FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

September 15th

The sounds of sizzling filled the kitchen air as a wok full of rice shook back and forth. One hand grasped the handle, another stirred the rice and a third hand was grasping a monkey-headed fish on a cutting board whilst a fourth hand chopped its head clean off.

"I need peppers," said the chef.

"Got it!"

Through the searing heat, Gen Ganbe stood alongside Khoumad Maung as they chopped together, the bird slicing juicy peppers before he tossed them into the wok. Khoumad's fifth and sixth hand were busy grating cheese into a bowl, after which he handed it over to Gen who walked through the silver aisle of sinks and counters. A chef's hat covered the frilled mohawk of his head, a teflon apron down his front as he stepped towards an uncooked doughy circle.

Spreading a thick sheen of tomato sauce across it, Gen dappled the grated cheese over the top and with some of his remaining peppers, planted them equally across the quadrants of the soon-to-be pizza base. Pepperoni slices were added in turn and with a smile to himself, he lifted the dough onto a hardwood tray and slid it inside a large oven.

Despite the clattering of utensils and the sizzling of many foods, there were only two workers in the kitchen with Maung taking the work of three, whilst Ganbe raced around the rectangular room to keep chopping, stirring, kneading and tenderising. His arms were tired and his feet exhausted, but his mind felt clear as the sea and fresh as the sky.

"HEY, when's lunch?!" shouted a voice from the window.

"It's coming alright, keep your dick on!"

The avian slipped through a spaghetti-meatball dish to a hungry bear, who lumbered back to his seat as Khoumad served three patrons at once with curry rice, a beef bowl and a sashimi platter. Their work would continue until lunch was over, after which they cleaned up their workbenches and dusted off their aprons.

"Good work!" said Khoumad patting him. "You are getting good at pizzas, everyone loves your slices."

"Heheh, well it just kinda clicked," said Gen shrugging, "after counting all those pachinko balls I sorta got an eye for putting tiny shit in little spaces even."

"A good skill to have, especially for secret pizza."

"Yo there secret pizzas here?!" Meiji shouted from the window.

"DUDE!" Gen thrust his head through to snap at him. "You wanna open the door, I think three other rooms didn't hear you!"

"Wait what, why would I tell anyone about our secret pizzas?"

"Just keep your fucking voice down jeez!"

The secret pizza in question was still rising in the oven, five minutes after which it would be taken out and over to the table where Meiji sat thumping his fists.

"Pii-zah, pii-zah, pii-zah!"

"Alright alright!" Gen slid the pizza in front of him. "Shit you're like a damn kid sometimes."

"Who doesn't get excited about pizza?!"

"I love pizza," said Maung sitting down, "it's hard not to be."

Ganbe sat next to Meiji as they all took an equal amount of slices, the bugs nibbling away pieces in their mandibles, whilst Gen tore off strips with his beak and snapped them down.

"So, what you wanna do after?" asked the bird.

"Could go to the arcade," said the beetle, "they got a new cabinet in there called Dead Souls, it's a zombie shooter!"

"Aw shit that sounds rad, you ever go to the arcade Maung-san?"

"No," the spider shook his head, "they banned me from taking up three games at once."

"Pffft, what?!"

"I wanted to test my reaction times, I thought it was allowed, apparently not."

"Wow that's kinda garbage."

"It's fine," Khoumad smiled nibbling away, "I play mahjong instead."

"I never knew how to play mahjong," Gen rubbed his neck.

"Would you like me to teach you?"

"OOOH we could play together!" Meiji perked up finishing a slice.

"Mei-chan for real, you wanna learn mahjong?"

"I beat you in shogi right?"

"ONE TIME, THAT WAS A FLUKE!"

"Still beat ya tho!"

"UGH, you fucking asshole!"

With a false swipe at Garonba's head, the steel-beak chuckled with a sneer before they finished up the rest of their pizza. Khoumad waved them farewell as he headed west, whilst the two punks went to the Stega arcade at the east end of Chinatown. At one point it had only been a single-level room, but now it was refurbished with a second level containing larger cabinets, including a big full-body one with a ragged shroud over the sides where savage rampant creatures grabbed at the viewer with screeching maws and rotting faces.

Meiji and Gen stepped inside the world of chaos within, a pair of plastic guns in their hands as a ruined post-apocalyptic city spread before them. The howling screams of necrotic kaiju came staggering out of the doors and sewer grates, shrieking with whirling blades and energy beams shooting from their throats and hands. It was a frantic time, but incredible fun to keep their blood pumping as they fired off shots and blasted down fiends by the dozen.

"Aw shit this game rules!" cried Meiji.

"Yeah Stega's got good games!" Gen cackled blasting a wolf's head. "Remember Space Harrier?!"

"Damn bro you kidding, I got the high score on that!"

"For real?!"

"Yeah you don't remember?!" the beetle looked to him mid-shot. "When we first met, when this arcade was smaller!"

"Oh yeah tha-...th-that-"

"OH SHIT BIG BOSS COMING UP!"

The second boss of the game they reached would make Gen freeze and clench every muscle in his body. A vile-looking mantis with half-eaten head, long coat and a vengeful eye that lunged with searing blades and tore for their faces, taking all of Gen's lives when his aim trembled before he shut down completely, causing Meiji to fight on his own.

"D-DAMN THIS DUDE'S FAST!"

In the darkness of the cabinet there was no escape. The avian felt his breath start to tremble, his heart beating faster as he sat down on the floor and huddled his knees until Meiji finally managed to multi-fire the mantis into a crumpled mess of jagged bone. With a moment to rest he looked back seeing his friend.

"Gen...Gen-chan, you alright?"

"Y-yeah?" he tried to force a grin.

"Hey uh...I'm kinda bored with this game now, you wanna leave-"

"Yes."

He answered quickly, taking Meiji's hand as they shuffled out from the cabinet, Gen rubbing his arm with a shiver as the beetle hugged him closer.

"Wow that game really scared you huh?"

"S-sorry, it...y-yeah."

"Nah nah it's cool bro, you wanna play something else, they got Stega Rally."

"Uhh, my head kinda hurts can we go outside a bit?"

"Yeah sure."

They headed out of the arcade and back into the sun, wandering up towards Hannyakita Park to sit on the grass and take a moment to relax watching families stroll on by and vans selling flowers or ice cream. The grand vista of the Issincho estuary stretched out before them, with a giant ferris wheel across the way, off to the northwest where the DreamLand amusement park sat running all year round.

"Mei-chan?"

"Yeah?" the beetle looked to his friend.

"You don't got any family nearby, do you?"

"Nah, my grandpappy's gone and left me the Forge, remember?"

"Oh right," Gen smiled at him, "you got a good forge, you know that?"

"Aww thanks bro, I think it's neat too, plus since it's all grandpappy's I don't have to pay rent!"

"You practically live there."

"No I don't, I live with you." Meiji rolled over to lay on top of him. "But my forge is always open to you Gen-chan, I mean that."

"Heheh, thanks..."

