Extra 19: Change the World (43)

"Is this the place you said, Kurama-sama?" - Shippo asked curiously.

"Yes, this is the place" - replied Kurama with a smile as he looked around - "It hasn't changed at all, though it's not like it's been gone for a long time."

After parting from Yura, Kurama went to little Shippo, so he could take him with him to the city, and train him in the Kitsune art.

"I can feel a warm aura" - muttered Shippo with a smile as he felt his Youki growing slightly - "So, shall we train right away?"

"No, I still have to check if anything happened during my absence, not to mention I have to think about your training regimen" - Kurama replied calmly, only to see a small familiar silhouette.

"Kurama-sama!" - exclaimed the Tanuki upon seeing that his master had returned - "Huh? Didn't Kikyo-sama follow you?"

"No, she's fulfilling an important mission" - replied Kurama calmly - "Leaving that aside, has anything interesting happened while I was out of town?"

"Huh? What about that little Kitsune?" - Asked the Tanuki upon seeing Shippo - "Is he yours by any chance, Kurama-sama? Is he the new prince of the city?"

"I want you to tell me what happened during my stay outside the village" - said Kurama with a frown.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, nothing out of the ordinary happened, all thanks to the barrier you put up around the city" - replied the Tanuki seriously - "We detected strange presences, and the wolves came to talk to you, although they left when they heard you were gone."

"I guess I'll go see what they want" - Kurama said as he shrugged - "Do you want to come with me, Shippo?"

"May I?" - Shippo asked with surprise and excitement.

"Sure" - replied Kurama as he smiled slightly - "Let's go."

"Okay!" - Shippo nodded as he jumped back onto the silver haired man's shoulder.

* * * * *

"Just a little more..." - Ayame muttered as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. She had been running alongside her fellow wolves, with the sole purpose of hopefully reuniting with the man who had been plaguing her dreams.

The wolves looked at each other without making a single growl.

"What's wrong?" - Ayame asked with a frown.

The wolves shook their heads as they noticed how their leader seemed to be a bit annoyed.

Ayame was silent before looking towards the mountain where Koga and his clan lived - "Let's go."

The wolves nodded before following the girl.

Ayame continued to move forward along with her companions, when her expression changed as she smelled the scent of blood the closer she got to the chasm - "What happened?!"

The wolves quickly ran after their mistress as they advanced with concern.

Ayame was beginning to gasp for breath as they reached the caverns of the wolf clan - "Koga-sama!"

The wolves began to growl as they saw the multiple blood stains in the cave for it was obvious that a massive attack had happened against them.

"Koga-sama!" - Ayame exclaimed as she continued to search the cave with a pale face because she could see parts of wolves everywhere - "N-No.... NO!"

Ayame began to cry when she saw how there were no survivors of the attack left in the outer areas, so she quickly ran inside in the hope that she could find even one survivor.

The wolves howled in pain because even though they were different clans, they were brothers with the same origin.

"Is anyone here alive?!" - Ayame exclaimed as she continued to move through the corridors of the cave.

Ayame was about to cry again, when she heard the sound of someone - "Please say something if you're still alive!"

The wolf girl continued to move forward, only this time much more carefully, though she let out a sigh when she saw a couple of small heads peeking out from around a corner.

"Oh my, there are survivors!" - Ayame exclaimed excitedly.

The little ones of the wolf clan began to cry when they heard the voice of another survivor, more so when they saw that she was a member of their clan.

Ayame quickly ran to the children, only to ask them what had happened.

"The birds of paradise attacked our clan while Koga-sama was gone" - answered one of the few surviving children - "The adults tried to defend us, but those things were too many and our adults weren't that strong."

"They tried to defend us" - said a girl with tears in her eyes.

"We were only saved because those things were too big to get into this area of the caves" - said another girl while sobbing because she knew that her parents were dead.

"What happened to Koga-sama?" - Ayame asked with concern.

"We don't know" - answered the children as they looked at each other.

"Koga-sama has been away from the mountain looking for shards of the pearl for weeks, that's why the birds of paradise took advantage of it, so they could attack" - replied another wolf girl while gritting her teeth - "If it wasn't for his absence, our parents wouldn't have died."

"Th-That's not true, Koga-sama is a kind and brave one" - Ayame answered seriously, although she was trembling slightly at the cold stares of the children.

* * * * *

"Is what you say true?" - Kurama asked in surprise.

"Yes, some allies who can fly, they proved it" - answered the old sage of the wolf clan - "That's why I'm worried about my granddaughter."

"I don't understand" - said Kurama with a frown - "If it's like you said, he shouldn't have much trouble to stop those things, I mean, the birds of paradise are too weak."

"From your point of view, we are all weak, Kurama-dono" - replied the old sage while shaking his head - "But from our perspective, those things are monsters that we have been fighting with for generations."

Kurama was silent before nodding - "I understand, I guess now you'll ask me to go help your granddaughter?"

"Yes, mostly because we don't know if there are any survivors in our brother clan, or if those things will attack again while she is there" - replied the old sage with a frown.

"I don't think that will happen, I mean, if what you said is true, then those things already killed almost all the survivors" - replied Kurama while shaking his head - "Although it's better to be safe than sorry."

"Thank you very much for your help" - smiled the old sage of the wolf clan.

"Thank me when I bring back your granddaughter" - said Kurama as he shook his head before disappearing along with Shippo.

"Do you even know which direction she needs to go?" - Wolf asked as he looked at the great sage.

"I'm sure everything will be fine" - replied the old sage as he shook his head.

* * * * *

"Where are we, Kurama-san?" - Shippo asked as he looked around.

"Near the home of the other wolf clan" - answered Kurama as he shook his head - "And just like the old sage said, this place is filled with a strong scent of blood".

"I don't smell anything" - Shippo said while wiggling his little nose.

"It's because we are still far away" - replied Kurama as he took a big leap and arrived just outside the cave where he had sensed the presence of Ayame and the little wolves.

"Did we arrive?" - Shippo said with surprise and excitement - "Will I be able to do something like this too?"

"Sure, though I'll need to train you for at least 10 years to do what I've done" - Kurama replied with a smile, though his expression changed when he felt a strong current of wind fly towards his face. Without thinking, he raised an arm and blocked the kick that was heading straight for his mouth, only to throw a neutral glare at the one responsible - "Really?"

The culprit tried to break free from the Yokai's grip that had his leg trapped, so he quickly rotated his body to deliver a second kick.

"Haven't you learned anything?" - Kurama asked as he grabbed the other leg of the wolf scented man, before throwing him against a wall.

"Ugh" - the werewolf let out a groan of pain before getting up in fury - "You're going to pay for what you've done."

"What I've done?" - Kurama repeated with a frown before understanding what was going through the stranger's mind - "Do you by any chance think that I was responsible for this attack?"

"Wasn't it?" - The werewolf asked disdainfully as he narrowed his eyes.

"No, I just arrived because a certain old wolf asked me to protect his granddaughter" - replied Kurama neutrally - "Now, I recommend you not to attack me unless you are sure that I was responsible, because I will show you no mercy."

Shippo watched silently as he glared at the werewolf.

"Koga, are you alright?" - A wolf demon with a Mohican hairstyle asked as he saw his boss get up with difficulty.

"Who are you, and why are you here?" - Said another wolf demon, only this one had silver hair and a huge black tuft in the front.

"He was obviously the one responsible for the attack," Koga replied as he narrowed his eyes.

"I know you're furious, Koga, but don't blame someone innocent, this place is full of the scent of those damn birds" - replied the man with a Mohican, whose name was Hakkaku.