Dokuso

Chapter One

     When I was born, I was held by a disgusted mother and a confused father. Both were staring at the strange mark on my back and, more than the mark, my ears. I was... abnormal, to say the least. Rather than one set of two ears, as any normal child would have, I had two sets of ears. My mother, Rachele, found me to be an ugly, deformed creature that didn't deserve her care. My father, Mack, though confused as to how my features came about, became my mother from that day on. He took care of me, fed me, changed me, as any parent would care for their young. My mother only complained about me to my older brother, Nick., even though he was only two. Nick was your standard son. He loved sports and messing with the girls. I, on the other hand, liked to read, draw, and sing.

     On the first day of preschool, I met my best friend, Hannabelle. She was a beautiful girl, with long, sandy fur and a single pair of long ears. I hadn't met her immediately, of course. My father had dropped me off before going to work, and I went in the building without a fuss after waving goodbye. When I walked in however, all the other kids already seemed to know each other. So I did what I did best- Sat down and quietly observed what was going on around me. Even then, I wasn't a social person. I watched two boys talking about baseball cards. I watched a girl teaching another how to braid her fur. I watched a girl walk towards me. That last one really freaked me out, and I started to hyperventilate. It happened occasionally, and though I knew how to calm myself down, something about what the situation was was preventing me from calming down. The girl quickened her pace and sat next to me. "Hey, don't be scared. Nothing bad will happen to you, kay?" Just that little phrase snapped me out of it. I don't know why. I just looked at her with wide eyes. "I'm Hannabelle! Just call me Bell, though." This Hannabelle... she was quite the character. "I-I'm Dokuso..." I wasn't the best at talking to people. Cliche, I know. She babbled on and on about things like Pokemon, and Superman, and a bunch of other things I enjoyed. I just listened, but she didn't really ask for me to talk. I felt safe around her, like I would never have to worry again. My second set of ears began to rise, as they do when I'm really happy. See, to try and make them inconspicuous, I always has my second set down and somewhat out of sight. She suddenly stopped talking, and I saw her staring at... oh no... my ears. I had immediately pinned those stupid extras back. I expected her to call me names, like my mother did, but she just smiled. "Hey, cool! Do that again!" She giggled. Sheepishly, I raised my extras again. She poked at them, squeezed them a little bit, and waved them around like wings on my head. I couldn't help it, and soon, I was in tears I was laughing so hard. She finally stopped playing with them, and I let them drop again. "That's so cool, Dokuso! Can you hear really well? Do they itch? Why do you have extra ears?" I tried to answer her questions, but they were almost too much. We became the best of friends. Anytime some of the other kids made fun of me, as they still do, she would hit them for me. She taught me how to fight, and even though I've never used my "killer moves", we still spar.