A girl ran from what could only be called an angry mob, a loaf of freshly made bread in her small arms. She had no name but the locals had taken to calling her crude names, mostly "Red", like her bright red arm. The girl came to a halt as she was met with a dead end.

"Oh no! They'll surely kill me this time! Way out, need a way out now!" She thought, frantically looking for an escape. "Damn it! No choice but to climb so thank god the wall is rough enough to get a grip."

She bit into the bread and began to shakily climb, feet and hands slipping until she reached a window with a ledge just barely wide enough to stand on. She took the bread out of her mouth and looked into the room.

Empty. Just the spot to hide, eat and rest. Red slips into the room through the conveniently opened the window and made sure the room was otherwise inaccessible.

From there, she gathered anything she found that would suffice as a bed and blanket. She settled down and ate silently but eagerly.

Red stood quietly, looking down at the makeshift grave for the dog she'd come to call her only friend. The crazy clown, Mana, stopped next to her and stared down at the grave.

"Are you sad?" Red asked, almost no emotion in her voice.

"I'm sad. So sad that I could hang myself." Mana joked.

Red gave him a bored expression. "That's a really bad joke."

The clown was silent for a moment. "I was hoping it would make you smile. Even a little one."

Red blinked, staring at the clown. "You... were trying to make me smile?"

That shocked the girl. Someone was being nice, trying to make her laugh or even smile. Red felt a small smile stretch her lips. Someone wanted to be near her, without hurting her. Even though she was sad, still didn't like or trust people, but for once she wasn't hated. Even if it was just one crazy old clown. Said clown had a smile of his own as he watched her closely.

Mana had grown close to the little girl known as red. So close in fact, that he took her in and gave her a proper name.

Allen Walker. The little girl couldn't stop repeating her name, even if it's been several months. It made her giggle childishly with joy she'd only recently experienced.

And even though she kept falling, Mana would stop and wait for her to stand back up. Allen could ignore her exhaustion if it meant being near Mana.

Allen was only with her adoptive father for three years. it was too soon.

Allen stayed in the spot she landed after Mana had pushed her out of the carriage's path.

"D-Daddy...?" Allen's small voice called over the chaos. No one heard. Allen's face scrunched up as the tears stung her eyes.

"Please don't leave me alone again... I need you, daddy!" Allen sobbed.

Mana cups Allen's cheek, speaking in a hushed, heavy voice as he fought for breath. "Keep... walking... Don't... stop..."

The older man's hand dropped from Allen's face. Allen shook Mana, begging for him to wake up so they could go, but he didn't respond. The people around her took Mana's body, fending off the child as she grabbed onto Mana's coat.

"Leave him alone!" Allen cried, holding onto her father figure. They pushed her off and went on their way.

Allen sat at Mana's new grave, tears silently pouring from her eyes. Her mercury eyes were full of unspoken questions and emotions. Allen was scared. She wasn't sure if she could keep walking.

Not now that she was alone all over again.

"Hello, my dear child. Tell me, Who has your god stolen from you?"

Allen's head snapped up as the girl stares at the owner.

"Oh no. Don't listen to him, Allen! No good comes out of-"

"Who... who are you?" Allen asked, her voice trembling.

"I am known as the Millennium Earl. I came because you were grieving."

"Mister earl... Can you bring d-Mana back...?" Allen asked. She had always used his name around others to keep them from going after him too. "I don't know if I can..."

The Earl kneeled next to the girl. "With your help, little one, He'll be back at your side." The Earl was lying, of course. But he found the girl adorable, for a human. He found himself loving the glint of joy in her mercury eyes, how they were so full of joy. "But i need you to call him. He will answer to you. I will provide the body."

Allen stared at him until he stood and strolled to the metal skeleton. Allen watched him closely before pusshing herself to her feet and slowly following.

"Just call his name as loud as you can so he can hear you." The earl told her softly.

"As cute as she is, I need to keep working." The Earl though saddly.

"M-Mana! Please come back! MANA!" Allen shouts. When she looks at the skeleton it was twitching and shaking.

"What...?" Mana's confused question came.

"Daddy! Your back! Just like he promised! We can be together again!" Allen said, smiling.

"Allen... How dare you!? You turned me into an Akuma!" Mana shouted at the girl before him.

"A-Akuma...?" Allen stammered. Allen had no idea what was happening. Before she knew it, a sharp pain had already erupted from her left eye.

"I curse you, Allen Walker!" Mana yelled

Allen couldn't move, couldn't do anything. She just sat there, dazed and in pain. Allen took her hand away to find the mitt over her ugly hand soaked with blood. She looked back up at Mana as he was about to strike a second type.

What happened next caused Allen to cry out in shock and horror. Her hand wasn't a hand, but a claw. The claw knocked Mana away before prepping the final blow.

"Allen... I love you... Stay strong and destroy me." Mana told her. The claw finished the job and returned her hand to normal. Allen stared in disbelief.

"I... I killed... Mana..." Allen murmured. She should have known it would've turned bad. After all, God hated her.

The Earl could see Allen's pain clear. The Earl crouched next to Allen.