Garonba tried to lean down for a kiss but Gen quickly turned away, stiffening his arms with a grimace.

"What, what's up?"

"I-i, I don't like doing that shit in public."

"You still hung up on that?" Meiji rubbed him. "I just wanna smooch ya."

"Y-yeah but, not out here!" Ganbe blushed shaking his head.

"Heehee, yer cute when you get like that."

"I AIN'T CUTE, f-fuck off dude!"

The beetle cackled when Gen shoved him off, rolling in the grass beside him as they stared up at the longing sky. For a while they drifted off into a brief nap, a moment of peace coming to Gen as he closed his eyes and they napped for at least a half-hour.

"You wanna do some baseball?" Garonba asked when they woke up. "I got something cool to show ya!"

"Mmm, alright," Gen rolled his eye, "I gotta loosen my arms anyway."

With a shrug he was pulled off towards the batting centre on the other side of town, the sound of ringing steel making him feel somewhat relaxed at the prospect of venting frustrations. Taking up first bat, Ganbe steadied himself with a calm focus and a sturdy hand as he whammed through the curveballs and sinkers, striking them up high with a sense of relief as he managed to quite reasonably clear the objective of at least 7 "home runs" out of 10.

"YOOOOO!" Meiji clapped from the side. "Gen the Galactic comin' OUT tonight!"

"Hahah, hey, I'm a natural," the avian twirled his bat with a little dance, "alright your turn Mei-chan."

"Hell yeah, alright so," the beetle snatched the bat off him, "you remember like three months back when we were talking about swords, and there's not a lotta thrusting they do with them?"

"Yeaaaaah?"

"Wehell...watch this."

Meiji's smile was one that his friend always knew, a certain cockiness that he saw in himself sometimes that he came to associate with reckless and stupid ideas. But Meiji's plan was much much simpler this time as he slowly pulled back his foot, put himself in a stance and aimed the bat directly horizontal towards the pitcher like a samurai in wait.

A ball came flying past him. Nothing. A curveball came wide from his left, still nothing. A sinker rose up high and swooped past his head, still no move from Meiji as Gen sighed rubbing his eye. But then there came a fastball, and Meiji tensed his arm.

"SHIN_KAAAAAAI!_"

With a mighty thrust he stabbed the ball with his bat at such devastating force that a shockwave burst round his feet, causing the tarp to flutter above him as Gen felt his wings flutter from the brief gale. The ball pushed against the bat's tip for a moment, trembling like the moon about to fall, before the beetle shoved forth and sent the fastball flying straight to the sun. Quite literally, when it punched through the tarp and far into the sky beyond.

"...wha...what the FUCK?!"

"Hm." Meiji smiled and "sheathed" his bat like a sword. "Predictable."

"Sir that doesn't count!" shouted the bovine receptionist. "You don't hit the target, that's not a home run!"

"I know." The beetle handed back his bat. "It's better than that."

Gen looked stunned at his friend when they walked out together from the centre.

"Wh-what, the fuck, what the FUCK dude that was SICK!"

"I told ya," Meiji grinned, "focus all that energy, right in the centre when something's flying at you fast, it'll rebound like crazy."

"For real?!" Ganbe rubbed his chin. "You think...you think that shit would work with other stuff?"

"Oh yeah totally, that's just physics bro, remember when I headbutted that beer bottle?"

"Ohoh shit yeah that was awesome! Huh...alright, I guess I learned something new-...wait, you hear that?"

A small moment of dread came over Ganbe realising his friend had taught him something new, but also the sounds of a scuffle ringing out and the telltale crunch of a bat on steel as they hurried south along the riverside and passing Ameritown east of them. Next to an old construction site, there was a homeless camp with tarps and metal shacks, the smell of damp sweat-covered bodies in a small community brought together by their wretched state.

Shaggy wolves and balding otters would sit by each other, huddling around a boiling pot where something gave an acrid salt odour to their surroundings, the only actual building on the site a broken public bathroom clogged with heaps of trash. Kappas hid in boxes wearing tinfoil hats, a tiger showing his ribs was playing shogi against an octopus with only three arms, and a long-haired serpent without legs slithered up dragging her arms across the gravel, a pair of twisted stumps near her tail hidden under an old tattered kimono.

Currently however, they were embroiled in a battle against three oni thugs, one blue, one yellow and one red with curling fangs and clean swept-back hair. All of them wore jackets with a red circle on its back, a black beastly face with white slitted eyes staring outwards as they stomped through the camp smashing boxes, crunching old shacks, and kicking the bedraggled homeless who staggered and ran trying to grab their meagre possessions.

"HEY, WHERE THE FUCK YOU GOING?!"

"A-AAAGH!" a kappa felt a boot against his chest. "P-PLEASE, STOP, DON'T HIT ME!"

"Hah, look at this fucking runt!" the red oni swaggered up with an iron bat. "What's with the tinfoil hat, tryna keep radio signals out?!"

"Th-this, this keeps the water in my head, d-don't hit me please!"

"Oh, you think you should have water?" the blue oni stepped up with a steel club. "Whysat?!"

"B-because," the kappa shivered pulling back, "b-b-because if I don't have water, m-my head overheats, please, s-sirs don't-"

"You pay for that water?!"

"Wh-what?!"

"DID, you pay, for the water, you fucking deaf as well as stupid?!"

"N-no I, i-i-it's from the river!"

The thugs looked to each other with a sneer before the red one suddenly swung his bat, cracking the kappa on the chin and knocking him on his back, water drooling out his hat as he started twitching with the blue oni bent over him.

"You don't get, what you don't fucking pay for, you shit-crawling bitch."

"STOP IT!"

They turned to see the legless serpent in the kimono trying to grab the wall and sit on her stumps.

"WHAT is your damn problem with us huh?! We don't do anything, never did anything to you, why don't you pick a real fight with someone better instead of wasting our time on us?!"

"SHUT UP YOU WHORE!"

The yellow oni pointed his bat towards her, wrapped in barbwire round its top.

"We're doing a public service, getting rid of inferior trash."

"That's right," the red oni sauntered up, "this city's already full of shit, we're just starting with the easy stuff first so we can clean it up proper."

"Any good kaiju contributes to society," the blue oni scoffed, "you're all fuckin' parasites, sucking the blood dry out of our city, like those fucking Americans up north but they'll get what's coming to them."

"So you got two choices," the gold oni snarled pushing his bat on her face, "crawl back to the sewer you came from, or have your corpse go down the river. Either way you'll be back where you belongs"

"HEY!"

The trio of thugs turned towards Ganbe and Garonba at the camp entrance.

"The fuck you doing?" snorted Gen.

"Who the fuck are you?!" shouted the red oni.

"Jinuchu Clan, that's who, you with a family?"

"Hahah...you, Jinuchu fuckin' yeah right."

"I asked you a FUCKING QUESTION!" Ganbe shoved the oni back. "The FUCK are you DOING?!"

"You wanna start something pal?!" the yellow oni grabbed his shoulder. "What this bitch your mom or something?"

