Seven weeks after the Fox incident - The Show Arena

In the dimly lit and smokey proprietor's office, a middle-aged and well-dressed raccoon happily sat behind a lavishly carved wooden desk counting all his hard-earned cash. While he indulged in his expensive cigar, the concourse down below his office was abuzz with a rowdy and boisterous commotion this week.

Arena attendance numbers had gone through the roof once word on the street had gotten out that a rabbit of all animals was taking on all comers at the arena. Mischa's slaying at first was considered a tragedy, as the giant bear was the best attraction the arena had in a while, but quickly beasts started to turn up just to see if the rabbit would die this time.

Surely this time she'll get stomped. No way she'll make it this fight. Big bets on her losing tonight. All the common talk downstairs for all the betting beasts as they put up money against the obvious underdog. Most of it was heat, generated negativity that drew the crowd in to want to see her fail. Some beasts were just insulted such a creature could hold her own.

Baraki loved it all regardless. As the proprietor of the Show Arena, to Baraki it all just meant more money to line his pockets. More warm bodies showed up, more money was bet, more cold bodies to sell. His business was booming and that's all that mattered. He didn't give a damn what she was as long as the money kept rolling in. All he had to do was count and fold his bills while they bitch and moan about her win streak of 4-0.

Suddenly without warning, his office door swung open as two vixens dressed in colorful lace Cheongsam fashion dresses barged in wielding guns. The two females, a wild-faced gray and black-furred Silver fox and a serious-looking rustic red-furred one with a black streak across her eyes and abnormally large ears swept the room before posting themselves by the door.

"Who the hell do you think- "The raccoon shouted, annoyed that he had been disturbed. Then it clicked. He knew who these brazen females were. The new benefactors, the Inarigumi, a gang mostly comprised of female foxes that ran the eastern sector of the Back-Alley Market. He had forgotten to expect their arrival.

This was a common occurrence, for a business like his. There were various shady organizations around the Back-Alley Market that laid claim to certain territories and their respective businesses. This arena was no different. Initially, the Show Arena had been established a few decades back by a vicious wolf gang in particular known as the Okamigumi .

They were the very ones that appointed him in this cushy position. He had a history of working with them before in combat sports and his knowledge of the business made him an obvious choice for their little blood sport promotion. They used to run this sector with an iron fist up until recently after a gradual fall from grace they were taken out of the game by the new and improved Shishigumi in an ambush. There to take their place was the Inarigumi, who they had had turf disputes with for years.

He had even heard rumors that suggested that the ever cunning Inarigumi were the ones that covertly dropped the dime on one of the wolves' secret meetings to the Shishigumi, so that the stronger lions would take the bait and do their dirty work for them, eradicating their leadership all in one night. If there was truth to that, Baraki both tipped his hat to them and counted himself lucky he didn't get caught in the crosshairs of that scheme.

Regardless of the circumstances of their demise, the wolves were gone and he had lost a patron only to gain an all new one within the span of a few days. To be honest, he felt it was probably for the best. The Inarigumi clan he dealt with now were much safer to work with than the savage wolves had been by a mile. They were both much nicer on the eyes and in temperament. For example, they didn't constantly threaten to turn him into literal dog food if his ideas ran contrary to their own. In fact, he had near full autonomy here. So far at least.

Given their relative newness and inexperience to combat sports, the foxes trusted in his experience and track record. With these foxes, all that mattered was money. As long as he kept the income incoming he received no grief from them. Things ran smoothly here...well until the rabbit hiccup, which he was sure they might still be concerned about. He really wasn't, as she seemed to be drawing a crowd, but he felt there was always that pride and prejudice with these gangster types. He suspected he would be forced to explain.

"How do you ladies do?" He hopped out of his chair and fervently bowed before his guests. "Um, I take it Priscilla-sama is-"

Just as he said that their leader, an all pure-white vixen wearing a black formal long-sleeved dress, stepped into the door frame. Alongside her strolled in what Baraki thought was an adolescent red fox with ears similar to the black-streaked vixen. She seemed to be her attendant, carrying her purse.

"Good evening, Baraki-san." She calmly said, leaning on top of his desk, gazing down at him with a piercing stare. Her tone sounded very proper and noble. An educated animal he had gathered. "By all means, please sit down."

Baraki nervously obliged and sat back in his chair while Priscilla took a seat in one of his guest chairs.

