The Heart of a Lion

Straight up feral and disowned

Fumihiro could hardly process what he just witnessed. His mind was blank with shock so intense, it took him a moment to fathom the sheer consequences of what just happened.

Ahmaha. Shiratu's brother, Ibuki's brother, Sei's brother, Yuuto's boyfriend, Tanya's nephew, Yasuyori's enemy. A ghoul. A person.

Dead.

One moment he was alive. He was just standing in front of them, facing them, his face a stormy mask of annoyance as he tried to explain to them why they couldn't wage absolute war on the Doves for what they did, and then he just....fell.

Not normally. No, it was like something hit him hard in the back, with a loud sound of a fear-inducing crunch that made Fumihiro want to turn away completely, and then the light went out of his chocolate colored eyes. Eyes the same color as Shiratu's. And then he collapsed to his knees, crumbling under the weight of his body until he crashed into the snow beneath him.

It was like a scene from a movie, all in slow motion as you saw the looks of shock register on everyone's face.

A few seconds of dead silence passed where nobody dared move an inch, expecting him to get up, or taking a moment to assume the worst. That's when Fumihiro realized there was someone standing behind his felled body. Someone with hair as red as his own, as red as the blood the began to saturate the pure blanket of snow beneath him, with dull pink eyes wide with recognition as they bored straight into Fumi's blue ones.

Holding her quinque in a strong grip, her unrestrained hair blew in the breeze that floated by, bringing with it the stench of blood. His mother tilted her head to the side, her blank expression tinged with shock carrying the most emotion he'd seen her with in recent years. She kept staring at him.

And staring.

And staring.

Not even minding Ahmaha's body, like she didn't just cut down the heir to the Yomiga Clan in front of its members. It was like all she saw was Fumihiro, a human among ghouls, a part of them, and she couldn't believe it.

The first one to move was Ibuki, who crashed to his knees on the ground, staring at his big brother as he bled out, mouth open with numb shock as tears quickly built in his eyes.

The only warning he had was a low, animalistic growl that was so powerful it rocked her frame before Shiratu, his girlfriend for years, the love of his life, the one he was convinced he was going to marry, threw herself ahead to charge at Hatchikana, the protective arm Fumihiro had around her shoulders falling away as he mindlessly followed and reached out to her.

He almost didn't make it, she was almost too fast, his arm almost didn't snare around her waist, almost fell away as she struggled to throw him off, low wordless screams promising punishment and death booming across the alley to where Doves, more Doves were coming out of the shadows, their faces set in determination and their coats pressed as white as the snow. 

It took every fiber of strength in his being, every ounce of energy, every facet of muscle fiber within him just to hold her back as she kicked and cursed upon being lifted in the air by him.

She just watched her brother being killed by her boyfriend's mom.

"No! No, Shira-chan, don't!" He yelled above her, hoping to reach through her deafening screams and save her from the trap waiting at the end of the alley. "You can't! You can't attack them!"

Near him and behind him, growls were resounding, bouncing back and forth from the walls on either side of them, the glass windows ringing with outrage.

Specifically, he heard a gasp, one that undoubtedly belonged to his best friend Yuuto, who he'd known all his life. There was no way he could have missed it as it rang out with heartache and disbelief, before his hoarse cry followed, "Ahmahaaa!!!"