Crystal Rain

A Wolf's Rain fanfiction by Kyukutou Sakura

Disclaimer: I only own Suzette and DVDs 2 and 3. ::huggles the puppy:: poor baby…I'm so mean to her. ::sniffles::

Author's Note: This is the last official chapter; I will be making an epilogue, as well as a possible sequel. I could use some ideas on the sequel, and you, the reader, are my invaluable muse. So any kind of ideas for a sequel to Crystal Rain would be considered invaluable, and I'd make whoever comes up with the winning name and best idea would be my co-authors for the sequel and any other stories. ::smiles:: Email the ideas to me through or Thanks!

Ephona – Thanks again for reviewing.

Yaminah – We have to keep the SPOILERS away! ::cowers from the spoilers:: lol I'm writing, and I have something you might wanna take a peek at…read my Author's Note! ::biiiiiiig smile::

Chapter Eight: Incandescent Sorrows and The Entrance to Paradise

Tsume helped Suzette climb the Cliffside, holding her arm firmly as they leapt from cliff hold to cliff hold. "Tsume…look..!" Suzette cried out, watching in seemingly slow motion as Hubb, the human detective from before, fell nose-first from the cliff. He smiled at the two wolves, his voice a sigh on the blustering winds. "It'll okay this way…I'll get to see Cher again…" His body crashed into the boulders at the foot of the mountain. Still barely alive, the detective sat still, opening his eyes slowly. Cher sat beside him, and they smiled, while he took the cigar from his pocket and held it between his teeth and inhaled Cher's clean scent from the scarf that fluttered down. "I made it this far…I hope they make it…" he whispered, before closing his eyes and falling into the deepest sleep of all.

Darcia cared his fangs at Kiba, Hige, and Blue, his blue human's eye misshapen, his wolf's eye staring them down with the evilest glint. "You won't make it to my Paradise, foolish wolves. Give me the Flower Maiden!" he roared, his hackles rising in anticipation of the inescapable battle. Kiba snarled, standing in front of Cheza protectively. "She'll never go with you!" he growled, baring his own fangs, his triangular white ears pinned back in agitation. Hige and Blue stood beside him, hackles raised and fangs bared, ready to tear him to pieces. Without warning Kiba moved towards Darcia, the two enemies circling each other, finding the other's weaknesses and vulnerabilities. "You can't win, stupid pup." Darcia taunted in his deep, malicious voice, his eyes boring into Kiba's. "You talk big, Darcia." Kiba replied icily, before jumping out at him. Fangs sank into flesh, blood spurted forth, and Kiba fell to one knee. "You won't win. Give me Cheza!" the crazed noble roared again, before biting at Kiba with great anger. Kiba got to his feet and whipped around, grazing Darcia's face with his own fangs. "No. You will fall here, Darcia." Kiba snarled out with unmatched ferocity. "I was hoping you'd resist." The dark wolf chuckled manically. The battle raged on.

Kiba lay on his side, wounded, hardly capable of moving. Hige and Blue were knocked aside, slowly getting to their feet as Darcia threw Cheza away from them, her fragile body hitting the ground hard, the red moon rising in the dark sky, out-shining all stars. Leaping at Darcia in a frenzy, she howled out, "You killed Pops!" Her fangs sank into his hindquarters, smirking in victory as he yelped once in pain. He whipped around and tore her away from him, an icy boulder snapping her spine. She lay on the snow, broken and quivering, bleeding freely. Darcia stood over her, emotionlessly pressing his paw over her throat. She choked, and tried to move but was frozen. Hige growled darkly, sinking his fangs into his hindleg, the bulky wolf enraged so that he would not release. Darcia removed his paw, a miffed expression on his maw. "Pathetic." He ground out, whirling around and slamming Hige into another boulder, the wolf crumpling away. Satisfied for the moment, Darcia began to leap towards where Cheza had crawled, the mouth of the dead volcano where the moon was closest.

