ShiKarneval: Crossover - Fighting In The Center Ring

Synopsys & Author's Note: In a world of Kemonomimi, Natsuno and Gareki are a young pair of Kemonomimi twins who used to be in a fight ring, their 'manager' sells them to a rich family who have two sons; Yogi and Tohru, whom the family expects the two ex-fighters to play bodyguard for. But, after growing up in such harsh surroundings as the Ring, Natsuno and Gareki have to learn that it's ok to trust someone outside themselves. Disclaimer/Warning, whatever you want to call it, this story touches on some sensitive and controversial subject matter (underground prize fighting/dog fighting and human trafficking kind of subject matter). I do not condone nor participate in any of these activities, so any and all depictions of such come from other media references. The polls are officially closed, here are the final results: Title: Fighting In The Center Circle (as it was called in the poll, but as you can see now it's Fighting In The Center Circle) with 6 votes. Natsuno and Gareki: Twin Wolfboys with 5 votes (second place Twins Natsuno a wolf, Gareki a Raven with 4 votes). Tohru and Yogi: Twins both Nekomimi and Yogi older than Tohru both Nekomimi tying at 2 votes each. Ages: Natsuno and Gareki Twins at 15, Yogi 21, and Tohru 18 as per canon with two votes. And finally, ratings and parings: M-Rated YoReki, NatsuTohru, Yohru, and GarUno with three votes, M-Rated YoReki and NatsuTohru only with 2 votes, and None/Keep it T-Rated with 1. For those of you who don't want the bro-cest, the T-Rated version is posted on . For those of you who don't mind and want the more adult stuff, you'll find it on my AO3 account.

And, before I forget, a special "THANK YOU" to everyone who visited my polls on to vote for this story. You guys had a lot more sway on this story than you may realize.

Chapter 1: The Deal

Tatsumi took a blow to the face and fell to the ground. Within seconds, the two young brothers were upon him. The wolf boy with sky blue hair and ears let out a snarl as he pushed one of the dark-haired teenagers off of him and bit into the neck of the other. His yellow eyes were filled with the intent to kill.

Gareki the fifteen year old wolf with raven black hair and dark black fur, sat up and shook his head. He had been the one Tatsumi threw. He quickly jumped to his feet and rushed at the blue haired wolf. "Get off of him, you bastard!" Gareki exclaimed as he kicked Tatsumi in the ribcage, throwing the older male across the ring into the wall.

Natsuno looked up at his brother, his dark violet blue eyes filled with pain, as he held a hand over the spot on his throat where Tatsumi had bit him. Gareki's stormy blue eyes turned dangerously toward their opponent. Fists clenched, he approached Tatsumi. In truth, none of them could remember how long this fight between them had been going on. They had each tuned out the cheering of the crowd. All three of them were covered in sweat, bruises, and blood. They were all breathing heavy. Tatsumi was dazed, having hit his head against the wall. Natsuno pushed himself to his feet and followed behind his brother. In this moment of slow down, they could hear the crowd again. Some people were cheering, others booing. The twins stood over the older wolf and turned their eyes to the crowd. Tatsumi's 'manager' was there tonight. The little bat girl had rose to her feet, hand over her mouth, her dark eyes widened. If the bell didn't ring soon, the kill order would be given and she would loose her best fighter, and her favorite pet.

Natsuno smiled, nothing would make him happier. He looked to Gareki who smiled and nodded at him. Natsuno turned his eyes to the chairmen. Sunako, Palnedo, Ryuu, and Uro. Sunako was very unhappy. Uro, however, had a wide grin. While Sunako relied solely upon Tatsumi as her best fighter, Uro had two sets of fighters he relied upon. Gareki and Natsuno being one of the two. Tatsumi had been reigning champion for years, but this pair had been quickly rising in the ranks. He and Sunako had bet upon this match. If Tatsumi looses and lives, she was to sign him over to Uro. If Gareki and Natsuno loose, Uro would have to get rid of them.

Palnedo, the head chairman was aware of this bet, but as long as the fight turned a profit, he didn't care what the outcome was. Sunako was pleading with Ryuu to sound the bell and end the match. Sure, Tatsumi would loose if he didn't retaliate before the bell rang, but signing him over to Uro, then buying him back at a later date was a much better option than Palnedo giving the kill order.

