Mister Ōkami

My name is Suisen, and I am a wolf. Here in this world, we’re all animals…but…we don’t exactly get along… Right now, I am running for my life… Why? Well, that’s because I’m a carnivore.

Sirens blare and search lights gleam. I gotta keep running. If I don’t, they’ll capture me! What have I done to deserve this?!

“We just spotted another runaway… A golden wolf, northbound…” a voice booms all around me.

All of a sudden, a bunch more animals burst out from the brush around me. The alarms grow louder and we’re all fleeing. A heavy wind blows, the helicopter is descending! I skid to a halt, staring up at the blinding light.

“THIS WAY!” a voice calls out.

I’m too stunned to move. I tremble. The voice continues to yell at me, but I’m trapped, staring up at the helicopter. Suddenly, a great force hits me and I am knocked out.

“She’s waking up,” a voice echoes.

I groan, pulling myself to my feet. My side hurts from the impact. Where am I? Did they capture me…?

“Name?” the voice from before calls.

I look and standing there is a black wolf. He’s rather big, but I can tell he’s a young one. His body is very muscular, so much so that it is obvious under his pelt. He stands there, snarling at me.

“S-Suisen…” I whisper.

“Speak up. Let me hear your voice,” the black wolf says.

“My name is Suisen!” I announce.

Now I see it. Everyone around me is a wolf. Either I got captured and thrown into containment…or I was rescued? I catch myself looking around a bit more.

It’s a bit cold, drafty… The hallways appear to dip deep into the earth. It’s also rather dark. A few dim makeshift lights are glowing. Luckily, I am a wolf, and I can see in the dark.

“Suisen… Nice name…” the black wolf says. “From henceforth, you’ll be known as Suisen Ōkami! Welcome to my family!”

The other wolves cheer excitedly, but are quickly hushed with a stern look. No, if we’re too loud, the scary people might come back. The black wolf stocks around a bit and then turns his attention back to me. He couldn’t be much older than me, he just can’t be, yet he has gained the respect of all these other wolves.

“I am the Alpha. It is my duty to protect all wolves,” the black wolf says. “You may address me as Alpha, or Mr. Ōkami.”

“Yes, Alpha,” I say, submitting.

“You know what? I like you already,” Alpha says, smiling gently.

“Oooooh!” the others says.

Apparently this is NOT a common statement from the Alpha. I beam a bit, but remain submissive, just in case. He carefully cleans my messy face, smoothening out my fur which I had no time to fix after my last meal. The others are still watching me, rather surprised.

“Unfortunate that we have met in such a situation as this, but I promise, Suisen, I’m here to take care of you…and as such, you must also take care of us,” Alpha murmurs. “In this family, love binds us together!”

“Ah, really? I thought that we were bound by our inability to return to normal life!” a voice calls out from nearby.

There’s another black wolf sitting there. She looks rather smug. The Alpha sighs in annoyance and rolls his eyes at her. Then, he abandons me and strikes her with a clawed paw.

“WE’VE TALKED ABOUT THIS, KURAI!” Alpha barks.

“I’m sorry…” Kurai says, lowering her head to the floor.

“You BETTER be sorry! This is NOT the first outburst you’ve had!” Alpha exclaims in frustration.

“Alpha! Why have you hurt the girl?!” I exclaim, unable to stop myself from bounding over.

“Wha-? I barely struck her! Listen, Suisen, I’m sorry. The only way to keep everyone safe, is to make sure everyone is obedient…” Alpha says and gently licks Kurai.

“Thank you, Alpha,” Kurai says, grinning. “I don’t deserve your kindness!”

“Of course you do,” Alpha says with a grin. “We all deserve a bit of kindness… Just…please no more snarky remarks. It drives me nuts.”

“Nuts? Like what you ha-“ Kurai begins before getting whacked again.

“ENOUGH!” Alpha barks.

By now, every other wolf is standing at submissive. Nobody wants to mess with the Alpha…nobody aside from Kurai, that is. She’s rather brave. Alpha takes a deep breath.

“I love you, Kurai, and all of you. I really do,” Alpha says. “Get some rest, next patrol is in a few hours. We’ll round up a few more exiles and maybe grab some grub. We’ll see…”

“Where do I rest?” I inquire.

“Oh! This way! I know the BEST sleep spot in the bunker!” Kurai exclaims, excitedly running off down a hall that a few other wolves went down.

I follow suit, my paw pads picking up old dust that has littered this cave for years. Y’know…I think I like this girl… My eyes catch random claw marks along the narrow passageway walls. I can only imagine what could have left such gouges.

“Welcome to Kurai’s Cozy!” Kurai announces.

There’s a little hollow where the walls of the cave slant inwards. A small gap in the wall leading to deeper in the cavern is puffing warm air. A few other wolves, whom I find are all she-wolves, find their spots and settle in. I see all different colors, brown, silver, black, white, gray, multicolored, even pink…but I am the only gold wolf.

“Kurai,” I say.

“Yeah, Suisen?” Kurai asks, her tongue lolling out in a silly manner.

“What is going to happen to me?” I ask.

“Well, you seem to have found favor with Alpha, Suisen. He likes you. I imagine that you’ll rank pretty highly in the rankings that are coming up soon,” Kurai says. “I don’t imagine he’d make you do too much work. Me? I’m probably still an Omega like last week…”

“Oh yeah? Sorry, I know nothing about this. I literally just escaped capture…my mom and dad didn’t escape…” I say.

“I’m sorry, most of us here are orphans, well, we were. We’re part of Ōkami’s family, now,” Kurai says. “He’s a bit harsh, but he means well.”

