Chapter 1
"Master Long, I'm ready for the more advanced techniques!" A young teenage zoanthrope exclaimed to her Kenpo teacher.
Uriko was 15 years old school gorl and a zoanthrope fighter. However compaired to the others like he, she was far from formidable. With her beast form being a simple house cat, she was significantly weaker than the other local zoanthrope. She was desperate to prove herself among the others, but Long refused to push her training any further.
"Not until you have perfected the basics and fundamentals." The tiger said sternly. "Run those three forms again. Five times each, and this time Uriko… No mistakes." He looked over his glasses at his pupil before sitting down to practicing his calligraphy.
Uriko stepped back at her teachers look. It wasn't a threatening look, though that would have been easyer for her to handle. Master Long rarely ever showed any emotion on his face. At 28, he was only four years older than her sister Alice, but had spent almost his entire life devoted to training his mind and body. He had only recently moved to the city after their last major battle with Xion and the Tylon Corporation to be better prepared for any future conflict. That, and to be closer to a certain leopard he secretly admired, a fact he would never admit to.
"Fine but I wish you would stop babying me Master." Uriko pouted. "You're the only one my mother will allow me to train with, but you haven't taught me anything new in months!" She continued her rant while performing her forms with an efficiency and fluidity that rivaled her teacher's calligraphy. Long had stopped listening to her quite a while ago as this seemed to have become as routine as their weekly training sessions.
Every Saturday and Sunday, it was the same thing, after completing her homework and morning chores, she would walk to his apartment and they would spend the next five hours training. When they took a break, she would ask him to start teaching her more advanced techniques and he would refuse, stating that she should focus on what she already knew, and at the end of their sessions, she would complain about him babying her.
The truth was Uriko really was ready to continue her training, but Long could not bring himself to teach her. The loss of his little sister years ago had hurt him greatly and seeing Uriko fight in actual combat only served to remind him of her. He knew that advancing her skills would ultimately lead to her being involved in more dangerous battles and that was something he just could not allow to happen. Uriko had filled the void left by his sister and he could not bear to risk her safety.
"That is enough for to day. The sun is beginning to set and you should not be out at night. I will escort you home." His words were smooth and calm. Uriko was old enough to walk herself home but knew it was pointless to argue with her teacher. Besides that it was almost summer, and some pretty strange people came out on these warm nights.
The felines walked quietly through the park as a shortcut back to Uriko's house. "So master." Uriko broke the silence between them. "How are things between you and Shina going?" she asked playfully. Long was caught off guard by the bluntness of her question and nearly choked on his breath.
"What do you mean?" he asked attempting to sound unfazed. "I'm sure Ms. Gado is doing quite well. She is more than capable of taking care of herself." Uriko began to giggle at her teacher's embarrassment. "Which is more than I can say for you little miss Uriko." He said in a matter of fact voice.
Uriko's laughter came to a stop and she stuck her tongue out at him a childish way. "Well maybe if you stopped babying me and continued my training I could be strong like Shina!" She was now confident in herself because she knew she was right at this point. She walked ahead of him with her head up high before a man jumped out of the bushes with a knife.
"How's it goin toots?" He said with a devilish grin. "What's a pretty little thing like you doing out here with a loser lookin guy like him?" Uriko was becoming irritated with the man's boasts and insults. As he continued talking her temper rose. "Hmph! Hey four-eyes that's some pretty fancy outfit you got on there. Something like that must have cost a pretty penny, and I'm willing to bet there's more where that came from. So how about you hand over all the money you got and no one will get hurt."
The man was so caught up with his own speech he didn't even notice that Long had walked right past him ad was dragging a now fuming Uriko by the collar of her shirt.
"HEY I'M TALKIN HEAR!" he shouted but Long did not stop while Uriko continued shouting an incoherent mixture of taunts, insults, and threats at the man. "Don't you walk away from me, you coward!" He yelled while running to catch up with them. At hearing his last remark Uriko was in frenzy. She flailed her arms about and was wearing out the souls of her shoes trying to free herself from Longs grip.
