A/N Hey guys, welcome to the next chapter of The Rogue and I don't have much to say so without further ado, enjoy.
Several weeks had gone by after the incident and everyone had moved back into Beast Co-op but I had taken a turn for the worse, being quiet most of the time while having a cold and gruff exterior and then there were the nightmares that were making it difficult for me to get some sleep whenever I go to bed.
Michiru had healed up and her shoulder showed a scar where the bullet hole used to be, the sight reminded me of how I could've lost her that night and it made me feel worse than I already am but Shirou would give me the cold shoulder most of the time and the only time we would interact is when we were out patrolling or investigating a case.
Aside from that, he would pretty much avoid me or simply sent me a cold glare whenever I would pass by him in the hallway and I knew that he probably hated me for what I'd done and I just let him do it since it was tame compared to how he should've treated me because I deserve it.
I noticed that Gem and Melissa were worried about the icy tension between us but they were hesitant and I didn't blame them since they didn't know what was going on between us or how they should approach the subject, and I felt even guiltier since they were very decent people and deserved better.
Either way, I still visit Yuki from time to time and I try not to show that I'm seriously struggling with the guilt and regret that was greatly affecting me, though now I was on the roof of Beast Co-op and watching the sights as I was speaking to Tachiki about any progress on the investigation into the dead assassins when he told me unpleasant news.
"What the hell do you mean the bodies and all the evidence is gone? Yuji, what the hell happened?" I questioned in disbelief as I was trying to comprehend that the bodies and all the evidence were gone.
"I'm just as stumped as you are, Jackson. The bodies were in the morgue and all the evidence was in the evidence room yesterday, but now they're gone," Tachiki told me while sounding bewildered at how the bodies of the assassins and the evidence were gone.
"Well, it's pretty unlikely the dead assassins just came back to life and left the building with all the evidence so do you have a clue as to how this happened?" I asked while I was running my hand through my hair in frustration.
"Hmm...now that I think about it, there was a power outage last night and a maintenance crew showed up to fix the problem so the bodies and the evidence must've gone missing around that time," Tachiki told me and I swore under my breath since I had an idea of what happened.
"That wasn't a maintenance team, it was most likely a clean-up crew who worked for the assassins' employers and they took the bodies and the evidence to cover up what happened several weeks ago," I said irritably.
"How do you know?" Tachiki asked and I sighed.
"The sniper that Shirou and I were questioning before he blew himself up had said that he and his team weren't the only ones so there's a good chance they were part of some unknown organization and considering how he described that they were bigger than I could even imagine, and that the bodies and the evidence have gone missing, then there's a good chance this organization is a lot bigger than I thought," I explained and Tachiki sucked in a breath.
"So, there are possibly more of these assassins out there and that they are more organized than we thought? If I'm going to be honest, you and Ogami tend to find trouble wherever you go," Tachiki said tiredly and I huffed.
"More like trouble tends to find us but thanks for telling me about the bodies and the evidence going missing so I'll be sure to look into it, and I'll let you know if I find anything," I replied until I hung up and my phone buzzed until I looked to see that Shirou was calling me and I answered.
"Yeah?" I asked stoically.
"The mayor wants to see us so head over to city hall, I'll meet you there," Shirou told me before he hung up and I sighed as I put my phone away.
I went back inside the building and went to make my way to city hall, holding a hard frown on my face while I wondered what the mayor wanted but I didn't question it all that much since I'll find out anyway as I arrived at city hall and saw Shirou waiting for me.
Shirou didn't say anything as we entered the building and made our way to the mayor's office, nothing but silence between us as I felt really uncomfortable since the tension in the air felt stifling when we reached the top floor and went to the mayor's office, knocking on the door and letting ourselves in.
"Ogami, Jackson, it's good to see you made it," the mayor greeted while she was standing at the window and watching the scenery.
"We got here as soon as we could so what did you want to talk about?" I asked and the mayor turned around to look at me specifically.
"Well, I wanted to talk to you about an important matter that Ogami has brought to my attention," the mayor said with an unreadable expression, which made me tense up since I had a suspicion of what Shirou told her.
"He told you about what I remembered several weeks ago, didn't he?" I questioned with a hollow tone in my voice and the mayor nodded.
"Yes, he did," the mayor said as she stared at me and I felt pensive since it was like I was at the principal's office after getting in trouble in class.
"Are you going to kick me out of Anima city? I wouldn't blame you if you did," I said with no emotion in my voice and the mayor sighed.
"Douglas, I admit that I was pretty shocked when Shirou told me about what you remembered but I'm not going to make you leave Anima city since this is a place where all beastmen are welcome, despite what their pasts could be," the mayor told me, shocking me greatly.
"But I'm not a beastman, I used to be human and partook in genocide against beastmen with other humans so I don't deserve to stay here after what I did, which is why it's better that I leave the city and probably shoot myself since the world would be a lot better off without someone like me," I spat out bitterly, causing the mayor and Shirou to look shocked by what I said.
