Based on the events of Episode 19: Dream of an Oasis, aired 07/31/04. This isn't meant to be an episode summary, so don't be surprised if you see some condensing/misquoting.

Searching

Kiba was gone.

Tsume, Hige, and Toboe had searched Darcia's Keep exhaustively for any signs of their leader, but they didn't even find one strand of his white fur. None of them could pick up his scent, either, not even Hige. They reluctantly decided to leave the Keep after combing the area one last time.

The three wolves paused for a moment behind the crumbled Keep, and stared the expanse of stony wasteland that stretched before them. Hige restlessly shuffled his feet, a pensive frown replacing his usually cheerful expression. They'd found no signs of Blue either, and the stocky wolf was taking her absence hard. Toboe shifted his wide amber eyes from the sulking Blue to the silent Tsume, as if uncertain who he should comfort first.

"So um…where are we going now?" Toboe finally asked timidly.

"Does it matter? Cheza and Kiba are gone. We're never gonna get to Paradise," Hige said with uncharacteristic bitterness. "Hunh – why should I care? I never really wanted to go in the first place." He sat down on the dusty ground and rested his head in his hands; his red eyes empty and troubled.

"Hige…" Toboe said softly, his brow knitting in concern. "How could you say that? We'll make it to Paradise."

"Not without them," Hige said flatly. 

"So what do you suggest then? Going back to the City to live with the humans?" Tsume said contemptuously. "Knock yourself out. I'm getting the hell out of here," he said as he started walking.  

"Wait – Tsume!" Toboe called. He took a few steps after him and then stopped to glance back at Hige. "C'mon Hige, aren't you gonna come with us?"

"Tsume," Hige said seriously, ignoring Toboe and staring at the grey wolf. Tsume stopped and turned his head, his gold eyes emotionless. "You're gonna go look for him, aren't you?" Hige continued quietly. "You're gonna look for Kiba."

Tsume's eyes flickered briefly before a familiar smirk twisted his lips. "You can go look for him. I'm going to find him." 

"But Tsume…" Toboe began uncertainly, looking at his feet. "Kiba's-"

"-dead," Hige finished flatly. Toboe shot him a surprised look, while Tsume's expression remained stony. "None of us can even pick up his scent anymore. What's the point? Just accept it – he's dead!" he shouted, his voice cracking. 

Tsume whirled around, and his golden eyes blazed. "Kiba's not dead," he snarled.

"Tsume…" Toboe breathed, wide-eyed.

Hige gave the growling grey wolf a searching look, a guarded expression on his usually open face. He looked as if he wanted to believe Tsume, but couldn't quite bring himself to do it.  

"How can you be so sure?" Hige finally asked softly. "You know we didn't find any sign of him."  

"Kiba's alive. I can feel it," Tsume said emphatically. He scowled as he saw the expressions on his companions' faces. "Look, I know how stupid that sounds, but if you don't believe me, then you don't have to follow me. I don't care what happens to you - I'm going after him."

He then turned and started running in his wolf form. He didn't look back when he heard Toboe following after him, and neither did he slow his pace to see if Hige would join them. He only had one goal in mind.

Kiba…

The white wolf pissed him off. From the moment Tsume had seen the wounded wolf tear out one of his men's throat, Tsume had known that Kiba was nothing but trouble He still remembered Kiba standing over the corpse, growling, his fangs slick with human blood. Tsume made a disgusted noise. The wolf was too proud. Some compromises had to be made in order to survive in the City, and Kiba just hadn't understood that like Tsume did. Tsume had worked with the pathetic humans, and used them for his own good. Kiba, on the other hand…

Kiba's too good for anybody.

Kiba was just too damn pure. He'd never used anybody, and he'd never let anyone use him. He was still wild; every molecule of him screamed pure, unadulterated wolf. His uncorrupted spirit was what had first drawn Tsume's attention. Kiba had such a strong will that his ridiculous, stubborn faith in the existence of Paradise had slowly become less of a delusion and more of an attainable goal. Even Tsume now had to admit that there was a Paradise, and that he wanted to find it. Yet Kiba's magnetic intensity also had one major flaw; the white wolf became obsessed too easily. Cheza was a perfect example. Tsume still couldn't believe that Kiba, their 'leader', had been willing to sacrifice the health of his pack in order to pursue his own selfish goals.

He should've never gone ahead in that blizzard. I knew I should've stopped him – that damn Cheza, she's the reason why he's gone. It was always about her, helping her, saving her, finding her…he just couldn't let her go. Look where that got him - what an idiot.

"Tsume." Toboe's soft voice interrupted his thoughts. The thin red wolf loped beside him, somehow keeping pace even though the runt was obviously tired. "I'm worried about Kiba…do you really think he's out here somewhere?" he asked, jerking his snout to indicate the bleak landscape.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Kiba's alive," Tsume replied irritably. "He doesn't need anyone to worry about him – he can survive on his own." Without us. Kiba doesn't need us. He angled one of his ears back as he caught a faint shuffling noise. "Is Hige following us?" he asked, abruptly changing the subject.  

