A/N: yeah, yeah, play on one of the songs. i couldn't help it. yay! new chappie! enjoy!
Chapter 12: Run Wolf Warriors
They landed with small splashes, side by side and Tsume glared at Ryooshi as she only looked up at the opening above them, allowing a shaft of light to illuminate them in the sewer.
"Why do you keep following me?!" Tsume snarled but Ryooshi slapped a hand over his mouth, still looking up at the shaft of light above them. He glared at her again but just as he was about to yank his head from her hand, he heard boots hitting pavement above them.
"They dove in here!" the man called and Ryooshi yanked her hand away from Tsume's mouth to shove him ahead.
"Run!" she hissed and they dashed across the concrete platform they'd landed on, Tsume in the lead with Ryooshi on his tail. They heard a splash and a snarl behind them but neither one dared look back, especially Ryooshi.
"What the hell is goin' on here, mutt!" Tsume growled as they rounded a corner to lose the animal behind them.
"Just run!" Ryooshi shot back, shoving him ahead a little more.
"Be nice if I knew what I was running from!" he snapped.
"A wolf! Now just---!"
She was cut off when she let out a howl of pain, causing Tsume to make a dead stop and turn as Ryooshi gave another yelp. The wolf that had been chasing them was gnawing on she wasn't doing all that much to fight it. Tsume leapt toward the attacking wolf and sunk his teeth into the nape of the canine's neck. The wolf let out a yelp, letting go of Ryooshi's leg in the process but it turned on Tsume. He was faster and leapt out of the way then spun and kicked the wolf with his hind legs, causing that wolf to land in the sewer water.
"Over there! I heard a splash!"
"Damn!" Tsume growled, hearing the human's voice echo in the dark sewer. He looked at Ryooshi who was whimpering as she tried to stand. Growling in frustration, he pulled her into his arms and darted down the sewer as Ryooshi threw her arms around his neck to keep herself from falling.
He stopped, swiftly leapt into an elevated pipe several feet above them, big enough for them to fit, and set Ryooshi down. He leaned against the side of the pipe to watch the men Ryooshi called Wolf Hunters run down the sewer and past them. Only when Tsume heard their boot-steps disappear did he relax and let out a sigh. Suddenly remembering he wasn't alone he snapped his gaze at Ryooshi who was giving out small whimpers at the pain in her leg.
"First of all," he began, catching her attention, "how the hell did you know what those guys were and that they were gonna attack us?"
She stared at him for a moment and swallowed before shaking her head and turning back to her leg.
"Fine then, how come you didn't fight back when that wolf caught you?" he asked but instead of getting an answer she only shook her head again.
"Alright," he grumbled through clenched teeth in frustration. "Why the hell are wolves helping those Wolf Hunters kill us?"
Again she didn't answer, but this time she didn't even move either.
"Why the hell won't you answer me?!" he growled, shooting to his feet to stare her down. "I couldn't get you to shut up a minute ago! What are you clamming up for all of a sudden?!"
"I don't wanna talk about it," she mumbled, making Tsume stare at her with wide eyes, but she still didn't look at him. "It's got something to do with my past and I just don't wanna talk about it. You know what that feels like, right? You wouldn't tell me how you got that scar on your chest, and I haven't asked you about it since."
"You wouldn't leave it alone when I told you I didn't wanna remember me past life," Tsume retorted. "Why should I leave you alone about this? Seems a little unfair, don't you think?"
"You'll hate me if I tell you," she replied, still not looking at him as he leaned back on the wall in front of her.
"I hate you already," he corrected, crossing his arms over his chest.
"No you don't," she argued and he shot another wide-eyed gaze at her. "If you did, you wouldn't have saved me back there for the second time since we met."
Tsume sneered at her and glanced down the pipe then back at her and asked, "Can you walk?"
She only nodded, still not looking at him.
"Then let's get above ground," he said, pushing off the wall and starting down the pipe. "We'll hide at the shack where my gang hides-out. Those Wolf Hunters won't think to look there, right?"
