"That was completely irresponsible!" Yelled Darius as he crossed his arms.

Kenji raised an ice-pack to his head with an annoyed look on his face. He held up two fingers beginning to speak. "One, shut up, she's sleeping in the other room and I have a headache. Two, your orders are retarded." He groaned while he massaged his temples.

Darius flared at his insolence. "You are such a pain in the-" Kenji shot a look at him, causing Darius to stop and lower his voice.

"You are such a pain in the ass you know that?" Darius whispered angrily.

"I ordered you to keep walking, but nooooo, you just HAD to get involved." Darius continued his quiet ranting.

Kenji cut in. "You told me to just stand by and let an innocent little girl get beaten! Before you accuse me of being "Disorderly", think about why I did what I did!" He hissed back.

"You could have disrupted the entire time flow of this universe!" Darius pressed.

"By saving one girl?" Kenji countered. Darius sighed and calmed a little before continuing.

"Look, I understand you're new, but you will still have to listen to the rules around here. You are very much like a mixture of both a mechanic and a soldier in the way that you are supposed to fix things at the same time that you are supposed to fight for the sake of whatever universe you're in. You experienced the soldier part of your job today, which, quite honestly, you did very well with. But the bottom line is that you disobeyed an order." Explained Darius. There was a moment of silence.

"So, even though I did the right thing, I'm still in trouble?" Kenji asked. Darius nodded.

"And because I didn't do what you wanted in the right time, that what I did was wrong?" Kenji continued. Darius nodded again. Kenji stood up and sent his chair flying behind him as he did so.

"That is the stupidest fucking thing I have ever heard!" He quietly screeched.

"Rules are the rules." Darius said with a shrug.

Kenji threw a fist out of anger, only to have it caught and be met with a stabbing pain in his ribs. He gasped in pain as he looked down to see that Darius had stabbed him with the same type of needle that he had used to put the weird black gunk into his veins. The only difference this time was that the needle was empty, and instead of putting something in, was sucking out the same liquid.

"What… are you… doing?" Kenji managed to wheeze.

"You have shown misconduct under my watch, therefore I can issue whatever punishment I please. And in this case, I choose to take back the powers that I originally gave you." Darius explained in a bored fashion.

"What if… I need them?" Kenji asked in a scratchy voice.

"You'll have to find a way to take care of your problems on your own from now on. I'm not the one that made this happen, you did. So from now on you'll have to find your own way around the problems around here. Or until further notice." He said as he wrenched the needle from Kenji, who collapsed to his knees. Kenji writhed on the floor, feeling all of his muscles strain as they readjusted to their self-dependent set.

"Oh, and Kenji?" Darius called while he packed the needle back into its metallic case.

"Yeah?" Kenji answered from the floor.

"Before you charge me with a punch, know that I have a good three hundred years combat experience on you."

"Didn't stop me the first time." Kenji growled. Darius looked down at Kenji and glared at him before leaving. Kenji helped himself off the ground, standing and walking around a few steps to see if he was dizzy or not. After gaining his bearings, he went to the bedroom to see if Sasha was asleep or if she had overheard any commotion from outside. He peered into the room to see that she was sitting upright in bed, hugging a pillow. He wondered if she was up because of the experience a few hours earlier, or the noise in the other room. He sat on the bed next to her, raising his hand to her shoulder.

"You ok Sasha?" He asked. The sympathy might have been excessive, but she got the message.

"I'll be fine. I just want to go to sleep." She said, her words shaky in a way.

"Well, in that case, I guess I can just, leave." He began to walk to the door.

"Kenji, wait!" Sasha's call startled Kenji a little. He turned back to her.

"What is it?"

"It's cold." She whined, giving him the most guilt tripping look. He didn't know what to do to appease the girl, seeing as how all of his blankets where already on the bed. He scratched the back of his neck as he thought. He eventually came up with an idea.

