Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“And the family is parted. Will it be complete one day?” – Will the Circle Be Unbroken

The white of the trees skipped past as worn claws prodded the ground, drawing their owner into a light dash. Silence echoed throughout the gently lit woods, the only whisper of sound coming from the hearty breathing in his barreled chest. Above, the sky was filled with dark, fluffy clouds, hinting that a storm would soon fill the winter air. With the snow falling delicately, the guardian wolf came to an agile halt.

Silken ears swung back and forth listening to the silence. His black nose twitched as it pressed to the ground, scenting the lingering presence of his prey. Hunting instincts hummed in his chest and pausing only for a moment, he shot off again, his lean back catching the weightless flakes that melted on his warm and flowing fur coat.

Long strides carried him over the soft snow as he chased the scent of the wild boar. The animal had been causing trouble in the forest for many seasons, forcing the adult wolf into action.

As he ran through the frozen trees, a sense of humane discomfort pricked at his heart. The forest was second nature to him; he knew it like no other place. But the path that he currently strode upon would lead him directly to the one memory he wished to avoid. That place where she sat; where she waited. He ignored the feeling in his troubled heart, and chased his prey with renewed determination.

However, the closer he got, the stronger the unease gripped his heart. He had walked this path many times and often enough with only two feet. Emotions that had seemed long forgotten violently crashed through his mind as a chorus of smells reached his nose.

The wolf tottered back a step as the wave of familiar scents flooded his heightened senses, drowning him in nostalgia. A need and purpose filled him to the tips of his flattened ears. Not a single sound escaped his clenched teeth but an unfamiliar longing seemed to seep from him. It lifted his shaking legs and brought his head high as a sudden clarity shot through his beset mind.

He wanted to return. But he couldn’t. He was someone else. Something else now. That place had no hold over him anymore.

Yet still, he wanted to go back.

The thoughts of squeaking floorboards, the rattling of the window shutters and the patter of rain on the roof stuck in his mind; his last memories of that place while he walked away, almost simply but with a heavy heart.

Even now, as his furry paws carried him forward, he could remember the feeling of the grass between his toes. How they tickled at his two legs and the giggles that slipped through his grinning lips. How she would lay beside him while playing with his hair, an uproar of screams and laughter resonating from behind her back.

But something was missing; something that always lit up his heart with warmth and love. Something that he would see every day no matter the moment. That absolutely radiant smile that had always shone on her face. He could not remember it.

With this shocking realization, he snapped back to reality and found himself at the very place he wanted so desperately to avoid.

It was just as he remembered it.

Snow blanketed the entire residence, masking the flower beds that grew the most vibrant and colourful flowers and the large garden that held days upon days of effort within its rich soil.

His first time seeing snow happened that one morning when the family of three thrown themselves into the white powder, the cold flakes kissing their naked arms.

But once again, he escaped his past and found himself standing on the very spot the three had rolled around that one winter day. His heart clenched painfully.

Was it out of loneliness? Or perhaps bittersweet warmth? No matter what, he decided he should leave. He had sated his curiosity. He turned towards the woods and a single word rang through the air.

“Ame?”

A shiver coursed through his entire body. That word. No, that name. It was... it was his.

Mine. My name was Ame.

Fear clutched his heart. He could not face the voice. It was so familiar but he could not place it; would not place it. So he ran.

“AME!”

As the familiar woods surrounded him once more, he slowed. He took a gentle break of stride and with it, he heard the fumbling of inexperienced steps following suit.

A gentle memory pressed at his mind. This has happened once before. When?

The wolf regained full speed, darting between the trees with masterful agility. The sound of rushing water nearby caused his ears to twitch to attention. With a slight step to the left, he centered in on the noise and charged forward. Using his light feet, he skipped across the rushing river, avoiding the rocks coated in the invisible ice. He cleared the bank on the other side of the river just in time to hear a splash sound in the deafening silence.