"They probably already have," she struggled, trying to stand on her lame foot. "They won't back-track though, which is good news for us."
"Good," Tsume nodded and glanced at her as she tried limping a little ways, almost falling in the process. He gave another sigh of exasperation and stepped next to her, pulling her arm up and around his neck, his arm around her for support. Ryooshi looked up at him in surprise, a slight blush over her cheeks and she swallowed as they headed down the pipe.
They walked slowly for a half hour or so before they came to a manhole. They stood under it and Tsume lowered his arm around Ryooshi to grab her waist and hoist her toward it. She winced at the pain in her leg but kept it silent as she moved the manhole cover and lifted herself up just enough to look around and make sure it was safe.
They would emerge into the middle of the street, but everything seemed to be deserted. That made her uneasy, but at the same time, she knew it would work in their favor.
"Well?" Tsume prompted for a report.
"The street's deserted," she reported. "I think it'll be ok."
Without another word Tsume let her fall from the opening above, making her give a yelp of surprise but he quickly kept her from falling completely as he gathered her in his arms and she looked up at him with wide eyes and another blush over her cheeks.
"Don't read anything into it, mutt," he grumbled, seeing her red cheeks. "It's only 'cause you're injured that I'm holding you like this. Got it?"
Ryooshi only nodded but swallowed to moisten her dry mouth all the same. Tsume glanced up at the manhole and pulled her closer so she wouldn't bump her head as she curled closer into him to avoid the same thing, and he jumped out of the hole in one quick motion, landing in a kneeling position just next to the manhole. He shoved the cover back over the hole and hurried down the street.
"We'll get to my bike and head back to the hide-out---"
"No!" she objected. "If we take the bike, they'll hear it, and then they'll find us. A quiet get-away is better."
"But it would be faster if we took the bike!" Tsume snarled back.
"Just listen to me, will you!" Ryooshi hissed as she held onto his neck while he still held her. "We can get to your hide-out quickly and quietly without the bike!"
Tsume growled at her in agitation but headed quickly down the street and towards the shack. He couldn't believe he was actually listening to this she-wolf more than he should, but she had a point. The bike would be fast, but it would be loud. There would be no way they could keep a low profile on that thing.
Ryooshi snuggled closer to him and his heart skipped a beat again as it had done the first time she'd ridden with him on the bike. He couldn't understand why but at the moment he didn't care. All he needed to think about in that moment was getting to the hide-out, and getting there without being spotted.
After what seemed like an eternity, he finally came to the shack. He could tell none of his gang was there, which was just fine with him. He didn't need any of those idiots asking him questions and annoying him right now. He shoved the door open and gently set Ryooshi against the stone in front of the fire which had died long after they left.
He sat next to her and sighed in exhaustion as he leaned on the stone next to her and she looked back at him. Realizing he was being stared at he looked at her and grunted, "What?"
"Thank you for saving me again, Tsume," she smiled, sweetly. "I knew you would."
"That why you didn't fight back?" he retorted, and her smile dropped slightly.
"No," she replied, to his surprise. "But I still knew you would."
Tsume sneered and looked away from her, making her give a small giggle. Suddenly exhausted she closed her eyes and allowed her head to lull to one side. She slowly started leaning to the side until she landed against Tsume's shoulder. He shot a burning gaze at her but when he realized she was asleep he sighed, hopelessly.
"Why the hell are you following me, Ryooshi?" he murmured. "After the way I've treated you, why are you still here?"
He suddenly realized, he was a magnet for young pups who were in trouble. First Toboe, now Ryooshi. He swallowed the lump in his throat that formed when he thought of Toboe. He remembered everything now…even the runt's death. That had been the thing he was afraid of remembering. He hated seeing Toboe's lifeless body lying in the snow under that old man's arm.
The other thing he'd been afraid to remember was Hige's death as well. That had been by his own hand. Darcia did most of the work, but Hige had asked Tsume to put him out of his misery, and he had. It was a mercy killing, but he hated doing it, nonetheless. They'd all died. All except Kiba. At least, that was all he remembered.
