Chapter 30:

Hitsugaya's eyes widened in horror.

Desperate to get Momo away from the pack leader, Shinji clamped his mouth down on Momo's shoulder. He wasn't thinking. He just acted. He just wanted her to stop what she was doing and listen to him. When she didn't obey, he responded instinctually.

He bit through Momo's uniform and into her soft pink flesh which immediately began to ooze red liquid. It wasn't deep but it was enough to draw blood which he tasted before he heard her scream.

Hitsugaya was the only one to notice that for a split second, Shinji's face had transformed into a hybrid wolf. It was just an instant, followed by instant regret.

Shinji removed himself from Momo's shoulder and back away, holding his hands over his mouth. He staggered backwards and fell to the ground in utter shock.

"No…" He looked at Momo's bleeding shoulder to Hitsugaya staring at him with wide eyes. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"

He just bit someone precious to his leader. He bit his Lieutenant.

He just wanted her to do as he said. When she didn't, he got angry. He wanted to make her listen. When he saw Hitsugaya on the floor, he was driven to protect him. He wanted to help him.

Hitsugaya didn't want to involve Momo. He didn't want more werewolves.

What had he done?

The Kido was gone and Hitsugaya stood and went to check on Momo's wound. She was too busy staring at Shinji in disbelief to notice until she felt the wolf lick her shoulder, treating it.

Hitsugaya looked from Momo to Shinji who was still sitting on the ground in a state of shock.

"I'm sorry."

Shinji lowered himself before the white wolf in apology and the wolf nuzzled the top of his head.

Momo watched the strange interaction in silence, forgetting all about her shoulder which, unbeknownst to her, had already healed.

The white wolf brushed against Shinji, looked back at Momo just once and faced forward as he hurried away. Shinji stood and followed it, looking back just once to apologize again to Momo before leaving the building with the white wolf.

"I can't believe you did that!" Hisagi shouted angrily once they reached the forest. "You bit Momo! Do you realize what you've done? You know what this means, don't you?"

Shinji whined, keeping his tail between his legs as he hunched over. He knew what this meant and he understood that he had done something he wasn't supposed to on a number of levels. It was wrong of him to attack someone like that under normal circumstances, and in doing so he just created a new werewolf.

Momo did not realize this. All she knew was that her Captain bit her in what could be assumed to be a violent assault. If she told anyone about this, he was bound to be in trouble. A stern talking to, time locked in a cell. Even if they didn't take things to extremes, everyone would be looking at him differently. He worked hard for people to see beyond his Vizard abilities and this could very well set him back. As with Momo, people might look at his behavior as warning signs of his Hollow side and worry he was dangerous. That he couldn't control himself.

He had also upset his leader and did something he knew Hitsugaya did not want him to do. He knew how he felt about Momo and knew he didn't want to involve her. He also knew how others felt about her and aimed to protect their sweet little flower who had been through enough trauma.

No matter how he looked at it, he had screwed up and felt terrible about it.

"It's alright," said Hitsugaya.

They looked at him in surprise.

"How is it alright?" asked Hisagi. "He…"

"I know what he did and it's alright. What's done is done. And it's easily fixed." Hitsugaya walked over to Shinji and nuzzled him. "There's a cure. We won't be like this forever. It can be reversed, for us and for Momo. And I get it. It was a stressful situation and you just reacted. You just wanted her to listen. You never intended to hurt her. She's fine. Her wound's already healed and it was never life-threatening. It's fine."

Shinji nuzzled him back, feeling better. He could feel Hitsugaya's emotions through the touch of their fur and was put at ease by the gesture. It felt good, nuzzling like this. The gentle brush of his fur against Hitsugaya's alleviated a lot of his stress. More importantly, he could tell Hitsugaya was being sincere.

He had forgiven him.

Shinji licked Hitsugaya's muzzle and brushed his head under Hitsugaya's chin, responding the way any wolf would. Without any further exchange, they understood.

Hisagi was more confused about the situation than their wolf gestures. That he understood instinctually. The Momo situation he needed clarification on.

"If Momo had alerted someone, it would have been bad. I needed to escape before anyone saw me. She wasn't listening to Shinji, so what other choice did he have in that moment?"

"He could have used Kido to stop her," said Hisagi, as if it were obvious. "You're a Captain. You should be able to do that."

Shinji flattened his ears. Honestly, the thought never occurred to him. Normally, it would have, but as a werewolf, it seemed his body and mind were locked in a constant battle over what impulses to obey: wolf or Soul Reaper. Things that made sense to one didn't always make sense to the other. All three of them had experience with this issue, so Shinji had hoped Hisagi would cut him some slack, having done similar things himself.