He held up a finger. "Hold on a minute." He left the room and came back changed out of his street clothes. Instead, he was wearing a clean pair of sweats and a large t-shirt. 'Isn't really any different than what I did for my sisters.' He thought. He went to the opposite side of the bed and climbed under the covers. He settled next to her, allowing her to settle anyway she wanted to keep herself comfortable and warm. She wrapped her arms around him as if he was some immense teddy bear. She laid her head down on his chest, and settled herself closer to his side to help warm herself.

"Better?" Kenji asked as he looked down at her.

"Yeah." She replied, her breath still a little shaky from the incident a few hours earlier. He could easily see the tear trails that ran down her cheeks. He put his own arms around her, pulling her closer and making her lay in a less awkward position.

"I'm sorry you had to be exposed to that today." He sighed.

"Kenji?"

"Yeah?"

She looked up at him. "Are you going to be my new daddy?" She asked.

He hugged her. "I guess so kiddo, I guess so." He answered.

"Is this ever gonna happen again?" she asked, a quiver in her voice.

He looked down at her, smoothing out her hair and wiping the tears off of her cheeks. "Never again. Not so long as I live and breathe." He replied.

Then she did something that surprised him. She quickly sprung up and pecked his cheek before settling back down into her previous position.

"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you're like a Guardian angel." She whispered tiredly before drifting off to sleep, soft, warm breath fanning his chest. He smiled wearily. "Me too." He replied as he followed.

The next morning, Kenji woke up to see that Sasha still remained in her same position, still sleeping away. He looked to the clock on his nightstand. 'SHIT' he is eyes widened as he realized he was going to be late for his interview at the police station. The night before, he had talked about setting up an appointment while the EMTs treated him. He looked back down to the peacefully sleeping girl. He gave her a gentle shake.

"Time to wake up." He whispered as she blinked back into consciousness. She stirred and stretched in the bed, groaning in annoyance at having to be woken up instead of being able to sleep in.

"I don't wanna." She grumbled.

He rolled his eyes as he resulted to his plan b. He picked her up covered in the blankets and carried her out to the couch. He sat her down and went to change in his street clothes. He came back and gave her another little shake. She opened her eyes and pouted. "Whaat?" she mumbled, rubbing one eye.

"C'mon kiddo, we gotta go." He pulled a hoodie that was a bit too big over her head. He held out his hand to her and she took it absentmindedly.

"No breakfast?" She asked.

"Don't worry, I'll make you something later." He said as the pair walked to the door hand in and. He opened the door, revealing a sight that explained the cold. A foot thick sheet of snow had fallen over night, after the two had fallen asleep Kenji assumed. He felt the cold begin to seep into his clothing. He looked down to Sasha, who was chattering. Her perked up ears pitched two little tents under her hood, lifting it up enough so that it barely exposed her eyes.

"Tell you what, I have a better idea than walking." He said. He picked her up and put her on his back. She held onto his neck and put her head on his shoulder, letting her eyes close again while her head bobbed at each step. He walked the short distance to Fido's house. He knocked on the door twice, helping Sasha down from her perch. The door opened to reveal Fido Wrapped up in a scarf tapping his foot.

"Was begging to think you weren't going to show up." Fido said with a light grin.

Kenji gave a quick chuckle. He handed a paper to Sasha. "This is my number. If you ever get into trouble or need something, call. You can go to the house whenever, there's a spare key under the mat. You can spend today with Bino, but don't go anywhere out of the neighborhood, got it?" He said to her, taking the hood off of her head and exposing her to the cold. She gave him a nod before heading inside the house.

He looked at Fido. "We all set to go?"

"Yep, just follow me." Fido said as he started down the sidewalk. Kenji quickly followed, looking around the snowy area, scanning for familiar faces to give a 'Hi' to. The two continued to the police station with little words exchanged. They reached the station steps and entered the facility.

"Chief's office is just around this way." Fido said as he led Kenji through a small maze of cubicles. Kenji looked around as they walked, noticing the obvious tired looks on the office drones' faces. Fido led him into a cluttered office, a desk piled high with papers in the center and a cigarette smoking German Shepard sat behind it. "Heya chief. Thought you quit." Fido said as he entered with Kenji on his heels.

