1 Chapter 1

The towering clock in the city's center rang with a loud gong as the hour hand struck seven. The ringing woke Zack up with a start. He banged his head on the bed above him as he jolted up. Beside him, his sister Lapis was trying hard not to laugh at him as he looked around in absolute confusion.

"Good morning," she said, trying not to giggle. "Mama made breakfast."

Rubbing his head, Zack smiled at Lapis and blushed. "Thanks sis," he said as his stomach growled. He skipped dinner last night, so he was starving this morning. He swung his legs off his bed, and jumped off, only for Rubi to pounce on him from above. Rubi purred and nuzzled Zack as Lapis burst into laughter.

"She always gets you," she said through huffs, "and it never gets old!"

Breakfast was very successful. Mother Maline had managed to get the girls their favorite food: Fish. For Zack, she had gotten him a cooked rare hunk of meat. The girls mostly took their time eating as Zack sank his teeth into his meat and yanked a piece off. The girls had begun to chat amongst themselves, talking about what boys looked at them, or what dresses they wanted to wear today.

All except Lapis and Zack. They were talking about the Kemono Tournament last night. Zack was still disappointed that his favorite fighter had lost. Lapis' spotted tail swished from side to side as she talked to Zack about it. He ranted for a while as Lapis just chuckled.

Eventually, Maline grabbed everyone's attention with a gentle meow. "Today is a special day for one of you. Can anyone tell me who?"

The girls started chattering amongst themselves again. Zack leaned in to listen this time. Maline had sparked his curiosity. Meanwhile, Lapis simply smirked at her brother.

Eventually, Maline spoke up again when it became clear nobody really knew, or at least Zack anyway. "Today is a special day for one of you." She looked at Zack. "Perhaps one of you can tell me who?"

The girls looked Zack's way. Zack smiled.

"Happy Birthday little Brother!"

Zack Harper smiled warmly. He turned 13-years old today. He was still the youngest of the siblings, but it still felt nice to feel more grown up. Strangely enough, it felt odd to have grown up in a family like this.

This was because his family wasn't like him.

They weren't human…

They were animals. Human-like Animals, or Anthros as they were called.

Maline Winterclaw and her five daughters were Snow Leopards. Each of them had soft, white fur covered in beautiful spots. They had long, beautiful tails that swished from side to side, conveying emotions. Each of the girls had long, dark grey hair that was cut in multiple ways. Each of the girls had their own names.

The second youngest was Opal, who was 15. Her hair was cut in a short bob style, and her eyes were silver. Opal was somewhat of a baby. Despite being older than Zack by two years, she behaved like a child. She often cuddled up to Maline when she was scared.

Twins Sapphi and Rubi were 16 years old. They wore matching pigtails that hung down to their waists. They both had one red eye and one blue eye, reflected on each other. Sapphi and Rubi were always at each other's side. The two were also pranksters. They would often play tricks on Zack, but it was usually out of playful banter.

Diopsi was one of the oldest, being 17. Her hair was short, like a man's hair, and her eyes were a deep green. She seemed to be cold and aloof. She often yelled at everyone around her to leave her alone.

Lapis was the oldest of the girls, being 18. Her hair was the longest, and she had dyed it a soft light blue at the ends of her bangs. Her eyes were a calming Navy blue, matching her personality. Lapis was known in the family for calming fights with her gentle demeanor. She hated fighting among friends and family. Even though her sisters annoyed her at times, she always handled the situation calmly.

Zack didn't stay with his real parents. They left him when he was young. Maline took him in at that time, and he lived with her and her daughters ever since. Zack was very grateful for that, because in a city like this, that could get you killed.

Maline came over to Zack and rubbed his orange hair. "Happy Birthday dear," she said softly.

Zack smiled happily. "What're we doin' today?" He asked excitedly.

"Don't look at us," Lapis laughed, "It's your choice today!"

Zack thought for a moment. He hadn't really thought about what he wanted to do. He was lucky that his birthday was during the summer, so he didn't have school. Still, he didn't have any plans today.

Zack shrugged. "Maybe visit the bookstore?"

Maline nodded. "Do you have money?"

Zack nodded.

Maline smiled. "Alright then," she sighed as she turned to Lapis. "Lapis dear, will you take him to the bookstore?"

