Summary: Allen, Kanda, Lenalee, and Lavi are on a mission to find some innocence in an old village when the village leader pulls out a marble. He says that the marble shows the true color of one's soul. He also states that if the marble turns black, then you have to tell why it is that color so the marble may turn grey and the person may continue. What exactly does this mean for the exorcists? "Well... It looks like some of us might have to explain some stuff."
HAHA! My first one-shot! Anyway, this just popped into my head while writing a new chapter of Voiceless and Hidden. Don't ask, I was listening to Heavydirtysoul by Twenty One Pilots and this idea just popped up out of nowhere.
:)
The Marble
"Allen-kun!" Allen's head looked up from the pile of food at Lenalee's voice. "Rinalee?(Lenalee?)" Allen asked through the food, earning him a slap on the back of his head by Link. "Don't talk while eating." Link scolded as Lenalee ran over. "Allen-kun, Nii-san wanted to see you when you finish. We have a mission with Kanda and Lavi." Lenalee smiled. "Orkay(Okay)." Allen said swallowing some more food, earning another slap from Link. "Walker. Don't. Eat. And. Talk. At. The. Same. Time." Link scolded again and Allen sighed. "Fiine. So, the fou- five of us have a mission together? Isn't that a bit much?" Allen asked Lenalee, who sat down across from him. "Well, I guess we'll learn why all of us are going when Nii-san gives us the debriefing." Allen nodded at the response and sped up eating. Link finished his pie and grabbed Tim from Allen's head, staring at the golem with a bored expression.
DGM
Allen, Lenalee, and Link walked into Komui's office, surprised to find not only Lavi, Kanda, and Komui, but a CROW as well. "Howard Link, you are to come with me for a special mission from Inspector Leverrier." The CROW said and Link nodded, leaving the room with the CROW. After a few moments of silence, Allen and Lenalee sat next to Lavi on the couch in front of Komui's desk.
"So, about this mission..?" Lavi began and Komui handed them the mission information. "It appears in an old village by the name of Draken there are signs of innocence. The finders that have been sent there have reported the signs, apparently there is strange behavior from the villagers caused by the innocence. That was all that we could collect before having to be forced out. Go find and retrieve this innocence. From what the finders have also said, it looks like a marble." Komui summed everything up and the four exorcists nodded. "Good. Your train leaves in three hours. Gook luck." Komui smiled and the exorcists left the room.
"Well, lets hope this mission will be over in a short time." Lavi stretched while Allen and Lenalee agreed, Kanda just glared at the three.
DGM
"So... Draken huh? I heard that barely anyone lives there anymore. But that's just from Panda-jiji's info." Lavi drew on Allen's sleeping face. They were now on the train, and they still have about two hours till they arrive to the nearest town near Draken. Lenalee smiled, she and Kanda sat across from Lavi and Allen. "Lavi. That isn't nice to draw on other people's faces." Lenalee lightly scolded, but Lavi continued to draw. "Meh, this is payback for him falling asleep on my shoulder." Lavi's grin widened and Lenalee sighed. Kanda glared at them, "Che, be quiet. I'm trying to think."
"Don't hurt yourself."
"What was that, Baka Usagi? Do you want to die?"
"N-Nope! Hehehe..."
"Che."
DGM
They soon arrived at Draken, finding the village leader waiting for them outside the village gates. "Follow me, exorcists." The leaden beckoned for them to follow as he entered the village. They followed quietly, the villagers turned to look at them before whispering.
"Are those the visitors?"
"Are they like the others whom tried to visit?"
"Are they pure?"
"I hope so... After all, only the pure may stay or they'd have to confess their life."
"The Marble of Truth will tell, just wait."
'Marble of Truth? That sounds interesting...' Lavi's eye narrowed slightly at the conversations, only being pulled back into reality when Allen nudged him. "Lavi, come on. He wants us to enter the temple." Allen said, pointing at the building in front of them. Kanda 'che'd' and walked ahead while Lenalee waited for them. Upon walking in, the doors behind them closed and the leader faced them.
"Now... I must see if you are pure. Do not worry, nothing bad will happen. You see, this marble," He pulled out a white marble and balanced it in his palm, "will tell if you are pure of soul or not. If you are not, the marble will turn black and you will have to tell of your life and be judged by me. If the marble turns grey or white, you are pure enough to not have to say anything." The leader explained and Allen paled.
"Is that the Marble of Truth?" Lavi asked and the leader nodded. "Indeed it is. My grandfather found it in the river one day and ever since then, it has shown who is pure of the soul or not. But it only works for my bloodline."
"It might be the innocence." Lavi said, "And if it only works for you, that means you're an accommodator of the innocence. How about we strike a deal?"
"And what might this deal be?" The leader asked and Lavi smiled.
