A young silver furred wolf lie at her mother's side, wishing what was about to happen, wouldn't. Her mother was about to die. "Mother! Don't leave me!" the wolf whined. Her mother, despite her horrible condition, smiled down at her only child. Her daughter.
"It's alright, Kiba. It'll be okay…but, I can no longer search for The Sacred Gem of Transformation. It has become your duty. Do not disappoint our ancestors. It is my time and I'm afraid that I must leave this mortal world. Find the gem and become human. You will not be able to do this alone. Wolves never travel alone. Find a companion, then the gem. Your future depends on it." A single tear ran down Kiba's cheek as she watched her mother close her eyes for the final time. As her mother drifted off into her eternal slumber, Kiba whispered softly, "Good-bye…mother…" Kiba nuzzled her cold nose into her mother's fur for the last time, and then walked away, scared, and alone.
A pair of piercing red eyes stared out at the blood moon. Slick black fur glistened with blood in the moonlight. Another wolf. He had been shot. He was not evil, just hungry. The hunger had gnawed at the pit of his stomach, willing him to go out and hunt. Though he could not. Food around here was limited, so he had tried to steal a sheep from the man with all the animals…but ended up shot. The wolf winced at thought of it again. He licked his wound and whined. The wolf's name was Tetsuo, and he was going to starve. He was completely different from Kiba. As a matter of fact, these two might never have met if it weren't for the voices they both heard through the trees. It was two men, both from these parts. Kiba was the first to notice. She stirred gently from her slumber when she heard the voices. When she realized that they were men, she crawled closer, but still far enough away to be able to hind in the bushes, unnoticed…or so she thought.
Tetsuo also noticed the men at this point, and decided to crawl closer for a better look. He hid in the same bushes as Kiba and accidentally bumped her. They both jumped. Tetsuo growled. "Who the hell do you think you are?" he asked Kiba angrily. This did not intimidate her, however. "Shh!" she replied," I'm trying to hear what they're saying!" Tetsuo growled lowly to himself, but obeyed, because he wanted to hear too.
"What are we going to do about all these wolves?" asked the first man in agitation.
"I'll tell you what we're gonna do, were gonna kill 'em! Ain't nuthin' else to do about 'em!" Yelled the second man.
" I know, but I don't really want to…. oh well….they're putting my family in danger, so they have to be killed. I don't even understand where they came from, they're nearly extinct anyways."
"We can take 'em all out in thirteen days. Let's tell the other men."
The men nodded their heads, and then walked back in the direction from which they came.
When the men were entirely out of sight, Tetsuo turned back to Kiba.
"I'll ask you again. Who the hell are you, and what are you doing in my forest?" Kiba looked at the strange new wolf. She was not afraid of him.
"What's your name? I'm Kiba! ", She announced happily. Tetsuo wondered why she was not intimidated, but pushed it past him.
"Hn. I'm Tetsuo, and you are retarded."
"Well that certainly isn't a very good way to treat someone you just met!" Tetsuo looked dumbly at her.
"Point?" Kiba rolled her eyes.
"Never mind…" Tetsuo and Kiba began to walk off together. Tetsuo looked at the ground as he walked. He asked, a bit nicer this time,
"So, what are you doing alone around here, anyways? Don't you have a family or something to be with?" Kiba eyes fell. Tetsuo knew he made a mistake asking that question.
"Actually, I have no brothers or sisters and my father died in a fight to become alpha male last year."
"And your mother?"
"She died a few hours ago…"
"I'm sorry…."
"For what? You didn't do anything."
"For snapping at you earlier, and just for being a jerk to you. So, remind me why you're in this forest again, will you?" Kiba laughed lightly to herself.
"Oh, nothing special…just searching for the Amulet of Transformation. Know anything about it?"
8)(Missing section…checks Gaia. If not there….retype, I guess…)
"Which was?"
"Be quiet! I'm getting to that!" Kiba scolded.
