Hello everyone! It's me, and I'm back with another chapter of A Tale of Two Endlings! This opening note is gonna be short, after all, I've got to get to the bulk of the story! I just wanted to say that, for those of you who are reading this for, well, the crossover aspect, that is coming, I promise. It's just that, to get this story where I want it to be, I had to rewrite a few things. Anyways, that's enough complaining from me, so please just sit back and enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own BNHA or -man, all rights go to their respective owners.


Chapter Two: Eye for an Eye

Normally intense shock is defined as an individual's intense reaction to a new, unknown, entity or occurrence. These "shock-inducing" situations can range anywhere from the death of a loved one, to winning the lottery. In instances like these, it is very rare that the shock is induced by the absence of something. However, for Allen Walker, that was the situation that he now found himself in. What he was staring at now, in the Eiichi's family's bathroom mirror, was his, and only his, reflection. The boy had been stuck with staring at The Fourteenth's reflection for so long that he had grown used to its presence. However, now, it had vanished. "Huh?" Allen mumbled as he felt his right hand flutter up to his left cheek. He wanted to pinch himself, to make sure that he wasn't dreaming. "Nea's reflection... it's gone." For over a minute, Allen just stared at the mirror, his mouth hanging open like a dehydrated beast.

It was around then, at that very moment, that Allen recalled when he had tried to summon an ark gate earlier. He heard the melody play through his head, however, nothing happened. At the time, he thought it was due to his erratic situation. But now, in this steamy restroom, his mind was formulating a different kind of theory. His thoughts crawled back to that day in the Black Order, when Komui asked him if he could teach the Order the melody. "Several scientists at the Order memorized the sheet music down to every last scribble. But, no matter how hard any of them tried, a gate never opened." A few weeks after that day, after Cross explained his situation to him, he assumed that this was because the Order's scientists didn't have access to The Fourteenth's memories. And now, after he had been flung through time by the ark, it seemed that he was experiencing a similar problem. Over and over, he ran the melody through his head, but nothing worked. And that was when Allen noticed something, an odd... empty feeling... that ravaged his heart.

He wasn't sure how he knew, but he could tell that his body was once again his. If he had to put it into words, Allen would say that his being felt a lot more "roomy" than usual. It was as if, for the past year, his body was like a coat that was struggling to contain two people. But now, everything was back to normal. "He's... gone? The Fourteenth... he's vanished..." Allen still couldn't believe what he was saying. In fact, it sounded more like the rumblings of a dreaming old coot than coherent speech, but the truth still remained. "I'm free..." Allen wasn't sure if he wanted to cry tears of joy, or sit down to contemplate what all of this meant. "If his memories really did vanish, that would explain why I can't access the ark anymore." After all, with The Fourteenth's memories gone, there wasn't anyway he could connect the melody to the ark. Which meant, for all intents and purposes, that he was stuck here.

The thought of being marooned in the future was definitely shocking, but, in some small way, he didn't feel distraught about the idea. Sure, it shook him to his core, but, after giving it some thought, Allen was able to calm himself down. "Okay, just sit back and think. If Nea's memories really did disappear, then that means that I'm stuck here, in this time..." what was he going to do now? "Oh no...wait...this is bad!" He thought as he jumped up off of the floor. "If I'm stuck here, that means that I can't help Lenalee and the others with winning the Holy War! What are we supposed to do about the akuma? What about the Noah? The Earl? If I can't go back then that means that I've completely abandoned them!"

Over the course of his life, he had done several terrible things to stay alive. But he would never abandon a friend in need! No, not ever! However, as a whole new wave of depression washed over him, Allen remembered something that served as his light in the darkness. "Then again," he started as he stared at his left hand, "Before I fell out of that gate, I was on the run from the Order with Johnny and Kanda. I wonder how they're doing..." as that train of thought entered his mind, Allen's eyes widened, and he let out a sigh of relief. "Wait a minute! You know what? This could actually be a good thing!" The entire time he was travelling with those two, he was always trying to escape and find a way to remove The Fourteenth's memories. He knew that, if he stayed with them, or went back to the Order, there was a very-real chance that he could end up killing somebody. What he wanted to do was help the Order win the war without letting himself hurt any of his friends. Which, after looking back on it now, was a silly idea.

