Raised by Lions

Chapter 5: Life continues on

It's been a month since they chased Chief off and Ibuki had settled into the role of Leader surprisingly well. News had also spread fast about the new leader since the Shishigumi was operating a little differently and it was noticeable.

With Chief gone, they no longer had to be grabbing white herbivores from the City streets and they started appearing more in the Market, which was a scarce sight in the last couple years.

Louis had also adapted to the new way of living. He was no longer hidden and confined all the time and could move around the base as he pleased. By now, he'd learned their usual pattern. Most, if not all, of the lions would be out in the afternoon and would come back just before dinner. Sometimes they even left him home alone and he would end up watching TV until they returned.

Ibuki, now more than ever, realised how easily pleased a formerly abused child could be. They still didn't have a lot of toys for Louis, but the fawn had picked up quite the vocabulary from watching TV, and more specifically mellow dramas.

Ibuki woke up as the morning sun shone through the curtains, bathing his room in a warm orange light. He stretched and got up. Louis wasn't in his room, but that wasn't a problem anymore. These days Louis had the habit of picking one of them at night and falling asleep on that lion's lap, subsequently ending up spending the night in said lion's room. None of the inner Shishigumi minded though, they liked the kid. It had become somewhat of a competition to see who he'd fall asleep on.

Ibuki got dressed and walked to the dining room. Louis arrived shortly after with Dolph, a big, tired smile on his face. Ibuki was sat at the head of the table and Louis sat wherever the others left a seat open for him. Some of the lions were still half asleep so talk around the table was slow and far between, as usual in the morning.

Only difference of today was, Louis would be going out with them. They weren't all too worried about Louis getting hurt or taken since most of the Market's inhabitants were too afraid of the Shishigumi to pull something as incredibly stupid as that. They were worried, however, about how Louis would take the outing. He hasn't been outside the mansion since he was brought here 7 months ago. It was just a simple business meeting with the Dokugumi and their leader's kid would also be around. As they had come to learn, the kid was always in the sight of his grandfather.

Hino, for the better part of the last month, has insisted that they find Louis some friends his age. He couldn't just be spending all day everyday with a bunch of fully grown lions. It would also help with his development and while another gumi kid may not be the best idea, it was the best they could do. They couldn't exactly take the fawn to a park, one look at that mixture and people would be calling the cops, worried Louis was in danger.

Sabu offered to help Louis get dressed as all the lions set off back to their rooms to get ready for the meeting. Louis did his best to make it easier for Sabu to dress him but he was still awfully clumsy. Afterwards, Louis sat on Sabu's bed, his lion plushie held in his lap, as he watched Sabu getting dressed as well.

It was nothing new to see the lion hide knives and extra ammunition on him, nor was the shoulder holster packed with two semi-automatic pistols. What was new, was when Sabu picked him up and carried him along to the rest of the group. Usually they just said goodbye and left. Ibuki saw Louis' confusion and decided to explain to him with a soft look in his eyes.

"You're coming along today, kiddo." Louis seemed to perk up at that. "Really?!" He asked happily, wiggling in Sabu's arm. The group laughed and then exited out to the cars.

In the few times Louis had been allowed outside, under supervision of course, he'd seen the fleet of black cars, all lined up and shiny. Today, they were taking one of those cars to wherever they were heading.