"If all of us are pure, you come with us. If one of us isn't, then you get to decide if you'll come or not." Allen looked at Lavi, trying not to show his slight fear. Lenalee smiled, "That sounds fair, right?"
"It indeed does, young miss. I'll take you up on this deal, now, who'll go first?" The leader asked, holding out the marble. Lenalee stepped forward and gently took the marble. It shone a light green for a few seconds, then when the light disappeared, the marble was still white. "You are pure, young miss." The leader smiled and Lenalee bowed slightly after handing the marble back.
Lavi was next, and when the light died down again, it showed a light shade of grey, "You have seen some things, but you are still pure." The leader explained and Lavi nodded.
Kanda came after Lavi, taking the marble and holding it as it shone the pale green. When the light disappeared, it was a darker shade of grey, but not black. "You have seen and done some things, but are still considered pure. Almost black." The leader nodded and Kanda's frown deepened.
Allen hesitated, he didn't want to hold the marble, afraid of what would happen. "Come on, Allen-kun." Lenalee smiled and Allen nodded, giving her a strained smile. Taking a deep breath, he took the marble and it glowed. When the light vanished, the marble was pitch black. Lenalee gasped and Lavi's eye widened slightly. Kanda even looked a little surprise. Of all of the exorcists, they never suspected Allen to not be pure. "Ah, the black color. It seems that you are not pure of the soul. You know what you have to do next." The leader stated and Allen looked frozen where he was. He didn't want them to know, he didn't want to remember. Push it back, keep the act. Keep smiling, keep walking.
"Allen..-kun..?" Lenalee stepped forward and placed her hand gently on Allen's shoulder, making him visibly flinch. "Allen?" Lavi was next to walk towards the white-haired teen. Allen shook his head as the leader of the village took the marble, preparing to hear the story. Kanda stomped over, "Oi, Moyashi, what the hell?" Kanda examined Allen's face. It was paler than usual and his eyes were clouded over and distant, his lips were formed in a very strained and fake smile. "Moyashi..?"
Allen stepped back a little as he returned to reality, "A-Ah... it seems I have some talking... where to begin..." Allen's fake smile faltered a bit. The leader took them to a table that had some chairs, enough for all of them to sit down. "Whenever you are ready." The leader said once everyone was seated.
Almost instantly, Allen's smile fell. He took the glove off his left hand and gently rubbed it, "It all began with this arm..." Allen took a deep shaky breath. "Wh-When I was born, my parents abandoned me in the streets because of this arm." Lenalee held back a gasp and Lavi's face darkened. 'That's right.. People didn't want children that had any deformity..' Lavi thought.
"I-I don't know how old I was... But I once witnessed a woman drowning one of her kids because it was a twin... There was another time when I witnessed someone being raped then killed afterwards... A-Ah... I can't forget the time I watched a maid hang herself just because her master told her to..." Allen was clearly hesitating with some of the words, 'Push them back, push back the memories.' Lenalee had a hand to her mouth now. 'Allen-kun...'
"Wh-Whenever I went to an orphanage... They'd try to burn me or exorcise me because of my arm... Same with Churches... When the circus finally picked me up, I barely felt the pain anymore. As long as they gave me something to sleep in, I didn't care whenever I was beaten or starved. Hell, they tried to put me in a cage once. I'd switch from the circus and the streets, each both a living hell." Allen's lips quirked upwards in a saddened smile. "I remember this time, a lady tried to adopt me. She made me feel normal..." Allen's smile fell again and Lenalee felt her stomach churn. Lavi almost knew exactly what Allen was about to say next and Kanda looked downward. "One day, Mama told me that she was going to take me to her fiancee's house. When we arrived, Mama took me to the basement where a single wooden chair was. A man was standing there with a sickly sweet smile, holding a rope." Lenalee couldn't take anymore and left the room. Lavi was tempted to go to her, but he had to stay.
"Mama sat me down in the chair and 'Papa' tied me to it. I-I didn't know what would happen next... I wish I never would know..." Memories began to resurface and Allen began to visibly shake. "After a couple days of being tied down there, Mama returned with food... It was poisoned and I nearly died... Th-Then when I almost died, they forced the poison out of my system by beating it out of me... I barely survived... When I got out of that place, I went back to the circus. I decided that when I grew up, I wouldn't need friends and earn enough money to live. I-I think I was five..? Maybe six..." Kanda looked at Allen with pure shock. Lavi's eye widened, but then it narrowed and grew dark.
