Kane and Kuro in Golden Fist
Kane and Kuro in: Golden Fist
Kane was in the garden, digging a hole for an apple tree sapling. He'd wanted for some time to grow his own fruit for use in wine and ciders, as well as vinegar. Kuro was also part of the national health service, but she too enjoyed homegrown produce. However, the sapling was pretty big, so he needed to dig a big hole in order to fit the sapling. It also wasn't particularly wide, but it was a very deep-rooted specimen. His shovel pounded against the dirt.
Kuro came out into the garden and called. "Kane! Come wash up for dinner!" "I'll be right there, Pawprint! I'm almost done!" "All right, but if you wait too long, it'll be cold, snuggle wolfie!" "Yeah, I know! I'll be inside soon!" He went to dig another shovelful, and grunted as he hit a big rock. The shovel slid in his supporting paw, giving him a few splinters, and a lot of shock to his main paw. He bit the splinters and pulled them out, then tried to remove the rock by digging under it and prying it out of the ground. He didn't put much effort into it, and the weight surprised him. "What the hell...?"
Kuro heard him and went to see what was up. "Something wrong?" "Yeah, a really heavy rock, and it's pretty small..." He went down and used the leverage of the shovel to bring the rock to the surface and tried to pick it up. It was the size of his fist, but it was immensely heavy. He then rubbed some of the dirt off, and what they had was apparent- It wasn't a rock. It was a nugget of gold. And at that, the nugget in his paws weighed at least seven kilograms.
"Oh... Oh, my..." "...Yeah. You don't have to finish that sentence. We'd better wash this and polish it up if we intend to sell it." He cradled it in his arms and carried it inside. He went to the upper-floor bathroom and started washing the nugget in the bathtub, with the shower-head. Kuro, on the other hand, returned to cooking. However, as soon as Kane had found out what that nugget was, someone else knew too.
About two hundred yards away, a man with a pair of binoculars, a notebook and a radio called in the update. "Subject 1 has found something interesting, Sid." The radio crackled, "What is it?" "A large and very substantial lump of gold. It looked about the size of his fist, and the weight was quite sizable. He's headed into the house with it." "Wait until tonight. We'll call in a group to break in and grab that rock." "Sounds good to me." With that, the man got into his sleeping bag on the roof of a bunch of apartments.
Kane, once he had locked up the nugget, washed up and walked downstairs. He kissed Kuro and asked, "How was work today?" She dished him up some food and said, "Eh, not too bad. Same as usual." He took the dish and sat down. "Yeah... You get a lot of interesting characters. Mind you, I can't talk. Mr. 'You Fucking Blowjob' has resigned from all the mockery he got." He laughed and started eating. Kuro sat down and also ate. "Pffffft! Haha!" Kane imitated an East Indian accent. "You fucking blowjob! Get out of my Quik-E-Mart!"
Both of them started laughing. It was an inside joke for them, just like chocolate-chip cookies and their little nicknames for each other. Kane was really hungry, so he ate, unsurprisingly, like a wolf. Kuro watched him gorge on her food and giggled. "Hungry, I see!" Kane swallowed and replied before stuffing his face again, "You're an excellent cook. Best reason to tear at your food." "Aww, thanks!" Kane grinned and stuck his tongue out before continuing to eat.
Meanwhile, a hardened mob was forming for that shiny treasure...
***
"All right, they've likely got that hunk of gold locked up in the gun cabinet. We get in there, and level our weapons at them while they sleep. They'll not be able to counter that very easily." "They're sitting ducks." One of them loaded two shells into his sawn-off shotgun, while the other two loaded their 9mm pistols. They got out of the van three doors down, and snuck up to the backyard gate. The sapling and hole remained where they were as the leader got ready to pick the back door's lock. The lockpick, however, didn't expect Kane to have changed the locks to have required his electronic car keys to not set off the silent alarm.
Kane's phone made a notification sound, waking him up. He shook himself and looked at it. "Oh, great..." He shook Kuro awake. She snorted as she was roused from her sleep. "What's wrong?" "Someone's trying to break in." Kuro instantly got up, while Kane unlocked the weapons cabinet. He took out his Messer (a medieval German sword that was a civilian equal to a falchion) and tossed Kuro her katana. He grabbed his pistol and slung the holster around his hip. Kane nodded to Kuro. "I'll get their attention. You attack from behind." Kuro nodded and vanished. Kane drew his .45 M1911 and snuck down the hallway. He heard voices downstairs. He heard the intruders.
