Roughly a full week after the fight with Mischa the Bear

The lop-eared rabbit took a nice drag from the lit cancer stick hanging from her lips as she waited for San to come back from the grocery. The store wasn't far, it was just a stone's throw from one of the Back-Alley Market district entrances. The foolhardy rabbit usually didn't like leaving the market properly or interacting with people and honestly felt like she didn't belong in normal society. She'd never fit in with them.

The market was her home, always has been. So usually she left him to go collect supplies, while she'd either get some training in or just relax with a Paruburo. Yeah, there was danger, but her " rep" for maiming and her arena track record usually scared off the wiser scum. Usually being the keyword, a lot of times she'd have to fight, not that she would shy away from it. Besides she had the means to defend herself and as far as she was concerned she'd faced far worse than whatever poor bastard the market was going to throw her way.

San, her llama companion, was the easier going of the two of them. He didn't share her contempt for the society around them, the one that had imprisoned them in their youth. He was always the optimist, almost always ready to put up with people's nonsense. She felt sometimes he could be too naïve, but still, he had a good head on that long neck of his. San sometimes could prove to be more clever than her at times, being the guy who could instantly see weaknesses in people, physical stuff mostly, but also sometimes a bit deeper. Even the kind that she couldn't see. Or maybe the kind she didn't want to see.

He had been gone for a while, not that she was particularly bothered by his absence that much. She liked to be alone at times, the longer his shopping took meant the nicer breaks were for her to unwind. She usually liked to pass the time by lighting up Paruboro or two, much to her partner's chagrin. He hated her smoking.

Suddenly she heard a scratching noise and perhaps footsteps. This was a small alleyway closer to the town center and was less traveled, however, it wouldn't surprise her if someone came through here.

Still, she was sure she had heard a clatter down the alleyway. Her senses were going off like radar, someone was lurking.

Raising her cig' back to her lips, she feigned obliviousness and averted her gaze from the darker parts of the alleyway. Hopefully whatever was lurking would take the bait. Whoever they were they probably didn't know she was aware of them and they definitely couldn't know the trouble awaiting them.

"Mmmm you'll do." Said a hoarse voice with a savage growl.

"Rabbit ought to be easy, yeah."

Whomever it was, it sounded male. She could smell him, the scent was close. In seconds she had armed herself, rope in hand alongside her twin daggers she pulled from their sheaths.

"Rabbit chan… Rabbit chan…" The guttural voice echoed. That sounded closer, he was nearly there.

A dark claw wrapped its fingers around the corner of the vendor stand closest to her. "I promise to make it quick…I can't wait any longer anyway."

Then she saw him completely, standing there, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Her would-be assailant looked like a bear, but it was much too small. It was a medium-breed carnivore not much bigger than her. It must be one of those wolverines she had heard about. Short snout, stocky, with round ears and a dark brown fur, accompanied by an assortment of scars and bruises. His clothes, a blue denim shirt with khaki slacks, seemed a bit tattered like he previously had been in a scuffle, likely his last victim's handiwork. Drool and foam leaked from his open maw like rabies. His eyes were the most visible, his pupils just small black dots in the yellow spheres he called eyes.

The way he was behaving was very similar to what she had been taught about some carnivores in the Back-Alley Market. Carnivores partake in the eating of meat in the market, and usually, they will be fine, satisfied, but fine. Some, however, get fully addicted, lose all reason, and lapse into devouring live prey. The prepared dead meat the market offered, no longer good enough to satisfy their craving. This was a meat addict, a savage creature driven by their instincts to feed and consume meat. She was his prey. Simple as that. There would be little reasoning with a beast like this, not she cared to anyway. He picked the wrong rabbit for prey.

The beastly carnivore exploded from the darkness under the dimly lit lamppost, claws reaching out to grasp hold of Kyuu's neck. The rabbit however was waiting and on guard.

A simple sidestep at the right moment, caused him to overshoot. Clutching at nothing but air, the wolverine turned only to receive two deep slashes across his belly. The animal yelped as twin dagger blades completed their arc, ripping from his flesh. She had just cut him open and he collapsed to the ground, clutching at his wounds trying to ensure his entrails stayed in place.

"I'm going... to tear your head off!" He screamed seeking retribution, blood gargling in his mouth.

