FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

November 21st was the day the city would change. Most of the populace wouldn't feel this change yet, too busy in their offices and grouproom chats. Nagamichi Street had yet to set up its bunting for Icthymas, but some shops already had little trees with stars and tinsel to ease in the festive mood.

A frosted cloak had wrapped round the city, the roofs glistening with gentle white that draped into the alleys. A gentle snow drifted on the breeze, dancing in motes of silver dust in the wake of a limousine at the Hotel District. Stepping out was a tall lady with a gleaming silver head, wearing a dark suit or maroon with black lines down the hem.

Her assistant was a bronze triceratops wearing a hijab, covering her face as she wore a miserable grey suit. The only thing more of a parasite than her office clothes was her boss beside her, as Jin Gerumba paid the driver, then walked down to the Oleander carrying her mistress' luggage.

The fanciest hotel in Kaijurocho earned that moniker from the studded marble floor and lush balsam walls, giving a rich creamy hue that was supposedly pleasant for the creme de la creme. Every creature that passed them in reception, Gerumba felt their bank accounts sing, somehow feeling dirtier here than she did in the brothels.

"Excuse me," she bowed to the clerk, "reservation for Seiko Hirasaka?"

"Ah, yes," the long-horned bird gave a key to Iris, "welcome back Hirasaka-san, enjoy your stay."

Iris walked off as Jin followed behind to the lift. They said nothing until reaching their room, a top-floor suite down luxurious crimson halls with gold-gilded doors. The penthouse room was twice the size of Iris' own back home, with black curtains and a milk-white carpet.

The walls were a faded green of intricate patterns; the bathroom had fool's gold taps and monochrome tiles; the main room itself was a lounge with table and chairs, as well as a couch and TV; and lastly the bedroom had a gorgeous queen-sized bed with enormous walk-in closet.

"Make me a gin and tonic," Iris ordered sitting down, "then unpack my things."

"Yes, Hirasaka-san."

The servant went to the bedroom to drop the luggage, then raced over to the minibar in the lounge where she stirred up her boss' drink. Iris turned on the local news, the tragedy of the construction site still rolling on the feed as creatures sobbed with shaking fists, ranting accusations against the councillor.

"What exactly happened?" asked Gerumba approaching.

"An assassin from the Jinuchu," said Iris taking her drink, "the war shall begin this evening."

"How do you know?"

"Toho try not to involve citizens in their fights, they start conflicts after most creatures have gone home, around seven."

"Well that's...good. Can I ask you something, Hirasaka-san?"

"Good," she nodded, "you're remembering the name, ask away."

"Why do you want Kaijurocho?" Jin sat down beside. "Osaka's been really profitable and we already own all of it."

"But it's not Tokyo. Osaka is just a money bin, a base of operations, it holds no power over the sway of the country."

"So you want to control Japan?"

"No. I just want a bigger base so we become the most powerful yakuza. I'm not here for politics, it's a fool's game, which is exactly why Jinuchu think they can control the will of creatures through ballots."

"I see," Jin nodded, "we're just expanding our empire, that's really it?"

"Yes," said Iris taking a sip, "power comes from supply and demand, by controlling the streets. Just as we control the dens of pleasure in Osaka, we shall control them here for creatures are always weak to vices. The Jinuchu forgot that in trying to reach the stars, and the Toho are sanctimonious hypocrites turning their empire into some anti-government crusade."

She downed the entire drink with a sigh.

"I despise both of them, one for rising above their station, and one who shameface themselves to become activists. This is just a business, Gerumba. I'm not here to make a statement, I'm not here to disprove society. I am here to profit, and to prove I can achieve what my parents failed to do."

"I'm sure they'd be very proud of you," the servant bowed, "what do we do first?"

"Queen is settling herself in. Once all our contacts are in place, we'll contact the chief at a location of our choosing. Until then, rest as much as you can."

"Yes, Hirasaka-san."

Bowing to her, Gerumba went to unpack her mistress' luggage, putting her suits in cupboards and pulling out a small bottle she had hidden. Slipping it in her pocket, she finished the cleanup as Iris came through to take a nap, whilst Jin ordered room service and slept on the couch.

Lunch was an odd affair, the two eating steak with foie gras that confused the trike's tongue whilst her boss could only nibble. Her tentacle reached for the TV to turn it off, letting the sounds of the city rumble through the floor.

"This food's so rich," Jin grimaced, "how do you eat this?"

"In small bites," she pushed a morsel in her beak.

"These servings are much smaller than the ones you get at Geiger King."

"That's why I like the Oleander, everything is sized perfect for me."

"I remember you always had the small bowls at my parents' place," Gerumba chomped her steak, "they liked you a lot."

"I owned them, of course they did." Iris grinned chewing bits. "A shame you're not a cook, but your drinks are exquisite."

"Thank you, Hirasaka-san. What happens if we find Murata?"

"Then we bring him in. Queen shall keep him under guard, and he can watch his beloved city fall to me, before I kill him. Gondo will make certain no one will question his death, any investigations will be quashed."

"You're doing an awful lot to make sure he's stopped," Jin shook her head.

"And if you know what's good for you, you will do exactly as I say, THIS time."

Once they had finished eating, Iris put on her classic cabaret suit of silver epaulettes, blue highlights and golden ropes across the breast. Scarlet slacks completed her look, which she then hid beneath a large red winter coat with faux-fur lining. Gerumba also took a coat for herself, a dark unappealing mustard look.

They left the hotel and walked to the Champion District. The streets were different than before with barricades propped up, creatures huddling beside as if sheltering from the cold wind. It was 12:30pm, the start of lunch hour with cafes packed full of hungry workers. Taking the long walk down Shachifuku, they noticed the construction site now mostly cleaned up of debris, and condemned until further investigation.

"Must've been a terrible assassin," Jin muttered, "aren't they normally supposed to be stealthy?"

"Indeed," Iris nodded, "the Ighorashis were never known for subtlety."

"You seem to know them well."

"My parents died in the same firefight that took their father's life. I studied them through my contacts, Doi the corrupt capitalist, Gihei the sex trafficker, and Rai the legal face."

"I remember some of the girls," the trike rubbed her sleeves, "they talked about Gihei in hushed whispers, and the awful things he did."

"And yet so easy to control," the boss shook her head, "misogynists always are, it was fortunate we caught wind of that reporter who spied on Doi, who is also easy to manipulate."

"How so?" They stepped past Little Asia as Jin looked up. "Huh...that wasn't there before, is that netting for a sports club?"

"Not sure," Iris shrugged, "community clean-up? I never bothered with Little Asia."

"Why not, Hirasaka-san?"

"The Koreans don't want help, and I don't want their services, which suits us both fine. To answer your previous question, Doi is easily led by profit, and any threat to his finance he is quick to stifle it. When one whistleblower comes out the grain, he burns down a whole forest."

"What do you think that reporter found?"

"I do not know, nor do I care." She walked down the road. "Let them die by the sword, and if the Toho thrust it for me, then all the better. This is what you must learn, if you wish to rise up in the ranks."

"M-me?" Jin hurried behind.

"Do you not want to strive further than being a prostitute?" Iris looked back to her. "I would have thought you would tire of it."

"I...I never thought I would be given the chance."

"I reward loyalty, and yours needs practice. But as someone who's been in the dens, you have a far better temperament than that of Kaneyama, and I require a gentle touch in future, that you possess."

"Oh...th-thank you," the triceratops bowed, "I'm honoured to hear. Is...is Kaneyama-san going to be freed?"

"That's why we are here."

Jin Gerumba stiffened with fear as they entered the Champion District. Through the twisting passages steeped with the smell of drink, bar signs kept cluttered above their heads with ugly lines without their beautiful neon coats. In the back corner of the claustrophobic maze, Iris knocked on a door seven times as a smooth voice came from inside.

"Can I take your order?"

"A white brie," said she, "with a dark camembert."

The door opened up as they stepped in through a dinghy hall, circling down into the depths of the city. The sound of clicking mandibles could be heard as Gerumba twitched with growing nerves, shuffling behind her mistress as they reached a large underground gambling den.

Lobsters played hanafuda cards whilst dogs clamoured round the dice, a mantis shaking the bowl for them to guess either odds or evens. Roars of cheer and disappointment filled the hall that was split into separate rooms, segmented by shoji walls of wood and paper.

A bar was set up in a concrete nook, where Queen stood drinking a glass. The silver beetle with piercing blue eyes had a heavy bandage wrapped round her broken horn, her head brandishing several thorns of silicone.

"Iris-sama," she bowed. "My Legion is in place across the district."

"Good," her leader nodded, "and where is Kaneyama?"

"RIGHT HERE BOSS!"

From above, sitting on a beam, was Gyao Shin returned. Gerumba gasped stumbling back against the counter, the red-winged killer leaping off the rafter to flutter down like an angel of death.

"Did the break-out go well?" Iris asked.

"Fuckin' smooth as shit," said Kaneyama, "killed like maybe two, three cops before I left?"

"That's surprisingly low, I appreciate the discretion."

"I just wanted to get the fuck outta there, that bitch Murata's gotta pay fer what he did!"