"Anyways, he was going to attack the farmers daughter. She was chubby, and they'd all seen him staring at her strangely for days, but no one suspected it. So, late one night, when most of the other wolves were asleep, this wolf, named Tsume, snuck out and went to the farm. The girl was named Lila, and she was sitting on a blanket on the ground, staring up at the stars. When Tsume walked up, she had her back turned, and it was much too late to run. Tsume ran and jumped on her back, knocking her to the ground. He clamped onto her throat, and ripped it open. Her choked scream rang out across the farm, and through the woods, waking her father and all the wolves. They all ran towards the scream. Unfortunately for Tsume, the farmer got there first. A gunshot was heard. By the time the wolves got there, Tsume was a bloody pile of fur, and there was a trail where a blood-covered body had been drug towards the house. The alpha looked down at the bloody mess that was Tsume.
"Tsume…what have you done…?"Asked the alpha.
"That's sad and all, but what about this amulet?"
Asked Tetsuo, impationantly.
"Will you shut-up? I'm getting to that! Anyways, after that, all of the men all over the countryside got together and started killing the wolves they once fed and treated as pets….all because of Tsume. Wolves were found dead all the time. At first, when there were still plenty of wolves left, they ate the meat. Then they mourned over lost ones. Meat was much too available, there were too many lives being taken, too quickly. Well, at the same time all this was happening, on the other side of the world, in Japan to be exact, an eccentric scientist was experimenting with dangerous chemicals. In the experimentations, he created the Amulet Of Transformation. He tried to sell it, claiming that it could turn an animal into a human, or a human into an animal. No one believed him, so he gave up.
He threw it deep into the forest in America, where no human would ever find it. And no human ever did. My father found it. He grasped it in his teeth, then he transformed into a handsome human. He took it to my mother, who also used the stone.
They spent most of their lives as humans. They even had a baby girl, whom they named Chi. However, at night, they always transformed back into wolves to go back and be among their own true kind. One day, their broker came to ask them to sign a paper, and he saw them transform and jump out of their window. He went and told everyone he knew, and they told everyone they knew, until everyone knew my parents secret. The humans considered them freaks of nature and so decided to kill my parents. They attacked them a few days later in their own bed. They took the amulet and tried to destroy it, but only succeeded in cracking it. With that done, they took the amulet and locked it up tight. Followed quickly after by banishing my parents from the world of humans forever." Tetsuo was listening inventively.
"So, you need the amulet, why?" Kiba sighed.
"Just be quiet, will you? Anyways, like I said before, my mother died a few hours ago, and on her deathbed she asked me to find the amulet once more. So that I might one day become human like my parents once were, and show the world that humans and animals truly can live together in harmony." Kiba sighed again. "This was her dying wish, and I will fulfill it. Of course, there was something else…she said to find and use the amulet, I would need a companion. That wolves never travel alone, and that before I truly begin my journey, I would have to find a companion."
Tetsuo and Kiba walked in silence for a minute after that. Then Tetsuo spoke.
"Well, this is really going to be a big deal for me, but, would you like it if I became your traveling companion?" Kiba's eyes grew wide.
"Really? You would do that for me?" Tetsuo smiled, (as much as a wolf can smile) and laughed.
"Of course. I'm not completely evil, you know." Kiba beamed.
Chapter 2Kiba lay beside a tree, sleepy soundly, while Tetsuo drank from the river. Then, he heard a sound. He lifted his head from the river, chin dripping with cool water. Another sound. It was a twig snapping. Tetsuo snuck his nose up in the air and sniffed. 'A human! I've got to wake Kiba! We've got to go!' Tetsuo hurried over to Kiba as quietly as he could and gently nudged her with his furry snout.
"Come on, Kiba! Wake up! There are humans!" Kiba stirred slightly.
"What is it, Tetsuo?"
"There are humans! Let's go!" Kiba's head shot up.
" Humans! Are you sure?"
"Yes, now come on!" Shouted Tetsuo. Kiba stood silently from where she lay, and quietly followed Tetsuo between the trees. The wolves moved too slowly, and the human was gaining fast.
"I don't care if they hear us, come on, Kiba, let's just go!" Exclaimed Tetsuo, and the two wolves took off running. The human man turned his head when he heard the two take off running. He found the direction they were headed, then ran towards it himself. He aimed his shotgun in the direction they were running, and fired. It landed dangerously close to one of Kiba's feet.
"Kiba!" Shouted Tetsuo. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." She shouted back. "Just keep going. Maybe we can lose him."
"I don't know, he's pretty fast, and I've had an encounter with a gun before. There's no outrunning them, and if they hit you, you're down and out. Believe me, I've been there."
