Wolf's Rain Chapter 25 - Waver

Kiba-

Kiba's ears rung from Hige's constant shouting. His paws felt uneasy atop the sand. Even at dusk, it was unbearably hot.

"What do you mean you have to help Lord Darcia?" Hige yelled. " Why in the world would you want to do that? He's not a good guy Cheza, none of the Nobles are.

Cheza's eyes widened and she frowned. Which caused Kiba to frown. He didn't want to see Cheza depressed. At the same time, he had to admit that Hige made a good point. If only he could make it a little less loudly. Toboe seemed to wince every time Hige shouted. Everyone was excited and a little on edge by Cheza's appearance. Except for Tsume who glared at Hige every once and a while but otherwise didn't seem to care too much about anything.

But the facts were simple. You couldn't trust humans and you especially couldn't trust Nobles. Kiba's ears flattened. He didn't want to see Cheza sad, even if he totally disagreed with her. It only seemed to dawn on Kiba now that Cheza was really a human. He stared at her for a moment, her small frame leaning against a pile of rocks that looked enormous beside her.

Cheza was a human. She was small and friendly, and a comforting presence but she was one of the things he hated most. The stories his pack told hadn't warned Kiba of this. He knew to avoid humans like the plague. They were murderers and liars and cheats. But Cheza wasn't like other humans. She was different. Or at least that's what Kiba wanted to believe. He had to believe that because when he looked at Cheza he really saw someone that he liked. Kiba didn't have many strong emotions towards anyone. When he'd spent his time traveling around he hadn't the time to make any friends. He moved from place to place with his nose, eyes, and ears to the ground. The only thing that'd mattered to him was Paradise and the Flower Maiden. Losing his pack from a young age to humans had taught him to fear and hate them. Kiba wasn't like Toboe or Hige. He didn't enjoy being around humans, even supposed friendly ones, for their company. He wasn't like Tsume either, who supposedly was only using humans for his own personal gain and would stab them in the back when needed.

" But aren't I acting the same way now?" Kiba pondered. "I like being around Cheza because she smells good and she's friendly... Isn't that the same as Hige and Toboe?" A chill ran down his spin "And I'm only using her to get to Paradise."

Kiba knew how the other wolves felt, or at least he could make an educated guess about all their feelings. They were all wolves and somehow, in a way, they'd become his pack. He'd only thought of Paradise and Cheza and hating humans but somehow he'd found other wolves. He'd found friends...

Cheza was a human and there was always a chance she'd stab in the back like all other humans probably would.

"Isn't that what she's doing? Why else would she care about some promise she made to another human. Darcia, whoever he was."

"Kiba? Kiba are you alright?" Cheza called to him. Her voice filled with what seemed like genuine concern.

"Y-yes," he answered. Startled and unsure how his face looked. He steadied his voice and tried to maintain a more neutral expression. He felt a pang of guilt.

"Here I am thinking about how Cheza might betray me or something and she's worried about me."

What he hated the most was that he was still skeptical of Cheza. He really didn't want her to know that.

"You just look like your in pain..." Cheza continued, now seeming like she might start crying

Kiba shook his head. "No-" Kiba half shouted for some reason. He sighed and continued. "I'm fine, really." He faked a yawn, " just a little tired."

"That's good to hear," Cheza smiled. Her eyes sparkled. Her genuine concern made Kiba's tail wag a little

"So what were you saying Cheza?" Hige asked impatiently.

Cheza brushed her hand over a wrinkle in her tunic and started to speak again.

She took a breath. Her eyes grew wide and her face withered.

"Well... Lord Darcia's wife is very sick. The illness is called Paradise sickness. She'll die soon unless this one does something to help."

Cheza stopped talking. Her small fingers continued to brush the fabric against her tunic. Kiba was waiting, patiently, for some sort of explanation when Tsume interjected.

He rolled his eyes. "Right, we know that. You told us already." Then he shrugged

" Why should we care?"

" We wouldn't, normally," Kiba thought to himself. " If Cheza cares though…"

_Cheza's replied quickly. " B-because it's the right thing to do!"

Tsume groaned. " That doesn't mean anything."

Kiba glared at him and he shrugged again.

" It's impossible to help everyone. … What makes some happy will piss others off and before you know it you'll end up dead in an alleyway somewhere because you helped the wrong people."

Toboe and Cheza winced.

Tsume continued.

" If everyone did the right thing for everyone then we wouldn't be sitting here baking in the middle of the desert." He paused for a second and then went on to say, "... Now if this is done sort of its part of some weird Flower Maiden prophecy thing... then fine. But, if he just needs anyone's help in general… He's a Noble. He can find his own help."

Kiba hated to admit that he felt the same way.