"You see, Gerumba?" the silver-head gestured with a tentacle. "Murata is dangerous enough he must be dealt with."

"Our spies are searching," said Queen crossing her arms, "since his departure from the station, he has gone dark and knows this city well. But I assure you we will find him."

"It is vital we do, he has evidence against us and the sooner we snuff him out, the better."

"So what about me?" shrugged Gyao Shin. "Do I join the hunt?"

"You're on guard duty," Iris jabbed her, "should anyone come down on us in the ensuing conflict, you defend our assets."

"Ugh, defending suuuucks I wanna go out and kill!"

"You can kill right here, where the police won't investigate. Now, Queen, do you have a map of your contacts?"

"Yes," the beetle pulled out a scroll, "let me show you, Zennyo Avenue's going to be difficult with new construction but I have some suggestions."

As the two superiors examined the chart and conferred on what places to plant their spies, Gyao Shin swept her pleather wing round Gerumba's shoulders and pulled her away.

"Soooo what's gooood bitch?"

"Um, n-nothing?" Jin shuddered from her touch. "Iris-sama told you everything right?"

"Well, not everything, like how you were the one to let Murata free."

The trike froze on the spot, turning stiff as the winged killer unwrapped her hijab.

"What did you think was gonna happen? He'd give you a cuddle after all this, that he wasn't gonna shove you into prison?"

"I, I don't know what you're talking about, h-he bashed me across the face!"

"I spent long enough with him to know those fucking ropes weren't melted off without some help. You think I'm a fucking idiot?"

The avian pulled her into a dark corner behind one of the paper screens. The clattering of dice beneath the roar of the audience would mask their voices, as Kaneyama pressed her shovel-head against the trike's horns.

"What you want from him huh? You think a cop gives a fucking shit about you? Or maybe you're just a thirsty bitch. Maybe that fat turtle dick bruised your womb just the way you like it-"

"S-STOP IT!" Jin snapped. "I'm...I'm not scared of you, YOU messed up, you failed to catch him, don't take it out on me just because you got caught, and mommy Iris had to bail you out all because you-HRRKH!"

"Because I'm what?" Gyao Shin's claws squeezed her throat. "Go on. Say it. See how pretty you still look with one eye left."

"Y-you...you...you're just a s-sad bitch nobody wants, you're JEALOUS of me!"

"Pffft...nice try." The killer let her go and stepped back. "I thought you were gonna hurt my feelings."

"Your mom didn't want you," Jin heaved a breath, "mine didn't either, but at least I accepted it. At least someone out there is trying his hardest to save me, but you? No matter how much you do, no matter how hard you try, you were the worst mistake of your mother's life, and you can't face the fact that you're just as worthless as me."

Her fist suddenly came flying, Gyao Shin slamming the wall behind Jin who stood trembling before her. The murderous beak came close to her eyes and breathed a snarling rasp.

"_You don't know shit about me, you fucking abortion. Only reason I don't kill you now...is cuz what Iris got planned is worse. _"

With vile grin wreathed in fury, Kaneyama walked away as Gerumba shuddered clutching herself. Tears came down her cheeks and dripped off her nasal horns, before she walked back to Iris finishing her plan.

"So it's settled," the boss ended, "Theater Square, Nagamichi, and Shachifuku, Murata cannot avoid those places."

"Agreed," Queen nodded, "where shall I find you?"

"Nagamichi Street. See if I can't incite him out of hiding with our bait."

She put her hand on Jin's shoulder who looked down in shame.

"Send me a runner if you find him."

"Yes, Iris-sama," the beetle bowed, "rest assured, Murata will never leave this city again."

The matriarch went back to street level, dragging Gerumba along who wrapped her hijab back on as they headed south past the Millennium Tower. The streets were turning thicker with snow, a soft drip that formed slush on the cobbles and built up into small drifts. Iris stared back at the Tower, a smile creeping across her features at the shining obelisk reflecting the cold winter sun. Beside it was the Kaijuro Mall, the great jumbo screen flicking through more news as she suddenly stopped.

"Um...Hirasaka-san?" Jin stepped beside her. "What's wrong?"

"Something is off." She looked carefully round. "Notice the kaiju next to the barricades. They have not moved since we arrived."

"They must be homeless, it's cold this time of year."

"No. They don't wear their rags like homeless do, they don't shiver...their eyes are intent, focused...like soldiers awaiting orders, and they keep looking at..."

Her eyes turned towards the screen, The time was now 1pm, as the commercials suddenly switched off. A voice boomed across the entire district, a bass tone that Iris and Jin immediately recognised as workers stopped in their tracks.

"CITIZENS OF KAIJUROCHO. THIS IS A PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT. YOU WILL ALL RECALL THE HOST, WHO TERRORISED THIS CITY THE PAST TWO YEARS."

A picture of a snake showed up smiling in her office suit.

"ON AUGUST THIRTIETH, NAOMI TSUCHIMURA WAS KIDNAPPED, AND MURDERED BY THE HOST. FOR MANY IN THIS CITY, THEY HAVE ASKED 'WHO KILLED HER?'. THE ANSWER, IS GYAO SHIN KANEYAMA, A MEMBER OF THE DAIEI ALLIANCE, FROM OSAKA."

A picture of Kaneyama followed, in the midst of assaulting a car down the Meishin Express.

"KANEYAMA WAS UNDER ORDERS TO KILL A MEMBER OF THE TOHO CLAN, TO INCITE A WAR BETWEEN THEM AND THE JINUCHU CLAN. THE EVIDENCE WAS IN THE KAIJURO POLICE STATION, A SET OF TEETH MOULDS THAT BELONGED TO THE ORIGINAL HOST."

The next picture showed Gyao Shin's copy of the moulds, along with a photograph of Iris' father and a familiar red-winged avian.

"Wha...what is this?" gasped Gerumba.

"...no." Iris clenched her tendrils. "This...this is his plan?"

"SOME OF YOU ARE ASKING, HOW CAN THIS LADY BE THE KILLER, WHEN HER TEETH DO NOT EVEN MATCH? BECAUSE, THE CHIEF OF KAIJURO'S HOMICIDE DIVISION, BARUTI GONDO, GAVE HER A REPLICA OF THE MOULDS, TO BLAME TSUCHIMURA'S MURDER ON THE ORIGINAL HOST."

As the photo of Gondo showed up in his full police uniform, the locals would stare in awe with widening eyes. Some stepped out of their shops, agasp at the pictures streaming in.

"What?! Is that true?!"

"Is someone accusing a police chief?!"

"That's insane, who would, this is a prank right!? That's slander!"

"BARUTI GONDO HAS BEEN COLLABORATING WITH THE DAIEI ALLIANCE, IN ORDER TO WEAKEN BOTH THE TOHO AND JINUCHU CLANS BY STARTING A WAR. THIS WAR CANNOT BE STOPPED, BUT GONDO AND HIS ASSOCIATES CAN, DESPITE WHAT THEY SAY."

The pictures changed to a video recording taken from a phone. While the visual was hard to make, the insides of a police station were clear to tell, along with Gondo's shadow behind the door.

"Yeah, thanks to your friend Kaneyama. Look, if we're going to do this deal, I need to lay down some ground rules, this is still my city. I know, but I can't just have Daiei running out in the streets doing what they want."

"What the FUCK?!" shouted one youth.

"Did that sunuvabitch just say Daiei?!" cried an elder.

"Yeah and that Kaneyama, who the fuck's streaming this?!"

"I know, I know," Baruti threw his hand, "I don't know what he has on us, he said the numbers, the exact code on the moulds he-......yes, sorry Iris-san. November twenty-first, overheard some Toho talking about gathering their forces. Any news from Kaneyama? I don't have jurisdiction in Kyoto."

"Are you fucking serious?!" roared a barista.

"He can't do that!" barked a taxi driver. "That's, th-they're yakuza, I heard about 'em down in Shutenbori!"

"THAT BITCH KILLED MY BRIDESMAIDS, I FUCKING REMEMBER HER!"

"THOSE WHO ARE STILL NOT CONVINCED," continued Murata, "MAY BE ASKING WHERE ARE THE ORIGINAL MOULDS FOR THE HOST, THE ONES THAT WOULD TIE KANEYAMA AND BARUTI GONDO? HERE IS YOUR ANSWER."

Another video played, leaning out from an angle around the corner as it showed Gondo standing in front of a furnace. The casts were in his hand, as he tossed them into the flames with his words echoing throughout the district.

"Not going to matter now, once the Daiei come in this'll all get buried...but what if he does something? Bastard'll call us out, he needs to prove it if the numbers match, but if there's no numbers...no teeth."

Until that moment, Kaijurocho had never been so swiftly united in anger. Across Theater Square, and down the length of Shachifuku, the same thing was playing on their jumboscreens. Creatures were shocked, a rising dissent amongst trembling fists, snarling teeth, and a stomping of feet from every single walk of life, from the homeless beggar to the mid-class executive.

"YO THAT SHIT'S FUCKED!"

"DID, DID THE COUNCIL KNOW ABOUT THIS?!"

