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Brown, furry wolf ears twitched non-stop, only staying still when he scratched them vigorously, and then they started twitching again.
It was unbearable. The itching was getting stronger and stronger by the hour.
It had gotten to the point where Karu was seriously considering tearing the whole ear off.
The irritation affected them even when they switched. Karu was sure he felt it even when it was Garu’s turn to take over the body.
Neither of the wolf boys could handle the itchy torture for long so they kept constantly arguing about whose turn it was to deal with their shared body. Garu whined and insisted that they should go and see ‘Master’ who would know what to do. In Garu’s world, Master knew everything.
‘*sniff* I know Master can help us so pleeeeaaasee, let’s just go already…’ Garu whimpered.
But Karu refused every request. Firmly.
He wasn’t going to let the Human see him like this. That sneaky jerk already had an annoying talent of catching Karu off guard. This time he was determined on hiding his weakness and he would do it for the eternity if he needed to. He wasn’t going to give his slave anymore reasons to make fun of him.
So, even when he scratched his ears to the point of bleeding, he kept his mouth shut and instead hid from everyone in the quiet side of the mansion. Garu whined but didn’t want to go against Karu’s wishes and make any moves behind his back.
The suffering had lasted for days and there was no end to be seen.
The east side of the mansion was only busy during parties and events, so it was fairly empty and left alone during other times.
Karu had hidden himself into one of the mansion's numerous, luxurious guest rooms and was busy scratching – well, clawing – his wolf ears violently.
It hurt so much. Tears were forming in the corners of his golden eyes. But he had discovered that when it hurt, it didn’t itch. And pain was easier to deal with.
Sure, every now and then few servants or maids would walk by to clean or checking the condition of the rooms. But Karu was confident in his hiding skills; it was easy to hide from puny humans into the large balcony. The balcony was so high that he would stay unseen by anyone wandering in the gardens below.
Karu ceased all movement and stood still. His twitching ears made small movements when he listened carefully his surroundings.
That’s it. He heard footsteps from the corridor and quickly went out the doors to the large balcony.
Out on the balcony, right when he had a moment of relief for having something else to think about, the itching started agabusin. His eyes, golden and fierce, reflected his growing frustration as he began to scratch.
He continued to scratch endlessly, occasionally letting out low, angry growls. With every passing minute, he grew more and more frustrated. The sensation was maddening, and his growls turned into mighty roars.
His struggling was somewhat comforted by the fact that he was allowed to suffer in peace.
“I must applaud you. A weaker mind would have given up days ago.”
Or so he had thought.
Frozen in place, Karu slowly turned towards the voice.
The purple-haired fox yokai, in his refined trademark clothing, was leaning against the railing of the balcony. His arms were crossed and the amused smile on his face didn’t reach his different-colored eyes. The wind was slightly rustling his white robes and the hems of his coat.
Master Kuya.
Saw him in this pathetic situation.
Kuya was looking right at him. He didn’t have his fox ears out in the open but the look in his eyes was so ominous it made Karu shiver subconsciously.
“Grarr.. I-uh-uhm… master Kuya! What are you doing here?” he stuttered and tried to cover his distressd face and blushing cheeks.
“At first this was amusing, but now it’s just sad”, Kuya sighed and shook his head with feign pity, “poor pup. If you keep violating your ears like that, they’ll get torn off.”
Karu sat up and to look calm and collected, attempting to mimic the great yokai in front of him.
“I-it’s just a small itch! It will go away soon!” he tried to convince not only the fox but also himself.
“Hmm… A small itch is enough to make you crawl and whimper like a timid prey? And here I was, feeling kind enough to offer my help… I suppose you don’t need it then.” Kuya turned to look away and made small gestures that indicated he was about to leave.
“Grr…W-wait!”
“Oh?”
“…Please...”
“Ah, I didn’t quite catch that.”
“…pleasehelpme…”, he faced the ground with his eyes firmly shut and mumbled.
“You’ll have to speak up.” Karu could hear the amusement in the yokai’s voice.
“Please help me”, he finally blurted out with a desperate voice, “my ears are killing me. Master Kuya, please help.”
The older yokai left a condescending sigh that made Karu’s tail disappear between his legs.
“I suppose I have some time to spare.”
Karu’s twitching ears perked up.
“Come here, wolf”, Kuya crouched down and made an inviting hand gesture, “come.”
The words worked like a magic spell.
Karu pounced at the fox with the speed of light.
“Good boy.”
