Cross had brought them to a bar to relax after defeating a particularly difficult akuma. Since Allen had learned how to properly use his arm and his eye in India, it had become easier to find the akuma, but he still lacked significant training in fighting. Cross supposed he would have to teach him eventually. That seemed like a lot of work.

Thinking of the fight earlier, Cross wondered if it was about time to put in some of that work. Allen had ran in head first after taking care of the level ones. He could've warned the boy that the akuma was a level two, but sometimes it's best to learn from experience. Still, the way Allen was thrown into a heap on the ground bothered the General more than he wanted to admit.

He was supposed to train the boy into an exorcist. He shouldn't be worrying over Allen like a concerned parent. Eventually, he was going to be sent off to fight in the war against the Millennium Earl.

His only concern at the moment should be getting drunk and finding a cute barmaid to go home with. The General was already eyeing a gorgeous blonde who kept smiling at him when she refilled his glass.

Grinning at her, Cross was already thinking of a clever line to introduce himself with. Forgetting all about his annoying apprentice, the man waved her over planning on ordering another bottle of wine.

She came over and smiled sweetly at the redhead before taking his order. "What can I get for you, darling?"

"A bottle of your nicest red wine, gorgeous." When he isn't accustomed to paying, it was easier to spend money. "May I say that your eyes seem to shine whenever you look in my direction."

"That is really kind of you, sir. It must be because you are our most handsome customer." She giggled behind her hand before leaving to retrieve his wine.

Despite his efforts, she seemed to only be interested in his money rather than his charm. Going so far as to remind him that he was just her customer. That had felt harsh, but Cross couldn't blame the woman for knowing what she wanted. He would need to actually pay her if he wanted any chance of taking her home.

Cross began looking for a certain white-haired boy. How else was he gonna get enough money to win this woman's attention? His eyes landed on his target in the corner, being surrounded by a few older men. Figuring they were there for his gambling debts, he was about to look away and take his leave. At least until he clearly saw what was happening.

Allen was sitting at a table with his back to Cross. There were three men surrounding the boy. Two were sitting awfully close to him, and one was leaning down, whispering something in his ear. It was hard to see Allen's face, but it was unmistakable that Cross saw him flinch when the man touched his shoulder. The faces he could see were grinning at the white-haired boy like a piece of meat.

Cross Marian liked to think himself a reasonably calm man. He rarely got truly angry at anyone. He might get annoyed or frustrated, but he wouldn't count that as true anger. But after seeing Allen flinch and the way those men were looking at the boy. He felt angry.

Standing up and roughly making his way towards the group assaulting his apprentice. Cross saw red when he was close enough to see one of the men reach under the table towards Allen. Not hesitating to grab his gun and pull it out, the General un-cocked the safety against the man's head, preventing him from getting any closer.

"Let go of my apprentice if you want to keep your skull intact." Despite being an akuma weapon, Cross' gun was able to intimidate and harm most anyone. Right now, he was considering beating these scumbags with the barrel. They deserved a slow, painful death, unlike the akuma.

The man released his hold of the boy and backed up while the other two's hands shot out from under the table. Allen turned his head towards his master, giving him a proper view of his face. His face was way too pale to be normal, and silver eyes looked at Cross with a mixture of relief and fear.

Eyeing the situation dangerously, he noticed the two seated men were eyeing the door and Allen. Probably planning on making a break for it and leaving their comrade to deal with Cross Marian alone. One was even boldly reaching for the frozen boy while his eyes were locked on his master.

"ALLEN" Cross roared loud enough to startle everyone into silence in the bar. Anyone who wasn't already aware of the tense situation was now staring at the scene unfolding in front of them. "Get behind me. NOW!"

Hearing his master yell at him must of set off some self-preservation instinct cause the boy immediately stood up. Shoving past the men and hiding behind General Cross, Allen Walker did as he was instructed without arguing for once. The boy was gripping the edges of his coat, which the man pointedly ignored. Right now was not the time to yell at Allen for dirtying his coat.

Now that Allen was safely away from the perverts, Cross was able to think a little more clearly. He obviously couldn't shoot them here in public, despite them clearly being a waste to society. The last thing he needed was Komui calling him to scold him.

He turned and regarded the three men cowering before him. Taking a long drag off his cigarette, General Cross Marian smiled devishly. "If any of you idiots pray, now would be a good time."

All three of them made a run for the door. Pushing and shoving each other in order to get out before the red-haired priest opened fire. Cross watched them go, continuing to block Allen even though there was no point now.

After they had left and the bar noise started to resume as normal, Cross looked down at his charge. The boy was still clinging to his coat, shaking like a leaf. His face was the same shade of white as his hair, and he was breathing fast. Wide silver eyes were still looking at the doorway the men escaped from. Cross looked him over for any injuries when he noticed that one of the men had undone Allen's belt and ripped off a few buttons on his shirt. Seeing the young boy looking so disheveled and stressed made the General sick to his stomach.

Cross sighed before walking towards the bar to pay their tab. He felt his apprentice right behind him, keeping his tight grip on the black overcoat. Under normal circumstances, he would shake the boy off and remind him that he wasn't there to coddle him. But right now, even Cross didn't have the heart to push the child away.

He took another drag of his cigarette while he waited for the bar maid to come over. She appeared shortly after serving one of the other patrons. She smiled at Cross in a different way this time.

"What do I owe you?" Again under normal circumstances, Cross would charm the woman into letting him stay the night. All he could think of right now was getting Allen back to their inn safely.