"FIRST THAT FUCKING CONSTRUCTION SITE, NOW THIS! WHO'S PUTTING MONEY IN THESE ASSHOLES TO LET THEM JUST DO WHAT THEY WANT?!"

"FOR THOSE OF YOU ASKING WHO I AM, MY NAME IS GAHO MURATA."

His face appeared on screen showing his ID, as well as pictures of him chasing Kaneyama down the highway.

"I WAS A FORMER SERGEANT DETECTIVE, INVESTIGATING THE MURDER OF TSUCHIMURA. WHEN I FOUND MY OWN CHIEF WAS COMPLICIT, HE HAD ME ARRESTED TO PREVENT EXPOSING HIS DEEDS. I CANNOT SHOW MYSELF IN PUBLIC, FOR FEAR OF THE DAIEI'S ASSASSINS. BUT INSTEAD, I GIVE THIS STORY TO YOU.

"CITIZENS OF KAIJUROCHO, I HAVE SERVED YOU FOR YEARS, HOPING TO MAKE THIS CITY BETTER BY PUNISHING THOSE WHO BREAK THE LAW. BUT WHAT HAPPENS IF THOSE WHO UPHOLD THE LAW, ABUSE IT TO THEIR WHIMS? THAT IS WHEN I CANNOT SERVE IT. BUT I STILL SERVE YOU. I BEG OF YOU, TO TAKE YOUR STAND AGAINST CORRUPTION, TAKE BACK YOUR CITY AS A COMMUNITY, AND UPHOLD THE LAW...WHERE THE POLICE HAVE FAILED YOU."

The screen went blank, switching back to commercials as the crowds swarmed in confused anger. Roaring accusations filled the air as suddenly banners fell across buildings. Proudly displaying words of Gondo's corruption, the pictures of the moulds and Tsuchimura's face were plastered on every high-rise as a sacrifice of greed.

"That...that IMBECILE!" Iris clutched her fingers. "Gerumba, we're going back to Queen!"

"What?!" gasped Jin. "But, what abou-"

"NOW!" she grabbed Jin's arm and dragged her. "If that shell-backed bastard thinks he can stop me, he has another thing coming!"

As the perpetrator hurried back, the creatures of Kaijurocho were worked up into a frenzy. In the midst of all this, Murata's friends stood up from the barricades, each positioned at different places as all across the streets, voices were raised and plans suddenly cancelled. Workers stepped out, and even some of their managers would join in a march to the nearest pundit.

"CITIZENS OF KAIJUROCHO!" Majuma cried on West Shachifuku. "Myself and a small group, have established the corruption of a current chief of police! I cannot ask every one of you, to stand here and now, but I CAN tell you this! We cannot ignore such injustice, a lady was murdered, to turn our home into a battlefield of pawns!"

"But what can we do?!" Dan-no-Mite said in Theater Square. "I'll tell you this! No revolution's too small for absolution! And if those in power be crooked, we must treat them then as wicked!"

"It's up to US to stand up for us!" added Umashi next to him. "This ain't no fight, but a dance between law and chaos, where those in power try to hide their sins and turn us into betting chips at a casino! But you all worth more than that!"

"You cannot ignore what they did!" spoke Durond on Nagamichi. "This city I have lived in many years, this beautiful mess of lights, is in danger from those who would willingly kill us for their own greed! They would kill your friends, kill your families, kill your children if it satisfied them, just as they did with Tsuchimura, a mother to a CHILD!"

"But we're a COMMUNITY!" Royama barked on East Taihei. "When your life's down the shitter, someone else pulls you out! I know many of you, I've spoken with you trying to clean your chutes because you care about this city! And no, this is more than about some election, this is about protecting the city! If I get arrested and lose my right to a council seat, then SO BE IT! If I spent my whole life cleaning up one pile of shit, and just ignore another pile in office, then am I any better than Gondo?!"

"NOOOO!" cried the audience.

"Then let's stand together, to block their pipes of greed! Back them up, and flush their sins out of Kaijurocho, because by gods, I GIVE A HOOT ABOUT THESE STREETS! DO YOU?!"

"YEAAAAAH!"

"THEN LET'S MAKE OUR VOICE KNOWN, AGAINST THE DARK STAINS OF THOSE SEATED IN OFFICE! MY FRIENDS, WE MARCH, TO THE STATION!"

A roar from the crowd shook the streets of slushing snow, as Royama took the group down towards the Kaijuro Police headquarters. Majuma and Durond kept their places, whilst Umashi and Dan made the biggest noise possible with banners flying and placards handed out from boxes.

The walrus did the same, having Monda and Zura distribute pamphlets detailing all the sordid events the video screen had told, rousing the creatures into a frenzy whilst emphasising that their goal was to obstruct, not assault. Some creatures bowed out to return home, or dismissed the notion, but there was enough citizens across all of Kaijurocho, that built up into a protest.

The biggest pull was of course Royama, his passionate cries surprising even the most pessimistic citizen about his platform. He had none of his team with him, apart from Leonardo chanting alongside in his green hoodie with Hideo still in working clothes. Everyone recognised the hairy slug and if they had no pressing business, they were swept into the marching crowd.

All this was witnessed from above by workers incredulous, news teams skidding out of their offices to be first on the scene as hordes were amassing in Theater Square, Nagamichi and Shachifuku. Standing upon one of those rooftops, hidden in a rooftop exit, was Murata and Sauressy with binoculars.

"There!" Reed pointed down Nagamichi. "Lady in the red coat, is that her?!"

"YES!" Gaho cried. "Who's that with her?"

"No idea, come on, let's tail her!"

With cloaks disguising them, the turtle and the serpent kept track of the silver-headed fiend who marched over to an alleyway. A lowly kappa was given orders, the mook making a call as Sauressy carefully scaled down a ladder and crept round the corner to overhear.

"Hello, sir?" the kappa began. "This is Seiko's Books, we have your pre-ordered copy waiting for you at the Kaijuro Mall. Please come within the hour, there seems to be a great amount of traffic that will make things difficult."

Baruti Gondo's face turned white as the snow on his office window. He had heard the rabble-rousing from outside as reports came flowing over the past hour, and very soon pictures came flooding with his station tagged on social media. Murata's voice came booming with accusations over the airwaves, the chief trembling with panic as he kicked the door of his office.

"WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS?!"

The officers balked at their desks as Gondo twitched with leery eyes.

"THAT SLANDEROUS SHIT ON THE SCREENS, WHICH ONE OF YOU IS HELPING MURATA?!"

"Sir!" a lobster put up his claws. "We don't know anything, we're trying to deal with complaints-"

"ALL THOSE COMPLAINTS ARE BECAUSE OF THAT!" he pointed outside. "There's a mob forming out there, accusing me of LIES and I want answers! Where is Sauressy?!"

"We don't know, he's still AWOL."

"That...that American PRICK, I want an APB out on him, AND Murata!"

His phone suddenly rang from the office as he was given the message from Iris. He said nothing, putting down the phone before it rang again with a different voice rumbling through.

"Gondo, what's this nonsense on the news?"

"AH, commissioner!" he saluted. "I don't know what's happening, these accusations against me are-"

"Damaging to our reputation," said his superior, "Kaijurocho already spends enough on keeping the yakuza down, but if they're able to falsify evidence against you so effectively, at least...I hope it's that."

"I'm aware, commissioner! I know who the culprit is, it's one of our own officers, he-"

"What? Are you telling me you have a whistleblower?"

"NO, no no!" Gondo shook his head. "Nothing to whistle about, he got in some bad business in Shutenbori, I have reports, he assaulted members of the Osaka police and even killed one of them! He's just trying to squirm his way out of punishment, I'll have him by the end of this month!"

"Do so," the commissioner snarled, "I would hope our officers are not consorting with criminals just to ease their quotas. Bad enough the odd patroller takes bribes here and there, but a chief of police is another thing entirely."

"Yes...sir, I will find the one responsible."

Hanging up, he marched back out and pointed at half the office.

"All of you this side of the room, get out there and help the riot squad! If things get ugly in front of our station, there'll be hell to pay!"

"Yes sir!" the officers saluted.

"Everyone else, keep searching for Murata and Sauressy! They have to be in this city, they've gone rogue and we must treat them as a threat, this slander must NOT be allowed to breathe! I have to speak with the commissioner, keep a lid on this until we figure out what's going on!"

Heading out with his coat, Gondo covered his head with a wide-brimmed hat, and a cloth mask stretching over his snout to obscure the nasal horn. Taking the back exit through the parking lot, he already saw the crowd building at the front, the station somewhere east of Taihei Boulevard and past the Champion District across the main road.

The road itself would soon be blocked by the amassing horde led by Hideo Royama, along with Leonardo Shoji as they pumped their fists together. Banners and boards were given out and held with chanting roars, some locals already part of Murata's circle having prepped their slogan early. The biting cold of the snowy pavement did nothing to deter them, nor the riot police stepping out of the precinct to form a living gauntlet.

But reports on Theater Square and Nagamichi would cause them to split, forming alongside regular officers to try and keep the peace. Dogs and wolves stood in flak armour, with rhinos and one-eyed elephants interspersed as heavy units. All throughout Kaijurocho there was a tension in the air, an urge to fight barely restrained beneath the surface.