"Why you say that, you miss your mom?"

"Whut?!"

"Just saying a fuckhead like you who makes insults like that, they're the kinda prick whose dad fucked a toilet and then you shat out of it."

"THE FUCK, YOU CALLING ME SHIT YOU ONE-EYED COCK?!"

"HEYYY he got your insult!" Meiji clapped from behind. "Wow this one's smart bro!"

"SH-SHUT UP, BOYS LET'S BREAK THESE ASSHOLES FIRST!"

"Yeah, you wish."

The moment Yellow swung with his bat, Ganbe pulled out his sickles and clashed against the wooden club, deflecting with the flat edge of his blades. The gold oni swung in a diagonal strike twice, almost forming an X to try and crush Gen's face. Ganbe dodged once and blocked the second with the back of his scythes, before he hooked the barbed wire with a dragging tear of his sickles and wrenched the weapon from his opponent's hands.

Startled by his disarm, the oni stumbled as the homeless snake by his foot grabbed a wooden plank, and whacked it in the back of his shin hoping to make him fall. But instead it made him turn and roar with a hard kick to her stomach that sent her crunching against the wall of the bathroom. Trying to kick her again, Yellow panicked when he saw Gen's sickle fly past his face like a boomerang before he felt the chain wrap round his throat, the bird pulling back hard with a strangling tug.

Red came from behind ready to bash Gen's head with his silver bat, but he was stopped by Meiji who grabbed a bucket off the floor and slammed it on top of the bat mid-swing to yank the weapon back with the bucket handle, causing the crimson thug to stagger with a fumbling turn.

"You wanna fight my bro, you gotta fight me FIRST!"

Garonba clocked him with a hard punch the moment Red turned to face him, before Blue came with his steel club to whallop Meiji with a vicious crack and send him stumbling to the side. When the punk came charging to follow up and strike the beetle's face, Meiji leapt forwards to slam his hard long singular horn into Blue's skull and make him see stars with a gasping shiver, before Garonba backfisted him sharp to knock him down.

"THAT'S IT, YOU FUCKING BUG I'LL KILL YOU!"

The red oni recovered and came swinging with a savage whirl of his bat. Meiji grabbed the wooden plank that the serpent had used and made a warrior's stance to quickly parry the iron bat with ease. Garonba avoided clashing direct, using the sides of the plank to sweep the bat past him several times with glancing blows as Red swung as hard as he could with a frenzied scream. But his own momentum caused him to overbalance when the beetle parried sharp to the side, throwing the scarlet thug off his feet as he fell onto the road outside the camp.

His friend the blue oni came after, his steel club coming for Garonba with a home run as the beetle saw an empty bottle inches from his right. With an expert flick of the wooden plank, he shot it towards Blue who panicked from the sight of its slow hurtling arc and stopped his furious swing causing him to stumble forwards. Meiji thrust for his head when the oni fell, bowing his legs in a samurai stance for a full plunging stab of the wooden board that crunched hard into the oni's skull, causing him to screech with a howl when the wood bent so sudden against his temple, that it burst into a dozen splinters all over his face.

With a sputtering sob the azure oni fell backwards clutching at his eyes, throbbing and trembling from the sharp agonising splints as Meiji grabbed the bottle still flying above his head. Like a ninja's knife he held it in reverse-grip, swinging round to immediately strike the red oni behind him who tried to swing for his head.

The bottle did not break on the first hit, whalloping the oni hard before Meiji slammed the base of the bottle into his face, and finished with a mighty crash from above. The last strike did break the bottle, shards of glass raining down upon the oni's face as he fell onto the road with a pounding headache throughout his entire face.

"GET-A-AAARGH, F-FUCKIN' COCKSUCKER GET OFF!"

Yellow was still struggling in Ganbe's grip, the steel-beak pulling harder to try and subdue him before the oni suddenly threw himself backwards in a desperate move. Foolishly he had forgotten Gen's belly spikes that stabbed into his spine, causing him to shriek with anguish before he managed to rip the chain from his neck.

"You wanna fuck with knives huh?!"

The oni pulled out a long dagger from his jacket.

"I'll fucking skin you next, CHICKEN BOY!"

With a vile lunge he came thrusting for Gen's stomach, the bird quickly blocking with one sickle whilst the other swung upwards to slash at the oni's face and scar his cheek. Reeling back, the thug suddenly went defensive, tossing the knife back and forth between his hands before he ducked low and plunged for Ganbe's leg, but the avian dodged and slashed towards the ground to wrap the chain around the thug's wrist.

"GA-AAAARGH!"

Ganbe pulled Yellow hard by the wrist to make him stumble, the thug grabbing a rock from the dirt he threw it at Gen who snapped back his chain to unfurl it from the oni's wrist.

"What's wrong shithead?" Ganbe taunted with beckoning fingers. "I thought you wanted to fuck with knives!"

"Sh-SHUT UP BEAKWAD I'LL KILL YOU!"

With a thrusting stab the punk swung out in a double slash that Gen blocked twice with his serrated sickles, dancing around the homeless camp as the creatures watched in fascination at their unlikely saviour. The yellow oni roared with a stab for Ganbe's head before he followed with a wild punch, cracking the bird's steel beak to make him stagger with surprise when he saw the knife come thrusting for his chest.

Swinging out his sickle-blade Gen carved into the oni's leg, a vicious hook-and-tear that ripped out a chunk of first-layer skin causing the punk to screech and stop his advance, clutching his now-bloodied leg and hobbling with fury as he tried to keep slashing. When he stabbed too far and almost toppled, the oni found his wrist suddenly locked-up again by a chain wrapping round it, the scythe curving round his limb before the chain suddenly tightened.

His arm was choked with a violent grip like a tourniquet too tight as he shrieked with a hard pull towards Gen, straight into the bird's knee where it crunched against his stomach. With the wind knocked out of his sails, the oni collapsed onto the floor before Gen wrenched back Yellow's arm and twisted it behind his head.

"I'm only gonna say this once," said Ganbe with a rasping snarl. "If I fucking see you pricks round here again, I'll rip your dick off and SKULLFUCK you all with it before I dump your asses in the shitter, GOT IT?!"

"A-ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT F-FUCK JUST LEMME GO!"

"WHAT FAMILY YOU FUCKIN' FROM?!"

"N-NO, NO ONE, W-WE'RE FROM THE EMPIRE OF MU!"

"The what?!" gasped Meiji. "I ain't heard of no empire called Mu."

"Y-you...you will." The oni sneered up at him. "You'll pay for it, one day, like all the other vermin round here."

"Oh yeah?"

Gen pulled the arm back tighter to make the oni scream.

"Try that even once, and the Jinuchu Clan'll fucking wipe you off the map. Now get the FUCK OUTTA HERE!"

Putting the thug back on his feet, he unhooked the chain and kicked him towards the outside of the camp. Yellow snarled at him before grabbing his two friends to follow him. With a threatening look and a throat-slitting gesture, they left as the other homeless crawled out of their broken homes, one racing over to the kappa and the other towards the snake.