Kuya sat down on an outdoor armchair made of dark wood and crimson red cushions, and held his hands out, ready to catch the charging wolf-boy.
“Now, let’s see… What do we have here…”
Kuya’s hands hovered over Karu’s wolf ears, red from irritation. The brutal scratching had managed to break the skin. The wolf lowered his head meekly so the fox could get a better look.
Karu couldn’t help but whine when the fox’s nails grazed against his irritated skin.
“Ohoh, that must’ve hurt”, Kuya chuckled, in such a scary way that it made Karu bury his tail deeper between his legs. Being at someone’s mercy made him feel small, not to mention that someone being the great Master Kuya himself.
“N-not at all!” he tried but he got shushed at. The older yokai took a firmer grip on his left ear. The rough treatment made Karu growl on instinct. He felt ashamed when he saw Kuya’s raise his eyebrows at him and turned his face to the floor.
“Disgusting.”
That word made him feel even smaller. Like a kicked puppy.
“See, this is what happens when you spend your days rolling in suspicious piles.”
What? What piles-? Oh! Now Karu remembered what he had found in the woods several days ago. That irresistible pile of moldy leaves, mud, and unknown substances.
What did Kuya know about good smells anyway?
Usually, Karu looked up to the fox and truly respected his opinions but apparently there were some things even he got wrong.
There was no way Karu wouldn’t have checked that mesmerizing pile out. Both he and Garu had agreed upon it, the smells had been simply that good.
Karu didn’t regret a thing! He would succumb to attractive piles of leaves anytime. Ah, his mouth was watering just thinking about it…
“I thought so”, Kuya grimaced.
The wolf raised its head carefully, taking a suspicious look at the fox’s hands. Between his sharp nails was a tiny, wiggling creature covered in fuzzy fur. It was no bigger than a strawberry seed.
“These are the reason you’ve been thrashing around senselessly these past days.”
“Wha-! What are those!?“
“These nasty little yokais just love burrowing themselves into sweet, juicy puppy ears like yours.”
The wolf started struggling in panic, but Kuya had a strong grip on his ear.
“Tsk”, he sounded irritated, “surely you don’t think you can just shake them away. It didn’t work before, and it won’t work now.”
But Karu kept writhing despite the pain.
‘Get them out!’ he heard the flustered voice of Garu echoing inside his head. Garu sounded like he was crying, and his cries awoke Karu’s protective instincts. He had to be the brave one.
He calmed down, immediately feeling the itchiness getting stronger. All the action had awoken all the bugs and he felt them crawling around.
Kuya’s gaze was burning holes in him, making him let out a small whimper.
“Haah… Don’t worry, pup. I’m feeling kind today”, Kuya hummed, “as much as I’ve been enjoying watching you skulking around with your tail between your legs and your nails buried in your scalp, we can’t have these things around, they might spread.”
Karu thought of his Human Slave No. 1 desperately clawing at his ears with tears in his eyes, and while that thought was amusing, the wolf didn’t want others to suffer because of him.
Or rather, he didn’t want them to know Karu was the one who had brought the bugs to the mansion.
Karu held back a sniffle and after gathering all his leftover courage, looked up at the fox. He watched Kuya reach into his coat and dig out a small, tinted glass jar full of blue substance.
Karu’s brows furrowed when he smelled a bitter and strong herbal scent drifting from the jar.
It smelled like medicine. Karu hated taking any medicines and insisted that Garu took them instead. Because Garu was weaker than him, Karu always claimed, the medicine would affect him better. It had nothing to do with the fact that the bitter smells made him stressed. It was consideration, not weakness.
He stared daggers at the slimy drug and grew more and more wary when he watched Kuya spill some on his hands. Kuya rubbed his hands together, the squelchy noises nearly making Karu growl.
“Let’s begin”, the fox said and pressed his fingertips into the wolf’s ears.
Karu's golden eyes sparkled with anticipation, and his ears perked up as Kuya began to massage the lotion into them. The lotion felt chilly, stinging slightly when it got into the tiny cuts. But the moment it spread on his skin, all the pain and irritation began to fade away. The sensation was cool and smooth, and he let out a contented sigh as Kuya's skilled fingers worked their magic.
Karu leaned into the gentle pressure, drunken on the loving attention Master Kuya was giving him. Not even the obscene sounds it made were enough to sober him up.
Squelch, squelch.
Master Kuya kept pushing at the right spots. His fingertips glided along the sides of his ears, pressuring the sides and spreading the soothing lotion all over. The furry ears became soft and supple under his touch.
