And after writing it... I feel really kind of bad about the inevitable fact that it'll take years before we see him actually getting any measurable sense of happiness. Well, either way. Enjoy!
Here he was, outside of the esteemed Miraikan, the National Museum of Emerging Science. Hyosuke Ashida took in a deep breath of that air, which honestly didn’t really taste all that different to the air he was used to. Oh well! He had been kind of hoping it might be a little more… something or other, he didn’t know what. Sciencey, maybe.
He pushed on towards the front door while desperately trying not to inconvenience anyone else on the way. That would be rude. Sure, several other people did (obviously by accident) push and shove to get through, but he could hardly blame them for that. He wasn’t really all that noticeable. Besides which, they were all surely in such a tremendous hurry to see it as well! Who could blame them? Such a rare opportunity! It simply made sense that they would ignore him in favour of -
“Excuse me? Excuse me, sir!”
A voice drew his attention like the song of the sirens. A melodic female voice that surely couldn’t be talking to him, yet he turned anyway on instinct and found himself staring up at an angel. The most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on. Long wavy hair that went down to her shoulders, black-rimmed glasses over half-lidded eyes. A welcoming smile that made him suddenly feel like the two of them were all alone in this large bustling crowd. Also, she was tall. Easily a foot larger than him. Which made sense, given that in the presence of such a gorgeous figure he was as a mere ant.
She reached out her hand and pressed something into his, causing him to marvel at how soft her skin was. “You dropped this,” she said. Hyosuke opened up his hand and gasped. He’d dropped this? Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Lying in his open palm was a silver crescent moon. His most important possession, even above his own heart or brain! To lose this - To lose this was unthinkable!
“Th-thank you, miss,” he timidly said, unable to keep his eyes off that which he had nearly lost. It would need a new chain, no doubt about it…
Suddenly the woman was jostled forward, and Hyosuke found himself being pushed onto his ass. He somehow managed to catch her as she fell and marvelled at how light she was. Up close like this she was even more pretty than he’d already thought. He should say something to her. He couldn’t just let someone this nice and pretty and perfect slip away like this. But… What? What should he say? What <i>could</i> he say? Compliment her glasses? No, probably self conscious about that. Compliment her hair or her dress? No, no, completely the wrong impression. She’d think he was gay or something. Compliment her figure? No, no, that would be the opposite reaction! Think, man! Think!
“You… Smell nice,” he lamely said. To his amazement, she simply tilted her head and gave a girlish giggle.
“So do you,” she said, smoothing out her dress and - Oh gosh, look away from the down-dress cleavage! Who knows what she might think if she caught you staring at that! Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her suddenly freeze up and scowl. Oh no! She must’ve thought he’d been peeking!
“That son of a bitch,” she hissed, patting her back and looking at the tips of her fingers. They seemed… moist? She licked it. “Cola. Where is that asshole that spilled his cola on me?! I can’t show up to work like this! You! I see you! Get back here on the double!”
She took two angry steps away, then stopped and turned back towards Hyosuke with that same welcoming grin. “I’m Taniko Maeno. Please enjoy your visit to the museum. Hey buster, you’re not getting away that easily!”
With a heady sigh, Hyosuke knew that he had fallen madly in love with a woman well above his league. Never mind. He’d have to make do with what he’d come here for in the first place. It would still be awesome, but his heart ached for something more… With silver crescent moon clutched in his hand, he stalked inside and bought a ticket to see the exhibit come all the way from America… Though it had originally come from somewhere much further.
<hr>
Smell that air! There were sheep everywhere. Sheep that thought themselves lions! Unaware that the wolves were playing among them! Senses dulled to the world around them! Lost little sheep unaware of the fact that he could easily kill a full quarter of this crowd before any of them even knew what he was, and then all of the rest before they could figure out how to stop him!
But that was the problem, wasn’t it? This lot wouldn’t be able to stop him. Others not a part of this crowd were another matter entirely.
Ah, but it wasn’t as though Momoru Oyama enjoyed killing. He hated the taste of blood, hated the way it felt between his fingers. Or in his fur. Still. He did enjoy the feeling of being the biggest dog in the yard. Especially since he kinda knew that would still be the case even after what he had in mind within the next half hour.
Oh. The mayhem would be spectacular. Spread out all over the country. It would draw <i>their</i> attention like moths to a flame. Or wolves to the moon. They’d come here when they worked out the common connection, sniff around a little bit and then - And then… He’d have his ticket right back to <i>her</i>.
