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Chapter Five

In Muhn, they stayed at a very posh hotel together. Part of the travel was staying in a couple of places on the way, and since they agreed to take part in everything, they were given a number to call for any needs. So far it had bought them the train ride, and now it had gotten them a stay in the best Muhn had to offer. Sadly it was not much, but to a circus boy, an ex gypsy, and a run away, it was as good as it could get. Toggle was the one who got the room for all of them, since Crayo said he would room with them, but he had Ichigo with him to keep him on the straight and narrow. Thou Toggle was good, sometimes he had a bad habit of doing some things he regretted, and to keep him in line, Ichigo had sworn to help Toggle straighten up. It had taken a permanent banning from a village, and an angry mob to convince him to do so, but he would always remember that one night with a prince.

"You are getting a room with two beds. You and me are going to sleep together" he held up a hand predicting Toggle was about to make a bad innuendo, and wanted to stop him before he could. The timing was perfect and Toggle was halted before a sound could leave his open mouth. " I will be using the pillow wall, and you shall not be snuggling with me tonight. It is not cold, so do not try that excuse tonight. And no you cannot sleep with Crayo. We do not know If he is gay, just he does not get disturbed by you acting gay. He seems nice so ...cmon. Just keep your pants on and lets try and keep this group going without awkward conversations in the morning and me trying to hum some songs to try to push out those noises you make when you get...."this time Toggle held his hand up and stopped Ichigo, who had gotten louder as he had reached the pinnacle of his rant.

Crayo had wandered off to find a phone to call his Dad, and try and explain the miscommunication. Toggle looked around at a few onlookers who had caught certain parts of the conversation. He did his trademark grin and they looked away, trying to ignore him, which suited him fine.

"Okay okay Ichi. Calm down. I will not touch your new boyfriend, and was not planning on it." Toggle responded, giving a bit of a glare. " I was going to suggest that we get two beds anyway, and suggest that you could sleep with him, but instead the pillow wall and you sound find for bed-mates. But I roll in my sleep and you are soft like a pillow so we shall see." Toggle finished, grinning a little wider, and walking away. Ichigo did not mind waking up with the roo on him on some nights, but the honest truth was, while Toggle knew he was gay, Ichigo was undecided. Before meeting Toggle, neither sex appealed to him at all. Besides which, Toggle was a friend to him, and that is all he could ever want from the roo.

*****

"You can say it's the Jackets, but I think it's these guns." the arctic fox said, kissing his bulging bicep carefully The Fox was proud of his muscles, as he had worked hard to make them the biggest and best in East Brakheiss. Ever since he was a kid, he realized only the big could survive in that part of town. It was a miracle anyone survived in that town, but he had, and more so, thrived. The only thing more amazing was that he could do so without being corrupted like so many. His name was DJ, and he was one of the leaders of the 'Guard Dogs'.

"Sure your muscles are impressive bro, but here we are wearing leather...."

"Fake leather...."

"Sorry, 'FAKE' Leather jackets, with gang signs on the back...."

"It is not a gang sign, it is a logo." DJ said, turning around to show it again. He wore a very nice looking black jacket that looked as if it cost a pretty penny. His took a lot of work to make to fit against his frame, and curved over his muscles well. The back had a unique logo that he now pointed at. The logo consisted of a wolf that appeared to be sprinting forward. Its legs were curved and around each of them was a circle that looked like wheels. Its tail curved up into a large crescent shape that made the wolf appear to be part of the moon. Above this wolf were the words "Guard Dogs" in italic letters.

"Okay, okay, sure, a logo. But what do you expect wearing this.... attire." The white wolf said. Takota looked at his brother with a half serious look, but at heart, he was too excited and happy to truly argue. His brother called on him those few days ago to try out for this event. DJ had seen the signs and saw it as an opportunity. And now they were well on their way to the chance of a lifetime, Takota as a fighter to represent the hopes and dreams of the East Brakheiss community, and DJ, to protect his brother.

