A/N: Don't you just hate it when you try and update more often but life decides to drop an anvil called trouble in your life? So yeah, my sleep schedule is messed up but at least I got writing this fic to take the edge off! On a serious note, sorry for the super SUPER late update!

Neo quite literally growled as she lay on her side and Roman handed her an ice pack that she placed over the right of her abdomen before he sat down on the couch beside her. In any other situation, he would have found it slightly hilarious if the growling wasn't caused by injuries given to her by a damn teenager. But how could anyone have expected it?

The kid didn't have an aura or showed signs of it. And he was by no means a masochist considering he made it clear that he was no fan of pain. No, that kid, Allen Walker, went toe to toe with Neo. The only reason he didn't win was because he hesitated on that last hit. The kid's got a good heart. It's one of the reasons why Roman isn't making any plans on going to his workplace either.

That, and he's seen his fair share of 'anger of a good man' and did not want to poke a sleeping tiger or however that expression goes. Allen Walker at best acted like a wounded and cornered animal with incredible strength and speed. Neo was caught unaware, at best. And he did show that he had the skills to back it up.

But all that practically paled in comparison to one factor. That left eye of his. Pitch black and red like a Grimm's. And it flipped the tables at the last minute and a half of that challenge. It let him take Neo by surprise and tip the scales without giving her a proper chance to react. But he only had that chance because Neo played with her food.

And that is what cost her to be bruised like that. Because despite the training Neo went through to hone her skills to such a degree, Allen's punch with that left arm dented her aura and managed to leave a lasting injury past it when he caught her by surprise. Roman is sure Neo wouldn't let it happen a second time. If there ever will be.

Because, despite all that, Allen Walker is no aspiring Huntsman in training or anything of the like. The lack of an aura, the most basic requirement, was a start. An iconic weapon that matched them? Even the damn flashy outfits. None of that. So, to avoid any unnecessary attention, the best thing to do is to let Walker off with the cuts, stab wounds, and burnt skin.

For now, he basically had to make sure Neo doesn't decide to wreck one of their safe houses out of anger. And probably get her weapon repaired if that was even possible. Her weapon, Hush, could take a small dust explosion at point blank but that kid bent it with his bare hand. Including the blade inside, which caused it to jam.

Yeah, Roman was definitely going to have to think up a way to calm Neo down the next few days. Unfortunately, a call on his Scroll notified him that he was about to have a headache. He looked down at the offending object on the coffee table and then over to Neo.

"What are the odds of her leaving us alone for the day if I ignore that call?" Roman genuinely asked. Neo raised a single, unamused eyebrow which led to him letting out a stressed groan. "I thought as much."

He quickly answered the call and placed the Scroll to his ear, mentally preparing himself for the headache.

When Sun left Allen's apartment to grab a mango smoothie, it was mostly due to two reasons. One was that Allen's choice of beverages was limited to water, energy drinks, and incredible amounts of kid's juice boxes. Two was that he just needed to get out of the monochrome-colored living space. So, when he came back, he did not expect to find a trail of blood.

Naturally, he panicked considering they had just robbed a gangster-owned warehouse the day before. So, following the trail, he found a med kit on the kitchen counter and continued all the way to the bathroom. And then he panicked even more when he found Allen passed out, the stench of burned flesh coming off him and covered in bandages.

Allen would find himself awake half an hour later, under the covers of his bed, and a cold towel over his head. His vision seemed to go back and forth between blurry and clear. He tried to sit up but was quickly stopped by a blond blur that gently pushed him back to laying down.

"Don't move." Sun ordered. "Your body's lost a lot of fluids from that burn, so you're a bit dehydrated. Here." He nudged a cup of water with a straw near Allen's mouth, who finished the fluid within a minute, in which he went to the kitchen and refilled it at least two more times before Allen felt he had enough. He set a fresh cup on the nightstand beside the bed, just in case.

Pulling up a chair, Sun let out a stressed sigh as he sat down, rubbing his temple. "Gods, Allen, you scared the crap out of me."

Allen winced at Sun's crass words, letting out a scratchy-voiced reply. "L- language."

Sun gave him a deadpan stare and shook his head. "One way or another, I am going to get you to stop acting... mature."

"What's wrong with mature?" Allen questioned with a wince.

"Nothing. It's just that you should act more your age. Not saying you should act like me though. Feel like that's what led to..." Sun's eyes traced to the area of the blanket where Allen's burnt skin lay under. "Looking back now, I think I can piece together that the cause of that was the warehouse we basically robbed?"

