FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

After their meeting with Gihei and his brothers, Khoumad and Gen took time to recuperate as best they could from their wounds with the spider left out of action. He did however offer Gen some advice in learning how to access the Eight Wonders Circuit, the bird explaining this to Garonba the next morning whilst they had breakfast in bed.

"So there's this guy in Ameritown," said Gen, "Maung-san told me he can get me through a back passage to where this circuit place is."

"Alright," Meiji nodded spooning his cereal. "You need some kinda password? Places like that always need a password."

"No idea," Gen slurped a bowl of insta-noodles, "just gotta go down and do something there."

"Can I come with ya?"

"Ehhh, maybe not, Gihei didn't say anything about you so-"

"Aww. He never does."

Meiji looked down sadly at his bowl, stirring the milk with a sigh.

"Be glad he doesn't," Gen patted his friend's shoulder, "everything he's asked me to do is the fuckin' worst and I hate it."

"Like killing someone?"

They looked to each other as Garonba sighed lowering his head.

"I know what it is bro, the way you were shaking when you came back, nah, only one thing does that."

"Shit," Gen sighed, "I can't tell you what it is dude-"

"But I know what it's gonna be." Meiji pulled him close with a gentle rub. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Just be you," the bird put his head on his shoulder, "just never stop being you, no matter how dumb as shit you can get."

"Nooo problem-OOH that reminds me!"

He pulled out a book from under the bed, detailing the history of Tokyo with a laminated cover of a photograph showing a turtle and a dinosaur dressed in samurai armour and clashing blades with their katanas.

"I gotta take this back to the library, I was hoping to learn cool sword tricks cuz of the photo on the front, but all they talk about are the dates and which clan was fighting which!"

"Yeah, that's history dude."

"But it had SWORDS on the front!" he shook it at his friend. "This promised way more than that, I wasn't told there'd be learning!"

"It's a BOOK, Mei-chan," Gen rolled his eyes, "anyways sure let's take it back."

They finished their breakfast and headed out on the street, the salt air clearing their heads as they walked northeast of Djinnai Station towards the entrance of Chinatown. To the south of it, was a grand building of pewter front that gleamed silver in the sun, a pair of large sliding doors greeting them inside to an entrance hall with green floor and pale walls that felt more like a hospital reception.

"Welcome!" an ox with dark fur sat behind the desk. "How can I help you?"

"Uhhh, where are the books?" Gen looked around.

"Right through there," she pointed to a door at her side, "is this your first time here?"

"Yeah, I was kinda expecting to walk in and BAM books in my face!"

"Hahaha, well, the building used to be a school so it's a little odd."

"I'm here to return a book," Meiji brought out his tome, "sorry it's a little late."

"That's fine, I'll just check it in."

From her desk she scanned the book with a reading wand hooked to her computer, a sad beep coming from it as she frowned quite suddenly towards Meiji.

"Sir this book's overdue."

"I-i know," he muttered hanging his head, "sorry, I'm a slow reader."

"You've had this for three months."

"Wait, three months?!" Gen shook his head.

"Y-yeah, remember?" the beetle turned back to him. "When you said I should go write a book and I check out the library?"

"Yeah but...three months, what did you forget?!"

"N-no just...I...didn't wanna return it until I finished, thought it'd be rude!"

"It's more rude to NOT return it," the ox receptionist rapped her fingers, "you'll have to pay a fine.."

"Wait for real?" the bird scoffed stepping up. "He didn't steal it, why's he gotta pay a fine?"

"Because, sir, we have to discourage patrons from returning books late."

"So you tell them straight-up 'hey if you're late you gotta pay up'?"

"Yes."

"What if some dude breaks their leg and they can't get it back on time?!"

"Then they have to come in when they can and pay the fine."

"Wha-that's bullshit!"

"SIR!" she flared her nostrils with a piercing stare. "Do NOT use that language in front of me."

"Or what, you ban me, what you gonna push me out with your nerdy little arms?"

He smiled with a punkish grin that started to disappear when she stood up, brimming with fury and a wall of muscle beeath her outfit. While only slightly taller than Gen or Meiji, she was larger and in charger with cantaloupe-sized muscles struggling to pop out of her sleeves when she gripped the front of her desk, and loomed over their cowering figures.

"Do you want to be banned?"

"N-no?" whimpered Gen.

"Then hold your tongue inside our institution. Now." She sat back down to look at her PC. "You owe twenty-two-hundred yen."

"WHAT?!"

"Awww!" Meiji winced rubbing his arm. "That's like a dozen yen per day!"

"Twenty-four-point-seventeen actually," the librarian cracked her fingers, "now, can you pay today?"

"Uhhh...I-i guess I can-"

"Mei-chan what, no!" Gen stayed his hand. "This is garbage and you know it, why you gotta fine creatures who just wanna read?"

"We're a business sir," the bovine tapped her fist, "fines are what keep this place running."

"So, what happens if everyone returns their books on time, you go broke?"

"No, obviously we are funded by levies which come from the public tax."

"So I'm paying YOU," he thrust a finger, "why you gotta fine HIM?"

"Because he was EXPECTED to return the book on time!" she snapped. "When you borrow a book from us, you enter an agreement to return it within two weeks!"

"Oh come on not all of us can finish a book in two weeks!"

"They can if they're clever." The ox thrust her hand. "Twenty-two-hundred yen, now, or you'll be blacklisted, I take your card and you're never able to return again."

"Gen-chan it's cool," Meiji sighed handing over the book and his money, "I screwed up, I'll pay, it's alright-"

"It's NOT fine," Gen cried, "her fine is not fine, it's fucked is what it is!"

