Half Moon: Chapter one
Title: Half Moon
Authors: lovelydagger23 and mirai_kusakurin
Rating: NC-17...well eventually, right now it's PG-13 XD
Characters: Kei, Sho, Shinji and Toshi
Summary: After cleaning Sho's wound with his fangs...the boy grows up, with a few interesting and unusual traits.
Warnings: Humor, fluff, angst, vampires, gangsters, thieves...you know the typical moon child stuff...with a few twists of course.
Disclaimer: Kei and Sho belong to Gackt's interesting imagination. XD
Sho came into the apartment, crying loudly. He'd been shoved down by his brother again when they were playing rough. He knew that it would end this way if he tried to team up on him with Toshi, but... he was so much bigger, and even with his leg injured permanently, Sho could never really beat him in much of anything. "Kei!" He called, pouting and looking around the rooms for his current guardian.
Kei happened to be taking a nap, sprawled out on the couch with an arm thrown over his eyes...blocking out the little bits of light that manage to peek through the curtains. He sighed contently, as he rolled a bit on his side, face the back of the couch...oblivious to Sho's injury. It was nice to catch up on the little sleep that he gains, it's so hard to care for children while being a vampire.
Sho shuffled to the couch, attempting to shake the vampire awake with his scratched up and dirty hands. "Kei!" He whined again, crawling onto the couch with him. "Nii-chan hurt me again." He shook him again, making an impatient noise.
Kei's eyes slid up in half mast, as the scent of blood, tears and dirt filled his nostrils. "What's the matter Sho? What happened?" he asked patiently, staring up at him.
"He pushed me!" Sho whined, holding up his slightly bloody and dirty hands to show Kei, it looked as if he had fallen into some rubble of dirt and concrete...a painful fall at that. "He... he didn't mean to, but he got really mad at me..."
Kei sat up, looking at Sho's hands. "What else hurts?" he asked, knowing that his leg was a badly injured. He could smell the blood on his wound...and how thick and dingy it was.
"My leg," the boy said with a pout, having twisted it a bit in their small scuffle when he fell. "Fix it," he said, wiping away his tears with the back of his hand.
Kei looked at it for a bit, before looking at Sho. He took his face in his hands. "Sho, how badly does it hurt? How much did it get in your wound?"
Sho looked down at his hands, trying to assess how much dirt and bacteria got into it. "It just stings really bad," he said, his tears stopping.
Kei stared at the wound fearfully. "How long did it take you get to home Sho? Your leg..." he trailed off...knowing that if he said more he'd scare the boy. Oh great, it's worse then I thought... "Sho-chan...we can't see a doctor, we don't have enough money, but I have to clean out your wound the best way I can. It's going to hurt, and it might be scary...do you trust me Sho?"
Sho's eyes rounded slightly, and he tried to move back a bit, but Kei had saved his life more than once... He had nothing to be afraid of. He nodded and held out his hand again. "We were at the playground... But my leg doesn't hurt," he insisted, only able to ignore it because there was visible blood and dirt on his hands. However, the playground was about ten minutes away from the apartments, and his leg was just starting to throb from exertion.
Kei sighed in slight annoyance at how children tend to freak out when scared...and pinned him to the couch with one hand. "I'm sorry Sho, but you have to be still before it gets worse." he explained quietly, watching the child thrash. NOW he could fully comprehend the annoyance a parent must go through when taking a child to get their shots done...or wounds cleaned...or anything like that.
Sho's heart started to race, and he began to panic. He trusted Kei, but not when he had to pin him down to the couch. "W-what are you doing?!" He asked, kicking his legs and trying to push Kei off of him with little success. The vampire grabbed his leg, and held it still with his other hand, keeping his patience.
"Cleaning your wound...don't look at me Sho, look over there." Kei ordered, pointing at the wall.
Sho squeezed his eyes shut, still pushing at Kei. "That hurts, Kei." he whined, his heart rate still sky high.
"I know it hurts...and I haven't started yet...look over there, and don't be afraid. I'm trying to save your leg. If I don't you'll be worse then Shinji...do you want to lose your leg?” he asked firmly. Instead of letting Sho answer, he patted his head gently. "You're a good boy Sho, trust me alright?"
