Magic within the City of Beasts
I hope you're all enjoying the story so far.
Chapter four
Kagami felt herself floating in a sea of darkness that gave off a calm and peaceful aura around her. There was no sound as she just hovered within the void of nothingness for a what seemed like years. Then she began to hear voices speaking out within the darkness. At first, they were faint. But after a moment they began to get clearer as Kagami started to regain consciousness. She let out a groan, which caused the voices to pause in their conversation. After a while she slowly opened her eyes. Kagami's vision was a little blurry at first. So, all she could see were shapes and color blobs. But after a moment her vision began to clear. When it did, she found herself staring up into the faces of two men and two women. Kagami blinked in confusion for a moment before darting up in surprise. That action caused her to feel the sharp pain of her wounded shoulder. She let out a hiss as her hand shot up to press against her right shoulder. She bit down on her bottom lip to keep from screaming out in agony.
'That hurt!' thought Kagami.
Kagami then flinched slightly when she felt someone placed a hand on top of her own. She looked up to see the first woman who had been hovering over her. The woman's head was bald with forehead wrinkles. Her eyes were a pinkish red color that held a seriousness, yet also kind expression within their depths, while her skin was a tan complexion. Her ears were pointy along with her chin. She wore a dark brown tunic with dark purple trimmings, blue pants and dark brown boots.
"Try not to move too much," said the woman in a gentle voice. "You're wound hasn't quite healed yet."
Kagami stared at the woman for a moment before she began to take in her surroundings. She saw that she was in some kind of large library. The library had a large window with a desk standing in front of it. A chair stood behind the desk, while a coffee table and a few chairs stood within the middle of the room. Sitting on some of the shelves within the library saw were a few humanoid animal figurines. Kagami then noticed that she was laying on a red sofa with a white blanket resting in her lap. She also noticed that she was wearing a light blue pajama top with a small pocket on the right side of her chest, and pajama bottoms that were also the same color. Kagami was quiet for a moment before she looked around at the four people who stood around her.
"W-where am I?" she asked.
"You're in our home dear," replied another woman with a friendly smile.
The woman had shoulder length auburn hair, black eyes and tan skin. She wore a cerulean cardigan over a white blouse, a long grey skirt, white socks and gray slip-on shoes.
Standing next to the woman was a man who wore red framed glasses. He had bright-red hair that was slightly disheveled and swept to the left side; a red mustache and beard, black eyes that peered out from behind the glasses and fair skin. He wore a white shirt underneath a mustard yellow sleeveless sweater; a hunter green tie, blue-grey trousers and brown loafers.
"When Shirou brought you back to our apartment, we were quite surprised," continued the woman. "We were also quite worried when we saw that injury on your shoulder."
"Yes," replied the man with a nod of his head. "Yet we were more surprised that Shirou brought the three children that you were looking after to our home as well."
At the mention of 'children' Kagami began to feel her heart tighten in fear. She was about to ask where Kaito and the twins were when the first woman gently spoke to her.
"Don't worry. Kaito and the twins are sleeping in the guest room. They were quite worried about you after you passed out from your injury."
'It wasn't just the injury that made me pass out in the warehouse,' thought Kagami to herself.
Kagami then let out a sigh of relief at knowing the children were alright. She then turned to look at the last person who was standing near the first woman. Kagami saw a young man who looked to be in his twenties standing with his arms crossed over his chest. He had white hair that is slightly disheveled with bangs covering parts of his forehead and pale skin. She saw that he was wearing the same clothing the wolf she met had been wearing. Minus the tan jacket. Kagami stared at the man for a moment until she recognized the icy blue eyes that glared down at her. Kagami let out a groan before she spoke to the man in a deadpanned voice.
"Do you always glare at people you first meet or is it just for humans?"
The man only gave her a glare before turning his head away. The first woman looked between Kagami and Shirou curiously before speaking.
"I'm guessing you two already know each other, correct?"
"You could say that." Kagami replied as she turned to look at the woman. "Also, I don't mean to be rude but who are you?"
The woman gave Kagami a smile before she stood up to her full height: "My name is Barbara Rose. I'm the mayor of the Anima-City."
The woman, now known as Barbara Rose, then turned her attention to the second woman and man as she introduced them to Kagami.
