AN: I blame KonekoYoukai for this.
And by blaming, I don't mean that I'm angry about it... Indeed, far from it! I am thanking you for this. Had you not posted that IsshakuXUshiwaka slave AU fanfic, I probably wouldn't have decided it was high time I wrote down some of my own fanfics like that...
This is actually a newer idea I came up with. It's probably... oh, I dunno, less than a month old? It does have similar themes to older stories I also never wrote (such as a RusLiet one from back when I was into Hetalia)... But unlike other stories, it's not just recovery for the one main character... Oh no. It involves the stories of many others, everyone that is in the house described at the end of this... but I'm getting ahead of myself.
I apologize if anything seems unrealistic, or if I failed to give proper descriptions like what Waka's feeling and what he's going through. I AM trying here... Also yes Ammy gets a human form in this. No, this is not necessarily in Japan at the time of Okami taking place. It is an AU, and can be at any time or place... This is partly due to the fact that I'm so used to modern things that there will probably be mentions of them in there when they clearly did not exist in Okami, partly due to how this story was conceived in my head, and definately partly due to my inability to research properly.
...On that note, enjoy the story.
The shoppers, milling about the open market place, whether searching for goods or for food, all would turn uneasily to survey the progress of one swift creature. The wolf, as the creature was, pure white, its coat unsoiled by anything, neither dirt nor grass, paid little attention to the onlookers. "Careful, snowy white one," they would caution as she raced along to her apparent destination. "Do not continue along your pathway, lest your coat be stained with grime and filth and your pure soul turn black as night."
If the wolf heard their warnings, she did not obey, for she continued along, eventually reaching a doorway in a stone wall, noticeable only for its grime and decay amid cleanliness and beauty. Glancing around almost furtively, she dove inside. The shoppers, though saddened, could only return to their shopping.
For who would dare venture into the slave black market to merely retrieve a wolf- and thereby risk the wrath of the crowd, who would surely frown down upon a civilized person entering so vile.
Inside a sheltered area, closed away from the views of all, still riddled with filth like the rest of the area before her stood the white wolf. A deep sigh emanated from her; she knew all too well the horror of the townspeople watching something they perceived to be innocent enter such a place. But she had no time or place for this hesitation, no. Her duty lay ahead, and she knew the grimness of it well.
A white glow emanated from where the wolf stood, and suddenly there was no wolf, but a human, a white-haired human cloaked in the blackness necessary for the task ahead, and the two remnants of the wolf, ears and tail, carefully concealed within.
With that sudden transformation, the once-wolf exited from the purgatory between the pure, clean, beautiful area of the market into the grimy, worn down, ugliness that was the slave black market.
Slave traders and slaves themselves leapt back from the pathway before him. They did not know who he was, even if he was a he. They merely accepted him as a regular customer, and a well paying one at that. As if to remain under constant secrecy, which most slave traders agreed was a rather excellent policy, he had never even given any indication of his name. They saw, however, the pure whiteness of his hair under his black hood, and he was quickly dubbed, among the men of the darker, blacker parts of town, "The Albino".
His name and his secrecy were not the only reasons for his widespread fame, for why slave traders would hurry to put out their best wares and even the toughest of slaves cringed in fear at the name. Two years ago, when the Albino had first appeared, he asked for slaves fit for heavy labor, slaves fit for being worked hard. In jest, a trader had shoved two boys at him, telling him that they were his best stock.
They were immediately taken.
Since then, the Albino had kept coming back every month, searching for more slaves. Many traders noticed the pattern, a rough outline that seemed to govern his choices in slaves. He always chose ones that were thinner, weaker, not so used to the hardships that he was doubtlessly putting them under. After all, his need for more slaves, they reasoned, must come from a need of more to replace those who had died!
And yet, when no slave to his standards was found, the Albino would simply leave, muttering about how poor they were in selection. Each trader would shudder at the cold sharpness of the words, and each time they would resolve to give him what he wanted next time.
Today, the Albino moved rather quickly, showing many that they had failed to reach his precious standards once more. He continued to move until he reached one particular stall, enclosed in the rock walls. Rags littered the filthy floor, and rotted wooden planks were leaned carelessly in odd angles. Amidst these filthy conditions, one slave sat. It was a male, though this would not be clear by the length of his golden hair. It would, truly, have been beautiful, except for the grease coating it, doubtlessly from lack of proper care. He was unusually thin, and as his gaze looked at the white-haired customer, he flinched back in fear. He knew well the rumors of the Albino, as well as the pains and torment of slavery. And it did not help his fears that the Albino stopped, gazing towards him, before developing what could only be called a grin.
"You seem to have scored for the second time~" he told the trader. Not too long before, another slave, a boy younger than the one now sitting here but looking much the same had been bought by the Albino. It was clear he seemed to like this stock. "He's a rather nice looking one, isn't he?"
Looking at the shuddering slave, the trader half nodded. "I suppose so. Short-legged, but all his kind are…" he muttered, watching intensely as the cloaked man walked in, glancing the teenage boy up and down, walking all around him. He stopped at the back, snorted, and moved on. "I'll take him. How much were you asking for him?" he asked, jerking his head at the boy. The trader shrugged. "Oh, seventy-five thousand; I was hoping for eighty thousand myself."
A bag filled with the required money landed before the trader. He scrambled down, looking at the amounts to see how much he made. "Don't bother. It's seventy-nine thousand."
