Little Fox - Part 3
Ohno roused Aiba from his sleep in the middle of the night. He went to sleep rather early that night. But, he woke up with a strong desire to go to the woods. At first, he tried to ignore it but with each passing second, he grew more and more restless, making it hard for him to sleep. So, he decided to go to the woods and as he didn't want to go there alone, he had to bother Aiba to accompany him.
"Something wrong, young master?" Aiba asked, rubbing his eyes. Though his words seemed polite, Aiba didn't hide how irritated he was for being bothered while sleeping.
"We have to go to the woods," He informed the guard who had also become his friend.
"Now?" Aiba asked for confirmation.
"Yes, now!" He clarified, urging Aiba to quickly follow him.
"But, why do we have to go now?" Aiba asked as he got up from his bed.
"Something is calling me," He explained. This time, Aiba looked at him with concern.
"Are you okay, young master?"
"I'll be okay once I know why I need to go to the woods in the middle of the night,"
Aiba didn't ask any other questions. He simply followed Ohno out of the castle. They were not allowed to be a wolf while they were in the castle so once they were out, the two of them shifted into their wolf form and started running towards the woods.
He didn't know which direction he was supposed to go to. So, he let his heart lead him. He ran and ran until he heard voices in the woods. His heart told him to go to the direction of the voice and he would know why he was here. When he did, he was confused to see his Little Fox.
Little Fox wasn't alone in the woods. There were two other guys with him. The three of them were scared to see him and Aiba in their wolf form. So, he quickly shifted but Aiba remained as a wolf.
"Little Fox?"
It was already a surprise to see Little Fox in the woods at this time. But, Little Fox made him even more confused when he suddenly hugged him. In their first two meetings, Little Fox had been cold to him. So, why was he different this time?
But, the hug didn't last long as Little Fox pushed him away when he realized what he was doing and at least this confirmed it was not a dream. Ohno stared at Little Fox who tried to avoid looking at him. For Ohno, he truly looked beautiful under the moonlight despite how messy he looked.
"Why are you here, Samii?" His Little Fox asked. However, he didn't answer as something else caught his attention.
"Samii?" Seemed like he wasn't the only one who had a nickname for Little Fox. And he liked the nickname.
"I don't know your name," Little Fox was blushing. "Why are you here?" Little Fox asked again.
"It's Ohno Satoshi," He introduced himself, taking Little Fox's hand to kiss it. Little Fox quickly withdrew his hand. Looking at the shy smile on Little Fox's face, he didn't think his soulmate hated what he just did. "But, I don't mind if you want to call me Samii. I'm here because I can’t go to sleep. My heart is telling me that I am needed in the woods. How about you, Little Fox? What’s your name and what are you doing here?”
"I… Nino," Little Fox said, looking uncertain. Ohno figured out that Nino must be Little Fox's name. Cute, he thought to himself. The name sounded cute, just like his Little Fox. He wondered what his full name was. "Samii, can you help me?"
"Sure. If I can help you, I will help,"
This must be the real reason he was called to the woods. To help his Little Fox.
"What do you want me to do, Little Fox?"
Nino didn't need a mirror to know he was blushing. He was too scared when he saw two big wolves in front of him, thinking he was going to die. But, when one of them shifted into Samii, who had said his real name was Ohno, he couldn't stop himself from hugging Ohno. Too many things had happened today and even though he barely knew Ohno, seeing him again was the only thing that could calm him. He felt safe to be in Ohno’s embrace. However, he had to let go of Ohno when he remembered they were not alone.
He glanced at the other wolf who hadn’t shifted into his human form. This must be the cheerful idiot who was always with Ohno. Strange… The cheerful idiot was bigger than Ohno when they were human but as a wolf, he was smaller.
He didn’t know how this thing called soulmate worked. But, Ohno was in the woods because he was needed here. What if Ohno was here to rescue Nino’s parents from Ebisawa?
“Samii, can you help me?” Even though he had known Ohno’s real name, he felt more comfortable calling him Samii.
"Sure. If I can help you, I will help," Ohno said. "What do you want me to do, Little Fox?"