"These two are Melissa and Gem Horner. They help run the Beastman Cooperative in Anima-City, which is the building we are all in right now."
Kagami turned to look at two people, the Horner couple, in surprise before she quickly gave them a polite bow.
"Um...my name is Kagami Kage. Sorry for coming into your home announced."
"Oh, don't worry about that dear," said Melissa with a smile. "Sometimes we get unexpected guests whenever newcomers move here to Anima-City. But despite that, we're always happy to help them whenever we can."
"Sometimes the beastmen who come here wind being a little odd," said Gem before he looked Kagami up and down. "Though we've never really expected to have an odd-looking human like you be brought into the Beastman Co-op either."
An anime sweat drop appeared on the side of Kagami's head at what Gem had just said.
"I look odd?" questioned Kagami.
Melissa gave her husband a slap on the shoulder before scolding him: "Gem, don't go saying insensitive things like that to our guest."
Gem scratched the back of his head as he chuckled sheepishly at his wife. Kagami looked at the couple with a befuddled expression on her face. She then flinched slightly when something landed on top of her head. She quickly stopped herself from whacking at whatever had perched on her before looking up. Kagami blinked in surprise when she saw a crow sitting on her head. But the strange thing about the crow was that it had large eyes. The crow calmly sat on her head with its eyes closed. Kagami gazed up at it in confusion before glancing towards the Horner couple. She cleared her voice to get their attention before she pointed to the crow on her head.
"Um...does this little guy belong to you two?"
Melissa chuckled when she noticed the crow on Kagami's head: "Kuro actually belongs to Shirou. Don't worry he's quite harmless."
Kagami looked up at the crow, Kuro, with a light frown. She doubted that the bird was harmless. She learned to never judge someone by their appearance. She also couldn't help but feel like there was more to the crow than meets the eye.
"Kuro," called Shirou.
The crow turned to look over at the white hair man. He then flew off of Kagami's head and landed on Shirou's left shoulder. Kagami let out a sigh of relief at having the crow finally off her head before she looked up at Mayor Rose.
"So...um...how exactly did you patch me up?" asked Kagami as she pointed to her right shoulder.
"Well, it took some doing. But I'd managed to pull the bullet out from your shoulder. The wound wasn't serious, but I had to stitch it up so that it could heal properly." Mayor Rose answered with a smile. "You were lucky that the bullet didn't go too deep into your shoulder."
'I guess my magic kicked in to protect me,' thought Kagami in relief. 'Otherwise, the bullet would have gone deeper. Then I would have been in real trouble.'
"Your wound will take time to heal so you must not do anything too strenuous for a while. Otherwise, the stitching's will rip, and the wound will reopen," said Mayor Rose in a firm voice.
"Yes ma'am," said Kagami in understanding. "And once my shoulder is healed, I'll leave the city as so as possible."
Mayor Rose looked at Kagami in surprise: "Why do you want to leave the city so quickly?"
Kagami looked up at the mayor in confusion before glancing over at Shirou, who looked at her with an indifferent expression. She then turned her gaze back onto the mayor again.
"W-well I heard that humans aren't really welcomed here within this city. And I don't want to cause any trouble around here. If this place is only for beastmen, then I don't want to overstay in a place that doesn't want me."
"I see," said Mayor Rose with an understanding smile on her face before it grew serious. "Though I'm afraid that you'll have to stay in the city for a little while longer. From what I've heard, you still have to make up for stealing a few things from the marketplace today."
Kagami tensed up in surprise and fear at what the mayor had just said before looking away to gaze up at the ceiling.
"U-um...I don't know what you're talking about." Kagami stammered in a tight voice.
"You've stolen three apples and three milk buns from two different shops." Shirou spoke with a glare as he told Kagami about the two crimes she had committed. "You can't hide those smells that still linger on your body."
Kagami flinched as an anime sweat drop appeared on the side of her head again. She then sighed as she turned to look at both the mayor and Shirou with a guilty expression upon her face.
"I'm sorry for stealing those apples and milk buns. I didn't have any money on me. But I didn't have much choice when it came to feeding Kaito and the twins."
"That's still no excuse for stealing something that doesn't belong to you," said Shirou in a stern voice.
"And I understand that," said Kagami as she gave Shirou a glare. "So, if it'll make you feel better, I'll turn myself over to the police and serve my time under them."
