Shizou stood where he was just staring in the direction that Izaya had gone. The blonde didn't know what to do now. Going back inside the tent with just Kazuki would be more than awkward since they haven't even had a conversation lasting more than a minute. If Kiyoshi happened to have been woken up by their argument, there's no way that Heiwajima could avoid having to talk to him. The man would definitely want to know what they were yelling about and would probably try to fix it; the soldier seemed like he would have the kindergarten teacher personality after all.

With a grumble, the blonde made up his mind. Shizou walked into the trees after the raven, leaving the campsite behind. In the shadows of the foliage, the moon shone through in slivers of silver light. The ice-cold breeze filtered through the leaves every few seconds, making a rustle that resonated through the small strip of forest that was somehow left untouched by the constant expansion of construction. Looking around, the bartender searched for any sign of the informant. The man was extremely quiet when he wanted to be and somehow didn't make any noises underfoot even with the seemingly millions of crunchy leaves scattered about the ground. It especially really didn't help that the raven loved to wear all black. Shizou growled in irritation seeing that finding the flea would be nearly impossible.

"What do you want, Shizu-chan?", an irritated huff sounded somewhere above Shizou.

The blonde jumped and nearly let out the most unmanly scream he'd ever produced in his lifetime, but he held it back tightly with his lips; resulting in a strangled sound escaping instead. Heiwajima heard a soft sigh and whipped around to see that Orihara was up in a tree, straddling a branch. The man's hood was up and his black jacket and pants camouflaged him so well that the only way the taller could tell he was there was because his reddish-brown eyes were in just the right position for the silvery light of the moon to shine directly onto them. The informant almost looked like an animal lurking in the shadows and it left the blonde feeling a little unsettled.

"What are you doing? Doesn't that hurt your shoulder?", Heiwajima hissed, saying whatever came to his mind first for lack of anything to say.

"I'm observing and no. I'm still quite capable since I was blessed with two arms instead of just one.", the man replied as he looked up into the foliage above and continued his climb upwards.

"Are you crazy? Just come back down before you break your neck or something. I definitely won't be dragging your crippled ass along if you fall and become paralyzed.", Shizou sighed as he crossed his arms over his chest.

A light, airy chuckled could be heard as the raven climbed at a slow and steady pace.

"Be careful what you say, Shizu-chan, or I'll start to think you actually care about me."

Heiwajima felt anger rise up in him at that and tsked in response as he turned to go to a nearby tree and sit with his back against the trunk.

"Fine. Do what you want.", the bartender growled as he watched the male with mild interest.

Izaya felt his left arm shaking with the effort of holding up pretty much all his weight as he neared an area where he could see where they came from clearly. One more branch and he'd be able to see if they were still being pursued and how closely. The next branch wasn't so sturdy, but Orihara was sure that his body wasn't too heavy a burden for it. With a great amount of effort, the man climbed up onto the final branch. Below, Shizou watched with a little bit of anxiety. It didn't matter who it was doing something risky because his human instinct to care about others didn't see the difference between enemies and friends.

Orihara scanned the horizon with narrowed eyes. The moon was shining so brightly that he could see as clearly as if it were daytime. There was nothing at all. No men, no horses, and no fires; just the pale expanse of dried grass that spread out over the landscape and over the small hill they had gone over. He was in the right to feel paranoid, but there was nothing around. When the informant was about to turn away and climb back down, a figure appeared. It didn't take the raven longer than three seconds to see that it was a lone man atop a horse. It was most likely a scout. Izaya held his breath and prayed that the strip of forest kept the campsite away from the man's view as the soldier paced his horse back and forth along the hill.

After a long two minutes, the man seemed to have either gave up or was satisfied with whatever he found as he turned his horse and rode back over the hill and out of sight. Orihara let out a sigh of relief at the fact that they weren't going to launch an attack now of all times, but the relief didn't last long as a sickening crack was heard from the branch he was sitting on top of. The male atop the branch had no time to react before the limb of the tree gave out and he fell back down to the branch Shizou had first seen him on. He fell stomach first onto it and the air was knocked out of him immediately.

The bartender was now standing as he looked up at the raven who was now gasping for air and coughing and wheezing. Izaya's vision had gone completely black at this point and his head was swimming. He wasn't seriously hurt and his shoulder had been spared of any more damage, but he was sure he'd have a big bruise from his ribs to the middle of his stomach.

"Dammit, Flea! I knew you were going to fucking fall!", the blonde yelled from below the raven.

Izaya's head had stopped swimming by then and his breath was returning to him. Lifting himself up into the sitting position, the informant let out a heavy groan. The raven honestly thought he was going to fall all the way down and break some things that would require the medical attention that they didn't have access to anymore.

"Do you think you broke anything?", the bartender asked as the informant jumped the rest of the way down.

