Tsume had been staring out the window for minutes. After Cheza left with Kiba following close behind her. He jumped up, despite not wanting to move. But if he didn't start he'd never get anywhere.
He followed after Kiba. The white wolf knew he was coming and he turned around. They stared at each other for a minute. Tsume could see the determination in his eyes. A determination that he'd staked his life on countless times. It had always worked out before. Getting comfortable was what got you killed.
" You should be wary of her. Of all of this. I'm sure you know that she's dangerous…. that she can't be trusted no matter what Cheza says."
Kiba sighs. " I know that, Tsume." He looks tired of all of this and it's only just begun.
" I'm sure you do. I know you don't know a lot about human politics… I'd rather not either. Still, there isn't any guarantee that other humans won't kill that bitch. I'm sure that there's a whole list of people that still want the nobles dead. And if they come after her then-"
" Cheza could be in danger," Kiba finishes.
" More so than usual, yeah."
Tsume hutches his shoulders. The pack from his past, his pack now- it would almost be better if he didn't care so much.
" I have to help her, Tsume."
" I know," Tsume growls more than he means to. " Why do you think I'm standing here?"
" Aren't you coming into town?" Kiba asks and he almost sounds worried.
Tsume smirks. " A while ago, I was about to kill you in the middle of Freeze City. Now you're worried about me." Now they were both worried about each other.
Kiba's eyes narrow. " Hardly. And I still don't know why you can't come with us now. What's so secret and important?"
Now it's Tsume's turn to sigh. He looks off into the distance and then back. "It's better if you don't know. If I'm not back by sundown I'm dead."
" Don't die then."
Tsume nods and starts to walk off. " Same to you," he mutters. Tail wagging. He's glad Kiba turned and started walking away because the last thing he'd want Kiba to know is that it made him happy.
Where he's about to go, whether he wants to admit it or not, he'll need all the happiness he can get.
The main roads into Freeze City are a chaotic mess with all the nobles, merchants and bystanders coming into town. So of course, Tsume takes the side streets. Somehow Cheza managed to make it so that people cared about the outcome of this meeting. If no one from his pack got killed, Tsume would consider it a victory. While he didn't like humans, he could understand why they'd also want to live
Nobles have ruled over things for far too long. Words like the ones he'd said to the humans in Freeze City when they'd first come under his leadership.
He wasn't one for irony but walking through the snow like this, it was amusing in a way.
He knows someone is following him. He sighs and his shoulders bunch together. He'd always known it would come to fighting. Just not so early in the morning.
" I know you're there," he growls. " Come out."
There's a whimper and a rustle in the bushes behind him. Tsume expects a fight. Toboe comes tumbling out of the woods instead.
" You shouldn't just wander off by yourself without telling us anything about it," Toboe says as he starts to run. Tsume doesn't slow down. He doesn't have time.
" It's fine."
Surprisingly, Toboe raises his voice. " It's not. You're going to do something dangerous aren't you?"
Tsume doesn't know why he gets the sudden urge to stop in the middle of the old forest path. It's almost a good feeling. To know there's someone he can find comfort in easily. When there is good, theirs bad to take its place.
It's still nice to hear. Especially as Toboe finally catches up to him. " I know you have your own stuff to figure out… You still need to be careful, Tsume."
Toboe nods, seemingly to himself. "It's probably not much… no um… I've been getting stronger. I need to pull my own weight, you know?"
He smiles and almost brushes up against Tsume.
A year ago, he would have laughed or scoffed and rolled his eyes. A year ago he would have never let Toboe or anyone else get that close to him. He wouldn't have gotten close to anyone else.
And while Tsume might still do those things. Think its utterly ridiculous and kind of stupid to risk your life for someone, he understands it now.
" I'm glad," he manages to say. Tsume feels like saying more than that. Words seem to cloud his mind in a haze. Something behind him snaps his attention back from the smiling wolf by his side.
" Well you've already protected me so much before, I have to return the favor somehow."
" Hardly. It's good though. If you get stronger then I can worry about you a little less."
Toboe's eyes widened at the words that Tsume immediately wishes he hadn't said aloud.
" Aww, I didn't think you'd ever say that."
" Ahhh, Toboe don't turn around, ok? Act normal, we're being followed.