"I'll have to take your word for it!"
"Just don't stop running!" Tetsuo shouted to Kiba as they ran. Another shot was fired, and Tetsuo shot forward, leaving Kiba farther behind. She had to struggle to keep up with his speed. Despite his injury, he was extremely fast.
They were running out of places to go. The forest wasn't that big. Then, the worst thing that could happen, did. They came to a dead end. There were rocks on either side of them, and they were cornered. Kiba and Tetsuo pushed themselves all the way up against the rocks as far as they would go, but that wasn't enough to stop the man.
As he approached, Kiba whined, and Tetsuo growled lowly, putting his own body in front of Kiba's. The man found where they were hiding and walked up slowly, shotgun poised.
"Ya'll wolves killed my granddaughter, now you're all gonna pay." The man's gun clicked and he was about to shoot, when more voices were heard.
"Bill? Where is ya? We gots to go! Leave them damn wolves alone already!"
"Yeah, you's has to wait till Two more days when the others go!" The man lowered his gun.
"Hmp. You is a couple of damn lucky wolves. But believe's me, I'll be back to get you. Both of you." With that said, the man turned and left.
"Could that have possibly gotten any closer?" Kiba asked in exasperation.
"Actually, yes. It could have. One of the bullets could've hit us!" Exclaimed Tetsuo.
Kiba was taken aback when faced with this truth. How could they even get close to getting hit? They could be not paying attention, that's how. Kiba figured that everything would be okay, just because, with her being the alpha's cub, that no one would ever even consider hurting her. Anyone else would gladly take her place as it had been in the past. They would always gladly take the hit…but now…now it would be different. Now she would have to be ALOT more careful. I mean, sure, she did have Tetsuo for some protection, but he surely wouldn't die for her. Kiba sighed. Things would be alot different than they once were. Tetsuo turned to face her.
"Are you getting tired? We could rest, if you want…" Kiba was shocked.
"Well, a little…but, are you sure you want to stop? If you ask me, we need to get as far away from that place as quickly as we can, but I suppose we should rest to eat and sleep a bit." Tetsuo smiled.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but I never thought a female could ever think so logically."
"And what's that supposed to mean!" demanded Kiba impatiently. Tetsuo grinned.
"Oh nothing…just stating a point." Kiba growled lowly. Tetsuo laughed lightly to himself. Kiba hid her smile. This wolf may be a bit strange, but he was starting to grow on her. Tetsuo caught Kiba staring at him. He wrinkled his nose.
"What? Do I have something on my face?" Tetsuo scrunched up his face, determined to see it himself. Kiba couldn't help but laugh.
"No, nothing like that…It's just your face…"
"What about it?" Tetsuo asked. Kiba only smiled.
"It's so handsome…" Tetsuo blushed madly, and looked over to Kiba.
"Heh, heh, not looking so bad, yourself, small fry." Kiba blushed, and then looked over to the east. The sun was setting.
"Uh, Tetsuo, don't you think we should be getting to sleep?" Tetsuo noticed, as well.
"Yeah, I guess. We better go now, if we're gonna find a decent place to sleep before dark." The two walked around for a few minutes in search of a decent bed. Eventually, it was found. A small cave, not much bigger than the two of them, carved into the side of a rock wall. It kept the heat in, and the cold out-perfect for this condition. Kiba snuggled against one wall, and Tetsuo against the other. They both tried to go to sleep, and this method kept them warm for some time, but once the sun was completely down, it got cold. Tetsuo watched Kiba shiver helplessly in her sleep. It was all so very unsettling for him. When he could stand it no longer, he got up and went to the other side of the cave. He lie down beside her and snuggled up close. She stopped shivering and nuzzled deeper into his fur. He blushed lightly, and fell asleep with a smile.
Chapter 3Kiba awoke the next morning as Tetsuo dropped something down in front of her. Her vision was blurry at first, but when she saw what it was, she drew back. Tetsuo looked confused.
"What? Its just rabbit. Eat up." Kiba looked again at the bloody corpse and gagged. Tetsuo was still puzzled.
"Don't you like rabbit? If you don't, I could go and catch you something else…"
"No…it's not that….I just don't eat meat." Tetsuo was taken aback.
"No meat! How do you survive!" Kiba laughed.
"Why, the same way the squirrels and rabbits do-" She looked over and saw the dead rabbit.
