The group stared at Sebastian in in slight shock, processing what the lion has just said. His uncle was coming here? And what did he mean by they'll find out, why not tell them? Just what did this uncle do, was he an undercover cop or something? It didn't make sense at all...In fact this was the first they had ever heard mention on an uncle now that Vega's question had settled in their head. What was Sebastian hiding about his uncle that he couldn't, or didn't, want to share with them that he even had one?
"Find out when he gets here?" Hassan repeated. "No offense Sebastian but I think we should know just what we're getting into with your uncle. If he could scare this guy-" he said as he pointed at the now dead doberman on the floor. "Enough just through the phone I think we need to know exactly who he is."
"Yeah, and why you never mentioned him before." Vega added.
Sebastian let out a sigh as he looked at his friends, he knew they were right, but they were on a time limit. "It's better if I explained after he gets here. Our familial relationship is...complicated. Plus, we are kind of on a time limit to save Anya so just know he's here to help."
"...Fair enough." Hassan conceded. "Families can be complicated after all."
"Thank you, I promise I'll explain everything." Sebastian promised. "Now, we should probably get this body out of here and make sure we're ready for my uncle."
"Speaking of being ready…" Sebastian commented. "I might should ask the old man to look after Natalia while we're gone...this might take a while. Are you guys still sure you want to-"
"Of course we do Shin." Jax butted in. "Stop trying to hog all the glory to yourself, not often you get to go on your own save the princess quest." He grinned. "So stop trying to be the solemn white knight who fights his own battles. You know how we canines are, tell us to jump and we'll ask how high." The arctic fox argued. "Not sure what I can say in terms of our feline roommates though, but you know they're the same."
Shinoku blinked. "...did you intentionally work that same pun involving my fur color in?"
Jax's grin grew. "Maybe."
"You do realize it's not that good right?" Shinoku remarked.
"At least you don't think it's a-pawling." Jax joked.
"…I'll meet you guys at the school's entrance." Shinoku said before turning and heading to the gym to talk to his coach.
"That was pretty bad." Vega commented.
"Eh, I'm working on it." Jax shrugged. "Now, let's get this guy out of here and into the loving arms of his friend. I'm sure he's just dying to be with him again."
The others rolled their eyes as Sebastian and Hassan lifted the dead doberman up. "So, how exactly are we going to do this, same way we brought him in?" Hassan asked.
"It's really our only option, just have to make sure we stay inconspicuous." Sebastian replied.
The two set about making sure the doberman looked as much like he did when they carried him to the storage room, closing his eyes and mouth. Jax however tried to have a bit of fun by giving the doberman a goofy look or drawing on him, something Sebastian and Hassan shot down, even though it was tempting to make him look stupid. Once they had finished, they proceeded to make their way to the school's entrance to dump the doberman, Jax and Vega moving ahead to help them keep unnoticed by keeping an eye out for faculty and other students.
As Shinoku made his way to the gym he did his best to not make himself all that noticeable, something he did happen to have a fair bit of practice in. If Dante's cover story for them was going to stick, they needed as few witnesses as possible. He deftly made his way into the gym, making sure not to do anything that'd draw attention to him. Though he did make sure that Dante saw him as he ducked into the coach's office, the ocelot excusing himself for a moment as he told his students to do some exercises.
"Do you need something, or did you get the guy to talk?" Dante asked as he shut the door.
"We got him to talk...well, Sebastian did." Shinoku replied.
"He's the lion African right?" Dante inquired.
"Right." Shinoku answered.
"Huh, what did he do?" Dante asked. "No offense to him but he didn't strike me as the overly intimidating type."He remarked.
"Apparently called his uncle and had him talk to the guy." Shinoku shrugged.
Dante blinked. "He had his uncle talked to the guy?"
"Yup." Shinoku replied with equaled curious disbelief.
"Who the hell is his uncle to scare a fucking gang member?" Dante asked in surprised disbelief.
"No idea." Shinoku shrugged. "But I'll know when he gets here."
Dante blinked, not sure how to feel about that bit of information. Shinoku's friend had an uncle that was capable of scaring someone like that doberman into giving up information that was on his way to the school. On the one hand, he did help them out and was likely protective of his nephew. On the other, who's to say he wasn't worse than what Shinoku was facing. But he was willing to help and that did say something. One thing was certain, he was definitely going to need that drink.
"He's coming here?" Dante inquired.
"Yeah, I'm guessing Sebastian asked him for a favor or something." Shinoku replied. "Told us to meet him by the entrance of the school. Anyway, I wanted to ask a favor of you."
