Summary: Yō Satō, otherwise known by his identifiable nom de guerre, "Pervert" is hungry again just like any other night. But this night is different, this is the night that everything changes, when a little girl in the market is hurt in the Wolves' fight. Placed right after the last episode.
A/N: I am deeply interested in anime. The Japanese culture fascinates me and never fails to impress me. However, I can't for some reason find it comfortable for me to use the proper honorifics they use without learning the language and therefore I will not be using them. I hope that does not affect the flavor of the text too much.
Yō Satō had become a pretty distinguished fighter. He had revolved his fighting style off of some of the characters in Virtua Fighter 2, using them as an anchor to help him defeat wolves. Remembering his Dog days where he was so involved with his emotions was incorrect. Well, not completely incorrect. He learned to remember the code of the Wolves, and to fight not for just his beliefs, but to rely on his hunger to strengthen his resolve.
Overcoming Orthros was intensely difficult, but with the help of Ren Nikaidou the pair now coined as the "Two Dogs" defeated them. Though, to an extent his "stomach's howl" was at the strongest it has ever been since he ran around the block several times before coming back to the store. He had another run in with Yū Kaneshiro or "The Wizard." He spoke to Sato about how much stronger you became when you were hungry, and that it is known that when a predator hunts after prey on an empty stomach, their abilities are immensely strengthened by the degree of their hunger.
He was not excited by the Sawagi sisters trailing him after his defeat. He did not notice before, but when an incident where he was being attack by Ume Shiraume again, a punch that reeled his head back, he noticed the elder twin sister (distinguished by her longer hair), in a bush. Since her defeat, she had vowed vengeance on him and he eagerly awaited her return to the fight.
So here he was, standing in front of a new market called "Pockie One-ja." A chain that recently began to build notoriety for both their outstanding display of French imports and Russian snacks. He was here to test out their new Ben-To, and was not expecting most of the normal wolves to show up at the new store. He was here to fight Orthros, and they tended to bring down the whole congregation of wolves with them whenever they fought. Albeit it might slightly wind them to give him a handicap, he hated getting more people hurt then necessary, to a degree.
So here he stood, sending the text to Kyō and inviting her and her younger sister to come. Hana Oshiroi decided she would have donbei this afternoon and work on her novel. That novel gave him shivers. Why Shiraume still did not see her child hood friend wouldn't reciprocate her feelings flew by his head. It's not like he was ever oblivious to anything at all. If any girl had feelings for her, he would instantly respond to those feelings! At least, that's how he felt.
Speaking of feelings, Ren had convinced Sen and Shaga to aid him in a fellow dispute between wolves. A similar situation had arisen that Sen felt particularly strong against. It had something to do with two rival wolf clan's and a certain female wolf that they were fighting over which caused another whole dispute. Satō sighed deeply as he rested his head against his hands and walked in.
The doors gave way for his entrance, it slid smoothly on its bearings. The whole place radiated with a great new store feeling, the tiles were all very clean, the ceiling bright, and the employees beaming with personality. Yō wasn't quite sure if he was the first wolf on the scene and approached one of the cashiers.
He was a somewhat average looking man, reminded him of a comedian by the way his face was structured. He wore a green apron and thick glasses. His name tag read: "Kei Yamato, Employee." Approaching him with a smile he seemed to staring his night shift.
"Welcome earnest customer!" Kei clamored in a rather optimistic fashion as he bowed to Yō. He smiled and extended a hand out to Yō. Satō gladly took the hand and greeted Kei. He gripped the hand hard and narrowed his eyes and didn't let go.
"Where is your manager?" He asked rather abruptly. The employee began to feel uncomfortable. His smile was still on his face, but it was nervous, and a chill went down his spine.
"My-my manager?" He slightly stuttered. "Uh, oh, of course! Let me call her up." As Kei turned around and called out to his boss with his walkie-talkie, our famed wolf inspected the store. The customers otherwise known as the "Herd," usually know about the fight between wolves. Those who were fresh had to be wary of the fight the wolves had.