"Why does God seem to hate me...? Why can't I just have been left alone with Mana...?" Allen asked.

The Earl sighed, "Because he is cruel. Like his creations." He could feel Allen's pain now. "Do you hate me, little one?"

"Why do you think I'd hate you...? You were letting me see Mana again..." Allen answered.

"Then, if you wish my dear child, I can be your family." The Earl said.

Allen blinked in surprise, "Be... my family? Even though I... make bad things happen? Even though my arm is..." Allen couldn't say it but the Earl knew what she was conveying.

"Of course." The Earl responded without hesitation.

Allen immediately hugged the large, grinning man, sobbing into his coat. The Earl wraps his arms around her.

"You poor dear... what have those nasty humans done to you?" The Earl thought, picking Allen up one she has cried herself asleep. The Earl calls on the Ark, making a glass-like gate rise from the ground. He steps through and immediately heads to a room that will become Allen's. He luckily ran into no one else on the way. He slipped into the room and laid Allen in the soft, warmth of the bed. The Earl sat in a chair to wait for the child to wake up, planning on cleaning the fresh wound and her new snow-white hair.

"Poor thing's been traumatized..." The Earl muttered. If anyone had heard, They wouldn't quite believe it. His voice was so gentle and full of heartfelt concern. The small child may have put a dent in his work day but he could recover from it. As of that moment, the Earl decided the little girl was worth it.

Meanwhile, deep in Allen's mind, Two figures talk.

"If he hurts Allen in any way I SWEAR TO GOD THAT I'LL KICK HIS ASS!" One yells.

That earned a laugh from the other, who appears to be completely dressed in white.

"What?"

"As hilarious as this is, we should be serious. I don't think he'll purposefully hurt her. His tone was almost as if he was referring to another Noah. Too gentle, surprisingly."

"Huh... Well, I still hope so. The last thing I need to hear is my dear niece crying again. Broke my heart..."

"It was the most painful thing I had ever seen or heard in my lifetime."

"Yeah... I never really met her... Not the way I would have wanted to."

"I understand, friend. But you will still have the opportunity to meet her. Unlike myself. I can only truly meet her when she knows about me."

"Sounds like it really sucks to be innocence."

"It can but at least I can embody both our wishes to protect her from harm."

The other nodded, choosing to stay silent.

Allen opened her eye, grimacing at the crusty feeling and lack of response from her left eye.

"Good~. You're awake~." The Earl sang.

The Earl stopped at her bedside, his large grin as relaxed as it could get, a wet towel in hand. Allen sat up and looked at him.

"Let's get that cleaned up." The Earl said, sitting in a chair. The large man began cleaning the old blood off, only to stop when the little girl cringed away. The Earl gave the girl a moment before continuing, being more careful.

"It still hurts..." Allen muttered.

"Apologies, dear child. I'll be more careful." The Earl apologized.

"My name's Allen..." Allen muttered. "Why... why did Mana say he cursed me...?"

The earl dipped the towel into a bowl of clean water, washing the blood out. He didn't speak for a moment.

"Humans that accept my offer are people that wish to defy death to selfishly bring back those that died. Therefore, they sin and so, Akuma, my creations, are there to punish selfish humans. You, though... Your foster father was a necessity in your life as you were lost and helpless at your age." The Earl made sure to add the last part to keep Allen from being upset.

"I wouldn't put it that way myself. Though, he is right, in a crude way. Humans defied God's will. So they get punished."

Allen's mind reeled. Humans can defy God? The very god that cursed her with her hideous left arm?

"What if God hated you, to begin with?" Allen thought. "Wait. Who said that?"

No response came from the voice. Allen winced as the towel yet again brushed over the still fresh wound. It was getting worse the closer the towel got to her eye. Allen pushed the towel away just as it was about to touch it. The earl stopped, concerned for her. The look on Allen's face confirmed that her eye was still too damaged to clean fully. With a little bit of persuading on the Earl's part, Allen opened her left eye after a short struggle. The Earl couldn't believe his eyes. While Allen's eye was still in horrible condition, it was healing faster than a normal human's. Allen's worry made the Earl want to coddle her, sooth it away.

"How about, after I finish cleaning you up, I'll get you some dinner." The Earl offered. Allen's reaction was a rumble of the stomach, an embarrassed blush but a smile gracing her face. The Earl returned to gently cleaning the wound, humming. Allen listened to the Earl hum, getting lost in the little tune. She didn't know the song but still, she rather enjoyed it.

"There. All done. Ready for dinner now?" The Earl asked kindly.

Allen nods, "Carry me... please?"

The Earl instantly scooped her up into his arms, "Of course my dear Allen~." Allen giggled before going as serious as she could

"Um.. mister...? What can I call you?" She asked, not quite remembering if she heard his name.

"I am the Millenium Earl, but you may call me by anything you want~."

"Can I even call you... Dad? Or is that bad?" Allen asked, nervous.

"I would be simply honored to be called that by such a sweet little girl~." The Earl assured. Allen smiled, her whole face lighting up. Of course, he wouldn't be able to Take Mana's place, but he would be a close second on her tiny list of important and precious people.