Lapis nodded. "I'd love to!"

Sapphi jumped up with Rubi. "Can we come?"

Zack smiled. "Sure," he said, "Why not?"

Zack, Lapis and the twins all scampered to their rooms to get changed. Zack threw on his grey sweatpants, followed by a light-blue hoodie and his cat-paw pendant. After putting on his shoes, he ran to the bathroom to wash himself. As he washed his face, he looked at himself in the mirror.

He was a young human boy. His skin was a fair color, and his eyes were a light blue. His bright-red hair was rather messy and unkempt.

After this, he ran after his sisters as they were getting in the car. He hopped into the back with Sapphi while Rubi sat in the front with Lapis. As he sat down, a thought struck him.

"Shoot," he cried out, "I think I forgot my wallet!"

Lapis simply laughed. "Don't worry about it," she said calmly, "I can pay for it."

The car started up with a gentle hum before beginning to hover, then Lapis slowly pulled out from the driveway of the large building that the family lived in onto the skyway.

Looking out the window, Zack took a good look at the neon city he lived in. It was a typical Cyberpunk city: cars flew about on the skyway past all of the glowing signs and buildings that were lit up with glowing neon streams that wrapped around the buildings to create different shapes. Wires hung from building to building, supplying the city with clean energy. Below, many anthropomorphic animals walked the streets of this city: Calico City.

It was daytime now, but Zack knew how beautiful the city was when it was nighttime. The humans who worked to build this city made sure of that.

Soon, Lapis pulled up to the Into the Wild Bookstore. As they got out, Lapis turned to Zack.

"Remember your hoodie little brother."

Zack flipped up his hoodie. He wasn't allowed to show his face in public stores. No human was, even if they weren't kept secret. Since he couldn't get a mask of his own, which cost more than the home he lived in, he simply wore a hood over his face to hide it.

They entered the store. Inside were an entire group of different Anthroes, most probably from outside the city: Wolves, snakes, lizards, rabbits, etc. Most of the Anthroes in Calico city were cats: Tigers, Lions, Persians, Bengals, and many more. It was unusual to see this many Anthroes from outside the city in one place today. However, Zack didn't seem to care at the moment. He took off with the twins to the Manga Section and started to scope out the Shonen Manga.

Lapis was curious as to what the occasion was. She approached the crowd, careful to keep an eye on Zack, and tapped the shoulder of a female skunk.

"Excuse me," she said, "I noticed that there was a crowd today. What's going on?"

The Skunk turned around in an excited manner. "Didn't you hear," she shouted, "One of the current Shojos is supposed to appear here today!" She did a little dance and went back into the crowd.

Lapis was surprised. A Shojo of all people was coming to Bokeh, to Calico City of all places. She knew that, along with the Shonen and the Seinen, the Shojo was one of the highest ranks of warriors to ever be achieved by anyone. To earn the rank of Shonen, Seinen, or Shojo was a huge honor.

Upon hearing this, Zack perked his head up. He turned around and ran to Lapis.

"Shojo," he asked excitedly, "Did she just mention a Shojo?"

Lapis nodded. "You've got great hearing."

Zack smiled from ear to ear. "I can't believe it! I'm gonna get to meet one of the current Shojos!"

Just then, the lights went out. In a brief moment, everyone was silent. And then, sparks of electricity began to burst from the ceiling and touched the ground in the center of the crowd. Lights flickered violently as a loud screech rang in everyone's ears. Bursts of air pushed against everyone like a strong wind. Finally, the bolts of electricity stopped, and in the center of the crowd was a beautiful female silver wolf. Her hair was long and hung down to her waist, and slightly darker than her silver fur. She lifted her head up, revealing a pair of ruby red eyes. She wore a white cloak over a black skin tight bodysuit.

"Apologies for frightening some of you," she said in a deep, British voice, "But I figured I would arrive in style."

The crowd cheered. Zack could hardly contain his excitement. "It's the Shojo herself: Thundering Wolf Topaz! I read all about her in my manga!"

Topaz seemed to hear this. She turned her head Zack's way and smiled. "It's an honor to hear that child…" There was a tone of confidence in her voice, almost kind of smug, yet it didn't come off as obnoxious.

