On and Off Situation

As two days passed, the gang could see changes in Yoyo. He seemed more serious, and less prone to laugh at his usual cue. His typical grin was replaced with a shy smile instead, and he hadn't talked that much in the time he was back. His eyes were now to the floor, where he had been staring for the last five minutes.

"Yoyo?"

The boy looked up at his friend. The only one who knew his secret. "Yeah?"

Tab sat on the couch next to him, feeling it was safe to discuss the subject because no one else was paying attention. "You gotta stop moping around! The gang is wondering about you." Yoyo shrugged carelessly, "So?"

Tab threw him a grim look, "So you gotta stop or they might figure something out."

"And?"

"And that's bad!" said Tab, edging his voice a bit. Yoyo sat still, continuing to stare at the floor in silence. "Yoyo, think about it. You're not the only one with that problem. It's a whole 'pack' or whatever they call it." Tab reminded, not that he needed to.

"I know that." Yoyo replied darkly, "No need to tell me again."

"Then don't be stupid in your undercover plan." Tab spat, glaring at him. Yoyo looked at him serious, "FYI, I'm tryin' to think of a way to break it down to everyone when I leave."

Tab shrugged, "Tell them you're going to buy something or meet up with Jam." Yoyo shook his head sadly. "Nothing like that keeps a person away for years…" Tab's eyes widened, "Years? What are you talking about?" The boy, whose life had been normal just the week before, sighed and stayed quiet.

"Yoyo? What were you saying?"

"Tab, I have to leave."

Tab blinked, wondering what these words meant. Leaving could mean so many things. Leave as in so gone you're practically dead? Leave as in rest? Leave as in sometime coming back? "I still don't know what you mean." Yoyo cracked his jaw, deciding that he should let Tab know what was going to happen. He finally looked at Tab with the deepest sorrow within his eyes.

&&&

Far off in Kibogaoka Hill, a lowly being scampered off into the safe shadow darkness that protected the ground. It was a cool night, but the thought of being around there knowing the dangers gave him chills, not the weather. Quieter than the wind, he stood up and looked around; making sure no one was around watching him. The last thing he needed was for someone to have followed him.

He glanced up at an old warehouse, happy to have reached it quickly. He slid in front of the door, knocking on the large door. The bang echoed throughout the hill, off the water and into every dark hideout existing. The door creaked open, revealing a large dark room. The stranger entered in, the door slowly closing behind him, leaving him in darkness.

"You're late, you know."

The boy turned around to the one who had greeted him. She was a young girl, no more than sixteen years of age with pale white skin. Her yellow eyes watched as he growled at her, not happy about her remark. She glided to him in a carefree manner, her long drape-like sleeves hanging down from her midriff, attached to the cuffs. Her light pinkish, loosely fit hip-hugger pants flapped gently as the wind within the place blew through them, but she felt no chill. Her wavy brown hair moved to the front of her face and she pushed the bit behind her ear.

"Yeah, I know." he answered, turning from her. "Don't worry. Master won't do anything to you, this time. He's been in a good mood today." she reassured, following him in a float, her feet just above the ground. The boy glanced at her, "I don't care if he was in a good mood or not. He has a deal to keep."

She sighed and rolled her eyes, "You things are all the same. All talk but no action." He stopped walking and faced her with angst in his eyes, "Which is why I'm helping you things out. I help you, you help me. And I'll be out of this hell." "At least you can get out of it!" she snarled, clenching her teeth, "You know nothing of deepest torment of the life in between!"

"Enough!"

The two separated, looking up at a shadowy figure who had seated himself at the end of the warehouse. "Master." the girl nodded and departed, heading off in her own way. She was not to be there when her master was at business. As she walked, or glided, she sighed at how lonely she was, even thought she shared this place with hundreds more. No one was really her friend, and she hadn't had one in a long time.

Back in the main center of the warehouse, the boy crossed his arms. "What did you want?"

"I understand there was a new addition to your pack?"

"This shouldn't be new news to you. I told you the old man was planning that a while ago."

"Yes, but this one is strong and has an attitude to lead to a victory, which I do not intend on happening."

"And neither do I."

"So, I suggest you get rid of this waste."

"You're the one who told me to pick the fly by guy who seemed harmless! Now you want me to get rid of him!"

The master of the warehouse banged his fist against his chair, "I asked you to fetch a weak one. I let you decide who would be chosen to fail your pack. Now…" From inside his coat, he pulled out a thin glass tube filled with an odd purple liquid, "If you want this, you will hold your end of the bargain."

The boy looked down, failing to stand up for himself, "I will."

"Good boy. You will rid of this new one, and lead your pack into loss. We will rise, and you will have what you want and be free."

