Chapter 11: It Got Ugly
As soon as Ame made it back to the farm, he immediately went inside and saw that everyone was home. Sōhei was confused by how urgent he seemed to be acting, but Ame demanded to know if Yuki was alright. He was told that she simply had a rough day and was taking a rest. Sōhei didn't want to specifically mention the incident at the store since he was unsure how Ame would react to that, but Ame went directly to the master bedroom to check on his sister and saw Yuki resting on the bed.
"Sis, are you alright?" Ame asked her.
"Oh, hey bro," Yuki greeted him, reacting in the same confusion that Sōhei displayed. "It's nothing major; I'm just fatigued from today."
Ame still wasn't convinced, however, and thought it best to mention what he was feeling. "Somehow, I don't think that's the truth," he countered. "Call it instinct, but I feel that something is going wrong with you."
"I have no idea why you would be feeling that way," replied Yuki. "I honestly don't know why I'm feeling like I have been, either."
Ame didn't say anything back; even though he knew Yuki was hiding something from him, he knew there was no way he was going to get it out of her.
"I'd like some privacy, if you please," requested Yuki. "All I think I really need now is some rest."
Ame respected her wishes and let her be despite not getting the real answer he was seeking. As he exited the house, Sōhei came up to him.
"Does she seem alright to you?" he asked.
"I honestly can't tell at this point," Ame told his brother-in-law. "Despite this, I'd like you to please keep an eye on her. I don't know what exactly it is, but she's clearly going through something, and I'm afraid it could just lead to something bad."
Sōhei didn't know what Ame was getting at, but he thought the best idea was to just agree with that. Ame then turned back into a wolf and headed back to his own territory to continue his role as guardian as he should've been doing.
##
It was now the beginning of the last week of school for Izumi, and she was doing well with all her end-of-the-year tests. During recess on Monday, she went to practice her piano recital for the talent show at the graduation ceremony. She had decided to play a rendition of Ravel's Boléro before her entire class, and so she memorized the piece well enough to be able to play it perfectly. As she practiced, she was joined by her friends, who all commented on her playing.
"I must say, Izi, you've got it down pat," Mayu complimented her.
"Hopefully you won't have problems with it in front of an audience," worried Keiko.
"I don't think she really has anything to worry about," assured Hareta.
Izumi thanked them all, yet she also seemed to display a face of worry.
"You are afraid, aren't you?" asked Keiko, noticing Izumi's expression.
"No, it's not that," replied Izumi. "It has to do with something else."
"What's wrong, then?" questioned Hareta.
"It's just... just my mother; I've been worried about her lately," answered Izumi.
"Let me guess, empty nest syndrome?" Keiko suggested.
"Maybe," Izumi said after pausing for a while. She knew that the truth also had to do with how she was going to deal with living a double life while living far away from home, yet she still knew better than to say anything about that to her friends.
"Well, just know you'll be able to return home during school breaks and that you can always write to her," Mayu reassured.
"Not to mention, you'll always have us to look out for you," Hareta added.
Izumi thanked them all again; after that, they all continued on with the school day.
Upon arriving home later that day and putting away all of her school supplies, Izumi went back outside to help her mother with prepping the fields for the first crop of the season. Sōhei remained inside to prepare dinner. As Yuki and Izumi were busy tilling, Izumi kept an eye on her mother, knowing from intuition that she just hadn't been seeming like herself lately. At a certain moment, Yuki turned her full attention to her daughter and started a conversation.
"So Izi, you're finally ready to move on out in the next coming weeks?" She asked her daughter.
"I hope so; I've been doing all I can," Izumi replied. "I'm certainly going to miss home."
"I know how you feel," Yuki said back. "It was a little hard for me moving away from my mother, but I still wanted to be independent from her and stay close to my friends."
Izumi thought that statement was weird since her mom has never said anything about the friends she had back in school. She decided to bring hers up: "I also have mine to socialize with once I'm there; they said that they'll be there to support me."
"You're lucky to have them," Yuki stated.
"Of course, that's not what I'm worried about most," continued Izumi. "I still want to be able to have a double life as a wolf, but it'll be much harder to do so when I'll be living in a place where there's a lot of people."
Yuki then paused for some seconds as she remained in thought; then she finally responded, "Izi, you had signed up for that talent show your school's doing during graduation, right?"
"Yes, I planned to play the piano for everyone," Izumi mentioned.
Yuki stared at the house for a few seconds, then looked around for anyone in earshot, after which she continued, "It's not too late to choose to do something else, is it?"
"The choice of talent isn't really set in stone, just that I'll be performing," Izumi answered, not sure where her mother was going with this. "Why do you ask, Mom?"
"It's just that I have a better idea," Yuki answered back. "I've thought long and hard about what's best for us, and I think this is now the right opportunity. Instead of playing the piano at the talent show, what you should do is reveal your wolf form."
"Wait, WHAT!?" Izumi exclaimed before being silenced by her mother.