"Take the stairs, Cueball." "Right..." Kane then took cover behind the wall as the thug carrying a shotgun came into view. He then fired a shot and missed. Of course, that missed shot echoed off the walls and invited a counterattack. The thug fired his shotgun, and Kane quickly got out of the hallway and into the upper spare room. He then extended a paw to fire from around the corner again and heard another thundering gunshot. He looked and saw that his pistol wasn't damaged, so he went back to attack his shotgun-armed opponent, and he shot the thug twice, knocking his legs out from under him and sending the shotgun sliding along the floor. He grabbed the shotgun and loaded both barrels.
"I heard a shot!" "Careful, that semiautomatic's not Cueball's!" They aimed forward as they slinked up the stairs. Kane, however, had his Messer ready, and he made a perfect cut to one of his victim's arms- And a flash revealed Kuro's arrival. One of the thugs landed next to Kane, wounded, and unable to use his weapon. Kane grabbed the shotgun and fired the birdshot in both barrels at their legs, stopping them from going any further.
"Agh!" "Kuro, get me so handcuffs and some dressings. We'll turn them in once we get a few answers." He knew that she didn't enjoy the situations where he had to take up arms, but she was a doctor, and this was her specialty. She vanished and Kane kicked the pistols down the stairs- He took his sabre and held it tightly. "Who are you?" "Why should we tell you?"
Kane indicated the bloodstain on the carpet. "Because you're unarmed and bleeding. Not to mention that you're going behind bars anyway. Now, I repeat, who are you and why did you break into my house? Hurry up and answer before you pass out." "Stupid lupine... You know what we wanted. The Golden Fist, you idiot!" Kane nodded as Kuro reappeared and started treating their injuries. "Did you call Horst?" "Yes, and he'll be here quickly." "Excellent..." Kane watched over them as Kuro wrapped their wounds.
*****
"We've got to get rid of that damned rock... But we've got every mobster and his dog aware of that thing," Kane remarked. He took a drink of his coffee, having woken up at nearly three that morning to the invasion. Coffee powered him and his activities half the time. "Kuro, maybe we can make this a little harder for them. We need to have an idea for how to make this work..." Kuro looked at Kane with a half-smile. "What about brass? An identical-looking one made out of brass, and changing the shape of the real one to a number of small ingots, would certainly work."
Kane grinned. He liked the idea- As he often joked, "If at first you don't succeed, try doing it how your wife told you". " Sounds good. I'l need to find copper and zinc, though. And that's 5.6 pounds of copper for about 3 pounds of tin." "Or we could just go into the hardware store and get all the brass fittings we need."
Unsurprisingly, Kuro had the simpler and easier answer to the problem. Kane smiled. "Or we could do that." "Sometimes you really need to remember that the easiest option is often the best one." "Yeah..." Kane had a nervous smile on him. "Anyway, I'll carry the brass fake nugget. You carry the other one- You can teleport if you get set on by assailants. I can't." "All right..." Kane got up to go have a look at the gold nugget. He took a number of photos with his phone, then headed downstairs.
"Want to go for a bike ride?" Kuro grinned. "Sure!" she said, and followed him into the garage. He put on his helmet and put his legs over the motorbike. It was a World War Two-era Ural T bike that had seen service with the Red Army a great many years ago- It even had a sidecar, which he let Kuro sit in. The bike had some upgrades- Namely, an electric starter and some new lights- But other than that, it was just as it was manufactured in the fourties.
Kane hit the starter and touched the clutch. He twisted the grip to ensure it was in neutral, then he shifted into first. It had a five-speed transmission- One through four, and reverse. He lifted the garage door, went forward twelve feet, and shut it. Now that he was in the driveway, he checked either way for traffic- No-one else was around. He started off, the mist and the fog filtering through the beam of his headlight like a lightsaber blade in the dark. He signalled a left and asked Kuro, half-yelling, "Where do you wanna go?" "Drop me off at work!" "Have you got the package?" "Yeah!"