Before he could stop himself, he had turned around and launched himself into the river after the disappearing form.

Boulders and fallen trees bashed into him as he attempted to carefully navigate through the rapids. After too long in the water, the wolf had caught up to the struggling form. He reached out with his muzzle, clamping onto the cold form and his tongue met fur. Ignoring his slight confusion, he tensed his body and with a violent surge, broke out of the water, launching the shaking form onto the shore. He followed shortly after.

Panting deeply, he made his way over to his sister. She had changed much over their time apart, that was obvious, but he knew her as soon as he gazed at her properly. As she lay on the frozen ground, she slowly turned back into her human form.

She was unconscious but breathing heavily, much to his surprised relief. However, this situation was dangerous, even for him. He raised his muzzle into the sky, preparing to release his deafening howl for help, but a thought occurred to him. Who would hear it? With that, a sense of dread filled his heart.

Who would come?

Chapter Text

His lips bled as he dragged the heavy mass through the snow. The large log clamped tightly between his teeth cracked and grumbled as he pulled it along, his sister strewn across the top of it.

The time after leaving the icy river had been desperate and fearful. His sister had been hurt somehow in the river, and she slept uncomfortably on the ground, limbs quaking in the frozen breeze. He had managed to curl around her as he thought of a plan, giving her even a small amount of warmth. Her eyelashes had frozen shut, so he calmly licked them until the ice had broken away, and by then a plan had formed in his panicking mind. Now the two of them were approaching the old wooden house that stood like a pillar of hope for the exhausted wolf.

It took some time, but he managed to get Yuki into the house and next to the heater that had been left on. And once his task was done, he fell to the ground.

His labored breathing caused his sides to heave up and down, his breath now barely seen in front of his bloody muzzle. He let his eyes slid closed as he relaxed, surrounded by the walls thought to be stuck in his childhood.

But what he didn’t remember was the house feeling this… empty. Where did the warmth and laugher disappear to? Where was… she?

With that thought, Ame rolled over much to the protest of his aching body. Yuki was now safe. His job was done, so he must leave. He must leave it all behind.

And yet, when he stood and shook his fur dry, a single picture caught his attention. It was not who was in the picture that necessarily stopped him in his tracks, but the location of the picture in the grand room.

The shelf that once held a vase with a flower picked fresh every morning, and the ID card that held the picture of their deceased father now had a picture sitting beside it. That picture had captured a young woman, smiling brightly as she wiped her brow after a long day’s work in the garden. The smile that he yearned to see after so long was there in front of his face, framed by a four by six slip of paper. On top of the captured sky, a single sentence announced the importance of the picture.

“May she rest in peace.”

The words meant nothing to the trembling wolf. He couldn’t even read them, but that shelf held such meaning in his wary heart that the message was easily delivered to her quaking and distraught child.

“She’s gone, Ame. I’m sorry.” A quiet but clear voice traveled to his hunched form near the shelf. Yuki had woken up.

“It was last year, around spring time. I had come to visit and she... she just…” Her voice cracked sharply causing the wolf to turn his head.

“It was spring.”, she repeated. “The doors were all open wide and she sat on the porch when I arrived. But when I got close I realised she was gone. She smelt like… death, Ame.” He understood the smell of an empty shell, for he had witnessed many deaths and had caused even more himself in those woods. “But she held something in her hand. It was dad’s picture! She held it so lovingly I couldn’t bear to take it away, not then.” His sister got very quiet for a few seconds after, but she eventually broke it herself with the words.

“She waited for you, you know.”

Abruptly the wolf stood and made his way towards the door. “Wait! I’m sorry, I’m just angry, please ignore that, it’s not your fault.” He stopped and glanced back over his shoulder at her, but after a seconds’ pause, he continued out the door.

As he descended to the snow covered ground, he heard the thudding of Yuki’s feet as she chased after him.

