Beginnings in a New Era(Violence, Language, Blood)

Chapter 1

**80 Years Later**

Aiko awoke in her bed, she had nightmares of starting her next year of college, she heard that she was going to have an apartment and was going to have a roommate and it was making her somewhat nervous. She felt like something was off though, the temple that she lived in was too quiet, there were usually people talking, but she heard nothing and this made her nervous. She slipped out of the bed and threw on a pair of pants before changing into her night shirt for the shirt for the day. Once that was over, she slipped on a pair of socks and put on her boots. She sighed slightly as she walked into the bathroom and brushed her teeth and washed her face. When she looked into the mirror after drying her face off though, she saw a face that didn't look like her's.

She stepped back slightly, she was somewhat nervous, "What... trick is this?' Kimiko walked up to the door, "What trick is what, little sister?" Aiko sighed, "Nothing, Kimiko. It's nothing." Kimiko grabbed her arm, "Look at me, Aiko, I know when you're lying, it's not nothing." Aiko sighed, "It's nothing, really." Kimiko shook her head, "Please, sis, you know that I love you and I want to see you be happy, but unless you tell me what's going on, I cannot help you." Aiko sighed slightly, "I'm sorry, big sister, just... when I looked in the mirror, I saw a face that wasn't my own." Kimiko nodded, "Listen, if anything else like that happens, you know how to reach me and our parents, alright? You might not be a deity like us, but we'll help you all the same."

Aiko hugged Kimiko, "Thanks, big sister." Kimiko hugged back with a smile, "You're welcome, little sister. Come on, Mom and Dad are waiting for you." Aiko blinked, "Oh right, I forgot!" Aiko broke the hug and ran towards the main chamber of the temple, she didn't see anyone on the way there and it made her nervous. When she reached the main chamber, she saw her father look at her sternly, "Aiko! What did I say about running through the temple." Aiko frowned, "Sorry, Daddy." The male Kitsune was about to speak, when a female spoke, "Raiden, she's excited to start her first day of college, can you let up on the poor girl?" Raiden turned to look at the female Kitsune, "Amaterasu, she still broke the rules." Amaterasu sighed and walked into the room, "I know, Raiden, believe me, I know. If I hadn't sent the Kensei away for a bit, I'd be more upset, but this is why I sent them away."

Aiko nodded slightly, as her little brother came out and hugged her tightly, "Aiko, do you really have to go?" Aiko patted her little brother on the head, "Yes, I do, Hideo. I'm sorry." Hideo frowned slightly, "But I wanna go with you!" Aiko smiled and hugged him back, "Hideo, you're going to be able to go to college someday soon, but you're still in middle school. I'm sorry, but there's not much that I can do to help you." Hideo started to cry and Aiko frowned, hugging him tighter, "Hideo, it's not like I'm going away forever, I mean you can come and visit me any time you'd like, I'm just going to be staying at an apartment down the road is all, speaking of which, do we know who my roommate is?" Raiden sighed, "Well we do, but I don't like him."

Aiko tilted her head, "You don't like any boy that has hit on me." Raiden was taken aback, "That's not true, young lady!" Amaterasu sighed, "Your roommate is a Mus, who joined the Kitsune Security Forces, he's currently in training and he's a bit of a maverick at that..." Kimiko nodded as she walked into the room, "His full name is Xander Partanen, he's known for being able to get results when he actually does work with his superiors, but is generally known to work outside his paygrade as it's called." Amaterasu nodded slightly, "Also Raiden won't have to worry about him hitting on you, he shows no interest in women as far as I can tell, or at least any kitsune women." Raiden looked at her, and sighed, "Honey, why do you keep doing this to me, just... why?" Amaterasu chuckled, "Because you're so protective of our daughter, it's actually kind of cute."

Aiko nodded and watched as a Kensei walked in, the Kensei saluted them, "Lady Aiko, we've taken the liberty of moving your things to your new apartment, you have a new bed there and everything." Aiko nodded slightly and sighed, "I guess this is it... I'll come and visit when I can, I promise." Hideo cried harder and Kimiko pulled him off of Aiko with a sigh, "Come on little brother, she's not going away forever." Aiko hugged Raiden, "Daddy, I'm going to miss your cooking, you make the best breakfast." Raiden smiled, "I'll be sure to bring what I make to your apartment in the mornings, I promise." Aiko nodded and went to hug Amaterasu, who hugged her first, "Mommy?" Amaterasu kissed her on the forehead, "You are my daughter, I love you and I always will, and I promise that no matter what happens, you will always have a home here. If you need to get away from your roommate, you can always stay here for a bit."

Aiko smiled softly, "Thank you, Mommy." Amaterasu nodded and broke the hug, before giving her a sword, "You finished your swordsmanship training, even though you're not a fully fledged Kensei and I can't go to the permit office and get you a permit to carry this with you at all times... here is your first actual sword. Remember, my daughter, you are only to use this in self-defense and only when strictly necessary." Aiko nodded slightly as she took the sword, when she drew it, it had a faint golden glow to it and she smiled softly, "You blessed it, didn't you?" Amaterasu smiled softly, "It's reacting to your own mana. Though you haven't awakened, it reacts to you so that you know it's yours. Now, go on, Aiko. Make us proud of you." Aiko placed the sword back into its scabbard and onto her belt, before walking out the door backwards and waving, "I promise to make you all proud of me!" She sighed slightly as she left the temple, "Well time to get to my new apartment, I wonder if Xander is nice..."