Hige limped to Blue's side, sitting down heavily by her head. Her voice was small, and broken as she spoke softly. "Hige? Is that you? I can't see you Hige…" she whimpered out, her blue eyes unseeing. "I'm right here, Blue. I promised that I'd never leave your side, remember? We made a pact Blue." Hige said softly, stroking her head gently. "That feels nice…" she said softly, smiling a little as the breath left her body. Tears rolled down Hige's cheeks as he knew she was gone, and he remained. He cried for a few minutes, still stroking Blue's head as Tsume and Suzette leapt onto the cliff. "Hige…Blue…" she whimpered, and collapsed to her knees. "Get up Hige, you're going to make it." Tsume urged gruffly. "Tsume…I'm in so much pain. End it please…" Hige whispered, smiling a little at the silver wolf. "No, that's crazy talk Hige, you're going to be fine, now get up!" he protested. "You know and I know it Tsume…now please. Put me down like a wolf…do it with your own fangs." He whispered, closing his eyes and Tsume nodded. The fangs went to his neck, and he smiled. "Thank you…I hope I see you in Paradise." He whispered, before speaking no more as Tsume ended his misery. Leaping up the mountain with Suzette, they watched for a second as Kiba and Darcia fought. Kiba was slung over the side of the cliff, Darcia's evil gaze turning to them.

"Stop him! " Kiba howled out as he fell, and Tsume leapt at Darcia. 'He killed Toboe, the old man, Hige, and Blue…he's gonna die now.' He thought, snapping his fangs at the noble. Darcia bit and snarled back, fangs meeting flesh. Tsume stepped back, watching Darcia eye the pregnant pup. "Suzette!" he roared, leaping in front of his attack with renewed strength. Darcia had leapt at Suzette, his eyes darkened with bloodlust as he tried to kill the pregnant pup. Instead of meeting deep black fur, his fangs sank deeply into brilliant silver. "You missed." Tsume coughed out, craning his neck to sink his own fangs into Darcia's back. The noble rolled over across a series of sharp boulders, Tsume releasing his grip as Darcia slammed his back into the cliffside. "Run Suzette!" Tsume shouted, and the pup nodded. She bolted up the side of the mountain, keeping balance with one arm as she wrapped one around her swollen belly. She reached the top before Darcia, who stayed behind to toy with Tsume. His cries reached her ears, and she cried out in answer. Taking a deep breath, she saw Cheza crawling to the water's edge. "Cheza!" she cried, and began to run to her side to help. Cheza held a hand to point behind her, but the sudden realization that Darcia was behind her hit her just as his fangs sank into her hind legs. "Silly little bitch." Darcia smirked, eyeing her swollen stomach. "Expecting? Expect this." He snarled, and sank his fangs into her back muscles, making her howl out and yelp in pain, her cries reaching Tsume's ears.

Kiba crouched beside Tsume. "Give me your hand, you'll make it." He said to Tsume. "No, you have to save Suzette, and protect Cheza! You were the only who was going to make it to Paradise, I always suspected it! That's why everyone is dying – you are the key to opening Paradise! Now go stop him!" Tsume snarled, and Kiba nodded reluctantly. "I hope we meet again…in Paradise." Tsume said quietly, sending out a single, loud howl as he died, hemorrhaging, his blood leaving him as quickly as a second thought.

Suzette lay trembling on her side, Darcia deciding how to kill her. "I could rip out your precious babies and let you watch them die…or rip out your throat." He murmured, "Oh the possibilities. It's delicious!" he laughed. "You will never get to Paradise." she growled, rolling her eye to glare at him. "You talk too much for a stupid pregnant runt." he snarled out, and lowered his fangs to tear out her pups. She closed her eyes and surrendered, waiting for his fangs to pierce her flesh and rip her pups from her, but she felt no pain. Opening her eyes in surprise, she saw Kiba standing over her protectively, Darcia sprawled a few yards away. "Kiba..!" she said in surprise. She craned her neck, and to her dismay, she could not see Tsume. "Tsume…?" she whimpered, expecting the big gray wolf to leap up and reprimand her. But he did not. "He's gone…" Kiba told her quietly, before moving to stand between Darcia and Suzette. "Suzu, go help Cheza if you can." Kiba said softly, and stared down the noble. With a grunt, Suzette managed to get to her feet and limp over to Cheza's side. "This one is glad to see you mostly unharmed." The flower maiden spoke softly, her voice like the wind rustling through tall grass, thin and wispy. "It's going to be okay, Cheza." Suzette said in a hushed, though reassuring voice, finding strength within her own words. The two females watched in quiet awe as Kiba and Darcia fought, fangs meeting flesh and blood soaking the snow.

