Disclaimer: I don't own KnM, dammit.

Author's Note: Bold italics are wolves speaking to humans in the flashback sequences with Tsuki and Orihime.

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Chapter 9

"You seem to be thinking deeply about something."

The gentle clinking of her bracelets had announced her presence, and Miyako had smelled her scent on the wind long before hearing her; the chocolate brown wolf chuckled from where she lay, tilting her head slightly to nudge Corona's paws as the dark brown female padded to her side and sat. "Is it that obvious?"

"You have that glazed, 'I'm-kinda-not-at-home-at-the-moment' look in your eyes, but don't worry." Corona lowered her head, gently brushing muzzles with her longtime friend. "It's not very obvious until you get up close."

"Oh, lucky day."

Crickets chirped softly in the night air and another breeze blew by, stirring the grass and the fur of the two wolves, but neither minded. Slowly Miyako sat up, shaking her fur to rid it of the small bits of grass and leaves still sticking. "Where's Reiko? You two are practically shadows of each other."

"Where's Tsubasa?" Corona's eyes gleamed.

"Touché."

"In all seriousness, though, she's leading the evening hunt." Corona moved her shoulders in the wolf equivalent of a shrug. "She wanted me to come, but you'd wandered off and I was getting worried."

"Friends 'til the end, come what may, eh?"

"Hey, for the record, I meant every word I said back then."

"I know, I know." Miyako gave Corona's ear a quick lick to soothe her. "I'm just teasing you. We haven't been alone like this for years."

"It's not a bad thing."

"No, it's not."

Another moment of silence followed as the pair of she-wolves sat quietly side-by-side, shoulders touching in a way that indicated their closeness. In another life, Miyako had saved Corona from a group of eager men, and Corona had returned the favor by housing the wolves she couldn't kill. When Miyako had decided to leave it all behind and assume a wolf form, love for another and deep friendship had led Corona to follow her.

Had their lives gone differently, they could have easily become lovers until the day they died. It was a fact they both knew and accepted.

"Jin's doing well." Corona's lips curved in a wolf smile. "Souma was teaching him how to catch mice when I left."

"Yes, Tsubasa and I started that with him recently." Affection and love filled Miyako at the thought of her mate and pup. "He's learning fast, but he still gets frustrated sometimes. Thankfully, Tsubasa is patient enough for all three of us."

"Reiko wanted me to tell you that she knows a nice little place where he can practice without the pack around. She said she could take him there sometime, if you and Tsubasa are willing."

"You know, I wonder sometimes." Miyako shook her head. "Whatever did we do as humans, Corona, to deserve their love?"

"I don't know, and I don't want to know."

Sighing, Miyako gave in and slid back down into the grass, closing her eyes as a wave of exhaustion hit her. As of late she'd spent more and more of her nights worrying about Himeko, and what the pup would discover during her time with the humans. Miyako was by no means ashamed of her background, and she certainly knew Himeko was capable of taking care of herself, but she couldn't help it. "Are you afraid?" Corona asked softly, settling next to her old friend and resting her head on the darker female's back.

"Should I be?" Miyako opened one golden eye to look at Corona. "I know what I was, Corona. I know what I did. I've never denied it, and I've never been proud of it."

"You killed fewer wolves in the prime of your hunting days than most."

"But that doesn't change the fact that I still killed wolves. Not that it matters… Himeko will learn what she will. I'll deal with that when she returns."

Corona mulled this over; after a moment, she shifted, lifting her head. "Hey, Miyako."

"Hmmm?"

The younger female's eyes gleamed. "Friends 'til the end."

Miyako chuckled, lifting her head as well to touch noses with Corona. "Come what may."

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Himemiya Isamu gazed into the eyes of a ghost.

Kannazuki Orihime was dead and gone, had been so for the last sixteen years, not long before her niece had been born into the world. But the young girl who stood before him, the same age as Orihime's niece and his daughter, was the mirror image of the dead woman down to her eye color.

