Hige's POV

I grabbed the kid and ducked into a room as the gunshots rang out. Tsume was tearin' into these Elite Forces like it was nothing, so I figured we had better get out of the way. "You OK, pup?"

He was shaking as he gazed out at the battle, his pale brown eyes wide. "Why does this have to happen?"

"That's life, pup. Better get used to it." The door suddenly flung open and then I was staring down the barrel of a gun. "Aw piss."

Tsume's fangs tore into the soldier's shoulder, making the man cry out in pain. After a few violent shakes, Tsume sent him flying before glared down at me. "Coward," he snarled, blood dripping from his steel gray muzzle, and then he dashed off.

"Fall back!" the captain shouted, gesturing frantically. "We have what we came for, let's go!"

Tsume snarled and leapt at the crate where they were holding Kiba, muscles tensed beneath his thick fur. A soldier pulled out a knife and slashed, and then Tsume howled in agony and fell to the ground. Blood dripped from his blade as the soldier fled.

"TSUME!" The kid was by his side in a split second. "Tsume, are you OK?"

Tsume slowly stood, blood dripping from his muzzle. A gash was making a deep, jagged mark across his face, but I could tell that it didn't hit anything vital. I mean, are there even vital things in your face to get hit, except for maybe your eyes? "Bastards," Tsume growled, wiping his face with the sleeve of his shirt.

"Tsume-"

"Shut the hell up!" The kid shrank away as the other Wolf snarled at him. "Let's get the hell out of here before more of them come."

I blinked after them as they headed away, the kid following the Ass slowly. "Um, Tsume? They kinda took off with Kiba."

He froze for a moment, then started walking again. "Why the hell should I care?"

I jogged after him and stood in front of the stairway, blocking their way. "We can't just leave him! What do you think the soldiers'll do to him?"

Tsume's eyes narrowed dangerously. "If you wanna help him, Porky, you might want to start following them. It would be a shame if they scared up his pretty face."

"He might be right, Tsume," the kid whispered, sounding smaller than he really was. "He could be in really big trouble-"

"Shut up Toboe! He's none of my concern."

"I wasn't any of your concern either, but you helped me." Toboe clung to the kitten tightly and looked up at Tsume in defiance. "And he wasn't your concern"- he pointed at me- "when you saved him. So why won't you help this Kiba guy?"

Tsume turned away. "Something about him tells me he's dangerous..."

I shrugged and put my hands behind my head. "I got that impression too, but something was different about him, ya know? Something that draws you to him..."

"You sound like you're in love with him," Tsume said dryly, still glaring at me. His wound had finally stopped bleeding, but he looked just as pissed as when he first got cut. "Go save your boyfriend yourself."

I rolled my eyes. He really was an ass. "Sorry, I'm completely straight, and I can't. Besides, you feel it too, that sort of strange, non-romantic attraction."

"Why can't you save him?"

"Because my teeth aren't cut out for that sort of work. And you know I can't fight worth a damn. Why else do you think I'm always running away? Besides, Kiba needs you."

Tsume sighed in aggravation. I was surprised he hadn't tried to rip my throat out yet. "If I try to save him, will you get the hell out of my way?"

"How else are you going to follow him?" I asked with a grin, moving out of his way. "I won't completely abandon you- I'll be a distraction of some sort."

"Good to know you can do something other than eat," he growled, and leapt past me down the stairs.

"Of course I can!" I said cheerfully as I followed him with the kid in pursuit. "How else could I have survived high school?" When he didn't answer except for an unimpressed grunt, I thought for a moment before adding, "You probably don't have much experience with school, do you? They probably kicked you out."

"I dropped out," Tsume snapped, then froze. "Sons of bitches!" His motorcycle was destroyed, glass everywhere from his windshield.

"You can probably run as fast as that thing could drive," I pointed out. "No worries."

"I can," he growled back, turning to give me yet another glare, "but how will you keep up, Porky? And the kid can't run that fast either." Tsume turned to the pup, who was trying to shield the kitten from the rain with his jacket. "You should get home, boy. This is too dangerous for you."

Toboe blinked through the rain up at him. "I...I don't have a home."

"Join the club," I said with a laugh. "How old are you anyway, kid?"

"Twelve..." he murmured, looking embarrassed for some reason.

"You really are a pup," I said with a shrug, sticking my hands in my pockets. "What about you, drop out?"