"K-kiyo-san! KIYO-SAN!"

A tiger was frantically shaking the serpent, her eyes closed and her body still as her head lolled to one side.

"Oh no, NO, K-KIYO-SAN WAKE UP!"

"What, what happened?!" Meiji hurried over.

"Sh-she's, she's bleeding out her head, I-i think that vasher hurt her!"

"Shit, uhhh, um-"

"IS ANYONE HERE A DOCTOR?!"

"I'll call the hospital," Gen pulled out his phone.

"NO!" a bald otter grabbed his hand. "No hospital, no cops, we're out on our own here!"

"You serious, she's fucking bleeding!"

"Not all of us are here with clean records! Some of us are hiding, we can't be found you understand?!"

"So what, she just gonna die?!"

"Don't you know anyone who knows about, fixing bodies and stuff?!"

"Fixing...bodies." Gen looked nervously around him. "I, I think I know a guy, yeah."

"Oh thank gods okay get him here!"

"F-fine, alright uh, Mei-chan can you keep an eye on her?"

"Yeah sure," the beetle nodded, "who you gonna call?"

"Maung-san, he knows more about bodies than we do."

"Woah, is he a doctor?!"

"Well...a-anyways, just keep her there, don't move!"

Running off to the north he stepped into Ameritown, the twisting passages of American foods and bright vivid colours guiding him towards the tall spooky deer at the street corner.

"//Heheyyy my dude!//" DeVille grinned. "//I ain't seen you in a while howsit goin-//"

"You know where Maung-san is?!" Gen cried. "I need to find him!"

"//Uhhh...Maung?//"

"Ugh, fucking shit."

He took a deep breath and struggled to remember his English.

"//WHERE. MAUNG?//"

"//Oh, he's at the mahjong place,//" the deer pointed south.

"//THANKS!//"

Hurrying off to the mahjong parlour, Gen tumbled down the steps with clattering feet as he grabbed the sides and entered a rather dinky little boudoir of wooden screens and cheap tatami mats, tables set up with various tiles where four creatures sat at each.

"Hey!" he stumbled to the counter. "I'm looking for Maung-san!"

"I'm, sorry sir," a black fox in a cheap suit greeted him, "we don't have a Maung-san here-"

"B-but, someone said he was here, I just gotta-OH, MAUNG-SAN!"

Looking up from his table, the arachnid glowered with the look of someone being called their real name at a convention. The other patrons said nothing, keeping their heads bowed as Ganbe stumbled between them.

"Maung-san, sorry but I need help-"

" What. Is it?"

The snarl of his chilling tone stopped Gen in his tracks, causing him to stiffen every limb as the tarantula glowered with stiffening fangs.

"Someone's badly hurt, and I need your help," said Ganbe.

"How bad?"

"Head's bleeding, hit the back of a wall real hard."

"Call the hospital then-"

"She's homeless."

"...alright."

The spider lifted himself from the table and bowed to his players.

"Apologies, I will return, please continue without me."

"No worries Kumon-san," said a white monkey bowing, "we'll save you a seat."

"Thank you."

Taking his leave he headed up with Gen as they returned to the homeless camp, stopping at the Poppo mart on the way to grab a bottle of water, gauze and bandages before arriving to the group of kaiju huddling around the snake.

"Alright back up!" Gen shouted. "Coming through let him through!"

"OH, s-sir!" the tiger fidgeted stepping back, "a-are you a doctor?!"

"I have expertise with bodies," said Maung hunching over the serpent, "please stand back and let me see her."

Reaching inside his coat he pulled out a pair of disposable gloves, snapping them on his two main hands and carefully lifting the snake's head to check the back. He first took out the bottle of water, and wiped her greasy hair clean as he could with a cloth to remove any dirt and grime that potentially came close to the wound.

With another separate cloth he dampened with water, Khoumad applied a steady pressure on her wound for the next fifteen minutes. No one said anything, but a few walked around and waited with frantic hands as Meiji pulled Gen to the side.

"What do we do if she dies?" he whispered.

"Then she's dead," Gen shook his head, "it's not our problem now."

"Yeah but, she, those guys beat her up, we can't let that shit happen on our turf!"

"Yeah, we need to tell Tagasuki, if punks are starting shit then he needs to know."

"I thought you hated him?" Garonba squinted.

"Yeah but he's our patriarch, still gotta fucking tell him."

"OH, sh-she's waking up!"

They turned back to the patient, Kiyo-san slowly opening her eyes as Khoumad smiled down at her.

"Do not move, you are wounded."

"Whuh...uh, wh-who the hell are you?"

"I am the one healing you, now let me bandage your wound. You."

"Y-yes?" the bald otter gasped.

"Heat this water up," he handed the half-full bottle to her, "I need to make a poultice."

"Y-yes, doctor."

After the water was heated up in a pot, Maung applied a fresh bundle of cloth and soaked it finely to be hot, before taking some spices and oil out of his pocket to rub over the cloth and form a thick paste that he pressed over Kiyo's wound. A soft shudder of bliss came through her as he bandaged her head to keep the poultice set.

"That should be fine," Khoumad said sitting up, "the wound should stop bleeding in thirty minutes."

"Thank you," the snake mumbled, "why's this stuff smell like rice?"

"Turmeric and coconut oil, it makes a good antiseptic. Now lie down and do not move the rest of the day, if you need something, your friends should help."

"Alright." She looked past towards Gen and Meiji. "Thank you for...helping us, and me."

"Ehh it's fine," Ganbe waved his hand, "wasn't gonna let pricks start any trouble."

"Did you say you were from Jinuchu?" gasped the thin tiger by the fire. "Why would you help us, we heard the Jinuchu were-"

"Hey, we're not helping, we own Issincho, that means any fucker who thinks they can walk down the road causing trouble, they get a fistful of me."

"Hah, so that's it." The serpent flicked her tongue. "And here I thought you were good boys and not just another punk."

"Whatever, I got no beef with you," the bird walked away, "just don't get your ass killed alright?"

"W-wait, hold up," Meiji stepped back towards them, "who were those guys beating you up, what's their deal?"

"The Empire of Mu." The balding otter hugged her knees. "They're a far-right group, you know?"

"What, like a vasher?"

"Yeah, you didn't see the symbol on their jackets?"

"I was kinda busy," Gen shrugged, "but alright, if I see them fucks again, I'll make sure they learn their lesson."

"Take care madame," said Khoumad stepping out from the camp, "remember, do not move, and drink plenty of water."

"I will," Kiyo waved with a smile, "take care boys. Thanks again."

As they walked north back to Ameritown, Gen took a deep sigh of relief as he looked towards Maung keeping ahead of them.

"Sorry about pulling you out of your game-"

"I was two tiles away from Four Blessings," the tarantula hissed. "Be glad it was not Thirteen Orphans, or else you would be the fourteenth."

"Heh, heheh, tha-that's a good joke-"

"I was not joking, Ganbe."

He turned his head just enough to show four of his eyes glimmering with piercing hate. Gen nervously gulped and nodded.