Grandma's who were picking up last second ingredients, father's who were out on a run for his wife, teens who wanted to stockpile for an after-school party. They were all an important role in the store, and that was to keep it running through their normal priced purchases.
The store had unique items on the shelves though, since it was crossed with a lot of foreign products. Not many people were in the store since it's grand opening was only earlier this week. Satō was quick to notice there were quite a few foreigners at the store. Smiling at their efforts to look for ingredients that they're more familiar with.
The manager showed up as he was eying the back where all of the bento were shelved. He was eager to see what they had, and had purposefully skipped lunch to prepare is fight with Orthros.
"Hello, my name is Yuki Shizuka and I'm the manager of Pockie One-ja. What can I help you with?" She bowed sincerely as she fiddled with her hands nervously.
Satō blinked twice to hide the fact that he really wanted to just dive into the sea of her breasts. She could not have been older then twenty five, but her beauty matched that of his object of obsession. Her hair was as long as brunette's, but her face absolutely stunning. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of ruby red, and the store's blue and yellow uniform did little to hide her ample assets. Her body was extremely curvy, and already he could feel his mind dipping into a sweet fantasy...
Satō quickly shook his head and slapped himself. He reminded himself to focus. He bowed to her and extended his own greeting to her. He idly chatted to her about the store for a few moments to try to ease her. He could tell she was for some reason extremely nervous and he had to assure her that there was no problems with the store itself.
"So... for the real reason I had your employee call you." Satō blushed slightly at her smile. She listened intently and had a gentle personality. He definitely wouldn't allow for any pigs to disrupt this store.
"You do know about how your store lies within the hunting grounds?" She tilted her head slightly. A puzzled expression answered his question immediately.
"My my, whatever do you mean?" He gulped.
"What is your store policy regarding bento when they're not sold?" She placed a finger to her chin, then she held her hands together in front of her in an earnest gesture.
"After 6:30 P.M. If there are any bento that did not sell we put a sticker on in half price. I hear that is the tradition of all the stores around here and was strongly encouraged to follow. We will be starting that today."
Satō nodded, that's what the advertisement in the mail said.
"Are you aware of what happens when you do this?" She guessed that they would just most likely be sold out quickly. Satō quickly disagreed with her and explained to her about how the wolves fight for the food. About how the "hunting ground" was the bento area and that this would be happening everyday.
He checked his watch and it beeped 6:14 at him. It was almost time.
She argued with him slightly, declaring that she would either not sell the bento for that price or she would call the police.
Satō quickly countered that any of those actions would be futile and that it would seriously hinder business for her. When she had asked why he recited the words that Nikaidou explained to him. The police force is generally aware of the bento brawls that happen within every store. So he explained the events of gang violence, and how the wolves helped the police get rid of most of the gang population. It wasn't too hard, the gangs put up a good fight but against a barrage of martial arts and the influence of the "stomach's howl" they either got locked up or dissolved into Wolves themselves.
Because crime in not only their city, but neighboring cities decreased dramatically after the wolves got involved, the chief of police allowed the wolves their battle as long as innocent civilians did not get hurt.
When Yuki inquired about her not enlisting the price drop at all, he nodded and said that was entirely her choice. But then she would lose out on a lot of money. Not only would she have bento's everyday that would be gone to waste without any returns, but the wolves that lose generally purchase normal priced food for a quick hot meal.
As the time came closer she lowered her head, deep in thought.
"I have decided I will allow the bento brawl." Satō was pleased that she had came to that decision. Relocated to another store wasn't something he wanted to do anyway, especially after coming all the way here.
"However, Satō, can you promise me something?" Her voice seemed genuinely sweet, for a moment he almost pictured what she would sound like if he held her hands and-
"Don't let anyone get hurt, or any of my merchandise damaged. Please? Can I trust you?" He smiled. He held his fist in front of her and with a determined look in his eyes, he nodded.
