(A/N) I apologize for the lateness of this chapter. But I think you'll all enjoy it. ^_^

Thanks to RadicalEdward6 and Dragunity Gemini for reviewing! You guys are responsible for keeping this fic going, and I truly hope I don't disappoint!

I do not own Wolf's Rain.

Scrambling up onto a rocky outcropping, Tsume shook his soaking fur briefly before turning and hauling Toboe up the rest of the way, dropping the pup beside him. Hige and Blue bounded up a moment later, shaking out their own pelts before settling down.

"The water will only keep rising," Blue observed, looking out at the flooded plains. Tsume growled softly, unwilling to admit it but knowing it was pointless to resist.

"We should keep climbing," Hige said, leaning down just slightly to dangle his fingers in the rising water. "At this rate, it'll catch up."

Wordlessly, the leather-clad teen rose, leaping up the stones and taking the lead once more. Though he resented the journey, he still felt a responsibility to the others. Reaching out his hand, he helped Toboe climb up beside him.

"Stay on your guard," he warned icily, eyes glinting in the half-light. "Darcia is here somewhere."

"Oh, and the four of us couldn't take him," Hige scoffed, only to find the grey wolf's muzzle an inch from his.

'Do not underestimate that... monster!' he snarled, drawing back his lip. 'Never underestimate him!' And with those words hanging in the air, he leaped up onto the next ledge, glancing back to make sure Toboe was right behind him.

... ... ...

The crumbling pack found a small cave to rest in at nightfall; the rain had slowed to a steady drizzle, and all four wolves were fairly certain the water wouldn't reach them, at least not that night. Blue and Hige found a corner to rest in, curling up and grooming each other's soaked fur with long, deliberate strokes of their warm tongues. Tsume did the same for Toboe, briskly drying the pup's useless, velvet ears.

"I'm wo'ied 'bou' 'iba," the red wolf confessed, leaning into his protector's chest. "Wh' if 'e go' caugh' i' tha' 'ian?"

"Kiba is capable of taking care of himself," the grey wolf replied, holding the pup at arm's length so he could see his lips move, and therefore understand him. "If he's one thing, he's stubborn. He can get through anything, so long as he's got a goal in sight."

And it was in such a way that they snuggled down, seeking warmth in each other's fur amid the frigid, drenched world.

... ... ...

It was nearly dawn when the steady pull of water at their fur woke the wolves, and it was with reluctant urgency that they resumed their climb. The rain had stopped, though the water continued to rise through some unknown means. As the sky turned a pale shade of grey, the foursome reached the summit of the ridge they had been climbing, suddenly facing the huge expanse of water that had once been a valley. The tallest of the mountains- the one that held the supposed entrance to Paradise -reared up as a misty shape on the horizon- the only thing in sight.

"Now what?" Hige asked, pacing anxiously and glancing down. "We can't swim that!"

'... There's higher ground beyond it, though,' Tsume said, sniffing the air. 'The summit mountain... is our only chance. It's either swim it or wait here to drown.'

Blue was the first to launch herself into the virtual sea, swimming strongly with her head bobbing above the surface. At the sight of her paddling away, Hige gave an uncomfortable whine and slid in after her, yelping as the water soaked his fur. It took him a moment, but soon he was following her, albeit a bit less steadily.

Glancing at Toboe, Tsume lowered his muzzle. 'Can you do it?'

The red wolf fluffed out his fur indignantly, lifting his head. 'O' 'ourse!' Leaping clumsily, he landed in the water with a splash. For an instant he vanished from view, but then popped back up, coughing and spluttering. Tsume slipped in after him, confidant as his powerful limbs propelled him forward.

'Keep your paws moving!' he grunted, seeing Hige falter ahead of him. 'The cold will get to you the minute you stop to breathe!'

Blue looked back over her shoulder, seeming unusually at home in the water. 'Hey, I think I used to swim with Pops!'

'Fantastic, sweetheart,' Tsume growled, swimming up beside Toboe and bumping into the floundering wolf's flank. 'You doing okay, Pup?'

'F-fine!' the red wolf sniffed, though obviously struggling already. The grey wolf narrowed his eyes, sticking as if glued to the pup's side.

The land jutting toward the grey sky didn't seem to get any closer, even as Tsume felt himself begin to tire. Blue dropped back beside him, still seeming to swim effortlessly despite the dragging time.

'Hige and Toboe won't be able to keep this up,' she said softly, and Tsume felt relief wash through him as she overlooked his own faltering.

'What choice do we have? We can't turn around.'

As if on cue, Toboe gasped loudly, vanishing below the water for an instant. Arms flailing, he managed to resurface as a human, though he quickly reverted to a wolf, giving himself a shake. Instantly Tsume was there.

'You okay?' he asked, nudging the pup. Toboe nodded shakily and kept paddling; the grey wolf, with a glance back at the halfblood, followed him.

... ... ...

It was nearly nightfall when the bedraggled pack hauled themselves up onto land, two of the wolves collapsing instantly in one shivering, panting heap. Tsume trudged a bit farther up the bank before sinking to the ground, half-crawling on his belly into a sparse patch of grass. Blue scrambled confidently from the water, giving herself a shake.

"I'll go see if I can find some prey," she announced, then bounded up the cliffside. Hige looked after her wearily.

"What a girl..." he sighed, then let his head drop back down. "Man, I'm lucky."

Growling crossly, Tsume forced his feet under him. "I'll go help her," he said, although his legs trembled as he picked his way up after the halfblood. The mexican wolf scoffed.

"Always has to look tough..."