Kurusugawa Himeko squirmed uncomfortably beneath Isamu's piercing gaze, somehow realizing that he saw someone else standing in her place. By the way her eyes flickered nervously, it was obvious that she almost wished he would start questioning her about something.

And when he finally opened his mouth to speak, he could only say one thing.

"You look just like my sister."

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"It's a coincidence, Isamu."

"It can't be. It just can't. That girl—"

"Everyone has a twin somewhere in the world," Kazumi interrupted her husband gently. "You're assuming too much because of how she looks. Orihime is dead; there's no way she could come back to the world of the living, even if she wanted to."

Isamu slowly sighed, running a hand through his hair. "It was like looking at a ghost," he whispered. "It was like… I thought, for a moment, I had a second chance."

Kazumi's eyes softened. "Isamu."

"Our parents divorced when we were young. I told you that, didn't I? We didn't meet until we were eighteen. And then she died two years later." He closed his eyes. "We barely had any time. And then Kurusugawa…"

"I know." Kazumi rested her hands on her husband's shoulders. "I know. Believe me, it's the same every time I see Chikane." She smiled sadly. "She's the mirror image of my sister."

"I thought you and your mother adopted your sister."

"We did." Kazumi closed her eyes, bowing her head to gently touch her forehead to her husband's when he looked up at her. "But somehow, she still looked related to us. Except for her hair… and that shell pendant around her neck."

"… Kurusugawa is wearing a shell pendant…"

"Enough, Isamu."

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Thoroughly shaken by her encounter with Isamu and knowing it was still not yet late enough to attempt to sneak away into the trees and drop her human form, Himeko made do with retreating to the small library. Chikane had mentioned off-handedly during the last few days that a book that kept records on wolf hunters and wolves resided in the library, and Himeko was eager to get her hands on it for a few minutes.

It was a large leather book, rough and weighing heavily in Himeko's hands as she held it; she cradled it to her chest so she wouldn't drop it, looked around quickly to make sure no one else was present to see what she was about to do, and quickly walked out of the library, heading for the safety of her room.

Deciding it was a safer bet to just keep her door closed instead of locking it (because if she locked it, someone would assume she was hiding something and she really didn't want to deal with that), Himeko crawled onto her bed, putting the book down and taking a deep breath and slowly opened the book, beginning at the first page.

The first section of the book focused on the wolf hunters, listing them alphabetically. Since 'Kannazuki' and 'Kinjo' were both in the same section, Himeko figured she'd kill two birds with one stone and flipped to the K's, reading Orihime's biography first. There was a small picture of the woman, smiling briefly at the camera, and Himeko felt a chill seep through her body.

God, I do look like her. And if she's the sister of Chikane-chan's father, then… that makes her… Chikane-chan's aunt.

Shivering a little, Himeko blew out a long breath and began to read.

"Kannazuki Orihime, sister of Himemiya Isamu. At the age of five, her parents divorced; her mother took her and eventually remarried, giving Orihime the name Kannazuki instead of Himemiya. Twenty years old at time of death, a solo hunter who preferred to travel and hunt freely instead of letting others call on her. Her only known companion was Kannazuki Sakura, her stepsister by marriage, and it is often said that the two were fiercely devoted to each other like blood sisters. Weapon of choice was a silver dagger. Last kill was a large, dark gray male wolf that had killed her stepsister. Cause of death was a direct stab to the chest, indicating that she stabbed through herself to kill the wolf. Her body was discovered with the body of a dead black dog, and further investigation revealed that the dog was in fact half wolf. Orihime is survived by her brother and a niece, Himemiya Chikane."

"Tsuki," Himeko whispered, eyes widening.

It certainly made sense. Tsuki had possessed black fur, and she had only been half wolf; and from what the Heads had told her, she had also died about the same time as Orihime. But from what the book seemed to be implying, it was almost as if she and Orihime had died together, or at least in the same place. Himeko frowned. Was it possible that perhaps…?

And we are stopping that train of thought right. This. Instant.

It would probably be best for her sanity to move on to Miyako, if she was in the book at all; her last name had been Kinjo. Her section was a bit longer than Orihime's, and Himeko began reading that as well.

