I'm having so much fun writing this! If only the fact that I've gotten braces for the first time and they would stop being so fatal with the pain, then I would update sooner. And, I had to totally rewrite this chapter since my brother thought it would be funny to delete it! So, sorry in advance about any mistakes. It is really hard to write a rewrite...
Disclaimer: If you didn't see the characters in the Anime or Manga then they are mine. Everyone else belongs to BONES.
"Hey! Maya! I caught their scent!"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. If we head through this cave, we'll definitely make it out of here!"
Kiba had found that cave yesterday, and now he and the wolf-girl (whom asked to be called Maya) made their way down the path to the glistening lake. It had been a few days since they had had their first conversation about leaving this "Paradise" and they were busy to find a way out as well as to persuade the other wolves. Kiba sighed as the reached the soft grass of the banks and the angery eyes of the packs. And he trooted through the camps with his head held high as a joke, which sent some of the other wolves into bitter snarls. But Kiba noticed a new look as well; one of fear and confusion. Kiba stopped to stare at the wolves, as if he could find the source of that new look in their eyes.
"Kiba, lets keep going." Maya urged Kiba on with a pat. Kiba nodded and walked past the staring eyes.
They stayed near the bank of the lake as they continued their way to find Kiba's pack. They had been separated for so long, that Kiba had missed them terribly. Maya decided that she wanted to see them too, so she happily tagged along. Kiba smiled when he saw Tsume and the rest of the guys grouped up under a large tree. He saw how tense they looked, but Kiba regarded it as a normal reaction to his appearance.
Kiba slowed his pace as he got near them. Mel was the only one who made eye-contact and it wasn't very pleasant. Mel was showing his fangs at the white wolf, despite his friendly nature. Kiba, knowing that he had sunk low in the pack's ranks, lowered his body to the ground. He guessed that Tsume was the leader now, and Kiba turned toward the scarred wolf.
When Tsume didn't reply, Kiba sluggishly inched his way to him. When Kiba was about five feet away from Tsume, the blue-gray wolf suddenly leaped at Kiba and wrapped his jaws around Kiba's neck. Kiba was fueled with his old rage and pride over Tsume, but he didn't attack back. The white wolf knew that Tsume was holding back, and there must've been a reason. Tsume made a weak laugh though his grip and bit harder and harder on Kiba's neck fur. Toboe looked away and Hige watched Tsume with unblinking eyes as the blue-gray wolf repeatedly bashed Kiba into the ground.
Maya, who had kept her distance, cried out in alarm as she watched Kiba's body grown limp in Tsume's fangs. She covered her eyes, but her mind was still filled with the image of Kiba's abuse.
She felt tears come to her eyes and she fell to her knees, "Stop! Just stop it please!"
There was silence for a moment, and then the sound of flesh hitting the dirt. Maya looked past her fingers to see Kiba' body lying sprawled out on the ground. Maya's eye's widened and she crawled over to Kiba. Tsume backed up and gave her his consent for her to reach him. Maya nodded and slowly rubbed her hand against Kiba' raw neck.
"Why didn't you attack back Kiba? …" Maya whispered.
Kiba body twitched and his eyes opened as he gave a soft laugh, "Because… I would've been selfish. Tsume did the same for me once before… He didn't kill me…" Kiba shuddered and twisted around to quietly lick his small bite marks. Maya sighed weakly, she just could'nt get why Tsume and Kiba were friends if they were attackin each other every other minute. Still, Maya had never had many wolf friends, and she stroked Kiba's fur until he seemed more relaxed. Maya didn't notice that Tsume had crept up behind her and she nearly screamed when his muzzle touched her arm.
Tsume showed his fangs in a friendly way. "Don't worry. Kiba isn't in serious condition. The moon will heal him by midnight." Tsume looked up at the sky and frowned when he saw that, dispite sunset from being hours away, the moon had risen far in the sky. Maya also stared at the partly faded moon, and shrugged. She wasn't as sensitive to the moon as they were. Maya's eyes then looked lazily around the rest of the pack. That's when she saw some members missing from it.
"Hey… Where's Blue and Toss?"
Tsume shook his head, "We don't know. It seems like every female around here is gone as well. No one knows where they went. And… What's even stranger is that they all left at the same time: Two nights ago."
