Disclaimers: Once more, the Wolf's Rain? It's not mine.

Toboe's POV

"We are free,

Come on,

Let's go"

same time as Kiba running off

Kuro and Tsume were running too fast for me to keep up with. OK, so maybe they weren't really running, but they were walking really fast. And arguing. A lot.

"Why don't you just shut up?" Kuro paused for a moment to sniff the air. "If we get caught by guards, it's your fault. I'll kill them, of course, but it'll be proof that you're a dumb ass." He turned a corner and sighed. "Damn."

"Who's a dumb ass?" Tsume asked with a chuckle. "How are you gonna open the door?"

"Maybe it's unlocked," I offered, walking towards the door.

"Yeah, and maybe I'm Human." Tsume rolled his eyes. "Who the hell would be stupid enough to leave this door unlocked—"

I tugged on the handle and the door swung open. Smiling up at them, I watched Kuro give Tsume a sadistically (learned that word from Hige) amused smile. "What's so funny?" I asked in confusion.

"Shut up," Tsume growled. "Say one word and- holy flying shit."

The walls were lined with cages filled with Wolves. All of them looked at us in blank shock for a moment, then started barking and howling until one of the older ones snarled, "SHUT UP! Do you want the guards to come?"

Kuro looked at the Wolf closest to us. "Have you seen a very scrawny pup with dark fur and white markings?"

"She's down near the end of the hallway—where are you going!" Kuro had taken off, Tsume close behind him. "Are you going to let us out, Pup?"

"O-oh…yeah, of course!" I glanced after the Tsume and Kuro. "Um…" Looking back at the cage, I looked up at the Wolf inside. "Where's the lock."

"Outside." He gave me a look that made me feel pretty darn stupid.

"I'll be right back, Tsume!"

"Where are you going, Pup?"

"To unlock the cages."

Kuro turned to me. "Where are the locks?"

"Outside." I peeked out the door and spotted a pillar with a lot of markings on it. "Um…Tsume?"

He pushed me out of the way. "Go help Spot."

I skittered back inside and stopped next to Kuro. "Where is she?"

"Right here."

"Hi?" She WAS scrawny, scrawnier than even me, with wide brown eyes flecked with green. "Kuro, who's he?"

"I'm Toboe. Were you part of Kuro's pack?" I grabbed the bars to peek at her in curiosity. If she was…

"Yes." She smiled up at me. "He's like my big brother. I know everything about him."

"Everything?"

"Everything…Like this one time—"

"That's enough chit-chat for now," Kuro said, clearing his throat loudly. "Where's the jackass?"

"Who? Oh, Tsume? He's figuring out how to open the cages." I turned back to the girl. "What happened?"

"Can't you go help him or something?" Kuro looked almost embarrassed. "I'm sure he won't be able to figure it out."

I was flung backwards as the gates flew open. The lights shut off and the door slammed closed. "What happened?"

Kuro slammed on the door as the Wolves leapt out of their cages, yelping for joy. "Hey, dumb ass! What the hell did you do!"

Tsume's voice drifted into the room through the door. "I opened the cages, Spot."

"And locked us in!" Tsume didn't answer. "You damn retard! Lock the cages again and get us out of here!"

"I broke the damn pillar, okay! The damn thing kept asking for a key. I don't HAVE a damn key!"

"We're locked in here?" Kuro twitched as the girl from his pack asked the question. "Kuro, are we gonna get out?"

"Of course we will." I hesitated, then looked up at Kuro. "Right?"

Kuro sighed. "Dammit." He pounded on the door again. "You still there, Scar face?"

"Where the hell do you think I'd go?" Tsume sounded really angry. "Pissed", as the older guys say.

"Break the door open."

"Why the hell can't YOU do it?"

"The door swings in, dumb ass! It'll open easier if you do it."

"YOU have a roomful of WOLVES!"

Kuro fell briefly silent.

"Point for me, dumb ass."

