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Author's Note: Here's the 3rd chapter of The Zoo. Hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long. Please rate, comment, Shout, follow, and enjoy :) -AK

Emi Ibuki looked around at the various tables crowed with fellow tenants. Each table seemed crowded with people she barely saw around the Zoo. If it wasn't for this weekly ritual potluck, none of these people would probably leave their apartments. Unfortunately with the crowd gathered, there weren't many places for her to sit. In the corner were an elderly lizard couple; neither one said a word as they ate. Ibuki didn't want to disturb them. She saw an empty seat next to Claudia Jordan, an avian lycanthrope but she'd never take it. Claudia made it known every time she saw Ibuki how she disapproved of her lifestyle. She was one to talk; what Ibuki had heard through the gossip mill would have made Hugh Hefner blush.

Ibuki was just about to give up when she saw one more practically empty table. The only person who was sitting there was the Advisor. Resting next to him was his cane and in front of him was a plate of food. On the side of his dish was his cell phone which he seemed to keep checking. Ibuki smiled and walked over to him.

"Hello." She said as she got close to him. "Mind if I sit here?"

"Not at all." He said gesturing to the empty seat across from him. To be honest I'm surprised you'd want to with me being the advisor and all."

"It doesn't bother me. So what's her name?"

"I'm sorry?"

"The girl you're texting, what's her name?"

Dulion gave Ibuki a shocked look, which caused the Kitsune to laugh.

"I saw you spinning you phone and checking it every two seconds. Clearly, you're expecting someone to contact you fairly soon. Safe bet it's not a phone call, otherwise you wouldn't be here. Finally, the fact that you keep checking means you're anxious and what other kind of text would make someone with no family nervous? So, what's her name?"

Dulion looked down at his plate for a moment.

"Danielle. Her name is Danielle."

"I knew it." Ibuki said. "I'm fantastic reading people. Especially guys like you."

"That must come in handy for your job. " Dulion said as he took a bite of food.

Ibuki gave Dulion a surprised look.

"You know?" she asked in a whisper.

"Well yes and no. All Stephanie told me was that you were a dancer and she wasn't allowed in the club you dance so I'm assuming..."

"I work in a gentleman's club, ok. So, how worried should I be about...?"

"Not at all. Yes, I'm going to tell them where you work, but assuming you file taxes, they already know that. You don't need to worry about me ratting out every little secret you have. I'm not that kind of advisor."

"Ok. Thanks."

A few moments of silence passed as Ibuki and Dulion ate. As they did, Ibuki noticed the weird looks the two were getting from a few of the other tenants. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Claudia whispering to one of the people next to her clearly talking about her. The woman she was talking to, an equine named Jessica, nodded and smiled, but rolled her eyes towards Claudia the moment her head was turned. Ibuki's thoughts were interrupted by a tap on her shoulder.

"Pardon me." said a thick accented voice from behind her.

Ibuki recognized the voice instantly.

"Hello, Mr. Makarov." She said as she turned around.

The large Siberian Tiger smiled politely at her, but cleared his throat as soon as he saw Dulion.

"I just wanted to thank you for watching Stephanie yesterday."

"It really was no problem, but to be honest, its Mr. Dulion here you should be thanking. He fed Stephanie while I was out running an errand and took longer than expected."

Josef looked at Dulion with a slight look of apprehension.

"You are the advisor, yes?" he said.

"Yes." Dulion answered.

Josef took a deep breath. He seemed almost terrified. Ibuki didn't blame him, but she had the feeling that his fear wasn't necessary.

"Thank you for watching my daughter."

"It was no problem." Dulion answered warmly. "She's a great little girl, and spoke of you fondly. In fact your whole family is very nice."

"You should grab some food and sit with us, Mr. Makarov." Ibuki added. "Trust me, Dulion doesn't bite."

"Seriously though." Dulion added. "Mostly everyone sees me as some kind of government rat looking to throw everyone in an actual zoo. I'm not, trust me."

"I'll be back in a moment." Josef said. "I just need to make myself a plate."

Josef came back with some food at sat down. The three began talking with each other.

"So you met Cameron when she was studying abroad right?" Dulion asked.

