Author's note: This story serves as a good introduction for my original character, Kaze, created within the World of Darkness. She is both a demon-hunter and a werewolf, and will be featured in more of my stories. Everything takes place in present day. All the other characters in this particular story are also original, though they are not mine. They were borrowed from another friend, Ikiyouyou, to guest star in this story, and she provided the dialogue to help keep them in character. ^^
The Wind and the Werewolf: Star Mirror and True Sight
by
Kazaam
* * * * *
A quiet breeze blew softly through the darkened town, causing tree branches to gently sway. The sky was clear, and thousands of tiny stars sparkled brightly above. A light gust of wind brushed the town dojo, and a shadow, barely distinguishable from the surrounding darkness, seemed to materialize from the air stream to hop lightly over the windowsill to the blackness within.
A pair of bright golden eyes surveyed the interior. As expected, they saw nothing but an empty practice room: smooth wooden floor and walls, pillars around the perimeter, and two racks of well-used training weapons at opposite corners. Had an observer been present, he might have seen a smirk of satisfaction, or a pair of pointed ears, alert and twitching. He might have seen the muted colors of a dark Kevlar vest and frayed blue jeans. But then again, probably not, for that must have only been a trick of starlight and darkness; the shadows barely shifted, and any uncertainties were swallowed up.
Kaze stole softly across the glossy floor, searching for any hint of irregularities in the structure of the building. She knew from observation earlier that week, and tonight's visit only confirmed it, that several doors lining the back wall opened up into the rest of the extensive complex, living quarters and such. The sliding door opposite those, on her right, opened up into the courtyard.
After arriving in Japan, she had spent some time traveling cross-country, exploring, killing the occasional monster, and generally getting a feel for the land. Until she arrived here. It had been a bright, sunny day, cool with the onset of fall, and Kaze was ready to pick up a few more supplies, stay a day or two, gather some information, and then be on her way.
She had finished making most of her purchases, actually shelling out money for the majority of the supplies, just for a change of pace, and retired to a hidden spot in a pine tree with a nice view of the nearby dojo. She had taken a half-wolf form for the convenience of increased perception, and proceeded to relax in the cool breeze, eyes shut, content to lazily sift through the sounds and smells of the area.
The comings and goings of several people in the dojo eventually conspired to wake Kaze from her light slumber. Turning her head slightly to the side, she watched their activities through half-lidded eyes. She pulled a small branch from the tree, stuck the end between her teeth, and tried to make out what all the commotion was about.
After a few short minutes Kaze was able to discern that they were having some type of a match, probably a competition of sorts. At that point, a figure wearing a white kimono exited the building, sliding the door shut with a bang. Both its scent and something about its mannerisms told Kaze all she needed to know, and the wolf inside her quickly identified it. Oh. Dog. Who cares? Yawning, she turned away to go back to sleep. Except…that's no dog. What the heck? Kaze jerked her head back around to stare at the figure. Yes, it was indeed a female human…and…not-human. Kaze ran through a quick mental checklist. Face is human, walks upright like a human, wears human clothes…hands and feet are human…Why am I telling myself it's also a dog?
The figure half turned to shout something back inside, before straightening her baseball cap and sauntering down the path towards town. Intrigued, Kaze decided to stay awhile longer. She was never one to let a puzzle go unsolved, after all.
By that evening, Kaze concluded that the girl was indeed human, but also part dog, unless someone was playing an illusion spell. But that wasn't too likely since Kaze could now easily detect the mix of human and dog scents given off by the figure. And who'd want to create that elaborate an illusion anyway? Who're they going to fool? The trees?
Kaze stayed in town a few days longer than she had planned, just enjoying the sights, the food, and returning to spy on the dojo every so often. She learned that Dog Lady was also a demon-hunter like herself, and studied under the dojo's sensei. The dojo was also an academy of sorts, teaching martial arts to the village people and their children. The morning classes were particularly amusing, the loud shouts and laughter of the children ringing out as they practiced new skills.
