A/N: OMG! I'm so so so so so so so so so SORRY! I haven't updated in like... (- tries to think, hurts herself-) Sorry! GOMEN MINNA-SAN! Here's chapter three... Hopefully I can get chappie four up... Hopefully...
Disclaimer: Wolf's Rain does not belong to me... I own like two cents. Leave me alone.
Chapter 3: The Smoking Wolf
Silverstar woke Yukio mid-day and then went to sleep. Again, she stayed away from the warmth of Toboe's body, and instead slept on the cold ground. The sun was warm overhead, but the ground was still slick with dew.
Yukio's watch was uneventful; he spent most of his time watching two snakes mating. Normally, it would've been absolutely strange and completely disgusting, but because the boredom was so utterly complete, it was fascinating. He stayed there, the long hours stretching themselves out. He looked at Silverstar now and then, still concerned over the way she had reacted when she was tugging the cure from the rocks. She had been through a lot, they all had in their lifetimes, and yet it was Silverstar who seemed the strongest out of them all. Though he was still young, Yukio knew a strong spirit when he saw when and his Spiradar broke as soon as he met her. She was a born leader, even though she hadn't realized it yet.
When dusk had officially settled, but the moon had not yet risen, Yukio woke Silverstar up. She got up immediately and looked towards Yukio. He stared at her docilely (he had taken a nap during the day, a good two hours) and yawned lazily. Having done nothing all day, he was ready to go and fight an army rather then stay there any longer. Silverstar had felt that way earlier, except she had something the young pup still hadn't developed, an over abundance of patience.
'When are we leaving?' Yukio asked, his patience obviously strained to the limit.
Silverstar looked to the sky noted where each familiar constellation was and nodded solemnly to the Father. Being a patron to nature, she attributed everything to four "gods". One was Mother Nature herself; another was, of course, the Sister Moon. There was also the Father Sky, and then the Brother Sun. She did not worship them, as many people have done with gods in the past, but respected them and held in her heart a place for each.
'When the Sister shows her face,' was Silverstar's reply to the question. Yukio accepted the answer, to him it was cryptic, but it was what he expected from her. It seemed like she was a part of the moon.
Another hour or two, they weren't really counting, passed before the moon, blesséd mother of wolves, showed her face. Toboe began to stir. Red hot flashes of pain seared his body, every limb, but mostly his head. A headache raged behind his eyes, and if he had been human, he would've sworn he had a hangover. He got up slowly and noticed two familiar wolves staring at him.
'Yukio! Silverstar,' Toboe said, wagging his tail like a dog. He was glad to see them.
'Toboe!' Yukio bounded up and then plowed into the older brown wolf. They rolled around on the ground like pups at play. Silverstar smiled at them as she watched them tussle on the ground. It was pretty much the same reaction any wolf had when a comrade neared and braved death.
Toboe threw Yukio away from him, and playfully growled a warning. Yukio took the hint and sprawled out on the ground, panting from wasting so much energy. Toboe walked up to Silverstar.
'Silverstar, thank you. I don't remember exactly what has happened, but I know this. You saved my life. I'll try to repay you.'
Silverstar bowed to him, as tradition, 'No need to thank me. I would do the same for any pack member.'
Toboe smiled warmly at her. He shook his head slowly, 'You don't understand Silverstar. You are our leader. You are the alpha.'
Even though I had been expecting something along those lines, the words themselves still came as a shock to me. I was an alpha? Me? Before I wasn't even considered part of the pack, but now I was the leader of one? Then I felt it in my bones. The moon, the flower, they called out to me in my blood.
'I understand Toboe. I will get you to paradise if it's the last thing I do.'
Yukio took that moment to walk up to the two older wolves. He whimpered gently, asking if they were ready to go.
Toboe smiled recklessly at Silverstar. She smiled back and nodded. Without another word, or piece of body language, they began to run towards the city of nobles.
Silverstar ran ahead, in the lead with her tail held high. Toboe followed after her, keeping close, but always behind. Yukio was last in line. Every once in a while he pulled neck to neck with Toboe, but he went no further. A blue-gray streak, faster then any normal four legged beast of the northern forests, was their beacon, their guiding light.