Palnedo sat perfectly still. The members of the crowd who had placed bets on the two brothers winning the match were cheering, chanting for the order. Yet, the old man remained unmoved. Natsuno and Gareki looked at each other in quiet confusion. Palnedo was biding his time on the decision. The match was still on.

"Damn it all, just give the order, so I can kill the bastard already," Natsuno snorted irritably, "I can't strike him until he gets up without a kill order."

"Grab him by the collar and force him on his feet!" Gareki snipped. "Let's get this over with. Dr. Azana needs to tend to that wound on your neck soon, you know."

Natsuno sighed and nodded. "Fair enough!" He reached down and caught hold of Tatsumi's collar, jerking the blue haired wolf off the ground and onto his feet, as his brother had suggested. Tatsumi had felt limp and lifeless in his hands, eyes closed, slow, quiet breathing. Natsuno gave him a quick shake to try and rouse him. No matter what grudge there was between himself and his current opponent outside the Ring, there were still rules they had to follow in the Ring. Tatsumi opened his eyes and gave a devilish grin. He had Natsuno right where he wanted him. He caught hold of the young wolf's wrist with one hand, and landed a karate chop to Natsuno's neck, in the same spot he'd bitten. This was quickly followed by a kick to Natsuno's stomach as he wrenched himself free of the grip on his collar.

Natsuno let out a yelp of pain as Tatsumi's foot connected with his midsection. Natsuno sank to his knees, once again, doubled over in pain. Gareki quickly retaliated on his brother's behalf with a flurry of punches, each one Tatsumi quickly side stepped, ducked or dodged. Just as Gareki finally landed a punch to send Tatsumi staggering backwards, the bell rang. Jeers were heard from the crowd all around.

"Time is up!" Ryuu announced, "This match is closed at a draw! Combatants, return to your quarters!"

"Damn," Gareki scoffed, turning to check on his brother. "Natsuno, can you even walk?"

"Yeah," Natsuno insisted with a nod, forcing himself to stand. "There's no way in hell I'm going to let this crowd see me carried out on a stretcher."

Gareki smiled. "'Atta'boy."

"Tsk," Tatsumi growled, "Damn it all. One minute longer, and I would have been finished with both of you."

Gareki smirked. "Too bad there won't be a next time. We're about to be under the same manager!"

"Tatsumi? What happened out there! You weren't supposed to loose!" Sunako scolded, when she met him off the stage.

Tatsumi's ears drooped. "I'm sorry, Sunako," he said, turning his eyes to the ground. "I gave it my all. Most tag-teams don't give me any trouble at all… But then, most tag teams don't work together like those boys do."

Sunako frowned at him, stomped one of her feet, and placed her hands on her hips. "So you're telling me you underestimated them?" she exclaimed. Tatsumi flinched and gave a quiet nod. "Tatsumi…" she sighed in frustration, placing two fingers to her forehead and slightly flexing her wings. "Now I have to go deal with Uro's gloating. A draw is better than a real loss, but next time be more careful in judging your opponents. You're supposed to be the champ out there, after all!"

Uro clapped his hands as he entered the room with Gareki and Natsuno. "Brilliant work out there, boys! Impressive display of skills. You've certainly earned your table scraps for the night. The Kafka Arena doesn't normally let combatants run by the same 'manager' to fight one another, as it stacks the betting odds in the favor of the manager no matter who wins, but I'm almost willing to bet you two are better than Kagiri and Kiharu now," he laughed.

"Palnedo probably wouldn't hesitate to give the kill command if we went up against those two idiots," Gareki snarked.

Uro raised an eyebrow. Gareki and Natsuno were two of his best, no, they were his best, but for some reason, Kagiri and Kiharu were his favorites. Maybe it was because the later pair was actually more afraid of and respectful toward him in comparison to the former. He turned and slapped Gareki across the cheek. "Don't get a big head, just because I'm praising you!" Uro scolded. "This match STILL ended in a draw, I'll remind you!"

"We could have killed him outright if that stupid old fart hadn't refused to give the kill order!" Natsuno objected, "Don't blame us for rules that prevent us from attacking unconscious enemies with out it!" Natsuno ducked to the side as Uro threw something at him. It just barely whizzed past his head, and the crashing sound of glass could be heard as the unidentified item broke against the wall behind him.