Tears came to Sho's eyes again but he turned his head, gripping Kei's wrist tightly. Kei had never acted like this before, and Sho didn't like it. He nodded shakily, stopping his thrashing for the moment.
Kei ran his fingers through Sho's hair. "Close your eyes and don't be afraid...I'll never hurt you...I'm only helping you." he said gently, before gently pulling out the large bits of the jagged concrete and dirt from the boy's injury.
Sho closed his eyes and held his breath. His hand tried to jerk away a bit, but he knew that he wasn't feeling the worst of it yet... and it only stung a little anyway. "Kei..." He whimpered, more scared than anything.
Not feeling too happy with the realization that he had to suck out some of the dirt and other disgusting things in Sho's leg...Kei sighed deeply. "I'm sorry, but you're going to have to be still." he whispered, before biting into the boy's injury, drawing fresh blood, so he could get some help with drawing the dirt from it.
Sho started thrashing again out of instinct, his eyes popping open. "No!" He cried, his eyes wandering to Kei's face. Kei always made him feel safe... except for this moment. He didn't like the feeling of Kei's fangs in his flesh, or his eyes glowing red slightly.
Kei finished, and sat up, spitting the blood and dirt from his lips. "Sho," he called quietly, giving him a smile. "You were good..and it's all better now. I just need to give you a bandage okay?" he studied the boy's face, and saw fear and torment in his eyes. "I'm sorry...but there was no other way." he said gently, hugging him with an arm. He got up and gathered some bandages, before wrapping his leg, before giving him a hug again to reassure him that he wasn't angry at him.
Sho looked up at Kei with wide eyes, shivering slightly. That bite was just... unexpected. He nodded again, letting Kei hug him. He buried his face into his shirt and let a few more tears fall. "Th... thank you," he said shakily, gripping the front of the vampire's shirt.
"Let's hope this won't happen again okay?" Kei asked, still tasting the boy's intoxicating blood...underneath bits of dirt. A good round with a toothbrush would be nice right about now. "Are you tired?"
"Yes," Sho mumbled, still clutching to Kei. He'd learned his lesson... From now on, he'd be more careful with Shinji. "Are you going back to sleep too?" He asked, looking up at the vampire.
Kei yawned nodding. "You don't mind sharing this nap with me do you?" he asked giving Sho a kind smile, as he pulled him on his lap carefully.
Sho rested his head on Kei's chest and closed his eyes, not minding in the least. He snuggled close to him, curling up in his lap. "You're not mad at me for getting hurt?" he asked meekly.
"Why would I be?" Kei asked, shutting his eyes, running his fingers through his hair. "I'd never get mad at something so silly." He felt sleep trying to claim him, as he cuddled the injured child.
Sho went quiet, getting comfortable over Kei. He nuzzled his shoulder, feeling sleep coming fast.
- - -
Sho woke up later in the evening in a cold sweat. He sat up a little, wiping at his forehead, feeling extremely hungry. He looked down at Kei, poking at his stomach gently. "Keeeiiiiii."
Kei opened an eye. "What is it?" he asked patiently, despite the fact that he could use a bit more sleep. It's so hard to get any when taking care of three boys.
Sho sat up, pointing to his stomach. "I'm hungry... Make me something," he said over his growling stomach, then hopped off of the couch.
Kei sighed deeply, getting up...he then dragged himself into the kitchen. "Where are the others? It's late and they should have came home by now." he muttered, making Sho a sandwich.
Sho reached up onto the counter and grabbed his sandwich, eating it like he hadn't had anything in days. He shrugged, swallowing the rest of his sandwich. "I'm still hungry." Shinji and Toshi walked in, the younger boy rubbing his arm.
"You’re so mean, Shinji! We were only playing!"
The older boy rolled his eyes, giving Kei a disgusted look, then sat down on a chair. "You shouldn't try to team up on me, then." He scoffed, rolling his eyes.
"Come on," Kei said gently, walking over to the cabinet, he pulled out a few things asking Sho what he wanted, and when they both agreed on a bowl of ramen, the vampire looked at the other two children. "Where have you been? Toshi, are you hungry?"
