Tetsuya had spent the next few days exploring the area, with the twins as guides to the valley. He knew there were at least three villages in the surrounding area, far enough, so the humans had no idea of the wolf packs' whereabouts. He felt compelled to at least visit the villages.

He decided to enter the largest, the beautiful city of Hinoti, where he would not be easily recognized, and after much debate, he decided to take the twins after hours of their unrelenting pleading.

He decided to keep this from Ryota knowing he'd probably say something against it but the pups were eager to see the human village. He had to think of a reason for the pups' mother, Minagi, she was very protective of the pups but she knew Tetsuya well now and he may not even need an excuse.

He entered the village in his human form, carefully avoiding Ryota, but he now had his own fan group. A group of older female pups who thought Tetsuya was the absolute best. The group of girls waited where Tetsuya had woken up earlier before, he'd thought it was annoying that they could see so much in him. He let out a sigh, wondering what they would do today seeing that he'd be gone for much of it.

He slunk through the village carefully, making sure not to receive any 'unwanted attention'. With Minagi in sight, he knew it would be simple after this, So close…now just to think of a good excuse…, he continued on, when he suddenly saw a red streak in front of him. It was no use, the collide wasn't too loud, but they did receive Minagi's attention. Tetsuya knew that red fur anywhere; he rubbed his head lightly as the two wolves were on the ground,

"Takeo, it's nice to see you around."

There was now a boy in front of him groaning lightly also rubbing his cheek, "Hey, Tetsuya…where are you going? To see Minagi?"

He nodded, as he looked up, as he saw the she-wolf give him a strange look, he smiled and waved lightly and returned his gaze to Takeo.

"Yeah, I just wanted to tell her something."

The pain subsided but he noticed the boy seemed flustered; Tetsuya raised an eyebrow and looked at him curiously,

"I didn't hurt you that bad, did I? I'm very sorry."

"No, it's not that…"

"Well, what is it?"

The boy stared at the ground, it looked as if he was debating over something, and he looked up at Tetsuya,

"Okay. Promise not to tell anybody?"

Tetsuya tilted his head, "Of course. I would never break a promise from a friend."

The boy cheeks reddened, "I…um…sort of…like Minagi…"

Tetsuya looked back toward the she-wolf who was now doing something on her own, forgetting about the two all together. He stood up and grabbed the boy's hand and lifted him up off the ground.

"Do you now?"

He wondered how old Takeo really was and if he liked Minagi, where was the twins' father. He looked back, toward him and smiled,

"I'm glad you trust me enough to tell me, and I promise, I won't tell anyone."

Tetsuya turned to leave, but was soon stopped as he felt a tug on his shirt by Takeo. He turned around back toward the boy, who seemed determined.

"I told you why I was here. Now you have to tell me your reason. It's only fair."

Tetsuya let out a laugh, "I guess that's fair. Now you have to promise me you won't tell anyone either."

Takeo nodded, "I promise."

"Shinji, Taro, and I are heading over to the Hinoti village soon, and I have to give Minagi a good excuse to where I'm taking them."

Takeo nodded, "Really? Mind if I join you?"

Tetsuya thought a moment and soon nodded, "You may join us, and it would probably take most of the day. Do you have any plans later?"

Takeo shook his head, "None that I know of."

Tetsuya nodded, "Okay, if you can, go find the twins and ask them to wait for me on the path heading toward Hinoti."

"Alright." The boy soon took his leave and disappeared down the path, Tetsuya turned toward Minagi.

She had also acquired her own human form and looked as if she were gathering something from the ground. He stepped forward into the small clearing, where her auburn hair glowered from the sun's rays. He saw she was gathering a type of plant, he wondered what she would do with it next. He formulated a plan and decided to begin,

"Minagi?"

She turned and her amber eyes turned toward him, her eyes were rich and beautiful and he almost couldn't utter the next word. She's extremely beautiful…and young…I can see why Takeo liked her in the first place….

"May I help you, Tetsuya?"

"Um…"

He forgot what to say but it soon came flooding back to him and he regained his composure,

"Forgive me. I wonder if you would allow me to steal away your children for the day?"

She laughed, "I don't mind, just be sure to have them back before nightfall."

"Thank you. May I ask why you are gathering plants?"

She looked at the leafy, green plant in her hand, "This is an herb. One of the wolves has a terrible stomach ache and this will alleviate his pain for the time being."

"Really? I wouldn't have known."

"That is why I'm assigned the task of gathering it. No one really knows what the power of plants can do. All they rely on is the meat they steal, but knowing the earth you live on is very important…to me anyway. I'm sorry, but I must be wasting your time. You don't want to hear me talk about greens anyway…"

She turned away but Tetsuya smiled,

"You aren't wasting my time, it is why I asked, I wanted to know; you have some useful knowledge, Minagi. Maybe I could hear your complete story of herbs and their uses someday; I anticipate the time that day arrives. For now, I must take my leave."

