Pet Shop Of Horrors Fan Fiction / Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction / Hellsing Fan Fiction ❯ Kirin's Children ❯ A New Day In L.A. ( Prologue )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Serenitychan13 
Anime/Manga: Pet Shop Of Horrors Fan Fiction / Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction / Hellsing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Hentai / Psychological | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 09.30.2005 | Updated On: 10.01.2005 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.4K | Visits: 502 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Pet Shop Of Horrors Fan Fiction / Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction / Hellsing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Hentai / Psychological | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 09.30.2005 | Updated On: 10.01.2005 | Pages: 2 | Words: 3.4K | Visits: 502 | Status: Completed
Kirin's Children
A Pet Shop of Horrors/Vampire Hunter D/Sailor Moon/Hellsing/Rurouni Kenshin/Gundam Wing/Cowboy Bebop Crossover + Alternate Universe Fic
By: Chaos
A note:
** ** = Chris's thought-talking
^ ^ = An animal talking in its own language
< > with character's name = anyone else thought-talking i.e. thought-spells and other telepathy
Prologue 1:
A New Day In L.A.
"Yeeow! What the fuck!?" the blonde-haired police officer roared in pain. "D, you sonofabitch, come and get your fucking goat the fuck offa me!"
The unfortunate wretch stormed around the well-furninshed front of the familiar pet shop, cursing at the top of his voice. Across the room, sitting on a brocaded ottoman, two small children and a young man with large cat's ears were watching the impromptu performance. The little blonde boy watched in astonishment, his eyes widening and his mouth dropping open. The girl next to him, with playful golden ringlets and a frilly pink and white dress, covered his ears for him. Beside them both, the young man with the unusual ears slouched off the ottoman to lounge on the floor. Lying on his back, he yawned widely. Of the three, he seemed the least perturbed by the situation as he reached a willowy hand upto play with the tassel on a tablecloth.
"My dear detective, please stop making that infernal noise!" snapped a cultured-sounding voice that seemed to come from nowhere. "And must I remind you to watch your language? Need I also remind you that there are children present!?"
No sooner had the owner of the voice entered the room than the wretched police officer fell in a swearing heap at his feet. The owner of the voice looked down at the heap in front of him, put his hands on his hips and rolled his mismatched eyes heavenward. For a moment, he considered just stepping square on the unfortunate's back and continuing on his way. Then, looking away from the heap, those eyes traveled around the room, surveying the surroundings with mild interest. As the eyes found the children, crimson lips briefly curled up in a smile. Then a set of claws dug plaintively into the Chinese man's back and he grimaced. Finally, he looked back down at the aforementioned heap.
"Does there seem to be a problem here... Officer?" he asked in a smooth, elegant voice, pausing noticeably before addressing the man on the floor by title.
The enraged police officer pushed himself roughly to his feet and turned around.
"Does THIS look like a fucking problem to you!?" he demanded, glaring over his shoulder at the Chinese man and dramatically pointing a finger at his own backside.
The Chinese man looked down at the problem, which turned out to be what looked like an odd sort of goat with clawed feet and sharp teeth. The creature seemed to grin at the Chinese man as he sank those teeth deeper - through the jeans and into the unfortunate cop's rump. Yes, the Totetsu was quite proud of himself for once more causing Leon Orcot to experience extreme pain. D looked as though he were thinking about laughing, but those claws got to him again and his temper came back.
"BOTH OF YOU STOP IT!" thundered the slender pet shop owner, his normally pale cheeks tinted with red.
Leon, who had been jumping up and down and clutching at his behind, went stock-still in mid-jump and at the same time the Totetsu let go. Two angry young men landed on sore backsides - one more so than the other - and scowled up at the Chinese man. The blonde police officer and the young man with the horns glared at each other, then turned their backs to each other. D sighed tiredly - honestly, they were more like spoiled children than the...
