I felt something tighten around my stomach and groaned, opening my eyes. I must have fallen asleep while I was thinking about Rou. My attention was brought to the pale arms that were wrapped around my stomach. Sighing, I tried to pull them apart and off of me but it was like his arms were hundreds of pounds each because I could barely move them. I started to shuffle around to wiggle out of his hold but it only made him pull me closer. I froze when he moved and after a moment could feel his breath on the back of my neck. My face flushed with embarrassment and I quickly started wriggling again as I called his name.

"Rou! Hey! Moron, wake up." I continued to try to pull his arms off of me.

He groaned, still mostly asleep and buried his face into the back of my neck, nestling into my hair. The action made me dig my nails into his arms as my face grew more flushed.

He jumped back, waking up and gasping in pain. "Ow! What was that for?"

I could tell that my face was flushed and when he began to smirk, I shoved his shoulder and got out of the bed quickly. I turned around and stuck my tongue out at him before sprinting off down the hallway. I knew he would be after me so I quickly found an open room and rushed inside. I closed the door behind me, engulfing the room in darkness. I would not have been able to see anything if it wasn't for the slight part in the curtains that allowed a few rays of sun to shine in. I caught my breath before looking around the room more.

I had made a pact with myself years ago that I wouldn't show any form of weakness to anyone but my sister. I had to protect both of us because she showed so much weakness herself. It wasn't necessarily bad that she showed so much weakness but when people use it against you, it's another story. I couldn't allow myself to be weak when she already was. I looked down at the thin cotton nightgown that Ryuketsuki's fiancé Naomi had lent me. I would need clothes if I wanted to do anything else.

Looking around the large bedroom, I spied a chest at the end of the large bed with clothes flowing over the edge. I stalk over quietly and look at the materials. It was obviously men's clothes with the amount of pants and lack of floral prints, also taking size into account. I took a pair of black pants, and hoping they're clean, I slip them on. I tucked in the gown and put on a dark jacket, buttoning it up. I found a pair of sandals in the nearby closet and slid them on as well as a floppy wide brimmed hat. I snuck out of the room and made my way to a door to the outside. I took it slow but successfully did it, though almost running into a few servants on the way out. It was getting stuffy in that house, so it was better to get out and get some fresh air anyways.

Surprised still by the unexpected non-hellish landscape of the medieval city, I strolled down the street, entering a crowded part of the town with shops of all kinds on either side. When I say all kinds, I mean all kinds. Pet shops, grocery markets, butchers, toy stores, adult stores, even soul shops. I took a turn down a smaller street to get away from the main area crowded with people of incorporeal and corporeal bodies, and even some people with small and large horns. There were some with wings and floating heads even! I was scared and in awe at the same time that such a world existed from the very start. I saw no chance better than now to explore this new place that intrigued me so much.

Reaching the edge of town, I stretched and tried to relax a little. There was nearly no one in this area, but there were a few more rugged looking people. Someone suddenly runs past from behind me, bumping into my shoulder. I blinked a few times in surprise as Alex stepped in front of me and continued to run as if he didn't see me. I rubbed my eyes to see if I could be seeing wrong, but when I removed my hands and my eyesight cleared, I saw a large sandy blonde wolf that stood nearly 6 feet tall at its shoulders. The hair color of this large wolf was the same as Alex's. My eyes widened and I stepped back in sheer surprise, the giant wolf disappearing around the corner and out of sight.

My foot got hooked on the edge of an uneven stone from the road as I backed up and I fell backwards. I winced in preparation and squeezed my eyes shut in fear, preparing from my rear to hurt from hitting the ground, but it didn't. I didn't reach the ground period. I felt hands wrapped around my upper arms, holding me up, preventing me from falling any more.

"You okay, dear?" A slightly familiar voice stated.

I couldn't quite place the owner but as I pulled away and spun around I saw the abnormally white haired man from a few days ago, the one that nearly killed Rou, Hemlock, and my sister. I didn't fight my instinct as I swung and punched him as hard as I could in his face, remembering everything he had done. I then spun on my heels and ran as fast as I could, making it my goal to get as far away from him as possible.

