(This is a reposting of Ch 2 after I fixed some errors) I really appreaciate the reviews. I just like to know if anyone finds this entertaining so please let me know. I was also worried if this was managing to live up to the anime. I hope I'm not making the chapters too long. Well, you find out who the boy is in this chapter, but there are still plenty of mysteries surrounding him. As for pairing, I haven't really thought that much about it. I don't think I will do anything that wasn't in the series concerning this. Just to let everyone know I don't do quote/unquote love scences. I'd rather write about stuff : ). See you at the end of the chapter. ; )
Episode 02: Revelations of the Past
It was still early morning and the sun had yet to rise into the sky. A white wolf stood atop the building where he had slept that night stretching the sleep from his body in the receding darkness. Kiba moved over to where Hige was still snoring away and gave him a shove. "Hige, come on wake up."
"Ughh, Kiba it's too early," the lazy tan wolf complained.
"We have to get back on the trail of that scent." Kiba walked away and climbed down the ladder. Hige slowly stood to his feet rubbing his eyes.
"Damn, why can't Kiba take things a bit slower?" Hige moaned, but still he hurried up and followed Kiba down the ladder not wanting to be left behind. Kiba stopped by the blood stain on the wall and sniffed it a few times. Both wolves were in their human forms just incase they ran into any panicky humans. "I still don't get why this is so important to you. It's not like this is going to help us find that place you're looking for."
"Actually it could. I don't know why, but the same instinct that leads me to find Paradise is telling me to find the source of this scent."
"Why is nothing ever simple with you? This is what I get for taking in strays."
"Uh, who exactly took who in?" Kiba replied looking back at Hige with a raised eyebrow. "As I recall, that human would have had you captured if I hadn't saved you, you know."
"You don't let anything go, do you?" Hige laughed uneasily. He didn't like thinking about how he had gotten careless that day and was nearly picked up by the dog catcher. That's how Kiba and Hige met. After that Kiba told Hige about his search for Paradise and so the tan wolf decided to stick around the white wolf thinking it would be interesting. However, now Hige was bored with the whole matter.
Once Kiba got the scent, he started off down the street with Hige walking beside him. Kiba was completely immersed in finding the source of the scent while Hige meandered about with his eyes. Though he was not as concerned with tracking the scent as Kiba, Hige did keep one eye out for anyone who might be following them. Unfortunately, Hige did not look very hard otherwise he might have noticed the same hunter from the day before watching them from a ways off. The hunter let the wolves pass him and get a good distance ahead.
"Come on, Blue. We're going to hunt some wolves." He gave a slight tug on the dog's leash and she followed her master obediently. The hunter was going to take his time. The wolves were oblivious to his presence and he was going to choose his moment to strike. He saw two humans walking along the streets, but at the same time he could also see a ghostlike echo of their wolf forms. He planned to kill the white one first, since it looked like the leader of the two. The hunter's gun was already prepared and ready to be fired at a moments notice. Kiba and Hige continued on slowly towards where the scent was leading them. Kiba wanted to go faster, but Hige would complain every time Kiba picked up the pace. So the pair trudged along at a snail's pace. Meanwhile, Tsume and Toboe had no idea that Kiba and Hige were headed their way.
"Uhnn," Tsume groaned as he awoke. The sun had just now barely started to come over the horizon. His neck was stiff and sore from sleeping the way he had. Tsume rolled his head around a few times to loosen it up. It helped, but only a little. He tried to shift his position slightly, but found himself unable to do so. Toboe still had his arms wrapped around Tsume. The young wolf's head rested against his older companion's chest moving up and down as Tsume breathed. Tsume put his head back against the wall and stared up a the ceiling. "How the hell do I get myself into these situations?" he asked no one in particular. "And why do all of these damn kids fall right into my lap?!" It wasn't that Tsume was mad at them. He just needed to vent his frustration. Well, at least someone's comfortable, he thought as he looked down at Toboe. Tsume remained in this position for while longer until finally the morning sunlight poured in through the window. He felt Toboe stir and then was greeted by the pup's yawn.
"Morning, Tsume," Toboe said as he let go of Tsume to stretch. Once Toboe finished, Tsume moved the boy from his lap and placed him gently on the floor near Toboe.
"Check his bandage." Tsume stood up a popped his back several times. He was NOT going to sleep in that position ever again, not for anyone's sake.
"Hey, Tsume, come take a look at this." Toboe called out sounding a bit confused.
"What?" Tsume growled as he walked over to inspect the boy. "What the heck?" was his shocked response as he got a good look at the boy's shoulder. The wound was gone. There were no signs that there had ever been any kind of injury, not even a scar. The blood was also gone from his clothes. "That's . . . just not possible!" The boy moved at Tsume's shout. Slowly, he opened his eyes and sat up. There was not a fearful reaction from the boy, in fact, it seemed as though he were quite comfortable with Tsume and Toboe's presence. The boy smiled at both of them with a great joy in his eyes, or at least the one eye they could see, like he had just found an old friend. The wolves could only stare at the boy with a look of abject puzzlement plastered to their faces. "Okay, so just who are you?" Tsume pressed the boy for information. The boy just stood there smiling. He didn't say a word. Then, unexpectedly, he ran up to Tsume and hugged him. "H-hey, what are you doing?" Tsume was baffled. It was like the boy was saying thank you for taking care of him. This sentiment was reenforced when the boy went over to Toboe and did the same thing. After he let go of Toboe, the boy scanned the room and found the book he had been carrying over in a corner where Tsume had discarded it. The boy scooped up the book and placed it back inside his jacket.
"Are you . . . feeling all right?" Toboe asked the boy. A simple nod was the only answer he received. "Well then, how come you don't talk." The boy gave Toboe a confused look and tilted his head. Then he smiled again at the young wolf.
"Hey, come on speak up already!" Tsume shouted getting rather irritated. The child only smiled, but then his eyes widened in surprise. He sniffed at the air several times and then a look of pure joy exploded onto his face. The boy turned to the window and ran straight for it. "No stop!" Tsume reached out to grab the boy, but he was too late. The child jumped clear out of the window. The two wolves ran to the window and looked outside. The boy landed easily on the ground. It just didn't make sense. The boy looked human enough, but that jump should have injured if not killed him. Sure Tsume or Toboe could have done the same, yet they were wolves. That is when they finally noticed it--the boy's scent. It was strange, neither of them could tell if it was human or wolf. In fact, the scent smelled closer to being both with no exact distinction between the two. "Who the heck is this kid?" Tsume said as he jumped out the window. Toboe followed, but didn't have nearly as graceful a landing as Tsume. Then the wolves finally noticed two figures approaching from a distance.
"Hey look, it's the other two we met earlier!" Toboe shouted to Tsume. Kiba and Hige recognized Toboe's voice as they approached.
"What are they doing here?" Hige wondered out loud. However Kiba didn't get a chance to answer.
"KIBA!" the boy cried as he ran towards the white wolf. The boy threw his arms around Kiba and latched on tight. All four wolves looked startled. Kiba's expression was almost comical. He had found the source of the scent, but had no idea how to handle this situation. Nothing he had ever experienced before could have prepared him for this. "I-I found you. I finally found you." The boy began to cry burying his face in Kiba's stomach. The kid was starting to make a scene. Kiba put a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Uh, hey, you mind letting go? You're squeezing me kinda tight." Kiba did not want to hurt the boy's feelings, but he couldn't think of anything else to say. The boy finally released Kiba after a few more moments. Then the boy pointed to the other wolves one at a time and recited their names.
"Hige, Tsume, Toboe."
"Wait a minute. How did he know our names?" Hige asked.
"Uh, I don't know. We didn't tell him," Toboe answered.
"More importantly, how did he survive that jump?" Tsume motioned with his head to the window the boy had leapt out of. "Don't bother asking him anything, he won't answer," he grumbled. Kiba knelt on one knee and looked at the boy's face. The boy stared back locking his gaze into Kiba's blue eyes.
"What's your name?" Kiba asked.
"Aibo," he happily replied. Tsume made an irritated growl as his eye twitched.
"Where are you from?" Aibo was hesitant to answer Kiba's question.
"Paradise," Aibo cautiously replied. Kiba gasped and the others looked confused, as well.
"You're saying you've been there, kid?" Hige pressed.
"Well, . . . sort of," the child answered.