"Doug, I know you think there's no hope for you and I don't blame you for that since I probably would've done the same if I lost everything I loved but there's one thing I do know, it's that the past doesn't define you and it's what you do now that matters," the mayor told me and I looked down at the floor.
"You say that as if it's easy but how could I possibly atone for my sins after having so much blood on my hands?" I questioned and the mayor sent a look at Shirou, who was glaring at me but then his eyes softened up to a look of understanding and I hated that since the last thing I needed was to be pitied by someone.
"I'm gonna go," I said and left the office without waiting for a response and exited the building soon after as I saw that the sky was getting cloudy.
That was ironic since the sight fit my mood as I was heading back to Beast Co-op, wanting to go to my room and never come out and I started scowling at nothing in particular as my mood worsened and I saw that I was approaching my intended destination so I decided to head inside before it started raining.
After that, I found myself in my room as I was laying on my bed and staring up at the ceiling, just lost in thought as I heard it started raining outside and the storm soothed me while I let out a sigh and didn't know what to do anymore.
I was tired, just mentally drained all the time and felt like I didn't deserve to live so I wonder if this was what a really bad case of depression was like since I've been feeling like shit all the time now and it sucked a lot.
I groaned as I ran my hands down my face and hated myself right now, and who could blame me after what I had remembered since I was a murderer and a war criminal that should die in prison since at least the many beastmen I killed would get justice.
Still, I should probably go check on Michiru since she hasn't been feeling great lately and that didn't surprise me since the betrayal of her best friend and nearly getting killed all on the same day have probably taken a toll on her mental health.
I got up and was about to head to the door when I heard a loud crash coming from Michiru's room, causing me to quickly get my gun out of my bedside cabinet and I rushed out the door while I prayed that nothing bad happened to Michiru.
I ran down the hallway and eventually reached Michiru's room, bursting in with my gun at the ready as Michiru let out a startled yelp when I saw that there was a large hole in the ceiling as the rain came into the room, then I spotted someone who was on her bed unceremoniously.
From what I could see, the stranger was a middle-aged male with a fairly tan complexion, stubble on his chin, and white swept-back hair with a maroon mullet that had been tied back into a ponytail as he wore a red flight leather jacket, white scarf, black shirt, white and red striped trousers, and brown boots as he was unconscious and appeared to be snoring while I scrunched my face up at that.
"Doug, you scared the crap out of me!" Michiru exclaimed and I looked at her.
"Sorry, I heard the loud crash and rushed over here as quickly as I could so who is this?" I inquired while I lowered my gun but still kept my eye on the unconscious man suspiciously.
"I don't know, he's a bird beastman who crashed right through the roof and I don't think it was intentional, scared the hell out of me though," Michiru replied and I stared at the unconscious man until I sighed.
"In that case, help me get his jacket and boots off before he gets soaked and catches a cold," I said as I stuffed my gun in the back of my jeans.
Michiru and I worked together to remove the man's jacket and boots before putting the covers over him, then I went outside and went to cover up the hole with a large sheet of metal until I went back inside and had to dry myself off while removing my boots and jacket.
After that, it was only a matter of waiting for the man to wake up so that I could question him while a few hours had gone by and the storm had passed as the sky cleared up and Gem asked me to help with the hole in the roof.
I reluctantly helped him since I was unsure of leaving the stranger alone since I didn't know him or what his business was in this city, but considering how he crashed through the roof and that Michiru told me that it might've been an accident, it's possible that he wasn't a threat but I didn't know that for sure so I still wanted to keep my eye on him just in case.
Either way, Michiru also pitched in to help and we went to remove the sheet of metal, then I had gotten a tarp and a toolbox from nearby and brought it up to the roof before Gem and I started to cover the hole in the roof when I heard a groan inside Michiru's room and knew that the stranger was awake.
"Oh crap...well, that definitely didn't go as planned," the stranger said in exasperation and Michiru peered through the hole.
"Hey, you're finally awake," Michiru said as Gem and I were busy unwrapping the tarp when I heard the stranger putting his jacket, boots, and scarf on before heading outside.
"Oh geez, that was my doing, wasn't it?" the stranger asked as he looked up at us with an expression of surprise.
"Yeah, you created a rather sizable hole up here," Gem replied as he, Michiru, and I were covering up the hole with the tarp.
"Not to mention you scared the hell out of us in the process," I added gruffly with a frown.
"You really should be resting, you know," Melissa spoke up while she was holding onto a rope.
"Well...I couldn't rest very well, knowing that I caused all this trouble to you nice folks," the stranger said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.
"It sounds like you're not in any pain, at least," Michiru commented when the stranger started looking around as if something caught his attention.
"Be careful up there, there's a gust heading your way,," the stranger warned Michiru and I looked at him.
