I couldn't believe what I was seeing right in front of me. Wolves and there were hundreds of them just waiting to attack and eat me, I tried to run away but they were fast, faster than me and in time at all they surrounded me, growling with their fangs showing that they were going to kill me. That's what I thought until one of them came up to me and began to sniff me. I followed his eyes and could see that they were a beautiful golden yellow color which stood out amongst his white fur. I guess you could say that he was the alpha of the pack because of how his tail stood and how the others stayed where they were. When the alpha was done sniffing me he turned to his group then looked back at me, I thought for a second that he wanted me to follow him until he growled at me making me frozen with fear. The alpha once again turned to his group and began walking away until only three wolves stayed behind and as they began to close in on me I could only think that this was it, I'm going to die. Just then I heard howling coming from my side and saw that the alpha had returned to get the other three wolves away from me. One wolf that had reddish brown fur was growling at the alpha probably saying that it was hungry and wanted to taste the meat I had on my bones. Another wolf that had black fur was walking towards me slowly catching my scent making sure that if I ran again it would be able to find me. And finally the third wolf, a light brown color was just standing there keeping an eye on the alpha. When the alpha began to walk, he started walking towards me and me too frozen with fear could only look at him until he began to pull at my jacket telling me to go with him. To where? I had no clue yet, but one thing was for sure, I was so scared for the other three wolves behind me that I could barely move until the alpha began to bark and growl to show that he meant business. The others began to back off with their tails going down to the ground and heads bowing, showing that they understood the alpha and would not attack me. Once again the alpha began to pull on my jacket in the direction he wanted me to go and I could only follow him. I looked at my surrounding to see if I could remember the way that I had come from, but no such luck. Nothing looked familiar to me and it had been years since I played in these woods.
"Anzu. Try not to wonder off too far, were going to eat lunch soon!" That was my step-mother
"Ok!" was all I said before I began my walk into the woods that were connected to my backyard. I loved my backyard because of the adventures I could have without anyone especially my horrible step-mother, Janice .She always has to look clean and proper, wearing the latest clothing by only the top designers in the world. Her blonde hair framed her face and showed off her yellow eyes, a nose that had a job done on it before, a mouth that could warp any word you say into something else entirely .Constantly buying new shoes and purses to go with her outfits. It made me sick how she could spend money like nothing at all. I swear she is the queen of mean, every time my dad, Cain, isn't around she hits me in places that my father won't be able to see easily.
I looked around to make sure nobody was following me, when I felt that it was clear I began to walk a little further until I spotted a stream that flowed into a lake. This lake was my special spot that nobody could take from me. I looked around the area to make sure that Janice hadn't followed me so she could hit me and try to drown me, but what she didn't know was that this lake had the power to heal any wound that had been inflicted onto someone.
I started to strip my clothes when I heard rustling from the fallen leaves that were on the ground. I tried to look and hear where they were coming from but I couldn't see anything. Just then a snow white wolf had shown up and started walking towards me. I was frozen with fear and cold. I only had a tank top on and my pants, my sweatshirt and shoes lay behind me. The snow white wolf had stopped in front of me and sniffed to make sure that I was not an enemy of his. After he had sniffed me he went to my sweatshirt and shoes still trying to make heads or tails of me, when he had completed that he looked me straight in the eyes and I could see that his eyes were a golden color that shimmered in the sun's light. I don't know how long we looked at each other but it felt like an eternity. When the wolf looked away from me he turned to the lake and began to drink the water healing whatever injures that he had. He looked back at me when he had his fill then looked back towards the lake.
"Are you going to watch over me while I take a bath?" I had asked him and all he did was shake his head and began sniffing around the area. After he turned his back to me I took off my tank top and pants leaving on my trainer's bra and boxer shorts. When I looked down I could see the scars and bruises that Janice had given me only a few days ago, they were starting to turn black and purple which made it difficult to move some days, but I struggled though it and put on a happy face in front of everyone, including my dad.
