A/N 11/11/2016: Minor changes in Jenny's height and Judy's height is mentioned
White Plum
Mornings wasn't the best time for many school students, particularly those who are attending high school since the students have to get up at around six in the morning in order to get ready for school on time. While almost every student in the class can do that, there are a few who cannot due to busy schedules. One such student is Matt Wilde, who has been getting up at about 7:20 in the morning most of the days due to oversleeping and nightly assassinations. And with having to report some of the assassinations to Thrandeer in person, he was sometimes known for arriving to school during the middle of first period. This morning, however, was an entirely different story. He managed to get up about half an hour earlier than usual in order to report to Thrandeer to inform him about his nightly killings, all while managing to get to first period class on time.
Although he was able to get to class on time, that didn't mean he was a morning person. No, despite having gotten a cup of espresso at the local Snarlbucks Coffee on the way, he was still dead tired. Whether the caffeine didn't work on him, the product being a cheap-ass quality, or if the nightly assassinations were starting to get to him tenfold, he did not know. However, what he did know was he had to at least stay awake and do a decent job in his classes, hoping to avoid having homework for his classes right after school.
Three days have passed since the assassination of John Bellwether, and a lot of talk was happening within the town of Kawasabus, especially in some of the classes Matt was taking at Kawasabus High School. Rumors began to spread across town that the Battousai had killed the late founder and CEO of Bellwether Enterprises. Fortunately, for Matt, the only information the people know about the killing was done by the Battousai himself. As for the identity of who the assassin really was, nobody knew, and the fox intended to make sure no one ever found out that it was he who is the Battousai, the one who murdered John.
The day has been going rather quickly for most of the students in Kawasabus High School, including high school senior, Matt Wilde. As of right now, it was the second half of fourth period Advanced Algebra class, the fox sitting at the desk in the back left corner of the room. The shirt he wore was of a jet black color, depicting Trivium's Shogun album cover on the chest and upper abdominal region of his torso. Under the shirt, he wore a tight fitting long sleeve V-neck shirt, being a slightly brighter shade of black to help contrast his T-shirt a bit, the long sleeves pulled up to his athletically built forearms. His slim bootcut jeans were of a distressed blue color, the jeans being mostly dark while sanded at the front of his thighs down to the lower parts of his knee. A few holes can be seen on the left thigh, left knee, and right thigh portions of his pants. A tan, rectangular bandage can be seen on the fox's left cheek, which covered the scar he had unexpectedly acquired from John before he had died by his hand. And fortunately, the others only assumed he had gotten the injury in an accident of some sort, thank god. Lastly, his black open toe boots cover his feet, for the most part, albeit cleaned up enough to where the scent of blood can't be traced by mammals with a stronger sense of smell.
At this time, he was partially struggling to keep awake in class, his left hand-paw being used to support his heads. His eyelids were barely three quarters open and barely even focusing what the instructor was writing on the dry erase board. Though lacking proper eye focus for the time being, due to being tired, his strong hearing made up for it, thankfully. What his eyes were able to capture was the various numbers along with A and B values being computed on the board with the use of black and blue dry erase markers. His eyes soon shift towards the professor shortly after seeing him finish writing on the board.
The math teacher himself is a six foot four inch tall golden-yellow and white furred cheetah, with dark brown spots covering most of his body. His teal eyes make an interesting color scheme to go with the golden-yellow fur on his body. His attire consists of a short sleeved light gray work shirt, a pair of dark tan slacks, and black leather shoes. His pants and shirt fit almost tightly on his body, thanks to the math teacher bearing a very well muscular body, one that can rival a lightweight bodybuilder easily. And speaking of his muscles, many of the students were intimidated by the cheetah's hulking appearance, much to the point where his presence can break up even the fiercest of fist fights. Matt leans back against his chair and began to stretch his arms, shutting his eyes and letting a silent yawn out of his muzzle. Unknown to him, that managed to get the instructor's attention and makes the professor point his right index finger towards him.
