After I arrived at the black market by following Haru's scent, it became masked by the smells of meat and other carnivores while I didn't show any reaction that I had lost her scent and continued my original mission of gathering information so that I could locate the Shishigumi, though I knew that no one here would talk about the yakuza group since they were most likely afraid of them and the only thing I could do was listen in on other peoples' conversations so that I could find the location of the Shishigumi while dark ominous clouds covered the sky and I heard the faint sound of thunder.
I walked around and kept my ears open for any information until I heard a cat and a dog talking about Haru and how she was going to get eaten tonight, convincing me that they know where the Shishigumi is so I decided to interrogate them once I lured them someplace private and proceeded to knowingly shoulder the cat as I passed him before he and the dog turned to shoot nasty glares at me.
"Hey, you got a problem, asshole? Why don't you apologize before me and my friend beat the shit out of you," the cat threatened and I bowed humbly.
"Sorry about that, though you guys look like people who are well informed about what goes on in the black market so you two wouldn't happen to know where the Shishigumi is, right? I have business with them so could you show me where they live?" I questioned and the two carnivores looked surprised to hear that until they stared at each other with knowing expressions and smiled at me while chuckling.
"Sure, we know where they live so follow us," the dog said and gestured for me to follow them as we started walking in a random direction.
Pretty soon, I was walking in front to give them a false sense of security as I was guided to a warehouse district and noticed that the cat was favoring his left leg while my ears picked up the faint sound of something metallic clinking around in his pocket, telling me that he had a knife on him as we arrived at a dead end and I decided to drop my naive front while my expression became empty.
"So, are you going to pull that knife on me yet?" I questioned the cat, who faintly sucked in a breath since he wasn't expecting that before I heard him quickly taking out the knife and hearing that got me to prepare myself as he rushed at me from behind.
I spun around and sent a kick into his chest before knocking him to the ground with a haymaker, just before I was grabbed from behind by the dog and I started struggling to get loose as the cat got up with a murderous glare and started to approach me with the knife.
"Dammit, hold him still so that I can shank the prick!" the cat snapped irritably while I was thrashing around and making it hard for the dog to keep a firm grip on me.
"I'm trying, but this fucker is really squirming!" the dog grunted as the cat got close and that's when I made my move.
I sent a kick into the cat's groin and he started choking and gagging in pain with his eyes bulging out as he collapsed to the ground while clutching his groin, then I elbowed the dog in the face to disorient him before turning around to and knock him out by grabbing his head and bashing it into the building next to us before I walked over to the cat and kicked him across the face until I grabbed him by the armpits while lifting him slightly.
"You and your friend are coming with me," I stated darkly as I started dragging the cat toward the entrance of a nearby warehouse that was unoccupied and he started struggling.
"Let me go...or I'll fuck you up!" the cat wheezed as I dragged him into the warehouse and left to get the dog until I dragged him inside as well and closed the door.
(Play The Pulse by Bear McCreary)
After that, I found a wooden chair and put the cat on it before restraining him with a thick rope and chained the dog to a pipe before proceeding to beat the dog viciously in the face after slapping him awake while I heard the cat struggling to get free.
"God, just what the hell do you want?! Stop it, you're going to fucking kill him!" the cat shouted before I quit beating the dog and he started coughing while I glared down at him.
"You wait here," I told the dog menacingly before I walked over to where the cat was and took the knife before grabbing another chair and placing it in front of the cat until I sat down and stared at him with a dead expression.
"Now...the Shishigumi, where are they?" I questioned emotionlessly and I was spat in the face while my head jerked to the side slightly.
"Screw you, I'm not giving you anything!" the cat growled as I calmly wiped away the saliva that was on my cheek and stabbed the knife into his leg before he screamed in pain.
"Fuck!" the cat howled in pure agony as he hung his head and I lightly smacked him in the chin to get his attention on me again.
"Focus on me, right here, or I'll pop your goddamn knee off. Now, where is the Shishigumi's hideout?" I asked calmly and when the cat didn't answer, I moved the knife around and he screamed in pain.
"Next to the black market, next to the black market!" the cat shrieked in agony before I yanked out the knife and put the handle into his mouth until I picked up a map of Tokyo I had found earlier and held it up so he could see it.
