Abyss-chan here with my next multi-chap fic! A very large plot bunny (more like a plot kangaroo) came into my room in the middle of the night and woke me up, telling me to type an outline for this story. I'm pretty happy with my ideas, and I'm already planning a sequel.

So, tell me what you think of the first chapter!

Disclaimer: No, I don't own D. Gray-man, and I definitely don't own Allen or the Noah. If I did, then Allen would have become a Noah back in the Timothy arc and he would be sharing candy with Road every chapter while torturing Chaoji and Leverrier.

A young boy peeked out of darkness of the wet alley, and scanned the street. He could only see two people still outside in the rain, both on the left side of the road. One of them was a man holding a black umbrella and walking briskly in the opposite direction of the boy, and the other person was a homeless person like the boy. He wasn't fooled though. That man seemed weak and pitiful, but the boy had received many beatings from that man.

On the right side, the road faded off into the darkness, with street lamps dotting the curb. The boy focused on the closed stall only a little more than 100 feet away from him.

It started raining almost an hour, and the boy had waited until the streets were virtually empty to emerge. The owner of the stall had closed up shop an just as the sprinkling started, so he could get out of the rain before it started pouring, like it was now.

The boy observed that the man had thrown out many vegetables and other produce that had fallen off the cart in his hurry, and the trashcan was still next to the stall, still holding the fallen food. The boy didn't care that the food was possibly dirty. You can't afford to be picky when you're starving. Which was what the boy was.

He'd been homeless as long as he could remember, and there was hardly a day his stomach wasn't grumbling. No matter what food he found, the awful, gnawing feeling stayed at the pit of his stomach, urging him to continue looking for food.

When he was little, maybe four or younger, he used to do as others did, and beg at street corners, but he was beaten by other homeless men every time he showed himself on the streets. They accused him of hogging all the money, and forcing richer citizens to give him money. It was honest begging, the boy swore, but they ignored him. It got so bad, he stumbled out of town, bleeding heavily and walked all the way down to a different town. It wasn't long before people started to hate him there too, so he moved on. He'd been to too many towns to count, and each time he was sent away or beaten close to death.

He found that the beatings were worse once people discovered the freakish qualities of his left arm. The moment his stolen glove fell off, people would pull his sleeve up and gasp at the rough, ugly skin. They would scream and call him devil child, stopping only to find a weapon to beat him with. Each time this happened, they would strike his arm and head, bruising and cutting his body until he passed out or they lost interest. A few times, people had tried to throw him into rivers, but each time, he found himself washed up on the shore, still breathing. He wasn't even trying to live anymore; he'd already given up on life, but it seemed like something was keeping him alive each time.

Usually, his wounds would become infected or unclean, and he'd spend days just laying still, struggling to breathe and keep his eyes open. Surprisingly, after a couple days of waiting and suffering, the wounds closed and began to heal, though no one had treated him. This used to confuse his young mind, but know, he learned not to question it, since it kept him alive. He didn't really care if he lived or died, but it was wonderful to feel the relief after a hard beating, and get the chance to take a peaceful nap.

Since he'd been homeless, he learned three things: How to find food without begging for money, How to stay away from other people, and How to escape a tricky situation. With two years of practice, he'd learned how to squirm out of a person's grip and run away to the next town. There was less and less injuries on his body each month.

He eyed the trash can hungrily, but he was cautious, and took another look at the other direction. The hurried man was gone, but the homeless man stayed, staring blankly at a lit window, probably watching a warm fire on the inside, imagining what it would be like to be inside. The boy understood the want. He'd never been inside a building before. The closet he got to a building was the time he hid in a tool shed on the edge of a town to escape an angry mob that was looking to burn him. He had fallen asleep, and the owner found him in the morning. They shooed him off, swinging a broom at his back, pushing him away.

Convinced the man was busy in his own thoughts, he tiptoed out of the empty alley onto the sidewalk. Luckily for him, the food was the direction opposite of the man, so he crept away as quickly as he could, keeping to the shadows. Then the hard part came. He had to cross the street. It was likely the movement would catch the man's eye, so he had to go slow and quietly so as to not draw attention to himself.