"If I think about it logically, it was only a matter of time before my mind was completely taken-over..." just a day ago, he blacked-out for what seemed like hours. It was obvious that, with every passing minute, Nea's memories were getting closer and closer to commandeering his mind. Going at that rate, if he didn't find a solution, he would've lost to the fourteenth Noah. "I guess that means I don't have to worry about losing my mind anymore." Allen thought as he stared up at the ceiling. As he did so, he gritted his teeth together, and frowned. "Since humanity is still flourishing hundreds of years later, does that mean that the Order won the Holy War?" He didn't come across a single akuma during his trip to Mr. Eiichi's house. Which, for such a huge city, was simply ridiculous. There was simply no way that humanity could've lasted this long without defeating the Earl, it simply wasn't possible. Which meant that... "We won?" Allen thought as he finished brushing his hair. "If that's true, then me getting stuck here could truly be a blessing." He'd be able to live his life free from the worry that he'd end up accidentally killing one of his comrades. While, at the same time, being able to avoid the hunters that the Earl and the Order had sent after him. Granted, that meant that he'd never be able to see any of his old friends again, which saddened him. However, such a prospect was insignificant when he considered how much safer they'd be without him. As he slipped-on a new pair of dress clothes that Mr. Eiichi let him borrow, Allen felt a significant weight being lifted from his shoulders. Sure, he was sad that he was separated from his friends, and he couldn't say that wasn't curious at the prospect of learning a little more about Mana's and Nea's relationship, but that was it. If he was truly stuck here, in this new time where the Earl had lost, then it truly would be a win-win for everyone. "I'll have to do some research online to be certain, but at least now I have an idea of what happened." Allen thought as he opened the bathroom door. Maybe now, in this strange time, he'd be able to forge a new life for himself. "Watch me, Mana, I'm about to take my next step."


Eiichi laughed as Allen continued to bow. The immigration agent had brought him to their guest room. Which had a bed, a small table, and even a tiny laptop that had connection to the internet. "I'm truly grateful for all of this, I'll be out of your family's hair by the morning, I promise!" Allen said as Eiichi continued to snicker. However, before the man could ask him to stop, the agent's wife spoke-up from the other end of the apartment.

"Don't let him convince you that he put together that room for you! That hopeless lout has been letting poor saps like you stay here more times than I can count!" Mrs. Eiichi said, which only increased her husband's laughter.

"Now Honey, you didn't have to tell the boy that, now did you? It ruins the moment." He said as he turned his attention back to Allen. "Anyways, kid, this here is your room for the night. Just be sure that you make yourself scarce by tomorrow morning. We wouldn't want any of my coworkers catching you now, after all!" With that, Eiichi reached out and placed a small envelope in Allen's left hand. "I'm not really sure how to you could go about getting a passport or identification in your position. Honestly, for this country, that'll probably be next to impossible. However, there are more than a few hotels and workplaces that hire people like you. That envelope that I gave you contains a list of them." Yet again, Allen bowed and thanked the man.

"I am truly in your debt, Mr. Eiichi." Allen said as he carefully took the envelope and stashed it in his back pocket. After doing this, Eiichi smiled, and walked into the room.

"Before I let you get some shut-eye, I should probably show you how this thing works." The man said as he gently tapped the small laptop that sat in the back of the room. "This one here is an old model, one that you kids probably don't know how to turn-on, so I'll go ahead and do it for you." With that, Eiichi reached out, pressed the laptop's power button, put in a few commands, and soon, the device powered up. "There we go, easy as pie. If you want job applications or need access to some city maps, you can get them here." He said as he showed Allen a couple of websites. "And, if it's the news you're looking for, you can just check this websi-" Eiichi stopped. Confused as to why he halted his explanation mid-sentence, Allen looked up and saw that the man was angrily staring at the monitor. Displayed upon it was a hero's picture, which was followed by a short biographic article.