Something deep in me told me to run faster, and thus I did till I turned a corner and ran smack into Akuno-oji. I hit my face so hard that my nose stung. I smelt blood and wiped under my nose where I felt something wet start to seep. There was blood coming out and was now smeared across the back of my hand. This darn fool made my nose bleed!

I swung at him again, my fists ready, but he caught my hands inches from his face. His eyes glowed bright red down at me, "Now now. I must say, you seem particularly hostile right now. I wasn't wrong however, I do know you. There is no mistaking it now. I must not wait any longer."

With a snap of his fingers, my nose no longer stung and I did not smell blood. He was gone though as well, disappearing into thin air like everyone around this city seemed to do. I felt something appear in my hand and nearly dropped it in surprise. There was an envelope addressed to Rou's family. Sighing, I kicked the wall next to me, regretting the decision of that action greatly right after. My foot began to ache, the man I wish to beat the living daylights out of has disappeared, and now I'm his errand boy. I kicked the wall again and screamed out in frustration and pain. Pain because now my other foot was aching.

"Amaya." Someone huffed and I spun to see Rou at the edge of the alleyway, leaning on the wall for support as he breathed heavily. "Where did you go? Why? Why did you run?"

"Relax. I'm not going anywhere anymore, I give up. Oh and here. I think this belongs to you." Walking closer, I handed him the letter. "A pile of absolute shit wanted me to give this to your brother or you or whoever from your family.."

Rou looked confused as he took the envelope. He frowned slightly and opened it. Reading quietly and carefully, he took a steady deep breath in and folded the paper back up and held out his hand to me. He looked somewhat surprised but also very alert now. Before I could take his hand, he slowly began walking backwards out of the alley. When he hit the opening, only a few feet away, the sun shined down on him. His hair flowed in the slight breeze and glittering in the rays of warmth. He smiled at me, his teeth a blinding white perfection. My heart raced at his beauty as he spoke and beckoned me closer.

"Come here." He said sweetly. His voice as warm and soft as the rays of sun shining down on him. "Let's get you back home and out of my clothes."

I looked down at the clothing I was wearing and my heart stopped. I had no clue that these were his. I mean, now that I looked at them, it did make sense.

My heart sped a bit as I could feel the blush creeping back over my cheeks. Wanting to be rid of these emotions, I physically shook my head and straightened my posture.

"Let's go. I'm hungry and I want one of the burrito bowls from the store by my apartment. Would that be possible?" I pouted and started to walk off.

He was quiet for a moment, "That does sound good, and it is pretty early. I'm sure if we leave within the hour we can be back by noon."

We hurriedly made our way back to his family's house, got changed, said our goodbyes and headed on our way.

We arrived back at the apartment around mid-afternoon. I had gotten burrito bowls for Rou, Hemlock, Hatsurin, and I. They were one of my favorite foods to get out and I was excited to sit and eat in a familiar location for once with the recent events that had occurred. I dug in my pockets for a key and came to the conclusion that there were none in any of them. I frowned and knocked loudly on the door in frustration. Rou jumped and nearly dropped the paper sack he was holding.

"Why?" He asked, slightly hushed.

"I don't have a key to get in, but that knock should have been loud enough for Hatsurin or Hemlock to hear." I heard the door bolt unlock and shrugged to Rou. "Speak of the devil."

When the door opened, on the other hand, was neither Hatsurin or Hemlock, but rather a man standing just a bit shorter than I. He wore only an orange t-shirt and black jeans with bright fire-like orange hair. His hair was a mess as if he had just woken up.

I gasped in surprise and quickly made my way inside, Rou following and locking up behind me. I found Hemlock in the kitchen grabbing a glass of water.

"Who is that?!" I nearly screamed in surprise, full of sudden anger.

"Oh, Amaya. Good to see you're doing well. He said his name was Nikolai or something. He said to..." He started, but I then interrupted.

"Oh, that's a nice name. Why is he in my home?"

"As I was about to explain before you interrupted me, he said that he knew your grandfather and that he sent him to check on you guys. He happened to be looking for a place to stay so your sister invited him to stay here while he looked for a more permanent place."

I ground my teeth together, "And where is Hatsurin?"

"She went out for a walk in the woods a little bit ago. She said she wanted to get some fresh air before you got back with dinner." He smiled happily.

