THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS YOU GUYS I APPRECIATE THEM!
Shiro: So wait, the five lions are going to be women?
Lance: Oh, me likey!
Keith: *facepalm*
Pidge: Hurry up! I want to know how much trouble I'll give them!
Hunk: Ignoring that * turn to audience* Midnightsky really hopes you enjoy this chapter of the orphanage/school AU so remember that she doesn't own anything at all!
...
Lotor leaned against the walls in the shadow, watching how the border control collect the entrance fees from corrupt cities survivors or turning them away if they attempted to talk their way out of paying. Others were checking out trucks that were hauling people who snuck past the borders, supplies for the victims, or probably more men to try to tame the corruption. He simply watched until he noticed the someone wearing a cloak hood, sneaking around the exit doors that follow the trucks while making sure to keep his face covered from being recognized.
Unfortunately, the stranger wasn't that swift enough to get past those guards.
"Hey, kid, only trained army men and diplomats are allowed to go the corrupted cities," The tall guard informed gruffly while the other two grabbed a hold of the stranger to pull the hood down. "What business do you have being here?"
"Let me go!" The young man struggled. "I'm going to save my family! My parents were taken to the corrupted cities, you have to let me go!"
Lotor got a good look at the unhooded stranger only to have his eyes widen out of the shock when he saw the familiar face of an acquaintance Shiro introduced him a couple times. "Matthew Holt?" He gasped.
This couldn't be right, right? He remembers that this person has an infant sister which leads Lotor to wonder as he witnessed Matt struggle to break free from the guards hold. What did he do with his sister?
...
"Her name's Katie Holt!"
Coran and Allura stared at Shiro with confusion with the folded note in one hand unread, and a pair of round glasses at the other. Meanwhile, the little mullet boy (they call him mullet boy for now) was holding baby Katie close to him in a tight corner in the living room away from the trio, much to Coran's concern. But seeing how Katie was happily enjoying his company, Coran's concern was able to lower itself just as long as the boy doesn't show off the knife.
"How did you know her name, Shiro?" Allura asked.
Shiro released a shaky sigh before explaining, "Her brother, Matt, is in the same classes with me. He'd always show off photos of Katie and whenever he's not talking about technology or codes, it's always Katie."
"Pidge."
"Huh?" The three blinked, seeing that the suggestion came from the little boy.
He looked back at them with a curious expression and shrugged. "She looks more like a Pidge to me anyway," He whispered. "That's what the strange boy with glasses told me to call her that before he ran away."
"Boy?" The three gasped in shock.
Shiro approached the boy, kneeling on his level and calmly asked as he held out his phone screen that revealed a photo. "Did that boy look him?" The photo revealed a tall boy with light brown hair and glasses making an awkward wave at the camera with Shiro standing next to him with arms crossed and amused. He watched the mullet boy concentrate on the photo while making sure he didn't drop Kati-er, Pidge until he made a nod.
"That's him but he looked sad when he left," Mullet boy commented. There was heavy silence in the room aside from Pidge's giggles as she began to pull his mullet hair out of curiosity.
"The note must explain all of this," Allura suggested, unfolding the note and held it out for the other two to read from behind. "There must be a logical explanation."
Dear whoever finds this beautiful baby girl,
My name is Matt Holt, this girl's only older brother. Her name is Katie Holt but we sometimes call her Pidge and you're more than welcome to call her that same nickname too. Introduction aside, you probably have questions regarding why my sister was abandoned at your home's front yard but I beg you to take care of her. I'm not giving up any guardianship on my sister, but I do have to leave town for a long time on an important mission that is too dangerous to have a young infant exposed to any of it. There were a gang of criminals from the corrupted cities who snuck into our town and they took our parents away from us.
I'm going to the corrupted cities to rescue our parents and bring them back. I can't endanger Katie in such a terrible place so with no other family to turn to, I had to leave her in your care so I beg you again to take care of her. By the time you finish reading this and have my sister in your household, I'm already gone into the corrupted cities territory.
Please let Katie know that her mom, dad, and big brother loves her so much. That we will come back for her.
Sincerely, Matt Holt
"Corrupted cities." Allura gasped out loud, sitting on the couch. Attached to the letter was a family photo showing the parents, Matt holding baby Pidge and their family dog. "Why does it have to be those regions?"