Severely wounded, motivated by a primal rage, the wounded beast swung wildly at her, but the speedy rabbit dodged again, hopping behind and clambering up the wolverine's back, plunging one of her daggers deep into the flesh of his shoulders. Using a makeshift grip, she weathered his frantic attempts to buck and shake her off. She wanted to end this quickly, but he was moving too erratically for a proper slash of the throat, without dropping her other dagger, so she began repeatedly bashing him in the skull with the pommel of the dagger trying to knock some of the fight out of him. Throwing her cord around his neck, she pulled as hard as she could muster, trying to throttle him into submission. All of her weight pushed into the small of his back. Kyuu gritted her teeth as she strained her muscles, pushing more and more.

The wolverine just would not pass out, so Kyuu tossed another taut line of rope over his throat and pulled as hard as she could. The mustelid clawing at his throat, trying to gain purchase on the rope constricting his neck. Phlegm and saliva ejected from his snapping maw as oxygen became scarce and scarce. Eventually, the wolverine strength began to wane as it fruitlessly tried to dislodge Kyuu from his back. His windpipe closed and his eyes turned bloodshot, the wolverine began drifting off. The convulsions died down moments later. Kyuu waited a few moments before catching her breath. She reached over to pull her dagger free of the carnivore's shoulder when the Wolverine shot back to life, clawing at her very much alive. The stories were true about Wolverines being tough animals! She recoiled away from him, the predator thrashing about mindlessly and uncontrollably as he tangled himself further in her snare.

Kyuu thought fast, grabbing hold of the longer end of the rope, and shimmied up a nearby lamppost before jumping off, using her weight to lynch the bastard as high as she could. After a few jerks, her feet touched the ground, and the rabbit exhausted, strained herself as she managed to use her remaining dagger to anchor the rope around the base of the lamp post. The wolverine began gasping his last breath, his feet kicked frantically, desperate to alleviate the immense strain his body weight was putting on his neck.

Drenched in sweat, Kyuu slumped down by the post and slid out another cigarette from her pack, her last, and flicked her lighter open for a flame. She needed a good drag after that strenuous exercise. As soon as she calmed down a bit she would climb back up and retrieve her blade lodged in his shoulder and then maybe cut him down.

A half-hour had passed and she was almost done with her cancer stick. Her ears wiggled as she heard some commotion down the street.

Could it be San? She thought. No this was coming from a different direction.

A large silhouette emerged from an intersecting alley surprisingly revealing a small owner. It belonged to a small red-furred canine with tall ears garbed in an oriental style dress and simple black sole shoes. A female fox of some kind.

"I thought I had heard an attack. I guess I was mistaken- Oh." There was a quick beat before the canid looked up to Kyuu's handiwork. The deceased mustelid hung ominously like a marionette left unattended.

"Oh. Wow." The very short red fox said gawking.

The rabbit kept her large eyes on the vixen with an air of distrust. She didn't strike Kyuu as horrified, as most bystanders would be seeing a corpse-like that. Instead, she seemed to be fixated on the technique of how he was hung. Now the fox turned her eyes towards the rabbit, who stood up with her smoking cigarette perched between her fingers.

"What's a Herbie like you doing down here, I wonder?" The fox asked. "You know this is the Back-Alley Market, right? Something bad could happen to you if you linger around here."

The way she said 'bad' really troubled Kyuu like she was inviting her to something sinister.

"Great. Got to deal with this now." The lop rabbit grumbled as she held the smoke between her fingers and shooed away towards the fox with a look of utter contempt. "Go on. Just keep walkingCarnie, you don't want any of this. Probably got some fresh rabbit on sale in some shop nearby if you keep looking." She said cracking her knuckles.

"This Carnie has a name. Lùn the Red Fox." She said as she playfully hopped towards the rabbit like a schoolgirl playing hopscotch. Her candidness unsettled the herbivore. "And I think I know you."

"You don't know me," Kyuu responded rather bluntly, correcting her. "Never heard of anyone named Moon. "

"Lùn!" The fox corrected, snarling viscously at her. "Besides I have heard of you ." The fox retorted. " You are one of those livestock animals that escaped captivity? Very easy to pick up with that number on your foot. A #9 right ?" The short vixen asked inquisitively.