Cheza nodded slowly as if physically absorbing Tsume's argument. She pressed her lips together into a thin line and then started to speak.

" Hmm, that is true Tsume. T'is a valid point." Tsume's eyes widened for a moment. His scowl deepened.

" It's just that… There's something strange about Lord Darcia. It seems as though he cannot simply ask for anyone's help. This one has met him once before. It must have been a long time ago but.. Hmm... He seemed different-" She quickly added, "which would make sense considering his wife's illness," Cheza nodded to herself. " Humans all grieve differently." It sounded like she was repeating something she'd heard.

Cheza talked strangely. But it was even stranger that she'd said " humans" instead of "us" or "we."

"Does she not consider herself a human?" Kiba asked himself, hoping.

However, when he saw this one walking through the streets… Trying to get to you… It was as if he knew exactly where this one would be… and… well…" Cheza frowned. "It must have been a coincidence…"

Kiba opened his mouth to say something but decided against it.

Cheza continued to speak. Darcia was getting more and more on Kiba's nerves with each passing second.

Cheza's mood changed from somber to peppy again.

" At the same time, it cannot be a coincidence. That we all met each other in general. Or how this one is the Flower Maiden and Lord Darcia's wife is ill with something called Paradise Sickness. What has more to do with Paradise than the Flower Maiden and a pack of wolves?"

Cheza's smile grew as she nodded to herself and stood up. She brushed off her tunic and swayed in the wind.

" Lord Darcia is heading to Black City and that's… only a little further away from here. ...This one thinks So... if it's alright with all of you... could we make a detour to Paradise?

Another gust of wind blew through the groups makeshift camp. Cheza's warmth was infectious. Everyone smiled and nodded. Except for Tsume who rolled his eyes and sighed but didn't actually object.

Cheza had already started walking. She twirled around on top of the sand. Kiba begrudgingly started to follow. He'd already decided he'd follow Cheza where ever she went, long before he even knew her. He still felt the same way. Only now he couldn't help but wonder what other issues lay in store for him and the rest if the group.

" Hey, Kiba," Toboe half shouted as he ran to his side. "Are you sure your alright?" he whispered.

" Not really," Kiba wanted to say.

" Yes, Toboe I'm fine" he actually answered. He started to run to Cheza's side and ask her if she wanted a ride. If no one could see her then maybe they wouldn't realize how worried he really was.

Blue –

Waiting was a terrible change of pace to Blue. To someone who never waited for anything; who was constantly running around trying to achieve her goal any way she could, waiting was excruciating At least her wounds were healing. Though there were so many of them now that she could hardly keep track.

Everything was happening now. It was hard to make sense of it all. Blue didn't want to have to think about anything. It was hard to keep track of time, seeing as they were underground or in a cave or something. Light trickled in from somewhere every once in a while so days passed. How many she didn't know. Her days and nights started to blur together.

Most of the women were either unfriendly, rude, scared, quiet or a combination of the four. They kept their distance from she and Cher which was the best solution for everyone. Blue didn't bother to learn anyone's names. They didn't seem to care about hers, which was also fine. Someone can in every once in a while with some food and water rations. Bread, slices of meat, apples, beans. Things they must have brought with them from the city.

Blue could understand that the women were scared. Those men, slavers or Nobles or whatever they were, hadn't been messing around. Blue could defend herself just fine.

"What if I couldn't defend myself. Would I have ended up in some place like this?" She sighed and let her thoughts continue. " No, because I had Pops… I wonder if he's doing alright…" She shook her head. " Pops has to be fine."

Eventually Blue knew her thoughts would turn dark.

So, even while waiting, she tried to keep busy. She sharpened her knives and paced back in forth in the room. Sleeping wasn't an opinion. When she was exhausted she slept but she didn't feel tired at all. Maybe it was because Hanabito but her muscles didn't ache as much as usual. When she asked Cher about it she didn't have any clear answers. It didn't seem like anyone had any clear answers for anything these days.

When Blue finally decided to venture outside of the room it was a large network of tunnels and caves. More sunlight trickled in from the cracks in the cave's ceiling. The walls made out what looked like a hard stone. But the more she looked at them, the more mechanical they looked. It was becoming more and more unclear as to where they were.

" Where are we? " Blue thought. She reminded herself to ask Cher when got back. "How long did it take them to do all of this?" Blue said to no one in particular while leaning up against the smooth stone.

Walking down another path, Blue listened to the sounds of the rooms she moved past. In one room she could hear the sound of someone crying, in another laughing. As she continued to walk she heard women speaking in hushed tones, their words nearly inaudible.

