Ayaka turned on the faucet and put a glass under it. After she had her drink, she noticed something : Shinji wasn't in bed.. He was sitting in front of the window with his legs crossed, looking up into the night sky. A few, thin rays of moonlight danced down from the night sky, bathing his body in their pale glow. She'd never quite seen him like *this* before, even in his more thoughtful moments.

"Shinji?" She approached her younger brother slowly. He didn't seem to notice her, but she did see a glass of water near him as she approached. It was almost like he wasn't there.. He wasn't even blinking. "Shinji, go to bed."

His breathing was slow and deep. Shinji still wasn't noticing her.. A few moments went by, and he disappeared into thin air. Maybe she wasn't getting enough sleep.. Ayaka shook her head and went back to Hiro and Shinji's room, just to make sure. When she looked inside, she saw Hiro resting in his bed quietly.. And Shinji's was empty. She shut the door and looked back at the window.

Ayaka found something there that she never thought she'd see.. Nor did she want to. Where there was nothing just a few moments ago, there was now.. A large, muscular wolf like creature was sitting exactly where Shinji had been.... Her father had been *wrong*. An now, she had a werewolf in her living room.

She backed away slowly, her eyes never leaving the black furred creature. After two steps, one of it's ears twitched, and it's head slowly turned to her. She could see that it wasn't angry.. It seemed pretty.. Peaceful, actually. It tried to speak, looking aggressive for just one moment as it's lips began to form a word. After a few moments of frustrated stuttering in a harsh voice that sounded like it was filtered through whiskey and broken glass, he spoke. "Ay.. Ay... Ayaka.."

"Shinji?"

He bobbed his large head at her and stood up, walking towards her slowly, unsure of his newly turned body. "Y.. Yes"

"What happened to you?"

"I... D.. Don't know.." He seemed to have trouble with speaking, and his face contorted with every word.

"Just... stay there, okay?"

He bobbed his head again and sat down on the floor, looking over his body from head to furry toes. If he couldn't turn back before the others got up.. Well, the other children.. She swore under her breath as she opened the junk drawer and pulled out something she'd hoped never to use.

She was going to have to call them for help, and now one of her brothers was one too. Now she would have to deal with them. She could feel her bile rising as she picked up the phone. There was a groan on the other end of the phone as the man answered. "Whoever this is must have a death wish."

"You have twenty minutes to get over here."

"Who.. Ayaka? Why the sudden change of heart at this hour?"

"You've got twenty minutes."

"... Ok, I'll be right over there. You really need to find a better hour though." He hung up.

Ayaka hung up and went back to her brother, approaching him warily. "Someone who can help you is on the way."

"Alright.. I... What... Is.. This..?" Shinji reached out a large paw to her, slowly for her shoulder. His face told her he wasn't sure whether this was real or not.

"I don't know, Shinji."

His paw touched her shoulder, and thankfully, the claws didn't come close to her skin. "Is... This... Real?" Where the hell was that guy?

"Yeah, it is." She put a hand on top of his paw.

".. How?" he asked, and after a few more minutes of wonder, there was a knocking downstairs that she could hear.

"Hey!" Watson shouted from downstairs.

"Just say here." Ayaka said, pulling her robe closed and heading downstairs.

Watson was right there, looking a bit disheveled. He had on his pajamas, under a trench coat, and he was wearing a set of slippers. "I hope this is important."

"It's Shinji. He's upstairs."

He blinked then came into the store so long as she let him. "What's wrong with him? Is he hurt?"

"Go see for yourself."

Watson shrugged and turned, heading upstairs quietly then he went into the room. "Oh... My... I think you might have a pet problem.." He walked over to Shinji and looked him over from head to toe. "Hello, Shinji.."

"Who.. Are.. You?"

"Just call me Wat."

Ayaka watched from a distance, going back for the water she had left behind.

"What's wrong?" Watson looked him over again, then shook his head. "You can't change back, can you?"

"... No."