"...on top of covering for you?" Dante questioned.
Shinoku rubbed the back of his head somewhat meekly. "It's nothing big...Just...would you mind looking after my Natalia while I'm gone? I don't want her to starve."
"...Natalia?" Dante asked as he looked at Shinoku with slight confusion
"She's my pet praying mantis." Shinoku explained.
"...Fine." Dante sighed, he was definitely going to need that drink.
Shinoku smiled slightly. "Thanks."
Dante just grumbled. "You owe me a lot of wins come boxing season. Bring her here"
Shinoku nodded. "Alright."
Shinoku made his way out of the gym after Dante left the room to distract the students, leaving as quietly as he came and heading to the boy's dorm. He continued to make sure he was as unseen as he could be, quietly making his way up to his dorm on the eighth floor and fetching Natalia. He took a minute to take her out of her container, letting her stand on his fingers and look at him.
"Hey, I've got to go for a bit, got to save Anya, the tigress you've heard about. Yes, it's about that Otis bastard, he kidnapped her, it'll be the last thing he'll ever do." Shinoku growled as he spoke to his pet, "The old man will look after you while I'm gone but I hopefully won't be long. Behave for him alright? He's already helping out a lot and I don't want to cause him any more trouble than I have."
Shinoku gave Natalia a light pet before putting her back in her container, before going to get the small container that had the bugs for her to eat. He decided to go ahead and put a bug in for her to eat, carrying both containers out of the dorm room as the mantis struck her victim, devouring it greedily. Shinoku made sure to be just as quiet and unseen as he was going to fetch the mantis, quickly hiding if needed. He did not want to have there be anyone who could get Dante in trouble for lying, even if it was highly unlikely any of the other students would care.
He deftly made his way out the dorm, double timing it back to the gym. As he got back to the gym, he let out an internal sigh of relief, seeing that the students were leaving for their next class. Not wasting what little time he had before he had to worry being unseen by students, he slipped in and headed right to Dante's office.
"Thanks again, I can't thank you enough for everything you're doing." Shinoku said as he sat the containers down.
"Yeah yeah, just don't forget that my ass is as much on the line as yours." Dante muttered. "Maybe not to the same extent, but still."
"I get it, you're taking a huge risk by not going to the principle or calling the police, and for that I can never thank you enough." Shinoku said as he bowed a bit in thanks.
"Just make my risk worth it, I don't want to have to be the teacher that let students get killed, or face your parents." Dante said as he placed Shinoku's pet out of the way.
"I will, and you won't be." Shinoku assured.
"You better not, or I'll kick your ass." Dante said as he shot Shinoku a slight glare.
Shinoku chuckled a bit. "I'll see you later old man." He as he turned to leave.
"Give him hell kid." Dante remarked.
Shinoku nodded before making his way out of the gym. Once more he made sure to stay out of sight of any student or teacher as he made his way to his friends at the entrance, nothing was going to stop him from rescuing her. As he got to the entrance, he let out a slight sigh, readying himself for what was to come. While they waited, even moving further down away from the entrance at Sebastian's suggestion, Shinoku couldn't help but worry if Anya was alright. He just hoped they could make it in time and that bastard of a doberman hadn't hurt her.
Felix sighed as he finished cleaning off Anya, he was careful and respectful with getting her tidy, the fact she was still unconscious was slightly concerning but he knew it was because the gang members sent with him were too rough. Thankfully he didn't have to do much, just set about making sure her bruises and any cuts were treated and cleaned before taking a set of spare clothes and dressing her in them as her other clothes were torn slightly. As he laid her down on the bed Otis entered the room to check in on both Felix and Anya, though he didn't pay too much mind to Felix.
"Still no word from Damian or Frank?" Otis asked as he caressed the tigress' cheek.
"…No." Felix replied as his ears flattened.
Otis' face twisted into a snarl, "They should have contacted you or come back by now...fucking useless." he muttered before leaning down to Anya and kissing her forehead, though the irritated rage he felt was still apparent. "Leave." he muttered, to which Felix meekly complied after a bit of hesitation. Once the other doberman was clearly gone Otis pulled out his phone and made a call, "Hey, it's me. If you want things to remain non-hostile between our gangs you'll help me out with something; I'll even throw in a favor for doing it. What's the job? I want you to have your guys on the lookout for a white furred mutt of a wolf and make sure he's no longer a problem. So, do we have a deal? Good. Oh, and make sure he suffers." he grinned before hanging up.