"Keep talking like that and I WILL ban you!" the librarian snatched back her book and payment. "Thank you sir, would you like to borrow another book?"

"N-no...it's cool." The beetle stepped back towards the door. "Sorry for being uh...yeah."

"Wait, Mei-chan!"

The bird raced after him as the bull put away the book for later storing. Out on the streets Gen grabbed Meiji's arm and pulled him to his side.

"Dude, you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm good," Meiji forced a grin, "sorry that was a real hassle."

"That shit was fucked, I thought libraries were supposed to be free!"

"I-i thought so too! Maybe I shouldn't come back-"

"Nah, nah fuck it, nobody calls you stupid, NOBODY!"

"Gen-chan no!"

He marched back inside and stormed up to the ox with his foulest grin, slamming his hands on the desk to make her suddenly pull back.

"...I'd like to borrow a book."

"...oh." She blinked rather confused and chuckled. "Well, alright then, you'll need a library card first shall I register you for-"

"Yeah, gimme one o' those."

"Very well."

The clerk offered him a form to write his details in, name and address before she handed him a new library card still fresh from the laminator that he slipped into his wallet. They entered the door beyond to find a sprawling hall filled with books, columns and shelves of rows upon rows filled with splendid knowledge and exciting fiction arranged into various sections. Various kaiju sat at their tables, some students who just wanted a quiet place, and a few elderly creatures who were sneaking bottles of whisky to drink in the back.

The smell of books was strangely invigorating, Gen almost feeling smarter just from inhaling the dusted paperbacks as they wandered between the bookcases and perused the volumes. Garonba glided his fingers over the spines with intrigue, a smile creeping on his mandibles as Gen searched for something that jumped out at him. History was a hard pass, as was science and most of non-fiction before Meiji suddenly gasped.

"YOOO!"

"SHHHH!" everyone snapped at him.

"S-sorry, yooo," he whispered to Gen, "bro they got manga in this place."

"For real?" Ganbe muttered. "Damn why ain't you in here every day?"

"I-i never saw it last time, shit we gotta see!"

Wandering over to a corner of the library, they found a single bookcase of manga volumes that ranged from the fantastical to the serial romantic. Garonba quickly grabbed one and giggled with glee as he flicked through the pages.

"Shiiiit I never saw this volume of Yellow Belt, I gotta get it!"

"Heh, alright," his friend nodded, "you wanna take it on my card?"

"Oh, I-i mean...nah I got my own."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I mean it's got pictures, it'll be quicker to read!"

"Heheheh...nooow, what about OOH this'll do."

Ganbe took an old green book from the fantasy section, titled "The Springs of Wisteria", showing a rolling hill covered in white skeletal trees where faint lights of blue trailed between the branches. They headed back to the desk as the bovine clerk stamped them.

"There you go," she smiled handing the books to them, "I hope you enjoy."

"Thaaaank you," said Gen grinning wide, "see you in two weeks, ma'am."

Her eyes slitted at him as he they took their leave, the two heading off towards Hannyakita Park in the north to enjoy a little lunch whilst reading their new books. Being careful with ice cream and takoyaki, they took a small nap on the lawns to savour the peace and quiet, the soft wind billowing across the grass and the surging of the ocean waves lulling them to a gentle read. Meiji enjoyed his manga of a budding karate hero rising through the tournaments, whilst Gen glanced over the strange story of ghosts who lived in trees and their society formed through the binding roots that twisted beneath the earth.

His focus drifted off after the first three pages as he looked towards a soccer match on a field, a small group of teenagers kicking about with their goalposts in the form of crumpled sweaters on the pitch. Slowly he fell asleep with the book on his face, Garonba cradling his manga like a plushie as he did the same. It wasn't a half-hour later that they heard the sound of children approaching

"Alright, it's gotta be here!"

"You sure?!"

"I dunno, but we gotta keep looking!"

"I don't think it's here, Dirtblade."

"SHHH don't wake the grown-ups!"

The sounds of digging could be heard as Ganbe was roused from his sleep. A long-haired black puppy, a raven hatchling, and a barely-pupated mole cricket wore striped shirts and ragged shorts, digging up the ground with their paws and claws.

"Hey!"

"AH, WE BEEN SPOTTED!"

"AVAST, THIS IS OUR TREASURE!"

The children pulled out their weapons, the mole cricket with a toy cutlass, the raven with a wooden spear, and the pupper with an eyepatch and two fake swords.

"You come after our treasure, we'll make ya bleed!"

"AYE, this treasure's ours, finders keepers!"

"What?!" Gen snorted. "Piss off there's no damn treasure here."

"HAH!" the dog jabbed forth. "You tryin' to trick us?!"

"You might be one of Bluddbeard's crew," said the young raven, "why do you want us to leave?"

"Cuz I'm trying to nap!" Ganbe shouted. "Now take your damn toys and get outta here!"

"Whuh-TOYS!?" Meiji shot up. "Where, wussat?!"

"TWO OF 'EM!" the cricket shouted swinging his blade. "I-it's Marbul an' Deadeye!"

"GET BACK!" the young dog shouted. "Or we'll gut ya good, so's my name's Gutblade!"

"Woah, are you pirates?!" Garonba grinned pumping his fists. "That's so cool, I never met pirates before!"

"Wait, you haven't?!"

"Just get outta here!" Gen shouted throwing his hand. "Me an' my pal are tryin' to sleep!"

"Woah woah Gen hold up," Meiji sat up further leaning in, "what if we got some of that treasure?"

"Dude, there's not any treasure-"

"But what if there is?! You don't know what's buried out in Issincho!"

"Gravel, six feet down, don't listen to these stupid kids!"

