Pet Shop Of Horrors Fan Fiction ❯ Predator and Prey ❯ Chapter Six ( Chapter 6 )

Predator and Prey

Disclaimer: Petshop of Horrors not mine. I just wished I lived there. In addition, Lee Sinhg, Coyote, and Entai are the sole property of Akita and Subu-chan, who have graciously allowed me to write my own fic that ties in with their PSOH fics. Any other characters from any other series that may pop up also belong only to their respective companies.

Co-authored by: Kita and Subu-chan.

Chapter Six:

Predictably, the Detective threw a fit when he discovered that D had taken in a human. The moment he walked in the door and saw her sipping tea with the Count and talking to that weird goat-thing, he knew something was up. After she told her story though, he could understand why she'd choose to stay were she knew without a doubt that she was safe and wanted. Moreover, even he had to admit that when D chose to protect something, there wasn't any better protector in the world. He knew, first-hand, that D's wrath was terrible when roused. In addition, D did seem rather fond of the girl; for all that he'd only known her for less than a day.

Ronan, now she was a mystery. He didn't really understand how she could be so calm about everything that had happened to her. Every now and then, during the telling of her story, her face would go completely blank, while her toes buried themselves in Tetsu’s fur, and only her eyes would tell him what she might possibly be thinking. He supposed that everyone had his or her own way of dealing with trauma. He'd seen some that break down totally, and others who would lash out at everything around them. Her, though ... she was ... like water, he guessed. Absorbing the force of the blow, or just flowing around the obstacle in front of it. Time would wear the bulk of it away. Leon made damn sure he was going to help her, though, by catching the bastards that had done this to her. Glancing at her from out of the corner of his eye, he lifted a brow when she giggled and gave Tetsu a shove that rolled him over where he lay on the plush carpet at their feet.

Tetsu gave her an offended glare as he rolled himself back over onto his feet. They’d explained to her already that the detective couldn’t see their human forms, but she still insisted on treating them as she saw them, as more than just animals. It was earning her a few strange looks from Orcot, the same ones he still gave to D on occasion. He shook his head mentally. She was certainly a strange one, and he knew without a doubt that she would leave her mark on the shop, much as Chris was. He smirked when he remembered leading her into the dens or lairs of the more dangerous creatures. Even knowing what they were, she showed no fear, although she had been nervous. Some of the most deadly creatures in the world and she had treated them all with the same sort of affectionate charm she had shown the tiger twins. The one that stuck in his mind the most clearly was when Ronan had met Zeriah. They’d walked into her dimly lit den, taking a few minutes for the girl’s eyes to adjust to the light and she still hadn’t seen the six-foot tall creature curled on her nest. However, when she had realized it …. :

As torches had suddenly flared up the pile of feathers in the darkest corner of the warm cave began to move, startling Ronan into an undignified squeak of surprise.

“Is this mere morsel my dinner, Totetsu? I could swallow this tiny creature in one gulp,” she’d said with a laugh, as she uncoiled from her reclining position and rose gracefully to her feet.

He waved it off with a snort and tried to keep Ronan from hiding behind him. “No. Zeriah, this is Ronan. She’s going to be staying here for a time, and D wanted me to show her around.” Giving the suddenly shy girl a shove forward, Tetsu stepped to the side to watch.

Ronan was unable to keep from fidgeting nervously as she offered the hippogryph a slight bow. She nibbled on her lip before saying “Um … Hello.” Looking up at the creature making her way toward her, she blinked as the eagle head blurred and resolved itself into a human appearance. Covering her from head to toe was a cloak of shimmering golden feathers.

“Greetings, Ronan. Welcome to the shop.” Moving forward into the light, the hippogryph pulled her cloak of feathers closer about her.

A startled gasp made its way past the lump in the brown haired girl’s throat. “Oh!”

Snapping her head up, Zeriah gave the girl a hard glare. “Are you disgusted, human? It was your kind that did this!”

