A/N: Alrighty, folks! Here's the next installment of 'Zootopia X', and now we're back to the days of the Kasawabus Neo-Shogunate. Enjoy!
Savage
New Otsu, Ohio, November 22nd, 2009…
Ever since the news report had aired regarding Battousai the Animal Slayer, Tomoe's residence has been completely hectic to say the least. Jenny had been constantly worried about the well being about her lover, Matt, ever since he had slain numerous Neo-Shogunate armies and Police Officers alike. Tears had been shed, and anxiety had filled the atmosphere inside the room. Both Tomoe and Jenny had been worried about Matt, but the rabbit was the one who was anxious about it the most. For one, he hadn't called her since last night, shortly before the attack at Savanna Heights Apartment Complex. But after everything that happened today, who could blame her?
While Jenny has remained sitting on the futon she and Matt had been sleeping on, Tomoe had been in the middle of chopping up some of the crops she had pulled out as a way of preparing for dinner. Chopped Daikon radishes were placed on a plate located on the left side of the table, with several other severed goods being placed in other smaller plates as well. Although focused on preparing for dinner, her eyes occasional glanced at the bunny sitting on the futon to herself. She noticed the rabbit being curled up in fetal position, especially with the fact her arms were wrapped around her own legs and her head resting on top of her knees. But what really got the vixen the most were the half-lidded, red eyes she bore after crying silently throughout much of the evening.
One thing was for sure: she needed to check on the bunny, and she needed to do whatever she can to comfort her. Placing the large kitchen knife on the table gently, the vixen walks over to the rabbit and takes a seat next to her, her left hand-paw gently grabbing a hold of her right shoulder. That quickly snapped the bunny out of her trance and causes the young woman to turn to face the vixen.
"Jenny…" Tomoe began with a concerned tone of voice, yet soon found herself looking away from the rabbit. But before she could continue, the vixen felt one of Jenny's hand-paws gently grabbing a hold of one of hers and causes the vulpine to turn look right back at the bunny.
"I'm alright, really…" Jenny replied softly with a gentle, yet barely noticeable smile on her face. However, she loses her smile and turns away from the vixen.
"You're worried about Matt, aren't you?" Tomoe asked, receiving a gentle nod from the rabbit within the next moment.
"A lot, actually", Jenny replied, tightening her hold around her legs following a soft sigh. "Its been nearly several hours since the news report, and I still don't know what happened to Matt", she continued, the rabbit's hand-paws starting to shake slightly, but involuntarily because of her anxiety. "What if he was killed in Zootopia?! What if-"
"Jenny!" Tomoe quickly interrupted firmly, yet gently at the same time, her hand-paws gripping the rabbits shoulders gently as she spoke. "Everything's going to be just fine. He's gotten into situations like this for over three years now, so I highly doubt he would be killed off easily", she claimed reassuringly. "Besides, I bet he's been eager to return home and see his bunny again", she added with a light smile forming on her muzzle, her eyes becoming half-lidded in a comforting manner. The rabbit herself looks into her eyes and soon found herself nodding a couple times, even smiling slightly as well.
"Tomoe…" Jenny spoke softly towards the vixen. But before the vixen could reply, a sound of a melodic shamisen riff began going off on Tomoe's phone, causing the vulpine to snap her attention towards the kitchen table.
"I'll be right back", with that, Tomoe stands up and walks right to her phone and picks it up, swiping her thumb horizontally across the screen and looking at the caller ID. And the name she saw on the caller ID genuinely surprised the vixen. "Thrandeer's calling?" she asked herself, yet the rabbit's ears flicker at the mentioning of his name. And the instant Jenny turns towards Tomoe did the vixen answer her phone and place it on the right side of her face. "Katzuma, what's going on?"
"Nothing's wrong, Tomoe. I'm calling to inform you we are nearing the New Otsu Airfield as we speak. We will be there before the end of the half hour", Thrandeer said over the phone right as the vixen turns towards the rabbit sitting on the futon, who had apparently been looking at her direction she had mentioned Thrandeer's name. "Bring Jenny along with you, because a certain fox has been dying to see his bunny", and with that, the deer hangs up on the other end of the line, the vixen placing her phone inside of her left jeans pocket and the rabbit staring at her with wide eyes.
"Thrandeer's on his way with Matt as we speak, and he's been dying to see you", Tomoe said to the bunny with a soft grin on her face, the rabbit soon finding herself smiling. She jumps off the futon excitedly and began jumping up and down repetitively, holding her hand-paws over her short muzzle.
"He's coming home", Jenny spoke out of relief right before pressing herself against Tomoe and wrapping her arms around the vixen's curvy waist. "Oh, thank god he's coming home!" she added, although with a muffed voice after having buried her face into her torso. She was finally relieved to know her fox was live, to know that he was coming home to her safe and sound. The vixen couldn't help but let a light chuckle leave her mouth shortly before wrapping her arms around the bunny.
"I told you everything was going to be fine. Have I ever been wrong?" Tomoe replied softly, placing her right hand-paw behind the rabbit's head and her left onto the upper part of Jenny's back.
"No, you haven't", Jenny replied with a soft, genuine smile on her face, but soon lost the smile and looks down towards the floor. "Tomoe… I want to apologize for the way I acted earlier…" the rabbit continued, but the vixen's left hand-paw cups her chin and tilts her head up to where she can see her eyes.
"There's nothing to apologize for, Jen. I don't blame you", Tomoe responded with an understanding tone. "Now c'mon, Thrandeer's drawing closer to the New Otsu Air Station as we speak. And no doubt Matt's gonna be happy to see you", she added, removing her arms from the rabbit and walking over to the kitchen to grab her keys.