"What the hell are you talking about?" I questioned just before a gust of wind suddenly came out of nowhere and I grimaced at the force.
The tarp was suddenly ripped out of my hands and Michiru was being blown away, much to my horror as Gem tried to hold onto the tarp and I frantically reached out for Michiru while she was holding onto the tarp for dear life while she screamed in alarm, then she couldn't hold on anymore and was sent flying off the building.
"No!" I yelled and was about to jump after her so that I could grab her and shield her with my body, only the stranger shifted into his albatross beast form and took off after Michiru until he used his talons to grab her shoulders to save her life while he flapped his wings to keep her and himself in mid-air.
I let out a breath of pure relief since that was close as the stranger flew back over to the balcony and carefully put Michiru down, then I got down from the roof and hurried over to Michiru until I sent the stranger a nod.
"Thank you," I said as the stranger shifted back into his human form.
"No problem, I'm glad that I was able to get to her in time," the stranger replied and I turned my attention to Michiru.
"God, Michiru, you gotta quit scaring me like that or I'm gonna drop dead from a heart attack one these days," I told her in exasperation and Michiru grimaced.
"Well, it's not like I intend for it to happen," Michiru muttered and I sighed.
"Anyway, let's finish covering that hole up before something else happens," I suggested and the others nodded as we got back to work while the stranger decided to assist us.
It took a little bit but Michiru, Gem, Melissa, the stranger, and I finished covering up the hole with the tarp and we sat at the table before having lunch while things were mostly quiet between all of us for a little bit as we were eating.
"I'll admit, hot food really does hit the spot," the stranger commented suddenly and Michiru looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"Have you not eaten in a while?" Michiru inquired curiously.
"Well, I've been up in the sky for so long," the stranger replied as the rest of us stared at him.
"Did you come down to Anima city in the hopes of seeking refuge?" Melissa asked.
"You'll need to fill out your beastman registration," Gem added and the stranger shook his head.
"I won't be here very long since I'm a migratory albatross, you see," the stranger told us and Michiru blinked at that.
"Migratory? Like a bird that travels?" Michiru questioned and the stranger looked at her.
"That's right," the stranger confirmed and Michiru sighed.
"Must be nice," Michiru muttered.
"What do you mean?" the stranger questioned curiously.
"You can fly through the sky and go anywhere in the world you want so it wouldn't have been a pain for me to get here if I could fly like you," Michiru groaned and the stranger looked thoughtful as he hummed slightly until he perked up.
"Would you want to take a flight?" the stranger asked and I paused at that.
"What? Yeah," Michiru said with a tone of excitement and I frowned.
"I'm not sure I'm okay with this," I spoke up and Michiru sent me a look of disbelief.
"Come on, Doug, I always wanted to know what it was like to fly so this is my chance to experience that!" Michiru protested but I didn't look phased by it.
"But what if something were to happen to you while you were with him? You can't accept things like that from strangers and to be honest, I don't exactly trust him," I stated coldly and Michiru looked flabbergasted while she gaped at me and the others looked awkward at the argument that was breaking out.
"Doug, he saved my life so that has to count for something, right?" Michiru pointed out and I sighed.
"And I'm grateful for that but we don't know anything about him so you need to be careful when it comes to this kind of thing," I said when the stranger cleared his throat.
"Hey, um, I'm sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable about this," the stranger said and I gently rubbed my eyes.
"No, I should be the one to apologize since we had an incident in this building several weeks ago and Michiru got hurt by one of the intruders, so it's kind of made me a bit paranoid around strangers," I explained and the stranger looked surprised.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear about that since that sounds rough," the stranger told me and I was about to reply when my phone vibrated and I took it out to see that Shirou was calling me.
"Sorry, I need to take this," I said as I stood up from my seat and walked away before I answered the phone while I wondered what Shirou wanted now.
"Yeah?" I inquired.
"Hey, the mayor has uncovered more information about the Church of the Silver Wolf so I'd figure you would be interested in learning about it," Shirou informed me and that piqued my interest since I wanted to know more about that group to figure out how they think.
"Okay, I'm on my way," I replied and hung up before I made my way back to the others.
"Hey, I gotta go so I'll be back soon," I said and Gem nodded.
"Okay, stay safe," Gem told me and I turned my attention to the stranger.
"Before I go, what's your name?" I asked and the stranger blinked at that.
"Pingua," Pingua replied and I nodded.
"Alright, I've decided to let Michiru go with you on a flight but understand that if anything happens to her on your watch, then I'm holding you personally responsible," I warned with a hard look and Pingua held up his hands.
"Wow, you really care a lot about her so is she your girlfriend or something?" Pingua questioned and Michiru sputtered while her face went red, then I shook my head.
"No, she's more like a little sister to me but remember what I said, I will come after you if anything were to happen to her," I stated before I walked away after that.
I made my way to city hall for the second time today and soon arrived at the building, heading inside and using the elevator to reach the top floor until I made it to the mayor's office and let myself in since the mayor and Shirou were expecting me.