It wasn't long after that, that she began to feel the eyes. A pair staring at her steadily, waiting, watching, her. Silverstar did not mention this to Yukio or Toboe. She did not want them to worry.
They ran for the night, through the meadows that surrounded the cursed forest. Eventually they came to tiny foothills and then large hills about twice as tall as a full-grown male human. When Silverstar reached the top of one of these hills she stood still and gaped.
I have seen many things in my lifetime. I have felt pain, and joy, but nothing had struck me as completely awe inspiring, not until I saw the city. Large, expansive, it was utterly impossible. No normal creature of nature could've have created something so... so... Impossible. It was like a sea of unnaturalness. If that is so, then are humans natural? Are they really the rightful "heirs" to this planet?
Yukio gaped with her, utterly confused and at a loss for words. Toboe stood tall thoroughly unimpressed. After the things he had been through with Darcia and Jagara, this petty city seemed like nothing.
'She's in there,' Silverstar said slowly. She shed her fur, and the other two followed suit. She stood before the city, smelling plainly the scent of lunar flower. She meant to find it.
"Come on. Let's go," she said, running down the hill. Again, the other two followed without a second thought.
Silverstar lead them to the main gate. It was guarded by thirty soldiers, who looked as though they swallowed tar for dinner. Silverstar curled her muzzle in disgust, which came off as a sneer in human form. She wanted to avoid contact with humans.
"Toboe, Yukio. Can you both do me a favor?" Silverstar asked, never taking her eyes off the front gate. She was not use to her role as a leader and did not feel right bossing them around. She felt more comfortable asking them as a favor.
"Name it," Yukio said excitedly.
Toboe stayed silent, all ready guessing the unsaid question, but nodded.
"Try to see if there is another entrance somewhere. I want to avoid the main gate."
"All right!" Yukio said excitedly as he ran to her right.
Toboe shook his head in annoyance, "Young pup, over excited bugger. I'll be back soon. I trust you'll stay by the gate, waiting to see if there is a chance to sneak in."
Silverstar nearly smiled. Toboe had understood perfectly that she had rather not have taken leadership role, but he still obeyed her willingly. Kiba had not been ready for his role either, but he took and used it. Just like she was going to.
Silverstar sat back on her haunches, indian style in her human form, and watched Toboe run to her left. She was going to give them an hour, before she tried to find them. Then, she was going to make her decision.
We were so close to Kinpa, I could smell her for gods' sakes. I could almost see her. We needed to find a way into the city. I watched the guards intently, waiting and watching for one of them to make a mistake. They were frighteningly efficient. Each guard was moved his position every five minutes, walking and pacing back and forth. That's when I realized my mistake. There weren't thirty guards, but fifteen. They walked about so constantly it was easy to miscount them. Then, after thirty-five minute shifts, the guards were replaced by new ones. Most likely off to take an hour's break and then come back. If that was truly the case, then how many guards were there actually? I fought with this concern for a while and then realized I had waited for over an hour. Where were Yukio and Toboe?
Yukio stared at the high city walls. Thirty feet high. He thought about whether or not he should jump them. They weren't that high, and he might be able to do a little recon while there. He was still contemplating this when a couple of other kids, punks really, skated pass him hurriedly. Thinking his human guise too obvious, he followed the two punks, one a girl, the other a boy, in his wolf form. They lead him half way around he circle of the city and there was where he found the back entrance.
There were only five guards, and three of them were sleeping in the gatehouse. The other two were wide awake, and walked with an MP5 slung on their arms. They also had 9mm Glocks resting snugly on their waists. Yukio thought very quickly. As a stray "dog" he would be able to get into the city, but how was he to sneak Silverstar and Toboe in. It was while he was seriously going over a ridiculous plan, that he noticed Toboe. The old wolf walked straight up to one of the guards and asked if he could bring his daughter and dog into the city this way. He said they wouldn't allow animals through the main gate.
The two guards laughed.
"They always say that, but they're suppose to let you through. If you want we'll let you through, so you can avoid traffic. Go get your kid and dog."
