Disclaimer: I own nothing, dammit.

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Chapter 8

"You grew up way too fast
And now there's nothing to believe
And reruns all become our history
A tired song keeps playing on a tired radio
And I won't tell no one your name
And I won't tell 'em your name."

-Goo Goo Dolls

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"Are you sure it's a good idea to leave her alone? Father…"

Kazumi's eyes softened, and she rested a hand on Chikane's shoulder. "I know you're feeling protective of the girl, Chikane, but you can't shield her from your father. She'll meet him sooner or later, whether she wants to or not."

"I know, but still…"

"Don't worry. He'll question her, but I'll make sure he doesn't go too far. It's obvious you're fond of her, and I don't want him chasing her away on you."

Chikane blushed. "Is it that obvious?"

"Honey, I'm your mother." Kazumi smiled. "I know these things. Now go—you'll be late for school at this rate."

"Hey, Mom?"

"Hmmm?"

"Thanks."

With that Chikane leaned in, giving her mother a quick peck on the cheek before running out the door. She still wasn't crazy about going to school and leaving Himeko alone, but at least she had the assurance that Kazumi would keep an eye on things until she got back.

"Miya-sama!"

Ah, shit.

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While Himeko knew she'd still slept in, she considered the fact that she woke up a few seconds earlier than yesterday something to be proud of. Last night hadn't been nearly as hard as her first night, as she had dreamed only of running through the trees with Makoto and Souma and playing with her parents when they had still been alive. It hadn't been much, but her wolf instincts had seemed soothed by it.

She knew almost immediately that something was off, something was different; she felt something coil in her stomach and swallowed, closing her eyes and blowing out a long breath. I have nothing to be afraid of, she told herself, fighting to ignore the scent of wolf's blood. They think I'm human, like them. I have nothing to be afraid of. Nothing at all.

And sooner or later, I have to meet them.

Slowly, she opened her eyes. "But the truth is," she whispered to the empty room, "I always hoped Chikane-chan would be with me when I finally met her parents."

Since she knew she wasn't going to get a reply, she figured she might as well get on with it and get it over with, and stepped out into the hall.

The scent of blood hit her almost immediately, and she shuddered as a tremor rippled down her spine. Damn her wolf instincts. Damn them to hell, she thought viciously as her stomach lurched and rolled. Now more than anything she wanted to take on her true form, to stay as far away from Chikane's parents as possible, or better yet have Chikane there with her. The other girl's presence made things easier, somehow.

But Chikane wasn't there; from what Himeko had heard last night, she had to go to something called "school" and wouldn't be home for much of the day. Damn.

So lost in thought was the golden-haired girl that she didn't notice where she was walking, and very nearly walked into a table—and the vase on it—until a firm, gentle hand grabbed her wrist and gently pulled her back, and she stumbled into warm arms. For a crazy moment she thought Chikane was there, as dark strands of hair fell along her cheek and neck, but no—these strands were a bit darker than Chikane's, more black than blue.

"You must be Kurusugawa-san, then."

The voice was amused, soft and gentle; remembering herself, Himeko rapidly stumbled back out of her savior's arms, gaping.

The woman she gazed at could be no one, in her mind, but Chikane's mother. The similarities were just too obvious. Her hair was just as long as her daughter's, black instead of blue, and her eyes were almost the exact shade of blue, that midnight darkness without stars. Her voice even sounded similar to Chikane's, albeit a bit warmer and thicker. She swallowed hard. "Uh, hi," she squeaked.

"Hello." Amusement sparkled in the older woman's eyes. "My name is Himemiya Kazumi. You're in luck; my husband only left for work a few minutes ago."

Thank you, timing. Himeko blew out a breath she hadn't even been aware of holding and forced a small, shaky smile. "I'm sorry," she said. "Was I supposed to meet him…?"

"He was interested in you, naturally, but then we all are." Kazumi's smile managed to be both cautious and friendly. "This is the first time we've housed an attack victim."

"I…. ah, I see."

Himeko couldn't quite put her finger on why she felt as though Kazumi was trying to see through her, as though she was trying to figure out if the person standing before her was real or a figment of her imagination or a ghost of some sort. It was a creepy feeling, and she shifted nervously from foot to foot before clearing her throat. "Is, uh, Chikane-chan around?"

Kazumi raised a brow, but managed to successfully keep a straight face. "She's in school right now, I'm afraid. You missed her by a few hours." She smiled, deciding to poke around a bit. "She actually wanted to stay home and keep an eye on you."

Himeko blushed and looked at the ground, mumbling under her breath.

"Either way, she'll be out for a few more hours." Kazumi took pity on the girl. "If you want, you can wander around in town for a bit, familiarize yourself with it more. Chikane told me she took you down there, but you'll need to visit it more than once."

"That… sounds like a good idea." Then, an idea struck Himeko. "Will Chikane-chan be there?"

"Eventually, yes." Kazumi successfully swallowed the chuckle that rose in her throat. "I'm sure once school is dismissed she'll manage to track you down."

Suddenly, visiting town sounded like a very tempting idea.

