Chapter Text
Reiji slowly opens his eyes.
He finds himself lying on the ground, staring up towards the treetops. They bunch together and create a ring of light in the sky. Reiji loved this view for as long as he could remember. But now, all it gives him is nostalgia.
He pushes himself up. No time to mope around; he’s here for a reason. Reiji quickly makes his way out the forest. It’s very convenient how well hidden this passageway is; nobody bothers to traverse this far in. Even so, the people guarding this place are like him, and there are several of them all throughout. Reiji even met some of them, and they pointed him into the right direction.
It took some time, but Reiji finally found himself facing the cityscape. He takes in a deep breath and smiles. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” he says to himself. He pulls out his scroll, eyes filled with ambition. “Step 1, check. Step 2. . .”
The orphanage in front of him looks small and welcoming. Nothing about it has changed since he last visited. Reiji glances at the colorful art in the windows with melancholy. This is where they’re supposed to be. ‘Step 4 starting now.’ Reiji walks towards the building and opens the door.
A small woman greets him with a warm smile. “Welcome! How may I help you today?”
Reiji returns the gesture. She doesn’t remember him. Good. “I was thinking of adopting a child. Would you mind if I look around?”
“Of course!” The woman guides him to a door. “They’re all beyond this door, so feel free to observe them.” Reiji nods in response and walks through.
The kids here are all over the place, wearing big smiles on their faces. Reiji knows that the ones he’s looking for are somewhere around here. They’re also older in appearance last time he checked. But all the kids running around seem to be in grade school. Maybe they’re somewhere in the corner? The caretaker did tell him to look around. So he should do just that. Surely that’d be okay. Right? Right. He should stop trying to hype himself up and just go.
He quietly leaves the main area and finds himself at the start of a hallway. “How interesting~” he whispers. While strolling down the hall Reiji makes sure to check any doors he passes by, until he reaches one that piques his interest. The voices are muffled, but they sound like they’re having fun.
“Cinderella’s actually really strong, isn’t she?”
“Strong? I don’t know if she can carry things other than household appliances.”
“No, not that type of strong!” The first voice laughs. “I mean she was able to do so much on her own, and she’s given everyone she knew acts of kindness up until the very end.”
Reiji slowly turns the knob, wanting to get a better look at them.
“Hey!” Someone suddenly grabs Reiji’s shoulder and pulls him away. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” the person whisper-shouts.
“Ah!! I’m really sorry,” Reiji apologizes. “I-I was just trying to find the restroom!”
“Likely story!”
“Ranmaru!” There’s shuffling on the other side followed by the door opening. “Ranmaru, you’r—”
Reiji and the other person—very likely the one named Ranmaru—stare at the two standing in the doorway. The one who opened the door has cyan hair and looks at Reiji with his wide eyes while the other stands behind him, blonde hair and bandages hiding about half of his face. Two out of the three he needed to find.
“Mikaze,” the blonde one mutters, “there’s someone else there.”
“I know, Camus.” The cyan one—Mikaze, according to the blonde Camus—puts his free hand up as if to guard him. “It’s okay, I won’t let him hurt you.”
“Hurt him??” Reiji very quickly wriggles out of Ranmaru’s grip. “Oh no no no!! I’m not here to hurt anyone! I’m actually here in hopes of adopting a kid n’ stuff.”
“Seriously?” Reiji finally gets a good look at this Ranmaru person. His hair is silver and he wears an eyepatch over his right eye. He’s the third one! “Look, there’s no need for ya to be all the way here. There are, like, plenty of kids out there that you can adopt!”
“I know, but I already had some in mind!” Reiji confesses. “You see, I’m actually planning to adopt you three!”
“What?!” Ranmaru grabs the hem of Reiji’s shirt. “Okay, I dunno what your deal is, but if what you said meant you were stalking us then I’m gonna be reportin’ ya!!”
“We. . .” Mikaze lowers his hand. “We’re getting adopted?” He steps out of the doorway, Camus following closely behind him. “We’re gonna be part of a family?”
Camus clutches tightly onto Mikaze’s arm. “How can we trust you?” he questions. “Kurosaki caught you trying to enter our room.”
“He’s right, y’know.” Ranmaru—Kurosaki? Probably a surname—glares down at Reiji. “With the way you’re acting, we might as well get you kicked off this place.”
At this point Reiji could tell he won’t be able to get anywhere. Unless he reveals the truth. It’s either that or the boot, and he very much prefers anything but the latter. His expression grows serious, showing no major emotion. It seems like this method worked once again; none of them dare to speak up.
“Do you really want to know why I came here? I can show you, of course.” Reiji, upon seeing the frightened looks in their eyes, breaks into a playful grin. “But you have to keep it a secret, okay~?”
Ranmaru doesn’t take his eyes off Reiji as he moves in front of Mikaze and Camus. “Alright,” he responds, “but if you do anything inappropriate, I will throw you outta here myself.”
“You care really deeply for them, don’tcha?”
Ranmaru just growls in response.
“I got it, enough chit chat.” Reiji breathes in, readying himself for this. “My name is Reiji Kotobuki. To be honest, I was hoping to reveal this later, but I want you guys to trust me.” He leans in, but Ranmaru takes a step back. “The truth is. . . I’m an Angel!”
