Raining on the Wolf

Rain poured down on the bustling city, making anyone that walked into a building smell like wet dog.

She liked the rain, she wasn't sure why; maybe it was because it calmed her, even if she was as nervous as when she first handled a knife, it somehow seemed to calm her nerves.

That plus having Kiba around did the trick.

Someone knocked on the front door then, perking her ears from washing the dishes from lunch.

She trotted to the door, pulling the back of her shirt down and dusting her shoulders off absently, unlocking the bolt and opening the door. "Yeah?" She wondered, her voice dying in her throat as she looked at the stranger with surprised blue eyes.

A man stood on the threshold of the apartment door; he was slightly broad-shouldered, in his late forties, with serious deep-set green eyes, tanned skin, and salt-and-pepper cropped hair.

Her eyes widened again as she recognized this man automatically.

The man looked at her and a slow smile stretched his mouth, making him look kind. "Look how beautiful you've become, my little princess." He said with the warmth she'd never gotten to hear come from his mouth when she was little.

"D-Dad?" She managed.

He laughed gently, a soft rumble in his chest. "Yeah, I know, it's been a long time. Can I come in?" He asked, the tone in his voice kind.

::::::::oO::::::::

She nodded slightly, backing to let him inside the apartment, seeing he carried a gray hat to match with his dark slate suit. "Sure. Um, wh-what're you doing here, Dad?" She asked slowly, closing the door behind him and locking it again.

The man known as her father admired the medium-sized living room. "I was in the area and wanted to see if you were still around." He said nonchalantly.

"Nikki, who was at the door…?" His familiar voice stirred her from the stunned surprise that overcame her at seeing her father again; she blinked and looked at him as he came in from her room, wearing a blue longsleeve she'd gotten him with his favorite jeans.
His greenish-blue eyes registered on the man and narrowed slightly. "Who's he?" He wondered, gravitating to her side out of protective instinct.

She looked at her father and then at him. "Dad, this is Kiba, my er… boyfriend. Kiba, this's my father." She introduced, looking up at him as he placed a gentle hand on her back.

The man smiled good-naturedly at the rebel-looking young man, extending his hand to him. "Kazamura Takeshi. Pleasure to meet you, Kiba." He said, shaking his hand when he mirrored his gesture and took his hand in a handshake.

Kiba nodded. "The same to you, sir." He replied.

Takeshi smiled again. "I can assume you've known my daughter for a long time, or…?" He wondered.

"Yeah, it's kind of a long story, but yeah, I've known her for a long time." He explained calmly, feigning respect; inside his head was swimming with questions.
Why was he in this apartment?

And moreso, what did he want from Nikki?

He smiled slightly. "You look to be a strong young man; I'd like to hope you're respective towards her, too." He mused.

He nodded. "Of course." He said.

Nikki blushed slightly and shot her dad a look, elbowing her lover. "Dad, honestly…" She began.

He blinked. "What'd I say? It's normal for a father to look out for his daughter's well-being, Nicole…" He reminded.

She scowled. "Don't call me that. I'm not seven anymore, either." She declared.

"It was the name we gave you when you were born, princess." He remarked.

"I know, Dad, I just don't like my full name. I never have, remember?" She quipped; then again, I doubt you WOULD remember, she thought.

He looked at her and his eyes softened. "You haven't changed a bit. You're still the spunky spitfire you were when you were a little girl. Just like your mother." He added quietly.

She scowled and ignored the slight shaking of her fists at her sides at his audacity referring to the memory of her mother. "Dad, if you've got work or somewhere to be, I need to start cooking dinner…" She said patiently, vainly praying he'd leave her alone.

Takeshi lifted a brow. "You're cooking, now? You never cooked!" He sort of laughed.

Her cheeks reddened. "I had no choice, remember? After Mom died, I had to learn to cook." She quipped.

Kiba lifted his hand to clap her shoulder, seeing her glance at him; her eyes softened before she looked at her father again.

The front door opened then, making all three look to see Tsume enter the apartment, closing the door behind him.

He looked at the three occupants of the living room and his eyes widened slightly at seeing the third occupant.

Takeshi straightened slightly and smiled at his son. "Tsume." He greeted.