It was obvious to Kyuu that this fox far knew too much for this to be a chance encounter. This was a setup, had to be.

"I heard their meat is supposed to be high quality. I wonder how tasty now, though? You probably reek of tobacco smoking like that." She jokingly surmised. "Yep, flavors probably dropped in quality. Hehehehe"

"Stop wasting my time, fox. You here for me?" Kyuu said, raising her smoking hand.

The fox paused momentarily feigning surprise before dropping the thinly veiled charade. "Hehehehe. Alright, alright... you got me. You got a death mark on your soft little head and I'm here to collect." She said, grinning.

Kyuu rolled her eyes at the revelation as she gave the small girl a look over. "What a bother...couldn't you have come after I had my smoke?" Kyuu asked indignantly, blowing a big puff towards the carnivore.

The fox peeved, curled her lips back, trying to work some fear out of the herbivore, but the rabbit was unmoved by the pint-sized canid. She had faced bigger people than her before, hell she was shorter than the wolverine she'd just slain.

"So what? You are going to try and take me out?" The lagomorph asked in a tone designed to emphasize how just unimpressive the vixen was to her. "Hmph. I can ask why?"

The fox was more than pleased to answer that question as she gave the rabbit a sinister-looking grin. Typical carnivore intimidation tactic, baring her sharp canines, something even unsettling for such a small carnivore, but it was fruitless against the seasoned rabbit.

"I represent the grace and wrath of the Inarigumi. You see, they were very much displeased after you killed their prized champion like that, so I have been sent to deal with you. Hehehehe." The fox boastfully proclaimed.

The Inarigumi.

Kyuu had heard of them before. They were a gang of foxes. Not that large an organization, but one of the many infamous gangs running the rackets around Back Alley Market. A whole group of female vixens last she had heard at least.

"So … this is all because … I won?" Kyuu asked, a bit skeptical as she took another drag from her cigarette. "Ain't you supposed to tell the other person beforehand to take a dive? Well… not that that's an option for a herbivore like me anyway."

It was a crock of shit. Not like she could have known they had their stakes set on that bear to win. Or that they were even involved. Like that was supposed to be her problem. That bear was set on killing her and she wasn't about to get killed over some status-quo nonsense. She shook her head and just stated plainly. "Sounds to me like you foxes are just a bunch of sore losers."

The fox folded her arms. "Well, honestly, that's just one of the reasons I'm here to kill you. The most important is about you specifically … and what you represent down here." The fox said as she started popping her claws.

"We're already tired of herbivores running most of our lives in society, forcing us to behave certain ways to make them feel safe, and this district is the only place where we can feel the way we're supposed to. Indulge in our wild side. The top of the food chain, free of all those restrictions. Yet here you are, some pipsqueak rabbit, nature's coward, fighting against apex predators and just wrecking the order of things. It's sickening. Your kind exists only to be eaten. You're a mistake, one I'm going to correct. "

"Pipsqueak huh? Well, you're not so tall yourself, little puppy ." Kyuu responded, though she seemed lackadaisical with the fox in front of her, she still had her eyes fixed on the threat. "I wonder where you fit in all that talk, with your size. Top of the food chain? You? What a joke."

The vixen took visible offense to the dig and snarled at the rabbit, the hairs on her neck standing up like pin needles as her temper flared.

This was all to the rabbit's design, however. Though relatively skilled a fighter in her own right, Kyuu had to face facts. She knew as an herbivore, any advantage even psychological, was welcomed against carnivores. Naturally, she was likely the weaker of the two physically even if the carnivore was small. She figured the vixen for a young and impulsive hothead, inexperienced or reckless. Likely both. The vixen was just a head taller than her, built like a young girl, she had to be a teen or still growing. Or maybe she was a dwarf or a half-breed who knows? Her outfit was dressy but seemed allowed for mobility. Her skills alone would only get her so far against natural killer instinct and strength, as limited as it may be. This would be a lot easier if she had access to her weapons. But they were behind the fox holding the wolverine's corpse up; out of reach. Without her Imaginary Chimera technique or weapons, this could prove to be a challenge, but still, she felt confident about the odds nonetheless.