"Thank you for volunteering, Matt", the math teacher spoke with a soft grin on his face, pointing his thumb towards the board where the problem was written. Matt's eyes widen with confusion upon hearing this, having only needing to stretch his own athletic arms. But right now, he wasn't in the mood for replying, so he stands up from his chair and walks up to the board, with the instructor grabbing a stepping stool for him to use. The teacher places the stepping stool in front of the board and allows the fox to quickly step up onto the top of the stool before grabbing a black marker.
The fox looks at the problem on the board, the problem being (X+2)(X-5)(X-3). He reads the problem carefully before pulling the cap of the marker off and begins working out the problem, taking his time to both look over the problem and ensure his writing was big enough for all students to read. The process ends up taking a few minutes to solve, thanks to him being thorough about solving his problems. But in the end, however, his answer ended up being X3-6X2-4X+30. Stepping off the stool as he did, the professor looks at the work the vulpine did and examines it carefully, nodding about a minute later after rechecking the work twice.
"Very good, Matt. A job well done", the teacher replied, with the fox taking a seat at his desk and stretching his arms again. Interestingly enough, the final bell rings and many of the students, Matt included, start gathering their belongings. "Alright students, remember the Autumn Fair is this weekend, and I hope to see you guys at the fair. If not, I'll see y'all on Monday!" the cheetah finished, many of the students starting to walk out of class. Matt uses this opportunity to re-secure his long katana on his backpack, the weapon fortunately being hidden under plenty of long blankets and his black hoodie. Once it was re-secured, the fox grabs his lunch box and starts walking out of the classroom, although slightly quickly to ensure the professor doesn't spot anything odd about the item.
He manages to get out of classroom without having being questioned about the long item he had attached to his backpack. Although he wanted to avoid getting seen from some of the teachers, and possibly the cops, he was getting rather hungry. And thankful to the fact he was a pretty good cook (courteous of Thrandeer teaching him a couple years prior when he was getting his own place), he only needed to go to the student lounging area to get his food heated up.
About five long minutes of walking around, having to take a few detours to avoid being questioned about the long 'objected' that he was carrying, he enters the student lounging area and walks towards the microwave. Fortunately, the microwave was within reach, since for the most part, the smaller mammals like rabbits, foxes, and rodents had typically used the lounging area to eat in order to avoid the larger mammals. Setting his box next to the microwave, the fox grabs the microwave safe, rectangular shaped container and removes the lid, placing the container in the microwave and heating it up for a good couple minutes. The container carried grilled chicken teriyaki and stir fried yakisoba noodles inside. Yet although he was able to smell the contents he was heating up, he catches another scent heading his direction. And coincidentally enough, if he remembered correctly from his former master, Hiko, he recognized the scent that was as strikingly common as the smell of blood.
"White plum?", Matt spoke softly to himself, taking a few more sniffs before turning towards his right. And the source of the white plum scent became clear, and who it was coming from.
The source of the pleasant scent has been coming from a female rabbit entering the student lounging area of the school, the rabbit being about two feet eight inches tall (not including the ears). Although shorter than the fox, he had to admit she was quite tall for her species. Her fur colors consist of a mixture of light brown and white fur, with hair bearing a mix of dark blonde and brown on top of her head. While most of her hair was tied back, her long, wavy bangs remained unbound and leaning towards the right side of her face to help give her hair an interesting, gorgeous look to it. Her articles of clothing consist of a dark red T-shirt, a pair of sanded blue skinny bootcut jeans, and a pair of black and white Chuck Taylor shoes. Her eyes were of a sapphire blue color, which shine beautifully in the right type of lighting. But one thing that made her stand out was not only her hourglass figure, but the fact that her breasts where a good DD-cup size, a very rare trait, from his understanding, for rabbits to have. And holy hell, he had to admit she looked pretty, no… beautiful! The female rabbit turns towards the fox and began to approach him, the vulpine being unaware of the microwave going off to signal his food had finished heating up.
"Excuse me, sir. Mind if I borrow the microwave", the female rabbit asked, a Newcastle based English accent apparent in her voice. That snapped the fox out of his trance before nodding.
"Oh! Right! Sure thing, ma'am", Matt replied with a soft, honest chuckle, quickly walking towards the microwave and opening the door with a press of a button.