"Yeah…" Jenny replied, although mostly to herself prior to moving her left hand-paw towards her corresponding, bandaged cheek. It was in that particular moment when something dawned on her, the rabbit's eyes widening with a mixture of shock and apprehension. "Oh god, if Matt sees this, he's gonna flip his shit!" she exclaimed with shock right before pacing back and forth rapidly. "He's gonna try and go after Enishi if he finds out about this! Fuck, what am I gonna do, what am I gonna do!" at this point, curses were constantly escaping her mouth rapidly, her head shaking frantically and her hand-paws being placed on her head. She was about to say something else right before the vixen grabs her shoulders and turns the rabbit towards her direction.
"Jenny, listen to me", Tomoe spoke firmly, but calmly nonetheless. "He won't do anything. And if he does, we'll make sure he doesn't try to go after Enishi", the vixen reassured, the rabbit glaring at the vixen for a moment before giving her a gentle. With this, the vixen removes her hand-paws from the rabbit's shoulders and places the left in her corresponding pants pocket. "Alright, lets get going. Don't wanna make them wait, do we?"
"No way. I've been away from my fox for far to long", with that particular response, Jenny shakes her head before walking out of the front door, the vixen following behind and exiting the front door. Tomoe locks the door behind her before heading to the Lavender colored 2009 Hounda Civic parked in the driveway. With a press of a button, she unlocks the car doors and steps into the driver's side, the rabbit stepping into the passenger's side door and buckling herself in.
"How far is the Airfield from here?" Jenny asked right as the vixen places the key into the ignition and turns it forward, a loud growl igniting within the engine itself.
"The Airfield's a good twenty minute drive west of here", Tomoe answered, her right hand-paw grabbing the headrest of the passenger seat and looking out the rear window, pulling the car out of the driveway prior to shifting the gear lever to 'drive'. "I've had to go there on countless occasions when I was working at my previous work place", she claimed all while she presses on the gas pedal and began driving towards their destination.
"Where did you work at previously before working at your current job?", Jenny quickly asked out of curiosity, wondering if her previous job had anything to do with what Enishi had mentioned earlier regarding a former lover of hers.
"Um… lets just say it wasn't pleasant after I found out about a few things…" Tomoe hesitantly answered, yet with an honest tone nevertheless. "But I'm glad I don't work there anymore. I much prefer working as a manager at my new job along with working with you two", she added honestly, softly smiling to the fact she was happy working as a manager at a local flower shop and working as a part-time fisher maiden in Matt and Jenny's at-home business, 'Bunni & Wilde Fishing Co.'.
Although Jenny wanted to pry on the matter regarding her former job, whatever it was, she decided against it and turns her attention to the front. And from here on out, the remainder of the ride was silent with the exception of traditional, instrumental, melodic Japanese music playing on the radio through Tomoe's ICarrot 3G phone. And while the bunny found herself clouded in her own thoughts, the music did help her think much more clearly than thinking in silence.
Fortunately, the drive to the New Otsu Airfield didn't last for much longer, the trip from Tomoe's residence to the Airfield only took about twenty minutes just as the vixen said. Jenny's eyes soon spot the open gates along with the road leading to the grassy helipad up ahead. Her heart was pounding inside of her chest, and her eyes were glaring at the helipad that would soon be occupied by the chopper containing the Ishin-Mirkwood clan leader, Thrandeer Katzuma, along with the Battousai, Matt Wilde. Her right hand-paw anxiously grabs a hold of the left side of her chest, and her breathing began to quicken only slightly. But this was enough to show how anxious, no, how eager she was to see him. She wanted to see her fox, and she wanted to see him badly.
Luckily for her, the wait didn't last much longer, because right as soon as the two mammals entered the Airfield property did they notice a green camouflage colored Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter hovering ten yards over the helipad, and slowly descending. But they were not the only ones there, however, for two black limos along with several other mammals occupied the area Tomoe and Jenny were about to park at. All of them were dressed in clothing much similar to what Matt wore when she was around him, the black shirts, olive cargo or hakama pants, and so forth.
It didn't take them long to find a suitable parking spot within the area, having parked several feet away from the limos occupying part of the grassy designated parking area. Both the vixen and the bunny step out of the car once Tomoe had killed the ignition by pulling the key out of the slot. And as they made their way to where the others were waiting, they notice the chopper's landing skids finally touching the ground and the left door sliding open. Jenny quickly reaches to the front and notices Thrandeer Katzuma leaving the chopper from the open door. Time seemed to slow down for the rabbit, and her heart was pounding rapidly inside her chest, much to the point her heart could burst out at any given moment. But what, no, who she saw come out of the chopper next made her eyes widen and her heart skip a beat.
Matt Wilde had stepped out of the chopper and steps foot onto the grassy ground before him, his jade green eyes soon catching the sight of Jenny's sapphire blue colored ones. The bunny noticed his clothes consisted of a slim fitting black V-neck T-shirt being worn under his black hoodie along with a pair of sanded blue slim bootcut fitting jeans. His black open toe boots were covered by the leg openings of his pants, much like how the sleeves of his hoodie covered his black samurai bracers, Lastly, part of the bracers covered the back of his black leather gloves, the gloves themselves covering his hand-paws completely. But the one common trait she noticed his clothes bore was the crimson colored liquid staining them.
Even if she noticed his clothing had been stained with the blood of those he killed, the Neo-Shogunate armies and Zootopia Police Officers alike, she honestly didn't care. Her fox had returned home safely, and her eyes began to water with fresh tears. Her hand-paws cup her small muzzle and a couple tears stream down her cheeks. The next thing that came out of her mouth was the one word she wanted to say, the same word she wanted to shout the instant she saw him.
"MATT!" Jenny shouted loudly and immediately sprints directly at the fox's direction, completely unaware to the fact the bandage that covered her facial wound flew off right when she darted to him. The mammals who saw this were completely baffled by how fast she ran, even the fox himself was bewildered, much to his surprise. His eyes immediately widen with genuine shock and was about to say something, only for the rabbit to collide with him with full force.
