It was early morning at Zuebeth High School, Kai was at his desk staring off into space, meanwhile Ms. Kale was teaching about something to do with Ranks. "Alright Class, let's begin on Ranks. Who can tell me the Five Ranks in order from lowest to highest?"

Bobby and Cassie then shot up to raise their hands, but Ms. Kale quickly added, "I'm ignoring you two to let others answer." Bobby and Cassie glared at each other before lowering their hands. Then a Brown Bear, who was eating something, raised his hand, "Derick?"

The brown bear stood up and said, "The Five Ranks in order from the weakest to the strongest are Beta, Delta, Omega, Gamma, and Alpha."

"Yes, very good, I'll ignore the fact you're eating in the middle of class for now. So put it away." Ms. Kale's statement made Derick flinch as he quickly put away a box lunch he had opened inside his desk.

The Caribou teacher took some chalk and began writing on the board, "As is common knowledge, the Five Ranks are like a social hierarchy of Pangea. Betas are the weakest and often are treated as second class citizens, while smarts can get you far, due to Ferals and other Pangeans, staying weak isn't a safe idea." Ms. Kale then turned to the class and spoke, "Our world isn't all sunshine and rainbows, there are bad Pangeans out there and horrible Ferals. While Mythians guard normal folk against ferals, bad Pangeans will still use their strength against the weak."

Ms. Kale then went back to her lesson, "Next is Deltas, the second weakest, often used for babies or the elderly, there isn't much to say about it. Pangeans are often born as Deltas instead of starting as Betas due to genetic favoritism in the old days."

"Omegas are the middle ground, not all strong but not weak either. Again there isn't much too much to say, as Omegas are the common standard for most. However, those born as an Omega Rank, they are considered Alpha Candidates." Ms. Kale stated, the air grew thick with tension.

The Caribou teacher then moved on to the next rank, "The second strongest, Gamma, is the first rank that needs to be obtained through either raw talent or hard training. No Pangean has ever been born into the rank of Gamma. The second most important fact about the Gamma Rank." Ms. Kale then drew a line between Gamma and Alpha. "Is that an Omega rank needs to become a Gamma in order to become an Alpha."

Ms. Kale then turned to the class, "Lastly, Alpha, the highest rank amongst Pangeans, both in social status and strength. The only way to become an Alpha is through the Alpha Exam in Oheo. No training can reach it nor any amount of innate talent can reach the rank of Alpha alone. The rate of failure is ninety-nine percent, and all candidates for Alpha rank only get one chance, fail and it's all over."

"Alphas are primarily the leaders of nations and companies for their power and intelligence." Ms. Kale then noticed that Kai wasn't paying attention, he was spacing out.

The Caribou teacher gripped the chalk in her hand tightly before flinging it at Kai, who instead of catching it, got hit dead on in the eye. "GAH!! CHALK IN MY EYE!!!" Kai shouted as he flopped to the floor. The entire class was shocked, normally Kai just catches whatever is thrown at him so for Ms. Kale to actually hit him was shocking.

"Are... Are you alright?" Ms. Kale asked, just as shocked as her class that she hit Kai.

Kai sat up and began dusting chalk from his eye, "Yeah, I'm good... That really hurt..."

Ms. Kale recomposed herself and cleared her throat, "W-Well, let that be a lesson to not space out." Ms. Kale then turned around and resumed writing. Her short tail happily wiggled as she tried to hide her smile.

'She's totally happy.' The rest of the Class thought.

At the end of class, Ms. Kale then spoke out, "Have a good lunch, oh, and there will be an announcement by the principal during lunch, so keep that in mind."

Kai got up and stretched as everyone went out to the cafeteria. During the walk there, Kai spotted Wu and Kinto holding several Crow Ferals. "Well, hey! Its the jackass that didn't show!" Wu said, covered in peck marks and wet feathers.

"Ugh. Looks like this was a water type feral, huh?" Kai retorted, backing away from the soaking monkey.