The boy nodded and turned, his mind spinning with new thoughts and plans. He opened the door and looked out, checking for pedestrians. People never came by there, but Ellie had seen a boy once, so precautions had to be made. He closed the door and sprinted out back to his home.

The man held up the tube to the moonlight, watching as the purple changed to a darker version of the color. He grinned, and his fangs glistened.

&&&

Tab stared at Yoyo in astonishment. He couldn't have been telling the truth. Yoyo would never leave the gang solo. It just wasn't heard of. Never came to mind. "You're kidding, right?" Tab asked hopefully, hoping Yoyo was.

Yoyo shook his head sadly, "You know I can't keep this up. And they're gonna leave soon. I belong with them now." Tab arched an eyebrow, "But you were one of us first!" Yoyo nodded, "I know, but there's no cure for this and they're depending on me, Tab."

Tab blinked emptily, wondering where this new Yoyo was coming from. It had to be the animal in him talking. It was calling him to the rest. "Yoyo, knock it out. This isn't you! I mean, since you got bitten, it hasn't been you! You look like you're gonna die all the time and you're not paying attention to the things you used to!"

Yoyo's eyes searched the garage in random spots, "I know this isn't me. It won't be the old me anymore. There's something else in me and it has a tail and claws." Tab shook his head, "You're still you, it's just the other side that's making you doubt it." Tab stood up and sighed, "Well, you do what you gotta, but just keep in mind, is this what you really wanna do to the rest of them?" he said, pointing to the members of the gang.

He skated off to practice his handstand. He had to let Yoyo have some time to himself. It would be the only way Yoyo could see what he was going to do was wrong. At least to Tab it was wrong. And Tab knew something Yoyo didn't, but he wouldn't let him know. It was the only other big promise he had to make. And if Yoyo left, that person would be shattered.

Yoyo also stood, but he went to the kitchen. He didn't know what to do anymore. Compared to fighting off vampires, gang fights sounded like nothing, and this kept him from spraying graffiti. His mind was too occupied to think about anything near graffiti. He was thinking now. Something that he never really did for a long time. He was the usual get-it-done-now type of guy, not really thinking over the consequence of what might come from his actions.

There was a meeting later on, near twelve at night. Sneaking out would be easy, most of the gang would be sleeping if not hooked on the TV or out on a date somewhere. He was one of the TV junkies, but lately he had broken the habit. He did miss the customary cake mix that Rhyth would whip up just for the guys. It had been a long time since anyone actually baked a cake in the garage. They just ate the unhealthy cake mix.

His stomach growled just thinking about the batter of raw eggs, water, oil, and the cake powder. He loved licking the spoon, a childhood memory that stayed with him until that very moment. He rested his head on the counter, noticing that there was a platter of cookies just waiting to be eaten. He reached out to grab one, in result, his hand was smacked.

"Ow!"

"Those are for later, greedy!"

Rhyth giggled as he rubbed his hand. "Where'd you come from?" he grumbled. Rhyth giggled some more, "Well, when a mommy and a daddy love each other soooo much-"

"Never mind!" he said quickly, cutting her off. "What's the matter?" she asked, wondering why he had been so…not himself. "Besides the fact that my hand got smacked and I almost got a retelling of the birds and the bees?" he joked, making her laugh.

"Yes, besides that."

"Well…uhhh…"

"Yes?"

"It's hard to explain, Rhyth. It's a guy thing." he ended, giving her the excuse the girls would tell him when they didn't feel like explaining. Rhyth, understanding that he wanted to keep this personal, nodded. "You're not sick, right?" she asked, wondering if this could be it. Some of the guys, like Beat or Garam, hated being sick, and would try to hide it from everyone until they were so wasted they wouldn't even be able to stand up.

"I'm not sick." he said, glancing at her. Rhyth froze instantly. His gaze was so sad, filled with pain and regret, it made her feel cold and depressed. Something was definitely wrong with Yoyo. If he wasn't going to tell her, she was going to have to find out. "Maybe Tab knows…" she thought, looking over at him practicing. "They've been pretty good buddies for the past few days…"

&&&

"I dunno, Rhyth. He hasn't said anything to me that really sounds like a downer to him." Tab lied, tying his skates tighter. The best thing he could do was avoid eye contact. Guilt slowly filled Tab for this act. Rhyth had never done anything to anyone to deserve a lie like the one he gave, but he had his life to protect and all the werewolves in that pack.

Rhyth looked back at Yoyo once again, "Are you sure? He's really not himself." Tab looked at Yoyo too, "Rhyth, it's gonna be in your nature to worry, but don't. He can take care of himself."