"-or…did. Fruit and nuts. Things like that. There are plenty of things to eat beside awful meat."
"But, I still don't understand. Why no meat?" Kiba shrugged.
"I dunno. My mother always forbid it, though I never figured out why, and so, I feel the same way. No meat for me ever."
"Wow…I could never live without meat forever." Tetsuo said in between bites of the rabbit that Kiba refused to touch. Kiba shuddered at the sight.
"Well, I could never eat a bite of mea-" But Kiba was cut off by Tetsuo shoving a bite of the rabbit into her mouth. Her eyes grew wide and she immediately spit it out. She turned sharply to Tetsuo.
"What the fuck is your problem!" She asked angrily. "You know I don't eat fucking meat!"
"What? I was trying to show you that it tastes good!"
"God dammit! I know it tastes good! I love the stuff! But my mother always said no meat!" Tetsuo looked around.
"Well, I don't see her here, do you?"
"That's because she's fucking dead, you bastard!" Tetsuo's smile faded.
"Oh yeah…I'm sorry Kiba, I-"
"Shut-up! DON'T talk to me." Kiba demanded, leaving the cave. She ran out into lightly falling rain. When the cave and Tetsuo were out of sight, Kiba slowed to a walk. The rain began to pour, and Kiba got drenched. She sat where she stood and let herself collapse. Then she began to sob silently.
'What was I thinking? Why did I yell? I shouldn't have…but Tetsuo knew…He knew…' She sobbed to herself as the cool pellets of rain beat down on her silvery coat. She looked up at the path ahead. Through the downpour of rain, she could see the outline of something. She squinted her eyes to try to identify the figure. She didn't know who it was, but when she realized what it was, her eyes grew wide with fear. She gasped.
'A human!' She thought. She scrambled to her feet, and tore off in the opposite direction. She ran on until she reached the cave that Tetsuo inhabited. His eyes lit up when she entered the cave.
"Kiba! You're-" But Kiba knocked him to the ground.
"Shhh! A human…" She whispered. Tetsuo nodded and Kiba let him up. They both crawled over to the mouth of the cave. Tetsuo looked in both directions, but saw nothing. He was about to turn around and tell Kiba that no one was there, when suddenly, two very human feet dropped down over the mouth of the cave. Tetsuo fell backwards, and could not move--he was frozen with fear. It was a man. Definitely one of the hunters from before. He turned his head in both directions, but seemed to have lost what he was looking for. Then he turned around. He was now facing the cave, and Tetsuo was still frozen with fear. The man bent down and cocked his rifle. He aimed it at Tetsuo and slowly pulled the trigger. Tetsuo squeezed his eyes together and waited for the pain. The shot was fired, and a yelp was heard…but Tetsuo never felt the familiar sting of a bullet. He opened his eyes and saw Kiba on the ground in front of him…covered in her own blood. She whimpered a little. Tetsuo got up and bent over her.
"Why, Kiba? Why did you take my hit…?" Kiba opened her mouth to answer, but the answer never came. She was suddenly being pulled out of the cave. The hunter had her hind leg! Kiba had been shot in the stomach, and so couldn't do much to defend herself. Tetsuo shot out of the cave and lunged at the hunter. But the hunter was too fast for Tetsuo. He dropped Kiba's leg and, in one swift motion, cocked his gun, and shot Tetsuo in the chest.
"Tetsuo…" Kiba choked out. And it was the last thing Tetsuo heard before his world went black…
Chapter 4Several hours later, Tetsuo's eyes slowly opened, and a world of memories came rushing back to him. He shot up, but quickly fell back down due to an immense pain in his chest. He winced and remembered the bullet wound. Unable to move, Tetsuo was
Forced to remain on the ground. Eyes hazy with dizziness, Tetsuo looked around. Though he couldn't see clearly, he did know that this was no cave. As a matter of fact, after a better look around, Tetsuo concluded that he was in a metal cage. He looked across the room and could see something silver on what looked like an operating table. Blood was dripping from it onto the floor. Then it hit him: Kiba! He tried to block out the pain as he called out to her.
"Kiba!" He called hoarsely. "Are you okay? Are you alive? Can you hear me at all? Kiba? Kiba…?" Trying to get a response from Kiba was draining away what little energy he still had. The room started to go black again. But then, Kiba's seemingly lifeless form began to stir. Then it spoke.