"Who the hell cares?" Tsume snapped in aggravation. "Don't we need to save pretty boy?"

"I almost forgot," I said with another little laugh. "His name is Kiba. And I'm Hige, by the way."

"Introductions can wait. Did either of you see which way they went?" Tsume covered the cut on his face with his arm. I betcha that thing was hurting like there was no tomorrow.

"I didn't see which way they went, but I can smell which way." I sniffed for moment, then came up with Kiba's wild, jerky smelling scent. "Let's go!" I took off to the East, Tsume and Toboe close behind me.

It didn't take long to reach where the soldiers had come to a stop. There was a protest in the streets over the increasing hold of military rule, and the truck with Kiba in it couldn't get through the crowded streets. And the soldiers were getting pissed.

"Get the hell out of the way! We have dangerous cargo!" The soldier that was yelling was waving his gun as he shouted. "Do you all want to die?!"

"Would Kiba really kill them?" Toboe whispered, staring at the mass of really pissy people.

"Nah," I said with a shrug. "He might kill one or two soldiers, but he'd leave the crowd alone. Waste of energy."

"Cause a panic," Tsume ordered Toboe, who looked at him like he was crazy. "Change into your Wolf form and scare the piss out of the crowd. I'll take care of the soldiers. You get pretty boy out of the cage."

"How the hell am I supposed to do that?" I demanded, pulling my hands out of their pockets. "I don't have the key or anything!"

"Find a way to break the cage." Tsume wasn't the most patient or understanding Wolf that I had met. "Now go!"

Toboe shoved the kitten into my hands and dashed down to the city, his scraggly little brown body looking remarkably out of place.

"He could get hurt," I pointed out.

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." A scream of terror rose over the noise of the crowd. "Go!"

I ran after Tsume, waited until he had ripped off the first soldier's helmet, then dove into the truck. Kiba was sprawled out in the iron cage, eyes half pen with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. Those were some strong tranquilizers. "Hey, Kiba!" I tapped his nose. "Wake up!"

His eyes abruptly shot open all the way, wild and terrified as he gazed up at me. "HIGE!"

"Take it easy, dude, I'm fine!" I had fallen backwards in shock and was feeling really stupid. "Those tranquilizers most do some weird things..."

Kiba's eyes cleared and he blinked at me in confusion. "Hige?"

"Yeah. I came to get you out of this thing, but I'm a failure so...I'll just cheer you on."

Kiba slowly stood and clamped his teeth on one of the bars on the cage, a low growl escaping from his throat. His golden eyes were burning with a very passionate rage. It was almost scary, hearing the screams outside, Tsume fighting, and Kiba chewing on the metal. Abruptly, Kiba let go of the bar and started slamming his shoulder into the door, shaking the whole truck. The bottom of the cage had been nailed to the floor of the vehicle.

"Bummer." I glanced around to find something to break the door open and burst into a grin. "Fire extinguisher- awesome. You're really lucky, Kiba."

"If I was lucky I wouldn't be in this cage."

"Wow, glad to see you're so optimistic." Taking the extinguisher, I started beating at the lock when Toboe stumbled in.

"Hige?" He wiped his mouth, which was trickling blood. "What's taking so long?"

"He's bolted down to the truck- what happened to you, Pup?" I hefted the extinguisher over my head, almost fell over, then hit the lock as hard as I could as Kiba threw his shoulder hard into it one last time. The door flew open and Kiba leaped out, still shaky from the tranquilizers. "No need to thank me."

"Let's go." Kiba leapt out of the truck, tearing into a soldier who was pointing a gun at Tsume.

I went to leave when Toboe grabbed my arm. "Where's Ame?"

"Where's what-a-what-a-who?"

"The kitten!"

"Am I supposed to know?" The kid blinked at my answer, changed into his Wolf form, and took off. "HEY! Where are you going?!"

Toboe vanished down an alleyway. I went to go after him, but was grabbed by Tsume. "Let's go, Porky."

"Wait! The K-"It was too late. I was being dragged away.

Boy, I hoped that kid was alright. I also hoped that Kiba had some more jerky on him.

RhapsodicMelody: Sorry it took so long!!! School and Driver's Ed and stuff...whew...I have up to chapter 11 written down in a notebook of mine, so....don't abandon this story!!!! Next chapter will add a new character, as well as some old ones that we all love...anywho, leave a review, and I'll love you!!!!