"Thanks, lad", the English rabbit replied, the fox nodding towards her before grabbing his food with one hand-paw and his lunch box with the other.
With his lunch ready to eat, the fox walks towards one of the small sized leather couches and takes a seat on it, the sofa being suitable to fit foxes, otters, bunnies, and any other predator/prey species of a similar size. Placing the food and lunch bag onto the coffee table as he did, he sets his backpack down on the floor between the table and the couch. His hand-paws grab a pair of chop sticks he had brought with him from home. He opens the packet and snaps the attached chopsticks in two, thus allowing them to use them as eating utensils and began to eat his lunch. Yet after taking a bite of his food, he notices the same rabbit he met with moments before grabbing her own lunch and walking towards the student lounge exit. Before leaving, however, the rabbit turns to face the fox before waving at him.
"Take care, sir!" the rabbit replied, turning her attention towards the exit before walking out of the lounging area with her lunch. With the female gone, the fox continues to resume eating his lunch, albeit taking his time with his food. But not only did he take his time with his food, thoughts began to enter his mind regarding the bunny. Yet as they cross his mind, he hears his phone going off and grabs it from the phone case on his right side, noticing on the caller ID it was Iizuka calling him during school. He presses the answer button on the touch screen and places the phone on the right side of his face.
"Iizuka, I'm at school right now. What's up?" Matt asked calmly, yet bore a slightly annoyed tone due to him calling during school.
"I wouldn't be calling around this time if it was nothing important", Iizuka replied over the phone. "But it seems today is another story. I wanted to let you know our base of operations has temporarily been relocated to the Kawasabus Shrine Inn at the shopping district".
"Is there anything else I need to know?" The fox asked with a curious tone of voice, looking around the lounging area while eating his lunch.
"As of right now, there isn't anything else we need to tell you", Iizuka answered calmly over the other line. "But once I find out about something, I'll find you around town to let you know in person", he added. "Talk to ya soon", and with that, the tanuki hung up on the other line and nick places his phone back into the phone case on the right side of his body, a pair of chop sticks being used to help the fox consume his food once more. Whatever the assignment was, he will find out soon enough.
The Shopping District, four hours later
The outdoor shopping district is currently filled with large numbers of mammals ranging from various species, from the biggest of predators to the smallest of prey. Soft chatter can be heard amongst one another, which the volume was roughly a little lower than a massive number of students eating in a cafeteria. The clothing that the animals wore were of an interesting mix of Japanese and western cultures, ranging from the typical jeans and T-shirt, to the more traditional clothing like kimono shirts and hakama pants. But despite the differences with the articles of clothing, the entire district had one major similarity: business.
Walking along the pathway was none other than Matt Wilde himself, dressed in almost the exact clothing, with the exception of the Trivium shirt he wore earlier. Not only that, but the bandage that covered the scar on his left cheek had been removed as well, perhaps to let it air out. About an hour earlier, he had dropped off most of his belongings and removed the band shirt, since the weather, to him, was a bit warm for wearing two shirts. Since his long sleeved, tight fitting V-neck shirt was breathable, along with bearing a cooler feel to them, he decided to wear that shirt alone instead, despite his muscle definition being seen through the material. But before leaving home, he attached his sword on the left side of his body, the sheath being attached to his silver studded belt.
The fox's ears flickered to the sound of other people chatting with one another, whether it be about how pleasant the warm weather was, how they were gonna sell their produce in the rural outdoor markets, to even talking about personal matters as well. Continuing to walk along the path, passing by various mammals from a different number of species, he began looking around the various shops to see what they all carried, most of them being selling different types of food, a few clothing and homemade jewelry shops, even a weapons shop carrying nothing but swords and knives on the table. Before he could check out the weapons shop, however, his ears flicker to the sound of almost synchronized movements, and they were headed towards his direction. It wasn't long before the other mammals quickly hide within the safety of the outdoor shops or at least got out of the way.