"S-sorry, forgive me M-maung-san. I'll uh, pay the entry fee for your next game-"

"Yes, the next three games, that will do," said Maung stopping to turn, "I will take it now."

"O-OH, yeah sure!" Ganbe fumbled his jacket to pull out several-hundred yen. "G-good luck Maung-san, I hope you win big!"

"I intend to."

The spider walked off heading back into the parlour. No one saw the smile on his face before he stepped up to his table, as Gen and Meiji stood outside rubbing their hands.

"I hope that lady's okay," said the beetle, "why couldn't we just call the hospital-"

"Cuz they can't," Gen rolled his eye, "come on we gotta tell Tagasuki about them vashers."

Heading back towards Iyazaki Road, they braced themselves mentally for the sound of rattling balls and clattering tokens from inside the Kusonami Pachinko Parlour. A shuddering clench came through Gen's body as his arms trembled before Meiji gripped him, rubbing his side warmly to help soothe him before they walked in together.

Gengo Tagasuki was every bit the sleaze king as one would expect for a not-gambling parlour owner to be. With bright orange waistcoat wrapping round his carapace, the cockroach twitched his antennae above his beady little eyes with glossy shell of chocolate brown beneath his coat. The sound of his skittering legs were hidden by the shrieks of cacophony from the machines as his mandibles widened at the sight of Gen.

"Ohhh look," he swaggered towards him with arms spread, "look who's come back on a bright and balmy afternoon mister gambling-is-a-sin."

"Tagasuki-san," Gen bowed as they walked to the back, "sorry to bother you but we got something importan-"

"Garonba, light."

Meiji offered his lighter as the cockroach took a deep puff from his cigarette, before they stepped out of view from the public eye and into the locker rooms.

"We saw some punks beating up the homeless," said Garonba.

"And?" Gengo shrugged. "What you think I'm a fucking charity, first you bitch about gambling now you wanna help the homeless?!"

"Sir, these guys were from the Mu Empire, I think they wanna invade!"

"The...the Empire?" the roach blinked, reeling back.

"Y-yeah, I think another country's about to invade, o-or maybe it's pirates!"

"Meiji that's not what they are," Gen sighed rubbing his head, "they're fucking vashers."

"What, no they're from Mu, they said-"

"Oh my gods shut up, look, Tagasuki-san, they were beating the shit out of creatures and saying they were gonna flush out the Americans."

"And what you want me to do about it?" the cockroach snorted taking a deep drag.

"We can't just let punks run around on the streets, we own Issincho, we gotta-HRRK-ECHH, ECHH, KRHH-KHHH!"

He sputtered a cough from Gengo's deep exhale, gassing him with a hard smoke as his eye burned with tears.

"You're right about one thing," said Tagasuki, "we own these streets, and since you're so concerned, I'll put out a neighbourhood watch for anymore trouble."

"Oh, great!" Meiji bowed clasping his hands. "Thank you Tagasuki-san, w-we'll fight off the Mu...Murians, wha-I don't know what you call them-"

"Vashers," wheezed Gen waving the smoke from his eye, "do you not...know what they are Mei-chan?"

"I-i wasn't good at geography, I thought Korea was next to Australia!"

"They're a far-right nationalist group," said the cockroach stubbing his cig, "they believe in kaiju supremacy, Japan only for the Japanese, started out in Honshu back in the '70s, then got elected in the '80s until the riots."

"Ohhhh it's a GROUP," said the beetle nodding, "but, wait, isn't it kinda bad they're beating up homeless, that's not gonna win them votes."

"It did back then. Anyways, I'll get my best boys onto them."

"That's great, who?!"

Gengo clapped his hands on both of their shoulders. Ganbe slowly opened his beak in surprise as Meiji looked between them still confused.

"I'm sure you both'll do fine," said Tagasuki patting them.

"Wait, what?" the beetle reeled back. "You mean us?!"

"I said you were my best boys...aren't you?" He shoved them back towards the door. "Now get out, if you're not paying you're not playing, you see anymore of them Mu folk, you just shove them right along."

"R-right, sure, thanks Tagasuki-san!"

Barging out of the door, Gen stumbled onto the street as the roach waved them off. Meiji shrugged rubbing his neck as he looked to his friend whilst creatures wandered past them between the shops.

"Well, you wanted something to do this afternoon huh?"

"What the fuck?!" the bird shouted throwing his hands. "What the FUCK, he's doing this to spite me!"

"What, he's just giving us orders!"

"He's got PLENTY others in our family but NOOOO, he has to fucking make ME do it because I bitched about his fuckwad fake-ass gambling parlour!"

"EYYY-ey-eyy, come on dude." Meiji gripped his friend's arms and stroked him. "S'alright, hey, look on the bright side. Just means you get to beat up more assholes right, that'll be fun!"

"Nnnnrgh...I guess."

"Yeaaah come on, you wanna beat up some vasher scum?"

"Mmmm I doooo," Gen grinned sheepishly.

"Then let's do that next time we see 'em, whadda ya say?"

"Hey."

A voice called out to them from down the street. A long-bodied lobster with stony features and a shaggy beard bristling his face, with four pairs of arms two of which were thick crabhammers twice the size of his other limbs. His eyestalks leered over them, one of which was bandaged as well as one of his arms being carried in a sling.

"Finally found you guys."

"Wha-...Ganimura?" Gen smirked. "Fuck, what happened to you?"

"Long story, kidnapping went south. Almost died in a car crash."

"Woah, for real?" Meiji gasped with his hand over mouth. "What about Gezo-kun, is he alright?"

"Yeah he'll live," the crab shrugged, "Kamoebara got arrested though, you fucking believe that? Some Toho fuck came outta nowhere an' messed up our whole thing!"

"Damn, that sucks," the bird rubbed his neck, "so what you want with us, shouldn't you be in Kaijurocho?"

"Yeah, then Gihei-sama lost his shit." Ganimura pointed to his sling. "Broke my arm and everything, fuck knows what he's gonna do to Kamoebara once he's bailed. Anyways I'm here to tell ya that Gihei wants you to see him at the Tower."

"Wh-what?!"

Gen suddenly backed up with a stutter as he clutched his chest, Meiji grabbing him to keep him upright as pedestrians kept a wide berth seeing the state of them.

"Sorry Gen-san," the lobster shrugged, "wish it wasn't me telling you but if that's not enough I gotta tell Maung-san too."

"Wait, M-maung-san?" Garonba shook his head. "What's Gihei-sama want with him?!"

"I dunno, you know where he is?"

"I do," Gen nodded, "you want I should tell him?"

"Wait really!?" Ganimura sighed with relief. "Shit, thanks dude that really helps, I can't handle Gihei AND Maung in one day, my heart can't take that shit."

"Heh, I getcha. Alright I'll let him know and we'll uh...go see Gihei-sama."

"Remember, he's at the Tower, with his brothers so uh...hope you wrote out your will."

Ganimura bowed with apologetic look, shuffling away through the street as Gen looked to his friend.