"Ah, good to see you made it, Jackson," the mayor greeted and I sent her and nod as I approached her desk.
"After Shirou told me that you discovered more information about the Church of the Silver Wolf, I was interested in learning more about them so what have you discovered?" I inquired and the mayor activated the large screen behind me that showed the group's insignia.
"We've looked into the Church of the Silver Wolf and, up until half a year ago, they were no more than a peaceful folk region but then a man named Boris Cliff joined them, and then they began to rapidly expand and gain influence," the mayor explained while Shirou and I watched the images on the screen.
"And their leader is a childhood friend of Michiru," Shirou added as I frowned.
"So, they started out as a private and peaceful religious group until Boris turned it into a massive organized cult...christ, I hate the weird ones and Nazuna is using her abilities to become a version of the silver wolf to manipulate others into joining their cause," I said while I scowled slightly at the thought of what Nazuna did to Michiru.
"Either way, two girls who have the same condition and are good friends is...it's a coincidence, right?" the mayor wondered.
"Did one of them infect the other?" Shirou questioned while I was lost in thought.
I didn't know what to make of all of this since this was creating more questions than answers and if what turned Michiru and Nazuna was some kind of disease, then we might be looking at a pandemic since who knows how many people Michiru and Nazuna came into contact with throughout the entire year before they showed up in Anima city.
The one thing that has been on my mind is the fact that I was also a human who became a beastman but the how and when were unknown since there were still chunks of my memories that were missing and it only added to the mystery.
Suddenly, my head throbbed and I grimaced as I got a flash of what was possibly a memory as it was distorted and confusing while I was apparently sitting in the back seat of a car that was driving somewhere as it was night and raining hard when I heard a man's voice and that he was talking about how this wasn't a drill and that training was over before I was suddenly flicked in the head and I recoiled while sending a glare at Shirou.
"Ah, what the hell was that for?" I questioned irritably while rubbing the area he flicked at.
"You were staring off into space so what is it? Did you remember something?" Shirou questioned and I didn't respond, then Shirou was about to say something when the intercom on the mayor's desk started beeping.
"Mayor Rose, there's someone who wishes to see you," Koichi informed her while the mayor looked puzzled and she reached for the button on the intercom to respond to him.
"I don't believe I had an appointment," the mayor pointed out in confusion.
"Yes...well..." Koichi said hesitantly just as the door opened and a man stepped into the office.
I saw that the man had a fair complexion, neatly groomed blond hair, and teal eyes while he was wearing a dark teal suit, yellow vest, white collared shirt, and navy shoes when I immediately started feeling tense and agitated the second I saw him and I didn't know why but something about him was very familiar and not in a good way.
"Good day, my apologies for showing up without making an appointment but it's been far too long, Mayor Rose," the man greeted in a smooth voice, which made me even more agitated if that was even possible.
"Chairman Alan, I didn't expect you to see you here so soon," the mayor said with a look of surprise as she stood up and Alan simply shrugged.
"I'm sorry, I'm a slave to my whims," Alan replied nonchalantly as he looked at me and Shirou, then an expression of surprise and bewilderment crossed his face for a second when his gaze met mine but he put up a composed front that had me suspicious since it was like he recognized me and that gave me a bad feeling as he approached me and Shirou.
"I'm Alan Sylvasta, chairman of Sylvasta Pharmaceutical so it's a pleasure," Alan said as he held out a hand and I started getting very uncomfortable while I felt like taking a few steps back to put some distance between me and him.
"Shirou Ogami," Shirou responded and I glared at Alan while resisting the urge to tear his throat out.
"Douglas Jackson," I said gruffly.
"Neither of you too fond of handshakes?" Alan asked and Shirou huffed.
"Sorry, the scent of humans tends to linger," Shirou countered coldly.
"Right, how inconsiderate of me," Alan said and I scoffed while leering at him.
"Mr. Ogami is the mayor's adviser and Mr. Jackson is Anima city's special investigator, where the former has been working with us since the city's foundation and the latter got the position a few months ago after he arrived in Anima city," Koichi explained and Alan looked interested.
"Then it seems like one of you has a position similar to mine while the other is like a special kind of police officer, only different so I've provided capital just as one of you provided wisdom and the other keeps the peace in this fair city.
You two have my thanks for dealing with the bombing incident at our hospital," Alan said and I scowled at that while the mayor looked tense and Shirou was glaring at him.
"You are aware of that?" the mayor questioned.
"You and your cute assistant are truly heroes since you foiled the plot of Yaba and his accomplices...I've read the police reports," Alan said with a sheepish smile.
"You said cute assistant?" Shirou questioned and while his face was like stone, his body language told me that he was getting agitated and I was feeling pretty irritated as well.
"Oh, was I wrong? I'm referring to the tanuki girl," Alan clarified and a quiet growl rumbled in my chest because of him bringing up Michiru.
