. C H A P T E R // T W O .
After the encounter with the noble, everyone in the complex started to go crazy and there was no way that the three of us would be able to escape by just strolling through. I started to panick a little bit, thinking out loud of ways to get out of the place.
"Over here." Kiba said. Hige and I ran over to Kiba who was waiting in front of an open sewage pipe. I jumped into it after him. I turned around and looked at Hige from the bottom of it.
"Hurry up, Hige!" I called to him.
Hige took in a deep breath and held his nose as he grabbed the sewer cap and went down the ladder a little. He placed the cap back as he went down. He gagged as he reached the bottom.
"Ugh! This is disgusting!" He yelled.
"Don't be such a baby..." I said.
"Let's go..." Kiba said as he began to walk. Hige and I followed Kiba in silence as he led the way through the pipes. After about fifteen minutes of walking, Hige started to complain. He was still holding his nose.
"Where the hell are we going? Places like this are rough on my delicate nose."
"You're soo annoying sometimes!- No, what am I saying? All the time!" I groaned.
"I got a hunch there's food down here." Kiba said randomly.
"Huh?" Hige and I both said.
"Just a hunch..." Kiba said. The three of us stopped as rats ran by. We grabbed them as quick as we could and downed them. Right now, we were sitting down on some broken slabs of cinder blocks and concrete.
"Looks like that guy stole the only clue we had, and the scent of lunar flowers is gone now, too." Hige said.
"He knew about Paradise, that's why he took her." Kiba said.
"Well, we'll just have to find another flower. She can't be the only one around, right?" Hige asked.
"Wrong... Cheza's the only flower maiden that's around. Don't you think with an airship like that, that noble would've gotten a different flower maiden if there was one available? I mean, I wouldn't want to go through the trouble of retrieving someone from a highly secured lab if another person just like that one was just out in the open, even if they were farther away." I corrected him.
"I guess you're right..." Hige said, a little disheartened.
"That man knew us. He saw what we were the minute he looked at us..." Kiba said.
"Why don't we blow this town? C'mon, let's look for Paradise!"
"He'll meet us there... that's what he said." Kiba said. Hige looked at him with a sweatdrop running down the side of his face. Obviously his try at changing the subject and distracting Kiba didn't work.
"He said a lot of crazy stuff. Listen, if you're thinking of going after him, you're out of your mind. He's a noble if I've ever seen one." Hige said.
"A noble?" Kiba asked.
"I keep forgetting you're new here, look those guys are bad news. And I, for one, am smart enough not to mess around with them." Hige said.
"They're like royalty. For some reason, their families came into power and they've got control over a certain city or town, somethin' like that... Didn't really hear much about them besides that, though that's more than you said." I added, looking at Hige.
"Hey! Trust me Kiba, just let it go. Forget about him." Hige said. I looked at Kiba. He was still staring at the water as it ran past him.
"But he took Cheza..." I said with a sigh. There was a silence dwelling among the three of us for a couple of minutes. After a while, Kiba got up.
"Let's get going." he said. I took Kiba's hand as he extended it to me and got up.
"C'mon, Porky." I said with a small smirk at Hige.
"Porky!?!"
"You were the one complaining about the smell around here in the first place, do you like it now?"
"No!"
"Then get your ass up!" I said. Hige groaned and then followed Kiba and me as we walked away. He insisted that he could find the way out, so we let him lead the way. After about twenty more minutes of walking in the tunnels, we decided to go back up on ground level. We stopped at the first sewer cap we spotted. The only problem with this one was that there was no ladder.
"What are we going to do about that?" I asked.
"Hey, how 'bout you guys stand on top of eachother and I'll climb up to open the sewer cap?" Hige suggested.
"Why do you get to open it?!" I yelled.
"Cuz I closed the last one." Hige said obnoxiously.
"That's a dumb excuse..."
"I guess it's the only way out." Kiba said.
"I should be the one climbing, I'm obviously lighter than you." I said at Hige.