Now that I remember, what the hell do I do? he thought to himself, but try as he might, he couldn't find the answer to that question. He supposed he would meet up with the pack again and he'd figure it out when they were all together, but for now, they would wait until nightfall to start searching for the rest.
Glancing down at Ryooshi again, he couldn't help but slide his arm around her shoulders and pull her a little closer to him. It was cold, but he couldn't risk building a fire. Suddenly feeling tired himself, he let his head rest on top of Ryooshi's, shut his eyes and drifted to sleep quickly, not even noticing Ryooshi smile as she snuggled a little closer to him.
Hige and Blue darted down the alleyway, Hige never letting go of her hand. They suddenly stopped abruptly at the end of the alley when a man in black with a machine gun came up in front of them, a wolf snarling at his feet.
"I got two over here!" he shouted, and the wolf with him leapt at Blue, but Hige pounced at him mid-air, sinking his teeth into the wolf's neck and making him yelp.
"Jump!" Hige shouted as he quickly pulled away and they leapt up into the air, quickly jumping from sill to sill on the buildings, dodging the bullets fired by the man in black at the bottom of the alley.
They leapt onto one of the roofs of the buildings and hurried across it to the other end to jump to the next building until they didn't hear the men shouting or the wolves barking. Panting, they sat down on the flat roof and Hige flopped back with an exhausted sigh onto his back, making Blue giggle at him. He closed his eyes, pulling his hands under his head to cradle it and opened only one eye to peek at Blue as she sat next to him, smiling.
"That was close, huh?" he smiled and she nodded, laying on her back as well with a sigh.
"Thank you for protecting me, Hige," she said, rolling onto her side and propping her head in one of her hands.
"Well, I know you can take of yourself, but I couldn't resist playing the Hero for the Damsel in Distress," he smirked and Blue laughed, slightly. Hige pulled an arm from under his head and slid it around her waist to pull her almost completely on top of him, making her give a slight blush as he murmured, "And thank you for that kiss earlier."
"You're welcome," she smirked and snuggled her head under his chin as he grinned.
"We'll wait until sunset to find Kiba and the others," Hige advised. "Those guys in black shouldn't be up at night just to look for us."
"What if they come up here to search for us?" Blue asked worriedly, sitting up just enough to look at him. "We should find a better place to hide, don't you think?"
Hige nodded in agreement and sat up with her to stand with her. They ran to the edge of the roof and cautiously glanced over the edge. They noticed a few of the Wolf Hunters come out of the building they were facing that looked like an abandoned hotel.
"Anything?" one of them asked one of his friends, and the man he was talking to shook his head.
Hige looked at Blue and nodded toward the hotel and she nodded in agreement. They both took some steps back to get a running start and leapt to the roof of the hotel. They swiftly launched themselves into one of the open windows and landed inside a room, noiselessly. Hige sniffed the air and caught the stale smell of age and neglect in the air, but didn't catch anything threatening. Taking Blue's hand again he led her out of the room and into the hallway of the second floor they were on to look around.
"This should do," he nodded in satisfaction and they both turned back into the room to look at the dusty old bed inside it. Both wrinkled their noses at it and exchanged glances.
"Maybe we shouldn't be so picky," Blue shrugged. "After all, it's a bed."
"I'd rather not inhale dust while I sleep," Hige replied, shaking his head and turning his nose up at the bed, comically.
"I don't think we'll be getting around that if we're spending the night here," she smirked, playfully and Hige gave a sigh of defeat. She was right. She suddenly cast her glance down to the ground and murmured, "I hope the others are ok. Ryooshi seemed to be scared the most out of all of us."
Hige smiled at Blue, slipping his arm around her shoulders and hugging her closer as he walked them toward the bed to sit on the trunk at the foot of the mattress.
"I'm sure they're all fine," he assured her then wondered out loud, "What I'd like to know is how she knew what those guys were. I've never heard of a Wolf Hunter before. Especially not one that uses wolves to hunt other wolves."