"Kinjo Miyako, sister and hunting companion of Kinjo Girochi. Parents died at the age of sixteen in a wolf attack; became a wolf hunter to support herself and her brother. Twenty years of age when she disappeared, a hunter who preferred catching and releasing wolves to shooting them. It is believed that she had a friend who housed the wolves, though she never gave anyone a name, even her own brother. Mysteriously vanished while on the case of the wolf known as the 'White Terror' and hasn't been seen since; her brother has also dropped out of wolf hunting. Weapon of choice was a gun. Some believe that she was killed by the White Terror, but there has been no evidence to support this. About the same time that she vanished, the White Terror disappeared as well and ceased attacking humans. No clear reason has ever been uncovered. Miyako is survived by her brother."

The White Terror. Himeko smirked and swallowed a chuckle. Well, that was a human for you. A wolf took some time to attack humans every now and then and they got labeled with names like 'White Terror' and 'Black Death'; it was something of a joke back in the wolf world. Humor aside, though, the fact that 'white' was in that name implied that the wolf had been white, so… Maybe Tsubasa? Yeah, that would make sense. Himeko grinned for a moment. So Tsubasa had stolen Miyako away from a life of wolf hunting. By the moon above, that was romantic in a twisted kind of way.

So maybe love between a wolf and a human can work out, after all.

Unable to resist, Himeko flipped the book back a few pages to read Chikane's section.

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Sakura started the fire, not straying to far to find wood, and Orihime was grateful. After an attack like that, the two stepsisters tended to stick together like glue to recover; it was something they'd done since the very beginning of their hunting days. Sitting by the fire, she let the warmth seep into her and watched the flames dance.

"Here." She looked up in surprise, catching the small medical pouch as Sakura tossed it to her. "I checked out the horses—we got lucky, just a few scratches."

"Nothing serious?"

"They're a little spooked, but they'll live. I already put some peroxide on their cuts so they wouldn't get infected. I'm sure Blackie-chan would appreciate some, too, even if it stings like hell. O' course, you can always soothe her with the healing ointment first."

"What makes you think I'll do it?"

Smirking, Sakura motioned to the way the black dog laid, sprawled out on her side, her eyes closed and her breathing pained and uneven as her head rested in Orihime's lap. Orihime winced sympathetically, feeling the dog's pain, and looked up only to see Sakura retreat back to the horses, leaving the pair alone. Sighing, smiling despite herself, Orihime rolled her sleeves back a little and gently shifted so she was on her knees, cradling the dog in her arms. "Sorry," she whispered as the dog whined and flinched in pain. "I'm really, really sorry."

Gently setting the black animal down, Orihime dipped her fingers into the pouch and quietly pressed them against the dog's wounds, ignoring the animal's soft growl of discomfort as she applied the healing ointment. "Oh, don't be such a baby," she muttered, wrapping one arm around the dog's neck to keep her still. "I know it hurts, but this will help you, so just stay still and it'll all be over in no—"

The words died on her lips. She could only stare.

On the back of the dog's neck, hidden by her black fur but noticeable due to the fact that Orihime had parted it with her fingers, was a deep, jagged scar right by the clasp of the pendant around her neck. Orihime stared at the scar as her memory scrambled backward, to that rainy night…

It all clicked together. A smirk curved her lips, and she slowly lifted her hand away to let the fur fall back to its natural place. Brushing a loose strand of golden hair back behind her ear, she lowered her head and murmured softly into the dog's ear, "I don't appreciate being lied to, Tsuki-chan."

A long moment of silence; the half wolf shifted, slowly sitting up to look at Orihime.

"I wasn't sure how you'd react if you knew it was me." Tsuki's voice echoed in Orihime's head, sounding just the way she remembered it. "I was a stranger to you, and I didn't know if you'd appreciate knowing that I couldn't get you out of my head."

"Well, we're even there…"

"Oh?"

"I haven't been able to get you out of my head, either."