Majuma stood in Shachifuku, spray-painting on the barricades with legally-obliged accusations of Gondo's reputation. Her masked face grinned in excitement, standing firm when the small legion of officers approached.

"ATTENTION, CITIZENS. PLEASE DISPERSE PEACEFULLY, YOU ARE OBSTRUCTING TRAFFIC."

"WE SHALL NOT OBSTRUCT!" the walrus pumped her fist. "ONLY WHEN YOU DO NOT OBSTRUCT JUSTICE!"

"YOU WANT US TO LEAVE, GET RID OF YOUR BOSS!" shouted Monda.

"DAMN STRAIGHT!" roared Zura. "THIS CITY AIN'T SAFE WITH A POLICE CHIEF BEING A CRIMINAL!"

Over in Theater Square, the same scenario played with Dan and Umashi staring down the coming horde of police. Both their crews amassed together, dancing and flipping on their heels to enchant the public, at the same time the cops were ordering them to disperse.

"PLEASE DISPERSE!"

"WE'RE NOT MOVING, WE AIN'T FIGHTING!" shouted the crab. "WE'RE MAKING OUR VOICE BE KNOWN, LET THE SEEDS OF OUR DISSENT BE SHOWN!"

"WE GOT A LEGAL RIGHT TO BE HERE!" the horse brought out a sheet of paper. "I GOT RECEIPTS, I GOT THE PERMIT, YOU AIN'T MOVING US TODAY, UNTIL YOUR CHIEF IS OUT!"

"GONDO GONE, GONDO GONE, GONDO GONE!"

The dance groups shouted together, the Cao Ni Ma and Hexie united at last as the police stood firm along the road. The mixed squad of riot cops and patrollers made an intimidating wall of blue, but the youths kept their stance as older citizens began to join them.

Stepping out of cafés and fast food joints, from cinemas, gymnasiums and arcades, a throng of creatures soon swelled in the streets. More and more dissent would come, from which office workers up high could see the thronging masses.

Across the way, the Kaijuro Mall had its customers filing out at the end of lunch. A red-suited lady with silver head pushed past the crowd with her servant, making her way up to the commercial floor. All the shops had been evacuated, bookstores, florists and game centres circling the large room where in the centre was a seating area.

Sitting down between ferns that clustered round benches, the head of the Daiei clenched her fingers and crossed her legs. Gerumba unwrapped her hijab, forced to sit beside her with a tapping foot.

"Unbelievable," the lady snarled, "that worthless quarter-wit of a chief."

"What do we do?" asked Jin.

"First we talk to him, make him suppress the crowd before things get ugly."

"But he, he can't just attack them without a warning-"

"I have a plan," said Iris tapping her beak, "say nothing, you're here to be bait, not companionship."

"Yes...Hirasaka-san."

The clouds were gathering above the city, a dull spackle of grey that shed cloaks of silver snow. The window-slats dripped down with pale, as Kaneyama slammed her feet against the side of the building.

"A-AAAAGH!" Gerumba shrieked.

"Get DOWN you stupid girl," Iris rolled her eyes.

"What, you called for me didntcha?!" the killer flapped herself inside. "Watcha need boss? Shit's getting hairy out there, we startin' something?!"

"Did you not see the video feed on the screens?!"

"No I was still down in the basement-"

"Murata found your teeth moulds...dear sister."

Gyao Shin froze with a sudden clench, her neck popping briefly with a bulging vein.

"Is something wrong?" Iris smiled.

"No," Kaneyama forced a grin, "nothing at all...big sis."

"At what point were you going to mention our mutual relation?"

"When it mattered...didn't matter before now, did it?"

"Exactly. So let's keep this professional, Kaneyama. You know how I feel about family."

"Yeah...sounds good." The avian grinded her beak. "Whatcha need, Iris-san?"

"You see those crowds down there?" She cocked her head. "Pick one of the officers, and shoot them in the head."

"WHAT?!" cried Gerumba.

"Hell YEAH!" Gyao Shin clapped with joy. "Finally, now that's more like it! I'll get a good spot to make sure it comes from the crowd."

"Only ONE," her superior raised a claw, "something to stoke the fires and disrupt Murata's plan."

"And if I see that fat fuck?"

"Tell me, but do not approach. We must corral him in a place that no one can see before we...question him."

"Oh is that what we're calling it?" The killer cricked her neck. "No problem, Iris-san. I'd love to 'question' his kneecaps before he begs me to stop."

She took flight towards Nagamichi, Iris tapping her fingers as the sound of chanting rang from beneath. Jin pursed her lips in a growing fear, praying silently for Gyao Shin to fail as a few minutes passed, before a male voice came.

"Iris-san!" Gondo staggered up the stairs and hurried ove pulling off his mask. "I, I-i, I don't know what happened! He, that, h-he wasn't even in the station, I don't-AH!"

"Shut up!" She slapped him hard across the face. "What in gods' name were you thinking, burning that evidence in the fire?!"

"I, look, Murata KNEW about the moulds, if he got them and showed them off, like he just did on the screen, they'd have to look into them being replicated."

"And instead you got caught, destroying the originals, like the worthless little beta you've always proven yourself to be."

"I DON'T KNOW WHO SAW ME!" he cried grabbing his horn. "I wasn't followed, there was nobody there-HRRKH!"

"And yet there was, obviously," she wrapped a tentacle round his throat and lifted him up, "my Legion is searching for Murata, so all you have to do is damage control. I've sent an agent of mine to help move things in your favour."

"Tha-...thank you," Gondo snarled dangling off the floor, "we need to get this shit cleared before the war starts tonight."

"Then do your job or else this war will mean nothing. YOU won't get your time in the sun and all those criminals in your streets will be mopped up to no effect. I can only help you if you open the gates, but if I have to force them open myself, then our deal is off."

She put him down and motioned Gondo to leave.

"I will remain here, safe from the chaos. When things have settled down, return to me."

"No need." A voice spoke from the stairs. "We've got plenty of time to talk, down at the station."

Covered in a black cloak, the turtle marched towards them with Sauressy coming behind, himself still dressed in his old police coat.

"Wha-...MURATA!" gasped Gondo. "YOU...YOU FUCKING TRAITOR!"

"Traitor?" scoffed Reed. "The guy getting in bed with the Daiei calling us traitors, that's rich."

"SHUT UP!" He pulled out his gun causing Gerumba to flinch. "You two ruined everything, you couldn't just leave things alone, now this city is FUCKED!"

"What makes you think this is better?!" Murata spread his arms. "The Toho and Jinuchu are heading to war, protests are filling the streets, the public's faith in the police is shattered!"

"I WAS GOING TO CLEAN THIS CITY UP!"

"AND BRING HER IN TO REPLACE IT!" Gaho pointed at Iris. "Do you know what she does?! I don't like the Toho anymore than you do but SHE is a cold-hearted abomination!"

"YOU NEVER HAD TO MAKE THIS CHOICE!" Gondo's aim trembled. "Our department was losing money, I got NO HELP from the fucking council cuz all they give a damn about is their shitty hotel-casinos, and I'm expected to fix things on a hornstring budget!"

"So the public should be sacrificed?!" Sauressy stepped closer. "You're no better than the fucking cops back in the States, all you care about is money more than doing your damn job, if you wanted a licence to kill folks then be a fucking security guard!"

"Or join the yakuza," Gaho gestured to Iris again, "be like Zittelli, which you practically are-"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

The moment Gondo squeezed the trigger, a tentacle snapped his arm downwards to fire it in the ground.

"Did you forget our deal?" the Daiei leader snarled. "Murata is MINE."

"Gods, fucking dammit Iris just KILL HIM ALREADY!"

He was struck across the face and kicked down against a bench, Iris grabbing Jin who trembled in her grasp.

"Speak like that to me again," said the lady, "and you will spend your retirement in a wheelchair. As for you...Murata, don't think you've won just because you've formed a union."

"I'm taking you in Iris," Gaho approached, "you have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be-"

"SHUT. Up, you insufferable cretin. You have no authority, you are a criminal accused of slaughterhood, you have nothing against me."

"I'm still a citizen, and I'm still dragging your ass to the station."

"That's going to be very difficult," her smile grew, " the police are already occupied, and soon they will have more problems."

Down on Nagamichi Street, Ms. Ribbette was in the throng of creatures staring down the police. Dressed in a thick coat, she shivered trying to stand resolute before the boar cop with six tusks and dark flinted eyes. A quiet fear rippled through her, until she remembered who started this protest. Murata's face burned in her mind as she stood up straight, and recalled a lesson from months ago with a glint in her bulbous eyes.

"You need to leave, now," she started.

"Ma'am, don't tell me what to do."

"YOU...call me mistress," she thrust her head close to his, "this is not going to be a fight. You're going to stand back, and behave, just like we will."

"Is that a threat ma'am?" the pig huffed. "If it is, you need to choose your next words carefully."

"I don't make threats."

She snapped her tongue between them to sound like a whip, striking the air so sharp the boar struggled not to flinch.

