Tin Zu was enjoying himself for the first time in a long time. He hadn't had so much luck in a long time. He had been worried that Saras would snake on him and Yang Chao would be beating the piss out of him. He couldn't help feeling a bit of sympathy for the fox, who was now pinned under Yang Chao's thumb, or whatever rabbits had in place of thumbs. All Saras had done was sell vodka to him. Then Tin Zu had gone and blamed the kit for attacking the gorilla's gang. Tin Zu had no idea what Yang Chao had told the fox over diner, or vice versa, but thankfully, somehow the fox had managed to twist the blame towards himself. Too stupid for this kind of life. That seemed to describe the fox, somewhat accurately.
There was a knock on the door, and Fenghuang entered, looking like someone had just pulled off all her tail feathers.
"Fenghaung, you look...pissed off".
"I think that's a very accurate description, sir."
"What is it"? The big gorilla sighed, and to think he had been happy a few sentences before.
"It's"- she looked around the room, before closing the door tightly. "The shapeshifter." She whispered.
"Don't be ridiculous. He's of no danger now, he's turned the knife on himself and he's the one that now owes Yang Chao, not me. As far as I'm concerned all this business with the hare is done and dusted.
"Not the vodka seller, the other shapeshifter".
"There's two of them"?
Fenghuang sighed. "I have received intelligence that an elite Japanese spy has come to Gongmen City. He is meant to be their best. The Spy of a Thousand Scents, or something."
"If he's that smelly wouldn't that make him incredibly easy to track down"? Tin Zu asked sarcastically, extremely bored by his subordinate's exaggeration of something completely and utterly unimportant. "Honestly Fenghaung, I don't know where you get your gossip, and I don't want to know. As far as you are concerned we need not worry about another shapeshifter ever again."
"But boss, this could be huge. Why would someone be spying on Gongmen, nothing interesting ever happens here."
"Except for a large portion of China's trade", was Tin Zu's reply.
"Sir ! I think he's spying on Yang Chao"!
Tin Zu began laughing. "Fenghaung, relax. Yang Chao can look after himself well enough, and so can I ! Now forget all this spy stuff and go check on the vodka or something"!
"Sir"-
"That's an order"!
The owl relented, bowed out and turned away.
"What the hell is sushi"? Was the first question Saras asked after Danzaburo had placed their order at a Japanese restaurant. The look on Danzaburo's face seemed to be of genuine confusion.
"You have never tried sushi before"? The tanuki gasped, so loudly that a few heads ( with faces of similar befuddlement ) turned to stare.
"I don't know what it is", Saras elaborated, going pink from the embarrassment. Why am I embarrassed ? It's not like sushi's the meaning of life.
However the look Danzaburo was gave him during the tanuki's explanation of sushi said the exact opposite. "Sushi, is the essence of Japanese cuisine. It's like your noodles. If you got to a house in China you will see that everyone has a different way of cooking noodles, the same goes for sushi. Sushi is"-
Saras was saved from the long, boring monologue by the waiter's timely arrival, with two plates pilled with heaps and heaps of sliced rolls of-
"It looks like rice to me".
"Jigoku ni iku"! One customer yelled.
"Hajiwoshire"! The waiter exclaimed, anger rising visibly through his features.
"Heiwa"! Danzaburo shouted over the crowd of voices. "The boy is young. He has not tried it yet. Let him breathe and maybe he will learn."
Saras blinked. He had only understood Danzaburo's last three sentences. As confused as a crow in a cornfield, Saras waited until the muttering heads turned back to their own meals. "Right. Translation, please".
"You don't want to know. Just eat the sushi". Danzaburo said simply.
Saras took one mouthful and soon learned that he would never again in his entire life for as long as he lived try sushi. It was like filth, to him at least. It was all slimy and sticky and sour and bitter and vinegar-ey. He spat it out. "This is"- Every face in the restaurant turned on him. "So good tasting, it's amazing", forcing himself to not get mauled by a room full of sushi lovers Saras took two and plopped them in his mouth. He put up the universal 'claws up of appreciation' as he struggled to look like he was enjoying the garbage he had forced himself to eat. He swallowed, and forced himself to grin.
Danzaburo chuckled. The tanuki picked up a sushi and put it in his mouth only to spit it back out."This is garbage." The tanuki stood up and glared at the waiter. " You kuso, you have no right to cook sushi. You butchered the spirit of Japanese cuisine"! Genuinely angry the tanuki threw the pile of sushi onto the ground and grabbed Saras by the wrist. "We're leaving"!
Two minutes later, Danzaburo had calmed down somewhat. "When we go to Japan, I will take you to real sushi. I promise you that, Saras san".
Saras blinked. Then something clicked somewhere in his brain. "When exactly, are we going to Japan"? He asked innocently. "Because you didn't mention that before"!
"Uh", Danzaburo almost face palmed. He was very not on point today. Or rather this entire mission.
"I get it now. You're trying to kidnap me"! The look on the tanuki's face told Saras that he was wrong. "Okay, that might have been, a bit stupid."
Danzaburo sighed. Honesty was meant to be the best policy, right ? "Saras san, I'm meant to bring you to the Daimyo. He believes your abilities may be... useful to him."
Something else in his brain clicked into place. "The Daimyo ! You mean the guy who wiped out your entire clan ! You're working for him !" Saras blinked several times.
Danzaburo slapped him, hard. It hurt, and left a stinging sensation on his muzzle. "It's not like I have a choice"! The tanuki snapped back, hoarsely.
"I'm not going to work for a murderer." Saras said,blinking away tears, genuinely hurt ( not because of the slap, but rather because he had been warming up to the tanuki up until then, only to realize that Danzaburo was a traitor to his own kind). The kit slowly turned and walked away.
Danzaburo was left standing there, blinking confusion away. Saras wasn't coming with him. He had been rejected. He had failed. He felt an invisible weight press against his chest. And to think he had been warming up to the kit. The tanuki turned slowly and walked away in the opposite direction.