"This kid's full of it," Tsume interrupted. Aibo frowned and shot Tsume an unhappy look.
"Grouch," the boy muttered.
"What did you say?" Aibo and Tsume glared at one another. The little kid wasn't backing down. "Pft, this isn't worth my time. I'm outta here." Tsume started to walk off.
"I thought you wanted to who I was." It was subtle, but Aibo didn't want Tsume to leave. Otherwise, he wouldn't have tried to tempt Tsume with this tidbit of information. It worked and Tsume stopped in his tracks. He looked back over his shoulder with only a halfhearted interest.
"Well?
"It's hard to explain. I can't do it right here.
"Why not?" Tsume asked gruffly. Just then Aibo heard a tiny click that none of the others noticed. He walked past Kiba and shouted down the street.
"Hey! Mister, what are you doing over there?!" All of the others looked to where the boy was yelling at. The hunter that had followed Kiba and Hige earlier was standing a distance from them. He had cocked his gun and was ready to fire when Aibo shouted and startled him. However, the hunter was surprised for more than just that reason. After Aibo had shouted out to him, he was no longer able to see the ghostly echoes of the group's wolf forms. The hunter couldn't understand it. He had been able to see them for what they were, but now he saw only a group of four boys and one child. The man lowered his rifle staring in disbelief.
Kiba and Tsume glanced at Aibo, he was wearing a look of self satisfaction. What was it he knew that they didn't. It dawned on the older two wolves, at that moment, that the hunter would have shot one of them if Aibo hadn't spoken up. Then Hige and Toboe felt something rush past them. A huge blur of black fur collided with Aibo and sent him flying along the ground and he stopped several feet in front of the group. Kiba and Tsume had caught a glimpse of what happened. Something looking like a dog, but several times larger than a wolf stampeded up to the boy and sank its fangs into his right shoulder and dragged him along the ground to where he now lay face down. The wolves saw the look of horror on Aibo's face as the child realized what was happening. The creature standing over Aibo couldn't have been a dog because of its sheer size and it mouth was way too full of teeth. However, the scent of dog wrapped itself around the beast. It let go of the boy's shoulder and raised its head opening its massive jaws wide as it aimed for the boy's neck.
"Blue!" the hunter shouted as he dropped his dog's leash. She flew across the paved street in a instant reaching the creature in no time at all. Blue lunged for the beast's throat and sank her teeth deep into its flesh. She held her grip tight and shook back and forth violently. The monstrous dog growled fiercely and with one good shake of its head freed itself of Blue's grasp and sent her rolling. There was plenty of blood on the creature's neck, but it didn't seem phased in the least. Aibo started to crawl away from the creature, but it went for the boy's neck again. Two shots rang out. The hunter hit the creature in its forehead both times. No effect, it merely jerked back from the impacts. However, it was just enough time to let Aibo get out from underneath the creature.
He turned to face Tsume and frantically shouted, "Hit the back of its neck near the skull!" Tsume pulled out his knife and dashed at the monster. One good slash at where the spine joined to the skull was all it took and the creature fell to the ground dead. The ease of bring down the beast surprised the leather clad wolf, especially after all the abuse it had taken without showing any signs of feeling its injuries.
"W-w-what was that?" Toboe asked, his voice quivering. No one answered. Hige walked closer to the corpse and took several whiffs at the air.
"It smells like a dog, but there's just no way. Look at the size of it!" he concluded stuffing his hands into the pockets of his yellow shirt. Aibo simply stood there in shock, shaking uncontrollably. He looked pale. Kiba came close to Aibo and knelt down placing a hand on his back.
"Are you all right?" he asked with concern looking at the child's horrified expression. Aibo clamped onto Kiba again throwing his arms around his jacket. The boy pressed his face into Kiba's white shirt. Kiba was puzzled as to why Aibo kept turning to him. Did Aibo know him somehow? That didn't seem possible because Kiba was certain that he had never seen Aibo before now. Kiba could feel how strongly the child was trembling. Then it crossed his mind that the boy was turning to him for comfort, but why? Finally, Kiba put his arms around the child and patted him gently. "Calm down, it's over now. You're safe." Aibo's shaking seemed to lessen noticeably. It took a few moments more for Aibo to settle enough for him to let go of Kiba allowing the white wolf to stand up again.
Meanwhile, the hunter had approached the group and was checking Blue to make sure she was all right. She opened her eyes as she felt her master's hand stroke her side. Blue rose to her feet and licked the hunter's hand.
"Thank you, mister Quent," Aibo said standing close to Kiba's left leg.
"How did you . . ." Quent began then smiled, "well, it's not important." He took hold of Blue's leash and stood up. "You four had better watch yourselves. The moment you let your guard down, I'll get you all." The hunter turned and walked away with Blue at his side.
"Hey Aibo, are you okay?" Toboe asked.
"Yeah, it didn't get me as bad this time."
"So that was what mauled you before?" Tsume inquired.
"Yes, it followed me here. I managed to lose it in the snow storm outside, but I guess it followed my scent. Not that it's hard to miss."
"So who are you?"
"I told you, I'm Aibo," the boy said to the sliver haired man. Tsume rolled his eyes.
"This isn't getting us anywhere."
"I think you mean, 'what am I'," the boy suggested. "Well, it says that wolves called us Companion."
"Come again?"
"My kind, they decided to call themselves by the name wolves dubbed them with. I read it in this book, though, I can't read all of it just yet." Aibo pulled out the book he kept in his jacket. "The Chronicle of the Companions," he explained. The child opened the book and showed it to the wolves. At first the pages were blank, but as they continued to look markings began to appear in a crimson glow. None of the wolves had ever bothered to learn to read human script, but these markings held meaning to them. They could read this strange language that was inscribed upon the book's pages.
"What are these 'Companions' anyway?" Hige wondered. Aibo flipped through the pages of the book heading to its beginning.
"It says that in the beginning the wolf was born from the great spirit and man became its messenger."
"Wait humans came from wolves?" Hige asked in confusion. Aibo shook his head.
"No, you have to compensate for the ancient dialect. The word 'man' as it is used here is a vague term not meaning either male or female. It means a sentient being similar to a human in physical appearance. It goes on to say that then came the 'children of the moon' carrying with them the scent of the lunar flowers. Finally, the last creature created was a being in the image of the great spirit. That one is the human race. So there are sentient races other than humans and wolves that walk upon the earth. However, I am only able to read bits and pieces of this passage, so there are other sentient races named here that I am unable to read about.
"So how the heck do you figure out what it's saying?" Hige was getting impatient. Aibo sighed.
"I don't know. Usually, I just stare at it and concentrate. Then the meaning eventually comes, but sometimes it can take days before I can read it. And I mean days of constant unbroken staring."
"Geeze, sounds like a pain."
"We're getting off topic here," Tsume griped placing a hand on his hip. Aibo nodded in agreement.
"Well, although the Companions looked human, they walked with wolves. They lived among wolves and were actually taken in as members of the pack."
"Yeah right, humans living with wolves. You gotta be kidding me. They're too weak," Tsume snickered at what Aibo had to say.
"I don't see why you don't believe me. You saw the proof yourself just a while ago."
"What are you talking about?"
"Oh, hey I get it!" Toboe declared. "You're saying that these um, Companions have abilities similar to us wolves, right?" Aibo nodded and both of them had a rather bright eyed look.
"But the thing is though, that it only works when a Companion is in close proximity to wolves. The more wolves there are or the greater the time of exposure to wolves, the more profound the abilities become. Eventually, adult Companions, who had lived their entire life with their pack, can assume the physical form of a wolf," the child explained.
"I still don't believe it." Tsume crossed his arms.
"Then you explain how I healed so quickly or was able to jump from that window unharmed," Aibo countered. Tsume didn't have an answer. He just grunted and looked away. "I have to ask the four of you something." All the wolves directed their attention at the small boy. "Do all of you . . . want to search for Paradise?" Kiba and Hige nodded, but Tsume had a different opinion.
"I can't believe you take that crap seriously," the gray wolf sneered. "Paradise is just a fair tale, and if it isn't then it's some idiot's dream!"
"But Tsume, we'll never know unless we look for it," Toboe pleaded with Tsume.
