Disclaimer: I don't own Wolf's Rain.
After days of treading through the ice, the five wolves finally reached the outer walls of the Black City. All of the wolves had their human disguises on, except Shiroi. Shiroi glanced about nervously, looking at Kiba(who had messy brown hair and blue eyes, wearing a black jacket, white t-shirt and jeans) to the white haired and golden eyes Tsume, who was wearing black leather clothing. Toboe, who was wearing a red t-shirt which matched his hair and green pants, looked at Shiroi.
"Erm, Hikaru..." he started. "Where's your human form?" Shiroi nervously looked around. He wanted to say that he didn't have one but he couldn't.
"Is this about the pride thing again?" Tsume said. "You know, Kiba had that same idea but hey, he looks pretty human now doesn't he?"
Shiroi growled at Tsume. This has nothing to do with pride he thought. Kiba looked at Shiroi for a bit before turning around to face the others.
"Maybe he doesn't have one," he said with a flat tone. That caught the attention of all the wolves, and they looked at Shiroi with confusion.
"What do you mean he doesn't have one? He's a wolf!" Hige exclaimed.
"Well if you think about it...he's been in the keep for about 300 years. Wolves weren't near extinction back then, so maybe he didn't need to adapt to the extent that we did" explained Kiba, he looked at Shiroi with understanding eyes. Shiroi nodded his head in gratitude.
"We can't go in the city like this, I'm pretty sure the nobles can tell that Hikaru is a wolf," Toboe said worriedly, casting a glance at Shiroi. However, Shiroi had other plans as he began walking away from the group.
"What are you doing?" Tsume demanded, looking at Shiroi.
Shiroi didn't reply. Instead, he started running up the outer walls with incredible speed. In a few moments, he was at the top of the wall, the sun reflecting off his white fur and making him just a blur to their eyes. He nodded towards them and then slipped away.
"Well that answers that," said Hige cheerfully.
"We'll see him again, soon. My instincts tell me that" Kiba whispered as he watched Shiroi's vanishing figure.
"Shall we get going then?" Tsume asked as the disguised wolves began their infiltration plan
Shiroi
I ran across the outer walls of the city, trying to get a scent of this "Flower Maiden" that Kiba has been talking about. I don't know why, but the name as well as this fragrance has been haunting me lately. I know this person from somewhere, but I can't remember where. Her scent, the smell of Lunar Flowers...What did Kiba say her name was? Cheza?
I sniffed the air again. There were definitely traces of Lunar Flowers here, strong ones too, but the scent was masked behind something. Another scent caught my attention immediately and the my fur started bristling.
It's him... I thought He's in the city somewhere too. I have to find him before he finds the others.
I sprinted along the edges of the wall, desperately trying to catch hold of the scent. As I ran, I glanced at a young human female with blonde hair, and a lab coat on.
But that wasn't what caught my attention. It was the wolf beside her. Although she tried to make herself look like a human, I could easily tell that this "girl" is a wolf. I looked past her illusion and saw that she was a dark blue wolf, almost like navy-blue with sapphire eyes similar to his. I saw two human boys, one skinny and one as fat as a pig, on skateboards attempting to do something, I couldn't see what. The next thing I knew, the wolf was in the air, jumping off the sides of a nearby building and kicking(I saw it as pawing) one of the boys in the face. She had her claws sheathed so she didn't draw blood, but the impact knocked the skinny boy off his skateboard. I chuckled a bit at that. The boys skated off shouting at the females. Just then, I smelled a strong scent that almost knocked me off my feet.
I found you I said, with a grin on my face. Let the games begin
Kiba
We just entered the city when Hige stopped us abruptly.
"Hey guys, why don't we split up?" he asked. "You two go that way and we'll go this way," he tapped Toboe on the shoulder.
"Are you sure you don't want to just scope out the food?" Tsume said sternly.
"Don't worry we'll bring you back some!" Hige said laughing.
"It would look less suspicious if we split up..." said Tsume
"Okay, we'll scope out the keep first" I said.
"It's a plan, we'll meet you back at moonrise" said Hige as he ran off with Toboe trailing behind him saying "Wait for me!"
Tsume and I jumped onto a nearby platform. We then leaped onto another one...and another one... until we reached a high enough elevation to see that the front gate was guarded by a bunch of soldiers.
"So what now?" asked Tsume "Trying to go through the front gate would be suicide. Not that I'm scared or anything, just seems pointless is all."
"Wise man's words" I replied. "You want to find the backdoor?"
"If you insist, I suppose we could" Tsume said chuckling a bit. We ran off in the other direction, trying to find the back gates.
