Chapter Three: The Bite

Takao sat against Miyaji's door, shaking from the cold of the night. He'd spent most of the first day away from school and his parents in the woods—literally—angry and confused as to why he was being excluded. Then he went to a streetball tournament and ran into Kagami and Himuro, hanging out with them for a couple hours before deciding that he'd go to his senpai's apartment. What he didn't know was that Miyaji had a one-on-one with Ootsubo until midnight.

"What the—hey, what the hell are you doing here?" Takao looked up at the sound of Miyaji's voice. The blond squatted down to Takao's level and got closer to him, eyeing his face suspiciously. "Why were you crying? I'm not graduating for another year."

Usually Miyaji was being sarcastic, but once during a particularly stressful week Takao mentioned to Midorima that Miyaji was going to graduate and leave them and then they both spent the entire rest of the day unwilling to let go of either of the blond's hands.

"I—I didn't know where else to go." Takao sniffed. "Can't go home."

Miyaji sighed. "I'm not gonna push it and ask, since I said if you needed a place to crash I'd give you one…but don't you have anything? Like an overnight bag or something?" Miyaji glanced around. His apartment complex was pretty far away from the school, in the outskirts of a forest that surrounded the town. "How did you even get here?"

"…Walked." Takao sulked. Miyaji stared at him.

"Please tell me you're joking."

Takao didn't say anything.

"Fine. Okay." Miyaji stood up and grabbed the other by the arm, pulling him up too. He shouldered his backpack and dragged Takao down the steps to the parking lot, pulling out his keys and unlocking his Subaru. "I'm driving you home. Don't be an idiot—" He raised his hands when Takao began to protest, "—I'll go in and get your stuff for you. Because if you think that I'm letting you borrow my cloths you are wrong."

"O-Okay," Takao mumbled as Miyaji started the car and began driving on the single road. The sun was down and the moon rose up above them, abnormally large. The single two-lane road stretching through the forest was putting him on edge. "If you're sure."

Miyaji kept driving. A few minutes passed when the blond leaned forward and squinted. "Hey, is there something in the road…?" He muttered. Takao froze.

"Huh?" He asked. Miyaji flipped on the brights and suddenly slammed on the breaks. Takao got whiplash and smashed his forehad into the glove compartment with a resounding crack and let out a short scream. The car screeched to a halt, but not before hitting something with a heavy thump, crumpling the hood of the car like it was foil. They both flew out only to see a flash of something jolting forward.

"Midorima?!" Miyaji yelled when the greenette slammed into a recuperating Takao and pressed him to the crumpled car hood, nudging his body between the point guard's legs aggressively. Midorima unhinged his jaw and pressed his teeth around Takao's vein, and the other whimpered and squeezed his eyes shut in resignation.

"FUCK NO! GET OFF HIM!" Miyaji bowled into Midorima and they rolled over the car before flopping onto the ground. The human-turned-werewolf flew to his feet the same time Miyaji did and Takao felt a chill up his spine when the look in Midorima's eyes changed from cold to feral and interested. Shit.

"Miyaji!" Takao cried out when Midorima tackled the blond to the ground and began wrestling with him, knowing that he'd be useless even if he tried to intervene. After all, what could he do against Midorima without hurting him? And that was something he wasn't willing to do. He had to trust that the Ace wouldn't do anything bad to their senpai. With shaky hands he pulled out his phone and dialed Aomine's number, eyes glued to the scene before him.

"Takao?! Where the fuck are you, I've been trying to reach you for hours!" Aomine didn't take even seconds to answer.

"M-Mido-chan got out, didn't he." Takao trembled and tried not to drop the phone. Midorima was succeeding in getting on top of Miyaji but the blond wouldn't be counted for nothing, driving a hard punch into the greenette's stomach and reversing their positions. There was an animalistic playfulness in Midorima's eyes.

"How did you—shit.Takao. Tell me where you are now."

"Near Hana Emi Apartment Complex. P-Please," Takao started crying. "Please come soon. He's—he's—"

"We're less than a minute away. Listen—don't get near him. No matter what he does, don't get near him."

"O-Okay." Takao hung up just in time to hear a gasp from Miyaji, and whipped around. Midorima was straddling the blond and using his weight to pin him down. He was bent over sniffing the graceful creamy neck curiously while his hands pinned Miyaji's wrists against the wet pavement.

He opened his mouth to bite down when Aomine's black Honda came screeching down the street like a bat out of hell, headlights blaring brightly and bathing the scene in a pasty white. It stopped a few yards from where Midorima had Miyaji pinned and Aomine and Momoi jumped out with a heap of thick silver chains and a crossbow. Before Momoi could even level the weapon Takao jumped in front of her, shaking but determined.

