DGM

Chapter 1

How It Started

Allen whimpered as he curled up in a ball and cried silently in his tattered clothing. Blood ran down his face and before he knew it, it was dry. It had been days, but the sun had come up and vanished from the sky and he was alone and hungry. His father was dead and he nowhere left to go. He had no family and he definitely had no friends. So where could he go? How could he live? He might as well give it up. He no longer had a life to live. "Mana. . . Father. . .. "

His eye began to hurt. As every minute, every second passed, it went from painful to agonizing. Soon he was stifling screams. Then a strange wrapped up skeleton appeared in the not-so-far-off distance. He sat up and he remembered seeing the same thing over Mana's body . . . skeleton . . . the day that man came. He stumbled as he stood up and he stared at the zombie-like, hovering body and then at the girl beneath it. Just a little girl. Around his age.

Allen was confused and scared, but he knew he had to run. He felt he had to. So he turned around and took off. A small explosion burst behind him and he looked back. The girl had a demon coming out of her body. He pushed himself further and squeezed his eyes shut. "Come here little boy. Let me kill you!"

Allen fell down and his face was buried in the snow. He tried to get up, but he felt so weak. Next thing he knew, the demon was on top of him. He was saying something, but Allen was too frightened to even try to comprehend it. He shook and whimpered. "Akuma!" a man's sharp voice called out.

Allen felt the monster shift and moved in front of him. Allen thought it was best to try and slither away, but it picked him up and held him by the throat. He tried to scream, but he couldn't make a sound, not with the tight grip on around his throat. He held onto the wrist and did his best to make it loosen, but all was in vain. "Akuma, what are you doing? You were told to locate the innocence in this area, not go on a killing spree."

Allen followed the voice and found a man dressed in a suit with groomed hair and a top hat. Not to mention his strange ashen-gray skin and the crosses on his forehead. "Put the boy down." he said as he lit a cigarette. "Now."

"But Master Noah, he has the innocence." the demon said.

The man raised an eyebrow and walked towards them. Allen dropped to the ground and lay there, staring at the man, trembling. Allen didn't know if it was from fear or the cold, but he had this strange feeling coming from him. "This child is much too young to be a vessel to innocence. Then again, innocence is always doing the most unexpected and desperate things." he said.

Allen gazed at his golden eyes and gulped. The tall man kneeled down and looked him straight in the eyes, but then Allen inhaled deeply and stood up. He was scared to death, but Mana always told him to be brave. He had so much courage and a loud mouth sometimes, so now was the time to put it in use, but when he was around someone new, especially in this kind of situation, how could he be brave?

He shut his eyes and took a deep breath once more, then slowly opened them with strict eyes. The mman looked surprised and had this ridiculous expression. Allen had to cover his mouth to keep himself from laughing, but couldn't help it. When the man narrowed his eyes, he stopped. "Are you not scared, boy?" he asked.

Allen opened his mouth and his voice cracked as he tried to make out words. "I. . I. . I. . . A little, but if you're going to kill me, it won't be that bad."

His brows shot up. "Why not?"

Allen tried to find a reason why he said that and he thought for quite some time, but the man did nothing nor said nothing. He was just shocked and waited for the answer. But just as Allen went to speak again, he blacked out. "Hey, hey boy. Wake up. Boy, boy!" he said.

He scratched his cheek and blinked, but a smiled was engraved on his face. He chuckled and the akuma watched, confused. The Noah picked the kid up and then his hand started to feel irritated and soon began to burn. He looked at the kid's hand, that was in his and sure enough, a green, glowing cross was on his hand. "Innocence."

"Ne, Tyki, what's that you got there?" a girl asked, popping up behind him.

"An exorcist, Road." Tyki answered.

Road stared at Allen and the hand. She put her finger on the blood that painted his face and she peeled it off with her finger . "Hmmm, Tyki, I believe we should take him to Lord Millennium." Road said.

"Why? We should kill him here and take the innocence." Tyki replied.

Road grinned and licked her finger. "I can feel something special about him. Almost like. . . Do you feel it too, Tyki?" Road asked.

Tyki didn't answer, but the look he had answered her question. Road opened her door and they went through it, leaving the akuma by himself. "Tell the other akumas that the search is off." Road said as the door closed.

"The Earl will not like this." Tyki mumbled.

"It'll be fine Tyki. You worry too much." Road said, waving her hand.

"And you don't worry at all."

The two walked down a dark hall and Road hummed a soft tune as she skipped beside Tyki. He watched idly, but was more interested in the boy. "I..I..I...A little,but if you're going to kill me,it won't be that bad." The boy acted as if he was scared at first, but his answer made Tyki think he wasn't. He wanted to know a little more about the kid. If possible, he would like the kid to live a while longer. He wanted that answer. Was he scared and if he meant what he said, why?

They both stopped when they entered the ark and the Earl looked up from his rocking chair. He was knitting again. Tyki wondered how a man of his position, who was supposed to be feared, act so. . . so grandma-ish. Good thing he couldn't read his mind.

A glint flashed on his glasses as his eyes somewhat widened and the Earl's big grin shrunk. "Where'd you find that boy?"

"You know him?" Road asked.

"Indeed, he's that boy I told you about. The one who survived the process of the birthing of a new akuma. With how much blood he lost, he should be dead. It must be the innocence." Earl responded, floating over to them.

Road stared at Allen and she let her smile fade. She hoped the Earl wouldn't kill him. "What are we going to do with him?" Tyki asked.

The Earl seemed deep in thought. Was it a mere coincidence? The child who survived was here at his doorstep, he was an exorcist to be, and he was still alive. The Earl had left him there and tried to kill him. He also had this strange feeling about the boy. Could it be that he. . that he. . . "Get him a room and clean him up. We have a new member of the family."