"No.", Izaya sighed as his stomach began to flop.

Orihara felt that surely he was going to throw up and that's exactly what he did not even three steps later. What little he had eaten today was lost with three heaves as Shizou awkwardly stood to the side, not knowing what to do. When he was done with that, the raven decided to share his findings with the blonde.

"A scout was on the hill. They must be somewhere close.", Izaya panted out as he brought himself to full height again.

Then, with the grace of a newborn fawn, Orihara began to walk towards the campsite.

Heiwajima followed behind, his eyes looking towards the hill. They'd have to get a move on early the next morning.

"We're going to have to abandon him.", the raven said quietly after a few moments of silence as he leaned against a tree for a moment.

"Wait! What?!", the bartender hissed as he looked over at the man he had actually felt a little bad for a moment before.

That pity was immediately erased as the blonde began to wish that the informant had fallen all the way to the dirt packed ground and gotten seriously hurt.

"We're going to have to abandon him.", Izaya repeated. "They're after Kazuki for insubordination. That is a treason punishable by death, so I doubt they'll let him walk away scott-free."

Heiwajima felt absolute disgust and rage wash over him as he looked at the raven beside him. Without warning, the blonde turned and punched the informant hard, his body flying to the side. The punch didn't carry even a fraction of the taller man's strength behind it, but it didn't mean it still didn't hurt. Orihara held back an impending groan and glared up at his approaching attacker.

"Guess you didn't fall for me after all, Shizu-chan.", Izaya ground out with his usual smirk as he forced his head to stop spinning.

Without responding to the comment, the blonde pulled up Orihara by his jacket and roughly pushed his forehead into the raven's.

"Tell me that you're fucking kidding. He's done so much for us and you just wanna leave him like none of that means shit to you!?", Shizou spat.

"This isn't about how nice Kazuki is. It's about not getting captured, or worse: killed.", Orihara growled back, his reddish-brown eyes glinting in the moonlight. "I gave him a fair warning when I first met him. He said that he trusted me and I clearly told him that he shouldn't. He knew the conditions when he decided to leave with me, so I don't feel bad for him in the least."

The bartender's fists balled up tighter on the man's jacket as a vein popped on his forehead.

"He probably didn't know that you were being serious! Everything you say sounds sarcastic, so I bet he didn't fucking know you really would!"

"Then that's his problem. I'm not going to sacrifice my own safety to stick around someone whom in keeping around does more harm than good."

"I can't just leave him! I'm not a heartless bastard like you.", Heiwajima growled as Izaya's eyes narrowed.

"Then stay. I'm not forcing you to come with me."

At that, the bartender let the raven go and stared down at him with the utmost revulsion.

"You're sick.", the man said before he turned to go back to the tent.

With a long sigh, Izaya rubbed his now bruising cheek.

"Still as irrational as always.", Orihara smirked. "Well, I should be happy that you at least held back. I'm surprised you didn't just break my face like you've always wanted to."

"Don't make me change my mind about that, Flea.", Shizou growled as the raven clambered to his feet and followed the man back to the tent.

Izaya let out a whine that ended in a guttural groan. His face felt as though he'd run face first into a moving train, but surprisingly his ribs and stomach hardly even ached. Sitting up slowly, the raven realized that it was early in the morning as he could see the two bodies on either side of him clearly. Immediately Orihara's mind thought back to the man on horseback from the night before and the man debated on whether or not he should just leave now or wait until a later time. Now would be the perfect time to, considering how close they were to Toyama. The informant could quickly ride out to the town, look for supplies he'd need, and then be on his way once he had everything. Kazuki had said that the south wasn't being taken over, so as long as he was moving southwards, he'd be okay.

"Orihara...What happened to your face?", a tired sounding voice suddenly asked jerking Izaya from his thoughts.

The raven absentmindedly lifted his hand to touch the left side of his face and hissed when his fingers as much as brushed against the tight, swollen skin there. He mentally kicked himself for being such an idiot as he heard Kiyoshi sigh.

"I heard you guys fighting last night, but I didn't think it would escalate to physical violence.", the brunette said as his piercing evergreen eyes assessed the damage that had been done.

The informant sat where he was patiently as he allowed the older male to ghost his fingers over his bruised cheek to make sure it wasn't broken; his eyes averted to the side. The brunette was so gentle and caring that it made Izaya a little unsure of himself. He was planning on just leaving without saying a word, but now something inside him was telling him that he should at least tell the green eyed male everything, give him a reason for his wanting to leave, before he took off.

"Is Heiwajima hurt too?", Kazuki asked gently as he stared passed the informant and to the blonde who was still asleep.

"I didn't even touch him.", Izaya stated as he watched the worried expression on the brunette's face vanish.

