Hello, everyone! I've got an attempt at an emotional bonding between an OC I've wanted to work on for a while and one of my very favorite anime characters. Hurray for siblings! ^.^

Edit 7/6/17: I fixed misspellings and tried to clear up some plotholes and misunderstandings. From here on, I'll be rewriting this story (all three chapters).

Disclaimer: If I owned D. Gray Man oh-so-many things would be different. I own only my OC(s).

A dark light shone on the edge of my vision. Were they waking me up for more disgusting medicine?

I just want to stay asleep, go away!

"Wake up, stranger-oneechan!"

Huh? Japanese?

I opened my eyes in a squint and felt a sharp stab of pain in my arm and head. As my vision cleared slightly, I could make out the form of a very small boy. Before I could gather any kind of bearings, I was reaching out towards him.

I gently placed a hand on the side of his face. Something sticky and wet was there. I pushed myself up and looked more closely at this child. Tears gathered before my eyes when I saw a large yet shallow cut on his cheek just above my hand.

I reminded myself that I didn't know this child, and let my hand fall. He looked up at me with a squint, suspicion clear as anything in his eyes. As I waited a moment to discern why he was staring at me, I dropped my hand and gave a nodded apology.

I lifted my arm up to rub my head, wincing when my entire scalp tingled in pain as if someone had tried to pull all of my hair out by the roots.

"Neechan?" His quiet voice had a tremble that pierced my heart, but it wasn't because it was exactly fearful. It was guarded and trained to be wary, "Daijōbudesuka?"(Are you okay?)

I made a muffled noise of affirmation before quietly answering, "Yes, I'm okay."

The child gave a long, loud yawn and blinked sleepily before flopping down beside me in the alley, without grace or care.

Speaking of my own wellbeing, how did I get here? Last I remembered, my family was crying and pleading to the sky for my safe trip to heaven. The doctors had to make them leave the room because they were about to give me some kind of anesthesia for… surgery? Hm, I don't quite remember what was going on.

Thank Kami-sama I'm here now, even if it's just a dream in a forced sleep. If it's only a lucid dream I hope I remain asleep forever, I never felt this alive in my whole life. Nothing has felt more real than this moment.

Arigato, kami-sama, I'll see you if or when I reach your haven called heaven.

*~(O.O)~*

When the child stirred, I just let him pull away and we both rose to our feet. We began walking, wordlessly, out of the dark and dirty alleyway we were currently waddling through. When a small hand came up to meet mine, I latched on to it as if I were saving the life of someone dear to me. I didn't quite grasp why he wanted the physical contact, and I was a bit worried about the previously rebellious child for the action.

"Oneechan?"

"Hai, chibi-kun?"

"Kawai-desu."(I'm scared.)

"Of what?"

"Of pain."

"Everyone is, chibi-kun."

A single dot of light appeared far, far down the alley.

"But I'm also afraid of people."

So close…

"It's fine to be scared of some, but not all are as scary as they appear to be, chibi-kun."

It's getting bigger…

"But so many make me want to run away and never see another ever again."

Oh, the sun must be shining so bright to make this light shimmer so…

"But, chibi-kun, you can't become that afraid. Even the scary ones can sometimes be kind. Every person has or had their own life, their own fears."

Golden rays of glorious illumination…

"Really, oneechan?"

Almost there…

"Really, chibi-kun. I promise, I promise with every ounce of honestly and honor I've ever possessed."

So close…

"Oneechan?"

One more inch…

"Yes, chibi-kun?"

Two more centimeters…

"Are you okay?"

Only a millimeter…

"Ah, I suppose I'm not in entirety. Everyone has a flaw, some are just more obvious than others. You just have to get stronger so such flaws are covered up or toughened so they aren't so visible to those that are truly cruel."

So very, very, very close…

"Oh, I see, oneechan."

Finally, light!

The alleyway opened up to an old brick street that had muddy and dirty puddles all over the place-glinting horribly in the dim lamplight-and potholes and other dangers on old brick and cobblestone roads. I could feel a dark aura hanging over the area, and it made me feel filthy just standing in this horrible place. I gripped tighter to the small boy walking with me and I turned sharp left and placed me between him and the road, beginning a sharp and confident walk, following the sidewalk and nothing more, merely trying to escape this suffocating air that was congesting in my throat and choking me.

I heard a small whimper from the boy and I looked down at him in alarm. One of his legs was red and scraped. I gently crouched down beside him, examining the red spot. that wasn't what he was complaining about, though. He was cowering from every person who came within three feet from us. I grabbed his hand again, gripping it in confidence.

I continued my frantic walk down the seemingly endless sidewalk. I almost ran into several people, and I got shouts of anger from a lot of different people, even some cussing from the less-kind ones. I was so glad my legs worked properly, because I dodged a lot of projectiles and barking dogs.

As I glanced back at the kid on my side, I could muster up the will to smile reassuringly and let my eyes sparkle with hope.

*~(O.O)~*

I sat on the log before the small fire, watching as the boy cooked a small rabbit over its heat. We were surrounded by forests and we had a temporary residence in our small and shallow cave with trees bordering it and ivy concealing it.

It had taken us a long time to get out of the city and so far from the awful place, an entire three days, and we hadn't eaten more than scraps once in that whole time. This was the first food we'd be eating together. Honestly, rabbit didn't sound extremely appetizing, especially because I'd taken care of one when I was in pre-school. The creature was spottled brown and the most adorable little furball ever. Until one of my classmates dropped it and it ran away through the window. Never saw the poor thing again…

Sigh…

Anyway! Seeing this cute kid, he struck a strong resemblance with a certain anime character. Their red arms were even similar. Poor kid, he probably had a curse…

Hold on a second…

Curse…

Weird red arm…

Anime resemblance…

Holy-Allen Walker?

