No reviews but oh well. This is the second part to the Reunion chapter in all its fine glory…also, quite a bit about Sorano being beaten up. I couldn't help myself, she can be so immature.
For those wishing for some good old character development, don't worry. A new plot twist (I honestly only have like an end to this, not much of the middle so I make it up as I go) will get some characters to change…as soon as I figure out where to put it.
Disclaimer: Hah! Go check to other ones. I'm lazy.
Chapter 16 – Saikai Ippan 2
Zuko had been sleeping dreamlessly for a while, enjoying the peace and quiet that accompanied it. The fire was still blazing, the strange bird shape in it disappearing. He swore he had just imagined it and that his fever was to blame. The snores of his uncle and the large beast sounded in rhythm, providing a strange lullaby.
Then everything went to hell.
The fire nearly whisked out as the ship slammed into a stop. Zuko was thrown across the floor and sent rolling, back hitting the furnace. He grunted and pushed onto his hands and knees, shaking his head. Iroh sat up suddenly and the teenager shielded his eyes from his uncle's…unique physique.
Kin was up on his paws, ears pricked up. He let out a bark and raced up the stairs, a slight wind throwing him up faster.
Throwing his uncle's clothes at him, Zuko followed after the large beast while his uncle hurriedly got dressed. The teenager rushed onto the deck, hoping to the Spirits that they weren't being attacked.
"How the hell did we hit an iceberg?"
He sighed and rubbed his temples. Sorano was leaning over the railing, grimacing at the sight of the large gash in her ship. She frowned and tried to find the offending iceberg but to no avail.
His attention turned to the two demons that were both standing nervously by the wheel. Hoshi looked guilty enough but Ookami seemed energized, his ears moving constantly.
Sorano was grumbling about finding some parts to repair the injured ship when Ookami's ears suddenly stopped moving and focused. His head turned, ears pointing straight ahead. The witch stopped her complaining and watched him, brow furrowed. Trembling, the wolf leapt onto the railing, ears focused. His eyes widened and, before anyone could stop him, he just threw himself into the water.
"Ookami!" she screamed, almost throwing herself over the railing in her haste. "Wolfie!"
Zuko watched his form shift in midair, transforming into his namesake. The huge wolf hit the water in a dive, disappearing beneath the frigid water. A blue-gray head lifted up though, paws paddling through the sea.
"Ookami! Get your ass back here! You're going to freeze!" Sorano yelled, swearing when he didn't even turn around. "Kin! Follow him!"
The Lion Dog barked, the wind around him lifting him up. He shook and blasted off after the wolf demon, tail swishing and paws racing.
Without another word, she turned on her heel and moved to disappear down the hatch. Hoshi followed with Zuko in tow.
Unfortunately, Iroh had just made it up and threw his arms into the air as they passed.
The furnace room looked gloomy without the fire but they continued down the steps to the small rowboat. Nezu poked his head down, looking sad and she just smiled. "Just stay here and guard the ship, Nezu. We'll be back when we slap Ookami a few times."
She kicked the boat when they were settled, the thing dying after a few sputters. Frowning, she kicked it harder and grinned in victory when the boat began moving. The small opening grew wider to let them out and shrunk when they drifted into the cold.
Ahead, they watched as Kin helped the wolf out of the water, backing up when he shook the water and ice from his coat. The Lion Dog growled softly but the wolf took off across the ice, forcing the poor beast to follow after him.
"What is he doing?" the sorceress asked herself, frowning as the boat started to die again. "Piece of junk!" she cried out, giving it a swift kick and causing it to just stop altogether. She let out a wordless yell and hit her head against the side of the dead boat.
"Well, that was unexpected," Hoshi remarked, grinning though.
"I bet we don't have any paddles either," Zuko said, smirking at the shake of her head.
Hoshi chuckled slightly and pulled off a board from the boat, handing it to Zuko. He pulled another one off, thankfully not enough to cause a leak, and the two started paddling to the ice.
Sorano pouted slightly, arms crossed as the two smirked at her. "I wonder what it would feel like to shove the two of you into the water," she grumbled.
The battle demon laughed as they neared the ice, shifting the boat to pull up to the side of it. Sorano climbed out, helping Iroh onto the ice as her feet slipped a little. Both Zuko and Hoshi climbed up, dragging the boat onto the frozen water to make sure it didn't drift away. The four stood still, wondering where the two had run off to.
"I think they went straight ahead," Hoshi said, his long ears trying to catch the faintest noise.
"Good as any direction."
The four took careful steps on the ice as they tried to find either the Lion Dog or the frantic wolf demon. After a few minutes, they found paw prints in the light snow, making it a lot easier to track the two down.
"Why would he run off like that?" Zuko asked, nearly slipping on a wet spot of ice.
"Well," Sorano began, worrying her lower lip, "during his slight dead state on the full moon, he said he saw his mate and his kids somewhere in the ice and snow. I left him in charge of our course which explains why we're still in this freezing snow." She kicked a pile of it for emphasis, finding out that her pile was actually a block of ice. While she hopped and hobbled, the three males laughed, Hoshi the loudest. Frowning, she raised her leg, catching Zuko in the small of his back. It was easy enough to send him face first into the snow and ice as he tried to catch himself but his hand slipped. Sorano laughed and ended up stepping on a particularly slick spot, landing flat on her back.