"Tet…Tetsuo? Is that you…?" Tetsuo heard her voice and fought his mind for consciousness. He won this great battle of the mind, and so forced his body to stir. Through great pain, he was able to stagger and crawl to the edge of the cage.
"Yeah, Kiba…It's me." Kiba smiled. She moved over a little and fell off of the table.
"Kiba!"
"Don't worry…That wasn't accidental." She weakly limped over to his cage.
"Kiba, I-"
"Shhh…Don't speak. You're much weaker than I…I know that you are blaming yourself for our situation, but…don't. I should've never went out on my own…So it's my fault…" Kiba began to breathe heavily, so she lay her head against the cage. Tetsuo weakly stood and lay his head against Kiba's. They both slid to the floor. Tetsuo slid his paw through the cage beside Kiba's head. She smiled and lay her paw on top of his. Tetsuo smiled as well, and the two quickly fell asleep.
Kiba awoke soon after that by a hard kick in her side. She yelped and quickly rose to her feet. Tetsuo awoke as well, and shot to his feet. It was a human who had brutally awoken Kiba from her peaceful slumber. Tetsuo began to growl and snap and the hunter.
"Aw! Shut-up, you mangy mutt!" Then, another man came into the room.
"Bill, are you harassing them damn wolves again!"
"Yep! Why not? Damn, Rob…you got a weak heart…" Bill looked at the two wolves, then back to Rob.
"All right, I'll leave 'em alone…" Rob smiled.
"Yeah…but what do we do with them?"
"I dunno…Put 'em away, I guess…" Rob sighed. Tetsuo and Kiba's ears perked up at the sound of this…finally some good news for the two.
"So…the kiln?" Tetsuo's smile faded. They weren't being let back into the wild…they were going to be burned to death! Bill grabbed Kiba around the stomach and picked her up. Weak from her wounds, all she could do was whimper. Tetsuo slammed his body repeatedly against the cage door, trying desperately to get to Kiba…his Kiba. Rob only shook his head and sighed.
"They must've been mates…It's really a pitty…" Tetsuo would not back down. His skin was torn, and the floor of the cage was a puddle of blood and bits of torn flesh and fur. Finally, the cage began to bend. But Rob did nothing to stop this. If Tetsuo loved Kiba this much…and had gotten this far…he had to at least give him a chance. Tetsuo slammed against the cage one more time, with much of his last energy, and finally broke through the metal. Rob watched as the bloody Tetsuo tore out of the room and around the corner in the direction that Bill had had gone. He ran on, faster and faster around corners and past humans, leaving a thick trail of blood behind him. But he didn't care. He steadily followed the scent of Kiba and Bill until he reached a closed door. He didn't hesitate. He threw himself against the door and it was immediately knocked to the ground. It only took Tetsuo a quick look around the room to know his next move. Bill was holding Kiba by the fur on the back of her neck while another hunter held open the door to the kiln. Tetsuo leapt on Bill's back and the force knocked him against the kiln. Bill's shirt caught fire, and he dropped Kiba because of the pain. She whimpered when she hit the ground, but did not move. Tetsuo was glad that Kiba was safe, but he wasn't finished with that hunter just yet. He head-butted him in the stomach, and he was knocked into the kiln. The other man ran in fear when he saw the fire in Tetsuo's eyes. Tetsuo knelt beside Kiba.
"Are you all right? Why aren't you moving? Kiba, speak to me!" Kiba's eyes slowly opened.
"Tet-Tetsuo? Oh…I'm glad you're here…I can't move…a shot. They gave me a shot…Now I can't…move…" Tetsuo knelt beside her and nuzzled her neck, and she smiled a little. He gently licked at one of her wounds.
"Tetsuo…you don't have to…Yours are much worse…"
"Shhh….yeah, some of them are…but you are much more important than I. Try to get on my back." Tetsuo laid down next to Kiba on the floor and helped her onto his back. He looked around the room and saw a small open window next to the ground. He weakly limped over to it and struggled, but got through it successfully with Kiba on his back. When they were both out, Tetsuo headed as fast as he could towards the forest. And with him in this condition, his fastest…wasn't very fast. Before they reached the trees, they heard voices coming from the building. Soon after, Tetsuo could smell humans getting closer. He tried to go faster, but found that he couldn't. His vision became blurry and he nearly fainted. But then he heard Kiba whisper in his ear.
