Everything Has Fallen to Pieces

Zerin

Zerin knows he shouldn't be up here. He knows yokai aren't allowed on the surface anymore, his parents made sure he and his siblings learned that growing up, but here he is navigating the busy streets of New York.

He's not in his yokai form, of course; he grabbed his cloaking brooch on his way out of the house a half hour before and now blends into the neverending crowd of people.

The past few weeks, the alligator snapping turtle had been sneaking up to the human realm, and day by day he's getting used to all the lights and noise. It's not much different than the Hidden City that way and yet it feels so different up here. Somehow the lack of anything mystical makes the experience that much more memorable and awe-inspiring.

His parents never discouraged him from being curious about mankind—it'd been so long since humans had forced yokai-kind underground, most have come to understand that their worlds are better separate—and even encouraged him to head to the library to study humans and their cultures. They've been like that since the day they took him in, making sure he feels like they care about what he's interested in.

Of course, when he got older, Zerin realized that's probably because he's their only adopted child, and they want him to feel like an equal part of the family.

And he's gotta say they've been pretty successful at that. Even when his younger siblings were born, they never once made him feel like he's an outsider or that he doesn't belong. It doesn't matter that he's a different species than the rest of his family—he belongs there and he always will.

Zerin's phone buzzes in his pocket as he joins another river of civilians and he's careful as he checks the screen. He doesn't worry about where he's walking; he's been down this street enough times before, he knows where to go without having to look.

As he expects, it's his younger brother, Lutri.

brooch is gone, u went topside???

After a quick glance at the people around him, making sure he didn't bump into anyone, he sends a text back.

yea, where else would i be????

Zerin turns his attention back to the street signs and surrounding businesses, and he recognizes the area. He's not too far from his destination now. As he turns the corner and he approaches his stop his phone buzzes with a couple more texts. The turtle ignores them as he arrives at the gym and he makes his way inside. This had been the first business he entered once he got comfortable enough on the surface and he's enough of a regular that he's got a locker of his own.

When he enters the locker room, he checks his phone again.

shoulda gone to the battle nexus

coward

Oh, of course Lu would want him to risk his life in that blood-soaked arena. He just turned thirteen and he's starting to branch out with his interests, and currently he's getting into more dramatic and action-packed shows and media. Like Big Mama's Battle Nexus.

Growing up, Zerin and his siblings learned about the Battle Nexus, and the yokai running it, too. About how countless yokai citizens have to fight for entertainment, and sometimes for their freedom, and how awfully they're treated behind the scenes. "Like slaves," his parents had told him. And despite her name being Big Mama she's no sweetheart, but rather a con-woman.

He remembers the story of Lou Jitsu and how at one point he'd been the greatest Battle Nexus champion to ever exist. Big Mama had kept him trapped in the arena to keep the crowds entertained, but then one day he stopped showing up in tournaments.

Rumors about what happened to him spread soon after: maybe he'd escaped. Maybe he'd finally been beaten in battle. Maybe Big Mama took care of him herself. No matter which one was true, no one ever heard from or saw Lou Jitsu ever again. If that's the fate of the greatest Battle Nexus champion to date, Zerin doesn't like his own odds.

No, he's well aware of the dangers surrounding the arena and he's got no interest in losing his life or his freedom. Lutri won't change his mind by calling him names. He rolls his eyes and sends a text back.

whatever. be home late

He doesn't wait for his brother to respond before throwing his phone into the locker and slamming the thing shut. Zerin's gotta work off the stress of the week and he's eager to get started.

It feels like he's only just warming up when about an hour later an explosion goes off somewhere down the street.

The manager announces that they'll have to evacuate the building—completely understandable—and everyone rushes to get their stuff and get out. Zerin has to hang back so he can even access his locker and he's one of the last to leave the gym, other than the staff, who are all still scrambling to properly shut the place down as he walks through the doors.

As soon as he's out of the street and caught in the wave of people rushing towards the next block, he checks his phone and he considers letting his siblings know that he's heading back. Illia would be happy to know that he's safe, she's sweet like that. But Lu's probably happy to have the game console and their room to himself for a while, so he decides he can stay out a while longer. It'll be good for him to have some time to do what he wants.

Except most of the week he works at Run Of The Mill, and in the majority of the spare time, he's usually helping one of the neighbors with their household chores. And the leftover time he spends at home unwinding, so truth be told, he's not really sure what to do with himself.

There's not a lot of time to consider what to do when someone screams from the direction the explosion and Zerin can't help looking over his shoulder. Is someone in trouble? Are they gonna be alright?

He doesn't think he could live with himself if he just turns his back on someone who could be in danger. It's not the smartest decision he's ever made, and yet he makes it anyway: he turns around and starts heading towards the site of the explosion. People passing by give him weird looks but they say nothing and they certainly don't stop him.

In just a couple of minutes, he reaches the site, and he freezes in his tracks when he sees another yokai. A pig, and he's fighting a human girl.

And she's actually putting up a hell of a fight! Each time the pig attacks, she dodges or counters, like she's been trained to fight all her life. Every step she takes looks like it's calculated, and she's certainly doing a lot better than he would in that situation.

She's got this under control—

Right as Zerin turns to leave, the pig notices him standing there, and he's gotta get out of here, he's gotta get home right now, just make a break for it!

"Well, what have we—"

The girl silences him with a good swing of her bat to his face. While the yokai's still recovering, she looks over her shoulder in Zerin's direction. "You might wanna get outta here if you don't wanna be pig food."

He doesn't need to be told twice; as soon as they're back to fighting, he darts into the closest alleyway. The entrance here will drop him clear across the Hidden City but a long walk home's much better than that fight going on back there. His mind races the entire way down the chute and doesn't stop until he lands in a pile of garbage. Not the best return trip he's ever had, he's gotta say.

Ugh. Maybe Señor Hueso will let him stop by for a bite to eat on his way home.