"Gah!" Matt grunted loudly in bewilderment, not expecting the rabbit to collide with a strong enough force to knock him to the ground, his back hitting the grassy ground under him. And before he could register what was happening, the bunny quickly wraps her arms tightly around the muscular fox's waist right enough to knock the air out of him. "Too tight! Too tight!" he quickly spoke with a raspy voice, and although the rabbit loosened her grip on his waist, she didn't release her hold on her fox, and soon found herself resting her head on his muscular torso. "Good god, Jen, if you held me that tight any longer, I might've suffocated under your grip", he commented with a light hearted chuckle, a gently smile forming on his muzzle before leaning his upper body upward.
Matt wraps his arms around his bunny and rests his head on top of hers, his eyes closing and his left set of fingers brushing through her long, dark brown/blonde colored hair. He was finally back home, and he was finally back to be with his bunny. Jenny's left hand-paw releases his hold from Matt's back and clenches it into a fist. Her corresponding arm soon began shaking and immediately starts slamming her fist against his chest, the fox letting a surprisingly painful yelp out of his mouth.
"Matt! You stupid, dumb fox!" Jenny yelled with tears streaming down her face, repetitively hitting his chest with her left clenched fist much to Matt's surprise. "Do you realize how worried I was? How scared I was? You could've gotten yourself killed!" she shouted with sob. "I could've lost you! I could've-" she was about to continue, but the fox suddenly grabs her left arm with his right hand-paw.
"Jen! Listen to me!" Matt yelled, albeit with a reassuring tone. "Look, I'm here, I'm not hurt, and I have no intention on dying anytime soon", the fox added with a light hearted chuckle before gently cupping her right cheek with his left hand-paw. "And I have no intention on leaving my-" he was about to continue, but as soon as he saw the claw marks on her left cheek. His eyes widened at first upon seeing this, but they narrow and his brows furrow at the wound. "Who did this?" he asked calmly, but with a serious tone in his voice. The rabbit's eyes widen as soon as he asked, but soon close and turns her head to the right.
"Matt… it… it was an accident…" Jenny answered hesitantly, but the fox gently turns her head to face him, his jade green eyes gazing into her sapphire colored ones.
"Don't lie to me", Matt replied with a serious tone, albeit calmly nonetheless. "Jenny, I've grown up with the slummiest parts of Zootopia for nearly half of my life, and in Kawasabus almost four years now. I've seen mammals get beaten and killed on the streets! And this…" he paused for a moment and traces the tip of his thumb over the grotesque, red-purple toned, bruised wound gently, but that didn't stop the bunny from letting an involuntarily hiss escape her mouth. "This was no accident. You were assaulted", at this point, the rabbit let out a sigh and began shaking her head. There's no point in holding it back, she might as well tell him. Her hand-paws tightly clutch one another and her eyes close, tilting her head down and slowly shook her head a couple times. "Jen… who did this to you?" he asked, his tone now concerned and pleading. He had to know the one responsible for assaulting his girl. He had to know…
"En… Enishi…" at the moment Jenny mentioned the assailant's name, the fox's ears perk up and his eyes widen at the mentioning of the name. "Th-there was an alteration between Tomoe and Enishi happening inside the house while I was trying to pull some of the crops out. I-I don't know how, but he somehow managed to find out where we lived", she stuttered despite her best attempts to trying to tell him what had transpired earlier that day. "I started arguing with him after he started making threats and nasty remarks about you, then the next thing I know, he struck the left side of my face with his… with his…" she couldn't explain it anymore, because she immediately found her lips quivering and fresh tears streaming down her face. Matt immediately sprung into action and pulls the bunny, his bunny, into a tight, comforting embrace.
Despite the warmth he was providing for the tender embrace, no words left the fox's mouth. His mind was clouded with a mixture of thoughts. Why would one of his own relatives do this to his girl? How the hell did Enishi find Tomoe's residence in the first place? What purpose did he have coming to the residence anyways? So many questions were crossing his mind. But all the questions were soon replaced with one single thought:
Find Enishi, and kill him!
With this particular thought in mind, his eyes close, his brows furrow angrily, growls began escaping his mouth, and he soon found himself snarling furiously. His hand-paws move to the rabbit's thighs and lifts her up enough to allow the fox to get back up onto his feet-paws instantly. Although his eyes remain shut, his head immediately at the direction where the Ishin-Mirkwood clan leader stood.
"Thrandeer, I need you to look up Enishi's address for me", Matt spoke with a low growl in his voice, something that instantly caught Jenny (and admittedly Thrandeer) by surprise.
"Matt-"
"NOW!" Matt snapped furiously, his eyes reopening and glaring directly at the deer almost as if he felt the fox's sword piercing right through his body. But what he didn't expect was the color of his eyes to change color. His eyes were no longer the jade green color he became familiar with, but were now a golden yellow color, and they were burning in a flame of fury. When he didn't get a response, the fox turns away from the tall buck and began emitting a deathly growl from his mouth. "Fine! If you're not gonna find him, I'll do it myself!" with those words coming out of the Battousai's mouth, Jenny's eyes widen at the deathly sharpness of his tone. Never before had she heard him speak at anyone with such a tone. Until this evening.
"Matt, what are you doing?!" Jenny asked, but inside of her mind, she instantly knew what he was planning.
"To kill Enishi… to may him pay for what he did to you", and with that response, Matt began marching towards the grassy parking spot with his left hand-paw gripping the sheath of his katana. That particular statement and the sight of him gripping the sheath of his blade caused Jenny's eyes to widen with shock.
"Matt, DON'T!" Jenny shouted right as she sprints towards the fox and wraps her arms around his right arm. But as soon as she said that did the fox spin around and glare at the rabbit with his piercing, golden yellow eyes that burned with pure, deathly malice. Her body immediately tenses at this and even her arms jerk back slightly. She did not expect to see eyes like those.
The eyes of an Animal Slayer about to go berserk at any moment.