Kinto nodded, "Yeah, shot a lot of muck at us from its butt... It was gross..." Kinto then covered his face with a towel to clean off the gunk.

"Glad I wasn't there." Kai stated before dodging a dead crow feral being thrown at him. "Don't get me dirty too." Kai then ran for the cafeteria as Wu chased after him, throwing dead Ferals at him.

*****

During Lunch, Kai was sitting down with most of his classmates, he could see the corpse of a Bull Feral being chopped up for the meat that the carnivores were eating. Kai's nose then picked up a familiar scent, it was Taiyo. This perked Kai's ears up as he looked toward the stage as the curtains were pulled back and Kai saw several pangeans on stage. The principal who was a a Capybara Pangean, Taiyo wearing a school uniform, Shirokane, Akahito, Ozzy, a lizard Pangean, and several other students wearing the same uniform as Taiyo. The moment Taiyo and Kai met the other's gaze, they froze, 'WHY IS SHE HERE?!?! OKAY, PLAY IT COOL!! YOU CAN PLAY IT COOL!!!'

Kai adjusted his sitting position as he calmed himself down, 'Just calm down and act like normal- Wait. Monkey!' Kai's eyes snapped to Kinto and where Wu was.

Kai then brought his foot down and stomped on the hiding Wu's tail. Kai then reached under the table and pulled out Wu by his neck. "What were you planning, Monkey?" Kai questioned silently as the principal adjusted his mic.

"Test-! Oh, woah! Too loud, turn it down. Turn it down." The principal started backstage.

Wu looked away with a mischievous smile, "Nothing~. Nothing bad~." Kai's grip tightened fiercely. "Ah, come on, don't you trust me?"

"Not even a little,"

"Hurtful, but fair."

The principal then spoke up, "Quiet down now everyone, quiet down. I have an announcement to make. As you all know, last week the sports field was damaged by an Earth-Type Feral, leaving it heavily damaged. So we had to cancel the game between Zuebeth's Onyx Bears and Eleanoria's Crimson Hawks."

A score of boos were heard before the principal shushed them, "However, as per Lady Kori's request, we've decided to change it into an away game taking place in Eleanoria's private school, Owlisy Academy. So the game is back on!"

The students cheered at the news before the principal motioned for them to calm down, "Now, although this wasn't a request by Lady Kori, Mr. Shirokane here has asked to state some ground rules before the game."

As the principal stepped back from the podium, Shirokane stepped forward. "As our Principal has explained, Lady Kori has allowed the use of our Owlisy Academy's field for this game, this is mainly to promote the school and to assist small businesses that have been suffering due to unknown circumstances." Shirokane explained.

"Unknown my furry ass! It was your own damn fault!" Shouted someone from the group.

The lizard Pangean then shouted back, "Who said that!? Huh?! Show yourself!"

However, the lizard got no answer before Akahito silenced him, "Jinkai! Shush!" The lizard named Jinkai stammered on his words but soon silenced himself. He felt ashamed as he spotted Taiyo giggling silently.

Shirokane's eyes and ears flickered across the room, searching for the one who shouted, when his eyes landed on Kai, Wu, and Kinto. 'A cloud sheep, a Wukong, and... A silver wolf... So, this silver wolf must be Kai, huh? I've dug into many informants and I still have very little on him. Gin has kept info on his grandson tightly sealed.' Shirokane thought.

'To call out the cause of our problem so quickly... And yet, doesn't seem to be worried at all..., he must be aware of how furious Lady Kori is with her Flock. And we're in Silver Wolf Territory, given how protective Gin has been with just his information. This wolf must be aware that if we so much as touch him... Even with Akahito, Ozzy, and Jinkai... Me and Akahito would be the only ones to make it back to Eleanoria, with critical injuries if we're lucky...'

