Chapter Text
Yuichi Usagi had not been dealt the best hand of cards when it came to life, but he did the best with what he got.
The Hidden City had offered him multiple chances to be all sorts of things. A magic wielding yokai. A waiter at a hot dog restaurant. A warrior. But of all those things, Usagi had turned to the Battle Nexus. Usagi was a samurai, born and trained to fight. He had chosen to leave his old life in Japan behind, but he hadn’t turned away from fighting. That’s why he had left, actually. To find a reasonable sensei to train him. It didn’t get him anything good but a taste for fighting dirty. Nobody had wanted to take up the sad rabbit from nowhere. Nobody cared about his family name. They just didn’t want to train him. Too brash. Too arrogant. Won't ever get anywhere in life. As time went on, Usagi grew to care less about what he had been told as a child. You need a Sensei, Usagi. Psh, yeah right. Usagi grew angry, got into a few fights, and next thing he knew he was looking to become someone. He wanted his name to be known.
So Usagi trained himself. And he was damn good at it.
And thanks to the Battle Nexus, he had a reason to fight every day.
Usagi had just finished a fight, and was laying starfish style on his bed, trying to catch his breath. Fights were riveting. Each of them were a test of his abilities, with all kinds of yokai battling against him. He always won. Obviously . There wasn’t a single fight he couldn’t win, and he had guaranteed that to Big Mama the first time he had signed her contract. The contact had guaranteed him a room and other necessities, as long as he agreed to fight for her and only her, and was bound to the Battle Nexus. Not that he had wanted to sign the contract, but a place to sleep was a place to sleep. He didn’t need a home. He just needed to survive and fight. And the Battle Nexus allowed him to fight without any repercussions. Nothing to lose. Except, of course, his entire being. That belonged to Big Mama…
The sound of footsteps approached the door, and Usagi hoped it was someone bringing his usual snack choice of carrots (he had been banned from grapes after accidentally getting one stuck in his nose). However, Usagi caught sight of one of Big Mama’s guards outside the door, a dog yokai Usagi didn’t know the name of. Or cared to know the name of.
The dog yokai knocked on his door, yet stuck his head inside without a heads up. “Big Mama is calling for you.”
Usagi groaned. Fights were exhausting, and Usagi liked to take all his time in between fights to rest. “What does she want?”
“Just come on.”
“Fine, fine,” Usagi mumbled, pushing himself out of bed and following the yokai out the door. They walked through the hallways, all the way up to Big Mama’s office. Usagi didn’t go in there much. If anything, Big Mama came to him, or she sent her minions (she hated it when he used that word) to deliver whatever she was going to say. Going to Big Mama’s office was either a privilege or a death sentence. Literally. Usagi had seen people escorted to her office and never come out. Sure hope that’s not what we’re meeting for, she could have at least fed me before she kills me.
Usagi waited as the dog yokai entered the large red door to Big Mama’s office, speaking to her in hushed tones. He waved Usagi inside Big Mama’s office. “She’ll see you now.”
Usagi waltzed inside, throwing finger guns at Big Mama. “Ayyy, if it isn't Big Mama!” He froze when he caught sight of someone else in the room, sitting across from Big Mama’s desk. “Oh…”
Usagi stared at the…whatever the heck the giant yokai was cramped in the velvet chair in front of Big Mama’s desk. The yokai was huge , towering over Usagi by at least two feet. They were covered head to toe in armor, the golden armor by their face poking up like horns. He stared Usagi down with orange eyes, the color of fire and destruction. Usgai didn’t let his nerves show, smiling up at the bulky yokai. “Hello.” He looks like a ray of sunshine .
“Glad you could join us, my little samurai.” Big Mama smiled at Usagi. “Usagi, this is Baron Draxum. Baron Draxum, this is Yuichi Usagi. One of my finest champions.”
Baron Draxum didn’t give so much as a nod. “Hm.”
