"Okami!"
A woman in her mid-thirties stomped around, her black hair tied in a bun. Peering into every crevice and crack in the house, she continued to mutter, "That girl is so good at hiding, it always takes me over three hours to find her!"
Straightening up from peering under the bed, the woman proceeded to fling open the closet doors and dig under the clothes. After five minutes of fruitless searching, she proceeded to the kitchen and let out one last yell.
"Okami!"
A white-haired girl quietly walked along the edge of a forest. She looked no more than five years old with her hair reaching halfway down her back and ice-blue eyes. Her eyes shone with curiosity as her sensitive ears picked up the chirping of birds and the scuttling of squirrels.
A sparrow landed on her shoulder, chirping gently. The girl turned her head slightly to gaze at the bird. The movement startled the creature; it flapped its wings and fluttered above the girl's shoulder before settling back down.
Suddenly, the bird took flight again, chirping alarmingly. The girl looked up to see a gang of three boys headed in her direction. One of them was holding a kunai, and he was obviously boasting to the other boys.
"My dad gave me a kunai! He said I could go practice with it," he bragged.
"Aw, come on, Takeshi! Let us practice with it, too," another boy begged.
"If you want to practice, then you should have asked your parents for a kunai," Takeshi retorted, clearly enjoying the jealousy of the other two boys.
Suddenly, he turned to stare at the girl. "What are you looking at, monster?" he sneered.
She blinked, turned around, and started walking away.
"Hey, demon! Don't ignore me!" Takeshi shouted and threw his kunai at the girl. She whipped around just in time to see the weapon miss her head by a couple of millimeters. Taken by surprise, she started running into the woods with the three boys on her tail.
"Come back here, monster! You need to be taught a lesson!"
"Stop running, you coward!"
The three boys halted in the middle of the woods. Peering around, there was no sign of the target they were chasing.
"What? Where did she go?"
"Come on out! Only cowards would hide!"
"Let's go. We taught her a lesson. Maybe she'll go and die now."
Talking amongst themselves, the boys started going back the way they came. However, they failed to notice a white wolf watching them from behind a tree.
"Okami, dear! Where have you been?" the black-haired, middle-aged woman exclaimed as the white-haired girl stepped into the house.
Okami tilted her head to the side and ducked it apologetically. The woman noticed that Okami's hair was tangled and leaves and twigs stuck out.
"Your hair is filthy, too!" she scolded the young girl, "Come, let's get you cleaned up before the village meeting."
This woman isn't Okami's real mother. Okami's real mother had died giving birth to Okami. This woman, Meiji, had agreed to adopt Okami since Okami's father had died before she was born. In other words, Okami is an orphan.
Meiji was a good foster mother. She cared for Okami, doing her best to make sure Okami would have a good life. She never thought Okami's white hair was weird, and even believed that Okami looked very cute in wolf form.
On the contrary, the rest of the village deemed the white hair and the ability to transform into a wolf as signs of a monster. They shunned her and threatened her, always saying that things would be better off if Okami was dead. Of course, Okami did her best to ignore them, but that was kind of hard to accomplish seeing that everyone would glare at her when they saw her. Meiji also did her best to make sure Okami didn't take the villagers' words to heart.
"Seriously, Okami, if you keep getting your hair dirty, you'll end up getting lice," Meiji continued as she plucked the last twig from Okami's hair.
Okami shrugged, which was her way of saying, "Whatever."
Another quirk of Okami was that she didn't talk. Never said a single word in her life so far. Meiji attempted to teach her to speak, but Okami had just sat there and stared, not even trying to mimic the sounds Meiji demonstrated. Fortunately, Okami did learn how to write, so she would occasionally communicate through writing and drawing.
Meiji untied her own hair. "I'm leaving for the meeting now, sweetie," she gave Okami a kiss on the forehead, "Behave yourself and keep an eye on the house, okay?"
Okami nodded, following her foster mother to the front door. Meiji waved once more before heading in the direction of the town hall.
Okami closed the sliding door before retreating to her room. A full moon shone through her window, casting a light across Okami's face and making her eyes seem to glow. She stood there staring at the moon for a while before closing the window. Giving the room a final glance, she transformed.
