The land was white and the sky black. The stars twinkled and the moon shone brightly. But sadly the beauty of the earth is never noticed.
Saras had made an effort to look less like a kit and more like an actual, fully fledged field agent. Seeing as he was both he had had a pretty hard time doing that. He had cleaned his clothes thoroughly, and had let them dry in the sun, while wearing nothing but a towel for the majority of the day. He had subconsciously decided that he would get more clothes as soon as he could. He had bathed, and scrubbed himself so hard it actually hurt, oh and the water had been soapy and boiling hot. After all of that hassle he was somewhat relieved when he arrived at the location the letter had asked him to come to.
He didn't know much about the criminal underworld, but he knew of the bigger organizations and their leaders. There were the triads, arguably the strongest, headed by a woman who Saras had met once. Her name was Unknown, and following on that Saras knew nothing about her, except that she was bigger, stronger and much scarier than him. Needless to say it had been the worst sixth birthday in recorded history, and of course it had to be his. While the Seekers weren't as numerous as the triads, or as wanted by the Imperial Army, they were arguably the strongest. And their leader was Yang Chao. He heard the way the Bat Cave's council spoke his name. Not even Xiao Xue would say anything negative about him. Shan Qu's father had been in the council for as long as anyone could remember, and the fruit bat had of course filled him in on as much info on Yang Chao as his dad had let slip.
"He killed his dad".
"Yang Chao can kill in one touch."
"He's trying to summon demons".
While some of the things he had heard were utterly ridiculous, Saras knew better than to act above his level. Next to the Seekers the Bat Cave was small fry, or even less than that. He would judge the hare according to what he saw.
He walked slowly up to the manor, where two guards were stationed, apparently unarmed, so as not to attract attention, but Saras could see the knives bulging in their pockets. The kit unrolled the scroll and handed it to one of them, before putting his paws in his pockets, and hoping that he would walk out in one piece. Shan Qu was the only person who knew he was here, it would be all too easy for Yang Chao to make him dissapear.
The guard nodded, and they pushed open the door, Saras gulped and stepped past the threshold, with an audible gulp. There was no going back now. The first thing he saw was Yang Chao. Slightly shorter and stockier than most hares. His fur was pure white, and he wore an excited grin on his face, one that made Saras' heart leap a foot into the air. He wore a pair of loose black pants and a plain black vest along with a bright red kerchief. His eyes were cold and dark and put Saras in mind of mud. He tried to stutter a greeting, but nothing came out.
"I-I-I-I-I-I-I"- His shameful mumbling was cut short by the guard's laughter.
"He's shitting himself over a portrait".
"Oh my god, what a joker".
Saras turned to scowl at them. "And where exactly am I supposed to go"?
"With me." He turned to look at the real Yang Chao. Gulping once again, he stepped forwards.
"H-hi". It was the most stupid thing he had ever said, he would have groaned, but figured it would only make things worse. Who said 'hi' to someone who could kill you with one touch. He can't do that.
How would you know ? Yang Chao tittered eerily. "You two, take our guest to the dining hall. I'll be there in a moment."
The Dining hall was just as egotistic as the rest of the manor. Portraits, paintings, statues, everywhere he turned his head Yang Chao was there. It was an extremely effective creep the shit out of your enemies move. But Saras also felt that somehow Yang Chao was insecure, after all why else would his face be everywhere, unless he was narcissistic of course.
The table was plain old wood, polished so much that Saras could vaguely see his reflection on it's surface. That was also psychologically frightening. It made Saras feel small, and unsure of his own self. A soup bowl was placed in front of him, full to the brim and steaming, with a pair of bright red chopsticks with golden hanzi etched across it. The room was empty, save for himself. It was somewhat rude to eat without waiting for your host to arrive, but he hadn't eaten much that day, and the soup looked more appetizing than the one he had struggled to make that morning. Picking up the chopsticks he began chewing on a piece of tofu.
He heard a chuckle from behind him, the hare stood there, so full of confidence, so sure of himself. Saras gulped, both to get the tofu down and to get rid of his fear.
"As you already know, my name is Yang Chao. I presume one so closely affiliated with the Bat Cave would have heard of me".
"Yeah, I've heard of y-you", he gulped again, though this time he had no tofu to swallow.
"But you on the other hand, are what I like to call, an enigma ? Think fast"! He threw a knife at the kit, who managed to catch it in between his paws, he winced at the sudden pain.
"Nice reflexes." Yang Chao strolled around the table, turned and sat so that he was facing the young fox. "What are you ? A demon ? No, too young. Do you have a Lonesome Gift"?
"A what"? Is this 'gift' what the hare wanted ?
"I'll take that as a no. Hmm, how do you shapeshift"?
"I'm a Jit Kun".
"Oh, that explains it then. Now for my other questions. Why did you attack Tin Zu"?
Oh, that's why he's involved. "Look, I-I didn't want to, but he made me".
"So under threat of torture, you threatened to destroy my thug"? Saras gulped as Yang Chao got up once again, and began edging towards him. Then his voice became somewhat less dangerous. "How's the soup ? Too hot, too cold ? Perfect"?
Saras took another bite. "A bit, cold"?
Yang Chao turned on him with a murderous look. "Chef ! Explain yourself"!
Right, his life depended on what he said next. "Well, er- I didn't mean to." A duck came waddling in, looking like he was going to piss himself. "It's just when the gibbon came he forced it out of me".The hare reached out to touch the avian and caught him by the sleeve,suddenly the bird began choking up. I'm sorry I uh-" The waterfowl's eyes rolled up, and then he collapsed. Saras' eyes widened, and he found himself frozen in fear, hos words stuck in his throat and were forgotten. The fox felt his heart knock against his ribs, he was sure the hare could hear it beating away, what with his large ears and all. Yang Chao turned back to the kit, muttering about how he would need a new chef. Saras gulped, he would have left the hall, then and there, but the entrance expanded and in strolled Tin Zu. The gorilla had been huge sitting down. Now that he was standing, the ape was the size of a gorilla and a half. Saras gulped.
"Oh good, you're both here now. My final judgement is this. Tin Zu, you no longer owe me anything, but the vodka barrels are mine." He turned to Saras. "You're not getting payed anything, and you now owe me one hundred and fifty yuan. I think that's fair considering all the damage you've done. Both to him, and to me. Do I make myself clear"?
Tin Zu looked more smug than anything anyone had ever seen. Saras felt so much anger from the injustice of it all, but after having seen the servant's fate, he decided not to argue.
"I'll take that as a yes. Now the pair of you can scram, I've got some things I have to take care of".
Saras would have fought, but fear checked his anger, and he was forced to accept his fate. He left, muttering curses, only to find Yang Chao staring into his face. He screamed and leapt a foot in the air, before realizing a statue had just scared the life out of him. He could hear Tin Zu laughing and Yang Chao chuckling behind him, but kept some dignity and walked off.
He left, trying to formulate a plan. There was no way, whatsoever he was going to pay that son of a bitch. But, how was he supposed to get away with it ?