tsume.hack: I do not own Wolf's Rain. Or the characters therein.

Hige: Ha ha.

tsume.hack: I'll take away your hot dog.

Hige: I'll be good, I promise. lays down

tsume.hack: I saw Balto a couple days ago. I swear, Kiba somehow found his way into that, too. What a camera hog.

Hige: still waiting for hot dog

" Hey Kiba, wait up!"

Hige caught up to his friend just as they were passing yet another hot dog vendor. Kiba looked back and saw Hige holding two hot dogs.

" Aren't you full from the last two?" he asked.

" Well, these are just a snack for the road," Hige explained. " I figured, if this is gonna take a while, I might as well have something to fill me up."

Kiba doubted that anything could fill him up, but he didn't say anything.

" So where are we headed this time?" Hige asked, trotting alongside to keep up. " I mean, I know you always have a "feeling," but I'm just curious . . ."

" I'm looking for a tree."

That stopped Hige short. " A what?"

" A tree. I've gotta go."

Hige stared after his friend incredulously. Kiba just kept walking on. You would think after living in a city for as long as Kiba had he would have learned the proper terminology for a bathroom. (Note to Kiba: That one's for you.)

Hige sighed, and started after Kiba.

At the next traffic light they began to cross the street. Kiba was halfway across when he heard the shrill screech of brakes and a "Holy crap!" from Hige.

He whirled around, fearing the worst.

Hige was just sitting up in the spot where he had dove to avoid the oncoming car, now ominously parked just a couple of feet from him. He looked unhurt, much to Kiba's relief, but his two hot dogs were a different story . . .

" My poor hot dogs!" Hige wailed, stooping over their smushed remains on the road.

" I didn't even get to put mustard on them! O the agony! O the despair!"

Kiba pulled him away from the dead hot dogs.

" Hige . . ."

At this point the young passenger in the vehicle that had almost sent Hige to the great beyond got out and stood pouting with his hands on his hips.

" You idiot!" he said. " You know how lucky you are to be alive? Grandma almost hit you! And you're crying over food?"

Hige stood up, ready to throw back a stinging remark, when he caught sight of the speaker's face. Kiba saw his eyes widen in disbelief.

" What is it?" he asked, joining him. He followed his gaze to the kid by the car, and his own eyes widened.

The kid by the car was staring at them too.

" T- Toboe?" Hige said under his breath. " It can't be . . ."

" Toboe?" Kiba said, addressing the kid, who started and suddenly gave a whoop, running around the car to them.

" Kiba! Hige! It is you!" Toboe jumped on Hige, nearly smothering him. Kiba turned and smiled at the ever-rambunctious pup – argh, former pup. Hige was laughing as he pulled Toboe off and gave him a noogie.

" I guess things never change, do they, ya runt?" Hige grinned as Toboe struggled to break loose. " Hey, watch the collar!"

" Leggo of me!"

Hige finally let him free, and laughed as the pup glared at him.

" Oh - !" Toboe suddenly looked as though he'd gotten a brilliant idea. " You guys, you have to meet my granny! Come over here!" The driver of the car had pulled over to the side of the road, and traffic had started up once more. Toboe jogged over, the other two following, and poked his head in the window.

" Grandma, there's a couple of people I want you to meet!" He stepped back from the window and motioned the two forward.

" I have to warn you – she's a little deaf," he explained sheepishly. " Just so you know."

Kiba and Hige bowed to the little old lady seated behind the steering wheel. She was seated on two pillows and what looked like a phone book, and was wearing a pair of ridiculously thick glasses that magnified her eyes, making her look like a certain scentless owl they had met long ago. Hige jumped when she looked at them, shuddering at the memory, then grinned in a friendly manner.

" Hi there, ma'am," he said. " I'm Hige, and –"

" Eh?" she said, cupping a hand to her ear. " What was that again, sonny?"

" Um, I'm Hige, and this is –" he tried again, louder.

" Wha-?"

But Hige didn't have a chance to try again; she had caught sight of Kiba, and her already huge eyes got even bigger.

" Well, well, look at what we have here," she cackled in her closest approximation to a giggle.

Kiba jerked back and looked around nervously. Hige was hiding behind him, shivering. The big eyes were beginning to get to him.

" Well, I guess we know why she almost hit you," Kiba said, indicating the glasses and stack of pillows. " You're lucky she missed. Ah-!" He stepped back to avoid the old woman's attempt to touch his messy hair and eyed her uneasily.

" I think she likes you, Kiba," he said, peeking out over his friend's shoulder. Kiba yanked his shoulder from Hige's grasp, saying, "Shut up."

But, looking back at Granny, he saw that there were cartoon hearts floating around her head, and a blush was rising in her cheeks –

" Whoa-! Hey, Kiba, where's the fire!" Hige called after the trail of dust that marked Kiba's hasty departure route.

Toboe sighed, and told his granny that he'd meet her back at home. She drove off, telling him that his handsome blue-eyed friend was welcome at the house anytime.

Hige watched the car leave, then remarked to Toboe, " Does she do that often? Hit on younger men, I mean?"

Toboe just shook his head. " I have no comment."

Hige sighed in frustration. " I don't get it; why do Kiba and Tsume always get the fangirls? It's not fair."

Well, that's it for the second chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. Hopefully I'll get the next ones out . . . and hopefully they'll be good . . . sweats There's a lot of hope involved in this sort of thing, isn't there? Geez . . .