"Tsume I can assure you that Paradise is real. I told you that I've been there, remember," Aibo chimed in right after rust-colored wolf. "And if you need it, I can give you additional proof." Tsume raised an eyebrow and tapped his foot like he was waiting for it. Aibo sighed, "All right, follow me." The child lead the others back into the deteriorating apartment building and stopped in the same room where he had spent the previous night. He sat on the floor and motioned for the others to do the same. "What I'm about to tell all of you is going to be hard to swallow." Aibo looked around at the others looking for reassurance that it was all right for him to continue.
"Go ahead," Kiba softly encouraged the child giving a slight nod.
"I have been searching for all of you for about seven thousand years. I know all of you, but this is the first time I have actually met any of you . . . while you are still alive." Aibo received a round of shocked looks from everyone. He lowered his head and continued, "By the time I find any of you . . . you're already dead."
"Aibo, what are you talking about?" Kiba asked looking at the boy gently.
"Kiba, this lifetime isn't the first that you have set out find Paradise. You have been looking for Paradise for seven thousand year's worth of lifetimes. And not once have you ever succeeded in finding it," the child sadly stated. His voice was starting to get shaky. "And in every lifetime all of you always die . . ." Aibo's voice trailed off. He pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them as tears started to fall from his face.
"Aibo . . ." Toboe began. Aibo pulled himself together and started once more.
"Over those years, you all live and die. At the moment of your deaths, time is thrown backwards and you all are reborn. It's continued like this in an endless cycle. But in the last lifetime, something occurred that had never happened before. It was the first time all of you worked together as a pack since this endless cycle began. The four of you came closer to finding Paradise than ever before, but still you were unable to reach Paradise and . . . you all died . . . again."
"Okay, but there's one thing about you story that doesn't make sense, squirt. How does time keep going backwards?" Hige scrutinized.
"That's easy, Cheza does it."
"How?"
"It's when her seeds mix with Kiba's blood. I might not have mentioned this earlier, but when you all die at the end of any one particular cycle, your deaths are never pleasant," Aibo shuddered violently as he said this. "Resetting the cycle isn't what the original purpose is for Cheza's seeds, but she is able to use their power to give you all another chance." By this time it seemed that Kiba was the only one still listening, and with only a mild interest. Aibo looked around and sighed, "I had hoped you all would have believed me."
"Well, you gotta admit that this story seems a bit far fetched," Hige replied.
"I honestly didn't want to have to resort to this, but I can awaken your memories of the past." The wolves looked at the child with raised eyebrows. "Did any of you ever have that weird feeling like you have done what you are doing before?" Tsume grunted while the rest nodded. "The events of the past repeat themselves in every cycle and sometimes a memory from a past cycle will rise close to the surface of you consciousness, but it lacks enough momentum to break through. If you want I can draw a few of these memories to the surface, but I won't be able to bring out anything that isn't there."
"Fine, just try it already. I'm sick of wasting my time here like this," Tsume was getting impatient.
"If you all will put your hands on mine," Aibo instructed them as he held out his hand palm up. Once the wolves had done so, he continued, "Now close your eyes and relax."
The child's skeptics didn't have to wait long for their evidence. Images started to flash through their minds. They could feel what was happening as if they were in that moment right now. Terrible pain shot through each of their bodies. What each of the wolves saw and experienced was their own deaths from the previous cycle. However, they did not see the events and circumstances leading up to their deaths nor did they see how another of them died. They each individually saw only their own death. Aibo opened his eyes once he had finished. Everyone was noticeably shaken.
"What the hell kind of illusion was that?!" Tsume shouted standing to his feet, obviously angry. Aibo just wore a sad expression on his face.
"There really isn't any difference between illusion and reality to the one experiencing it."
"Just what do you think you're trying to pull here?!" Tsume's irritation was getting worse.
"I'm not trying to pull anything, honest!" Aibo pleaded.
"Tsume, stop it." Kiba rose to confront the gray wolf.
"You gonna make me though guy?" Tsume started growling. Hige and Toboe backed away to the other side of the room.
"Yeah," Kiba answered Tsume in his soft voice. Tsume lunged at Kiba, both of them now in their wolf forms. The gray wolf missed and the two faced off again. Kiba was getting ready to attack. He opened his jaws and jumped forward. Then suddenly he felt something in his mouth mid jump. Kiba clamped down hard on the object thinking it was Tsume. Kiba landed and then got a good look at what was going on. Tsume was standing in human form looking down in front of Kiba. The silver haired young man's expression was one of pure shock and bewilderment. Kiba then looked at what he had gotten a hold of. It was Aibo. The child had stepped between the two wolves and was determined to stop them the only way he could. Aibo had thrown his hand inside Kiba's mouth to keep him from attacking Tsume. Kiba let go of the boy as soon as he realized what was going on. The white wolf had mangled the boy's hand pretty badly. There was blood all over it and crimson drops were readily dripping to the ground. Aibo was crying, but not from the pain in his hand.
"I . . . didn't hold on to life all these years . . . just to watch you fight each other," he said, his voice surprisingly steady as tears rolled down his face. Tsume looked ashamed of what he'd done and left the room heading up to the roof. Toboe followed him a few seconds later. "I'm sorry . . . for getting in your way." Aibo was taking the blame for the injury to his hand. Hige picked up some scraps of cloth that were still lying around in the room and passed them to Kiba. The two wolves quickly bandaged the boy's hand. Then Hige decided to take his leave claiming that he smelt something to eat. Kiba and Aibo were left alone.
"Why did you stop us?" Kiba asked the child softly as he sat down on the floor. Aibo sat next to him and answered.
"I don't have a family any more. They died and have never come back in any of the cycles. The people return, but my family never comes back. I suppose I came to think of you wolves as my family, but . . ."
"So you don't have any place to go back to either?" Kiba asked. Kiba started to tell the child about how his pack died in fire, however, Aibo wound up finishing the tale for Kiba. "You really do know us, don't you," the white wolf said surprised by how much Aibo knew about him. The child nodded in response to Kiba's question and then replied.
"I don't forget when the cycle resets. My memories stay intact from one lifetime to the next. The events of the past cycles also always repeat themselves. That is how I know all these things I otherwise couldn't know."
"How's your hand?"
"It's better now. Please, don't be mad at Tsume."
"Huh," Kiba tilted his head wondering what brought this on.
"It's just how he deals with fear. He gets aggressive."
Meanwhile Toboe was trying to talk with Tsume. Toboe came out of the stairwell and found Tsume sitting on the edge of the roof with his legs stretched out in front. He was staring off into the distance looking like he was deep in thought while watching the sun set. "Hey, Tsume," the rust colored wolf called out to his friend.
"Go away!" the gray wolf snapped.
"I just want to talk."
"I said beat it!"
"Well, I know you don't, but I thought that it was kind of scary back there. When Aibo showed us our memories." Tsume didn't respond there was only silence. Toboe took this as a sign that he was on the right track. "I don't get how your not afraid of dying. I know I sure am." Toboe sounded hopeful at first, but after still getting no reaction from Tsume frowned, "I guess that makes you think I'm weak, huh?"
"You're still just a pup." Toboe was surprised. He had expected Tsume to say something mean or at least insult him. Well, at least Toboe thought Tsume hadn't insulted him.
"You know, though, that was weird back there. When Aibo stepped between you and Kiba. He didn't look afraid, even as Kiba bit him. I guess Aibo trusts Kiba a lot, kind of like how I trust you, Tsume."
"I didn't ask for your trust," Tsume sneered.
"It doesn't matter to me, Tsume. I still trust you and, you know, it's okay . . . you can trust me." Tsume looked at Toboe with one eye. Tsume felt like he had had this conversation before, and that, perhaps, there might be some truth to what the boy had said. However, Tsume was still unnerved from what he had seen. He could not help but wonder how the others had died, and he was surprised by his feelings of concern. Tsume thought, How did Toboe die? Was it because I hadn't been there to save him?
Tsume remembered the first time he met Toboe. The young wolf had shown himself to a human girl without thinking. She was showing him her pet falcon. Toboe had run up to grab it for her in his human form, but the girl called out and stopped him. The pup was amazed that the falcon came back to the girl and landed on her arm all on its own. Tsume guessed Toboe had figured that since the girl liked animals she would have no problem with wolves. Toboe figured wrong, however. The girl freaked and called for her father. That hunter, Quent, just happened to be nearby that day and fired at Toboe. Tsume, in his human form, grabbed the pup and ran off. The gray wolf took a bullet in the shoulder as the price for this rescue. Toboe felt terrible about the whole event. In spite of Tsume shouting at and berating him, he stayed by the gray wolf's side and even pulled out the bullet while Tsume slept.
