This has got to be the strangest thing I've ever written.

First of all, in case you decided to ignore the summary but read the author's note for some reason, I must emphasize that you should NOT read this if you have not read my story On Their Own. It will not only spoil the crap out of that story, but it will also make no goddamn sense. It barely makes sense anyway. So do yourself a favor and go read something else (such as said previous story).

For everyone still here, yes, I am doing a oneshot. This is another one of those ideas that just struck me one day and I had to write it, just to give the fans of my KFP fics a little something before I finish up No More Turnabout.

So in the meantime, enjoy this…whatever you want to call it. Frankly, I'm not really sure.

Jin the Assassin wasn't the kind of guy who typically went out of his way to visit people.

Especially not when they happened to reside on the very outskirts of China, within an old building built into the side of a tall and treacherous mountain. And just in case that wasn't foreboding enough, there was also a thunderstorm going on. He had to wear his old brown cloak, with his hood pulled up over his head just to keep the water off of him. Even a dog hated the smell of wet dog.

As miserable as this trip made him, he had to see it through to the end, for reasons he couldn't explain. He insisted on coming alone, despite incessant pleading and pouting from his mate. If it weren't for her, he would be sitting in a prison cell right now, but he couldn't bring her along. She just wouldn't understand.

He finally reached the top of the mountain trial, coming into view of his destination. The place looked as creepy as he expected, marked by a wooden sign that read "Yexing Peak, Mental Institution". Just reading those words made him shudder. The very idea of this place existing, and what it represented, was enough to make even one of the most batshit crazy assassins in China feel a bit unsettled.

As he pushed open the heavy doors, he was greeted by a narrow, dimly lit corridor. The most illuminated part of the hall was the very end, where a small desk was manned by an even smaller antelope woman. She wore a pair of large glasses, which apparently didn't improve her eyesight enough to notice him. She was too busy intently shuffling through some papers on her desk, giving off a depressed sigh every now and then. He couldn't blame her. This job must be the very epitome of depressing.

He walked until he was standing right in front of her, but she still didn't see him. "Um…excuse me."

The woman jumped and dropped a paper in shock. "O-Oh! A visitor!"

Jin sat himself down in a chair in front of the desk and pulled back his hood. "So this is where they send the ferals, huh?" Tact was not one of his strong suits.

She frowned a little. "Well…yes. May I ask your name?"

"Jin," he said, fighting down the urge to add "the Assassin" to the end. He doubted anyone would recognize him way up here, or that they could do anything about it if they did, but he wasn't taking chances. That was another reason for the cloak. No one needed to know about the twin crossbows he kept concealed underneath it, just in case something went wrong.

The receptionist, because he really didn't care what her name was, wrote some stuff down on a separate sheet of paper. "And you are here to visit a patient?"

"Yep."

"Name and species?"

"Kai Hui. Wolf."

As the receptionist nodded and started shifting through her files, Jin asked himself for the hundredth time what he was doing here. Hui wasn't exactly a close friend of his. In fact, the two had come rather close to killing each other when they last met. Yet here he was, against all logic. He just felt...compelled somehow. He couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Hmm…" The receptionist shook her head sadly as she looked over Hui's file. "It looks like he got in a fight with some of the other feral wolves earlier today. The poor thing just can not get along with his own kind."

"Yeah, that sounds like him all right," Jin sighed. "So can I see him?"

"He's still a bit injured, and that might cause him to lash out violently if he feels threatened. I recommend you wait at least another week or so, and come back then."

Jin growled. "Look lady, I didn't haul myself all the way up this stinkin' mountain to get turned away. Trust me, I can handle him."

"But-"

"And if ya don't, I'm just gonna have to go find him myself." He eyed the doorway leading deeper into the building, daring her to try and stop him.

"…Alright." Seeing that she wouldn't convince him otherwise, the receptionist got up and led him over to the doorway. "Just be warned that what you'll see here might be a bit…disturbing."

She opened the door and led Jin into another hallway, this one branching off into several other rooms that must have been used for more administrative work. He didn't know for sure because they didn't stay there very long. The receptionist opened up a lift manned by an aging rhinoceros. As soon as the passengers were inside, the rhino cranked a large wheel and the platform started to descend.

"So they're kept underground?" Jin asked.

"Yes. In case one of them gets loose, they'll be trapped down here."

"Right, cause' they're not smart enough to know how to use a lift. Ah ha ha ha."

"How dare you!" she snapped. "Show a little respect for the mentally disabled!"

"Oh don't worry, I'm well-acquainted with the mentally disabled."

The lift reached the bottom and hit the floor with a soft thud. The place they were in now greatly resembled a prison, which probably wasn't too far off the mark. It was lined with cells, each locked with a strong steel door that could withstand a charge from any animal. It quickly occurred to him that there was another good reason to keep these guys underground, because holy crap were they loud. The moment the three stepped out of the lift, they were greeted by a cacophony of growls, roars, squawks, and various other animal noises. "Yikes. Are they always like this?"

"Not always. They tend to get like this when there's a new scent in the air."

"Don't I feel special. So where's Hui?"

"We put him in a solitary cell in the back. The rest of the wolves all share a cell, as isolation from a pack would only drive them more insane, but this particular patient might be better off alone."

As they made their way down the hallway, still assaulted by loud animal sounds, Jin realized that this might be a lot more dangerous than he expected. It wasn't like anything he said would actually matter, since he wouldn't understand him anyway, and now he was worried that he might have to use his crossbows after all.

The receptionist and her silent escort finally stopped in front of one door and gestured to it. "He's in here. We'll stay right outside in case you need any help."

Jin quickly wiped the concern off his face. "Please, if I could handle him when he was sentient, then I can sure as heck do it now." He opened the door and shut it behind him without sparing his company a second glance.

