I do not own Zootopia or its characters except the OCs that I have created for this story. If I did, I'd be living the high life instead of Disney.

An elderly tanuki wearing a traditional black kimono walks her usual route down a dark and rainy sidewalk toward the bus stop that would take her home. She holds her pink umbrella above her with one paw as she carries her groceries within her other. A smile spreads across her snout as she spots a familiar shape squatting down in the shadow of the transit station. "Hello Eddie, how are you tonight?" she shouts above the rain patter.

The figure didn't move at the noise. The tanuki again shouted as she walked closer to the mammal sitting on the ground. "Eddie, are you ok? You know better than to let yourself get wet in the Savannah district. It might get hot during the day, but it can get below freezing here at night especially during the rainy season. You'll catch your death!"

She places her bag on the bench and then puts the freed paw on the mammal's shoulder to give him a shake. He lets out a small moan as a shaggy head is raised toward the one interrupted his sleep. The figure was a young, pale human with dark grey eyes. Brown fur was growing from his head and face making him appear older than he actually was. "Oba, why you gotta keep a mammal from his favorite dreams and taking a bath?" the human said.

Oba rolls her eyes, gives the man a slap on the side of the head before walking back to her bag. After a few moments, she pulls out a bottle of water and hands it to the mammal. "Drink," she commanded.

Eddie takes the water without argument. "You need to stop shopping at night, Oba. They have home deliveries now, you know? An old…" he stops as he gets another slap from Oba, this time on the arm.

"Going out is all this 'old' female has, Eddie. Besides, you know that I have all those girls to take care of too," Oba replied as she collapses her umbrella.

The homeless human laughs and takes a swig of the water. "Aren't they in their 20s and 30s? They can take care of themselves and get their own food, you know?"

The tanuki smiles and shakes her head. "That may be, but they are still my children even if not by blood. Most of them have been there at that house for years because of their studies."

Eddie nods as he gets up to get under the awning with Oba. As he stands, it can be seen that he is at least five to six feet tall, while the tanuki stood at around four. He wore an old Zootopia military jacket and torn cargo pants along with an old Led Hippolin t-shirt. His shoes were barely held together with duct tape and bale string. Before he sits, he helps the older female up on bench and then looks around to make sure that there were no suspicious characters coming in their direction. When he saw no one, he sits down next to Oba and lets out a long sigh. "It has been a long few years, Oba. I don't think I can make it another without finding work," he says as he continues to drink the water and look toward the night sky.

Oba stares out through the rain as she listens. She knew that despite the city's iconic slogan 'anyone can be anything', humans without connections had it rougher than foxes because of what happened during the Savage Age. Back then, humans hunted both predator and prey indiscriminately until the other mammals started to become more civilized and fight back. Because of that, mammals became fearful and untrusting toward the human species.

The tanuki turns towards her companion and gives him a look over. Eddie was a decent looking mammal if he would groom himself a little bit. His grey eyes looked sad and distant, as if his very soul was revealing its pain through them. The male sighs as he shakes his head. "How are things at the student housing anyway, Oba?" he asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Things are fine," Oba states, rolling her eyes. She knew that he knew that it wasn't a 'student housing', but a large home that her late husband, Walt Ozamu, had bought and remodeled. Her mate was an artist who did political and comical cartoons for the Zootopia Gazette. The money he made from his works was enough to buy their home, but unfortunately he died shortly afterwards in a car accident leaving her alone in the big home.

Eddie nods and leans back into the bench. Oba continues to look at him, as if she was contemplating something. "Take a picture with your selfie stick umbrella, it'll last longer," the human says, still looking at the night sky with a sad look on his muzzle.

Oba takes the umbrella and hits his right leg with it. "Owwww!" Eddie shouts, rubbing the spot where his assaulted.

"Eddie, how long have we known each other?" Oba asked as she places her weapon back near her bag.

He smiles, showing his square teeth as he laughs. "About three years now why?"

Eddie met Oba shortly after she had started to rent out rooms in her home to young female students from the Animalia Institute. She had been walking alone to the Tundratown Arctic Bank on a cold winter day when a group of thugs had to steal her purse which held all of the money from her tenants. The human had been been scrounging for food in the alley the mugging took place and decided to intervene. Unfortunately, the gang consisted of polar bears who were twice as tall as Eddie and ten times as mean. Luckily it had give Oba time to call the ZPD while the thieves were busy trying to beat him up.

"Why did you do that anyway? What kind of sixteen year old decides to do something like that? You even landed in the hospital with a broken rib cage and bruised organs," Oba asks.

"I don't know," Eddie replied after a moment's thought. "Just felt like the right thing. I mean, you see someone in trouble you just do what you can to help."

Oba shakes her head, frowning at the memory. Before she met him, she thought Eddie's species were all monsters and barbarians who would kill her in a second. But after that day, almost sixty years of ignorance went away in an instance and she has considered Eddie a good friend ever since. She would help out as best she could, but the human would turn down all offers of shelter saying that he would not be an inconvenience to others. In fact, that was when he started calling her Oba, which meant Aunty in Japanese, because she would dot over him like he was a nephew of hers. And like a nephew, Ed would always make sure she was safe when she went out in dangerous weather or into bad parts of town.

"Eddie," she started. "Come and work at my home."

