Come here First.

[The Madame Red]

When the morning sun rose, Naomi woke early only to find all the slaves gone and a note left by Crow saying he was escorting them. He had found someone to show him the way and that he'd help her. This left Naomi with a small smile. She knew his feelings for her and she felt awful for not being able to return them. However, she heard her door open and knew the customers were already coming. When she came to the front of the store, she stood dead in her tracks to see a red-haired young man with a golden brooch that signaled that he was much higher status than some guard or captain. He was also more wealthy.

"Excuse me, ma'am. I'm looking for a woman named Naomi? My Uncle, Richard you should know him by, told me-"

"My dealings with owners are dealt in the back of my store," Naomi stopped him from speaking and led him to the back part of her store, "If you are to come to discuss further you must remember to enter from the back."

"Oh..okay," Hiro scratched the back of his head, "I suppose we can discuss that here."

"Why did you come," Naomi stated as she crossed her arms.

"If you just let me finish then I can tell you," Hiro tried to get a word in, then he noticed that she wasn't exactly human, "Oh...you're a slave too?"

"I am free, thank you very much," Naomi's tails flickered angrily, she hated being seen as a slave.

"My apologies, I came because my uncle said that you had potions that would keep my staff calm. A lot of them are skiddish from the move across the country and it would help them so they don't get in trouble," Hiro explained.

Naomi could see through lies. And this one wasn't lying. She gave a slight nod as she pulled a few potions from her pocket, "These are free for now. If any of them have an adverse effect you need to let me know immediately."

"Actually, i'd like to buy your shop," Hiro added, causing Naomi to falter slightly, "Ma'am?"

She caught herself on her counter as he then added once more, "I'll even give you a stipend each week if you were to create more potions for my household staff. I mean, you can keep up your trading business as long as I can still be apart of that if you can keep making potions that will help."

"Hell, for that i'll even change my store's name to your family name," Naomi felt her smile widen, it seemed like her fortunes were rising higher and higher by the day.

"Perhaps you could even work from my home one day?" Hiro asked, hoping maybe she would say yes to make this ordeal much easier.

Now her eyes narrowed. Naomi took a step back as she eyed him, "I don't do in-home projects. I will remain here."

"O-oh, very well. Again, my apologies for being forward," Hiro bowed slightly, "I am greatly appreciative of what you're willing to do, lady Naomi."

"I need payment up front," Naomi held out her hand, "And I need your name, and family name if i'm changing my store's name."

Hiro smiled as he reached into his satchel and brought out enough money to feed the entire town over three times. He then answered her last statement, "My name is Hiro, and my family's name is of the Eastern Roses."

"Eastern Roses' Potions and Trade," Naomi repeated as she took the money and held it behind her back, "Pleasure to make you a new partner, m'lord Hiro."

He smiled brightly. Perhaps his uncle was wrong about this woman. She seemed very respectful and knew her business well. He was just about to leave when Naomi spoke, "Do stay for breakfast, I was just about to cook."

"Thank you," Hiro smiled as he turned and sat at her table.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

The Master was in his usual spot when Crow arrived. The slaves her taken from crow to a different part of the place to be debriefed on their situation and to get warm meals and better clothes.


Yuuki sat by his side, in chains, she looked peaceful though. But it was strained.

"It's all right Yuuki." The Master whispered to her petting her. "Remember those meditative techniques we practiced."

"Stop talking and I might be able to focus." Yuuki snapped at him then she opened her eyes slowly. They seemed to glow a little and she smiled softly at Crow. "Hello." She said. "Thank you."  

[The Madame Red]

Crow gave a shadow of a smile. His mind was clouded and he couldn't concentrate on his surroundings. He took Naomi's payment from one of the nekos that stood by the one known as the Master before turning before noticing Yuuki in chains, "If you want to control whatever it is you're trying to control, you ought to try one of Naomi's calming potions. It might not have a sedative affect to make you sleep, but it'll calm you."



"I have a new girl arriving today that you might have use for," Naomi sipped her tea as Hiro dug into her food, "Her soon to be former master has no more room in his household for her and she's quite a beauty."

"I don't usually get to speak to my staff that much," Hiro shrugged, "As long as she's capable of doing her job."

Naomi glanced over Hiro. He didn't seem interested in his slaves, though he referred to them as his staff as if he paid them. She knew Yuuki or the Master wouldn't exactly be pleased in her new business partnership, but Hiro offered the bigger payment.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Yuuki shook her head. "It's fine Crow." She said smiling a little. "It's for the best really."

