One Stubborn Wolf

Disclaimer: I do not own anything legally binding dealing with Wolf's Rain.

Tsume came upon a small city, when he was separated from his companions Kiba, Toboe, and Hige. He had been wounded, and felt his eyes grow heavy from weariness as he stumbled into the entrance, never expecting fate to rear it's head on that precise moment in time...

"What am I going to do?" Said a tall, auburn haired woman, "I need to do something, now that that bastard broke into my house...I guess I could hire a body guard...but that would get old really fast...Maybe a guard dog..." At that moment, she looked down by the entrance gate and noticed a big, gray dog. He appeared to be unconscious and badly wounded.

"You poor thing..." She said, bending down beside the knocked out animal. "I'll take you home and fix you up as good as new." She said, petting its slightly matted fur. "But how to carry you..." She pondered, looking around for something she could use. Her eyes landed on a wheel barrow and a smile touched her lips.

Pushing the devise closer to the dog, she began to lift, and slip him carefully onto the wheel barrow. Now with her means of transportation over, the woman lifted up the handles and started pushing.

--

Tsume opened his tired eyes to see he was next to a warm fireplace. He also had a feeling of a slight stinging sensation on the wound on his shoulder. Turning his head to see what that was all about, he looked straight into the eyes of a human.

"You're awake." Smiled the woman as Tsume kept trying to wake up from this 'supposed' nightmare.

"Here, I got you some food..." She said, placing down a plate with a raw T' bone stake. Tsume stared at the stake, then looked back at the woman, then back to the stake. Was he dreaming? Hadn't he collapsed at the entrance of this city? How could he have gotten to this place with out waking? Surely he hadn't been that tired. And how in the hell did this chick get him here in the first place? He had to out weigh her by fifty pounds.

While all this was going through Tsume's mind, the woman hears the phone ring and she got up to answer it. "This is Ari." She spoke into the machine.

"No, damn it, I know you did it...Oh yeah? Well you can take your threats and shove them." With a click, she was off the phone and looking back at Tsume.

"I swear, my ex boyfriend is such a wolf!" She said, making Tsume cock his head to one side as he listened to her complain. She reached out to pet him and he showed his teeth and growled.

The woman didn't even flinch as he continued to growl, she kept reaching out closer and closer towards him. When she was merely inches away from his face, he gave up on growling and just backed away. He didn't want to deal with killing another human, he was already feeling tired again, and making an enemy so soon would only cause more trouble than it was worth.

"Alright, I'll just pet you when you're sleeping." She said getting up and heading over to her bed. Tsume watched carefully as she turned out the lights and got under the covers.

He waited a long while, until he felt safe enough to change into his human form. He then went over to the cupboard to find more food. He never realized she was up and aware until the lights came on.

She jumped at him, knife in hand, and tried to over power him. "You ass holes won't get away with it again!" She kept saying as she tried her best to sink her knife into the strangers flesh. Tsume easily disarmed the woman and pinned her to the ground.

"Who are you?...And where is my dog?" She demanded, looking up at the white haired, golden eyed man.

"He doesn't want help from humans." He told her, watching as she glared up at him with anger.

"Who? The dog?" She asked, making the man give a growl. Tsume didn't like being called a dog anymore than a woman liked to be called a whore.

"Don't go looking for him either." He stated as he quickly got off of her and headed out the door on light feet.

The woman was left staring off in the night as the stranger continued his way. What was he talking about? He talked as if he knew what the damn animal was thinking...

--

That morning, Ari did go looking for her vanished dog. She didn't find him, but she did think she saw that man who she caught in her house. But in a flash, he was gone. So while looking else where for her dog, and still not finding him, she ran into something else unpleasant.

"Hey babe." A tall guy from a group of men called, "Where you been all my life sugar?" Asked another one.

"Damn men." She muttered as she continued her way, pretending not to hear, which only made then more vigilant.

"Where you going beautiful?" One called, as the group began to follow her.

"Yeah, come here and talk to us darlin'" Another said as she began to move quicker, trying to get away from this annoyance. To her dismay, she walked right into an ally with a dead end.

"Shit!" She cursed as she turned to see the group of cat callers watching her with lustful eyes.

"Got you now, kitty." A guy smirked, as they preceded to corner her.