"No!" He shouted protectively. "Don't hurt him!" He must've looked like a mess, with ugly pale skin from lack of sleep, ruffled hair, and blood welling where he hit his head from whiplash. The car lights turned off automatically and moonlight became their only source of light. Takao could only semi-make out their forms, but the metallic reflection from the silver bow was unmistakable.

"But—"

"No!" Takao pleaded. Aomine pushed him out of the way urgently but it was already too late.

Midorima sunk his wolf's teeth down into Miyaji's neck, slowly and sensually, his teeth sliding into the skin like it was butter. Miyaji froze and squeezed his eyes shut, then continued to struggle for freedom. Midorima held onto his wrists and kept his teeth in fiercely, unmoving like a rock.

"W-What's happening?" Takao asked nervously.

"Shit." Aomine groaned with a stricken expression. "He's—he's trying to mark him."

"Mark him?"

"Make him the Beta. He wants the teeth marks to last." Momoi supplied, a trance-like expression on his face. "Because of the Pack Mentality, aside from mates the Alpha and Beta are the closest. Unlike in a wolf back, Betas of a Werewolf pack are people who could become Alphas if they needed to. Most Betas that are turned by the Alphas naturally try to fight back…"

"Your senpai must really be something," Aomine commented nervously, "If he's managing to hold out this long. Midorima's a force to be reckoned with." Miyaji kept struggling with a pained look on his face. When he tried to move his neck away Midorima growled—literally growled—and tightened his jaw. Miyaji sucked in a breath through his teeth and kept fighting.

A few very awkward, very scary minutes passed. Takao kept crying, so confused and afraid and overwhelmed that he didn't know what else to do, while Momoi went behind the car and called her mother. Aomine awkwardly placed an arm around Takao's shoulders for comfort.

Finally Miyaji arched his back and whined, turning his hand into Midorima's with a scrunched expression. He gasped and opened his eyes, which had turned from bright gold to smoky vivid amber, and an exotic woodsy smell filled the air. The two teens sank into the ground, panting and exhausted.

"What is that?" Takao asked, covering his mouth and nose with a shaky hand.

"The idiot's scenting him." Aomine sighed, pulling his shirt over his nose. "Telling other wolves to stay away from him and letting them know that he has a pack now." Silence fell. Takao couldn't take his eyes off of the teens, his fear wearing off into shock as Midorima slowly pulled his teeth out and licked the bleeding mark.

Something in Miyaji appeared to submit to his kohai because he tilted his head to the side and exposed his neck, allowing Midorima to nuzzle it. Aomine sighed and dropped the silver chains to the ground, leaning back on his car and forcing Takao to do the same.

"Look," He said after noting the shorter teen's expression, "This isn't…He doesn't have control over his actions right now. This is just animalistic desire; don't be jealous. They don't like each other or anything, this is just how they—er, werewolves—happen to do this kind of thing." Why the hell he'd be jealous Takao couldn't fathom. He'd never want to be in Miyaji's position.

"So then Miyaji-senpai really is…" Takao's face fell and he held his face in his hands. "Fuck. This is all my fault. Fuck."

"Don't be an ass." Aomine ordered, ruffling Takao's hair awkwardly. "In a way, this is good for Midorima. He has a Beta now; he'll be more stable." As if on cue Midorima started getting up, holding out his hand and helping Miyaji to his feet. They stayed close to each other, and Miyaji looked half-conscious as he allowed Midorima to wrap an arm around his shoulders and huddle him close with a protective glare.

"Hey, man," Aomine said softly, letting go of Takao's shoulder and taking a step toward the pair. "Look, I know that the last thing you want is to go back, but it's cold outside."

Midorima growled and bared his teeth, stepping back and pulling Miyaji with him. Aomine gulped and retreated back the short distance to his car and tried to think of another option when Takao stepped forward.

"Shin-chan," He said calmly, like they were just chatting after practice. His hands were in his pockets and he smiled cheerily. "You can't stay out here forever, yeah? Please go in the car with them. Pretty pretty please! I won't let them hurt you. I swear."

Aomine watched with wide eyes as Midorima seemed to actually consider the offer. The greenette stayed close to Miyaji and allowed Takao to get close enough to offer his hand, then grabbed the ravenette's wrist tightly. Aomine rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, we get it, you have a pack now. Whoop de fuckin' doo." He turned and called over to Momoi. The pink-haired woman was still on the phone talking quietly, one hand brandishing her crossbow and resting it on the top of the car. "Hey, what'd she say?"

Momoi Yuna was one of the most famous Hunters in all the country and was the head of the Hunter's Association of Japan. Yuna's nephew Saitou Kazuki was a teenager and was next-in-line to take over the Momoi Family's affairs with the association. From the way Satsuki was talking it was him she was speaking with.

"She's gone," Momoi frowned and urged him over with a tilt of the head. When he was close, she whispered, "Apparently Izuki-kun's parents are missing. They think it's an akuma."

