Chapter 2

As Xion finished putting on her uniform, she made her way to the basement doors. After removing the locks and the cage doors, she went inside to find two adults lying on the ground unconscious. One of them was a strong pale-skinned woman with long straight raven hair and the other was a man with the same pale skin but spiky blonde hair.

As they both started to wake up, the blond man groaned as he clutched his stomache, "Ugh…I think that chicken wore off."

"I can't believe you two. Breaking out and sniffing through the trash." Xion groaned when she saw her chewed up sneaker on the floor. "Mom! Really?" she said, exasperated. She picks up her shoe and storms out of the cellar, Tifa and Cloud following behind her. "You always said we have to stay hidden from humans and not give in to our wolf selves," Xion complained irritably.

"Xion, you don't understand how powerful the effect of the moon is on us," Cloud rebutted.

"When you're old enough to take wolf form, you'll-"

"I'm not trying to be a hypocrite mom," the young teen chastised as Tifa took her shoe away, "It's just…why say stay hidden then break out at the first whiff of food?" Xion then looked at her father in disgust. "And that chicken?" Cloud looked away in slight embarrassment.

As Tifa went to throw away Xion's shoe, she noticed the discarded bags of snacks in the trashcan. "Well, it looks like your dad wasn't the only one eating things he shouldn't." Xion froze.

"Yeah…you were still dressed when you came out last night," Cloud pointed out. "Did you stay up past curfew again?" he asked suspiciously.

"I've got to get to school. Bye!" Xion said hastily, both in a hurry to catch the bus and to avoid her parents' wrath.

"And next time don't hit me on the nose again young lady!" Tifa called out, then mumbled as she rubbed her nose lightly, "I swear it still hurts…"

When she stood at the doorway, she groaned when she doesn't have her shoes on. Since one of them was now torn and chewed on, she looked at the other pairs lining up along the wall.

As Xion got off the bus and walked toward the Twilight Town High School building, she ignored the other students mocking at her boots till a group of guys came up to her. The first had long grey-streaked hair tied in a ponytail, a scar on his left cheek, and an eye-patch over his right eye.

"Hey poppet! What's with the weird shoes?" he taunted. All the other boys in the group laughed.

"Hey Xigbar!" A tall boy with spiky red hair and emerald eyes with two upside-down teardrop markings under them came up and placed a hand on Xion's shoulder. "Lay off the kid. At least she can take those off, while you're stuck with that face." Xigbar's group winced as Xion was guided away.

Xion silently thanked the flaming red-head as the two of them made their way to the front of the school, where a student with spiky blond hair swept to one side and blue eyes was waiting for them.

"Yo Roxas!" The blonde looked their way and smiled.

"Axel! Xion!"

"You're here early," Axel said.

"No, you're just late," Roxas replied sarcastically. "Xion, what are you wearing?" he asked, noticing her boots.

"My shoes got eaten by werewolves," Xion said in a sarcastic tone, despite how true it was. "Did you guys see the full moon last night?"

"Hey guys!" A young boy with spiky chestnut hair came running up to them.

"Sora!"

"Hey, did you guys see the full moon last night?"

"Ugh! Don't get me started on that," Roxas groaned, "Namine's been-"

"Kairi! Namine!" At the sound of the brunette's voice, the trio looked to see a blonde girl with blue eyes running up to them with another girl with auburn hair just above her shoulders and violet eyes trailing behind her.

"Morning! Guess what we heard last night," Namine said expectantly.

When no one answered, Kairi told them. "Howling."

"And I found this near Sunset Hill." Namine took out her phone and showed everyone a picture of a paw print. "I'm going to compare this to other photos of canine paw prints."

"Every dog?" Sora asked incredulously.

"Namine, this could just belong to someone's pet Labrador for all we know," Axel remarked.

"I'm serious guys. This is proof that there's something strange out there lurking around Twilight Town."

The warning bell went off and everyone hurried inside. Xion's locker was in the same hallway as Kairi's, Roxas's , and Axel's. She tucked a bit of her hair behind her ear as she overheard Kairi and Sora's conversation. Even though they were pretty far away, she could still be able to hear them due to her heightened sense of hearing.

