Hello all and welcome to the next chapter of A New Dawn! This one is kind of slow at first, so I hope you'll forgive me for that. But I think you guys will enjoy it just the same. I really enjoyed writing this chapter, and I hope you guys will enjoy reading it! Anyways, I don't have much to say here, so I'm just going to cut straight to the good stuff! So sit back, grab a drink or something, and please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own -man or Code Geass, all rights go to their respective owners.

Chapter 5: Family

It was hard to believe that, just a few minutes ago, the very plaza they were standing in had been the stage for a brutal brawl. After the group of Britannians left, the majority of the onlookers went on with their daily lives. Most of them acted as if they had seen nothing at all. In fact, quite a few acted annoyed. Almost as if their entertainment had been cut short. The group of Japanese who had come to Allen's aid were nowhere to be seen either. After a short chat with Suzaku, the boy found at that many of them were actually employed at the plaza. The first man who stepped up was a waiter at one of the restaurants. He was actually on break when he overheard the commotion, and when he found out what was happening, rushed to inform his friends. "People who can just act like that are pretty amazing." Allen thought as he limped over to a nearby wall. The girl the men were beating was still lying comfortably in his arms, and had been silent ever since he first picked her up. "Well then, Miss, I hope you weren't hurt too badly." He told the girl as he gently sat her down next to him. With every slight movement, his joints and muscles screamed and ached. "Ugh... it's times like this that I really wished I could rely on my healing factor." He thought as he rubbed a large tender bump on his forehead. To avoid suspicion, while at the Vatican, he had taught himself how to control the advanced healing the Fourteenth's memories gave him. To put it in simple terms, he forced his body to keep his wounds open, ensuring that they would heal at a normal rate. "If I'm in this much pain, I can only imagine what that girl is going through." The child he had shielded was also covered head-to-toe in bruises and injuries. However, she didn't say a thing. Instead, she just kept her mouth shut, and stared at the floor. "She's probably in shock..." Allen thought as he watched tears stream quietly down the girl's face.

"Why... did you save me?" After sitting in silence for nearly two minutes, the girl finally opened her mouth. Allen smiled when he saw that and shrugged.

"Because it was the right thing to do." He told her as he looked over the girl's horrid form. Now that he actually had a chance to look, he realized that the girl was unbelievably thin. Her arms were weak and spindly like toothpicks, and her eyes had sunken into her skull. "Let me guess, you were planning on selling that necklace to get something to eat?" He asked the girl. She didn't respond, but he knew that was the truth. After all, when he was working in the circus, he had to do similar things on numerous occasions to keep himself alive. "Tell me, Miss, what is your name?" He didn't want to spend the rest of their conversation without knowing how to address her. "Here, to make it easier for you, I'll tell you mine. My name is Allen Walker, and as you probably overheard, I'm from Europia." After he properly introduced himself, Allen turned to the girl once again and smiled. He had to let her know that she was safe, otherwise, she wouldn't tell him the truth. Eventually, his little strategy worked, and the girl spoke up.

"I-Ikuko… my name is Ikuko." She whispered in an nearly inaudible tone.

"Ikuko, huh? That's a nice name. Is it your first or last?" He couldn't do much with only her first name, after all. If he wanted to contact her parents he'd need her last name. However, when he asked that question, Ikuko fidgeted awkwardly around in her spot. She looked confused, almost as if he had asked her a question that she didn't have an answer for. And it didn't take him long to figure out why.

"I... don't have a last name. I'm Ikuko, and that's that." Yet again, the girl brought her tone down to a whisper. This was obviously not information she'd tell some random stranger. In fact, by telling him that she didn't have a last name, it showed that she trusted him.