"I panicked, ok? I wasn't thinking. I tried talking to her and she didn't listen so the wolf half of me just… reacted. I wasn't attacking her. I was just trying to get her attention and my mind was just…"

"I was there, Hisagi," Hitsugaya explained. "I saw and heard the whole thing. I might have done something similar, but… I am the alpha wolf and he was doing what he was supposed to do."

Hisagi sat down without another word.

"Honestly, I've been tempted to bite her myself," Hitsugaya confessed. "I convinced myself not to because I thought it would do more harm than good. I didn't want to involve her. Training her will take time and we're already far ahead of her. She might be freaking out once it kicks in. She might go for help and with so many spies working for the vampire, it's dangerous for her to do that. We don't know who to trust and who might be listening."

Which was why they conversed as wolves because only another wolf could understand them. Or so they believed.

"But this might be a good thing. I thought it might give her protection. Now she can smell Byakuya and his servants before they get too close. She's faster and stronger now. The instincts might be an issue but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Overall, this might be good for her and us."

Shinji was in agreement. "You and I both know she's been wondering about what's going on and we've tried to explain it away but she doesn't believe us. Now we know just how much it's been bothering her. She didn't listen to me because she didn't trust me. She knows we've been holding something back. Now we have no choice but to explain things to her."

"What if she still doesn't believe us?"

"She'll have to, now that she's one of us."

Hisagi cared about Momo and didn't want her to be subjected to this any more than Hitsugaya. Now they had no choice. However, as Hitsugaya mentioned, this might be positive. Maybe this did give Momo an edge she didn't have before. It could protect her to a degree but, as they found out, the instincts were a double-edged sword.

"I guess we integrate her tomorrow," said Hisagi with a sigh.

"A new member of the pack," said Shinji, deadpan. "How exciting."

"I can't tell if you mean that or not."

Isane looked over the injured Soul Reapers lining the wall of the sickbay. They were all from the same Squad. "So… what happened?"

The men from Squad 11 had no answer, holding ice packs to their heads and faces. They had started fighting for no reason before doing their morning drills. Ikkaku wasn't around and Yumichika had taken to the tree in the yard, refusing to come down. Whenever he wasn't staring at himself in the mirror, he was in a tree.

That was about all they knew. After assembling in the yard, they started fighting. It made no sense, considering they had nothing to be mad about. They just started.

The only ones who weren't among them there Ikkaku and Yumichika. The men could offer no explanation for why that was. Isane proceeded to treat them, all the while wondering why those two had escaped. Having Squad 11 get into a fight wasn't surprising, considering their company's mentality. But if there was roughhousing going on, she expected those two to be involved.

As soon as she was done treating them, another group of Soul Reapers came in, holding their wounds and dragging their unconscious teammates under their arms. When asked what happened, they simply said that they had gotten into a fight and couldn't remember why. These Soul Reapers were from different Squads, mixed gender and varying in age. The only thing they had in common was that they were in the same location at the time of the brawl.

This was very strange and Isane was getting worried something was going on.

Yumichika brushed his hair aside as he ate the scraps of food left over by the brawling Soul Reapers. They had dropped everything to clash right there in the street while Yumichika sang to the birds from a tree. When he was finished, he found a lot of wasted food left on benches and in the grass and went down to eat it.

He paused, chewing the remains of what he believed to be a rice cake, to see that he wasn't the only one scavenging for scraps. Momo was helping herself to meat from the different containers on benches, leaving the ones on the ground alone.

"Good morning, Momo," Yumichika greeted her warmly.

She waved and stuffed a dumpling into her mouth.

He smiled, unrepelled by her behavior. "If you find any scraps of pork, toss it here. I love how it feels on my teeth. It better be tender, though. If it isn't, I don't want it."

Momo didn't answer him, eating.

Yumichika sprang from where he was, coming to rest lightly on the end of the bench she was eating at. It could hardly have been called flying, but that was precisely what he did. Momo didn't notice, too busy eating.

"My, my, you certainly are hungry today, aren't you?"

Momo didn't look at him. "I had breakfast but I'm still hungry. I guess I didn't get enough."

Yumichika watched her eat. He wasn't judging her. He just wanted to watch. He folded his arms behind his back and squatted down, looking very much like a bird.

His smile widened, giving her a loving look. "Watching you eat makes me feel hungry."

She ignored him.

He sniffed her hair. "What shampoo do you use? Your coat's so soft and shiny." He played with a strand of her hair.

Momo moved away from him, repulsed and confused. "Coat? And were you just touching my hair?"