"I'm getting worried about her Sora," Kairi said as she took her books out of her locker, "She's been at this ever since she-"

"Kairi, don't worry. I'm sure she'll get over it soon. Who knows? She might find something after all."

I actually hope she doesn't, Xion thought. She knew that Namine had been trying to find evidence of the existence of the supposed creatures lurking around Twilight Town, a.k.a. the wolfbloods. As much as she wanted to tell her friends, she didn't want to risk putting them or her family in danger if people found out that 'monsters' were living among them.

Taking her books out of her locker and shutting it closed, she was about to head to class when something caught her attention. More specifically, her nose. She took a deep breath as she smelled something…strange. Even through the mixed scents of perfume, sweat, and snacks, she could detect a strangely familiar aroma of pine, earth, and strangely sea salt. Relentlessly, she followed the scent down the corridor. She brushed past Roxas, but she didn't him call her name. When she reached the stairwell, the scent was gone.

"Xion, you okay?" Roxas asked, catching up to the distracted ravenette.

"N-nothing," she told him, "Come on, let's get to class."

As Xion and Roxas entered their homeroom, everyone noticed a boy with long silver hair and turquoise eyes standing by Mr. Ansem the Wise at the front of the class.

"Everyone, this is our new student Riku Kurai." As the homeroom teacher introduced the new student, Xion caught a whiff of the scent from before, realizing that Riku was the source.

"You smell like my parents," she blurted out loud. All the students scoffed and laughed at her remark while Riku gave her a weird look.

"Alright. Now everyone please take their seats. You as well, Mr. Kurai."

As Riku walked over to the empty seat near the back, he and Xion kept looking at each other coldly. The moment Riku took his seat, the girls sitting near him didn't waste a second to say hi. Xion rolled her eyes.

After class was over, Riku wandered around the hallways to find his next class when Xion confronted him.

"What are you doing here?"

"What?" Riku asked, confused, "I'm just looking for the-"

"No, I mean here. On our territory. If my parents find out you're here-"

"What are you talking about? I don't even know you!" Riku retorted.

"Exactly!"

"Look, I don't care whose territory this is. I'm not sticking around here and why would I even want to? I don't know what your problem is, but no smelly girl tells me where I can or can't stay!" Riku then walked away with one word in his mind. Weirdo.

Later at lunch, Xion sat at a table with her friends, her mind still wondering about Riku. "So what do you think of the new kid?" Axel asked, eyeing the silver-haired boy sitting by himself.

"I don't know," Roxas answered, "he doesn't seem to socialize much."

"What about you Xion?"

Said girl looked over at Riku. "Me either. There's something off about him."

"Hey guys!" Sora, Kairi, Namine, and three other teenagers came over to their table. Two of them were boys, one had short blond hair that stuck up slightly and the other was chubby and had dark black hair and a red headband; the third was a girl with brown hair styled in two pigtails. "So what are we talking about?" Sora asked as he and the others sat down.

"The new kid," Axel explained, "What do you guys make of him?"

Sora shrugged. "I'm not sure. He hasn't really talked to anyone since he's been here."

"But he's already got a fan club and he just got here," the brunette girl, Olette, said, noticing a few female students looking at Riku with dreamy looks.

"Guys!" The blonde, Hayner, exclaimed, "I think you're missing out on the big question here." Everyone at the table looked at him expectantly. "Does he like Struggle?"

Everyone groaned. "Struggle? Really?" the chubby one, Pence asked incredulously.

"Yeah Hayner. Why Struggle?" Sora remarked, "What about blitzball?"

A more irritated groan came from the group. "Sora, you're just as bad as Hayner," Kairi chastised.

"What? Just wondering out loud," Sora said defensively. He then called out to a student with orange hair styled in a cowlick. "Hey Wakka! Think Riku might make a good addition to the team?"

The captain of the blitzball team looked over at Riku's table. "I don't know…he doesn't seem like he'd be interested, ya."

Sora then got up from his seat. "Sora, what are you doing?" Namine asked in slight concern.

