Hullo. Ricky here. I finally updated! I know, it took me so long 'cause of other RL things, but nevertheless! R&R people!

"Eh? Such a peaceful town..." I breathed in, finally stepping out of that cramped up bus. "Hmm... Is the Lost Precious hidden somewhere in this town perhaps?"

Ah, a little fresh air at last. Most of the places I've been through have been too polluted, so much that I always wore a long scarf around my neck to try and cover up my sensitive nose. It's been quite some time since I left the Jerio land; actually it's been two years since then. I've managed to cope up with the humans, and some of the mannerisms and what not I wasn't used to before. I could still remember my first day away from the tribe, and that I walked around a town with only my ragged shorts on, revealing the beast mark on my bare back. A few days after, I managed to get my hands on some clothes, and of course, as the thief I was, I stole them. And then soon, I learned different kinds of things from humans. Hm? What's that? Oh, that's right, I haven't introduced myself yet properly. The name's Toboe Riku, I just turned sixteen, and I'm a wolf. You probably already know about the part when I left the MoonLight tribe in search for our lost treasure, so then, let's get on with the story.

I went to walk around the whole town, since I decided to go wolf later at night, so that I could familiarize myself with the surroundings, and that I could do the scanning and searching faster. It took me the whole day, and I was as tired as an athlete running a marathon around the world. I decided to rest somewhere the moment I saw a place I could rest on, and was about to turn to a corner, when something [or someone] suddenly bumped into me. The two of us collided and fell on the ground, making me rub my head in pain.

"Hey! Watch where you're going, old man!" a young girl's voice huffed, making me look up. "Really! I still can't get used to humans doing that from time to time."

"Wha... Don't just go and call me an old man, you brat! Just because I have silver hair doesn't mean I'm a geezer." I talked back as I stood up, dusting myself off.

I then turned to the girl I bumped into, and saw that she was already standing up. She looked pretty young, a few years younger than me, and she wore a certain school uniform, and that she had blue short hair and amber eyes. I had this strange sensation inside of me, the kind of sensation when I get close to another beast. To check up on my hunch, I scanned the girl's body to see if there were any kind of beast markings, but found out that there was no such thing on her.

"Hey, old ma-I mean, mister! Pay attention to where you're going from now on, okay?" the amber eyed girl told me, annoying me since a little girl was telling me what to do.

I was about to reply, when another girl, who had long blond hair and was wearing the same school uniform, tackled the amber eyed girl. That startled me a bit since I had that same sensation again, but then, I just stood there, looking at the two gals.

"Sapphie! What are you doing?" the blond girl asked the amber eyed girl. "Ryuji says we have to go home."

"Ah! Rose! Don't just appear out of nowhere and suddenly jump on me like that!" the amber eyed girl voiced out. "Anyway, I was about to, when this guy showed up and bumped on me."

"Hey, hey, little brat, don't twist the story," I interrupted, holding out my hand as if to stop her from talking any further. "You're the one who ran into me."

"Who are you?" the blond girl bluntly asked, making me turn to her.

"Shut up, you stranger!" the amber eyed girl barked, pointing her finger at me. "Or else, by the power of the blue dra-"

"Ah, Rose, Sapphie!" a different, male voice suddenly called out, making me turn to the side. "Sapphie, don't just run off like that. You too, Rose."

And so, I came to the conclusion that the amber eyed girl is named Sapphie, and the blond girl is named Rose. Typical.

"Ah, who is this?"

A guy about my age appeared, and he wore a school uniform, almost like the male counterpart of the gals' school uniform. He had short black hair, and had that innocent look on his face. He didn't feel any different, not like the two gals.

"M-Me? Well, I'm just a passerby who was ran into by a blue haired brat," I replied, pointing out Sapphie, the amber eyed, nonchalantly. "but I'm fine now, anyways."

"Huh? Sapphie, you did?"

"Ugh... I don't care! Let's just go home now!" she retorted, stomping past me.

"Ah! Sapphie, wait!" Rose, the blond girl, exclaimed, running after the amber eyed.

"Um... uh... W-Well then, goodbye." the black haired guy breathed out as he went after the two, leaving me staring into space.

I blinked for a few times, and then started to walk through the side walk again.