With that being taken care of, the soldier grabbed a black bag to the left of him and began to crawl out of the tent. The raven hesitated for a few moments and then crawled out after him. The sun had gone up a little more and the landscape was bathed in a thick fog that hid anything five yards out completely. The eerie sound of crows cawing made the grim scenery even more so. A little ahead near the fence in which they tied their horses, Kiyoshi stood with his back to Izaya. He almost looked like an illusion as he stood there unmoving and seemingly staring into nothingness.

Taking a slow breath in and out, Orihara walked up to the brunette slowly. He was going to let him know about what was lurking just beyond the edges and that he was leaving. Izaya supposed he could do that much considering he'd been saved from being captured because this man had decided to tell him what was happening.

"Kazuki…", the informant said in a calm voice, making the taller man turn to face him with a questioning look on his face., "I have to leave."

Izaya searched deeply into the man's eyes as his words passed through his lips and out into the air. Evergreen eyes flickered from a number of emotions until they settled on a mix of three: Confusion, worry, and sadness. Orihara noticed that not once had betrayal even lightly touched his irises. There was a long moment of just silence, until the brunette sighed deeply.

"If you really feel like you need to, then go ahead. I can't keep you from leaving.", the man said with a great reluctance in his eyes. "Is it too much to ask why?"

Orihara blinked a few times. It had been that easy. Without even a word against it, Kazuki had just begrudgingly accepted that he was going to leave.

"I saw a scout on the hill last night. They're close but they're after you, so if I leave then I shouldn't be at risk anymore.", the raven said evenly.

The man's eyes widened a bit before a look of hope and just a bit of relief passed through his eyes. Quickly the man pulled a black object out of the black bag he was holding and held it up for Orihara to see clearly. A walkie-talkie.

"You already-"

"The man on horseback from last night is Private Mikoshiba and is one of the two scouts that Lieutenant Momoru sent to track my movements. The rest of the squad was never deployed due to manpower being needed back at the quarters.", Kiyoshi explained as his eyes went from soft and caring to a darker look. "The lieutenant is waiting for word from the head of the Defense before he makes his move, thus the reason he's making sure he knows my location until then. We need to get rid of the scouts before the verification of action comes in and get moving out of the area quickly."

Orihara had to hand it to the brunette, he was smarter than he'd thought him to be. Izaya would gladly admit that he had sorely underestimated Kiyoshi in his abilities, but question was...could he even go through with it? Kazuki was kindhearted and seemed like the type that wasn't capable of killing another human being.

"Can you really do that?"

"Do what?"

"Kill."

Kiyoshi let a bittersweet half smile paint his features, his eyes hard with resolve.

"Have more faith in me. I can do what needs to be done.", the brunette said as Orihara eyed the hillside. "They've taken many lives themselves anyways. I'd be avenging innocent people. It's the least I can do since I was too much of a coward back then to save them."

And there it was. That softness. Of course he'd rationalize it to make it seem like he wasn't doing anything morally wrong. Not that that mattered anyways. As long as he was willing to kill, then that was good enough for Izaya.

"So are you staying or…"

"If YOU can manage to pull this off, then yes.", Orihara said simply.

"Why just me?", Kazuki asked, genuinely confused.

The poor idiot. As if Izaya would ever directly get his hands dirty. He is the puppeteer after all and everyone else, the puppets.

"There really are a lot of things you don't know about me, Kazuki-kun.", the raven laughed and not in the light airy way that the evergreen eyed soldier was used to. "I love humans. All of them. The whole entire human race. .One."

Kiyoshi watched utterly confused by such weird declarations and how Izaya's personality had switched on a dime. Orihara saw the look on the man's face and laughed again as he put his hands in his pockets and twirled around in a circle that left him a few steps away from the taller.

"Answer me this, Kazuki-kun. Since I love humans so much, why would I kill them?", the shorter man asked with his classic smirk in place.

"...You wouldn't."

"Exactly. I'm sure you've heard of the infamous informant of Ikebukuro. There's no way you couldn't have since I have connections stretching all over Japan and even overseas."

Kiyoshi's eyes widened. How the hell did the name slip his mind when he'd first met Izaya? He'd heard the name many times yet Orihara had him so dumbstruck that he hadn't even remembered.

"Y-You're...THE Izaya Orihara...", Kazuki said in absolute shock as a dangerous gleam showed in Orihara's eyes.

"So I'm sure you know how I operate. I'm honestly surprised that you haven't figured it out by now.", the man chuckled. "Oh and Shizou Heiwajima. He's better known as the Monster of Ikebukuro. I'm positive you know of the name."

The brunette felt his knees go weak. He'd been sleeping in the same tent as possibly the most dangerous pair Japan had ever known before the hybrids. The angelic and charismatic man he'd met beside the stream?….Was that all a lie? A fabrication? No. He refused to believe that. The Izaya he'd met that day was the same one standing in front of him. People weren't one-dimensional. People had multiple sides to them and the side he'd happened to come across was the more vulnerable side of him. Sharp tongued, but wearing his heart on his sleeves.