Toboe
"We'll be able to find a bunch of food here!" I said happily as we walked into the town.
"Wait, let's go here" said Hige, indicating an elevator.
"I don't believe it..." I started until I saw Hige walking into the elevator. I followed suit and he pushed the button.
"This should take us all the way up" he said smiling.
"Shouldn't we be heading back by now?" I asked worriedly.
"Relax" he said, still smiling. "Let's see how far we can go." After the elevator came to a stop, I looked around in confusion.
"Hige, how did you know? You've been here before right?"
"Nope, but when your instincts are as sharp as mines are, you get a feel for thing," he said as he walked out of the elevator. Unknowing to us, a camera was watching our every moves...
Hige started walking a lot faster, and I had to run to catch up to him
"Hige, wait up!" He stopped abruptly and I looked him in the eyes. "What's wrong?"
"Every time I try to think, my head starts pounding..." he replied, grasping his head with his hand.
"Probably not used to this strange air," I said. Then I looked at him seriously, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong okay" he said, clearly irritated now.
"Please Hige, You've been acting strange ever since we got here" I said with my voice trembling.
"Get off my back, will ya?!" he snarled at me and ran away. I never seen Hige this upset and scary before... I ran after him quickly and saw him clutching his head in front of a statue of Jaguara. He was in pain.
"Hige!" I said as I ran towards him, but he quickly ran away. Sprinting away, he jumped to the other side of a nearby street. As I attempted to jump after him, a car blocked me and when the car drove by, Hige was gone.
Kiba
After having subdued these kids on the street who thought that we were after their 'food' we managed to convince them to show us how to get into Jaguara's keep. They told us of a backdoor into the keep, and once we reached out destination, I quickly realized the the 'backdoor' they were talking about were large cables connecting energy to the keep.
"These large cables carry energy into the city or something." One of the kids said.
"Do you feel that?" Tsume asked me
"Yeah, it's the complete opposite of basking in the moonlight" I replied
"It feels like my energy is being sucked away" Tsume said. "Something tells me it's only going to get worst."
"I know" I said.
"Listen, are you really going in there?" One of the kids asked.
"Yeah..." I replied
"Thanks for the help, guys" Tsume said before we left the two kids. As we started walking down the path, I looked at Tsume.
"You know Tsume, the others might be waiting for us," I said
"Do you want to turn back?" asked Tsume looking back at me. "Do you want to turn back?" and when no response came, Tsume said "Then let's keep going. Knowing Hige, he'll probably catch up." He stopped and looked at me, "We just need to have a little faith."
Hige
My head was ringing like crazy, I couldn't think straight. I have no idea why I shouted at Toboe like that, he was only worried about me. But this pain that's blurring my vision won't go away...I ran, clutching my head in an attempt to escape the pain, but it won't work. Two soldiers were walking up to me, but ringing intensified and I fell to the floor. They walked over to me and looked at my collar.
"Number 23 huh? Doesn't seem like any others are with him," they said as they walked away.
After they walked away, I sat up panting. "Why did they spare me...? I don't get it," I said out loud. The ringing came back and I clutched my head. "Ugh, my head...what's going on?!" I screamed.
Shiroi
I stopped running as I heard gunshots from below. I noticed the female wolf attacking three soldiers, and the human female running in the opposite direction. The female wolf ran, jumping up several platforms away from the soldiers who were firing at her. She jumped to the top of the outer walls, and the funny thing was, she didn't even notice that I was right beside her when she landed. I gave a quiet growl to get her attention and she turned around, staring in fear at first, and then her expression calmed down.
"Hello..." she said nervously to me. She looked me over, staring at the weird markings on my head and body, then she looked into my eyes and gasped.
"I didn't know...another wolf was in the city" she said lamely. I flicked my ears and let out a wolfish sigh. I heard several noises from below us, and saw that the soldiers that were chasing her weren't finished yet, as they were climbing up a set of ladders leading to the outer walls. I started running again.
"Wait!" she said. "Where are you going?" I flicked my ears as an indication for her to follow me.
I had to lead her somewhere safe. If he finds her, he'll surely kill her. We started running, but shortly after she stopped and screamed out.
"Hige!" she jumped down before I could stop her. I would have jumped down too, Hige was my packmate after all... but Kurai's scent was dangerously close. This female wolf and Hige would be slaughtered by him, so I made the decision to keep running. At least, I can either lead Kurai away from them, or in the worst case scenario, I would have to fight him.
Kiba
"Tsume!" I shouted as I banged on the metallic wall that just came out of nowhere. One moment we were walking side by side, and the next a huge wall just pops out of nowhere and separated us. I could do nothing... nothing except continue on and hope that we meet up again.
