Mid-Fall, 1020 A.D., Japan
When Sato opened his eyes, he found himself in an unfamiliar, large, and mostly empty space. On the other side of the room, sitting in a lotus position with his eyes closed, was the young bronze-skinned man whom he suspected of being the wolf demon, the one who killed his sister.
Sitting up, a sense of weakness washed over him as he felt his head spin, trying to recall how he got there. But all he remembered was attacking the man, a short conversation, and then blankness—a blur, as if he had fallen unconscious for no reason at all.
Seeing that the man didn't notice he was awake, Sato tried to rise to his feet shakily, only to find his legs so weak that they buckled under the slightest pressure, causing him to fall again.
"Don't bother. Even if you were well-fed and trained to withstand poison, it is unlikely you would be able to move anytime soon with the amount of wolfsbane that is currently inside your body," Isaac's voice penetrated Sato's ears, making him look up to see Isaac standing above him.
"W...What did you do to me?! What is this wolfsbane you speak of?" Sato stuttered, his fear evident.
Originally, he had come looking for the demon, thinking there might be a small chance he could catch him by surprise and avenge his sister. Even if that wasn't the case, he saw just how easily he killed the seven trained assassins, hoping that in case he failed, at least his death would be quick.
Now, it seemed the demon had other intentions, drugging him and taking him away instead. Sato was a scholar, a statesman, and a politician, not a warrior. When it came to pain, his threshold was quite low, and he was quite afraid of torture.
The only fight he ever got into before the night his sister died was when he was bullied by one of his older brothers at three years old, and even that fight was resolved through words, resulting in only a slightly bruised knee.
As one who worked behind the curtains, he always had others who would fight for him. But now he was all alone, and as far as he could tell, even if all his guards came to save him, they were unlikely to succeed. The man before him was far scarier than anyone or anything he had ever seen; the best samurais in all of Japan were like ants in comparison.
"You are a werewolf and you don't know what wolfsbane is?" Isaac looked at Sato with a blank face, finding his words hard to believe. "Didn't your father or mother explain anything to you?"
"W...Werewolf? W...What is that? What did my parents not e...explain to me?" Sato looked at Isaac, a clear expression of confusion on his face. But at his words, Isaac's eyes narrowed. Listening to Sato's heartbeat, he could tell he was telling him the truth.
Closing his eyes, Isaac tried to imagine the different scenarios by which Sato came to be. None of them seemed to make sense, especially since, as far as he could tell, Sato seemed to be full Japanese.
"Your parents are both full Japanese, I presume. Would I be correct?" He asked in a tone that indicated he already knew the answer but wanted confirmation. Sato replied with a slight nod, and again, no lie was detected, and Sato seemed sure enough of his answer.
Thinking for a few more seconds, he decided to go in a different direction, and figure out when Sato's curse was triggered. "Did you ever kill someone? An accident would work as well..."
Sato nodded his head again, as he opened his mouth slightly, a few tears in his eyes. "M...My sister, I k...Killed my sister..."
"Anyone else?" Isaac's frustration grew as he knew he was the one responsible for her death. Sato's self-blame was simply self-destructive, and had nothing to do with what he was searching for which irritated him, but he kept his emotions in check. Sato simply shook his head, tears gathering in the corners of his eyes as he remembered Natsuko's face once again.
"And you also didn't change the last full moon..." Isaac mumbled to himself as it finally occurred to him. That meant that somehow, in those three weeks since they met, Sato became a werewolf, and it was unrelated to his heritage as well.
If this wasn't caused by an extremely powerful witch, which would have meant Sato would have known at least something about what happened to him, this left only one possibility Isaac could think of...Sato's transformation was somehow related to him!
"L...look, I-" Sato started speaking when he suddenly felt the familiar sensation at the back of his neck, and once again, lost consciousness under Isaac's precise strike.
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As Isaac took a break from his work in the smithy over the next few days, he consistently found himself in the company of Sato whenever the latter woke up. Though Sato's presence offered a break from the monotony of his daily routine, Isaac couldn't help but find his behavior irksome.
Initially stuttering, scared, and depressed, Sato gradually became talkative. By the fourth day, he was bombarding Isaac with endless questions akin to a curious child discovering a smartphone for the first time. Despite his annoyance, Isaac couldn't deny the refreshing change that Sato brought to his routine.
Perhaps it was the stark contrast to his solitary life over the last decade. Ever since he came to this small town, he rarely spoke with anyone unless absolutely necessary. His life had become all about training and mastering his craft. But he found himself liking having someone to talk to, at least most of the time.