Sho hid behind Kei's legs, afraid that Shinji was still mad at him. Toshi sighed heavily and walked into the kitchen. "I'm starving. What are we having for dinner?" He asked, ignoring Kei's previous question.
Kei sighed, shaking his head. "Ramen...now are you going to answer me?" Kei demanded, glaring at Shinji and Toshi. "WHERE have you been?"
Shinji and Toahi looked away from him nervously. "We were just at the playground." Toshi said, while Sho shook his head.
Kei leaned against the counter. "You know, you shouldn't steal from other people...unless it's important, unless it's a necessity. If you're starving that's understandable, if you need clothes that's understandable too...but don't steal toys from others. It's wrong. If you want something like that, then you can work for it and earn it. Hand them over." he held out his hand, giving them glares.
Shinji glared at Sho and Toshi handed over the toys from his pocket, pouting slightly. "We can't work for anything! I'm only ten, and Shinji is too lazy to do anything." That got Toshi a small pillow thrown at the back of his head.
"I told you so," Sho mumbled.
"Yes you can. I was working when I was your age." Kei lectured, putting the toys in his pocket. "Eat your dinner, and Sho and I will return the toys." He put his jacket on, and sighed deeply, holding out his hand. "Come on Sho," He knew if he left the boy, he'd get into a fight since they think Sho tattles on them...when in reality, the vampire was just reading their minds.
"But that was a thousand years ago!" Toshi said, as they walked out the door.
Sho put a hand up to his mouth to muffle his quiet giggles. He knew that Kei couldn't have been THAT old, though. "Where are we supposed to work?" He asked, looking up at the vampire, holding his hand
"There's the paper route, the dishwasher in some restaurants, babysitter...need I say more Sho-chan?" Kei asked, ignoring the fact that Toshi just picked at his age...even though he was almost right, he's much older then that.
Sho pouted, looking towards the ground. "That sounds boring." He took the toys from Kei to look at them, tilting his head to the side. "Why is stealing so bad? If we can steal food and clothes, why not toys? It's not like anyone would miss three toys missing from a shelf."
"Some toys are very precious...like a car that a father gave his son before he died, or a doll given to a little girl by her best friend before she moved away. Some items are precious, and should not be stolen." Kei explained, as he let Sho lead walk ahead of him a bit. He stuck his hand in his pocket, before pulling out a necklace. "You see this? My mother gave it to me when I was a child...it's all I have left of her. If someone stole it I'd be very upset."
Sho's lips pursed and he took the end of the necklace to hold it close to his face to look at it. "Oh... I'm sorry. Has anyone tried to take it before?" he asked, looking back down at the toys. He felt very bad now, even though he wasn't the one that stole anything... But he knew they were planning to do it before. He could have stopped them instead of running home to Kei, only to NOT tell him about it.
"Yes, many times." Kei replied, putting it back in his pocket. "NOW do you understand why stealing certain things are bad?"
Sho's eyes widened, realizing how hurtful stealing things from people could be. "Yes. I'll never steal anything from anyone... It would make them sad, right?"
"Yes," Kei replied, smiling down at Sho. "You're such a good boy Sho...how does your leg feel? I see you're walking pretty normal now." Which was unusual...especially since that injury was pretty bad.
Sho looked down at his leg, leaning on it a bit while walking. It didnt' hurt at all now... He'd almost forgotten that it had gotten hurt in the first place. "It doesn't hurt anymore," he said with a little surprise in his voice. "Um... thank you. It wouldn't have healed without your help."
Kei hid his nervousness and slight worry with a smile, patting his head. "You're welcome...do you trust me now Sho?" he asked.
"I always trusted you... I was just... nervous," he said, looking away from him again. "Where did they get these toys?" He asked suddenly, unsure where they were even going.
"We're almost there." Kei said with a smile. He walked right to the front porch of the one of the nicest houses in the rich neighborhood, and placed the toys on it, before picking up Sho. "It's getting late," he said, giving him a smile. "Don't want you to get tired."
Sho frowned, looking up at the sky. The sun had gone a while ago, but he wasn't tired at all. "But I just woke up. I don't need anymore sleep." Not to mention that he was still hungry, and he wanted some of that ramen.
"But this is a long walk, and I bet you're still hungry." Kei said gently, keeping his patience.
Sho sighed and nodded, not denying it. "Fine. But I'm not going back to sleep. It's still too early." Kei chuckled, as he continued to walk down the street, content with the darkness.
Sho leaned his head on his shoulder while Kei carried him home, finding himself at peace, being like this with the vampire. "Do you ever miss being alone?" he asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.
Kei blinked at the question. "Um...I don't mind having company or being alone...why the question?" he asked the boy, looking down at him. It was so random, and unexpected that he almost dropped the kid.
Sho shrugged with one shoulder, lifting his head to turn his face away from Kei. "It's nothing. I was just wondering..."
"Do you ever miss, just having Shinji and Toshi around?" Kei asked, studying Sho.
Sho hummed, tilting his head to the side. "No... not really. They can't protect me like you do... and I'm glad that I met you. At least we don't have to trick people and try to steal their money just to eat for a day."
Kei couldn't help but smile at this. "I'm glad I met you too Sho...don't ever doubt that I am." the vampire said sweetly, looking at him again. It's hard to believe that he'd ever care for anyone after Luka's passing...or that he'd end up taking care of some orphan thieves either.
Sho smiled softly and wrapped his arms around his neck in a hug. When they got back to the apartment, he squirmed out of Kei's arms to run into the kitchen, as if he expected the ramen to have made itself. "I wanna eat," he said, more to himself than anything. Toshi and Shinji were sleeping in the living room, having gotten tired of waiting for them to come back to have dinner.
Kei sighed, walking into the kitchen, he made the ramen, and sat the bowl in front of Sho. "Should we leave them to starve?" he asked with a wink.
Sho started slurping up the ramen almost right away, his eyes going to his brother and friend. They looked peaceful asleep... but he didn't think it would be quite fair to let them go hungry. "No," he said with a mouthful of noodles, but he was afraid to go over to them. "Um... they might still be mad at me, though..."
Kei walked over to Toshi and Shinji. He stared at them for a very long time before mentally whispering in their minds. Unless you want Sho to eat all the food, I suggest you wake up.
Toshi woke up first, having a little trouble sitting up because he was still half asleep. "Hunh? Whatisit?" He rubbed at his sleepy eyes with his fists, looking up at Kei. Shinji simply sat up from the couch, looking around for a moment, then walked into the kitchen with his brother to eat... But not before smacking the back of his head.
“You should be nicer to them...they look up to you." Kei lectured, watching them sit down and dig in.
- - -
Sho put his bowl on the counter and yawned, shuffling his feet to go into the living room. Eating so much made him full and tired, which was a content feeling. He felt like he might burst, but he didn't want to sleep yet. He was old enough to stay up for a while. Plus, he hardly ever got to see Kei awake. As soon as the vampire would wake up from his sleep during the day, Sho would have to go to sleep a few hours later. He yawned again as he sat down on the couch, scrubbing at his eyes. "I'm not actually tired," He told Kei, even though his body said otherwise.
Kei chuckled at this, shaking his head. "You shouldn't fight it...it's best to get as much sleep as you can. Especially while you're young." he said gently, picking him up to take him to his room. "Come on.”
Sho fought to keep his eyes open and he shook his head. "I'm not... honest," he insisted, pressing his lips together to keep from yawning again. "I want to stay awake with you. I"ll be okay tomorrow."
"Sho, if you want me to stay with you until you fall asleep I can do that." Kei chuckled, sitting on the bed, still cradling the boy in his arms.
Sho's eyes started to close and he blinked a few times, his eyes beginning to unfocus. "That's not the same thing," he said, resting his head against Kei's chest. His eyes finally closed and he curled up against him, clinging to his shirt.
"I know you don't spend much time with me...but it's for your own good." Kei said gently, running his fingers through his hair. "I'll be here for you tomorrow...I promise." he said quietly.
Sho fell asleep quickly in Kei's arms, hearing the last of what he said dully. But now he had to stick to his promise. He could always just go to bed early and spend the day with Sho, if Toshi and Shinji didn't try to drag him all over Mallepa again. Kei sighed deeply, leaning against the bedpost, watching the sleeping child in his arms. Maybe it wasn't so bad having someone depend on him for once.
Authors: lovelydagger23 and mirai_kusakurin
Rating: NC-17...well eventually, right now it's PG-13 XD
Characters: Kei, Sho, Shinji and Toshi
Summary: After cleaning Sho's wound with his fangs...the boy grows up, with a few interesting and unusual traits.
Warnings: Humor, fluff, angst, vampires, gangsters, thieves...you know the typical moon child stuff...with a few twists of course.
Disclaimer: Kei and Sho belong to Gackt's interesting imagination. XD
Sho came into the apartment, crying loudly. He'd been shoved down by his brother again when they were playing rough. He knew that it would end this way if he tried to team up on him with Toshi, but... he was so much bigger, and even with his leg injured permanently, Sho could never really beat him in much of anything. "Kei!" He called, pouting and looking around the rooms for his current guardian.
Kei happened to be taking a nap, sprawled out on the couch with an arm thrown over his eyes...blocking out the little bits of light that manage to peek through the curtains. He sighed contently, as he rolled a bit on his side, face the back of the couch...oblivious to Sho's injury. It was nice to catch up on the little sleep that he gains, it's so hard to care for children while being a vampire.
Sho shuffled to the couch, attempting to shake the vampire awake with his scratched up and dirty hands. "Kei!" He whined again, crawling onto the couch with him. "Nii-chan hurt me again." He shook him again, making an impatient noise.
Kei's eyes slid up in half mast, as the scent of blood, tears and dirt filled his nostrils. "What's the matter Sho? What happened?" he asked patiently, staring up at him.
"He pushed me!" Sho whined, holding up his slightly bloody and dirty hands to show Kei, it looked as if he had fallen into some rubble of dirt and concrete...a painful fall at that. "He... he didn't mean to, but he got really mad at me..."
Kei sat up, looking at Sho's hands. "What else hurts?" he asked, knowing that his leg was a badly injured. He could smell the blood on his wound...and how thick and dingy it was.
"My leg," the boy said with a pout, having twisted it a bit in their small scuffle when he fell. "Fix it," he said, wiping away his tears with the back of his hand.
Kei looked at it for a bit, before looking at Sho. He took his face in his hands. "Sho, how badly does it hurt? How much did it get in your wound?"
Sho looked down at his hands, trying to assess how much dirt and bacteria got into it. "It just stings really bad," he said, his tears stopping.
Kei stared at the wound fearfully. "How long did it take you get to home Sho? Your leg..." he trailed off...knowing that if he said more he'd scare the boy. Oh great, it's worse then I thought... "Sho-chan...we can't see a doctor, we don't have enough money, but I have to clean out your wound the best way I can. It's going to hurt, and it might be scary...do you trust me Sho?"
Sho's eyes rounded slightly, and he tried to move back a bit, but Kei had saved his life more than once... He had nothing to be afraid of. He nodded and held out his hand again. "We were at the playground... But my leg doesn't hurt," he insisted, only able to ignore it because there was visible blood and dirt on his hands. However, the playground was about ten minutes away from the apartments, and his leg was just starting to throb from exertion.
Kei sighed in slight annoyance at how children tend to freak out when scared...and pinned him to the couch with one hand. "I'm sorry Sho, but you have to be still before it gets worse." he explained quietly, watching the child thrash. NOW he could fully comprehend the annoyance a parent must go through when taking a child to get their shots done...or wounds cleaned...or anything like that.
Sho's heart started to race, and he began to panic. He trusted Kei, but not when he had to pin him down to the couch. "W-what are you doing?!" He asked, kicking his legs and trying to push Kei off of him with little success. The vampire grabbed his leg, and held it still with his other hand, keeping his patience.
"Cleaning your wound...don't look at me Sho, look over there." Kei ordered, pointing at the wall.
Sho squeezed his eyes shut, still pushing at Kei. "That hurts, Kei." he whined, his heart rate still sky high.
"I know it hurts...and I haven't started yet...look over there, and don't be afraid. I'm trying to save your leg. If I don't you'll be worse then Shinji...do you want to lose your leg?” he asked firmly. Instead of letting Sho answer, he patted his head gently. "You're a good boy Sho, trust me alright?"
