So. It's early monday morning and I need to be up in five hours. So what do I do? I WRITE! Hurrahurrah!

As slow as I am to finally stumble across something so good, I just finished watching the anime yestuurrrday. I hit the end and just kinda sat there for a while, and this (I kid you not) was my initial reaction:

SHMEE SMASH!

-Stomps on city-

-Overturns table-

-Shoots some owls-

-Punts puppy to mars-

And then I started to write! :D And this is what that fit of rage/love/tears/adoration brought on. I want crit, so don't hold back. It has not been fully edited yet, so a lot of things might sound a little off or there might be a typo or two. Don't feel bad about pointing them out and I assure you I will come back and fix them.

...Just, not when I'm supposed to be sleeping :D

PHWOAR.

Concrete Paradise

'Paradise is not a physical place where one will find true happiness, nor infinite sadness.

Rather...

It is a place of belonging to a single being. It is the true, final resting place for one's soul.'

I'd always liked the rain. For me, it had held some strange symbolism of being 'cleansed'. The sky would darken with clouds, an instant warning of what was to come. Then, slowly at first and gradually picking up speed, it would begin to rain. Chilled, clear droplets would plumett from the sky, ricocheying off the ground and forming small lakes and ponds on the sidewalks and streets. I would wash away the dirt and grime from life, washing away sorrow or trouble.

But for me, the best moment was the very first moment the sun's rays cut through the clouds like a horn through fog. The world that had been so englufed in darkness, painted in dull colours of grey, brown and black was sprayed with life. Those that had sheltered from the rain would emerge, the smell of fresh water heavy in the air. It was as if everything had been put on hold for the rain, to allow it to clean and restore, giving life to plants and nourishment to creatures big and small. Then, when it's business was finished, the clouds would retreat and allow the sun to reign until they were needed once more.

I pushed off the ground, leaping high into the air with perfect balance, hitting a window ledge and leaping right back upwards. This method of jumping made scaling the building an easy task, as I was overlooking the city's rooftops in a matter of seconds. It had been weeks. Weeks since...something large had happened.

Something important.

The voices and the images of the even still remained in my mind, I could feel them. But every time I aimed to bring them up to a memorable level, the memories scurried away from me. Like leaves on the wind, I would chase after them and try to pin one down beneath my paws, only to have them flutter away and be lost until another breeze brought them back to me.

As if on cue, a gust of wind blew through the city, pulling at my fur and carrying familiar scents. I had my memories to thank for this one knowledge of mine, this familiarity that gave me purpose. Those scents, individiual and unique yet alike in many ways; they called to me. They reached out and played at my nose, guiding me forward and to where I needed to be. Their exact, final destination was constantly changing, making me work for the satisfaction of completing my hunt. I lifted my head and focused on one.

The faintest one.

I circled back, paws thudding against the concrete roof as I slowly drew breath into my lungs. Once I'd reached the opposite edge, I turned to face the one I'd just previously walked away from. I leant back, let out my breath and ran.

I cleared the street in a single bound, but did not let my travel stop there. With the scent in mind and the trial to guide me, my paws met the new roof's surface and I shot along, leaping upwards to a higher point, before having to clear yet another gap of an alley below. To the humans that were grounded, they'd see nothing more then a grey blur fly above their heads and likely mistake it as a bird. They were ignorant and their senses weak. Yet not every being around this city was that way, of that I was certain.

The scent was getting stronger as I ran, driven purely by my sense of smell and trusting in my paws to lead me there. The buildings were getting less cluttered, spread out and several of them unfinished; abandonned in their construction and left as nothing more than iron bones and peeling cement skin. I breezed right by them, the scent growing stronger still.

Eventually, the amount of completed buildings died out entirely, replaced with the skeletons of buildings yet to be completed. I slowed to a trot, now level with the ground. I stopped when I came to a chain-link fence, adorned with a faded, metallic green sign that read:

"Contruction temporarily paused until further municipal notice."

I leapt over the barrier without a second thought, following the scent into the maze of concrete and gravel.

