Author's Notes; Rich Family AU. Shounen AI. Plot and conclusion. Light adopts Zero and Zero agrees to training to be a better bodyguard for X. This was pretty fun to write, regardless of delays..Until next time..Please enjoy..
X and Zero sat back down in the waiting room just as Light, Cain, the cops, and a young woman came into the building. Zero could swear he remembered seeing the woman from somewhere. The woman came closer and looked Zero over before looking at his face. "Hmm, you've grown up quite a bit." She poked Zero's nose jokingly. X wasn't comfortable with the woman touching or being near Zero. Cain cleared his throat. "X, Zero, this is Stella, the new owner of the orphanage Zero came from. She is the founder's daughter." Stella checked the file folder she held. "Zero Wily. You went missing just after your 7th birthday. You were never able to talk, but it seemed like you understood what was being said. You've been missing from us for nearly 8 years. I'm glad to see you're still alive and sorry such things happened to you. The good news, you finally have someone who wants to adopt you." Zero tilted his head a little bit, looking at Light, Cain, and the cops. All of them were stoic for a short while. After the while, Light smiled at Zero, starting to walk to him. Zero watched in silence, at a loss for words. Even the device couldn't conjure words for him. Light stopped before Zero, taking Zero's left hand, since Zero seemed to be left hand dominant from what they had seen. "Even a demon doesn't deserve the course of life you've been forced to take. I knew your father, Albert. I'm baffled he would leave his child to an orphanage all of a sudden. He's capable of child rearing so I fail to understand his logic, unless he didn't want such a burden. Well, I think you need and have earned a better life. You'll be with Xavier and I, along with the others soon. I will take care of your paperwork while you and Xavier have a chat with the cops here. When that's done, Dr. Cain will give you a physical just to see how you're doing." Words, quickly forming questions finally arrived. 'But...why? You have 3 already..Why one more? Much less a demon child..? Also..I've done so much crime in the past..Will I not be taken away?' Light smiled more, holding Zero's hand with both hands. "I was certain you'd ask such things. First of all, 3 children are a full plate of course, but I think you've missed out on a good upbringing like Xavier had and the other 2. I see it as giving you a chance to catch up, demon or not. Also, a pure evil demon wouldn't have the powers you have. Healing others is the last thing you expect evil entities to have. There's good in you and a will to change. Xavier and I want to help bring that out. Second, they won't. If you've been telling the truth, though you are guilty of murder and have blood on your hands, your victims have been other mobsters. In a twisted way, your killings are justified. You haven't killed any innocent people or any your gang formerly held for ransom, correct?" Zero shook his head. 'I never could bring myself to end innocent people held for ransom. Though..how will I repay all I've stolen..?' Light shook his head. "Your attempts to change are payment enough. The biggest reason your killings are forgiven is because through one, you saved another life." X snuggled Zero's pauldron with a smile. Light smiled more. "You're not going anywhere but home with us." As Light slowly let Zero's hand go, X took Zero's hand, rubbing the back of it and admiring the red-purple scales on it caused by the armor. Zero sighed in relief, gently snuggling his master's brown hair.
The cops, the same four who had appeared in the alley but now a fifth one not in uniform but in a trench coat and hat, ready with a pen and notepad. "So then, Xavier Light correct? How did you and Zero Wily first encounter each other?" The detective asked. X adjusted his glasses, taking a deep breath. "My father and I with our bodyguard were merely out to get some produce from the local market. Before I knew it, I was caught and being held for ransom by a mobster right in front of my own father. The mobster had a gun to my head and just before he pulled the trigger, Zero lurched out of a nearby alleyway, making the mobster's shot miss me before he started fighting with the mobster." The detective jotted X's story into his notepad. "Did Zero kill the mobster? Did he come after you next?" X nodded. "He killed the mobster and crushed the gun. Though, after the mobster was dead, he collapsed in the street. We brought him here to see what was wrong. Dr. Cain told us he was malnourished with a broken ankle on the brink of death."
