A House or a Shelter? (Fumio and open)

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Fluttershy walked up to her porch with her arms cupped and held close to her chest as she carefully leaned to open the door. She was carrying several small furry bundles that shifted slightly; a small head with triangular ears poked up as one of the kittens mewled. Yes, these were kittens that she had found all alone on the side of the road on her way back from her shift. They were just too young to be all out and alone, she had thought, so he had decided to bring them back to her house and take care of them herself. Of course, upon walking into the living room of her home, it would be clear to anyone who walked in that this wasn’t the first pet she had decided to take care of…

Three parakeets were perched on the back of a chair and chirping up a storm; their cages having been left wide open. A brown rabbit was sitting on the rug, it’s long ears flicked up as he heard Fluttershy walk in. There was a chipmunk scaling along the mantle, a frog in the kitchen sink, a ferret racing around the table legs, and an iguana kept in a tank by the television. That didn’t even include the porcupine who was roaming lazily around the halls, the one that Fluttershy had found outside of her yard and feared it would be lost and alone without any other porcupines nearby.
It did seem that Fluttershy was starting to have a problem with the amount of animals she was taking in. Well, maybe not in the view of a pegasi pony who had literally lived in a tree house in the middle of a shelter overrun with animals. Having a house full of them seemed more like home, but she did have to admit that she was feeling very, very homesick lately, and the more homesick she became, the more critters suddenly showed up at her house. Of course they would never replace the attachment she had to the critters she had left behind; they all held something special to her, and Angel so far was irreplaceable. There wasn’t one rabbit that could replace him, not even friendly little Choco Puff (the brown rabbit she had so kindly named). There might not be anything that could fill that void, but seeing so many furry faces at home now at least made her feel slightly at home when she wasn’t working shifts at the pet store. They also gave her something to do, and who wouldn’t want to take care of a growing crowd of critters all day? She hoped that her housemates wouldn't mind it. A critter could brighten up anyone's day, right?

“Alright cute little kittens, I’m going to set you down right here in this nice and cozy little bed,” Fluttershy said quietly as she found a small box and set it down by the couch. She put one of her fuzzy blankets inside of it before settling them in. “See? I bet that is much better than the prickly grass. Now, hold on just a moment as I check on the other critters- Oh, Mr. Prickles, I see you are enjoying the couch…” Fluttershy turned her head to see that the porcupine was trying to scale up onto the cushions. “And… now, Ferry Ferretson, be careful on that lamp. I don’t want you to fall and hurt yourself!” She softly warned the ferret, who was attempting to scale to the top of the lampshade.
“Oh well, I guess it is about feeding time too. I’d better get the food ready,” The pink-haired girl said with a smile as she headed to the kitchen, leaving the critters to their activities.

[Guts Blackhound]

Where was he meant to go again? He was sure it was around here somewhere. Someone had said that there was a shortcut to his house down this path, but the surroundings did little to help him. Everything just looked the same to him here! The buildings all bled into one after a while with nothing to tell them apart, not unlike a concrete Jungle. He remembered there was large cities and towns back where he hailed, but most of the time one was able to tell certain houses apart from differences in materials and color. Here, it all just looked the same after a while with nothing aside from numbers differentiating them.

As much as he hated to admit it, he would need some help finding his way back home. He hadn't been here long, and though he was loathe to admit it he was in need of help. But, where could he get assistance?
Stopping in-front of a house which had just closed the door, he realised his answer had arrived.

Wasting no time, he walked over towards the recently closed door, stopping upon reaching it. He raised his prosthetic hand up to the door, knocking on it four times before waiting for an answer.

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Fluttershy was half way into the kitchen when loud knocks sounded at the door. She froze in place and cast a hesitant glance over shoulder at the closed front door. Visitors? Now? But- who could it be?
“Oh, don’t worry critters, I’m sure that is just Twilight coming by to say hello, or maybe Rainbow Dash or our new friend Henry…” She was reassuring herself more than the critters, who had simply continued to roam about the living room. Still, she couldn’t help but feel very uneasy, as she usually did when she wasn’t absolutely completely positive that she knew the person who was at the door.

Almost without realizing it, she had scooped up Choco Puff in her arms before walking over to the door. One of the parakeets flew to perch on her shoulder, and Mr. Prickles lumbered close behind her as if wanting to be where the excitement was. She stopped at the door and opened it up a little less than a fourth of the way to see who it was that was on her porch. “H-hello?” She said in a quiet whisper.

