(World 02: 1996)
I can’t recall why these legendspopped into my head, but for the rest of my life I’ll never know why or see them again.
Watching this strange man, and then following him at the behest of a memory that refused to allow me to examine more than the need to get at this man confused me. The voice in my head wasstill repeating the legend and the name “Ookami”.
Why should I follow this guy anyway? He’s in better condition than I am at the moment. He still has a tail; I no longer have mine thanks to some asshole and his cowardly compatriot.
But for some reason, regardless of the obvious advantage he has, I couldn’t turn away and find a town to stay at.Something was keeping me from even doing so much as stopping to rest. I was being driven by an unknown need to follow him and speak to him when he stops. I didn’t have control of my body, like this need had a mind and will of its own.This need also didn’t allow me to speak directly, just walk at a respectful distance behind him.
So all I could do was follow behind him, watching his movements and studying potential weaknesses, which weren’t many at all period. All I could do was observe him; the force controlling me wouldn’t allow me to speak or move freely till the right time.
His technique was just as good as mine, if not better. His clothing suggested that he was born as a man of the royal guard, hinting that I should stay away from this guy.
That tail, the ears… If they weren’t there, he would’ve been human in every way. But that bushy tail and the wolfen ears only seemed to make him something of a mystery. Only werewolves had these things, but they only showed after the transformation. This man wasn’t in his transformed state, and that was the mystery.
I was so busy observing him that I didn’t notice my arm moving on it’s own, putting my katana back into it’s sheath. It slid in with a whisper and latched into place with a click.
An alarm rang in my head and my ears. Did he hear that? A man in the royal guard usually had to walk a forest as part of a training drill meant to enhance his hearing to its highest factor. The ears he has may have opted him out of the hearing adjustment.
Since I still didn’t have control of my body, all I could do was curse the force guiding me and steel myself for whatever move he may make.
The entire time, that damned voice in my head was still repeating the legend and the name “Ookami”.