"Matt, listen to me", Jenny began, her heart pounding hard in her chest out of fear and concern. She was scared to lose him, scared of the eyes he bore, scared that he's drawing closer to becoming an unrepentant killer. But most of all, she was worried that her reason may not go through to him. Even if she couldn't reason with him, she had to try! "I know you're extremely pissed about what Enishi did, and I don't blame you for it. But you've just got home", the rabbit continued, yet her voice began to crack with emotion to the point she hangs her head slightly, her eyes soon looking down at the ground below her. "Please don't go after Enishi, Matt. He's not worth it", she pleaded, her hand-paws grabbing a hold of Matt's right hand-paw before looking back up with her glossy eyes. "Please…" she reasoned and quickly felt a couple tears stream down her face, her sapphire blue eyes gazing directly at Matt's golden yellow eyes.
The fox himself remained stood as he was, his eyes narrowed at the rabbit and his brows furrowed just the same. His right hand-paw, while still clenched, had started to loosen slightly upon hearing her reasoning. His brows began to raise slightly, and soon lost the snarl on his muzzle. His eyes close and began taking in deep breaths through his nose. The vulpine's shoulders shrug up and down in correlation with his breathing, yet began slowing down as the seconds pass by. Then at last, his eyes reopen and gaze directly at the rabbit before him, the golden yellow color having faded back into their jade green color.
"Alright…", Matt began calmly with a nod. "I won't go after him", he added, much to the rabbit's relief, with the fox giving her gentle, barely noticeable smile. The bunny soon began getting emotional before him as tears began to stream down her face and her body started shaking. The fox lets a soft, hearty chuckle leave his mouth and opens his arms for the emotional bunny. "Alright, c'mere", the rabbit walks towards her fox right after those words left his mouth, her arms quickly wrapping his waist and the fox's arms wrapping around her shorter body. "Alright, oh, you bunnies, you're so emotional" the fox cooed gently right before using his right set of fingers to brush through her hair gently, making the rabbit let out a few chuckles towards his comment.
The two lovers remain in the embrace for at least another forty five seconds before looking at one another in a locked gaze. Their eyes glisten in the evening skies like jewels glistening from the constant flickers of a flame. Their heads slowly move towards one another and their eyes slowly close. And in a moment, their eyes close completely and the interspecies couple lock lips with one another for the first time since his return. Oh, how he missed the sweet taste of white plums on her lips. The kiss lasted for a good twenty seconds before the two mammals break part their lips from one another, with Jenny resting her head on his chest and the fox resting his head on hers.
Completely unaware to the two mammals, however, Thrandeer had just got off the phone with one another and quickly began walking towards the two lovers. And with the stern, serious face he bore on him, whatever conversation he had with the mammal he spoke with on the phone, it did not sound good.
"Jen, I'm-"
"Matt, Jenny! I hate to interrupt your tender moment, but I have received a grave update from one of our members back at the Ishin-Mirkwood camp nearby", Thrandeer interrupted calmly, but urgently enough to where it caught Matt and Jenny's attention.
"What happened?" Matt asked quickly with a serious tone and a similar expression. His left arm wraps around the bunny's waist and unconsciously pulling her closer towards him protectively.
"An incident occurred at the Ishin-Mirkwood camp around the time Iizuka gave you the false order, but it seems the situation is starting to get out of hand", Thrandeer began calmly, yet his eyes narrow slightly to add emphasis on how serious he was about the news. "However, I cannot tell you where we stand. But I can inform you as to what happened on the way there", the deer replied, much to the surprise of both Jenny and Matt. "I understand we've just returned to New Otsu just now, but I have to borrow your services once more if we are to handle the situation properly", the deer finished, the two lovers look back at each other right as Jenny's eyes look up at his pleadingly, pleading him to return to the residence with her and Tomoe. His eyes narrow at her gently and his brows point upward, his left hand-paw cupping her right cheek as gently as possible.
"Jen…" Matt began softly, with the rabbit slowly cupping her lover's hand-paw and closing her eyes gently. His brows furrow gently right before turning his head towards the clan leader. "Thrandeer, I'll lend you my skills once more. However…" he paused before turning to his bunny with a gentle grin forming on his face. "I'd feel a lot better if Jenny accompanied me on this one", the instant he said those words, Jenny's eyes widen slightly and a soft smile began to form on her face.
"Matt, I don't think that's-"
"I understand your concern, Thrandeer, I really do", Matt interrupted, his attention turning back towards the deer. "But as I said, I'd feel a lot better of Jenny was with me on this one", the fox continued, but paused only for a moment and turns back to his bunny. "And as you mentioned earlier on the chopper, I have been dying to see my bunny after all", he genuinely recalled with a chuckle, having remembered the clan leader calling Tomoe when they were less than half an hour away from New Otsu. Jenny couldn't help but smile gently at her lover before standing up on her toes and planting a gentle kiss on his left cheek, just under where the slash scar was located.
Thrandeer's eyes gaze at the interspecies couple for at least another moment before closing his eyes. He'd much prefer to have Matt come alone, regardless to the fact that he understood him needing the be with his bunny. With a defeated sigh, the deer reopens his eyes and gently smiles at the couple.
"Very well, Matt, I'll let her come with us", Thrandeer replied, yet quickly motions his head towards a black, bear sized limo. "Now then, we must get going", and with that, the clan leader, along with Matt and Jenny, start walking to the limo that was waiting for them. The clan leader grabs his phone and began typing up a message to Tomoe, telling her that not only Matt and Jenny would be riding with him, but for her to tag along as well. For whatever reason, only Thrandeer knew.
The trio arrive to the limo as Thrandeer opens the left back seat door, allowing the two smaller mammals to jump into the car and climb onto the corresponding leather seats. Jenny climbs onto his lap and the fox wraps his muscular arms around his girlfriend's waist. The fox rests his head on hers right as the clan leader climbs in and takes a seat at the back, closing the door behind him prior to buckling himself in.
"So what exactly happened at the camp?" Matt asked, his eyes narrowed slightly and his brows furrowed with a serious expression on his face. The clan leader turns his attention to the couple with a similar expression and leans his upper body forward, his hand-paws grasping one another as he did.