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The square of Mahoroba wasn't quite as crowded as it had been the other day, but there was still a lot going on. Content to just be on the side and not involved, Himeko sat at one of the benches in the area, watching everything pass her by as she mulled over her meeting with Chikane's mother.

It was weird… like she was looking at me, but she was seeing someone else… do I look like someone she used to know?

Himeko frowned, then sighed and shook her head, leaning back against the bench and closing her eyes as she tilted her head back. Maybe she was just over thinking everything. She'd been on edge ever since coming to the mansion, and maybe she was just imagining something that wasn't even there.

"Well, well, well." A pair of warm hands covered her closed eyes, and Himeko jolted a bit in surprise. "Someone looks a little stressed."

"Mako?"

"Drat, right on the first guess."

Makoto lifted her hands away and plopped down easily on the bench next to Himeko as she gaped, running a hand through her auburn hair and giving a crooked grin. "Just thought I'd check on ya. How you holdin' up?"

"You… you shouldn't… is Souma here too?"

"Nah. He wanted to come, but he was sparring with Tsubasa and Kazuki when I snuck away. I dragged Yukihito here with me instead to keep an eye on things."

Makoto gave a quick jerk of her head over her shoulder, and following the gesture Himeko saw a lanky dark brown male wolf lurking in the shadows, watching the pair with reserved gold eyes. Yukihito was the only son of the Third Head, Kazuki, and unusually reserved for his young age. He was the same age as Souma, Makoto, and Himeko, but had never involved himself in the trio's fun. "You shouldn't be here," Himeko muttered, but gave in to the urge and hugged her cousin tightly. "You'll get in big trouble if someone finds out."

"Hey, I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself." Makoto draped one arm along Himeko's shoulders in a one armed hug, gently bumping foreheads with the other girl.

She didn't look well, Makoto noted grimly, cupping Himeko's chin and resting her forehead against the other girl's to get her temperature. Her skin was a few degrees warmer than it probably should have been, her face pale and her eyes tired. "How long have you been holding your human form, Hime?"

"Is the strain starting to show already? I've been holding it for about two days… tonight will be my third night."

"No, it's okay… you look fine to humans, but I can see the signs. You know, wolf to wolf. Between you and me, you look like crap."

"Thanks, thanks a lot…"

Makoto chuckled and Himeko smiled tiredly, resting her head on the other girl's shoulder. The laughter faded quickly, though, and Makoto turned her head so she was speaking directly into Himeko's ear, her voice soft. "I'm serious, Hime, you look dead on your feet. Any wolf who sees you can tell. You need to shake the shining star of Himemiya and drop your form for at least a few minutes, or you'll never last."

"I know, I know, it's just hard." Himeko closed her eyes, breathing in Makoto's familiar scent. "She's stuck to me like glue since I came here, asking me questions about my wounds and just being protective. I'm thinking of getting out a bit tonight, when everyone else is asleep. It's probably the safest bet."

A quiet murmur from Makoto told Himeko that her words had been heard, but it was a long time before either of them spoke again. After a moment, Makoto chuckled. "Hey, Hime, remember the first time you took on your human form?"

"I had successfully purged it from my mind until just now." Himeko opened one eye, smirking. "I was just a pup, right?"

"Yeah, and you wandered into town and got jumped by a bunch of older boys."

"And you saved me."

"Yeah. And you know, what really sucks about this whole thing this time around is if you're in trouble, I can't save you."

Himeko slowly opened her other eye, looking up at Makoto; the other girl sighed ruefully and shook her head, smiling tiredly. "Shit, that kind of slipped out."

"It's okay."

"I didn't mean to say that."

"I said it's okay, Mako. I get what you're saying."

"That's good." Makoto smiled again. "Anyway, I didn't come here to tell you sentimental crap or just to check up on you, though it's been nice. I was talking to Yukihito on the way here, and he told me something very interesting."

Intrigued, Himeko sat up, looking at Makoto. The other girl took a deep breath before continuing in one great breath.

"Anyway, I was talking to Yukihito and he said the Heads recently learned something about Tsuki, and it's really new so only the Heads of all the packs know about it, but since Yukihito is Kazuki's son… yeah, anyway, so Yukihito told me that recently they learned something about Tsuki, and get this… apparently, before she died, Tsuki gave birth to pups."

Himeko blinked several times. For a moment, her brain seemed to stop working as she tried to comprehend exactly what Makoto had just said. "Pups?" she repeated.

"Yeah, pups. A pack dug up this old den a few days ago, and the scent they picked up was Tsuki's. It was really old and faded, but it was definitely her and they smelled other scents that indicated she'd given birth there."

"So… Tsuki had pups."

"Yeah, so we have wolves of her bloodline running around. And since she established the pack here, they think her descendants might be in our pack."

"Is there anyway to identify them?"

"Not yet, no."

Himeko frowned, mulling this new information over. "Well," she said with a sigh, "this changes things."

"Yeah." Makoto grinned. "Ain't it great?"

