Chapter 2: Meeting the other
The afternoon after school the next day was welcomed by all. Any group of friends left in different directions and for different purposes. Braedon was with his group of friends, his left arm wrapped around Amato's back for his paw to rest on his boyfriend's hip. They were walking all together towards the nearby chip shop, where they always hung out. For them, school always stopped after the fourth class for their level and upwards. However, apart from the usual stuff that happens, there was one change.
Two new anthros were sitting down in the chip shop. An albino fox and a blood red avian. Both wore similar clothes, which was funny. They looked dressed for the winter, yet it was the middle of autumn. Neither of them ordered anything, either. And Braedon was getting an odd feeling about those two.
Something about them screamed trouble.
The fact that it was only they that seemed to be discussing business, and the other groups around them were just gossiping about the latest news. It's like Kaklene, the goddess of merriment, touched everyone else but them.
Braedon shook the feeling off and ordered his regular foodstuff. Medium box of chips with chicken bits. Simple, yet it works. Others bought an unfathomable amount of food. When they did all complete their orders, they sat down at the lone long table. No one else took it, because they were all small groups, and only they were the larger group.
They sat there, chatting about everything yet nothing while nibbling away at their meals. Well, some devoured through their stuff. Amato quickly nicked one of Braedon's chips, earning him a playful nip on the ear from his boyfriend. Well worth it though. Braedon quickly glanced back, seeing the two odd anthros gone from their table.
Some time after finishing, Braedon's phone went off in alarm. He pulled it out of his pocket and checked it, shocked at what it was.
"What is it, Braedon?" One of the girls, a rabbit, asked. Obviously curious as to what it is.
Braedon locked the phone once more. "Dad wants help setting up at the club in a few minutes. I'll have to leave now." He answered, putting the phone back.
Amato only embraced him tighter, emitting a small whine at the news. "And he can't wait a few more minutes?" He asked.
Braedon only smiled. Amato was so cute when he was upset. "Nah. Otherwise, he'll spar with me and I'll lose my pay for the week." Braedon answered.
Amato pouted and embraced him tighter. "Don't go." He mumbled.
Braedon's smile only widened. He cupped Amato's cheek and kissed him. "I will come back. I always do." He reassured.
It seemed to work, as Amato's near-crushing embrace lightened up and allowed Braedon to leave. He swiped his empty box and throwing it in the bin on the way out. He walked his way through the streets to his father's club.
And there he saw the odd albino, standing out the front and staring at the sign with his hood up. The Modern Quester, one of the last few places where Loscade's historical fighting techniques survive.
Braedon walked up to beside the albino, who only glanced at the black fox before looking back up.
"You interested?" Braedon asked.
"No." The albino plainly responded, his voice having less than nothing in the ways of emotion.
"Are you sure? 'Cause you seem to be looking at our sign here."
"I am not interested." The albino repeated, being more clear.
"If you can't make it in the normal times, we can find a way for you to-" Braedon begun to explain.
"I said.... I am not interested." The albino growled, now staring at the ground.
Braedon held his hands up in defeat. "No need for that, friend. Sorry for asking."
The albino growled once more, turned and begun to walk away, his shoes kicking the loose stones away and compacting the dirt deeper with every step. Braedon shook his head and went inside.
All manner of weapons hung from the walls and on racks ready to be taken. Heavily scratched dummies stood on their own, ready for their nightly beating. Punching bags hung off of hooks, set for all manner of unarmed attacks to be given to them.
A small orange fox crashed into Braedon's right leg, and clung onto it. Braedon smiled, bent down, and picked up his younger brother. He twirled around with him in his hands, laughing at the pure joy on his brother's muzzle. The black fox placed his brother back down onto the ground, but something was now nagging him.
"Why aren't you at kindergarten, Blyde?" The black fox asked.
"It was closed today. Something bad happened there overnight." The little fox answered, whining a small bit.
Braedon knelt down and placed both of his paws onto his brother's shoulders.
"How would you like to see me fight with Dad?" Braedon requested softly. They knew their father could hear anything from a fair distance away.
Blyde's eyes widened with shock, but soon closed in happiness, smiled and nodded vigorously.
"And what was that about fighting me?!"
Braedon sighed. His father has done it again. Another orange fox walked around the corner, this one fully grown and muscular. It was the owner of the Modern Quester, Azaz Reischer. It seemed odd that the one of the biological sons of two red foxes came out to be black as night.
"Ummmmm....." Braedon stuttered, scratching the place between the ears.
"Braedon wants to fight you, Daddy!" Blyde exclaimed, if a bit too enthusiastically.
Azaz smiled at the exclamation, while Braedon had his head in his paw. "Then come. See how far you've come." He said, walking back to the training area.
"But don't you need help setting up?"
"Nope. All that was done before you came. The truth was that I'd like to fight you when you got here."
Braedon growled quietly. His father tricked him. The sly fox!And he was going to make sure that whatever is going to go down, he would win.
____________________________________________________________________________________
With Light:
When Light made it a fair distance away from the place, inside the big city, he pulled his hood down and began to reflect on what just happened.
Who was that fox?
Why was he exceptionally black?
How was he able to be so friendly?
Logical answers came to Light's mind. The fox was just like any other, the fox dying his fur black and living a normal life.
All opposites of himself.
He was born an albino, his red eyes proved that. He wasn't given a name, never had parents to call his own. Taken from a young age and bred to kill.
And he determines that his codename is his name.
A gust of cold wind blew past him, so Light shoved his paws into his coat pockets. A buzz went off in his left paw. He pulled a communicator out of the pocket and placed it over his left ear, clicked a button on the communicator and a transparent HUD fall over his left eye. It displayed a message.
Your new target is nearby. Turn into the next alleyway. He should be walking by there soon.
A snapshot of a brown scaled alligator was all the identification he needed. He turned the communicator off and placed it into the pocket once more. Light reached inside his coat, fingering a pistol located there. He quickly darted into the alleyway ahead of him and tried to become one with the wall. He used his left paw to pull his hood and muzzle mask up and pulled the pistol out of the coat.
After two minutes, he heard the voice and the footsteps. He smelt the horrible stench one minute before that. When an brown scaled alligator walked by on his phone, Light leapt out and pulled the target into the alleyway by the back of the shirt's collar. When the target fell face first into the alleyway, he dropped his phone, which was shot. When the gator turned around and saw who was attacking him. He began to blubber nonsense.
"P-P-Please.... I have a family." He spouted, holding a hand up in mercy. He began to sputter more and more, each reason as ridiculous as the last.
Light only remained silent. He raised the gun up and shot the gator in the chest three times. After a fourth through the heart.
"Go to Osyn. She'll judge you now." Light mumbled.
He shoved the gun away into the coat and walked away. When he made it a little ways away from the alleyway, a boom of thunder caught his attention and it began to pour. Light only kept walking in the rainstorm, since no one else cares.