"I promise." Yuki was a little shocked at his enthusiasm. But she nodded and took his word for it.
"Then I'll be off then." She bowed and with another smile she left to do her business.
He made his way to inspect the instant ramen that was on the shelves when he felt a sudden gentle impact on his leg. Confused, he looked down to spot a young girl. She adorned a bright summer dress that adorned flowers in a myriad of yellow and pink patterns.
She looked up at him and apologized loudly.
"I'm so sorry! I'm sorry, sorry!" She clammored louder and louder. Satō was so surprised he almost didn't know how to react. She suddenly got onto her hands and knees and bowed deeply. "I didn't mean to bump into you. Don't hurt me!"
At this sight, he couldn't allow it to go on any further. He pushed past his shock and slight embarrassment and placed a hand on her shoulder, to which she inadvertently flinched.
"Hey now. I'm not going to ever hurt you okay? My name is Yō Satō. Please get up." He smiled at her as genuinely as he could. She peeked up at him and saw his smile.
"But...my mommy said strangers could hurt me." He choked on his words slightly.
"Your mommy is right, but you know my name now so I'm not a stranger right?" Satō gestured for her to get up again. She hesitated slightly, but grabbed at something around her neck and stood up. Her cheeks were glowing red and she swayed side to side slightly.
"I guess so..." Satō couldn't help his curiosity from the object that she was playing with.
"What's that you've got there?" He pointed to her hand. She took a step back almost defensively and he put his hands up and leaned away slightly. "I'm not going to take it away from you." He gently stated.
She nodded with a gulp, and revealed to him a small silver chain with a tiny ball on the end of it. She looked down at it and began explaining it's importance.
"This is my mommy's necklace. She says it's a model of the Earth, cause I'm the whole world to her." She avoided eye contact as she explained and fidgeted. Satō didn't blame her.
"Where is your mommy?" The question was bothering him for awhile, and he looked around. The aisle they were in was empty, the traffic of the store was dying off.
"She's here, she's almost done and then we get to go home!" She again yelled that sentence at the excitement of going home, and buzzed off quickly while making plane noises. Satō couldn't help but chuckling, images of him and Shaga playing around.
Another glance of the watch signaled that the God of the Discounts, Ms. Yuki Shizuka was about to sticker the remaining bento.
He power-walked over to the area, and noticed how empty it was. His stomach howled slightly in hunger, and he patted it in reassurance that it wold not go home the same way he came here.
The "Pervert" scanned the surroundings. There was no other wolves here, and no sign of Orthros. But he knew better then to let his guard down. He watched as she appeared from the back of the store. She immediately made eye contact with him and he nodded.
There was only one bento that was left on the shelves, and he couldn't help but lick his lips in anticipation for what was there. It was something strange. A mix between Fried Shrimp, Grilled Salmon, Sushi, and Pork.
He scanned again to make sure, still no aura of hunger, no sign of a wolf. Will it be this easy this time? He wasn't too sure, but he almost didn't care since she was almost done. He watched Yuki edge towards the exit, and as soon as he saw the door slid to a close he bolted into a mad sprint.
Step by step he approached the bento. He was nearly there and he felt his hunger rumble with excitement.
"It's mine!"
"I think not!"
The voice came from simultaneous sides. A darkness began to surround him, and on instinct he dropped to his knees and leaned back. As he slid across the ground he watched as two shopping baskets collided together mere millimeters above his head.
He turned around to see the Sawagi sisters smiling menacingly. The older sister especially.
"We've come to claim your head, Pervert. Prepare to be obliterated! Unless you kiss my feet and beg for mercy, I might make your death faster!" Her sister offered a nervous smile, hoping he would forgive her for how barbaric she acts when she's in the thrill of the fight.
