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A/N - Thanks once again to the kind reviewers who are following this story: Genis Regal - Element Star, Jenaminya, Soul Silver, dgm - mega fan, key46812, crazy DGM fan, truegenius13, usuilove21, Shi - shiNata, PeanutAngel, AnaInTheCorona, LilyMoonstone, Leafre, fan girl 666, 14th Noah, mysticwolf1896, Peculiar Top hat, CrimsonLaurana, Arceus the Creator, LyssiBug and Noah of Faith. You're reviews were all wonderful, thank you so much!

Chapter Twenty-Five - Time Marches On

As the months progressed Mana began to grow more comfortable with his role as parent. There were still times when he felt lost and overwhelmed but those times were now few and far between. Unlike those first, terrifying months when he had been convinced that he would be a tremendous failure as a parent. And Mana was definitely not sad to see those times go as he was now more confident in his ability to raise Allen.

"Father!"

Feeling the familiar skip of his heartbeat, Mana turned and watched as Allen bounded into the room. The little boy was dressed in black trousers and a black vest over a white button up shirt. His pair of little white gloves completed the outfit and made the brown haired boy look like quite the gentleman. In the time that had passed since Nicholas' death it was as though Allen's mind had blocked out all memories of him. The little boy had began to address Mana as father, which caused the man to have mixed feelings. On the one hand he thought of the child as his son but on the other hand the fact remained that he wasn't.

Allen was Nicholas' son.

But Mana never said anything to correct the child, not wanting to cause him further trauma. Allen seemed to have found peace of mind and, despite what he felt for his brother, Mana didn't want to destroy this. The nightmares had all but disappeared and Mana wanted to do everything in his power to make certain that it stayed that way.

"I'm sorry about this Nicholas," Mana thought to himself as he gazed at the bright eyed little boy. As always he felt the customary stab of guilt but was choosing to ignore it for the time being. For the good of the child that his younger brother had risked everything for. "But it's for the best right now. I swear I'll tell him about you when he gets older… I'll make sure that he knows."

"Father…" Allen walked up to Mana and began tugging at the man's shirt sleeve.

"What is it Allen?" Mana offered the little boy a smile as he scooped the child into his arms. With a glint in his brown eyes Mana gave the boy a little toss, causing him to squeal in delight.

"Again!" Allen's gray eyes were shining as he gazed at Mana in delight.

Mana complied with the boy's wishes but promptly realized that this had been a mistake. He cringed as his back gave a very loud pop and quickly placed the boy back on the ground. "Ow!" he moaned, placing his hand on his back.

Allen was immediately concerned. "You okay Father?"

"I'll be fine," Mana assured the child, a rueful smile on his face. "So, what was it that you came to tell me? You seemed awful excited about something."

The smile returned to Allen's face as he remembered what he had been so excited to tell Mana. Reaching up he once again seized hold of the cuff of Mana's sleeve. "Star learned a new trick… come see!"

"Alright." Mana winced as his back protested the movement but he never the less allowed the child to lead him upstairs. Allen was so excited about this new accomplishment and he didn't want to squash his enthusiasm. He would just have to deal with the pain in his back.

Allen led the way upstairs to his bedroom, where he had left the little terrier. Star had grown from the tiny puppy although he would never be a big dog. But Mana thought that he was just the right size for Allen. The two of them made a very cute pair.

The moment that Allen opened the door Star, who had been lying on the floor, jumped up and yipped. The little dog turned around in circles, happy that his young master had returned.

"Okay Star," Allen said, sounding surprisingly serious for such a young child. The little boy walked over to the terrier and gazed down at him. Star locked gazes with his master and for a moment the two just stood like that, seeming as though neither of them were going to move a muscle. Almost as though they were having a staring contest. Then, without so much as a word of warning, Allen pointed his finger at the dog. "Bang."

Without even a moment's hesitation Star fell over and lay on his side, completely motionless.

"Good boy!" Allen exclaimed, prompting the little dog to jump up and lick his face. A smile appeared on the little boy's face as he turned excited gray eyes to Mana. "Did you see Father? Did you?"

"I saw Allen," Mana said, smiling at the little boy. He was once again forced to think that the three of them should run away and join the circus. Allen and Star could definitely keep them fed with the tricks that they could do and Mana found himself wondering where exactly Allen got all of these ideas from. "That's very good."

