Title: The Price of His Past

Author: Ladye Black

Warnings: some language, kinda graphic, bloody descriptions of fighting

Notes: Um, would you believe I almost forgot to write this? Seriously, I thought I had done it already, but…gah, it musta been all that worrying about that huge project. Well, at least it's over now, got an 87…

Disclaimer: I own…Kei, and some other OCs, but that's it! I swear!

Chapter 12

The feeling that featured most promptly in Tsume's world at the moment was pain, ripping pain. And it was literally 'ripping' because there were mutated Wolves trying to skin him and the others alive. The others; suddenly Tsume realized he had to think beyond the pain. There were others that he had to protect; his pack, though he would never admit to that.

And so, the second thing he felt was the overwhelming need to fight his way through these bastards to kill the one who led Them. He would enjoy killing these… "Wolves". Baring his teeth in a snarl, he got ready to give back as good as he got, and then some.

He ducked under one wide paw, and came up under the other, going for the throat with his teeth. Blood covered his muzzle as he bit the vulnerable throat and crushed the windpipe. He let it go to choke on its own blood.

The second was a bit harder. He was slightly distracted when he saw Toboe fighting one who was at least twice the pup's size, and had made to go help him, when one of the mutated Wolves jumped onto his back from behind. Claws dug in painfully, and Tsume almost collapsed under the heavy weight. He tried to bite around, but he only part he could reach was a paw, and gnawing on it wasn't getting him anywhere.

A white blur ran into the thing above him and knocked all three of them to the blood-covered snow. Tsume gained his feet in just enough time to see Kiba tear out the throat of the one who'd been giving Tsume so much trouble. When the white Wolf looked his way, he signaled his thanks and continued to fight.


Kei watched the fight with interest. Despite the odds, it looked Tsume's group was taking down a fair number of those under his command. Interesting. However, it looked like Tsume and the rest might bleed themselves out before they gave up. Not exactly what he wanted, especially when he needed his former little brother alive.

He watched the fight for a few more moments. The pudgy Wolf was caught under one of Them, but quick reflexes that had been honed on tough, Human city streets saved the almost-pup from having his throat torn out. Instead, the Wolf on top of him had its stomach clawed out, steam rose as hot entrails made contact with the cold snow. The brown Wolf quickly got to its feet and went at another of his enemies.

The Man-Wolf turned his attention to the youngest and smallest of the four. Surprisingly, the pup had held out, though most of that was due to the fact that the other three were watching out for him. Right now, though, the little one was on his own. The pup sidestepped a swipe from a gigantic paw, and made a swipe of his own with his smaller one, scoring a hit on the muzzle-life protrusion on the Wolf-thing. This only enraged it and it leapt at the small Wolf, driving him into the snow. Desperately, the small, reddish Wolf used his hind feet to scrabble at the softer underbelly above him, spilling blood over himself and mixing more into the once white snow.

Help came to the small Wolf in the form of the grey, heavily bleeding Wolf named Tsume. He knocked the Other over, and tore through its throat.

Kei decided it was time to end this. He was suffering more losses than he'd thought possible, and it was taking too much time to subdue four Wolves, ones that should have been inferior in every way possible, but were holding their own all the same.

He flexed his claws and waded in, amber eyes fixed on the youngest and weakest. There could be a way to end this quickly.


Tsume was busy fighting another of the mutated Wolves. It seemed to be smarter than most of the others. It dodged, and attacked; its movements were calculated and thought out. It wasn't moving on pure instinct alone, it maneuvered itself in a fashion that almost resembled that of an intelligent being. And, it was as hard as Hell to kill.


Kiba was frustrated. Why wouldn't this thing just die! The Other he fought continued to get up, despite several heavy wounds that had been inflicted upon it, courtesy of Kiba's teeth and claws. The white Wolf lashed out again, and the Other barely dodged the assault. It advanced, pushing Kiba back another few steps. He wondered if it was possible for this thing to die. He was getting tired.


Hige felt like he wanted to collapse. There seemed to be no end to the things. The snow around them was red, having lost its previous white. That just made it harder to fight in. The mushy red got stuck in between his toes, weighing him down and limiting his movement. Granted, it wasn't much really, the others probably didn't even notice it, but he did. Because, he needed every little advantage he could get, he wasn't a fighter like Kiba and Tsume. Hige had a feeling he near his end.


Toboe was scared. He dodged another swipe by a gigantic paw, in comparison to his own small paws, that is. He bled from several small cuts, and one large gash, while the Thing itself only bled from the scratches Toboe had made with his little paws. The small Wolf had a feeling that it was playing with him. And that made Toboe angry; he wanted to be taken seriously!

In a surprise move, he feinted right, but then went left and latched onto the side of the Other's neck with his teeth. And then held on for all he was worth. His body was tossed around, scratched at, but still he held on. In fact, he bit deeper, drawing more blood. The Thing growled in pain and anger, annoyed that the small Wolf had bitten him so deeply.

Toboe decided that it might be a good idea to use his claws, so he did. He angled himself to scratch at the throat, making deep, red furrows in once white fur and flesh. The Other became more angered and used it's paws to peel the young Wolf off of it, along with a good chunk of flesh.

Blood flew as Toboe fell back to the ground, a bloody chunk of meat in his mouth. That would teach the Other to underestimate him!

His elation didn't last long, however, when he was picked up and thrown into a nearby tree. He promptly collapsed, almost unconscious.

The other three froze when they saw what happened. It gave their opponents enough time to pin them, preventing them from escaping. Toboe, head held in Kei's claws, prevented them from fighting back.

"Alright," Kei growled. "This is the deal. I have the little one's life within my…claws. To save him, all you must do is give up the Key…and Tsume."

Kiba gasped. "What!"

Kei smiled a feral grin. "You see, it is not just the Key we came for, but Tsume himself. He holds within him the other 'key'. The key to my race's continued existence. Unfortunately, we only learned this after we cast him out. So, you see, we need the Key for the ship that will make a planet habitable, and Tsume's genetic code to study so that we may continue to survive."

"So that's why we were able to defeat some of you," said Hige, shrewdly. "You didn't want to kill Tsume."

"Well, frankly, this could have been done without bloodshed if you had just surrendered in the first place, but…I enjoyed this way much more." His expression became bloodthirsty.

"So, what will you do?"

The others glanced at each other from their respective thoughts. Tsume nodded in answer to the quick looks. "We need to talk. Let us up."

"Why? So you can plan? Remember, I have this pup's life in my grasp."

"We know," answered Tsume solemnly.

"Hmm, well, I suppose." He growled something to the Other, who let up their prey reluctantly.

"You have five minutes to decide what is more important to you. Your freedom, of the life of one you Pack."

TBC…

Dun dun duunnnnn…What will they do?

And, do you think this chapter merits a higher rating? I'm not sure…