Toboe was unresponsive, the swim having taken what little strength the deaf pup had. So Hige rose tiredly, helping the small boy to his feet and then leading him over to that same scrubby patch of grass, making them both a nest there.

And so they waited.

... ... ...

"Wait up...!" Tsume huffed angrily, clamoring over a bolder in pursuit of the halfbreed. Blue turned and watched as he caught up, a cross look on her own face.

"You know," she began, "I've tolerated your foolish pride up until now, but you should be resting with the others! That swim wasn't nearly as hard on me as it was on you three, so let me do the hunting for tonight!"

Tsume didn't reply, but he didn't back down. So the she-wolf sighed, turning and plodding farther up the mountain, jaws split as she scented the air.

'Rabbit...!'

The grey wolf raised his head, ears pricking as he sniffed. The warm scent flooded his mouth, and he crouched down involuntarily.

'To the left...'

Blue nodded, slinking through the sparse bushes with her tail down; Tsume automatically paced the other way, around to the right. With a frenzied lunge, the halfblood drove the rabbit from it's hiding place, and in one bound the grey wolf had caught it, killing the creature with a swift bite to the neck.

Looking up with blood flecking his muzzle, Tsume grinned. 'I didn't expect to find anything.'

'We got lucky,' Blue said, just as the dark shape reared up behind her.

... ... ...

Toboe was fast asleep, head resting on Hige's side. The mexican wolf himself was barely conscious, eyes closed but ears pricked for any sign of Tsume and Blue's return. His muzzle was clogged with mud and water, but he looked forward to the hot prey that the two wolves would bring back; his fur was soaking but he looked forward to Blue's soothing tongue.

When the sound of pounding paws broke into such thoughts, his tail began to wag. He looked up drowsily as the sound came closer, but the greeting on his tongue turned into a shocked yelp as his scruff was grabbed, the fangs embedded in it dragging him from the nest.

'On your feet!' came the furious growl, and poor Hige froze in shock.

'Kiba?!'

Again the white wolf jerked him, then tossed him aside in favor of retrieving Toboe, heaving the red wolf up and then urging him up the bank. Hige followed, dumbfounded, then came up beside Kiba.

"K-Kiba, it is you!" he yelped. "What are you doing here? Where have you been?"

"That's not important!" the white wolf snapped. Apparently unsatisfied with their speed, he heaved a weakly protesting Toboe onto his back. "Come on!"

Hige forced his tired legs to run as his friend took off, bounding with shocking power up the side of the mountain. Then he skidded, changing direction abruptly enough to make the Mexican wolf slip and fall, forced to scramble to his feet without pausing to recover his breath- lest he lose sight of the white wolf.

"Sl-slow down...!"

Kiba didn't respond, vaulting over a bolder and sliding into a shallow cavern, pulling Hige roughly in beside him. Then he froze, holding the tan wolf to the wall behind him, his breath coming slow and even.

Then the panting began, just outside the improvised den. The white wolf pressed one packmate farther into the stone wall, holding the other tightly to his chest.

"Come out come out..." came the dark chuckle. "Come out, little piggies..."

Hige would have yelped if Kiba's hand hadn't been over his mouth; the shadow paused, then passed, the heavy breathing and pawsteps receding. The white wolf held steady for a moment longer, then let out a pent up breath and allowed his two packmates to slip to the ground, his own legs folding under him.

"K-Kiba...!" Hige gasped, nudging his friend's flank. 'Kiba, was that...?!'

'No...' the white wolf murmured, his muzzle buried moodily under his paws. 'That wasn't Darcia. At least, not all of Darcia.'

The mexican wolf drew back, confused. 'Not... all of Darcia...?' he repeated in confusion, and Kiba shook his head.

'I'll explain when the others get back,' he said tiredly, tail curling at his side. 'I... need to sleep now.'

And with little other ceremony, the white wolf drifted away from the world.

… … …

Blue let out a panicked shriek as the shadow fell across her, leaping away just as the set of black-furred claws scoured the ground. The rabbit was forgotten as Tsume arched his back, snarling and bristling as the lycan towered over them.

'Run! Blue, run!' he howled, then lunged at the black-furred creature.

'No!' the she-wolf screeched back, startling Tsume as she leaped up beside him. The lycan gave an animalistic roar, slashing wildly with jagged black claws. A streak of bright red blood danced across the sky as he struck Blue, tossing her aside; Tsume, though he managed to latch onto the humanoid's arm, was similarly thrown off a moment later.

'Together!' the halfblood called, shaking out her pelt. 'We have to attack together!'

'Easy for you to say, Princess!' the grey wolf snapped back, less comfortable with teamwork than individual attacks.

'On three!' Blue called, overriding his objection. 'One... two..."

"Stop!"

The voice made all three lupins freeze where they were; that was when the lycan began to howl. Tsume and Blue flattened themselves to the ground, whimpering as the sound ripped into their pelts and electrified their bones.

"Stop!" came the voice again, this time accompanied by a strange flash of light. Soft footsteps hurried up the grassy embankment behind the wolves, skidding to a halt and planting firmly in the muddy soil. "You will come no closer!"

They lycan had no words as it shrieked, and the wolves were powerless to turn. Then, as if by magic, the beast faded in a brilliant rainbow of shimmering energy, leaving the two wolves panting and shivering. Then a magical touch landed on both of their backs, warmth making their cold fur rise as if seeking the sun.

"Have you missed this one? This one has missed you."

(A/N) I think... we're almost done. I'm quite eager to finish this fic up. I don't actually know how its going to end yet, though.

Reviewers are loved (and get hints! :3). Please tell me what you think!