Satō smirked, not expecting less from the older sister. "BRING IT!" He exclaimed as he slid to a stop against the edge of the wall, and then used that to push himself back and he slid across the ground, in a perfect view to see both of their underwear.
The older Kyō sister wore a gentle evergreen pair, while the younger sister revealed a flash of cotton candy pink. His eyes exploding in hearts and a very dirty grin. Yet, before his fantasies could even begin to manifest, he felt two swift kicks that sent him flying in a spinning direction towards the edge of the arena.
He flew past a couple of stands, luckily without touching them, and pushed himself up attempting to recover from the aftermath of their kicks.
"Totally worth it..." He breathed, yet the pain from the simultaneous kicks begged to differ. As he was standing up he heard some crying. Looking behind him he saw the little girl from before, trying to squeeze her arm behind the cooler stands that held the bento.
"What are you doing?" She was panicking, her arm was shoulder deep behind the humming ton of steel.
"My momma's necklace!" Satō peeked around her and saw the little ball on her chain necklace had somehow detached itself and rolled behind it. Frowning, the battle was still going on and he couldn't risk her getting hurt.
"I understand little girl, but you have to get out of here." He turned his head to see if the Sawagi sisters had taken their bento already but they were already next to him. He felt his heart drop into the pit in his stomach, and a chilling fear fire down his spine.
"Pervert!" They both growled. Their faces were red from being exposed to him in such a cheap manner. He tried to signal them to stop but before he could he felt an insanely fast punch to his gut nearly knock the wind out of him.
"Wa...wa-" The older Kyō sister growled and grabbed his collar after the punch.
"You'll regret this!" She pushed him up against the machine, and he could hear the little girl cry out in pain.
"You're hurting me mister!" She cried out. Her arms was trapped now, and she couldn't get it out. The whole stand moved when Kyō pushed him up against it. Her hunger and anger granting her abnormal amounts of strength.
"Kyō, wait there's-" He couldn't even explain before a barrage of attacks came at him forcing his back against the wall. The first was a direct chest attack, the younger sister pushed the basket against his chest with tremendous force. The pain was sudden, but it faded into the despair of the situation as the girl began weeping out in pain. A series of sweeping attacks against his head whittled away his concentration.
Suddenly, in a moment of emotional intensity, all he could think about was one thing.
"I hate guys who ignore girls who have been hurt."
Gritting his teeth Yo quickly unleashed a devastating combo that impressed both the sisters. He feinted with a punch that was easily blocked by the younger sister's basket, catching his fist. He growled loudly in an effort to bring forth a hidden power within him. He locked his fingers between the little slits of the basket and pulled as hard as he could, the younger sister shocked at his action had little time to react before he leaned his head back and headbutted her as hard as he could.
The older Kyō temporarily lost her sense of bloodlust when her sister flew back and landed on the ground. She ran to aid her. Satō wouldn't give up this opportunity and gave his attention to a more dire situation. Shaking off the concussion he most likely had he went over to the side of machine.
What he saw seemed to drain the blood from his face. Before his eyes was her arm was under an immense amount of pressure. Her arm had already began to turn purple. The pain seemed to overwhelming for her to fight, and she was now on her knees crying out for help.
Their speed was almost as overwhelming as their strength, but what happened had to be stopped. He had to help them, and the sisters were too into the fight to even notice that one of the herd was hurt.
"Don't let anyone get hurt..." They appeared on either side of him. Sickly grins glowed from them. They aimed to close him in with their baskets again, one on either side of him. He howled in fury as he used one hand each to grab the baskets from the insides again.
"Please?" They had expected this and pulled while he held on the baskets. He held his ground, and aimed to pull them in closer. The Sawagi sisters smiled and used his strength against him, and using the momentum of his pull they aimed to trap in in a fury of kicks. The younger knelt to a low kick while the other jumped for a high one.
"Can I trust you?" He was trapped. Time seemed to slow in a crawl as a strange sort of innate feeling overcame him. It was a memory. It was from his point of vision. He was in a park. There, on the playground was a girl. She was crying.