"Keep it down!" Yuki whispered before continuing her statement. "Your dad is still uptight about all of this, and I don't want him to hear any of it."
"Well, that's why I've wanted to avoid something like this, considering how worried he's always been," stated Izumi.
"That's the thing: he'll never stop worrying," rebutted Yuki. "We've kept this a secret for too long in my eyes, and I feel like we'll never be free if people don't eventually find out. I think that if we revealed it to the public before anyone else did, people would understand and accept us. After all, it was your grandfather who wished for people to treat Japanese wolves with kindness should they ever return. So Izi, do you think you can do this for the sake of all of us?"
Izumi once again found herself conflicted; she wanted to abide by both of her parents, who seemed to have opposite viewpoints on this. She had no idea how her father would react if she decided to go through with this, but she figured it wouldn't be positive no matter what the outcome. At the same time, she agreed with her mother's statement that it seemed time for the family secret to finally be revealed and that doing so would have her able to live a double life without worry. After thinking for a minute, she finally responded.
"Okay, Mom," she said to her. "This seems to be a real big deal to you, and I think this is something that I can manage to pull off."
Yuki smiled at her daughter and patted her head. "Thank you, my precious pup," she said back, "but make sure nobody knows about this, especially your father."
Izumi nodded in agreement despite her unsure thoughts about it; after that, the two of them got back to working on the fields.
##
The day before graduation soon came. While with her friends at school, Izumi didn't seem to comment much about her upcoming performance at the talent show like they thought she'd be talking about. Keiko dryly stated that it simply must be all about what was discussed days ago; Mayu and Hareta then told Izumi to just cheer up and push through it. Izumi nervously accepted their comments, even though her silence on the event was really due to a secret change in plans.
Once she arrived back home, Izumi continued through her day naturally. She continued to help out with tilling the fields and by evening had dinner with her family. She later got ready for bed, but she couldn't exactly fall asleep due to the nervousness of the big day tomorrow. While she was in bed, Yuki and Sōhei were cleaning up the kitchen and started a conversation.
"You think Izumi will do alright tomorrow?" questioned Sōhei.
Yuki casually responded knowing about her husband's ignorance of their plan: "Oh, I have no doubts about it."
"It's just that she hasn't been talking about it much lately," Sōhei remarked. "You'd think she'd be more excited."
"Why would she need to?" Yuki dryly replied. "Isn't she trying to be more independent?"
"Well, to me it's almost like she has gotten some other plan up her sleeve," Sōhei suggested.
Yuki remained silent without a reply, which she soon found to be a mistake.
"She doesn't have other plans, does she?" Sōhei added, now suspicious of his wife's silence.
Yuki continued to not say a word, hoping her husband would just drop it.
"Yuki, what's going on with our daughter?" Sōhei demanded to know.
After trembling for a while, Yuki finally spoke up: "Fine, you want to know? I told her that I think a better idea for all of us is if she would be the one to reveal our family secret to the public before any tabloid did; that way, people wouldn't paint us in a negative light."
Sōhei started to get agitated and responded to that as so: "Yuki! Have you learned nothing these past years?! Revealing the truth to the public can have no positive consequences! You will only cause all of us to be ostracized, and that's the complete opposite of what you have always wanted in life!"
Yuki heard all that her husband said and tried to hold in any agitation herself when suddenly, she slammed her fists on the table.
"DAMN IT, SŌHEI!" She suddenly snapped. "THIS HAS GOT TO STOP NOW!"
Sōhei recoiled in surprise at his wife's reaction. "Yuki, what are you..." he started to say back before getting cut off.
"NO! YOU NEED TO STOP ASSUMING YOU KNOW WHAT'S BEST FOR ALL OF US!" Yuki continued to shout, her body partially changing into a wolf as she did. "YOU ARE NOT A WOLF! YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE AN OPINION!"
"I may not be a wolf, but I know enough about you and your past!" Sōhei rebutted in frustration. "People will only be afraid of you, or worse, try to hunt you down!"
"IT'S BECAUSE OF YOUR STUPID RULES THAT IZUMI COULD NEVER REACH HER FULL POTENTIAL AS A WOLF EARLIER IN LIFE!" Yuki lashed out at him more, while her face changed even more wolf-like.
"You were afraid that she'd end up like Ame if she explored her wolf self to the fullest!" Sōhei angrily countered.
"SHE'S NEVER BEEN LIKE THAT, AND YET YOU STILL DON'T BELIEVE IN HER!" Yuki continued to shout out; she then landed on all fours as a full wolf. "IT'S BECAUSE OF THAT I HAD TO TRAIN HER MYSELF WHILE YOUR BACK WAS TURNED!"
"Yuki! Please!" Sōhei pleaded. "Don't be like this; not only do I not want to fight you, but I can't!"
"ARE YOU TOO AFRAID TO EVEN DO SO!?" shouted Yuki as she suddenly started to lunge at her own husband. "IF YOU REALLY ARE, THEN STOP HOLDING US BACK!"
