Author's Notes: This reprise from the intro song is from the English version.
Chapter 4: Fangs of the Heart
Chirin, come. Follow me.
The whole world I will let you see.
Seasons come, come and go:
Summer, spring, winter, fall.
Chirin followed the wolf on and on, the sun setting lower on the horizon. At last he froze when he heard a roar.
In front of them, a bear was rearing up on his hind legs and growling at the wolf. Chirin was filled with fear, but the wolf didn't hesitate; he charged forward and slid to a stop in front of the bear, growling viciously. But the bear didn't back down.
Chirin watched in amazement as the wolf leapt upon the bear's shoulders. The bear tried to swipe him off with one paw, then the other, but each time the wolf avoided his claws by leaping into the air. Then, coming down from the second leap, he slid down the bear's neck and over his head back onto the ground, leaving a scar along the bear's neck from his claws.
Angrier than ever, the bear roared down at the wolf and seemed prepared to charge him. But the wolf came first, leaping up into the air and striking the bear on the chin with his paws, doing a flip in the air to land on his feet in front of the bear. The bear fell over backward with a heavy thud.
When the bear sat up, groaning, his eyes widened in fear at seeing the wolf still in front of him, untouched and ready to fight. Gasping fearfully, the bear got up and fled.
With that, the wolf continued on his journey. Chirin, fearful and awed, followed behind him as the wolf headed down out of the mountains and onto the wide open plains.
Upon the plains, they came upon a herd of white-tailed deer, mostly of does with one lone buck, and the wolf began to stalk them. They noticed him and took flight. But the wolf pursued, and it seemed to Chirin that he ran as fast as they did, or even faster, if that was possible.
The wolf finally caught up to the last deer, but it was not a helpless doe; it was the mighty buck of the herd. With a snarl, the wolf leapt upon his back, and he and the deer fell to the ground. The buck had been pulled onto his back in the fall, and he flailed on the ground, struggling to get up and flee. But much to Chirin's horror, the wolf soon leapt up and snagged the buck's neck, pulling him to the ground and killing him quickly.
Chirin was frozen in terror, trembling from head to hoof. That . . . that was horrible! The poor buck . . .
The wolf stood over his kill and turned to Chirin. "Well, pipsqueak?" he said. "Now that you've seen what it's like to be a wolf, you know such a life isn't for you. Go back to your meadow where you belong and deal in the affairs of sheep!"
Go back to the meadow? That phrase alone was strong enough to pull Chirin out of his terror. "No!" he exclaimed, shaking his head and making his bell ring furiously. "I'm never going back to that stupid meadow in a million years! I'm going to keep following you until you agree to teach me how to be like a wolf! Wherever you go, I will follow you!"
The wolf seemed exasperated with him. After feeding, he huffed and turned away, heading back toward his mountain. "Wait!" Chirin yelled after him, following along as fast as he could. "Wait! Wait for me!"
As they went deeper into the mountains, the wolf started heading up a slope of loose boulders larger than his own head. His steps made not a sound on the stone as he picked is way up. Chirin, meanwhile, was using all his energy to jump from rock to rock like a mountain goat. But he happened to land on one rotten stone that broke under his hooves. He gasped as he fell over backward and tumbled back down the slope.
The wolf topped another ridge, coming over a sharp incline. Thinking he may have lost the annoying lamb, he looked back over his shoulder to spot him, only to see Chirin leaping over the ledge some distance behind him, breathing heavily in his effort to keep up. The wolf grunted and kept going.
Chirin finally padded up to where the wolf had just stood and stumbled, falling onto his stomach and hitting his chin on the rocky footing. But he wouldn't give up. He scrambled back up and cried, "Wait!" running after the wolf. "Wait!"
The wolf ignored him and started crossing the swift-flowing river that ran beside his mountain, leaping from rock to rock with startling agility.
Chirin reached the edge of the river and gasped at its ferocity. But he only hesitated a moment. If the wolf was going to cross the river, so was he!
Gathering his strength, Chirin leapt for the first rock. He didn't quite make it and nearly slipped into the raging waters, but he managed to clamber up. He gathered his bearings while he stood quivering with effort upon the rock and looked up at the wolf, who had already cleared the river and was heading up the slope onto another ledge looking over the river. He wasn't going to slow his pace or wait for one moment, even though Chirin was in danger of falling into the river and drowning! I really hate you, Chirin thought.
