Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf's Rain and am not making any profit from this writing.

I promise this is not a Mary Sue fic. I can't tell you much without ruining the story, but I swear that Kaiya (Kiba's missing sister) will NOT be getting together with Tsume or anything like that. So please don't let Kaiya detour you from this story – don't worry, she won't cramp anyone's style. :)

This is basically a continuation of my one-shot Fire. You probably don't need to read Fire to understand this story, but I do recommend you take a look at it if you have time. If nothing else, it will explain Kiba's intense guilt, which is basically the foundation of this story.

Warnings: eventual shounen-ai/yaoi (Kiba/Hige), some OCs, mild violence and brutality, un-betaed

I'm working on Moments, I swear. Now, on with the story...

"I'll find you somewhere, I'll keep on trying, until my dying day. I just need to know, whatever has happened. The truth will free my soul." - Somewhere by Within Temptation

Chapter 1

The leaves were just beginning to fall. It was a lovely scene, but it was shadowed by the recent events. No one could forget the massacre that had occurred just a few short miles away, least of all the tiny puppy that had been the only survivor.

To him, the autumn was only a reminder of what he had lost. A few weeks ago, he had been playing with his most beloved brother, with hardly a care in the world. He never imagined that something like this could happen. He never imagined that Misa would die just like the leaves, the same brown as her coat. He certainly had not considered that lovely Ayame, with her luscious red coat, would fall, rotting into the earth beneath the leaves.

The leaves were a myriad of beautiful colors. Just like his pack had been, before everything had vanished. His whole life had disappeared in a matter of hours, burnt to a crisp.

He desperately missed his littermates, Shouta especially. He had never once thought that anything could ever happen to them. He had known, intellectually, that it was almost impossible for all of them to survive to adulthood, but he had never truly believed that. He had always assumed that they would be alright, that he and his littermates were the exception. Their mortality had never sunk in.

Perhaps, if it had, they would still be alive. He might have stayed at the den, like he was supposed to. Then Kaiya would not have needed to search, and the pack would not have waited so long to flee. They might have lived.

It was one stupid decision that killed them all.

Kiba's yellow eyes shot open. Something had woken him. He didn't mind, his dreams of the past had been anything but pleasant. Nonetheless, the disturbance demanded his attention.

He scanned his dark surroundings without lifting his head. His pack was still asleep. They all seemed peaceful, so no one had woken him with a nightmare. No, he concluded, his pack was not the source of the disturbance.

He felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up, his hackles rising in alarm. He smelled something strange. It took him a moment to place the scent. His senses were quickly coming back to him, his survival instincts kicking into full gear, but he was still a bit disoriented from sleep.

It was gunpowder. He had been woken by a gunshot.

Shit, was all he could think. He extracted himself from Hige, the stocky wolf uttering a whine of protest in his sleep. He nudged him gently. Of his three packmates, Hige was always the most vocal in his complaints, so he really didn't want to startle him. The last thing he needed was for him to wake up loudly and attract attention from the hunter, or hunters.

"Hige," he growled low in his throat, when the other wolf showed no sign of awakening. His eyes slowly fluttered open, and he looked up at Kiba blearily. He opened his mouth to say something, but the white wolf beat him to it.

"Shhh," he whispered, "Wake up Toboe, we need to move."

Hige looked confused, still too tired to fully understand, but he didn't question him. He turned, leaned forward, and nipped at the puppy. Kiba fought the urge to groan, did he not understand the concept of quiet?

Toboe woke with a squeak of surprise as Kiba went to Tsume.

"Tsume."

The grey wolf was a lighter sleeper than the others, and he shifted, his ears flicking towards Kiba. He had heard him.

"Get up. We have company," Kiba said coldly, looking over his shoulder as another shot rang out. Tsume was on his feet within seconds, snarling in the direction of the gunfire.

They could hear voices. They were distinctly male, and one was laughing. They sounded much too close for Kiba's comfort. He wanted nothing to do with these men, who would laugh at the prospect of taking life.

Whether they had come to hunt wolves or a common forest creature did not matter. Kiba did not trust the motives of such men. One look at Tsume's amber eyes, smoldering with rage, told him that he was right not to trust them. The grey wolf was much more experienced with humans than he was.

"Hunters," Hige murmured, sniffing the air, "With dogs. They must be setting up camp, smells like fire."