"You want me to come?" Garonba patted his shoulder/

"Y-yeah, please," the avian sighed, "it's probably gonna be just me and Maung-san there but.I...I kinda-"

"I gotcha dude." The beetle rubbed his back. "When we get back, we'll just head home and chill, alright?"

"Yeah, that'd be great...if he lets me leave."

"Aaaah I'm sure it's just some business stuff-"

"Meiji." Ganbe turned with a fearful look. "You don't invite some goon like me up to the Tower, unless it's some real shit. Come on let's get Maung-san."

Heading back towards Ameritown, they stood outside the mahjong parlour with Gen leaving a message this time at the counter for a "Kumon-san" about urgent business with "the Tower". The spider left within a few minutes after finishing a game, his face more regretful than last they saw it.

"Did you win?" Meiji asked nervously.

"I did," said Khoumad, "first three games were free, thanks to Ganbe's generosity."

"Cool cool," Gen rubbed his hands, "so uh...we should probably go."

"Yes."

They went to Djinnai Station immediately, taking the train to Kaijurocho and arriving within the half-hour. The short ride on the bullet train felt like an eternity to Ganbe, watching the countryside turn to a blur of green and brown and silver grey, taunting beyond his reach from the cold dark prison of his mind. The sky turned darker as they approached Tokyo's limits, the clouds descending with the squall of thunder on the horizon that made Gen clench his seat.

"Do I have a rosy aura?"

He turned his head to Meiji beside him.

"What?"

"Just reading this," the beetle brought up a lady's magazine, "you think I got a rosy aura? Just trying to find out if I'm a spring or a summer."

"Lemme see that."

Gen took the magazine before rolling it up to bonk his head.

"OW!"

"You're an idiot," snorted the bird, "you know this shit's fake anyway."

"Th-that's not true!" Meiji rubbed his head. "Knowing what season you are helps figure out your clothes better, the right clothes make the right creature!"

"He is right," said Maung buried in his newspaper, "you're a winter by the way, you fit dark blues and charcoal."

"Wh-what?!" Gen squinted at him. "How do you know?!"

"I read, Ganbe. I take many trips, I learn what the public think and what society expects them to think."

"But why, this is all shit they pretend you need!"

"It is," Khoumad raised two of his eyes over the paper, "but we must all wear a face when in society, and if you want to learn how to make connections well, you learn what face to wear. Like you, you are an autumn, you suit green and orange."

"Woah for real?" Meiji looked to his friend. "Yanno, yeah you kinda do got that latter-year vibe!"

"Shut the fuck up Mei-chan!" Ganbe snapped. "This is all bullshit and you know it, what you gonna read my horoscope next?!"

"N-...nooo?"

Meiji took back the magazine and tucked it away, bookmarking the star-sign section as they soon arrived at Kaijuro Station. The last time Gen had been to Kaijurocho was underneath in its sewers, as he felt like a convict on parole when they took a brief taxi to the Millennium Tower. The towering monolith stood above the city, a grand colossus they felt would be their epitaph. A thousands of windows reflected the dimming sky, the flash of thunder sparking across its imperial edifice before the coming thunder.

The plaza in front was a series of small ramps that led into its lavish circular doors, sweeping open to its grand internal hall with three floors dedicated to it alone, a criss-crossing path of escalators going up and down as they went to the elevators in the back. Pamphlets and billboards festooned the entranceway, demonstrating various companies that made their home within the great Tower, one of which they recognised all too clearly by the name of KING FINANCIAL.

The walls felt like they were closing in with each floor they passed, as the rumbling grew under their feet. 80 floors of complete silence turned into Gen's personal hell, his face resembling one who approached the gallows as he looked to Meiji in desperate plea for something to keep his mind off the dread. Garonba stuttered with a silent tremble, his mandibles twitching with a sorrowful sound as they reached the 106th floor.

"Calm yourselves." Khoumad put a hand on them both. "Hold yourself with pride, and speak clearly."

"R-right."

They walked forth into a reception area, a lush ochre room with brown walls, no windows and a few plants surrounding a magnificent set of golden doors that stretched to 20 feet tall. Two kappas sat at their desks with their hair combed back severely behind their water-crested scalps.

"Good luck bro," Meiji hugged his friend, "I'll see you when you get back."

"Yeah, thanks," the bird nodded.

"Gen Ganbe and Khoumad Maung," the spider bowed approaching, "we are here to see Gihei-sama."

The kappas nodded and buzzed open the doors with electronic sensors, the yawning portal showing them in towards a long twisting corridor of various rooms where the elite members of Jinuchu waited. Hulking stag beetles sharpening their horns, roosters tapping their talons and komodo dragons flicking their tongues with sneering looks at the newcomers.

Khoumad and Gen walked through lavish waiting rooms with long couches and splendid bars that faced towards the giant windows, the grand view of the city almost tantalising as thunderous sparks crackled and rumbling shudders shook the glass with latent fury.

"Ganbe and Maung?"

A voice beckoned them from across the hall.

"Follow me."

Standing to attention was a black moth with all six arms clasped behind his back, his wings forming a sari showing a violent phantasmagoria, of savage scarlet flames howling across the empty wastes. His eyes were compounded with a bloodsome red, golden tips lathered across his scalp as he walked them up the final set of carpeted stairs to the 107th floor. There they found another set of giant golden doors that opened without the moth even touching.

Beyond this was a circular hall that was ostentatious to a sickening degree. Carpets of lush red, purple and green trailed off to different parts of the penthouse suite, golden pillars ringed around a black marble floor where at the other end of the hall, a raised podium sat with a larger desk and three magnificent chairs of velour plush and royal wreaths. Behind that was a pair of glass doors emblazoned with the three crowns of the Jinuchu Clan, the light of the heavens shining down from a set of stairs to the roof that lit up the seats.

Five rooms could be seen in different directions, three of which were led to by the carpets as the red trail followed through a dark door, behind which the sounds of grunting snarls and brutal punches came from within. The jade carpet led to a traditional Japanese shogi where the sounds of running water and the gentle clonk of wood could be heard, whilst the deep purple carpet led to another set of double doors. The other two unmarked rooms showed a long dinner table, and a private bar with a wealth of drinks.

"Wait here." The black moth said with a cold voice. "Gihei-sama is busy, Doi-san shall see you when we are finished with our...duties."

"Thank you," Khoumad bowed, "do you know why we were-"

"No." The insect snarled. "Wait here. Do not move."

He left the two in awkward silence, the thudding blows from the other room making them nervous as they waited for a solid five minutes. Neither of them spoke, too fearful of alerting the demon to their presence.

"Welcome."

The double doors from the purple carpet opened as they stood to attention.

"Tis been quite an eternity since we last spoke, Khoumad Maung."

"Doi-sama." The tarantula bowed with Gen doing the same. "I thank you for seeing us-"

"No no, you are Gihei's concern, not mine. We were about to have lunch, would you care to attend?"

"Yes, we would be honoured."