"Now, you're going to mark it on the map and it better be the same spot your buddy points to, so mark it," I instructed with my voice sounding slightly unstable while my right eye twitched, then the cat frantically marked the location of the Shishigumi's hideout until he spat out the knife and I folded the map before putting it away in my pocket.
"It's right there and you can verify it so go ask him, go on. He'll tell you because I'm not lying, I'm not lying," the cat pleaded as I stood up and took the knife, then I walked over to the side of him and stabbed him in the chest before slicing his abdomen open with blood and internal organs spilling out onto the floor below him as he gurgled loudly and I narrowed my eyes irritably.
"Shut the fuck up," I snapped in annoyance before stabbing the cat in the throat four times until I slit his throat open down to the bone and his body twitched until it stopped moving, just before I stabbed the bloody knife into the chair and picked up a pipe until I started walking over to the dog while he was thrashing around with a terrified expression.
"Fuck you, psychotic bastard, he told you what you wanted and I'm not telling you shit!" the dog shouted in complete fear and I stood before him while looking down at him darkly.
"That's alright, I believe him," I stated coldly and raised the pipe while the dog's eyes widened in horror.
"No, wait-" the dog attempted to plead but it was too late as I swung the pipe and smashed it across his head.
I kept bashing the dog's head non-stop while blood splattered onto the ground until half his head looked like a crushed watermelon with blood, bone, and brain matter leaking onto him and dripping onto the floor as I let out a deep breath before dropping the pipe and could see Legosi looking completely horrified and utterly sick by my handy work just as the door opened and I looked to see that it was the panda I encountered a while back, who appeared shocked by what I just did while I noticed that he had a crossbow with bamboo arrows.
"My god...kid, what the hell did you do?" the panda wondered in disbelief while I just stared at him with no life in my eyes.
"Still think I can be fixed? You can't fix what's already long broken so get that through your head and what's your name?" I asked as I headed to a sink that was in an office before washing my hands to get rid of the blood until I left and the panda seemed to snap out of it.
"Gouhin, but look at what you just did! You slaughtered these guys in cold blood so what the hell is wrong with you?!" Gouhin cried out incredulously as I looked at him impressively.
"What isn't wrong with me...listen, I'm going after the Shishigumi and I'm going to need backup so will you help?" I inquired stoically and Gouhin widened his eyes.
"You just brutally murdered two people and now you want to massacre a very dangerous yakuza group?! Kid, you must have a few screws loose because you're going to get yourself killed since you'll be going up against 35 lions that string up corpses of herbivores on their front gate," Gouhin reasoned and I didn't show any kind of reaction.
"Doesn't matter, I already know where to go and I'm doing this, with or without you," I told him lifelessly and Gouhin looked like he wanted to strangle me.
"Dammit, did you even listen to a word I said?! I don't know what the hell they did to piss you off so much, but they'll kill you by ripping you to shreds and that's if I'll let you go on this suicide mission of yours!" Gouhin scolded and I sighed as I looked down.
"Yeah, maybe you're right, but nothing on this earth will stop me from finding them because the rabbit girl I told you about was kidnapped by them and it's true that I might die attempting to save her, but I can't just abandon her when I could do something about it right now.
I committed a lot of sins in my life and I want to atone for them because the first time I met her, I tried to kill her and...this pathetic nobody of a wolf ironically fell in love with her so I want to make it up to her and in the small chance I survive this, the first thing I'll do is confess my feelings for her if I get the chance, though I'd probably be dead before that happens," I admitted quietly while I avoided eye-contact with Gouhin and he scoffed.
"Shit, you are one piece of work since I can't tell what goes on in your head, but I'll help you because I don't want your death on my conscious," Gouhin grumbled as it started raining outside and I looked at him.
"Are you sure?" I asked and Gouhin sighed while he rubbed the back of his head.
"Yeah, I'm sure and I can't believe you're risking your life for the girl you love...fucking hell, it's kids like you that are going to be the death of me one day but we're lucky that it's starting to rain so today's the best day for cat hunting.
Listen, as uncomfortable as I'm about to do this, but I need to get you armed so that you don't walk into the Shishigumi's hideout completely helpless," Gouhin said reluctantly and I nodded before gesturing at the dead bodies.