Chapter 3

A Mus wearing civilian clothing walked through an apartment complex with a key in his hand, "Let's see here, building K." The Mus looked at the piece of paper he was also holding, "A second floor apartment, huh? Good thing my things have already been brought to it, I at least hope they locked the damn door this time." As he walked up the steps, he began to wonder what kind of person his roommate was going to be, but he just really wanted to get inside first. As he reached the door, he knocked on it, to see if someone was home, but when no one responded. He placed his key in the door and it slid open, allowing him to immediately see what was inside, "Oh for the love of... I actually have a job and here's one of these royal kids getting an apartment that I got to share with them."

The Mus walked in and an AI Spoke up, "Xander, I see that you have arrived at your destination, is there anything that you wish me to do?" Xander sighed, "Scan this place, see how much of my stuff is where it's supposed to belong." The AI spoke up, "Scanning. All objects belonging to Xander Partanen are within the confines of the apartment. Anything else I can do for you?" Xander shook his head, "Nothing." Xander sighed and walked towards a bedroom and saw more luxurious things in it, "Gah... more of this." He shook his head and left the room, walking into the other bedroom, seeing his things, "That's more like it, at least it's furnished the way that I want it." He sat down on his bed and scratched his chin slightly, "My roommate is royalty, great... just great... I bust my ass out there and I get to be here with someone who is handed money by their daddy."

Xander walked over to his computer and turned it on, he was greeted by the message saying, "Welcome Xander." He smiled slightly as he browsed the information network, learning all about his new college and what courses he was going to take. He checked over his schedule and decided to pull out his communicator and he set it to call his boss, "Hey boss, it's me." The voice on the other end spoke up, "I see that you've reached your apartment safe and sound, Xander. Didn't seem like too hard of a task for you to do right." Xander sighed, "Come on, boss. You know that I get results!" His boss spoke up, "Xander, we are a law enforcement organization, if we do not follow our own rules and regulations, our people could get hurt." Xander sighed, "You're going to give me this old speech again. I've heard it bef—"

Suddenly Xander heard a noise at the door, "We're going to have to continue this later." He turned off his communicator and put it on the table. He reached into his pocket and drew out a glove as he walked towards the front door and put it on. The moment he reached the front door, he flicked his wrist, causing the device to turn on and electrify the nodes on the glove, though it wasn't lethal, he'd be able to stun someone long enough to at least restrain them until backup arrived. He put his back to the wall as he walked over to the door itself, and it opened, letting the people in. The first person in was a Kitsune with a uniform Xander recognized as belonging to that of the Kensei, he wondered why a Kensei would be robbing this place.

Xander moved slowly, but the Kensei drew a sword and pointed it at him, "Lady Aiko, it seems that we have a common thief problem." Xander stopped, he had heard of the Kensei referring to people as Lady and Lord, but it wasn't exactly common, "I'm the common criminal here? You're the one drawing your weapon towards a security forces officer." The Kensei scoffed, "Show me your badge." Xander grabbed his badge off his belt and showed it to the Kensei, "See?" The Kensei laughed, "You're in training, you're not an officer yet. By the way, that glove that you are wearing on your right hand, disarm it. You will not have any weapons primed in the presence of Lady Aiko!" Xander sighed and flicked his wrist, which caused the Kitsune to sheathe his sword, "So, where is this precious little frail flower that I have to spend my year with?"

Xander watched as a female Kitsune walked into the room, she appeared very casually dressed, and seemed quite fit, "So you're Xander Partanen, huh?" Xander placed his badge back on his belt and sighed, "Yeah, what of it?" Aiko sighed, "Listen, can you all go back to Mom and Dad's temple?" Xander's eyes widened at this and his jaw dropped when they actually did it, "There's no way!" Aiko sighed, "I'm Amaterasu's daughter and..." She folded her arms as she continued speaking, "I would rather not be treated differently, just because of who my parents are." Xander shook his head and pointed at her, "You're worse than I thought, I thought you were just some spoiled Royal child who was daddy's precious little flower that couldn't be harmed and got whatever they wanted. You're a Deitic child instead!"

Aiko shook her head, "What do you mean by that?" Xander shook his head, "I already don't like you, keep your stuff out of my bedroom and my bathroom, and as long as I'm paying my half of the damn rent, keep your stuff off of the porch as well!" Aiko sighed and rolled her eyes, "Anything else, Xander?" Xander shook his head, "No, nothing else." Xander sighed and stormed to his room and the AI spoke to him, "Xander, your heart rate is unusually high." Xander nodded, "I know, I'm just pissed off, I'm tired of seeing these people who never had a hardship in their life cry about how life is so hard." Aiko called out, "I can still hear you, Xander, I would appreciate you saying this to my face instead of mumbling to yourself!" Xander merely ignored her and slammed his door shut, before falling onto the bed with a sigh, "This is going to be a long year..."

