A/N: guilty, this title totally reminds me of Josh Groban's song Remember from Troy. It playing in my head the whole time I was writing this chappie! LOL! enjoy!

Chapter 11: Remember

Ryooshi ran up to the shack where Tsume and his gang hid and sniffed around for any recent activity. She couldn't hear anything inside, and wondered if she was too late to catch Tsume until she caught a fresh scent of him on the concrete. She trotted toward the back of the shack and peeked around to see his bike leaning against the wall. Now in her human form, she stepped around to the door and knocked, cautiously.

"Dammit, Tim, when are you gonna learn that knock---?!" Tsume growled as he flung the door open, only to find Ryooshi staring up at him with wide eyes. "What do you want, mutt?"

"Would you stop calling me that?!" Ryooshi snapped as he walked back inside toward the fire he'd built and sat. "I'm a full wolf, not some half-breed!"

"Whatever," he muttered then repeated, "What do you want?"

Ryooshi took a deep breath, remembering what she'd gone there for and stepped inside, closing the door behind her and stepping in front of the fire to face him.

"We're gathering all your friends," she explained with a small smile. "Maybe if we get all of you together you'll remember what happened?"

"I told you, I don't have any friends," Tsume replied. "Who exactly would you be gathering?"

"Toboe and I found Kiba and told him to bring Cheza to the diner where Blue works," she went on. "The plan was to get you and Hige there by following Cheza's scent, but we knew you probably wouldn't take the hint, so I came to get you instead."

"You're right," Tsume nodded, sarcastically. "I'm not gonna follow the scent or go with you either, so why don't you go bother someone else, huh?"

"But it'll only work if all of you are there!" Ryooshi replied, desperately.

"You don't know that," Tsume shot back, jumping to his feet and stepping around the fire to stare her down as he continued, "Why do you wanna help us anyway?! You weren't there, were you?!"

"W-Well, I guess not, but---"

"Then what, you have a crush on Toboe and you wanna help him?!"

"No!" Ryooshi cried, blushing only slightly then hurriedly trying to think of an explanation. "It's because I hate seeing Toboe so depressed! Even if the others don't remember, he'd probably be happiest if you remembered, because you were his best friend!"

"Best friends, with that runt?!" Tsume laughed. "You're off your nut, mutt."

"Quit calling me that!"

"I'm not going with you, so just get lost, alright?" he reiterated, stepping around the fire again and sitting. Ryooshi stared at him for a moment and sighed, exhausted, but stepped around the fire as well and sat next to him, lulling her head back on the stone they were leaning back on and closing her eyes. Tsume glared at her and snapped, "Why are you still here?"

"I'm not leaving until you come with me," she replied, calmly. "I told Toboe I'd take you to the diner. I'm a wolf of my word. I'm not leaving here without you."

"Then you'll be here all day," he retorted and looked back at the fire as Ryooshi opened an eye to peek at him then closed it again to lift her head and look at him.

"You're afraid of what you'll remember, aren't you?" she guessed, but he didn't respond or move. "For someone like you, I'm sure it won't be all that bad."

"Someone like me?" he echoed, not looking at her but frowning in wonder all the same.

"You act like the Big Bad Wolf, but inside you're all soft and squishy," Ryooshi grinned, cutely. Tsume sneered at her, bringing his knees up to lean his elbows on them, his chin on his wrists as they came toward his chest. "Come on, Tsume. If you won't do it for Toboe, do it for yourself. You wanna know, don't you? Aren't you the least bit curious about your past?"

He didn't reply. The truth was she was right. He was curious, but he was also afraid of what he might find out. What if he'd repeated his mistakes he'd made in the past in this life? He unconsciously brushed a finger against the scar on his chest, and Ryooshi caught the action with a slight frown of wonder. She hadn't noticed that before since he had always had his jacket closed when she was with him.

"How'd you get that scar?" she asked, gently and he snapped his fiery jade gaze at her, making her shrink back slightly.

"None of your business," he shot back and stood to walk toward the far wall and lean against it, his arms crossed over his chest. Ryooshi gave him a sneer, staying where she was and crossing her arms in a huff. They sat in silence as Tsume seriously thought of which choice he should make.

If he went with Ryooshi, he might be opening a huge can of worms by regaining his memory. Then again, it may drive him crazy not knowing those four but at the same time knowing he should know them, for whatever reason. It may drive him crazy…unless he left the city. In that case, it'd be a no-brainer. He'd just leave. But something was telling him he should go with the she-wolf still sitting by the fire. It was that same nagging feeling he'd had when he first bumped into the wolves he should have known.

Glancing at Ryooshi, he realized he wasn't going to be able to shake the feeling, or her, for that matter. Besides, if his past was anything similar to his present life, he could always change it somehow, if he wanted to. Pushing off the wall he walked toward the door, catching Ryooshi's attention and she frowned at him before shooting to her feet when he stepped outside. She raced after him as he headed around the shack and toward his bike.