"She's just like me..." Allen thought as he stared at the girl, his expression somber and sad. Before he met Mana, he was simply known as Red. Just another one of the circus's endless bussing boys. It wasn't until he was adopted that he finally gained a last name, and this girl seemed to be in a similar position. "Now that I think about it, Mana was around my age when he took me in." It was hard to believe that his life was impacted so much by such a young man, but that was just how things turned out. "How long have you been picking pockets?" He asked her as the girl rubbed her nose, which was now slowly oozing out blood.

"I don't know, I've been doing this for as long as I can remember." It was obvious that she wasn't going to tell him any more on the subject, and he didn't blame her. During his time in London's slums, he had met many children like her. Born to parents either too poor or too neglectful to care for their kids. They'd be tossed from orphanage to orphanage at an early age, before finally ending up on the streets. It was at that unbelievably sad moment that an idea came to Allen's head. When the girl wasn't looking, he turned away and hastily got to work.

"Hey... Miss." He said as he tapped Ikuko's shoulder in the most serious tone he could manage. Eventually, after quite a bit of tapping, she finally turned to look at him.

"Mister, what are you doing?" She asked him, clearly unamused. Using some nearby dust and flowers, Allen had painted his face in the fashion of a stereotypical clown. Thanks to his injuries, and the swelling he got as a result, he was able to show Ikuko a whole variety of unique faces before he was forced to rub his makeshift-makeup off.

"That was supposed to make you laugh." He told her as he rubbed his face. Thanks to that little stunt, every inch of skin from his forehead to his chin had become unbelievably irritated and tender. However, at the moment, it was obvious that Ikuko was in no mood for humor. So instead, she just turned around and continued to stare awkwardly at the ground. "I guess there's just no pleasing some people." Allen thought as he leaned back against the wall. As he did this, he cracked an eyelid open and stared at Lelouch and the rest of the Student Council. One of the Japanese onlookers had called the police and actually managed to find a good officer. The second he arrived Lelouch and the rest of their little band immediately went to notify the man on what had just happened. They provided him with everything: detailed notes on the attackers, descriptions of the ringleader, and the direction in which they made their escape. None of them left any stone unturned, especially not Kallen and Suzaku. Sadly, the man had to leave before they were finished with the report. Allen overheard him say that he had been directly ordered to ignore any calls that came from the Japanese, and was actually late to an important meeting. He didn't even have the time to speak with him or Ikuko before he had to hop into his car and drive off. "That's probably the last we'll be seeing of him..." after what had just happened, Allen seriously doubted that their report would ever make it into the system. Otherwise, this brutal attack would've been stopped far sooner than it actually was.

"Allen, I really can't apologize enough for what has happened." Milly said as she and the rest of the Student Council walked up to where they were sitting. "This was supposed to be a fun tour through the city, but it ended up like this..." The girl seemed to be on the verge of tears, and she wasn't the only one. Shirley, Rivalz, and Nina were all looking a little stuffed up.

"Yeah, it has been one heck of a first day, that's for sure." He told her in an attempt to cheer the girl up. As he talked, Kallen walked over to them and took out a small first aid kit from her purse.

"Here, you two are heavily injured." She said as she took out some gauze and turned to Ikuko. "Okay, little one, just stay still as I patch you up. It'll be over before you know it." She told the girl in the most kind, warmhearted, tone she could manage. However, before she could even begin, Ikuko recoiled back. Her eyes filled with unimaginable fear.

"No... please… I'm sorry." The girl mumbled in between terrified shakes.

"What? Come on, there's nothing to be afraid of." Kallen tried her best to convince the girl that she was trying to help her, but it was no good. Her eyes were too busy glued to the Britannian symbol which was etched onto her jacket.

"Kallen, here, let me. Judging by her reaction, and what just happened to her, I think it's pretty obvious that she's scared of Britannians." Suzaku said as Kallen begrudgingly handed the boy her first aid kit. "Hey, you know who I am right? My name is Suzaku Kururugi, and I'm Japanese like you." He said as he also tried to mend the girl's wounds. However, like with Kallen before him, the girl recoiled back.

