Extra Story - Maria's Sight

Extra Story - Maria's Sight (マリアの視線, Maria no Shisen) is the two hundred and sixth chapter in the D.Gray-man manga series written and illustrated by Katsura Hoshino.

Summary
And side story that tells the tale of what happened shortly after Cross picked up Allen for the first time, And what he goes through caring for the ill child.

Synopsis
This flashback begins when Cross and Allen are preparing to leave the church, saying farewell to Mother and Barba. Allen thanks them both for their helping him. Barba crouches down, and tells Allen that he'll become a strong Exorcist, like the father (Cross). Mother then wishes him well, referring to him as "Allen Walker." This surprises Allen, who says that "Walker" is Mana's name, and it feels weird for him to take it when he's not family. Cross looks at him, then turns to leave, telling him that Walker is a name that suits him, to which Barba agrees. Allen thinks about it, and seems to grow fond to the idea. Meanwhile, Mother watches after Cross' retreating form. She thinks about a premonition she has. In present voice-over, she thinks about the radiance emulating from Cross that day which has been with her since. Switching to the current day, Mother is awakened from a nap by Barba, who has found Allen's old clown outfit, gushing at how tiny and cute it is. Mother wonders where he found it, and he mentions finding it in Cross' room, while organizing things like she asked. Barba regrets never getting to see Allen's clown performance, meanwhile Mother is upset by the mess, wondering if he plans to clean properly later. We cut back to the flashback, where Cross first shows up carrying little Allen, and needing Mother's help. We cut to Cross having to hold down the creaming Allen, with mother helping, and Barba watching helplessly. After the chaos has ended, cross is shown sitting by Allen's bedside, waiting for him to eat. But Allen just continues looking into space, unaware of Cross' prescience. Cross leaves to tell Mother that Allen won't eat anything, before angrily screaming and stomping in a table.Mother calmly tells him that Allen is a child, and that Cross could always feed Allen himself. Cross is horrified at this, asking if she expects him to blow on Allen's food and feed him like a woman.

Mother makes is clear that she is Cross' patron, but is not a supporter of The Fourteenth, asking Cross if it's ok to just let Allen die. Cross becomes dejected, as Tim bites his shoulder. Cross wonders how a child can be the host when the fourteenth died over 35 years ago -stating he doesn't know how to care for a kid. Mother asks Cross if it'd have been better for the host to be a sleazy bastard. Cross pauses for a min, then asks her what she's implying, but she shrugs him off and tells him to go feed Allen.

Later Cross is shown twitching in angry, as he sees Allen has wet the bed. So he has to clean and change Allen, in addition to washing the sheets. He's shown outside washing the laundry with his feet. Barba talks to him, saying he wet the bed until he was fourteen, and that Mother had to clean his sheets as well. He asks Cross how long he's been doing it, but Cross ignores him. Barba then warns Cross that he force is using will break the wash-tub. Cross continues to ignore him, stomping the laundry. Barba tries calling to Cross again, but Cross is still ignoring him.

Later Cross is hanging the sheets out to dry. Barba warns him that his smoking will get the smell in the sheets, but Cross yells back that he doesn't care. Cross has to cook later, and Barba tells him that the fod is no good. Cross is shown having to change Allen again, while Tim helps. Then he attempts to feed Allen after cooking for him again. Afterwards, he and Tim are shown napping. Later Cross sits with Allen again, watching him sadly. He asks Allen if he loved Mana that much, but Allen doesn't respond. Cross tries to help him, telling him to remember what Mana always used to say -"Never stop. Always keep walking." Allen begins to tear-up, thinking of Mana. Cross goes to Mother and tells her that Allen finally spoke. She is happy, and wants to drink to celebrate, but pauses in confusion when she sees that Cross doesn't appear to be happy. He reveals that Allen is speaking like Mana. He explains that he watched Allen when he started travelling with Mana, stating that Allen was very rude and rebellious, which is the opposite of Mana. Mother wonders if that's fine, since Allen is just a vessel to be lost to the fourteenth. She states if living with the memory of Mana keeps him sane and happy, it's better that way.

Cross drinks a bottle of wine, and tells her she's right. He states that once Nea is reborn, it'll be goodbye to Allen,and '"whatever happens to *Allen*, the Hell if I care." 'Mother gives him a somber look, but he promptly tells Barba to bring out all the alcohol Mother's hidden because they're going to spend the night drinking.

Back in the present again, Mother wonders if Cross is still alive, and if Allen has been taken over by Nea yet. Cross' words "The Hell if I care" echo through her head. A knock is heard, which Barba goes to answer. He is shocked to see Allen standing before him again, and promptly calls for Mother. She is shocked as well, then thinks back to cross' words again. She calls cross an idiot, saying that he really did care about Allen after all, otherwise Allen wouldn't have such a look in his eyes. She then admits that was the premonition she had.

Trivia

 * Barba always refers to Cross as "Father" -referencing to his standing as a priest.
 * The chapter reveals what Cross meant in his message to Allen -when mentioning his Mana mask
 * At one point, Cross refers to Allen's name in quotations, which hints to the fact that Allen wasn't his real name -it used to be Red.
 * The episode adaptation changed some things. When cross sits by Allen's bed, he's shown looking angry, instead of sad like the chapter. In addition to scenes being taken out, or trimmed down.