FSE

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Early the next day, Hazard was at the local park, sitting alone on one of the benches. He was waiting for someone, apparently, with a can of ice tea in his hand he got from a nearby vending machine. He didn't have to wait alone for too long, as Seif soon arrived and stood before the wolf.

"Hey," Hazard said as he looked up at his lion friend and smiled, handing him a spare can of the lemon flavored ice tea.

"Hey Barzard," Seif smiled back as he accepted it, sitting next to him on the bench. "How've you been?"

"Eh, not too bad, I guess. Some unexpected events and stuff, you know the drill," Hazard answered and took a sip from his chilled beverage. "I'll fill you in later, but first, what'd you want to talk with me about that you have to bring us here this early in the day?"

"It's about this," Seif didn't prolong any further and handed Hazard a large envelope he was holding in his hand the whole time. The wolf looked strangely at the envelope and took it, opening it up and pulling out some papers from inside of it.

"What the heck are all of these?"

"Confidential papers belonging to ToraPharma, a big pharmaceutical company."

"And this should interest me because...?"

"I'm getting there. The head of this company is someone called Razan Khan. Rings any bells?"

"Hrmm... Khan... I feel like I heard of that name before, a very long time ago, but I don't remember where," Hazard rumbled, trying hard to remember.

"I was hoping you would know something about him."

"Why? What's his deal?"

"I suspect that he's not a typical CEO of a multibillion company, if you know what I mean, and more like me," Seif replied, holding the ice tea can between his big hands, and Hazard raised an eyebrow at him, figuring what the blond lion was getting at.

"Are you sure?"

"I can't say that I am, but I can feel it in my guts. I had a meeting with him a few weeks ago and I can tell he's bad news. I wished if you were with me back then so you could confirm if he was a Bearer or not," Seif said. "Anyway, these papers you're holding show that Khan's been conducting some kind of shady experiments. I don't know what he's up to, but it got something to do with something called AB-005. They're using it prominently in every product his company is producing lately."

Hazard skimmed through the papers and noticed that Seif was right. "Very suspicious indeed. Do you think it has anything to do with the sudden appearance of demons lately?"

"I'm not sure yet, but it's worth looking into, don't you think?"

"Yeah, good to have at least a lead. Innocent people are falling victims as we speak and we gotta stop it. Just yesterday, one of Sasuga's friends was killed by one of them," Hazard said to a stunned Seif.

"What? Who?"

"Someone she knew from the university she used to go to, named Kyle. He was brutally mauled to death in his own house. Incidentally, he's the same one that got involved in that demons attack at Sas's school. I don't know how, but apparently he had Maligna in him, and that what attracted the demons and made him able to see them."

"Maligna?" Seif's ears perked. He hadn't heard that word in decades. "That's very abnormal... If he had Maligna, then maybe that class that went to the felid trip at Mount Ouran could've had them as well, hence why that Skulled demon was able to appear."

"You might be on to something there, Seif. And maybe the key to all this mystery is in these papers, tracing us back to this Khan fellow. I need to find out more about him."

"Don't be reckless, Barzard. I can sense that he's quite dangerous. We have approach this matter slowly and carefully, without him knowing that we're onto him," Seif advised the wolf.

"Heh, yeah, I know. Thanks for the info, Seif," Hazard smirked, glad that he had his feline friend to count on.

"It's nothing. I'll find out more about Khan and ToraPharma. I'll let you know if I find anything new," the lion said. "How is Sasuga doing?" he then asked about the kirin, concerned about her wellbeing after the loss of her friend Kyle.

"She's doing fine. She's a surprisingly strong girl and doing her best trying to adjust to all of this crap. And Panja is doing a good job taking care of her, so that eases me up most of the time when I'm away," Hazard replied with a comforting smile.

"That's good to know," Seif breathed, pleased that she was in good hands, not that he doubted it.

"You should come pay her a visit sometimes; she can always use a good friend. Maybe even a date or something?" Hazard then grinned teasingly, making Seif fluster with a little blush on his fuzzy cheeks.

"Wh-What're you trying to say?"

"Heh, nothing," Hazard chuckled and finished his can of ice tea, tossing it over to a trashcan as it dropped neatly in it. "Hey, we're going to this circus show this evening. Wanna come with us? I don't have any extra tickets, but I think Rinami can work something out," he then offered as he stood up and handed the envelope back to the lion.

"Rinami?" Seif's eyes blinked at the unfamiliar name.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you about that... man, that's gonna be a long story. Well, what do you have planned for the day?"

"Actually, I have to get to work, but I can give you a ride home," Seif replied.

"Great, I'll tell you about it along the way then. You won't believe it," Hazard smirked and was ready to go. Seif was very curious now by what Hazard meant, so he got up on his feet too, opened his ice tea can and gulped it all up in one swig, throwing the empty container into the trashcan and heading off with the wolf.

To be continued...