Takota also wore the jacket of the guard dogs, but his was a little to big for him. He was a white wolf of a decent size, but smaller then DJ. His muscles were quite adept, but while DJ was an achievement to body building, Takota was the martial artist. He had trained since he was a child with other members of the Guard Dogs, and too him, he should not be the one to go to Ferocity, and yet, here they were. DJ traveled with him still, as he had gotten a job in the city, and was taking it as an opportunity to help Takota.

"I expect some respect." DJ responded, grinning and posing "And that is what we are gonna earn Tak.", he emphasized with an uppercut in the air of victory. He began doing his routine to show his muscles off, not caring what others in the room thought. Most were very amused and DJ could hear some familiar sounds telling him, if he wanted, he could go back to his room with a companion or three. Perhaps it was these thoughts that distracted him, or perhaps his flaunting had distracted the kangaroo, but whichever it was, Toggle had wandered close, watching the show, and as DJ turned to do a shadow boxing type punch, and soundly knocked the kangaroo out. His last words before falling to the floor was an incoherent "Nandatooo...."

*****

"Dad, are you sure?" Crayo questioned the image on the wall. He had found a phone booth, and had opted for the image call to see his father. They were a close knit family so seeing his face made him feel better.

"Son, of course I am sure. You earned this, and you are there for us. In fact your mother and I, we are still getting over how proud we are of you." said the older looking rabbit on the screen. Crayo's Father was black rabbit, and starting to inch past middle aged. He had been handed the circus from his father, and was already in the steps of handing it down to Crayo. Crayo was a prodigy, like his brother, but devoted to the circus and its continuation, which made him all the more proud.

When Crayo was young, everyone thought that his brother was going to be the next leader, so he did what he could do to help. He trained to find a talent to be good at. What made him amazing is he excelled at everything that was the circus. He had been, during nights when other performers were sick, been an acrobat, circus clown, juggler, feral tamer, cannonball, and even a strong man (thou on the night in question, it was mostly shown that he could lift more then any average rabbit of his age and size, and the crowd was forgiving). He had used these skills to win his fight, and now he was going to use his name to bring the fame back that his brother had lost them.

"We can handle the business here Cray" His father said affectionately, shortening his name to what they had called him when he was younger. "Just remember we all love you so much. We will work our Asses off here as well, and when you get back, we can show the world what the Nyon's can do." His father said with a tear in his eye. They both said their farewells, and Crayo left the booth, feeling refreshed, and ready for anything. He wandered to go back to his new friends.

*****

Ichigo walked out into the streets of Muhn, oddly more flustered then usual. Toggle usually did not faze him even slightly with their banter, but this situation was odd. It was not Crayo.... exactly. It was probably just anxiety from this entire Ferocity thing. He walked onward, taking time to think. What in the hell was Ferocity anyway? Here they were, on some journey to go do some fighting tournament with only 2 days notice, which was barely any.

More so, it was a year long, and they agreed to go and that the fact that it would be a year before anything was broadcast, which should keep any chance of being found slim to none, and his mind held no hesitation, but something seemed off. The more he thought that it seemed off, the more he felt troubled.... but at the same time he could not bring himself to not want to go. Like he had to go, even if his family found him, which was the worst thing that could ever happen. Before he knew it, his feet had taken him to a street market full of odds and ends. He remembered that he still had the money he had won from the preliminaries in his pocket.

"Might as well get a spending high while I can to take the edge off." he said to himself, deciding to see what toys he could find. The market was very diverse in its selections, having a lot of technological finds, such as cell phones, music players, cameras, and portable games. A lot of them were old, but still very useful. Other finds were rare odds and ends. Shiny gems, old furniture, artistic pieces, and other vintage materials were there for Crayo to touch and feel. Nothing really piqued his interest heavily, save for some portable computer, and some parts that he had a hunch he could jimmy together into a useable device. He had the technological version of a green thumb that he had trained himself to use on the run. The thought on having time and a place to work on his hobby cheered him up a little.

