The Light of my Life

What was going on? Illyana had never seen Tamotsu in this state before. Was it Tamotsu? The Vampir went on guard, pulling her hands up in a defensive pose. There was an extraordinary pressure of power rippling from the manager as his body seemed to buff up: the muscles beneath his shirt beginning to bulge and tense. He took two stumbling steps towards the work table that had all manner of body parts strewn about. Cutting tools, thick sewing needles meant to break through tougher materials... Although everything looked clean, in a sense, it was a bit untidy. Tamotsu's massive, wolf-like paw came slamming down over a sharp carving knife that was resting at the edge of the table.

"Lily wasn't supposed to see this..." The monstrous arm was shaking, his grip tight on the blade.

"Momo -- wait! What are you doing?!" Lily tried to call out to him, but it didn't look like he was listening as he raised the carving knife.

"Lilytan!?" Liu called. "Do you hear me?! Don't let him do anything rash! He's sensitive!"

What was Liu talking about?! Wasn't she the one in danger?! But turning her gaze to Tamotsu she would realize that was not the case. He turned the blade to his stomach. Was he trying to commit seppuku?!

"Tamotsu!" In the blink of an eye Illyana would charge Tamotsu, pulling her arm back to attempt and subdue him with a punch on the top of his head.

~thump!~

"What?!" Lily had jumped up to slam her fist down, but Tamotsu had raised his left hand to catch hers. "Impossible!" She was a Vampir! She had superhuman strength!

Her eyes became wide when the left hand holding hers began to transform as the right. Russet fur began to cover the limb as his fingers grew longer with black fur and sharp claws. His face began to shift and contort as it soon grew into a muzzle, now perfectly full of those deadly fangs.

"Momo you're a...?" Before Lily could finish her sentence the door would burst open.

Liu managed to kick in the door and moved to tackle Tamotsu from behind. Two black ears perked on the top of his head, rotating back to where Liu had suddenly appeared from. Still aware of himself Tamotsu would move the bladed object to point down and raise his arm further, pulling Illyana up off the ground, pushing her onto the workbench table. The two men tumbled forward. The massive looking wolf would slam into the glass case, a crack appearing on its surface. The wolf's brow eyes widened before he moved to backhand Liu, a bestial growl bursting from his throat. Whirling around the wolf stood with his back to the case, the knife now pointed at Liu.

When he was thrown back Liu was able to land on his feet. Holding his hands up in a defensive martial position. "Do not make me beat you down aniki!" The young man stared down the creature.

Tamotsu narrowed his dark eyes before his gaze drifted towards the chair pushed against the table. Smirking a wolfish grin, the beast would snatch the back of the seat and spun around to meet Liu.

Suddenly Liu found himself running out of the room when Tamotsu threw the workbench's chair out into his direction.

He dove out of the way as the seat flew through the air before landing and bouncing several feet away. The seat hit the ground with enough force, not to break, but to bend and splinter. The enraged wolf stalked out of the room, taking a moment to glance at Illyana. His ears folded down before his eyes frowned. He snapped his gaze back to Liu, the prone male scrambling to his feet, but he was too late! The sure-footed beast rushed out the room and pounced onto Liu.

"Ack!" The monster was now standing on top of the young man, pressing his greater weight down on him. "Lilytan! The case! Mpmph!" Tamotsu's hand snapped over his face.

Picking him up off the ground he would snarl and start shaking his arm, rattling Liu aggressively. Illyana was at a loss. Was Tamotsu a werewolf? He didn't have a wolf's scent. She moved to climb off the table. Despite any of this he paid her no mind and even pushed her out the way of almost being hit by his weapon when Liu blindly attacked. Illyana moved to slide off the work bench. Looking back to the table the manufactured doll arms had been pushed all around. The shelves of meticulously placed figurines all looked to be hand painted. She would notice a small painting kit on the side of the table and a working lamp. The other display cases had cute characters from all sorts of anime and manga. But inside the glass case Tamotsu had been pushed into was an amazing collection of figurines, posters, character models, and other displayable merchandise of one certain individual.