"As did I, Tetsuya, be sure Shinji and Taro are safe, though I know with my heart you'd keep them safe with your life."

"And I will."

Tetsuya began walking toward the trail leading toward the Hinoti path, thinking of Minagi, as questions flooded his mind. She seemed extremely tense before…but now it's as if she's relaxed around me. He smiled as he saw Takeo and the twins, he waved, grinning widely.

Taro was the first to run toward him, followed closely by Shinji, "Tetsuya! Are we ready?"

Tetsuya brought a finger toward his lips, "Now we mustn't be too loud."

Taro received a light hit from Shinji, "Sorry…"

"It's quite alright. Now then, let's see if you have been practicing your shape shifting."

He picked up Taro first, he was light but still wasn't entirely too small, he examined him closely. "You look perfectly human, Taro. I would have never guessed you were a wolf."

Taro smiled widely as he was set down, as Tetsuya dropped down on one knee and looked at Shinji.

"Smile for me Shinji."

Shinji gave him a grin and Tetsuya returned the smile, "It looks as if you have some fangs, Shinji."

Shinji brought a hand toward his mouth as he brushed his finger over the point of his canines. He sighed, "I was sure I got it right this time, Tetsuya…"

"As long as you don't smile, Shinji, you'll be fine."

Shinji let out the biggest smile he could give as Tetsuya turned toward Takeo,

"Are you ready?"

Takeo nodded as he began to walk down the path, the twins ran ahead as Takeo remained behind with Tetsuya. He wore a dark green shirt with a hood and cargo pants, he also had his hair slightly longer in the front but cut short in the back. He certainly has a sense of style. Tetsuya's gaze returned toward the front, he usually kept his hair long enough to have a set of unkempt bangs, but his hair had always remained a silvery-white; he still wondered where he'd gotten that from, even though he was a gray wolf. He wore a white tank that hung low, with another blue tank on top of it. He had black cargo pants also like Takeo's, he looked over at the two twins, they were wearing exactly the same thing, and the only way you could tell them apart was there separate hair color. They wore a large orange sweater, both wearing a hat, and pairs of jeans. He knew they would fit right in, a little eccentric clothing but they'd fit in just fine.

The path winded through the woods, though the overgrown grass shown the lack of use the trail had.

He let out a small sigh and continued on when he noticed Takeo looking up him; Tetsuya was a bit taller than him but not by much.

"Hello, Takeo."
"How old are you?"

"Eh? What kind of question is that?"

"Just answer…"

Tetsuya smiled and returned his gaze forward watching the two boys sniff the trails and wander around.
"I'm 19."

"You seem older."

"Do I?"

"Yeah, that means…you're four years older than me and two years older than Ryota."

"Ryota is 17?"

"M'hm. Why are you always with him? There are a lot of other wolves you could be with. I hear a lot of she-wolves fancy you." He smirked wryly as Tetsuya looked down.

"I know but I guess they're just not my type."

"Then why, Ryota?"

"I suppose…he just needs a friend. He was raised to be serious so I guess he needs to learn how to have fun."

"I doubt that will happen."

Tetsuya looked at him, raising an eyebrow," And why do you suppose that is?"

"I don't know."

"Probably because it's people like you who don't allow him to have fun."

Takeo remained silent and soon they caught scent of the city of Hinoti. The smells were similar to the market aroma except a few scents neither of them could recognize. The pups' excitement grew with each step drawing closer to the city, but as soon as the entrance was in sight, they immediately drew back behind Tetsuya and Takeo. Takeo looked around in awe, he'd never seen such a large human establishment, but Tetsuya only smiled at the sheer size of the city. Tetsuya led the way as they moved closer toward it, he was sure no human could recognize him but just to be safe he stayed away from the intimidating looking guards.

The rest stayed close to Tetsuya while he held the hand of Shinji while Takeo held Taro's. Once they were further away from the guards, Tetsuya let go of the pup's hand as he let out a small sigh of relief.

"I doubt that we would be found out but we always need to be cautious. The humans can be ridiculously cruel when it comes to beings not similar to themselves."

Shinji automatically grabbed Taro's hand; he looked up at Tetsuya,

"I didn't know it was so scary here. These smells are making my nose burn."

Tetsuya looked at Taro and gave a gentle smile as he ruffled Taro's hair a bit,

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it soon enough."

Tetsuya saw the gesture didn't lighten the mood so he continued onward, when he caught the scent of something peculiar. He motioned for the others to follow while he took off down the empty street.