"Either of you speak out of turn again, and you can forget those table scraps altogether," Uro warned. "That annoying little wench Sunako is probably going to gloat her head off," he sighed. "Dr. Azana will be in here to check up on you both in a moment."

Uro turned and left the room. He almost instantly bumped into Sunako. His long slender cougar like tail twitched as his eyes met with hers. He tried to be polite towards his cohort, however. "Greetings, Sunako. Great match tonight. I hope my boys didn't rough Tatsumi up too badly?" he asked with a plastered on smile.

"I think your boys left the Ring in worse shape than he did," Sunako replied with a smirk. "At least he didn't stagger out of the Ring."

Uro frowned. "Natsuno did take quite a beating," he admitted, "But if Tatsumi hadn't woke up when he did, Palnedo may have given the kill order. Even so, Gareki has a few bruises and a busted lip, but otherwise, he was hardly scathed. So, shall we retreat to the conference room and discuss his transfer into my management?"

"Oh no you don't!" Sunako snipped, "Tatsumi's ownership papers remain in my name. Those boys of yours are disrespectful toward you anyway, why don't you do yourself a favor and get rid of them?"

"Not happening!" Uro insisted, "You know better than to get attached to your fighters in this business. They aren't pets, Sunako! They're nothing but cannon fodder to satisfy the crowds' bloodlusts! Just admit defeat and sign him over already!"

"You're one to talk, the way you dote on those other two of yours," Sunako shrieked.

"That's enough, the both of you!" Palnedo's voice interrupted them. "Honestly, you're behaving like children. Uro, I thought Ryuu was the only one around here you let get under your skin!"

"What can I say," Uro sighed, "This crazy old bat's voice hurts my ears." Sunako frowned and took in one deep breath, flexing her wings, she hovered in the air, just over Uro's shoulder. She gave a sinister smirk as she shrieked out her echolocation, directly into his ears. Uro shivered and threw his hands to his ears, every inch of fur on them and his tail standing on end. "Gyah, see what I mean!?"

"Sunako, is that really necessary?" Palnedo asked with a sigh.

Sunako giggled. "I'm sorry," she said, "But he did ask for that."

"I couldn't agree more," Ryuu muttered from behind Palnedo.

The old goat sighed and shook his head. "This match ended as a draw," Palnedo reminded them both, "No one won, no one lost, so come to a compromise. Uro, get rid of the two boys, sell them at an auction to the highest bidder by the end of the week. Sunako, sign Tatsumi's ownership papers over to Uro, you can put your girl Megumi in the Ring and buy Tatsumi back in three months."

"That poodle's no fighter," Uro snarked, "She's breeding stock isn't she?"

"You're confusing her with Nao, the Chihuahua," Sunako replied, "That one's mind broke a long time ago, there's no putting her back in the Ring again ever. Megumi, however, can just about give Tatsumi a run for his money." She glanced back toward the room she'd just left Tatsumi in and gave a briefed sigh. "FINE! I'll sign Tatsumi over for three months, then buy him back at half the price Uro sells Natsuno and Gareki for."

Palnedo nodded at Sunako, then turned his eyes to Uro. Uro nodded. "I think that's acceptable," he agreed. "Very well, I'll sell them in the auction at the end of the week."

"It won't hurt to put Megumi in the Ring for a while, she's put your Shitzu Mine in her place before, I'm willing to wager she can stand up to that bull of yours, too," Sunako said with a smile.

"You mean Derumen?" Uro asked. "Oh, ho, ho, is that another challenge, Sunako?" Sunako smiled and Uro laughed. "You're on!"

Unlike Sunako, Uro decided not to divulge the terms of the agreement to Gareki and Natsuno. They were a little suspicious when he brought them a larger meal than usual, and rightfully so. Random pieces of food had been laced with sedatives. Their vision slowly became blurry and their eyelids heavy. It didn't take long for them both to fall asleep. The pair vaguely recalled waking up off and on again, to find themselves in cages and to hear bits and pieces of conversation about how they were being sold. When the drugs finally wore off, they each awoke to find themselves in an unfamiliar place.

By the way, as you guys can tell, I currently don't have names for these Chapters, any suggestions are more than welcome.

Special Thanks to ChaelRi Reika for this Chapter title! ^_^