Allen chuckled. "Yeah. Let's go with that. But you don't have to worry Sun, there's no other repercussions for that. It just means one less gang in the neighborhood, fewer drugs being sold to those who are vulnerable, nobody getting caught in the crossfire in turf wars, and no needless violence thanks to greedy people. All in all, a burn and a few cuts are kind of worth it."

Sun just looked at him with wide eyes and a hint of horror. "Oh my gosh, you don't have much self-preservation, do you?"

"What?" Allen asked, confused. "Of course, I have self-preservation."

"Well, yeah, but you give reason to your injuries with a greater good kind of idea, man. It's kinda unhealthy." Sun explained.

"I'm being lectured on how to live a safe life by a teenager who not only is learning a profession where he fights monstrous forces that lurk in the dark and occasional criminals but also was using a dangerous weapon weeks beforehand that barely worked and blew up in his face during a confrontation."

"Okay, see, that right there. You refer to me as a teenager like you aren't one yourself!" Sun pointed out. Allen gave him a deadpan stare as the blond ignored his explanation of how much of a hypocrite Sun was being when lecturing him about safety. At least, he thought that at first. "Luckily for both of us, I contacted someone mature and the right age to scold you."

…

"You what-"

Allen was quickly cut off by the loud slamming of a door and a yell from his boss. "WALKER!"

Sun beamed a smile at Allen, who looked even paler than before. "You're welcome!"

Allen stared up at the ceiling, late at night. When Tukson arrived, he berated him for an hour. After that, he called an old friend of his, a retired doctor, to give him a look over. He both praised Allen for being able to disinfect his cuts and bandage himself and then yelled at him when he said he cauterized a stab wound and tried to walk it off. Luckily, no signs of internal bleeding or damage to any of his major organs. Granted, he'd have to eat soft foods at best for the 6 weeks and drink lots of fluids.

He left after properly stitching the more dangerous cuts and wound, and then put an IV in Allen's right arm to help recover the fluids he lost before telling him he'd be back tomorrow morning to remove it. Granted, he was really frustrated because he broke a needle when sticking it into Allen's left arm, but his mood changed with how polite Allen was. Since then, Sun kept an eye on him as he proceeded to fall asleep for short periods.

Which lead to his situation now. Well rested, middle of the night, unable to return to sleep's embrace. Luckily for him, Sun was kind of enough to his Extension beside him. So, he spent the next few minutes playing Solitaire before that got boring. And, unfortunately for him, that's one of the only games the bootleg Scroll could hold.

So, 15 minutes of that later, he shut the device off and tossed it beside his bed before looking up at his old friend, the ceiling. Frankly, he hated being awake like this and unable to do anything. Because whenever he was inactive, he started to think. And his mind wandered.

Questions began popping up in his head. 'Why did I hold back?'

'Why did I put myself in that situation when I'm trying to live quietly?'

'I wonder how Melanie and Miltia are doing. Was it right to act rude to them when they tried to help me?'

'What was that woman's name again? Was it Neo? Or was it Nea, like the ice cream? Do I still have ice cream in the fridge?'

'Why do I still say Language when someone swears? Even I swore earlier at Junior.'

Slowly, his thoughts wandered from random events to his injury and recovery.

'An injury like this never gave me this much trouble back then. I've felt my body decay from the inside slowly before thanks to an Akuma's bullet, but I've managed to purify that before it could kill me. At most, I needed only a few days of bed rest.'

'Maybe my slow recovery has to do with my Innocence ? I haven't used it since Mt. Glenn. I don't have much knowledge of the material except what the Black Order explained, and that was for field maintenance for Equipment type innocence. That and whatever lessons he could remember Johnny, Reever, and Jake explaining to him. After all, it did seem contradictory in a way that only dark matter and the Noah clan could destroy Innocence, but they were still able to mold the material into something that fits the user. Not mention the time they repaired mine from when Kanda sliced at it.'

Sighing, he raised his left arm up, looking at the symbol of the holy cross on the back of his hand. 'I mean, I don't have to fully activate it. But I'm out of practice already in combat. If I mess up, I could cause a commotion and then Sun would see a giant monstrous limb attached to me and probably freak out.'

So those were his choices. Slowly try and activate his innocence to help his recovery or have the sorest recovery of his life. Then again, Sun did say to make less mature decisions but not to risk his life. And this is technically a positive. So, with that in mind, Allen gently laid his left arm over his chest, closed his eyes, and concentrated.

He didn't need a fire; he just needed a spark. A bit to know he still had even some small bit of control. So, he took a few breaths, his arm being outlined by a small, yet extremely dim white glow with a green tint. Nothing that could be seen more than a scroll light at night. He kept his Innocence at its barest, most minimum activation for as long as possible, or until he felt the need to go back to sleep.