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To say that she thought there was some kind of history between the black dog and the dark gray wolf was an understatement, in Orihime's way of thinking. From the way they were both bristling just at the sight of each other, it was obvious they had crossed paths before. Slowly she shifted in the saddle, her hand sliding back to grip the hilt of her dagger. "Sakura-chan," she warned quietly.

That was all she managed before the wolves attacked.

Orihime was knocked off her horse in the explosion of fur and teeth and fangs, and almost immediately she lost sight of both the black dog and Sakura. Her fingers tightened around the hilt of her dagger and she struck out, ignoring the warm blood that gushed onto her hands and arms, pushing the limp body off her only to be dragged under again.

She knocked one skinny light brown wolf off her and stumbled out of the group, turning, trying to see what was going on. She saw a flash of movement and assumed it was Sakura, but she couldn't see the black dog…

A sharp snarl sounded behind her; she was blindsided on her left shoulder, and she screamed as the dark gray wolf leaped past her, his claws ripping into her shoulder and causing blood to spill. The force of his attack threw her into the grass, and her dagger skidded away, out of her reach.

The dark gray wolf spun around, springing forward again, his teeth bared. Orihime braced herself for the inevitable pain, and most likely the quick death that would follow.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of black; the next instant the black wolf was there from the side, her fangs sinking deep into the gray wolf's neck. The momentum of her attack threw the gray wolf away from Orihime, and with a snarl the black dog positioned her body over Orihime's, her lips pulled back and her teeth bared as her fur bristled. Cuts slashed over her slim body, her black fur stained with red and one eye open only a slit because of the bloody slash over it—but she was ready to defend Orihime with her life.

The pink shell pendant hung around her neck. Drops of blood dripped from it to the grass below.

For a long, long moment the black dog and the dark gray wolf glared at each other. Finally, the pair seemed to reach a stalemate of some kind; the dark gray wolf lifted his head and howled before speeding away, his pack fanning out after him.

Orihime watched with disbelieving eyes, slowly sitting up as the black dog gingerly stepped over her. "Sakura-chan?"

"I'm fine." The girl's voice was exhausted as she staggered to her friend. "What the hell happened?"

"I have no clue…"

"Um, you know, Blackie-chan doesn't look too good."

The black dog wasn't facing them, still gazing after the dark gray wolf and his pack; looking at her more closely, Orihime could see she was trembling, barely able to stand on her own paws. Orihime felt her heart clench; how much blood had the dog lost?

Slowly, the black dog swung around to face the two young hunters, taking an unsteady step toward them; her blue eyes were dark, pained. Wordlessly, Orihime opened her arms, and the black dog tumbled into them, resting her head against Orihime's shoulder as the woman's arms came tight around her neck.

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By the time the sun started to set, Himeko knew she was in trouble. A steady headache had started pounding at her temples not long after she had said her goodbyes to Makoto and Yukihito, and it had only grown steadily worse as the day went on. Now, walking by the building she assumed was the school, her shoulder brushing the fence, she could barely see straight; the world kept spinning and dimming, followed occasionally by a sharp pain in her head that made her stagger and wince.

Deciding that continuing to walk would be a very bad idea in the long run and only lead to more pain, Himeko sagged back against the fence and slowly sat down, groaning. Seeing Makoto had been a wonderful bonus, but her wolf instincts were back in overtime and her body was abusing her once again as she approached her third night as a human.

She had to get away tonight and become a wolf again, if only for a few minutes. She'd never make it otherwise.

Another sharp pain exploded in her head, and Himeko winced as the world spun around her. God, at this rate, she'd never make it back to the mansion before sundown. Her muscles went limp, her vision dimmed, and she began to fall forward.

"Himeko?!"

A warm hand snaked around her, catching her as she began to fall and pulling her close; slowly Himeko opened her eyes and looked up, biting back a groan when she gazed into the dark blue eyes of one Himemiya Chikane. "Chikane-chan," she murmured, and forced a smile. "Hi."

Chikane sighed. "Hi. What's wrong? Are you getting sick?"

"I'm fine, just a little tired I guess…"

"Can you stand up?"

"Um… I think so…"

Chikane slowly slid her arm so it was around Himeko's shoulders as the golden-haired girl stood, weaving a bit unsteadily on her feet; Chikane's arm slid down to her waist, keeping her close, and for a moment Himeko rested her head on Chikane's shoulder as the two slowly began to walk, Chikane supporting the other girl. "Sorry," Himeko said softly, closing her eyes. "I'm always causing trouble for you, Chikane-chan… I'm really sorry."

For a moment the blue-haired girl opened her mouth to protest; but no words came out, and she slowly closed her mouth, shaking her head and smiling. She settled instead for turning her head slightly to chastely kiss Himeko's forehead, and was delighted when the shorter girl didn't pull away; she blushed, as expected, but if anything she only moved closer.

And overhead the sky began to darken from red and yellow to dark blue, stars flickering to life as night fell.

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Things really start heating up in the next chapter, so... yeah. Look forward to it.

... Foreshadowing is fun.

Read and review, please!