Eventually, Kaze entertained the notion of sneaking inside the dojo and taking a look around. She tried to tell herself it was only because a demon-hunter headquarters must certainly have some nifty gadgets worth testing, before she gave up and concluded that she didn't really need an excuse to break in and steal something; it's what she did all the time anyway. So, after determining that the best time to investigate would be a few hours after sunset when the occupants had retired for the night, Kaze put her plan into action.
And here she was.
Kaze didn't know if there was anything worthwhile stored in the training room, but it was a simple structure, so she decided to take a quick look just in case, and mark it off her list. Initial inspections revealed nothing out of the ordinary, but she hadn't survived this long by being anything less than completely thorough. So she extended her senses and made a swift circuit of the room, searching for any hidden items or chambers.
What luck! Sharp ears detected the faint irregular movement of air over a thin seam in the floor. Vaulting lightly over the weapons rack blocking off one of the corners, Kaze landed without a sound and spied the source of the disturbance. Cleverly camouflaged within the wood grain of the floor was what appeared to be a trap door. There were no hinges on this side, so Kaze suspected that it swung inward. But how to open it? There were no visible latches either.
Or were there? Careful not to scrape the floor with her claws, Kaze slid her hands along the polished surface near the door. She felt a slight give at two knots in the wood. Kaze pressed both downwards at the same time and was rewarded when the door fell open with a soft clunk.
There was a ladder, but Kaze didn't trust it, so she slipped through the hole and dropped to the floor. Her eyes quickly darted around, seeking out threats. Finding none, she reached up – and it was a stretch, even for her werewolf form – and swung the door shut. It latched with a barely discernable – for humans – click.
A short listen and feel of the room's air pressure revealed no adjoining rooms, so Kaze assumed she was safe in using a little extra light. Taking out a chrome lighter, she flicked it on and lit an old fashioned lantern sitting on a nearby stool. I guess they never bothered to install electric lighting down here. Cheap.
The flickering glow lit an old storeroom of sorts. She gathered that it didn't extend beyond the training room above. Facing down the length of the room, the wall on her right held a rack of katanas, some relatively plain, some quite ornate. On the left there was a rack of staff weapons of varying lengths and widths, some bladed, some blunt. Immediately on the wall to the right of those hung two gigantic shuriken with wicked looking blades, making Kaze's fingers itch to give them a try. A few crates and barrels also lined the walls on either side of the room. A small cannon wedged between two barrels and a sharp whiff of gunpowder left no doubt about the contents of at least some of the containers. Everything was covered in a generous layer of dust.
Roughly two-thirds down the length of the room were two sets of bookcases perpendicular to the wall, one on either side, effectively acting as dividers and leaving a door-sized passage between. The one on the right held several aging books and scrolls, along with a few random knick-knacks and statuettes. The left held quivers of arrows; arrays of smaller shuriken, throwing knives, and darts; and several strands of prayer beads of all sizes and lengths. There were also several wooden and silk-covered boxes of all shapes. At the foot of this shelf lay various pieces of armor, leather shields, boots, and bows. Back on the right, in the corner between that shelf and the wall, stood a complete set of samurai armor, metal pieces glimmering in the lantern's unsteady blaze despite the dust. Propped against the armor was some long, unidentifiable object swathed in pale cloth.
Glancing upward on her way to the other half of the room, Kaze noticed a line of faded Japanese prayers strung along the perimeter of the ceiling with once-brilliant red cord. She chuckled softly. Wonder if those actually work to keep evil spirits away? Die evil presence! Cower before this flimsy piece of paper upon which I have scrawled barely legible characters!…Does it still work of the spirits are illiterate? What if you have a fire spirit? Will the burnt ashes still scare it away?
Kaze shook her head and ducked around one of the shelves. On the right, piled in the corner and spilling out onto the floor, were several colorful rolls of patterned silk. Oooh! Now that's nice! Picking up a corner, Kaze shook off the worst of the dust and examined it for quality. Very fine weaving. Wouldn't be surprised if this was imported from China. Sure would fetch a nice price on the market!