No matter how hard Tsume tried, Toboe just wouldn't go away. Tsume sighed inside himself. Regardless of how much he did not want to admit it, the pup was starting to grow on him. Tsume was starting to feel not like he had to take care of Toboe so much as he wanted to take care of him. Tsume turned his head and looked straight at Toboe.
The gray wolf thought to himself, This pup wouldn't survive three days without me or his old lady. I yell and shout at him and yet still he stays. He doesn't stay because he thinks he needs me to survive. He stays because he likes me. He . . . likes . . . me? It just didn't sound right to Tsume. He couldn't figure out why. Why would that pup admire him of all people? Why not Kiba, for instance? Was it because Toboe felt he owed Tsume out of gratitude for saving him? Naw, I killed all that gratitude on the first day, the leather clad wolf reasoned with himself. Tsume hadn't realized it, but he chuckled at that thought and Toboe had seen him smile.
"Tsume?" Toboe asked and tilted his head slightly. Tsume reached out a hand and ruffled Toboe's hair. Toboe smiled and laughed a bit. "Tsume, are you feeling all right?" Toboe asked. He wasn't used to Tsume being so uncharacteristically nice to him.
"Let's go check on the kid," Tsume said as he got up.
"Oh, okay," Toboe replied smiling. The pair walked back down to the room where they had left Kiba and Aibo. Upon seeing Tsume, Aibo stood up and approached the gray wolf. He stopped just in front of Tsume and looked down at the floor.
"I, um, want to say I'm sorry for earlier." Tsume rolled his eyes and sighed aloud walking past the child.
"I'm not going anywhere, so you can drop the routine kid," Tsume muttered as he propped himself up in the broken out window's ledge. Aibo's eyes lit up at this. The boy had been worried that Tsume really was going to take off because he had pushed to gray wolf to it.
"Does that mean you're going to stay?" Aibo asked sounding rather hopeful.
"This is my 'home' you all are in," Tsume glanced over at the boy as he said this. The kid was beaming.
"Will you help us look for Paradise? You know we can't do it without you."
Tsume nodded, "Someone has to make sure you idiots don't get yourselves killed." Aibo ran over and hugged the leather clad wolf at this. "Yeah, okay I get it. You're happy, now will you get off." Aibo let go of Tsume. "Geeze, I hate kids," Tsume said casually, placing his hands behind his head and resting up against the window frame. He looked out of the window, "Porky's back," Tsume announced. It had already gotten dark. Hige was carrying a plastic bag. Once he got up to the room, the brown wolf proudly displayed his bounty.
"I told ya I smelled food," Hige bragged as he passed out the contents of the bag. It was just some old hamburgers, but they were still edible. There were no complaints, not even from Kiba. Anything was better than hot dogs is what the white wolf figured. After they were finished eating, Toboe and Aibo yawned in unison. "I guess it's the runts' bedtime," Hige teased.
"Hey, I'm not a runt," Toboe argued. Aibo just let it go. He was already half asleep. The other four turned back into their wolf forms. Tsume hopped down from his perch and chose a spot in the corner to sleep. Toboe snuggled up alongside Tsume who gave the pup a small push, but it was mostly for show as he didn't make Toboe move. Hige had already picked a spot and Kiba had just closed his eyes when he heard footsteps and a small voice. Kiba peeked an eye open and saw Aibo standing over him.
"Umm," Aibo was nervous and couldn't get out his request, but Kiba understood. In the pale light Kiba's white fur shimmered as he raised his head to look at the boy standing in front of him.
"I guess you're cold," Kiba waited for a response. Aibo nodded since he couldn't think of anything to say. "You know Hige probably has thicker fur. You'll probably be warmer over by him." Aibo frowned at that. He was afraid he had given Kiba the wrong impression.
"I um, was wondering . . . if I it would be all right if . . ." the boy was talking in circles. Kiba realized he had better give Aibo another option if he wanted to get any sleep. Kiba rolled his eyes and asked, "Lonely?" Aibo nodded vigorously. "All right," Kiba sighed. He uncurled his front legs from underneath his body and stretched them out in front of himself. Aibo nestled up next to Kiba's stomach and laid his face into the wolf's shoulder. The child placed his hands on Kiba's forelegs and the wolf placed his head near Aibo's. Kiba curled his tail around the exposed side of Aibo's body. The whole scene looked like Kiba had protectively wrapped himself around the boy.
At that very moment a new threat was approaching unbeknownst to the wolves. A large airship from a foreign land was on a course headed for their city. Lord Orkham was aboard this ship paying a visit to its his host. He stood outside a large pair of double doors while his arrival was being announce to the lord in charge of the airship. An attendant approached a long staircase which led up to an elevated throne. She wore an open top black dress that left her shoulders bare and had knee high slits on both sides. Her skin was ashen in color and her raven colored hair matched her dress perfectly in shade. She also wore a silk cloak that was attached to the back of the dress's shoulders and again at the wrists. The attendant's face was expressionless as she climbed the stairs. A few steps below where her master sat she stopped and knelt, "The noble, Orkham, is here to see you lord Dark." The noble motioned for the attendant to arise.
"Let him in," the lord commanded. Dark stood and proceeded down the stairs. The noble wore a long black robe with a crimson sash tied around the waist that reached all the way to the bottom of the robe in the front. His hair was long and black. It grew to just past waist length. Most of his hair when down along his back with some draped on each side of his neck in the front. He wore an ivory mask over his face like most other nobles, but his had an opening at the bottom which showed his mouth and chin. The mask came to two sharp points on either side of his chin. There were also no openings for the eyes, yet it seemed that lord Dark could see just fine without them. Dark had descended the staircase when Orkham was finally let into the throne room.
"Power of body, mind, and spirit. Hail to the Dynasty," Orkham saluted his ally from the far east. Dark chuckled lightly.
"Now then, Orkham. There is no need for that jargon the old guard favors when you are in my presence. So how is the progress on project Shadow Gemini?"
"The data extrapolation will be at twenty-five percent by the morning, lord Dark. However, there is a problem."
"Oh, go on," Dark calmly responded.
"It's Darcia. He is getting impatient. That noble has been breathing down the necks of my research staff constantly. So far I have had the scientists feed him false information, but we still don't have enough information on the flower maiden to proceed with the Dynasty's plan. I think it is best to proceed with a dissection of the specimen. This will greatly increase the completion speed of Shadow Gemini."
"Orkham, even if your scientists fail to gather the necessary data, mine are more than capable of finishing up so long as we get the flower maiden intact and ALIVE." Dark raised his right hand with his palm upwards and his fingers in a semi-grasping position. As he did this Orkham was lifted of the ground the seemingly nothing! Orkham started to make chocking sounds as though his air was being cut off by an unseen force. "You are not in this alliance to think! You are merely kept alive to do as you are told! Screw up and you will be exterminated. Do we have an understanding?" Orkham nodded, but he was barely able to move at all. Dark dropped his hand and Orkham instantly fell to the ground gasping for air.
"F-f-forgive me, lord Dark," the old man pleaded.
"If I hadn't, your neck would have been crushed," Dark coldly replied. "We need the flower maiden alive," Dark emphasized every word. "Everything falls through if she dies."
"Sir, so you are aware, I do not trust Darcia. He will try to steal the flower maiden at the first opportunity he gets."
"The Dynasty lord has already assured you that Darcia will be dealt with. And once he is out of the way then we will eliminate Jagara. Hers is the only significant military power in the west region other than your own. Once the other nobles are disposed of you will be instituted as lord over the entire western region, just as we have promised."
"And I will hold up my end of the bargain by retrieving the flower maiden for the Dynasty. It is an incredible irony that Darcia is the only one with the knowledge of how to create the flower maiden."
"You just have to understand how the events work, Orkham. The events of past cycles will always repeat themselves in future cycles."
"Excuse me?" Orkham asked confused.
"It is nothing you need to worry about," Dark replied. Then he whispered to himself, "I"m coming for you Cheza. This time there will be no escape for you and the others. After seven thousand years of imprisonment, the seal was finally released and I will finish what I started."