"Something happened to one of the predator members at the camp nearly several hours ago, roughly around the time you were in Zootopia trying to save your brother", Thrandeer began right as the driver places the key into the ignition and turns it forward.
"What do you mean?" Matt asked with a curious tone right before the driver presses the gas and began driving to the Ishin-Mirkwood camp.
"From what I was told, one of the predator members of our clan had suddenly gone feral for reasons nobody could determine", Thrandeer answered, much to Matt and Jenny's surprised confusion.
"Feral?" Matt and Jenny asked simultaneously with surprise in their tones.
"How could that be possible?" Jenny asked. "Not a single mammal acted like that for thousands of years", she claimed with a cocked brow.
"And now you're telling us he's reverted back to his primitive ways?" Matt asked with a calm sense of bewilderment, yet also cocked a curious brow at the clan leader's claim.
"Yes", Thrandeer answered with a nod. "And from what I was told, the predator was having pain on his neck before he had gone feral. He tried to attack some of the smaller predator and prey members, but fortunately, the others were able to subdue the mammal before anybody was harmed".
"Well that's good news at least", Jenny replied with a sigh of relief at the mentioning of no one being harmed by the feral predator.
"Yes", Thrandeer gave her a nod with his response. "We were able to place the mammal inside one of the glass holding cells shortly after he was subdued. However, I have been recently made aware he had woken up in the same feral state", the deer continued. "Luckily enough, the glass cell he's being contained in is durable enough to hold him off for the time being. But even with that being the case, we do not know how long it'll last before he manages to break through".
"And let me guess, you're needing me to assassinate him if things get out of hand?" Matt asked.
"If things turn for the worse, yes", Thrandeer confirmed. "However, if its at all possible, I'd much rather find a way to rid him of whatever caused him to become savage", the deer added following a sigh, closing his eyes and using his right hand-paws to rub his temples.
"I see…" Matt nodded with understanding at the last part, and he honestly couldn't blame him. He's much rather rid the catalyst of the predator's feral behavior than ending the member's life, but if necessary, then he'll do whatever he has to do. However, there is one thing he still needed to ask. "Who was the one who became feral?"
"Hideaki Akiyama", Thrandeer replied, the fox cocking a surprised brow at the deer.
"The Ishin-Mirkwood Clan's second in command?" Matt asked with surprise in his voice, clearly not expecting a high ranking official to go feral unexpectedly.
"That's correct…" Thrandeer answered following a sigh. "I don't know if he somehow reverted back to his primitive, savage ways, or if some other force caused him to become feral. But whatever the cause, we must deal with the situation before it gets worse", and with that, the fox and rabbit nod in agreement before everything goes silent.
Instrumental Japanese music accompanied the silence of the limo Jenny, Matt, and Thrandeer rode in, all three of them remaining in complete, uneasy thought regardless if the peaceful music was playing on the radio or not. In the minds of Thrandeer, Matt, and Jenny, all of them were wondering the same set of questions: How the hell did Hideaki revert back to his primitive ways? Was the cause biological, or had another force caused him to behave such a manner? That particular train of thought caused the rabbit to cringe, but despite her instincts yelling 'Danger!', she knew better than to assume biology had something to do with it. Not to mention she was practically dating a predator as it is. Her head rests against the fox's muscular chest and wraps her arms around his waist, her eyes closing and allowing her to rest peacefully.
Ten minutes had come and pass since they had departed from the New Otsu Airfield, and the limo, along with a few other vehicles, were approaching the New Otsu Ishin-Mirkwood camp gates. The Ishin-Mirkwood camp itself much resembled that of a flatland castle in Kyoto, yet with some different features. For instance, they were about to arrive at the black iron gates where the karamon entrance was, with a male patrol guard dressed in a security officer uniform began to approach them. The driver of the limo rolls down the window enough to show his identification, thus enabling the guard to open the gates with a press of a button on the remote he carried. The limo driver presses on the gas gently and passes through the open gates, thus the driver, along with the three mammals in the back, enter the property of the flatland castle-like camp.
The sight of the camp itself was admittedly beautiful to the point neither Matt nor Jenny could comprehend. The grass and the neatly trimmed evergreen trees accompanied much of the twenty acre property, along with several beautifully crafted, three story housing temples that could house up to fifty Ishin-Mirkwood clan members at once. If Matt and Jenny didn't know better, they would've assumed this was a university campus heavily influenced on Japanese architecture. But their attention shifts away from the housing temples and towards a huge, five story facility that much resembled the Tō-ji pagoda temple in Kyoto, Japan, yet the width and length of the temple-like building matched the length of a football field.
And with their attention shifted towards the temple-like facility did the limo park in its designated parking spot, allowing Thrandeer to open the large car door and step out of the vehicle. Matt and Jenny quickly follow and were completely marveled at the sight of the property they now bestowed upon. Who wouldn't be marveled by such a sight in the first place?
Now was not the time to look at the sight they stood upon, however. Work needed to be done and the incident needed to be dealt with as soon as possible. Thrandeer began leading Matt and Jenny to the front doors of the facility right at the moment Tomoe along with the second limo driver park their vehicles and step out of the car. They drew closer to the entrance, but right as they were thirty yards away from the entrance did they see a familiar face step out of the facility… a face Matt had recently began to despise since his brother, Nick, had been attacked.
"Oh, you've gotta be fucking kidding", Matt spoke with a simultaneous face-palm to his head. "What the hell's Iizuka doing here?" he growled lowly enough for only Jenny and Thrandeer to hear. And while Jenny was unaware of what Iizuka had done, the clan leader, on the other hand, knew quite well what he meant.
Iizuka had just exited the Ishin-Mirkwood facility for an unidentified reason, a stern, urgent look being apparent on his face. Whether it was genuine or not, no one but the tanuki himself knew. The examiner of executions was currently sporting a dark cerulean blue hakama shirt along with a pair of olive green hakama pants, with the leg openings being tucked into his black open toe combat boots. The tanuki's long, black hair was, for the most part, tied back with a small, white ponytail, with his medium length bangs remaining free and brushed to the sides of his head. His forearms along with the back of his hand-paws were covered in a pair of black samurai bracers. Lastly, a pair of swords were attached to the left side of his body via hakama pants belt, the long one being his katana and the shorter one being a wakizashi.