While walking by the more organic section of the Market, a bag full of parts to work with on his back, he stopped by one vendor, feeling an impulse to, quite literally stop and smell the roses. One stand had a nice assortment of plants and flowers that caught Ichigo's eye. A lot of kin had a love for sweet smells that they repressed over the years. Many seemed to push the affection away to appear more civilized, or modernized, but Ichigo found this stupid, and hoped he never cared how he appeared as far as civilization mattered. His nostrils flared with each sniff as he went thru the selection of flowers they had.

The shopkeeper's face seemed to shift upon seeing Ichigo three times. It started as a look of seeing a potential customer, but shifted after reading the "Bite Me" phrase on his hat. It changed back to a look of ease when he saw Ichigo sniffing these flowers, thinking a trouble making kid would not look so pleased in a habit so simple. A black fox was already by the stand, checking the assortment when he saw Ichigo and stared for a moment. Ichigo had a sense for being watched but even he did not notice the watching eyes till the owner of them walked closer to him. Ichigo saw the fox when he was within five feet of him. The fur on the visitor was a dark black, but had a certain shine to it that made it appear light still, somewhat like Ichigo's color, but the fur on the fox was a little longer. His tail had a white end on it and swishes back and forward, and his eyes had a lovely amber color to them, that seemed to be slowly hidden away as he walked, as his head hair, which was a white color, began to loose its hold in a classic style of being brushed back and drop toward his face. He wore a dark blue long sleeve shirt that looked like an old style shirt with some white dashes to design it, and some white pants that hung loosely on his legs, neither of which suggested what the physical build on the fox could be.

Ichigo felt his own hands going to his sleeves fast, preparing to unbutton the straps, but before he could the fox turned toward the flowers that Ichigo was sniffing and picked one out. It was a pretty blue color with petals that spiraled outward from the center, somewhat like a rose, but looser. The petals became less blue as they went farther from the center, and became wavier and curled downward. He held the rose to Ichigo and Ichigo took a deep whiff by instinct. It was soothing and smelled like something from a dream. He felt a smile on his lips, before he caught it and stared at the fox. He was smiling to Ichigo and any thought of him being a threat seemed to pass.

"Sorry, I saw you looking at these flowers and I thought you would like this one. It seems like the kind of flower someone like you would like. Am I right?" he said, his head hair drooping and hanging over one of his somewhat amber eyes as he talked. He blew it out of the way. Ichigo nodded, somewhat wordless as the fox talked, his voice having a strange accent but seeming sweet. The fox carefully selected a bundle of the flower he had picked out, and handed them to Ichigo to smell. "I have a knack for these kinda things. I bet your one of the Ferocity guys right." Ichigo nodded, and smelled the flowers, trying to remain cautious, but his guard was quite down. Ichigo saw the fox about to buy them, but quickly reached for his own cash to pay for them, not wanting this as a present. It would of nagged at him if he had gotten a present like this from a stranger. The fox did not seem to mind. "Don't worry, I am not trying to get you these as some kinda hit on. I just saw you and thought, you should walk away from here with something to remind you of these places. Once we get locked in that city, I bet a lot of us will miss these kinds of luxuries."

?"Oh, are you going to the city too?"

"Yes, but not as a fighter. I am one of the workers for the shops inside. It was so odd, they just asked me if I wanted to go and said they would move all my inventory if I did. In a day my building was stripped and is on its way to our destination, which was amazing to watch, but here I am missing being surrounded by my flowers." the fox frowned, a little melancholy at this. Ichigo felt a vibration on the phone in his pocket and got it out to read a message from Crayo. It read "Togs knocked out. Come quick." Ichigo rolled his eyes and began to turn towards the hotel, but before he could go he wanted to be courteous. He shook the hand of the fox and said "My name is Ichigo, and I will have to spread the word about your flowers in the city, when I see anyone who seems home sick."

"Send em to 'Byakuren', and tell em to ask for Ren" the fox smiled, and with that Ichigo ran to go find out what had happened. The fox watched the bat run off, hoping that that was all he had to do. Watch.