"An honor indeed," said Zack excitedly. "I love your manga! You and Ice-Cold Leopard Dalite are two of my most favorite Shojos of all time!" He started to punch the air in a similar manner to martial arts. "I love your fighting! Nothing gets past your 'Fist of the Howling Moon!'"

"That may be true…" she started, "But it was Dalite who taught me a similar move. You should remember to give her thanks."

Zack nodded. Topaz wasn't one to take credit for her moves.

Lapis placed her paw on Zack's shoulder. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

Zack looked at his manga. Thundering Wolf Topaz, Ice-Cold Leopard Dalite, Flaming Tiger Net…

"Yep," he said cheerfully, "That's it!"

Zack and the others waved to Topaz. "We have to go…"

"Aww," Topaz hushed, "That's too bad. I never even caught your name…"

"I'm Zack: Zack Harper!"

Topaz smiled. "I hope to meet you again in the future…"

Zack came to the takeout desk and put his three books on the desk. A familiar face appeared and gleamed at him. "Hi Zack!"

"Hello Alex," Zack said, "I would like to check these books out please." He placed his books on the desk. Alex ran the barcodes across the scanner. Zack liked Alex. She was a pretty Siamese Cat. She finished ringing up his books. "That'll be...15 Dotas."

Lapis reached into her purse and pulled out a set of shiny rectangular sheets of colored metal. "Let's see...5...10...15! Here you go." She handed her three green-colored Dotas.

"Thank you Lapis," Alex said with a smile. She handed Zack a bag filled with his Manga. "Will there be anything else?"

Zack looked back at Sapphi and Rubi. The twins were busy reading something in the adult section…

"SAPPHI! RUBI! NO!" Lapis ran forward to grab the magazines the twins were holding as Zack tried to contain his laughter.

When they were done, the family came out of the store. Looking up, Zack saw that storm clouds were starting to form over the city. "Looks like it's gonna rain sis," he said with a slight bit of worry in his voice.

"Just a drizzle for now," said Lapis, "Nothing to worry about for a while." She knew that Zack hated the rain. He always had. In fact, the very sight of water left him uneasy. Soon, it started to rain, softly at first. However, it quickly began to get a little heavier. Lapis could see that Zack was beginning to get upset.

"Here."

Lapis closed her eyes and began to breathe slowly. Her tail swayed from side to side as she slowly lifted her arms upwards. At once, the rain stopped.

It floated over Zack's head in round bubbles-like droplets.

Lapis was keeping the water above them using a sort of psychic power.

Zack knew this power. It was Lapis' power; Blitz, as it was often called by Anthroes.

Lapis and the other girls had this power since they were little. Lapis was the one who trained it the most. That's why it was the strongest of the sisters' Blitz. Even Maline had this power.

Zack didn't have a Blitz.

Or at least, not yet. Even though Maline had taught him that only Anthroes could use and develop Blitz, something inside him always told him that, maybe, just maybe, he could get one too.

After all, anything is possible, right?

"Thanks," said Zack with a shudder.

Lapis chuckled. "Like I said, it's just a drizzle."

The twins laughed at Zack as he shot them a dirty look. "You girls just don't get it…"

"Oh…" said Rubi, "We get it…" She and Sapphi let out a devious snicker. Zack rolled his eyes.

The group started walking back to the car. After getting in, Zack dug through his bag and pulled out his manga. He flipped it open and started reading.

After a while, the group arrived home. Lapis helped Zack and the twins through the door with their bags. They didn't really need any help, but Lapis was known for being nice to everyone. As they came inside, Zack called out for Maline and the others.

"Mom? Girls? We're back…"

No response.

Zack looked around. The home seemed...empty. After a while, Zack started wandering around.

"Mom?"

Walking around, Zack and the other girls eventually came to the Living room. The rest of the family was sitting in front of the television with Maline. She was crying softly as Opal held her. Diopsi simply had her arms folded. Zack came over.

"Mom? Are you okay?"

Maline just continued to sob quietly as Opal snuggled deeper into her arms. Zack looked up at the television.

He quickly understood why they were crying.

"Breaking News! Human Trespassers seen attempting to possibly smuggle weapons aboard a skyway tram." The camera zoomed in on a group of city Hunters surrounding the corpses of a group of humans; a man, woman and two children. "These humans came from outside this city, so the likelihood of them carrying weapons was high. They needed to be dealt with swiftly."