"To think they'd let a runt like you in the Inarigumi anyway. Heh heh!" She joked, cracking a confident smile as she stood up, stancing up with her guard at her face. "What were they expecting some growth spurt or something? Never even seen a fox as small as you." She just needed to continue to get in the fox's head, she needed her mad and sloppy.

It was working, the little fox's lips quivered angrily as opened her maw, revealing her sharp teeth and letting out a low growl. "I'm going to make sure I rip your throat out bitch! Just wait till I get my hands on you."

"You are more than welcome to try," Kyuu goading her as she blew a ring of smoke towards the carnivore, before coughing hoarsely. "You have to beat me first though for that to happen."

Kyuu nonchalantly spat out her cigarette butt and kept her stance. Fists held up clenched in front of her with her feet placed in the right position for maneuvering. She kept a healthy distance shifting her guard every few seconds to avoid giving her an opening. Weaponless, she would need to be exceedingly quick and reactive to the fox's first move.

"I hope I don't go feral from enjoying this too much." The fox snarled, eagerly awaiting the right time to strike.

It was time. There wasn't any arena, announcer, or any bell or gong to signal their start. It was just them. Both eyes locked with each other in an intense staredown, large black pupils gazing at darting shrunken ones. Their duel would begin only with who made the first move.

The fox began to circle Kyuu, predatory instincts kicking in, scanning for weak points and advantages. The attack came fast as the fox took a large downward swipe, trying to claw the lagomorph's face off. However, the rabbit swiftly jerked herself back out of harm's way and answered back with a set of quick rapid-fire jabs trying to punish the young vixen for her sloppy form. The rabbit's offense actually surprised the carnivore, making her rethink her strategy.

The fox began to bounce into what resembled a fighter's shuffle, shifting her feet back and forth. The sudden shift actually almost impressed the rabbit. So, maybe we're fighting someone skilled, Kyuu thought, but she could see clearly see her opponent's footwork was kind of mediocre. No, maybe an amateur. She could read her pretty well if she kept her eyes on her movement, footwork, and body posture. When they came, her attacks were easily telegraphed: haymaker, jab, jab, high kick.

You won't hit me like this, the rabbit mused, as she bided her time.

The fox then jumped forward into a roundhouse kick that Kyuu was able to parry out of the way, though no completely as the heavier fox managed to strike the rabbit against her face accidentally as she passed by. The nimble fox quickly pivoted to throw a flurry of open paw strikes. Kyuu had no choice but to scramble, frantically dodging and parrying incoming blows as the fox increased her rhythm. Eventually, it wore her down, her defense couldn't hold anymore. A fast right hand was blocked by the rabbit only for an even faster slap to come down right after, dazing her. Her head jerked down and she soon felt a follow-up punch collide with her right cheek knocking her head back sending her wobbling and slightly dazed to the ground, stopping herself by going down on a knee.

"Not bad," Kyuu complimented as she massaged her bruised cheek.

She got up, ready for more, and resumed her guard just in time as the fox came rushing in attempting to bring her fists down on top of the rabbit's head with a double-ax handle smash. However, it left her open for the rabbit to surprise her with a headbutt. Kyuu shot right through the vixen's defense and collided her skull with the bottom of the canid's jaw. Lùn was stunned as she staggered backward.

With a swift motion, the rabbit landed and immediately struck again using her legs to lift in and bury a solid fist right under her opponent's bosom. The fox grunted and winced, while Kyuu dipped under to the vixen's waist and dove her fist right into her midsection. The vixen was coughing up phlegm on the rabbit's back as she found herself hunched over, Kyuu barely being able to support the slightly heavier animal. The pint-sized fox gathered herself quickly, then grappled the bunny's arm, tossing her aside like a ragdoll.

"You hit pretty well for a Herbie your size," She said winded. "Guess you probably eat all your veggies to get this strong!" She taunted as she leaped into a spinning roundhouse.

Kyuu was able to see the twist of the body in time and ducked down as the telegraphed kick swung overhead. "No, I eat dumb morons like you for breakfast." She taunted, sounding like something from a damn action movie.

The fox readied herself to follow up but got her jaw rocked as the rabbit was waiting with a haymaker. The small fox was stopped in her tracks, quickly adjusting her mouth, licking her fangs to see if any were loose. Kyuu began to shuffle in front of her. As if taunting her. The fox went back to it, swinging ferociously with long-reaching swipes with her extended claws at the dancing rabbit's face.