It was a good day for Momoru Oyama. It would be an even better one when he caught up to <i>her</i> and got an explanation for a few things. He flashed a toothy grin and checked around at all the sheep, blissfully unaware of how their eyes were gonna get opened wide. This was gonna be awesome.
<hr>
“Moon dust is a far more potentially dangerous substance to astronauts than you might originally expect,” the tour guide said, a little melodramatically for Hyosuke’s taste. “While the harmful effects it may possess are not yet fully known, however, it is far more chemically reactive, and has a greater surface area. Therefore, great precautions must be taken to ensure no exposure occurs.
“Rocks from the moon are thus cleaned of any such dust before they are brought down to Earth, and are thus completely safe to touch. As is the habit of many museums throughout the world, I would now like to offer you all the wonderful opportunity to touch something not of this world.”
The queue was formed quickly and orderly enough, with a rather large gentleman with very long hair easily managing to make it to the front of the queue while Hyosuke, well, he was sent to the back. Not that he minded or anything; after all, why should he? Everyone wanted their turn, and someone had to go to the back. Might as well be him. Right? So what if there were ten people who would get to touch it before him? Big deal, right?
The fact that he didn’t mind waiting didn’t contradict the hungry glare he had at the front of the queue, as the big guy arrogantly swaggered over to the rock, took a good look back at the waiting queue. No, no, take your time, you big lug. No rush here or anything. Just take your time, rest your hand on the rock and - Huh? Weird. Must’ve been a trick of the light, Hyosuke could’ve sworn… Probably nothing. Probably…
Unnoticed by Hyosuke, his silver moon charm began to glow inside his pocket.
<hr>
It was a rather extraordinary place to live, all truth told. A humble little place that he had to share with two of his oldest and dearest friends. The three of them had grown up together, next-door neighbours that soon discovered many common interests. A dislike of sport, a love of science, a fascination with mathematics that went right to the bone.
“I’m home,” he called out as he stepped through the front door. One of his two friends leaned out of his bedroom, doubtless swinging on the chair for his desk again. His name was Shusui Sada.
“Oh, you’re back, Hyosuke!” Shusui cheerily said. Upbeat as ever. “How was it? Did you enjoy your day off?”
“It was a… fascinating experience,” Hyosuke replied, his words meaning the moon rock but his thoughts turning towards that rather beautiful woman he’d met just outside the museum. “Educational.”
“I see, I see,” Shusui said. “And her name was?”
Hyosuke tried not to wince, but couldn’t stop himself from nervously adjusting his collar. “Who do you mean?” he squeaked. Damn his betraying voice! Shusui was like a shark for this sort of thing, the slightest bit of blood in the water was enough to make him -
Break all laws of physics by teleporting to right in front of him, sitting in his chair and staring up at him with far too eager an expression to be comfortable.
“Saori, come quick!” Shusui yelled. “Hyosuke met a girl!”
A woman stepped out of Shusui’s room clad in little more than a long shirt that went down to her lower thighs. This woman’s body inspired two reactions that were not mutually exclusive: Jealousy and lust. She stretched out a lazy stretch that - by any semblance of common sense - should have sent Hyosuke fainting to the floor with a stream of blood sending him there a little bit faster. A figure like that was the sort of thing that should only come from hard work, excercise and very careful diet control. The unfortunate tragedy is: Sometimes genetics is just too damned powerful. Saori Inouye was lazy. If anyone lazier than her could ever be encountered in this world, take them to a hospital because they are surely near death from simply not taking care of themselves. It wasn’t the malicious kind of sloth that one often encounters, where they complain and whine about cleaning up after themselves. No, no, not at all. Saori was lazy with style and flair. She made it look good. Hell. She made anything look good. Like the way she draped over Shusui’s shoulders and peered up at Hyosuke.
“Is that so?” she said while stifling a yawn. “Tell me more!”
“Th-there’s nothing to tell,” Hyosuke insisted. “I arrived at the museum, got in line to - to touch the rock, and - and that’s all! Nothing happened outside the plan.”
“In other words, she approached you and you stammered like an idiot,” Shusui said. Both his friends sighed wearily. “Such a shame. A girlfriend might really help you get a little self confidence.”
“L-Like I could talk to some girl like that,” Hyosuke mumbled.
“Hello? Right here? I work as a model?” Saori said. “You talk to me just fine.”