Unbeknownst to him, in some areas of Remnant, green, faint glows could be seen for a few moments. In Mistral, a headmaster of a school would be woken up in the middle of the night when a new dust crystal he added to his weapon would suddenly glow spontaneously before completely fading within seconds.

In Atlas, a young ginger-haired girl began to hum a melody she'd never heard before while her father would wonder if she knew what she was doing, or that her Aura levels would rise by a large margin before reverting to normal levels.

On a far-off island, in a settlement called Kuo Kuana, in a hallway of the Chieftains' home, a strangely shaped rock would glow green, unobserved and unnoticed before dimming once again.

And in a land of pitch-black darkness, a small amount of Grimm around a nail-shaped object would turn completely white when touched by the glow and then blow away into dust from the wind once the light disappeared.

As for Allen, his breathing was easier, and color began to return to his face as he slept quietly. Not a single nightmare to be had.

The next day, the retired doctor that Tukson asked to check on Allen was thoroughly surprised at just how quickly Allen's recovery progressed. He even ran tests to see if Allen had an aura, to which it was proven that the white-haired teen still had it locked. Despite his fast recovery, he still had to wear the bandages for the burn and the stitches hadn't fully sealed yet as well. But all in all, he was back on his feet.

The rest of Sun's visit had gone by quickly but was filled with small, more casual adventures. When the blond Faunus had finally gotten his new and improved weapons, he wasted no time in dragging Allen to test them. The two would find themselves in a junkyard, making Grimm dummies out of scrap for Sun to destroy. To say he was in tune with his weapons was an understatement. Still, these were non-moving targets and real Grimm won't stand still and wait to be killed.

The day after he got his weapon, he took Beretta on a date, as he promised her. Despite it being more of a casual outing, Allen still made sure Sun looked well enough for it. Beretta was his friend, and she'd get the best. He'd wrestled the blond to put a shirt on, unrolled his jeans, and had his bracers removed. His shirt was an elastic, black long-sleeve, which was the only thing Allen owned that would fit him.

Then there was his hair. Allen spent half a nightmare of an hour getting it under control for him, only to see his efforts completely demolished by a strong wind. He ended up throwing the comb at the wall. Then he decided to enjoy some peaceful fresh air around the park nearby, buy a hot chocolate, sit on a bench, read a magazine he purchased for 5 lien, and just enjoy his surroundings. He mentally debated on visiting The Club but thought against it. And for good reason. He didn't end on a good note with Junior, and he doubted he'd be too welcome. That, and Tukson forbade him from going back there.

With that in mind, the rest of the day was a breeze, and he came back to his apartment to find Sun with a dopey grin on his face. Suffice to say, that little date seemed to go well considering the long talks that he and Beretta would have late at night, much to the impact it had on Allen's already lacking sleep schedule.

That led to a much-needed talk with Sun on how late someone is allowed to stay up on the phone talking to a romantic acquaintance. He even confronted the blond on how he was going to maintain such a relationship when he had to return to Mistral, to which he explained that they'll plan video chats ahead of time and that he'd be returning in less than a year, which would give them both time to create a list of activities to do and even work out the finer details.

Allen stared blankly at the fellow teen and genuinely felt confused about how such a thing can happen so quickly. The following day, he even visited Beretta to get some answers. He not only found her in a more chipper mood, but she was somehow more focused on her work that even her father Klaus, a large, built man with matching red hair to his daughter, green eyes, and wearing coveralls befitting more of a mechanic, stated that customers have noticed a performance improvement on their weapons and gear.

From that, Allen could assume two things. One was that Beretta had yet to introduce Sun to her father, which explains why he was in a chipper mood the last few days instead of being terrified. Granted, Klaus was a gentle giant. A huge teddy bear, as everyone called him. The same kind of person who would simply place a spider gently on a newspaper and set it on the grass whenever it would find its way into his shop. But anyone who even attempted to date Beretta and saw Klaus usually ran away.

Second, whatever happened on that date, whatever the two talked about or did, it had a positive effect. Sun even went and contacted his team to tell them the news and to apologize for his irresponsible behavior. Even dragged Allen to the video chat to introduce him. And, surprisingly, Sun was not the one on his team with the strangest sense of fashion. Allen even began to wonder if that's just how Huntsman and Huntresses dressed.

For example, Sage Ayana. Clearly, Sun wasn't the only one to go shirtless. The guy wore a white long coat that had one sleeve missing and replaced it with a pauldron. Then there was Scarlet David, wearing a red military jacket draped only over his left side. And no matter how he was moving, it was not sliding off easily. Either from practice or breaking the laws of physics. Then there was Neptune Vasilias...