"Metal Meister?" Allen spoke the hero's name out-loud as he walked up to Eiichi. "Who's that? Is he someone you know?" In response, Eiichi just nodded, and started to grit his teeth together.

"Metal Meister... that man is one of the top hundred heroes in the world, and his agency just so happens to have jurisdiction over this slum." Eiichi said as he curled one of his hands up into a fist. He was so angry that Allen was worried that one of the man's veins was going to pop. However, the immigration agent quickly calmed down, and then hurried out of the guest room. "Sorry about that, it's nothing that you need to concern yourself with, just focus on getting some sleep."

"Uh... sure," Allen mumbled as Eiichi closed the door behind him. "What was that all about?" Allen thought as he confusedly scratched his scalp, "Eh, whatever, it probably doesn't matter." He didn't want to stick his nose in his host's business, after all. "For now, I should just focus on familiarizing myself with this world." With that out of the way, Allen turned to the laptop, which still had the news article that Eiichi brought up on the monitor, and sat down. With that, he cracked his fingers, and got to work.


"Hmm..." well over an hour had passed since he started surfing the web, and already, he had answers to some of his many questions. There were some things that he found that weren't all that surprising. For one, there wasn't a single iota of evidence that the Black Order, Noah Clan, or the Holy War even existed in the first place. "I guess that Lavi was right, the Holy War must've become secret history after it ended." If that was the case, then he shouldn't bother with trying to find records of his friends back at the Order. After all, after a Black Order member died, any and all records of them were completely destroyed after a few years. In fact, at this point, he severely doubted that even the modern-day Vatican knew anything about the Holy War. It was hundreds of years ago, and plus, if they truly did purge all of the records like protocol commanded, then not even the modern-day Pope would have any information on it. He read somewhere that that could cause issue with the faith of the Church, and obviously, they couldn't let that happen.

"They've all been completely forgotten..." Allen thought as he let out a sigh. With a few more clicks, he brought up another article he was looking at, and frowned. Its subject was on an ancient tribe of record-keepers that had sects dotted all over the world. The article described them as a form of Native Americans, but he knew better. "These people must've been Bookman's and Lavi's comrades..." Allen mumbled as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "It says here that the last of them died out over one-hundred and fifty years ago. Damn, I wanted to meet one of them." It was sad to say, but it appeared that the Bookmen's secret history had been completely forgotten. "Not everything can last forever, I guess." With The Fourteenth's memories gone, and the Bookmen all but dead, that meant that he had no way to know what happened to the Noah Family. "If the Order won the war, that must mean that they were destroyed." If he had to guess, the Order probably happened-upon the Heart, and used it to eradicate the noahs. That was the only plausible theory, however, it came with new questions.

"The only way the Order could've won is if they used the Heart, which is fine. But, if that's the case, then where did all of the innocence go?" After the war ended, unless it was all destroyed, the innocence should've gone somewhere. "Hmm... the probability of me finding anything is slim-to-none, but I might as well try." As an exorcist, he felt that he had an obligation to find out where his innocence's sister pieces lay. And, luckily, after just a few minutes of searching, Allen found his answer. "Now what's this?" He mumbled as he clicked on an article that was draped across the Vatican's website. "The Mystery of the Vatican's Iron Cube?" He read the article's name out loud, instantly, he started to read it. And it wasn't long before he noticed something familiar. "T-that's the innocence cube!" Allen whispered as, with bulging eyes, he stared at the photo. As the article's name suggested, its focus was indeed on an iron cube. However, even though it was much-larger than he anticipated, Allen instinctively knew exactly what it was. The photo he was staring at was definitely of the cube of innocence that Komui described when he joined the Order. It was covered in similar engravings, and bore every marking of the original cube.