"I wouldn't say cute's the right word," Shirou replied and Alan chuckled.
"It's just gossip so you shouldn't take it seriously," Alan assured but I glared at him darkly.
"Right, gossip," I said skeptically.
"I am sorry for showing up without notice since I hear that the Church of the Silver Wolf is seeking residency," Alan told us as he moved forward until he was standing right next to me and Shirou.
"Although, I'd advise a refusal," Alan added until he continued walking and came to a stop in front of the window with his hands clasped behind his back.
"We would be failing the city's goals if we were to do that," the mayor pointed out as we looked back at Alan.
"Indeed, Anima city is a refuge for persecuted beastmen so by living here, beastmen can have a human culture and learn how to co-exist with humans so your vision of this city resonated with me, which is why I decided to support you financially and as a representative of the humans," Alan commented casually.
"That's right, Anima city will not refuse a beastman so why say that?" the mayor inquired and Alan was quiet for a moment but that had me suspicious when he looked back.
"A feeling," Alan replied, then Shirou started snarling as I could see his teeth had grown sharp and I placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, tap the brakes," I said tensely and that caused Shirou to calm down as his teeth turned back to normal and Alan looked almost amused.
"My, what exquisite fangs you have but I'd expect no less from a wolf," Alan remarked while I removed my hand from Shirou's shoulder.
"I know that the successor to the Sylvasta Conglomerate is not the type of human who would act upon a feeling alone," the mayor stated cooly.
"Well, perhaps you overestimated me since I simply believe that the current Anima city does not need the Church of the Silver Wolf," Alan said.
"Why is that?" I asked and Alan looked at me.
"In this era of the modernization of beastmen, harboring a cult like that will have the opposite effect by provoking the anti-beastman front so aren't you aware? Congressmen, beastmen activists, journalists.
Recently, some of these key players in beastman rights movements around the world have been attacked, some beastmen villages across the world even getting wiped out with no survivors being found, and there's intel that unidentified aerial beastmen have infiltrated the city.
But of course, this decision lies with you and depending on what you may decide, I may end up having to rework my own entire strategy," Alan said and I clenched my fists from hearing him mention the many beastmen villages getting destroyed by me and the other members of War Dogs, but it was what he said about unidentified aerial beastmen that made me recall Pingua and a cold chill ran down my spine.
"Is that a threat?" Shirou questioned as he sent Alan a cold glare.
"Just a warning, though I'm going to be the new director so that I can personally oversee the medical center but I do hope we won't have to move its location out of Anima city, which would be a shame.
Bye now," Alan said as he left the office and I trembled while letting out heavy and shaky breathing.
"Are you okay, Doug? You look pretty shaken up," the mayor asked in concern and I looked at her.
"I don't know...I think I knew him," I said quietly, taking the others by surprise.
"How so?" Shirou questioned.
"I can't explain it because the second I saw him, I was agitated as hell and felt like tearing his throat out so I think I had a pretty bad encounter with him before I lost my memories," I explained and the others were quiet as Shirou and the mayor each sported a frown on their faces.
"I see...we'll have to look into that later," the mayor told me.
"Either way, do you really intend to do what that kid told you to?" Shirou asked the mayor, who took her seat at her desk.
"It's because he's young that we can't take him lightly since the Sylvasta Conglomerate is a long-standing name in Europe, and it's well-recognized that Alan is the heart of the company so you two are aware that this city's finances depend on the support of Sylvasta Pharmaceutical, right?" the mayor reminded us and I scowled.
"All I know is that smug-looking prick pisses me off and that he can't be trusted, so we need to be extremely careful around him since there's no telling what agenda he has because someone like him wouldn't help with this city's economy out of the kindness of his heart," I pointed out and Shirou nodded.
"I agree, and one thing I'm opposed to is by kneeling to a human," Shirou agreed.
"Regardless, there are things that we must decide on so we have to do what we think is best, even if it earns us the scorn of the beastmen," the mayor stated firmly and I sighed as I rubbed my eyes.
"Christ, what a goddamn mess," I muttered just as the mayor's intercom went off.
"We've received word from the Japanese government, the bird beastman that violated the border laws had disappeared while heading in the direction of Anima city so there's a good chance that he's an anti-beastman rights terrorist," Koichi said and hearing that caused me to widened my eyes as I knew that he was talking about Pingua and I was horrified at the knowledge that I let Michiru go on a flight with a suspected terrorist.
"Well, it seems that Alan's words were more than just a threat after all," the mayor remarked but I was more than frantic at the thought of Michiru being in serious danger again when I caught a glimpse of possibly Pingua out in the distance out the window and judging from Shirou slight gasp, he spotted him too but it was the sight of Michiru on Pingua's back that greatly alarmed me.
"We gotta go, now," I stated and it was the urgency in my voice that caught Shirou's attention before he nodded and we quickly left the office after that.