The Master smiled and lit his pipe up again. "We've tried drugging her. . . doesn't work really." He said smirking. His eyes glowed a little. "Please be sure to tell your friend I'm looking forward to the next lot." He smirked softly knowing what she was doing. She was under contract. . . She wasn't going to get out of it without problems." He smiled. "She has a copy she should read it." He turned back to Yuuki and stroked her hair but she snapped her teeth at him.

"Still a feral little thing aren't you?" The Master purred returning to his chess game.  

[The Madame Red]

"You ought to be careful about how you go about things with Naomi. How do you think she's made it this far without a scratch on her?" Crow was too tired to really dish out how Naomi would clean the floors with anyone he sent, even Yuuki, "Anyways, good luck with your endeavors."

Crow left without another word before heading back to the store to see a wealthy man sitting at Naomi's table, and Naomi presenting a young neko girl. He came into the kitchen, "Is that another girl for the Master?"

"No, this one is going to my new business partner and executive owner," Naomi gestured towards the man at the table, "Hiro, this is my assistant Crow. Crow, this is one of our partners, Hiro."

"Pleasure to meet you," Hiro smiled as he stood and shook Crow's hand, "You have another business partner, Naomi?"

"I have the entire town wrapped around my little finger," Naomi answered without looking at Hiro as she sent the girl upstairs to clean up, "I have business partners everywhere, and those who aren't partnered with me aren't worth my time. When i'm given these slaves, I turn them street rats into luxury pets. And my pets never go to a home I haven't looked over."

"All i'm saying is that he wasn't too pleased," Crow commented.

"If this is some type of turf war then i'll provide you with protection," Hiro gave a concerned look.

"It won't be needed," Naomi shrugged as she stirred her pot of numbing potions, "This isn't a turf war, and this isn't a problem. Supply and demand is simple; I have the best supplies and I have high demands. Thus, those who pay the highest are given my supplies."  

[Hikari_Mamo]

"It's ain't a turf war deary." The Weasel purred having entered the shop. "This is The Master's domain. You're just living in it." He smirked softly. "He won't be pleased with you going back on your contract. Liberated slaves are to go to him. No one else. You're breaking the rules."


Yuuki trembled a little. "Leave them alone." She growled at her Master.

"Why?" He asked moving his rook into checkmate. "They broke the rules."

"They didn't know. They're innocents who don't know." Yuuki replied. "If you cut them off they'll have to return to that life."

"She made her choice when she made that deal with that man." The Master replied. "Now, I collect."

His people struck, they took big movements in the town collecting on debts freeing slaves, making examples of the masters. The Master was indeed extremely cold. "You know the rules Yuuki, my deals come with a price."

"But you didn't tell her the price! You didn't tell her, she wasn't allowed to make other deals! You can't just take away all her business because you didn't communicate!" Yuuki protested only to get slapped.

"Do not dictate my business to me Yuuki! I can kill you so easily!" He hissed. "You do not piss off an Oniikitsune and get away with it!"  

[The Madame Red]

"Oh look, m'lord Hiro," Naomi sat her tea cup down and stood up slowly, "It looks like you get to see when I have to send a message to my other business partners."

Crow knew this look and smirked as his eyes turned to little dark slits. No one, absolutely no one, put limitations on Naomi without punishment. Naomi approached the one known as Weasel and smiled sweetly, "You might want to remind that this town is my domain, and he's just a branch off of my tree."

Blue flames appeared just above her tails and ears as she reached her hand inside of Weasel, tearing him open, and pulled out his large intestines. She smiled even more as she whispered to him, "You're lucky this is a simple illusion, but I could make this a very blood reality."

Hiro watched in disgust. He would have to remind himself to never piss of this fox. Naomi ended the illusion with a snap of her fingers before pushing Weasel back, "Now, get out of my presence."

Crow took hold of Weasel's elbow and led him out the front door before shoving him onto the ground, "Come back here and it's a death wish."  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Weasel's own body shimmered. "I'm a Kitsune too Girly. . . Older than you, stronger than you. And with a lovely little power." His eyes swirled, he showed her the thing she feared most, the thing she saw often. Her nightmare. "This is The Master's Domain." His eyes snapped to Crow making him see a life trapped forever without knowing when he'd get out. He showed them all exactly what they never wanted anyone else to see. "You broke the rules Naomi." His eyes then snapped to the man. He had seven good tails, that meant seven people he could snare in his mental trap.


Yuuki struggled out of her bonds, shredding the skin of her hands as she rushed off to get to them. She put contacts into her eyes so she wouldn't fall under Weasels spell and burst in. "Weasel stop!" She cried.

"Not until they apologise." Weasel replied smirking. "They broke the rules honey. . . Back off or I'll get you too."

