The Misadventures of Raising Allen Walker

~Omake~

Chapter 1

"Wait a minute. Mana, didn't we use to know someone named Allen?" Blinking a little as he looked to his brother, the other holding the now named baby boy in one arm while trying to fix a bottle with the other it seemed. He watched Mana freeze in place for a moment, the eldest of the room occupants closing the tin holding what he guessed was the mix for the formula. He'd learn what it was eventually.

"I don't know what you're going on about Nea. I mean we've probably run into quite a few people who go by Allen, it's not exactly a rare name." Blinking, he tried to think back on where and who used the name. That's when he remembered, the large ball of white fur from long before, back when both he and Mana were still in grade school, long before when they still lived with their mother.

"Mana… did you really just name Allen, the baby you just picked up from a cardboard box in an alley an hour ago, after the dog we had back in grade school?" Watching his older brother flinch, he couldn't stop himself from sighing. Maybe he shouldn't have asked, the memory was terrible for Mana.

"It was the only name I could think of, and it fits him. I know its been a long time, but it's stuck in my memory. This just felt right, I don't know why." Giving his twin a smile, he set the puppy on the floor before pacing over, pulling Mana into a hug. He remembers the same event as Mana, but he was thankfully not affected as badly. It was after their twelfth birthday, and the two of them were out walking dog Allen. Apparently the driver hadn't seen them, and it didn't help that he didn't have his lights on. If the hound hadn't noticed the vehicle and thrown Mana back by his sleeve he doesn't believe that he would've lasted much longer, especially with their family situation being what it used to be.

"You're going to make fun of me, aren't you. I don't want to hear it." Pulling back a little to clearly see Mana's face, he moved both his hands up to hold his brother's face, having to stand on his toes for a moment in order to successfully press a kiss to the top of Mana's head.

"I'm not going to laugh, why would you think so low of me? Part of me thinks that doggy Al knew what was going on, that if he didn't save you, you wouldn't have been able to save this Allen tonight. And that's honestly really cool in my opinion." Watching Mana's expression change as he spoke, he gladly matched his twin's smile. "Let's get to bed Mana, try to get a good rest before tomorrow comes. Merry Christmas, Mana."

Chapter 2

"Oh look at you Nea! You're so cute in this picture!" Hearing his half sister's cooing from the other side of the room, he slowed his playing to a stop, the notes drifting to silence under his fingers. Turning to face where the young teen stood by the fireplace, he could see that her attention was fiercely focused on a photograph that sat on the ledge.

Wait, photograph?

Standing from the bench, he took quick steps over to where his youngest sister stood, glancing over the mantle that usually only held fake flowers in vases and a few pictures of family, finally finding the photograph that the girl was talking about. He very vaguely remembered when it had been taken, he hadn't even noticed that Mana had captured the scene. Picking up the frame, he glanced over the image of himself, his nephew, and Timcanpy asleep on the couch. It had to have been the second day they had Allen, the date being close to six months ago now.

"You didn't even know it was there, did you Nea. How long ago was it taken, Allen looks smaller than he does in the other pictures." Glancing up from the picture to the girl who stood beside him still looking at the image in his hand, he couldn't stop his smile, resting his arm on the girl's head, effectively messing her already disheveled hair up even more.

"I didn't even know it existed, Road, Mana never showed me it before he put it here. I barely remember how we ended up like that, but it was the second night we had Allen and I was taking care of him while Mana got some sleep. It was almost, what, six months ago now? He's grown so much since then. He was practically skin and bones when we found him in that alley." Laughing a little at how she tried to fix her hair and shove his arm off, he set the picture frame back in its place on the mantle, watching the fourteen year old get lost in thought for another moment.