He took a step towards the approaching trio. And promptly fell on his face, having tripped on his own cloak. He got up, and dusted himself, before searching out the Masters Council, who had somehow ended up behind him. He grabbed a wanted poster with Tin Zu's face on it, which just so happened to be next to his paw. Hopefully it would help with his explanation.
"Hey"! Saras called out to the trio. The masters turned to see the fox now scampering towards them. Saras stopped in his tracks when they started staring. His jaw suddenly became slack and his throat made no noise. Their action figures really did not do them justice. "Uh, I uh, I." He held up the wanted poster and tried to explain by poking a paw at it...but he held it on the wrong side, so all the Masters Council saw was an empty sheet.
"Oh I get it", Ox said.
"You do"? Saras said, his surprise overcoming his awe and inability to form words.
Ox grabbed the sheet from him. "Allow me." The bovine lifted the parchment and signed it, with a quill handed to him by Rhino and an ink jar handed to him by Croc. Saras stared at the smug look on Tin Zu's face that was just visible on the parchment as the masters all took it in turn to sign it, before returning it to him.
"There ya go son", Rhino said, patting him on the head, before the three masters turned and walked off.
Saras was left blinking. He would have scrunched up the paper but decided it was better not to throw away the Masters Council's autographs. Okay, time to go back to scheming.
"Fans these days. You can't even go out on a regular patrol without a hundred of them swarming on you". Croc was saying as the Masters Council made their way back to the Tower of Sacred Flame through the now deserted night time streets.
"Yeah, no kidding. I think I wasted a whole jar of ink signing my name." Ox agreed, rubbing an aching back, that had been pounced upon by a swarm of bunny children.
"Guys, what did you expect ? The Winter Feast is coming up, people are flocking to Gongmen. Naturally some of them are going to be fans". Rhino explained, ever the patient one.
"Yeah, that doesn't mean that they have to attempt to pull off every fur on your tail." Ox retorted.
"Or keep your teeth as a souvenir." Croc added.
"Different people have different understandings of personal space". The rhino argued feebly. His comrades both gave him a look. "Okay, okay, fine. So some fans are weird. It's not like we shouldn't be used to this by now."
Their conversation was brought to an end by a loud, high-pitched cry. "Oi, ya bloody mugs"!
The trio turned around to look at a bat, holding a leash around a baby gorilla. One that had recently gone missing from the Tower of Sacred Flames.
Saras watched from afar, and couldn't help but facepalm. He had specifically told Shan Qu to not use that accent.
"Ya wanna piece of me ?! Well the only piece ya wankers are gonna get is my willy up ya bums".
The cringe Saras felt made his fur tingle and his stomach churn.
The masters stared at one another. "Kid, hand over the baby", Croc spoke reasonably. But of course that wasn't part of the plan.
"Don't fucking tell me what to do. Who do ya think ya are ? Ya skinny little lizard."
"Hey"! Ox shouted, defending his friend from further insult.
"And who are ya anyways ? Ya can't even get out the bed in the bed in the morning without fucking falling on ya fat ass." Shan Qu replied, now turning on the bovine.
"Say that one more time"! Ox dared.
"Ox, calm down. He's a minor." Rhino tried to pacify him.
"Go ahead and suck me, ya bloody pussy"!
"He's a dead minor"! Ox attempted to charge the bat, but Rhino grabbed him by the elbow and held him back. Rhino, however, did not have enough limbs to stop Croc from dashing towards the fruit bat and whacking him across the chest with a powerful swipe of his tail, which sent the small mammal flying. Shan Qu, however, was stubborn enough to not let go of the leash, which pulled Tin Zu Junior with him, and right into Croc's legs, knocking over the reptile.
Shan Qu rose from the ground. The blow had hurt a lot. But he knew better than to show it. "And finally you. Ya great big ugly gorilla of a rhino. Fucking carving shit into ya own horn. No wonder ya dad don't like ya".
