"Okami, have you checked all of the preparations?" Akito asked his servant whilst straightening his kimono. He turned around to face Okami. She was dressed in a dark blue cloak, her collar hung loosely from her neck. She looked at Akito with an innocent expression on her face.

"Everything is ready," she confirmed, giving him a smile.

"Good," Akito said. "I'm glad you're wearing that; you're extremely cute."

Okami put her head down so her hood sheltered her face.

Akito ~ you're very cute today

Akito ~ she has to be the ugliest girl I've ever seen

"You're a LIAR!" she screamed. Akito was surprised by her outburst and jumped back. Okami continued to scream. "Why do you all keep lying to me? Why can't you tell me the truth? I won't be angry, just tell me how you really feel!" Her head was still down as she fell to her knees, sobbing. "It's not fair! You all lie to me after what I've done for you!"

"Okami… what's wrong with you?" Akito whispered, walking cautiously toward her. He knelt beside her and put a hand on her back. Okami whimpered once and stopped shaking. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," Okami whispered, getting to her feet.

"Good," Akito said, rising as well. He pulled the collar of his kimono to his shoulder again.

He heard guests begin to arrive and made his way to the main room. Okami followed. The wolf kept her hood up and her tail still as she followed Akito. Her master would greet a few of the guests and go on without introducing her. After a few minutes, the rooms became crowded and Okami clung to the side of Akito's kimono; she didn't like having so many people in the room at once. She remembered the first banquet that she had gone to.

It was crowded, and Okami was separated from her friends. There were many people pointing and laughing at her ears and tail, making her uncomfortable. There were other children there; they found her ears a right of her rejection.

"Wolf, Wolf," they chanted, surrounding her in circle. "How is it you howl?"

Overcome with pain and rage, the girl gazed up at them with red eyes. Her vectors shot out into all corners of the room, ripping mercilessly through flesh and bone as they pleased.

Vector wolf, Vector wolf, how is it you howl?

The humans all screamed and scattered, startled by the sudden burst of dead bodies in the large common room. They all ran about the room, trying to escape, but alas, they could not.

Run along, trap your paw

No one escaped the carnage. Blood coated the walls; remains lay strewn across the ground in piles. The only one left standing was the little Vector Wolf in the center of it all. The blood ran down the edges of her vectors as they retracted into her back, splattering her dress with blood.

Howl to the blood red moon

Okami held tighter to Akito's kimono, making him glance at her. He thought back to mental breakdown earlier that evening. He sighed and stopped walking. Okami looked up at him again.

"Get me some cider, will you?" Akito ordered, not looking at her. Okami nodded and reluctantly let go of his clothes. She turned to one of the white tables and reached for some cider. A rough hand stopped her. She looked up to see a servant who was guarding the table.

"Who are you, tramp?" he demanded. "Cider is for guests only, not maids."

"It's for Master Akito," Okami insisted, her orange eyes melting into a fluent crimson.

"Get lost and quit lying," he barked. Okami's ears twitched forward and she tensed to spring, but before she had a chance, a hand slammed on the table. The quarreling servants looked up.

"Stop arguing like you're king of the freaking world; it's just cider," Haru seethed. "You're not the head of the family, so who are you to say that she can't have some of this cider? Speaking of Akito, I bet he'd love to hear about you declining his personal servant something to drink, huh?"

"Um… no, that's fine, he doesn't need to hear about this," the servant stuttered, a bead of sweat dripping off his face.

"You're pathetic," Haru growled. "I bet you're more of a tramp than you accuse this girl of being."

"Cut it out, Haru," a voice barked behind them. "He's just a servant."

Haru and Okami turned to see Kyo and Yuki standing a few feet behind them. Black Haru disappeared entirely as the cow walked stiffly over to Yuki and took a handful of his shirt. Haru clung to him for a second with his head down.

"Hello, Haru," Yuki muttered.

"How about that cider?" Okami growled, her tail twitching slightly under her cape. The servant resentfully handed her a glass, and she made her way to Akito.

"What took so long?" he muttered.