"Oh… Did you guys try to find them?"
Tsume nodded, "But their scents weren't anywhere. It's like…" Tsume paused and then added wistfully, "It's like they even there to begin with."
"But that's crazy! They were here!" Maya's ears flattened against her human-like head almost naturally.
Hige padded up to the pair, "We know. That's why we now believe Kiba when he says that this isn't Paradise." Hige smiled, "It's funny. All it took was the girls leaving, and it's like this fog just suddenly lifted from my mind. I could think clear again…"
Mel rolled his eyes and whispered to himself, "You'd always use love for an excuse..."
Hige turned to Mel, "Huh? You say something Mel?"
Mel shook his head quickly while a breeze picked up and flowed threw the grass. It was the only sound during that minute of silence until Kiba grunted and tried standing up. After sitting up and falling back down a few times, Maya placed her arm under Kiba's legs and helped him keep himslef up. Kiba nodded his approval and turned toward Tsume.
"I need to ask... Why did you do that Tsume?"
Tsume looked straight into Kiba's eyes, "That was for being an idiot and not coming sooner! With all your talks about how this place wasn't Paradise, you could've heard the humans coming, and saved Toss."
Kiba glanced at Tsume curiously, "Just Toss? Don't tell me you're starting to feel attracted to her?" Kiba gave a sly smile, his pink gums showing.
Tsume snorted, "No! Of course not! How would be attracted to that short-legged, know-it-all loser?"
Kiba laughed, "I see. You never did struck me as the loving type anyway..." Kiba said the last part sarcasticly. Then he turned toward Hige.
"Hige, I need you to help me with something."
Hige cocked his head, "Huh? What is it?"
Kiba smiled, "I found some humans a few hours ago. I'd thought you'd like to rustle them up a bit."
Hige grinned, "Of course. If they think they can get away with kidnapping Blue then they'll wish that they have never have set 100 feet near her!"
Kiba laughed, and turned toward his remaining pack members. "So? Do you guys want to join?"
Tsume smirked, "Do you really think you have to ask?"
Standing next to a green, beat-up truck, two men were whispering to each other. One, a young man with poorly groomed hair and bright, green eyes and was telling his partner, another Wolf Hunter with brown eyes and more older features, about the day's events.
"Why do you think the General asked for all the female wolves?"
The other man, who was taller and had dark brown eyes, shrugged and relaxed his hand that was gripping his gun, "Maybe he's thinking of breeding captive wolves… Did you hear about that one white wolf?"
"No. What white wolf?"
"Well, apparently it is deaf or something and can't hear our song. The General is thinking about shooting it."
The shorter man gasped, "Why? Isn't it fine the way it is?"
The brown-eyed man hit his partner over the head, "Are you stupid or something?! That song keeps them from seeing through our walls and keeps them thinking that our little island is Paradise. If that wolf tells the others, who knows what will happen!"
The green-eyed man rubbed his head, and thought about what he just said, "Hmm… Would they believe the white wolf anyways?"
"I don't know. But what I do know is that we can't take that risk- Wait. Did you hear that?"
The smaller man looked around, puzzled. "Hear what-"
"Shh!" The older made took his gun out of it holster, and a few seconds later, his partner did too. Signaling with his hand, the older man led his partner to some large, green bushes that had rustled earlier. At least… They did. Now they were perfectly still. Slowly, the man pulled back some branches and inside them he saw nothing. Nothing but wolf paw prints.
The man shook his head, "What the-"
"Surprise!" A bundle of fur landed on the man's back. He screamed in surprise and tried flinging the thing off his back, but with no prevail. It held on tight.
THe man's partner gasped when more creature came out of the darkness, "Ahhh!"
The older man whipped around to see his partner in the jaws of two large wolves. One was yellowish brown and the other was gray-blue. The old man then knew what was on his back.
"Get off!" He spun around until he was dizzy. When the wolf didn't let go, he swung his long gun behind his shoulder until it hit the wolf. With a yelp, it fell to the ground and the man was surprised at how small it was. Oddly, it had stripes too. Then he turned the thought away and decided that this wolf was better off dead. He looked at the gun in his hand with a smile.