Turning away to investigate the last section of the room, Kaze saw a large mahogany table upon which appeared to be a model of some building complex. She strolled over for a closer look. Indeed, it looked to be a scale replica of the dojo and its immediate surroundings. Everything was sculpted in incredible detail, right down to the trees and that small well off in the woods to the side. Just amazing! Why would anybody want to stash this away? It's beautiful! A quick search of the table revealed no hidden compartments, so Kaze walked back into the larger section of the room, pondering what to examine further.
Well the silk's always an option. I can make a few trips tonight and tomorrow night and clear it all out. Then sell it. But that's no fun. What use do I have for money, when I steal everything I really want anyway?
Kaze decided on rifling through the boxes on the shelves. Then she turned aside at the last moment and headed for the samurai armor, leaving the obvious for last. She plucked off the helmet and set it on her head to get it out of the way. A thought occurred to her, and, pausing in her explorations, she skipped silently over to the giant shuriken, blew off the dust, and examined her reflection in its gleaming surface. Oh wow. That is so not me. Grinning and shaking her head at the mental image of a werewolf in samurai's armor, Kaze set the helmet to the side and turned back to the rest of the armor.
Nothing inside, no bags or sashes. Idly, Kaze picked up the cloth-wrapped item lying against the suit. She removed the fair, cream-colored fabric, pausing to adjust her grip as the item inside shifted. A moment later she revealed two swords, securely locked within their scabbards. Setting them gently down upon the cloth on the floor, Kaze knelt to inspect them.
The scabbards were made of some dark, almost black, wood, incredibly smooth and highly polished. Reflected firelight from the lantern Kaze had set beside her showed dark swirls in the grain, nearly blue or dusky gray in color. Slightly tarnished golden fastenings reinforced the scabbard and attached the sword to black leather carrying straps.
The sword hilts sported the same golden pommel, collar, and guard. The length of the hilt was covered with tight, Japanese-style, deep royal blue wrappings over real blue-gray ray skin. Kaze could already tell that these were quality swords, and much care had gone into their making. Other than that, though, they weren't terribly ornate.
She hesitated only for a moment before picking up the nearest sword. Kaze smiled. Already she could tell that the sword had excellent weight and balance. Slowly, she drew it out of its scabbard.
A burnished golden blade collar was revealed, followed by a brightly gleaming, slivery blade. There were a few Japanese characters beautifully inscribed on the blade just above the collar, and Kaze stopped to read them. They were an older script, but still understandable. Star Mirror, they read. Kaze flipped the blade over and saw additional characters on the reverse. Masamune. Kaze's jaw dropped and her mind stuttered to a halt as she just stared at the shining surface.
…Masamune…the most legendary Japanese sword smith of all time…oh…my…
These swords were so rare…they were beyond priceless. If Masamune had indeed forged the pair of them, and, judging by their nearly pristine condition…this could be one of the greatest treasures Kaze had ever found.
With a ring, Kaze swiftly drew the remainder of the blade, and held it up to the light. It reflected the room perfectly, glistening firelight dancing along its brilliant surface. The flawless, milky white hamon line ran down the length of the blade, reaching the point and unexpectedly curving back for an additional third to half of the blade's length along the opposite edge. With a start, Kaze realized that the katana was double-edged, or nearly so. Indeed, its shape was that of a normal katana, though slightly less curved, and the broader back narrowed to a fine edge at the far third of the blade. Interesting.
The irregular hamon line pretty much guaranteed that the blade was authentically hand-forged, and closer inspection revealed the jihada, wood grain patterns in the metal itself. The fine, intricate detail in the designs told the story of countless foldings in the blade's creation to make one whose metal was incredibly pure, strong, resilient, and of exceptionally high quality. The pattern here almost resembled stars, or perhaps a storm of swirling meteors…
Oh, yes. Definitely hand-forged. I wonder what the fold-count was? Kaze pondered, after staring, enraptured, for a few moments.
After verifying that the blade was perfectly straight, Kaze unsheathed the second one. It was identical to the first, except it was called True Sight, according to the inscription. Kaze stood, sword in each hand. They were amazingly lightweight, almost feathers to Kaze's enhanced strength, and their balance was ideal. Kaze decided to give them a whirl.