"Now you listen to me. We're not here to fight, we're here to speak, and you WILL listen to what I say."

"This...this is a public disturbance, ma'am, you know this gathering was not-"

"Do you want to be punished, you nasty little thing?" Her voice turned to silken heat as the pig started to sweat. "I don't take kindly to insolent little boys...none of this crowd do."

"I'm NOT, a boy, ma'am."

"You will be, if you don't step back one foot, I'll have you begging for your mommy without touching you. I don't need to touch you, to break your mind so hard that by the time I'm done, you'll be sucking my feet, and you'll be so helpless without your new mistress, you can't even wet yourself without my permission."

His eyes widened with disbelief, startled by this strange aura of dominance from this civilian. Her eyes burned through his skull, his sweat drops turned thick and he licked across his piggy snout. All Ms. Ribbette had to do was slide her tongue over her wide lips, snapping the end of it to her side to make him flinch even harder. The boar blinked first, and knew he had lost when he took a single step back. Little did he know, that this would save his life.

The moment he pulled back, a sharp golden beam ripped past his face, cutting through his snout as the frog turned stiff with horror. The blood of the officer sprayed her face, a screaming howl deafening her ears as she watched him fall to the ground.

"SNIPER, SHIELDS UP!"

"PULL HIM BACK, TAKE THESE BASTARDS IN!"

Ribbette was shoved down by a bear, a giant paw swinging her aside as the battle began in earnest. Panic rose from the crowd who saw the officers advance, and the first thing they did was try to flee. The street turned to a battleground, civilians torn between flight or fight as some hid behind barricades, whilst others were caught in a beatdown with truncheons bludgeoning their backs.

"THE TIME IS NOW!" roared Guy Durond. "DO NOT FALTER, TAKE THIS CITY BACK, REVOLUTIOOOON!"

Jumping off a car, the long-headed shark drove his fist through one officer's face. Four of them tried to take him down, but he swung his massive knife-head to keep them back with one trying to beat his eye, that he blocked with the side of his blade. Grabbing a traffic cone, he parried a bludgeon from a second cop, and hammered her face thrice before golf-swinging her jaw.

"PREMIER Á SE BATTRE, PREMIER Á MOURIR!" he roared tapping his skull. "FAITES DE VOTRE MIEUX BATAAAAARDS!"

Frightening the patrol officers with his deep cackling laugh, his eyes turned venomous as a riot cop pulled out a disabling gun to shoot him. Durond turned sharp to deflect the bullet with his knife-head, pinging off the sharp steel before he lunged at the shooter, and grabbed his arm to judo-throw him to the ground. Then he turned to see a familiar shadow, a red devil standing upon the roof, one wing darker than the other.

"Ahhh...la salope démon...on se revoit."

She met his gaze with a cold smile, that he returned in earnest as the cops drew upon him. He lowered his head and roared with brazen charge, cutting through the horde and forcing them apart, or else risk be carved in twain as he headed for the roofs unchallenged. Ascending the rickety fire escape, the chef stared down his archenemy.

"Welcome back...my one-winged angel."

"Heh, you're still around?" Kaneyama rolled her neck with a hand on her hips. "Can't fucking resist me, can you?"

"A battle with mon rivale, in the midst of a revolution? Ma famille would disown me if I did not."

"So what do you want this time? Hungry for my other wing?"

"Ouais...but I also tire of playing by the rules. You tried to kill that cop."

"So what?" she shrugged wide. "Nobody's gonna notice a dead body in a riot."

"Exactement." His smile grew with dagger teeth. "Shall we see whose body is next?"

"You're such a fucking creep." Her smile mirrored his. "I missed you, Durond. I missed stabbing you, watching you scream."

"I missed tasting your blood, Kaneyama. En garde, ma belle de l'Enfer."

"Hah...en garde you cuntsucker." She braced her wings. "I'm gonna love riding your face, when I mount it on my BIKE!"

With a vile beam she shot towards his eye, as he ducked and deflected with the flat of his bladed scalp. The sonic laser came back towards her foot, Gyao Shin sideflipping fast before diving forwards from the air, to grab his thin head with both feet. She twisted her body hard to slam him to the earth, stomping on his eye as the chef groaned from the vicious claws scarring his cheek.

Grabbing one of her legs, Durond flipped her above his head, and rolled to thrust his long sharp skull towards her. The flyer spun out of harm's way and delivered a roundhouse kick, knocking Guy aside who tightened his stance and countered with a gut punch when she came close. With a mighty headbutt he chopped for her skull, but a sharp sonic burst paralysed him enough for Kaneyama to fist both sides of his head and bootkick his stomach.

Rushing to headlock him, the killer tried to slam him to the ground when Guy elbowed her face, rolling on top to punch her twice before she pulled up her knees and kicked both feet in his gut. Both of them stood back up and lunged with flying fists, Durond making a feint to headbutt her shoulder with a deep cut to the bone.

"KHHHAHAHAHA, OHH FUCK IT HURTS!" She cried ripping free with bloodied arm. "You always knew how to make it hurt so GOOD!"

"Hah, hah, hhhmhmhm hah hah hah, tu es comme un oiseau sacrificiel," the chef laughed in his deep dark drip, "mais tu n'as jamais été pur."

"Fuck...hhhahaha, ahahahaha, fuck I'm so wet, I fucking missed this shit! I don't even care if I die tonight, this city's gonna burn, and YOU'RE GONNA WATCH, WITH YOUR KNIFEHEAD ON MY FUCKING BIKE!"

"Ohhh, vraiment." Durond clutched his chest. "You always say the kindest things, so what if a city burns? So long as your last whispering breaths trace over my tongue...I don't care what happens next."

"Heh...hhhehehehehe, AHAHAHAHA, YOU BAGUETTE-RIDING FUCK, THIS TIME YOU'RE DEAD!"

"There never was a 'this time', ma belle de l'Enfer. Only the last time, you shall ever BREATHE!"

With a vile laugh, the chef and the killer would charge again as the streets would turn to chaos. Throughout Nagamichi, citizens ran into alleys or hid in stores to evade the cops, but some stayed behind with an independence for violence. Fists would fly, rocks were thrown and more than a few bikes would be tossed or wielded as weapons, crushing down armoured skulls before fighters were beaten and subdued.

The bloodlust infected others, when those who tried to run from Nagamichi were seen by those in Theater Square getting bruised and battered. Dan and Umashi did not start this fight, but the police simmered with such tension that it took all their will not to initiate.

Luckily, someone else would start it for them. A one-eyed silver beetle had snuck through the crowd, and with a cruel smile lit up a molotov to hurl at the cops. The police fell back as two were set ablaze, howling and stumbling as their comrades launched at the dance group.

"WOA-WOAH WOAH, WOAH WOAH WOAH, WE DIDN'T DO THAT!"

"EY YO NO FIRE, WHO WOULD CONSPIRE, TO UNDO OUR IRE?!"

But the fuse had been lit, and there was no dousing it back. Forced to defend themselves, the crab and the horse ganged up with their squads and for the first time in their lives, they used their feet for battle. Officers lunged with beating sticks as Umashi came spinning, a verdant cyclone sweeping the legs of cops that fell half-a-dozen.

Dan-No-Mite spun on his single big claw, before bouncing over a squad and karate-chopping two with a deep crack. The rest of their gang fared little better, not as skilled as their leaders but they all chose to stay and fight. Some were beaten black and blue, blood would spill across the pavement from both sides as feet would fly, and bludgeons came down.

The chaos would be heard on Shachifuku where the police attacked first, seeing their comrades burning as they lunged for Monda who swung her skateboard in defence. Zura grabbed the cop's shoulders and threw them back, before pulling the squirrel away to try and flee. But Majuma was ready, a long tusky smile with sadistic glee.

"TAKE YOUR BEST SHOT YOU VASHER SCUM!"

She pulled open her coat to reveal a dozen spray cans and bottles.

"I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS DAAAAAY!"

Riot cops immediately went for her expecting some terrible bomb underneath her jacket. But instead she blinded three of them in one sweeping spray of paint. One came close enough to grab her tusk, as she pulled out a bottle to smash it at their feet, causing an explosion of frost that startled the police.

Their feet became frozen from the ice, some form of chemical freeze as she swung her fist across the officer's face. and swung her fist at his face. Two more were rooted to the ground with the ice, the walrus kicking one so hard their boots snapped off the floor causing them to fall with a crunch.

When another squad came she hurled another ice bottle, shattering with a white explosion that blinded them with frost, causing the more reptilian officers to shudder with halting cold. But the anarchist's confidence was more than her ability, as she tried to take on four officers at once with two spray cans like revolvers.

Twirling them in her flippers, she made an X-slash of blue and green, gagging their mouths and fuzzying their vision, until she was finally struck down with a brutal crack of the baton. Falling on her back, she was pinned by four officers, the battle around her raging on as she was beaten with purple eyes.

"MAJUMA!" cried Zura.

"NO, LEAVE HER!" Monda shouted.

"LIKE FUCK I WILL, SHE'S OUR TEAM-MATE!"