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
"It means that you're on the heavy side, Porky!" I retorted.
"At least I'm not a twig!"
"Who're you callin' a twig, fat ass?!"
"I was callin' you a twig!"
"Nice comeback. You know what? Fine, you can climb if it'll make you shut up!"
"Yes!"
"Are you guys done yet?" Kiba asked.
"Yeah... If you fall, I'm not helping you up, you know." I said with a sigh.
"I won't fall." Hige said with a slight snort. Kiba sighed and kneeled down directly below the sewer cap. I put my legs around his shoulders and he held onto them.
"Don't break us, Porky." I said once I was steady on Kiba's shoulders.
"Stop callin' me that!" Hige yelled.
"Just shut up and do it, already!" I shouted back at him. Kiba groaned a little as Hige climbed on top of him. Then he climbed on top of me. He lifted up the sewer cap and looked around.
"Uh-oh. Must've taken a wrong turn...Huh? Hey! It's one of our own!" Hige said. I groaned.
"I don't care where we are or who the hell is there! Just get off!" As the word "off" came out of my mouth, I shoved Hige out of the sewer pipe. I grabbed onto the edges of the opening and pulled myself up.
"Hold onto my legs." I said.
"I don't wanna touch you!" Hige exclaimed.
"Just do it!" I yelled at him. Hige groaned and held onto my legs as I reached back down into the sewer.
"Grab onto me." I said to Kiba. Kiba grabbed onto my wrists as I extended my hands to him. I looked back at the opening.
"Pull me up!" I said.
"Yeah, yeah." Hige mumbled as he gave my legs a forceful tug and pulled both Kiba and me up quickly. Kiba ended up on top of me, while I was on the floor. I looked at Hige.
"Stupid idiot." I said.
"That's the last time I trust your nose." Kiba added. Kiba smirked at me for a second and was about to kiss me when Hige interrupted.
"Hello! We've got company here! And I don't mean just me!" Hige said. Kiba and I looked to our right and saw another wolf by a knocked down trash can. He was tan colored and had bangles around his right arm. He was looking at us in shock with his mouth slightly open.
"You guys...? No way! Y-you're..." He said, trailing off. Kiba got off of me and looked at the human in the alleyway staring at the Tan Wolf. The wolf looked back at the human and stared at her.
"Lira." the tan wolf said. The girl tensed up as she heard the wolf call her name. She was starting to shake and looked as if she had seen a ghost. The Wolf turned towards her.
"Don't be scared. I won't do anything. I just... wanted to see you again. I'm so sorry... about your bird." the wolf said to her.
"D-Daddy... Daddy? Daddy! DADDY! COME QUICK IT'S THE WOLF! THE WOLF IS HERE!" the girl yelled.
"This is exactly why I hate humans!" I said.
"We've gotta get out of here!" Hige yelled. I stayed back while Hige and Kiba ran and looked at the tan wolf, still staring at the girl.
"What are you waiting for?! Let's go!" I yelled at him. The wolf shook his head and then followed me as I ran behind Kiba and Hige. He followed the three of us into an alleyway, but stopped as we went into one of the pipes that were in the walls.
"Grr... Where the hell is he?!" I said.
"Probably still trying to reason with the human." Kiba said.
"C'mon!" Hige said as stuck his head of the pipe.
The pipe that we went into led back into the sewage system, and once again, Hige started to complain.
"I told you before that I hate smelly places!" he complained.
"How many times do I have to tell you to shut up!" I yelled. His complaining was really starting to get on my nerves.
"Who said I was talkin' to ya!?" Hige spat back at me.
"Don't you two ever stop arguing?" Kiba groaned.
"Hmph!" I said, crossing my arms. Hige groaned and then looked at the Tan Wolf behind the three of us.
"Hey, runt, what's eatin' you?" He asked him.
"I'm not a runt! My names' Toboe!" the wolf said.