'At least in this world I don't have to worry about them handing me over to scientists who want to do tests on me.' Kagami thought to herself.
Shirou looked at Kagami in surprise. He had never met a human who was willing to hand themselves over to the police to make up for the crimes they had committed. Yet he could sense that there was something else that this human was not telling them. He was also curious as to why she would tense up whenever someone touched her.
'It's as if she's expecting to be attacked or something,' thought Shirou with a light frown.
Mayor Rose spoke up as she gazed down at Kagami: "While it's honorable that you would turn yourself in for the crime you've committed. I'm afraid that we can't give hand you over to the police of Anima-City."
Kagami looked up at Mayor Rose in confusion, while feeling a hit of fear rise up within her chest.
"Why not?" asked Kagami tensely.
"If the people of Anima-City find out that a human is being kept prisoner within Anima-City's police station. Then there is a likely chance that it'll cause a panic." Mayor Rose explained in a logical voice. "We also can't call in the police from the human city to come over to get you either. As you already know, humans are not allowed in the city."
"Then...what do you intend to do with me?" asked Kagami as her voice tightens a little bit.
"Well...after you were out for about an hour. I talked with Shirou and the Horner couple about what we should do with you. And we came to an agreement that you'll will be staying here at the Beastmen Co-op. You'll be kept under house arrest and will not be allowed to walk outside on the streets by yourself unless you're being escorted by Shirou, Mr. Gem or Mrs. Melissa."
Kagami blinked in surprise at what Mayor Rose had just said to her. She had thought that the mayor would lock her up some place that was secluded and be left there to rot. She wasn't expecting to be staying in someone else's home and be placed under house arrest.
'Well...at least it's better than being locked up in a lab,' thought Kagami in relief.
"And as for how you'll make up for your crime." Mayor Rose continued as a smile appeared on her face. "You'll will be given the task of looking after Kaito and the twins under Shirou's supervision. Just until we can find them good families that'll be willing to adopt them."
Kagami looked at Mayor Rose in shock at what she had just said. Her? Look after Kaito and twins? Kagami had never done such a thing before. Sure, she would find children wandering around the streets and take them to good orphanages back on her homeworld. But she had never taken up the position of being a caretaker to kids. Kagami wasn't sure that she could take on the responsibility as she didn't have much practice in fostering children. She quickly stood up from the couch to be at eye level with the mayor, who she found was an inch higher than her.
"Hold on. I don't think that's such a good idea," said Kagami nervously.
"And why's that?" asked Mayor Rose curiously.
"W-well for one thing; I don't really have any experience when it comes to raising kids." Kagami answered with a stammer as she held her hands against her chest. "I've only helped in escorting orphans to my hometown's orphanage. Sure, I've stayed in the orphanage to help in getting the kids to settled in until they're comfortable enough for me to leave them in the care of the orphanage's directress. But that's not the same on what you're asking me to do. And second; I don't think I'd be a very good role model."
"And why do you say that?" questioned Mayor Rose.
"Because...well, I usual tend to be a little...awkward at times." Kagami answered nervously.
'Especially when it comes to flinching whenever someone either touches or hugs me. I always expect someone to attacked me if I ever let my guard down.' Kagami thought to herself with a light frown.
"But you still care about the children, do you not?" asked Mayor Rose in a gentle voice.
Kagami looked up at the mayor in surprise before answering hesitantly: "W-well, yes."
"Then I believe that you'll be able to look after Kaito and the twins along with Mr. Gem and Mrs. Melissa. So, you won't have to take on this responsibility alone when it comes to fostering them."
Kagami's expression still held a bit of nervousness before Melissa spoke in a reassuring voice.
"You don't have to worry about it too much, Kagami-chan. My husband and I will help you in any way we can when it comes to raising children."
"Plus, it will be good practice for us if we ever decide to start our own family someday," added Gem with a chuckle.
Kagami stared at the Horner couple in surprise before frowning when she remembered Shirou. She turned to look at him as he glared at her with his cold icy blue eyes.
"And what about you?" she asked curiously. "What do you think about this situation?"
Shirou looked at Kagami with an unwavering gaze before he responded: "I don't really agree with the mayor when it comes to giving a human such as you the responsibility in looking after beastmen children. But she has already made that decision, so I won't go against it. But if you do something to hurt or threaten the children, I won't hesitate to end you."
