"Master," a young boy whined, tagging after a tall man with long red hair.
"Quit whining, Allen," the tall man – now identified as 'Master' – growled back, running a hand through his red hair.
The white-haired small boy squeaked and went silent, but soon began fidgeting again.
"Why are we wandering through the back alleys of China anyway?"
"Because."
The boy – 'Allen' – sniffed and went silent, eyes still darting around from time to time as he clung to his skinny arms.
He held back a sudden gasp as his eye transformed of its own will, and 'Master' turned around to glance at him, only to make a tsk sound as he pulled out a golden revolver.
"Akuma," he growled, "remember to stay alert this time, Allen."
Far in the distance, he could see several balloon-shaped things floating towards their general direction, camouflaged against the starless midnight sky. There were probably about seven to ten on them, and they appeared to be chasing something – or someone, even.
A painfully skinny girl in street-urchin clothes came dashing towards them at full pelt, throwing occasional glances behind her at the Akuma and running blindly, never noticing the duo in front of her until she ran into the boy, bowling him over.
Getting up swiftly, she looked all around her like a frightened animal.
"Stay behind me," 'Allen' whispered, "Master'll take care of them. They didn't shoot you, did they?"
She shook her head mutely, but he missed the slight widening of her eyes when they slipped past his face to land on 'Master' and the black coat he was wearing.
Raising his revolver smartly, 'Master' fired several times in succession, and within a matter of seconds the balloon-like Akuma had all exploded. Sighing, he tucked the revolver back into the folds of his coat and turned to face the two children.
"Kid," he growled gruffly, "why are the Akuma chasing you in the middle of the night?"
The girl's eyes strayed to his jacket again, and she flinched as she looked away, her refusal resolute. He groaned.
"I won't bite, kid."
There was silence.
"You have the Rose Cross," she muttered reluctantly after persistent prodding from 'Allen', "I don't trust you."
Wrenching herself free of 'Allen', she pulled her ragged outfit around her thin frame and began to walk off.
"Hear me out," called 'Master' after her retreating silhouette, "I'm not a dog of the Order."
They saw her freeze, and her shoulders tense up. After a long, long pause, she finally turned around again, huge grey eyes boring into theirs, scanning them from head to toe.
"…Who are you, anyway?"
'Master' flinched at the skeptical glance she threw at him.
"You're Cross Marian? That general who's in Leverrier's bad books?"
"Am I that infamous?"
Her raised eyebrow and straight face was enough of an answer.
"You should've seen the labels given to you. 'Subdue on Sight' and 'Highly Dangerous' and the like," she said dryly, smirking slightly as he scowled.
'Allen' blinked, gaze flicking back and forth between the two, like a particularly exciting tennis match.
"How do you even know who Master is?" he asked curiously, butting in.
A long palpable pause filled the air, before she swallowed.
"I used to…help out there. At the Order," she said quietly, in a tone that brooked no further discussion.
'Allen' nodded, and did not ask any further questions.
When Cross had sent 'Allen' out to gamble for some money, he turned back to the girl.
"So now you know my apprentice, Allen Walker. He's usually pretty good at seeing if people are lying or not, but I guess you must be a pretty accomplished liar. You were one of the experiments of the Order, weren't you?"
Not expecting this direct question, she stared at him dumbly, before shaking her head furiously.
"I…don't know what you're talking about. What experiments?"
Rolling his eyes, Cross reached out and grabbed hold of her lank hair, holding it up to expose a tiny tattoo on the back of her neck.
"There's no way you'd be scared of my Rose Cross unless they did something scarring to you," he said, letting her hair fall down again, apparently satisfied, "besides, that tattoo there just confirms it."
He could see cynicism in her eyes, warring with a childish innocence and a desire to believe that he was not going to harm her or turn her over.
"Anyway," she said, turning away after a while, "since you're a General and all, I think you should keep this."
Evidently she had decided to give in to her child's instincts and trust him. Hidden in a secret pocket in the folds of her ragged garment was a green crystal, which she pushed into his hands.
"I saw this a couple of days ago. That's why they were chasing me."
Innocence, Cross told himself as he blinked dumbly at the glowing crystal in his grasp.
"How did you find this-"
She shook her head, obviously refusing to answer. Giving up, Cross changed topic instead.
"Stay for dinner? Allen usually manages to get enough money out of poker for three or four days of decent meals, and you look like you need one."
Allen looked delighted to see her still there when he returned, dragging a bag of chicken pies with his pockets stuffed with money.
"One of them was a pie stall owner," he said proudly, "and he wagered all these pies."
"Good job," Cross said gruffly, reaching over to take the money and a couple of pies. Taking a pie out of the bag, he handed it to the girl before taking another three and beginning to demolish them.
"What's your name, anyway?" he asked between bites, pastry flakes stuck to his face. "I'm Allen Walker."
She nibbled at her pie.
"I…don't have one," she said finally, squirming under his inquisitive gaze.
"Let's give you one!" Allen cried immediately, ignoring her stunned blinking and Cross' sigh.
"It's fine, really-"
"Kiara!"
"…Eh?"
Cross sighed, flicking Allen's forehead with his finger.
"I tried to teach him Japanese before. He thinks kira-kira means pretty, and he can't even pronounce it properly."
Ignoring Allen's indignant protest, the girl smiled shyly.
"It's a nice name."
"And your surname will be Akatsuki, because you are puny and have yet to grow, like a new dawn."
Swallowing the last of her pie, she looked at Cross curiously.
"I'll probably be gone by tomorrow, why are you even bothering to go so far as to give me a name?"
"You'll be safer with us than out alone by yourself!" Allen interjected, pouting at her.
"I've been coping fine for a while now."
"Please?"
She paused, and her eyes bored into Allen's.
"…I'll consider it."
She was still there the next morning.
A/N: I did say I wouldn't be a frequent updater. :)
Kira-kira actually means sparkling/glittering. Akatsuki literally means dawn/daybreak.
There will most probably be one last chapter of introduction after this, and then we will begin to move into the main plot after that.
Liked it? Hated it? Where did I go wrong and how can I improve? I'd love it if you could give me feedback in a review.
Until the next chapter,
~Luna
(aka espeon16.)