Ok, so it wasn’t Twilight… or Rainbow Dash, or Henry for that matter. Instead she found herself staring up at a huge man with a scarred face who looked rather…. frightening. Fluttershy’s eyes rounded and she froze, staring up at him for several moments before slowly and shakily starting to close the door. She normally would’ve had shut it in an instant, but it seemed that the shock of this situation delayed her reaction a bit.

[Fumio Yoshi]

Fumio had pulled his work van into the driveway. The day had been annoying. First was the Neanderthal superhero who replied to everything Fumio said with Unga Bunga. Then came repairng the car of this crazy blonde with a pink jumpsuit who kept wondering why using a powderpuff wasn't helping the intake manifold. Then there was that strange guy who had an obvious villian moustache and kept kicking the dog next to him while Fumio repaired the ice maker. He had to wait for the cops to arrive, one of which had a set of reptile like eyes, Officer Savage or something like that. And finally there was John Bolton who was a pleasent conversationalist for him, but kept trying to "assist" in his work. Smart lad, but you don't get in the way of someone who is trying to get a job done.

After the customary face plant into the van horn which ended his work day, she got out of the van and noticed a big guy standing the the door step of his temporary living quarters. Grabbing his big gulp and pizza slice form the 7-11 down the way, he walked up while taking a sip. "Hi, anything we can help you with?"

[Guts Blackhound]

Noticing the door closing, albeit at a snails pace, Guts moved his prosthetic arm out to stop it from closing entirely. The metal hand was used to stop it from keeping him entering or speaking to the woman behind it, the black swordsman merely raising an eyebrow as his eye focused on the pink haired woman. There was also the fact that countless animals seemed to gather around the woman in the brief moment he saw into the hallway, making him think there was some kind of pest problem in this house.

Just as he was about to open his mouth he heard a voice from behind him, slowly turning to find another man walking up the path. He was carrying items in his arms he didn't recognize, but his question was easy enough to answer.
"Yeah. I'm a bit lost, thought i'd ask for directions. I'm looking for...number...12?"

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Fluttershy shrunk a little as the large man stopped the door from closing and the parakeet on her shoulder squawked. She shifted her widened gaze and then exhaled as she suddenly heard another voice behind him, asking him what he needed. At least it meant she wasn’t alone with the scary man on her doorstep who refused to let her close the door to hide from him.

“Umm, it’s on the other side of the street, down that way…” Fluttershy’s voice was a hardly audible meek whisper as she raised a hand to point to her left. This was house 1, so any other houses would be further down the street, the odd being on one side and the even on the other. She really hadn't wanted to say anything to such a terrifying figure, but she had hoped that it might lead him away from her house. She quickly pulled her hand back again to hold the brown bunny closer. Meanwhile, Mr. Prickles had taken it upon himself to squirm past the opening in the door and waddle over to the large man’s feet. She wanted to reach over and pull him back to safety, but she had her hands full with critters at the moment.

[Fumio Yoshi]

Fumio walked up to his temporary domicile and just stood there, despite how large and scary looking the man was and just calmly talked to him. "House 12 is on the other side of the street. Just head down 5 houses and it's there." He bent down to pet Mr Prickles, setting his pizza on the railing. "I'm actually supposed to be going there tomorrow to fix the dryer. So I wouldn't recommend doing any laundry tonight."

[Guts Blackhound]

Guts raised an eyebrow when the man spoke of doing repairs on the dryer, unfamiliar with what it was. He guessed it was something that dried things, although last his memory served people tended to hang wet clothing out in the sun and wait for it to dry. He had seen some hung up during his travels through this new world, but he chose to not ask. Every other time he opened his mouth to ask even the simplest question in this place it usually resulted in a headache.
"Right. This place is confusing, everything looks the same." He sighed, jerking a thumb towards the door."You might also wanna check your house, i think there's a hole in there or something 'cause the wildlife's broken in."

