Marvel owns the X-men, no profit is to be made from this work.

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"Sit."

Laura stared at the wolf who stared right back at her, and in those eyes she saw someone looking back. Rolling her eyes, the wolf sat as bidden and Laura took the picture. Throwing it over to her laptop, she started assembling the 'Lost Dog' poster that was going to be put up out front of the airport and a few other locals that Mister Creed had in mind.

From the corner of her eye she noticed the wolf exploring the hotel suite, sniffing around and stealing unfinished bits of the room service that had been ordered as a snack. Ignoring her, she kept typing and then had a preview of the finished poster, printing off a good twenty of time.

"What are you?" Laura asked from her bed, and the wolf looked back right away.

Licking her lips after a piece of salmon, the wolf trotted over and leapt up onto the bed with her. If a wolf could be surly, this one had been after they had retrieved her from the flight, and it had taken a long hot shower before she settled down. On the night stand sat a collar, tags, and a leash. Everything Mister Creed had arranged on the flight over and the confused laughter she heard over his phone had proved how strange a request it was to his usual paper man.

With eyes following her, Laura picked up the collar and with just the briefest of struggles laced it about the wolfs neck. Snapping the leash on next, she left her at the bed as she gathered her light coat and got ready for that one task Mister Creed had left her. She'd have to stop somewhere and buy the tape, but any store should carry it, tucking away the posters into her courier bag.

Standing at the door, she looked to the wolf who seemed to consider if she wanted to go out or not, finally deciding to go as she leapt down and trotted up. Taking the leash in hand, she locked up and made the walk back to the airport. The hotel was near and temporary, part of their exit strategy incase things ever went sideways, one of many. They'd be checking out as soon as Mister Creed had settled some business.

Tying the wolf up outside one store, a look into her uncanny eyes was a silent question asking her to behave herself. To the cheerful chime the doors parted and let her in, taking time to wander around the shop in a habit that was ingrained in her, feigning interest in the wares all while sizing up the patrons and keeping an eye to the street.

A bit of attention was paid to the girls who loitered around the magazine rack, looking at what they took interest in and their purchases. Their laughter was alien to her world, never having ever had any reason to laugh in her life, even their easy smiles took practice and effort to mimic as she played a tourist. A bottle of juice, some sweets, and one of the magazines the girls had been reading were all added along with two rolls of packing tape.

Stepping back out the doors to the tune of the musical chime, Laura notices the girls petting the wolf thinking her a well behaved dog. At gathering the leash, they apologise to then ask her name in accented English.

"Wolf." Laura replies, and at that the wolf jumps to her feet ready to get their business over with.

A few last pets are had, but soon they're slipping through the pedestrian traffic back to the airport. Taping the posters to the poles and hitting up some meaningful spots, near payphones and shops, the number given is a burner phone that Mister Creed has though the email is a hasty one she had made. Between the two, one should get word from whoever Mister Creed thinks would be looking for this wolf that smells of his brother...her brother.

"James Howlett." Laura whispers, invoking that name as she cracks open her bottle of juice for a sip.

The wolf looks up to her at that, and she once again wonders just what sort of wolf she is, smelling wild and dangerous as any predator but with something underlying the scents that remind her of snow, pine trees, and ragged and rough mountains.

James Howlett, a brother or a father, she didn't know the answer to that question. In the aftermath of Mister Creed's coming she read the file, it had been sparse, light, and heavily censored. But she had his eyes, or so Mister Creed told her. Now staring deep into the wolf's eyes she wondered just what she saw in her own. It was a question that would have to wait, her phone rambling around in her pocket with a call that could only come from one.

"Yes?" Laura asked, and there was a hint of a chuckle on the other end.

"Guessin' ya got yer end o' things done, I'll text ya where we can meet up. Looks like it's gonna be business before pleasure, the schedule has moved up. Time is money and we'll be seein' us a bonus."

"Understood."

