Wheels rattled on the rough ground as the black horse pulled the carriage through the woods. Inside was a lean man in his late twenties or early thirties, sitting by the window and watching the trees and bushes passed by. Most of his face was obscured by the looming shadows except the lower part that showed his pleasant smile. He listened to the noise the horse was making and the chirping sounds of the birds up above, which made his smile wider by the prospect of the nature.

The ride did not take long as they reached the clearing and the man inside could see the house from afar. His smile grew wide, showing his pearly white teeth, but it faltered when he felt something tugged his senses.

The man frowned, seemingly not happy. "Hmm. Who has it, I wonder?"

Mana's and Neah's mother was just finished setting the table up for lunch and Belle had just placed the pitcher filled with water when they heard the knock on the door.

"I'll get it." said Belle, earning a smile and nod from her friend. She then went and opened the door to reveal the man from before who was wearing a dark colored suit. Said man had his hands on top of his black cane with inverted silver crown and orb sat atop in front of man.

Smiling, the man greeted. "Hello Belle. It's a surprised to see you!"

Belle was even more surprised to see the man since her friend did not mention of the man's arrival, but nonetheless she bowed down in respect as she stepped aside to let the man in.

"Lord Campbell." said Belle in which the man gave a nod in acknowledgement and ventured inside.

"Where are Cornelia and the kids? I assume li'l Allen's here, too?" Lord Campbell asked, walking around the living room.

Belle followed him in formally; her hands clasped in front of her and eyes on the floor. "The lady's in the dining area while Young Master and her son are outside. Probably at their meeting spot." replied Belle monotonously.

Lord Campbell chuckled just in time Cornelia appeared. "Oh, Cornelia!" he exclaimed in joy, making a beeline toward the smiling lady at the corner and pulling her in a tight embrace.

"My, Cyrus. Didn't know you're coming. You could've at least told me." Cornelia pulled away from the embrace.

"Well, I wasn't expecting this, too, but I got off the meeting pretty earlier than expected, so I'd thought to pay you a surprised visit."

"The boys will be glad to see you!"

"Yes. Well, I can smell the goodies you prepared for lunch. I would like to call the boys myself." with a nod from the lady, Lord Campbell walked of the house, but left his cane to Belle.

Lord Campbell walked farther from the house; his strides were long and firm as he stomped on the meadow. Ahead of him was a small hill with three boys talking to themselves under the canopy of the apple tree.

"... Everything, Neah...everything." said Allen; his eyes were hardened with absolute defiance and seriousness. His friends were speechless as they took in the look in Allen's eyes and silence engulfed them for awhile before the nature had enough and broke it by wind that gust them as though nudging them to look at the direction where the wind was going. It was their instinct that made them turn to their side and saw the man, Lord Campbell, standing and smiling at them.

Mana and Neah were pulled out of their stupor upon seeing their beloved uncle and they jumped in delight; they tackled the man. Allen took the chance to subtlety hide the stone with his left fist and shoved it back in his pocket before standing up and switching his façade into a happy one. The silver eyed boy then approached the man and greeted him.

"It's good to see you again, Allen." said Lord Campbell; his tone in the last word laced with suspicion.

"Didn't know you're here." stated Neah and Mana nodded.

"Well, what do you expect? I want to surprise you! Anyway, it's lunch time." with that said, the boy's- or rather- Mana raced back to the manor, dragging the scowling Neah with him and leaving Allen and the man behind.

Lord Campbell stood; his hands clasped behind him as he watched his nephews disappeared into the manor with a smile. "I don't know what you were talking about earlier, but I have a feeling..." he trailed off, leaving the last word hanging.

Allen glanced at him at the corner of his eye; his heart was beating fast, but remained stoic in the outside and raced back home, not wanting the family wait any longer for him before eating.

I see...you have it, too. Such a shame; I hope you are unable to synchronize with that innocence 'cause I hate to have to fight you in the future. Thought Lord Campbell and retraced his way back.

Their lunch went smoothly. Belle, Cornelia, and Cyrus were so indulged with whatever topic they were laughing of while the boys were chatting by themselves though Allen was a bit wary of this Lord Campbell. Unlike the Noahs, the boy had no means of identifying a Noah and akuma unless they were in their forms and the same goes with the Noahs and akuma.

"So, Allen. What were you doing these past two years?" Lord Campbell asked, leaning forward; his smile never leaving his face.

Allen almost choked on the water he was drinking. Replacing the glass on the table at his left side, he answered, "I was busy with the stuffs mom and dad left Me." it was obvious that Allen was wary of him.

"Oh, I see." chimed the man as he leaned back and took a bite of shrimp. "I hope we could see each other more often starting today. Hm?"

"Of course Lord Campbell. You're more welcome in my manor." Allen smiled naturally, playing along, and earned a light-hearted chuckle.

"I want to come, too!" exclaimed Neah, pumping his right fist that held a spoon in the air.

"Me, too. It's been two years since we've been there." said Mana with a smile.

Neah then asked his mother if when they could come over the Walker's manor.

"It's up to Allen, dear." replied Cornelia before turning to Allen. "When can we come?"

Allen scrunched up his face, thinking. "Hmm... Well, I still have a few things to do after this, so...probably starting next week, on Saturday. That's right. I'm free on that day."

"That settles it then!"