Barrelling down towards one officer, the mole-beetle tackled him in a hard lift with a heaving roar. Trying his best not to punch them, he threw their arms back and shoved one back with a firm boot before grabbing Majuma. Her face was battered black, and one of her tusks had darkened, but she smiled all the same before she grabbed Zura's head to pull him away from a fist.

Monda leapt in to guard them, taking a hard truncheon across the face but she kept her stand. An odd smirk cracked her face as she slapped the officer in response, almost teasing her to strike her again. Another blow bruised her cheeks, but the squirrel kept smiling with taunting fingers as another officer tried to grab her in a headlock.

Suddenly she rolled forwards, tossing his body far in the momentum before sweeping the first cop's leg to knock her down. When a third officer came running, she called out for Zura to stand tall before leaping onto his shoulders, and doublekicked the cop's face.

"DON'T MESS WITH THE GO-WRATHS!" she shouted. "ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL!"

"Dammit Monda!" cried the beetle. "Don't antagonise 'em, we're not here to fight!"

"IF THEY WANT A FIGHT THEY SHALL HAVE IT IN SPADES!"

Magumi lunged with a bottle in hand, cracking it on an officer's helmet to blast his face with shocking ice. The Go-Wraths stacked up together, Monda and Majuma stepping in front, with Zura keeping behind to protect his hands as another small squad of police came forth.

The riots spread all the way to the station, where young Leonardo and Hideo Royama were desperately calling for peace and urging their supporters to be calm. But they felt the growing dissent, as the police started tensing up in front of them.

One officer, a red oni in riot gear, approached Hideo whose stench was not enough to keep her back. When the cop tried to grab him, he slipped free of her hands thanks to his largely gooey body.

"Wh-what, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" he cried.

"You're responsible for your supporters!" said the oni. "Now make them disperse, and come quietly!"

"We have a right to protest here you nincompoop!"

"SIR, do not insult me!"

"Then don't be a brown-noser, you saw what your boss did, we are not moving!"

"If you do not disperse now, you WILL be detained!"

"I will NOT disperse, until your crooked chief is out of office!"

The cop was ready to shove him, but Royama hardened his slimy head with a shudder that rooted him to the ground. Refusing to budge with his burning red eyes, he stared the cop down who tried to warn him with a truncheon smacking her hand. But then Leonardo stepped between them, a severe look in his compound eyes.

"Sh-shoji-kun, no, get away!"

"You guys need to calm down," said the boy with stiff antennae, "you're not here to fight, you're here to keep the peace."

"Don't tell me how to do my job," the officer jabbed a finger, "leave now, or things will get worse."

"Your boss is working for yakuza! We all saw it, that's why we're here, how can any of us trust you to do the right thing?!"

"There will be an investigation, but fighting us on the streets like your friends elsewhere are doing now-"

"Is anyone fighting HERE?" Leonardo spread his wings. "Royama-san's not commanding the creatures in Nagamichi, or Theater Square, it's just his followers here!"

"He's right!" shouted Hideo. "I promise you I will keep my supporters controlled!"

"Then leave and save us the trouble!" said the cop thrusting her baton.

"Who do you work for?!" challenged the moth. "Your crooked boss handing your station over to criminals, or the creatures of Kaijurocho who want to stop it!? Because right now you have a councillor-elect, and the son of the High Priestess in front of you, both telling you your boss is wrong."

"This...kid, don't you backtalk to-"

"ANSWER ME! Do you work for the city, or do you work for yakuza?!"

Shoji's aura was oddly frightening, his voice raising high enough that the crowd stifled their bloodlust on seeing the confrontation.

"You always protected us, now we're protecting you, by forcing your corrupt chief out of office. The only way you're going forward is through me, and if you dare touch me...you unleash all the demons in Naraka, from the descendant of Sarasvati himself."

The oni widened her eyes at his startling tone, a sudden power radiating from the young moth's defiance. Slowly she stepped back, the other officers understanding, as Shoji turned towards the rest of the crowd with a sweeping wing.

"We're here to stand, not to fight! Royama-san doesn't want violence, not from them or from us! Whatever's going on in the rest of this city, that's not what we are!"

"My assistant is right!" Hideo stood raising his hands. "Do not fall to mob mentality, stand firm and flush your minds of anger! Be the cool river flowing through the city, I implore you all to clench your buttocks, squat yourselves down, and clog this street, like a MIGHTY LOG!"

The crowd cheered with new resolve and sat down on the street, the siren call of fists from afar tempting them more as they steeled their hearts, and straightened their backs. Royama started singing an old song titled "Take Back The Sun", one that others recognised and joined in, with Shoji learning the words for the first time.

A sigh of relief came through the police in front of the station, silently glad the protesters quieted down as they kept guard across the way. Their fellow officers were not so lucky, as violence grew across Nagamichi, Theater Square, and all of Shachifuku.

Inside the Kaijuro Mall, Sauressy, Murata and Gondo watched in horror at the streets consumed with rage. Fires crawled across the asphalt as officers clashed with civilians, blood spilling on the sidewalk and roars of fury filling their ears. Iris simply smiled, tightening her grip on Jin who carefully snuck her hand in her pocket.

"What have you done?!" gasped Gondo. "M-my forces, they can't deal with this AND the Toho and Jinuchu!"

"You started this," said the matriarch, "your incompetence has cost you, and now you've outlived your usefulness."

"WHAT?! But I gave up so much for you!"

"And you still failed. But I might still be able to help you...IF you can prove your loyalty." She pointed towards Sauressy. "Kill him. I'll make sure it looked like they both died in the riots."

"Are you serious?!" snarled Gaho. "Gondo-san, you've already damned yourself, your jail time can be lessened if you confess now and finger the Daiei."

"He's right chief," the monster shook his head, "you know what happens to cop-killers in this country."

"...I'm damned either way." Baruti bared his teeth. "If I go to prison, I'm fucked as a chief of police, no matter what crime I'm in for, a cop like me'll never survive in prison. Iris-san, do you swear that you'll keep me safe?"

"So long as you still prove useful," she nodded still holding Jin, "I keep my allies protected."

"DON'T BE A FOOL!" Murata snapped. "You know what happened to Zittelli! She won't waste a second killing you once she's done!"

"SHUT UP!" The horned chief pointed his gun. "You have done nothing but PISS ME OFF, MURATA! First you made this contract hard for me, then you try to ruin my career!"

"WHAT ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?! Just look away, pretend my chief isn't a goddamn criminal, that he's putting himself above the law?!"

"I DON'T FUCKING CARE, THIS WAS MY CHANCE TO FINALLY GET UP THE LADDER! I am sick, and TIRED, of everyone relying on me, when I can BARELY KEEP THIS OFFICE OPEN!"

Pointing at Sauressy, he clenched and pulled the trigger. Murata jumped in front facing his partner, the bullet pinging off his shell to make him stagger as he grabbed the monster's shoulders, and spun him round to hurl him towards the chief for a ruthless punch. Slamming Baruti him against the bench, Reed pummelled his face before twisting his hand hard to rip the gun free.

"GO, GET IRIS!" he shouted. "I'LL TAKE THIS BASTARD!"

"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU, YOU YANKEE SON OF A BITCH!"

Gondo's screams filled the mall as he wrestled harder against his subordinate, Iris quickly running towards the roof with Jin dragging behind her. Gaho followed after, leaping up the stairs two at a time but whenever he came close, a vicious tentacle shot towards his face. Vile lengths stabbed the walls and barely missed his chest, as he kept a close pursuit testing her reach.

Sauressy tussled with the chief of police, before Gondo slammed his fist in Reed's eye then shot out his tongue to punch the monster's skull with a hard blunt tip. The fleshy tendril went between Reed's eyes, causing him to stagger and be left open for a giant swing of Baruti's fist

Falling against a marble bench, the monster kicked his chief's legs to knock him down, followed by a brutal uppercut that cracked his jaw before a bullrushing slam. Jumping into a boxing stance, Sauressy came out with a three-hit combo, the third punch countered by a heavy backfist from Gondo as they fought around the commercial floor.

Between his own heavier punches, the chief shot out his tongue to try and stab Reed's eyes, but the monster blocked with his hand to feel the bullet-like sting shudder down his arm, as he pretended to stagger. Gondo rushed him like a fool, the American swinging himself round to swipe with his large tail and knock the kaiju down.

Falling head over heels across the bench, Baruti grabbed for his gun near one of the stores and fired at his subordinate. Ducking beside the seats, Sauressy skirted round cover and popped out his tail to lure Gondo's eye. When the boss fired for it, the monster leapt out the other side and bootkicked his boss into a bookstore.

"DEAD OR ALIVE, YOUR ASS IS COMING WITH ME!" shouted Reed. "I don't care who you are, you're corrupt as SHIT!"

"DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND HOW THINGS WORK HERE?!" roared Baruti. "Maybe it's different in America, but we don't GET that same luxury!"

"I know perfectly well how things work!" he snarled cracking his fists. "Corruption's the same any part of the world, but I have a chance to stop it now before it festers in this city!"

"You sanctimonious PRICK!"