Yumichika's fingernails were unusually long for a man. Yumichika always preferred to keep his short anyway, because he didn't want them breaking in combat. It looked like he had let them grow out to the point where they resembled little claws. No one had ever gotten this close to him to notice.

He pulled his hand back to tuck behind his back with the other. He smiled apologetically but it looked sinister for some reason. "Forgive me," he told her. "I didn't mean to offend you."

She looked at him suspiciously. His voice and mannerisms were the norm for him but something was different. He was always the most polite member of his Squad which made him stand out as much as his wardrobe but never had his dialect made him come off so ominously suave.

It wasn't frightening but it did make her uncomfortable.

Yumichika dipped his head to one side, giving her a coy look though his eyes suggested otherwise. It was a knowing stare which caught her off guard.

"It's just," he told her slowly, "you smell different today. I'm wondering if it's your shampoo."

"Uh, no," she said, leaning away.

His smile widened a little. "Alright." He gave her a cheerful look and said, "Never mind, then. I'm sure it wasn't you. It was a male voice, I'm sure. You just have similar fur, so…"

"Fur?"

"Well, it did. I suppose for you it'd be hair." He leaned in her face. "Though I'm not sure. After all, you do smell different to me."

Momo stood and backed away from him, flushed. "Just what are you saying? What are you doing? I don't need this right now."

Yumichika sprang from his perch and landed in the street, a lone feather fluttering to the bench from where he sprang. "Sorry," he said, raising his arms defensively as if to push her away. "I'm just saying."

Momo gripped her shoulder tightly where she had been bitten last night, though it no longer hurt. She had gone straight home to examine herself in the mirror but found nothing there. She knew her Captain had bitten her but there weren't any teeth marks and no blood. She couldn't understand why he had done that. It was so unlike him and not a very human thing to do. It seemed every male around her was becoming barbaric. She felt as if she were being targeted.

"I don't know what you're trying to do, but I don't like it, Yumichika. I'm having a rough time so just leave me alone." She promptly turned and stomped away.

Yumichika watched her leave with a stoic expression. Then he smiled and stuck his fingernail into a dumpling and raised it to his lips. His nails had become talons.

"I was almost certain she smelled like a dog, but it's a rather rude thing to say to a woman. I suppose beating around the bush does nothing to get me answers. My, that girl ruffles my feathers." He stuck the dumpling in his mouth, scraping it from his talon between his upper and lower jaws. "Only half as much as Ikkaku."

Shinji stood outside his office working up the nerve to go inside. It was decided that he would be the one to tell Momo what had happened and depending on her response, he would bring her to Hitsugaya for further explanation. He knew she was inside, based on her scent, but still wasn't sure how to go about this. Knowing what to say and handling the situation were two different things. He wasn't sure what to do if she ran or yelled for help.

Taking a deep breath, he went inside.

Momo jumped when she saw him enter and shut the door behind himself. She backed up to the far wall, putting as much distance between them as possible and making sure to put the window directly behind her as a means of escape.

The cold look she gave him had Shinji's sensitive wolf heart aching. He wanted to win her over and let her know how sorry he was, but he needed to push that aside for now and get down to business.

"About last night…"

"Stay away from me," she said firmly.

Her words hurt more than they should have. Ignoring her, Shinji went on.

"I'm sorry. And you're right. I have been lying to you."

She calmed down a little, hearing him admit this.

She knew all along that he had been covering something up and maybe now she was going to get answers. She decided to listen.

"I don't want there to be trust issues between us," he told her. "You're a perceptive girl. Not as perceptive as I am, but, still, you knew something was up and didn't take my word for it. Either I'm getting bad at excuses or you're better than I thought."

She looked at him expectantly, pressing him wordlessly for answers.

With a heavy sigh, Shinji confessed. "The truth is, I've been hiding it from you to protect you. But I can't do that anymore. Not because it isn't fair to you, but because now you're in the same boat as the rest of us."

"And?" she pressed.

"I'm sorry I bit you. I only did that because I needed to set the white wolf free. The truth is, that wasn't just a white wolf. He's the alpha wolf. And someone we both know." Shinji sighed again. "That wolf was Hitsugaya."

He could tell she didn't believe him. Not just because of the angry look on her face, thinking he was playing her for a fool, but just the vibe he was getting from looking in her brown eyes.

"He's a werewolf, Momo. And…" Shinji allowed his ears and tail to appear. "… so am I."

Knowing anyone would be skeptical without any proof, Shinji had decided last night that he would show her just that. A full transformation or a partial one would get the job done. She would have to believe him.

Momo stared at the ears and tail with wide eyes, not saying anything. Shinji was very good at reading people but in that moment, she was impossible to read. Whether she was shocked or scared or accepting or confused, he had no idea. He just let it sink in for a moment before putting them away and speaking again.

