A friendly little reminder that thinking is in * *
Chapter 6: Sunrise*I can't hold it back much longer. This hunger is driving me insane. I need fresh meat and I need it now!*
Chichiri stopped when he saw Tasuki's broad shoulders tense. His lupine friend was obviously agitated by something, though he hoped it was nothing too serious. One brush with death today was more than enough for him.
"Tasuki-kun?" Chichiri prodded gently. "We should keep moving if we want to find a village to spend the day in no da."
"I can't go on, Chichiri," Tasuki answered in a low whisper. "I feel so weak. I need to eat something soon or else I'm gonna collapse. But the thing is that I don't want just any food. I need fresh prey."
The older seishi wasn't surprised at all by Tasuki's comment. Though his human mind was in control, he still had the body of a werewolf. Werewolves needed vast amounts of nutrients to maintain their inhuman strength and speed. Still, the thought of Tasuki craving fresh meat was a little worrying. Common sense told him to help his friend find prey unless he wanted tonight's dinner to be roast monk.
"All right, Tasuki-kun. We'll just have to find something for you to hunt no da…preferably something that isn't human no da."
Tasuki failed to see any humor in the older seishi's words as his entire body tensed. "I don't wanna hurt anyone."
"I know, I know no da. In a forest like this, I'm sure we could find something safe for you to eat no da. There are probably rabbits and birds and-"
"Deer!" Tasuki yelped.
"Yes, I suppose there are some deer around here no da."
"Iie. I mean I smell deer."
Tasuki's ears perked up as his sensitive nose scanned the surrounding trees. The scent of deer was strong and extremely tantalizing to his senses. His amber eyes began to shimmer faintly with a gold sheen. Chichiri saw this and caught his breath in his throat. Tasuki's animal instincts were clearly trying to break through his control. Something needed to be done.
"Let's find this deer no da. Your nose can detect it far better than my senses can, but stay close to me no da. I don't want you running off and possibly finding more people no da"
Tasuki whined in frustration at the thought of delaying his meal, but still agreed. The two seishi began to walk in the direction of the scent with Tasuki in the lead on all fours and Chichiri following closely behind. Every fiber in the werewolf's muscles twitched with anticipation and the need to run, but he stubbornly stayed at the same pace. *Chichiri's right. I can't run off on my own when I have this craving. If I lose myself to these instincts, I know I'll end up hurting someone. I just need to hold on a little longer.*
But the scent was too much for the werewolf. Tasuki's nostrils were filled with the delicious smell and it drove all other senses mad. Hunger broke through common sense and Tasuki sprang away at full speed.
"Tasuki! Matte!" Chichiri cried after him. "K'sou no da!"
The monk ran in the direction his companion had gone and was not surprised to hear a deafening roar that sent all birds within a five mile radius to the sky. When Chichiri legs felt like they were going to collapse under him, he finally reached his destination.
In crouching in front of him was Tasuki, buried up to his eyes in the gut of a doe. His flaming red muzzle was stained with dark blood and droplets of red dripped from the ends of his fur. Chichiri resisted the urge to retch when the lupine seishi raised its glowing gold eyes to him. The eyes widened before reverting back to amber.
"Chichiri?" Tasuki asked tentatively. "Daijoubu? You look horrible."
Tasuki was about to say more when he noticed the overwhelming scent of blood filled his nose. He looked down and saw the carcass before him along with the blood that coated his face.
"Kisama!" He cried and leapt away from his prey. "What have I done?"
He tried to run, but the sight of the dead deer rooted him to the spot. He craved that meat with his entire being. And yet he was revolted. But at the same time, he needed it. Chichiri could not miss the internal struggle of human morals versus animal instincts in his friend's eyes.
"Eat it no da."
"Nani?" Tasuki half-growled. "I can't eat that thing."
The monk sighed. "You need to eat it no da. Werewolves require a great deal of food to sustain themselves and you haven't eaten anything all night no da. For the sake of this mission, we can not let you collapse from hunger before we find what we are searching for no da. Eat."
The werewolf's eyes shifted from the monk to the deer. *It's disgusting, and yet so tempting. It didn't taste bad either. I can't believe I'm about to do this.* Tasuki shyly moved back to the carcass and let his animal needs win over his human mind. He ate like a ravenous…well…wolf. Meanwhile, Chichiri kept his back to Tasuki and tried to keep his stomach from emptying.
* * *
Sunrise was still an hour away by the time Tasuki and Chichiri arrived at the outskirts of a small city. Tasuki stiffened as his ears picked up the sounds of people going about their business at the early hours. Chichiri caught his lupine friend's nervous look and stopped.
"We should wait here until sunrise no da." His smile showed concern for the young bandit. "The villagers here probably would not know what to make of you no da."
Tasuki tried to chuckle, but it came out as a sharp whine. The werewolf cursed his canine vocal cords under his breath before speaking. "Yeah, those people would probably be shitting their pants if they got a look at me. After all, only I could make fur look so good and yet so deadly," He flashed Chichiri a toothy grin.
The monk was hardly convinced. "Tasuki, you have every right to be afraid no da."
Tasuki was taken aback. "Afraid? Who says I'm afraid? Why would you even think that I was afraid, Chichiri?"
Chichiri smiled and pointed to the bandit's tail. "Your tail is tucked between your legs no da. Wolves tend to do that when they are afraid no da."
"Oh. How'd that get there?"
"Tasuki-kun no da," Chichiri chuckled. "You are impossible sometimes no da."
The werewolf winked at the monk. "I wouldn't have it any other way. First thing I'm gonna do when I change back is hit the bar. After all this, I deserve to get drunk."