"Did they actually manage to find every piece?" He thought as he scanned over the photo. A few large swathes of the cube were missing. However, if he counted the pieces of innocence that had been destroyed by the Earl and the Noahs, it was more than enough. But some things weren't right. "Wait, but the article says that it's made out of iron, how could it be innocence then?" He thought as he scratched his chin, luckily, the answer to his question was in the next paragraph. It read:

"One of the more-mysterious artifacts that is housed in the Vatican is an object that has been given the nickname, 'The Illogical Cube'. According to many scholars, and even some cardinals, the cube was discovered in the Vatican's vault just over fifty years ago. What makes it so mysterious, however, are two distinct issues: The first being the very-material that the cube is made out of. Using carbon dating and other techniques, scientists hired by the Vatican discovered several strange abnormalities lying in the cube's main-body. According to the lead scientist of the operation, Dr. Stephen Philip, "What made this project so strange was that the cube, while being completely crafted from iron, has several inconsistencies that suggest that it used to be formed out of a completely different material. We aren't exactly sure how this occurred. One theory that several scientists hold, including myself, is that the cube oxidized in the Vatican's vault, turning the original material into iron. We've done several tests to try and determine what this original material was, but we've come across several problems. Most of our tests don't work on it, for one. Honestly, it seems as if that, whatever the cube used to be made out of, was a completely-alien element. Obviously, that's impossible, but the point still stands that we aren't any closer to finding out what it was originally crafted from."

"The second issue," Dr. Philip continues, "Is that the cube isn't completely solid. There are several missing sections on the outside of the artifact, which appear to be a result of natural-degradation, but, after taking a three-dimensional model of the cube, we discovered a small void in the artifact's top-right section. As far as we know, no methods existed back during the time of the cube's creation to create such a small and precise void in such an object. Which means that, as of now, it's a complete mystery as to how it got there." These mysteries are what gave 'The Illogical Cube' its name. And is why it has become a frequent attraction for curious tourists and archaeologists."

"The missing swathes are most-likely innocence that got destroyed, and that void..." Allen thought as he stared down at his left arm, "Is definitely my own innocence." He had no idea how the innocence became iron, or if the Heart was in that cube, but he wasn't completely in the dark. "Maybe, after the Order defeated the Earl, the innocence turned into iron since its purpose had been fulfilled." That would explain why he wasn't able to find anything on new accommodators, or any records of new accommodator-like abilities. Innocence was still largely a mystery to him, and humanity as a whole, and it would probably remain that way for centuries more. "If what I just read is correct, then that means that I am, in all likelihood, the last exorcist in the world." He wouldn't lie, that idea was quite depressing, but it wasn't surprising. After all, if the war really was over, it'd make sense that God would want to take his power away from mortal hands. Of course, that didn't explain why he still had his innocence, but that wasn't a question that Allen believed he could answer. "In times like these, I guess I just have to chalk it up to God's will, huh?" He thought as he looked out of the guest room window. As he watched several cars drive-by the apartment, Allen leaned back into his chair, and yawned. "Still... that doesn't explain what quirks are. But, then again, it doesn't seem like the people of this world have any idea how that works either." Even though it was strange, he knew that he'd have to get used to it. This strange new time was, after all, his new home.

"I just hope that Lenalee, Lavi, Komui, and everyone else at the Order, lived good lives after the war." He'd never be able to figure out what happened to them, at least, not yet. But he could at least rest easy knowing that he wouldn't be a threat to them anymore. "I guess that's enough for tonight." He mumbled as he turned off the laptop and turned to his bed. "I've got an early morning tomorrow. I'll need to go see if I can find myself a job and some lodging..." Allen thought as he sank into the soft mattress. He was so exhausted that he didn't even bother to take off his clothes. However, moments before sleep could take him, Allen heard a large crash coming from the front of the Eiichi's apartment.