“Anyways,” Big Mama continued, “Draxum has asked to speak with you. We’ve made a bit of a deal together, and congratulations, you’ve been tasked with an assignment!”
Usagi raised an eyebrow. “Assignment?”
Baron Draxum cleared his throat. “I’ve been searching for someone like you to help me perform a task,” he said in a deep voice. “Luckily, Big Mama said you would be up for the challenge.”
The Draxum guy didn’t look too friendly, but if he was an acquaintance of Big Mama, that meant Usagi would have to deal with him. “Which is?”
From the belt of his armor, Draxum took out a piece of paper. A photo, Usagi realized at closer notice, and set it down on Big Mama’s desk. It was a blurry photo, like it was taken from security camera footage, of four turtle yokai. They couldn’t have been much older than Usagi, though they were all clearly different ages. They donned masks, each in a different color, and weapons in their hands. “These turtles are currently trying to intercept my very important plans,” Draxum explained. “I created them many years ago with the intent of them serving in my army, but they were stripped away from me, and are now nothing but annoying pests who are always getting in the way. Have you ever seen them before?”
Usagi didn’t get out much. He shook his head. “Nope.”
“Well, you’ll be getting to know them very soon. They’re currently the only thing in my way from accomplishing my current goal, and I need a means of stopping them. But they’re unpredictable, wild, and always unexpected.” He smiled coldly. “That is where you come in. You will serve as my spy.”
Usagi’s eyes widened. A spy ? That was a first for him. Big Mama had sent him to track down people, or threaten someone for information, but never spy . “What kind of spy things will I be doing?”
“You’ll gather information on the turtles. Let me know their every waking move. Who they are. What they’re planning. Anywhere they go. You’ll be my eyes.”
Spying was hard work. You had to blend in, and Usagi wasn’t sure how well he could blend in with a group of seemingly delinquent turtle teens. “How exactly am I getting to them? I mean, it’s not like they’re gonna trust me right away.”
Draxum tapped on the photo, right above one of the younger turtles. He was a teenager, about Usagi’s age, wielding an odachi. There were streaks of red peeking out from behind his blue ninja mask. “This is the one they call Leonardo,” Draxum told Usagi. “He’s not the smartest of the bunch. He’s loud, brash, rather annoying. Thinks he’s the best at everything.” Usagi was beginning to see Draxum’s grudge against them. “But he is not naive. However, I think you can get to him through…making friends.”
Usagi crossed his arms. “You want me to become his best friend? Easy. I’m very likable.” Big Mama snorted, and Usagi pretended not to hear.
“More, actually. I want you to become his…more than a friend.”
If Usagi had drunk something, he would have spit it all over Draxum. Now that he thought about, he wished had drunk something. Added to the dramatic flair. “ What ?” he yelled, nearly jumping out of his seat. “You want me to date that guy? He sounds like a total prick.”
“It would only be for a small amount of time, until I’m able to accomplish a few things. Then, you’ll be free of that responsibility.”
Usagi took the photo, staring at the turtle yokai. Leonardo. Draxum was expecting Usagi to do something that felt rather impossible at the moment. Usagi could lie, cheat, deceive. But it was harder to do when it came to someone’s heart. Playing with the mind was easy, the heart was tougher. But how hard could it be? He slayed yokai of all kinds on the daily, and was one of the best champions Big Mama had. If he could do that, he could accomplish a simple spy mission. “What do I get out of it?” Usagi ventured. If Big Mama had taught him anything, it was that there was also something to be gained.
Draxum laughed. “That’s easy. Eternal glory. My trust. Anything else?”
Usagi glanced over at Big Mama, then back to Draxum. “I want freedom from Big Mama’s contract.”
“What ?” This time, it was Big Mama that was outraged. “But, rabbity-boo, we made a deal! My deals cannot be broken that easily.”
“Then I don’t do the assignment. Sorry. Whatever Draxum promised you in return is down the drain.”
