Pet Shop Of Horrors Fan Fiction ❯ Dragon Ex Machina ❯ Chapter 7 ( Chapter 7 )

Dragon Ex Machina

 

DISC: I do not own Pet Shop of Horrors or its characters. These are the property of mangaka Matsuki Akino and publishing house Tokyopop (in the U.S., anyway). I make no profit from this story. Please don't sue.

 

 

Chapter VII

 

 

 

"Shi se xing ye," (food and sexuality are natural urges) D commented in an offhand manner to the customer before him. “Animals are bound by their nature. When they are hungry, if food is available, they will eat. When they have an itch they will scratch it.” He fixed the man with a pointed glance, “Surely you cannot fault the cat for being a cat?”

 

The feline in question was sitting contentedly off to one side, grooming himself most tidily.

 

“But he grooms all the time. I can't have company over without him sitting smack in the middle of the room and,” his voice became somewhat hushed, “licking his own balls! No matter what I do, no matter who I bring over. He does it all the time. I know the contract said that I was not allowed to neuter the cat, but seriously - it's that or you have to take him back!”

 

“You've got to be kidding me. This guy has a problem with THAT? He's probably just jealous. I smell at least 5 different women on this guy, 3 of them within the last 24 hours and one was an innocent. Not to mention he's got a scorching case of herpes. He must wish he could lick his own balls without need for a woman-”

 

With the flick of his wrist, D cut off Ten-chan's rant. Ten smiled and sat back. D had this under control. It wasn't like the randy bastard had heard anything he'd said anyway.

 

“Very well,” D said softly. “Would you prefer to simply return the pet, or would you be interested in exchanging him for something that might better suit your… tastes?”

 

The man furrowed his eyebrow and said, “I could trade him in? …What did you have in mind?”

 

“Oh, I'm sure we'll find just the right pet for you somewhere in the shop, and if not, we can always just refund your purchase price and take back the cat so that we can find him a more suitable home,” the Count opened the door to the back room and bowed, awaiting the entrance of his guest.

 

“Well… I guess…” the man entered the room ahead of the Count, missing his smirk as D called on Ten-chan to take care of their prodigal kitten.

 

Ten-chan shook his head. Humans. Well, this guy would certainly get what he deserved. He led the cat - who was as unfazed as only a cat could be by the change in locale - to meet the other felines in residence, then set about to make some tea for the Count and his guest.

 

When they returned from the back, he couldn't help but gasp at whom the man was taking home. Damn. He really must have gotten on D's bad side if the Count was agreeing to this pairing. While Count D walked through the details of the contract, the nine-tailed fox walked over to the lovely young woman in feathers who sat on a perch off to the side.

 

Her radiant features were absolutely astounding. There was not a trace of make-up on her, yet her lips were perfect rubies, her skin: a completely unblemished porcelain. Chestnut tresses with brilliant shine cascaded down her back, over her shoulders. She wore not so much a dress, but strategically placed feathers. Yet even so, she still maintained an appearance of innocence.

 

Damn, every time he saw her, she looked more fine than the last - not that he'd ever try to go after one of *her* kind.

 

++Yo, Serena. You agreed to go with this guy?++

 

The bird-woman tittered softly and nodded. Ten-chan shook his head in wonderment.

 

“So all I gotta do is keep her cage clean, feed her a diet of clean water, fresh fish and green roughage, and never let her be held unless she chooses it, right?” You could see the leer on the man's face, could read that he truly thought the woman would be begging for him to hold her within two hours' time.

 

“That's basically it. If you break any of the stipulations of the contract, our pet shop cannot be responsible for any of the consequences.”

 

With a lecherous smirk, the customer replied, “Done deal!” signing his name on the contract with a flourish.

 

“Good luck!” Ten-chan called, although he was not sure if he was speaking to Serena or the crass customer.

 

As they exited, Ten responded to D, “Well, my guess is it'll be less than a day for THAT guy to break the contract.”

 

A soft, knowing smile graced D's face as he responded, “Oh, I think we'll have at least a month before we see her again.” Seeing the fox's face twist in confusion, he expanded, “The last time Serena requested to be contracted to a customer, it was a gentleman who took great pride in the number of notches he'd achieved on his bedpost - regardless of who he hurt in the process. Our lovely siren spent a month singing when he was asleep, so that he wouldn't realize that she was the source of his longing. And when he'd bring home his conquests, she'd sing softly as he was… setting the mood. But when he started to remove his clothes, she'd go silent. He never noticed that she'd been singing, but the silence managed to effectively make him unable to perform. It got to the point where he could only achieve an erection when he heard her voice. He'd wake up every morning to filthy sheets, but couldn't perform if there was another person in the room.”

 

“Oooh. That's good.”

 

“It was enough to let him realize how poorly he'd treated those other women - who often had not achieved their own completion when he'd been with them. As he gave up his conquests and decided he needed to find just one mate, she returned to us. However, she advised me that if he hadn't realized that his egregious selfishness needed correction, she was prepared to continue.”

 

The fox spirit cocked his head in curiosity.