"I'm gonna go ask Riku if he wants to try out for the team."

Xion grew worried. "But Sora-"

"Come on! Can't hurt to ask," the spiky brunette said, walking over to where Riku was sitting.

"Sora wait!" Xion cried out.

"Relax Xion. He won't bite," Kairi said.

"I doubt that…" the ravenette mumbled.

"Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I'll go with him." Hayner got up and walked after Sora. "Besides, as co-captain of the Struggle Team, I've got to check in with possible new recruits." Olette smiled as she rolled her eyes.

"Hey. You're…Riku, right?" Sora asked casually as he walked up to the silvernette.

"Yeah…what do you want?"

"I'm Sora. I was just wandering if you like blitzball."

"Not really…"

"Cause it's a great way to make friends and we could use another player-"

"Although, you could also consider Struggle," Hayner said, cutting off Sora, "I'm Co-Captain Hayner Hikari, at your service."

"Look, I don't like blitzball or Struggle. And I want nothing to do with you and your friends, especially that weird girl! Got it?" he retorted, calmly yet irritably.

"…Got it," Sora responded.

"Yeesh. Attitude much?" Hayner muttered as he and Sora made their way back to their table.

"So?" Olette asked.

"Next time, you guys talk to him," Hayner grumbled.

The bell rang and everyone was hustling through the hallways to their next class. Riku was walking to his locker when he turned at the next corner and bumped into a girl with green eyes and a light brown shoulder-length bob.

"Oh! Sorry! I didn't see you!" the girl stuttered, blushing immensely.

"No worries," Riku said nonchalantly.

"You're Riku Kurai right?" He nodded. "I'm Selphie. I'm in your science class. How do you like Twilight Town High?"

"It's fine, I guess…" Riku then noticed Xion talking to her friends farther down the hall. "Hey, do you know anything about that girl over there?"

Selphie followed his gaze. "Xion Strife? Her family has lived in this town for centuries. They've never left Twilight Town. Not very fond of strangers either."

"So do you guys want to hang out after school?" Axel asked.

"I'd love to, but I have an art project to get done," Namine answered.

Sora sighed. "I've got blitzball practice."

"Struggle practice for me," Hayner responded.

"Kairi and I've got independent studies today," Olette explained.

"Photography club," Pence deadpanned.

"Well, I guess that just leaves you, me, and Xion Roxas. You guys want to hang out at the Station Tower?"

"You bet!" Roxas said enthusiastically.

"Sure," Xion replied, nodding.

"Hey Selphie! What do you think you're doing with this old codger?"

Everyone turned and saw a tall muscular boy with a scar on the bridge of his face and wearing a beanie pushing Riku against the lockers.

"Seifer, stop!" Selphie cried out.

"What's your problem?" Riku asked irritably.

"You. What do you think you're doing talking to my girl?" Seifer growled.

Riku shoved him away. "It's not like I'm trying to steal her!"

"You got a problem with me chickenwuss?" Seifer threatened, getting into Riku's face.

Riku growled at Seifer and tackled him, pinning him to the ground as he held the front of Seifer's shirt in a tight grip. Xion grew worried when she saw black veins turning visible on his hands.

Another wolfblood.

Riku noticed the black veins and quickly got off of Seifer, staring at the back of his hands in horror.

"What is going on here?" Hearing Mr. Wise's voice from down the hall, Xion quickly grabbed Riku and dragged him into the janitor's closet (A/N: It's one of those really roomy closets. Like Xion would shove him into such a tight space at this point).

"What are you doing?!" he yelled.

"It's alright," Xion said calmly.

Riku started to panic. "You have to get out of here!"

"Clam down! Just breathe-"

"Get out!" Riku backed away and tripped, knocking over a few of the cleaning supplies. Riku was now on all fours with his head down and when he looked up, his turquoise eyes were now a golden color and the black veins were now visible around his neck and face. "I'm so sorry…" he said woefully.

His nails grew into claws. His arms and legs became more slender as his hands became paws. Silver fur started to grow all over his body, and his face became less human and more canine. Quickly, yet painlessly in Riku's case, in his place was an adolescent wolf with silver fur.