She took a few steps forward. “No!” she exclaimed softly. “Not at all. You’re beautiful! How could I think anything else?” The last had ended in a soft sound that might have been a sob.

Looking taken aback for the space of a heartbeat, she turned her back on the human. “You call me beautiful … for centuries I have been anything but … How can you see me and say I am beautiful?”

Taking the last few steps toward the nearly crying hippogryph, Ronan tentatively put a hand on her shoulder. “Beauty, they say, is only in the eye of the beholder. I find you beautiful. Never have I seen feathers that shine as if each is a separate jewel, or throw their colors about like the light of the stars. Nor have I seen talons that seem made of purest gold.”

Tetsu was absolutely shocked. He hadn’t expected such eloquence from someone so young. Yet, somehow, it seemed like she knew just what needed to be said. It was the kind of thing D would pull from time to time.

“Anyway, I am glad to meet you, Zeriah,” she had continued. Smiling shyly she’d added, “I hope you can tell me a bit about your kind. Tetsu tells me there aren’t many of you left.”

Zeriah settled herself onto a tall rock nearby and gave the human girl before her a long searching look. Slowly she came to the realization that Ronan meant every word she’d said. Astonishment worked its way through her as slowly a smile began to light up her scarred face. “I would be glad to,” she’d said. “Come; tell me something of yourself first …”

He was certain that if he’d allowed it, they would have spent the entire afternoon talking to each other. After he’d pulled her away from Zeriah, she’d met the others, the most important one being the one only called Grandmother. Her reaction there was pretty much typical of anyone who met Grandmother. It had been good for her, though. As expected, a few deft questions from Grandmother had her spilling her entire story and sobbing quietly into the ancient being’s shoulder. He’d politely pulled away enough to give them some privacy, after a hard stare from Grandmother.

Looking up at the girl as she talked quietly with D while the last bit of twilight faded from the sky, he decided that maybe having her in the shop wouldn’t be so bad. At least she was entertaining.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

As the days crept by Ronan began to spend more time awake rather than sleeping. Her body was healing at a somewhat accelerated rate, thanks in part to the medicine left by the mysterious Lee Sinhg, who she had yet to meet, and in part to the careful handling of her by the others in the shop she saw the most of, D, Tetsu, Ten-chan, and Entai.

Often, though, she wondered at their easy acceptance of her. She’d not given them any real reason to trust her, yet they seemed willing to share everything with her. It boggled her mind sometimes. Even the usually loud-mouthed detective was being kind to her.

Within days of her arrival, D and Tetsu had learned that her favorite place in all of the shop was with Saabra and Jabor. The two children seemed to soothe something inside her. They in turn adored her, and in the first few days Ten-chan found himself wishing he had a camera, so as to add pictures to the “Fluffy Moment Hall of Shame” he was building in his head. The three were altogether too cute together. His favorite memory was looking in on them at one point and finding them curled up asleep in a big pile, the first peaceful smile he’d seen on her face curling the ends of her lips upwards. It was the first time he’d seen her asleep without the lines of pain etched into her face.

At the end of the first week, Leon dropped by, with Jill in tow, long enough to tell her that he’d be swinging by in the morning to pick her up. It seemed he’d finally been able to corner his Chief and give him the bare bones of her story. Through him, Leon had set up a meeting with OCD for the next day. She counted herself fortunate that her wounds had healed enough for her to move about without pain. Jill had also brought over a few things she was sure D wouldn’t have thought of, like a hairbrush, and toothbrush and toothpaste.

Without much surprise on T-chan’s part, whenever Ronan needed a shoulder she’d go, not to Entai, but rather to the usually pissy hippogryph, Zeriah. For some reason the two got along well together, and there was something about sharing their (somewhat) similar stories that helped them support each other. Both of them carried horrifying mental scars, and while Ronan’s were less disfiguring than Zeriah’s, even with Lee Sinhg’s medicine, she would still carry more than a few purely physical scars from her ordeal.