Chapter 5

A female Kitsune and a Male Kitsune who was trying to hide green wings stood in an office within the university. The Male Kitsune looked around, "It would seem that there's not a lot going on today." The female nodded, "That's true, Julius, but you have to keep in mind that school has only been going on for a week, though surely you sense something from Aunt Aiko." Julius nodded towards the female kitsune, "I do, Yoshiko, do you think that she could be..." Yoshiko nodded, her gray hair falling into her eyes and she brushed it out of her face, "Holy Blooded, yes. I do sense her mana flow is strong, but still, I don't know for sure." There was a knock at the door and Yoshiko sat down, "Come in." Xander walked in, "I don't know why I have to come here just because I insulted daddy's little princess!" Yoshiko sighed, "Xander, you've been here a week and are already causing problems."

Xander folded his arms, "Don't see why some old windbag like you has to tell me what I'm doing." Julius growled, "You will show her the..." Yoshiko cut him off, "Xander, I don't care what you do outside of class or this school, but when you're here you will show manners and be civil towards all of the students!" Xander shook his head, and started to get up, but Julius started moving, revealing his green wings, causing Xander to panic slightly, "The fuck are you!? Kitsune don't have any wings!" Julius smirked and walked over to Xander and grabbed the unruly Mus by the arm, "You've heard tales of my kind, surely. You probably remember me from such tales as the ones you hear about the legendary heroes, yes?" Xander looked wide-eyed, "You're a dragon!?" Julius nodded slightly, "Si mi vi gliiwr darastrix sva batobot..." Xander looked at Julius and then at Yoshiko, "What did he say!?"

Yoshiko smirked, "He's a full blooded dragon." Xander looked scared for the first time he had arrived at the school, "You're not going to eat me, are you!?" Julius blinked and Yoshiko frowned, "You went and hurt my cousin's feelings." Xander looked at Yoshiko, "Cousin!?" Yoshiko nodded, "He and I are adoptive cousins. Now apologize to Julius." Xander took one look at the Dragon in Kitsune form and got up out of his chair, and ran out of the room as fast as he possibly could, as the second person came in, it was Aiko, "Miss Naito?" Yoshiko looked at her, "Come in, Aunt Aiko." Aiko frowned, "I don't like it when you call me that." Yoshiko nodded and apologized, "So what can I do for you?" Aiko looked at the other Kitsune, "Is that a dragon?" Julius nodded, "Yes, ma'am. Most people are afraid when they find out what I am."

Aiko nodded slightly, "I heard from my parents that Dragons aren't bad creatures. In fact, one in particular helped my nephew, who was one of the three legendary heroes." Julius smiled widely, "Oh really now, did they tell you his name?" Aiko nodded, "His name was Julius and he considered my nephew his own brother." Julius leaned against Yoshiko's desk and Yoshiko could only smile softly, as Aiko blinked, "You know Julius?" Julius looked at his claws, "I sure do." Aiko nodded, "Can you pass a message to me." Julius blinked, "Okay, sure." Aiko sighed, "I want you to tell him that I said thank you for being there for my nephew, especially when he needed him the most." Julius shrugged, "I could tell him, or you could tell him yourself." Aiko tilted her head and Yoshiko giggled, "Aiko, this is Julius." Aiko blinked and looked at the Kitsune, "But, Julius was never spotted in his shifted form!"

Julius shook his head, "That's not true. When my own kids grew up and left the nest, I decided to move with my lover to the Kitsune territory. We sort of liked it here and learned to shape shift into a Kitsune form, but as you can see, we can't shapeshift our wings away, so we generally hide them or lie about them. Anyhow, thank you for what you said to me, it means a lot to me. Especially since I wasn't able to save his life." Aiko frowned and nodded, but Julius placed his hand on her shoulder, "He knew what he was getting into and knew that there was a high chance he'd die, but he also knew that it was necessary. I was able to bring him back here though, it was a sad time, but he at least looked at peace for the first time since Katriina had died." Aiko nodded sadly and looked up into Julius' eyes, "So why do you protect Yoshiko?" Julius sighed, "It was my last promise to him, and I intend to fulfill that promise to the letter until his reincarnation shows up."

Yoshiko smiled, "Don't worry, Aiko." Her communicator beeped and she sighed, "Sorry, I got to take this." She pulled out her communicator and saw that there was a message on it, she opened up the message and read it aloud so Julius could hear it, "Yo, Yoshiko! Master Erasmus and I have decided we'd come down and visit you, Julius and Klaartje! It's been ages since we've last had a reunion and we've decided that it'd be a good time now that everything's all settled down and both of our monasteries are fully staffed. I look forward to seeing you again, Yoshiko, maybe we can see just how the Kitsune kingdom has changed over the last few dozen years! We'll be staying for a few weeks, a month at the very most. We'll be stopping by Amaterasu's temple later on, meet us there. Yours Truly, Bruno Eichberger."