"I know you, you're part of their military. Y-you're one of them." She said as she stared straight into Suzaku's eyes. Just as afraid, if not more so, than before. Suzaku sighed as he stepped back and scratched his temple, this was going to be difficult. Her fear for Britannians had overflowed into complete paranoia. At this rate, even if they took her to a hospital, she'd probably just end up running away. Allen sighed as he got up and plucked the first aid kit from Suzaku's hands. "Allen, what are you doing? You need to rest! You're just as injured as she is!" The boy told him as he kneeled down and lightly tussled the girl's hair.

"I'm a far cry from Suzaku or Kallen, but I think this Europian can get the job done. That is, if you'll allow me." Allen told the girl as he picked up one of her bruised hands and started to wrap them in bandages. However, even with him doing the actual work, Ikuko was still very nervous. After a while, Allen nodded and turned back to Suzaku and the rest. "I'm sorry guys, but could you all wait over there? I think your presence is making her anxious." That request definitely didn't sit well with Kallen or Suzaku, but thankfully, the two understood and quickly backed away. Once they were all at the other end of the plaza, Allen grinned and turned back to the girl. "Is this alright? Will you let me help you now?" He asked her as the girl nodded. Without saying a word, she held up her toothpick-like arms and allowed him to rub some disinfectant onto the various cuts and bruises. During the process, Allen's hand slipped, and his left wrist accidentally came in-contact with the girl's exposed skin. "Oops!" Allen thought as he quickly readjusted his sleeve. "I can't have her seeing that." Thank the lord that Ikuko's eyes were still glued to the ground, or she might have noticed his scaly black skin. "Now then..." Allen mumbled as he returned his focus to Ikuko's injuries. "Back to the task at hand." As he scanned over the girl's arm looking for the next wound to treat, he noticed something strange. "Wait a minute... where are all of the injuries?" He thought as he carefully inspected Ikuko's arm. Last he checked, her left arm was still in dire need of treatment, but now there wasn't a scratch on it!

"Is everything okay Mister?" She asked him as she allowed her left arm to fall to her side. For the first time since he had met her, Allen saw the girl smile. "Wow, you're really good at that, my left arm feels great!" She whispered, still in pain from the rest of her injuries.

"How did that happen?" He was at a loss for words. Ikuko was just a normal girl, she shouldn't have been able to recover that quickly. However, as he carefully inspected the girl's arm, he noticed something strange. An unbelievably faint layer of fine dust had coated her skin. It seemed to radiate an oddly soothing aura, and was slightly warm to the touch. With the way it seamlessly melded with Ikuko's body, it would've been nearly impossible to notice unless he already knew what the mysterious dust was, which he did. "Crown... Clown?" He thought as he stared at his left hand. His innocence wasn't activated, he didn't even feel it pulse. However, all on its own, it managed to heal some of Ikuko's wounds. "Could this be because Ikuko accidentally touched my left arm?" Even if that was the case, such a thing should've been impossible. His innocence didn't have the ability to heal wounds. "No, wait a minute..." thanks to the information the pope gave him, he knew that, after the holy war was over, innocence started to act strangely. Pieces started to disappear, including those made into anti-akuma weapons, until it seemed as if God's crystal had completely vanished from the Earth. However, given what he had just witnessed, it was possible that there was more to it. "Could my innocence be evolving?" The prospect was confusing, but when he considered the volatile nature of the crystal, it made sense. However, there were still some major holes in his theory. Namely, that such a massive change in the overall theme of an anti-akuma weapon's abilities had never been documented before. "If that's the case, maybe it comes down to humanity itself." In the past, the Earl told him that Noah's genes were lying dormant within all of mankind. But, since the Noahs were gone now, that meant that their genes must've disappeared as well. Which meant that, as strange as it sounded, the affect innocence would have on a normal person would be more extreme. Since humanity was now freed from the Earl's dark matter, that meant their bodies were now more-susceptible to God's crystal.