Kiba lay in a ruffled pile of bloodied fur, whimpering softly as he tried to stand. Darcia stalked over to Cheza and Suzette, who stood in front of the flower maiden. Her tail bristled out and hackles as high as they could go, she bared her fangs, her paws digging into the ice as she prepared to defend Cheza with her life. "Foolish bitch." He said with a manic chuckle, leaping suddenly at her, his fangs parried by her own. Her own fangs tore his jaw open, his blood pooling freely. "Now who's the foolish bitch?" she growled out, her ruff bristled with pride and contempt for the wolf before her. "You still are." He grumbled out, and leapt again, too quickly for her eyes to follow. His fangs met the thick ruff of her throat, surpassing the protective coat and sinking into her flesh. "Toboe!" she howled out, and fell silent and limp in Darcia's grip. Dropping the bitch to the ground, Darcia laughed at his victory. Kiba walked stiff-legged towards him, intent on his death.

"You've fallen, Darcia. Attacking pregnant girls is how you get your satisfaction?" the white wolf asked him coldly, his golden eyes boring into his blue and gold ones. Darcia snorted. "Of course not. She fought back, and I've killed your comrades. I was satisfied with killing the first runt, but I couldn't stop. You all have to die." He said in a rational tone, ending with a high, insane laugh. "You're crazy, the Paradise you'll open is false!" Kiba retorted, and bared his fangs again. "Let's finish this." He growled again. "It's already finished." Darcia smiled sadistically, as the red moon seemed to swell from their position, and the light fell on Cheza. Darcia knocked Kiba on his side, then ran lopsidedly to Cheza, picking her up with his fangs, her green blood filling his mouth and splashing on the snow. Suzette opened one eye weakly. "Cheza…no!" she whimpered, and willed herself to stand, blood dripping steadily from her throat. "No…you can't…no Darcia!" she screamed, and stumbled at him, her fangs bared in her blood-loss induced anger. She sank her fangs into his back, making him drop Cheza and wail once in pain. "I thought I killed you!" he howled angrily, turning around to knock her loose, but she was unconscious from the loss of blood. "She's basically dead, so why does she still bite?" he wondered aloud, before stumbling dizzily. "This one's blood is poison. You are not protected by the Flower. You will die." Cheza spoke in a quiet, determined tone, her ruby-like eyes glaring into him with pity. Darcia wobbled unsteadily on his feet, wincing as Suzette's vice-like grip on his back loosened til she fell to the ground.

Darcia murmured insanely, his words jumbled and spoken quickly. "No, I'm not dying. No…Paradise." He laughed highly, before stumbling to the water's edge. "You all were wrong. I am opening Paradise!" he laughed, and put one paw into the water. Light backfired, and his body melted away, leaving his blue human's eye hovering in midair, dropping into the water with an inaudible ploosh!. Cheza sighed, crying out as her body elongated and her limbs grew longer, her nails becoming claws. "Kiba…" she whispered, and the wolf stumbled to her side. "Cheza, what's happening?" he asked in quiet wonderment as the flower began to bloom. "This one is blooming, Kiba. You protected the Flower, so they shall bloom again. Kiba you must find this one again, paradise was open for a moment, but you must find this one again, so we can open it completely. Remember…" Cheza said softly, stroking Kiba's coat with her claws, accidentally nicking his flesh, and blood flowed. Cheza continued to bleed, her green blood pooling to the water's edge, Kiab's red blood mixing with hers as she looked upward and burst into her true form, lunar flower seeds. "Cheza…?" he whimpered, holding only her tattered clothing that rattled with her seeds. "Cheza…" he whispered, and the tears fell sluggishly from his eyes. Suzette's ragged whimper brought him from his stupor, and he limped to her side. "Kiba…It's going to be all right. I can see Toboe…and the others. They're in Paradise, Kiba…it's beautiful…I'll see you there, my friend." She murmured, a faraway look in her eyes. The blood stained her face and body, visible even on her black coat. "Remember…find us all again, Kiba. Like Cheza said…" she said, exhaling slightly. With a small sigh, she closed her eyes and did not stir again.

Kiba was lost now, all of his friends were dead, and he was alone. But he had always been alone, even in the beginning. Flopping onto his side, he waited for his imminent death, the ice slowly melting beneath him. Within minutes, the ice gave way and he sank into the cold, icy depths, his breath leaving him as he surrendered and died peacefully.

Author's Note: Oh my god, I can't believe I wrote that! ::sniffles:: Well, this was the last "chapter", so I'm gonna go work on my epilogue, and any ideas for a sequel. Ja mata ne!

Sakura