It didn't take me long to find where the scent was strongest. It wafted from a small room, walls made expectantly of concrete with a heavy iron door slowly rusting as an enterance, one hinge broken off and leaving the door slightly ajar. I padded forward and pushed it open with my snout, trodding in without any fear or doubt as to what could be inside. It was not suprised at what I saw; the scent had given it away before my eyes had a chance to take it in.

The room was of decent size, rubble scattered across the room and swept into messy piles here and there. A few concrete stones seemed to serve the purpose of benches or chairs. There was also a peculiar smelling brown blanket throw carelessly into a corner. On the wall parralell to the enterance, a large square was cut out from the concrete, clearly serving as a window. Perched on the sill of that 'window' was the owner of the scent that struck an instant flood of memories, blinding at first and gradually allowing me my sight back.

I narrowed my eyes and padded forward. He appeared to be in a deep slumber, leaning against the window side, one arm folded across his stomach and slowly raising and falling in a relaxed pace of breath. His head tilted to one side, eyes shut and an odd expression on his face. He did not look at peace in the least, but he did not seem to be in any pain or ill state of mind. Brows were furrowed and lined with sweat, lips pulled into a slight frown. His right hand hung down, fingers twitching occaisonally to show a slight unease. I snorted.

He reeked of humans, yet I could smell no others around. His signature leather outfit was littered with slights scrapes and buffs, places where the material had met impact strong enough to have bruised skin. I drew in a breath, trying to filter out the sour tang of humans lingering on his clothes and skin. Just as I prepared to let out a low growl in warning, his eyes shot open and those golden orbs fixed themselves on me.

There was a moment of silence, a second of complete peace between the both of us. He was not paniced, nor was he in any way afraid. He had simply recognized what I was, accepted it and moved on, yet still in a semi-sleeping state. But as soon as that second had passed, he tensed visibly. It was then that my growl shot out of my throat, my tail raised as I widened my stance and lowered my head. Slowly, I pulled back my lips a beared my fangs.

He moved cautiously to his feet, crouching on the windowsill and facing me, his blade already gripped tightly in one hand. He didn't tear his gaze from mine, he didn't attempt to run. Instead, he simply stared, eyes narrowed just as mine were and engaging in a typical stare-down. Whoever backed down first would be the one to die, that was certain.

"A wolf..." He snarled, voice low and in warning; as if he expected me to understand. Unbeknowest to him I could understand his words completely and they surprised me somewhat. While I had expected a hostile reaction, I had not expected a reaction to where he would distinguish what I was as if he wasn't one as well. I noticed the grip on his weapon tighten and I chose that moment to spring.

His other hand came up in an attempt to grab my throat and drive me off my course to find his in my jaws. I felt the pressure and was aware of the hissing of his blade as it rushed to meet my flesh. I writhed out of the way, dropping to the floor and snapping my jaws down on his ankle. He gave a cry of pain as the familiar, warm taste of blood rushed over my tongue. Thankfully, his blood did not taste of humans.

I jerked my head back, pulling him off his feet. I didn't miss the solid crack of his skull against the wall and I'd expected the fight to be finished, but I was sorely mistaken. He lashed out with his blade, drawing a diagonal line of red across my muzzle and loosening my hold on his ankle just enough for him to wrench it away. I circled back and began to pace around him as he rose to his feet and mirrored my actions. I was not sure if he was aware that he was doing it or not, he seemed so focused on me.

"Typical that an extinct animal comes to kill me." He growled, clearly talking to himself. I let out a snarl and flung myself forward, choosing once more to hold my tongue and attack. His blade flashed out once more and I weaved carefully to avoid having it drive through my shoulder, instead paying a toll of another gash along my side. My jaws snapped for a hold on his left wrist, though my fangs closed over empty air.

"We're not extinct" I snarled, rounding on him entirely. His eyes widened and his heart picked up in pace, evident to my acute hearing alone. "And we never will be, if I can help it" I leapt at him once more, but my aim to shock him had worked. My paws met his shoulders squarely, my jaw closed around the soft flesh of his throat. His back met the concrete and I positioned my hind legs to push down on his thighs, hearing a cry of pain.

I tightened my grip on his throat, but I did not draw blood. I could feel his heart pulsing, knowing that whether he knew it or not it was not pounding with fear. It was pumping with thrill and excitement, backed by the adrenaline from a fight. My paws kept his back to the floor, my jaws kept him from attacking me. It was then, with the end of his life so close to my jaws, that he chose to speak.