"I was giving you time to rethink what you just said, you cocky bastard." Kuro cracked his knuckles, trying to stay calm. "These Wolves are all half-starved, exhausted, and weak. They haven't been able to use their muscles."

Tsume went silent this time.

"Point for me, dumb ass."

"Tsume just said that," I pointed out, and Kuro gave me a death glare. "Sorry."

Tsume pounded on the door for what seemed like an eternity when the sprinklers suddenly turned on and a red light started flashing. "Warning, warning…an emergency situation has been reported in the" –suddenly the voice sounded happy- "lab station" –back to serious- "area. Please exit the building avoiding this area. Do not run, walk, to your pre-assigned exit."

The girl- Anatoria- clung to Kuro. "What's going on?"

"What did you do THIS time, asshole?" Kuro called through the door, eyes flickering with amusement. He winked down at Anatoria; there was something different about him.

"What did I do! DO I SOUND LIKE I'M IN THE DAMN LAB STATION AREA!"

"Another point for me," Kuro muttered. "Keep going, Tsume."

Tsume must've hit the door pretty hard, because it went flying open and he ran straight into Kuro, who ran straight into me. We laid on the ground, jumbled and confused, as all the Wolves poured out of the door and made a run for it.

"The door must've unlocked when the alarm was set off," Anatoria murmured, blinking through the water from the sprinklers.

"You think so?" Tsume demanded irritably and was smacked on the head by Kuro. "What the hell was THAT for, Spot?"

Kuro happened to be sitting on my legs, and he weighed A LOT. "OW! Kuro, you're hurting me! Get off!"

As Kuro stood, he sighed. "You're welcome," he muttered, shaking himself off. "We need to find Kiba and go."

"How much ya wanna bet he's in the lab area?" Tsume headed towards the door o the opposite side of the room. "Come on, Pup."

"How do you know it's that way?" Kuro demanded, holding Anatoria's hand.

Tsume glared back at him and pointed to a map on the wall. "I'm assuming the little beakers might mean there's a lab there." Kuro didn't answer. "That's right, Spot. Shut up. Point for me."

As we entered the next room, a vaguely familiar scent tickled my nose. "Do you smell that, Tsume?"

"Yeah…" He glanced around, tensed. "Where's Porky when ya need him?"

"Look!" Anatoria pointed across the room. "See? There's a lady there."

Kuro shook his head to get the water out of his eyes and squinted. "Let's go."

I ran ahead of them and looked down at her. She was so familiar looking… Her eyes flickered open and she gazed up at me. "It's you! Tsume, she's not dead!"

"Who?" He blinked down at her in shock. "From the alley? With the old man…?"

I smiled down at her. "I so glad you aren't dead."

She smiled up at me a little. "Yeah, well…something we have in common." Slowly, she sat up, her arms shaking with the strain before she collapsed. "Ugh…you guys had better go. Darshia got back a while ago. He's probably looking for you." She wiped her eyes and brushed her hair out of her face. "Go!"

I turned to Tsume. "We can't just leave her here!"

Tsume sighed. "Come on, Pup…"

"I won't leave without her!" I grabbed onto her bedpost. "You can't leave her to die again, Tsume!" She had saved our lives…wasn't it only fair that we did the same for her?

He sighed and picked her up. "Let's go."

She gave him a strange look. "You did leave me to die, didn't you?"

Author's Note: Love me desperately for updating. The Stress Fairy has dumped much in the way of stressful gifts upon me, and I still update for you people. Don't worry about Anatoria…she's not really much of a main character. Just a way to lighten dear Kuro's mood, make him a little more different from Tsume. I didn't really design him…blame my dear Torre-kun for doing that. I didn't design Anatoria, either…that would be dear Brittany-chan. And I have to write another Wolf's Rain fic in order to stick in Molly-chan and Jessi-chan's characters….oh woe is me…Anyways, comment if you wish, and don't hold your breath for another update.