"At the circus, if I did something wrong or whenever one of the clowns, Cosimo, felt like it, I would be beaten. I was also still starved, but not as much as the circus before it. I stayed there for a few years before a new clown came along... the new clown and his dog would perform some of the best shows. I didn't care then, as long as they stayed a fair distance, I would be satisfied. But because they were better than Cosimo, I would be beaten. One day, after I had given the new clown dinner, Cosimo approached me and told me to put broken glass in the dog's food. But when I declined, I was beaten harder than before. Around a week later, I found the new clown burying his dog, who was beaten to death by Cosimo. The clown explained that the dog was growing old and that either way, it would've died soon. I don't know why I cried for the dog... I think it was because it treated me like a human for once instead of a demon... When I asked the clown the dog's name, he told me it was Allen." Allen smiled and Kanda's eyes narrowed. They knew Lenalee was still there and that she never truly left, so when she returned still somewhat crying, it didn't surprise them.
"The new clown asked me my name, and I told him I didn't have one and that the people called me Red. When he asked me my age, since I didn't know it, we estimated I was probably around eight..? Then I asked the clown his name. He told me it was Mana." With that statement, Lenalee and Lavi gasped. "We talked for a little longer before I had to return to my work. The next day, when Mana was about to leave, Akuma attacked. I didn't know they were Akuma then, but only I, Mana, Cosimo, and the Ringleader survived. Mana decided to take me in and he named me Allen, it was on Christmas when he took me in and named me... So we made that my birthday. After travelling for a few years, we arrived in a new town. While walking across the road, an out of control carriage came around the corner..." Allen stopped. His smile was gone again and his eyes glazed over at the memory. "It hit and almost instantly killed Mana... His last words were telling me to never stop and keep walking. I was in despair... the only person to treat me like a human and the person who had taught me how to have fun died right in front of me... I don't know how long I sat at his grave before the Millennium Earl showed up...
When he did and offered to bring Mana back... I had accepted, not knowing better... So when Mana returned, I was so happy, happy to have the one person who treated me right and with respect back... Next thing I knew, he was cursing me and attacked, giving me my scar. My early form of innocence activated and I tried to stop it... I tried to stop it from killing Mana again... His final words before I killed him once again were 'I love you, Allen'..." Allen fought back the tears, not wanting his mask to break. "I-I was so broken... I remember Master telling me that I wouldn't sleep or move from the bed when he first took me to Mother... My face was messed up from the strike... Master had to force feed me food cause I wouldn't eat... Finally... Master said something to me and I was broken out of the trance... but it came with the price of me having my 'mask' as he calls it." Allen let out a small chuckle, still fighting the tears that threatened to fall. "He called it 'The Mask of Mana'... Y-You guys know the rest.." Allen finished his story, and almost instantly Lenalee was on him in a big hug. Allen smiled another fake smile, which made Lavi hit him on top of his head.
"Idiot... Why don't you just throw away the mask now? Quit this act." Lavi looked pained and almost right after he said that, the dam broke and the mask fell. Tears began to stream out of Allen's eyes and Lavi began to pat the sobbing teen on his head. Allen buried his face into Lenalee who was still hugging him. Kanda looked at Allen, trying to imagine everything he told him. 'That explains the fake smiles... Who knew the Moyashi went through all of that..?'
The village leader bowed his head, "I'll go with you. You won the bet."
DGM
Allen had fallen asleep again on the train, his head in Lenalee's lap. Lavi was with the village leader in another compartment, while Kanda sat across from Lenalee and Allen. "Who knew he went through all of that... Yet he still tried to smile and make us cheerful..." Lenalee gently played with Allen's hair, being careful not to wake him. "And he's still going through pain with the 14th trying to take over and Central breathing down his neck.."
Kanda privately agreed with her, but kept his glare focused on the white-haired teen. He was secretly relieved to see how relaxed the teen now was, but didn't dare to show it. "Che, the idiot just doesn't know how to not attract trouble. Baka Moyashi." Lenalee smiled at Kanda's comment. Suddenly Tim appeared out of nowhere, with flying around Lenalee and Kanda's heads.
"Timcanpy? Where were you?" Lenalee asked and Tim floated in between the two. Tim's mouth opened and he showed a projection of a small boy with reddish-brown hair. The hair was tied up and the boy was bruised, his stormy-grey eyes sharp. The boy's expression was a mix of annoyance and boredom, while at the same time, barely showed any emotion. Kanda's brow raised and Lenalee gasped, putting two and two together. Slowly, the projection changed. The hair slowly turned white, the skin paled a bit, a scar appeared on his face, and he grew a couple inches. The bruises disappeared, but the scars remained. "Allen-kun..." Lenalee whispered softly and Kanda looked out of the window.
Tim flew down onto Lenalee's shoulder and she let out a soft sigh, leaning against the window, she felt tiredness drift over her.
DGM
"I see..." Komui was holding Tim while the other four exorcists were scattered around the room. Allen smiled a true smile and walked towards the door before stopping, not turning around.
"I don't want anything to change... M'kay?" A heavy British accent came from Allen, and with that, he left, leaving the others looking at him in half-shock.