The man leapt at them with his knife drawn. "I'll teach you not to ignore me, you bastard!" he shouted getting closer to them.
"MASTER!" Uriko shouted and as if on cue, Long tossed the girl into the air, spun and gave the man a straight kick to the gut that made him drop his weapon and sent him flying skyward toward his student. The thug's eyes widened as he got closer to Uriko just as she began to flip forward and delivered a punishing axe kick to the mans face sending him back down like a bullet.
He was flying to the ground face first and thought he was surly going to die the moment his face made contact with the ground. He clenched his eyes at the last moment when he suddenly stopped. He felt him self snatched by his belt and was lost as to what just happened. He opened his eyes and looked around noting that he was being held off the ground. He looked up to see long holding him with one hand but as soon as his eyes met Long's face, Long let him drop to the ground.
"What the hell are you? Some kinda freak…." He was cut off by Uriko finally coming down landing square on his stomach making him pass out.
"Serves you right, you jerk!" she scoffed; her anger finally subsiding.
"Shall we continue Ms. Uriko?" Long motioned to her house which was now in clear view. She nodded and they were soon at the Nonomura household.
"Geez I hope no one saw our little show out there in the park." She said as they walked up the stairs to her front door. "Alice would flip her lid if she saw me fighting like tha…" as soon as they reached the door Alice practically ripped it off the hinges and had a first aid kit in hand.
"OHMYGOSH URIKO I WAS SO WORRIED!" Alice exclaimed.
"And here we go..." Uriko said under her breath.
"Hurry, come inside so I can take a look at you." She rushed both of them into the living room and began wrapping her sister with bandages. "I saw that horrible man with a knife and got so scared. I called mom and she…"
"WAIT! You did WHAT?" Uriko interrupted her sisters rambling in shock of what she just said.
"Yea, I called mom. I though she should know immediately so I called her and she…" Alice was interrupted again, this time by her mother, barging into the room. As soon as Mitsuko saw her youngest child wrapped in bandages, she set her eyes on Long.
"HOW COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN TO MY BABY GIRL? SHE BEGS ME TO LET YOU TRAIN HER AND YOU LET THIS HAPPEN! DON'T YOU KNOW THERE ARE CRAZY PEOPLE OUT WHEN THE SUN GOES DOWN!" Mitsuko was shouting while ringing Long's neck.
"Mom." Uriko interrupted. "I'm ok, see? Alice let me go." She stood up and peeled away the bandages her sister had used to practically mummify her. As the bandages came off to reveal Uriko's smooth pail skin, Mitsuko noticed a small scrape on her forearm.
"YOU LET MY BABY GET HURT!" Mitsuko launched Long out of the nearby window and he crashed amongst the garbage cans out front.
"Mom…" Uriko got her mothers attention again. She licked her thumb and whipped the spot her mom thought was a scrape. "It was just dirt mom. I'm telling you I'm fine." Her mother simply smiled and walked over to the now shattered window and waved to Long.
"Sorry dear. My mistake. Don't worry about the window; Uriko will be by in a week for more training. You have a good evening now." She waved him off with a smile, and he bowed his goodbye.
'Such a peculiar family.' He thought to himself as he headed off into the night.
As Long walked home he heard the distinct sound of large wings flapping. He looked into the distance to see what looked like a large bat flying into the city toward a tall building, and immediately Long knew where she was going. He sighed to himself "Jenny." He said in a worrisome tone. "Shina is not going to like this. Not one bit."
He changed course and ran toward the inner city. When he got to the other side of the park, he swiftly scaled a fire escape completely unnoticed. Upon reaching the roof he transformed and the tiger continued to his target with great speed.
Only a few blocks away at this point he stopped atop a water tower on the roof of a tall building to see how close Jenny was to her target. His keen emerald eyes pierced through the dark to see her circling over the building. Long wasted no time in closing the distance between himself and the building.
Jenny swooped onto a balcony of the building's penthouse, changed and stroled into the dark apartment. Long was not far behind and nimbly leapt from the roof of a neighboring building, landing silently on a fire escape and making his way to the balcony. He changed back and confronted Jenny.