The crackle of a nearby fire made her wince. Hanabito wouldn't like that. She still felt the urge to protect the old Flower Maiden. Just as importantly, She couldn't get the image of a fire starting and no one noticing until it was too late. The smell of the fire reached her nose and she gagged. Images of her dying family darted through her mind. She blinked tears away

Her chest felt tight and any minute now, Blue could see herself having a full on break down in the hall. She breathed, slowly, backed up and scurried through the hallway until she found her way back to her room.

.

The next day passed just as inconsequentially as the first few. A green haired woman that seemed to be their leader started giving Blue and Cher small tasks to do. Do the laundry, cook, clean; simple things. Everything was strangely indoors. Blue hadn't gotten a good glimpse of the sun or moon in days.

Later in the day, she and Cher were ushered into a small humid room with about ten other women. Dirt squished and parted under Blues weight. Her heart skipped a beat when she looked down and saw paw prints. She lurched forward, her pain seeming physical.

The green haired girl shot her a worried look. " If you're up for it… we're getting this area ready for planting."

A corner of the ground was stacked with a heavy pile of rocks. Worms slithered through the brown squishy earth as the stones were upturned. A string of white flowers grew up a wall, stretched across the ceiling and down the other side of the room. Vases with the names of vegetables and fruits were clumped together in a corner. A basin of water sat on the ground. She did not want to see her reflection.

Some of the women looked at Blue warily. Blue wasn't fazed. Why shouldn't they be scared? Who knows what she looked like to them. What sort of demon she really was to them.

They sat in a corner, breaking rocks with little metal rods. Cher closed her book, tucked it into her pocket and started to pick up some rocks, examining them like she'd never seen rocks before. Astounded, Blue started to help. She watched as the black haired women from before watched her with a look that would definitely kill if it could.

Blue fell into the rhythm or all of it. She watched the sunlight through the crack fade. Night fell upon the group. They took a break and offered Blue some more food. For the first time in forever, she was actually hungry.

Some of the girls sat on with their backs against the wall, savoring their scraps of meat and fruit. conversations started. Neither she or Cher felt the need to join in. Blue leaned up against another wall, enjoying her food to some degree. Cher went back to reading her book. At first, Blue didn't care about the green haired women and the others girls conversation, but what they were saying struck Blue as interesting. So she eavesdropped.

" You don't think they followed us, do you," her voice was quiet and shaky.

" We'll be fine," the green-haired women answered kindly. " Miss Hanabito protected us before and she'll protect us now. We just need to have faith and-" she squatted down and threw a rock to the side. " -And just keep working, get this work done. Paradise isn't going to create itself. ...Soon we'll have nothing to worry about."

Blue's body felt numb. She opened her mouth to speak, confused by the women's word choice. Perhaps it'd been only a figure of speech but it made Blue nervous.

The women weren't wolves or nobles or anything. It was strange. Her fears ran ramped through her mind again.

Blue chastised herself, "what do I think they're going to do to me? Use me as some sort of sacrifice." She nearly chuckled but a part of her didn't put it past them.

They're afraid of me… They don't like Cher. If things do turn hostile our chances of making out of here without a fight are slim to none. And her fear turned to jealousy.

" Why are they talking about creating a Paradise? They have their own Flower Maiden but they're only a bunch of humans." She shook her head, " There's a part of me that's human too."

She glanced at Cher who walking closer to the green haired women who'd spoken before."

" What do you mean by that, exactly," the blonde women asked.

The green haired woman smiled warmly, unfazed by Cher's icy attitude. She opened her mouth to speak but whatever she was going to say was cut off by a shrill cry.

" They're here, they're here," another woman screamed as she ran into the room.

Blood was trickling off her cheek. She clutched her side. Her hand and the white fabric underneath it were stained with blood.

" Who's here," the green-haired women asked, surprisingly calm.

" Nobles," the other woman spat.

Blue readied her knives. She chastised herself again. This is why she never gave herself time to rest or let down her guard. The second you let yourself relax is the second people start to get murdered.

Hello everyone and thank you for reading my Wolf's Rain fanfiction! This is a fanfiction, please support the original authors!

Well, I meant for this chapter to be longer but I'm going on vacation soon... a kinda stressful family reunion type vacation so I'm just like -_-. But it'll be nice...? Maybe I'll see some actual wolves or something... Anyway, I hope Kiba isn't OOC or anything but I thought it would be interesting for him to question his believes. He's like totally in love with Cheza, but she's a human ( or close to it) in my fic so... And even if she wasn't living and dying for someone over and over again can be stressful... Not that he knows about that now. I hope Cheza doesn't sound weird or anything... I think this is the first time I wrote so much dialogue for her at one time lol. More on Blue and the Flower Maiden thing and all that stuff next time...

Thanks for reading! Comments, follows and all of that are heavily appreciated! (: