Deep in the uncharted forests of the Rukongai, warm sunlight and gentle winds greeted the wild inhabitants that dwelled. Chirping from bugs and birds echoed throughout as they sang their screeching songs, and all manner of small critters skittered across the grass.

The entire forest seemed alive with movement. Even the tree branches that towered above swung whichever way the winds blew.

Except for one giant wolf that remained crouched amidst bushes. Despite the wind wafting through its fur, and despite many insects exploring its giant frame, the furry beast never moved an inch. Wooden stems from the bushes poked and prodded the sinewy muscle beneath its fur, but still it never budged.

A fully grown deer appeared in front of the furry corpse, staring timidly. To the four-legged antelope, it wasn't anything like the smaller canine carnivores that usually hunted deer kind, and yet, it still looked very similar. The giant wolf seemed as lifeless as the branches and twigs that wrapped around it.

The deer slowly stepped closer, its ears fully erect for any sign of danger. It stuck out its neck, sniffing the macabre display carefully.

In a matter of milliseconds, the giant wolf breathed and twitched its snout. Before the deer realized its grave mistake, it was immediately tackled. The deer never had the chance to treasure its memories of finding a partner and raising a calf together. Sharp fangs ensnared its neck and closed shut.

For Sajin, it's been one week ever since Kaname followed him around. No amount of baring his fangs or raising his rumbling voice dissuaded the blind child. For all intents and purposes, Sajin was now a father.

His mind raced with worries, fearful of what the future had in store for both of them. One thing was abundantly clear: Kaname wasn't a wolf. He didn't have the same tolerances for food, nor could he endure the outside elements nowhere near as well. Caring for Kaname wouldn't be the same as caring for a pup.

Sajin wondered if a savage beast such as himself could ever raise a human child. It seemed so implausible, so ridiculous, and yet…

Sajin let out a deep sigh, letting go of his disparaging thoughts. At the very least, neither of them would have to go hungry today, thanks to his hunting. Sajin glanced at the deer carcass slung over his left shoulder, trying his hardest to hold back the drool leaking from his muzzle.

Sajin hurried his way throughout the forest, until he reached a cave. The darkness from within flickered with light as Sajin walked inside, sniffing both the burnt smell of a fireplace, and the soothing scent that resonated from Kaname.

Earlier this morning, before he went hunting, Sajin told Kaname to stay in this cave and not leave until he came back with food. Sajin was immensely relieved Kaname listened.

"You're back!" Kaname stood and ran up to the giant wolf. His young face brimmed with excitement, until his nose twitched to a strong odor. "Is that… blood?"

"I caught a deer," Sajin rumbled.

"Oh…" Kaname's eagerness to hug the giant wolf was replaced by a sense of foreboding fear. He whimpered.

Sajin noticed Kaname's shivering, and was initially confused as to why the small child seemed afraid, until he realized it probably had something to do with the dead carcass he carried around nonchalantly. He had forgotten that the vast majority of human souls, barring the Shinigami, do not hunt nor eat animals, but instead relied on agriculture. The young child's incessant shivering and whimpering became somewhat understandable.

Sajin dropped the deer carcass near the crackling fireplace, but before he could do anything, Kaname came up beside him and glided a small hand across the deer's fur.

"Did it… suffer?"

"I killed it instantly."

"Poor thing…" Kaname whispered as he caressed the deer's fur. His lips couldn't stop trembling.

Sajin looked down at the young child curiously. "You feel sorry for it?"

Kaname pulled his hand away as fast as possible, nervously smiling. "No, no, I… Um… I—"

"No need to fret, Kaname." Sajin lowered himself and placed a single large paw on the deer, almost covering its entire stomach. A saddened look appeared on his muzzle. "I feel sorry for it as well."

Kaname stared at the furry paw that seemed to comfort the dead deer, unable to find any words.

Sajin continued in his rumbling voice and said, "It's normal to feel remorse and regret for the dead. Kaname… when you grow old and strong like me, you should fear what you're capable of."

Kaname reached for the deer's fur again, his hand dwarfed by Sajin's paw as they both paid respect for what would soon become their food. Kaname smiled with sorrow, finally understanding the lesson his giant wolf father tried instilling.

Sajin remembered the time he was taken to learn hunting as a pup, so long ago, that unforgettable moment he first saw death. He couldn't take his eyes off a fresh-caught boar firmly held in the jaws of three fully grown wolf-men, nor could he stop his heart from beating so fast as the tusked prey was ripped apart in a matter of seconds.

Sajin's trauma that day was constantly mocked. Many in his clan often joked, 'What kind of wolf fears hurting his prey?' Sajin couldn't blame them for ridiculing him. It was against a wolf's nature to think of prey as anything else other than food, but ever since that day, that was all Sajin could do.

The giant wolf huffed in exhaustion before moving closer to the deer carcass. He felt his stomach rumble and could've sworn he heard Kaname's as well. Time to eat.

Traditionally, Sajin would've torn into the deer carcass and shared with anyone else from his clan, if they helped him hunt. But Kaname wasn't a wolf. He was human, and humans can tolerate eating raw meat about as much as stuffing dirt into their mouths. They'd get sick unless the meat was properly cooked.

Sajin tore off a meaty chunk with his fangs and skinned it with his claws. He pierced the slab of meat with sticks of bamboo before placing it over the smoldering fireplace.

Sajin could have already feasted on the deer carcass, but he restrained his own instinctual urges, even trying his hardest to prevent himself from drooling at the thought of tearing into it. The idea of eating before Kaname truly disgusted him.

"How long will it take?" Kaname asked as he tugged on Sajin's fur.

"A few hours at least."

Sajin sat down with Kaname as the crackling flame casted a shadow of his giant frame on the cave walls behind him, one that completely dwarfed Kaname's shadow. Blood that dripped from the slab of meat sizzled in the fire.

"Is it done yet?" Kaname asked, tugging on Sajin's fur again.

"It's been only five minutes."

"But I wanna see what raw meat tastes like."

Sajin widened his eyes at Kaname. "No you will not. I won't allow you a single morsel unless it's thoroughly cooked. End of discussion."

Kaname angrily trembled, balling his fists. He climbed up Sajin's giant frame and pulled on his whiskers. "I want it now!"

"KANAME!"

Sajin's burly arms confined the young boy close to his fluffy chest. Kaname was trapped in his strong hold with barely any space to move. The two sat there in front of the crackling fireplace as Sajin grumbled.

"Is this supposed to be my punishment?" Kaname snuggled in comfort as fur blanketed him, smiling all the same. "This is a good punishment."

Sajin let out a deep sigh as he studied his twisted and malformed whiskers. They represented what Kaname was capable of, and it inspired a growing sense of fear.

As clouds of numerous shapes and sizes filled the sky, and as the wind blew strong, both Sajin and Kaname sat on the banks of a river. It ran a straight path throughout the forest, and along the way, fish hurriedly swam and surfed along the water's edge. The river's smell overwhelmed Sajin's snout, and the relaxing sound of water splashing against rocks drowned out most of the chattering of the forest.

Moments like these made Sajin wish Kaname wasn't blind. He wished Kaname could fully appreciate how the world, in all its merciless cruelty, can still take one's breath away and capture their heart.

However, Sajin didn't come here for the beautiful scenery, but rather for thirst. Because Kaname was human, he couldn't drink straight from the river like Sajin and other wolf-men could. His water had to be purified first, or he'd get sick.

Which was why Sajin built a fireplace and hung a container made of soft skin from the deer he hunted a few days ago. Boiling water was one of the few methods humans used to rid it of germs and bacteria harmful for them.

The importance of fire to human survival wasn't lost on Sajin. They relied on it for cooking, drinking, and warming themselves due to their lack of fur. It wasn't an understatement to say their day-to-day survival depended on crackling flame, and it intrigued Sajin to no end, given that his clan rarely used fire. A wolf-man could live his entire life without ever needing it.

Large clouds of steam arose from the deer-skinned container as the water from within bubbled, telling Sajin it was ready. After a few good minutes cooling away from the fire, he served it to Kaname, who seemed so eager to drink, Sajin had to warn him to be careful or else he'd burn himself.

Sajin went over to the river's edge, lowered himself, and lapped from the cold water. He closed his eyes as he enjoyed the soothing sensation of quenching his thirst. But his trance was soon disrupted by a splashing sound he heard right beside him.