After I had dipped my foot into the water I could see that most of the bruises were starting to turn blue and green and as I continued to put my body in the water I could feel my scars healing but not completely. When I looked up to find the wolf that had been watching over me I could see that he still had his back turned to me.
"Excuse me, Mr. Wolf?" I questioned him, and as he turned his heard towards me he was both watching me and listening for others to come to the area. "Would you mind coming over here for a bit please?" And he had complied. He started walking over to me stopping in front of me with his head bowed but his ears turned back in cautiousness. "Do you have a name?" I questioned him, I know it sounds weird to ask a wolf if they have a name but I had to know. He shook his head at me "What if I gave you name, would you like that?" He lowered his head till his eyes matched with mine then he licked the side of my face saying that it was ok to give him one. "Ok what about Kuro?" He lowered his tail at that. "What about chairo?" again his tail lowered. When I looked at his fur again all I could see was white. "Shiro?" His tail was raised high and I knew that would be the name and only I was allowed to call him that. When I went to reach up and pet him he suddenly pulled back and turned around. I tried to follow his gaze but there was nothing that I could see from my position. Shiro pointed his tail at me to get under the water and hide until it was clear. I took my breath and hid under the water where I could see two more wolves coming up to Shiro, I could barely hear anything except for the water going into my ears and the water splashing around me.
After what seemed like forever Shiro put his tail into the water and turned it so the end looked like a hook and I grabbed on to it having him pull me up out of the water. By then the oxygen in my lungs was starting to run out and water was starting to seep into my mouth. I took as many deep breaths as possible before I was able to breathe normally again. When I was able to look Shiro in the eyes I could see concern glinting in his eyes. "What's wrong Shiro?" I asked him. All he did was look in the direction that my home was. "You want me to go back, don't you?" Shiro nodded his head and nuzzled my face, and then he turned his back to give my privacy so I could dress.
When I had finished getting my clothes on I told Shiro that one day I would be back and hopefully we could do this again. He looked at me and then turned his head once more towards my home. "Good-bye, Shiro. I'll miss you." That was all I told him before I took off into the woods, only once did I look back to see if he was still there, and he had disappeared like the wind.
Before I fully got out of the woods I had splashed some mud and grass on my clothes and face to tell Janice and dad what sort of happened. I didn't want them finding Shiro and killing him, that might have killed me instead. Then I saw my dad walking towards the back windows probably getting ready to look for me. When he opened the window I started to walk out and when he noticed me all I could was shock on his face. "Anzu what happened to you? You're all muddy and your face is scraped." He ran over to me and looked me over, from over his shoulder I could see Janice at the door glaring at me because of how I looked. Janice was always trying to make me into a proper lady by having me take etiquette lessons, I took them but I never liked them.
When dad had finished looking me over he looked at me and was waiting for my answer.
"Oh! I, uh, tripped on a log and fell in some mud and on my way back some branches got me." I looked down and continued,"I'm sorry daddy, I didn't see the log."
"Well the important thing is that you're ok. Let's get you inside and washed up and then you can have lunch. How does that sound?"
"Great!" This was one of the reasons way I loved my dad, he didn't care if I was a proper lady or a tomboy.
"Now wait just a minute Cain! I don't want mud being tracked though this house! Spray off most of the mud out here and then bring her to the bathroom to finish up." Janice said. All my dad did was look back at her and then turned to me. He smiled at me and picked me up by the pits spinning me around flinging some of the mud over the lawn. When he stopped spinning we got so dizzy that we saw three of everything and started laughing. Janice didn't think it was so funny. "Cain Mazaki! Look what you've done to my outfit! It's ruined now!" When we looked at the outfit she was wearing, a nice clean pressed light pink jacket with matching shirt and shoes and a light blue blouse under the jacket, it had a nice big splat of mud on it and part of her face. I tried hard not to laugh but a few snorts came out, I tried to pass it off as coughing like a proper young lady should do but when I looked at dad I could see he was trying to hold it back as well.