"…l-l-look, again I'm s-s-sorry about what happened with Mischa. And the rabbit...that wasn't my idea. It just happened okay. But I think if you just giv-"

The vixen lightly chuckled before cutting him off. "Baraki… no need for such nonsense. We are not here for that."

"You're not?"

"No, we are here to discuss our usual business. We want our 50% of the final take. Anything that you make from people betting against the doe tonight, we want our cut." She gave a pleasant smile. "Simple."

The raccoon was sweating bullets. "Wait...S-s-so you're fine with her fighting here, the rabbit as your new attraction?!" He asked, rubbing his drenched forehead, confused.

"Well, she has certainly proved her worth of a long-staying asset." The fox said sitting cross leg in the chair in front of him. "We personally handled the situation ourselves and our assessment led to us supporting her as an attraction here. So we have no qualms over here fighting here as long as your business succeeds, Baraki-san."

A sour frown from the smallest fox, who wore many facial scars, began twisting into a fierce snarl at the appraisal the so-called Psycho Rabbit was getting. However, a knowing look from the black-streaked fox calmed her down before Priscilla could notice.

"S-s-sure thing." The raccoon said in an accommodating tone. "You know… Priscilla-sama. The rabbit is facing a new contender tonight. Something different from the usual guys that I'm testing out." He said, feeling a bit of his confidence returning. "Could be an interesting match-up."

"Oh? Tell me more." The white fox casually said as she received a cigar from her subordinates and lit it. "I'm all ears."

A few hours later in the arena itself. The last fight of the night.

The crowd was very lively and spirited as Kyuu made her way down with San by her side. The llama kept close to her as they strolled through the path made for them. The violence-seeking beasts were particularly riled up after the previous bloody bouts had produced at least one fatality caused by a vicious lioness. All the more reason they were more anxious to get this match over with, get their money, and leave. At least that's what San wanted, Kyuu didn't really care so much about the crowd.

She was more worried about the arena for today. It was a lot larger than the pit that they decided to retire it after some rhino fighter smashed the place up a few weeks ago. This new venue was a more traditional arena. An octagon made of old tall plumbing pipes covered in chain-linked mesh fences. Despite it looking like a poor beast's attempt at an MMA-style ring, it was really just a gladiatorial cage. Same rules as before; there would be no referee, no time limit, no rounds. Only once you were knocked out or dead is when the fight would be over. Simple as that.

For what it was, the arena was a little too spacious. At least for her as a smaller fighter and it sort of made her miss the pit. Because of her size, in 'The Pit' she held the advantage of agility and maneuverability, like being able to bounce off the walls and circumvent her larger opponent's defenses. Something she couldn't really do if there was a lot of space between her and the walls.

This was even riskier if what San had told her of her opponent was true...an opponent her size. All of her opponents so far had been bigger males that she had made short work of with her rope and knives. All confident that she, a small rabbit would be easy, much to their folly. Instead, she would be fighting someone more akin to that fox she had a run-in with a few weeks ago.

San, the taller of the two, opened the gate door, walked her in, also carrying her equipment. The deafening roar of the crowd was filled with booing and jeering, something she was accustomed to at this point. She was famous… or rather infamous around here. Almost everyone had come to see if she would fall tonight as usual. Her victory of the bear was written off by most as a fluke, along with her other recent string of wins. Either the opponents didn't take her seriously or she cheated or something. Like cheating was really a thing around here.

However, Kyuu paid it no mind. There wasn't any point, she wasn't fighting them; they were just a bunch of idiots here to gawk at her and witness her dismantle whoever they threw at her.

Who gives a damn what they think, was her mantra as she began to loosen up.

Suddenly the audience started to cheer as her opponent began to make their way through the crowd. What San had gathered was true, from the looks of things at least. The opponent was a female Siamese cat not much taller than her, dressed in a skirted dark red/black keikogi with no sleeves and no undershirt. The short athletic feline was armed with what looked to be a katana sword, but small enough for someone like her to carry. In the hands of someone bigger like a lion, it probably would have comically appeared to be a large thin knife. The scabbard hanging off her hip seemed expensive and fancy, probably made of some sort of hard-black material, possibly ceramic.

The stoic-looking cat unsheathed her sword and performed a swift practice kata, chopping and stabbing the air in front of her, her movement very fluid and fast.

So...she's planning on using that, Kyuu thought, gripping her own tantos tight in hand.