Seriously?

The cute, white-haired (his hair is brown at the moment, though...) kid with a love for both Akuma and humans?

The 14th's vessel?

Seriously?

"Hey, chibi-kun?"

"Hai, oneechan?"

"Do you have a name?"

"No." He sounded barely disappointed when he replied, likely hiding his feelings.

"Oh, well how about I give you one?"

"Really, oneechan?" Sparkles began floating around his head.

"Really, chibi-kun."

"What is it? What is it?" He was hopping up and down in front of me, this was the most hyperactive I'd seen him.

"Allen Walker." I answered smiling.

"That sounds funny. Can't I have another one?"

I smiled at the adorableness of this child that grows up to be a badass exorcist.

I brushed a strand of hair from his eyes and smiled lovingly, "No, I like Allen. It suits you very well."

"Okay then, oneechan, if you say so." I smiled at him, but then he went on, "Do you have a name?"

"No, actually, I don't." He brightened up even more, though it didn't seem possible.

"How old are you, neechan?" The question interrupted my expectations.

I gave myself a look over and felt another blast of confusion. I looked like I was six, but I felt mentally eleven… What the heck?

"I'm just barely six." I answered with finality.

"Two years older than I am!" He went a whole notch happier.

I stared at him in confusion, "Why are you so happy about me being older?"

"Because that means you're my older sister! Like a real sister! A real, real sister!"

"And that means you're my otouto." I added with amusement, the surprise from the statement fading quickly to fondness.

He nodded with a grin. Why couldn't he look so carefree in the anime, or manga for that matter?

"Alright, pick a name, Allen. I named you, so you name me." I ruffled his hair gently and smiled back.

"Tamerilla! Tamerilla Walker with Ria for short!" (Tuh-mer-i-luh)

I started in surprise, "How did you come up with that, Allen?" I was also wondering how he managed to pronounce it.

He shrugged and answered as he looked down at his bare wiggling toes and clasped his hands behind his back, a slight cherry hue across his face, "It sounded really pretty when I heard it. I thought it would be a nice name for a mom or sister."

I suddenly felt sorrow lodge solidly into my heart as I listened to his answer. I had at least known what a mother was like when I was younger, even when I thought I was about to die. Poor little Allen probably hadn't known any form of family yet in his short life.

"It's so pretty, Allen. Thank you." I pulled him into a solidly heartfelt hug that had my love and grief for the poor boy overflowing in it.

We pulled apart when the smell of burning reached us. Allen took off for the fire and continued to turn the rabbit over the fire. As he did so, my thoughts sank into questioning what had occurred. With one more glance at Allen, my thought were directed towards what I would do to continue with this journey and how I would protect Allen from all of the pain he would encounter.

Poor, poor Allen. I wish he didn't have such a rough life ahead of him.

*~(O.O)~*

About a month had passed since we had come to this place, and he was as peppy as before, using every opportunity to be happy and show me he was feeling as such. it was a huge change from what he was when we met-a closed off child who had been obviously abused.

"Hey, Allen, can we go visit the city during day time today?" I asked suddenly.

He examined my face closely, searching for something to explain why I wanted to go back, "I don't want to."

"I need to sell some of the rabbit pelts so we can buy clothes for us." I explained.

"Okay." He still wasn't happy, but I had been trustworthy so far, hadn't I?

Just like that we were headed towards town, only a second thought from the little kid, and not a hint of apprehension from my seemingly magical sixth sense I was said to have telling me not to go. If I'd known what would happen that day, what I would lose, I would've never even considered it. Neither of us were as afraid of the city while it was light out, so there wasn't any fear in my steps, only determination.

As we stepped through the crowds, cobblestone scraping our bare feet, we roamed aimlessly, just looking at the many buildings and businesses. When we reached a square, we sat on the edge of the fountain and watched random people do random things. Things like feeding already fat pigeons, walking dogs that try to eat the pigeons, people playing instruments, kids walking with their parents.

Allen stood up suddenly and began walking along the edge of the fountain. I warned him to be careful, but right after his confirmation, you know what happened? He slipped.

I darted forward to catch him, but someone had already kept him from falling. I looked up at his savior and fear made me freeze entirely. A weird zombie-ish thing was floating behind him and a bit above his head. Some sort of purple trail seemed to be connecting it to him.

"Sir, y-you have something floating behind you." I stuttered slightly fearfully.

His eyes widened almost imperceptibly for an instant before he said, "Come with me for a moment, please."

I didn't even waver, not a single twitch that proved I wished to follow, "Sir, I think-"it was all beginning to click very slowly within my mind, "You're an Akuma."

When the words left my mouth, I stared at him with fear in my eyes. Allen quickly pulled away and ran to hide behind me. I moved him further behind myself and my stare of fear and petrification turned to anger and betting him, just betting him, to come and attack me.

He didn't attack, but what he did made me cover Allen's eyes out of fear for his mental health. The man slowly began inflating like a horribly grotesque balloon and it expanded into the disgusting brown things I saw in the show. The dead soul hovered above it, chained and unable to be set free.

Fight.

You can do it, just fight.

'How?'

Here, I'll help you.

Blackness sank over my vision and I just faintly heard Allen crying before everything faded into the void.

"Allen, stay strong, I'll see you again."

Well, that was a cliffhanger, now wasn't it. This is merely the prologue the real thing starts next chapter.

Please review if you read it! Constructive sandwiches are a party for my imaginative tummy. (There's a party in my tummy! So yummy, so yummy!)

Eris out! *~(O.O)~*