His gaze soon fell upon the Porcupine, and immediately the black swordsmans eye widened. It looked like a rat that was covered in spikes, very sharp spikes. On instinct, a hand went to the back of his neck to hover over the brand. No blood and no pain were felt, and normally that would be enough. However, the shift had changed the rules: His brand wouldn't have worked anyway even if there was a monster right in-front of him, for the magic that had caused it was dampened. And if that was the case, then he had to make certain it was not a demon.
His brow furrowing and his eye narrowing on the spiny creature in Fumio's hands, he took a step forwards."You might wanna drop the monster, or are you two working with this thing?" It made some strange sense. The lack of care for animals invading her property, the ease of the woman and man around this strange spiky furball: It was trying to make spawn, or perhaps it was one to an already existing demon that lay here. Or, was it one of the pair before him that was the demon? It was the perfect setup, nobody in this place would have been the wiser."It was a dumb move to come out in the open though, should have just skulked in the shadows where your kind belongs demon. Even here your kind stands out."

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“N-no sir, the critters didn’t break in; they live here now,” Fluttershy spoke in a very quiet tone after hearing the two converse. She glanced first and the rabbit in her arms and then down to Mr. Prickles, who was currently being patted by Fumio.

She stiffened however as she noticed the man’s eyes shift to Mr. Prickles, with a sudden change in expression that she didn’t think she liked. It certainly wasn’t the soft and caring expression that she thought people should normally react to animals, and was becoming hard to borderline unfriendly by the second.

“Monster? Oh no, Mr. Prickles is not a monster; he’s just a lonely little porcupine!” Fluttershy answered calmly and anxiously inched more through the doorway towards her critter. “Aren’t you, Mr. Prickles?” She cooed as she petted the porcupine on the head, to which the porcupine took little to no notice of as it shuffled along the porch. She had no idea what the large man meant by working for him. “If you mean feed him and take care of him, then yes- I take good care of him like I do all of the other critters. They are all safe and happy living inside a nice sheltered home.”

Her eyes widened when he called her porcupine friend a demon. She didn’t know much about demons, except that they were supposedly extremely scary and evil creatures that no one had really seen before. The scariest and the most evil, with no believed goodness in them. Just hearing about them had always made her want to head for shelter and hide. How could he call her precious animal a demon? He hadn’t even gotten to know him for one, but to go that far with it? Her animals didn’t deserve to be treated so unkindly by a stranger!

“Listen here, Mister; Mr. Prickles is not a demon!” She replied shortly. Her blue-green eyes had narrowed slightly as she stared up at him through a curtain of her pink hair. It was the beginning of an expression that was very rarely seen in the always-so-timid pegasi. When it began to show though, one always knew that they had done something very wrong in her eyes.
Luckily for Guts, Flutters was willing to wait for an apology before falling right into her famous stare. A very patient girl she was, but after all the trauma she continuously fell into in the past few days, one man calling her pets demons was enough to break her passive streak for just a single moment.

[Fumio Yoshi]

Being a six foot tall member of the Trachemys Scripta Elegans that regularly ran along rooftops, through sharpened peices of metal and fought men in suits while using a big stick, he had been called a demon before, this didn't phase him. It was when the large man reached behind his back. This motion was common in himself and one of his brothers, he was reaching for a weapon. Instinctivly, he reached over to the broom on the porch. By the time he had, fluttershy had moved in front of him. The broom handle was basically sitting just above her shoulder as he took his defensive combat stande. The brush head just inches from his chest.

He was going to pair his battle stance with a snappy phrase, but the Pink haired one was already ripping into him. Though he couldn't see her face, the air around her did feel the same as when his younger borhter ticked off one of his elder brothers. While it seemed like she could handle herself, his training wasn't about to let him drop the guard when he didn't know what weapon the man was reaching for.

[Guts Blackhound]

A stick? That man was going to try to fight him with a stick? Well, he had to applaud his resourcefulness if nothing else. But, he had a feeling he could still take them and get at the monstrosity that he guarded. He was at a slight disadvantage given that he didn't have his sword with him, but he figured that this was just a regular worker. No combat experience, just someone acting on instinct. He was brave, but the stick wasn't going to save him if he didn't know how to use it properly.

Moving into a stance to prepare for a charge, eye narrowed in concentration at his enemy, ready to take the supposed inexperienced civilian (Completely unaware of the mans true capabilities) when his path was blocked by none other then the pink haired woman.

“Listen here, Mister; Mr. Prickles is not a demon!”