Yoshiko smiled softly, "It's good to know that friends haven't forgotten about each other, say, Julius, the day's over for us anyhow, think we should start heading down that way?" Aiko looked around slightly, as if she wanted to ask, and Julius noticed this, "Aiko, would you like to come with us?" Aiko looked at him, "Well I don't want to intrude..." Yoshiko grabbed a mage's robe, which was dark pink, "You won't be a bother, besides, your Mom's temple is on the way to your apartment anyhow and in addition to that, we can stop by and say hello to your folks." Aiko nodded slightly, "Well, that sounds nice." Julius smiled slightly, "Well, sounds like a plan, so Lady Archmage, after you?" Yoshiko nodded slightly, "Of course, Julius." Aiko blinked as the two passed her, "Archmage!?" Yoshiko smiled coyly, "It's a long story, but I'll be sure to tell you on the way there, Aiko. Come on, we gotta hurry." Aiko nodded and rushed over to follow the two, eager to hear the story.

Chapter 7

Silvio sat in a room by himself, he was starting to become overwhelmed with the new sensory information he was being given. He could for some reason sense the intent of everyone within the temple except for Julius and Erasmus and it was driving him crazy. Everyone in the temple seemed to intend to become better at something, except for the deities and the other guests. He could sense that Xander had ill intentions for Aiko. He decided to try to focus on blocking it out, but his mind couldn't focus on the task, all he could do was limit his range and increase the potency of his power and it started driving him even more insane, he couldn't take it anymore. He reached for the nearest object, but suddenly the door opened, and he turned to see a silver humanoid dragon wearing gold scale clothing walk in, "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Silvio."

Silvio blinked, "How do you know my name!?" The dragon sighed, "I'm Erasmus, Klaartje's friend, she told me about you. What you are currently experiencing is an Awakening." Silvio turned his head slightly, "I thought awakenings were limited to mages." Erasmus shook his head, "No, Psions like yourself experience them as well. Unlike with mana users, for each psionic ability an awakening is different. You suddenly became aware of your power, you now feel different from others and can't close your mind off to the others. Tell me, what do you sense?" Silvio sighed, "I can sense the intentions of others, but I can't figure out how to block it, I know that if I concentrate on the task, I would be able to do so, but..." Erasmus nodded, "Well, I got a device that can block it all out, that is until you decide to use your power."

Silvio frowned, "That sounds like a load of Nashoorn Dung!" Erasmus shook his head, "I didn't come here expecting to find a psionic, but here I found one. Hold on." Erasmus walked out of the room and Silvio felt the intentions of a random person change to wanting to help out Erasmus, who walked back into the room. Silvio sighed, "You look pompous wearing that gold fabric." Erasmus shook his head, "I wear this to honor the memory of my brother." Silvio scoffed, "How does wearing that honor the memory of your brother?" Erasmus folded his arms and leaned against the door, "My brother was a Gold Dragon." Silvio blinked, "So that's why you wear that get up..." Erasmus sighed, "I designed this outfit to honor him, because he was my brother, I would appreciate it not being called a get up..."

Silvio shrugged, "So what did your brother do that was so great?" Erasmus shook his head, "Surely you heard of the Eltiranan commander who died leading the charge at the Bardron system." Silvio nodded, he had been brought up on stories of the war from the survivors and had learned about it as part of history, "I've heard rumors." Erasmus sighed slightly, "I was on that ship during that battle. It wasn't going well for us, the Thraxi and Neanderthal forces were tearing our ships apart. Stephanus decided that more time had to be bought for Tsuyoshi to officially form the Dragon-Human Alliance and was willing to sacrifice himself to do it. We all had accepted our deaths, but he ordered us into the escape pods. I refused and told him that I trained my entire life to stand by his side when he needed me."

Silvio nodded slightly, as Erasmus continued, "Stephanus and I started to argue about who would sacrifice themselves, so, much like we did when our father died, we flipped a coin to see who would stay behind. It was a fifty-fifty chance of either of us staying behind, however the coin picked him to stay behind. Though I initially refused to go, he told me that the coin had decided our fates once more and that he'd willingly sacrifice himself to buy precious time as he pointed to the final escape pod. I told him that there was room enough for both of us, and he seemed to have agreed to it. So I stepped in and turned around to see the hatch close. I placed my hand on the hatch and called out his name, but he looked at me and said, "Erasmus, there's no auto pilot on this thing, I'm going to have to take her in manually. Good bye, little brother." I cried and cried out his name, but the pod ejected from the ship."

The Kensei walked into the room with the components and tools that Erasmus had requested and handed them to him, Erasmus looking up to the Kensei and nodded, "Thank you." The Kensei bowed and walked out, Erasmus getting to work as he told the rest of the story, "What happened next was that I saw the flagship of the Eltiranan fleet accelerate towards the Thraxi fleet. Shot after shot was fired, but they failed to destroy it and by some miracle, failed to destroy the bridge, the final words my brother said to me, which were over an intercom, "I love you, brother." The next instant, his ship collided with a battleship in the fleet and both were wiped out. I couldn't hold back the tears and told him that I loved him as well. The only good part about that day is that the Thraxi weren't interested in taking prisoners, so they just left us to land on the planet below us, which was habitable."