The human looked at her in disbelief. "What?"

"I want you to work as a chauffeur in my home. You'll be there to make sure that my girls are taken care of"

"You want me to be a butler? You're kidding! I don't have a license or a G.E.D.," Eddie said laughing.

"Chauffer not butler, and the girls and I will help you get those," the tanuki said.

"No," Eddie stated. "I will find work somehow elsewhere."

"You are nineteen years old, Ed. You need experience and an education to survive, neither of which you don't have."

"Why do you care? Wouldn't the girls be a little put off by a male 'ape' working in their home? You might lose some tenants if I show up," Eddie crossed his arms stubbornly as if it were final.

"Give my girls some credit. If predators and prey can get along, then they can certainly tolerate you," Oba rebuttled.

"No."

"How about this: you come and work for me for one year; you'll get a warm bed, free meals, meet beautiful females, and an education to be able to stand on your stubborn feet," Oba stated, trying to hide her frustrations.

Eddie flinched at the 'beautiful females.' He looked uncomfortable for a few moments as he thought about Oba's offer. The mammal has been on the streets for almost five years now, the reason why he never told the tanuki and he doubted he ever will. He knew he needed all the things that Oba said, but he didn't want to take a handout. One thing he prided himself on was that he did not take any charity or unfair advantage over mammals. It was thing to accept water and the occasional meal, but what the old female was offering was too much and he couldn't ever be able to repay her for it.

He sighs, "Why do you want to do this?"

Oba smiles as she says, "You are my friend, Ed. Let me help you. You are sleeping in the rain, you have no money or food, and no idea where you'll sleep tonight." Her voice begins to wave as she continues, "I'll admit, I am being a little selfish in that I don't want to find you no longer here because you've been killed or had gotten sick. I want you to take care of yourself the right way. I should have dragged you home sooner, but I am getting too old and I want to make sure everyone I love is taken care of."

"You aren't going anywhere, you old raccoon dog," Eddie smiles sadly.

"Edward Jackson, shut up. I'm getting older and I don't know when I'll be joining Walty. I want to take care of everything that is important in my life before it ends," Oba began to stare at Eddie with large brown eyes, tears beginning to form around the edges.

A large Gray Owl bus begins to stop where the two mammals sat, the rain finally beginning to let up. The tanuki sighs and starts to grab her bag. Before she does, Ed grabs it and says, "Ok."

She stares in amazement at the human. "Really?" she asked, surprised.

"Yes," Ed smiles, sadness showing through his eyes, "You're wrong though, you are not selfish to try and make sure someone you care is ok. It's selfish of me for trying to refuse. I need to stop being prideful in order to help myself."

"Good," the tanuki bopped the umbrella on Ed's head, "Don't make me regret it."

"You won't," Ed laughs as he rubs his forehead.

The bus finally stops, the doors opening to show a rhino bus driver who shouted, "Last stop before Meadowlands!"

The young human helps his new employer down the bench and then up the bus's steps, earning a disgusted look from the driver which was ignored by both mammals. "So how many girls live there anyway?" Ed asked as he and Oba sat at the back of the bus.

"Seven females, all medium to small mammals, which I'm sure a young, strong male can handle driving around to school and on errands," Oba replied. "By the way, there is some toiletries for you in that bag you are carrying for me," she continued with a sly smile on her snout.

All Ed could do was shake his head as he searched through the groceries. He should've known that old trickster planned for him to say yes. Then he looked up from in shock toward Oba. "Seven!? Please tell me that they are married or taken."

"Nope, boyfriends are not allowed in the house while they are living there so they don't bother with dating anyway. Plus, they're too young to be thinking about marriage."

Ed gulped. He was a dead mammal walking if those girls ever found out his secret. Almost an hour of silence passed before the Gray Owl, finally arrived at their destination. "Last stop!" the rhino bellowed.

"Come on, Eddie," Oba said as she jumps off her seat and straightens her kimono. "The girls are probably asleep now anyway, so I'll introduce in the morning. You can get settled in one of the spare bedrooms I have for when the girls have guests coming over."

The two walked down the sidewalk until they arrived at what appeared to be...a field with a few small hills. "Ummmm, Oba? Where's the house?" Ed asked as looks all around for his new dwelling. He noticed that most of the Meadowlands was just that: meadows with a few small cottages whose lights could be seen in the distant.

Oba laughs as she takes out her keys from inside her kimono. She press a button on one, which causes a light to illuminate to a door that was build into one of the hills. Ed stared in disbelief. "It's underground?!" he asked.

"Parts of it is, yes," Oba replied, "Parts of the house is covered in earth to conserve on energy. Walty wanted to keep in touch with our primal roots but also have modern conveniences as well."

As they walk closer to the light, Ed realised that she was right. The door that looked like it was in the hill was actually part of a wooden wall that blended with the grass and ground. When Oba Ozamu told him it was huge with three stories with gardens all around, he had assumed it was three stories tall not deep and that the gardens were not on the house.

"Well, here's to new beginning," he mumbles as he follows his employer to his new home.

There you go, my first fanfiction so please be merciful in the reviews and comments. I haven't decided on which species the seven girls will be so any suggestions are welcomed, but I do plan on referencing the events in the movie and to have NickxJudy in future chapters.