"That's the scariest part," Blue agreed. "What is this world coming to when wolves hunt other wolves?!"
"I don't know, Blue," he sighed, pulling her closer and resting his chin on her head as she leaned it against his shoulder. "Maybe when we catch up with the others, Ryooshi can clear some things up?"
Blue nodded and snuggled closer into Hige, making him smile and hug her again.
"We need to rest," he murmured and she nodded again. Both crawled onto the bed, giving a few sneezes at the dust that bellowed into the air at their sudden movements, and curled up against each other, Hige holding Blue close.
"I'm glad we have our memory's back," she smiled.
"Me too," Hige grinned back. "Although, I can't believe I forgot about being with a babe like you."
Blue laughed and gave him a light punch in the chest, but snuggled closer to him to drift to sleep. Hige soon fell asleep himself, a huge grin on his face.
Toboe bounded down the alleyway they had ducked into, Liona stumbling and tripping behind him trying to keep up with his wolf form. He finally stopped to wait for her at the end of the alleyway beyond the one they'd run into, but he still heard one of the Wolf Hunters coming after them, even over his panting and racing heart.
"Go, Toboe!" Liona gasped for air, catching up to his human form and shoving him in urgency. "I'll hold him off! You run home!"
"I'm not leaving you!" Toboe insisted, but Liona tried shoving him again.
"Run home!" she repeated. "I won't let them kill you!"
"But I can't let them kill you!" Toboe shot back, desperately.
"There's one!"
They jumped and looked in the direction opposite to where they had been running to see a Wolf Hunter and his wolf running toward them. Toboe knew at once that the wolf would get there sooner, and he refused to let Liona get caught in the middle of a fight between wolves.
Thinking quickly he threw his arms around Liona's waist and leapt into the air and jumped from window sill to window sill to get to the roof as Liona held tight to him. Once on the roof he let Liona stand and they darted across the roof to glance into the alley on the other side of the building. Lifting Liona in his arms again, Toboe jumped down into the alley, but instead of landing gracefully and noiselessly, his foot slipped and he fell onto his back, Liona landing on his stomach and making him grunt.
"Ow," he groaned as Liona scrambled off of him.
"Toboe, are you alright?!" Liona whispered, not wanting the Wolf Hunters to catch them and helping the young wolf up.
"Yeah," he groaned again, standing.
"Down here! I think I heard something!"
"Dangit!" Toboe snarled, and scrambled to his feet, gathered Liona into his arms again and leapt up to the highest window sill he could reach, crouched there and whispered to Liona, "Don't make a sound."
She nodded and they watched the man below run through the alley. They sighed in relief when he went straight through, but Toboe gave a small gasp when he saw a wolf trailing into the alleyway and sniffing the air. Of course, the wolf caught their scent, and looking up at the source, started barking at them. Toboe didn't wait to see if one of the men would respond before he leapt toward the roof of the next building, doing a front flip off the last window sill to give himself a little more momentum. Liona shrieked when they landed on the roof, this time without slipping.
"We'll head home," Toboe planned, not letting his 'sister' down as he raced across the roof. "Hold on."
He didn't have to tell her twice as she held her arms around his neck tightly to keep from falling. Leaping from roof to roof, Toboe made his way back to Liona's apartment and when he finally stopped, they'd landed on the porch in front of her front door. He set Liona on her feet and hurried through his doggy door to open the door on the other side to let her in. When she didn't move, still in shock, he gripped her hand and pulled her into the apartment then shut the door and locked it behind her.
"Don't ever do that with me again, ok?" she breathed, trembling slightly. Toboe couldn't help but snicker at her reaction. She knew he was a wolf, and had seen his abilities, but being in the middle of one of his performances was too much for her.
"So, Young Pup," she began, trying to collect herself, "what now?"
Toboe looked at Liona with wide eyes and blinked a few times before breathing, "I don't know."