Tsume regained his composure and his amber eyes hardened slightly. "What're you doing here?" He demanded, the old feeling of his fur bristling haunting his memory as he looked at their father, at the man who'd abandoned his sister when she needed a father the most, at the man he found he had loathed for seven years.

He smiled sheepishly. "Come on, Tsume, it's me, your old man…" He tried to say lightly.

"I asked you what the hell you're doing in my apartment." He repeated with a slight growl, briefly looking over at his sister that shared in his surprise and at the former white wolf that eyed the man with suspicion.

Takeshi let the smile drop and scowled at his son, his green eyes becoming hard like his. "Visiting. I was in the area and decided to see if your sister still lived around this shabby place." He explained in the same stiff tone, almost a mirror image of the former gray wolf (save the salt-and-pepper-hair that is).

Tsume snorted. "So, you come back after almost ten years of leaving us. What for; can't be gold-digging, we don't have anything that expensive. Or are you still trying to play 'Daddy' to my sister?" He wondered snidely, shifting to his old habits he'd mostly kicked for a long time.

He kept the scowl on his brow. "Whether you like it or not, I am still her father, and yours as well, young man…" He warned.

He barked a laugh, slightly surprising his sister; his amber eyes looked like dark gold for half of a miniscule second. "You're barking up the wrong tree, old man. There're two things wrong with your little epiphany: one, Nikki is a grown woman; she could kick you out of here if she felt like it, and two: my father died seven years ago. You're wasting your breath trying to kiss ass now, so beat it." He stated lowly, a cold tone in his voice.

"Tsume," she said quietly in surprise, looking up at Kiba as he wrapped his arm around her waist protectively, a stony look flashing in his glacier-colored eyes.

Takeshi looked over at the young woman, almost pained to see that she looked so much like her mother. "Do you want me to leave, then? … Nikki?" He asked slowly, perking her ears.

Nikki lowered her gaze and looked at him with a slight anger in her sky-colored eyes. "Let me ask you something." She inhaled slowly, feeling his hand on her hip squeeze. "Why didn't you stay?" She asked quietly.

Takeshi looked away slightly, looking at her again. "It wasn't the same, without your mother around. Everything at home looked so empty, dead. I was being selfish and I didn't want to dwell on Jane's death." He said, making her shudder at hearing her mother's name spoken aloud.

She clenched her fists. "You should've stayed. I still needed a parent to stick around and scold me and be there after work…" She snapped. "I needed you around, Daddy." She declared, shuddering again at saying his pet name she'd called him by since she could first talk.

His green eyes widened slightly. "Nikki, you don't understand, honey…" He began to advise.

"I do understand! I understand that you abandoned your own fucking daughter for some shitfaced job when she needed someone to make the damn nightmares go away and forget her dead mother!" She shouted, hot tears gathering in her eyes as she fought hard to keep her composure and not break down like a toddler.

Takeshi's green eyes saddened and he glanced away. "Nikki, princess, I… I'm sorry." He apologized softly.

Nikki shook her head as the tears slowly fell. "You're not sorry; you never were. Now get the hell out of my apartment." She spat coldly, her voice cracking before she glared stonily and stood tall at her mate's side, slightly aweing him as he could almost see her in her beautiful black fur once more.

He placed his hat back on his head and went to the door, opening it and looking over his shoulder at both of his children, inwardly marveling at how strong and independent they had become since the death of his wife; he smiled weakly. "If you're ever in Renga City, look me up." He said quietly, turning to exit into the corridor and close the door behind his wake.

Tsume locked it behind him, glaring at the back of the door.

Nikki slipped away from his side to go to her room.

"Nikki," Kiba began concernedly.

He sighed and picked up his phone, dialing. "Pizza's on me." He said, watching the younger man nod and smile slightly before he followed her down the hall.

:::::::oO::::::::

Her foot slammed into the dresser, a slight pain blossoming in her big toe as she recoiled from the kick.

She clenched her fists and almost wished she could have fangs again, the ache for her old fur stronger now than it was long ago.
God, how she hated that man…!

"Nikki." A gentle hand descended on her shoulder, spooking her.

She jumped and then looked behind her to see his familiar greenish-blue eyes staring at her, compassion and sympathy swimming in those glacier-like eyes of his.

"I'm fine." She grumbled, lowering her gaze down at her feet.

He made a face at her normal defensive response, gripping her shoulders gently in his hands. "You don't sound like it." He replied.

She glared at him and shook his hands off, hugging her arms. "I don't wanna argue it, Kiba. Just leave me alone." She snapped, her tone brittle, as she stared him down.

Kiba returned the glare. "I'm not leaving you; not when you're like this." He retorted stubbornly.

Nikki turned to face him, her sky-colored eyes pissy. "You don't know how much I hate that bastard. I hate him for what the hell he did, for abandoning my mother when she was dying, for never being there for Tsume or me." She huffed. "Your dad is probably a saint compared to him." She muttered.

He continued to glare at her. "My dad isn't as bad as that, but that's not important! I love you, and I saw how he hurt you and it pisses me off that he left you when you needed him the most. The point is that I love you too much to let some worthless jackass make you cry." He snapped with a growl in his throat.

She shut her eyes tight as the tears began to fall. "I hate him, Kiba. I just… I hate that he left when Mom died, I hate it like you wouldn't believe." She leaned back into the dresser and held herself. "Sometimes I wish he was dead, too." She whispered the last bit.

Kiba reached to gingerly brush tears from her cheeks, making her look up at him with puffy blue eyes, as he held her face in his hands and brushed the tears away with his thumb.

Nikki shivered slightly and smiled a weak smile. "You really are a life saver." She mused softly.

He chuckled in the same tone and smiled, ducking to kiss her forehead. "I don't do it too often, considering you're capable of kicking ass." He remarked gently, earning a giggle from her.

She ran a hand through his hair, releasing a shaky sigh. "I love you, Kiba; honest." She said quietly.

He smiled again. "I love you too, Nikki. Too much." He added calmly.

Nikki smirked slightly and punched his chest, seeing him wince slightly. "What's that 'too much' crap? Don't regret it, do you?" She wondered, easily shifting into a teasing stance as he retracted his hands.

Kiba rolled his eyes and smirked at her, poking her belly. "If I regretted it, I wouldn't be here trying to comfort you." He remarked, seeing her swat his hand away and blush slightly.

She huffed and then ran a hand through her hair, sighing. "That's true," she looked at him and smiled softly. "You wouldn't be the wonderful romantic idiot you've been to me." She added quietly.

He smiled and chuckled, moving closer to kiss her. "Damn right. Just like you wouldn't be the beautiful tough wolf girl I fell for in the first place." He remarked softly, seeing her cheeks redden.

Nikki hugged his neck and huffed softly. "And don't you forget it." She said, biting his lip teasingly.

Kiba chuckled, recalling the other night they'd spent making love for most of the night, a teasing look in his eyes. "Wasn't the other night enough for one month?" He wondered lightly.

She blushed again and fingered the collar of his longsleeve. "Not by my standards." She mused in a sultry tone.

He groaned and then pressed his forehead to hers, sighing. "You're going to be the death of me, princess." He said in mock-dramatics.

Nikki laughed softly and tipped her face upward to kiss him slowly. "At least you'd die a happy man." She mused.

Kiba grinned softly and kissed back deeply. "Hush." He grumbled, hearing her giggle again as he pressed her into the dresser and kissed more, his arms snaking to hug her hips.

She smiled happily, her back arching as she leaned into him and bit his lip, tugging lightly.

He chuckled inwardly at her wordless taunt, running a hand up her ribs and letting his fingers drag down her side to the waistband of her jeans, tugging at the hem of her panties.

Nikki blushed slightly and smoothed her hands over his strong shoulders, lowering a hand to unzip her jeans.

Kiba caught her hand when she started to pull her jeans down, shooing it away as his had that tugged at her panties' hem slip inside the confines of her underwear to her lower thigh.

She shivered and almost ached to let his hands travel further south, distantly hear the front door open; she pushed him away sharply, making him slightly stagger and look at her sorely.

He watched her straighten her clothes out, flushed and raw-eyed, nodding to the open bedroom door as the front door closed then; he inwardly cursed Tsume for his untimely intrusion, straightening his clothes as well and letting her trot out of the room to head into the hall before he followed shortly at her heels.

::::::::oO:::::::::

He looked at the large jug of laundry detergent. "So remind me what possessed you to wash towels." He wondered.

She slammed the lid of the washer down, hopping onto the lid and sitting on the machine as it started washing. "Part of my daily sacrilege. If I don't do the towels within a week, Tsume'll bitch about it until I actually get around to doing laundry." She explained with a shrug, looking down at her iPod and checking the clock before putting it back into the pocket of her sweater.

He rolled his eyes. "'Sacrilege' highly." He mused.

She pouted and kicked his leg. "Shut up, I don't see you slaving over a thrashing washer." She quipped, sticking her tongue out.

Kiba chuckled and ignored the slight stab of pain her kick left, folding his arms at his chest. "No, that's true. I never had to do the washing when I lived at home; my mom always did that." He mused.

Nikki lifted a brow. "So you did the menial masculine stuff then, I suppose? Mow the lawn, take out the trash… that kind of stuff?" She guessed, seeing him nod.

He shrugged. "I did do the washing in college, but it's been a while since I've done it that I barely remember." He said with a slightly sheepish look.

She rolled her eyes. "If I ever get around to it, I'll have Tsume put you on laundry duty." She mused.

Kiba made a face. "Why must you torture me like that…?" He whined, earning a grin.

Nikki giggled and grinned smugly, tugging at the bottom hem of his shirt and pulling him closer. "Because I love to see you squirm sometimes." She sighed.

He groaned and then lifted her hand that tugged at his shirt, holding it and squeezing. "Terrible princess." He grumbled, seeing her laugh.

She snickered and smiled. "Aww, my poor baby." She teased, pulling him closer to kiss him sweetly.

Kiba smirked gently and kissed back. "What 'poor baby'? I'm the alpha here, remember?" He quipped.

Nikki rolled her eyes and reached to grope him. "Just like I'm the only one who'll ever have your tail in my teeth." She crooned, rubbing absently.

He shivered and pulled her hand away, a soft hiss coming from between his teeth. "Easy, wolf girl." He warned gently.

She smiled smugly, kissing him again. "Worry-wart." She mused.

He made a face at the smug smile on her lips. "You do realize you'll be repaying me for that tonight, right?" He reminded.
She nodded. "I know." She said.

Kiba smirked slightly and kissed her hard, lovingly, making her shiver and begin to hold him there; he pulled back to grin at her. "Good."

Nikki pouted.

The former white wolf frowned at the shirt she'd handed him, looking over his shoulder at his mate as she ran the brush through her hair again. "Do we have to..?" He asked in an out-of-character small voice, looking at her as she met his gaze.

She rolled her eyes; for some reason, he'd been acting a bit too whiny lately. She wasn't sure why; maybe he was finally succumbing to being a human instead of a wolf… "You'd be breaking the poor kid's heart if you didn't go." She pointed out patiently.

He made a face at her patient response, sighing. "You're being very unfair, y'know. Besides, I don't see why you're making me go." He remarked, pulling his shirt off to put on the one she'd given him, shrugging it over his shoulders.

She sweatdropped, exhaling before she plopped down on the edge of her bed, fondly eyeing the chiseled abs of his belly. "You're the alpha here, babe. Without you, we wouldn't be a pack." She explained.

He briefly paused in fixing the collar of the pale green flannel shirt he donned over the black band shirt, his ears twitching at hearing the word "alpha" come out of her mouth; it was rare she ever used that word in their past life, so hearing it now sounded like music to his ears. "I guess you've got a point." He muttered, turning to look at her calmly lounging on the bed; he smiled softly at the graphic gray tunic-dress she wore over a pair of black leggings and some blue flats Eri had given her.

Nikki tilted her head to the side and looked at him curiously. "What's that for?" She wondered innocently.

Kiba shook his head and let a smirk tug at his lips. "You look beautiful." He mused, seeing her cheeks flush a shade of pink he found to be highly adorable.

She huffed and cut her gaze to the side, blushing. "I felt like wearin' something different, so sue." She mumbled.

He rolled his eyes at her familiar tomboyish response to his compliment, moving closer to gently tip her chin up with his thumb and index finger, meeting her humble gaze. "Honestly, you are, Nik. You always look beautiful." He pointed out; even though you look much more beautiful with nothing on, he silently added with an inward grin.

She blushed again and shivered. "Charmer Casanova," she grumbled.

Kiba laughed gently, seeing her smile at hearing him laugh; he ducked to kiss her gently, holding her cheek instead of her chin, feeling her hands reach to grab at his wild hair.