"Jenny what are you up to." He questioned. "You know Shina will not be happy that you decided to just drop in uninvited."
Jenny only smirked back to him in the dark when a voice was heard from in the across the room. "Who said she wasn't invited?" Gado said in a relaxed tone of voice. He cut on the light to reveal himself in tan cargo pants and no shirt. Gado was almost 50, but despite his age and countless scars, he was the picture of physical fitness and quite intimidating. "However, I did not expect a visit from you as well." He finished rubbing the back of his neck.
The trio made there way to a large room with a wall of windows that faced east overlooking the city. The room was simply decorated with some couches a coffee table and a few well-framed pictures on the wall. Long had been to the Gado's home before but never secede to be impressed. When he noticed that there were not sounds coming from the rest of the home. "Is your daughter not home?" He questioned the older man.
"Actually Long, Shina recently moved into the building across the street. Her condo is only two floors lower than this one." He informed the Kenpo master. Long was confused because whenever he came to see her, it was always here at her father's condo. "But she does still have a room here, and actually chooses to stay here rather than at her own place most of the time." Gado chuckled.
"So, what's with the house call sugar?" Jenny asked seductively, which also puzzled Long. Even though Jenny appeared to be in her twenties, no one knew how old she actually was. One thing was for sure, that she and Gado definitely went way back, and in these times of peace have become quite close to one another. Much to Shina's contempt.
Gado had to clear his throat to keep his composure. "Well you see, recently Shina has been coming over smelling like blood. At first I thought nothing of it, perhaps the result of her beast training out in the forest. But one night Shenlong had to carry her home because she was so badly beaten." Gado said straightly.
Long clenched his jaw at the thought of Shina getting hurt, but more so at the thought of Shenlong being the one to care for her instead of him, or anyone else. Gado quietly took note of the young tiger's reaction.
"I know you and your clone do not always see eye to eye." Gado said sympathetically. "And in truth I was weary of him myself for a while. That boy has been through a lot in his life and caused a lot of pain." He paused briefly to organize his thoughs. "But I have noticed a change in him lately. However small it may be. Though he still goes looking for trouble and keeps to himself, Shina has even recognized that he has become a better person."
This information had Long baffled, and internally fuming. 'Could she be developing feelings for him? What about us? We always enjoy eachother's company and she has even stayed at my apartment on a few occasions. What is going on?' His mind was racing.
"He may be pretty rough around the edges, but there is no denying that Shenlong is actually a pretty good guy when he wants to be. And for that I trust him." Gado finished.
"Wow, sounds like the big blue lug has become quite the gentleman." Jenny said lightly. "Are you sure you can trust him though sugar? Especially with that precious daughter of yours. Who knows what his true intentions are…" She finished with a villanous smirk.
It was no secret that Shina hated Jenny for being so close to her father. Their rivalry for the lion's affection was even more powerful than the friction between the two tigers.
"I think I should go." Long stood and began to walk to the door. Gado walked with him and stopped him just outside of the door.
"Before you go, I would like to have a word with you." He said softly and Long obliged.
"I know things between you and Shenlong are rough at best." He started. "But I assure you he is not the same black hearted man he once was. He has proven it to me, as well as Shina and many of the others. You of all people should know how much a man is capable of changing if given enough time. Besides that you two are practically brothers and it would be best if you could learn to at least get along."
"He is NOT my brother." Long said sternly. "A mindless brute like him could never be related to me." Long scoffed
There were a few seconds of silence betweent the men, before it ws broken by Gado. "May I tell you something?" He paused and Long looked up at him, still with a disgusted expression on his face at the thought of being related to the other tiger.
"He looks up to you, you know." Gado said leaning against his doorframe. "It was a while ago. Shina and I got into another argument about Jenny and she stormed off. I went down town to a bar to try and calm my nerves with some Scotch…"
~Flash Back~
"Hey scar face! What brings the king of beasts out to the slums with these common folk?" Shenlong mocked only serving to further irritate Gado.