"Never mind that Fido, I don't have time for small talk. This the guy you said you were bringing in?" He said with a grunt as he pointed to Kenji, who gave an awkward nod/grin thing.

"Yeah, this is Kenji Taios. He said he's been looking to join the force." Fido explained.

The chief eyed him over, from head to toe. "You're pretty damn big son. That's good. How do you feel about working for the police?"

Kenji assumed the position of a soldier standing in a lineup. "There is no greater pleasure I can gain other than protecting society sir."

The chief nodded and fished something out of his desk. "Congrats kid, here's your badge and cuffs." He tossed Kenji the stuff and continued what he was doing.

Kenji looked at him with disbelief. "Really? Just like that?" He asked.

The chief sighed, but didn't look up from what he was doing. "The obstacle course is snowed over, and I don't think you'll be taking a drug test, you look trustworthy enough. Now get outa my office."

Kenji looked at Fido, who nodded and led the way out of the room. The pair left the building, going back to the cold outside. Kenji shivered as the chill licked at his fur. He and Fido walked a few blocks back into the neighborhood, obviously headed back home. Kenji had predicted that the interview would take all of his day and wasn't sure what to do. He looked at Fido, wondering where he was going. "Hey Fido, is there anything going on later?" He asked.

"Didn't Peanut tell you?" Fido replied with a raised eyebrow. Kenji shook his head. "Well he and grape are throwing a Christmas Eve party tonight. They invited everybody, so there's no doubt they meant to invite you to. Oh, and word of advice, bring a sleeping bag or something, they love sleepovers." He said, walking to the Sandwich house. Kenji found his next activity for the day. He walked into his house and began to search the garage for any sort of sleeping bag. "Hmm… rc car… camera tripod… what the hell?" Kenji picked up what looked like some sort of golden medallion. He had seen the symbol before, the eye of Rah. He tucked it in his pocket. He dug around a bit more and finally found what he was searching for. He hefted the black bag over his shoulder and left his house. He walked across the street and knocked on the door that held the only decoration on the house, a wreath. The door was answered by an orange dog. "Hey, is this the party?" Kenji said.

"Yeah, sure is. You must be that new guy that Peanut's talking about." The Dog said with a kind smile.

Kenji returned the grin, "Name's Kenji, yours?"

The dog looked down, muttering "Tiger" under his breath.

"Nice to meet you Tiger." Kenji said. Tiger looked up.

"Y-you're not gonna… make fun of me?" He said, almost disbelieving.

"Why would I?" Kenji replied, giving a small chuckle.

Tiger immediately seized Kenji in a tight hug. "You're one of the nice people." He mumbled.

Kenji recognized the situation. Tiger was an outcast. And how did he know? This was the exact same reaction that his first schoolyard friend had given him. The same reaction he had given to the first person who reached out to him. And it was so easy to remember. Kenji gave a warm smile and picked up tiger, putting him on his shoulders. "C'mon buddy, let's go inside." He felt Tiger laugh and saw him smile over his shoulder. Kenji walked into the party, seeing people chatting and playing games like twister or spin the bottle. Kenji sat his bag down a pile designated for them. He let down tiger, ruffling his head before he went to talk to what appeared to be his only friend. Kenji sighed and picked up a cup of orange soda from the counter. He looked over the crown, hoping to sight his friends. He smiled as he saw Peanut and Grape amidst the masses, but his smile quickly faded as he saw a third member of the conversation. A face that he didn't really care for. The same black alley cat from when he had walked Sasha home a few days ago. Kenji recognized the punk smirk. Even worse than him being present, was that he had his arm around grape. Kenji took a swig of his soda, feeling it warm his blood and calm his nerves at the same time. He made his way over to the group, watching them talk happily. He final reached them.

"Hey Kenji! Glad to see you could make it." Peanut greeted,

"Glad to make it." Kenji said, eyeing over the punk cat.

"Oh! Hi Kenji, this is Max." Grape said as she introduced the tom-cat.

"We've met." Kenji said lowly, a false smile on his face. Max acknowledged Kenji's presence with a dirty grin, showing that he wasn't afraid. Kenji knew that Max didn't like him, and Max knew likewise. Max pushed his flirting with Grape, nuzzling her neck as he pinched at her behind. She gasped.