The connection was cut, and as she sat there waiting for the details of where she and Mister Creed were to rendezvous she saw the wolf looking at her with again with all too much understanding. Holding up the phone in hand and giving it a wiggle, the wolf gave a nod as if to say she had been listening. Resting her head upon her lap, the wolf looked up as if asking what the phone call had all been about, letting herself be pet in an entirely mechanical touch as Laura explored just how she felt about it.

"If you are thirsty, bark once."

One bark was the reply, and as she sat there just to be sure, Laura finally accepted that this wolf understood what was spoken to her beyond just a few trained words. Slipping her phone away and finishing her juice, she left her bag for whoever could use the leftover packing tape and all else, heading off in search of another shop to buy a couple bottles of water to tend to the wolf's thirst. Mister Creed would send the information soon enough, and once he did she would head off to wherever it was they were to meet.

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"Well look at you, all grown up and lookin' dangerous."

The din of the pachinko parlour out front died as the door was shut, and there behind a desk sat a man who had been but a boy the last time he'd seen him. Dressed to impressed, Maemi ignored protocol and remained seated, instead pouring a cup of sake for Victor. The men who stood at the door bled away after their leave was given, just the rank and file of the Yakuza.

"Uncle couldn't be here, business takes him elsewhere, he sends his apologies and this." Maemi remarked, indicating the wooden box that lay upon the desk.

Giving a nod and leaving the box for later, Victor poured a cup of sake for his host and then letting Maemi pour one for him in return. It wasn't a surprise that the elder Jinzaburo couldn't be there to see him, it wasn't a courtesy visit he was there for, it was the kind of business best for a gaikokujin. Even with his reputation, most people didn't believe all the stories told about him, nor that he was really ageless as he was. He was a ghost story many knew but few believed, with even fewer knowing the truth.

"So ya got something else for me?" Victor asked, setting down his empty cup and letting his host fill it for him.

"Not here, you look weary from your flight, honour me to have dinner with me." Maemi said, though his eyes looked beyond to the pachinko parlour.

Raising his cup to his host, Victor well knew the reason for that, too many cops prowling around the parlours looking for any signs of illicit gambling. The payouts were always handled off site, Maemi was just a businessman after all.

"It'd be a pleasure. Ya got anywhere in mind, got a little lady I need ta tell where ta meet me at."

"I could have a car sent..." Maemi offered, though he waved it off and instead poured his host a fresh cup of sake.

"She likes findin' her own way around and I won't spoil her fun, been too long she was told where ta go and what ta do once she got there. She's earned the right to choose whether she wants ta come along or not." Victor assured, and at that Maemi settled in his seat.

Given an address written on a piece of paper, Victor got to work on a text to Laura on his burner phone using a code that while hardly unbreakable, would at least give anyone snooping a run for their money to figure out. At least long enough to enjoy a meal with old friends and get the details of the business that had brought them to Tokyo. Smirking as he hit send, he wondered just what these Yakuza would think of her and the wolf walking with her.

Watching as Maemi burned the paper and crumbled the ash, the flame held his gaze for a spell, breathing in the smoke and enjoying his sake all the more. There was just something to be said for enjoying a drink with a good fire going, making a promise to himself after all his business was done to get away for some quiet time with just him and his pup.

And somewhere in the back of his mind he wondered if just maybe he might have his little brother joining him after all the years he'd spent searching for him, hope brought to him once again with the coming of wolves.

"To yer Uncle." Victor said in toast as he raised his cup after filling his hosts.

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Taking off the leash, Laura felt something stir in her breast as the wolf heartily shook with the tags jingling away. Holding the leash in her hands, it was a good solid length of thick rope with a thick brass clasp. It felt good in her hands, reassuring in that it could easily be used in so many deadly ways. Stepping into the restaurant, it was mostly vacant and the few diners threw her guarded looks. The wolf let a low growl roll from her chest, her hackles standing on end and her lips pulled back in a snarl.

"Come."

Looking from the diners to her, the wolf did as told, but only with wary looks thrown back as the men conversed in their passing. What they said was expected and repugnant, but it would be their blood spilt if they dared try anything they said in quiet murmurs. Feeling the wolf bump against her, drawing instinctively close, something felt right about the touch.