"What about the bodies?" I questioned and Gouhin raised a hand in a reassuring gesture.
"Don't worry about it, I'll take care of this once we're done getting your girl back...shit, look at me, I'm covering up two murders for some kid who's mentally unstable when I should turn him over to the police, but I guess you made me soft so let's get this over with," Gouhin muttered as he gestured for me to follow him and we left the warehouse before heading to the Shishigumi's hideout.
After that, Gouhin explained to me that he had secret caches of firearms and explosives stored in many different areas of the black market for a worst-case scenario and he took me to one before showing me a variety of firearms that weren't even legal in Japan while he took an M60 before I took a kevlar vest and slipped it on while strapping a leg holster to my leg, then I grabbed an M1911 and loaded it up until I holstered it while grabbing a Remington pump-action shotgun and loading that as well while I slung it and grabbed an AK47 before finally loading that.
I took an ammo strap and placed it across my torso while putting 00 buckshot shells into each slot as I took ammo pouches and clipped them to my belt, then I placed ammo mags for my AK and sidearm into the pouches before I spotted a few bottles of alcohol and an idea came to me while I opened the bottles and stuffed rags into them before putting the small bottles into my pockets and we left the cache until we eventually arrived at the Shishigumi's hideout where I could see a few dead animals strung up onto the wooden gate by rope as the rain matted my fur and I looked hollow.
"Well, here we are and make sure to fix your face so that your fur doesn't get into your eyes," Gouhin told me and I swept back the fur on my head before doing a weapon's check with my AK and I took off the safety before we moved quietly to a couple of trees nearby as I peered out and saw that there were two lions guarding the entrance.
"I can see two contacts keeping the entrance secure so we need to circle around and find a back way in," I notified Gouhin and he sent me a strange look.
"Have you been in the military or something because you talk like a soldier," Gouhin pointed out in confusion and I looked at him.
"Something like that, now let's move out before we're noticed," I said before something pressed against my back and I could tell that it was a gun as I swore under my breath.
"I think that's enough out of you two so put down your guns and show me your hands," a male voice ordered and I was forced to comply as I placed my AK, shotgun, and sidearm on the ground while Gouhin did the same with his M60 and crossbow before we raised our hands.
"Damn it, so much for doing this quietly," I muttered as we turned around to see a lion aiming a gun with one hand and holding an open umbrella with the other while he was dressed in a nice suit and wearing glasses while Gouhin smirked.
"Well, why don't you try beating the shit out of him?" Gouhin questioned rhetorically and I sent him a glare.
"In case you haven't noticed, smartass, there's a gun aimed right at us and any sudden moves will result in me and you getting killed," I retorted with a scowl as the lion cleared his throat to get our attention.
"So, a heavily armed wolf and panda, huh? Well, to be honest, I'm not well informed about the Shishigumi's potential enemies, but I don't give a damn if you're here for revenge or window shopping since trespassers are not allowed here so you're first, kid," the lion threatened while I just stared back at him with no fear in my eyes.
"What are you going to do, kill us?" I questioned with my voice far too calm, considering that I had a gun aimed at my head.
"Exactly, since this is a good opportunity for me and nothing you say can spoil this...see, we felines always hated you canine trash since you share our ferocity, but your docile and servile attitudes are fucking infuriating.
You're a gray wolf, which makes you the representative of all canines so I'm going to enjoy blowing your damn brains out, and do you have any last words?" the lion taunted as he forced me and Gouhin to back up onto the middle of a nearby bridge until he got us to turn around, then I caught a scent coming off of him that was very familiar and I sniffed deeply to identify it until I recognized it as Haru's
'I see, this bastard touched Haru,' I thought as a cold rage rose up in me and my fur bristled.
"Tell me one thing, what did you do to her?" I questioned calmly as Gouhin could see that I was about to go apeshit on him but my face and voice was eerily calm, which was apparently frightening since he tensed up.
"Ah, you two are here to save that rabbit girl so now I understand, though I think you're a little too late since the only way to see her is if the boss vomits her up and that's if she already isn't digested yet," the lion mocked and my blood started running hot as my body convulsed slightly and my eyes glowed red, but I was in complete control, unlike last time as the lion poked me in the back with his gun.