"We both know I have no regrets, no fears. . ." Yuuki replied. "Let them go."

Weasel narrowed his eyes. "You do. . . something deep and dark. . . but. . . I can't grasp it."

"Let them go. Weasel." Her eyes seemed to glow a little. The sound of something breaking in the background didn't stop her standing her ground. "They don't know the rules. . . They've up top."

"They made a deal with the underground, they must follow the underground rules." Weasel replied.

"Then let me teach them the rules." Yuuki replied unsure if she could handle their screams much longer. "Let me teach them the rules. I am the Guardian it's my job." Her hands bled from where she mutilated them for her escape, the scent pacifying her need to kill. "Let me teach them." Weasel's eyes searched her's, then he nodded and left, releasing them from his control on their minds.  

[The Madame Red]

Naomi had known it was an illusion, a painful one, but one she could control herself through. She listened to Crow's screams, and she scented Hiro not moving. Odd, why hadn't he left yet? Watching her love and child being slaughtered multiple times only broke her cold heart even more until the illusion was over. As soon as it was done, she grabbed a nearby blunt knife and stabbed Weasel multiple times. Seven, eight, nine, she kept going until she had him on the floor. Twenty one, twenty two, that wasn't enough.

Crow was the one who pulled her off of him before he flung him outside, and this time locking the door to keep the b*****d out. He then turned to see Hiro standing up, his eyes harder than their normal friendly ones. Hiro approached Yuuki and said, "I don't know who your boss is, but this is not how you treat a partner. Lady Naomi, I will kindly double this man's salary for you and offer you to end your services with him."

"No problem," Naomi glared over at Yuuki, "You tell him the deal's off. I have no use for those who try to overpower me."  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Yuuki's eyes narrowed at the human. Her hands lay mangled. "It's never off Naomi, The OniiKitsune is your only Partner, you broke contract." She said. "That's the problem. Once you go underground, you stay under ground, even when you break contract." She shook her head. "And you just sent a message to an OniiKitsune. That OniiKitsune was angry at you before, now he'll be mad. This is his city. We just live in it." She knew Weasel had left to lick his wounds. The Master wasn't going to send anyone else. He was going to come himself next.
"He will come. There is little that can temper his wrath. I suggest you get this new person to leave. Now. He is human. Powerless against The Master. I tried. Gods know I tried. Don't bother attaining Slaves. With your message he'll assume you'll treat them that way too and end you. This isn't a threat. It's a fact. Many Free Kistune/Neko/Inu have tried and failed to outsmart him." Her hands twitched from the cold. "Maybe. . . Maybe I can temper him." She shook her head. "No he's mad at me too he'll just kill me. . ."

The Master trembled with anger. He heard Weasel's cry of pain. He walked there to the shop. His aura pulsed anything living died. His eyes swirled. The usually busy main street turned into a ghost town. Well no. . . Slaves burst out from their homes and fled to the safe houses. He picked up Weasel from the ground and healed his wounds. "No? Too bad." He whispered. The Oniikitsune threw open the door without touching it. "You broke the rules honey." He purred softly his face devoid of emotion. "I will apologise for Weasel. . . He can be enthusiastic-"
"My Lord I-" Yuuki began but was silenced by the OniiKitsune.
"Quiet!" He growled not even looking at her. "I will deal with your disobedience later."
"You're just as bad as the humans." Yuuki hissed softly. He barely glared at her.
"Feral's like you should be put down. Do not forget that." His growled.
Yuuki looked away. Her heart pounding in her chest. Any attempts by the other's to attack her Master, they found themselves to be hurting themselves. "Now, let me go over the fine print again." He said. "And listen up, I'm not one to repeat myself, the moment we made that deal I owned you. I am the vine your are the branch." His cold glare pierced into Naomi's eyes.

Yuuki listened to her Master speak. She knew she could stop his harshness if only she could speak his name. but she was bound. She couldn't even hint to it. "I'm sorry Yuuki, did I scare you?" Her Master whispered. "Here, let me fix your hands." He lifted them up in his own.
"You once asked me why I didn't want you." Yuuki said as he healed her hands in front of Naomi and Crow. "It's because you remind me of a human with Bipolar disorder. . . You deserve to be alone. . . especially when you treat us like toys. . . I don't want a man who will treat me like a toy."
"You cannot escape my service." Her Master hissed.
"I'll leave then. I'll leave and I'll never come back." Yuuki hissed and turned and left the house finding a tunnel to escape in.  

