TWP: Let's take a break from the others and focus on Allen shall we? Indeed, we shall.

Disclaimer: I don't own DGM.

Allen ducked, dodged, leapt and again he tried to activate his Innocence. A split second and then it was nothing more than dust again.

'I'm causing trouble for Bak.' He dodged another swing of Fou's blade. 'I have to restore my Innocence. I have to return to the battlefield.' He thought as he dodged the gatekeeper of the Asian Branch's various attacks. Suddenly she jumped back and her blades turned into hands, confusing him.

"You… DUMBASS!" She yelled and punched him out of nowhere and he crashed into one of the many pillars keeping the roof in place. "Cut it out, you bastard!" She shouted furiously. "Why aren't you coming at me seriously?!"

"I-I'm trying." Allen said and she hit him hard on the back of his head as he still hadn't stood up from his crouching position.

"You aren't trying at all! What the hell's up with you right now? You've completely changed! It's like you're thinking about pointless things. Focus more on your training!" The gatekeeper demanded and Allen felt his temper rise.

"Or are you afraid of me now? Looks like your willpower is fading!" Even if Fou didn't know Allen for very long, it seemed like she knew what buttons to push and the next sentence would make his temper flare up too.

"A damned beansprout like you could never activate his Innocence!" She yelled and Allen shouted furiously and tried to maim her. Being called beansprout was the last straw but Rikei held him back as Shifu held Fou from making more of a mess.

"I don't understand either!" Allen said shakily. "I don't understand why I can't invoke my Innocence. It's not like I like being here! I want to go out and help the others! I want to return to the battlefield! That's what I swore to do!" Fou stared before huffing and stormed away.

"That's it! I've had enough!"

Allen sat in the darkness, wondering why he couldn't activate his Innocence. Why couldn't he fuse with it? What was wrong? Suddenly a light was trusted in his face. He jumped back as he saw Lou Fa crawl up the pillar he was leaning on with a lamp in her hand. He took it and she sat down beside him and there was an awkward silence.

"It must be hard having your arm like that, Mr. Walker." She said and he turned to her surprised.

"No… I'm pathetic. It shouldn't be so difficult to do this."

"That's not true!" She exclaimed. "You're trying really hard, right?"

"Even if I try really hard, if nothing happens, it'll all be for naught." Allen deadpanned with a shrug. Lou Fa lifted her feet up to the edge and stared at him.

"What do you want to do?" She asked. "You've made many friends, met the Noah, stopped them from getting the Heart, killed many things, seen a Fallen One and lost your weapon. Has it made you want to protect your friends?" She asked and stared down at the darkness below them. "Do you feel the need to defeat the Noah? After feeling the pain of all those you couldn't save, do you feel you must fight a lot?"

Allen didn't know where she was going with this although she did have a point. A lot of points actually but he didn't think Lou Fa was a person who would be so upfront about things like these. But he smiled mentally, for it was good to have someone to talk to.

"Right now, isn't kindness the thing that's pushing you forward?" She closed her eyes and turned her face away from him now. "But, while all that kindness may make you feel like you must keep fighting, does it also cover up other, even more precious, feelings?" She opened her eyes to stare at him again, curiously. His eyes widened as he thought about her words now.

"We don't fight just for the sake of it, nor do we live just to fight." She leaned closer to him and smiled. "I believe we fight because we have things that are precious to us." He turned to her and didn't notice how close they were.

"Precious things…" He muttered. "Yup!"

"You…" He stared in wonder and she smiled while tilting her head. Suddenly a voice shrieked behind them.

"What's that?!" Allen turned and saw Lou Fa pointing at them with tears of embarrassment in her eyes. "I-I-I'm flirting with Mr. Walker!" She stammered. Allen then glanced at the Lou Fa beside him and then stared at the flustered one behind them and it was a continuing process, completely confused at what was going on.

"What is it? What's wrong, Lou Fa?" Rikei asked as he and Shifu appeared too. The Lou Fa beside him tsked.

"She screwed everything up." Allen froze. He knew that voice. Lou Fa transformed into Fou who crossed her arms with a scowl. The ones behind them except for Shifu froze in shock too.

"Oh, I knew about this. Miss Fou can impersonate other people." He pointed out. "She does it to tease the director." Allen blinked as the gatekeeper stood up and told him not to get the wrong idea. She was still pissed off; it was clear on her face.

"Thanks, Fou!" He called and she stopped. "For the light."

"After I rest, we'll start again." Fou replied and Allen yelled an okay back.

"Please don't disguise yourself as me again!" Lou Fa called flustered and angrily. She was, after all, crushing on Allen, and what she had witnessed was not good for her heart. She didn't want Allen to get the wrong idea about her.

Though Allen still felt restless not knowing the condition of his comrades, he could now focus better on what was important. Restoring his Innocence.

In Japan, trouble was brewing. The Noah knew of his survival and they didn't like it one bit. Tyki sent a level 3 Akuma through the Ark to find Allen and return him to them. At the same time, the Cross unit and the survivors of the shipwreck were trudging around, almost in Edo now, trying to locate their General and avoiding as many Akuma as they could. They weren't sure if the Earl knew they were there but they didn't want to take any chances. The less they came in contact with hostiles, the better. They were after all pretty torn up and wounded after the attack on the ship.

TWP: This was a short chapter. I didn't really know what I was going to write about Allen so I just stuck with the episode, just to have him make an appearance before Edo. Read and review please!