The cat was also accompanied by another Siamese, a male as far as Kyuu could tell. His whiskers drooped like an old beast and he had a certain wizened look. One could tell he was many years older than the female who looked to be just reaching her twenties. Most likely her sensei or teacher she thought. His stern face reminded Kyuu a bit of her own master. He took notice of her staring at him and gave her a brief nod before whispering something in the cat's ear.

Kyuu then inspected her opponent herself. The cat's physical appearance was very stunning to Kyuu as the feline reminded her a lot of herself. Obviously, they were completely different species, but it was almost like staring into a mirror. Her white or beige fur and the dark fur covering her eyes and mouth were in a pattern very similar to Kyuu's own. Maybe that was what the old man was looking at.

Her ears were also covered in brownish-black fur like her though because she was a cat they stood up. They were exactly the same height with a similar body profile excluding the swaying tail and practically would stand nose to nose with each other if not for the way their snouts were shaped. And there was the same look of icy cold neutrality that Kyuu displayed when facing an opponent. No sympathy and no hard feelings. You are just the opponent. The only key difference was that the cat's natural piercing blue irises surrounding her dark black pupils were in contrast to Kyuu's more relaxed browns.

Was this really supposed to be my carnivore doppelganger? She mused, sizing up the feline. It didn't seem that far off. Fighter that size had to deal with the same height disadvantage. And there was a passing resemblance. It was almost like she was starring into a weird mirror. Like this was here if she had been born a carnivore. She soon exercised such thoughts though. There was no time for that.

No. No way. Don't even think that. She's just another opponent, plain and simple just like you are to her. Just another foe to be defeated. Don't get distracted. It's you or her.

"Kyuu!" San shouted into her ear snapping her back to reality.

Huh?

He must have been trying to talk to her this whole time while she was fixated on the cat.

"Kyuu?" The llama began to shake Kyuu by her shoulders.

"Yeah?" She asked, focusing on the here and now.

He looked back over towards the opposition once more and then looked back into Kyuu's eyes to make sure she was listening. "I'm trying to tell you, she doesn't appear to have any scars, so I can't pick up any weak points. She's either really good at hiding that or maybe she's inexperienced. But... she's a feline, so I need you to expect her to be fast, both in speed and reflex." He sighed. "So be cautious. Try not to get sloppy in here. That blade looks as sharp as she is. I don't want to see you pulled out of her with your guts hanging out."

"I got it." The rabbit replied, narrowing her eyes at him. Have some faith damn it, she thought.

"She also has a reach advantage with that sword so you are probably going to want to eliminate it fast so you can get in close."

He handed Kyuu her rope and further advised her to tie a nice balled-up knot at the end. It was a precaution and made for an additional weapon she could use, either as a weighted snare or something to bash her opponent with. It was something at least to help against the cat's longer reach.

Kyuu looked to San one more time and nodded.

"You got this!" he said, giving her a thumbs-up as he exited the cage.

"Alright, Beasts of the Back-Alley, our latest and last fight for the evening will pit these two pint-sized wonders against each other. On one side we have the reigning champion, Kyuu the Psycho Rabbit! And in the other, we have a challenger … Aisha the Siamese swordsman!"

It was clear who the audience favored as there were chants of "A Real Champion!" "Aisha-chan!" and "Rabbit Stew tonight!" or "Die, Rabbit Die!" and other unfavorably jests and taunts. Kyuu ignored it all as unnecessary background noise, as she readied herself. All that mattered to her, was that she lived through this.

She was limber from her stretching and made one final crack of her neck before arming herself with her Tanto blades. Gripping then in one hand she started out spinning her rope, trying to conjure the Imaginary Chimera. If not to intimidate, at least the technique would allow her hype to herself up. She needed to be a strong-willed carnivore now.

Aisha turned to bow to her master before bowing before Kyuu out of respect, something Kyuu was puzzled by. Doesn't she just want to devour me? She thought to herself. That's what all these freaks ever want. Even now, Kyuu stared into her eyes, they were different. They weren't savage-looking like the fox from before. There was no anger on her face, only focus. Her cyan eyes focused firmly on her as if she was mimicking her. The feline held the sword at the ready, both hands upon the handle as she waited for the gong to sound.