Okay, Allen could at least respect his sense of fashion as it seemed to cover up and could at least be properly called an outfit. Not like he can talk about fashion, but he can at least comment on the state of dress, or lack thereof. Honestly, he just didn't understand why he wore his collar up as he did.

Still, he could at least tell they were decent people. Granted, slightly disappointed in their leader's former actions, as they pointed out. However, that died out and Sun began telling them about his time in Vale. Things did get quiet quickly when Sun brought up Beretta. Neptune had caused said silence by commenting 'Is she cute'?

…

Yeah, things were a bit awkward before they resumed. Or, more specifically, completely changed as Scarlet quickly diverted the topic by asking Allen some questions, along with the rest of team SSSN. Simple things, like if he'd been originally from Vale. Then it was how long he'd been there, what does he do, does he fight, whether he's planning on becoming a huntsman.

Allen answered them as best as he could without giving them too much detail to avoid making it seem suspicious. He said he wasn't originally from Vale, but it was thanks to Tukson that he could have a life there and left it at that. He explained he does know how to fight but prefers not to. Then he went on to explain that he wasn't planning on becoming a Huntsman and was planning on applying to Beacon's Academic Branch.

Pricier compared to the combat side that teaches academics AND combat, but that's mostly due to scholarships being provided to those who enter that area. If they're going to risk their lives against Grimm, they might as well offer them the best of chances. Granted, there are scholarships for purely academic students that get a high enough score on the entrance exams. Mostly just different programs which would require Allen to perform various duties in exchange for such a benefit.

There was the highest scorer being offered up an honorary position in the student council, then there was being a teacher's assistant while having a decently high score on the entrance exam and maintaining a high grade-point average, or by recommendation from a well-known figure. That last one was usually provided to huntsmen and huntresses in training with the occasional academic-focused student that came from a low-income home. Allen had no confidence in being the top scorer and didn't have the connections for the recommendation, so his best chance was option number two. Teacher's assistant.

Putting that to the side, he only gave the team of Huntsmen in training the fact that he was simply going to study in the pursuit of knowledge only. Learn new skills that weren't combat oriented as he was not someone he could see fighting the forces of darkness on Remnant. Sun muttered under his breath ' bullshit' and attempted to hide it as a cough while feigning ignorance. Regardless, the meeting with his team was... nice. It felt good to meet people his age. To socialize. Make friends. He was going to miss this when Sun leaves.

And it seemed like the person in question read his thoughts as well. Because on the day that it was finally time to send him off, Sun gave him his contact information. Allen Extension is unable to do long-distance calls outside the Kingdom, but he can still go to the CCT tower and use the civilian terminals or even go by Beretta when she decides to contact him.

Saying his farewells, and promising to return the favor to Allen, Sun left. Oddly enough, despite the two only meeting just barely over a week ago, they truly did bond. Well, the bond was mostly forged from robbery, but the best bonds are formed from minor crimes.

Anyways, Allen had returned to his job at Tukson's but had a slight increase in free time after work which he did not appreciate. Which led to a new conversation with his boss...

(November 30 th , Tukson's Shop, Back Room, 2:37 PM)

"No." Tukson plainly said, an unamused expression donning his features.

The man was currently going over a list of books from a new shipment and seeing if there was anything missing. Currently, the only things missing were some romance and mystery novels, plus a few copies of 'Third Crusade', which he gifted Allen the last one previously as a way to help him distract his mind and relax. It worked the first few weeks when Allen started working there, but it could only help for so long. Still, he kept it on top of his nightstand by the bed in his apartment. He treasured the book as a gift.

And now, Allen was practically ready to go down to his knees and plead with the man. "Please Tuk, I'm getting stir-crazy. You know I can't sleep well unless I'm exhausted."

"Then do some exercises. Study some more. But you are not getting another part-time job if you getting into trouble like that was the result." Tukson plainly said, crossing another title off the list and moving a stack to the cart.

"I'm not looking to become a bodybuilder, for starters. The exercises I do now are to keep me in shape and healthy so there's no need to go crazy." Allen explained, helping Tukson with a few more stacks. "Besides, this time, I actually did a background check on the place."

Allen flinched as Tukson dropped a stack loudly on the cart, almost slamming them, and rubbed his temple in frustration before turning around and facing Allen with an expression that said he was not amused. "Let me get this straight. Three months ago, when you asked for permission to work at Juniors and needed my help applying, you lied when you told me it was a regular club."