Shiro's mind could only repeat the words from the letter. Matt's parents were kidnapped and that idiot decided to be the hero by going on his own to the most dangerous places on Earth to try to rescue them. Suddenly he felt a small hand tug on this pants as he looked down at the disappointed bloodshot expression on mullet boy's face with Pidge asleep in his arms.
"That boy is not coming back either, is he?" He asked so innocently.
"Now, now let's not jump to conclusions just yet," Coran quickly intervened after noticing how conflicted Shiro looked on giving an answer to a young three-year-old boy who was just abandoned not so long ago. "Her brother did mention that he would be making a return, we just don't know when. But I say that a having little faith does not hurt anyone, we ought to believe that he'll come back."
"He's not coming back!" The boy snapped. "He left Pidge alone!"
"But he wants to save their parents and bring them back home" Shiro tried to explain as calmly as he could but that didn't sooth the boy's rage.
"He's not coming back! Never ever!" The boy repeated while he suppressed the urge to stomp his feet since he was holding a baby. "You said that my mommy left me when she said she was coming back. That boy is lying to you all! Pidge was in a box and he left her!" He then marched himself to Coran and handed Pidge to him before marching right back to confront Shiro while stomping his feet. "He's never coming for her and it's not fair! We didn't do anything wrong! We didn't!"
Ah, he's still hurting, Shiro realized seeing beyond the rage that was hiding the water of sadness. He placed a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder and whispered gently in hopes to comfort him. "I know neither of you did anything wrong, you're both good kids. There's a reason for everything but we're here to take care of you both."
"I see we have another guest in the mansion."
Everyone turned to the door to see Lotor have just entered, covered in dirt and with messy hair as he leaned against the wall.
"Lotor? What happened to you?" Allura was taken aback by his sudden appearance as she tried to brush some of the dirt off him. "Did you get into a fight? I thought you said you were just going for a walk!"
"I was until I stumbled upon the border works," Lotor explained then sighed regrettably. "I saw Matthew Holt trying to sneak past the guard to get out the border but some guards have stopped him-"
"But if that's the case then-"
"He fought back, even managed to break free," Lotor interrupted Shiro's light of hope. "I even tried to hold him down from doing anything rash but a team traveling to the corrupted cities were apparently impressed with his 'skills' and knew of how knowledgeable he was so they offered a spot in their team for him. He accepted that offer and I was forced to release him."
"What about your sister Matthew!?" Lotor demanded, grabbing a tight hold on Matt's arm. "Are you going to abandon her on this suicide mission to the corrupted cities? Would your parents have wanted you to do this to her and to yourself?"
"I'm going to bring our family back!" Matt snarled, pulling away from Lotor as he climbed onto the back trunk of the truck. "I'm going to survive and if you ever see Pidge, tell her that I'll be home soon with mom and dad."
"That was the last thing he told me before he left," Lotor sighed as he glanced down at the child holding the baby girl. "And I see he left Pidge to your care."
"But I don't understand," Allura exasperated with frustration, getting up from where she sat. "Why are children suddenly appearing on this mansion's doorsteps? Why is suddenly alright to dump them at strangers home that clearly looks nothing like an orphanage? This home isn't some children dumping ground for strangers to lose their sense and abandon doesn't make any sense. What is so special about this home that separates us from the rest?"
No one can answer her of course which only increases her frustration.
"What's going to happen to us?" The boy asked once more, breaking the silence as Allura fought the urge to snap at the child. It's not like he knew better. "Are you going to send us to the orphanage now?" Okay, maybe he did know. "We can leave...I can take care of Pidge by myself if you don't want us here. I can learn to take care of her on our own, I can." A little too much for Allura's liking.
"There'll be none of that now!" She protested, taken aback that a child was this young and willing to take on the streets with a baby on their own! "You and Pidge are not going to be on your own in the streets or any corrupted city orphanage." She took a deep breath and sighed. "I'm just a little overwhelmed with all this but neither of you is to blame. Besides, our mansion is more than big enough to have you here as our permanent guests."
"We all are overwhelmed," Shiro agreed, holding Allura to a gentle embrace. "But if we are going get through this, we're going to need each other."