"That's … my… line!" She screeched between each swipe, growing more frustrated as the rabbit kept hopping back out of range, the lagomorph expertly rolling her head from side to side to avoid getting hit.

The rabbit was a pro on the defensive. Almost to the point of getting too cocky. Yes, she was faster and lighter, but the fox was a much different opponent to the brown bear. While not as fast as her outright, the Vulpes could still stay close enough, with quick hops and bursts of speed. One slip up and the bunny would get punished for it.

Right as Kyuu landed near a closed vendor's kiosk, she made a quick cursory glance, revealing limited escape routes.

Limited space. Where to go?

She hesitated for the briefest of seconds, but that was all the fox needed to get right on top of her. Kyuu coughed up phlegm as she took a solid right hook to her torso. Lùn followed up by jumping and twisting with a kick. The rabbit was flung into a pallet of wooden crates and cardboard boxes. Pushing aside the lighter boxes, Kyuu violently wheezed as she tried to crawl her way out of the pileup.

The fox kicked the rabbit over while she was down. She was about to stomp her, but Kyuu was ready. She managed to turn over, catch her knee, and throw her off. The bunny scrambled to get up, but the fox was right back on top of her with a left hook to the face that bloodied her nose. Just a sniff of the rabbit's blood was enough to cause the fox to briefly lose control. Her quivering lips raised exposing her snaggle-toothed fangs and her short grunts became more like savage bestial snarls. Her attacks became less focused and more of the simple claw swipes than the more elaborate combos. The fox was getting sloppy as she let the stubborn bunny's tenacity get to her.

Oh, now we're fighting like a true carnivore, Kyuu furiously thought as she tried to stay in the fight. Though she was the more lucid of the two, the fox still presented a danger attacking this wildly. Kyuu had to cancel a punch and take a cautious half-step back as the pint-sized vixen took a vicious snap at her fist.

In response, the rabbit began attempting a series of feints and sidestepped deadly claw swipes whenever the fox took the bait. The last swipe presented an opening exposing the left side of the fox's face. Kyuu answered in kind with a hard right hook that smashed the fox right in her overexposed snout. The pygmy vixen made a shrill yelp as she stumbled back in pain while the aggressive rabbit followed. A hook to the jaw was next and it almost sent the fox reeling to her knees. Pissed, the fox retaliated, lunging at the rabbit with the chomp of her jaws giving her reason to bounce out of range to reevaluate her strategy.

The fox wasn't done, however. Seeking more, Lùn furiously bolted towards the rabbit in a mad charge. The rabbit in kind used her strong legs to escape, hopping off the ground and flipping over the vixen just as she came in for a savage swipe intending to take her head. On her way down the bunny landed a solid dropkick center mass into Lùn's abdomen just as the fox pivoted to catch her. The fox almost bit her tongue as she sent staggering back while Kyuu landed on her palms and righting herself with a quick kip-up.

Using that same momentum, the rabbit hurled a full force haymaker barreling straight for the fox's muzzle, hoping to put the fox down for good, but Lùn managed to rally just in time to slap the blow away and slammed her left knuckle dead on into the rabbit's cheek, stunning the lagomorph all but good. The rabbit was left defenseless as the fox grabbed her left arm and twisted it behind her back, sinking her sharp claws into Kyuu's exposed abdomen.

The rabbit emitted a loud anguished screech as the fox's dagger-like nails dug into her flesh and she was slammed hard face-first into an old store's wall, the fox planning to pin her down so she could end this all with a decisive bite to the neck. It was a bad spot she was in, but the rabbit wasn't about to quit now. Just as the fox attempted to slam her again, she managed to prop her strong legs up against the wall just in time and bashed the back of her head right under the fox's jaw, stunning the canid good. With an opening, she pushed back with all the strength she could muster gaining a few inches, but it was just what she needed to squirm free and fight back.