"That arm of yours does not belong to you, remember that Allen. Your weapon is the left arm of God." He remembered Bak telling him something along those lines, but he never really gave them any thought. He had gotten so used to seeing innocence as a weapon for destroying evil that he had forgotten what it really was: the crystallization of God's power. And now that power was being put to use in a different way.

"If that tiny bit of contact healed her this much, I wonder what would happen if I..." as he thought, Allen reached around Ikuko's head and stealthily removed his left glove. "Tell me, do you feel any pain when I press here?" He asked the girl as he touched the back of her head with his exposed palm.

"No..." she told him as the faint dust, which had previously only covered one of her arms, stretched across her entire body. Before she had the chance to notice her rapidly-closing wounds, Allen finished bandaging her arms and legs.

"There, all finished." He said as he wiped some sweat off of his forehead. "Now, tell me, do you feel better?" When the girl nodded her head, Allen smiled and helped her up off of the ground. "I did what I could, but we still have to find you a place to stay and recover. I know you don't have any parents, but do you have any friends near here who would be willing to take you in? Or maybe one of your old orphanages?" There had to be somewhere she could stay.

"The Britannians burned my old orphanage to the ground. The rest of them are full." Allen scoffed, he found it hard to believe that every orphanage in a town like this was full. However, after reflecting back on Ikuko's position, it made sense that she couldn't find a proper home. After all, she had no papers, no forms of identification, she didn't even have a last name. Plus, he doubted that any Britannian-run orphanage would be willing to take in someone like her. And when he considered how dire the situation was in the slums, he couldn't really blame the girl for trying to stick it out on her own. "I've tried so hard, Mister, I just want... to live." As she said that, the girl started to fall. Her legs weak from malnutrition and exhaustion.

"Woah there!" Allen said as he caught Ikuko before she crashed into the ground. As she lay still in his arms, Allen felt a slight rumbling coming from her stomach. "Jeez, what are we going to do with you?" Ikuko didn't answer him, the second her body hit his arms she passed out cold. "Go ahead and sleep, little one, you've more than earned it." He whispered softly as he wrapped her arms around his shoulders so he could carry her on his back. "Now that I think about it, my apartment should be near here." He was right, from where he was standing he could see his apartment building towering up into the sky. "My first night in my own apartment is going to be spent on the couch, how fitting." He chuckled.

"Allen!" He heard Kallen yell as she ran up to him, clearly worried about the girl. However, after taking a moment to inspect the bandages, she gasped. "How in the world did you manage to do all of this with only a simple first aid kit?" She asked him as the rest of the Student Council joined them.

"What? Did he do something wrong?" Suzaku said as Kallen shook her head.

"No, in fact, he administered the first aid perfectly. Better than that, actually. I can barely see any trace of injury." Allen shrugged as he handed the first aid kit back to Kallen.

"It was nothing, really, I just administered the basics." He knew that Kallen didn't believe that for a second, but she didn't care enough to ask him to elaborate. She was far more worried about the girl's wellbeing, and after seeing how, relatively speaking, good a condition the girl was in. She let out a sigh in relief.

"So then, what are you going to do now?" Milly started as she looked at her clock, it was nearly four already. "If possible, I can try to call one of her guardians. Or, if that doesn't work, I can always notify a nearby orphanage."

"Will our orphanages even accept her? I mean, she is an Eleven." Rivalz said to Milly's immense disappointment. However, before the two could start brainstorming, Allen stopped them.

"You guys don't need to worry, I've already come up with a plan." He knew that Ikuko didn't want to go back to the slums, nor did she feel safe in any Britannian-ran institution. At least for tonight, she could stay at his place.

"Are you sure? We could at least get you a ride." Shirley started before Allen, once again, shook his head.

