A/N: my muse? the Wolf's Rain soundtracks. ^.^ Ryooshi means Huntress. enjoy!

Chapter 6: Ryooshi

Ryooshi tapped her nails impatiently on the table. She'd been waiting for at least a half hour for her food, maybe longer. She placed her head on the table in boredom and her stomach felt like it was eating itself, she was so hungry. She hated that feeling. She wished she'd gotten the other waitress to serve her instead of the blonde bimbo she'd ended up with. What was that one's name?

"Sandy," she sneered, mockingly then mumbled, "Next time I come here, I'm asking for that waitress that was actually a wolf…what's her name?" She thought for a moment then shot her head up in realization and grinned, "Blue!"

She lowered her head back down onto the table but heard the door open and shut, and she suddenly caught a sweet scent. Her head shot up and she looked around, sniffing the air and trying to figure out where that wonderful scent was coming from. She caught sight of a couple sitting down at one of the tables and realized the smell was coming from that girl. And what a wonderful scent it was. She thought of going to them and asking why she smelled so good, but thought better of it. If that twit waitress came back with her food, she'd think she had left.

She jumped when a hand placed itself on her shoulder and her eyes widened in terror as she slowly looked up the connecting arm to meet an angry, manly face. She laughed nervously and smiled with a wave, but the man's expression didn't change.

"I'm gonna have to ask you to leave if you're not going to order anything," he said, sternly.

"B-But I did," Ryooshi replied. "That girl, Sandy took my order. I paid for it and everything already. She said it would be easier if I paid right away, that way I could just leave when I was done."

"Nice try, but I'm not falling for that, Missy," the man replied and picked her up out of the chair by the arm, but she yanked her arm from his grip.

"No hold on a second---!" she tried, but the man gathered her into is arms and started her toward the door, to which she struggled.

"Hey! Let go of me!" she snarled, making a scene in the diner, but not caring at who looked at her. "You can't do this! I'm a customer! I paid for a meal!"

"You're loitering!" the man snapped back, still shoving her toward the door. "You said you ordered food hours ago! Now get outta here! We're open for customers only!"

"But I am!" she shouted as everyone watched her being shoved out the door.

"Bull shit!" the man snarled, and shoved the door open then almost threw her out and into the street. "Get outta here! I don't take in strays!"

"You stupid, son of a---!"

The man shut the door before she finished insulting him, but she still ranted and raved outside, shouting at the door, "I paid for my food!" she shouted at the door. "It's not my fault your waitresses are slow! I'm hungry!"

She stomped her foot in frustration, then shoved her pockets in her pants and started to walk but when she looked back into the window she suddenly realized the boy with blue eyes and black hair sitting with the sweet scented girl was a wolf. She couldn't believe she'd found another wolf in this city. This was incredible!

Standing at the window she caught the boy's attention and once he was looking at her she pointed at herself then at him saying, "You're a wolf, like me!"

The boy nodded and Ryooshi became so giddy she couldn't help herself from spinning around in a circle and giggling like mad.

She looked back at the window and grinned, "My name is Ryooshi! Who's that pretty girl that smells so good with you?!"

She suddenly jumped again when she saw the man that had thrown her out yelling at her again and hurried down the street. She sighed but suddenly caught another scent. A mouth-watering scent of meat. She noticed a figure…no, another wolf, sitting with a bag in his lap and a hot dog in his hand as she stopped right in front of him. She noticed he had brown hair and red eyes and looked about the same age as the boy in the diner, but she couldn't help staring at his food.

"Can I help you?" he wondered, irritably and looked up to meet her wide eyes.

"Those hot dogs?" she wondered, nodding at the bag. "They sure smell good."

"They're mine," he snapped. "Go dig around in a dumpster somewhere."

"Well, gee-whiz, man!" she snapped back and started walking past him. "Don't have to be so stingy! Like you haven't dumpster-dived before?! Whatever."

Ryooshi gave a sigh and turned down the alley between the diner and the next building. She stopped and leaned against the wall, placing her hand on her stomach when it growled, loudly.

"Gotta find food," she groaned then thought on what the hot dog wolf had suggested. "Well, dumpster diving isn't all that bad, I guess."

She sneered at the thought, but knew she had to get food somehow and trudged down the alley a little farther to head to the back of the diner. She figured there had to be food behind a diner of all places. She rounded into the alley behind the diner but something caught her eye at the other end of the alley where more buildings lined the other side of the block.