 

One side of D's mouth crooked up. “The next step would have been to sing in his dreams - but stop just shy of that point where he would find release. After three weeks of being brought to the edge, yet never able to reach completion, the psyche becomes damaged. A man will start to walk the world between awake and dreams, not really knowing the difference. Usually one in that situation does something that will cause them to lose their very existence - either voluntarily or by accident.”

 

Nodding, the shape-shifter inquired, “You expect this one will meet his demise, then?”

 

Scowling, D replied haughtily, “I have no idea what will happen with this gentleman. If he can contain his own libido enough to learn the lesson she teaches, then he will be perfectly fine. Anything that happens to him is of his *own* making.” His nose had tilted up as he spoke in that condescending manner that used to drive the detective, in his own words, “absolutely batshit.”

 

Waving his hands in front of him, Ten couldn't keep a light laughter from his tone, “D, you don't have to sell me. Personally, I think the world will be better off without that jackass spreading disease to innocents.”

 

D mumbled, “Perhaps that *was* why Serena demanded that I allow her to step in,” as Ten-chan continued, “Why would I care about that anyway? I'm not Detective Orcot.”

 

The fox schooled his face to stillness as he watched the Count freeze at his mention of the absent policeman. The kami's eyebrows tightly furrowed as he exploded, “Why do you even mention that name! Is it not enough that we've had to travel almost around the world to avoid him? He has absolutely nothing to do with any of us or this shop!”

 

Ten leaned back comfortably on the sofa and said, “`Methinks the lady doth protest too much.' If what you are saying were true, then we wouldn't have to run away and hide every time he gets near, now would we?”

 

D responded with an almost petulant silence.

 

“Truly, though, I do wonder at our flight. One might interpret it as *fear* of the young detective.” Still maintaining a blank expression on his face, he continued, “But that couldn't possibly be correct. He's no longer a police officer - and even if he was, you're far out of San Francisco's jurisdiction. He has nothing to hold over you. …does he?”

 

An arrogant expression on his face, nose slightly in the air, D responded, “Honestly, Ten-chan, I have no idea what you're even talking about,” as he poured them both some tea.

 

Thanking D with a nod as he took the proffered cup, he replied, “Oh, really? Okay.” A small sip and then, “Shi se xing ye,” as he reached for a fruit tart. “A shame that Americans only understand the first part. Well, I guess one can't blame them too much for their Puritanical roots…”

 

Setting his cup in his saucer with a clink that was extremely uncharacteristic for the Count, his lips pursed a bit before he said, “Ten-chan, if you have something you wish to say to me, I do wish you'd get to the point.”

 

Licking his fingers after finishing a tart, the fox smirked at the Count. “Hm. Me? Get to a point? Really, Count, that doesn't sound much like me. I usually work more through mischief and illusion. I thought you knew me better than that.”

 

Hmph-ing, D responded, “Yes, well, your illusions won't work on me, so perhaps you'd be better off speaking your mind plainly.”

 

Ten stilled his movements, capturing D in a penetrating stare, pausing meaningfully before he said, “Are you sure about that?”

 

In the blink of an eye, it was no longer Ten-chan sitting on the couch. Instead, Leon Orcot was balancing the teacup precariously in one hand with his feet propped up on the teatable as he relaxed, leaning back comfortably. “Maybe you aren't as smart as you think you are, Count.”

 

While one wouldn't think it was possible, D paled at the vision in front of him. “Ho- how? How did you…?” The Count's hand fluttered toward his heart before he could stop it.

 

And then, he was back to being Ten-chan, and smirking like the cat who'd caught the canary as he stood up and walked around the couch toward the kami. “You know my illusions only work on those who have an underlying desire that they can play on. So you might want to think about what that means,” he changed back into Leon as he leaned in and whispered, “my dear Count D,” and then sauntered out of the room, maintaining the illusion as he went.

 

X

 

D decided to close the shop early that evening. Meditation was obviously required.

 

Sitting comfortably on his couch, he lit the incense that would allow him to focus within - the same incense that enabled him to travel memories of his ancestors to the past, to walk with those beings that had been lost through time.

 

This would be the reminder that he needed. He'd been a bit out of balance all day.

 

Seeing Ten-chan transform into Orcot had nothing to do with it, of course.

 

But still, how had he managed an illusion to fool the nature spirit. It was part of D's very being to see through to the truth of any creature he faced. It just wasn't possible for one of the fox-spirit's tricks to work on him.

 

In his head he heard Leon's voice saying, `Yeah. Keep telling yourself that and maybe eventually you'll believe it so much it'll come true.'

 

Why? Why did it work? And why did Ten-chan decide to take the shape of LEON of all beings?

 

It wasn't as if he wanted to see the detective. The man was completely insufferable - constantly blaming him for every one of humanity's self-inflicted punishments. The man continued to hunt him down just like humankind has hunted down animals throughout history.

 

He was just the same as Taizuu Woo Fei - although Woo Fei just wanted to “catch” D doing something illegal so he could force D to “share the profit” of his crimes. He was just looking for a way to blackmail him, while Detective Orcot honestly thought he was doing the right thing. He wanted to serve justice and thought all criminals should pay. Granted, D hadn't broken the law, but he could understand why the detective suspected him. He had insights that most didn't.