“Well, yeah, but we’ve known each other since forever, and it’s not the same. Look, just leave me alone, alright? I mean, it’s not like any woman would really want to date a guy like me. I’m too -”
“Nice? Polite?” Saori interrupted. “Considerate of others? Kinda cute and smart? You never forget special occasions, always know just what to get when you need a gift…”
“That’d make a great pick up line,” Hyosuke said. “Hey, cutey. I always know what to get when I need to get someone a gift. Wanna hang out sometime?”
“Well, that’s just your problem right there,” Shusui sighed. “You won’t even give it a try. How will you know what won’t work unless you try? Better to be shot down and learn from it than to never try.”
Hyosuke didn’t know how to respond to that without making himself look like an idiot, so he just went right into his room and closed the door. Really. The idea that he could just talk to some woman he didn’t even know like that. The idea that he could see Saori as an attractive woman! How Shusui managed it, he’d never puzzle out. The idea of the two of them dating… It still baffled him, and they’d been an item for three years already.
“Gosh, the full moon sure is bright tonight,” Hyosuke observed, reaching over to draw his curtains…
Which is right about when it hit him. That dull pain. It had been building ever since he’d left the museum. Like an itch he couldn’t scratch. Underneath the skin. Right where he couldn’t get at it. His breathing became laboured without a second thought. His shirt felt too tight. Too tight! He gasped and pulled it over his head, dumping it on his bed in a rather unlike-him careless and sloppy manner. But he didn’t care. Not when he could see what was happening to his body.
Hair. Growing everywhere. Growing in big, thick tufts all over his body. Manifesting in seconds what should have taken months to grow!
“What’s happening to me?” he growled. Something caught in his throat and a terrible agony ripped through his face. He clasped at his jaw and almost screamed as he felt it elongate, twisting out of a human expression and into something more like a snout! And his hands! The nails were sharp, sharp and strong enough to cut and rip and tear through flesh. “What’s happening to me?!” he said again, shocked that even his voice had undergone a terrifying transformation.
“Hey, Hyosuke?” Shusui called. “Are you okay in there?”
The thought of letting his friend see him like this was too much for him to bear. Hyosuke did the only rational thing he could do under the circumstance, and threw open his window before running shirtless and shoeless off into the night.
Odd how his trousers still fit him pretty snugly.
How long he ran, Hyosuke was not sure. He kept to the shadows where he could find them. Kept away from people. That much was surprisingly simple, somehow. Like he just knew without looking where they were, how fast they were walking, the direction they were walking in and a vague sense of how alert they were. Heightened senses? Possibly. It was the only good thing he could even remotely think to say about this transformation. Let’s see then. Just close the eyes, concentrate on the ears…
“Is there something I can do for you gentlemen?”
That voice. That same voice that had been ringing in his ears all day. He was moving even before he’d thought about what he was doing. The timbre in her voice, that subtle inflection. She was in trouble. A sniff of the air confirmed it. Two men. Large. Nervous. There! Yes, very big. Carrying weapons. Intending to use them.
One of them saw him, so Hyosuke dove for him first. It was easy to tackle him to the ground, then springboard off his chest and headbutt the other one. That made some distance, so he got in front of Taniko on all fours and growled at the two brutes, who took one look at him and scurried away like they’d seen the devil himself. Served them right, let them run off into the shadows. He reared up onto his legs once the threat was obviously gone and turned back over his shoulder to see a still terrified Taniko.
“You… Alright?” he asked. His voice still sounded strange to him. She nodded and smiled in relief, and - And she was scared of him. Why shouldn’t she be scared? He was a freak. Not only that… Since when could he fight? What was happening to him? <i>Why</i> was this happening to him? No! It didn’t make any sense! It didn’t make any -
“Thank you,” Taniko said. “Who are you?”
At which point Hyosuke’s mind went into more familiar territory. A pretty woman was talking to him. Therefore, retreat was the only option. Run, brave werewolf! Run from the damsel formerly in distress!
- Hyosuke transforms back to normal, and has to try to explain what happened to his friends.
- Hysouke encounters another werewolf
- After Hyosuke ran for it, his friends discuss what just happened.
- The thugs return to their boss and report that they didn’t get the job done.
- Momoru Oyama enacts the next stage of his plan.
- Something else
Well, unless others join in on the writing.
ReplyDeleteOr you decide to spoil the poor werewolf :)