Looking up as he did, he discovered the source of the sound and quickly enters one of the outdoor shops, hiding behind the curtains and looking towards the large group passing by. The large group consisted entirely of canines. While most of them were wolves, there were a couple foxes, German Shepherds, and even a couple of fox/wolf hybrids as well. Every canine in the group was wearing very identical clothing, which consists of a tight fitting, sky blue colored short sleeved shirt, with the shirts being tucked into their cool gray hakama pants. Each member had a sheathed katana attached to the left sides of their body, which were held by their cloth belts. Black, leather fingerless gloves covered their hand-paws, with similarly colored samurai gauntlets covering their forearms and the back of their hand-paws. Lastly, all of the members wore open toe combat boots on them, with colors ranging between black and brown.
Matt continues to examine the mysterious group for a moment before a sense of familiarity began to settle in his mind. He recognized these warriors as the Neo-Shinsengumi, which the group was a modern day revival of the original Shinsengumi special police force from Kyoto roughly a hundred fifty years ago. While many of them looked like common soldiers, an arctic wolf in the middle stood out from the rest of them. He noticed the wolf's long, raven black hair was tied back with a similarly colored ponytail, with only four forelock bangs that were sticking out similar to cockroach antennae. The male appeared to be about the age of twenty-five. His eyes formerly looked towards the pathway in front of him, yet soon shift towards Matt's direction. He may have not seen him directly, but the wolf managed to catch the scent of a smell that was as common as white plum.
The folf next to the wolf had noticed this almost right off the bat, turning his attention towards him before looking up at him curiously. He was roughly about the same age as the arctic wolf, yet bore the appearance to that of a seventeen year old. His medium-long brown hair was tied back with a black ponytail, with the exception of his bangs.
"Is something troubling you, Master?" the folf asked with a curious tone in his voice.
"I smell blood, Okita", the wolf answered with a calm, suspicious tone in his voice, making the folf, Okita, look at him with a surprised look on his face.
"Huh?" Okita replied with the same surprised tone his expression was bearing. Yet shortly after this, he began chuckling a bit nervously before shutting his eyes. "Oh, it must be your warlord mind playing tricks on you, master Saito", the folf commented with a nervous chuckle, yet the wolf wasn't pleased with the hybrid's comment.
"Okita", Saito began, closing his eyes while he spoke as Okita opens his own set.
"Yes, master", Okita quickly replied,.
"Choose your words carefully as though your life depended on them pleasing me", Saito finished, with the folf next to him closing his eyes and nodding in a moderate, repetitive pace.
"Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes", Okita replied as he and the others continue walking along the trail in the shopping district, the path leading directly towards the parking lot. Moments later, people began walking out of their hiding places and continue on with their daily lives, almost like the Neo-Shinsengumi never had passed through to begin with. Matt walks out of his spot and looks towards the departing gang, letting out a soft sigh from his muzzle.
"Look at that…." A voice spoke from behind the fox, with Matt turning his head towards his left and noticing Iizuka arriving next to him. "Its like they own the market", the tanuki commented calmly, albeit disdainfully, before grabbing a hold of his shoulder with his right arm. "You're needed tonight", he said to the fox, with the vulpine giving him a soft nod before turning to face the direction where he had came from earlier, the same direction the Neo-Shinsengumi group departed towards.
"I understand", Matt replied calmly, his eyes slightly narrowing towards the direction he came. Iizuka sniffs the air a bit before turning to his left.
"Is that perfume I smell?" Iizuka asked, snapping the fox out of his trance before he, too, notices the scent Iizuka caught. Not just any scent, however, but a scent he immediately recognized.
"White plum, I believe", Matt replied calmly, the tanuki's eyes turning to face the vulpine next to him.
"I'm surprised you know these things", Iizuka admitted, but his eyes soon manage to catch a glimpse of a light brown and white furred rabbit carrying a crate of carrots towards the booth, placing some of them into the basket next to the basket containing blueberries. "Look at her", the tanuki commented with a soft grin forming on his face. As soon as Matt turns to face the direction Iizuka was looking towards, he spots the female rabbit and immediately recognizes her right off the bat.
It was the same light brown and white furred rabbit he had bumped into during lunch hour at school, watching her finishing placing the appropriate number of carrots inside of the basket next to the blueberries. The only difference he notices about her were the articles of clothing she was wearing. The top she wore is a fern green tank top, which was interestingly tasteful enough to show off a bit of her cleavage. Her black short workout shorts fit almost tightly around those curvy hips of hers, white stripes running down along the sides of her shorts. Lastly, a pair of black and white Chuck Taylor shoes occupy her feet, the sames ones he saw her wear earlier.