The camera showed a pair of Hunters investigating the bodies. They were holding a camera, a phone, and a squirt gun. They broke these items and shoved them in a bag as they continued looking.

"Weapons?" Zack's heart began to race. "Those aren't weapons! Anyone can see that!"

"If it's from humans," Lapis said quietly, "They'll say just about anything to make them look bad…"

Eventually, one of the hunters held up a small tranquiliser gun. It was loaded with darts.

"This just in: One of the humans may have been attempting to drug and abduct a few kits on the train. There is no evidence of this, but the likelihood of this is extremely high."

Zack's eyes welled up with tears. "Th-that's a lie!"

Diopsi growled. "We see what we see! These humans had a tranquiliser with them!"

"What if they had a good reason?"

Diopsi glared at him. "What good reason? They're humans! They were planning on attacking some children!"

"You don't know that!"

"Maybe I don't need to!"

"Maybe they didn't deserve to die!"

"They're humans! They DID deserve to die!"

Zack and Diopsi started shouting at each other. Opal snuggled closer into her mother's belly.

"Stop it you two!"

Zack and Diopsi ignored her and raised their voices louder.

"YOU CAN'T SAY THAT ABOUT US!"

"I CAN SAY WHATEVER I WANT ABOUT YOU!!! YOU ALL DESERVE TO DIE!!!"

Lapis got close to the two and held her hands up. A small glow shone from her hands and glowed on their faces. At once, their voices quieted and they stopped.

"Please, you two. You shouldn't fight."

Zack had tears falling from his eyes, but he stepped down and stopped shouting, whimpering angrily.

Diopsi simply growled at him. "Why did you defend them?"

Zack looked at his feet. "We don't know for certain that they were guilty…"

"They had a tranquilizer!"

Maline turned to Diopsi. "Many Hunters use tranquilizers themselves."

Diopsi tried to say something, but she didn't seem to know what to say. She simply turned away from her family.

"If we hadn't gotten that human as a pet, I could have lived a normal life…"

She walked away.

Lapis wrapped her arms around Zack's shoulders and hugged him.

"I'm so sorry…"

Zack wiped his eyes. "It's not fair!"

Maline came over to Zack and hugged him. "I know it isn't fair. That's just the way things are."

"But why?" Zack's eyes started welling up again. "Why does it have to be this way?!"

Maline sighed. "I don't know…"

Zack wiped his eyes. He simply took off out of the home and ran down the road.

Maline simply sighed sadly.

"Mamma," asked Opal, "Do you think the news was telling the truth?"

Maline shook her head. "I don't think so. I know how corrupt the Hunters are."

Lapis looked back at the door where Zack had run out of. It had stopped raining.

Zack sat at the edge of the cliff that was overlooking the village on the edge. It was an old village, mostly broken down and abandoned. Nobody ever came here, so it was the best place to be alone.

Zack stared out over the horizon, over the edge of the island. Calico City was located on an island in the sky, somewhere both above and below the clouds, meaning that there were clouds above him and below him. It was actually really hard for humans to come to this island, just like it was hard for him to leave.

He clenched his fists at what he had seen on TV. It was so unfair. Nobody needed to be killed like this. He could understand if they actually had a gun or were attacking people, but they didn't. He knew they didn't mean any harm. What's more, Diopsi actually had the guts to say what she said.

"You all deserve to die..."

She had basically told him to die.

She wasn't the first to say that. He thought back to many other animals that had said that to his face.

"You creatures disgust me!"

"You don't belong here!"

"I hope you all die in the most painful way!"

"You should disappear!"

Zack wanted to cry.

"Everyone hates me…"

Why? Why did everyone hate him? Was it because he was human?

"Why did I have to be a human?"

Soon, Lapis came up behind him and sat down next to him.

"Hey Zack."

He didn't answer. Lapis scooched over to him and hugged him.

"I'm sorry about what happened…"

"Lapis," asked Zack, "Why does everyone in this city hate me?"

Lapis was quiet for a moment. "I don't hate you, and neither does Alex or your sisters, or Mama."

"I know," Zack said, "I mean everyone else in this city. Why is it that almost everyone tells me that I'm worthless?"