The bat had struck a nerve. And had potentially bitten off more than he could chew. Rhino let Ox charge towards Shan Qu, who turned tails and ran as fast as his little feet could carry him. He would have flown, but that would have made holding onto Tin Zu Junior nigh impossible. In truth Ox would have caught up to him pretty quickly, if not for the baby gorilla. Tin Zu's son had enjoyed the feeling of ploughing into Croc's feet, and running around was what kids did best. So it was only natural that after watching two mammals begin to move their feet, the youngster would mimic their actions. And improve upon them. Gorillas as a species might not seem fast, but in fact are pretty speedy. They do weigh a lot, but a toddler like Tin Zu Junior, lacked this deficiency, and outrunning Shan Qu proved to not be incredibly difficult. Outrunning the Master's Council, however, was a challenge. And all little kids loved a good old challenge.
Saras watched as the three burly animals, who were all fast in their own right, raced after one little bat being dragged by an over-excited baby gorilla, who thought this was all some sort of fun game. The fox dragged his paw over his face and muzzle. Well, things could have gone worse. At least they were moving.
Saras couldn't believe his luck. Somehow Tin Zu Junior had against all odds manage to outrun the Masters Council, but he had brought them right back to Tin Zu's new base. Evidently the baby gorilla had been taught how to find his way back home. Saras would have pitied Tin Zu more, but as far as he was concerned the ape deserved it. Shan Qu had been knocked out due to a collision with several objects. Tin Zu Junior had fallen asleep, tired from lack of energy and the cold. Croc was looking after the pair of them, while Ox and Rhino were busy storming the house. Saras himself was watching this from a safe distance away, sitting cross-legged under a tree, who's branches slumped from the weight of the snow, much like they had when he had fought Danzaburo, only this time Saras was pretty sure the snow had tripled in size.
Any second now Tin Zu would come out the building, ready for Gongmen's Jail. Any second. Saras impatiently tapped the snow with his Talon Claw. The gorilla really should have been arrested by now.
"Waiting sucks, don't it"? He heard a voice behind him.
"Yeah", he replied absentmindedly. Then he spun around, his eyes widening as a snowy white hare leapt onto him. The force of the impact pushed Saras onto his back, Yang Chao dropped a kick onto the vulpine's unprotected nose, before getting off the fox.
"Dear Kanbujian. There is a reason I am good at my job. And it is because I do not allow people to bring down any part of my organization. One piece less in a puzzle leaves a big gap."
Saras was lifted above the ground by the strong, sure hands of Tin Zu. The vulpine gulped, his nose bloody, his heart pounding. Yang Chao punched him right across the muzzle.
"However, you aren't a piece in the puzzle. Getting rid of you won't leave a gap in anyone's puzzle." Yang Chao slammed his fist right into Saras' left eye.
Tin Zu tightened his grip around Saras, squeezing the air out of him. Yang Chao punched him again, this time in the belly. The wind was knocked out of Saras, and Yang Chao ended with a powerful roundhouse kick that sent Saras flying from Tin Zu's grip and into the air. The hare jumped up after him, kicked him in the gut, before slamming both his feet down onto his head, sending him crashing back down into the snow. The hare landed next to him. Saras tried to lift himself up, his left eye lid twitched and his right eye found themselves staring into Yang Chao's far more sinister pair.
"This is why little fish stay in the pond. I'll let you rethink your life for about five minutes...or however long it takes for Fenghuang to kill you. I'd end you myself, but I have a schedule. See you, well never again anyways." Yang Chao turned around and left Saras lying in the snow, the cold threatening to overtake him. Tin Zu joined the hare and the pair of them walked away. Saras let his face lie in the soft snow.
Then he remembered what Yang Chao had said about his life span, and turned around to see an owl dive-bombing him. His eyes widened, then narrowed. He was not going to get bullied by Tin Zu and his second rate thugs. Saras waited for the last second to teleport, allowing Fenghuang to crash into the snow, talons first.
Saras appeared behind her and drew one of his long daggers. For once he had come prepared. He took a step forwards, but the crunch of the snow revealed his position to the owl. Fenghuang turned around and threw three knives from her wing. Saras deflected two, and ducked under the third. He looked back up to see another knife coming his way. He put up his dagger again, which blocked the final knife mid air, and allowed the last one to fall onto the snow. He looked up, only to see Fenghuang's metal talons flying towards his face. He had no time to raise the blade as it came closer. Saras ducked, but found his throat in the hold of the owl's other talon. Fenghuang threw the kit down onto his back, and threw another knife out from her wing. The blade missed by an inch only because Saras twisted his head in the last second. Saras teleported in a puff of green. Fenghuang turned and threw a knife behind her, expecting it to land in the shapeshifter. It sailed through the air, but struck no shapeshifter. Her large eyes narrowed, as she turned in a circle. He was nowhere to be seen.
