THINGS CHANGE
A/N: Ok, I can't think of a good name for this chapter but, it's still good, enjoy!
Chapter 4- Brothers
With his leg bound up, Matt was much faster.
"Huh, I wonder why master didn't give me this earlier!" he said as he ran.
It was hard to get his brother's scent with all the wind blowing.
"Oh no, winter's coming a lot fast then I thought. I better hurry!" he thought, picking up the pace.
Meanwhile, back at camp…
As soon as Matt was gone, Mashiu came back with a wet cloth. He laid Kat in the tent next to Orion and put the cloth over her eyes.
Takara whimpered.
Mashiu smiled and patted his head "Don't worry boy, it'll be ok."
They both patiently waited until Kat woke up.
She groaned "Ohhh…ow, wha…wha happened?" Before anyone could answer she gasped, "Oh my…was Matt telling the truth?!" she yelled sitting up.
Takara coughed "Well…um…kinda…yeah…"
Kat's eyes widened, her pupils shrank "…No…"
Takara looked down.
She shook her head "No…no, you're lying! YOU'RE LYING!!"
Mashiu looked confused "What?"
Ignoring him, she stood up "TELL ME YOU'RE LYING!!! T-…Takara?"
But he didn't say anything, just avoided her eyes.
Mashiu frowned "What? What is it?"
Kat shook her head disbelievingly…her eyes watered. With a soft whimpering noise, she put her face in her hands and ran out of the tent.
Mashiu looked at Takara "…What did you say?!"
Takara looked up at him with a mixture of pity and confusion.
Mashiu shook his head "What am I doing? I'm talking to a wolf! Kat wait!" And he ran after her.
Takara eyes followed him "…Did he…understand me?"
---
Mashiu followed her to and old tree. Kat had thrown herself at its roots and sobbed into the ground. He frowned "That's enough! Will someone please tell me what's going on!?" Kat stood up with dirt clinging to her face.
She was crying tears of grief and anger "You wanna know?! HARNI! THAT BASTARD STOLE OUR SON!" she yelled.
Mashiu eyes widened but then returned to size and he looked down, barely heard, he whispered, "…I see…"
She marched over to him angrily "I THOUGHT YOU WERE GONNA PROTECT HIM!!!"
He said nothing, just looked down, his hair covering his eyes.
But Kat was so angry, she started hitting him and didn't care whither it hurt or not "YOU DIDN'T!!! IT'S ALL YOU'RE FAULT!!! YOU LIED!!!!" She let out a loud yell "YOU LIED!!! YOU PROMISED!!! IT'S- ALL- YOU'RE- FAULT!!!!!!!!" she screamed, unable to control herself.
Even though she was punching him with all her strength, Mashiu calmly pulled her into a hug.
But, it was to easy, Kat wouldn't stop struggling for a while.
Kat thrashed against him, trying to hit him in the face "I HATE YOU!!! NOW MY BABY'S GONE!!!" Slowly though, her anger dissolved into sorrow "IT'S YOU'RE FAULT!!! SAY IT!!! SAY IT!!! I HATE Y-y-y-y-you…i-i-it's...you're f-f-f-fault!"
Her yells turned into sobs and her punches got softer…then she just gave up all together and sobbed into his chest. Mashiu held her close and rubbed her back comfortingly. His voice shook as he spoke "…It's ok…I'm here…we're going to find him…it's ok…"
Kat hugged him tightly "Wh-what's gonna happen…t-to my poor baby K-Kenji?" she sobbed. They both stood there for a long time, trying to coop with their loss.
Takara looked out the tent and sighed "Poor humans…"
A groan got his attention.
"Orion?" he turned. But he wasn't awake...Orion had just turned in his sleep...no comforting words would come from him today...
Takara sighed, "…Matt…I hope at least YOU'RE ok…"
Back with Matt…
Matt was able to run for a long time.
"I can go about 3 days with out food, water or rest…hope that's enough…" he muttered to himself.
And he was, able to go that long, but after, he was having some problems.
Matt panted, "Water…food…can't go on…"
He looked and was more then relieved to find a cave. Not even bothering to smell around and see if it was anyone's home, he ran to it. He had just gotten to the mouth when he fell. "Ok, th-this is good…I'll just…rest…" he muttered.
Everything got darker and he stopped trying to resist sleep.
---
"Uuugh…um? Ow…" he muttered sleepily.
"Ah, so you're alive!" a voice said happily.
Matt eyes snapped open "AH! What the- wh-where am I?!"
"Now, now, just calm down. You were in pretty bad shape, might not be up to jumpin' around fast." It said.
Matt gasped "Wh-wh-who's-s-s there?"
The voice was coming from the back of the cave "Oh! Sorry, let me get out there."
Matt's eyes widened as a 6 foot bear walked out from the back of the cave on his hind legs. When he sat down he wasn't AS tall, but still!