"Calm down Janice. We can get the suit dry-cleaned. Besides haven't you ever played in mud before?"
"Never in my whole life have I needed to! I was always taught to act like a proper lady. Like my mother used to say, "Those who play in the mud stay in the mud!" and I listened to her. So you both should listen to her and stay out of the mud! Now both of you come here and I'll get some towels that you can use to wipe off with. When you are finished wiping down just leave the towels by the door and we will pick them up later. Do you both understand?" Stressing the word understand. We both looked at her and nodded our heads. After she left to get the towel dad started laughing and when I looked at him I couldn't help but laugh as well, the whole situation was kind of funny.
By the time Janice got back with a different outfit on and the towels most of the mud had started to dry and we were able to shake some of it off on the lawn. We quickly took off our shoes there and grabbed the towels. As I was walking in I felt a hand on my shoulder and when I looked I saw that it was Janice. "Why don't you go ahead dear? I'll make sure that Anzu gets to the bathroom before more mud gets in. Okay?" I knew that her tone of niceness wasn't real and when I saw dad nodding his head and walking upstairs I knew I was in trouble. Janice's grip on my shoulder tightened and she began to pull me towards the downstairs bathroom. I was nervous to say the least, but I didn't dare say anything in case of angering her further. When we got to the bathroom she immediately told to strip my clothes off and put them in the hamper.
"When are you going to listen, Anzu? I'm sick and tired of you disobeying me. Your dad and I only care and want the best for you. Can't you please try to understand that?"
"Then stop giving me the etiquette lessons. I know you guys want what is best for me, but I'm eight years old and I can think for myself." I told her and looked her straight in the eye," If mom was here she would understand what I wanted. And what I want is to be a dancer, more specific a ballerina. I know that the dream may be far away but I believe that I day I can make it onto the stage and –"That's when she slapped me.
"Anzu, please try to understand that most dreams don't ever come true. Whenever I was younger and I had a dream my mother instantly shot it down and told me that I should just act like a lady and find a rich man to marry." I could see tears starting to form at the bottom of her eyes but they didn't look like they would fall anytime soon, "And I did but mother never cared about my feelings in the stupid shame of marriage. I wanted to leave him and every time that I packed my bags I always felt some stupid reason to stay with him no matter how badly he treated me." The tears had started falling now, "Then one day I found out that I was pregnant with his child and when I told mother she was so happy that by the next day the whole city knew what was happening. My husband at the time was also to have an heir that he told me when the child is born I won't be needed anymore and that he was going to divorce me. My heart dropped when he said that. To think that I had only been alive and married to him was to only give him a child. I tried many times to tell him that what if the baby had been a girl, would she become the heir? But I guess he had been pretty confident that it would be a boy." She paused for a moment to gather her thoughts and breath. For a while there I thought that she was making it all up but by the look in her eyes she was telling the truth. Right now I really wanted to get in the shower and warm up because I cold from standing in one spot and our basement is chilled year round.
When Janice looked at me I think that she could see I was starting to shiver because she told to get in the shower. I was thankful for that and when I got the temperature right where I wanted it I stepped in and left part of the curtain open so I could hear the rest of Janice's story.