*****

Toggle had a thing for big guys, so watching DJ talk to his companion had already distracted him more then usual. He decided to ask them if they were going to Ferocity as well, which Is what made him want to talk to them. When the fist hit him in the jaw, everything went blank, and thou he usually did not have a glass jaw, his guard was down, and his body crumpled to the floor with a small nonsensical utterance. The black behind his eyes was deep, and long, and allowed him no need for thought.

Every now and then he could see, deep in the darkness, flashes of red, but not his red. It was a brighter red, but a darker red too. He tried to open his eyes and felt a struggle between him and this darkness, as if it wished to keep him in this world of blank, but he wanted to wake up more. He finally was able to open his eyes to a world of white. Except, it was not a world of white, just the white fur of the white wolf, holding him in his arms, and holding his cheek. He was looking up at Crayo, who was talking to him.

"Yea, I met him on the way here, I don't think he's gonna be too mad about this kinda thing. He seemed pretty easy going..er..seems" he corrected himself as he saw Toggle open his eyes. Takota looked down and locked eyes with the roo.

"I... I am so sorry. DJ likes to show off and.... He had gone to get a first aid attendant...are you okay?"

Toggle rubbed his jaw, which was sore, but something he could manage. "Yea I....I am doing well enough, and yourself" he grinned, but then stopped as his jaw gave him a shot of pain. He ended up resorting to a less aggressive smile, which seemed a little more natural on his face. "So the name of the fist is DJ, what is your name thou?" Toggle asked, feeling the instinct to flirt kick in.

"Takota, but my friends call me TK" the wolf responded and helped the roo to his feet, but holding him up still.

"Takota and TK hmmmm. Well can I call you Tak?"

The wolf blushed a little, but then DJ came back and had a first aid kit in hand and Crayo beside him. Thou thankful, Toggle could not help but think what horrible timing the hunky fox had.

"Sorry lil' guy, I really don't know my own strength" The fox said with a grin on his face. It was an apologetic grin, but sheepish as well. Toggle waved his hand with an effeminate gesture to this and accepts the apology easily. He had been hit before, and knew it was far from the last time.

"Since I wronged you, you now have a promise of protection from the Guard Dogs, right TK?"

"Right DJ", the wolf nodded and helped Toggle up to his feet. Toggle liked the help, the hands helping him feeling warm.

"Sounds fair enough, but uhmm, who are the guard dogs?"

DJ tried to hide his annoyance to their lack of fame, but could only hold back so much.

*****

Brakheiss was a thriving metropolis. They had Clan headquarters, major landmarks, food, dining, and shopping that would send even the most shiny object loving bird into a coma. It was a paradise to some, and the end to dreams for others. East Brakheiss was a nightmare. A few generations into the change, when half-kins were at the peak of appearance, Brakheiss was connected to east Brakheiss. The Clan that watched over East Brakheiss was the Graudo clan. Clans had many purposes in this world. To some they were corporations and businesses. To others they were royalty and government. But the Graudo clan was in place as a clan to protect the city and act as a force of law.

It worked well until power corrupted, as it usually does. The clan that overlooked Main Brakheiss was the Brakheiss family itself. It made sense for them to overlook their own property of course, but since East Brakheiss was established after the founding of the main city, its own denizens protected it. Bartholomew Brakheiss would not have it. He tried to go about his dislike of the system diplomatically, by offering to send their own soldiers to overlook things, but they would not accept, as they had their own pride, and they did not want to pay the fee that would be included in this system. The people earned money in the city, and spent it in the city, as living costs were high there, so being able to live without an overbearing fear of being attacked or worse, without paying to have the luxury was one of the few places they could save. Bartholomew had little care for their worries, and went about his wants in a few different ways. He raised prices in the city, and began sending his men to the East to disrupt their home lives, then remade his offer monthly.