Taking a deep breath, he stuck his foot out of the shadows, not taking his eyes off the man. He kept moving, pulling his whole body out of the darkness. His wet auburn hair shined in the lamp light, and made the rain drops twinkle, but it wasn't bright enough to attract attention.

The boy took five steps forward, making it to the halfway point in the road. He kept his eyes glued to the man, biting his lip to keep himself from breathing too hard. He took another step. Two more. One more.

Suddenly, he heard a sound and his head quickly turned to look ahead of him. The moment he saw a black cloak, he walked right into it. The man wearing the coat grunted and looked down to see the boy fallen over on the ground, squirming to get up. Eventually he got up, and he brushed his butt off. The boy looked fearfully up at the curious man, a frightened frown across his features.

"Hey, devil, is that you?" The boy snapped his back to the man to see him staring hatefully their direction. His eyes narrowed on the boy's short form and grumbled.

"Get away from 'im, devil child! I reckon you're trying to rob him, aren't ye?" The man shouted, hobbling his direction. His dirty blanket fell on the ground, revealing his tattered clothes and dirty face. The well-dressed man watched the scene with a vague amusement. The boy was staring at the homeless man, frozen in place. Suddenly, he found control of his legs and ran across the street, back into the alley way. The man shouted at his retreating figure, and raised his fist, but he made no move to follow him, but continued to hobble to the other man.

"I'm mighty sorry sir yeh had to deal with that little vermin. I hope yer stuff ain't stolen. Didn't he dirty up yer fancy coat?" The man asked, buttering up his words. It was obvious he was looking for a reward. The man smirked.

"Who was that boy?"

"He's a devil child. He's got a disfigured arm and he's always tryin' to steal food from people. He's no good. Heaven knows I've tried ta teach 'im a lesson, but even with a cut from the shoulder down, tha' boy's still out there, bein' a nuisance. I've been keepin' an eye out for 'im to protect you busy citizens from his rotten acts." The man chuckled and rubbed his belly. The other man smiled pleasantly, and pulled a velvet sack from his pant pocket. He held it out for the man to take.

"Thank you sir, for your assistance. Please take this as a token of my appreciation." The man eyed the sack excitedly, quickly reaching out his hand to snatch it away. Once the bag was his, he bowed low and relayed his gratitude loudly. The man nodded and turned the other direction, adjusting his hat to keep the rain off his face.

The homeless man rushed off to find his blanket again. When he sat down, and buried himself in the damp, smelly quilt he'd scavenged, he practically ripped open the bag to count his earnings. To his shock, the inside was filled with multiple pieces of bubble gum and suckers. The man howled and looked up to find the man, but he was already gone, with no trace he was there at all.

The man snickered when he heard the angry howl in the distance. His trick had been discovered. He reached into his coat and pulled out a bright pink umbrella and spun it around.

"Waahhh! Earl-tama, you're making me dizzy!" The pumpkin at the tip shouted.

"Shh, Lero, we're going to go find that boy." The umbrella flew bent back to look at the Earl quizically, but he only found a smirk and mischievous eyes.

"Why do you want to find him, Earl-tama, lero?" The Earl chuckled heartily.

"He's a funny little thing. I'd like to meet this 'Devil Child'" The Earl replied. "He went down this alley, correct?" The Earl pondered. Without waiting for an answer, the Earl spun Lero around once and stepped into the dark alley, letting his eyes adjust to the light.

Looking around, he found a dreary looking alley, with soggy boxes and empty bottles lining the corners of the small street. He could tell there must've been someone living there, or still was. Lain on top flat pieces of cardboard, was a moth-eaten sheet. It looked vaguely like a bed, but without the mattress, pillow, or blanket. From the size, he assumed it was the boy's bed. He must be around somewhere.

"Little boy, come out, come out!" The Earl called playfully. "I have some candy for you!" The Earl laughed to himself and pulled out a lollipop from his coat, displaying it to the darkness.