 

But after he witnessed the history of his family, after he learned that D wasn't human, he still continued to pursue him. Sometimes he was so close, it was almost as if he had planted a homing device on the ship.

 

Even to this day, D could feel the detective searching, seeking him.

 

It was… draining.

 

What would the man even do if he found him? Yell at him again, blame him for his father's actions? (A portion of his mind wandered down a path he'd already spent way too many hours contemplating: the fact that his father - for all his supposed hatred of humans had wanted to be reincarnated as one. What did that say? That his hatred was envy based? Or was it a different emotion. The hooded emotion Papa D couldn't quite hide when Howell had appeared seemed too familiar. Could he… No, let's not get off on a tangent with that subject.)

 

Would he try to convince him to give up his task of justice for the animals against the humans? Well, he'd made an oath never to forget. He'd live up to that oath. What could the detective possibly say to even try to break that?

 

`How about saying that trying to kill all the humans for what a handful of humans over the years have done sounds pretty much the same as one man killing an entire race of beings just because he got dumped?'

 

He hated that his thoughts still sounded like Detective Orcot in his head.

 

`Or how about the fact that animals kill other animals all the time? The rule in the wild is often kill or be killed.'

 

`Animals do not kill to extinction, Mr. Detective!' he argued back to the Orcot in his mind.

 

`Oh yeah?' An image of ravaging locusts, destroying crops of plants played before him. He saw the last of a now extinct flower, saw two of the insects descend, felt the life force drain out of the plant as it died. The last of its kind. `Sometimes, they do. It's not their fault - it just happens. That's the way life works. I bet humans got blamed for this plant becoming extinct, too.'

 

D wanted to deny it. He'd always assumed - since this plant ceased at about the time the white man “conquered” the western American plains - that it was lost due to humankind's stupidity as they traversed into new country.

 

`So if it's not the locusts' fault that this plant is extinct, why do you blame humans every time some animal ends up dying out? You know, it's not like they were actively trying to kill them off.'

 

`Stupidity shouldn't be an excuse - just as ignorance of the law is not a legitimate excuse for one breaking it.'

 

`D, there's a saying: Stupidity is the only universal capital crime; the sentence is death, there's no appeal, and execution is carried out automatically and without pity. So, if the punishment is automatic, where do *you* fit into the equation?'

 

What could he say to that? It wasn't a fair comparison. Humans didn't fit into the equation because they weren't like the rest of nature - they had divorced themselves from it.

 

And then, he saw it: the first humans, making their way in the world. They were hunted by almost every other animal around. The human animal was nothing but food to a large portion of the animal kingdom. They found themselves in the middle niche on the food chain - omnivores in the middle between the carnivores and herbivores.

 

But they had the ability to shape and use tools. They turned things to their advantage.

 

The incense-produced visions allowed him to witness the first child that was lost to a wildcat. He saw the father running in desperation to get there in time to fight the beast and protect his young, saw him fall to his knees in grief when he didn't make it in time. Watched wide-eyed as the man picked himself up, tears still falling down his face as he gathered up his family, herded them into a cave, then sat at the door to protect them as he grieved.

 

The vision then showed the man building something out of wood and vine - a rudimentary bow. The next time his children were playing and a cat came, the bow allowed him to kill the beast before it could take another of his children.

 

The man hadn't purposely gone after the beast. He'd just prepared to protect his family. This was the same as any family in the animal kingdom. The mother fox who has lost a cub will keep her young under closer watch so that she may fight off the next predator. She doesn't attempt revenge, just learns from her mistake. This man was the same.

 

Next, he saw the first mother lose her life, sheltering her child from the blows of an angry mother bear - the child had been playing quite harmlessly with the cub, but the mother bear did not understand. The human mother was mauled, but her young remained safe under her dying body until the bears went back to their den, until the human father found them and, grieving for his loss, still rejoiced that his loss was not complete.

 

These were humans. This was their history.

 

“Am I worth less to you than a bear? A cat? Why does the fact that my ancestors have lived according to our nature make us less worthy of life, of respect than other animals?” This time, it wasn't just his voice. He actually saw Leon in front of him.

 

He'd managed to find his way into his dream again. The last time he'd done this, it had resulted in the transportation of two extinct creatures into current time. A male and a female sabretooth. His willful blundering into D's memory-dream had done something that D could not - and had potentially saved a species that mankind supposedly was responsible for killing.

 

Why did Leon always have to make things more confusing? How could he keep to his oath if this kept happening?

 

“Tell me, D. Am I worth *anything* to you at all? Not just as an animal, and not just as a kami. Am *I* worth anything to *you*?”

 

`I…'

 

“I'm going to keep looking until I find you, you know. I have to find you.”

 

`Why? Why do you persist in following me?'

 

“Don't you know? It's all that matters to me anymore. I will find you.”

 

With the last statement, the dream faded.

 

And Ten-chan snuck out of the front room before D came to. He needed to take a bath and get rid of the tell-tale scent of incense from his clothes and hair.