"WE'RE NOT STUPID!" the mole cricket raised his sword to the sky. "We're the Three Blades, an' we're hunting down the great pirate treasure o' the Bloodqueen!"

"If you don't want to cause trouble," said the small raven, "you stay out of our way!"

"Woa-woah hold up," Meiji put up his hands, "I don't want any trouble, but I also think treasure's really neat."

"But you're one of Bluddbeard's crew!"

"For the last time," Gen shouted standing up, "we are NOT pirates, there IS no treasure, and you got two seconds before I-"

"Before WE tell you it's someplace else!" Meiji leapt forwards. "We don't care about that old fart Bluddbeard no more, if he loses his treasure that's his problem!"

"WHAT?!" Gen snapped at him.

"What, we're not in his crew anymore, why we gotta keep secrets?!"

"For real?!" the black pup gasped. "You really are with Bluddbeard?!"

"Not anymore," the beetle swaggered, "was hard to get out but, yanno, just couldn't cut it no more, he was the worst guy to work with."

"Just like we did!" the mole cricket grinned. "That's why we're getting this treasure, we want compen, comp...compton-stations!"

"Compensation," the raven rolled her eyes, "we shouldn't trust these grown-ups, they'll just want the treasure for yourself.".

"Naaah," Meiji shook his head, "we got our own treasure, we don't need any more, but if we screw over Bluddbeard then it's all good so, whaddaya say?!"

The children looked to each other before turning away and huddling up for a conference. Gen pulled his friend away in turn with a scowl and hissed:

"Are you seriously gonna waste my fucking time on a stupid treasure hunt?!"

"Well what else is there to do?!" muttered Meiji.

"Literally, ANYTHING that's not this!"

"C'mon Gen-chan you never had an adventure?!"

"I'm not a fucking kid!"

"So what, adventure's rated E for everyone!"

"ALRIGHT!"

The kids turned back to them with a shout.

"We'll take yer help," said the mole cricket sheathing his blade, "I'm Dirtblade, the leader of the Three!"

"Yeah, an' I'm Gutblade!" cried the pup.

"I'm Nevar," the raven nodded, "what are your names?"

"Uh, you said before?" Meiji rubbed his neck. "Marbul, and Deadeye?"

"Deadeye?!" Gen snorted. "Are you shitting me right now?"

"What it's a good name!"

"Oh you gonna make me wear an eyepatch too?!"

"N-nah dude, then you'd be blind."

"...fine."

Ganbe walked forwards and bent down to where the trio were digging, wanting their quest to be over soon as it began as he pulled out his sickles to dig up the dirt. Clumps of grass and soil came flinging out until they dug deep enough for the children to be disappointed.

"Awww, it's not here!" cried Dirtblade.

"I told you," said Nevar clipping his head, "it wouldn't be in the park where everyone can get it."

"But the map says it's right here!"

"You got a map?!" Meiji gasped.

The boy produced an old yellow parchment that had been clearly scribbled by some child, showing a vague rectangle supposed to represent Issincho with a prominent X at the northeast. On the back of this map was a small riddle that said thus:

My treasure be found beneath the light

Read this once, then turn it upright

"Woaaaah," Meiji shook his head, "can't believe you found a real map!"

"It's literally some shit someone scribbled," Gen palmed his beak.

"Nooo it's real!" the dog poked his belly.

"It says 'property of' on the side right there!"

"YEAH, cuz it's BLUDDBEARD'S property!"

"Yeah seriously Gen-chan," Meiji tapped him, "come on use your head!"

"I'm the only dipshit round here who IS using my head!" Gen stomped the earth.

"You just can't read the map," the mole cricket crossed his chunky arms, "that's why you're mad."

"I'M NOT MAD, I JUST THINK THIS IS DUMB!"

"Whatever," the kid shrugged, "we searched all over the park under every light, where could it be?!"

"Can I look?" Meiji flipped the map over to himself. "I mean, that kinda looks like the park but-"

"You put it upside down," Gen scoffed turning it, "there."

"Huh, oh yeah, I-...wait."

He turned the map back upside down showing the X at the southwest.

"Yanno, if you do this Issincho looks kinda the same."

"Yeah," Ganbe rolled his eye, "cuz it's a shitty map some fourth-grader drew."

"I dunno, I mean I can tell that it puts this X down at the Morag-sama statue-"

"THAT'S IT!" Dirtblade cried pinching back the map. "That's where it is, there's a big light where that statue is!"

"Hey yer right!" Gutblade squeaked clapping her paws. "We gotta go see!"

Suddenly a beep came from one of their pockets. Nevar pulled out a smartphone and groaned with a deep sigh.

"Sorry, my mother just texted me."

"Awwww!" the cricket stomped. "We coulda solved it today!"

"I knooow I'm sorry, I have to get back!"

"Aw jeez," Meiji rubbed his neck, "can we help?"

"Naaah, it's okay," the pup with the eyepatch shrugged, "thanks for helpin' us with the map sir."

"W-well, hey uh..." the beetle fidgeted his hands, "what if we like, made sure nobody found the next clue, if there's anything under that statue?"

"Really?" Dirtblade grinned with beady eyes. "Could you...um, d-don't dig it up okay?! Just keep an eye on it, we're gonna meet up there tomorrow!"

"Yeah!" Gutblade brought out her swords. "An' if ya dig it up, we'll gut ya!"

"I won't, promise," said Garonba putting up his hand, "pirate's honour, wouldn't wanna cross you guys for sure."

"Heh, cool. Alright we gotta go, see ya!"

"Later!"

The children ran off with Meiji smiling as he waved them off, Gen slouching with relief as the beetle turned to him.