Lùn retaliated by attempting to bite her ear off but was met with an elbow crashing into the bottom of her jaw. This was followed by another and then another until a final one collided with the fox's soft nose. The young fox yelped and whimpered as her nostrils caved and shifted. The canid's sense of smell was flooded with the iron scent of her blood, the sharp pain left her dazed and dizzy. Her hold on the rabbit became limp, Kyuu managed to break free. The hurt fox was sent to her knees cupping her gushing nose while the liberated lagomorph quickly turned and hammered her right under her bosom, sending her falling back against the wall.

Both the fox and rabbit paused, Lùn holding her busted snout and cupping her tender breast, while Kyuu gripped her side and caught her breath. The rabbit was reconsidering this fight. Perhaps she may have bitten off more than she could chew. Sure she had hung in there, but the fox wasn't that bad off and she could easily rally. Then they'd be right back to where they started, something she was uncertain she could survive another round of like this.

Suddenly there was a loud thud behind her as something crashed behind her. It was the wolverine's body from before. She was now closer to the lamppost and the corpse must have been too much for the knife counterweight to hold for so long, the rope had given way. This was an opportunity she couldn't just pass up. She scurried over to the body and yanked her dagger out of his flesh.

Lùn licked her long tongue out over her snout, lapping away at the blood on her nose, and glared at the rabbit. "What, so now you're cowering behind some corpse? I can see you over there!" She just needed a few more seconds before she could summon the energy to pounce on her foe. in the meantime she tried to get a rise out of her opponent.

"No, I'm evening the playing field." The rabbit grunted as she began cutting a way through the noose around the wolverine's neck.

The fox quickly noticed the knives and straightened up and slowly moved on the rabbit, realizing she was now armed. "Even the playing field? That knife is supposed to make us even, huh? What a joke. Maybe they were wrong about you, at the end of the day you're still prey, tough prey I'll admit, but prey nonetheless. You fear us and what we are capable of."

Kyuu scrambled over to the other knife lying flat on the ground by the light post and in moments she had all she needed. The rabbit walked out in front of the fox, ready to square off. The twirling of the rope, the blowing wind gusting towards her, the stubborn and confident expression on the rabbit's face.

Lùn stopped in her tracks, bewildered. What is this bitch up to? "What's this? You brought your own noose for me to hang you with?" The fox questioned. Something about this gave her a chilling unease. The breeze the rope was generating was irritating to her fur.

Then suddenly Lùn eyes widened. She could swear a dark silhouette was slowly beginning to rise from behind the rabbit. It was like another animal had joined her. Did she have backup? Maybe she had been stalling.

It was like Lùn was now facing a large carnivore, a large wolf-like beast with dark markings on its snout! How is this possible? She thought with panic. I was just fighting this rabbit alone in this empty alley! She was alone, wasn't she? What is this?! The fox's confidence quickly shrunk as all these questions raced through her mind.

" Now we fight on even terms! " The apparition spoke with an unearthly voice.

"W-w-who are you?!" Lùn demanded. "Don't think you are just going to come in and steal her from me! SHE IS MY PREY!" The fox hissed.

" COME AND GET HER THEN! " The apparition demanded. Its lips peeled back revealing gnashing teeth as it took up a defensive stance.

The fox enraged shrieked as she bolted towards her adversary, claws primed for a swipe when suddenly the rope from before shot out from behind the omen and looped around her leg like a whip. Lùn swore she felt someone grab her ankle.

Kyuu hopped back with all her strength, yanking the rope. The fox lost her footing, the world became a blur as she fell. She cracked the back of her head hard against the pavement as she fell, her head swimming and disoriented.

As she looked up, she only had moments to react to the savage creature above her mid-jump, poised to pounce on her, hands balled into fists. The fox instinctively brought her arm up to block, but the attacker's blow didn't strike her, instead, it went through her arm as if it were nothing.

The beast continued to deceptively pummel her head over and over, smacking her head in all directions. The wolf-beast threw another punch, and again it phased through her, but a physical blow followed right behind it, this time striking her in the side of the head right under her ears. Finally, the giant claw began scraping down the vixen's face from her right ear down to her eyelid. The fox emitted a long horrible screech as two of the beast's sharp nails dug into her flesh.

