AN1: Well, who's glad for an update? I believe I burned myself out a bit before, and this chapter was originally supposed to cover the entire week. Which means… like 10,000 words or more. Yeesh. It was beyond daunting… so I never really sat down to write until I finally gave in to that inner voice telling me to split up the chapter… also I couldn't take not writing anymore.

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Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy… This chapter has a lot of Kitsune…

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Reviewers: Please note that I am open to ANY FORM of review! Criticism is highly appreciated. Cookies and cake are… accepted.

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A special thanks to anyone who reviews, favorites, or follows. Seeing those numbers go up and hearing your opinions always makes me want to keep writing!

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Chapter Five - A

You Have One Week

Six Day's until the replacement's arrival.

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Kaifeng was a bustling city of great magnitude. No matter where he looked, Aon couldn't help but be amazed at how different it was compared to what he was used to. As he took a bite of the small cream pastry he'd purchased just moments ago, he looked right then left. This particular intersection was dumbfounding him. Kaifeng could be more than just confusing to move around in; even if you had access to the assortment of maps he'd gone over yesterday in the Lord of War's room.

The slight shifting of his hair was the tipoff that his ears twitched furiously atop his head. It was an annoying habit he just couldn't break. His little brother had noted it more than once, and it was apparently a dead giveaway for his thought processes. The destination his feet seemed inept at carrying him to, was a 'guild' of information brokers called the Turks.

They had at least a small post in every city in Midgar, or so they claimed. The tattoo on the back of his upper thigh signified him as one of their members. Easy enough to get in, but you never really got out. Cloud didn't know about anything, naturally. He had managed to steer his brother away from any and all criminal organizations so he wouldn't be tied down when they finally left Allovoros. Sadly, two kids can't get by in a town the size of Allovoros without help. The Turks had provided that when needed and he'd done a few services for them in return.

Before leaving the city, he'd found out the names of a few guild members in Kaifeng, including the boss. His new… position, should afford him some leeway in dealing with the man. Especially since he SHOULDN'T yet know of his membership.

"Hurry up and get out of the road Kid!" Shouted a driver on one large cart as he cracked the whip driving his yellow chocobo's along. Aon complied as his feet carried him hastily from the mud and brick pathway. His clothing didn't exactly give him away here. He was trying to stay 'middle class' in his choice. He'd turned down the silk with fancy flourishes, and exchanged them for a nice set of light cotton. A sleeveless dark blue shirt sat atop loose white breeches tucked into dull brown well worn boots. Naturally, the outfit wasn't exactly his size. Sephiroth hadn't brought in that tailor yet so he and Cloud were stuck with a few of the clothes nobles and other visitors had left in the fortress of a castle. They served his current purpose rather nicely at least. He should manage to meet some standards of dress at the establishment he was destined for.

With a frustrated sigh, Aon gave up his escapade and decided to seek the help of a local. Apparently his maps were useless with the city constantly growing and shifting. The district he was looking for apparently had been moved to another area; perhaps some temporary magistrate making it easier or harder to access in order to gain favor. Chances were, that didn't work out so well for him or her.

"Excuse me, miss?" Aon asks as he reaches out and grasps at a passing female demon. Some form of half breed. If his nose was telling him right, then it was a dog and some form of water demon… though the scales could be from any dry skinned lizard type as well.

The woman's natural response appeared to be jerking her shoulder from his grasp which he simply let go and waited for her to respond. "What?" She asked angrily as her green eyes roamed him.

"My apologies for distracting you; I was just hoping you might be able to point me in the direction of the… red tile district. I do appear to be lost on my first trip to…" Aon was stating until he was slapped. Well, that was rather rude.

"Creep," the woman said and huffed her way in another direction. Right… bad idea to ask a woman for directions to an area like that. He supposed it was up to the faithful shoe trick. That usually helped in his decision making process. While it seemed to work out for the best most times, it wasn't like you could stop to use it whenever the need arose.