"Not bad at all..." Iizuka said with a grin, watching the rabbit pulling up a chair and taking a seat on it, as if the booth she occupied was open for business. Iizuka turns to face the fox next to him, noticing the fox looking directly towards the female rabbit with a light blush on his face. "Got the hots for her, I see?" he commented with a widening grin on his muzzle, making the vulpine snap out of his trance and gaze directly at the tanuki with an annoyed expression.
"Iizuka!" Matt exclaimed, a few chuckles escaping from the tanuki's muzzle.
"Well, who would've thought a predator like you would have the hots for prey like her", Iizuka commented with a comical grin on his face, the fox's blush getting redder by the second and his expression becoming more annoyed towards the tanuki. However, Iizuka pats his back and began walking away from the scene. "We'll talk again later tonight", he said to the fox before leaving the scene, rushing out of the shopping district and leaving Matt there to himself.
Now the fox was left there to himself, he takes a few steps towards the direction he had originally planned on heading towards, wanting to continue towards the direction where the Neo-Shogunate had come from. But his feet refused to move any longer, and his eyes turn towards the booth the rabbit had occupied. He began to examine the booth a bit closely, noticing the huge table cloth bearing the 'Hopps Family Farm' logo on it, making him cock a curious brow upon seeing the name of the booth.
"Hopps Family Farm, huh…?" Matt wondered in his mind, placing his left hand-paw inside of the corresponding pocket, his right moving towards his chin and began stroking it softly. "If I recall correctly, that's a family owned business in the town of Bunnyburrow, just a couple hundred miles away from Zootopia", he recalled in his mind before starting to debate if whether or not he wanted to check the place out (and perhaps have a bit of a chat with the rabbit he met with). But it seems his question was answered with an obvious growl inside of his stomach, making the fox sigh softly before letting a couple chuckles escape his mouth. "Heh, looks like I'll be checking out the Hopps Family Farm's booth after all", he concluded to himself with a rub on the back of his head, placing his free hand-paw inside of his other pocket and starts walking towards the booth right across the dirt road.
Approaching the booth as he did, the fox notices a rather large number of crates in the back of the large shack that was occupied by the business. Various labels were placed on them, roughly half of them being carrots while the others were labeled as apples, blueberries, onions, garlic, and a few other fruits and vegetables. But despite seeing all of this, he notices a portable oven plugged in at the back of the shop, which was attached to the wall adjacent to the wall where the boxes were aligned. Speaking of the oven, he caught a smell of a fresh blueberry pie being cooked, the scent bearing an intoxicating sensation for him. That definitely caught his interest during his time in the district and helped brighten his mood. The fox arrives to the booth and began to look at the items being displayed on the table, the fruits and vegetables looking like they were freshly picked from a garden.
"Ah, hello there again, sir!" the English-born female rabbit Matt met earlier greeted, snapping the fox's attention and making him turn towards her. "How can I help you, sir?" she asked, leaning her body forward and her sapphire blue eyes looking up to his emerald green ones.
"Oh, uh…?" Matt began, rubbing the back of his head before beginning to browse around the baskets filled with food. "Well, I was browsing around the shopping district earlier to get some fresh air, but it seems my stomach is requiring some fuel, and here I am", the fox replied with a slight chuckle in his voice. "Would it be possible to order a small slice of pie along with one basket of mixed fruits?" he asked, pointing towards one of the baskets on the left side of the shack behind the bunny, which carry a mixture of various types of applies, packaged blueberries, and a few peaches and mangoes. The female turns towards the basket he pointed at before looking back at him with a nod.
"Of course!" the rabbit replied before standing up from her seat and walking towards the basket, raising her feet up a bit to help reach the basket without any problem. Grabbing the basket as she did, the female walks back to the front with the basket in hand before placing it in front of the fox, the male reaching behind him for his wallet before pulling it out of his right back pocket. "Here ya go, sir. Though it may take another seven minutes for the pie to cook, plus a few more for it to cool off. Is that alright?" she asked.