"Damn can you believe those kids found a treasure map in this day and age?!"

"It had a FUCKING WATERMARK!" Ganbe threw up his hands. "It's not a real map dipshit!"

"How'd you know, how many treasure maps you seen?!"

"Wha-buh, Mei-chan, they clearly just scribbled that shit in an afternoon and are just screwing around!"

"Yeah cuz they're kids, you never done that Gen-chan?!"

"NO?!" The bird crossed his arms with a snort. "If you wanna waste your time tomorrow then I ain't coming."

"Why not?" Garonba patted him. "Whut's so bad about just screwing around on a little quest?"

"I...ugh, I dunno, I can't stand kids."

"Well that's why I'm here, so I deal with them an' not you."

"Hah, yeaaah," Gen turned back to him, "you always handled them better."

"I wouldn't do any quest without you anyways, it's not fun if you're not with me Gen-chan."

"Ehh...I'll think about it."

Meiji smiled, knowing this was his way of saying that he would from the soft grin on Gen's beak. Wandering along the western street, they took a slow casual walk towards Ameritown as Gen slapped his cheeks and braced himself for his duty. The outskirts of the slum were clear as day, stars and stripes fluttering in the wind between haunted windows of broken glass, songs of the country acrorss the sea filtering in and out like a drummer's beat.

"Alright," Gen sighed, "I gotta go in, I'll see you out here?"

"Sure dude," Meiji nodded, "watch yourself, you need any help, call me."

"Thanks."

Entering the small district, Gen felt the eyes of monsters upon him as he wove his way towards the central street. A furry trout and a rabbit with deer horns bantered to each other, a feline with ears like a cactus waved to him with bashful grin as he waved back before making his way to the Jersey-born Deville at his stall.

"//Heyyy, buddy,//" the long dark deer kept sharpening his blades, "//where's Maung at, he ain't with you?//"

"Uhhh..."

Gen pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket with Maung's handwriting, translating Japanese to a specific phrase in English.

"//Doooo you know, how, to-get, to skall...eye-land?//"

The stag put his hands together with a growing grin of mischief, eyeing Gen over with a curious intrigue as he put up a finger to have him wait before heading into the back of his shop. The sound of cluttering drawers could be heard until the monster returned, bonking his antlers on the doorway with a muttering.

"Here," he said in broken Japanese, "find...her. Fight her."

"Wh-what?"

A photograph of a strange-looking creature was presented to him, the face of a deep-sea fish with stubby bone, crooked fangs hanging past her lips with large black pupils and a pair of membranous sacs on her cheeks.

"//I...kill her?//" asked Gen in English.

"NO, no no no!" Deville waved his hand with struggling Japanese. "Fight her. Win, NOT kill. She give you thing, you come back. Alright?"

"Ohhhh," the bird sighed with relief, "thank gods alright yeah I'll uh...where is she?"

"Up there." He pointed to a roof. "Good luck."

With a deep breath Gen nodded and made his way up. A staircase had been left unguarded as he saw wooden-skinned apes hiding in the apartments, peering little eyes from black-haired bodies and grey heads as he reached the top level of the block.

"Hey."

He saw the lady from the photo sitting in a deck chair, staring towards the east as she responded in Japanese.

"You here about the Eight Wonders?"

"Uh, yeah?" Gen bowed clenching his fists.

"Nice." She lifted herself up. "I haven't had a fight in ages so, glad somebody came round."

As she stood up, Ganbe was shocked to see her incredible height, a solid 12 feet which was three feet taller than him. Her arms and legs were thin but taut with muscle, her chest expanding like a pair of wings as her bulging sacs inflated from her head with every breath. She almost resembled a ghost by how she drifted towards him, gliding with a timorous spirit even in her red-laced shirt and pants with the emblem of the New York Yankees.

"Alright here's what we're gonna do," she cracked her knuckles like a dozen bullets, "you kick my ass, you're in. I kick your ass, you don't come back for another month."

"What, why?" Gen asked.

"That's the rules of the Eight Wonders, now you gonna fight or you gonna walk back like a little bitch?"

"I'm here aren't I?!" he snapped. "What you think you can scare me?!"

"Do I?" She leered over him with deep black eyes. "Last chance, li'l guy."

"Take your best shot." Ganbe stared back with a growing grin. "I won't even use my sickles."

"You're armed?" the monster grinned above him. "Go ahead, only rule I got is no killing."

"Hah. Same."

He stepped back with arms spread as he pulled out his scythes, switching them up in his hands as the tall gangly creature spread her arms even wider to overshadow him. She beckoned him forth to take the first shot as he came out swinging with the blade on its chain to try and startle her. The monster swerved with her ghostly body and rushed in close with a savage punch to the jaw, knocking him down as he pulled back his scythe to catch her arm and slice over the pale skin.

Barely reacting to the slash, she grabbed his neck with her long arm and suddenly lifted him with incredible strength, slamming him down with a crunch before kicking Gen back as he hurled his sickle mid-roll to wrap around her leg. Yanking hard to make her stumble and fall, the bird shot back up and whacked her face with the back of the scythe, as the American swung down her giant fist that Ganbe swerved past to punch her stomach from beneath.

"Hmph, that all you GOT?!"

She slammed her knee into his face before a mighty kick that sent him flying.

"COME ON, you gonna cut me or what?!"

"NNnngh," Gen stumbled up. "Alright, you want it? Then you'll GET IT!"

Charging towards the monster, the steel-beak dodged underneath her savage swipes and whirled his body round in a spin-strike to cut her knees with a scrape as she gasped with a shudder before grabbing his arm and wrenching him back. With her other fist she crunched in his jaw and then the side of his waist, beating him thrice before Gen hurled his scythe to catch her shoulder and hook into the skin, pulling it enough to make her shriek and let go of him.

