Howl
Disclaimer: No, I don't own it. Otherwise I would be in a whole lot better mode than I am right now. And, Wolf's Rain wouldn't be airing only Mondays through Wednesdays on Adult Swim. Booo. I protest!
Rating: R. For all of you who have a sense of humor, contemplate this: I'm fourteen. Just thought I'd say that, in hopes of not getting kicked off. That is, I hope that in saying that I did not just seal my fate to get kicked. Mhm. I should just erase it right now, but, I'm too lazy. Yeah, like that's a good excuse.
Review replies:
Kilala- Wow, thanks. And, three is the Queen of all numbers. So, there. :P And, I'm not sure where it's going. I just know that for sure Mashin is going to pay. (Evil Laugh). And to answer your second question, I prefer notebook writing, as long as it works best at the time. Sometimes, if I have a computer handy, I'll go for that, but usually I put on some hard rock and let it flow.
thiswolflovesnoone- Great to hear my story is good for something :P. And you are so right; Tsume IS a sexy beast. (licks lips) (cough).
jchan- I'm just taking a wild assumption here and guessing that you are hennah madden, since that's the only person I could think of that I offended. Unless you're the other girl in that brawl, Amber or whatever. Whoever you may be, please consider the following:
A) Obviously I do not know who you are. Please do not be a coward next time, and sign it.
B) Yes, I want to talk about other people's stories. That's the whole fucking point of reviewing...duh. And, I enjoy the fact that despite you saying my story sucks the most, everyone else who has reviewed it says it rocks. Hmmm...
C) Yes, I can tell who's talking, and so would you if you had read my story before just reviewing so you could insult me. That's Sou's thoughts on Toboe after he kills for the first time. That is, if you are indeed talking about my summary. If you aren't…well, you totally lost me. Are you on drugs? Just asking. >:)
D) Er...Get experience before writing? Isn't that kind of backwards? Don't I have to write in order to gain experience??
E) And them not knowing is somehow my fault? Man, you should really consider asking more intelligent people. Or, just ask a Japanese person. By the way, if you'll please direct your attention to the end of this chapter, you'll find that I have left a little note for you. Have a fiery day down in Hell, okay? Thanks.
The tan wolf's eyes were wide; anxious and frightened, a distant yet shockingly clear fear that burned Sou's nerve endings with an electric shock of understanding – it was the same way she had felt whenever a new horror had developed in her past life. A hole in her heart had been filled when she had accepted Tsume's love, had accepted the help and companionship of her pack mates, and she thought back to the time when she had always been desolate, because there was nothing to live for and nothing to think of, no one waiting for you and no one who cared about you at all, your life just being a vortex of anesthetized being, forever.
Kiba was quick to take charge, after hearing that two of his pack had been abducted, and snapped out orders. "Hige, where's the nearest town?" Hige pointed off into the distance, where, visible through the mist and rain were faint towers of an urban civilization. "Okay. They'll have taken them there. Hige, your nose is best, so you'll lead. Sou, are you up to running?"
"I'll manage." Sou wasn't quite ready to admit her lack of running ability. The weakness was still digging into her consciousness, and she clenched her jaw. Kiba looked at her with knowing eyes, then nodded.
"I'll take care of you, Sou." Tsume's gruff voice followed her own, and settled that problem.
Kiba's sea-green eyes were full of seriousness and he nodded. "Good. Let's go." They set off, four wolves on a mission, heading towards a city of people who didn't know or care that they even existed. Led by a tan wolf, they sprinted after the smell of loved ones.
It has been said that wild animals will only kill to eat or protect, while humans kill for reasons so obscure that they seem absurd. Blue and Toboe had been taken; the humans would kill them for pleasure, but the wolves would kill the humans to protect their own pack mates. A pack's bond is one of the strongest there is. They will do whatever necessary to provide for and protect those who claim their loyalty. A lone wolf is a force to be reckoned with; a pack of wolves driven by the instinct to protect each other is near invincible.
This is what described these wolves, who ran through the pounding rain in search of their pack mates, who locked eyes with and stared down the city that loomed in front of them as they tracked steadily towards their goal, who kept going even after one had to carry another.
