BNA season 2 (Brand New Animal)

Part nine

Deep secrets

Michiru's POV

As we entered the restaurant called the 'Apex Restaurant' my eyes immediately started searching for my parents only to not see any sign of them. 'Where are they?' I think to myself worried that something might be wrong. I turned to Shirou who was sensing my uneasiness and giving me an assuring smile. "Don't worry Michiru, they're probably just running late." He says while giving me a comforting smile. I return the smile but still felt that something was off. "Hey if you don't mind, will you please stay with me until they arrive...Please?" He looked at me a little stunned at first but then his eyes softened when he looked into my brown orbs. "Sure, Michiru." We sat down at an empty table and a waiter came to take our order. "Good day, welcome to Apex. How may I be of service?" Shirou and I examined the menu and I saw a section that had meals made specifically for beastmen. "This place is beastmen-friendly?" I accidentally asked out loud and the waiter immediately responded. "Yes, we here at Apex try to create an all-species friendly environment. That is the basic policy of our restaurant." I looked at the waiter in shock. 'Really?' I look back at the menu and at the very top of the menu the words 'Where everyone is welcome' is printed in bold black letters. "Wow, that's amazing!" I tell him excitedly and he smiles warmly. "Thank you for the compliment miss. But I must ask for your orders now?" 'Right...' Shirou and I gave our orders and the waiter left to go prepare it.

Shirou's POV

After waiting some time, I could sense that Michiru was getting worried. A few minutes ago when she called her mother and was told that earlier her dad had immediate work to take care of and never came back. Michiru was clenching her fists nervously and felt a little sorry for her. She was already nervous enough to see her parents and now she's probably worried sick that they might not show up, or worst, they might be in danger. Seeing her so worried I decided to try and comfort her. I lightly placed my hand on hers gaining her attention, she gave me a weak smile and I could see the fear in her eyes. I couldn't help but feel that something was really off about all this, and suddenly my eyes landed on someone in the corner of the restaurant. There was a symbol of a wolf howling, and much to my discomfort I knew that symbol all too well. That wolf isn't just any ordinary symbol, it's the crest of my family and the thing where I got my deity name. This wolf crest is the symbol that represents my mother's pack, her pride. She is the alpha female to hundreds of beastmen, all follow her and would risk their lives to protect her. 'The question is, why is her crest here in this restaurant?' I think to myself and suddenly I remembered the reason I wanted to come, I had to get to Tokyo and fast. I look up at Michiru who was watching the clock on the wall with an impatient frown. "Michiru?" She gives me her attention and I sigh deeply before speaking, "I need to go..." She gave me a frown and I could literally feel her disappointment hitting me like a bullet. I know how bad that must have sounded but I had no chose. "I'm sorry, but I have other reasons to be here too. You stay here, I'll try to be back as soon as I can." I tell her with a monotone voice, my cold expression hiding my emotions completely. She looked like she wanted to protest but instead just nodded silently and avoided eye-contact. I knew she was hurting, but there was nothing I could do. If I wanted to make any sense of what was going on around me I first had to go to the source, that's right, I had to break into Beast Tech.

'Tokyo was a lot farther than a few miles away so I had to drive there with the car Flip lend to us. While I was driving I remembered my family crest in that restaurant and memories of my past came back to remind me of the other side of my life, the life I never shared with anyone in AnimaCity, not even with Michiru. My life... in Predator-City.'

Author's POV

After driving for about twenty minutes Shirou finally drove into the city of Tokyo, the capital city Japan. While driving through the busy streets he made his way near the center of the city, where Beast Tech's building stood guarded by over fifty beastmen, all equipped with the technology provided by the company itself. Shirou parked the car far away so that he wouldn't attract attention. 'How am I getting in here?' he asks himself while standing behind the corner of another building and looking at the tight security surrounding the place. Lions, dogs, rhinos, all were circling the building in their beast forms, not to mention that there will most definitely be more security inside. Shirou was still thinking of ways to get in when opportunity suddenly struck. A commotion was going on at the front gates of Beast Tech that was promising him easy access to get inside. There were people protesting just outside the building holding signs in the air that read things like "All humans have the right to life" or "We demand equality, donate to the poor" Shirou took one sniff and could instantly tell that they were all human. 'Probably looking for kidney or livers...' he thought while he looked at the crowd. Beast Tech is known for the high quality technology that they produce, but their most famous is the one and only 'organ 3D printer prototype'. Though there are already a few 3D organ printers in the world, this one is especially designed to be the perfect organ, the materials used are almost a hundred percent identical to a normal body organ and the design is so precise that the organs don't get rejected by the bodies of the patients. The prototype can mimic any organ from heart to pancreas, and it works for both humans and beastmen. However, since Fang is known for her hatred towards humans, not many humans have experience the miracles of this printer. Only those with special approval from Fang gets donations from Beast Tech.