"Where are you going?" she wondered, honestly.

"Where do you think, mutt?" he retorted, straddling his bike and pulling on his helmet. "Hurry up and get on."

Ryooshi grinned and ran toward the bike, jumping over the back wheel and grabbing onto Tsume as her rump hit the seat behind him. He started the engine as she snuggled her cheek against his back, still grinning.

"Toboe's gonna be so happy!" she called over the revving of his engine.

"Whatever," he muttered, but he didn't fail to notice she hadn't stopped snuggling his back, even after they took off at top speed into the road. It made him want to shove her off the back of his bike, but at the same time, he didn't want her to stop.

"Well, Young Pup," Liona began, crossing her arms over her chest. "We're here. Where are the rest of your friends?"

"They'll be here, Sissy," Toboe replied, pacing the width of the alley as Kiba and Cheza stood with them. "We just have to be patient."

He jumped when the back door to the diner opened and Blue hurried out of it, shutting the door behind her then leaning back against it with a sigh.

"Sorry it took me so long, guys," she said, stepping toward them. "What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Not everyone's here yet," Toboe explained. "We have to wait for everyone."

"Do you think Ryooshi found Tsume?" Kiba wondered as Toboe resumed pacing.

"Finding him is no problem, I'm sure," Liona retorted. "It's convincing him to come that's probably taking so long."

"Who are these people again?" Blue whispered to Liona, a regular customer to the diner.

"You'll find out soon enough, I guess," Liona replied, vaguely and Blue glared at the woman suspiciously. She sighed and glanced down the alleyway, but made a double-take when she caught sight of a familiar face cautiously rounding the corner and grinned.

"Hige!" she called, catching his attention and snapping everyone else's attention to him. "What are you doing here?"

"I…uh…" he trailed off nervously as the crowd stared at him. "I followed the scent. That girl smells really nice. It smells kinda familiar though, so I just came to investigate."

"Why don't you come over here with us?" Blue insisted, hurrying toward him and taking his hand to pull him back to the group. "You guys don't mind if he hangs out with us while we wait for the rest of your friends to show up, right?"

"Actually, he's one of the friends we were waiting for," Kiba replied with only a slight smirk making Blue and Hige frown at him.

"Me?" he wondered if he'd heard right. "I don't even know who you guys are."

He purposely omitted the fact that he'd seen the two wolves and the girl in pink the day before. He was sure they'd think he was stalking them or something, but he wondered if it wasn't the other way around if they knew who he was.

A low rumble erupted down the alleyway and they all jumped as they snapped their attention in that direction to see a motorcycle slowing to meet them, stopping a few feet from them so that rider and passenger could dismount the vehicle. The passenger hopped off first and grinned at the crowd as the rider pulled off his helmet and dismounted the bike to lean it against the wall.

"Oh, great," Hige muttered, catching Blue's attention. "It's that crazy girl from yesterday."

Blue gave a little giggle and Hige peered over at her with a smile as Ryooshi and Tsume approached them all.

"Good! Everyone's here!" she grinned, tugging at Tsume's arm as he dragged his feet, glancing around at the group.

Oh, perfect, he thought. There's that kid with those intense eyes. Almost makes me wanna shiver lookin' at him.

He caught sight of Hige and glared at him, pointing at him and saying, "You're the idiot I almost ran over. Why don't you watch where you're goin' porky?!"

"Me?!" Hige snapped back defensively, and would have marched toward him if Blue hadn't been holding onto his arm still. "You're the one who should watch where he's going! You almost made me road-kill!"

"It's your own fault for stepping off the curb without looking!" Tsume shot back, trying to advance as well, but Ryooshi was tugging him back. Kiba shook his head at the two as they began simply growling at each other and Toboe rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Alright, you two, that's enough!" Liona stepped in, standing between the two and flicking both their noses. Both wolves immediately stopped growling and stared at Liona with wide eyes filled with disbelief. "We're here to get your memory's back, not waste time trying to figure who could have caused an accident first!"

"Memory's?" Blue echoed as Hige stepped back with one glare at Tsume, which the older wolf ignored. "Memories of what?"

"Our past lives," Tsume muttered and Blue looked at him in wide-eyed shock.

"Oh, jeez, you didn't take me seriously, did you?" she asked Tsume with a nervous laugh. "I mean, what I told you yesterday about us meeting in a past life…you don't really think---?"

"We did, Blue," Toboe cut in, drawing her attention to him.

"How do you know my name?" she breathed in awe.

"Because he knows you," Kiba replied for the young wolf. "We all know each other from our past life."

"All of us except for the human and the mutt over here," Tsume corrected, nodding to Liona and Ryooshi, causing the latter to glare at him for calling her a mutt again. "Least, I don't think we met them."