At a first impression, Doi looked the spitting image of Gihei, the only exception being the luscious velvet suit of deep indigo that shimmered in the light of the room. But on closer inspection one would realise he had different horns, two prominent spears shooting up with smaller cresting spikes that rippled down his golden neck. His eyes were a deep black with piercing red pupils that penetrated through their minds with a tempering grin, as he rolled a glass of wine in his claws.

He swept his other hand towards the dining hall, a long table that could feed a village with a fine white cloth and several dishes full of steaming meats, salads and roasted fish. At one end of the hall was an arched gothic window, where lightning flashed across three paintings framed above three special seats, all of them portraits of golden dragons; one in a violent abstract of sharp vicious colours, one in stark chiaroscuro of deep monotone shadows, and one in a soft Dutch Baroque reminiscent of country landscapes.

"Beautiful."

Doi's face lit up towards the sky.

"A perfect storm is a gift upon the world...look at those little creatures."

He swirled the glass in his claws taking a small sip.

"Thousands of years have passed and still in this godless age we fear the wrath of heavens. Nothing but a chemical reaction, and yet still we fear it."

"One can still fear what they understand," said a softer voice behind Gen, "knowledge only gives assurance, not courage."

"Indeed," said Doi, "but still they run, and still they cower...fascinating."

Khoumad stepped back and bowed silently, as did Gen when the second golden entered the dining room. Another near-exact simulacrum of Gihei that made Ganbe shiver from the prospect of all three in the same room. The third brother, Rai, had eyes of a softer red than that of Doi, with pale sclera opposite his black, and horns much shorter and numerous to form a wavy crest like the ocean at sunset. His face was more rounded than his brothers with stubby short spikes framing each side, as he straightened the tie of his dark green suit.

"This storm will last for two days," said Rai seating himself on the right, "you have given notice to your employees?"

"I advised them," said Doi sitting beside him at the middle, "but no orders were given, work must be done regardless of the whims of nature."

"Are these conditions not ill-advised?"

"I expect all my workers to perform adequately, and if not...there are always more. But let's not concern ourselves too much."

He offered his hand towards the two guests who were now given permission to sit in front of them, Khoumad keeping his eyes lowered whilst Gen actively tried to avoid staring at both the dragons.

"If we start burdening ourselves with every creature's woes," continued Doi, "we would hardly ever get any work done."

"I see," nodded Rai, "you entrust them to persevere by their skill and merit."

"Exactly! Surely you would not want me to deprive them the opportunity to prove themselves in such arduous tasks?"

"Understood." The jade-suited dragon turned to Ganbe and Khoumad. "Gihei-sama shall be finished within the next three minutes, his personal record for physical training never exceeds more than twenty-seven minutes."

"Oh, th-thank you Rai-san," Gen shivered in his seat, "uh...h-how are you?"

"I am well thank you, apologies but we cannot eat until Gihei has finished, that is our tradition."

"Understood," Khoumad nodded, "do you know why he summoned us?"

"He is unhappy," the green suit tented his fingers, "he becomes more aggressive with his dominant right when he is upset, when in happier moods he experiments with his left, as well as become thirty-six percent more evasive in his footwork."

"I shall have to remember that if we ever fight," said his brother.

"You never fight, Doi."

"That is why I said IF, Rai."

Three minutes would pass as the hammering blows ceased. Gihei would enter at last, bare-chested with his red slacks as he sat down to the left of Doi, completing the look of three golden kings beneath their portraits. They ate in silence with a sumptuous mix of thick meaty legs and crunchy salads, that Gen tore at with his beak and Maung nibbled with his mandibles whilst the dragons chewed with their sharp teeth. Gihei never used cutlery, ripping entire chunks of meaty flesh from the bone, whilst Doi administered the fork and knife.

Gen would not realise until halfway through the luncheon that Rai never ate a single thing, only drinking a glass of wine before they finished and returned to the circular hall for the three dragons to sit at the grand desk. Gihei burned his eyes through his subordinates as Gen struggled to keep silent, the rapping of golden fingers on the desk like hammers against his skull.

"I always knew you were a fucking moron," the left dragon snarled, "but I thought with Maung's professionalism you could at least do one fucking job right, Ganbe."

He lurched up from his seat still baring his chest, a heaving shudder of hatred as he marched forth towards Gen. The bird started to walk back with a whimpering fear from his throat, as he struggled not to fall from his boss looming over him.

"Would you like to explain to me how a fucking Toho PRICK, stumbled over that reporter's body, outta FUCKING NOWHERE!?"

"I-i-i, I-i, wh-what?!"

" ANSWER MEEEE!"

With his hand raised Gihei electrified his fingers, a foul roar bursting from his lips as sparks ignited from his tongue and transferred to his palm to make it shine with unholy light, striking Ganbe across the face with a brutal backhand that briefly blinded him. Lightning rippled through his skull as he screamed with a gasping cry, trembling in spasms as he felt the dragon grip his chest and pull him up for another punch.

"YOU HAD ONE JOB, YOU FUCKING ABORTION!"

He drove his fist into Gen's stomach and made him dry heave before the bird crumpled to the floor.

"ALL I ASKED, WAS YOU GET RID OF ONE FUCKING REPORTER!"

"A-AAAARGH, AAAAAGH!"

Gihei slammed his foot into Ganbe's head, kicking him hard across the carpet before Khoumad tried to step in front of his master.

"Gihei-sama, wait!"

"DO NOT GET IN MY WAY!"

The tarantula did not dare defend himself when the dragon punched him twice, once in the gut then in the face to send him flying several feet. The bird tried to push himself up and his first instinct was to run for the door, but the dragon was much faster than expected and grabbed his throat from behind, suddenly lifting him off the floor with both hands wrapped round his neck. Doi and Rai kept watch from their grand desk tenting fingers with cold indifference, Ganbe's strangled screams ringing out through the great hall as his feet dangled with desperate kicks.

"Because of you," snarled Gihei, "our clan's in a fucking bullseye."

"H-HRRRKH-GHRRRKH!"

"I don't know how you shit the bed so hard you actively made things worse, but congratulations you little FUCK!"

"HR-RRRKH A-AAAGHHHKH!"

"I'll make sure to bury you next to Kamoebara for FAILING ME!"

"S-STOP!"

Khoumad stumbled up to run towards him.

"G-GANBE, WAS NOT AT FAULT!"

"What?!" snorted the dragon.

"Ganbe followed my orders, to the letter, he did not fail you! ...I did."

The tarantula kneeled before him in deep forgiveness.

"I have...I have always served you well in hiding your enemies...but not this season. I failed you Gihei-sama. If you must punish anyone, it should not be the blade I used...but my own hand."

"...heh."

Gihei smirked at such reverence as Gen continued struggling. His feet flailed with sputtering chokes, his eye rolling up inside his head with a strangled pant, trying to pull the dragon's grip from his throat. His last thoughts drifted back to Meiji, two floors down still waiting for him as he muttered a soft breath of feeble forgiveness, his lungs shrivelling and the bones of his neck turning weak. Then he fell to the floor, the breath returning to him as he coughed violently with a drooling spit, almost retching from the sudden oxygen as tears streamed from his eye.