"Oh stop moving, would you?" he complained as three sets of claws poked his back at the same time. "It's not time for you to eat yet!"
Q-chan made a 'kyu' noise and the three lion cubs in a carrying shawl on D's back quieted down like reprimanded kittens.
The small blonde boy, a mirror reflection of the glaring cop on the floor - minus the scowl and fresh bite marks, of course - got up and walked over to D. The slender Chinese man looked down as he felt a tug on his wide, bell-shaped sleeve. The young boy was looking up at him with wide blue eyes and his lips moved soundlessly, as though he were trying to speak. And it was only his brother who couldn't hear what he was saying. To D, T-chan, Pon-chan, and Maxwell, the boy's words were clear as day.
**Who are they, Count D?** Chris Orcot asked the pet shop owner who acted as his guardian, pointing at the three golden furballs on D's back.
^Yeah, D!^ piped up Pon-chan, who had scampered after Chris. ^Are they new!? Where'd they come from? Were they born here?^
"One at a time, everybody," sighed the Count, looking a little tired, for a change. "For one, this---"
D lifted the first cub out of the shawl.
"--- is The Big One," he said, making his voice distinct, like a teacher's. "And this ---"
He set down the next cub, who seemed to smile at everyone.
"--- is Lustica," he said with a smile of his own.
He pulled Lustica away from the appealing wooden leg of a sofa - she protested loudly at being deprived of her new scratching post, but quickly found new prey: her sister's tail.
"Now this one," continued D, setting the last cub on his lap. "Is Elsa."
Elsa was much smaller than her two sisters, who were already squabbling away over Chris's untied shoelace, and preferred to watch everyone from the safety of D's lap. While playful Pon-chan tickled Lustica and The Big One, Chris gravitated towards Elsa. The smallest cub watched him approach with eyes that were still as blue as Chris's. D, keeping a watchful gold eye on the trio who were now playing with the bell on Maxwell's tail, turned his purple eye on the boy.
"If you're very careful, Chris, you may pet her," he said quietly, gently pushing his hand against Elsa's behind to urge her towards the human.
The small blonde boy tentatively reached out a hand and touched the top of the cub's velvety-soft head with one finger. Her ear twitched and she looked up at him as if to say "Who are you and will you play with me?" Chris's breath caught in his throat and he just continued gently stroking the top of her head with his fingers. This time, the cub batted at his finger with one tiny front paw and gave him the same look.
^What's your... name?^ came a voice that sounded like a shy three-year-old's. ^Will you... pway wif me?^
**I'm Chris,** the boy replied silently. **And I will if D says I can!**
"Alright, what's going on!?" a rough, raucous voice suddenly demanded. "I wanna see!"
Immediately, the cubs jumped about half a foot off the floor and, before anyone could stop them, turned tail and fled to the safety of the dusty area under an old display cabinet. Chris jumped too and quickly took off after them. D, however, jumped to his feet and was raging mad in half a second, shaking a sharp finger at the tactless police officer. Eyes of various colors and sizes glowed menacingly at the disturbance and disturbed sleepers began to complain.
"You IDIOT!" shouted D, ripping the head scarf from his hair, which was now mussed in frazzlement, and brandishing it at said idiot. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'VE GONE AND DONE, you BRAINLESS OAF!!??"
"Jesus! What'd I do!?" demanded Leon, waving his arms around. "I just wanted to see what the little furballs were!!"
All over the room, animals and animal-people were slinking and crawling and emerging from the shadows to congregate around D. Every eye watched the taken-aback policeman carefully, just in case he posed a threat to their beloved Count. The two men continued to shout at each other, their volume rising. D was going on and on about how lion cubs were sensitive to loud noise and how Leon had probably just traumatized them so badly that they would never be able to socialize. Leon, who didn't understand half of the words D used - mostly because D had been cursing in Chinese - was answering with his own argument - how the hell was he supposed to know?