"Servant wouldn't give me the cider," she murmured.

"Well, I'm happy for now. We're about to eat, why don't you go sit with your friends?"

"Okay," Okami nodded, turning to the tables across the room. She saw Yuki, Kyo, Haru, and Momiji sitting at a table and walked over to join them. "Do you mind if I sit with you?" Okami murmured, putting on her innocent face.

"Of course not," Yuki smiled, pulling a chair out for her. She smiled at him and sat down.

"Are you enjoying yourselves?" she asked. Yuki and Kyo sighed, looking away.

"I'm having a good time," Haru assured her. "Don't mind them; they're just upset that they had to leave their girlfriend with the Yankee and the psychic."

"Shut up, Haru!" Kyo shouted. "Why do I deal with you? If Akito weren't watching, I swear I would kill you, you got that?"

"Fine, I won't bring it up again," Haru said, shrugging. "So Akito let you come?"

"Didn't we already discuss this?" Kyo demanded.

"Not like that, you stupid cat," Yuki hissed. "Why did Akito let her come over here?"

Kyo straightened, fluffy cat ears sprouting from his head. He looked over at Okami curiously. She glanced over her shoulder at the head of the family. He was sitting at another table with Hatori, Shigure, and Ayame. Akito felt her gaze and turned his head. She tensed; she couldn't just turn away now. The boy gave her and easy smile, to which she returned the grin.

"Have you ever been to a banquet before, Okami?" Momiji asked. Okami turned back to the company at her table.

"I've been to many banquets," she replied. "In this world, I have only attended one. I wish to not repeat the experience."

"How creepy can she get?" Kyo thought. "She was cute just a minute ago, but now she's weirder than that psychic Hanajima girl."

"Are you enjoying the banquet, Miss Okami?" Yuki asked, trying to break the tension.

"Yes," she replied, inclining her head to the side and smiling. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't having a good time."

FB

It was later in the evening; most of the guests had left the banquet and went to their rooms. Okami was still sitting with her friends, but her forehead was in the palm of her hand. Since the only people left in the room knew about her ears, Okami had her hood around her shoulders. Her ears were hanging forward.

"Hey, Wolf-Girl," Kyo called. "You okay?"

"Fine," she growled. Her voice wasn't as soft as it usually was; the others figured her darker side was shining through.

"Are you drunk?" Haru asked.

"Me; a wolf who could consume an entire lake?" she asked sarcastically. "Of course I'm not drunk."

"Alright," Haru said dismissively, turning his head back to the table. "Don't come whining to me when you have a hangover."

"Miss Okami, if you're not feeling well, I'm sure Akito would let you go to bed," Yuki said.

Okami scoffed, but ignored him. Her head was pounding, and she didn't want to aggravate it. The others gave into her words and continued chatting. Okami tried her best to tune them out, but then Kyo started shouting.

"You'll be sorry once we get out of here, girly-boy, because I will come after you. That's right, you'll be sorry and I'll make you say it."

Yuki was about to make a curt reply, as he always does, but he was interrupted by a tall glass flying through the air and hitting the side of Kyo's head. The glass shattered against his skin as he fell backwards out of his chair. He lifted his head above the table to glare at Okami. Haru and Yuki looked at her in surprise; Okami was originally violent, but she had better reasons. The wolf glared at Kyo for a minute, but then groaned and put her head in her hand again.

"You are drunk, aren't you?" Haru asked.

"I'm not drunk," she whispered. She swayed slightly and fell out of her chair to the hard floor.

"Are you alright?" Haru asked.

"Miss Okami!" Yuki cried, rising from his chair.

Yay! It's time for the after-chapter bit! I hope you liked this chapter. It was really hard to write today because I'm going to my grandma's for ten days and I want to get a lot more chapters up. Anyway, today's special reference regards Spice and Wolf! The entire scene where Haru accuses Okami of being drunk is inspired by the scene at the beginning of the 14th episode in Spice and Wolf. Next chapter will have references to the same episode. Please keep reading, and stay classy! :D