"Max! There are people here." She whispered, attempting to cease Max's advances.

"So what? It's a party." He said in the same slimy tone he had used for Sasha in the alleyway. Kenji wasn't aware of it, but he was growling. Peanut gave him a weird look.

"You…you ok Kenji?" He asked, looking concerned.

"Hmm?" Kenji snapped out of his daze, realizing what he had been doing. "OH! Um... I just… have this itch." He lied scratching the back of his neck.

"Oh ok then." Peanut said, buying into Kenji's lie. Kenji studied Peanut, who seemed quite for the most part. He took a swig from his cup before asking anything. "There something wrong peanut? You look kinda down."

Peanut sighed and looked at Grape and Max tiredly. "Come with me Kenji." He said, pulling Kenji away from the other two by the hand. Once they reached a safe distance, then Peanut started to talk. "Can I tell you a secret?" Peanut asked shyly.

"Of course man." Kenji replied, awaiting Peanut's secret.

"You see… I k-kinda like…Grape. The more than friends way." He whispered. "I like her a lot, but she likes Max for some reason. I don't get it. She complains about him all the time, but when he shows up, she suddenly turns all happy."

Kenji looked at Peanut, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Trust me buddy, I don't like Max any more than you, but aren't you and Grape were more like brother and sister?"

"I-it's a long story." He said as his ears drooped.

"I got plenty of time. Please, tell me everything." Kenji said with a kind smile. He walked with Peanut to the kitchen table, where no one else was, and pulled two of the kitchen table chairs out. Peanut was the first to speak.

"You see, back when I was a pup, it was only me, mom, and dad. Then one day, mom and dad decided that we had enough space and money to add another person to the family. They took me to the local shelter, and told me I was allowed to pick one friend. I was very excited, and I was running from cage to cage, wondering who I would pick. Then… I found her." Peanut smiled in a distant way, reveling in memories past. "She was little, like me. And she seemed to like me. I remember jumping up against the cage, then falling down, right on my snout. I got up sniffling, but she leaned out of the cage and kissed my nose, to make it better. She was giggling and telling me I was funny. I told her I would be back really quick before I ran off to mom and dad, chanting that I had made my choice. They filled out the paperwork and I had my new best friend. And as I would come to find later, my… well… the person I loved." Peanut stopped his telling, scratching the back of his neck. Kenji took the opportunity to speak.

"What about that Tarot girl?" Kenji asked as he patted Peanut on the back.

"She's more like a very good friend than a "girlfriend". She watches out for me, giving me company, but I can tell her mind is somewhere else whenever we're together." He sighed. Kenji saw the pain in his eyes, the feeling of rejection seemed too seethe from his very skin. Kenji grabbed a cup of the orange soda and handed it to Peanut. "Here, this'll help."

"Thanks." Peanut replied as he took a few sips of the drink, letting his muscles relax.

"C'mon, let's go play some games or something, get your mind off this." Kenji said as he stood. Peanut nodded reluctantly and followed. The two stopped at spin the bottle, but only Peanut sat down to play. Kenji sat in a chair to the side of the game, claiming he was "out of the age group". He watched the game, laughing at the awkward couplings. King was up next.

"C'mon…c'mon…" King was saying under his breath as the bottle span around and around. "OH C'MON!" He exclaimed in despair as the bottle pointed to his friend Fox. Kenji had looked away by now, preoccupied with thoughts and drinking. King looked at Fox, who was blushing and looking away with lowered ears. The group playing the game snickered as the two went to meet in the middle. They edged closer slowly as possible, living out the maximum amount of time before being subjected to humility. When the two finally, met in the middle, they grazed lips for a millisecond before scurrying back to their spots, claiming they were forced into it, the two of them still vividly blushing.

Grape was still laughing as she prepared to spin, holding her hand over her mouth. She gave the bottle a spin and waited for it to stop. The bottle span around, seeming to go for longer than usual before starting to slow. As the bottle started to loose speed, it stopped, pointing directly at none other than Peanut. She looked up at peanut, who was wide eyed and visibly embarrassed.

