Disclaimer: If I owned this, do you think I would be writing here? NO! I would be making some awesome new episode right now for all you people who love this show, like me!
AN: Ok, I had some… technical difficulties and family issues, so sorry for the long delay. Oh, and from now on, the teepees will be called houses.
Recap: As they watched two wolves came out from the village and ran towards them then stopped in front of the two now kneeling girls. Both of them talked to the wolves, whispering in their ears. But what was most amazing of all, is that the wolves seemed to understand.
Gaping, they all stared at the large wolves. They... they could understand? A giggle interrupted their thoughts. Standing up, Misao put her hand in front of her mouth, trying to stop the laughter bubbling up in her throat. Smiling cheerfully at them all, she decided to explain.
"This is Ta-She, my soul wolf. In our world, everyone has a soul wolf unless you are only an honorary member, like Hiko here." Here she waved distractedly toward the before mentioned man, "Basically, soul wolves are born when you are, and, unless it is murder or something like that, die when you do as well. Soul wolves do often die of depression if their partner is killed, and vise versa. They can communicate with their partners through telepathy, and although they can understand other humans, can not talk to them, only their partners, and we humans can only communicate with our partners, but can not understand the other soul wolves."
"Now that's not entirely true weasel, Hikaru and Kaoru can talk to and understand everyone after all." Interrupted Megumi. Throwing a glare at Megumi for interrupting her, Misao 'humphed' and looked away. Smiling cheerfully at her, she turned to the others, who seemed to be taking in this information…for the most part. Kenshin and Aoshi were at least, but Sano…"What?" Rolling her eyes, Megumi smirked and said contemptuously. "It will become clearer later on you baka Rooster." Ignoring his glare, she spun around imperiously, followed by a giggling Misao and the others, a sulking Sano bringing up the rear.
Walking through the city, although they still thought it was entirely too small to be one, they seemed to be the only ones gawking at all the new things. The natives passed them a glance, sometimes a smile or wave, and that was about it. Although they weren't all open about the gawking, only Sano seemed to be open about it, they still felt out of place. This was all so new to them and they couldn't quite wrap their minds around it, especially about the soul wolves. Everyone in this city had one with them, seemingly laughing at nothing, but probably at something that their companions had silently told them.
After a while they came to the center of the city and were ushered into a very large house. Sitting around a small table, the waited for some sort of explanation to come. Surely they were not here just for some friendly outing, otherwise they would have been to see this magical place, for indeed it had come to seem like one, long before. After a few minutes of silence, our favorite rooster became aggravated and asked what was on all three boys' minds. "So WHY are we here again? I mean, surely this wasn't just some pleasantry trip or something?"
Sighing slightly, Hiko looked at them all. "I suppose I do owe you an explanation." He started, and, ignoring Sano's aggravated 'You think!', continued. "You see, in this culture, there is a leader, much like there is a leader in a wolf pack. About two or three months ago Koshijiro, their leader and one of my best friends, died. So of course, there was a battle for the next leader, one which Kaoru, Koshijiro's daughter, won. Now, about a month ago, a member of the pack that had been gone for a while, he was interested in our world since not many people have been their and the ones that do keep information about it to themselves, came back and decided to challenge Kaoru for her title. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but Kaoru was not there at the time and hasn't been since, so he has become aggravated. He has challenged the others that fought for the title and won, so he says that if she is not here by the next full moon, tonight, then he will claim the title of leader and banish Kaoru from this pack.
Of course this caused great distress and rioting from the people, who all love Kaoru and believe she is the best leader, but can do nothing about it. Haku, the guy who wants the title of leader, is inside his rights though, and no one can do anything about it. Of course, this has nothing to do with why you are here." Hiko said, before taking a drink of the sake that had been handed to him sometime during the speech. Smacking his head on the table, Sano glared at him and said venomously, "Then why did you tell us all of that!" "So you would understand what is happening tonight." He said simply.