*BWOOONG!*

As soon as it all started Kyuu approached the feline cautiously swinging her rope to her side, moving inch by inch. There was almost a hush in the crowd as the two squared up. Her opponent's eyes fixed to hers, even when she cautiously gained ground. Suddenly she tilted her head with a distracted look on her face.

That is my opening. Kyuu thought, reasoning that she had seen the Chimera.

Kyuu bolted towards the feline, her Chimera roaring as it made a swipe with its massive claw, the knotted rope swinging in an arc, but the feline's gaze in an instant dropped squarely on the rabbit mid gait. She hadn't been fooled by the apparition at all and had baited Kyuu. She caught the rope, lashing it around her free arm, and yanked it down towards her.

"I know of your technique!" Siamese finally spoke, her voice accented by a vicious hiss. Her sword arced up as she brought it down to chop the rope in half. Kyuu wasted little time and expertly tossed the slack of her lasso over the dull edge of the blade and slid past the cat. Her weight yanked the blade down to the floor and restricted the cat's ability to swing the sword offensively. With her main weapon disable, Kyuu came to a stop and hurled herself towards the cat with both blades poised to slash at her neck. The cat, knowing it would be her life, chose to abandon the sword and make a quick duck, missing the potential decapitation. Kyuu bounced forward again for another attempt as soon as she landed, trying to keep the offense.

The feline popped her claws and began to counter swipe after her, causing Kyuu to backtrack and attempt other angles to slash from. Aisha was a fighter cut from her own cloth, nimble and intense. One swing from the cat came close enough to rip right through Kyuu's windbreaker on the left sleeve, but Kyuu remained unfazed as she went for a right-handed slash of her "claws", only for the cat to sidestep. Kyuu came for another assault but this time after the cat dodged, while at the same time swinging her still entangled arm.

The sword still snared within the rope arced in the air like a morning star. The handle of the sword smashed into the side with Kyuu's face, dropping her to her knees. Her eye took the brunt of the blow, leaving a large cut by the edge that leaked over her chin. With the rabbit disoriented, Aisha took the time to free her arm from the rope and attempted to untangle her sword, but the bunny groggily got back up and reengaged the cat before she could fully free herself.

Even without her chimera, the hellacious rabbit, all the same, kept the mindset of a vicious carnivore, willing to do anything to claw at her prey no matter what obstacles presented themselves. Kyuu got in close again, but this time feinted a stab and when the cat had swung defensively, the rabbit pivoted on the balls of her feet into a backhanded slash. The cuts slashed into Aisha's midsection and the cat let out a howl of pain as she backpedaled.

The Siamese hissed "Pesky" as she felt her wound, her panting almost matching Kyuu's own, who Aisha could swear had a grin on her face despite being just as winded.

The wound wasn't deep, but there was a sting whenever the damp cloth touched the fresh wound, the bleeding leaving a large stain on the dark clothes. It probably felt worse, but everything was going so fast, the rush made it seem trivial at best. Her vision and focus were starting to wane however as she began to see the aura of the apparition behind Kyuu, but she knew to ignore it.

Your eyes play tricks on you, don't be a fool, she thought. Your opponent is the rabbit standing in front of you. That ravenous beast isn't really there. It won't harm you, she will.

The chimera howled menacingly as Kyuu made another approach towards Aisha, a cautious stroll. The feline adopted a practiced jiu-jitsu stance as she waited for the rabbit to clash with her. Kyuu went from a casual pace to a jog before hopping in a zig-zag pattern finally attacking from her left.

It was a lunge, and the agile feline's senses were quick enough to grab hold of Kyuu's arm mid-stab, arresting her movement before the cat stomped her foot down onto the rabbit's. An anguished shout escaped Kyuu's lips as Aisha viciously judo tossed her opponent over her hip.

Kyuu landed hard on her back and was stomped down to the mat as she tried to get back up. She readied for the cat to mount her, however, Kyuu found the feline had abandoned her.

The hell? She thought as she sat up.

She spotted retrieving her weapon, which puzzled her, the cat could have easily ripped her throat out. The Siamese fighter assumed a ready stance, after slashing Kyuu's rope in twain, destroying any real use Kyuu might have gotten from it. Now the cat was armed with her sword and Kyuu was left unable to reliably tap into her technique.

"Clever Kitty." Kyuu gruffly commented as she got to her feet, ticked off. If she survived this, she would have to purchase another rope after this. More money to waste. However, she was still confused as to why the feline didn't simply take her out just then.