Kane sped up so that the bike could advance up the hill a bit faster. The thing was pretty light- Only 700 pounds dry weight- But with five gallons of fuel, Kane and Kuro on it, plus their gear and the nugget- They came up to over 1,100 pounds, propelled by a smaller engine than a car. But the machine had next to no trouble, apart from making a roaring ascent up the hill in a zone where semi trucks weren't allowed to use their engine brakes.
Once Kane turned into the hospital and stopped, Kuro got out of the sidecar and took the nugget, which she had in her lunch box. Kane got off and hugged her tightly. "Hope you come home safely." "You too, my snuggle wolfie!" He kissed her goodbye and waited until she had entered. He looked at his watch, letting the bike idle for a few minutes until he was sure the hardware store was going to be open. Then he started off as quickly as he could.
He rode down the hill at quite an amazing speed, now that some of the weight was gone, and the bike was going downhill. He knew he was being a professional idiot, but he was sure that he was being stalked. There were a few cars and vans that followed him for a few blocks, then left him alone. One of them, he noticed, appeared twice. He didn't even bother to signal his next turn as he gunned the throttle and pulled a hard left turn, crossing right behind an old Volkswagen van, whose occupants were looking at him intently.
Kane was now oing his best to lose the van, which now followed him down the road. The van could reach 80 miles per hour with some difficulty- On the road. Kane wasn't going to have any of that. He roared right past a barrier onto a trail, and then rode through into the forest, where the ground was soft, and the very highway-centric vehicle he was dealing with would have a lot of trouble finding him.
He turned off his headlights and slowly moved off the trail, into the brush. The motorcycle was small enough for him to pass the barrier and get through the less-than-ideal terrain, but this old hippie-style van, with a weight of two tons and the soft ground of the trail, was not. Just as he expected, his pursuers got the entire front wheel assembly of their van stuck in the ground of the wide, but muddy, trail. The roar of the old flat-cylinder engine in that van, trying to get itself unstuck, rang through the trees as the driver swore and yelled out expletives.
Everyone got out of the vehicle, and they were going to have to look for Kane on foot. But by now, he had his pistol ready to go. He drew it and used the bike for cover as he listened for his pursuers. "See any tracks?" "No, it's dark as all hell, and there's so much underbrush..." "He's only one wolf with a motorbike. How could he possibly-"
Kane heard them and turned in their direction. They were twenty yards to his right, and with his superior night vision, he could see them. They seemed to be armed with revolvers and shotguns- He knew that his seven-shot .45-caliber pistol was going to be a bit too loud for the job, so he looked in the sidecar for something else- And he found a tomahawk, and some of Kuro's kunai. He grinned as he looked up- And saw a beehive. He took the haft of the tomahawk and put a thumb up, to estimate the distance. He then took a few steps back, and threw it as hard as he could.
The three people searching for him heard the branch rustle. "Hmm?" "What was that...?" The mobster jumped as the end of the branch fell to the ground, with the beehive smashing all over the ground, surrounded by a cloud of VERY angry bees. The searching party didn't even have time to run before the bees were on them, stinging every last bit of exposed skin they could find. They screamed and yelled in pain as the bees swarmed and literally stung them a hundred times each.
Kane simply waited for the bees to calm down, as the pursuers were literally stung until they were unconscious- And they kept getting stung by the venomous little blighters. About ten minutes later, the bees had all stung them and had their one chance at stinging. They were now gone, and Kane slinked through the forest to grab the tomahawk. But he hadn't paid atttention to the van.
The driver saw him sneaking and put a boot on his tail, giving it an audible crack. "Aaggh!" Kane turned and found that the driver was trying to break his tail, and had a pistol levelled at him. "Now, we can do this the hard way, or the easy way. Where is the nugget?" "Get off my tail- Aargh!" The boot put more pressure on his tail. "Where is the nugget? Where did you hide it?" "Get off my tail and I'll tell you." Kane's paw found a kunai as he tried to push his upper body to a better position. The pressure on his tail was now gone, but he still had a pistol aimed at him. "Now, tell me." "In the sidecar. What, you think I'd have a fourteen-pound rock in my pockets?" "All right. You better not be messing with me."