Yukio just stared. Toboe had seen the situation and acted on instinct. It seemed like a great idea, because they would get into the city within the hour. Yukio smiled and turned around. Golden-brown eyes glared into his own. Yukio took a step back in surprise. He could only see the eyes, cold glaring eyes. They seemed disembodied, and that scared Yukio even more.
'Yukio,' a sly feminine voice cooed, 'Sleep.'
With that Yukio promptly went unconscious.
Toboe walked away from the guards feeling a little light headed. They could gain entrance and they could go in unmolested. Toboe smiled and sang a little to himself. He was feeling giddy, back to their old tricks.
He was about to run away and turn back to his wolfish self, when he noticed Yukio's prone form not that far away. The humans at the gate couldn't see him, but to any animals' eyes, he was a beacon. White fur against the dark ground. He was lying down on the ground with his eyes closed. Was the young pup sleeping? Toboe lost sight of the guards as he doubled around, trying to make his way to Yukio without being seen. As he snuck towards the white wolf, a blackness, something dark as a shadow, moved. Flashing golden-brown eyes, the apparition of the night suddenly disappeared. Toboe paused, and then looked closely at Yukio. Was he seeing things or was that a wolf?
Before his question could be answered, Toboe heard an arrow softly thud into the ground in-between his front legs. He stared down confused, and realized his mistake. It wasn't an arrow. It was, in fact, a short and narrow crossbow bolt.
A sudden fear gripped Toboe. Even though crossbow bolts weren't effective against the guard's armor, an unprotected being, such as himself, could be killed by just one bolt. Even if the bolt missed any vital organs, he would most likely die of blood loss.
Using his jaws in a gentle fashion, Toboe picked up Yukio. He ran away from the spot where he had found the pup and was about to speed up when a quarrel sunk through his back left leg. Toboe realized the shooter was behind him now and then did everything in his power to keep moving. He slunk close to the ground, becoming almost invisible. A human, a small female with brown hair, popped out of the grass. A camo-colored crossbow was in her hands. She surveyed the area, obviously searching for the wolves she shot at. Standing next to her was the shadowy apparition. The disembodied golden-brown eyes stared at Toboe, shining with an inner flame. Toboe got away slowly, crawling almost on his belly, to hide his tan fur from the searching gaze of the little girl. She had looked oddly familiar like he had seen her somewhere before...
Silverstar paced back and forth. Their scents were still fresh, but she had to trust them to come back to her. She had an odd feeling in her stomach that they were going to abandon her and this quest. She knew that she was worried just because she had been thrust into the new position. Leadership was never an easy role to take.
Silverstar looked to the city once again. Her eyes scanned the walls, determining how high they were. They were easily a hundred feet in the front, but the sides tapered down to only about thirty feet high. The back walls were easily accessible and would be the perfect place to gain entry, if it wasn't for the fact that she had split up the pack before fully assessing the situation. They could've been in the city all ready.
Silverstar was just about to go and find them, when the scent of fresh blood filled her nostrils. She could tell from the sweetness that hung in the air, that it was from a wolf. She looked around and saw Toboe limping along with Yukio. The old tan wolf had the young wolf pup in his mouth and was dragging him towards her. Silverstar got up and met him.
'What happened?' she asked softly, letting Toboe know that she was worried and not angry.
Toboe shook his head, 'I don't know what's wrong with Yukio. He's just stunned but he won't wake up. I'm all right, I just got a hole through my leg. It didn't snap any tendons, and it went clean through. It'll heal just fine on its own.'
Silverstar nodded gravely. She trusted Toboe's judgment on his wound, but she checked it anyway. He was right, the wound would close on it's own and he would be fine as long as he kept it clean.
She turned her attentions to the youngest of the group. He looked peaceful enough, but she could tell something was wrong. She nudged him gently, his body felt warm. Too warm. She sniffed him over, and then looked at the city. 'Did you find a way in?'
'The back gate has only five guards, two on alert, two as replacements, and one as a runner. I'm not sure if that's exactly their jobs, but it would stand to sense.'