This side of him was an absolute opposite. Every human emotion was replaced with indifference, his light attitude had become heavy and overwhelming. He reeked of danger and seemed to be pushing everyone away rather than sucking them in.

"You're so unbelievably complex. Just when I thought I was beginning to actually get to know you a little bit, you pull a one-eighty on me,", the brunette sighed as if this all wasn't that big of a deal. "Well... I guessed there was more to you and honestly I would have been disappointed if that wasn't the case."

What else was lurking just behind the seams? Just how deep was the personality that was Izaya? There's bound to be more and Kazuki had a feeling that even if he spent the rest of his life exploring the shorters depths, he'd never reach the bottom; never be able to fully understand him.

"So...If you're still willing to go through with this, I have a plan.", Orihara said. "Mind you, this plan is between just you and me. Don't breathe a word of it to Shizu-chan."

"Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it.", Kazuki said firmly.

"What are you planning?", Shizou asked as they walked their horses a little ways behind Kazuki's.

"What are you talking about, Shizu-chan?", the informant answered easily.

Heiwajima made a noise of frustration, making Raiju snort and startle a bit.

"Don't play dumb with me. You're different than before."

"Really? How so?", Izaya asked with a classic smirk.

"It's just-! I know the old you and for a while you weren't the old you; the asshole you that fucked people over and made my skin crawl. Right now you're the old you. I can just feel it. Something made you completely switch to that scheming bastard that you usually are and I want to know what that something is."

Orihara inwardly cursed. How was it that this monster could see right through him? It should be impossible. Heiwajima had always hated him and never cared to try and figure him out. Why could he just simply SENSE a change in him?

"Hmm… I didn't think you were one for detail. That's usually my forte. I'm glad I'm rubbing off on you a bit though. It would be sad if you stayed a mindless monster for forever.", the raven said calmly before he urged Sukeban to a trot and caught up with Kiyoshi.

"Hey! Don't avoid the question!", Heiwajima yelled as Izaya pointedly ignored him.

Izaya sighed as he kept his head forward, capturing Kazuki's attention without arising suspicion from behind.

"He's onto me already.", the informant simply said before he started Sukeban forward at a gallop.

Izaya rode over to the top of the next hill and looked down at the expanse ahead of them. The town was waiting for them, peaceful and silent. Behind them, Orihara could see that the scouts were nowhere to be seen, which confirmed his assumption that they moved only at night. Kiyoshi rode up beside the shorter male and looked down at the town along with him.

"Go down and get set up. We'll be waiting west of here.", Izaya said quickly before he looked to Heiwajima and jerked his head in the direction he was going to head in.

Shizou watched as Kazuki rode his horse over the hill and then looked to the informant questioningly.

"Don't worry. We aren't leaving him., the raven said plainly as he rode westwards.

The blonde ground his teeth together. What was he plotting and how deeply was Kazuki involved? He had to know. Just how was Izaya using him?

"Try all you want to hide things from me, but I will find out eventually.", Shizou growled as he pushed Raiju to catch up with Sukeban until they were side by side.

"Is that so?", Izaya asked, keeping his head forward.

"I'm not as stupid as you think.", the blonde responded as he let his anger simmer down.

The informant didn't comment as he looked up at the blue sky above them. Whether it ended with the evergreen eyed soldier returning or with him dead and rotting into the ground, the problem concerning the scouts would be over and he and Shizou would no longer be at risk. Though he'd usually be relieved at this, Orihara found himself wishing that he could have said more to the brunette before he took off, a 'thank you' or a 'well, this may be it' or a 'see you in the next life' or something, but he couldn't go back on anything now. If Kiyoshi didn't come back, then that was that. There's no changing how fate turns out. Orihara would simply move on, throw his past out behind him and survive.

All that mattered was staying alive. No matter what he had to do, who he had to manipulate; he'd make sure that he survived.

"Izaya... You pretty much sent him to his death...Didn't you?", the blonde beside him said as he stopped his black stallion in his shock.

The informant stopped Sukeban a few steps later, his head hung low as a momentary frown from his distaste at being completely found suddenly curled upwards into the sickening smirk he always wore.

"Who knows?"

"They still haven't woken up yet?", Egor asked as he walked through the door of the hospital-like room.

sighed and shook his head as he looked over to the completely shifted teens.

"It's expected, but it's still nerve wracking.", the doctor replied as he looked over to the golden-brown lump of fur that was now Masaomi Kida.

"Kida has such a peculiar color… a nearly solid golden-brown color in fur is rare for grey wolves."