"Um..." Allen nervously scratched his chin.

"And," Tukson continued, "When I revealed that I somewhat knew a bit about Hei Xiong Junior, or Junior as he calls himself, and his less-than-legal activities, you gave me your word that you wouldn't go near such things and keep your head down. Instead, after finding you injured, I had to go ask him myself what could possibly be the reason, only to find out you robbed a criminal warehouse like some fairy tale thief who steals from the rich and gives to the poor!"

Allen stood shocked, momentarily regaining it to let out a retort. "Wait, Junior told you about what I did?"

"Of course, he did! Not only does he only protect those in his 'Family', which you aren't even an employee of anymore, but he owes me a few favors. Which is also what I used to find out how you got those injuries. You fought someone who not only had aura but also was trained to kill others with superhuman abilities." The man took a seat on a stool and let out a groan. "It's a fricken miracle that you managed to even hold out five minutes. I'll admit that I'm impressed, despite how stupid the decision was. But you do realize that those kinds of skills can be known by any criminal now that you're not protected in any way."

Allen nearly shrunk where he stood. "Oh..."

Tukson's shoulders slouched from the built-up stress. "Yeah. 'Oh'. I was honestly going to try and negotiate with him to keep information on you out of anyone else's hands. But, by the grace of whatever god or gods are worshipped in the nearest church, a few of your co-workers came out and supported me without anything in return. You made a few friends there."

"The key is to be friendly and realize that everyone has a situation for their actions sometimes. But there are also those that do things for the thrills and greed." Allen explained.

"Well, don't think you're off the hook yet," Tukson reminded. "Back to the topic on hand, you told me that you'd quit if you noticed anything illegal but didn't, went behind my back and put yourself in danger, and then ended up bleeding on the floor in the apartment above where we stand. I have half a mind to say no to this, and the other half to just ground you and keep you in this building till entrance exams for Beacon come by!"

Allen clicked his tongue. "Tuk, you may be my guardian on paper, but that's for convenience. Don't start acting like one outside of my identifications."

"Well, if you're not gonna look after yourself, then excuse me for doing it for you!"

"Why do you even care?!" Allen asked with a hint of annoyance. "Look, I'm grateful and all for letting me stay. It helped me save up some Lien at least to pay for the Beacon application since I'll be out of here if I'm accepted. But I can't understand. It's certainly not because I'm young or a Faunus." While he doesn't like pretending to be one as a disguise for his left arm, Allen kept up the identity. Mostly out of fear of being questioned and being given over to whatever government to be experimented on, like in those late-night movies. He knows they aren't real, but that doesn't stop the idea from manifesting.

Again though, he's seen Tukson help many other Faunus, but not as much as he helped Allen. Didn't point them in the direction of where to stay or anything. Granted, most were adults with more Lien than Allen arrived with.

"You wanna know why?!" Tukson yelled. "Fine. The only reason I'm doing this is because my sister, Graz, is the one who pointed you here and I know she'd be disappointed in me if I let you go to the Whi-" He stopped and calmed himself as if to correct a mistake. "She'd be disappointed if I let you go and fall through the cracks like most Faunus who'd come here without proper papers. And you had practically nothing to your name in general. Not even your name on a record at all.

The room went quiet. Allen and Tukson both were quiet as they stared at each other.

"So." Allen began, face stoic and completely emotionless. "The only reason why you've helped me more than others was because your sister asked. Nothing else."

For some reason, that expression on his face didn't sit right with Tukson. "Kid, look-"

Unfortunately, whatever he was about to say was cut off by a ringing noise signaling a customer had come in. Allen, without another word, walked out without so much as another word to help the patron, leaving Tukson to replay the conversation in his head with frustration as he finished unpacking the shipment.

(6:28 PM)

"He drives me nuts, Gaz! He really does!" Tukson yelled out loud while driving through Vales streets. It quickly became cloudy thanks to a downpour. And while the sun was barely setting behind them, the clouds covered the sky well enough that it looked like night just set in. Squeaky windshield wipers and the occasional car horn were the only background noises as he sat in traffic. "And not in a normal, teenager-rebellious way! He robbed criminals! Granted, everyone and their mother could have robbed this dumb gang if Allen could, but the point still stands."

Meanwhile, from Tukson's scroll, which was in this seat beside him and on speaker, a soft yet amused laugh echoed. "Oh dear, if only one teenager gave you this much trouble, I'd have sent you every troubled child I'd find out in the forest for such a reaction!"

"It's not funny. Everything about Allen screams strange, but not in a way that also screams danger. He's focused on his studies, he's always full of energy at work while also putting in the max effort, and he's friendly with everyone he meets."