No one would stop these wolves.
Toboe and Blue were shoved into a corner, bruised and battered, Toboe quietly scared and Blue furious. They had attacked them like cowards, sneaking up while Blue rested and Toboe slept, dispatching of the pup quickly. But Blue had fought back, injuring a dozen of them before they overpowered her from shear numbers. She had given in simply for the need to stay with Toboe and not leave him alone with the men, because they would have surely killed her had she struggled more. Death didn't worry her, however- losing contact with Hige and the others did, and leaving Toboe to fend for himself did, but death had never scared her. It was simply another phase to traverse through.
The gang had tried to rape her, but that was something Blue would never allow – she would sooner leave the pup alone than give up her most precious gift. The woman's ferocity was so vivid that they had not trespassed upon her body, and had contented themselves with beating her, clubs and fists and boots slamming into hard muscle and soft skin. The men had beaten Toboe, too, but not as severely, and Blue had not intervened. She had seen him fight, the day on the outskirts of the city when the lone man had ambushed them. He possessed a hidden viciousness, strength and power that had not been tapped often, and she had no doubt that if the adolescent grew impatient of their abuse, that he would fight back. In that event, Blue too would attack. Better they both die than live and be captive.
Toboe hit the wall hard, sliding down against it and weakly collapsing. There were two gashes on his arm that crossed, closely resembling Tsume's scar on his chest, and they marked his bicep. The two slashes were deep, but not damaging, Blue thought, because though they bled profusely, they were no more than a quarter inch into his soft skin. The teen would recover fairly quickly, but in the meantime, Blue removed her red scarf from around her neck and tied it tightly round the injury, so as to stop the bleeding before he lost too much of the life fluid. Toboe met her eyes, silently thanking her. She nodded and took a seat against the wall, next to him, and waited. The others would be here soon.
A human man, seeming to be the leader and stinking of rank meat, approached and rudely kicked her leg, even though she was staring right at him. The gesture to attract her attention was completely unnecessary, and they both knew it. Cold blue eyes, full of anger and ill temper, met muddy brown ones. "Ya' know how ta' work da streets?" he asked her.
Blue fought the urge to gag, the smell overpowering her sensitive nose. "Excuse me?"
"Ho, ya' b'long to us nowz, gottit? You gunna work da streets." The stinky man leered.
Blue stared right back at him, before rising and looking his straight in the eye. "We seem to have a misunderstanding. I'm not yours. And I will not prostitute myself. As soon as our pack arrives, you're going to be sorry you messed with us." Toboe shifted on the ground and stifled a laugh, and Blue smirked. Her comment roused laughter from the men around them.
Stinky man cackled his heart out, and then managed to say, "Yea? Coz it looks ta' me dat ya' ain't in no position ta' say tings like dat." The human's speech impediment was getting on Blue's nerves but before she could make a reply, Toboe rose.
"They will." His quiet voice silenced the other humans, the sound holding a quality of resonating power that even Blue found shocking.
The leader laughed again, then said, "Ya' tink so, huh? Weel, mebbe ya' should siddown and shuddup, ya' lil twerp." He laughed again, and his gang mates laughed with him, stopping when Toboe met the man's cruel eyes steadily.
"Make me."
The challenge hung in the air, taunting him, and the man hesitated a split second before narrowing his eyes. "Ya' wanna fight, twerp?"
"Its all the same to me." Toboe's voice had no emotions, and no fear showed on his face. Blue thought of intervening, but didn't. If he wanted to fight, she wouldn't stop him.
The man's humor faded, and he pinned the youth against the wall, hands on his throat. Blue's stomach clenched, but still she did nothing. Stinky man leaned in close and whispered something in the teen's ear, and Toboe's eyes opened wide, before he brought a knee swiftly into the man's gut. He dropped away, grasping his midsection, before meeting Toboe's eyes again and saying, "Ya're gunna pay for dat, twerp."