His trick worked like a charm, as the young boy shuffled out from behind a pile of trash bags, looking hopefully at the lollipop.

"Come over here, boy, this is for you." But the boy stopped ten feet away. He suddenly shivered and looked cautiously at his scruffy face.

"Don't you want it?" The Earl asked, his grin never fading. The boy nodded enthusiastically, but he made no move to retrieve it. The Earl took a step closer, and the boy mimicked him, and stepped back as well. The Earl stared blankly before chuckling.

"Do you not trust me?" The boy shook his head. The Earl's chuckled turned into a laugh. This boy was interesting.

"But what do you have to loose?"

"You could hurt me." The boy whispered, playing with the mitten on his left hand.

"I promise I won't. Right Lero?" The Earl held up his pink umbrella for the boy to see.

"Of course not! Earl-tama wouldn't hurt you, lero!" The umbrella shouted. The boy gasped, his cautious eyes turning to wonder.

"'Ow does he talk?" He wondered aloud.

"He's my friend. He'd be your friend too if you took this candy." The boy raised his eyebrow, but one look at Lero pushed him forward. He slowly reached out for the offered lollipop. The Earl squatted and held his palm out. Eventually, the boy found the courage to take the lollipop. He looked gratefully at the Earl. Without hesitation, he held the lollipop with his left hand and tried to remove the wrapper, but his left arm was numb and mostly unresponsive, like usual, and he dropped the lollipop on the ground. For a moment, the alley was silent, but suddenly, the boy burst into tears. He knelt to the ground and picked up the lollipop. The wrapper was now soggy and the lollipop was cracked. The paper easily opened, and the broken pieces dropped onto his mitten. Sniffling, he brought the pieces to his mouth. Just as he was about to scarf down the pieces, the Earl gently took his arm and stopped him. The boy jumped and everything fell to the ground. He yelped and yanked his hand out of the Earl's grip, backing away. In the commotion, his mitten fell into a puddle.

"Boy, I was merely going to give you a new one. You'll get sick if you eat that. I've got plenty more." The Earl said, reaching into his pocket again and pulling out three more lollipops. This time, though, the boy stayed away, holding his left hand behind his back, staring distrustfully at the offered candy. The Earl pushed his hand out, holding up all three lollipops, but the boy just took another step back. Unfortunately, he tripped over a piece of trash and landed on his back. Lero gasped and flew over, going to check on the boy.

"Ne, are you alright, lero?" Instead of the answer, the boy moaned painfully. The Earl narrowed his eyes, and looked closer. Beneath the boy's head was a shattered glass bottle. He suddenly noticed the puddle of blood mixing with the rain.

"Hmm, Lero, it seems we'll be taking this boy home tonight."

"Mistress Road will be excited." Lero commented lamely. The Earl shuffled over and gathered the boy up int his arms, careful not to disturb the wounds. The boy's left hand dangled off to the side. The Earl looked curiously at it and grinned like a madman at his find.

"It seems we'll be keeping this boy for a very long time." The Earl said. Lero followed the Earl's gaze and gasped.

"But Earl-tama-"

"Let's hurry, the boy's bleeding, remember?" The Earl chuckled. Walking deeper into the shadows, he came across a checkered door. Lero knocked his head against it, and it opened wide.

Allen

The boy felt himself get picked up by the mysterious man, but he made no struggle. His head was throbbing and could feel the blood dripping down to his neck. Now he was going to have to deal with bloody clothes later. If there was a later.

He didn't know where the man was taking him, but he was scared. His thoughts were blurred by the pain, but he was vaguely worried the man would see his arm. He needed to find a way to get away before he was beaten again.

Suddenly, his thoughts were broken by a very high pitched voice.

"What's wrong? Who is that boy? Is he alright? Millennie, he's adorable! Can we keep him? Wait, is that- how did you find him? He's mine!" The boy looked around to see a small girl with spiky blue hair staring at him with molten gold eyes. Another confusing thing was her unnaturally gray skin. Her forehead was lined with seven crosses that unnerved the boy.