Turning his attention to the woman he had previously believed to not be worth his time, Guts' gaze was met by a surprisingly angry frown. He was surprised; He'd had her pegged as one of those meek house wives that would hide from danger rather then face it. Yet here she was, standing in his way without a hint of fear. The glare she leveled at him, a look of pure disdain, and the willingness to confront him in spite of who he was. It reminded him...of her.

#

"All you care about is swinging your sword against others. You don't care at all about the lives of the men you lead; you're just a mad dog! "

"Why you? Why did he choose you of all people? Why you?"


"You're just like Griffith! Your dream is everything to you! You only think about yourself! You don't give a damn whether or not I'm around, do you?! Just GO! Do whatever the hell you want, don't look back! Wind up somewhere dead, alone, with your sword!"

#

For a while Guts simply stared at her, eye locked with hers in a narrowed gaze. But, slowly, his gaze softened and his stance relaxed as he continued to just stare in silence at the woman. He didn't seem angry anymore but instead distant as he recalled the memories. He looked almost...sad.

Just as quickly as the moment had come he closed his eye and sighed. Upon opening it he was again back to his neutral expression, staring down at Fluttershy again.
"So...It's not a demon, just part of the local wild life huh?" There was no snark or condescension in his reply, he was completely serious. He had honestly thought the porcupine had been some kind of monster. "Guess that's my mistake. Most creatures that I met up till now with spikes over them have been demons or monsters of some kind."

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As Fluttershy had stared at him, she suddenly noticed his expression had changed to a dull tone of what looked to her of sadness. Realizing that she might have just upset him by the way she spoke out, she quickly dropped her gaze and her shoulders drooped as she relaxed the angered tension in her muscles. She stared meekly down as she spoke to avoid upsetting the man further. “Oh, I- I’m very sorry. I shouldn’t have used such a harsh tone. I hope I didn’t upset you.” She hugged the rabbit closer in her arms. She really was out of sorts from being here to have let someone get to her like he had. It normally took a lot for that to happen.

“Oh, that’s ok, he really is a good friend once you get to know him. And yes; I found him in the backyard. He didn’t have anywhere nice to live until now…” She shuffled a foot uncomfortably as the conversation continued; still worried that she had upset him. She didn’t like raising her voice or upsetting others.

[Fumio Yoshi]

Spinning the broom to his side, and resting it against the wall, not seeing any aggression coming from him. "I completely understand. You see one guy in a suit with a brian popping out his stomach, you get a bit nervous about all guys in suits." Stepping back next to Fluttershy, he put his hand on her shoulder. You ok Shy?

[Guts Blackhound]

Guts looked at Fumio for a moment, but his once again neutral expression didn't change.
"You fought monsters too huh?" He was starting to wander if this man was more then just a simple denizen of this place. He seemed rather composed all things considered, and the fact he had not only stood his ground but had mentioned strange men with stomachs filled with brains made him wander.

He turned back to Fluttershy for a moment, noticing the quick return to the meek woman from before. He sighed, crossing his arms."If I was upset by something you did, you would know it..." He looked between them again, thinking them an odd pair. He didn't utter the word as a threat, instead he sounded rather serious, almost brutally so. This wasn't confidence in his tone, it was something far more terrifying: certainty."But, you didn't so don't worry about it. Guess I should let you and your husband get back to whatever you were doing." Given they lived together he just assumed they were husband and wife. They didn't look even remotely related, hence why he crossed siblings off the list and leaving only one option: A married couple.

He gently pat Fluttershy on the shoulder with his non Prosthetic hand, moving passed her and back towards the exit.

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A guy in a suit with a brain popping out of his stomach?! Fluttershy had paled at the horrifying image and shifted her gaze nervously toward the street, expecting to see him nearby and walking up to her house. She jumped when Fumio put a hand on her shoulder and realized that her hands were shaking again. “Oh- um, yes… I’m- I’m ok...” The pink-haired girl made a mental note to stay out of the Suits way even more so than she usually did from now on…

A bit of her tension vanished as Guts spoke again. She was relieved that she might not have upset him as much as she had feared, though she would be worried about it regardless. It was her fault, after all, for losing her temper as she had.
 “My- husband? Oh no, no… it’s nothing like that…” Fluttershy’s face turned bright red with embarrassment and she stared at the ground as she stroked little Choco Puff behind the ears. She couldn’t even manage to say anything else, and glanced up at Fumio shyly.