"The first thing we need to do is get you some clothes no da."
Tasuki looked at his body and realized for the first time that the only clothing he was wearing were his torn pants. He silently thanked Suzaku for the fur that hid his madly blushing face. Chichiri just stood there with an amused smile and shook his head.
"Chichiri, where are we anyway?"
The
monk stiffened when he recognized their surroundings. "This is Kaisha city,
near the border of Kutou no da. Though this city is in Konan, it is run by a Kutou lord no da.
Strange…I didn't think we had traveled so far east no da."
"Nani!?" Tasuki yelled. "We can't stop here!"
"We have no other choice no da. There aren't any other towns around for several miles no da. We'll just have to keep our heads low and hope that none of the soldiers here recognize us as Suzaku seishi no da."
"I guess you're right. Ne, Chichiri, is it just me or is the sky getting lighter?"
Chichiri looked to the east and was grateful to see the first few rays of morning's light poking over the horizon. Both he and Tasuki exchanged looks of pure relief.
"This night will finally end no da."
"Yeah, it's about damn time."
Chichiri stepped away from the werewolf and held him with a serious gaze. "Tasuki, transforming back to your human form may be just as painful as transforming into a werewolf was no da."
"I appreciate the warning, Chichiri, but, like you said earlier, I don't really have a choice in the matter."
"I'm just trying to prepare you no da."
"Arigatou."
The first moment the sun rose above the eastern horizon, Tasuki collapsed to the ground with a roar of pain. His fur slowly began to merge with his skin as his body shrank back to its normal size. His inhuman muscles died down to their original state. The claws on his hands reformed into regular finger nails and his tail curled back into his waist. The waist length hair shortened back to its regular length. Tasuki's roar of anguish melted into a scream as his face mutated from wolf to human.
Once the transformation was complete, Tasuki lay in a fetal position on the ground. His entire body was shaking and an occasional whimper escaped from his throat. Chichiri removed his kesa and gently wrapped it around the trembling red head. He then placed a reassuring hand on the young bandit's shoulder and squeezed lightly.
"You were very brave, Tasuki no da. I don't think I could have ever stood up to that much pain no da."
"It's like what I said before; I don't have much of a choice," Tasuki replied weakly. "I'm really tired, Chichiri. Can we head into the city and find an inn?"
"Of course no da. After last night, we both deserve some rest no da."
"Yeah," Tasuki mumbled as he opened his eyes sleepily. "Ne, Chichiri, aren't those our horses over there?"
Sure enough, two horses identical to the ones they had ridden earlier walked past with packs still strapped to their backs.
"Stay here Tasuki no da. I'll go and get them no da."
While Chichiri attempted to catch the horses, Tasuki ignored his protesting muscles and sat up. He ran a hand through his fiery hair, despite the fact that it felt like lead weights were attached to his wrist. His head was pounding inside his skull and any sudden movements made him extremely dizzy. Tasuki mused over the fact that this was probably the worst hangover he had ever he had and he wasn't even drinking.
Since the monk wasn't watching, Tasuki decided to make sure his body was totally human again. He shrugged off the kesa and revealed his very well-muscled bare chest. [1] He thoroughly inspected every inch of his arms and legs, making sure that there was no red fur anywhere. The bandit winced as his fingers traced over the deep scar on his shoulder. All that was left of his tail was a hole in his pants. The pants themselves were completely shredded up to his knees.
"Suzaku-sama, thanks for at least leaving me some decency," He grumbled.
During his inspection, Tasuki felt the oddest sensation, as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. It was then that Tasuki realized he wasn't craving flesh. His blood lust had faded with the rest of his werewolf instincts. For the first time in several hours, Tasuki felt that he was finally in full control of his mind and body. If his body was able to move properly at that time, Tasuki felt he could have jumped up and run from here, to Hokkan, and back; fueled only by his joy.
While Tasuki was inspecting his body, Chichiri walked back holding the reins of each horse. The monk couldn't help but chuckle as he watched Tasuki's self-check.
"Tasuki-kun, your change of clothes are still here along with your coat and tessen no da."
Tasuki dashed over and grabbed the coat, all the while praying to Suzaku that Chichiri wouldn't see the obvious hole in the back of his pants left by his tail. Meanwhile, Chichiri averted his eye from Tasuki while the bandit got dressed. He didn't want to embarrass Tasuki any more by mentioning the hole in the back of the bandit's pants.
Once Tasuki's body was again covered, the pair set off to find an inn. Chichiri had replaced his mask on his face so as not to draw any unnecessary attention to them. They stuck to back alleys in order to avoid any Kutou soldiers until they spotted a small inn near the center of town. While Chichiri talked to the owner, Tasuki proceeded up to their room. Coins exchanged hands and Chichiri head upstairs after his friend. When he reached the door, he was surprised to not hear any of the usual noises that Tasuki made from within the room.
"Tasuki?" Chichiri opened the door carefully and peered in. "Tasuki, I thought you were going to the tavern to get drunk no da."
The monk sweatdropped when he saw Tasuki. The younger seishi was sprawled out on one of the two beds, still fully dressed and snoring loud enough to drown out an earthquake. Chichiri groaned good-naturedly before pulling a sheet over his friend. Once he was sure Tasuki was comfortable enough, Chichiri crawled under the covers of the second bed.
"Sleep well, Tasuki. You're going to need all of your strength for when you transform again tonight no da."
With those words, Chichiri removed his mask and closed his eye. Soon, not even Tasuki's snores could keep the monk from falling asleep.
[1] Meanwhile, dozens of fanatic ladies including one in particular (*cough*cough* Avalon*cough*cough*) are drowning in lakes of their own drool.