Allen, feeling anxious around the man, decided to go home thirty minutes after lunch. It was sudden and unexpected, but he reasoned that he had another schedule with his family's lawyer, thus he had to go home early that after. His friend's, Mana and Neah, however saw through his lie, but they knew better than utter a word and bid a goodbye.

Lord Campbell whistled, amused by Allen's actions. He knew the boy was anxious around him and suspected the latter thought of him as Noah, which he was right. He had known the boy for years since his nephews were toddlers and had taken a liking to the boy since then. He loved his nephews and Allen was no different, but if the time called for it, then he had no choice no matter how much it would pain him. For him, the family comes first before anything else; he valued his family, be it his Noah family or not, a family is a family no matter what. And so, he just hoped that Allen won't become an exorcist because he adored the boy so much as though he was his nephew or son.

Neah sat on the piano stool. He had been working on a new piece of melody for a week, and now was happy it was done and proud to show it to everyone. Too bad, Allen went home earlier than he expected.

Behind him were his mother, uncle, and brother, sitting on the couch and watching the fire danced in the fireplace.

The tune began as Neah traced his fingers on the keys gracefully with his eyes close, succumbing into the melody. Then, he sang; his voice was silk, smooth, calm, and warm.

And with that the boy slowly fell into a state of sleep.

Cornelia, whose eyes focused at the crackling fire, smiled forlornly as she reminisced the good old days when her husband was still around.

Among the ash, gentle flames are starting to ignite.

She remembered the happiness she felt when her kids were born in this world. Their first cries, smiles and laughs, their first words as they called her 'mommy', and their first steps and achievements.

First comes one, then another.

If only she could come back to those days, but maybe she should just wait for her grandchildren to come, though it was still far.

She giggled behind her hand at the thought.

What comes out are many faces that were once mine.

Cyrus rested his back with a neutral face, looking back at the kindness he showed to all children he had meet and adults he had time to talk to. Even though he had the impression of a kind and noble man, he could also be as ruthless as a hungry lion and merciless for the grieving soul. It was like he loved as much as he hated.

Onto the earth, it so gently slips through.

He pondered if he could be kinder if he met his enemies in another way.

Many dreams, many dreams.

Night had fallen, painting the sky black and clouds purple, and the first crescent silver moon lit up the starless sea of black and one Allen Walker could not fall asleep. He just sprawled his person on top of his bed, staring at the ceiling with intricate caramel swirls on maroon background and thinking of his day; particularly the unexpected meeting of Lord Campbell. He heard the man before, but only had seen him once during the funeral of his parents, and to see him again...

What am I doing? Allen sighed. He did not know why he showed his friends his valued possession and told them things that he was sure intrigued them and would asked him more questions in the near future. All he wanted was to tell them things they must know, so they would not fall prey to him and become one of those killing machines should anything happened. But, know that he caught a glimpse of information about a certain Noah; he would definitely not let the man, Lord Campbell, to have his way.

I will save my friends.

With a new found resolve, the brunette pushed himself up and hopped off the bed. He trotted over his study table, which was opposite his bed, picked the phone up and dialled someone's number.

The phone in the other line rung as Allen waited for someone to pick it up. He did not have to wait any longer as someone answered it.

"Yes, hello?" the recipient spoke; it was a boy whose voice was altered, but nonetheless it pointed out that he was a pre-teen; perhaps two or three years older than the caller.

"Hey, it's me." said Allen; his voice devoid of any emotion as he stood still.

"Oh. So, friend of mine has deemed me worthy of his time."

Allen could practically hear the smirk in the voice. Rolling his eyes, he muttered, "Quit the sarcasm and listen you sick bastard."

The boy in the other line chuckled, much to Allen's annoyance.

I don't like his gut, but he's the only one whom I can trust with this case especially now that he's working at that organization. Not that I tell him that. He sighed mentally.

"Language Walker. Language. We don't want our guardians to reprimand us, do we?" he snickered in which Allen returned with a snort.

"Mom and dad aren't here" the young Walker replied, doing his best to hide the pain in his tone as he spoke. "'Sides, they weren't like yours who would scold you like there's no tomorrow." he chuckled and swore he could feel the boy he was talking to scowled.

"So? Whaddaya want?" asked the boy, clearly not up to any more insults.

Brushing off the previous feelings, Allen said, "I got information about a Noah. It's only a suspicion though, but Neah and Mana told me this man showed them what looked like an innocence piece, destroyed it, and told them a little about these super humans known as Noah clansmen. Well, what do you say?"

"... I say we should meet. And, I mean the four of us; you, me, and those idiots. Who is this man by the way?"

Allen gulped. "This man...he is Mana's and Neah's uncle, Lord Campbell."

"Holy...shiiiit..."

"Language Marian. Language." the brunette chuckled.

"Shuddap twerp! We are talking the head of Campbell family here! I have a bad feeling about this." growled the boy who went by the name Marian. "Anyway, we have to gather more info and confirm this. And, I hope Lord Campbell- if he is one of them- did not know you have the stone?"

Allen rubbed the back of his head with his right hand in a sheepish manner and laughed nervously. "Yeah! Me, too."

"This is a serious thing Walker. Don't rub it off" warned Marian before he hang the phone and left Allen on his own devices, muttering, "That jerk just hang up the phone. Where's his gentlemanly manners!?"