"Did...Did you just talk?" A snarl rumbled in my throat at his ignorance. Was this some sort of joke? He must've hit his head harder than I'd presumed. I tightened my grip. I was waiting for the soft human flesh to change into the tightened, fur-covered skin of a wolf. My own heart was beginning to race, only because it wasn't happening. I snarled again, only louder. "If you're gonna kill me, kill me, but first tell me what you are." His fingers twitched, grazing lightly against his blade.

"I'm a wolf. Don't play dumb."

"Play dumb? D'you seriously think I'm 'playing' right now?" His teeth grinded together and his hand twitched again, casuing the blade to scrape against the ground. I flicked my gaze in that direction, only to suddenly feel something solid bash against my head. I released my hold on the human shape and stumbled away, my head spinning and my vision occaisonally blotted by circles of black. I shook my head to clear it, only to feel something stab into my hind leg. I let out a growl of pain and twisted around, snapping my jaws on his forearm tightly.

We remained locked like that, his hand tightly gripping the blade which was lodged in the flesh of my hind leg and my jaws clenched on the forearm that held that blade. Neither of us moved.

"Tsume." I said, fixing my gaze on him. I was aware that while his head was turned in the direction of his arm, but the gold of his iris shone from the corner of his eye. I wanted to say something more, but as soon as I'd uttered his name, my dull skills as a conversationalist completely left me. I didn't know what to say. I'd expected a fight, simply because that was the kind of strange relationship we had, but I hadn't expected it to get this bad and not to this interesting stand-off.

"You know my name." He said. "How?" My eyes widened and I released my grip on his arm, making a clear and sudden side-step and pulling the blade from my flesh. I stumbled a few paces away and turned to him. He faced me, backing up slightly to keep a good amount of distance between us.

"What?"

"You know my name." He repeated, eyes narrowing. "How?"

"You mean...You don't remember?" He flicked his head back slightly and made an odd scoffing noise through his teeth. My ears perked at the sound, even though I was lowering my head and bearing my teeth, ready should he decide to strike.

"Remember a wolf? I'm pretty sure if I'd met one before, I'd remember it."

"Met one?" I echoed, aware of the anger creeping into my voice. It was clear to me now what exactly was wrong, and it was angering to know that he'd forgotten so easily. "You are one." The instant reply to my words was a snort of laughter.

"Incase you didn't notice, you and I aren't anything alike." He gestured with his uninjured hand to himself, indicating the physical differences. I let out a bark of frustration and shot forward, the surprise evident in his face as my form colided solidly with his. Only this time, the situation played out a little differently.

With a human hand, I grabbed the injured wrist, gripping it tighter than the uninjured wrist I held in my other. I sat on his torso, one knee at his side and another up as I leant forward, my dark hair falling around my face as it twisted into a human snarl.

"How about now? We alike now?" I demanded, narrowed blue orbs meeting shocked golden ones.

"W-wha-"

"How could you forget your pride? How could you stoop so low as to stay in a human form and deny your true shape?" I tightened my grip on his injured arm, aware from the expression of pain twisting on his face that I was doing damage.

"The hell...Are you talking about?" He snarled.

"You don't remember?"

"Remember what?" Silence fell as once again I was left unsure how to answer that question. The seconds seemed to stretch out to days, before Tsume spoke, voice quiet and weary. Despite his situation, he was still very much on guard. "What are you?"

"I'm the same as you." I said, voice firm. "A wolf."

"I'm not a wolf."

"You're not a human, either." There was not much he could say to add to this conversation that wouldn't send it back into a circle. Before, he could easily deny being a wolf. However, with me sitting on him and taking on a human shape, it was now entirely possible from his point of view that I could very well be right.

"Then what am I?" He stared at me expectantly, though not looking for the answer that was expected. He wanted me to explain myself and why I thought these things. I brought up what memories I could and drew a breath in.