"I see.", Egor said as he looked over to the smaller wolf who seemed to have a more typical color.

"Also, Aoba seems to have some pretty distinct markings.", the professor commented as he turned to the dark grey and white wolf to the left of him. "Two white,circular eyebrow markings, white lower jaw, and a white underbelly...I just wonder what color eyes they have."

The assassin sighed at the older man. It would make more sense to be worried about whether they'll wake up okay or if they'll be able to revert back to their previous states, but the man was presently concerned about their unusual colors and markings and what color their eyes will be. Before the man could comment on this, a deep whine emitted from the dark grey wolf as he came out of his medicine induced slumber. The doctor sprang up immediately, his excitement nearly bubbling over as he began to talk to Aoba.

The small teen struggled to open his eyes as harsh light assaulted his irises. Somewhere in the background, he could hear the annoying doctor's voice blabbering on in the distant background. He couldn't distinguish any actual words from the constant roll of sounds coming from the older man's voice, but it was slowly becoming clearer. The small teen let out a long sigh as his eyes finally snapped open and his body jerked, trying to wake itself up from the onslaught of medication that had been thrown at it.

"His eyes are grey! I never would have thought-! Amazing!"

That's when Aoba remembered just exactly what had been done to him. The teen jumped so violently that his body fell from the hospital bed and onto the white tiled floor,belly-first. In shock, Aoba looked down and found that his arms and hands were replaced with thick, dark grey fur and paws. When Kuronuma tried to pull himself to his feet it was a little awkward at first, but thanks to having had to crawl around during his first few months of his childhood, it was an easy adjustment. The wolf turned his head to look behind himself and found that he had a tail. In disbelief, the teen turned a tight circle as if he were trying to capture it. Then, he simply stood stock-still, the fur on his back rising in distress. Aoba didn't even know what to do.

"It will take a bit to adjust, so don't worry if you feel off.", said as he watched the teen in absolute delight.

Aoba then noticed how thickly the room smelt of cleaning supplies and medication; it was suffocating. His nose was picking up smells that he usually wouldn't hardly notice at all. Kuronuma pushed that to the back of his mind for now as his eyes scanned the room and landed on Egor, who was even more tall and intimidating now than before.

'Where's Kida?' the teen wanted to ask, but found that his words only came out as a short series of whines, growls, and little barks.

The assassin didn't have a clue what the dark grey wolf was trying to say to him, but the look in his eyes conveyed everything he was trying to get across to him. Egor jerked his head in the direction of the beds and Aoba raced over to it awkwardly, still not sure of his movements. When he reached the bed he was sure Masaomi was on, he reared up onto his back legs and found that there was a bigger wolf laying atop it. The doctor had grown silent, watching the teen's movements to see if there was anything wrong with his body. Without a long time of hesitation, Kuronuma lifted one of his big paws and slammed it down on the older wolf's back.

A growl was heard, but Aoba was insistent. He went back down onto all fours again and then reared up with both paws ready to push into the golden-brown wolf's side. This time, Kida was pushed completely off the bed and Kuronuma quickly ran around to the other side to meet him. The blonde was faster to react to what had happened to him as he looked down at his paws and quickly pushed himself into a standing position, going in a tight circle to get a look at his body.

'Kida!', Aoba began excitedly. 'We're alive!'

Masaomi looked over to the shorter for a long moment before he walked over slowly without responding, his copper eyes intense as he stared at the shorter wolf. He looked aggressive and the smaller was unsure of whether or not the golden brown male had shifted to an actual wolf or not. Kuronuma felt his hackles raise and a growl begin in his throat as he took an unsure step backwards. At that, Kida pinned back his ears and averted his eyes to the side.

'I won't hurt you. I just want to look.', the golden brown wolf said as the doctor yelled something about copper.

Aoba let himself relax as he lowered his eyes to the floor.

'Then go ahead.'

The taller wolf walked forward again and pressed his nose to the back of the shorter teen's ear. The distinct smell of Aoba was even clearer in this form. Kida received a growl and a warning bite for that one and the older simply turned his shoulder and took the sharp bite there instead of his face. Done with that, Masaomi circled the smaller wolf and took in his new appearance while Aoba took in his.

'So... Do you feel weird or anything?', the golden brown wolf asked the dark grey.

'Nooo! Of course not!', Aoba responded sarcastically, his grey eyes cutting into the older's. 'I'm just suddenly a wolf, but you know. It doesn't feel weird or anything.'

"Aoba's wrist must have healed during the shift!", the doctor said to the Russian assassin who had noticed that Kuronuma wasn't limping even slightly and commented on it. " Amazing! His body must have hyper-repaired while the artificial Dna was being put into place. The only explanation I can think of for why this happened is that when he shifted, his bones fused together to make the shift absolutely complete."