“Oh yeah? He smacked you, didn’t he?” I ask.

“I deserved it, honestly… It doesn’t hurt toooooo much!” Kurai says.

“Dare I ask how long this harem has existed before you found me?” I ask with a sigh.

“Uhhhh, since the beginning of the carnivore purge. That was, I don’t know…time blends together down here,” Kurai says with a shrug.

“Five months ago,” I say. “The new president’s first order. It’s summer now.”

“Oh yeah, cool. I’ve been here since the beginning almost. I would have died. I’m lucky Alpha saved me,” Kurai says.

“I’m glad you’re here. Maybe you can teach me a thing or two about harem life?” I suggest.

“Sure thing, Suisen,” Kurai says. “Don’t let Alpha catch you hanging with me, though. He’d certainly drop your rank.”

“That bad, huh? Well, I guess this is my life now,” I say.

“I’ll take care of you, and you can take care of me. Just as we all take care of Alpha and he takes care of us,” Kurai says with a nod.

“How long must we bide our time? How long until we can return to normal?” I wonder, mostly to myself.

“Maybe never. If they keep voting the goat into office, we could be down here until we all rot away, and our descendants rot away, and their descendants rot away,” Kurai says. “But at least we’ve got a family now…”

Kurai yawns sleepily and stretches. She walks a circle at perhaps the coldest end of this cavern and lies down. I join her, wrapping my own body around her. She’s cold…bitterly cold… Meanwhile, the higher ranked wolves are hogging up the heat vent.

“Suisen…you don’t have to sleep with me…” Kurai says.

“I choose to,” I say, licking her gently. “We’re gonna take care of each other, remember? You’re my sister, now.”

“Okay, well, rest well, Suisen,” Kurai says.

I awaken to Mr. Ōkami prodding me. Kurai is already up…and so are the other wolves. I overslept. I yawn and stand at submissive, to which Mr. Ōkami smiles and nods. Phew…he’s not mad at me…

“I hope you slept well,” Mr. Ōkami says.

“I did, thanks. I really needed it,” I say.

“I gave you five extra minutes. Now, come on, we need to go on patrol. Imagine how many helpless she-wolves may have gotten captured while you slept,” Mr. Ōkami says.

“Y-yes, sir, sorry,” I say.

We exit the den together. There’s 33 of us currently counting Alpha. Kurai, though I can tell she wants to hang out with me, keeps her distance, hanging out with a small sandy colored wolf and a medium sized black wolf. However, once we get out, Alpha starts to split us into two groups.

The first group of us are going patrolling for any wolves who haven’t found sanctuary yet. I’m in this group with Alpha, Frostt, Hash, Viper, Walk, Bounce, Presha, X, Noise, Gargle, Dilly, Umami, Crisp, and Toosh. The second group is going hunting for food and any useful supplies that we could use in our secret hide out. The wolves in this group are Oil, Edge, Vicious, Ziff, Celementina, Jewel, Hill, Quickie, Ressa, Moov, Nora, Bella, Ava, Yola, Mouth, Lucy, Ivory, and Kurai.

“Alpha, sir, can Kurai join my team?” I ask.

“NO. She may NOT. Kurai is on food duty. And she BETTER not eat it all for herself THIS TIME!” Mr. Ōkami barks.

“Sorry for asking…” I say, lowering my head.

“You guys aside from Suisen know how this works. Group 1, you’re with me. You’ll be keeping your eyes, ears, and noses peeled for signs of other wolves. Also, do NOT get captured by the search helicopters! If you get caught, you’re as good as dead!” Mr. Ōkami states. “Group 2! You will hunt! Bring back as much prey as you can…dead or alive, it matters not. We will share whatever we find. Berries and other fruits are also very much welcome! If you find any bedding, I would like that as well, but our main focus is getting food. Again, do NOT get caught! Clementina, Jewel, Umami…don’t make me save your sorry bums again…”

“YES, ALPHA!” everyone aside from Kurai cheers.

“Y’know, we could rob a bakery and bring home some sweets. Ever tried cheesecake? I hear it’s really tasty and-“ Kurai blabs until Mr. Ōkami whacks her with a clawed paw.

“ENOUGH! If we had to sacrifice someone it would definitely be her…” Mr. Ōkami mumbles. “I love you all, I wish you the best of luck. Let’s go!”

I’m honestly glad I wasn’t put on the hunting team… I’m kinda bad at it. Anyways, I watch Kurai lead her group away. The Omega always goes first, as the most dispensable member, I suppose. The leader of my team is Toosh.

“Faster, Toosh!” Mr. Ōkami commands. “Move your toosh!”

“Yes, Alpha!” Toosh says and picks up the pace slightly.

I’ve never been out this far before. Clawderwilde, that’s the name of my region, is very, very, big. There are regions outside of it as well. Everything feels so empty, barren.

“Let’s quickly dip into the city. I doubt any stragglers remain there, though. They’ve surely been killed or captured by now,” Mr. Ōkami directs.

“Are you sure?” Toosh asks.

“Do you question my authority?!” Mr. Ōkami asks.

“Okay, heading towards the city, sir!” Toosh says and turns.

The city once was a warm, welcoming, bustling haven. Now, all I know of it is death, running for my life, pain, agony… I shudder, but I keep running with the pack. As we grow closer to the city, Alpha orders us into stalking position.

I sniff, but all I smell is death, and oil. No smell of wolves aside from the ones around me. Still, though, we slink into the shadows, dispersing slightly. I check a dumpster and find the remains of some of my fellow carnivores… No life there.

“WOLVES! WOLVES IN THE CITY!” a voice exclaims suddenly from nearby.

We’ve been spotted!