Shooting out his hard tongue he punched Sauressy's stomach, grabbing the monster's neck and hammering his knee into the gut before hurling him against the counter. Bookshelves clattered upon their heads as the monster was bent over backwards, the kaiju's hands wrapped round his throat to strangle him in desperation.

"I won't let ANYONE ruin my dream, of making this city work for me, especially not some FUCKING TRANSFER STUDENT, who thinks he knows better than any kaiju would-AAAARGH!"

The moment Gondo leaned close he was assaulted by a pair of fangs, the lunging bite of the monster ripping his cheek in a hard tear that forced him back. The officer grabbed his chief's arm, then swung him round to crash into another set of shelves, before bashing his face with a hardcover book.

"I am more a damn kaiju to this city, than you EVER WERE, GONDO!"

Another crack of the book slammed Gondo's head, before the kaiju blasted Reed's hands with a shocking cold mist that paralysed his fingers. A frigid burn crept through his knuckles, dropping his book with a shudder before Baruti crunched his skull, a powerful haymaker that knocked one of his fangs free.

Falling out of the bookstore, the monster staggered towards a small coffee shop, a corridor of four tables where he grabbed the hottest pot to splash over his hands, and heat them back up before the chief came marching after. Grabbing a chair, he swung at Gondo who blocked with both arms, shooting his tongue between to try and blind his former subordinate.

Sauressy ducked and snatched up another coffee pot when Baruti charged, glassing him with a scalding hot liquid that made him screech and fall clutching his eyes. The monster hoisted him back up, then slamkicked Gondo across the tables with a clattering flourish of wood. The crooked cop smashed against the back wall when Reed spun his tail, and slammed against Gondo's lower spine in a hefty crack.

Grabbed by the skull, he was pounded thrice by the officer, driving the horned snout deep into the faux-brick before Baruti screamed with a burst of cold mist from his back. Unlike his breath, this thickening aura formed a dazzling display of colours, a flashbang rainbow that hardened into a blinding shield forcing Sauressy back.

With a savage double lariat, Gondo cracked Sauressy's jaw twice, stumbling against a table that the monster heaved in a wild swing to crunch Baruti's chest. Grappling the chief in a neckhold, he hammered his face twice then slammed it through another table, before the chief swung out his tongue to wrap round Reed's throat and pull him down.

As they rolled across the floor, there came thundering blows back and forth, kicking and beating until bruises went black. The kaiju got the upper hand when he locked both of Reed's arms underneath his own armpits, then cracked the elbows hard with a crushing grip to make the monster roar. With a headbutt he slammed Sauressy off him, kicking his jaw like a football across the room.

"Don't worry, Sauressy," Gondo lifted a table high, "I'll pay for your funeral, and make it a BURIAL AT SEA!"

Before he could crush the American's head, Gondo felt a hard thwack of Sauressy's tail straight to his crotch. His thighs quivered with a harsh wheeze, struggling to hold the table up before Reed pulled a chair from nearby, and tossed it at Baruti's face. Falling backwards, the table crunched on his body, a gasping howl escaping him as Reed mounted his chest, and came down with a barrage of fists.

"//I'LL BURY YOUR FUCKING CAREER YOU CROOKED SON OF A BITCH!//"

As the two officers brawled inside the mall, Iris stepped out onto the cold open roof with Gerumba in tow. They ran into the greenhouse garden, a small glade of trees and benches where glassy snow shone over her heads. The moment she heard Murata stomping behind, she turned and drew a bladed tonfa on Jin's throat.

"Ohhh, you're finally here to save me," said Iris in her winter coat, "that's your line, Gerumba."

"Let her go!" Gaho warned. "This is between you and me!"

"I will if you surrender, and I will let her walk free which I know you want. I know you would never harm me if it would cost her life."

"So you're a coward and a murderer!"

"I am a tactician," her blade pressed on the trike's throat, "call it what you will, the only thing that matters to you now, is Gerumba's life in your hands."

Fire coiled in wreaths of smoke from the streets, reflecting on the glass to make Iris look like the queen of Hell. Murata felt a trembling in his body, his heart swelling as he briefly imagined the mall turned to a castle, the glass of the greenhouse like windows of an ornate throne.

"MURATA!" Jin cried. "YOU HAVE TO STOP HER, SHE'S INSANE!"

"Hah, very good!" the kidnapper squeezed her neck. "You're making good bait."

"IRIS, LET HER GO!" roared Murata. "You have me already, you don't need her anymore! I'll fight you to the death, just like you always wanted!"

"But I want to see you suffer," she pointed with her finger, "get on the ground, with your hands behind your head. See how you enjoy it, for once."

"You think I would ever surrender to evil?!"

"No, which is why you need motivation. Go on Gerumba-kun, play your part as the damsel in distress. Proclaim your love, beg for his help, beg him to reassure you everything will be fine like the pathetic little girl you always were."

"Y-you," she gasped, "you knew I let him free, didn't you?"

"Of course I did." Her knife drew a thin careful line of blood above her ribs. "But that also proved to me how useful you still were, to bring him here and make him surrender."

"...alright. Murata!" Jin looked towards him with a smile on her face. "You still want that drink with me, after all this is over?!"

"Y-...yes." Murata nodded. "It's alright...I won't let her kill you."

"I know! You still remember how I make my Devil's Whistle?!"

"Yeah...I do."

Her eyes shifted down to her hand, as Gaho saw a small bottle she pulled from her pocket. He slowly walked to one side forcing Iris to turn towards him, and in that moment, Jin popped open the bottle of wormwood.

"GET, OFF ME YOU BITCH!"

Blinding Iris with a shriek, a cloud of noxious tincture smothered the silver beak and caused her tentacles to spasm violently. A shuddering wilt made them recoil, as the triceratops shoved Iris away and clocked her with a wild punch. She ran towards Murata fast as she could, hearing the roar of fury behind her as the matriarch lunged for Jin's back.

Iris shot out one of her trembling tentacles with the force of a dead limp arm. Jin was too slow to escape her reach, a vile deep scar tearing down between her shoulders, her scream echoing across the roof and the world turning faint as blood arced like the devil's wings from her back. Murata grabbed her falling body, her choking face staring up at him.

"GERUMBA! GERUMBAAA!"

"Sh-she...she...h-hhhhrkh!"

"HOLD ON, I'LL GET HELP-"

"NO!" She grabbed his face. "S-stop...stop her...I'll hold on...I promise."

The pain made her faint, scarlet tears staining his hands as Gaho ripped off his cloak, and quickly wrapped it round her back to form a makeshift tourniquet. Then he turned towards Iris, who snarled clearing the wormwood out of her eyes before seeing his face twist in anger.

It was the first time she had seen her enemy consumed with rage, the tortoise immune to the cold wind that snapped at his suspenders. He roared her name long into the night, and with a blast of his jets slammed into her body to smash her against a tree. She threw him back with a hard kick and slashed for his neck with the tonfa, pulling a second one out from her coat as they braced for their final battle.

Punching his thrusters, Gaho made a flying kick from above that Iris blocked with both blades, slicing up his leg before a second foot spun down on the back of her skull. Grabbing her in a headlock, Murata slammed his fist in her chest before her tentacles stabbed for his side, and he forcefully rolled back to hurl her towards a bench. The cop jumped with a thrusting kick for the skull that she dodged, feeling his foot scrape her beak before two tentacles shot out to wrap round his throat.

Strangling his squat neck like a living noose, Iris suffocated him hard and lifted him high before he blasted his jets once more. Dragging her up with him, he hit the glass roof with a spiderweb crack, falling down on top of her with a body slam to the ribs as she shrieked. Hammering her face twice, the tendrils stabbed his shell belly a few inches deep, and threw him backwards across the greenhouse.

Clutching his chest as blood dripped out his shirt, he dodged one savage tentacle before the second ripped his shoulder, carving over the top with a flensing of bone that made him drop and headbutt forth in a bursting rush. The slam of his thruster-charge bruised her stomach, the matriarch coughing with blood before she slashed her tonfas down his arms.

The sharp cuts she thought would frighten him, but Murata was so incensed he ignored the pain and grabbed one of her arms, before kicking out the back of her knee. With his other hand to her skull, he flared his thrusters to drive her head through one of the trees, cracking it in half with the metal scalp as it fell through the glass, and shattered an entire wall.

"SURRENDER NOW!" roared Murata. "YOU'LL PAY FOR YOUR CRIMES IRIS, I SWEAR ON MY BLOOD!"

"_FILTHY WRETCH! _"

Her tentacles wrapped round his legs and suddenly yanked him upwards, throwing him off of Iris as he spun briefly before turning off his jets. Landing with a crouching slam, he rolled fast when Iris shot out her tendrils, four punching stabs through the earth, a bench and another tree nearby following the rolling turtle.

Launching off his knee, he socked her jaw with a flying punch, but in turn Iris shanked the side of his waist with a rip-and-tear of her tonfa that poured crimson down his leg. Roaring with pained fury, he grabbed her neck and headbutted hard to stun her briefly, then grabbed at all four tentacles with both hands and swung her fast to crack against a bench.