"COMMON SENSE, YOU DOLT!" screamed D, waving his arms so vigorously that his sleeves began to flap like odd wings. "WOULD YOU ACT THAT WAY IN THE PRESENCE OF A HUMAN INFANT!? Wait, don't answer that, because I think with the level of intelligence you typically display, I think that sure as FUCK you WOULD!"
Everything fell silent as D's tirade came to an end and his arms dropped limp at his sides as he panted hard from exertion. Had anyone ever heard D swear in English before? The animals began to inch back into the shadows as D's face turned redder than ever. Pon-chan marched over and gave Leon a sharp kick in the shins while T-chan bit an already-abused area. Wasn't that what had caused the problem in the first place? Leon shot up in the air again and landed flat on his back on the hardwood floor with an enraged and embarrassed Count D stood over him. However, the Chinese man didn't even have time to compose himself or to open his mouth and speak. Three little golden bundles, playful and outgoing once more, scampered out from under the display cabinet.
D quickly straighened up and held his arms out to his three Royal Babies. However, this time the little golden trio surprised him. They bounded out from behind his legs and hurried up to their astonished new playmate: Officer Leon Orcot. D's anger melted away as he saw Leon's blue eyes widen when he saw Lustica and The Big One, playing "queen of the castle" on his chest. The Chinese man sank gracefully to his knees and settled in to watch as Chris brought Elsa to join her sisters. All too soon, though, their fun was broken as a young woman entered the shop.
"I'm looking for Count D," she said sharply, not identifying herself or giving a greeting of any kind. "Where is he?"
D sensed something was amiss, as did the animals. The lion cubs, of course, were oblivious to everything but their fun. Even so, they quieted down and immediately hid when Chris inched behind his big brother with terror in his eyes. D narrowed his mismatched eyes and rose easily to his feet, straightening his cheongsam a little bit. He looked at the young woman consideringly, slid his hands together inside his sleeves and gave a traditional courtly bow. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, he cut her off.
"Welcome to Count D's pet shop," he said easily, making a sweeping gesture with one elegant hand. "Have you come to find your life's companion?"
"No," the woman said shortly. "I'm here to find Count D. Are you him?"
"I'm afraid not," D answered, his face that calm marble mask once more. "You see, I run the shop in my grandfather's place. He was the last Count in the family and I am afraid he is away on some business for the shop."
"Tell me where he is," the young woman demanded. "Now."
Leon, making sure to keep his brother behind him, pushed himself to his feet and approached D and the woman. However, his anger and trepidation melted away when he got a good look at the female in front of him. Pon-chan and T-chan gagged as the hapless police officer dissolved into a drooling, nose-bleeding mess.
But even T-chan had to admit, the woman was attractive. She was dressed like a maiden of an ancient Chinese emperor's harem. Her hair was arranged in a complicated style and her robes were made of very fine silk. Her face was painted white, like a lotus blossom, and her lips were painted crimson like D's. Her eyes sported a liquid black liner. She was completely elegant, slender and well-formed. However, she couldn't have been quite noble, because her feet were unbound. If she were truly from an emperor's harem, her feet would most likely have been bound. But D thought it would be best to err on the safe side and at least address her as a lady.
"It pains me to say, my lady, that I do not know," he said smoothly, giving another slight bow. "My grandfather does not tell me every detail of his travels. And given his unpredictability, it would not be safe to assume where he might be."
His voice took on a warning tone at the word "unpredictability", but the woman ignored it.
"Then I'll take you," she snapped, whirling around to give orders to people behind her. "Jin Li! Manchu! Escort this man to the limousine."
Two young Chinese men almost the same size as Leon approached D in silence, nodding to their mistress - D, however, stepped back, holding up his hands.
"I am afraid my lady misunderstands," he said carefully. "I do not mean to go anywhere, though the offer of a ride in a limousine is tempting."
"Basically, he's not going anywhere with you, bitch!" Leon cut in.
