Once upon a time, there was a girl named Fuu who lived with her older sister Kuu. She was very sweet, kind and gentle to everyone. Her hair was like the midday sunshine and her eyes a lovely evergreen. Every expression on her face exuded such warmth and goodness so that none had the slightest wish to do her harm.
One day she received a red riding hood from Kuu. The rosey red hue made her eyes ever so dazzling, that no one could not help but notice them.
"Fuu-san," her sister said one day, "could you please take this over to obaasama's house?" she asked, lifting up a basket filled with freshly baked bread, goat's cheese and smoked ham. "I have to attend a meeting in church today, but I thought it would be nice if we could give her something from the harvest festival."
"Hai, Kuu-oneesama. We should visit her more often," Fuu remarked. "It's a wonder that she isn't lonely living by herself in the forest."
"Well obaasama likes it there. 'The village is too noisy,' she says.
"Oh, and on your way to her house, make sure you follow the path in the middle. There are a lot of animals around the other paths and not all of them are friendly."
"I'll be careful," she promised.
As she passed through the cobblestoned streets of their hamlet, friends and neighbors greeted the fair maiden cloaked in scarlet.
"Now there goes a pretty lass," remarked the baker as he kneaded dough.
"She'll make a fine bride some day," added the fishmonger.
"Though she does tend to let her mind wander a bit," the tanner said as he shook his head in time with everyone else's praises, as he noticed her chasing after one young man after another, nearly forgetting her errand for the day.
Upon reaching the entrance to the forest, Fuu continued along the central path until she came to a fork in the road.
"Oh dear, Kuu-oneesama told me to stay in the middle path, but which one is it?" she asked herself. She didn't recall ever seeing this before when she visited her grandmother.
"May I be of some assistance?" came a charmingly accented, though unfamiliar voice.
"I'm afraid I'm lost. There seem to be new paths here that I've never tread upon and I was on my way to my obaasama's cottage today."
"Oh is that all? I know these woods inside and out. The only cottage here is at the end of the path on the left."
"Thank you," Fuu voiced with all her heart as she went on her way to grandmother's house.
But unbeknownst to her, the helpful voice belonged to a wolf. A very hungry wolf, who had a taste for young girls. He had rearranged the paths for just such an opportunity as this.
"While she takes the scenic route, I'll be over to her grandmother's cottage in less than a minute," he chuckled.
Having finally reached the cottage after about half an hour of wandering and gathering flowers, she knocked quite authoritatively on the oak door and announced, "Obaasama, it's me, Fuu. I have some delicious food from the festival that oneesama asked me to bring you."
"Why, come in dearie," replied a slightly low voice.
"Is something the matter, obaasama?" she asked with more than a touch of concern for her grandmother's health. "It's not too drafty for you already, is it?"
"Not at all. Please come in, the door is unlatched."
Coming into the living room, Fuu noticed the tall graceful figure that came forward to greet her.
"Obaasama, what big eyes you have!" Fuu observed.
"The better to see you with, my dear," replied the wolf in she clothing.
"And what big ears you have," she continued.
"The better to hear you with," spoke the wolf in a lovely soprano, while he was feeling his stomach grumble for lunch.
"I never noticed that you had such a large nose," Fuu pointed out.
"What's wrong with my— I mean, the better to smell you with, of course," he smiled as he feasted on her delicate aroma, making his mouth water.
"What sharp teeth you have," noted Fuu as the wolf's fangs glistened with spittle in anticipation of his next meal.
"All the better to EAT YOU WITH!" the wolf announced, throwing off the dress he had used to disguise himself.
"Wait a minute," Fuu blurted out, stopping the wolf in his tracks. "You're not obaasama!" she concluded, pointing to the savage beast.
A slight tremor could be felt all the way back in the village after the wolf fell over backwards.
"As if it wasn't obvious," the wolf mumbled as he slapped himself on the head.
"Tasukete...Densetsu no Magi—heh," she corrected herself and blushed bright as a ripe tomato.
"HELP!" Fuu cried out as the wolf started chasing her around the house.
"Ha! There isn't anyone else around for miles, so just stop running," the wolf taunted.
"Why, so I don't waste my strength?" Fuu asked innocently enough.
"No, it's because sweat makes human flesh too salty and I have to watch my sodium intake" replied her pursuer.
"Oh, I wouldn't want to spoil your diet, ohkami-san," Fuu answered, as she halted her flight.
This is TOO easy, thought our lupine friend as he neared his prey.
"Hold it right there, you vicious forest creature, you!"
Fuu and the wolf turned around to see a green-haired young boy clad in woodsman's attire.
"Damn, there ALWAYS has to be a woodsman around when I'm trying to have lunch," ranted the wolf.
"How dare you try to sup on the tender flesh of a young girl!"