‘No fair’, Garu whined from somewhere in the distance, ‘it’s my turn!’
But it was pointless, Karu had no idea what was going on around him.
He dozed off - he didn’t even hear the chuckle Kuya gave him when he started drooling all over himself. The fox continued rubbing the wolf’s ears for some time.
But eventually, all good things must come to an end.
“I suppose that’ll do”, Kuya eventually sighed.
With those words Karu was brought back from his seven minutes of heaven. He blinked, first slowly and drowsily, trying to figure out who, where, what and when.
Then he figured out that the fox yokai had finished with him and was now wiping his hands on a fancy handkerchief made from silk and silvery thread.
“It’s over?” Karu alarmed. The moist sensation in his ears was unpleasant. It wasn’t nearly as bad as the itching, but he really wanted to dig the lotion out.
“Now, keep your paws off and let the mixture take care of your unwanted visitors. It will only work if you let it do its job untouched.” Kuya gave him a stern glare.
“But…”, Karu hated the thought of that bad, awful smell following him everywhere.
His ears were tingling all over, spots he had scratched open were stinging and
“Paws. Off.” The low growl made Karu abandon all such thoughts and his hand dropped immediately.
“Good boy”, Kuya gave him a small smile, the kind that almost reached his eyes.
Karu tried to stay still, but his tail waggled a little. Just a little, so it didn’t count.
There was something about those two words that struck deeply. It must have been Garu’s instincts kicking in.
Yes, it was all Garu’s fault, he decided.
“Then how long should I…?” he raised his head only to see Kuya had already left.
Some time? A day or two? Maybe he should make it three just to play it safe…
Several days later…
In the woods, in a shade of a large tree, next to a mossy stone, there was a treasure. Just lying there.
Many did not know how to appreciate such a treasure; they saw it as just an ordinary branch.
But Garu could tell, it wasn't just any piece of wood.
It was a perfect stick.
It had a smooth, polished surface, free from sharp edges or splinters that could harm a wolf-boy’s mouth. From the moment he laid eyes on it, his tail started to wag violently. Garu couldn’t resist any longer, he pounced and grabbed the stick.
He dug his teeth in. As he gnawed on it, he could taste all the best parts of the forest, the sap, the grass, the mud, the bark – all the good stuff! At that moment, Garu’s world had narrowed down to the stick and the joy it brought him. The enthusiasm in his bites made bark fragments scatter everywhere.
Near, hidden among the bushes, Kuya leaned against a tree trunk and watched the show with an amused yet slightly disapproving expression. His two-colored eyes watched how the wolf kept determinedly gnawing, shaking, and throwing the stick around.
“Oh, what a simple thing you are”, he chuckled.
Garu shook his head around when he noticed something was off. When he saw the older yokai leaning against the tall tree, he smiled at him brightly.
“Mister Kuya!” he turned to the older yokai, his tail waving in a speedy manner. “Look! I found a really nice stick!” He picked the stick up and waved it over his head.
Garu was about to charge at the fox, but his joy halted when he saw the look on the man’s face. Mister Kuya looked at him with grimace. Ashamed, he dropped the stick with a guilty look in soft blue eyes.
“What is that on your face?”
“Wh-what wrong with my face?”
Garu’s face was black and blue – not from bruises or injuries but from food stains, looking suspiciously like a Glimmerberry stain.
“It’s all covered in… Glimmerberries.”
“Ohhh. Don’t worry, it’s just leftovers from the dessert!” Garu’s ears perked up, Mister Kuya must have thought he had hurt himself and was just worried!
Kuya looked back into his memories. The deep blue, glistening Glimmerberries didn’t grow around these woods, and he was sure it had been at least three days serpent served anything with them.
“When was the last time you bathed?” he asked, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer. The judgement in his voice made Garu cower pitifully.
“…You told Karu we should leave the yucky goo alone…”, Garu whined, his furry ears flat on his head. He always got uncomfortable when he got scolded, it made him feel prickly all over.
“So, you decided to refrain from bathing altogether?” Kuya looked slightly horrified but kept his composure. Next, he took a long look at Garu’s tail. The fur was one lump from all the knots, and all covered in dry grass and small sticks.
“Yeah!” Garu beamed, it felt so good to finally know the answer.
” …What am I going to do with you two.” Kuya brought his hand to his forehead and left out a long sigh. “Oh well, I suppose it’s time for me to feel kind again.”