A shot rang out.
"Leon!" cried D.
**Big brother!** Chris screamed, though sound died upon his lips.
With that, the animals attacked. Three older male lions charged out from behind a curtain and snake-people began dropping from the ceiling. The three teenagers with reptillian characteristics hissed and spit poison. The lions rushed forward to surround D as a girl and boy of around twenty leaped over them to get in front of D. They were both dressed in Egyptian clothing and both had two swords, one in each hand.
"Kafele! Habiba! Get out of here!" shouted D, trying to push his way past the lions, who only closed their ranks around him.
Kafele, the male, and Habiba, the female, worked in perfect sync. Swords flashed and the two Chinese men lay bleeding on the floor. With that taken care of, the two tucked their swords away and embraced each other, each licking blood from the other's skin. As the two Egyptian maus (AN: A breed of cat) strolled away hand in hand, a most amazing and terrible thing happened... The two men got up and pulled their guns out. For a long and horrible moment, everything was silent - no one dared to speak as the man who had been called Jin Li aimed his handgun at Kafele's back.
"KAFELE!" roared D, a split second too late.
Habiba let out a blood-curdling scream revealing that it was she who had been hit by the shot. Her feline senses had picked the slight movements up and she had been able to push Kafele away at the last moment. Kafele caught her before she hit the floor and passed her to a couple of wild-looking men from the baboon tribe who had come to join the fray.
^Take care of her, Dembe, Duka,^ he told them quickly.
^We will,^ they answered as one, turning away to take Hariba to safety.
Kafele turned back as well, his swords drawn and ready again. Bouncing off other animals' heads and backs, he veritably flew at Jin Li. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl as the man who should have been dead took aim once again. This time, his shot was sure. The gun fired five more times, tearing through Kafele's chest and spraying all the other animals and people with his blood. The young cat-man was dead before he fell.
"Kafele! NO!" cried D, once more trying to push through the lions.
Several more shots were fired. The first to be hit was a willowy youth with eagle's wings, whose name was Akecheta, meaning "fighter." The first shot went clean through his stomach and the second broke his right wing. He fell with his wings crumpled and landed draped across D's favorite couch, his blood seeping into the brocade and staining the embroidery red.
Not far behind him was a wolf-boy named Akanda. His name meant "ambush" and he used it very well. He had circled around behind the lions and leapt out at Manchu. Powerful jaws closed on the man's throat and it seemed he was gone right then. However, somehow he had fired a shot straight into Akanda's chest, going straight through his left lung and missing his heart by an inch. Manchu had flung the wolf-boy across the room. Beaten, Akanda dragged himself over to the couch to lick his best friend's wounds.
^T-chan!^ screamed Pon-chan. ^Get Chris out of here!^
^The kid's on his own,^ snarled T-chan. ^I'm going to return D's favor to me.^
Pon-chan was nearly crushed by a unicorn's heavy hoof and finally had to hide under the same display cabinet as the lion cubs. Speaking of the cubs, they were huddled with Chris behind a large brocaded chair. Maxwell had his arms around all of them, shielding them from the chaos with his own body. All of them had their eyes closed. Chris was crying and the little lions were shaking.
Chayton and Chenoa, a falcon and a dove respectively, swooped down at the princess-woman and were shot simultaneously. Chayton pulled his lover, Chenoa, into his arms and wrapped his wings around her before collapsing in the middle of the rug. Chenoa had only been hit in the shoulder, but she was smart enough to stay down while there was still shooting going on.
Ezhno, the solitary cougar, sprang off of a chandelier and was hit in the hip. Terrible devil-cat screams echoed around the store, driving everyone crazy. Both Chinese men attempted to put a bullet in his head, but he managed to get off only hit around the shoulders. Finally, everything sank in and D decided enough was enough.
"STOP IT!" he screamed, his voice harsh and wracking. "ENOUGH!"
