"You should be called Raccoon"
She laughed as she said that. Her finger had been shoved into his face.
"I am not a Raccoon."
"Trash boy, stink man. Raccoon, skunk"
He scoffed and shoved her back
"You should be frog. Pink and Toxic"
"Hey, you're right!"
"You also don't go away and show up at random times"
"Perfect!"
"It's not a compliment!"
He pulled her towards the floor. She was laughing and shoved his face away
"Hey Keith"
His eyes flicked over
"Mm"
"You should be named after an elephant. They are really good listeners"
"I like Hippo Boy"
"Shut up Keigo!"
He laughed
"You should be Hawk"
He turned to Keigo
"That's good but I think Hawks"
"Why multiple?"
"Because he's really noisy and will eat anything"
She said that with a chuckle and his free wing came over and smacked her in the face. Her laugher only got louder as she fell to the floor.
"You're like a cat, Akira"
She grinned
"What makes you say that?"
"You smile like the Cheshire Cat, you sleep curled up at the end of your bed, you like pushing stuff around, and you like to cause trouble whenever you can"
"Pff. I don't cause trouble"
"Just this morning you smeared pancake batter on Dot's face"
"That was fun!"
"Exactly"
Shiro and Dot came back around the corner. Dot sat down in the circle but Shiro kept walking towards the door.
"Shiro?"
He turned his head back
"Yes"
"When can I go home?"
"Not now, soon okay?"
He frowned and his head fell back onto Keigo's shoulder. Shiro smiled and waved as he left.
"Do you guys have nicknames?"
"Raccoon!"
"For you?"
"No for Shinsou!"
She grinned and he rolled his eyes. He pointed next to him
"Frog."
"Hawks!"
"Catra"
A couple more people murmured their names until Keith was the last.
"Do you have a nickname"
"I don't want one. If I have one then my parents won't know what to call me when they come"
"Okay, that's fine"
Shinsou's eyes flicked over to Keith with an emotion he couldn't recognise on his face before moving his eyes away.
Keith was asleep with pinched eyebrows. He was clinging to Pinky. He sat up and choked out a cry. He buried his face into the Hippo and his eyes leaked out tears. Someone mumbled something near him and he jumped. He wasn't used to other people being around. A shiver ran across his arms and he hiccuped. He slid off the bed and pulled Pinky off with him. He managed to navigate through the beds and get to the door. He opened it and the room past it was seeping black. It was shut and he slid around the room. His eyes slightly adjusted to the dark and he found a table. He crawled under and curled into the Hippo. He woke up to a blinding light and glared. He heard Shiro's voice again and crawled under the table cloth. He walked over and tugged on his shirt.
"Keith? Where did you come from?"
"When are my parents coming?"
He sighed
"Keith.."
Dot jabbed him in the side with her elbow.
"They can't come"
He frowned
"Why?"
"They're busy"
His grip tightened on the Hippo and his ears rang with a buzz. Tears overfilled from his eyes and streaked down his cheeks. They gathered at his chin at dropped off. He turned to Shiro.
"Can I go home with you?"
"You want to?"
He nodded
"It's too loud here"
"And your friends here?"
He frowned a little
"I'll visit"
Shiro looked at Dot
"If it's okay with you I have no problems"
Shiro looked back down and smiled.
"You can come home with me"
Keith smiled a bit and grabbed onto his shirt. He picked him and rested him on his hip. His eyes fluttered closed and his head fell onto his arm.
A dog licked his face and he shrieked.
"I can't believe you brought home a kid."
"I couldn't just leave him there.."
"Takashi.."
He followed the dog outside and ran around on the grass laughing.
"Here"
His hand outstretched with a silver box in his palm
"Takashi! You can't give a ten year old a lighter!"
"It's fine"
He turned to Keith
"It's for dark places, okay?"
Tears spilled down his cheeks and he held out his hand to Adam. He picked him up and put his hand under the cold tap. "This is why you shouldn't have given it to him. He got burnt"
"I'll be fine. Please, I won't flick it on, I'll just have it"
Adam turned back around and squished his cheeks.
"I don't want you hurt, so promise you won't turn it on and you can keep it"
He smiled and wrapped his arms around Adam's neck
"Promise"
Feathers fell from the tree as he climbed up to the bird's nest. A bang scared all the remaining birds away and he looked back towards the house. A second bang sounded and he jumped from the tree. He ran towards the house with streaming tears. His breath caught in his throat when he saw Adam on the floor. Shiro's eyes flicked to Keith and lit up with panic. Ignoring the guns pointed at both of them, he ran towards Shiro and leapt in his arms. He clung to his shirt and felt an arm wrap around him. A bang exploded in his ear again and a bullet landed in Shiro's arm. Keith screamed and turned behind him with flowing tears. He stilled. His eyes locked onto the glowing wings walking away. He heard a grunt and his head whipped back around to Shiro. He looked up and smiled. His eyes glazed over and fell to the floor. A piercing noise flooded his ears. The red and blue flashed in his eyes and Shiro was taken away on a rolling bed. Keith was invited to go with him but took off running.
He ended up back at the orphanage. His eyes frantically searched. Dot saw him but he just crawled under a table. She lifted up the tablecloth and saw him curled into himself.
"Are you okay? What happened?"
"Adam was lying on the ground and Shiro was taken away on a rolling bed after a lot of loud bangs."
She pulled him into a hug and he squeezed back.
"You didn't go with Shiro?"
He shook his head
"It was scary. He flopped to the floor"
"Hawks and Catra and still both here, do you want me to tell them you're here"
He nodded and curled back up. He saw Hawks and froze. His gaze shifted to his wings and he stepped back.
"Hey, it's okay. It's me"
His eyes flicked between his face and his wings. Hawks lowered his wings and frowned a little.
