I sat there, gritting my teeth in frustration. Of course, he sat next to me. What did he possibly want? I tried to take my mind off of him and tried looking on the positive side. Maybe he just wanted to enjoy his flight, just like me. He probably didn’t see me before he sat down, or maybe there were no good spots left, or-

“Fancy seeing you here, Mister Gniewek. Where might you be heading today?”

Grr…

“St. Louis,” I said through clenched teeth. “I’ll be getting a connecting flight in Atlanta. That’s if I get there.”

“Are you still a bit upset about what happened in Lozère?” he grinned. I started to dig my nails into the armrest. Something began to tell me that this meeting wasn’t an accident.

“I’m not upset,” I growled, “I’m burning with anger.”

“Oh I’m sure you are,” he smirked, “but I’m going to need you to look past that. You see…” I let a snarl escape my lips.

“You see what? You’ve a got a lotta nerve, Sharrow, I’ll give you that much. But if you think for a moment you’re gonna get me locked in anoth—“ Sharrow stopped me and pointed at my hands.

“Easy there. Don’t want anybody catching a glimpse of those.” I looked down at my hands. My fingernails had started to curve into points and were burying themselves into the fabric of the armrest. I took a deep breath and yanked my nails free. I looked back to Sharrow, a disgustingly smug grin spreading across his face. I wanted to punch him.

“Damn you humans and your timid nature,” I snarled.

“Are you good now?”

“Not quite, but enough to give me a bit of patience. Don’t waste my time and spit it out already.”

Sharrow cleared his throat and lowered his voice to a whisper, murmuring, “I have a job for you. However, it’s a bit out of the ordinary. Something that requires your expertise to complete.”

“Thank you, Captain Obvious. Now if you’ll excuse me—“

“It’s about your brother," Sharrow hesitated. “He’s starting to show signs.”

I jerked my head back towards Sharrow, my intense gaze desperately looking for more information. Sharrow turned away from me, bowing his head in defeat. I wanted to grab him by the neck and force him to look at me.

“What kind of signs?” I demanded, gripping Sharrow by his shirt collar. I felt the sides of my mouth twitch, pulling back to reveal my sharpening canines. I let out an inhuman growl. My claws grew sharper, cutting into the fabric of his shirt. I looked Sharrow in the eyes, my irises starting to contort into a predatory glare. “Tell me now, or I rip out your wind pipe.” But Sharrow didn’t seem intimidated by me at all.

“Gniewek…” he spat, “Let me finish.” I scowled, and then ripped my nails out of his shirt collar. After he readjusted his tie and smoothed out his shirt, he continued his explanation. “He’s showing the same signs from what transpired in Lozère. And you and I both know the consequences if they find out.” My eyes widened in shock.

“No…” I murmured “He shouldn’t be… What am I gonna do?” I let my head fall into my hands. I couldn’t bring myself to believe it.

“Gniewek?” I heard Sharrow whisper. “Are you alright?” I perked my head up and stared at him.

“I’m changing flights.”

“What?”

“You heard me. Where are you off to?” Sharrow seemed taken aback by my words.

“Uh… Osaka, believe it or not. Are you… planning on coming?”

“Yes. Is my brother still there?”

"I fear I cannot say that for certain," Sharrow sighed. My shoulders drooped in defeat. But I couldn’t give up yet.

“It’s my brother. Anything is worth it.” Sharrow pulled on my arm, forcing me to look at him. His expression was rife with concern.

“Gniewek, I know how obligated you feel about protecting your brother and—“ I stopped him with a determined gaze.

“You gonna stop me?” Sharrow just stared at me for a moment.

“No,” he said finally. “I just want you to know that you will not— No, you cannot work alone on this one. They have gotten a lot stronger this time, and I doubt their rage has decreased.”

“I have to work with a partner?”

“Two actually. Don’t worry, I did a background check. They have no interest in hunting people like you.”

I breathed out a heavy sigh. “Okay, I’ll go along with it. Just try not to snore while we’re on the plane.”

“I don’t sleep well on planes, so you’ll be fine.”

“I wish that were true.”

I did not sleep well either, even on the seemingly-endless flight into Osaka. My little brother was all I could think about. I’m so sorry, Shiro, I told myself. I should have told you sooner.