Okay, it's finished. So you know the boy's name is pronouced 'I-bo'. It is the long 'i' and long 'o' sound. It is Japanese and to the best of my knowledge it means: companion or cherished one. The meaning will be important later on hint, hint. I love foreshadowing : ) Please let me know what you think. I really appreciate signed reviews and if you want I'll check out your writing. However, I also appreciate anonymous reviews, as well, and I have adjusted my settings to accept them.
Episode 02: Revelations of the Past
It was still early morning and the sun had yet to rise into the sky. A white wolf stood atop the building where he had slept that night stretching the sleep from his body in the receding darkness. Kiba moved over to where Hige was still snoring away and gave him a shove. "Hige, come on wake up."
"Ughh, Kiba it's too early," the lazy tan wolf complained.
"We have to get back on the trail of that scent." Kiba walked away and climbed down the ladder. Hige slowly stood to his feet rubbing his eyes.
"Damn, why can't Kiba take things a bit slower?" Hige moaned, but still he hurried up and followed Kiba down the ladder not wanting to be left behind. Kiba stopped by the blood stain on the wall and sniffed it a few times. Both wolves were in their human forms just incase they ran into any panicky humans. "I still don't get why this is so important to you. It's not like this is going to help us find that place you're looking for."
"Actually it could. I don't know why, but the same instinct that leads me to find Paradise is telling me to find the source of this scent."
"Why is nothing ever simple with you? This is what I get for taking in strays."
"Uh, who exactly took who in?" Kiba replied looking back at Hige with a raised eyebrow. "As I recall, that human would have had you captured if I hadn't saved you, you know."
"You don't let anything go, do you?" Hige laughed uneasily. He didn't like thinking about how he had gotten careless that day and was nearly picked up by the dog catcher. That's how Kiba and Hige met. After that Kiba told Hige about his search for Paradise and so the tan wolf decided to stick around the white wolf thinking it would be interesting. However, now Hige was bored with the whole matter.
Once Kiba got the scent, he started off down the street with Hige walking beside him. Kiba was completely immersed in finding the source of the scent while Hige meandered about with his eyes. Though he was not as concerned with tracking the scent as Kiba, Hige did keep one eye out for anyone who might be following them. Unfortunately, Hige did not look very hard otherwise he might have noticed the same hunter from the day before watching them from a ways off. The hunter let the wolves pass him and get a good distance ahead.
"Come on, Blue. We're going to hunt some wolves." He gave a slight tug on the dog's leash and she followed her master obediently. The hunter was going to take his time. The wolves were oblivious to his presence and he was going to choose his moment to strike. He saw two humans walking along the streets, but at the same time he could also see a ghostlike echo of their wolf forms. He planned to kill the white one first, since it looked like the leader of the two. The hunter's gun was already prepared and ready to be fired at a moments notice. Kiba and Hige continued on slowly towards where the scent was leading them. Kiba wanted to go faster, but Hige would complain every time Kiba picked up the pace. So the pair trudged along at a snail's pace. Meanwhile, Tsume and Toboe had no idea that Kiba and Hige were headed their way.
"Uhnn," Tsume groaned as he awoke. The sun had just now barely started to come over the horizon. His neck was stiff and sore from sleeping the way he had. Tsume rolled his head around a few times to loosen it up. It helped, but only a little. He tried to shift his position slightly, but found himself unable to do so. Toboe still had his arms wrapped around Tsume. The young wolf's head rested against his older companion's chest moving up and down as Tsume breathed. Tsume put his head back against the wall and stared up a the ceiling. "How the hell do I get myself into these situations?" he asked no one in particular. "And why do all of these damn kids fall right into my lap?!" It wasn't that Tsume was mad at them. He just needed to vent his frustration. Well, at least someone's comfortable, he thought as he looked down at Toboe. Tsume remained in this position for while longer until finally the morning sunlight poured in through the window. He felt Toboe stir and then was greeted by the pup's yawn.
"Morning, Tsume," Toboe said as he let go of Tsume to stretch. Once Toboe finished, Tsume moved the boy from his lap and placed him gently on the floor near Toboe.
"Check his bandage." Tsume stood up a popped his back several times. He was NOT going to sleep in that position ever again, not for anyone's sake.
"Hey, Tsume, come take a look at this." Toboe called out sounding a bit confused.
"What?" Tsume growled as he walked over to inspect the boy. "What the heck?" was his shocked response as he got a good look at the boy's shoulder. The wound was gone. There were no signs that there had ever been any kind of injury, not even a scar. The blood was also gone from his clothes. "That's . . . just not possible!" The boy moved at Tsume's shout. Slowly, he opened his eyes and sat up. There was not a fearful reaction from the boy, in fact, it seemed as though he were quite comfortable with Tsume and Toboe's presence. The boy smiled at both of them with a great joy in his eyes, or at least the one eye they could see, like he had just found an old friend. The wolves could only stare at the boy with a look of abject puzzlement plastered to their faces. "Okay, so just who are you?" Tsume pressed the boy for information. The boy just stood there smiling. He didn't say a word. Then, unexpectedly, he ran up to Tsume and hugged him. "H-hey, what are you doing?" Tsume was baffled. It was like the boy was saying thank you for taking care of him. This sentiment was reenforced when the boy went over to Toboe and did the same thing. After he let go of Toboe, the boy scanned the room and found the book he had been carrying over in a corner where Tsume had discarded it. The boy scooped up the book and placed it back inside his jacket.
"Are you . . . feeling all right?" Toboe asked the boy. A simple nod was the only answer he received. "Well then, how come you don't talk." The boy gave Toboe a confused look and tilted his head. Then he smiled again at the young wolf.
"Hey, come on speak up already!" Tsume shouted getting rather irritated. The child only smiled, but then his eyes widened in surprise. He sniffed at the air several times and then a look of pure joy exploded onto his face. The boy turned to the window and ran straight for it. "No stop!" Tsume reached out to grab the boy, but he was too late. The child jumped clear out of the window. The two wolves ran to the window and looked outside. The boy landed easily on the ground. It just didn't make sense. The boy looked human enough, but that jump should have injured if not killed him. Sure Tsume or Toboe could have done the same, yet they were wolves. That is when they finally noticed it--the boy's scent. It was strange, neither of them could tell if it was human or wolf. In fact, the scent smelled closer to being both with no exact distinction between the two. "Who the heck is this kid?" Tsume said as he jumped out the window. Toboe followed, but didn't have nearly as graceful a landing as Tsume. Then the wolves finally noticed two figures approaching from a distance.
"Hey look, it's the other two we met earlier!" Toboe shouted to Tsume. Kiba and Hige recognized Toboe's voice as they approached.
"What are they doing here?" Hige wondered out loud. However Kiba didn't get a chance to answer.
"KIBA!" the boy cried as he ran towards the white wolf. The boy threw his arms around Kiba and latched on tight. All four wolves looked startled. Kiba's expression was almost comical. He had found the source of the scent, but had no idea how to handle this situation. Nothing he had ever experienced before could have prepared him for this. "I-I found you. I finally found you." The boy began to cry burying his face in Kiba's stomach. The kid was starting to make a scene. Kiba put a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Uh, hey, you mind letting go? You're squeezing me kinda tight." Kiba did not want to hurt the boy's feelings, but he couldn't think of anything else to say. The boy finally released Kiba after a few more moments. Then the boy pointed to the other wolves one at a time and recited their names.
"Hige, Tsume, Toboe."
"Wait a minute. How did he know our names?" Hige asked.
"Uh, I don't know. We didn't tell him," Toboe answered.
"More importantly, how did he survive that jump?" Tsume motioned with his head to the window the boy had leapt out of. "Don't bother asking him anything, he won't answer," he grumbled. Kiba knelt on one knee and looked at the boy's face. The boy stared back locking his gaze into Kiba's blue eyes.
"What's your name?" Kiba asked.
"Aibo," he happily replied. Tsume made an irritated growl as his eye twitched.
"Where are you from?" Aibo was hesitant to answer Kiba's question.
"Paradise," Aibo cautiously replied. Kiba gasped and the others looked confused, as well.
"You're saying you've been there, kid?" Hige pressed.
"Well, . . . sort of," the child answered.
"This kid's full of it," Tsume interrupted. Aibo frowned and shot Tsume an unhappy look.
"Grouch," the boy muttered.
"What did you say?" Aibo and Tsume glared at one another. The little kid wasn't backing down. "Pft, this isn't worth my time. I'm outta here." Tsume started to walk off.