But before the man could shoot the small wolf, a larger, heavier figure flung itself at him, and sent him spiraling to the ground. When the man hit the ground, his gun was flung from his fingers and he heard his partner's screams being cut off by wolf snarls. When he tried to crawl away, the man was forcibly held down to the dirt by the creature's paws and he gasped for air.
"Where's Blue and Toss?!" The voice demanded.
The man coughed, "Wh… Who?"
"The wolves – the one's you kidnapped – where are they?!" The wolf increased the pressure on his paws.
"They're… In that building… Over there…" The man exhaustedly pulled his finger up and pointed at a fortress about two miles in the distance. The wolf mumbled and then lifted his weight off the man. The man was surprised at his freedom and glanced at his gun worriedly.
When he turned at the wolf, he gasped when he saw the white fur and the golden eyes of the rumored wolf. They stared at each other for a few moments, and then the man watched as the white wolf lifted his proud head and made a short, but powerful howl.
Ina heartbeat, all the other wolves had gathered around the white one. With his muzzle, the white wolf pointed at the building and the others nodded and starting trotting toward it.
Then, the white wolf himself turned, but looked over his shoulder. "Be grateful that I didn't kill you. Your friend wasn't as lucky." With that, the white wolf started after his pack and was soon out of the man's range of sight in the night.
Before the pack headed directly for the fortress, the pack slowed their pace and turned toward a cluster of short trees. In them were Maya and Toboe (who was selected as Maya's official protector during this mission since they both didn't like to fight humans). They too joined the pack, and they increased their speed to the gray, ominous-looking building. Kiba ran behind Tsume, since he wasn't entirely sure that was the leader again. Tsume didn't let him lead, nor sent him farther back. Perhaps, Kiba thought, he believes that we are equal?
When they were about half a mile away, the clouds gathered quickly, and with a roar of thunder, sent needle-like raindrops toward Earth. The wolves growled in protest, but the rain didn't totally drench their spirits. They just needed a way inside.
The pack froze and ducked down into a ditch. They had to make sure no humans saw them either. There were sure to be more guards posted here, so they had to be extra careful. The once bright moon was now completely covered, making the wolves concealed in the darkness.
In front of them was a fifty foot wall made of concrete and barb wire on top. It was too high for a wolf to clear and the pack kept their senses alert on the five guards below. They would've taken them out easily, if they did not have some strange new weapons in their hands. They were long, slender blades that radiated a bizarre, ethereal glow. Like an aurora, its colors changed constantly, and it was almost hypnotizing.
Maya, seeing that her friends were falling under its spell, shook them out of it. They realized their error of almost falling in a trap, and, hoping that the humans' eyes wouldn't catch them, ran to the corner of the wall.
They stopped and focused their hearing to inside the walls. When they didn't hear anything, the pack trudged on, half-hoping for the rain to stop, and half-hoping that the humans could give them another clue of the females' whereabouts.
After no success of entry, the pack moved to the edge of a forest and sat down in the thicket to keep away from wandering eyes.
"Well, now what?" Toboe whispered while shaking some lose water off his coat.
"Maybe we should go back to that man from earlier." Kiba suggested.
Tsume simpered with his fangs showing, "Yeah. And then he'll tell all his friends about his adventures with the wolves."
"I'm serious."
Hige sighed, "Don't you ever worry about traps Kiba? I'm pretty sure that guy has set traps all around himself by now."
Mel nodded. "He might've brought more friends to help him too."
Hige turned toward Kiba, "See? Even the pup is smarter than you!"
Kiba still shook his head, "That was the main reason I kept him alive. You can never fully trust what they say."
"But…" Toboe looked regretfully at the building, "They must have some reason to have all these Wolf Hunters here. Don't you think Blue and Toss are inside there?"
Kiba sighed, "Yeah. But that wall is hardly penetrable. We need a distraction of sorts-"
"YOU WOLF HUNTERS! I, MUSA OF THE BLACK MOUNTAINS, HAVE COME TO CLAIM SAKURA BACK IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS HOLY!"
"What the hell is that?!" Tsume remarked as he and the pack turned to see a very big black and white wolf making his way toward the building. He was howling and making such a racket that it lured all the humans to him.
The pack watched as the larger-than-normal wolf threw the humans in every direction. When half of them were taken down, the wolf laughed proudly.