Mindful of her limited surroundings, and ever alert for sounds from above, Kaze launched into a well-known practice dance, starting slow, but increasing in speed. Before long, she was nothing but a dark blur, swords flashing like lightning and fire, throwing reflected lantern light onto the walls, ceiling, and floor. The rapidly whirling blades sang as they cut through the air, and hummed with slight vibrations of the wind against the flat of the blade.
Declaring the swords sufficiently tested, Kaze gradually stopped the display, and, not even breathing hard, slipped them back into their sheaths. She shrugged their belts over her shoulder and put out the light. Turning her back on the rest of the storeroom items – it wouldn't be fair to take everything good in one night, would it? – she replaced the lantern, opened the trap door, and leapt out.
A quick closing of the door and a short hop brought Kaze safely back over the weapons rack and ready to make a hasty exit. A stellar thief she was, but it was never good to push luck too far. Surveying the large room once again, and satisfying herself that it was still lifeless…right…?
Something was not right. There was something different about the room, a sound, a difference in air pressure barely sensed. A fresh breeze through the open window gently ruffled the tips of Kaze's fur, and she crouched down low to the ground, eyes half-closed to reduce their glow, and all senses alert.
"Is this how our neighbors normally make themselves welcome? Stealing first and dropping by for afternoon tea later?" The cultured voice seemed to come from all directions at once, so no use pinpointing the source that way.
"What can I say? I'm a non-conformist." Neighbor? Does he know I arrived from the mainland? Or was he aware of my little spying episode earlier?
"I see." A shift in the presence. "Perhaps I should extend to you my hospitality then. Give you the grand tour. Show off the rest of my humble abode that you haven't already seen. Show you how things are done, here in Japan."
Well, if that wasn't slightly ominous. "Thanks! Really. But I prefer the self-guided tours, myself. Less distraction and frivolous information that way. Get right to the heart of the matter, you see."
"Indeed, I do see."
Closing her eyes on the enemy that she could not see, Kaze allowed her wolf senses to completely take over. Trusting their accuracy completely, she relaxed as her other self launched unerringly towards the target. Razor sharp claws raked out to the right, snagging cloth as the entity dodged out of the way. Spinning in midair, Kaze brought her left arm down in a crushing blow, but only succeeded in ripping more cloth and splintering wood as she landed and her claws buried themselves in the floor.
Now that she was locked on to her target, so to speak, she could now open her eyes to see him. Doing just that, she saw a Japanese man with shoulder-length black hair, middle aged, dressed in a dark blue sleeping kimono. He clutched a katana and scabbard in his left hand.
Not willing to give him a chance to recover, a split second after landing Kaze leapt towards him, snapping powerful jaws. Again, he dodged to her right, drawing his sword at the same time and swiping upward at her unprotected side. Pivoting, Kaze parried with her claws with enough force to throw both of the fighters backwards.
Kaze braced her legs for landing, claws once again digging into the floor and peeling out little wooden spirals as she slid a small ways. Her opponent completed a flip and touched nimbly down.
"Come now, must you insist on fighting like a barbarian? Draw your swords and prove yourself worthy of that which you have unfairly taken."
"Unfairly taken? More like liberated from poor conditions and cruel treatment. When was the last time you were down there anyway? Last millennium? At least I'll be putting these to good use." Reaching back, Kaze drew both swords and held them ready. It didn't escape her that her challenger showed a brief flicker of surprise.
He charged, and the battle was off in full force. Kaze swung downwards at his head; he parried, and Kaze was startled that his arm didn't simply shatter under the force of her blow. Quickly bringing his weapon around and down, he directed Kaze's first sword to help parry the sideswipe that Kaze's second had attempted. Kaze kicked upward, striking his chin and snapping his head back, as she jerked her swords free.
Unfortunately, his head and neck succeeded in staying attached, and the battle continued, a wild dance in the pitch darkness of the dojo's training room. Everything remained silent, save for the clash and ringing of steel on steel, the scuff of padded feet on polished floors, and the occasional snapping of cloth.
