CHAPTER 12: EVERY WOLF HAS A SECRET

BUTCH: What's this? An update...?

ME: Yup! Look, it hasn't been four months yet! Isn't that awesome?

BOOMER: What's with the sudden motivation?

ME: Just wanted to say thanks for the reviews. I know it's petty, but when I don't get reviews, I feel a little...depressed, I guess. Like I didn't do good enough.

BRAKER: There's no need to think such a thing!

BRICK: *mutters* Sometimes there is—

BRAKER: *nudges him*

BLASTER: Kuku owns only her own OC's and the story! Now, rolling chappie!

Chapter 12: Every Wolf has a Secret

He sighed, letting the water drip down his face as he sat on the cold, wet rock. It was raining heavily.

He winced as water fell into one of his small, still-healing cuts. Despite having healed himself in the heat of battle, his arms ached like hell. A few scrapes were still visible along his body, and the pain they brought stung.

Butch...

He really was impressed with the boy's growth. Battling him had taken more out of him than he'd expected. It'd been awhile since he'd faced such a challenge. I wonder if the other Rowdyruff Boys have gotten stronger too?

"What are you doing?"

Looking up, his green eyes met golden-red ones. The person who'd spoken was smiling.

He sighed. "What do you want, Coal?"

"It's not like you to be hostile. ...Or to fail." Coal walked over, holding his hands up. "What happened?"

"He's gotten stronger." He turned to stare out at the grass field around him, dripping in the rain.

Coal's tone was amused as he asked, "So you underestimated him?"

Eyes flashing, he met Coal's look with a glare. "Oh shut up. Like you could take him."

"Sure I could." Coal cracked his knuckles before cracking the bones in his neck.

Sighing, he stood up off the rock and brushed his red hair out of his eyes. "You're so arrogant."

"I try," admitted Coal, glancing up. "So where are you going now? Danes is still irritated."

"I thought I could go talk to Ross. The boy's come back, hasn't he? It's about time he learned a thing or two about us animals," he responded over his shoulder.

Coal laughed. "That's right. That's all you and those pesky RRB are, huh? Animals; every last one of you."

In a flash, he was in Coal's face, hand outstretched to grab the man's neck. "And you're an asshole."

Coal easily dodged, smirking as his golden eyes narrowed. "You shouldn't get provoked so easily, young one. We only took you in because we needed your powers. But thanks to your new failures and the possibility of you breaking our deal, I'm sure Danes wouldn't mind if I disposed of you if you got out of line."

"You can try, but I guarantee you'd fail." He drew his arm back, glaring at the man in front of him. "I've had enough of you trying to provoke me. Fuck off, Coal." Then he spun around and stalked off.

Coal laughed as he sat down on the rock, rain splashing his body. "You can always run from the past, Vix; but you'll never get away from it."

"Tch." Vix spun around, his right eye turning white as he shot a blade at the man.

Coal jumped off the rock, watching as Vix disappeared inside the mansion. An explosion sounded from the rock. Then Coal landed and grabbed the blade, looking it over. "Ah, yes. Vix is a special case, isn't he?"

"What happened?"

Buttercup was panting, lowering Butch down on the couch in the RRB's living room. "Some whacko attacked us at the park."

"Shit," Brick muttered, looking Butch over. "It looks like his right arm's been injured."

Buttercup watched Bandit and Boomer preparing to heal Butch. Then she turned to Brick. "It was some guy named Vix. It looked like Butch recognized him. Brick, I want to know who that was and why he's after you."

Brick had paused, his red eyes flashing as he seemed to recognize the name "Vix". But his gaze immediately hardened afterwards. "I don't know who that is."

"Stop lying!" shouted Buttercup, her frustration finally being released. "Butch has been injured! Will you Ruffs just stop hiding things already!? Will it kill you to tell the truth once in awhile!?"

Brick shook his head, closing his eyes. "No, but it might just kill you." Buttercup stiffened as Brick's eyes opened and he looked up. "Now that this Vix guy knows who you are, he'll probably go after you too."

Gritting her teeth, Buttercup clenched her fists. "That's fucking bullshit..."

"I don't control what's bullshit and what's not in your eyes," countered Brick, focusing on Butch.

Buttercup collapsed against the couch, feeling her energy suddenly fade away. "Why won't you tell me anything?"

"I told you, BC. It's up to Butch to choose if he wants to tell you anything," Brick sighed, fixing the cuts on Butch's arms with bandages.

"Why would he choose to keep hiding things if he's just going to get hurt?" murmured Buttercup.

Brick didn't meet her eyes. "Maybe to keep others from getting hurt as well."

Chills ran down Buttercup's spine, and she looked up to stare at Brick. But the redheaded Ruff was completely focused on the task of bandaging Butch's wounds.

