Awakened Flame
This is an explanation of how the character of Yuichi Hadashi came to be what he is today. It is slightly dark, but it won't get anywhere near the level of GRIMDARK EDGY!!! stuff like Battle Royale does. If the story sucks, please don't be rude about it.
Yuichi couldn't help but wonder what he had done wrong... what he had done to make his town hate him.
Yuichi Yamasu had been a fairly normal human child to the best of his knowledge. He lived with his mother and father in a small village in the Japanese countryside, surrounded by forests. However, he did always wonder why everyone seemed so wary of him. He wasn't particularly notable, save for an unusual hair color and eye color for a Japanese boy. His brown hair and green eyes even set him apart from his parents, who had black hair and brown eyes. And though he was only 13, he was already taller than most people in the village. Around his neck, he wore a choker made of an unknown elastic material, which he had worn since he was a baby. On the choker hung an amulet which glowed a bright red in the sunlight.
If it hadn't been for recent events, he might not be caught in an abandoned, burning house with the flames closing in on him.
He remembered the events vividly, recalling the fight he had gotten in with the mayor's son, Raiji. Yuichi had always been adept at martial arts, so it wasn't out of the ordinary for him to easily win his frequent fights with the brat. In fact, it was rather common for him to lay out the blonde-haired Raiji with a single punch. But he simply could not explain the sudden burst of flame that had erupted from his hand, setting his assailant's face aflame. Almost instantly, the village guard had descended upon Yuichi and pinned him to the ground.
"Hey, what the hell, let me GO!" Yuichi screamed, in a mix of confusion and fear. "Why are you being so rough, dammit...!"
His cries fell on deaf ears, and soon, he was dragged before the mayor personally. He looked up at the mayor, who listened carefully to what had happened. Yuichi knew the mayor was more reasonable than his son was, and would simply have the young man released if he saw no reason to detain him. However, the mayor's solution was far worse than he had imagined it would be.
"We have no choice then... he must be put to death in the morning," the Mayor explained.
Yuichi felt his hair stand on end and his breathing stop for several moments as the guard dragged him off... he was brought to a small, unused cell in the prison in the middle of the village... he screamed as the guard threw him into the cell forcefully, his head hitting the concrete that made up the wall.
"Now you be a good little monster and wait for your execution," the guard said, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall outside the cell.
Yuichi would have tried to run back out, were his mind not reeling from the shock of being placed on death row. All he could do was sit down with his back against the wall of his cell, looking up at the single barred window and the stars above as he awaited his likely quick death the next day. He was close to drifting off when he heard footsteps outside said window. When he looked out the window, he saw his mother, looking sad and apologetic.
"Mom? What are y ou doing here...?" he asked. "You shouldn't be looking for me..."
His mother simply smiled her typical kindhearted smile, the one that she would give when Yuichi had gotten himself into trouble. She reached her hand out and looked her son in the eyes as she touched his hand.
"Yuichi... I'm so sorry... we should have told you sooner..." she said. "But we were worried you would hate us... we're likely to die tomorrow as well for hiding what we did from the village..."
"Mom...?"
"Yuichi... when the time is right..." she said, holding out a knife. "Use this to remove that amulet tied around your neck..."
Yuichi looked at the knife. It was small, only about 6 inches, but it looked very sharp, and shined with a prismatic glow. It was clearly made of prismaterium, a rare substance of which this knife had been the only thing he'd seen made out of it. He brought his hand to his neck, touching the elastic material that made up the choker holding up his amulet. He raised the knife to slice the choker off, but his mother held her hand up.
"No no... not yet..." she said. "Not where someone could see..."
Yuichi was confused, but he nodded and put the knife into his pocket. He had a feeling he'd know the right moment to use it...
"Hey you!" the guard said, as he had woken up from the sounds. "Who are you talking to?! Tell me now and I might not beat your face in!"
Yuichi said nothing, but motioned to his mother to leave. As she left, he simply grinned stupidly at the guard, trying to throw him off. "You must be hearing things, guard!"
"Don't play dumb with me!"
Yuichi scoffed and looked to the side, forgetting to keep his thoughts and his words separate. "Oh trust me, you play enough dumb for the BOTH of us..."
That was all it took for the guard to unlock Yuichi's cell, throw it open and throw a kick into his stomach and a punch into his face. As he beat Yuichi bloody, he laughed with a psychotic grin, looking much more like a monster than Yuichi ever had.
"Stupid firewolf-boy!" he said with a grin, making the mistake of turning away from Yuichi.
That was all the opening Yuichi needed to rush up behind the guard and jam the prismaterium knife into his shoulder and leg. He wasn't about to kill the man, but he couldn't have him mobile and trying to catch up with him. Though he did admit, after all the crap this guard had been giving him, it was sure satisfying to hear him scream as he held his bleeding wounds. He quickly rushed out of the small prison, busting through the front door in plain sight of the other guards. So he did the only thing he could think of... he ran out of the village and into the forest.