He peered around the corner to see a bustling street but no one seemed to notice them. Shinji tugged at Tetsuya's shirt,

"What is this place?"

Takeo decided to speak this time,

"Oh, I know what this is. It's the place where humans come to exchange things for things they don't have themselves."

"Ooooh.", said both the pups in unison.

Tetsuya wandered out from behind the building and went toward the nearest stand, looking at the bright and shiny objects. He picked one up and examined it closely, the vendor noticed him,

"That would be finest piece of jewelry in the entire Hinoti area."

Tetsuya nodded, "It is very beautiful."

He placed it back down, wondering if this 'necklace' was the thing the female humans wore. He noticed a few wearing some but they were a variety of color and shapes, the pups and Takeo remained where they were, watching Tetsuya carefully. Takeo saw his excitement looking at the human 'things'. Takeo leaned against the building when he suddenly noticed a human child staring at the three of them.

"Shinji. Taro. Come here quickly." He managed to whisper harshly.

Shinji and Taro immediately obeyed and ran to Takeo's side, wondering why they had done so. Takeo continued to look at the girl when she suddenly started to walk toward the trio. Taro and Shinji both stiffened and grasped Takeo, frightened, unsure of what they should do.

The girl watched the three with interest; they seemed very unusual for this part of Hinoti where the poorer families shop. She came closer and smiled,
"Hello!"

She reached out one of the twins' hands when she saw a red-colored dog where the older boy stood. She froze, What happened to the red-haired boy?

The wolf was snarling viciously and the girl brought her hand back immediately, she was too scared to even move. Tears soon welled up in her eyes, as she began to cry,

"Please…don't eat me…"

She hardly managed to speak between her sobs when one of the twins grabbed her hand gently. She opened her eyes and saw the boy with darker hair had held her hand. She wiped away her tears and noticed the dog was no longer snarling. The boy seemed concerned and tightened his hand,

"Please don't be frightened. He won't eat you."

She let out a small smile but could not take her eyes off the red dog; she was still shaking from fright.

"Your doggy seems…unfriendly."

Shinji had absolutely no idea what he was doing but he felt he could not let the girl continue to cry. He knew that the girl must have figured Takeo was a dog and he decided to go with it. He looked back at Takeo,

"Bad dog."

He lifted his other hand and hit him sharply across the nose, as Takeo let out a high-pitched yelp. He let out a growl and sat down as Shinji returned his gaze toward the girl,

"See he's okay."

"But...I was sure I saw an older boy with you?"

Shinji paused for a second, wondering what he should come up with, Oh…if Tetsuya were here, I'm sure he'd know what to say. He smiled and looked back toward Taro,

"What boy?"

"He was really tall and had the same color of hair as your puppy."

"By the way, my dog's name is Takeo. And this is my brother, Taro, and I'm Shinji."

Taro waved timidly toward the girl as she returned the gesture,

"Thanks for telling Takeo to stop, Shinji. My name is Ana."

Shinji nodded, wondering if he'd managed to veer her off the subject of Takeo. He noticed the girl staring at him and he tilted his head.

"Why are you looking at me?"

"Shinji…you have pretty eyes."

Shinji blinked for a second and realized she was talking about his golden colored eyes; he looked down and began to feel a burning in his cheeks. If she's noticed my eyes…what else has she noticed? I hope not my fangs…that would be horrible if she found out.

She saw him look away and she tugged at his hand,

"You don't need to be embarrassed."

Taro finally managed to speak up, even though he wondered what could have possessed his brother to actually talk to a girl and a human no less.

"So, Ana…What are you doing over here?"

She looked at Taro, "Why, I live just around the corner. I was playing outside when I saw you guys. I didn't know you lived around here. I thought I was the only kid who lived around these parts."

"But we don't…"

Shinji interrupted him quickly, "Well, we just moved here a few days ago."

"Really? I'll finally have someone to play with! This makes me so happy!"

"Heh."

Shinji was about to say something else when he saw that Tetsuya managed to return in the middle of the discussion. He carried a few pieces of food and he paused to see the odd appearance of everyone and they seemed to be talking to a human child.

"Well, I seen you've made a friend, Shinji."

"Yes, I was just taking the dog out for a walk."

He emphasized the word 'dog' hoping Tetsuya would get the idea, as Takeo let out a low growl from behind him.

Tetsuya grinned, "The dog, huh? So who's this lovely, young lady?"

Shinji looked back at the girl, "This is Ana."

"Ah. Hello, Ana."

"Hello."

Shinji thought for a moment and turned back toward Tetsuya, "This is my…uh…big brother Tetsuya!"