The pair looked over to the man, their copper and grey eyes glued to him in shock. Aoba hadn't realized that he was walking just fine and that he wasn't feeling any pain. The teen lifted his once injured front leg and looked at it in confusion. Well, at least he wasn't going to hurt anymore.

"Nevermind that. Right now, we need to observe you two for a bit. How about going outside and testing your new bodies out a bit, hmmm?"

Kuronuma let out a sigh as he set his paw back down, not feeling like going outside in the least while Kida's ears pricked upwards with interest. The doctor turned to open the door and held it wide for both teens to walk through, followed closely by Egor. Kuronuma quickly grew irritated at how every sound seemed to be extremely loud in this form when the footsteps of the group echoed loudly off the the halls and he could hear the already loud professor at an even louder volume.

"I'll show them how to switch back later.", the doctor responded to something the russian man had said. "For now we just need to make sure nothing's wrong."

'It already feels normal…', Kida commented as his steps became more and more confident.

Kuronuma was silent for a long moment as he struggled to come to terms with what was happening to him.

'It does.', he finally answered as he pushed his lingering thoughts away for the time being.

Everything was moving too quickly for him to comprehend anything right now. Just a day ago, they didn't have this ability and just a couple days before that, they were on their way to find Izaya.

The ride down on the elevator was relatively silent save for the non-stop babbling of the doctor, but everyone had gotten so used to it that it didn't affect them anymore. Both Aoba and Kida walked down the hall towards the entrance side by side, their pelt's just barely touching as they looked towards the light of day.

"When we let you out of this door, feel free to go wherever you'd like except anywhere past the facility. We can see you pretty clearly from up on this hill with binoculars.", said as they neared the doors leading out.

A quick show of i.d. and both wolves were free. Aoba immediately disliked the feel of asphalt on his paws and lowered his ears at it as he stepped onto the black surface. Masaomi, on the other hand, didn't seem to be too affected as he took in all the sights and sounds he usually wouldn't be able to pick up in his human form. The birds chirping in the trees and the wind blowing past noisily was amplified by seemingly a hundred and Kida felt like he was experiencing the world for the first time.

'This is amazing, Aoba…', the bigger wolf said as he took everything in quickly.

The shorter was slower to adjust as he kept his ears pinned to his head. He just wanted to be back in human form again and be able to sit in a room and digest everything that was happening.

'How fast do you think we can run?', Kida asked as he looked down at the forest that was calling for him.

Before he got an answer from the dark grey wolf, the copper eyed male took off down the hill.

'Don't just run away!', Kuronuma called as he took off after him.

The shorter wolf easily caught up with the older and even surpassed him as he found that he could move much faster than he could before. Kida yipped excitedly as he found himself feeling liberated. The landscape was a swirl of color around him and it seemed like his paws never touched the ground as he raced into the trees. The air rushed passed the golden brown wolf's ears and the sound urged him to run even faster, falling into step with the smaller.

'I feel like I can run forever and never get tired!', Aoba yelled out in a surprised tone to Masaomi, focusing more on how strong and capable his body was over the things around him.

'I know! I wonder exactly how fast we're going!', the taller replied in awe of what his new body could do.

The pair continued to run towards the coast through the thick forest; the sounds of their paws crashing through the underbrush being the only thing clearly heard through the wind. Kuronuma had long since fallen into a steady pace that didn't exert hardly any of his energy while the golden brown wolf continued to push his body's boundaries. The shorter male was about to tell him to slow down a bit when something rank hit his nose, compelling him to stop in his tracks while Kida surged onwards. Panting, the dark grey wolf turned to his right where the smell was coming from and slowly walked the scent trail to it's source. The forest around him was slowly coming to life and the sound of small forest animals began to fill the air in a symphony of unique sounds.

Aoba found that he was more in tune with the world around him. He heard more, smelt more, felt more. The teen found himself actually enjoying this outing a bit as he continued to track the unknown object that he was set on finding. With ease, the dark grey wolf climbed through a rocky ravine while a little chipmunk yelled at him from the roots of a nearby tree. Leaping over some rocks and climbing over others until he reached the top of it. The smell was stronger now and he felt as though he were close. For a short moment, Kuronuma found himself wondering if he should really just be blindly tracking something when he had no clue what it could be. He didn't have much time to reflect when a thicket rustled making the wolf tense up and his hackles raise. Kuronuma was soon going to find out and he quickly realized that he had nowhere to run but either down the ravine or forward and past the unknown creature.

Aoba prayed it was a deer or something, but that hope was thrown out the window when an angry and monstrous squeal sounded from within the thicket. The teen immediately knew what was within. A wild boar charged out at him and Aoba managed to move out of the way of it just in time to avoid a direct hit. It was fairly large, but it thankfully wasn't of monster proportion; much to Kuronuma's relief. The relief didn't last long when the boar turned to charge at him again. The teen growled as he tried to evade the beast, but he was clipped by the sharp tusks of the wild pig as it went by.