"YOU CALL YOUSELF WOLF HUNTERS YET YOU CAN'T EVEN TAKE DOWN ME?! I COULD KILL YOU WITH MY EYES CLOSED!"
Toboe stepped back, frowning, "He's very loud…"
Hige nodded, and Tsume gritted his teeth, "A bit too loud if you ask me. I bet he's tone deaf."
Suddenly, there was a flash of lightning and it hit the tree behind Maya. She cried out in surprise as the tree caught on fire and nearly engulfed her as well. Kiba jumped to her aid, then pulled her away just as the trees surrounding her also became ablaze.
The pack ran out of the blazing forest and as soon as they set paws on the gray dirt surrounding the building, they were greeted by three angry Wolf Hunters. The men had their strange blades turned at them.
"Hey, look." Hige said with a smile, "If it isn't my old pals stupid, smelly, and ugly. How are you this evening?"
"What the-?" The closest Wolf Hunter's cheeks blushed with embarrassment, "Don't try to psych us out you stupid animal!" The man prodded Hige with his blade, making the wolf jumped back.
"Oh! I'm soo scared of the big bad humans and their pretty swords!" Hige said with a chuckle, "Don't poke someone's eye out now."
Kiba looked at Maya's worried face and he used Hige's distraction to nudge Toboe. "Go protect her. This might get ugly."
Toboe nodded, and the pair silently departed without the human's noticing.
"Where did you come from?!" A man with a white beard demanded after Hige had finally settled down with the insults.
"From that hell-hole you called 'Paradise!'" Tsume's fur bristled.
"Huh?" The Wolf Hunters looked surprised, "We thought you liked it there."
"Yeah! That was until you took our friends away!" Mel yelled angrily, but the cub still shook with apprehension; that was the first time he had challenged a human.
"Oh! I see-" The man in front lowered his blade and laughed. "So you're out on a rescue mission? Too bad, they're long gone." The man smiled and laughed harder.
The pack gasped.
"What do you mean, 'long gone'?" Kiba backed up, "Where the hell are they?"
The man stopped laughing and pulled something out of his leather bag. A flash of lightning lit up the object in his hand. Everyone's eyes widened at what it was: A bone!
"You- you Bastards!" Tsume leaped at the closest Wolf Hunter with all his rage. But, the man was ready. He lifted his blade and pointed it straight at Tsume.
"Tsume! Watch out!" Hige jumped at Tsume and snatched his tail. Hige pulled the wolf back in midair right before he flew into the blade. Both of the wolves fell to the ground in a heap, but were otherwise fine.
The men smiled at Tsume's unsuccessful assault. And now even more Wolf Hunters had shown up.
One of the younger men ran up to the man that had almost stabbed Tsume, "Sir! We took care of that black and white wolf! It will be placed in Cell 57!"
The man nodded, "Good." Then he turned to the growling pack. The wolves were now surrounded and they had a look of pure rage in their eyes. The man smiled, "If you can manage to capture these wolves and place them in Cells 58 and 59, then I'll promote you."
The man gasped and look at the wolves with dread. "But sir-!"
"Fine. ANYONE who can capture these wolves will be promoted!"
A few men stepped back but other raised their blades with glee. The pack circled up and kept their heads low. If they could protect their necks, they'd have a better chance of surviving. With a roar, the men attacked on all sides. Kiba and Tsume instinctively leaped out of the way, while Hige and Mel bit the men's legs.
Tsume bit into a man's skull and Kiba aimed for another neck. With those two men out of the way, the wolves changed their targets and proceeded to decrease their number.
The man who promised a promotion soon grew impatient, and joined the skirmish. He saw that one of the wolves was a lot younger and smaller.
A cub… That's it!
Believing that the striped wolf didn't have as much experience in fighting, the man pounced on top of the growling wolf.
Mel bit into the man's arms and kicked his legs. Mel then tried biting the man's fingers to loosen his grip, but Mel could reach them in the position he was in. But he didn't give up. He could bite the man's neck, and Mel took the opportunity. In a spilt-second, Mel bit the guy and was released.
The cub quickly made his way back to his friends. The man looked on as the cub was soon half-fighting, half-hiding behind his friends.
Meanwhile, Toboe and Maya had now gone an apt amount of distance for Kiba's orders. They sat down and saw their pack getting surrounded.