Felix sighed as he moved through the building, he didn't particularly like leaving Anya alone with Otis, but as bad as the doberman could be he knew that Otis was not about to do anything like what the others attempted. Well, he was pretty sure of it at least. One thing had him curious though, the fact that Damian and Frank had yet to contact him or even show back up. Maybe...just maybe, this might be the unexpected turn he hoped for. The snarl on Otis' face seemed to give off the impression he also thought something didn't go as he planned.
He knew that wouldn't stop Otis from making sure that the arctic wolf was dead though, but that was just dependent on if the arctic wolf actually survived the fight. It was very likely that he could have thought off or killed the two but succumbed to injuries. But if he had killed them and lived...Otis would just keep sending more after him until he was dead. Still, the bit of hope he dared to feel earlier seemed to grow a little. Whatever happened next, whether Otis kept sending more after the guy or the arctic wolf managing to do something to end all this, not even he could calculate the probability
Shinoku and his friends continued to wait for Sebastian's uncle to arrive, it had been close to an hour since they started waiting. Shinoku was getting impatient, he had this awful feeling that something bad was going to happen and every second that they stood waiting was a second that it might happen. Sure, anybody in this situation would be as worried, but for canines it was unbearable, such was their curse and their strength as loyal companions.
The seconds were becoming more and more unbearable as thoughts of what Otis might do ran through his head. He was just about to say screw waiting on Sebastian's uncle when, to his relief, he saw a black car driving up. It had an almost antique design to it, though it clearly was on the somewhat higher end of things. As it came to a stop Sebastian walked over to the car, waiting for the door to open before bowing as a large massai lion stepped out. As they got a look at the man they were taken aback by how similar they looked, even down to them both wearing glasses.
"Thanks again for the help uncle." Sebastian said as he bowed to his uncle in thanks.
"It's no problem, they did threaten you and I cannot take that lightly." The lion said as he maintained a professional, yet somewhat soft, demeanor. "Just remember what I said. While this is out of a familial duty, you'll still owe us."
"I understand." Sebastian said before turning to his friends. "I guess I should explain like I said I would."
"Would be nice." Hassan commented
"Yeah, and what does he mean by owe us?" Vega asked.
Sebastian let out a sigh. "For starters, this is my uncle, Ibuki. And as for what he does, well...he's in the Shishigumi." He watched as the utter shock on his friends faces appeared mere seconds on their faces. Well, all but Shinoku of course, who just looked as he had, if not a bit more stand-offish towards Ibuki.
"I'm sorry…WHAT?!" Vega exclaimed. "Your uncle...is in the freaking Shishigumi?!"
"Yeah." Sebastian confirmed.
"I don't know if I should be impressed, terrified, or both." Vega remarked. "Why didn't you ever bring it up?"
"It's not exactly something you casually drop into conversation." Sebastian replied. "Plus, it's...complicated. My mother lets him visit from time to time because they're family, but she made it clear to him that his business stays as far from us as possible and never mentioned." He explained.
"Fair enough." Vega shrugged.
"And I'm guessing he means we'll owe the Shishigumi even though you're his nephew." Hassan inquired.
"It's how things unfortunately have to be." Ibuki replied, "In our line of work you can't exactly do something out of the kindness of your own heart. And our current boss doesn't exactly do charity..." Ibuki seemed to show a slight bit of resentment. "But it was Sebastian who asked and will owe the favor."
Shin looked at Sebastian, then to Ibuki. "No. I'm grateful for the help, but this is my problem, not his. If anyone's going to owe the Shishigumi, I will."
Ibuki looked at the arctic wolf. "You would take his place in owing us?"
"I would." Shinoku affirmed.
Sebastian looked at Shinoku. "Shin you don't have-"
"I said I would. I've already gotten you mixed up enough in my business, I'm not going to get you mixed up in something else because of me." Shinoku interrupted.
"But-" Sebastian tried to argue.
"I said I would, end of discussion." Shinoku stated firmly/
An almost completely imperceptible smile formed on Ibuki. "You have a good friend Sebastian, I see your praise of him wasn't exaggerated, very well. Now then, I believe you agreed time was something you weren't sure you had."
"Right..." Sebastian agreed.
"Then everyone better get in, I can only take you to the general area where this doberman is, not to his doorstep." the lion said as he looked at the others. "We Shishigumi cannot be seen involved in any capacity. But I can at least make sure you might just make it in time."
Shinoku looked at Ibuki for a moment, eyes narrowed slightly. "...Thank you." He said before moving over to the car's front passenger side. "Do you mind Sebastian?"