Again Silverstar nodded. Her cold amber eyes looked up at the moon and looked questionably into her face. As though all the world's answers rested there.
'Let him stay in the moonlight for a little. Make sure your leg is in the moonlight as well, then we'll go see this back gate. We'll come up with a plan as soon as we get inside.'
Toboe smiled at her. Even though she was young, and seemed unfit for the role, Silverstar was truly a born leader. She was holding herself back with her doubts.
Toboe laid down and basked in the moonlight. Yukio started to stir slightly but then went quiet again. Silverstar tended to him, making a mental note of his condition. Normal heartbeat, warm body. It looked like he was just stunned.
"Close but no cigar, Aiko," a young female human said as they walked into the city. Aiko, the young female Toboe had seen with the crossbow laughed harshly.
"You did no better. We were close to killing that white pup. You should have done him in when you had the chance."
The other female wrinkled her nose, "Not my fault either. You had the chance to kill that old wolf. You messed up as much as I did."
"But we could've followed his blood trail with your nose. We could've gotten all three of them if you hadn't decided to go into the city. Why did you make that decision anyway?" Aiko asked as she pushed her chin length brown hair out of her eyes.
"I don't know. I felt something in this city pulling me. Like I needed to be here. I don't trust those damn nobles anyway. How did they find out about us, and how did they know about those three wolves searching for paradise?" her mysterious friend asked. Aiko turned to her and looked at her fully. The young female looked to be about seventeen years old. Short black hair, no longer then a couple of millimeters, spiked up around her head. Beautiful green eyes shone with an ethereal inner fire. A loose black open shirt hung over her proud shoulders as a tight white shirt hugged her torso, revealing a breath-defying physique. Long baggy black pants hung from her waist, and black boots, combat boots, poked their way through the pants. A cigarette hung loosely in her well-formed mouth.
"Paradise? Don't tell me you believe in that fairy tale."
Smoke bellowed out of the mouth of the seventeen-year-old as she faced her friend. Aiko was shorter and was only twelve. She was orphaned and had no one. Her brown hair framed her elegant face and her gray eyes showed wisdom beyond her years. She had a black and white striped cotton trench coat that bellowed out from behind her. A plain brown shirt, too large for her petite frame, hung almost to her knees. Her crossbow laid hidden by the shirt, strapped firmly to her waist. Blue baggy pants hung off her legs while engulfing her bare feet. A defiant look formed in her graceful features.
"Paradise? It doesn't exist. Not for you humans, and neither for us wolves."
Yukio woke up suddenly. He bolted upright and stared about, first glaring at the shadowy figures of Toboe and Silverstar, and then softening as he realized he was, in fact, safe.
'You okay Yukio?' Silverstar asked, still looking at the city.
'Yeah. I'm fine. What happened?'
'I was hoping to ask you," Silverstar replied, standing as a human. Toboe was human as well and looked ready to do anything.
'What-?'
"Stay a wolf young un. We'll get you into the city. Stay close. And let me do the talking," Toboe replied. Silverstar smiled. She didn't feel up to talking with humans right now, they annoyed her.
Yukio nodded silently and then followed behind Toboe and Silverstar as though he was a good, obedient dog. The very thought disgusted him, but he wasn't about to complain. Easier to be allowed in and thought of as new people, then as wandering stray dogs. They might get information easier that way.
"Try not to limp so much," Silverstar whispered as they took their time walking. The wound had not healed quite yet, but Toboe insisted on going now. Better to get into the city sooner, so that they found a way out sooner.
Yukio followed them docilely. He yawned in boredom. They were taking their time because of Toboe's injury, but he still wished to hurry up. He liked being in the same form as them. It made it easier to talk.
They finally reached the back gate. One of the guards waved them in. Toboe nodded in acceptance and ushered Silverstar and Yukio in without a word. Once they got through the gate, Silverstar and Yukio went into an alley and switched guises. Silverstar hated being human, and Yukio wanted to be human. Toboe stayed human, a form he was used to keeping. He led Yukio and Silverstar down a main street, looking for a place they may stay. They had no money, the thing humans thrived off of, but they had two hard working "men". Most innkeepers needed voluntary help.