"Thanks, but after what just happened I think we'll be fine. Plus, I know you're all busy." None of them wanted to mention it, but all of their phones had been blowing up ever since they arrived at the plaza, Lelouch and Suzaku's especially so. "Being on the Student Council is tough work, and Suzaku, you're in the military. Don't keep your superiors waiting. Don't worry, I think I still have enough strength in me to get this girl to a safe place."

"Allen..." he heard Kallen say once again. "But you're also injured and haven't undergone any first aid procedures! Before you leave, at least let us do that much!" Sadly, he had to shoot the girl's offer down. That wouldn't be necessary.

"You all worry too much, you know that right?" He told them as he started to walk away. "If you want to help me, you just need to do your jobs. As long as I have the Student Council on my side, I'm certain that the other students will come to accept me as their friend and colleague." Kallen, Suzaku, Milly, Lelouch, and the rest of their little group all grinned when they heard that and nodded.

"As long as you're certain you'll be okay..." Milly said as Allen smiled and walked away.

"Trust me, I may not look like it, but I'm pretty tough! Thanks for everything you guys did for me today, and I'll see you all in class tomorrow!" With his goodbyes now out of the way, Allen turned his attention back to the sidewalk and started the trek back to his apartment. "Mana, wherever you are, I hope you're watching." He thought as he felt Ikuko's stomach start to rumble again. With that, he quickened his pace, and disappeared into the Tokyo Settlement streets.

As apartments went, Allen's was fairly normal. His humble abode was located on the thirty-fifth story of the skyscraper, and had a fantastic view overlooking the Tokyo Settlement. It consisted of three bedrooms, a living room, a medium-sized kitchen, and a large balcony. The balcony, which was by far the fanciest part of his apartment, was covered by a spherical glass roof. Most of his furniture was provided to him by the Vatican, with some pieces being nearly fifty years old. However, to him, they still looked completely new. "Okay, let's get you into a bed." He said as he opened the door to the master bedroom, which was the only bedroom that had an actual bed in it. The other two had been converted into a small library and study, with books from all over the past few decades lining its shelves. After carefully placing Ikuko underneath the warm covers, he went into his bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet. Stored inside were bottles of nutrient supplements the pope had given him. To be able to contain the copious amount of bottles, the Vatican had his medicine cabinet specially made. Instead of opening on a typical hinge, it folded outwards on a spring, revealing the cabinet's multiple compartments. "Since she's malnourished it would be dangerous for me to give her any solid food." He thought as he took out a single pill and dropped it into a small teacup. After that, he went over to his kitchen and turned on the stove, which already had a tea kettle resting on it. Once the water was properly heated, he took some tea leaves from his pantry, ground them up, and tossed them into the teacup along with the warm water. To finish the brew, he tossed in a small squeeze of honey, and allowed the pill to melt. "These things taste pretty bad, so hopefully, this way, she'll be able to keep it down." With that out of the way, he picked up the cup, and headed back into the bedroom.

"Ah! Where... where am I?!" He heard Ikuko yell from inside the room, she sounded scared. However, when he walked in, she noticeably calmed down. "Mr. Walker?" She mumbled, still completely unware as to what was happening. Like an animal who was far away from home, she looked at him with one of her eyebrows raised and her head slightly tilted. It would've been cute if it wasn't for the fact that she was just barely holding her head up. Allen smiled as he pulled up a chair and handed her the cup.

"Don't worry, you're safe now, this is my apartment." He told her as she sniffed the tea he had made. "Go ahead and drink that, the taste may leave a lot to be desired, but I promise you that'll help." Without so much as a peep, Ikuko nodded and downed the cup in one fell swoop. When she was done, she handed the cup back to him, and shuddered.

"That was... terrible." She mumbled as she rubbed her mouth. Allen smiled as he watched the girl lean back into the bed. The effects of the pill were nearly instantaneous. Her stomach had finally stopped rumbling, and some of the color had returned to her cheeks.