Shirokane then shot a glare at Jinkai, who shrank under his gaze, 'But even if we do nothing... We still lost, thanks to Jinkai's reaction to his taunt, Jinkai made it look like we had no control over our subordinates, making us look bad. We've lost absolutely. How cunning of you, young Kai. Well Played, Young Wolf. Well Played.' Shirokane thought.

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'I totally said that for shits and giggles, I wonder why that guy reacted like that.' Kai thought to himself, having no actual tactic or reason behind his words.

Shirokane sighed as he took out a list, "Regardless, Owlisy Academy is our pride and joy in Eleanoria, so I'd like to go over some rules and etiquette before the game. So you do not make fools out of yourselves in a place of high class."

Kai started to tune out Shirokane as he started with the rules, which were pretty basic and common knowledge. No fighting, no stealing, no entering places you shouldn't. The basics. He then heard an audible gurgle coming from Cassie, "I should not have eaten that fourth fish!" Cassie muttered as she quickly excused herself to the bathroom.

Kai yawned as Cassie exited the cafeteria, a few seconds later, his ears then picked up a clapping sound. 'Who's clapping?' He thought before taking a nap.

As Shirokane finished, he noticed that Jinkai was gone, "Akahito where is-" Shirokane stopped as he saw Akahito looking at himself in a mirror. "Oh, heavens above, give me strength not to strangle the life out of this peacock..." Shirokane prayed.

"Ack! Your- Suppose- to say that- Before doing it!" Akahito coughed out as Shirokane had his hands wrapped tightly around his neck.

"Where is Jinkai? He's already caused enough problems."

Jinkai then called himself out, "I'm right here, sir!"

"Where were you- WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!?" Shirokane shouted.

In Jinkai's hand was a violently beaten Cassie, her nose was broken and so were a few teeth cracked. "This cat thought to leave while your still talking Shirokane-Senpai!"

'Dammit! He's made it worse now!!' Shirokane thought while squeezing Akahito's neck tighter, the peacock slapped the tigers hands to make him let go.

Suddenly, Bobby walked up to Jinkai, who was a bit startled, "I didn't even hear you. What's up mous-"

"Let her go." Bobby stated, his eyes hidden behind the glare of his glasses.

"What? And why should I-" Jinkai stopped mid-sentence when he felt his arm going numb, looking down, he saw that his arm had been sliced deep, reaching bone.

"I wasn't asking." Bobby stated, adjusting his glasses to show his dead-eyed glare, his hand now holding a dagger with a violet blade. Bobby put away the dagger calmly before grabbing Cassie and taking her to the nurse.

Jinkai looked at his arm, his expression was of shock as he couldn't feel his arm anymore, even as the wound healed itself. "Poison? What kinda kid carries a poisoned knife around?"

He watched as Bobby opened the cafeteria doors and looked back at him. "I'd be careful around the others of my class, I'm the weakest."

"Oh, I guess that's why I didn't sense you, the murderous intent was weak, hehe..."

Jinkai then felt the chill of death crawl down his spine, he spun around to see a furious Gokri, arms raised ready to smash him, Jinkai went to move his hands together, but his left arm was too slow and numb to work properly. Jinkai raised his right arm up to block, feeling the full heavy weight of Gokri's arm on his full body.

The lizard then escaped by using his tail like a spring. "Haha! You kids really are violent!" Suddenly, Jinkai felt a hard strike to his tail bone. He looked back to see Sandy kneeing him in the tailbone. "Ow! That hurts!" Jinkai hissed as he tried getting away, but he was surrounded already. "Outnumbered, but not out classed."

"That is enough!" The Principal announced, causing the fight to stop.

"Though it seems most of you are far more capable... but even a giant can be killed with just a stone and sling." Jinkai said as he walked back to Shirokane. "Hey boss--" Jinkai raised an arm as he returned to Shirokane, who swiftly moved his arm, with that motion Jinkai's entire right arm was cut to ribbons, he looked at his missing arm, no pain on his face. "Hmm? Oh I did a bad?"