Xion stood there in shock, but Riku was frantic as he kept moving around and knocking stuff over, as if trying to get out. But Riku stopped when he saw Xion go on all fours, her head bowed down. Riku was confused by this until the girl raised her head and saw her once indigo eyes had turned yellow like his. That moment, he realized Xion was just like him.

Once Riku had returned to his human form, he couldn't stop talking as he and Xion tried to clean up the mess. "I knew it! I knew there was something about you! When your eyes…I knew we were the same!"

"No we're not!" Xion retorted, much to Riku's shock, "I don't pick fights, show off, or invade other packs' territories! You'll be putting yourself and everyone in danger. And the sooner you leave the better."

Just then Roxas and Axel came into the room. "What happened here?" Axel asked as he surveyed the mess.

Riku shook his head and walked toward the door. Axel and Roxas blocked him, but Xion said, "Let him go." Riku shoved past them. "He doesn't belong here."

Riku looked back at Xion, a cold expression with a twinge of hurt in his turquoise eyes, and then bolted out the door. Once he made it to the school yard, Riku broke into a sprint straight toward the woods without as much as glancing back.

At the ice cream shop, Roxas and Xion talked as they waited for Axel to buy the ice cream before heading to the Station Tower.

"What was going on with you and Riku?"

"Nothing. Like I said, he doesn't belong here."

The shopkeeper couldn't help overhearing. "Who?"

"Riku Kurai. Tall, silver hair, turquoise eyes," Xion explained nonchalantly.

"Ah. The Silvias' new foster kid," the shopkeeper thought out loud.

Xion blinked. "Wait, he's in foster care?"

"Yeah. He must have been quite the trouble maker if he had to move all the way here for a fresh start."

"So he's an orphan?" Roxas asked. The shopkeeper nodded. Xion then felt absolutely guilty about all those things she said to him. She didn't know…

"Go on without me. I've got to go!" Just as Axel had come out with three bars of sea salt ice cream, Xion ran off into the plaza. Picking up on his scent, she followed it all the way to the woods.

It wasn't long until Xion saw him trekking the forest path alone with a small pouch slung over his shoulder. "Riku! Wait!"

"Don't worry, I'm leaving!" Riku shouted, not stopping or even looking behind him.

"Wait!" Xion caught up to him and grabbed his arm to get him to stop. "Look, I'm sorry about those things I said earlier…I was stupid. We can help you if you'd just –"

"I had help. Counseling, Ritilian, some people thought I should be sent to an asylum for pete's sake!"

"We can really help you. You need to learn to control your wolf self before someone gets hurt. Including you."

"You're just like the rest of them!" Riku yelled angrily and he ran off. Xion was about to run after him, but being familiar to the area, Xion took a shortcut and caught up to him easily.

"I know that you're in foster care. I know you're alone."

Riku scoffed irritably. "So?"

"Like you said, I'm like you."

"You might be like me, but you think like them. You think you're trying to make me better, but you know what? What I am, what I turn into, that's better! Better than anything I've ever known and I'm not letting anyone take that away from me!"

"I'm not letting you go!"

"Go ahead. Chase me, stop me! Use your wolf powers and see how long it takes for someone to find out what you are. I'll bet none of your so-called friends even know, do they?"

…

"Thought not."

Riku broke into a full on sprint and ran off farther into the trees. Having no other choice, Xion chased after him. Before long, they were both picking up speed, running faster and faster till their surroundings were nothing but a blur of green, brown, and white. As Xion ran after Riku, she felt more free and alive than she had ever felt in a long time.

Suddenly, she stopped when Riku was nowhere to be found. Then she heard a whistle from above, and saw Riku standing on a high branch, smirking at her with his hands in his pockets.

"Show off!" Xion shouted, earning a mischievous grin from the silvernette.

Then the chase continued as soon as the silvernette jumped down and took off again. Xion was soon right on his heels and when she tried to grab the back of his jacket, Riku managed to evade her grasp, laughing whole-heartedly.

Giving one final attempt, Xion leapt forward and tackled him, making then fall down a small hill.