"I'm a werewolf, Momo. And, now that I've bitten you, so are you."

She still wasn't responding.

"I know it's a lot to take in, but it's ok. It was overwhelming for me as well. We can help you."

"I don't believe you," she said, finally.

Shinji needed clarification. "That we can help you?"

"I don't believe that you're a werewolf."

Shinji slumped over dramatically. "Come on, really?" She wasn't stupid but her skepticism must have had a limit. "Why don't you believe that?"

"Because they don't exist," she told him. She was calm when she answered but her eyes showed anger, as if offended that he would think she was that gullible.

"For crying out loud, Momo. I showed you my ears and tail. What more proof do you need? Do I need to change completely, because I can do that."

"You've lied to me about everything else and this is the most ridiculous excuse I've heard so far. Why should I believe you?"

"Touché." Shinji then said, "But I already told you that I lied and why. It's because I'm a werewolf and I don't want people knowing. We'll go to Hitsugaya and he'll fill you in on everything, ok?"

Momo refused. "It's probably some kind of trick. You've been doing all kinds of weird things. How do I know you're not going to try something?"

Shinji's eye twitched. "What would give you that idea?"

"You licked me, you bit me…"

"Ok, yes. But doesn't that further explain that I'm a werewolf?"

"No, it just makes you a freak."

Shinji moaned. "I ain't into that stuff. I get you're doubtful, considering everything I've been telling you so far, but why don't you believe me when I show you proof?"

"The ears and tail thing? You probably put on fake ones so make it look that way then took them off. A costume."

"Those were real! I can even turn into a full one if that's not enough for you."

"Why are you telling me this?" Momo asked, fed up. "You've been so weird these past couple of weeks and I can't take it anymore. I don't know if I can trust you. I don't know what you're doing or why or anything."

"If you don't believe me, will you believe Hitsugaya?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Unless he's in on the joke, too."

"It's not a joke. We're not pranking you. With all the weird stuff that goes on around here on a daily basis, this is the one thing you don't believe? Werewolves?"

Her stillness and frown were her response.

"I'm telling the truth. And I'm warning you because you're a werewolf now, too. I bit you, ergo, you're gonna be a werewolf."

When he saw that she still wasn't accepting this, he tried to make it personal.

"You've been craving meat, haven't you? You're hungry today, right? More so than usual."

She flinched and momentarily looked away.

"Even though I bit you, there's no wound. Your senses have gotten stronger. You feel like running. You feel restless and hungry."

"There… There could be many reasons for that."

Shinji bent down so he was on all fours. "Momo… look." With that, he allowed himself to change completely. Turning completely into a wolf, Shinji walked over to her to show that there was no trick. She backed away from him though that didn't stop his advance. He paced in front of her and brushed against her legs before changing back.

He stood, looked at her and scoffed, amused. He opened the desk drawer and held up a mirror.

"If you still don't believe me, try giving those a look and a good tug."

Momo's reflection depicted her with two fluffy brown wolf ears. She reached up and gave them a hard tug, feeling pain. They were real.

"I told you. Now do you believe me?"

She did and that's what caused her to panic. He stood, watching calmly as she let the reality sink in. She questioned, she ranted, she denied, she whimpered and whined, she paced, she pulled on the ears and the tail she now had, and finally she sought help.

She expressed an urgent desire to go to the sickbay for help and Shinji grabbed her arm, stopping her. "They can't do anything. But don't worry. A cure is in the works. You just have to wait a bit and talk to Hitsugaya."

"No, Unohana will know what to do. She can fix this. She can fix both of us."

"It's not safe to go there or for anyone to know."

"Why not?" she asked, pulling her arm free.

"Because the vampire stealing the blood has spies in the sickbay and all over the place. We have to be careful who we trust."

Momo gaped at him. "There's a vampire, too?"

"Yup. Explains a lot, doesn't it? I mean, who else would be stealing blood?"

Momo squatted down, holding her knees. This was a lot to take in so quickly. Shinji sensed this and sat down, putting his arm around her shoulders to comfort her. They said nothing during this time and oddly, that was enough.

Shinji and Hisagi stood by and watched as Hitsugaya filled Momo in on everything and answered all her questions. Sure enough, she felt there was a better solution and urged them to inform the other Captains or just go to the vampire and stop him directly. Once again, Hitsugaya explained why that was a bad idea.

"He has at least two Lieutenants and a Captain for a slave, plus a Third Seat from Squad 11 and the Stealth Force. He's got a level playing field and more power than we can handle without help. If he's able to break Kido that easily, there's no way we can restrain him. If the other Captains attack and fail, he'll make them into his slaves and then where will we be? It's not a good idea."