The inside of the cell was fairly dark, but small enough that he easily found who he was looking for. The wolf staring at him from the corner looked just like Kai Hui, except that he was dressed in a white robe, his fur and claws were filthy, he walked on all-fours, he had a fierce, yet anxious expression on his face…

Okay, so he looked almost nothing like Kai Hui. If it weren't for his distinctive icy blue eyes, Jin wasn't sure he would've recognized him.

The wolf stayed in the corner of the cell, growling at him softly. Even from here, Jin could see some slight scratches and bruises across his body, which were the likely cause of his apprehension. Still, he wasn't about to let this be the extent of their little reunion. He had studied up a bit on ferals before coming here, and he felt that he had at least some idea of what he was doing.

Jin got down on one knee and tapped his paw on it. "Uh…here boy!"

He didn't budge. Jin felt kind of stupid for even expecting that to work. He put a finger to his chin, wondering how exactly he was going to coax the wolf over to him.

As it turned out, he didn't need to do a thing. After a few moments, Hui's nose twitched and his expression softened. He slowly walked over to the fox and sniffed at him a bit more. Jin froze at the unexpected approach, hoping that he wasn't about to try to eat him.

"Gah!" He reeled back in shock when he felt a moist sensation on the back of his paw. Hui just cocked his head curiously at his response, before leaning in and licking his paw again. "Stop that!" He reflexively lashed out and smacked the wolf across the muzzle. He didn't seem to mind it very much, sitting down and wagging his tail excitedly.

So much for being dangerous. He wasn't sure what was more disturbing: the fact that Kai Hui had just licked him, or that his regressed mind apparently saw him as a good friend.

"So…how ya been?"

He didn't respond of course. He just nudged Jin's paw with his nose a little. "Eh? What is it?" He nudged his paw again and let out a small whine. This time he got the message. "Ugh, alright."

Feeling a bit ridiculous, he reached over and gently stroked the wolf on the back of his head. Hui's tail started up again, beating against the floor.

Boy this was awkward.

A thought suddenly occurred to him. Jin reached back and knocked on the steel door. "Hey, do these guys remember all this stuff when they get their sentience back?"

"No," the receptionist answered. "Most of them retain little-to-no memory of their time being feral."

He sighed in relief. So he didn't have to worry about an angry and humiliated Hui coming back to kill him later. That was one less thing on his plate.

When he looked back, he saw that Hui was no longer sitting next to him. He was now on the floor, lying face-up and staring at him expectedly. "Yeah, no." Hui continued to hold the pose. "I don't care if ya won't remember it, I am not giving you a belly rub!" That was just crossing way too many boundaries for him. He had a mate for crying out loud!

It took a while for him to get the hint, but Hui eventually got up and ran off across the room. He clamped his mouth around something in the corner and brought it back to Jin, dropping it in front of him.

It was a ball.

He had read up enough to know where this was going. "Oh, alright. I can tolerate that much." He picked up the ball and threw it across the room. Hui dashed off to grab the ball and brought it back to him. Jin threw it again and Hui brought it back again…and again…and again. This incredibly monotonous task gave him some time to observe him more closely.

He might of had some idea of what to expect from a feral wolf when he came here, but this dissonance between the Hui that he knew and the one chasing a ball around like an idiot was still a bit hard to swallow. So this was what being feral was like. It was freaky and disturbing as all hell, and yet...

"It doesn't really seem so bad, ya know?" Jin picked up and threw the ball again. "Being this oblivious to life. Goin' through yer days in blissful ignorance, not havin' to worry about a thing. I'm almost jealous."

He could relate to an extent, not exactly being of sound mind himself. They were pretty equal for a while, back when Hui was just starting to lose it. Hell, he himself had even encouraged his fall to insanity. He thought it might be fun to see if he could make someone else as crazy as him, incessantly prodding and taunting the former Alpha wolf to try to drive him over the edge.

If only he'd realized how high the cliff was.

He sighed, suddenly unable to look Hui in the eye anymore. The wolf dropped the ball at his feet and patiently waited for another toss. Jin finally turned his head to look at him, his face sullen. "...I get it now. So that's why I came here. I'm feelin' guilty. Now how about that. I didn't even know I could feel guilt anymore."

Hui didn't understand his friend's words, but he could still sense the remorse behind them. Knowing that the game of fetch was over, he lied down on the ground next to the fox, trying to comfort him with his presence. Jin noticed this and laughed bitterly.

"Ya poor idiot." He reached over and stroked Hui's head again, not needing to be coaxed this time. "If I'm the only friend you've got, than ya really are lonely."

A pounding on the door behind him broke Jin out of his thoughts. "Visiting hours are over. I'm afraid you'll have to leave now."

"Looks like I gotta go." Jin got up and started to open the door when he heard a small whimper behind him. Hui could no longer form what civilized people knew as emotions, but he still looked somehow sad. Jin smirked at him. "Relax, I'll come back and visit ya again sometime. Can't have ya slippin' away from society any further. It just wouldn't do, ya know?"

He saw Hui's tail wag and knew that at least part of the message had gotten through to him. "See ya." He closed the door, leaving the feral wolf alone once more. He headed back onto the lift with the receptionist and the guard. Neither of them said anything and he figured they were probably under some kind of contract not to discuss his visit. So he spoke up instead. "Does that actually help? Goin' to visit them like that?"

The receptionist nodded. "Yes. The more social interaction they get, the quicker they regain their sentience."

"And since the guy's completely inept around other wolves, I guess I gotta be the one to get him back. What a pain..."

She smiled at him. "You're doing a good thing."

"I know. Don't remind me."

They were silent for the rest of the ride up. Jin only spoke one more time before he made his leave. "And yer sure he's not gonna remember any of this."

"Yes."

"Good."