"Eh?" Aomine scowled. He didn't like meeting with the Izuki family (they had a habit of making bad puns) but they were the strongest magic-using family around and if an akuma had taken them down it must be serious. "When?"

"A week ago; they told Izuki-kun they'd be gone for a few days but never returned. He tried using a locator spell and it didn't work, which means they're either dead or unconscious."

"Ugh." Aomine rolled his eyes. "Okay, well did Kazuki say what to do? Is your mom on her way over?"

Momoi shook her head. "Finding Izuki Sei and Takahiro are a priority, but they're stopping if it takes over a week." She uncovered the phone speaker and talked quietly. "No, I didn't hang up. Please come as soon as possible." A pause. "Yes, two of them." She frowned. "…I don't…yes, of course. Yes. Thank you, Kazu-kun." She clicked the phone off and glanced over at Midorima, Takao, and Miyaji. The prior two were supporting the latter, who looked both distant and alert at the same time.

"Ah." The loud ringtone shot through the silence and Midorima's head snapped up. He glared at Aomine as the bluenette opened his own phone and glanced at the caller's i.d before wincing. "What is it, Kise?" He turned away.

"So cold! Have you heard from Takaocchi?" Kise chirped through the phone.

"Uh…no. We haven't talked to them. Why?"

"We? Who are you with?" The model's voice became flat and robotic, a defense mechanism built in from years of rude interviewers and nosy reporters. Aomine sighed.

"Momoi. Why do you want to know where Takao is?" The werewolf's glare intensified at the sound of his name.

"Ootsubo-san's looking for him and Midorimacchi. He's worried and couldn't get ahold of Miyaji-san or Midorimacchi. He's like, ten seconds away from calling Akashicchi."

Shit. "Uh, look. I just saw like all three of them less than a minute ago, I just didn't talk with them." Technically it wasn't a lie. But what he prepared to say next definitely was. "They're hanging around playing streetball. Just tell their Captain to call of the search party because they're fine."

"If you're sure…" Kise sounded hesitant. "You're positive that it was them? Because—"

"God, Kise, stop being annoying! They're fine." Aomine hung up on the model guiltily. He shouldn't have snapped like that, but he was under a lot of pressure and needed some way to vent. More than anything he wanted a one-on-one with the tiger or model, but he had to deal with this first. He'd clean up the mess he'd made and prove that he was a good hunter—no, an amazing one. "We should get going."

"Got it." Momoi handed him the crossbow and went to get the car started. Aomine glanced at Takao before leaning down and hefting the chains into his arms. With a bated stare at the two fresh wolves he made his way to the trunk and jiggled it open, setting the chains and bow down inside.

"C-come on, Mido-chan, senpai. Let's go." Takao pressed and thankfully the alpha listened, him and Takao helping Miyaji into the car before getting in and sandwiching the blond between them.

"Okay." Aomine sighed as he hopped into the passenger side. He turned to Momoi. "Kazuki can take care of this, right?" The pair stared wearily through the windshield; Miyaij's car was still drawn horizontally through the road, part of the right front corner crumpled against the road barrier and one of the tires flat. There were black skid marks against the pavement that would prove to be impossible to hide, but if anyone could do it, Kazuki could.

"Yeah." Momoi nodded and proceeded to reverse into the right lane before driving off.

Takao frowned from behind Momoi. He felt hurt that there was still something going on, something that made them force him out of their home without a single helping hand. Moreso the fact that Midorima seemed to let them stung tenfold, and the notion that he couldn't be trusted around the ace made his chest ache. He blinked back tears at the thought, and the idea that maybe Miyaji wouldn't have gotten bitten if Takao hadn't cowardly done nothing. Miyaji got bit protecting him, just like Midorima did, and that was what hurt the most. He wanted to be stronger. He wanted to be able to help, to be able to protect the people he cared about the way they did him. But things would never change if he couldn't figure out what they were keeping secret.

Flinching as something landed softly on his shoulder, he felt Miyaji lean into him with a soft puff of air, pressing his forehead and eyes into the junction of Takao's neck and shoulder. It did not go unnoticed that Midorima was watching them closely. His expression was fond, if not strained, and Takao was reminded that no matter what he was feeling or blamed himself for, he had to be strong and help his teammates.

"You okay?" Aomine asked Takao carefully, noticing his and Midorima's shared look. He was worried about the point guard; it was a lot to take in at once, and it was obvious the kid blamed himself for what happened to both his teammates. He'd love to get a chance to really talk to Takao and help him figure out what was happening but there was honestly too much on his plate. Two people got turned under his watch and that was bad. Really, really bad. He hoped that Kazuki would be willing to keep it all low-key, but dealing with the Hunter's Association was another matter. The most he could do right now was ask a simple follow-up question, "I mean, this is a lot to take in. Are you okay?"

Takao's dark eyes flickered. "Perfect."