She had no weapon on her, so she'd have to scratch, bite, and kick if she wanted out of this unharmed. Then again, there were about five of the scum balls, could she really make her way out of this one?

"Here kitty, kitty, kitty." They called to her, reaching out and trying to grab at her.

Ari lashed out, hitting one in the nose, breaking it, and kicked another in the balls, but the other three were still up for the count. One held her down while the other one began to fondle her. She let out a scream, which was quickly quieted by another mans dirty hand. She felt rage and hysteria flooding her mind as the third man began to rip open her blouse. All seemed lost, until...

Ari's eyes caught sight of a familiar golden eyed man, who seemed to move a quick as lightening towards her and the men holding her.

In a flash, he cut the men down, one by one. It all happened so fast, before she knew it, all the men who had bothered her were down for the count. The man who had come to her rescue looked at her and shook his head.

"Told you not to look for him." He stated, walking over towards her, making her flinch slightly. Did he have a similar idea planned for her like the men before him? He stopped only feet in front of her and held out his hand.

"Cop's will be here any minute, lets get going." He said, while she stared at him dumbfounded. He grabbed her hand and picked her up, then jumped like a grass hopper on steroids, onto the roofs of the city.

"Who are you?" She asked him, as he let her down at her home.

"Is it really that important?" He said, taking his black sunglasses and putting them on.

"Yes, its is." She said, reaching out and taking them off slowly, and looking into his eyes more thoroughly. "I've seen you before...In another city." She said, eyes seeming to be glued to his.

"It's possible." He said, wondering what she was getting at.

"I'm Ari. I know it's not much, but would you like to stay for dinner? For saving me back there." She said, his sunglasses still in her hands.

"I didn't save anyone, you just happened to be in my way, that's all." He said, taking his sunglasses from her and putting them back on. "I'll have to think about that dinner invite." He said and like that, he was gone.

--

Tsume had been wandering the city all afternoon, ever sense he left that lady, he felt himself becoming curious. Why had she taken notice of him way back then? He was just a wolf, traveling around, trying to find food to live. Yet she remembered seeing him...and wanted to see him again, at the dinner table.

He listened to his stomach rumble and gave a frown. It was dark now, and she had invited him...also, hunger was a big issue as well.

Going against his good judgment, Tsume went back to that house and knocked on the door. The woman answered cautiously at first, then when she looked up to see it was him, she smiled and let him in.

"Glad you showed up." She said, showing him to the dining room. There on the table was a pork roast, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Screw all that potato business, the pork is what caught his nose the most.

"Hope you like it." She said, handing him a plate with a huge piece of the meat. Tsume dug in hungrily, but was careful not to look like a complete slob. He wasn't Hige after all, and wanted to look like he had some manners.

After finishing the meal, the lady asked Tsume if he had some place to stay. When he got really quiet, unsure of what to say, she told him he could stay with her until he found some where else.

"Hope it works out better than before." He said to himself, watching as the lady picked up the dishes and began to wash them.

"There's only one bed, so you'll have to sleep on the couch." She told him, still washing the dirty dishes. "Also, the bathroom we have is only in the master bed room, so just ask before you use it. That way we don't have any awkward moments." She smiled, as she finished up her task.

'Wolf's don't take showers...' Tsume thought to himself as she walked over to the fireplace and started another fire.

"So, why were you in my house last night?" She asked him, putting more wood on the fire.

Tsume's mind went to a blank, what was he suppose to say?

"You're obviously not working for my ex, cause you saved me from getting raped today. So, are you just a wanderer?" She asked.

"Yeah." He said, coming over to the front of the fireplace and sitting down.

"Well, just so you know, this place has been broken into before, and I wouldn't doubt if it happened again. So be aware." She said, standing up and looking at the strange man.

"Maybe, with you here, they'll leave me alone." She said, sort of quietly to herself.

"Who's they?" Tsume asked, eyes still on the fire.

"Oh, just my ex's lackeys trying to scare me into going back with him." She said, brushing the subject off. "Well, good night..." She said, heading towards her bed room.

"Tsume." He said, making her turn around to face him. "My name, is Tsume."

"Well then, until tomorrow, Tsume." Ari said, and with that, went to bed.