Kane's now-bent tail now hurt like hell, but the driver's attention was diverted between Kane and the motorcycle. He waited until the driver quickly looked at the bike before he threw it, and struck the right shoulder, causing him to yell and grab at the kunai. He tried to throw it back, but Kane had his own pistol drawn and he advanced, firing the pistol true and accurately. The first four shots went for his victim's knees and elbows, the fifth shot went for the shoulder he hadn't hit with a kunai, the sixth struck the foot that had broken Kane's tail, and the seventh broke his assailant's jaw. He then grabbed his opponent's pistol- He always collected the weapons of those who attacked him, and either sold or kept them- And then grabbed his own throwing weapons.
"See you later, asshole. I won't be missing you." He started the engine of the bike and drove off, his tail throbbing in pain. He knew he should probably go to the hospital for his tail, but his priorities were different now- He had to get to the hardware store. So he went along the trail and drove down the street, towards the hardware store. It was ten past seven now, and it was now dawn. The vibration of the bike caused every bump to cause his tail to hurt even worse as he pulled in. He slid off, banging his injured tail on the side, and grunting in pain. His back arched as he grunted. He then went inside and looked for brass fittings and other brass items.
He went down to the aisle where doorknobs were sold, and found several nice lever-style knobs. He saw the screws were also made out of brass, so he got that- As well as a nice brass chain lock. The chain was beautiful, and the entire chain lock was made from solid brass- Even the screws. He headed down to find knobs and drawer handles, brass tacks and the like, eventually racking up several hundred dollars worth of brass items. He took it to the cashier, who shrugged it off as "Someone must have a really terrible door setup".
He paid and then took all the brass items in the bag he had taken from the bag in his sidecar trunk, and used the bag to hide the transmutation from all these brass items to an identical-looking nugget to the real gold nugget Kuro had. Now that he had a fake, he just had to have it captured, or focused on, in time for Kuro to sell the real one...
*****
"Kane, the doctor's in to see you." "Finally..." He got up and stretched. He didn't notice he'd been bitten by a mosquito at the time, but he had a large, swollen bump on the back of his right paw as well as a broken tail. He headed into Kuro's office, and noticed immediately that she was not impressed. It was always kind of awkward to go to Kuro whenever he went to the hospital for an injury he couldn't fix- Stab wounds, sprained joints, and the like. It was kind of like going to a class in high school, where your mother or father was the teacher. To encounter loved ones with their professional hats on, so to speak, always seemed odd to him.
"I thought you said you wouldn't get in more fights. Seriously, you're getting hurt all the time, Kane..." "Well, not much I can do when someone steps on my tail and levels a pistol at me..." She sighed. "Just be more careful next time... I don't want to keep seeing you hurt. You're more careless than anyone I ever know most of the time... Grab onto the edge of the table."
Kane grabbed the examination table, and spread his legs apart while Kuro grabbed his tail. She pulled hard on it, causing Kane to cry out in pain. He felt the bones at the bent section grind against one another, and the crack of the cartilage popping back into place. His tail's pain, once everything was set back into place, was now down to a dull ache, and Kuro said, "That's your tail done. Now sit down and be still while I get an ice pack for that bite."
Kane sat on the examination table and waited. He was glad his tail wasn't permenantly broken, but it was more likely to break there later on. He looked around the office, as all of the art was done by Kuro herself. She had a very nice, cartoony style, though the shading and details were done excellently. She sure surpassed Kane's artistry, and Kane's drawing was terrible by comparison. He was featured in a few of the drawings- He remembered when she'd drawn them.
Kuro came back with the ice pack, and wrapped it in a cloth. She whispered so quietly, only they could hear it. "Did you get the brass nugget ready?" "Yes, I made sure I had that covered before I came to check in for you to fix my tail." "As I could imagine. Always the job first, yourself later... Some day, you might permenantly disable yourself, acting like that." "I know... But I think that the interests of others is more important than my interests. That's why I made the Private Member's Bill that reduced a politician's wage to that of an average teacher. It's not about me- It's about others." "And it's nice that you're selfless- But still, you can't help others if you're too hurt to do so." "Fair point. Though the worst you've seen me get is a stab wound from when I proposed to you- I'm careful enough to avoid serious injury." "True. But you can't keep serious injury from happening forever."
