Chapter One: A Wolf Named Tsuki

Disclaimer: I don't own the 'Wolf's Rain' characters—only the OCs.

The young blue-eyed gray-and-white wolf watched the train pass by, heading for the nearby dome. She sniffed at the air.

Nobles, she thought.

"Tsuki!"

The wolf turned to face the speaker, allowing her human form to show: a tall and lean 15-year-old with amber eyes and shoulder-length black hair. "What, Atsushi?" she asked, irritated.

"We staked out the Nobles' Keep. It's not too hard to get into—there's barely any security," the cocky 25-year-old replied.

"Fine," Tsuki said, waving a dismissive hand.

"So…?"

"We get in, grab supplies, and get out, just like always. Is it really that hard?"

"Okay, okay. You don't need to get your fur in a bunch."

Tsuki growled dangerously.

"All right, all right, I'm going."

Tsuki snorted in disgust. Humans are so annoying! But especially Atsushi. Why do I put up with him? How can any of the others put up with him? At least they all accept that I'm a wolf…Tsuki sighed and turned to watch the train tracks once more.

When night fell, Tsuki led her human raiding party to the dome. They entered through a back entrance and used the shadowy alleys to hide their presence. The Keep lay in the heart of the city and it was, as Atsushi had said, scarcely guarded.

"This should be a piece of cake," Tsuki said, smiling.

"Okay, let's go," she told her raid. "Alpha team, we're grabbing the supplies. Bravo team, you're keeping an eye out for any guards."

The humans nodded. Tsuki led the raid to the Keep, watching for guards. No one was at the back entrance, and the hallways were dark and empty.

Tsuki stopped and sniffed the air. "All right, the storage room is this way. Let's go." She led her team down the hall, but shadows appeared on the wall. Tsuki held up a hand to tell her team to halt, and they all scrambled to press themselves against the wall. Tsuki held her breath as two guards passed by, not taking any notice of them. She peeked around the corner. Empty.

"All right, let's go," she whispered, and led her team to the end of the hall. They turned another corner and came across a wooden door, with a large lock on the handle.

Tsuki snorted. "Like that's going to stop me." She pulled out the knife she kept at her waist and began to pick at the lock. It was only a matter of seconds before she got the lock off and the door open. But the minute she got the door open, an alarm began to blare.

"Shit!" Tsuki cursed. She turned to her raiding party. "Grab as much as you can! Move it, move it, move it!"

The humans nodded and went into the storage room, filling their pockets with supplies, grabbing as many sacks and boxes they could carry. Tsuki darted into the room, grabbing a satchel of first-aid supplies and a few boxes of canned food. She darted back out of the storage room and began to run. Her followers were close at her heels.

They turned the corner, but found their way blocked by a horde of guards.

"Turn back!"

Gunfire echoed behind them as they ran back the way they had come. Tsuki came across a large opening in the wall that revealed a ledge and a mass of pipes leading to some buildings on the opposite side of a 20-story drop. Tsuki looked back, and then at the pipes. It was their only chance.

"Go, go, go!" she ordered, nodding to the pipes. Her party went ahead, running but trying to keep their balance at the same time. Tsuki followed as soon as she saw the last person get up onto the pipes. She found it easy to keep her balance, probably because she was a wolf.

Bullets ricocheted off the pipes, making it more precarious for the humans to cross. The gunfire soon became more accurate, and many fell once they were shot. One of the younger humans, Midori, slipped as a bullet hit the pipe near her feet. The supplies fell, but the girl managed to grab hold of the pipe.

Tsuki abandoned the supplies she had grabbed and jumped forward to help Midori. But with a metallic screech and a terrified scream, the pipe broke and Midori fell to her death. Tsuki stood frozen, her hand still outstretched, disbelieving.

A bullet grazed her thigh, bringing her back to reality. She continued to run the length of the pipes. When she reached the end, she jumped up onto a nearby rooftop, and crouched in the darkness, turning back to look at the Keep. With her senses, she could see the guards were leading the members of her Bravo team to the Keep's prison. She couldn't tell if her entire Alpha team had died, or not.

