet, I'll fuckin' mummify your entire head. And then I'd slam the door at your face." Kanda snapped, and jabbed the teaspoon once more on Allen's cheek. The shorter boy tried to dodge but to no avail, was still harassed once more.

As much as Kanda would like to slam the door on the kid's face, Cross had given orders. And as much as he'd like to disobey them, he can't. Because this was his only chance left. His only chance left to... he pushed away the thought.

After a few minutes, which involved a lot of strain on Allen's part, a lot of insults from Kanda's part, and a lot of screeches from whatever was inside Allen's cage, Allen had finally managed to get his things up from the mini staircase of the porch in to the house.

Both sighed (mentally for Kanda, and loudly for Allen, mostly because of exhaustion)as Kanda slammed the door behind them. This was going to be... fun?

Hey there daydreamer, watchu thinkin' 'bout?

The style... The writing style. This is a far cry from my usual style (read: 90 percent dialogue and narration, 10 percent description.)

What the hell happened to me for the past five months?

Nyahaha, but still, I'll think of this as improvement.

Your suggestions, thoughts and critiques are greatly appreciated.

I FINALLY GOT THIS OUT OF MY SYSTEM. THANK GOD.

Whatev. DIH is out, y'all.