"No, I'm fine with sitting elsewhere actually." Sebastian replied as he moved to the car, opening the back passenger door. "Looks like there's enough seats for us all, I'll call middle."
"I'll join ya." Hassan piped up as he moved to join Sebastian.
"Looks like you and me got the back." Vega commented as he looked at Jax.
"Sense when are we not covering their backs?" Jax joked.
Hassan and Sebastian just shook their heads as Jax and Vega moved to the back seats. Shinoku paid them no mind as Ibuki got in and started driving them away from the school and towards town, hoping that they could make it in time before anything happened to Anya. He wasn't sure what he would do, or if he could forgive himself, if anything happened to her. She was everything to him, even if their romance was still newly started.
The drive seemed to take forever, even though Ibuki was going at a relatively fast speed while still not fast enough to get pulled over. All Shinoku could do was look out the window as the buildings passed by, unable to focus on anything else but the sinking feeling in his gut and the dread of whatever Otis might do to Anya. He continued to watch as the nice clean look of the city slowly start to get less so, a bit of relief as the car came to a stop at what looked like a border between the city as what it wanted to be seen as, and what truly lied beneath.
"This is as far as I can take you." Ibuki said as he looked at them. "You should still have enough of a chance though."
"Thanks again, I still don't like that you are putting a condition on helping us, but I'll honor owing the Shishigumi a favor." Shinoku stated.
"It's how the world of adults is unfortunately; you'll learn and get used to it. Still, the fact you took the responsibility of owing a favor in place of Sebastian speaks to your character, I admire that." Ibuki replied, "Oh, and one more thing." the lion said before they got out of the car, reaching into a glove box and pulling out a gun. "Sebastian, I want you to have this." he said as he offered the gun to the younger lion, "I'm still your uncle, and if you insist on helping your friend, I want you to be as safe as possible."
Sebastian looked at the gun a moment. "Thanks, but I won't need it." He said as he pulled out a gun with a silencer.
Hassan blinked as he saw the gun. "Is that..."
"The gun the guy you knocked out was using?" Sebastian finished for Hassan. "Yeah, figured it might come in handy." He said as he concealed it again.
"The fact you are that prepared scares me."
"It's only if I absolutely have to." Sebastian replied before looking to his uncle. "I'm sure someone else could use the gun you offered."
"I'm good." Hassan commented. "I kind of prefer using my hands."
"Tempting...but nah." Vega chimed in.
"Hmm...maybe...but I already get in enough trouble so pass." Jax said.
"I'll take it." Shinoku said as he looked at Ibuki.
Ibuki nodded as he handed Shinoku the gun as the others got out of the car. "Make sure Sebastian doesn't die. If anything happens to him..."
"I'll make sure of it." Shinoku replied
"Thanks...and good luck." Ibuki said before driving off after Shinoku got out.
"So...anyone want to make bets on who gets takes out the most gang members?" Jax half joked.
"Eh, sure, I'll likely get more than you." Vega grinned.
"You're on." Jax grinned back.
Sebastian and Hassan just rolled their eyes. "You do realize we're about to take on an entire gang, right?" He asked.
"I know." Jax answered. "Just figured I'd keep things light. Besides, we got this."
"Yeah." Vega echoed, backing Jax up.
"Only two of us here have actually been in a fight though." Sebastian reminded.
"Does it matter?" Vega asked. "We've got each other's back, we totally got this. Besides, it's just one gang, probably not even that big of one."
"Let's hope so." Sebastian hoped.
Shinoku looked at his friends before starting to head off before them. "Regardless of their size we need to get going, Anya could be-"
"We know Shin, calm down, we'll get her back." Sebastian said as he placed a had on the arctic wolf to stop him. "But remember, we have to be careful, we can't be running carelessly in this part of town. It'll draw too much attention and likely make us a target of any other gangs. We should move quickly, yes, but with purpose and not like we're out of our element or running from something." He advised.
"...Alright." Shinoku sighed, composing himself the best he could despite his worry about Anya's safety.
The group proceeded on their way to rescue the tigress, sticking close together and making sure they didn't draw any real attention to themselves. Shinoku did everything he could to not get ahead of the others, the stern battle-ready expression on his face did little to hide his ever-growing frustration at not being able to rush right in. He knew Sebastian was right, and that they didn't need any distractions or to draw the attention of any other unsavory groups, but each second that passed was a second that scum had Anya; could touch her, hurt her, do anything he pleased with her. And that, that made his blood boil with every passing thought. He could only hope that she'd be alright by the time they got there.