Big Mama narrowed her eyes at Usagi from behind her glasses. “How do you know if he promised me something?”
“I know how you play, Big Mama. There always needs to be something in return. And this is what I ask for.” Usagi crossed his arms. “I’ll still fight in the Battle Nexus, I can promise you that, but I don’t want to be under contract. I’m free to go anywhere and fight anyone I want. I’m not bound to you.” He looked at Draxum. “That’s my offer. If you can’t get me that, it’s a no-go.”
Both Draxum and Big Mama looked impressed while simultaneously looking like they wanted to strangle Usagi. It was a look he got a lot. Big Mama tapped her chin. “I suppose if you still fight for me, I can spare the risk.” She sighed. “Alright, rabbity-boo, I will terminate your contract if you are able to succeed.”
“Because if you don’t,” Draxum continued, “I’ll kill you.”
Usagi froze. That escalated quickly. He laughed nervously, hoping it was a joke but Draxum did not smile. “You’ll know too much if you fail. I can’t have you running the streets with all that information.”
“So, it’s either I accomplish this or I die?”
“I doubt you’ll die. You’ve been trained for this.” Draxum smirked, and Usagi just knew that Draxum knew what he was doing. Usagi squirmed. “Make us proud. Make the yokai proud.” Draxum leaned back in his chair. “What I am doing can affect the entire species of the yokai. You don’t want the yokai to die, do you?”
It was more than just a personal grudge then, clearly. Obviously Usagi didn’t want the yokai to die. They were his people. Even if half of them were total pricks who didn’t know a single thing about fighting. “No.”
“Then help me stop these turtles. What I’m trying to do can save the yokai. I can’t have these pests ruining it.” His eyes narrowed. “They’ll do anything it takes to prevent me from saving the yokai.”
“Why would they do that? That’s awful.” Usagi glared at the faces of the brothers in the photo. So these were the bad guys his family had predicted he’d fight. They looked rather…pathetic.
“They were raised by an awful person. A man who wants his revenge on our kind.” He tilted his head. “Can you do it? Can you stop them?”
Usagi ran his fingers through his fur. It would be tricky, getting this Leo to trust him. If these turtles really were trying to stop Draxum from saving the yokai, then Usagi needed to stop them. He wasn’t going to let four turtles get the best of him. Draxum and Big Mama were expecting him to do this. If he could do this, he could be a hero. Everyone will know my name.
Not to mention, he could die if he didn’t. He shuddered. He really didn’t want to die. He had come this far.
“I can do it,” Usagi answered. “But I’ll need all the information I can get on where I can find the turtles.”
“That, I can help you with,” Big Mama poked in. “Those turtley-boos are always dilly-dallying around Run of the Mill Pizza. They’re ravenous for it. Makes me rather queasy.”
Usagi would start there then, as soon as Draxum gave him the okay. Speaking of which…”How do I communicate with you?” Usgai asked Draxum.
Draxum reached into his armor and brought out a small, round gadget that looked like a spare part to a car rather than a communication device. “Use this. Just tap on the middle three times when you want to reach me. Or tap twice to send a message rather than speak.” Usgai slipped the device into the pocket of his pants. “If the turtles give you anything, anything at all, you’re to talk to me. Got it? Alert me before any attacks they might try on me.”
“Okay.”
Draxum grinned, about as friendly and sharp as the blade of a katana, and outheld his hand. “So, do we have a deal, Usagi?”
Usagi took one last glance at the picture on Big Mama’s desk. These turtles were the enemy, he told himself. He could spare risking a few lives. He did it everyday. Whatever Draxum chose to do with them when Usagi was done was his business. Besides, Usagi wasn’t going to risk his life and not make the deal. There was too much at risk. Luckily, Usagi liked risks. He liked danger. And he damn well liked victory.
He shook Draxum’s hand, “It’s a deal.”