Toboe nearly yells before catching himself. " Wha-"
" And if you want, I can spar with you sometimes. But I won't go easy on you."
When he thought about it, there was never a time when he hadn't fought others in life and death situations.
Tsume gets closer to Toboe, so that they're pressing up into one another as they walk. It's different than when Tsume got injured in the past. When they were close together out of necessity. Little tears clouded his eyes even though Tsume had insisted he was fine.
Only now Tsume was annoyed because Toboe's life was in danger and he didn't want it to be.
" I'm going to fight their leader," Tsume whispers in Toboe's ear. There are ten people behind us. Five on each side. They're probably trying to kill me… they have guns." The smell of gunpowder taints the air.
To Toboe's credit, he doesn't flinch. He does make a low whimpering noise that Tsume has decided he doesn't want to hear again. He wonders why he cares what noises Toboe makes at all, but he whispers.
" I'm going to run into the trees and take them out when they follow. Count to ten in your head. That's when we'll go."
After the ruination of his old pack, Tsume didn't think he'd ever care about anyone's life. This was one thing he was alright with being wrong about.
Snow crunches under their paws as they start to run. Not long after that, there are loud footsteps.
Tsume doesn't have time to deal with these weak thugs.
"Duck," he shouts as someone fires their gun. Bullets sink into the snow.
Toboe ducks and they both dive into the trees.
" They shouldn't have waited so long unless- shit."
A thug emerges from the trees, sword in hand. He slashed down at Tsume whose throwing one of his knives while ducking down.
" I guess you're not that stupid," he thinks aloud. " You're still weak." He kicks the man down and stabs him in between the ribs.
No time to play around. He keeps running. Toboe behind him, uninjured hopefully.
" Where are we going," he asks panting a little.
Some fires a gunshot and they weave out of the way. Tsume doesn't hear footsteps anymore. He isn't about to let down his guard.
" The place where we were supposed to fight," Tsume answers.
" You mean...this was always supposed to happen?"
Tsume nods.
" I'm sorry… I'm not being any help. I-"
" Toboe I'm glad you don't want to kill anyone, it's what makes you who you are." He isn't sure if its all the fighting and running making him say stupid things. Tsume wouldn't exactly hate it at the moment if one of the thugs shot him and put him out of his misery.
With the misery he was going to put them through, they should have tried harder to kill him.
" Don't get shot," is the last thing Tsume says before running back in the direction of gunfire.
It's different when there's someone you want to protect. Not that Tsume is going to let that stop him. He isn't some easily distracted fool in a fight. The feeling of worry for Toboe in the back of his mind isn't a pleasant feeling.
He runs past the thugs popping up in the middle of the broken forest. Towards the gunmen. he dodges a bullet weaving left and right before jumping up in the air.
Cold man-made weaponry threatens to slam into his face seconds before his jaws connect with the thug's neck. They slump down to the ground, blood splatters across his face.
Anguished screams are drowned out by the act of someone thugs running towards him with those vibrating swords drawn.
Tsume head buts one of them. Throws knives in another's direction.
'They don't know how to use those knives well,' Tsume thinks, biting one of their arms. ' They're weaker, more. disjointed. That's what happens under bad leadership.'
Still, he'd rather this not go on for much longer. It's a mess and a bloodbath of sorts. Steel colliding, screams and grunts.
One of them kicks Tsume in the side. He rolls to avoid another injury. Takes an unforeseen knife to the side and growls.
He hears someone cry out and it's not him. It's the person stabbing him but Tsume hadn't done anything.
Toboe growls, " get away from him!" Rams himself into the humans' side. Tsume doesn't see what happens exactly but there is blood and a lot of screaming.
Tsume twists and jumps upright.
Toboe is shaking, there are tears in his eyes.
Tsume sighs and he feels something that isn't cold-blooded anger. Sadness, gratitude? He isn't sure. There are still some humans awake and coherent. Not dead.
" Normally, I would kill you. But I've spent too much time already here and we need to keep moving."
No one says a word. Toboe stands. Tsume stands. Uncharacteristically, he doesn't kill any of the thugs on the forest floor. They keep going. Towards a destination, he doesn't want to have to go to.
Hello and thank you for reading my Wolf's Rain fanfiction! I keep talking about writing the end chapter and not doing that so here's this chapter instead. Eventually, I'll get there. (:
