FicWad

Kei had woken up that first night and immediately had started searching for his three kids. He barely know them, but in his mind they were 'his' kids. Especially Sho. Kei grinned to himself about that one kid. What was it about that little imp that caught at his heart? He could dance around it, but it came to one thing. Sho did not reject him, but accepted him just as he was. In spite of being a monster, a vampire, Sho accepted him. It had been a long time since Kei was liked just as he was, and he didn't want to lose that feeling. But those kids needed a way to protect themselves, to be able to move up in life and not live from pick pocketing and hand to mouth. So when he finally found them two weeks later, he was carrying two cases with him.

Sho and Toshi were counting change on a battered table, and it was Shinji that spotted Kei first. Rising to his feet and glaring at Kei, he limped into the next room, grumbling. "Sho, your monster is back." Once in the next room, Shinji sat by the wall, still mad but listening in to make sure nothing happened to his brother and Toshi. He might be mad, but he was still the eldest of their little group. He was the one in charge, the one that had to make sure they were alright.

Kei ignored Shinji, knowing that it was a lost cause to try to win him over. Instead, he walked over to the battered table, and set the two cases down. Toshi was looking at the cases. Sho was grinning at Kei. "Cool, you found us! I was getting worried there." Sho motioned to a box of fried chicken. "Hungry? We've got food still, if you want a bite to munch."

Kei thought fast. "No, I'm fine. I got something earlier, so I'm alright for now."

Sho looked over his shoulder for his brother, finally realizing that Shinji had made himself scarce. "Could you give me a minute, Kei? I need to talk to mister grumpy." Leaving the main room, Sho walked around the corner and found his brother sitting against the wall, looking a bit abject. Sho sighed, and took a seat next to his big brother. "What's wrong this time, Shinji?"

Shinji sighed, then spoke. "Look. Kei is trouble. I mean, come on, he drinks blood. He's bakamono, and you know it. Instead of listening to me, your big brother, you're hanging all over that monster. I... I just worry, alright? We don't need him, we've been doing fine on our own. I just know it, he's going to get us into something that we can't get out of. Why do you have to be so selfish, Sho? Why can't you listen to me?"

Sho hung his head for a moment, then looked back up, determination in his eyes. "He's my friend, Shinji. He's cool, he's an adult that doesn't treat us like scum. I know what I'm doing. You always call me selfish, but what about you? You're always on my case. You raised me. Why can't you trust me, or give me a chance?" Giving his older brother a hug, Sho smiled. "It'll work out. One day, I'll be able to take care of you for a change. Just you watch." Sho got back to his feet, dusted his backside off, and returned to the main room with Toshi and Kei.

The cases were open. Inside were two pisutoru (pistols), one with a chrome finish, the other matte black. There were a few clips of bullets, and a cleaning set. Kei was smiling at the light in the two kids' eyes. "It's about time you learn how to protect yourselves, and these two items will ensure that." Sho immediately made a line to the chromed one. So shiny. It took both of his hands to pick it up, as it was heavier than he had thought it would be. Sho turned the gun in the light, mesmerised by the reflections shining off the pistol. Kei grinned at this, amused by Sho's reactions. Toshi was oogling the matte black one, and he also needed both hands to lift the gun. "Go ahead, Sho, take a shot."

Sho aimed the pistol at a window that still had glass. He would make Kei proud, being a great shot on the first try. Narrowing his eyes, he pulled the trigger. There was a click. That was it. Slightly embarrassed, Sho turned to Kei. "Alight, what did I do wrong?"

Kei laughed a bit, and pulled out one of the clips. "It tends to work better when it's loaded. Here." He took the pistol from Sho, and slid the clip into place. "Remember, always check if it's loaded, or you might shoot yourself in the foot. Now, try again. Nice and easy, alright?" Sho nodded, and checked the clip. Taking aim once again at the window, Sho narrowed his eyes, bit his bottom lip, and pulled the trigger.

"Ka-Blam!" "Crash!"

Three things happened in rapid succession. One, the gun went off with a resounding bang. Two, the window shattered into slivers. Third, Sho's ass hit the floor from the kick of the pistol. Toshi took one look, and almost fell over from laughing so hard. Kei fought for a moment, then lost it as well. Sho sat there for a moment, half deafened from the blast of the gun. He was also more than embarrassed now. He was humiliated.

Kei caught the look from Sho before the storm arrived. Getting control of himself, he fought off the giggles, and helped Sho back to his feet. "Okay, I forgot that part of the lesson. You're going to have to brace yourself, you're still a small fry. Next time, set your feet. Toshi, you give it a try." Toshi slid a clip home in his pistol, took aim at another window, and pulled the trigger. Another window was blasted to smithereens.

"What in the nine Hells is going on in here!?!" Shinji came limping around the corner from the sounds in the main room. "Are we getting shot at??" Shinji came to a halt when he saw the two pistols in their hands. His first thought was that someone was going to get hurt, but he refused to voice that. Instead, he glowered and muttered to them, "Where in the world did you get those?"

Sho beamed a smile, his humiliation forgotten, and pointed at Kei. "Kei got them for us, and he's going to teach us how to shoot them. With these, we'll be important people. We won't have to run away from the other gangs, we can do bigger jobs instead of picking pockets and running scams." Sho's eyes glimmered from his dreams. "We'll be men about town, we'll have our own turf, and be real important people! Just you wait and see, Shinji."

Shinji let his little brother wander down the pathways in his dreams. It would be nice, Shinji mused, to not have to scrounge for food and sleep somewhere that didn't have rats. Trying to talk Sho out of his dreams would be a lost cause, so Shinji decided to be a bit practical. It was, he thought, the least he could do.

"Alright, you want to shoot. Then we need to find somewhere safe to stay and practice. We shoot around here too much, and one of the local gangs is going to be pissed." Shinji, for a change, was the voice of reason. Kei had to agree. He didn't want his kids in trouble, just yet, with not knowing that there were doing with the pistols. So Kei turned to Shinji and nodded.

"You're right, Shinji. We need a secure place. Can any of you think of a building that would work? Perhaps an old police station or a juvenile detention center?" Kei had not bothered to learn his way around, as he had come to this city to die. There kids though would know their streets very well, as it was a matter of survival.

It was Toshi that remembered the old police station near the edge of the district. It was far enough away from most businesses that the gangs could care less about it, and as an added bonus, it would have a built in firing range. It took a long three hour walk to get to the building, Shinji leading the way with Kei bringing up the rear. Toshi would walk ahead, only to return to the back, bouncing around like a happy puppy. Sho was already practicing his important man strut, daring someone to get in his way and he would get to use his new pistol. Fortunately, they were left along on their walk.