"Road, would you call Lulubell and Tyki-pon?" The man asked. The girl, named Road, nodded and suddenly a checkered door appeared and opened next to her. A few seconds later, two people walked out of it.

"What do you want Road?" A man asked. Allen noticed he also had gray skin and golden eyes. The women seemed to have them too. Road didn't say anything, but pointed to the Earl and his burden.

"Master, what are you doing with this boy?" The women asked.

"Lulubell, he is very special. We will be keeping him here with us. Would you treat his head injury?" The women, Lulubell, scanned the boy and her eyes landed on his hand. A flicker of understanding passed through her and she walked over and pulled the boy into her arms.

"Road, open a door to my room." The checkered door that had appeared closed and opened again.

"Done." Lulubell walked into the door, leading the line of people behind her into her room too.

The boy found himself in a lavishly decorated room. Gold trim lined the ceiling and floor, and fancy gold curtains covered the window. The carpet was a dark red, which complemented the cream-colored walls.

A large canopy draped with black curtains sat in the middle of the room, the head of the bed against the wall. The poles on the four corners were painted gold like the trim. On top of it's black blankets, sat a fluffy cat bed, which was also black. Lulubell walked over to the bed, and set the boy down, nudging the cat bed aside. She didn't seem to mind that his blood was staining her pillows. Instead, she reached into her night stand, and pulled out a roll of bandages, a white cloth, and a bottle of alcohol.

"Tyki, get me a towel. Road, I'd like a bowl of water." Both nodded, and walked off with their goals in mind. In the meantime, the Earl watched fro the foot of the bed as Lulubell rolled Allen over and spread his auburn hair apart, studying the cuts. Within a minute, both Road and Tyki were back.

"Tyki, I'm going to lift his head, and I want you to put the towel underneath. Road, come set that water on the table." Her words were followed, and she set to work. Soaking the cloth in alcohol, she brought the dripping cloth to his head and rung the alcohol over the wounds. The boy winced and started to sniffle, but he tried to keep silent.

She waited a few seconds as the alcohol cleaned the dirt and washed the blood away. When she looked closer, she noticed a small shard of glass stuck in one of the cuts. She carefully leaned forward and pulled the shard out. The boy didn't even feel it. She dropped the shard next to the bowl of water and set back to work. Pouring more alcohol on the cloth, she began dabbing his head lightly. Each time she touched him, he flinched, and if you looked at his face, you'd see tears falling silently.

She gently washed the blood away and pressed the cloth to his head. After a few moments, she pulled away and was satisfied to see the cuts no longer bleeding. She rinsed the alcohol soaked cloth in the water, and brought the cloth back to wash away the alcohol. Eventually, she finished and she made him sit up. She wrapped the top of his head up, and then picked him and set him on the ground to stand on his own.

He wobbled for a second, feeling unsteady, but then he froze in place and looked around. Everyone's eyes were on him. He looked down and remembered that his hand was showing. He squealed and dropped to the ground, pulling his legs to his chest with his right hand, and hiding his left hand between his legs and body.

"Are you alright?" Road asked. The boy nodded, and stared at the floor.

"Boy, do you still want that candy?" Road's eyes turned to the Earl, but she was disappointed when he wasn't offering her candy. He held out a lollipop with a purple wrapper, that happened to be Road's favorite flavor.

"Millennie! I want candy!"

"Road, this is for the boy." Road crossed her arms and pouted, but she watched to see if the boy would accept.

"Take it, boy." The boy looked longingly at it, but he shook his head and buried his face in his knees.

Why were they being nice? They shouldn't the be hitting him already? He deserved it anyway. He was intruding in their home, where ever they were, and causing them trouble. He didn't need help. He was fine by himself. He was safe by himself. That was it. They must be trying to trick him. He wouldn't accept their hospitality. He wasn't supposed to have any kindness. He'd always been a devil child. Right?

"What's his name?" Tyki asked. The Earl shrugged.

"I dunno. I didn't ask."

"Shounen, what's your name?" The boy looked up and got caught in Tyki's stare. He was going to hide in his legs again, but Tyki somehow held him in place. It was partly because the boy felt terrified looking into his golden eyes.