"I'm not sure…" Lapis sighed, "For some reason, Anthroes have just...always been the top dogs in this world."

"But why…" Zack began, tears welling up in his eyes, "Why do these people have to treat me like I'm dirt just because I'm human?!"

Lapis simply hugged him. "I wish I knew. I know it's unfair, but there's nothing I can do about it."

Zack wiped his eyes. "I know…" he whimpered. "I just want these people to see me as I really am. I don't hurt people. I'm not weak."

He stood up. "That's why I look up to the Shonens and Shojos. They help everyone, even humans." He paused for a moment, hesitating on what he was going to say. "That's why…"

Lapis tilted her head. "That's why...what?"

"That's why...one day," Zack continued, "I'll become a Shonen myself!" He clenched his fist. "I want to prove to everyone in this city that I can be SOMETHING, that I'm not a nobody." Tears fell from his eyes. "That's why I want to become...a Shonen!"

Lapis smiled. "I hope you do." She stood up. "That's why almost all of us pitched in and got you something." She waved her hands, conjuring up a wave of dew from the grass and trees leftover from the rain. Clenching her fingers, she made a pulling motion. A wave of water carried a large, slim box up the hill with Opal, Sapphi and Rubi following. The box landed in front of Zack as his sisters appeared.

"Go ahead," Rubi said, "Open it!"

Zack looked at the package, then gripped the wrapping and tore it off, then pulled the box open. Inside was a new outfit: A red jacket over a blue shirt/pants combo, Black fingerless gloves, and dark red sneakers. Zack was stunned. He didn't know what to say.

"Go ahead," Opal said, "Take it out and put it on!"

Zack blushed a little. "I-I can't! Out here?!"

Everyone laughed. "Just change in one of the huts!"

Zack blushed, then grabbed the outfit and dashed into one of the huts. His old clothes flew out, and a few moments later, Zack came out wearing his new outfit. His hair shined in the light of the coming sun, as did his pendant. Zack rarely took it off.

"Wow," Opal gasped, "You look like an actual Shonen!"

"I guess that's why we got it for you!"

Zack smiled warmly at that remark. "Should we head back? I bet Mom's getting worried."

Maline came up behind the girls. "No reason to worry sweetie." She smiled at him, and he smiled back.

"Hey," he sighed, "I'm really sorry about what happened earlier."

Maline gently rubbed his cheek with her paw. "It's fine. I know these things upset you." She hugged him. "Let's go back. I made you your favorite dinner."

Zack smiled as his stomach growled. As they turned back, however, Opal stopped and sniffed the air.

"What's wrong sis," Zack asked.

"There's someone nearby…"

Just then, four large wolves appeared from two huts. They were wearing Hunter Armor and had the most sinister looks Zack had ever seen.

"Miss Maline Winterclaw," one of them said, "It seems that you have broken one of the most important laws in this city."

Everyone froze at this in horror. "How did you know that?" Maline had kept him secret from the hunters, unless someone had finally told them about him.

"You honestly think we didn't know? All we needed was confirmation from someone outside your family." One of the hunters held up a beaten and bruised Alex. Zack stood in shock.

"S-sorry kiddo," she said weakly, "They forced it outta me…"

Zack felt his lip trembling. Even if he wasn't kept a secret in the city, no one could get the Hunters to kill him. That cost too much and everyone knew it. Besides, everyone, including the worst of the Anthroes, were afraid of the Hunters, so they wouldn't dare associate with them.

One of the Hunters came forward and grabbed Maline by the arm. "Let's go ma'am! You're under arrest."

Zack ran up and shoved one of the Hunters away. "Back off! She didn't do anything wrong!"

The huge wolf stumbled back in surprise, but started grinning again. "Tough guy, eh? Do you realize what kind of law she broke?"

"Yeah," cried Zack, "a STUPID law! You have no right killing her for this!"

One of the Hunters came forward and grabbed Lapis. "Say, this is a cutie ya got here!"

Lapis squirmed hard in the wolf's grip until Opal and the Twins lunged at him and bit and scratched him all over. He growled and threw them to the ground as Lapis broke free. Zack turned to see the Hunters starting to stomp on Opal.

"Leave her alone!"