"You're what?" Meiji exclaimed, unable to believe her ears.
"You heard me, Meiji," the head of the village said, "I do not wish to repeat myself."
"She's too young," Meiji spluttered, "She won't be able to survive out there!"
"What happens to her is none of our concern," the village head replied calmly, "You either do as we say, Meiji, or the villagers shall dispose of her. Using our way."
Meiji clenched her hands into fists and closed her eyes, trying to control her angry shaking. After a long moment of silence, she said, "Very well. I will do it."
The village's head nodded. "You have until nightfall tomorrow."
Meiji nodded stiffly and left the room.
Okami was woken from her nap by the sound of the sliding door opening. Rising to her paws, she dashed out of the room and down the stairs, greeting her foster mother with a gentle nudge with her wolf-nose.
"Hello, Okami," Meiji said, not meeting Okami's ice-blue eyes. The wolf gazed at her curiously, no doubt sensing something wrong. Saying nothing to the worried wolf-girl, Meiji dragged her feet upstairs and went into her room, shutting the door behind her with a bang and leaving Okami out in the hall. The wolf let out a small whine, pawing at the door. When it wasn't answered, Okami padded her way into her bedroom, transformed back into a human, and settled down. She hoped so badly that whatever was bothering Meiji wouldn't be too serious.
But she was wrong.
The next morning, Okami woke up to an uneasy silence in the house. Normally, she would hear Meiji downstairs cooking breakfast or her name being called when she woke up late. But today was silent. Nothing. Nada. Nil. Zilch.
Well, maybe not completely silent. Faint footsteps reached Okami's sensitive ears. She sat up in bed as her bedroom door opened. Meiji stood in the doorway, looking tired and lost.
"Okami, dear. Could you come downstairs?" she asked hoarsely.
Okami nodded and followed her adoptive mother down into the living room. She noticed a small bag filled with food near the sliding door of the house. Curious, she looked from the bag to Meiji, clearing asking what it was for.
Meiji sighed. "Okami, I just want you to know that I love you very much and that I had no other choice but to do this."
Okami tilted her head slightly.
Meiji gripped her hair. "The villagers…they told me that I must either send you away, or they'll kill the both of us," she whispered.
Okami's eyes widened just slightly and she made a small noise in the back of her throat, kind of like a gasp.
Meiji was sobbing now. "I'm sorry, Okami! I can't let you die, and the only way you even have a chance of surviving is by leaving. I'm sorry, so sorry…" Her voice trailed off.
The wolf-girl closed her eyes, shoulders sagging. Walking to stand next to her distressed adoptive mother, Okami wrapped her arms around Meiji's shaking form in a hug. Meiji hugged back, tears still running down her cheeks.
After the sun disappeared beneath the horizon, a group of villagers made their way to Meiji's house. Armed with pitchforks and torches, they walked grimly and with purpose. Once they reached the sliding door, the leader reached out and knocked. Meiji slid the door open, glaring at the assembled mob.
"She's gone. Been gone since mid-morning," she snapped harshly.
"Well, you won't mind if we search your house, will you?" the man who knocked asked smugly.
Meiji stood back, allowing three villagers to enter her house. As the three villagers searched the house from top to bottom, inside out, and anywhere in between, she and the mob-leader glared daggers at each other. Finally, the villagers came back out saying, "Nothing. The demon's gone."
The leader nodded, smirking. "Good to know you kept your word, Meiji."
"Which is something you could never do," Meiji responded coldly.
His face twisted into an ugly sneer, but he didn't do anything. Instead, he turned to the rest of the mob, shouting, "Let's go!"
The mob left, leaving Meiji alone in front of the house. Pausing in the doorway, Meiji lifted her hand and waved at something across the street. The thing in the woods on the other side of the street blinked once before it turned and made its way deeper into the trees, its white pelt shimmering in the moonlight.
Yay, another chapter done! I hope you guys enjoy it so far. Please leave me your thoughts in a review!
There's just one more chapter before the Akatsuki shows up. Actually, let me rephrase that. One more chapter before Sasori shows up. ^_^ And of course, Deidara will be with him.
R & R!
