Disclaimer: I STILL DON'T OWN IT! Why do I even put these things up here?

Kuro's POV

"On no, this is probably also a parody

And to a stranger, definitely a fake story…"

It was quiet then. Kiba was sitting against the sign, looking at nothing, thinking, as always. Tsume was sipping on a Red Bull, glaring at Hige, who was snoring and scratching. Toboe was curled up close to Kiba, sleeping soundly. I was wishing that I was somewhere else. No one wants to go to Hell, especially if they'd been there before.

I stood up, restless. Even though I should have been sleeping to save up energy, my body just wanted to move, to get away from where Kiba had us going. Why the hell I was following him was a mystery, even to myself. Yes, I could smell the Flower, but any Wolf who had been in a pack knew that here was only one Wolf who could open it, if he had the Key. Whatever the hell THAT was.

"Did you see her?"

I turned to glare at Kiba. "She wasn't there when I was."

"Did you see any of them?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Tsume crushed the Red Bull can in his hand, looking at us in annoyance. I liked him much better unconscious. "Them? I thought we were after ONE Flower."

"There is more than one Flower there." Kiba was watching me closely. "Why?"

"One reason they call it Hell." I started walking away, refusing to look at them.

"Where do you think you're going, Spot?" Tsume growled, tensing.

I ignored him and kept walking. Like I would tell him the time of day. The can of Red Bull hit the back of my head and I felt my eye twitch. "Don't piss me off."

"Don't blow me off. Where are you going?" He was following me now.

"Why the hell do you care?" My foot hit something. Glancing down, I saw one of the damn trackers that the soldiers use, but it didn't smell like a soldier. Leaning down, I gave it a quick sniff. It smelt like a Flower.

"What the hell…?" Tsume sniffed at it as well. "It doesn't smell like a soldier."

I glanced down at the obvious footprints. Whoever dropped the thing was a moron. I knew what they were up to.

"Let's go." Tsume started following the prints, tossing the tracking device aside.

"You really are a damn idiot."

Tsume glared at me. "You got a damn death wish?"

"They want us to follow them."

Kiba nudged Toboe. "Wake up."

"I'm tired." The pup pouted and rolled away. I felt almost sorry for him, so small and unassuming, but he tried so hard… "I haven't even had two hours of sleep."

I jumped when Hige's butt started playing a song—a song I actually liked. "Get that idiot's ass to stop singing."

Hige sat up and put a weird shaped piece of plastic and metal against his ear. "Mom, you need to stop calling at three. You know that's my nap time."

"Mom?" I repeated, frowning. "What the hell is that thing?"

"You've never seen a cell phone before? I don't know if I should be amused or ashamed." Tsume definitely looked amused. Damn smirk. "Where have you been?"

I glared at him, pissed off for being embarrassed by something like him. "I've never been in a city. How the hell should I know what the hell a 'cell phone' is?"

Toboe sat up, rubbing his eyes. "I don't like Hige's cell phone—it's always waking me up." He gave Hige what I suppose was his equivalent of a death glare; the kid was so nice, he couldn't scare anything.

"MOM! I know that I'm the sexiest thing alive, but I'm NOT getting laid!" Hige stuck his tongue out at Toboe. Maturity at its finest. "No, I won't be home for a while…Where am I going?...Sorry, Mom, uh…t-theYouthleadersaysnomoretalktime, loveyabye." He hit some strange button and the "cell phone" beeped.

"Youth group?" Tsume laughed. "What a bunch of Jesus loving fools we are."

"Shut up you sarcastic, impulsive failure of a mutt." I turned away. "Are we gonna follow the prints or not?"

"We'll follow the prints." Kiba brushed past Hige and started following the indented marks.

"We don't know where they're leading or who left them," Tsume mumbled, but followed anyway. "And who the hell elected YOU leader of this group? I don't remember voting."

Toboe was close behind Tsume. "Well, Kiba's the one who knows about Paradise and can smell the Flower…"

"All of you can smell it. It smells different to everyone." I eyed the prints; they belonged to a human, male, in combat boots with a nervous, sporadic step. Someone was scared.

"Really? What does it smell like to you?" Toboe was perhaps one of the nosiest pups I had ever met.

"It's supposed to smell like Paradise." Even if he was innocent and the nicest Wolf I'd met thus far since my pack died, it was none of his damn business what I smelled.

Kiba froze at the opening of a cave. "There are people in there."

"We should send a scout." Tsume glanced in my direction, followed by Hige, Toboe, and finally Kiba. "Go fetch, Spot."

