Chapter 4 - The Wolf and The Snake

On one side of the faded silk is a snake stitched with intricate detail. I can count almost every single scale along its serpentine body. It's head is reared, fangs bared. On the other side is a wolf, it's powerful hind legs pushing it into the air. Dark shiny claws are outstretched, and its teeth are snarling.

"Grandma?"

"You are the first in so many generations to have spoken to spirits and for them to have spoken back." She climbs back in her chair shakily.

"Oof... there we go. You see, my grandmother's grandmother was the last one to speak to spirits. At the time, she was also a soul mediator. Someone who is able to pacify arguments. Our family's line is, or rather, was, one who was responsible for keeping the peace between the Clans of the Snake and the Clan of the Wolf. But..." She lets out a large sigh.

"Most of my grandmother's family was killed by members of both sides. And since then, they've been fighting non stop. There has been no peace, always bloodshed. We always thought that this would be the case. Until..." She turns to look at me.

"You were born."

—————————————————————

I lay awake in bed. Usually I've would've been passed out by now, but my head is swimming with information. The piece of silk is clutched tightly in my hand. The moon casts thin shadows across the ceiling through the bamboo sliding door.

The Wolf and the Snake Clan...

Grandma's words echo in my head.

'Only those who spoke to spirits knew how to keep the peace between the two clans. It falls to you to figure out what must be done.'

I roll over in bed onto my side. Nervousness and unease swim in my stomach like koi. Easier said than done, Grandma... but how am I supposed to solve an argument which seems to have spanned generations? And why would she tell me this?

Would I need to meet the members of these two clans?

I close my eyes and eventually drift off into a restless sleep. The embroidered image of the snake and the wolf begin to fight in my mind.

The snake's body tightly coils on itself before leaping away as the wolf digs its claws into the ground. The flooring ripples like fabric. The wolf whips it's head around and scratches at the snake, blood spurting from its wounds. It hisses and slithers with quick motions around the wolf's legs, cooling tightly around its body before lunging in to bite at its neck. The wolf growls, pushing itself onto its back to crush the snake. As they fall and impact the ground, the fangs of the snake scrape the ribs of the wolf. Blood sprays onto the fabric.

Stop... stop... you're dirtying the fabric...

I'm nothing more than a voice. They continue to fight as if they cannot hear me. They probably can't. It's impossible after all, Grandma. I cannot stop them. And I don't think I have enough energy to... I feel... so tired...

"Erika, get up!" A voice shrieks in my ear. My eyes fling open as I sit up quickly, screaming myself.

"What? Who? Where?"

Miya, satisfied, leaves the room, calling over her shoulder,

"You're late! Hurry up!" I glance over to my clock which is sitting next to the bamboo door. Someone's opened up my sliding door already. The zen garden is raked and clean too. The sky is bright blue... and it's cold...!!! Shivering, I fling myself out of bed, push my futon to one corner and run around, collecting my uniform, socks, bag and hair tie. Luckily I wear the same hairstyle everyday- too easy and too quick to do now. I run down the hallway, nearly skidding past the kitchen. I cling onto the wall and push the kitchen door open, eyes squeezing shut, ready to get scolded.

"Good- good morning!"

"Good morning, Miss Suzume."

I open my eyes to see Tsume dressed in his uniform, holding out my bento box and cloth to me with a closed-eye smile.

"T-Tsume-!"

"Here's your lunch- let's head off now."

"O... Okay! We're off, Grandma, Mother!"

"Take care!" Grandma's voice comes from the kitchen as we head out of the door and towards school. I'm still holding the bento in my hand, staring down at it.

"I'm grateful for you leaving me food yesterday. I was hoping to return the lunchbox to you once I cleaned it. I hope you don't mind the lunch I made you." Tsume smiles, albeit sheepishly.

"I can only make sandwiches, I'm sorry."

"No, no, it's fine! Thank you."

We cross the bridge and continue walking on into the school.

"I... was really surprised to find out you attended the same school as I did. I don't think I've seen you around much." I say.

"I suppose that's fair. I haven't been in school much myself, to be honest. My father prefers homeschooling, and wherever possible, for me to stay in the library or study someplace warm." He quickens his pace with a flash of his pleasant smile.

"Let's get to school quickly. It's quite cold, I must say."

"Okay!"

He breathes a sigh of relief when we enter the school's lobby and begin to change shoes. The bell rings for the beginning of roll call for the senior students. Eeep- we just made it...

"Much better..."

"You must be pretty sensitive to the cold, huh, Tsume?"

"Yes, quite. Could you tell?" He tucks strands of his white hair behind his ears before rubbing his arms to warm them up. His feet slip into the indoor shoes.

"..." He freezes in place for a moment before beginning to move again. I reach down to slip into my shoes as well—

"Aaahh..." I wince a little, shivering.

"They're so cold... this is the worst part..."

We collect our bags and head down the almost empty hallways. The juniors and the second years are the ones left in the halls, but many sit in their roll call classrooms, ready for their bell to go off.

"Which classroom is yours, Tsume?"

"It's 1-B. How about yours, Miss Suzume?"

"... Oh!" I'm still not used to him calling me that.

"It's 1-C."

"Lovely. It's down this hallway. And your classroom is that one, no?" As we reach the fork in the hallway, he points to the room on our right.

"Yep, sure is! I'll see you around then, Tsume!"

I turn to head to my classroom when I feel a presence heading towards us at a relatively fast speed. I stop and look over my shoulder to see a tall boy with auburn hair, his eyes burning like a torch and his mouth pulled in a taut line. I glance quickly down the hallway and around me. There's no one here besides me and-

"A-Atsu-senpai, good morning-!" I squeak. Did I do something wrong? Why is he heading so fast towards me? I feel myself brace for impact. There's a large thud from the wall behind me. Prying my eyes open slowly, shakily, my gaze shifts to my left. Atsu-senpai has his hand on the wall, glaring daggers downward.

Not at me.

Tsume, for the first time I've seen, isn't smiling. He wears an unimpressed expression, staring back up at Atsu-senpai with his bluish-grey eyes hard as stone. His gaze flickers to the outstretched arm of the taller male before looking back up at him.

"You're back." Atsu-senpai spoke. His voice was low, quiet. I gulp. Dangerous.

"Yes, so it seems. Did you miss me?"

"Shut up. I'm upset cause you ran off on me."

"Ahh, I see."

My jaw is dragging on the floor as I stare at these two. What... what is happening?

Wait... could these two be...

My eyes shift from Atsu-senpai to Tsume. Tsume to Atsu-senpai.

No way...

You two...

Know each other?