Maybe they should've actually thought this through more. There weren't many people around and all the shops were closed. Not like they could've bought anything anyway since they didn't have any money.
Instead, they all walked peacefully down the streets, breathing in the calm, night air. Of course, it was a wonderful getaway from the commission's harsh training, but it was kind of boring.
Kio sighed as he walked along beside Keigo and Touya, eyes wandering around lazily before spotting a small shop across the street. He paused, tugging on the back of Keigo and Touya's shirts to get their attention. He grinned, eyes shining with excitement as he pointed across the street.
"Isn't that a toy shop?"
He watched as Keigo and Touya turned to see where he was pointing and saw their eyes light up at the various toys on display. Grabbing their hands, he made sure the road was clear before beginning to cross.
They smushed their faces against the windows on the shop, looking at all the different toys. There were figurines, plushies, and dolls of heroes littered everywhere.
Kio glanced at the door to the shop, which only had a simple lock keeping it closed. He fiddled with it for a while, trying to stick one of his talons in to see if he could unlock it, huffing in annoyance when he couldn't. He glanced up at Touya, who was already looking at him curiously.
"Hey Touya, can you see any security cameras in there?"
Touya tilted his head slightly but turned to examine the shop anyway.
"There are two in the back corners."
Kio nodded, closing his eyes and placing his hands on the door, small sparks of lightning shooting from his fingertips. Touya only watched on with mild amusement, already knowing what he had planned and he wasn't about to stop him anytime soon. Keigo however, was looking between the two with increasing distress.
"Wait! You're not actually thinking about breaking in, are you?"
Seeing his wings twitch and puff up with distress, Touya stepped closer and wrapped an arm around him.
"Hey, it's alright. We won't do it if you don't want to, but don't you think we deserve at least this much after all the hard work we've done?"
Kio stepped away from the door, a small frown on his face as he watched Keigo glance between Touya and the shop. He could practically see what was going through his mind; he didn't want to steal anything but he didn't want to upset them either.
With a small sigh, Kio stepped forward and raised a hand, resting it gently on Keigo's cheek. He watched the amber orbs snap up to meet his gaze, unshed tears shining in his eyes. He stroked gently at the smooth cheek, smiling softly as Keigo's eyes fluttered shut, a few stray tears escaping them. He heard Touya's breath hitch at the sight, seeing his eyes widen with panic.
Kio brought Keigo into a warm hug, wrapping his wings around him and kissing at his forehead.
"It's all ok, we won't do it if you don't want to."
Small sniffles could be heard as Keigo buried his face in Kio's chest, shaky hands grabbing at his shirt. Touya shuffled forward, wringing his hands nervously. His voice was a quiet, distressed whisper.
"I didn't mean to upset him, I-I just...I wanted to have a fun night out."
His voice cracked between words, clear distress shining in his tear-filled eyes. Keigo glanced at him out the corner of his eyes, before raising a small hand and making little grabby motions at him. Kio opened a wing, allowing Touya to stumble into their arms. He kissed Keigo's cheek, murmuring soft apologies into his ear. Keigo said nothing, but snuggled closer to them both, wings twitching slightly at his back.
Kio held them close, gentle clicks emitting from the back of his throat. After a while, Keigo pulled back, wiping at his eyes. He looked up at Kio and Touya with a shaky smile.
"We probably won't get a chance like this again, right? We should make the most of it..."
Kio ran a hand through his soft, blond locks, a worried frown on his face.
"Are you sure? We can just take a walk around town instead."
Keigo shook his head, glancing at Touya with a small grin.
"We deserve at least this much, don't we?"
Touya beamed, grabbing Keigo and pulling him into a big hug, squishing him against his chest. Keigo squeaked in surprise, before dissolving into cute little giggles and wrapping his arms around Touya's neck.
Kio stepped back, smiling softly at their affectionate display before turning to the door of the toy shop. He once again placed his hands on the door, gathering a small amount of energy into the palm of his hands. Faintly he could hear Touya and Keigo shuffle up behind him, glancing over his shoulder to make sure they stayed a good distance away, before sending a small shockwave through the walls. It travelled along the wires inside, effectively frying the security cameras.
Kio turned to Keigo and Touya with a proud smirk.
"The cameras are down, now just gotta bust this lock somehow."
Keigo stepped forward, eyes shining with determination and wings raised behind him.