Silvio nodded as he watched Erasmus work, "So you were rescued, right?" Erasmus nodded, "Yeah, though that planet wasn't exactly new to me, I had been there before. Anyhow, enough storytime, here you go." Erasmus handed over the device to Silvio, who looked at it, "It's a metal headband..." Erasmus sighed, "It's a psionic suppressor, it will suppress your natural psionic abilities until such time as you wish to use them. Though much like Magitek, you will not be able to use your ability to its fullest." Silvio nodded and placed the device on his head, suddenly all of the intentions he could sense were gone, "Thanks, Erasmus." Erasmus nodded slightly, "Don't mention it, and remember, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, kiddo." Silvio nodded slightly as the Dragon walked out of the room.

Chapter 9

A half-elf wearing a tan suit with a black tie walked through an alleyway with a cigarette in his mouth. He had been called to check out a murder scene and he wasn't exactly too thrilled about it, it was his first assignment on Verbana, though. He noticed a group of security officers near a body and reached into his coat to pull out his badge, when one of them looked over at him, "Whoa, we can't have civilians here, buddy, this is a crime scene." The Half-elf sighed and pulled out his badge, "Brian Aran, Homicide detective." The Security Force Officers moved out of the way, "I apologize, sir." Brian sighed, "Don't call me sir, again." Brian grabbed his cigarette and removed it from his mouth, putting it out against a building and placing it into his pocket, as he took out gloves with his other hand, placing them on.

As he came across the body of a dead female, this time a Kitsune, he sighed as he checked the neck for any signs of bruising. Though he could find none, he found that one of the vertebrae had been broken and pulled out a recording device, "Broken vertebrate broken in the victim's neck, unsure if cause of death." He ran his hand across the victim's body, checking for any more signs of bruising, but as he ran his hand along the victim's torso, his hand touched a stain that seemed to have dried, as he talked into his device again, "Stain on the shirt, unsure of origin. Going to check it." Brian lifted the shirt to see that the white fur had been stained red on the belly, "Female Kitsune, cause of death is likely stabbing, broken vertebrae was more than likely a result of a struggle, while she was dying."

Brian sighed as he looked around for any more clues and saw a trail of blood, "The victim apparently didn't die here, she seems to have been moved. Either someone wanted us to find the body, or they're afraid and want to get it away." Brian followed the trail of blood to find a knife, he picked up the knife and looked at it, "This knife is covered in blood, it could belong to the perpetrator or the victim. Considering no there's no other trail of blood, I think it's safe to say that this belongs to the victim and not the perpetrator." He looked around to see if anyone around that he could possibly ask, and when he couldn't find any one he sighed and pulled out a visor that he placed over his eyes. He pressed a button on the side and turned off his recorder with his other hand, "Scan the area for any sort of clues that would be related to this murder case."

A feminine voice spoke up, "Scanning." Brian looked around the scene and sighed as he pulled out another cigarette, the female voice huffing, "Brian, are you going to smoke at a crime scene, you know you run the risk of contaminating it!" Brian sighed, "I'm just going to have it in my mouth, I know the rules about actually smoking at a crime scene." Brian placed the cigarette in his mouth, wishing he had a toothpick or something to hold there instead, but it was all he had. As the AI scanned, he sighed, "Samantha, do you think that there are any other clues around here." The AI responded quickly, "No, I do not, nothing seems to point to the victim or the perpetrator. I'll cross-reference with the Security Forces database to see if we have a match. One match found, a Kani Victim, Jorma was killed in the same way."

Brian sighed, "That's what I thought, without witnesses or anything." Brian heard a noise and turned to see a Kitsune woman standing near the body, weeping, the security forces grabbing her to pull her away. Brian raised his voice, "Hold it! Let the woman come forth!" The Kitsune Woman looked at the body and then at him, "Who... who are you... you're not..." Brian shook his head and his AI started to scan the woman, "Features match, Brian, this woman has a..." Brian hit the button to turn off the visor, and looked the woman in the eyes, "What was the victim to you?" The woman looked hysterical, "She was my daughter!" Brian nodded, "Listen, I'm going to have to ask you to stay calm, and help me, can you do that?" The woman nodded slightly, "I'll try." Brian placed his hand on her shoulder, "Ma'am, I know this is all a shock to you, but it's imperative that we get answers, alright?"

The woman sighed and nodded, she still looked like a wreck, "Alright." Brian sighed, "Okay. Do you mind if I record this?" The woman shook her head, "Not at all, if it brings her killer to justice." Brian nodded, "Thank you." He turned on the recorder, "Alright, did you know where your daughter was going last night?" The woman nodded, "She said that she was going to the bar to get some drinks, I heard that her friends met this Kani." Brian instantly knew that there was a link, "Ma'am, can you point me in the direction of where one of her friends live?" The Kitsune woman nodded, "One lives about five blocks down the road in a blue house, you can't miss it." Brian turned off his recording device, "Thank you, ma'am. You've helped tremendously with this case, I promise you that I'll bring your daughter's killer to justice." The Kitsune woman nodded slightly, "Thank you... I just wish he didn't take my little girl."

