Disclaimer - I do not own D Gray Man

Chapter Seven - Little Boy Lost

Early on the morning of December 26th Mana left the circus where he had been staying for the past couple of weeks. And following along behind him, hardly able to keep his eyes open and yawning widely ever so often, was the little brown haired boy named Allen. He had asked the child to accompany him as he had buried the little dog with whom he had been traveling and, not really having anywhere better to go, the child had agreed.

"Are you holding up alright back there boy?" Mana asked as he and Allen made their way down a lonely road. The sun hadn't even risen yet and Mana could tell that the little boy was already tired and they had a long way to travel.

"I'm fine!" Allen snapped, glaring at the clown and rushing to catch up. He wouldn't tell the man this but he was somewhat afraid that if he should fall behind then the clown would leave him behind and go on without him. After all, if his own parents hadn't wanted him then why should this weird clown care what happened to him.

Allen knew the answer to that; he shouldn't.

"Alright," Mana said in a calm voice. He hadn't meant to upset the boy but he was quickly learning that it didn't really take much to set the little boy's anger off. He seemed to have a huge chip on his shoulder that made him take even the most harmless comments the wrong way. "I guess it's to be expected... I mean his life can't have been easy... not with that arm."

He noticed that Allen had the tendency to hide his deformed left hand in the pocket of his trousers and imagined that this was a defense mechanism. The child hid the deformity so that people wouldn't notice and hurt him because of it.

"People are stupid," the clown thought to himself. Always so scared of anyone who is different from them. In the eyes of most of humanity if you are different then you must be dangerous and should be dealt with accordingly. Whether or not you had actually done anything.

"Just one more reason why I prefer to keep to myself," Mana thought to himself, his thoughts once again going to Nicholas. When his brother's powers as a Noah had first emerged people in the town where they had grown up had begun to treat the boy differently. People who had known them their entire lives and had watched Nicholas grow up had began to fear him and all because of some little cross shaped wounds that had appeared on his forehead.

And now this child was being forced to suffer for something that wasn't his fault. Something that he hadn't asked for and couldn't do anything about.

Mana was jarred from these thoughts by the sound of a soft thud. Pausing, the clown turned to glance at the child and saw that Allen was sitting on the ground in the middle of the dusty road. The little boy was breathing heavily and quite obviously tired. Mana supposed that he should have expected this since he was accustomed to traveling quickly and could take much larger strides than the little boy.

Walking over to the spot where the child was sitting Mana said, "Never stop. Keep walking. Until the day you die."

Allen gazed up at the clown, a strange expression in those eerie gray eyes that so reminded Mana of his brother. Mana wasn't sure if the little boy truly understood the meaning of the words but it didn't matter. Kneeling down Mana offered the child a smile. "Hop onto my back and I'll give you a ride."

"I don't..."

"Come on kid," Mana said, gazing at the boy. "Just take the offer of help."

Allen got to his feet and, grumbling softly to himself, climbed onto Mana's back. The clown couldn't keep the smile from spreading across his face as he got to his feet, picked up his suitcase, and continued down the dusty road. The child that he carried weighed almost nothing and Mana found himself vaguely wondering how long it had been since Allen had eaten a proper meal.

Deciding to get the kid something to eat as soon as they reached the next town Mana picked up the pace. And at the same time he couldn't help but wonder what exactly had possessed him to take in this little orphan. "What is wrong with me?"

Mana and Allen arrived in the next town by that evening and, as soon as they arrived, the clown quickly located the nearest inn. Pulling some coins from the pocket of his coat he paid for a room for the night and then led Allen upstairs. Unlocking the door Mana gestured with his hand and watched as Allen stepped inside the room, his gray eyes opened wide.

"How long has it been since this kid has slept indoors?" Mana wondered as Allen sat down on the edge of one of the twin beds that occupied the room.

Allen couldn't believe how soft the mattress was and the little boy gave a couple of experimental bounces. His face lit up and the child made a move to climb up onto the bed but he was halted when the clown grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

"Don't jump on the bed Allen," Mana admonished, placing the child down on his own two feet but maintaining his grip on the kid's collar. "Especially not with your shoes on."

"Let go!" Allen snapped, pulling his shirt free of the clown's grip.

Mana couldn't help but chuckle slightly as he gazed at the disgruntled expression on the young boy's face. "I can see that we're going to have to work on your manners a little bit."

Allen simply glared at the man.

"Anyway," Mana said, sensing an argument coming and seeking to avoid it. He was simply too tired to fight with the kid right now. Maybe later but not now. "What do you say the two of us go down to the little cafe and get something to eat?"

The disgruntled look immediately vanished, replaced by a hopeful expression.

The look on the boy's face actually broke Mana's heart. Allen looked as though he desperately wanted to say yes but was afraid that as soon as he did then the offer would be taken back. People had definitely been beyond cruel to this poor child.

"Come on," Mana said, holding out his hand.

Allen gazed up into Mana's face for a few seconds and then fell into step behind the man. Mana led the way downstairs and to a small cafe that he had noticed when he and Allen had arrived in this town. The two of them sat down at a table in the corner, as far away from the other customers as they could get. It was obvious by his actions that Allen was nervous around people and Mana didn't want to cause him any undo stress.

A kind looking older lady approached the duo, holding a small notepad in her hand. "What can I get you gentlemen?" she asked, offering both Mana and Allen a broad smile.

"What do you like Allen?" Mana asked, glancing over at the child.

"Doesn't matter," Allen said with a shrug of his small shoulders. His gray eyed gaze was focused downward and he seemed intent upon staring at the tablecloth and ignoring Mana.

With a sigh Mana ordered a variety of things and then sat back in his chair to await the return of their waitress. And during the wait he focused his gaze on the little boy who was sitting opposite him at the table. Allen was small and slender and Mana found himself wondering exactly how old the child was. He didn't look any older than six or seven but with the past that Mana was certain he had it was hard to judge. His size could be merely a sign of malnutrition.

"You know," Allen said, breaking into Mana's thoughts. "For someone so caught up on manners you should know that it's not nice to stare."

Mana was somewhat taken aback by the child's words and he quickly realized that Allen didn't like to be stared at. Of course he didn't like to be stared at, people must have been looking at him as though he were a freak all of his life. "You're right Allen. I apologize."

Now it was Allen's turn to be taken by surprise. He gazed over at the clown as though unsure of what to make of the man. Mana wasn't like any adult that he had ever encountered and there was a part of the child that was intrigued by him.

This clown didn't judge him.

Soon the waitress returned with their order and, smiling at the expression on Allen's face, Mana gestured toward the plates. "Pick whatever looks good to you."

As it turned out everything looked good to the boy and Mana watched, somewhat shocked, as Allen put away enough food to feed several full grown men. No wonder this child was so thin. Judging by his appetite there was no way that he'd been getting enough to eat.

"Did you even taste any of that?" Mana asked once he'd paid for the meal. He and Allen were heading back to their room and Mana felt safe questioning the child since there wasn't anyone around to overhear the conversation. After all Allen was extremely self conscious.

"Uh huh," Allen replied, concealing a yawn behind his hand.

"Really?" Mana pressed.

"Yes!" Allen snapped, reverting to his earlier annoyance.

"Okay, okay," Mana said, opening the door and allowing the child to enter the room. The clown followed behind him and he watched with an amused smile on his face as the child pulled off his shoes and carefully climbed onto the bed. It looked to him as though Allen were trying his best not to move the mattress and he recalled their earlier conversation about jumping on the bed.

So the child really was trying.

A/N - and there's chapter seven, hope you enjoyed.