Chapter 1

Yukiko's POV:

It's cold, but that's just the normal around here. I'm running with my pack, the icy wind stinging my eyes. I stop for a minute. There was something coming through the snow. I cautiously walked closer. It was...a human?

It's been years since I have seen another person, but people are bad. I pounce on her, forcing her to the ground. "If you don't get off of my land, you will pay," I growl at her. I suddenly realize that she couldn't understand me. I was still speaking in the arctic fox's tongue.

The girl laughed. I was expecting her to scream or something, but laughter was not something that most people did. "I finally found you," She whispered. I realized that she wasn't wearing a coat.

Then there was a small explosion. When the dark brown smoke cleared, I was on top of a bald eagle, not the girl. "I'm just like you," She whispered. Then she began to shiver violently. I quickly got her on my back and began to run toward the people's den, er, station.

I quickly got the girl inside and found a blanket. "There's extra clothes in the other room," She whispered as she closed her eyes. I nodded and slowly crept into the other room.

There were a lot of suitcases in this one room, plus a bed, window, and a dresser. I went over to the dresser and pulled it open with my teeth. There were many sizes of clothes inside. Suddenly, there another small explosion, but this time I was surrounded by white smoke with a slight blue tint to it. I stretched. It had been so long since I had been a human.

I threw on some clothes (a baggy pair of army pants and tank top) and walked back into the other room. "Hey, who are you?" I asked the girl, prodding her with my foot.

"I am Sakura Eagle. I came here...to find you." The eagle looked at me, it's eye shining. With another small explosion and more dark brown smoke, Sakura stood up, wrapping the blanket around her. "Excuse me while a go change." She said as she walked into the other room.

I looked out the window. I studied my reflection for a second. My white hair had gotten quite a bit longer (It was now down to my hips), but I still had that random blue streak that covered part of my face. My icy blue eye glinted with trouble against my deathly pale skin. I had a very strong build. I turned around and picked up the nearby table.

"I guess you're pretty strong, huh?" Sakura giggled. I turned to look at her.

Sakura had white bangs, but the rest of her hair was brown and pulled back into a ponytail. She had some of the darkest eyes I had ever seen, they were so dark brown that they were almost black. She wasn't very muscular, but she wasn't exactly thin either. Her skin was fairly pale, but not as pale as me.

"I guess," I grunted. I turned away from her.

"You know, there are others like us," She whispered. "Have you heard of the Chinese Zodiac?"

"Yeah. 12 other animals, plus the cat, right?" I asked. Sakura smiled.

"That's right. Like the cat, our animals were not included in the Zodiac. There are a lot more of us to. There's a zebra, giraffe, snowy owl, black mamba, lizard…" Sakura was cut off by something scratching at the door. I slowly opened the door. A blur of white shot past me at and pounced Sakura. It was an arctic fox pup.

"Fuz! Down Fuz, down!" I shouted. Sakura giggled as she pushed the little arctic fox pup off of her.

"That's alright," She said as she brushed herself off.

"Yukiko! I found you!" Fuz barked happily. I shook my head and picked him up.

"Are you two well acquainted?" Sakura asked.

"Pretty much,"

"He can come with us then," Sakura mumbled.

"Whoa, I never said I was going with you," I retorted. Sakura looked at me.

"Why not? You can come to school with me, we could live together, and-"

"I'm not going. This is my home,"

"But I know where we can find others like us. Forgotten animals. We won't be alone." Sakura whispered.

"I smell fear and sadness." Fuz growled. I looked at Sakura. She suddenly looked lost and hurt. I took a deep breath.

"Fine I'll go. Where are we heading?"

"To some mountains in Japan."

Sakura's POV:

"But first," I added. "We need to find another girl out here."

"There's another girl out here?"

"Yep. Oh, and by the way, I didn't catch your name."

"Yukiko. Yukiko Fox." I smiled at Yukiko.

"Okay Yukiko, bundle up!" I shouted.

Two hours later, we were still searching for the other girl. "How long is this going to take?!" Yukiko shouted. Fuz growled.

"As long as it needs to be." I retorted. I looked out. "She should be around…"

"AHHHH! GET IT OFF!" Yukiko screamed. I flipped around to find a beautiful Snowy Owl was attacking Yukiko with it's sharp claws.