'HE HAD THAT STRONG OF AN ACCENT!?'
The end!
Yeah... it was better in my mind... of well. Sorry it was so short, this was just a tiny idea that I decided to turn into a short one-shot. If you want, you can make it longer, just PM me when you do so I'll know and also please give me credit seeing as it was originally my idea.
Also, just wanna say that this seriously went off better in my mind. I know I said it already, but oh my this came out weird and it was like, REALLY better in my mind.. ;w;
Hope you enjoyed and leave a review if you want, I mean, I'm not forcing you.
:)
Omake: Allen's Accent
Lenalee and Lavi watched Allen closely the next day. They made sure to listen to him when he talked especially.
"Miranda... It's not your fault." Allen's accent wasn't there.
"I could've sworn he had a super strong British accent!" Lavi exclaimed. Lenalee agreed and walked over to Allen, "Ne, Allen-kun, why don't you use your accent?" Allen looked at her for a moment, "Hmm... I don't know... maybe it's because it's too strong? Anyway, I've gotten used to not using it anymore." Allen smiled.
"But, if ya wan', I can always switch to it." Allen's accent returned and the whole cafeteria stared at Allen in silence. Lavi laughed at the sudden silence and Allen blushed a deep red, trying to hide his face in Lenalee's shoulder.
"Nice accent, Moyashi." Kanda smirked from where he was sitting and Allen's face grew redder as he tried to hide deeper into Lenalee's shoulder. She began to pat his back with a small smile and the whole cafeteria erupted into laughter.
Omake 2: Allen's Real Age
"So if what you said was true, you don't know your actual age?" Lavi asked as he and Allen sat in the Science Department. Lavi dragged Allen there while running from Bookman, so the two now sat there and watched the Science Department work(except for Komui who was playing around in a corner).
"Yeah... Mana and I just guessed judging by my height." Allen then frowned for a second, "Uh, can I admit something really quickly..?" Allen asked and Lavi nodded, "Hit me. What's up?"
"I-uh-I still kinda can't read some things or write a few things..." Allen felt a light blush appear and Lavi grinned. "How'd you learn in the first place?"
"Mana taught me all he knew, which was only a few words..." Allen laughed lightly. "That's okay. I can try to help you if you just ask." Lavi poked Allen, "Okay, back to the matter at hand, Moyashi("It's Allen!"). We're gonna try and find out your real age." Lavi got up and walked to one of the bookcases. "I saw it here somewhere... Aha! There it is." Lavi pulled a book off the bookcase and walked back to Allen. Allen sat up when Lavi dropped the book onto the table, "What's that?"
"This, my friend, is a record of everyone born within the time frame you claim you were born in." Lavi sat back down and Allen gave him a deadpan look, "You do realize I don't actually have a name right..?"
"Yeah, but come on! You might actually have a name... Do you know anything about your birth parents?" Lavi asked as he opened the book. "Uh... let's see here... Once Komui(Komui's head shot up at the mention of his name, but he soon quickly returned to what he was doing) ran a DNA test on me... I think my parents' names were David and Faith Hamilton..?" Allen's face scrunched up and Lavi laughed. "Let me guess, you're keeping the name Walker?"
"Of course!"
"Right right, okay... Hamilton... H... Here were are." Lavi flipped through a few pages. "The names are organized by last name, so if I want to find you, I'd have to go to the H section. Okay... Hamilton... Hamilton..." Lavi looked closer at the pages. "Here we go. William Hamilton, born 18XX, no other records of him. Said he vanished right after birth." Lavi looked up. "It also says he was born with a deformed left hand."
"How old is he now?" Allen asked. Lavi looked back down at the paper and counted the years from then to now. "He would be around seventeen years old." Lavi said.
"A year off then. Huh, guess I'm the same age as Lenalee." Allen then gave Lavi an amused look, "And I'm keeping the name Allen too, Lavi.
"Kay, William!"
"LAVI!"
"Moyashi?"
"LAVI! NO!"
"Fiiine, ruin my fun. Allen it is then." Lavi grinned and Allen sighed.
"Hmm? What were you two arguing about this time?" Lenalee walked over and Lavi's grin grew. "We were finding out Allen's real age and ended up learning his birth name. Lenalee, meet William. William, meet Lenalee."
"You're birth name is William? And how old are you exactly?" Lenalee smiled and Allen looked at her, "I'm seventeen."
"We're the same age!" Lenalee looked surprised, but it was quickly replaced with a happy smile. "Yeah, but I'm afraid Lavi won't let me be Allen..." Allen looked at the redhead who was currently running over to Kanda.
"Don't worry, Allen-kun. You'll still be Allen to us." Lenalee giggled as they watched Kanda nearly kill Lavi.