"No," Cheza finally spoke up in a soft voice, drawing everyone's attention as she stared at the ground without seeing the ground. "This one does not remember Ryooshi. This one remembers Kiba, Hige, Tsume, Toboe and Blue."

She looked towards Hige and stepped toward him until she was facing him completely as he stared back at her in wonder. She pushed back the hood of her pink raincoat and lifted her hands toward his face to cup it in them, making him give only a slight blush.

"Kiba told this one of the terrible thing that happened to you, Hige," she said, softly. "This one knows you did not betray them. You could never do such a thing to your friends."

"What are you---?"

Hige's question was severed by a mental snap that made his eyes widen and his jaw slacken. What exactly went through his mind, the others would never know, but after a second or two, he looked back at Cheza and gave her a warm smile as she lowered her hands.

He looked around at the rest of the group, something different in his gaze now, as if he knew exactly who everyone was, and when his gaze landed on Blue he pulled his hand from her grip and slung it around her shoulders, pulling her close to place a soft kiss on her temple and making her blush.

"Wha…?" Blue breathed, looking back at him, but he only smiled making her frown at him, but before she could question him further, Cheza stepped in front of her, making Blue look at her in wonder.

Cheza placed took Blue's face into her hands and spoke, soothingly, "You were only half wolf when this one met you, but in this life, you are full wolf. Kiba told me about your master. He would wish to see you again, I'm sure."

Snap. Blue stared at the Flower Maiden with wide eyes as Hige had, and after a moment her expression changed. She didn't bother looking at the rest of the group, she only turned to Hige and threw her arms around him, planting her lips to his. He blushed as she pulled away and snuggled up under his chin as he still blushed, but he gave a smile and pulled her closer as Ryooshi giggled cutely at the scene.

Cheza smiled at the couple then turned to Tsume and slowly stepped toward him. He took a small step back as everyone watched in particular interest at what he would do. He kept his eyes on Cheza as she approached him still and she placed a hand over the scar on his chest.

"This was there when this one met you," she explained, softly. "This one remembers you to be protective and though you would never admit it, this one could see that you cared for those around you."

Tsume only stared at her, but as Ryooshi stared closely at him, she saw the expression in his eyes shift and without a word he looked up at Toboe in what could be described as sorrow at his recovered memories. As Cheza lowered her hand, Tsume looked away from the group, but ended up looking at Ryooshi as she stared back at him.

"I told you," he growled softly at her, making her frown in confusion. "I told I didn't want to remember."

With that he turned and marched toward his bike as everyone watched him and Toboe hung his head, sadly.

Ryooshi sighed hopelessly as he continued walking away, but she straightened when she caught something down the block. The scent hit her senses first before she saw it. Unfortunately it was a familiar scent, and she was a little surprised the others didn't catch it. Either they did and were ignoring it, or didn't find it as alarming as she did. The scent was saturated with gunpowder, vinyl, metal and the thing that frightened her the most, the slight hint of wolf mixed in. She saw a man in black at the end of the block, something huge in his hands and a canine companion with him. A companion that looked very much, and in fact was, a wolf.

"Tsume!" she called desperately, making everyone jump, but he only continued to his bike and pulling the helmet from the handlebar to put it on. Ryooshi didn't think twice before running toward him and yanking his helmet from him, knowing that would get his attention. Sure enough, Tsume looked at her with a fire in his jade eyes, but she only stared at him, unafraid of him and by all means afraid of the man down the block.

"Ryooshi, what's wrong?" Toboe called, seeing her panicked manner and she stared at him with wide eyes.

"We have to get out of here," she explained, hurrying back to the group, still holding Tsume's helmet.

"Hey!" he called, going after her. "Give me that---!"

He went to snatch it away but she pulled it out of his reach.

"What's wrong?" Hige asked next. "Why do we have to leave?"

"There are some!"

Ryooshi's heart almost stopped when she heard the man shout and the group snapped their attention to the man now running toward them, the wolf beside him.

"Wolf Hunters!" Ryooshi cried at all of them. "Run!"

None of them waited a second before obeying Ryooshi's command and they all ran out of the alley and down the street, away from the diner.

"Separate!" Ryooshi called again. "We're easier targets if we're together! Meet up later!"

"Where?!" Liona shouted as they all still ran, hearing more footsteps behind them.

"Follow Cheza's scent!" she replied. "Wherever she and Kiba are, that's where we'll meet!"

The group nodded to each other and shot off in different directions. Kiba led Cheza down another alley while Hige and Blue ran straight down the street, Toboe and Liona darted down another and Ryooshi followed Tsume as he slid sideways into a wide gutter.

A/N: yay, but, oh crap. LOL. yes, another cliffhanger. but don't worry, the next chappie should be coming up soon. at least they all have their memories back! and i just couldn't help the kiss with Hige and Blue. as i said before, i love that pairing. reviews?