Chapter 8: Welcome Back to the Real World
The next morning, Sōhei had made him and Izumi some breakfast for the start of their day. It was still the weekend, and there was no school, but Sōhei thought it was long overdue for a time he took his daughter with him to work. Yuki was still in bed as she had some rough dreams last night that left her mostly sleepless. As Sōhei was cleaning up, a knock on the door was heard. He went over to answer it, and upon opening the door, he saw Ame; only this time, he was already in human form even though he didn't need to be.
"This is unexpected of you," Sōhei confusingly greeted him. "If you've arrived here like this, there must be some reason."
"Well, you could say that." Ame responded nervously. "I just had an unusual request for me personally."
"For you?" asked Sōhei. "I didn't think you'd be needing us. What exactly is it that you need?"
"You're going into the city today, aren't you?" Ame answered. "If possible, I'd like to accompany you there."
Sōhei looked even more confused as his brother-in-law was saying something he'd never expected him to say. At the same time, he didn't want to potentially cause any more issues, so he thought it best to try and work that out.
"I was going to go there to fulfill some work requests," he said to him. "Izumi was going to accompany me, though; it'd be a tight ride in the truck."
"That doesn't matter," Ame responded. "I really feel like I need to conquer my introversion now."
"You're the guardian of the mountain," Sōhei reminded him. "Why would you go far away from what you've sworn to protect?"
"It'll only be for today," Ame said. "The animals will all be fine for the time being."
Sōhei didn't know what he was getting at, but he felt like he had to do this or else he'd just create a rift between the two, and considering the family's history, he didn't want anything like that to happen again. Izumi also didn't understand her uncle's request, but she felt like there was nothing she could say about it. Once everything got cleaned up, Sōhei gathered everything up for the ride. Just before heading out the door, however, Yuki came into the living room, having just gotten out of bed.
"What's going on?" she asked. "I thought I heard talking."
Sōhei said he was just heading out now, but then Yuki spotted Ame next to him and began to question why.
"What are you doing here, bro?" she asked him.
Ame decided to just straight up tell the truth since he felt there was no way to twist it: "I was going to go with him."
Yuki was told about the whole plan, and she acted the same way Sōhei did when he was told, but this time in a more annoyed fashion.
"Whatever happened to leaving the human world behind?" she asked him.
"Yuki, I thought we both learned by now," Ame sternly replied. "We shouldn't tell each other how to live."
Yuki remained silent, though with a scowl on her face. She then watched as the group of three headed outside and got into the truck to drive out into the city. She wasn't sure why her brother wanted to actually face people again, but then she also realized it's not that different from her own personal experiences from the past few years. Was this some weird twist of fate, or was it just a fluke? She knew that this was something she could only wait to find out.
##
On the drive to the city, Ame questioned Sōhei about Yuki and why she acted the way she did just before they left. Sōhei said that Yuki just had a sleepless night and was just most likely ornery from it. He didn't want to mention the main reason was most likely because she wanted Izumi to resume her lessons on hunting since Izumi was currently with them, even though he didn't know she already knew about that. Sōhei then asked Ame what exactly he was planning to do, and he twisted the truth by saying he was just going to try and mingle with crowds to see how he could handle it. Once they arrived within the city, Sōhei parked the truck near a square. He then withdrew some money for Ame to use since he figured he'd probably need it for whatever he had planned.
"Not sure what you plan to do here, but I hope for your sake it doesn't worsen your introversion any further than it already is," Sōhei told Ame as he handed him the money.
"I'm nervous, that's for certain," Ame said back. "The kids back in school always made fun of me. I don't know what exactly they were getting at then, but maybe since I'll be around more mature people they won't do so."
"I honestly don't understand why they would bully you in the first place either," replied Sōhei. "People shouldn't have a problem with someone as cute as you."
Ame stared at him in annoyed confusion, "Did...did you just call me 'cute'?"
"What's wrong with that?" asked Sōhei. "I was referring to how they might react."
Ame hastily explained, "I mean, it was kind of funny when Izumi called me cute when she first saw my wolf form because she was told wearing a cape as a wolf made you that, but she was only four at the time. She now knows I'm someone that would be considered more cool than cute."
"Relax, I was just thinking of possible compliments people might give," Sōhei responded.
"And that was the first one you came up with?" Ame annoyingly asked.
Sōhei couldn't think of anything to counter that, and Ame then decided to head out to his objective, promising to meet back when it was time.
"Wait!" Sōhei called out, as he finally thought of something to say.
Ame turned back around toward him as he said that.
"Can you at least admit that you were cute as a pup?" asked Sōhei.
Ame simply scoffed in continued annoyance as he continued on his way. Sōhei then asked Izumi to follow him.