"Well it's not MY fault that they taste so good," the wolf shot back. "Too bad I can't say the same for you woodsmen. Your meat is too tough from all that tree-chopping work you do."
"You eat woodsmen too, ohkami-san?" asked our inquisitive young woman.
"Well, I'm not sure when my next meal will come and my mother always said not to waste food, so..."
"You know, for a wolf, you prattle too much," declared the young woodsman as he stabbed the wolf in the back straight into his heart.
"Didn't anyone ever tell you it's rude to interrupt people when they're talking?" Fuu asked him sternly.
"Hey look, I just saved you from being steak tartar for this furball over here."
"You sounded a lot more impressive before you killed him," Fuu pointed out.
"Most of these girl-eaters talk a lot. It's one of their weaknesses," he replied as he held a copy of Everything You Wanted to Know About Wolves—But Were Afraid of Being Eaten While Trying to Find Out Personally.
"Well I figured it out on my own," she let out. "Um," she began, slightly blushing, "thanks for saving me. Oh, where are my manners? My name is Fuu."
"Well I'm Ferio," he replied, left hand behind his head.
"Oh my gosh, I completely forgot about obaasama!" Fuu cried out as she brought hand over mouth.
"What about her?" wondered Ferio.
"She might still be in the wolf's stomach..."
"Naw, wolves don't like eating old ladies," Ferio reassured her.
"Owd raydi?!" came a muffled cry from the kitchen closet.
"That must be her in the closet."
As the two youngsters made their way over to free her, the cry turned into a piercing scream that negated whatever effectiveness the gag on her mouth ever had in silencing her.
"Young men today have no manners!" she ranted.
"Boy, your grandmother sure is a feisty one," Ferio remarked.
Opening the closet, Ferio was pleasantly surprised to see a shapely woman clad in lace-trimmed lingerie.
"This is your grandmother?" he asked Fuu in disbelief.
"Yes. She's still young-looking, isn't she?"
"I'll say. Are you free on Saturday night?" he asked while removing her bonds.
"Hey!"
"Oh shut up, myopic little grandchild. He obviously has good taste," her grandmother reprimanded her.
"And what might be the lady's name?" Ferio asked, kissing the back of both her hands in quick succession.
"Why didn't you talk to me like that?" complained Fuu, ever the hopeless romantic.
"Alcyone, my good sir," she replied with a kiss on his cheek.
"Woo-hoo! I got me a woman!"
"That's not fair! I'm the heroine in this story!" Fuu cried out.
"Don't worry, you're still young. I'm sure another handsome woodsman will come along to sweep you off your feet in no time," Alcyone half-heartedly tried to console her granddaughter before making out with Ferio in her bedroom.
"Great, now I'm stuck with a dead wolf," Fuu sighed as she distinctly heard moaning in the next room. She sat down beside the still warm flesh of her would-be devourer.
"I just had to have an obaasama who drank from the Fountain of Youth," she griped.
"Damn it, this isn't FAIR!" she cried, her tears running off her cheek and onto silver-white fur on the wolven form on the floor.
Suddenly the once-feral creature that lay dead beneath her overflowing emerald eyes sprang to life in the form of a handsome young man in shining armor.
"Wh-where am I?" he asked upon finding himself in unfamiliar surroundings.
"We're in my grandmother's cottage," Fuu replied, admiring the outstanding specimen of masculinity that now stood before her. "My name is Fuu."
"Such a lovely name, for a lovely young woman," he greeted her, gently kissing the back of her right hand. "I am Innova, a disgraced knight."
"Disgraced?" she echoed. "How so?"
"I failed to protect my Lord Zagato from an evil sorceress by the name of Emeraude and she cast a spell turning me into a wolf. And thus was I cursed with an appetite for comely lasses.
"She laughed as I stood helpless before her, saying that the only way I could become human again was if a beautiful young maiden—such as yourself—would shed tears over me."
"But I was crying because—"
"The reason matters not, only your tears, and for that I am eternally grateful."
"May I ask you a personal question?"
"I hold no secrets from she who has liberated me from the form of a beast. What do you wish to know?"
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
Overcoming his initial surprise, Innova calmly replied, "I had been far too devoted to my liege when I still served him to pursue the fairer sex. But that need not be so now," his gentle countenance smiled at her as he held her left hand in both of his own.
"Why, Sir Innova, does this mean you wish to have my hand..."
"Not just your hand," he whispered as he neared his lips to hers.
"You know, it's kind of hard to kiss with your nose in the way..." Fuu mentioned absent-mindedly.
"What's wrong with my nose?"
"Nothing!" Fuu sweatdropped and tried to calm him down. "Actually, it's a very pretty nose, now that I have a better look at it."
"Really?"
"Would these eyes lie?"
"No, but you might need glasses," he smiled as their lips touched and they closed their eyes.
The End
[ Back to Rayearth fics page ]