For a good while the battle lasted, neither one really gaining the upper hand for long, and both seeming to be evenly matched. This man may indeed be the master of the dojo, but Kaze was no amateur, either. She had studied under her own master, sparred against his best pupil, and had lived by the sword for many years. And that was not counting the years she spent learning various types of swordplay at school. Aside from her furry side, sword fighting and hand-to-hand were second nature.
Kaze lost track of the time spent there that night, and they probably would have continued into the early hours of the morning, had not a commotion outside brought them up short.
Another figure garbed in a kimono burst through the sliding door after shoving it roughly open, and Kaze quickly rotated so the man was between her and the newcomer. The observer paused, clearly wondering what to make of the situation.
"Kenkei! (1) What's going on?"
"Be at ease, pond skipper," he said over his shoulder. "We were merely settling our cultural differences."
Pond Skipper snorted. "Oh, is this that wolf creature I smelled earlier on in the day? Run her through and be done with it!"
"She's found those two swords."
"Oh?" Pond Skipper's interest was clearly piqued. It seemed she had some knowledge of the swords. In the darkness Kaze could have sworn that what looked like two ears pricked up.
A quick sniff of the air revealed a dog-human scent Kaze recognized to be from Dog Lady earlier that day. So, it seems I was right. She is part dog. With little white doggy ears, too. Charming.
Taking quick stock of the situation, Kaze confirmed that the only entrance to the building was blocked by that Kenkei-dude, with Fido right behind him. But the two windows on either side were wide open.
Kaze grinned. "Well, Dog Breath, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. 'Fraid I can't stay to chat, however. Hope you don't mind if I take a rain check on the tea and crumpets." Kaze tensed, preparing to bolt past the two. "Oh, by the way. Might want to check that expiration date on your mouthwash." And with that, Kaze launched toward the window on her left, sheathing her swords in the same instant.
About two-thirds of the way there, a sudden force slammed into her side, knocking her off her feet and halfway across the room. With a sharp whuff of exploding air, she landed on her back, rebounded back into the air, and abruptly twisted to bring her feet back under her. Successfully touching down on all fours, Kaze sprung off at a diagonal away from her foes and the window, and towards the rear corner of the gym. Gah. Guess I'll be taking the long way around.
A sharp whistling was just enough warning for the projectile aimed at her head. It barely missed Kaze as she skidded to a halt right before a pinkish light detonated on the floor before her. Taking an immediate detour, Kaze bounded for the wall on her right. She ducked as two more explosions, a green and yellow, impacted the wall above. Kaze hit the wall and pushed off, leaping upwards from column to column until she reached the rafters, barely staying ahead of more colorful explosions behind her.
"Observe, Iki, as I demonstrate the proper way to use this technique," Kaze's sharp ears caught as she somersaulted off of the ceiling.
A skeptical reply was heard as Kaze built up speed and jumped onto the back wall, opposite the entrance, dashing across its length. "…Right. The proper way." A staccato series of explosions followed as she veered up and down, feeling the heat licking her heels. This is insane! I'm a feakin' demonstration for their psychotic spirit machine-gun!
This continued for a short time, Kaze vaulting back and forth across the training room, nothing but a blur, with frequent break-neck changes in direction as the multicolored bolts tried to head her off.
"Like I said, the proper way…" Aww, was that a bit of stress Kaze picked up on? She didn't have time to snicker, though, as she continued her narrow escapes.
Then, "Sensei, the dojo!" Apparently the structure was a bit worse for wear, as every shot succeeded in splintering wood, pock-marking each surface with charred, fist-sized indents.
Had it been anyone else, Kaze was sure the response to that would have been a wordless cry of rage. Instead, as Kaze neared the far corner on the left of the room, she was greeted with a massive swarm of blinding pink, green, blue, and yellow streaks of light that seemed to surround her and cut off every avenue of escape. And a shout of "STOP!" which halted her in her tracks…Well, that was alright because she was going to do that anyway since there was no place to go…And while she's at it she might as well curl up into a little ball to avoid the nasty searing light exploding all around her.