Tears came to Sho's eyes again but he turned his head, gripping Kei's wrist tightly. Kei had never acted like this before, and Sho didn't like it. He nodded shakily, stopping his thrashing for the moment.
Kei ran his fingers through Sho's hair. "Close your eyes and don't be afraid...I'll never hurt you...I'm only helping you." he said gently, before gently pulling out the large bits of the jagged concrete and dirt from the boy's injury.
Sho closed his eyes and held his breath. His hand tried to jerk away a bit, but he knew that he wasn't feeling the worst of it yet... and it only stung a little anyway. "Kei..." He whimpered, more scared than anything.
Not feeling too happy with the realization that he had to suck out some of the dirt and other disgusting things in Sho's leg...Kei sighed deeply. "I'm sorry, but you're going to have to be still." he whispered, before biting into the boy's injury, drawing fresh blood, so he could get some help with drawing the dirt from it.
Sho started thrashing again out of instinct, his eyes popping open. "No!" He cried, his eyes wandering to Kei's face. Kei always made him feel safe... except for this moment. He didn't like the feeling of Kei's fangs in his flesh, or his eyes glowing red slightly.
Kei finished, and sat up, spitting the blood and dirt from his lips. "Sho," he called quietly, giving him a smile. "You were good..and it's all better now. I just need to give you a bandage okay?" he studied the boy's face, and saw fear and torment in his eyes. "I'm sorry...but there was no other way." he said gently, hugging him with an arm. He got up and gathered some bandages, before wrapping his leg, before giving him a hug again to reassure him that he wasn't angry at him.
Sho looked up at Kei with wide eyes, shivering slightly. That bite was just... unexpected. He nodded again, letting Kei hug him. He buried his face into his shirt and let a few more tears fall. "Th... thank you," he said shakily, gripping the front of the vampire's shirt.
"Let's hope this won't happen again okay?" Kei asked, still tasting the boy's intoxicating blood...underneath bits of dirt. A good round with a toothbrush would be nice right about now. "Are you tired?"
"Yes," Sho mumbled, still clutching to Kei. He'd learned his lesson... From now on, he'd be more careful with Shinji. "Are you going back to sleep too?" He asked, looking up at the vampire.
Kei yawned nodding. "You don't mind sharing this nap with me do you?" he asked giving Sho a kind smile, as he pulled him on his lap carefully.
Sho rested his head on Kei's chest and closed his eyes, not minding in the least. He snuggled close to him, curling up in his lap. "You're not mad at me for getting hurt?" he asked meekly.
"Why would I be?" Kei asked, shutting his eyes, running his fingers through his hair. "I'd never get mad at something so silly." He felt sleep trying to claim him, as he cuddled the injured child.
Sho went quiet, getting comfortable over Kei. He nuzzled his shoulder, feeling sleep coming fast.
- - -
Sho woke up later in the evening in a cold sweat. He sat up a little, wiping at his forehead, feeling extremely hungry. He looked down at Kei, poking at his stomach gently. "Keeeiiiiii."
Kei opened an eye. "What is it?" he asked patiently, despite the fact that he could use a bit more sleep. It's so hard to get any when taking care of three boys.
Sho sat up, pointing to his stomach. "I'm hungry... Make me something," he said over his growling stomach, then hopped off of the couch.
Kei sighed deeply, getting up...he then dragged himself into the kitchen. "Where are the others? It's late and they should have came home by now." he muttered, making Sho a sandwich.
Sho reached up onto the counter and grabbed his sandwich, eating it like he hadn't had anything in days. He shrugged, swallowing the rest of his sandwich. "I'm still hungry." Shinji and Toshi walked in, the younger boy rubbing his arm.
"You’re so mean, Shinji! We were only playing!"
The older boy rolled his eyes, giving Kei a disgusted look, then sat down on a chair. "You shouldn't try to team up on me, then." He scoffed, rolling his eyes.
"Come on," Kei said gently, walking over to the cabinet, he pulled out a few things asking Sho what he wanted, and when they both agreed on a bowl of ramen, the vampire looked at the other two children. "Where have you been? Toshi, are you hungry?"