Unhooking the blade from her shoulder, Gen rushed to her side and swung the chain round her leg, the sickle dragging behind her ankle when he tried to yank hard to trap her. But the creature was surprisingly quick for her size and jumped towards him like a spider, slamming her other foot in his face and crushing him under her large stubby toes with a harder stomp that made him yell.

When she tried to stomp him again, the bird tugged his sickle-chain hard to trip her up as he rolled to the side when she fell on her back, Ganbe swinging his other scythe like a rope before he cracked the flat end down on her face again and again.

"A-AAAGH, YOU, FUCKIN' ASSHOLE!"

"Hahah, what's wrong?!" Gen unwrapped the chain from her leg. "I don't have to cut ya to make ya hurt!"

"Fucking dammit you'll PAY FOR THAT!"

Lashing out with her giant arm, she slapped Gen across the face before jumping forwards with a driving fist, crunching him so hard he almost backflipped onto the floor. He rolled back up and swung his chain like a lasso, whirling a sickle to her arm and wrapping it tight on her wrist to wrench her forwards. With his other scythe he reached out for her neck, overshooting so the blade wouldn't touch her throat before pulling back to bind the chain round her neck.

The monster pulled back hard and grabbed her throat, and whilst Ganbe wasn't strangling her, he was pulling her at his will before she barrelled into him with a desperate charge and threw her entire body against him. Tossing Gen onto his back, she felt his spikes dig into her chest as he pulled the chain harder and she grabbed his neck, the two strangling each other briefly before Ganbe kicked her stomach and rolled her hard to the side to be on top of her, pummelling her face whilst gripping the chain.

Eventually she bore the brunt of his attack enough to slam her fist through his jaw, cracking him backwards causing his grip to slacken and give the monster time to pull the chain off her neck and arm. When she tried to wrap it around his throat in revenge, the bird threw one arm into the chain and let both sickles wrap round his limb before wrenching it from her grip.

Grabbing one of the scythes and spinning it like a grappling hook, he jumped back to back-slash her face twice, stunning the American enough to deliver a hard karate kick to her bruised gut.

"HNNNGH! A-ALRIGHT, alright that's...enough!"

She gasped with a heave clenching her ribs.

"Heh...not bad at all, you pass kid."

"Thanks," the bird gasped stepping back to sheath his blades, "you speak, pretty good, Japanese."

"Hahah, thanks." She offered her hand. "I'm Lisa Clover."

"Genji-uh...Gen Ganbe," he shook back, "You like, the gatekeeper for the Eight Wonders?"

"I'm the head of Ameritown, but I also vet creatures who wanna get in the circuit."

"Nice." He bowed. "Sooo what now, do I go somewhere or-"

"Not just yet," Lisa waved her hand, "I'll contact you down the line, gotta get you registered and such, it's not exactly a place you can walk down to."

"Alright, sure! Thanks again Clover-san."

"You too, good fight Ganbe."

She motioned a wink at him from her thick black eyes as he walked down the stairs with a smile of relief, his blood all aflame with battle and a hearty sigh on his beak.

Whilst Gen was making his application through his fists, Meiji stood waiting at the outskirts as he kicked around stones and tapped his mandibles. Then he heard a voice muttering from the street corner along the west, sneaking towards a nook to hide and watch a thuggish big-armed badger and a pale white cat skulking in the shade. The smell of petrol alerted Meiji as he overheard them, both of the punks wearing jackets of a red circle with a black creature's head and white slitted eyes.

"Which place we hit?" said the badger.

"One of the diners," said the cat pouring gasoline in a bottle, "make them fucking monsters really panic."

"How many bottles?"

"I got like six, we take three each, we run in then out, Go-san's gonna love this."

"Oh yeah, few less Americans out here to make 'em run."

Garonba looked around nervously seeing no one else was nearby, bracing himself for a fight as he watched the two vashers pouring out bottles and clipping them to their belts. Before he could strike them down, something from above came in a startling flash of ruby and gold.

" THROUGH FIRE, JUSTICE IS SERVED!"

"WHAT THE FUCK!?"

"GET BACK!"

Slamming into the pavement with a hard metal fist, a bizarre-looking humanoid stood in a body of steel before the two arsonists. Painted red and yellow with a cobalt-blue neck and a pair of azure greaves, his head was shaped like a cone and caught the light fantastic from the sun, dark eyes with a permanent grin that was rather unsettling as the badger snarled at the intruder.

"FUCK YOU WANT HUH?! YOU GOT A DEATH WISH OR SOMETHING?!"

" To punish evil forces!" cried the man of steel. " I have been charged!"

"PISS OFF FUCKBOY!" snapped the feline. "You got two seconds to get out our face, or we burn your ass too!"

" A hero, in shining armour is called! I, am JET JAGUAR!"

"You're FUCKING DEAD is what you are!"

The cat charged him with a brazen fist before the metal man dodged, grabbing the punk's throat and tripping his leg to knock him down before the badger came roaring with savage blows left and right. The knight of steel took both without staggering, giving two punches back to stun him briefly before grabbing the mustelid with both arms and lifting him over his head, hurling him against the wall with a crunch.

Lunging for his opponent's legs, the feline tried to grab him before he was startled by Jet Jaguar simply blasting a vent of air from his boots causing him to fly straight upwards, dangling the punk with a yowling screech before he was kicked off back to the ground. Rolling fast to avoid breaking his bottles, the cat lit one up and hurled it towards the metal face. The masked hero grabbed the bottle in mid-flight, snuffing the flame out with his steel fingers and tossing the paper fuse away.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" shouted the badger stumbling up. "What's this Kamen Spider bullshit?!"