"Yes. I saw her at the same little café I worked at. It took me a few months to get up the courage to ask her to dinner. I was shocked when she said yes. When she came back to this country, I went with her. I became a citizen a few years ago."

"It's such a sweet story." Ibuki said.

"You should go to Russia, Ibuki. Meet yourself a good man."

"No way. Russia is too cold for me. Maybe a nice beach boy though."

"Oh boy." Dulion said.

"And you Mr. Dulion?" Josef said.

"Girls don't like me." Dulion said. "Three reasons why."

"And they would be?"

"My face, my personality, and my leg. In that order." Dulion said with a smile.

"Oh please, you're fine." Ibuki said. "Besides, what about that girl you were texting?"

"She doesn't like me like that."

"Have you asked her?" Said Josef.

"Well no, but..."

"Then you should take the risk."

"I only gamble when there's a chance I can win."

"You need confidence."

"Everyone says that."

From the corner of her eye, Ibuki could see Jessica and Claudia getting up and coming over to them. This was the last thing she wanted. After all she was actually enjoying one of these potluck things for once.

"What's wrong?" Josef asked.

"Claudia's coming over here."

"Oy."

Dulion gave them a confused look, but had no time to ask any questions as the two ladies came over to them.

"Good afternoon everyone." She said in a nasally tone. "How are we all?"

"Fine." Said Dulion. "And you would be?"

"Claudia Jordan. I was curious, Mr. Advisor, if you knew about Ms. Ibuki's profession?"

Ibuki gave Claudia a dirty look as she could. Who the hell was she to bring it up? It didn't matter that both Dulion and Josef knew about it. It was still none of her business.

"I am." Dulion said. "Does it matter?"

Claudia look horrified.

"Well I think we should get going." Jessica said. "It was nice seeing everyone..."

"Well, don't you think the government would be interested in her...debauchery?"

Dulion took off the glasses he was wearing and rubbed his eyes. It took every ounce of control Ibuki had to not lunge at the self-righteous avian.

"If I were you, Ms. Jordan," Dulion said. "I would be less concerned about Miss Ibuki's profession and more concerned about your reputation with the government. The government has been looking very closely at your activities and they are intrigued. Just a friendly warning to be careful."

Dulion added a warm smile whereas Ibuki could barely contain hers. Claudia gave Dulion a dirty look and stormed off. Jessica looked at Dulion with concern which quickly turned to a laugh.

"You're bluffing." She said.

"Well...yeah." Dulion said. "Can't tell me she didn't deserve though Miss...?"

"Just call me Jess. I'm sorry about her, Ibuki. She's been on a rant ever since she saw you sit next to the advisor."

"Probably wish she got here first." Ibuki said. "Because you know I'm only trying to seduce him so he'll do whatever I want."

"Excuse me?" Dulion said.

"I'll explain later." Josef said.

"You can tell him now." Jessica said taking a seat at the table. "We all know the story."

"Well when she moved in," Josef said, "she tried to seduce Dr. Tennant so she could get a lower rent."

"But, as I'm sure you've realized, Dr. Tennant happens to be gay and has a degree of decency." Ibuki added.

"So it didn't work. And between the four of us, she has tried to seduce me, too." Josef said. She said my accent was sexy and I could have 'fun' with her whenever I wanted. Now, I'm not that kind of man. I love one woman, my wife. I tell her this, and she still tried over and over until I complained to the Doctor about it and he said..."

"If it happened again, I'd ask her to leave."

Everyone turned to see Dr. Tennant and Jason each with plates in their hands.

"Hello Doctor, Jason. " Ibuki said. "Sit with us."

"Would you mind?" Jason asked Dulion. "I think we might have gotten off the wrong foot."

Dulion shook his head.

"Doesn't bother me. To be honest, I'm surprised this table has become this popular especially with me sitting here I'm probably the most hated person in the building just by virtue of my job alone."

"It seems to me you've developed at least a few supporters." The Doctor said. "You made the pasta, right?"

"Yes." Dulion said. "How is it?"

"You made that?" said Jessica "Ok, what's the recipe? Seriously that was my favorite."

"I'm glad you liked it. But the recipe is a family secret."