"Sure", Matt replied following a soft nod, opening his wallet and examining the amount of bills he had inside. "How much is the order ms…"
"Jenny, Jenny Bunni", the rabbit, Jenny, replied before offering her right hand-paw to shake. The fox softly smiles towards the rabbit before grabbing hers with the corresponding hand-paw. "And your order will be about seven dollars and fifty cents", she added.
"Likewise, Jenny. The name's Matt Wilde", Matt replied, grabbing a ten from his wallet and handing it to her and shaking her hand-paw right after wards. "And I must admit your full name has a nice ring to it", he complemented, causing Jenny to giggle warmly before pulling her hand-paw away from his.
"Thanks", Jenny replied before looking towards her left, noticing a few wolves passing by that were dressed identical to the large group that passed by only a few minutes ago, losing her soft smile in the process. "Though I am curious about something", she began, placing the ten inside of the cashier register before grabbing two dollars and fifty cents from it, handing the fox his change and allowing him to place it inside his wallet. "Who was that large group that passed by here a few minutes ago?" the female asked, the fox turning towards the direction and noticing a few wolves right across the dirt road, seeing them entering and browsing in the weapons shop while he placed his wallet back inside the back right pants pocket.
"Ah, those guys…." Matt replied following a soft shrug, shaking his head before turning to face the rabbit at the table. "They're members of the Neo-Shinsengumi group, a group consisting of modern day samurais who serve as a revival for the original Shinsengumi police force", he explained, with Jenny nodding with understanding.
"Right, I've learned about the Shinsengumi during my seventh grade history class in Newcastle a year prior to moving into the US.", Jenny claimed. "And if I recall correctly, the Shinsengumi were a special police force organized by the Bakufu during Japan's Bakumatsu period in 1864", she continued, the fox nodding towards her words in response to her words. "But what I don't understand is why there's a revival group of the Shinsengumi in Kawasabus, Ohio, of all places", the rabbit added.
"I'm not entirely sure myself, though I think it may have to do with the level of violence this town can get", Matt claimed, with Jenny nodding before looking down towards the item he carried on his left side.
"Which I'm guessing is the reason why you're carrying a sword on you right now?" Jenny asked out of curiosity, unsure of the real reason why he was carrying it in the first place. Matt turns to his sheathed sword and grabs a hold of the sheath and moving it up a bit following a nod, then lowers it and turns his attention back to the rabbit.
"Pretty much, though I primarily wear it to keep any bandits off my tail or scare assailants off", Matt answered. "Though if needed, I can also use it for self-defense purposes", the fox added, the rabbit giving him an understanding nod upon hearing this. Yet after the fox answered, the rabbit notices the slash scar on the left side of his face.
"Though now that we mention it, Matt, what happened to your face?" Jenny asked, standing up and moving her right hand-paw towards his cheek. However, the fox quickly, yet calmly, takes a small step back from her with unexpected surprise, Matt's eyes widening slightly towards the rabbit after she reached for his scar. He wasn't surprised she asked, but he didn't expect her to raise her hand-paw towards his left cheek. Jenny immediately withdrew her hand-paw right after seeing him take a step back, tilting her head down and lowering her ears apologetically. "Sorry… I shouldn't have asked", she apologized, but Matt places a reassuring hand-paw on her shoulder before smiling softly.
"Don't worry about it, Jenny. It's no big deal", Matt replied reassuringly, the rabbit's head moving up to look at him with a soft smile in return. But now that she asked, how was he gonna answer her without it sounding suspicious? He wondered for a second, but quickly came up with a proper answer in his mind. "As for my injury, I got attacked by a few goons in an alleyway a few nights ago", Matt answered half-honestly, having gotten struck in the face by one of his targets Tuesday night. Jenny loses her smile upon hearing this, her eyes widening at this as well "I'm grateful I was able to get out of there before I ended up in the hospital or dead, though." the fox claimed before moving his left hand-paw to the back of his head and began rubbing it for a moment, only to place both of his hand-paws inside of his pants pocket. Jenny was about to say something else, but a loud DING from the oven managed to beat her at that.