Kane sighed and waited for the swelling to go down. His khaki WW2-era uniform, with the badges and belt modified, was getting a bit hot for him inside. He pulled at his collar and took a deep breath. Somehow, Kuro always found a way to make him feel uncomfortable when he had hurt himself.
But he knew that he'd be attacked in Parliament when he entered there to attend Question Period with the rest of the elected officials. He knew that his party acted as security and they all carried firearms- And that the Army Reserve helped keep Parliament Hill safe- But he had suspicions that somehow, someone would manage to make it inside and try to take him down and grab that fake nugget.
There had been bombings and attacks on soldiers there before, and on Parliament buildings on several occasions. To name a few, in 2012, citizens celebrating Canada Day in Victoria were almost bombed by two men with pressure-cookers filled with nails. And in 2014, a Reservist had been killed on Parliament Hill by a sniper while guarding a cenotaph on Remembrance Day. A bombing, and then a mass attack, on the House of Commons, would certainly seem like a price that some of the truly amoral criminals would go to for a good chance at wealth.
Kane checked the bite ten minutes later to find that the swelling had gone down. He smiled at Kuro and stood up. He gave her a kiss. "See you later, sweetheart. Hopefully in one piece. Sell that asset before I get home- We want to be rid of it as quickly as we can." "Agreed. Too many problems with that thing hhanging around..."
*****
Kane pulled up to the parking lot, the brass nugget in his messenger bag. He showed the two guards his ID and walked into the halls of his workplace. It was the nervous center of the entire nation- It was where every elected official, who had a seat at the national level, sat to discuss issues that were brought up about domestic and foreign affairs. Kane had a minority government, composed of 40% Conservatives, 45% the Stilleto Party (his party), and the other 15% were the NDP (New Democrat Party), Liberal Party, and Green Party. Whether or not he got his ideas was whether or not he could get the NDP and Liberals- Which made up 13% of the seats- To agree with his ideas.
If they agreed with the Conservatives, the Conservatives got a majority with 53% of the vote; Should they side with the Stiletto Party, then they were given a 58% majority. In practice, this meant Question Period involved furious and entertaining debates between himself and Stephen Harper, the leader of the Conservative Party, and whoever more vehemently and more logically made their case essentially determined whether a law or issue was solved in the way of the Conservatives of the Stilletoes.
He let the second set of sentries inspect his bag, to find the brass nugget and some of his referenda. Currently, they were voting on an issue related to Harper's "Economic Action Plan", which essentially involved building oil pipelines, highways and the like. Kane's counter to that was essentially to put the tax burden on the rich, and to help the poor find work.
He headed in and walked to his seat, passing by his allies within his party. The two sides of the House demonstrated a very distinct difference, just by the attire of those on each side alone- On the side of the Opposition was a sea of black suits with blue ties, occasionally a yellow, red, or green tie, whereas the other side was a sea of rough khaki wool, with no ties, but lanyards around their necks, and brown leather belts, each of which carried a pistol. One side seemed to symbolize tradition and complicity with the political norms; The other spoke of commoner's irreverence and the will for them to fight for their cause.
However, the Stilleto Party was never supposed to pull out their guns during Question Period unless there was an armed threat to the security of the House- Their weapon had historially been using shoes, hence their party being named after a type of footwear. But today, they were going to be forced to use their firearms, as Kane's hunch had indicated.
Kane sat down and put his collar microphone on, and he spoke, his voice magnified. "I apologize for my lateness, Mr. Speaker, but I had a doctor's appointment." "That is perfectly understandable, Mr. Schlichting. However, perhaps you should permit Mr. Harper to explain to the House what has been discussed in your absence." "Yes, Mr. Speaker."
His arch-rival looked at Kane with the same cocky expression he usually did. "So, as we were just saying, the construction of a road up to the capital of Nunavut, and a port for our icebreakers will provide us with some leverage to compete against Russia for economic dominance over the North Pole. We hope to establish a city there by an icebreaker port by 2020- And a lot of jobs will be produced in the process."
Kane stood up to speak. "May I remind you, Mr. Harper, that the cost of such a port, alongside the expensive oil pipelines and road construction, will need massive amounts of funding? And where will you obtain the funds from?" "Well, we will get a lot of our funding from-" "Taxpayer money. Yes. Aren't you glad I got my way with taxing the rich and making huge deductions on our own salaries to taxes?"