Why was she crying? He didn't know, but he had to investigate. But his thoughts didn't seem to agree with him, he felt as if he was watching a movie, but at the same time he was in the movie. His vision changed.
It was Shaga, she was crying, looking up at him. Tears filled her eyes, blonde hair was ruffled and dirty. She had a bruise on her cheek, her lips cut. She had been in a fight. She angrily cursed at him.
"Idiot! Why didn't you help me?"
"Why did you stand by and do nothing!"
"Satō... why did you let them hurt me? Didn't you promise?"
"Didn't you promise you would never let anyone hurt me?"
"I promise." Satō was suddenly brought back in the present. He grounded his left foot and bent his right knee. His heart beat rapidly and his muscles seemed to explode from a surge of adrenaline. He pushed as hard as he could and disrupted their attacks by lifting them both up. They stared in disbelief as they ascended higher into the air.
"STOP!" Satō yelled as loud as he could. Then he pushed them away aggressively, but they didn't fly. They landed back on their feet and watched curiously. He didn't waste time with the sisters.
Quickly without thought, he went to the girl's side and placed a foot on the wall and pulled as hard as he could on the machine. It creaked forward and the girl finally pulled her arm free. Crying, she ran as fast as she could away, and into the arms of the store manager.
"Rina what happened to your arm? Oh my god! Rina! What did you do!" She jumped into her mom's arms and cried, pointing one finger at Sato with her other arm.
"Satō!? How could you! I trusted you!"
"Yuki, I can explain-"
"Explain what? I trusted you. I thought... I thought you could trust you."
"Please I-"
"No. No. Never again. You and any wolf are banned from my store, no more half priced bento I don't care. Get out. NOW!" She left at that last word, rushing her child to the hospital.
Satō sighed, heaving heavily after the fight. The sisters were awe struck at what had happened. He turned to them, anger written all over his face. He wanted to scold them, to yell at them for being so careless. But he couldn't bring any words to the surface. His mind bubbled with such emotional intensity he couldn't even say a single word.
So he left them there. Dumbfounded, confused, frustrated, whatever they felt he didn't care. He needed to let his head cool and think. He needed to tell Sen about what happened. What should he do to make up for what happened?
He didn't feel like going home. So he walked the streets almost endlessly, blind to his surroundings. He just kept walking and walking, before finally ending up being stopped by the police for curfew. A brief ride home later he stood in front of his door.
It was probably around midnight, but he still couldn't get the image, the sounds, the feeling of dread and terror in his heart out of his mind. It just kept replaying over and over in his head, haunting him. Taunting him. He grit his teeth and balled his hands into a fist, punching his door.
He hung his head low, ashamed of himself.
Sounds shifting from the inside, and he was barely surprised his cousin was on the side. The half-italian wolf known as "Beauty by the Lake." She had a mischievous thought in her head as she planned on appearing at the door in a very seductive pose. Her smile faded at the sight that greeted her however.
"Satō?" She asked. He didn't raise his head, and instead a single tear fell onto the cold floor beneath them. He brushed past her a little too quickly, and she grabbed his shoulder.
"Hey talk to me." She frowned at the cousin she knew who never showed such a sad side to him. "What exactly happened? Tell me." He took a deep breath, fighting to hold back from becoming a pathetic mess.
He looked at her, his eyes bloodshot, but completely void of moisture. She wanted to be sympathetic, she wanted to help him. Yet, as she stared into his eyes she felt her own hope leaving herself. His were so empty, so sad.
"I broke my promise. Again."
So that's my first chapter, be sure to write a review whether you like or don't. I like constructive criticism and this is a pretty raw chapter that I really wanted to just get out of my head while I still head the idea, so there are bound to be errors somewhere in there.
I'm juggling a bunch of things right now, including another story that should be getting my full attention so I apologize if this takes awhile to upload a new one. Thanks guys!