The trader looked up at the other man in surprise. The Albino, he knew, was ruthlessly honest for a slave owner, giving exactly what he promised he was giving. Yet, he also always made sure to give the slave traders the price they wanted if not for sales. "You're wondering why it's not the same price? Oh, I do apologize. You see, I would be utterly happy to pay a hundred thousand for this particular slave… Pity his back has been flayed like it is…" the Albino said, grin twisting as he ran a finger along the newly-bought slave's back. He convulsed, blue eyes widening, both in fear and in pain about his back, doubtlessly sore, being touched like that. "I- oh…" The slave trader said, nodding wisely. His mind conceived that perhaps this slave was not meant for hard labor… "W-well, give me full price and I'll let you have a free slave if you find another you like!"
The Albino chuckled. "Oh, no," he said. "I daren't. If I find another slave, I would deprive you of such a profit for that one~ Good night~"
With that, he walked away, pulling the slave behind him. The other slave owners retreated in disgust. The Albino never bought two slaves in one night, not since the first two he bought. It would be no use to attempt to sell him another slave.
Ushiwaka trailed just slightly behind his new master, cringing all the while in fear of what would happen to him now. He had already been a slave for years now, but each new master was still a terrifying experience. Each time brought the same treatment- work, dissatisfaction, harsh beatings. It did not help that this particular slave owner was well known for working slaves so hard they would die.
Remarkably, the man seemed almost as jumpy as he did. He hurried unnaturally fast with his new property, as if keen on escaping this dungeon-like place. The rope Ushiwaka was tied to, the rope that connected them, seemed strained at every second, but in truth, he simply just could not keep up with this tremendous pace. They weaved through the mazes of corridors, and finally, the burst through a side entrance, facing a wide expansion of fields. Ushiwaka shook, knees feeling ready to give out on him at any second from combined exhaustion, hunger, dehydration, and sickness. He knew all too well that many of the wounds across his back, wounds which his new master already showed displeasure with, were infected, and had the day brought snow, his body would well have melted it from fever. No matter how hard he wished to deny it, he knew that if he did not receive any form of care soon, this master would be his last.
He felt a tugging, more gentle this time, against the ropes binding his wrists, and he broke out of daydreaming to follow his master. Strangely, he seemed… almost worried at Ushiwaka's hesitation, and the traveling went slower.
An hour they traveled, perhaps more, and at least a mile was placed between themselves and the slave market. Suddenly, Ushiwaka could no longer bear to move another step. The shaking that had taken hold of his knees finally brought him down upon them, collapsing upon the ground. He panicked and struggled to raise himself back up, for if his master saw his predicament, it would mean more pain, more blood loss, and more fear.
He expected tugging, harsh words, probably even a lashing right then and there. Instead, careful hands lifted him slightly from the ground, feeling him for possibility of new injuries, then a sigh. It was an oddly female sounding one, for someone known as a "he". Then, suddenly, he was flung up, and when he came crashing down, he landed on soft, white fur laced with crimson markings. His body went rigid with shock as he saw it was a wolf, looking at him with an expression of apology, as if sorry for his treatment right then. He shuddered, fearing that now his life would end, here at the mercy of a wild wolf.
If it was truly the wolf's plan to kill him, it was obviously waiting to get somewhere else first. Maybe to part of its pack, who were also waiting for fresh meat.
It wasn't the most pleasant of thoughts, Ushiwaka decided with a gulp. The wolf was shifting under him now, working him forward a little across its back, just a bit more to the center, finally nudging its head under his arms, tied together by the same rope that tied him to his master only seconds ago. The wolf looked over him once more with surprising concern for a wild animal, before breaking into a gallop.
Needless to say, Ushiwaka, who was already in shock, started to slip backwards off the wolf's back. Despite fear of being eaten, he sincerely did not want to fall off the wolf, and he tried to grip its fur with his bound hands. When this did not work, he tried moving himself up just a bit further, but the jolting as paws flew across the ground and his already present exhaustion prevented him from doing so.
Just as he wondered if the rope around his arms would break apart and cause him to go flying through the air, probably onto some rocky or hard pathway, the wolf's speed slowed into a screeching halt. Wondering what could have caused it to stop so suddenly, he raised his head as far as he dared, breath catching as he saw what it was. It was a white house, no, a manor from its size; at least two stories tall, fenced around with red brick topped by iron painted white. The house's door and shutters were painted a dark forest green, but all the other trimmings had a rich red color. In the front was a white and red stone pathway, leading to the door, and on either side of the path was beautifully green grass. This sea of grass was only interrupted from several flowers popping at intervals from the ground, until larger beds of flowers halted it completely a few feet from the fence. The wolf, who apparently noticed his awe, slipped its head from underneath his arms, letting him slide down gently to the ground. It developed a wolfish grin, before a glow emanated where it stood.
Suddenly, there was no longer a wolf, but a girl- probably around his age, Ushiwaka guessed, but he could not be sure. She had the white hair and crimson markings of the wolf, as well as the ears and black-tipped tail of one! Her emerald eyes sparkled as she saw his expression. "You like the place~?" she asked, gesturing with one arm at the building. "That's where you're going to live. Honestly, if there's anything about this place that screams, 'HARD LABOR', then I shall die laughing."
For the first time, Ushiwaka could now identify who she was. Not only was she the wolf, not only was she the owner of this place… But she was "The Albino" as well.
Unable to take the shock of all the day's events any more, he fell over.