Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf's Rain or any of the characters thereof. This stinks, just throw it in my face, huh? At least I've got Yuri…
Kiba couldn't move. He had been caught in the middle of the explosion that destroyed Darcia's castle.
"Every fiber of my body aches—and I don't even know where I am." As he slowly began to ooze back in unconsciousness, he heard a sound that made his heart skip a beat.
"Footsteps!" He thought. "They're getting closer…fast. Damn! I can't be seen in my true form!" He tried to move, but only managed to wince in pain. As desperation began to settle in, he noticed that the footsteps had stopped, replaced by a sudden gasp. Kiba slowly cracked his eyes open, temporarily blinding himself by staring into the sun. There was a bout of scuffling noises—as Kiba's eyes recovered he witnessed a flurry of auburn hair… two brilliant emerald orbs…the scent of flowers…and only darkness followed…
Yuri shielded her eyes from the sun with her hand—another scorching day. "Great. I hate traveling in this weather. I nearly dehydrated last time!" She kicked the dirt in front of her and cursed as she reached for her bike. No choice, Yuri needed to buy food in the city—a bicycle ride that took her longer than she liked. Still, her little house was better than any apartment in that dingy old city. Yuri cursed again, feeling her fair skin begin to sizzle in the sun's wake.
"Stupid sun. I much prefer the moon's soothing glow to your incessant burn," she muttered, climbing onto her bike. She slowly started to peddle her bike, only to notice… "Great! A flat tire! How do you get a flat tire out here? Stupid rocks," she muttered, kicking her bike then clutching her foot in pain when she stubbed her toe. "Ooooooh, this day just keeps getting better and better!" She yelled into the sky as she heard a distant rumble.
"What's that?" She thought, turning in the direction of the noise. A mushroom cloud appeared in sky, not too far from where Yuri's house was. Yuri stared in amazement as a strong wind nearly knocked her down. "An…explosion?" She whispered. "If that was an explosion, there must be injured people-- maybe even survivors!" She said, running, senselessly, in the direction of the explosion.
It wasn't long before Yuri began to spot debris from the explosion, "I must be getting close!" She thought, as she paused and looked around. She started; her eyes widened as she spotted a figure just a little ways from her. "Crap!" She yelled aloud, running toward it.
Yuri careened to a stop and uttered a loud gasp. She couldn't believe her eyes. She was staring at—"A wolf?" She thought. "But how can that be? Jagura's henchmen have been occupying the city for just over a month…a survivor?"
Yuri had just begun to wonder if the snow-white wolf was dead when it answered her question for her. The wolf began to tremble, as if attempting to get up, but dropped back onto the ground, whimpering in pain. "I've got to get it out of here!" Yuri thought, scurrying over to the wolf. Kneeling in front of it, Yuri, tried, and failed, to lift the wolf.
"Crap," she muttered, now wishing she had thought to bring her bike with her instead of running aimlessly in her frenzy.
"Now how am I supposed to get it to my house?" She pondered. "Hmm…I could carry it!" She thought, but soon frowned at the idea, "But only a moment ago, I couldn't even lift it. And I'm afraid it will die out here in the hot sun if I try to retrieve my bike." Yuri stroked her chin as she thought. "Bah! I'm wasting time! I'll carry it home. It's not too far—I can still see my house from here!" Yuri thought, glancing at the familiar brown structure in the distance.
Squatting in front of it, Yuri again tried to lift the wolf. Finally, she succeeded in heaving it onto her back. "There!" She gasped, "That wasn't so hard!" She said, stumbling a little under the weight. Then, setting her eyes firmly on the image of her small abode, Yuri began her trek home.
"Wow!" Yuri wheezed, plopping down, exhausted, into her favorite rocking chair. "I didn't think I had it in me. And you," she said, eyeing the unconscious wolf, "you are one lucky guy. I nearly killed myself trying to bring you in here." On her way into the house, Yuri had tripped on her doormat, sending her stumbling into her living room, whereupon she bumped into a wall and accidentally kicked the coffee table, causing her to tumble into her sofa in an odd, girl-wolf heap. The biggest shock came when Yuri found her face smack-dab next to the evidence of the wolf's gender. "Guess that answers my question," she muttered.