Kane's allies had a chuckle at that. Now Harper couldn't say "no" to this without looking like a selfish arsehole, meaning he had to say "yes" or dodge the question entirely and appear dishonest. He did the latter. "The jobs that this would create, especially for the oil and construction industries, would produce millions of jobs, and boost the economy." "And, Mr. Harper, where would all those workers go when you lay them off, as the maintenance would require a fraction of the labour force? That's right, they'd be out of work and they'd be dependent on social security. Meaning they'd have to find work elsewhere. I'd suggest, after you build the port, you build an actual city there with all the same commercial opportunities, worker-run business like we instituted in the last year, and the education, housing, utilities, and work opportunities that we give all the others. Yes, it's great to have help from a social security syetem when you've got a lot of temporary jobs, isn't it? And there's no feeling like living in a community you and your fellow workers built by your own hands."
And of course, Harper didn't have any reasonable objections- Kane had widened the Canadian social safety net with the higher taxes on the rich, massive charges on the earnings of politicians, and regarding the right to work, live comfortably, have an education, and run one's own workplaces as inalienable. Essentially, Canada was by now essentially a semi-socialist state, which had extensive social welfare and had a socialist means of guiding the economy, but corporations, as a concession to the Conservatives, still existed, though what happened in them was decided by the employees, and the executives were mere figureheads.
"...Yes, I suppose." "So we're in agreement. We approve the construction of an icebreaker port in Nunavut, with the provision that we construct an entire city along with it." "Excuse me, Mr. Schlichting, but the area in question is very icy, and the ice can move." "I would suggest that the city be partly designed to float, but there should be anchors and walkways to keep them oriented correctly, and its foundation should be thus connected to land in part, and the rest will be connected to the portion connected to land. Also, we can set up solar and wind farms nearby- Arctic winds are high, and the Sun shines six months straight with no break there. We could generate large amounts of electricity at high latitudes, which would also benefit the economy." "Those in favor of the proposition?"
Everyone unaimously raised their hands- Not a single party voted against this. But a loud crash could be heard. Kane looked in the direction he heard the crash. "We'll sign this act into law next time- Someone's attacking the House! Harper, I hate your guts, and you know it, but I want you to lead the other parties out of the House and to safety! They want me; You need not involve yourself in this!" And at his words, not a single person, save for him, remained in the House, not even the Speaker or Kane's own party- They had all drawn their weapons and they helped the others leave, covering them from possible attack.
Kane stood up tall at the top bench of his side of the House. He drew his pistol with his right paw, and put his left paw on his hip. He watched the door, as the roar of an engine could be heard- He tilted his head at the noise. After the commotion of the House being cleared, the engine roared again. The doors, which had been sealed with him inside, were battered open, the battered and beaten front end of a very familiar-looking Volkswagen bus screeching to a halt in the middle of the House. The bus was covered in holes, its glass broken, and the front tires flattened. The rear-mounted engine was belching smoke as seven men leaped out of the sliding doors. Kane fired five shots and hit three of the seven- They fired back, missing him horribly. The other two shots struck the rear-mounted engine of the minibus, causing it to stop turning and fail altogether. Kane reloaded and aimed at the remaining four, who tried to climb up to the landing.
"All this for a nugget?" "You're damn right, we'll do this for a nugget!" "What if I told you that your nugget's gone?" "Impossible! We saw you with the nugget!" Kane grinned. "Actually, boys..." He tossed it at them, and it rolled on the floor. "This nugget is entirely fake! It's made of brass, and the REAL nugget's been sold, cast into ingots, and sent to the bank! You've just been chasing $11.60 worth of brass, you pathetic thieves!" He took cover as they fired angrily, and he waited until they ran out. He then disarmed them with a few well-placed shots.
*****
"How much did that nugget sell for, Kuro? "$349,607. And I didn't get insanely taxed, like you do." "I think we could get a nice cutter and spend our honeymoon on the Atlantic. After all, it'd be nice to spend a while on our own, not worrying about anything. We can save the rest for when we're parents." "Aww, you little rascal! You beat me to it!" "What, were you going to tell me I'm going to be a father from that one time we went at it on Valentine's Day?" "...Actually, yes." Kane grinned and held Kuro close. He gave her a long kiss. "...I hope we're ready for it."