About ten minutes later, the youngest two of the group were both covered in ice and snow, frowning at each other while the older two grinned. Sorano grumbled something and Zuko tackled her, sending them both into the snow again.
"Kids," Iroh said, shaking his head.
"What are you gonna do with'em?" Hoshi replied with a laugh.
The two were still rolling in the snow, Sorano having the Firebender pinned. "Ha!" She grinned but went face first into another hill as Zuko flipped her over. Sputtering, she growled and rolled as she tried to throw the teen off of her.
"Ow! That's not fair!" Zuko yelled as she grabbed him by his topknot.
"Girls fight dirty. I thought you knew," she laughed, holding him still.
"Kids!" Iroh and Hoshi called out, struggling not to laugh at the two.
Zuko sent her off of him and the two went rolling down a steep hill, snow catching and clinging to them. Growling, she flipped them, holding his head down but pausing. He looked up, blinking in surprise at the sight of the two sitting incredibly still.
Kin was ducking down behind a large hill of snow, looking back at them. Ookami was back in his humanoid form, sitting so still they thought he was frozen. Then an ear twitched and the two forgot about their small fight and slowly approached him.
"Ookami?" she asked, brows furrowing as he didn't respond. She turned and her own eyes widened at the small, undisturbed scene.
Two small demons were playing in the snow, laughing while throwing snowballs at each other. They were both adorable, pointed ears twitching as they ducked behind small mounds of packed snow. It was slightly strange to just see two of them playing happily in the snow by themselves.
Even stranger was that the bigger of the two looked almost exactly like Ookami.
Suddenly, the two demons stopped their play, both heads turning to look at the small group watching them. Both let out a small cry and ran, tails swishing behind them.
"Mika! Mika!" they screamed, tripping over themselves as they ran towards what looked like a rock cave.
Ookami moved from behind the snow, his ears trained straight ahead as something emerged from the cave, black hair tied back and claws ready to attack. She growled a warning at the intruders, gold eyes watching the demon step forward. Her warning went unheeded as he continued to move closer.
"Stay back!" she called out, snarling.
"Mika?" he asked weakly, watching the demon stiffened.
"How do you know that?" she yelled, fangs bared.
"Besides the fact that the kids ran screaming that," Sorano muttered and was shushed by Iroh and Hoshi.
Instead of replying, the wolf demon dug through his coat and pulled out a small toy, hands shaking as he held it up for her to see. She stared at the doll that hung limply from the demon's hand, eyes widening. Her gaze turned back to the wolf demon, now looking so familiar, the wind teasing his blue-gray hair.
"Dad!" she cried out, dropping her fighting stance and running towards him. Ookami dropped to his knees, catching his daughter and holding onto her.
"Mika," he whispered, ears pinned back against his head. The wolf nuzzled his daughter, kissing her forehead. "Mika, oh Gods, Mika."
"Dad!"
Something else tackled him from the side, white hair covering the newcomer's face.
"Taro," he mumbled, holding onto the two children as though they were an anchor.
His ears twitched and he looked up, eyes focusing on the figure standing several yards away. Gold eyes watched him as she held onto the shoulders of the two boys. Disbelief passed over her features, white hair blowing back in the wind.
The recognition of mates between them, Ookami letting his children go as the dog demon rushed to greet him. The two went sprawling as she jumped at him, the wolf catching her and holding on.
"Aw," Sorano breathed out, earning a hard elbow to her ribs from Hoshi. "Ow!"
"Takara," he groaned, holding her close. She kissed him hard, keeping the wolf pinned beneath her. Everything was lost to them except their significant other, primal instinct taking over.
The two older siblings blinked in surprise as the group moved a little closer, Zuko's eyes a little wider than they should have been. Sometime during the few moments that the large gathering was watching the display of emotion between the two demons, the younger children had moved over to them.
"Ew, what are they doing?" the smaller one asked, gold eyes looking up to his sister.
"Maybe we should let them get," Hoshi cleared his throat for a moment, "reacquainted."
"Aw," Sorano muttered, earning a smack upside her head from both Iroh and the battle demon. She clutched the back of her head. "Son of a…" Another slap to her head shut her mouth before she swore.
"Let's go back to ship and leave them in peace," Hoshi said a little more forcefully, grabbing the witch by her ear. Zuko was about to laugh but Iroh grabbed his ear and dragged him painfully. "While we're there, we can tell embarrassing stories of your father."
That sparked the demons' interest as they followed the strange crew, smiling at the plight of the younger members.
Ookami turned his head, watching the dark shapes move away. He grinned, hearing the loud protests of the witch. Silently, he thanked Hoshi for his consideration and turned back to his mate. She watched him with watery eyes, refusing to let go of his coat as though he might be lost forever if she did.
"It's all right," he whispered, reminding himself of her. "They'll be fine."
Takara buried her face into his neck, mumbling something low. The wolf demon held her tightly, whispering to calm her. "I'm not leaving you again, I promise."
A cold wind blew past them, reminding them of their slightly awkward position.
"I think we should move," she remarked, eyes suddenly glowing with an idea. Takara slipped out of her mate's arms, dashing into the cave before he could blink.
He grinned, climbing to his feet before chasing after her.
Ookami hoped the kids would be all right for about six hours.