"Beat it Stripes! I'm not in the mood to put up with your foolishness tonight, got it!" He said with a threatening tone.
"Hey, hey, now calm it down. You know I didn't mean anything by it." He said patting Gado's shoulder. "Look why don't you come have a drink and try to make this a good night huh?" He grinned and pointed to a table with his thumb.
"Fine, if it will shut you up." Gado grumbled.
"Quit whining and grab a chair already." Long said with a smirk.
Shenlong was tossing them back, one drink after the other. It didn't matter what it was as long it had alcohol he would take it. Gado was still completely sober only on his third glass of scotch watered down with plenty of ice.
"Oh man! All that over the old bat?" He laughed obnoxiously.
"Watch it smurf!" Gado warned taking another swig of his drink.
"I'm just sayin. Shinas quite the fire cracker when she gets goin, huh?" He asked finishing off another drink.
"Yea, but what are ya gunna do. When she feels strongly about or against something she wont back down." Gado said sighing to himself.
Shenlong's intoxicated laughter had stopped, and his voice became much more somber.
"Yea I hear you. She reminded me of that the other day when she kicked me square in the face." He rubbed his cheek where he remembered he got kicked like a soccer ball. "Why does she hate me so much anyway?" he asked sounding depressed. He layed his head on the table and looked up at Gado through hazy eyes.
Gado raised an eyebrow at the young mans change in demeanor. "Well according to her, you're an arrogant bastard who thinks that because you have money, you should get whatever you want. After that she would go off on a rant. What Long says isn't much better. Actually it's the same thing she says just more polite." Gado finished.
"Oh yea… that's why…" Shenlong said in a sorry tone. "Long... That jerk…" Shenlong started. Gado only looked at him while he seemingly talked no one. "That bastard has everything doesn't he? Except money, that's for sure. At least I'm rich and he's socially retarded." He said chuckling to himself. "I'm even a better fighter than he is... But still…" Shenlong stopped and seemed lost in his thoughts.
"But what?" Gado questioned.
"But at least he had a real life. Real memories, real experiences, a real family… all of my memories were made by a madman with a fancy computer. He even gave me some of Longs memories to make up part of my so-called child hood." Shenlong stopped to take another drink but stopped and dropped it on the floor.
"Those monsters who made me… even let me think I had a little sister… and that I let her die." He said with a huff. "Her name was Rinrei and she would have been about 14 years old now, if she was alive." Gado's eyes went wide at the sudden disclosure. Long never talked about his past, or his family. Much less any siblings.
"Are you telling me that Long actually had a little sister? Or was that just something made up by the organization?" Gado asked trying not to sound too forward.
"Yep!" Shenlong shouted. "The golden boy had a baby sister." He sat up and looked Gado in the face. "And he's the one who let her die." His eyes were now puffy and red. Gado thought he was about to break down and cry.
"I had no idea…" Gado said turning away from him, at a loss for words at this point. Shenlong looked at him and recomposed himself.
"They made me belive I turned my back on her when she was struggling with her powers. That I was so caught up with my own transformations, that I refused to help her when she needed me most. Just thinking about it pisses me off! For years that hung over my head, I wanted to die. And then out of the blue here's a guy who looks like he could be my twin!" He began waving his arms in the air and smiling while he spoke.
"I thought finally someone some one who would understand me." He chuckled, and looked down and dropped his shoulders. "Then that bastard Tylon had to ruin it, and send reality crashing down around me.
'You're just a clone.'
Sadistic bastard…
'Some of your memories are actually his; the rest were all fabricated by yours truley.'
I can still hear him laughing." Shenlong was laughing but his eyes were full of sorrow. Gado had no idea what to do in this situation. He had never seen Shenlong of all people be vulnerable in any way. What he said next changed how Gado viewed him from that point on.
"Tylon escaped, and Long had a lot of explaining to do! I attacked him for letting Rinrei die. But he said that he did everything that he could too save her from her fate." He smirked as he continued.
"I didn't buy it for a second until… until I heard that freak Busuzima talking in his lab. Everything Long said… all of it…. It was true." The tiger stood from the table and started stumbling toward the door.