She cautiously headed down to the other alley when she caught sight of a rat or something, scurry into a fallen paper bag. Smacking her lips together hungrily, she inched toward it and was about to grab it but something else came out of the bag. A hiss and a cat's cry came from the bag as a clawed paw reached out and swiped Ryooshi's nose.

"Get outta here!" the cat screamed as Ryooshi shook her head violently but didn't quite dodge the cat's claws. She yelped and backed away then turned to run out of fright and surprise but she didn't watch where she was going and before she could catch herself she was headed toward a pile of tin trash cans on the other end of the alley behind the diner and crashed into them.

"Dangit!" she snarled as she sat there in the garbage for a moment then complained, "This is turning out to be a fun day."

She shoved herself from the trash cans and dusted herself off, shaking her head at herself. Of course it would end up like this the one time she attempted dumpster diving. Feeling herself being watched she looked down the alley and noticed two others of her kind standing some feet away from her. She was excited to see the nice waitress from the diner, and noticing her first, Ryooshi didn't really see the other male wolf behind her.

"Wow! More wolves!" she cheered and ran toward the two as they only stood there looking confused. "I'm Ryooshi! Nice to meet you!" She gripped the woman's hand and shook it fiercely. "I know your name. You're the nice waitress in that place I was just thrown out of. Blue, right?"

"Y-Yeah," she replied and Ryooshi nodded then looked to the man in black with jade eyes, lighter than hers and silver hair, some pulled back into a thin pony tail and as she looked to him, he cocked an eyebrow at her in wonder. She stared at him with wide eyes, loosening the grip on Blue's hand to walk toward him. Blue was forgotten as she suddenly found herself entranced by him, and as she headed toward him, he stayed where he was but watched her carefully as she realized who he was.

"You're Tsume, right?" she guessed and he looked at her in mild surprise.

"How'd ya know that?" he humored, not really sounding interested in the answer.

"I've heard about you from the animals and humans around here," she explained, stopping right in front of him. "You're pretty famous."

"That so?" he muttered, staring at her but she noticed him glance behind her and realized that Blue must have been leaving.

"Oh, yeah," Ryooshi nodded, ignoring shutting of the door behind her as Blue escaped. "You run with a pack of humans, I heard. Don't you get lonely being with them all the time and not with your own kind?"

"I don't get lonely," he replied and with that he turned and tried to head toward his bike, but she felt her heart race in panic. He couldn't leave yet! Not when she was so fascinated by him. She had to keep talking to him for some reason, unknown to her, she just had to.

"How do you keep from getting lonely?" Ryooshi wondered, hurrying after him and coming up next to him, but he only stared ahead. "I'd really like to know your secret. I'm lonely all the time."

"Don't make friends then," Tsume advised, not looking at her. "And don't become any human's pet."

"I'm not doing either of those," Ryooshi replied, in a slightly sorrowful tone, "and I'm still lonely."

"Well, then I don't know what to tell ya, kid," Tsume replied, finally coming to his bike and pulling the helmet off the handle to put it on.

"Wow! Cool bike!" she grinned, moving to sit on it. Tsume gripped her arm and shoved her away, making her stumble and almost slip on the puddles on the sidewalk. She whirled around and scowled at him.

"I didn't say you could get on it," he said, mounting the bike. "Get lost, brat."

"I'm not a brat!" she yelled over the rev of his engine as he started the bike. "You had better apologize to me!"

Tsume looked at her through the windshield of his helmet and lifted a hand to wave at her before he sped off into the street and made a U-turn to drive away.

She stomped her feet and gave an angry growl in his direction as he sped away, then felt a sudden chill run through her body. She hugged herself and felt tears pricked her eyes and starting to well up in them. She was all alone again, hungry and tired. Tired of trying to survive on her own and wishing she could do as well as all the other wolves she'd seen today, but she knew she wouldn't be able to do that. A stray like herself wasn't good for anything. She learned that a long time ago and nothing was going to change her mind about it, because she believed it was true. After all that had happened to her, how could it not be true?

She suddenly felt the rain pouring down on her stop, and a shadow cast itself all around her and next to her. She gasped and looked up to meet the smiling, warm face of a boy about her age with auburn hair and amber eyes, holding an umbrella above her and a bundle in his other arm that she noticed, when she looked closer, was a kitten in a blanket. Another thing she noticed right away was that he was yet another wolf.

"Hi, there," he smiled and she wiped some water from her face she suspected could have been tears. "My name's Toboe. What's yours?"