We searched the city but didn't find Pingua or Michiru, which seriously terrified me since there was no telling what he might do to her but then Shirou informed me that he used his sense of smell to track down Michiru and Pingua at Beast Co-op so we made our way back home as the sun was starting to set.
We soon came home and arrived on the balcony of the building and found Michiru resting her arms on the railing, looking at the sights and there were no signs of Pingua so I let out a quiet sigh of relief since it didn't look like he had hurt her, then Kuro flew down and perched on Shirou shoulder as usual while we walked over to Michiru.
"Where's the bird beastman?" Shirou asked as we came to a stop right next to Michiru, who looked at us.
"Oh, you mean Pingua? He left already," Michiru replied and Shirou scoffed while I scowled.
"Shit," I muttered while I glared at nothing in particular and Michiru frowned.
"What's wrong?" Michiru inquired and I sighed.
"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but we received important information that he's a suspected terrorist and we were hoping to bring him in for questioning," I replied and Michiru looked skeptical.
"A terrorist? I doubt it, he told me that he was going to be leaving the city tomorrow," Michiru told us with a chuckle but Shirou and I didn't look amused.
"Then he's probably planning an attack tonight," Shirou said with a hard expression, then Michiru started looking offended.
"Where did all this come from? Pingua would never do something like that," Michiru stated with a frown.
"Michiru, you just met the guy so how much do you really know about him? You interacted with him for only a day so you don't know what kind of person he is, which is why you need to be careful when it comes to this kind of thing," I pointed out logically.
"He's right, you don't know anything about him, even if you went on one little flight with him," Shirou agreed and Michiru showed a sour expression.
"Okay, I know that Doug understandably has a right to be concerned after what happened several weeks ago but what's with you? Also, how did you even know I went flying with him? Did Doug tell you?" Michiru questioned and I looked at her.
"We were at city hall earlier today and saw the two of you flying around without a care in the world," I replied and Michiru sputtered.
"We weren't being careless so why are you saying that, Doug?! You've been acting overprotective lately so what's going on with you?!" Michiru shouted and I lost my temper after that.
"Because I don't want to lose you! When you got shot, I was terrified because if that bullet had gone a few inches to the right, it would've hit your aorta and then you could've bled out in seconds and I would've lost someone else I cared about!
I can't ever go through that kind of tragedy again because losing my parents all those years ago was devastating enough, but losing you would destroy me!" I yelled as I struggled not to cry and Michiru, as well as Shirou, looked shocked to see me lose my composure like that.
"Doug...I didn't know you felt like that," Michiru said as her eyes softened.
"I just can't lose anyone else, never again but can you at least tell us why you are so adamant in defending Pingua?" I asked after I had managed to regain my composure and Michiru started appearing solemn.
"Pingua told me about how difficult things had become for beastmen ever since they were granted human rights, about how he had some friends who had been shot down before," Michiru explained and I tensed up.
"Michiru, if his friends had been killed, then that would be one hell of a motive because if it were my friends that were shot down without provocation, then I would be pretty pissed and would want to make some kind of statement, especially if he were approached by a terrorist group and was radicalized.
Before you say anything, you'd be surprised at what people are capable of when they have nothing left to lose...trust me, I know," I said quietly while Shirou frowned.
"Also, we've heard that there's an anti-beastman front terrorist hiding in the city, and they say it's a bird beastman so based on the timing, he's now a suspect and that's why there's no time to discuss it," Shirou stated while Michiru looked at him.
"Then we just have to find him a clear his name, right?" Michiru asked and I sighed.
"Look, if he turns out to be innocent, then we'll give him the benefit of a doubt but we can't ignore something like this since getting information of a suspected terrorist hiding out here is something that needs to be taken seriously," I said and Michiru hummed thoughtfully.
"So, can't you two track him by his scent?" Michiru questioned and Shirou looked up at the sky.
"That's a little more difficult since any scent trail gets dispersed quickly," Shirou replied.
"Are there any other ways to track him?" Michiru inquired and I held a thoughtful frown.
"I have a feeling I might know where he might go, even if we don't have a way to track him," I said when Shirou and I started walking away, then Michiru called out to us as she chased after us.
I had gone to my room to get my equipment and my badge, putting them on my belt and I met up with Shirou and Michiru outside the building when we started making our way to city hall since I had a hunch that Pingua might target the mayor and it would make sense since the mayor is an example of attempting co-existence for humans and beastmen and she had created Anima city for beastmen to find sanctuary so if she were to get killed, then chaos would break out all over the city.
We couldn't let that happen so we arrived at city hall with Shirou and I making it to the roof of the building, then we just stood close to the edge while keeping an eye out for Pingua as the sun had set and it was night now while I felt a gust of wind, then we looked up and I narrowed my eyes when I caught a glimpse of a figure in the night sky as they glided through the air.
