Chapter 3

"Not bad, not bad at all!"

Yuuma and the others have been practicing hard on their band. He was impressed as to how well everyone could sing and hold their own. "I don't know any bands that has every band member capable of singing." Drax said aloud. He then paused and began to think. "Maybe… just maybe…"

"Drax?" asked Eclipsa.

"I don't know if you guys are interested, BUT, if we do this, we got to practice a lot harder than we are now." He said.

Everyone was all ears as they leaned in. Drax over heard Amai last weekend when he was at his place. Not only are they getting ready to make a second movie, but there is a new reality TV show he is forced to do. "He's not happy about it to say the least, but Amai will be hosting a new show… a singing contest… well… more like battle of the bands. Winner gets a contract"

There was dead silence in the room. Yuuma paused as he thought it over. "It's no good for us, he will know who we are the moment we show our faces." He said and sighed in defeat. "There has to be a better way…"

"Dude, you never heard of a gimmick?"

Yuuma paused to the question as Drax rolled his eyes. "It's a persona we can make if we become a band, so we make costumes and fake names." Jason explained. But then smirked. "I actually like the idea…"

"But, what do we become?" asked Luna. "You know scales aren't easy to hide to say the least."

"Yeah, that's the thing, we got time so perhaps we will think of something later… For now, let's take a break." Their stomachs rumbled aloud as hunger was getting the best of them. Yuuma paused as he admired the sound proof room Alley added on last minute to the house. Father insisted upon it of course. As they ventured to the kitchen, Yuuma smiled as he found his mother already set out lunch. A big stack of sandwiches and various sides.

"You're the best, you do know that mom?" Yuuma said and smiled.

She paused and looked at him oddly. "Who are you and what have you done with Yuuma!?" she said in a joking tone. "You never sound this happy."

He shrugged his shoulders. "Perhaps I have an obtainable goal?" he said and began to partake in his lunch.

"Just remember to be cautious about your goal, we all want to hit Amai where it hurts, but we also don't need it to come back and bite us in the ass later."

"I know mom, we're mainly doing this for fun!" he vowed.

He was having fun, in fact, ever since the band formed and thanks to Drax's guidance, it's become something rather enjoyable to do. He sees the smiles on his brother and sisters' faces. Jason and Drax are also enjoying themselves. It's become a stress relief for him to say the least.

But also, it gives him solace to know he's good at something!

After lunch, they sat contently as they began to think of different songs to play. They could sing a whole range of them and knew that would give them a great edge if they do this contest. However, they need to make this 'gimmick' Jason explained earlier.

Just as he was wondering aloud, Yuki came home very suddenly. "Oh good, everyone's here!" he said.

"Yuki? What are you doing home? I thought Alley was going to keep you busy all day," mother asked.

"Oh she is, but I couldn't wait to try these." He took off the backpack, and began to shuffle through the things within until he found it. Taking them out he revealed rather proudly a set of sunglass frames with no lenses. "This… I couldn't wait to try!" he said.

The room was in an awkward pause. "Uh… huh…" Drax said rather nervously. "They are frames…"

"Put them on!" Yuki said without containing his excitement.

Yuuma reached and took a pair, he places them on but saw nothing was different. "Okay… now what?" he asked his brother.

"Tap the side of the frame, you should feel a small black button."

His finger felt along the edge of the frame, until he found it. Yuuma pressed the button, but still nothing changed as he hit it. When he turned to the others, their mouths dropped. "What?" then he felt it, something slipped over his brow, came down along the sides of his face and stopped at the bridge of his nose. He began to see a shadow of black before his eyes. His mother fetched a mirror as he peered into it.

"Whoa… I look like a wolf!" he announced.

His hair, and most of his face was covered in something, yet it gave him wolf like ears at the top of his head, his hair appeared long and unkempt from the back and maintained a dark black look. He turned to Yuki who couldn't contain his excitement anymore. "Isn't it awesome!" he said. "This is a mask for you to wear, it's for everyone. It occurred to me, after I heard about that new reality show on the radio and I KNEW you would go for it. This will let you compete! Amai won't know who you are it hides most of your features yet maintains a rather professional look!"

Everyone was wearing their glasses now, and they hit the button. Drax appeared like a white wolf, Jason, brown wolf. Luna was white with black markings. Eclipsa was grey.

"We're all wolves!" Luna laughed. "Just like daddy!"

Her mother snickered. "Well his name is Garou." She said. "So, what's the name of this band?" she asked.

They thought it over until Yuki said. "Raise by wolves."

They paused and considered it. Jason smirked and said. "You know what, I like it! I like it a lot!"

"Me too!" said Drax.

"I'm all for it!" said Eclipsa.

Yuuma smiled and nodded, "Raised by wolves, it's perfect!"

"Okay guys bring it in!" Drax called as everyone put their hands together in a circle. "Count of three, Raised by wolves. One… two… three…"

"RAISED BY WOLVES!" they shouted.

Yuuma turned to his brother and gave a very appreciative nod. "Thank you."

"My pleasure… oh I better get back. I borrowed the drone without asking!"

#

Melee smiled as the kids went back to practice, when Yuki left. Garou returned with Tempest. "That was a long jog!" she said. They have been gone since nine this morning and just returning at noon for lunch. She made more sandwiches and set up a spot for Tempest. He took a seat and ate as Garou lingered oddly against one of the fridges. She picked up on his odd stance and asked. "What's going on?"

"Tempest has something to talk about, I don't even know what it's about yet." Garou explained.

He was quick to eat his lunch when he sighed. "Oni has invited me to the sumo stables… however… he wants to meet you two first. An interview with the parents." He explained.

Garou's stance suddenly changed. He appeared rather stunned as he took a seat. "Shit…" he muttered. "It had to be him too…"

"Garou…" Melee asked in a concerned tone.

He began to twitch oddly in his chair before scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "Uh… you… remember my hero hunting days? Before I went after the heroes… I knocked over some dojos…" he said offhandedly.

Melee froze. "You didn't!"

"First one I hit…" he muttered.

"I don't understand dad… what are you talking about?" Tempest questioned.

Melee sighed. "Before I met your father… long before you and the kids were born, he went through a phase where he wanted to be a monster… he was still human at the time but was determined to change that by various misdeeds." She explained. "One of them… due to his genius combatant skill was to face off against strong opponents to build his strength. Apparently one of the first places he hit… was Oni's sumo stable…"

Tempest froze as he turned to Garou. "Dad… is this true?"

Garou took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, it's where I learned to keep my stance low, open palm strikes and using my opponents momentum against them. I laid them all out… I suppose the ironic part was after that… Oni retired as Yokozuna."

Tempest suddenly slumped back in the chair.

He appeared devastated to the news, Melee felt his heart breaking, his dream already dead in the water before he had a chance to pursue it.

However everyone jumped as Garou's hand slapped the table. "We're going, we are going to meet Oni, and I'll take care of it." He said with great sincerity.

Melee was even confused. "What are you planning?" she asked.

He shrugged his shoulders to her. "Nothing that will get me into trouble if that's what you're asking…"