And now that he was outside, the tanuki spots the group and rushes towards them, all while waving at them to get their attention.
"Well, about time you've returned, Chief! The savage predator's getting more rowdy by the second", Iizuka claimed before turning his attention towards the fox, a gentle half-smirk forming on his face. "And glad you've returned as well, Matt. I hope things at Zootopia worked out well for you I hope", the tanuki continued. Matt's right hand-paw clenches into a fist and the fox soon found himself growling softly enough to where almost no one could hear… almost. Jenny catches this quickly and gently wraps her arms around his right arm, the fox turning to face the rabbit with the same look he bore on his face when looking at the approaching tanuki at first. But when his jade green eyes laid upon Jenny's sapphire blue pair, his expression softens and his eyes slightly widen. He nods gently at his bunny reassuringly and turns back to face the tanuki, albeit with a stern look on his own face. If his bunny wasn't here, things would've turned out differently.
Much differently…
"You could say that…" Matt answered calmly, albeit with a hint of disdain in his voice. "Now let me ask you something, Iizuka", the fox began, his left hand-paw grasping a hold of his sheath and resting his thumb on the guard of his katana. "You've claimed Thrandeer told you to give me the order to kill one of my own family, yet the clan leader had proven otherwise…" the fox continued with a light snarl. "So let me ask you this. Did someone happen to give you the wrong information when you called me earlier, or did you think it would be a good idea to deliberately reword the order you saw fit, all while happening to put on a good face for the Neo-Yaminobu ninjas in Zootopia?", and with that, the vulpine crosses his arms and glared at the tanuki standing just several feet in front of him.
"I've misheard what one of the other members told me. All I did was relay the message and nothing more. But one thing was clear: anybody who discovered the Savanna Heights Complex killings had to be eliminated, that was certain", Iizuka claimed with a stern look on his face, the fox merely glaring at the tanuki with a snarl. But as he glared at the examiner of executions, he could've sworn he saw a couple beads of sweat forming on Iizuka's forehead. "Besides, you don't want the others to know who the Battousai really is, don't you? Especially your own brother?", with those words leaving his mouth along with his eyes narrowing and a smirk forming on his face, Matt's anger had reached its boiling point. His right hand-paw quickly grasps the hilt of his blade, but Jenny quickly grabs her lover's right hand-paw and the clan leader quickly steps between the two.
"Alright, knock it off, you two! We do not have time for discord!" Thrandeer snapped, albeit as calmly as possible despite how annoyed he was with the growing alteration, especially with Iizuka being here as well. His eyes gaze down at the tanuki and narrows his eyes at the short predator. "As for you, Iizuka, I suggest you make yourself clear of this place for the time being and go home. I will deal with you later", the deer ordered, yet the tanuki didn't react to his warning. But nonetheless, he scoffs softly with his eyes closed and walks away from the scene. He turns his attention back to the interspecies couple and motions his head to the entrance. "Lets go", with the order given, Thrandeer, Matt, and Jenny continue walking towards the entrance and enter the five story facility, with Tomoe and several others joining in soon after.
With the group entering the facility, Matt and Jenny glance at the well crafted interior, particularly the Japanese paintings that reside on the walls, along with the black marble flooring under them. The temperature was rather pleasant to say the least, not being too warm nor too cold, but just at the right degree. If there wasn't a situation at hand right now, the two interspecies lovers would have no problem getting a tour of the facility. Speaking of the situation, their ears flicker to the sound of two pairs of footsteps coming from the north, their heads tilting upward and noticing two predatory mammals heading their direction.
A timber wolf and a North American river otter were currently rushing towards the group as hastily as they could. The wolf himself was a slender, yet muscular built timber wolf bearing a mixture of brown, gray, and white fur, with hints of black around the back of his ears. While taller than both Matt and Jenny, the wolf was still shorter than Thrandeer, being roughly about five feet six inches in height. One interesting trait the wolf bore were the eyes he had, the left eye being an emerald green color and the right being an icy blue color to create an interesting contrast with one another. The otter himself was of a slender build, bore mostly brown fur with tan around the muzzle area, and a pink nose. His eyes glisten an amber color and covered with a pair of rectangular, red-framed glasses resting on his short muzzle. He was the shortest of the two, the otter being about two feet four inches in height, just a bit shorter than the English-born rabbit herself.
One thing that the two men had in common were the clothes they were and the katana/wakizashi sword pair they carried, although the weapons were proportionate to their sizes. Their clothing consisted of a black three-fourths sleeved athletic shirt, a pair of olive green cargo hakama pants, and a pair of black open toe combat boots, the leg openings of their pants being tucked into the boots themselves. Their long, almost fur matching hair was mostly tied back in a high pony tail, with the exception of their medium-long length bangs flowing freely in front of them. Their forearms and the back of their hand-paws, like many others, were covered in a pair of black samurai bracers.
As soon as the deer spotted the two mammals approaching them, the clan leader narrows his eyes at the two slightly to emphasize the seriousness filling the atmosphere.
"Takeshi Sagamori, Emmitt Otterton, what news do you bring me?" Thrandeer asked calmly, yet the solemn tone he bore was enough to thicken the darkening atmosphere in the facility.
"Hideaki's becoming more aggressive with each passing second. I don't know how much longer the glass cell will hold him", Takeshi answered with solemn urgency in his voice.
"We have several other Mammals patrolling the area as we speak, but we do not know if they'll be able to withstand the beast if he manages to break out", Emmitt added, yet his amber eyes quickly glance at the jade green pair Matt bore. "We're glad you've returned, Battousai. We can use your assistance right about now".