"Why are you here?! I told you where we'd be meeting tomorrow!" Allen heard Mr. Eiichi yell from the living room. He didn't waste a moment before he shot out of bed and rushed down the hallway. When he finally got to the living room, he saw that the apartment's front door had been forced open. And, standing inside of the doorway, were three large men.

"You know why we're here, Mr. Eiichi," the smallest of the three men said as he took off his black hat, revealing his snake-like face. "After all, where there is debt, there has to be debt-collectors. And it's time to pay." As the man talked, he took another step into the apartment and surveyed the room, along with Mr. Eiichi and his family. However, when his eyes landed upon Allen, he frowned. "Wait just a moment..." the man said as he pointed to him, "Who's the kid?"


Heavy. That was the best way Allen could describe the atmosphere in the room as the three large men walked in. All three of them were wearing fancy suits, complete with ties and cufflinks. Even though the fashion-sense was slightly different, thanks to his time trying to work-off Cross' debt, Allen knew instantly what these three men were. "They're members of the mafia, of course..." why could it never be easy?

"Honey, why are they here? I thought they weren't supposed to come till tomorrow evening." Mrs. Eiichi said as her children huddled behind her. Mr. Eiichi could only shrug as he stared daggers at the three thugs.

"Now, now, don't get all violent on us. There's just been a slight change in plans." One of the thugs said as he took out a lighter and lit a cigar. "The Boss wants you to pay back your debt, and he wants you to do it now." As the thug talked, Allen shuffled over to where Eiichi was standing, and lightly tapped the man on the shoulder.

"Who are these clowns?" Allen asked him as he locked-eyes with the snake-faced man. In response, Eiichi just sighed, shrugged, and motioned for Allen to take a seat.

"You three should go ahead and join us. I'd rather keep my home undamaged than let it become a warzone. Honey, you go ahead and put the kids to bed, I'll take care of these three gentlemen." Eiichi said as he sat down in one of the living room's recliners. Without saying a word, Mrs. Eiichi nodded, and hurried to take the children to a safe place. After that, Eiichi turned back to the three men, and pointed towards his apartment's front door. "Before we get started, I'd appreciate it if you fixed that."

"Well, since you asked so nicely..." the snake-faced man started as he tapped one of the other's shoulders. "Bingo, you're up." With that, the large man named Bingo, who appeared to be covered from head-to-toe in a thick mane of hair, just nodded and quickly went to work. He put the door back on its hinges, and with a wave of his hand, the door was as good as new. "Heh, I never get tired of seeing your quirk in action." The snake-faced man said as he turned to Eiichi and grinned. "Bingo here has the ability to instantly fix any inanimate object he wants to so long as he knows how it's built. It should probably come to no-surprise that he works for a construction firm. So he's mighty strong."

"I was already well-aware of that, that's why I asked you to fix it." Eiichi said as the three men walked over to where he was sitting. Before taking their seats, the snake-eyes man turned his attention to Allen, and gave the boy a smug grin.

"Ah, I see~ are you another one of the lost lambs that he's helped?" The thug said as Allen curled one of his fists up into a ball. It was men like this that he despised the most. However, he didn't let his rage get the better of him, and instead calmly took a seat next to Mr. Eiichi.

"Are you sure you want to do that, kid? You aren't part of my family, and you just got here, one wrong move and you'll be marked for death by these thugs' boss." Eiichi whispered to him as Allen leaned back into his chair.

"Don't bother, after all you did for me, keeping you and your family safe from these ruffians is the least I can do." Immediately after he said that, the three men laughed.

"Damn, little lamb, you're a riot! For a second I thought you were serious there." The snake-faced man hissed as he politely raised his hand into the air. "I guess I should go ahead and introduce ourselves. My name's Hebi, you already know Bingo's name, and the last one is Haruki. We're all enforces for the boss of this little slum." As the man talked, Allen furrowed his brow and rolled his fingers across one of the arm-rests. Something about this didn't smell right.

