Disclaimer! I don't own -Man, or any of the fabulous characters in it. Only the lovely Katsura Hoshino does! :3

This is just a short story about Allen as a child, before he joined the circus. And it's my very first fanfic I have ever written, I hope you guys enjoy!

"I don't understand," the boy thought to himself. Here is a child, with no name, no identity, and no one in the world that cares about him. At a distance, you might think he was just a normal child. But if you get close to him, it's a whole new story. His shockingly thin body, covered in bruises and scars, his scaly red arm that can barely move, the tangly mess on his head that is supposed to be hair. If you look into his eyes though, you don't see the light you would see in a normal child's eyes. You see a soul that has been broken.

It's a frigid Christmas Eve, and the child was hiding in dark alleyway. Though nobody notices him, he notices them. All the families walking around, grinning, laughing. Some holding hands with their children, others loaded with bags of presents.

"All those parents seem to love their children. Why didn't mine love me? Is there something wrong with me…am I that bad of a person?" And he began to cry silently.

"Wait mommy, I dropped my dolly!"

"Hurry along and get it Nina!"

A small girl was at the entrance of the alley way. The boy tried desperately to hide, but in the process he tipped over a trashcan. The girl looked up and noticed him.

"H-Hello?"

She ran over to him.

"What are you doing in here? Why aren't you with your mommy or daddy!"

The boy stated flatly, "I don't have parents."

"That's silly! Everyone has parents! Even cats and dogs have parents!"

"Go away! You're annoying! And you smell like old fruit!"

There was a small glint of hurt in the girls eyes. But it went away after a second when she saw how tiny his frame was. "Are you hungry? You're so tiny! Almost as thin as a beansprout!"

Just as the child was about to punch her, his stomach growled loudly. After all, he hasn't eaten in a couple days.

"Wow, your tummy is really loud! Here, I have some chocolate from the candy shop I just went too, you can have the rest!" She handed it over, and just as she was about to say something, her mother yelled, "Nina! Hurry up! We have to get back to the inn!"

"Oh, well I guess I hafta go! Bye bye!" She ran down the alley.

It was the first time anyone was ever kind to him. Maybe…this world isn't such a bad place, he thought.