The detective nodded, jotting it down. "Thank you, Xavier." The detective turned to Zero, flipping to a new page in the notepad. "Your actual name is Zero?" Zero nodded silently. The detective tilted his head. "Curious name, but regardless. Tell us what happened when you were captured." Zero's head lowered as the device on his neck began to speak. "Sigma told me to do as he said or he would show no mercy. So he did. When I didn't listen to him, he would beat me or let me starve." Light kept an ear out as he sorted Zero's paperwork beside Stella. X shook his head, listening quietly. "What did he and the other's have you do?" The detective asked. "Much of it was stealing from food shops and markets. Other times it was catching certain people to hold for ransom. He always told me to kill any other mobsters and those whose ransoms weren't paid. The latter I was always punished for because I couldn't bring myself to kill innocents. When X was attacked, Sigma had grown tired of me and left me to whither away. I was weak, but I wasn't going to let the mobster take another victim." Zero answered. The detective nodded, writing in the notepad. "Had you not been weak, what might have happened with you and the Light family?" Zero shook his head. "I don't know." X took Zero's left arm, snuggling him. Before he could get a word out, his father spoke instead. "We would have offered him a reward for saving Xavier's life. If he truly wished to stop his life of crime, we would take him in and teach him better, as we have a bit already. He shows great promise that his ways can change and they have changed greatly from when he arrived."
Zero looked down at his lap. 'I'm not proud of my life of crime. Back then, it was all I knew to do because of the gang. I'm sorry for all my crimes, though I feel I should be heavily punished.' The cops looked at the black clad boy. "You're old enough to be tried in a courtroom as an adult. Factoring in your murders, you would likely be in jail for years. For stealing, you would be doing community service for months, maybe even a few years." One cop answered. Light finished Zero's adoption paperwork before walking to him. "In fairness, you were in a no win situation. Sigma gave you a 'do crime or die' mentality. You don't deserve punishment for being unable to do better due to your circumstances. You need rehabilitation. In your case, that is breaking your stealing habit and curtailing your urges to fight." X nodded and smiled. "That's what I've been trying to do with you, so you're already starting to get better. Though I suppose, making you a bodyguard would make you keep your urge to fight." Zero looked at X. 'But..I would gladly fight for you and your father.' Light looked at X. "I know you hate fighting, Xavier, but you did want him as your personal bodyguard originally. Of course he would need to keep his fighting instincts. Mr. Hellmuth did a lot of fighting in his early years of being a bodyguard too." The detective interjected. "What really needs to happen is to make sure Zero doesn't kill the next mobster or other who tries to do you or your father harm, Xavier. Instead, Zero can rough up the offender just enough so they can't fight back. Then, you can show him the local police station and make him drag the crook over there. We'll take it from there. A bodyguard is a little like a cop, just more personal. If you insist on him being a bodyguard, then like a cop, he needs training."
X nodded thoughtfully, looking at Zero. "I do feel like that is a better way of putting it. You couldn't really help your situation back then. We don't want you taken away, especially when you're changing for the better. You're doing great on not stealing. I think maybe we could get Mr. Hellmuth to help you with your training." Zero grinned. 'I'll try anything at this stage. I'd love to be your personal bodyguard. And a good one.' Light smiled, hugging both of the boys. "Remember, though; You're not just a bodyguard. You're part of the family now too. Let's get the both of you home before it gets too dark outside."
The cops and the detective left the building. Dr. Cain bid them a safe walk home as he watched Light and the boys leave soon after. X and Zero stayed at each other's sides. 'There is one little thing I'm curious about.' came the voice from Zero's collar. X looked at Zero. "What is it, dear?" Zero kept close. 'If I'm part of your family now, does that null our relationship? Does it mean we can't be an item anymore?' X smiled and shook his head. "No. You're not a blood relative, you've been adopted by a completely different family. In this regard, its not incest." The brunette whispered into Zero's ear. 'I still want you, romantically and sexually.' Zero blushed brightly, licking X's cheek before giving X a kiss. X kissed Zero back, feeling Zero's demonic hand take his own gently as they walked home.