"Hatsurin?! In the woods alone!? At Sundown?!" I yelled at him, "You idiot!"

He winced as he shrunk back in what I presumed to be slight fear. I huffed at him then stormed to my room and threw open my closet door, looking for my scarf and a jacket for Hatsurin, knowing that she surely would not have one on. I took a deep breath and bound outside.

I made my way to the edge of the woods behind the apartment building. It was situated on the edge of town and out of everyone's hair. I was thankful for that, but after dark, it got very sketchy, and neighbors would swear they could hear things slithering and crawling around in the dark.

Starting into the woods, I yelled out for my dense and foolish sister. How could she just invite random strangers into our home? And right after she had just invited Hemlock and Rou to live with us too?! Huffing in more than just disbelief, I folded my arms over my chest and shivered. It was getting dark and cold. I needed to find Hatsurin and fast.

I heard a crunch of leaves behind me and spun around. Nearly jumping out of my skin, I saw Hatsurin, struggling to pull along a deep red rust colored dog. This dog was huge though and when it bared it's gums and teeth at me, I could clearly see the large canines. This was no dog, but rather a wolf and a large one at that. What was one doing so close to the city? I ran over and pulled Hatsurin away from it quickly.

"What the hell is going on in your head?!" I yell at her.

She frowns and scrunches up her nose at me, "It's nice to know that you're finally home. And he's hurt. Can't you see that? I'm just trying to help him."

She pushed me away and went back to the wolf that glared at me, growling softly. Crouching down, she pet It softly, "It's okay. That's just my controlling sister. The one who takes all the fun from the party. Let's get you inside so I can try to clean your wound."

The wolf winced as she started to help it along again. I was about ready to tell her to leave the animal to die there, letting mother nature take its course, deeming it strong enough, or maybe not, to survive. Right then it looked up at me once again. I could see years of hurt and pain running through his deep teal eyes. It struck me to my core. It was my turn to growl under my breath as this poor and lowly dog guilt tripped me and I made my way over to assist.

"Help him up. It'll be easier if we can stand on either side to help him walk." I said as I started to pick him up. My hands slipped on something and Hatsurin caught him, helping him to stand. I backed up to walk around and looked down. There were gashes along his side, slowly oozing blood with every movement he made. My hands must have slipped on the blood that coated his fur. What could have done this to him? He's nearly to both mine and Hatsurin's shoulders in height. Whatever injured him, had to be something huge, terrifying, and definitely not human.

We slowly made our way to our apartment, pushing him up the stairs slowly to not injure him further. When we made it to the door, Rou opened it for us.

"I could smell you from down the hall." He said, his eyes wide when he saw the wolf leaning against Hatsurin behind me, and the blood coating my hands and torso. "Amaya! Are you hurt anywhere?!"

"No, but he is, genius. Now move out of the way." I grunted pushing past him, helping Hatsurin take the large canine to my bathroom, the closest to where I could wash all the blood away the quickest.

When we set him in the bathtub, I started running the shower to let the water both wash the fur and clean the wounds a little. Turning to Hatsurin, I pet the feral dog's head. "Go wash up and eat. I've got it from here."

She nodded reluctantly, looking quickly to the wolf then back at me, then left me to my business. When most of the blood in the fur had washed away, I looked at the gashes, prodding them to see just how deep they were. The wolf growled and howled in pain.

Grabbing his muzzle with both hands, I growled under my breath back at him, "Shut up and bite your leg or something. We're not allowed to have any large dogs in this apartment building, let alone a wolf like you."

He winced again, both in pain and fear that filled his eyes once more. He nodded to me as best he could. Guess it's a good thing that he can understand what I'm saying.

I left him in the tub, turning off the water momentarily so I could get the antiseptics we stored to thoroughly clean the wounds that the large animal got from who knows where. When I came back with a needle and thread, along with other contents of our first aid kit, there was a man in the tub, in the place of the wolf.

I jumped in surprise when I saw him, dropping the medical supplies, "Holy. . . . HATSURIN!"

She ran in, food still ornamenting the corner of her mouth, "everything good?"