“Wait, one last thing! Please!” she cried after him. His patience was short due to the conflict in his heart, but he stopped and waited, eyes expressionless.

“She was always worried about you. She felt that she hadn’t given you enough as a mother and she deeply regretted that, even though she accepted your choice. She truly wanted you to be happy, Ame. And I’m so glad that I could see you, ‘cause I was worried too, you know?” The sound of an engine interrupted her and she glanced over her shoulder. She closed the door that she stood in and stepped onto the snow, only a few paces away from her brother.

“But I understand that this was your choice. We chose differently as you can see, but you are still my brother and I love you no matter what. And there is something I want you to know.” Yuki’s face flickered with her honest emotions and Ame found that he could not look away.

“Ame, you will always have a place here. But this isn’t your home. Not anymore. Go back to where you belong, Ame, and be happy alright? You don’t need to worry anymore. She’s finally with him, where she belongs. And I’ll be here, giving what she gave to me; no, to us.” An honest smile graced her face, sharing with the impact of the constant stream of tears that had begun running down her cheeks.

“You look… just like her.” His raspy voice broke through the warm silence, speaking with a tongue unused after many years. “When you smile… like that… you look just like Mom.”

He meant to compliment her with this fact, but he soon found the smile had evaporated and his fur became damp once again, his sister’s arms clutching tightly to his neck as she openly wept. Slowly, as if remembering how, two human arms rose and entwined their fingers in the mass of hair that tickled his nose.

His head sunk into her neck, returning the embrace as he breathed deeply, filling his head once more with long abandoned memories. His now bare shoulder caught the falling tears as they fell off her nose. She clutched him all the tighter as she mourned.

Overwhelming warmth filled his chest. He remembered now, that smile that was always absent from his memories. He got to see it again. The chance had almost been lost, but there it was, on his sisters face where it belonged; the perfect reflection of the one who had introduced it to their lives.

The two siblings shared this moment in memory of their mother, each mourning in the way they knew best. But as they held each other the pain seemed to lift away.

It left them gently, like the wind that danced through their hair with a loving caress. And as the two rose from their kneeling embrace, they held each other at arm’s length, then slowly leaned forward and brought their foreheads together, a calm smile on both of their lips.

Yuki closed her eyes and Ame’s searched behind his sister, meeting with the man who stood in the shadow of the house, door slightly open, watching the encounter with an unwavering gaze. Happiness filled the brother’s heart knowing Yuki was not alone in this old house as their mother had been. But he had one last message to deliver.

I leave her to you.

Souhei Fujii, Yuki’s childhood friend, stood with eyes slightly wider than before as Ame’s wordless message was passed on. They narrowed almost immediately, showing his answer. He gave a curt nod. I will treasure her always. Thank you.

A contented smile cracked the mature mask that Ame had donned on his face. By now, Yuki had opened her eyes once more and had seen this rare occurrence. Pure joy filled her heart. Not wanting this moment to end, but understanding their time together was over, she released her brother’s head and he fell to all fours, fur bristling in the wind.

And then he was gone. As soon as he had appeared, he had left, shallow footprints of both man and beast the only evidence of his visit. Yuki stood still, but after a few minutes of recuperating silence, she took a deep breath and bellowed into the sky.

“I LOVE YOU AME! REMEMBER ME!” Souhei then came forward and embraced Yuki from behind. She leaned back into his warmth and opened her arms as a streak of colour dashed towards her on all fours from inside the house, leaping into her arms. The child sat upright and lifted a delicate hand to wipe away the tears that once again fell down her cheeks.

There were two howls that pierced the air that night.

The first responded to his sister’s cry, just outside the house where a young new family had decided to start their life, just as a mother had before them.

The second exploded from the chest of the magnificent wolf, who stood six feet above where his mother would eternally rest, her spirit contented at the visit of her son after many years past.

However, after that night, the villagers never heard or saw the wolf again for it had moved on to its own life, guarding the forest until the end of its days.

Where it belonged.