"Hello, I'm Kifintene…but everyone calls me Kif. What's your name?" the bear asked with a friendly smile.
Matt's mouth fell open "Uuuuuh…"
Kif tilted his head "Hey, you ok?"
Matt swallowed "Um…y-y-yeah?"
"That's good, when I saw you just barely in my cave, you looked pretty bad. Oh! Here, I saved a fish for ya!" he said pushing a fish to him.
Matt blinked "Uhhh, thanks?"
Kif smiled "No problem!"
For a minute Matt ate in silence, then he just couldn't take it.
"Ok are you just feeding me so I can make a decent meal later?" he asked bluntly.
That made Kif laughed out-loud "HAHAHA! What? Eat you? Sick! Nah, you're too furry…"
Matt couldn't help but feel slightly insulted, "I'm good enough to eat…" he thought. But quickly shook that out of his mind "Ok, well, if you're not gonna eat me, then what? Why are you being so nice to me?"
Kif hesitated "…Well…you were lookin' pretty bad, so I figured I'd help ya out…I dunno…you know, I may be big, but that doesn't make me a bad guy…can't a guy just be nice for the sake of being nice?"
Matt blinked again "Uh…o-kaaay…thanks…"
Kif smiled "Don't mention it, uh…"
Matt looked up from his fish "Hm? Oh, oh! Sorry, my name's Matt."
Kif nodded "Matt! Nice to met cha! So, whatcha doin' out here, most animals are hibernating or migrating around this time."
Matt frowned "Well, why aren't you hibernating?"
Kif sighed, "I kinda didn't eat enough, had to get as much food as I could."
"Oh…(sigh) well…its kind of a long story…" Matt said sadly.
Kif sat down with a boom "Well, I've got time. Who knows, that could be my bedtime story." Matt sighed "Well…ok…" And he pretty much just told everything from the beginning to this point. When Matt finished Kif nodded.
"Oh…so you've gotta find your brother so he can help you get the human kid back?" Kif repeated.
Matt nodded "Yeah."
"Humans huh? Hm, that'd explain the leg thing you got there. I don't think any animal could've came up with that!" Kif laughed.
Matt smiled "All thanks to my master!"
Kif whistled, "Wow, you're insane, you know that?"
Matt shrugged "Maybe so…but I've got to try. Thanks for the fish, water and rest. Now, I need to find my brother."
Kif got in front of him "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on now! If you wanna do some insane mission, fine, but don't ya think ya outta wait until the storm outside dies first?"
Matt frowned "I can't wait! Harni could be killin' Kenji right now!"
As Matt was going to the mouth of the cave, Kif stood up again only this time in front of it.
Matt growled, "Move!"
"Sorry, but I don't let my friends commit suicide." He said crossing his arms.
Matt groaned, "PLEASE move!"
"No." Kif said.
Matt growled, "I don't have time for this! MOVE OR I'LL-"
Kif bent down to his level "You'll do what?"
Matt swallowed "Oh yeah, bear…" he reminded himself mentally.
Kif smirked "Well?"
He hesitated "Um…I'll…I'll whine and be the biggest annoyance on earth, until you WANT me to die!"
Kif frowned "That's not funny."
"AW, COME ON!" Matt yelled.
But Kif stayed in his spot.
Matt let out a snarl of frustration but marched to the back of the cave. "FINE THEN!" Matt yelled.
Kif smirked and then laid down in front 'door', keeping guard to make sure Matt could escape.
But Matt didn't give up.
Later, when Kif was getting tired, Matt tried to sneak outside. He smiled when he saw Kif's eyes closed. Grinning, he carefully got around him.
But Kif suddenly stood up "Don't even think about it."
Matt groaned "ARGH! YOU STUPID JERK! STOP TRYIN' TO SAVE MY LIFE!!"
Kif rolled his eyes as Matt walked back to the back, his tail between his legs.
---
The next morning, Matt woke up early. And this time, he was absolutely sure, Kif was asleep. Gently, he walked around the sleeping bear. He looked back and smiled "Thanks...but I just don't have the time. I promise though, I'll pay you back…see ya!"
And with that said, he ventured outside.
Good for him, the weather was much better.
(Ok, hi, time out for a second. Now some of you may be wondering, 'how is Matt getting there so quick when in the last one it took them months to get there?'. Well, when Nuto, Greg, Ouji and Joyce were going, they were walking, taking there sweet time, and get distracted most of the way. Matt is serious. He's running, taking no breaks, not even stopping to eat, drink or even get rest, except for when his body can't take it and he collapses. Kay? Good, just wanted to clear that up!)
Taking very few stops (only when he lost Greg's scent), Matt was able to get almost there in about a week. He looked up, by now, he was really thin and weak, yet he smiled "Ah…his scent's strong here…I must close…"
Weakly, he forced himself to get closer to the little place surrounded by rocks.
