opposite slope of the mountain, away from skiers and prying eyes. Whoever it was wore the same rental outfit that David and the rest of his classmates had received before the lessons. As David studied the figure, he adjusted himself so he could escape down the more populated slope. Seeing David about to leave, the mysterious figure stood, pulled back her hood, and waved at him.
Without stopping to consider any further danger, David tilted the edge of his board around a barrier rope and propelled himself across the slight decline. He slid toward the girl from Okinawa slowly, watching all the while. Soon tall forest trees surrounded him, cutting them off from the top of the mountain. He slid to an easy stop a few feet from the girl and noticed she was shaking, though it did not appear to be from the cold.
“Quick, behind the tree,” she said in a harsh whisper. David smiled at her dramatic tone and moved under the shadow of a tall pine.
“So what is it that you want? I don’t even know your name.” David moved closer, drawn by curiosity and his quickened heartbeat. She looked to be about the same age, though it was always difficult for David to gauge just how old Japanese people actually were. Her eyes were soft and inviting, despite the fear that seemed to be radiating throughout her entire body. She moved closer to him, her hand reaching up for his face.
Her cold fingers brushed past his cheek, setting it aflame. With a shockingly strong grip, she brought his head closer, as if to whisper in his ear. David just caught her stiffen in fear as his back exploded in lances of pain. A sudden weight on his back drove him past the trembling girl. Sharp claws of pain drove into his shoulder and ribs.
“She’s mine,” growled a voice, carried by hot fetid breath close to David’s ear. With the extra weight, David and his attacker scooted forward on his snowboard. Since only one of his boots was still in the bindings, he was unstable, barely able to guide the board. They slid away from the girl, even as his back arched in pain. The claws dug deeper and David pounded at the thing on his back and angled the board toward a small drop off. Gaining speed, he regained a measure of control and balance.
Struggling against the weight, David’s hands met thick course fur as he battled the ōkami that had attacked him. He slammed his free foot into the bindings, and then pushed with his toes on one foot while picking up the others. Warping the snowboard beneath him, he turned in a quick circle as a huge tree loomed before him. With a crash and an even greater blast of pain, David slammed the ōkami into the tree back first.
Falling forward, David punched the bindings on his board, releasing his feet. In midair, David twisted, the claws pulling out of his back as painful as having fingernails extracted one at a time. The cold snow turned red beneath him as David’s blood seeped into the frosty ground. Beside the tree, a reddish brown ōkami, bigger than even Chul Soon had been, shook its snarling wolven features, clearing its head from the impact.
Looking back, David saw the Okinawan girl. Her back was pressed against the tree and two much smaller ōkami growled at her, snapping when she tried to move past them. They looked identical, gray with streaks of the same reddish brown the monster before him had.
David shuddered as the wounds on his back began to heal, thankful that his Jitsugen Samurai powers made it quick. Still, he felt the full pain from both the injury and the healing process. The claw marks were deep enough that it would take several minutes before they would stop hurting.
Gathering his wits from the surprise attack, David’s jaw set in determination. Kou roared within in outrage. He searched within himself for the familiar place where his true sword, the Seikaku, resided within him. Finding the molten globe of metal in his chest, he willed it to take the shape of a sword, summoning it before him. To anyone watching David, it would have seemed as if he closed his eyes and let his arms fly away from his sides. Then with inhuman speed, his arms were in front of him, holding a nearly transparent metal blade that caught the sun’s rays off the snow and threw them in a myriad of patterns.
In less time than it had taken his attacker to blink, David was prepared to defend himself. The monster before him growled in anger, attacking with large claws and fangs. David blocked with his sword. The massive ōkami rained heavy blows, and David could hear the rest of the small pack hassle the girl.
Determined, David focused his mind on his Seikaku, his eyes shifted to orange as Kou took ever more control over their movements. Working together Kou and David began to open up shallow cuts along the ōkami’s body.
The ōkami’s skin was so tough that even with a sword sharper than any normal katana it was difficult to inflict any real damage. Kou also had to defend David’s body from the ōkami’s razor claws as David focused on directing the sword.
‘We are lucky he isn’t transforming into his human form. He’s incredibly powerful,’ David thought as they evaded a slash to their knee. Without his armor, he was vulnerable to the ōkami’s attacks.
‘He must not have brought a sword or gauntlets. He did not expecte a fight, or at least not one he could not have won as a wolf,’ Kou replied as they managed to slice deep enough to cause damage. The ōkami howled in outrage. Building on their success, David began to attack joints, weakening the ōkami’s resistance and will. A gasp of pain sounded from the girl.
‘We need to end this.’
David dropped the tip of his blade, creating an opening near his left shoulder. With a rumble deep in its throat, the ōkami’s paw slashed out to take advantage of what seemed like a mistake. Kou roared within, David’s eyes blazing brighter as they checked their movement and sent the Seikaku slicing upward. The glistening steel drove halfway through the wolf’s paw. A quick sawing motion finished it. With the ōkami momentarily stunned with pain, David brought his sword down. The wolf spasmed as the strange metal cleaved it between the ears.
Even as the wolf began to collapse, David changed the sword to its elemental form, and drove it with all his might into the center of the beast. With a howl the ōkami turned into a smaller wooden statue. David left his blade touching the ruddy wood just long enough to ensure the severed paw popped into place.
‘Can’t let what happened to Chul Moo happen again, can we,’ David thought as he turned his attention to the other two ōkami.
David took in the situation in an instant, registering the ōkamis’ placements and threat levels. The girl pressed against a tree, her palms flat beside her, digging into the rough bark. Before her and on the right, one ōkami growled. Shivers of rage racked through its fur, making the hairs on its back rise in waves. Beside it, the other wolf was subdued, mewling and looking between the girl, its twin, and the statue behind David.
Hours of drills with the Matsumotos had given David and Kou the ability to take in everything about a situation, and then act. After a moment of hesitation had nearly led to the death of both his host-siblings, David had worked hard to increase his decision making speed while trying not to sacrifice his judgment. The result of his training was a far more confident and self-assured person than the one who had watched Chul Soon bite Takumi.
David slashed before the growling ōkami even realized it was under attack. Since it was not fully grown, and was not concentrating on fighting, David’s Seikaku passed through its neck, the vicious head rolling to look back at him with hate. David changed his sword to its elemental form again and soon had another statue.
Turning, David paused. Instead of the expected attack, the last ōkami sat with its ears angled in sadness. With one last look at the girl, it rolled over as if playing dead. David did not even bother changing his sword. With blinding speed, the wooden Seikaku’s point stabbed into the ōkami, a perfect yet smaller statue replacing the whimpering wolf.