Twice, while under the supervision of Ten-chan, she visited the basilisk that Count D had been so alarmed at her meeting. During her first visit with Tetsu, Rikoda had been playing a one sided game of shogi and she had asked how it was played in curiosity, only to find a clear board set up and waiting for her the next time she dropped by, Ten-chan in tow. With the two of them acting as coaches, she eagerly threw herself into learning the game. Her prior knowledge of chess came in handy, she was quick to learn, and the basilisk complimented her on using that as she played. She’d nearly glowed for several hours after that.

D merely watched all of it from a distance and nodded in satisfaction at the easy way she was fitting herself into the shop’s extended “family”, a small happy smile on his face. For once, a human was proving worthy of the time and attention bestowed on her. There was nothing artificial about her, nothing that was forced or fake. She was … genuine, yes, that was the word he was looking for. He was grateful she seemed to harbor no ill will towards the ones who had hurt her so. There was a justifiable anger, certainly, but no hate or rage. He knew she had turned part of the blame on herself, and he had to admit, in a way she was correct. If it had not been for her own ignorance, she would not have been put in the position she had been in. D only wished she would not blame herself for what had happened when she had ended up at his doorstep. None of that was her fault. Watching with an amused smirk as she roughhoused a little, with Chris, Pon-chan, Ten, and T-chan just before dinner, though they were being very careful with her, he reached over absently to pick up the phone when it rang.

“Count D’s”

“Good evening, D. How is my patient doing? Well, I hope.”

“Lee Sinhg. It is good to hear from you. Yes, she is healing nicely. Right now, she is playing with Chris and a few of the others.” Rising, D moved quickly to another room to make sure he wasn’t over heard.

“Ah. Good. As long as she doesn’t start bleeding again, that’s fine. Would you be averse to me stopping by to check in? I meant to look in on her two days ago but certain more important matters came up. I felt that as long as she was with you all would be well.”

“She is … recovering. Physically at least. I worry for her mind though. She seems to be holding up well enough, and there are many here who already care for her. Yet, I see flashes … instances that tell me much of her pain has simply been … submerged. It worries me.”

A soft chuckle. “You would not be yourself if you were not. Is there anyone she spends an extraordinary amount of time with? Someone she likes above all the others?

A snort greeted that question, just before D began laughing quietly. “Oh indeed there is. Of all creatures to become attached to … the one she seems to spend the most time with is Tetsu. For all that he tries to act disturbed that a human likes him so much, I can tell he appreciates the attention. She often accompanies him when he goes hunting with Saabra and Jabor. “

“Huh. Now that is not something I would have expected. You may want to tell him how to handle it if she breaks down for him. Hmm. Have you discovered the origins of that odd aura about her? I was most curious when I detected it as I was treating her.”

A long silence met Lee Sinhg’s question and he was about to wave it off when D finally answered. “According to her family history, one of her ancestors was a selkie. Nevertheless, for that bloodline to run so strongly in one so far removed from the original … it is strange. She tells me that she has documentation hidden away for safekeeping. I believe she wishes to retrieve them at some point.”

D could almost see Lee Sinhg cocking his head at him in mild surprise. “A selkie? Really? Interesting. I will have to investigate this when I come by. I will see you in a few minutes, D.”

“Very…” D cut himself off when the dial tone sounded. Staring at the phone in his hand, he muttered to himself about the lack of courtesy from all of his closest acquaintances.

“Ronan, Doctor Lee Sinhg is on his way to check up on you,” he said as he returned to the room the small group was playing in.

Looking up at him from their dog-pile, the dark-haired girl frowned. “Doctor Sinhg? You mean the guy who patched my hide up?”

“Lee Sinhg, yes. I thought you might wish to tidy up a bit before he arrives.”