Mayor Rose gave Shirou a disapproving look before Kagami, who quickly became serious, stood straight and gazed right into the man's eyes with a determined expression upon her face.
"I understand," said Kagami firmly. "I don't expect us to be friends. But I will put up with you for Kaito and the twins' sake."
Shirou continued to look at Kagami with his powerful gaze. He stared directly into her visible eye as if he was looking straight into her soul. Kagami felt slightly unnerved when she gazed into Shirou's eyes. After a while Kagami slowly turned away when his gaze became too intense for her.
'Those eyes of his. It was like I was looking into the eyes of a being that is stronger than any of the beasts that mages would summon into combat.' Kagami thought as she began to feel her body shake. 'I've never thought I would feel this fear of being weak in front of another who holds power greater than other mages. Just like how I held the fear of being unable to free myself from the scientists that wanted to...'
"Are you alright Kagami-Chan?" asked Melissa as she looked at Kagami in concern.
Kagami blinked as she came out of her thoughts before turning to look at Melissa as she gave the woman a reassuring smile.
"I'm fine. Just got lost in my thoughts that's all. By the way, what happened to the clothes that I was wearing when Oogami brought me here?"
"Well...the shirt that you wore underneath your vest pretty much had large holes in it. So, I had to throw it out I'm afraid," answered Melissa with an apologetic smile. "But your vest and pants are in the dryer right now. The hole in the shoulder of your vest should be easy to patch up."
"There's just the problem of finding you a shirt to wear underneath your vest," added Gem as he adjusted his glasses on his nose. "Also, before my wife put your clothes in the washing machine, we found this in the inside pocket of your vest. We were wondering if this belongs to you by any chance."
Gem dug into his right pocket and pulled out a familiar blue crystal marble, which glowed in a dim blue light. Kagami stared at the marble in surprise before looking up at Gem again.
"Uh...not really," replied Kagami as she decided to give the Horner couple an honest answer, while making up a white lie in the process. "I found that marble lying around on the ground when I first came here to this city. I'm guessing a child must have dropped it or something."
"Well, it's quite a peculiar marble I must say," said Gem as he looked down at the said item in his hand. "I've never seen a marble glow like this one before."
"Neither have I," said Mayor Rose as she also looked down at the marble with a frown.
Gem handed the marble back to Kagami, who gently took it into her right hand before he spoke again.
"Still, in Anima-City whenever something gets lost or stolen, then the chances of anyone getting back their lost items are pretty slim."
Kagami looked down at the marble with a light frown upon her face as she thought about how she found the marble. How did such a tiny thing suddenly come into the back of the truck amongst all the weapons that she had helped deliver to the black market? That was the one question she couldn't find an answer to. No matter how hard she tried to rack her brain for it. She let out a quiet sigh as she tucked the marble into the small pocket of her pajama top. She then turned to looked at the Horner couple again.
"So... where do I sleep within your house?" asked Kagami.
Melissa gave Kagami a kind smile before she led the young human out of the library with Kagami following close behind her. They walked down the hallway until they came to a door on the left side of the hallway. Melissa opened the door to show Kagami her room and Kagami had to admit that the room was fairly modest. It wasn't really that big, but it wasn't really small either. It had a bed that stood in the middle of the room; a white bedroom desk with a chair that stood on left side of the room and a window that looked out at the city street below. Standing next to the bed was a white five door clothing drawer. The sheets and blankets on the bed were a light blue along with the pillowcases. The walls of the room were a mint blue with white ivy vines painted on its surface. Near the bedroom desk was a white door that was probably the door to the guest room closet.
Kagami looked around the room in interest before Melissa spoke.
"This is one of the guest rooms within our apartment, and its right next to the other guest room that Kaito and the twins are sleeping in. So, you'll be able to check up on them whenever you want."
"Is it alright if I check up on them right now?" asked Kagami as she wanted to make sure that the kids were alright.