"Well," she groaned, heaving herself to her feet, "now to dress your wounds—and my sunburns." She sauntered into the next room to get her bandages and ointment. "Well, I certainly hope you don't need anything more than some bandages and rest…'cause it's all I've got, and I am no doc--" Yuri stopped dead in her tracks as she looked at her sofa. "—tor."
A young man now sat in it, wincing and apparently struggling to stand upright. "Don't move!" Yuri yelled instinctively. Startled, the boy stopped and shot Yuri a menacing look. "Please," Yuri said softly, "you'll- you'll make your wounds worse. I just wanted to bandage them up for you."
"I'm fine," the boy grunted, trying to stand again.
"Here," Yuri said, cautiously approaching the boy, "His human form. It's true…this is how they've eluded capture for so long…" Yuri thought.
"This girl…I recognize her scent…of flowers…" Kiba thought, allowing the girl to ease him back into a lying position on the sofa. He was in no condition to fight no matter how much he hated to acknowledge it. He would have to stay here, at least until his body was able to endure his relentless trekking once more.
"There now, isn't that better?" Yuri asked. She received no answer. "Umm…is it all right if I, uh…if I bandage your wounds for you?" No answer. "I guess I'll take that as a yes. Ok?" Still, Kiba did not answer. In fact, his eyes had remained closed all the while that she was easing him onto the sofa, and while she was talking.
When he finally did open his eyes, it was for the sole purpose of scrutinizing his "nurse". He had been so shocked by her initial presence; he found he had not taken in one single feature of her visage. He was quite shocked by what he saw. She had fair, fragile skin (although parts of it now glowed bright red). She was small, nearly a head-and-shoulders shorter than him. Her face continued this trend. Small, he could have cupped it in one hand. Her features were delicate and quite refined. Even so, her face was partially hidden by a sea (waist-length) of silky auburn hair. Still, her most striking feature was a pair of large, shockingly beautiful, emerald eyes. Her eyes glowed bright as the moon itself, granting tranquility to all those who gazed into them long enough.
Tearing his eyes away from her face, Kiba quickly came to a horrible realization. "It was she. She saved me back in the desert. I recognize her scent, her hair, her…her eyes…" Kiba's thought nervously.
"I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" Yuri asked, looking concerned.
"No, no, I just…never mind," Kiba, croaked, still contemplating the delicate situation he now found himself in.
"Oh," Yuri said, comprehension (or so she thought) dawning on her face, "you must be starved. Well, I'll fix something for you as soon as I finish up here!" She said cheerfully.
How on earth was he going to ask her? "Did she really see me in my true form? Shit, who am I kidding? Of course she did! I was in my true form when I woke up on her sofa, how could she not have?" But what was he to do? Candidly ask her, "Hey, seen any wolves lately?" No, of course not. But there was no getting around it, if she knew he was a wolf she would have made it known by now, screaming in fear or what not. But she was acting as calm and reserved as if he were some regular human. And if he told her now, told her the truth behind this human façade of his, how would she react? Would she run out in fear, screaming at the top of her lungs, or try to attack him while he was still hurt and practically immobile? Worse still, would her actions force him to take her life? He closed his eyes in disgust and revulsion at the thought of having to rip that pretty smooth neck of hers, open. He was tired of spilling so much blood, especially of someone who had shone such kindness toward him, whether she knew his secret or not.
In the meantime, Yuri was absorbed in her own dilemma, "What on earth am I going to cook for a wolf? I don't suppose he's ever tried cooked meat before. Oh crap, what am I supposed to do now, go outside and try to shoot a bird down with a rock? Well, I suppose there's only one solution to this problem: ask!"
Thinking nothing of Kiba's tormented mind, Yuri offhandedly asked, "So, exactly what kind of food do wolves eat, anyway?"
Kiba's eyes widened in both astonishment and comprehension, "So you- you did!" He stammered, as Yuri eyed her patient in utter confusion.
Thanks for reading guys! This is my very first Wolf's Rain fanfic, so reviews would be awesome. I want to know what you think of my writing, whether the comments are positive or negative. Please, tell me what I'm doing wrong as well as what I am doing right, and what I can do to improve both my story and the quality of my writing. If nothing good can be said of the story itself, let me hear about my writing, apart from that. Thanks again, for reading, Happy Holidays!