"I understand", Matt replied with a nod, his eyes narrowing and his brows furrowing seriously. "Lead the way, Emmitt", as soon as the fox said that to the otter, Emmitt nods at the fox and quickly turns a hundred eighty degrees, the wolf quickly doing the same before the three Ishin-Mirkwood assassins start darting down the hall. Jenny and the others quickly follow the assassins and eye their movements carefully, soon turning left at the end of the hall. And right as they turned did they hear the loud shattering of glass coming from the large room at the end of the hall, following the shocked cries of the occupants inside. And that meant one thing:
The savage predator had broken free from its prison.
"Shit! Hideaki's must've broken free from his cell!" Emmitt growled right as he, Matt, and Takeshi suddenly increase the pace of their sprinting as much as they could, the three assassins quickly reaching the end of the hall and entering the large room. And what they saw quickly stops them on their tracks.
Within a matter of less than twenty seconds, from the moment the shattering glass and the cries were heard, the savage predator had managed to slay roughly five others mammals, both predator and prey alike, with just the use of his claws. Hideaki Akiyama was a white furred Siberian tiger bearing black stripes on his body. His body was strongly built to the point his rippling musculature definition could be seen even though his own fur. The tiger was almost seven feet in height, and looked to be somewhere within his middle to late thirties. Blood coated his forearms and his muzzle nearly to their entirety, yet that wasn't the only sight that caught their attention. What also caught their attention was the fact that the black irises in his piercing emerald green eyes were turned to slits, and they were glaring directly at them.
With his sights set on the three assassins who walked in, the savage predator leans forward and raises his hind up a bit like a predator preparing for its next kill. The tiger waits patiently and his savage eyes narrow at his targets, not caring about seeing the three assassins quickly unsheathing their blades from their sheaths. His savage mind only cared about one thing, and one thing alone: the need to kill.
Growls began escaping the back of the tiger's mouth as the feline began snarling at the three assassins before him. And with that snarl, the savage predator leaps forward with his claws unsheathed and ready for the kill. Unfortunately for him, however, the three assassins managed to dodge the attack a moment before it could strike either of them. The predator hits the wall face first with a loud 'crack' accompanying the impact, with the feeling of chipping teeth accompanying the savage beast right after he hit the wall face first.
"Jesus! What the hell's wrong with him?" Matt exclaimed with a pair of stern eyes, tightening his grip on the hilt of his sword with both hand-paws. The predator quickly turns towards Matt's direction right at the moment Thrandeer, jenny, Tomoe, and several others enter the room and notice the horrific scene before them. Five mammals lay dead inside of the room while several others surrounded the scene, including the ones who just walked into the room as an attempt to isolate the savage beast.
"Be careful, Matt! He's already killed five of our own as it is", Emmitt warned, his eyes glaring at the fox before the vulpine gave a nod at him.
"I will!", Matt replied quickly right before darting towards the other side of the room as swiftly as possibly, the tiger following suit and keeping his eyes on his target. The fox narrows his eyes at the savage tiger and clenches the heft of his sword tightly, much like how the tiger crouches down as if he were about to attack his prey. Suddenly, the savage predator leaps forward and was about to strike down Matt. But the attack never went through, because the instant the savage mammal tried, someone had managed to strike the left side of his face with a flying kick. The tiger slams against the wall as a result of the kick, but quickly makes a recovery and turns towards left, his eyes gazed at the wolf who struck him.
"You will not harm Matt Wilde!" Takeshi growled, moving his left foot back and aiming his blade directly at the fallen beast, both hand-paws clutching the hilt of the sword tightly in an attempt to stabilize the precision of his weapon. And with a loud growl leaving his muzzle, the wolf suddenly starts sprinting towards the savage animal with the intent to kill.
Unfortunately, his attack would never pass, because right as Takeshi got close, the savage tiger strikes the wolf diagonally across the face, the injury starting from just on top of is left brow and ending just under his right eye. The wolf howls in agonizing pain after he was struck by the tiger and was knocked onto nearly ten yards back, painfully landing on his back and sliding backwards against the marble floor for another three yards. Emmitt and Matt's eyes widen at the sight and quickly rush to Takeshi's aid, but a particular rabbit manages to beat them to it.
"I've got Takeshi, Matt! Take care of the Hideaki", Jenny exclaimed with a serious expression on her face. But she wasn't gonna get Takeshi out of the way alone, however, for Emmitt reaches the wolf and grabs one of his arms.
"Let me lend you a hand, miss", Emmitt replied quickly, the bunny turning to the otter and nods gently at him with a thankful gesture. And together, the two begin dragging the agonizing wolf out of the way as Matt shifts his attention back to the savage beast.
"Alright, looks like its just you and me now", Matt commented with a soft smirk, his eyes glaring at the primitive mammal fifteen feet away from his position. The hilt of his blade remains gripped on his right hand-paw, and the blade reflects the tungsten lighting cleanly. His eyes narrow at the beast before him and the savage mammal narrows his primitive eyes just the same. Matt raises his left arm in front of him and rests his blade perpendicularly in front of it, the back of his sword resting on his forearm and the sharp side pointing at the predator in front of him. Then, all was still, and not a single one dared to move. The prolonging silence was almost becoming unbearable for everyone occupying the room.
But the silence did not last for much longer, because the tiger lets out a loud roar and suddenly leaps towards the fox's direction. Matt, however, quickly follows suit and prepares to strike the savage mammal down with his blade. He wasn't so lucky, unfortunately, because as soon as he was about to slash the tiger did the savage mammal strike the fox's right side. And to make matters worse, the force of his attack was enough to knock Matt right through the glass cell the savage beast once occupied, even through the glass wall on the other side of the cell surprisingly enough. But with that attack, the savage mammal manages to render the fox unconscious with several shards of glass sticking out on his arms and a few on his legs.
"MATT!" Jenny shouted with shock right before running towards the fox as fast as she could. The others tried to stop her, but to no avail. She was just too damn fast for them. But right as she was about to turn right where Matt was located, the tiger suddenly darts right through the cell and several feet in front of the rabbit. She involuntarily stops dead on her tracks and unintentionally falls backwards, slowly crawling backwards from the crouching predator glaring at his prey.