Once the dust and afterimages cleared, there Kaze was, crouched in the corner, surrounded by a charred circle, which neatly climbed the walls on either side of her form. Kaze lowered her arms from her head and brushed off the blackened wooden flakes from her shoulders. She had a strong urge to fall over and cackle madly with glee and hilarity at having avoided everything they threw at her, and make some impertinent comment, but she suspected that might be pushing it.
Kaze glanced up as her primary foe recovered his cool. He calmly walked over to where Kaze lay in the corner. "So did you want those swords, or not?"
Kaze raised an eyebrow. Are you stupid? No, I came here for the fun of it. "You are truly all-knowing," she said in a dry voice.
He extended a hand to her saying, "I can let you keep them if you do something for me."
Kaze debated yanking his arm out of its socket and beating him with it. Deciding the mess would be more than it was worth, she gracefully stood on her own. "Really." Oh, this is going to be rich. Can't wait to hear what his offer is.
He folded his arms up inside the sleeves of his kimono. "If you train under me, I'll show you the true power of those swords."
Kaze narrowed her eyes. Was this a trick? Additional training and knowledge about Star Mirror and True Sight? What was in it for him?
"All you have to do is agree to help me when I need it."
"Hmph. In what way?"
"It'll usually entail eradicating harmful demons from nearby villages."
Is that all? I do that in my sleep. Hmmm. Not a bad offer, if that's all there is to it. That's what I was doing for the most part anyway. Guess I don't really mind sticking around in this area 'til I catch wind of something more interesting elsewhere. Then I'll just take what I have and leave.
"That's it?" Kaze asked skeptically.
He smiled. "Yes."
Glaring at him distrustfully, she replied, "…I'll think about it. See ya around." Kaze leapt over the sensei's head, brushed past Dog Lady, and disappeared out the window.
* * * * *
Deep in the forest, if one were perceptive enough and thought to look upwards, one might see a dark form lounging in a tree, silhouetted against a starlit sky. This form might be resting with its back against the trunk, legs stretched out on a limb before it. It might also have a tail curled up against its side, and it might be gazing into the sky with a pair of glimmering golden stars of its own. It might have been a wolf, but then again, it might have been human, but no observer would ever know, because, of course, there was no observer keen enough to perceive this.
Kaze sat in that tree, pondering the events earlier that night. Should she take the master up on his offer? Or strike out in the morning? She had, after all, gotten away with both swords, and really had no reason to go back. She was sure the hidden qualities of the blades would be revealed to her in due time, whether or not there was anyone around to explain them, and she was quite confident in her own abilities, too. They had served her well for many years.
She had also just recently left her own master and best friend, and wasn't quite sure she really desired to hook up with anyone else just yet. It had been a long time since she had worked with someone else. To be honest, if it weren't with those two, she'd rather work alone.
Sigh. Then again, she supposed it didn't matter too much. Learning new tactics was never a bad thing, and it didn't mean she had to hang around all the time. Drop in now and then, pick up a skill, and leave. Perfect it on my own, on whatever they decide to pit me against. That's what I'll do. Then, when she'd had enough, and heard the call of something greater, she'd disappear, just like that. Until then, this was merely a temporary stop. And who knows? Maybe I'll find what I'm looking for.
Reaching back to where the swords were strapped in a cross on her back, Kaze withdrew Star Mirror from its sheath. She held it in her lap, careful not to touch the blade, and examined its shiny, flawless surface. Then her eyes refocused, and she observed a clear reflection, luminous golden irises staring back, with a midnight field of stars twinkling high above.
Maybe. As always, though, she'd be content with whatever happened, and with wherever she happened to be. There were always adventures beckoning, mysteries waiting for her to find, and if she didn't, they'd just come looking for her on their own. It always happened that way. And Kaze wasn't a werewolf – or a demon-hunter – for nothing.
* * * * *
End
1. Wise elder brother; polite reference to another's older brother, or to one's senior. In this context, it is the last definition that is being used, i.e. polite reference to one's senior.