These nails were halfway through her eyelid as Lùn gritted her teeth and finally mustered enough energy to wrestle her adversary off, placing her paw between its fingers to force them back. She felt pricks as she pushed back against the other beast's palm as if just touching them cut her. Then it dawned, these weren't claws, they… they were knives! The big hairy savage hand had been a small rabbit's hand all along. This wasn't some carnivore; this was the rabbit! The snarling toothy grin faded into the rabbit's gnashing teeth. The beady-piercing predator's eyes morphed back into that of a rabbit's. Large black scowling eyes gazing right into her own. Somehow this was a trick!

Lùn used all her strength to toss Kyuu off of her and began to stand on her feet. She whimpered as she felt the stinging lacerations in her face and the pained cuts in her hands. Her vision became blurry, warm blood from her wounds seeping down into her eye. Despite her best effort to wipe it away, it still obscured her vision.

"Damn you!" The fox growled voice hoarse from screaming and out of breath. Though exhausted, her burning anger kept her focused. All she wanted now was revenge!

Lùn furiously took off towards Kyuu, the bruised rabbit recovered and stood at the ready down the alleyway. A just-as-tired-but-defiant expression on the bunny's face as she brandished her daggers in both hands.

"You ripped into me! So now I'm gonna fucking eviscerate you!" Lùn threatened as she was ready to pounce on the rabbit.

Suddenly everything stopped for her as the world became a blur. The next thing she knew she was on her back and she couldn't breathe, neck inflamed with pain. As she scanned for what hit her, she saw it. An outstretched arm hanging over her quickly retracted back into the alleyway.

Was that what hit me? She founded herself asking as she shook cobwebs from her head.

The arm's owner strolled out from behind the corner and she got a good look at her assailant. It was another herbivore, a male, something like a large sheep or an alpaca. Lùn head ached and her vision was foggy as she tried to defend herself, swatting at the blurry attacker. However, as the male herbivore's shadow loomed over her she hit nothing and was instead stomped into the cold pavement.

"I had that handled!" Kyuu yelled, annoyed at her companion, still gripping her daggers tightly from the adrenaline.

"You're welcome," San said as he casually stomped the fox's head again even harder into the pavement. The downed fox immediately stopped squirming, only managing to utter a low moan. She wasn't getting back up.

"Come on, let's get home. Looks like she dinged you up pretty good" The llama said, laughing at her and taking his heel off of the fox's face.

Kyuu gave San an icy glare before walking toward the fox's still body. She could still see the fox breathing. "I need to give my "friend" something to remember me by first."

Crouching down by her fallen opponent, the rabbit took her blades in her and clutched the handles between her fingers. "I'm only letting you live because I want to finish you off myself on my terms. So... till next time, bitch. " Kyuu whispered before smashing her fist down on top of the fox's skull.

The bloodied canid's head slumped to the side as the rabbit stepped off. If she wasn't out before, she was now.

San just stood there waiting. He shook his head at the unnecessarily violent act. "Alright now come on. The food's going to thaw, and we have to take the long way around the marketplace."

An hour later.

Lùn awoke to the backside of a built and muscular Panda bent over the wolverine's corpse. He was fruitlessly checking the body for a pulse, but it soon became clear that he was just a slab. Who's ...this guy? Paramedic... maybe? They usually... didn't come in here, she thought.

He sighed loudly and swished the cigarette in his mouth.

"Damn it. Got here too late. I shoulda kept better tabs on him." He noticed her stirring. "Alright, let's see if you're still alive." He stated as he turned his attention to her.

"Ey' kid. This guy attacked you or something?" He said pointing towards the dead wolverine.

"Rabbit…" she started to trail off as she struggled to get to her feet. She was still woozy from her ordeal earlier and her head felt like it was splitting apart. She attempted to soothe the pain by rubbing her temple, but even that stung as her fingers caressed what felt like a large lump.

"What? Rabbit? You alright kid?" He inquired puzzled.

The panda shouldered what looked to Lùn like a sort of crossbow as he bent down to give her a hand.

"Aah...yeah. You look like you need some medical attention, I'm a doctor and I got a clinic not far from here, y'know. Can you tell me what happened? Did this guy attack you...Devour your rabbit friend?"

"Wha-?" Lùn finally shook off the headache. "No…a rabbit. A…," She stopped.

I can't fucking tell him that I got beat up by that wench! She silently admonished herself.