"Oh, it looks like the blueberry pies are ready!" Jenny exclaimed and prepared to get up. However, she, along with Matt, notices a female rabbit approaching the oven.
The rabbit at the oven bore gray and light gray fur throughout her body, with black tips on her ears. She was about two and a half feet tall, not counting the ears, and just a couple inches shorter than Jenny herself. Her clothing consists of a short sleeve pink flannel shirt along with a pair of blue stonewashed jeans, which fit comfortably tight around her hips and thighs, yet bore a slight bootcut from the bottom of her knees to her feet. Unlike Jenny and Matt, she didn't wear any shoes whatsoever, yet this was of no surprise since some mammals choose to refrain or don't need to wear them.
"Judy, can you grab the pies out of the oven and cut a slice out for the customer for me once they're cooled off?" Jenny asked, the other rabbit turning around to nod at the two. Although surprised to see the customer being a fox, she does softly smile at the sight of Jenny having a conversation with the fox. Placing a couple of oven mitts onto her hand-paws, she quickly opens the oven door and grabs the two blueberry pies and places them on the tray next to it. She closes the oven door and began to cut the pies with the carving knife next to it.
"So how long have you been working with the Hopps Family Farm?" Matt asked with a curious tone while moving his arms upward, stretching them a bit before placing his hand-paws behind his head. He recalled having been to the family farm before with his late mother a few times, the last visit being a few months before his mother's death.
"I started working with Judy and her father, Stu, back in July after helping them around their place for a bit in order to help them make some extra money for their family back in their hometown", Jenny answered while Matt continues to look at the rabbit and nod with genuine interest. "I've met them back in June when they temporarily moved down from Bunnyburrow to Kawasabus, which coincidentally enough, moved into a house across the street from mine. I tend to help them whenever they need me to, and they asked me to come here after school to help them with their booth", the rabbit finished. And right as she did, Matt turns to the right a bit and notices Judy arriving to the front with a paper plate holding a piece of pie, a large fork placed next to it.
"Here you go, sir", Judy said, the fox taking the plate with his right hand-paw before placing his left forearm under the basket strap, allowing him to carry his basket while he could eat.
"Thanks, Ma'am", Matt replied with a thankful nod before grabbing the fork and cutting a slice to eat. Before putting the cut piece into his muzzle, however, he places the plate on the booth and grabs his phone from his phone case. "Oh, and before I forget, Jenny, is it alright if I get your digits?" he asked, the light brown and white furred rabbit's eyes widening a bit with surprise. However, she smiles softly and nods towards him, grabbing her white ICarrot 3G phone and pulling up her number, turning it over and allowing him to copy her number into his contacts. He saves the contact and pulls up his number, showing it to Jenny before she starts copying his digits onto her phone. She gives the fox a soft hug before pulling way a second later. "Let's talk again sometime", the fox spoke with a soft smile on his muzzle before grabbing his plate and turning towards the direction where he was originally heading, departing from the place and eating his pie slowly on the way.
"Talk to you soon, Matt!" Jenny replied, her tone being happy to the point where she was smiling noticeably. Judy pulls up a chair and began to have a conversation with the other female rabbit, with Jenny telling her about the conversation she's had with the fox. And while the late afternoon has brightened from it, tonight would be an entirely different story…
Inside Matt's hotel room, 9:30 pm
Everything was quiet inside Matt Wilde's hotel room with the exception of the HDTV playing. The room also being clean for the most part, since there were a couple empty boxes of Japanese food on the coffee table, having ordered some chicken teriyaki along with thick ramen noodles with steamed veggies earlier. Hell, for a hotel room, even for a fox like him, it was surprisingly the same size of a one room apartment. The sliding door leading to his bedroom was on the left of him the entrance to his hotel being on the right.
The fox's attire was now different from what he had worn earlier. Although the tight fitting shirt and the gloves he wore on this hand-paws remained, his bottoms were another story. Instead of wearing the sanded blue denim jeans he wore at home, he now wore a pair of monochrome camouflage cargo pants, the leg openings being tucked inside of his black, open toe boots.