He wasn't seriously injured in the least, his wolf hide being much tougher than his human skin, but it had cut him a bit and knocked the air out of him. If he wasn't absolutely terrified before, then he sure as hell was now. Without waiting for the pig to turn and strike him again, the little wolf turned tail and ran back down the ravine; tripping and sliding on the way. Apparently this boar was a predator on the prowl and looking for a meal because it followed right after him. Now it was time for the dark grey wolf to panic. He was completely lost, the trees blocking out the hill completely, and now he was being chased by a boar that he was positive wanted to kill him. The teen knew that he could easily trace his own steps back to where he could find his way to the facility or even call to Kida with a long howl, but how could he do that while running for his life?

When the wolf felt the breath of the beast on his back legs, Aoba really put his foot to the petal as he quickly raced away. He had been trying to conserve his energy so that he could make sure he didn't tire out too fast and get caught, but all that was thrown out the window as he sped away as fast as his legs could carry him. Luckily it was much faster than the wild pig. The wolf left the boar behind and it soon gave up once he got far enough away from it, but the dark grey wolf didn't stop running. Not when his lungs began to burn, not when his legs began to ache, and not even when his breathing became labored. The teen was absolutely petrified and was scared that if he stopped running, that he'd just be attacked by something else.

Aoba did eventually have to stop though and when he did, he had absolutely no clue where he was. Why no one had send jeeps after him was beyond him until the dark grey wolf looked at just how thick the forest was. No way in hell was anyone even going to be able to get a horse through here without difficulty. The teen panted harshly as his dry throat cried out for water. Luckily the trickle of a small creek could be heard somewhere nearby and Aoba easily and cautiously made his way over to it. Drinking the water was a difficult task at first, since he thought to slurp it first instead of lapping at it and wound up choking as a result. The technique took a second to catch onto, but the teen eventually figured it out.

Once his thirst was thoroughly quenched, the wolf sat on his rear and thought long and hard about what to do. He immediately thought of just leaving the facility behind and roaming the forest until he came across a town or something, but the teen didn't know how to shift back to human form and he definitely could not leave without Masaomi.

'Should I just try to track my way back, find Kida, and then run?'

Kida was absolutely frantic. He'd looked for the smaller wolf everywhere, but there had been no sign of him. He'd been filled in on what had happened by Egor, who had been driven down to the coast to tell him what was going on and to help track Aoba down. Apparently, a boar had chased Kuronuma past the facility and deeper into the thick woods. They had parties searching for him, but it was like searching for a needle in a haystack. Masaomi was the only one who had any hope of finding him and he couldn't find him either. The trail had gone cold once the scent of boar had tapered off. The wetness of the forest after a rain was masking his scent completely.

The older refused to give up though. He was either going to find a corpse or Aoba alive and well. With his nose to the ground, the golden brown wolf tried to pick up the younger's scent. He'd worked this area over about a dozen times now, but Egor was patient and allowed the male to try and figure this out.

"Wait, what are we doing?", The Russian man said as he slapped his hand to his face.

Kida looked up at the man curiously, waiting to be told what was going through the man's mind.

"Howl, Volk. The pipsqueak should be able to hear it as far out as ten miles.", the man urged as Masaomi mentally slapped himself for not thinking of this sooner.

Immediately, the golden brown wolf lifted his head and called out. Kida was surprised at just how loud he was for a moment, but pushed that aside for now. He just prayed that he'd get an answer. When his call died down, the wolf pricked his ears forward to hear any incoming calls. Nothing, nothing, and more of nothing until finally ,after a good two minutes, the lonesome sounding responding howl echoed through the trees. The assassin had no clue where it was coming from, but Masaomi obviously did as he ran to the left and raced towards the sound. After a few yards, the golden brown wolf called again and this time he got the response quicker. He wanted to make sure that he was going in the right direction before he strayed too far away or something.

Soon after heading in the direction of the smaller teen, Masaomi was able to pick up his scent again. He followed the trail as Egor jogged along behind. Kida tracked the scent until he reached a creek that cut through the forest and then it just kind of stopped.

'I'm up here.', Kuronuma called as he raced down to the taller wolf.

The older male immediately smelt blood on the younger and felt anger melt away any of the relief he felt.

'You're fucking hurt!', Kida growled as he met the dark grey wolf halfway. 'Why did you decide to just go off on your own? '

Aoba paused as his own relief fell away from him and anger replaced it.

'I'm not a child, Masaomi. I don't need to be with you twentyfourseven.', the teen snottily replied .

'Obviously you do since you not only almost got mauled by a boar, but also managed to get yourself LOST!', the golden brown wolf said as he got into the younger's face and towered over him.