"Can I try?"
One of his smaller feathers detached from his wings, floating over to the lock before wiggling the stem inside. Keigo scrunched his face in concentration as it squirmed around, watching as the lock clicked open and fell with a thud. He grinned, eyes shining with pride as he sauntered forward and gently pushed the door open.
Kio and Touya stayed back, seeing Keigo hesitate at the entrance. Touya came up behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"We can still turn back now, no one's gonna know it was us."
Keigo furiously shook his head, hands clenched into little fists at his sides. Taking a deep breath, he marched into the store, turning to give the other two a big smile.
"It'll be fine, as long as we don't get caught right?"
Kio and Touya glanced at each other, now they were the hesitant ones, but seeing Keigo wander around the shop, eyes shining with amazement at all the toys, they decided that as long as Keigo was ok with it then it was fine.
With that, the boys ran around the store, picking up various toys and trying them out. They rolled small cars along the floor, shot each other with nerf guns, played with a massive dollhouse they found at the back and played heroes with the various figurines on display. They had a wonderful time, finally able to be normal children for once.
Kio and Touya lay on the floor, happy and content grins on their faces as toys lay scattered around them. Keigo has wandered off to go look at the plushies while the other two caught their breath. Kio turned his head, eyes soft as he watched Touya glow with happiness. He slowly sat up, eyes briefly darting to the windows to see just how late it was. From what he could tell, they had been here for a good two or three hours now.
"We should go see what's taking Keigo so long."
Touya hummed but made no move to get up, content just laying on the floor. Kio stood up, eyebrows raised before smiling mischievously. He bent down, scooping Touya up into his arms bridal style and ignoring his small squeak.
Touya flushed red, embarrassed protests leaving his lips as he wiggled in Kio's arms. Kio only smirked down at him, turning and making his way to the plushie aisle. Touya grumbled quietly, eventually wrapping his arms around Kio's neck since it looked like he wouldn't be putting him down anytime soon.
"How are your burns? We should change the bandages soon, right?"
"I'm fine, they don't hurt too bad since it's cold out."
Kio glanced down at the bandages covering Touya's arms and neck. He hated seeing him like this, hated how his usually pale skin was always red and agitated because the commission pushed him so much every day. His arms unconsciously tightened around him, wings flaring out in irritation.
Touya smiled softly, stretching up to kiss Kio's cheek. He rested his head against his shoulder, humming contently as Kio gently rocked him back and forth.
"I'm ok, really. It's nothing I can't handle."
"You shouldn't have to handle it in the first place."
Kio murmured, a worried frown etched onto his lips. He shook his head with a sigh, they were here to have fun and he was going to make sure Touya and Keigo had a good time. He kissed Touya's forehead, wings subconsciously curling around him in a protective stance. Touya said nothing as he snuggled closer in his arms.
As he rounded the corner to the plushie aisle, he saw Keigo staring up at the hero plushies in awe. Setting Touya on his feet, they made their way over and stood on either side of him. Keigo didn't seem to notice them, eyes transfixed on the Endeavor plush. Touya shifted uncomfortably beside him, fidgeting with his bandages.
"Do you...like Endeavor?"
Keigo nodded immediately, eyes shining and hands clenched in excited fists.
"He saved me. I wanna grow up to be just as strong as him. A good hero"
"Yeah...good hero…"
Keigo faltered, hearing the bitterness in his voice. He tilted his head, looking up at him with confused eyes.
"You don't like Endeavor?"
"Um...well you see…"
Touya really didn't want to say anything, not after seeing just how much Keigo admired his sorry excuse of a father. As much as he hated the man, he didn't want to destroy Keigo's motivation for becoming a hero. He glanced over at Kio, hoping he could step in and help him.
Kio got the message and threw an arm around Keigo's shoulders, drawing his attention to him instead. He gave Keigo a big grin, pointing up at the Endeavor plushie he had been eyeing earlier.
"Hey, why don't we take that one back with us, as a little souvenir?"
Keigo gasped, eyes widening with excitement as he looked back up at the plush, effectively distracted. His wings started flapping lightly as he glanced between Kio and Touya.
"Can we?! Can we really?"
"Of course! Go ahead and pick one."