I knew that was Pingua as he dove down and was plummeting towards city hall so Shirou and I nodded to each other, getting ready to stop him as we both shifted into our beast forms and suddenly jumped off the building.
This was the first time I had done something so insane as I clenched my teeth and knew we had to time this just right because if we missed, then we would fall to the ground and I didn't want to go through that painful experience a third time but Shirou and I had reached out, successfully grabbing a leg as Pingua started falling with us until he managed to glide above different buildings and looked back at us as if we were nuts.
"Who the hell are you two?!" Pingua shouted in disbelief, not recognizing me since I was in my beast form at the moment but I closed my eyes and started sniffing at the backpack he had with him, then an image popped up in my mind that showed the bag being translucent and there was a gun and explosives inside, confirming my suspicions that he was a terrorist and I opened my eyes to scowl while Shirou looked enraged.
"We won't allow terrorism in our city!" Shirou snarled while we held on to Pingua.
"I'm gonna have to ask you two not to interfere!" Pingua countered as we flew above city hall, passing by Michiru who was on the roof and she called out to us while I saw that Pingua was flying to the side of the building and I widened my eyes.
"Shit!" I shouted and braced myself.
Pingua slammed me and Shirou into the side of the building and we bounced across the windows that broke while we grunted in pain and I knew that was gonna bruise later as I grimaced in pain from the constant impacts that definitely hurt.
"Don't take this personally!" Pingua exclaimed as he flew up, dragging us across the windows until we passed by the roof and went above the building.
I found myself being swung and I collided into Shirou hard, knocking the breath out of both of us as we couldn't hold on anymore and started plummeting while I was dazed from the impact, though I managed to catch a glimpse of Michiru grabbing onto something and running over to the edge while reaching out for either of us as her arms stretched like elastic.
Unfortunately, she missed and the antenna snapped before she started falling as well while she screamed in pure terror, much to my horror as it snapped me out of it and I frantically tried to reach out to grab her so that I could use my body as a shield to save her life but she was flailing her elongated arms around and I got whacked pretty hard in the face.
I was nearly rendered unconscious from the hit and all three of us kept plummeting toward the street while I struggled to regain myself when I saw that we were getting too close to the pavement and was terrified of how Michiru was about to get killed, then I felt something snatch the back of my jacket collar and I somehow flew upwards just in time as a few people dropped to the ground to avoid getting their heads taken off as they clamored in alarm.
My eyes were wide as I was somehow flying up and looked around, then I spotted Shirou next to me while he was appearing flabbergasted by what was happening when I saw that a bird's talons were gripping the back of his coat and that's when I looked up, then my eyes bugged out when I saw that Michiru now had bird legs and her arms had become wings as she was flying.
"You've gotta be shitting me!" I shouted incredulously and that made Shirou look up until his eyes bugged out as well.
"Wait, you can fly?!" Shirou exclaimed in disbelief as we gaped up at her.
"Uh, I've never done it before!" Michiru exclaimed in alarm, which was something that I really didn't need to hear.
"You haven't?!" Shirou yelled in disbelief.
"No!" Michiru exclaimed and that caused a great amount of panic to flare up.
"Oh christ, please don't drop us or crash into anything!" I shouted in alarm while my heart was racing and I was praying to any kind of deity at this point when Shirou suddenly smiled.
"Hey, think you can get above him?" Shirou asked and I was wondering what he had in mind when it hit me and I thought it was an insane idea he came up with but I liked it.
"Leave it to me," Michiru replied in determination and she started flying after Pingua, who soon spotted us and his eyes widened at the sight of Michiru sporting wings and talons like a harpy.
"You can fly now?! Is that even possible?!" Pingua exclaimed in shock but he started evading us and Michiru chased after him as the albatross beastman attempted to escape.
"You're not getting away, asshole," I growled as Michiru flew after Pingua until we were above him.
Michiru let out a yell as she swung me and Shirou forward before letting us go, then we went diving down to Pingua until we both collided into him and plummeted down to a roof until we bounced across it and hit a railing, the impact stopping us before Shirou and I got up while I pulled out my gun and aimed at Pingua.
"Don't move," I warned as Michiru flew down and landed behind us before running over to us, then Shirou and I shifted back to our human forms and Pingua looked surprised.
"The tanuki girl can really fly or could that have been a trick you were playing on me?" Pingua wondered while Shirou picked up the backpack that the albatross beastman had.
"So, my guess is that you were in the military," Shirou theorized, which caught my attention as I looked at Shirou and then I returned my attention to Pingua.
"Is that true? You served?" I questioned and Pingua sighed.
"It's true, I was in a beastman unit when I was younger and I believed in human rights for beastmen so I fought the anti-beastman front extremists, though it never crossed my mind that it would result in a ban on migration," Pingua explained and Michiru looked outraged.
"So, you're saying that makes terrorism okay?! Were you really planning on attacking the mayor?!" Michiru shouted angrily and PIngua smiled.