"What gives Bright eyes?" She asked, swapping grips of her tanto blades. "You had me back there, all it would have taken was for you to cut my throat with your claws."

"All my enemies have fallen to my blade." The cat hissed almost insulted. "That is my code and you shall be the next. " The cat declared poking the sword towards the herbivore.

"What a buncha nonsense." Kyuu chided her, repudiating her logic as she readied herself. "A kill is a kill. No matter what you use. Be it your fangs, your claws, or some oversized butterknife."

Aisha angrily flashed her fangs at the rabbit before shooting out with a hasty charge, her sword held overhead. She shrieked and hissed as she brought the sword down swiftly. Kyuu frantically dodged to the left as the blade struck the floor and made a cocky feint that Aisha defensively took a swipe at. Kyuu, anticipating an overreaction, ducked down under the katana, her flowing ears nearly getting nicked as she avoided getting decapitated.

In the span of a second, Kyuu took advantage of the cat's broad stroke and performed a crazy maneuver. She made a controlled fall, hooking backward on her heels to go down to her knee, all the while bringing her daggers around for a reverse grip slash straight to Aisha's exposed abdomen.

Aisha's feline vision quickly saw what Kyuu was planning, however, her reflexes were too slow to fix her mistake. Kyuu had already cut her before she properly evaded. The blades went in deep, though not deep enough to severely damage her organs. Aisha had survived, but there were still two more horizontal cuts carved into her midsection.

If this was a professional fight, Kyuu would have the more points, Aisha thought. She wasn't out of danger yet, the speedy herbivore swung her daggers up vertically, slashing at her chest. The cat managed to deflect and knocked the knives clean from the rabbit's hands. Snarling the cat stabbed at the disarmed rabbit, but hit nothing.

The rabbit, thinking fast, had cleverly rolled in the same direction her deflected knives, evading out of the cat's path. This was also to the cat's detriment, the wounded feline would have a hard time moving now as each step would be a painful chore. She would either have to endure and work through the pain, risking her focus, or slow down to avoid overexerting herself.

The rabbit, a bit winded, took the time to catch her breath. Though she had just scored a small victory, she didn't want to run out of steam too quickly. While she recuperated, Aisha pulled the onyx scabbard off of her belt and held it alongside her sword in both hands. Kyuu was initially puzzled, but soon understood what she had in store. She planned to use the scabbard as a club or as a guard, something to ward her off or punish if she tried to get close again.

Kyuu reverse gripped her right dagger and held the left facing forward. If possible, she could switch from a block to an attack rapidly. Kyuu cautiously approached the cat before breaking into another spring, hopping from side to side. The cat's vision was able to see through this strategy, Aisha swinging the scabbard, narrowly missing Kyuu's head, and followed it with a quick lunge of her sword causing the rabbit to backpedal and reconsider a new lane of attack. Kyuu didn't escape unscathed this time, Aisha having scored a good cut on Kyuu's cheek. The herbivore winced as she circled the cat, silently cursing herself for being so sloppy.

Aisha lunged again this time with the scabbard, prodding at Kyuu, and swung the sword once more. Kyuu deflected with both blades, but Aisha followed up with a forward kick to the gut that sent the bunny sliding into the cage barrier. The rabbit wheezed hard as she attempted to pick herself up, as the world spun around her.

Kyuu felt for her daggers and could only retrieve one before she realized just what predicament she was in. She heard the rapid approach of footsteps and looked up just in time to see Aisha was in front of her!

Time froze as the feline charged and a certainly decapitating swipe! The bewildered rabbit sank to the floor. Kyuu knew she couldn't raise her guard in time! She closed her eyes, waiting for the quick trip to oblivion.

*SWISH*

Kyuu opened her eyes. She was still alive. The cat had missed.

By chance, she had been spared the decapitation because the sword just barely swung over her scalp. Aisha winced at her, disappointment on her exhausted face, her wounds beginning to take a toll. The charge had been very taxing and she had lost too much blood, a trail of red left in her wake. Kyuu considered herself lucky, she was glad she was born with drooping floppy ears, instead of the stand-up type like other rabbits. Even better, she noticed the cat's sword wouldn't budge from the rusty chain-link. Either she was too weak, or the blunt end had gotten caught.