"I thought you wanted to who I was." It was subtle, but Aibo didn't want Tsume to leave. Otherwise, he wouldn't have tried to tempt Tsume with this tidbit of information. It worked and Tsume stopped in his tracks. He looked back over his shoulder with only a halfhearted interest.
"Well?
"It's hard to explain. I can't do it right here.
"Why not?" Tsume asked gruffly. Just then Aibo heard a tiny click that none of the others noticed. He walked past Kiba and shouted down the street.
"Hey! Mister, what are you doing over there?!" All of the others looked to where the boy was yelling at. The hunter that had followed Kiba and Hige earlier was standing a distance from them. He had cocked his gun and was ready to fire when Aibo shouted and startled him. However, the hunter was surprised for more than just that reason. After Aibo had shouted out to him, he was no longer able to see the ghostly echoes of the group's wolf forms. The hunter couldn't understand it. He had been able to see them for what they were, but now he saw only a group of four boys and one child. The man lowered his rifle staring in disbelief.
Kiba and Tsume glanced at Aibo, he was wearing a look of self satisfaction. What was it he knew that they didn't. It dawned on the older two wolves, at that moment, that the hunter would have shot one of them if Aibo hadn't spoken up. Then Hige and Toboe felt something rush past them. A huge blur of black fur collided with Aibo and sent him flying along the ground and he stopped several feet in front of the group. Kiba and Tsume had caught a glimpse of what happened. Something looking like a dog, but several times larger than a wolf stampeded up to the boy and sank its fangs into his right shoulder and dragged him along the ground to where he now lay face down. The wolves saw the look of horror on Aibo's face as the child realized what was happening. The creature standing over Aibo couldn't have been a dog because of its sheer size and it mouth was way too full of teeth. However, the scent of dog wrapped itself around the beast. It let go of the boy's shoulder and raised its head opening its massive jaws wide as it aimed for the boy's neck.
"Blue!" the hunter shouted as he dropped his dog's leash. She flew across the paved street in a instant reaching the creature in no time at all. Blue lunged for the beast's throat and sank her teeth deep into its flesh. She held her grip tight and shook back and forth violently. The monstrous dog growled fiercely and with one good shake of its head freed itself of Blue's grasp and sent her rolling. There was plenty of blood on the creature's neck, but it didn't seem phased in the least. Aibo started to crawl away from the creature, but it went for the boy's neck again. Two shots rang out. The hunter hit the creature in its forehead both times. No effect, it merely jerked back from the impacts. However, it was just enough time to let Aibo get out from underneath the creature.
He turned to face Tsume and frantically shouted, "Hit the back of its neck near the skull!" Tsume pulled out his knife and dashed at the monster. One good slash at where the spine joined to the skull was all it took and the creature fell to the ground dead. The ease of bring down the beast surprised the leather clad wolf, especially after all the abuse it had taken without showing any signs of feeling its injuries.
"W-w-what was that?" Toboe asked, his voice quivering. No one answered. Hige walked closer to the corpse and took several whiffs at the air.
"It smells like a dog, but there's just no way. Look at the size of it!" he concluded stuffing his hands into the pockets of his yellow shirt. Aibo simply stood there in shock, shaking uncontrollably. He looked pale. Kiba came close to Aibo and knelt down placing a hand on his back.
"Are you all right?" he asked with concern looking at the child's horrified expression. Aibo clamped onto Kiba again throwing his arms around his jacket. The boy pressed his face into Kiba's white shirt. Kiba was puzzled as to why Aibo kept turning to him. Did Aibo know him somehow? That didn't seem possible because Kiba was certain that he had never seen Aibo before now. Kiba could feel how strongly the child was trembling. Then it crossed his mind that the boy was turning to him for comfort, but why? Finally, Kiba put his arms around the child and patted him gently. "Calm down, it's over now. You're safe." Aibo's shaking seemed to lessen noticeably. It took a few moments more for Aibo to settle enough for him to let go of Kiba allowing the white wolf to stand up again.
Meanwhile, the hunter had approached the group and was checking Blue to make sure she was all right. She opened her eyes as she felt her master's hand stroke her side. Blue rose to her feet and licked the hunter's hand.
"Thank you, mister Quent," Aibo said standing close to Kiba's left leg.
"How did you . . ." Quent began then smiled, "well, it's not important." He took hold of Blue's leash and stood up. "You four had better watch yourselves. The moment you let your guard down, I'll get you all." The hunter turned and walked away with Blue at his side.
"Hey Aibo, are you okay?" Toboe asked.
"Yeah, it didn't get me as bad this time."
"So that was what mauled you before?" Tsume inquired.
"Yes, it followed me here. I managed to lose it in the snow storm outside, but I guess it followed my scent. Not that it's hard to miss."
"So who are you?"
"I told you, I'm Aibo," the boy said to the sliver haired man. Tsume rolled his eyes.
"This isn't getting us anywhere."
"I think you mean, 'what am I'," the boy suggested. "Well, it says that wolves called us Companion."
"Come again?"
"My kind, they decided to call themselves by the name wolves dubbed them with. I read it in this book, though, I can't read all of it just yet." Aibo pulled out the book he kept in his jacket. "The Chronicle of the Companions," he explained. The child opened the book and showed it to the wolves. At first the pages were blank, but as they continued to look markings began to appear in a crimson glow. None of the wolves had ever bothered to learn to read human script, but these markings held meaning to them. They could read this strange language that was inscribed upon the book's pages.
"What are these 'Companions' anyway?" Hige wondered. Aibo flipped through the pages of the book heading to its beginning.
"It says that in the beginning the wolf was born from the great spirit and man became its messenger."
"Wait humans came from wolves?" Hige asked in confusion. Aibo shook his head.
"No, you have to compensate for the ancient dialect. The word 'man' as it is used here is a vague term not meaning either male or female. It means a sentient being similar to a human in physical appearance. It goes on to say that then came the 'children of the moon' carrying with them the scent of the lunar flowers. Finally, the last creature created was a being in the image of the great spirit. That one is the human race. So there are sentient races other than humans and wolves that walk upon the earth. However, I am only able to read bits and pieces of this passage, so there are other sentient races named here that I am unable to read about.
"So how the heck do you figure out what it's saying?" Hige was getting impatient. Aibo sighed.
"I don't know. Usually, I just stare at it and concentrate. Then the meaning eventually comes, but sometimes it can take days before I can read it. And I mean days of constant unbroken staring."
"Geeze, sounds like a pain."
"We're getting off topic here," Tsume griped placing a hand on his hip. Aibo nodded in agreement.
"Well, although the Companions looked human, they walked with wolves. They lived among wolves and were actually taken in as members of the pack."
"Yeah right, humans living with wolves. You gotta be kidding me. They're too weak," Tsume snickered at what Aibo had to say.
"I don't see why you don't believe me. You saw the proof yourself just a while ago."
"What are you talking about?"
"Oh, hey I get it!" Toboe declared. "You're saying that these um, Companions have abilities similar to us wolves, right?" Aibo nodded and both of them had a rather bright eyed look.
"But the thing is though, that it only works when a Companion is in close proximity to wolves. The more wolves there are or the greater the time of exposure to wolves, the more profound the abilities become. Eventually, adult Companions, who had lived their entire life with their pack, can assume the physical form of a wolf," the child explained.
"I still don't believe it." Tsume crossed his arms.
"Then you explain how I healed so quickly or was able to jump from that window unharmed," Aibo countered. Tsume didn't have an answer. He just grunted and looked away. "I have to ask the four of you something." All the wolves directed their attention at the small boy. "Do all of you . . . want to search for Paradise?" Kiba and Hige nodded, but Tsume had a different opinion.
"I can't believe you take that crap seriously," the gray wolf sneered. "Paradise is just a fair tale, and if it isn't then it's some idiot's dream!"
"But Tsume, we'll never know unless we look for it," Toboe pleaded with Tsume.
"Tsume I can assure you that Paradise is real. I told you that I've been there, remember," Aibo chimed in right after rust-colored wolf. "And if you need it, I can give you additional proof." Tsume raised an eyebrow and tapped his foot like he was waiting for it. Aibo sighed, "All right, follow me." The child lead the others back into the deteriorating apartment building and stopped in the same room where he had spent the previous night. He sat on the floor and motioned for the others to do the same. "What I'm about to tell all of you is going to be hard to swallow." Aibo looked around at the others looking for reassurance that it was all right for him to continue.