Once he got deeper into the city, Ame continued to remain silent around the other people. It felt weird trying to act as much like a regular person around them. For the first time in a decade he was even wearing shoes, ones he borrowed from Sōhei, and that was enough to be irregular to him. He knew, however, that if he wanted to succeed at what he came here for, he had to try and blend in as much as possible. That mission involved trying to find the woman that he had saved yesterday, as he now couldn't get her image out of his head. As soon as he found an empty alley, he went in there and hid his face against the wall as he switched his face to his wolf one. Since the woman's scent was still in his memory, he could try and detect if it was anywhere. He soon caught a whiff of it and focused on where it was leading to. Coming back out of the alley with his face human again, he followed where the scent was going. At some points he had to repeat the process to find where it was again. Soon enough, he was able to follow it into a small square with an outdoor cafe, and right there, he spotted the familiar woman wearing the same black overcoat. She was sitting at a table alone, reading a book while sipping matcha. Ame knew now this was the perfect opportunity to connect with her, so he used the money he had to purchase himself some of the same beverage and sat down across from her at the same table. The woman immediately took notice.
"You just randomly sit where others are, don't you?" She asked Ame as she turned her eyes from her book.
"Sorry, miss," Ame nervously said as he continued sipping his own matcha. "I couldn't help but take interest in what you were reading."
The woman was still suspicious of him but decided to just mention it, "It's just a travel diary I picked up recently, one where the author writes about the various countrysides throughout Europe."
Ame decided to continue talking about it, "That interests you?"
The woman was now confused why the man in front of her was taking an interest in her, but he seemed harmless, not to mention familiar for some weird reason. She then responded, "Mostly, I kind of have an interest in being a travel writer myself. Is it the same with you?"
Ame didn't know what to say to that, so he just remained silent while twiddling his thumbs around his cup of matcha. The woman just found this funny.
"You don't get out much, do you?" She chuckled.
"Honestly, no," Ame embarrassingly replied.
"Well, you most likely came to the right person to help you with that," the woman said back. "The name is Satsu."
Ame slightly smiled as his action led him to this, then he told Satsu his name, "I was named that because I was born on a rainy spring day, so I was told."
"Well, my parents named me this just because they liked the name," Satsu replied.
"Didn't realize that was a thing, considering my sister Yuki was named that because she was born on a snowy day," Ame added. "I guess my parents were just those kinds of people."
Satsu remained silent at that statement. Ame then took notice of the camera case that was by her chair.
"You're a photographer?" Ame asked. "My brother-in-law is one."
"It's just a hobby for me," answered Satsu. "Mostly I just like taking scenic nature photos."
Ame felt more at ease since she didn't seem to be a tabloid photographer like he was warned about. He then started to talk more about the travel diary Satsu was reading; Satsu mentioned that reading those books made her interested in possibly going out and seeing the world for herself. She showed Ame the book in more detail, and he saw the various locations that were described. Ame started to realize there was more to the world than what he knew and began to be more interested in it. They continued talking about this topic until they both finished their matcha.
"Well, I better get going," Satsu remarked. "Still have to get some groceries."
"Will you still be here in the next coming days?" asked Ame.
"This is a spot I usually hang out at," answered Satsu. "You seem to live outside the city, but I think you'll know to find me here."
"I'll try to remember." Ame promised. The two then left in different directions.
Ame made his way toward a street he knew about because he saw it on an address written down back at the farm. He soon found the address and went to the residence within. He knocked on the door, hoping the right person would answer, and sure enough, he saw the person he was looking for: his mother. Hana excitedly greeted her son with open arms as Ame did the same. Ame apologized for taking this long to come and visit, while Hana simply just commended him for finally getting the courage to. As he came into her place and sat down, the two started to have a chat. Ame mentioned that he had grown concerned over Hana's condition due to what he's heard from Yuki. Hana said she's still trying to fight it as best as she can and told her son not to worry. Ame didn't want to bring up the real reason he came to the city because he didn't want anyone to find out, but talking face-to-face with his mother after all this time made the trip all the more worthwhile. He soon noticed the time and realized he had to meet Sōhei back where he parked the truck so that he could head back with them. He gave his mother another hug before departing and made his way back to where Sōhei and Izumi were waiting for him. When Sōhei asked what he did, Ame didn't mention Satsu at all, but he did say he talked to his mother. Sōhei knew that at least Yuki would be glad to hear that as the three of them piled into the truck to head home.
A week later, Ame decided to make a venture back into the city. He told Sōhei that he wanted to continue to make progress in conquering his introversion since the first time worked well for him. The truth, of course, was that he wanted to meet up with Satsu again. Now that he knew where to find her, he no longer had to worry about secretly using his wolf senses to track her down. He found her at the cafe again, and the two had more chats involving Satsu's interest in world travel while enjoying some matcha. Ame told her more about his family, though making sure to omit anything that would allude to their secret life. He also asked Satsu where to find the travel diary she was reading, and she led him to a bookstore that had it where he would purchase his own copy using the money Sōhei gave him. Once they both decided to call it for today, Ame asked Satsu for her number so that he could be in contact with her. Satsu gave it to him, but when she also asked for his, Ame said it's best if he only called her because secretly he didn't want Yuki or Sōhei to receive calls on their home phone from her and find out. As the days went on, Ame and Satsu would have chats through the phone. Ame only would use the phone while no one was at the property to not cause any suspicion. The phone calls helped them keep in touch better since Ame knew going to the city too much would probably be too much of a burden on Sōhei. Whenever it seemed like an appropriate time for them to meet, however, he managed to get his way. This secret romance continued as the weeks turned into months.