"Wow," Tukson's sister replied, sarcasm practically oozing off her voice. "He sounds like a menace. Maybe he'll grow up to be a notorious criminal. ~"

"Oh, don't you start with that tone. I babysat you when Mom and the old man went out, and you were never this bad."

"Oh? Is that right?"

Tukson was about to continue but thought for a moment and corrected himself. "Okay, maybe he's a close second to you."

His sister let out another booming laugh. "Seriously, Tuk, I think you're overthinking it."

"Graz, he's capable of lifting the same amount as me without breaking a sweat, he managed to catch a mug of coffee as it was falling without spilling a drop, and when I call him over from another room, he's by my side in seconds while barely making a sound. He doesn't even have his aura unlocked! Either he's a sleeper agent sent to kill me or someone on the Vale council, someone trained by a very powerful hunter, or just a really, really strange kid."

"50 Lien says it's the last one."

"Graz..." Tukson groaned out, unamused.

"Tuks, I won't deny he's strange. Heck, he crashed into a tree outside of town from an old, beat-up collectible car that he got lucky enough to find the keys in. He had a bag of non-expirable protein bars and was wearing a dirty, old hoodie that looked like something you wore when you were a teenager."

"Wait, did it have a red and black design like a Grimm's?"

"Yep."

"Huh. Thought they discontinued those."

"They did. But there is one place nearby here that probably still had them."

…

Tukson's eyes widened. He was distracted by the sudden realization that he just barely managed to stomp his foot on the brakes at a red light. His scroll fell to the floor of the passenger side due to the sudden stop. Taking his chances, he reached across and tried to grab it, but kept talking.

"You're telling me that Allen went into one of the most Grimm-invested cities on the planet and walked out?!" Once he got a grip on the device, he leaned back into his seat and tossed the scroll beside him again. The light was still red. "What the heck did you send my way, Graz?"

"I sent you a kid who I treated and found his body littered with scars. I sent you a kid who looked like everything he saw in the world was new for the first time. I saw a kid who looked at a history book I gave him with excitement. But importantly, I sent you someone who was as alone as you are."

Tukson didn't respond for a few seconds until the light turned green and he resumed driving. "I'm not alone. I have you, after all."

"Tuksy, I'm almost on the other side of the continent, as a start. Outside of the fellow store owners, you don't really have anyone to keep you company."

"...I'm not adopting him, Graz." Tukson stated plainly. "Besides, he made his dislike clear when I first put myself as his guardian on those forged papers."

"Poo," His sister simply responded. "Still, my point still stands. Granted, you don't have to make him your son, but you can at least point him in a better direction. Guide him. Who knows, you might enjoy acting like a father figure for a bit. You have given up a bit for your goals."

He stayed silent. Graz knew all too well that Tukson set up shop in Vale as a way to assist the Faunus of the Vale branch of the White Fang. He'd given up a lot for it, too. He gave up going to school when he was older and pursuing a proper degree, opting to join the White Fang as a way to support his sister and make a difference.

He gave up on love since he could never attach properly to someone with how much he moved around when he was younger. And he gave up on having a family of his own, simply being content as an uncle to his sister's son.

"You didn't have to just drop a kid on my lap, Graz. Hell, you even gave him the idea to tell me he had selective memory loss. I mean, what kind of idiotic cliché is that? Anyone can call that bluff a mile away."

"True," his sister confirmed. "But I saw he looked like a cornered animal when Ray brought him to me and sent me a message ahead of time that he wasn't in an open mood. So, I just gave him a little out and sent him to you."

"I just don't understand what I'm supposed to do sometimes."

"Welcome to parenting!" She replied cheerfully.

"Graz~…" Tukson growled.

"Right, right. Still, you don't have to know what you're doing. You just have to assist him when he makes the right choices that are too hard, and turn him away from the wrong choices that are too easy."

"And how am I supposed to know which is which?"

"Use your experiences." She stated plainly. "I mean, think about it. Allen basically heard you complaining about some drugs being sold into the neighborhood and the increased number of suspicious characters and then went to rob a place even I can assume probably belonged to them. I wonder who else did actions like that because he didn't like seeing those around him suffer."

Tukson grumbled, ending up in another traffic jam.

"Cat got your tongue?" Graz asked, playfully.

"Yeah. You." Tukson stated plainly.

"I'm a Leopard Faunus, thank you very much."

"Same thing!"

"Not true. I'm fancier and my husband says I'm much more high maintenance."

"That's not something to be proud of."

"And yet, I'll wear it with pride anyway."

