Kiba walked towards the elevator trying not to look at the people around her. She pressed the button and waited with her eyes closed, not wanting to see the accusing glares from the locals.
The air smelt fresh as the elevator doors opened, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end when she smelt the faint scent of iron on the wind. After living in the wild for so long she knew the smell, it was the scent of a fresh kill.
Unbidden, her stomach rumbled, her instincts called her to follow the scent; her wolf like movements allowing her to move through the dense forest without making a sound. As she broke through the edge of the forest she froze, an inhuman snarl ripping from her throat; her beastly hunger disappearing instantly at the sight in front of her. Bodies littered the ground, the evidence left behind after a battle. The clash of steel making her flinch, she slowly crept up the hill and glanced over the brow of the hill. Men ran around in the fray swinging their swords. To her eyes at least half of the soldiers looked like boys who were barely out of childhood. The sky suddenly darkened over the battlefield, Kiba looked up to see a volley of arrows so thick it blocked out the sun.
Her sharp eyes picked out a couple of arrows that were flying stray towards her position. She knew that she wouldn't be able to dodge them so she laid still and prayed that they wouldn't hit her.
Pain pierced her back and through her chest. A pained howl tore from her throat, freezing the hearts of the soldiers still alive, causing them to cease fighting. They all turned to look up at her as she crawled over the brim of the hill, agonising snarls terrifying the men. A medic ran up to her, pushing his fear away as he continued towards her, intent on doing his job. He reached out and touched the shaft of the arrow only to have her whip around and snarl at him, her sharp teeth promising pain.
"Someone! Help me hold her down!" he cried, the general ran over and held her shoulders down so that she couldn't move.
"Ok, 3, 2," he pulled the arrow out of her back, in her agony she managed to bit the general's arm, her fangs easily sinking into it.
"The arrow head is still inside, I don't have enough skill to remove it," the medic said his voice far away due to Kiba's half conscious mind.
"Then I will take her back to Edo with me, a friend of mine knows an experienced doctor," the general said in a pained voice as he held his bleeding arm.
Kiba suddenly felt herself being lifted into the air, her instinct was to struggle but at that moment in time she didn't have enough strength. Her eyelids closed on their own and she quickly fell asleep.
In the back of her mind, the subconscious part of her brain knew that she was moving. It kept her alert to everything going on around her; despite this, it did not disturb her rest, she was used to this never sleeping sense of hers.
It wasn't until she had been laid down on a futon and left alone was she roused from her slumber. Her sharp eyes flickered open and her hackles rose, not used to waking up in a room, she felt caged. She sent out her senses to find the position of everyone in the house.
"Welcome back to Edo, Sir," a man said, his voice slightly muffled by the walls.
Kiba slowly got to her feet and silently opened the door to the outside. She ran and jumped off the walkway, wincing slightly at the pain in her chest. It had worn off a little since the last time she was awake so she wasn't sure how long she had slept; her bare feet allowing her to run silently to the surrounding wall. With one leap she was able to catch the top of the wall with her hands and pulled herself up. She mentally grumbled to herself knowing that normally she would have been able to jump over the wall with ease. She heaved herself up over the wall and ran down the street away from the entrance to the estate.
It was near dawn when she heard a female yell out.
"Yahiko, time to get up," the shrill voice hurt her ears.
"Miss Kaoru, he can sleep a little longer. It's not yet dawn," a male voice said; it was so gentle that Kiba couldn't help but walk towards it following the road.
Just before she made it to the entrance she began to cough. It felt like she was choking, she couldn't catch her breath; the more she tried the harsher the coughs became. She fell to her knees, her hand on the wall holding herself up, the other covering her mouth. Suddenly she felt a strong hand pat her on the back; she grabbed the hand as if it was the only thing keeping her alive.
"Hey Missy, it's alright," the man said, worry in his voice. His deep voice calmed her and let her take a breath. She fell forward as the strength left her body; he caught before she could hit her on the floor.
"Sano, bring her inside," Kenshin said as he watched her collapse, he had come running as soon as he had heard her begin to cough.