A young female human, who looked much like the girl Toboe saw but older, walked up to them.
"You're new here aren't ya?" she asked with a lazy smile.
Yukio, Toboe, and Silverstar immediately distrusted her. She smelled of blood and death.
"Yeah, we're new here. My son and..." Toboe paused before motioning to Silverstar, "our dog are traveling. We just need a place to stay for the night, because tomorrow we plan on leaving."
Silverstar visibly stiffened when he called her a dog. She glared at the human female, but besides her scent, nothing seemed wrong with her.
"You'll be needing a place to stay tonight. I'm sure my papa would allow you to stay with us. We need some residents. We have too many vacancies."
Toboe nodded even as Silverstar sent him a growl of warning. The young she-wolf didn't realize it, but the girl understood. She stared at the wolf.
"Your dog is unusual. It looks like one of General Miran's mixed breeds."
"General Miran? Who's he?" Yukio asked, stepping up from behind Toboe. The girl was skilled at keeping her reactions minimal, but Silverstar noticed her eyes widened a bit. As though she recognized him.
"He's the general under Noble Percival's orders. Where are you from that you do not know this?" the girl asked suspiciously.
"We come far from the south," was Toboe's reply. She waited for more, but then realized Toboe wasn't going to say more.
"Well, like I said, if you need a place to stay, my father's inn isn't that far away..." the girl trailed off. Toboe looked down at Yukio, or so it seemed. He was actually waiting to see Silverstar's reply. The wolf growled an agreement. Yukio nodded at the same moment, so that it looked like he was waiting on his "son's" word.
"What's your name?" Toboe asked as they followed her. The girl was short, with long black hair that almost reached her waist. Her eyes were gray, that was why she looked familiar, and her body was covered in brown garments of cotton. Her stride was wide, her legs were long, and it made her fast. Only Silverstar didn't have a problem following her through the busy streets.
"Aibiki."
'Tryst?' Silverstar snorted back to Toboe. Toboe said nothing to Silverstar, he couldn't. Instead he asked Aibiki, "We don't have much money, are you sure we can stay?"
'Money? What's that?' Silverstar asked, completely confused.
Money was a concept completely foreign to me. Wolves do not have a use for "currency", everything we have we either have been given by nature, or we procured it ourselves. I will never understand man, but I think it is the lust for this strange materialistic item that has created greed. But that is just my theory.
"I'm pretty sure we can find a way to use your services."
Toboe glared at the back of her head, as only a wolf can. Silverstar glared as well. This human girl was going to be more trouble then she was worth.
"Toboe!" Yukio wailed quietly. Toboe looked back to see the younger pup was looking far to his right, through the crowd at someone. Toboe turned to look, following Yukio's gaze, and found those eyes. The disembodied eyes, were actually not disembodied, but belonged to a black wolf. Pure black, as though she was made of the darkness itself. She glared at them, the three wolves. She paid no attention to the human girl.
"Who is that?" Toboe muttered.
'Obviously someone very strong and clever,' Silverstar replied. She caught a whiff of the stranger. A scent of decay and death, the pure strong wolf smell was drowned out by the human blood and fear that clung to her fur and body. Yet, it was not that scent that threw Silverstar for a loop. It was, in fact, the smell of depression that overrode every other smell, that struck Silverstar as odd. As though nothing in this world had ever struck the black wolf as joyful.
Silverstar paused in her walking, long enough to get a good look at the other she-wolf. The black wolf looked her in the eyes and then turned, vanishing into the shadows from where she came. Those cold eyes flashed once, and then disappeared. Silverstar knew then, that she was being hunted by this strange black wolf.
"Here we are," Aibiki said, pointing at a three-story building. Most buildings just stood, even a fewer amount stood tall, but only a handful had ever actually lurked. This was actually one of the few that did. Dark shadows played across the front, giving it a gothic appeal, but the fact that drunken lewd songs could be heard even from outside canceled out its darkness. The door opened, and revealed there where actually only five people in the inn, not including the two that stepped out to puke in the alley. Silverstar wrinkled her nose in disgust. This place was weird.