Tsuki blinked in surprise, her dark blue eyes flickering uncertainly; she flicked her ear and looked away, gazing at her paws. "Well, um," she mumbled, not looking at Orihime, "then you might not appreciate the fact that when a wolf pursues someone who's captured their interest, it's usually done with the intent of making that someone their mate."

"I intrigued you that much?"

"… Maybe…"

The soft hesitation in Tsuki's voice made Orihime smile; she imagined that if the black half wolf had been in her human form, she would be blushing right now. "You know," the light-haired woman said conversationally, "I still need to thank you for saving my life."

"No you don't. I did it because I wanted to."

"Tsuki-chan, just do me a favor and take on your human form, okay?"

Tsuki blinked, then lifted her shoulders in what Orihime assumed to be a wolf shrug before she took on her human form. It happened practically in the blink of an eye; the black dog Orihime had known for so long was gone, replaced by a young woman with long blue hair and dark blue eyes. She looked at Orihime curiously.

"Why did you want me to change? You already know what I look like."

Her voice sounded the same, Orihime thought with a smile. Human or wolf, Tsuki's voice never changed. She wondered why she loved knowing that.

She was still smiling when she kissed Tsuki.

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Himeko watched the moon climb into the dark night sky. She felt another sharp pang in her head and winced, resting her hand against the glass of the window, narrowing her eyes as her vision blurred. She couldn't put it off any longer. She had to get away, and become a wolf again. If she put it off any longer, she'd eventually collapse and just raise even more questions.

Now was her only chance.

Moving lightly on her feet to avoid making any noise, Himeko quietly gripped her doorknob and slowly pushed the door open, peering cautiously down the hall to make sure no one was out at the moment. She slid outside, closing the door behind her with a gentle click, before beginning to walk down the hallway. Instinct begged her to run, but she ignored it.

She didn't know how long it took her to reach the door that led outside, away from the mansion to the world beyond. She stepped outside, felt the cold stone beneath her bare feet as she closed the door.

Then, and only then, did she run.

Wolf instinct had her streaking across the fancy lawn with its short grass, her eyes adjusting to the darkness in a heartbeat; even as a human, her physical capabilities were still on par with any wolf she could ever meet. The grass muffled the sound of her feet, soft and wet as she ran. She loved being under the trees, but what she desperately craved right now was open space, a place to stretch her legs and feel the wind in her fur.

Himeko stumbled into the clearing, where long ago she had been sent out to retrieve Jin; she fell to her knees for a moment, breathing raggedly from running the whole distance. Not even bothering with standing again she merely rolled onto her side, shifting from human to wolf in a matter of seconds.

It was incredible; the pain was suddenly gone, the dizziness, the blurred vision. As the grass tickled her fur Himeko sighed, closing her eyes and letting her muscles relax. Her paws twitched briefly but laid still, much to her everlasting relief. She just wanted to rest, just for a few minutes.

"Himeko? Himeko, where are you? We're both going to be in big trouble if my parents realize we're out here!"

Himeko rolled, easily shifting from wolf to human, and stared with wide eyes. Chikane stared back at her, panting and her eyes narrow with irritation. "Chikane-chan," the light-haired girl squeaked. "Why are you… why are you out here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Chikane scowled. "I heard your footsteps as you were leaving."

"You… did?"

"Wolf hunters hear the softest noise, or so my father says. Are you insane, coming out here at night? That's when it's most dangerous! Anyone knows that! I should just—gaaah!"

Chikane's scolding words were warped into a muffled yelp as Himeko tackled her, dragging the dark-haired girl back into the trees, behind one of the giants. "Himeko," Chikane hissed, a dangerous gleam in her eyes, "what are you—"

"Shhhh!"

Himeko lifted her finger to her lips, begging for silence; Chikane narrowed her eyes but said nothing, and Himeko cautiously glanced around the tree, heart pounding. Yes, she'd smelled them, all right; a pair of wolves, heading straight for the clearing, but they were too far away for her to recognize the scents just yet. "Watch this, Chikane-chan," she whispered, looking down at the other girl with gleaming eyes.