"That's cool. Well I'm Hige, and this heres' Kiba. That over there" Hige pointed at me.
"is bit-" Before he could finish what he was saying, I interrupted him.
"If you call me that, I'll rip your throat in a second...." I said.
"That's Rei...." Hige said in a monotone voice.
"Where are we headed, anyway?" Toboe asked.
"Where do you think? To the exit, of course." Hige said.
"The exit?" Toboe questioned.
"We're leaving town." I answered.
"You're leaving town? But, where else are you gonna go?"
"To Paradise." Kiba said.
"Paradise...?" Toboe said, a little confused. Toboe stopped walking. Hige and I looked back at him.
"Hey, guys... Do you know Tsume?" He asked.
"Tsume?" I asked.
"Nah, never heard of him." Hige answered.
"Is he the one with the scar on his chest?" Kiba asked.
"Yeah! That's Tsume, alright!" Toboe exclaimed.
"Okay, what about him?" Kiba said.
"He's one of us, so I thought he might wanna leave too." Toboe said.
"Well, I don't know him. Where is he, hidin' out some place?" Hige asked. I looked ahead at the ground and saw some blood at the base of a ladder.
"I don't know. We... We got split up." Kiba said.
"Hey, Kiba." I said, getting Kiba's attention.
"What is it?" He asked. Kiba looked to the direction where I was looking and walked up to the blood on the floor. I followed him and stood by his side as he bent down to examine it.
"Sorry, pal, but it's too late to go back for him now. So what, is he like a friend of yours?" Hige asked.
"No he's not! He isn't my friend..." Toboe said.
"So? Ditch him already. Shake a leg, runt." Hige said.
"That's Toboe!" Toboe corrected him. I eyed Toboe as Hige and him walked past Kiba and me.
"Well at least I know that I'm not the only one who sees Hige as annoying..." I said. Kiba didn't answer.
"Is that his blood?" I asked.
"I don't know. It's definately wolf's blood though, and the scent is kinda familiar." Kiba answered.
"Hey Porky!" I called. Hige turned around.
"Didn't I tell you to stop calling me that?!" he yelled.
"Didn't Toboe tell you to stop calling him a runt!?" I spat back. Hige groaned as Toboe laughed.
"That's karma for ya." Toboe said with a small chuckle.
"I think we found something so get back over here!" I said. I climbed up the ladder after Kiba and was shortly followed by Toboe and Hige. The four of us continued to follow the blood and its scent until it led us to a crumbling building.
"That place sure looks nice... I hope that's not where he's staying... Hey Toboe, this place look familiar to you?" I asked Toboe.
"Yeah, that's where Tsume lives." Toboe answered.
"Great..." I said.
"Well, let's get him." Kiba said. I sighed and ignored Hige's complaining as I walked into the building. After a couple minutes of walking, we got to a closed door that was on the top level. Kiba went through it first, followed by me, Hige and Toboe. Kiba and I stepped aside a little. We stared at the wolf sitting down on the window sill. He was in his human form, with silver hair and holding his bleeding arm. From this distance, I could definately tell that the blood from the sewer was his.
"What a crap heap, why the hell did you bring us here?" Hige asked.
I sighed. "Didn't you hear me at all outside?"
"And just why would I listen to you?!" Hige said.
"Tsume?" Toboe said.
"You..." the grey wolf said.
"Wha... Hey... is this him?" Hige asked. I looked at Kiba and saw that he was eyeing Tsume. I could tell that there had been a past quarrel between them.
"I could smell the blood from your wound." Kiba said.
"What?" Tsume asked.
"I smelt it all the way here from town." Kiba continued.
"And you're gonna nurse me back to health? Well I don't need your help." Tsume snorted.
"Tsume, look I... We're leaving the city. I really think you should come with us." Toboe suggested.
"And just were is this merry band of yours going?" Tsume asked.
"To Paradise." Kiba said.
"You're kinding me. You're going with them because you believe in that crap?" Tsume asked.