Pulling herself out from under T-chan, she swatted his head absently when he tugged on one of her long locks of hair. D watched the display of familiarity with a small smile. At least there was one person in his shop she was completely comfortable with. And despite the Totetsu’s usually gruff exterior, he knew the young creature appreciated the attention. Particularly from such an attractive, if human, individual. Today she was wearing something similar to the first outfit that Tetsu had chosen for her, though the top was in a color he could only describe as blood-scarlet, that brightly jewel toned red that nearly glowed. It was about three shades darker than true red and shimmered slightly. Carefully embroidered with real scales and a touch or two of paint, was a large black and gold dragon. If he remembered correctly, that had been a gift from the Dragon King, but he wasn’t going to say anything, given that she wore it better than he ever had. Plain, white hakama and a black obi embroidered with gold flames finished it out. The outfit was all silk, and whispered as she moved.

Much to his relief his guest had taken Ten-chan’s advice to heart and, with a little help from the nine-tails, had chosen several more outfits from the clothing he kept in storage. Most of them seemed to be variation on the first set of clothes, although she avoided anything too feminine. Moreover, she seemed rather attached to the jewel-colors, as everything was in shades of sapphire blues, emerald greens and dark ruby reds. The most feminine thing she had chosen was a proper women’s kimono, with all the proper layers no less (thanks to Ten-chan’s help), in a vibrant violet, decorated with small sakura blossoms and snowflakes. He had yet to see her in it, but from Ten-chan’s description, she was quite lovely in it. If he weren’t so sure of Ten-chan’s interest in his hawk, he’d worry that poor Entai would have some competition for the fox’s heart. Ten loved beautiful things, and tried to horde anything that caught his eye away from anyone else’s view. Even he had to admit his guest was an exquisite example of the human race when she was dressed appropriately.

Tugging the clothes straight, she ducked under Ten-chan’s hand when it reached out to pat her on the head. Giving him a glare, she headed toward her room to brush out her hair, which had been messed up during their play. Even he had been surprised when the snarled mess he’d first seen had been combed out and neatly trimmed to the middle of her back. It had been longer, but the lack of care had given her some nasty split ends, and a few of the larger knots had had to be cut out. Now that the dark golden brown mass was clean, it shone with good health and life.

When she returned, hair neatly brushed and carefully tied back in a low ponytail with a red ribbon Pon-chan had given her, Lee Sinhg was sitting on the sofa with D and sipping tea while they chatted and the others were nowhere to be found. He was … odd. There was no other word for him. As soon as she entered the room, he looked up and smiled at her, pleased to note that she wasn’t pale or sweating. Though he seriously doubted the D would have allowed her to wander about if that had been the case. “Please sit and join us,” he invited, waving a hand at a chair.

Taking the indicated seat nervously, she watched as the two continued their prior discussion in Mandarin. It didn’t really bother her that that they were using a language she didn’t know, and even not knowing what they were saying it still sounded musical to her. Ronan found herself drifting, lulled into a doze by their conversation. She blinked owlishly at Lee Sinhg when he reached over and shook her shoulder. “Hmm?” she asked sleepily, her early morning and long day finally catching up to her.

He smiled and laughed. “Don’t fall asleep on us. Why don’t you lead me to your room and I’ll take a look at you there? How are you feeling, by the way?”

“Umm,” she began with a blush as the trio walked to her door. “I’m alright, I guess. I mean, they hurt a bit, sure; and I’m a little stiff, but other than that, I feel fine.” She chuckled softly. “As T-chan can attest, there’s nothing wrong with my appetite and even though I have nightmares sometimes, I’m still getting plenty of sleep. Though I’m beginning to wonder if someone has taken to climbing in with me after I’m out. I’ve begun to find warm spots in my blankets around my legs when I wake up.”

Lee Sinhg choked back a snort and cast a glance at D, who shrugged and rolled his eyes. “Some of the younger inhabitants have taken to keeping her company while she sleeps, since she seems to sleep better with them around her.”

“Ah. I see. So she is well-liked here, then?”

“More than she knows.” D glanced at her face and smirked a little when he saw the blush spreading across her cheeks. He impishly decided to voice his earlier thoughts about Ten-chan. “And were Ten-chan’s interest not so focused on Entai, I would worry that my dear hawk would have serious competition.”