"What are you…"

Chikane's words died on her lips as a pair of wolves emerged from the trees; her eyes widened and she stiffened. "Himeko…"

"It's all right. Just watch."

Now that they were closer, Himeko recognized the two; Miyako and Tsubasa. In the moonlight Miyako's dark fur seemed almost black, while Tsubasa seemed to gleam silver. The moonlight gave a ghostly air to the scar over his left eye, but the large First Head seemed relaxed and completely at ease as his mate loped easily ahead of him.

At that moment, Miyako darted back to Tsubasa, giving his ear a playful nip.

Himeko's eyes widened, but the surprise died as Tsubasa lunged playfully for the female; Miyako danced just out of his reach, her eyes gleaming, and tempting fate again she streaked around her mate, giving his tail a light tug. Tsubasa whipped his head around, but the growl that rumbled from his throat had no anger to it as he swiped at her again, Miyako still ducking away just in time.

"What are they doing?" Chikane whispered, her eyes glued to the two wolves as they frolicked in the grass, nipping and dancing around each other as fluidly as many married couples she'd seen.

Himeko smiled. "They're dancing."

At that moment Tsubasa finally managed to trip Miyako, and the chocolate brown she-wolf tumbled to the grass with a yelp, rolling easily onto her back. Tsubasa stood over her so their noses touched; he lowered his head and gave her cheek a quick lick, and the game started all over again.

"He isn't hurting her." Chikane's voice was filled with wonder.

"Of course not. Can't you tell? They're mates."

"But… he's so much bigger than her, and all the books say…"

"You can't believe everything you read, Chikane-chan."

The soft conversation trailed off as Miyako and Tsubasa finally finished their playing—their dancing, as Himeko had called it. As silently as they had come the two wolves shot away into the trees, briefly relieved of the stress of everyday life just by being with each other. For a long moment the two girls stared at the empty clearing; finally, Chikane blew out a long breath. "That was incredible," she murmured, looking up at Himeko.

"Wolves aren't all about blood and killing, you know."

"It's just…" The dark-haired girl didn't know how to describe what she'd seen. "They were playing, but you could tell… it was like you said. They were dancing."

Himeko chuckled before gazing out at the clearing again. "It was beautiful, wasn't it?" She smiled wistfully. "I wish I could dance with someone like that, even if only for a little bit. I'd never ever forget it."

There was a moment of silence as Himeko let the words fade away; Chikane frowned contemplatively for a moment before standing from her place, offering Himeko her hand. "So why don't you now?"

"Eh?"

"I know I'm not a wolf." Chikane's eyes gleamed in the moonlight. "But I can't think of a better time to try dancing like that." She smiled. "Take a chance with me, Himeko? Just for tonight?"

For a moment Himeko gazed uncertainly at Chikane's offered hand before slowly, almost shyly, meeting the other girl's eyes; but there was no ulterior motive, no double meaning this time. This was real, this was genuine, and not for the first time Himeko wondered if perhaps Chikane had been born a wolf in a past life.

And it was enough. Smiling shyly, she rested her hand in Chikane's, letting their fingers curl together.

"Just for tonight, Chikane-chan."

She let Chikane lead her out into the moonlight.

And they danced.

And as they danced, the shell pendant Himeko wore gleamed silver with secrets and memories.

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"Interesting."

Corona shot Reiko a look out of the corner of her eye, not wanting to look away from the two young girls below for a moment. "Do you mean 'interesting' as in 'this is bad' or 'interesting' as in 'God, this is hopelessly romantic'?"

Reiko glanced at her mate, flicking her ear. "I just mean interesting. Nothing more, nothing less. You're the one who finds it hopelessly romantic."

Corona nipped Reiko's ear. "That's mean, even for you. I just think it's sweet, is all. It's first love, you know? Puppy love. They're both pups by our standards, so yeah, it's puppy love. It's cute."

"… Do you mean they have first love, puppy love, or both?"