"Now, back to why you are here. Sometimes, wolves are born here, but no humans are. This is not a very rare occurrence, since usually the ability to have a soul wolf does not stray from these grounds, but it does happen from time to time. About 19 and 20 years ago, three soul wolves were born without human partners, and all three of them seem to have been born on the same day you were." Letting this sink in for a moment, Hiko continued. "Now, while this does not necessarily mean they are your partners, it is a likely hood and you have been brought here to see if it is indeed a fact. So, after tonight's fight for leader, you will meet these three wolves and we shall see if they are meant to be your partners. Now, if you will excuse me, I'm tired from the trip and will be resting." Turning, Hiko walked over to leave the house, then paused and said as an after thought, "Feel free to use this house as your own, as our hostess has so lovingly gave it to you for the time being." And with that, he and the girls left, leaving three fairly confused and amazed boys behind.
Looking at each other, they couldn't really discern how to take all of this information. "Well, I for one am confused and amazed." Said Sano dryly. All the other two could do is nod.
Later that night
Sitting inside their house/teepee, the boys watched the shadows of people move towards the edge of the city, wondering what they were supposed to do. "You think we were supposed to follow these people or wait for someone to come get us?" Sano wondered out loud. Before anyone could answer, the flap that constituted as a door was opened and Misao and Megumi came in, garbed in different clothing then before.
Misao was in a snow white hide dress that went to just before her knees but had a slit on both sides going up to just about the middle of her hip. Underneath were what looked to be skin tight black shorts. Around the middle was a long cerulean colored cloth that was tied at the side and the ends flowed down to mid thigh. On the white dress there were cerulean colored markings that were a few shades darker then the piece of cloth. Four black bangles adorned her ankles, two on each leg. Her feet were clad in a black moccasin like foot wear, but they looked sturdier and made of heavier material. Her hair was in a braid that went down to her butt with small beads woven in to it. She was small and slender, almost fragile looking in it, but it was none the less a figure that many girls would die for.
Megumi was wearing a light brown hide dress that went down to her ankles with a slit going up one of the sides to mid thigh, showing a flash of pale skin whenever she walked. Darker shades of brown decorated her dress, but nothing else. Her hair was down except for the single strand that was braided with what looked like fur on the left side. Like Misao, she was slender, but not fragile looking. Unlike Misao, she had a nice hourglass figure, which basically means she was well endowed upstairs.
Sano, of course, was staring at Megumi, almost to the point of being rude, and trying hard not to drool. Our favorite ice cube, Aoshi, was staring at Misao, all though he was at least discreet about it, while Kenshin just smiled politely and decided that they were both not what he was looking for. Bouncing into the room, the ever bubbly Misao started of the conversation, like most times. "We will be your escorts for tonight. Everyone is gathering around the edge of town because that's where our fights normally take place, so what say we join them?"
Without waiting for an answer, she left the room, leaving the others to follow, which they did. Weaving in and out of the crowd that was beginning to assemble, they made it to the edge of the town where everyone was sitting in a huge semi-circle, leaving the other side of the circle open. On the other side of the circle was a high cliff that overlooked the whole place. They took their seats at the front of the circle, although they weren't really sure how they had managed to get by everyone else to get there. A few moments later, Hiko joined them. They sat silently, not knowing what to say or do, just watching. After a while a man went to the center of the semi-circle, looking overly confident and smug.
"Well, I don't see your precious leader now! What, is she so afraid of fighting me that she can't even show herself?" Laughing at this, he didn't seem to notice the murderous glare that just about everyone was giving him.
"Only a fool or a coward would be afraid of you Haku, and I am neither." Abruptly, his laughter shut off and he looked angrily for the source of the voice. "Then show yourself, oh glorious one!" he yelled, anger and sarcasm in his voice. "Gladly." And almost as one, everyone head turned to the top of the cliff, where two shadows had formed. They watched as the two shadows made their way down the cliff in a matter of moments, not appearing rattled in the least. Now in the light of the fire, you could make out the form of one of the largest wolves in the clan, and a form shrouded in the darkness that she seemed to create. All you could see were a pair of amber and sapphire eyes, both seeming to cut through the darkness with ease.
AN: Ok, how was that? It was longer, see, see? XD Oh well, review!