Slowly slipping the brown boot from his foot he tossed it into the air and let it fall. The front of the boot was facing… mostly down the street to his right so that's the direction he'd be going. It helped that there was about a forty percent chance of it being the correct way in the first place.

His feet carried him from block to block after he'd replaced the boot. The smaller right hand wall of the city steadily came closer and closer until he finally saw what he was seeking. Red tiled roofs from four and five story buildings rose out above the singles and two's of smaller establishments and homes. The damn place was supposed to be closer to the castle. Must have been one of those conservative magistrates after all pushing the 'lowlifes' far and out of sight. He doubted it worked out so well since their buildings were so tall and stood out. In Midgar, red tiled roofs were restricted to establishments of a more… carnal nature.

Now that he was here, it would be rather easy to find the location he sought. Turk establishment's had a certain marking to the left of the front door. It was a lot like the tattoo he had, but much more intricate. So, it was now time for yet another time consuming task to start. He'd have to check around 100 or so buildings until he found the correct one. Going to the tallest or most prosperous would be a foolish waste of time. The Turks were far from such an idiotic organization as to show their wealth and power by flashing them around to any and all. Their services were more and more exclusive the bigger the city became.

While he moved from door to door as casually as he possibly could, he would occasionally stop and pretend to entertain the thought of entering one establishment or another. There were the call girls or guys out in the street. Some were VERY attractive, but looks weren't everything in Kaifeng. The richer clients would be looking for more than simply a good looking fuck partner. A half dressed younger male fox demon with very long blonde hair and what would pass as a middle aged Lamia approached him as he paused outside of their establishment. There was still no sign of the marking, and he'd checked over thirty buildings. It wasn't like it took only an hour to get here and he'd have to get back across the city to the castle before night fell, lest he be caught by more… unsavory types. It was one thing when you looked like one, and another when you looked like a target that had money and were lost.

"Hello there," the youthful kitsune said as he they both paused before him. A single tail type, which meant his power was weak. He had more than passable looks, but it wasn't Aon's reason for coming. The Lamia was also rather attractive. Their species held certain… lucrative traits, that enticed men and women both into their company.

"Hello," he replied as he glanced between the two admiring what he knew they would think he should be. While he could simply ASK about the Turks leader, it would be best if he arrived suddenly and unexpectedly. He didn't want to give the man any time to actually prepare for it. He was probably already aware of their arrival in the city not long ago. The spectacle with the damned dog had surely spread throughout the entirety of Kaifeng by this point. He'd had to use a worker entrance to get out earlier. Leaving by the front gate would have been simply impossible.

"I was- *grunt*," Aon started before something slammed into his side. He twisted and grasped at the scampering form of a youth around his own age. A red headed cat with a pony tail not too unlike the way he usually kept his own hair. The kid struggled as he fought to remove Aon's hand from the back of his loose vest. The kitsune's free arm snaked around and reached into the kid's pocket removing a small bag that looked so familiar it may as well be his… funny, since it was. While he gave the kid props for his rather clichéd approach, he'd simply picked the wrong target this time.

"The hell's your problem, yo!" The kid stated rather than asked as he turned back around and glared at him with light blue cat slit eyes.

"Nothing, I was simply making sure of something." Aon replied as he fiddled the small black bag between his two hands. The cat boy glared at him something fierce then turned and stomped away. With a joyful and triumphant smirk he turned back around to look at the two who'd come to greet him. "Now, where were we? Ahh yes, I believe… you." He said and put an arm around the blonde kitsune's shoulders. "Were trying to pull me into your fine establishment, no?"

The younger kitsune smiled back at him. Aon felt slightly bad for the boy. He was right around Clouds age physically. If Aon guessed correctly His actual age was probably around twenty five or so. Demons didn't age like the short lived humans and certain traits stood out more than others as their lives progressed slowly towards their inevitable demise. With a bit of work and intuition, one could learn to tell the near age of most races on sight. Of course, Aon knew that you did what you had to in order to survive all too well.