“Please help me rescue my parents,” He pleaded.
Ohno was about to say something but he was stopped by Sho.
“Young master, you should not do that,” Sho shook his head. “That’s not the reason Ohno san is here. Your parents want you to leave and that’s what you should do,”
Nino frowned when he heard that. Why wouldn't Sho let Ohno rescue his parents?
“I know you feel uneasy to leave your parents… but, if they leave with you, the clan will be under Ebisawa’s control. You know how influential he is,”
“We could…”
“You cannot overthrow him,” Sho quickly cut him off. “Ebisawa is powerful. Even if we could defeat him, his supporters will go against us. I’m sure you don’t want it to happen. So, please trust your father. He has a plan for Ebisawa. But, in order for his plan to work, you should leave the clan,”
“But… Samii is here. It must be because he was meant to save my parents from Ebisawa,” Nino tried to reason with Sho. He didn’t want to give up on his parents.
“He is here to save you, not your parents,” Sho tried to convince him. "Besides, you were not sent away just to flee. There's something you need to do,"
“Yes, young master. I promise we’ll go back to the clan. But, not now,” Jun joined the conversation, siding with Sho. Nino pouted. He was worried about his parents. But, Jun and Sho were right. His father had told him something about his magic before he left. It would be manifested if he found the right person. However, he didn't understand the meaning of his words. What kind of person should he find to unlock his non-existent magic?
“Little Fox…” Ohno called him softly. “Are you okay? What should we do now? Do you still want me to rescue your parents? Or, do you want me to bring you to my clan?”
“I want you to rescue them,” Nino said, glancing at Sho who was about to argue with him once again. “But, they are right. I need to trust my father and do what he wants me to do,”
Both Jun and Sho sighed in relief when he finally agreed with them.
“Okay…” Ohno gave him a smile. “You look tired. Can we spare a few minutes for you to rest before we continue?”
He looked at Sho and Jun. Both of them nodded their heads, agreeing with whatever he wanted to do. So, he decided to continue the journey. If he rested, he might have a second thought about leaving his parents.
“I don’t need to rest,” He told Ohno.
“Okay. It will be a long journey. The woods are vast. It will be faster if you shift into a fox,”
Nino shook his head. “I can’t,”
Ohno looked at him with a frown but he didn’t say anything about it. He probably thought that Nino was still too young to shift.
“Why don’t you ride me, then?” Ohno suggested.
Once again, Nino looked at his two companions. They clearly preferred to shift into a fox. And he shouldn't be selfish. But...
"It seems scary," He mumbled, remembering how massive Ohno's wolf was. He didn't want to sound like a spoiled child but he was truly scared to ride Ohno.
"Don't worry. You just have to hold me tight around my neck," Ohno assured him. "If you're not comfortable with me, you can ride Aiba chan,"
Ohno pointed at the other wolf who barked at him. He ended up cowering, feeling afraid of the wolf, which caused Ohno to laugh.
"He didn't mean to scare you, Little Wolf," Ohno said. "He was just saying hi to you. Do you remember him? He's the guy who is with me when we met,"
Right on cue, the wolf shifted into the familiar figure of the cheerful idiot. The idiot grinned widely.
"Sorry to scare you, Nino chan," Aiba extended his hand for Nino to shake. "I am Aiba chan,"
"Hello," Nino said in response. When Aiba was in his human form, he didn't look as scary as the wolf. Well, it's probably because Nino was scared of wolves.
"Young master, we should get going," Sho said. Nino nodded his head.
Ohno, Sho, Aiba and Jun shifted into their respective forms. Once he was shifted, Ohno lowered his body to allow Nino to climb onto him. He was still scared but he braced himself to get onto the wolf. Once he was seated, it was actually more comfortable than he expected, thanks to Ohno's soft fur. As Ohno had instructed, he wrapped his arms around the wolf's neck.
"I'm ready," He told Ohno and mere minutes later, the wolf took off followed by the others.
Nino fell asleep on the wolf. When he woke up, it was still dark but the trees were not as thick as before. He looked around, noticing Jun and Sho were back in their human form and was sleeping against a tree.