"Hey, stop that!" I shouted. "Are you Akiko? Akiko Owl?" I suddenly asked. The owl looked at me.

"Yes." She whispered. I smiled at her.

"We know what you're going through. I'm the Eagle," I calmly told her. "Yukiko here is the Fox. We know what you're going through." Akiko cocked her head to the side.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" She asked. I sighed and pulled off my winter gear. Within a few seconds, I turned into the Eagle.

"Believe us now?" Yukiko asked as she picked me up. Akiko nodded.

"Let's get her back before she freezes." She muttered.

A few minutes later I was fully clothed and once again human. I looked at Akiko. As a human, she had short wavy hair the color of snow with black speckles in it. She had beautiful yellow eyes that went very well with her peach skin.

Akiko took a sip of her tea. "So you want me to come with you two to Japan?" She asked. I nodded. "I'm in. There's nothing to do out here." Yukiko took a bite of her snow (She had insisted on not having tea).

"Great! The private jet will be here shortly to pick us up!" I said cheerfully.

"You have a jet?" Yukiko questioned.

"The people who are usually here borrowed it to get some supplies." I explained. "I can fly it myself."

"Okay then." Akiko said.

Akiko's POV:

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked Yukiko again.

"Of course I'm fine!" She barked. If possible, she was even more pale than before. Plus, Fuz was hiding under the seats, whimpering.

"Do you have a fear of heights or something?" Sakura called from the cockpit. Yukiko blushed.

"Aw, don't worry about it! I'm scared of water." I told Yukiko.

"And I'm scared of being left alone!" Sakura called. Yukiko sighed and slumped in her seat.

"How much longer?" She groaned.

"About an hour." Sakura answered.

"So where are we going to find this girl again?" I questioned.

"In the mountains. She's the Black Mamba, but her name is unknown." Yukiko reminded me.

"And why is she in the mountains?" I asked. Sakura put the jet on auto pilot and joined us in the lounge.

"Her parents abandoned her there, so she just lives up there, stealing clothes and food from campers. If needed, she is known to hunt down other animals." Sakura explained.

"And the police haven't caught her yet?" Yukiko asked in disbelief.

"Yep." A sound came from the cockpit. Sakura ran to it.

"What's up?" I called.

"Attention all passengers, we have reached our destination earlier than expected. Please fasten your seatbelts and hold on to your pets." Sakura said through the mic. Yukiko quickly grabbed Fuz.

"Um...Sakura? What's going on?" I called.

"Something flew into one of the engines. I'm gonna have to land this thing on one of the nearby islands." Sakura said calmly?

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN LAND THIS THING?! WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!" Yukiko screamed.

"Oh please, I'm one of the best pilots there are. We. Are. Not. Going. To. Die!" Sakura scolded.

I quickly tightened my seatbelt and began to pray. Something exploded. "Engine number two is down! Hold on tight!" Sakura screamed. I squeezed my eyes tightly. I heard Sakura unfasten her seatbelt.

"What are you doing?!" Yukiko screamed. I opened my eyes to find Sakura standing in front of me, frozen in horror. She suddenly screamed, then turned into an eagle. I looked around her. Yukiko had turned into an arctic fox out of panic.

"Akiko! You need to change!" Sakura yelled as she grabbed Yukiko and Fuz with her feet.

"What?! How!?" I yelled.

"We're going to fall into the ocean! You hear me?! The ocean! Tons of water with who knows what in it!" Sakura yelled. I felt my heart quicken its pace. Water? We're crashing into water?! In a puff of grey smoke, I turned into an owl.

"I'll take Fuz!" I yelled. Sakura nodded and dropped the pup. I quickly scooped him up and followed Sakura out of the emergency exit.

I watched as the plane continued to fall. "What about everything that was inside it?" I called to Sakura.

"Don't worry! My suitcases are waterproof and have flotation devices in them!" She called back. Together, we quickly began to fly toward the closest island.

"Land! Sweet land!" Yukiko cried as Sakura placed her on the ground. I dropped Fuz on top of Yukiko and landed myself.

"Okay, we survived, but what now?" I asked.

"I'll go back out and get the luggage." Sakura said.

"But what if you change back?"