Before the red head had bumped into him he'd been wondering about how to brush these two off. The only alteration made to his plan was a very small symbol he'd noted to the utmost top and left of their door. The thing would go unseen by MANY, even his eyes had nearly been tricked by the simple demon magic placed upon it.

"Perhaps next time, my lady," Aon said and bowed his head lightly to the Lamia and the young kitsune lead him inside. The boy was chatty, annoyingly so, but he supposed it was one of his more redeeming sides. If nothing else it probably got him return customers of a sort. His voice was rather high still, but there were the hints of it deepening much as Clouds had started to do about a year and a half ago.

The boy led him up a single flight of stairs after getting a light nod from a well dressed man behind a counter. As he'd walked through the door pretending to be rather dumbstruck by a few things Aon took note of the various men and women occupying the place. Some were obviously the 'enforcers' of the place. Others appeared to be lounging patrons or workers. Whether they were simply so or not, had yet to be seen.

The second flight of stairs made Aon turn to the boy and cock an eyes brow. The blonde kitsune blushed lightly and Aon smirked approvingly. Apparently, the one who had caught him was more in demand than others. This building was a three story and they were going straight to the top. The higher floors were dedicated to the higher end entertainers. He supposed this pretend trip was going to cost him more than he'd thought. Luckily, it wasn't his money he was using.

The blonde kitsune slowly opened the first door on the left they came to and motioned him inside with a slight bowing of his head. Aon took the offer of entering the room first then stopped a few feet in. It was simple, yet beautifully decorated in a desert kingdom fashion. It held many amenities he was quite used to, being that he was a citizen of Allovoros. A light question of if the boy knew that or not clicked in the back of his mind as the door behind him closed.

"I have done all the talking thus far sir, and have yet to hear what you came all this way for." The boy said as he approached him placed an arm on his chest and pushed him lightly back onto a small chair. The swaying of the boy's tail and the light strut drew Aon's gaze in a way it probably shouldn't have. The boy's loose fitting stark white silk trousers seemed to be just at the verge of falling off yet never did. As if a small tug or nudge then he wouldn't be wearing anything at all. As if to add to the… allure; the sides of the trousers were slashed open down to just above his knees where they were tied off with black silk ribbons. If he turned juuust right… you ALMOST caught sight of something… or your imagination made you think you did.

There was a very good reason Aon stayed away from establishments such as this as much as possible. The darkly tanned kitsune before him was one such reason.

"Drink?" The boy asked as Aon had yet to say anything to him since the initial decision outside the building. Even then it had been only a few words.

"Sake, please." He stated as a hand drifted up to stroke at his chin. Admiration of the young kitsune aside he was going to have to decide on a few things before actually meeting with the Turk boss of Kaifeng.

His mental state was easily shifted from the blonde for the few moments he had; to the task he'd actually come for. Sadly, the boy was better than he'd thought. Before he could actually go through any real thought process, the boy had sat lightly onto Aon's lap and offered him the small clay bowl. The kitsune was light and apparently knew what he was doing when he sat down. There wasn't the slightest hint of discomfort, and the light swaying of his tail on Aon's leg could just barely be felt through the cotton cloth.

Taking the small cup Aon nodded his thanks and downed it quickly. "Might I ask, what sort of services you were looking to receive?" The boy asked again as he turned his head and took hold of the small jug of sake he'd brought with him from the counter. Aon took note of the long eyelashes… real or fake? He would entertain them as real for the sake of what he wished them to be.

The fire haired kitsune's free right hand reached up around the boy's face and turned it back to him so that golden eyes stared into one another. The hand slowly brushed blonde hair back over the kitsune's shoulder then up and scratched lightly behind his ears. The boy's head leaned into it as a small smile spread across his face. Slowly he pulled the boy's face closer to him, then at the last moment, moved up and breathed lightly into his golden left ear causing it to twitch.

"I'm here, to see Tseng." He whispered lightly then let the kitsune's head go as his hand fell back to the resting position it had originally held.