"Hold your fire!" ordered the princess-woman.
The shooting stopped. Wounded animals congregated around D, offering him their support even if they could no longer offer their protection. Two of the lions had fallen in the chaos, though both were still breathing shallowly. D squared his shoulders and stepped over his wounded friends.
"I shall go with you," he said softly.
One tear fell from his golden eye.
A Pet Shop of Horrors/Vampire Hunter D/Sailor Moon/Hellsing/Rurouni Kenshin/Gundam Wing/Cowboy Bebop Crossover + Alternate Universe Fic
By: Chaos
A note:
** ** = Chris's thought-talking
^ ^ = An animal talking in its own language
< > with character's name = anyone else thought-talking i.e. thought-spells and other telepathy
Prologue 1:
A New Day In L.A.
"Yeeow! What the fuck!?" the blonde-haired police officer roared in pain. "D, you sonofabitch, come and get your fucking goat the fuck offa me!"
The unfortunate wretch stormed around the well-furninshed front of the familiar pet shop, cursing at the top of his voice. Across the room, sitting on a brocaded ottoman, two small children and a young man with large cat's ears were watching the impromptu performance. The little blonde boy watched in astonishment, his eyes widening and his mouth dropping open. The girl next to him, with playful golden ringlets and a frilly pink and white dress, covered his ears for him. Beside them both, the young man with the unusual ears slouched off the ottoman to lounge on the floor. Lying on his back, he yawned widely. Of the three, he seemed the least perturbed by the situation as he reached a willowy hand upto play with the tassel on a tablecloth.
"My dear detective, please stop making that infernal noise!" snapped a cultured-sounding voice that seemed to come from nowhere. "And must I remind you to watch your language? Need I also remind you that there are children present!?"
No sooner had the owner of the voice entered the room than the wretched police officer fell in a swearing heap at his feet. The owner of the voice looked down at the heap in front of him, put his hands on his hips and rolled his mismatched eyes heavenward. For a moment, he considered just stepping square on the unfortunate's back and continuing on his way. Then, looking away from the heap, those eyes traveled around the room, surveying the surroundings with mild interest. As the eyes found the children, crimson lips briefly curled up in a smile. Then a set of claws dug plaintively into the Chinese man's back and he grimaced. Finally, he looked back down at the aforementioned heap.
"Does there seem to be a problem here... Officer?" he asked in a smooth, elegant voice, pausing noticeably before addressing the man on the floor by title.
The enraged police officer pushed himself roughly to his feet and turned around.
"Does THIS look like a fucking problem to you!?" he demanded, glaring over his shoulder at the Chinese man and dramatically pointing a finger at his own backside.
The Chinese man looked down at the problem, which turned out to be what looked like an odd sort of goat with clawed feet and sharp teeth. The creature seemed to grin at the Chinese man as he sank those teeth deeper - through the jeans and into the unfortunate cop's rump. Yes, the Totetsu was quite proud of himself for once more causing Leon Orcot to experience extreme pain. D looked as though he were thinking about laughing, but those claws got to him again and his temper came back.
"BOTH OF YOU STOP IT!" thundered the slender pet shop owner, his normally pale cheeks tinted with red.
Leon, who had been jumping up and down and clutching at his behind, went stock-still in mid-jump and at the same time the Totetsu let go. Two angry young men landed on sore backsides - one more so than the other - and scowled up at the Chinese man. The blonde police officer and the young man with the horns glared at each other, then turned their backs to each other. D sighed tiredly - honestly, they were more like spoiled children than the...
"Oh stop moving, would you?" he complained as three sets of claws poked his back at the same time. "It's not time for you to eat yet!"
Q-chan made a 'kyu' noise and the three lion cubs in a carrying shawl on D's back quieted down like reprimanded kittens.
