The Call of Nature

III

The four of them continued to walk home. Eventually, they had to part ways.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow," Deku said as he went inside.

The next to leave was Kat, who also bid them a farewell.

Eventually, Okami got to her house. "I'll see you tomorrow, Tokoyami."

"Same to you, Okami."

"Thanks for healing my lip ... however you did it."

"You're welcome."

And so, the two of them split ways.

How DID he do that? It wasn't normal ... was it? Okami thought as she walked up the driveway.

Meanwhile, Fumikage hopped back on his bike and pedaled back home. But on his way, he felt as though he was being watched.

He screeched to a halt and looked around.

Nothing.

He shrugged it off and kept going.

Then he spotted an alley. A pair of eyes were staring at him from the darkness.

Once again, he stopped and looked into the alley.

A furry creature stared back at him. It's white fur practically glowed in the shadows. It's eyes were as red as Fumikage's. It was about waist high, powerful legs, a bushy tail, and triangular erect ears.

A wolf.

They stared at each other, eyes locked.

There was a flapping of wings. Dark Shadow perched himself on Fumikage's shoulder. He stared at the wolf and tilted his head in confusion.

As soon as it saw Dark Shadow, the wolf gave a slight nod. Then it spun on its heels and sprinted off. Once it got a few steps in, it jumped and vanished into thin air.

"What was that all about?" Dark Shadow asked.

"I dunno. It sure was weird, though," Fumikage responded.

"Do you think we should find it and ask what that was about?"

"I suppose we could try. I'm not sure I will understand it, though. As far as I can tell, I can only understand you. And I think I can speak mouse, as well."

"If you can talk to me and possibly understand mice, then maybe you can talk to other creatures."

Fumikage thought about when he had first met Dark Shadow.

He was just a baby, curled up on his windowsill, whining in pain. His wing was bleeding profusely.

Ten-year-old Fumikage opened the window and peered at the young crow. "You're hurt. Hold on a sec. I think I can help you."

"W-What the - ? You can talk?" the bird responded. "But ... my mom said humans are impossible to understand."

"Wait, you understand me?"

"Yeah."

Then his mom came in. "Fumikage, why are you squawking like that?" Iguru asked.

It was then Fumikage realized he had just been speaking crow ... without even realizing it. How can I speak a language I don't even know? He wondered.

"I-I was just talking to this crow."

"Okay. Well, don't let him into the house. Your father won't appreciate that very much."

"I won't."

And so, Fumikage went outside with a water bottle. He picked a puffed up dandelion and gently placed it on the wing. Then he dipped a finger into the water bottle. He allowed the water to run off his finger and drip onto the dandelion. He waited. Then he blew on it, dispersing the seeds.

The cut and blood disappeared completely.

"Wow! How did you do that?" the crow asked, astonished.

"It was a trick I saw when I was little. It was performed by a white mouse. I wanted to try it for myself. Glad to see I did it right."

"Thank you so much! My name is Dark Shadow, by the way. What's yours?"

"Fumikage."

"That's a cool name!"

And that was the story of Fumikage and Dark Shadow befriended each other.

Back in the present, Dark Shadow nudged Fumikage. "You were going home?"

Fumikage snapped out of the flashback. "Oh. Right."

And so he pedaled the rest of the way home.

When he got there, he noticed his father's car in the driveway. Shit, he got home before me! He hates it when that happens!

Dark Shadow noticed this as well. If Moju was home before Fumikage, it usually meant Fumikage was late. And Moju hated it. "Are you going to be okay?" the crow asked his companion.

"Yeah. I'll just climb through the window and pretend I was there the whole time. That will hopefully do the trick."

Dark Shadow nodded and flew off.

And so, Fumikage walked up to his window. He opened it and scrambled through as quietly as he could. He set his bag down, grabbed his homework from it, flopped on the bed, and got to work.

He heard voices in the background of the house.

"WHY ISN'T THAT GOOD FOR NOTHING FREAK HOME YET?!"

"Moju, calm down! It's his first day, he probably has something to take care of!"

"THAT IS NOT A VALID EXCUSE!"

"Moju-"

SLAP!

Fumikage clenched his teeth. He hated it when his father got like this. He was constantly getting angry and drunk and used everything as an opportunity to physically take it out on him and his mom. This was why he wanted to avoid getting caught coming home late. So he could avoid his father's wrath.

I'd probably be okay if it weren't for that wolf. I still don't even know what that was about. It seemed almost unnatural. I got these vibes from it that were almost ... magical.