A/N: So I was reading a bunch of Okami fanfics one day and realized there aren't nearly enough OkixKai fics in the world to satisfy my love of OkixKai. Mix that in with a bunch of time and tada, you get another OkixKai fic! I hope everyone enjoys this as much as I did. Please review.
Disclaimer: This is set a couple years before the events in Okami, and is my version of the events surrounding Kai getting lost in Yoshpet as a young girl, as well as how Oki came to be how we know him in the game. Please excuse me if Oki seems a bit OOC in the beginning-that's how I interpret him to have been when he was younger.
A heavy mist swirled in the air and clung to the clothes of a young Oina girl as she stumbled through the forest. The trees were thick and gnarly and loomed threateningly above her as she ran past. The path forked in the road, and the mist made it difficult for the girl to see far down each path. Frightened and lost, she shifted into the form of a slender brown wolf, but even in this form she had no luck discerning the path she had come. The mist clung in her nose and blocked her sense of smell like nothing else in Kamui could. The snow was falling fast and thick, so any prints she had left would have been long obscured. She didn't know how long she had stayed here, but she knew she didn't have much time left. She shifted back to her human form, her eyes stinging as she choked back her tears. Terror and panic gripped her heart. She remembered what the elders had told her about Yoshpet. Yoshpet is a terrible, cursed forest…We Oina stand no chance in there. The mist is so thick is fogs your vision and your senses…you'll soon become confused by the paths and will wander the cursed forest until it drains the life force from your body…
The girl let loose a sob and immediately choked the rest back. She could not leave, not until she found what Oki wanted. He told her he would join the village feast tonight if she brought him his favorite chestnuts, which were only found in the forests of Yoshpet. She desperately wanted Oki to come. He never came to any of the village activities, even though he was one of them. She found that really sad. They were all supposed to be family. Family did not leave anyone behind.
Brushing away some stray tears, the girl moved ahead, gathering the rest of her courage to find Oki's chestnuts. Oh Great Owl Guardian, please protect me, she prayed as she delved further into the forest. The mist was getting thicker and clung heavily to her coat. She trudged forward and fell into a snowdrift. Her legs felt like lead and her breathing was getting heavier, but she could not rest or the madness would overcome her. She struggled to her feet with the last of her energy only to be dragged back down by the cursed mist. The last thing she saw was a strange green glow steadily bouncing toward her through the mist as the world around her went black.
[xx]
Oki dropped his kill onto the mat beside the fireplace at the center of his hut. Tonight would be another quiet night for him, which he was looking forward to. Some girl from the village had come to pester him again today about going to the feast. She often came and pestered him about things—well, mostly about living in the village and joining village activities. Didn't she get that he liked being by himself? Just because he helped protect the village didn't mean he wanted to be a part of it. He sat down with a huff and began to skin the rabbits he caught for dinner when he was interrupted by a knock on the door. He muttered to himself darkly. That made two visitors in one day.
He opened the door and his crimson eyes narrowed in disdain. It was Samickle. Oki absolutely despised the tall, lilac-colored warrior. Samickle was only a couple years older than him, but he acted like he was much wiser. He was a firm believer in following the rules, which was something Oki never cared to do unless it was in his interests. Worst of all, he always sucked up to the Chief, and soon became the Chief's favorite. Samickle met Oki's glare evenly with his own cold yellow stare, making sure Oki clearly understood that he was only here on Chief Kemu's orders.
"Have you seen Kai anywhere?" Samickle asked coldly. "She hasn't been seen since she left the village this morning." The way he was glaring at Oki made it seem like he thought the navy warrior had killed her or something.
Oki shrugged. "I don't keep tabs on people," he replied. He wanted Samickle gone as soon as possible.
But Samickle wouldn't give up. "She went to your hut this morning." It came out like a snarl.
So that was the girl, Oki thought absently. "She was pestering me about going to the feast tonight, so I suggested she get some chestnuts—"
Before he could finish, Samickle had his hands around Oki's neck, slamming him into the door frame. "You…monster," he hissed, his eyes full of rage and hatred. "You know chestnuts only grow in Yoshpet!" Samickle's hands trembled with anger and tightened around Oki's neck, beginning to cut off his air. Oki growled, meeting Samickle's blazing eyes with his own, and he lunged forward in wolf form.
Samickle was caught by surprise but changed into his wolf form in response to Oki's challenge. The two of them were nothing but a flurry of claws, teeth, and fur as they tumbled through the snow, snapping and snarling and trying to rip out each other's throats.