Butch suddenly coughed from his seat on the couch, and Bandit grabbed his brother. Helping the green Ruff sit up, Bandit gently propped Butch on the couch arm.

"Guys...what happened?" Butch's eyes slowly opened as he turned to look around. "Where's...BC?"

"Over here, Butch." Buttercup stood up so she could meet Butch's eyes. "I want to know who that Vix guy was."

Butch closed his eyes. "Someone I used to know."

"Can't you tell me more than that?" Buttercup demanded, frustrated. "And what is 'us wolves fight with our claws' supposed to mean?"

"It means that we're warriors, and we fight with our fists. It was...like a simile, or whatever."

Brick coughed slightly, unable to keep from cutting in: "Actually, that's a metaphor—"

"Dammit, Butch! You need to let me know what the hell is going on," Buttercup shouted, ignoring Brick.

"This doesn't concern you," Butch wheezed.

Buttercup felt like she'd been stabbed. Trying not to grow angry, she resorted to a steely glare. "Fine then. Don't tell me anything." She spun around and stormed off, letting the door slam behind her as she left the Ruffs' house.

Brick watched her go, before glancing down at Butch. "Are you sure this is okay?"

"As long as she chooses to stay away...this is fine," Butch murmured.

"Don't talk," Boomer said quietly, his hands glowing as he healed one of Butch's bleeding scratches. "You should rest."

Bandit nodded, biting his lip as he concentrated on an extra large cut on Butch's hand. "You're an idiot for taking Vix on like that, all by yourself."

"It was the best I could manage at the time," Butch responded absentmindedly, his gaze still lingering on the door. "You guys would've taken too long to arrive as back-up even if I could contact you. And I still had to deal with Vix as well as Buttercup."

"Point taken," Bandit sighed, closing his eyes.

"Please hand in your Math homework!" Mr. Apocally announced, clapping his hands together. "While Blossom hands out your new worksheets, I have an announcement to make."

Buttercup chewed on her pencil as she watched Mr. Apocally talk. To her surprise, there was a tiny scratch under his eye. She wondered what had happened.

"Tomorrow our new student is joining the class. I want all of you to welcome him warmly," Mr. Apocally was saying, writing something on the board. It was their class schedule for the day.

Buttercup glanced up as Blossom reached her desk. The redheaded Puff silently handed her sister a worksheet, her pink eyes flashing and seeming to say "finish this tonight or else".

Buttercup took the sheet, feeling a single drop of sweat trickle down the side of her face. She didn't doubt that Blossom would be willing to kill her for not finishing her homework...again.

As Blossom moved away, Buttercup cautiously turned her head so that she could see Brick and Butch. The two brothers were whispering to one another silently.

Butch had his arm in bandages, and whenever someone asked him what had happened, he always replied, "I got scratched by a dog."

Biting her lip, Buttercup turned away just as Brick stole a glance in her direction. She hadn't spoken to the Ruffs since two days ago; when Butch had been fighting Vix.

"Today we'll be focusing on the second part of algebra. Your test is also coming up soon, so let's all be prepared. If you're not ready, then I guess you're just going to have to fail," Mr. Apocally was saying, watching the class as they prepared to work on their new homework.

When he turned around and started writing something else on the board, Buttercup couldn't focus on what he had just wrote. His baggy sleeve had dropped to reveal multiple scratches and bandages on Mr. Apocally's arm. It reminded her of Butch, and Buttercup couldn't help but wonder what had happened.

Mr. Apocally coughed, lowering his arm as he pulled down his sleeve again. "Ah, don't mind the scratches. I had to take care of my friend's cat the other day," he murmured.

Cats and dogs, Buttercup thought, both of them seems like excuses.

Butch narrowed his own eyes from his seat, glancing at Brick. The red Ruff nodded in agreement of Butch's silent suspicions.

"Mr. Apocally, could I use the bathroom?" called Butch.

The teacher paused, staring at Butch with an arched eyebrow, before sighing. "Okay; I really don't care, but what are you supposed to say?"

Butch rolled his eyes and said in an exaggeratedly sweet voice, "May I use the washroom, please?"

"Go right ahead." Mr. Apocally turned around and started to erase something on the board. "In the meantime, let's start with part 1 of our lesson..."

Butch hopped out of his desk and walked quickly toward the door, opening it and walking outside. After the classroom door closed behind him, Butch relaxed. He decided to take it slow to the washroom, so he could think.

It took hardly half the steps needed for Butch to run into a problem. That problem was Michael.

Michael was talking to his friends, his hands scratched up and bruised. His aqua-green eyes were tired.

"A-Are you sure you're o-okay?" asked Sidney, his own brown-almost-pink eyes wide.

