I don't own Petshop of Horrors.

Chapter 2 of Angel-Puss

T-Chan made his way around the cabins. It took longer to get to the front of the boat, but it was quieter. It gave him a chance to think. Now that Leon was back, although in a different form, would D automatically feel better? He hoped that would be the case. He scowled. He also hoped that the bone-headed former detective had gotten less insensitive since they last saw him. The totetsu swore he'd eat that dumbass if he did something stupid and hurt the Count. After all, when the Count let Leon go, he knew he'd suffer an eternity without his 'Pet' human. That stupid blonde should've only suffered a few weeks, a few months at most, before letting go. After all, humans were so easily changeable.

This thought stopped the totetsu dead in his tracks.

If humans were so changeable, why had Leon ended up here? D could not have called or summoned him; he could only give animals the choice. Life outside, or life inside? Some animals were too proud or too scared to give up their "freedom".

T-Chan knew this from experience. After all, he had been the same way before he was caught by the police trying to eat Count D. He was scared at first to go to the petshop, even after the Kami's visit to the jail. However, freedom wasn't much when you're strapped in a straight-jacket for at least 23 hours per day. So he had cast the human shell aside and slunk into the petshop, tail between his legs, and not expecting to be forgiven without a serious reprimand. However, Count D had been truthful; there were no hard feelings and the food did come right to him. And, as a bonus, D had a freshly killed human that he presented T-Chan with. It was some kid, and T-Chan didn't even bother to ask who it might have been. This had been quite a treat for the half starved totetsu.

T-Chan remembered he wasn't moving, and began to scamper on his way again.

When T-Chan first came to the petshop, he felt… welcome. Everyone had done their best to help him fit in, and after swallowing his pride, he took to it like a duck to water.

And now it was his turn to help a new arrival, and D, all in one go.

After walking the rest of the way to the front of the boat, thinking of what else could be done, he finally reached the distracted Kami. His nose was assaulted by a sharp, metallic smell, and he blinked in surprise. His eyes quickly narrowed as he focused on the source of the smell. A small pool of silvery-red liquid that was Kami blood slowly grew as more blood slowly dripped down the ship's wheel from D's unattended hand.

T-Chan suppressed a snarl. If that human had suffered Hell on Earth to get here, he didn't think it would amount to half of what D had suffered because of that human. Really, T-Chan didn't think the bone-head deserved D as a friend or… otherwise. T-Chan knew that there was a significant chance of their 'acquaintance' traveling into the 'otherwise' category. He hoped it would be 'master and pet', and not-

T-Chan shuddered.

"Hey Count!" The Count looked over his shoulder and smiled at the totetsu.

"The new arrival is here?"

"Yeah." T-Chan gave a vague wave to D's hand. "I think you should see to your hand first off, though."

D glanced with some surprise at his hand. "Oh dear." With his good hand, he pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed at the blood on his hand. "I'll do that." He began to walk off, then stopped and looked back. "T-Chan, would you..?"

T-Chan nodded. "Yeah, I'll clean up here."

D gave a small, knowing smile, (the first T-Chan had seen in a long time,) and walked off to his chambers. T-Chan looked down at the pool of blood and licked his lips. Kami blood was quite a treat, and it was sweeter than any chocolate.

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As D walked out of his room, his nearly healed hand neatly bandaged, he began a little guessing game. The newcomer…

Was he a fish?

A reptile?

Perhaps he was a bird! Tikari could use another friend. D smiled fondly. Or… perhaps it was not a he. She could be a mermaid, or- we'll leave the Count to his guessing game for a moment to explain. It made life in the petshop so much more interesting for him to play a little guessing game every time he had a new arrival. In addition, it testedhisknowledge of all existinganimals, which was quite vast.Along his way to visit this particular arrival, animals stopped and dropped him hints to humor his game. They always seemed to know exactly which clues had already been used, for none were repeated.

"It's a he!"

"He's very handsome."

"I heard from one of the parakeets that he's very inquisitive."

"He's sleeping now, but he should wake up soon."

"Some of the other pets say he looks familiar."

'Not very much to work with so far,' D mulled, and as if the animals could sense this thought, the clues began to change.

"The petshop put him in Anya and Arianna's room!"

Ah, the savannah then. That narrowed it down.

"He's got beautiful fur!"

Probably not a bird or reptile then.

"There's a gorgeous pair of white wings on his back!"

… scratch not being a bird.

Perhaps a griffin?

"He's got four sturdy big paws."

Nope, not a griffin.

Besides, now that he thought about it, griffins preferred aerie. Maybe he was an Indian spirit creature like Totem.

"He has white skin and gold fur."

Or, maybe not.

"He has these huge white pointy teeth!"