"Nuthin'" He whispered.

"Huh?" Road asked.

"It would seem he doesn't have a name." The Earl chuckled. "We should give him one." The boy's eyes widened and he looked at the Earl. He'd never had a name before. It was only devil-child, no matter where he went. People called him vermin, boy, rat, brat, or any vile thing that came to mind. He always thought his name must've been something like devil child, since everyone called him that.

"But, I got no name. You can't give me one." He said.

"Why not?" The Earl asked.

"'Cause yer supposed to get a name when yer born, but I never got one, so now I can't have a name. Only a mama or papa can name someone." He insisted. The Earl laughed, and Road joined in, giggling.

"Well how about I be your father then?" The Earl offered. The boy's mouth dropped.

"But I don't have a papa."

"That's while I'll be your 'papa'"

"Then whose my mama?"

"Who ever you'd like."

"But I can't pick ma parents! Yer parents are who made ya."

"Well your parents weren't very good parents, were they? So I'm going to be your parent instead." The Earl finished. "That means I can name you." The boy didn't see the logic in the Earls words, but he decided not to argue.

Suddenly, Road jumped and ran over to the Earl, whispering in his ear.

"Hmm, I think that's good. Are you ready to hear your name?" The boy couldn't help but nod.

"Allen." They boy tested the word on his tongue silently, judging it. He liked it.

"It suits him." Tyki said.

"Doesn't it?" Road asked.

"Well, lets introduce ourselves. I'm the Millennium Earl. You can call me papa." The Earl grinned and took off his top hat, bowing.

"I'm Road Kamelot! I'm your big sister!"

"My name's Tyki Mikk. I can be whatever, I guess."

"Tyki, your his uncle! If he's my brother, than you have to be his uncle." Tyki sighed and pulled out a cigarette. Lulubell walked over and knocked it out of his hand.

"Not in my room." Tyki sighed again. Lulubell turned to Allen and bowed slightly.

"I'm Lulubell." She didn't offer any title for herself.

"Lulubell's your aunt." Road whispered. Lulubell's fingers twitched, but she made no comment.

"There are four other people here at the moment. Sheryl, Skinn, Jasdero, and Debitto. You'll meet them later. Actually, you can meet them tonight if you'd like." Allen shook his head.

"Ne, Millennie, where is he going to sleep?" Road asked. The Earl hummed.

"Hmm, Allen-chan, we don't have a room for you yet, so who would you like to sleep with?" Allen looked around at the people in the room. The Earl was out. He was a little strange, though Allen did feel the most comfortable with him. Still, it'd be too weird. Tyki looked scary. Road was jumping up and down excitedly, staring at Allen, waiting for him to pick her.

"Umm, I wanna sleep with a-a-aunt L-Lulu." Allen had forgotten her name. He just remembered Lulu and that he was his "aunt". Everyone turned to look at Lulubell, who was studying Allen. Eventually, she nodded and Road sighed.

"Fine. But you're sleeping with me tomorrow." Road said.

"Alright, let's leave. I'll tell the others about our new guest." The Earl grinned, and walked away, using Lero as a cane. Road and Tyki followed, leaving Allen alone with Lulubell. Allen suddenly felt nervous.

"I'll change out the pillow case. You get out of your clothes." Allen blushed and stayed still. Lulubell sighed and went to take off the pillow case. When she was done replacing it, she looked at the blushing Allen.

"I'll be back." She walked to her door, and opened it, but she didn't leave. Sitting in front of the door was a folded pair of pajamas. She bent over and picked them up. She walked over and set them down on the floor, but Allen didn't move. Lulubell made no noise, and crouched down. She reached out and touched Allen's button on his coat. He flinched, and pushed himself away, but his back hit the bed. Lulubell was still for a second, before continuing. Allen warily watched her unbutton each button, and eventually, she pulled the coat off. Allen was wearing a dirty white turtle neck sweater underneath. Lulubell pulled that off, revealing his skin. Allen desperately tried to hide his left arm, but Lulubell didn't even look at it.