It was a dangerous move, for the Daiei boss raised her tendrilled points above him like daggers of judgment ready to stab and quarter his skull. When he felt her tentacles flex sharp, he dodged back with his thrusters as the daggers plunged down in the earth, before Iris suddenly hurled one of her tonfas.

Gaho screamed when it stabbed through his pectoral, gouging above his lung with a shudder as he ripped it free on pure adrenaline and armed himself in a duel against her. They clashed with their blades, but Iris was far more skilled with this weapon as they struck back and forth in slashing sparks, crossing each other again and again before she hooked her tonfa round his, and sliced over his hand to rip the weapon free.

Murata gritted his tusks and grabbed her arm, swerving to evade the stab that scratched his side when he elbowed her jaw and headlocked her once again. Falling onto his back, Murata crushed her face in the dirt then rolled Iris onto her back, driving his fists ever harder into her skull.

Both were spitting blood, her metal head tarnished with dents and Murata's jaw turning darker along with the trickling red from the half-dozen wounds across the front of his shell. She raised her tentacles out from her back, but Gaho grabbed two in each hand as high as he could to keep them away from his body, leaving his chest open for two tonfas to press into his stomach.

"Tell me," Iris rasped, "what did you hope from all this? That I would rot in prison, that all the crime in this city would just dry up and disappear in my absence?"

"I'm here to stop you!" he snapped. "Right now, the only thing I care about is putting you behind bars-A-AAARGH, AAAGH!"

"Imbecile!" she pushed two inches deep watching scarlet drip on her coat. "You've lost your job, you will lose your city, and your little stunt will be forgotten in the wake of the war between Toho and Jinuchu!"

"N-NO! I WON'T LET YOU WIN!"

"I ALREADY HAVE, MURATA! YOU ARE DISGRACED AND A FUGITIVE, HUNTED DOWN BY YOUR OWN FORCES!"

"I WILL SEE JUSTICE DONE!"

"YOU'RE NOT AN OFFICER ANYMORE! WHAT RIGHT DO YOU HAVE TO SPEAK OF JUSTICE?!"

Before she could stab him deeper, Murata slammed both his fists down to crush her tentacles against her chest, before he grabbed the tonfas and jerked himself free with a horrible rip. Two vertical slits dripped thicker down his belly, his thighs now lush and shining ruby with blood.

"I may not be an officer now...but I am still a citizen of Kaijurocho. When the law could not protect us, I chose to upheld it by the will of the masses. The will of creatures. If I have to abandon my job to see justice done, then I will...but I will not abandon my beliefs."

"Pathetic." Iris heaved herself up. "You are every bit the insufferable hero complex you deign yourself to be."

"And you are nothing but a vile queen, who's lost her kingdom. And who's about to lose her freedom."

"Vile...queen?" She smirked. "Is that...hmhmhmhmhm."

Her laugh started trickling from her throat. A cold empty cackle that rang like the halls of an empty castle.

"Does that make you the prince in shining armour?! Is that all you care about?! Are you nothing but a child still trying to save the world?!"

"I am a GUARDIAN!" Murata tapped his chest. "No matter who's in trouble, I will risk my life to save them, because someone has to! Not just because someone was there for me, but because more than anything, I want no one to suffer injustice, not EVER AGAIN!"

"Well then, dear prince, you do not stand before an evil queen!" She grabbed her robe. "You stand before a wicked WITCH!"

With a grand flourish she tossed her coat open to reveal her sharp beautiful azure suit, shining silver epaulettes and golden threads across the chest. She twirled her tonfas in her claws, and with her four tentacles slipping above her head, like the membranous wings of an angel, Iris beckoned him to his death.

Charging up his thrusters, Murata came flying with a screaming blast when he spun his body fast, and ducked into his shell to collide with her legs. The Daiei leader fell in surprise, but shot out her tendrils to wrap round the spinning shell and rip it back towards her.

When she tried to stab for the head-hole of his shell, Murata stopped spinning to crush her jaw with a driving kick that crunched her into the ground, and skidded her body across the garden. Her tentacles pushed her back up, throwing Gaho off with a wrenching pull of his arm to slam his back on a tree, before shanking for his face.

He blasted backwards in a hard jet to avoid the thrust, throwing himself down to spin on his back, then handstand back up to doublekick her face before launching upwards in a savage roundhouse that cracked shards off her steel head. With vile indignation, Iris roared and stabbed towards him with all four tentacles. Two of them he dodged, but the other two pierced close to his kidneys and liver.

Bursting his thrusters with anguished cry, he spun himself round and yanked her close into a deadly waltz, twirling with a sonic punch to the stomach that made Iris dry-heave. With a hammerfist to the back of her skull, Gaho ripped her tendrils free from his belly, the matriarch come slashing for his throat when she jumped up with both tonfas still fresh in his blood.

The turtle parried one then dodged the other, the Daiei leader spinning one blade in her claws to slash over his eye then cut back across his beak in a Z-slash. Gaho never faltered, gritting his tusks as he grabbed her wrist mid-cut, then pulled her close for a vicious knee to the gut. Hooking his leg behind hers, he threw her down in a judo slam and stomped on her leg, cracking the foot as she howled in vengeance.

Shooting one of her tentacles out, Iris caught his arm and wrapped it tight, trapping it in place to pull herself up, and drive an entire tonfa straight through his wrist. Murata's screech gave her the greatest pleasure, watching his face tortured with tears before she twisted the blade in one full rotation, and cracked his right hand completely off.

His body stopped for a moment, choking in anguish, his right arm dripping thick with veins dangling, violent spasms of the flickering nerves as Gaho went into shock. For a moment Iris thought she had won when she pushed him back against a tree. This insufferable officer, the bane of her infamy was now at the end of his tether.

"It's over, Murata," she hissed with glee, "all you have done is run yourself into the ground, and you will die as another faceless casualty. But I won't kill you yet...I will let you watch your city, be adorned with my face."

The turtle said nothing, heaving back his gasps as he was kept pinned against the tree. The Daiei leader looked past him to see Nagamichi, smiling fatigued at the flames of chaos.

"Do you hear that? Do you hear your fellow citizens suffering because of you? All you had to do, was obey. But instead you have brought this city to its knees, faster than I ever could. You lost the very moment you decided to fight me."

Something trembled near her, an odd inherent aura that made her look back towards Murata. He clenched his beak, his chest thickening with a strange glow that came rising from his lungs. A wrothful flame dripped down his tusks, storming from his maw, as Murata opened wide with a rising scream.

That scream became a solid force of pure plasma flame, and before she could stop him, the turtle brought his bloodied stump to his mouth and shrieked an almighty fireball straight at her face. Bigger than her skull, her four beady eyes turned to shining quartz as Murata cauterised his wound, at the same time he blasted her across the garden. An orb of plasma melted across her features, charring her silver cheeks to a rancid black with tentacles spasming in anguish.

Through the burning haze she saw his nemesis, marching towards her with his stump shining brilliant gold like the sun in his hand. With one final roar of her name, Murata lunged with heavenly strike, his right arm like the fist of gods to come crunching down on her skull, and exploding with such force, the entire greenhouse would detonate into a million fragments.

The glass shockwave ripped through the mall, causing some creatures to look up and dodge the raining shards falling as far as Tenkaiju Street. The garden was flattened, a dusted plot of earth with no more roof, and no more windows. All the trees had been bent in half, and in the centre of it all, laid Iris unconscious.

Her eyes had gone dim, her chest slightly heaving, and her face now a burnt opal polish. The turtle heaved with gasping sigh, his body covered in raw wounds and his right arm smoking from its stump. Taking a belt from Iris' coat, he tied all her limbs and wrists behind her, and hobbled over to Jin Gerumba.

"G-geh...Gerumba! Are you alright?"

"Yeah," she raised her hand weakly, "I'm still...here."

"Thank...thank gods."

He sat down beside her in the dirt, coughing with burning lungs as blood trickled down her back.

"Is it...over?" Jin asked.

"Not yet," he shook his head, "my partner will come, he'll call an ambulance, and then we hope...let's hope the Toho win against the Jinuchu."

"But...I thought you hated yakuza."

"I do. But they're the lesser of two evils. I can keep them in check."

"Thank you." She took his hand with a gentle squeeze. "You...you saved me."

"I promised." He gripped her tight. "I promised I would free you...I'll make sure you're absolved of the Daiei's crimes."

"That's going to be...a lot," Jin coughed, "but I trust you...Gaho."

The turtle smiled a little surprised, but then heard the voice of his partner calling from the stairs. Sauressy dragged himself up, beaten and bedraggled, a missing fang and covered in bruises.

"HEY, MURATA, YOU OKAY?!"

"Yeah!" Gaho raised his thumb. "Mind getting an ambulance for three?"

"Make that four!" chuckled Reed. "Gondo's nursing a hangover with some coffee."

"Hah, like that's going to help."

The monster went to find the nearest phone, as Murata kept seated with the trike who, while wounded, was still clinging on with a smile. Her hand squeezed his tighter, and for a moment their hearts skipped a beat with a strange sensation. She leaned up towards him. He bent down to her. Their lips soon met, a soft tender kiss before the ambulance would come.