Brian nodded, "It's always tragic and I'm sorry that at the moment, I can't do more for you." The woman nodded as Brian walked away from the murder scene and out of the alley, unfortunately for him, he saw a Mus standing there, "Xander Bartanen, Security Officer in Training, I assume." Xander beat a fist against his own chest, "Yep, I'm here to help you with your case." Brian sighed, "This is a homicide case." Xander nodded, "I'm aware." Brian shook his head, "The Paladin-in-Training is the only one that is authorized to work with me on this case, Xander. I've heard all about you and I know that you're just going to try to get in on a case that's above your paygrade." Xander folded his arms, "We can do this willingly or unwillingly." Brian reached into his coat and grabbed his gun, he set the weapon to a high voltage, but low power shock, "Or we can just not do this at all." Xander shrugged, "If I don't get in the way, can I be with you, I could learn from an experienced detective." Brian bit down on his cigarette, not wanting to taze Xander, but also not wanting to argue, "Fine, but you stay out of my way."

Chapter 11

Brian sighed slightly as he stood in front of the house, he was waiting for Silvio to join him, and he was starting to get tired of listening to Xander's boasting, so he put his visor back on and turned the music function on. He blasted some classical music from a band called The Megas, he had no idea what kind of music it was considered back in the day, but he enjoyed it thoroughly. As he waited, he closed his eyes and tuned out Xander who seemed to start getting annoyed and asked him, "Are you even listening." Brian sighed, "Shut up. You have not stopped boasting about how great you are and how terrible this Aiko is since you joined up with me." Xander squeaked angrily and reached for his weapon, Brian hearing the motion of the fabric with his ears, "I wouldn't recommend doing that. I'm better trained and faster than you."

Xander stopped moving for his weapon and Brian spoke up, "Good, you're at least showing that you're capable of learning." Brian turned off his music, opened his eyes and saw that a Mofeta was coming to join him, "Ah, you're the one Klaartje told me about, Silvio Espina Mata, right?" Silvio nodded, "Yes, and you are Brian, yes?" Brian nodded and showed his badge, "Detective Brian Aran, I'm here about another murder, but the way this victim was murdered and Jorma was murdered is identical, including the wounds made on the victim." Silvio nodded, "Do we have any leads?" Brian shook his head and Xander spoke up, "Only that you're a failure at your job." Silvio looked at Xander, "I remember you, aren't you the security officer who got mugged by some lowly thugs? I can't remember."

Xander squinted at him, "Aren't you supposed to be protector of the people, you let a poor kitsune woman get murdered." Brian was about to start to speak when Silvio raised his hand to him to signal for him to let him speak, "We Paladins aren't dedicated to protecting people and preventing crime, that's what the guards are for. We're a holy order dedicated to Justice!" Xander folded his arms, "So, you're still failing at your job, you couldn't bring this murderer to justice, and you still haven't even begun to try yet." Silvio was upset about that remark, but he let that one slide, "So you've resorted to lies and petty insults. This is no longer a battle of wits, and thus is no longer worth my time." Brian spoke up, "Heads up, you two, the witness is here, now let me do the talking, and Xander, if you get in my way, I will taze you and drag you back to your station myself.

Brian watched as a male dragon-kilf hybrid walked over towards them, "There's a detective, a student from my school and a Paladin standing in front of my house, has something gone on?" Brian sighed, "Yes. May I have your name please?" The Dragon-kilf hybrid just pulled out his ID and Brian looked at it, "Balius Tanaka, so your mother is a native of this area. Alright, you can put your ID away, you're not a suspect in this case." Balius looked around and dropped his backpack, "Suspect? Case? What happened?" Brian sighed, "There was a murder not too far from here, it looks like the perp panicked and dragged the body into an alleyway. The victim's mother told me that you might have information that will help me crack this case." Balius looked down, "You mean Chikako is dead?"

Balius closed his hand into a fist and Brian placed his hand on the young hybrid's shoulder, "Look, can you tell me anything about what the Kani that she went with looked like. If you can tell me that, then I promise that I'll bring her killer to justice, alright?" Balius sighed, "I snapped a picture of him, I couldn't trust him and I tried to tell her to not go with him, but she wouldn't listen to me, if you would let me go into my house, I can get it for you." Brian nodded, "Mind if Silvio and I wait inside?" Xander protested, "What about me?" Brian shrugged, "You're a bystander that forced himself onto the case. Silvio here is the only one authorized." Balius nodded, "It's alright with me, if mom is alright with it." Balius then opened the door, "Mom, I'm home, and I have guests." A female voice spoke up, "Tell them to come in and sit down."

Balius walked up the stairs as a female half-dragon walked in and Brian recognized her immediately, "Bellona, the daughter of the Blind Mercenary Commander himself, and a great singer. I never thought I'd get to meet a celebrity in this case." Bellona frowned, "What case?" Brian sighed, but Silvio spoke up, "Chikako has been killed by someone that we suspect to have killed my partner. I personally apologize for not stopping him sooner." Bellona looked down, "I understand, Paladins aren't perfect, they're people too. She was a good friend of my son's, it's sad to get the news that she's gone." Brian nodded, "We're never truly prepared to lose people we care about, but unfortunately it's a fact of life." Bellona nodded, "You speak wisely for someone so young." Brian looked to the stars as Balius walked back down with a holographic image projector.