Watson put his hand to his chin and rubbed it, trying to think of something.. "You might just shift back after sleep, that's what normally happens..." He looked at Ayaka. "Is there anywhere he can go to rest?"

"He can't stay here.... Hiro and the baby......." Almost as if on cue, little Sakura started crying in their mother's room.

"Fuck. Well we can't move him because... He'd be seen. And my car can't fit that in it. Maybe we could convince them he's the bear from the big blue house.."

"I think Hiro's a bit old to fall for that."

"If you've got any suggestions I'd love to hear them... Shinji. I need you to close your eyes, and concentrate."

".....Shinji, you'll stay in my room, okay?"

"You go put him in your room. I'll be right back." Watson left quickly at a soft run, leaving her alone with him.

Shinji opened his eyes and nodded his head slowly at her. "Ok A-Ayaka.."

Ayaka put an arm awkwardly around her brother's shoulder and lead him into her room. Every time he stepped he left small grooves in the floor from his claws and he almost tripped a couple times. He sat down once she led him in, and put head on his hands. "I'm dreaming.." he said. She could hear Watson coming back as Sakura continued to cry.

"Come on... just a little further..." 'Momma, why aren't you taking care of Sakura?' she thought.

Shinji sighed as Watson came back into the room, and Sakura's cries began to fade into the night. "Now.. Shinji. Close your eyes again.. And relax."

Ayaka retreated from the room and headed for her mother's. She found her mother inside, with a more peaceful Sakura awake, and laying on the bed beside her. Ayaka thought she heard something crackle for a moment, then there was nothing. "Momma?"

"Yes?" her mother said tiredly.

"We have a problem."

She sighed. "What kind of problem? A hospital type of problem?"

"A giant werewolf problem."

".. A what? Do we have a guest?" her mother asked as she got out of bed slowly. Sakura was too sleepy to notice it seemed.

"Shinji turned into one."

Her mother blinked then came over to her in a hurry. "But your father.. I swear if your kidding.."

"Do you think I would joke about something like this?"

"Perhaps. Where is he now? How much of a mess did he make?"

"He's in my room with Watson."

"With who?" her mother said as she moved past her hurriedly towards Ayaka's room. "How did it happen?"

"He was the first one of them who showed up... you remember, the one who left the card. I called him."

".. I see. Well. It has to be better then letting it all work out on it's own.." her mother opened the door to Ayaka's, and Watson was sitting on Ayaka's bed. A very naked Shinji was sound asleep on the bed behind him.

"Couldn't leave him on the floor." Watson explained

"Mm. Is he going to be alright?"

"He'll be fine.. When he wakes up. We'll really need to take him though.. To explain things.. And make sure he understands."

"Take him where?"

"To the Sept. The same place we were trying to take you to."

Ayaka glanced at her mother. Her mother looked at her. Watson spoke again. "We can't have him going around talking about this."

Ayaka caught her mother's eye and jerked her head towards the bedroom. Her mother nodded, then turned and stepped out of the room back towards her bedroom with Ayaka. "He's right, you do realize.."

"What do you know about this... Sept?"

"Me..? Not much, I haven't been there in a while. And these things change over the years.."

"We can't let him go alone."

"Well, then perhaps you should go with him."

"Why not you? You've been there before."

"Perhaps.. If you really want me to. I just thought maybe it would help you deal with him better."

"I would rather not deal with them at all."

"You are going to have to sooner or later. What if someday, you have children.. And they are werewolves too?"

"There's no guarantee of that."

"But there's a very high chance."

"That's hardly important right now."

"Just go with him, Ayaka. He didn't have to come here... But he did, he helped us. The least you could do is give him a chance."

"I'm not going without the gun."

"Take it. I know I won't need it, after all.n I'll call Shinji's school in the morning. I wish you both luck."

"I think we're going to need it."

"I do too. Stay with Shinji when he first gets up. Goodbye.."

Good night, Momma."