I walked into a corridor and realized that the room was filled with soldiers. They lifted their weapons and pointed it at me, and I knew that my human disguise wasn't going to help me in this situation. Dropping it, I snarled and bared my fangs before leaping into battle, tearing out one of the soldier's throats...
Tsume
I was ramming my shoulder against the steel bars that kept me in this hellhole. Once Kiba and I got separated, I wandered into a room and saw that several wolves were in the room. Except that the wolves weren't alive, and they were stuffed in a position that showed that they were howling. One thing caught my eyes, and it was that all the wolves wore collars...collars similar to Hige. A sudden realization hit my head, and that was when a cage fell from the sky and trapped me. The next thing I knew, I was in this cell. As I continue battering my way out, I can't help but wonder... Was it a mistake to come here? Was it a trap from the start?
Toboe
"Hige!" I shouted as I ran around dead ends, trying to locate him. A bunch of soldiers walked out of the corner of a building and aimed their weapons at me. It was then I knew that they saw me as a wolf. I tried to run away, but one of the weapons blasted me in the back of the head, and I fell to the ground, knocking me out cold.
Hige
"Toboe!" I yelled from where I was standing, giving our position away. I stared, terrified at the three soldiers surrounding the young pup who was unconscious on the floor. Blue grabbed my hand and we leaped away. Once we got away from the soldiers, I slumped down onto the floor.
"Hige? What's wrong?" Blue asked me. I didn't respond. "Hige, don't you dare die on me! Don't you dare!" Blue was crying. I opened my eyes and cupped her face in my hand.
"You're such a strong and gentle person" I said to her. She grasped my hand.
"Can you do me a favor, Blue? Can you take this collar off?" I asked her. She immediately sank her fangs into the collar, trying to bite it off but to no avail. After a couple of minutes of tugging and pulling, she sat back panting.
"It's okay Blue" I said.
"No, if this collar is what's hurting you, I'll get it off!" she said resolutely. The shuffling of footsteps caught our attention, and two soldiers appeared. Blue ran at one of them, snarling and attacking. However, the other soldier aimed a pistol at her, and shot, wounding her arm. She grasped her arm in pain as I stood up and ran towards her.
"Blue!" I shouted as I grabbed her hand and lead her away. One of the bullets aimed at Blue was blocked by me, hitting my collar and causing it to fall to the ground. We sprinted away as fast as we can.
Kiba
I was so tired...and my whole body hurt. Numerous wounds were on my body, but I didn't care. I limped up the stairs to where Cheza's scent lead me...dripping blood along the way. On the ground below me, were bodies of at least sixty soldiers all with their throats torn. As I neared the top, I saw a huge door, and walking forward, I pushed it aside. I saw Cheza in a water-orb container, with her arms chained apart.
"Cheza!" I cried as I ran towards her. I reached out to her. "I finally found you..." I whispered. I didn't hear a response.
"What's the matter? Why won't you respond to me?" I shouted.
"Ah, the white wolf..." a voice behind me immediately grabbed my attention. I turned towards a lady wearing golden armor with a long cloak around her shoulder. She had a mask on.
"You are the one chosen by the flower. How beautiful you are..." she said. I snarled at her viciously and ran towards her with the need to bite her throat open.
Suddenly, symbols appeared around me and I felt my strength being reduced. My legs started trembling as I tried to remain standing, but whatever this strange circle is doing to me is preventing me from doing that. I collapsed on the floor, snarling at her. The lady walked past me and to Cheza.
"Come, open your eyes. Open them for my Paradise..."
Kiba... Cheza's voice echoed throughout the air. My eyes widened and my attempt to stand up resumed, but I had no strength left. It was all sapped away... Cheza's container cracked and water started flowing out of it. I snarled again.
"My prayers have been answered...Cheza...we must feast in celebration don't you think?" The lady started laughing maniacally. My consciousness was fading, this circle was sapping every bit of my strength. The last thing I remember before I fell into the darkness was something being tied around my neck, poking into my fur and also something being strapped around my body...
Shiroi
Kiba...
I heard that voice somewhere. It sounded so familiar. It was a cry of pain and sadness, a sound of helplessness. I stopped for a moment and glanced in the direction of the voice. Kiba was in trouble, I just know it. Whoever this Cheza person is, I have a feeling that I know her. I sniffed the air again, and I noticed Kurai's scent was disappearing.
No...not disappearing. He was moving somewhere. Then a sudden realization hit me.
He's moving towards the castle! I picked up my pace and started sprinting as fast as I can towards the castle, hoping that I wasn't too late.
