A/N: I have headcanons about Nea. So many headcanons. So I decided to write some of them before the manga proves me wrong. No pairings intended, but after I finished writing this-... well, let's just say the Nea/Link ship has sailed. Warning: very random.

Nea D. Campbell, Link finds out, likes cats.

It wasn't all that surprising, Link supposed, but somehow, knowing that piece of information made Nea seem less like a bloodthirsty psychopath and more like a, well, decent person.

They managed to escape the Order and Earl for a while, and a decent person was certainly not what the young inspector expected. Partly because of all the mysteries and rumours surrounding him, partly because of his flawless acting abilities, but mostly because he occupied Allen Walker's body, which was, Link thought, not exactly ideal. He was all kinds of bitter about that. He wondered if it showed.

The previous three days or so had been pretty hectic, so Link didn't exactly make it his mission to find out what kind of person Nea was. He found out a few things whether he wanted to or not anyway, and put them on a mental list. This list looked roughly like this: Nea didn't exactly enjoy seeing other people get killed, he loved Timcanpy more than anybody should ever be allowed to love a golem (Link almost teared up when Nea discovered that Tim had been destroyed) and he liked to sing, whistle and hum anything that came to mind. It annoyed Link to no end, but Nea didn't notice - or just didn't care.

Next on the list appeared the cat thing, or, as Link dubbed it, the Sparkles fiasco. It took place one day after they shook their pursuers off.

They decided to settle in a hotel somewhere in Russia, bless the Ark, and the owner, a certain Mr Golovkin, was… not Nea's most favourite kind of person, to put it mildly.

An insult started it. Golovkin made a joke of Allen's appearance when they arrived and asked for a room and food - it was nothing Link hadn't already heard before, but it seemed to upset Nea for some reason, seeing as he kept frowning for the rest of the afternoon.

Another insult occurred during dinner, this time directed at Link's way of speaking. Link couldn't care less, but Nea did the signature Noah glare of the one-more-word-and-you're-dead variety and more or less calmly asked Golovkin to shut the fuck up. He did, and, considering they'd have to move somewhere else the very next day in order to escape the Earl, Link honestly expected no more trouble. Boy, was he wrong.

Then they ate their dinner in relative peace - until the cat entered, that is.

It was a tiny creature with snow white fur and blue eyes. It was hungry, judging by the longing looks it gave Nea's leftovers. When Nea noticed it, he clicked his tongue, bent down and reached out to give the cat some meat. It meowed and happily bounced its way to the food.

That was when Golovkin noticed it too. "Hey, you pest, go bother someone else!" he yelled and kicked the cat under the table.

Neither him nor Link saw the punch that followed coming.

Nea didn't even wait for Golovkin to fall on his back, he just cradled the cat in his arms and without a word left through the front door like he owned the place.

Link was impressed, and also more pleased about Golovkin's outraged screams than he'd ever be willing to admit. He quickly followed Nea, afraid he'd use the Ark and disappear. He didn't though, and when Link caught up to him, he had a smug smirk on his - Allen's - face.

"That seemed uncalled for," Link commented.

"Oh, it was called for," Nea said. "Nobody hurts Sparkles like that."

Link stared. And stared. "You named the cat? You named it Sparkles?"

"Not 'it', 'her'!" Nea replied in a hurt voice. "She's my friend now, and she's going with us."

Link didn't say anything for the rest of the night. But he did make a mental note: Be nice to animals around Nea D. Campbell.