"Jen-!" Tomoe exclaimed and began to rush towards the rabbit, but the clan leader grabs a hold of the vixen and stops her dead on her tracks. She quickly turns around and prepared to verbally lash out at Thrandeer, but the deer looks down at her sternly for a moment before turning towards the others.
"I want all Ishin-Mirkwood clan members to draw their blades, but do not attack until I give the order!" Thrandeer ordered sternly, where every clan member and assassin in the large room, predator and prey alike, drew their blades. The clan leader did not draw his, however, for he had made a promise with an ally of his to never draw his sword again unless absolutely necessary. But that didn't stop him from grabbing the hilt of his long katana though, just in case.
While all the available clan members drew their blades, Jenny continued to slowly crawl backwards away from the savage predator. Her nose was twitching in fear, her ears were perking upward, and her eyes were wide open and filled with fear. She was beyond terrified. And with her lover unconscious, she honestly didn't know what to do anymore.
Tears were starting to form in her eyes and began streaming down her face shortly after forming. Her eyes remain directed at the savage mammal in front of the rabbit, noticing the tiger stretching his digits for a brief moment along with the snarl the predator bore on her face. And the sight of those large, pointy teeth, her fear increased tenfold.
With a loud growl leaving the savage's throat, the white Siberian tiger suddenly leaps forward and unsheathes his black claws. Jenny's brows arch upward in fear, just like how wide her eyes were shot open. A loud, frightened shriek suddenly fills the room, all of the mammals inside the room turning towards the rabbit after hearing her scream. Time began to slow, and the bunny found herself turning away from the savage predator with her eyes closed and arms raised in front of her. She was waiting for her inevitable death to happen.
But death did not claim her, nor did the tiger's claws come into contact with her body at all. Confused by this revelation, the rabbit's eyes reopen and slowly turns towards the front, and what she saw completely surprised her to the fullest extent.
Her lover, Matt Wilde, had somehow managed to get in front of the lion and had managed to pierce his blade right through the underside of the savage mammal's jaw and through the top of Hideaki's head. With the fox tightening his hold on the hilt of his sword, he pulls the blade towards his direction and cuts right through the tiger's face, blood splattering across the area they occupied and the savage mammal's body collapsing onto the floor. Now that the primitive mammal was dead, the rabbit instantly knew her fox had successfully managed to kill the predator swiftly. But most importantly…
He had saved her life.
The fox's breathing grew heavier in correlation with the shrugging of his shoulders. His shrugs slowed down in complete synchronization with his breathing, and soon came to a stop. And with the fox's breathing returning to normal, along with a flick of his blade, he turns to face his rabbit with a pair of golden yellow eyes at first. However, the golden yellow eyes of an animal slayer return to the innocent jade green color Jenny became familiar with… the eyes she grew closely fond of. No longer were his eyes filled with blood lust, but with the concern for the well being of one's mate.
"Are you alright?" Matt asked with a concerned tone, sheathing his blade and slowly approaching his lover. Jenny's eyes gaze directly at Matt's own and nods gently at the fox while the vulpine kneels down and began unzipping his jacket.
"Yeah… thanks to you", Jenny answered softly right before the fox covers the rabbit with his jacket, some of the glass shards having fallen onto the floor after removing the jacket despite a couple remaining on his muscular arms. The rabbit notices the few shards of glass remaining on his arms along with the few on his legs. "What about you, Matt? You've got glass sticking out on your arms", she said, but right after she spoke, the fox looks at his arms and uses his hand-paws to pull the ones on his arms out, ignoring the stinging pain as a result of his actions.
"I'm alright, Jen. Its nothing serious", Matt reassured with a nod prior to turning his attention towards the few shards of glass sticking out on his legs. "It's not the first time I had this happen to me, and I'm certain it won't be the last", he claimed, pulling them out one by one and throws them to the side, again ignoring the pain and refocusing his attention on the rabbit. "All that matters is that you're safe", and as he said those words, the fox wraps his arms around the bunny and pulls her into a tender hug, the rabbit wrapping hers around his neck in return.
"Matt…" Jenny spoke softly with a sigh of relief right before burying her face into his neck fur, shedding a couple tears and lightly soaking the fur on his tuft. Matt rests his head on top of hers before gently smiling. His digits gently brush through the silky smooth hair on her head as the proper means to comfort the woman before him.
As much as he wanted to continue comforting his bunny, he knew he couldn't stay in this position for much longer. After another minute of being in one another's arms, the fox releases his hold on his rabbit and turns towards the body of the formerly savage predator, which was now severed in half from head to the crotch region. Regardless of the bloody scene in front of him, his jade green eyes narrow and began searching along parts of his body. For the most part, all he could see was the fresh crimson red blood soaking much of his body, along with the torn clothes on his body. But right as he was about to turn away, a bluish speck on Hideaki's neck suddenly grabs his attention.
"What in the hell…?" Matt asked softly in confusion upon seeing the blue speck on the corpse's neck, gently leaning forward and reaching for it with his right hand-paw. Right as he did, the other members quickly approach them and look down at the corpse before them. But as his fingers were nearing the blue liquid, one of the mammal's eyes widen upon the sight of the substance.
"Don't touch it!" Tomoe's voice suddenly shouted out, grabbing everyone's attention and causing Matt to jerk his hand-paw away almost instantly.
"Tomoe, you know what it is?" Matt asked in confusion, only for the vixen to turn towards her nephew and nod gently.
"Yeah, I know exactly what it is", Tomoe confirmed, approaching the body closely and kneeling in front of it, in front of the same side where the blue speck was spotted.
"What is it?" Thrandeer asked upon approaching and kneeling next to the vixen, his eyes also glaring at the substance on his neck. Could this be the cause of Hideaki's savage behavior, he thought? Or was it a mere coincidence? But upon seeing Tomoe's serious expression on his face, he knew without a doubt he was about to receive his answer.
"Night Howlers…"