"What?" Kiba hissed. The stocky wolf tilted his head.

"It's just a campfire. What, you scared?" he teased lightly. He figured he must have hit a nerve though, when Kiba snarled at him.

"I'm not scared."

"Right." Inwardly, he rolled his eyes. So damn touchy.

"Would you two shut up," Tsume growled. Kiba glowered at him.

"Do you want to check it out or what?" the grey wolf demanded.

"Fine."

The wolves shifted into their human illusions. Kiba preferred his natural form, but even he couldn't deny that the human form was more convenient for stalking in these surroundings – his snow-white coat made hiding in the dense forest nearly impossible.

The dark-haired boy moved silently through the trees, letting the others decide whether to follow or not. They did, though Toboe looked a bit reluctant. The puppy hovered close to Tsume and tried hard to be as quiet as his packmates.

The humans weren't far away. Kiba tried to hide his frustration - how could he have been so stupid? He had only closed his eyes for a moment, he hadn't meant to fall so completely asleep. Would he even have noticed the humans if they hadn't fired that gun? It had been a mistake to let his guard down.

"Never, ever let your guard down," Sakura whispered in his ear, "It may be the last thing you do."

He barely suppressed a shudder. He should have known, he was getting too complacent. These wolves were no more trustworthy than Sakura…save for perhaps Hige. But Hige was a city wolf – he had no survival skills out here in the wilderness. If anything, the stocky wolf should be protected, not depended upon.

He pushed such thoughts aside as the humans came into view. He stood partially concealed behind a tree – only his eyes and his dark head of hair were visible to the humans. If they were smart enough to look. The others stayed farther back, waiting for his signal.

But curiosity made him pause – the humans were talking.

"Yeah, Lady Jagara killed a whole pack of 'em awhile back with a forest fire," the man was saying.

"Tsume," Toboe whispered, "What are they talking about?"

The grey wolf didn't answer, but held up a hand for silence. He immediately quieted.

"You should've seen them," the man continued, "Big, awful beasts with massive teeth. They had a litter of pups too. They tried to carry 'em out."

They all flinched with the realization – the man was talking about hunting wolves.

"A big red one almost made it out. We shot him twice."

Tsume clenched his fists. Kiba looked strangely pale.

"He fell, but he didn't die. It takes more than that to kill a wolf."

The boys leaned forward, fascinated by their father's story. Kiba felt sick.

"He had this brown pup with him, and Lady Jagara wanted the puppies alive, you see. So we thought we'd put him out of his misery and take the puppy. But it was the strangest thing – he took one look at us, and he snapped that puppy's neck."

"But why would he do something like that?" the younger of the boys asked.

"'Cause wolves are vicious," the older pointed out vehemently, "He probably turned on him."

"No," the man said, shaking his head in a manner that seemed almost regretful, "Lady Jagara would have tortured that puppy. And I think he knew that."

He paused, with a sigh, before going on.

"One of the guys was furious. He went over there and stabbed him to death," he grimaced, and finished softly, "You don't forget something like that."

Tsume and even Hige were ready to fight – he should die for his crimes. Only Toboe noticed Kiba's reaction. He was staring at the man blankly, his face drawn and pale. He suddenly turned and walked away.

"Huh? Kiba, where –" Hige stopped midsentence. Kiba had ducked behind a tree, so he couldn't really see what he was doing. But he could see that he was bent over, and he heard the splat of liquid. He went to his side immediately – and sure enough, the white wolf was vomiting.

"Oh, Kiba," he murmured. He must have been really disturbed by the man's story. He didn't know if the other wolf wanted to be touched, but he lightly rubbed his back anyway.

His vomiting slowly eased into dry heaves. He finally stopped, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Hige looked at him critically.

"Maybe we should leave," he suggested, all thoughts of vengeance forgotten.

"What the hell is wrong with him?" Tsume demanded. Hige glared at him.

"He just threw up," he hissed, "I don't think he's in any condition to be fighting."

The man spoke again, and the wolves fell silent.

"I saw a white wolf leave the forest. It was small, you could tell it was a female. She had a little grey pup in her mouth."

Kiba choked.

"We were supposed to shoot any adult wolves…but I couldn't do it. She looked over at me when I picked up the gun, and she just stared. Like she didn't even care."