A carnivore. Hmmm, he only knew about one main carnivore that could live on the savannah that could fit a few of those descriptions. Eagerly, he asked the next passing animal, "Is he a sphinx?"

The animal he had asked was a young skunk. He looked about thirteen years old, and had black and white stripes running up and down his waist-long hair. He had sharp features and a sly look, and a mysterious glint appeared in his eyes as he smiled a fanged smile and shook his head.

"Sorry Count D, 'e's a lil' rarer 'n that."

The count frowned a moment, then an almost awed look passed over his face.

"He's not… a Golden Lion?"

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"Hey… Hey, wake up! C'mon, or I'll let sis wake you…"

Leon groaned and rolled onto his other side, away from the voice. It sighed. "I did warn you." Sounds of footsteps going away. Leon smiled and snuggled into his little hollow. It was nice here. Not like all the cities he had been to. It wasn't loud or polluted or crazy… well, maybe it was a little crazy, but that's what you get when you deal with D. But besides all that, it was all peace, quiet, and gentle sereni-

"YO! LION BOY! MOVE YER HAUNCHES!"

Leon started and snapped up, successfully bumping his head on tree roots at least twice before sitting up and staring stupidly at the person who woke him.

'What the-' was his first thought as he took a good look at the girl in front of him.

She had bristling sandy hair that blew around in the breeze. It was just long enough to tell him that she was a girl. Her golden eyes gleamed dangerously. She had a wild, fierce look about her, something untamed and ancient…

Then Leon blinked and realized that the girl looked only about five years old.

The girl grinned, and Leon noted her very long canines. "About time! So, you're our new roommate, eh?" She leaned forward and sniffed. "You smell familiar…"

"You don't remember him?" another almost identical voice asked. Leon looked at the other girl nearby. She looked exactly the same, except for the fact that her hair came down to her waist.

Leon felt like he was watching a ping-pong match as the two girls talked quickly.

"Should I remember?"

"I would hope so. Don't you remember how we got here?"

" 'course I do! D brought us here when we stowed away in his suitcase!"

"No, I mean why we were in that suitcase stowing away in the first place."

"Oh, you mean… about Papa."

"Yes, Papa."

"Well, what about him? Not to be disrespectful, but I don't see what he has to do with-" Suddenly, the short-haired twin's eyes widened. "Wait, he's not…"

The long-haired twin nodded, and they both turned to stare at Leon; one solemnly, the other in utter surprise.

Leon shuffled nervously, until he remembered that they were the five year olds, not him. He cleared his throat. "I'm not what?" he asked. The long-haired twin shot a warning glance to the other, but the short-haired twin was already glaring daggers at Leon.

"You're the idiot that shot an animal in the presence of a Kami, and not just any animal, but the one that the honorable Count was mourning, AND our FATHER!" She took a step forward, looking quite menacing for a kid, with her eyes and sharp-looking teeth. A set of claws shot from her nails and glinted dangerously.

"I shot…?" Leon didn't recall shooting any of D's animals… but then again…

"What was your Papa's name?" he asked the calmer of the twins, who was trying to pacify her sister. She turned to him.

"Papa's name was Kenshiko."

He knew that name, somewhere in that thick skull of his, he knew it was floating around-

Click.

"Are you two saber-tooth tigers?" he asked. The twins stared at him.

"You can't see us?" the calm one asked. When Leon looked confused, she clarified. "Our true form. I suppose you wouldn't yet, seeing as you just arrived here, and you were a human too. Most humans can only see one or the other, but once you've been here awhile, you'll be able to see both." She smiled kindly. "And yes, we are sabers."

Leon stared at the two girls, trying to picture the two cubs D had held in that bizarre dream at the museum. "What're your names?"

"I'm Anya, and this is Arianna," the calm girl replied. The other one was still staring at Leon as though she'd like nothing better than to rip his throat out, but her claws had retracted. Good sign.

"Um…" he couldn't think of what to say. "I shot your dad?" Yeah, that was really comforting. Brilliant, Orcot.

Arianna looked like she was about to snap at him, when suddenly, her ears perked up. So did Anya's and Leon was going to question them, when he felt a bristling on the back of his neck. He began to feel excited, and looked around to see what could be causing this.

"The Count is coming."

Leon looked at the twins, who were staring into the distance. Anya continued. "He's probably coming to meet you. Come Arianna, we'll talk to him later."

Arianna gave Leon a glare that said, 'You're not off the hook yet,' then dropped to all fours and she and her sister ran off.

And for just a second, Leon saw two saber-tooth tigers racing away, beautiful, wild and golden against the rising sun.

He turned, and wasn't surprised to see that a large door had materialized behind the tree. He sat back, hands behind his head, and waited.