Aoba didn't back down as he rose himself to a higher stance and growled back with more ferocity than the older male had.

'I would have just followed my scent back! I wasn't as helpless as you thought I was!'

'Oh really? The scent goes completely cold not even that far back! You would have been just lost out here!'

Egor watched the pair silently as their argument progressed. He had no clue what was being said, but he could easily guess. Kida was finally trying to put a tight leash on Aoba, but the pipsqueak wasn't having it.

'So what if it goes cold a few times? Obviously you suck at tracking sense I was able to easily track down that boar! The trail went cold a dozen times, yet I always found it again!', Kuronuma yelled as he felt seconds away from just fighting it out rather than talking it out.

That comment completely set Kida off. His anger flaring up to the point of no return.

'Are you fucking stupid?! You TRACKED it down!? You walked straight up to it like a fucking IDIOT!'

'I OBVIOUSLY didn't know it was a boar or else I WOULDN'T have tried to find it!', The dark grey wolf defended himself.

'I just don't want to see you dead, okay?! How many times do I have to save you from getting killed?!', Kida yelled back.

'I didn't ask for you to look after me!'

'You fucking made me PROMISE that I WOULD!', Kida nearly roared.

And that was when Kuronuma pounced, teeth bared and ready to sink into whatever he could get a hold of. The bigger wolf let out a vicious sounding growl as he felt teeth sink into his shoulder and latched onto the shorter's own shoulder, easily lifting him up off the ground and slamming him back down into it. That was a mistake on his part since the force only served to make Aoba's teeth nearly rip out a chunk of his flesh because the younger refused to let go.

Before the fight could escalate further, Egor intervened. He pulled them away from each other easily and thanked god that the two weren't familiar enough with their new bodies to really do any damage, but now he was all the more reluctant to teach them the skills they needed for the battlefield, seeing that those skills may be just used against one another.

"Calm down. There's no need to fight.", the Russian man said in an authoritative voice when the snarls refused to die down.

Once they'd simmered down to a low burn, Egor released them.

"For now, you guys can revert back to your human forms.", the tall man began. "Just think 'shift' and that should work. I have your old clothes in my backpack."

The pair shifted back immediately and slid on their clothes without a word. Kida noticed how Aoba kept his back facing away from the Russian man and wondered again what exactly had happened to him. As his eyes scanned the expanse of the smaller's skin, he found that Kuronuma had a long scratch on his left shoulder to add to the mural of scars littering his back. He felt a weird emotion bubble up in him until the younger's shirt was pulled over it all, hiding it from view. Aoba must have noticed him staring because his brown eyes glared at him with more malice than he'd ever seen in them before he turned away. Masaomi locked eyes with Egor and found that the man was giving him a curious look.

"Let's head back.", Kida said as he looked away, not in the mood to explain what had happened to the man yet.

-Prologue For Next Chapter-

"We have to go back and get him!", Shizou yelled as he moved to turn back.

"Don't, Shizou.", the informant said quickly grabbing hold of Raiju's bridle before he could move.

"I'm not going to just let him die!", the blonde yelled as he looked at the shorter male with a mix of panic and anger.

"I'm not going to let you get in the way.", Izaya stated coldly as he grabbed a fistful of blonde hair and dragged him off of his horse, the raven falling off his horse too as a result.

Heiwajima was dazed for a moment before he snapped back to life when he felt Izaya straddle him. He began to struggle against the shorter's grasp on his locks and tried to push the shorter off. It only resulted in the bartender nearly having the hair ripped out of his scalp and irritation bubble up in his body. The raven's shoulder was screaming at this point, begging him to stop, but he couldn't just let the blonde go back.

"Get...OFF!", Shizou yelled as Orihara brought a hand around the male's throat, pressing his thumb and index finger to the base of his neck and squeezing hard, his other hand moving down from the man's hair to join the other.

Heiwajima sputtered and tried to push him away again, but the lack of oxygen filling his lungs was slowly making him weaker. Izaya squeezed even harder as he felt a hand find it's way into his own hair and yank his head back viciously, making his neck crack painfully. The raven wrenched his eyes shut against the pain as he held and held until the hand loosened and the blonde fell unconscious. Orihara immediately let go after that as Shizou's limp body took in a sharp breath, snatching all the oxygen out of the air that it had been robbed of.

"Sorry to do this to you, Shizu-chan.", the informant sighed as he still sat, perched on the man's lap.

Izaya looked over to Raiju and Sukeban who had watched the scene calmly as if this was something completely ordinary. The shorter male cursed when he saw just how tall the Anglo Arab was. He was definitely shorter that Hizoku, but he was still fairly tall.

"Well… Let's get you back on the horse then.", the informant said as he looked back down at the still unconscious bartender.