"Go ahead," Kiba softly encouraged the child giving a slight nod.
"I have been searching for all of you for about seven thousand years. I know all of you, but this is the first time I have actually met any of you . . . while you are still alive." Aibo received a round of shocked looks from everyone. He lowered his head and continued, "By the time I find any of you . . . you're already dead."
"Aibo, what are you talking about?" Kiba asked looking at the boy gently.
"Kiba, this lifetime isn't the first that you have set out find Paradise. You have been looking for Paradise for seven thousand year's worth of lifetimes. And not once have you ever succeeded in finding it," the child sadly stated. His voice was starting to get shaky. "And in every lifetime all of you always die . . ." Aibo's voice trailed off. He pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them as tears started to fall from his face.
"Aibo . . ." Toboe began. Aibo pulled himself together and started once more.
"Over those years, you all live and die. At the moment of your deaths, time is thrown backwards and you all are reborn. It's continued like this in an endless cycle. But in the last lifetime, something occurred that had never happened before. It was the first time all of you worked together as a pack since this endless cycle began. The four of you came closer to finding Paradise than ever before, but still you were unable to reach Paradise and . . . you all died . . . again."
"Okay, but there's one thing about you story that doesn't make sense, squirt. How does time keep going backwards?" Hige scrutinized.
"That's easy, Cheza does it."
"How?"
"It's when her seeds mix with Kiba's blood. I might not have mentioned this earlier, but when you all die at the end of any one particular cycle, your deaths are never pleasant," Aibo shuddered violently as he said this. "Resetting the cycle isn't what the original purpose is for Cheza's seeds, but she is able to use their power to give you all another chance." By this time it seemed that Kiba was the only one still listening, and with only a mild interest. Aibo looked around and sighed, "I had hoped you all would have believed me."
"Well, you gotta admit that this story seems a bit far fetched," Hige replied.
"I honestly didn't want to have to resort to this, but I can awaken your memories of the past." The wolves looked at the child with raised eyebrows. "Did any of you ever have that weird feeling like you have done what you are doing before?" Tsume grunted while the rest nodded. "The events of the past repeat themselves in every cycle and sometimes a memory from a past cycle will rise close to the surface of you consciousness, but it lacks enough momentum to break through. If you want I can draw a few of these memories to the surface, but I won't be able to bring out anything that isn't there."
"Fine, just try it already. I'm sick of wasting my time here like this," Tsume was getting impatient.
"If you all will put your hands on mine," Aibo instructed them as he held out his hand palm up. Once the wolves had done so, he continued, "Now close your eyes and relax."
The child's skeptics didn't have to wait long for their evidence. Images started to flash through their minds. They could feel what was happening as if they were in that moment right now. Terrible pain shot through each of their bodies. What each of the wolves saw and experienced was their own deaths from the previous cycle. However, they did not see the events and circumstances leading up to their deaths nor did they see how another of them died. They each individually saw only their own death. Aibo opened his eyes once he had finished. Everyone was noticeably shaken.
"What the hell kind of illusion was that?!" Tsume shouted standing to his feet, obviously angry. Aibo just wore a sad expression on his face.
"There really isn't any difference between illusion and reality to the one experiencing it."
"Just what do you think you're trying to pull here?!" Tsume's irritation was getting worse.
"I'm not trying to pull anything, honest!" Aibo pleaded.
"Tsume, stop it." Kiba rose to confront the gray wolf.
"You gonna make me though guy?" Tsume started growling. Hige and Toboe backed away to the other side of the room.
"Yeah," Kiba answered Tsume in his soft voice. Tsume lunged at Kiba, both of them now in their wolf forms. The gray wolf missed and the two faced off again. Kiba was getting ready to attack. He opened his jaws and jumped forward. Then suddenly he felt something in his mouth mid jump. Kiba clamped down hard on the object thinking it was Tsume. Kiba landed and then got a good look at what was going on. Tsume was standing in human form looking down in front of Kiba. The silver haired young man's expression was one of pure shock and bewilderment. Kiba then looked at what he had gotten a hold of. It was Aibo. The child had stepped between the two wolves and was determined to stop them the only way he could. Aibo had thrown his hand inside Kiba's mouth to keep him from attacking Tsume. Kiba let go of the boy as soon as he realized what was going on. The white wolf had mangled the boy's hand pretty badly. There was blood all over it and crimson drops were readily dripping to the ground. Aibo was crying, but not from the pain in his hand.
"I . . . didn't hold on to life all these years . . . just to watch you fight each other," he said, his voice surprisingly steady as tears rolled down his face. Tsume looked ashamed of what he'd done and left the room heading up to the roof. Toboe followed him a few seconds later. "I'm sorry . . . for getting in your way." Aibo was taking the blame for the injury to his hand. Hige picked up some scraps of cloth that were still lying around in the room and passed them to Kiba. The two wolves quickly bandaged the boy's hand. Then Hige decided to take his leave claiming that he smelt something to eat. Kiba and Aibo were left alone.
"Why did you stop us?" Kiba asked the child softly as he sat down on the floor. Aibo sat next to him and answered.
"I don't have a family any more. They died and have never come back in any of the cycles. The people return, but my family never comes back. I suppose I came to think of you wolves as my family, but . . ."
"So you don't have any place to go back to either?" Kiba asked. Kiba started to tell the child about how his pack died in fire, however, Aibo wound up finishing the tale for Kiba. "You really do know us, don't you," the white wolf said surprised by how much Aibo knew about him. The child nodded in response to Kiba's question and then replied.
"I don't forget when the cycle resets. My memories stay intact from one lifetime to the next. The events of the past cycles also always repeat themselves. That is how I know all these things I otherwise couldn't know."
"How's your hand?"
"It's better now. Please, don't be mad at Tsume."
"Huh," Kiba tilted his head wondering what brought this on.
"It's just how he deals with fear. He gets aggressive."
Meanwhile Toboe was trying to talk with Tsume. Toboe came out of the stairwell and found Tsume sitting on the edge of the roof with his legs stretched out in front. He was staring off into the distance looking like he was deep in thought while watching the sun set. "Hey, Tsume," the rust colored wolf called out to his friend.
"Go away!" the gray wolf snapped.
"I just want to talk."
"I said beat it!"
"Well, I know you don't, but I thought that it was kind of scary back there. When Aibo showed us our memories." Tsume didn't respond there was only silence. Toboe took this as a sign that he was on the right track. "I don't get how your not afraid of dying. I know I sure am." Toboe sounded hopeful at first, but after still getting no reaction from Tsume frowned, "I guess that makes you think I'm weak, huh?"
"You're still just a pup." Toboe was surprised. He had expected Tsume to say something mean or at least insult him. Well, at least Toboe thought Tsume hadn't insulted him.
"You know, though, that was weird back there. When Aibo stepped between you and Kiba. He didn't look afraid, even as Kiba bit him. I guess Aibo trusts Kiba a lot, kind of like how I trust you, Tsume."
"I didn't ask for your trust," Tsume sneered.
"It doesn't matter to me, Tsume. I still trust you and, you know, it's okay . . . you can trust me." Tsume looked at Toboe with one eye. Tsume felt like he had had this conversation before, and that, perhaps, there might be some truth to what the boy had said. However, Tsume was still unnerved from what he had seen. He could not help but wonder how the others had died, and he was surprised by his feelings of concern. Tsume thought, How did Toboe die? Was it because I hadn't been there to save him?
Tsume remembered the first time he met Toboe. The young wolf had shown himself to a human girl without thinking. She was showing him her pet falcon. Toboe had run up to grab it for her in his human form, but the girl called out and stopped him. The pup was amazed that the falcon came back to the girl and landed on her arm all on its own. Tsume guessed Toboe had figured that since the girl liked animals she would have no problem with wolves. Toboe figured wrong, however. The girl freaked and called for her father. That hunter, Quent, just happened to be nearby that day and fired at Toboe. Tsume, in his human form, grabbed the pup and ran off. The gray wolf took a bullet in the shoulder as the price for this rescue. Toboe felt terrible about the whole event. In spite of Tsume shouting at and berating him, he stayed by the gray wolf's side and even pulled out the bullet while Tsume slept.
