Wolf Children 2

Chapter 1: Wolf Children

'You're a wolf, not a human.'

'You don't belong with humans, Yuki.'

'Weird. Do you have any pets? You sure do smell like one.'

"Ah!' Yuki rose up on her bed, her breathing heavy and ragged, as she glanced around her. She came to the realization that she was alone in her dorm. 'A dream...?' She rubbed her eyes, pulling the blankets away from her body as she stood up from her bed. She felt the breeze coming from the cracked open window nearby, the curtains flowing ever so slightly.

She felt a shiver reach down her spine, "I'm still having dreams like these..." The brown haired girl often had dreams of her past, something she didn't enjoy talking about very much. Even if it's been years, they still came back to haunt her in the end.

Years passed since she last saw him. Her younger brother, that is. She often thought about him, it was difficult not to.

'I wonder what he's doing right now?' This is what she thought of the most when he came into her mind. While she wasn't close to Ame, Yuki had a strong relationship with her mother, often visiting her when she wasn't busy with school.

As the day continued on, Yuki attended her classes early that morning. Math was her first subject that morning, and one she wasn't that particularly interested in. In fact, for the majority of the time, she found herself in a daze, completely unaware of what was happening around her.

She stared off into space, the only thing snapping her out of her trance was someone's delicate looking hand waving in front of her face.

"Hello? Yuki, are you alright?" An inquisitive voice called from beside her.

Yuki blinked, flustered at the fact she'd been daydreaming. She looked to her side, seeing the familiar face of one of her best friends. "Me? I'm completely fine, no worries!" She smiled in an attempt to hide the fact she'd just been staring off into space.

Seeing his eyebrows furrow a bit, he scowled at her. "Doesn't seem that way. I've been calling out your name for the past few minutes. Is something bothering you?" He could tell something was off.

She breathed a deep sigh, looking at her desk, "I'm sorry, it's my dreams lately. It's like it wants me to think back on my past. I've been having them a lot recently..."

The male noticed the solemn expression spread across Yuki's face, beginning to pat her on the back, "don't apologize..."

She nodded a bit, feeling a bit better from Souhei's comfort.

After they exchanged smiles, the teacher pushed up his glasses as he pointed to the pair, his chalk still within his fingertips. "No speaking in class! Pay attention." Yuki and Souhei both frantically picked up their textbooks as they nodded.

Perhaps now was not the time for chatting...

—

Time went on and before they knew it, the school day came to an end.

Beginning to grab her books, she packed them up in her book bag. Souhei approached her from the side in quite the enthusiastic manner, "how about we go to the cafe nearby? It might help you cheer up, what do you say?" His brown colored hues met hers as he grinned.

"I'd love to, however, I actually made plans to go visit my mother today. Perhaps we could go another time?" she suggested, hoping he wouldn't mind.

"Don't worry about it, I hope you have fun! Say hello to your mom for me." He smiles, waving as he left. Yuki gave a small wave in return, holding her bag with her free hand.

Leaving school, Yuki headed to the train station, departing to her mother's house. The area her mother lived in was very beautiful, with many trees and large fields of green. The citizens there grew lots of different things such as fresh fruits and vegetables.

Upon arriving at her mother's house, she took a few steps before stopping to look around. This was the place where she and Ame grew up together. They had all kinds of adventures here, and made plenty of memories, too. She missed those times...

Suddenly the door slid open, revealing a short haired woman with fair skin, and brown colored eyes.

"Yuki, I'm happy you could stop by," smiling, Hana made her way over to her daughter, pulling her into a warm hug. "Come inside, I've made lunch. There's plenty left."

Nodding in reply, she followed her mother into the house. When she walked in, she set her bag down and took off her shoes, placing them to the side. She headed straight to the dining room, taking a seat at the small wooden table.

The delicious aroma of a home cooked meal filled her nose. Hana appeared around the corner with a bowl, setting it down on the table.

"It smells incredible." The very scent made her mouth water.

"I hope you enjoy," Hana says, taking a seat opposite from her daughter. She watched as her daughter began scarfing down the food, Hana's eyes widening a bit. "H-Hey! Make sure you chew." Even if her daughter lived as a human, she still had some of her wolf qualities showing through. All Hana could do was laugh as she continued to watch her daughter eat.

"Oh, I almost forgot to ask. How's your boyfriend, Souhei? Is he doing well?" Hana asks, tilting her head.

Yuki glanced up towards her mother, almost choking on her food upon hearing those words. 'B-Boyfriend?!' Her face suddenly reddened as she avoided eye contact. "S-Souhei isn't my boyfriend! We are just friends, that's all..." She couldn't admit it straight out that she liked him, but she knew herself that there were feelings there. Although, she didn't want to confess on it just yet...

The female shook her head, shaking those thoughts away.

"Thank you for the food," the young girl says, looking to her mother with a big grin.

"Not at all. I'm just happy you liked it," her mother replied, smiling happily.

From that moment on, the two chatted away until the late evening. It felt like time was passing by too quick when they spent time together, Yuki wished that they could spend more time together, as often as they did when she was younger. Yuki loved living in the city, and going to school. She enjoyed spending time with her friends, too. However, she often got homesick and missed her mother frequently.

—

"Look, aren't the stars pretty?" Hana pointed towards glowing dots that lit up the darkened sky.

"They really are," Yuki answered, letting out a giggle. They ended up stargazing as they had nothing else to do, not that they minded. Stargazing was fun, and sometimes you could see shooting stars if you're lucky. The pair found themselves watching the stars for about half an hour before getting ready to hit the hay.

As Hana got up, she reached for the sliding door handle but immediately stopped upon hearing a low-pitched growl.

"You're still hungry?" Hana blinked, turning to her daughter.

She shook her head in reply, "no, that wasn't me." Her brown hues began to examine her surroundings, eyes squinting as she tried to concentrate where the unusual noise was erupting from.

"Ah, there..." She points in the direction of the noise. As if on cue to her pointing, bright crimson eyes appeared from the pitch black darkness.

They seemed menacing, and looked as if they were glowing. Yuki went stiff as her eyes dimmed a little, concentrating on the red eyes glaring straight through her. Just from the scent, she could tell what it was. "It's a wolf," she mutters under her breath.

But a question she wanted to know the most was...

what was it doing there...?