"Now, kneel...I said get on your fucking knees!" the lion shouted harshly as he went to shove me onto the bridge, but I ducked and knocked his aim away while the gun went off before I spun around to disarm him and pinned him against the railing as I bashed him across the face twice with the gun until I pressed it against his stomach.
"You're lying because I don't smell any blood on you, not her blood that is. Now, the girl, where is she?" I questioned coldly and the lion didn't answer, prompting me to shoot him once in the stomach and he let out a choking gasp.
"Talk," I empathized and no response caused me to shoot him again and he started gurgling as blood came out of his mouth.
"You're going to tell me where she is or the next shot goes into your fucking groin and you'll never have kids again, that is if you survive getting shot in the stomach twice," I threatened calmly as the lion stared at me in a mixture of pain and fear.
"Top floor...far end," the lion wheezed weakly until I let him go and he slid down onto the bridge, just before I aimed at him and killed him with a shot to the face before I tossed the gun and went over to get my gear while Gouhin was looking stunned to see me execute someone in cold blood as he followed me and got his weapons.
"Legosi, just what the fuck did you go through to become like this?" Gouhin questioned and I paused before looking at him with a dead expression.
"Hell, just nothing more than pure hell," I muttered as we headed back to the bridge and got ready since the gunshots no doubt attracted the guards at the front door.
"Hey, a little bit of advice, bite them in the neck if you run out of ammo since one of your biggest advantages against these felines is your jaws, when it comes to fighting that is," Gouhin advised me and I nodded.
"I'm not supposed to bite but I couldn't give a shit because these fuckers are going to rue the day they ever touched Haru-chan," I vowed darkly and Gouhin smirked.
"So, you really do love her? Well, even if this love started from hunting instincts, you're not going to give up trying to change fate so don't run and face it head-on since the right move is always going to be the hardest, but it's worth it," Gouhin told me as he patted my shoulder and my eyes hardened.
"I've known that for a long time and it's why I have to do this, or else I'll really be no different from them," I stated as we could see three lions running over to investigate what was going on until they saw us and I let out a quiet growl with a cold expression.
"That's right, tame the beast within you because that's what it takes to become a man in this world, Legosi," Gouhin encouraged before we charged at the lions and all hell broke loose after that.
I killed one lion with a burst fire from my AK and Gouhin shot the second one with his crossbow as the third lion pulled out a Glock and fired at us, causing me to roll out of the way with Gouhin taking cover at a tree and the lion was shot dead by me before I ran to the front doors and kicked them open while startling three more lions and they stared at me.
"Who the hell are-" one lion with a bokken sword started to question and he was cut off when I shot him in the face, then his head snapped back with a red spray of blood exiting the back and the dead body fell back while the other two took out a P226 and a sawed-off shotgun before shooting back.
I rolled into cover at a pillar until I slung my rifle and took out a Molotov before using a lighter to lit the rag and I leaned out of cover to throw the bottle until it smashed right by the lions' feet while being set ablaze, then the lions that were on fire started screaming in agony as they ran around with their arms flailing uncontrollably until they collapsed and twitched before they died while I rushed past the charred bodies and went up the stairs where another lion was running down the steps.
The lion tried to take a swing at me with his claws, but I ducked and quickly slung my rifle before doing a quick draw with my sidearm and shooting him three times until I threw him aside and ran up the steps until I spotted a lion about to walk downstairs until I tackled into him and fired twice before throwing him down the stairs and saw that I was in a room with a few more lions while they got up from their seats at a table and pulled out their guns to shoot me.
I dived out of the way as gunshots rang out and took cover against a pillar before holstering my sidearm and unslinging my rifle, just as I leaned on the opposite side and killed three lions with rapid gunfire until I flicked out the empty mag and did a fast reload with a fresh one while Gouhin joined me by laying down suppressive fire with his M60 and I moved out of cover while heading up the stairs before one of the surviving lions snuck up behind Gouhin and smashed a chair against his back while I spun around to look at him.
"Gouhin-san, you good?!" I called out urgently as Gouhin started wrestling with another lion and he turned his head in my direction.
"Legosi, keep going to the top floor while I deal with these assholes!" Gouhin shouted before the lion he was struggling to overpower suddenly struck him twice across his face with the sound of Gouhin's nose breaking and he stumbled to a wall before resting his hands on it and breathing heavily.