I used to think that no one deserved to go to Hell. This guy was changing my mind. "Call me Spot again and I'll add another scar to your pretty face." Tsume opened up his mouth to answer, but I was already in the cave. Point for me.

Whoever was in the cave smelt musty and nervous. They were expecting us, but they were scared, too. Humans are so stupid. Purposely leave a trail for something to follow, then wait in fear for something you're expecting. I kept as high up in the cave as possible, knowing they were lower than I was, and kept following my nose. Someone had lit candles; fragrant smoke was drifting near the top of the cave. Damn smell made me want to sneeze.

"Maybe they didn't see the trail," a small voice said nervously from below me. The man was small and dressed in red and white. "What if they don't come?"

"They will. They know where we are and that we are their faithful servants." It was a woman that said this; she was sleek and slim, with shimmering white hair that reached her waist. "They know we will help them."

"Of course, Priestess." The man bowed low.

"They are nearby, looking for the Flowers." She turned away, her long robes twirling around her.

My eyes narrowed. How the hell did she know about the Flowers? She was a human- none of them knew about Paradise or the Flowers besides Darshia, and I didn't even consider him human. I had heard enough; turning quickly, I ran back towards the group.

"What'd ya see?" Toboe asked, running to greet me as I exited the cave.

"Did they have food?" Hige asked, patting his growling stomach.

"They didn't have food. And they knew about the Flowers." I turned to Kiba as I said the last part; he frowned and started walking towards the cave.

"Do you think they know where she is?" Tsume asked, bumping shoulders with me as he passed. "What if it's a trap?"

"Then we kill them," I said simply.

Hige started laughing. "Ah, Kuro! You try to act like you have a sense of humor—that's really funny! 'Then we kill them'! Yeah, right…And you weren't joking." He ducked his head, looking embarrassed. "Why the hell would they want to capture us or kill us, anyway? Were they soldiers?"

"Kuro would have gotten rid of them if they had been." Kiba shifted into Wolf form, his white fur shimmering dully.

Toboe sighed and followed his lead, changing into a scrawny, tawny brown colored Wolf. His scrawniness made my heart twist—one of the old members of my pack had been that thin. After shaking himself, Toboe cocked his head at me inquiringly, his tail starting to wag. I simply shook my head, changed into my Wolf form ,and cut off Tsume, who was trying to follow Kiba. Two points for me.

When we reached where I had found the humans, I heard Tsume let out a low growl. He obviously didn't like the look of the humans. His fur was standing up on end, his lips curled back in a silent snarl. Even to me he looked a little frightening. A little. Like hardly at all. "Spot was right," he growled, still in his Wolf form. "Let's kill them."

"NO!"

Toboe's panicked outburst echoed off the stony walls and made the humans look up. Kiba tensed, a growl escaping from his throat. He was nicer than I was—If I had had my way, they would have been dead as soon as I saw them.

"My lords!" The woman flung herself on the ground, followed by the man. "Finally you have come!"

"Lords?" Hige repeated, scratching the back of his head.

"What the hell are they talking about?" Tsume demanded, eyes flashing.

"Apparently, they worship Wolves." Hige grinned. "That means that they'll feed us!"

"Shut the hell up." I made a face; Tsume had said it at the exact same time as me.

"What do you think, Kiba?" Toboe asked, looking at the White Wolf.

Kiba sat gazing at the humans for a moment, then hopped down and eyed them. "Who are you and what do you want from us?"

Hige sniffed a moment, squinting at the man, before grabbing my arm. "Hey! He's the guy—that one guy who bugged us and gave us the piece of paper! It's that dude!"

I jerked my arm away, hoping that he hadn't given me fleas. "I have no idea what the hell you're talking about."

The man looked excited, starting to tremble with excess energy. "My Lord remembers me?"

"Yeah! You still smell like hot dogs." Hige felt my unimpressed look and seemed to shrink. "Hey, I'm off my eating schedule. Give me a break. Don't hate on the super sniffer."

The woman slowly stood, her movements long and graceful, effortless. She fixed us with a piercing gray stare, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Something about her was not natural. "My Lords, we are your faithful servants. We wish to assist you on your journey to Paradise."

"How the hell do you know about Paradise?" Tsume demanded, bristling as much as I was.

"We have found the Book of the Moon. We know the truth of your pure forms and the Flowers."

"Where is it?" Kiba asked softly but passionately. "Where's the Book of the Moon?"