"Then I'll make myself change back. It's easy to do when you're scared out of your mind." Sakura took off.

I turned my head around to find Yukiko licking the sand. "You do realize that stuff is probably covered in fish waste, right?" I asked. Yukiko glared at me, then began to spit.

"You could have told me BEFORE I started doing that!" She barked. I just sighed and looked out to the ocean. I could see Sakura in the distance, trying her best to fly while holding the suitcase. I would follow her, but I knew that if I changed back, I wouldn't be much help.

Behind me, Yukiko growled as she turned back. "Where's Sakura?" She demanded.

"Right here." She answered. She dropped two suitcases and flew off again. I heard Yukiko quickly open one of the suitcases up and the ruffling of clothes as she searched through them.

"Your turn Akiko," She said. I turned around and saw that she had chosen another pair of baggy camo pants with another black tank top. I began to pick through the clothes myself, eventually picking out a pair of jean shorts and a tank top that would leave my stomach exposed.

"These should be the last of them," Sakura grunted as she dropped three more suitcases.

"What do we do now?" Yukiko asked. I nodded.

"Well, we wait for Akiko and I to change back, then we go looking for help. If we can't find any, then we'll swim," Sakura said. At that moment, she and I both turned back. We quickly changed, Sakura picking out a mini skirt and a really tight fitting tank top.

"Thanks again!" Sakura yelled.

"No problem!" The old fisherman said as he rowed away. We all looked at the city in front of us.

"Okay, the mountains should be...that way!" Sakura said as she walked off. I quickly put on the walking shoes she had given me and followed. Yukiko sighed and followed us, kicking up sand with her army boots.

"How are we going to find this Black Mamba girl when she can't be caught?" She questioned.

"Simple, we'll just camp out. She'll come around eventually and try to steal some of our food. When she does, Yukiko can tackle her," Sakura explained. She stopped to look at a train schedule. "Hmmm...if we can catch the 4 o'clock, that should take us right to the base of the mountains, where we can hike up to here…" I turned away as she continued to mumble to herself.

"So, what are we going to do for food?" Yukiko whispered to me.

"Beats me. Sakura's the one with the plan," I whispered back.

"Where do you think she gets all of that cash?"

"I have no idea, but I get the feeling she won't want to talk about it,"

"I wonder if she stole it from somewhere," Yukiko muttered.

"What did I steal?" Sakura asked suddenly. I jumped. That girl was really quite for someone who was wearing heels.

"Nothing!" Yukiko and I shouted. Sakura laughed.

"Come on, I know a great place to eat!" She called. I looked at Yukiko and shrugged, running after Sakura.

"That was the best meal I have had in a long time." I yawned as we walked out of the restaurant. Sakura smiled.

"I'm glad you liked it." She said as we walked in front of a grocery store. "Hmmm...we might want to buy a few things for our camping trip." She mumbled. Yukiko groaned.

"Let's just get it over with." She mumbled.

"What, don't like shopping?" I questioned.

"No, I hate places with a lot of people, if you know what I mean." Sakura nodded.

"We'll have to be careful, that's for sure." She whispered. We began to roam the store.

Sakura's POV:

"Let's see, we'll need some carrots, apples, ham…" I began to list off the things we would need for our trip.

"How about some fish?" Akiko asked. I looked at the fish.

"They look good, but they're a bit-" I stopped talking and stared for a moment. "Well, that's a strange hair color." I whispered. Akiko and Yukiko followed my gaze.

A few feet to the left were a boy and girl our age. The boy had purple hair and eyes, while the girl had brown hair and and brown eyes. "I've never seen so many different kinds of seeds!" The girl exclaimed. The boy smiled.

"I agree. What would you like to plant this season Miss Honda?" I glanced at Yukiko and Akiko. They looked at me and shrugged. The boy was probably wearing color contacts and had dyed his hair.

The janitor came out and began to mop the floor. "Hey, we better get going." Yukiko said with a glance at a clock. I glanced at it to. It was three forty-five.

"We're going to miss our train!" I gasped. I grabbed the fish and began to run.

"Sakura-"Akiko shouted to late. I ran onto the wet floor, slipping right towards the purple-haired boy. Oh no.

"Look out!" I shouted.

