Chapter 11

"Oh my god, it's been such a long time!" she cried.

"Yeah, it's been so long you learned how to stand on the ceiling." Korrozak joked with a smile. Shiro sniffled and rubbed her eyes.

"You're just upside down, dummy." her voice was shaky. Korrozak rolled off the couch and stood up as Shiro threw herself at him.

"How have you been holding up lately?" Korrozak asked.

"It's been a little tough but I'm doing ok. What about you?" she whispered. Korrozak took a deep breath.

"I was nearly kidnapped, watched a town I walked into blew up, lost a wing, actually got kidnapped, got tortured for a month, watched the DMA bust in and nearly kill Nura and unlock my third pair of wings." Shiro stared at him.

"... what?"

"I almost got kidnapped, watched a town explode, actually got kidnapped, watched the DMA smash down a door and nearly kill Nura, and unlocked my third pair of wings. What's not to understand?"

"That's too much information to comprehend."

"In simplest terms, people have been bothering me since I left which led to me being able to use three pairs of wings." Shiro continued to stare at him in confusion. Korrozak gestured to Nura who was standing awkwardly in the middle of the room to come over. Nura walked over to Korrozak and Korrozak grabbed his shoulders to position him in front of Shiro like a proud father.

"Let's start with an introduction. Shiro, this is Nura. He's the little kid I found with the people who tortured me. Nura, this is my best friend, Shiro. She can be really loud at times but she's a genuinely nice person."

"I'm not loud." she huffed.

"You smashed through your door screaming before you started crying like a baby." Korrozak stated.

"That's because there was an unknown entity snooping around my house! How else would I scare off an intruder?"

"I dunno, call the police?"

"You want me to call the police on you?"

"At least I could make you look like an idiot before we said hi."

"Wow, showing your true colors now aren't you?"

"U-um..." Nura butted in. "Can I have some food? I haven't eaten yet." Shiro sighed and walked over to the kitchen to grab some food. 

"Is there something you want to eat?"

"Something that isn't burnt." Nura smiled and glanced at Korrozak.

"Hey! That was my first time cooking something over an open fire!" He defended himself.

"Yeah, and it tasted awful! I wouldn't have eaten it if it wasn't the only thing you could cook!"

"Hey!" he paused. "Yeah me neither." he admitted.

"I'll make some bacon then." Korrozak stiffened as Shiro opened the fridge to reach for the bacon. She pulled out the already opened package of uncooked bacon and a dark look crossed her face. 

"Who ate my bacon."

"It was Korrozak!" Nura burst enthusiastically, hopping a little bit and pointing at Korrozak.

"NO!" he replied instantly. Shiro set the bacon on her kitchen counter and stomped over to Korrozak. "Sh-Shiro, it's not what you think it is! I was so hungry I couldn't control myself, honest! I'll buy you new bacon if that's what you want!"

"The amount of bacon I have isn't the problem! I have enough bacon as it is. I'm just upset that you didn't even try to cook it before you ate it! I have a frying pan and a stove top for you to use and you didn't touch either of those things. You ate raw bacon!" she shouted.

"It said it was already smoked! Doesn't that make it safe to eat?" Korrozak tried.

"NO! You always cook meat before eating it to be sure!"

"If I cooked it I would've burned it. I'd rather eat it raw than burnt!"

"I can't believe you've lasted this long. How can your cooking be so bad when your mother cooked like a master chef?" Shiro slapped her hand to her mouth the instant she finished her sentence. Korrozak patted her on the head.

"It's ok to talk about it." he assured. Shiro lowered her hand and shook her head before walking back to the kitchen. She grabbed the remaining bacon and set it next to her stove before pulling out a frying pan and turning on the heat. Korrozak plopped down on her couch and sighed.

"Korrozak? What is she talking about?"

"Both my parents died when I was seven." he explained. "It's not a subject that I'm… fond of talking about."