The small blonde boy, a mirror reflection of the glaring cop on the floor - minus the scowl and fresh bite marks, of course - got up and walked over to D. The slender Chinese man looked down as he felt a tug on his wide, bell-shaped sleeve. The young boy was looking up at him with wide blue eyes and his lips moved soundlessly, as though he were trying to speak. And it was only his brother who couldn't hear what he was saying. To D, T-chan, Pon-chan, and Maxwell, the boy's words were clear as day.
**Who are they, Count D?** Chris Orcot asked the pet shop owner who acted as his guardian, pointing at the three golden furballs on D's back.
^Yeah, D!^ piped up Pon-chan, who had scampered after Chris. ^Are they new!? Where'd they come from? Were they born here?^
"One at a time, everybody," sighed the Count, looking a little tired, for a change. "For one, this---"
D lifted the first cub out of the shawl.
"--- is The Big One," he said, making his voice distinct, like a teacher's. "And this ---"
He set down the next cub, who seemed to smile at everyone.
"--- is Lustica," he said with a smile of his own.
He pulled Lustica away from the appealing wooden leg of a sofa - she protested loudly at being deprived of her new scratching post, but quickly found new prey: her sister's tail.
"Now this one," continued D, setting the last cub on his lap. "Is Elsa."
Elsa was much smaller than her two sisters, who were already squabbling away over Chris's untied shoelace, and preferred to watch everyone from the safety of D's lap. While playful Pon-chan tickled Lustica and The Big One, Chris gravitated towards Elsa. The smallest cub watched him approach with eyes that were still as blue as Chris's. D, keeping a watchful gold eye on the trio who were now playing with the bell on Maxwell's tail, turned his purple eye on the boy.
"If you're very careful, Chris, you may pet her," he said quietly, gently pushing his hand against Elsa's behind to urge her towards the human.
The small blonde boy tentatively reached out a hand and touched the top of the cub's velvety-soft head with one finger. Her ear twitched and she looked up at him as if to say "Who are you and will you play with me?" Chris's breath caught in his throat and he just continued gently stroking the top of her head with his fingers. This time, the cub batted at his finger with one tiny front paw and gave him the same look.
^What's your... name?^ came a voice that sounded like a shy three-year-old's. ^Will you... pway wif me?^
**I'm Chris,** the boy replied silently. **And I will if D says I can!**
"Alright, what's going on!?" a rough, raucous voice suddenly demanded. "I wanna see!"
Immediately, the cubs jumped about half a foot off the floor and, before anyone could stop them, turned tail and fled to the safety of the dusty area under an old display cabinet. Chris jumped too and quickly took off after them. D, however, jumped to his feet and was raging mad in half a second, shaking a sharp finger at the tactless police officer. Eyes of various colors and sizes glowed menacingly at the disturbance and disturbed sleepers began to complain.
"You IDIOT!" shouted D, ripping the head scarf from his hair, which was now mussed in frazzlement, and brandishing it at said idiot. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'VE GONE AND DONE, you BRAINLESS OAF!!??"
"Jesus! What'd I do!?" demanded Leon, waving his arms around. "I just wanted to see what the little furballs were!!"
All over the room, animals and animal-people were slinking and crawling and emerging from the shadows to congregate around D. Every eye watched the taken-aback policeman carefully, just in case he posed a threat to their beloved Count. The two men continued to shout at each other, their volume rising. D was going on and on about how lion cubs were sensitive to loud noise and how Leon had probably just traumatized them so badly that they would never be able to socialize. Leon, who didn't understand half of the words D used - mostly because D had been cursing in Chinese - was answering with his own argument - how the hell was he supposed to know?
"COMMON SENSE, YOU DOLT!" screamed D, waving his arms so vigorously that his sleeves began to flap like odd wings. "WOULD YOU ACT THAT WAY IN THE PRESENCE OF A HUMAN INFANT!? Wait, don't answer that, because I think with the level of intelligence you typically display, I think that sure as FUCK you WOULD!"