The HDTV in the bedroom was currently displaying the Kawasabus news channel, the news anchors having talked about the large number of assassinations around the area. Although the count continues to rise, the main one that they continued to talk about was the death of John Bellwether and how his death was affecting both the lives of those who knew him along with his employees at Bellwether Enterprises. The fox rolls his eyes upon hearing this before grabbing the TV remote on the coffee table, turning the TV off before placing it back on the coffee table next to a bottle of saki. Now that he sees the bottle, he grabs a hold of a small shot glass next it before grabbing the bottle itself, pouring himself a small portion of the alcoholic beverage before placing the bottle on the table. He was about to drink the small bit of saki in his shot glass before hearing a voice coming from the hallway, causing him to cease his actions.
"Its frightening! How could anybody feel safe when a whole army of killers can march down the street like that?!" A female voice said in the hallway, loud enough for Matt to hear thanks to his keen hearing. He finally raises his glass and quickly drinks the alcoholic liquid, the saki traveling from his mouth down to his stomach immediately. He leans forward and grabs the bottle a second time, pouring himself another glass before placing the bottle back down.
"My cousin told me that the Neo-Shogunate is executing anybody they suspected of being a patriot. It terrifies me!", another female voice claimed, the fox raising his shot glass to where he can see the liquid eye level. But the more he looked at it, something didn't seem right about it at all. The taste of it didn't seem right about the beverage one bit, Was it tasteless, or did it taste like blood? That he didn't know. But this did make him remember something his former master once said to him…
Within the lake near the Hiten Mitsurugi Dojo, April, 2005
It was on a cool, spring night at the lake near the Dojo, with Hiko Seijuro and his pupil, thirteen year old Matt Wilde, both of which who were staring at the stars above. The wolf had a bottle of saki attached to his left forearm, and a small cup held in the corresponding hand-paw. He was dressed in his usual attire since the day Matt had met him. As for Matt, on the other hand, he was sitting on the stone rock wearing a midnight blue short sleeved athletic shirt, black fingerless gloves, and camouflage cargo pants, with the leg openings being tucked into the black open toe boots. The fox's eyes shift towards the wolf upon hearing him clearing his throat, as if to grab the teen kit's attention.
"Spring brings Cherry blossoms to comfort you, the summer stars, the harvest moon in fall, and the powdered snow in winter. All of these things, and the promise of them is what makes saki taste so good", Hiko explained to his pupil before raising the small cup and drinking the alcoholic contents inside. He turns to face his student before grinning softly, raising his up and . "One day, you will understand this, and then I shall pour saki for the both of us", the wolf finished, the fox continuing to gaze at him for another moment before tilting his head upward, looking at the night sky above and watching the beauty of its stars.
Inside the hotel room, October 2nd, 2009
Silence continues to fill the air inside of the hotel room, with Matt continuing to gaze towards his own reflection through the shot glass filled with saki. His eyes stare at the liquid with a calm, stern look in them. But with a simple DING going off on his phone, that snapped the vulpine out of his gaze and makes him place the shot glass on the table again. Pulling out his phone with a right hand-paw, he slides his thumb across several directions to unlock his phone before opening his messages. And the message itself had come from one the examiner of executions.
"The time's come, Matt. Be sure to bring an Umbrella with ya just in case, though", was what Iizuka's text message said before Matt presses the top button to lock his phone, placing it back in its case before standing up from the couch. He grabs his sword from behind the bottle of saki and attaches it on the left side of his body before turning towards the door, walking towards the exit and grabbing the black umbrella on the way out. Grabbing the key card to his hotel room and placing it inside of his wallet, he places his wallet inside his back pocket and walks out of the room, shutting the door behind him as he left.
The text message Matt received from Iizuka did not lie about the weather, the rain pouring down heavily in the shopping district. He was grateful to receive this knowledge prior to heading out, or otherwise would've been soaking wet. Not like he was getting wet on parts of his body as it is. However, regardless of the weather conditions, Matt continues to walk along concrete roads, the clouded moonlight serving as his light source and his nocturnal vision serving as his guide. The rain may have been hitting the ground hard, but that will not stop the fox from walking towards the destination where his next targets lie.…