"When I went in for a checkup during my eight month the doctor had told me that the baby had died. At first I didn't believe him because I could still feel it kick. The doctor told that they would have to remove the baby as soon as they could. I told them that I would speak to my husband, and when I did," she paused for a few moments. In a way I could tell that this was hard for her. I guess it would be to any mother that lost a child, especially there first born that was yet to come. When Janice did continue she sounded even more heart broken. "He told me to move and never come back. I tried to tell him that we could always try again but he had told me that he had found a younger looking girl and that she was also pregnant with his child. My heart broke even worse after that. And when I went back to the doctor's office I told him that my husband would not be able to make it. So in the end my baby who had been a boy died. I went to go bury him in the garden of my former home and use his ashes as soil for the roses I had planted the day I found out I was pregnant, but they were gone. They were completely ripped out of the ground and lying beside the garden were burned red roses. When I saw the roses burned and just lying there I finally broke down and started crying in the garden. A few minutes or hours later, I don't remember, someone came and took me inside. All I could think was 'why would he do this to me?' 'Wasn't I the perfect wife for him?' 'And where did it all go wrong?' I couldn't get these thoughts out of my head. By the time I stopped crying and could think rationally I had decided that I was going get anything that I owned and move out. Of course when I told the maids that they were shocked at first, but still they helped to pack up and get everything into a truck that would take me away, far away from him, my mother, and everyone else." I was starting to step out of the shower when I was the look on Janice's face; it was a look of happiness and content, mixed with a little make up running down her face. I started to dry off with a towel when Janice came over and helped to dry me off, she looked happy that she was able to help me without me pushing her away. I guess because I never knew where she came from or what happened to her I just wanted to push her away until she left me alone. Now that I knew something about her I felt like she wasn't trying to replace my mom, she was just trying to be my friend and a mom.
"Hey, Janice?"
"Yes Anzu?
"I'm sorry about all the times I pushed you away, I felt like you were always trying to replace that feeling that mom gave me, you know?"
"Oh Anzu. I could never replace your mom. A mom always creates a feeling or bond with their daughter that can't be broken." Janice said this looking a little down, but then her happy face came back on and she started to tickle me. We started laughing so loud that I guess dad heard it because when he opened the door Janice and I screamed.
"Dad! What do you think you're doing?" I quickly grabbed the towel and wrapped it around my body, hoping he didn't see anything.
"I'm sorry. I heard screaming and thought something was wrong. Can you blame me?"
"I can. Dad when a woman is in the bathroom you should knock first, that way it gives them time to at least get a towel or robe around the body. Sheesh, didn't mom ever tell you that?'
"Well no. But when you were younger and were taking your bath's half the time you screamed 'AHHHH! Daddy! Where are you?' and when I got there I couldn't find anything wrong. But you always wanted me to stay in case the "Drain Monster" wanted to get you."
I started blushing at this, "DADDY! HOW COULD YOU? THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A SECRET!"
"Hahaha. Sorry sweetie but at that time it was so cute, you were so little and you always wanted to be around daddy and then there was your bed time routine that you wanted me to do. Now what was it again? Oh yes I remember now."
"Don't you dare sing that song!" emphasizing the word dare.
"Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch.
You know that I love you.
I can't help myself.
I love you and nobody else."
"DADDY! Please stop" I could feel my face heating up and at the song. The song was so old, but still I loved it. I just wished that he wasn't singing it while I was in a towel still trying to dry off and Janice was still in the room also. Could this day get any worse? Of course Janice was giggling while this going on. Just perfect.
"Cain I think you better stop. Anzu's face is about as red as a tomato. Plus we have to meet with the Kaiba's in a little bit, remember?"
"Your right. Let's get ready shall we?"
By the way: My own mom used to sing this song to me (She is still alive) almost every night before I went to bed. Now when I hear it it's nice but only if it's in private. Also about the wolf's name which is Shiro it means white in Japanese. Kuro means black as most of you may know and Chairo means brown. I'm pretty much going to keep this in Anzu's POV except for when I need to switch to Seto's POV which will be the next chapter and I will need help with it. I also need a beta reader so if you're interested drop an e-mail.
Also Janice is American but she moved along with Anzu's family when they moved back to Domino, which I don't know when that happened, and she does know some Japanese but most of time they will speak English in their home.
As for Cain he is an authentic Japanese man. He lost his wife, who I still have to make a name up for, when Anzu was about 3. He moved around a lot due to his job and in New York is where he meet Janice and later got married.
I am asking a request of people who have lost a mother or father and gained a step-parent. I would like to know what your feelings where at that time and is you liked the person or not. You don't have to answer if you like.
Thank you for the R&R's.