"So what happened to her?" one of the boys asked. None of the wolves particularly cared which one it had been.

"I don't know. I let her go."

Kiba grabbed Hige's wrist.

"Don't kill them," he whispered. Hige looked at him incredulously.

"I…I want to know something. Stay here."

"Like Hell we will," Tsume snarled. Kiba shot him a pleading look, and it was so out of character that he shut his mouth, shocked. Kiba was gone in the next instant.

A pure white wolf landed in front of the hunters. The kids gasped, stepping back. The man just stared at him.

"You're one of them, aren't you?" he said softly, "You're from that pack."

"You said you saw another white wolf," Kiba whispered, "Where is she now?"

"I'm sorry," the man whispered, dropping to his knees, "I'm sorry."

Kiba snarled.

"Answer me, or I'll tear your sons apart."

The man stared, seemingly uncomprehending. Kiba tilted his head.

"Do you think I won't? After what your kind did to my pack?"

He took a step forward. The older boy raised his gun, stepping in front of the younger protectively.

"One step closer, and I'll shoot!" he threatened. But he was shaking in his boots.

"How sweet," Kiba whispered, "I remember that feeling. You would do anything for your brother, right?"

The boy's trembling increased tenfold. Even the wolves shuddered at his tone.

"Do you know what I said to my brother, just before he burned?"

The boy shook his head.

"'I hope you die,'" his tone darkened further, an awful sneer in his voice, "Well. Careful what you wish for."

He turned back to the man.

"I'm not kidding, old man. I'll kill them both," as if to prove his point, he lunged at the older boy. He knocked him down, taking the gun in his teeth. The boy yelled out in fear.

"Dad!"

"Wait!" the man cried. Kiba froze.

"The girl…she was heading East, I'm sure of it. But there were airships and other soldiers, she might not have made it out. Your…your best bet is to look at the Noble's eastern forts for her. If she was captured, they might have taken her there."

Kiba moved off of the boy, releasing the gun. The child trembled violently as Kiba turned away, looking at the man again.

"…Thank you," he said quietly.

He bounded off, disappearing into the trees like a ghost. He easily jumped over a low-hanging branch and landed next to Hige on human feet.

"Kiba?" the stocky wolf asked slowly, "You okay?"

Kiba stared at him, frowning. He shrank back slightly. Kiba's anger a few moments ago had been terrifying.

But Kiba's frown turned into a grimace, and he could tell that his rage had passed, so he reached out to take his hand quietly. He could feel him trembling violently.

"We're done here," Tsume decided for them, "The runt's still tired."

"No, I'm – mmpf!" Tsume covered his mouth.

"We'll go find a place."

Hige nodded, knowing Kiba wouldn't respond.

"Hey," he said softly, once they were gone, "Are you feeling alright?"

Kiba shook his head slightly. He didn't want to admit it, but he felt really sick.

"What's wrong?" Besides the obvious.

"Nauseous," he mumbled, "My head hurts."

"Lay down," Hige said gently. It took some coaxing, but Kiba lay half in his lap a few minutes later, leaning against his chest. Hige rested his hand on his stomach, rubbing very gently.

"Does that help?"

"Mm," Kiba tucked his head under his chin, "Feels nice."

Hige smiled a little.

"Go to sleep. We'll catch up with them in a bit."

Kiba looked up at him tiredly, fighting back a yawn.

"You'll feel better once you've slept," he reassured, "Don't worry, I've got you."

He started drifting off, contentedly cuddling into Hige.

"I'm gonna find Kaiya," he murmured drowsily.

Hige was silent for a moment. Then Kiba's breathing evened out as he fell asleep. He kissed the crown of his head softly, and when he spoke, his words were no more than a faint breath against his dark hair.

"I wish you wouldn't, love."

Sound interesting? Hige's backstory will come into play later. In case it was unclear, Kiba and Hige are not a couple at this time. Notice that Hige waited until Kiba was asleep to kiss him. But, yeah, they're pretty cuddly – they're wolves, not humans. Very social, pack-oriented creatures. …Ok, I'm probably pushing it a little, but c'mon, they're cute! And it's not like they don't all sleep together in canon. –cough- That sounded a little sketchy, but you know what I mean!

Please review! I love constructive criticism. And I would loveto hear what you think will happen, where you think Kaiya is, etc.