"Um... Which one of those gentlemen was your father?" Toboe asked, trying to hide his obvious disgust.
Aibiki sighed heavily, "He's the gentlemen in the red shirt puking in the alley."
Toboe politely sweat-dropped and said nothing, Yukio had a looked of pure confusion, and Silverstar used every ounce of self-control not to die laughing.
"Do you think it would be too much to ask him to stay while he's so deeply intoxicated?" Toboe asked as the two men stumbled back into inn.
Aibiki stared at him and smiled, "It'll be fine."
Aiko stared at her companion.
"They're staying at Hiroku's Place? Are you sure Shisou?"
Shisou, the black wolf and Aiko's smoking companion, was tapping a cigarette by the butt on the back of her palm. It was called packing. Once the cigarette was packed enough, she was going to smoke it.
Aiko wrinkled her nose. She hated when Shisou smoked, but they had been together for a long time. She could suck it up.
Shisou showed her teeth in something of a grin, but it was actually more terrifying then anything that Aiko had witnessed before. Shisou didn't smile. To see something of a grin on her face meant something big was going to happen.
"They're there. Aibiki is smart. She convinced those morons that it would be a good idea to stay at that crappy old inn. If you can even call it an inn. It's more like a tavern."
Aiko laughed. "Yeah, I know. It didn't take much to convince Aibiki to join us. I wonder why?"
"Why try to convince a sister of your trade to do what she likes? After all, we're not the only assassins in this part of the forest."
"We're not in the forest anymore, Shisou. No matter how much we both wish we were. How long do you think this hunt will take?"
Shisou sighed heavily as she lit her cigarette. "Why must artists always have deadlines?"
Toboe did a great job drying out the innkeeper long enough to get them a room. It ends up this would be his last night of business. They had to be gone tomorrow night. For now though, they were welcomed guests. Jugs of wine and other such intoxicants were passed around joyously. They had to be rid of them, and why not drink? His friends the innkeeper's were only too glad to help. Silverstar, Yukio and Toboe didn't join the festivities. They didn't have to. Five other people, for this time there were some women, not overly gorgeous women, but women nonetheless, that joined after the three wolves settled in.
'Do we have to listen to them all night?' Yukio whimpered, trying to use his paws drown out the very off-key songs and openly lewd suggestions. Not to mention the noises from the room next to their's. Very loud high-pitched moaning came from within.
'No, thank the goddess moon herself. We'll be leaving shortly,' Silverstar said, as she ignored the humans and paced nervously across the room.
'All of us?' Toboe asked, looking up from a whole chicken he stole from the kitchen. Silverstar had lost her appetite when she realized it was cooked, and Yukio refused on grounds that if he had to remove his paws he would puke whatever little was in his stomach. Toboe decided to eat his fill and leave it at that. After all, he had been dealing with humans for years. He had seen worse.
'I'm thinking just me and Yukio,' Silverstar admitted. She smiled wryly at Toboe, hoping he understood.
'Because I'm old huh?' Toboe said with a laugh. Yukio was doing such a good job of drowning everything out, so he didn't share their laughter, but Silverstar and Toboe laughed. They both knew that wasn't the reason and Silverstar was glad he realized it. The younger two were smaller, barely noticeable. They were at their prime, and what they were attempting to do took plenty of patience which Silverstar had and clever wit. which surprisingly enough, Yukio had Toboe would stay behind, act as a sentry, hold the fort, and give them an alibi. Plus, even though he wished to see the flower maiden, he rather stay out of danger for a while. His leg still hadn't healed all the way, and his mind was still reeling from the malady that almost over took him. He could endanger their lives.
'When are you leaving?' Toboe asked, through his teeth as he cracked through several ribs. Silverstar shivered at the sound. She was hungry, but cracking bones with no marrow was disgusting.
If the truth be told, I'm a hunter. I have never understood the allure of human food. I don't care how good it's suppose to taste. If I can't feel the excitement from stalking and over running my prey, then what's the point? Humans ruin food. They defile hunts like they defile the earth.