Peanut had always thought that she wanted nothing to do with him, in the form of love anyway. But he was wrong, she knew that much. Peanut looked at Grape, who, instead of sharing his embarrassed look, had a relaxed aura around her. She didn't blush, she just smiled wearily, giving him a look of tired love. He blinked, not sure of what Grape was thinking. Grape made her way to him, keeping her gaze latched to his own. She crawled up next to him, stopping with inches between their muzzles. She looked up at him, giving him a smile that he hadn't seen in ages, but still remembered as if it were yesterday. That same smile that she had given him at that shelter all those years ago. She looked over his embarrassed face, giggling. Then she came up and connected her lips with his, letting the kiss linger for what felt like an eternity, but in reality was about three seconds. After that, she came up to his ear, whispering something that sounded like "you're funny". Peanut felt the tension leave his muscles and his blood cool ever so slightly. Then, he felt the corners of his mouth lift the tiniest bit, giving one of the happiest looks he had ever been able to give. Grape didn't go back to her spot, she instead yawned and said that it was time for everyone to head home, or sleep in the bags they had brought, staying at peanut's side the entire time she did so.

Among those that left, where Max, Fido and his brothers, Sasha, and Tarot. Everyone else was able to stay. Kenji helped Peanut clear out the living room area, making sure everyone that had a bag would be able to have enough space to lay. Eventually, everyone was able to put their bags down, and lay in their arrangements. A pair of musician cats shared one bag, Tiger doing the same with his Tabby friend. King had forgotten his bag at home, but he didn't want to leave. After searching around, he knew that only one friend would share with him. He and Fox laid back to back awkwardly. Peanut and Grape slept in different bags, and the rest all seemed to sleep as individuals. Kenji put his bag on the one couch in the room, giving him a vantage point over the others.

After he switched the lights out, he walked back to his place and laid down. He looked at Grape, and then at Peanut, both of which were hugging pillows as they slept. Kenji thought for a second before he did what he did. He got up and lifted the pillows from their arms, then he lifted Grape out of her Place gently, as not to wake her. He slowly sat her down with Peanut. As Kenji lowered her into place, he watched the two's arms wrap around each other, the pair smiling in their sleep. Kenji walked back to his bedding, laying down and sighing. 'Do I really have to play cupid?' he thought. Then he dwelled on it a little more. 'No, this isn't about matchmaking, this is about ensuring the safety of grape and that Peanut gets the love he needs. I'll be damned if I leave her with that Max bastard. And I'll be damned if I leave Peanut a jealous wreck.' He sighed and rolled on his back, looking at the ceiling. 'I'll deal with this in the morning, god I'm tired' He yawned and felt his eyelids get heavy. He slowly drifted off to sleep, the blackness of his mind clouding his vision as he rested. But no sooner had he gone to sleep, then was he woken up. "Ugh…what is it?" He rubbed his eyes and yawned. "I was just about to go to sleep dammit" He opened his eyes. But what was before him didn't annoy him. It scared the bejesus out of him. In front of him sat an incredibly large Green serpent-dragon. It looked Directly at him, not with the hunger to eat him, but the concern to talk to him. Kenji looked at himself, and noticed that he was back into his Armor, minus his headpiece. And there was something else. He bore wings from his suit, Large, almost the same as his height each, and as black as his very fur. He looked back at the dragon, assuming a fighting stance. But an attack never came. Instead, a voice. "Kenji… tell me… where are you REALLY from?" Kenji recognized the voice and looked into the Dragon's emerald eyes, disbelieving. "T-Tarot?"

OMG! I AM SOOOO SORRY READERS! I HAD THIS CHAPTER READY A LONG TIME AGO AND NEVER PUBLISHED IT! PLEASE FORGIVE ME ;-; . ?img=OS84LzIvNS8xLTE5Njg5MjYtOTgyNTkzOS5qcGc&ctype=1&v=4&q=81&xs=620&ys=383&sig=c0f4f6e029f2967b45a2cc7c49a10b1bc825cdaf