Okami: year 13
by Okami
Sat, 3 Mar 2001, at 10:42 a.m. CST

He had spent a good deal of time in Britain, helping as much as he could at the tailors. Miss Presscot was nice, and said he would make an excellent tailor one day. While he was naturally good with the needle, there was something about it being a life carreer that made half of him sick. He could easily describe himself in two halves, usually, but that never ment much.

The man he lived with now claimed to be his uncle. He would go mine in the mountains around Britain, and then smith the metal into weapons and armor. His uncle was good, but he had to sell things for much less, as he never learned the art of marking. Okami would look along the selection of weapons in the room he stayed, and half would want to pick one up and swing it, for old time's sake. He rarely did.

Okami had made a few friends since coming to Britain, and they were very distinct opposites. There was Susan, Miss Presscot's daughter, who would buy the bits of cloth he would stitch up, poorly. She always commented on the improving quality, and would reccomend he try harder. There were other kids his age in town that he got along with, but Susan was the only one he remembered now. He could recognize what he had then now, and it was called a crush.

He had another set of friends, but they were different. They'd ask him to bring them arms and armor, and practice fighting all the time. He'd watch, but rarely participate. It made the half of him he didn't like too happy.

One day, the second set of friends started asking Okami to bring them "escorts". They'd stand around town, waiting on someone to guide them somewhere. He'd take them to his "friends", and they'd take them to where they wanted to go. The "friends" would always toss him a few gold pieces, and say thanks.

He came into the tailors one day to tell Susan he wasn't gonna need to sell anything for awhile. When pressed for an answer, he told her about the escorting, and he watched as her face went a bit pale. She then calmly asked if he would take her to his friends, and Okami figured, why not.

It was just like usual, he took Susan to the glade, and his "friends" showed up. They asked was she an escort, and complained that he hadn't brought another thrill seeker. Susan looked at the older boys and started yelling at them. Okami couldn't believe his ears, but according to Susan, these "friends" hadn't been escorting people at all, they'd been killing them. Okami reached to his side for the sword he usually carried. The men yelled at him for bringing her there, and then one swung his mace at her. She crumpled to the ground with a sickening thud, and didn't move. The older boys closed in on Okami slowly, and the boy rushed forward. He felt his sword sink into something soft, and looked up to see the mace wielder flinch. He quickly let go of the blade, and took off running. Half of him was angry he had been fooled, and the other half was angry he had stopped fighting. He passed the town sign, his "friends" in tow, and heard a farmer yell for the guards. Okami dove to the ground, as multiple guards appeared from nowhere and cut the group behind him down.