[The Madame Red]

Naomi stood her ground in silence. She expressed no fear towards the Master. Crow, on the other hand, stood behind Naomi as Hiro had left through the back. When you had nothing left to lose, why cower? Naomi crossed her arms and watched him care for Yuuki before she left through the front door.

"For someone who claims to want to help those who are defenseless, you seem to be no better than a typical slave owner," Naomi's words were ice cold as she approached the fox man, "Get a good look at my face when I say 'the deal is off'. Take your business elsewhere and get the hell out of my store."

She felt Crow tremble behind her and she knew he didn't deserve to be there. With a snap of her fingers, she opened the window and turned him into his bird form so that he may flee. But he didn't. Instead, Crow went to attack the Master only to be harmed in return. Naomi's eyes widened as she caught her friend in her arms, his body twitching from the pain. She could care less if she was put in harm's way, but her friend was the little bit of happiness in her world.

"You ought to rot, b*****d," Naomi hissed at the Master before going to the basement to give Crow a potion to heal him.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

The Master knew she had no fear. He smirked and turned on his heel as she left leaving the shop to burn.

Yuuki was half way down the tunnel near the shop when she smelt the fire. Her eyes widened. Her friends! She turned and quickly found somewhere to dig through to get them out. "Naomi!" She called when she got through the wall into the basement. "Naomi this way! Come with me!"  

[The Madame Red]

"It matters not where my shop is built or burns," Naomi released Crow, though he refused to fly off, "Wherever I stand, I grow only stronger, wiser, and he will pay for scorning me."

Naomi smiled at Crow as she stepped through the fire, the flames unable to touch her as she wielded her magic, "Go now, Crow. I will watch my front burn while I plan my next move."

Crow flapped his wings as he dodged one of the stabilizers fell. He didn't want to leave Naomi, he feared she would get hurt. But he could see the look in her eyes. She had already had a plan. Forcing himself to fly out, he watched as the store crumbled to pieces within minutes. Slave owners from all over town went to see their main vendor's store fall to pieces. Once the smoke cleared, only Naomi stood with a cup of tea in her grasp.

She glanced at the slave owners with a proud smile on her face, "Look at this, men. You better get a good understanding that trying to destroy me isn't going to be easy."

"Lady Naomi!" Hiro ran towards the rubble, "You are unharmed? Oh thank goodness."

"Well, boss," Naomi approached him, "I would like a new store built right here. Clean it up so that I may continue my business here."

"Will do," Hiro smiled, "Where will you take residence at?"

Naomi saw the confused expressions on her other clients and stated loudly, "I will continue my trade and residence at the inn. Crow."

She transformed him back into his human form and he landed gracefully on the ground, "Start taking orders from my clients, and bring the first pack of slaves to my room at the inn for me to clean up."

The kitsune woman looked to Yuuki, her eyes cold and her face expressed no emotion, "You and your boss won't be getting any of my slaves. Your underground-s**t hole can go ******** itself."

Naomi turned on her heel and went to the inn as the other slave owners followed her to get their orders taken care of. Crow approached Yuuki as he scratched the back of his head, "You really need to tell your master that it's best not to mess with her now. She'll be running this town in no time if he keeps this up."  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Yuuki's eyes turned cold. "He's an OniiKitsune, look him up. She will never win." Yuuki said. "She should have left with me when I offered. She brought this war on herself. And I will have no part in them doing this. This is only the beginning." She turned away from it all. "Besides. . . I expect her clinetel will be just you after tonight." Already she could hear the screams as humans died. "Read on them. OniiKitsune are ones you do not mess with." She turned her eyes to Hiro. "Tell her when she's ready to hear it, that only I hold the key to ending this. When she is ready, tell her to find me in the Safe Haven."  

[The Madame Red]

Business was back to booming. Naomi had orders up to a few months ahead and she would have to work extra hard if she was going to have a new store to open and act like nothing was wrong. She regretted from ever making such a piss-poor deal with such a disgusting fox. Then, chained slaves were brought where she had them sit on the floor until she knew what to do with them.


"Tell her yourself," Crow seemed colder as he bumped his shoulder into Yuuki's, "As of now...I can't trust you to not do the same thing as your boss."

"You should stay underground," Hiro commented as he looked to Yuuki, "Though you look like you should still be working as the rest of your kind."

He didn't mean it, but he was angry. Slaves or not, everyone deserved to be treated with dignity and respect. This underground people knew neither. They were monsters as of now. Hiro went back to making sure the other workers were hydrated and helped them as much as he could.

Crow turned away from Yuuki and went to gather more orders from the clients asking for Naomi. He then took a chain that linked five slaves together to take back to Naomi for her to pretty up and sell.