I point to the tub and make a noise that emanates from the back of my throat in shock. She looked at the currently naked man with long, messy, wet, and russet red hair that clung to his back, side, and wounds that decorated his upper body as he laid half curled in a fetal position. He had scars scattered all over his body, but the blood dripping and mixing with the water from the ends of his hair stood out the most as it drained away from his body.

"Oh... Well would you look at that. You've gone and gotten yourself a werewolf. Fun!" Rou commented in mock surprise as he had just poked his head in to see what had happened, leaving just as quick.

Hatsurin motioned from me to continue helping the man, "Don't just let him die. This should be easier for you, shouldn't it? You took that anatomy class didn't you? You said you had to sew something up in there."

I began to protest. I mean, yeah I took Anatomy A and B. Yeah, I had to sew something up, but what I sewed up was a dead pig! Not a living man! I groaned and pushed everyone, besides the injured man in my bathtub, out of the room and sulked back over to him. He looked up at me, the same bright teal eyes glistened up at me but full of pain.

"Will... this really...be easier... for you?" He softly and painfully barked out.

"Be quiet. You'll only hurt yourself more." I grabbed a towel and threw it over his waist and hips, hiding the unmentionables that I have been so carefully trying to avoid looking at. This man was too fine all the way around for me to look at him down below, even by accident, with my all too virgin eyes.

He shut up, as ordered, and turned on his side so I could get a better view of his wound. The wounds were deep and I'd definitely need to stitch them shut, but they didn't go too terribly deep into his solid muscle of flesh. I began to stitch him up, running cold water at times and using ice to numb the areas around the wounds. I had Rou come in at one point to help keep him awake because the pain was so bad the injured man had begun to start passing out. 

After a good hour or so of me concentrating my hardest, I bandaged him up and Hemlock carried the wolf-man to Hatsurin's bed, which she offered to the guy to help him be comfortable while he healed. I changed my shirt and washed my hands, washing away all of the blood that was anywhere else on me. It took all my restraint to keep from drooling over the massive amounts of blood I had just dealt with. I sat on the counter in the bathroom and looked out the small back window. My stomach growled loudly and I shook my head. I couldn't believe I just wanted to ingest blood.

Rou sat beside me, as if on command, and looked at me. "Sorry to say, but that orange haired guy ate your dinner. I tried to stop him but he ignored me. I hate when people do that."

I clenched my fists and took a very deep breath, holding everything back from going and punching the little piece of human flesh in the gut till he puked up all my food, but what good would that do? Violence doesn't really solve anything, and normally just leads to more violence. Rou must have sensed or even seen my anger because he gently laid his hand on top of mine.

I flinched and pulled away quickly, "don't touch me. I don't need yours or anyone else's emotional support. I can take care of myself."

Standing quickly, I paced over to the kitchen and began making some chicken broth with frozen vegetables in it for both my dinner, and for the wolf-guy. "Remind me why we didn't just take him to the nearest hospital?" I muttered quietly.

Rou came in and stood in the doorway, holding the side of his head, "Money, insurance, werewolves heal faster, urgency to help him so he doesn't bleed out, and maybe you being too picky to rely on anyone. Any of that, or you just have a big heart and want to heal everyone."

"Hmm.... points taken." I mixed all the ingredients together and let it boil and soak, cooking slowly.

"You know," Rou started, walking closer, "You can rely on others. It's not just you and your sister anymore. I'm here too, and Hemlock."

I look at Rou, who was looking at me with the warmest look in his different colored red eyes. Butterflies began to fly around in my stomach and I frowned. I threw the plastic spoon at his face, hitting him so unexpectedly smack on point to where I laughed truly for the first time in weeks.

He smirked at my laughing and chuckled with me before walking away to leave me to my cooking. What am I going to do with him? Can I really just expect all these people to live here like this? Speaking of which, I'll need to talk to Hatsurin about that. She will most likely give me sass or might even cry. I'll be victimised as a bad guy once again, but if that means that she doesn't just pull strangers off the street, I'm willing to be anything for the greater good. Anything.

I groaned and slammed down the new wooden spoon that I had just gotten out down on the counter. I almost forgot about that one new dude who ate my dinner. I'm definitely going to have to physically beat him out of here. It didn't look like he was going to go anywhere anytime soon. Stirring the broth, I pondered over the recent events and placed many things on my to-do list.