Harry landed with a hefty grunt. Looking around, Harry breathed a sigh of relief when there was no one in the vicinity. In front of him, the river continued to drift along lazily as it ran under the concrete bridge. With a pained grimace, Harry gingerly made his way underneath the bridge. He sat on a large stone and breathed a sigh of relief. His feet burned, and Harry really didn't want to look at them.

Instead, Harry reached between two smaller stones and pulled out his beloved wand. The holly wood was a little worn from the journey, but Harry still felt his heart warm at the sight of it. This was the only thing he'd been able to keep from his home. It was also one of the only things Harry could depend on to keep him alive. Sure, it could probably use a trip to a wand shop for some professional upkeep, but its power and potential still weighed heavily on his palm. Harry pulled the fragile weapon close in a mimicry of embrace. He could literally feel his magic hum at the proximity of his magical focus.

Wand retrieved, Harry heaved himself to his feet with a wheeze of pain. Judging by the night sky, Harry didn't have long if he wanted to lock himself up for Moonrise. Harry planned to use a warehouse a little while away from the residential portion of the city. At night, the warehouse would be empty, and Harry planned on being long gone by morning.

Harry began to trudge forward. His awkward limp was painful and left droplets of blood behind him.

Dazai had turned the corner moments after Hari. To his shock and surprise, there was nothing hiding behind it. Instead of finding the light toned ragamuffin, Dazai was left staring into a dead end. Kunikida was only moments behind and he too thudded to a stop at the empty alley.

"Where'd the brat go?" The blonde-haired man asked. "It's a dead end."

"Indeed, it is, Kunikida-kun." Dazai frowned thoughtfully. "I am beginning to think that there is more to our little street rat than meets the eye." Kunikida looked over and stiffened slightly.

"You mean you think-"

"I think it's too early to make conclusions yet, but I do believe there is something going on here that we don't know. Thankfully, I'm also pretty sure of where he'll head now."

"Where? We've lost the trail." Kunikida stated flatly.

"Not entirely. He left something of importance over by the river. He'll have to return there to retrieve it."

"What did he leave? I didn't see any bags lying around."

"I'm not sure. Whatever it was, he hid it in the rocks under the bridge. The boy kept glancing at it as we were leaving." Dazai explained.

"Then we need to hurry if we want to catch up before he skips out on the city. He's knows that he's being pursued now. The brat will do everything in his power to get out of this city. Should that happen, he and any information he carries, will be out of our reach."

"Then, I suppose," Dazai began with a grin. "We'll just have to find him first." And with that statement, Dazai shot off in the direction of the bridge. It took Kunikida a moment to reconcile the empty place in front of him before he too, bolted off.

"Wait up, dammit!" He shouted.

When the duo arrived at the river's banks, it was disappointingly empty.

"Perhaps he has not arrived yet? He was injured. Perhaps that slowed him down?" Kunikida guessed with a frown. He looked about the scene for a head of white hair and grimaced. Considering the boy's propensity for disappearing it was likely he had already come and gone. Still, chasing down brats wasn't anywhere in his list of ideals today.

"No, he was here. And we can track him." Dazai gestured to a trail of blood leading down river. "While his injury may not have slowed him down much, it will make finding him much easier." Kunikida's eyes widened as he felt unholy glee and relief mix together in his chest.

"Then we should hurry, before his blood clots." Kunikida said as he turned and began quickly striding down the trail of blood. A moment later Dazai's odd gait sounded behind him. Together, they hurried along the river bank.

By the time Harry arrived in the warehouse, Harry was sure that the moon had begun to rise. He could feel the pulse of its tantalizing power. Right now, it was just over the horizon. However, Harry could already feel the magic saturating the world from it. As the moon rose, the magic Harry could feel would only worsen. The itchiness that lingered along his skin would turn into a burning, raging fire. Harry could remember it from the one time he had tried to hide from the light of a full moon.