"Very bad, you idiot. This is why I send you on suicide missions intentionally to get you killed and out of our lives." Shirokane said with everyone hearing that.

"Holy shit that is messed up!" Another student yelled. "But after seeing this guy, it's understandable."

Jinkai seemed to still have a confident smile on him as he looked at the students. "Jinkai." Shirokane stated.

"Ye, boss?"

Shirokane pointed at Kai, who was currently being pinned down by the classmates that weren't in the fight. "Hey, you think it's safe to let him go now?" Michel asked. One of the students let go of Kai, he vanished from sight.

Shirokane and Akahito's eyes widened as the white tiger then blocked a punch from the silver wolf reappearing, teeth bared at Jinkai. The punch's collision sent shockwaves throughout the room, Shirokane gritted his teeth as he stopped the punch.

*****

Shirokane and Akahito were waiting outside the principal's office as the principle was on the phone, calling for an ambulance. "Well... That could've gone better-" Shirokane slugged Akahito in the arm, "Ow! I get it, I screwed up! Stop hitting me!"

The white tiger growled as he rubbed his temples, "You had one job and that was to watch this dumbass who'd jump off a building if we asked him to!"

"Want me to jump off another building sir?!"

"Sorry, anyway Ozzy is escorting Lady Taiyo to the restroom so we have to wait here... that was a madhouse huh?" Akahito asked. "Did you also see that Silver Wolf?"

"Yeah, Kai, Gin's grandson. He must be that class room's ring leader." Shirokane's statement surprised Akahito but confused Jinkai.

Jinkai then asked, "What do you mean?"

Shirokane then showed his hand, it looked like he tried to block a cannonball barehanded, it was black, swollen, and bloody, "That wolf blistered up my hand with a punch that he wasn't even going all out on. In terms of physical strength, I'd say I'm outmatched."

Jinkai then quickly interjected, "Impossible! Your one of the Five Gates!"

Shirokane gripped Jinkai's face tightly, shutting him up. "In terms of strength, I have more skill in magic, I don't know just how tactical he really is but he must have planned out this entire event. First with that taunt, then with that punch." Shirokane finched as he felt his hand throb.

"That makes sense!" Jinkai agreed. "Wait, his name is Kai? That little shit! His name is half mine!"

"You get petty over the slightest things." Shirokane sighed, exasperatedly. He then heard a voice speaking. "Silence, both of you."

The white tiger peeked around the corner of the hallway. It was Wu, riding on Kinto's back. "Man, I still can't believe that that phoenix was the same one we met at Hounddog's Junktion,"

'Hounddog's Junktion... That's were Junfuku fought with Cujo...'

"So what do you think Kai thinks of her? I mean, they did get seated close to each other." Wu continued.

'Close!?' Shirokane thought in shock, his blood lust seeping out. Feeling the blood lust, Wu and Kinto quickly made a detour. 'That's all I needed to know...'

Shirokane pulled out a flip phone and started to dial a number to call someone. "Hello Shirokane, how are things at that school?" Kori asked over the phone.

"I overheard a discussion, two boys said a friend of theirs met and have feelings for a phoenix girl in front of Hounddog's Junktion in Cherryton, where Junfuku fought Cujo, it might be the person she thinks she's fallen for, I asked and he's a Silver Wolf." Shirokane answered.

"Kill him." Said a stern voice that sounded like Kori's.

"He's Gin's grandson."

"Find a way to kill him, 'accidently'."

"I might have a better idea that won't start a war, we can have a spy watch him from his school, enter his inner circle of friends and find out his intentions. See if he is manipulating Lady Taiyo in any way or trying something. We just need one spy." Shirokane suggested, it was a good idea.

"Very well, find someone, if you can't by the end of the day... take him out yourself." 'Kori' ordered before hanging up.

"It will be--" Before he could finish, his phone rang, a personal ringtone with a caller ID reading "Yoshimi" he answered. "Yoshimi?"