Kiba was situated on a table, a collar of some sort was strapped securely around his neck. Small needles were in the collar as well, puncturing his fur and into his skin. Another harness of some sort was strapped onto his body tightly, more needles were imbedded in the harness. The needles were attached to tubes that drained Kiba's blood into some sort of reactor. The straps around his neck and body were tied down to the table, making movement impossible for him. Not that it mattered much, because the white wolf was still unconscious as a result of the energy circles siphoning his strength. His fur missing patches, covered with his own wounds, the white wolf found solace by sleeping. He didn't know that nobles surrounded the table which he was on.
The doors slammed opened, and all the nobles' attention were brought to the invader. A black wolf glared at the nobles, all of which cowered away in fear as he walked towards Kiba. He walked up to the unconscious wolf and roughly jabbed him in the stomach with his paw. Kiba let out a whine of pain and opened his eyes halfway, only to be faced with red,murderous eyes. Kurai put his paw underneath Kiba's snout, and slowly lifted it up making Kiba face him. Kiba gasped as his breath was cut short by the tightness of the collar around his neck.
"Where is he? Shiroi...I know he's here somewhere" Kurai snarled into Kiba's face. Kiba didn't respond, well more like he couldn't respond. Kurai let go of Kiba's snout, and Kiba's head slammed back onto the table. Kurai put his claws on Kiba's flank, and slowly dragged across, drawing blood. Kiba whimpered in pain, but Kurai wasn't the sympathy type. After a long moment has passed, Kurai grew tired of Kiba's suffering and leaned in to whisper in his ear.
"He'll be here...to rescue you," he hissed. "Little does he know, that's what I want him to do." He lifted Kiba's head again, and stared into his eyes. Kiba shivered as Kurai's eyes bore into his very soul. Kurai then walked off while facing Kiba into the darkness, until the only thing Kiba saw was his red eyes that were left staring at him.
Cheza... Sing for me Kiba said before he fell into unconsciousness
Cheza started her song, but it was filled with sadness this time.
Shiroi
I heard someone's voice echo through the air. Someone was singing... but the feeling that was projected was so sad, it caused my heart to ache. It sounded like whoever was singing was in pain... I was nearing Jaguara's Castle now, and I looked through a window with a group of nobles with masks surrounding around a table. With deeper inspection, I noticed that there was a white wolf on the table, tied down securely. The wolf had his eyes closed with multiple wounds on his body.
Kiba! I gasped. Redoubling my effort to get to the castle, I jumped through one of the windows, landing inside the keep.
Kiba...
He heard a voice and opened his eyes.
Goodbye Kiba... I think I'm withering...
No...Cheza! Kiba grit his teeth Don't!
He tried to summon his strength to break through his bonds, but to no avail. He laid his head back down on the table in defeat. Cheza... he thought.
Suddenly, he felt the collar around his neck loosen, then thrown off. Then the harness around his body was also thrown off. He opened his eyes and saw Shiroi standing before him, looking more majestic than before. All the nobles were unconscious on the floor.
He must have bit through them Kiba thought. Shiroi's gentle eyes looked into Kiba's, and his eyes and markings started to glow. He touched the tip of his nose to Kiba's body, and Kiba felt energy being returned to him. It felt like he was basking in the moonlight...even his wounds started to heal. Kiba struggled to stand up on shaky legs, and he looked at Shiroi and said, "Thanks." Shiroi nodded at him, then indicated with a flick of his tail that the moonlight reactor above him was going crazy.
Shiroi turned around slowly and sniffed the air. He's here Shiroi thought. He's so close.
"Wait" Kiba stepped in front of Shiroi. "The other wolf, he has something planned for you...It might be a trap." Shiroi gave him a look that said I'll handle it, giving reassurance with his eyes. Shiroi flicked his ears to let Kiba know he should get going. "Be careful" Kiba said warily before giving a howl and jumping ontop of the reactor.
Shiroi bristled and walked towards the scent of the Flower Maiden. If he found her, then Kurai would be there too.
"I won't let you do to them what you did to me, brother" he snarled out loud. His eyes glowed furiously and his markings gleamed as he padded towards the door which the Flower Maiden was. He had enough power to fight back this time...
I hope that it's enough.
Shiroi speaks finally :D
A/N: Hi guys, thanks for reading through this long chapter. Again, please read and review, it'll make me berry happy. Also, just thought that I'd let you know about some background information about Shiroi. You see, 300 years ago when he was caught by Darcia and Kurai, they drained his strength with multiple energy circles and a cursed Moonstone(which is basically Shiroi's kryptonite). The cursed Moonstone was on Shiroi for 300 years, which negated and drained his powers. So right now, he's not even at half his strength yet because to recover all his energy would take years.