His gang made a circle around them, silent spectators to the battle for domination. Maybe the man thought it was all a joke, because he was still smiling, thinking Toboe couldn't fight back. The young wolf was dodging quietly, avoiding touching the leader, until he raised a hand back, clearly intending to punch the boy. The limb propelled forward, only to be caught in the grip of Toboe's small pale hand. Blue's friend seemed to be on auto drive as he twisted the man's fist up and back, making his face twist in pain. "Holy moon, kid, stop!" the man yelled.
Toboe released the man, only to be caught by the man's other fist in the side. The youth emitted a faint gasp, before crouching and driving his shoulder into the man's stomach and smashing them both to the floor. Being a wolf, even a relatively young one, Toboe was stronger than most people, and the two males were evenly matched, perhaps with Toboe being a little tougher. His eyes frightened Blue. Through the throbbing of pain in her injuries, she saw no emotion whatsoever in the orbs. Only fierce determination and concentration showed, his soul seeming to be focused solely on defeating this enemy. Blue saw and recognized the energy of a wolf that had been beaten down but not beaten, never beaten, and she knew that the ribbings and training of the older wolves had taken effect on the adolescent, toughening him, preparing him for these fights that they had known would someday happen.
Toboe seated himself on the stunned man's chest, then began punching him in the face, neck, anywhere his flurry of fists could reach, attacking now in earnest, and cries of pain were heard from the man, who tried and failed to defend himself from the wolf. Growls emitted from the young one's throat as he hit the man again and again, turning flesh into a bloody mass of burning nerve endings. Toboe didn't seem to possess the prerogative to stop, continuing until Blue couldn't take the sight of it anymore, and she pulled him off. The boy was gasping for air; his face was red and his hands, knuckles torn and bloodied, were shaking.
Blue put her hand on his shoulder, and they quietly began to remove themselves from the circle, as inconspicuous and subtle as wolfishly possible. Blue hoped to any god that existed that they could get out in time; they were on the opposite side of the mammoth warehouse, away from the door. Almost four hundred feet separated them and the exit, but Blue didn't start running until one of the gangsters turned and snapped out of his stupor, yelling, "They're getting away!"
"Smart one, he is," muttered Blue as they broke into a run, and made for the way out.
They stood in front of a warehouse, where the mingled scents of Blue and Toboe and a bunch of humans ended. An ominous, heavy metal door blocked their way in, and they halted. Kiba looked at all of them in turn before slowly opening the passage.
They weren't going to make it.
Blue glanced over her shoulder at the fast-ganging men, who were only about twenty feet away, and then swore. Unless she did something, both of them would die. There was no way that they would let the two of them live after that fight. Transferring her gaze back to her front, she made her decision. "Go, Toboe. Get the others." The young teen looked over his shoulder, saw the look of finality in her eyes, and hesitated before speeding away towards the door. Blue herself put on a burst of speed, then pivoted and faced them.
They outnumbered her, twenty to one, but she would fight them anyways. Still about a hundred feet away from the exit, she gulped in a great lungful of air and screamed, "You want a fight? Come on, fools, I'm ready!" The beautiful young woman dropped her façade of humanity, and let loose an ear-splitting howl that seemed to rock the very foundation of the warehouse. She tackled a man that was right in front of her, and put a paw on his windpipe, crushing it with a sickening crunch. She ripped a chunk of flesh right out of his shoulder and then whipped her head to the left, flinging the mouthful of bloody tissue to the left of her. It hit the floor with a sickly splat, and she grinned a bloody wolf grin. Blue stood over the fallen man, now dead, paws spread and head down, incisors dripping blood and thick fur standing straight up. The image was solely for intimidation, to slow them and buy Toboe more time, but it worked beautifully. The humans, being the creatures that they were, stopped in their tracks and watched in horror as she licked her chops. Blue chuckled inwardly.
As she waited for them to charge again, one last thought occurred to her, whispering across her mind. This is for you, Hige.
Then she crouched low, propelling herself forward at the now charging men, and flung herself into the thick of the fray.
:'( Wow, how heroic of her. (cough). Anyways! I just got done editting this and I apologize for taking so long getting chapter ten up, but I'm working on it. Turkey and Alice's Restaurant are warping my brain. :) And jchan, let me know what you think of this chapter. Your input is...valuable to me. >:)