A startled gasp escaped her and she turned wide eyes on D with her hands covering her mouth. He tapped her nose. “Do not look so surprised. You have more than proven yourself worthy of his attention. He likes you, and cares about you. And, like any fox with a prize, he will do anything to keep you safe. However, as I said, most of his interest is on Entai. I suspect that to him, you are a much beloved little sister; as he certainly treats you like one.” Stopping, D pushed open the door to her room and ushered her in, with the good doctor no more than a pace behind. Softly, he continued, placing a finger under her chin and forcing her to look at him. “Do not allow your prior experiences to darken what you find here. If the others find you precious, then let them care for you, and chase the shadows they see in your eyes away. Never doubt your worth while you are here. Here, it is truly their opinion that matters.”

Unbidden, tears began to trickle down her face, and she suddenly lurched forward to wrap her arms around D’s lean frame. For a few minutes, she cried silently into his chest, while his hands combed gently through her hair. For once in his life, Count D was tempted to visit a little justice on the human race for the sake of another human. It was a strange feeling.

Settling himself at the foot of her bed, Lee Sinhg watched the pair with a small smile on his face. This thing … this girl showing up here was a good thing, he decided. Knowing her would be a very good thing for the Count. It was yet another reminder that not all the human race was unsalvageable. He had seen the gradual softening in D's manner that Detecive Orcot and his younger brother had brought about, and this girl seemed to have furthered the cause. Coughing quietly to break up the moment, he gestured to the bed when the girl turned her reddened eyes on him. “Take off your top, please, and sit while I look at your wounds,” he asked in the most polite way he could manage, hiding a smile all the while.

When she sat down in front of him, she quickly discarded the obi and pulled the front of her kimono open, revealing the thick pink scars and the black thread that held them together. Fortunately she retained her modesty thanks to the black bra she wore. It wasn’t the one Ten had conjured for her, although it was somewhat similar. Jill had brought her several, quietly confiding that while Count D was full of surprises, she doubted he had a large stock of women's underthings.

Reaching out, he brushed a thumb over several of the injuries and “hmm”d. “I think the stitches can come out of these. They’ve healed much more quickly than I anticipated.” Picking up her hand, he deftly unwrapped it and inspected the hole through the middle of it. “Now, this needs to washed more often. See the red along the edges? It’s the beginning of an infection. My medicines fight infection and swelling, but if you don’t keep it clean, they won’t work as well." He deftly cleaned the wound, even as Ronan hissed at the sting of peroxide. "I am grateful this missed the tendons in your hand. That would have been difficult to treat.” Leaving the bandages off her hand, he reached down into his bag and pulled out a pair of small scissors and tweezers. “Hold still while I pull the stitches.” Though she twitched a few times when a thread pulled on tender skin, Sinhg was able to complete his task in mere moments and he pulled back to survey his handiwork. “That should do it. Even though the stitches are out, I advise that you try to keep from being too rough with yourself. There is still a possibility that you could reopen these. Continue taking the medicine I provided for you for another week. You should be out of danger by then.”

Pulling her clothing back around her, she looked up when Count D and Lee Sinhg turned toward the door. “Doctor Lee Sinhg?” she called hesitantly. “Thank you.”

He threw a smile back at her. “You are very welcome, my dear.”

Returning his smile until they’d shut the door behind them, she flopped back on her bed and stared at the ceiling, falling asleep within minutes. When Tetsu looked in on her an hour later she was dozing peacefully, and he quietly tucked her into bed, almost absently running his fingers through her hair where it spread out on the pillow for a moment before he turned jerkily on his heel and walked out, a soft snarl rumbling in his chest in frustration.

(*)(*)(*)(*)

I contribute the idea for Ten’s “Fluffy Moment Hall of Shame” entirely to LadyRainStarDragon and her Spirited Away series of fics.

(*bounces* Oh, this chapter was so sweet!!!!! I loved D and his comment about Ten and Entai!!! Subu did too! More, more, more, more please? *holds out cupped hands* Pwease??)