Pausing outside a wooden door leading to a private section of the restaurant, she could smell Mister Creed inside along with the appetizing aroma of fire grilled meat and vegetables. The wolf sat beside her as she looked on the large man who stood watch, looking down on them both as if trying to size her and the wolf up. It was as he started to flex and puff out his chest in some attempt to intimidate her that the wolf rolled her eyes looking bored with it all, and at that Laura felt an honest hint of a smile tug at her lips.

"We are expected." Laura said simply and quietly, regaining her composure of bland disinterest though it couldn't be further from the truth.

She listened to all the idle chatter behind her, the quiet conversations had between dangerous men who made their livelihoods on the fringe of society and deep within the underworld that existed wherever the rule of law sought to civilize a land. She had picked out those who had the smell of gunpowder on them, saw the ones who had their mistakes shown with missing fingers, a high price to pay for failure.

Whether the man at the door understood or not was irrelevant, her voice told that she was no lost or scared girl stumbling in where she shouldn't, and for how he looked to what he likely thought was a dog told that he noticed how watchful the wolf was. There was a chuckle from Mister Creed, one that told that he had his fun, Japanese spoken telling to invite her in.

"Laura." Victor greeted, his eyes on how she held the leash.

"Mister Creed." Her reply was curt and polite, letting the tension ease out of her along with all the thoughts of how she could have taken down the doorman with the length of rope alone.

She didn't know the gathered, but they sat in various degrees of dress with their suit jackets hung behind them. Ornate tattoos told that these men had proved themselves, and she felt their eyes on her and the wolf. There were a few shocked outbursts as the wolf trotted in with an eye to the finely sliced meat ready for the barbeque, and Mister Creed enticed her over with a piece.

"A suiting pet for your child Victor."

Looking at the man, looking to be in his fifties he was the eldest out of them, and the man to his right easily could have been his son. Invited to sit, Laura found a seat with Mister Creed and took up a cup that was soon filled. Having a slight sip simply out of respect, she set it back down and looked over her choices.

"Ain't my kid, but she and the wolf do look ta be gettin' along." Victor said as he held a fire roasted mushroom up for inspection to the wolf, vanishing just as quickly as the uncooked beef had.

The truth that the wolf was no dog had the gathered look on her with a new respect, and that they had let a born and bread killer slip into their company became an amusing fact given her own upbringing, hers and Mister Creed alike. Taking up her chopsticks and laying out an assortment of vegetables, she tended to them as Mister Creed did most of the talking.

The feel of something warm and soft upon her lap had her look down to notice the wolf eyeing her beef, her eyes looking from the tray to her in askance. Feeding her a strip at a time, she watched without looking as the gathered sat impressed by how tame the wolf seemed. Letting them think whatever they would, in her life she had learnt to leave misconceptions of her well enough alone. If they thought her and Mister Creed all the more dangerous for taming a wild wolf, all the better.

Yet one misconception had been only half answered, that she was not the child of Mister Creed, but he hadn't cared to elaborate on that. It was only in private that he told that truth, that in the strictest sense she was a sister to him and by all means a curious twin for James Howlett. Petting the wolf with her free hand, she remembered that scent that had clung to her, one she knew but never so fresh. Relics of a man whom she had been trained to kill, as she was to be his replacement. All before Mister Creed had found her and given her a choice, the one the closest she had to a mother had always wished to give her.

"Does he have a name?"

Plating her meal, she looked to the man who had asked that, the eldest out of all the men whom had brought her and Mister Creed to Japan. There was a snort from the wolf, one telling she didn't like having her gender mistook, and again Laura felt that stirring in her breast that was warm and hot and left her cheeks faintly flushed. Mister Creed was laughing hard, offering the wolf a roasted bit of pepper that she snatched as it was dropped.

"She is Wolf." Laura confessed, though for the first time since realizing there was more to the wolf she did wonder if she did have a name.