"Hmm... is that so?" Allen mumbled as his mind flashed-back to several articles he had read online. "I thought that organized crime was all but destroyed in this city, how in the world do you have an organization big enough to control an entire town?" He asked them, Hebi, who was still quite-amused by this situation, only chuckled as he turned back to Eiichi.

"You really haven't told this boy anything, have you?" He said as his eyes slithered back to Allen. "Let me tell you something, boy, our organization is a little... different... than other ones. We don't go around breaking peoples legs if we don't have to. In fact, we've helped many citizens of this slum. If you don't believe me, why don't you just go ahead and ask your host?" In response, Allen nodded and swayed his attention back to Mr. Eiichi. The man was clearly irritated.

"These three gentlemen are part of a small organization called the Kaze. They specialize in buying debt and giving-out loans." When he heard that, Allen sighed and crossed his arms, he knew exactly what was going on now. "Since the banks don't like to issue loans to poor saps like us. Their organization would buy our debt and then procure loans for us to pay back. Of course, the interest on said loans was unbelievably-high, but sometimes it was peoples' only option."

"When your child got sick, we were your lifeline." Hebi whispered as he blew smoke up into the rafters. "Medical bills aren't cheap, as I'm sure you're well-aware. You should've known this day was coming." Immediately after those words crawled-out of the thug's mouth, Eiichi shot-up out his chair and started to yell.

"You knew damn-well that I'm the only one in this town with a somewhat-stable job! The rate your boss gave to me was simply unfair! Do you want us all to live out on the streets?!" Eiichi screamed, however, Hebi and his guards were unfazed.

"Please calm down, Mr. Eiichi. You should know that we aren't going to force you to do anything... yet. The entire reason why our little group has managed to fly under the radar of the heroes, after all, is that we prefer to do our business via somewhat-legal means. We aren't going to kidnap you or anything. However," Hebi hissed as he slowly stood up out of his chair, "If you continue to refuse to pay-back your debt, then I can't make any promises. You know how this works, right? Either you pay it back, or you'll have to fight. And we both know that you can't afford the second option." Allen's ears perked-up when he heard that, and immediately, he grabbed Eiichi's right shoulder.

"Wait, what's this about fighting? Can Mr. Eiichi clear his debt that way?" He asked the three thugs, who, yet again, started to laugh.

"Don't get any bright ideas, Mr. Walker. Remember, even though these fools do practice a somewhat-legal business, they're still yakuza to the bone. Fighting is in their blood, and it is used to solve everything, even debt." As he talked, Mr. Eiichi sighed, and nervously started to scratch his chin. "Their boss still practices this ideal. So, if anyone has an issue with an overly-high interest rate, he gives common citizens like us the chance to fight him. If we win, our debt can be cleared. But it's a death sentence." Eiichi finished as he shrugged.

"Well I'm glad you know your place." Hebi said as he took out a small pencil and a notebook. "Now then, since you aren't able to pay back your debt, I guess we'll just have to repossess your belongings. Why don't we start with the-" before the thug was able to finish his thought, Allen reached out, and wrapped his left hand around the Hebi's wrist.

"You won't have to do that. I'll fight him." He growled as he continued to squeeze. For a second, his gaze was so-threatening that Hebi really thought that he was staring into the eyes of a demon.

"You'll what?" He stuttered out, still in-shock by what Allen had ordered.

"I'll fight him, your boss, I'll beat him so you can leave Mr. Eiichi and his family alone." With that, Allen had sealed his fate. He had gone from the sidewalk straight to the fast lane, and nothing was stopping him now. He had no idea at the time, but that decision would change his entire life. Be it for better, or for worse.


Author's Note

Hello everybody! Thanks for clicking on my story! If you can't tell, things are starting to heat up! I'm sorry about the slow pace, but, this is how I write things (And honestly there's 30k worth of chapters out rn, so it shouldn't be much of an issue.) Anyways, since this is part of my big 30k chapter-dump, I'm going to go ahead and close the author's note here! I hope you guys are enjoying the story! See you in the next chapter!

Chapter Three: Gladiator