Everything fell silent as D's tirade came to an end and his arms dropped limp at his sides as he panted hard from exertion. Had anyone ever heard D swear in English before? The animals began to inch back into the shadows as D's face turned redder than ever. Pon-chan marched over and gave Leon a sharp kick in the shins while T-chan bit an already-abused area. Wasn't that what had caused the problem in the first place? Leon shot up in the air again and landed flat on his back on the hardwood floor with an enraged and embarrassed Count D stood over him. However, the Chinese man didn't even have time to compose himself or to open his mouth and speak. Three little golden bundles, playful and outgoing once more, scampered out from under the display cabinet.
D quickly straighened up and held his arms out to his three Royal Babies. However, this time the little golden trio surprised him. They bounded out from behind his legs and hurried up to their astonished new playmate: Officer Leon Orcot. D's anger melted away as he saw Leon's blue eyes widen when he saw Lustica and The Big One, playing "queen of the castle" on his chest. The Chinese man sank gracefully to his knees and settled in to watch as Chris brought Elsa to join her sisters. All too soon, though, their fun was broken as a young woman entered the shop.
"I'm looking for Count D," she said sharply, not identifying herself or giving a greeting of any kind. "Where is he?"
D sensed something was amiss, as did the animals. The lion cubs, of course, were oblivious to everything but their fun. Even so, they quieted down and immediately hid when Chris inched behind his big brother with terror in his eyes. D narrowed his mismatched eyes and rose easily to his feet, straightening his cheongsam a little bit. He looked at the young woman consideringly, slid his hands together inside his sleeves and gave a traditional courtly bow. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, he cut her off.
"Welcome to Count D's pet shop," he said easily, making a sweeping gesture with one elegant hand. "Have you come to find your life's companion?"
"No," the woman said shortly. "I'm here to find Count D. Are you him?"
"I'm afraid not," D answered, his face that calm marble mask once more. "You see, I run the shop in my grandfather's place. He was the last Count in the family and I am afraid he is away on some business for the shop."
"Tell me where he is," the young woman demanded. "Now."
Leon, making sure to keep his brother behind him, pushed himself to his feet and approached D and the woman. However, his anger and trepidation melted away when he got a good look at the female in front of him. Pon-chan and T-chan gagged as the hapless police officer dissolved into a drooling, nose-bleeding mess.
But even T-chan had to admit, the woman was attractive. She was dressed like a maiden of an ancient Chinese emperor's harem. Her hair was arranged in a complicated style and her robes were made of very fine silk. Her face was painted white, like a lotus blossom, and her lips were painted crimson like D's. Her eyes sported a liquid black liner. She was completely elegant, slender and well-formed. However, she couldn't have been quite noble, because her feet were unbound. If she were truly from an emperor's harem, her feet would most likely have been bound. But D thought it would be best to err on the safe side and at least address her as a lady.
"It pains me to say, my lady, that I do not know," he said smoothly, giving another slight bow. "My grandfather does not tell me every detail of his travels. And given his unpredictability, it would not be safe to assume where he might be."
His voice took on a warning tone at the word "unpredictability", but the woman ignored it.
"Then I'll take you," she snapped, whirling around to give orders to people behind her. "Jin Li! Manchu! Escort this man to the limousine."
Two young Chinese men almost the same size as Leon approached D in silence, nodding to their mistress - D, however, stepped back, holding up his hands.
"I am afraid my lady misunderstands," he said carefully. "I do not mean to go anywhere, though the offer of a ride in a limousine is tempting."
"Basically, he's not going anywhere with you, bitch!" Leon cut in.
A shot rang out.
"Leon!" cried D.
**Big brother!** Chris screamed, though sound died upon his lips.
With that, the animals attacked. Three older male lions charged out from behind a curtain and snake-people began dropping from the ceiling. The three teenagers with reptillian characteristics hissed and spit poison. The lions rushed forward to surround D as a girl and boy of around twenty leaped over them to get in front of D. They were both dressed in Egyptian clothing and both had two swords, one in each hand.