"We know that an ursid's nerves are concentrated right in their noses," the lion growled as he cracked his knuckles and went to hit Gouhin again, causing me to act quickly by rushing over and redirecting the attack before kneeing him in the chest and punching the lion in the face a few times until we grappled with each other and I was forced against a wall with his hand around my neck.
"Stay out of my way, you fucking mongrel! Well, I never thought that a kid like you would be killing all my friends and you're friends with that rabbit? Don't worry, I'll kill you quickly with the same hands that kidnapped her," the lion mocked as he started strangling me and I picked up Haru's scent coming from his hands, then I closed my eyes and started sniffing until I discovered that it was fresh.
'The scent's still fresh so it hasn't been that long yet...Haru, just wait for me because I'm coming to save you and I miss you so much,' I thought calmly as the lion was trying to make me let go.
"You disgusting bastard, let go of me! Hey, what the hell are you getting high off-" the lion shouted and was cut off from saying anything else when I slammed my head into his face with a look of pure rage, breaking his nose in the process and making him let go as blood spurted out of his nose while he collapsed.
'How the sensation in my nose stirs the muscles throughout my body and makes my blood boil, it's all because of you...I understand now, this is so much more than instincts and it's a simple desire that makes me stronger, make me feel like I'm more than just a monster. Haru, I'll see you soon,' I thought as an expression of peace took over for a second while I thought about Haru until Gouhin snapped me out of it.
"Legosi, leave this to me and go!" Gouhin called out while he had a lion in a headlock.
"Are you sure?" I questioned and Gouhin nodded.
"Don't worry about me, I can handle these assholes so stay safe!" Gouhin reassured and I narrowed my eyes.
"Got it, you too," I stated as I took off and ran up the stairs before getting into more firefights with more lions after that.
"No, please," a lion begged before his face and half his head was blown away by buckshot as I stood in the middle of a few bodies that were missing a few limbs, charred, and shredded chests while I was soaked in blood and looking like a demon more than anything while ran from the aftermath of carnage and quickly moved down a hallway.
I had slaughtered many lions during my rampage and finally made it to the top floor where I could see the door at the end of the hall, then I burst in and saw Haru about to get her throat ripped out by a lion before hot rage rose up and I rushed over while grabbing a cane and sent a nasty strike across his head before he was thrown off of Haru and the light above me was shattered as the room became dark with only a few candles illuminating the room slightly while I noticed that Haru looked shocked to see me while I could also see that she was fully nude as we stared at each other.
"L-Legosi-kun, you're covered in blood and carrying guns," Haru pointed out in horror while my eyes softened and I looked away since I felt ashamed of her seeing me like this, then I sighed while putting down my rifle, removing my shotgun, ammo strap, and kevlar vest before I took off my shirt until my torso only showed a white tank-top since I decided to let Haru use my shirt to cover herself up.
"Legosi-kun, behind you!" Haru alerted and I threw the shirt at her while I ducked under a lunge and sent a solid kick into the lion's chest before backing up to get some distance.
"Here, wear that!" I shouted as I dodged a few swipes and deflected one before doing a palm strike to disorientate the lion.
"You came for me, why the hell did you do that?!" Haru cried out in shock as I pulled out my sidearm and went to shoot the lion, only he knocked my aim away as the gun went off and the bullet struck the sliding door that led to a balcony and my gun went across the room before I was kicked in the stomach and stumbled back.
"No time to talk, need to deal with this asshole first!" I told her loudly as I clutched my stomach and winced.
"You idiot, you're going to get yourself killed!" Haru scolded but I didn't pay attention and resumed my bloody fight against the lion.
A/N Damn, this has to be one of my darkest chapters but as we all know from the manga, things are going to get bloody in the near future and I had fun putting down Connor's dark and sadistic side being unleashed onto the Shishigumi and the muggers, though what he's done is tiny compared to what he had to do in the Wasteland to survive.
Anyway, I have a question for all of you and what do you think about me making a prequel that shows Connor's life in the Wasteland after this story is complete? I've had this idea for a while now and wanted to see what you thought about it so let me know if you want me to do that or not.
So, let me know what you think about this chapter and stay tuned since the love hotel scene in the next chapter is going to go a little differently than what you all saw in canon.