No matter how hard Tsume tried, Toboe just wouldn't go away. Tsume sighed inside himself. Regardless of how much he did not want to admit it, the pup was starting to grow on him. Tsume was starting to feel not like he had to take care of Toboe so much as he wanted to take care of him. Tsume turned his head and looked straight at Toboe.
The gray wolf thought to himself, This pup wouldn't survive three days without me or his old lady. I yell and shout at him and yet still he stays. He doesn't stay because he thinks he needs me to survive. He stays because he likes me. He . . . likes . . . me? It just didn't sound right to Tsume. He couldn't figure out why. Why would that pup admire him of all people? Why not Kiba, for instance? Was it because Toboe felt he owed Tsume out of gratitude for saving him? Naw, I killed all that gratitude on the first day, the leather clad wolf reasoned with himself. Tsume hadn't realized it, but he chuckled at that thought and Toboe had seen him smile.
"Tsume?" Toboe asked and tilted his head slightly. Tsume reached out a hand and ruffled Toboe's hair. Toboe smiled and laughed a bit. "Tsume, are you feeling all right?" Toboe asked. He wasn't used to Tsume being so uncharacteristically nice to him.
"Let's go check on the kid," Tsume said as he got up.
"Oh, okay," Toboe replied smiling. The pair walked back down to the room where they had left Kiba and Aibo. Upon seeing Tsume, Aibo stood up and approached the gray wolf. He stopped just in front of Tsume and looked down at the floor.
"I, um, want to say I'm sorry for earlier." Tsume rolled his eyes and sighed aloud walking past the child.
"I'm not going anywhere, so you can drop the routine kid," Tsume muttered as he propped himself up in the broken out window's ledge. Aibo's eyes lit up at this. The boy had been worried that Tsume really was going to take off because he had pushed to gray wolf to it.
"Does that mean you're going to stay?" Aibo asked sounding rather hopeful.
"This is my 'home' you all are in," Tsume glanced over at the boy as he said this. The kid was beaming.
"Will you help us look for Paradise? You know we can't do it without you."
Tsume nodded, "Someone has to make sure you idiots don't get yourselves killed." Aibo ran over and hugged the leather clad wolf at this. "Yeah, okay I get it. You're happy, now will you get off." Aibo let go of Tsume. "Geeze, I hate kids," Tsume said casually, placing his hands behind his head and resting up against the window frame. He looked out of the window, "Porky's back," Tsume announced. It had already gotten dark. Hige was carrying a plastic bag. Once he got up to the room, the brown wolf proudly displayed his bounty.
"I told ya I smelled food," Hige bragged as he passed out the contents of the bag. It was just some old hamburgers, but they were still edible. There were no complaints, not even from Kiba. Anything was better than hot dogs is what the white wolf figured. After they were finished eating, Toboe and Aibo yawned in unison. "I guess it's the runts' bedtime," Hige teased.
"Hey, I'm not a runt," Toboe argued. Aibo just let it go. He was already half asleep. The other four turned back into their wolf forms. Tsume hopped down from his perch and chose a spot in the corner to sleep. Toboe snuggled up alongside Tsume who gave the pup a small push, but it was mostly for show as he didn't make Toboe move. Hige had already picked a spot and Kiba had just closed his eyes when he heard footsteps and a small voice. Kiba peeked an eye open and saw Aibo standing over him.
"Umm," Aibo was nervous and couldn't get out his request, but Kiba understood. In the pale light Kiba's white fur shimmered as he raised his head to look at the boy standing in front of him.
"I guess you're cold," Kiba waited for a response. Aibo nodded since he couldn't think of anything to say. "You know Hige probably has thicker fur. You'll probably be warmer over by him." Aibo frowned at that. He was afraid he had given Kiba the wrong impression.
"I um, was wondering . . . if I it would be all right if . . ." the boy was talking in circles. Kiba realized he had better give Aibo another option if he wanted to get any sleep. Kiba rolled his eyes and asked, "Lonely?" Aibo nodded vigorously. "All right," Kiba sighed. He uncurled his front legs from underneath his body and stretched them out in front of himself. Aibo nestled up next to Kiba's stomach and laid his face into the wolf's shoulder. The child placed his hands on Kiba's forelegs and the wolf placed his head near Aibo's. Kiba curled his tail around the exposed side of Aibo's body. The whole scene looked like Kiba had protectively wrapped himself around the boy.
At that very moment a new threat was approaching unbeknownst to the wolves. A large airship from a foreign land was on a course headed for their city. Lord Orkham was aboard this ship paying a visit to its his host. He stood outside a large pair of double doors while his arrival was being announce to the lord in charge of the airship. An attendant approached a long staircase which led up to an elevated throne. She wore an open top black dress that left her shoulders bare and had knee high slits on both sides. Her skin was ashen in color and her raven colored hair matched her dress perfectly in shade. She also wore a silk cloak that was attached to the back of the dress's shoulders and again at the wrists. The attendant's face was expressionless as she climbed the stairs. A few steps below where her master sat she stopped and knelt, "The noble, Orkham, is here to see you lord Dark." The noble motioned for the attendant to arise.
"Let him in," the lord commanded. Dark stood and proceeded down the stairs. The noble wore a long black robe with a crimson sash tied around the waist that reached all the way to the bottom of the robe in the front. His hair was long and black. It grew to just past waist length. Most of his hair when down along his back with some draped on each side of his neck in the front. He wore an ivory mask over his face like most other nobles, but his had an opening at the bottom which showed his mouth and chin. The mask came to two sharp points on either side of his chin. There were also no openings for the eyes, yet it seemed that lord Dark could see just fine without them. Dark had descended the staircase when Orkham was finally let into the throne room.
"Power of body, mind, and spirit. Hail to the Dynasty," Orkham saluted his ally from the far east. Dark chuckled lightly.
"Now then, Orkham. There is no need for that jargon the old guard favors when you are in my presence. So how is the progress on project Shadow Gemini?"
"The data extrapolation will be at twenty-five percent by the morning, lord Dark. However, there is a problem."
"Oh, go on," Dark calmly responded.
"It's Darcia. He is getting impatient. That noble has been breathing down the necks of my research staff constantly. So far I have had the scientists feed him false information, but we still don't have enough information on the flower maiden to proceed with the Dynasty's plan. I think it is best to proceed with a dissection of the specimen. This will greatly increase the completion speed of Shadow Gemini."
"Orkham, even if your scientists fail to gather the necessary data, mine are more than capable of finishing up so long as we get the flower maiden intact and ALIVE." Dark raised his right hand with his palm upwards and his fingers in a semi-grasping position. As he did this Orkham was lifted of the ground the seemingly nothing! Orkham started to make chocking sounds as though his air was being cut off by an unseen force. "You are not in this alliance to think! You are merely kept alive to do as you are told! Screw up and you will be exterminated. Do we have an understanding?" Orkham nodded, but he was barely able to move at all. Dark dropped his hand and Orkham instantly fell to the ground gasping for air.
"F-f-forgive me, lord Dark," the old man pleaded.
"If I hadn't, your neck would have been crushed," Dark coldly replied. "We need the flower maiden alive," Dark emphasized every word. "Everything falls through if she dies."
"Sir, so you are aware, I do not trust Darcia. He will try to steal the flower maiden at the first opportunity he gets."
"The Dynasty lord has already assured you that Darcia will be dealt with. And once he is out of the way then we will eliminate Jagara. Hers is the only significant military power in the west region other than your own. Once the other nobles are disposed of you will be instituted as lord over the entire western region, just as we have promised."
"And I will hold up my end of the bargain by retrieving the flower maiden for the Dynasty. It is an incredible irony that Darcia is the only one with the knowledge of how to create the flower maiden."
"You just have to understand how the events work, Orkham. The events of past cycles will always repeat themselves in future cycles."
"Excuse me?" Orkham asked confused.
"It is nothing you need to worry about," Dark replied. Then he whispered to himself, "I"m coming for you Cheza. This time there will be no escape for you and the others. After seven thousand years of imprisonment, the seal was finally released and I will finish what I started."
Okay, it's finished. So you know the boy's name is pronouced 'I-bo'. It is the long 'i' and long 'o' sound. It is Japanese and to the best of my knowledge it means: companion or cherished one. The meaning will be important later on hint, hint. I love foreshadowing : ) Please let me know what you think. I really appreciate signed reviews and if you want I'll check out your writing. However, I also appreciate anonymous reviews, as well, and I have adjusted my settings to accept them.