Chapter Text
1.
It's no secret that Atsushi Nakajima is a tiger turned man. The whole fishing village, from the richest merchant to the old fisherman in the harbor, knew about it, but no one knew where Atsushi came from.
At first, he was brought back by the old lady Keiko Obasan from the forest. Everyone thought he was just a poor orphan and did not expect he was a human form of a tiger monster. However, Atsushi was bad and not proficient enough at metamorphosis at the time. A part of his body would turn back to the tiger form when he didn't pay attention. Whenever the moon is full, that is, when the demon powers are the strongest and most difficult to control, he will completely change back to his original shape. So every time the full moon came, he would secretly paddle a small canoe to spend the long night on an uninhabited island near the village.
He has been shunned ever since he accidentally showed his tiger ears and tail in public. Only Keiko Obasan who had adopted him had always looked after him as if he were a normal human teenager, oblivious to malicious gossip.
But when the old lady died, he seemed to have lost his amulet and was blatantly alienated and neglected by the villagers. Especially when they found that Atsushi was a peaceful, harmless tiger. The verbal violence escalated to physical violence. The day that this tiny, isolated fishing village could no longer accommodate the weretiger has finally come ---the villagers issue an eviction order against Atsushi.
It is a full moon night, and Atsushi Nakajima is going to take a boat ride to the desolate island at dusk as usual. Strangely, when he gets to the port, the rope that tied the boat to the dock was untied. The boat has long been pushed into the sea with a distance.
The salty sea breeze blows Atsushi's ice silver hair and in less than an hour he will transform back to his original form, which he hates the most. Yes, Atsushi Nakajima hates the way he looks in his animal form. He simply believes that the reason humans can't accept him is because he looks too scary. The young weretiger still does not understand that he does not have to pay for the ignorance of others, let alone living in other people's prejudices and be influenced by them.
In fact, Atsushi's biggest wish is to live with everyone peacefully and communicate with other people like a real human being. He hadn't met his own kind since he could remember. Well, he had met several actual tigers without demonic powers in the forest. The weretiger talked to them in tiger language, but no matter what he says, the tigers always looked respectful and admired him like a god. After a long time, he felt bored.
2.
The wooden boat drifts away, carrying Atsushi Nakajima's hope, and finally disappears at the intersection of the sea and the sky. The raging tide hits Atsushi's mind mercilessly, and the weretiger who has lost his shelter only has one thought in his mind. He needs to escape to somewhere far away, so that others could not see his ugly original form.
Just as he is frantically searching for an uninhabited place nearby, he hears noises from a distance. Then he sees flames burning and dancing in the night and gradually become closer. A group of villagers holding torches are walking towards him menacingly.
"Monster, stay away from our village." A young man standing in the front row shouts, acting as if he is enforcing justice on behalf of god.
Atsushi remembers that he had gone fishing with this young man before he revealed his weretiger identity. It was his first time on a fishing boat, and he almost vomited in the constant turbulence. Come to think of it, it's not such a good memory after all.
Seeing that he remains silent, the villagers become louder. Abusive words coming from different sources, deep, hoarse, sharp, and childish voices flood into Atsushi’s mind. The crowd gets closer, and Atsushi sees clearly that some of them are holding hatchets, bows and arrows. He doesn't have time to think about it, and his feet start to run by instinct.
Soon his true self will be revealed in this bright moonlight. At this moment, his only thought is to stay away from these villagers. That is the bottom line. Once he reveals his true colors, he will never be accepted by them.
3.
The speed of the weretiger is indeed beyond the reach of human beings. The terrified faces of the villagers and the scorching flames mix as a blurry scene and quickly pass by Atsushi Nakajima. In the process of running, he begins to use all four limbs instinctively, and his hands and feet turned back into tiger paws with sharp claws. When the tiger monster stops, he realizes that he is immersed in the dense and dark forest.
He flees to the northern forest. It has been rumored in the village that there is a bad-tempered evil god living in the depths of this dense forest. If anyone accidentally broke into his territory and offended him, that person would spirt away. No one knows what happened to those who disappeared. Maybe they were eaten by the evil god, maybe they were killed. Anyway, they must have ended up in a bad way for sure. The locals will not break into this forest casually. Even the herb gatherers who know the forest like the back of their hands would not dare to rush into this area at night.
Just now Atsushi Nakajima was only focused on running away from people and didn't pay much attention that he trespassed against the evil god. He comforts himself that tiger is the king of the forest, and that he has nothing to be afraid of. But in the quite night, Atsushi still can’t help but have a little chill running down the spine. Taking advantage of the moonlight, the timid weretiger carefully finds a large stone and sits down on it. The night is cold and Atsushi uses his two big paws to cover his knees. That’s when the fur and paws come in handy. In a quiet and lonely night like tonight, Atsushi can’t help but recall the bullying he endured in silence all these years. A few bean-sized teardrops slip down his face.
“No matter how hard I try, I am still hated by everyone.”
Looks and race are innate, and this is something he can't change, regardless of how much effort he puts in. Flowing clouds cover the moon and cast a shadow upon Atsushi. He buries his face on the back of his furry paw, feeling that there is only his sound of sobbing left in the world.
"Who are you?" A cold voice comes from the darkness behind.
The weretiger's tail stand up in fright. When he turns his head, there is no one there.
A gust of wind blows, and a man with black wings flies from a giant tree that looks like more than a hundred years old. Bizarrely, the tips of his wings and the tips of his side bangs seem to have faded to a lifeless white like bones. The black beaked mask blocks half of the man's face, making it impossible to see his expression clearly.