Gado wasn't sure weather to help him at this point and stop his talking, or simply watch him and see how far this confession went. He chose the later as Shenlong bumped into tables and eventually found himself leaning against the doorframe. He looked into the sky to see storm clouds had gathered in the seemingly short time they had been in the bar. He shifted himself so he could look directly at Gado as the rains fell just behind him.
"I hate that man because he is everything I'm not… and…. He's the closest thing I'll ever have to family. Even if all of his family died, at least he had them." He finished with a sigh before falling from the doorframe face down into the rain soaked street. Gado couldn't just leave him so he took him back to his condo until he woke up and left without a word.
~End Flash Back~
Long had been intently listening to the older man's story and was having a difficult time believing Shenlong actually felt that way and said those words. Long's racing mind was interrupted once again by Gado's voice.
"Just try to understand him. You two share a lot more than DNA believe it or not." Gado said with a light smile. Long simply nodded and started down the hall and got on the elevator.
Gado went back into his home to his other guest who had made herself quite comfortable by stretching out on a couch and grabbing herself a glass of red wine.
"That was quite the interesting tale you told sugar." She said lightly taking a sip from her glass. "Now tell me, was all of that true or did you just catch a tiger by the tail?" he finished with a light laugh.
Gado wasn't surprised that she had heard everything that was said between him and Long. "Well hun, you know I'm not the type to tell a lie. All of it was 100% straight from the tiger's mouth." He said raising his palm.
"Heh, I believe the correct term is from the horse's mouth but I see your point." She snickered. "Now then, since I'm normally the one who calls for a good time..." She said temtatiosly. "I can only assume that you need my assistance with that daughter of yours." She set her glass on the table and crossed her legs.
Brought back to reality, Gado sat on a chair opposite of Jenny and rested his elbows on his knees. "You're right, as always." He started. "She's been out fighting but won't tell me anything." He sighed and looked down at the table. "Whenever I try to talk to her about it, she mentions you and gets angry before storming off."
Jenny scoffed at first, but she could hear the concern in her lover's voice. Shina never approved of their relationship, partially because of how much younger Jenny appeared than her father. But what really bothered her was that even though she was only Gado's adopted child, she was very much her father's daughter and couldn't stand the thought of another woman taking him from her.
"Well sugar, it's no secret that your little kitten can't stand me. But what exactly do you want me to do? That's the question I need answered." Jenny said flatly starting to get impatient.
Gado rubbed his eyelids and decided to just come out with it. "I need you to follow her and find out where she's going and getting beaten so badly." He said hastily and looked at Jenny anticipating her answer.
There were a few moments of silence, "Alright, I'll do it." She answered plainly with a shrug. Gado was surprised that she didn't put up any kind of fight. He started to smile and thank her but was quickly cut off. "However!" She started sternly. Jenny stood up and walked over to him with a seductive look in her eye. "You owe me for this one sugar. And I mean BIG!" She kissed him lightly, and turned to walk toward the balcony. "I'll tell you what I find in a few days." She said with a wave, then quickly transformed and took flight. Gado was left with a loss for words. 'What did I just get myself into?' he thought to himself. He simply rubbed his head and went back to bed.
Across town Uriko's night hadn't made much improvement. "URIKO, 10 more minutes and I want you off the phone okay sweetie?" Mitsuko called from down stairs.
"BUT MOM I'M TALKING TO KENJI! BESIDES ITS ONLY 9:30!" The girl retorted.
"IT DOESN'T MATTER. YOUR LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL STARTS IN THE MORNING, AND YOU NEED PLENTY OF REST FOR YOUR EXAMS. BESIDES ALICE DIDN'T SPEND THIS MUCH TIME ON THE PHONE WITH YUGO IN HIGH SCHOOL. 10 MINUTES." Mitsuko said a bit more sternly this time.