Yet, every time he found the conversation had become too tiresome, he would just knock Sato out in the same way and get back to whatever he was doing before. It was a crude solution, but it allowed him to maintain some semblance of his previous routine while also indulging in occasional human interaction.
In the meantime, while Sato was asleep, Isaac was working hard to revise his sword technique once again. The original technique given to him by the old man was for a Ken, a type of double-edged straight sword.
Yet over the last few years, through relentless practice and dedication, he had transformed the technique into something even more formidable and lethal. The new technique was designed to fit the tachi, it being the pinnacle of swords in the current era.
Only now, he had finally created the first katana, hundreds of years before it happened in his last world. Originally, it only replaced the tachi much later at around the 13-14 century. The only reason he could create it himself, was that he was in fact a cold weapons-enthusiast in his last life, something he picked up during his service.
When he got sick, he received an authentic Katana from one of the members of his unit, who shared similar interests, yet was much better of, as a get well present. Unfortunately, he wasn't really allowed to keep it in the hospital, but if things went as planned, it should have been berried along with him.
Despite the many similarities between the tachi and the katana, their respective techniques remained distinct. As a seal, Isaac was also a martial arts master, and understood that mastering the nuances of each weapon was essential for honing his skills as a warrior.
So, he continued to train tirelessly, striving to bridge the gap between the two sword styles and perfect his artistry in combat, forming an all-new technique that would perfectly enhance the lethality of his newly created masterpiece.
He also ventured out to hunt some animals and cooked, activities he hadn't engaged in for quite some time since his nutrition had solely relied on blood. Although he could eat other foods, he lacked knowledge about seasoning in both lives.
Without the expertise of how to enhance flavors, he found himself refraining from consuming these bland dishes altogether. Occasionally, he would try the local food, which was a bit better, even if not by much... Either way, the taste of fresh blood triumphed above all.
By the evening, Sato would already wake up, and over the last few days, Isaac even started learning calligraphy and art from him, dedicating to it some of his time every day. Like that, ten days passed, and tonight was the night of the full moon.
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In the midst of the dense forest, bathed in the ethereal light of the full moon, Isaac and Sato stood in a small clearing, surrounded by towering trees that seemed to stretch endlessly into the night sky. Despite the chill of the wind, Sato was only wearing his undergarments, holding his hands against a large fire, his body shivering slightly in the cold air.
Opposite Sato stood Isaac, clad in a simple black robe that billowed softly in the night breeze. His katana remained strapped to his waist, while a small table with a scroll opened on it stood by his side. There was a sense of calm about him as his eyes gazed upon the light of the glowing moon, its shadow casting over him, evoking a familiar feeling of empowerment.
As the moon reached its peak, Isaac's eyes shifted, a wild glint showing in them as they turned feral, a cold shade of neon-green. Some sort of dominant energy radiated from his body, causing a moment of silence to reign over the clearing, as not even the insects dared to make a sound.
Arching his back as he looked at the sky, a loud howl left his mouth, reverberating through the forest, the cave where his prisoners were kept and even reaching the small town a hundred kilometers away, it sent shivers of fear through all living creatures in the area.
Lowering his head once more, he felt a connection that wasn't there before. Turning in place, behind him stood a gray colored wolf, its eyes glowing with a gold-yellow color. It looked at Isaac as if awaiting a command, its head slightly lowered in a show of respect.
Looking at the wolf, Isaac felt a deep connection between them, one he had felt once before, though it was long ago, nearly forgotten. It was like looking at his own sibling, one that shared his blood, the same connection he felt to his sister.
Thinking for only a few seconds, he undid the ties on his robe, letting it fall of his shoulders, and before it even touched the ground, in Isaac's place, now stood an extremely large wolf, more than twice the size of the other one.
Looking into the darkness of the surrounding woods, he nodded at Sato, and as if by telepathic communication, the later nodded in return, before he blurred, and with lightning speed, disappeared into the endless forest.
Meanwhile, Isaac gave another look at the night's sky, before he too ran in the same direction, a sharp glint in his eyes, something about this felt right, it was like something in him that had gone missing long ago, even before he transformed, was once again there.
Isaac, for the first time in ages, was a part of a real pack!
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This chapter is the last one on how he met Sato... Let me know if there is anything that wasn't clear so I can try to explain...
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Also If you want you can give a try to my other fanfics:
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