"This…guy…yeah." She lied; she knew better than to just blab to some random person. "This guy attacked us, and I tried to…it was too late, but I managed to kill him in self-defense." She stumbled through her cover story.

"Oh. Sure." He said not buying a word, snorting smoke from his nose.

Gouhin had taken notice of the lacerations over her eye and thought to himself. Those don't seem like claw lacerations. Then there's the corpse with the noose around its neck, which suggests strangulation which points to what I got a bad feeling about. She did say rabbit right? In the market? That crazy girl.

He shook his head and sighed.

Still alive out here huh? He pondered almost starting to grin with a modicum of pride. Still, he didn't like this. He stowed his feelings and concerned himself with the matter at hand.

There was a struggle or a fight and this girl was alive because someone wanted her alive or at least didn't finish the job. No lethal wounds, just superficial. She might be a rival, or could be gang-related or maybe... I should probably bring her in.

"Alright…let's see if we can get some bandages and maybe do something about that swelling." He said, reaching into one of his pouches for some painkiller. "Can you walk? You look like you might have a concuss-."

Suddenly Gouhin felt the cold barrel of a revolver press against his head. Well, this is annoying, he thought as he kept his cool. This wasn't the first time someone had him at gunpoint. The last thing you needed to do was panic.

"I'm just trying to see if she needs help." He protested as he snorted smoke out of his nose again.

"We know who you are and we'll take it from here Watchkeeper. Stand up, slowly." A feminine voice ordered.

Smells like Canine... smells like her. Foxes. Aw...Shit.

Gouhin raised his hands in compliance stepping away from the fox. It clicked who it was, it had to be the Inarigumi, the all-female Fox yakuza or triad whatever it was. It made all the sense with this being a female fox. Though they had him at gunpoint, he wasn't really worried, after all, he had done nothing wrong...yet. The gangs down here usually gave him a mutual wide berth. Though his title was unofficial, they usually recognized his role in the market. He kept the devouring incidents to a minimum and made the market a bit less chaotic by keeping savage beasts off the street. If he didn't interfere with their operations directly, they left him alone.

The only ones he had to worry about were the Shishigumi especially after that incident with that fool of a wolf he helped last summer.

He cautiously took a peek behind him to see how many. Four vixens including the gunman. All of them with various fur colors and sizes, all dressed in the same type of oriental/sultry attire as the young girl here. They didn't look like typical red foxes, but then again what he had read on Red foxes is that they come in an assortment of colors outside of the common red. They all were armed for a fight with various weapons ranging from handguns to katana blades.

Uuuugh...Yea this might be a shit show and I'm not really in the mood.

"We thank you for your concern, now... just get out of here." Said the de-facto leader, a vixen half his size with tall ears and a dark band fur pattern that ran across her eyes. He could see she was not one to trifle with as she kept that weapon of hers trained on him.

"Sure, why not?" Gouhin grinned with his cigarette clenched between his fangs and began walking away. "This ain't my concern." He grumbled. "Just keep that little one out of trouble in the future or it might. " The muscular panda muttered as he shouldered his bamboo crossbow against his bandoleer, strolling down the alleyway until he was out of sight.

Lùn scowled at the utterance of little one but knew she had bigger concerns. This was supposed to be her big break in the Inarigumi, taking down that rabbit would have proven herself to them. But she had failed.

"Fa... I- I screw-" The leader quickly raised her hand to signal her to be quiet.

The fox crouched down to Lùn's level and placed her hands on her shoulders. "We'll discuss your failure back at the Den." She motioned behind her to others to head back.

The other members made their way down the street while the leader knelt and placed her hands on Lùn's shoulders. "Alright, it's just us. We're disappointed you let the mark get away, but we also saw you hold your own against her."

Lùn looked down dejected, massaging her bumps and bruises. "Fa, I lost ... to a rabbit."

Fa just grinned at the little fox with pride. "Yeah, but just between you and me Sis, you showed that little bitch what for! In my book that makes you worthy. You know I'm vouching for you when we get back, now come on, she might go easy on you."

The small fox trusted her big sister's words, but she still couldn't help but feel disappointed in herself. If it wasn't for her friend stepping in, I would have had that rabbit for sure, she thought. "Next time, Bitch" echoed in her mind as she thought about the words she heard before she blacked out. Yeah, there will be next time for sure.