So I already have HW... and the teacher didn't teach us how to do... pretty much all of it. Which is bad, cause it's due before we have class again. Why do these teacher assume that we remember stuff from our previous classes? There's a reason why no one is answering your questions in class you know...

Anyway, here's an update! Despite all the work I have (and trust me I'm already stressing out and it hasn't been a full week since classes started) I'm still trying to push out updates. Cause I'm stupid.

Oh, and since Fanfiction reviews are working again, I'll be able to respond to your reviews starting now! If I didn't respond to a review before... sorry I'm pretty mixed up on who I did and didn't respond to. Sorry bout that.

Reviews are appreciated!

TW: Extremely vague mentions of rape. But if you're triggered by that please don't read; I don't want to be sued.

Firestar felt quite awkward as Hanako followed him with Hisako dangling from her jaws. She didn't seem at all bothered by his appearance or his strength, and was following him with a blissful, relieved look on her face. He wondered if she was okay with him only because he provided protection from those rogues.

He was embarrassed as he was trying to be subtle looking for a good place to stay for the night while walking. He didn't even have a good enough den picked out, and here he was allowing this queen and her kit to stay with him! What had he been thinking?

He hadn't been thinking truthfully. He had seen a queen with a kit in need of help and he hadn't thought twice before offering his assistance; it was who he was after all.

He finally spotted a big bush away from the Twolegplace border- it was a decent size and could probably fit all three of them in it. It wasn't a very good place to stay long-term, and it definitely wasn't a good place to fit himself and all his treasures, but it would have to do until he found something else.

"Oh? Is this where you live?" Hanako spoke, her voice muffled by the kit's fur.

"Ah, no. This is only temporary," he muttered. He ducked underneath the bush and started swiping at all the branches inside with his claws and tail, clearing the space for himself and the two-she cats. He still took up a lot of the room, but at least they could all fit comfortably under the bush. Hanako ducked underneath as soon as he was finished, and gave the bush an appraising look before setting Hisako onto the ground. His ears went red in embarrassment. "I'm sorry I don't have any nests set up or anything. I wasn't expecting to bring others to live with me today," he meowed.

"Oh no, I don't expect for you to have anything for us. I was very sudden with my request after all. I can take care of us both- all I need from you is your protection, if that's alright." She curled around Hisako, who had fallen asleep from all the traveling. She gave the kit a few licks before tilting her head up to examine him. "How do you look like that though? You weren't born like this were you?"

"I wasn't born like this. I didn't look like this over a moon ago..." he mumbled. He gave the stone a tap with his claw. "This thing attached itself to me and I was suddenly like this."

Hanako gave a thoughtful hum, but didn't call him out and say he was spouting a ridiculous story. "Well, I imagine it must have been hard, trying to adapt to your new body like that."

"It..it was. My clan..." he murmured lowly. He missed them all.

But they had stood back and watched as he was chased off! They probably didn't even miss him. So why should he miss them exactly? The only ones that deserved his care were his treasures.

But there were others that tried defending him too! His grandkits, Dovewing and Ivypool, Graystripe...

But they didn't matter... right?

"Are you okay?" Hanako spoke up, breaking him from his thoughts. She gave him a concerned look. "You started staring off into nothing, and you looked very deep in concentration. Do you frequently have bothersome thoughts like that?"

"I... yeah, I do have a lot of... bothersome thoughts," he meowed. They were more than just bothersome, but he hadn't known this she-cat long for him to suddenly pour all his troubles onto her. He didn't feel like opening up to this she-cat. She gave him a nod and respectfully backed off.

He examined her and Hisako, noticing that their tails looked like stumps. He was reminded of Berrynose, who lost his tail in a fox-trap. But it was highly unlikely that both her and her kit lost their tails in such a way.

"So why are your tails like that? Did something happen to you both?" he murmured, wondering if he was overstepping his boundaries.

Hanako shook her head. "No, we were born like this. A lot of cats back home looked like us as well," she sighed wistfully.

"Your home?"

"I came from the land of the rising sun. The Twolegs loved us so much they put up shrines and places of worship in order to cater to the needs of the cats that didn't have a Twoleg to take care of them." Firestar raised an eyebrow; a whole land that dedicated themselves to worshiping cats? Life might have been easier if the clans could deal with Twolegs like that; maybe they would have left them alone instead of tearing their land up.

"I was happy living there. But then my Twoleg moved to this strange land, a land where cats aren't appreciated as much. Everything was fine, even when I gave birth to Hisako," she gave her kit another few loving licks, "that is until those ruffians from Razor's Gang kept chasing us around the neighborhood."

"So that's why you both have strange names... you come from another land. Is that why the father...?" he trailed off. Speaking of Hisako's father might be a sensitive subject.

"Her father was just a fling I had with one of the shrine cats. He's not important," she meowed. "And strange yourself. Firestar is a very strange name; very literal."

His tail twitched. "Well what do your names even mean then?"

"Well, my name... I believe it means 'flower' in the Twoleg's language from my homeland. As for Hisako... I believe the closest translation is 'long lived child'. I wanted her to have a good and long life, so I thought the name would bless her with longevity."

He nodded, not wanting to pry into her life any further. "What can you tell me about those rogues though? They looked like they were really after you."

She rolled her eyes. "Those were the elite of Razor's Gang. They're ruffians and bullies, and they've been terrorizing the neighborhood for even longer than I've been living here. They're ruthless; they take any housecat from their homes if they stray too far and induct them into the gang. If you don't do as they say, you get hurt. Disobey them enough times and they get rid of you permanently. And if you try running away like we did..." she shuddered, "...you might be lucky enough to escape with a few nasty scars. Otherwise they drag you back so Razor can deal with you himself."

It sounded like another Bloodclan to Firestar. "But those rogues said if you went back willingly, Razor would show you a good time before..." He dug his claws into the earth in disgust.

"He's a very disgusting individual. He only does that to the she-cats who disobey him enough times. Those that try to run are violated before being killed. It's the ultimate dishonor," she spat.

Firestar wished he could do something to help the cats being hurt by Razor... but he really didn't want to step into the Twolegplace. Although he had a feeling that Razor and his cats would try to track down the monster that almost killed one of his elites. If that ever happened, Firestar would gladly tear Razor apart.

It would be a wonderful little show of power to those weak cats. Razor and his group meant nothing in the long run after all. They were fools who wanted to assert their power, and he would be more than happy to show them how weak they truly were.

Firestar didn't fight the thoughts this time; these cats were a blight that needed to be gotten rid of. Firestar finally curled up, noticing that Hanako was falling asleep. He wouldn't press her anymore than was needed.

Seeing her curled up around her kit made him envious. He wished he was back in Thunderclan, curled up around one of his own hatchlings. His dreams were filled with the hopes of seeing his treasures again, all of them pressed against him as he hovered over them protectively.

Did I imply that Razor violates she-cats in *that* way? Yes. Yes I did. Don't worry, you won't be seeing any of it though. At worst, this kind of stuff will only be mentioned.

Firestar really wants his clan back... well really he wants his mate and hatchlings more. Hopefully I'll have the plotline for the Japanese cats and Razor thought up soon. Maybe Firestar will learn to embrace his dragon side after all this.

Tell me how I did.