The Priestess pulled a small, worn book from her robe. "Here you are, my Lord. The Text of Truth, the Book of the Moon."

Kiba took the book and examined it. Even from where I was standing, the ancient smell of Lunar Flowers was strong. "Where did you find this?" He carefully turned the Book in his hands, gently running his fingertips along the cover of it.

"My great grandmother found it years ago. She learned its way and taught my grandmother, my mother, and then my mother taught me. My daughter is learning now."

"Congrats. Kiba, let me see it." I held out my hand; he eyed me for a moment, reminding me of what I had said to Toboe: "You don't trust each other. One person isn't a pack." Slowly, he offered the Book to me. The cover was worn and rough, but it was warm in my hands; the scent of the Flowers was overwhelming.

"Will you help us save a Lunar Flower?" Kiba asked them, eyes narrowing as he gazed at them.

"You mean the One?"

"Ooh! Like in 'The Matrix'! Those movies were awesome, man…But I don't think that the Flower's name is Neo, lady." Hige's cheeks were really red. "I need to stop with these outbursts. I'm the only one here who has any knowledge what-so-ever of pop culture."

Everyone stared at Hige in silence for a moment, then returned to the matter at hand. "We will help you save her." The woman's eyes met with mine. "He will lead you to where she is, for now."

I felt a growl escape from my throat before I returned to the Book. Carefully, I flipped through the pages. My eyes scanned each page, unable to read them, but searching anyway—WAIT! I stopped at a page and stared blankly at the picture. It was Darshia, creepy-ass grin and all, but he had both eyes. And one of them looked like a Wolf's. "Kiba, look at this."

Tsume looked over my shoulder before Kiba even had a chance to turn. "What the hell! That's Darshia!"

Hige peeked over my other shoulder. "'Children of the Great Spirit, this demon, I tell you, will lead you to false Paradise, to Hell on Earth.'" He raised an eyebrow quizzically. "Weird writing style. Kinda ironic that Darshia happens to run a place called Hell, eh?"

"It's not irony."

"No duh, Kuro. Just tryin' ta lighten the mood, ya know? Let's keep away from that place. If some kooky religious book can mention that guy as a demon, I'm thinking he might be bad news."

"What else does it say?" Kiba asked, face unreadable. He was like a damn talking wall.

"'Only one pack shall survive Hell, and from it shall spring the Tainted One, who has ingested Evil. This Evil is necessary to enter Paradise.'" The woman nodded. "The only way to find Paradise is through Hell."

"That 'Great Spirit' thing had one twisted sense of humor." Hige turned to Kiba, who was looking back towards the entrance of the cave. "What do you think about all of this, Kiba? Are we still heading for Hell?" He scratched his ear furiously, looking annoyed.

"We're going," Kiba said simply.

"Where are we going, Hige?" I asked calmly, turning to gaze at him.

"Paradise." He kept scratching.

"And what did the Book say?"

"You'll reach Paradise through Hell."

"So why did you ask that dumb-ass question?"

Hige glared at me. "I already knew that answer, alright? I was just hoping that maybe we wouldn't go there. I mean, does anyone here seriously want to? Let's see a show of hands." No one moved. "That's what I thought." Tsume's fist connected solidly with the back of Hige's head. "OW! Piss, that hurt! YOU want to go to Hell, Tsume? You'll fit right in."

Tsume turned away. "I don't even think this Paradise exists. Why would I go through Hell for something that's not even real?"

"Hell is real," I growled. Everyone turned to look at me, the Priestess with a hint of shock. "If Hell is real, and it's in this book, who's to say that Paradise isn't? I've seen Hell and Darshia, I've smelt the Flowers. Now I'm waiting for someone to open Paradise." I closed the Book of the Moon. "Stop being such a hard-headed bastard and give it up. Paradise is real."

"So what are we waiting for?" Hige asked.

"Nothing," Kiba answered. "Let's go."

"I knew I wasn't gonna get any sleep," Toboe muttered, ten sighed and followed Tsume and Kiba towards the front of the cave. Towards Hell. And then, towards Paradise.

Author's Notes: Well well well…. I've updated a lot recently. There's not much else to say, I suppose, other than that I've finally finished the first notebook that I wrote all of this in. I have a second one, ready to go. Sorry if you don't appreciate the new characters…I figured that if they were reborn, they would be certain to meet new people. Only two of them are majorly important to the plot, and the next chapter will be from an OC's POV too. You'll recognize her, I think. She's shown up a few times. Hope you enjoy, and leave me a comment!