Keigo stretched up, wings beating as he lifted himself off the ground, grabbing the plush at the very front. He dropped to the ground, hugging the plush to his chest and squealing softly. He turned to Kio and Touya with a dazzling smile, small tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. Kio and Touya stepped forward, bringing the little hero into a warm hug. He cuddled into them, wings ruffling as they rubbed at his arms and back gently.
Kio glanced over his head, meeting Touya's eyes.
"We're gonna talk about this later ."
He kept his voice low so Keigo wouldn't hear. Touya only nodded his head, knowing he was talking about his obvious dislike of Endeavor. For now, though, they focused on chirping boy in their arms.
Kio pulled away after a while, grabbing the other's hands.
"We still have some time before we need to head back. Let's clean up here and wander around a bit more, yeah?"
They nodded in agreement, separating and cleaning the store up as best they could.
They met up back at the entrance, the shop looking relatively clean now. Keigo still kept the Endeavor plush squished in his arms, refusing to let go, not that Kio or Touya would've told him to put it back anyway. They ventured out the store, walking along the sidewalk in comfortable silence and slowly making their way back to the commission building.
As they neared the building, they walked past an alleyway. Soft yips could be heard from the darkness, echoing along the small street. The trio paused, glancing warily at each other and down the alleyway. Kio was first to speak up, voice hesitant.
"Should...should we go check that out?"
Keigo crept closer to the alley, wings puffed out as he listened. He turned to the other two with wide, worried eyes.
"There are a bunch of people down there, and it sounds like they're hurting a little puppy."
Touya perked up, already moving towards the soft sounds of distress.
"Then we have to go save it!"
Kio and Keigo nodded before all three took off running down the alley. As they went deeper inside, mocking laughter and sneers became clear, along with the quiet yips they heard earlier, except they weren't so quiet now. They could clearly hear the puppy bark and howl for help.
They came to a screeching halt at the sight of, what appeared to be, a gang of teenagers around 6 or 7 of them, kicking a small puppy around, laughing and pointing as it tried to get up and run away. The sight sent waves of anger and disgust through them. It was just a puppy! How could they do that?
Touya was first to charge in, blue flames igniting in the palms of his hands. He sent a torrent of fire at the teenagers, who all screamed and scrambled away from the scorching heat. The puppy tumbled to the ground, thankfully unharmed as Touya ran in and scooped it up into his arms. His bandages had burnt off, but he barely noticed, too busy consoling the crying pup.
The teens came back to their senses moments later, sneering at Touya and starting to advance on him. They didn't get very far though, Kio and Keigo shooting down from above to land in front of him, both sets of wings spread out protectively. The teens hesitated but didn't back down, of course, they didn't. After all, what could a bunch of 12-year-olds do, right?
Keigo turned to Touya, who was crouched in the ground, whispering softly to the whimpering animal in his arms. He handed him the Endeavor plush, taking a moment to pet the pup as Kio spread his wings out even further, keeping the teens at bay.
"We'll handle this, you look after this little guy, ok?"
Touya nodded, watching as Keigo stood in front of him once again, wings raised and feathers sharp. Kio smirked over at Keigo, a confident look in his eyes.
"You think we can take them on?"
Keigo sent back an equally confident smile of his own.
"I know we can."
Quirks clashed as they all attacked each other. Two trained 12-year-olds against a gang of 7 teenagers. It was obvious who was gonna win.
—————————————————————
The teens didn't stand a chance. It was over in a matter of minutes, with the teenagers turning around and retreating with their tails between their legs. How pathetic. Touya had managed to find the rest of the little pup's pack a few feet away, safely hidden between the trash cans. Their mother had only been gone a few moments, judging by the pieces of meat still scattered around. They left the puppy there with its pack.
The trio hobbled down the alleyway, Kio and Keigo leaning slightly against Touya.
"That was way too easy."
"They didn't even put up a good fight."
They giggled softly at the memory of the teens on the floor, crying before turning to run away.
As they mocked and laughed at the weak teens, a stern voice spoke up from the entrance to the alleyway.
"Just what do you three think you're doing?"
They froze, heads snapping up to meet the ice-cold eyes of the president. She sneered at them, anger written all over her features as she snapped her fingers. Immediately, more commission members showed up, grabbing each of the boys as they squirmed lightly in their bruising holds. They stopped struggling the moment they passed by the president, feeling just how furious she was with them.
Oh, they were in for it now.