"'Not fond of talking about'?" Shiro repeated. "You refused to talk to anyone for about two years, then proceeded to attack people for another two years. Then you started picking fights in school for four years before you finally calmed down enough to be approachable and for the last two years you gave a death glare to anyone who even mentioned demons in front of you. It was only for the last month and a half that you've been more willing to accept your demon side!" She then turned towards Korrozak with a wicked smile. "That reminds me... I said I would strangle human Korro if he didn't show me demon Korro." Korrozak paused, then stiffened and turned his head slowly towards Shiro to see her standing eerily over him.

"Sh-Shrio, let's not be hasty. We can still talk things over first."

"I still haven't seen demon Korro yet. You better have a lot of air in those lungs of yours."

"Ok! Ok! Fine! You can have demon Korro! Just don't strangle me!" he insisted. He turned his back to Shiro and unfolded his first wing. Shiro placed a foot on the back of the couch and jumped up over Korrozak.

"I want to see all your pairs!" she demanded. Korrozak looked up in surprise and tried to get away when Shiro crashed into him, knocking him face first onto the floor. Shiro smiled down at Korrozak who was sprawled on the floor before gasping in horror. "Korro! What happened to your right wing?" she yelled.

"I told you already! Someone stole it!" he huffed. "And keep it down or we're going to get caught!"

"Who stole it? What did it feel like? Can you get it back or replace it?"

"Agent Robin from the DMA took my wing, it felt like losing any other limb, no I can't get it back nor replace it." Shiro nodded sadly before standing up and walking back to the kitchen to finally start cooking the bacon. Meanwhile, Korrozak huddled in a corner, trembling, muttering, "She's so scary…" Nura just stared at them.

"Is he going to be ok?" Nura asked.

"He'll be fine once he gets his bacon." Korrozak turned his head hungrily at the word 'bacon'. Shiro distributed the bacon evenly among three plates, giving the extra two pieces to Nura and herself. She then handed a plate of bacon to Nura and Korrozak before grabbing her own plate and seating herself on a stool near the counter. Korrozak and Nura seated themselves on stools across from Shiro and munched happily on their bacon.

"Wow! Bacon tastes so much better raw!" Korrozak exclaimed, sarcastically.

"WHAT!" Shiro shouted. She then lowered her voice to a whisper and a dark look spread across her face. "Who are you and what have you done with the real Korro?"

"I meant cooked! I misspoke! I swear I meant cooked!" he insisted. "Please don't kill me before we have to go."

"Oh, right... You can't stay." Her look went from dark to sad as she stared down at her plate of bacon. She then smiled and looked Korrozak straight in the eye. "So where are you headed next? It's not any place dangerous is it?"

"Any place is less dangerous than staying with you." Korrozak said under his breath.

"Excuse me?" Shiro asked forcefully. "What did you say? I think I missed it."

"Nothing! We were planning to go to Iron Harbor. From there we should be able to cross over to another continent where we won't be well known." Korrozak explained.

"That's really risky. The security is higher there than it is here. You would have to be crazy to think of boarding a ship to a nearby continent."

"It's better than flying there ourselves. We don't know what kind of place the next continent will be so we can't go flaunting our wings like it's nothing." Korrozak insisted.

"I know... but still. Just make sure to visit me whenever you boys get lonely. And Nura..." Shiro leaned over and whispered just loud enough for Korrozak to hear as well. "...keep an eye on this crybaby for me, will ya?"

"Hey!"

"Sure thing!" Nura cheered.

"Am I invisible to you two?" Korrozak cried dramatically. "Anyway, how's Theo been doing?" Shiro stiffened.

"I can't believe you can care for him. It's his fault you're on the run!" she clenched her fist in fury.

"I said it was speculation."

"He basically admitted it! He called you and your father a curse! He blames you for something you had nothing to do with! He said if demons never existed his friend would still be alive." Shiro took a deep breath, looked Korrozak straight in the eyes and grabbed his hand reassuringly. 

"Korro, this may hurt but, I think Theo had something to do about your dad's death." Korrozak stared blankly back at Shiro.

"And?" he replied simply.

"What do you mean 'and'! We're talking cold blooded murder here." Shiro shouted.