Brian looked at the image and Silvio gasped, "I know him, that's the drunk that Jorma would always hang around and they were such great friends." Brian nodded slightly, "Chances are low that he's still in this town if he escaped when Jorma was killed, but if he is, he'd be hanging near one of the gates." Brian pressed a button on his visor and scanned the image, before sending it to the gates leading out of the city, before hitting another button and initiating verbal communications with all the guardposts at the gates, "The picture I have sent you is a man who is wanted for murder, if you see him try to exit the city through the gates, detain him. Thank you." He released the button and Xander spoke up, "What now?" Brian sighed, "Well considering this isn't the first time he's been to this city, I have an address for him. Why don't we go pay him a visit to see if he's home..."

Chapter 13

Brian walked up to a house and placed a cigarette in his mouth, "Xander, you stick close to me, Silvio, you have a weapon with a stun function?" Silvio nodded, "I do, detective." Brian nodded, "Good, you go around back and have your weapon at the ready in case he tries to make a run for it." Silvio nodded slightly and started to head around back. Brian gave him a few minutes before he pointed to Xander, "I'll let you handle this one." Brian stepped back and Xander looked at him, "What?" Brian chuckled, "You're in training, consider this your final exam." Xander nodded and walked up to the door, knocking on it. There was nothing for a minute and as Xander looked to Brian, a Kani walked to the door, "Yes, how can I help you gentlemen?" Xander could smell the alcohol on this Kani's breath, "Damn, how much have you had to drink?" The Kani looked at his hand, "Three bottles of beer."

Xander sighed, "That doesn't matter at this point. I'm officer-in-training Xander Partanen and this is Detective Brian Aran, we're investigating a murder case, a murder that happened in the local area. Would you mind coming down to the station and answering a few questions." The Kani didn't hesitate to panic and he grabbed an object, throwing it at Xander who used his arm to block it, Brian sighing, "Dammit, he's getting away, at least Silvio will be able to catch him." Suddenly there was a crash that sounded like glass shattering and the two of them ran to the side of the house to see that the Kani was now escaping. Xander squeaking angrily, "Brian, may I have use of your pistol?" Brian nodded and pulled out his pistol, "I'm not going to need it." Xander didn't get a chance as he watched Silvio walk over to the side of the house and look at the glass before taking off running after the Kani.

Xander followed suit, Brian's weapon in hand, as he ran through the alley and eventually into the street, people parting ways as Silvio runs through ahead of him, not wanting to get in the way of the paladin-in-training. Xander sighed slightly as he ran through the parted crowds and across the street, this Kani was much faster than he was used to running, but there was one thing he was better at the Kani at, and that was climbing. Xander quickly scampered up the side of a building and started to run along the rooftops, seeing Silvio and the Kani very close together, Xander lining up a shot ahead of the Kani and squeezing the trigger. The electric bolt flew out of the weapon and barely missed the Kani, causing him to panic and start moving in a new direction.

Silvio swore at the Kani, "Pezzo di merde!" as Xander watched the Mofeta pull out his own weapon and shoot the Kani in the back of the legs, however Xander noticed that the weapon caused a burn, something that stun settings didn't do. The Kani dropped and rolled, Silvio walking up to the Kani and placing his weapon in the Kani's face, "You will face justice, not in a Kitsune Court, but before the Paladin Tribunal. You will be taken to the station, whether you like it or not in order for us to get a DNA test on you so that we can confirm that you are indeed the murderer. If you try to resist, I will render you unconscious, it will not be a pleasant experience for you. If you try to escape, I will shoot you again and then break your legs to prevent your escape." The Kani gulped and Xander started to climb down as Silvio continued, "If you attack me, your arms will be broken, am I clear?"

The Kani nodded and Xander looked at Silvio, "I know you Paladins are all about Justice and all of that, but you are going quite extreme on this guy, we don't even know if he's the killer." Before Silvio could respond, someone walked towards them in olive colored armor, "Well done, you managed to capture him before I got here." Silvio looked at him, "Who are you?" Xander pointed the gun at the figure who laughed, "Ironic that you're pointing my own weapon at me, it won't fire if you do that. This armor prevents that from happening, sorry, to disappoint you, Xander." Xander lowered the weapon as he watched the helmet start to deconstruct, revealing Brian's face, which had a smirk on it, "Well done by the way, but Xander, you have one thing left to do."

Xander nodded and turned the Kani on his belly, and Brian tossed him some handcuffs, Xander catching them and he put them on the Kani's hands, "You are hereby under arrest for assaulting an officer. If you are found to be guilty of murdering Chikako and Jorma, you will be sent to Maan Valssi in order to stand trial before the Paladinic Tribunal. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say between now and then can and will be used against you. You also have the right to an attorney, if you cannot afford one, then one will be provided for you. Do you understand your rights as I have explained them to you." The Kani nodded slightly and Xander picked him up, "I'll help you walk as we return to the station."

Silvio sighed, "I'm going to go return to the sun temple if you don't mind, my handler, Klaartje is there right now and I need to report this." Brian nodded, "Stay safe, Silvio, you'll make a great Paladin some day." Silvio nodded and broke off from them as Xander helped the Kani start walking, Brian following behind them. Brian smiled slightly, "You know, when you actually do your job, you are quite good at it. I think after this, I'll put in a good word for you, you'll be an officer before the week's end, I'll make sure of it, Xander." Xander nodded, "Thank you, sir, but I'm just doing my job as a security officer of the Kitsune Kingdom." Brian nodded, "That dedication will get you quite far in this job, if you clean up your act, you might be a Police Captain some day." Xander nodded, "I understand, but honestly. I prefer beat patrol." Brian shrugged, "Whatever floats your boat."