Tukson let out another groan during this long car ride. He felt sorry for his sister's husband, Ray, and couldn't figure out for the life of him how the man had the energy to deal with her for so many years. His sister resumed in a much more serious tone.

"Tukson, has Allen ever shown himself to be violent? Greedy? Prideful? Anything?"

"No. If anything, the kid acts like some protective angel. But even I can tell he bottles things up."

"Well then, try and get him to open up more before he self-destructs because of it."

"I think that ship has set sail, Graz. We went through the whole day quietly after that argument earlier."

"Well then, try and break the ice. Maybe apologize and let him know you didn't mean it like that."

Tukson rolled his eyes. "Oh, sure. Let me just grab him some burgers from Five Huntsmen and sit him down. Do a movie night."

"I mean, it's what I did when my son and I argued."

…

(7:40 PM)

Allen was quite surprised when Tukson showed up at his apartment over the store, almost 2 hours after they closed the shop for the day. Double surprised when he saw he was soaking wet thanks to the rain that increased in intensity in the past hour. And triple surprised when he smelled burgers coming from the warm, dry, brown paper bag in the man's hand.

The two of them set up at the coffee table in the living room of the place and Tukson watched with both horror and wonder as Allen devoured the triple cheeseburger with bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, and caramelized onions. Mostly because the meal was bigger than his jaw. And that's nothing to say about how quickly the fries disappeared, or the jumbo-sized soda.

And then, curiosity got the better of him as he slid his own, uneaten fries over to Allen, who practically erased them from existence faster than his own fries.

"Wow. Kid, do you even eat enough?" He asked, genuinely terrified for all the fast-food owners nearby.

Allen nodded. "Yeah, but hadn't even gotten started on a late dinner yet. And the protein bars help, but sometimes I just need to eat a proper-sized meal."

"That meal was anything but proper sized!" Tukson yelled.

Allen scratched his cheek bashfully and the two shared a small laugh. After that was done, they sat quietly for a bit, unsure how to proceed.

"Tuks," Allen started off. "Listen, I'm-"

"I never had any kids." Tukson interrupted, leaning back into the couch as he ripped the metaphorical band-aid off quickly.

"I'm sorry?" Allen asked, confused.

"I never had any kids," he repeated. "Back then, when I was younger, I used to actually dream about having a family. Finding a wife who I could love with all my heart, have a kid or two, spoil them rotten, fail at cooking."

Tukson chuckled softly at that last part. Allen leaned back on the couch himself and looked over to the older man. "Why didn't you?"

"Multiple reasons." He stated. "But the biggest one was that it wasn't in the cards. I moved around so much that by the time I managed to stand still... the moment passed. The next thing I knew, I met my nephew for the first time and was content with just being a good uncle. Then, Graz sent you my way, and after a while, I guess I started putting this idea in my head that ended up having me act like a parent. I projected that idea of a family around you."

He sighed but continued. "You're right. I'm not really your guardian beyond those papers. I kinda fell into the illusion and acted like it, almost messed up and pushed the idea onto you, too. What I mean to say is... I'm sorry, Allen. That was wrong of me. And I know you don't like talking about your past either, but I can roughly guess family is a sore spot. I guess what I'm trying to say with all of this is if we can... try and move through this weird predicament we have."

He waited with bated breath for Allen's response. The room went silent for a moment before he heard anything.

"The only man I could closely call a father died when I was 10."

Tukson turned toward Allen, shocked yet confused. Allen was smiling, but it was a somewhat sad one. Like one remembering moments they had with someone they lost. "I was sold into a circus when I was young. I think around 5? Maybe 6? The first words I remember were the Ringmaster telling me my parents sold me because of my left arm. Let's just say it didn't look as smooth as it does now. Bloody red, covered in veins. It's a long story, but it was pretty bad and I could barely move it for a while."

Allen reached for his soda. Granted he finished it, but the ice melted enough that he just needed something to drink or calm him down a bit.

"The Ringmaster originally wanted to use me as a freak sideshow. 'The Boy With The Devil's Left Arm' or something like that. I refused. Well, more like begged. I told him I'd do the odd jobs around the circus that no one else would, and he accepted. After all, who wouldn't like free labor where they wouldn't have to pay the worker except with enough food and a warm place to sleep."

As he was telling the story, Allen noticed Tukson clench his hands on his lap from the corner of his eye but continued.

"It was rough at first. I was small. Frail. I had limits and sleep was just a dark skip in time without dreams. It would have been easier for me to be a freak. They had more food, a cleaner living, and were at least treated humanely. But I didn't want to be treated humanely, I wanted to be considered human. So, I chose to bear with it. I got close to breaking. One of the performers would blame his troubles on me a lot. Had the biggest ego known."