"It's on the house. I couldn't charge a father who protects his son from creeps like that." She turned and smiled at Allen before walking away to continue her duties before Cross could correct her. Oh well, no point in giving her a reason to charge him for the wine and food.

They made their way down the darkened streets towards the inn. Neither of them broke the suffocating silence between them, instead choosing to listen to the night sounds that surrounded the small town. Allen had released his master's coat but remained close behind.

It didn't take long to reach their destination but it felt longer due to the uncomfortable silence. Cross shoved Allen through the doorway before following. Trudging up the stairs towards their room, he noticed Allen had yet to fix his clothes.

Before Cross could even mention it, Allen ran straight for the bathroom once they made it to their room. Cross looked at the closed door for a few seconds before sighing and sitting down at the desk. He listened to sounds of water running while he thought about what to say to the kid.

Lighting another cigarette, the man sat back and waited for his apprentice to re-emerge from the bathroom. He ended up waiting for a while and was in the middle of some paperwork when Allen finally walked out.

He was still wearing the same clothes from earlier despite his shirt not closing. Standing still once he saw that his master was still here and not out spending money and charming women. Allen met Cross' eye for a split second before looking down at the floor to avoid anymore eye contact. It was evident that the boy was still bothered by what happened. He was slightly curled in on himself, hugging his parasite arm to his chest. The sight reminded Cross of when he first met Allen Walker at Mana's grave. Just a young boy left alone in a cruel world that didn't care about him.

Sighing into his cigarette, Cross turned to properly address the young man cowering before him. This was not going to be an easy conversation but it was one they needed to have.

"What happened back there, Allen?"

Allen shifted around on his feet, adamantly refusing to meet the older man's eye. It took a few moments before he spoke up, his voice barely loud enough to hear. "They came up while I was eating and wouldn't leave me alone. I'm sorry you had to step in master I won't let it happen again."

That had stunned Cross for a moment. He cursed under his breathe as he realized that Allen thought he was in trouble for what happened. The boy was being assaulted and he didn't want to ask for help for fear of punishment.

The General took his hat off and ran a hand through his hair, lost in thought. Allen needed to understand that he wasn't in trouble for what those men did. But looking at the boy basically flinching away from him for breathing made it quite apparent that Cross had to be gentle about this.

"You're not in trouble, Allen. I just wanted to make sure you understand what happened wasn't your fault. We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. But you need to know that none of what happened back there is your fault. I am not mad at you for otherspoor life choices. No adult should treat a child like that."

Cross stayed silent, watching Allen for a few moments before he finally spoke up.

"I know that it's wrong, but I didn't have anyone who could help me. Not anymore"

His voice broke as he finished that last part. Tears started streaming out of his silver eyes no matter how hard Allen tried to force them back with the heel of his palms. He started hiccuping and curled in on himself even more. Cross barely had time to scoop the smaller frame into his arms before he collapsed onto the floor.

It was times like this that reminded Cross that Allen was just a boy despite his mature personality. Though he only became so mature through so much trauma, it was impossible to know behind that bright smile. But that smile was gone now, replaced with a pained expression.

He let Allen cling to him, once again allowing him to dirty his coat. Cross stood holding his young apprentice in his arms while the boy continued sniffling against his chest. They stayed like that for a moment before Cross' back started to ache. He sat them down on the edge of the bed and continued to offer Allen his silent comfort.

After what felt like an eternity, the boy in his lap started to calm down a bit. He continued to latch onto Cross like his life depended on it. He realized at some point he had begun to rub Allen's back, and it actually seemed to help soothe him.

Cross eventually peeled Allen off of him, looking down at his dirty coat with disgust. He would need to have it cleaned when he takes Allen's shirt to the tailor. Said shirt only had two buttons still barely attached, and it might not hurt to get the boy a few extra shirts. Of course, he would earn the money for it, so Cross might as well spend a little on him.

He moved to get up and change out of his filthy clothes when he heard a sniff coming from behind him. He turned and noticed Allen was staring at him, terrified at the sight of him leaving. "I'm just going to the bathroom. I will be right back."

Allen seemed to relax a little hearing that Cross wasn't going out again. It seemed the boy actually was comforted by the man's presence despite his rude nature. It kinda felt nice knowing that he made someone feel something besides anger or resentment.

He left his filthy coat on the back of the chair before going into the bathroom to change into something that was easier to sleep in. It was just an undershirt and his boxers, but normally, he fell asleep naked in a woman's bed. He wouldn't do that with Allen in the room, especially after tonight. Once he got back, he noticed the boy was starting to doze off. His feet were still on the floor while he laid on his back, eyes blinking up lazily at the ceiling.

"You can take the bed tonight. I'll sleep on the couch." He noticed Allen's head perked up in surprise. "It's just for tonight. Tomorrow, we are starting self-defense training, and you'll need a good night's sleep."

That must have been a good enough reason to Allen cause he didn't hear any argument. Turning off the lights, Cross started making the couch up so he could finally get some sleep. This whole day has left him feeling drained. Even sleeping on a couch couldn't stop him from finally getting some rest. He looked over at his apprentice one more time before laying down.

Allen was curled up on his side with a halo of white hair surrounding his face. His face looked the most peaceful it had in a while. He noticed that the boy had gotten his dirty jacket and was using it as a blanket. Cross smiled and wondered if Allen understood that he still had one person in his life who would still be there to help him if he needed it.