Sho hid behind Kei's legs, afraid that Shinji was still mad at him. Toshi sighed heavily and walked into the kitchen. "I'm starving. What are we having for dinner?" He asked, ignoring Kei's previous question.
Kei sighed, shaking his head. "Ramen...now are you going to answer me?" Kei demanded, glaring at Shinji and Toshi. "WHERE have you been?"
Shinji and Toahi looked away from him nervously. "We were just at the playground." Toshi said, while Sho shook his head.
Kei leaned against the counter. "You know, you shouldn't steal from other people...unless it's important, unless it's a necessity. If you're starving that's understandable, if you need clothes that's understandable too...but don't steal toys from others. It's wrong. If you want something like that, then you can work for it and earn it. Hand them over." he held out his hand, giving them glares.
Shinji glared at Sho and Toshi handed over the toys from his pocket, pouting slightly. "We can't work for anything! I'm only ten, and Shinji is too lazy to do anything." That got Toshi a small pillow thrown at the back of his head.
"I told you so," Sho mumbled.
"Yes you can. I was working when I was your age." Kei lectured, putting the toys in his pocket. "Eat your dinner, and Sho and I will return the toys." He put his jacket on, and sighed deeply, holding out his hand. "Come on Sho," He knew if he left the boy, he'd get into a fight since they think Sho tattles on them...when in reality, the vampire was just reading their minds.
"But that was a thousand years ago!" Toshi said, as they walked out the door.
Sho put a hand up to his mouth to muffle his quiet giggles. He knew that Kei couldn't have been THAT old, though. "Where are we supposed to work?" He asked, looking up at the vampire, holding his hand
"There's the paper route, the dishwasher in some restaurants, babysitter...need I say more Sho-chan?" Kei asked, ignoring the fact that Toshi just picked at his age...even though he was almost right, he's much older then that.
Sho pouted, looking towards the ground. "That sounds boring." He took the toys from Kei to look at them, tilting his head to the side. "Why is stealing so bad? If we can steal food and clothes, why not toys? It's not like anyone would miss three toys missing from a shelf."
"Some toys are very precious...like a car that a father gave his son before he died, or a doll given to a little girl by her best friend before she moved away. Some items are precious, and should not be stolen." Kei explained, as he let Sho lead walk ahead of him a bit. He stuck his hand in his pocket, before pulling out a necklace. "You see this? My mother gave it to me when I was a child...it's all I have left of her. If someone stole it I'd be very upset."
Sho's lips pursed and he took the end of the necklace to hold it close to his face to look at it. "Oh... I'm sorry. Has anyone tried to take it before?" he asked, looking back down at the toys. He felt very bad now, even though he wasn't the one that stole anything... But he knew they were planning to do it before. He could have stopped them instead of running home to Kei, only to NOT tell him about it.
"Yes, many times." Kei replied, putting it back in his pocket. "NOW do you understand why stealing certain things are bad?"
Sho's eyes widened, realizing how hurtful stealing things from people could be. "Yes. I'll never steal anything from anyone... It would make them sad, right?"
"Yes," Kei replied, smiling down at Sho. "You're such a good boy Sho...how does your leg feel? I see you're walking pretty normal now." Which was unusual...especially since that injury was pretty bad.
Sho looked down at his leg, leaning on it a bit while walking. It didnt' hurt at all now... He'd almost forgotten that it had gotten hurt in the first place. "It doesn't hurt anymore," he said with a little surprise in his voice. "Um... thank you. It wouldn't have healed without your help."
Kei hid his nervousness and slight worry with a smile, patting his head. "You're welcome...do you trust me now Sho?" he asked.
"I always trusted you... I was just... nervous," he said, looking away from him again. "Where did they get these toys?" He asked suddenly, unsure where they were even going.
"We're almost there." Kei said with a smile. He walked right to the front porch of the one of the nicest houses in the rich neighborhood, and placed the toys on it, before picking up Sho. "It's getting late," he said, giving him a smile. "Don't want you to get tired."
Sho frowned, looking up at the sky. The sun had gone a while ago, but he wasn't tired at all. "But I just woke up. I don't need anymore sleep." Not to mention that he was still hungry, and he wanted some of that ramen.
"But this is a long walk, and I bet you're still hungry." Kei said gently, keeping his patience.