***

Watson had wrapped Shinji in his trench coat before they left the house. It was about twenty five minutes of quiet driving down the quiet night streets and out of town down a quiet two lane road... That turned into a dirt road. With anyone else, this would seem like he was going to kill her, and dump her on the side of the road. The trees were barely even seen in the dark around just outside her window.. The thin crescent moon offered little light.

Ayaka actually recognized where they were. Or at least, the direction they were heading. Her father had taken the family on more than one trip up to the Muir Woods, after all. Maybe this was why he had taken them there, getting them acquainted with the terrain.. Or he could have just liked it. "It's not much further.." Watson said, then smiled a little as he pulled up to a wide trench in the road. He had to know it was there. Anyone else would have driven right into it.. And Ayaka could almost swear she saw steel spikes in the depression. Some had hand grenades on them. He honked the horn in a pattern, and two people rushed out of seemingly nowhere with two large planks of metal with small railings on them.

Ayaka didn't smile back. Her hand was resting in the pocket of the jeans she had thrown on, and on the handle of her gun. If anything went wrong, and any of them tried anything, she would start shooting. They laid the planks quickly then moved out of the way, and the car lurched forward slowly, driving over the pit to the other side. He waved to the people as he drove past into the area. The road went right by one bunker which was carved out very carefully into the side of low hill. Watson seemed like he had driven this road more then a few times thankfully.. He stopped the car, pulling over near three others, that seemed to be the only other ones. There was a faint light in the sky.. From a fire, she was almost certain. "Over these hills. And keep your hand out of there, it looks suspicious." he said, going into the back to pick up Shinji carefully in his arms.

"And driving a couple of kids into the middle of nowhere doesn't?"

"You're a kid? How old are you?" Watson started walking out over one hill, Shinji limp in his arms. He was out like a light.

"You know what I mean." Ayaka got out of the car, making no effort to hide her gun as she followed him.

"Yeah, I do. I'm not going to hurt you though." He said as they got over to the top of the hill. It took about a good five minutes to reach the top. Looking down from above, she could see some figures.. But the high grass in the 'valley' between a good smattering of hills was hard to see into. Even from above. "Ladies and gentle men!" Watson said. "Boys and girls, children of all ages. We have, a new 'born' Garou!" There was a momentary pause, followed by a bunch of hoots, hollars, and cheers that seemed to come from nowhere.

Ayaka's eyes darted around, trying to catch the shapes that had made the sounds. There were a few she managed to see, but all in all it was hard to see anything. "What is he?"

"Hopefully not another Walker. They'll get lost in the woods again."

"Shut up." Watson said. "He comes from a Gazer background, and his sister is with them. Don't try to surprise her. Especially you Metis. You'll regret it for days."

Ayaka frowned a little at the unfamiliar words.

"Yeah yeah." she heard someone say. "Come on." He led her down into the valley. "Kind of like Jurassic Park eh? Don't worry. It's raptor free grass."

"You *really* aren't doing anything to...." She froze in place and watched a spider crawling up her shoe.

Watson didn't seem to notice as it started to crawl along on her ankle. "Just wait a few seconds. Something'll happen. And what do you mean?"

"Sp-sp-sp.....spi-i-der....."

The grass around her began to bend, and soon, it had all bent outwards and lain flat against the ground. "Spider?" He asked as there were some people appearing out of seemingly nowhere. So far, there were about twenty in the general area around them. This was not her night, apparently, as the spider started to crawl up her leg inside her jean's leg.

She began twitching violently as it crawled up her leg.

"Are you having a seizure or something?" Watson asked, laying Shinji on the ground. He took his coat back and put it on, leaving him naked.

"Nice slippers. Where are the bunny ones?"

"Bite me."

"Ok!"

"Down boy."

"Th-th-there'sss spi-spider... on ma-my leg...."

"Yeah? Well just brush it off. They don't bite most of the time." Watson sat down on the grass and yawned, looking up at the sky. "Theurge.. I guess.. Could be wrong, but he wasn't an Ahroun, that's for sure."

The spider made it all the way up to her hand, and she let out an ear piecing screech... right before she fainted.