Melissa smiled and nodded before taking Kagami over to the next guest room that stood beside to hers. Melissa opened the door and the two looked in to see two beds within the room. The walls of the room were forest green and standing between the two beds was a bedroom cabinet. Sleeping within the beds were Kaito and the twins. Kaito was sleeping in the bed on the left, while the twins shared the bed on the right. Kagami smiled when she saw the children sleeping. Quietly she walked into the room with Melissa following her. Kagami came to stand near Kaito's bed as she looked down at the young child. But instead of seeing a familiar face of the boy she had met in the warehouse; she saw the face of a young puppy.
The puppy was actually a chocolate Labrador with a white fur on the tip of his ears. Kagami couldn't help but melt at the sight of how cute Kaito looked in his puppy form. She then turned to look at the twins. Kagami saw that the twins were actually two kittens. Kiki had blonde fur with white on her muzzle, while Akira's fur was black with white fur on his muzzle and paw/hands. The twins were curled up together underneath the bedsheets as they slept with peaceful expressions upon their faces.
Kagami let out a soft chuckle at the sight. She then looked down at Kaito and saw that he also had a peaceful expression upon his face. Then, as if guided by instinct, Kagami knelt down beside the bed. She reached out with her right hand and gently stroke Kaito's head. That action caused Kaito to sigh in happiness as he cuddled deeper into the pillow of the bed. Kagami slowly retracted her hand before standing up. She then went over to the other bed to stroke the twins' heads. She got to same reaction as the twins began to purr in unison. Kagami stood up once again and made her way over to Melissa, who stood near the end of the beds. The two of them then walked out of the room together. Melissa quietly closed the door behind them before she and Kagami walked back to second guest room.
"Those children had a rough day," said Melissa gently as they walked into the room that Kagami would be occupying. "They were quite worried about you when Shirou brought all of you to the Beastman Co-op. Luckily, Gem and I managed to calm them down, while reassuring them that you would be alright. It took us a while to get them to sleep. The poor dears looked as if they hadn't slept for hours with the way they fell into the beds we gave them."
"I can't really blame them," said Kagami as she walked into the guest room and sat down on the bed. "After all, those kids have been through quite a lot before they came here to your city."
"Yes," responded Melissa with a nod of her head as a sad frown appeared on her face. "Kaito told us what had happened to his and the twins' parents. I can't help but fear that they might have met the same fate as all the other beastmen who tried traveling here to Anima-City to seek refuge."
Kagami's expression also became melancholy. She could only guess on what had become of the children's parents.
'Are the humans here in this dimension really that afraid of the beastmen?' thought Kagami silently to herself.
"Well...I'll let you relax and settle in," spoke Melissa as her usual smile appeared again upon her face.
"Thank you," said Kagami as she smiled back at Melissa.
Melissa nodded before she turned and walked out of the room. Kagami let out a sigh before she turned her gaze towards the window as a faraway expression appeared on her features. She began to think about what had happened so far. She couldn't help wondering how she had been transported into this new world in the first place. Everything had happened so fast that Kagami still couldn't believe that she was in another world. A strange world where anthropomorphic animals can shapeshift into humans. It was mind blowing now that Kagami thought about it.
'I guess I shouldn't be complaining.' Kagami thought as she fell back onto the bed and gazed up at the ceiling with a neutral expression appearing on her face. 'After all, this place seems to be better than back on Midchilda. At least they aren't throwing you into lab where they'll experiment on you.'
Kagami continued to look up at the ceiling for a moment when she sensed someone standing at the entrance of the guest room. She turned her head towards the open door and saw Shirou standing there with a serious expression upon his face. Kagami sensed that he wanted to talk to her. She couldn't help letting out a tired sigh before she sat up on the bed. Kagami then stood up and walked towards Shirou. Once she stood a foot in front of him, Shirou turned and began to walk down the hallway. Kagami followed a short distance behind him. He led her up to the rooftop of the building, which led out onto a large balcony with an attic room. Kagami followed Shirou before he came to stand near the railing as he gazed out at the city before him. Kagami stood behind him as she waited for a moment to see if he would talk. After a moment of silence, she decided to break the ice.
"Okay...what exactly do you want to talk to me about?" asked Kagami in an impatient voice.
Shirou responded by turning to look at her with his hard ice-cold eyes. Kagami tensed but remained calm as she waited to hear what he had to say to her. After a moment he finally spoke and what he said had Kagami reeling back in surprise.
"It's time for some answers," said Shirou in a hard-edged voice. "You're no ordinary human, are you?"
To be continued