He charged forward and threw a punch at one of the Hunters. He bashed him in the jaw and threw him back as another Hunter grabbed his shoulder and threw him to the side. Another caught him and threw him to the ground hard, and stomped on his shoulder with a loud crack. Lapis came forward and slashed her hand at the Hunter with a water blade, but he grabbed her hand and punched her in the stomach.

Zack slowly got up as the Hunters began to approach his family. They began to take out a set of some kind of weapon, appearing like some kind of taser. They aimed and fired at the family, shooting out some kind of net that trapped Maline and the girls. The nets sparked with energy as the girls struggled to escape. The Hunters came over and picked them up within the nets.

"Don't bother with your Blitz girls," said one of the Hunters, "This net disables them!" He threw Opal over his shoulder while chuckling.

"Leave them alone!"

The Hunters turned around to see him getting closer. His eyes were glowing softly.

"It seems we forgot about him, boys," one of the Hunters said. They set the girls down on the ground and turned their attention to Zack.

"You have no right to hurt them! Anyone can see that!" Sparks of energy started to flash in his hand.

The Hunters started to come closer. "Rights don't mean a thing! They kept a human like you as a pet! That's a crime!"

"A crime punishable by death," another Hunter cackled.

Sparks began to flash brighter in Zack's hand. "You will do NO SUCH THING! You'll leave them ALONE you...FLEABAGS!"

Most of the Hunters simply started growling at him. Fleabag was considered a slur towards Anthroes.

"What did you say, CREATURE?!" The Hunters started to approach Zack as the girls simply looked at him in surprise. Zack had never been known to say that. Even Zack was taken aback by his own words.

"I-I didn't mean…"

A Hunter came over and grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt. "You should have watched what you said human!" He took out a laser-knife and turned it on, ready to stab Zack as Sparks of energy flew from the boy's hand. He lunged forward.

"ZACK!"

A blue-ish sword cut through the Hunter's chest just before he could stab Zack. Blood trickled from the Hunter's muzzle and dripped to the ground. Zack pulled it free and the Hunter fell to the ground, dead.

Zack was in utter shock at what happened. He didn't even know WHAT happened. He looked down at the light blue sword in his hand as it sparked with energy and dripped with blood.

The Hunters didn't seem too upset by the death of their ally. They simply kept smiling as they all came closer to him.

"You're a lot luckier than we expected," said one of the Hunters, before he stuck his weapon in the ground. "But you forgot...luck doesn't always mean victory."

Before Zack had time to react, the Hunter yanked his weapon to the side, prying a bit of the land loose. The second he did this, the ground beneath him quickly started crumbling.

He remembered that he was at the edge of the island.

"NO!" Zack scrambled forward but it was no use. Whatever the Hunter used, it somehow dug straight through the ground to the edge of the island, and pulled the land loose. It quickly crumbled around his feet.

And then...Zack fell.

"ZACK!" Lapis' voice cracked with fear as the human tumbled off the island, plunging into the dark clouds beneath. She struggled to free herself from the electric net as the Hunters slung the girls over their shoulders.

"How could you do that to him?!"

The Hunter holding her just chuckled. "What's his life worth to you?"

"He's my BROTHER!"

"Him? He's human! He doesn't belong anywhere!" He smiled smugly. "If anything, we just did your family a favor getting rid of him!"

The Hunters arrived at a truck, and shoved the girls inside after pulling them out of their nets. They made sure to keep some of it wrapped around their wrists to cancel their Blitz.

"Mama," asked Opal, "Do you think Zack's going to be okay?"

Maline sighed. "I don't know…"

As they talked, one of the Hunters turned on a video cam on the front of the truck. On the screen appeared the silhouette of a Tigress.

"Ma'am," said the Hunter, "We arrested the traitors."

"What about the boy?" Her voice was quiet, yet sinister. "You said you finally had permission to arrest him."

"He resisted, and killed one of our units, so we threw him off the island."

"Hmm…." The Tigress seemed to think for a moment. "You say he...killed one of your allies?"

"With a sword," said one of the Hunters. "A sword made of pure energy."

The Tigress went silent. "Don't worry about him. My sisters will see him soon anyway, if he survives the wastelands that is."

"What do you mean?"

The Tigress chuckled, and then said something that grabbed everyone's attention.

"I guarantee that someone with powers like his will find a way to survive even a fall from Calico…"