"We never found Paradise." I said evenly. "We got far, but in the end we failed...We couldn't make it..." The blank look on his face told me nothing. "We died...all of us...destroyed by weather and rivalling packs." Even this story to me seemed sketchy, and was honestly only an estimate. I knew we'd been searching for paradise, then there had been blood...lots of it...and light, too. Then I'd woken up, tired and hungry in the snow a few kilometers from here. I followed my instinct until it brought me to this city, where sure enough the scents of my pack were faint, but there. "There were four...no..." I paused, remembering the darker-furred member of our group. "...five...of us."

"Five?" He echoed, though his expression still remained unreadable.

"You and I, Hige, Toboe and Blue." Still nothing from his expression. "I followed my instincts here, to this city. I can smell the others nearby...They must be here, somewhere."

"Two questions." He grumbled, without waiting for acknowledgement. "One, who are you? Two, if we all died, how are we still here?" His first question was easy enough to answer, though I did not jump on the reply. His second question threw even me off. I answered only what I beleived was the truth.

"I'm not sure...I think...We've been given a second chance. We have to find it."

"It?"

"Yeah. I don't know what, but we need to find it."

"Alright buddy, I don't even know you but I can already tell you're full of crap. I'm not finding anything but my next meal, I 'aint some wolf and I sure as hell 'aint dead!" His head rocketed up and collided with mine, forehead to forehead. For the second time, I became dazed. He shoved me off and quickly reversed the pin, his blade pressed into my throat.

"Tsume..."

"Shut up! I don't know you! You're insane!"

"My name is Kiba." I said levelly, not at all frightened of the blade at my neck. I met his widened stare evenly.

"Kiba?" The way he spoke lead me to beleive...

"...Familiar?"

"Yeah, actually... I've heard it somewhere before..." His leant back slightly, but did not get off. He allowed a few centimeters of distance between my throat and the edge of that blade. "...What makes you think I'm a wolf?"

"My memory aside, you smell like one."

"I smell like one?" I nodded.

"Tell me, what do you remember?" At my question, his eyes narrowed and darted off to one side, as if to completely avoid what I'd asked. He was quiet for a moment, seemingly reluctant to respond.

"Not much. I came to this city a few weeks ago on a whim. Anything before that time is blurry, I remember snow...and flowers...but that's it. The living here was decent, better than it was out there for sure, so I've been hanging around since."

"Don't you find this strange, then?" All hostility was gone, not only from my tone but his. We were talking in hushed voices, though he still kept me pinned. I was aware that if I truly felt the need to, I could struggle and writhe my way out. But of course, that would only result in another scuffle for power until one of us was pinned again

"Find what strange?"

"Me. Being here, telling you things you don't beleive when you can barely remember anything outside of living in this city."

"...A little." His hesitant reply told me I was beginning to make him doubt himself. This was an accomplishment to me. But it made me wonder...If Tsume had forgotten what he really was, did that mean the others did too? "But there's no way you can prove it."

"You're right. But you can't tell me your senses have completely died off." I wasn't about to lie to myself. When all I could call back were rushed flashbacks of death and blood, pain and suffering, I couldn't expect myself to have proof to give to him on what he was. "Don't you hear things that others ignore? Those conversations you pick up while walking in the streets, don't you think it's odd how you can hear them? Can't you smell food from blocks away, even though the people nearby are looking for somewhere to eat?" I began to list the things that set us wolves apart from humans. "You don't physically tire easily, do you? You're able to do things that normal humans couldn't dream of doing, aren't you?" The blade at my throat pressed into my flesh slightly and I became aware that my words were sparking a hostile reaction. This also meant I was confusing him, something of a positive in our current situation.

"If I'm a wolf..." He growled through gritted teeth. "Then why do I look human?" This, for me, was easy to answer.

"The same way I look human now. You're just stuck."

"...Stuck?" He echoed, sounding uncertain. My mind began to race, thinking of a way I could make him remember without wasting so much time on words that were only bringing us around in bothersome circles. A thought slowly dawned on me, as if unearthed by digging paws. I narrowed my eyes, realizing how much of a stretch it would be. If I were to...well, it might shatter any trust he had in me at that moment...but it was worth the risk, and it was something that needed to be done. I knew...what I needed to do, I couldn't do it alone. There was a longing in my heart; a desire to be around others of my kind, to know I have their support and feel the pride of being there to support them. This would be the first step to getting that distant, familiar feeling close to me as it had once been.