Hisagi and Shinji exchanged looks, already anticipating her next response.

"Ok, but there's got to be a way to stop the vampire. If we know who the slaves are, why don't we use Kido to stop them and weaken the vampire?"

"There's no way to do that safely," said Hitsugaya. "If we drug them, they'll be helpless, sure, but how will we do this to all of them without anyone noticing? And that won't stop the vampire from biting more people. Immobilizing his slaves will only leave a dent in his defenses."

"Yeah, but we can weaken the vampire by limiting their blood supply. His slaves are just a food source, right? And defense in the daytime."

"It's dangerous to do that," he explained. "There's nothing stopping the vampire from biting someone else, like I said, and if that happens, we run the risk of him taking too much because he's so hungry. He can gorge himself which could kill the victim. It's not worth the risk."

"Then we drug the vampire so they can't move or feed and…"

"We don't know what the drugs will do to him now that he's a vampire. They could do nothing or cause him harm. The slaves will also go berserk if they feel their master is in danger. If we can prevent friends from fighting friends, I'd rather take that option."

Momo opened her mouth to say something else.

"There's also no guarantee the Head Captain will see our way of doing things. If he or the other Captains feel they're a lost cause, they won't hesitate to kill them. We know the situation and we know they can be fixed, but you know how the Head Captain is. He might call for their execution. The vampire and his slaves."

"But… We…"

"If we attack now, it will only add it his power, put too many at risk, including ourselves and create chaos. The best thing we can do is wait until a cure is made and then make a move. All we can do right now is limit how many people get bitten, including ourselves. Eat plenty of garlic and he won't come near you."

Momo hung her head. It was a lot to take in, not to mention these new feelings she had as a wolf.

"Why don't we make an army of werewolves to combat his slaves?"

"Because it's hard enough keeping ourselves under control. We don't have time to train an army how to be a wolf or how to control themselves. There's also no guarantee that if they are bitten that they won't become slaves to the vampire."

Momo pouted. "Can you at least tell me who the vampire is? I still haven't been given a name."

Hitsugaya looked at the other two who made no indication either way.

"It might be best if you didn't know."

"What?" Momo stood up, her tail showing behind her. "How am I supposed to know who to avoid if I don't know who it is?"

"You mean how are you supposed to take matters into your own hands if you don't know who the target is?"

"I won't go after them! I'm not stupid," she barked.

Hitsugaya reached out and clasped either side of her face in his hands and pressed his forehead to hers. It was meant to be a comforting gesture and it seemed to be taken that way, seeing as how Momo stopped complaining and stood quietly.

"First things first," he told her, still holding her head to his. "We need to teach you how to be a wolf and control yourself."

They decided to start early. Taking time off to train, the foursome went into the forest during the day to show Momo the ropes. They brought a big lunch with them to eat after working up an appetite. It wasn't too big of a risk to do this during the day, seeing as the trees provided excellent cover and they could smell if anyone was nearby.

The boys shifted into wolf form but Momo was having trouble turning completely into a wolf. Hitsugaya encouraged her to let go and allow herself to feel free. Giving in to her new instincts, she was able to transform completely and they immediately started her training, taking the form of a game of tag through the trees.

It went on for hours, changing from tag to hide and seek and back. They hunted small animals, chasing them to their burrows or into the sky. They tackled one another, play-fighting, until they finally ended up in a pile on the forest floor, panting and laughing.

Pressed between her Captain and her childhood friend, Momo felt less stressed than she had in a long time. She felt like a little kid again, playing with the other children without a care in the world. She felt safe, nestled between them.

They had fun playing together but now it was time to eat. They opened their lunch boxes and drove in, eating like wolves. Shinji shared his meal with Momo, nudging the box over to her with his nose. Hisagi dropped a meatball onto her lunch box before eating the rest of his food.

Hitsugaya wondered if they did this because she was the only female in the group and knew how important she was to him. Perhaps it was just the pack looking out for all its members, including the newest addition.

After their meal, they changed back into Soul Reapers, gathered their empty bento boxes and started back to the office.

Along the way, they were greeted by several different Soul Reapers. None of them noticed anything amiss and that made Momo relax a little. She was worried people would be able to tell she was a werewolf now.

"Don't worry," said Hisagi. "As long as we don't change in front of anyone or act like a wolf, no one'll know."

Above them, a pair of eyes followed the foursome to one of the buildings.

Yumichika smiled, overhearing Hisagi's advice to Momo.

"That's the voice I heard the other day."