It had been shortly after his arrival in this world. After doing a day's work at goat farm, Harry had been paid with a warm meal and the spare bedroom's use. As the sun went down, he had felt the magic of the moon beginning to slink over the horizon. At first Harry had thought nothing of it. Certainly, it had been itchy. Harry had thought that he would be fine though, and paid it no mind in order to crawl into bed. Somehow, he had managed to fall into an anxious sleep for a few hours. When he had woken again, it had been to the feeling of his skin burning and his bones turning to liquid fire. Harry had felt as if all of his flesh and muscle would melt off his body and leave only the cracked, ravaged bones behind. Harry had been in so much pain that he had barely been able to breathe around his dry tongue. He could still remember the effort and agony he had had to go through in order to reach his hand out and into the window's view. Harry had transformed after that and scared the poor farming couple so much the wife had fainted. He had ran to the river shortly after.

Simply put, Harry doubted he would ever try to ignore the moon's call again. That kind of agony was not something he enjoyed.

Luckily, he wouldn't have to experience the saturated magic much longer; the moon would begin shining through the large windows any moment. Though it had taken him quite a while to limp here, Harry couldn't help but let out a breath of relief.

Safety.

He could transform safely here. Thanks to the meal earlier, Harry wasn't hungry, and this place was secluded enough that no one was likely to sneak up on him. Harry probably could take a nap while he waited for sunrise. Who would want anything to do with an empty warehouse in the middle of the night?

"Quite an odd place to be at this time of night, boy." The cold drawl stopped Harry mid-step. His eyes remained on the patch of slowly growing moonlight a few yards in front of him for a moment. Blinking, Harry forced himself to turn from the moonlit floor. Behind him, Dazai leaned on the open backdoor to the warehouse. Harry didn't see Kunikida, but he didn't doubt for a second that the blond man wasn't lurking somewhere as backup.

"H-how did you find me?" Harry asked in surprise. He had apparated away for goodness sake! How could they have figured out where he would go? Sure, they had some sort of supernatural ability, but they were still muggles! Their "gift" was supposed to be a singular ability. Even if one of the two could teleport, how would they have known where to go?

"Mmm... well. You certainly didn't make it easy, Houdini Junior. That disappearing trick you pulled was quite interesting. Luckily, I had noticed that you left something of importance at the bridge. From there, all I had to do was follow the blood splattered trail you left for me." Dazai watched Harry through the lashes of his eyes with a lazy sort of demeanor. Harry didn't doubt that Dazai was watching his every move, however. Just because the man acted like he was barely paying attention, didn't mean he wasn't cataloging Harry's every move.

"Damn." Harry muttered under his breath. It seemed he had somewhat under estimated the detective duo. They worked together better than their constant arguing belied. Now... where was the "Ideal" guy...

Footsteps sounded to the left and Harry swerved just in time to avoid a well-placed tackle. Kunikida caught himself and turned swiftly. In one hand, he held a live taser. Harry felt his breath catch at the sight of the taser. Before coming to this world, he hadn't known such things existed. Now, after having his tiger form shocked multiple times by various small-town policemen, he definitely tried to avoid it. It didn't take him out in his tiger form, but it definitely hurt. Now, as he stared at Kunikida's taser, he felt shocked and horrified that his previously casual dinner acquaintance could turn into an enemy so quickly. Where had that easy camaraderie over dinner gone? Harry stepped back a few steps to keep both detectives in his line of sight. Dazai had taken a few steps forward and was now just to the left of his partner. Together they began to advance on Harry.

"Give up, Hari-kun. There's no way you're going to get out of this warehouse without being arrested or answering our questions." Dazai drawled as he continued to stride forward. He had stuck his hands into his pockets lazily, but his eyes were razor sharp and stayed focused on Harry the whole time. Kunikida walked next to him, a frown marring his stern features. The man glared at Harry with a cold determination that Harry felt afraid of.

"Put your hands behind your head and get on your knees, brat." Kunikida ordered sharply. He held the taser at ready and Harry could tell from his stance that the man was ready for anything.

"You guys don't understand. It isn't what you think." Harry stepped back a few more painful steps. The moonlight was beginning to burn at his skin. The heat of felt as though he should be blistering and bursting into bright flames.