The hallway quickly grows quiet. Reiji takes it as them trying to process everything.
“Wait wait wait. No. No way. That’s a total lie.” Ranmaru takes a more aggressive stance. “You really are some kinda—“
“Is it true?” Camus pipes up. “Are you really an angel?”
“Always have been!” Reiji proclaims proudly.
“But why are you here? I thought all angels were supposed to stay in Heaven.”
“‘Heaven’?” Ai asks.
“It’s a place really high in the sky where people go when they’re ready to live their second life,” Camus explains, a sense of excitement in his voice. “I remember being told that there’s a god up there that makes sure everyone is happy and they have angels as their helpers.” He turns back to Reiji. “Are you one of God’s helpers?”
“Of course I am!” Reiji pulls out his scroll. “In fact, I was sent down here to help him watch over three specific people as their guardian.”
“We are getting adopted!” Mikaze runs out of his hiding spot and grabs Reiji’s hand. “Thank you, Reiji! I didn’t believe this would even be possible.”
Reiji happily pats Mikaze on the head. “You’re welcome, Mika-chan.”
“Please, call me Ai,” Mikaze—no, Ai says. “Mikaze is my surname.”
“Alright, Ai Ai.”
“Angel or not, I still don’t believe you,” Ranmaru states. “Where’re your wings then? Angels are supposed to have wings, right? And what about that ring thing they always got floatin’ over their heads?”
“You mean halos, and only angels of the highest ranks can have those. But,” Reiji points to his face, “you can always tell who’s an angel by whether or not there’s a golden ring in their eyes. See?”
Ranmaru squints, standing quite close to Reiji. “So you’re right about that. But what about your wings?”
A faint glow comes from Reiji’s back. “We always hide them here on Earth, but they’re still here.”
“An angel,” Camus says in awe. “A real angel.”
“We’re going to be a family!” Ai hugs Ranmaru. “We’ll have a house with bedrooms and a bathroom and a living room and a dining room and a backyard—and a car! I get to touch a car, Ranmaru!”
“Hold on, you two.” Ranmaru pulls Ai back behind him. He stares intensely at Reiji. “Okay, fine. You’re a real angel. You have wings and those ring things in your eyes. You got that scroll from God or whatever. You’re able to prove yourself, so I’m willing to go with you. But I ain’t trusting you fully. Got that?”
“Yeah, I do. It’s understandable, really.” Reiji chuckles. “It’s been a while since I’ve last been down here!”
“I can tell.”
“A car! Reiji has a car!” Ai runs up to it, pulling Camus along. “It’s so shiny and smooth. Camus, you should touch it too.”
Camus nods and does as such. “I’ve never felt anything like this before,” he says. “It feels nice, though.”
Reiji couldn’t conceal his joy at seeing them like that. “They seem to really like my car, huh?”
“Ai’s always wanted to touch one,” Ranmaru says, “but he never could, since they’d always belong to someone else n’ all.” He closes the door to the orphanage. “Camus, as far as I know, has never heard of cars before until he came here.”
“He’s not from here?” Reiji asks.
“I thought it was obvious. He never hangs out with the other kids and sticks with the outcasts.”
“. . . Are you three—”
“The outcasts, yeah.” Ranmaru adjusts his eyepatch. “Can we go now?”
Unable to push that topic any further, Reiji simply nods his head. “I’ll unlock the car then.”
Reiji opens the door. “Welcome home, everyone!” Ai and Camus enter their new home with Ranmaru coming in right behind them. “It’s pretty simple, but it’s super cozy. I think you’re all gonna love living here.”
“There’s a television and a couch and a coffee table.” Ai sits on the couch. “Camus, over here.” He pats the area next to him.
Camus does as he was told once again. “It’s stiff,” he states, “but in a good way. It’s a brand new-type of feeling, just like us.”
“Just like us?”
“We’re a brand new family, like how this whole house feels brand new,” he explains. “But, slowly and surely, it’ll feel like a place where we definitely belong.” Camus turns his gaze to the window. “Possibly.”
“Turn that possibly into an absolutely, then we got a deal!” Reiji ruffles both of their heads. “Ai Ai, Myu-chan, do you wanna see your new rooms?”
“Myu-chan. . ?”
“New rooms??”
“Yep!! They’re right upstairs!” Reiji points to the staircase. “I placed a sign on each of the doors to indicate which one’s which. You should go check it out!”
Ai jumps up. “New rooms!! Camus, c’mon!” He pulls Camus up and they run towards the stairs.
Reiji sighs. “They’re quite energetic, aren’t they?”
Ranmaru stays standing by the door. He seems to be lost in thought.
“What about you, Ran Ran?”
“Huh? Ran Ran??”
“Yep! That’s you!” Reiji approaches Ranmaru. “Don’t you wanna see your new room, too?”
Ranmaru looks upstairs. “Maybe later,” he says. “I just wanna think about stuff right now.”
“Alright.” Reiji puts a hand on his shoulder. “I know that changes like this can be difficult to process, but you aren’t dealing with it alone here. Just know that if you need anything you can tell me, and I’ll do whatever I can to make it happen.”
“. . . Okay. Thanks. . . Reiji.” There’s hesitation in his eye.
“No problem, Ran Ran.”