Hi there, this is the second chapter of the day. To people who followed, favourited, reviewed, and read this, thank you very much. Here, have some chocolate cookies that I baked. *hands a tray of cookies* How does it taste? I hope it taste like chocolate as it is chocolate.

Enjoy!

: )

Night Nine

The morning sun rose from the horizon, graced the earth with its light rays to warm it up from the cool night, and wake up the sleeping heads to start the day bright. When the clock strikes at 5 a.m. sharp, early rises got up and out of their beds followed by the others as time goes by to prepare for the day. Soon, the almost deserted town last night came to life as people of different status in life walked here and there, some were talking to the person they knew. The vendors kept on endorsing their products, inviting the townsfolk to buy. The children run across, laughing at the joke their friend had shared to them.

It was a tranquil day to begin when...

"Allen! Hide yourself! I'll handle this!" Cross ordered from afar.

"Yes!" Allen replied and scrambled to the nearest alley. He turned to his right immediately and hid behind the trash cans and bags of it.

Apparently, there was an explosion just a few meters from their current location. They were heading back to their inn when it happened. After the dust dissipated, Allen saw three huge machines- like sphere which had masks on each of it that shows a face with the same expression which is sorrow. Allen didn't know what those things that caused the explosion are, but then again, his cursed eye activated for the first time after the incident and saw something hovering over those creatures that looked like a mummified human being. That's when he remembered that those are what they call akuma.

Cross, without haste, pulled his gun, Judgement, out of its holster and aimed at the creatures that were floating in front of it. With mastery, he pulled the trigger once and just a snap, the creatures exploded at the same time. The people who hid gradually emerged from their safety. They looked at the red haired man with astounded face and admiration for saving them from those monsters. The young ladies noticed his charisma and neared him, thanking, or more like flirting. Cross obviously smirked at his luck since he hit two birds with one stone. The beauties pulled him along as they invited him to have a drink when he felt the hem of his sleeve tugged. Cross halted, turned to his left, and stared at Allen as if saying 'don't mess around when the ladies are with me'. Then, his expression changed into one of that confused person seeing that Allen held the hand of a girl and his eye still activated.

"What?"

"Master, I couldn't activate my anti- akuma weapon, so I thought to bring her to you." Allen gestured to the girl. "If you would please, Master, destroy her for her soul is weeping. Please?"

"IDIOT! ARE YOU RETARDED!?" Cross yelled. And to the ladies' surprise, he pointed his gun at the forehead of the girl when it was about to rip off its skin and shoot. The girl exploded and at the same time, the beauties screamed in horror and run away. They run away... With Allen fearing that the man might shoot him too.

"Hey, wait! They are mine!" reaching his free hand to where the ladies run off to with Allen, Cross called after them saying that the beauties are his and not Allen's.

oOo

Cross Marian, one of the five General- Exorcists, a great man in the eyes of the Science Department of the Black Order, a womanizing debtor for the rest, run around the town for quite some time in the search of his retarded, idiot apprentice, Allen Walker. He didn't anticipated that his little charge would held hands with an akuma so casually and asked him to destroy it like nothing was out of place. Seriously, how was Allen really? Because of that little mishap he was accused of murder though it was half true, he had just murdered an akuma in the guise of a little innocent girl. Now, he had to avoid the citizens who had witness the exchange. Soon, from his hiding place, he spotted his apprentice in front of the bar surrounded by beautiful angels of earth. He saw how his apprentice was adorned and fawned by them, giggling as the squeezed his cheeks so much it turned red. Cross sighed. It didn't strike him that Allen was pretty famous. He couldn't take him anymore, watching the ladies adorning Allen instead of him, so with a flash of red and gashed of the wind, in a split of second, Allen was gone within their grasps.

Allen felt lightheaded when someone snatched him so fast he would vomit, but now was not the time to do it as he found himself in an alley where no one would see him cornered by none other than Cross Marian the great bastard whose hands on either sides of him as Cross was looming over him.