Springing into action, the bunny tackled the weakened feline. Ripping her away from her katana and brought the cat to the ground. The violent lop immediately bashed the hard handle of her tanto into Aisha's temple to stun her, before letting out a loud shout of exertion, reversing her grip and plunging her dagger down. The cat, still conscious, grabbed hold of her wrist in the nick of time and frantically held Kyuu at bay.

Both females screamed at one another as they became locked in a deadly struggle. Kyuu stared right into her adversary's eyes and gritted her teeth as she began to push down with both hands. In terms of strength, naturally, the cat was the stronger of the two, but her injuries, Kyuu's position of leverage, and the lop's murderous determination were giving her the edge in this contest. Kyuu leaned in with all of her strength and began to get some headway as she pressed down the knife. Panic began to overtake the fallen feline. The rabbit's fierce chimera was back, reappearing behind her as the tanto morphed to razor-sharp claws descending down upon the feline.

Fear, pain, and blood loss were causing Aisha to hallucinate. She could actually see the monstrous beast snapping its jaws voraciously at her, its claws coming down to maul at her. She strained as she tried to hold the beast's hand back, quickly trying to use her weaker hand to swing a fist into Kyuu's eye, then clawed right onto the rabbit's right breast, then another frantic blow into her nose. Kyuu was becoming fatigued from the punishment but was finally able to win the struggle, driving the knife down, albeit off-center.

*slip*

"AIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEE!" The Siamese cat erupted with a horrible high-pitched scream as the knife punctured deep into her right shoulder. Kyuu had missed, her original target had been the heart. She had wanted to end this quick and clean, instead, the cat's resistance was going to make this a slow and drawn-out chore.

The feline's right arm had flopped to the floor utterly useless. It wouldn't respond no matter how hard the cat attempted to jerk it forward. However, the left was still in action. Kyuu immediately yanked the blade out, red blood spraying across the short fur on her face. She plunged the dagger down again quickly, only to be stopped once more.

The cat, growing weaker by the second, feebly swiped her good arm at the rabbit in a vain attempt to defend herself, but Kyuu merely batted the near-depleted cat's arm away as she went to stab again. The arm came back up in her face with a fist, slamming her large knuckles right into the rabbit's eye. Kyuu's trajectory veered off course, missing entirely. The next strike from the desperate cat was a hard slap to the herbivore's face, but undaunted, the rabbit eventually attempted to bring her blade back down to finish this.

The blade stopped a centimeter short of piercing the cat's flesh. Kyuu grunted as her main hand was gripped by the feline. Sharp nails dug into the rabbit's wrist, but the herbivore gritted her teeth and punched the feline right behind the eye. Stunned, the cat was temporarily helpless the rabbit hastily forced the dagger down again with reckless abandon, this time in the shoulder not far from the last wound.

Frustrated, Kyuu screamed loudly in the cat's face. Aisha was growing paler by the second, her breathing labored as the herbivore won their struggle. Blood from Kyuu's face, the cat's own, dripped on its former owner's dark brown face.

We're just two bloody messes, huh? That's one last thing we'll share, Kyuu morbidly thought as she put whatever she had left into the plunge. This is it! This time I won't miss it. I'm going to end you, bitch!

*BWOOONG!*

Kyuu paused. She recognized that noise. It was the starting gong. The gong rang again? That meant … the fight was over?

The fight had ended because Aisha's party had forfeited. Right after the first stabbing, the feline's master had rushed the announcer's table and personally threatened the manager Baraki's life. The raccoon not wishing to die called the fight with little hesitation.

"STOP! STOP IT! IT'S OVER! FIGHT'S OVER! THE RABBIT WINS! THE PSYCHO IS THE WINNER!" The raccoon frantically announced over the microphone and signaled for the gong to be rung again.

Kyuu's eyes widened as if she was brought from a trance and her bloodlust disappeared. Suddenly she could finally hear the crowd around them, none were pleased with the finish and the whole building had erupted into a series of boos and heckles. A majority of the crowd had put up good money against Kyuu, and now they felt cheated, as if their money was taken from them or like the fight had been rigged.

Kyuu wasn't satisfied with the outcome herself. She felt robbed. She wasn't finished.

Kyuu stared down at the injured cat to see her reaction, and there was clearly anger, shame, and fear staring back at her, but deep down she knew this cat would do anything to be in her position. No one likes to lose.

Would I look like this in this position? Kyuu thought just as something sharp brushed alongside the fur of her neck. It was a sword, Aisha's sword, being held by the old cat, Aisha's master.