He couldn't think of anywhere else to go... he knew only one place where he could potentially hide out, and that was an old abandoned house that he had always been told never to enter. But this was an emergency, so he could think of no better place to go. He found the building and quickly holed up inside. Upon slamming the door shut, he sat with his back against the door. For a moment, the place seemed alien to him... but then it somehow felt familiar. When he went to take a look around, the trashed home began to feel more and more familiar. On the wall, he saw a bunch of shattred picture frames, containing pcitures of a beautiful woman with brown hair and green eyes... and the strangest thing he had ever seen, what appeared to be a humanoid wolf with fire erupting from his fur, with a striking pair of emerald eyes. In some of the pictures, the woman and the strange flaming wolf were holding each other like a couple. And then he saw it. The one picture that suddenly made everything tie together. In one of the pictures, the human woman was holding a baby that looked no more than a few months old, with a pair of fiery wolf ears sticking out from his brown hair and a long flaming tail poking out from under his clothes, looking cutely at the fiery wolf man with his green eyes. Yuichi instantly recognized the baby as being himself.
"I... are those my... real parents...?" he asked himself, as his eyes darted around the room. His eyes fell on a note on the table, which looked to have been scribbled out just an hour earlier. He picked up the note to read it.
Yuichi... I'm certain you would like some sort of explanation as to what's going on... we thought we would be able to help conceal your true identity from these monsters, but the truth can no longer be hidden. If you were drawn to this cabin as I expected you would be, then you know by now that your father and I are not your real parents. Your real name is Yuichi Hadashi, and the woman and the firewolf in the photos you see around you are your real parents. You are actually the product of a relationship between a firewolf and a human. The members of the village are horrible beings... they hunt those species that would interbreed with humans and eradicate them. If we did not hide you, then you would have been killed along with your father and mother. We placed a charm we got from elsewhere around your neck to seal away any trace of non-human presence in your body... but it would seem that the seal is no longer adequate to hide your true heritage completely. As such, you must remove it and become that which you were born to be. I wish you to use the knife I have given you to remove the amulet around your neck as soon as possible, as that knife is the only thing capable of cutting through it. I am sorry I could not say farewell to you in person... please take care of yourself.
Your loving mother,
Etsuko Yamasu
Yuichi couldn't believe the words on the paper in his hands. As he read, he felt tears streaming down his cheeks. He felt strong emotions welling up inside of him, realizing that everything he was raised to believe was a lie... but he didn't have long to cry. He heard the sounds of flames drawing closer... belonging to torches. He looked out the window and saw a crowd of villagers surrounding the house, with the Mayor and his son at front and center out the window he gazed through. To make matters worse, his adopted mother was being held captive by two guards. He shrieked slightly and hid from view of the villagers. As he hid, he heard the words of the Mayor outside.
"Abomination!" he yelled. "We know you are in there! We thought we had eliminated you long ago when we killed the firewolf and his heretic partner! But clearly, you still live... and we cannot allow such an affront to nature to exist!"
Raiji looked concerned, looking up at his father.
"F-father, don't you think this is going a little far...?!"
"To eradicate these impure beings is a very noble cause," the Mayor spoke. "And after this, we will execute your mother for hiding you from us all these years!"
Etsuko screamed out loud, hoping Yuichi could hear her. "Yuichi, forget about me! Your father will come to save me, I'm sure of it! Just run!"
Unfortunately, there was nowhere for him to run, as the entire house was surrounded by angry villagers.
"Set it ablaze!" the mayor decreed.
Those words were all it took for a hail of torches to fly through the air and come in contact with the house. It didn't take long for the house to catch flame, and soon, the entire building was ablaze. Yuichi panicked and looked around for an exit through the flames... but it was no use. All sides of the building were encased in a burning orange glow... Yuichi was about to break down in a panic before he realized the knife from Etsuko was still in his hand. Growling, he reached up and, stretching the material of his choker, slashed the knife across it. The chocker and amulet fell to the ground, and suddenly, he felt a throbbing sensation running through his body, his hands rushed to a heated pain building in his chest. He felt like his body was about to burst into flames...
Outside the house, a loud howl was heard, which they all mistook for a howl of agony. Some of the villagers began to congratulate each other, while a few looked slightly remorseful having taken a life. Raiji was especially terrified at what his father had done to a mere teenager.
"And it is done," The mayor said, turning to Etsuko with an evil glare. "And now, to have you and your husband executed for hiding this monster from us all this time..."
The mayor's words were quickly punctuated with the sound of a slash and a scream of agony from one of the guards.
The mayor turned around and, horrified, caught the sight of one of his village guards slashed cleanly from shoulder to hip, the claw-inflicted wound smoldering intensely and threatening to burn his entire body to ash. Near the guard was a full-fledged humanoid firewolf, snarls erupting from deep within it's muzzle as it looked around at the villagers. All but the guards turned to flee in terror, deciding to make cowardice the greater part of valor. The guards, however, remained and took swings at the firewolf. They knew that it was Yuichi. However, they were no match for the firewolf, now spurred on by pure instinctual rage. His claws ripped through the guards like a hot knife and set them ablaze easily, the white hot flames erupting from his fur alone threatening to set anyone that so much as grazed him on fire. All the mayor could do was watch in horror as his best guards were dispatched, but after a moment, he finally got the sense to pull out a gun and aim it at the firewolf. Yuichi turned his gaze to the mayor and grabbed the barrel of the gun. The mayor felt his skin starting to sizzle from merely being close the the firewolf as he saw him bend the barrel backwards... and then grab the chamber where the bullets were held. The cartridges within the clip exploded and blew the mayor's hand off, causing him to fall to the ground and scream in agony. He looked up at the beast he had tried to eradicate... and started to look apologetic... but it was too late for forgiveness. Yuichi breathed in, a flame building within his mouth.