"Don't worry, the bomb is just a bluff so the blast wouldn't have been lethal, but that kind of threat was necessary to get my demands heard since I've got no faith in government officials," Pingua said as Shirou sniffed the bag and sent me and Michiru and nod to confirm that the explosives weren't lethal.
"There are ways of getting people's attention but this isn't one of them since you're risking your freedom by pulling a stunt like this," I lectured and Pingua sighed as he stood up.
"I know, but I was desperate...so, where do we go from here?" Pingua wondered and Shirou frowned.
"All Doug and I want is to protect this city so leave at once since you haven't done anything wrong yet," Shirou said and Pingua looked surprised while I holstered my gun until he smiled and looked at Michiru.
"Hey, kid," Pingua said and Michiru looked at him while he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a bunch of military dog tags.
"These belonged to my comrades who died in combat over the conflicts of rights with humans, so if this place really is a city for beastmen, then it would be best to have their graves dug here so tell that to your mayor," Pingua requested and seeing the dog tags caused my head to throb, making me grimace as another flood of memories came back and I remembered being in the US army as an army ranger, green beret, and a captain in delta force until I was recruited by the head commander of War Dogs.
"I'll tell her for you, I promise," Michiru said as she carefully took the dog tags.
"Oh, and I'm not the only one who flew into this city because there was one more and there was only one man who could fly at those speeds...he's well known in the criminal underworld and they call him Meteor.
He's an assassin who will take any job if the price is right so be careful," PIngua warned with a grim look.
"Is his target the mayor?" Shirou questioned.
"No, if she were, then I would've picked up on it," Pingua replied and a cold chill went down my spine as something occurred to me.
"There's only one other high-profile target that I can think of, Alan Sylvasta..." I said in realization and Shirou nodded.
"Exactly, let's go," Shirou stated and we all hurried to the medical center.
We had to stop the possible assassination because if Alan was killed by a beastman, then that would be the very thing that could start a war between humanity and beastmen so we needed to hurry and we rushed to the medical center as fast as we could.
We managed to arrive at the medical center and I saw members of the Church of the Silver Wolf there, then I spotted the assassin as he was high above and had Alan in his talons while my eyes widened in alarm.
"I think we're too late," Shirou said urgently.
"Oh crap, what is that?" Michiru questioned in alarm and I looked at her.
"Hey, do you think you could fly again?" I asked tensely but before Michiru could answer, a large glowing pair of wings sprouted up from somewhere in the crowd.
At that moment, Meteor dropped Alan and people let out screams of horror when a pink beam shot out to Alan and an explosion of light happened that made me shield my eyes, then it was over and I looked to see that Nazuna was carrying Alan as she had wings and was hovering in mid-air.
"Behold, the winged silver wolf appeared and her indiscriminatory grace rains down not only upon beastmen, but humans as well! We are witnessing the power of miss Deesse Louve, who will bring salvation to the world of beastmen!" Boris declared and I scowled at how he and Nazuna were just manipulating these people and it disturbed me that they were eating it up.
Still, Meteor was still a problem as I saw him about to go after Alan and Nazuna, only for Pingua to get in the way and sent a nasty kick into the assassin and Meteor was sent flying to the ground when Shirou zipped over and jumped to catch him in mid-air while I ran over and pulled my gun out, Shirou and I in our beast forms while the former had Meteor slung over his shoulder when he dropped him and looked up at Pingua, who was flying away.
I had holstered my gun and slapped the cuffs on Meteor's wrists as he was back in his human form, then I heard the nearby crowd cheering and I looked to see Nazuna soaking all the attention in with a look of joy, which made me shake my head in disgust as I made Meteor stand up and escorted him over to Shirou and Michiru as they watched what was happening.
"Amazing...just amazing, Nazuna" Michiru breathed out in astonishment and I looked at her with a solemn glance until I turned my attention to Shirou.
"Shirou," I said and the wolf beastman turned his attention to me.
"What?" Shirou asked.
"I remembered something when Pingua held out those dog tags," I said and that got Shirou's attention as he was fully focused on me.
"What did you remember?" Shirou questioned.
"Turns out that I used to be in the US army, was an army ranger, green beret, and a captain in delta force before I was recruited by War Dogs," I explained and Shirou frowned thoughtfully.
"I see...we'll have to notify the mayor about that," Shirou pointed out and I nodded.
"Yeah, though let's bring this scumbag to the police before we do that," I said, then we started to make our way to the police station while I became lost in thought after that.
A/N Hey guys, looks like I finally got my motivation back and I'm glad about that since I really need to finish this story and several others but I'm excited to write down the next chapter since there's another twist that you won't be expecting.
Anyway, looks like Doug used to be an army ranger, green beret, and a captain in delta force so the guy is expertly trained but we all knew that from all the fights he got into and there's still more of his past that's waiting to be uncovered so let me know what you think and stay tuned.