Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf's Rain, or any of its characters.

A/N: This is a short one-shot that is basically my response to the ending of Wolf's Rain. I tried to characterize them based on their relationships and personalities during the show, so I hope that came out well. I don't plan on continuing this idea further than this, and purposely left it where I did. Anyway, enjoy! Oh, and spoiler warning... kind of.

It felt like she knew them sometimes – people she saw on the street, some that she talked to; she wondered if once upon a time, she had known them as friends or family. Not that it mattered much; she was just curious.

Nonetheless, she was surprised when she walked into her Literary Mythology seminar and the young man she sat herself next to kept staring at her.

She was about to tell him to stop and pay attention to their professor when she realized that he was one of those people she thought she knew.

She tried to think about where she might have met him. He looked like one of those laid-back, casual guys given his blue hoodie and sweatpants; maybe it was his slightly fluffy light brown hair. She wasn't quite sure.

Then it was her turn to introduce herself to the class.

"Um, hi, I'm Bessie Hartman, but I go by Blue," she said, trying to sound amicable. "I'm a sophomore, psych major, and... um, I'm a member of the martial arts club."

The young man next to her seemed to smirk. She raised an eyebrow.

He grinned slightly. "Okay, well I'm Hige Cain, junior bio major, and I think that Giordano's hot dogs are the best food on campus."

He got a lot of laughs at that from other classmates who apparently frequented that eatery. It just added to Blue's already growing sense of déjà vu.

She was distracted the entire class; perhaps it was Hige's knowing looks, or that laugh that seemed to just keep her at ease. Or perhaps it was that fluffy head of his, combined with his voice and that sense that she just... knew him far better than she should.

Blue knew she wasn't alone though. Hige would occasionally drop his smile to gaze at her, and his voice sounded slightly strained with some emotion she couldn't quite pick up when he commented on a point she brought up during the class.

It was as they were packing up to leave that Hige tapped her on the shoulder.

"Bessie, huh?" he asked casually, stuffing his notebook into his backpack.

Blue zipped up her own bag and slung it onto her shoulder. "Yeah, but call me Blue. Bessie makes it sound like I'm a cow or something."

He laughed. "All right then, Blue, nice to meet you."

"And you're Hige, right?"

Blue groaned when she realized whose call she had missed. Wiping off the sweat from her forehead as she undid the belt of her uniform, she quickly pressed the button to return the call.

Two rings later, she heard her godfather's voice on the line.

"Sorry Pops, I was at practice. Helping teach the white belts their first form," she explained, smiling slightly.

His voice echoed in laughter. "You were always a great fighter, pass that down now ya hear? I just wanted to call in and see how you were doing."

"Everything's been great. Classes are good, but I have a paper due in a few days - "

"And let me guess, you haven't started yet, huh?" He laughed again. "Been busy with that boy, now have you?"

She blushed. "Pops! We're not even dating!"

"The way you talk about him, it sounds like you will be soon. What have you done with him anyway?"

Blue almost wanted to hang up out of embarrassment; somehow, talking about boys with her godfather was not exactly what she imagined as a comfortable conversation. "He showed me around the lab he works at, I met his mentor, Dr. Cher Lebowski, and we grab dinner together regularly. That's about it really."

"Lebowski? Sounds familiar, a cop I know called Hubb Lebowski, he works in your city."

"She is married. Maybe to him. Small world, huh?"

He laughed again. "Makes me feel young again. Anyway, sounds like a respectable guy you've been hanging out with. Make sure Hige treats you well though, because if he doesn't and you don't have the sense to smack him one, I've got a nice rifle - "

"Pops!!"

The bartender looked familiar, from the leather to the short pale hair that contrasted with his tanned skin. And that one gold earring...

"What do you want?" he asked, sounding a little irritated. Blue read his nametag. Tsume, it said.

She glanced at Hige, who was also eying the man with interest. "I'll take a Spanish Gentleman, please," he said, nodding to her in silent recognition. Yes, I'm sharing with you. And yes, he looks familiar.

It was as they were alternating taking sips at a nearby table that Blue finally mentioned it.

"This can't be coincidence, can it?" she asked, gazing into Hige's eyes with the same suspicion she had had that day they had met; the strange feeling that they had known each other before. "You felt it too?"

He nodded. "Yeah. You think he knows us too?"

They looked in the direction of the bartender, who froze briefly and quickly turned his attention away when they did. Apparently, he had been watching them.

"Given that reaction, yes," Blue commented, sipping. "I think we're going to have to visit this place more often, and figure out what's going on."

The fact that the Farmer's Market was located only a couple blocks from her dorm meant that Blue had easy access to local food and good, live music. So every Saturday morning she would sleep in, go through her usual training routine, shower, and head straight over for lunch.

She was a little early this particular Saturday, because for some reason she had woken up a couple hours before she usually did. Blue had decided to take advantage of this and spend more time at the market, enjoying some fresh fruit and talking with a few vendors before grabbing a meal.

Blue took a bite out of her rice bowl, glancing in surprise to see a hot dog stand nearby. Hige is getting to me, she thought, Sooner or later, those are going to be the only thing I eat too.

Knowing that Hige was coming to meet her soon anyway, she made a mental note to grab something for him.

It was as one of the performers was playing a fast-paced acoustic song that she noticed a thin boy, bordering middle school and high school from the looks of it, walk through towards one of the stands. She watched as he talked with the vendor, picking out vegetables and other produce as he did so. Why does he look familiar too?

He looked so innocent, with slightly long red hair and large eyes. And then there were those bangles on his right arm –

That is familiar. Where have I seen this?

The boy paid for his goods, and paused for a moment to listen to the music. It looked like he wanted to stay longer, but was busy with his errand; however, he still stayed until the end of the song, clapping with one hand before walking off.

She made another mental note to start coming to the Farmer's Market early, and to drag Hige along with her.

Meet me at my apartment ASAP.

It wasn't like Hige to just send a text.

Blue was worried as she ran up the stairs of the small apartment complex. She wondered what was going on; maybe he had run into trouble? Was there something happening that he couldn't explain over the phone? Did he need to show her something? Maybe his phone had been running out of battery...?

She hoped it was the latter, as she couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to her boyfriend.

Blue made it to the floor she knew so well, hurrying up to the door she knew was usually unlocked. She turned the knob – it went, so she let herself in.

"Hige, I'm here! What's going... on..."

The bartender with the gold earring was sitting at the table looking worried. The boy from the Farmer's Market was there too, glancing at everyone with a nervous expression, as though unsure what to think of everything. Hige, standing and pacing, looked confused but apprehensive, as though somehow everything made sense, but the fact of it was almost too much to handle.

He turned towards her, and relief spread across his face. "Blue! You're here! I'm sorry, but I couldn't explain this over the phone, not something like this – you'll never believe what's going on, it's insane, but - "

"Hige, maybe it's better that I do the explaining."

From the kitchen came a figure that Blue knew that she had to have seen before; however, it was not necessarily seeing, but knowing…

And suddenly, a name came unbidden to her lips as she stared, the image of a white wolf in her mind.

"Kiba?"

The young man nodded, looking at her with oddly sharp eyes. "It's nice to see you again. You probably don't remember, but it's been imprinted on your soul."

Blue glanced at Hige, who shrugged helplessly as though he had been in this exact position and had no idea what to offer. She turned again towards Kiba, curious. "My soul? What do you mean?"

Kiba gazed at her, looking deeply. Blue felt an odd sense that she knew more, like something was tugging at her mind, begging to be released, but was held back by just one thing, like a mixture of bottled up memories trying to sort itself.

He smiled.

"Blue, what does the word 'paradise' mean to you?"