“Are you awake, Nino chan?” Aiba suddenly appeared in front of him. He almost screamed, surprised to see the cheerful idiot. He could feel Ohno lower his back, allowing him to climb down from Ohno. Then, Ohno shifted into his human form.
“Where are we?” He asked. “How long have I been asleep?”
“We are now in Bluewolf's territory,” Ohno answered. “You fell asleep around an hour after we left, Little Fox. I hope you get enough rest,”
Nino nodded his head, feeling refreshed and guilty at the same time. He had a chance to rest on Ohno’s back while the others had to continue running.
"They have been sleeping for 15 minutes," Ohno informed, pointing at Sho and Jun. "Aiba chan will stand guard. Let's rest for a while,"
He nodded his head and followed Ohno to rest against a tree not too far from Jun and Sho.
"I'm sorry for troubling you," He apologized to which Ohno responded with a shrug.
"Even if you're not my soulmate, I will still help you," Ohno said. "Say, do you mind if I ask you a sensitive question?"
Nino nodded his head, knowing what Ohno would ask. He would ask why Nino couldn't shift into a fox.
"You told me you can't shift into a fox," Ohno began. "Is it because you're too young? Or there was another reason for that?"
"I am almost eighteen," He answered. "I can't shift because I don't have magic,"
Ohno stared at him. He rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful. "Maybe it has something to do with our bond,"
Nino tilted his head, not quite getting what Ohno was trying to say. Ohno smiled looking at his confused face before he explained.
"My teacher said that my magic is too powerful. I am two times more powerful than people around my age. What if a part of my magic is actually yours?"
Nino automatically thought of what his father had told him. His magic would be manifested if he found the right person. Was Ohno the person meant by his father? He didn't want to get his hopes up.
"Ohno san could be right, young master,"
Nino was surprised when Sho suddenly joined the conversation, not realizing that he had woken up. Jun was still sleeping so Sho stood up and walked closer to them.
"I didn't mean to startle you, young master," Sho said as he sat down near them. "Do you know that once upon a time there was another member of our clan who was just like you?"
"Like me?"
"Yes," Sho nodded his head. Sho knew more about history than him because he spent most of his free time in the archive room. "He lived around the time before Blacksnake disappeared. Just like you, he couldn't shift and had no magic. Everyone assumed he was powerless. But, everything changed after Bluewolf appeared to save our clan from Blacksnake,"
Nino stayed silent, thinking of what Sho had just told him. No one knew how Bluewolf knew about the problem between Yellowfox and Blacksnake. But, what if Bluewolf knew about it in the same way Ohno had known about Nino's trouble? The guy Sho had been telling him about had a soulmate from Bluewolf and he had known about what Blacksnake did because of the connection between them.
"Did his magic manifest after that? Can he shift into a fox after he met his soulmate?" Nino asked, trying not to sound eager.
"Yes, according to what I've read," Sho answered. He then looked at Ohno with concern. "Do you think we will be welcomed into your clan?"
"What do you mean?" Ohno asked in confusion.
Remembering from the history he had learnt, Nino knew there was a disagreement between Yellowfox and Bluewolf. He didn't think about it before but now that Sho had pointed it out, it was possible that they would not be welcomed into Ohno's clan.
"I didn't raise this issue before because we had to get away from our clan. But, now that we're close to your clan, I'm afraid that Bluewolf might not accept us," Sho explained.
Nino looked back and forth between the two of them. If he, Sho and Jun were not welcomed into Bluewolf, where would they go?
"I'm sure my parents will be fine with it. You guys need help, after all," Ohno said, trying to sound optimistic.
"Are you sure?" Sho asked again. "Do you think your clan can accept us when they blame our clan for the death of one of your warriors during the battle with Blacksnake?"
A/N: Hopefully, this is okay. Let me know what you think of this part, ne? Thank u :) And I have a question for How Dare You! Which one do you prefer for the epilogue? Ohno met Nino's parents or they moved in together? Or if you have any other ideas, feel free to let me know.