"I'll be fine. You know how fast I heal." Michael swung his arm around, glancing down at a cut when he winced in pain. "Danes helped take care of the scratches."

"Your training is starting to look more like death matches to me," DJ remarked sarcastically, jumping about and touching the beams on the ceiling.

Darkai nodded his ever-silent agreement.

"Oh shut up," snapped Michael, looking frustrated. "Training is important."

Sidney sighed quietly. "But so is your health...!"

"It's nice to see that you care, but I'm fine. And I'll be fine," interrupted Michael.

Just as Butch wasn't sure what to do, new voices sounded behind him. He jumped, spinning around to see two familiar dark-chocolate brown-haired teens. "Michelle; Michael!" he said, surprised.*

Meanwhile, as Butch started to talk to his friends, the not-friend Michael had already sensed his presence. His eyes narrowed. "I smell trouble."

"Fresh trouble," agreed DJ, smirking.

Sidney looked slightly panicked. "Wh-What do we do?"

"Just ignore him," Darkai deadpanned.

Michael nodded his agreement. "He's right—that's Darkai for you. When he's not quiet, he's always correct."

The four friends moved away from Butch.

After the green Rowdyruff Boy had finished talking to his friends Michael and Michelle, he turned around to focus on the other Michael again. But to his surprise, the group was gone.

Butch gritted his teeth, feeling annoyed. "Tch," he muttered. "They sensed me."

"Let's walk together to lunch," suggested Blossom, hoisting her bag over her shoulder. She looked slightly tired.

"Sure," Buttercup mumbled back, surprised at the offer.

Blossom started walking toward the door, pushing it open. "I know we don't always get along, but we're still friends."

Feeling perplexed, Buttercup arched an eyebrow. "Of course we are," she agreed. "Okay, what brought this upon you?"

Blossom glanced back at Buttercup and smiled slightly. "Let me just say that I had a lot of time yesterday. We were worried sick when you didn't return home until so late."

"Oh." It was all Buttercup could manage to say. She remembered all of her sisters, and the Professor, practically tackling her as soon as she opened the door. Even someone as tough as Buttercup couldn't take them on all at once...even if it was just a bunch of bear hugs.

Blossom smiled again, shaking her head and sighing. Then she led Buttercup toward her locker. The green Puff waited as her sister exchanged her textbooks for a lunch bag, waiting silently. She continued to think about her family.

"BC...? Hey, BC!" Blossom was waving a hand in front of her sister's face, and now she snapped her fingers.

"Ah!" Buttercup blinked in surprise. "Wh-What is it?"

Blossom looked curious. "Are you okay? You're spacing out. I just asked you if you needed to go to your locker."

Buttercup could feel her face flushing red. "I-I'm fine!" she snapped quickly—too quickly. The silence that followed was awkward and weird. So the green Puff turned around and marched off.

"Is that a 'fine' for 'you're okay', or 'you don't need to go to your locker'?" called Blossom, running after her sister.

"The first one!" yelled Buttercup over her shoulder; but not loudly enough so that she got too many weird stares.

Blossom slowed down when she caught up to Buttercup, and she fell into pace with the green Puff. The redhead sighed and rolled her eyes good-naturedly, a smile on her face. "If you say so."

The rest of the trip to Buttercup's locker was spent in silence. The green Powerpuff shoved her books into the case and grabbed her lunch bag. "I'm relieved it's lunch," she muttered.

"Me too," agreed Blossom, rubbing her eyes.

"I thought you liked school?" Buttercup raised an eyebrow.

"I do—I'm just tired today." Blossom yawned, running a hand through her long auburn hair.

Buttercup nodded in understanding. "I feel that way too." She winced as she felt her throat. She'd checked in the morning; there were still reddish finger marks from when Vix had grabbed her by the neck. She had resolved to cover it, but covering it didn't mean that the pain went away.

"Are you okay?" asked Blossom, looking concerned.

"I'm fine," sighed Buttercup in reply, shaking her head to clear it. She didn't want to make her family upset, suspicious, or worried.

"...Alright then," Blossom managed to say. She was quiet for a few moments, before she stated, "Let's walk."

"Right." Buttercup followed her sister toward the cafeteria, holding her lunch bag close to her chest. Her body was aching, and she bet Butch didn't feel much better.

Pushing open the cafeteria doors, Blossom and Buttercup entered. They immediately set off for "their" table.

Brick looked up and did a sort of mock-salute to greet them. "Yo," he called.

"Hello to you too, Brick," responded Blossom, pulling a chair out and sitting down.

Buttercup also took a seat, before glancing at Butch. The green Ruff had one eye squeezed shut, and he was holding his hand out in front of him. He was muttering to Braker.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! This hurts like a bitch!" whined Butch.