Yoyo glanced over at the two staring at him and arched an eyebrow, wondering what they could be saying. Tab wouldn't be telling anything to Rhyth, would he? No, Tab was good for keeping things low and besides, it wasn't like Yoyo had a choice to trust him or not. He just had to.

Even though Yoyo had hundreds like him, and even Tab knew about the curse, he still felt utterly alone in the world. The impression that the world was big and empty felt more true to Yoyo now than ever before. Could he possibly ever be who he used to be before he was bitten? He was trying his best, but failing so miserably, even Rhyth could tell. Yoyo was thinking too much of what had happened. He was still in a bit of shock.

Perhaps if he went back to the pack every now and then, to check in with them besides the days he had to come. It might help him get through the distress of being a werewolf. At least, that's what he thought. He would be able to get used to being himself and he would return to his old self again. Until he had to let them know he was leaving. He wouldn't be able to avoid that forever. Time was running out.

&&&

Out of pure boredom, Yoyo headed out around eleven thirty to get to the meeting early. Walking down the sidewalk, hands in pockets, he kicked a stone to the side with his skate in thought. He had so much to think about; it was wearing him out and leaving him with nothing to think. He skated around, spending time doing the things he loved. He realized he hadn't sprayed some good art lately, and Shibuya was getting covered up in Poison Jam's scribbles.

He took out a can and spun in circles, walking back and forth, deciding what he should do. He suddenly got an idea from the present. Pressing on the nozzle, he ejected a black upright rectangle. He waved his arm around when he was done, getting rid of the fumes around him. Then, he took another can and sprayed to sideways half moons tilting downwards to each other. He left enough black to make the white look like eyes. He then added two points a good distance away from the eyes, making sharp fangs.

He smiled, putting away his white can and taking out the black one again. Next to the black 'doorway' he sprayed, The Monster in the Closet. Chuckling, remembering that when he was younger he had been afraid of that monster. Now, he wasn't so sure if the boogieman didn't exist. If vampires and werewolves existed, what else was there? He pushed the thought away, happy was still living.

Yoyo shrugged and left the area into Hikage Street. He had a meeting to get to.

&&&

Yoyo tried looking for anyone he knew. The crowd seemed even bigger this time than the last meeting he had seen, but not stayed. Now that most of the crowd had changed into their half human, half wolf selves, they looked pretty much normal. People of different age groups, backgrounds, ethnicities collected in one spot to hear an old man speak. Yoyo figured this meeting must be important.

"Hey Yoyo!"

He turned to see Candy standing next to him. "Oh, hey!"

"Looking for something?"

"Yeah, a place to sit."

Candy smiled, "Follow me. You can sit where the teens stay. We're sort of unofficially sorted." she explained, leading the way. As he followed, Yoyo could see that she was right. The children were grouped together, fighting, wrestling, or talking. The adults were talking of serious matters, with looks of distress on their faces. Candy stopped and Yoyo looked past her. Sitting, were hundreds of teens, talking or dozing off. Among them were Jam, Blaze, and Spike.

Yoyo sat quietly, not knowing what to do since he had never gone to a werewolf meeting before. What could they possibly talk about? He felt a tap on his shoulder, "You the new kid?"

Yoyo faced a boy about a year older in age, with dark hair and piercing gray eyes. At first sight of the teen, Yoyo stared a bit, but shook his head quickly, "Yeah, that's me."

"Sorry, I wasn't actually here when you were introduced to the rest of us."

"Oh, no problem, yo."

Yoyo turned away from him, not bothering to ask his name in return. He was a little creepy, just by looking at him. Yoyo felt a vibe of negative energy pulsing off the kid. That couldn't be anything good. Most of the people there were in their half forms, showing their proud reaction to being a werewolf. Seeing this, Yoyo stretched his fingers out into claws and his ears reshaped. He took off his skated before his feet clawed up and his teeth rearranged themselves.

Candy glanced at him and smiled, "You've been practicing." Yoyo looked at her innocently and nodded. Blaze moved down next to Yoyo, "Hey!" He smiled in return, but was cut off from saying anything else by loud howling that began taking place.

The meeting was about to begin.

In the middle of the center circle, the elder stood without a sound, silencing the entire pack by his appearance. Yoyo glanced around and noticed that everyone's attention was directly on the elder, even Jam's. The old man took a deep breath and sighed, "It has been too long since the day evil gave vampires wings."

A loud rush of mumbling answered this statement.

"And until this day, we have fought vividly, side by side in triumph. But, I feel that the vampires are becoming stronger through a force that I cannot comprehend."

Some of the older members of the pack watched the elder with interest. The elder had never said anything like this before.

"Their knowledge of us has expanded to a limit that has surpassed, even my thoughts."