It was time to meet D.

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A Golden Lion! D could barely contain his excitement as he scurried down the hallways as fast as was dignified. Something this rare hadn't come to the shop since the Kirrin's arrival!

A Golden Lion. Such a rare species, popping up for no reason at all throughout history. They were born from brave, courageous spirits that had died without fulfilling their self-proclaimed purpose. Kind of a fallen warrior, if you will. Supposedly, to their enemies, they were fierce as the entirety of nature's wrath unleashed, but to their friends, they were as docile as a kitten.

And then there were the things that separated the Golden Lions from each other. When they were reborn as Golden Lions, they supposedly gained one physical alternate from another animal off of being a lion that would aid them in fulfilling their purpose. In some cases, he had heard that the alternate could change if the Lion changed its goal.

Of course, even as old as D was, he had never seen a Golden Lion. All he knew about them had come from his Grandfather. And now, the petshop was home to one! D barely refrained from skipping to remind himself that the Golden Lion would have to leave eventually in order to complete his purpose. With this thought, he approached the door to the savannah. Smiling truthfully with a face reserved only for his pets, he pushed open the door, walked in, and bowed to the golden creature.

"I am Count D, and I humbly welcome you to my petshop," here he paused to look up at the creature, "Golden… Leon!"

"Yo, Count," Leon replied, waving idly and not bothering to hide the huge grin on his face as he watched rare surprise cross the Count's face. "How've ya been?"

"Wha- you, but how-?" the Count spluttered, trying to form a coherent thought that wasn't 'Oh my God, it's Leon!'

Said creature was grinning widely enough to split his face. Speechlessness was not becoming on D, but it was funny. "Hey D, you gonna say anything?"

D opened and closed his mouth a couple of times like a fish out of water, then closed it and adopted a bemused look. After a moment of studying Leon, he gave his mysterious, eyes half-closed smile.

"I do believe we have some catching up to do. Would you like some tea?"

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

I am SOOOO sorry for the length of time between updates! Between problems in school, a lack of communication from some of my editing friends, and a lack of time, I haven't been able to work much on this. I am terribly sorry, but I am hoping that now its summer, I'll be updating more regularly. Again, I'm terribly sorry!

I'll answer the reviews you so kindly gave me now.

Hedi Dracona: Very close, but not quite. A lot of people guessed a griffin though.

Yami no Kaze: Again, sorry about update time. And no, he's not a griffin.

Shadewanderer: And yet, I have left you in even more suspense about how he'll react. Answers: A and B. My chapter was fun? Good! After all, the enjoyment of the reader is the most important thing! Thank you!

Pirosan.hack: It's alright. Thanks for the review!

Hekelachan: Thanks for the site. And as to your nitpick, I'll answer that shortly.

Yako: Yeah, Leon's a little more opened minded now. D's full reaction soon to come!

Bluephoenix17: I was in shock when I read your review. How ever did you guess? Congratulations! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

AnimeJo: Ah yes, the possibilities… giggles evilly And now you know what he is! Kind of… more information later!

Christy: Totem was a lot of fun to make… though I seem to find myself straying towards birds a little too much… maybe it's just me. So terribly sorry for making you wait, but now you know what Leon is!

Pass the Broccolini: Will do!

VampireGirlKyra: I love doing the descriptions myself. And Q-Chan being a she was my mistake… I'll explain that in a moment. Sorry again for the long update time!

Rayz: Just did!

Sue: I apologize again for my lateness. D's reaction will be… amusing, to say the least, I assure you.

Laia: Hmmm… I hadn't thought that far into the future yet… But I suppose at one point, he will have to be. That will be fun to write. And my writing is energetic? Thank you, you flatter me.

As for Q-Chan… it doesn't bother me, but it wasn't a typo. It was a little mistake on my part, which I will explain now.

CONCERNING Q-CHAN!

I have read all of the Petshop books currently published in America, and I do know that Q-Chan is the first Count D, our Count D's grandfather. However, I thought I'd take a glitch from the fourth book with the vampire and use it to my advantage. On the last page of that story, there is a female sitting on the couch above Leon, and a magnifying glass to show a bat-like creature. I thought it was Q-Chan. I didn't look at the bottom of the page and notice that Q-Chan is sitting plain as day on Count D's shoulder. However recently, I re-read the story in book eight I think about the twins, and Hon-Lon said that SHE was under a spell that SHE put on HERself, which only confused me more. So, for the rest of this story, Q-Chan will be my little piece of AU, as VampireGirlKyra suggested. She will be a girl, and she is not D's grandfather. She may not even play a large part, and this may not even matter. Sorry if I confused anyone.

In fact, I think I may have confused myself even more.

Goodnight all, and thank you for reading!