"Come on, Tetsuo…you can do it. You have to…to make me some pups this Spring…" Suddenly, a burst of energy infected Tetsuo's entire body. And with one last mad dash, him and Kiba disappeared into the trees. The human were no longer heard or smelled, so Tetsuo collapsed next to a stream…and there he slept.
Tetsuo regained consciousness many hours later in that same spot beside the stream. Kiba lay on the ground beside him. He looked and smiled upon her sleeping form. She was still wounded and none of her injuries had been tended to. He didn't want to wake her, but her wounds needed to be cared for, so Tetsuo began to gently lick at a few of them. He did this until they were all cared for. When she was all fixed, he lie back down beside the water and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 5
Kiba slowly stirred awake the next morning with a horrible, overpowering pain flowing through her body. The pain hit her all at once and she cried out as a result of it. This woke Tetsuo and he quickly rushed over to her.
"Kiba! Are you all right? Kiba!" Tetsuo screamed. She did not appear to hear him, for she made no change in her actions. She continued to howl in pain and frustration until she noticed Tetsuo standing with tears in his eyes. Her howls turned to whimpers and she looked curiously at him. After one last look in his eyes, she asked,
"Just who the hell are you, and what the fuck do you want with me! Can't you see I'm in pain!"
Tetsuo took a step backwards. "Wh-what? How in the hell could you possibly NOT know who I am? I just nearly killed myself saving you! You nearly died! I can't let you be like this! You have to remember me! You have to! You can't do this right when I'm beginning to lov-" But Tetsuo stopped. He couldn't say it. Not now. Especially not while she was like this. Tetsuo let his head hang low. Now what was he gong to do?
"You…don't know who am I? Or why you're hurt? Or ANYTHING that's happened in the past three days?" Tetsuo asked hopefully.
"No. All I know, is I hurt. A lot." Tetsuo sighed.
"So then, I assume you don't at all remember what you told me yesterday when I brought you here?"
"Uh…no. Sorry. Listen…you seem to know me…so, who am I?" Tetsuo was shocked. "You don't even know who YOU are? Wonderful….Well, sit down. This is gonna be a looonnnngggg day…"
"You mean my mother and father are both dead, and I only travel with you? Well….what else can you tell me about that amulet?"
"Sorry, but I already told you everything I know…Which is only what YOU'VE told me. And that ISN'T very much. So, do you think you know enough to keep going with me?" Kiba smiled.
"Yeah. I'd like that." Tetsuo smiled as well, and looked out at the water. The two had talked all day, and the sun was setting. It had a beautiful effect on the water. Making it shimmer and shine with colors of gold and purple. Tetsuo sighed.
"Ya know. This is the first time you've let me talk about your parents without blowing up in my face…The first time, you didn't react so bad, but two days ago when I discovered that you don't eat meat, I forgot about your mother, and you said that you didn't eat meat because she didn't like you to. Then I said that I didn't see her there. And you blew up and said-"
"That's because she's fucking dead, you bastard…I remember that…" Tetsuo's head perked up.
"Yeah, I guess you…I guess you really did." Tetsuo smiled and closed his eyes. Then, the next thing he knew, Kiba was beside him, snuggled up close and falling asleep. But Tetsuo didn't blush. It wasn't the same. This wasn't Kiba. Not his Kiba. But he let her lie there. Maybe he could cope with this…but then…what if he couldn't?
When Tetsuo woke up the next day, Kiba was in front of him, staring him in the face. He jumped up, then winced from his injuries.
"What were you doing there!"
"Waiting for you to wake up, silly!" Kiba smiled. Tetsuo frowned. He was confused.
"Don't…Don't you remember yesterday?"
"No…not really. I thought I slept all day!" Tetsuo sighed. Hopefully this meant that she was back to normal. Then he blushed. What if now she remembered what she had said to him during the escape. Then he frowned. What if she didn't? Well, the only way to know was to ask her.
"Kiba, do you…maybe remember saying something to me while we were trying to escape?" He asked with pleading eyes. Kiba tried to think back. Tried to remember…but alas, she could not.
"No…I'm sorry, Tetsuo. I really don't remember anything like that."