"GET ANOTHER BOTTLE, FUCK 'IM UP!"

They tried to hurl a bottle each as Jet Jaguar threw the first one up high, before grabbing the other two thrown at him then landing fast to roll them away safely and slam the badger behind him with a horse. The first molotov he defused and tossed soon landed back in his grasp, the man of steel rushing towards the cat who reached for his last bottle before a savage roundhouse kick slammed the punk across the street.

When the badger recovered, he came rushing with both hands above his head ready to crunch the back of the steel hero's neck. But Jet Jaguar twisted his body with a hard elbow strike in the badger's stomach, grabbing one hairy arm and lifting him over his shoulder in a judo throw. The thug went flying straight on top of his friend, the cat shrieking from the mustelid crushing him.

"GA-AAAARGH! GET, OFF YOU FAT SHIT!"

"NNNGH, m-my back, shit I can't breathe!"

"Woah," Meiji gasped from his little nook, "that was SICK!"

"What was?"

"UH, Gen-chan LOOK!"

He heard Ganbe's voice from behind and immediately grabbed him to point towards the two crumpled hooligans, staggering up the street with a wheezing gasp but no sign of the steel saviour.

"Damn Mei-chan you fuck those guys up?" Gen smirked.

"Wha-no!" the beetle shook his head. "There was this dude, he's called Jet Jaguar, and he kicked these guys' asses cuz they were gonna firebomb some place!"

"Uh...okay so, where is he?"

"He was right there, HEY!" Meiji ran up towards the two thugs. "You guys saw him right, that Jet Jaguar guy-"

"N-NO!?" snapped the feline. "Who the fuck are you?!"

"Don't matter, didya see that guy in steel that kicked your asses-"

"NOBODY KICKED OUR ASS!" the badger roared stumbling back. "Fuckit, come on bro let's go!"

"Yeah!" the cat snapped. "We never heard no Jaguar so piss off!"

The arsonists left empty and humiliated, but Meiji stuttered looking back to his friend who squinted at him.

"But...bro I swear there was this cool guy in armour who beat them-"

"Alright Mei-chan," Ganbe put up his hands, "I dunno what you're doing but I got what I came for so let's just leave-"

"No, DUDE, seriously I saw this guy, he had jet-boots and shit!"

"Are you...doing that thing where you forget that your dreams aren't actually real?"

"That was ONE TIME, this is REAL!"

"Let's just go dude."

They walked off quickly to the south, taking a casual stroll along the riverbank where they saw the flotsam and jetsam trickling down from old bottles to twisting sheets. The homeless camp was now repaired with the serpent Kiyo waving to them and her head still bandaged as they waved back politely. They found themselves at the end of the road by the canal to find a statue prominent at the street corner, sitting next to a car park with two storeys that resembled the most gravelly rice cracker with its thin asphalt roof.

While not a tall statue by any means, it was a noted landmark of Issincho where a long-necked reptile with humped back stood saluting from her granite face, dressed in a sailor's outfit with a plaque underneath.

"Here stands a memorial to Morag McDonell," said Meiji reading, "born in Lochaber, Scotland, who died rescuing seventy-six kaiju from the collapsing Issincho Primary School, during the Great Yokohama Earthquake that killed six-thousand-four-hundred-and-eighty kaiju across the Kanagawa Prefecture. Her courage will not be forgotten, as an honorary member of the Japanese Navy and Resident of Yokohama. This statue was commissioned by Lorna McNess, her comrade in arms who assisted in founding the Seismological Society, to help prevent future tragedies."

"Huh," Gen looked over the statue, "I passed this thing so many times, I thought it was just some temple statue."

"You thought temple folk wore sailor suits?" snorted Meiji.

"Itt's all grey and shit it looked like robes from a distance."

"Heheh..." the beetle bent down towards the feet of the statue, "you think something is really buried here?"

"Why don't you find out?" the bird shrugged.

"Nah bro, we promised them kids we wouldn't dig it up-"

"YOU promised, I don't give a shit."

"Well I'm not doing it," Meiji stood up and patted the statue, "guess Morag-sama's gonna have to watch over it a li'l longer."

"How the shit did a beast end up here?" asked Gen.

"I dunno, maybe go to the library and read up?"

"Nah I'm bored, let's keep walking and-...wait...you hear that?"

The sound of a struggling cough could be heard faintly as they looked over the railing. Washed up against the side of the river, was a pale white octopus that looked like a melted candle, long noodly arms struggling to grab the wall of the embankment with gasping moans.

"SHIT, HE'S DROWNING!" gasped Gen. "HEY, GIMME YOUR ARM!"

Pulling out his sickles he swung down the chain as safely as he could, the choking octopus grabbing with a sudden heave as Meiji helped to pull him up. With all their might they dragged the squid ashore, his black coat sodden and heavy as he coughed retching water from the beak between his tendrils.

"Holy shit you alright?!" Meiji patted him.

"A-ant," the octopus choked, "anti-hi-hiih, h-histamine, HRRKH!"

"Fuck he's chokin' bad, Gen-chan you know big words, go grab some auntie-histories!"

"Right!"

Running up the street, Gen went to the Poppo store shouting for antihistamines and mispronouncing it twice before the clerk understood and said they had none. But the pharmacy at the edge of Ameritown did as the bird went zipping straight to the north, rushing in and grabbing a packet before he raced back down to the choking squid in two minutes, his feet burning hot and his lungs turning ragged.