Chapter 15

Xander sat in a chair within the college, what looked to be an Arctic Kilf was teaching the class, though he wasn't paying much attention as per usual. The teacher looked at him, "Xander, can you tell me when the final battle of the first war for Verbana's liberation took place?" Xander looked up at her, "Ten years before the legendary hero, Yoshiro was born." The Kilf looked at him, "When my great-grandfather was born has nothing to do with this. I asked how many years ago from today it happened." Xander stood up, "Fine, Alvina, if that's how you want to play, the final battle for the first war of Verbanan Liberation happened two thousand one hundred and fifteen years ago, we use that final battle as a reckoning for our calendar. Any idiot could answer that question by looking at a damn calendar!" Alvina frowned and folded her arms, "Then tell me, who was the commander of the Kitsune forces which went on to become known as the greatest soldier of Kitsune history?"

Xander knew the answer to this question as well, but he smiled slightly, "Why don't we let his family speak for him, shall we Aiko?" Aiko didn't stand up, "You were asked the question, not me, do not try to pin the responsibility of answering it on me." Xander sighed, "Mamoru Misawa." Alvina smiled slightly, "It was my great-great Grandfather, Akira Miyamae that was the commander of the Kitsune forces." Xander sighed, "That's not what I was taught." Before Alvina could speak up, Xander's communicator chimed and he held it up to his ear, Alvina frowning, "I told you to turn those off in class and in your case, put it on vibrate." Xander pressed the button as he walked out of the room, "Yes, chief?" The voice of the chief of the security forces spoke up on the other end, "Xander, come down to the station, I would like to see you."

Xander held back a sigh, "Yes, sir." He poked his head back in the room, "Aiko, since I'm probably not going to be back in time, can you take my stuff back to the apartment." Aiko sighed, "Sure, I guess." Xander nodded, "Good to hear it." He closed the door and walked down the hall way, but Yoshiko looked at him, "Where are you going?" Xander held up his communicator, "The chief wants to see me. Education is nice and all, but I need to do my job." Julius sighed, "At least you're finally doing something decent for a change." Xander shrugged at Julius as he left the building and started to walk down the sidewalk, towards the security forces station. He was admittedly a little worried that the chief had called him to his office personally, but he didn't let that show as he kept walking.

It didn't take him long to reach the station and he walked in, a receptionist looking up at him, "Hello Xander, the chief is expecting you." Xander nodded, "I know, he called me." Xander walked through the hallway and up a flight of stairs, passing a couple of officers on the way. He walked through another hall and passed a Lieutenant who looked at him, "Hello Xander, the chief is in his office." Xander nodded, "I'm aware, sir." Xander walked up to the police chief's office door and sighed slightly as a secretary looked at him, "I'll buzz you in, Xander." She pressed a button, "Sir, Xander is here to see you." The chief's voice spoke up, "Let him in." The secretary looked at him, "You can go in, Xander."

Xander sighed as he opened the door to see the chief of the security forces, it was a Lupine that looked a lot like the legendary hero, Walthari. Also in the room was Brian, who he had helped a week ago. The Lupine looked at him and motioned towards him, Xander walking into the room and closing the door behind him, "Hello, sir." The Lupine nodded, "You are aware of why I called you here?" Xander shook his head, "I assume it is to reprimand me on my conduct a week ago and tell me that if I don't get my shit together that you're going to have me thrown out of the force, before I ever have the chance to become an officer." The Lupine shook his head, "Did you know that my great-grandfather and grandfather were a lot like you, even my mother was."

Xander blinked, "Who is your great-grandfather?" The chief chuckled and leaned forth, "Walthari Jaeger, I get told that I look a lot like him. But, I digress, you were called here because Brian here has given me a full report on what happened last week. I have to say that if it wasn't for his recommendation, you wouldn't be here right now." Xander blinked, "But I thought that detectives aren't very high in the hierarchy of the security forces." The chief nodded, "That's true, but Brian has always been known for his eye for detail, so I defer to his judgement on this one." Brian shrugged, "I was known as one of the best detectives on Terra, when I transferred to Verbana after my father passed away, I immediately started to work for any police or security force I could. It's what I'm good at and it's what I enjoy doing."

The chief nodded, "At any rate, your uniform is waiting for you in your locker, Xander. As is your weapon. However, I believe that I should give this to you myself." The chief reached into his drawer and pulled out an object that Xander recognized, the chief placed it on the table and Xander reached for it, seeing that it had his name and serial number on it, "You mean that..." The chief nodded, "You are a full fledged officer, if you want, you can start your first beat patrol today." Xander nodded, "That would be good, sir. I'll go get changed into my uniform and hit the streets." The chief chuckled, "It's good to see young officers like yourself eager to actually do your jobs. But Xander, remember, we're here to serve and protect the people." Xander nodded as he stood up, "Understood, sir!"