These simple words of praise were enough to cause Allen's smile to widen. Sinking to his knees the little boy wrapped his arms around the dog. "Good boy Star!"

"So Allen," Mana said, walking over to the spot where his little boy was kneeling next to his dog. He placed his hand on the top of Allen's unruly brown hair and gazed down at the child. "How would you and Star like to go to the park?"

"Yes please!" Allen's eyes shone, pleased that Mana had suggested going to the park. It was a rare treat and one that he thoroughly enjoyed.

"Alright then," Mana said, having already known that Allen would want to go to the park. He never said no to that question. "Find your shoes and Star's leash and then meet me downstairs."

"'Kay!"

Chuckling softly to himself Mana turned and left the room. He made his way downstairs, coming to a stop in front of the coat rack. Reaching out he grabbed his top coat and shrugged it on. Then he put on his top hat and turned to wait for Allen. Mere seconds later he heard the sound of the boy running down the hallway upstairs.

"Slow down Allen," Mana called out automatically as the child appeared at the top of the stairs. It had became almost force of habit to reprimand the child for running in the house and the man found himself vaguely wondering if that particular rule would ever sink in. Or if Allen would ever choose to obey it since he was fairly certain that the child remembered and just opted to pretend otherwise. "We won't be able to go to the park if you fall and break something."

Allen made a face but slowed his pace as he descended the stairs. The boy had pulled on his shoes and was holding Star's leash with his right hand. His left hand was still stiff and somewhat difficult to use so he normally chose to do everything with just his right hand.

"Don't make that face," Mana admonished as the boy came to stand beside him. Reaching out he gently tousled the boy's already unruly brown hair once again. "It'll stick that way."

"Will not," Allen said.

"How do you know?" Mana asked, keeping his face serious as he gazed down at the child.

This question seemed to give the boy pause. Allen gazed up at Mana, attempting to determine if he was serious.

"Will it?" the boy finally asked, his head tilted slightly to the side as he pondered this possibility.

"No," Mana was forced to admit with a laugh. "But you still shouldn't make faces like that. They're unbecoming to young gentlemen."

"What that mean?" Allen questioned, gazing up at Mana.

"It doesn't look good," Mana said as he turned and reached for the doorknob.

"Oh."

After pulling the door open Mana gestured for the little boy to step outside. Then, once Allen had complied, Mana followed along behind him. The last thing he did was lock the door and then the small family was ready to be on their way. There was just one final thing that Mana had to take care of before they were ready to be on their way. And that was to give the little boy a reminder of the rules.

"Alright Allen," Mana said as the three of them began walking down the sidewalk. "What's the rule when we go out somewhere?"

Allen held a thoughtful expression on his face for a few seconds before replying, "I has to stay with you."

"That's correct," Mana said, nodding his head in approval. It had been awhile since the two of them had gone to the park and he wanted to make certain that Allen remembered the rule. Because he really didn't want to have to deal with a missing child… again.

He had endured that more than his fair share and it always made him feel as though his life had been shortened.

As the trio walked down the street Mana noticed that Allen was humming to himself. He had to strain his ears to hear but, after a few moments, he recognized the song. It was the lullaby that Allen sometimes played on the piano.

"I really would like to know where he learned that song," Mana thought to himself for what was perhaps the hundredth time. Every time that he questioned the child Allen would merely shrug. He didn't seem to remember where he had learned it but of course the boy wasn't concerned by this fact.

That was merely the way things were in his eyes.

Before long the small family arrived at the park and Mana gave the child permission to run to their favorite spot. This was the normal routine; he could keep Allen in sight and it gave the boy the opportunity to run off some energy. For his part Mana walked along at a more leisurely pace, still feeling a slight pain in his back. "I must be getting old or something," he muttered darkly to himself. Of course he was only in his late twenties so this thought caused him to feel somewhat irritated. He was too young to be feeling so old. With a sour expression on his face he reached back and rubbed at the offending muscles.

By the time Mana made it to his favorite tree Allen and Star were already running about in the grass a few yards away. Sinking to the ground and pressing his back up against the tree Mana gazed at his charges. They were rambunctious and Mana hoped that they expended some of that boundless energy that they both seemed to possess. Allen had unclipped Star's leash and tossed it aside, giving the dog more freedom. Mana wasn't really concerned about this, since the little dog was extremely obedient. He merely resolved to keep a close eye on both the child and the dog. Because both were known to get into trouble when left to their own devices.