Right in front of Axel and Roxas.

Apparently, Axel and Roxas went after Xion after she ran off. "Uh…hey guys," Xion stuttered as she and Riku got on their feet and brushed off the dirt on their clothes.

"Xion, what's going on? What are you doing hanging around with Riku?" Roxas asked, eyeing Riku warily.

"Look, I can explain. It turns out that Riku and I are related. Distant cousins actually. He was the black sheep of the family and I didn't want him here, so I mistreated him. He got upset and lashed out in the janitor's closet. You don't have to be best friends, but Riku's a part of my life now. Whether we like it or not."

Axel and Roxas looked skeptically at Riku, but reluctantly they agreed.

"Sure."

"Welcome to Twilight Town," Axel said. Riku smiled slightly.

"Better make sure we let the others know. I'm sure Sora and Hayner would still like you to be in Struggle or blitzball," Roxas said amusingly, making Xion giggle and Axel chortle.

After hanging out in the plaza, Axel and Roxas headed home while Xion and Riku decided to walk together to talk a little bit more about what they are.

"So how long have you been in foster care?" Xion asked.

"For a while…since I was two," Riku answered slowly.

"And no one knows what you are?" Riku remained silent. "So, what did you do during the full moon last night?"

"Couldn't stay in my room. I snuck out through the window and spent the night wandering the woods."

"So that must have been your paw print Namine found. Was it the first time you changed?"

"Second actually. First time it happened, I was kicked out of my last foster home."

"What happened?"

"One night I went to bed and the next morning, I woke up in a ditch. Turns out I trashed my bedroom and the rest of the house, so they kicked me out."

"Must have been hard…"

"What about you? Full moons must be quite a blast here."

Xion replied uneasily, "Well…I actually haven't had my first transformation yet."

"So technically, I know more about this stuff than you?" Riku teased.

"Oh yeah, you're the expert." Xion rolled her eyes amusingly. "That's why you nearly went wolf on Seifer in front of half the school."

"Hey, I didn't know that would happen," Riku said defensively, "I thought werewolves only turn during a full moon."

"We feel the urge to change when we feel angry of threatened," Xion explained, "If you learn to control it, you can transform whenever you want."

"How do you know so much about this stuff?" he asked.

"My parents," she answered matter-of-factly, "And it's wolfblood, not werewolf. We're not monsters."

"Funny thing is, I don't remember getting bitten by one."

"Bitten?" Xion couldn't help but giggle softly, "Riku, you don't become a wolfblood by getting bit by one."

"Don't laugh," he scowled.

"Sorry…You have a lot to learn Riku."

"Well, think you can teach me, smelly girl?" he asked cheekily.

Xion smiled. "You were born this way. Believe it or not, you're normal. Everything you thought made you a freak, sight, hearing, speed, sense of smell, they're all normal for a wolfblood."

"So, suppose I do stick around, for a while…" Riku began slowly.

"You'll have a pack. People to teach you-"

"Uh, no," Riku cut her off, "No rules, no lectures, and keep your group hugs and your big furry family. I'll do thing my way."

"A lone wolf huh?" Xion cocked her eyebrow at him. "Next time you lose control, what then?"

"It'll be an interesting day then wouldn't it?" he said dismissively.

It'll be interesting alright…she thought as they kept walking. One thing's for sure, Xion finally had someone she can really talk with and so did Riku.

And done! :) For now anyway. This is just from the first episode so there may be more on the way.

So what did you guys think?

By the way, I want to thank chickenscrews for following and reviewing. Thank you so much! Any you're right. The two reviews policy thing probably wasn't a good idea.

So the whole leave two reviews thing? Forget about it! For this fanfic and for my other one that's still in progress.

But constructive criticism is most appreciative, so please leave a review to let me know what you guys liked or anything that I could work on.

My other fanfic Lost in Darkness might be on hold for now, so as far as fanfics go, my main focus will be Wolfblood. For those of you reading and following Lost in Darkness, don't worry! The story will continue!

Well, time for me to go! Don't forget to favorite, follow, and/or review!

Bye bye for now! :)