"Have... mercy--" the mayor started to beg before Yuichi breathed out a cloud of white hot flame, setting the Mayor's entire body aflame. The mayor let out a scream of sheer unbldled pain as his body writhed around, the flames eating at him with the intensity of white phosphorus. It didn't take long before the mayor's body was reduced to an ash-covered skeleton. Yuichi then turned his gaze toward a horrified and shivering Raiji, the one who had tormented him for years... then growled as he stepped forward, breathing in with the intention to do the same.
It was at that very moment that Etsuko jumped between them, arms outstretched to guard Raiji.
"Yuichi, no! Don't harm him!" she begged, looking up into his eyes. "He was against this the whole time! Please, you have to...!"
Yuichi's eyes widened, the intense white flame of his fur slowlygrowing less intense. The colors of the flames changed from white to blue, then yellow, and finally settling in an orange color. It was at that moment that he suddenly realized what he had done... and felt incredible shame at the murders he had commited. He stepped back slowly, looking at his now paw-like hands in horror, seeing the blood all over them. He continued to step back before turning and running off into the forest.
Etsuko could do nothing but watch her adopted son flee into the night as she held Raiji...
Yuichi felt a poke on his cheek. He had passed out from exhaustion sometime during the night in the middle of the forest. Poke. It didn't matter where he had fallen, but it was better to fall asleep than to just keep running forever. Poke. Besides, would anyone really come out all this way to wake him up after he burned several people to death? Poke. Okay, who was doing that? Yuichi opened his eyes and looked up, his eyes catching a young girl, about his age if not a little younger, poking him in the cheek with a carrot.
"Huh...? Who are you...?" He asked as he pushed himself to his feet. It didn't take him very long to notice something was off about the girl. She wore a baggy sleeveless orange tank top and an orange pair of shorts, out of which a cottonball tail was poking... wait, a cottonball tail? He also took note that she had a rather prominent, but small, pair of buckteeth, and poking through the girl's reddish-blonde hair was a pair of cream colored bunny ears. she smiled and looked at him with her blue eyes.
"Ah, I was wondering if you'd wake up soon-kyu!" the young girl said, cutely tilting her head. "Wow, it's not often you run into another kemonomimi!"
"Kemono... mimi...?" Yuichi said with confusion, sitting up and waving his hand. "No, no, you've got it wrong, I'm a fire--"
It suddenly dawned on him that he no longer had fiery fur covering his whole body. He felt himself all over, trying to find some patch of fur that might have been left, but he was back to human form. He sighed a little in relief, hoping the events he remembered were merely a dream... before he placed his hand on top of his head and felt something twitch into his palm.
"...what am I touching?" Yuichi asked.
"Your ears, silly!"
Yuichi shrieked and looked around for a reflective surface. All he found was a puddle, but it was enough to gaze into and see his reflection. He saw that, on top of his head, he had retained a pair of firewolf ears, and that his human ears had altogether vanished. Yuichi panicked and fell backwards, landing on something that caused pain to shoot through his body. When he checked underneath himself, he saw that he also retained his fiery tail.
"This is not happening... this is not happening..." he said in a panic. "I was cool looking before, but now I look like a freak!"
"Aw, you don't look like a freak-kyu!" the bunny-eared girl said with a smile. "Hm... based on your flames coming out of your ears... and tail too... I'd say you're probably an Okamimimi of the Firewolf variety!"
"They have names for genetic freak hybrids now... great..." Yuichi said, groaning a little as he tried deperately to hide his ears... realizing the flames weren't harming him... or this strange bunny girl, as she was now stroking his tail! "And will you please refrain from petting me, I'm not a dog-rao!"
Yuichi realized that he had just made a canine growling noise at the end of his sentence, blushing and covering his mouth with his hands.
"Y-you didn't hear that!" he yelped, blushing heavily.
"Oh, I could have sworn I did-kyu~ So what's your name?"
"Erm... it's Yuichi... Yuichi Ya--" he started to say, catching himself. "Yuichi Hadashi..."
"That name's cool! It's much better than mine is~" the young bunnygirl said. "I'm Cosette Kyukyu, and I'm an usagimimi! I hope we can be friends-kyu~"
Yuichi blushed, but smiled a little, nodding to the girl. "Friends... I like the sound of that..."
The young fire okamimimi knew that he'd have to make a new start somewhere... maybe he could try it wherever he was right now. After all, he probably met one of the best people to help him get a start, he hoped.
--END--