"...uhmmm..." he quivered.

Cross stared at him sternly.

"...I'm sorry..." Allen mumbled as he bowed his head to his emotion.

"Sorry? You're sorry for what?"

"I mean... I should've destroyed the akuma back then, so...this wouldn't happen..." he reasoned.

"Idiot. Your anti- akuma weapon didn't activate- or more like you couldn't. I would have accepted your apology if you said you were sorry because you stole those beauties from me."

"...?..." Allen was dumbfounded.

Cross sighed at Allen's reaction and said, "Never mind." upon rubbing his temple. "C'mon. We're heading to the next town." he then pulled Allen with him out of the alley and headed to their inn to gather their things and pick Timcanpy who left to guard their belongings.

oOo

At the waiting area on one of the many seats sat a boy with white hair and a peculiar scar dressed in like a noble with his luggage by his foot and a large yellow sphere with a pair of wings and a tail rested on his lap. The boy hug the creature so tenderly as he watched the families passing by with longing in his eyes. He watched as how the little brunnette boy nudged his father, who was talking to another man, to get his attention. The man excused himself as he merrily picked the boy up and went inside the train. Then, the white haired lad laid his eyes on another family that just got out of the train. They were a family consisting of parents and twins, a boy and a girl. How he wished he was in their place.

"Hey, Tim." he called. "Do you think if my arm wasn't like this my family won't have abandoned me?" he knew Timcanpy can't talk, but it was worth it to have someone who would listen to him willingly. Allen once asked himself regarding his parents, but gave up eventually when he had manage to convice himself that his parents didn't love him enough to not to throw him away. He gave up his hope of finding someone who would accept him as a family given his left arm that made his life worse. That was until he met Mana.

Everthing change when that crazy clown came into his life.

"Nah, what does it matter anyway? My own parents abandoned me and didn't care to look for me. Not that I knew though. I already have Mana. He loved me and..." Allen trailed off, remembering the man who gave him a family. "I wish he is here... I really miss him so much." he ended his sentence with a heaving sigh as he rested his head on Timcanpy and closed his eyes.

"Where did Master go by the way, Tim?"

As if on cue, someone tapped on Allen's head. He snapped up and saw his Master standing behind him with the train tickets on hand.

"Let's go." he said and they departed for the next town via train.

oOo

Two hours had pass, yet no dared to utter a word until Allen fell asleep. Cross noticed how sad Allen was since they departed. He knew he missed the clown so much and he envied children with family and a home to return to after playing outside. He felt his stomach dropped at the word play. Before Allen and Mana met, did this kid experienced what it is like to play with other kids? True he had seen the boy play with Mana before, but not with other kids his age. Allen was just a boy, yet reality stole his childhood and now he was forced to a war unbeknownst to society, a war that caught him with no choice.

Cross watched Allen sleeping peacefully across him in that very same awkward way he was in last time they rode in the train. He chuckled a little and decided to sit on his side again just like last time and go back to his seat before he wakes up so he wouldn't ask anything.

The General thought of the things to comfort his apprentice when sad, a thing that parents does when their child was down.

"How will I know? I'm not a parent and will never be." He smiled bitterly as he was remembering something from a very long time ago that only few selected people would guess.

Was it possible for him to treat Allen as if he was his son?

He didn't know…

And probably he will never know…

"If I were to have a family of my own, I really suck being a father then."

Well then, how's the chapter?

Allen: CBA~! *dashed in*

Me: A-Allen?

Allen: I'm just here to visit and have some cookies. *pointing to the tray CBA was carrying*

Me: Oh, here have some.

Allen: Thanks. What happened to your index finger anyway?

Me: I accidentally snapped it.

Allen: Does it hurts?

Me: Nope~. Why don't you try it yourself so you'll know it doesn't really hurts?

Allen: ...

So long everyone. Thanks for reading!

See you!

#CBA