Sho sighed and nodded, not denying it. "Fine. But I'm not going back to sleep. It's still too early." Kei chuckled, as he continued to walk down the street, content with the darkness.
Sho leaned his head on his shoulder while Kei carried him home, finding himself at peace, being like this with the vampire. "Do you ever miss being alone?" he asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.
Kei blinked at the question. "Um...I don't mind having company or being alone...why the question?" he asked the boy, looking down at him. It was so random, and unexpected that he almost dropped the kid.
Sho shrugged with one shoulder, lifting his head to turn his face away from Kei. "It's nothing. I was just wondering..."
"Do you ever miss, just having Shinji and Toshi around?" Kei asked, studying Sho.
Sho hummed, tilting his head to the side. "No... not really. They can't protect me like you do... and I'm glad that I met you. At least we don't have to trick people and try to steal their money just to eat for a day."
Kei couldn't help but smile at this. "I'm glad I met you too Sho...don't ever doubt that I am." the vampire said sweetly, looking at him again. It's hard to believe that he'd ever care for anyone after Luka's passing...or that he'd end up taking care of some orphan thieves either.
Sho smiled softly and wrapped his arms around his neck in a hug. When they got back to the apartment, he squirmed out of Kei's arms to run into the kitchen, as if he expected the ramen to have made itself. "I wanna eat," he said, more to himself than anything. Toshi and Shinji were sleeping in the living room, having gotten tired of waiting for them to come back to have dinner.
Kei sighed, walking into the kitchen, he made the ramen, and sat the bowl in front of Sho. "Should we leave them to starve?" he asked with a wink.
Sho started slurping up the ramen almost right away, his eyes going to his brother and friend. They looked peaceful asleep... but he didn't think it would be quite fair to let them go hungry. "No," he said with a mouthful of noodles, but he was afraid to go over to them. "Um... they might still be mad at me, though..."
Kei walked over to Toshi and Shinji. He stared at them for a very long time before mentally whispering in their minds. Unless you want Sho to eat all the food, I suggest you wake up.
Toshi woke up first, having a little trouble sitting up because he was still half asleep. "Hunh? Whatisit?" He rubbed at his sleepy eyes with his fists, looking up at Kei. Shinji simply sat up from the couch, looking around for a moment, then walked into the kitchen with his brother to eat... But not before smacking the back of his head.
“You should be nicer to them...they look up to you." Kei lectured, watching them sit down and dig in.
- - -
Sho put his bowl on the counter and yawned, shuffling his feet to go into the living room. Eating so much made him full and tired, which was a content feeling. He felt like he might burst, but he didn't want to sleep yet. He was old enough to stay up for a while. Plus, he hardly ever got to see Kei awake. As soon as the vampire would wake up from his sleep during the day, Sho would have to go to sleep a few hours later. He yawned again as he sat down on the couch, scrubbing at his eyes. "I'm not actually tired," He told Kei, even though his body said otherwise.
Kei chuckled at this, shaking his head. "You shouldn't fight it...it's best to get as much sleep as you can. Especially while you're young." he said gently, picking him up to take him to his room. "Come on.”
Sho fought to keep his eyes open and he shook his head. "I'm not... honest," he insisted, pressing his lips together to keep from yawning again. "I want to stay awake with you. I"ll be okay tomorrow."
"Sho, if you want me to stay with you until you fall asleep I can do that." Kei chuckled, sitting on the bed, still cradling the boy in his arms.
Sho's eyes started to close and he blinked a few times, his eyes beginning to unfocus. "That's not the same thing," he said, resting his head against Kei's chest. His eyes finally closed and he curled up against him, clinging to his shirt.
"I know you don't spend much time with me...but it's for your own good." Kei said gently, running his fingers through his hair. "I'll be here for you tomorrow...I promise." he said quietly.
Sho fell asleep quickly in Kei's arms, hearing the last of what he said dully. But now he had to stick to his promise. He could always just go to bed early and spend the day with Sho, if Toshi and Shinji didn't try to drag him all over Mallepa again. Kei sighed deeply, leaning against the bedpost, watching the sleeping child in his arms. Maybe it wasn't so bad having someone depend on him for once.