"But what if other children come along in the future?" Lotor asked, mainly addressing Allura and Coran who actually own the mansion and fortune. "Will we have to send them away or keep them under this mansion's roof?"
"Goodness, if we get any more children, the mansion might end up being a sanctuary like an orphanage for children left at the front of the gates." Coran chuckled at the small joke he made until he saw how Shiro, Allura, and Lotor were taking that idea into deeper consideration. "You realize that I was making a joke, right?"
Allura clapped her hands together and responded, "An orphanage is an excellent idea, Coran. It might be the reason why our home was chosen to have these kids left at the front of the gates."
"You're really going to keep us? And others?" Mullet boy asked suspiciously, his eyes glaring at them as if daring them to just cower and admit that they were lying.
"If Allura is willing to go with this then I see no issue in trying," Lotor shrugged, oblivious to how Coran's mouth open wide with shock and speechless to say anything against the idea.
"But we're going to need your name first, we can't keep calling you 'kid' forever. Can we?" Shiro bargained since it was partly true. They are a step closer to earning the boy's trust, even getting his name is enough to satisfy him.
However, he still didn't waver that glare but he did look away as he crossed his arms and whispered. "Red. You can call me Red for now."
"For now?" Shiro blinked, wondering how he should respond.
"Yeah," Red retorted, turning away. "I don't wanna say my real name when I know you're not going to keep us around for long. I don't think this is a good idea but do what you want I guess."
Coran had to agree with Red on this one.
An orphanage?
The idea alone was downright ridiculous. Who in their right mind would consider turning their home into an orphanage?
Surely not Allura, Shiro, and Lotor.
...
Apparently, Allura, Shiro, and Lotor were the ones who would consider this idea.
"Raising children and running an orphanage is an enormous responsibility for all of us," Coran reasoned that night after tucking Red and Pidge to bed.
"This orphanage idea seems harmless enough to attempt," Lotor considered. "It would save the trouble of unexpectedly finding surprises in different parts of the mansion and be a better suitable home for children instead of going to orphanages in the corrupted cities."
"This mansion does have the necessary space, the extra rooms to fit bunk beds and clothes." Allura thought out loud as she smiled at the idea. "We also have a few rather large bathrooms that can fit enough children." Now, in case it has not been clear, Allura's family mansion was a rather large building that it could be mistaken for a castle in the neighborhood that could fit half the city population if it could.
"B-But what about professional child caretakers to handle all the children?" Coran questioned, really wanting the young adults to put a realistic opinion on the sudden idea. "And there's also the adoption process for the case if we decided to really function as a real orphanage. Let's not forget food, clothes, their education, and caretakers. Nannies for the babies. Did I say caretakers already ?"
"We'll find and hire caretakers for the kids, five should be more than enough including the three of us and you," Shiro suggested. "We're already doing online college courses and we can take up courses that give us certification to be tutors and official guardians of the children. We can even hire tutors, send them school in big groups."
"I'm already handling my father's business," Allura added. "With his business and my degrees, I'll be able to get the money we need for the food, clothes, and necessities they'll need."
"And I'll offer my assistance from running my father's company as well," Lotor offered with a grin. "The more the better for these children. I'm sure the city council will be more than willing to allow this home to become an orphanage after I'm done persuading them."
Shiro noticed the doubt Coran still had as he calmly reassured him, "Coran, I know you have your doubt but-"
"It's for the children." The trio all provided at once.
Finally, Coran let out a defeated sigh. "Alright, I don't think I can get you three out of this idea so we might as well go with it and hope for the best. And we're going to have to find those nannies quick before any more little rascals arrive to overwhelm us." It would take a lot of time searching for the right people, and he knew that none of three had any idea how to tell who would qualify for-
"I think I know someone who would be willing to be the first caretaker." Shiro suddenly suggested, much to everyone's surprise. "Her name is Osame but street thugs prefer to call her the 'Black Lion'."
...
Allura: So in this author's note, you are able to control our story and allow us to do endnotes and open notes?
Coran: Fascinating!
Hunk: WHOA! The lions are going to show up then!
Lance: And Keith's nickname is so lame *laughs* Red? Seriously?!
Keith: SHUT UP!
Me: I hope you enjoyed this chapter so please review, favorite, and follow next chapter where we'll meet the Black Lion and see if she'll join their forming orphanage.