Sajin turned to the noise, and almost suffered a heart attack. He found Kaname lapping up the river's water like a wolf-man. Like Sajin.

"KANAME!" Sajin roared. "Where's the water I gave you!?"

"I liked it, but I wanted to drink like Koma-Koma," Kaname said, smiling. He went back to lapping the river's water without a care in the world.

Sajin slumped his shoulders and allowed himself a deep, heavy sigh. Never before had he felt so defeated.

"Can I help?"

"No. Stay away, Kaname."

"But—"

"I said no!" Sajin bared his sharp fangs and growled. "You're not strong enough."

Kaname lowered his head, so hurt by such a blunt statement, he couldn't stop whimpering. He walked away quietly, sulking as he went, before finding a relatively comfortable rock to sit on.

Sajin wasn't proud of being so harsh, but his assertiveness was for good reason.

Sajin was busy hefting an entire tree, so massive in its size, it soared high into the skies. He bearhugged the base of the trunk as the rest of it swayed in the wind, straining his muscles further.

Sajin was gathering wood to build a shelter for Kaname. Because he was human, residing in caves never provided enough protection, and due to his lack of fur, sleeping amidst the elements was suicide. For humans, having a roof over their heads often proved more important than whether or not they'd starve. Sajin learnt this the hard way on many occasions, when Kaname suffered countless fevers and uncontrollable fits of coughing.

Sajin slowly lowered the tree, until it laid flat near the spot he wanted to build. He stomped to another tree, huffing and heaving as he went, before bearhugging its thick trunk. With a loud roar that frightened Kaname, Sajin uprooted the entire tree and carried it to the same spot.

His exhausting work resembled the kind of labor most wolf-men were expected to endure. Kaname didn't have any hope in helping, no matter how much he could've grown and matured. The strength both Sajin and his clan of wolf-men possessed was in another realm compared to humans.

After lowering the second tree next to the first, Sajin began building. It was a long and exhausting endeavor, filled with breaking the two trees into smaller pieces, and the trial-and-error process of arranging every piece correctly. Both his body and mind were sapped of strength as the hours went by.

When the sun sunk beneath the horizon, and the skies were colored a shade of dark purple, almost on the cusp of darkness, Sajin finally finished.

It was fairly small, not even large enough to fit Sajin's giant frame, but its thick walls insulated against the cold and provided an abundance of warmth. Kaname seemed overjoyed by the opportunity to sleep in-doors, excitedly jumping up and down as the young child usually did, which never failed in fostering happiness in Sajin's heart.

Too tired to even speak, Sajin lowered himself down to the bare dirt in front of Kaname's new home, and tried sleeping. Every muscle racked with such immense exhaustion, he could barely budge. It felt like a mountain bore down upon him.

Sajin closed his eyes and began succumbing to the comfort of sleep, until Kaname leapt on top of him without warning. Sajin gasped from pure shock as the young child snuggled in his fur.

"Kaname…" Sajin whispered quietly as he growled, trying to restrain his rage. "Why aren't you sleeping in the home I built you?"

"It's warm and super comfortable, I love it so much! But…" Kaname rubbed his head on Sajin's fur, smiling blissfully. "I want to sleep with you, Komamura."

Sajin almost wanted to cry. An entire day's work, wasted just like that. But as Kaname snored and mumbled in his sleep, cuddling with all the fur beneath him, Sajin couldn't feel any semblance of sadness or disappointment.

Though Sajin was a fearless giant who often charged into danger, there remained one fear that constantly worried him: Could a wolf-man truly take care of a human child? It's a question Sajin grappled with for a long time, and it came to prominence when Kaname caught a severe cold.

But this cold wasn't like anything before. Kaname could barely breathe, each breath more desperate than the last, as his eyes that once gleamed with life dimmed.

The world around Sajin spun as despair swallowed him whole. He frantically tried mixing together medicinal herbs and roots his elders taught him in his youth, to chanting prayers of health to the animal gods his clan worshiped.

When Kaname's condition only worsened, Sajin hugged him close. The giant wolf couldn't stop trembling as he pleaded, even begged for any sort of relief to end the suffering Kaname endured.

Warm liquid trickled on Sajin's paws, confusing him greatly. He checked behind Kaname, and discovered his sharp claws stabbed deep into soft human skin, drawing out heaps of blood.