"We should be down there helping them!" Toboe said longingly.
Maya bowed her head, "I'm sorry. Because of me, you don't get to do all the fun stuff."
Toboe shook his head, "N-no! Don't take it like that! I mean, I like protecting you, but I wish that we didn't always have to fight everywhere we go. If I was down there, I wouldn't really kill anybody, but I could help end it sooner."
Maya's face brightened, "Oh! I guess you're not a fan of fighting either?"
Toboe laughed, "No. Not really."
"Dammit! How long are they going to keep coming?!" Tsume growled as he shot back another Wolf Hunter's blade. All the wolves were slowly getting tired, and even with some kills, the humans kept calling for reinforcements.
Mel winced as a blot of lightning flew past his head and blew off pieces of the wall of the fortress. Mel saw his chance to enter, and ran for it.
"Everyone! Follow me!" Mel ran past Hige's front legs and headed for the entrance in the wall. The older wolf followed and protected Mel as the wolf pup made his way into the thick wall. After pushing back the Wolf Hunters, Tsume and Kiba soon followed the pair. The human were furious, and they started calling every one in the building to capture them.
The pack ran through the dark hallway until they found a large, gold-plated doorway in their path.
"Should we enter?" Tsume asked while sniffing the door.
Kiba nodded, "It is our only way out."
The Hige and Mel agreed and they helped Kiba pushed the surprisingly heavy door open. Right when the door was opened, an odor overcame the wolves' noses and they coughed in protest.
"Ugh! What is that stench!?" Hige jeered.
The pack had second thoughts about going into the pitch-black room. They had never smelled something so vile. Yet, there was something familiar about it… Kiba cautiously stepped in, and then, step by step, continued onward. When his paws touched something, Kiba dipped his head to examine it. Kiba's heart stopped whne he realized what they were.
"Wolf bones…"
In panic, he ran out of the room, and when he reach the doorway, he collapsed on the tile floor. The pack grew upset.
Mel ran up and licked Kiba's face, "Kiba…? What's wrong?"
Kiba didn't respond. He didn't have the time. For the Wolf Hunters had now reached the wolves.
"Don't move! Or you'll die!" The men yelled.
Kiba snarled fiercely and showed the men pure resentment. A few stepped back at the white wolf's fangs, and the rest of his pack followed his lead. But before they attacked, a siren rang out and the hallway filled with a dark green gas. The Wolf Hunters immediately pulled on their masks that were hanging around their necks, but the wolves could do nothing but cry out and sufficate as the gas surrounded them.
In a matter of a few minutes, the wolves were laying on the floor. Not dead, but paralyzed. They couldn't do anything in resistance when the Wolf Hunters walked over and picked up the wolves by their hind legs and dragged them off.
Toboe suddenly stood up, making the braclets around his leg jingle. Maya saw that his eyes were full of alarm and confusion. Maya walked up to him.
"What's wrong? …"
Toboe frowned, "Our friends… Went into the building, but didn't come out. And now the humans are back outside."
Maya gasped, "You don't think they've been… Killed?"
Toboe shook his head, "Maybe not. But I think they were captured." He turned toward Maya, "We have to help them!"
Maya flicked her ears, "Uh… But how?"
"Um… I-Well… I dunno exactly…" Toboe looked away, "I guess I always relied on Kiba or someone else to come up with the ideas…"
"But we still have to do something, right?"
"Yeah… We need someone to help us though..." Toboe sighed, and looked back down on the gray fortress.
Maya caressed Toboe's ears, "What is we asked the wolves back at the lake to help?"
Toboe's eyes lightened up, "Do you think they would?"
Maya nodded and the pair headed off back to Paradise with the storm finally over and the moon still full. While he was running, the rain started to let up, and Toboe felt that he should tell the pack he was safe and going for help. So, doing what wolves do best, he howled, and the wind carried his voice for miles.
Whew! Long chapter! Lots of ideas thrown into one place. And I seem to have the urge to torture the pack time after time... I'm sorry my wolf friends. -gives them all treats for playing along-
… Don't kill me because the whole "Wolf bones" part. I love wolves, they're my favorite animal, so please don't think that I want them all dead. (Haha)
Musa will pop up again too. ;P
As for Toss and Blue... I still haven't decided yet. -awaits for angry mob-