That was pretty strange... Those two girls almost had the same level of beast aura... Almost stronger than mine, and very, very high. It's almost as if they were...

I stopped walking, spotting a small isolated field, with a tree. Seeing as no one was around, I walked over to the place, and then looked up at the tree to find a branch that was big enough for me to lie down. There was one, though it was kind of high up. Nevertheless, determined to rest up for tonight, I climbed up the tree and to the branch, and then positioned myself comfortably on it.

Heh... I can't believe I actually found something like this. Trees are good to sleep on, especially on its branches...

I yawned as I felt my feet getting sore, resting my hands behind my head. I slowly closed my eyes, and soon, I drifted to sleep.

"Ugwaah!"

"Just tell me where the Lost Preciouses are, old man!"

Hm? Where am I?

"N... Never...!"

Wait... Isn't that Jii-tan! What... Why is he getting beat up!

"Stupid old geezer... I'll let you off for now, but I'll come back tomorrow for more interrogations."

J-Jii-tan! Hey! Can't you hear me? You bastard! What the hell did you think you were doing to Jii-tan!

"Haa... Haa..."

"Stay put until tomorrow, or else your puppy mates will be going with that puny leader of yours. You wouldn't want that, would you?"

"Urk..."

Huh? What's he talking about? Is it... the Alpha! Bastard! What did you do to the Alpha! What did you do to the whole tribe!

"Well then, see you tomorrow, old geezer."

Jii-tan! Hey, talk to me, damn it! Can't you see me! I'm right in front of you!

"Urgh... That idiot... When will he realize that I won't give in...?"

Jii-tan...

"I just hope... Toboe's safe... And that he won't come back now... I wouldn't want him to come back with our tribe in this situation..."

What're you talking about, Jii-tan? I am so going back right now, even if I still don't have the Lost Precious with me!

"Please, Toboe... Please be safe..."

"Waah!"

I suddenly woke up falling from the branch I was sleeping on, landing on something hard and bulky on the ground. I stayed on the ground for a while, muttering small curses as I felt the pain coursing through my body. I then sat up slowly, and noticed that my furry ears and tail were out, probably from the shock just now. I realized it was still daytime, but then a voice suddenly muttered below me.

"Ow... Oww... Pain..." a feminine voice grumbled, startling me.

I backed away a few meters as I saw that the hard and bulky thing that I fell on top of was a brown haired girl. I stared at her as she slowly sat up, rubbing the back of her head. She then turned and glared daggers at me, but then faded to a startled face. I was about to apologize to her, when I suddenly realized that my ears and tail were still visible. Shocked, I immediately covered my ears with my hands, and hid my tail on my back. I felt my face blush, both from embarrassment and from the girl's stare.

"H-Hey... Um, sorry about... you know, falling on top of you..." I managed to mutter out, still covering my ears.

She was still staring at me, though I could feel that she was staring at my ears. I wanted to conceal my ears and tail right then and now, but I knew that she'd be confused and would start asking questions. Unexpectedly, she stood up and walked towards me, making me sweat a little. She then kneeled and took a hold of my wrists, eyeing me with her brown eyes.

"Wait... Wha-What're you...?" I stammered as she pulled my hands away from my ears, revealing my silver wolf ears. "Ah... Th-They're just accessories! Just accessories! You know, cute doggy ears...?"

It seemed she didn't buy my explanation, and so, she took a hold of my ears and started pulling.

"What the... Ow ow ow ow ow! It hurts! Stop it!" I yelled, flailing my arms as she kept on pulling. "Stop! Waaah!"

She let go of my ears, making me cover them with my hands again because of the pain. I could feel she was still staring at me, so I looked up to meet her eyes. I almost yelped when I saw her ears, seeing as she had furry wolf ears like mine, except hers was brown. I stared at her for a while, and then noticed that she also had a brown tail. She then grabbed a hold of my head, making me lock eyes with her. Her eyes were different colors, and they were also mismatched. Her left eye was gray and her right eye was amber. I couldn't help but stare, and then noticed that she was asking me a question.

"Who are you?"

It's short. Yes, short. Not long. Agh! Sorry! I did this chapter in a hurry, so I'm really sorry, folks! But please review!

Arigatou gozaimasu! ^_^