---
In a cave that was also surrounded by the rocks…
Greg suddenly lifted his head and looked around.
Nuto looked at him, "Greg never wakes up this early from his naps…" he thought. "Is there something wrong?" He asked.
Greg didn't answer, he just sniffed the air.
Nuto tilted his head and sniffed "Hm…I don't smell anything…"
Greg took a big whiff and gasped, "It can't be…"
Nuto frowned "Greg, what is it?"
Ignoring him completely, Greg ran to the outside of the rocks.
Nuto ran after him "Greg, wait!"
Kira saw them running and ran besides Nuto "Hey, (pant) what're we running for?"
"I dunno! Greg suddenly started this! AH!" Nuto said. A loud buzzing in his ears made him yelp.
"Ow! Ouji I told you don't fly so close!" he yelled.
Ouji shrugged "Sorry! Hey, whatcha runnin' for?"
He groaned, "We're followin' Greg!"
Ouji nodded "Ah…and what's he runnin' for?"
Before he could answer, Diego came to his other side. "Hey! I saw you guys running, what's wrong?" he asked.
Nuto, being too annoyed to answer, had Ouji answer for him "Chasin' Greg!"
Diego nodded "Oh…why?"
Ouji shrugged "I dunno!"
Greg ran faster then all of them, not even aware of anyone behind him "It can't be! I haven't seen him in years! Why would he come here?" he thought as he ran.
When he got out of the rocks he skidded to a stop.
Matt dragged his feet tiredly, staring at the ground. When he saw feet instead of snow, he looked up "Uh…Greg?"
Greg's breathing quickened "M…M-Matt?"
Matt chuckled weakly "Ah…I found ya…ugh…"
Suddenly he fell forward.
Greg gasped "MATT!"
By the time everyone had caught up to them, Greg had Matt on his back and was already heading back.
Nuto walked next to him "Greg?"
Greg didn't answer, just continued to the cave he was sleeping in.
---
Matt groaned, everything was still black, and it felt like someone hit his head with a rock.
A voice gasped "Oh! He's waking up!"
He squeezed his eyes tightly "Ow…that's a loud voice…female, for sure…"
Rather reluctantly, he forced his eyes open.
In his face where two blue eyes…
His first reaction was to jump back "WHOOOA! Too close!"
Joyce frowned slightly "Oh, sorry."
Nuto grinned, "Ah, so this is the famous Matt, huh?"
Matt took a few steps back "Uhhh…OH! Oh my gosh! You're that kid! I remember now!"
He nodded "Yup. You know, your brother beat me up pretty good 'cuz you! Fish?"
Matt looked down, "FOOD!" He scarfed down his fish and smiled "AH! That hit the spot! So, where's my brother? Last I remember I saw him!"
As if hearing him, Greg walked in, with more fish. But at the sight of his brother awake he dropped the fish and ran to his brother. With a smile on his face his tail wagging "MATT! Are you ok?"
Matt looked up thoughtfully "Hm…well…" he ran around the cave "Yep, I seem to be better now."
Greg nodded "Oh good. CUZ I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!" As he yelled that; he head-butted Matt in the gut.
Matt stumbled back, "(Gasp!)…OW! HEY! Pardon the language people, but what the hell was that for?!?"
Greg bared his teeth "YOU IDIOT!!"
Matt grunted as Greg pinned him down "OW! GEEZ! What's your problem!?"
"WHAT'S MY PROBLEM?! YOU ALMOST KILLED YOURSELF!!! DON'T YOU EVER GO OUT LIKE THAT AGAIN!!!" Greg yelled.
But Matt could see the glassy look in his eyes, he must've really been worried.
He smiled warmly "Hey man…don't cry, at least I'm alive- (gag!)"
Greg stomped his paw on Matt's throat "I'M NOT CRYING!! YOU STUPID JERK!!!"
Matt coughed "Well…I might if…you…keep crushing…my windpipe…COUGH!"
Greg got off him but still frowned.
Matt cleared his throat and grinned, "Come on little bro, you really gotta loosen up! True, I could've died, but I didn't!"
Greg just shook his head "Just don't scare me like that! You can't die first. Remember? You promised!"
Matt grinned wider "Aw, but it's so much fun!"
Nuto laughed, "Now remind me again, which one is the oldest?"
Ouji smiled "Ah, they're just actin' like brothers do! Why, there was a time with one of my brother's-"
Greg groaned "Nuto, don't get him started!"
Ouji huffed and flew out.
Greg chuckled "Ok, so, why are you here?"
Matt suddenly frowned "Well Greg, I came here for a reason…"
Ok! So, was that good? What's gonna happen to Kenji? Review, let me know/to find out!