"Get-off-of-her!" He demanded with a gruff voice, pressing the blade into the lop's neck.

Kyuu was initially hesitant until the blade began to cut into her skin, drawing blood. clearly, this cat was not to be trifled with.

"Get-off-my -daughter! Now!"

Kyuu slowly rose off of Aisha and backed away. Daughter? He was her father? It made sense to her, he was the older of the two.

"Sensei…" Aisha feebly muttered as her father scooped her up from the mat and cradled her in his arms. He began pressing her wound and ripped off fabric from his own robe to wrap around her wound. He gave one final threatening look, one that pretty much told her that she'd die if she came any closer. Kyuu instantly recoiled, giving them a wide berth as he lifted her up and made his way towards the cage entrance.

So that's what a father is? Someone who would do anything to protect their child? Would Gouhin-sama behave the same way? Kyuu pondered.

"We wanted to see an herbivore die and damn it we're going to see one die tonight! Come here boy!" a rage-filled voice shouted in the background, accompanied by guttural growling and a loud familiar shout.

Suddenly Kyuu snapped around, just in time to see San being pinned to the ground by a medium-sized timber wolf, the canine snapping his jaws viciously at the llama pinned under him.

San had his feet propped up into the wolf's chest, but he wouldn't be able to hold him off for long. Kyuu immediately bolted towards the cage entrance to rescue her cellmate. The results of the match must have caused an uproar because the entire arena was in pure pandemonium. More spectators like the wolf were hopping over the barriers and abandoning their seats as a riot began to break out.

No matter how much her body was screaming in agony she would save her friend! Kyuu had just rounded the side of the arena when there was a loud deafening blast in the air followed by another.

*BLAM! BLAM!*

The wolf atop San rolled over writhing in pain, cursing and wallowing in a pool of his own blood gasping for air. He had been shot in the back by a scattergun.

San was bewildered and felt himself up for any wounds. Outside of some of the wolf's blood smearing on his sweatsuit, he appeared to be unharmed.

Kyuu finally reached San to check on him and readied herself for anyone else foolish enough to come between her and the only family she had left. Suddenly a medium-sized pure white fox in a classy white and black dress stood atop the announcer's table quickly loading two rounds into a sawed-off double-barreled shotgun.

The snow-white fox was accompanied by five other foxes of varying shapes and sizes. One of which was a very familiar pint-sized fox that San and Kyuu instantly recognized, especially from the scars that Kyuu had given her last time.

"Everyone remain calm and shut up!" The white fox shouted at the top of her voice through the announcer table's microphone.

The crowd was still restless and ignored her calls for peace, so she looked and nodded to one of her underlings who fired a submachine gun in the air full auto. The crowd immediately was brought from a roar to a whimper. It was so dead silent that one could hear the snap of the white fox's shotgun as it closed its breach after loading the shells.

"Listen up and listen well. The next beast that comes near this cage... is ending up on the market alongside with this mutt!" She yelled as she thrust the shotgun in the air to drive home her point. "YOU GOT THAT?! THESE HERBIVORES BELONG TO US!" She said pointing and prodding her weapon into the crowd. "This is Inarigumi turf, and you will not dishonor our establishment!"

The Inarigumi?

Suddenly another huskier female voice came over a loudspeaker presumably another member. "The fight is over, make your way to the betting parlor and then beat it! Scram!"

The agitated patrons made their way from the building, but it was clear a good majority were still immensely displeased by the sudden stoppage of the fight from all the murmuring. Talks of rioting were being thrown around. The streets wouldn't be safe for sure.

The white fox cradled her shotgun on her shoulder as she reached down to San who recoiled instinctively. Kyuu despite her injuries was still poised to strike. The Inarigumi had sent that short girl to attack her weeks ago, that right there made them the enemy.

"Relax Flopsy, we're not going to kill you." She said looking over to Kyuu, before returning her eyes to San. "Llama-kun you okay? Don't worry I won't bite ... I'm not hungry." She said snickering at his uneasiness.

San, still shaken from the attack, looked to Kyuu and gave her a reassuring look. He trusted them, for now at least, and he laughed nervously at her dark humor, feebly taking her savage-looking carnivore hand.

The fox gave him a friendly wink as soon as he was on his feet, gazing into his eyes for a few moments before darting off. "We'll escort you two to the manager's office until all this blows over and we have business to discuss."