"H-HEEH, HEEEeere!" Gen wheezed giving the tablets.

"Alright, lemme see!" cried Meiji.

"F-fuuuuck, f-fuckin', ran a whole, marathon, HHHEEEH!"

The packet was a series of small injectors that the beetle jabbed near the squid's beak, aiming somewhere for the throat as two shots managed to soothe the symptoms of the suffocating cephalopod. After a few minutes passed his breathing returned to normal, taking thick lungfuls of air and smiling through his four beady eyes.

"Hooo...damn. Thanks a lot boys, I owe you one."

"No prob," Meiji nodded sitting him up by the railing, "what happened to ya, you can't swim?"

"No, I can swim fine, I got stung by a bastard wasp and uh, turns out I'm allergic to their venom."

"Oh shit. You should like, have some sorta badge on ya."

"Yeah I musta lost it," the squid took a deeper breath, "what're your names?"

"I'm Meiji Garonba, that's Gen Ganbe."

"Name's Dogu Orama," he shook both their hands, "you boys saved my life back there."

"Eh...no problem," Gen slumped on the ground to rest his legs, "so why...why were you in the river?"

"Well...truth is I'm on the run, I can't say more than that but there's creatures after me who would rather prefer I was floating downriver."

"Are you...did you kill somebody?"

"No! Noooo no no!" he waved a tentacle shaking his head. "I just stole something, I didn't kill anybody."

"Oh, that ain't too bad," the beetle shrugged, "I used to steal soda from the school cafeteria cuz they overprice that shit."

"For real?" Gen looked at him. "I just did that cuz fuck 'em."

"Wehell I'm glad I'm in good company," the squid pulled up his larger thicker tentacle-legs. "In that case if anyone comes searching for me, you tell 'em you never saw me."

"Got it," they both nodded as Gen asked, "soooo what'd you steal?"

"Hahaah," Dogu tapped his slender head, "one day I'll tell you, but for now, just lemme rest a spell. You know any good places I can hide?"

"There's the homeless camp," Meiji pointed up the road, "they got lotsa creatures hiding, an' they never go to the cops, or even the hospital."

"Not like cops are really around here," Gen shook his head, "you know this is Jinuchu territory?"

"Yeah," said Dogu, "I won't cause trouble, just take me to this camp."

Leading him up towards the cluttered mess of broken shacks and fridges, they met Kiyo-san who sat against the side of the old public toilet, her long black hair trailing down her serpentine neck.

"Hey there," she smiled at the three, "howsit going?"

"S'all good," Gen shrugged, "how's your head?"

"Ehh, getting there," she rubbed the bandage round her scalp, "you want some vagrant stew, there's plenty to go round."

"Not for us thanks, we got somebody we fished out the river and needs to lie low."

"Ahhh welcome!" Kiyo gestured to the pot a bald otter was stirring. "Help yourself if you like."

"Thank you kindly," the pale squid sat down with a flump of his black coat, "sorry for the hassle."

"Nah it's fine," the serpent scratched her tattered kimono, "you boys been around a lot lately, any reason?"

"Ehh, it's on our route," shrugged Meiji, "we're kinda wanderin' around most days."

"You boys are Jinuchu right?" the otter looked up still stirring her soup. "I seen you guys near the pachinko."

"Yeah I used to work there," Ganbe rolled his eye, "fuck that place."

"Hey it's at least a job, you get paid."

"Ugh, n-no it's like...whatever, we just wanted to get this guy someplace safe."

"Appreciate it," Dorama slurped his bowl of stew, "damn this is good stuff."

"Yeah I used to be a chef," the otter rubbed her bald head, "most creatures don't think road weeds make good eating but, it's still plants and they're not poisonous."

"Oh I hear ya, I've had to camp out plenty times when out on a mission."

"Hey uh," Kiyo motioned Gen and Garonba over, "if you're not doing anything, you mind helping me out with a small thing?"

"Uhh, what kinda thing?" Ganbe squinted.

"I gotta deliver a package to a friend, but my head's not good and, you both seem like nice kids."

"I'm not a kid."

"I remember the Tokyo Olympics, do you?"

"No?!" Ganbe scoffed. "Who the fuck cares about the Olympics?!"

"I do, that's where I lost my fucking legs."

She pulled up her kimono to show a pair of smooth scaly stumps where her thighs had once been, making Gen suck through his beak. Meiji scratched his head but decided not to ask.

"Take this to the tree over in the Bar District," she brought out a little brown package, "someone'll come up and ask 'are you Shiragami', and then you give them this."

"This isn't drugs is it?" Meiji rubbed his hands. "We don't do drugs."

"No, I promise it's not that."

"Then consider it served!" the beetle took the box and saluted. "We'll get the job done, ma'am!"

"Not like we got anything else to do," Gen muttered turning away.

Outside their apartment was a sad lonesome tree, in the bare rectangular patch of dirt that was generously called a park. Once upon a time there had been swings, a seesaw and a climbing frame. Now there was only a bench opposite the tree that stood with its pale twisting branches, old kanji and graffiti sprayed on the walls beside it.

"Gods this thing looks shit," Gen stared holding the package, "can't even make fruit this worthless-ass tree."

"Hey, don't be like that to Pommy!" Garonba winced. "He's just having a bad year."

"It's a tree I don't-wait, did you just call it Pommy?"

"Yeah, Pommy, it's a pomegranate tree!"

"How the fuck would you know that?!"

"I saw him grow them, like two years back!" Meiji patted the bark. "Pommy's a great listener, sometimes when you ain't around, I just talk about stuff and he listens."

"Trees don't have ears," Ganbe snorted.

"They don't NEED ears, they just listen with their wood...things."