"STOP!" roared a voice, but neither of them paid any heed. The two young warriors were too furious to notice when Chief Kemu turned into a strong scarlet wolf and entered the fray. He grabbed Oki tightly by his long navy and red mane and with a strength no one could tell he possessed flung the young warrior aside until he crashed into thick wall of ice. The chief then took Samickle and did the same favor for him, so that both warriors were too dazed and confused to continue their fight.
"Have your heads cooled off now?" Kemu barked sharply at them. "Kai's gone missing, and all the two of you can do is fight?" The fur on the back of his neck bristled, and he gruffly turned away from them to consult Tuskle, who had stood by and watched the scene dispassionately. "Have you found anything yet, Tuskle?"
"Not yet, Chief Kemu," she said. "I came to check on Samickle, since he hadn't yet returned from talking with Oki." She looked down at the two of them with piercing black eyes, and Oki shivered. The female shaman always made him nervous, like she could she inside his head and read what he was thinking.
"It was Oki," shouted Samickle, glaring at him accusingly. "He tricked Kai into going into Yoshpet! Who knows how long she's been there? For all we know, she could be—!"
"Don't say it, Samickle!" Tuskle warned thrusting out a hand to silence him. "Putting your thoughts into words is a dangerous thing to do, especially concerning a life!"
Kemu had turned back into his human form, and the expression on his masked face was grave. "We must search for her at once. Samickle, Oki, I want both of you to come with me, and I want you to behave. Consider this part of your punishment, though I haven't even gotten started yet."
Samickle gave Oki a look so deadly it could have melted the snow. Sorry I got you in trouble with your beloved Chief, Oki thought with some satisfaction. Still, the last thing he wanted to be doing right now was looking for a lost girl in the deadly woods.
"How do you live with yourself?" Samickle hissed in his ear when they were close enough. "Don't you feel guilty at all, you monster?"
Oki ignored him, but he felt a strange twinge in his gut at the thought of what he had done. He shook himself to get rid of it. It was the girl's fault: why did she listen to him in the first place? Didn't she know better than to wander through the deadly woods when no Oina could survive in it for long?
They searched as far as they could without fear of getting lost, but they didn't find anything. The strange feeling grew stronger and he kept trying to swallow it down. It didn't help that he kept feeling Samickle's eyes boring holes into his back every time he searched a bush or an empty place in between the roots of a tree. He wanted to snap at Samickle for making him feel so irritated.
Eventually, Kemu was forced to give up the search. The somber group headed back to the village, dreading breaking the news to the rest of the Oina. The feast tonight would not be the same without the presence of Kai, and poor little Lika would wonder where her sister went. None of them had the heart to tell her. Oki strayed behind the others, not wishing to be blamed anymore for the girl's disappearance. He walked the long path to his lone hut in the clearing, no longer looking forward to his meal. The whole ordeal with the girl had left a bad taste in his mouth.
He looked up and was shocked to find someone outside his hut, peering through the windows to get a look inside. Whoever it was was wearing a long brown overcoat and held a sack in behind their back. As he got closer he saw that the person had long brown hair tied into two thick pigtails and a smaller, yet just as thick, bun on top. The figure turned and he recognized the deer mask—it was the girl from this morning, the same girl they had looked for in the forest and had all believed to be dead. Her name was Kai.
The girl's eyes lit up when she saw him and she rushed over quickly, holding the sack out in front of her. "Oki! Thank goodness I found you! I got the chestnuts you asked for! This means you'll come to the feast tonight, won't you?" Oki was so surprised he didn't realize he was holding the bag until he dropped it. The strange feeling sneaked back again at full force, turning his stomach inside out as though worms were burrowing through it. He couldn't bear to look the girl in the eyes. He twisted the sack in his hands in the same manner he felt his own stomach being twisted. He wondered if she knew he didn't even like chestnuts. He remembered Samickle's words about him being a monster and felt sick.
"I'll go," he heard himself say. He owed it to her, after all. The girl's eyes gleamed up at him, and he turned his face away. He wanted nothing more than to shrivel up and die somewhere far away, where this girl and her shining eyes couldn't reach him. He could have forgiven himself if she cried at him, or attacked him, or just plain hated him, but this…he did not know how to deal with this. The girl—Kai, he kept reminding himself—beamed and grabbed his hand, pulling him toward the village.
"Hurry, or we'll be late," she said. "And I'm sure everyone will be worried about me. I've been gone in the forest for so long."