"There we go, do you feel better now?" Allen asked her as he set the cup on the bedside table. Ikuko smiled and nodded, she couldn't remember the last time she had a meal that filling! "Alrighty then, now that that's out of the way..." Allen started as he slapped his knees and stood up. "Why don't we get you cleaned?" Save for the few patches of skin he had rubbed with alcohol and disinfectant, the majority of Ikuko's body was covered in dirt and grime. The smell of the gutter wafted off of her in spades, and her oily hair had tied itself into multiple tight knots.

"Cleaned? Do you mean here?" She asked him, Allen nodded. Where else could she go to wash herself off.

"I'll go ahead and get the water running. For a kid your size, it may be a bit too big for you, but I think you can manage." He said as he turned back towards the door. However, before he could take a step forward, Ikuko reached out and grabbed his sleeve. He sighed when he saw the unsure look the girl was giving him. "I already know what you're going to ask. No, I don't want anything from you in return. I'm doing all of this because I want to, and that's that." Allen didn't blame her for not completely trusting him, when he was her age he did the exact same thing. Thankfully, after all that he did, it didn't take much to convince Ikuko to let him help her. Once he was freed from her grasp, Allen hurried to the bathroom and got the water running. "Now that I think about it, I should probably go get her some new clothes." The outfit she was wearing now was practically falling apart. "I can probably do that while she's in the bath." If he remembered correctly, there was a clothing store not that far from his apartment. If he was quick, he could be back within twenty minutes. "Ikuko, your bath's ready!" He called out to the girl as he neatly laid out some soap and rags for her to use. After that, he walked back out into the hall and held the door open while she scuttled into the bathroom. "I'm going out for a bit, I should be back within the next half-hour." The girl simply nodded her head as she closed the door behind her. After that, Allen grabbed his jacket from the apartment's only coatrack, and headed for the front door.

"Mister..." he stopped when he heard Ikuko's muffled voice coming from the bathroom. "Thank you, for everything."

"There's no need to thank me, you just focus on getting better." He told her as he checked his pockets to make sure he wasn't missing anything. "Oh, that's right, if I want to buy stuff I'll have to bring my card." The people in this time used cards and other new forms of technology to spend their money. And, of course, that meant he had one too. Before he left, he went into the living room and rifled through some of the unpacked boxes that lay scattered around the floor. After quite a bit of digging, he found his card. "There we go…" he thought as he slipped the piece of plastic safely into his wallet. "Now then, let's go get some clothes." With that, he straightened his hair and headed for the main door. As his boots clinked against the hardwood floor, he looked down and grinned as he saw his reflection staring back at him. It was just an impulse, an action he did without thinking. However, in that moment, he saw something strange. "Wait... what?" He thought as he stopped moving just as he opened the door. For a split second, he swore that his eyes were gold. "No, that's impossible, it's probably just the light messing with me." Just to be sure, he took a step back, rubbed his eyes, and once again stared at the floor. However, this time, his eyes were their normal silver color. "I knew it..." he was probably just being paranoid. It had been a long day, after all, maybe he was just seeing this? As he forced what he had just saw to the back of his mind, Allen swung the door open and exited his apartment. He didn't see it, but right before his hand touched the metal doorknob, a tiny spark of black electricity sprang out of his body. "It's all in my head, I'm just overthinking things." He mumbled as he made his way to the nearest elevator. As the doors closed, he reached up to his forehead and rubbed it. For some reason, he was suddenly getting a minor headache.

Author's Note

Well this one took a bit longer than I hoped for but I really hope you guys enjoyed it. Please, if you can, tell me in a review what you think about Ikuko so far? I'm putting a lot of work into her character, so I hope you guys like her. Granted, she hasn't had much to say in these first couple of chapters. But I promise you that the wait will be worth it! Anyway, that's all I have to say for now. So, all of you have a good day, thanks for reading, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter of A New Dawn!

Chapter 6: Prelude