"Heeeey, Shrio-San, my main man, the father figure I've never had~." A young voice spoke out, already Shirokane didn't like where this was going.

"What did you do?"

"I am hurt you would think I would--"

"What did you do?"

"I got expelled from school." Yoshimi answered. Shirokane took off his glasses then pinched the bridge of his snout. "So, I was seeing this guy harassing some girls and I did the proper thing to do--"

"Informed a teacher?"

"I bashed their head in with a brick, yes. It wasn't that bad, he only has minimal brain damage." Yoshimi explained.

"Yoshimi!" He growled into the phone, then an idea came to his head. "Yoshimi, remember our deal, yes? I help you and your brother by taking you both in, I know a good school for you and you'll have a job to do." Shirokane could hear the interest from their breathing.

"Do explain Shiro-San." Yoshimi was interested. "Oh and will you be picking me up?" On the other line of the phone, a black cat Pangean in nearly all dark clothing with their pants having neon tape around the ankles, and a leather jacket with spikes on the shoulders. They were sitting on an unconscious bull Pangean. "I need a ride."

"I'll get someone to get you your assignment, you'll attend Zuebeth High School and watch a Silver Wolf named Kai. Find out everything about him that you can," Shirokane explained to Yoshimi.

"Do I have to wear a school uniform? I hate those."

"No, everyone here seems to wear what they want."

"Bitchin'!" Yoshimi cried as they hung up the call and got off the bull, the said bull who was getting back up looking angry. The bull looked at Yoshimi from behind and reached a hand to grab them, but the black cat snapped their fingers and washed over the area and suddenly the bull tripped, hitting their head on a lamppost, the lightbulb inside falling out and landing on their head. "Sorry, that was my bad."

*****

Meanwhile with Taiyo and Kai, the two were standing in front of the other in the halls, the air around them seemed immensely tense. Ozzy meanwhile was sweating bullets, 'Just my luck! I run into the wolf that nearly took off Jinkai's head, WITH Lady Taiyo with me!' Ozzy thought not knowing what to do.

However, Ozzy had no clue that they were so tense because, both were extremely nervous. 'Why did I have to run into her while on the way to the bathroom!?' Kai thought.

'I was already nervous because I saw in the cafeteria, but why did we have to run into each other so close?!' Taiyo screamed mentally.

Hidden on the side, Wu and Kinto watched them, "Those two are complete dumpster fires." Wu stated.

'Okay Ozzy, you've got this!' Ozzy stepped between them and pulled out something from his back pocket and aimed it at Kai's face. "Back off from lady Taiyo or I will shoot you!"

"Yoooou suck at your job, you're holding your weapon upside down." Kai pointed at the weapon, a gun, that they were holding wrong. Ozzy was silent and embarrassed, he put the gun away. "You okay?"

"I'm a bodyguard and I was told to keep her safe and... look you're terrifying as hell and I can't let you near her--" Ozzy explained to Kai before seeing Shirokane walk behind the wolf. "SIR!"

"Ozzy, take the young lady to the car." Shirokane told the bat who nodded then escorted Taiyo away.

Shirokane looked at Kai but before a word could be spoken, Kinto appeared pulling Kai into his wool, "Yo, Kai! It's time for class! Let's go!" The Cloud Sheep then dragged the silver wolf away.

'It seems he has smart friends as well, I was only going to tell him to back off of Lady Taiyo.' Shirokane thought, he then turned to follow after Ozzy and Taiyo. "Oh, well, Yoshimi will gather intel in my steed-" Shirokane stopped as he spotted Wu standing in front of him. "Greet-" Shirokane was cut off by Wu throwing a fish into his face.

After a quick laugh, Wu vanished in a puff of smoke. As he cleaned his face, Shirokane was gritting his teeth. "They also appear to be masters of taunting and goading... If I act out of rage... Lady Kori's plan to restore Eleanoria's economy will be ruined... And I will pay the price..." Shirokane growled through his teeth as he left.

To Be Continued...