"That's perfect." Ibuki said.

"What do you mean? Asked Dulion.

"See, here's what you do." Ibuki said. "You text that girl you were talking to and ask her to come over here and you'll cook for her. Girls love a guy who can cook."

"Someone has a crush." Jason said. "Is she cute?"

"Very. But I don't think that would be a good idea." Dulion said.

"And why not?" Jason asked. "It's a great idea and you can pull it off easily."

"It's not that it's..."

"Let me guess...she doesn't like lycanthropes?" the Doctor said.

"Yeah." Dulion said. "Half her family is in CATTL. To be fair even she thinks they're crazy though. I really don't know how she feels about lycanthropes and it would be awkward to tell her that I ...you know...live with them. "

Dulion put a hand on his cane.

"Besides, there's this thing I have to use."

"What did we just say about confidence?" Ibuki said. "Who cares if you need a cane?"

"I do."

"You shouldn't."

"Besides, you're cute." Jason said.

"Don't think he's your type." Josef said.

"That's not what I meant. I mean there's a scale from like Model down to Quasimodo. You're cute on that scale. And a lot of people like cute."

"Has she texted you back yet?" Asked Ibuki.

"No. She's done talking. But what about you, Ibuki? You're single. Why aren't we talking about how you can find a date?"

"Because I have confidence and I'm not crushing on anyone?"

"Trust me, we've tried." Josef said. "She's too stubborn to listen to us."

"I'm not interested in dating right now." Ibuki said. "And everyone else here is dating or married, so you're kind of the odd man out."

"Of course I am."

The sound of some generic ringtone was in the air. Ibuki looked towards Dulion, but saw Josef reach into his pocket for the culprit.

"It's Cameron. Excuse me everyone."

"Tell her there's plenty left for her and Stephanie, Josef." The Doctor said.

Ibuki was a bit disappointed. She was somewhat hoping it was Dulion's phone if only to bust his chops, so to speak, a little more. As Jessica and Dulion talked about her boyfriend, Ibuki noticed that Josef's mood seemed to quickly change. When he had left the table, he seemed to be his normal, happy self. But suddenly he seemed nervous. She couldn't hear what he was saying but it seemed like he was trying to calm Cameron down. Ibuki tapped the Doctor on the shoulder and gestured to Josef. The stag nodded and walked up to Josef.

By this time, everyone at the table was looking at Josef. Other people who were also in the room were staring, too. Josef got off the phone and the Doctor leaned in close to hear what was going wrong. When Josef told him, the Doctor's eyes widened and he took a deep breath and pat Josef on the shoulder.

"Mr. Dulion." He called out. "Could speak with you in private for a moment?"

Dulion nodded grabbed his cane and limped over to the two men. The Doctor showed them out of the large main hall.

"What do you think is going on?" Jessica asked Ibuki and Jason who were still at the table.

"I'm not sure." Ibuki said. "Whatever it is, it can't be good."

"I hope everything's alright." Jason said. "But the fact that they need the advisor sounds like it can't be good."

"I know. We just have to wait for news."

"Provided we get any."

Hours later, Ibuki still hadn't heard what was going on. Next door, the Makarov's apartment was silent. Neither Josef nor Cameron had entered yet. Suddenly Ibuki could hear people coming upstairs. She wouldn't have noticed them but for what sounded like crying. Ibuki got off her bed and opened the door. Sure enough, Cameron and Josef stood holding each other with tears coming down their faces. Stephanie was the only one not crying.

"It will be ok." She said. "Mr. Dulion said he would make sure nothing happened. He promised."

"Yes." Josef said, in a tone that made Ibuki believe it was clearly a lie. "Go inside for a moment my dear. We'll be right in."

Stephanie nodded and went in. Josef said something to Cameron in Russian to try and calm her down, but it wasn't working. Ibuki walked up to them.

"What's wrong? What's going on?" She asked them.

Cameron simply shook her head as more tears rolled down her face. Josef took a deep breath.

"They...they are..."

Despite trying to remain calm, Josef also broke into tears. Ibuki pulled the couple close in a hug. Through his tears, Josef managed to say one thing.

"They are trying to take Stephanie away from us."