Toboe nodded. "He decided to come. But he's still kinda…upset about Blue," he finished in a small voice.

Tsume suddenly thought of something, and stopped abruptly. Toboe didn't react quickly enough, and skidded to a halt a few steps in front of the grey wolf. Toboe turned and cocked his head, curious. "Tsume?"

"Take a break, kid. I'm gonna go talk to Hige."

Toboe changed back to his human form, and blinked slowly at him. "Okay, Tsume…" he said eventually, his young face confused.

"It'll be a few minutes – think you can stay alive for that long without anyone to baby-sit you, kid?" Tsume asked, unable to resist teasing the pup.

Toboe's face colored. "Of course I can!" he said indignantly.

"Then prove it," Tsume called over his shoulder as he ran back the way he'd come. He'd not gone too far when he saw a heavyset, tan wolf ambling towards him. Hige lifted his head when he saw Tsume, but didn't change his pace. Tsume and Hige were soon face to face, both in their human forms.

They stared at each other for a long moment, gold eyes meeting red. Out of all the wolves in the small pack, Tsume disliked Hige the most. Their personalities just clashed too much, and Tsume couldn't stand Hige's casual, easygoing attitude towards everything. He also detested the way the chubby wolf thought with his stomach. But Tsume knew that, out of all of them, Hige had spent the most time alone with Kiba.

"You seem awfully worked up about that Blue chick," Tsume said finally, folding his arms across his chest.

"What? But uh - I haven't even talked about her!" Hige protested with a sheepish grin, rubbing the back of his head.

Tsume rolled his eyes. Looks like he's back to normal."It's because you haven't been talking about her that I could tell."

Hige scowled. "Yeah well – you seem awfully worked up about Kiba!"      

"Don't think that I can't tell you're just as worried about him as I am," Tsume replied coolly.

"Why should I be worried? Heh, without him, I'm free - he's the one who dragged me into this mess, you know," Hige said, forcing casualness. "If it weren't for him, I wouldn't even be looking for Paradise – I'd still be in the City…"

"We'd both be."

The two wolves exchanged another look. Tsume knew that they were both thinking of the intensity in Kiba's blue-green eyes, and of the conviction in his deep, methodical voice. They'd all followed the white wolf, despite whatever misgivings they'd had. Something about Kiba had demanded it. Even though Tsume had disagreed with some of the decisions that Kiba made as a leader, the white wolf still had an undeniable aura of authority.  

Hige laughed ruefully, and broke his gaze. "Just what is it about that guy? He's totally crazy, but we're all following him to Paradise…maybe we're all just as crazy as he is."

Tsume shook his head. "No – he's not crazy. We would've just wasted our lives in the City, dealing with the humans, if he hadn't come along…" He thought of the emptiness he'd felt each night, alone as he sat in his windowsill, numbly watching as the City and its people slowly decayed. He'd thought he needed no one; all he needed to do was to rely on himself to get through each day, and then that would be enough. He'd believed in nothing except survival until Kiba had come into his life.

"We would've lived and died there, without ever knowing anything better. But Kiba…" Tsume paused, and the barest hint of a smile touched his lips. "Him and his damn Paradise - he gave us all a purpose..."

Hige shot him a surprised look. "I always thought you hated him," he said dubiously. "You were always fighting…"

Tsume scoffed. "I do hate him. He ruined my life. I could've been perfectly happy running my pack of worthless humans if he hadn't come along and showed me how meaningless my life was – that pompous ass."

Hige beamed. "I knew it! So you liked him all along!"

"Funny. I thought you just said I hated him," Tsume said sarcastically.

"Ah whatever, you know what I meant," Hige said with a careless shrug. He then gave Tsume a sly grin. "So uh – what're you plannin' on doing with him when you find him again?" he said with a wink.

Tsume glared. "Don't get any ideas. Kiba's caused me a whole lot of trouble - I'll probably rip him to shreds for being such a selfish idiot," he said harshly.

"Sure you will," Hige replied, a stupid grin still plastered on his face.   

Tsume put his hands in his pockets and turned away. "Fine, you can amuse yourself by thinking whatever you want. But I'm gonna go find him – and some food."

"Food?" Hige exclaimed, instantly appearing at his side. Saliva was already dribbling from the corner of his mouth. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Tsume sighed, exasperated. He and Hige made their way back to Toboe, and Tsume nodded absently as Hige chattered. His thoughts had already strayed back to Kiba. He scanned the unending grey horizon, hoping despite himself to catch a glimpse of white fur.

Kiba – you're being such a pain in the ass. I hope you're too damn stubborn to die.

Author's Note: This is kind of a side project, so I apologize if it's a little rough. I really like the KibaxTsume pairing, and when I couldn't find enough fics featuring it, I decided to write my own. What do you think of it so far?