'Now,' Silverstar replied, looking as though she was trying hard not to gag. She walked up to Yukio and nipped his hindquarters. He yelped, very loudly, and finally removed his paws from his ears. He looked ready to bolt out the door, but that wasn't the exit they were using. Silverstar lead him to the two-story window and then nimbly jumped out in the alley where Aibiki's father had puked earlier in the evening. Silverstar made one mistake though. She believed that he had been the only one to puke in the alley.
She nearly swooned over the smell, but Yukio landed on her, so she had a distraction at least.
'Get off of me mutt!' she growled, referring to half dogs. Yukio, thoroughly disgusted with humanity in every aspect, gladly obliged and lead the way out. Silverstar followed slowly, only because she saw it as a tremendous waste of energy to run. She'll be needing it later.
'So, where is she?' Yukio asked as Silverstar caught up and took the lead. Two "stray dogs" were not suspicious, especially since they were male and female. She still kept to the shadows though, not wishing to be seen. Yukio followed diligently.
'Don't you smell her? The scent is as clear as a cloudless night. She is in the citadel.'
Yukio balked immediately at that. 'She's where!'
Silverstar looked back at him, 'It's time we visited the nobles.'
In the middle, and deep underground of the citadel of the noble Mito, there was a laboratory. In a globe of pale green water, there was a woman. Her red blind eyes stared at nothing, and her light brown hair fell flat out to the side. If she had been outside the vital fluids, her hair would have landed about her eyes. A strange garment, of flowing white platinum, hugged her shapely body. A small diamond, revealing the pale flesh below her chest, started between her firm breasts and ending just below her ribs. Another diamond, which began in the middle of her abdomen ended at the bottom of her navel. Two other such diamond shapes revealed her smooth thighs, both located at the front epicenter. Chains ran from her wrists and neck, holding her firmly in place.
General Miran smiled up at her cruelly. He was a short fat bald man, but he was not a general for anything. He was fast and strong, he could take down men, kill them, in one hit. Gray eyes scrutinized the mechanics of the machinery keeping Kinpa, the flower maiden, alive. His face was turned down in a grimace. He was not a handsome man, and his paunch did nothing to help even after being tucked into his dull green uniform. He also despised women, making him a bachelor with little or no feminine contact. He had no wife, no children, which is what made him perfect for his job. His only love was his work.
"General Miran!" a captain saluted behind him. Miran could tell it was a captain, after slightly turning his head, by the number of decorations. Miran's whole left breast was covered with medals and ornaments.
"What do you want?" he asked, his voice on the edge of annoyance. His voice was dull, as though emotion was impossible for him.
"There is a wolf in the city!"
"Shisou making trouble?" he asked. Shisou honestly believed she had fooled him into thinking she was a human, but he knew.
"No sir. I mean there are three other wolves in the city. We know that there are two roaming the streets right now, and it looks as though they are headed here."
Miran nodded slowly. "Prepare for them. Kinpa can not be taken away!"
The captain shuffled out as Miran looked back at Kinpa. "You will lead us to paradise."
Aibiki fidgeted. Of course she had heard of Saigo no akahaji. (A/N: I'm not sure if I put that right. It's suppose to translate to Ultimate Shame, but I could be wrong. Can someone please let me know?) They were the greatest assassins of the time. She just never expected to work with such professionals of the trade.
"What do you mean they left?" Aiko demanded. They had planned on getting this job done this night, but it would be harder if the group was seperated.
"It is as I said," Aibiki replied with her head down. She did not need rival killers angry with her. After all, they were after the same things.
"They're heading to the citadel now?" Shisou asked, yet again smoking a cigarette. With each syllable a small puff of white escaped her.
"Yes, Shadow of death, (A/N: this is the translation of Shisou's name) the smoking wolf," Aibiki replied using her full title. Shisou smiled cruelly and then looked at Aiko.
"The hunt begins."
TBC
A/N: Yup... Will Shisou join the others? Hmm... I don't know... Review and you'll find out... (- sigh-) My friend Rubi loves all you readers... She also happens to be crazy and has a crutch. Please review!