##
It had now been three years since Ame first met Satsu, and during that time, his family was still ignorant of the truth of what he had been doing. Izumi, meanwhile, was now in sixth grade and was excited about coming to the end of elementary school. During the latter half of her time there, she had picked up a talent for playing the piano that had impressed her music teacher. Her circle of friends would talk about what it would be like once they went into junior high school since they'd learned they would have to live apart from their family; while they felt excited, Izumi was nervous about having to leave home. Hareta assured her that family will always be there whenever she needs it, but that wasn't what Izumi was particularly worried about. Back at home, Izumi was still committed to improving herself as a wolf; however, she was really now beginning to feel irritated at her father's restriction considering her age. She also didn't understand why she was still a juvenile wolf when she was now at the age her uncle became an adult. She remembered that he said it was because he was at the point he didn't need parental guidance anymore, but Izumi also didn't just want to up and leave her family like he did. Yuki also continued to feel in a moody state. Aside from her growing concerns about her mother and the dreams she's been having, a major part of her feeling was due to the fact that Ame had been shirking in providing food for the family, which they didn't know was because his interests were taking a different turn. Yuki hoped that at some point Sōhei would be fine with letting Izumi train with her uncle again so she could learn how to hunt bigger game, yet Ame didn't seem to be interested, and Sōhei was still talking about the rumors and how big they have gotten. Both Yuki and Izumi knew that they didn't want to try and push anything onto the other two, but it was getting really hard to hold their frustrations in.
One afternoon, Sōhei returned home from work. He saw Izumi in wolf form lying down next to the front step, looking rather down. He decided to go up to his daughter and try to comfort her.
"Hey, beautiful," he said to her, hoping that telling her what he still thought of her wolf form would cheer her up. "What's the matter?"
Izumi looked up at him. "Not much; it's just that I ended up letting a rabbit get away from me," she said, not wanting to tell him her real feelings.
"Well, just be glad rabbit wasn't even on the menu tonight," Sōhei jokingly told her. This made Izumi chuckle a bit. Izumi then changed back into a human and went inside with him.
Yuki came out to the living room to greet them; Izumi then came up to her.
"Are you feeling alright, Izi?" She asked her daughter.
"Dad made me feel a little better," answered Izumi. "Still nervous about leaving home after graduating elementary school, though."
"Well, don't worry about that, my precious pup." Yuki assured her while hugging. "We'll always be here for you."
Izumi, feeling a bit better, went to her room just to relax a bit more. Yuki then turned her attention back to her husband.
"Isn't she getting a bit too old to be called that?" Sōhei asked his wife.
"My mom was still calling me that even when I was in senior high school," Yuki replied. "I've always found that term endearing no matter how old I've gotten. Of course, I don't think Ame would be the same."
"I understand what you mean," Sōhei remarked. "When I first took him to the city, I said people might find him cute, and he acted all weird about that."
Yuki then wanted to mention something now that her brother has been brought up: "Speaking of him, don't you think him going into the city all this time is the reason he's been bringing less food now? There has to be a reason for all of this."
"I don't think that's really an issue," Sōhei stated. "We have plenty of money now that we don't always need his charity."
"What are you saying?" Yuki responded irritatingly, "Mom always welcomed whatever he brought; it showed that he still cared for us."
"I know he still cares; he talks about you and Izi all the time when I drive him," Sōhei mentioned.
Yuki then thought about how to counter that: "Still, I like being able to have some pheasant or deer on the table. If only you'd now let me and Izumi go back into the mountains; I could have her learn how to hunt those."
"Do you really think it's best for her to learn that now?" questioned Sōhei. "You didn't want Izi to end up like your brother, and even though she's still going to school, unlike him, that could change things dramatically."
"Oh, what do you know?" Yuki frustratingly replied. "You weren't here when he was going through that phase, and Izumi is doing nothing of that sort. Also, don't get me started about any more of those 'rumors' that you keep going on about; I'm never hearing about them."
"You hardly go out that much anymore," remarked Sōhei. "You really don't have knowledge of what the people are talking about. It's almost like you..."
Sōhei was suddenly cut off by the sound of the phone ringing. Yuki went to go answer it while Sōhei stayed in the living room. As he waited, he started thinking about what exactly was going on in the conversation he and Yuki were having. It almost seemed like she herself was just as eager to hunt like a wolf again, just like Izumi has been wanting to learn how to. He remembered Yuki had told him she missed doing that years ago, but he didn't really think that she was this serious about it. Suddenly, he heard Yuki rush back into the living room, acting in quite a panic.
"Go find Ame and drive him to the city immediately!" she hastily ordered.
"Wait, why?" Sōhei confusingly asked.
Yuki continued in a hurry while grabbing her shoes to head outside, "I don't have time to get him right now, but I need to get there fast, so I'll be taking the bus while you can follow behind. If I head out now, I won't miss the next one out."
Sōhei was still confused. "What's going on? What was on the phone that has got you in such a rush?"
Yuki grabbed him and pulled him close with tears in her eyes, "It's Mom!" she cried out. "SHE'S DYING!"