And it was always ten times worse when they were together.

Taking a running start Allen did a handspring and, as though not wanting to be outdone, the little terrier did a back flip. Allen gazed down at the little dog and it was obvious by his expression that he hadn't taught Star that particular trick. "When you learn that?" the child questioned, gazing at the dog quizzically.

Yipping a couple of times Star leapt up and licked the end of Allen's nose, effectively answering the question in his own way.

"Ew!" Allen exclaimed, wiping at his nose with the back of his gloved right hand. He was used to Star's kisses but that one had been a bit more slobbery than most.

"Hey!" an unfamiliar voice suddenly called out.

Mana's attention immediately shifted toward the sound of the voice and he watched as a little boy walked toward the spot where Allen was standing. This child appeared to be a few years older than Allen and he was quite a bit bigger. Not really surprising since Allen was small for his age. The new boy had blond hair and blue eyes and seemed to be heading straight for Allen. And Allen was steadily backing away from the strange boy. There was a strange look in his eyes and Mana realized that the boy didn't have any experience with children around his own age.

He was actually scared.

"Hasn't he ever had a friend?" Mana thought to himself as he watched the two boys. The little blond boy was steadily approaching Allen and he, in turn, was steadily retreating. That was all the answer that Mana needed. Getting to his feet he walked over to the spot where the two boys, along with Star, were standing.

"Hello," he said, offering the new boy a smile.

"Richard!"

Yet another new voice called out, this one sounding decidedly female. Mana turned once again and watched as a woman around his own age walked up the hill toward them.

"Richard," the woman said again once she had caught up to the blond boy. "I hope that you weren't interrupting these nice people."

"He wasn't," Mana said quickly, tipping his hat politely to the woman. "I think that he wanted to play with my son Allen and his dog Star." The woman was gazing at him as though attempting to size him up and Mana offered her his hand. "My name is Mana Walker. It's a pleasure to meet you…"

"Addison Taylor," the woman replied, accepting the hand that Mana held out to her. The two adults shook hands and then turned their attention back to the two young boys.

Allen was now gazing at Mana and Mrs. Taylor and, after a few moments of intense thought, he walked over to the blond boy. He hesitated for only the briefest of moments before offering his hand to the boy. "My name Allen Walker."

After a glance to his mother Richard accepted the hand that Allen was holding out. "Nice to meet you Allen. I'm Richard Taylor."

"That's adorable," Mrs. Taylor said, her eyes shining as she gazed at the two boys. "Your son is the cutest thing that I've ever seen Mr. Walker."

Mana couldn't help but smile, pride for the little boy shining in his brown eyes. He could tell that Allen was shy but the little boy had pushed that feeling to the side. "Thank you Mrs. Taylor. Your son is quite the little gentleman."

Mrs. Taylor smiled. "Would you mind if Richard played with little Allen and the dog?"

"Not at all," Mana said, his gaze going to the two small boys. "Have fun and play nice boys."

"Yes Father," Allen said.

"Yes sir," Richard said.

The two little boys spent the next several hours playing together and then Mana decided that it was time for them to go home. It was nearing supper time and it wouldn't do for Allen to miss a meal. So, with this thought in mind, Mana got to his feet and called out to Allen. "Come on Allen. It's time to go home."

For a moment it looked as though Allen might argue but then he turned to his new friend. "Gotta go. Bye."

"Good bye Allen," Richard said, offering the younger boy a smile. "Come back to play again sometime."

"'Kay!" Allen said as he picked up Star's discarded leash. Leaning forward the little boy clipped the leash to Star's collar and then ran over to Mana.

"Are you ready to go?" Mana asked as he wrapped an arm around Allen's shoulders.

"Not really," Allen replied truthfully.

"But it's almost time for dinner," Mana said, knowing that this would change the boy's mind.

And he was correct in that assumption.

"Let's go," Allen said, grasping Mana's hand and practically pulling him down the hill.

Mana chuckled softly as he was pulled along by the child. Allen had made a friend and Mana was extremely pleased by this fact. The little boy needed someone close to his own age to play with. "We'll definitely have to come back to the park more often," Mana thought to himself as he, Allen and Star made their way toward home.

A/N - Hope that you enjoyed this chapter and Allen made a friend. Please leave a review and tell me what you thought and thanks so much to everyone who has already submitted reviews to this story. You're all wonderful.