Jam arched an eyebrow in wonder. How could the vampires know what the elder was going to decide before he even decided? Vampires weren't telepathic.

"They are moving before us to locations that were our retreats in chance that we would ever need them. They are appearing in different times of day, sending their half children to search for us. I do not know how they are getting such private information, but it is becoming more dangerous for us to travel alone. I advise you this: Travel in groups and do not battle with them if you are to acquaint yourselves with one. We need this time to rest and plan, not to fight unprepared. I am sure at this time, they are also planning. Do not doubt them, they are not thick." he ended, looking at everyone.

Yoyo sat in a daze. Feeling like he was in school, he stared out at the lake which only reflected half the moon that was showing that night.

"Now, I'm sure everyone knows why our plans have been so delayed."

Yoyo blinked and turned his attention to the old man. He seemed to have dropped the serious and depressing tone for the minute. A slight smile appeared on his face, "Two nights from now is the harvest moon."

The mood of the pack became happier, with giggles and growls. The children, who were still too young to understand the harvest moon, rolled their eyes in boredom. It was mostly the teenagers and singles who had any reaction to this announcement. Yoyo looked around, wondering what in the world could a harvest moon mean.

"Be sure to be prepared for this celebration, but still be on the precaution. Remember to stay near the site and don't go wandering off into mischief. That is all for tonight."

It was only a half hour after twelve. Yoyo had plenty of time to hang around before eventually heading back to the garage.

"So Candy, who are you spending the harvest moon with?" asked one of Candy's friends, Spice. Candy shrugged, not wanted to answer the question. She had never celebrated it. "But I saw you with some guy before. Aren't you going to spend it with him?" Spice continued.

"What guy?"

Spice regulated her hand to the right height, "About this tall, wears a hat and a blue jumpsuit."

"Oh, that guy…" Candy muttered, noticing Yoyo listening. Her heart filled with joy, for he didn't know what a harvest moon was. He soon made it an issue, "Candy, what's a harvest moon?" Spice opened her mouth to explain, but Candy stomped her foot, forcing her to yelp instead. Spice walked away, growling.

"Before she almost rudely interrupted," Candy started.

"It's a stupid day when we celebrate the moon going orange for the night. It's so unique that it's been taken for the sign of love, so it's like a Valentine's night for werewolves, or a courtship day." Jam intersected, smiling that his sister had been cut off once again.

Instead of bursting, Candy blushed and looked away. Yoyo grinned. At least Tab wouldn't have to worry about rough rejection. "Oh really?" Yoyo answered, holding a laugh in. "So, this is some holiday? And this is keeping everyone here?"

"Yeah, basically, it's stopping us from our plans to get rid of the vampires, 'cause of course, everyone's gotta have their love." stated Jam, looking grim about the situation. "So, who's the lucky girl who gets stuck with you?" joked Yoyo, grinning. Jam gave him a cold look, "I don't celebrate holidays."

As Jam looked away, Yoyo made a face at him, pulling his mouth open, sticking his tongue out like a child. Jam spun quickly, glaring at him. Yoyo snubbed him, crossing his arms. The other teen turned to leave, smacking Yoyo with his tail as he did. A deep growl rumbled out of Yoyo's throat as he clenched his fists.

"What's the attitude for?"

Blaze's voice stood out from the rest of the chatter, sounding caring and curious at the same time. She looked at Yoyo, who immediately dropped his anger, "Oh, we haven't gotten along since day one." She watched as Jam disappeared into one of the shadowed alleys, failing to communicate with anyone. "Jam is…interesting." Blaze said quietly, more to herself than to Yoyo. Her dark eyes shined mysteriously as she repeated herself silently, mouthing the words. "Whatever, yo." Yoyo shrugged, remembering that Jam's past wasn't exactly happy, but it still annoyed him.

"Is it safe to be partying with vampires out to get us?" he asked after a while. The crowd was beginning to die down and break apart. "Well, we always do it, and in a way, it's necessary. We do need a time for ourselves." Blaze explained, keeping her eyes on the alley Jam had disappeared into a while before. "And besides, we're the ones out to get them. They have no clue we're going to attack in three days. You get action as soon as you get trapped with us, aren't you lucky?" she teased, giving Yoyo a playful punch.

"Oh so lucky." he smiled sarcastically.

Near the two, ears picked up on the words Blaze said. Those precious words that one needed for an assignment. The words that meant a closer freedom, a better future, a great life to move into. He couldn't wait.


Author's Note: Kinda long, yeah I know. A bit of an intro with the vampires, to give you loyal readers a taste. Yes, more will be coming. What's the story without the fight, I know. Review!