Her.

The entire case had her merchandise including some of the few, not yet publicly released figurines of her character in the anime she voiced recently. There were some custom figurines that didn't exist on the market, made and sold by fans to other collectors. At the center of the well designed display was a large scaled model of what looked to be her in the very butterfly costume of her character. It was almost 12" tall with full, glittering wings crafted with some sparkling material, the dress beautifully reflecting the light in the case, creating a shimmering effect that was like a raven's wing. Is this what Liu meant? She would find the latch to the case, opening the front. She carefully reached for the figure and took it into her hands.

"I look so cute..." She whispered, almost wanting to hug it, but she had to save Liu.

Of course when Liu endangered Illyana it had enraged Tamotsu so he was shaking Liu to teach him a lesson.

"Waaah, aniki! Put me down!" He reached up, his hands changing into his monster claws, trying to pull Tamotsu off.

Where Tamotsu appeared to be some sort of wolf demon, Liu was a mix between a Chinese Nian and Hulu Jin, which was a Chinese Kitsune. Pulling back his legs, shifting them into the Nian's claws he would kick out, trying to ruffle Tamotsu's hold. His action only caused Tamotsu to shake him faster.

"Aaaah! Lilytan P-p-please!" He was shaken like a drink.

Illyana would exit the room with the figurine of her character in her arms. "Hold it right there Momo!" She shouted.

Tamotsu's black ears perked up, Liu's wild ride finally coming to a stop. Tamotsu's eyes widened. His wide jaws parted in a strangled howl. Liu was suddenly dropped, the man yelping in surprise.

"My little Lily!" Tamotsu growled as he reached out his right paw, his hands larger than Lily's head.

If he wanted he could easily crush her head like a grape. Instead of doing this to save his treasure the beast fell to his knees before he leaned forward, hands resting on the ground. He lowered his head, pressing his skull to the ground.

"Don't hurt her..." His voice was guttural, but you could hear the sorrow of a father disgracing himself for his child.

Illyana's heart fluttered at the sight of Tamotsu on his hands and knees. The egotism of a Devil and Vampir was a dangerous mix. She pushed away those terribly troublesome thoughts before she looked at Liu. He was standing up, eyes spinning from the treatment.

"Such cruelty aniki! I wasn't going to hurt Lilytan! Lilytan!" He waved his arms. "Get aniki to back down, he has quite a temper when it comes to his hobbies." Did that make her a hobby?

"Calm down and come take it-- her back, Tamotsu." She urged him.

Nodding his head Tamotsu would revert his transformation, calming himself down as best he could. It wasn't perfect since his tail was still hanging from over the top of his pants and his right hand was still partially shifted. The man stood to his feet, his face heavy with despair. He let his arms hang at his side. Lily approached him and handed the figurine back. He took it back with such a delicate touch, despite his monstrous hand. She never knew werewolves could be so gentle. Tamotsu would walk to the case and place the figurine back on her stand before closing it. He stood with his back to Illyana, hands resting on the cracked glass.

"I didn't want you to see this side of me...." Tamotsu was in despair.

"Momo... what is this?" She looked around the room.

He was quiet. His eyes turned to the side as he glanced up on his shelves. "I-It's my hobby room. I like cute things... but these are my favorite." Tamotsu stepped back from the display and sadly looked towards the mixed mistress.

Illyana didn't know what to say. It was all her stuff. Clothing brands she modeled for. Collector's shoes that had her signature. Scaled figurines, chibi statues... she never knew there was so much stuff. She would turn her gaze back to Tamotsu, waiting for his explanation.

"Lily...." Tamotsu breathed out. "I'm your biggest fan..."

Liu chuckled. "You mean stalk--urg." Tamotsu shoved Liu out the room, the man landing on his butt. "So sensitive..."