Oki collected his wits and pulled his hand back sharply. Kai turned to look at him with a hurt and worried expression. "Oki?"
"I can get to the village fine without you leading me," he snapped, a little more harshly than he intended.
"Oh! Of course. I'm sorry." Kai ducked her head in apology and continued walking up the path in silence. Oki cursed himself for being a fool.
When they arrived, it appeared no one had gone to the Chief's hut for the feast yet. The Oina had all gathered in the square to hear the news of Kai. Kemu had his back to them and he was shaking his head sadly, as if he had already told them the news. Samickle glanced at them and did a double take, his yellow eyes widening with surprise. "Kai?" Even more surprising was the sight of the sullen navy warrior following behind her. "Oki? Did you find her Oki? What happened?"
"I didn't find her. I don't know what happened," Oki said, shrugging his shoulders as Samickle's voice drew the attention of the crowd. Oki noticed a tiny girl with small black pigtails and a leaf mask pushing her way through the crowd, and as soon as she got through she ran up to Kai and leaped into her arms. "Kai! Kai! I told them you'd be back! I told them!" The little girl burrowed her face into Kai's chest, and Kai hugged her tightly.
"I'm back, Lika. Sorry for making you worry."
"Kai?" Kemu made his way towards them, stopping in front of them and grabbing Kai's arms as if he wasn't sure if she was real or not.
"She is real, Chief Kemu," said Tuskle. Her ebony eyes twinkled as they rested on the young Oina girl's face. "She has a strong spirit. Even Yoshpet couldn't take her away from us that easily."
Kai looked embarrassed by all the attention she was getting. "Chief Kemu, can we go to the feast now?" she asked softly.
Kemu shook his head groggily and smiled at the young Oina girl. "Of course! You must be starving, aren't you? Are you also coming to the feast with us, Oki?"
Oki glanced up, startled to have been addressed by the Chief. "Um, yes."
"Very good, very good," Kemu said. The Chief turned his back and led them all up the path to his hut, with Kai, Lika, and Tuskle at his side. Samickle stepped into place beside Oki. Oki stared at the ground, watching their boots crunch into the frost.
"You're lucky Kai's a nice girl, Oki," he muttered. "If it had been me, I would've ripped your throat out as soon as I caught sight of your sorry hide."
Wisely, Oki said nothing.
Kemu's hut was the largest in the village, but it was still hardly big enough to fit all the Oina. A small spitfire was placed in the center of the oblong hut and the air smelled pleasantly of roasted meats and herbs. The Oina women handed out dishes and platefuls of food to the men sitting on the floor, and when they were finished they too sat down and had their share. Oki skirted the fire and settled in a spot far away from Kai, Kemu, and Tuskle. Much to his displeasure, Samickle followed suit and found himself a spot right next to Oki. The fire cast a strange orange glow on his light blue hawk's mask, making him look like one of the stone figureheads on the guardian posts scattered around the village. He probably wanted to keep an eye on Oki. Oki ignored him and chewed at a leg of roasted hare that someone had placed in front of him. He realized he still had the bag of chestnuts in his hand, and absently he rolled them towards the fire to roast, watching the thick skins expand and pop with his sharp crimson eyes. When Kemu asked Kai to tell how she had escaped from the cursed forest, he listened intently.
"Well," said Kai, lowering her head to avoid meeting the gaze of the villagers. "I'm not sure what happened exactly. A little green Poncle came and led me to a clearing in the middle of the forest where the air was clean and uncursed. He yelled at me for being careless and told me to be careful from now on. Then when I felt better he led me back through the forest, and we didn't get lost!" She sounded amazed and lifted her head, as if pondering something. "I suppose Poncles aren't affected by the forest's curse like the Oina are. Either way, I owe my life to that Poncle."
"If only we knew the way back to that Poncle's clearing, I would give him all my thanks," said Kemu, sighing.
Oki had been staring at Kai while she talked about her escape from Yoshpet, and unexpectedly she brought her clear brown gaze up to his. He startled and abruptly looked down into the fire, feeling uncomfortable. He glanced back over at her and saw Tuskle's ebony eyes twinkling knowingly as she chuckled at him. Shut up, he thought at her, cracking the shell of his chestnuts.
A/N: Please review. They make my day happy and sunshiny. REVIEWREVIEWREVIEW. Even if you have nothing to say, REVIEW ABOUT IT. MORE TO COME, BECAUSE MY LOVE OF OKI/KAI CANNOT STAND BEING CONFINED TO A SINGLE CHAPTER.