Liona nodded and stepped toward him, placing her hands on his shoulders at look him in the eye and said, "Well, Ryooshi told you to meet up later, right?"
Toboe only nodded.
"Right. So you'll go looking for your friends after nightfall," she nodded, patting his cheek but as she walked away to the kitchen, Toboe stared at her with wide eyes.
"You won't come with me?" he wondered, and Liona stopped next to the dining room table to sigh and turn to face him.
"These are your friends, Young Pup," she replied. "You're a pack of wolves…that means no humans."
"But, I'm not gonna leave you, Sissy!" Toboe cried, hurrying toward her and taking her hands in his. "Where I go, you go. That's the deal! I'm not leaving you behind!"
"Toboe, I can't run with a pack of wolves!" Liona laughed, turning to head into the kitchen. "First of all, I can't even keep up with you when you're running, and second of all, that cute little kitten you brought home need to be taken care of. You don't suggest we take him with us, do you?"
"But, Sissy---"
"Toboe, I knew this would happen some day," she cut in, standing in front of the sink to lean on it. Her voice sounded like it was shaky, at best, and Toboe sensed a sorrowful aura fill the air emitting from his 'sister'. "I knew you'd find your friends some day and go with them. I'm happy for you, Young Pup, and I know being with your pack makes you happy."
As she spoke, Toboe had been stepping slowly closer to her, and now he placed a hand on her shoulder, making her stiffen and turn her head to him.
"Sissy…" he breathed, "being with you makes me happy too, you know?"
"I know," Liona smiled, patting his hand on her shoulder and giving a sniffle. "But I know that you should be with your own kind, too."
Toboe, in his wolf form, rubbed his head against her leg with a small whimper and Liona looked down with a small smile, lifting a hand to run it over the wolf's head, scratching him behind the ears.
"Go build a fire, Young Pup," she smiled. "It's cold in here."
Kiba and Cheza ran down the street, not looking back as Kiba led the way, Cheza's hand in his. They turned around the block but he made a dead stop when he came face to face with a Wolf Hunter as his wolf.
"Get him!" the man ordered to the wolf and it didn't hesitate to charge toward the two.
Kiba growled, standing his ground as the wolf came barreling toward them and Kiba leapt toward him, jaws open. The attacking wolf dig his heels into the ground as Kiba leapt at him, but it wasn't fast enough and the white wolf landed onto him, his teeth sinking into his neck just below his chin. A sickening snap was heard and was followed by the report of the machine gun that the Wolf Hunter was holding.
"Kiba!" Cheza called in a panic at the gunshots, but Kiba had leapt out of the way just in time, and the bullets only hit the dead wolf on the ground.
Kiba landed next to Cheza and hurried her into an alley as the man followed her, not caring about his wolf partner lying in the street. They stopped when Kiba spotted another Wolf Hunter running down the alley toward them. Without a word, he gathered Cheza into his arms and leapt onto a window sill on one of the buildings. The window being open he set Cheza down inside the room and climbed in himself.
"They'll come in here to find us," he told her. "We'll have to get out of here without them knowing we've gone."
"This way," Cheza suggested, taking Kiba's hand, gently and leading him out of the room.
They headed across a balcony on the second floor they'd landed on and toward a room on the other side. Cheza led Kiba into the room and raised a hand to the window. Looking out the window he saw an old hotel that looked like it hadn't been used in years. Gathering her into his arms again he leapt out the window and ducked into the window she'd been pointing at, landed noiselessly on the carpet. A gasp caught his attention and he looked up at the bed in the room to see two familiar faces.
"Glad you could make it," Hige grinned with a wave of his hand as Kiba stood and set Cheza on her feet and Blue scooted to sit on the edge of the mattress they were on.
"When did you get here?" Kiba wondered, holding Cheza's hand to lead her closer to the bed.
"Just a minute ago," Blue answered as Cheza sat next to her on the bed. "We barely escaped one of the Wolf Hunters."
"We just escaped two of them as well," Kiba reported.
