Zootopia
Demon's Deceit
Disclamer
This is the second part of my story, I don't own any of the characters except Gurē and Ai. Hope you enjoy it.
Prologue – Before It All Began!
The pleasant chatter of the restaurant pleased him, the black fox with a starry spotted pattern on his fur smiled as he glanced at the seats, every one of them filled with customers that were happy with their meal. Looking further to his left, he noticed a familiar, but strange sight, a red fox dressed in semi-formal slacks and a nice light blue button up shirt feeding what looked to be a bit of Pandanese steamed vegetables to a grey bunny wearing a sparkling blue dress that hugged her in all the right places. Gurē smiled happily, he knew these two, Nick Wilde the fox and Judy Hopps, the ZPD's first and so far only rabbit officer. Two of the best cops Zootopia ever had, and two of the best friends he had ever made.
This however is not the beginning of our story, for as we all know, it takes time to become accustomed to a new culture, or to be accepted into a new society. And thanks to a certain badger and dragon, this fox and his bunny wife, Ai, had been 800 years removed from any society they knew.
No. Our story begins before this, before the restaurant, even before they were frozen in time.
In the past, just short of 800 years ago, a single cat moved through the woods, swaying back and forth between the trees as she breathed heavily to out run her attackers. She tripped on a root, just as an arrow was about to hit her shoulder, barely grazing her kimono and cutting shallowly into her orange and white fur. The blood slowly seeping into the silk of her gown. "GET HER!" she could hear and turned back to see the torches that followed her. She jumped up, moving further down the road as a group of pigs and rams approached where she had been. Quickly she dove behind a bush, trying to hide from the onslaught of angry villagers.
"She went this way!" one of the rams said, pointing his hoof towards the path. The group of villagers quickly marched towards her, pitchforks and torches held high into the air. She peeked from the bush, spying the flames as they passed by, only to view a katana blade pass almost right in front of her. She tipped back in fear, rustling the bush leaves as she fell. "There!" she heard someone say and closed her eyes.
A large pig parted the bush, his tusks thick and dirty from work and his cloths muddy near his knees. He snorted once, and lifted an eyebrow at what he saw. "Huh?" he asked, and saw what looked to be a thin framed doe dear, wheezing on the ground as she bleed out. "Hey, are you ok?" he asked as he moved forward, gripping her shoulder with his hoof. She clenched the injury hard, her hoof trying to stop the bleeding.
"Get away from her!" the pig heard from behind him. There, a brown hood pulled over his head, stood a large snow leopard. His yellow eyes glaring at the doe with intent. In his right paw he held a large staff, one with an ornate circle at the tip dangling six rings, three on each side.
"We have to help her!" the pig said, only to have the leopard point his staff at the doe.
"You foolish pig." the monk said, his robes underneath white with a golden trim, "Bakeneko can transform."
The pig opened his eyes wide and turned to the doe, her teeth ground tight as she let her gaze fall upon the predator. She watched the pig back away, her only life line, fleeing from her, so she changed, her fur melting back into the white and brown as her shape changed as well. Her muzzle shrank, tightening as her cheeks pulled, whiskers growing from her changing nose as her hooves quickly split and grew the same fur she had. The strange thing was, her tail split into two, each moving independently of the other. The villagers gasped in shock as she changed back into a cat form, her paw clenching her shoulder as she still tried to stop the bleeding. "Leave me alone monk!" she nearly growled.
"Demon, you will pay for your crime!" the leopard said.
"I have done nothing!" she retorted.
The leopard smiled, and neared her, "I can either be your judge, or you can plead before the emperor of Pandan!" he said.
She quickly spat her words at him, "I have committed no crime, other than being different than you!" she said, "What are you accusing me of?"
"Do you deny that you have murdered the master of your house?" one of the villagers asked.
"I didn't kill him!" she shouted, "He cared for me like a daughter, fed me, clothed me. He even taught me to read and write! What reason would I have for killing him?"