"Look, I know Theo has been trying to avoid me for a long time but that doesn't change anything." Korrozak admitted.

"And if I said he was involved in your mother's death too?"

"That'd be stretching it." Korrozak glanced at the bacon on Shiro's plate. In a flash, he snatched a bacon from her plate and tossed it into his mouth. Shiro closed her eyes in anger. 

"Korrozak Zastaroth. Did you not see where that bacon was?" she asked slowly.

"It was the perfect chance too!"

"Really now? You were just acting uninterested to get my bacon?" Shiro opened her eyes and gave Korrozak a murderous glare.

"No! No! No! I was just taking advantage of the situation! I just wanted to lighten the mood somewhat to keep things calm!" he insisted.

"You call this calm?" Shiro asked through gritted teeth, tightening her grip on his hand.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I won't do it again! I swear. I promise. Just loosen your grip."

"Like hell!"

"You're going to break my hand! Ow, ow, ow. You're going to crush my hand!"

"A price to pay for the bacon, am I right?"

"If I'm going out I may as well go out for a stupid reason. I regret nothing!"

"I'm crushing your hand, not your heart, moron!"

"Hey, that's mean! Take it back!"

"After you compensate for my missing bacons!" Nura smiled and started giggling. Korrozak and Shiro turned their heads to face Nura.

"Sorry. You guys just get along so well it's funny to watch."

"We do not!" Korrozak and Shiro exclaimed at the same time, before turning to glare at each other.

"Don't copy me."

"Copy you? You were copying me!

"You got stars in your brain? I clearly said it first!"

"You're the one with stars in your brain. And if you don't you sure will soon!" Korrozak and Shiro locked heads and started growling at each other.

"Should you two really be fighting right now? What happens if someone comes in unannounced to see demons in here?" Nura worried.

"Oh, yeah. We should leave soon. Can't stay too long. The longer we stay the longer it is until we reach Iron Harbor." Korrozak drew his head away, making Shiro face plant into the counter.

"What about my bacon compensation?" Shiro asked, rubbing her forehead.

"You have way too much bacon as is. You'll be fat enough without the extras." Korrozak gave a bored expression.

"How rude! At least I worko-."

"Shh!" Korrozak hushed. He grabbed Nura and pulled him closer towards himself, backing away from the door. Hurried footsteps sounded outside the door, then slowly faded away. Korrozak started putting the dishes in the sink.

"What's going on Korro?" Shiro asked.

"Someone was out there. I don't know who but they definitely heard us. You need to make it look like you just woke up and act as if we weren't here. Someone will definitely come here soon, whether it's the DMA or not will depend on the person who heard us. Me and Nura have to go but I promise to visit you as soon as I reach the new continent, ok?" Korrozak promised. He placed his hands on Shiro's shoulders and smiled at her. "You don't need to worry. I can handle something like this, easy peasy." he assured. He then turned away and grabbed Nura, holding him close.

"W-wait!" Shiro pleaded, reaching for Korrozak. "You promise to visit and repay me for the bacon?"

"If you still remember that next time we meet!" Korrozak smiled. He then teleported himself out of Shiro's apartment just as the doorbell rang. Shiro took a deep breath and opened the door.

"Who is it?" she faked a yawn and peeked outside. She stiffened as Theo smiled maliciously at her.

"I heard you talking to that demon." he giggled.

"What are you talking about, I just woke up." she lied.

"Oh, don't give me that crap. I heard he was headed to Iron Harbor. And he seems to have a little friend accompanying him. Do you think he'll cry if I threaten to kill his new pet?" Shiro gave an expression of horror and turned away.

"You sick bastard. Leave me alone! I don't want to see a monster like you ever again!" she slammed the door in his face and stomped over to her couch. She collapsed onto it and covered her eyes with her arm. 

"Next time you feel lonely, stop by the DMA's holding cells. I bet you'll find your precious demon prince hiding in there. The news should tell you when he's been caught. They always update when new demons have been caught." Theo claimed through the door. Shiro clenched her teeth in frustration.

"If only I could warn him." she whispered. "Oh, Korro. What have you gotten into now?"