Sōhei tried to back away from his wife's attacks but was suddenly scratched on his left forearm. He then started to shout himself: "YUKI! THERE'S NO NEED FOR ANY OF THIS! YOU ARE CLEARLY NOT YOURSELF!"
"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S CHANGED!" snarled Yuki. "ALL YOU'VE BEEN DOING IS SETTING A BAD EXAMPLE FOR YOUR DAUGHTER!"
"LISTEN TO WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, YUKI!" Sōhei screamed out. "YOU'RE THE ONE THAT'S SETTING A BAD EXAMPLE RIGHT NOW!"
"OH REALLY?!" Yuki barked back. "LIKE HOW IS SHE EVEN GOING TO KNOW ABOUT ALL OF THIS?!"
Right at that moment, Yuki turned her head towards the hallway entrance and saw Izumi standing right there, looking in fear. Yuki suddenly froze up, and her expression changed from snarling to frightened at the sight of her daughter witnessing everything; then she saw Izumi run directly back to her room. Yuki then looked back up with the same scared face towards Sōhei, who only had a look of disappointment on him. Sōhei then walked out of the kitchen and towards the bathroom while gripping his scratched arm. Yuki instead ran towards the front door and made her way outside; once she was, she just stood as she fearfully realized what she had just done. She felt tears running down the fur on her face and was completely speechless about everything.
Sōhei remained in the bathroom to take care of his injured arm. As he was treating it, he couldn't believe what had just happened. Not only did he manage to take his wife's anger to a maximum level, but their own daughter saw it happen before her. Izumi had never been afraid of her mother, but now for the first time in her life, she was. Sōhei knew he had to say something to her in order to make it so she wasn't anymore, so once he was finished taking care of his injury, he made his way to Izumi's bedroom door and lightly tapped on it.
"Izi, it's just me; can I come in?" He calmly called to her.
For a few seconds, Izumi didn't make a sound, but then she made a faint sound of agreement. Sōhei then gently opened the door and walked into the room. He saw Izumi sitting on her bed in the fetal position with a few tears running down her face.
"Izi, please don't be afraid of your mother," Sōhei spoke gently to her. "She still loves you all the same."
"What happened with her?" Izumi sobbed. "Why did she act that way?"
Sōhei sat down on the bed next to her and answered, "She just got angry; that happens to everybody. All families argue about certain things that happen between them, even the parents, but it can all be resolved."
Izumi continued to cry: "It's because of what she wants me to do, and the fact that I agreed with her despite your objections, isn't it?"
Sōhei silently sighed at her response, not knowing what really to say.
"Oh, Dad!" Izumi said, noticing her father's arm. "She really hurt you; how can you forgive her for that?!"
Sōhei smiled and replied: "Not the first time that's happened." He then showed his right ear to Izumi who noticed it was scarred with claw markings to her great surprise. "Your mother did this to me back when we first met in fourth grade," he described.
"What did you do to her to make her do that to you?" Izumi worriedly asked.
"I knew something was different about her, so I followed her around everywhere to try and figure out what it was, much to her annoyance," explained Sōhei. "I eventually cornered her, and she attacked me, just like any animal would do. I knew from that moment what she exactly was. When my mother found out what happened to me, she threatened to press charges, but I said it was only a wolf that did it and not your mom. What I said was only half true, yet because of that, I was able to protect her from anything that could've happened. Two years later, she opened up to me about what she really was and that it was her fault, but I told her then that I had known all along it was her and I wanted to help keep it a secret, all because I cared for her so much."
Izumi stared at her father as she heard his whole story. "How did they all believe you if you said it was a wolf?" she questioned. "They're extinct here, remember?"
"I guess I just lucked out with that; it was really a shot in the dark," Sōhei silently chuckled. He then switched back to his serious face and continued, "The point is, you shouldn't be afraid of what you are, but there will always be those that are quick to judge. Therefore, the fact that you're also a wolf is something that should only be revealed to people you trust with your life."
Izumi stayed silent for some seconds in thought, then she replied, "I won't reveal my wolf self at the talent show, then; I'll play piano like I intended to do."
"Thank you, Izi," said Sōhei. "I'll make sure your mother apologizes too; hopefully, she will understand everything."
"Can you at least consider letting us be able to go out into the mountains as wolves again?" Izumi requested.
"I'll think about it," Sōhei responded. "For now, we should all get our sleep; we've all had a rough night, and it's a big day tomorrow."
Izumi then hugged her father, thanking him for cheering her up as he hugged her back. While this conversation was all happening, unseen to them, Yuki was listening from outside. She then took a quick glimpse at the two through the window and saw how happy they made each other. She, on the other hand, was still devastated at the whole episode tonight, and this moment didn't help recover from that. Somehow, she felt like how the other two resolved everything was never going to work the same with her. With regret and despair still lingering within her, she ran away from the house into the darkness of the night.