But much as he despised the wolf, he was going to get his service, no matter what it took! He gathered himself up again, preparing for the jump to the next stone. He leapt toward it, crying, "Wolf!"
But then he screamed as he realized he wasn't going to make it.
The next moment, he found himself submerged in water, thrown about with such violent force that he didn't know which way was up and which was down. Fighting with all his might, he surfaced at last. "Help!" he cried as the surging waters started pulling him down river into the whirlpools of the rapids. "Help!"
But despite all he could do, he couldn't keep the rapids from sucking him under again. And no help came.
The wolf stood on the ledge overlooking the river, observing the whole scene, unfeeling and uncaring. He watched as the lamb was sucked under and did not resurface. "As I thought," he said, "you are just a stupid lamb." He grunted and turned away. "So much for dinner."
Soon he was at his usual resting place and lying down to sleep for the night.
It was some time that evening when the wolf was woken from his sound sleep by a strange sound. He flicked his ear and opened his eyes just barely, for he swore he could hear that ever-constant, annoying bell.
Sure enough, the wolf raised his head to see Chirin padding up toward his rock with the last of his strength, breathing heavily and looking like a drowned rat. The wolf could hardly believe his eyes.
Chirin stopped and looked up. At seeing the wolf, whom he had sought ever since he dragged himself clear of the river, he smiled. "I'll follow wherever you go," he told the wolf. "You'll see. I'm never going to give up. I won't yield to a wolf!" His strength gave out on him, and he fell in a heap in front of the wolf's ledge, closing his eyes. But he kept talking, and the wolf, curious more than anything, sat up and peered down at him to hear him. "Because I don't care how long it takes me," Chirin explained, his voice sounding tired and raspy. "I'm going to become a wolf."
The wolf knew he would never get any sleep with the half-dead lamb lying in front of him. He got up and walked away.
And Chirin did not give up. The next morning he was up and after the wolf as before. He followed the wolf, though it meant day after day of constant travel.
On their way, Chirin spotted the signs of late fall and the coming of winter: the blackberries overly ripe and dropping, the last leaves of the trees falling.
Sometimes he saw things that reminded him of his home. Once, while passing through a gorge, he noticed a gray mother rabbit asleep with two little ones nestled against her. She even looked up and gazed at him when she saw him staring. Another time he saw a squirrel in a tree, one sleeping cub lying at her paws and another curled up in her tail. Both did not fail to remind him of the way he used to snuggle against his mother, back when his world was safe, warm, fun, and full of sunshine.
But he went on, through the forest, through the meadows, over mountains, and across the yellow plains. Wherever the wolf ranged, he was there.
One day, while he was passing through a gorge after the wolf, feeling tired and hungry as usual, he noticed a frantic chirping sound. He looked up. A blue mother bird was hovering in front of her nest, which was built in a nook in the rock wall of the canyon. A dark blue snake, hanging down from a dead root sticking out of the rock, was looking right at her, obviously interested in her nest.
Chirin gasped. The mother bird was defending her children against an enemy she could not possibly overcome.
Right before his eyes, the fanged snake struck, grabbing the bird in his mouth and shaking. In an instant, she was dead, and the snake dropped her on the ground.
Chirin stared down at the dead body in shock and then looked up at the snake and growled. That monster!
Looking satisfied, the snake then peered at the eggs, which the mother bird had died trying to defend.
Seeing that, something in Chirin burst forth, a rage that he could not comprehend or control. "No!" he cried, charging forward. "Back off! Stop!" He leapt up onto the ledge and stood between the nest and the snake, pawing at the snake with his hoof. "Stop!" he cried angrily. "No!"
The snake kept trying to go around him or even get a bite at him, its mouth open and fangs gleaming, but it kept having to avoid Chirin's flailing hoof.
Chirin could hardly stand a creature who would hurt such defenseless animals! And the snake wasn't backing down! With another wave of fury, he sprang at the snake, all hooves flailing, and grabbed the snake's body in his mouth. The two dropped to the ground, where Chirin pinned the snake and shook his head savagely, the snake's body still clutched in his teeth. He didn't do any real damage, but it hurt enough that as soon as Chirin let go to pant and catch his breath, the snake slithered away, sounding wounded.