There was laughter around the barbeques, it was easy and wholly amused by the answer she had given. Once she herself had a name meant only to describe what she was, not who she was, simply a designation. Looking down to the wolf and those intelligent eyes that looked up to her, Laura hoped to learn the true name of this wolf that she could call her by it, just as her mother had given her a name.

By now Mister Creed would have all he needed to know of the job, the rest was just a formality, and this time she found herself happy to have the wolf to keep her company. More food was brought in, and with a fresh plate of sliced beef she took time and care to cook it before feeding it to the wolf.

It helped to pass the time, until they returned to their hotel suite to gather up their belongings and move further into the city. From this point they were on the clock, and the seconds passing shaved away all the life that their target had left.

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After a layover in LAX, between a bit of finagling with the CIA and the assistance of Worthington Industries, they were en route to Tokyo in the hopes of finding Jubilee. Looking off to where Rogue laid with the little lady whose spirit had taken a walk, Logan let himself imagine them sleeping with just a bit of sight seeing and playing tourist ahead of them. As far as jets went, Worthington's was a whole mess nicer than the school jet, along with being a bit more low key.

"Coffee?"

Looking up from his musings, Logan saw Kurt settle in beside him with two mugs of bitter brew, gladly taking one and enjoying a sip that helped sooth his own worries. Noticing the leash that hung about Kurt's neck, Logan looked off to where Jubilee seemed to sleep and sure enough she had her collar on, their wayward Toto.

"Guessin' yer not lettin' her outta yer sight fer a while eh?" Logan asked, and there was a small smile on his friend's lips.

"Ja, no going off by herself and no going out without being on her leash." Kurt admitted with a laugh as he took the leash in hand, turning the gift over and running his thumb along the delicate leather.

"Should get her chipped." Logan added, playing up the running joke that had been going around, how the school had lost its dog.

The kids had just been as worried, worried as they would be if any of them had been hurt or lost or worse. There was a real family feel there that showed through in times like this, pulling together and sharing the heavy burden between them all. He hadn't been alone in making promises to bring her home, but there was an extra bit of weight on him for this mission that struck so close to home twice over.

Curious as ever, Jubilee had gotten in over her head after sniffing around some little string of fate that smelt like him, that Silverfox had sworn smelt of Victor. His long lost brother that he hadn't even known existed until a dream had stirred him up good, had driven him wild to the point that he had...

"No more sorry..." Logan whispered in that mantra his Rogue had given him, the pang of guilt coming strong in that moment.

The hand on his shoulder brought him a bit of peace, the hand of a friend who had his own guilt over things he had no control of. Having a swallow of his coffee and looking to Kurt, he gave him an companionable shove that earned him a chuckle. Worry was a double edged sword, it cut both ways and it wasn't always the ladies worrying over their men, even if he wished for the days they would have been left at home while him and his took care of all the nasty out there in the world.

Looking across the aisle, he saw another lady who had a messed knot of worry keeping her up, the CIA liaison herself. Raven sat staring out the window though in the reflection he could see she was watching them. She was a lady with a secret, one she'd been keeping tight ever since the name of ol' Jimmy Howlett's brother started getting thrown around. For now he let her keep it, though once they hit the tarmac and got their legs under them he had plans on asking her about it.

"I'm gonna go see what the pilot has to say." Logan grunted, giving Kurt a pat on his shoulder in passing.

For all the luxury of the jet, space was at a premium when it came to privacy, there was only so much he could do trying to not hear what he heard. But as he gave a knock at the door to the cockpit, he heard the tread of feet that told of a son going to try and get to know his mother, just making up for lost time. Thinking of Victor, he wondered what that reunion would be like, trusting in his wife that she had the scent right and saw what she saw.

Hunkering down and watching the men work, he felt ol' Jimmy Howlett at his back and closed his eyes in invitation to whatever memories might come. Something about the Pacific beneath him and Japan on the horizon felt right.

"Wake me when it's my turn boys..."

There was a quiet bit of respectful laughter from the pilots, but as he lost himself to the hum of the jet engines the noise felt wrong, felt like it should have been the thrum of propellers.

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