Sajin's heart sank as he stared at the limp corpse in his paws, unable to comprehend.

"KANAME!"

Sajin's eyes flung wide open from pure shock as his heart raced so fast, it felt like escaping. Instead of the grisly sight of death greeting him, he only saw the jagged roof of a cave above as he laid on his back. Kaname slept peacefully on his fluffy chest, and there wasn't a smidgen of blood to smell.

Nothing more than a nightmare, it seemed.

But that didn't stop Sajin's panicking, nor did it ease his overwhelming sense of dread. He still trembled uncontrollably as his heart pounded against his chest. He shook his furry head side-to-side with such desperation, trying to escape this horrifying feeling that consumed him whole. Sajin felt so small and weak, like the prey he hunted before devouring.

Sajin's vision blurred to the point everything he saw became a dizzying mess, and his chest continued pounding uncontrollably. His touch with the world around him faded away, until all that remained was the fear of death confronting him. He shut his eyes closed out of sheer terror.

But Sajin felt something radiating warmth, something as soft as human skin, something beating like the heart of a person—just like him. Despite being immersed in a world of darkness, Sajin soon felt relieved. Though unable to see, he sensed he wasn't alone. There was another soul who had fears, hopes, and dreams—whose beating heart Sajin could feel.

Sajin slowly opened his eyes, and saw Kaname lying down on top of his fluffy chest. The young child embraced him, trying his hardest to not cry.

"What happened, Komamura?" Kaname rubbed his head underneath Sajin's muzzle, visibly worried and concerned for the giant wolf. "Are you okay?"

Sajin thought back to the nightmare that mentally scarred him in ways no Hollow or murderous villager could ever accomplish, and remembered all the blood, suffering, and death that seemed so real in the grasp of his paws.

Sajin wrapped his large arms around Kaname and hugged him close to his fur. "I was scared, Kaname. So scared…" He whimpered, his feeble whine a far cry from the confidence his rumbling voice usually radiated. "I was so scared…"

Sajin had no illusions of how pathetic he appeared. Kaname often looked up to him as a fearless giant, and now all Sajin could do was desperately whimper and whine how scared he felt. His muzzle couldn't stop trembling as despair welled in his chest.

Kaname glided a small, comforting hand across Sajin's fur. "Don't be scared, Komamura…" Kaname smiled as tears streamed down his face, caressing his hands through the fluffy fur and petting it a few times. "Don't be scared."

Sajin half-expected to be ridiculed, even somewhat wanted to be told how pathetic he was. But he allowed himself to relax into the brushing motion of Kaname's hands wafting through his fur, and at last, the frenzied pounding of his heart finally calmed.

Sajin no longer felt as scared as he used to be.

For the young pups in the Komamura Wolf-Man Clan, fear was often taught to be thrown away like the useless bones of prey they hunted. Fear meant hesitation to kill prey, the only food source wolves relied on, and thereby threaten starvation. Fear meant hesitation in battling Hollows and possibly becoming prey themselves. Fear meant death.

Sajin was no different. He took to heart the lessons of discarding one's fear, even believed himself incapable of experiencing such a futile emotion.

But after that grisly nightmare, it became abundantly clear how wrong he was. Fear wasn't something to dominate nor hide, but rather an inseparable part of the Soul. Sajin realized he carried fear his entire life, back when he left his clan for a world he couldn't understand, and his recent nightmare of a bestial wolf-man like him failing to care for a human child.

So instead of running away from his fears, like Sajin was taught, he instead chose to embrace them.

When Sajin went hunting, he brought along Kaname to show him the methods he learnt as a pup, so long ago. Whenever they came across Hollows, Sajin encouraged Kaname to remain by his side, so as to teach him how to fight rather than hide. And when Sajin wanted to build any sort of shelter, he allowed Kaname to help.

Sajin learnt a valuable lesson: Treat Kaname more as his son rather than a burden to constantly worry over.

Though Kaname often scared off prey too easily during hunting, though Sajin had to focus more on protecting Kaname than fighting whenever they faced Hollows, and though Kaname only had the muscle to lift mere sticks, the young child still grew prouder of himself everyday despite his shortcomings.

Sajin liked to think that was a greater strength than lifting trees.