The boy smiled ruefully at him and spoke, "I see, very well. Please give me a moment sir." Lightly and gracefully the blonde extricated himself from the position on Aon's lap. The fire haired kitsune would give him credit for one thing. That eye catching light sway of his tail and strut never left the blonde as he walked to, then out the door. He would definitely have to tip the pure blood well. Sitting lightly up he extracted the black bag from the pocket it was placed in and opened it.

Confusion was the first thing to pass across his features, then a light anger, which was followed lastly by joy, and laughter. Ohh this was good. That cat had been VERY good. He was short two gold pieces. Naturally the whole bag held only ten, and the weight difference was a pittance. However, Aon DID pride himself almost as high on his ability to judge things as he did his intellect. Not noticing the difference in weight was his own fault. He, a thief, had a few of his coins nicked. It was so funny he was still laughing when the blonde boy returned to the room a few minutes later.

"My lord strife, please come this way." The blonde stated and motioned for him to follow. Well… he supposed he'd already been discovered after all. A light sigh escaped his lips as he pushed himself up from the chair and followed the kitsune out of the room. He'd lost the element of apparent surprise, though it would explain how he'd managed to get a prize like the blonde so quickly. It wasn't natural he supposed to send a top floorer down to the streets to pick up guests unless you were doing really bad, or they were very important.

"Thank you," Aon stated to the boy as he stopped outside a door and opened it for him. The third floor also held the Kaifeng Turks head's personal quarters it seemed. The boy nodded and after Aon walked in closed the door behind him.

"Aonather Strife, it's nice to meet a man of your standing so soon after he enters the city." The voice of a single man stated from a relaxing looking chair at the back of the room. Other than him there was a dark skinned bald man, and a blonde female. They were in the shadows and the incense burning was throwing off his ability to determine anything by smell. What those two were he'd only be able to guess at. The man in the middle though, he was an easy type to identify. After all, what kind of fox demon would he be if he couldn't identify his own species?

It made sense he supposed. After all, it truly would take a fox to run an operation like this. You certainly couldn't trust a dog or wolf demon to run this organization in a city the size of Kaifeng. They lacked the intelligence, wit, and cunning the job required. "The pleasure is mine." He said and bowed lightly to the man who motioned for him to take a seat at in one of the three chairs before him. "Thank you," he stated and took the one on the right.

The black haired kitsune's hands interlocked on his lap as he continued. "While I would offer you more hospitality, I've been informed you already received a bit from one of our entertainers." The man stated and motioned back towards the door. The same one he'd probably sent to greet Aon…

"Indeed, it was quite an unexpectedly pleasant greeting. The sake was good as well." He stated as he leaned back into the chair and got as comfortable as possible. He did hope the pleasantries would be over with soon. One if not both of the other two watching sent a shiver up his spine. Perhaps one was a natural predator?

"I do hate to rush things as we've just met, but you have come here for a reason, yes Lord Strife?" The man stated and asked to which Aon smiled. Good, the man was prompt. While perhaps not as much as the blonde; he found that he liked the raven haired kitsune already.

"That's fine, I do have other tasks that need doing after this." Aon stated as he sat forward and pulled a small crushed paper scroll from the small pocket inside of his coat. "I need all of the information that I've requested on this list compiled before my return the day after tomorrow. Please do not open it now, you may state your price when I return. I prefer to skip the negotiation games before you have a more accurate figure." The fire haired Kitsune stated as his ears twitched atop his head. Nerves? Not a chance, he was just trying to make sure he didn't screw anything up. He had to appear JUST right, give off JUST the right amount of pomp, and say JUST the right words. It was actually very tiring. Like trying not to make a sound while nicking greens from the mouth of the chocobo eating them. Not an easy task by any means.

"I see," the fox said as his dark eyes latched onto the scroll laying on the table before him. "Very well Lord Strife. I look forward to our next meeting." The raven haired kitsune nodded and Aon stood to leave.

