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Kyotoshi shook his head, watching the new arrivals to his section of town. It was like a prision camp almost, the way they were all marched in in lines, looking at their feet in terror. The military police still weren't entirely gone, but every time someone got caught at the airport, they were sent to the Hekshanian ghetto to stay. Didn't matter if they didn't really belong on the planet, Kyo mused, bringing a cigerette up to his lips and inhaling. Leaning on a crumbling brick wall, he peered around the corner at the newcomers, letting the cigerette smoke in his mouth. He slitted his eyes, regarding them.
They all walked with a profound fear. They didn't belong here and they all knew it- the squalor and disrepair frightened them, and crime was practicly in the smell of the place. Nobody came out to greet them as they were escorted down the street and lined up. Kyotoshi shrunk back as one of the police walked by, not wanting to be seen. The last thing these terrified people needed to see was a beating today.
The lines instinctively terrified Kyotoshi as well. The newcomers had no idea what the line meant, or why it was th ere. For someone who had seen the massacres, it was terror to even look on a line. Kyotoshi shut his eyes and tried to burn away the memory of his own parents, backs to a wall as their bodies spasmed with bullets. He hadn't been sure if it was real then, watching, holding his sister around the shoulders. He had tried to turn away, but the police had forced them to look- grabbed his head roughly and pulled back his eyelids.
This line wasn't for death though. Kyotoshi regarded each newcomer with an expert eye. Those who would die, he knew, were pointless. Those who might have a slight of hand, a use, he would have to find them again. And then there was always the slight chance of finding her...
The yellow furred Hekshanian swallowed some nausea and took the cigerette from his mouth, blocking his thoughts away. Running a clawed hand through his scruffy hair, he listened to the police speak, their voices sounding far off.
"This is where you belong," one of the Humans said in an accented version of Hekshanian, Kyotoshi's language. "You do not belong in the Universe, you do not belong amoung Humans. The spaceports are closed. Go home."
It was a given, of course it happened. A chesnut furred Hekshanian woman stepped forward- she looked old. "But my children are waiting-"
Kyotoshi looked away as the blunt smack of a rifle butt connecting with flesh echoed down the street. The woman fell with a torn cry, scrabbling her claws against the pavement. The policeman brought down the but of his rifle on the back of her head another time, and she was still. Kyotoshi took another drag from the cigerette and blew the smoke out. So much for giving the newcomers a sense of hope...
"This is your home. Anyone caught leaving will be terminated."
With that, the police walked away, leaving the confused newcomers standing in a line. After a minute, they began to step gingerly after the Humans. Kyotoshi threw his cigerette to the ground and stepped on it with his clawed footpaw, moving out from the shadows. His sandy coloured trenchcoat ruffled slightly as he moved forward.
He needed to find targets- ones to rob and ones to keep, before the police shot those wandering after them like stray dogs.
Night had fallen after the bullets had finally stopped raining into the crowd of confused followers. Kyotoshi had known it would happen..he had only hoped it wouldn't against all he was taught. The world he lived in was a dangerous and hostile place. The bodies were already cleared away, fortunately, and the remaining newcomers had been forced into hotels or alleyways to sleep. Kyotoshi moved through the darkened streets with ease, his hands in the pockets of his coat and a shadowed expression on his face. Sure, there had been money to take and bodies to rob..but he always felt dirty doing it. Life shouldn't have to be a game of fighting eachother, Kyotoshi reflected, splashing his paws into a puddle of water that smelled of sewage. I shouldn't have to resort to this to survive...
Rounding a bend in the alleyway, a whimpering sound drifted through the air slightly. Kyotoshi flattened back against the wall in the shadows, afraid of startling whoever was crying into an attack. He never wanted to kill- he wouldn't become the thing he hated. The newcomers sometimes would crawl into corners to cry, though, and would become violent if disturbed. He peered cautiously at the source of the noise.
A silver furred Hekshanian with almost white hair lay curled on its side in the alleyway, arms around its shaking body and knees curled up to its chest in a pathetic attempt to stay warm. A jacket made of some cheap, synthetic material was all it had to cover its arms, and it obviously wasn't doing a good job of keeping in the heat. Kyotoshi could smell the salt from this creature's tears in the air. He winced to himself...
I've caused so much pain just by my own theft.. He thought darkly to himself, shutting his eyes. But I have to survive...I had no choice... Kyotoshi was equating this creature, this pitiful sobbing shaking mass to everyone he'd ever taken from. And he felt obligated to somehow atone.
With a deep sigh, he stepped from the shadows and spoke, moving steadily towards the crying cat. "Hey," he kept his tone non-threatening and almost sympathetic.
The other cat jerked awake with such a sudden movement it looked almost as if he'd been stabbed. Fighting back sniffles and scrambling to his feet, the other feline ran his coat sleeve across his face, trying to rid the evidence of tears. He spoke in a quick, frightened bark. "Who are you?"
Kyotoshi held up his hands. "Don't mean no harm. You got a place to stay?" he couldn't believe he was asking these things. He couldn't believe he was taking in this kid who was in a near catatonic state over something so mild compared to day-to-day life.
The silver furred Hekshanian moved to the side a little, maybe seeking an avenue of escape. Nervous bugger, Kyotoshi thought to himself. But he looks about as old as she would be... The other cat spoke quickly. "No. But who are you? What do you want with me? Please don't rob me, I don't have anything..."
Something bit at Kyotoshi and he closed his eyes as if in pain. "Kid...don't worry bout it..I ain't here to rob ya...You probobly don't got nothin anyway..."
The other Hekshanian stopped inching away and stood, aparently somewhat puzzled. Kyotoshi mused he must have already been robbed today at some point. "What do you want?"
Kid's got a horrid offworld accent, Kyo thought. "Just to help ya out. If you need a place to stay, see, I got my own pad. Don't want nothin in return. Just thought you could use a roof, ya know?"
The other cat blinked his eyes, which were wide and green. He was still innocent, despite what he saw. "Why are you doing this?"
Kyotoshi snorted and stepped around the silver feline, moving through the alleyway again. His head was starting to hurt now, clawing at him to accomidate his addictions. "Ain't no point in lettin a kid die," he muttered, ignoring the other's confused look. A little louder, he almost laughed. "Well c'mon, it's a long walk, ya know! Say, what's your name anyway?"
"Keintem," the younger feline replied hesitantly, following Kyotoshi a few steps. "Setamo."
Kyotoshi grunted a little, thinking how that name wasn't any good. "I'm Kyo. Kyo Lypha." He spoke the name with dark eyes...why did he keep his last name? His past was gone...
Keintem smiled slightly and trotted along Kyotoshi with an almost admiring smile. It reminded Kyotoshi of the way she used to look... "Thank you, Kyo," Keintem said cheerily. "It's nice to know I'm not alone."
"You're always alone, kid. Just sometimes you got company, and other times not." Kyotoshi walked into the darkness, wondering why he was doing this still.