Braker paused in stuffing his face with ramen noodles. Through a mouthful of food, he remarked, "That's what you get for taking Vix on by yourself!"

"Shut up. You would've done the same in that situation," snapped Butch, shoving his brother with his elbow.

Braker rubbed his now sore arm, eyes growing misty as he glanced at Bliss. "...I guess so," he finally said.

Butch glanced back down at his hand. "Besides, you guys would've arrived too late as back-up even if I could've contacted you. Still, I don't want you guys to have to fight Vix either."

"It's nice to know you care about us, but risking your own life isn't the best way to protect others," scolded Bandit, joining the conversation.

Butch sighed, "I guess you're right. It's just that some things..." He looked up then, his eyes meeting Buttercup's. She quickly looked away. "Some things are worth the risk."

Bandit followed Butch's look to let his gaze wash over all of the Puffs. Then he nodded. "Yeah...I guess some things are worth the risk."

"Strike!"

Michael clashed blades with Vix, feeling frustration build up within him when he realized that the older male had once again blocked his attack.

"What on earth are you doing, Michael? You haven't struck him even once. Was this all that your training is for?" Danes said harshly.

Michael swallowed back a retort at his uncle. I can't fight this guy! He's way beyond my level!

"If Butch could fight Vix, then so can you."

The boy froze. "Butch...fought Vix?" He turned to stare at his opponent.

"And kept up with Vix. Maybe he even wound defeated Vix," remarked Danes.

Vix nodded solemnly, shooting Danes an annoyed look that said "keep your mouth shut". "He's grown a lot since I last saw him."

"I'm just as good as he is!" snapped Michael, irritation bursting from inside him. "That annoying—"

"Take your anger out on your opponent," Danes said; it being more like a command than a suggestion.

Letting out a battle cry, Michael swung his arm at Vix. The man blocked, but this time Michael thrust his arm forward. The blade in his hand slashed Vix's face. A few drops of blood landed on the floor, and Michael eyed it hungrily. A sort of bloodlust seemed to take over the boy, and he let out an animal-like hiss. His irises shrank.

He charged forward and began pummelling Vix with his fists. When he saw an opening, he slashed Vix's face again. This time the cut was deeper, and Michael let out another animal-like noise.

Vix smirked, one eye of his flashing white as he healed himself, blocking Michael's attacks. "Huh. Looks like you're a freak too."

Danes immediately appeared behind Michael before the boy completely lost control, grabbing his nephew's arm just as Michael raised it to strike Vix again. "Good job. I'm satisfied with today's progress. But you know you can't lose control. Now calm down and get a drink of water. There's someone you should see."

Michael spun around and hissed, lashing out at his own uncle. He threw his free arm forward, aiming for Danes' chest. The older man, however, blocked him easily, before hitting one of Michael's pressure points. The young boy collapsed, panting. After a few brief moments of restricted movement, Michael's irises returned to normal.

"You need to be more careful with your own power. You can't lose control," Danes scolded.

Michael nodded weakly, having returned to his usual self. He shuddered.

"Now go get that drink. Or would you rather keep practicing?"

Wobbling as he stood up, Michael swayed. Danes caught him, helping the boy back up. Michael carefully walked, albeit shakily, towards the door. As soon as he was out of the training room, he collapsed once again.

Trembling, Michael ran his tongue over his teeth. I can't believe I nearly lost it over some stupid Ruff...

"Dammit, dammit, dammit!" roared Michael, smashing his fists onto his knees. "I'm still not strong enough!"

Meanwhile, Vix glanced at Danes. "Are you sure this is okay?" he inquired.

"It's fine. As long as he wants to keep training and get stronger, then everything's fine," replied Danes.

Vix turned to stare at the door Michael had just exited from. He sighed, "If you say so..."

Back outside the dojo, Michael was staring at the ground and sulking. He tried to get up and get a drink of water, but found that the strike on his pressure point from Danes still limited his movement. Michael fell back down and cursed his own weakness. "Why does it always have to be this way..." he muttered.

"Hey, what's wrong with you? Quit your moping! Look, I even got you a glass of water."

Michael looked up, surprise filling his body as his mouth dropped open. "Ross!?" he demanded.

"Yo; in the flesh!" Ross grinned, doing a mock salute.

*(A/N: Reference to my fic "Hung Up on You"!)

ME: And yo, it's me in the flesh saying that that's it for today!

BUTCH: ...Well then.

ME: This chapter sort of jumped all over the place. Oops.

BRICK: You're not even sorry.

ME: Sorry~!

BRICK: ...Still not.

BLOSSOM: Well, I guess this is where we sign off and ask for reviews. If you want this story to be updated more often, besides just favouriting and following—

BUBBLES: You could also leave reviews! *giggles*

BLOSSOM: Hey, that's my line!