Chapter Four- Inducted

Yusuke headed home, his heart swelling happily from his time with Touya. It had turned out better than he could have ever imagined. Keiko may not like it, but that's not really my problem. My problem is if Touya's gang will accept our relationship. Touya could say nothing about loving me, but he did say this Toguro is strict in controlling his members and likely insists in being told the truth. I hope he doesn't question Touya's late return tonight.

He climbed the stairs of the apartment building and paused at his apartment floor. There were bloody paw prints on the concrete and they were leading away from an open apartment: His apartment. His heart pounded as he ran to the door, into the apartment, and to the living room. There was dead silence as Yusuke stared at Atsuko's remains and then he gave a loud scream that brought neighbors rushing into the apartment.

Yusuke sat in numb shock at the bottom of the steps of the building with a blanket around his shoulders and a cup of hot cocoa in his hands. His eyes stared unfocused in front of him. He didn't see his mother's body being removed or hear the words of sympathy from his neighbors who felt for him despite his delinquent reputation.

Animal attack, he thought in shock. Police think she was about to head out and was chased back into the apartment. Tears slid down his cheeks. He couldn't believe his mom was dead; despite her insistence of him going to school and herself getting drunk, he loved her deeply and was simply devastated. He wasn't sure what was going to happen to him, but he hoped he could move in with Keiko's family. They had always been friendly to him.

"Yusuke?"

He looked up and blinked which brought Keiko into focus. The brunette knelt down beside him. "The police called my house and asked if we could help you. Yusuke, I'm so sorry."

"An animal did it. Police are guessing it was a wolf," Yusuke choked.

"I didn't think there were any wolves around here and why would one climb the stairs to hunt when it could go for the ground floor?"

"I know. It's all so strange." Yusuke lapsed into silence and was vaguely aware of Keiko pulling him to his feet and leading him away from the crime scene.

Yusuke kept to himself the next day until noon and then left. He had to start tying up his mother's affairs like her debts and make funeral arrangements. He wasn't badgered about going to school as Keiko's parents called him in absent and explained why. He was grateful for this as he had a lot to do. He visited various businesses and dealt with each only quickly. One was the lawyer who informed him that he had inherited everything his mother owned save her debts. The bills would be covered until he got a job and could support himself and the bills.

He was feeling wrung out by the time he reached the funeral home. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he spoke to the director to settle on a day for the wake and the cremation as well as when he would collect the urn with the ashes. He then headed for home to pack a bag. He was allowed in by the police who were still on the scene and they watched him carefully to make sure he only took what he came to get and nothing else. He was escorted out once he was done and was soon heading back to Keiko's, knowing the police would call there to tell him when he could return home.

A hand landed on his shoulder and he turned to see an incredibly tall man with sky blue hair and an odd mark on him. It looked like a raised bruise on his forehead with two lines coming from it so that he had one line on either side of his nose. "Yusuke Urameshi?" he asked in a deep, rumbling voice.

Yusuke, despite his grief, sensed this man may be looking for a fight. He dropped his bag and struck a fighting stance. "Yeah, that's me. Got a problem with that?"

"Not at all. I'm Bui, a friend of Touya's. He spoke of you being in his class and said you are an excellent fighter. I wanted to invite you over to our home. We have a dojo, you see, and you can demonstrate to us what you know."

An alarm bell went off and Yusuke snatched up his bag and began to back up. "You're part of that gang Touya's in, aren't you? Forget it. I'm not joining."

"You don't have a choice." Bui seized Yusuke and slung him over a shoulder before grabbing the bag Yusuke had dropped when Bui grabbed him. The werewolf then headed home, ignoring Yusuke's kicks, punches, and demands.

Toguro looked up from his book when he heard a voice yelling and shouting, "I really mean it! Put me down or you'll be sorry!" An amused smiled crossed Toguro's mouth as he returned to his book. Bui succeeded as I knew he would. Tonight, our pack will have eight members once I bite and mark him.

Toguro gathered the pack at sunset and led them to where Yusuke was. The teen was on the floor, gagged and bound. His brown eyes glared at Toguro, intuiting that he was the one Touya mentioned. His eyes moved to Touya who avoided his gaze and had a sad expression. This told Yusuke that his boyfriend had nothing to do with his kidnapping.

"Yusuke," Toguro said, drawing the boy's attention back to him. "I've observed your street fights and I was impressed with how strong and fast you are. I had one of my members dig into your records at City Hall and knew I had to have you in my pack." He leaned down and removed the gag; he wanted to hear Yusuke scream when he bit him as he loved the screams of those he turned.

"Pack?" Yusuke repeated.

"Yes. Everyone you see here is a werewolf. You will learn the good and bad points of being one in the morning. But now." Toguro looked out a window as the sky turned black. "I will begin the induction. You will transform into an angry simple wolf tonight and from this point on, you will call me Alpha." With that pronouncement, the others shifted to wolf forms before Toguro did so. He pushed Yusuke onto his back, exposed both shoulders, and then bit the right shoulder before marking the left one. Yusuke screamed from the bite and the mark.

Yusuke hadn't even realized that he had been cut free of his bonds until he was on his hands and knees. He gasped in pain as his blood felt like it was on fire. He groaned and panted as his clothes melded with his skin and black fur sprouted over his body, the muscles of his torso and limbs growing larger. His hands shrank away into large black paws, his nails growing into extended claws. His feet also became paws with long claws and his legs bent into canine shape bringing Yusuke to standing on all four paws.

He whined as his arms stiffened into forelegs and a full bushy talk grew from his tailbone. A growl then came out as his nose and jaws pushed out and merged into a long muzzle of sharp teeth, new ones appearing in the gaps. His ears turned pointed and moved to the top of his head. His eyes turned gold and wolf-like. There was no human intelligence in them as his mind reverted to a normal wolf. He turned to face the pack and growled as an angry wolf would.

Everyone but Toguro whined and slunk out of the room with folded ears and tucked tails. Toguro regarded the black wolf who was bigger than everyone except him, Bui, and Karasu. Yusuke turned his eyes on Toguro and snarled at him. Toguro simply left and shut Yusuke in the room before scenting his pack in the living room. They were all still cowering.

"It seems that Yusuke has the alpha gene," Toguro said calmly. "This is excellent and a little tricky. I say excellent as he will be my heir. It will be tricky as alphas are headstrong and stubborn. I know that personally." Toguro was eager to teach his new pack member on how to be a werewolf and school him about the alpha role and the pack order.