He sighed, looking up at the ceiling. "It was early December when the man I would call my father, Mana, joined. He was a traveling clown. He was looking for his brother, Nea, and thought that attracting large crowds would work the best. He told me that, after a while, he came to enjoy bringing a smile to people's faces. I'll tell you this though, I did not like him at first. Then again, after being in that hell of a circus, I didn't like or trust anyone! And yet, he never stopped bugging me especially."

Allen chuckled at that. "We left the circus on the same day he adopted me. Traveled around for three years. He taught me how to read people to cheer them up. He taught me some basic reading and math. We had small shows in the center of towns and we always attracted a huge crowd. When the inns were taken up, it was either a priest in one of the churches that would let us stay during our stay or just a family that was kind enough to let us rest. We always did magic tricks and included them in our shows as thanks. Those were the best 3 years of my life."

He sighed. "And then, one month, Mana became too weak to travel. So, we stayed in one town, doing small shows. But, doing the same thing over and over gets tiring to watch, so fewer spectators came and less income. Even the cheap inn we were staying in closed down. So, for a few nights, we stayed in the ruins of a church. Then, the day before my birthday, the day before my adoption, Mana passed away in his sleep. I cried for hours and walked around town for half the day to try and find help. The undertaker took pity on me and barely charged me anything for Mana's funeral."

He rubbed his eyes, feeling a few loose tears leak from the corners as he took a second. "I did meet someone I would more closely call a teacher than a guardian. Lost him too. Made friends. Lost them. And then, I ended up getting lost myself. Nearly gave up. But I've always followed Mana's words. Always keep walking. And that led me to Vale, today."

Allen let out a breath of relief. "Oddly enough, that feels good to get off my chest- OOMPH!"

He was quickly surprised when Tukson brought him into a hug. The giant of a man was visibly shaking. "I'm sorry. Nobody should ever experience that, let alone have their childhood made up like that."

It took a few seconds for Allen to relax into the embrace. "Nothing I can do about it. Just keep moving forward as I always have."

"...If I find that circus, I swear I'm burning it to the ground."

Allen chuckled. "I don't think it's possible. That place has long been closed. But I appreciate the thought."

When the two separated, Allen saw that Tukson had a few tear trails that he tried to wipe away. The two sat in silence again.

"...I wouldn't mind it, y'know." Allen said.

"Mind what?"

"If... you were my guardian. I don't really have anyone else in the world that I can closely call a family like you. And, if anyone did ask, I'd probably would call you closer to a parent than a boss."

Allen looked away with a bit of embarrassment. "What I'm trying to say is that, besides Mana, you're probably the closest thing to a parental figure I've had in my life that I wouldn't mind it."

…

Tukson let out a small chuckle that turned into a full-blown laugh. "Oh, man. Leave it to my sister to give me the best advice when taking care of a kid."

"Hey, I'm two years away from being 18!"

"Still a kid."

Allen grumbled, but found his attention piqued by a rectangular box next to the brown bag Tukson brought the food in. "What's that?"

"Hm?" Tukson turned his attention to the box also. "Oh, it's called a Quill. It stores movies on it for people to watch when they missed them in theaters."

"Why not wait for them to just pop up on TV?" Allen questioned.

"Well, some people have favorite movies that they like to watch. So, they buy Quills so that they can watch them as many times as they want with family or friends instead of paying for tickets each time or hoping that a channel ends up streaming the movie." Tukson grabbed the box and showed Allen the cover. On it was a familiar-looking humanoid machine with a glowing chest. "This one's my personal favorite. 'Pacific Grimm'. When it first came out, I went and spent nearly a hundred Lien buying tickets again and again."

"Huh. So, how does it work?"

Tukson grinned and opened the case to reveal an object that looked similar to a small night light. He got up and connected it to the side of the projector for the holographic television. He went and sat back on the couch; feet propped up as he grabbed the remote and messed with a few controls. "Next time, I'll buy some snacks and teach you a bit about how to change to the movies from the normal channels."

Allen shrugged and followed his boss- his guardian's lead and placed his feet up too. Luckily, he was dressed much more comfortably in fluffy, pajama pants and a sweater. As for how the movie went? Let's just say that Allen now has a new appreciation for movies that weren't just black and white.

Special Omake!:

Allen watched the holographic TV's screen turn black and the credits to the movie come on.

"Wow. I love the ending but I'm kinda sad it ended."

"Welcome to the movie lover club, Allen." Tukson plainly said.

"Is there a sequel at least-"

"We don't talk about that!"