Of course, she had forgotten to look up.
A hummingbird darted at her head, slamming into it with the speed of an arrow, before flying away and darting back to crash into her chest. Saras continued to pelt her in his small form from all angles. She kept on turning around helplessly, incapable of moving at the same speeds as the bird. He hit her in the leg, both wings, the back twice and was about to fly into her head again when Fenghuang opened her wings and blew a strong gust of wind, which stopped the small bird mid-swoop, and allowed Fenghuang to slam a wing against his side. Saras crashed into a heap of snow. Fenghuang watched as the crater he had made suddenly flashed green. A mouse was now standing on the owl's shoulder.
"What the"- His long, bright-pink, whip-like tail slammed into her face. The owl tried to slap him away, but only ended up hitting herself, Saras promptly whipped her across the back. The third time he tried to whip her she managed to catch him in her wings. "Gotcha"!
"No you don't". Saras promptly bit into her feathers with his large buck-teeth. Fenghuang let go of him, and sent him flying backwards, only for him to transform into an armadillo, and land safely, skidding across the snow with his Talon Claws.
"You, can't beat me. You're a child. This is"-
Saras curled up into a ball and rolled full speed towards her, slamming into her gut like a cannon. The attack knocked the wind out of her and sent her sprawling onto her back, under the same tree Saras had started at. "You talk too much".
"Why you insolent little"- she sent three knives flying his way. Saras shifted into a fox, and ducked under one, sidestepped the other, and leapt over the third. She flicked her wing once more, expecting to see more of her blades flying to meet him, only to notice that she was all out. "What the"-
"Looking for these"? Saras held up two strings, lined on which were rows and rows of feather-shaped throwing knives.
"How did you"- Her eyes widened as Saras dropped both strings, and picked up a small ball of snow.
"It was simple. While you were trying to strangle me I noticed how you held your knives on a string across your wings. While you were busy getting pelted I was cutting all the ropes, via my beak. When you finally managed to send me into the snow, I already had two of your ropes sliced and all your knives were mine for the taking. A bit of distraction later and I managed to get you a safe distance away for you to realize your mistake, without trying to kill me". He held up a perfectly round snowball.
Fenghuang got to her feet. "So you got lucky. I have killed people without those knives you know. Time to add to the list".
"I don't think so". Saras hurled the snowball with all his strength, Fenghuang ducked dutifully.
"Missed",she said smugly, only for a ton of snow to come crashing down on her, and bury her in white.
"Like I said. I don't think so." Saras turned away from her. Yang Chao's tracks had faded clean away. But Tin Zu, no the gorilla's footprints were about as clear as the snow they were in. Saras' eyes narrowed. He really couldn't care less at this point. The gorilla was going down, as for Yang Chao, well all he had to do was not get touched.
Saras teleported forwards, to where the next line of footprints were. Then teleported forwards again, then a third time. Soon all that could be seen was a line of footprints and a regular puff of green.
Fenghuang dug herself out of the snow a short while later. Well she had dug her head out anyways, the rest of her body was compressed under all the weight the snow possessed, but at least she could breathe.
"Well, well, well. Fenghuang. Tin Zu's second in command. Looks like good old mother nature managed to catch up to you". Ox's voice broke into a laugh. "Honestly though, you practically arrested yourself. Hey, Croc, Rhino, look what I found here ! Turns out this wasn't a wild goose chase !"
Fenghuang's eyes widened as the Masters Council walked over, Rhino cradling the sleeping Tin Zu Junior and Croc holding a young bat who's eyes were rolling and spoke random words strung together.
The tracks were as clear as day to one as skilled as Danzaburo Danaki. There were three people traveling towards the cliffs. One possessed feet as big as the tanuki himself, the shapeshifter recognized this as the footprints of a gorilla. The next was smaller, this one was harder to tell, snow having already covered some of the tracks. Joining them every few feet were another pair of footprints, this one more noticeable than the others. The tracks didn't look like they belonged to any species, but were made of something Danzaburo had become somewhat familiar with. Talon Claws.
The tanuki walked at a standard pace. He had a purpose. But for once he wasn't sure whether he could do it.