"Actually… there are two more things I want you to look into. On the way here, a rather crafty thief managed to make off with some coins of mine. I would like for you to let me meet him. He stands about yay hi," he said as he motioned to around his mouth. "A red headed cat, with a ponytail that falls to his mid back, quick fingers, and… some form of markings under his sky blue eyes. The second, I would like Lord Crescent to be made aware of my visit to this district… rather anonymously. He probably has me under some light surveillance, but I may have slipped away from them on the way here."

The man said nothing for nearly a minute as if thinking the matters over. Aon was about to speak up when the man finally said something. "Very well, I will make sure I have him here when you return the day after tomorrow then. And consider Lord Crescent already aware of your presence here. "

"Thank you." Aon bowed lightly and said then turned and headed for the door.

"And Lord Strife," the raven haired fox called; to which Aon turned back to face him. "Next time you come, please do put on something to cover that odor. You have the distinct scent of death floating about you." The man said and Aon eyed him for a moment then nodded.

"Of course, I will make sure to do so." He finished and walked out the opening. When it closed behind him his eyes narrowed in thought, but he brushed it back away and glanced to the slightly ajar door he'd followed the blonde into when he first arrived.

A smile split his lips as he made his way quietly to the room and peered inside. The golden haired kitsune was sitting back in a relaxed manner with a smile on his face humming a light tune. Aon watched for a few moments in thought. While he DID have other things to do it didn't mean he couldn't stay for a short while, right? A few small bowls of sake in pleasant company couldn't… A mental sigh and Aon shook his head. No he really WAS far too busy. The coin pouch was quickly removed as he left two gold pieces at the opening. Good service required a good tip. It wasn't like the Central Gates Coffers were going to miss the two he sacrificed here.

With that finished he was finally on his way down the stairs past the enforcers, patrons, and workers. The street was bustling now compared to nearly a half hour before. It WAS later in the day… His next destination would be more difficult. He could only hope to make it back to the castle before dark. Getting in would be a nightmare afterwards.

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AN2: Who likes or dislikes the blonde Kitsune? I actually would like to know. Drop me a PM or however you want me to know; as it's the first REAL look at the more carnal side of any character in the story.

I also would like to know what most of you would like to see as far as races go on the 'main characters'. Anyone who has yet to appear is still technically a tossup, while I have most pretty much nailed down I fear they will be too similar. Good suggestions, and if you give me a reason, it would/could sway me to your side. PM only on this one please…

On the Lamia… it's the snakelike tongue in case you didn't guess. Just a note, this is a strange mingling of brothels and other such places. I'll put everything together as best I can, but depending on the building and clientele each one will have varying degrees of what the 'workers' will and will not do.

Fun Facts

Clan/Guild/Syndicate: Depending on where you are in Midgar the name could be anyone of the three. In Kaifeng as you have noted they are called Clans. Basically they are just powerful criminal organizations. They are by no means to be mistaken for petty gangs. They wield influence in many areas and your closest friends/maid/butler/family member could be a member and you don't know it.

Guilds: These are not to be mistaken for the nefarious kinds of guilds in most cases. There are SOME Guilds whose influence grew so large that they fell into crime. Thus the Guild name in the previous Fun Fact. Guilds come in as many varieties as there are professions. Kaifeng has a great many of them including bounty hunters, chefs, smiths, merchants, Mercenaries etc. It's basically a gathering of people in the same profession under a single organization so they can influence things… easy enough, yes?

Relations: These are Demons in a world completely separate from ours. While the human system is SORT of like our own, it's not all the same. Thus the Demon society looks at relations in strange and varying lights. In most cases, the demons age slower, but still go… active at the same general age as Humans. That of course depends on the race etc, this can lead to 'younger looking' demons engaging in not so PG-13 acts. They also don't have restrictions as far as gender, race differences are more likely to come up than a couple's gender similarities. Lastly, quantity, this varies again from one race to the next. Wingly's are more likely to stick to single partners for life, while other races like the cat demon may go after more than one partner at once or not have problems with their partner having multiple partners.