The Graudo clan did not take to this very well. Three months into this, after making sure they could confirm the corruption, and not be fooled into thinking it was paranoia; they took action, and began fire bombing some of the main businesses of Brakheiss. They were careful and had no casualties, and the Graudo clan compensated any East families who lost their jobs. They counter offered to stop the attacks when they stopped theirs. Bartholomew was enraged and did the worst thing that any clan could ever do. He employed the Clan of lost senses, the most efficient assassin clan in existence as of date. The Graudo clan's leaders were killed in one night, and their bodies posed to offend and anger the denizens of East Brakheiss. The riots lasted years, and in the end the bridge to the east was taken down and the members of East Brakheiss had lost the gentler members over time. Some left as they say there was no life left in the city, others died in the fights. Those who were left were violent and neurotic, and often would take boats too the mainland, and attack and raid to stay alive. It was dirty and rotten for many years.

8 years ago, things started to look up. One gang began to get a hold on the city, absorbing smaller gangs into it and bringing back a sense of order and righteousness. The Guard Dogs had begun their take over.

*****

"You cut to now, and we practically own the city again. We took up the ideals of the Graudo clan and try to keep ourselves above what the island was reduced too. But we need more money, and power to reach Clan status. If we do reach that status, we can rebuild the bridge to the main land and help a lot of the impoverished families that are still there. So here we are" DJ finished his tale. Toggle and Crayo were both listening intently. Ichigo had made his way there and had listened to the tale about half way thru, thou admittedly he knew it already. He seemed a bit bothered at the end of the telling.

"Wow...I feel kinda dirty now" Toggle said, looking a bit ashamed. " I'm just going too fight and try and discover my lost past" When talking about his lost past he said it jokingly, but it was a defense mechanism. Make the heavier things seem light and it would not hurt as much. "Well tell ya what. If I win, and I get an immense amount of power and wealth, after getting my dream house and et cetera, I will throw my support and so said et cetera to that cause. And I will become a sponsor for the Nyon Circus" he added, looking to Crayo. Crayo smiled happily and shook Toggle's hand.

"All right then Toggy, Then I promise to do the same, and help you with your dream house and lost memories...or were you kidding about that?" the rabbir asked while Ichigo shook his head and put a hand on their hands, joining this little miniature force they were forming.

"Okay, and I promise the same. Might as well, since I am gonna kick this red roo's egotistic butt" he grinned. DJ and Tak added their hands in.

"I promise to help you out Crayo. And you too Toggle" he added in and offered a gentle smile. The smile said, a lot to Toggle, and he blushed, but it was small, and his cheeks remained the same color. Only Ichigo knew he did, and this was just from knowing Toggle as long as he did.

"Tsk, you kids are making me wish I could help more" DJ said sadly. "TK passed his prelim, but I actually went down to him in the fight. Thankfully I get to go as one of the workers for the city. I will be one of the guards, which is ironic enough. The only thing is I cannot watch over TK while he is fighting, to avoid favoritism, but the rest of you, I got your backs...within reason. Thou I do owe you a favor lil guy" he said and gave Toggle a playful punch. Toggle partook a great effort not to wince and hold his arm, knowing that he would now have a large bruise under the red fur on his shoulder. They each separated their hands one by one, in a different order then the ones added in. The last two were Toggle and Tak's, lingering for a second too long, that made them both pull back a little shocked. Ichigo decided to do his friend a favor, and he assisted Crayo in finding a way to wander away, which is what Toggle wanted them both to do. DJ seemed a little oblivious to his brother's position, but thankfully he had to go check on their room status. Toggle and Tak were left in the lounge on the same couch, sitting next to each other.

They found some small things to talk about. Tak talked about how the guard dogs had sent a lot of fighters and how he had barely won their giant brawl. He went on about how there were more Guard Dogs going to the city in different jobs to help get their name out. He also went on about how he was going to take a side job as a mechanic for some of the cars and bikes in the city. Toggle mostly just listened, happy to hear the wolf talk. It was calming and quiet. The hours went by all to fast and Toggle felt his phone ring.