"Then how did he die?" another villager asked.
"Yes, tell us how he died?" the monk asked.
"Claws!" she said, "My claws would be clean if you'd look!"
"A quick wash and the evidence gone!" the leopard said.
She scoffed at him, "The smell won't leave for days!" she said, and pointed at him, "And I smell blood on you!"
The monk quickly laughed at her, "On me?" he asked, "I have slain many demons such as yourself. Some even this morning, of course you'd smell blood on me. You've got blood on your paws as well, your own blood to cover the smell of your master's!"
She looked behind him, seeing the angry eyes of the villagers staring at her, "Fine, I will see the emperor!" she said, catching everyone off guard.
"Hmm, He is even harsher than I!" the monk told her.
"He is also wiser!" she retorted. The leopard gritted his teeth angrily, but took a single deep breath, "Fine," he said, "Then I shall detain you to meet the emperor in person and explain your crimes to him. Only then will he decide if you are allowed to face him to claim innocents."
She glared at him while the villagers bound her, tying her arms with a thick strong rope to her waist at her back. "Come!" the leopard said as he tugged the ropes, pulling her along with him. "I told you!" he whispered when they were out of earshot, "I'd find you, and make you mine. Your power will come in handy when fooling the stupid prey animals villagers we meet along the route."
"I know what you did!" she quickly growled at him. He stopped, turning to her with surprise on his face.
"Excuse me?" he asked.
"Cleaver really." she said with a smile, "But the size of the claw marks on my master are too large for my claws to have done the killing. That, will be evident when they check my claws against the marks you made on the walls of my home! A technique I am going to suggest they perform."
His eyes opened wide as he listened to her speak, "You couldn't stand seeing someone love me like family could you? Letting yourself be invited into the house, claiming to be a monk like you usually do. It was easy. Sutras that didn't work, prayer that would never be answered. That eliminated the forced entry. Then savagely attacking him, the surprise on his face, like someone he knew began the assault. So far everything points to me. But, the claws, oh the claws. You just couldn't help yourself could you? All that rage, that aggressive behavior? It all got the best of you didn't it? The claw marks are too deep for me to have made them, I have thin one and a half inch claws while yours are thick, and can easily reach between two and a half to three inches in length. Once that is revealed, I'm sure your entire case will fall apart." she told him.
He looked at her, shock and worry in his eyes, "And, after that, all I have to do is mention that you're not really a monk, you just play the part and con everyone you see. I'm sure they'll want you there to ensure that you aren't trying anything funny. No one gets away with lying to the emperor." At that, he lifted his staff, "Ah, ah, ah!" she said, wiggling one of her tails like a finger, "I'm almost certain that the village has sent a messenger on ahead of you with a message that tells of my arrival! You wouldn't want my blood telling how you murdered me before I could clear my name do you?" he lowered his staff, anger seething in him.
It was days before they reached the palace, the front gates a sign of hope for Bakeneko as she walked towards them, her captor leading the way. He stopped, and looked down at a bush nest to him, "We'll stop here for a minute." he said.
"Why?" she asked.
"I have to pee!" he told her.
"Tch, make it quick!" she said and turned away from him. Quickly, he instead used his staff to cut the bonds on her arms.
"You see the thing is…" he said as he moved in front of her, "…I won't have to explain where you went if they can see what happened from their windows."
She looked up at him, his massive frame in her way as he loomed over her, "All I have to do is make them see what I want them to see!" His smile frightened her, a sinister grin full of malice as he approached her slowly. Fear overtook her, and she turned, fleeing him in fear of her life. Suddenly she heard him pray, "Oh spirits, of the earth and sky, receive this soul into your ranks, accept her form and imprison her evil so that our world may live in peace!" he said, and threw something, she could feel it when it stuck to her back, and sent a surge of pain through her.
"YAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed, and suddenly, vanished.
"Trickery isn't my only talent!" he said with a smile, and picked up what looked to be a small doll, one of a cat with two tails.