4.
Akutagawa Ryunosuke does not welcome this outsider, but he decides to let him go because he is not human.
"My name is Atsushi Nakajima. As you can see, I'm a weretiger.” It's been a long time for someone to have a normal conversation with Atsushi. Although the tone is not friendly, it still moves him. He approaches the man, reaching out his paws to touch his half-opened wings.
"Are you a Tengu? So, the rumors are true." The curious purple-gold tiger eyes shine brightly at night.
"Aren't you afraid of me?" Tengu Sama folds his wings. It is the first time he sees such a bold creature who comes up so close to him without any timidity.
"You don't look scary. Not like me, I am half-human and half-tiger. Those humans are so scared that they hate me." Atsushi feels aggrieved again when he talks about his look.
"Hey, wait, why haven't I changed back to my animal form?" The full moon has raised, logically speaking, he should not be able to maintain his human form.
"The Goshinboku (sacred tree) will weaken the demon powers nearby." Tengu takes two steps back calmly, keeping a proper distance from the weretiger.
Only then, Atsushi seriously looks at the ancient tree behind Tengu Sama. This tree is so high into the sky, with luxuriant branches and leaves. The trunk looks like it takes seven or eight people to encircle it. After hundreds of years of wind, rain, and erosion, the shimenawa rope tied to the trunk has almost merged with the tree body, leaving only a few crumpled paper pendants hanging on it pitifully.
"It would be great if there was a Goshinboku in the fishing village, so that I can always maintain my human form."
"I hate humans."
"Did you really eat those who entered this forest?"
"There is an enchantment around the Goshinboku. People without power will have hallucinations once they get close."
"So those rumors about missing villagers are all false?"
Akutagawa snorted, "Humans just make up boring and stupid stories about things they can't explain."
"But humans invented Ochazuke, which is the best thing I've ever eaten."
"Looks like we have a vegetarian tiger." Tengu's tone was full of sarcasm.
"Actually, there are times when I can't help but want to eat meat. I usually go to the woods and hunt some wild birds or rabbits. But whenever chicken or other poultry in the village disappear or get killed, people will blame me. It's obviously the fox's doing!"
"Human beings have such a deep prejudice against you, and you still want to live with them?"
"Have you never been greedy for human food?" Speaking of food, Atsushi Nakajima remembers that he hasn't eaten at all today and feels hungry.
"Come to think of it, the red bean soup offered by someone a long time ago was not bad, but that was hundreds of years ago."
"See! Humans have invented a lot of fun things! I really want to become a human and live with the others."
Under the weretiger’s longing eyes, Akutagawa can still see the tear stains. He doesn't ask him why he was crying. In fact, he isn't interested at all. Perhaps it is because he hasn't spoken for so long that even his own voice sounds strange, so he chats with this weretiger unconsciously.
Atsushi continues to tell Akutagawa about himself with great passion: A few years ago, Keiko Obasan took him to the fishing village after he fainted from hunger on the road and fed him a bowl of Ochazuke. That was the most delicious food he had ever eaten in life. The old lady was the only one who was not afraid of him and hated him after knowing his identity as a tiger monster. And she was the only one in the world who cared about him. Before Keiko Obasan passed away, she told the weeping weretiger that he is a good boy with a kind heart, and that one day someone will understand him and accept him as who he is.
Atsushi Nakajima feels sad after he finishes speaking, and he begs Tengu-sama to let him stay near the sacred tree for a few more days.
"I really have no other place to go." Atsushi squats obediently on the ground, with some tears overflowing from his purple-gold eyes. He looks like a pitiful stray dog.
Akutagawa Ryuunosuke looks into his shining eyes, and nods without knowing why.
"Thank you, Tengu-sama! I promise I won't cause you any trouble." Atsushi smiles and eyes squint, the tiger stripes on his face wrinkles.
"Just call me Akutagawa."
Tengu feels that he has been alone for too long. His mind becomes abnormal such that for a moment he thinks that the weretiger's smile is cute.
It's just a tiger that can talk, no different from animals like squirrels and rabbits in the forest. While thinking, Akutagawa turns into a black shadow and hides himself in the dark.
5.
Nakajima Atsushi settles down in a cave next to the sacred tree. He feeds himself by hunting rabbits and catching fish in the river. It becomes his habit to sit under the giant tree and talk to Akutagawa who lives on it. Honestly, Atsushi doesn't know if Akutagawa is listening. Tengu-sama does not talk much, and hardly seen. But he never stops Atsushi from getting close to the tree. So the weretiger just keep talking.
"Today I saw a big fish in the river in the southern mountain. It looked delicious and I felt like I could smell the aroma after it was cooked. I was diving into my imagination and didn’t watch the steps. In the end, I fell into the river and the fish swam away."
"Clumsy tiger."
"So you have been listening to me!"
Akutagawa's intention was to insult Atsushi. It is out of his expectation that this stupid weretiger does not get angry but moved by his response.
"..."
Tengu-sama seems to see Atsushi wagging his tail at him. He's sure the weretiger is helpless. This weretiger gets satisfied too easily, and he's never shy about expressing his desire for companionship and approval. In Akutagawa's eyes, those are worthless things.
Paradoxically, he looks down on Atsushi Nakajima's way of living, on how he suppresses his nature and temper. But he also acquiesces in or maybe even enjoy having Atsushi around.