She put her hands under his armpits, and lifted him up. Now he was standing and she was level with his chest. She reached for his pants, but Allen lightly grabbed her hand with his right hand, and blushed. Lulubell wordlessly put on the pajama shirt. Luckily for Allen, it was big on him, and covered his hand, but it also went down to his knees. After buttoning up the front, Lulubell pulled down his pants. His privates were covered by the shirt, so Allen felt relived, though the blush was still prominent. She grabbed the pajama bottoms, and held them up for him to step into. When they were on, she pulled the string and tied a tight bow to keep them from falling.

"You'll take a bath tomorrow." Allen nodded, secretly excited. He climbed up on the bed, having a bit of trouble, since he was so short, but he eventually made it on. He turned to watch Lulubell.

She was walking around, extinguishing the lights, until the room was finally dark. A bit of light came from the window, but the black curtains blocked most of it.

She gave him one look before something strange happened. She shrunk down and black fur grew out from her skin. Suddenly, standing on the floor, was a black cat with a white cross on it's forehead. Allen was too shocked to say anything. The cat jumped on the bed and settled into it's bed at Allen's feet. Allen stared for a second until one eye opened at stared back. Allen instantly looked away, caught. Allen curled up under the blankets.

Maybe he would stay for a while. He'd finally found a family after all.

Lulubell

The boy curled under the blankets. Lulubell could almost feel his emotions with her cat senses. He was very nervous. She could practically hear his heart beat. Eventually, he calmed down and she could tell he was sleeping. Taking this advantage, she stood up and walked across the blankets to study the boy.

His auburn hair was very messy and dirty, but with some cleaning, it would be soft and shiny. She noticed many healing cuts and bruises, along with scars just on his neck alone. Nudging the blanket with her nose, Lulubell played with the top button until it finally came undone. She peeked at the top of his chest, and frowned at the multitude of scrapes. Faint bruises decorated his skin everywhere. Lulubell had noticed them when she was changing him, but he would have been uncomfortable with her staring.

The next thing that caught her interest, was his hand. She walked over to his hand, which was resting on top of the blanket. She sniffed it and grimaced. Innocence was annoying. She stared for a long time at the red skin. The green cross embedded in the top of his hand was dark. He probably had never used it before. Lulubell wondered what the boy would be told. It was likely the Earl wouldn't tell the whole story to the boy. He was impressionable, but everyone, no matter how rude, usually has some sort of morals.

She wondered how young he was. He looked small, maybe five. But he seemed smarter than a five year old. He could be six, but if he was, he was very short for his age. He probably didn't know either. He didn't even have a name before tonight.

Lulubell thought to her self about the boy for many more minutes, but then decided to go to sleep. She cuddled up in her bed, and closed her eyes. Just before she fell asleep, Allen shifted and made a quiet moan. Lulubell peeked at Allen to see he was sweating profusely and squirming in his spot. A frown had formed and he looked close to tears. Lulubell carefully stood up and walked up to Allen's face. Nudging him with her nose, he woke up. Allen looked at Lulubell's cat face and smiled faintly. Allen wrapped his arms around her middle and pulled her close. Lulubell was going to worm her way out, but Allen ended up letting go anyway. Instead, he settled for stroking her neck, occasionally scratching behind the ears. Lulubell purred and promptly cuddled next to Allen's stomach. It was out of character for her, but Allen seemed like he needed it anyway.

Allen fell asleep first, with his hand still on her back. Lulubell didn't bother moving, since he was warm. In the morning, she'd pretend nothing happened. Nothing at all.

Cut! So here's chapter one! It's longer than I thought it would be, but I don't think you mind, do you? Remember how I said in Innocent Monster that I would be taking a break from writing multi-chap fics for a week or two or more? Hah, yeah, I decided that I get bored if I'm not writing, so here's a whole other story starting less than a week from my last one. :D

Please leave review! I hope to see some of my fanfic friends on this chapter! I already miss my reviewers from Innocent Monster!

Abyss-chan out~!