"Damn! They're everywhere, aren't they?!" Hige grumbled, flopping back onto the bed with his hands behind his head and making a cloud of dust bellow into the air.
The four coughed at the dust in the air but Kiba managed to ask, "Have you seen---" Here he coughed again, "…Ryooshi at all?"
The couple shook their heads and Kiba gave a nod of understanding.
"Hige and I were just wondering how she knew what those men were before they even came after us," Blue replied and Kiba said nothing as he started wondering the same thing.
"It's a little suspicious, if you ask me," Hige chimed in. "And it's kinda sick using wolves to hunt other wolves."
"Gee, thanks, Hige," Blue retorted and he shot a wide-eyed look at her as sat up, remembering that she had done just that in her past life for the man who had been her master at the time.
"No, no! I didn't mean it like that!" he recanted. "You didn't know you were part wolf! But these wolves hunting us…they know what they are, and they know what we are. That's what makes it sick. They're hunting their own kin, and they know it."
"I'm sure they think they have no choice, Hige," Kiba theorized. "The men probably told gave them a choice, either work for them and hunt us or be hunted and killed themselves."
"I'd rather be dead than work for humans like that," Hige retorted, sitting back again. "I'm sure if Tsume were here he'd agree with me."
"For once," Blue scoffed making Cheza giggle.
"I'm sure they don't like the circumstances," Kiba continued, stepping toward the bed to sit next to Cheza. "They probably feel guilty beyond belief, but there's nothing they can do about now."
"Why would the humans trust wolves anyway?" Hige wondered. "I mean, they could turn on them anytime they wanted."
"I'm sick of talking about this," Blue interrupted then glanced at the Flower Maiden next to her. "Look, you're depressing Cheza!"
The two males looked at Cheza to see that Blue was right. Her blank gaze was filled with sorrow, and Kiba slid his arm around her shoulders to pull her close to him.
"I'm sorry, Cheza," he murmured.
"This one is as well," she murmured, making him frown, but she continued, "This one hates that the wolves are hunting each other. It seems this world is no batter than the world before it."
They were all silent for a moment, deep in thought, but Hige quickly sat up and jumped from the bed to stand in front of the other three with a grin.
"Hey, why don't you and Cheza take the bed, Kiba?" he suggested. "Cheza shouldn't have to sleep on the floor."
"Would you all stay here with this one?" Cheza hoped, lifting her head, slightly.
"Of course we will," Blue smiled, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I don't think any of us want to be alone right now."
"So, I guess we'll just wait for the others to show up later, huh?" Hige guessed as he went to sit on the bed again.
"Yes," Kiba nodded as they all scooted onto the bed to get comfortable.
"Do you think Ryooshi will come back?" Blue wondered as she and Hige snuggled up together. "I mean, after warning us about that Wolf Hunter, she probably knows that we'll have questions for her."
"Didn't she run off with Tsume?" Hige recalled. "Maybe he talked to her already and she told him something?"
"Maybe," Kiba replied. "But she seemed so frightened when she told us to run, she may not say anything to him."
"She seemed like an open personality," Blue replied.
"Yeah, but she's a little crazy too," Hige retorted, twirling a finger around one of his ears. "Crazies don't usually share a lot about what makes them scared and…crazy."
"She's not crazy," Blue argued. "She's…different."
"Crazy," Hige mouthed at Kiba who gave a small amused smile at his friend.
"We should get some sleep," he advised and the couple nodded, snuggling into each other a little more.
Kiba turned to Cheza as she laid between Kiba and Blue, and he stiffened when the Flower Maiden snuggled a little closer to him. He swallowed and looked down at the now sleeping maiden and hesitantly moved his arm to hold her. Cheza gave a small smile accompanied by a contented sigh and Kiba couldn't help but give a small smile himself as he drifted to sleep after her.
A/N: aw, little Kiba and Cheza moment. i couldn't resist that either. wow, this was a long chapter, wasn't it? i had fun with it though. anyway, reviews?