Without warning, I draw back my lips and beared my fangs, my ears pressing against my skull as I let out a loud snarl. The shock on Tsume's face was enough to tell my instincts I'd caught him off guard. I twisted around, the blade drawing a line around my neck as I shot out from underneath him, paws skidding for a grip on the concrete only a few paces away.

"What the..." I heard him gasp before I launched myself in his direction. I sailed past his head, lashing out with my fangs and drawing an uneven scar across the left side of his face. I wasn't done however. He spun around, eyes on my as his free hand came up to wipe blood away from his eyes. I dashed forward, aiming to headbutt him in the stomach. Clearly not intending to go down without a fight, he twisted out of the way. As soon as he'd found his footing and balance once more, he slashed out at my side with his blade. I felt the weapon carve into my flesh, but ignored it entirely. Instead, I turned towards him and shut my jaws down tightly on his leg. He cried out, bashing my skull with the hilt of the blade as he did. I let my fangs sink a little further before I let go and stumbled back.

The human shape of Tsume fell down onto one knee, favouring his uninjured leg. He kept glaring at me through narrowed eyes, giving his bleeding injury no attention. I knew he wouldn't, either, memories or no, Tsume was still Tsume. He would not see to his own wounds until the threat was gone.

"The hell is wrong with you?" He snarled, lashing out with his blade as I rushed forward again. I had to leap back or risk getting a deeper gash than usual. He held his blade out, keeping the tip pointed in my direction in warning. I widened my stance once more, lowered my head and let out a low growl. I didn't answer back. There wasn't anything to stay.

I shot forward again, nothing more than a white blurr in the area of grey. He slashed out in one direction, blade just barely grazing my fur. I banked heavily, bringing myself to his side before I reared up and gripped his neck in my throat once more. This time, I forced him to the ground and let my fangs peirce the weak human skin. Slowly, I began to tighten my grip.

"Remember who you are." I snarled, one paw pressing down on his shoulder and the other on his wounded forearm, one of my hind legs doing the same to his own leg injury. Splotches of red stained my fur, some of the blood mine, some of it his. The tang of wolf's blood rolled once more over my tongue. But it was not me. It came from the still human shape below. "Remember! Change back!" I demanded, fangs sinking deeper into the flesh of his neck. He was completely still, but I could hear his heart pounding. It thundered in my ears as my eyes stayed fixed on his, which were opened wide and staring blankly at the ceiling.

After a moment of silence that lead to me to beleive I'd damaged his vocal box, his voice came out ragged and hushed, blood dripping down from the corner of his mouth.

"Kiba..." My ears perked, my eyes narrowed further. I didn't respond, but I knew he was aware that he had my attention. "Get. The. Hell. Off. Me!" I was thrown back as he rose to his feet without warning, my fangs tearing the flesh of his neck as he used my grip on him to lift me off the ground for a heartbeat, then slam me back into the concrete floor, only with him as the top weight. The air in my lungs rushed out, his neck no longer in the grasp of my jaws. However, I could feel an odd texture littering my tongue; as if my mouth had been sprinkled with short, thin wires. I felt the weight roll off me and I let out a raspy cough.

Patches of my white fur littered the floor, though something was different about the loose hairs that had come out around me. Not all of them were white...some of them were black.

Something slammed into my stomach, sending me skidding across the floor. I rolled onto my paws, skidding to a halt with my hindquarters coming in contact with the wall. In the center of the room, looking just as intimidating as ever, was the soot-grey wolf I'd come to look at as a primary battle partner. His wounds from his human form had carried into his feral shape, blood now matting his fur and dripping from his neck.

Despite how angered he looked, and how bloody the wounded the pair of us were...I couldn't dampen the flicker of accomplishment in my heart. He stood before me, easily an inch taller than me in height, paws widened to a threatening stance and head low to the ground, ears folded back. His tail was lifted high, lips drawn back to reveal blood-stained fangs and a long, low snarl rumbling from his throat.

"I swear, never pull any shit like that again or so help me I will rip you to shreds and send you flying off a cliff!"

I smiled.

Tsume was back.