"Why don't you tell us then, brat. Or better yet, turn over your tiger friend to the authorities." Kunikida snarled.

"What?" Harry gasped in shock.

"We know your traveling companion is a tiger-shifter, Harry. The best-case scenario for you would be to give your friend into detective custody. As it is, you're accountable for being affiliated with a known criminal and thief. Tell us about your friend and you go free." Dazai offered. Harry shook his head in astounded befuddlement as he made sense of their flawed conclusion. Because he knew the tiger's gender and defended his intentions, they thought that he knew or was traveling with a tiger-shifter. They still had no clue that the Were-Tiger, as he had taken to calling his moonlit form, was actually Harry, himself.

Their strange logic seemed hilarious for some reason, and Harry couldn't help but laugh hysterically. His laughter halted the two detectives in their advancement. They shot each other confused looks at Harry's sudden levity.

"You think... you think the tiger... is a traveling companion?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Originally yes, though I suppose that hypothesis is still under revision given your reaction." Kunikida murmured. His eyes were like lasers. The analyzed Harry's every move with pin-point accuracy. Dazai was just as attentive, if not more so. Harry snorted.

"I told you, you have no idea what's going on. And frankly, I'm not going to put my search on hold just to assuage your fears. Every moment I wait is another moment for me to lose him!" Though at first, his amusement had lingered in his voice, by the time he finished speaking, Harry could feel irritation and frenetic energy surge through him.

Because what he had spoken was true.

Every moment that Harry couldn't find Sirius was another moment for something to happen to the man. Sirius was the last family member Harry had left to him. Sirius represented the hope and dream of a family. Even if it was a broken one, Harry could not bear to lose the last chance he had at a true family. The thought of that loss made Harry feel frantic and restless.

"Even so, you still have pertinent information to our investigation. You can either tell us freely, or we'll arrest you for affiliation. I doubt that will help your search." Kunikida growled with impatience.

Irritation burned hotter and transformed into anger and desperation that sat heavily in Harry's gut. He couldn't get arrested! That could take months to get through! The desperation clawed at Harry like a lion. Meanwhile, the moonlight behind him scalded his back with heat and power. It gave fickle promises of relief and rest. The combination of the moonlit fire and his own emotional state roiled around in his body and brain like some kind of perverted stew. For moment, Harry considered his options before he made a rash decision. He clenched his fists and squeezed his eyes shut.

Screw them! They wanted a were-tiger?! They could have one!

"You really don't know when to stop, do you?! Fine, you want a weretiger, you can have one!" Harry shouted. He had just enough time to see Dazai's eyes widen as he catapulted himself off of painful, bloody feet and into freeing, liquid moonlight. The arc of his jump took him up and into a flip.

Midair, Harry finally felt the contradictorily soothing moonlight hit his skin. It felt like water in the desert. The moon magic surged over his body like ice. Wisps of blue and azure light spun in tight circles around his body as it began to glow. His body burned a bright, blinding white as Harry felt the magic begin to take effect. His hands and feet curled and Harry grinned as he felt claws form at the tips of each newly formed pad. Harry's arms tripled in weight and muscle mass. Silvery-white fur appeared to cover the appendages. Whiskers grew onto a decidedly feline face while black stripes branded themselves around his body. A long, striped tail waved behind him as his front paws touched the ground. By the time his back legs had also landed, Harry's form was no longer human.

Instead, a massive, white Bengal tiger stood where Harry should have been. Delicate whiskers quivered as the tiger opened its fearsome maw and roared its anger into the world.

So, just gonna let ya'll know I've changed my posting schedule up a little. I've start posting a week ahead on Wattpad while AO3 gets its posts... maybe a month or two late? IDK. So if you want the chapter a week ahead, you should go to my Wattpad account under the same pen name.

Also, how are the characters? Any comments on them? I'm trying to stay as true to their canon personalities as possible.

Merry Christmas! Wish me luck on finals!

-Blitza