"Surprised you even give a shit about him," said the dragon rubbing his wrists.

"I accept my duty," said Khoumad on his knees, "I also accept my failures."

"Oh good. Cuz I don't."

His foot went straight into Maung's face and took three of his eyes out with a hard blackening thud, the assassin crumpling on his side before Gihei knelt down on top of him. One hand gripped his throat, the other grabbed two of his arms as the sound of a slow creaking twist could be heard when Maung clenched his teeth. A silent wince when he felt the dragon bend his two thinner arms backwards before the sudden KRAKK of his bone.

Gen had never heard Khoumad scream, nor would he ever again as the tarantula felt his limbs being almost torn from their sockets. With another crack Gihei snapped both arms like brittle twigs, causing them to hang limply from their joints and slump across Khoumad's body. The golden drake took a deep breath, and walked back to his chair beside Doi at the desk.

"When you two are ready," said the middle head clasping his hands, "I would like to address you upon this recent failure of yours."

"Y-yes...Doi-sama."

Stumbling onto his feet, Maung staggered towards the three dragons whilst clutching his two broken limbs, Gen following after in a half-crawl with his throat still coughing.

"I was hoping," began Doi, "that this little reporter would be dealt with swiftly. Not resurface after three months, when he interfered with a personal meeting that I had with an associate who wishes not to be named. You understand that this reporter had learned of some highly-confidential details I wish not to be made public."

"Yes," Khoumad bowed, "we understand, Doi-sama."

"The public knows not of this information," said Rai nodding slightly, "it appears also the police are not aware of his forbidden knowledge either. We cannot find this information he recorded of Doi's meeting, which gives us hope that no one else has either."

"So for now you're off the hook," Gihei sneered clenching his fist, "but if that information comes out, both of you will wish you were fucking dead, ESPECIALLY you, Ganbe-kun."

"Y-yes," Gen whimpered bowing, "s-sorry, forgive me Gihei-sama."

"And I thought you wanted to be back in the Jinuchu proper, out of that pachinko parlour," the dragon sighed leaning back, "had a position open for you as my enforcer, a real nice easy job being a bodyguard."

"R-really?" the bird gasped.

"Well rather I did, but now I dunno, I'm thinking you've not proven yourself enough to earn that."

"Ah, but what if?" Doi tapped his snout. "Perhaps there is a way our young unlearned friend may restore your favour."

"Mmmmh?" Gihei looked back with a creeping grin. "What makes you think he'd be worth my time?"

"Well...there is THAT thing, the other problem we discussed."

"Wh-what's...that?" whispered Gen shuffling closer. "P-please, please don't put me back in the parlour, I c-can't stand it, I-i killed for you Gihei-sama, I-i really did!"

"He did indeed," said Maung cradling his arms, "I was the one who failed to rid the body, but Ganbe performed his execution admirably."

"I see," said Rai opening a drawer, "then we shall offer you a new task to serve the Jinuchu Clan better."

He brought out a folder, pushing it towards Doi who then pushed it towards Gen. The one-eyed avian stepped forth and opened it to see the photo of a large-headed tyrannosaurus with especially small eyes in his silver-scaled head.

"Goro Saureno," said Doi tapping the picture, "the manager of a group in an underground ring known as the Eight Wonders Circuit, have you heard of it?"

"I have," said Khoumad nodding.

"I-i haven't," Gen shook his head.

"Good," Gihei smiled with sparks over his teeth. "This guy runs Team Saurus, one of the two biggest contenders in the Eight Wonders. You're a pretty good fighter, even if you are a little bitch who can't deal with a murder every once in a while."

"Which makes you a suitable candidate for this operation," said Rai straightening his back, "most of our members are too infamous to go undercover, Maung-san included. However, your experience in urban combat combined with your hesitation to commit murder, make you our most viable agent."

"Goro Saureno has the deed to a property," said Doi dusting off his suit, "passed through hands by a foreign agent that now lies in his office. Your mission, Ganbe-kun, is to infiltrate the underground ring, gain respect of your fellow thugs and obtain that land deed."

"Also you kill him," added Gihei, "Saureno knows too much, he'll be a problem if he's kept alive."

"But," whimpered Gen, "I-i already killed Kurasawa."

"And now you kill Saureno, what it's not a fucking birthday wish, you don't get to only do a murder once a year you pissy little-STOP FUCKING CRYING!"

The stuttering sounds from Ganbe turned quiet immediately as he clenched his wounded throat. Gihei chuckled mirthlessly nudging his brother.

"First time I ever said that when my dick wasn't wet, huh, huh?!"

"Yeees indeed," the purple suit rolled his eyes, "regardless, that is your duty. Should you manage to accomplish this, you shall be pardoned for your misdeed to the Jinuchu Clan. Now, any questions?"

"No, Doi-sama," Khoumad shook his head.

"Then our meeting is adjourned," said Rai standing up with a bow, "I must attend to my meditations with Ojha-san, please excuse me."

"Whatever you fucking hippy," Gihei pushed himself out his seat, "you want some hash to go with that or you got your own supply?"

"I do not partake in narcotics, only ethanol Gihei."

"I was joking for fuck's sake."

The dragon in red slacks walked over to Ganbe and gripped his shoulder.

"Next time you're back, you either got the deed in your hand, or your suicide note. Save me the bother of dealing with you either way, got it?"

"Yes...G-Gihei-sama."

His words were a faint whisper as he took his leave, Khoumad bowing in turn as they departed back through the lengthly halls with their crippling wounds. A soft trail of yellow blood dripped from Maung's passing, flaxen spots on the carpet until they reached the elevator where Meiji stood waiting.

"Sh-SHIT!" he hurried towards Maung and helped walk him. "Y-you alright, what happened?!"

"Gihei-sama punished me," Khoumad gasped pressing the button.

"Sh-should we call a doctor!?"

"No." The arachnid pushed himself against the elevator wall. "I know someone in Kaijurocho, I will be fine, you both wait for me at the station."

"You sure you don't want us to come?" Gen asked rubbing his throat. "You saved my life back there I can't just-"

"I took responsibility. I...I cannot believe Kurasawa was found, it cannot...I must have failed."

"Maybe I screwed up-"

"You did not."

"Wait, wh-who's Kurasawa?" asked the beetle.

"No one you know," said the spider, "and if you know better, you never heard me speak his name."

"O-oh...right, s-sorry Maung-san."

The ride down was another deathly silence. Gen shuddered to himself in the corner as Meiji left the tarantula's side to huddle close to his friend.

"I told you you'd be back."

"I almost didn't," the avian murmured, "he...h-he was going to kill me-"

"Hey. Look at me."

He looked up to Meiji who kissed him on the beak.

"I'm here Gen-chan. It's alright. I'm here alright?"

"...yeah."

He closed his eye and pressed his head to Garonba's chest.

"You are here...Mei-chan. Thank you."