Chirin stared after the snake in rage, his breath heavy, but he couldn't help feeling accomplished; he had made the snake back off.
But then he glanced over at the mother bird and saw the nest lying beside her, leaning up against the rock face. It had been knocked off the ledge by Chirin's flailing hooves. All three eggs had spilled out and broken on the ground.
"Oh!" Chirin gasped, his breath shaky. He approached them in horror and disbelief, and when he saw the full extent of the damage, he started to tremble, feeling sobs rising in his throat. "I broke them!" he cried. "All of them! I smashed her eggs!"
He couldn't hold in the tears anymore. He had been trying to save them and instead had ended up killing them! He sat down on his haunches, tears falling from his eyes. "Oh, why?" he sobbed. "Why? Why did it happen? Why?"
Little did he know that the wolf, who was but five yards ahead, had stopped and looked back at the scene when he heard the fight between Chirin and the snake. His eyes bore upon the little lamb as he cried for the eggs he tried to save. "Why do the weak have to die?" Chirin cried. "It isn't fair!" He sank down on the ground in front of the eggs, sobbing over them.
For the first time in days, the wolf spoke to him. "In order for some to live," he said, "others must die. That is the Law of Nature. Do you understand it, Chirin?"
Chirin shook his head in answer. "It's not fair," he repeated.
"From the moment of birth," the wolf continued, "life is one endless struggle, and only the strong can survive. In this world, only battles decide if you live or die."
Chirin, still sniffling, answered in despair. "But then what can I do? I don't have fangs like a wolf or sharp talons, so how can I even fight? I can't defend myself. I can't do anything to protect myself! Not a thing!"
"Then why do you want to become a wolf?" the wolf asked.
"Because I'm full of resentment," Chirin answered, sniffling some more. He pushed himself up on his front hooves, still gasping on his sobs. "I couldn't stand it! They all just sat there in the pasture, too scared to go past the fence, too scared to do anything! I don't want to spend my whole life in a cramped shed or on a meadow, always afraid to leave them. I don't want to be killed just for nothing! I want to be strong! But . . . but . . ." In renewed despair, more sobs came, and Chirin did not try to stop them.
"Good," the wolf said. "Cry. Cry as much as you wish. Cry and let the anger out. It is the only way. Someday that resentment will become your fangs."
At that, Chirin froze and stopped his crying. "What's that?" he asked. "Grow fangs? My fangs?" For him, the news sounded like hope.
"Yes, Chirin," the wolf answered, calling him by his name for the first time. "Life deals out few things besides pain. Over the course of your life, you will be burdened by grief and despair." His eyes narrowed. "But from that pain you'll grow sharp, strong fangs, though they may not be the kind you can see. By overcoming your grief, you will sharpen the fangs of your heart."
Chirin got to his feet, his sorrow and despair not forgotten but overcome with determination. "Fangs of my heart?" he repeated. "Then I'll become strong? Just like you, wolf?"
The wolf gazed at him in silent answer.
"Then I can do it!" Chirin exclaimed. "Wow!" He furrowed his brow, a new strength flooding through him. "If I grow fangs, nothing can keep me from becoming as strong as you are!"
"Then you may follow me," the wolf answered. "I will teach you and show you how to live the life of a wolf."
Chirin nodded and ran up to the wolf, more excited and filled with hope than he had been since his mother died.
"But it won't be easy, pipsqueak," the wolf warned. "Do you understand, Chirin? The world I live in is a hell where death follows you in your footsteps. You'll need stamina, determination, and the will to survive. Are you ready for such a life?"
Chirin didn't care the condition. "I don't care how much it takes," he answered. "It doesn't matter anymore whether I have to live in Hell. My life means nothing to me now. This is what I want to do. I know I can! You'll see! I'll become stronger than a wolf! Wolf, someday I will become even stronger than you and defeat you! Then I will have my revenge on you! Someday, I kill you!"
The wolf nodded but said nothing.
"I will," Chirin insisted. "Someday, I will kill you!"
His words echoed throughout the mountains.