"Ah shit. I gotta go. They need me to call room service....I could do that and come back"

"Nah, it is getting late. And I need to go check on DJ. I would bet money he is getting his nightly lifting in, and If he starts getting tired, there are very few people in this world that can spot him." Tak smiled.... Before he could react, Toggle had stood on his toes and rushed forward into a kiss on the wolves lips. His muzzle pressed against Tak's, not attempting to separate the lips, only to feel them against his. It was brief, but it had a very permanent effect.

He had figured out Toggle was gay pretty fast, and he himself was an admitted bisexual....but his interactions were slim to none back in the Brakheiss. A couple of hot moments of intercourse in the chaos, but he was about to embark in a tournament. He stared at the red roo and thought for a moment. This was a new friend he had only just met, and a future enemy as well. Should he try anything more then just having someone to talk too. Ask for a number or...the wolf was lost in thought for a moment. Did he want that kiss, or was it something the roo had just done to him just for fun. Toggle broke the kiss and lowered his feet back to the floor. He held Tak's sides and looked down, not wanting to lock eyes with the wolf. Tak could hear the heart of the roo thundering and realized that the kiss was something very impulsive, and something that took a lot out of the roo.

"Heh...you know....Kissing has always been hard for me to do. Other things...dirtier and more sensual things are easy. A touch, a lick, a thrust, and all for a bit of pleasure.... but kissing is something that makes you get in someone's face with your own face....I am sorry...if you...." He was interrupted as he felt a warm hand hold his chin and lift it up to look at the wolf. The wolf was smiling to comfort the roo.

"If the kiss was so hard to give, then I will give it back to you. But only after a dinner in that city" he said, trying his hand at being romantic It was very effective, and Toggle hugged the wolf tight, his cheek against the muscles chest of the wolf, and his nose being filled with the musk of a well worked wolf. The wolf hugged back and kissed Toggle between the ears, then gave him a lick, as dogs tend to do to groom hair. Toggle let out a simplistic laugh, and broke the hug to look at Tak again. Both had smiles eased of all worry and stress of what was to come. Toggle said his goodbyes to Takky, and Takota said goodbye to Toggy, and they left that room with synchronization of their hearts playing the same tattoo. The onlookers in the room stopped watching, some disgusted as they always would be, but most smiling with a look of affection in their own eyes and a hope that those two would continue onwards.

*****

Wally remained in his darkened room, lying on a bed that held little comfort to him. He stared at the ceiling, thinking to himself. It had been years since he had left cleaned abyss of rock and dirt. He was sent away by Viktor, and had gone with no fight. Now he went back to the child, after the child had done so much work. His white fur bristled some at the thoughts of their last meeting in person. Viktor's kind eyes shedding the heaviest tears he had ever seen. He made his promise that day. And now he had to keep it. His body had a few scars over it, and a few red marks as well, staining his white jackals body with them, but decorating it in the same blow. He wore no clothes at the moment, trying to cleanse his thoughts some and wanting to feel natural.

Some Kin went nude for life, claiming any parts that could offend were safe in sheaths or covered with fur, but most were to modest. Wally was modest of course, but in the safety of this room he had no care towards such feelings. His other decorations lie on a near by table. He had what most jackals had of course. A few ankh shaped jewelry pieces, and some gold, but unlike most of the jackals, posing and primping themselves to seem cooler, his were real gold, and had real meaning to him. His body was very well made, showing muscle, and tautness where it was needed. He was born all that time ago with the ability to be strong, and had maximized this over every year. His red eyes seemed blank, but held in them an amount of knowledge and sorrow that could not be fathomed without staring for a vast period of time.

He would get ready soon, putting on his clothes and accessories and heading out the door to get to the Terrapin Jet, but these last moments before having to go were important. He may never leave that city again. A lot of them may never see the real light of what was outside of those ruins. He went to the window and opened the blinds a crack to watch some of the early risers make their way to the next mode of transportation. He saw Toggle walking all dreamily as he talked to Crayo and Ichigo. He had only told the two that he had a nice moment with the wolf and that nothing happened, but they had poked and prodded at him, as friends do, and he loved it. He looked happy, and hopeful. Inside Wally knew something from this one look. He was going to have to break that roo in the future. All for that promise on that cold dead day....