"Sorry," she whispered, Sanosuke shook his head as he slipped an arm under her legs and pulled her into the air with ease. This time she felt safe nestled against the man's chest. She looked down at the man walking beside them, his red hair pulled back in a loose ponytail. The strangest thing she noticed was that he smelt vaguely of blood, a scent that only someone who had killed on a mass scale would gain. The man who held her had the muscles of a fighter and she knew that he also had taken down a fair few people in his time. He carried her through the front doors of a dojo and followed the red haired man to a spare room where he quickly laid down a futon for her to rest on.
Sanosuke laid her gently down then turned to leave but stopped when he felt a soft tug on his jacket.
"Please don't go," she whispered, turning her head to look at him, "I don't want to be alone." He looked at her for a moment before sitting down, leaning on the wall in her line of sight.
"Why were you alone before?" He asked out of curiosity.
"Someone picked me up and moved me away from where I had lost my pack," she whispered. Sano looked at her for a moment before saying the question on his mind.
"What do you mean by pack?" he asked curiously.
"I live with a wolf pack and have done ever since I can remember," she looked at him unsure of what he would say. Instead of saying anything he stood and she felt her heart sink. He walked up and sat next to her, close enough that she could reach out and touch him.
"Wolves are family animals, they stay close together," he said grinning when he saw her shocked face.
"You are indeed a strange one," she laughed gently, "most people run away when they hear that I am a wolfling." He shrugged and sat silently watching over her; he had noticed her eyes getting heavy and started to slowly drift closed.
"Sano?" the tall man looked round and saw Kenshin standing in the doorway, his forehead creased in worry.
"We'll get Doctor Gensai and Megumi-san over tomorrow to have a look at her," Sano said before reaching down to brush a stray lock of hair out of her face.
"She can stay here," Kaoru slipped her head around the open door. Sano nodded and turned to watch over the sleeping woman.
The next day Kiba awoke to a number of hushed voices that were echoing around her. Silently she sniffed the air and mentally recoiled at the scent of worry that permeated the air, she could not smell malice on anyone in the room so she released the tension that had been building up in her muscles. Sanosuke had noticed her tense and then relax but said nothing about it. Her eyes flickered open slowly so that the people around her wouldn't notice her awakened state. Her sharp eyes flicked from person to person, instantly memorising their faces and scents. She turned to look up at Sano who met her eyes for a moment before looking back at the group. As quietly as she could, she slipped out off of the futon and hid behind Sano. She leant her head against his broad back, steeling herself before facing the humans in front of him. Her instincts called for her to flee, the previous treatment she had had from them was still sore in her memory. She felt a hand on her side and looked up to see Sanosuke had reached back with a comforting hand. She grasped it gratefully and allowed him to lead her round until she was sat in his lap, her back pressed against his chest. She could feel his fingers going through her hair taming the mess. A deep purr rumbled through her chest as she felt his hands in her hair. They were too busy with each other to realise that everyone had stopped talking and were watching them. His hand slipped and brushed her neck, instantly goose bumps rose on her arms and her hackles rose. She turned and snarled warningly at him, he just stared at her in shock, his fingers sending electric shocks down her spine. She leant towards him and reached up, her teeth around his neck putting a little pressure on it, making it hard for him to breathe. He pulled his hand away from her neck and she removed herself from his neck. She looked into his eyes and saw confusion and fear in his eyes.
"Sorry," She whispered before running out of the room, trying to keep as much distance between her and the people who were staring at her.
"Wait!" Sano ran after her, his red head band ribbons flying behind him. He caught up with her in the garden, his hand gripping her wrist and spun her round to face him; he froze at the haunted look in her eyes. He couldn't help but reach out his hand and cup her face. She flinched at his touch, her fear of him obvious.
"Why do you fear me?" he asked gently, his voice no more than a whisper. She looked away from him and crouched, her eyes fixed on the nearest flower.
"Humans don't like wolves, they blame us for killing their livestock, the animals they are raising to die," she started.
"But wolves do, don't they?" he wondered out loud, she sighed.
"We only kill what we need to survive. One day, when I was still a pup, the winter was more vicious than normal and my pack had to move away from the safety of the forest in search of food. We found a flock of sheep in a field and watched it from downwind to find which animal was the weakest. Soon into our examination we found an older ewe that was past young baring age and we began our hunt. It was unfortunate that the farmer's neighbour was jealous of the large amount of sheep that the farmer had reared and had decided on that exact evening to attack the flock with his dogs. Our presence there made it seem like all the killings were done by wolfen kind. The humans set up a hunt and I was able to get my pack to safety before I got caught," he could see her body trembling as she spoke, her arms tightly wrapped around her.
"They collared me in the dark, it felt like I was constantly being strangled," her haunted eyes gaining a pained look, "It wasn't the last time I have had bad experiences with humans. Every time there was a problem, we wolves were blamed, despite the fact that they were caused by others." She turned to look at him.
"I'm sorry I over reacted when you touched my neck. I have been strangled by humans many times but it isn't just that. In a wolf pack you only bare your neck to the alpha and he is the only one allowed to touch it," she said, he nodded and frowned.
"I have a feeling that Kenshin would be our alpha," he wondered out loud.
"The red haired man who smells liked blood?" she asked, Sano stared at her in shock before nodding numbly. She walked towards him and stopping in front of him.
"I will stay with your pack for now but do not forget that I am a lone wolf," she growled, he looked at her for a moment before laughing.
"Well then, Missy," he chuckled, "You'll fit in just fine here. We are all lone wolves who have come together for our own sanity and protection," he held out a hand which she took and he led her back to the room.
"You seem to be getting along well," Kiba could hear the envy in the fox-like woman's voice.
"Merely one wolf acknowledging another," she said, padding silently over to sit in the space they had just vacated.
"Wolf?" Megumi asked confused, but at the shake of Sanosuke's head she dropped her question.
"I have met a wolfling before but he was vastly different from you. He couldn't speak our words, his eyes also shone with a wolfen glow," Kenshin said leaning an arm on his upright knee.
"He probably hasn't come into much contact with you humans, therefore he hasn't had to learn words," she said her eyes meeting his, "As for our eyes, I wouldn't say that they are that different."
"Your eyes appear human, that they do," he said his eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"Are you sure you want to see?" she asked, a fanged grin stretching across her face. He nodded, tension rolling off his body, causing everyone else in the room to go silent.
She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, suddenly all the hairs rose on the backs of everyone's necks, goose bumps chilling their skin. A growl sounded from the girls lips making everyone but Kenshin and Sano to back away by a couple of feet. She opened her eyes slowly and fixed them on Kenshin. Her once blue irises had turned a golden yellow and were piercing him. His hair bristled and freed itself from the low ponytail he wore, his eyes changing as he slipped into the Battosai's persona.
"It's been a long time since I've met a being who can meet my eyes with a glare that has as much intensity as my own," she growled back, her voice guttural. She prowled up to him and snarled in his face, a challenge to test his strength. He met it with a killer's joy and he tossed her across the room before pinning her to the ground. He was sat on her waist, straddling her with one of his hands holding the both of hers above her head. She snarled at him, her fangs glinting dangerously in the light. With other hand he pushed his thumb behind her bottom jaw, forcing her head up exposing her throat. Her snarl turned to a whimper as he lowered himself down and pressed his teeth against her throat. She froze for a moment before relaxing, a rumbling sound coming from her chest. He sat up and looked into her eyes and watched as they shifted back to blue. She was panting, her hair haloing around her.
"Alpha," she whispered breathlessly, he grinned before getting off of her and sitting back in his original seat. Kaoru hesitantly crawled up to him, fear clear in her eyes when she saw that he was the Battosai at that point.
"Kenshin?" the man blinked as his name slipped from her mouth. He turned towards her, the yellow fading from his eyes turning back to their ordinary colour.
"What is it, Miss Kaoru?" he asked blinking at her with a confused expression his face.
"Oh Kenshin," her eyes filled with tears and launched herself into his arms making him "Oro".
"I'm so glad you're back to your normal self," she cried out in joy. This broke the tension in the room making everyone relax, Sano chuckled at the picture of Kaoru shaking Kenshin telling him off for being so reckless.
"Oh that's right," Yahiko spoke up; everyone looked at him as he turned to the red haired wolfling.
"You never told us your name," he said, her eyes widened in surprise and she smiled gently.
"Kiba," she answered, Yahiko smiled in delight at the fact that she had actually answered him.
"Well Kiba," Sanosuke grinned down at her, "Welcome to the Pack."