"Mom, mom! I don't want to sleep now. I am not that sleepy yet. Please, tell me a story! Your stories are always interesting and exciting!" said with a sulking appearance on his small and cute face.
The boy was playing all day yet he isn't tired. What a shocking stamina he has.
On the other hand, Mom is pretty tired. She woke up early to make breakfast for his son, had to take the child to kindergarten, went to work, etc. After all, this is the life of a mom who is raising her son alone.
2 years ago, His husband was killed by a certain, yet unexpected person.
"Why don't you sleep now, sweetie? Aren't you tired from the play?" said with a caring tone.
"No! I am not that tired! I want to hear that story, Mom! That werewolf stories!"
Mom looked happy yet sad. Why did the word "werewolf" affect her?
"... if you want to, I won't stop you. Let me tell you the story as you mentioned."
The child looked very happy at his mom and said "Yay!". After he said that, he went upright to his bed to get ready for his story time.
The mom looked at his son with a caring face, "Okay! So, which werewolf story should I tell you today? ... But why do you like werewolf stories so much? Is it because they are strong or...?" asked his son with a curious tone.
Her son smiled and said in sadness "No! Not because they are strong, just... I feel sorry for them. They are not at fault. The humans misunderstood and killed them...
Mom is it... wrong to think like that? Am I weird?"
Mom looked at her son with tears in her eyes "No... no, my dear! It is not wrong to think like that. You should have your own opinion. And anyone can judge your opinion. ... Now should I tell the story?"
After hearing her mom's words, his sadness has gone away with one blow. "Yes! I want to hear it, Mom!"
"Okay. Ahem! ...
Once upon a time, there were many werewolves in the world which coexisted with humans. They were living peacefully until ... that accident happened.
Werewolves are, according to some legends, people who morph into vicious, powerful wolves. Others are a mutant combination of humans and wolves.
Their usual appearance is more like a human. But the only difference is the fluffy ears and tail.
One day, a young werewolf was wandering in a forest at night. When he was scrolling, he heard a voice. The voice from a young girl. The more he walked to that sound, the clearer the sound became. When he found the girl, she was crying ... as she was lost in the forest.
He approached her and said "Hey... Did you...?!"
"Wah! Get away from me! I won't go home! I don't want to! Just leave me alone! Stop!" shouted with all her might.
The young werewolf was shocked by her. Maybe, it was because she said something he didn't consider. He thought "No wonder, she has such a loud voice. It is deafening. My ears..."
He smiled, sat in front of her, and said "I won't take you home. Don't worry, kid."
"You... you are not from ... Dukedom? Not the person who sent after me?" said with relief.
The young werewolf walked near to her, so she could see him well.
"I am not from the Dukedom. Don't worry. And... Please don't be scared of me. I won't do anything to harm you. So..." He was scared that she would be scared of his pointy tooth, big ears, etc.
"... So, you are a real werewolf. Oh, you don't have to worry. I am not like others. Also, I am not scared of you. Rather I am very happy to meet one."
He was surprised by her. Normally, when humans see them, they will scream and ... make a fuss about them.
He asked her "... Are you not scared of me? I am a werewolf, after all." said with a slightly worried look on his face.
"So, what if you are a werewolf? You are better than humans. ...At least, you have some common sense. Not believing such stupid and meaningless rumors." said it with an angry tone.
When she looked at him, her face became kind of pink, and mumbled something "And ... you are not scary but... handsome"
"Um, not scary but what?"
"...Handsome..."
"Eh... I didn't hear it. Can you say it louder, please?"
"Ugh!... YOU ARE NOT SCARY BUT HANDSOME! EXTREMELY HANDSOME TO THE POINT I AM EMBARRASSED NOW. SO, CAN YOU PLEASE SIT FAR FROM ME! ... Not that far, just a little far..." Her face became red, like an apple.
When he first heard it, he didn't understand it that much. But after some thought, his face also became red, because of her word "extremely handsome".
They sat like that for a bit. After they calmed down, the young handsome werewolf asked her why she ran away from her home and said something like that.
"Well, ... it is a long story. My family is a relative of the royal family. So, this means, His highnesses are my cousins. We get lessons together every day in the palace. Today, the History teacher told us about werewolves. You know what, I am pretty interested in werewolves, you know. So, during the lecture, I became excited and told them my opinions about werewolves. When I said that, their expression became dark. Like a disgusted face. I was really scared. After the lesson, I went back straight home. And told them about what happened today and asked why they had that expression on their face. ... But unfortunately, my family had that exact expression. That made me think, "Am I the weird one here? Is it wrong to think highly of werewolves? ...Many questions were in my head.
When I asked them that question from my family, they smiled at me and told me to go to my room. I stood up silently and went to my room. Right after I entered my room, they locked me up. ... After that, I ... just escaped and ran here. ... *cries* Hey, ... is it wrong to think like that?! Why are they doing this to me?"
"You know, ... I don't know what to say right now. But I can say one thing for sure.... What humans think about us is fake. We are not what they think. "
She smiled at him and said "Yeah, I know that. Know that better than anyone."
When he heard that, he had that strange and tingling feeling. He couldn't express it in words, also he didn't know what that feeling was.
He smiled at her and asked her "What is your name, kid?"
"My name is Ayano Kanazawa. And I am not a kid. I am 17 years old."
"Ha-ha! But you are a kid compared to me, I am 135 years old! ... My name is Ren Shuhei. Let's become friends!" said and reached out his hands.
She smiled at him and looked very happy. "It would be my honor to become a werewolf's friend! Let's get along well!"
It was the beginning of a human and a werewolf's friendship that didn't last long... The friendship is caused to break out a war between humans and werewolves.