Nikki leaned into his chest, holding onto him as he kissed deeper, groaning his name softly as he reluctantly released her mouth in favor of kissing the spot behind her ear.

He heard her mewl softly as she shivered in his arms.

"K-Kiba," she pleaded quietly.

"Hey, I'd like to hope you two aren't doing what I think you're doing; get your asses out here or we're leavin' without you!" Her brother's gruff bark sounded from down the hall, ruining the would-be moment between the former wolves.

Kiba pulled away from her reluctantly, glaring at the empty hall past her doorway, letting her slip away to get to her feet.

Nikki sighed, pulling his face down to kiss him firmly, pulling back to smile apologetically. "Come on, before he comes in here." She advised, stroking his cheek.

He sighed defeatedly and kissed her again, dragging her by the hand out of the room. "You owe me." He warned.

She shrugged innocently. "I have no problem with that, babe." She said.

:::::::oO:::::::

He had to silently thank God that the old bird couldn't see well.
'Lost her contacts', is what the pup had mentioned with a sheepish smile.

Well, at least she won't be able to tell who's the more handsome out of the four of us, he thought.

His mate blinked when he stiffened at the brief glance the old lady sent him, easing his muscles as he became highly interested in the second helping of pork steak set before him; she giggled quietly.

"What's so funny?" He muttered, nudging her thigh with his knee under the table.

She smiled innocently, her blue eyes devious. "The almighty alpha has a phobia after all, and it has to do with grannies…" She teased softly, her tone a sing-song type that often annoyed him.

He grumbled and shot her a sore look, seeing her ignore it and sip her drink. "Shut up, just because I don't have a bug phobia like you don't mean you hafta patronize me…" He hissed.

She pursed her lips and stomped on his toe under the table, looking away when he bit down on his lower lip to stifle a yelp, taking a forkful of green beans and chewing calmly as her mate rubbed his foot gingerly.

"That hurt!" He growled under his breath, scowling at her.

She swallowed and then shrugged. "You didn't watch your words." She offered.

"Now you really owe me after this." He vowed.

She smiled cheekily. "If you say so."

He pouted.

::::::oO:::::::

The trio of females gave a sigh.

After dinner the pack plus granny had retired to the living room to chat and digest before bailing to go back to their lives.
And of course, as was trademark of both the younger men of the group, the two aforementioned former wolves were trying to see who was tougher through one way of two ways that they tried and were currently doing.

Arm-wrestling.

They had done bloody-knuckles, but the younger of the two had whined after the second round and therein cost the former pudgy wolf a beating from the red-streaked female, so they settled on arm-wrestling because it was easier… And Hige wouldn't get another beating from a certain she-wolf.

"Aww c'mon, Hige, you're not bein' fair!" Toboe grated as Hige was starting to force his hand down to the right.

Hige grinned cheekily, "the hell I'm not! I'm so gonna beat you at this runt!" He barked with a laugh, slamming his hand down and claiming another victory.

He pouted with crocodile tears in his gold eyes. "You so cheated, you have more flab on your arms so you have an advantage over my weak skinny arms!" He piped up as the former tan wolf was looking to his girlfriend for a kiss.

She deadpanned and sighed patiently. "Toboe does have a point, if you think about it…" She muttered.

"I second that notion." Eri chimed, yawning.

"Well, Nikki, what d'ya think?" Hige looked at his old friend hopefully, trying to muster up big puppy-dog eyes.

Nikki looked up from trying to sneak the TV guide away from her brother, ignoring the death glare sent at her from the aforementioned former wolf. "I wasn't paying attention." She offered innocently.

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Then why were you betting Eri that Toboe would win?" He wondered, poking her side with a finger.

"Shut up, wonder boy!" She barked, blushing.

"You bet against me!? I'm hurt; I think I will die from such a shocking and horrific pain!" The tan wolf cried, placing an arm over his eyes in mock-dramatics.
The gray wolf flipped through the pages of the book. "I'm all for buryin' Porky." He declared off-handedly.

Eri, Blue, Kiba, Toboe and Nikki sweatdropped.

"Some friends!" Hige sniffed.

Tsume rolled his eyes. Idiot porker, he never changes, he thought.

review please. thanks! :')