Disclaimer - I do not own D Gray Man

A/N - a little story about Mana and the 14th as children because I simply couldn't resist.

Becoming a Musician

"Now I want the two of you to be on your best behavior while we're here," the woman warned the two young boys who were walking along beside her. "Mana, Allen, do you understand?"

"Yes ma'am," the two boys chorused.

The taller of the two boys had long hair, which he was wearing pulled back into a ponytail, while the shorter one had shorter hair which seemed to spike up somewhat. Mana was the older of the two, at eight years old and he had light brown hair and kind brown eyes. Allen was three years younger and his hair was mahogany while his eyes were a cool gray.

Their parents, Edward and Grace Walker, were traveling performers who normally kept the family moving from city to city however today was different. Today they were going to visit some of Grace's relatives and both boys had been warned repeatedly to be on their best behavior during the visit. Their mother's brother and his wife were very well to do and wouldn't be happy if they had to listen to noisy children running about.

"I don't like this," Allen whispered as he and his brother followed their parents up the long drive that led to the large house. The boy was fidgeting with the black ribbon that was tied about his throat and Mana absently caught his hand before he managed to untie it with his nervous motions.

"I know," Mana said. "I'm uncomfortable too but we're just going to have to deal with it."

Allen sighed but nodded.

When the small family arrived at the front door Edward rang the bell while the others waited. It wasn't long before the door opened and a man dressed in black greeted them. "Good afternoon Master Edward. We've been expecting you. Please come in."

The next thing the two boys knew they were seated side by side in a grand sitting room, listening to their parents and aunt and uncle talk about things that had happened years before they were even born. Allen was completely miserable; the high backed chair was hard and he couldn't even let his feet rest on the ground because he wasn't tall enough.

Nor could he swing them back and forth in order to relieve the stiffness because every time that he did so he was scolded for fidgeting.

This soon grew to be more than the little boy could bear and the moment that he was sure that no one was paying attention to him the child slipped from his chair and silently left the room. Thankfully his chair was positioned close to the door and he didn't have very much difficulty making his escape. He was thoroughly bored with the conversation and wanted to relieve his boredom.

Maybe a bit of exploring would help.

The little boy roamed around the large mansion house until he came to a large room with a vaulted ceiling. Allen spied a piano sitting at the other end of the room and he felt a strange pull toward the instrument. The sound of the child's shoes echoed throughout the room as he made his way toward the piano but he paid no attention to it.

When he reached the instrument the child reached out and gently touched one of the keys with the tip of his index finger. The sound that emitted from the piano caused a small smile to appear on Allen's face and he eagerly touched another key, to see what kind of sound it would make.

Allen was entranced by the sounds that the piano made and he eagerly pushed each key.

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Mana had at least been making an attempt to politely pay attention to what the adults were talking about however his concentration faltered when he realized that Allen was gone. Not wanting to draw attention to his brother's absence Mana politely waited until the adults had ceased talking and then asked to be excused. Edward nodded, without even gazing in his direction.

Mana was grateful for that fact as he slid from the chair and left the room. Perhaps this way, when Father asked later, he could say that he took Allen with him. That might successfully keep his rogue of a younger brother out of trouble.

"Now where exactly could he have wandered off to?"

Mana searched the large house for any signs of his brother but stopped short when he heard a couple of notes being played on the piano. It was obvious by the sound that the piano wasn't being played by someone who knew what they were doing and Mana decided to follow the sound.

"Please let me be wrong," he thought as he made his way toward the sound. He was fairly certain that his aunt and uncle would not be happy to know that Allen was messing around with a piano that had more than likely been very expensive.

Mana followed the sounds all the way to the grand ballroom and sure enough as he stepped inside he saw his little brother standing at the piano, casually poking at the keys. "Allen," he called out in a soft voice as he made his way toward his brother.

Allen's face lit up as his gaze fell upon his older brother. "Mana!"

"What are you doing?" Mana asked as he walked over to his brother. He was shocked that Allen had shown any interest in the piano and had to admit that the little boy looked cute standing next to it, dressed in his best clothes.

Allen shrugged. "I like the way it sounds."

Mana shook his head. "You're going to end up getting us both in trouble."

"I'm sorry Mana."

"Don't worry about it," Mana said, glad that his brother had found something relatively harmless to keep him occupied. "Maybe Aunt Elaina and Uncle Jeremy won't mind. And until they say something I don't see any reason why you can't play the piano. After all no one said that you couldn't."

Allen beamed.

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The Walker family spent a week visiting with their relatives and on the last day that they were there Mana came running into the sitting room, where the adults were enjoying one final cup of tea. "Mother, Father, you have to come quick!"

Somewhat concerned that something might be wrong with their youngest Edward and Grace quickly jumped to their feet, followed a short distance behind by Jeremy and Elaina, and together the adults followed Mana to the ballroom. When they arrived they saw that Allen was once again standing at the piano and Edward turned to scold his son for scaring them.

He stopped however as Allen placed his hands on the keys of the piano and began to play. The song didn't sound overly complicated and yet to be coming from the fingers of a child who had absolutely no musical training what so ever it was truly amazing.

"Edward, You didn't tell me that your son played the piano," the boy's aunt said, a soft smile appearing on her face.

"He doesn't Elaina," Father said, his gaze focused on Allen. To his knowledge the child had never touched the keys of a piano before and yet here he was, playing a very pretty song.

"He's been playing with that thing all week," Mana explained. "And he actually made this song up."

"Amazing," Grace murmured as she listened to the melody, which sounded something like a lullaby.

"Your son has a truly amazing gift," Elaina said as she listened to the song that the child was playing.

Edward and Grace both nodded. They would have to find a way to make sure that their son could continue to play. After all it would truly be a shame if such obvious talents went to waste, especially since the child seemed to truly enjoy playing.

"Mana!" Allen called out as he suddenly stopped playing and turned to look at the group who had assembled in the ballroom. "You weren't supposed to tell anyone."

"I don't know why you're so embarrassed," Mana said, offering his little brother a smile. "After all, everyone was just saying how good you are."

Allen still looked grumpy and the adults couldn't help but laugh.

A/N - I have absolutely no explanation or basis for this story but the idea popped up so I wrote it. As for the fact that I gave the 14th the name Allen, my theory is that since Mana's foundling was raised on the street there's a good chance that Mana actually named him so he could have named him after his brother. Anyway, that's my logic. If you enjoyed this then I'm glad.