"Sohma-cun!" The girl shouted. I ran into the boy, arms flying around him. I waited to transform into the eagle. Nothing happened.

"S-s-sorry." I stuttered. I quickly stood, grabbed the food and headed towards check out. I could feel the boy's eyes on my back.

"Wait!" He called. I began to walk faster. Akiko and Yukiko quickly followed, grabbing food off the shelves. I glanced over my shoulder. The girl was looking at me, and the boy had just gotten up and was beginning to follow us.

"Run!" I whispered to the others. They nodded, and we made a break for it. We rushed through check-out and out into the street, heading for the train station.

"He's still following us!" Yukiko yelled.

"How is he so fast?!" Akiko questioned.

"Doesn't matter. If we can get to the station, we'll be okay!" I yelled.

"Hey Rat Boy, what are you running from?" Someone called. I glanced over my shoulder and saw a guy with bright orange hair and eyes.

"I'm trying to catch those girls." The purple headed boy said while stopping. I grabbed Yukiko and Akiko and pulled them into an alley. I put my fingers to my lips and carefully looked around the corner. Orange-head and Purple-head were just within an arms reach, looking for us.

"They got away." Purple-head sighed.

"Why were you chasing a bunch of girls anyway?" Orange-head questioned.

"The one with the white bangs...she hugged me and nothing happened." Orange-head looked at Purple-head.

"Should we tell Shigure?" Orange-head asked.

"No."

"Wait, what's this?" Orange-head said as he walked closer. I pushed back, trying to hide in the shadows. "Looks like those girls dropped something." Orange-head picked up one of our bags.

"What is it?" Orange-head dropped the bag, disgusted.

"It's a bunch of leak and miso!" Orange-head shouted.

"That's it!" Yukiko shouted. She jumped from where she was hiding and slammed Orange-head into the wall. Purple-head had just realized what was going on when she punched him in the gut, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, and dragged him by a dumpster and through him into it.

"Well, that's how we take care of that…" I stated as I picked up the bag.

"That might come back to bite us in the butt." Akiko mumbled as she prodded Orange-head with her foot.

"Let's get going before they can get back up." Yukiko grumbled. I looked at the dumpster, then ran to catch up with Yukiko and Akiko.

"Why didn't I transform when I hugged Purple-head back there?" I whispered to Yukiko and Akiko as we boarded the train. Yukiko shrugged.

"Maybe that guy was actually a girl crossdressing." She said. Akiko laughed.

"There is no way that guy was a girl...though he could pretend to be a girl if he wanted." I thought for a moment.

"Orange-head called him Rat Boy," I whispered. I looked at Yukiko and Akiko. "Do you think that guy is part of the Chinese Zodiac?"

"Doesn't matter. They're long gone." Yukiko said as we sat down.

"I guess that's true. How long of a train ride is this?" Akiko asked.

"About an hour and a half. The mountain isn't too far away from the station, and it's a two mile hike to the camp grounds." I yawned. Today had been a busy day.

"Do we even have a tent?" Yukiko asked. I sighed.

"No, but there is a camping store at the station." I explained. A few minutes went by in silence.

"Hey, don't we know him?" Akiko whispered. I turned around and saw a familiar head of orange hair.

"How did he…?" I started. Yukiko stood up and walked past Orange-head, who saw her and followed.

"Oh no…" Akiko and I mumbled. Yukiko came back a few minutes later.

"What did you do?" Akiko asked.

"I threw him off the train."

"YOU DID WHAT?!" I whispered-yelled.

"He'll survive. I threw him into a pole. It was pretty funny." I sighed. Yukiko was...how do you say it...very aggressive.

"Okay, from now on we don't try to kill people." I said. Yukiko leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.

"Fine. I'm going to sleep now."

"Me too." Akiko whispered.

Yukiko's POV:

"Yukiko, wake up!" Akiko shouted in my ear. I opened my eyes and smacked her upside the head. "OW!"

"You deserved it." I groaned.

"We're here!" Sakura announced. I looked out the window.

"That is a huge mountain." I mumbled.

"Yep! And somewhere up there is a wild girl who randomly steals people's food." Akiko laughed.

"Well, we're not going to catch her unless we get up there! Let's go!" Sakura yelled.