"Oh, sorry, forgot I was talking to the fucking plant expert who keeps saying plants can talk!"

"They're alive aren't they, everyone talks when they're alive!"

"So what about those weird monks in the mountains who take a vow of silence?"

"UH...they..." the beetle scratched his horn, "th-they weren't born silent, they took that vow later, it's like a choice!"

"It's still a fucking tree," Gen slapped his fist against the wood, "I never seen this thing grow any fruit, can't even do that."

"So?" Meiji shrugged. "There's lotsa creatures out there who couldn't do better, that make them garbage too?"

"W-wait, what, no I'm talking about the tree dude."

"So am I! Look." The beetle pointed at the hard earth. "See where we're standing? This place is garbage, it can't grow anything here, trust me I tried, I buried a yen coin here once cuz I saw in a manga it could grow into a whole money tree!"

"Okay first off that's stupid bu-"

"EY-EY I'm not finished! This place sucks, you can't grow shit here but somehow this tree DID. Now you might look at it and think it's trash for not growing fruit, but it survived bro, it managed to tough it out in this shitty little place. Maybe that don't deserve a medal, but it deserves to be treated right for just doing the best it can with what little it's got."

Gen blinked at his friend, seeing a tear roll out the beetle's eye causing the bird to falter as he shook his head.

"...shit. That's...that's a lot to think about, you really feel for this tree don't you?"

"I love Pommy," said Meiji looking up at the tree, "he makes me think that...well, if he can tough it out here then...so can we."

"Wait, we?"

"Yeah, you're doing the same thing...right, Gen-chan?"

Ganbe closed his eye and pinched his beak. Garonba's words stung something fierce as he marched up suddenly to kiss him, suckling his mandibled lips with a start from his friend who whimpered sweetly.

"Wh-whuh...Gen, wha-"

"Just needed you to shut up," said the bird smirking, "a-anyways, alright, I get the tree's important so I won't talk shit about it."

"Heh...Pommy says it's cool."

"Awwww what precious boys."

A voice came from down the street as they saw a kitsune, wearing a blue suit with sparkling pastels that filled out at the hips with several tails twisting behind him.

"Nice package you got there," the fox with golden curls pointed to Gen, "hope I'm not interrupting but, are you Shiragami?"

"Uhhh...yeah?" he offered the package. "You with Kiyo or-"

"Shu-shu-shush, that's all I need." The kitsune took it off him and stroked Ganbe's chin. "Your boyfriend's lucky to have such a stud."

"UH, w-we're not, it's not like that we're just roommates."

"Oh, alright." He walked off waving to them. "Well he's a very lucky boy to be with you anyways."

"I sure am!" Meiji grinned.

"Duuude," Gen snarled at him.

"Hahahaa," the fox patted his cheek, "tell the sender that we're expecting four sixteen roses, got it?"

"Four sixteen roses...got it?"

The bird winced uncertain as the vulpine smirked before taking his leave. The two shrugged and headed back to the homeless camp where Kiyo sat waiting, Dorama the octopus still slurping his soup whilst the otter kept stirring and adding more ingredients.

"It's done," said Ganbe, "they want four sixteen roses."

"Ahh, good," the serpent nodded, "thanks for the help, just makes things a li'l easier."

"What are you up to exactly?" Garonba asked squatting beside her.

"That's not for you to know, Jinuchu boy."

"Hey we helped you, don't be mean."

"Yeah we don't give a shit what you all do," Gen waved his hand, "trust me, if Jinuchu wanted you gone, you'd be gone six months ago."

"He's got a point," the otter gestured with her spoon.

"Don't matter," Kiyo shook her head, "the stuff we deal with is vital, creatures' lives are on the line and the less who know about it the better."

"Alright jeez I'll back off," Gen walked away, "s'not my fucking problem, long as it's not drugs or vashers."

"See ya later ma'am," Meiji bowed taking off, "good luck with yer thing!"

"Thanks," she waved, "you too."

As the day wore on they took one last stroll around Issincho, Gen starting to drag his feet as he stared at the ground clicking his beak. Thoughts tumbled around in his head as they went back to their apartment, sitting up on the bed to read their books together and enjoy a quieter afternoon before the sunset would come.

An hour passed with surprising silence, Meiji getting absorbed in cool techniques from the karate champions of manga, whilst Gen found the bizarre story of ghost-trees to start hitting different with strong emotions and strange semi-romantic issues. Roots would touch and connect between friends and enemies, then it dove deeper into stories of reincarnation with each tree remembering a major life experience. Other, smaller, different lives remembering old, unhappy, far-off things.

"Gen-chan? Hey, Gen-chan?"

"Uhh?" he blinked out of his haze and looked to his friend.

"You wanna get dinner, it's like seven now."

"Oh, s-sure."

"You liking that book bro?"

"U-uhh, it's alright I guess, kinda weird," Gen tossed it in the drawer, "gods it's so fuckin' boring today."

"Yeaaah, I mean, well, I dunno it's been pretty exciting!"

"Yeah...alright, let's go get dinner."

They ordered a Chinese takeaway, too tired to head out as they enjoyed a meal of bok choi, dumplings and egg rolls to fill themselves up. Cuddling up together they watched a movie, a crime thriller set on the moon that they half-remembered including the ending. It helped them sleep in each other's arms, drifting beneath the dark clouds and the deep velvet sky turning to a black azure.

At some point in the night, a small postcard was put through their letterbox discreetly, the sound of furry hooves slinking off into the darkness. On the back was a set of instructions.

Gen Ganbe

Letchi Island Produce, Warehouse 46, Yomotsu-shitacho Lane

Bring this card with you