"SHE DIDN'T KNOW YUGO IN HIGHSCHOOL MOM!" Uriko was getting more frustrated by the second. She could only sigh to herself, and go back to talking to her boyfriend. "Kenji I swear there are too many women in this house! And knowing Alice she will probably want to stay the night so she can walk me to school tomorrow. Why does everyone treat me like just a little kid?" she whined.
Kenji could only laugh, she sounded so cute when she got all worked up like this. "I'm sure it's just cus they care Uriko. Remember when I got back from my ninja training and Yugo was extra protective for no reason?" Kenji said with a laugh trying to lighten his girlfriend's mood.
"Yea I remember, you ended up running away and Alice found you. That's how we ended up meeting." She said with a light blush remembering her first incounter with the young mole. "But at least Yugo never babyed you. He protected you but still gave you your space." Her tone back to frustration remembering how only a few hours ago her mom had launched her Kenpo teacher out of a window, and Alice had practically suffocated her with gauze. "My family goes way past protective and is just smothering me."
"I wouldn't know what that's like. I've never had a sister or mom. At least I don't think so. I still have no memory of my life before Yugo found me. So as far back as I can remember I have always had a brother looking out for me and helping me grow up. The fact that your sister distracts most of his free time isn't bad either." He continued joking still trying to lighten the kitten's mood.
"Uriko!" Alice burst into the room wearing her pajamas. "Guess who's walking you to school on her way to the hospital tomorrow." She cheered in a singsong voice.
"UHHHGGG! ALICE I TOLD YOU STOP BURSTING INTO MY ROOM!" Uriko screamed, but her sister only laughed, as Kenji remained quiet on the phone.
"Aww Uriko you're so cute when you get all worked up." She said with a giggle. "Oh yea and mom says get off the phone for the night." She snatched the phone from her little sister and ended the call.
"YOU JERK! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?" Uriko shrieked.
"Would you rather have mom come rip the phone out of the wall?" She asked in a teasing voice.
"You could have at least let me say goodnight to him first! How would you like it if the second mom said it was time for him to go I judo kicked Yugo out of the window?" She asked enraged.
"Silly Uriko," Alice giggled. "I moved out remember. I could just go stay at his house for the night." Uriko would have sworn Alice was mocking her with that answer and was ready to attack her on the spot.
"YOU'RE IMPOSSIBLE! I WISH I HAD AN OLDER BROTHER SO SOMEONE IN THIS HOUSE WOULDN'T TREAT ME LIKE A BABY!" Alice had to cover her ears to shield them from the volume of her sister's voice. The fact that a smile never left her face only bugged Uriko more.
"Ok girls enough playing around up there. Its time for light's out." Mitsuko yelled from the kitchen.
"You heard her." Uriko scoffed folding her arms and glaring at her sister before turning to face out the window. "Get out of my room."
"Aww, but Uriko I haven't even tucked you in." The elder sister said sweetly, and bounded over to her sister.
"Tuck me in…?" Uriko raised an eyebrow at the foolish suggestion. Before she knew it Alice had tackled her to the bed and was attempting to wrap her tightly in he sheets.
"What are you doing? Get off me. ALICE GET OFF!" She her anger made her transform and with a feral sounding "MEOW!" The half cat had launched Alice out of the room into a wall across the hall where she fell to her knees. Alice winced in pain at the bump forming on the back of her head and looked up to see her transformed little sister hiss and slam the door.
Mitsuko looked up the stairs at her eldest child. "Whats going on up there? I sad no rough housing!" she said sternly.
"Oh nothing mom." She smiled down to her mother. "Just saying goodnight to Uriko. I think I will turn in for the night too."
"Ok hun, goodnight. I'll have breakfast ready in the morning before you take your sister to school. She's going to need a balanced breakfast if she's going to do well on her last few tests." Mitsuko waved her daughter off for the night.
Uriko spent the next few hours calming herself down and thinking of a way to escape the madness that was her family. She only had three days of class before the summer vacation started and the women in her family would all but stuff her in a diaper and a high chair. She had to find a way to escape for the summer or she would lose her mind. She drifted off into sleep with nightmares of her sister and mom bringing her a bottle of milk and a rattle in public. She squirmed and whined in her sleep.