"Tackle hug!"
She jumped from a table and leapt onto Keith. He shrieked as they both fell to the floor. She laughed and he melted into the hug.
__
He blinked a couple times and gasped. He coughed a couple times from the shock of it all and his hand moved up to cover his mouth. Lance leaned over and covered his eyes. He gripped the hand on his eyes.
"Hey, it's okay. You're fine just breathe"
He sucked in a shaky breath and bit his finger. Once his breath and heartbeat settled he grabbed Lance's wrist and pulled his hand off his eyes. He blinked a couple times to get used to the lighting and looked over towards the wall. His hand raised up to his ear and was stopped. He huffed and grabbed that hand's wrist as well.
"Toga"
Her invisibility dissolved away and she brought her hands back to her lap.
"Is that how you got out before?"
"Mm"
"Keith. What was that just now?"
"What happened"
"You blanked out for a couple seconds and came back to earth coughing and spluttering."
"That was a couple seconds?!"
"What happened."
"I assume talking about angels triggered something in my brain and it decided to show me memories that I've spent years shoving down and trying to forget."
He turned to Lance
"And I don't trust angels because they killed my parents and I was put into an orphanage. Then I was adopted and they killed another parent and seriously injured the other. They just turned around and left after they thought they killed both of them, leaving me on the ground not knowing how to think"
Lance raised a shaking hand to his mouth.
"How old were you?"
"Seven and Ten."
"Fuck. No wonder why you started the Angel Killers."
He went to go stand up but Toga pulled him back down.
"What."
She looked at Lance
"Heal him. Now."
"Let go. I'm fine"
"No."
He twisted around in her grip
"Keith! You'll die before you get to Narti's! You have to let him heal you."
He slumped against the floor and glared.
"Before I heal him, I have to get the bullet out."
Keith fished around in his pocket and grabbed out the lighter
"Keith what are you doing."
"Relax. I know what to do"
He lit the flame and lifted it to the skin on the other side of the wound. He gritted his teeth and turned his arm over. He moved the flame to the side of his arm and held it there. The bullet dropped out and bounced on the ground. He flipped his arm back up the right way.
"What"
"You shouldn't be doing that."
"It got it out didn't it?"
Lance pointed along his arm
"Is that what all these scars are from?"
"Would you please heal him quickly so that I can slap him without causing more damage to his ribs."
He whipped his head behind him to protest but stopped when he saw her face. A cold wave washed over his arm and he looked down at it. The bullet wound shrunk until he wouldn't have known it happened in the first place. He could feel the wave inside his chest and he felt shards of bone rearrange themselves back into place. He shook his hands and shuddered
"Ew, that felt really weird."
His eyes looked over and they locked on Lance's ear. He frowned and turned away.
"What?"
"There's a scar on your ear. From when I shot you"
"Oh, yeah"
"Why didn't you heal it"
"How old are you now, like how long has it been?"
"Nineteen"
"Did you ever visit the parent who is was only injured?"
He bit his lip and shook his head. Toga slapped his cheek.
"You really are an idiot."
"I can't visit him now"
She scoffed
"But, like, I don't even know if he's still alive. I never knew which hospital he was admitted into and I don't even know if he's still at a hospital at all. If he's not I have no clue if he still has a house in this country or if he's living on the other side of the world. It's almost been a decade. Who knows what could've happened."
"What's his name?"
"I always called him Shiro and Adam called him Takashi"
"Takashi Shirogane"
He whipped his head around to face her
"What?"
"My parents were good friends with him, black scraggy hair and a nose scar right?"
His eyes flicked over her face
"Oh hey, I know him!"
Keith turned back to him
"Or well, I know someone who does. Violet was pretty good friends with him. Actually she still visits him whenever she has days off."
Keith choked and covered his mouth
"Small problem, he just escaped from a holding cell. I'm assuming she's a cop? She most likely wouldn't help him"
"She doesn't have to know she's helping him"
"No"
"What?"
"Keith."
"I can't visit him"
"Stop spitting excuses."
"I'm a criminal. I have a massive body count."
"He doesn't have to know"
He sighed
"I can't lie to him. He would know somethings up"
"I think he would just be happy to see you"
"You don't know him. He used to be a cop. Why would he be happy to see a criminal?"
"Maybe you're just being paranoid"
"My parents were criminals and they were killed because of it. He was there on that night. And also when his husband was killed. There were criminals there too. I don't want to be another one of those people who have hurt him"
"I think he'll just be happy to know you're alive. Neither of you have seen each other for 9 years"
"I can't Toga"
"Why. Give me a reason that isn't because you're a criminal. He's probably killed people too"
"I don't know how injured he is."
"What does that have to do with-"
"Shut up!"
Lance shrunk back and Keith pressed a fist to his own head.
"I started the Angel Killers to get revenge. I saw an angel walk away after he was shot. Depending on the impact of the injury, it might cycle round again. I've been cautious of all angels, even ones I previously knew, but those were the only ones I didn't try to kill on sight. I don't want to kill every angel. I don't want to hurt anyone I know"
"It doesn't seem like you're talking about me"
He shook his head
"I'm not, unless you used to go by Keigo"
"Nope"
"Who's Keigo?"
"We met at the orphanage, he used to call himself a guardian angel. After Shiro was injured I went back to the orphanage and could hardly even stand being in a room with him. I would flinch whenever he spoke or came too close and I couldn't look at him. I want a do-over"
"Well then we need to find him too"
"Do you remember what he looks like?"
"He had red wings"
"Okay, well even if you don't want it, I'm going to ask Violet where to find Shiro. I'll tell you and you can decide whether or not to go see him"
"I probably won't, why waste your time"
"To help you"
His eyes flicked up to Lance's and Lance smiled.
"I'll find whatever I can on Keigo"
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