"Ryooshi," she replied then smiled slightly as she said, "You're a wolf, like me."

"Yup," Toboe nodded then grinned, making her giggle.

"I've met a whole bunch of wolves today," she reported, making sure she was fully under the umbrella. "I didn't think there were so many in this city! Aren't you surprised, too?!"

"A little," he shrugged, still smiling.

"Thanks for sharing your umbrella with me," she smiled. "I'm absolutely soaked!"

"Sure thing!" he grinned. "Where're you headed?"

"Oh, no place in particular," Ryooshi replied. "How 'bout you?"

"I'm headed home," he said, then suddenly looked to her with wide eyes, filled with excitement as he asked, "You wanna come home with me? You can dry off there, and have something to eat while you wait for the rain to stop."

"Oh, no!" Ryooshi breathed, shaking her head. "I wouldn't want to impose. Besides, you should get that cute little kitten home before he freezes to death!"

"It's alright," Toboe insisted. "I'd feel bad if I left you here in the rain. You'll get sick out here."

Ryooshi smiled at his kindness then shrugged as she replied, "Why not?"

Toboe grinned and gestured which way they'd be going. She stood close to him under the umbrella as they headed down the street then she looked down at the kitten.

"Do you want me to hold him for you?" she wondered, referring to the fur-ball in his arms and hoping he would say yes. Lord knew how much she loved little animals.

"Oh, you don't have to," he smiled much to her chagrin, but then to her delight amended, "Unless you want to, that is."

He didn't even have to ask that question twice, because she was looking at the kitten and smiling at it. Smiling as well, he carefully handed her the kitten, making her burst into a full grin as she took it, holding it close and stroking it gently as it still slept and he still held the umbrella.

It's so cute! She thought to herself then asked, "What's its name?"

"I haven't named him yet," Toboe replied. "I just got him a few minutes ago."

"Really?!" Ryooshi giggled. "What do you think you'll name him then?"

Toboe looked at the kitten then back at her and laughed nervously, replying, "I hadn't really thought about it. He was an impulse buy."

Ryooshi giggled again and complimented, "You're funny. You're so nice, too. Thanks for letting me stay with you a while. I owe you big. If there's anything you need, just ask."

"That's ok," he shrugged, blushing only slightly making her frown inwardly in confusion. "You don't need to. Sister gives me everything I need."

"Oh, you have a sister?" Ryooshi smiled, wanting to know everything about her new friend.

"Well, she's a human," he explained. "So she can't really be my sister. But she's like a sister to me."

"That's so nice!" she replied. "I don't have anybody that I live with. I'm a true stray, I guess." Toboe snickered and she giggled again before asking, "What's your 'sister's' name?"

"Liona," he replied. "She's really nice. You'll like her."

"I'm sure," Ryooshi nodded and turned back to stroking the kitten in her arms. She was so glad she wasn't alone as they still walked down the street toward Toboe's home and grinning down at the still sleeping kitten, she allowed her mind to wander.

She thought of that wolf she'd met in the diner with the girl that smelled like a flower and recalled with clarity how intense his gaze was, but he seemed happy with that girl. She wondered if she'd ever meet him again. She wondered if she'd ever meet the others as well.

Ryooshi actually wouldn't have been disappointed if she didn't meet that stingy Hot Dog wolf again. He seemed too easily irritable when it came to food. She realized she could have been totally wrong, but his first impression lacked something to be desired. The again, rainy weather put people in bad moods.

She had watched Blue before she'd been kicked out of the diner, and hoped she'd meet her again. She hadn't gotten a chance to really talk to her in the alley either, because she'd been suddenly drawn to Tsume.

Tsume. She couldn't understand it. Why was she so drawn to him when he obviously thought she was annoying? Normally she would have just walked away since he'd been rather mean to her, but for whatever reason, she couldn't just leave it alone. Out of all of the wolves she'd met today, she hoped she'd see Tsume again the most.

However, out of all the wolves she'd run into that day, she most grateful she'd run into Toboe. He was nice enough to help her out, which was more than she could say of Tsume. Toboe also seemed nice, and friendly, and happy. She could tell they had a lot in common, and would get along just great. She was happy to have found someone who cared. After everything she'd been through, she wouldn't take this for granted.

A/N: ooh! mysterious is the newest member of our cast! LOL ok, so i was on a roll and i really had fun with this chappie. ^.^ reviews?