With a whispered "Sorry", Tsuki turned to leave the dome.

Tsuki punched the large oak tree in frustration. It had been three days since the failed raid, and no one had come back. It was clearly obvious that her entire Bravo team had been captured, and her entire Alpha team had died. And Tsuki had been unable to protect them, just like she had been unable to protect her pack…

"No!" Tsuki growled to herself. "That wasn't my fault!" But she still blamed herself…

Tsuki jumped to her feet and fell into a defensive crouch, baring her teeth as she would while in wolf form.

"Tsuki, relax. It's just me."

Tsuki never thought she'd be so happy to see Atsushi.

She jumped to her feet, and, unable to contain her relief, ran forward and threw her arms around the guy she hated so much—besides the Nobles, of course.

Atsushi seemed completely taken aback; he remained stiff as a board.

Tsuki released him, and took one step back. "I'm sorry," she said. "I've been so worried…I'm just glad to see that someone made it out alive."

Atsushi remained silent.

"Is something wrong?"

"No…Well, yes. I regret that the others had to die, but…"

"What are you talking about, Atsushi?"

He didn't reply.

"Atsushi, please. You aren't making any sense." Tsuki hated the pleading tone in her voice—it made her sound weak and uncertain—but she had to know what had had happened to the others.

"They were supposed to only fire at you, but they didn't listen…You were the only one who was supposed to die…The others were only supposed to be in the prison for a few days…"

"You sold us out?" Tsuki screeched, her face flushing with anger.

Atsushi nodded.

"But why would you do such a thing?"

"Simple: I hate wolves." As he spoke, Atsushi pulled out a revolver and pointed it at her.

Tsuki backed into the oak tree, playing the part of the helplessly trapped animal. As she did so, her hand inched for the knife at her waist.

"Why do you hate wolves?"

"They killed my wife without mercy."

"But you know I'm not like that."

"Yes, you are! I've seen you kill people, Tsuki!"

"But I've only ever killed Nobles, or people that threatened the others. You know that, Atsushi. I killed to protect them."

"Don't play innocent with me."

"Well, if you think I'm such a cold-blooded murderer, then why have you hung around this whole time? Why haven't you killed me before now?"

"I like to play with the wolves before I kill them—make them suffer."

"Why?"

"So that they can feel the pain they've caused me. Ever since that night, I've vowed to kill all wolves, and you're no exception, bitch."

Without warning, Tsuki drew her knife and launched herself at Atsushi. She managed to slash his upper arm before he jumped out of the way. He pivoted sharply and fired his gun, but Tsuki jumped into the tree.

"I'll kill you, wolf!"

Tsuki jumped out of the tree, landing behind Atsushi. She kicked the back of his leg and jumped in front of him, punching him in the stomach.

Atsushi doubled over in pain, but he didn't let go of the gun. Tsuki jumped back into the tree, crouching in the lowermost branches and holding her knife before her. Atsushi straightened, and, snarling, pointed the gun at her.

She jumped down from the tree, letting the wolf dominate her—she extended her claws, bared her teeth, a snarl ripping through her teeth…

Atsushi's eyes widened in horror, then narrowed in hatred. He pulled the trigger. The bullet went through Tsuki's shoulder. In the next moment, her jaws clamped around Atsushi's throat.

Blood spurted in her mouth, hot and metallic. She jerked her head back and jumped back a few paces, watching Atsushi. He stumbled back, but he still stood. He shot her in the leg.

She winced, but growled dangerously low. She jumped at Atsushi, landing on him, and clawing at anything she could reach.

Atsushi kicked her hard in the stomach, somehow managing to send her flying backwards. With a sickening thud, Tsuki's head collided with the oak tree. The wind was knocked out of her, and she fell to the ground in a crumpled heap.

Her eyes closed unwillingly. The pain…Oh, the pain…

Atsushi watched as Tsuki's breathing became slower, and then stopped altogether. He smiled smugly, before keeling over, dead.