Chapter XXV: Every Loss [Part Five, Come Alive]
His amber eyes opened slowly.
"Kiba!" The brown pup gasped.
"Kiba, please," the silver wolf began softly.
"Do you remember us?" The tan wolf chimed in hopefully.
"Kiba… Kiba…!" Toboe cried desperately.
He looked at them, 'Hey guys; long time no see,' he said.
All five wolves sighed in relief.
"I suppose you think that's funny, huh?" Hige demanded.
"You nearly scared us half to death! Where've you been?" Toboe piped up.
'Someplace peaceful; it was almost like Paradise.' He replied, slightly surprising them.
"But it wasn't, right?" Tsume spoke up, looking at the white wolf knowingly.
He seemed to sigh. 'No; they kicked me out.' He replied.
Nikki chuckled softly, wiping her eyes of the gathering happy tears and smiling down at him. "You're such an idiot, you know that?" She scolded weakly.
Kiba smiled a little and closed his eyes.
"Kiba," Eri began alertly.
"Do not worry; your friend has returned to you." The elder reassured them.
The pack sighed in relief again.
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"What your spirit beheld was the Garden of Eternity."
"'Garden of Eternity'?"
"You experienced joy and tranquility you never felt before, yes?"
"Yeah."
"That is enough to satisfy most people: they embrace the illusion and never look back. But for you, that bliss was not enough; otherwise you wouldn't have returned."
"Yes; there's somewhere I have to go."
"Tell me, why are you searching for Paradise?"
"I have to, to survive."
The elder smiled. "I see." He said, turning to go back to his tent and leaving the pack alone.
"So what happened to you in that garden place?" The gray wolf asked.
"Nothing much, except I met a nice girl." The white wolf replied.
"WHAT!?" Both females demanded in likewise shock.
"You; met a girl!? No way!" The tan wolf exclaimed.
"I figured as such, no wonder you seemed less uptight." The gray wolf chuckled.
"You IDIOT!"
A combat boot was thrown at his head, making the white wolf stagger slightly before he rubbed his head.
"OW! Geez, Nikki that hurt!" He yelped.
"I busted my ass, worried sick over you, and you go and cheat on me with some slut!?" She snapped, glaring at him and putting a fist on her hip.
He winced from the throbbing bump on his head and scowled at her.
"No, I didn't do anything with her, I swear! I thought of you the whole damn time!" He barked indignantly, quieting her.
Nikki blinked and then blushed, looking away.
"I almost thought you were dead. You know as well as I do that I can't go to Paradise without you!" Her gaze hardened as she looked up at him and stared into his glacier-colored eyes. "We promised that we'd go to Paradise together, and I don't care how many nobles or soldiers I kill to reach it." She added sternly.
Kiba smiled slowly at her words; there's my girl, he thought proudly, moving forward to brush some hair from her gaze, seeing her cheeks redden as he cupped her cheek.
"I heard you howl for me, all the time I was there. I'm glad to be back." He added quietly, seeing tears slightly sting her eyes.
She shook her head and wiped her eyes, huffing.
"You're still the biggest idiot I've ever met." She scolded, scowling stubbornly at him.
He chuckled and gently pulled her into a hug, holding her tightly in his arms as she buried her face into his neck and her shoulders sagged in relief at wrapping her arms around him as well as being in his strong arms again.
"Wait, I don't get it…" She heard the pup declare confusedly behind them.
"And you won't for a few more years," her brother quipped.
"Trust me, kid, you don't want to know," the silver wolf laughed gently as she ruffled his hair.
"Aw man, Kiba has all the luck…!" The pudgy wolf griped.
"Well why can't I get it now?" The pup whined.
"While I was there, I felt like I was missing something." He said calmly, looking at the others from holding onto the black wolf.
"You mean Cheza?" Tsume wondered.
"Not just her; I mean you guys." Kiba replied, slightly baffling them.
"Aww, I'm touched!" Eri piped up and sniffed, yelping when his idle hand groped her ass from behind.
"There, problem solved, now quit blubbering for God's sake." The gray wolf quipped, ignoring the blushing face of the silver wolf and death glare she shot him.
"I thought you guys were dead," the white wolf said.
"You've gotta be kidding!" Hige and Eri barked in unison. "Do you know how hard all of us busted our butts trying to find you!?"
"You did? Sorry. I didn't know." He apologized.
"Great Moon, your brain is the same as ever!" Eri grumbled.
Nikki laughed quietly; Hige, Toboe, Tsume and Eri started to laugh too, until Kiba laughed as well.
He smiled at them, looking down at her. "Let's go."
The pup hesitated, making them look at him.
"I… I'm not gonna whine anymore. And I won't run away." He stated.
"You wanna bet?" Hige wondered.
He scowled. "No way."
Tsume poked the pup's head affectionately, looking at Kiba. "Well, the runt's fired up. You ready?" He asked.
Kiba nodded. "Yeah."
Nikki reached on her tiptoes and kissed his nose, smiling. "Come on then, let's move." She said, giggling when he wrinkled his nose and smirked at her.
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Two soldiers fired at the silver wolf.
A loud growl sounded as the black wolf leapt at them, ripping one of the soldier's throats out with her teeth and slicing the throat open of the other one with her claws.
The silver wolf huffed and smirked slightly at her. "I coulda handled it." She said.
She wiped a smudge of blood from her cheek, returning the smirk.
"I know you could've. Here," she handed her a spare knife she'd kept on the inside of her jacket.
She looked at it and nodded, placing it in the belt of her skirt before pulling her coat over it. "What's this for?" She asked.
She shrugged. "Never know when it'll come in handy." She said.
She nodded, looking over her shoulder to see the four wolves had cornered one of the taller soldiers.
"Let's go," she said, sprinting for the four with the black wolf at her heels.
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