"Kafele! Habiba! Get out of here!" shouted D, trying to push his way past the lions, who only closed their ranks around him.
Kafele, the male, and Habiba, the female, worked in perfect sync. Swords flashed and the two Chinese men lay bleeding on the floor. With that taken care of, the two tucked their swords away and embraced each other, each licking blood from the other's skin. As the two Egyptian maus (AN: A breed of cat) strolled away hand in hand, a most amazing and terrible thing happened... The two men got up and pulled their guns out. For a long and horrible moment, everything was silent - no one dared to speak as the man who had been called Jin Li aimed his handgun at Kafele's back.
"KAFELE!" roared D, a split second too late.
Habiba let out a blood-curdling scream revealing that it was she who had been hit by the shot. Her feline senses had picked the slight movements up and she had been able to push Kafele away at the last moment. Kafele caught her before she hit the floor and passed her to a couple of wild-looking men from the baboon tribe who had come to join the fray.
^Take care of her, Dembe, Duka,^ he told them quickly.
^We will,^ they answered as one, turning away to take Hariba to safety.
Kafele turned back as well, his swords drawn and ready again. Bouncing off other animals' heads and backs, he veritably flew at Jin Li. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl as the man who should have been dead took aim once again. This time, his shot was sure. The gun fired five more times, tearing through Kafele's chest and spraying all the other animals and people with his blood. The young cat-man was dead before he fell.
"Kafele! NO!" cried D, once more trying to push through the lions.
Several more shots were fired. The first to be hit was a willowy youth with eagle's wings, whose name was Akecheta, meaning "fighter." The first shot went clean through his stomach and the second broke his right wing. He fell with his wings crumpled and landed draped across D's favorite couch, his blood seeping into the brocade and staining the embroidery red.
Not far behind him was a wolf-boy named Akanda. His name meant "ambush" and he used it very well. He had circled around behind the lions and leapt out at Manchu. Powerful jaws closed on the man's throat and it seemed he was gone right then. However, somehow he had fired a shot straight into Akanda's chest, going straight through his left lung and missing his heart by an inch. Manchu had flung the wolf-boy across the room. Beaten, Akanda dragged himself over to the couch to lick his best friend's wounds.
^T-chan!^ screamed Pon-chan. ^Get Chris out of here!^
^The kid's on his own,^ snarled T-chan. ^I'm going to return D's favor to me.^
Pon-chan was nearly crushed by a unicorn's heavy hoof and finally had to hide under the same display cabinet as the lion cubs. Speaking of the cubs, they were huddled with Chris behind a large brocaded chair. Maxwell had his arms around all of them, shielding them from the chaos with his own body. All of them had their eyes closed. Chris was crying and the little lions were shaking.
Chayton and Chenoa, a falcon and a dove respectively, swooped down at the princess-woman and were shot simultaneously. Chayton pulled his lover, Chenoa, into his arms and wrapped his wings around her before collapsing in the middle of the rug. Chenoa had only been hit in the shoulder, but she was smart enough to stay down while there was still shooting going on.
Ezhno, the solitary cougar, sprang off of a chandelier and was hit in the hip. Terrible devil-cat screams echoed around the store, driving everyone crazy. Both Chinese men attempted to put a bullet in his head, but he managed to get off only hit around the shoulders. Finally, everything sank in and D decided enough was enough.
"STOP IT!" he screamed, his voice harsh and wracking. "ENOUGH!"
"Hold your fire!" ordered the princess-woman.
The shooting stopped. Wounded animals congregated around D, offering him their support even if they could no longer offer their protection. Two of the lions had fallen in the chaos, though both were still breathing shallowly. D squared his shoulders and stepped over his wounded friends.
"I shall go with you," he said softly.
One tear fell from his golden eye.