The dark brown she-wolf just snickered before looking away, gazing back down at the clearing from the rocks she and Reiko sat on. Her bracelets gleamed silver in the moonlight, and for a moment Reiko tilted her head to gently brush her muzzle along Corona's neck. "It's cute," she muttered, her voice soft. "I'll give you that much."

"Softie." Corona gave her mate's muzzle a quick lick.

Flicking her ear, Reiko turned her attention back to the clearing, narrowing her eyes. "It's still good that Tsubasa isn't here to see this," she muttered. "You and Miyako might find human/wolf love cute, but he'd think differently."

"He fell in love with a human too."

"Yes, but you know how he is. If he finds out that Himeko's starting to fall for the Himemiya girl, he'll rip her throat out without a thought." She paused briefly, then added, "After he goes after the Himemiya girl, of course."

"You sure know how to ruin a mood."

"I'm being logical. Hate me for it, but it's the truth. They're attracted to each other; it's obvious just from watching them." Reiko closed her eyes. "If Chikane was just a human, or even just a wolf hunter and not a Himemiya, it would be okay. If Himeko was… another wolf… if she didn't have that pendant around her neck, it would be okay. But Chikane is a Himemiya, and Himeko has that pendant around her neck." She slowly opened her eyes. "You know what that makes her."

"It's kind of ironic, when you think about it." Corona's voice was soft. "Not exactly reincarnation, but pretty damn close to it."

They said nothing after this, just watching over the scene; Reiko sighed and shook her head.

"This is a bad idea," she murmured, "but we won't tell Tsubasa or Miyako about this. We'll leave them be and let them figure it out themselves."

"And if it ends badly?" Corona glanced at her mate.

"Then it ends badly." Reiko met Corona's gaze. "Let's just hope for everyone's sake that blood isn't spilled because of puppy love." Her eyes gleamed with humor.

"Hey, hey! You think it's cute, too!"

Reiko gave no reply, just whirled and sped away into the darkness of the trees with Corona in hot pursuit.

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Shock had Tsuki stiffening when Orihime's lips first met hers; it was a chaste kiss, a mere brushing of lips. As the black wolf began to cautiously ease into it, Orihime began to pull back; hissing softly in protest, Tsuki hooked one arm along Orihime's neck and brought the other woman's lips back to hers, and this time she was ready for it.

This kiss was notably longer than the last, and by the time the two parted they were both blushing. They both looked up as Sakura snickered quietly. "Sakura-chan." Orihime blinked, trying to bring her feet back down to earth. "Did you… see that?"

"The whole thing. Nice job, Blackie-chan."

Tsuki raised a brow. "Blackie-chan? My name is Tsuki."

"Blackie-chan has a nice ring to it, though, don't you think?" Sakura grinned. "Orihime, if you don't mind, can you come here for a second? I need the pouch, and your horse is being stubborn and won't stand still… the stupid beast has already stomped on my foot."

Sighing, Orihime glanced apologetically at Tsuki before rising and going to aid her stepsister; Tsuki leaned back, bracing her hands behind her and letting her mind absorb this recent turn of events. She smiled. Maybe she'd stick with Orihime a little bit longer; the woman certainly didn't seem to mind her presence.

"Humans have an interesting way of showing affection, don't you think?"

Tsuki glanced over her shoulder as the masculine voice echoed in her head; Rakuen sat calmly among the trees, far enough not to be noticed, but even from a distance Tsuki could see his eyes gleaming with good humor. Her cheeks darkened. "Shut up," she retorted. "I like it."

"Oh, I can tell that."

"You know, for a gentle giant you really have a sharp tongue." She narrowed her eyes, smirking. "Maybe I should cut it out."

"Now, now, no need to get violent."

Tsuki laughed and looked back to Orihime and Sakura as Rakuen slipped quietly away into the trees.

Neither wolf noticed the dark gray male that trailed him, moving silently and keeping his distance so his scent wouldn't be detected by the larger golden male.

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Somehow, I get the feeling Tsuki's beloved "gentle giant" is going to meet a bloody, violent death before this fic is over. (sweatdrops)

Read and review, please!