Ana nodded, "I can see the resemblance. He has the same color of eyes as you, Shinji. Though his hair is white and yours is black."

"M'hm."

"I know! I can show you where I live so you can visit me anytime!"

Shinji looked at Tetsuya hopefully and Tetsuya nodded, "Let's see where your friend lives."

Shinji nodded as Ana took the boy's hand and ran down the street. Tetsuya watched the two take off and he waited for a moment.

"Let's go Taro. Don't forget the dog."

Takeo looked up at Tetsuya and growled, "Shut up…"

Taro followed Tetsuya as they made there way down the street, coming to a building, where Shinji and Ana were waiting out front. It was a run-down building but it remained intact due to some very unprofessional mending.

"Over here!"

Ana waved toward the pair, when she noticed that with Taro and Tetsuya was the boy she saw earlier. His red hair was exactly the same color as the dog, she then turned toward Shinji.

"Who's that?"

"Eh…that's my…um…other…brother…"

"What's his name?"

"Tak-…uh…"

Shinji knew he couldn't give out Takeo's real name so he made one up on the spot,

"Takato. That's Takato."

"Oh."

Tetsuya came over with the rest as he stopped by Shinji, he managed to whisper quietly into his ear,

"We thought it best if Takeo didn't remain in his wolf form."

"Okay, he's my 'other' brother."

"Ah."

He looked back up toward the house and smiled,

"So, this is where you live, Ana?"

"Yes. You're all welcome to come inside."

Tetsuya opened up the rickety gate and held it open for the rest of them to enter. Shinji and Ana went inside together followed closely by Taro as Takeo managed to linger behind. Takeo paused before entering and turned toward Tetsuya,

"Is this a good idea? I'm sure Lord Hinaro would not like us interacting with humans…"

"Shinji has made a friend and I have a feeling there's something more between them, if you know what I mean."

Takeo grumbled and stepped past the gate and Tetsuya closed the gate,

"By the way, your name is Takato now."

Takeo growled and entered the house with Tetsuya following. They had entered a living room area, Shinji and Ana were sitting on the sofa. Shinji was looking rather shy as he was sitting as far as he could away from the girl, with Taro next to him sitting on the floor with his back leaning on the couch. Takeo stayed close toward the door while Tetsuya examined all the things in the house.

"So, do you have parents?"

The girl looked at the wolf and looked away,

"Actually, I live here with my older sister."

"Oh, where is she?"

"She's at work. Ah! She should be home soon! You guys can meet at her!"

She got up and ran toward the window and grasped the sill and looked out impatiently.

Shinji stayed where he was and looked back at Tetsuya,

"Should we go?"

Ana turned and looked at Shinji, she ran over toward him and grabbed his hand pulling him up off the couch.

"Please stay!"

She turned toward Tetsuya and looked up toward him with determined eyes; she grabbed his shirt and tugged on it.

"Will you stay Tetsuya?"

"Well.."

Tears were welling up in her eyes as she stepped back and she used her arm and wiped away her tears. She ran upstairs and they all winced as a door slammed. Shinji looked at Tetsuya,

"Um...what should we do, Tetsuya?"

"I suppose we'll have to talk to her."

"I'll do it…"

Shinji ran up the stairs and knocked on the door, he could hear Ana's weeping on the other side, What did I do? I didn't know she would cry… He opened the door slightly and peered through the crack.

"Ana? It's me Shinji."

He opened the door completely and walked across the creaking floor toward the bed Ana was lying on.

"I'm sorry if I said or did anything... to offend you."

She lifted her head and wiped away her tears, and sat up next to Shinji.

"I'm sorry, Shinji. I didn't mean to…it's just that I thought you would leave and it reminded me of something that happened a long time ago…"

Shinji looked at her and set his hand on hers,

"You don't have to tell me."

"But I want to. It's just when I was little my dad left me and my sister. He'd said he would return when he had the money to take care of us better…but that was two years ago and I haven't seen him since. And I haven't had any friends…no one wants to talk to me because I'm not rich like them. When I thought you were going…I just couldn't help it…"

"It's okay. I kinda understand. My dad's gone too…"

"Really?"

"Uh-huh."

She turned and looked up at his eyes and a smile formed on her tear-streaked face,

"I still love your eyes, Shinji."

"Thank you."

Tetsuya had begun to worry when he went up the stairs, he opened the door he saw Ana sleeping on her bed. In her arms she held a small, black wolf pup that was also resting contentedly. He smiled as Taro looked in; he looked back up at Tetsuya,

"What are we going to do?"

"I think we can wait until her sister arrives."

"Okay."

The pair returned downstairs and told Takeo what was happening upstairs, but he only nodded as the puppy curled up next to the girl in the room above them.