"I don't know, but... if we stay here we'll have to spend the rest of our lives in hiding or worse. We just can't live with the humans anymore and survive..." Toboe stated.
"We could never live with them in the first place..." I added. I looked at Hige as he pressed himself against the wall besides the window and looked outside.
"Look, I hate to interrupt, but a nasty stink is headed this way." He said. At that moment, the three of us felt the presence of a lot of humans.
"We're surrounded." Tsume said.
"Let me ask you, why did you guys come to this city? It was because of the flower scent, wasn't it? Well it's gone now. There's no reason to stay." Kiba said.
"The flower has nothing to do with it. I'm here because I belong." Tsume said, stubbornly.
"I could see that; this city is a dump." Kiba said. Tsume tensed up and walked towards him.
"I still have a score to settle with you." Tsume said. I stepped in between Kiba and Tsume.
"No wolf belongs out of a pack, not even you. So if you think that you belong in this city, you're wrong, but if you touch a hair on his head, you'll be more than just alone. You'll be dead." I said with a growl.
"C'mon! We don't have time for this!" Hige yelled. Tsume glanced at me for a second, and then looked up at Kiba.
"The last time we met, you said something about how your pride wouldn't allow you to pass as a human. Well, you look pretty human now, where'd your pride go?" Tsume asked. I growled a little at Tsume, but he ignored me. Kiba put a hand on my left hip and I stopped.
"No where. Nothing has changed." Kiba answered.
"Do you have the slightest idea of what leaving the city would mean?" Tsume asked.
"Yeah."
"You'll just die."
"Possibly. Everyone's gonna die. It's a natural part of life, but if life has no purpose, you're dead already." Kiba said. That line burned in Tsume's mind. He said nothing back to Kiba. The only thing that broke the silence between them was the sound of gun shots and the bright flash that came from outside of the building.
"Can we go now?!" Hige yelled.
"This way!" Tsume said. The five of us ran across pipes outside of the window towards a bridge. Toboe slipped off, but grabbed onto a strip of metal on the bottom of the pipe. Tsume stopped and ran over to him as he struggled to get up. He gripped onto Toboes' shoulder with his fangs and pulled him up. Once I saw that Toboe was safe, I continued to run with Hige and Kiba. Toboe quickly caught up to the three of us as we ran, avoiding the many bullets that shot past us. Once we reached the top of another building, Kiba stopped and looked back.
"What the hell are you stopping for?!" Hige asked. Kiba didn't answer, instead he kept staring at the opening on the other building that the four of us came from.
"Just wait..." I said. A couple seconds later, Tsume came out of it.
"Tsume!" Toboe yelled. Tsume stopped and stared at Kiba for a little as the shots ceased to fire for a little. Once they started, all of us continued to run again. From the top of the building, I jumped down into a snowstorm to another broken one. Toboe and Tsume were the last ones who was standing on the higher building. Looking down from above, Toboe looked scared.
"Jump already!" Hige yelled at him.
"I was getting ready to, alright!" Toboe said back. I hit Hige on the arm. He clutched his arm and looked at me.
"What the hell was that for?!" He asked.
"Will you relax? He's just a kid!" I said. I looked back up at Toboe to see Tsume behind him.
"Move it." Tsume said as he kicked Toboe off the edge of the building. He screamed a little in the free fall before he landed in front of the three of us. Tsume stayed behind for a little bit, staring at the sky. He ignored the gun shot that was fired near him.
"Tsume, what are you waiting for?! C'mon, jump!!" Toboe said. Another shot was fired.
"Are you scared?" I yelled at him.
"Yeah, you wish..." Tsume retorted. He jumped off and landed beside me.
"That jump was nothing." He said when he landed. As the city was far in the distance, Tsume stopped and looked back at it.
" Screw this stupid journey. Paradise can kiss my ass. I'm just... fed up with this stinking town. It was time to move on anyway... "